Posted on 09/09/2013 12:12:15 PM PDT by edwinland
Symbolic killing: It’s a repulsive notion. Gang bangers do it, using killing as a rite of initiation. Shoot someone to show resolve. ... Totalitarian states do it. What they lack in legitimacy they make up for with fear, preserving the credibility of their threats to destroy all dissent.
Is our public debate about launching some sort of military demonstration of power in Syria any different? The President doesn’t want to do anything of consequence—but he doesn’t want to be seen as doing nothing.
...
I’m not a pacifist, far from it. There are times when military force should be used, and now may be one of those times. But a just occasion does not automatically a just war make. One of the principles of just war-making is probability of success. Another is proportional use of force. Still another is last resort. These principles require clarity about the strategic goal of going to war. Success in achieving what? Proportional to achieving what? Last resort for achieving what? The Obama administration’s explanations of our need to bomb Syria make it impossible for me to formulate these questions in anything like a precise way, much less answer them. When do we know our credibility has been successfully preserved?
...
In this debate a signal truth needs to be kept in mind: America is an extraordinarily powerful nation. We have tremendous resources and our military is peerless. When threatened, our society becomes unified, and when attacked there’s plenty of resolve. I’m reassured by this truth, but I’m also frightened by it. If our leadership neglects maintaining our global hegemony because they believe in the self-sustaining power of the global system we’ve largely created, I fear our enemies will misjudge us, and in so doing provoke our wrath.
(Excerpt) Read more at firstthings.com ...
Obama’s interest in invading non-enemy Syria has nothing to do with Syria, poison gas, or children.
Obama’s interest in bombing non-enemy Syria has everything to do with creating a long-lasting, controversial, DISTRACTION for Congress in order to keep Congress from defunding Obama”care”/Boehnerkare.
Obama’s “Red Herring” for the 9-11 Benghazi Massacre Coverup was Susan Rice’s fake Video story.
Obama’s “Red Herring” for distracting Congress until Obama”care”/ Boehnerkare kicks in October 1 is Obama’s “Crossing HIS personal Red Line” distraction speech.
Obama speaks only for Obama, not the US Federal Government or America.
REMEMBER BENGHAZI !
_____________________________________
“Jellyfish Spine” Boehner as Speaker of the House is essential to Obama’s continued unchallenged destruction of the US Constitution.
Nothing will change as long as cave-in artists Boehner and Cantor are in leadership roles in the US House of Representatives.
If Boehner is replaced as Speaker with a fighter such as Col. Allen West, then the Articles of Impeachment for B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro, can be quickly issued.
The problem is not with Obama, as he is just doing what Communist Tyrants are trained to do.
The problem is not with Boehner, as he loves to lose and wallow in the disgrace of being the worst Speaker of the House, EVER.
The problem lies with our sorry, spineless, RINOs in the House who refuse to replace Boehner with a proven fighter.
BTW, the members of the House can choose anybody to be their Speaker, even if that person is not a current Member of the House.
Tick-tock, long-time House RINOs, tick-tock - - - - .
_____________
Obama and Holder are publicly speaking about their ‘plan of the week’ that are just more smokescreen distractions to divert attention away from the incompetent manner Obama has handled his day job.
The best indicator of a PHONY ADMINISTRATION is the number of its REAL SCANDALS.
Commie Tyrant Obama’s current talking points are thus smokescreen distractions for the products of Obama’s first 4 years in office:
* Refusal to close US Southern Border to Mexican illegal alien invaders
* No known un-forged records of Place of Birth
* No known un-forged records of University grades
* Benghazi Massacre
* Dereliction of Duty as CIC during Benghazi Massacre
* Cover up of Benghazi Massacre
* Destruction of Seal Team Six
* Cover up of Fast and Furious murder of US Border Agent by Exec. Order
* IRS-Obama’care” Commune Death Grip on Wealth and Health
* NSA-Gestapo Death Grip on all citizen’s communications
* Use of Courts against News Media
* Use of Supreme Court to install Un-Constitutional Obama’care’ Tax
* Destruction of the US Coal Industry
* Refusal to permit XL Pipeline construction
* Trillion Dollar a year Federal Overspending
* Monthly violations of the US Constitution by Obama
* Use of Exec. Orders to bypass Congress.
REPLACE sniveling coward Speaker Boehner with a FIGHTER!
It is time to IMPEACH Tyrant B. Hussein Obama, aka Barry Soetoro.
_______________________
Tyrant B. Hussein Obama, (aka Barry Soetoro), continues his unopposed efforts to expand Totalitarian Obamanation in Liberty-based America.
Where are the Republican opponents of Tyrant Obama?
Why have the Articles of Impeachment for Tyrant Obama not been issued by US House Speaker Boehner, or Pro-Welfare Republicans Cantor or Ryan?
Have House and Senate Pro-Welfare Republicans formed a cave-in pact with Pro-Welfare Democrats to protect Tyrant Obama?
The main thing that Speaker Boehner is afraid of is being blamed for doing his job.
Speaker Boehner’s job now is to shut down the NON-ESSENTIAL parts of the US Federal Government until Obama’care’ is ABOLISHED, and keep it shut down for however long it takes.
Obama will continue to ruin America as long as Boehner is Speaker of the US House of Represenatives.
Four + years of Boehner has proven Boehner to be unfit to combat Tyrant Obama.
It is now up to the Members of the House to replace Boehner so that the new Speaker can shut down the non-essential parts of the US Federal Government ASAP in order to ABOLISH Obama’care.’
Someone needs to explain why we are going to bomb the Syrian government in support of folks who murdered three thousand Americans.
Personally, I think that if Assad is gassing Al Qaeda vermin, along with their supporters, dependents and camp followers, we ought to be supporting him or at least encouraging the Russians to do so.
We have no interest in Syria. In fact the more they kill each other, the better off we, and Israel, are.
“Interesting analysis of Syria intervention compared to Iraq intervention.”
Oh come on man, doesn’t any analysis the uses the words, “...provoke our wrath.” automatically discredit itself? /s
LOL! That’s true. Did you read the Norman Podhoretz piece in the WSJ today? It was posted here.
Have to disagree with him here...
One of the principles of just war-making is probability of success. Another is proportional use of force.
Churchill would not agree either.
Ladies and gentlemen! In this corner we have Western Europe and Saudi Arabia. They want to build a natural gas pipeline through Syria to break the Russian stranglehold on natural gas for Western Europe.
In this corner we have Syria and Russia. Russia wants to maintain their stranglehold on natural gas to Western Europe. Syria is Russia’s friend, so they won’t allow a Saudi natural gas pipeline through their country.
Or would they? Maybe we just need to sweeten the pot some more. Or should I say, maybe Western Europe needs to sweeten the pot some more.
We don’t need to kill Syrians and risk American lives so the Western Europeans can turn up the heat in their saunas without paying more.
Should we intervene?
No. Next question.
Then Defense Sec. Panetta said on 28 Sept. 2012, that “We have lost track of the location of some chemical weapons.” and that we could not be sure whether the Rebels had come into possession of them.
Our mistake was not incinerating the storage site when those gates were breached.
It doesn't matter “WHO” was accessing the site!
“Did you read the Norman Podhoretz piece in the WSJ today?”
I just read it. Interesting stuff. We’ve known all along that Obama was a marxist, haven’t we? It’s good to see Mr. Podhoretz catching up. At least he didn’t wax Shakespearean on us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.