He was going to unite
America. Indeed, he was going to bring the entire world under his
spell. There would be renewed respect for America and confidence in
its ability as the No. 1 superpower.
But then came Syria.
It is a debacle.
Charles Krauthammer aptly calls it “amateur hour” in the White
House.
President Obama now
stands as a monument to ambivalence, indecisiveness and political
cynicism.
Americans
overwhelmingly oppose getting involved in the civil war in Syria, as
do most other nations. Americans recognize that America has no
friends in that struggle, and that the only reason for intervening
would be to spite Iran.
But, doing so might
also provoke Iran into striking Israel, or America. Up to now, Iran
has only supported and supplied those whose primary motivation is to
harm America.
Obama draws red lines,
then says he didn't. He says Assad must go – two years ago – but
does nothing to make it happen.
His proposal is to
strike, but not harm anything or anyone. He has given enough notice
so that any targets now are no longer important.
Contrast this with the
Israelis. When their national security is threatened, they act, and
act decisively. They don't give advance notice and don't discuss it
afterward.
When Iraq built a
nuclear reactor at Osirak, Israeli planes flew into that country in
1981 and wiped the plant off the earth. It is reasonable to assume
they will do the same in Iran if the Persians persist in their
threats.
But Obama dithers. He
didn't need Congress, he said, but he went to them anyway. Then his
administration says he might act without Congress, and that he will
not. He clarifies it and leaves it more confused. Americans have
learned that when Obama says “Let me be clear,” they are about to
get bamboozled.
The liberal position is
that it is urgent to attack Syria and is the “moral” thing to do
because someone has used weapons of mass destruction, which are
prohibited by a treaty.
But why wasn't it moral
to intervene in Iraq when another Arab dictator had killed many times
more people with chemical weapons? Democrats – after saying in
public that Saddam had WMD and was a serious threat – criticized
George Bush for taking action. (Earlier, they had criticized the
first Bush for NOT removing Saddam.)
Left unanswered is
where the WMD came from. A former general in Iraq said in a book that
Saddam shipped his supply to Syria when U.S. troops were bearing down
on him.
It isn't even certain
whether Assad or the other side in the civil war used the WMD.
Granted, the “other side” is a ragtag bunch that includes
terrorists of various camps and also a few people who might want a
democracy or might just be a front.
We were assured in the
glorious Arab spring that democracy was on the way to Egypt, and
wound up with the Muslim Brotherhood gang of terrorists in charge.
Liberals always seem to
be on the side of Muslims. When Muslims were slaughtering Christians
in Bosnia, they didn't care. When the tide turned and Christians
began winning, Bill Clinton started bombing, ostensibly to prevent a
“genocide.”
Obama has supported the
Arab terrorists who call themselves Palestinians, the terrorist
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and now the rebels who include al-Qaida
in Syria. Meanwhile, he doesn't even have time to have dinner with
the head of state of Israel, which is one of America's staunchest
allies.
Another ally that
usually supports America is Britain. It has said no thanks to
participating in this confused, unnecessary, pointless excursion.
So, Bush brought down a
ruthless dictator with the support of the people, Congress, the
United Nations and a coalition of other nations. Liberals castigated
him. Now liberals want to order our military into battle, alone and
against the will of the American people, to do … what?
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