Syria is to Obama as Munich is to Chamberlain
By: George Noga – October 1, 2013
The headline above is a quote from Churchill; he made the remark about a British general (Monro) who upon being placed in command of the Battle for Gallipoli in WWI recommended an immediate evacuation of all Allied forces without further fighting. Churchillian phrasing is apropos because he also succeeded Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister following Chamberlain’s disastrous appeasement of Hitler at Munich. More Churchillian wisdom infra.
Lest anyone believe it is unfair to compare Obama to Chamberlain, you should know the first person to bring up Syria and Munich together was none other than John Kerry. Initially Kerry came on strong calling Assad’s use of chemical weapons “indiscriminate, inconceivable horror . . . an unspeakable crime . . . a crime against conscious, a crime against humanity” Kerry then went on to call Syria’s use of chemical weapons “this century’s Munich moment“.
A mere three days later Kerry again spoke publicly stating the US military response would be “very limited and very targeted” and further stated it would be “unbelievably small“. So, a crime that Kerry terms “inconceivable horror” is to receive an “unbelievably small” response. Of course, it gets even worse; Putin adroitly followed up an inept Kerry slip of the tongue and it seems there will be no response at all except to (maybe) take away some of Assad’s deadly toys.
This is appeasement pure and simple, which is defined as: to yield or concede to demands based on belligerance (actual or threatened) at the expense of principle. Just as with Hitler and Chamberlain, this is only the beginning of the price we and our friends will pay; consider:
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Despots and thugs everywhere now know using chemical weapons works. In Syria it worked to terrorize the regime’s enemies while also saving Assad’s regime.
- Cameron, Hollande, Netanyahu and all our allies now distrust Obama and will seek to make accommodations with our enemies – or at the very least to hedge their bets.
- Bashar al-Assad is transformed from a war criminal into a negotiating partner.
- The Middle East will become a much more volatile and dangerous place.
- Terrorists will be encouraged to plan bigger and more unthinkable actions.
- Obama’s red lines and incessant bluffing are exposed as worse than meaningless.
- Vladimir Putin has taken Obama’s measure and now can play him like a drum.
- North Korea knows we are toothless and South Korea has good cause to worry.
- Iran can go nuclear with impunity – its centrifuges are humming as you read this.
- The world will be a much more dangerous place especially as we deeply cut our military.
On October 5, 1938 following Chamberlain’s Munich Agreement Churchill said: “People should know the truth; we have sustained a defeat without a war. And do not suppose that this (Munich) is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year.” And so it is today!
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor.You chose dishonor and you will have war.”
Immediately after Chamberlain returned from Munich, Churchill said the following: You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”Obama has chosen appeasement and has opened Pandora’s box. In Greek mythology opening Pandora’s box meant performing an action that, in and of itself may seem inconsequential at the time, but turns out to have severe and far-reaching consequences. Oh yes – and in mythology Pandora’s box contained all the evils of the world.
Note to readers: The next posting will not be until mid November. I am off on assignment to Hawaii to research a future blog post. The Aloha state has been under total liberal dominance for well over a half century and has the most politically monolithic top-to-bottom government in America. Hawaii also has an uber-serious debt crisis despite the highest income tax rates in the USA. It has record food stamp, homeless and unemployment numbers and a serious drug problem. Have liberals screwed up paradise?