MIKE RUSSELL

Barack Obama, John Kerry and the Syrian football

Aug 27, 2013, 12:00 PM | Updated: 12:00 pm

They have done it.

Syria has crossed the “red line” mentioned by President Barack Obama in one of his 200 campaign speeches this year. They have used chemical weapons on their own citizens.

Remember the tragic images of 1,300 innocent men, women and children dying in overnight attacks? We all remember. The world’s nations quickly turned their gaze towards the United States waiting patiently for reaction from our leaders. What did they see? Two empty speeches by Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.

After Kerry’s speech about fact gathering, Obama will focus like a laser on the situation in Syria. No, wait, what’s that? I’m sorry, Obama will be meeting with the 2013 Urban Debate National Tournament Champions. Not sure if he will have enough time for a quick nine holes after that. We’ll see.

The fact is we need leadership, not another war. We need leadership that speaks openly about the debacle in Egypt and cautions Americans not to rush into a very similar situation. We won’t get this from the Obama administration. There is too much to lose politically. They can’t expose themselves and Hillary Clinton for the inept manner in which they danced through the “Arab Spring,” nor can they launch us into another Iraq.

Count on these career politicians to continue pining to the cameras with stern looks on their faces promising to look further into the situation. Their do-anything-to-get-reelected attitudes just might save us from another costly war. Keep in mind, Syria has a solid military, much stronger than Iraq and Afghanistan would ever be.

I know, I know. We must stop these atrocities. Let me ask you this, “How many military and innocent lives are you prepared to sacrifice for the ‘hope’ that the Syrian rebels won’t be just as bad as Assad?” 10,000? 50,000?

Hey, maybe all of this cowardly political hot air will work for the greater good and keep us out of a mess that we have no business getting into.

Mike Russell

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Barack Obama, John Kerry and the Syrian football