A small group of officials working mostly from the White House are tightly controlling U.S. foreign policy, bypassing other government agencies and making decisions without employing the expertise of those agencies, according to diplomatic sources speaking to WND.If the WND report is to be believed, the main goal of Obama's White House is not a constructive and successful foreign policy for the United States (with all the hard choices that that may entail) but "creating an image of the U.S. working with the international community and of ensuring Obama's reelection in 2012."
An image of the U.S! What is the left all about? Creating images! Ignoring realities and creating images!
The sources said some of the decisions may be jeopardizing U.S. security.
A senior Middle East diplomatic source said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently apologized to a Mideast leader, explaining to him U.S. policy regarding his country is being dictated by the White House and not her agency.
…A senior U.S. official referred to the group as a "politburo," using the term for the executive committee of communist political parties.
The source said the so-called politburo is making decisions that bypass other agencies.
'Sabotaging negotiations with Syria'
A case in point was documented in a Washington Post column last weekend by Jim Hoagland, who quoted diplomatic sources stating the White House decision makers unilaterally announced last month the U.S. would send an ambassador to Syria.
The decision – which provided Damascus a major prize – took State officials by surprise, according to Hoagland. The senior U.S. official who spoke to WND confirmed a working group within the State Department was in the process of negotiating concessions from Syria in exchange for the appointment of a U.S. ambassador.
…The U.S. official told WND the White House hastily leaked the news of an ambassador, ensuring against any possibility of extracting concessions from Syria since there was no need for Damascus to negotiate.
…The recommendation, made in June, was to be followed by State-led negotiations to extract concessions from Syria, such as an end to Damascus support for terrorism or the insurgency against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. [While you're at it, read also what the WND report has to say about Israel and the Palestinians.]
'Still in campaign mode'
The diplomatic sources said it was significant Obama has only called one Cabinet meeting thus far – a symbolic confab to mark his 100th day in office.
…The senior U.S. official said Emanuel is most heavily involved in drafting policy, describing him as a sort of policy CEO, while Axelrod works to brand White House decisions.
The source described the decision-making group as "ignorant" and as "still in campaign mode," citing as one example the lack of understanding among the group of Syria's strong ties to Iran.
In another example, a second source said Obama and his team last week made numerous factual errors while negotiating in Russia, completely surprising Russian President Dmitry Medvedev with their lack of knowledge.
The second source said the main goal of the White House "politburo" is creating an image of the U.S. working with the international community and of ensuring Obama's reelection in 2012.
How about the main goal of the White House "politburo" (or, simply, of the White House) being a constructive and successful foreign policy for the United States? (And letting the Obama equation be secondary and take care of itself?)
The sources said a main goal of the Obama administration is to oversee an eventual withdrawal from Iraq, even if that means cutting deals that would undermine U.S. security in other areas. The sources said they are concerned many foreign policy decisions are based on branding and are not taking U.S. security into consideration.
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