Senator Barack Obama’s recurring habit of interfering in U.S.
relations with foreign nations represents more than petty, cheap
shot politics. It appears to be a violation of the Logan Act.
Established in 1799, the Logan Act made it a crime for any U.S.
citizen to engage in activities “with any foreign government … in
relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States,
or to defeat the measures of the United States.” The act even
prohibits members of Congress from acting unilaterally.
The report of Obama’s attempt last June to obstruct the
negotiation of a status of forces agreement between the U.S. and
Iraq is exactly the type of interference the Logan Act outlawed.
According to Samir Sumaidaie, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S.,
Obama “urged Iraq to delay the [memorandum of understanding]
between Iraq and the United States until the new administration
was in place.”
Obama’s desire to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq in 16 months
is exactly the development the demoralized and virtually defeated
Al Qaeda in Iraq could use to reconstitute and reenergize its
force of terrorist fighters. The Obama plan would snatch defeat
from the jaws of victory. In spite of how completely wrong such a
strategy would be, occupying the presidency would give Obama the
right to implement such a plan. That is, unless Congress were to
enact legislation over an Obama veto that would block his hurried
withdrawal plan.
However, Obama is not the president and possibly may not become
the president in 2009. To send mixed signals and undermine
current foreign relations strategies by negotiating a side deal
is unstatesmanlike, at the very least, and perhaps illegal.
Widespread press accounts of Obama’s activities in support of
Kenya’s opposition candidate Raila Odinga in August 2006 and
again earlier this year indicate he was meddling in state affairs
that have a direct bearing on U.S. relations.
Kenya has been the most stable and democratic country in
sub-Saharan Africa since its 1963 independence. Neighboring
states Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda have been marked by
religious, tribal and economic strife for decades. Tanzania to
the south is among the world’s poorest nations. In contrast,
Kenya has been a regional center of trade and finance and has
been an American tourist destination. Kenya has also been a
frequent port of call for U.S. Navy ships operating in the Indian
Ocean.
“I am here not as a grandson anymore but as a senator and a
representative of the U.S. government,” Obama announced on his
August 26, 2006 visit to his father’s village. “When I’m here I’m
not on my own but accountable to the American government.”
Such proclamations and Obama’s concurrent actions and statements
imply the U.S. had taken a position in the then-upcoming
presidential race between incumbent President Mwai Kibaki and
challenger Raila Odinga, who also happens to be Obama’s first
cousin. Obama’s criticism of Kibaki was transparent when he
announced, “Kenyans are now yearning for change and are
frustrated over the leaders’ tolerance of corruption.” A
government spokesman countered, “It is very clear that the
senator has been used as a puppet to perpetuate opposition
politics.”
The spokesman was alluding not only to Obama’s criticism of
Kibaki but also to his frequent rally appearances with Odinga
during his six-day Kenya visit. Odinga, who attended college in
East Germany during the 1960s at the expense of the communist
East German government, is an avowed Marxist. He even named his
oldest son after Fidel Castro. Last year, Odinga partnered with
Islamic leaders, promising to implement numerous Muslim demands
in return for Muslim backing of his presidential candidacy.
After Odinga’s sweeping loss in the December 2007 presidential
race, his supporters launched an ethnic cleansing campaign
targeting Christians and Kibaki’s fellow tribesmen. The violence
did not end until more than 1,500 Kenyans were killed, more than
500,000 were displaced and Kibaki offered to appoint Odinga as
prime minister. Obama acknowledged interrupting his New Hampshire
primary campaign to call Odinga during the worst of the ethnic
cleansing.
The Logan Act was enacted to ensure the U.S. spoke with one voice
and maintained one policy toward any nation, especially in
tumultuous times. Attempting to torpedo a status of forces
agreement with Iraq that protects U.S. troops or damage the
political standing of a strong American ally during his
reelection bid is more than just dangerous. It is against the
law.
