Obama knows Mideast war is Kryptonite for US superpower

[webfact]

OVERDRIVE
Obama knows Mideast war is Kryptonite for US superpower
Thanong Khanthong

BANGKOK: -- US President Barack Obama is looking more and more like a punch-bag. Fellow Democrats are lining up to attack him with the vigour of Republicans over his half-hearted policy in the Middle East.

If Obama had been more decisive, they argue, the so-called Islamic State (IS) would never have risen to threaten the security of whole countries and challenge US policy in the Middle East.

Obama's latest critic is former US president Jimmy Carter, who supported Obama's candidacy for president over Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries.

But in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published on Wednesday, Carter said Obama had failed to respond to the threat of the IS. "First of all, we waited too long. We let the Islamic State build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria," Carter said. "President Obama, it's been hard to figure out exactly what his policy is. It changes from time to time. He's been delayed. Sometimes he draws red lines in the sand on the Mideast and then when the time comes, he doesn't go through with it."

Former US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is also critical of Obama's handling of IS, arguing in his just-published memoir "Worthy Fights" that Obama should not have pulled US troops out of Iraq in 2011. By doing so, Obama created a political vacuum in Iraq, making the country vulnerable to factional conflict and rivalry, writes Panetta. He adds that the US was far too slow in funding and arming the Syrian rebels. In late 2013 Obama decided against a move to send troops to Syria to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. Panetta calls those failures to act "missed opportunities". He goes on to say that Obama's recent U-turn in deciding to bomb IS forces both in Iraq and Syria was taken to repair the damage in the wake of those missed opportunities. He predicted that the US war against IS jihadists could last 30 years and spill over into other nations across the world, including Nigeria, Somalia and Libya.

US Vice President Joe Biden has come to his boss's defence, saying that Panetta should have waited for Obama's term in office to end before launching his criticism.

Obama has so far insisted that he will not send ground troops into Syria. But a chorus of voices is applying pressure for him to do so. Robert Gates, Panetta's predecessor at the Pentagon, is leading the choir, saying "boots on the ground" are necessary to defeat the IS. "I think that by continuing to repeat that [the US won't send in ground troops], the president, in effect, traps himself," Gates said.

Finally, both former president Bill Clinton and ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton have come out and publicly stated that Obama's failure to send troops into Syria created the opportunity for IS to rise and fill the power vacuum.

Obama has been portrayed as timid and indecisive by his fellow Democrats, who are sounding even more hawkish than the Republicans. But, in fact, 2009 Nobel Peace laureate Obama has bombed seven countries during his presidency - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and Syria. Obama knows full well that once he has committed to a war against Syria, it is going to be a long one, because Russia, Iran and China lurk and will be forced to get involved to defend Syria one way or another. Panetta's assessment of a 30-year war reflects the wider scenario of open-ended battle for the Middle East. This has become an unending war, which started soon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. After 13 years fighting in the Middle East, the US is about to shift the campaign into high gear again.

The war drums reflect the desperate attempt by the US to maintain its dominance over the affairs of the Middle East and the wider world amid a growing challenge from Russia, China and other so-called emerging nations. Bombing Syria and Iraq is the first act in this drama.

The US and its allies will soon be tempted to send in ground troops for a protracted war for control of resources and energy. A glance at his war records reveals Obama is far from dovish. His initial delay in going to war against Syria, using the IS as a pretext, likely stemmed from his realisation that the US no longer reigns supreme on the military front. The war in the Middle East will further drain the US and its allies' resources while Russia and its Eastern allies look on, waiting for the right time to strike back. Somewhere down the line, a clash between the superpowers looks inevitable.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Obama-knows-Mideast-war-is-Kryptonite-for-US-super-30245093.html


-- The Nation 2014-10-10

[cloudhopper]

Heh looks like the war mongers aren't getting enough lately.

[Credo]

I don't think there has ever been a strategy in the ME, by anyone. It's always been a crap shoot and series of knee-jerk reactions.

The current 'policy' has been to go slow and it is a policy. In order to win the war sometimes you have to lose a few battles.

This is a battle that perhaps needs to be fought by others.

[Ulysses G.]

If Obama was not so weak, a lot of the bad things happening around the world, would not be happening at all. The bad guys just can't help themselves with such a putz in office. This is their big chance and there are two whole years left.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[wackybacky]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But the top and bottom of it is..... What happens in the middle east should be sorted out by the middle east. Not the USA, UK or EU... It's not our problem.

[zydeco]

When it comes to advising people on a successful US foreign policy, Jimmy Carter is the last person to listen to.

[Ulysses G.]

When it comes to advising people on a successful US foreign policy, Jimmy Carter is the last person to listen to.

Next to last. The guy in the White House right now is even less credible.

[lovetotravel]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But the top and bottom of it is..... What happens in the middle east should be sorted out by the middle east. Not the USA, UK or EU... It's not our problem.

Unfortunately, it's everybody's problem. Where do you think a lot of the oil from the ME goes? UK, EU, USA, etc. A small hiccup causes big problems in business. It's a global mess.

[rethaier]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But the top and bottom of it is..... What happens in the middle east should be sorted out by the middle east. Not the USA, UK or EU... It's not our problem.

Would you rather wait until they bring it to your own street hiding behind doors of seeming normalcy. In essence I agree that in most cases we should let others fight their own battles but this time it is so messed up by our own interfering ways that we have no choice. And if it is not done right this time, god help all of us non-muslims everywhere.

[Loptr]

When it comes to advising people on a successful US foreign policy, Jimmy Carter is the last person to listen to.

[Daniel Boon]

When it comes to advising people on a successful US foreign policy, Jimmy Carter is the last person to listen to.

When it comes to 'foreign policy', I wouldn't listen to the Americans spin on anything .... it all went to shit when the Americans found their oil under foreign countries soil; since then the oil cartel have used the American public's money to fund wars and American men and women to die or be physically or psychologically disabled for life to protect the profits of the oil cartels who fund the politicians ...

Whomever the Americans elect next will be just as hog-tied. If I was an American, I'd be asking why Homeland Security is being run by ex-Stasi; why does Homeland Security buy so much weaponry (and a billion rounds of ammo, half being hollow points) and large vehicles to ankle-cuff prisoners in the USA ...the Civil War has more war dead than all other world wars combined ... it was the ruling elite then, it's the same thing now ... Most Americans are good, honest people but the ones that are not, run corporations and the government ...

[hawker9000]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But the top and bottom of it is..... What happens in the middle east should be sorted out by the middle east. Not the USA, UK or EU... It's not our problem.

In a perfect world (if you could call it that), where all the violence, and all the intimidation, and all the atrocities take place in the ME, you might have a point. But I suspect you might see things a bit differently when it's your head being removed, right there in the USA, UK, or EU... Speaking for myself, it's enough for me to see the acts of terror occurring in my own country; I don't have to wait until it's literally my own throat being cut to realize that we (that is, the non-muslim "we") are all targets and it IS our problem (and everybody else's)!

And actually, you've put your finger on the very reason we can't form any kind of workable coalition now. Our boots or anybody else's boots. We've been bailing on our allies for so long, and have so little credibility left, that nobody's going to partner with us anymore, certainly not based on an Obama speech. If we won't put our boots on the ground, nobody else will either. ISIS unraveled that long ago. Their formula is working and a little fire from the sky here & there every now & then obviously isn't deterring them. So if you really don't think it's our problem yet, I'm pretty sure that'll eventually change.

[jaywalker]

If Obama was not so weak, a lot of the bad things happening around the world, would not be happening at all. The bad guys just can't help themselves with such a putz in office. This is their big chance and there are two whole years left.

I've got an update for Jimmy Carter. IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS.

They released them on inauguration day after he lost the election.

He was a weakling. Obama is no better.

Remember all the saber-rattling Khaddafi used to do? He pretty much shut up after Reagan bombed his house.

[coma]

Obama. Unlike most actually can see the bigger picture. The world today is on the brink. With Russia wanting to take back her former territories in Europe and the Chinese laying claims to the lands and Islands in the South China sea. The US just cannot afford to get caught up in another, long and bloody war in the Middle East. I am sure deep down Mr Putin is praying for such a war that will pave the way to him moving to reinstate the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the IS crew are just the tip of the ice burg. The war in the Middle East has spread through most of Northern Africa to the Mediterranean and all the way out through Afghan to Pakistan. There is also no shortage of Islamic extremists operation thought out Asia also. Does anybody else see how precarious a situation not only Obama is in but we are all in. I am sure IS leaders aren't just sitting down drinking tea and smoking pipes, taking about what happened yesterday. They would have plans in place to attack/ambush invading ground troops.

Grave times ahead if Obama pulls the trigger and deploys large numbers of ground forces.

[shaurene]

I have just finished reading an amassing book called "The Last Pope" it predicts all this from predictions over the last 900 years, it was quite scary really. It predicts this coming war started inthe Mid East and will build up to a WW111 and the end of the world.

Glad I will not be around. It also predicted that there would only be 2 more Popes after John Pau11 and then the end.

[Eliot Rosewater]

Heh looks like the war mongers aren't getting enough lately.

Oh, I think IS has been getting plenty

[car720]

I have just finished reading an amassing book called "The Last Pope" it predicts all this from predictions over the last 900 years, it was quite scary really. It predicts this coming war started inthe Mid East and will build up to a WW111 and the end of the world.

Glad I will not be around. It also predicted that there would only be 2 more Popes after John Pau11 and then the end.

Thank God for small mercies.

[Krataiboy]

Obama may be Wall Street's yes man, but he is still looking a better bet to prevent a third World War than the rabid Republican warmongers and the Clintons. God help us all if that testosterone-charged harridan Hillary ever gets into the hot seat.

[kutjebu]

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

But the top and bottom of it is..... What happens in the middle east should be sorted out by the middle east. Not the USA, UK or EU... It's not our problem.

Not our problem?The refugees are coming in with thousands every day.including ISIS,to Europe.

This is just the beginning of their holy war against not moslims.

[samran]

Mid terms. Everyone is there to beat up in the president, even dems.

I take the same line as I took with bush. We aren't in the room. Hard to make the call unless you are there.

[hawker9000]

Obama. Unlike most actually can see the bigger picture. The world today is on the brink. With Russia wanting to take back her former territories in Europe and the Chinese laying claims to the lands and Islands in the South China sea. The US just cannot afford to get caught up in another, long and bloody war in the Middle East. I am sure deep down Mr Putin is praying for such a war that will pave the way to him moving to reinstate the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the IS crew are just the tip of the ice burg. The war in the Middle East has spread through most of Northern Africa to the Mediterranean and all the way out through Afghan to Pakistan. There is also no shortage of Islamic extremists operation thought out Asia also. Does anybody else see how precarious a situation not only Obama is in but we are all in. I am sure IS leaders aren't just sitting down drinking tea and smoking pipes, taking about what happened yesterday. They would have plans in place to attack/ambush invading ground troops.

Grave times ahead if Obama pulls the trigger and deploys large numbers of ground forces.

The only picture he sees with any clarity at all is the view from the tee. He's ALREADY caught up in a war with ISIS, he's just not bright enough to realize it (yet). He's ALREADY helped put Putin in the catbird seat WRT a renewed Russian empire, he's just too dim to understand how. He's put HIMSELF in the impossible position he's in now by peremptorily removing all forces from Iraq against all competent advice. Ask Gates. Ask Panetta. Ask Petraeus. Ask Carter. Ask Hillary. The man's his own worst enemy and a muslim terrorist's best friend (not to mention no doubt a source of endless amusement to them).

[Chicog]

If Obama was not so weak, a lot of the bad things happening around the world, would not be happening at all. The bad guys just can't help themselves with such a putz in office. This is their big chance and there are two whole years left.

I've got an update for Jimmy Carter. IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS.

They released them on inauguration day after he lost the election.

That's because Reagan and the Republicans did a deal with Iran.

Much like they did later with Oliver North.

Next?

[Chicog]

Obama. Unlike most actually can see the bigger picture. The world today is on the brink. With Russia wanting to take back her former territories in Europe and the Chinese laying claims to the lands and Islands in the South China sea. The US just cannot afford to get caught up in another, long and bloody war in the Middle East. I am sure deep down Mr Putin is praying for such a war that will pave the way to him moving to reinstate the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the IS crew are just the tip of the ice burg. The war in the Middle East has spread through most of Northern Africa to the Mediterranean and all the way out through Afghan to Pakistan. There is also no shortage of Islamic extremists operation thought out Asia also. Does anybody else see how precarious a situation not only Obama is in but we are all in. I am sure IS leaders aren't just sitting down drinking tea and smoking pipes, taking about what happened yesterday. They would have plans in place to attack/ambush invading ground troops.

Grave times ahead if Obama pulls the trigger and deploys large numbers of ground forces.

The only picture he sees with any clarity at all is the view from the tee. He's ALREADY caught up in a war with ISIS, he's just not bright enough to realize it (yet). He's ALREADY helped put Putin in the catbird seat WRT a renewed Russian empire, he's just too dim to understand how. He's put HIMSELF in the impossible position he's in now by peremptorily removing all forces from Iraq against all competent advice. Ask Gates. Ask Panetta. Ask Petraeus. Ask Carter. Ask Hillary. The man's his own worst enemy and a muslim terrorist's best friend (not to mention no doubt a source of endless amusement to them).

I keep listening to this tosh.

It seems there are still people that think Bush sending troops into Iraq and Afghanistan was done for anything other than personal gain, and that removing Saddam in particular has no bearing on current events.

Do any of you Obama critics even know what the "I's" stand for in ISIL and ISIS?

A bit of homework might be in order.

I'm also intrigued as to what you think Obama should do. If it involves sending more American troops to their deaths, I pity you.

[sgtsabai]

First of all, Obama (I call him obushma) did not remove the troops from Iraq. Bush the deserter did. The Iraq government refused to allow them to stay. Gee, I wonder why? The timing fell after he was finally out of the imperial palace, aka White House. My take on the situation is that we, the US, owe the Kurds the protection we promised and failed to provide in the past. Sadam used all his chemical WMD that the US gave him on the Kurds. Let the Kurds establish Kurdistan, hell let all the boundaries go back to where they were before the British (BP) changed them. Let the rest of the Mid-East fight it out amongst themselves, they have centuries of practice. Bush bled the US dry with his illegal, immoral war in Iraq, the failure in Afghanistan tax breaks for the corporations and rich and failure to fund either of the wars. Unfortunately Obama turned out to be the Manchurian President, a repugthuglican in disguise, a tool of Wall Street criminals and banksters. He continued and doubled down on Bush's war on the Constitution. All aside, China and Russian know the empire is weak and are probing the perimeter to find the weaknesses before striking. China is the real enemy and the US should have known it many years ago and planned instead of wasting itself on wars that didn't need to be fought. Anything the US does in the Mid-East, except maybe help the Kurds, is and will be wrong. Chicog, you are 100% correct. Just as Nixon did. That makes both traitors.

[coma]

Obama. Unlike most actually can see the bigger picture. The world today is on the brink. With Russia wanting to take back her former territories in Europe and the Chinese laying claims to the lands and Islands in the South China sea. The US just cannot afford to get caught up in another, long and bloody war in the Middle East. I am sure deep down Mr Putin is praying for such a war that will pave the way to him moving to reinstate the Soviet Union.

Furthermore, the IS crew are just the tip of the ice burg. The war in the Middle East has spread through most of Northern Africa to the Mediterranean and all the way out through Afghan to Pakistan. There is also no shortage of Islamic extremists operation thought out Asia also. Does anybody else see how precarious a situation not only Obama is in but we are all in. I am sure IS leaders aren't just sitting down drinking tea and smoking pipes, taking about what happened yesterday. They would have plans in place to attack/ambush invading ground troops.

Grave times ahead if Obama pulls the trigger and deploys large numbers of ground forces.

Ask Gates. Ask Panetta. Ask Petraeus. Ask Carter. Ask Hillary. .

You been watching CNN haven't you ?

[sgtsabai]

Or faux (not the) news.

[Chicog]

First of all, Obama (I call him obushma) did not remove the troops from Iraq. Bush the deserter did. The Iraq government refused to allow them to stay. Gee, I wonder why? The timing fell after he was finally out of the imperial palace, aka White House. My take on the situation is that we, the US, owe the Kurds the protection we promised and failed to provide in the past. Sadam used all his chemical WMD that the US gave him on the Kurds. Let the Kurds establish Kurdistan, hell let all the boundaries go back to where they were before the British (BP) changed them.

But what about Syria, shall we give that back to the French?

Better still, why don't we just give the whole shebang back the Ottomans?

[Ulysses G.]

Do any of you Obama critics even know what the "I's" stand for in ISIL and ISIS?

Your hero is the one who does not seem to grasp that concept.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[sgtsabai]

He certainly isn't my hero, but for a lot of real reasons, not the crap dreamed up by the right wing teabag nutters that are pawns of the koch (John Birch Society) bros. and their plutocrat traitors, keep GitMo open for those that really belong there. I'm so tired of the by afraid, be very afraid and obey, it's for you own safety, bullcrap. Chicog, not a bad idea, ah not the French part. Protect the Kurds, only decent people there, let the rest fight it out and re-establish their boundaries. Quit fighting for oil, do like the Chinese and just buy it. Ah they don't hate us for our freedoms, they are all gone anyway, they hate us because we keep blowing up their countries.

[Ulysses G.]

Do you really think you convince anyone of anything with that loony rhetoric? You sound just as screwy as the groups that you are attacking.