During a speech Monday to the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Fellows at the White House, President Barack Obama proclaimed America "the most respected country on earth" and credited his administration with restoring the U.S. to world dominance,
according to the Daily Caller.
"People don’t remember, but when I came into office, the United States in world opinion ranked below China and just barely above Russia, and today once again, the United States is the most respected country on earth, and part of that I think is because of the work we did to re-engage the world and say that we want to work with you as partners with mutual interests and mutual respect," said Obama.
"It was on that basis we were able to end two wars while still focusing on the very real threat of terrorism and to try to work with our partners on the ground in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the reason why we are moving in the direction of normalizing relations with Cuba. The nuclear deal that we are trying to negotiate with Iran."
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Just days ago,
Salon.com published a piece originally posted on Tomdispatch.com that reached a far different conclusion than the president’s about America’s global standing.
"Take a look around the world and it’s hard not to conclude that the United States is a superpower in decline," the article states. "Whether in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East, aspiring powers are flexing their muscles, ignoring Washington’s dictates, or actively combating them. Russia refuses to curtail its support for armed separatists in Ukraine; China refuses to abandon its base-building endeavors in the South China Sea; Saudi Arabia refuses to endorse the U.S.-brokered nuclear deal with Iran; the Islamic State movement (ISIS) refuses to capitulate in the face of U.S. airpower. What is a declining superpower supposed to do in the face of such defiance?"
During South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s announcement Monday that he’s running for president, the Palmetto State’s senior senator declared that Obama "has made us less safe,"
according to Yahoo News.
"Simply put, radical Islam is running wild. They have more safe havens, more money, more capability and more weapons to strike our homeland than any time since 9/11."
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