Obama's
State of the
Union Silent
on Yemen and
Soft on Banks,
Did Cite CFPB
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 20 --
US President
Barack Obama's
speech on the
State of the
Union on
January 20 was
long on
stories and
domestic
issues, short
on foreign
policy
including the
day's
near-coup in
Yemen,
once cited as
an Obama
success story.
Yemen was not
mentioned; nor
was Somalia,
nor Libya.
Obama said
clearly he
would veto any
new sanctions
on Iran at
this time. He
spoke about
fighting ISIL
in Syria,
helping
“moderate
opposition” to
do so, with no
mention of
Bashar al
Assad. There
was some
triumphalism
on Ukraine,
about Russia's
economy being
in tatters.
One wondered
if it would be
repeated at
the January 21
UN Security
Council
meeting on
Ukraine.
The UN wasn't
mentioned,
even in the
section about
climate
change. Obama
said he's
“worked to
make sure our
use of new
technology
like drones is
properly
constrained.”
One wondered
if civilians
in Pakistan
would agree.
Or, from the
day's
(UNmentioned)
news, in
Yemen.
Mortgages
appeared three
times, with
little
anti-bank
analysis.
Little
surprise:
Obama
nominated
Lazard's head
of mergers to
work in the
Treasury
Department,
which even
after the
withdrawal of
nomination he
will still
advise. Banker
Landon
has been
nominated to
the Federal
Reserve.
The Consumer
Financial
Protection
Bureau, it's
true, was
cited, and
Elizabeth
Warren showed
up twice, at
least in the
feed on NBC.
How will these
issues play
out, with the
new split
between
Congress and
the White
House? Watch
this site.
, 
