Full Transcript of President Obama’s Commencement Address at West Point

(My comment here copied from a similar/related post):

It appears that President Obama's foreign policy possibilities (and those of the presidents that follow Obama) have been dramatically limited -- or actually even been curtailed -- by President Bush's disastrous foreign policy ideas, decisions and actions.

President Bush imprudently pulled the trigger on significant interventions.

These such interventions proved that:

a. They were much too costly to be able to sustain (to a proper conclusion),

b. Were based on a false premise (universal values) and, as such,

c. Were likely to result in negative rather than positive outcomes. (Instead of states and societies being transformed along modern western lines, such states and societies, via our interventions, became as likely or more likely to descend into chaos, to divide or disintegrate, to ally themselves with our opponents and/or to adopt ways of life and way of governance that are even more detrimental to US interests).

If everyone in the world (to include the population of the United States) now understands the above, then how in the heck can ANY President (Obama or his future replacements), today or in the near-term future, threaten ANYONE with significant intervention?

Before President Bush imprudently pulled the trigger, the threat of significant intervention -- and the (false) idea of "universal values" -- were valuable tools in our presidents' tool box.

Now? People can laugh and thumb their nose at the United States if it (the United States) (1) threatens such action or (2) suggests such a premise. (Bad guys: "Go ahead and intervene -- make my day -- you go broke, divide your nation at home, and I take advantage of the situation that you have created here to re-order the state and society as I desire! Thank you very much! We absolutely, positively, could not -- and cannot -- do it without you!")

After reading thoroughly the WP foreign policy speech this sentence sticks out and I have often wondered if the both WH and national senior leadership/advisors live in another world not that of the real world.

"In Ukraine, Russia’s recent actions recall the days when Soviet tanks rolled into Eastern Europe. But this isn’t the Cold War. Our ability to shape world opinion helped isolate Russia right away. Because of American leadership, the world immediately condemned Russian actions, Europe and the G-7 joined with us to impose sanctions, NATO reinforced our commitment to Eastern European allies, the IMF is helping to stabilize Ukraine’s economy, OSCE monitors brought the eyes of the world to unstable parts of Ukraine."

"And this mobilization of world opinion and international institutions served as a counterweight to Russian propaganda and Russian troops on the border and armed militias in ski masks."

"This weekend, Ukrainians voted by the millions. Yesterday, I spoke to their next president. We don’t know how the situation will play out, and there will remain grave challenges ahead, but standing with our allies on behalf of international order, working with international institutions, has given a chance for the Ukrainian people to choose their future -- without us firing a shot."

Without a shot being fired the Ukraine has lost the entire Crimea nor will it be back in the Ukraine any time soon at least in our generation, without a shot being fired two more OCSE teams have be taken prisoner by irregular Russian supported/financed/armed troops, without a shot being fired the Ukrainian Army is still not able to push back those irregular troops, without a shot being fired Putin is still meddling in the Ukraine all the while appearing in the last several days of being a "moderate" in order to not trigger further sanctions, and without a shot being fired Russia together with the Chinese have spoken about and implemented a totally new form of UW strategies all targeted against the reduction of the US image/power/influence in their respective regional areas.

So did I get the wrong impression from this speech?---ie we are "winning" against the new Russian UW strategy which is using IW in a political war against the Ukraine especially since it really does appear as if the Russians seem to not be influenced at all by our non violent none war approach.

OR is the WH in an altered state of reality about current world affairs?

This speech will at least in Europe cement the President's image of an individual that sets "red lines in the sand" and then changes, is a President who needed two full weeks to initially respond to the Russian Crimean moves, is a President that makes US decisions that often need ally input by himself and then "tells" the allies what his new policy is via the mass media, and the list could go on and on.

His speech at least in the European media if one reads between the lines indicates a US that is headed head long into an isolation phase and has only words instead of leadership for the problems of the world---it will not go far in quieting the fears of the Baltic states and Poland regardless of what Obama now says going forward---this speech will sit on their heads for a long time to come.

Some Germans now point to this speech and point to their lack of support for the US in Iraq and Libya having been correct decisions as they would argue as does Obama both these events were definitely not in the internal interests nor did they "threaten" the US and its population.