I’ve avoided discussing the whole “will-he-or-won’t-he” babbling regarding President Obama and Syria until now, choosing to read all of the many rationales for our traipsing into another complex, murky battle. Having digested plenty of arguments, both pro- and con-, I have no choice but to come down firmly on the “No” side.
This isn’t just because there are no clear-cut “good guys” here, although trying to figure out who to root for/against in Syria makes the ’90s Bosnian War look like an old Lone Ranger episode. Nor am I against lobbing warheads into Syria simply due to us conservatives “hating this President“. As a lowly blogger, my decision isn’t even slightly political, even though there are lots of political nuances affecting this vote, on all sides.
Bottom line: I don’t trust Obama’s judgement with this, because I don’t believe HE wants to be there.
And if history has shown us anything, it’s that when the leader of a country doesn’t absolutely want to be IN a conflict, it’s unlikely they’re going to WIN the conflict.
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Peggy Noonan had a great piece in WSJ.com saying much the same thing, “Syria and Obama: Wrong time, wrong place, wrong plan, wrong man“. But for my money, Charles Krauthammer said it even better, and far more pithily:
In the end, our reluctance to go to war this time isn’t about the American people: it’s about our having faith (or a lack thereof) in the judgement, integrity and grit of President “Leading From Behind”.
And if there’s a wide-spread issue with that, Barack Obama has no one to blame but himself.
Two Heads are Better Than One 
In lieu of bombing Syria we should impeach Oblahma and put him in jail!
Okay, I’d vote for that…
😉
This is a “conflict” that can’t BE won anyway. But having said that, my main issue is not whether Obama *wants* to go into Syria but what is his MOTIVATION for going. This man does NOTHING unless it benefits his personal agenda to destroy capitalism in America. My son has been saying for a while now, since the last election, that he thinks Obama will be spending the bulk of this second term working on a third one. I laughed at first and asked him just how he thought Obama was going to go about that. He said that he felt that Obama was going to use the upheaval around the world, the Middle East, Russia, China, North Korea, etc., in order to justify it to Congress. My son believes we need to pay close attention to the 2014 elections. If the Republicans lose the house and remain out of power in the Senate, we could be in real trouble. My son is only 20 and a junior in college, but he IS a political science major! I’m starting to wonder whether he might be more accurate about this then I first thought.
I put a lot of trust in Charles Krauthammer’s opinions. A person who came from the dark (progressivism) into the light (conservativism) has a whole LOT on the ball!
It’s the same with atheists who come to faith in Jesus. CS Lewis is amazing! Like Charles Krauthammer!
Great post. Usually it’s wise to just take the opposite stance of our president. This air strike is a terrible decision.
I agree with your son. I have been hearing this. What is Obama’s reason for wanting to go into Syria? We’re not going to change that country. I don’t trust Obama. I think this guy is a dictator, but on a kinder (if that is possiblle to say) way. He’s sneaky and sly. Call your sea atop and tell him not to go to Syria. Here’s another way for Obama to show that he’s a leader. LOL! It is quite scarey!
Let’s eliminate the middle man and just hang him for treason.
While I agree with your basic premise, Phoebes, I’m not one to belabor the details.
A lifetime of him turning big rocks into small ones would be fine with me, too.
😉
WONDERFUL to see you again, my friend!
The whole situation is tragic beyond belief. The President’s crass political maneuvering to avoid responsibility is apparent to all but the most willfully blind. I don’t see how anyone gains by the type of action he seeks.
JTR: thanks for the link too.
There are two reasons to oppose it: the conditions and circumstances in Syria and skepticism of Obama. But that is only for a start. When Obama says his credibility is not on the line, his credibility is on the line. As they say, “his a** is hanging out” No one knows for sure who used them. There are scientific ways to know but, if we didn’t get answers on Benghazi, will we find out? He is not accountable for any of the mess he created so far.
Big words from an empty suit = a foreign policy disaster.
Obama talked for a while comparing himself to Reagan. And while BOTH could deliver words, Reagan had something that Obama will NEVER have: GRAVITAS.