Remember Hillary Clinton almost screaming "What difference does it make" when she was asked about the identity of the attackers in Benghazi and the coverup by president Obama and her that followed the attack? This seems to be the new line coming from the left on foreign policy. Today, it was stated by one of the liberal heavyweights in the mainstream media, Candy Crowley of CNN. As Congressman Mike Rogers was explaining that the settlement was a Russian plan to favor Russian interests, Crowley interrupted him to ask, "Well who cares?" It the plan deals with chemical weapons, isn't that enough? Rogers then gave a long winded answer about the need for a credible military.
The point, however, is not that we need a credible military. Our national interest in the Middle East is to 1) retain influence; 2) retain the trust of our allies; 3) weaken our adversaries like Iran (which is Syria's chief ally); 4) get rid of Assad (so as to cut off the terrorists of Hezbollah and Iran's link to them); and 5) keep Israel from acting prematurely to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Syrian settlement plan works directly against each of these American interests. Without a doubt, it will somewhat reduce the chances that chemical weapons will be used again, but there is also no question that if Assad and Iran were given the choice of keeping the option of Assad's using chemical weapons or taking the possibility of American involvement off the table, they would choose to keep the USA out of the equation.
The appeal to ignorance which is clear in Crowley's "Well who cares" comment is one that will not work for long. All too soon, we will see more sad results of Obama's policy miscues.
The point, however, is not that we need a credible military. Our national interest in the Middle East is to 1) retain influence; 2) retain the trust of our allies; 3) weaken our adversaries like Iran (which is Syria's chief ally); 4) get rid of Assad (so as to cut off the terrorists of Hezbollah and Iran's link to them); and 5) keep Israel from acting prematurely to strike the Iranian nuclear facilities. The Syrian settlement plan works directly against each of these American interests. Without a doubt, it will somewhat reduce the chances that chemical weapons will be used again, but there is also no question that if Assad and Iran were given the choice of keeping the option of Assad's using chemical weapons or taking the possibility of American involvement off the table, they would choose to keep the USA out of the equation.
The appeal to ignorance which is clear in Crowley's "Well who cares" comment is one that will not work for long. All too soon, we will see more sad results of Obama's policy miscues.
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