USA Becoming Leading Apologist for Everything

By Alan Caruba

If some found fault in George W. Bush’s muscular approach to foreign affairs which included the belief that the entire West had a stake in fighting al Qaeda and the general threat of resurgent Islamic fundamentalism, the policy pendulum has now swung to the view that the United States of America is to blame for everything that is wrong in the world.

Those who think the USA is to blame for 9/11 need read no further. Blaming America now includes “global warming.”

Unfortunately, the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper deliberately distorted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement at a UN climate change conference to make it sound like the USA was taking responsibility in its words, as the leader “of the world’s polluters.” What Secretary Clinton actually said was that the United States "wants you to grow" and is intent on finding solutions that will allow countries to combat climate change without stunting development."

"Of course, each economy here is different. Some, like mine, are responsible for past emissions; others for fast-growing current emissions," she said. "We may be at different stages of development ... but we all have to do our part."

The "pollution" cited is carbon dioxide, a gas that plays no role whatever in so-called “climate change”, the other name for “global warming.” It is a gas that is vital to all life on planet Earth.

Ever since the Supreme Court, in one of the most idiotic decisions it has rendered in modern times, concluded that CO2 is a “pollutant” and therefore subject to regulation and control by the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA has engaged in a full-bore effort to extend its clammy grasp on CO2 and, by extension, control of all energy use in the nation.

We know that energy use is bad because President Obama, for example, has openly stated he wants to “bankrupt” the coal industry and one of former President Bush’s final acts in office, the opening of our offshore continental shelf to exploration for energy reserves, has been since rescinded.

How this fits into Obama’s call for “energy independence” remains a mystery unless he intends to blanket the nation with wind and solar farms. Who needs food crops or livestock anyway?

At a United Nations meeting in Copenhagen, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “issued a mea culpa (on Monday) on America’s role in causing climate change,” said the Guardian article. That’s right; the USA now “causes” climate change. We are responsible for the average temperature of the planet, all hurricanes, floods, droughts, and, well, everything.

Let us all pause for a moment to ignore the role of the Sun, the oceans, clouds and other natural factors beyond humanity’s control.

The object of the UN meeting was to continue the fraud known as the Kyoto Protocols that imposed emissions restrictions on those nations foolish enough to sign onto them. They are the UN’s solution to something that is not happening. They also place great economic burdens on the signatory nations that must pay for the privilege of using coal, natural gas and oil or drastically cut back on their use.

The UN Protocols exempt nations like China and India, along with most Third World developing nations. Okay, so a third of the Earth’s population is off the hook, but, if you believe Hillary and Barack, the U.S. is still to blame for something that has nothing to do with the Earth's climate.

When the Protocols were first proposed, the then-US Senate voted unanimously in 1997 against participating in this lying power grab by the UN.

Not so for the Obama administration. Having completed his global “apology tour”, the new mantra of the United States government is that we are to blame for having taken the lead against the Islamic terrorists, the effort to protect Afghanistan against the Taliban, and the freeing of Iraq from a psychopathic dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Please ignore the fact that jihad is a sacred duty of all Muslims dating back to the seventh century.

We now live in a nation whose President bows to Saudi royalty while being rebuffed by its alleged allies on requests to help resolve the global financial crisis or to participate in a military response to a rampaging jihad that, among other things, appears close to taking over Pakistan.

If you think that things have gotten worse since President Obama took the oath of office on January 20, you’re right.

If you think they will continue to get worse, you’re right.

Editor's note: Within an hour or so after the initial posting of this commentary, it was revealed that the Guardian report of Secretary Clinton's statement at the climate conference was a deliberate distortion. The original text of this post was revised to reflect this.