The story so far: Barack Obama said: "I am terrible at foreign policy, therefore I will say a bunch of stuff I only half-mean, such as that there's a red line, and that I'm going to bomb everybody, but it will be obvious I don't want to, and everyone will think I'm a moron."
I'll give you a half point on this one, reserving the other half for "Smart enough to take advantage of good luck, including explanations".
FWIW, I don't "blame" him. I think he handled a shitty situation better than anyone could reasonably expect, except maybe for the earlier "red line" threat. I think he's been on top of things, and looking hard for a solution that would address the use of chemical weapons, while keeping the US out of this particular civil war.
I'm even willing to believe, tentatively, that there was some prior coordination with Putain.
But my suspension of disbelief stops at the idea that the Kerry "gaffe" was staged. If the fucker could act that well, he would have been President in 2004.
Maybe this is "the 'solution' of the weak and unwilling." If so, subscribe me on that list. In the fifty or so years that I've been paying attention, the US has almost continuously been playing World Policeman somewhere. In that time, we've had one fairly definite success (the first Gulf War) and one partial (the Balkans). (It's worth remembering that in both those cases, we were involved in a genuine international effort.)
The situation in Syria is dreadful, as are the situations in several parts of Africa and several of the former Socialist Republics. But we do not have sufficient military might, or manpower, or wealth to fix those things. We could certainly blow them all up, but that wouldn't be helping.
There are limits to our power, and to what we can reasonably expect to achieve. When we exceed those limits, we tend to fuck things up. If believing that makes me weak and unwilling, well there you go.
Laughing at Seth Meyer's jokes- hell, did his own stand-up skewering Trump, making fun of the "decisions" Donald had to make- knowing what decision he had just made. The coolest.
ETA: Hard to decide which correspondent's dinner speech I prefer- Obama's, or Colbert's.
No need for reasons, no need for thought. The teabaggers will just run around screaming "SYRIA!!!!1!" the same way they run around screaming "BENGHAZI!!!!1!" The scandal and ourtrage are simply assumed to be there.
I don&#039;t believe foreign governments <i>have</i> 4th Amendment rights. Spying on US citizens for purposes of &quot;diplomacy&quot;, on the other hand, is a bit of a stretch, and we need a (real, not rubber-stamp secret) court to issue warrants.
I thought Mongolians just decapitated their enemies and piled their skulls into pyramids of death as a warning to the rest? Not terribly dainty, but simple and direct enough. At least it&#039;s a fucking ethos!
Eager to hear what my Teabagger boss (who&#039;s been insisting that Assad didn&#039;t use chemical weapons, it was those damn Al Quaeda rebels all along) will say about Assad handing over his gas. O wait, he&#039;ll say &quot;I wish somebody would shoot that Obummer guy!&quot; like he does every week.
I was in high school. I don&#039;t need an adaptation.
I&#039;ll give you a half point on this one, reserving the other half for &quot;Smart enough to take advantage of good luck, including explanations&quot;.
<i>And they started preparing for such a contingency over a year ago. Before Syria even used its WMDs.</i>
Excuse me for not being up to date, but what is your source for this statement?
FWIW, I don&#039;t &quot;blame&quot; him. I think he handled a shitty situation better than anyone could reasonably expect, except maybe for the earlier &quot;red line&quot; threat. I think he&#039;s been on top of things, and looking hard for a solution that would address the use of chemical weapons, while keeping the US out of this particular civil war.
I&#039;m even willing to believe, tentatively, that there was some prior coordination with Putain.
But my suspension of disbelief stops at the idea that the Kerry &quot;gaffe&quot; was staged. If the fucker could act that well, he would have been President in 2004.
Maybe this is &quot;the &#039;solution&#039; of the weak and unwilling.&quot; If so, subscribe me on that list. In the fifty or so years that I&#039;ve been paying attention, the US has almost continuously been playing World Policeman somewhere. In that time, we&#039;ve had one fairly definite success (the first Gulf War) and one partial (the Balkans). (It&#039;s worth remembering that in both those cases, we were involved in a genuine international effort.)
The situation in Syria is dreadful, as are the situations in several parts of Africa and several of the former Socialist Republics. But we do not have sufficient military might, or manpower, or wealth to fix those things. We could certainly blow them all up, but that wouldn&#039;t be helping.
There are limits to our power, and to what we can reasonably expect to achieve. When we exceed those limits, we tend to fuck things up. If believing that makes me weak and unwilling, well there you go.
Laughing at Seth Meyer&#039;s jokes- hell, did his own stand-up skewering Trump, making fun of the &quot;decisions&quot; Donald had to make- knowing what decision he had just made. The coolest.
ETA: Hard to decide which correspondent&#039;s dinner speech I prefer- Obama&#039;s, or Colbert&#039;s.
No need for reasons, no need for thought. The teabaggers will just run around screaming &quot;SYRIA!!!!1!&quot; the same way they run around screaming &quot;BENGHAZI!!!!1!&quot; The scandal and ourtrage are simply assumed to be there.
They could do both, without so much as blinking.
If Wonkette allowed comments, that would be a problem. Anyhow, the Wonknoscenti know it&#039;s spelled tr1gger.
&quot;Assad being willing to go along with this pretty much proves he did the nerve gassing.&quot;
Banksters pay billion-dollar fines &quot;without admitting to wrongdoing&quot; . . . I&#039;m sure Assad is just as innocent as they are.
I don&#039;t believe foreign governments <i>have</i> 4th Amendment rights. Spying on US citizens for purposes of &quot;diplomacy&quot;, on the other hand, is a bit of a stretch, and we need a (real, not rubber-stamp secret) court to issue warrants.
They&#039;re disappointed in Obama&#039;s failure to fail.
I thought Mongolians just decapitated their enemies and piled their skulls into pyramids of death as a warning to the rest? Not terribly dainty, but simple and direct enough. At least it&#039;s a fucking ethos!
Anus dentata?
Eww.
&quot;Alert&quot;. That&#039;s the word I was looking for, thanks.
Eager to hear what my Teabagger boss (who&#039;s been insisting that Assad didn&#039;t use chemical weapons, it was those damn Al Quaeda rebels all along) will say about Assad handing over his gas. O wait, he&#039;ll say &quot;I wish somebody would shoot that Obummer guy!&quot; like he does every week.
Anybody out there hiring?