Why I believe Syria is Already Lost

The American people are not behind a war in Syria.  They have seen two mismanaged wars in the Middle East in the last 10 years and are not prepared to enter a third.  They are not sure who to believe, a two faced administration or its opposition that has been demonized as racist bigots for 5 years (while continually being proven correct).  They don’t understand which side in Syria is the Syria worth saving; the rebels with possible al Qaeda or Muslim brotherhood ties or Bashar al-Assad who is gassing and bombing his own people.  Lastly, no one can explain the goal of an attack on Syria.  It apparently exists somewhere between Clinton’s aspirin factory bombing and Bush’s Iraq war.

However, even if that uncertainty wasn’t enough, it is not the reason we have lost.  The main case for a loss in Syria exists between the two men who hold the opposing positions; President Obama and Vladimir Putin.  This is not a battle between Obama and Assad, some third world dictator; rather it is against the man who wishes to assert himself as the dominant leader in the world.

The president of the US has for decades held the title of ‘Leader of the Free World’.  It is a title that displays the intentions of the US to the world, suggests that we will police the world in order to maintain our global interests and it demands a level of respect from other countries.  The American people had become accustomed to seeing our President stand tall and with authority before other world leaders, with that came the projection that as a country we would bow before no one.

That all changed with election of Barack Obama.  The leader of the free world no longer believed that it was his job to present American strength as a characteristic of his presidency.  As such, we all remember, the apology tour he took upon coming into office, his inability to support a push for freedom in Iran and a clumsy response to the death of an ambassador in Libya.  At every chance for the US foreign policy to step up and assert our influence or authority, this administration has simply followed Obama’s lead and voted ‘present’.

This leads us to the confrontation of Obama and Putin and why Obama has already lost.  It can most easily be summed up in 2 pictures:

1) Obama on a bike.  Our president took to the streets for a fun bike ride with his family.  Except, he doesn’t look like a president at all.  In fact he barely looks like an adult.  Dressed as if his mother laid out his clothing, riding some metro-sexual hybrid and posed as if daddy just removed the training wheels.  It was not a representation of the tough American spirit; rather it represented the kid who as soon as the cameras left was going to have his lunch money taken by the school yard bully.

2)Every Picture of Vladimir Putin.  Either he is shirtless, holding a gun shirtless, knife strapped to his side shirtless, fishing shirtless, wearing a military uniform, riding a motorcycle or simply looking like James Bond; his image fits that of a powerful man.

Can you look tough on a bicycle?  Sure, other men of power have done it.  While I couldn’t, I am sure there are men who could pull of being tough on a bicycle with training wheels.  However, Obama doesn’t project the toughness of America in either his actions or photo ops.  This has caused third world tyrants to lack fear of the US, given countries the belief they can bully the US and as such we no longer are a leader and the world is much less free.

Russia now claims to have evidence that it was not Assad that gassed the people of Syria, but the rebels.  Since Obama has failed to be strong in every other aspect of his presidency (vacationing aside), who is the world to believe?  Who are the American people to believe?  He has completely squandered his opportunity in Syria by drawing a line in the sand, not acting when that line is crossed and then blaming congress for not acting.

I am in now way saying that Vladimir Putin is a stand up guy and worthy of American respect.  He is a snake and should only be handled with a Y shaped stick pinning his neck to the ground, just like past Presidents of strength have handled Russian leaders.  However, it is too late for that now.  Unless Obama finds his backbone and presents a plan to rid the world of Assad himself without a) involving US ground troops or b) killing additional civilians in Syria and ensuring the next leader will be better, he might as well ride his bike home from the G20 summit, because Putin is about to steal his lunch money.