Dobbs Slams Obama over Iran, Syria, ISIS: His Strategy Seems More Like ‘Irritate and Retreat’

DOUBS: “The Obama administration has again extended the deadline for the Iranian nuclear talks, as they have again and again. So tonight, a few thoughts on deadlines and red lines at least as recognized and interpreted by this administration. Incredibly, it was three years ago that President Obama sternly almost theatrically warned Iran that ‘the clock is ticking.’ Perhaps the ticking to which Mr. Obama referred is that of the Doomsday Clock, ticking ever closer to Armageddon since he took office. Ticking or not it’s now been more than 500 days since the negotiations began – 500 days. Over that period U.S. officials have made, incredibly, nearly 70 Trans-Atlantic flights to be at the table for those talks only to miss yet another deadline. The fifth missed deadline. But deadlines not the only self-imposed line ignored by the administration. The President famously proclaimed that Syria’s use of chemical weapons would be a ‘red line for us; and vowed consequences. Of course, there were none. When faced with tough action against Syria and President Assad, Mr. Obama instead covered and turned to Putin for help. But Mr. Obama self-imposed lines didn’t stop there, vowing to ‘degrade and destroy’ the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, a claim he repeated yesterday, incredibly, followed by these comments.

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OBAMA: “[And this larger battle for hearts and minds is going to be] a generational struggle. It's ultimately not going to be won or lost by the United States alone. It will be decided by the countries and the communities that terrorists like ISIL target.”

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DOUBS: “And that made sense, apparently to the president himself. A generational struggle. So much for degrade and destroy. The President’s strategy now seems to be more like irritate and retreat. The President’s refusal to stand by his deadlines and enforce red lines only, of course, emboldens our adversaries and diminishes our position in the world. And this like this missed deadline in the Iranian nuclear talks only stands to accelerate the process.”