President Obama has been on a foreign tour. How’s it going on the world stage?
Probably not so well when New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is accusing him of “whining” and “whiffing.”
Dowd’s eviscerating assessment of Obama’s foreign policy is timely.
“It doesn’t feel like leadership,” she said yesterday. “It doesn’t feel like you’re in command of your world.”
Why does this matter right now?
Heritage experts have plenty of reasons:
“Vladimir Putin is launching a new version of the evil empire that Ronald Reagan resisted decades earlier.” — Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom
“More than 30 nations—Iran and North Korea among them—now have ballistic missile technologies.” – Michaela Dodge, defense and strategic policy analyst
“Committing U.S. troops to a single major conflict runs the risk of leaving the country or allies undefended.” — Diem Nguyen Salmon, senior policy analyst for defense budgeting
In the midst of these world crises—and a U.S. military readiness crisis—we have a president who questions “the efficacy and even legitimacy of American power,” lamented Heritage Distinguished Fellow Jim Talent and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).
It’s been 100 years since the beginning of World War I. Where does America stand when it comes to protecting its citizens and allies? This question is on many minds as the world watches Putin’s ambitions unfold. Can we even maintain the level of safety we have enjoyed in recent years as our leaders continue to gut the military?
This month, Heritage directs additional focus toward these vital priorities. Protect America Month kicks off today with a look at the lessons we’ve learned since World War I and the dangers we now face.
It’s certain to raise a lot of questions for the president—at a moment when he’s keenly aware of a need to reposition himself. Upon hearing that Obama plans a speech at West Point this month “to put his foreign policy in context,” the Times’s Dowd responded: “Mr. President, don’t you know that we’re speeched out? It’s not what we need right now.”
Exactly. America doesn’t need a policy speech; it needs a national security strategy backed by serious military modernization.
WATCH ONLINE TODAY: 100 Years Later: Lessons from World War I, live from Heritage at 11 a.m. ET
Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.
Quick Hits:
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- This famous comedian doesn’t think it’s very funny that Common Core math makes his kids cry.
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- An acronym this long can only mean more government, more regulation, and more spending.
- Charles Krauthammer challenges the mainstream media to cover this—but doesn’t think they will.
