Mood:
sharpTopic: "Obama Doctrine" (5)
Frodo remembers the unease upon the countenance of the Governor of Alaska as she attempted to respond to Charlie Gibson of ABC News. She had absolutely no idea what the "Bush Doctrine" was, and it was unlikely that very many of the tuned-in viewers could have handled the question flawlessly. What bothered Frodo was that the reaction would have been identical had Gibson referred to the "Monroe Doctrine." It is a rare moment, indeed, when many Americans can discuss strategy, much less spell it, or pronounce it correctly.
On Saturday, September 26, 2009, President Barack Obama coupled the words which follow.
"My administration has renewed American leadership, and pursued a new era of engagement in which we call upon all nations to live up to their responsibilities. . .We achieved. . . a new commitment to meet common challenges, and real progress in advancing America's national security and economic prosperity."
The "Obama Doctrine," so dubbed by Frodo, is an affirmation of joint responsibility and obligation by the civilized nations of the world in order to cope with unstable governments or unsophisticated leadership. There is a general recognition that threats may arise from a variety of sources, and that a united response is both diplomatically and militarily desirable. Unilateral action by any nation, weak or strong, lessens the possibility for peaceful resolution of situations with increasing potential impact on all the peoples of the world.
Briefly, the President indicated his resolve to work with other powerful nations of the world, rather than to act unilaterally, by stopping the implementation of a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. The Russians responded by casting a vote, rather than a characteristic Soviet Era veto, with the entire Security Council of the United Nations, making the vote 15-0, in advocating an end to nuclear weapons proliferation. The Chinese joined in support of the proposal initiated by the current Chair of the Security Council, The United States of America. Noteworthy was the fact that Barack Obama, personally, chaired the meeting.
The United States followed this action with a public announcement of the existence of a nuclear facility in Iran, which the Iranian President had neglected to mention, and averred that this was a serious flaunting of the agreements for inspection by all signatories to the UN Charter. The Iranians, in anticipation of this announcement attempted to comply both verbally, and in writing. The President of the United States, joined at the podium by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and the President of France, threatened the Iranian Government with consequences that were openly supported by the German Prime Minister, and by the absence of any objections from either Russia or China.
In effect, these nations of the world all turned their missiles in the same direction.
At the same time, the wildcard, Israel, found itself in the position of being put on notice that it would be very unwise for their government to act unilaterally. Despite their perceptions of threat, the Israelis were being advised that an assault on Israeli sovereignty would not occur with impunity. Interestingly, during a number of televised interviews Mr. Netanjahu emphasized, and re-emphasized, that "high-level" contact with the Obama Administration took place weekly. The message had been received.
The forum provided by the United Nations allowed the part and parcel of the American international political strategy to be introduced to all the nations of the world, as well as to demonstrate its potential for dealing with conflict resolution.
Frodo can't help but be reminded of Dumas, and those in his great novel who crossed their swords, and proclaimed "One for All, and All for One."
You were there, at the birth of the Obama Doctrine. For those of you so inclined, Frodo would have no objection with anyone forwarding this piece to the former Governor of Alaska (Just tell her it is an article in the latest edition of "Sports Illustrated").
