From His Office In Cloud Cuckoo Land Obama Says He Is Improving the World

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He asserts: “wherever we have been involved over the last several years, I think the outcome has been better because of American leadership.”

By Eric Zuesse

December 31, 2014 "ICH" - U.S. President Barack Obama said in a December 30th Oval Office interview with Steve Inskeep of National Public Radio, that, “wherever we have been involved over the last several years, I think the outcome has been better because of American leadership.” This statement from him was part of his answer when Inskeep asked whether the President had regrets about “overthrowing the Gadhafi regime” in Libya.

Obama answered:
“We are hugely influential; we’re the one indispensable nation. But when it comes to nation-building, when it comes to what is going to be a generational project in a place like Libya or a place like Syria or a place like Iraq, we can help, but we can’t do it for them.” In other words: the Libyan people failed, and the Syrian people failed, and the Iraqi people failed, according to America’s President — but he himself and his predecessor Bush did not fail by bombing those countries under false pretenses as they did.

Inskeep (who apparently was ignorant that the people of Crimea had always opposed the donation of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1954, and who was also ignorant that Crimeans in March 2014 were delighted to be reunited again with Russia and had not been “taken” by Russia but were instead saved by Russia from the fate that befell Donbass) interjected, there, for clarification to his listeners, that Obama meant that Putin was thought to be a “genius” “for taking Crimea.” Inskeep was here trying to help Obama by clarifying Obama’s anti-Putin reference in his “genius” term; and, by doing so, Inskeep falsely assumed that Crimea had been seized, against the will of Crimeans.

The President skillfully built upon Inskeep’s ignorance, and anti-Russian bias, here, by playing along with Inskeep’s false intrinsic assumption, and by continuing directly from it in such a way as to present himself as being the real “genius”; he asserted, “And he had outmaneuvered all of us and he had, you know, bullied and, you know, strategized his way into expanding Russian power. And I said at the time we don’t want war with Russia [even though his February 2014 anti-Russian coup in Ukraine and actions afterwards show otherwise] but we can apply steady pressure working with our European partners, being the backbone of an international coalition to oppose Russia’s violation of another country’s sovereignty [as if it weren’t the case that two recent Gallup polls in Crimea showed an overwhelming public support there for leaving Ukraine and for reuniting with Russia, and as if it weren’t the case that America’s takeover of Ukraine on Russia’s border hadn’t been the aggressive act here], and that over time, this would be a strategic mistake by Russia [when, in fact, Obama knows quite well that the people he installed in his February coup in Ukraine had already been initiating the process to kick out of Crimea, Russia’s crucial Black Sea Fleet, which had been stationed there since 1783, and that this reversal of Khrushchev’s 1954 gift of Crimea to Ukraine was crucial for Russia’s own national security]. And today, you know, I’d sense that at least outside of Russia [such as among the trusting listeners to NPR], maybe some people are thinking what Putin did wasn’t so smart [when Obama knows quite well that what Putin did by his re-absorbing Crimea back into Russia was actually vital to Russian national security under the circumstances of Obama’s February coup in Ukraine].”

Inskeep responded to Obama’s distortions, with what he perhaps hoped his listeners would think to be a challenging question to the President: “Are you just lucky that the price of oil went down and therefore their currency collapsed or … is it something that you did?” Inskeep was apparently quite ignorant there that Obama’s Secretary of State had met in Riyadh with the Saudi King on September 11th widely viewed as having actually produced the King’s decision to flood oil markets in order to drive oil prices so low as to cripple Russia’s economy, so that Inskeep’s question here was assuming a non-existent polarity, in any case (between the sanctions from Obama, vs. the falling oil-price, which was supposedly not from Obama).

Obama answered Inskeep’s ignorance there by triumphantly bragging against Putin:

“If you’ll recall, their economy was already contracting and capital was fleeing even before oil collapsed. And part of our rationale in this process was that the only thing keeping that economy afloat was the price of oil. [Actually, Russia’s economy under Putin had been growing much faster than had the U.S. economy under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama regime.] And if, in fact, we were steady in applying sanction pressure, which we have been, that over time it would make the economy of Russia sufficiently vulnerable that if and when there were disruptions with respect to the price of oil — which, inevitably, there are going to be sometime, if not this year then next year or the year after [which also is a lie from him because the current low oil price is the engineered price, and even the Saudis will have to quit doing it within a few years] — that they’d have enormous difficulty managing it. I say that, not to suggest that we’ve solved Ukraine [by producing the civil war there?], but I’m saying that to give an indication that when it comes to the international stage, these problems are big, they’re difficult, they’re messy [like America’s coups were in Iran 1953, Guatemala 1954, Chile 1973, etc.]. But wherever we have been involved over the last several years, I think the outcome has been better because of American leadership.”

So, the particular instance in which America’s President feels proudest of having produced an “outcome [that] has been better because of American leadership” was in Ukraine, where Obama’s policy produced a takeover of the Ukrainian Government by racist anti-Russian fascists, or nazis who hate Russians — nazis who are ethnically cleansing ethnic Russians away from Ukraine’s Donbass region, the region that had voted 90% for the President, Viktor Yanukovych, whom Obama had overthrown with the crucial armed muscle of those nazi snipers who carried out his coup. (And virtually no U.S. ‘news’ medium has reported that the actual person whom Obama placed in control of Ukraine is a longstanding leader of Ukraine’s nazis.)

With ‘news’ coverage like this, it’s clear why, as Gallup headlined on December 29th, “Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Extend Run as Most Admired.”

That sort of thing — respect for people who are actually war-mongers — has become routine in the United States. In 2001, the most-admired man was George W. Bush, and the most-admired woman was his wife. In 2002-2006, the most-admired man was President Bush, and the most-admired woman was former President Bill Clinton’s wife. (Hillary Clinton is a big backer of all invasions and coups by the U.S.)

And, without ‘news’ coverage like that, it’s also clear why people outside the United States consider the U.S. to be the biggest threat to world peace. Internationally, Russia is way down this list. However, America’s President won’t need to ask those foreigners whether to launch a nuclear attack against Russia. All that he will need to control is America’s press — and he (and the aristocrats who placed him into power) do.

Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.

See also -

2014 - The deadliest year for Afghan civilians on record: The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is to exceed 10,000 in 2014 - the highest since records began. UNAMA's Georgette Gagnon tells DW the figures reflect how civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence.

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Comments (34)
Jason Barfield 's avatar

Jason Barfield · 23 hours ago
Did Obama actually say that "we're the one indispensable nation?" Like Paul Craig Roberts always sarcastically refers to America? I guess satire has become reality. This is truly a jump the shark moment, and hopefully an indication that he's finally snapped. It'll be more fun having a genuine madman leading us, instead of just a violent borderline psychopath. Maybe he'll be more gentle now the weight of his own evil has finally broken him. Took long enough.
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3 replies · active 11 hours ago
+21
's avatar - Go to profile

DennisM · 22 hours ago
Obama could fairly be called Satan's Arse! It is a fitting title for a fraud who was given a Peace Prize.

Our world spirals ever downwards and the dictionary fails to provide adequate words to describe each new crop of so-called leaders!
My recent post Happy New Year? What A Joke!
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+19
Steve's avatar

Steve · 22 hours ago
All this warmongering has a way of trickling down to society. People see the CIA and private contractors getting away with murder. Society is being undermined. Blowing away people innocent bystanders with drones is now commonplace. What kind of effect does this have on average people?
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2 replies · active 9 hours ago
+24
maricia's avatar

maricia · 21 hours ago
Obama-you LIE!!! Where is the improvement?? You and your cronies in congress have made our country less safe!!!! You are all gutless wonders--you all defend the Israelis, but for the Palestinians you have no heart-no soul-you cast them aside like dirt!! Also you have no heart for the citizens of the US!!
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+19
Robert's avatar

Robert · 20 hours ago
Name one country, only one, in want's known as the West, where it's citizens don't know that the people they continually elect and reelect to public office are liars, scoundrels and frauds. Why haven't, for example, the people of Arizona grown tired of John McCain or the American people of the Clintons? When there is no question as to the kind of people they are, why do we continue to embrace them, hoping for a different outcome? I would run for office but I don't have the money and fortunately I know what my limitations are.
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2 replies · active 16 minutes ago
+15
Sowheretofromhere's avatar

Sowheretofromhere · 19 hours ago
Pride comes before a fall, lets all hope and pray that this deceived and deluded Obomba and his puppet masters will fall on their swords soon.
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1 reply · active 10 hours ago
+19
Old School's avatar

Old School · 16 hours ago
Obama & Co. was what Orwell had in mind. It might be laughable if it weren't so tragic.
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+3
GreedrulesinDC's avatar

GreedrulesinDC · 14 hours ago
When the petrodollar isn't worth the paper the FED prints it on, and the "indispensable nation" veil is ripped off, our blathering leader and his elite buddies will be exposed as the thieving, murderous bastards they actually are. Give it five to seven years. The only thing keeping the economy afloat is bullshit, and our Dear Leader won't be so dear and won't be a leader when the money is gone. His time in the sun is passing..
And when Americans are broke and their bellies are empty, what will happen to sycophants like Inskeep? Like a tree that falls in the forest with no one to hear, do the elite propagandists really make a sound? I wonder if cretins like Inskeep ever remember that Nazi propagandists were prosecuted as war criminals, too.
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+6
ringo's avatar

ringo · 12 hours ago
Obama " world is better for US leadership "
I know he prefers golf to politics, but this statement defies all logic, I suppose if one spends ones time on the golf course, events are likely to pass you by, Obama is like the proverbial OSTRICH, BUT INSTEAD OF BURYING HIS HEAD IN SAND HE BURIES HIS IN GOLF BALLS.
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+11
Jim's avatar

Jim · 11 hours ago
Just further confirmation that Obama is nothing more than a 'talking head', a characteristic shared with virtually all of his predecessors.

One must keep in mind that the the Nobel Peace Prize is itself an oxymoron, Alfred Nobel having been a significant, enthusiastic contributor to the business of war. Thus, Obama can be considered a fitting recipient.
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+2
bozhidar balkas's avatar

bozhidar balkas · 8 hours ago
By now, most of us dissidents [with full bellies, tho--makes complaining much more pleasant than when homeless, hungry, jobless] know that US runs on a few principles [or to talk like a paesano or my neighbor: THOUGHTS]; so, is, indeed, also a principled country and not just San Marino, et al.
Following US tenets are holy of holies:
1) inalienable right of man to own man; a nation another nation[s], Planet, Moon, Mars..
2) US' inerrancy.
3) Survival of the fittest: adapted to humans and adopted for man by probably first of all priests.
And now a question: can it get worse than that? Alas, woe to us, it can and will!!!! 100% sure.
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1 reply · active 6 hours ago
+4
trampshining's avatar

trampshining · 8 hours ago
One wonders what kind of pills he is on.
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0
bozhidar balkas's avatar

bozhidar balkas · 8 hours ago
Crimea indeed took in Russia. Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia tried desperately--in order to avoid wars--to take in Serbia from '87-to '91, but Serbia did not want any of that.
World is now trying to take in Israel and US, but they are not ready for any union.
Maybe, we should ask the two Rogues what is it they want!
Upon finding out what it is they are after--and if sensible---let the two Rouges take us in.
Another solution would be for us to throw in the towel and then solemnly swear never again to doublethink US/Israel!
How about starting a nuclear war and say the hell with it all???? Who's gonna get too nervous and fed up first?? And when?
So, ONLY three solutions available!!!!!
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+1
bozhidar balkas's avatar

bozhidar balkas · 7 hours ago
If Ukraine and FEU/US manage to force all civilians in Donbas to flee for dear life, the ad hoc bloc would have in that case succeeded in what it wanted to achieve.
But question arises, would the entire nation of about 8M flee?
Not likely, i expect.
I am 100% sure that the ad hoc bloc can win in Donbass only if Russia let's it happen.
I just could not figure out yet--in light of the conclusion that Russia would not allow the bloc to defeat Donbass--why Russia did not send its army to Donbass even in March, April, or May '14???
Russia could have warned FEU [the "F" is that of the US] that if it in any way would support Kiev and kept gladahanding the coup [serious crime] it would cut the supply of gas to at least Germany [or western FEU] and then ready the nuclear weapons and the army for war.
By doing that, i suggest, US would not have hated Russia more and nor wanted more to destroy or change its government than now!
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+2
rgl's avatar

rgl · 7 hours ago
This is precisely how public opinion is shaped by the money(wo)men.
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+2
Michael E 's avatar

Michael E · 5 hours ago
We will start with Mexico, we have returned to the days of rule by fear; the PRI was bought back into power thanks mainly to the US and its policy preventing its neighbors having a government that helps its own people. Venezuela. Again thanks to those Americans working on behalf of Obama, the country has gone backwards. Egged on by these scum, the rich have done a lot of damage to their own country, including selling off produce meant for consumption within the country, to its neighbors who support the American vultures. Canada and Australia. Although in the case of Australia, the governments have always been predisposed to wards the UK, they are both now in the back pocket of the US. Canada was once a reasonable country, and helped to balance the continent against the incessant idiocy of the US. Now all it does it grovel at the feet of the US. Iran, despite its many attempts to improve its lot with the US, is still being accused of all sorts of things. What with the assassination of it’s scientists by Israel, undoubtedly assisted by US intelligence, their economy has been sent into retreat by the invention of Iranian nuclear plots. Egypt has reverted back to a dictator, whether the brotherhood was good or bad, they were elected. But once again thanks to the US, Egyptians no longer have what they strode for, a free government. These incidents and facts can be reproduced in many other countries recently affected by American arrogance, whether by direct action or less direct action such as manipulation of the cost of oil. So as we can all see, Obama’s statement that he is “improving the world” is obviously meant to reflect his world of the rich, powerful thieves he comes into contact with. I have not forgotten the main victims of the US, Iraq, Libya, Syria etc, as we are all aware of them. Those above are just a few of the lesse known victims of Americas greed.
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1 reply · active 1 hour ago
+2
Right Now's avatar

Right Now · 4 hours ago
Jeeze...Look who calling the kettle black?...The Prez has a lot of guts, saying things like the Syrian, Iraqi and Libyan people failed to help themselves? Guess he means to overthrow their leaders? Then to talk rebuild their country's? Since the U.S. bombed them all? The U.S. should be rebuilding all those countries. Since the Federal Reserve prints money out of thin air? GIVE THEM THE MONEY TO REBUILD. And the real failures in the past 30 years? Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama. Jobs have left this country in staggering numbers, under all prior presidents listed. Taxes have went up for the majority. While these fake derivitives makers on Wall Street? Get huge tax breaks for the last 20 years! And to throw trillions of dollars to big banks? Who continue to rob everyone? Obama really needs to open his eyes. Cause he's not paying attention? Or he's just as guilty as the criminals surrounding him.
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Satan 666's avatar

Satan 666 · 3 hours ago
Hahaha LMAO
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+4
guest's avatar

guest · 3 hours ago
Obama is a black guy. But he has a mind of a white imperialist who admire his own grandeur. A black guy saving the whole world.

Those who voted for him, especially black America, now discovers that their president actually think and talk like the18th century imperial conqueror Napoleon and crusading Pope combined. This guy worship himself. The transformation is the stuff worthy of the most insidious novel.
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+2
Confoundmeonce's avatar

Confoundmeonce · 2 hours ago
OBAMA, Too bad you can`t ask those millions of Innocents You and your Neo= Zionist Actions (* And Inactions ) Have Brought About. Too bad You can`t question even one of Them How They Feel . This Propaganda HAS to Stop.. How about Working For PEACE..instead of ''Continuous Wars. HELP Not Hinder.
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BRF's avatar

BRF · 1 hour ago
Zuesse keeps getting harder hitting all the time. Never watching MS anything I missed Inskeep's Orwellian interview with the current oval office resident, not that I could have stomached viewing the whole charade. Inskeep, if he has any intelligence must read and know the same information as those of us reading Zuesse's article here, so his playing dumb bunny is all a fraud aimed at advancing his earnings potential as a fraudulent journalist that can be relied on to mislead the public in true fraud artist fashion. Did I mention that Inskeep is a malevolent fraud. Well it appears the American Ministries of Peace and Love had been hard at work in their much earlier planning sessions (seven in five) and then very active in development of those plans since instigating 9/11/2001, bringing their benevolence to these nations. Soon Inskeep will be interviewing John Negroponte on the Peace and Love he brought to Central America, and then seeing the success there to Iraq. Meanwhile on the domestic front the Ministry of Plenty has publicized it's latest figures and the Ministry of Truth broadcast the numbers announcing that almost full employment has been attained and production of everything is up as is the standard of the people's living. Thanks and my sincerest gratitude to Mr. Zuesse for sitting through and then reporting to us what must be extremely painful to watch MSMisinformation sessions.
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Özcan's avatar

Özcan · 1 hour ago
Is it possible that he really believes this?
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+2
nexusxyz's avatar - Go to profile

nexusxyz · 1 hour ago
Obama is just a vacuous puppet that is given a script to read by his minders. He looks totally uninterested and perhaps would like to retire to the golf course and speaking circuit.
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Yuri's avatar

Yuri · 29 minutes ago
Crimea is a natural Ukrainian peninsula. It is also the original home of Crimean Tatars who are very pro-Ukrainian. In 1945 Stalin deported almost the entire Tatar population to Caucasus and Siberia and populated Crimea with ethnic Russians. That is how about 60% of the population of Crimea was Russian at the time of its annexation by Putin. Eventually Crimea will either be returned to Ukraine or there will be some mutually acceptable arrangement how to share it between Ukraine and Russia. Without such a deal, Russia will always have an enemy at its gates by the name of Ukraine.

Today Crimea is in a miserable state. Ukraine has stopped all rail connections with it. The electricity and water supplies are being limited to the minimum. Food supplies from Ukraine will also essentially stop with the stoppage of the rail traffic. Here is a good article about Armageddon in Crimea. http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/12/27/armageddon-...

Russia will have to supply everything to Crimea by air which in the long term is unsustainable. Already Crimea is costing Russia far more than it had budgeting for it. After Putin retires or is retired, the issue of Crimea will be renegotiated between Russia and Ukraine. I could foresee some kind of a joint ownership arrangement or a division of Crimean territory into Russian and Ukrainian portions or something like that. If Russia will want to live in peace with Ukraine, the issue of Crimea will have to be settled to the satisfaction of Ukraine.
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