Shitcake and Arsenic

The natural place of dictators and mass murders: beneath our feet, not around the negotiating table.

Obama Admin Debates Whether Assad Really Must Go – The Daily Beast.

Just declare the death of decency, shame and common sense and get it over with already. I mean the very idea of even considering the possibility of striking a deal with the very regime that empowered Al-Qaeda Jihadis in Iraq and Lebanon and enabled the rise of ISIS for the very purpose of getting us to this point, even as Syria and Iraq burn, and their people are decimated and scattered to the four corners of earth; now that would the arsenic laced icing on the shitcake the Obama Administration is willing to gift to the American people, and the people of the world.

If Only…

Clashes in East Jerusalem, sparked by the revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager.

Arab Boy’s Death Escalates Clash Over Abductions – NYTimes.com.

The senseless killing of four teenagers in the Holy Land might pave the way towards further bloodshed, as usual. But, if we had leaders with any signs of life in the White House, – a pulse, a sense of shame, a little decency and foresight, – we might be able to transform this tragedy into a new and serious push for peace. All it takes is gumption and a little less cynicism – that is, the very things that could have prevented the carnage in Syria, and could still stop it today. If only…

Not by Listening!

Iraqi Shiite tribal fighters deploy with their weapons while chanting slogans against the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

How we got here.

He didn’t listen to his point man on Syria, Frederic C. Hof; he didn’t listen to his second point man on Syria, Robert Ford; he doesn’t seem to be listening to General Petraeus long-standing point man on outreach to Sunni and Shia militias in Iraq, Col. Rick Welch; he obviously has a different crowd to which he listens, which is why he ends up whistling such a dissonant tune.

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Indifference Has a Price!

AP Photo celebrating the "new dynamic" between Obama and Netanyahu following their meeting in march 2013. — AP Photo celebrating the “new dynamic” between Obama and Netanyahu following their meeting in march 2013.

It’s not that he doesn’t care that chaos will be the main consequence of his inaction, or his extremely hesitant and minimalist actions; he seems to actually think that chaos is good. This is one point where he and Benjamin Netanyahu can agree: since their mortal enemies are busy fighting and weakening each other, they decided to give them all the leeway they need to stay at it.

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