THE EMPTY SUIT

He would practice "smart diplomacy," Barack Obama said.  He would reach out to America’s critics and adversaries, and — through appeasement, flattery and his personal charm — get them to modify their behavior.

"The day I’m inaugurated, Muslim hostility will ease," Sen. Obama told New Hampshire Public Radio.

The Obama administration made no discernible effort to distinguish between Islamists — who want to establish a world-wide Caliphate governed by Islamic law, in which non-Muslims would be forcibly converted, enslaved, or killed — and Muslims who think religious tolerance is no threat to Islam.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been guests at the White House, been used as intermediaries in peace talks with the Taliban, and served in the Obama administration.  Though it was founded by an admirer of Adolf Hitler, and its goals are the same as al Qaida’s, the administration considers the Muslim Brotherhood "moderate" because it seeks power first through the ballot box (as Hitler did).

The most prominent Muslim Brother is Mohammed Morsi, who is president of Egypt in part because Mr. Obama abandoned the corrupt, authoritarian, but pro-American Hosni Mubarak.  This reminded many of when President Jimmy Carter, believing the Ayatollah Khomeini to be a moderate reformer, helped him push the Shah of Iran off the Peacock Throne.

Egypt is the largest "Arab" country; has by far the best military in the Arab world, and borders on Israel.  An Islamist takeover could have comparable consequences.

There were many signs before 9/11/2012 that outreach was failing:

*In Muslim countries, the percentage of people with a favorable opinion of the U.S. fell from 25 to 15 between June of 2009 and June 2012, according to Pew’s annual poll.

*Because he thought a soft line toward the mullahs was more likely to get them to abandon their pursuit of nuclear weapons, when tens of thousands of Iranians demonstrated for democracy, President Obama ignored their pleas for help.  For the same reason, he has opposed stringent economic sanctions.  Iran’s pursuit of nukes has not slowed.

*Mr. Obama tilted sharply toward the Palestinians in negotations with Israel.  His policy shift has produced only an escalation of Palestinian demands.

But the administration was caught flat-footed when "smart" diplomacy imploded on 9/11/2012.

It shouldn’t have been.  The attacks were planned long in advance, for reasons other than ire over a YouTube video mocking the Prophet Muhammad, said Libyan and Egyptian officials, diplomats and intelligence experts in Europe and America. The State Department had "credible information" two days before the attacks U.S. missions were being targeted, said a British newspaper, citing "senior diplomatic sources."

The purpose of the Cairo protest was to demand release of Omar abdel Rahman, the "blind sheikh" who is serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, said Eric Trager of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Jihadis were planning to attack the U.S. and Israeli embassies, Egyptian intelligence reported a week before the attack, but it isn’t known whether that warning was passed on to the embassy.  The embassy did get a heads up from U.S. intelligence a day before.

He warned the consulate of the presence of armed jihadis in Benghazi three days before Ambassador Stevens was killed, a Libyan security officer said.  There’s "no doubt" the attack "was planned by foreigners," Libya’s president said.  The purpose of the attack was to avenge the death of Abu Yaya al- Libi (the Libyan), al Qaida’s number two, in a drone attack in June.  There never was a protest outside the consulate – only the jihadi attack, witnesses said.

As late as last Sunday, senior Obama aides insisted the attacks were a spontaneous response to the Muhammad video.

The day after the attacks, Mr. Obama expressed doubt Egypt was still an ally.  Watching State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland walking his statement back would have been hilarious, if the circumstances weren’t so tragic.  The president compared his campaign workers to the diplomats under siege.  He didn’t let the crisis interfere with campaigning, or partying. 

Did shock from the collapse of his Mideast policy make the president behave erratically?  If Mr. Obama hadn’t skipped most of his daily intelligence briefings, he might not have been so surprised.

Democrats thought foreign policy would be an advantage for them.  But with the black flag of al Qaida rising on the flagstaffs of our embassies, and thousands of rioting Islamists chanting: "Obama, Obama, we are all Osama," there will be no more victory laps.  It appears now the only thing that could make Clint Eastwood’s skit at the GOP convention more apt is if he’d draped an empty suit over the empty chair.