In a Washington Post opinion piece entitled "Only Obama can fix his broken foreign policy" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-only-obama-can-fix-his-broken-foreign-policy/2014/01/10/d0cb9c9a-797d-11e3-b1c5-739e63e9c9a7_story.html?hpid=z2), Ignatius finally acknowledges that Obama's foreign policy has been a catastrophe:
"Reading the devastating memoir by former defense secretary Robert Gates, people are likely to ask the same troubling questions that emerge from the morning newspapers these days: How did the Obama administration’s foreign policy process get so broken, and how can it be put back together?
. . . .
White House officials are upset about the book. But they should use it as an opportunity to examine the deeper question of how the foreign policy process got so damaged and what they can do to repair it.
If anything, the situation is worse now than when Gates was at the Pentagon."
Was does Obama cheerleader Ignatius suggest that the president do to remedy this situation? Simple! Fearless Leader should manage foreign policy by himself:
"The reality is that Obama needs to own his foreign policy. He needs to be more strategic and less political. He needs to set a vision and articulate it to allies and adversaries. His national security adviser needs to help him focus and communicate policy decisions. These criticisms were true in the era Gates describes, when the president was surrounded by strong personalities. It’s even true now, when the cast is less experienced.
An example of how Obama can drive policy is his approach to Iran. In dealing with Tehran, Obama has been strategic and disciplined, opening the door to negotiations on the nuclear issue and forming a U.N. coalition for tough sanctions to pressure Iran into dialogue."
Yup, Obama should manage all of American foreign policy just like he is handling Iran, "strategic and disciplined." Yeah, right. As Democratic Senator Robert Menendez acknowledged yesterday in a Washington Post opinion piece entitled "A diplomatic insurance policy against Iran" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-diplomatic-insurance-policy-against-iran/2014/01/09/f50ec8dc-77b8-11e3-af7f-13bf0e9965f6_story.html):
"The need for additional prospective sanctions is already clear. Since an agreement was reached in Geneva in November:
●Iran has continued elements of construction in Arak, a heavy-water nuclear reactor site that, if completed, would provide an alternate plutonium track to a nuclear weapon.
●Iran announced that it is building a new generation of centrifuges for uranium enrichment and conceded that it has 19,000 centrifuges, a thousand more than previously disclosed.
●The Iranians fired a rocket into space, expanding their space technology program and improving their ability to develop a long-range ballistic missile.
●Iranian lawmakers have proposed legislation to enrich uranium up to 60 percent, well beyond any potential use for peaceful purposes.
●And when the Treasury Department blacklisted 19 companies for sanctions evasion last month, the Iranians, demonstrating their customary bluff-and-bluster techniques, walked out of negotiations."
Senator Menendez doesn't mention the recent transfer of long-range Scud missiles from Syria to Hezbollah, ordered by Tehran.
Yup, given his "successful" hands-on secret negotiations with Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei in Oman, let's have Barry manage the rest of it.
It should prove just as successful as Obamacare.
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