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About Dr. Brian Melton
Dr. Brian Melton is an Associate
Professor of History and the author of Sherman’s Forgotten General: Henry W.
Slocum. For something completely different, he also blogs about fantasy and
science fiction
here.
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Past Articles
Please
Tread on Me |
Dr.
Brian Melton
Please Tread on Me
October 15, 2010
Recently a man and his wife visiting Falcon Lake on the Texas border strayed
over into Mexico. As
anyone following the story knows, a group of pirates "allegedly” shot and
killed him and then nearly killed his wife. Later, the Mexican police official
brave enough to seriously investigate the crime was killed, decapitated, and
his head was delivered to an army garrison. What has the Obama
administration done in response? Essentially, they’ve ignored it and focused on
their domestic agenda. In the meantime, they are inviting further serious
incursions against America.
The United States has a checkered history when it comes to "enlightened” foreign
policy, and unfortunately we do not seem to learn from our mistakes. The pattern
of failure that Obama is now emulating actually stretches back to our very first
democratic president: Thomas Jefferson. In 1807, a British warship, the HMS
Leopard, fired on and boarded the USS Chesapeake. The British took
four sailors off the ship and hung one of them, a deserter from the British
navy. The others were imprisoned, while the Chesapeake was allowed to
limp home in disgrace.
What did Jefferson do to reply to this massive provocation? Nothing in
particular. He did pass the ill-fated Embargo Act of 1807 (essentially his
equivalent of our sanctions) as a weak attempt at forceful diplomacy. Not only
did it not work, it hurt the Americans more than it did the British. The result?
He sent a clear message that the British could do what they liked and America
wouldn’t respond. James Madison, our next president, then had to deal with a
war.
While Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler also demonstrate this pattern of
failure, a more pertinent example is Obama’s democratic predecessor, Bill
Clinton. While to most Americans September 11th seemed to come from nowhere, it
was, in large measure, allowed to take place due to the weak foreign policy of
the Clinton Administration:
▪ In 1993 Islamic radicals working for Osama bin
Laden bombed the basement of the World Trade Center in an attempt to knock it
down. Clinton responded by placing the culprits in the U.S. justice system which
took years prosecuting people willing to die for their cause in an instant.
▪ Also in 1993, American soldiers were killed in the Battle of Mogadishu (Black
Hawk Down) by Al Qaeda trained fighters. Their bodies were dragged through the
streets and spit upon. Clinton ordered all military operations stopped and
quickly withdrew American forces.
▪ In 1998, Al Qaeda operatives bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya, killing hundreds.
Clinton responded by aiming some cruise missiles at a pharmaceutical factory.
▪ In 2000, Al Qaeda suicide bombers attacked the USS Cole, in dock in Yemen.
Clinton called it "a despicable and cowardly act,” but did nothing about it.
Is it any surprise, then, that after eight years of America serving as
Osama bin Laden’s doormat, Al Qaeda would take the next step that resulted in
September 11th?
By his failure to respond forcefully (not necessarily militarily) to North
Korea, to Iran, to China, and now even to a Mexican drug gang, Obama is sending
the message that America will allow her enemies to get away with just about
anything. For instance, if we won’t respond to Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program
after issuing so many ultimatums they’ve probably lost count, why should
Ahmadinejad think Obama will suddenly do so when Iran announces it has a nuclear
weapon? If Mexican border pirates can kill unoffending citizens with no
response, why should they stop? Why should we be surprised when they take the
next step and
begin attacking Americans on our own soil?
Perhaps it’s time for our president to take a page from his more manly
predecessors—occupy the lake and the towns on the far side with military forces,
hunt down and kill anyone connected with the murders, and then withdraw back to
U.S. soil. If Mexico objects, ask them if they are really willing to risk a war
with the United States over a limited military operation launched in direct
response to their failure to control their own criminal citizens?
The simple fact is that the failed policies of
weak presidents produce more misery and pain in the long run than they prevent
in the short. Obama has even stated that he believes we can absorb another
terrorist attack like the one on 9-11. If ever there was an invitation to
disrespect and attack our nation, Barack Obama has extended it. |
