Obama on Assad's Use of Chemical Weapons: "This Is Something that Is Going to Require America's Attention"

Do you feel like a good cry?

Have a look at Obama's interview with "New Day" anchor Chris Cuomo (http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/23/politics/barack-obama-new-day-interview-transcript/index.html), in which Cuomo inquires about the unfolding tragedy in Syria and the absence of an American response (my highlighting in red in keeping with Obama's purported "red line"):

CUOMO: Let me ask you about some of the emerging situations, most recently, Syria. You've seen the images; you know the situation very well. Do you believe at this point you need to investigate in order to say what seems obvious, which is, we need to do more to stop the violence in Syria, that the U.S. needs to do more?

 

OBAMA: Well, we are right now gathering information about this particular event, but I can say that unlike some of the evidence that we were trying to get earlier that led to a U.N. investigator going into Syria, what we've seen indicates that this is clearly a big event of grave concern. And, you know, we are already in communications with the entire international community. We're moving through the U.N. to try to prompt better action from them. And we've called on the Syrian government to allow an investigation of the site, because U.N. inspectors are on the ground right now.

 

We don't expect cooperation, given their past history, and, you know, what I do believe is that -- although the situation in Syria is very difficult and the notion that the U.S. can somehow solve what is a sectarian, complex problem inside of Syria sometimes is overstated...

 

CUOMO: But delay can be deadly, right, Mr. President?

 

OBAMA: ... there is -- there is no doubt that when you start seeing chemical weapons used on a large scale -- and, again, we're still gathering information about this particular event, but it is very troublesome...

 

CUOMO: There's strong proof they used them already, though, in the past.

 

OBAMA: ... then that starts getting to some core national interests that the United States has, both in terms of us making sure that weapons of mass destruction are not proliferating, as well as needing to protect our allies, our bases in the region.

 

So, you know, I think it is fair to say that, as difficult as the problem is, this is something that is going to require America's attention and hopefully the entire international community's attention.

The US is moving through the UN? That should accomplish a great deal and very quickly . . . not. Putin has been fighting this tooth and nail, notwithstanding Obama's preelection overtures to this new czar.

The use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime "is something that is going to require America's attention"? Great! When should America wake up and do something - anything, e.g. a no-fly zone - about it.

And then there was the president's response concerning Egypt:

OBAMA: You know, my sense is with -- with Egypt is that the aid itself may not reverse what the interim government does. But I think what most Americans would say is that we have to be very careful about being seen as aiding and abetting actions that we think run contrary to our values and our ideals.

 

So what we're doing right now is doing a full evaluation of the U.S.-Egyptian relationship. We care deeply about the Egyptian people. This is a partnership that's been very important to us, in part because of the peace treaty with Israel and the work that's been done to deal with the Sinai.

But there's no -- there's no doubt that we can't return to business as usual, given what's happened. There was a space right after Mr. Morsy was removed in which we did a lot of heavy lifting and a lot of diplomatic work to try to encourage the military to move in a path of reconciliation. They did not take that opportunity.

 

It was worth it for us to try that, despite folks who wanted more immediate black-and-white action or statements, because ultimately what we want is a good outcome there. But there's no doubt that, at this point, we've got to take a look and see, what's in the long-term interests of the Egyptian people? What's in the long-term interests of the United States.

America must be "very careful," do a "full evaluation," and "look and see." Yup, this has all the hallmarks of bold leadership that have characterized the Obama administration's foreign policy over the past five years.

Obama complains about the Egyptian military's failure to seek reconciliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, but where was the Obama administration when Morsi was engaging in a multitude of abuses destined to bring Egypt to utter anarchy?

Obama . . . the Anti-Leader. May God have mercy on us.