Barack Obama: The Catalyst for Brexit
When the Syrian Civil War began, the President made very clear that Syrian President Bashar al Assad must be removed from office. He called on Assad to ‘step aside’ ‘for the sake of the Syrian people.’ And yet, nothing was done. In 2013, when Assad was on the run, President Obama chose not to support the rebels with the necessary training or equipment to take on the regime. President Obama failed to enforce the very red line he drew. Simply put: these empty words and empty promises left a real void in leadership.
In the five years of this Syrian crisis, nearly half a million Syrians have died under the brutal regime of Assad. With the help of Iran and Russia, Assad has destroyed countless communities by airstrikes, blocking food supplies and humanitarian aid, and targeting the innocent. This horrible situation has forced thousands of Syrians out of their homes and communities resulting in mass emigration to neighboring regions, mostly in the European Union. These innocent people do not want to leave their homes, but without an end in sight to the brutality of Assad, they are left with no choice. Aid is not getting into their war torn towns, and there are no safe zones.
This forced emigration created a clash of civilization and cultures for the countries receiving these refugees. The economic repercussions and the ISIS and ISIS-inspired attacks in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, and Orlando further spurred the fears of emigration and weak border security across the EU.
Earlier this week, President Obama’s overreaching executive action on amnesty for illegal immigrants was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court. His attempt to ‘fix immigration’ was a violation of our Constitution, but worse, it gave false promises to immigrants across the country and around the world. Rather than have immigration reform be brought to the People’s House, where it certainly needs to be discussed, he chose to act alone and break down any chance of the House working its will. I believe we need immigration reform, but it’s something that needs to be sustainable coming through the legislative branch.
It’s interesting that the President’s frustration over inaction on immigration led him to unlawful executive action and a complete disregard for the system of checks and balances. It’s even more interesting that he can be so commanding on decisions that he is not authorized to make, but when it comes to being our Commander-in-Chief on foreign policy and national security, he continues to sit on the sidelines and watch the chaos implode.
What happened in the United Kingdom is a result of the fears of emigration, the soft border protection across the EU, and the lack of leadership coming from the United States. President Obama failed to take action in Syria, which caused the mass emigration to Europe. He failed to step up as a global leader in the international community, and planted doubts among our allies on our willingness to take out threats like ISIS and actively show them our support. President Obama has ultimately failed the free world, and the result we see today is the Brexit vote.
