Oh, yeah. I'm going there. An Open Letter to President Obama

[kpete]

Oh, yeah. I'm going there. An Open Letter to President Obama
by: Lily O Lady (File this under hubris. I know I'm no genius. But you've been given advice by people who are apparently way more stupid than I am.)

Dear President Obama,

I know that when you were first elected President of the United States, you pledged to be president of all the people. But that does not mean that you have to follow the advice of stupid people. You just have to look out for their welfare.

It is a very, very bad idea to intervene in Syria. Now people at FOX News and in Congress will tell you that we are morally obligated to intervene in Syria. Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his people. Another Middle East dictator used chemical weapons against his people. You remember how the war in Iraq turned out, right? Not such a good idea after all. Tens of thousands, maybe more than a million have died due to the Iraq War and people are still dying as a result of it. And the region is far less stable than it was before we invaded. War did not increase political stability.

There were plenty of articles by people with cooler heads in the media detailing the history of the region before the US invaded Iraq the second time. Those sane voices were drowned out by people waving the infamous bloody shirt and it's being used again to get us into Syria. Do not be fooled. As soon as something goes wrong, it will be all your fault.

So according to your critics, it will be all your fault if we act in Syria, and it will be all your fault if we don't. People will suffer either way. You cannot stop that. What you can stop is our part in that suffering. The US is not responsible for everything that happens in the world. That is hubris as well.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/30/1235018/-Oh-yeah-I-m-going-there-An-Open-Letter-to-President-Obama

[polichick]

1. Excellent, but it assumes that this isn't about the mic and oil...

and that Pres. Obama is immune to those forces.

Still, I hope he gets this right.

[kpete]

2. polichick

found this lovely quote just for you:

Give a person a piece of bread, and you feed them for a day. Teach a person a lesson by blowing them up, and you never have to give them bread again. Raytheon makes a bundle, too.
[/i

]

peace, (and hope?),
kp

[polichick]

3. Thanks - that's the truth of it...

Images of that corporate American flag wave in my mind.

[russspeakeasy]

4. Excellent . Thanks.

[gholtron]

5. I'm not taking sides on whether to strike or not

[block quote]I just want to hear from those that are against the strike on what other alternatives should the US or the rest of the world should do? Band TV coverage of showing children dying? Or should we continue to seek a diplomatic solution? Again, I could go one way or another. I don't want another war in that region on the world, but at the same time, it's hard to see innocent people especially children gaping for air dying before our eyes. One of the things I am proud about this country is when a traumatic situation happens any where in the world, such as the hurricane in Haiti, or the tsunami in Bangladeshi, the US is one of the first countries that will assist. Now I know we have our own problems at home, but that is the result of who we elected. I just have a problem when I see people dying in such a horrible way that if anyone has any decency would want to do something. I really don't envy the President at this time. He will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Just like all the decisions he has made throughout his Presidency. Just hoping for the best solution. [/block quote]