No, calling people names from overseas won’t distract from what a huge mess (with Hillary’s help) you’ve created.
Ron Fournier (a slow learner) has thrown in the towel on him:
Klain didn’t say this but I will: On ISIS, Obama breaks every rule. He minimizes the threat and dismisses our fears, which raises doubts about his candor and capability. An overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of ISIS, a new poll shows, and 81 percent think ISIS will strike the United States.
In July 2013, six months into his second term, I wrote a column that questioned whether Obama would fulfill his enormous potential, whether he even cared anymore about his promises to change Washington, whether he could write the modern rules of the presidency and build a new bully pulpit. I asked, “What if Obama can’t lead?”
I now have my answer.
The answer was pretty visible eight years ago, really, to those less blinded by the supposed charisma, and the fantasy “potential.”
And it’s obvious from his demeanor whom Obama considers the enemy. It’s not in the Middle East.
[Update a while later]
First link was wrong but fixed now. Sorry!
The first link is about McCain and ULA.
“The answer was pretty visible eight years ago, really, to those less blinded by the supposed charisma, and the fantasy “potential.” ”
And we repeated that answer then and throughout the 8 years and were not listened to.
Some will never hear. Fournier now does.
Who is next?
We wouldn’t even be in Syria if Obama hadn’t popped his mouth off about the red line. As recently as 2009, John Kerry had a cozy relationship with Bashar Al-Assad, Obama should have used that relationship to avoid the escalation of the war. Then again, if Obama had done less name calling, such as “ISIS is just the JV team”, and more action just 2 years ago, ISIS really could have been contained.
Assad didn’t have much choice in the escalation. From what I have read, he has been getting worked over pretty bad even with Iran and Hezbollah helping. Had he abdicated early on, we probably still would have had an ascendant ISIS because they are motivated by caliphate and not some sort of political reform like some of the other Syrians wanted.
Acting sooner in Iraq certainly would have been nice for our Iraqi friends but even if ISIS were pushed back into Syria could still engage in operations like they did in France. Without a doubt Obama could have mustered the support of Americans for using our troops to stop genocide and sex slavery.
I think Obama’s policies in countries like Libya have had some really negative impacts but as with Syria, there are other players that are making moves. The problem of ISIS, AQ, and other jihadi groups is global and I am not sure what we can do outside of actions in specific countries.
Syria is “tight” with Iran, and at one time I had thought that toppling Mr. Assad would put a crimp in Iran’s ambitions.
But long before Mr. Obama made nice with Iran, I saw a video on the Right Blogosphere about a woman, a Syrian Christian, a Christian who claimed to trace her genealogy back to the time of Christ, who “spoke truth to power” to a certain Captain John McCain, United States Navy, Retired, regarding his enthusiasm for arming anti-Assad rebels. Who asserted that Mr. Assad was standing between her people and Armageddon. Who left the good Senator sputtering and slack-jawed for lack of an intelligent response.
Since we have already gone over to Iran being no longer our enemy and maybe a quasi-friend, why don’t we just go the whole hog and cut a deal with Russia and Iran and whoever and broker some kind of stalemate that keeps Assad in power with Russians working out some kind of exile arrangement to replace him with someone who is functionally Assad but not Mr. Assad himself.
But you still have the Right Blogosphere hopping up and down about how President Obama is not sufficiently vigorous in trying to get Mr. Assad replaced, and you have Mr. Obama himself who is digging in his heels regarding Russian proposals of keeping Mr. Assad.
We cut a deal with Iran, lets cut a deal with Russia and settle this thing. But the “deal” is that Mr. Obama doesn’t “do” deals. OK, then, send Vice President Biden, deal maker (in negotiating with the Republicans, we was known as the “McConnell whisperer”).
Wasn’t this Administration supposed to be about diplomacy? Well then stored diplomacy-ing, which involves deal making.
Why send Biden, when Kerry’s the buddy of Assad? As for brokering deals, nobody cared to back Cedar Revolution when we actually had a chance to remove Assad from power while freeing Lebanon from the absurd 3-way stalemate government. If that wasn’t an opportunity, what changed now other than Obama’s thin red line crack.
Obama might not be a great diplomat but he is great at talking rather than acting.
–We cut a deal with Iran, lets cut a deal with Russia and settle this thing. But the “deal” is that Mr. Obama doesn’t “do” deals. OK, then, send Vice President Biden, deal maker (in negotiating with the Republicans, we was known as the “McConnell whisperer”).
Wasn’t this Administration supposed to be about diplomacy? Well then stored diplomacy-ing, which involves deal making.**
Well Biden can’t make a deal and he would not be helped by Obama who can not negotiate anything. What kind of politician doesn’t even talk to the opposition party. Obama would go broke selling lemonade.
The problem started with Obama not being able to negotiate with Iraq,
nor is doing well with the war he could agree with in Afghanistan.
John Kerry is useless, maybe he could talk to the French [in theory].
Clinton demonstrated her utter uselessness [people could not even trust her with any kind of secrets]. All they depend on from her, was that she always begging for money. So all she managed to make clear to everyone, was that she was for sale.
“Obama would go broke selling lemonade.”
But he would make a killing forcing other people to sell discounted lemonade in exchange for protests to stop.
“Clinton demonstrated her utter uselessness”
Yup, she was Secretary of State when we dropped the ball diplomatically in Iraq.
OK, people. Turkish jets just shot down a Russian jet. WW-III has just started.
It took me a long time to figure this out, and it seems like it will take longer both for Mr. Obama and the entire set of Republican candidates. Syria is a Russian client. Russia has a national interest in keeping Syria as a client — they have that naval base there and few if any other such naval bases, unless you want them to ramp up their “presence” in Cuba and Venezuela.
There is no way, no how, under no circumstance that Mr. Putin is going to let the Syrian opposition, whatever faction of it, prevail. The Russian expeditionary force into Syria establishes as much.
Forget the Turks, forget the Saudis, forget the Gulf States, we are (quietly) to back Assad before this whole thing spins under control. The Russians will be the public face of this war, and they will restore Mr. Assad and smash ISIS, especially after ISIS blew up their passenger jet. The refugee flight into Central and Western Europe will end, and everything will go back to the tense peace prior to this mess.
No, WW III has not just started. It may have already been going, but this incident isn’t going to mean a whole lot. The Russians know they’ve been pushing their luck with the Turks.
Russia might settle for a partition of Syria that would allow them to keep their base and their vassal to stay in power. But who will do the heavy lifting combating ISIS?
Its mind boggling to me that we are working with Iran’s proxy militias in Iraq while helping fight them in Yemen, on top of working with questionable Syrian rebels, that seem to be a little too much like ISIS, to fight against Russian and Iranian forces. Its like we are partnered with all parties that are fighting each other.
“Syria is a Russian client. ”
Well is sure is NOW. But it wasn’t always the case. Nor did it have to be the case. It was Obama and his vapor “red line” that sealed the deal….Putin knew he could move in for sure after that. Probably knew before that but the Red Line flub gave him his opportunity as President Fail McCoward was so thrilled to have Putin pull his chestnuts out of the fire.