Things just got a little lonelier at the top for Barak Obama. The British are starting to waver on intervening militarily in Syria. David Carmeron's parliament has told him to wait until the U.N. inspectors have filed their reports before endorsing, or assisting in any use of force. If the British are starting to get cold feet, you can bet the French will follow suit shortly.
It looks like the scam in Iraq has caught up to the leaders of the western world. It doesn't matter that none of them were in power when G.W. and Dick Cheney fed us that grand line of bullshit. What does is we know we were conned into a fight which was completely unnecessary then and we're not having any of it now. It could well be that Bashar al-Assad's troops have used chemical weapons, but scads and scads of people aren't going to believe it simply because we've been lied to before about the exact same thing. As the old saying goes, fool me once shame on you--fool me twice shame on me.
Everyone from Obama to Cameron and all points in between can assure us any response will be limited and there won't be a single American, or Brit on the ground, but we all remember the sign on that aircraft carrier so many years ago which read, "Mission Accomplished." George W. made a speech in front of it on May 1, 2003. The last American combat troops left Iraq in December of 2011 and we haven't seen the end in Afghanistan yet.
So now, having painted himself into a corner, does Barak Obama and the United States of America go it alone? Do we toss in a couple of cruise missiles and say our duty to humanity is done? Probably--in diplomacy and politics it is all about saving face. Utterly futile gestures beat doing nothing. Especially when not making one gives every political enemy you have an excuse to say your leadership is so weak you had to back down from a clod like Assad.
What seemed certain just 24 hours ago doesn't feel like such a done deal now. And it is simply because it has finally dawned on the guys in charge most of us have had enough, at least for a while.
The angst over Syria aside, all sorts of people stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and spoke in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's famous, "I have a dream speech." The list was a long one unless you were only counting republicans. That's because the number of GOP heavyweights in attendance was zero.
Yes, in their never ending quest to completely alienate African American voters the GOP scored a huge coup yesterday. Reports indicate many were asked, but none chose to be there. John Boehner, Speaker of the House, opted to address a congressional ceremony instead, probably because talking to a bunch of white guys is more his style. Eric Cantor, the house majority leader was off touring energy sites in Ohio and North Dakota. John McCain passed because he was attending public events in Arizona, the last state to recognize a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. George H. W. Bush declined due to illness. George W. Bush did the same either because of recent heart surgery, or because he was attending to his ailing father. Jeb Bush, who was asked when his old man and brother took rain checks, also didn't make the trip. The one guy from the GOP who might have shown up was Tim Scott, R-SC who is currently the only African American senator, but organizers failed to invite him.
It has been a hot, sweaty week here on the southern plains. Football season is only 48 hours away, but the mood is pensive and grim.
It would appear the masses have finally tired of beating their chests and chanting USA--USA--USA when it comes to American troops marching into the gaping black maw of yet another conflict.
The optimist in me thinks that might be a good thing.
Maybe, as the man said, we're free at last. Well--for a little bit anyway.
8-29-13
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