10 QUESTIONS FOR BOB SCHIEFFER TO ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA IN MONDAY’S DEBATE
- Hopefully, Bob Schieffer will be the least openlypro-Obama and otherwise partisan of the four moderators in this year’spresidential and VP debates.
- While the 75 year old Schieffer is in his 30thyear as a CBS Washington correspondent and like the rest of the senior CBSpolitical reporting staff who climbed up the ranks during the Cronkite-Rather era of liberal partisanship is a Democrat at least by osmosis, he has usuallystruck me as being fair and even handed in his interviews of Republicans andDemocrats alike. So the open shillingfor BO that was practised by the CNN gasbag Candy Crowley is unlikely duringSchieffer’s hosting of next Monday’s debate on foreign policy.
- Nonetheless, I am not optimistic that Bob will askPresident Obama any of the following ten questions on his foreign policy. Perhaps some of you have other questions forObama and for Romney that you would like moderator Schieffer to ask. If so, let’s hear them here.
10/ Your vice-president said in his recent debate that hewas unaware the late US ambassador in Libya was pleading for more security there due to previous attacks on the USembassy and consulate as well as the instability and violence in Libya and thedeath threats against him personally. Is the VP’s remarkable claim to have no knowledge of the dangerousconditions there and the ambassador’s plea for more – not less – security dueto incompetence, ignorance, sloth or lying and would you have known about thesituation if you had attended more than 40% of your daily security briefings?
9/ You claim to have identified the destruction of the USconsulate in Benghazi and the murder of the ambassador and three otherAmericans as a terrorist attack in your Rose Garden speech the day after thisincident. Rereading your speech, I findno specific reference by you to the effect that this Benghazi strike was aterrorist attack only a general reference in the context of the September 11th,2001 anniversary that the US won`t be intimidated by terrorist attacks or otherthreats. But if you are telling thetruth about this and knew and announced to the nation the day after thatBenghazi was a terrorist attack, why did you allow your own press secretary andyour ambassador to the UN to continue to refer to the incident as a spontaneousmob reaction to a film critical of Islam rather than as a cold blooded attackby fanatical terrorists for at least two more weeks?
8/ In a recent interview, you referred to Israel as beingone of America`s closest allies in the Middle East. You also recently refused a request by theIsraeli prime minister to meet in New York and yet you had time that same weekto go on `The View` and play golf and do fundraisers. Would you please tell the American peoplewhat other countries in the Middle East you consider to be as close andfaithful allies of the US as is Israel and would you also tell the peoplewhether you consider appearing on feel good talk shows, enjoying your hobbiesand raising money for your campaign to be more important than meeting with theleaders of important American allies?
7/ A constant refrain by you and your supporters is that youare the president who captured and killed Osama bin Laden. But bin Laden was actually captured andkilled by navy SEALS after a ten year, multi-agency mission to find and capturethe Al Qaeda leader which began under President Bush. Is it not true that the organizationalchanges under Bush that fostered a new level of interagency co-operation andinformation exchanges and the waterboarding which you oppose of KLM and othersenior terrorists led to the locating of bin Laden and that any president evenJimmy Carter would have given the order to capture bin Laden once he waslocated?
6/ You often refer tohaving ended (sometimes you change ended to won) the war in Iraq as you hadpromised in 2008. However, the war wasactually ended by President Bush with his surge strategy which you and mostothers opposed but which worked. The problem,Mr. President, is that the war was effectively over when you took office andyour job was to secure the peace, to consolidate the strategic gains resultingfrom the war in Iraq. Yet you are thefirst president in US history to fail to consolidate the gains from asuccessful war by reaching a status of forces agreement that keeps severalthousands of US military personnel there on the ground to ensure post warstability and a successful transition. Whether after WWI or WWII or the Korean War, all other US presidentshave prudently ensured a strong continuing American military presence in formerenemies and, in the cases of South Korea and others, former allies. Now it appears that Iraq is regressing backto a divided, autocratic, unstable state under increasing threat and influencefrom Iran. Is it not more accurate tosay that under your watch you did not win the war but you did lose the peace?
5/ Given theincreasing instability, anarchy, violence and anti-Americanism in the MiddleEast as well as current polls which showthat the US is even more unpopular now in most Middle East countries than itwas on George Bush`s watch, is it not fair to suggest that your policies oftrying to appease the Middle East countries and their Islamic rulers by apologiesand retreats and your rejection of the notion of American exceptionalism haveserved to encourage and embolden our enemies and to discourage and disturb ourallies?
4/ While it is verygood politics, the policy of announcing in advance when one`s military will bepacking up and going home is a highly risky proposition militarily because itprovides comfort and a light at the end of the tunnel for enemy forces whosimply have to wait things out and it discourages those local groups who havebeen allies but fear reprisals from the enemy as soon as the foreign militarymakes its scheduled departure. Thisseems to be exactly what is now happening in Afghanistan which means that youmay wind up with both the lost peace in Iraq and a lost war in Afghanistan onyour resume. Could you tell us if any –not the majority but any at all – senior US military leaders actuallyvoluntarily endorsed your unusual policy of announcing in advance a militarywithdrawal date in the middle of an active war?
3/ Concerning Iran,many observers are critical of what they call your lack of leadership includinga failed engagement policy rebuffed by the Iranians, a failure to support theGreen Movement, a weak sanctions policy, abandoning the European missile defencesystem which would have helped protect Europe from Iranian missiles, and anundermining of the credibility of the military option. Would you please explain to Americans howyour policies in the areas I just mentioned have been effective policies interms of American interests including keeping Iran from developing nuclearweapons?
2/ Your Reset policywith Russia is considered by many to have been an abject and dangerousfailure. Abandoning the European MissileDefence System without a single quid pro quo from Putin in terms of cooperationon issues such as Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan and generally showing signsof weakness including major defence cuts seem to have emboldened Putin tocontinue to consolidate his increasingly undemocratic rule and to ramp up theCold War rhetoric again. Would youexplain to the American people what you meant by your comment intended to beoff the record to the Russian prime minister that you would have `moreflexibility` after the upcoming election?
1/ Mr. President,there are many other potential hot spots around the world that seem to bebecoming more not less problematic on your watch including Egypt andPakistan. But let me turn instead to acountry that geographically at least is certainly not a hot spot. I refer to our closest friend, ally, tradingpartner and neighbour, Canada. You almost seem to have gone out of your way to alternately ignore and antagonize our great neighbour to the north. Whether itbe delaying and possibility cancelling the pipeline project, adding nuisance border taxes on Canadians travelling to the US, pushing protectionism and Buy American in the stimulus bill and other government contracts, not pushing for Canada to get its earned seat on the UN security council but seemingly preferring Portugal, sticking Canadian taxpayers with the bill for the new Detroit to Windsor bridge, showing no interest in a joint agreement on common fuel emissions standards and, demanding that Canada make concessions on its agricultural subsidies as the price of admissionto the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks while the US continues with its huge agricultural subsidies, you seem to alternate between deliberately annoying our neighbour and totally neglecting it. Why does the US bully Canada while it appeases Russia? Shouldn’t this be the other way around?
