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Congress May Inadvertently Endorse New U.S. World Role
Investors.com ^ | September 4, 2013 | Editorial

Posted on 09/04/2013 5:44:31 PM PDT by jazusamo

Change: In authorizing limited strikes on Syria, Congress may inadvertently give its stamp of approval to an ideological revolution in the use of U.S. power. Our military can't and shouldn't be a global genocide watchdog.

It struck many observers as strange that Barack Obama would suddenly act totally out of character and ask permission for something from a Congress with one house controlled by Republicans.

After all, he's been imperially presidential on ObamaCare, gun ownership, recess appointments, immigration, Egypt, Libya and plenty of other issues.

On Wednesday, Obama was, oddly, trying to put big pressure on Congress from that geopolitical epicenter, Scandinavia. He claimed, "the international community's credibility is on the line" and that "the world set a red line" on Syria, not him.

In fact, of course, the president's credibility on the world stage isn't "on the line"; it's already shot. The most recent proofs: the unprecedented British Parliament vote against joining him on Syria; the demise of Morsi in Egypt after Obama embraced him; the Snowden defection and consequent collapse of his Moscow summit — and all that in just the last few weeks.

This president is going all out for a congressional endorsement of his strike on Syria to resurrect his dead credibility.

But is there another motivation? "Change" is what this president is all about. Is he engineering a fundamental change in America's role in the world? And will he soon have bipartisan license for it?

(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: obama; syria; worldpolice
Most anything's possible with dear leader.
1 posted on 09/04/2013 5:44:31 PM PDT by jazusamo
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To: jazusamo

Where were Kerry and the other sanctimonious clowns when Rwanda was torn apart by genocide? Oh, intervention would have disturbed the gorillas, never mind...


2 posted on 09/04/2013 5:55:12 PM PDT by rfp1234 (Arguing with a marxist is like playing Chess with a Pigeon.)
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To: jazusamo

Why does Obama want this war?


3 posted on 09/04/2013 5:56:32 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: freekitty

He says no but I believe it’s all about face saving on his red line idiotic statement.


4 posted on 09/04/2013 5:58:30 PM PDT by jazusamo ("I am so old that I can remember when most of the people promoting race hate were white." T. Sowell)
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To: jazusamo

Obama wins no matter what because of his tactics and agenda.
If he makes the US look weak to the world - win
If he strengthens his authority on the domestic front through unconstitutional acts - win
If he goes to the United Nations to strengthen the global body as a new global congress and then does as he pleases - win
If he makes the US congress seem incompetent or supersedes their authority he is empowering himself - win
If he gets the US into all kinds of trouble economically to soften us up for future plans not forthcoming - win
If he empowers democracy in the Middle East (btw, these words and ideas have no meaning in the MEast except to the media and for Western consumption) win!
One could could go on and on...


5 posted on 09/04/2013 6:05:02 PM PDT by Sheapdog (Chew the meat, spit out the bones - FUBO - Come and get me)
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To: jazusamo

Some questions for BO and the spineless Congresscritters that go along with him:

How would a military strike help stop the violence and protect civilians from further harm?

What is our exit plan?

Why strike on our own instead of working to build an international coalition with the UN and allies?

How can we be sure that this intelligence is valid, unlike many of the claims made preceding our invasion of Iraq?

Where will the estimated $1 billion for the strike on Syria come from? Might that money be better spent at home improving our economy?

What makes you think violence against his own citizens makes Assad more likely to attack Israel? If Israel is at risk why do they need our help when they have more weapons than all their immediate neighbors combined?

Where does Obama, a self-proclaimed Constitutional scholar, get the idea that he can bomb Syria without Congressional approval when Article I Section 8 of the Constitution clearly delegates to Congress the power to declare war?


6 posted on 09/04/2013 6:10:54 PM PDT by SoCal SoCon (Conservatism =/= Corporatism.)
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To: SoCal SoCon

All excellent questions which Obummer will not answer because he doesn’t have the answers and even if his handlers did those answers would make him look like the idiot he is.


7 posted on 09/04/2013 6:28:14 PM PDT by jazusamo ("I am so old that I can remember when most of the people promoting race hate were white." T. Sowell)
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To: jazusamo

Te Party, Anti-War Progressives and Libertarians UNITE! Make them pay in 2014


8 posted on 09/04/2013 6:57:07 PM PDT by LALALAW (one of the asses who's sick of our "ruling" classes)
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To: jazusamo

We have. No idea what Obama has in this deal. Just like obamacare, we don’t know what is in it and what he wants to give America out in this in the end. This is a war that will be traded with enemies, an affirmative action victory paid in blue helmets over US soil.


9 posted on 09/04/2013 7:23:16 PM PDT by lavaroise
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To: jazusamo
Kudos to IBD for a fresh perspective. It never occured to me nor have I heard/read it anywhere else. I don't know if IBD’s right or not, but it's certainly possible, and it would be consistent with the philosophy of this administration.
10 posted on 09/04/2013 8:11:45 PM PDT by Paulie
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To: freekitty

He wants a strict Islamic movement in charge wherever he turns. The groups they want us to support in Syria are the Wahabis and the Salafists calling themselves the “free Syrian army.”

“Free” only until those jokers get in charge.


11 posted on 09/05/2013 1:15:05 AM PDT by xzins ( Retired Army Chaplain and Proud of It! Those who truly support our troops pray for victory!)
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To: freekitty; smoothsailing
"Giddy Minds and Foreign Quarrels" from the bard and later by Beard circa 1938 ... it is a deflection of any/all attention to domestic "screw ups" such as the various scandals - F&F, IRS, corrupt DoJ, ... , etc.

As the GOP, leaderless as well as hapless, cannot get a clue, the Nation awaits the 2014 elections now being skirmished and that in 2016 for the anointed one.

Another obvious question - where is Issa et al. on any of the above? Sound and Fury signifying [absolutely] Nothing.

12 posted on 09/05/2013 2:30:45 AM PDT by jamaksin
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To: jazusamo

Anyone know the date of the Chemical Weapons use.....and was Obama on VACATION when that happened??


13 posted on 09/05/2013 2:33:29 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion......the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: jamaksin; freekitty; jazusamo

As the GOP, leaderless as well as hapless, cannot get a clue, the Nation awaits...


Captain Midnight!!!

14 posted on 09/05/2013 4:56:49 AM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: All

The Democrats' 'Smart Power' Lies in Ruins
National Review | Sept 3, 2013 | Jim Geraghty / FR Posted by kristinn

Democrats Suddenly Realize What They Miscalculated About the World: Everything

As we await Congress’ decision on authorizing the use of U.S. military force in Syria, Democrats are suddenly realizing that their foreign policy brain-trust completely misjudged the world.

Being nicer to countries like Russia will not make them nicer to you. The United Nations is not an effective tool for resolving crises. Some foreign leaders are beyond persuasion and diplomacy. There is no “international community” ready to work together to solve problems, and there probably never will be.

You can pin this on Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Susan Rice, but most of all, the buck stops with the president. Those of us who scoffed a bit at a state senator ascending to the presidency within four years on a wave of media hype and adoration are not quite so shocked by this current mess.

We never bought into this notion that getting greater cooperation from our allies, and less hostility from our enemies, was just a matter of giving this crew the wheel and letting them practice, as Hillary Clinton arrogantly declared it, “smart power” (and fronted Time magazine cover).

(These people can’t even label a foreign policy approach without reminding us of how highly they think of themselves.)

They looked out at the world at the end of the Bush years, and didn’t see tough decisions, unsolvable problems, unstable institutions, restless populations, technology enabling the impulse to destabilize existing institutions, evil men hungry for more power, and difficult trade-offs.

No, our problems and challengers were just a matter of the previous hands running U.S. foreign policy not being smart enough. (Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...

==================================================

MONEY QUOTE: “Those of us who scoffed a bit at a state senator (with iffy Chicago baggage) ascending to the presidency within four years on a wave of media hype and adoration (not to mention voter fraud, voter intimidation, hyphenate solidarity, shady fund-raising, etc) are not quite so shocked by this current foreign policy mess.”....

15 posted on 09/05/2013 7:44:18 AM PDT by Liz
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To: jamaksin
Another obvious question - where is Issa et al. on any of the above? Sound and Fury signifying [absolutely] Nothing.

Bingo---Issa's in way over his head.

Letting Lerner slip away when he had her doing the fifth before his committee......the plus-perfect example.

16 posted on 09/05/2013 8:01:32 AM PDT by Liz
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To: freekitty

Obamacare is due to be implemented in October. War is a distraction - and it typically rallies people behind the leader.
He gets to go to war and look like a hero, distracting us from the social chaos Obamacare will cause on top of the economic malaise is has already given us.


17 posted on 09/05/2013 9:28:21 AM PDT by tbw2
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To: tbw2

Wars *usually* rally people around their leader. I think this will be an exception though because, unlike Iraq, the American people are opposing it from the beginning. I read in the San Diego Union Tribune that 50% of Americans oppose intervention in Syria (compared to 42% who support it) and that only 21% believe intervention in Syria serves the US national interest. If Congress votes against this war and 0 invades Syria anyway, ignoring the wishes of Congress and the American people, he will have revealed himself as the despot he truly is. That won’t end well for 0 and it certainly won’t end well for the American soldiers sacrificed on the altar of 0’s ego.


18 posted on 09/06/2013 12:21:54 PM PDT by SoCal SoCon (Conservatism =/= Corporatism.)
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