Enlightened America

The job was to have been America’s – to hit back in case any one of our allies were attacked. The mere threat of robust America defending its interests kept our enemies from pushing too hard, too often.

Since Obama has been in office, we’ve made it clear that the old template has shattered; that we have become enlightened; that we no longer regard the world as warring camps; that we no longer feel obliged to protect ourselves – much less others.

Our enemies would like this to be true. But they’re not quite certain yet. America had fooled them before. Now they’re probing. No doubt, North Korea’s sinking of South Korea’s Cheonan was a probe. China approved and wrote the check. Now China knows that it has a free hand to do whatever it wants. Look out Taiwan!

Our former friends too are watching. They are troubled – now looking for new alliances. It doesn’t look good for them. South Korea, Israel, the former Iron Curtain countries, moderate Middle Eastern nations, South America, Africa – all are looking for a safe haven. It is slowly beginning to dawn on each and every one of these that they will have to go it alone.

Sucking up to regional tyrants and paying protection is the obvious answer for most. Some may want to take a stand. As much as Israel’s nuclear arsenal has been kept a well-guarded secret, her intentions are being kept close to the vest as well. Conventional wisdom has it that Israel has more than enough firepower to stun any aggressor. (Personally I would like to know if any of its trajectories have been re-calibrated to strike Washington as well.) Iran intends to change that equation. Already, several countries in the Middle East have privately expressed the unspoken wish that Israel will prevail.

Unfortunately, Israel too is shot through with the left fad philosophy that refuses to acknowledge existential danger. (Europe has already succumbed to it.) The question is not whether Israel can retaliate if attacked. The question is whether or not it will.

As America retreats from the world stage to concentrate on bringing about its own Marxist revolution, it leaves a huge vacuum in the world of geopolitical intrigue. Nations will now be forced to take sides. They will have to decide whether they are interested in principle or expediency. For those who choose principle, the danger is clear. They might do well to take moxie from a phrase that has echoed throughout the centuries ever since America’s founding: “Give me liberty or give me death!”