Obama Red Line Reflected Policy Authored by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

Posted by Tina

Rick Ballard of Red State makes the case that Jay Carney was correct when he stated that Obama’s Red Line threat was not a gaffe but was, in fact, State Department policy…policy developed by Hillary and her gal pals at the State Department:

As much as it pains me to say it, Jay Carney is correct and the New York Times account is totally false. The use of “red line” to describe chemical weapons use in Syria did not originate with Obama going off message, it reflected a calculated use of the term.

On August 11, 2012, ten days before Obama’s statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had a joint press conference in Istanbul. During that press conference the following exchange happened:

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, for you, can you tell us a little bit more in detail about your meeting with the opposition activists? Did you get a better sense of whether they are really prepared to be able to be involved in leading a transition? What kind of questions did you ask them about who is actually doing the fighting on the ground? And what kind of answers did you get?

And then, for both of you, there has been a lot of talk about this common operational picture. What exactly is that common operational picture? Does it involve the potential of this corridor from Aleppo, north to the border here, turning into some kind of safe haven? And does it include anything on how to deal with the chemical weapons that everyone has expressed concern about? Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: [yadda yadda] And both the minister and I saw eye to eye on the many tasks that are ahead of us, and the kinds of contingencies that we have to plan for, including the one you mentioned in the horrible event that chemical weapons were used. And everyone has made it clear to the Syrian regime that is a red line for the world, [italics mine] what would that mean in terms of response and humanitarian and medical emergency assistance, and of course, what needs to be done to secure those stocks from every being used, or from falling into the wrong hands.

It appears that where Obama deviated from script was in omitting “for the world” and substituting “for us.”

Those who need reminding can also read a total recounting of Hillary’s political failures and adventures in “Hillary! Because What Difference Does it Make?” by Clarice Feldman over at the American Thinker. She quotes Rick Ballard who claims that Hillary’s time in the State Department was supposed to give her the foreign policy stripes to win the presidency:

It was supposed to be a demonstration of her mastery of foreign policy and her “team” of Abedin, Powers and Rice were supposed to demonstrate how marvelous women were in applying “soft” power to effect “change”.

Instead, if indeed this was her baby, she and the girls have made one horrendous mess and diminished America’s standing in the world. Mrs. Clinton is not the person that I want to take a three AM phone call but the man we have elected hasn’t been any better.

Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize without significant contribution; some have suggested he should now give it back. Hillary Clinton was recently awarded the Liberty Medal to honor her “career in public service and advocacy for women’s rights”. At the end of what was described as a “bland speech” she was recognized a second time by a heckler who shouted “Benghazi” several times. These two politicians represent radical left politics and ideals. The radical left has been extremely vicious and un-supportive in its criticism of Republican presidents grappling with the horrendous problems that face our nation. As they did so, they mugged insufferable intolerance equaled only by their haughty sense of superiority. Watching them stumble and fail our nation so spectacularly now is one of the saddest, most disheartening moments I’ve witnessed in our nation’s history but it is something they have earned through bad decisions and that insufferable, haughty attitude.

Politicians come and go and thankfully their policies go with them. Its time to wake up America and reclaim our nations. The radical progressives that have taken over the Democrat Party are not aligned with our traditional American ideals of freedom and justice. Their “collective” mindset does not recognize enemies of freedom and justice and their policies flow from that mindset. The failures represented by the events in Benghazi and the empty “red line” threat are the result. It isn’t too early to say that we can’t afford another 4 to 8 years with Hillary Clinton in the White House.

The only thing that keeps me sane in the mean time is the thought of the men and women who honor America every day with their tireless sacrifice and service.