Obama: The Weakest President In The History Of The U.S.

O, do you even lift?

 

That would be fine and dandy, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT YOUR BOY EMBARGOED WEAPON SALES TO THE REBELS. Yes, you read that correctly, the Obama administration is directly assisting Assad in massacring the remainder of his people by banning ANY faction of the rebel forces from receiving weapon assistance from other nations. It's not that we're not intervening, we ARE, but we're intervening in favor of the wrong side.

I voted and campaigned for Obama in 08. I abstained from voting in 12 because of the several broken promises that I saw in his first term but I remained optimistic that he will grow larger cojones in the second term (I'm not talking about foreign policy alone, I'm talking about various issues that he has been less than stellar about). But unfortunately he is proving to us every day that he is indeed the weakest president in the history of the U.S. His priority is his approval rating and political gains. He is obsessed with having a positively-viewed legacy after he leaves but this very obsession is causing him to become passive and to punt on several issues, which end up hurting his legacy more than anything.

What is happening in Syria is an absolute abomination, and the U.S has played a very very large role in enabling this abomination. Obama punted back when the revolution was 100% peaceful protests by educated, democracy-seeking moderates who had one request: to be protected from Assad's airstrikes on their million+ protests. Obama sat idly by and watched as Assad massacred 15,000+ innocent civilians protesters. Again, up to this point, there was absolutely ZERO armed insurgency. Then people started getting desperate and the defected soldiers and generals from the military formed what is called the "free syrian army", whose purpose was to protect the protests from Assad's attacks. Those non-islamist moderates were asking to be armed by more effective weapons such as anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to protect against Assad's killing machine, but again, Obama punted and neglected that.

Now, more than 2 years after the start of the revolution, people have grown not only more desperate, but also extremely bitter with the U.S inaction and enabling of Assad's war crimes. People have turned to extremist groups for funding and military support. Several al-qaeda affiliated militant groups have found their way to Syria and are quickly becoming a fan-favorite because of their effectiveness in attacks (they send in 1 suicide bombers that destroys an entire battalion of Assad's forces, of course it's effective). Those extremist groups have even started problems with the moderate Free Syrian Army, who are not very fond of the extremists ideology and goals. The result? The cluster**** that we see today.

But still, it's not too late, there's a lot that can be done. The moderate Free Syrian Army ABSOLUTELY NEEDS DIRECT MILITARY SUPPORT. We're not talking American boots on the ground, we're simply talking about effective weapons and technological and tactical assistance that would help tip the scales for the moderates and defeat Assad AND the extremists.

The sooner Obama realizes this, the better. In his memoirs, Bill Clinton wrote that single biggest regret in his 8 years in office was that he allowed Rwanda to happen on his watch. They say those who don't read history are doomed to repeat it. This appears to be he case with Mr. Obama unfortunately.

 

Obama can bench more weight than any president since Teddy Roosevelt.

 

Given that the European Union yesterday voted in favor of ending an arms embargo to the Syrian rebels, I'd like to see your evidence banning any faction receiving weapons from any other country. Especially since the US has been sending money and intel to the rebels.

And actually, what's going on in Syria is actually good for America. The longer this thing goes on, the more it turns into Iran's Vietnam. Hezbollah has bled itself out fighting for Assad and its reputation, which it had gained a lot of from fighting Israel in 2006, has become utter **** in the Sunni world. Assad is too busy to make Lebanon his puppet state and annoy Israel, Iran has to spend more of its resources which are highly limited from American sanctions to prop up its one true ally, and they can't retreat without a massive loss of face. It's a wonderful quagmire where the Middle Easterner radicals can all go kill each other off in a long, drawn out war.

The one problem isn't Syria. It's Jordan, which has been hit hard by the Syrian refugees, and which with the Egyptian revolution is really the one Arab state that the US can trust. But the risk of the Jordanian monarchy falling is worth a massive chance to finally check Iran without risking a single Marine.

As for the FSA? Syria isn't Egypt, but the minute the Egyptians got democracy, they started voting for the Muslim Brotherhood does not exactly set a wonderful precedent.

Anyone who thinks that going into Rwanda would have been a good idea is likely the same idiots who pranced about us needing to fight in Darfur.

 

I heard he can squat more than FDR also...

 

We're going to have to disagree here.

There, timely American intervention could have made a significant difference, and even though Kagame has his flaws, it's not as murky as the rebel groups in Syria. UN forces already in the area (another crucial difference) under Roméo Dallaire saved thousands, and if they had more manpower, they could have saved thousands more.

 

my boy? heh.

In any case, I think that's wise given the composition of the rebel groups. America's got a poor ROI on funding the mujaheddin, and arms in Libya trickled over to Mali. Given all that, I think a measured, and balanced intervention is needed. Don't blame the Obama Admin. for the lack of teeth, they're cramped by Russia and China on the UNSC, and unilateral American initiatives in the Middle East have proven disastrous to say the least. If Hollande or Cameron feel like they're up to, by all means, they can lead the charge, but even they've kept it to a threat to provide arms to the rebels, someday. People are treading carefully, unfortunately, because the rebel groups are fractured, and many are dangerous to provide with arms, because well, after the regime has fallen, they'll turn on one another, or their former Western allies (depending on what is more convenient). I do want the moderate groups to get much more support, it's just hard to do that without opening the floodgates for more radical groups to get what they need too.

 

It is amazing, based on message boards, water cooler talk and conservative radio; virtually every Republican voted for Obama in 2008 and no one voted for Obama in 2012. Simply amazing.

 

Obama is the miracle worker, won an election with no support.

 

He has to lift to be able to pick up as much **** as he slings on this board.

 

Quality insight from a quality poster.

 

Why don't you Ahmed set up his arranged marriage and tell us how creepy you were when you courted your life like a bizarro version of Little Women... Ohh or how JFK was a nazi or how Ted Cruz is your boyfriend or how you don't drink coffee and teach children for a living... Ohh or quote a liberal community organizer that is now relied upon heavily by the Tea Party.

Did I leave any out? How the FDA will force us to have a prescription for fruit or that your balls were radiated by your father-in-law!

 

dude, chill.

he's trying to get a rise out of you haha. just chill with it. the guy is trolling, but it's all just talking points.

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Conservatives shouldn't care what the world thinks of us.

Except Poland. They're cool.

And like the retro Bush cluster**** flashback, these threads remind me of the idiocy before I ignored basso.

 

I don't really have access to the kind of wingnuts that would be interested so you're on your own.

 

Nice quick run down of the rebel groups. With one of the most powerful groups being linked to Al Qaeda, I'm not too surprised that the US is very unwilling to give out any weapons to the rebel side.