Military Strike on Syria?- Page 7

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/8/13 at 2:41am

'The last time we tried arming the "enemy of my enemy," thinking he must be a friend, we helped bin Laden.'

I'm sure Mubarak and Qaddafi would beg to differ.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/8/13 at 9:26am

The brilliant (and usually non-political) writer Anne Lamott expressed the aching heart of many thinking, feeling Americans on the subject on her FB page yesterday:

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Anne Lamott
Author · 128,152 likes

There's no way regular people like us could know what to do in Syria, whether to strike or not. The greatest strategic and political minds of our day, with genuinely brilliant advisers and sci-fi intelligence gathering, can't figure it out. So how is some aging hippie Nana peacenik going to figure out the Rubic's Cube of this distant savage heartbreaking civil war, where many of the rebels are jihadis, and there's no one who is prepared or organized enough to run the country post-Assad?

But isn't this one reality--that the most fastidiously trained and learned people in the government, military, humanitarian and diplomatic fields, can't figure out the right move--reason enough to hold off bomb strikes for the time being?

The one thing everyone agrees on is that there is no good move--that our strike will not take out Assad, the Al Nusra Front, or the chemical weapons.

And yet, if you mention this one tiny fact, people sneer, "Oh, you're saying we shouldn't do anything in the face of 400+ children having been gassed?"

No one is saying that. So stop spitting already.

I'm glad that we haven't bombed yet. This would almost certainly have given Assad a big p.r. win. And I actually trust that Barack Obama will not bomb Damascus just because he said at a press conference a year ago that the use of chemical weapons was a red line. I don't believe he'll bomb for political gain. Sometimes you have to decide to trust someone, and I've decided to trust Obama and his advisers.

He's brilliant, clearly, and I happen to believe he has a good heart. And he's got Michelle. That a lot.

I love that he decided to wait for Congress to reconvene. That's like waiting for the clown conference to come to town, where they all come tumbling out of the VW bugs. I wish, during the coming debate, that they had to wear red sponge noses and slap shoes, like English lawyers have to wear pwdery wigs in court.

But in the meantime, while waiting for Congress or the UN inspectors or whomever, since we can't take out Assad or the chemical weapons themselves, what if we take in food, medicine, water, shoes, for the people? Instead of take-out, the US could offer the Syrians free delivery.

Isn't our hope for their nation that her people be fed, clothed, cared for? Well, what if the people and the government of the US subvert the insane regime, rebels and circumstance, and take direct care of the Syrians, in country and the refugees? It would be like that great group who bring food to homebound people with AIDS, God's Love We Deliver.

(I have GLWD engraved on the inside of the ring I wear, which is the dove of peace, the holy spirit of breath and goodness. It is all I have to remember most days.)

One clue I've had when searching my own heart about Syria, is that in the old days, I just had to discover what Henry Kissinger had expressed on any issue, and then I knew I felt the exact opposite. Now I ask myself, "What Would Joe Leibermann do? WWLD?" And since he and his amigos want to bomb, now, or maybe tomorrow, at the latest, maybe right after lunch, I'm leaning towards not bombing.

No one knows; our wisest thinkers can't figure this out. It's okay that the rest of us are torn up and confused about it. Some of us will go to church, temples, mosques tomorrow, and we will pray in our communities for truth and peace and justice to prevail. I have to believe this will help.

Obviously, you can say anything here in response, but maybe just this one time, if you disagree, you can say why, and not attack. Besides, I can't figure out how to block people here. (Over at Twitter, however, I can block you, and doing this is really my only happiness.)

Ban Ki-Moon said, at the UN, to give peace a chance. That's all we are saying.

[singtopher]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 2:12pm

A fascinating theory

http://www.policymic.com/mobile/articles/62177/you-think-obama-wants-to-strike-syria-you-re-wrong

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 2:14pm

It's a fascinating but contrived theory. Obama is going to have a media blitz this week trying to convince the country that we should be striking Syria. Interviews have been booked with six networks and he's making a prime time address. Why would he bother if it was something he didn't want to do?

[singtopher]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:14pm

Because, according to the articles author, he knows it'll never happen but at least he can appease those who feel he should take action. He's trying to have it both ways.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:18pm

He said today this is the biggest effort from the White House since passing healthcare reform. He wants to strike Syria.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/9/13 at 5:20pm

I can't help feeling that if he wanted to, he'd have done it already.

Also, there's this:
"A possible way to avoid a major international military showdown in the Syria crisis:

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 8:25am

the syrians accept the russian deal. uncle vlad as peacemaker and diplomat, avoiding the unilateral strike by the warmongering americans. i'm just gonna be over here giggling. all. f*cking. day.



speech? we don't need no steenking speech

Updated On: 9/10/13 at 08:25 AM

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 8:37am

BREAKING: Syrian foreign minister says Syria has accepted Russian proposal to surrender control over its chemical weapons.
-- The Associated Press (@AP)

Looks like the Obama administration stumbled into a peaceful solution when John Kerry made an off the cuff remark yesterday about Syria surrendering it's chemical weapons. Maybe it would have made sense if they went this route in the first place.

Updated On: 9/10/13 at 08:37 AM

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 8:45am

Obama will try to cash in. He will probably still give the speech and say that his hard forceful approach scared Syria into turning over the chemical weapons.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 8:48am

that's the thing that made absolutely no sense to me, erik. why was that not an option from day 1? the fact that kerry stumbled onto it and putin made it happen makes me think that this whole military strike was not about weapons at all and all about appearances. especially with kerry last comments about how this would be an "unbelievably small" strike.

that scares me more than almost anything else this thin skinned and viciously venal administration has done.

[javero]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 8:52am

"Looks like the Obama administration stumbled into a peaceful solution when John Kerry made an off the cuff remark yesterday about Syria surrendering it's chemical weapons. Maybe it would have made sense if they went the route in the first place."

I'm not convinced that it was happenstance. Perhaps that was the gambit all along. Putin gets a feather in his cap, Assad goes thru with the ruse of surrendering chemical weapons, the Obama administration claims a small victory of sorts, and next week we move on to the next crisis.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:00am

yeah, javero, i think that's giving the administration too much credit.

this tweet kinda captures my thoughts:

@iowahawkblog we were promised spock playing 3-d chess; we got ralph wiggum playing hungry hungry hippos

[javero]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:21am

papa,
I'm careful not to underestimate the Chicago machine running at full tilt. In a perverted way, Syria was a convenient distraction for the WH while the Congress was in recess. I couldn't imagine anyone really convinced of the rebels not playing a part in the extermination of those innocent civilians. The latest crisis provided coverage for White House operatives to lay out plans to deal with the impending debt ceiling showdown and imminent gov't shutdown. The MSM of course bought it hook, line, and sinker. Same soup, different spoon.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:41am

I wonder what Obama promised Putin so that Obama could bow out gracefully and go polish his Nobel Peace Prize.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:44am

I hear it was Miley Cyrus and the State of Alaska.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:47am

Miley Cyrus no loss. Alaska would be a huge loss.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 9:57am

My new drag name is Vicious Lee Venal.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 10:37am

Love it.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 10:40am

*thanking my lucky stars for all those gushing emails i sent to vlad back in the day*

so, me, miley and a shirtless vlad on a bear hunt in alaska...twerking to beat the...band.

[javero]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 10:49am

"so, me, miley and a shirtless vlad on a bear hunt in alaska...twerking to beat the...band."

Invite Sister Sarah along and get your swap on bro!

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 10:49am

This is the first Putin fan fiction I've read, but I like it so far.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 10:55am

oh please, javero. it'd be me and miley all the way and sarah and vlad fighting over who gets to f*ck the bear first.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 11:06am

And Miley will be laughing her booty off because the cold and the vodka caused your shrinkage.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/10/13 at 11:58am

We all know if Assad turned over chemical weapons he wouldn't hide some for old times sake. We should believe Assad is a stand up guy because he would not lie. Gas the populace yes. Lie no

Any strike now would be worthless as Assad would have moved his chemical weapons to other secret locations. Imagine if this was a week before D day. We tell the germans surrender or we will attack off the coast of france by Normandie. Clear military thinking here. Rule 1 you do not tell who you are planning to attack that you are going to do it. Whatever strategic advantage we had is gone so why bother. Obama painted himself into a corner so he feels he has to do something even though it makes no sense at this point.