When Obama began arming and financing the anti-Assad rebels in Syria, Assad and objective observers warned that the West would regret establishing an outpost of radical jihad in the Levant. Two years later, their worst predictions have come true â and Obama is considering reaching to Assad so he can kill the rebels who were armed and trained by the United States.
Obama To Arm Assad Against US-Armed Anti-Assad Rebels
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
22 Comments. Leave new
Yowza, you actually went there – drawing the Pres with a smiley face! I laughed out loud, literally, in spite of the seriousness of the cartoon’s topic. It certainly does change one’s perception, but I haven’t quite put my finger on exactly what yet. But that is incidental to the substance – which is very sobering. It feels like deja vu all over again. I suppose many people have forgotten that we supported bin Laden against the Soviets in Afghanistan not all THAT long ago. I really, really wish the US would stop meddling in other countries’ business and take care of what matters at home. Too many Americans are hurting and need decent jobs. And Wall Street and the banks are still robbing Main Street blind. Enough already!
I just re-watched the Bond film, “The Living Daylights” – where the Mujahideen are depicted as warm and cuddly freedom fighters, valiantly defending their country from the Evil Empire.
That’s obviously a very different thing than Al Q viciously murdering our innocent little army of liberation. :: cough ::
US policy is to hedge bets by supporting indiscriminately while condemning indiscriminately, so as to always have a stake in the up side of an outcome.
For example, Mandella was a terrorist (on the US terrorist watch list until 2008) while also a symbol for US world leadership in human rights.
Iraq and Iran were both supported in their war by the US.
The US Corporate State supports two (limited) sides in elections and in the legislative process.
It’s not about winning anything. It’s only about having a stake on the winning side of everything for propaganda and myth creation purposes.
It’s not enough to be the most powerful crime syndicate on the planet; but also to be so powerful that the most evil of acts are perceived as works of the greatest force for good on the planet.
Isn’t it really more like divide and conquer? The US doesn’t want or care for anyone to win. We want them to destroy each other. That’s the real point of the policy here.
In contrast, Machiavelli points out in The Prince that attempting to be seen as a friend of both sides will result in the victor seeing through such duplicity and cowardice. We know these guys realize the US is not their friend!
Divide and conquer is always in the mix.
How, otherwise, can a minority so thoroughly dominate a much larger majority under the guise of democracy?
But domestic tranquility first requires the capture of hearts and minds, with violence reserved for incorrigible independent minorities.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I love the new Obama, although it’s still racist. Martians are people too you know!
I hope you stick with that going forward. Whenever someone asks you about it, you can tell them about the race-baiting Kos Mob and their pathetic bullying tactics.
Ted’s a flaming xenophobe! That’s even worse than being a racist ‘cuz the Martians have superior firepower. It’s much safer to piss off people you can piss on.
Yeah, I think they messed with the wrong cartoonist this time.
Deja vu all over again – all over again.
Keep in mind that during the Iran-Contra hearings it was revealed that the US was selling missiles to Iran, with the Israelis operating as a secret middleman – this, despite an arms embargo being in place against Iran. The profits from the missile deals were then diverted through a secret war room run out of a basement office in the White House, by an undercover US military operator, to the Contras in Nicaragua to fund military operations in that country against its own people even though any support had been specifically prohibited by an act of Congress. Tens of thousands of people died at the hands of death squads and in open military attacks against villages. But it gets worse … to guarantee that the Iranians would need a steady supply of missiles (TOWs and HAWKs), the US bolstered the demand side by supplying Iraq with AWACS targeting information regarding the location of the missiles to assure their being destroyed.
The capacity for mendacity and venality of the US Frankengov has yet to be fully plumbed. Our role in midwifing the Qaeda into an opposition force against the USSR during our proxy wars of the 80s is a matter of history. That was done while representing them to the world as “freedom fighters,” the equivalent of our Minutemen during the US Revolutionary War.
Isn’t this equivalent to sending chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein and then attacking Iraq for having WMD’s (chemical weapons)? 🙁
I thought your old Obama looked like Obama. I guess that makes me racist? I love how know you have to label him with his name like old school bad metaphor cartoons.
You know, on second thought, I think you are demeaning Obama in a racist manner. You are making him seem simple and silly in a simian way with that dopey smiley-face. How dare you. This cartoon will cause so much pain to people!
Not sure where to say this so I will here: I just tried to order a few of your books via your site and the dedicate Buy Now button takes me nowhere, Ted.
Ted
Why not come up with four possible depictions of Obama.
You can let people make a small donation in return for an autographed copy of the one they want.
Biggest sales wins.
You’re still welcome to post at Dkos with a “non-racist” depiction.
Why not give this one?
Many of their editors are still saying in private messages that they support your point of view.
One has said this to four of my sock puppets.
I’ve already donated some cash to Ted, but I would pay to see that.
True. He was well-protected at the “place that shall not be named” because the admins recognized that the criticism and hide-rates prior to the accusations of racism had no merit, but were merely expressions of negative reaction to Ted’s very left-wing point of view.. Diverse opinions are supposedly supported there, but it’s community moderated, and the “community majority” did not tolerate Ted’s criticism of the president*s policies very well, so they personalized it and attacked Ted the man in a truly hateful manner.
Theoretically, yes, he could keep on posting there, but he pretty much said he would not, and people even jumped on him for daring to post a couple of additional comments after that. Amazing what people get upset over. Not wide-spread poverty, not child homelessness, not racial profiling or unjust incarceration of minorities or Wall Street’s continuing highway robbery elicits such a reaction as what brought the community to a boil this time. And it really was a mob scene. I would not like to subject myself to such a mob again if I were in his shoes, even if the admins were to ignore the hide-rates again as they did before, would you?
They’re not supposed to hide stuff just because they don’t like it, but with mob moderation, much gets swept under the rug.
I don’t really want Ted to go back there. I like Ted. If they reinstated me I’d be very paranoid about going back.
I find Ted’s choice of green politically acceptable, but has anyone checked with Daily Kos on their preferences
All foreign policy is domestic – the talking heads in the USG who envisaged a swift victory by the US/Saudi/Qatar/Turkey sponsored rebels over the forces of the Syrian government have been shown by events on the ground to be wrong, so the minority that suggested that sponsoring a Sunni-revolt in that country could have its downside are now making their way to the fore. And the opportunity to sell weapons to (the sponsors of) both sides in a conflict which looks to be protracted is, of course, just what the «pragmatic» armaments industry loves. Tout va pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles !…
Henri
Thanks for writing here, Henri. I long ago assumed I was on a list, merely for failing to keep my mouth shut.
Ted’s cartoons seem to be fortunate enough to attract comments well worth reading – OK, I must admit to having a dog in this particular fight – so there’s no need to keep one’s mouth shut. But if the comments annoy, one can delete the mark in the »Notify me when new comments are added« button below….
Henri