Syria response to be purely symbolic
I wish someone in the White House would read von Clausewitz because obviously they don’t understand war at all. This is how one Obama Administration described to the LA Times the upcoming response to Syria’s supposed use of chemical weapons on their citizenry;
One U.S. official who has been briefed on the options on Syria said he believed the White House would seek a level of intensity “just muscular enough not to get mocked” but not so devastating that it would prompt a response from Syrian allies Iran and Russia.
“They are looking at what is just enough to mean something, just enough to be more than symbolic,” he said.
That’s the most juvenile statement I’ve read coming out of that administration, and it proves that their anticipated attack on the Syrian government is all about them and the perception they want the public to have of this administration rather than Assad.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said after a briefing that the administration was “proceeding cautiously.” Obama is “considering a broad range of options that have been presented by our military leaders,” he said.
Still, a growing number of lawmakers in both parties pressed the White House to seek authorization from Congress.
Given the collection of boobs that the President has for military advisers, I’m sure the response will be muscular, but nothing will insulate them from being mocked. If I were in Congress, I’d shut up about authorization from Congress. I wouldn’t want my fingerprints on the coming train wreck – there’s nothing that Congress can do to make this thing look good for anyone including themselves.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Congress sucks, Terror War
I have said it before and will say it again…
Obama is making Jimmy Carter look absolutely amazing as POTUS and CiC.
I do nto think they could have put together a bigger collection of idiots when it comes to foreign policy and war fighting than they have in this Administration.A bunch of amateurs!
Dangerous is not even close to describing them.
Do you mean that this administration is going to do something simply out of political necessity? I’m shocked.
im starting to think that obama finally picked up a copy of 1984. sadly, instead of seeing all the stupid shit he was doing, he thought “hey thats a pretty good idea, think this would work?”
so now we must be engaged in a state of constant war in order to keep the populace blind to the abuses they suffer at the hands of the “leadership”. keep unemployment high, so people must rely on the government and can not move against it. NSA spying on emails and phone calls of our citizens along with the government ordered private industry purchases, now im just waiting on the dissenters to start disappearing
Unreal…..
Crash and burn are not too far off.
This is getting the ‘back off right now’ kind of attention from other governments. http://www.breakingnews.com/item/ahZzfmJyZWFraW5nbmV3cy13d3ctaHJkcg0LEgRTZWVkGKrg2BMM/2013/08/29/south-african-president-zuma-any-attack-on-syria
and from Syria: http://www.breakingnews.com/item/ahZzfmJyZWFraW5nbmV3cy13d3ctaHJkcg0LEgRTZWVkGJTu1hMM/2013/08/29/syrian-president-assad-syria-will-defend-itself
‘Crash and Burn’ coming soon to a theater near you. 🙂
Hope no one gets killed while conducting a “symbolic” airstrike or something. The WH probably thinks the risk is less because its not an all out campaign.
Von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu sitting in a bar together in the Strategist’s Afterplace, drinking a brew and laughing their asses off at the collected dumbassery and strategery mal-practice of the obamao bunch. I’d be laughing too if not for the precious blood and treasure that are to be expended on this fool’s errand…
“No one starts a war – or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so – without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.”
Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, cautioned that an attack might be ineffective and draw the United States into the Syrian civil war, now in its third year.
“Simply lashing out with military force under the banner of ‘doing something’ will not secure our interests in Syria,” Smith said in a statement.
Even some of the Democrats are starting to see the light it seems.
I’m not sure I’d go that far yet, rb325th. But he’s indeed making Carter look less foolish by comparison every day.
The POTUS is worried about a response from Russia? So much for recovering America’s “tarnished” image abroad. This president needs to focus on domestic policy, where he’s much stronger.
The UK may not join in ‘our’ fight. Cameron’s government didn’t scramble to get approval.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/29/20241897-uk-political-wrangling-throws-wrench-into-us-plan-for-quick-strike-against-syria?lite>1=43001
I think that phrase quoted above ‘just muscular enough to not get mocked’ is possibly the most asinine thing I’ve heard come out of the current admin to date.
First off, Bodaprez is constantly being mocked by anyone who detests him, and second, I don’t think it means what they think it does, which is how disconnected from the real, ugly world that whole clump of clodpoles really is.
Oh, yeah, here comes that scene in the Bazooka bubblegum comics wrapper where the big, muscle-bound guy kicks sand in the skinny-ass wart on the beach.
I sure hope that someone in WDC wakes up ans smells the burning coffee before it’s too late. Do they think that crap can’t come here? Are they really that naive?
Oh, yeah: while I’m at it, what if one of those dumbfucks in DC decides we should ‘ramp up the military’ as happened with the post-Korea era entrance into Vietnam, but people who were dumped or retired refuse to show up?
What then? Restart the draft? Send out the SPs and MPs to collect the wayward who were recalled and said, with enthusiasm, ‘Fuck you, fuck you very much, been there, done that, ain’t goin’ back.” ?
I’m just gonna leave this here:
This adds a whole new level to Obama’s policy of not using the word “Victory” in conjunction with war. Now, they’re going to commit acts of war, without any desired endstate more than “not getting mocked.”
Oh yeah, they deny that blowing up things in a foreign country are acts of war, so they’re not going to consult Congress, let alone get authority from Congress to commit acts of war. Remember, during the Libyan “non-war,” they bombed a commercial TV station, because it was “dangerously” broadcasting pro-Qaddafi messages.
But, the insurgents in Syria can’t be Al-Qaeda, can they. Remember, “Al-Qaeda is decimated.” (Even though the terrorists of Syria ARE al-Qaeda, even though it was the flag of al-Qaeda raised over the US Embassy in Cairo on 9/11/2012, even though al-Qaeda was involved in the attack on Benghazi, even though al-Qaeda is fighting in Afghanistan, and helped take over parts of Mali.)
Leadership 101 says go in hard and it’s easy to back off later. This administration has chosen the opposite path and now is screwed because any action taken will be seen an empty gesture. For those that didn’t already know that they were full of shit from the begining anyway.
But, TN, Bodaprez doesn’t read the newspapers or get his news reports from broadcasts. Everything he gets is ‘sanitized’ for his consumption.
Obumbler has done it again. He has now painted himself into a corner. He’s screwed if he lobs a missile and kills anyone. He’s screwed if he doesn’t because he won’t look tough. Look tough? First, he is the spitting inage of Alfred E. Newman. Second, you just know he likes to wear ladies things. I imagine him meeting heads of state and saying to himself, “If only they knew what I am wearing under this suit.” They do. And so does the rest of the world. Hey, did I mention that I despise that SOB and his sissy speech impediment?
This is what happens when you read Saul Alinsky rather than Sun Tzu.
I think this video newslink goes here. Putin appears to be telling bodaprez to ‘shut up and stand back’.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp=52872476�&from=en-us_msnhp&snid=18424824?ocid=msnhp
So, not only will we have another confrontation where there is no pre-consideration for the endgame but we are entering it with no intention of doing anything devastating, just making a “show” of it…..
I guess I’m not clear on what’s being discussed, is the president and his staff suggesting we get a bunch of US soldiers killed and spend millions, if not billions for a f#cking of force? With no real intent to conduct an actual operation designed to eliminate the threat or topple a regime, just some f#cking play-acting with live rounds and some dead bodies for the cameras?
At what point do the spineless turds in the two legislative bodies reach down squeeze their privates and remember they have some and say, “enough, is enough…nobody is dying for naught anymore”?
No worries gang!! Just three more years of amateur hour!!
Somebody (like Congress?) better tell this clown that unlike Hollyweird where you can rewrite the script as often as is necessary until you get it right, that opportunity does not exist in the real world.
So this is basically going to be a revisit of Clinton throwing cruise missiles at empty tents.
Speaking of the old Prussian, these thoughts seem appropriate:
“To introduce into the philosophy of War itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity.”
“War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds”.
I especially like:
“Obstinacy is a fault of temperament. Stubbornness and intolerance of contradiction result from a special kind of egotism, which elevates above everything else the pleasure of its autonomous intellect, to which others must bow.”
“Great things alone can make a great mind, and petty things will make a petty mind unless a man rejects them as completely alien”.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz
@23…
Exactly my thoughts when I read this brother…
WTF, over?
@21 – Gunny, just what makes you think that clowndog has three more years left on his throne of stupidity?
“…we have to do something…” = the most dangerous phrase in the english language.
With all due respect Mr. President, kick yourself in the ass for being dumb enough to draw a line in the sand. Then drink a fifth and go to bed. Problem solved.
@9 – WHAT US interests in Syria? We don’t buy shitloads of oil from them, we don’t get sand and camels from them… what the hell else is there? The only non-negative thing I can see in this is that they already don’t like us so pissing them off is already handled. And “saving face” didn’t even work with LBJ, who had a damn sight tougher image than Obama ever will.
@28: The only “U.S. interests in Syria” should be to ensure that both sides slaughter each other to the maximum extent possible until there is no one left to slaughter each other among themselves. That should be the one and only “U.S. interest” in Syria
David: as I see it, we have precisely two national interests in Syria.
The first is that the violence there stay localized and not spread to neighboring states. The second is that Syrian WMD not end up in the hands of terrorists.
Our intervening risks spreading the violence. Given the current make-up of the Syrian rebels, a rebel victory IMO virtually guarantees terrorists will get access to any Syrian WMD stocks that survive the war.
That is why US intervention in Syria on the rebel side is a monumentally bad idea.
Excellent commentary by Bruce McQuain over at “Hot Air”; it pretty much echoes what I and others have been saying here at TAH about obamao’s excellent military adventure being “just muscular enough not to get mocked”…
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“…If, before now, you had any doubt about ego being involved in the Syria mission, you shouldn’t anymore. This is all about the ego of one man. And he’s willing to put the men and women of our armed forces in harm’s way in order to service that ego.
Quite simply he shot off his mouth and made a threat, those at whom he aimed his words ignored him and allegedly did what he warned them against, and now he has to back up his threat or look weak. But, being the political beast he is, he knows a “Bill Clinton and the aspirin factory” sort of response will bring condemnation and mockery. So he’s decided that he’ll just do enough to escape that sort of mocking condemnation but not enough to actually accomplish his stated goals…”
On the noon news: a 5th US Navy destroyer is heading to the Med area near Syria.
Forget authorization, Impeach his ass before he pisses off another Middle Eastern country (and Iran and Russia) because he wants to be seen as strong in the world.
Symbolic?
Is that not the description General G. A. Custer used to describe his attack on the village of the Greasy grass?
@33 – Nobofy in D.C. has the fuggin’ balls to suggest impeachment, let alone suggest charging him with anything. I’m sure someone can identify evidence of his past bafoonery that would warrant such a thing.
While impeachment sounds great, I’m not prepared to have Biden be the next empty chair in the Oval office.
USMCE8Ret, Flagwaver: given the ambiguity surrounding what the War Powers Act (which has never been considered by the SCOTUS) does and doesn’t authorize, it’s questionable as to whether or not any impeachment would stick before 60 days after start of hostilities. And even then, I’m guessing only a debacle followed by continued Intransigence on the part of the POTUS might cause that.
The WPA – simply another “good thing” brought to us by the post-Nixon Democratic supermajority in both Houses of Congress.
Actually symbolic attacks are what terrorist use to terrorize their enemies, citizens or Dhimmi’s.
The WTC attack on 9/11 is listed as a “Symbolic attack” on US nationally recognized buildings.
Should the US bomb Mecca into a hole in the ground THAT would be a Symbolic attack.
If the Syrian’s bombed the White House that would also be a symbolic attack.
Does Obama plan on killing 3,000 civilian’s, and starting a war for the next thousand years?
Obama must consider himself invincible.
So does Obama not know about this Inter-webs thing? Does he not realize that everyone in the entire world has read “just muscular enough not to get mocked”? Including Assad?
Why would Assad take him seriously when he’s already announced that it wouldn’t be a serious attack?
I think he’s already being mocked.
Nobofy in D.C. has the fuggin’ balls to suggest impeachment, let alone suggest charging him with anything.
No, but they have the balls to start a fracas in the Med over something we shouldn’t be fucking around with anyway.
Russia is sending warships. Does he want to get us into a possibly world ending war with Russia?
Yikes! It’s time for another “Wag the Dog” somewheres else.
Impeachment? Joe “Biteme” Biden is the insurance policy against impeachment and assassination. NObody wants that clown with his finger on the button.
In related news, Boehner and Company remember what happened to Newt, and aren’t starting shit along the impeachment lines. The Senate R’s might as well be D’s. Though they beg the POTUS to get authorization from Congress, they won’t do anything AT ALL if he doesn’t. Hell, he already said he won’t even consult them, much less wait on authorization.
Libya lasted more than 60 days, WPA not withstanding. Nevertheless, the Constitution does not state that Congress must approve wars by the 60 day mark. It states that ONLY Congress can approve, “declare,” War.
Of course, it also says that “recess appointments” only last until the Senate is back in session and can approve or deny cabinet appointments, and that hasn’t stopped him. It also says that the Federal Govt cannot search your person or papers, and that doesn’t stop the IRS or TSA. It also says that you are to be secure in your effects, and that doesn’t stop the NSA.
Biden in the Oval Office? That will last about five minutes, before the next in line tells him “it would be beneficial to your ass to do as you’re told and resign now.”
Now, who do you guys think that would be?
Who replaced Nixon when he got fired?
(OK, OK, he resigned. Big diff. If he hadn’t resigned, he’d have been impeached. So he was basically dismissed from his job. His ‘I am not a crook’ statement: priceless.)
If you think Biden can’t be ‘asked’ to resign, you’re not paying attention.