Ye gods! I read the Obama West Point graduation speech this morning, the one which was to offer a big picture look at our foreign/military policy, and establish some kind of Obama Doctrine. The president didnt even point out that Americas wars in distant lands since 9/11 have been great for American education. (Americans have always been notoriously weak in geography and now who doesnt know where Yemen and Afghanistan are?) Otherwise it was a strange mixture of bromides, dead language, and recycled phrases. How many times have you been told that the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail or heard about American exceptionalism (which our president believes in with every fiber of my being) or that this country as the indispensable nation. Yikes. Forget your political position for a moment. This speech is evidence, pure and simple, that there is no brain activity, no electricity, nada left in Washington. This crew, unlike the visionary madmen of the early Bush years, were always visionless when it came to global policy. But now... well, whats the step beyond visionlessness? Whats left but to commend the president for his sense of humor? In his discussion of counterterrorism policy, the man whose administration has cut off more sunshine from government than any in memory plunked for a new policy of transparency led by... no kidding!... the U.S. military! And that, folks, is superior stand-up comedy. Tom Heres the lovely passage in question: I also believe we must be more transparent about both the basis of our counterterrorism actions and the manner in which they are carried out. We have to be able to explain them publicly, whether it is drone strikes or training partners. I will increasingly turn to our military to take the lead and provide information to the public about our efforts. Our intelligence community has done outstanding work and we have to continue to protect sources and methods, but when we cannot explain our efforts clearly and publicly, we face terrorist propaganda and international suspicion, we erode legitimacy with our partners and our people, and we reduce accountability in our own government. nytimes/2014/05/29/us/politics/transcript-of-president-obamas-commencement-address-at-west-point.html
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:15:00 +0000
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