Barack Obama is proud to trumpet many of the endorsements that he receives in his campaign for president of the United States. Among his supporters are celebrities, soldiers, and politicians of all stripes. There are several prominent Obama supporters from around the world that Barack Obama would probably prefer the average American voter to remain unaware of.
Hamas has been classified as a terrorist group for years. The group was a prime force behind the Intifada against Israeli occupation of Gaza and Palestine. One of the main weapons in their struggle was the suicide bombing of civilian targets. Hamas’ political wing won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, and ultimately took control of Gaza after winning a civil war with Fatah in 2007. The Hamas charter states, “There is no solution to the Palestinian question except through jihad.”
Knowing what Hamas represents, Obama should cringe when Ahmed Yousef, a ranking Hamas official, released a statement that said, “We like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle…” The response of the Obama campaign was that it was “flattering” to be compared to John Kennedy.
Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, gushed that Obama is “laying the foundations for revolutionary change” in the United States. Given the nature of the communist Sandinista revolution that Ortega led in Nicaragua, his excitement over a similar revolution coming to the US should alarm most Americans.
Gleb Pavlovsky is an advisor to Vladimir Putin, former president and current prime minister of Russia, as well as Putin’s successor, Dmitri Medvedev. Putin has led a resurgence of nationalism and nostalgia for the Soviet Empire in Russia. Under his leadership, the Russian military has rearmed and become leaner and more efficient. Putin formed a military and economic alliance with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran, a terrorist state. Putin’s Russia also has also strong-armed neighboring countries by threatening to shut off an oil pipeline. Pavlovsky said that John McCain is the worst choice for president and that Barack Obama, who is “less tied” to the Cold War, is the best.
President Ahmadinejad has not specifically endorsed Obama, but Iranian television featured a fictional John McCain in an animated television show. The fictional McCain meets with spies and dissidents to try to plan a regime change for Iran.
President Hugo Chavez has nationalized segments of Venezuelan industry and is attempting to consolidate more power for himself, including a failed referendum to remove presidential term limits. Chavez is known for referring to President Bush as “the devil.” Chavez has not specifically endorsed Obama, but has said that McCain is a “man of war” and that he hopes the next president “will be open to improving relations with Venezuela.”
North Korea’s government-controlled newspaper has accused John McCain of trying to mount “a base and ridiculous challenge” to North Korea in an attempt “to strangle it.” North Korea is in violation of a 1994 agreement to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and allow inspections. They have also threatened to discontinue the armistice that ended the Korean War. The North Koreans have also been implicated in a project to build a nuclear reactor in Syria. This reactor was destroyed by the Israelis in 2007.
Why are so many world leaders, especially anti-American world leaders, friendly towards Obama and hostile to John McCain? The answer can be found in Barack Obama’s statement that he would meet with leaders of rogue nations without preconditions. His plan for removing US troops from Iraq without winning the war also plays into the hands of our enemies. He would also jeopardize the relationship with US allies, such as Pakistan, by initiating unilateral military action inside their borders.
These leaders recognize that Obama would be weak and ineffective on foreign policy. Obama would give our enemies in Iraq what they cannot win on the battlefield. These leaders realize that, while America would remain a powerful nation, President Obama would be unlikely to be willing to exercise that power. North Korea and Iran would engage in meaningless negotiations to buy time as they build their arsenals of WMDs.
Additionally, Obama’s economic policies of heavy taxation and income redistribution would hurt the American economy. This would, in the long run, make the US less likely to intervene against these rogue leaders in the future.
For Americans who believe that the United States is an “arsenal of democracy,” Obama’s support from anti-American leaders around the world should raise a red flag. While Barack Obama probably does not support these leaders, or want support from them, their statements reveal that they believe that an Obama administration would be beneficial to them and their nations. What is good for anti-American dictators around the world is not necessarily good for Americans.
Sources:
“Our Enemies and the Election,” Wall Street Journal, May 10-11, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121038058620282293.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm
http://www.redstate.com/stories/elections/2008/flattered_by_hamas_obama_campaign_is
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/14/america/LA-POL-Nicaragua-Ortega-Obama.php
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/brandozilla/2008/mar/26/hugo_chavez_endorses_mccain_for_president
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/iran-general-/iran-accuses-john-mccain-of-us-spying-plot-2.html
http://www.redstate.com/blogs/brandozilla/2008/mar/26/hugo_chavez_endorses_mccain_for_president
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080423/wl_afp/nkoreanuclearweaponsussyria_080423210123
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