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credibility of Congress, Dante's Inferno, Gustave Doré, James Foley, John Boehner, Obama, retaliation, the astronomical cost, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, the lawsuit against the President
President Obama
On Friday, I wrote a post that I did not publish. It was about the systematic obstructionism and scapegoating Barack Obama has faced from the moment he was elected to the presidency of the United States. The word systematic is my keyword. Extremists Republicans seem to have gathered to plan President Obama’s demise. The post I wrote will no be published because we know that whatever goes wrong, it’s always the President’s fault or the fault of his administration.
We also know that the main motivation on the part of Congress is avoidance of taxation. Taxes are the “the freedom we surrender” to live in safety. (The Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes, 1651) and safety includes the creation of social programmes. Responsible citizens do not invite a government shutdown costing billions simply to ensure they get tax cuts, which is unlikely to be the case if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act survives constant attacks. I believe it’s there to stay.
Dante is lost in Canto 1 of the Inferno.
Gustave Doré
The President Hesitated
First, yes the President Obama hesitated.
Having said the above, let’s look at inferno: the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis).
Yes, there was an attempt to save journalist James Foley, but President Obama hesitated before entering Syria and he did so for good reasons. He was attempting to rescue Jim Foley, but entering a sovereign nation can be interpreted as an act of war and invite retaliation. I realize that there are air strikes as I write and that the U.S. is protecting agencies dropping food to victims of Isil, but, unfortunately, intervention can be perceived as interference.
It would appear James Foley was executed on 19 August 2014, in the Syro-Arabian desert, by a terrorist who has been identified as a Londoner. But there may have been two executioners.
In other words, no sooner was Osama bin Laden found and killed, that terrorists regrouped and named themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), or Is, which is extremely alarming. One thinks terrorism is over, just as the war is over, but a new breed of terrorists emerges and, although there are no boots on the ground, “[a]fter a strike, one can expect anything.” Our new terrorists are rebels without a cause who are accepted by Isil, as though flesh alone a terrorist made.
Dante’s Inferno, Plate 22
Hoarders and Wasters,
Gustave Doré
“We don’t have a strategy yet”
Second, the President said: “We don’t have a strategy yet.” I watched CNN and happened to hear high-ranking military personnel comment on President Obama’s so-called “gaffe.” They explained that devising a strategy can take a very long time, but also said that the U.S. is prepared to face attackers. After the horrific attacks of 9/11, the U.S. has got tougher. In short, the Pentagon is ready.
However, because of its current debt, the U.S. cannot afford to spend $7.5 m a day on its operation in the Middle East. There have been 100 strikes and the Republicans in Congress would like the United States to adopt a more “aggressive strategy.”
“Republicans in Congress have led calls for a more aggressive strategy against Isis, beyond the strikes which the Obama administration has confined to the north of Iraq, around the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Irbil and the Mosul dam.” (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/30/john-kerry-global-coalition-isis-iraq-syria-nato
Suing the President
Given that Mr Boehner, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is suing the President, can advice on his part or on the part of extremist Republicans in Congress be taken seriously. The lawsuit will cost taxpayers $500 an hour. Barack Obama is the duly elected President of the United States of America. That does not confer upon him “divine rights,”[i] but it has earned him a degree of respect that he also fully deserves. Suing the President has seriously jeopardized Mr. Boehner’s credibility as well as the credibility of like-minded members of the Republican Party. Mr. Boehner has provided little, if any, evidence that he is a statesman.
http://time.com/3222601/iraq-cost-us-pentagon/
I realize that the U.S. is not acting as a single nation and I am aware that agencies dropping food, water and other supplies to a beleaguered people require protection. However, if the conflict escalates I fully expect Mr. Boehner to blame the President. Moreover, if the U.S. adopts a more aggressive strategy, more money will be spent and the Republicans in Congress will also blame President Obama.
London Counts on Safe-Haven Appeal…
If matters degenerate, there may be a few happy individuals, people such as CIT in London, England. They are building or have built a perfect safe-haven for the very rich who may need to escape turmoil.
Given the amount of money these refugees are willing to pay and can pay for a safe-haven, not only are London “developers” hoping to rescue enormously wealthy customers from the Middle East, but apartments have already been sold to wealthy customers in Vancouver and Toronto at prices only royalty can pay. Besides, two save-havens are better than one.
Releasing the Prisoners
I would like the prisoners Isis has captured to be released and for all endangered Americans or foreigners to be pulled out of inferno as soon as possible, if it is possible. However, Isil terrorists are asking for exorbitant ransoms the United States will not pay.
Strikes are very dangerous and one cannot defeat sectarianism. Inferno!
My kindest regards to all of you.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Suing President Obama: Related Posts (4 August 2014)
- Suing President Obama! (3 August 2014)
- “After a strike, one can expect anything” (15 September 2013)
- Syria on my Mind (9 September 2013)
- Taxes: the “freedom we surrender” (15 October 2012)
- The Social Contract: Hobbes, Locke & Rousseau (13 October 2012)
- Mutiny in Congress: Ship them to Guantanamo (21 December 2011)
- The US: Obstructionism and Scapegoating (7 November 2011)
- “It is the fate of princes to be ill-spoken of for well-doing” (15 September 2011)
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[i] “divine right of kings.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 31 Aug. 2014.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/166626/divine-right-of-kings>.
—ooo—
GF Händel (23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia Suite No. 9 in G Minor Sviatoslav Richter (20 March 1915 – 1 August 1997)
© Micheline Walker
August 31, 2014
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Micheline's Blog 
It’s not a happy state of affairs.
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Dear Gallivanta,
As I wrote to my reader John, it’s a terrible situation, but I trust President Obama. I am the woman who got sick when James Foley was assassinated. I want the prisoners released, and people fed and provided with good water. I’ll be watching of course, but I trust Obama.
Take care,
Micheline
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There is a genocide of minorities going on there. Shame on media and rest for having woken up just now, yet some still not acknowledging what it is. Shame on Arab world itself for watching like they are watching a reality TV show and not lifting a finger!
There are no real safe havens, today there tomorrow here. ISIS already calling for Sharia for UK, they just have not started mass murdering people there yet. I say try the moon or elsewhere where there are no people – you may call that safe haven.
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President Obama would not authorize strikes frivolously. I have immense trust in him. His main difficulty however will be to circumscribe the problem. Fighting terrorism is very difficult.
It now appears that England is no longer a safe-haven, but that it is home to fanatics who do not respect human life. British Prime Minister can be trusted to do all he can to keep his country safe.
The problem is that once again the US is viewed as the country that should strike, which invites retaliation and endangers Americans. I think moreover that the people in the Middle East should soon police themselves.
All I can say is that I have immense trust in President Obama. He doesn’t jump in blindfolded, which may explain why the high-ranking personnel interviewed on CNN agreed that their Commander-in-Chief was “on the case.” I was reassured.
For my part, I hope there isn’t a war. The people who killed James Foley are barbarians and should be brought to justice, but fighting terrorists is extremely dangerous. Terrorists are on the move.
In other words, I share your sentiments: outrage!
Fortunately, President Obama is not acting as a “single country.” He has allies and, as President, he care for his people.
I hope that together we can solve this problem. The President is talking to leaders in other countries.
There may not be genuine safe-havens, but some countries are relatively safer than others.
Let’s just say that I’m with you. I’m indignant. So let’s keep talking.
I thank you for writing.
Micheline
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I also hope there isn’t a war. As you pointed out with the death of Osama Bin Laden, death of one terrorist group does not bring death to the ideology. The idea that there are Australians as well as British and American citizens going to fight for this fascist group is really disturbing. What makes a person so disillusioned with there own country that they would throw themselves into this conflict? It’s clear that ISIL attracts certain types of people, just as the Nazis did before WW2. The only way that ideology was destroyed was through utter destruction of Europe, which then set the scene for the cold war. We need another tactic, but I don’t know what that is.
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Marigold,
I appreciate your comments. History teaches us that wars lead to wars. World War I can be traced back to the Napoleonic wars with a stepping stone in the many Revolutions of 1848. Germany was made to pay humiliating reparations after Word War I, which gave the Nazi a raison d’être. World War II led to the Cold War, etc. Moreover, extremist Republicans are currently waging war against the President. He is being pummeled. The Republicans want tax cuts. The South lost its slaves: free labour. We can guess why the minimum wage in the US is too low and the President will have difficult raising it. As for the strikes in Syria, they endanger the US, even though the US is not acting as a single nation. Whatever goes wrong in Syria and bordering nations, because of the strikes, the President will be blamed and more Americans beheaded, even though Republicans favour more aggressive actions.
The world must do something to curb a genocide and the beheading of journalists, but the US is striking and it is also footing the bill, despite its huge debt. The US is therefore “visible” and will be targeted.
We do need a different tactic or a smokescreen. In order to do so, we have to think “outside the box” and truly surprise the Middle East. I have a few ideas, but if I talk about them, I will definitely be ridiculed off the planet. However, I will write to President Obama and hope he reads my letter, which he won’t and my ideas could be looked upon as a little too “outside the box.”
It comforts me to know that President Obama is unlikely to do anything foolish and that the world respects him. Unfortunately, I doubt he can count on Congress. Mr. Boehner is suing him! Circumstances should dictate moderate behaviour and collaboration, but no one can count on that.
But we can count on President Obama, the high-ranking military personnel who were interviewed on CNN. But, above all, we count on the people who elected and reelected Barack Obama to the presidency or the United States.
Like most people, I cannot propose a miracle, but I trust President Obama and hope Republicans in Congress realize there are real problems and that a degree of bipartisanship is an imperative.
I thank you for writing. You are the proof that people are taking a close look at this situation and realize that there is no easy answer.
The people who beheaded James Foley are barbarians.
Micheline
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having spent 3 years in Turkey in the 60’s, I did acquired a bit of understanding for the mind set of the middle east. It is obvious that the more westernized Muslim countries become the more likely they are to want to protect their way of life… IE live a more westernized way of life. I was married to a Moroccan and found that once they become used to western comforts, it truly takes a fanatic sub group to screw up their life style. Those that can will abandon the fanatic politics and leave. If the politics change they often return , if the politics escalate , like they have recently, They usually don’t go back. Having said all that , those than can afford to leave are definitely in the minority and that leaves those who can’t afford to leave , to fight or die or both. The Fanatics appeal to the disenfranchised . and the wars are fought by the children and /or those that know they have no other choice. There doesn’t seem any real way to disabuse the Fanatical sub group from the ” magical thinking” that religion will cure all their ills…and if not , at least they will be in heaven… that is something no one can defeat, I only seems to leave the alternative of more war with other countries bearing the financial brunt…and most countries are fast becoming with that alternative. Perhaps it will take another holocaust to shake the world into reality again.
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Françoise,
Your experience is precious. People from the Middle East who settle in western countries do seem to forget the teachings of fanatics, particularly if they are treated with respect. Respect goes a long way and so does acceptance of differences.
I’ve been telling people that I trust President Obama. I also trust Mr Kerry. We are lucky in that we have wise statesmen who are unlikely to go too far.
I’m glad I walked by the television when the high-ranking military personnel were interviewed. They thought President Obama was handling matters correctly. This means that they are working together. He’s listening. He is also listening to other world leaders. As you know, the world loves Barack Obama. He makes us feel safe. He is well informed, he knows how to deal with people and he’s got a sense of humour.
I like your story and hope we do not have another holocaust. We should concentrate on building a better world. It’s possible.
Merci Françoise,
Micheline
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