Posted on 08/21/2013 3:28:15 AM PDT by cll
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is opposed to even limited U.S. military intervention in Syria because it believes rebels fighting the Assad regime wouldn't support American interests if they were to seize power right now, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote to a congressman in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
Effectively ruling out U.S. cruise missile attacks and other options that wouldn't require U.S. troops on the ground, Dempsey said the military is clearly capable of taking out Syrian President Bashar Assad's air force and shifting the balance of the Arab country's 2½-year war back toward the armed opposition. But he said such an approach would plunge the United States deep into another war in the Arab world and offer no strategy for peace in a nation plagued by ethnic rivalries.
"Syria today is not about choosing between two sides but rather about choosing one among many sides," Dempsey said in the letter Aug. 19 to Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. "It is my belief that the side we choose must be ready to promote their interests and ours when the balance shifts in their favor. Today, they are not."
Dempsey's pessimistic assessment will hardly please members of the fractured Syrian opposition leadership and some members of the administration who have championed greater support to help the rebellion end Assad's four-decade family dynasty. Despite almost incessant bickering and internal disputes, some opposition groups have worked with the United States and other European and Arab supporters to try to form a cohesive, inclusive movement dedicated to a democratic and multiethnic state.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
One leader is golfing and gritting his jaw bone, the other is yachting and enjoying the sea salt.
The US is toast to that region.
Only Israel (and Jordan) are trying to hold on by a thread and the President is doing his best to destroy their confidence in us, not much left, Israel will act alone on Iran while Obama draws another red line and says, “all options are on the table, and I MEAN it”!
Isn’t this the reason Obama GAVE THEM 20,000 MANPADs???
To use against Americans, to kill the ones
Obama and the US Congress cannot?
Duh.
Running cover for the “one” who armed them and started this mess.
They got plenty pictures of McCain now to shift the blame to him
One of these days Republicans will learn that reaching across the aisle does nothing more than getting them set up for the fall
Yeah ... just what ARE “American interests” anyway ?
Trying to think of a sharper, more on the ball, Joint Chief of Staff that we’ve had in the past. Maybe during the Carter years?
Dempsey sounds (and acts) like a boxer that has gone too many rounds with Muhammad Ali.
Duh? Indeed.
mccain is a dim... he parades as a republican but he doesn’t have to reach across the isle... he is always hanging out with the rats and he is already there.
Wow, ya think?? Not sure how many brain cells are required to come to that conclusion. How about getting into the faces of Juan McQueeq and his girlfriend Lispy Grahamnesty and getting them up to speed??
Whew!!! My opinion of our modern generals just rose up a notch. (but only one notch)
Hmmmm....so why were they shipping weapons out of Benghazi to these “rebels” then?
General Dempsey should demote himself to Captain Obvious.
Yes. I was asking that myself. There are American interests and then there are Obama interests. What are the Obama interests? I’d like them to explain that to the public minus the usual fluff and BS.
It’s a little surprising that an official spokesman is acknowledging this, however (that is, assuming Dempsey is speaking officially).
I’ve also read that there is now some reluctance among people in the US government to support the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, although it must be hard for them to keep Obama, Mr. Muslim Brotherhood himself, from just doing it. You know he wants to...
Exactly!!
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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I'm afraid I must disagree. There is a careful screening process for Republicans seeking federal office that ensures the majority are willing and eager patsies. Remember, McConnell and Boehner were elected to leadership by almost unanimous margins.
Agreed but an Assad victory will enable both Hizbollah and Russia to have boots on the ground on Israel’s Golan Heights. That means Hizbollah has Israel covered from the north and northeast.
Without Hizbollah, Assad would have lost already and if he wins, he will be deeply indebted to those animals.
Now, I guess it’s the lesser evil.
Huma is working Weiner’s weiner overtime and Obama must listen to her as an official rep. of the MB in this administration...
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