Obamateurism of the Day

When Barack Obama gave his speech at West Point to announce his decision on expanding the American forces in Afghanistan by 30,000 troops, he got poor reviews from the Left for not retreating now, and from the Right for declaring a withdrawal date in advance.  But that’s not the only people who got incensed over his speech.  He never mentioned the British troops or their sacrifice during the speech, and Nile Gardiner says it shows his lack of concern over America’s closest ally:

For decades, Britain and the U.S. have been the closest of allies, enjoying a transatlantic alliance forged on the ‘special relationship’ that sprang up between those great wartime leaders, Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt.

Over 70 years, the special relationship has certainly had its ups and downs. The cast has changed – Thatcher and Reagan, Blair and Bush – as have the problems and crises that it has had to address, but it has always endured. Until now.

Last week, when President Obama got to his feet at the U.S. West Point military academy to outline his administration’s plans for America’s future in Afghanistan, one subject was conspicuous by its total absence from his 40-minute speech.

For while he made much of the surge in troop numbers and the controversial phased withdrawal planned for 18 months’ time, there wasn’t a single mention of America’s main ally in the region, Britain.

Never mind that we have 10,000 troops on active service there – far more than any other of America’s so-called allies – and never mind that 237 of our brave soldiers have already lost their lives there, Great Britain wasn’t even a footnote.

Given the level of sacrifice by British troops, it was the most extraordinary and insulting oversight.

Gardiner argues that this is part of a deliberate campaign to insult the British, which given the number of Obamateurisms involving his inept handling of the “special relationship,” is not an unreasonable conclusion.  In this case, though, it seems that Obama has no clue that a major speech about a war in which the US leads a coalition should follow tradition and thank our major coalition partners for their shared sacrifice.  Obama isn’t likely to give another major address on the war for months, which means that he will not have an opportunity to recognize the valiant efforts made by the British to support our efforts to win in Afghanistan.

But at least Obama met with Brown personally to discuss Afghanistan.  Remember how Obama treated Canada’s Stephen Harper?

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

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