Double standard on foreign policy

Lynne Michels, Las Vegas

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 | 2:10 a.m.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice recently went on a peacemaking mission to meet with Moammar Gadhafi, the leader of Libya, a country that for decades has instigated terrorist attacks on the United States and other democratic nations.

However, notice what happened when Barack Obama said months ago that, if elected president, he would be willing to meet with the leaders of such countries as Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea to try to establish peace. Obama’s concept was similar to that of Moshe Dayan, the Israeli military commander and politician who once said, “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” The result? Obama was vilified by his opponents, the Republicans.

But we now see Ms. Rice meeting with the leader of a nation hostile to our country. What do you suppose is the reason for her visit? Could it be that Libya has oil reserves that make it ninth in the world with 39 billion barrels? Or the fact that Libya still has vast areas of still-untapped oil-producing land?

Last year Gadhafi called Rice “my darling black African woman ... I admire her and I’m proud of her.” Although she is not responsible for the words that come out of Gadhafi’s mouth, it is still interesting, to say the least, that he has such expressions of praise for her. But when Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef is quoted as saying he supports Obama’s foreign policy vision, Obama again is vilified, even though he also is not responsible for words that come out of the mouth of an avowed terrorist.

I am constantly amazed by the double standard adhered to by the Republican Party!