What about axis of evil?
Op-ed: After turning his back on ally Mubarak, will President Obama confront Iran?
There are those that compare the fall of Hosni Mubarak to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wall’s fall cascaded to communism’s crumble in Eastern Europe, but will the end of Mubarak’s rule in Egypt lead to the end of autocracy and perhaps theocracy in the Middle East? Wishful thinking, but no one really knows.
Most Middle East “experts” have been completely wrong throughout the unraveling of this revolution. That might actually be a good sign. Most of the sophisticated Soviet “experts” expected the Cold War to last forever, even a week before its conclusion.
One thing is certain: For freedom to be found in the Middle East, the tyrants in Tehran, Syria and other such states need to go. So should their proxies in Hezbollah and Hamas.
George W. Bush dubbed those terrorist entities as the “axis of evil.” He continued to depict them as such even when it became increasingly unpopular to do so. Bush did not believe democracy was beyond Muslims, as most “experts” claimed, and many still do.
President Obama’s Middle East policy has been a peculiar one. On June 4th, 2009, six short months after his inauguration, Obama delivered his famous Cairo speech. He graciously thanked his hosts’ hospitality and said they represent the “harmony between tradition and progress.” Last week, Obama said President Mubarak was a true Egyptian “patriot” who “cares about his country.” But when the man who secured stability for his people and the region by confronting Islamic extremists for nearly three decades was at a weak point, President Obama helped shove him out, comparing his opposition to Martin Luther King.
The American way
Obama’s policy has been steered by seasoned advisors and public opinion polls. He even has a Pulitzer prized prima donna named Friedman trying to convince him that the world is in fact flat. The American president has tried to please as many as possible as often as possible. However, if he wants to succeed, he should disregard short-sighted tactical maneuvers and be faithful to the longtime American way.
Throughout America’s 235-year history, US presidents have often stood by freedom and stared down dictators. Woodrow Wilson was the first to fight a faraway war as he hoped to achieve lasting peace and self-determination for all. Roosevelt came to the Allies’ rescue in WWII, and Truman sacrificed thousands of Americans in a Korean war, because he knew that “freedom was not for free.” Reagan heavily invested in star wars to bring down Communism and the first Bush stormed the desert to kick Saddam out of Kuwait. A decade later, the second Bush kicked Osama bin Laden out of Afghanistan and Saddam out of Iraq – forever.
In a little more than two years of presidency, Obama has managed to miss what might be a once in a generation opportunity to facilitate freedom in Iran, as he stood still when outraged students protested a rigged election. He has also proven on more than one occasion that he knows how to turn his back on old allies. Now, for the first time, will President Obama show he is capable of confronting the axis of evil?
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