The United States has for decades been known as the leader of the free world. Not anymore.

Obama with his speech brought rousing applause from those present at the United Nations to hear it. I’m unsure whether the applause was for promises of appeasement or his New World Order.

Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more. In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional division between nations of the south and north makes no sense in an interconnected world. Nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long gone Cold War.

The time has come to realize that the old habits and arguments are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They lead nations to act in opposition to the very goals that they claim to pursue, and to vote – often in this body – against the interests of their own people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down. Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides – coalitions of different faiths and creeds; of north and south, east and west; black, white, and brown.

The choice is ours. We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, and failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or, we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings, and finally gives meaning to the promise embedded in the name given to this institution: the United Nations.

That is the future America wants – a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.

And so we are no longer the leader of the free world. We have ceded that position to a global conglomerate of nations that have stood by while atrocities are committed against those who yearn for freedom, from the genocide in Darfur to the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan.

I don’t believe the full import of what Obama was saying has occurred to all those who applauded him so loudly. Yes, he is now one with them and has ceded all power to the United Nations as the governing body. The in positions of power inside the United Nations see the path to amassing more power and their desired one world government and little else.

Netanyahu, on the other hand, gave the speech Obama should have given. It was at once, an admonition and a declaration. Of course, reactions on the web are mixed along partisan political lines.

For a partial transcript of the video you can access it here: Have you no shame.

During his speech, Netanyahu showed some documents; documents given to him just a short time ago. Nations must realize that there is no peace for the world as long as dictators like Ahmedinejad have the opportunity to spread hate and contempt toward other nations. And today, we find Iran is not only going ahead with plans for nuclear armament but has doubled its efforts. When confronted, Iran’s president shrugged it off.

He dismissed the idea that “we must inform Mr. Obama’s administration of every facility that we have” and said the uproar over the plant “simply adds to the list of issues [over] which the United States owes the Iranian nation an apology.”

And our so-called leaders call for sanctions.

“We will not let this matter rest,” Brown said. “And we are prepared to implement further and more stringent sanctions. . . . Iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear program.” [...]
Asked if Israel had been kept apprised of the unfolding intelligence, an intelligence official said that “we have regular international exchanges with our partners” and that “Iranian nuclear activity is a topic that is regularly discussed.”

Obama has flung down the mantle of the leader of the free world most heartily. Mr. Netanyahu has picked it up unafraid.

Well… Sarkozy tried:

“How, before the eyes of the world, could we justify meeting without tackling them?” Sarkozy said. “We live in the real world, not a virtual world. And the real world expects us to take decisions.”

Unfortunately, those who came before him squandered any chance of leadership for France; at least in the short term. But then, he followed up that statement with this:

Referring to an upcoming meeting in Geneva between representatives of Iran and six world powers, Sarkozy said, “Everything, everything, must be put on the table now. We cannot let the Iranian leaders gain time while the motors are running.” If there is no “in-depth change” on Iran’s part by December, “sanctions will have to be taken,” he said.

I thought he wanted to live in the real world. All eyes will be on Israel in the coming months and no matter which way it acts, many will be swift to condemn, even while those criticizing opt for impotence instead of courage. Or perhaps, they won’t look too closely while Israel does what needs to be done but what those “in charge” refuse to take the responsibility for doing.

Remember, the Jews promised themselves: “Never Again.”

Crossposted to Hillbilly Politics.