President Obama delivered his speech on Syria [87] last night, as scheduled, but probably it was not the speech originally planned. Recent events, including resistance in Congress and among the public, and the possibility of a diplomatic solution, left him in an awkward position. He couldn’t simply demand support for an attack on Syria, but he couldn’t back down either. The result was a speech long on moral principal, laced with dubious claims about national security, leading nowhere.
"I have resisted calls for military action because we cannot resolve someone else's civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan." Apparently he means that, at some point in the past, he resisted; Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons crossed a line he had set, and he came to think that someone else’s civil war is our affair: "The question now is what the United States of America and the international community is [sic] prepared to do about it, because what happened to those people, to those children, is not only a violation of international law, it's also a danger to our security." As to atrocities, some skepticism or at least caution is in order; (alleged) atrocities are too commonly an excuse for military action.
In what way is the situation in Syria "a danger to our security?" This appears to be the answer: "As the ban against these weapons erodes" — apparently due to our failure to attack Syria — "other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them. Over time our troops would again face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield, and it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons and to use them to attack civilians." I have some difficulty in connecting the situation in Syria to the use of chemical weapons in some future war or terrorist event. Even if such a connection exists, would that not mean that our use of drones against civilians has invited others to us drones against us?
Of course there was a reference to our permanent enemy: "al-Qaida will only draw strength in a more chaotic Syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death." The theory, I suppose, is that Syrians will become desperate for an ally against Assad, and will be so cynical about American resolve that, even though they would have had nothing to do with al Qaeda before, now they will rush into its arms. Again, the logic seems strained.
"If fighting spills beyond Syria's borders, these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan and Israel." Iran might be emboldened and so on; the domino theory lives.
Here’s the truly remarkable statement:
I'm . . . the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. So even though I possessed the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right, in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to Congress. I believe our democracy is stronger when the president acts with the support of Congress, and I believe that America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together.
We have a constitutional system but, although the Constitution provides otherwise, he can declare war. However, because he thought it would strengthen his position, he asked Congress to approve the plan of attack. There is no "direct or imminent threat to our security," so a delay is not a risk but, as he stated earlier, there is "a danger to our security," so eventually we must intervene.
People have asked "Won't this put us on a slippery slope to another war? No, this would be a limited action, so small no one would notice it, a mere pinprick — oops, no, the "United States military doesn't do pinpricks." It will be something larger than a pinprick, but smaller than "a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo." Maybe, if it works, if nothing goes wrong.
Mr. Obama agreed with critics that "we should not be the world's policeman." Does he mean that? "Over the last two years my administration has tried diplomacy and sanctions, warnings and negotiations. But chemical weapons were still used by the Assad regime." Therefore we must act; how does that differ from being the world’s policeman?
At that point, the speech caught up with recent events. We’ll wait to see what comes of the Russian proposal. We’ll rally support. Oh, and here’s a thought: "We'll also give U.N. inspectors the opportunity to report their findings about what happened on Aug. 21st." As we’re going to have a delay, we may as well have the facts.
The President is on record that we have an obligation to do something, the something to be designated later. Those of us who think that, however awful the situation in Syria is, we should stay out, have been put in our place.
Am I too cynical, too sarcastic? Probably, but Mr. Obama has done everything possible to invite such a reaction. It’s really discouraging to be writing in 2013 something that sounds more like 2002 or 2003.
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87. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/10/obama-syria-speech-full-text_n_3903500.html
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