Bill Clinton offers some very bad advice on Syria.
Bill Clinton thinks President Obama risks looking "foolish" if he heeds opinion polls and stays out of Syria's civil war:
â??Some people say, â??Okay, see what a big mess it is? Stay out!â?? I think thatâ??s a big mistake. I agree with you about this,â? Clinton told McCain during an event for the McCain Institute for International Leadership in Manhattan Tuesday night. â??Sometimes itâ??s just best to get caught trying, as long as you donâ??t overcommit â?? like, as long as you donâ??t make an improvident commitment.â?
While American wishes don't count for much, Clinton thinks the will of the Syrian people matters more:
â??Nobody is asking for American soldiers in Syria,â? Clinton said. â??The only question is now that the Russians, the Iranians and the Hezbollah are in there head over heels, 90 miles to nothing, should we try to do something to try to slow their gains and rebalance the power so that these rebel groups have a decent chance, if theyâ??re supported by a majority of the people, to prevail?â? [Emphasis mine.]
Of course, we have no idea what percentage of the Syrian people support the rebellion, but evidently vague assertions of Syrian public opinion are more compelling to Clinton than very clear evidence of American opinion.
It also never seems to dawn on Syrian interventionists that if a majority of Syrians really do support the rebellion, that rebellion is going to win no matter what the U.S. does. Everyone points to the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan as reasons for the U.S. to stay out of Syria, but they're useful lessons for Iran and Hezbollah as well. Insurgents with a wellspring of domestic support can't be defeated militarily, at least not easily or cheaply. The most powerful army in the world backed by the largest economy in the world struggled mightily with a pair of insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If Syria's revolution is as broad and deep as interventionists claim, it will bleed Hezbollah and Iran without help from the U.S.
(AP Photo)
