Nutter's Washington

No Stroke for Obama and US on Syria: Miscalculation leave US alone

 

News accounts would seem to indicate the Obama Administration is going to take some unilateral military action against Syria for its use of chemical weapons, probably in the next few days. It seems that killing your own citizens by toxic mist is worse than killing them with  artillery.

 

All of this is in flux, of course. It may not happen as the entire foreign policy of the government has looked like it is being run by the Key Stone Cops. It has been a show of muddled leaks, telling the opposition the nature of the strike, declarations stating the attack will not have any real impact other than erasing some idiotic red line in the sand. I am a frequent critic of the government but this kind of action is not only embarrassing but also dangerous.

However, the most distressing and telling event is the lack of support by other countries. No one is lining up behind Mr. Obama and it demonstrates how the influence of the United States has fallen. Sure, we got lots of missiles and big guns but no stroke. Even our closest ally-Great Britain-would not join our side. Let me say that again, the oldest ally of this country, bound by language, commerce and history, has dumped the U.S. on the side of the road. It left Mr. Obama holding the bag, waiting on the side of the road.

Yesterday the British Parliament rejected a motion supported by its conservative Prime Minister David Cameron urging an international response to the chemical weapons attacks blamed on the Syrian government by a vote of 272 to 285 against the government. Disaster and embarrassing for Mr. Cameron and disastrous for Mr. Obama, reflecting the miscalculation at almost every step of the Administration

With Britain out of the operation, Mr. Obama faces the prospect of going into Syria almost literally alone. There is no support from the United Nations, no NATO action, no authority granted by the U, S. Congress. The most disturbing aspect of the Syria episode is the cumulative refusal of other sovereigns to go along with his red line salvation, no Republicans to point fingers at here.  

I find the action of the UK astonishing that it has come down to that. No stoke, no influence, no support. I am not sure how Mr. Obama recovers from all of this. He has put himself in an untenable situation no matter what he does now and he has put himself and all of us out there alone.   

Syria: Plenty of Outrage to Go Around

Washington is still mired in the last days of the Congressional Recess. No progress on items of interest like tax reform, funding the government and the upcoming debt limit. Still the same finger pointing and blame game by the White House and still the red meat anger by the Republicans. The coming issues are clear but unresolved. It is going, as I keep on saying, to be quite interesting but in the end the republic as we know it will remain the same.

I wanted to stray a bit and comment on the situation in Syria. It is deplorable; a civil war is being raged between the Assad government and groups of militants, many from outside the country. Many people have died, some sacrificed for a cause, some innocents have died for nothing and some in the quest for geopolitical power.

For some period of time our government has stood by to let it all play out. Maybe an act of prudence, maybe an act of paralysis, I am not sure. However, that appears to be changing.

In response to the use of some of chemical weapons, the United States is contemplating taking military action against the government of Syria. This probably means lobbing a few cruise missiles in a display of force. The questions have to be asked, to what purpose, what will that accomplish and what are the ramifications?

It seems to me there are no good guys involved, no white knights to side with. Having some influence on events there passed long time ago. The reluctance by Mr. Obama to do anything over the last few years’ means, in my opinion, there is nothing to do now.

Secretary Kerry is outraged. Well, Mr. Secretary, pick up the paper and you might notice there is plenty to be outraged over. Outrage over the Egyptian military killing their own citizens. Outrage over bombings in Iraq, outrage over terrorists beheading their captives. There is plenty to be outraged over, all the time.

How about the Rwanda slaughter when the West stood and watched hundreds of thousands being butchered by machetes? Was that outrage enough? Not lift a finger was lifted to help on that one. So spare the outrage. Chemical weapons are horrific but so are a drone predator and a barrage of artillery. They all kill so do not think that any person is more dead by the use of chemicals.  

The U.S. should act when it is to protect our country, when it is in our grave interest that the blood of our soldiers may be shed, when there is a well thought out plan to act and get out. When the consequences justify the act.  I do not see it here in Syria and unloading a bunch of ordinance is not going to change the situation.

Mr. Obama only acts when he is forced to or when it is in his political interest. Not a way to run a foreign policy. By his ridiculous declaration of “stepping over the red line”, he has put himself and all of us, in a bind. 

Chemical weapons, machine gun fire, IED’s, car bombs, hand grenades and rockets all kill and they are all outrageous.

My advice is to stay out of it, nothing we can do on this one will make a difference.

 

 

After the August Recess: Plenty of Entertainment, Sadly

It is the end of second week of the Congressional August recess. Traffic is vastly diminished as vacations abound. Members are off working in their districts, visiting foreign venues on the taxpayer’s tab and maybe even relaxing. The President is silently playing golf while Cairo drags the dead from its streets.

This is the calm before the storm. Come September morn, the game begins again. Fur will fly and heads will roll. Charges and counter-charges. I cannot wait. Best entertainment around, albeit a sad state of affairs.

 The menu of mischief is like the menu at Friday’s. Long, so many choices and almost incomprehensible.

Funding of the government is first on the list. Got to do something by the end of the month or authority to spend taxpayer and Chinese borrowed money stops. The whole process is complicated by groups of conservatives wanting to forbid spending funds on the Affordable Care Act. As I pointed out a couple of days ago, defunding Obamacare is not going to happen but it is worth a vote.

Affordable Care Act: Trouble Ahead

 

There is considerable news and events surrounding the Affordable Care Act in recent months and now politics are rising to the occasion. However, the program, which passed under dicey circumstance as part of budget reconciliation, and no opposition support, has become very unpopular.

In about seven weeks time, people are suppose to sign up for health insurance through the various insurance exchanges. Many of them are not fully set up and there are great concerns information provided such social security numbers will not be secure.

I am no health expert and I confess I do not understand the nuances of the ACA. I am like million of American whose exposure to the health care system has been for employer to provide a health insurance policy- the cost is split between the employer and employee-and use it when getting medical treatment. That is all in the past now.

The purpose of the ACA is to be a transition process to a government run single-payer provider system. The goal is to eliminate employer-based private insurance in the long run, set prices for care and services and put everyone under the control, power and mercy of the government. I have no doubt as to the long-range objective. I can also say, I do not know if that is good or bad. My instincts say bad, probably very bad.

Congress in Recess: What Next and Other Matters

Congress is in recess until the second week of September. Once they return the legislative bodies will be in session for 9 days in September. Nice work, if you can get it.

There are a number of issues pending and the consideration of them should be quite entertaining. Important matters, but none-the-less entertaining. Without an admission charge, the public can witness almost hourly battles of name-calling, character assassination, vicious slurs and baseless charges. Oh, I forgot blaming the other side and finger pointing, a speciality of the Administration. 

The big issue coming up first when Congress returns is funding the federal government. Spending authority runs out on September 30^th. Democrats want to spend like the preverbal drunken sailor, repeal the sequester and keep the wheels of government well greased. Republicans for the most part want to hold the line, tighten the spending reins and most of all do whatever is possible to prevent the implementation of the (un) Affordable Care Act. Seems like there could be some conflict here.