GERALD CELENTE: Its A BANKERS World - Trends in the news SPECIAL on INFOWARS
special
guest host American trend forecaster and publisher of the Trends
Journal Gerald Celente Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain to the contrary,
the administration has not adopted a hands-off approach to Syria. Early
on, it collaborated with the Europeans on a political solution, which
failed. It is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Syrians ($400
million), and it just doubled its nonlethal aid to the opposition to
$250 million. With mixed success, Washington has also worked to organize
fractious rebel groups into a more cohesive and effective whole, while
delegitimizing Mr. Assad.
Unlike Mr. McCain and Mr. Graham, who
have also faulted President Obama for withdrawing troops from Iraq and
tried to goad him into a more militaristic position on Iran, the
president has been trying to disentangle the United States from overseas
conflicts and, as a result, has been very cautious about military
involvement in Syria.
That may have to change now that Mr.
Assad's forces are accused of using chemical weapons. Mr. Obama backed
himself into a corner when he warned the Syrian leader that using
chemical weapons would constitute a "red line" and be a "game changer,"
suggesting strongly and perhaps unwisely that crossing that line would
trigger some kind of American action.
The failure to act now
could be misread by Mr. Assad as well as leaders in Iran and North
Korea, whose nuclear programs are on America's radar. But Mr. Obama
should only act if he has compelling documentation that the sarin gas
was used in an attack by Syrian forces and was not the result of an
accident or fertilizer. The Financial Times reported the evidence is
based on two separate samples taken from victims of the attacks.
With
the civil war in Syria now in its third year and the death toll at more
than 70,000, the situation has deteriorated. Mr. Assad remains in
power, sectarian divisions have intensified and fleeing refugees are
destabilizing neighboring countries. Most worrisome, jihadis linked to
Al Qaeda have become the dominant fighting force and, as Ben Hubbard
reported in The Times, there are few rebel groups that both share the
political vision of the United States and have the military might to
push it forward.
There have never been easy options for the
United States in Syria; they have not improved with time. And Russia and
Iran, both enablers of Mr. Assad, deserve particular condemnation.
Without their support, Mr. Assad would not have lasted this long. Still,
the country is important to regional stability. Mr. Obama must soon
provide a clearer picture of how he plans to use American influence in
dealing with the jihadi threat and the endgame in Syria
