Some are asking what is happening in the Republican Party today, but I pose the question about what has been happening in the GOP over the last four!  Since Democrats took control of Congress and in the latter years of their control Republicans in the House and Senate seemed like little more than mice among rats. 

Today the North Koreans launched a long-range missile over the sovereign territory of Japan.  Much like the Bush Administration before it, the Obama Administration sent war ships to the Sea of Japan and told the world that there would be “consequences” if North Korea launched the missile.  They did and America is showing the world her teeth: they’re having a meeting at the United Nations.

That is something to be terrified about.  Oh, wait, there’s more – on the same day that a missile was launched from North Korean soil that has the ability to hit the west coast of the United States President Obama was giving a speech in Prague.  During that speech he told the crowd that he wanted to get rid of the world’s nuclear weapons.

Huh?

North Korea and Iran are working to get nuclear weapons and both are working toward a nuclear weapon and delivery system and the response from the President of the United States is to call a meeting, issue a statement “condemning” it (what does that even mean?  “I condemn the launch,” how silly) and his response is to read a statement from his teleprompter that said it is time for the world to get rid of nuclear weapons.

That is like telling the world to get rid of cigarettes or liquor.  Even the most observant Islamic terrorists were drinkers and those responsible for September 11, 2001 went to a strip club during the brief stay in America prior to the attacks.  Should we really believe that the people of the world who lead regimes that are set on the destruction of Israel or the United States would respond to a call from America to get rid of nuclear weapons?

Of course there are some who cried in the crowd in the Czech Republic who listened to Obama talking about ridding the world of nukes, but their tears came because just prior to calling for that he spoke of getting rid of the anti-missile systems that were agreed upon by the United States during the Bush years.  How can they trust us?  How can the people of the world believe the United States if they, countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, risk everything to side with us and then have a president come and give a speech only to turn his back on them?

If you were living in Eastern Europe today – a stone’s throw from Russia (a new Soviet-style country) – would you begin asking yourself who you could count on to keep their word? 

I would. 

How can anyone believe the United States when in the time it took to give a speech the safety and security of two countries that survived the U.S.S.R. was taken away with questions about whether or not America will keep her word.

Add the issue of the economy to the issues of our failed foreign policy, a foreign policy that failed under the Bush Administration as it related to Iran and North Korea, and you have a recipe for disaster.  When a carrier group or war ships are sent to a region of the world and a warning issues saying that we are prepared to shoot down a missile fired from North Korea and we don’t all we do is run into the trap of Osama bin Laden and are the paper tiger of his dreams.

Americans are angry about a lot of things: whether it is the economic downturn and bailouts, trillions of dollars in spending and new taxes to pay for things for years to come one has to ask whether or not we can afford to be weak in the world today.  Our foreign policy is now linked directly to our economic uncertainty.  Would China buy the bonds to fund the government expansion if we shot down the North Korean missile?  Probably not, but the question is did they tell us so?

If they did and we listened they will have become the de facto foreign policy advisor to the United States.  Our foreign policy is inexorably linked to our economy and is during good times and bad.  But it is during bad times that we have to worry about our foreign policy being dictated by foreign governments. 

As Americans begin to gather for tea parties around the country it is time for us to rise up and say enough is enough.  We have a right to revolt against a tyrannical government and the government has lost touch with her people.  President Obama and the latter years of President Bush have become the equivalent of our fight with King George.

King George dismissed the anger of the American people too and one bets that in the portrait that hangs of him in Buckingham Palace the only thing Queen Elizabeth thinks when she stares at it is what a great thing America would have been to have as part of the UK.

Then she turns on her iPod and listens to a speech from Barack Obama.

Steve Yuhas is a radio talk show host on AM 600 KOGO in southern California.  He may be reached at www.steveyuhas.com or steve@steveyuhas.com.