Jones Resigns NSC. Nothing Changes.

James Carafano / October 08, 2010

If you change the cast of a soap opera and the script is the same, the next episode is not much different than the last. Likewise, there is an Obama Doctrine, it’s the rulebook that President Obama is running foreign policy by, and the departure of General Jim Jones as National Security Adviser won’t matter much in changing how the White House’s plays are called.

The most noteworthy part of Obama’s remarks to the press regarding the matter concerned the list of his Administration’s “accomplishments.” What is noteworthy is that none of them are actually accomplishments. They are just list of what Obama’s national security team has been doing. Brokering talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis is a lot different than negotiating peace in the Middle East. Following through on the Bush plan to secure an Iraq that governs and protects itself while supervising the withdrawal of U.S. troops is more a task than an initiative. Agreeing not to cut and run in Afghanistan is not the same as showing the determination to stay until the job is done. Agreeing to a deeply flawed nuclear agreement with Moscow does not rank as much of an accomplishment either. (more…)