Obama Face-Saving Solution on Syria Emerging

[Purveyor]

--CLIP

Fast forward to today. The Administration seems finally to have woken up to the fact that in trying to escalate in Syria, it has bitten off a ton more than it can chew. As Information Dissemination pointed out last week (hat tip Marcy Wheeler):

The arrogance of the Obama administration’s national security team is a parade of red flags right through the halls of Congress. Secretary Kerry actually argues that if Assad is “arrogant” enough to defend himself that the US and our allies have ways to make him regret that decision, apparently without going to war. The arrogance of John Kerry implies the question to Congress, what could possibly go wrong? With no political policy or strategy that can be articulated publicly, no military objective of consequence, no coalition of consequence or authority, and by taking action that injects our nation into another nations civil war uninvited – my question is, how does this possibly end well?

The Obama administration is taking greater risk with Syria than their calculations suggest, and I truly believe the potential for a significant strategic defeat like nothing seen in at least a century is greater than the potential for success. The entire gambit by the Obama administration rests upon the starting assumption that Syria will do nothing and give the Obama administration exactly what they want. The other starting assumption is that Iran won’t get involved or their involvement will be inconsequencial to our political objective….

If the Obama administration takes authorization from Congress and moves directly towards military action against Syria, the lack of a coalition is a significant condition that increases the strategic risk to the United States. Iran and Syria will recognize that this may be the only opportunity they will ever have to take on the United States without a broader coalition of support, and as such see this as their best opportunity to strike. In stepping through Red Team’s calculations, consider how exposed the US truly is.

1) The United States has no coalition, so a targeted, direct strike against the United States in “self defense” significantly limits the degree to which the international community will respond in support of the US…

- See more at: http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2013/09/obama-face-saving-solution-on-syria-emerging/#sthash.X1Ars28V.dpuf

[Pretzel_Warrior]

1. you folks are woefully naive

face saving gesture? You are worse than anyone at reducing international foreign relations to cult of personality and whose ego got bruised.

[Thinkingabout]

2. Too many are going to be willing to jump on the band wagon now, whether you claim face saving

Solution or Obama getting his a$$ saved, what you don't know is whether there was ongoing talks with Russia or Syria over the last couple of weeks. I have seen post saying the Syrian problems was to cover up the "surveillance scandal" which is preposterous since the Syrian civil war has been going on for some time unless those would believe the civil war was started to cover up for a much later crisis. A little civility would go a long way and would save face of those making preposterous accusations.

[leveymg]

3. Quick and easy solutions often come undone.

Then they can say, we gave diplomacy a chance. Those who have jumped most quickly and highest in response to this "genius maneuver" -- while forgetting that Obama simply didn't have the votes in the House, and perhaps not in the Senate -- will then rail against Assad's "trickery." And, it's off to bomb Damascus, again.

It's all so sadly predictable.

[madrchsod]

4. you forgot the congress

obama placed the ball in their court and they really didn't want to play the game. it seems for now they don't have to.