“If you cross this line, you better be prepared to kill me” – Trained military assassin Aaron Hallam, played by Benicio del Toro, in 2003’s thriller The Hunted.
Mr. Hallam was threatening the military instructor L. T. Bonham, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Mr. Bonham was a former army leader who had trained Mr. Hallam into a lethal assassin has gone berserk, killing indiscriminately. Throughout the film, Mr. Bonham must neutralize Mr. Hallam to prevent his murder spree.
[img]2143|right|Bashar al-Assad||no_popup[/img]In a similar vein, President Obama drew a red line with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Declaring that the moment Assad used chemical weapons, he would be crossing the line, the President pledged the United States would respond with militarily.
Assad’s troops a not only crossed but danced on and reddened the line with the blood of thousands of Syrian rebels. President Obama did nothing.
President Obama has retreated from his red line statement. But he no longer can retract it. Even “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart cannot refrain from mocking Mr. Obama.
The President forgot to consult or seek the consent of Congress or the people before making his threat.
Now We Know Better
Today, he faces an enlightened public wary of further interventions in the Middle East. Voters were frustrated with the unpopular war in Iraq while Afghanistan has dragged on longer than Vietnam. Still the White House diplomatic corps is neglecting history, ignoring the will of the people. Syria beckons action, Mr. Obama claims, when in reality his declaration drew a line of weakness around his presidency.
Taking advantage of Mr. Obama’s frustration, Republicans have grown increasingly reserved about foreign policy interventions. Rightly so. Iraq hurt the limited government, individual liberty brand of the GOP. Our democracy at home is under greater peril fiscally because of our military ventures abroad. Democrats are split on Syria. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has pressed for intervention. Former Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a progressive pacifist now a Fox News contributor, never has been passive about disparaging military action, whether in Iraq or Syria. Should the President insist on military strikes against Syria without Congressional approval, Mr. Kucinich said he will be embracing impeachment articles.
Impeachment?
When the President drew a line, instead of putting Assad on the defense, he prevented himself from governing with any consistency. Even the warhawk Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has threatened impending impeachment should the President use force without the will of Congress.
The President’s aspirations of ruling by red lines and deadlines have reached a dead end.
Mr. Obama believed in his oratorical skills long after they wore out their usefulness. From his apology tour through the Middle East to his wavering support for Israel, he believed that he could shift policy with a word and a wink. The President neither was prepared nor authorized to kill anyone, let alone send troops. Instead, he killed his credibility. He also has killed the unity of his Democratic caucus in Congress, where warhawks and peaceniks are divided, along with pro-Keystone Pipeline vs. pro-green partisans.
Within a week of contemplating a unilateral military strike, Mr. Obama has sought approval from Congress, mostly for cover. The President cannot cover up his lack of leadership, his broken character, and his fraying foreign policy. Nor can he shore up the dying strand of American intervention as a viable agenda.
Regarding American interventionism as foreign policy, Mr. Obama crossed another red line, a jagged one, outlining the corpse of a defunct political/military agenda first articulated by President Bush in his second inaugural address:
We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
No, it doesn’t.
The President’s inaction demonstrates a reluctant acceptance that recognizes that the United States is no longer able to remove every dictator who demeans his people or dooms his sphere of influence. If our military arsenal wants to wage another war, we onl willy kill the goodwill of this nation. Syria is a quicksand of foreign policy folly, the epitome of Western failure attempting to fan the flames of democratic success and republican legacies.
This is the end of the line for American Interventionism, and Mr. Obama's imperial demand for military action.
Arthur Christopher Schaper is a teacher-turned-writer on topics both timeless and timely; political, cultural, and eternal. A lifelong Southern California resident, he currently lives in Torrance.
Twitter – @ArthurCSchaper
https://www.facebook.com/arthurchristopher.schaper
arthurschaper@hotmail.com
aschaper1.blogspot.com
asheisministries.blogspot.com
waxmanwatch.blogspot.com
