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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2013
14-Sep-13 World View -- Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria

Web Log - September, 2013

14-Sep-13 World View -- Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria

Russia elated by its diplomatic victory on Syria

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Syria discussion on Framingham Mass. TV on Sunday
Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria
Russia elated by its diplomatic victory on Syria
Reports: Assad's troops dispersing them throughout Syria
The Way the World Works

Syria discussion on Framingham Mass. TV on Sunday

Massachusetts residents who have access to Framingham TV should tune in on Sunday (9/15) evening at 6 pm, where I'll be the guest on the subject of Syria on Jim Pillsbury's news/talk show.

Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria

Ban Ki-moon thinking he's speaking privately on Friday (Al-Jazeera)

Ban Ki-moon thinking he's speaking privately on Friday (Al-Jazeera)

I keep trying to stay away from the Syria situation frankly because it's depressing to keep seeing first Congress then KGB officer Vladimir Putin and psychopathic Bashar al-Assad continue to make fools of the community organizer President of the United States and the administration, as the latter bumble from one flip-flop and gaffe to the next. But I keep getting pulled back in by the sheer astonishment I feel because of the unbelievably ridiculous play that's being acted out in the international community.

Friday's stunner occurred when United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the truth about Syria's president Bashar al-Assad when he thought he was talking privately. Instead, his remarks were seen and heard by all the U.N. journalists. Here's what he said:

"What happened is that [al-Assad] has committed many crimes against humanity. Therefore, I'm sure that there will be surely the process of accountability when everything is over. ...
Our team will come out soon with the report. But I believe the report will be overwhelming, overwhelming report that the chemical weapons were used, even though I cannot publicly say at this time before I have received this report."

Ban also gave a U.N. estimate that the August 21 chemical weapons attack killed 1,400 people. Ban did not say that the al-Assad regime was responsible for the chemical weapons attack, though he arguably implied it. The "many crimes against humanity" that Ban was referring to were committed with tanks and missiles and bombs and other "conventional" weapons, that have killed over 100,000 people and displaced millions from their homes. The U.N. official report is expected on Monday.

Now Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are negotiating over this ridiculous proposal to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. This has been endlessly discussed on every news show, and every analyst has said that it would take years to accomplish this, which means that it's never going to happen. This is just one more way that Russia and Syria are making fools of the U.S. administration. AFP and Fox News

Russia elated by its diplomatic victory on Syria

It was just a couple of weeks ago when President Barack Obama was snubbing Russia's president Vladimir Putin because Putin was gloating over having given asylum to American traitor Edward Snowden. Now Putin has not only completely humiliated the American administration, but has also stopped cold the President's avowed intention to respond forcefully to Syria's use of chemical weapons. In fact, the military action was going to destroy al-Assad's air force, the principal weapon that he had to commit crimes against humanity against his own people. Al-Assad is now free to resume full mass slaughter of his people, using the heavy weapons supplied by Putin.

So now we come to Thursday's stunning event: Vladimir Putin's op-ed, published by the NY Times.

"The United Nations’ founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America’s consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.
No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization."

This is laughable. The United Nations is already as useless as the League of Nations, and Putin has made it so. As I wrote in 2011, Russia's policy since the Libyan action has been to use the United Nations to cripple NATO and the United States, leaving it free to pursue any military operations it wants. ( "22-Apr-11 News -- Russia seeks to cripple Nato through Libya United Nations politics")

Thus, Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, without asking for approval from the United Nations. Russia still has troops in Georgia, without asking for U.N. approval. Russia has annexed to of Georgia's provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, without asking for U.N. approval. Russia is supplying masses of heavy weapons to al-Assad, where they're being used to commit crimes against humanity, all without asking for U.N. approval. So Putin's policies have been astonishingly successful. He's free to pursue any military policies he wants, and at the same time he's using the United Nations to cripple American and Nato policy. It's absolutely incredible, and it's only possible because of America's phenomenally incompetent foreign affairs policies.

"My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States’ policy is “what makes America different. It’s what makes us exceptional.” It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation."

This is making my head explode. Of course he appreciates Obama's Tuesday address to the nation, because Obama totally capitulated to Putin. What's there not to like for Putin?

Well he found something. It's dangerous, according to Putin, for America to see itself as exceptional.

The concept of America being exceptional is a new one for Obama, who's spent most of his life listening to his mentor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, say things like "God Damn America! God Damn America!" And Obama began his presidency by apologizing for almost everything. So apparently the president has even "evolved" enough to say that America is exceptional. It was such a strange thing for Obama to be saying, that perhaps even Putin was astonished.

It's possible that Putin went too far. Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said that Putin's op-ed made him almost want to throw up, and House Speaker John Boehner said he was "insulted." Washington Post and CNN

Reports: Assad's troops dispersing them throughout Syria

The chemical weapons negotiations between America and Russia are farcical on their face, as described above, since even in the best of circumstances it would take years to accomplish the goal of destroying the chemical weapons. But now there are numerous reports that Bashar al-Assad's army has been moving the chemical weapons about 50 other sites within the country. This means that the entire negotiation is just another joke that Russia and Syria are playing on Obama and Kerry. Independent (London)

The Way the World Works

Some people are suggesting that after President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have been so incompetent and shown such weakness and confusion, that now many nations -- China, Iran, Russia, etc. -- will feel free to do whatever they want because they know they can get away with anything.

But that's not the way the world works.

At some point, community organizer Barack Obama is going to be sick and tired of being made a fool of by one person after another, and he'll get angry and strike back. That may mean, for example, taking some military action WITHOUT first asking permission from Vladimir Putin or Congress. The military action might be successful, but also it might impulsive, might be disastrous, might even cause a war.

Even forgetting that, the Syria debacle will have further inflamed Sunni and Shia jihadists who are heading for Syria to fight, and will dash the hopes of the millions of Syrian refugees who had been hoping that they might return to their homes soon.

Those who believe that Putin's victories this week mean the world is a safer place should understand that the opposite is true. The Syria debacle has made the world a much more dangerous place. That's the way the world works.

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 14-Sep-13 World View -- Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (14-Sep-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2013 14-Sep-13 World View -- Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria

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Ban Ki-moon accidentally tells the truth about Syria

Russia elated by its diplomatic victory on Syria

Reports: Assad's troops dispersing them throughout Syria

The Way the World Works

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