Partial counterpoint (not on Assad; Assad is terrible): the decision to *set* a redline in the absence of the political will to enforce it was the problem.
More broadly, the mistake, shared by both Bush and Obama, was to get involved in the region w/o the political will to see anything through.
More broadly, the mistake, shared by both Bush and Obama, was to get involved in the region w/o the political will to see anything through.
Reposted from
Bill Kristol
Syria's future will be complicated, but we should celebrate if Assad falls.
(I can't help but add that Obama's failure to enforce his red line after Assad used chemical weapons in August, 2013, was a disastrous decision, with terrible consequences for Syria and far beyond.)
(I can't help but add that Obama's failure to enforce his red line after Assad used chemical weapons in August, 2013, was a disastrous decision, with terrible consequences for Syria and far beyond.)
Comments
Neither the political will nor the strategic interest to remake the Middle East on anything but the cheap existed...
Likewise, right now, I think sensible policy is to conclude that the region is less important to the United States than Eastern Europe or East Asia and so American investment - monetary, military, political - should be low.
But that's the nature of strategy: strategy is always an exercise in tradeoffs. In a sense, strategy *is* tradeoffs. Uncle Sam cannot be everywhere.
The region doomed itself. Not our fault or problem, mostly.
Lasting change isn't necessarily positive...
I don't think any lasting peace is possible in the ME without the will of the parties. They all bailed on that long ago.
Just a 5000-year-old mess. SSDD.
The world is a big place, and America's power remains limited
It's the only place in the world where three continents meet, contains a waterway where 12% of global trade passes through every year, and contains over 55% of the world's proven oil reserves.
The Suez is important; the rest of the ME?
Yeah, low priority region.
That said, Gore was just playing out a hypothetical—an obviously available someone else who might have done things differently
It worked that one time, because it was still a reduction in spending year over year because they were spending money on WW2
But I don't think the public would, so. 🤷♂️
It seems like you are saying, "It would have been a far better result if Assad had destroyed his chemical weapons because Obama asked nicely" which, I mean, sure, but that was never going to happen and indeed did not happen.