Et tu, Assad? It doesn't get more humiliating than this

[Spengler]

Et tu, Assad? It doesn't get more humiliating than this on the Spengler Blog


by David P. Goldman


My friend Tony Badran, who writes the superb Across the Bay blog, points out the following item this morning:

The US has lost its influence in the Middle East peace process despite the hopes raised by US President Barack Obama, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published Monday by Italian daily La Repubblica.

Assad added that a new era has begun in the Middle East, including an understanding between its major powers that was reshaping the region. He pointed to a similar phenomenon throughout the world, with countries such as China and Brazil refusing to wait for Washington to "hand out roles" and noting that Russia was trying to rebuild its own role in the region.

On relations with Israel, the Syrian leader said that if Tel Aviv was ready to return the Golan Heights to Syria, then "we would not be able to say no to a peace treaty.” However, he added that any deal would have to include a complete solution of the Palestinian issue, saying that he thought Israel was "not ready for an accord at the moment."

Even Basher Assad has contempt for Obama and displays it openly.

What happened? It didn't used to be embarrassing  to be an American.

[MarcH]

Thank you for putting it succinctly Spengler. This is painful.

In the immediate aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom the Syrians were at our feet. It must have been an eye-opener in Damascus and Tehran as they realized that we not only did not intended to keep the initiative and pursue regime change in other "Axis of Evil" countries (as Ledeen's signature line goes, "Faster, Please"), but wouldn't even respond against them as they served as safe havens to support insurgent groups targeting our soldiers and our allies in Iraq*.

When the history of our times is written I hope some new Ammianus will be able to give us the inside story.

* As a side note, since 2007 GEN Petraeus has actually been a lonely voice in government pointing out the role of Iran in this activity. According to widely reported open source info he also received authorization to conduct and did conduct at least one SF strike against terrorist bases in Eastern Syria).

[49erDweet]

It must be frustrating to be a Harvard alum and not receive the proper degree of "deserved" respect from those you've assumed to be "friendlies". What must the One do to make Assad see the light? Maybe Syria needs more money or weapons or? Whatever. There's got to be a way to make him more reasonable. Just need to dig deeper into the treasury to find a key.

[Walter Sobchak]

Forget the words. Just look at the picture:



Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a picture after the Islamic republic inked a nuclear fuel swap deal in Tehran on May 17, 2010 .

I am not ashamed to be an American. But does anybody in the White House have any idea about how badly they are failing at foreign policy? Buller? Anybody?

[charleston]

Forget the words. Just look at the picture:



Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a picture after the Islamic republic inked a nuclear fuel swap deal in Tehran on May 17, 2010 .

I am not ashamed to be an American. But does anybody in the White House have any idea about how badly they are failing at foreign policy? Buller? Anybody?

Yes, Just look at the picture



You don't think this is intentional?

This is the POTUS whose wife said:

“For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” she told a Milwaukee crowd today, “because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”

Think about it-can you imagine any other wife of POTUS saying something like that?

This is a POTUS who criticizes America every time he is abroad.

This is a POTUS who bows to every despot and third world ruler and insults our traditional allies.

This is a Potus who thinks

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/9959057/Barack_Hussein_Obama_US_one_of_the_largest_Muslim_countries_in_the_world/

It is important to note that “if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world”.
So says President Barack Obama. Or I should say: Barack Hussein Obama.
That’s right: Barack Hussein Obama. Say it proud. Say it out loud. The middle moniker that dared not speak its name during the election campaign is now front and centre of the US president’s attempt to woo the Muslim world, the theme of his visits to Riyadh on Wednesday and Cairo on Thursday.

Obamas' agenda is to change America to reflect the dreams of his Fathers, the Kenyan and fellow traveller Dunham, everything else is secondary.

[JimD'Troy]

Spengler, your last two posts are excellent assessments. I thought Hugo Chavez's diatribe last year that 'Obama go wash his a$$' was just another crazed outburst from another South American marxist thug.
[YOUTUBE]5IVTEUFx2NE[/YOUTUBE]
Via http://faustasblog.com/?p=10607

That came after Daniel Ortega's rant against the US at the Summit of the Americas in front of Obama who seemed totally indifferent to Ortega's condemnation. Now it looks like Hugo Chavez and the rest have sized up Obama pretty well as will more and more tyrants and dictators around the world. At one point I wonder when they'll start lining up to insult Obama and the US, or do far worse to our allies and other nations. I just hope that by 2012(assuming Obama is voted out) things in the Middle East, Latin America, and the rest of the world don't get too bloody.

A year ago the following seemed like pretty decent satire from Iowahawk. Now it seems prophetic.

I Guess You Had to Be There
The Barack Obama Celebrity Roast


[ed. note: another White House Correspondents' Dinner, another laid egg by America's wannabe Insult-Comic-in-Chief. Seemed like a good excuse to rerun this bit from last May, written after his first bomb performance at the WHCD.]

******


(Thundering tympanies, swirling spotlights)

Announcer

Live! From the fabulous Turtle Bay Ballroom at United Nations Headquarters, it's the Rat Pack of Evil All-Star International Celebrity Roast of President Barack Obama!

(orchestra fanfare: 'Make 'Em Laugh')

With Pyongyang funnyman Kim Jong-Il! Borscht Belt headliner Vlady Putin! Queen of Mean Liz Windsor! Saudi Sheik of Schtick King Abdullah! Beijing jokeslinger Hu Jintao! Wacky al Qaeda Caveman Ayman al-Zawahiri! Nick 'the Knife' Sarkozy! Sassy Wanda Sykes! South-of-the-border slapstick team Hugo Chavez and the Castro Brothers! Taliban Madman Mullah Omar! Jon Stewart! Lovable Libyan lush Muammar al-Ghadaffi! Grovelin' Guvner Gordy Brown! Bashar "The Chin" al-Assad! The Hamas Fattah Dancers! And starring your Master of Ceremonies -- that suntan man with a plan from Iran -- that Persian with a nuclear perversion -- Sheckyyyyyy Ahmedinejad!

(applause)

Shecky Ahmedinejad

Okay, okay, pipe down. Let's get this thing over with, this straightjacket is a rental and my magic carpet is double-parked on East 43rd. Mohammed H. Prophet, will you get a load of the evil on the stage tonight? I haven't seen this many bombs since Janeane Garofalo played the American Legion convention....

...But, hey, enough about these losers. Let's talk about the man we're all here to honor tonight: my pal, Barack Obama.

(applause)

What a mensch this guy is. Total sweetheart. As soon as he was elected, he told me he would come to the negotiating table without preconditions. You know what 'preconditions' are? That's Persian for 'balls.' Barack, one look at the stars on the stage proves you still have a knack for community organizing. You've brought the entire evil community together, in the spirit of international dialog, to ask you one simple question: how does our ass taste?

(rimshot)

You can read the rest in its NSFW glory, here: http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/#tp