A long read but it does help
some to know just how complicated the middle East is and it is not new just a
new bunch trying to deal with something that is way over their head to
understand. As a community organizer our present could do a rah rah
speech and the folks would follow along but threats like the “line in the sand”
just provoke action to see if the line means anything… you know call your bluff
and once you blink then you have lost the game. The US has blinked
and now our ability to influence anything in the region is zilch.
Mr Obama will never again have any respect in those countries, I mean
NEVER. He has shown his hand and he is now out of the game.
Kerry, running around telling Russia what we expect is about the same as
telling a wolf to not kill the sheep. These folks depend on Russia for
their weapons and who do you think they look to for direction, NOT THE US.
HJ
Col. Allen West, a true American Patriot, does a fine job
explaining what is going on in the Middle East. I hope this guy will
someday be in a position of leadership in our country.
Nelson
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 Another Fine Obama Mess The
president’s bumbling Syrian policy keeps getting worse
I have listened to countless
experts, pundits and self-acclaimed strategists give their insights into the
current Syrian episode, and some of these folks could not find their way out
of an open-end paper bag. Unfortunately, many of them are part of the Obama
administration. President Obama addressed the nation on Tuesday evening to
make his case for the United States to embark upon military action in Syria.
However, Obama ended the speech calling for a “pause,” especially because he
had just been outmaneuvered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and lacked
congressional votes for an attack. The speech ended up being totally
confusing, and if I were his adviser – nah, hell has not frozen over – I
would have told him not to give that pointless speech.
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The realities of Syrian war
First of all, if America is
concerned about the use of chemical weapons, we need to understand their
delivery method. Chemical weapons are delivered via surface-to-surface
systems, normally artillery shells, or even rocket and missiles. These mobile
platforms are easily hidden. In Gaza Strip, Hamas Islamic terrorists have
converted garbage trucks into multiple rocket-launcher platforms. You also
cannot attack a chemical weapons stockpile without creating a larger and more
deadly event because high levels of heat are need to destroy the weapons. In
other words, we cannot bomb Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s delivery means
or his chemical stockpile. Furthermore, the “rebel” forces in Syria may have
used chemical weapons. They simply could convert chemical weapons shells into
improvised explosive devices and detonate them in target areas based upon
prevailing winds for maximum effect. So when Obama says he intends to degrade
Assad’s ability to use chemical weapons, he cannot do that without “boots on
the ground.” The best way to deliver precision-guided munitions against
mobile targets is to have someone on the ground “lasing” the target and
communicating with the aerial delivery platform. Standoff weapons such as
Tomahawk cruise missiles also are only effective against stationary targets,
and you can bet by now that Syria’s mobile systems have been repositioned
into areas that would yield high levels of collateral damage. And let us not
forget that Syria has one of the most sophisticated and intricate
surface-to-air missile systems in the world thanks to our Russian friends.
Any U.S. air campaign would not be a walk in the park. Only the boldness of
the Israeli Air Force enabled that country’s airmen to enter Syrian airspace
and attack targets. Also remember that air power does not win a ground
engagement, as we learned from the folly of Bill Clinton against the Serbs in
the Balkans. I still remember the pictures of Serbian forces giving us their
version of the “finger” as they conducted their retrograde operation. Their
systems were intact.
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There are no good guys
Some people believe that
bombing Assad’s airfields and air force would be just punishment for using
chemical weapons. Well, do that and you may tip the balance of the civil war
to the rebels – and we may not want to do that. They are no different from
the rebels we assisted in Libya. The Free Syrian Army, led by Col. Riad
al-Asaad, initially defected from the Syrian Army and Assad regime. The
problem is that the FSA has been sorely neglected in armament, capability and
logistical support. If the United States were to somehow find a precision
means to support the FSA, we would have to fight Assad’s forces and the
Islamists under command of Brigadier Gen. Salim Idriss and the Supreme
Military Council. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood
(i.e., al Qaeda) support the SMC. The two most prominent of the Islamist
forces are the Jubhat-al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant. These are not organizations we want to tip the balance toward, as we
did in Libya. And no better, Iran and Hezbollah are aligned with Assad. This
is really a schism between Sunni and Shiite Islamists. The window of
opportunity for our intervention closed some two years ago. Is the use of
chemical weapons against civilians horrific? Yes. But the level of brutality
and beheadings that occur in most of the Islamic world are just as
horrifying. One can read daily about atrocities being committed from Nigeria
to Egypt, to the Gaza Strip, to Iraq and to Pakistan. We cannot embark upon a
venture under the guise of having a responsibility to protect unless we want
to be all over the world – and the Obama administration has severely
decimated our military capability. We also cannot talk about Syria without
examining the unintended consequences of Obama’s ill-conceived operation in
Libya. Motivated by far fewer casualties than in Syria, Obama, without
congressional approval, provided air and naval power to Islamists. They later
showed their gratitude by attacking our consulate and murdering Ambassador
Chris Stevens, information management officer Sean Smith, and former U.S.
Navy SEALS Ty Woods and Glenn Doherty. The Islamic terrorist attack in
Benghazi, Libya, was a true national security interest, yet Obama showed no
indignation, save against a crude video that his team said inspired the
attack. He ordered no response or military action, and now he wants America
to forget Benghazi even as he insists that we must act in Syria. Obama
actually referred to Benghazi and his abandoning of Americans under attack
and dying as a “phony scandal.”
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We’re playing chess, not checkers
I will not be guilt-tripped
into believing we must act in Syria because President Obama went off
teleprompter. World War I began based upon miscalculations and a series of
uncontrollable events that were set in motion. Syria is not our problem; it
is the problem of President Vladimir Putin and Russia. If they want to
maintain a warm weather port in the Mediterranean Sea, let Putin decide
whether he wants Syria to fall into the hands of Islamists. Putin has shown
himself the master strategist and outmaneuvered Obama this week, even writing
an op-ed in The New York Times. The Obama spin masters cannot twist this into
a favorable position for their confused community organizer. Strategically,
if Obama wanted to have an influence, he would have maintained a residual
force in Iraq, but campaign promises override strategic vision. Obama plays
foreign policy checkers, not chess. He said his foreign policy involved
“pivoting away from the Middle East,” and he has abdicated American influence
in the region, to the detriment of Israel, by doing just that. The real fight
in the Middle East for America is against the Muslim Brotherhood and their
spawn, and against Iran. They must be defeated. You want to do something
related to Syria? Provide logistical support to Jordan and the Syrian refugee
camps. Start supporting the Egyptian Army in crushing the Muslim Brotherhood
and Islamist forces in the Sinai Peninsula. And at some time we will have to
conduct a strategic strike against Iran, but let’s not tell them we are
coming and what the targets are! We must develop better alliances with the
minority ethnic groups friendly to America – Assyrians, Copts, Kurds and
others. Yes, I support an independent Kurdistan, which would be a great
friend to America. We also need to promote American energy security. That
means developing our own resources and telling OPEC and the Organization of
Islamic Countries to take a hike. Lastly, let’s reaffirm our commitment to
our best ally in the Middle East, Israel. America needs strategists and
leaders who know how to play chess, not checkers. Steadfast and Loyal, Allen
B. West
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