[/background]"So we're bombing Syria because Syria is bombing Syria? And I'm the idiot?" Palin wrote in a sharp message posted Friday. "Bottom line is that this is about President Obama saving political face because of his 'red line' promise regarding chemical weapons."
Her message came before Obama's Rose Garden speech Saturday afternoon saying although he did not have to, he would turn to Congress for approval on any military operation in the Middle Eastern country, where he claims there is strong evidence that the government of President Bashar Assad used chemical warfare against its own people.
Salman Shaikh, the director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that if the US congress rejects intervening in Syria and Obama follows that advice – similar to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s acquiescence to his parliament’s rejection – then “we may see even more heightened efforts by Arab states working with others to make a coalition of the willing.”
The current coalition he says is both “unwilling and confused,” and because the Gulf States are determined that Syrian President Bashar Assad must go, then, in such a hypothetical situation, they would work to build other coalitions, increase support for the rebels, and ally clandestinely with various powers.
In this scenario, there would not be direct military intervention by Arab states, but a stronger push of support for the rebels. This option, is not without its risks, said Shaikh.
"The time has come to call on the world community to bear its responsibility and take the deterrent measure that puts a halt to the tragedy." - Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal
The Arab league just voted to ask the UN and the international community to take action against Syria.
[/font][font=Helvetica Neue']"The time has come to call on the world community to bear its responsibility and take the deterrent measure that puts a halt to the tragedy." - [/font][font=Helvetica Neue']Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal
Since when did the right care what Al Jazeera published, much less the Syrian press/mouthpiece?
Since it suited their rhetoric.
Mocking? Nah. I see it as a sign of fear. Real tangible fear. When is the last time the Arab League threw one of their own under the bus? When is the last time they asked for the international community to take out a fellow Arab nation? Nah. Syria knows they are on the ropes. Russia is speaking out in their defense but do they have any of their Navy in the Med? Any troop movements to their defense? Nope.
I agree that it was stupid of Obama to make the comment about the line in the sand but the use of WMD usually does offend the senses of most folks.
I also agree that if the Saudi's want something done they need to get off their ass and put some skin in the game.
As for Assad's kid. You really think he wrote the post? I have a bridge to sell you. Even if he did, who the hell cares what some 11 yr old says who has no idea what he is talking about?
I think it is funny how people think the in action of the US regarding Syria some how portray's us as cowards or something. Syria is a country half a world away which has no affect on us. Who cares. Let an attack happen on US soil again like it did in 2001 and let the world see how fast we unite against our attacker. Everyone knows how that works.
Syria is trying to bait us. I hope we do not fall for it. And if we do we better not go it alone.
Obama and the Middle East: The End of America's Moment?
Fawaz A. Gerges
The 2011 Arab Spring upended the status quo in the Middle East and poses new challenges for the United States. Here, Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's top Middle East scholars, delivers a full picture of US relations with the region. He reaches back to the post–World War II era to explain the issues that have challenged the Obama administration and examines the president's responses, from his negotiations with Israel and Palestine to his drawdown from Afghanistan and withdrawal from Iraq. Evaluating the president's engagement with the Arab Spring, his decision to order the death of Osama bin Laden, his intervention in Libya, his relations with Iran, and other key policy matters, Gerges highlights what must change in order to improve US outcomes in the region.
Gerges' conclusion is sobering: the United States is near the end of its moment in the Middle East. The cynically realist policy it has employed since World War II—continued by the Obama administration--is at the root of current bitterness and mistrust, and it is time to remake American foreign policy.
The cynically realist policy it has employed since World War II.
How long is an hour?