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Doomed if you do, doomed , if you don't

Reader comment on item: Obama's Foreign Fiasco

Submitted by Stonewall Jackson (Switzerland), Aug 31, 2013 at 10:18

Oh boy, the true litmus test has finally come. The test, Biden spoke about, an inexperienced Obama would eventually face. Now we will finally find out the truth about the debate on leadership.

Obama faces the consequences of his naivete, passivity and foreign policy inexperience. And, for the eternal seeker of the compromise, the choices are brutal, as there is no good option here and certainly no compromise.

A "cosmetic" slap on the wrist is the most dangerous and counter-productive choice, as it will not produce anything in terms of benefit to the US.

No clear signal to Iran or Nk, let alone to Russia, that America must be respected or taken seriously. No outcome in terms of strategy or the civil war and likely further stepping over the "red line" by a cynical dictator. It would be almost as bad as doing absoutely nothing. We may as well pursue a policy of isolationism and extricate ourselves totally from the hemisphere. Domestically, that seems to be the preferred MO anyway. However, in that case say goodbye to your legacy or any leadership claim. The Dems would be likely massacred in 2014 and lose the presidential race in 2016 too.

This admin may well go down in history as the admin which ignited the Arab Spring, then left the entire region in chaos and, once it exploded in violence, walked cowardly away from its own creation of a monster. A lot of people in the US would applaude that. After all, " they have a century old tradition of killing one another, thus let's let them kill each other off..." All the while the truly dangerous and for our own direct homeland security critical nations like Iran or North Korea, China and Russia are watching the lame duck, beaten down by domestic problems and scandals, resigned, disillusioned and morally relative. They will appreciate that bad behaviour will be rewarded by the passivity of a weak former order power. They will in fact realize that there are no "red lines" and , they will thus bully their neighbors and us alike. America blinks and the world becomes a dangerous place to live in. Just wait, until Iran declares to have the nukes or NK is emboldened to do something stupid on that peninsula. Take an even longer view on the pacific, where China already today stakes its claims on practically the entire Pac Rim's resources... How do you think will the neighbors from the Philippines to Malaysia, Japan to Thailand, Vietnam to Burma - let alone Taiwan feel, now that America is blinking again?

Already we have lost much credibility throughout the entire globe. We blinked in Georgia, we blinked in Eastern Europe and left some of our staunchest allies in the rain (missile shield), under Obama, we have done nothing, but blinking.
Is it a wonder now, that we lost all credibility when pretending to be a force for good? When we talk about our principles and values, freedom and liberty, the world is laughing at us. In Europe at present a vast majority of once staunch supporters, if not outright admirers now consider us as opportunists and imperialists, big mouths with no follow through, all bla bla but never action. How bad must it be, if even the Brits do no longer trust us?

Obama stumbled naively from one foreign policy disaster to another - the hugest blunder like a cherry on top now to follow with Syria.

Yep, it is hard to convince the beaten down people of America to consider abstract notions, such as reputation, honor, respect, values, principles and long-term perspectives. Albeit, for the sake of my nation, for once I so much hope that this probably weakest of all presidents finds somewhere the testicular fortitude to see the wisdom in McCain's vision against all odds, risks and outspoken opposition from within his own ranks, let alone the libertarian and populist isolationism faction within the Republican party. Not to speak about a majority of the hugely misinformed people. Assads Regime must be hit hard - so hard in fact that no one ever again will consider using Chem weapons anywhere in the world again. So hard, that the Iranians come back to a real negotiating table, before they have nukes and the entire region explodes figuratively. So hard in fact that our allies and friends start believing in us and our principles and values and our will to stick to them , again. And maybe, just maybe, join us again in a coalition of the free and willing. So hard, that the weakening majority of the Free Syrian Army gets time to re-arm and re-train and then beat back the jihaadist minority and influence. So hard, that the North Koreans feel it may be wiser to negotiate again and the Taliban does the same in Afghanistan and Pakistan may find the inner strength to combat their extremists with more vigor again. So hard, that eventually we may see a return on the huge financial investment in Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Israel, Jordan and Yemen. So hard, that the Saudis may think twice before escalating their wahabi indoctrination war abroad in western nations, but rather consider loosening up their own grips on their own countries and genders a bit. So hard in fact, that even Dictator & master chess player Putin may come to appreciate partnership rather than conflict with the USA.

Too many bad people do no longer fear us. Too many good people do no longer respect us. And this, my dear friends is very much an issue impacting our direct national security interests. As cynical as it may sound, considering the monstrosities committed in Syria, this nation is not the primary concern. This comparably tiny conflict and our handling of it may well influence the outcome and impact of much greater challenges with much much greater potential risks and consequences in the future, which is why I so hope that Obama will do the right thing and intervene hard and tough,even though it will likely cost him dearly in the short term.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (26) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1The biggest enemy of Islamists? It is turning out to be cameras of smart phones! [290 words]dhimmi no moreSep 10, 2013 14:09209564
2Doomed if you do, doomed , if you don't [1016 words]Stonewall JacksonAug 31, 2013 10:18209343
1Doubling down on my first comment [1181 words]Stonewall JacksonSep 1, 2013 12:39209343
4More disaster in US diplomacy in Egypt [153 words]dhimmi no moreAug 30, 2013 13:22209326
2What do Egyptians think about the link between the MB and the US? [126 words]dhimmi no moreAug 27, 2013 07:43209236
2Why the US can't respond [166 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Stephen PraibinAug 25, 2013 21:49209214
1Response to Praibin [161 words]Bryan SchmickAug 27, 2013 02:10209214
4Obama uses common sense [133 words]Lars NielsenAug 25, 2013 04:23209203
1oil [18 words]Bryan SchmickAug 27, 2013 02:12209203
2Exposing terrorists in Egypt [113 words]dhimmi no moreAug 24, 2013 10:38209196
4I disagree: he courts Muslim... [79 words]JuliaAug 23, 2013 17:16209186
Anther View [154 words]Gunther SchiffAug 22, 2013 15:56209172
1Looking Behind the Facade of the Current American Foreign Policy [510 words]M. ToveyAug 22, 2013 15:35209171
Repeating mistakes [98 words]David W. LincolnAug 22, 2013 12:19209166
4Do we have to ask why? [57 words]Arnold A. PutnamAug 22, 2013 10:42209163
2I DISAGREE [102 words]Joseph MamelakAug 22, 2013 10:41209162
misperception and vanity [237 words]mythAug 22, 2013 05:54209158
Stop - No Admittance [345 words]SentinelAug 22, 2013 02:26209156
4The United States of America is a Republic NOT a democracy, more specifically, a constitutional federal republic [482 words]NuritGAug 22, 2013 01:29209155
greater credence given to previous poster because they assume incompetence instead of unpatriotic ill will [21 words]Richard AAug 24, 2013 01:59209155
Minority report [46 words]JFKARAug 26, 2013 11:15209155
2The Emperor Has No Clothes [117 words]Mark LevickAug 21, 2013 23:50209152
Government Cheese Trumps Foreign Affairs [96 words]DaveAug 21, 2013 21:13209151
6Is Obama inept? [997 words]ReliapunditAug 21, 2013 20:30209149
8More disasters for our foreign policy [244 words]dhimmi no moreAug 21, 2013 18:43209145
2The US lost its prestige in Egypt and therefore the Middle East [198 words]dhimmi no moreAug 21, 2013 15:46209139

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