President Barack H. Obama
Diplomacy or military action
PBS.org Washington Week. Host Gwen Ifil - Sept. 13, 2013

Ostensibly our president is playing a grand masterful hand with regard to Syria. The envy of Don Corleone! By the way, his middle name translate as "blessed"!!!

The wrongheaded pundits are since 2008 still stuck deep in the old world playground. Examples: our friends David Brooks and Mark Shields. PBS.org Newshour (Sept. 13, 2013).

The president allowed his harsh rival critics Sens. John McCain (R. AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R. N.C.) to come to the White House and pull his Syria strike policy more to their aggressive stance. So, they thought!!

Then for those critics who demanded he submit his Syrian strike policy, ID - before Congress; he called their bluff! And in doing so changed their tune and dynamics.

Now the critics argue he could not win the House vote. He had no public polling support.

Russia Mr. V. Putin - changed his tune - ran to compromise to save face (if the US struck Syria, which under his protection - it would show Russia's protection as meaningless! And Mr. Putin is a paper tiger at home and abroad!) and offered a sweetheart deal to the president.

Syria also changed its tune to admitting it had chemicals weapons; agreeing to destroy them; opening up to international monitoring. And agreeing to join the international treaty banning chemical weapons.

Would bombing had accomplished this commendable deal?

The president won without firing a shot that "war game"!!!

"Mission accomplished"!!!

Plus, this strengthen the president's hand. Our ally France is still on board.

Therefore, if the present negotiations with Russian and Syria fails the president, as commander in chief, will go before the nation (not the polls) to eloquently enunciate our national security interest, then act, with or without that congressional vote, to execute his duty. The military and nation and history will follow him and his VP Joe Biden.

See Charlie Rose The Week PBS.org, with guest former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. (Sept. 15, 2013).

By: Leon Irby Dated: Sept. 17, 2013