Having leaked to the world, and thus to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a detailed briefing of the coming U.S. air attack on Syria — (1) the source (offshore warships and perhaps a bomber or two), (2) the weapon (cruise missiles), (3) the duration (two or three days), (4) the purpose (punishment, not “regime change”) — perhaps we should be publishing the exact time the bombs will fall, lest we disrupt dinner in Damascus.◼ Britain’s rejection of taking action against the Syrian regime is a “complete humiliation” for President Barack Obama, syndicated columnist and Fox News commentator Charles Krauthammer said Thursday. - Fred Lucas/The Blaze
So much for the element of surprise. Into his third year of dithering, two years after declaring Assad had to go, one year after drawing — then erasing — his own red line on chemical weapons, Barack Obama has been stirred to action.
Or more accurately, shamed into action. Which is the worst possible reason. A president doesn’t commit soldiers to a war for which he has zero enthusiasm. Nor does one go to war for demonstration purposes.
Want to send a message? Call Western Union. A Tomahawk missile is for killing. A serious instrument of war demands a serious purpose.
“It is a complete humiliation for the Obama administration,” Krauthammer said on Fox News. “Forget about the merits of what Obama wants to do which I think it’s a bad idea. But let’s assume it’s a good idea. This involves the elementary conduct of international diplomacy, trying to get some allies aboard so you don’t act unilaterally.◼ Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer had some harsh words for the White House Thursday. - Noel Sheppard/Newsbusters
“So who’s the main ally in the world who’s been with us in every trench for the last 100 years? The British. And now the British have voted against us,” Krauthammer continued. “The other supposed ally was the French, President Hollande, and now he’s saying we got to wait for the report from the U.N. inspectors which will be early next week.”
He pointed out that Democrats, including Obama, previously ridiculed the Bush administration for supposedly taking unilateral action in Iraq.
“So here is Obama and the Democrats who railed against the Bush administration for its supposedly unilateral invasion of Iraq where we had 48 allies for a mission that involved boots on the ground, a real invasion, a real war. And here’s Obama trying to gather an ally or two for a pinprick and he gets nothing.”
◼ Video: Cameron stunned as Parliament rejects call for Syria strike - HotAir
◼ Pelosi Rallies Congress for War - Elizabethe Sheld/Breitbart
According to Politico sources, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) pushed Obama administration officials "to take military action to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad in response to reports that he used chemical weapons in his nation’s ongoing civil war."◼ Former President Carter warns US action on Syria without UN backing 'illegal' - Julian Pecquet/The Hill
Last night, Obama administration officials (sans Obama) held an unclassified 90 minute conference call after a growing number of Congress members demanded to be consulted regarding military action in Syria. Susan Rice, Chuck Hagel, John Kerry, Director of National Intel James Clapper and Sandy Winnefeld, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke for the administration.
After the call, Pelosi made a statement asserting: "It is clear that the American people are weary of war. However, Assad gassing his own people is an issue of our national security, regional stability and global security," Pelosi said in a statement after the call....
◼ Syrian Coalition media director Khalid Saleh: Crime with no consequence, the story of Assad and the international community - Syrian Coalition media director Khalid Saleh/The Hill
On Aug. 21, one year after President Obama’s infamous “red line” warning, Syrian President Bashar Assad launched rockets containing toxic agents at the opposition-held suburbs of Damascus, causing an unprecedented number of deaths in one day. During the four-hour attack that started at 3 a.m., Assad forces launched 29 rockets bombarding several cities in rural Damascus. Some of the cities were located less than 30 minutes away from the United Nations chemical weapons inspector’s hotel.◼ WHY DID SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY GIVE THAT SPEECH ABOUT SYRIA and NOT PRESIDENT OBAMA? - Greta
More than 1,300 people reportedly gassed to death.
This is the largest chemical weapons attack since Saddam Hussein gassed the Kurds in 1988. Assad thinks he will get away with this crime of monstrous proportions; he has dabbled in smaller scale chemical weapons deployments and suffered no consequences.
No consequences, even though the president of the most powerful nation in the world warned him not to cross his chemical weapons red line. No consequences, because of a flawed system that allows one nation to veto any U.N. resolution, debilitating the will and conscience of the international community. No consequences, because even though the United Nations inspectors are a mere 30-minute car ride from where Assad gassed civilians, the inspectors require his permission to travel to any site in Syria and are accompanied by handlers at every stop. The latest developments indicate that Russia and China have blocked the U.N. attempt to simply redirect the inspectors to these sites....
Say it with me, Beltway Bubblers: "Man, Clint Eastwood NAILED it with that empty chair routine. Why is Kerry giving this speech?"
— RB (@RBPundit) August 30, 2013
◼ WILL BOEHNER STOP OUR ROGUE PRESIDENT? - Patrick J. Buchanan/Human Events
The next 72 hours will be decisive in the career of the speaker of the House. The alternatives he faces are these:
John Boehner can, after “consultation,” give his blessing to Barack Obama’s decision to launch a war on Syria, a nation that has neither attacked nor threatened us.
Or Boehner can instruct Obama that, under our Constitution, in the absence of an attack on the United States, Congress alone has the authority to decide whether the United States goes to war.
◼ FACEBOOK WAR: ASSAD SON TAUNTS OBAMA! - New York Times
