For me so far looks like an enormous #Obamafail, which gets worse every day. And when I go back and review past foreign policy where benefit of doubt was given, and use this new light (like Egypt,) it makes it even more depressing. And I think of the promise squandered, of what could have been done by someone with more talent a this. It's not like he wasn't received by the world with enormous positive attitude upon inauguration, quite the opposite, there was too little skepticism.

Then rumors of the Pentagon being very unhappy about this all makes it even more depressing, get creeps about LBJ dejas vus allover again decades of animosity between CIC and military.

I look at the whole picture, and start to see the professor trying to do the community organizer thing in foreign policy, promoting leading from behind. I am almost reminded of Occupy Wall Street theory of leadership.

But then I decided I've got to try to stop that sophistic thinking until all cards are played. I'll wait until he gives his speech to the public and U.N. report is in, see what they do. Try not to prejudge, watch for signs something else is going on instead of what I am prone to conclude.

(That's only if Kerry doesn't resign beforehand in frustration with the role he's been asked to play. )

P.S. I do agree with Maeillo that the one good thing that comes out of this so far is a precedent set with going to Congress for approval. Unfortunately, it's being done with a president that is lousy dealing with Congress. I'm way past the stage where he gets any further Mulligan's on that from me, I've concluded.  I don't buy the excuse any longer that he's got a more difficult Congress than any other president. No way, that's just B.S., it's his lack of talent at leading. Clinton dealt with an impeachment trial, for crying out loud, and there are plenty of other examples. Executives were not meant to do "community organizing," and lead from behind, that's not what the executive role is.

Syria's answer: OK, sure, why not, thanks for asking, Russia, and fuck you, America:

Syria 'Welcomed' Russian Proposal to Destroy Its Chemical Weapons
Russian FM Suggests International Control and Destruction of Toxic Arsenal
By Kirit Radia and Nick Schifrin, ABC News, MOSCOW, Sept. 9, 2013

Syria today "welcomed" an offer by Russia to put its chemical weapons arsenal under international control so that they could eventually be destroyed.

Syria's statement came very quickly after the proposal was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in what he said was an attempt to avoid a U.S.-led strike on Syria.

"We call on the Syrian leadership not only agree on a statement of storage of chemical weapons under international control, but also its subsequent destruction, as well as about the full accession to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," Lavrov said in a statement to reporters.

"We will immediately join the work with Damascus if establishing international control over chemical weapons in that country helps prevent attacks," the statement continued.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, who met with Lavrov in Moscow earlier in the day, responded almost immediately.

"The Syrian Arab Republic welcomed the Russian initiative, based on the concerns of the Russian leadership for the lives of our citizens and the security of our country," Muallem told reporters, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

Muallem said Syria agreed to the move because of its "trust in the wisdom of the Russian leadership, which is trying to prevent the American aggression against our people."

Lavrov's comments came after Secretary of State John Kerry suggested earlier in the day that if Syria gave up its chemical weapons by the end of the week an attack could be avoided.

"He could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. Turn it over, all of it, without delay and allow a full and total accounting," Kerry told reporters during a press conference in London with his British counterpart [.....]

That was fast.