“Superpower Interruptus:” Andy Martin says Barack Obama has neutered the United States

Republican Party Presidential Candidate and conservative columnist Andy Martin draws on foreign experience spanning parts of six decades to conclude that Barack Obama has effectively neutered American foreign policy and shut down the United States as a “superpower.” Martin says Obama’s refusal to aid the Libyan rebels is a disgrace. Martin says Obama actually intends to humiliate the US by rendering America a helpless, indecisive “pygmy giant.”

Reminder: Andy Martin is being interviewed on San Francisco radio, Sunday March 6th at Noon EST

NEWS FROM:

ANDY MARTIN /2012

“The Right Republican” for

President of the United States

www.AndyMartinforPresident.com

E-mail: Andy@AndyMartinforPresident.com

Campaign mail:

P. O. Box 1851

New York, NY 10150-1851

(866) 706-2639

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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Republican Party Presidential Candidate and conservative columnist Andy Martin will be a guest on the KGO-Newstalk 810 Brian Copeland Show Sunday, March 6th. Be sure to listen or download the podcast of what is certain to be an exciting program. http://www.kgoam810.com Time: 9:00 A.M. PST, Noon EST

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Republican Presidential Candidate Andy Martin says Barack Obama is succeeding in dismantling the United States as a world power

Martin says the “shame” of Obama’s dilly-dallying as helpless Libyan patriots are slaughtered confirms that Obama’s “policy” is to render the United States “neutered” in foreign policy

(PALM BEACH, FL)(March 6, 2011) Ask any veteran who has seen real combat and they will tell you war is something to be avoided at all costs. While I have never been on active military duty I have found myself in some of the world’s hot spots since the mid-sixties. When you see young Marines being sacrificed for policies of uncertain logic you want to scream. But can’t.

When you see “locals” literally hacking their opponents to pieces and dumping them in the town square, butcher shop-style, you see the unlimited potential for intra-species cruelty.

Surprise: Andy Martin is the only 2012 presidential candidate who has ever seen combat, ever been shot at, ever worked overseas in war zones and hostile territory. Ask any cop if he would like his precinct or district to be led by a commander who never heard a round fired in anger. Ask any soldier or Marine how they feel about being led into battle by an officer who has no battle experience.

And so I am the only one who has seen the real world up close. It startled me when I realized that is the case. “Where have all the veterans gone?”

Why is real world experience so critical? Under fire, you learn limits of life by experiencing those limits, by seeing limits in action. By seeing someone’s son or daughter blown up for a “policy” or no “policy.” You see the human costs of mistakes made in Washington.

I am no rah-rah cheerleader for war, far from it. Ironically I may hold the strongest and most muscular foreign policy positions as well as the most dovish views of any presidential candidate. All at the same time. Go figure.

But, let me suggest that I’m what you want in a president. The one who can really answer the 3:00 A.M. phone call of Hillary Clinton’s famous ad.

I am someone willing to fight when necessary, and avoid unnecessary fights when possible.

Let’s take a look at my foreign policy record over the past twelve years (I’m the only presidential candidate in the Republican Party with an actual policy record you can read on the Internet):

1999 - I correctly predicted that George Bush was planning to start a war with Iraq. He did.

2003 - I actively opposed the invasion of Iraq, marched against the invasion, and said the invasion of Iraq would lead to the ascendancy of Iran and endanger Israel. Which is exactly what happened.

2003 – Living in Baghdad, I predicted the post-invasion Bush policy in Iraq was delusional and would only lead to chaos. (Republicans attacked me for predicting the rise of the Iraqi resistance). Once again I was right.

2006 - I predicted Bush’s “surge” in Iraq would succeed because Democrats would tap dance around the build-up but never shut down support for the troops. It was a gutsy prediction, but correct.

2006 - I predicted the American people were wearying of the endless confrontation in Iraq; Bush needed to sharpen his policy to address that reality. I warned of an electoral disaster. Republicans attacked me in the spring, and paid the price for their obstinacy and blindness in November.

2008-2010 - I have become increasingly skeptical of the massive investment in Afghanistan. I favor scaling down the commitment because it is undermining our overall readiness. I do not favor sending an additional dollar to the Karzai regime. Republicans are still rah-rah about Afghanistan. Why?

2011 - I have been referring to the “Mubarak Dictatorship” for the past decade. No, I did not predict that one accidental murder in Tunisia would ignite a firestorm across the Arab world, but now that the fires are burning I understand their long-term significance and opportunity for the United States.

My long-term readers (i.e. those going back before I became a presidential candidate) have followed my foreign policy writings and know I have a steady hand, and a sure one, when it comes to taking the pulse of our foreign exposure.

I have never liked the term “superpower” because the term is flatulent, fatuous and ignorant. In my time overseas, I have always worked to be as inconspicuous as possible, sometimes even adopting a foreign persona. I speak several languages and have studied Chinese, Arabic and others. So no, I have never gone around pounding on my chest and claiming to be the citizen of a superpower. Quite the contrary.

Which brings me to President Barack Obama. And Libya.

Let me give Obama credit for something, at least one thing. Obama is the greatest “word boxer” since Cassius Clay, who morphed into Muhammad Ali.

There is no doubt that an authentic, indigenous revolution has erupted in Libya. Only Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a man for whom I have enormous respect, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for whom I have some respect but not a lot, seem to lack an awareness of the authenticity of the Libyan rebellion.

Gates has come up with one of the great bloopers of Pentagon b.s. Libya is a “big country,” Gates said. Gates also suggested we would have to attack Libya to impose a no-fly zone. Wrong. Finally, Gates and Clinton, speaking as the mouthpieces of Obama, refuse to render military assistance to the Libyan resistance. This is 1956 and the Hungarian Revolution all over again (where, ironically, President Eisenhower correctly avoided triggering a larger war in Europe).

But where is the risk of a larger war in Libya? Are we afraid of the Tunisians? Or Egyptians?

In point of fact, I do not advocate a uniformed military landing in Libya.

I believe that a handful of Special Forces, Delta Forces and CIA operatives could help the Libyan rebellion succeed with no visible uniformed American presence on the ground.

After the CIA and Special Forces went after the Taliban in 2001, it was surprising just how few Americans were involved in leading the Northern Alliance to victory. It wasn’t even a reinforced battalion of men. As I studied the photographs and histories of the CIA’s role in Afghanistan I realized “war” had entered a new phase in our international lexicon. No longer did we face a choice between doing nothing and deploying an army.

In Libya, the cost of acting is infinitesimal. The cost of not acting, and allowing Qaddafi to survive, is devastating. So why isn’t Obama taking a minimal risk to achieve a maximum return?

Superpower interruptus.

Barack Obama has basically shut down the United States overseas. Obama has achieved through his ballots what the Soviet Union and Communist China never achieved through bullets. Obama just sits back silently, helpless and hapless, as the world explodes and as potentially controllable forces spin out of control. Obama wants to diminish the United States. And he is succeeding.

To be clear: I do not advocate putting uniformed American forces in any Arab country. In this I agree with the recent remarks of Secretary Gates. I opposed the “invasion approach” when it began in 2003, and I oppose it now. But the role of the clandestine services cannot be allowed to evaporate as an effective foreign policy alternative.

In Egypt noting was needed. An Obama did nothing. In Libya something is needed. And Obama is still doing nothing. “For want of a nail,” Libya could be consigned to years more of Qaddafi terror and corruption. Libyans deserve better.

Americans deserve better.

Obama’s “Superpower Interruptus” is going to create instabilities that will have to be corrected and cleaned up by the next president. Right now I may only be an outlier among the Republican presidential candidates. But I am the only one with the steady hand and the experienced eye to see us through the dark night of Obama Interruptus. We will need to restore America’s role after Obama is removed from the White House. We can run, but we can’t hide from the reality of America’s role in the world.

Debates anyone?

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LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

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LISTEN TO ANDY’S TALK RADIO INTERVIEWS (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

http://www.briantilton.com/

[See February 22nd and 18th entries; also December 29th entry for two-part podcast]

To hear Andy in Denver go to www.khow.com, click on Peter Boyles show, go to left margin for “Past Shows” and look for February 14, January 26, 21 and 7, 2011 and December 31, 2010 Andy Martin audio (you can download) (some Boyles shows can also be heard on EinhornPress link below)

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ABOUT ANDY: Chicago Public Radio calls Andy Martin a “boisterous Internet activist.” Andy is the legendary New York and Chicago-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. He has over forty years of background in radio and television and is the dean of Illinois media and communications. He promotes his best-selling book, “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and his Internet movie "Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Martin has been a leading corruption fighter in Illinois for over forty years. He is currently sponsoring www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us

Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” www.ContrarianCommentary.com. He comments on regional, national and world events with more than four decades of investigative and analytical experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

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Andy's columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com.

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[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2011 – All Rights Reserved

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