Monday, March 3, 2014
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Ukraine & The U.S.
Over the weekend, Russian troops invaded the Crimean Peninsula, a critically important region of Ukraine. Obama’s response has been flailing. Already we are seeing hints that he will deploy his usual strategy, which is to drag out a straw man.
Whenever the left gets in a bind for promoting failed policy, it goes on the attack, accusing conservatives of having policies we do not have. Liberals will say, “After Iraq and Afghanistan, conservatives might think twice about sending troops to Ukraine.” No one has suggested sending American troops to Ukraine.
At the same time, it is important to understand why we are involved. In 1994, the United States and Russia signed a treaty guaranteeing Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for Ukraine giving up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons, which it did. Russia has just violated that treaty. The world is watching to see if America will honor its commitments.
The White House has issued some statements, but there is much more Obama could do. His statements against the Russian invasion could be at least as strong as his condemnations of the Tea Party or those who believe in traditional marriage.
The Canadians are threatening to expel the Russian ambassador. Why haven’t we done so yet? The next G-8 economic summit is scheduled to take place in Sochi, Russia, this summer. We announced that we would “suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation” of the summit.
Obama should tell Putin there will be no G-8 summit in Sochi. In fact, we should start an effort to kick Russia out of the G-8 so long as Russian troops remain in Ukraine.
There are numerous Russian billionaires in the United States. No doubt some of them obtained their wealth through less than ethical means. We should pull their visas until Russia stops its aggression.
Obama’s State Department should stop obsessing over homosexual rights in Uganda, and start putting more effort into protecting the human rights of everyone, particularly citizens in nations close to Russian power.
Russia has been in decline for decades. The only significant assets it has are oil and natural gas. Obama should announce that construction of the Keystone XL pipeline will be expedited as a matter of economic and national security.
He should declare that the United States and Canada are going all-out to develop our own natural resources to collapse Russia’s advantage, and that America will help Israel develop recently discovered natural gas fields.
I don’t often agree with the liberal Washington Post. But yesterday the Post began an editorial with this sentence: “For five years, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality.”
In other words, hope is not a foreign policy.
Bibi vs. Barack
Prime Minister Netanyahu arrived in the United States today and was greeted by an article in which Obama said that Israel’s future was limited if Netanyahu did not agree to his demands in the so-called “peace process.” Obama warned that Israel was facing a “demographic disaster,” and that the United States may not be able to manage the “international fallout” if Israel refuses to make a deal with the Palestinians, who still refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Sure, Israel has problems. Every nation does. But by most measures, Israel is thriving. It has turned the desert into an oasis. It has discovered vast energy reserves. Its scientists and researchers continue to make dramatic breakthroughs.
If Israel is facing a bleak future, it is largely because feckless western leaders are empowering the Islamists who are threatening Israel’s future.
Disney Abandons The Boy Scouts
You may recall the controversy surrounding the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The BSA has wrestled with its membership policy in recent years due to constant pressure from the militant homosexual movement.
Last year the Boy Scouts decided to allow openly homosexual boys to be part of its program. But it wisely maintained the prohibition on homosexual adults serving as counselors.
It did so for the same reason that many female youth groups discourage male adult counselors. Ninety-nine times out of 100, there probably won’t be any issues. But that one time is an unacceptable tragedy.
But, as we warned, the BSA’s compromise is not good enough for the left and many corporate tolerance czars. Disney announced that it will no longer support local Boy Scout troops.
A spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest homosexual rights lobbying group, applauded Disney’s decision, saying, “When you think about brands that exemplify childhood, you think of Disney, and with them dissociating with BSA, it speaks volumes of where we are with the views we want to send to young people.”
It speaks volumes, alright. Forget declining moral values. It seems our culture is increasingly throwing common sense out the window too.
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