Who’s Ready to See America Stand Behind Her Allies Once Again?

The stories of civilian deaths coming out of Ukraine and Gaza break the hearts of any compassionate American. Last Thursday was a date that will go down in infamy around the world, leaving hundreds of dead innocents on the ground following a tragic plane explosion 30 miles west of the Russian border and hundreds more dead as Israel began its Palestinian ground invasion. The blame for this violence must come back to the American president for his lack of leadership and direction.

The Crash of MH17
It started with the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, struck down with a Russian BUK rocket launcher that investigators believe was fired by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. The explosion took the lives of 298 people, most if not all of whom had no stake in the ongoing conflict between the countries. They had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, suffering the same deadly fate as the thousands of innocent Americans who died one tragic September morning in 2001.

The Israeli Ground Invasion
Later in the night, Israel decided they had done all they could reasonably do with air strikes and bombs. Fending off thousands of rocket attacks from Hamas, they rolled their tanks into Gaza and began destroying tactical operations, tunnels, and missile launchers with a full-scale ground invasion. Because of the cowardly tactics used by the terrorist “government” of Hamas, Israel has been left with little choice but to kill civilians in their quest to protect their nation. They drop leaflets, make evacuation calls, and do everything in their power to limit collateral damage, but there is only so much they can do.

And yes, both of these tragic events can be placed at the doorstep of Barack Obama.

In the days following the start of the Israeli ground invasion, Obama has made at least two phone calls to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has made those calls not to pledge U.S. support for an ally in a difficult position, but rather to press for a cease fire. It boggles the imagination that the American president would ask our closest friend in the Middle East to stop defending itself. Does Obama not watch the news? Does he not understand what’s at stake? What does he propose Israel do? Perhaps they should just continue shooting down Hamas rockets, surging for bomb shelters every fifteen minutes as another round is launched.

And then there’s Russia. According to international investigators, the evidence for Russian involvement in the crash is substantial. At the very least, it appears that it was Russian-made equipment that brought down the plane. That in itself is enough to call for tough action. Yet even as John Kerry makes the talk show rounds to condemn Putin and the Russian separatists, the Obama administration is not following through. The support for Ukraine and the stance against dangerous terrorism amounts to little more than talk.

Too much talk and not enough action has been a recurring theme in this administration, and it has left some of our closest allies with no choice but to take matters into their own hands. People can mourn the civilians and take to the streets in protest, but until America can once again stand up for what’s right with the power, influence, and might that only we possess, the violence will continue. Until it again shows up in our own cities, we’ll stand aside and do nothing.