Obama and the Cold War

Perhaps with the wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial service (some would say excessive extravaganza) yesterday you missed President Obama’s remarks to the graduates of the New Economic School in Moscow. Once again, the president has left the United States and gone abroad to denigrate his country — our country — to elevate himself as some sort of übercitizen of the world.

This time, Mr. Obama failed to pay tribute and honor the sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform who protected the United States and Western Europe from the threat of Soviet aggression during the Cold War. Moreover, he failed to mention the steadfast determination of America’s 40th president, Ronald Wilson Reagan, who stared down the threat posed to the free world and brought communism to its knees and ultimate defeat utilizing the doctrine of peace through strength.

Apparently, America’s 44th president is incapable or unwilling to attribute any success to any former president. I say this because I was stunned to hear President Obama’s re-working of history to deny our servicemen and -women their honor by protecting us from evil and communism while President Reagan caused the former Iron Curtain to fall and end the Cold War.

In his own words, this is how President Obama saw the Cold War reach a peaceful conclusion:

“And then, within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Now, make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful.”

The ignorance of American and world history, evinced in just two short sentences, is shockingly revealing. First, Mr. President, I daresay the people of Russia and Eastern Europe hardly decided to stand up and decide that the Cold War’s conclusion would be peaceful. You might ask the citizens of Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria — to name a few countries — if their polite request for the Soviet Empire to withdraw from their borders was met with a peaceful response.

Second, I fail to comprehend how a sitting president of the United States would travel to Russia and announce that the end of the Cold War was not the result of “any one nation.” How about the country Mr. Obama was elected to lead? The United States held the Russians at bay while supporting the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa in Poland and others who dared to rise up against the Soviet Union in their quest for freedom and democracy.

Another trip abroad by Mr. Obama. Another opportunity to insult his country. Another reason the 2012 presidential elections couldn’t arrive soon enough.