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Obama’s redefinition of his chemical weapons red line and his reversal seeking Congressional approval for attacking Syria proves he is trying to shed responsibility for his foreign affairs blunder.
Shockingly, during a press conference today in Sweden, Obama denied ownership of his original red line comment saying, “I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line.”
Previously, Obama’s decision to take military action was based on the 2012 statement he made in response to a question from NBC’s Chuck Todd:
I have, at this point, not ordered military engagement in the situation. But the point that you made about chemical and biological weapons is critical. That’s an issue that doesn’t just concern Syria; it concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel. It concerns us. We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people.
We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.
Clearly, the words “my calculus” and “my equation,” in context of using military action, shows Obama’s ownership to the red line trigger.
Obama’s red line qualification follows his sudden reversal to seek Congressional approval to wage military action in Syria. Obama’s August 31st Rose Garden statement caught the world by surprise because on the previous day, Secretary of State John Kerry was passionately preparing the world for a U.S. military strike against the Assad regime.
Obama’s abrupt affinity for the legislative branch conflicts with recent actions regarding Congress.
During his 2012 State of the Union address, Obama promised to push his climate change agenda with our without Congress:
I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. (Applause.) I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
President Obama also decided to delay enforcement of the ObamaCare employer mandate until 2015 without Congress. The decree was issued by the Treasury Department.
Obama also ignored Congress with his reversal on the Dream Act – the law allowing children of illegal immigrants to gain U.S. citizenship.
First, Obama said he did not have the authority to act without Congress, and then he decided he had the power to grant citizenship:
Administration officials said the president used existing legal authority to make the broad policy change, which could temporarily benefit more than 800,000 young people. He did not consult with Congress, where Republicans have generally opposed measures to benefit illegal immigrants.
Obama has a long history of twisting his words and actions to serve his short-term political agenda. With his Syrian policy in disarray and his creditability in free fall, Obama is desperate to shed responsibility for his misguided foreign policy.
