Americans the Obama Administration Will Leave Behind

By 

David French

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June 4, 2014

2 min read

Constitution

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It sickens me that the Obama administration has been justifying ransoming terrorist leaders for a probable deserter by reciting the creed that America never leaves a man behind. The Obama administration frequently leaves men (and even children) to suffer and die, with minimal apparent effort on their behalf. A partial list:

Glenn Doherty and Tyrone Woods. This is a textbook example of abandoning men in the field. Doherty and Woods fought back ferociously in the aftermath of the Benghazi attacks and received no help. In fact, available evidence indicates that the Obama administration never even tried to send help, even as the Benghazi battle lasted for hour after hour. 

Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi. A Marine who has actually served his country with “honor and distinction” is jailed in terrible conditions in neighboring Mexico after making a wrong turn while driving with guns he legally owned and carried.

Pastor Saeed Abedini. While the Obama administration was giving the Taliban five commanders for a likely American deserter, it was giving Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief even as it continued to hold and abuse an American pastor — seized by the Revolutionary Guard while he was in Iran legally to help build an orphanage.

American babies in Sudanese prison. Sudan has imprisoned and sentenced to death for apostasy Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian woman married to an American. Their children, including a toddler and an infant, are imprisoned with their mother and have committed no crimes, not even the fake crime of “apostasy.” The State Department’s response? It won’t acknowledge their status until there’s a DNA test. Yet under U.S. law a child born in wedlock is presumed legitimate and no paternity test is required.

Yes, we do abandon Americans — especially when alleviating their plight won’t advance the Obama administration’s narrative in the Middle East or elsewhere. 

This article is crossposted on National Review.