Obama outlined in his speech tonight one principle and 3 (actually more) tactical approaches. After he was done with outlining the "strategy" he emphasized our ethos as a nation, an how our ethos helps the world. That part was at least a template for a strategy.
Great speech. Actually amazing speech. Still, no strategy. No island hopping. No containment. No flexible response. Why no strategy? Probably to appease the Saudis. More on that below. I will also outline below a few suggestions. Many have already suggested some of those strategies. They are in-line with progressive ideals and could maybe save the Democratic party from losing the Senate.
The one principle the president outlined was: "If you threaten America there's no safe haven for you". Fine. Does that mean that we are going after every extremist Islamic organization that threatened us once we intervened? Like all Al-Qaeda affiliates in Mali? Al-Shabab? Bokka Haram? Ansar al-Shariah? The Pakistani Taliban that kidnapped Daniel Perl? Fine. So be it. It could be part of a strategy, but that's incomplete. Containment, for example, stipulated that communism that cannot expand would shrivel and die. It definitely helped.
His tactical points: Help Iraqis get freedom for their own community with 1000 Americans. Help them with intelligence. Training. Equipment. Coordination. Battle of ideas. Help moderate Syrians rebels. These are all tactical approaches. What kind of strategy do they belong in?
Work with partners? Combat warped ideology? Now here's one huge self contradiction.
I think the president advisors did not want him to outline an actual strategy for the region, because the Saudis would be hurt. They were behind the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam - the reason for the mess we are experiencing. In 2000 Muslim countries, most of which signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Eleanor Roosevelt championed, adopted a watered down version to appease the Saudis that never signed the UDHR.
A real strategy should have goals for the region and how achieving those goals would help us:
I. Work for a region where women rights and empowerment, children rights, minority rights, freedom of religion rights, are on the rise while combating the forces of darkness that try to eliminate those rights. Women rights has always translated into lower birth rates and lowered violence. See Japan after 1945.
Oops. We need the Saudis. I still think we should do it! Saudi has improved slightly over the last couple of years, but if we don't put their feet to the fire they'll happily crawl back into the cave.
II. A Marshall plan for those countries that would join the fight to restore sanity. We will have a NAFTA type agreement with such countries, and aim to get them to a G20 economic level in, say, 15 years. Those alliances of ours that improve human rights over the border, like the original Marshall plan, helped us thrive economically. Oops, we give Muslims too much power that way. AIPAC would hate it - but Israel's former president an PM Shimon Peres would love it (It was his idea 30 years ago.). Let's do it!
III. USA shall support autonomies for areas with dominant minorities - as long as these regions stick by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in those regions. Alawites in Syria, Sunnis and Kurds in Iraq, Kurds in Turkey. Oops. Saudis would really freak out.
This is similar to the Bush idea of democratizing the region - but instead of forcing them to a democracy we force them to bestow some basic human rights on minorities.
This would be righting a 100 year old wrong: The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 between Britain and France created fake borders and never-ending wars. Autonomies give minorities some rights for the first time. Supporting autonomies that allow people from other denomination, or with no denomination, back into their regions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Palestine would get the Christian-right to vote with progressives! Those places have lost huge numbers of Christian in 100 years. Some parts lost Shia. Some lost Sunni. Some lost Sufis. Some Bahai. Atheists have all been driven out.
This one could work too - but may be the toughest sell.
Tue Oct 07, 2014 at 8:50 AM PT: Unfortunately, this has been a very precise diary. As I am writing this update, the group ISIS/ISIL/IS/AS@&L$s, whatever, is about to extend its territory near the Turkish border.
Why?
Because we still don't have a strategy. We still don't have an overall plan to achieve a goal with our 40 partners - only some limited tactics.
Unfortunately, this one is on Chuck Hagel and John Kerry. WHAT ARE their strategic ideas?