Obama Misses the Boat on Foreign Policy in SOTU

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.progressive.org/ap012611.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+progressivefeed+%28The+Progressive+Main+Feed%29&utm_content=Twitter

The foreign policy part of President Obama’s State of the Union was like his presidency—checkered.

He included some nice material, such as on the new START treaty and heartening developments in Southern Sudan.

:snip:

Take his supposed shout-out to the Tunisian people, who succeeded against all odds in recently ousting their dictator, the long-ruling Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. “Tonight, let us be clear: The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people,” Obama intoned.

Uh, actually, the United States was on the side of Ben Ali till almost the last minute. Along with France (the ex-colonial power), it backed Ben Ali during his twenty-three-year-long dictatorship, loving him for his pro-West and free-market policies. Tunisia was a partner of the United States in everything from extraordinary renditions to Pentagon efforts toward setting up a new military command for Africa. In return, the United States bestowed the Tunisian regime with all sorts of aid, including the tear gas canisters that were lobbed at demonstrators, as Professor Stephen Zunes points out.

More at the link --

[somone]

1. July 2010: U.S. announces $282 million military helicopter sale to Tunisia - with GE engines

http://www.warisbusiness.com/news/tunisia-before-the-riots-631-million-in-us-military-aid/

Tunisia Before The Riots: $631 Million In US Military Aid