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Winning Issue
by Frank Gaffney, Jr.
Today's rematch of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is likely to be their
first of two in which the incumbent's record as Commander-in-Chief is
going to be a matter of direct debate. If last week's set-to
between their running mates is any guide, there will be opportunities
and perils for the challenger. It behooves Gov. Romney to
maximize the former and minimize the latter if he wants decisively to
defeat the President in these mass-audience settings, and in November.
Here's how he can do that:
One obvious way is to pick up on the success his partner, Rep. Paul
Ryan, had in exploring the run-up to, the events of and the Obama
administration's serial lies after the murderous attack last month on
our consulate in Benghazi. Mr. Romney can rebut the contention
that he is "politicizing" this incident by showing that it is a
teachable moment about the whirlwind we are going to reap from the
seeds sown in the Mideast and elsewhere by President Obama.
But it will not be enough to castigate the administration for failing
to protect our diplomatic personnel and facilities in a very dangerous
part of the world. The point is that, as a practical matter,
attacks on such targets must be deterred, not simply defended
against. And Mr. Obama not only is not deterring our enemies, he
is legitimating, enriching and emboldening them.
A case in point is the Muslim Brotherhood - the font of modern jihadism
and the wellspring of groups like al Qaeda, the Taliban, Gema'at
Islamiyya and others who engage in violence or "terrorism" as a
companion to the stealthy, pre-violent "civilization jihad" in which
the Brotherhood specializes. Where the Brothers are in charge,
terrorists are finding safe-havens and organizing for their holy war
against non-Islamist Muslims and the West. The attacks in Libya,
Egypt and elsewhere are but symptoms of the rising confidence of our
Islamist foes that America will submit to, not resist, their gathering
power.
By taking on President Obama squarely over his support for the Muslim
Brotherhood, Gov. Romney can make clear that he is not simply quibbling
about how many U.S. troops are left in places like Iraq and Afghanistan
and for how long, or a case of Monday morning quarterbacking about the
Libya debacle. Rather, they have a profound policy difference
rooted in Mr. Romney's recognition that the threat we face emanates not
just from al Qaeda, but from all those who, whatever their tactical or
sectarian disagreements, fundamentally share that group's commitment to
the triumph of the totalitarian, supremacist Islamic doctrine of
shariah. The Republican candidate must communicate a determination to
defeat, not accommodate, them.
The poster child for such accommodation could be Omar Abdul Rahman, the
jihadist cleric serving a life-sentence for fomenting multiple
terrorist plots in this country, including the first conspiracy to
destroy the World Trade Center in 1993. The Muslim Brotherhood's
Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has demanded the release of the
so-called "Blind Sheikh" and Mr. Romney could usefully announce that if
he's president, Abdul Rahman will die in American prison, period - and
call on Mr. Obama to say the same.
The American people need to have President Obama clarify his stance on
another front, as well. In March 2012, he was overheard conveying
a promise to Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin that he would have "more
flexibility after my last election." Mr. Romney can helpfully
establish whether, as seems likely, that would translate into: an even
more aggressive effort to pursue U.S. nuclear disarmament
(unilaterally, if necessary); concessions constraining missile
defenses; and acquiescence to Kremlin efforts to assert Russia's
authority worldwide, at America's expense. He can show that,
while we have engaged in such restraint in the name of "resetting"
relations, Putin is comprehensively modernizing the Russian nuclear
arsenal, conducting exercises simulating its use against us and
undermining U.S. interests around the globe.
Governor Romney must also show how President Obama has failed to warn
of, let alone effectively counter, the rising power of Communist
China. This is not simply a question of currency
manipulation. The PRC is also investing in: a massive military
build-up of highly threatening nuclear forces - including, for example,
four new long-range missiles and 3,000 miles of tunnels known as the
Underground Great Wall in which to hide them; anti-space capabilities;
and advanced conventional weaponry (notably, two new stealth
aircraft). At the same time, it is threatening war with our ally,
Japan, and claiming sovereignty over virtually the entire South China
Sea.
Mr. Obama's response is a so-called "pivot" to Asia. The Republican
challenger can point out that this is seen by Beijing for what it is:
the unresourced - and, therefore, meaningless - machinations of a paper
tiger. No matter how many times Obama-Biden say it, America's
military leaders are not in favor of the sorts of budget cuts that are
validating such perceptions by eviscerating our defenses and especially
our power-projection capabilities.
Governor Romney has already taken President Obama to task for declaring
that he does not regard Venezuela's rabidly anti-American dictator as a
threat. Now that Chavez has engineered his reelection, we are
likely to see even more evidence of how wrong Team Obama is in
discounting the danger posed by a regime that has: turned Venezuela
into a despotically misruled and dangerous armed camp; forged alliances
with Iran, China, Russia, Cuba, Hamas, Hezbollah and other foes of the
United States and brought to power like-minded proxies throughout the
region; and agreed to place in Venezuela Iranian missiles capable of
reaching the United States.
In the course of the 2008 election, Barack Obama famously declared that
he was going to "fundamentally transform the United States" by, among
other things, redistributing wealth. He has, since gaining the
presidency, pursued another, less-recognized transformational
agenda: Call it redistributing American power. A recent
poll sponsored by the Foreign Policy Initiative suggests the voters
overwhelmingly reject such a practice. By focusing on the foregoing,
winning issues in the remaining days of this campaign, Governor Romney
can enlist - and deserve - their support.
Source: centerforsecuritypolicy.org
Read this and other articles at Mail Magazine 24
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