Who will heed the cry?

What does the situation with ex-Marine Jon Hammar seen chained to a bed as he's held captive in Mexico have in common with the attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya?

They both present situations where American citizens are on foreign soil and in serious trouble. Hammar was in a unit that sustained heavy casualties in Iraq and witnessed firsthand the death of many colleagues. Jon had just completed a nine-month course treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and his Mexican trip was supposedly his vacation. This is akin to those brave American citizens in Benghazi who desperately needed the help of a competent and caring government and failed miserably to receive it.

Jon Hammar now finds himself in desperate need, and has been since August. Sadly, his government lacks courage, backbone and know-how to rescue them. It is hard to imagine that the Mexican government or any government would take these same liberties if we had someone like former President Reagan in the White House. There was a time when being a U.S. citizen in and of itself provided you with significant safeguards when you traveled abroad. 

How far will things deteriorate before we are once again willing to assert significant global muscle? This may not be a matter of willpower as much as it may be ineptitude. Through no fault of his own, our president has significant experience with organizing communities and pitting one group against another, but lacks any significant global diplomatic skills. As safety and security around the globe continue to erode, "we the people" need to examine what is important to us in a leader: the ability to make flowery promises or the ability to lead globally.

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