Obama's Middle East Legacy: Is it a catastrophic humanitarian crisis? This article says it is.

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:10:47 -0400

"A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." —Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 69 (1787)

There has been a lot of heated and well-deserved debate about the illegal migration across our southern border — most of those migrants seeking economic opportunities, and most ending up costing American taxpayers far more than any economic benefit. Indeed, they are pouring across that border because Barack Obama has opened the flood gates, fervently hoping that these illegal immigrants and their relatives here will prop up the Democratic Party in perpetuity.

Today, there is another mass migration underway, which is also the direct result of, and irrevocably tied to, another of Obama’s cynical political calculations.

For the past week, the media has served up a steady stream of heart-wrenching images and stories about refugees fleeing Islamist terror in the Middle East. That coverage was sparked by an image of a drowned three-year-old washed up on a Turkish beach, but the fact is more than 2,000 refugees have drowned in the exodus. There are now almost five million people exiting Syria and other nations in the region, and another six million remain displaced internally.

But, of course, the media fails to report what gave rise to this crisis.

http://patriotpost.us/alexander/37512

Obama's Middle East Legacy: A Catastrophic Humanitarian Crisis

Obama and those who voted for him bear the burden of babies washing up on beaches.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Sep 9 at 2015 3:16 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:16:58 -0400

"A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government"
Exactly!

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Sep 9 at 2015 3:52 PM

SSG Warren Swan — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:52:33 -0400

"The hard truth is that Obama’s ill-advised withdrawal from Iraq, an asinine re-election campaign ploy, left a power vacuum in the heart of the Middle East. That void was rapidly filled by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant as Syria collapsed into civil war"...I take it the author has an ax to grind with the president and doesn't know how to do simple research. Had he done this he'd know that Iraqi government wanted us out and there was nothing any president could do when we gave them back their country and had no SOFA. The second part of that is true with the power vacuum and the rise of ISIS, but none of that has anything to do with the Arab Spring that was instrumental to bringing Syria to it's knees. I would also wait with baited breath this author would say that we were destined to have troops remain in Afghanistan. Note that came down to the 11th hour before that was approved and by a different Afghan president. The US had nothing to do with the Arab Spring, but maybe could've had a guiding hand in the way it moved. That's a stretch.
What I saw was an article who wanted to blame the fact that Noah had to save only two of everything and couldn't carry the whole world in the Ark on Obama. The middle eastern countries need to step up to the plate to deal with the crisis. The US is not and shouldn't be the world 911. And token events like the King of Jordan in the plane makes good news headlines, but does nothing to solve the problem. Neither Jordan or any of the other ME states are taking in the Syrians or anyone else.
Blame the president or previous presidents when they do wrong. It is the right thing to do, but to make a slanderous and scandalous article reeks of shock journalism and is more suited for TMZ or Entertainment Tonight.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Sep 9 at 2015 4:16 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 16:16:06 -0400

The humanitarian crisis in the ME is the legacy of failed Western foreign policy and hubris coupled with tribalism and a lack of will on the part of regional powers. While there are certainly things Obama could have or should have done differently, this is not entirely, or even mostly, his fault.

Obama's mistake was backing Maliki, which ultimately led to us being unable to secure a new SOFA and having to withdraw. That's just one link in a chain of events that went back centuries though.

Why we stuck with Maliki — and lost Iraq

A former American diplomat recounts the Iraqi leader’s problematic rise.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2015 11:05 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 11:05:52 -0400

More food for thought

7 Middle East crises that are a bigger problem than Iran’s nuclear program

The Iran debate has sucked out all the foreign policy oxygen in Washington. It shouldn't.

Response by SPC David S. made Mar 3 at 2016 2:34 PM

SPC David S. — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 14:34:49 -0500

The problems with the Middle East started long ago when the West started interjecting Western policies into the region. The D'Arcy Concession of 1901 was more than likely the foot in the door when D'Arcy's representative in Tehran offered the Shah an extra £5,000 to close the agreement. Due to the rivalry of Britain and Russia over influence in Persia this was the warm up to the Great Game. The Treaty of Sèvres - 1920 - actually created some of the countries in question today - British Mandate of Iraq, British Mandate for Palestine, French Mandate of Lebanon and the French Mandate of Syria. The Treaty of Sèvres, was repudiated by the Kemalists and thus they had their own Treaty of Moscow. And the games began. However due to the inept understanding of the Sunni/Shia dynamics the President and Kerry have concocted a number of boneheaded policies - The Middle East is on fire and we show up double fisting gallon jugs of moonshine.