This is Smart Power.
President Kennedy had the Cuban Missile Crisis. 13 days in October where the U.S. was going to war with Russia unless a major obstacle to peace was removed. Then, as now, we achieved Peace Through Strength. Then, as now, we have won.
Today - after 11 days in September -- President Obama secured his place in history once again.
This is "peace through strength". This is Smart Power. On the eve of the 12th Anniversary of 9/11, President Obama has demonstrated that the lessons of the past wars have been learned.
The President's threat of war; his commitment to striking back at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has brought the Syrian and the Russian presidents to the negotiating table. Al-Assad has now admitted that he has chemical weapons and he has agreed to never use them again. Mind you, no missiles have been fired -- and yet this is the solution we sought.
We have won.
More, this was a bipartisan effort for peace.
Forget the Tea Party fanatics. They would burn their own house down if they could.
But the people who are serious about governing worked together to bring about this peaceful solution. Props should go to Speaker John Boehner and Senator John McCain -- both put their country ahead of their own short-term political lives. They took the heat; they joined the president in condemning chemical weapons -- and they all brought about a resolution to this crisis.
In 1962 President Kennedy secretly removed our missiles from Turkey in order to prevent a nuclear holocaust. With just a threat of U.S. military power, President Obama has stood strong and proven that the United States continues to stand for peace and security. And more, he did it with the threat of war -- but not the loss of a single U.S. life.
Brian Keane is the President of SmartPower, a non-profit marketing organization funded by private foundations to help build the clean energy marketplace by helping the American public become smarter about their energy use.