American Foreign Policy: Biggest Joke in the World, and Maybe the Funniest (to Russians, anyways)
The Washington Post’s (yes-the WaPo’s) Jackson Diehl does a brutal, brutal takedown of John Kerry’s serial delusions about America’s Middle East policy (if it possible to use that word to describe such a farrago of idiocy). My only disagreement with the article is that Diehl lays the entire responsibility for the debacles in Egypt, Syria, Israel/Palestine, Iran, etc. at Kerry’s big feet. Kerry is merely the (very long) public face of this policy. The true author resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I usually operate under the maxim that one should never attribute to malice which can be explained by incompetence (or stupidity), but the administration’s foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, is putting my trust in that credo to the test.
It’s a quick (though depressing) read, so do take the time to read the whole thing. I will just call out one, truly staggering paragraph:
On Tuesday, Kerry offered the following explanation of why the Syrian peace conference he’s pushing will succeed: “The Assad regime knows full well that the purpose of” the conference is “the installation of a provisional government.” And “the Syrian government has accepted to come to Geneva.” It apparently follows that Assad will show up and placidly agree to hand over power. If not, Kerry ventured, “the Russians and the Iranians . . . will make certain that the Syrian regime will live up to its obligation.”
The only possible flattering interpretation of that quote is that Obama and Kerry are trying to incapacitate the Russians and Iranians in convulsions of uncontrollable laughing. Sort of like the old Monty Python Funniest Joke in the World bit:
Someone has been deploying choomical terrorists from the jokefree superhygeinic environment of mediocrademia? Oh no! Why are they still attacking after we’ve surrendered!?
Comment by Lark — November 15, 2013 @ 11:57 pm