The term ‘unintended consequences’ has been used frequently in discussions on the pending Obama Syrian strike. WWIII was used as the cherry on top. But we did not have to wait long for a demonstration. We got what we Southerners call a General Bedford Forrest Confederate cavalry flank attack on Monday morning.
Putin was quoted on Friday as having some discussions with Obama on a possible Syrian crisis resolution, and then having Lavrov and Kerry follow up over the weekend. When Kerry had his surprise ‘turn over your chemical weapons’ moment during his Monday press conference, and it was quickly followed by both Syrian and Russian acceptance, everyone initially suspected an orchestrated de-escaltion was being rolled out after some weekend negotiations.
But that changed quickly. Video tape showed Kerry’s remarks off the cuff responses to a question from a reporter. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was quick to recast the orchestration theory as a blunder on Kerry’s part, one snatched up at light speed by the Russian Foreign Ministry (excellent staff work).
The ‘Putin-Russian Plan’ was born and instantly picked up as such by the international media. The American war hawks got diplomatically flanked and media scooped in a matter of hours. General Forrest sends his regards. China, Iran, and the other ‘no pre-emptive strike’ countries jumped aboard the diplomatic solution train which left the station with neither Kerry or Obama aboard.
The Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi, in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Tuesday, announced that a formal statement of support for the Russian plan was forthcoming. Britain’s PM, David Cameron also welcomed the proposal. What we watched happen here was a diplomatic and public relations rout. Let’s take a closer look at what was working behind the scenes for the John Kerry gaff to land onto such fertile ground.
First, we can confirm now that we did not see an orchestrated settlement. On Monday Obama was still digging his presidential historical grave by insisting he could legally intervene in Syria without Congressional approval. Why did he shoot himself in the foot this way? He had counted Congressional votes over the weekend and learned he was going to lose big in the House and also the Senate, but by a smaller margin.
Calls for impeachment if he launched a strike without Congress approval were widely discussed over the weekend and had support from a wide cross section of Americans, including veterans and active duty troops who have been so sorely used by our politicians in our War of Terror. Americans are not really tired of war, but of phony, manipulated wars. That is what is really driving the opposition.
For a decade West Pointers have been bailing out of the military, 50% of them, at the end of their five year commitment. The most common reason, only mentioned off the record, is that they did not join the military to be mercenary troops for American multinational corporations and banksters.
I personally know a West Point father with three WP children who have left for this reason. They saw the reality of the ‘forward deployment’ up close and personal during their multiple tours to the war zones, including the drug running in Afghanistan.
Some people were even posing that Putin might actually prefer an attack as it would end Obama’s legitimacy and America’s along with it on the world stage, whatever there is left of it anyway. It’s hard to believe really, but if you polled Americans now on which world leader has shown the best statesmanship, Putin would win hands down. The rest are viewed as cartoon characters.
Congressmen got pounced on by angry constituents over the weekend. One major example was Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell who had been sitting on the fence as undeclared. He got his ears chewed off by voters who had expected more of him. In a Senate floor speech on Tuesday he said:
“I will be voting against this resolution — a vital national security risk is clearly not at play…There are just too many unanswered questions about our long-term strategy in Syria, including the fact that this proposal is utterly detached from a wider strategy to end the civil war there, and on the specific question of deterring the use of chemical weapons, the president’s proposal appears to be based on a contradiction…We cannot ignore the unintended consequences of our actions,”
I would challenge the good Senate leader that there is a whole list of contradictions. The Obama team keeps blustering about having to show a deterrence against the use of chemical weapons when they have admitted they don’t have proof of who is responsible.
Some White house idiot dreamed up a new PR spin term, that they had used the ‘common sense’ method to blame Assad. That was laughed at all weekend with jokes about why can’t Obama find any good help with all the unemployment in the country.
This made the independent civilian and military Intel community very angry. The insurgents had already admitted having chemical weapons and that they were planning to use them. There have been confirmed reports of sarin coming in to them from multiple sources with US Intelligence obviously having to be aware of it, also. So Obama’s concern for the gassing victims in Damascus rings opportunistic, staged, and hollow. Little did I know it would get worse tonight…
I just took a break to watch Obama’s speech. It was just horrible, something you would expect from a carnival barker. Despite conceding over the weekend he had no proof, he claimed in tonight’s speech that Assad had used poison gas…against children. He even asked everyone to re-watch the videos of the dying children.
But there is one little problem with that, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has confirmed that the videos and photos purporting to show the victims of a chemical attack near the Syrian capital, Damascus, were fabricated. The HRC reported that many witnesses claimed that the rebels were responsible. Obama can’t seem to remember that a lot of us have computers.
Once again Obama made the claim that American national security was at stake in Syria, and that we need to make our children safer. No we don’t Mr. President. We need to make the Syrian, Lebanese, Gazan and West Bank children safer.
You sir, at the helm of this regime change policy, are responsible for not saying one word of deterrence against our Saudi and Qatari allies for running major terror operations against the Syrian people and the Kurds. This included their children. So I do not buy your crocodile tears, and neither do your victims.
You have make no case for American national interests in Syria. You have not even really tried. You have been purposefully vague so as to choose what you want later as a justification. The best we can get out of you is ‘our interests’. That is a condescending reply, and the opposition to your Syria policy is stemming from the American public not believing you. That is as kindly as I can put it.
Your policy in Syria has been a failure. Its conception was a failure. So that makes you responsible for the deaths there, plus our active allies including Israel. Assad is no saint, but you have kissed your Nobel prize away.
Yes, you did well to effect the Iraq pull out and the reduction in Afghanistan. You did even better by holding off the pincer movement that the Israeli Likud crowd, the American Jewish Lobby and the NeoCons pulled on you to use the American military as cannon fodder on another phony threat…Iran. We supported you on that tooth and nail then…but not now. You went ‘rogue’ on us, sir.
We know you are not pushing this Syrian thing for the reasons you state. Your speech writers failed, and so did you. Every time to try to deceive us you lose more and more respect. You take your presidency closer and closer to Bush II, where we will never be able to wash off the stain.
And I can say the same for you and your team. You have dishonored America with your actions in Syria…criminal actions, crimes against humanity. And you have the gall to stand up there tonight and tell us we need to strike Syria to protect our children? That was a disgrace.
You need to shoot your speech writer, or better yet, turn him over to the al-Nursa boys helping you to carry out your policy in Syria. Maybe they will make a video of what they do to him and send it to you, and maybe then you will ‘get it’. You can ignore your responsibility all you want, but you will never escape it. The dead cry out for justice, and they will have theirs on you…eventually.
Jim W. Dean is the managing editor for VeteranToday.com, producer/host of Heritage TV Atlanta, a member of the Assoc. for Intelligence Officers and Sons of Confederate Veterans, specially for New Eastern Outlook.
