Gregory D.

Lee

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July 28, 2008

All Hail Obama, the Novice Messiah!

Like a conquering hero, Sen. Barack Obama swept through war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq with legions of media throwing rose petals at his feet. His recent “fact finding” mission to Afghanistan and Iraq was more like a foreign affairs summer camp for the freshman senator from Illinois – a senator who has spent only 143 working days as a member of this august legislative body.

In a much media-hailed foreign policy speech, Sen. Obama laid out a strategy for exiting Iraq and building forces in Afghanistan – all before he had visited the region, or consulted with any military leadership on the ground. Talk about audacity! He obviously formulates his strategy on military and foreign affairs exclusively by reading the New York Times. He hasn’t been in the Senate long enough to hear the complete analysis of the State Department and intelligence community on what’s happening in Southwest Asia and the Middle East.

The much-anticipated foreign trip by the presumed Democratic presidential nominee was covered extensively by all three broadcast media news anchors, something usually done only when a president travels on an extraordinary mission to consult with world leaders. But when you consider how the mainstream media views Sen. Obama as a messiah, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson didn’t want to miss witnessing him restoring a blind man’s sight, changing water into wine during a formal state dinner in Kabul or parting the Euphrates River.

I’m convinced the 38 hours he spent on the ground in Afghanistan solidified his short-sighted war policy. Has anyone told Sen. Obama that the surge has worked in reducing violence in Iraq? His opinion that the surge would create more violence against American troops was dead wrong, and he ought to be man enough to admit it, and learn from it. He should realize that blunt, sustained military force works every time it’s tried. Once the enemy is defeated, then, and only then, do you consider reducing troop strength in the theater of operations.

Granted, there is a resurgence of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, and it would be great to have more troops there, as Sen. Obama has called for, but you have to have troops to send. They just don’t materialize because you wish it, even if you’re the messiah. Did someone there tell him that the war in Afghanistan is not just a U.S. effort but part of a larger NATO mission? Victory in Iraq will free up much needed manpower for redeployment to Afghanistan – defeat or retreat, as Sen. Obama has advocated, won’t.

While you enjoyed the news coverage of Sen. Obama consulting with the presidents of Afghanistan and Iraq, Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee (remember him?) couldn’t even get an op-ed piece published in the newspaper of record, The New York Times. Following an op-ed piece written by Sen. Obama titled, “My plan for Iraq,” published in the paper a week prior, the rejection slip Sen. McCain received from the former Clinton speechwriter who is now the Times’ op-ed editor read, “It would be terrific to have an article from Sen. McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece.” The Times obviously publishes opinion pieces so long as they are the same as the newspaper’s editorial staff. I wish Sen. Obama’s opinions mirrored Sen. McCain’s – that way I’d sleep better at night. This was an opinion piece, not two college students on the same debate team. The Times’ rejection of Sen. McCain’s op-ed column further illustrates the media bias against him. It’s tough to get equal time when you’re running against the messiah.

Sen. Obama doesn’t have five minutes of military experience, unlike his rival, Sen. John McCain, who by any measure would make a superb commander in chief. The stakes are too high to trust national security to a liberal novice like Sen. Obama who flip-flops on vital issues.

Fortunately for Sen. McCain, the voters haven’t focused yet on the November election. They’re more concerned about how to pay for the gas to drive to their favorite summer vacation spots.

When they take the time to weigh one candidate’s experience in military and foreign affairs against the other, Sen. McCain is the clear choice. Without national security, nothing else matters.

Gregory D. Lee is a nationally syndicated columnist and can be reached through his website: www.gregorydlee.com. 

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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