“If he drops sarin on his own people, what’s that got to do with us?”

Flopping Aces ^ | 05-05-13 | DrJohn

[Starman417]

image via Weasel Zippers

The Obama foreign policy has become utterly incoherent.

It's gotten so bad that someone who is normally an Obama water carrier found himself unable to comprehend Obama's words.

“A whole bunch,” meet “systematic.” President Barack Obama's cautious stance on the conflict in Syria shone clearly Friday as he warned President Bashar Assad that “the systematic use” of chemical weapons against Syrian rebels would trigger a forceful American response.

Back in August, Obama bluntly warned Assad’s regime that while he had not “at this point” ordered an American military response to Syria's civil war, “a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized."

When it comes to chemical weapons, what is "a whole bunch"? What does "systematic" mean? The White House has carefully refused to define either term precisely, keeping the president's options open. Republicans have called for a far more forceful U.S. role in Syria, notably by arming the rebels and establishing "safe zones" to protect the opposition or Syrians fleeing the fighting.

Note the specific and measurable terms: "A whole bunch." "Systematic." On Friday, April 26 Obama also said

“I think all of us, not just in the United States but around the world, recognize how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations.”

Or maybe he can, since that tough rhetoric is now dismissed as "off the cuff remarks."

WASHINGTON — Confronted with evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, President Obama now finds himself in a geopolitical box, his credibility at stake with frustratingly few good options.

~~~~~~~~~

In a frenetic series of meetings, the White House devised a 48-hour plan to deter President Bashar al-Assad of Syria by using intermediaries like Russia and Iran to send a message that one official summarized as, “Are you crazy?” But when Mr. Obama emerged to issue the public version of the warning, he went further than many aides realized he would.

Moving or using large quantities of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” and “change my calculus,” the president declared in response to a question at a news conference, to the surprise of some of the advisers who had attended the weekend meetings and wondered where the “red line” came from. With such an evocative phrase, the president had defined his policy in a way some advisers wish they could take back.

Oops.

It was supposed to scare Assad without Obama actually having to act.

(excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...

[cripplecreek]

And if the “rebels” use sarin gas we’re supposed to look the other way.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Honestly in this case I don't give a flip. It is a pity both sides can't lose.

But we should stay out of it. There is no reason for us to get involved.

[Dallas59]

The only country I care about in the ME is Israel. The rest can burn.

[bigheadfred]

The only people in Syria we should lend any aid to is the Christians.

[NotYourAverageDhimmi]

““If he drops sarin on his own people, what’s that got to do with us?”

I agree. We should stop being the world’s police man and instead put those resources toward addressing domestic problems.

[ConradofMontferrat]

BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED! NO WMD, NO WMD!! BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED.

HEEHEEHEEHEE.

Hey, Barry Boy, kenyan userper, go talk to George Sada.

If you know what I’m saying, I don’t have to explain.

If you don’t know what I’m saying, I can’t explain, because you are too stupid to understand.

[Robert357]

I am kind of liking to use the phrase, “What difference at this point does it make?”

I mean really if they used chemical weapons, what difference at this point does it make. It's not like our government is going to try to control what is happening in Syria. The Big Zero isn't going to send in any troops. He isn't going to bomb, Syria. He isn't going to encourage Turkey or Israel to “gut” the Syrian government.

He just wants to send arms to Syrian rebels, strengthen the Muslim Brotherhood and our relations with Saudi Arabia.

Again, the bright red line implied that crimes against humanity would be dealt with forcefully and with military force. The Big Zero got his bluff called. So What difference at this point does it make?

[Lurker]

Let him nerve gas the entire country. Assad can be king of a dead sand pile for all I care. No one in that stinking rat hole is worth one drop of American blood or one nickel of American treasure.