Ungirded Loins
Before Obama won election in 2008, a typically frank Joe Biden had this to say to supporters of his then candidacy:
“Mark my words, it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate, and he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you – not financially to help him – we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”
“Gird your loins,” he told Obama’s supporters. Since that time, several international crises have occurred. Here is Obama’s response and the effects so far:
| Crisis | Obama Response | Result |
| April 5, 2009: North Korea launches two rockets nearly capable of hitting Hawaii. | Nothing. A UN Security Council meeting favored by Obama results in no action taken against North Korea. Obama pays lip service to missile defense in Prague, but the very next day, his defense budget is announced, gutting the program world wide. | North Korea is emboldened and escalates their belligerence towards the U.S. and South Korea, including further missile and nuclear tests and escalating to an act of war when a North Korean submarine torpedoes a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors less than a year later. That, too, provokes no significant response from Obama. |
| May 25, 2009: North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test. | The UN Security Council condemns the test, as does the White House. Obama promises that North Korea will “pay the price” for its actions. No such price is ever paid. Obama refuses to put North Korea back on the state sponsors of terror list, a list from which it was removed for dismantling its nuclear program in 2007. | Continued belligerence, as noted above. |
| June 13, 2009: Iranian protesters defy they Mullahs and protest against a patently rigged election. The regime mercilessly cracks down. | Nothing for three days. Nothing. Then, after 3 days, with public pressure mounting and the death toll rising, Obama expressed “grave concern” over “election irregularities.” | Iran is emboldened against American will and hundreds of pro-Western Iranians die in vain. Obama’s stated reasons for inaction, fear of being seen to meddle and preserving “good will” for Iranian nuclear negotiations are demonstrably incorrect. Iran nonetheless accuses the U.S. of meddling and continues to expand its nuclear program undaunted. A week later, Neda Agha-Soltan dies from her wounds. Her death is captured on video and uploaded to YouTube. |
| June 28, 2009: President Manuel Zelaya violates the Honduran constitution by holding a referendum to stay in power. The Supreme Court of Honduras orders the arrest and exile. | Obama joins tin pot dictators like Hugo Chavez and Raul Castro in denouncing the alleged coup d’état and demands the reinstantement of Zelaya. Apparently meddling is ok in South America. | The Honduran presidential election is held in accordance with Honduran law. Larger than normal turnout results in a rejection of Zelaya and the election of Porfirio Lobo. Zelaya remains in exile in the Dominican Republic. Hugo Chavez, Zelaya’s benefactor, however, increases his Marxist and Anti-American rhetoric and brazenly seizes private property for his dictatorship. Less than a year later, our “allies” Brazil and Turkey sign a uranium exchange agreement with Iran. |
| 31 May, 2010: A “humanitarian” boat organized by terrorist sympathizers attempts to run Israel’s blockage of Gaza. It is later learned that the boat contains military equipment, including night vision goggle, gas masks and bullet proof vests. The Israeli Defense Force boards the boat for inspection, using Israeli Navy SEALs armed with paintball guns and sidearms for personal protection. The “peaceful” protesters on the boat greet them with knives, metal bars and, allegedly, guns. 7 Navy SEALs are injured, two seriously. 12 protesters are killed in the mêlée. | Obama demands Israel provide “all the facts,” and later announces a $400M aid package to Gaza, calling the situation in Gaza and the Israeli blockade “unsustainable.” The president later backs a UN investigation into Israel’s actions. The President does not mention the military equipment or the vicious attack on an ally’s forces. | Israel becomes more isolated and anti-Americanism in Turkey escalates. More ships try to run the blockade. Helen Thomas exposes herself publicly as either an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier, and is forced to retire. |
So ask yourself, are our relations with the countries mentioned above better or worse than they were before Obama became president? Are we, and is the world, safer or more perilous thanks to Obama’s policies?
We may need to gird more than just our loins in order to survive the next three years.