Alfonse D'Amato

Where are the president's priorities?

Posted

As leaders from around the world gathered in New York City for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama flew to New York for a different reason: to impress the ladies of “The View.”

Thankfully, he left Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai while he yakked it up with Barbara Walters and friends.

At least he has his priorities straight, right? Wrong!

During one of the most volatile times in the Middle East, and just weeks after one of our ambassadors was killed in attacks on U.S. embassies, our president should have chosen world leaders like Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, or Mohamed Morsi, the first leader of Egypt to be elected democratically, rather than Hollywood stars.

During his visit to New York, Obama did not hold a single meeting with any heads of state, compared with 2011, when he held 13 such meetings. It’s clear that he’s in full campaign mode, capitalizing on the opportunity to smile for female voters.

When he did address the U.N., on Sept. 25, campaign politics made their way into the speech. In this, his final international address before the November election, Obama declared that the U.S. would not back away from aiding transitioning countries in the Middle East, despite the killing of four Americans in Libya and the countless other acts of violence against America in the region.

Instead of taking a strong stance against the violence aimed at America in the region, once again Obama showed mercy and compassion toward our enemies. In his address, he said that he would “challenge the world to confront the root causes of rage exploding across the Muslim world,” and that this is the defining choice “between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common.”

Not once did the president mention the word terror.

Mr. President, remember, it was terrorists who stormed our embassy in Libya and murdered Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, and it was Al Qaeda who released the videotape urging Muslims to murder Americans during a time of weakness.

And let’s not forget the coincidental fact that these attacks took place on the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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