So we do have a temporary solution to Syria, but what happens going forward? Will Putin take this as a signal to play chicken with the US, or at least while Obama is still in office? Obama made some very dire mistakes in this "war" and it may lead us in a direction that none of us want to take. The comparisons of Obama to Carter are many, but one has to wonder if the bumbling of an inexperienced President will haunt us for decades to come as we are still haunted by Carter's dilly dallying. It's kind of ironic that all this is coming about on the anniversary or 9-11.
I think we can count on it, Twini. Think how brash he was, with President Obama present, to suggest to the guests at the G-20 that they should discuss the Syrian affair over dinner, the first night: this, of course, would make for anything other than a relaxing get acquainted and re-acquainted session among the guests. I believe it was calculated to put the President on the spot. China and Russia used the G-20 to cozy up, further, and they signed a number of important trade deals; then, China went on to sign deals with Central Asian Republics, former republics of the CCCP. It's a bad time for the U.S. on the world stage, dealing as we are with a crippled economy, an inability to adequately fund the Federal Government, and a national debt that makes us vulnerable to financial shocks- not to mention a credibility badly damaged by the Snowden revelations of spying on our allies, and others.
Yes V, this is not the most ideal time to be an American. Hopefully nothing evil will come out of this, but admittedly, I'm not real optimistic. I'm not ready to put Canadian flags on all my luggage, but I think as Americans we will now be even bigger targets than we were before this fiasco.
Of course the middle east is going to be problematic for us, especially if we continue to maintain the goal of preventing nuclear proliferation in that part of the world. Where we're going to have to get a lot smarter is in finding common ground with Russia and China. We have a number of shared interests in that region, including non proliferation: it seems to be primarily our regime change agenda for that part of the world that gets in the way of greater cooperation: pushed hard by President Bush it has still gotten some support from President Obama. Dropping it would be a step forward, and could lead to much greater cooperation. We will have to drop it, at least in relation to Syria, to have any chance to get a meaningful deal out of the current negotiation over the chemical weapons. (With what the regime change agenda has produced in Iraq, Egypt, and now Syria, you would think it would be a no brainer, especially since it allows Islamists to come to power through elections, anywhere free elections are held in that part of the world.) Still, I believe the bigger challenge will be China, and its China Sea territorial claim: it pits Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and other Asian countries against China in their assertion that the entire sea, and all it's islands, rightfully belong to them. We are the only country that is sufficiently armed and could resist territorial grabs, but we are in no position to do that, and China will test our ability to resist their claims. China will not provoke a big war over this in the next decade, but there will be skirmishes, as they test our ability to respond, rapidly diminishing. ______________________
From what I've read, my understanding is that the MA luxury tax evader and Viet Nam BSer Kerry uttered something that he in no way had support from BO to carry out and Putin jumped on it, called their bluff and capitalized on it. Yet another example of the incompetence of BO and his 'chosen ones'. IMO, they've succeeded in making US the laughing stock yet again with this mess. Everything he and his have done is in shambles: jobs, economy, regulations, immigration, healthcare, welfare, education and foreign affairs. Hope those who voted for him now realize that they got what they voted for: not hope and change but despair and chaos! That's what you get for electing a community organizer and phoney Constitutional 'professor' with NO law license and no experience even running a Kool-Aid stand let alone a Country. Personally, I think that BO is succeeding in the agenda that whoever is behind his meteoric rise to the POTUS paid for, the downfall of US. JMHO. A vote for Hillary in 2016 will just be a continuation of this same stupidity. I pray that Australia's return to sanity will be an example to the US voters come 2014 and 2016.
I love the USA but I will say that since BO was elected that I am SO glad that we bit the bullet and bought a place in Cancun back in the summer of 2007. At that time, many friends and family members cautioned us of the possibility of the Mexican Gov't confiscating the property! Hell, from what I've seen, property confiscations and foreclosures have been a greater worry here in the States than down there... Now I figure that the Cancun Casa may end up being THE only thing left to leave our kids unless the elections in '14 and '16 begin to reverse the tides of this downward spiral.
From what I've read, Bush was working with actual, albeit in retrospect possibly inaccurate intel, that he acted upon with the full blessing of Congress. Bush made NO BS threats beforehand. He followed the Rules of War according to the CONSTITUTION. BO has sputtered, shot his mouth off thinking he is all powerful and above the tenets of the CONSTITUTION. IMO, he only went to Congress because he figured out how STUPID and INEPT his threats were and are and then he'd have Congress to blame. Not 'ME' Man! Seems too that there is no clear documentation of agreement on who actually used these chemical weapons, Assad or the rebels who BO has been supporting with OUR tax dollars. BIG difference between the two situations IMO. ETA: "U.S. can’t prove Bashar Assad approved chemical attacks in Syria" http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/11/us-cant-prove-bashar-assad-approved-chemical-attac/ With this, I totally agree with you. Both of these boobs are so far out of their element/competencies that it is scary. I think my 10 year grandson who can even now beat me at chess would prove to be a better strategist than BO and all his advisors![/quote]
IMO, USAians should be asking WHY this administration is and has been diminishing our defenses and then about talking attack strikes? This administration, like other Dem admins, has reduced our defense budget, reduced our military both active and benefits to our veterans, reduced our naval strength, wants to reduce or has already, our nuclear capabilities. Then, also has done NOTHING to resolve the BENGHAZI MURDERS... None of this is a secret to our enemies... This Admin has done NADA to strengthen our defenses or our perception of strength yet tries to talk BIG making US look more like idiots when the only idiots are in this Administration and those who voted for BO... JMHO.
CM, There are a lot of reasons that Obama got elected, but most of them are pretty sad. College students voted overwhelmingly for him and the stats are that 54% of recent college graduates can't find work in their chosen field. Over 15% of recent college graduates are currently working as waiters and waitresses and the list can go on and on. Sadly BO got elected by using BS and he thought the same would hold true in foreign policy. I think he felt that he could sabre rattle and everyone would cower. Then he got cold feet and wanted someone else to blame so he took his request to Congress. And just to add to this debacle, his Secretary of State makes an off hand comment and Putin jumps on it to be the hero. Truly a very sad situation that BO has put us in.
Things are muddled, now, over Syria, more than ever. The clarity of a possible strike to punish for the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime is now gone, as a realistic option, for lack of political support within the U.S.; meanwhile, both the Russians and the Syrians are pressing for the U.S. to drop its regime change aims and actions if there is to be a deal on chemical weapons- which I predicted they would want as part of any deal. Syria, yesterday, made that explicit in a statement from President Assad. A majority of Americans would like us to cease being involved in the civil war in Syria (news reports say the CIA is supplying weapons to the rebels). The CIA operates under the authority of the President, for the most part, and Obama would not be the first president to think them a fine vehicle for engaging in wars and other struggles abroad, without the approval of the American people. This dabbling in foreign wars is a hard habit to break, but may have to be given up in this one case at least, if we hope to conclude the "Syrian Affair" successfully, and get Assad's weapons under international control.
