Each day the headlines bring an escalation of some world crisis into our homes. Just yesterday, a front page story in the Washington Post began with the sentence, “Short of world war, it’s rare that a chief executive goes through a foreign policy month like President Obama’s August.”
It is rare – and very disturbing. The perception around the world is that the United States is in retreat and being forced to respond to events rather than shaping them. With weakened U.S. leadership, the world becomes a more dangerous place for Americans and for freedom-loving people everywhere.
In Ukraine, President Putin continues to push more brazenly in his invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. has yet to provide the Ukrainian military with the adequate non-lethal equipment, like body armor and night vision goggles, that was recommended months ago, much less the weapons they need to repel the Russian advance.
In Iraq and Syria, nothing has significantly reversed the momentum that ISIS has built as the best equipped, best financed, and most capable terrorist organization the world has seen. Of particular concern are the estimates that 2,000 - 3,000 people with Western passports have trained with ISIS and can easily return to Europe and the United States to carry out attacks.
As the President admitted in his press conference last week, he does not yet have a strategy for dealing with this threat. Consulting with military and intelligence professionals, the President must develop such a strategy, explain it to Congress and the American people, and then, if it involves sustained military action, request from Congress an authorization to use military force.
Because so much attention has been given to Ukraine and ISIS, a number of other world hot spots have not been in the headlines but are heating up. From North Korea and China to Yemen, Afghanistan, and West Africa, dangers are growing. And yet the Administration shows little leadership in strengthening our defenses.
The basic truth was expressed by President Reagan in a speech to the nation in March 1983. He said, “We maintain the peace through our strength; weakness only invites aggression.” That is what is happening now in many places around the world. Aggressors are taking advantage of perceived American weakness. The solution starts with the United States regaining our strength.
Below are links to some recent media interviews I have done on these events.
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