Make no mistake; I’m glad President Obama pulled back from the brink on Syria. First, he didn’t have the authority to act without Congress, yet he was preparing to do so anyway. Second, support for the Syrian rebels would be a colossal blunder, since they are now dominated by enemies of the United States. I said it before and will say it again: neither side in that conflict deserves our backing.
Yet the entire episode has been a disaster for the reputation of the US. It has fully revealed the ineptitude of this president in international affairs, thereby rivaling his ineptitude on domestic issues. His dangerous ideology and his incompetence are the perfect storm in both arenas. And who comes out looking like the peacemaker? Vladimir Putin, the ex-KGB official who is, basically, a thug.
The naïve amongst us may rejoice that the UN is now being handed the baton on chemical weapons oversight. Well, first of all, that’s not a certainty; “talks” must come before action, and we all know how those kinds of talks usually go. Even if the UN is given that task, is there really anything in its history of oversight that gives confidence this makes all things right?
The fiasco has only begun.
Naturally, our president spins this as a victory that showcases his tough stance against evil. We’re told the Russians wouldn’t have offered the solution and the Syrians wouldn’t be considering it if not for Obama’s superb strategy. But does he even understand the game being played?
Even commentators on the liberal side who have provided all sorts of rationales to explain other Obama policies are flummoxed by what has transpired in this case. Some Democrats have used the word “embarrassing” to describe what has happened to American prestige. Respect for their leader is at an all-time low. This is coming across as more on-the-job training. Or perhaps there’s an even better comparison:
Remember that silly comment by Kerry, comforting the world that any action we might take would be “unbelievably small”? Here’s another application of that wording that seems appropriate:
I was also less than impressed by Obama’s appeal to help the children of Syria. This is the man who stood before Planned Parenthood and asked God to bless their efforts while they routinely aid in the slaughter of more than 333,000 children each year. He’s not to be taken seriously.