Red Light, Green Light

[exedir]

A child's game, something to do in a summer's evening. Or, a serious issue of policy and credibility played in the world's most dangerous place, the Middle East.

Lines in the sand, of course, can be shifted, but red lines, not easily erased once drawn.  A red line means, well, not to be crossed, consequences will be felt and not pleasant ones, danger. A red line is set to prevent, to stop and show where a warning becomes a reality.

And then there are "red" lines, that are meant to be rhetorical and to heighten one's speech and speaker, to make what is said seem more important to the listeners and viewers. Harshly worded letters and threaten tones in spoken words, without effect, reflect on the speaker not those spoken too, and that appears to be what we have here.

We live in a world of danger, dangers we know and can anticipate. We know that to protect oneself requires acts of protection and defense, to reach the enemy before they reach you, prevention. For over seventy years we have protected our lands, people and allies from the menace of Soviet communism. For seventy years we have committed our policies and actions to protecting the state of Israel. Soviet Russia is gone and turmoil of the Middle East continues unabated, if not more dangerous than any other period in recent memory.

Recently, in more than the last twenty years we have fought two wars over Iraqi which accomplished regime change and exacerbate sectarian civil war. Now we are faced with the nexus of the next war in the Middle East, the civil war in Syria.

The problem with Syria is that the ongoing civil war is but a backdrop for a much larger conflict, a proxy war of neighbors to extend the battle field and impress their will on others while killing thousands, even tens of thousands while creating refugees of hundreds of thousands while the killing continues.

Syria is a war of "I's", Israel and Iran. Iran has access to the borders of Israel for weapons and supplies to arm and equip Iranian supported interests of Hezbollah and Hamas to intimidate and coerce those that might oppose their interests and to provided for attacks against Israel and Israeli interests. The point is the survival of the Israeli state and the hegemony of Iran and Iranian allies in Arabia and the Islamic world.

The United States is also committed as the only world power left and as a guaranteer of the state of Israel survival against its enemies. The United States is also not the world power it once was, it can not do what it once did as as fact and as a will.

Today, when red lines are spoken, are they are to be taking as yellow, and dotted and just only suggestions? And that will not do, will not do enough to stop, or start whatever is happening or will happen; red light, green light is not any longer a game.

[P.A.]

The President was wrong to say there was a red line but smart enough to know that going to war in Syria would be a huge mistake. We will never be safe from terrorist until we stay out of the Middle East for a generation. Time to start now!

[ProblemAgain]

http://www.charlierose.com/schedule/?date=2013/5/6

John McCain

with John McCain on May 6, 2013

60 min

Dexter Filkins & Gary Samore

with Gary Samore and Dexter Filkins on May 6, 2013

i was going to embed it but something seems to be glitched...mccain sounds like a querulous old man continually saying i told you so and we shoulda.... but the other two delineate point by point how we don't KNOW how any of this plays out....and they do have some experience in the region...

[LoveLife&Laughter]

A Red Line?  I always thought it was, A Line Drawn in The Sand.  Regardless...

I have to wonder why the right is not willing to take a more careful approach, especially after rushing into an unnecessary war after 9.11, Afghanistan Iraq II.

Is their purpose to have Congress refuse to budget the war so Obama will be blamed for running up the deficit like his predecessor, President Cheney?

Also, it appears that the folks we support, the Freedom Fighters, are the ones that used poisonous gas, not Syria.  I'd think that would give Republicans pause... I wonder why not?