Obama is the first social media president. What does this mean?
If social media remains in its current state. Not much. In fact, it's a troublesome development.
Social media feeds into our worse superficial desires. Just Tweet and away you go. Nothing substantial needed to back it up.
Gone are the days of the 'philosopher-king' type leader (if it ever existed or at least a time when we hoped and strove to have such leaders) pondering deeply about their decisions.
Obama is the master at feigning being a 'chess player' but really engaging in Connect Four. I see little in his foreign policy that can be construed as enlightening or as supporters in the base like to claim 'paradigm shifting'.
Egypt? If you claim, I guess, knocking Mubarak out for the Muslim Brotherhood and unleashing a wave of violence as success. The little hole in that logic, though, is it's usually asserted that taking out a dictator like Hussein in Iraq was a mistake. Of course, little else about the human rights abuses he committed are discussed.
Libya? How did Hillary put it? We came, we saw, he died about Khaddafi? Libya was probably worse to the extent it further destabilized North Africa (while doing a favor for France and Sarkozy as the story goes and let's not bring up Benghazi) for no real purpose other than to say 'Arab spring' all without Congressional approval. 30 plus years of careful diplomacy erased. Just like that. And with no plan to replace him!
Boy, talk about a short season that was.
Then along came Syria with its red lines and outright bizarre decisions by the Obama administration. In sum, basically, all they accomplished was to go head to head with Russia (and lose) in wanting to oust a third dictator in Assad while supporting the Syrian rebels who, in turn, were backed up by ISIS, in which were getting American arms through the former.
And we're to think Gary Johnson is the ignorant and crazy one for not knowing where Aleppo is?
Let's not focus on the President who made a real mess but let's go after Johnson! Never mind Obama's own gaffes in the last eight years.
I highly doubt the moronic pundits - supremely and disturbingly comfortable in their pitifully partisan ignorance and arrogance - knew much about the history of Aleppo.
Leaving aside its long and interesting history (from Silk Road to Ottoman control) ask people like Joe Scarborough why is Aleppo important where the Syrian civil war is concerned? Who have a stake and who are the players? Who controls what and why? How do the EU, USA and Russia play into this?
Remember, Aleppo is an ancient city pretty much reduced to an existential identity. Why is it an issue all of a sudden?
Heck, I bet Obama didn't know half this crap and likely had to be briefed about how Aleppo is Syria's oldest and longest inhabitable city standing at the crossroads of many cultures throughout the centuries not unlike Sicily and perhaps Venice.
Of course, you see, it's not Obama's fault because Iraq. And Bush. This singular action forced his hand.
Is this true?
On the balance, the short answer is no. Iraq didn't have any bearing on North Africa. Syria kinda indirectly does but lest we forget Obama wanted to intervene militarily!
Moving over to the non-Arab portion of the Mid-east comes the Iran deal.
A vainglorious endeavor if there ever was one. Iran is a theocracy that was, simply and frankly, not in a stage of its political existence to negotiate in good faith which would lead to a path to normalized relations. I suspect the Americans knew this but Obama didn't care is my hunch. What he understands is the 'snap shot' superficiality of sound-bite history. This is what matters now.
It is of little or no consequence what the actual results will be. And judging by how Iran is acting, pretty much as expected. It's just a piece of paper to them with no real binding glue to compel them to honor it.
Obama wanted another legacy deal to go along with Cuba and Obamacare.
The former likely to get nowhere as long as Castro is in power and the former being a spectacular spectacle of failures and another showcase of government corruption and ineptness.
This is the new pattern of governance.
Lest we be confused, Canada under Trudeau has undertaken the same exact path. The selfie prevails over the substance.
Have mercy on the United States.
And Canada.
If social media remains in its current state. Not much. In fact, it's a troublesome development.
Social media feeds into our worse superficial desires. Just Tweet and away you go. Nothing substantial needed to back it up.
Gone are the days of the 'philosopher-king' type leader (if it ever existed or at least a time when we hoped and strove to have such leaders) pondering deeply about their decisions.
Obama is the master at feigning being a 'chess player' but really engaging in Connect Four. I see little in his foreign policy that can be construed as enlightening or as supporters in the base like to claim 'paradigm shifting'.
Egypt? If you claim, I guess, knocking Mubarak out for the Muslim Brotherhood and unleashing a wave of violence as success. The little hole in that logic, though, is it's usually asserted that taking out a dictator like Hussein in Iraq was a mistake. Of course, little else about the human rights abuses he committed are discussed.
Libya? How did Hillary put it? We came, we saw, he died about Khaddafi? Libya was probably worse to the extent it further destabilized North Africa (while doing a favor for France and Sarkozy as the story goes and let's not bring up Benghazi) for no real purpose other than to say 'Arab spring' all without Congressional approval. 30 plus years of careful diplomacy erased. Just like that. And with no plan to replace him!
Boy, talk about a short season that was.
Then along came Syria with its red lines and outright bizarre decisions by the Obama administration. In sum, basically, all they accomplished was to go head to head with Russia (and lose) in wanting to oust a third dictator in Assad while supporting the Syrian rebels who, in turn, were backed up by ISIS, in which were getting American arms through the former.
And we're to think Gary Johnson is the ignorant and crazy one for not knowing where Aleppo is?
Let's not focus on the President who made a real mess but let's go after Johnson! Never mind Obama's own gaffes in the last eight years.
I highly doubt the moronic pundits - supremely and disturbingly comfortable in their pitifully partisan ignorance and arrogance - knew much about the history of Aleppo.
Leaving aside its long and interesting history (from Silk Road to Ottoman control) ask people like Joe Scarborough why is Aleppo important where the Syrian civil war is concerned? Who have a stake and who are the players? Who controls what and why? How do the EU, USA and Russia play into this?
Remember, Aleppo is an ancient city pretty much reduced to an existential identity. Why is it an issue all of a sudden?
Heck, I bet Obama didn't know half this crap and likely had to be briefed about how Aleppo is Syria's oldest and longest inhabitable city standing at the crossroads of many cultures throughout the centuries not unlike Sicily and perhaps Venice.
Of course, you see, it's not Obama's fault because Iraq. And Bush. This singular action forced his hand.
Is this true?
On the balance, the short answer is no. Iraq didn't have any bearing on North Africa. Syria kinda indirectly does but lest we forget Obama wanted to intervene militarily!
Moving over to the non-Arab portion of the Mid-east comes the Iran deal.
A vainglorious endeavor if there ever was one. Iran is a theocracy that was, simply and frankly, not in a stage of its political existence to negotiate in good faith which would lead to a path to normalized relations. I suspect the Americans knew this but Obama didn't care is my hunch. What he understands is the 'snap shot' superficiality of sound-bite history. This is what matters now.
It is of little or no consequence what the actual results will be. And judging by how Iran is acting, pretty much as expected. It's just a piece of paper to them with no real binding glue to compel them to honor it.
Obama wanted another legacy deal to go along with Cuba and Obamacare.
The former likely to get nowhere as long as Castro is in power and the former being a spectacular spectacle of failures and another showcase of government corruption and ineptness.
This is the new pattern of governance.
Lest we be confused, Canada under Trudeau has undertaken the same exact path. The selfie prevails over the substance.
Have mercy on the United States.
And Canada.
A victory of the ephemeral over the cerebral.
ReplyDeleteMore to the point...yes.
ReplyDelete