Barack Obama: The new Neville Chamberlain

I recently had a discussion with someone about the Republican party. He told me that he had been a registered Republican for years, but left the party while George W. Bush was President. We both agreed that George W. Bush had strayed from various Republican principles, such as fiscal conservatism, and were generally unhappy with his performance. The propensity of the Bush Administration to run-up the deficit and the national debt were maddening, but with most things, there were accomplishments that were not fully appreciated.

George W. Bush’s greatest achievement was helping to keep the United States safe after 9/11. Critics like to take aim at Guantanamo Bay, the Patriot Act, and The War on Terror in general, but his success in keeping the country safe cannot be disputed. There were attempts to attack the U.S. since 9/11, which were thwarted, and I’m sure there were many more attempts which were stopped early on in the planning process. For that, we owe the Bush Administration our gratitude.

So, why am I bringing this up nearly one year after George Bush left office? It’s because of a quote I read from former Vice President Dick Cheney regarding Barack Obama’s view of the threats facing the United States:

“As I’ve watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of Sept. 11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won’t be at war.

“He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core Al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gets rid of the words, ‘war on terror,’ we won’t be at war. But we are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe. Why doesn’t he want to admit we’re at war? It doesn’t fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn’t fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency — social transformation — the restructuring of American society. President Obama’s first object and his highest responsibility must be to defend us against an enemy that knows we are at war.”

Truer words have never been spoken. Barack Obama reminds me of a modern day Neville Chamberlain hoping to appease the enemy, hoping that if we’re nice enough to them, they’ll leave us alone. That’s the last thing we need. Hopefully, our next President will recognize the danger we are facing, and will move aggressively to keep the nation safe. In 2012, we need to choose a leader who is more like Churchill, and less like Chamberlain.