In Iraq, the Islamic State has now grabbed control of the Iraqi city of Sinjar. Tens of thousands of residents, according to the UK Guardian, have fled to the mountains, where they face a choice: they can either die of dehydration, or they can risk death from ISIS in the city. “Food is low, ammunition is low, and so is water,” one Sinjar refugee said. “We have one piece of bread to share between 10 people. We have to walk 2 kilometers to get water. There were some air strikes yesterday [against the jihadists], but they have made no difference.” CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen says, “al Qaeda appears to control more territory in the Arab world than it has done at any time in its history.”
That’s somewhat surprising given that back in January, Obama told The New Yorker that ISIS was minor league:
The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant. I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian.
President Obama has an unfortunate habit of making final and declarative pronouncements on foreign policy that are proved absolutely false within short time windows. Here are just a few of his pronouncements on foreign policy that went wildly wrong:
“Al Qaeda Has Been Decimated.” Obama has said dozens of times that al Qaeda has been largely destroyed under his administration, adding that al Qaeda was “on the path to defeat.” That was clearly untrue, given the September 11, 2012 terror attacks in Benghazi. It’s even less true today, given the fact that al Qaeda now controls a record amount of territory.
“The 1980s Are Now Calling To Ask For Their Foreign Policy Back.” After mocking Mitt Romney for stating that America’s top “geopolitical foe” was Russia, and averring that al Qaeda was instead the top threat to America, Obama dropped that doozy during their presidential debate on foreign policy. Now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, Russian-backed forces have shot down a passenger airliner, and Russia has worked in tandem with Edward Snowden to reveal national security secrets, Obama’s line doesn’t look all that clever.
“Iraq’s Future Will Be In The Hands Of Its People.” Obama stated this at Fort Bragg in 2011. He routinely utilizes variations of the same theme to describe why America should not be involved in Iraq. Of course, Iraq’s future is not in the hands of its people; instead, Iraq’s future is in the hands of ISIS, springing from Syria, and Iran, which has now inserted Revolutionary Guard troops into the country.
“A Red Line For Us Is We Start Seeing a Whole Bunch of Chemical Weapons Moving Around or Being Utilized. That Would Change My Calculus.” Um, no it didn’t. After Secretary of State John Kerry threatened an “unbelievably small” military strike in Syria, Obama then negotiated a ridiculous deal that left Bashar Assad in power and completely failed to divest him of his weapons of mass destruction. That was just a few months after Obama said in his debate with Romney, “What we’ve done is organize the international community, saying Assad has to go.” Assad was recently sworn into a new seven-year term in Syria. The number of dead in Syria is climbing toward 200,000.
“Egyptians Have Made It Clear That Nothing Less Than Genuine Democracy Will Carry The Day.” Obama stated this upon the ouster of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, as part of Obama’s overall celebration of the so-called Arab Spring. After Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Morsi was elected president of Egypt in June 2012, Obama called him to congratulate him on his victory. Morsi quickly moved to shut down the courts and consolidate power. And he was ousted by the military. Which now runs the country. Which is good, since Morsi was disastrous for both America and her allies. So much for Obama’s brilliant stroke on the Arab Spring.
“To Take Out a Credit Card From The Bank of China In The Name of Our Children…That’s Irresponsible. It’s Unpatriotic.” President Obama was Senator Obama when he made this incredible statement in 2008. Over the same time in office as President Obama at this point in his presidency, George W. Bush had added $2.72 trillion in debt. President Obama has added over $7 trillion in debt. Obama called Bush “unpatriotic” for running up the debt.
“No Question That Libya…Would Be Better Off With Qaddafi Out Of Power.” Obama said that in October 2011. Things went great in Libya, as Chris Stevens can attest. America has now evacuated her embassy in Libya. Why? The current chaos in Libya is being led by “rival militias, made up largely of former anti-Qaddafi rebels,” according to Fox News.
“You know, they said we needed to triple the Border Patrol. Or now they’re going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol. Or they’ll want a higher fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat.” Obama said this, sarcastically, while visiting El Paso, Texas in 2011. Well, upping the Border Patrol might have helped quell the influx of tens of thousands of illegal immigrant minors from South American.
The list goes on and on. President Obama’s history of predicting world events isn’t too stellar. Perhaps that’s because neither is his policy.
Ben Shapiro is Senior Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the new book,The People vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against The Obama Administration (Threshold Editions, June 10, 2014). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org.Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.
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