Bug Out

Our dimwitted Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee today (see: Army Times Story) that the United Stated "phased out" our presence in Iraq under Obama ... leaving no forces behind ... as it now appears that we could have and should have. This obvious political decision ... like so many other seat-of-the-pants miscues from our fearless leader ... is biting him (and us) in the butt ...  as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is quickly undoing most our victories there.

In the TV series "MASH" there was a term for the quick withdrawal (or retreat) of our troops in a Korean theater ... it was called a "bug out" ...  a term I think that Chuckie Baby might better have used today.

He Ain’t Heavy …

He’s my Brotherhood.  The Obama administration, with Hillary Clinton’s, John Kerry’s, and Chuck Hagel’s assent, has been a much too ardent supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, that extremist group that almost sunk Egyptian “democracy” in the name of democracy… and has been behind much of the bloody fulmination of the Arab Spring.  From the day Obama was first inaugurated he has shown a tilt toward this dangerous sharia-law, caliphate-driven Islamist organization. 

Now that the Egyptian military has realized the danger of Morsi and the Brotherhood running things and managed to reverse the tide … yes, unfortunately, at the cost of much blood … our Islamist-sympathizing President has chosen, in the slimy-secret way that is his wont, to cut off aid to the Egyptian military (see: The Daily Beast Story).  This fortunately will be of little consequence because Saudi Arabia, UAE, and other Gulf States have stepped up with monetary offers that dwarf our puny leverage … see: NY Times Story.

It is clear why the twenty-two million Egyptian rioters, who presaged this military takeover, felt that the U.S. and the Obama administration had betrayed them … we had.  Now we are trying to twist the knife.  Rather than standing on that phony shibboleth of “democracy” which meant nothing to the Muslim Brotherhood, the U.S. foreign policy should propound modernity and freedom from the chains of a theocracy.  We certainly support the notion of separation of church and state here at home … why not for the Arab world?  And it seems that even some mush-brained Republicans such as John McCain and Lindsey Graham are supporting Obama’s wrong-headedness.  This is unfortunate ... for it gives Obama cover for his perfidy.

The U.S. foreign policy is on the wrong track in many ways, but especially because of our support for the Muslim Brotherhood and, by proxy, for the Islamists.  The irony of this posture is that, even though we may be alienating much of the more moderate Middle East, the consequences of this bull-headed support of Islamists might be the continued undermining of Muslim theocracies and wanna-bes around the region (Iran, Turkey, etc.).  Egypt’s near-death experience has been an object lesson for these countries and I pray they may take it to heart.

Pantywaist

President Obama is a pantywaist.  He has emphatically said that, if Bashar Assad were to use chemical weapons on his people, it would be a "game changer" and he would have crossed a “red line" (see: Economist Story).  Now, even his recently-appointed Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, has confessed that, “with some degree of varying confidence,” this has happened (see: NY Times Story).  And what does Obama do?  He equivocates.  "We must have irrefutable proof."  "We will ask the U.N. to validate this charge."  "We need more time."

Now I am not advocating that the U.S. send troops to Syria … neither do the vast majority of the American populace. But then again I don’t believe that we want a pissant President.  (There are a multitude of other options). If Obama was not going to do anything significant if Assad dumped sarin or chlorine gas on the people of Aleppo, then he should have kept his threatening words to himself … and not made an ass of himself once again on the world stage.  He has sent a strong message to the Iranian and other world leaders that “red lines” are in the eyes of the beholder … and they are nothing that a little Visine can’t cure.

Cruzin’

How many remember the tune Cruisin’ by Smokey Robinson?  When I try to recall this tune, I keep bringing up Groovin' on a Sunday Afternoon by the Rascals.  Anyhow, there is a new iconoclastic pol on the Washington stage by the name of Ted Cruz, the new Senator from Texas, and he seems to have shifted immediately from neutral into high gear.  He is taking on almost all of the sacred images in Washington … and getting quite a bit of press in the process.  (See: NY Times Story and Breitbart Comments).

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One case in point, Senator Cruz had the gall to ask Chuck Hagel for his financial records … suggesting that he might have benefited financially from North Korean largess … see: Breitbart Article.  This brought out the long knives in the Senate as it erupted in righteous indignation.  Even Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe went into high dudgeon over this suggestion.  Cruz responded that we won’t know if this is a fact until Hagel releases these sought-for records … which so far he has refused to do.  To me there is a parallel here to Senator Harry Reid accusing Presidential-aspirant, Mitt Romney, of not paying any taxes and requiring him to disprove this negative by releasing more than two years of his tax returns (see: Business Insider.Story).  I don’t recall Scarborough throwing a hissy fit over this much more serious slander ... in that Reid stated these charges as facts … Cruz is just postulating

But one of Ted Cruz’s better acts was his response to Obama’s State of the Union address.  He sat passively while the rest of the Senate wildly applauded the President’s fibs and pleas for bigger government.  Please click on this link to see and read his reactions to same ... Human Events Video and Story.  It is really really worth it.  Now Senator Cruz, being Hispanic, also creates considerable angst among the Democrats in that he might crack the Latino voting block in the coming years.  The difference between him and Marco Rubio is that he is clearly a street fighter … like Obama.  And although I might like to see a kerfuffle between him and (probable-candidate) Hillary Clinton in 2016, I still believe that Rubio would make a better leader. Maybe we could have a two-pronged Hispanic Republican ticket?

All Hat and No Cattle

There is a Texas put-down that describes Chuck Hagel perfectly, “All hat and no cattle.”  And after his fumbling performance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday (see: Free Beacon Quotes),  I am even questioning the “hat” piece.  He was attempting to answer queries leading up to his confirmation as Obama’s new Secretary of Defense ... in which he flubbed just about every opportunity to display some intelligence and preparation.  His responses on Iran and Israel were particularly inept where he was unable to walk back his extreme positions and still maintain a shred of credibility and character … see Politico Story.

Why would such a buffoon be nominated to serve in such a critical position at such a critical time?  I think it is because his previously expressed attitudes on containing Iran (allowing it to become a nuclear power) and his animosity toward Israel, both are perfectly congruent with President Obama’s.  (And also were in agreement with Hillary Clinton’s attitudes on these two issues ... but, even with her leaving, John Kerry is so pliant, that I’m sure he will easily morph into her ideology.)  Chuck Hagel is an extreme expression of the Peter Principle ... rising to his level of his incompetence. He can’t manage his way out of a paper bag.   If confirmed, he will be [mis]leading our defense establishment during a period of drastic retrenchment and metaphysical challenges.  This would be the equivalent of making Gomer Pyle the head of the WW-2 D-Day  invasion.

I thought that, with Obama’s re-election, this country might be in for a difficult four years.  But now with his picks for Secretary of State, Defense Secretary, and Treasury Secretary (Jack Lew), I am sure of it.