Joe Saunders
BizPac Review
9/3/2013
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton on Tuesday said Congress should vote against any strike against Syria because there’s just no upside for the U.S. in the fight.
“All in all, since I don’t see any utility to the use of military force in Syria in this context, I would vote ‘No,’” Bolton told Fox News.
“I don’t think it is in America’s interest. I don’t think we should, in effect, take sides in the Syrian conflict — there’s very little to recommend either side to me.”
He also said Congress shouldn’t vote for the strike just to save President Obama’s credibility on foreign policy issues.
“A huge blow to America’s credibility compared to what?” he asked. “Compared to the mess the president’s already made of it?”…
The article, with video, continues at BizPac Review.
Related: NBC’s Mitchell: Trust Obama, He’s Going to Bomb Syria ‘From A Very Cautious Anti-War Perspective’
On her Friday MSNBC program, host Andrea Mitchell tried to ease the concerns of Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and other members of Congress calling for a congressional vote on military action in Syria: “Barack Obama, as you know better than I do, was one of the leading Democratic politicians against the Iraq War. So if he says that this is different, that the evidence is there….does that persuade you since he has always come at this from a very cautious anti-war perspective?”…
What?
…Say what you will about George W. Bush’s diplomacy, but he nurtured relationships with our most important allies — like Britain — and managed to put together a huge multinational coalition for his own foray against an Arab dictator suspected of having chemical weapons. Obama’s diplomatic efforts — championed by Hillary Clinton and, now, John Kerry — are looking more and more inept by comparison: So far, our only ally in the proposed Syria venture is France, maybe…
Update: U.N. Secretary Says U.S. Can’t Act Against Syria Without Security Council Permission
When he was a candidate in 2008, Barack Obama made it clear that, as he told the German people, he was a “citizen of the world.” During his first four years in the White House, as the Obama team boasted, this meant his management style consisted of “leading from behind.” A significant part of “leading from behind,” of course, was making American foreign policy subordinate to the United Nations.Now, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants to hold Obama to that promise. He issued a general warning that any strikes against Syria to punish it for chemical weapons would be illegal without UN Security Council approval….
