In These New Times

Cailean Bochanan

1st September, 2013

In what Syrian media accurately described as “the start of a historic retreat” Obama backed out of missile strikes against Syria referring the issue instead to congress. So rather than commit political suicide himself he has given that option to congress: it is unlikey that they take it individually or collectively given the groundswell of anti-war opinion in the US.

The hawks, already upset by Obama’s apparent dithering throughout the past week and his intent to reduce to tokenism the scope of military action, are now in a state of shock. Uberhawk Jon Bolton was “stunned” by a “display weakness of the kind we haven’t seen in an American leader in decades, if not since the 19th century”. The Israeli website Debka , leading cheerleader for military escalation, were already lambasting Obama on Friday for”smashing American influence” in the Middle East. After yesterday’s speech they have become incandescent claiming hysterically that he has given “a military nightmare” to Israel as they claim his weakness opens the way for an Iranian attack. The “rebels” are naturally dismayed having vested such high hopes in blaming Assad for a chemical weapons attack:
“We had a feeling of disappointment. We were expecting things to be quicker, that a strike would be imminent”.

According to the New York Times Obama top advisers were strongly opposed to his decision fearing that a vote would be lost.
Obama’s “historic retreat” has been going on for some time, in fact from the Benghazi killing of a US diplomat. From that time he has purged his administration of Petraeus, Clinton and other hawks. He has ended the upward march of the Muslim Brotherhood, a one-time instrument of US/UK subversion of unwanted Arab “regimes”. He has brought regime change to Qatar who instrumentalised MB subversion in the region. He abandoned his support for Erdogan when occupy- type protests erupted there. He has had Homeland Security disappear completely off the radar. He has ended the special relationship with the UK and effectivelt rendered NATO obsolete. He is now in a position to marginlise residual warmongers,renew his partnership with Putin and breathe new life into the Middle East and global peace process. This would be a tremendous achievement securing his place in history and justifying retrospectively his Nobel peace prize.
It is important now that attention be focused on what exactly happened on 21st August in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. If Obama has been deceived by false intelligence then he must address this issue not only to restore fully his own credibility but also that of President Assad whom he must engage face-to-face in peace talks.