Islamist* dance

 

According to a report in the Global Security Newswire headed Assad Sets Conditions on Relinquishing Chemical Arms, the Syrian president said his nation would give up its chemical arms “only if the United States ends any weapons deliveries to opposition forces and ceases its ‘threatening’ behavior.”

Put conditions on everything and do nothing.

Sounds like Bashar Al Assad’s buddy in Iran, Ruhollah Mostafavi Musavi Khomeini, a/k/a Grand Ayatollah and his nuclear games.

And then there is the terrorist Abu Mazen of the so called Palestinian Authority who demands that Israel make concessions and, when the Israeli prime minister du jour caves under US and leftist pressure, the terrorist adds more demands.

It’s the Islamist dance.

* Iranians are quick to tell us they are not Arabs; Muslims yes, Arabs no, hence “Islamist.”

What is particularly interesting about Assad’s two-step is that while he is pressing for to halt the weapons flow to the insurgents, he will continue to receive weapons from his allies – Iran and Russia. These weapons can be used against both the locals and Israel.

What I fail to understand is what he calls Obungler’s “threatening’ behavior.” The incumbent at 1600 Pennsylvania has emasculated the country and truly made it what the Chinese called it decades ago: a paper tiger of no consequence.

On the other hand, most Israelis – except perhaps Obungler’s alter ego in the prime minister’s office, and the left wing – now understand that they cannot depend on the United States for anything, certainly not as long as the White House and State Department are Islamist sympathizers.

Obungler managed to put his foot in his mouth and embarrassed the United States by making threats he won’t carry out.

Then he comes crawling to the Congress in hopes it will share the blame for his stupidity.

“Well,” he tells the world, “I can’t do anything until Congress gets back from its latest vacation.”

Meanwhile, one on-line poll shows that at least 91 percent of all respondents do NOT think the U.S. should attack Syria.

Is Syria a threat to the U.S.? Not hardly. Certainly it can be a jumping off point for Islamist terrorists, but the U.S. has its own homegrown Islamist terrorists (or is Islamist and terrorist redundant?).

Does Syria have anything the U.S. wants? No.

“Well,” we are told by Obungler & Friends, “the U.S. must act for humanitarian reasons.”

OK. So …

1. Why wait until now? Syria’s civil war is more than 2 years old.
2. Why didn’t Obungler threaten Sudan (see UN Human Rights Council and Darfurian Voices
3. Why doesn’t Obungler press for a Kurdish state? Kurds are victims in Syria, Turkey, and elsewhere.
4. Why doesn’t Obungler point the finger at the Muslims in Aza or in Lebanon/Syria who randomly fire rockets at Israeli civilians and Hamas in Aza who murder Egyptian policemen at their posts.
5. What about North Korea? In September 2011, the Harvard International Review published an article which argued that North Korea was violating the UN Genocide Convention in every possible way, through its systematic killing of half-Chinese babies and religious groups.[
6. And Somalia. The Social Science Research Council (2007) reported genocidal killings committed against Somalia's Bantu population and Jubba Valley dwellers from 1991 onwards noting that "Somalia is a rare case in which genocidal acts were carried out by militias in the utter absence of a governing state structure

Why is it that chemical weapons are bad, but bullets, bombs, missiles, and other killing devices are OK?

Never mind that Obungler allowed the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya go unpunished. Shades of Jimmy (Peanut Brain) Carter.

While North Korea is not an Islamist state, it uses the Islamist delaying tactic to keep the U.S. at bay while the North threatens the South.

I am reminded of the Arpege perfume commercial: Promise her anything, but give her Arpege. Promise the U.S. anything, and like an ingénue, the U.S. will believe and will coninue to believe the promises even after they are broken time and time again.

Obungler has done somethiing right – by accident. So far he has only used his hot air against Syria. At the same time, he has made the U.S. a laughing stocvk among nations that understand only force, a heavy hand.

The Arabs and Persians and Koreans all respect only a heavy hand. Unfortunately, the day when Teddy Roosevelt could “speak softly and carry a big stick” (with the so-called “Great White Fleet”) are long gone.

America’s political fall from power didn’t start with Obungler – it goes back to charmin’ Jack and his “youth in Asia” plan (incorrectly applied to LBJ) – but the current president certainly has exasperated matters.

Turns out there is a post script to this. Since the above was cobbled together he other day, Assad has added more conditions, including that Israel must join in renouncing use of chemical weapons and allow unbiased (that's a joke) UN inspectors to review whatever chemical weapons Israel might possess. Meanwhile, Assad's stockpile gets moved around - likely to Iran.

”America’s rabbi” needs lesson in history

 

Shmuley Boteach:
Arm Syrian rebels

R. Shmuley Boteach, trying to put words in Obama’s mouth, would have the president tell Syria’s Assad “(W)e have decided to arm the rebels in their fight.” ( http://tinyurl.com/n2n76x3)

Never mind conflicting reports about who is killing who in Syria; Boteach wants to arm the rebels who, by the way, have been accused of cannibalism – and of bragging about it.

Does Boteach really think the U.S. can buy the rebels friendship IF the rebels prevail, and as of today, 19 June 2013, that’s questionable.

Does Boteach really think if the rebels, a fragmented bunch at best, will be able to control the country and, in particular, the cease fire along the Israel-Syria border. Certainly not based on some of the rebels’ published promises.

Perhaps the real question is: Does Boteach think at all?

Obviously Boteach, who frequently reminds his readers that someone called him “America’s rabbi” and that “Newsweek and The Washington Post call ‘the most famous Rabbi in America’, is the international best-selling author of 29 books,” is ignorant of history.

He apparently fails to realize that America cannot buy friends or, for that matter, cannot defuse Muslim anger by paying off the Islamists. He pointedly ignores the lessons of Afghanistan where the U.S. armed the Taliban to fight the then Soviet Union, only to have the U.S.-provided weapons turned against U.S. soldiers.

He fails to recognize the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine – a doctrine developed to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars, “civil” or otherwise.

Botach rails against the Russian head of state’s endorsement of the Assad administration. “It’s a travesty that Russia was invited to the G8 summit, especially as Putin shamelessly disregards the pleas of the international community to withdraw his support from the criminal regime. This summit is meant to facilitate the collaboration between civilized nations for a better future. If we can’t stop the ongoing slaughter or, at least, bar Russia’s participation from the summit until they change their policy, then the forum becomes guilty of passive complicity.”

Even as he notes that the “summit is meant to facilitate the collaboration between civilized nations for a better future” he would banish the Russian to prevent any communication between his point of view and any others’ points of view. My way or the highway attitude.

Syria is NOT the United States’ problem.

Syria is NOT the G-8’s problem.

Syria MIGHT be a problem to be handled by the Arab League, although the Arab League is hard pressed to do anything other than ask non-Muslims to protect their assets.

Syria certainly is not a problem for the UN’s Blue Bonnets who are best known for turning tail and disappearing when someone says Boo!.

Hopefully, no matter what side or sides finally prevail, Syria will not become a problem for Israel, Jordan, or Turkey. Iran and Iraq – they are contributing to the problem as are Hamas and Hezbollah.

I know Boteach is running for political office.

If he really wants to get the U.S. involved in Syria’s internal problems, I hope he is soundly defeated. I understand he’s running for a local spot, but his “buddy” at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will use a Boteach win to claim America’s rabbi and America are behind him (POTUS) in what would be Obama’s latest misadventure.

Shmuley Boteach is not this scrivener’s rabbi and, the last time I checked my passport it showed I am very much an American.