Obamanation: National Insecurity

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY COMMENCEMENT

Two excerpts from that commencement address stand out below the rest; I quote them here.

In a culture where so many chase the outward markers of success that can so often lead us astray -- the titles and status, the materialism and money, the fame and popularity -- these Americans have embraced the virtues that we need most right now: self-discipline over self-interest; work over comfort; and character over celebrity.

Sometimes a con man, in his conceit, will effectively confess his crimes to his victims, firm in the belief that they are too dull to fully comprehend what he is saying. I view that first quote as a prime example of that hubris. President Obama expected that the graduates were too excited and we were too lazy to plumb the depth of his words. The following outline may help you to observe how those words apply to the man who spoke them.

• outward markers of success
• titles and status
• Senator
• President
• materialism and money
• Presidential salary
• book royalties
• expensive Chicago real estate
• fame and popularity
• character over celebrity

Yesterday I visited the National Archives and the halls that holds our Constitution, our Declaration of Independence, and our Bill of Rights. I went there because, as our national debate on how to deal with the security challenge that we face proceeds, we must remember this enduring truth: The values and ideals in those documents are not simply words written into aging parchment, they are the bedrock of our liberty and our security. We uphold our fundamental principles and values not just because we choose to, but because we swear to; not because they feel good, but because they help keep us safe and keep us true to who we are.

What principle is more fundamental to this nation than individual liberty? What safeguards it more than strict limits on the power of governments? Have we so soon forgotten his egregious remarks about the Constitution's charter of "negative rights" which supposedly prevent the federal government from doing what it should for us?

Because when America strays from our values, it not only undermines the rule of law, it alienates us from our allies, it energizes our adversaries, and it endangers our national security and the lives of our troops. So as Americans, we reject the false choice between our security and our ideals. We can and we must and we will protect both.

That last quote packs broad meaning into a few words. Lets take a closer look.

• when America strays from our values

It is clear, from the context, that that phrase is a reference to water boarding. The value alluded to is justice. Our system of justice seeks to determine fact and law by investigation, inquiry and reasoned debate. It assumes innocence until guilt is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Torture may be an interrogation technique, but it is also a punishment; we don't punish the innocent. This points to two deadly assumptions.

1. Waterboarding is torture.
2. Enemy combatants are innocent.

Both of those assumptions are obviously false. While waterboarding inflicts fear, if done properly it neither causes undue pain nor inflicts permanent injury. It is not equivalent to drills, knives, pliers or hot irons. Anyone who graduates from a terrorist training camp and carries a weapon on the battlefield is not innocent. Khalid Sheik Mohammad planned the abomination of 9-11-01. Not being a U.S. citizen or legal resident alien, he has no Miranda rights. He has no right to the presumption of innocence. He is action was not a misdemeanor, it was an attack carried out as part of a war.

• it alienates us from our allies

Those who are alienated are not and were not our allies, they were fair weather friends. Our weakness; our failure to seek and obtain clear victories in Korea & Vietnam emboldened our enemies and distanced broke the links with our allies.

• it energizes our adversaries

The photos of prisoner abuse and stories of 'torture' are grist for propaganda mills, but they are not the cause of enmity. The act of resisting Islamic aggressions supplies all the energizing they need.

• it endangers our national security and the lives of our troops

Our security is endangered by failure to recognize, identify & accurately classify the enemy. The lives of our troops are endangered by sending them to invade where we should have sent tactical nuclear missiles. Wisdom dictates swift, total destruction of wasp nests, not poking them with sticks.

• false choice between our security and our ideals

Real Americans reject it; President Obama, a self proclaimed 'citizen of the world', embraces and nurtures it, exploiting it for political gain at the expense of our national security.

To witness the difference between a demagogue and a statesman, read the transcript of former Vice President Richard B. Cheney's remarks to the American Enterprise Institute.