Die verschenkten Chancen einer kriegsmüden Nation

A coverage in Zeit Online of my participation on October 6 in the Panel on “Obama and the World,” organized as part of the New Yorker Festival 2013.  

Obamas Syrien-Politik fällt beim “New Yorker”-Forum durch. Inzwischen fehlen die Verbündeten für einen Regimewechsel – und eine tragfähige Vision für die gesamte Region. VON 

7. Oktober 2013  11:54 Uhr 
Präsident ObamaUS-Präsident Barack Obama vor US-Truppen   |  © Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo

Was ist das größte Problem der US-Außenpolitik? Das amerikanische Volk interessiert sich nicht dafür, trotz des Einsatzes zahlreicher Experten, Thinktank-Wissenschaftlern und professionellen Exilanten. Die meisten Amerikaner sind einmischungsmüde, und US-Präsident Barack Obama weiß das. Er sagte vergangene Woche eine lang geplante Asienreise ab, weil es ihm wichtiger war, in Washington den Kampf mit den Republikanern um die Krankenversicherung und das Budget zu führen, obwohl er wusste, dass er damit China das Feld überlassen würde. Continue reading “Die verschenkten Chancen einer kriegsmüden Nation”

Shirking Without Staving!

When President Obama tells us that choosing our leaders is up to us at a time when our leader is busy exterminating his opponents by all means under his disposal and with the help of Iran and Russia and with support of thousands of Shia recruits from Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and even Afghanistan, and at a time when Saudi, Qatar and Turkey are engaged in a tug of war over who will get to decide the leaders of the opposition, while Al-Qaeda Jihadis are busy invading and carving up enclaves for themselves in different parts of Syria, does he know how moronic he sounds? It’s like telling a girl who is being gang raped that she should take responsibility for herself and should determine her own fate! No, no, no, no! Dealing with the situation in Syria is not the responsibility of a dysfunctional institution (UN) but of the world’s viable democracies. You can shirk the responsibility, but you will never stave off the blame, nor avoid for long the inevitable fallouts.

Syria: the method and the madness

NOW Lebanon

There is method to the madness that is currently unfolding in Syria. When you consider the patterns and timing of arms flows into the country, consider who the final recipients are, and consider when certain battles start and stop, when certain explosions or massacres happen, you can only come to this conclusion. Continue reading “Syria: the method and the madness”

IN SYRIA, DEATH IS THE NEW NORMAL

The Freedom Collection Blog | March 1, 2013

I have to apologize for not drawing a rosy picture in it or any of my recent writings, I prefer to describe reality and deal with it as it is in order to see what can be done to change it. For me, romantic notions don’t give me the necessary will or tools to do that. They might work for other people, but they don’t work for me. After all, I am not motivated by faith, but by a mixture of dutifulness and personal obsession, for better or worse.

As we approach the second anniversary of the Syrian Revolution, it’s important to remember a simple truth, if for no other reason than out of respect for all who have died or continue to suffer: Continue reading “IN SYRIA, DEATH IS THE NEW NORMAL”