Obama’s talking loud, but how big a stick is he carrying? Illustrative. Photo Courtesy of Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
Despite announcing that they are all but certain the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on its own people, it remains unclear if the US is going to arm the rebels in Syria or set up a no-fly zone on their behalf. The Daily Beast asked US government officials if President Barack Obama was going to send weapons to the rebels now, and actually got different answers depending on which official was asked. That doesn’t bode well for the rebels. The Daily Beast interviewed the spokesman for US Senator John McCain—an Obama opponent who has urged for the US to help the rebels more. According to McCain, Obama is going to send weapons. But McCain also believes that even more needs to be done, specifically a no-fly zone, to adequately help.
For you, there are many sides to this. Syria is costing US taxpayers millions of dollars in aid, and weapons aren’t cheap either. However, if the US administration ends up going halfway—sending weapons so as to do “something” but not sending enough or supplementing that with a no-fly zone, then the whole thing may prove a waste. Regardless, the US government needs to decide quickly. The Daily Beast interviewed several sources who feel a sense of urgency ahead ofthe next major battle looming in the Syrian civil war.
Even if Obama does a lot, if it’s too late, it won’t be enough.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, June 14, 2013)