Enough humility: World has become keenly aware of our government's lack of resolve

There is a fundamental truth behind any negotiation.

If the person with whom you are negotiating does not respect you, or does not think you have any power to wield, they are likely to not be very receptive to your threats or to your demands for compromise.

And there are many who are wondering today if that is exactly what has happened to the United States.

Perhaps our stick is not as big as it once was. Perhaps we have walked a little too softly. Whatever the explanation, this nation, once a leader in the world, seems to have become a bit of an afterthought.

And that is scary.

When President Barack Obama took power, one of his promises was that he would make the United States "humble" again. He made many references to the fact that the U.S. needed to step back, not to take such an aggressive role in world affairs, to seek more common ground with its enemies.

He even went so far as to make Muslim holidays a priority at the White House -- a sign that the administration had great respect for Islam.

He was conciliatory with former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, even promising him under his breath -- but not out of reach of the microphone -- that he just needed to be patient, that Obama could do more when he did not have the threat of re-election over his head.

And now we see that once again, the laws of the universe are unchanging and that the basic rules of human interaction remain.

If you are perceived as weak, your enemies will advance.

And that is what we are seeing now.

Putin is ignoring calls to send Edward Snowden back to the United States because he thinks he can, that the U.S. will huff and puff, but that there will be no real consequence to his decision.

Al-Qaida is continuing its assault on American interests -- and its calls to arms -- because it can and because a militant group does not respond to peace-making and olive branches -- or observances of Ramadan at the White House.

The Islamic extremists have long pointed out that the U.S. is weak, that it is not committed to its principles and too willing to sell out. They have doubted the conviction of the American people to the war plans that would lead to victory, the hard choices that come with a decision to stand strong.

We have always railed at that characterization, but perhaps it is more true than we know.

Last week's round of threats should remind us that there is still danger out there, that the Islamic extremists have not ended their crusade or quelled their anger.

We have enemies, and the touchy feely international relations do not seem to have made them any less enemies. In fact, it has emboldened some of them.

It is time to stand strong again.

It is time to be the country and international leader we once were.

It is time to let our enemies -- and our allies -- know that we mean business and are ready to do what it takes to retake our leadership position in the world.

It is time to get tough and to draw lines in the sand -- and mean them.

It is time to stand with our allies and to decry those who want to destroy us.

Then, let's see how the next round of negotiations goes.

Published in Editorials on August 12, 2013 11:03 AM