Even a Stopped Clock . . . .
Apparently reality is finally beginning to impact thinking in the Pentagon regarding the civil war in Syria.
In a 19 Aug letter to Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, GEN Martin Dempsey – CJCS – indicates reluctance at this time to begin US military involvement in Syria. The stated reason is that the Syrian rebels are not today willing to support US interests.
No joke, General. That’s been obvious for some time.
Some media outlets are touting this as Administration “opposition” to US military action in Syria. That is an overstatement. The letter is worded as are most bureauratic or diplomatic documents, and has IMO more “wiggle room” than a 6-year-olds loose tooth the day before it falls out.
In particular, it does not categorically rule out US military involvement in the current Syrian conflict. It merely says that “Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides. It is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favor. Today, they are not.” Should that change, future intervention is not excluded.
Still – IMO it’s a breath of fresh air, given previous statements from the Administration implying willingness to become involved militarily. It’s just a pity it took so long for reality to register.
Category: Foreign Policy, Military issues
Dempsey writes : but it (military force) can not resolve the underlying and historic ethnic, religious, and tribal issues ….we could, if asked to do so, significantly increase our effort to develop a moderate opposition
That latter part is where gets it wrong again in the same letter in my opinion. Our political and military leaders don’t seem to believe that islamists are not moderate, that may have been the case at one time but no longer. The radicalization of islam and the continued march towards suppression of any opposing viewpoints is indicative of a war of culture along with a war of violence. The culture of islam is no longer a culture that can negotiate in good faith on any level…watching them kill each other by the tens of thousands and dealing with the winners to contain their aggression is our best play since we lack the fortitude to destroy entire nations who exist to destroy us and our allies. Entanglements are just that, an entanglement that drains physical and financial resources with no meaningful endgame.
The major flaw in all middle east policy considerations these days is that the endgame considerations are invariably incorrect, there is no endgame in the mind of the islamist other than islam dominating the world. Failing to believe that, and failing to act accordingly doesn’t change the simple fact that our enemies have that endgame as their goal. As we leave Afghanistan and Iraq behind it will be an opportunity to see how effective our strategy was and how well our endgame will play out as there was no endgame plan in place from either the Bush administration or the Obama administration, nor was there a sufficient endgame strategy offered by any of our so-called strategic planners in the Pentagon…
It’s frequently not a matter of supporting the good guys over the bad guys. Here there are many different guys, all with varying degrees of bad, and none that are clearly worth supporting. Good call.
Not to be a nitpicker, but using ‘reality’ and ‘Pentagon’ in the same sentence violates ALL laws of physics.
You simply cannot put those two words in the same sentence without creating a warp that will collapse into a black hole and swallow us all.
The problem with our Syria policy began when President Obama stated there was a Red Line, and that was the use of Chemical Weapons. Those weapons were used, and he has done nothing but equivocate and back off from what he meant by a “Red Line”.
I am not saying we should get involved, but the amateur in the Oval office has done more to set us back on the world stage because of idiocy like his Red Line than any of his predecessors since Jimmy Carter. He is a spineless wimp, whose word is not worth the electrons put into running his teleprompter.
Screw what Dempsey and the rest of the mouth pieces say, it is coming from the White House not them anyhow.
Here, General Dempsey, let me make it easy for you. Repeat after me:
‘We need to stay OUT of Syria.’
Simple is always elegant, be it in wardrobe or politics.
I’d have to disagree, rb325th. Our Syria problem started at the first hint that we’d support either side in Syria – if not when we stood by and did nothing during the “Arab Spring” when Islamist-backed opposition toppled US allies and others.
Both sides in Syria are murderous thugs. The “democratic” opposition was always pretty much a charade; the Islamists were always the power behind the opposition. They’ve simply now taken overt control.
As far as I’m concerned, we have no reason to give support to either of two groups when both are enemies of America.
Parking lot the whole damn country
Obama needs to give one of his powerful Foreign Policy Speeches. That will make everything better. He is so cool that even the most bloodthirsty Jhihadi’s will see the futility of their senseless slaughter of their own coreligionists. They will swoon at his eloquence, lay down their arms and embrace their enemies. Or maybe NOT.
@7 Thank you! Stay out of Syria and let them kill each other to their hearts and Allah’s content and make it our policy that if they export their terrorism to Americans anywhere, our answer will be bombs and drones. But NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND NO BLOOD, in or for Syria, Egypt or any other Islamic country, whatsoever. We do not need to be in another mid east war to try and bring “democracy” to a people who do not want democracy. They want Sharia law to rule their land. Let them have it and use the policy of bombs and drones if they take their crap to any Americans anywhere in the world. I am tired of our nation trying to police the Islamic world into being democratic. Leave the Muslims to do what they want to each other. They will either have the balls to kill off the murdering insurgents and extremists, in other words, have their own “American Revolution” and take back their lands or they will live with the outcome. Their choice, not ours to make.
Priceless line: more “wiggle room” than a 6-year-old’s loose tooth the day before it falls out.
Martin Dempsey can gargle and eat a bowl of dicks.
GEN Martin Dempsey – CJCS – indicates reluctance at this time to begin US military involvement in Syria. The stated reason is that the Syrian rebels are not today willing to support US interests.
This is my shocked face…. :/
And in other news, water is wet….
Wow, the rebels? They only hate us worse than the Syrian gov’t!