by Rep. Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D.

Last week, Susan Rice, former American Ambassador to the United Nations and former National Security Adviser to President Obama, wrote an article in the New York Times regarding President Trump’s newly unveiled national security strategy. Although she intended to derail President Trump’s foreign policy, what she really accomplished was outlining the reasons why globalists like Rice and Obama should never again inhabit the White House.

From the start, Rice’s criticism of the President was thwarted by her utopic and naïve views as she suggested Trump was “dystopian” in calling the world “extraordinarily dangerous.” In fact, the only thing extraordinary is that Rice would suggest it wasn’t.

Zealously seeking to discredit President Trump, Rice aimed to cast him as some zealot nationalist with a Neanderthal understanding of global issues. She criticized the President for not drawing distinctions between Russia and China, for not mentioning the words “human rights” or “extreme poverty,” for not providing a specific plan to combat AIDS and climate change, and for failing to voice concerns for the global “LGBT people.” She went on to say that these omissions would inevitably serve to “undercut global perceptions of American leadership; worse hinder our ability to rally the world to our cause. . . .”

That Rice would believe she is in a position to even vocalize such concerns strains credulity. Lest we forget it was Rice and the Obama administration that provided the Iranian government, an organization known for its unfettered use of the cruelest forms of capital punishment in addressing homosexuality and gender transitions, $1.7 billion in cash so it may promote its nihilistic and oppressive assault on its citizens while fomenting terrorism throughout the word. It is also Rice’s foreign policy view that permitted interference with the rightful prosecution of Hezbollah for a myriad of international money laundering schemes it undertook under the flag of the Iranian government just so Obama and his cronies could protect his misguided Iranian nuclear deal.

And as for Rice’s concern about undercutting American leadership and credibility in the world stage, no administration in recent memory achieved that very dubious distinction with greater skill than the Obama administration. After all, it was Rice’s old boss who drew uncrossable red lines in the Syrian sand relating to the use of chemical weapons and then cowered away from enforcing them when crossed. It was the Obama Administration that left Israel hanging without its ally in the international arena, a move that made no credibility gains for the United States. And in Iraq, it was the foreign policy positions of Rice’s team that led to the withdrawal of American troops, leaving a massive hole to be inhabited by ISIS and its bands of murderous thugs.

Trump strategy reflects realism over Obama-Rice strategy

The fact is that Trump’s national security strategy heralds our basic understanding of human nature. It demands each player in the international arena represent its own interest, recognizing that in so doing, a foundation will exist upon which parties may meet as equals. And it recognizes the immensely stabilizing role a strong America plays in the international arena when it promotes justice between nations.

Even in Rice’s wildest misrepresentations, Trump would never negotiate a multi-billion dollar bribe to a foreign terrorist state like Rice and President Obama zealously did. Nor would any foe cross any Trump-drawn line lest it be the last line its leaders cross. Nor will any country be confused about the United States’ stand on an issue while Trump is President. And Trump will never be found weakly cheering others from behind.

And as for Rice’s dismissal of Trump’s concerns for human rights and personal liberties, this is the same Rice who famously repeated recitations of a fictitious story of a video to explain the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi just to bolster Obama’s chances for reelection. It seems that here, Rice is hopeful that her continued recitations of falsehoods regarding Trump will fool Americans. But Rice once again fails as she ignores the words spoken by Trump before the United Nations General Assembly, words I’m sure Rice would laud had her former boss uttered them:

We have it in our power, should we so choose, to lift millions from poverty, to help our citizens realize their dreams, and to ensure that new generations of children are raised free from violence, hatred, and fear…

It seems it is Rice’s already exhausted credibility that is being challenged, not Trump’s resolve.

In the spirit of fairness, however, I must admit there is one point where Rice was absolutely correct. She correctly recognized that President Trump’s foreign policy approach marks a dramatic departure from the plans of his Republican and Democratic predecessors.

And thank God for that.

Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He is the author of The Federalist Pages and serves in the Florida House of Representatives. He can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com to arrange a lecture or book signing.