Time to settle scores
by Prof. Eyal Zisser
http://dayan.org/author/eyal-zisser

In the waning days of the Obama administration, the time has come in Washington for summations and introspection, while in the Middle East it is time for payback and drawing knives. Curiously, America's enemies in the region are not the ones taking advantage of U.S. President Barack Obama's impending departure to settle scores, even going as far as stabbing him in the back, rather his friends and allies, who feel betrayed by Washington and cannot conceal their anger and frustration toward it.

Last week it was the turn of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accused Washington of failing to help his country in the war against the Islamic State group, saying U.S. policies, and destructiveness perhaps, allowed the terrorist group to grow stronger. Several of Erdogan's aides even threatened to banish the American forces stationed at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, which the United States uses to launch all of its air operations in the region.

Erdogan, as usual, is not exactly right. For many months, Turkey, under his leadership, ignored Islamic State activity in Syria and Iraq, because it viewed the group as a counter-balance to burgeoning Iranian and Shiite influence in those countries. Erdogan also forgot how he had lambasted those who warned against the growing wave of radical Islamic terror, claiming there was no such thing as "Islamic terror." But he learned the hard way that Islamic State operates according to its own logic and that for the organization's rank and file, Erdogan is also an infidel, to be fought in the same uncompromising manner as the Western Crusaders and Shiites in the region, notably because Turkey is an easy, accessible target.

And yet, Erdogan has good reasons to complain about American policy in the Middle East. After all, the Islamic State question was only a small part of the overall picture of mounting Iranian and Shiite influence in Iraq and Syria, the extremely bloody civil war in Syria, and finally, Russia's increasing foothold in the region as a key player and leading regional power.

The United States, however, did not provide a response to these challenges, and all the steps it took were tactical in nature and led nowhere. One of these steps was to form an alliance with the Kurds in northern Syria, which for Erdogan was nothing short of a call to arms.

Only time will tell whether the American decision was based on long-term thinking, perhaps a presidential decision even, or if it was just another showcase operation carried out by one of the American intelligence agencies, which, in the region, have operated largely independent of one another, or even in complete contradiction.

The Turks, along with others, increasingly sensed that Obama did, in fact, have a general view of the region, predicated primarily on a desire to make amends with Iran -- the consequence being acceptance of its empowerment in the region at the expense of Washington's friends. At the same time, America's allies identified an unwillingness to take action and a lack of desire to prevent Moscow from returning to the Middle East in a leading role -- when it was still possible to do so -- essentially replacing Washington as the regional tone setter.

Erdogan is a difficult client, yet he is still capable of appreciating and respecting power when he senses its presence. Thus he reconciled with Russian President Vladimir Putin and normalized diplomatic relations with Israel. It is also why he has welcomed U.S. President-elect Donald Trump with considerable praise. All these factors notwithstanding, Turkey has been a U.S. ally for nearly 70 years; hence this unprecedented low in Turkish-American relations is not necessarily strictly the fault of Ankara.

The Saudis and Egyptians echoed the Turks, heaping praise on Trump while openly displaying their anger toward the outgoing administration. The Obama administration thus bids adieu to the Middle East without any friends. In the end, it abandoned the allies it had and failed to appease or forge alliances with the enemies it courted. Indeed, both enemy and friend alike respect power and tenacity, along with a clear worldview; which as we know were absent from Washington's policies over the past eight years.

From here on out any dem who expects to win will have to distance themselves from anything resembling a BHO policy stance/ideology

Obama was so busy sucking Iranian dick, hoping against hope "he" could be the one to finally broker a deal with Iran that would secure his "legacy"

The problem was he was like the newbie who wants the hot girl SO badly he would do ANYTHING to get her, first agreeing to a thousand bucks an hour, then sending her all his screening info including blood type, mothers' maiden name and SS number, and then finally agreeing to send a 100% "deposit" in advance. and just like this clueless newb, but on steroids, Obama's "legacy" is going to be for sending a multi BILLION dollar "deposit" and only getting fucked in the bad way.

This is what happens when you want the deal more than the other side and you are willing to do ANYTHING to make said deal happen. The author is correct when he notes our allies were hung out to dry and our enemies were hardly appeased and under Obama our enemies are stronger than ever due to his fecklessness

The problem is that unfortunately it's impossible for both of you to be wrong on a true/false question when one of you picks true and the other false.

Through sheer dumb luck and the law of averages you have finally gotten one right, although you deserve little credit for it as you simply disagreed with your twin which gave you a 90% chance  of being right.

It is ironic that as much as Obama's policies are under fire and it's becoming plainer by the day just how poorly conceived such "successes" like Obama Care and the Iran deal really were, Obama himself remains very popular.  

 
I predict Obama will become a serious power broker and will wield huge influence with the DNC unless and until a new "star" emerges, and I don't see too many new "stars" on the horizon for the Dems right now.

I was in Egypt in 2008 shortly after Obama was elected and even then there was concern over the rising influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. We all know what eventually happened there and in other nations after the "Arab Spring". Obama sincerely believed that he could reason with and charm this part of the world just as he had done so at home. Never mind that there were deep seeded hatreds among the many factions that had gone back for centuries. Obama wanted America to be "liked" and while that is a great goal, it is even more important to be respected. Obama just kept betting on the wrong race horse and now we are no longer a major player.

.......to understand that Middle East strongmen only RESPECT overwhelming/superior military STRENGTH. Bush II, however started the clusterfuck we now have in the Middle East.

He's got serious cred as a result of being a successful governor of a major state as well as Clinton's HUD secretary.  He's been honing his credentials by putting NY on a firm financial footing, being hard on unions, encouraging business development, fighting Liberals like DeBlasio and generally being a tough and pragmatic SOB.
Personally, I'm OK with his politics but find him an immensely dislikable political opportunist.  But he's perfectly positioned to make a run in 2016.  He also knows Trump pretty well.
And I suppose anyone who's not a political opportunist shouldn't bother running to begin with.

But he's perfectly positioned to make a run in 2016.  Sure he is. lol

Score one for Fatty.  

Hoisted by his own petard, or more accurately, his own "retard" lmao

It's really creepy to see the two of you spooning.

You also hate in when there are no more Little Debbie Snack Cakes, HoHos or Ding Dongs at the grocery store.

Stop your bitching asshat.

END OF MESSAGE

Howard Dean would be a palatable choice while they try to straighten out their house.
Obama is pushing for Ellison which, while no real surprise, would be a step backwards in the eyes of a number of people across all Demographics. It would, dovetail the Hard Left with the mainstream D party in much the same manner as the Tea Party has dovetailed into the R party.  

Look how well that's worked out for everyone.

I've commented recently on how the partisan schism is lapsing in the RvD (no, not Rob Van Dam!) dynamic, in favor of Liberal V Conservative --- it will take some years, maybe decades before it fully matures, but this is the beginning of the next American Civil War. We are far too divided as a nation right now.

As for the question of Obama's popularity, that's not really a surprise. Bill Clinton for all the chaos, remains at close to 70% popularity. and he's got the HRC baggage on top of his own.

As for the twins, I could care less. Planet Stupid is as Planet Stupid does. -- Modified on 1/8/2017 2:14:14 PM

I love how you and the other clowns are calling me fat and never met me.
So please continue making a fool out of yourself with the other suspect clowns on this site.
It's clear you have some issues too. Lol

The fact that you brought it up, not me, and are so defensive about it must mean you are and clearly very sensitive about it.

You really are much more stupid than they say you are

How could ANYONE be "much more" stupid than we say he is? It's just not possible, algae is not "much more" stupid than we say he is

he is too stupid to be naive