{"id":6411,"date":"2013-09-03T15:38:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T22:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/?p=6411"},"modified":"2013-09-03T15:38:35","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T22:38:35","slug":"obama-indicts-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/obama-indicts-obama\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Indicts Obama"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/\u00a0PJ Media<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

One of the problems that Barack Obama has in mounting an attack against the Assad regime is that the gambit violates every argument Barack Obama used against the Bush administration to establish his own anti-war candidacy.<\/p>\n

The hypocrisy is so stunning that it infuriates his critics and stuns his supporters.<\/p>\n

Deriding the Iraq war was Obama\u2019s signature selling point. He used it to great effect against both Hillary Clinton (who voted for the war) in the Democratic primaries and John McCain in the general election. For the last five years, disparagement of \u201cIraq\u201d and \u201cBush\u201d has seemed to intrude into almost every sentence the president utters.<\/p>\n

And now? His sudden pro-war stance makes a number of hypocritical assumptions. First, the U.S. president can attack a sovereign nation without authorization from Congress (unlike the Iraq war when George W. Bush obtained authorization from both houses of Congress).\u00a0Even if Obama gets a no vote<\/a>, he said that he reserves the right to strike.<\/p>\n

Second, Obama assumes that the U.S. must go it alone and attack unilaterally (unlike the coalition of the willing of some 40 nations that joined us in Iraq).<\/p>\n

Third, it is unnecessary even to approach the UN (unlike Iraq when the Bush administration desperately sought UN support).<\/p>\n

Fourth, the U.S. president must make a judgment call on the likelihood of WMD use, which is grounds ipso facto to go to war (unlike Iraq when the vast majority of the 23 congressionally authorized writs had nothing to do with WMD [e.g., genocide of the Marsh Arabs and Kurds, bounties to suicide bombers, harboring of international terrorists, violations of UN agreements, attempts to kill a former U.S. president, etc.]).<\/p>\n

So review for a moment the Old Obama case against the New Obama.
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

On the perils of going it alone without allies<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the stakes are the highest, in the war on terror, we cannot possibly succeed without extraordinary international cooperation. Effective international police actions require the highest degree of intelligence sharing, planning and collaborative enforcement.\u201d (2004<\/a>)<\/p>\n

So far no European or Arab nation has offered military support for our planned effort against Syria.<\/i><\/p>\n

On the need to obtain UN approval before attacking another country<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, if the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it, do we have the coalition to make it work, and, you know, those are considerations that we have to take into account.\u201d (2013<\/a>)<\/p>\n

After misleading the UN in obtaining no-fly-zones for Libya (and then bombing troops on the ground), Obama is not even approaching the UN for a resolution to bomb this time around.<\/i><\/p>\n

On the idea that armed intervention is ever a good option
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place.\u201d (2008<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The mindset in Iraq was to stop a genocidal dictator like Saddam Hussein who had gassed his own people \u2014 apparently\u00a0the present mission<\/a>\u00a0is to stop the genocidal dictator Bashar Assad, who has gassed his own people.
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

On the folly of starting a wrong war to ensure a president\u2019s sinking credibility<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to reject the counsel that says the American people would rather have someone who is strong and wrong than someone who is weak and right.\u201d\u00a0(2008<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.\u201d (2002<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Most believe that we are going to war mostly to restore Obama\u2019s credibility after he issued an ill-advised red line to Syria that he thought would never be crossed \u2014 a war, in other words, predicated on \u201cpolitics.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

On the dangers of not defining a mission or a methodology<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda.\u201d (2002<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we send our young men and women into harm\u2019s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they\u2019re going, to care for their families while they\u2019re gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.\u201d (2004<\/a>)<\/p>\n

So far we have not articulated the purpose of attacking Syria, the methods of intervention, or the desired outcome of the war \u2014 at a time of deep administration cuts to defense, soon to be made worse by sequestration.<\/i><\/p>\n

On not intervening in the civil wars and internal affairs of Arab nations<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. military has performed valiantly and brilliantly in Iraq. Our troops have done all that we have asked them to do and more. But no amount of American soldiers can solve the political differences at the heart of somebody else\u2019s civil war, nor settle the grievances in the hearts of the combatants.\u201d (2007<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Syria is currently in \u201csomebody else\u2019s\u201d civil war in which the Assad dictatorship, Hezbollah militias, and Iranian volunteers are battling al-Qaeda affiliates, the Free Syrian Army, and various unknown coalitions of Assad opponents.<\/i><\/p>\n

On the need for obtaining congressional authorization<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action. As for the specific question about bombing suspected nuclear sites, I recently introduced S.J.Res.23, which states in part that \u201cany offensive military action taken by the United States against Iran must be explicitly authorized by Congress.\u201d In response to a question \u201cIn what circumstances would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? \u2026 The notion that as a consequence of that [2002 Congressional] authorization, the president can continue down a failed path without any constraints from Congress whatsoever is wrong and is not warranted by our Constitution.\u201d (2007<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The president did not ask Congress for authorization for the Libya attack. He just flip-flopped and plans to ask permission from Congress to bomb Syria, but indicated that he might bomb anyway should they say no. Neither Libya nor Syria posed an \u201cimminent threat.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Dr. Barack and Mr. Hyde<\/b><\/p>\n

So why is there such a disconnect between what Obama once declared and what he subsequently professed? There are four explanations, none of them mutually exclusive:<\/p>\n

A.<\/strong>\u00a0Candidate Obama had no experience in foreign policy and has always winged it, now and then recklessly sounding off when he thought he could score cheap points against George Bush. As president, he still has no idea of how foreign policy is conducted, and thus continues to make things up as he goes along, often boxing himself into a corner with serial contradictions. Trying to discern any consistency or pattern in such an undisciplined mind is a futile exercise: what Obama says or does at any given moment usually is antithetical to what he said or did on a prior occasion.\u00a0He is simply\u00a0lost and out of his league<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

B.<\/strong>\u00a0Candidate Obama has always been an adroit demagogue. He knew how to score political points against George Bush, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, without any intention of abiding by his own sweeping declarations. The consistency in Obama\u2019s foreign policy is his own carefully calibrated self-interest. Bombing or not bombing, shutting down or keeping open Guantanamo Bay, going or not going to the UN or the U.S. Congress \u2014 these choices are all predicated not on principle, but only on what a canny and unprincipled Obama feels best suits his own political interests and self-image at any given moment. In a self-created jam, he flipped and now goes to Congress\u00a0in hopes of pinning responsibility on them<\/a>, whether we go or not, whether successful or unsuccessful if we do. \u00a0He is a quite clever demagogue.<\/i><\/p>\n

C.<\/strong>\u00a0Obama is a well-meaning and sincere na\u00eff, but a na\u00eff nonetheless. He really believed the world prior to 2009 worked on the premises of the Harvard Law School lounge, Chicago organizing, and Rev. Wright\u2019s Church \u2014 or least should have worked on such assumptions. Then when Obama took office, saw intelligence reports, and assumed the responsibilities of our highest office, he was shocked at the dangerous nature of the world! There was no more opportunity for demagoguery or buck-passing, and he had to become serious. In short, it is easy to criticize without power, hard with it to make tough decisions and bad\/worse choices. \u00a0He is slowly learning.<\/i><\/p>\n

D.<\/strong>\u00a0Obama is the first president who genuinely feels U.S. exceptionalism and power were not ethically earned and should be in an ethical sense ended. As a candidate, he consistently undermined current U.S. foreign policy at a time of two critical wars; as president, he has systematically forfeited U.S. authority and prestige. There is no inconsistency: whatever makes the traditional idea of the U.S as a superpower weaker, Obama promotes; whatever enhances our profile, he opposes.\u00a0He is often quite angry at what could be called traditional America \u2014 seen often as\u00a0a downright mean country<\/a>\u00a0here and abroad.<\/i><\/p>\n

URLs in this post:<\/p>\n

[1] Even if Obama gets a no vote:\u00a0http:\/\/www.freerepublic.com\/focus\/f-news\/3061195\/posts<\/b><\/p>\n

[2] 2004:\u00a0http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/ma682j5<\/b><\/p>\n

[3] 2013:\u00a0http:\/\/freebeacon.com\/america-unbound\/<\/b><\/p>\n

[4] 2008:\u00a0http:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=18672622<\/b><\/p>\n

[5] the present mission:\u00a0http:\/\/pjmedia.com\/eddriscoll\/2013\/08\/31\/about-face-3\/<\/b><\/p>\n

[6] (2008:\u00a0http:\/\/spectator.org\/archives\/2008\/04\/07\/doctrinaire-obama\/print<\/b><\/p>\n

[7] 2002:\u00a0http:\/\/minx.cc\/?post=342955<\/b><\/p>\n

[8] 2002:\u00a0http:\/\/209.157.64.200\/focus\/news\/3060758\/posts?page=18<\/b><\/p>\n

[9] 2004:\u00a0http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/llnf44g<\/b><\/p>\n

[10] 2007:\u00a0http:\/\/articles.chicagotribune.com\/2007-01-31\/news\/0701310154_1_troop-levels-war-powers-iraq-study-group<\/b><\/p>\n

[11] 2007:\u00a0http:\/\/www.msnbc.msn.com\/id\/16896534\/<\/b><\/p>\n

[12] lost and out of his league:\u00a0http:\/\/blogs.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/nilegardiner\/100233454\/barack-obama-is-proving-an-embarrassing-amateur-on-the-world-stage-compared-to-george-w-bush\/<\/b><\/p>\n

[13] in hopes of pinning responsibility on them:\u00a0http:\/\/www.americanthinker.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/dear_david_axelrod_be_very_careful_what_you_wish_for.html<\/b><\/p>\n

[14] a downright mean country:\u00a0http:\/\/pjmedia.com\/instapundit\/175215\/<\/b><\/p>\n

[15] VDH talks with veteran Chicago radio host Milt Rosenberg:\u00a0http:\/\/ricochet.com\/main-feed\/Victor-Davis-Hanson-on-Syria<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/\u00a0PJ Media One of the problems that Barack Obama has in mounting an attack against the Assad regime is that the gambit violates every argument Barack Obama used against the Bush administration to establish his own anti-war candidacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[536,136],"tags":[691,12,249,1016,1037,1030,76],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1Fp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":543,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/iraqi-irony\/","url_meta":{"origin":6411,"position":0},"title":"Iraqi Irony","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services Amid all the stories about the ongoing violence in Syria, the most disturbing is the possibility that President Bashar Assad could either deploy the arsenal of chemical and biological weapons that his government claims it has, or provide it to terrorists. There are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Iraq"","block_context":{"text":"Iraq","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/iraq\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7942,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-biggest-lie\/","url_meta":{"origin":6411,"position":1},"title":"The Biggest Lie","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Left would rather forget its old slogan, \u201cBush lied, thousands died.\u201d by Victor Davis Hanson \/\/ National Review Online The very mention of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)\u00a0and Iraq was toxic for Republicans by 2005. They wanted to forget about the supposed absence of recently manufactured WMD in great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Middle East"","block_context":{"text":"The Middle East","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"President George W. 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Republicans might seem the most likely to push for an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Syria"","block_context":{"text":"Syria","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/syria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5931,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/hope-for-change-in-syria\/","url_meta":{"origin":6411,"position":3},"title":"Hope for Change in Syria","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Once again, Obama has proven more of an idealist than an implementer. by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Remember when President Obama used to warn Syria\u2019s Bashar al-Assad to stop his mass killing and step down? Moammar Qaddafi\u2019s dictatorship had just collapsed under Western bombing. The murders of Americans\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Syria"","block_context":{"text":"Syria","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/syria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1295,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/obama-derangement-syndrome\/","url_meta":{"origin":6411,"position":4},"title":"Obama Derangement Syndrome?","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson PJ Media I\u2019d say if you live in the United States of America and you vote for George Bush, you\u2019ve lost your mind. \u2014 John Edwards When does the legitimate \u201cI oppose Obama\u201d descend into the illegitimate \u201cI hate Obama\u201d? 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