Obama Words...Putin Actions

President Obama : "Destroying ISIS is not only a realistic goal, we’re going to get it done.” Obama's latest platitude was offered at the just-concluded East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Obama again asserted that Russia is the impediment to action in Syria because it favors leaving al-Assad in place until the threat of terror is eliminated - an Obama conclusion shared by no one. Military and intel analysts have concluded that Obama must abandon his fixation on ousting al-Assad until ISIS is defeated. Even Hillary Clinton, in a Council on Foreign Relations speech last Thursday, said the chance to remove al-Assad in a “regime change” operation had come and gone. But, Obama this weekend called his position one of "conscience" and also a practical matter because, he said, "if I cynically" put al-Assad aside, the US could not stop the fighting among other groups in Syria. Obama, before talking with French President Hollande, added that Hollande agrees with him. ~~~~~ President Hollande said Monday that al-Assad is “not the future” for Syria. He said air strikes “will intensify and will seek to inflict maximum damage” on ISIS. Hollande was speaking in Paris with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who was there to visit the Bataclan attack site. The UK and France have agreed to increase joint intelligence work, Cameron said, adding that the UK will offer France the use of British air fields in Cyprus for strikes in Syria. ~~~~~ If Hollande is successful in pulling Russia and the US into a common position against ISIS, it could produce benefits beyond Syria, leading to a reduction in geopolitical tensions -- in the Middle East, on Russia’s borders with Europe in Ukraine, and perhaps even between the US and Russia. A successful diplomatic effort by Hollande would also put the Syria/Iraq alliance in place, because the Iranians would probably follow Russia, and the Saudis, Washington. Such a united front could actually make a difference against ISIS. ~~~~~ This is a very optimistic assessment because it would require a huge shift in Obama's positions -- about al-Assad having to go now, which makes cooperation with Russia unlikely; about his declarations that Russia is part of the Syria problem, which makes unified Syria goals difficult; and about his "no US ground troops" policy, which makes retaking Raqqa or Mosul almost impossible. ~~~~~ Vladimir Putin was in Iran Monday to talk about Syria and peace proposals. He met with the Ayatollah Khomenei, who told Putin that America is the problem in the Middle East, posing a threat to Iran and Russia. And, Putin eased an export ban on nuclear equipment and technology to Iran, under a Kremlin decree published on Monday, the same day Putin arrived in Iran and met with Khomenei. The decree states that Russian firms are now authorised to export nuclear hardware and provide financial and technical advice to Iran. ~~~~~ Dear readers, GOP Senator Ben Sasse recently used social media to ask Obama several fundamental questions : (1) Why are there ISIS HQs, training camps & ammo depots in Raqqa for France to bomb? Shouldn’t we have already taken those out? (2) Do you have a list of targets that you’ll bomb if ISIS is able to attack the US? If so, why aren’t you bombing them now? (3) Is France aligning with Russia because US support is insufficient? (4) What would it take to admit misjudging ISIS? Anything short of an attack on American soil? ~~~~~ All would be pertinent questions for congressional oversight hearings, which are unlikely because most Democrats still cling to the belief that their leader Barack Obama actually wants to "degrade and destroy" ISIS, when his real goal often seems to be to "degrade and destroy" the Western alliance and America. Compare that to Vladimir Putin's determination to make Russia #1 in the world. After confirmation that ISIS downed the Russian passenger jet, Putin said at a Kremlin meeting last week : "We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them." The world believes Putin because his words are followed by serious action.