An Obama Foreign Policy Doctrine..?

From my previous blog posting: "Obama, a practical-minded politician? I believe so..!!" President Obama is living up to my perception of him as a practical minded person and definitely as a thoughtful Chief Executive of the USA. The US electorate should be rest assured that finally we have a real leader in the White House, a leader the world respects and nations states are willing to follow, which should make us all proud that the USA has finally taken its rightful leadership place on the global stage, and Mr. Obama deserves all the praise and credit for his leadership. It is ironic that critics of Mr. Obama are in complete disarray in their thoughts, proclamations and understanding of the intricacies and of the complex nature of foreign policy formulations and implementations, and the evolution of foreign conflicts and our ultimate involvement on any scale appropriate to serve our national security interests.

We have all heard from prominent critics like Mr. Newton Gingrich and the loose-mouthed right wing media pundits, and I am not surprised that they offer the confused and incoherent proposals for situations they have no understanding of, and are not prepared to spend the time and effort to do some research and educate themselves on the issues before offering un-workable and sometimes inept solution mantras that border on political lunacy. Most right wing pundits and some of their liberal counterparts seem to profess how smart Mr. Gingrich is, but he has been so thoughtless lately, I think his psyche and probably his fantasies, must be evaluated. It seems the media tries to equate loose tough political talk with being smart and having strong conviction, and denote thoughtful, cautious conviction and quiet but firm resolve as being weak and indecisive, a pattern that has historical not resulted in good outcomes when it comes to foreign policy and USA's involvement in foreign conflicts.

Mr. Obama is a highly educated individual who actually took his Ivy education in subjects like world history, social change, US and international politics, US and international law, specializing in US Constitutional Law, very seriously, unlike some of the privileged few who attended schools of higher learning just for social branding but paid no attention to the content and value of what they were taught. It is well known that our President is a great student of history, and judiciously considers the lessons of history in his decision making, especially when it comes to our military involvement in the Middle East. I was therefore not surprised that after days of criticism from apparently uninformed but loud-mouthed republicans and their mindless pundits, we all learned that Mr. Obama [The President] had already engaged the CIA into their rightful role in the Libyan crisis, weeks before any military action was ever taken, underscoring the thoughtfulness of our President and his fact based decision making approach to leadership, which is expected from a practical minded leader! We should all be thankful that, finally we have someone in the white house who thinks through unfolding events in relation to our historical involvement in foreign conflicts, before plunging our beloved military into unnecessary and evolving conflicts especially in the Middle East [Iraq rings the bell].

Most political analysts in the media are accustomed to pigeonholing US Presidents into simplistic and uncomplicated foreign policy positions and pronouncements they call 'policy doctrines' and sometimes succeed in coaxing some Presidents into untenable policy positions when complex foreign conflicts erupt and thereby limit themselves into impractical but seemingly decisive military commitments, which have historically been detrimental to this nation. The military invasion and further occupation of Iraq by President G. W. Bush, is the classic example where the neo-conservatives of the republican party and the unabashed war mongers, if I may be permitted to be blunt, were able to steer Mr. Bush, remember the self proclaimed compassionate conservative and the evangelist of freedom and liberty, into pursuing one of the worst foreign policy blunders in US history, costing us the lives and serious permanent injuries to thousands of US soldiers and their support diplomats, and many more thousands of Iraqi civilians, in addition to the trillions of dollars in war spending and associated expenditures, which is directly responsible for a large portion of the exploding US debt and deficits, that helped to plunge the US economy into the deepest recession [almost depression] ever! I hereby offer a facetious gratitude and a thank you to the thoughtless and non-deliberative neo-conservative foreign policy doctrine [unilateralism] that was whole-heartedly embraced by President G.W. Bush!!

I would love the opportunity to describe my perception of an 'Obama foreign policy doctrine', which I intend to attempt. My suggested rendition of 'Obama Foreign Policy Doctrine' would simply go something like this:

• "My fellow Americans, I believe my beloved USA, under my watch and leadership, will continue to be the beacon for unrivaled hope and the ultimate fulfiller of human aspirations. We the USA will be the leader of the world but will also consider ourselves as part of a world that strives towards the ideals and values consistent with those we cherish, thus looking for cooperation as our first instinct, but utilizing all means necessary to achieve the desired end result. Potential foreign conflicts and primary encroachments on our national security will be dealt with swiftly, effectively and decisively as humanly possible, with no ambiguity and/or second guessing. The rest of the world will be vigorously courted to adopt our noble ideals, ideas and approaches, and where deemed appropriate, a well thought out and forceful coercion will be applied, wherever the USA's interest can be shown to be affected. Unilateralism, as a sanctioned policy of the USA, will not be our first instinct when our national security is NOT directly affected by prevailing conditions of foreign conflicts. If a foreign conflict shows the potential for immense humanitarian disaster, a concerted effort of coalition building among all civilized nation states of the world will be engaged in, embarked upon and seriously pursued as the preferred cause of action, and a consensus remedy will be formulated and promulgated, respecting the required contributions from all nations involved in order to minimize the overall comprehensive cost to the USA. In short, my foreign policy doctrine will be deliberative and well thought out; it will be rational and measured in its application; consensus and coalition building with our allies will be a major component in its formulation and promulgation, and very strong and decisive in its implementation, to completely ascertain to ourselves and the rest of the world that, USA is and will remain the most powerful nation on this planet, and will forever be enduring and strong."

This preceding paragraph will be a relatively effective but modest description of what I believe could be the Obama foreign policy doctrine. The cerebral and deliberative nature of President Obama should come as no surprise to the American people, and his calm demeanor coupled with his thoughtful approach to leading the US in times of foreign conflicts should be greatly admired, because the most powerful nation on this planet deserves such leadership. I am reminded of the helplessness the American people have felt since the invasion of Iraq, which most believe is the root cause of why the murderer Osama Bin Ladin and his fellow criminals, who were responsible for 9/11 have not been captured to date, and another 'brain-dead' and thoughtless foreign military escapade on our part, will not be welcome!  Let me hear what you think of this thesis....

The 'Run Government as a Family' Absurdity..!

I hear politicians, especially the republicans, always saying this: paraphrase: 'The American people want their Government to operate they way their families ran their economic lives; the government has to learn to live within its means just as ordinary families in the USA do everyday...', and shockingly I do not hear the democrats and sensible independents respond appropriately at all, as usual allowing the exaggerated myth and absurdity impregnated in the statement stand as factual and reasonable, and imply glorious applicability of purported equivalence. I say ridiculous, ignorant and childish statements, the ones I think Ms. Sarah H. Pailin and Ms. Michele Bachmann will perceive as being perfectly logical and sensible. To be fair, I have heard this from notable republicans: Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Mitch McConnel, Rep. Ron Paul, Sen. Rand Paul, Newton Gignrich, Mitt Romney, Bill Kristol, Jon Cornyn, and tea party republicans: Rep. Allan West, David Webb, Dick Armey, Donna Loech and the like.

I hope the democrats and political independents recognize the absurdity contained in the subject matter coming from the right wing and tea party republicans. The question is, how many families plan their economic lives and also are required to maintain the budget and the responsibility for any or all of the following critical aspects of our civilized society?

1. Department of Defense [DoD] to defend our freedom and security. People should not confuse having guns in the home to be equivalent with maintaining a military or a militia. The government of US is required to maintain the DoD, the US Constitution specifically delineates, and I am sure the right wing republicans who profess their love for national defense and constantly encourage unilateral military interventions in foreign conflicts and wars, will be happy to know the financial requirements for such constitutional obligations is not left to their individual families, but the government retains this critical function, no matter the misguided rhetoric from the right wing politicians and their surrogates. Individual families do not have direct responsibility for responding to situations that affect our national security, and with that comes the complex budget item called defense expenditures, which is probably the most difficult financial and economic responsibility that the government is least able to predict, because a lot of the activities of the DoD is dependent on our foreign policy and external foreign forces mostly beyond the sovereign borders of the USA. I am grateful, this task is not left to individual family's whims and caprices. Remember this humble rendition on defense budget allocation and spending!!
2. Department of Transportation [DoT] to construct the streets, highways, railways, waterways, bridges, airports and all associated transportation infrastructure, and by the way the budget should include costs for continuous improvements and maintenance. This should be a very important economic factor for our families, since our modes of transportation in these modern times, primarily determines most of our livelihood endeavors, because we need this transportation infrastructure to get to work so we can provide for our family needs. The benefits for the functions of the department of transportation are numerous and become more so in times of tragedies and transportation related incidents. For example, funding cuts in the state of Minnesota DoT became important in August 1, 2007 when the devastating bridge collapse over the Mississippi River occurred, and the world was shocked and devastated. National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB] is one of the obscured but important government agencies associated with transportation that becomes empaneled to investigate auto accidents, airplane crashes and other transportation infrastructure emergencies caused by natural events as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, a government agency function that help identify measures needed to mitigate such mishaps. These emergencies are handled by government, and I am grateful, this task is not left to individual family's whims and caprices. Remember this humble rendition on department of transportation budget allocation and spending!!
3. The US Treasury Department [US DT] to manage our monetary policy and currency to assure international trade and commerce required for the definition and functioning of our overall economy. We should remember the US Treasury exists to formulate and manage measures that allow for economic growth through government policies that support economic activities for job creation, private and public investment, and therefore, economic stability. US Treasury department is also responsible for the disbursement of payments to the public, revenue/tax collection, thus funds to run the federal government. I am sure, you would agree, this task should not be left to individual family's whims and caprices. Remember this humble rendition on department of treasury budget allocation and spending!! 
4. The US Department of Justice [DOJ] to maintain the legal system, the courts and law enforcement. It would be foolhardy to attempt to delve into all the workings of the US justice system, and further would be naive enough to believe the governmental functions for an effective justice system could be likened to any part of our individual family pursuit of justice in an advanced society as the USA. I am sure, the reader would agree, this task should not be left to individual family's whims and caprices. Remember this humble rendition on department of justice budget allocation and spending!
5. The US Department Health and Human Services, is the principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans [HHS - NIH, CDC ] and therefore the management of health care, and do not forget the associated hospitals and medical research centers required for our well being and therefore, the protection and maintenance of our overall lives. The NIH/CDC medical research and studies have and continue to provide us all with many remedies, treatments and therapies for many deadly diseases and ailments. This responsibility, I think the reader will agree, should be fully funded and continued since it is a primary component of our basic human survival and ultimate security, and the thought of managing this function like an individual family's approach to health security, should be frightening to all practical thinkers.
6. The other government functions: Immigration and Border enforcement to assure territorial integrity and national sovereignty; Department of State for foreign policy and inter-national relations; Homeland Security, FEMA and emergency management; and the many functions only the government is able to undertake, to assure our security and preserve our liberty.

These preceding examples should be enough to help make it clear to the US electorate the absurdity cloaked in the overly simplified political slogans and meaningless mantras from republicans especially the tea party republicans, about operating the government like they run their families. It is distressing that the democrats and rational political independents, do not seem to know how to formulate simple counter message to expose the truth and the realities presented here to the US electorate. I truly believe the electorate is already aware of marked differences, but need concise message articulation to make clear, and discredit the concerted republican panic tantrums that seem to dominate the public political mis-information. Where is Congressman Anthony Weiner [D-NY], when you need him? [I intend to send this link to Mr. Weiner and possibly Fmr. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)].

This blog posting is not to whole-heartedly endorse all aspects of governmental approaches to managing our daily societal problems and well being, but the alternative being proclaimed and sold to the US electorate is sickeningly ridiculous, utterly absurd and should be unacceptable to thinking human beings, unless these human beings subscribe, with warm embrace, to the empty headedness and lack of the application of intelligence permeating the republican party darlings led by the likes of Ms. Sarah Pailin and Ms. Michele Bachmann, where facts are considered a nuisance and knowledge and the application of the intellect is frowned upon as heresy, and the race to the bottom on the achievement ladder seems to be a cherished aspiration and prescription for the USA.

I can guarantee the reader of this blog hopefully does not subscribe to the race to the bottom mentality of the tea party republicans, but if they do, I will apologize later when appropriate, but the seriousness of the state of affairs in the USA, requires discussion on these topics which are mostly ignored by the media because it does not enhance their revenue stream which they successfully achieved through presentation of mindless tabloid based stories. As I write this blog, the report of a congressional budget deal is on the regular constant media loop of reporting, but no media outlet is embarking on the true details contained in the deals, and I will bet the rest of the population will be given the impression that one side or the order gained the upper hand or won the so called fight. No one believes the fraudulent and phony outrage of fiscal policy as claimed by the tea party republicans, because now we know their zeal is to deprive women of their health maintenance and reproductive rights [defunding Planned Parenthood]! It is mystifying to me why republican party and their women do not believe in the protection of the health and reproductive rights of women in general!

To end this blog, I call attention to a couple of facts:

• A great portion of the national debt [~$14.3 Trillion] is actually owed to the Social Security Trust Fund which is used to meet social security payments to our seniors, constituted from direct contribution from these seniors while they worked. The US congress in its infinite wisdom overtime has borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund [Some estimates are approx. $2.0 Trillion per budget cycle], and now all we hear from the right wing and tea party republicans is the call for reduction of social security benefits as a means to defray the accumulated debt. I hope fair minded Americans will resist such blatant unfairness towards our seniors. I think the government, not acting like a normal family unit, should honor its obligations.
• The normal families in the USA who are lucky enough to own their own homes, should not allow the right wing republicans to help them ignore the fact that these families all carry large debts called their Mortgages which in most cases persist for years. Furthermore, surprisingly they do not believe they should be forced to pay off their large mortgages at the time the obligations are incurred. Why will these same families, not withstanding their own debt loads, join the right wing republican refrain against the government carrying debt obligations necessary to maintain our US DOD, US DOT, US Treasury, US DOJ, US DHHS and the other worthwhile governmental functions?

I truly believe the refrain 'Run Government as a Family' is absurd and we all should be mindful not to be confused with ignorance contained in the misguided mantra! Let me hear your comments...