July 25th 2008
Obama, The Great Over-Equalizer
“Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.
“So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.
“That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe.”
B
arack Obama’s speech in Berlin today was not given by an American; it was given by a globalist. He may have said he loved America, but his speech was a frightful minimalization of America’s contribution to the world’s security, and it gave the scoundrels who have sought to be tyranny’s profiteer, not its vanquisher, parity with us.
If for walls to be torn down we do in fact need “true partnership” and “constant work and sustained sacrificing,” then bet on the walls. The Berlin of 2008 is threatened by Islamist terror and the crushing effect EU multiculturalism and Islamic expansionism is having on European culture. Is Europe are true partner in resolving this? Is it working constantly and suffering through sustained sacrifice?
It has no soldiers in Iraq, a country that today is free of the tyrant Germany sustained by providing the technology needed for weapons of mass destruction. It has soldiers in Afghanistan, but their rules of engagement forbid them from fighting the enemy. This is not a country that is sharing our commitment to freedom, and Obama’s parallels minimizes and insults American suffering and American commitment.
His cliche-laden speech – “This is the moment.” “This is our time.” “A new crossroad.” “The road ahead will be long.” – gave Europeans undeserved credit, saying “they are bearing more burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world.” Show me where. Show me where they are not enjoying the comfort of our defense while complaining about the every minute perceived excess of their defenders.
And spare me a president who derides his own nation in front of a foreign audience, saying,
Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? [Unlike America?] Will we welcome immigrants from different lands [unlike America?], and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do [unlike America?], and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people? [unlike America?] …
I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
Yeah, but show me a country that’s done better. How about that little mistake Germany made when it started two world wars? And did its actions live up to its best intentions when it allowed German companies to sell Saddam Hussein the instruments of brutality and genocide, then refused to participate in the destruction of the demon they helped create?
American valor and American blood has protected Europe through two world wars. It stood down the Soviets. And today it is staring radical Islam in the eye and once again shedding its blood while Germany and most of the rest of Europe sacrifices nothing in return. Yet Obama cannot bring himself to honor his own nation’s great military in his speech. Nowhere is there a word of praise for them; instead, they are shunned.
The burdens he mentioned in the lead-off quote were, I remind you, “burdens of development and diplomacy, of progress and peace,” not the burdens our troops bear. The solution is “allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.” Not allies who will fight side by side to protect each other.
I think it’s wonderful that Obama reminded Europe and the world of the Berlin airlift. It needs reminding of the treasure we expend for the good and protection of others, who too frequently become ingrates tomorrow. (Can anyone say “South Korea?”) But don’t say, as Obama did, that it was Berliners that kept the flame of hope alive. It was American generosity and American might and American sacrifice that refused to allow that flame to die.
Obama is a citizen of the nation that did that, but he minimized the greatness of America today and addressed Berlin as a second class citizen, a citizen of the globe, not a citizen of the greatest nation the planet has ever seen.
