An interesting commentary I found on The TPNN, worth reading if you care to: It has been the longstanding policy of the United States government to never negotiate with terrorists. We can negotiate with foes, with armies; we cannot, however, barter with those who use terror as an instrument of coercion. For crying-out-loud, even Jimmy Carter knew not to upset this golden rule of diplomacy. Sure, it’s understandable to want to throw the rules aside and negotiate to save an American life. Who wouldn’t want to? The value of the mission, however, must always come before the value of the short-term gains. What President Obama has done is put each and every service member in danger because the message has been broadcast far and wide: capture a member of the U.S. military; they’re worth five terrorists. This isn’t just about Sgt. Bergdahl; this is about the other members of the military placed in harm’s way by the weakest Commander-in-Chief that has ever commanded the United States military. It’s not hard to understand why this precedent is a problem. Heck, anyone who has ever seen an episode of “24” probably has acquired enough knowledge of foreign policy to know that negotiating with terrorists is a mistake. Aside from the “slippery slope” implications, the president apparently operated with his traditional method of operation: to do whatever the hell he pleased. President Obama was required by law to notify Congress 30 days prior to the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have both cited “exigent” circumstances that required them to act quickly to secure the transfer of Sgt. Bergdahl in exchange for the release of five Afghan terrorists. However, laws are to be followed by the chief law enforcer of the country. President Obama continually undermines Congress by creating new laws with the swipe of a pen, disregarding laws he doesn’t like and changing Obamacare, despite it being the “settled law of the land.” Now, it appears that Obama can make prison transfers without notifying Congress. Andrew Johnson was nearly impeached for significantly less than what Obama has done. Johnsons’s crime? He fired an official without the consent of Congress. For that, President Johnson almost lost the presidency. Not only did President Obama not have the authority to make the exchange, but doing so now places a bounty on capturing American soldiers. Americans are saddled with a president who continually displays a shocking lack of foreign policy chops and as the rest of the world laughs at his buffoonery and weak-kneed tough-talk, it is the rest of America who pays the price for an executive who remains too rigid on domestic policy and too weak on foreign policy.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 11:24:57 +0000
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