McCain and Graham Claim to Speak for Conservatives on Libya

The Brokeback tag team attacks GOP field

Whenever we attempt to evince bold distinctions between ourselves and the Democrats, Lindsey Graham and John McCain can always be counted upon to muddle those distinctions.  Foreign policy, in particular, is a subject in which voters struggle to perceive clear differences between the parties.  Consequently, we must repel the rapturous support for the so-called Arab Spring emanating from Obama's tag team of favorite Republicans.

Back in the 70s, our most consequential and enduring mistake was supporting the Iranian revolution against the Shah.  Jimmy Carter and his allies failed to comprehend that the problem with the Middle East was not autocracy per se; it was Islamofascism.  Tragically, the Obama administration, along with the Bill Kristol/John McCain Republicans, is helping to consummate the state-level Islamofascist takeover of the entire region.  We have ostensibly handed Egypt over to the Muslim Brotherhood/Iran and are on the cusp of delivering Yemen to Al-Qaeda.  Our encouragement of the Arab Spring is also emboldening the Palestinian majority in Jordan to overthrow our strongest Arab ally, King Abdullah.  We are doing nothing to prevent Bahrain from transforming into an Iranian proxy, instead of a vital ally.  Meanwhile, Bashar Assad, a dictator who truly deserves a timely demise, is still enjoying diplomatic relations with the U.S., even as he murders his own people in cold blood.

In light of all the upheaval in the Middle East, where was Obama's hill to die on in the Middle East?  Libya.  Yes, Muammar Gaddafi is an evil man; nonetheless, he is an evil man who has fought against Al-Qaeda.  Should we remove every brutal tyrant in the world?  Robert Mugabe is the ruthless leader of Zimbabwe, and has not been fighting Al-Qaeda, yet we are not prosecuting an aimless, impotent war against his regime.  But somehow John McCain and Lindsey Graham believe that the Al-Qaeda-backed Libyan rebels are sacrosanct, the city of Benghazi stands on hallowed ground, and that anyone who believes their plight runs counter to our national security interests ought to shut up.

This is what Lindsey Graham had to say on Meet the Press:

American Spring: Time to Stop Funding Terror Around the World

Job stimulus for terrorists, a housing crisis for Israel, moral relativism, oh my!
Barack Obama has many sinister friends who are egregiously subsidized by taxpayers, but at least they aren't terrorists. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his foreign patrons. At a time when Congress is searching for any morsel to cut from our domestic budget, Obama wants to expand foreign aid..to terrorists and terror filled nations. His push for expanded foreign aid comes as part of a broader endorsement of the "Arab Spring" uprisings in his latest foreign policy speech. Bin Laden is also endorsing them from the grave. Republicans need to call for an American Spring and categorically oppose all aid to enemy nations and entities in the 2012 budget.

Over the past few months, Obama has helped blow up the Middle East by supporting radical Muslim uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Simultaneously, he has hypocritically remained silent on Bashar Assad's violent repression in Syria until this week when he announced vapid sanctions on the Syrian dictator. He is still refusing to recall his ambassador from Damascus that he sent in 2009 as a gesture to Assad. He didn't even call for tough measures against Syria's puppet master; Iran, while claiming to support the Iranian protesters, despite his indifference when it really mattered in 2009.

However, upon further cogitation, Obama's actions are actually quite consistent. In both Egypt and Syria, Obama has strengthened the hand of terrorist organizations, placing Israel in great peril.

His support of Mubabrak's demise in Egypt, has led to a popular groundswell for war against Israel fomented by the Muslim Brotherhood. His continued support for Hamas and Fatah in Israel (with the proviso that they denounce "violence", of course) has emboldened the Palestinian terrorists and jeopardized the besieged state from within. Finally, his calculated tepid response to Syria's aggression, despite his tough rhetoric, and refusal to break diplomatic relations, has emboldened arch terrorist Assad to incite a breach of the Israeli border. State Department officials told the New York Times that Obama is worried about undermining the Syrian murderer because he views him as an indispensable partner in final negotiations for an Israeli peace deal, a.k.a. forcing Israel to hand over the Golan Heights. Hence, Obama views Assad as to big to fail.

Obama has successfully imperiled Israel on all fronts, while using American money and diplomacy to undermine the prestige of both nations. As the ever prescient Caroline Glick succinctly opined last week, "Unlike his predecessors, Obama's interest in the Palestinians is not opportunistic. He is a true believer."

Hey Barack, Resign Now, and Now Means Yesterday

While our nation languishes amidst record food and energy prices, unprecedented underemployment (including those excluded from the workforce) and economic stagnation, crippling regulations, and an administration in contempt of two court decisions, the media would rather distract us with the Islamist uprising in Egypt.  It is imperative that we keep up the pressure on Obama and the Democrats by denying them the opportunity to preclude our attention from more relevant and ominous domestic problems.  On the other hand, there is one salient question that we should excogitate from Obama's handling of the Egyptian insurgency.  If Obama is willing to listen to the protesters of a foreign country due to their grievances from high food and energy prices and an unresponsive government, shouldn't he accede to the similar demands of his own citizens and resign immediately?

As a direct result of Obama's assiduous depredation of the private sector, there are a record number of people who are unemployed or underemployed.  For those who are lacking sufficient income, their most vital needs include food, energy, and health care are among  Yet, this President has used every tool at his disposal (including illegal ones) to ensure that the cost of production or delivery of each vital sector of our economy has burgeoned exponentially.

Through this President's continued support of ethanol mandates, subsidies, and tariffs, the price of essential food commodities has risen sharply, as corn is the antecedent of the food chain.  Almost 40% of corn grown in this country is now used for an ineffective and potentially environmentally degrading fuel.  In addition, the President has done everything in his power to mandate and subsidize the production and usage of under-performing and deleterious sources of energy.  This, along with his slavish devotion to the Fed's policy of quantitative easing (QE2), has artificially and gratuitously spiked the cost of food and energy commodities.

Mubarak is not a Great Ally, But What's the Alternative?

There are some apologists for Mubarak who contend that he is a great ally of the U.S. and a strategic partner for Israel. Other wizards of smart like John Kerry and the Bush foreign policy crowd feel that we should actively side with the Muslim Brotherhood to overthrow Mubarak. There are some good columns out today explaining why they are both wrong. The bottom line is that Mubarak is not such a strong ally and doesn't deserve $1.5 billion in aid; however, the alternative is much, much worse. To that end, it would be Carteresque to support the "democratic" protesters. 

- Here is Max Boot's Op-ed in the WSJ detailing Mubarak's efforts to undermine Israel and turn a blind eye to the Muslim Brotherhood. Nonetheless, it is clear that the vacuum of his departure would be filled with real nefarious characters.

- Caroline Glick has a great piece in today's Jerusalem Post explaining the coalition between the anti-colonialist left and the Bush democracy peddlers in their pursuit to overthrow Mubarak. They are both misguided in their lack of insight into the Muslim world.

- Bret Stephens of the WSJ explains why he thinks that Mubarak his playing his cards prudently and that the revolution will eventually fizzle.

It is disturbing to see the GOP circle the wagons around the administration and John Kerry by supporting regime change.  It is also disconcerting to see fellow Massachusetts politician Mitt Romney call for Mubarak to resign.  Would these politicians support the protesters in Jordon to overthrow King Abdullah?  Unlike Mubarak, he is a true ally.  Worse yet, the Jordanian people are even more radical than the Egyptians (70% of them are Palestinian).  Don't they understand the consequenses of their actions?

We cannot afford another Iranian revolution paradigm in which we oust a dictator in favor of an Islamist state.  Then again, when we have someone like Dick Lugar leading the Republican foreign policy in the Senate, would you expect anything different?