Michael Ledeen is a zionist warmonger who should be deported, along with his entire family, to their home in israel.
On Friday, January 3, 2014 10:14:38 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > 2014: The World Without America. Or Is It? > > Posted By *Michael Ledeen* On January 1, 2014 > > At the end of last year, President Obama was in Hawaii. French President > Hollande was in Saudi Arabia, whose leaders openly declare their contempt > for American leaders. Obama is basically having fun. Hollande and the royal > family are basically doing strategy. They are designing actions to advance > their interests in the new world; not, as is often said, a world without > America, but a world in which American leaders have turned against America. > > Which is not an easy task. > > Those of us who lived abroad during the Cold War were given a window that > was closed to our fellow citizens back home: if our eyes and ears and, > above all, our noses were sufficiently sensitive, we could understand the > importance of America, which defined the world for quite a while. Most of > my years abroad were in Italy, and I was constantly amazed by Italians’ > assumption that, over in Washington and New York, as in Hollywood and > Detroit, “the Americans” were following Italian affairs in great detail. > One day an important national leader asked me, “What do they think in > Washington about Aldo Moro’s editorial in today’s *Corriere della Sera*? > I didn’t have the heart to tell him that maybe three people in Washington > might have read it, or that fewer than a dozen had ever heard of Aldo Moro. > > The point being that all over the world, the people who mattered always > had an eye on America, assumed that America was watching them and had plans > for them, and thought that at the end of the day America was likely to be > decisive in their future. > > These convictions, most of which were fantasies, became even stronger when > the Soviet Empire imploded, in the Bush-Clinton-Bush era when America was > the lone superpower. One way or another, the world had to come to terms > with the United States, because there was no effective counterforce, and, > aside from a few fanatics, no one could imagine a fundamental change. Who > could challenge American power? Our enemies had to be very careful, our > friends felt very comfortable, and the events of those years–our > intervention in the Balkans, our smashing of Saddam when he ventured into > Kuwait–removed any delusions of grandeur by would-be uppity nations. > > American hegemony wasn’t limited to military power, but encompassed the > most basic components of the modern world, from Internet and its attendant > gadgets and technologies (Microsoft, Apple, Google…) to movies, scholarship > and literature. America was omnipresent and omnipotent. When the fanatics > attacked us on 9/11, we destroyed the Taliban in Afghanistan in record > time, and countries with some military capacity begged to join us. > > Omnipresent and omnipotent. As al-Qaeda scrambled to find safe havens, we > prepared to invade Iraq, and the invasion was a further demonstration of > American might. To be sure, there were problems. Big problems, even. But > at the end of the day, al-Qaeda was smashed in Iraq, tyrants like Qadaffi > scrambled to appease us, and our key allies, from NATO to Israel, Jordan, > Egypt and Saudi Arabia, felt mighty secure. And Saddam was gone. > > And then, poof! We opted out. Because we’re like that. Nothing new. It’s > not “war weariness”; it’s the way we are. But also because Obama, which is > something very new, and even harder to understand. > > Actually, we never wanted in. Just think at how Bush the Elder scolded us, > lest we even thought about celebrating the fall of the Soviet Empire. > Americans’ typical view of “normal” is a world at peace, where we all try > to get along, because, you know, we’re all basically the same, and we’re > all basically good. People like that don’t have an imperial vocation. > Without 9/11, Bush the Younger wouldn’t have spent much time on foreign > policy. He’d have devoted most of his energies to being compassionate. > > Most of the rest of the world doesn’t think that way. Most of the rest of > the world agrees with Machiavelli’s first principle: “Man is more inclined > to do evil than to do good.” Which is why most of the rest of the world is > either at war, or preparing for war, and it is very hard for them to > believe that we really do want to opt out. We’ve been so engaged and so > powerful for so long, that they can’t imagine that we have really turned > tail. Most of the French still believe we read *Le Monde* every day, and > most Saudis probably still believe that our CIA station in the kingdom is > there to tell them what to do. > > Never mind that Obama and his buddies told everyone they wanted out. > Never mind that our abandonment of Israel was clear before the end of > Obama’s first year in office. Nobody out there in the real world could > believe it. They assumed that we were being cleverly deceptive, that any > pullback would be temporary, and that we would remain committed to our > long-standing basic principles. Democratic, pro-Western allies would be > treated like the friends they wish to be, and tyrannical, anti-American > enemies would be recognized as such. Ergo, the mission for the French and > the Saudis, and all the others, was to remain engaged with us, to keep > reminding us of our common imperatives, and to help us “understand” our > common menaces. > > Why? So that we’d act when it became necessary, and they would have a > voice in our actions. We’d help Europe withstand an aggressive Russia, > we’d help our Middle Eastern friends resist Iran, we’d help the Africans > resist jihad, and we’d support Latin American democrats. > > Good strategy over the years, but not today. The world is painfully > coming to grips with something that no one could begin to imagine before > 2009: a world in which America’s leaders are opposed to the America of the > past, and opposed to traditional American values. Leaders who think America > has been a force for evil, and consequently must be restrained, weakened, > and disarmed if possible. Leaders who embrace our enemies, and ditch our > old friends. Leaders who support Iranian tyrants when the Iranian people > take to the streets, risking everything for democracy. Leaders who release > men who murdered American soldiers, and who demand the Israelis do the > same. Leaders who enable Syria’s Assad to prevail, and who favor the likes > of Turkey’s Erdogan as our privileged interlocutor. Leaders who embrace > Venezuela’s Chavez, and who support an anti-democratic coup in Honduras, > and who do all they can to empower the Muslim Brotherhood, who hate us and > want us dead or dominated. > > It’s hard to accept all this. It’s hard to accept anything that has > never happened before, let alone something that seems so contrary to both > logic and human nature. But there it is. I rather suspect that the French > and the Saudis have accepted it. I suspect they now know that we’re not > living in a world without America, but a world with an anti-American > administration in power in Washington. > > It’s hard to accept it, but it’s not hard to explain. It’s what happens > when the advocates of cultural and political relativism–aka > multiculturalism–take over the schools, and indoctrinate a generation to > believe that America is exceptionally bad, not exceptionally good. Obama, > Kerry, Hillary, et al, are the products and paladins of that intellectual > and cultural catastrophe. As are the majority of the writers, > broadcasters, and publishers. > > Can the catastrophe be undone? Nobody knows. Nor does anyone know how > long it may take to undo it, if indeed it’s possible. If it *is*possible, > then countries like France and Saudi Arabia are going to have to > change their behavior to cope with the new world. They no longer have the > lazy luxury of beating us up for doing what they want and expect us to do. > They’re going to have to start doing it themselves. > > We’ll find out pretty soon if they’re up to it. > ------------------------------ > > Article printed from Faster, Please!: *http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen > <http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen>* > > URL to article: > *http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2014/01/01/2014-the-world-without-america-or-is-it/ > > <http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2014/01/01/2014-the-world-without-america-or-is-it/>* > > > > > __._,_.___ > > > > > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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