Category Archives: Syria
West Bank Red Line Threat
In 2012 President Obama said, “We have been very clear to the Assad regime — but also to other players on the ground — that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.”
Here’s an Arms Control Association timeline of chemical weapons “moving around or being utilized” in Syria.
When it came time to act on his red line threat, Obama got cold feet. But Russia came to the rescue with a deal to remove and destroy the weapons:
The agreement seems to remove the prospect of any strike against Syria following the chemical attacks in Damascus on 21 August which killed up to 1,300 people.
Putin later entered the war with airstrikes in support of Bashar al Assad. That turned the tide in his favor and unleashed a greater flood of refugees and dead.
With the destruction of Aleppo in December Charles Krauthammer wrote that the Obama administration could offer only bitter speechmaking at the UN:
In the end, the world’s greatest power was reduced to bitter speeches at the U.N. “Are you truly incapable of shame?” thundered U.S. ambassador Samantha Power at the butchers of Aleppo. As if we don’t know the answer.
Red Line Threat
Last week the administration drew a new red line through the West Bank and West Jerusalem for building settlements.
Thrill Of Victory, Agony of Debate
The thrill of victory was followed by the agony of debate last night.
Thrill of Victory
The Cleveland Indians won the American league pennant, shutting out the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0. Rookie Ryan Merritt went 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his second major league start.
Merritt got the nod because starting pitcher Trevor Bauer was the victim of a drone strike. A strike of his own drone. Bauer has always done things his own way, and this came as no surprise to anyone around here. So they sewed up his finger and sent him out to the mound for game three.
Bauer’s a gamer, but his sutured pinkie opened up like the elevator doors in The Shining. He never made it out of the first inning. No problem. Mad Manager Tito Franco stitched together a bullpen game and the Tribe won 4-2.
Back to Ryan Merritt, hero of Northeast Ohio. Someone found out he’s getting married, so fans bought everything on his wedding registry. But you could still get him a pillow last I checked.
Agony of Debate
Unfortunately all good things come to an an end and the final presidential debate was about to begin.
Moderator Mike Wallace asked about Supreme Court nominees. Hillary Clinton said the court should stand up for women and transgender bathrooms but not late term babies about to be aborted. She also said the court should overturn Citizen’s United (a Supreme Court case that said it’s okay for a company to make a movie critical of Hillary).
Trump said, “The Supreme Court – it’s what it’s all about.”
The clear winner … Chris Wallace.
United States Russia Reset Gets Rolling
President Obama tried to reset relations with Russia. He tried to be flexible. And what does he get in return? Hacked.
Here’s Krauthammer on how Obama got rolled by the Russians (and how we got rolled on Obamacare).
War on Isis
On Friday President Obama acknowledged, to Stars and Stripes, three military deaths in Iraq despite his pledge to end war. I planned to draw a cartoon honoring American war dead for Memorial Day. But it kind of morphed into a cartoon about the war living.
Daily Beast reported American Special Forces, wearing Kurdish insignia, were photographed in Syria 18 miles from Raqqa, the ISIS capitol . Meanwhile, the U.S. is providing air support in a difficult Iraqi campaign to liberate Fallujah, again.
Last Tango in Brussels
President Obama’s been dancing around the Islamic terror threat. He doesn’t want to take the lead. He says the threat isn’t “existential” and more people die in bathtub accidents.
He danced the Tango after the Brussels attacks. He played golf after James Foley was beheaded. John Kerry sent James Taylor to Paris to sing you got a friend after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
While ISIS is losing ground in the Middle East the WSJ reports interlocking terror cells are growing throughout Europe.
