By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Well, you know, at least he asked. According to Establishment talking heads, Obama has the authority to bombard Syria without the approval of Congress. He did so in Libya, and all the kvetching about overstepping died quietly when Gaddafi was cornered. If he hadn’t brought this issue into the harsh light of the cameras, and the subsequent politicking from the most divided Congress in decades, we would likely see a military strike with loud (and largely bi-partisan) disapproval, and then quickly forget.
Once again facing missile strikes in the Middle East, I wonder if we’re finally able to connect the dots from the possibility of this unpopular military intervention back to the drones that launch under-reported missile strikes — called war crimes by many — with disturbing regularity. Probably not. Yet those who point out our own hypocrisy on this front are met with shrugs from neighbors who are either ignorant or oblivious of our international indiscretions, preferring some patriotic rationale to the brutal truth of America’s hegemony.
Unfortunately, this nation might bring some semblance of moral authority to the table if we weren’t dragging unpunished incidents of rendition and torture at Abu Ghraib by the heels, or turning a blind eye toward dictators that serve “American interests,” or tolerating banking practice that destabilized the global economy, victimizing us all. Being bigger and badder than the rest has its perks, mostly that nobody is leveling missiles at us as punishment for our sins, although — while we’re connecting dots — that pretty much answers the question raised in concert on 9/11: “Why?”