Message on Syria

When the President addresses our Nation on any crucial issue like the crisis in Syria, in this case, there are some unsung heroes that are seldom recognized. I am not talking about the Secretary  of State Kerry or Secretary Hagel for floating an idea requesting a surrender of Syria's chemical arsenal nor am I referring to Mr. Putin who will eventually claim the credit for diplomacy due to his connections with the Assad regime, I am referring to guys like Cody Keenan or Jon Favreau, President's speechwriters, they are the real unsung heroes. When the stakes were so high and everyone was eagerly waiting to understand what the next critical move would be, last night's speech was pretty impressive. Often, It is about how you package the message, obviously a big part of it goes to delivering the powerful message  but most of the public don't even realize that the person delivering the message was not the one to script it. So, Kudos to Cody Keenan who I believe is instrumental in crafting the Presidential address to the nation on Syria. As CNN calls it the speechwriter's tall order.

With appreciation & accolades out of the way, let me now focus on the crux of the message. Some critics  were quick to jump on President's case but that is inevitable. Diplomacy is a tough thing and people will judge either direction you march, as a Head of State. Also, people were trying to draw a parallel between the decisions made by 'W' over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While a comparison is justifiable at that level, the situations were way different. Moreover, this President is still leaning towards a diplomatic solution rather than a military strike. Granted that there was some mis-steps/mix ups in the last couple of weeks, the way he demonstrated his intentions as a Commander-In-Chief but things were changing dynamically and intelligence  is still being gathered. In hindsight, he should have waited till all the evidence was gathered but media was all over the Chemical attack and the administration felt the need to address it right away. Besides, the roll back of his decision on Military strike and to get Congress involved was also an interesting move that raised a lot of eye brows.

On the note of comparison, It is important to understand the difference between Iraq & now, back then it was a very sensitive situation. 9/11 happened and people wanted some retaliation against someone who gruesomely attacked American citizens on our own soil. Now the sentiments are different, as much as people empathize with the killings in Damascus, they are not emotionally at the same level they were. Based on the polls, almost majority of Americans really do not care about what happened in another part of the world.. This brings up an interesting paradigm that no body seems to talk about -- How inhuman have be become? This I guess is a broader question.

Back to the message, there were certain parts of the speech* that I liked, which I want to highlight -

Do we have to go to a War? 

President: After all, I've spent four-and-a-half years working to end wars, not to start them. I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan.

Is it worth if we are not taking Assad out?

President: I don't think we should remove another dictator with force. We learned from Iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can makes Assad - or any other dictator - think twice before using chemical weapons.

Why should we be the world's policemen?

President: Over the last two years, my administration has tried diplomacy and sanctions, warnings and negotiations, but chemical weapons were still used by the Assad regime.

Bottom line, I hope the diplomacy works and Syria keeps up to its commitment (which is again questionable) but if it does not, then the President has a bigger mess on his hands to deal with - No support from Congress, No International allies, No American support plus the intensity has dwindled.. So, let's hope for a peaceful way out of this. Your thoughts?

*Source - CNN (Complete coverage of the speech)