It’s the foreign policy, stupid
Israel Hayom | It’s the foreign policy, stupid.
The ongoing bloody crisis in Syria is only becoming worse because of the West’s stuttering and the international community’s powerlessness. More than pointing to the strength of Russia, which still opposes any military intervention in Syria, it reveals the weakness of the U.S.
Washington is paralyzed, for several main reasons, in the face of the massacres carried out by the regime in Damascus. There is the fresh memory of American blood spilled in Iraq. American troops, meanwhile, are still mired in the Afghan mud despite the desire to remove them, and evacuation has been set only for 2014. These are only part of the reasons behind the helplessness exhibited by the U.S. The difficult economic problems and the unwillingness to saddle the U.S. defense budget with yet another burden, and the fact that President Barack Obama is in the midst of a contested re-election campaign, all add to the paralysis of U.S. foreign policy and create a vacuum which allows new-but-old players back in the game. This became evident when France took the lead during the Libyan crisis, and is the case once again with Russian opposition to military intervention in Syria.
The fact that the U.S. altered its policy from unilateralism from the days of President George W. Bush to one of needing as many partners as possible to manage any of Obama’s campaigns only makes the situation worse. In essence, the U.S. is bringing the Cold War back. It is a war in which the guiding principle is containment rather than victory. We have only to ask the constant question — is it good for the Jews? Is it good for Israel?
Beyond the accurate cliche that a weak U.S. translates into a weak Israel, a cold war, with its key strategy of containment, has consequences in the struggle against Iran. The justified Israeli concern is that the U.S. is ultimately liable to shift to a policy of containment against Iran. It is a policy in which the U.S. will only threaten to use force against a nuclear Iran and will not actually use it to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear.
Let us recall that the current administration has not been loath to leak information, for example on Israel’s military cooperation with Azerbaijan, or to offer assurances of massive military aid for Israel in order to prevent it, God forbid, from attacking Iran.
If the U.S. doesn’t intervene soon, it will be evident that the Syrian arena isn’t the exception to the rule; rather it is the rule itself. The U.S. must act because it’s not “just the economy, stupid” — it’s also foreign policy. Maybe what is needed is another Hollywood actor like Ronald Reagan, who will make sure to return America to its natural status as the winner of the Cold War and the leader of the Free World. For now, only in Hollywood do the good guys always win in the end.
The writer is Israel’s former consul-general in Los Angeles.
WarSclerotic 
June 19, 2012 at 3:52 PM
The last time I looked, here in the USA our military is still a part of the the Department of Defense. So far, I don’t see any Syrian vessels approaching our shores with hostile intent. Up to now, our military has been misused in diaster relief, nation building, and the political whims of our President(s). In my opinion and the opinions of those who have read the U.S. Constitution believe any offensive use in the name of defense that falls outside a declaration of war by Congress is illegal. While I agree that changes must occur in the Mideast for the possiblity of peace, I disagree with using the U.S. military for every aspect of that effort. In the end, the irony is that we pay a lot of money for Arab oil, provide security and stability to their nations (not constitutional) and pick up the bill when our military is used to slap everyone back in line with civilized behavior (not to mention all the thousands of our brave troops who were killed and maimed in this process).
In the article, it’s writer says, “If the U.S. doesn’t intervene soon, it will be evident that the Syrian arena isn’t the exception to the rule; rather it is the rule itself. The U.S. must act because it’s not ‘just the economy, stupid'”
My question is, “Why the hell should we always be the one that must respond”. We have said countless times that we stand ready to come to the aid of our allies. Then why must be the ‘front line’, the ‘quick response force’ and the only ‘power’ capable of getting the job done? Israel has a hell of a military. If the great state of Israel feels threatened, then by golly, use the damn thing. The same goes for all our other Arab ‘allies’ who are flush with oil money, yet depend on our strained resources for their defense.
I’m apologize to all you guys if I sound isolationist, but first and foremost, I’m concerned about all our brave soldiers who lost thier lives, limbs, and livelihood over this mess. My only question is, how many casualties have our ‘allies’ suffered in the last 20 years?
U.S. Constitution Article 1 Section: “Congress shall have the power to delare war” First and foremost, we have to be true to ourselves.
June 19, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Steve…
The only thing stopping “the great state of Israel” from cleaning up this mess is Obama. (The country you complain is unfairly looked to to protect our planet against uncontrolled butchery and genocide.)
The US spends more on it’s military than all the rest of the countries in the world combined. It also claims to stand for the rights of man.
Can you blame the world for looking to the US for leadership?
Instead, what they are getting is the “behind.” Where Obama apparently stores his leadership.
June 19, 2012 at 5:40 PM
JW- By referring to Israel as the ‘great state’ I truly believe she is a great state. No disrespect meant there, but I stand firm. We have thousands of young men and women with permanent disabilities and thousands of families without loved ones as a result of all these ‘undeclared wars’ and police action thrust upon our military. Meanwhile, our economy is suffering while billions upon billions of dollars are pumped into all these ‘hot spots’ around the world while everyone else either sits it out or limits their assistance in all these engagements. Had there been real leadership in this country, Congress would have enforced the Constitution of the United States, declared war on Iran and finished the job a long time ago. Afterall, the Iranians were the ones who repeatedly committed acts of war against the U.S. As a result, Syria would be totally different today.
June 19, 2012 at 6:35 PM
I am afraid that things are more deep here that one could thought.
Lets, for example, take the WW II . How in the world we got the ” Bloody Omaha ” beach invasion event ?
The lives of thousands of americans were lost there. It was the D-Day, the invasion of Europe by the western forces, americans, british forces, canadians, Free France forces too, and i apologize if i don’t mention here All the brave man there. Why America entered the war ? Because Pearl Harbor ? No sir, he was with the british a long time before Pearl Harbor. And why is that ? Because the Nazis
were searching for ways to reach America by sea or by air, and the american leadership knew that. Today, its the iranians who are looking to islamize the world, inclusive America, ”the big satan”.
America must know when to fight the ” others ” wars, for they not become America’s wars, on american soil. And i’ll stop here, without even mentioning the 9/11 .
June 19, 2012 at 8:09 PM
The USA entered WWII as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. War was declared against Japan and not Germany. The fact is, Germany declared war on us soon thereafter, pulling us into the European theater, probably because we were already shooting at German naval vessels in the Atlantic and supplying their enemies. As for U.S. involvement in the Mideast, who knows?? Maybe there is a grand plan. But I still have a problem with undeclared war and the disproportionate amount of death, injury, and economic cost inflicted upon the USA while the rest of the world falls into at least four categories:
1). remain on the sidelines for whatever reason.
2). help the USA on a very limited basis.
3). cause more trouble for the USA.
4). just don’t care.
Folks, we are headed for some serious budget cuts in military spending. This coupled with overspending in other areas could bring on a financial crisis in this country never seen before. Then the ‘heavy lifting’ imposed upon our military will come to an end and other countries will have to take up the slack to protect themselves.