The Other Shoe

Let's see, Mubarak, bad and he must go. Gaddafi, bad and he must go, and we'll send in the military to make it so. On the other hand, Iran, not so bad; nuking up and killing civilians notwithstanding. Syria, not so bad; nuking up, killing civilians, arming terrorists, notwithstanding. Is there a pattern here?

The Gaddafi one is the puzzle, not least because the Crazed One is not doing much more to his people than Iran did to the Green Revolution of 2009. Why is our President so willing to intervene militarily this time? But then I remember that this tin-pot dictator, thug, and murderer of the last 20 some years turned over a new leaf somewhere around 2005. He gave us all of his nuclear materials and has been a major, major source of intel and help in our fight against al Qaeda. In other words, he has been an ally, just like Mubarak. An ally who is now being pressed, not by "freedom fighters," but by al Qaeda backed forces.

Toss in the public contempt this Administration has shown for Israel over the last few years, and the puzzle pieces fall into place. America's allies, America's national security interests, the very underpinnings of American Middle-East strategy the last decades, are all being thrown under the bus. Does he really want the likes of Iran and Syria to dominate the region? Does he really think that would make things better in the world?

It really doesn't matter what he thinks, because we know what he is doing. And I think Saudi Arabia and others are following very closely Obama's other shoe - when will it drop and in what direction?