Obama Not Ready to Lead
By Paul Nann
pauln@purduereview.com
We live in a dangerous world. Unfortunately, there are people out there who would like nothing more than have us vanish from the face of this earth. We are living in a world where our enemies will not hesitate to take advantage of any openings we give them. How we handled these threats and adversaries in the past is one of the reasons why we are currently a military, political, and economic super power. Our enemies, both foreign nations and organizations, are watching our elections very closely – looking for any opening they may see, any weakness that may arise.
In the recent months we’ve learned that nations we call allies can return to the ‘ways of old’. The invasion of Georgia is a prime example of the tension that is growing between the powers of the world. Lines may be drawn, but in the end, nations have shown that even in this modern age, war outside the Middle East is possible and there are those who consider it a valid option. We need a president who knows when to hold his ground and who will not let allied countries be invaded.
This is a very real possibility with increased aggression coming out of countries such as Russia and Iran. Russia invaded a neighboring democracy without any retaliation from NATO or any countries. Iran has repeatedly expressed its desire to ‘wipe Israel off the map’, and is a helping hand to our enemies in Iraq. Iran has refused to stop their nuclear ambitions, and its leadership has stated that their progress cannot be stopped. We need a strong president: one who fully comprehends the global scenario, one who understands how the military works and how it achieves its goals, and one who understands how foreign nations operate. This isn’t a perfect world where, if we take our defenses down, no one will take advantage of the situation. Constant vigilance, continued success (including economic), and peace ensure survival.
Barack Obama has stated that he wants to cut funding to missile defenses and “slow our development of future combat systems,” which is reckless and dangerous when countries like China, Russia, and Iran are spending huge amounts on their military development. If we were to slow our own progress, we would be unable to defend ourselves reliably, if, God forbid, there were to be an open conflict between any major powers.
We are at a point where stability in the world is essential. A new Cold War may be brewing between industrialized nations; however, our primary responsibility is to maintain the security and sovereignty of our nation. Our military is the first line of defense against external threats – we have not had any new terrorist attacks since September 11th, in part due to our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to continue to support and augment our military as a whole, not shrink it. A weak military is a sign that a country is going downhill and the last thing we need is to lose our status as a major player in the world.
Iran specifically has been increasingly hostile; recently an official in the Department of Foreign Ministry called to attack London, as a deterrent against a possible Israeli attack on their nuclear facilities. Iran is one of the, if not the, most dangerous crisis that is waiting to happen during the term of the next president. They have expressed that any attack on their soil will be dealt with heavy retaliation, including stopping the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf, effectively dealing a major blow to the global economy. We need a leader who understands how the world operates, politically, economically, and militaristically, and well as understands the best option to take to keep stability and peace.
Barack Obama is a first term senator – he has never served in the armed forces, and has had surprisingly little experience dealing with foreign policy. His view of the world is flawed; he seems to forget that it was less than two decades ago that the Cold War ended. Two decades ago we had to worry about full-fledged nuclear war and that threat is growing increasing larger today. We need a president who understands our military from the inside out, who understands what needs to be done, and who understands how to keep us safe.