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- Jan 28, 2013
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Our President helped create the mess in Syria. He should be doing more to clean it up.
The price of American inaction
Obama’s noninterventionist bent has contributed to crises like Syria’s.
". . . Obama has chastised Republicans for betraying American values since the terrorist attacks in Paris. He wants the nation to accept 10,000 people fleeing Syria’s horrific civil war, and Republicans want to turn them away. GOP presidential candidates have contemplated registering Muslims, compared Muslims to dogs and advocated welcoming Christians only. It is, all in all, disgusting. . . .
"Obama came into office in 2009 determined to end the country’s long wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. He wanted to focus on what he considered more important regions (Asia and the Pacific) and goals (restoring the U.S. economy, controlling nuclear weapons).
"He withdrew all U.S. troops from Iraq when experts advised that a residual force of 15,000 would help to keep a fragile peace. He bombed Libya to overthrow its dictator but opposed a small NATO training force that might have stabilized the new government. He ordered a limited surge of troops to Afghanistan but soon began withdrawing them on a timetable unmoored to conditions. When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad cracked down on democracy protesters, kindling violence, Obama kept the United States aloof.
It’s impossible to know what would have unfolded had he decided differently. We do know that the outcome in three of these cases has been catastrophic (with Afghanistan still hanging in the balance) — and quite different from what the president expected. . . ."
The price of American inaction
Obama’s noninterventionist bent has contributed to crises like Syria’s.
". . . Obama has chastised Republicans for betraying American values since the terrorist attacks in Paris. He wants the nation to accept 10,000 people fleeing Syria’s horrific civil war, and Republicans want to turn them away. GOP presidential candidates have contemplated registering Muslims, compared Muslims to dogs and advocated welcoming Christians only. It is, all in all, disgusting. . . .
"Obama came into office in 2009 determined to end the country’s long wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. He wanted to focus on what he considered more important regions (Asia and the Pacific) and goals (restoring the U.S. economy, controlling nuclear weapons).
"He withdrew all U.S. troops from Iraq when experts advised that a residual force of 15,000 would help to keep a fragile peace. He bombed Libya to overthrow its dictator but opposed a small NATO training force that might have stabilized the new government. He ordered a limited surge of troops to Afghanistan but soon began withdrawing them on a timetable unmoored to conditions. When Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad cracked down on democracy protesters, kindling violence, Obama kept the United States aloof.
It’s impossible to know what would have unfolded had he decided differently. We do know that the outcome in three of these cases has been catastrophic (with Afghanistan still hanging in the balance) — and quite different from what the president expected. . . ."
