“Concerned” that Obama does nuance
by digby
Congressman Mike Rogers is “concerned”:
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers did not mince words Thursday, slamming President Barack Obama for an “odd” news conference during which the president said, “We do not have a strategy” to deter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
“It was an odd press conference at the very best, but to have a press conference to say we don’t have a strategy was really shocking given the severity of the threat. That’s what’s so concerning to me,” Rogers (R-Mich.) told Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
Right. What you want is a president pounding on the podium insisting “I’m the decider! I’ll decide because I’ve decided!” Or something like that.
It is a good thing for a president to be thoughtful and to show the world that he’s being thoughtful. The US is a massive, military superpower and that can be threatening. Much better to have leadership that doesn’t sound as if it’s eager to drop bombs or invade at a moments notice and that it’s taking all sides into account.
President Obama is a lot of things but he isn’t stupid. I find it hard to believe that he didn’t say they were working out a strategy as part of a diplomatic move as they’re working with allies in the region. I know it’s hard for hawks to understand this because they spend their entire lives trying to prove their manhood, but sometimes it’s better not to rush in and take charge of every situation. Sometimes it makes more sense to give others the chance to step up. It tends to give them a different stake in the outcome and possibly allows them to not feel as if they are a vassal of the United States. (Which is undoubtedly why Mike Rogers doesn’t like it.)
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