NewsRealBlog
2010 April 11
It is becoming increasingly obvious that the Obama doctrine is, “I’m not Bush so please love us.”
The recent brouhaha over comments made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai has created a schism in the Obama Administration over the posture America should take towards the controversial leader going forward. Initially the Administration tried a hard line towards Karzai, and referred to his remarks as “troubling,” but the intransigence of the Afghan leader has lead to a change in strategy.
On “Face the Nation” Sunday Bob Schieffer reported,
“…the Administration has decided now to see if being nicer to Karzai will be more productive.”The Obama Administration trotted out Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the Sunday shows to signal a marked change in the American demeanor towards Karzai. The new approach is to signal our support and understanding for the troubled leader.
Here we have yet another tenet of the Obama doctrine. It has become sacrosanct with this Administration to fall back, not on strength, but on some naive assumption that we can somehow change the world through an Obama charm offensive.
How to handle Karzai is a dilemma not easily solved, but I think we can be reasonably certain that Obama is not going to tame obstreperous heads of state by buying the world a Coke and hoping they will join hands on a hilltop and sing about peace and harmony.
