Let’s Talk About American Credibility for a Moment

Frank Salvato

One can’t enter into a political discussion these days without hearing about how badly American “credibility” has been damaged or how our “image” abroad has suffered under the current presidency. From Bob Beckel to Mary Anne Marsh, Dick Durbin to Nancy Pelosi, it is a talking point used ad nauseum. But is our credibility and image damaged? And, if so, who really did the most damage to them?

Through the course of history the United States has always stood for freedom and a Republican form of government. Over the last 230 years, those who have served our country – both in uniform and in government – have shed their blood, sacrificed and given their lives so that We the People could remain free; free to pursue happiness and free to exercise the rights afforded to us under the Constitution.

So, too, over the course of our history, our nation has responded when the face of evil has revealed itself. Each time the peoples of the world have found themselves confronted by oppression and tyranny, each time the world has called for our help in battling the enemies of freedom, the United States (especially those wearing her uniforms) has answered the call without fail, unwavering in our dedication to securing the freedom of the oppressed from the four corners of the earth.

These truths being evident, and accepting the fact that the US is perhaps the most potent, and some say only super-power in the world; one would think that our image and credibility wouldn’t be in question. Given that the US has taken the lead in liberating Europe from the oppression of fascism twice; has effectively vanquished a totalitarian foe in the Cold War; and has entered into conflicts in the Middle East to unshackle an invaded country, free millions from the genocidal grip of a power-hungry totalitarian and fight a global war against Islamofascism that few countries have the courage to aid us in fighting, one would believe it laughable to question our “image” and our “credibility.”

Yet, US credibility is questioned.

Throughout Europe and the Middle East, from South America to Asia, people rail against the United States, burning our flag and calling for our defeat. This occurs in many of the countries that would be speaking the foreign tongues of their invaders had it not been for actions taken by the United States in the last century. To say that these people have “Attention Deficit Disorder” would be an understatement.

But looking through the eyes of a world that employs a sitcom attention-span, and views the United States as protector instead of embracing it as partner, I can see a few instances where the people of the world might have been moved to a diminished view of our country over the last 50 years.

When a country sells its allies down the river, it can leave a pretty bad taste in the world community’s mouth. Such was the case with the US abandonment of South Vietnam. In a war that John F. Kennedy introduced to our country, that Lyndon Johnson enflamed and which saw Richard Nixon hamstrung by Congress and the progressive-left anti-war movement, the US was forced by the visionless to abandon the people of South Vietnam, leaving them to face what now can only be described as genocide, as millions were tortured and executed by Pol Pot and the Communist North Vietnamese. While the progressive anti-war left in the United States conveniently overlooks the results of their deeds, the rest of the world did not.

When Jimmy Carter deserted the Shah of Iran to the radical Islamist revolutionaries in 1979, US allies around the world started to fear that, if faced with a threat to their survival, they would suffer a similar fate. Not only did Jimmy Carter’s failure to stand by a committed ally change the geo-political fabric of the Middle East for the worse, his failure to confront radical Islamofascism at its pre-pubescent, modern day inception led us directly to the predicament we currently face today. It sent a shocking signal to the world that the US could not be trusted to live up to its alliances.

Perhaps most devastating to America’s credibility and image abroad was the Clinton Administration.

As the General in command of the UN peacekeeping forces in Rwanda pleaded for troops so he could disrupt Hutu extremists who had openly declared their intention to commit genocide against their Tutsi countrymen and Hutu moderates, the Clinton Administration – specifically, Richard Clark – declared that there was no US interest worth defending in Rwanda. The result of the Clinton Administration’s disinterest and inaction was the slaughter of over 1,000,000 people.

The Clinton Administration’s abrupt abandonment of Somalia after US soldiers were defeated and defiled in Mogadishu only served to embolden the Islamofascist movement weaned at the Carter Administration’s teat of weakness. Because of the Clintons employment of the “cut and run” strategy, many enemies of the United States, specifically Osama bin Laden, along with the leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Janjaweed, stand firm in their belief that all they have to do is kill a few American soldiers and drag them in the streets in front of television cameras, and the American will to defend freedom and liberty will dissipate. Because Clinton ordered retreat in the face of challenge, terrorists today believe they can win.

Meanwhile, President Bush has followed through on everything he has promised to do, as far as defending freedom and instilling democracy. He has stood by the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, and he stands in support of Israel today. He is steadfast to his commitment to the war against radical Islamofascism and proves so each and every day. Yet he is the one the progressive-left faults with tarnishing our credibility and image.

Perhaps if the progressive-left looked beyond the evening news they would realize that “image” is something created on Madison Avenue and rarely anything of substance. Credibility, on the other hand, is earned. Judging from the actions of the Democrats elected to power over the past 50 years, it is clear who is to blame if the United States has diminished in credibility in the eyes of the world.

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Frank Salvato is a political media consultant, a freelance writer from the Midwest and the Managing Editor for www.TheRant.us . He is a contributing writer to OpinionEditorials.com and AmericanDaily.com. He has appeared as a guest panelist on The O’Reilly Factor and his pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com and occasionally featured in The Washington Times as well as other national publications.

oped@therant.us