Dove Obama Makes a Reluctant Hawk
He vowed to "hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are," and to "not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq." He declared "a core principle" of his presidency to be "if you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."
Yet his speech left a number of critical questions unanswered. Among them:
1) What's the exit strategy? Vietnam sadly taught us the folly of starting a war without a clear vision of how to end it. Iraq and Afghanistan reinforced that lesson. How will we know when we have "won" against the Islamic State?
2) The sustained campaign against the Islamic State could take three years, unnamed senior Obama aides told The New York Times prior to the speech. That would land the endgame in the next president's lap. Are Americans ready for such a long and gradual fight?
3) No "boots on the ground?" Really? Obama promised no U.S. combat troops would be placed on the ground in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. But Republican Speaker John Boehner, who supported giving the president what he's asking for, nevertheless remarked, "Well, somebody's boots have to be on the ground."
4) Will we become Syria's new air force? Obama says we can help the Syrian opposition to fight the Islamic State, which is part of that opposition, without helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Good luck with that.
And how will Congress react? The issue hits as midterm elections loom, which is a bad time for serious debate. In the interest of unity against terrorism threats, lawmakers probably will give the president what he wants, at least for now.
But this campaign also raises tough questions about the next election and what voters want in their commander-in-chief: a hawkish dove or dovish hawk?
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E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.
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