Members of "Iranians for Huck" attend political rally. (just kidding– well, maybe not…)
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Among the topics covered during our Saturday radio program, Meet the New Press, we discussed the recent published article by Mike Huckabee in which he refered to the foreign policy of the Bush Administration in a rather blunt, disparaging way. A December 14th AP News piece has the details:
"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States’ main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists."
During the roundtable exchange, I stated that such pronouncements "feed into the detractors and the anti war people." This is, of course, something we don’t need during a time of war, especially when we are on the verge of some success and a turnaround of fortune in its main front in Iraq. You can download an .mp3 of the segment here, or use the handy player below, to listen. The Huck talk starts about a minute or so into the converstation…
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Well guess what? Now, several days later, it turns out that while my observation was somewhat close, Huck’s words might be, unfortunately, more harmful that I had originally imagined. Instead of merely feeding into President Bush’s political opposition here at home, Huckabee’s sentiment appears to be bringing a level of "aid and comfort" to one of our main enemies in the present world-wide terror war: Iran.
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The confirmation comes from the Iranian Fars News Agency (FNA) in a December 25th article discussing the American presidential campaign entitled "Top Republican Wants Dialogue with Iran". Care to guess which "top Republican" they are refering to? (No, not Ron Paul…)
Regarding the conduct of Huckabee in the White House, there is a lot we do not know. Like another governor from the same state, Bill Clinton, Huckabee has little experience in foreign affairs. Nonetheless, last week he dropped a bomb in an article he published in Foreign Affairs, where all the other candidates have contributed articles. He wrote of "urgent concerns" regarding Iran’s nuclear program and its support for militants, saying that he does not discard the military option. But he was critical of the Bush foreign policy, which he described as "arrogant bunker mentality."
Then comes the analysis of our would-be leader’s words, as viewed by the main protagonist in our nearly thirty- years war with Islamo-fascists:
In the Iranian context, his policy is being interpreted as a change, calling for bringing to the table non-military options as well. Huckabee is of the opinion that relations with Iran deteriorated following Bush’s "axis of evil" speech.
Followed by this, which happens to play right into the "Huck is a phoney conservative" meme that has gained traction with each passing day of scrutiny:
In many points his message on Iran is more akin to that of the Democrats: there is a need for dialogue with Iran, and more diplomacy is needed. He quoted the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, who authored The Art of War 2,500 years ago: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.".Huckabee has vowed that "Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons on my watch," but that does not assuage Israeli observers who are not too pleased with his stance.
Which, in turn, must greatly please Iran’s rulers, vowed to see "Israel wiped off the map."
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This guy Huckabee isn’t even the president and he’s already screwing things up. With his self-professed lack of foreign policy experience, perhaps the best course of action for him to take would be to just put a sock in it… before he does even more damage.
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It can’t be a good thing for a Presidential candidate during a wartime campaign to have one of our Nation’s enemies paying him/her compliments. When trying to convince the electorate that you are fit to be the Commander-In-Chief and will defend the US against the threats that everybody knows exist, it isn’t helpful when your words are repeated in a positive way by those who wish us eliminated (dead)…
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