I expressed some skepticism towards the claim that President Obama’s Cairo speech helped boost the prospects of the March 14 coalition. I also offered my own suggestion that perhaps the speech scared Christians into voting for the coaltion.
Max Boot writes that the speech was largely inconsequential as a factor in the election. Boot argues (echoing a sentiment expressed by Robert Satloff):
Kudos to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden for visiting Beirut and reaffirming their support for Lebanese independence. The Obama administration, as Michael Totten noted, has made clear that it will not sell out Lebanon to reach a deal with Syria or Hezbollah. The Obama administration deserves credit for that stance, which is a continuation of the previous Bush policy which made possible the 2005 Cedar Revolution that forced Syrian troops out of the country.
American support perhaps emboldened some Christian voters to vote for anti-Syrian, anti-Hezbollah candidates.
If the administration deserves credit, there’s no reason to ignore that it got Lebanon right. Michael Totten in his must-read analysis of the election writes:
I was slightly worried myself about other potential aspects of the president’s Lebanon policy before it developed, but he deserves support here from conservatives as well as from Democrats who understand that the United States can’t support a terrorist army that says, “Death to America is a policy, a strategy, and a vision.â€
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
