THE OBAMA-CREATED MESS IN THE MIDEAST – AT 9:46 A.M. ET: Obama has flashed weakness since he took the oath of office. The result is absolute madness in the Mideast, with Iran growing in power, and Russia moving in at will. The word "crisis" is overused, but this is a true crisis, that tests the international standing of the United States. From ace reporter Matt Lee, at AP:
NEW YORK (AP) — Now, 1,506 days since the Obama administration first declared that Syrian President Bashar Assad's "days are numbered," he's still there, and a convergence of Western trepidation and Russian resolve could strengthen his position further. But it also could set the stage for a long-sought political transition leading to the end of the Assad family's 45-year rule.
In either case, Assad's Russian and Iranian backers could arguably claim victory.
But there's also a painful third possibility. Russia's decision to intervene with airstrikes this week could just prolong and exacerbate an already brutal conflict that has spawned the largest refugee crisis since World War II and helped the rise of the radical Islamic State group that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says, aims to establish a caliphate from "Portugal to Pakistan."
The Obama administration has been criticized, first for a hesitating response to the civil war over the past four years and now for its hesitance to take a firm position on Russia's moves.
Administration officials have alternately welcomed a Russian role, provided it is limited to fighting the Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates, and denounced it as a tool to rescue Assad or a cynical attempt to boost Moscow's own military presence in the Mediterranean. U.S. officials acknowledge they really don't know what Russia's intentions are. But what is clear is that the Russians have inserted themselves into a conflict the U.S. would have preferred they stay out of.
After accusing Russia of direct military intervention in the Ukraine crisis, something Moscow adamantly denies, the administration is confronted with an overt show of Russian force in the Middle East, a region where Washington has traditionally seen itself as the main outside power.
COMMENT: In other words, we have lost control and certainly lost influence. Countries all over the world are assessing our role, and see it diminished and even laughed at. They will act accordingly when dealing with the United States. It will take a new president to make things better, but that new president cannot simply play the establishment game. I would hate to see a Republican president take over and change very little in our foreign policy, because the lobbyists have gotten used to doing business in Iran.
October 2, 2015 |