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Gates did his time and served both Bush and Obama well. It is difficult to ask a man to serve much longer. Remember he had also been the head of the CIA in a former administration.

McCain is an idiot in my book. He is not a smart guy and absent the sympathy vote for his POW status would never have been in the government. I honor his service but wouldn’t trust his intellectual gifts. He is also a meddler.

As to Boehner, the President hasn’t bothered to develop a relationship and Boehner is a weak leader in his own right.

Truer words were never spoken — we just about batting zero in good outcomes in the Middle East. Really can’t point to much of anything as a good outcome. I am particularly pissed off at the Army who supposedly stood up a 900,000 man Iraqi army which can’t defeat 30K ISIS horde.

BRC
http://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

The situation is also nuts. You’re right about the to-ing and fro-ing on who to back, because its a competition for the lesser of some pretty bad evils.

That said, the inaction (as far as what the public is privy) to seems to be asking for big trouble down the road.

Its really too bad Gates retired. McCain has some big sway now, but he can’t really be trusted to work in a cooperative manner, especially since he pretty much reports to Boehner whose job is self-defined as zigging to the President’s zag.

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One more small point, the President — like any startup CEO — has gotten a lot of very bad advice along the way as it relates to war. And weapon systems. And political underbelly of other nations. There is not a person in his cabinet since Bob Gates who has been an intellectual force multiplier. He is very, very, very alone. Electoral politics is not good training for foreign policy.

BRC
http://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

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The BRC is prepared to give the President a complete pass on both A’stan and Iraq — not because his policy is good (it isn’t) but solely because it wasn’t his deal. There is something profound about not letting any war pass through the terms of two Presidents.

The rest of the Middle East is a goulash of to-ing, fro-ing and bad picks on who to back or failing to back anyone. We may actually end up teaming up with Assad to fight ISIS before this is over. Wow, THAT red line really circled around a bit, no?

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the good guy as long as it extends deeper than one’s cologne. It is the notion of “appearing” to be a good guy v actually “being” a good guy that is disastrous.

When Gates was Sec Def, the Pentagon made quite a few good decisions. Once it became others, the President stopped getting adult advice and got a lot of holding the mirror up to his smiling face — laughing at your own jokes kind of smiles.

Hillary is a hawk having to compensate for the slurs that will sent her way in the category of “she’s not tough enough”. She will overcompensate to prove her critics wrong.

The bottom line is this — just like a startup, the US military has to find MPF and hand out ass kickings with a high degree of violence, kill shitheads and come home before the nation building gets unleashed. Even if you have to return every five years, this is a better policy than staying for 10-15 years and accomplishing nothing.

BRC
http://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com

I think Obama is more concerned with being seen as the good guy than doing what it takes to actually be the good guy, which often makes you look like a bad guy instead.

Don’t fret, though. Hillary won’t have the same issues here. 🙂

The Arab Spring has morphed into the Arab Winter.

http://themusingsofthebigredcar.com/the-arab-winter/

BRC
http://www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com