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DeM Banter: Well thought out piece...and this is indeed a leadership test for not only the US, but the global community as well. It's tough if we believe the military is the only option..if it is....can we offer only a limited option...or does a full scale option have to be on the table as well? …
Continue reading "THE RISK OF DOING NOTHING: Washington Post"
DeM Banter: Here's a thought...maybe it's more a movie plot...but: Assad did not use chemical weapons, but AQ did. The US laid out some red lines and AQ (or their friends and various partners) knew that unleashing chemical weapons in Syria would draw the US into the conflict. UBL made it clear that his plan …
Continue reading "NATO Chief: No Plans For Alliance Action In Syria By Jan M. Olsen"
DeM Banter: not bad...destroy the Air Force...and then? Wall Street Journal August 30, 2013 Pg. 12 The Syrian air force is 'this close to being defeated.' President Obama said Thursday he hasn't decided whether to attack Syria, adding that any strike would be a brief "shot across the bow" in response to the Assad regime's …
DeM Banter...A little history...."Nevertheless, the administration believed that something had to be done. If the United States allowed itself to be humiliated by the regime, then its military credibility would be seriously undermined. The regional alliance that the United States led might dissolve as the area's countries lost faith in American protection. Across the world, …
DeM Banter: strategic piece from Eliot Cohen...historically can we show where this option has provided the outcome sought? I understand we keep talking Kosovo as THE example, but there were many other issues at play there that are not at play here. Obviously Cohen has his own biases as well...but it is important to examine …
DeM Banter: Some very good points here and it could be a book...but we have tried the "smack down" approach and we have tried the "hug it out" approach and we still have issues in the Mid East. What worked in the Cold War simply will not work in this Info Age world we live …
Continue reading "FOREIGN POLICY BY WHISPER AND NUDGE By Thomas L. Friedman"
DeM Banter: Back when the USAF had money to travel... I was fortunate enough to attend a conference on The Hill where Aaron David Miller spoke. What impressed me about Dr Miller was he appeared to be very non-biased and very much a realist... I am sure some will disagree with his thoughts on "national interest," …
Continue reading "A REPORT CARD FOR U.S. POLICY IN THE MIDEAST By Aaron David Miller"
DeM Banter: This just hurts on so many levels... the death toll in July varied between 80,725 and 106,425 ...and now we are going to wait for evidence of chemical weapons use (M-9 tape?). On another level...we ground 33% of our combat aircraft and then want to look at airpower options. These situations are immensely …
DeM Banter: Oh that pesky thing called history...it just keeps coming up again and again. This sure is not easy...but we have to get bigger and ponder what will this look like in 3 to 5 to 10 years? What do we want it to look like? Something we ponder in chapter 1 of Wondering …
Continue reading "HISTORY’S LESSON: CUT OFF EGYPT By Max Boot"
DeM Banter: Another case for something we used to call strategy.... I think Gen Mattis says it best below..."I would challenge anyone today to tell us what our Mideast strategy is. The realist and interventionist schools of foreign-policy thought are not established on any strategic basis. The crises are blowing away an intellectual fog, revealing …
Continue reading "IN MIDEAST, U.S. POLICY MODELS BOG DOWN By Jay Solomon and Julian E. Barnes"
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