And so I hear Harry Reid waxing rhapsodic over the fate of the innocents in Syria. Unfortunately, the gentleman from Nevada's concern is one born of political expedience and moreover it is a part of the collective sigh of relief being heaved by the mainstream media and left-wing political wonks who are giddy that Vladimir Putin ostensibly stepped in to relief their president of the arduous task of being a leader in the theatre of foreign policy. Despite the fact that it was move that capitalized on a John Kerry gaffe and was designed to highlight U.S. incompetence. And now Putin is having an even greater field day at Obama's expense. And ours.
I am certain that in his liberal heart of hearts, Mr. Reid truly believed that his recent comparison between American isolationism prior to the First and Second World Wars and the present public opinion that we should not mire ourselves in this conflict is justified. And he has undoubtedly talked himself into believing that the plight of those caught in the crossfire between Bashar Assad and the Syrian rebels is tantamount to that of those who were victimized under the Third Reich. And to be sure, there are victims in Syria and Bashar Assad is not one of them. Assad is an evil man, and has engaged in terrible things. However the rebels in Syria are not the proverbial good guys in the midst of this conflict. Their ties to terrorism are being ignored at our peril, and at the peril of the innocents in Syria. Case in point, the Christians in Aleppo who are terrified that should the Syrian army depart, the arrival of the rebels will be heralded by the massacre of Christians there, specifically members of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
And they have good reason to be afraid. Yesterday, CNS News reported that with 15 months to go before the U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan, some Afghan leaders and media outlets are already calling for Christians in that county to be put to death under Sharia Law. The record of acts against Christians in Middle East and elsewhere is long and well documented. And the rebels in Syria with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood are at this moment stating openly that they would love to take Golan from Israel, no matter how that might be accomplished. Much as the Obama administration looked the other way in confusion when the Arab Spring turned 180 degrees it seems to be woefully, if not purposefully unaware of who the players are here. Not that this administration has much love for Christians, or Israel. And to further complicate matters, General Salim Idris who is the Chief of Staff for the Supreme Military Council for the Free Syrian Army (Which has the support of Obama and an endorsement from John McCain.) has called Israel an enemy country and called Assad and Hezbollah Israeli collaborators.
Okay, then. As they say at the ballparks "You can't tell the players without a scorecard." Or in this case, even with one.
To further highlight this sorry example of Clown College foreign policy, Breitbart had blurb Tuesday with Syria crowing that it had accepted the Russian proposal to "pull the rug from under the feet of American aggression." Of course in the process, the rug has been pulled from under the feet of American foreign policy, but we already knew that.
To bring this full circle, Harry Reid's cry for the innocents comes from a very real, and very sincere, but very dysfunctional state of mind. An all-too traditional left wing mind that believes that anything which is counter the perceived status quo and is potentially hateful to conservatives is by definition a good thing, and any further ramifications, no matter how significant can be sorted out later. Much like Obamacare. That and a desperate desire to hold up this president, even by the slenderest of threads.
This mindset coupled with the naive belief that one can conduct foreign affairs as if it were a friendly game of Risk or Stratego in the vacation house on Martha's Vineyard will be the undoing of more than just a presidency.
Sources:
CNS News: "Chaldean Catholic Leader: 'If Syrian Army Flees Aleppo, Christians Will be Massacred'" Michael W. Chapman;
CNS News: "Afghan Christians Should be Executed Afghan Lawmakers Say" Patrick Goodenough
CNS News: "U.S.-Backed Syrian Rebel Commander 'Israel is an Enemy Country; Assad, Hizbollah Israeli Collaborators'" Terrence Jeffrey
Breitbart News: "Syria Mocks U.S. Cave on Russian Proposal"