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And you know by “we”, he means Iran.
There’s a pattern to Obama’s rhetoric after a disaster. His crisis management rhetoric after the fall of Ramadi follows the predictable blueprint.
Step 1. Disavow Responsibility
“There’s no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time, primarily because these are not Iraqi security forces that we have trained or reinforced.”
Step 2. Mention All the Parts of Iraq Not Taken Over by ISIS
“You’ve seen actually significant progress in the north, and those areas where the Peshmerga [Kurdish forces] are participating. Baghdad is consolidated. Those predominantly Shia areas, you’re not seeing any forward momentum by ISIL”
You’re not seeing forward momentum in Shiite areas? Amazing. The Iranians sure do good work. The Cold War also wasn’t so bad except for all the areas taken over by the Communists.
Nobody ever gives serial killers credit for all the people they didn’t kill. Amazing.
So are you just planning to turn over Iraq to Iran, just like you did Yemen? Or are you going to make the Ayatollah shake your hand first?
Step 3. It’s Gonna Take Years
“We’re eight months into what we’ve always anticipated to be a multi-year campaign”
So Obama anticipates that it will take longer to beat ISIS than Saddam. And meanwhile ISIS keeps expanding.
Step 4. Reframe the Question, Use Lots of Double Negatives,
“But today the question is not whether or not we are sending in contingents of U.S. ground troops. Today the question is: How do we find effective partners to govern in those parts of Iraq that right now are ungovernable and effectively defeat ISIL, not just in Iraq but in Syria?”
Okay and how do we do that?
Step 5. Don’t Answer Your Own Question
“And so the really important question moving forward is: How do we find effective partners—not just in Iraq, but in Syria, and in Yemen, and in Libya—that we can work with, and how do we create the international coalition and atmosphere in which people across sectarian lines are willing to compromise and are willing to work together in order to provide the next generation a fighting chance for a better future?”
Beats me. Maybe we should just go back to arming the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda. That seemed to work really well. No? Okay, we’ll just arm Iran then.
That’s my answer. Obama doesn’t answer his own question, but the conversation moves to Iran, which really answers that question.
