Barry Rubin: How Can Obama’s Middle East Policy Possibly Get Worse? Answer: Look at Syria
The U.S. government’s main activity was to entrust to the Turkish Islamist regime the job of forming an umbrella Syrian opposition leadership. Not surprisingly, Ankara pursued its own interest by assembling a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated group, the Syrian National Congress. Though several members resigned, complaining of the radical Islamist control, the Obama Administration is still trying to force hostile oppositionists to join.
Now a new and equally terrible policy is unveiled. I’ll let the New York Times’ reporters explain it:
“President Obama will push for the departure of President Bashar al-Assad under a plan that calls for a negotiated political settlement that would satisfy Syrian opposition groups but that could leave remnants of Assad’s government in place. The success of the plan hinges on Russia, one of Assad’s staunchest allies, which has strongly opposed his removal. Obama, administration officials said, will press the proposal with President Putin of Russia at their meeting next month. Obama’s national security adviser raised the plan with Putin in Moscow three weeks ago.”
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– “The success of the plan hinges on Russia, one of Assad’s staunchest allies, which has strongly opposed his removal.”
Just think about that sentence! The Obama Administration wants to depend on a country that’s disdainful of U.S. interests, wants to sabotage them, and is on the opposite side! The president wants to ask a country that is “strongly opposed” Assad’s removal to remove Assad!
And finally, equally amazingly:
“Obama, administration officials said, will press the proposal with President Putin of Russia at their meeting next month. Obama’s national security adviser raised the plan with Putin in Moscow three weeks ago.”
It’s Obama, not Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is pushing this plan to put Russia in control! If your enemy tries to fool or cheat you, that’s a problem. If you beg him and hand him the means to do so, that’s a betrayal of U.S. interests.
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But so what? It’s still possible to come up with a better policy than this, a policy that would make Obama look good as well as serve U.S. interests. He could call for Assad’s overthrow; back truly moderate oppositionists; subvert Islamist influence; and send arms and money, but only to the moderates. In order to portray himself as decisive, heroic, and a friend of democracy, Obama could take every possible overt and covert opportunity to weaken Assad, even helping at a low cost to create a no-fly zone and safe havens. None of this is going to happen.
FP: Obama’s Syrian policy is atrocious, but it was predictable and is hardly surprising. The entire ME is now in turmoil and extremely hostile to American interests as a result of American decline accelerated by an incompetent, narcissistic president who is himself not exactly a fan of the US. Having either stood by or facilitated the Islamization of regimes across the ME and lost credibility with both friends and enemies, a bankrupt US has neither the power nor the influence on which it used to rely to prevent exactly these current circumstances, which I I have labeled The PostWest. A waning superpower has many sharks in the water and the instinct is to treat enemies as friends in the delusion that they will be kind to it.
So while I agree with Rubin that Obama’s policies are atrocious, I do not think that any of the alternatives he suggests would have made much of a difference, because they are based on an illusion of power.
Here’s more evidence:
With new indictment, Erdogan seeks to 'crush ties to Israel'
Turkish high criminal court unanimously upholds indictments against four Israeli military officers for their alleged involvement in 2010 raid on flotilla killing nine Turks • Former IDF chief Lt. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi: I won't visit Turkey.
Erdogan’s ability to veto Israel’s participation at the NATO conference is already an indicator of American weakness. What is more, Israel’s TV has reported that the US has conditioned the supply of drones to the Turkish army on Turkey’s repairing relations with Israel. Erdogan’s response was to take the legal action against top Israeli officers.
Now this:
PM defends IDF officers indicted by Turkish court
Former No. 3 at Pentagon calls on Israel to act 'more strategically' and reconcile with Turkey; Liberman tells visiting German president that Ankara cannot "intimidate" IDF officers.
Draw your own conclusion.
Poll: 80% of Palestinian believe PA is corrupt
If new Palestinian elections were held today, West Bank's ruling Fatah faction would still win, survey reveals.
FP: The choice Palestinians have is either corruption, Islamism or both. They’re as ready as they will ever be. Let’s give them a state.
Brotherhood candidate vows freedom for women
Mursi says there will be "no imposition on women to wear the veil" should he win in next month's run-off elections.
FP: And those who believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn and a tower in Paris to sell you. With Carter assuring that the MB will preserve the peace treaty, we have nothing to worry about: this has nothing to do with the election, they are really moderate.
Shin Bet uncovers prisoner plot to kidnap Israelis
Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails hatched plan with former prisoners to kidnap Israelis as bargaining chips for their release.
FP: Let’s improve their conditions. And let’s release more than 1000 prisoners in future exchange deals.
Ya'alon hints at Israeli role in 'Flame' virus
Israel's superior technology "opens up all kinds of possibilities," says vice premier on new virus found attacking Iran.
In comments that could be construed as suggesting that Israel is behind the "Flame" virus, the latest piece of malicious software to attack Iranian computers, Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon on Tuesday said that "whoever sees the Iranian threat as a serious threat would be likely to take different steps, including these, in order to hurt them."
Speaking in an interview with Army Radio, Ya'alon further hinted that Jerusalem was behind the cyber attack, saying "Israel is blessed to be a nation possessing superior technology. These achievements of ours open up all kinds of possibilities for us."
FP: Israeli leaders are increasingly all blabbermouths and no action—when you do nothing you must keep talking to obscure the lack of action.
The West is much more dependent on technology than its enemies and is more vulnerable to software attacks.
Bill Katz: CHRISTIANS STONED IN FRANCE
A group of "North African youths" invaded a church in France yesterday and launched handfuls of pebbles at about 150 parishioners. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but the "youths" escaped. Coming to a country near you, unless we abandon this childlike "acceptance" of every "culture" that comes down the pike. Sadly, France just elected a socialist government whose supporters are still in the "we must understand" phase of adolescence.
FP: Oh, they will understand alright. When it’s too late.
State ordered to fund non-Orthodox community rabbis
Attorney-general tells government that it will have to fund non-Orthodox community rabbis according to local demand • Petition originally made in 2005 by Israel Religious Action Center and female rabbi whose community funds her salary.
FP: As an anti-theist I against any funding of religion by the state, but an effective way to loosen the Orthodox choke on Israel political system is to promote the conservative and reform versions of Judaism, and give them the same status, which would also help with aliyah.
Navy deploys to protect natural gas finds off Israel's coast
As hopes grow for Israel’s gas reserves at sea, some worry how the navy can protect the facilities from Hezbollah attacks • "We will do our best, but without a major boost to our capabilities, our best will not be enough," says senior military planner.
FP: As soon as the gas reserves were discovered at sea I expressed concern that this will tempt its enemies, who are in dire economic straits, to instigate attacks. I doubt that the West has even an inkling of strategic thinking to realize its own interest in supporting Israel in such an eventuality.
Jan Karski, from hell on earth to US presidential honor
Karski was able to secure a meeting with British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, but Eden showed little interest in Karski’s account of the slaughter of the Jews. The prime minister, Winston Churchill, was said to be too busy to see him at all. Karski did succeed in generating a number of sympathetic reports in the British press and BBC Radio.
The enterprising young Pole arrived in the United States in July 1943. One of his first meetings was with Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. Karski described the Warsaw Ghetto, the Izbica transit station, and the systematic annihilation of European Jewry. Frankfurter’s response: “I am unable to believe you.”
On July 28, the young Polish courier met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the Oval Office, for more than an hour. Karski began by describing the activities of the Polish underground. The president listened with fascination, asked questions and offered unsolicited advice, some of it a bit eccentric — such as his idea of putting skis on small airplanes to fly underground messengers between England and Poland during the winter. But when Karski related details of the mass killings of the Jews, Roosevelt had nothing to say. The president was, as Karski politely put it, “rather noncommittal.”
FP: You want to bet this is exactly what’ll happen if Israel or Jews around the world get in trouble?
The New USSR (MUST WATCH!)
FP: I have referred several times here to the abomination that is the EU. This film demonstrates how right I was.
There are two important aspects. One is that the EU has much more to do with the decline of Europe and its Islamization than hits the eye.
But more importantly the other is that while the Soviet republics were coerced into the USSR at the barrel of guns, the European states have surrendered their sovereignty and rights of their own volition. Of course, the choice was not exactly the public’s in each country, but of their politicians who, under their nation’s laws, do not have the authority for surrendering to what is essentially an unelected foreign power. What is more, not only did the publics that signed the EU treaties were lied to, but some of them voted against the treaties and the treaties were cosmetically improved to reverse those votes too.
Which goes to show that (1) the anti-democratic instinct of all politicians is not much different than the bolsheviks’ and (2) they never learn that succumbing to this instinct is destructive via incompetence, coercion and corruption—the very forces that destroyed the USSR on the left and Nazi Germany on the right.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America--and Spawned a Global Crisis (9780312610531): Michael W. Hudson: Books
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