Liz Cheney, speaking in New Orleans tonight, departed from her usual criticism of President Obama's foreign policy to rebuke him for his cooling relationship with the Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai:
Afghan President Karzai, whose support we need if we are going to succeed in Afghanistan, is being treated to an especially dangerous and juvenile display from this White House. They dress him down publicly almost daily and refuse to even say that he is an ally. There is a saying in the Arab world: “It is more dangerous to be America’s friend than to be her enemy.” In the age of Obama, that is proving true.
Karzai hasn't found many defenders on either side of the aisle lately, and is seen increasingly in Washington as corrupt and feckless; he reportedly threatened recently to join forces with the Taliban. But Cheney's speeches have been a reliable predictor of the positions of Congressional Republicans, and she may be able to rally some to his side.
Cheney drew more applause for her complaint that Obama had allowed too much "daylight" between himself and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, and the crowd at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference cheered his decision to skip Obama's nuclear summit next week.
Cheney said after her speech that she was making the point that "if you're going to attack and criticize Karzai, you ought to do it in private," whereas Obama's treatment had been "publicly humiliating, publicly demeaning."
"Nothing good is going to come from going down that path," she said. "I'm by no means saying that he's perfect, [but] we need him."
Cheney cited a recent op-ed by Brookings scholar Michael O'Hanlon on the subject.
Dave Weigel has Cheney's full prepared remarks. - Politico Story
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