So much has been written and discussed about the Keystone XL Pipeline, that there is little left to say on the merits. The proposed pipeline has now been reviewed, re-reviewed, and reviewed again ad nauseum. Each time a review is done, no environmental problems are found. Nevertheless, the project still sits in limbo awaiting a final decision by president Obama.
Some day, there will be a final decision on Keystone. Right now, the odds are 50-50 that the decision will be made by Obama's successor, however, since the president clearly does not want to make the decision. That fact, more than anything else, is the true symbolic meaning of the Keystone pipeline. America not only has a president who has difficulty making decisions, but also we are led by a man who struggles to avoid making a selection. Simply put, Obama cannot lead because he cannot choose. Even worse, Obama does not try to come to conclusions; he tries to avoid them.
Think about this problem and what it has brought us. When the Assad regime in Syria started shooting people who were demonstrating against the government, Obama chose to pretend it was not happening. He did not side with the demonstrators or the Assad regime. A strong condemnation by Obama of the murder of demonstrators might actually have stopped the practice and prevented the civil war, but Obama chose not to decide and the war started. When Assad was on the defensive as the moderate Syrian rebels advanced, Obama again chose not make a decision how to proceed. Strong support from America to the rebels could have placed a relatively moderate government in power in place of Assad, but Obama chose not to decide and the war went on. When Assad brought in Iranian and Hezbollah troops to support his forces, Obama could have taken steps to stop that action. Instead, Obama chose not to decide and new foreign forces joined the battle. At that point, Obama issued his famous "red line" against the use of chemical weapons, a move designed to make it look like he had acted without his really having to act. Surprisingly, the Assad forces then went ahead and used chemical weapons 17 times over four months. Obama could have responded forcefully with strikes designed to take out the chemical stores in Syria. That might have prevented the scourge of chemical weapons from being used again and actually allowed the moderate forces in the rebel alliance to overthrow the war criminal Assad. Instead, Obama took the lifeline offered to him by Russia. Obama basically accepted a fig leaf of a deal that allowed Assad to stay in office and which did next to nothing to get rid of the chemical weapons. As a result of Obama's refusal to act, we now face a Syria which will either be run by a war criminal who is a vassal of the ayatollah in Teheran or by an affiliate of al Qaeda which has taken control of the rebels because the moderates could not achieve success without the aid of America.
Syria is just one example. Look also at the economy. Obama has turned to the economy so many times that he probably screwed himself into the ground. But he never does anything. He never comes forward with a plan. He never takes action. He just talks and talks and talks. It is much like the Keystone pipeline. Some day, the economy will recover. Most likely, however, that recovery will not come until after Obama leaves office and America has a leader again.
Some day, there will be a final decision on Keystone. Right now, the odds are 50-50 that the decision will be made by Obama's successor, however, since the president clearly does not want to make the decision. That fact, more than anything else, is the true symbolic meaning of the Keystone pipeline. America not only has a president who has difficulty making decisions, but also we are led by a man who struggles to avoid making a selection. Simply put, Obama cannot lead because he cannot choose. Even worse, Obama does not try to come to conclusions; he tries to avoid them.
Think about this problem and what it has brought us. When the Assad regime in Syria started shooting people who were demonstrating against the government, Obama chose to pretend it was not happening. He did not side with the demonstrators or the Assad regime. A strong condemnation by Obama of the murder of demonstrators might actually have stopped the practice and prevented the civil war, but Obama chose not to decide and the war started. When Assad was on the defensive as the moderate Syrian rebels advanced, Obama again chose not make a decision how to proceed. Strong support from America to the rebels could have placed a relatively moderate government in power in place of Assad, but Obama chose not to decide and the war went on. When Assad brought in Iranian and Hezbollah troops to support his forces, Obama could have taken steps to stop that action. Instead, Obama chose not to decide and new foreign forces joined the battle. At that point, Obama issued his famous "red line" against the use of chemical weapons, a move designed to make it look like he had acted without his really having to act. Surprisingly, the Assad forces then went ahead and used chemical weapons 17 times over four months. Obama could have responded forcefully with strikes designed to take out the chemical stores in Syria. That might have prevented the scourge of chemical weapons from being used again and actually allowed the moderate forces in the rebel alliance to overthrow the war criminal Assad. Instead, Obama took the lifeline offered to him by Russia. Obama basically accepted a fig leaf of a deal that allowed Assad to stay in office and which did next to nothing to get rid of the chemical weapons. As a result of Obama's refusal to act, we now face a Syria which will either be run by a war criminal who is a vassal of the ayatollah in Teheran or by an affiliate of al Qaeda which has taken control of the rebels because the moderates could not achieve success without the aid of America.
Syria is just one example. Look also at the economy. Obama has turned to the economy so many times that he probably screwed himself into the ground. But he never does anything. He never comes forward with a plan. He never takes action. He just talks and talks and talks. It is much like the Keystone pipeline. Some day, the economy will recover. Most likely, however, that recovery will not come until after Obama leaves office and America has a leader again.
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