‘A hell of a foray’

  • By Rich Lowry
  • Wednesday, July 30, 2014 9:06pm
  • News

If an Israeli high-level official were caught on a hot mic candidly commenting on Secretary of State John Kerry’s ill-fated act of Israel-Hamas peacemaking, he might call it “a hell of a diplomatic foray.”

Kerry was caught sarcastically describing the Israeli offensive into Gaza as “a hell of a pinpoint operation” during his round of Sunday-show interviews two weeks ago, before telling his aide over the phone, “We’ve got to get over there,” and “It’s crazy to be sitting around.”

Kerry’s belief in himself as the Indispensable Man is touchingly quaint. His conception of the U.S. secretary of state is apparently frozen in a time when it was a position of unparalleled power and respect. Those days are gone.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Or as President Barack Obama might quip, to paraphrase his put-down of Mitt Romney’s foreign-policy views during one of the 2012 presidential debates, “John, the 1980s want their secretary of state back.”

After six years of resetting, leading from behind, ending wars, nation building at home and pivoting to Asia, the U.S. has reduced itself to a husk of its former influence. When Kerry showed up in Cairo to meet with the president of Egypt, he was wanded by the guards, as if he had just wandered in from the airport security line.

Kerry underlined his dubious relevance by his inability to secure a cease-fire, and his dubious wisdom by making it his overarching goal. At this point, after Israel has committed itself on the ground, the U.S. should be seeking to give it the time it needs to do as much damage as possible to Hamas’ military infrastructure, instead of effectively bailing out the terror group.

Kerry held an ill-advised confab in Paris with Qatar and Turkey, the patrons of Hamas. Even the Palestinian Authority blasted this as the “friends of Hamas” meeting. With the Egyptians, the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Jordanians and the Palestinian Authority all functionally on Israel’s side in the Gaza War, it should be in a superior diplomatic position, but its superpower patron evidently didn’t get the memo.

By the time Kerry returned home, he had been showered with so much criticism by the Israelis that the U.S. government was saying it could endanger our relationship. The question raised by Obama administration foreign policy again and again is, How can self-styled Smart Power be so dumb and toothless?

For all of Kerry’s failings, he is a relative giant among a foreign-policy team composed largely of political hacks and post-American declinists. At least Kerry retains some of the old Democratic Party belief in America’s importance in the world. His condemnation of Syria’s use of chemical weapons last year was a stirring moral indictment of the Assad regime — although President Obama immediately undercut him when he abandoned his own “red lines.”

So far, Kerry’s tenure as secretary of state is making Hillary Clinton’s undistinguished stint look impressive by comparison. But that’s mostly a matter of timing. It is his misfortune to be present at the unraveling, as crisis after crisis unfolds, with the administration lacking the interest or the tough-mindedness to effectively respond.

It is impossible to find anywhere in the world where our position or alliances are stronger than they were six years ago. Incredibly enough, President Obama once called Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Islamist prime minister of Turkey, more than any foreign leader other than British Prime Minister David Cameron. Now, Obama hasn’t even talked to Erdogan in five months, and his erstwhile buddy condemns Israel as a “terror state.”

One hopeful theory about Obama foreign policy was that, after serial humiliations and failures, it would recalibrate toward more assertiveness, like Jimmy Carter did after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But he seems content with America’s new status in the world. John Kerry will just have to get used to it.

Rich Lowry can be reached via email: comments.lowry@national.review.com

More in News

Kenai Peninsula College Director Cheryl Siemers speaks to graduates during the 55th commencement ceremony at Kachemak Bay Campus on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Kenai Peninsula College leadership sees temporary transitions

KPC Director Cheryl Siemers is serving as interim UAA chancellor, while former KBC director Reid Brewer fills in her role.

Ash-Lee Waddell (center) of Homer is one of six recipients of the 2025 First Lady’s Volunteer Award at the Governor’s Residence in Juneau, Alaska, on May 13, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor
First lady honors Alaska volunteers

Volunteers from Homer and Nikiski were recognized.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Middle schooler reported missing found after 24-hour search

The student was seen leaving Kenai Middle School at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Oceania Riviera stands out against a bluebird sky at the Homer Harbor on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Over 1200 passengers from aboard the boat explored Homer throughout the beautiful day. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer tourism season kicks off with arrival of cruise ships

The first cruise ship of the season arrived April 28 with 930 passengers.

tease
‘Tomorrow — remember you are still a learner’

Kachemak Bay Campus graduated 49 students during its 55th annual commencement hosted on May 7.

Mt. Redoubt rises above Cook Inlet and the Anchor River drainage as fireweed is in bloom, as seen from Diamond Ridge Road on Friday, July 22, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Native plants provide lifeline for local songbirds

Shorebird Festival talk highlights importance of native plants.

Sterling Elementary School students collect trash from the banks of the Kenai River near Bing’s Landing in Sterling, Alaska, during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Cleaning up the mess that’s left behind

Students from six local schools combed for litter during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup.

Kenai City Hall on Feb. 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai land sales proposal delayed amid council concerns

The ordinance would amend city code to add new language allowing officers and employees to participate in property sales.

Greg Springer delivers a presentation on sockeye fishing during A Day at the River at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Gearing up for summer fishing

Trout Unlimited and the Kenai Watershed Forum host “A Day at the River.”

Most Read