The more consternation you see between the U.S. and Pakistan in the news, the greater the likelihood that at least some portion of the Pakistani government participated in the tip off that killed bin Laden.
The row that’s going on publicly in the media between the U.S. and Pakistan is being staged by the Pakistanis largely to cover up the fact that the Pakistani government turned on bin Laden. The fight is being staged by us to help cover up the fact that they knew that we knew that they knew bin Laden was there for some time.
The average Pakistani revered bin Laden as a hero. So you can understand why the Pakistani government wouldn’t want to own up to participating in the operation that took him out.
The Obama administration has been happy to help advance the cover. The thought has hardly crossed their mind that maybe it’s time to stop supporting a country that supported America’s public enemy number one for so long.
Now comes word that a small insertion in the budget passed just a few weeks ago, bans scientific co-operation between the U.S and our largest creditor, the People’s Republic of China, according to Congressman Frank Wolf.
China, Wolf charges, has also been involved in anti-American activities that have harmed national interests.
Harming our interests is getting to be a habit amongst pals of ours across the world.
“Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), a long-time critic of the Chinese government who chairs a House spending committee that oversees several science agencies,” says Forbes “inserted the language into the spending legislation to prevent NASA or OSTP from using federal funds ‘to …collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company.’”
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It’s been an open secret that the Chinese have sponsored a series of cyber attacks on U.S. interests for the last five years, including DoD facilities, intelligence centers and even the White House.
Wolf’s own office computers, which contain information about dissident Chinese, have also been hacked from inside China.
Some intelligence types think that in addition to targeting military secrets, China’s trying dry runs aimed at taking out our command and control.
But like the Pakistani drama, the Obama administration’s words of condemnation regarding Chinese spying are mostly meant to keep us citizens happy.
The Obama administration would never cut off their supply of money by quibbling with China about espionage and national security.
Why would they? They can’t even stand up to Pakistan.
Or Libya.
Obama has decided to ignore the prohibition inserted into the budget by Wolf regarding collaboration with the Chinese.
It’s business as usual with China.
There is a growing unease amongst national security types that foreign policy and national security decisions are being made by the administration with an eye towards re-election rather than with the best interest of the United States in mind. It's eroding the confidence our war fighters have in the chain of command.
While the same charge of "politics" can be leveled at any administration, Obama’s team, notably less than subtle in matters requiring executive ability, tend to fall back on campaign mode when faced with hard choices.
They pick what’s politically expedient rather than what’s smart, presidential or right.
That could hurt the administration's ability to rally the troops in the future.
Robert Gates decision to exit stage right this year at the Department of Defense and Hillary Clinton’s decision to exit stage left at the State Department after the end of the term haven't helped.
And don’t think that the recent operation that got bin Laden is helping the administration bolster confidence from the national security community.
Far from it.
Many in the community resent the emphatic “I” used by Obama when announcing the operation.
But that’s not the worst of it.
By changing the story 26 times in a quest for personal glory, devoid of any personal responsibility, Obama has left the impression that Navy SEALs killed unarmed women and an unarmed, old man.
No amount of face time with the commander-in-chief can repair that rift. The chain of command is supposed to support the troops who have followed their orders.
One can argue the merits of continuing the friendship with Pakistan and China, while ignoring their anti-American activities.
But leaving members of the military out to dry, well, that’s just un-American.
Americans soldiers are being asked to fight wars against undefined enemies. The ambiguity eventually will hurt morale and our ability to fight.
It's time we told our so-called allies that they are either for us or against us.
It's time we threw a lifeline to troops and civilians engaged in the War on Terror by telling them who our enemies really are.
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