Volume VI, Issue XII
It's Time to Pay Attention!
The 'other' weekly news magazine this week headlines: It's Time to Pay College Athletes [click to read] in their U. S. Edition. The International Editions [click to read], interestingly enough, feature Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his dreams of reincarnated empire. Yes, we think it is time to pay attention! As the President attempts to convince us that we need to attack Syria, he makes a weak case for a 'feel good' moment for his image as a world leader.
The Syrian moderates, who might have been in our interest to support are already defeated. The rebels we would be assisting are Al-Qaeda affiliates, no friends of the free world, nor advocates of peace. Sadly, the President seems to have twisted enough arms in the Senate and in Congress that he may just be able to commit the exact crime he so eagerly accused George W. Bush of committing in attacking Iraq.
The two wars are not the same. Iraq was in our nation's best interest, based on the best intelligence available at the time. Many in Congress who later ran a campaign against Bush's intervention agreed then that Iraq's likely possession of weapons of mass destruction was a serious problem. They voted for Bush's request for military action based on the dangers presented by weapons of mass destruction. Ironically, these weapons may have 'disappeared' to Syria in a prelude to the American attack. Initially the Iraq war kept Al-Qaeda elements busy defending their interests in Iraq, likely preventing them from following up on their September 11 attack on the United States. Assertion of subsequent mismanagement of the war in no way diminishes the validity of the initial operation.
The short critique here is that the President is proposing to engage us in a useless attack on Syria to 'send them a message.' He should instead just pick up the phone. This attack will accomplish nothing and only serve to incite a possible attack on Israel in retaliation. Israel, to their credit, will likely handle such an attack with a swift and appropriate response while taking pains to let it be known they are eager to build peace if it is possible. The problem is that the United States will have been the agent of destabilizing in the region. Regime change, though not the President's stated goal, might just happen. In that case, Syrian weapons could find their way into even more unstable hands than they are in now.
Then there is the whole issue of Iran, moving ever closer to possessing nuclear weapons. The bigger picture here is that a weak and bumbling American policy only serves to encourage the ambitions of such regimes.
The Middle East is a dangerous place right now. Adult leadership is needed more than ever. Binyamin Netanyahu is a key player right now. We need to listen to him. Congress must act to overrule the President. Weekly news magazines need to forget trying to bolster their sales and force-feed the information to Americans that they must publish to be considered 'relevant' in the rest of the world.
Israel and Stuff [click to read]
Real News from Israel ht/Phil
What Israeli Leaders are Learning [click to read]
Why I Cannot Support the Resolution [click to read]
(analysis from Joel Rosenberg)
Who Are We Helping in Syria [click to view]
from Glenn Beck (warning: Extreme Graphic Violence)
“Until Saturday, Obama’s Middle East policies were generally regarded by the Arab world as confused and incoherent, As of Saturday, he will be perceived as one of the weakest presidents in American history. That scent of weakness has emphatically reached Iran… Khamenei and his advisers recognize that the likelihood of this administration using military force against a country with Iran’s military capability are very low, if not nonexistent. And they’re not the only ones who realize this. The same conclusions are being drawn by Hezbollah and al-Qaeda. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet colleagues, who will doubtless have been watching the Rose Garden speech, will have internalized what they had long suspected: that Washington will not be the place from which good news will emanate about thwarting Iran’s nuclear drive.” -- The Times of Israel
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