Pity the poor Presidents

Before I begin today's sermon, oops, sorry, I mean 'post', let me tell you that today I am 'taking the waters' at Bath - and who said 'about time'?  I am driving an elderly lady neighbour over to a hospital for a knee operation and the 'Memsahib', always quick to seize any chance to cruise the elegant shops in Bath town centre was 'in like Flynn'!

Anyway, I would urge you all to take in an article by Andrew C. McCarthy in The National Review, a magazine that proudly puts the 'C' in conservative!  Unusually, in reviewing recent American strategy in the middle east, it takes a relatively soft line with Obama.

Inevitably, when there is a profound threat and an overarching strategic failure to apprehend it, disasters abound; and rather than becoming occasions for reassessment of the flawed bipartisan strategy, those disasters become grist for partisan attacks. From 2004 through 2008, the specious claim was that President Bush’s ouster of Saddam Hussein created terrorism in Iraq. Now it is that President Obama is the “founder of ISIS,” as Donald Trump put it this week.

Personally, I have tried not to be too critical of Obama's 'strategy' given that it complies with that propounded by that military genius, ex-Cpl. Duff, that by and large the Americans should keep 'boots off the ground' (except Special Forces) and use air and missile power to influence events.  Reading the details of the complexities of what is swirling and bubbling in the middle east makes it clear that we should keep our distance.  If the Russians are keen to be involved, we should hold the door open to them.  As those 'good ol' boys' in Texas, and elsewhere, have shown with their fracking abilities, oil, or at least, middle east oil, is no longer the strategic necessity it once was.

Whether or not the bellicose Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton understands that I do not know, it depends, I guess, who, having dumped zillions into the Clinton Foundation, has her ear!

 

Comments

[Bob]

Andrew McCarthy, apparently an honest conservative, is urging a return to normalcy in American foreign policy. He writes: "The United States is imperiled when partisan politics distorts our understanding of the world and the threats it presents."

General continuity has been the historical norm. The most recent major deviations were during the administrations of LBJ and Nixon in Vietnam and GW Bush in the Middle East. Both were catastrophic, and in both cases largely caused by the administrations' political inabilities to say "no" to neocons; and yes, the neocons were once Democrats.

If Trump is doing anything right, even if purely by accident, it's forcing national security organizations to vocally rise above party politics. There's not likely to be much change between Obama and Clinton MENA policy.

[JK]

Finally, and in the National Review of all places! Vindication and Validation!

Er, what's that I hear y'all muttering? (And probably most especially yourself Bob. ... Well, recall a few of David's posts back me admitting insufficient expertise in capital E economics? Then and further back in some forgotten D&N thread possibly noticing me mentioning "some expertise" viz Africa [but] mostly in CENTCOM's AOR? You aware Bob that before AQ set up shop in 1990s Afghanistan 'Sleeps With The Fishes' bin Laden was HQed in Sudan?)

From 2014 here's LB 'utility quoting' yours truly, "[speaking of John McCain] Syrian moderates weren’t really all that moderate and it’s not a failure to arm them that created, to use JK’s shorthand, “AQI > ISIL > ISIS > IS”."

https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/08/23/a-must-read-gates-of-vienna-blog-post/

Bob?

"General continuity has been the historical norm."

With a capital Y, Yep. Yep indeed.

"The ultimate test of progress will therefore be the extent to which the Iraqi armed forces reflect - at least to some degree - the ethnic diversity of the country and are accepted by the population at large as an expression of the nation. Drawing Sunni leaders into the political process is an important part of an anti-insurgent strategy. Failing that, the process of building security forces may become the prelude to a civil war."

-- Henry Kissinger 2005

[Bob]

Too bad the Bush CPA wasn't as informed as Kissinger. There were reports in general news outlets that most of W's advisors didn't even know there were Sunni and Shiite factions or that the Sunni Ba'ath Party members were the most experienced at running the Iraqi government. They supposedly saw De-Ba'athification as some sort of equivalent to de-Nazification.

Think Trump understands any of it, JK?

[JK]

Unfortunately Bob, within the inner circles the reports were generally accurate. There were DNI briefs presented attempting to counter that halfway understandable ignorance - too many politicos in my humble analysis however. There were operatives at State (at the time) fully acquainted with the challenges but alas, Bremer wasn't among them.

I doubt enough Bob. But what worries me more is, his opponent probably does but doesn't really give a shit.

[Bob]

JK, we can agree irresponsible politicians can destroy sound policy. We just haven't agreed on which presidential candidate would probably have the most irresponsible administration. You have noticed there are nearly no highly-placed Republicans willing to risk their careers as Trump surrogates, haven't you?

BTW, it's nice Kissinger learned the importance of paying some attention to the locals. He wasn't especially good at it during the Vietnam War.

[JK]

Yep.

But, then again, I haven't noticed any highly-placed Republicans risking much of anything (ala Mr. Khan "What have you sacrificed") personally.

Feeding at the public trough, apparently, is good.

***

Yeah it is nice. But then, Nam was a place in time affected a great many.

[Loz]

Old Big Ears has played the ME just fine, as Pater acknowledges.

He's spotted the key feature: No-one gives a shit about the ME anymore. So long as the Hairies keep fighting each other and, therefore, not us, and suck Vlad's boots into the sand, job done.

Play the umpire and make sure no-one gets the upper hand.

Happy Yanks, happy Jews, happy Brits, and the Kaiserin seems happy enough giving the escapees all jobs, so happy Krauts and happy moderate refugees.

My contribution will be to start a new airline to fit the final piece into the jigsaw. I even thought of a name: "SoD's Martyr Charter". Catchline: "Paradise awaits - you'll be blown away". Ok, marketing not my strong point.

We all chip in and so the successors of the Portsmouth Bad Boys and any more of those A-grade girly-morons who fancy a Jihadi portion before being eviscerated get over there no expense spared, lest any of them feel like detonating themselves over here.

SoD

[JK]

SoD's Martyr Charter ... I like it.

Needs a jingle though. Hows about Barbecue at Twelve Oaks?

[TheBigHenry]

SoD,

I am not quite fluent in your jargon-talk, but if I get the gist of your drift (as it were), I'll be happy to chip in so those morons who are eager to serve as human shields in Gaza get a one-way ticket on your "Martyr Charter". "Virgins await your fate -- get 'em while they last!"

[Michael Adams]

Yesterday evening, Breitbart reported that Saudi oil is so much in decline that the saudis are having to cut budgets. We wandered about the house, singing "Texas, our Texas<" not as snappy as Rule Britannia, but it will do, in a pinch. Yeah, Obozo, we damned well DID build that.

[Andra]

The annual march of the virgins was due to take place last week but one was sick and the other refused to march alone.

[t]

Get 'em while they last. Because one-trick pony.

[TheBigHenry]

Get 'em while they last. Because one-trick pony.