Obama's state of denial

There is no chance that the U.S. will try to hide the true motives behind the San Bernardino massacre. Such deception is not an American trait. For this very reason, it will be very interesting to see how the U.S. government deals with the fallout of this mass shooting.

Initial news reports about such incidents are never complete and they often contain untrue information. But in the immediate aftermath of the murder of 14 people in San Bernardino, it seemed like American commentators were deliberately making every effort to avoid describing the incidnet as an Islamic terrorist attack. It even took President Barack Obama several days to reluctantly acknowledge that the shooting may have been an act of terrorism.

This is Obama's Achilles heel. He has faced much criticism both at home and abroad for his passivity in the face of the growing global terrorist threat. It appears Obama held a delusional belief that the Atlantic Ocean would protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks. But the San Bernardino attack shattered that mistaken world view.

The Obama administration may want to continue shutting its eyes to the Islamic terrorist problem, but it is impossible to ignore the link between the Paris and San Bernardino attacks.

One would expect the leader of the free world to act with fierce determination against the Iranian and Syrian regimes, as well as Hezbollah (not to mention al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and Hamas). Yet Obama's inclination is to avoid tackling Islamic terrorism directly. He has shirked his responsibility to fight Islamic terrorism and has tried to downplay the threat.

Speaking at the annual Saban Forum in Washington on Friday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon called on the U.S. to play a more active role in world affairs. If the U.S. does not heed this call, the free world will be left defenseless. In such a scenario, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, will fill the void as it seeks to regain superpower status. And, as Ya'alon said in Washington, Israel does not want to see Jordan and Saudi Arabia become Russian clients.

This is what will happen if Obama does not amend his feeble policy in Syria as Putin continues heavy aerial bombardments there. Further vacillation by Obama in Syria could end up adversely impacting many generations to come.

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