Editorial:
World politics is complex, multi-faceted, and all too often secretive. Most of us have only a basic understanding of geopolitics, primarily based on what we read in the newspaper. Even for practitioners and students, world politics can be a quagmire of issues, problems, and shifting priorities.
The killing of Ambassador Stevens in Libya on September 11 and the terrorist attack in Afghanistan that killed at least a dozen people has occurred during a tightly contested Presidential election. As a result, both the president and his challenger have weaved recent geopolitical events into policies and campaigns.
While Presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for condemnation of the attack in Libya, President Obama called for restraint and justice.
Since the Libyan embassy attack, more information has come forth. It appears that it was not a spontaneous riot that took place in front of the embassy, as it was first reported, but the government acknowledged Tuesday that it was a “terrorist attack,” apparently launched by local Islamic militants.
It was also revealed that Ambassador Chris Stevens had been a terrorist target for months.
The facade of a riot in response to a anti-Islamic video was a better fit for the Obama Presidency, painting the rioters as the bad guys. This allowed for a measured response by Obama, who called to bring the attackers to justice, a slow methodical process that has the potential of dragging on beyond the election.
In the meantime a terrorist attack in Afghanistan killed 12 people. Stories of terrorist attacks continue, the killings continue, and U.S. foreign policy appears to be unfocused. From a layman’s perspective we are no longer sure what the objective is.
What we do know is that Americans are being killed. An attack on an American embassy on foreign lands is an attack on America. The call for restraint and justice is found lacking as a response to these attacks.
The Obama political camp probably hopes that these recent events just fade away, but this doesn’t seem at all likely. And the continued wait and see attitude by the Obama administration only seems to embolden terrorists to continue with their attacks.
With Americans being killed, Obama needs to take off his campaign hat and respond to these attacks and act in the best interest and safety of Americans serving overseas. Now is not the time to play politics. But then again, world politics can be a quagmire of issues, problems, and shifting priorities. And it is, above all, secretive and often beyond the understanding of the average citizen.