COWARDS, REDLINES AND OUTSOURCING

By Simon Fischler

The whole Arab world  (and even China!) is condemning Israel following its recent strikes on sensitive military hardware (read that as arms shipments from Iran) in Syria.

The fact that this condemnation is a blatant example of the “pot calling the kettle black” has not been noted in the press is somewhat distressing.

Israeli intel indicated the arms were either en-route, or soon to be dispatched, to Hezbollah (in Lebanon). Ultimately the arms would no doubt be used against the Syrians rebels fighting Assad, Hezbollah and Iran!

The most important quote to come out of the Arab world in condemnation of Israel’s actions was in a press release from the Arab League, in which League representatives called the airstrikes a “dangerous violation of an Arab state’s sovereignty.”

(Of course these Arab leaders had nothing to say when Syrian Army shells fell half a mile from my house, which has happened on more than one occasion!)

For almost three years the Sunni Arab world has called on America to intervene on behalf of the rebels and impart upon Iran that America still counts in the Middle East.

That request was effectively quashed by Barak Obama’s “Red Line” approach to Syria. Any real support of the insurgents by the US has been invisible, preceded by Obama’s series of “Red Line” remarks, such as “ … IF Assad uses chemical weapons, proven beyond a doubt, THEN …”

Short of actually gassing Obama, the evidence has been presented to the US prexy, but declared “inconclusive” and/or “Incomplete” each time. In other words, “THEN” has never arrived, according to Obama et al.

Hence Israel took matters into its own hands.

For a year Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights was tested by “accidental firing into Israel!” It was not the rebels pushing the IDF’s buttons, but forces of the Syrian Army and those loyal to Assad.

However, lately the amount of cross-border “accidental misfirings into Israel” by the Syrian Army has increased to the point that it’s absolutely ludicrous to call them “accidental.”

The fact that I had to drag all three of my half-awake children into a bomb shelter a few nights ago made this farce painfully clear -- at least to us on the Golan who live near the Syrian border.

What has also become painfully clear is that President Barak Obama has “redlined” himself into a corner he’s obviously afraid to, or unable to, come out of.

Everybody knows Assad has used chemical weapons on his own people. However, even if Obama were willing to make a forceful move, Congress has made it clear that they will prevent him from doing so with all of their power.

Everyone knows that the true violation of a nation’s sovereignty has been by Assad on Israel. (Let’s not even get into the fact that Assad has been violating the sovereignty of Lebanon for years!)

Plain and simple, Obama cannot handle Syria – either because Congress is unmanageable (for which George W. Bush’s duplicitous appeal for approval of the Iraq war can be blamed), or because he hasn’t the nerve.

Thus it has become obvious that the best way for Obama to get around Congress AND avoid the box he created for himself with the redlining nonsense has been to “outsource” the problem to Israel!

This pitiful lack of international nerve, diplomacy and statesmanship on the part of Obama must have FDR, Churchill and Truman fuming in their graves!  Apparently Obama should have asked for Congress’ permission to declare a “Red Line” against Syria!

Obama had better be careful now that he has yielded “The Syrian Problem” to Israel.

Israel doesn’t bother daring Arab countries to cross mythical lines.

Period.