Change For Our Time

The depiction of Barack Obama as a retread of Neville Chamberlain is now widespread, and is fairly apt. Both men seemed unable to grasp the evil nature of the tyrants they dealt with, and each made an effort to appease the enemy as the ominous nature of the approaching global conflict became more and more evident.

But in some ways the comparison between Chamberlain and Obama is an insult to the former. Mr. Chamberlain, after all, proposed to appease Adolf Hitler by dismembering another country, not his own. He never offered to surrender his homeland to the enemy, nor did he promote the de facto abolition of national borders and the importation of Nazis into his own country.

At Munich in 1938, Neville Chamberlain knew that Britain was completely unprepared to go to war with Nazi Germany. Some historians believe that Chamberlain was aware of what inevitably had to come, and was only trying to postpone it. If the British were to defend themselves against the German onslaught, they would have to buy time to rearm after neglecting their military throughout the 1930s. A war with Germany in 1938 would have been even more disastrous than it turned out to be two years later.

As inept and ineffectual as he was, the prime minister was still dedicated to the welfare of his country, and did what he thought best to preserve it.

In contrast, Barack Hussein Obama has on numerous occasions indicated that he despises his own country and would like to see it folded into a new international order. Rather than enhance its military power, he would gut its defenses in order to fund his domestic socialist megalomania.

So we could use a Neville Chamberlain in the United States right now — he would be an improvement.

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Geert Wilders has recently made headlines by publicly comparing Barack Obama and Neville Chamberlain. Here’s the article from NU.nl, as translated by our Flemish correspondent VH.

Wilders compares Obama to Chamberlain

In an interview with NU.nl, PVV-leader Geert Wilders refers to the policies of U.S. President Barack Obama with regard to the Muslim world. “He has something of a Chamberlain in him. Someone who does not have a clear view on who the enemy is, and rather courts him,” Wilders said.

Neville Chamberlain was the British prime minister who in 1938 signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler and Mussolini [and the French PM Édouard Daladier —translator] in favor of world peace. The agreement in which the “great powers” accepted the annexation of the Czech Sudetenland by Germany [and indirectly handed over Czechoslovakia, while Chamberlain arranged a separate peace treaty between the UK and Germany with Hitler: “My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.” —translator]. A year later Germany invaded Poland, and with that, the Second World War began.

Tough comparison

“It’s quite a tough comparison, but it is a dangerous, naïve and irresponsible policy he produces,” Wilders said.

The politician has been irritated for a long time by the policy of Dutch PM Balkenende on this point. “People like Balkenende and Obama are out to hold hands together and sing songs under the Christmas tree, all year long.”

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“They close their eyes to the big problems Islamization carries with it.”

New course

The leader of the PVV is deeply concerned about the new course America is embarked on. “That the most powerful man in the world is proceeding with a policy is much worse than the default Mister Balkenende follows.”

Wilders also refers to the outreach President Obama made to the Muslim world in his Cairo speech last June 4, in which he said he wanted to make a new start in his relations with the Islamic world.

Europe

Geert Wilders certainly believes in a good trans-Atlantic relationship with America. “I believe more in political ties with America than giving our power away to Europe.”

“But we must not let ourselves be put under pressure on such issues as the admission of Turkey to the EU or the prolongation of the mission in Afghanistan.”

Healthy distance

Wilders is of the opinion that in a political sense we should keep America at a healthy distance. “On the other hand, America is like Israel, a part of our cultural identity.”

“But we should not nod and bend to them politically. Especially not when the government is led by someone with a dubious policy. And I say that as an understatement.”

No improvement

In 1999 Wilders spoke for the first time [in parliament] on “the great threat of Muslim extremism and the Islamization of the free West.” Now, ten years later, he sees no improvement.

“If you had told me ten years ago that there would be forty to fifty Sharia courts in England and the Dutch government would be examining the same for the Netherlands, few people would have believed it. This therefore shows that in many areas it has only become worse,” he argues.

Further resources:

• The PVV website
  
• Nieuws.marokko

Hat tip: Tuan Jim.

Many thanks to VH for the second of the two images used above.