The Obama administration has been on it's heel attempting to fight off the onslaught of the Republican attack about it's Libyan policies. This attack is led by Mitt Romney who is working hard to gain some foreign policy leverage. The Obama administration seems to be losing this battle due to poor crisis management communication.
From the beginning of the fateful event; where the American embassy was stormed, resulting in the death of four Americans, the administration has been unable to get its act together in presenting a cohesive explanation of events to the satisfaction of the public. Instead, they have allowed the republicans to frame the narrative, thereby putting the Whitehouse on the defensive. This is disappointing especially when the administration has a superior grasp of the issue. It is time for the Whitehouse to regroup and put together a clear narrative of events and effectively communicate this to the American public. President Obama has the opportunity to do this in the next debate.
This is the real story from an intelligent perspective. President Obama has demonstrated great strength in foreign policy. He ended the war in Iraq as promised, he killed Osama Bin Laden, and he is winding down the war in Afghanistan. He has kept America from massive terrorist attack in his first term in contrast to George Bush. He cleverly executed the toppling of despotic leaders across the Middle East especially Mubarak and Khadafy. He is applying the squeeze on Iran like never before. He has chased terrorist across the globe and ended the life of many of its leaders. He undoubtedly is a warrior president. The republicans resent this success and have been fuming and fretting about President Obama's undeniable superior commander in chief status.
The republicans are ruthless ideologues and will stop at nothing to bring down president Obama even at the expense of the country. They want really bad things to happen to America so they can blame president Obama.
Some group in the United States conspired and produced a video that denigrated and insulted the prophet Mohammed and Islam. This movie was intended to incite riots, chaos and upheaval in the Muslim world. It is a known historical fact that such reaction is expected when ever such vitriolic material is disseminated. The perpetrators knew this fact well. The target of the ensuing anger was to be directed at the United States with predictable dire consequences.
The ultimate aim of the conspirators was to create a global diplomatic crisis for president Obama, thereby weakening his position on foreign affairs and embarrassing his administration. This whole affair is intended to turn Obama's strength into weakness, a form of swift boating that republicans are good at. The conspirators had their way but the Obama administration misfired in responding to the crisis.
The reality is that thousands of people out there are always plotting to hurt or kill Americans in the Muslim world. Some will be deliberate in initiating their effort, while others will be opportunistic. The event in Libya was opportunistic. The video provided the smokescreen to launch an attack that has been plotted earlier. There was no actionable intelligence that could have prevented the attack. Even if the demand to boost security was met, it would have made no difference in the attack outcome according to congressional testimony.
Secretary Susan Wright was correct when she reported to the nation that the attack was spontaneous. It was reasonable to assert that claim given what was happening in the region. The other set of facts could only come after the smoke might have cleared and proper assessment made to determine the full context of events. This was a natural progression and it should have been recorded and reported accordingly. This is where the administration dropped the ball. The president should read this diary and take a bold stand and explain this crisis clearly to the public in order to stop the republicans on their track.
Wordtodawise