Charles Krauthammer, "The Fruits of Epic Incompetence": The Worst Is Yet to Come

In a "must read" Washington Post opinion piece entitled "The fruits of epic incompetence" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-fruits-of-epic-incompetence/2013/09/12/7e6771d2-1bdf-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html?hpid=z2), Charles Krauthammer writes of Obama's bumbling foreign policy as it relates to the horrors of Syria's Assad regime:

"The president of the United States takes to the airwaves to urgently persuade the nation to pause before doing something it has no desire to do in the first place.

Strange. And it gets stranger still. That 'strike Syria, maybe' speech begins with a heart-rending account of children consigned to a terrible death by a monster dropping poison gas. It proceeds to explain why such behavior must be punished. It culminates with the argument that the proper response — the most effective way to uphold fundamental norms, indeed human decency — is a flea bite: something 'limited,' 'targeted' or, as so memorably described by Secretary of State John Kerry, 'unbelievably small.'

The mind reels, but there’s more. We must respond — but not yet. This 'Munich moment' (Kerry again) demands first a pause to find accommodation with that very same toxin-wielding monster, by way of negotiations with his equally cynical, often shirtless, Kremlin patron bearing promises."

Krauthammer's conclusion:

"And now? Assad, far from receiving punishment of any kind, goes from monster to peace partner. Putin bestrides the world stage, playing dealmaker. He’s welcomed by America as a constructive partner. Now a world statesman, he takes to the New York Times to blame American interventionist arrogance — a.k.a. 'American exceptionalism' — for inducing small states to acquire WMDs in the first place.

And Obama gets to slink away from a Syrian debacle of his own making. Such are the fruits of a diplomacy of epic incompetence."

But wait, it's not over. The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-russia-talks-on-syria-chemical-arsenal-begin-on-tense-note/2013/09/12/70d0e376-1bd7-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html) is reporting that John Kerry is back to playing tough guy:

"U.S.-Russia talks over eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons began here Thursday on a wary and stilted note, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry said U.S. military forces remain poised to attack Syria if a credible agreement is not rapidly reached and implemented."

Poised to strike in "unbelievably small" fashion?

Assad is clearly listening. The Syrian mass murderer has declared that he will surrender his chemical weapons only if Washington stops threatening military action (see: http://news.yahoo.com/us-must-stop-arming-rebels-chem-weapons-plan-161122718.html). Moreover, in preparation for that "unbelievably small" pin prick, Assad has begun to disperse his stocks of chemical weapons. As reported by The Wall Street Journal in an article entitled "Elite Syrian Unit Scatters Chemical Arms Stockpile" (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324755104579071330713553794.html) by Adam Entous, Julian Barnes and Nour Malas:

"A secretive Syrian military unit at the center of the Assad regime's chemical weapons program has been moving stocks of poison gases and munitions to as many as 50 sites to make them harder for the U.S. to track, according to American and Middle Eastern officials.

The movements of chemical weapons by Syria's elite Unit 450 could complicate any U.S. bombing campaign in Syria over its alleged chemical attacks, officials said. It also raises questions about implementation of a Russian proposal that calls for the regime to surrender control of its stockpile, they said.

U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies still believe they know where most of the Syrian regime's chemical weapons are located, but with less confidence than six months ago, U.S. officials said."

Query: Was Obama even a competent community organizer?