Someone recently asked me for evidence...

I'm pretty particular about who I talk "politics" with... religion, too, for that matter... because I'm not the kind of person that wants to force my view on someone that can't or won't take the time or effort to see my point of view. Some people will discuss a topic like adults, listening to contrary opinions and weighing them against their own... while others will defend an established "position" like the 101st defended Bastogne in '44: no compromise and no surrender.

While talking with someone recently I posited that Obama was less than a year into his Presidency and was already reaping the rewards of failed foreign policy. That person then asked for evidence that his policies had failed (or were failing). I readily offered several, but these were dismissed nearly out of hand as vestigial remains of failed Bush policy, not something Obama dropped-the-ball on at all.

Of course, I conceded nothing... but I wasn't going to beat my head against a brick wall to try and show this particular Liberal why they were wrong. Instead, I'll do it here... and make myself feel a little better, anyway.

Iran:

Obama DID, in fact, say that he would have unilateral meetings with Iran with no preconditions. He has failed to bring to fruition any substantial coalition of allied nations that are willing to enforce sanctions against Iran if it continues to follow its stated goal of nuclear development. Iran continues to be the biggest supplier of arms and material to insurgents in both Iraq and Afghanistan (bigger even than China), and offers an "open border" to those insurgents that need somewhere to run to when the heat gets too much in Iraq.

Most telling, though, is the FACT that yesterday, Iran seized (by MILITARY FORCE) an oil drilling complex within established Iraqi territory, stating that the complex is actually on Iranian territory. Seventeen foreign nationals (including 7 Americans) have been detained by Iranians for extended periods of time on questionable and even ridiculous "charges" and then used as bargaining chips in their political game-playing. Iranian gun boats routinely harass and interdict coalition warships in the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz, putting the lives of hundreds (even thousands) of coalition sailors and marines at risk (mainly Americans) every day.

All this from a government that has ceaselessly supported terrorism against the US AND her allies (like Israel) for the last 30 years and continues to pump money and material into the insurgencies in both Iraq and Afghanistan while funding such terror outlets as Hammas, al Qeida and Hezbollah without rest. They have ALWAYS denied the Holocaust... and now even deny that 9-11 happened at all. Amazing.

RUSSIA:

Obama has seen the relationship with Russia grow, just as he promised. I maintain, however, that this growth and development has been exclusively at the expense of the United States and her allies. Example: Poland and the Czech Republic both spent MILLIONS of dollars on the preliminary facilities for the "missile defense shield" the US had promised to partner with them on (some estimates have gone as high as 3% of their respective GNPs) only to have Obama retract the promise and replace it with a vague promise of future cooperation via NATO agreements. This "change of direction" was at the very loud and very pointed complaining of Russia... who THEN refused to cooperate with the US on tougher sanctions against Iran. It would seem that better diplomatic relations with Obama take a back seat to more cash from Tehran.

Furthermore, while Obama has worked to reduce the influence of the US in the regions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia has worked tirelessly to INCREASE theirs. They have created 14 new brigade-sized units of rapid-response forces that are capable of intervening (in one manner or another) in less than 36 hours anywhere in the Eurasian continent. Our forces are being rotated out and end-date time lines are being established as we read this.

EUROPE:

Europe continues to move in its "left-leaning" direction via the Lisbon Treaty of the European Union... but more and more of the component states are electing "conservative" leadership, with Denmark, France, and Austria leading the way. I tend to credit this change in attitude by the European electorate to the economic realities of higher taxes forcing and prolonging the depressed market economies, but I also think that the growing influence of Russia and China are factors. If Europe is to thrive as a single economic and political power, it must be able to effectively compete with Russia, China and what is left of the US free-market economy. Liberal idealism and an environment of "hope" are not enough to guaranty success against the far more established and far less idealistic theaters found to the east of Europe.

These are the areas that I feel SHOW conclusively that Obama is failing in the area of foreign policy. Just my thoughts... I wanted to vent this all night long. :)