Harry Reid delays Senate vote on attacking Syria

  Harry Reid had set a test vote on supporting al-Qaeda in Syria for, ironically, September 11th. The timing of this vote, in my opinion, was disgusting. Here we are about to vote on supporting the same group which attacked America on this date in 2001 and again in 2012 in Benghazi. And, as we learned here, the group that attacked the consulate in Benghazi is actually training the Syrian rebels. The whole thing stinks to high heaven! And I cannot even begin to describe how much this situation sickens me.

  It has just come over the wire that Harry Reid has decided to delay the vote in the Senate. One would naturally think that he is doing this because the votes are not there and he does not wish to embarrass the president. Harry Reid is denying this:

I’ve spoken to the Republican leader. I’ve talked to virtually all my Democratic senators and we have enough votes to get cloture

  Why then would he delay a vote which would give Barack Obama what he claims he wants? He claims it is because John Kerry may have provided the world with a diplomatic solution to the problem:

I think it’s certainly a positive development when … the Russians and the Syrians both make gestures toward dealing with these chemical weapons. This is what we’ve been asking for not just over the last week or the last month, but for the last couple of years

  Personally I do not believe this for a second, I believe the votes are not there and that is why he is delaying the vote. But let us take him at his word just this once. I know it is hard but for the sake of this post let us look at John Kerry’s proposal.

  John Kerry made an off the cuff remark about how the United States would be willing to forego military action if Bashar Assad turned over his chemical weapons within a week’s time. Clearly this was not a serious proposal, he was citing something he knew could never happen as an example of what could delay the president’s decision. He claims it was spoken rhetorically and this is one time where I agree with the Secretary of State.

  This was not a serious proposal and it wasn’t meant to be, however, Vladimir Putin quickly jumped on the proposal and urged Bashar Assad to turn in his chemical weapons.  Putin knew this wasn’t a serious proposal but he jumped on it for he saw a political means to an end, and it provided him with an opportunity to embarrass John Kerry and the United States in the process.

  Bashar Assad then followed suit and declared he might be willing to turn over his chemical weapons if given the chance. Again, this was done to call out the United States on John Kerry’s proposal. Neither man has now seen the light or the error of their ways overnight.

  Both Putin and Assad realize that it would take weeks, if not months, for the United Nations to access the situation on the ground in Syria and during this time the Obama regime would allow the crisis in Syria to fade from the public’s eye. 

  John Kerry may have inadvertently provided Barack Obama with the “out” in Syria he so desperately needed and if this is what it takes to avoid an unnecessary attack with no American interests at stake I am all for it.  This is the one time I am happy John Kerry stuck his foot in his mouth.

  Even a blind dog finds a bone every once in awhile…..