While Obama gives lofty speeches, his foreign policy is quickly unraveling. His Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, spent two days on Capital Hill attempting to explain what exactly is the Obama Administration's foreign policy.
What lawmakers heard was an ominous report of huge gains made by extremists, al-Qaida and the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Many Americans are concerned because Obama and his Democratic Party seem more focused on prosecuting Republicans from the Bush era for harsh interrogations of terrorists while ignoring Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was fully informed of waterboarding techniques in 2002. Obama has waffled on the issue in past days but presently claims that he will "not criminalize U.S. policy" but will go after "wrong doers."
Pelosi and other Democrats were meeting with CIA on aforementioned interrogation techniques in their official oversight role and raised no concerns about waterboarding terrorists to secure information that ultimately saved many American lives after 9-11. Because Pelosi and other Democrats were responsible for oversight and took no action, many believe they would also be indicted should Obama go forward with criminalizing US policies during the Bush Administration, becoming collatoral damage in the admininistration' s war against Republicans.
The idea of Obama focusing on a partisan witch hunt regarding waterboarding procedures while the Administration has committed at least 64,000 troops to the war in Afghanistan when the U.S. economy is in deep recession has Americans wondering if Obama has his priorities confused. Meanwhile Pakistan, a key ally in the Afghan war is under siege, further complicating Obama's struggle to define his foreign policy and defend the country.
Hillary Clinton has spent the past two days on Capital Hill attempting to clarify her foreign policy work for the Obama Administration. The Middle East has once again become a powder keg, with Taliban and al-Qaida forces enforcing control over a district only 60 miles from
Pakistan's capital. Islamic extremists killed a paramilitary officer, ransacked homes and set up check points. There are other reports that al-Qaida elements have infiltrated districts and locations even closer to Islamabad.
Clinton suggested to lawmakers that threatening to withhold $7.5 billion in American foreign aid money promised by Obama to Pakistan would diffuse the situation, but most dismiss that theory as false hope. Clinton was said to be frustrated that the Pakistani government had not put down the joint Taliban and al-Qaida surge. The Obama Administration called the situation "deeply disturbing."
Meanwhile, Obama has conceded in Iraq but has left more than 140,000 American troops on the ground. Hundreds of Iraqis have been killed by militants since Obama took office. With the American pull out dates announced and Senate leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) having declared the Iraq War lost, top Republicans say Obama is playing into the hands of al-Qaida and Islamic militants and extremists. Others are voicing concerns that Obama may be in over his head.
Many US and Pakistani officials recognize that Pakistan may be headed for all-out conflict. It is widely recognized that failure in Pakistan will allow militants to impose Islamic law and set up fiefdoms where al-Qaida and allied militants and terrorists can set up bases and enforce harsh Islamic law on the country. This could greatly impede on Obama's fledgling Afghanistan war escalation, create tensions between India and Pakistan, and hand the Taliban, Al-Qaida and their allies an enormous victory on Obama's watch.
An extremist group called the Taliban Movement of Pakistan is absorbing terrorists, militants and extremists from many sides and is playing a larger role in destabilizing Pakistan. Clinton seems to be losing her grip as Secretary of State, seeing the global situation slide into dangerous state of affairs that threatens to grow much worse in coming months. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party and its operatives are focused like a laser on their war against Republicans.
