The Obama administration and its subalterns are driven by an itch akin to an imperative: Replace cowboy diplomacy with huge dollops of nuance. Then we apologize for time-honored tenets of the Western ethic (such as freedom of expression) in favor of "understanding" just why Islamists who find us so bothersome want to kill us. Knowing one's enemy is important but, as Socrates advised, know thyself.
What we know about President Obama is disquieting, especially with reference to the Islamic street. Thus, mockery of anything having to do with Islam is discouraged by the president and his subordinates -- even when it involves traducing American values. This is weakness writ large. Even the president's decision to cover his ineptitude by claiming that the Cairo and Benghazi attacks were solely in response to an old video few had even seen is interpreted by our Islamist enemies as craven weakness.
Mr. Obama has turned President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy advice on its head. Instead of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, he does the converse.
PAUL BLOUSTEIN
Cincinnati
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'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
