As we have pointed out, President Barack Obama has effectively checked out of his responsibilities to vigilantly promote and defend the foreign policy interests of the United States.
The country is on “Obama auto pilot” — “Do nothing”.
Long ago his promotion and defense of human rights in foreign countries was reduced to an empty parade of words, not backed by policies or actions.
Now, silence in the face of barbarous events and massive violations of fundamental human rights is the norm.
In the Philippines, a murderous regime has resorted to extrajudicial executions on a large scale to deal with the drug problem, and even threatened to pull out of the United Natons because the latter criticized these actions.
In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega has succeeded in establishing one-man rule, only thinly disguised by the trappings of democracy. Well, Cuba always had the trappings of democracy, an empty shell in which the rule of law was never to be found.
Venezuela has abandoned the last pretexts of democracy. The courts uphold Maduro’s despotic acts, just as the German Supreme Court upheld Hitler’s actions in the 1930’s.
In Turkey, Tayyip Erdoğan has replaced a functioning democracy with an authoritarian state, in which the forms of the rule of law are not even simulated. Tens of thousands of officials have been dismissed from their jobs with no pretense of legality during the present purge.
The White House has been silent.
The Europeans are clueless. They recently sent a team of officials to help the Turks prepare for visa-free entry into Europe, despite the fact that Erdoğan has been blatantly violating most of the conditions which must be satisfied for any such visa-free regime to come into being.
The whole idea of visa-free entry into Europe for the Turks is a very bad idea, particularly when terrorists are doing their best to enter into Europe as refugees and by any other means possible.
The situation is even more absurd, as Erdoğan is demanding that Turkey be admitted to European Union membership within six years, just as he is tearing up the last remnants of democracy in Turkey which constitute absolute prerequisites for any serious consideration of Turkish entry into the EU.
Angela Merkel and other European leaders have entered into an agreement with Erdowan by which they will return illegal EU migrants to Turkey. In this manner, the EU has subcontracted the defense of its borders to Erdoğan.
Europeans are afraid to tell Erdoğan he can forget the Visa-free entry regime, much less any thought of EU entry, until he restores both the form and the substance of democracy in Turkey.
The Austrian foreign minister, to his credit and with the support of his president, has declared that Europe doesn’t need the immigrant deal with Turkey, making the obvious point that Europe should defend its own borders.
In Washington, no policies or actions have been directed at Erdoğan to make him stop his authoritarian drive.
Obama’s silence on human rights in Turkey, or anywhere else for that matter, should come as no surprise to those who have followed American policy in Syria and toward Putin.
At the White House, everything is quiet. The boss has checked out.
The Trenchant Observer
