Panetta Gets It Wrong on GOP Candidates

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta blasts the anti-terror strategies of GOP presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz as "dangerous" and "irresponsible," saying they put America's national security at risk.

Does this mean the policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been responsible?

Have those policies made us safer?

Under their watch, ISIS has taken Islamic barbarism to truly medieval levels.

ISIS expands daily, with successful and bloody attacks in Paris and Brussels.

They promise America will be next, with the biggest attacks yet. ISIS generally keeps its word. The Middle East is more unstable than ever before.

American interests are threatened both at home and abroad.

While it’s perfectly reasonable to question the wisdom of the Iraq War, the fact remains that the entire American economy depends on stability in that part of the world, particularly if we refuse to drill for oil or build pipelines.

And then there’s the so-called peace treaty with Iran, the number one state sponsor of world terrorism for decades. We reward Iran with billions of dollars so they can proceed to violate the terms of the treaty right before our eyes, while still labeling America an evil nation.

And you call these policies safe and responsible, Mr. Panetta?

What do Donald Trump and Ted Cruz propose that’s so irresponsible and unsafe?

Things like dropping bombs on ISIS?

Or calling Islam the hateful political ideology that it is, rather than just a “religion?”

Or patrolling Islamic neighborhoods where terrorist plots form, something the government probably does already?

Trump also proposes backing away from NATO, since NATO has not been of much help in the war against Islamic terrorism. Panetta doesn’t like this, because he feels we need the support of our allies to defeat terrorism.

Yet the only reason America has close European allies is because, under Obama, America’s foreign policy has become no different than that of a European country.

European countries walk on eggshells, sign peace treaties with enemies who never honor them, indiscriminately let terrorists into their countries and tell their citizens they must never, ever offend a Muslim, under threat of criminal prosecution. America now does pretty much the same.

Today’s European and American foreign policy is identical to the years of appeasement with Hitler, which ultimately led to the start of World War II. Hitler assessed Europeans as weak and unwilling to fight back, and he was right.

Also, we’re treating Islam like we treated Soviet Russia during détente. The more we signed treaties with the Soviets, the more aggressive they became, until eventually an assertive and strong-minded set of policies brought them down.

Why do we want to be like Europe? How can such weak allies do us any good? We don’t need allies like that. They’re in the process of getting crushed. And we will naturally follow unless we pull away from them, take the lead in an opposite direction, and invite them to do the same.

We should lead by example, instead of following their weak and hopeless example.

"I know that sometimes these candidates think that they’re just talking to their voters in this country," Panetta said. "That’s the worst mistake they can make, because the rhetoric they’re using is damaging the United States abroad and creating real concerns about where this country is going in the future."

To Panetta, Hillary Clinton, Obama and their ilk, the voters don’t know what’s going on.

The professional diplomats and arms negotiators do. But under the “leadership” of these professional diplomats, we’re summarily losing the war against ISIS and terrorism.

Maybe you don’t like Donald Trump’s or Ted Cruz’ solutions. But we most certainly need something different very soon.

In my profession, one of the definitions of mental illness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So why do we keep doing what’s so obviously not working?

Now, that's dangerous and irresponsible, Mr. Panetta.

Paris, Brussels, and whatever is next are no indicators of success.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are repeatedly put on the defensive by shrill leftists and milquetoast Republicans, merely for suggesting we fight back with everything we’ve got.

We are openly and disastrously losing this war. Period.

So why aren’t the people responsible for that travesty ever put on the defensive?

Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D., LCSW is a psychotherapist and author with a private practice in coastal Delaware. He is the author of “Bad Therapy, Good Therapy (and How to Tell the Difference).” For more of his reports, Go Here Now.