Let's begin with September 10, 2014, when President Obama touted Yemen as a counterterrorism success. What he actually said was, "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years." We have "successfully pursued" this policy all the way up to the past week when the president of Yemen has resigned, our embassy personnel has been evacuated, the Marines have been order to scorch the earth by destroying their weapons, and Al Qaeda of the Arabian Penisula has taken over. Success #1.
Over the past couple of years we have also witnessed over 200,000 Syrians killed by a combination of Syrian forces, the supposedly pro-western anti-Assad rebels, ISIS, and other jihadist factions. Success #2.
In addition we have seen Libya decend into chaos and become a haven for jihadists. Success #3.
And of course we have watched as ISIS has taken over the second largest city in Iraq as well as many other cities in which brave Americans gave their lives to free Iraqis from the murderous tyranny of Saddam Hussein. Success #4.
Outside of the Middle East, we have seen North Korea get nuclear weapons and Iran get closer day by day to having them. Success #5 & #6.
We have also see Vlad Putin snatch Crimea from Ukraine and absorb it into Russia. Success #7.
We have also seen him instigate and participate in a so-called civil war in Ukraine, where another cease fire agreement was just brokered, not by the US, but by France and Germany. (We'll see how long that lasts.) Success #8.
About the only failure I can think of is in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood took over with our support, only to be overthrown by the military because they were too zealous in instituting Sharia. The is clearly an example of failure being snatched from the jaws of success.
8 comments:
and Dave would have done things differently? And what would Dave do now? You sound like my US senator.
The point is not what I would do now, it's why has the current president mismanaged foreign affairs so spectacularly? But since you ask, the first thing I would do is ask Congess for a Declaraion of War against every jihadi and jihadist group, whether its called ISIS, ISIL, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, AQAP, CAIR, Nidal Hasan, or the Isalamic Republic of Iran. I would then make very clear that we are not about to allow a bunch of godless Muslims to take over the western world. If they want to live under Sharia in their part of the world, we will not molest them. But if they try to move into our world, there will be immediate and serious consequences. I would then make very clear that if ISIS doesn't stop their ugly and aggressive activities immediately or if there is one more terrorist attack in Europe or in the western hemisphere, we will send a tactical nuclear missle into the heart of Raqqa. And if it happens again, we will do it again. And we will keep doing it until they decide that their territory is good enough.
so once more, how would you have managed things the past 6 years, or even since 9/11 01 or before? IT's easy to complain. Harder to have your own ideas.
Yes, it's all pretty screwed up over there and I your number by number analysis is pretty straight on. I might question number number 6 since I have been hearing that same statement now for about 10 years if not longer.
Now you have asked a much larger question which I have neither the time nor inclination to get into on this blog. It's rather irrelevant anyway. We are where we are. Why don't you tell me what you think of my answer to your first question, since I gave a very clear and matter of fact answer. And I'll ask you, what would you do today?
Your answer is to neo con for my blood.
Not my pay grade but, I would tell Iraq to stand up and fight of they will lose their country to a bunch of thugs. Once all those thugs and their followers are in Iraq or whatever new state they want to call it, that will keep Iran pretty occupied and it will also put all those loonies in one area where they can be monitored, and yes, nuked if they decide to stray out of Iraq. Unless they stray into Iran, then let those two duke it out. Isn't the ISIS leader an Iraqi general that Iraq let go after we turned him over to them.
You consider Islam a threat to the world and I don't, so of course we will differ in opinion, but that's ok, it's what makes the whole thing interesting.
The Iraqi army has shown that it's incapable of stopping ISIS. Once it really heats up around Baghdad, I wouldn't be surprised to see half the army turn around and join ISIS. And once ISIS has Baghdad, they'll go after the rest of Syrian, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, and evntually the Arabian Peninsula. Then, of course, their clearly enunciated objective is to destroy Israel. And we should not be counting on Turkey to help stop them. There are a lot of reasons to believe that Turkey is actually on the side of ISIS. Keep in mind that prior to WWI, the center of the caliphate was in what's now Turkey. I have read that many in Turkey see ISIS as the restoration of the Ottoman caliphate.
By the way, tell the people who died on 9/11, in the London subway bombing, the Madrid train bombing, the Bali hotel bombing, the Fort Hood shooting, the Boston Marathion bombing, the Charlie Hebdo shooting, etc, etc, that Islam is not a threat to the world.
Add Copenhagen to the list of places in the world threatened by Islam.
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