President Obama bowed-up last year and said he had a “red line” he would not allow Syria to cross. As a result, and with his massive ego at stake, he feels he has to do something he never does: back up his rhetoric with action.
The Obama regime only knows one way to wage war, and that is to run attack ads in Iowa destroying an opponent’s character. Trying to wage war by invading a country over WMDs has pitted President Obama against his fiercest ideological opponent on the matter, Candidate Obama.
So our war-waging-invading machine has been dispatched to the Middle East to extract a pound of flesh from Syrian president Assad for probably gassing opposition. No penalties yet on this administration for sending the IRS to attack Obama’s opposition.
We can’t bomb Syria too much as to displace Assad; then al-Qaeda Muslim religious extremists could take over like the Muslim Brotherhood did in Egypt. Instead of cruise missiles and “shock and awe,” Obama might order the Pentagon to spank them with a rolled-up newspaper or spray them with a Windex bottle of water.
As a libertarian who likes to mind his own business, I am not a fan of traipsing across the world and starting a war when we are not directly threatened. It’s costly, ineffective and creates future enemies. This gas attack could have been perpetrated by the rebels Obama is backing in order to induce the U.S. into putting a hurting on their enemy, President Assad. My trust in government is at an all-time low.
If we go to war with Syria, it will be just a proxy war with Syria's allies, Iran-backed Hezbollah factions in Syria and Russia. Vladimir ("Macho Bravado") Putin likes to go around bare-chested. As any Southerner will tell you, you do not want to fight a redneck who takes off his shirt. There’s no upside.
World War I started after a confusing set of circumstances unfolded: long-standing tensions, militarism, botched diplomacy, and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife by a Serbian nationalist. A "comedy" of errors, convoluted alliances and aggressions escalated us into another war.
This one feels like that one. I say we lay low, and I think a war-weary country agrees. On the plus side, this is our third war in the Mid-East, so the next one is free.
London newspapers say the administration is mum on the Benghazi attacks because the CIA was covertly supplying military arms to rebels called the "Syrian Alliance," from there. And if you do not know much about these rebels we are supplying, stay tuned. We will be at war with them in about two years. At least we will know what weapons they will be using by checking our invoices.
The U.S. Government likes to rotate its dictators every few years, like crops. Removing a strong-arm leader who keeps order is like firing a great bouncer at a biker bar. A thugocracy often works well to keep order in third-world hell holes.
The other choice is a theocracy, and a Muslim theocracy is worse for us. Muslims let a few, out-of-touch religious zealots elect the leaders for their nation. They then seek to force their interpretation of antiquated religious doctrines into law. It’s the same thing Republicans do with the Iowa primaries.
Opposition forces linked to al-Qaeda took over oil wells and declared a Sharia state in Syria. Now they are oil speculators, capitalists who control their own state government. I say we let things take their natural course, as they are about two business cycles away from joining a country club and encouraging their daughters to pledge Chi Omega.
With the debacle of Iraq hanging over him, and after Obama said he was going to bomb Syria, Great Britain bailed on him. Obama suddenly wants to work with Congress to put them on the record. This president is not about leadership, he is about blame. Instead of nuclear codes carried by a general, Obama is followed around by David Axelrod carrying a briefcase that contains codes for whom to blame for scandals.
Obama should avoid this complex attack, but I am afraid that he has decided to go ahead. If it turns out to be a mess, Obama has already asked Susan Rice pick out a few anti-Muslim videos to blame for the debacle.
Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist,award-winning author and TV/radio commentator. Email Ron@RonaldHart.com or visit www.RonaldHart.com
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: War with SYRIA: Blurred Lines–You Know You Want It