What Should Obama, the Toothless Tiger, Be Worried About?

Published in Huanqiu
(China) on 4 May 2014
by Liu Zhilin (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Rosalyn Shih. Edited by Kyrstie Lane.
Obama is at his wit’s end with regards to international affairs.

Since President Obama has been re-elected, he has failed at handling several major issues. His support rating has fallen to 42 percent, and in terms of domestic affairs, the Republican and Democratic parties have not been able to agree on the national budget, national deficit, health care, immigration and other issues. Although Obama passed a bill to raise the minimum wage, his support in Congress has been only 15 percent. In international affairs, the United States is in a difficult position regarding Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, the Iranian nuclear deal and the Israeli-Palestinian situation. The media even claims Obama is as ineffectual as a toothless tiger.

How Will the United States Put Out the Fire It Lit in Syria?

The Americans have already lost control of the Syrian rebel forces they originally supported. When the United States held a conference in Geneva, the rebels didn’t even attend. In truth, these so-called “moderate” anti-government forces exist in name only; the most predominant militant groups are the extremist Islamic armed forces that are labeled by Americans as terrorist organizations. On the surface, the United States opposes these groups, but cooperates with them behind the scenes. In fact, the Americans have attempted to use them to overturn Bashar Assad’s lawfully established government.

Even more awkwardly, these extremist organizations are backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and other American-supported Gulf states. To date, there are over a thousand armed rebel forces in Syria who are supported by the Arab Gulf states, with a total of over 100,000 members. Of these members, about 60,000 to 70,000 members are considered jihadists, Islamic extremists, or are affiliated with al-Qaida.

The United States’ difficult and contradictory position in the Persian Gulf is now increasingly brought to light. Saudi Arabia has expressed dissatisfaction toward Obama’s compromise regarding Iranian nuclear deals and absence of missile attacks against Syria. According to media sources, while Kuwait supports the Muslim Brotherhood, Saudi Arabia and the UAE both oppose them. And because of disputes, Qatar has recalled its foreign ambassadors. According to reports from the U.S. Department of Treasury, Kuwait supports the Syrian Liberation Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, groups that the United States has labeled as terrorist organizations. Unbelievably, the U.S. has reported that the first leader of the Syrian Liberation Front was a CIA secret agent.

Some critics have pointed out that the Syrian situation has long ceased to be a civil war; it has been an international war led by the United States and other interfering Western countries. Most Syrians see through this facade and believe that the American-supported “freedom fighters” will destroy their country in an act of human rights violation. Now, many local residents have started to organize themselves out of self-defense. Soon, Syria will hold a general election; Assad will be one of the candidates, and it seems likely that he will be elected. It remains unclear how Obama will put out the fire that the United States has lit in Syria. Some have suggested that if the United States truly wants to fight terrorism, it should cooperate with Assad to defeat Syrian extremists and terrorists in one fell swoop. However, the United States should not give up on the Middle East; it should continue training and arming the so-called “moderate” forces in Jordan, but it should admit that the situation in Syria may end up like the Lebanese civil war, and even persisting for up to 10 years.

If the United States Is Defeated by the Taliban, How Does It Withdraw Completely?

The United States dispatched almost 100,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, allegedly to capture bin Laden, but the 13-year struggle with the Taliban has been a huge loss to the country; the U.S. has sacrificed over 2,000 American lives and spent up to a trillion American dollars. This has been the longest war the United States has ever fought abroad, and it cannot deny that the world’s strongest military has been defeated by the Taliban. Instead, Obama should be concerned with how American soldiers can safely and gracefully withdraw from Afghanistan.

The truth is, the Afghan government’s influence does not extend beyond Kabul, and most villages are actually under the Taliban’s control. It is widely accepted that no matter who wins the democratic elections, there can be no peace unless there is cooperation with the Taliban. It can be said that Afghanistan is still the Taliban’s territory.

United States Falls into Dangerous Territory in Ukraine

Recently, the temporary government in Ukraine has reported that Russian-affiliated troops have occupied Crimea, and that the Ukrainian army sent to maintain control in the area has openly defected to the Russian troops. They have refused to engage in combat with Russia because they believe the two sides are as close as brothers and that they are part of the same family. Obama has been moved to take action during this precarious situation. The United States has invested $5 billion and supported the violent protests in Kiev’s independence square, facilitating the toppling of the democratically-elected prime minister. As the situation changed, the U.S. supported the Ukrainian temporary government’s characterization of the occupation of government buildings by the Russian-supporting East Ukrainians as “terrorist attacks.” In this way, the Americans have fallen into a very difficult position.

Obama has called for sanctions against Russia, which have received less-than-enthusiastic responses from the European Union. Because of the NATO alliance, European countries are bound to approach issues related to Ukraine and Russia differently from the U.S.

Because of the EU’s persistent financial struggles and closer economic ties to Russia, European countries care most about their self-gain, and will be reluctant to challenge Russia. This would be like pouring kerosene on their own front doors.

To sum up with the words of a foreign "netizen": “Your leader [President Obama] listens to the orders of the Rothschild family, and will pull our world into war. I live in England, but this idiot wants to use the EU for his pretense. He has made changes to American policy, and has overturned a government that has refused to do business with him. Those of us in Europe will suffer the consequences. I don’t believe any other countries will support the madman Obama.”*

To a degree, this comment projects attitudes that the European governments and people carry regarding the situation in Ukraine. These people better understand the current circumstances. The situation has changed, and the United States should drop its pretense as a global overlord. America should do away with the Cold War tactics of intimidation and sanction, and it should sit down with Russia and related parties to cooperate over Ukraine.


*Editor’s Note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.


作者认为奥巴马在国际事务上已经黔驴技穷

  奥巴马自从当选连任总统以来,在重大问题上一事无成,处境尴尬,支持率已然跌到了42%。国内方面,民主党和共和党在预算、压缩赤字、医疗、移民等问题上争吵不休。眼下,奥巴马力挺提高最低工资待遇,但国会支持率仅为15%。国际方面更甚,美国在乌克兰、叙利亚、伊核、巴以和谈以及阿富汗等问题上已经黔驴技穷,无计可施。有媒体称,奥巴马成了一只“无齿虎”。那么,他还在愁些什么?

  美国在叙利亚点的火如何收场?

  在叙利亚,美国对自己长期支持的所谓造反军失去了控制力,他们不再屈从美国操纵。美国要召开日内瓦会议,他们不赏脸,拒绝出席。事实上,所谓反政府的“温和”造反派有名无实,而最具战斗力的穆斯林极端武装团体又被美国定性为“恐怖组织”,表面上反对却暗中勾结,美国是企图利用他们推翻阿萨德合法政权。

  更加棘手的是,这些极端组织恰恰是由沙特、卡塔尔、阿联酋和科威特等这些美国的海湾盟国所扶持的。目前,叙利亚境内有1000多个武装造反团体,这些团体共有10多万战斗人员,大多由海湾国家支持。这其中,圣战分子、伊斯兰端分子以及基地组织成员就有6-7万。然而,美国与上述海湾国家的矛盾正在公开化:沙特对于奥巴马没有导弹袭击叙利亚,与伊朗签订妥协协议公开表示不满;据美媒透露,卡塔尔支持穆斯林兄弟会,沙特和阿联酋则反对,并因此从卡塔尔召回了大使;据美国财政部透露的信息,科威特支持被美国定为“恐怖组织”的“捍卫叙利亚人们阵线”以及“伊拉克与黎凡特伊斯兰国”,而“捍卫叙利亚人们阵线”的第一任首领竟然是中情局特务。

  有观察家指出,叙利亚问题的性质早就不再是“内战”,而是一场由美国和西方国家主导的武装干涉叙利亚的“国际战争”。叙利亚多数人民已经看穿了美国的真面目——美国支持的“自由战士”们要毁掉叙利亚,给人们带来的是人道主义灾难。现在,许多居民已经组织起来进行自卫。美国在叙利亚点的火如何收场,奥巴马也说不清。叙利亚不久举行大选,阿萨德将参加竞选。现在看来,阿萨德胜选连任的可能性很大。有人提出,如果美国真想反恐,叙利亚集中了那么多极端分子和恐怖分子,美国完全可以与阿萨德联手,把他们一网打尽。然而,美国并不死心,还继续在约旦加紧训练和武装所谓的“温和派”,并声称叙利亚问题可能会像当年的黎巴嫩内战,持续数年甚至10多年。

  美国败在塔利班手里,怎么体面撤出?

  美国派出近10万大军,名义上是到阿富汗捉拿拉登,结果与塔利班对阵了13年,死了2000多美军,花掉近万亿美元,到头来“赔了夫人又折兵”。阿富汗战争因此成为美国历史上持续时间最长的海外战争,美军不可战胜的神话被塔利班戳穿。美国不得不承认,世界上最强大的军队败在塔利班手里。奥巴马目前顾及的是,美军能够从阿富汗体面地撤出。

  阿富汗政府的指令出不了首都喀布尔,广大农村仍然掌握在塔利班手里。眼下,阿富汗大选,无论谁胜出,没有塔利班配合,都无法坐稳江山。可以预言,阿富汗未来很可能是塔利班的天下。

  美国一手策划乌克兰危机,在道义上陷入可笑境地

  近日,乌临时政府已经承认,亲俄罗斯的武装人员已经控制了乌东部地区。乌临时政府派去镇压的军队,要么公开倒戈,要么私下与亲俄罗斯的武装人员联手,跟本不想动武。因为他们原来就是一家人,是兄弟。乌克兰危机是美国一手策划的,而这就使奥巴马在此问题上极为被动。美国花掉50亿美元,赞助基辅独立广场上的暴力示威活动,又背信弃义,推翻民选合法总统,自以为得计,后竟又支持乌临时政府关于东部亲俄罗斯人员占领政府大楼是“恐怖行为”的说法。这样,美国在道义上就陷入了十分可笑的境地。

  奥巴马一再叫喊“制裁”俄罗斯,昔日的盟友——欧盟国家都不积极响应。因为在北约东扩,在如何处置乌克兰问题、如何处理与俄罗斯关系上,欧盟国家与美国有着明显的意见分歧。在欧盟经济长期低迷的情况下,欧盟首先考虑的是自身利益。因为欧盟国家与俄罗斯的经济联系比美国密切得多。他们不想与俄罗斯搞对抗,不想在自家门口点燃战火。

  最后,用一位外国网民的话作为结束语:“你们的总司令(指奥巴马)听从罗思柴尔德主子们的指令,要把世界拖入战争。我生活在英国,而这个疯子就是想把欧洲当作盾牌。是美国政府策动了一场政变,推翻了一个不愿意与他们做生意的政府。在欧洲的我们将会深受其害。我不能相信我们的任何国家会支持这个疯子奥巴马。”此人的留言在一定程度上折射出欧洲国家政府和人民对乌克兰问题的看法与态度。识时务者为俊杰。时代不同了,美国应该放下世界霸主的臭架子,丢弃冷战思维和“制裁”大棒,坐下来与俄罗斯等有关各方谈判解决乌克兰问题。(作者是前外交官)
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Israel: From the Cities of America to John Bolton: Trump’s Vendetta Campaign against Opponents Reaches New Heights

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Turkey: Pay Up or Step Aside: Tariffs in America’s ‘Protection Money’ Diplomacy

Topics

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Mexico: The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Venezuela and President Nicholás Maduro

Hong Kong: Cordial Cross-Strait Relations Will Spare Taiwan Trump’s Demands, Says Paul Kuoboug Chang

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate

Canada: Carney Takes Us Backward with Americans on Trade

Related Articles

Thailand: Appeasing China Won’t Help Counter Trump

India: Will New US Envoy Help to Repair Ties under Threat?

France: Global South: Trump Is Playing into China’s Hands

Zimbabwe: What the West Doesn’t Understand about China’s Growing Military Might

Sri Lanka: Trump Is Very Hard on India and Brazil, but For Very Different Reasons