HOME :: PUBLICATIONS :: Lagging Behind in Libya, by PRESIDENTIAL POLICY: DOES IT MAKE THE GRADE?, JAMES JAY CARAFANO, PHD

Lagging Behind in Libya

by PRESIDENTIAL POLICY: DOES IT MAKE THE GRADE?, JAMES JAY CARAFANO, PHD March 1, 2011
President Obama does not seem to be able to put the Middle East crisis in his rear view mirror. As the Libyan dictatorship crumbled, the White House stumbled to keep up. The President was slow to announce sanctions on the country’s leaders (waiting first for the go-ahead from European powers). His most assertive act was to dispatch the Secretary of State to meet with the discredited UN Commission on Human Rights - which includes Libya as a member. Heritage Middle East expert Jim Phillips points out:
 
The Obama Administration has blandly called for restraint from a brutal Libyan regime that is famous for its lack of restraint. The Administration has mistakenly lumped Libya together with other Arab countries roiled by protests, where it has called for restraint by governments confronted by the legitimate demands of their own citizens. But it has failed to distinguish between mildly authoritarian regimes in need of reform (such as those in Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco) and harshly repressive regimes (such as those led by mass murderers in Libya, Iran, and Syria).When President Obama finally spoke on the Libyan crisis on Wednesday, he failed to call for Qadhafi’s removal—the most logical step for ending the carnage, advancing the cause of freedom, and promoting American interests in the region. Although the Administration moved quickly to call for the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak earlier this month, it has been slow to call for Qadhafi’s ouster, despite his long history of terrorism and clashes with the United States.
 
 
Once again, the White House seemed to badly trail rather than step ahead of overseas events.
 
Understanding the administration’s current struggle to come to grips with Middle East policy really gets to the core of the shortfalls that this presidency has shown from the outset in dealing with national security and foreign policy, particularly in this part of the world. “Everything the Obama administration thinks is important in the Middle East—from the Arab-Israeli talks to Obama’s idea that we need only prove we don’t hate Islam—are completely beside the point,” writes Kim Holmes, a former Assistant Secretary of State, “Obama’s weak responses are not caused by wise caution, but by cluelessness.”
 
The Obama doctrine of naively engaging with the rest of the world is failing not just in the Middle East but almost everywhere from Latin America to South Asia.    
 
Meanwhile, here at home investigators uncovered a terrorist scheme by a Saudi student attending university in the United States. It is the 38th publicly known plot foiled since 9/11. Aldawsari, a 20-year-old Saudi citizen and student at South Plains College in Lubbock, Texas, sent numerous e-mails to himself outlining “nice targets” for his planned attack. Aldawsari’s arrest should make two things clear to the Administration and Congress. First, his attempt to acquire a fake birth certificate and multiple driver’s licenses clearly demonstrates the importance of the REAL ID program. While all states must be fully REAL ID compliant by this May, the Administration has allowed the program to languish over the past two years. This is a harsh blow to homeland security. Second, the nature of Aldawari’s plot shows just how important powers authorized under the PATRIOT Act and FISA are. By not acting promptly to renew the three sunsetting provisions of these acts, Washington is failing in its responsibility to protect the American people.
 
The grade for this “D” for a White House that continues to seem like it “doesn’t get it.”
 
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing EditorJames Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is a leading expert in defense affairs, intelligence, and strategy, military operations and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation.
 

James Carafano is a leading expert in defense affairs, intelligence, military operations and strategy, and homeland security at The Heritage Foundation. He was an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and fleet professor at the U.S. Naval War College. Carafano is the author of several military history books and studies. Carafano also is the coauthor of Winning the Long War: Lessons from the Cold War for Defeating Terrorism and Preserving Freedom; coauthor of the text book, Homeland Security published by McGraw-Hill; and the principal author of Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and has provided commentary for ABC, BBC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, SkyNews, PBS, National Public Radio, the History Channel, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Telemundo, Al Arabiya and Australian, Austrian, Canadian, French, Greek, Hong Kong, Irish, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish television. His editorials have appeared in newspapers nationwide including The Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, The New York Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, USA Today and The Washington Times. Carafano is a member of the National Academy's Board on Army Science and Technology, the Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and is a Senior Fellow at the George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute.

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