American Leadership Needed in a Chaotic World
Four Americans lost their lives in the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels, in which more than 30 people were killed and nearly 100 more were wounded.
This tragedy in Brussels is the latest in a series of terror attacks by ISIS which have taken hundreds of innocent lives and grieved the world. Not only has ISIS attacked our allies through coordinated assaults on Europe, but ISIS followers also carried out an attack on American soil only a few short months ago in San Bernardino.
We need a comprehensive plan to destroy ISIS. Unfortunately, President Obama and his administration continue to underestimate this terrorist organization and other threats our country faces around the world.
When the Brussels attacks took place, President Obama was in Cuba. He dedicated less than one minute to speaking about the attacks and then continued with a planned 40-minute speech to the Cuban people. Mere hours after the attacks, President Obama and his family attended a baseball game with Raúl Castro.
President Obama should have cut his Cuba trip short and returned to Washington to convene a meeting of the National Security Council to assess any further threats as well as the status of U.S. civilians killed or wounded. Instead, Americans saw photos of their President smiling in stadium stands with a Cuban dictator amidst breaking news banners detailing the latest updates on the carnage in Brussels.
ISIS is not the only threat we face. This week, North Korea fired yet another missile and threatened nuclear war on the U.S. in a propaganda video. The regime also continues to hold U.S. citizens in large prison camps known for egregious human rights violations. Instead of addressing these offenses, the Obama administration is allowing North Korea to strengthen its arsenal and threaten our homeland.
North Korea is a topic of discussion this week at President Obama’s nuclear security summit in Washington, D.C. However, the President’s nuclear agreement with Iran has emboldened their leadership and made their acquisition of nuclear weapons more likely. The Obama administration’s track record of alienating our allies and disengaging from world affairs has empowered those who wish to do our country harm.
I do not believe American leadership means policing the world or putting boots on the ground in every conflict. However, we must establish long-term strategies and keep all options on the table for defeating our enemies. We also should not tell our enemies what we will or will not do.
The Obama administration’s poor foreign policy decisions have harmed our standing among global powers, but I hope the next administration will reassert President Ronald Reagan’s policy of peace through strength. American leadership is deeply needed to quell the chaos in our world today. We cannot afford continued weakness.