Another Example of Obama's Chickens Coming Home to Roost?

Since he took office, Obama has gone out of his way to insult several of our closest allies, including Britain. Just to recap these slights: Obama returned a bust of Winston Churchill to the Brits, and Obama was too tired to hold a Rose Garden press conference or host a state dinner when British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited early this year. When Brown presented Obama with a priceless pen holder made from the timbers of a British navy ship that fought slave traders, Obama gave Brown a stack of DVDs. Even worse, these DVDs were not compatible with British DVD players–and Brown has been experiencing trouble with his vision. Finally, a State Department official told the Brits that “there’s nothing special about Britain. You’re just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn’t expect special treatment.” The British press was shocked and outraged.

Recently, I began to wonder if the release of the Libyan terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi wasn’t a little payback for Obama. From what I understand, the United States had been aware that the Brits were debating letting the terrorist go; and our government had strongly opposed his release. Not only did the Brits allow his release, but, once the decision was made, Washington was only given 10 minutes’ notice.

Let’s hope that Obama learns from this bitter lesson and resolves to treat our allies better than our enemies. I’m certain that there will be times in the future when he’ll want an ally to assist him in some way. But, frankly, I don’t hold out much hope for change on Obama’s part.