Reason to worry: The news out of Iraq not unexpected but shocking, too

Since the first days of the Obama administration, there have been references to "academics" vs. "the realities of leadership."

And in all fairness, there has been a similar learning curve for some of those who have served as commander in chief before President Barack Obama.

But what people mean when they make the above comparison is that what you learn out of textbooks and academic research -- and the theories you develop from that experience -- are not often adequate for the ever-changing and difficult-to-navigate world in which we live.

It is the difference, in essence, between book smarts and street smarts.

And one of the places where it is the easiest to see this dichotomy of leadership is in the foreign policy decisions that have come out of the White House.

It is the place where we see clearly that perhaps the president's perception of reality is not quite the same thing as the truth.

Now, after announcing to the world the date that American forces would withdraw from the Middle East -- and throwing the newly freed countries to the wolves -- we are seeing just what happens when naivety replaces practical common sense.

And cities that we fought hard to free from a tyrant's rule just a few years ago are now becoming victims of violent insurgents -- and this nation is facing a real possibility that the network of terrorists that brought down the World Trade Center towers only a little more than a decade ago will have the power and the manpower once again to threaten America and its allies.

And this is after a belligerent declaration only a few years ago that the Middle East would be fine -- and ignoring military commanders and advisers who told Washington otherwise.

There are some realities about war. We learned them at the end of the Persian Gulf War, and we are about to learn them again.

When you stabilize a region, you have to support its efforts to rebuild -- and to back the fledgling leadership that is leading the way.

If you just drop the guns and leave, or ignore the calls of your military commanders that there is still work to be done, you risk two things -- losing the trust of the people and watching the undoing of everything you have accomplished.

And that, unfortunately, is exactly what we are seeing in Iraq right now.

Over his term, the president has made many references to what he calls America's arrogance.

He suggests that we impose our national views on countries that do not need or want our help. He has adopted a foreign policy that reflects his vision of America not as a partner and a champion, but as a bully.

And that is the reason for some of his wholly unexplainable decisions when it comes to his dealings with our enemies and our allies.

And now, those views are coming to roost.

It is time to think very, very carefully about our next steps as a nation and to demand that someone be put in charge who understands the risks and who will make the right calls -- or who will at least listen to the people who are actually in the foxholes.

And if the people surround that leader do not have the guts to speak up, loudly, when necessary, they should think twice about serving.

These decisions are much too important to let them be made by political appointees with only a passing knowledge of what needs to be done -- and the inability to speak the truth when the chips are down.

This nation cannot afford to be seen as weak, untrustworthy and as a liability when it comes to alliances.

We need to prove that we stand for something -- and that we are the same nation that helped free a continent.

We need to honor not only the heroes who have served generations ago, but those who lost their lives fighting to take the cities we now are watching being overcome by insurgents.

We need to think about the people of Iraq who risked their lives to vote -- and proudly showed their inked thumbs afterward.

We need to be seen as a nation that keeps its promises and stands up for what is right.

And we need a Congress that is ready to stand up to a president who seems to have decided he answers to no one -- sooner rather than later.

Published in Editorials on June 13, 2014 11:21 AM