On the August 23rd SD Weekly Metals & Markets radio show I explained how the United States has a very long history of drawing lines in the sand — the “red line.” One could even call it a passive-aggressive mode of foreign policy, but it works well in terms of public relations. “We didn’t want to do “x,” but because “they” crossed the “red line,” we had to act. Can you imagine a CEO of a company executing strategic decisions in such a manner?
This week, Obama has proven to the world that he’s a public relations savvy lawyer first, and a so-called leader second. Examine how he’s framing this issue before the media.
Sorry, but the issue is not that chemical weapons treaties are long-standing and that the US must act. The enforcement of said treaties call for verification of violations. We’re talking about escalating a conflict that could cause a chain reaction in the Middle East and end up triggering global nuclear war. Billions could die. This is not a time to screw around. Verification must happen, and the piss-poor blathering about signals intelligence and re-packaging of previous chemical attacks (evidence suggests there were executed by rebels, not Syria) doesn’t pass the veracity test.