Video: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman on Arming Syrian Rebels

File this one in the "Someone at the top is making some sense," category. General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN's Fareed Zakaria that the United States should not rush into a decision to arm the Syrian rebels. Though such a position might cause John McCain to get red in the face and Lindsey Graham to stomp and stammer, it's an extremely wise position.

Via CNN:

The United States is not interested in providing weapons to opposition forces in Syria until it has a better picture of what those forces are, the top U.S. military officer said in an interview aired Sunday.

"I think it's premature to take a decision to arm the opposition movement in Syria, because I would challenge anyone to clearly identify for me the opposition movement in Syria at this point," Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

More than 50 prominent U.S. conservatives signed an open letter last week urging the Obama administration to "take immediate action" against the Syrian regime, including "self-defense aid" to an armed opposition led by defected government troops. Among the signatories were some of the leading voices in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as the former head of the U.S.-led occupation government there. 

And Sen. Joe Lieberman told CNN last week that a "coalition of the willing" should assist Syria's opposition forces since Syrian allies Russia and China vetoed action at the United Nations. Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent who was also a leading Iraq hawk, said the United States and its allies could provide the rebels with medical aid, communications and ultimately, weapons.

It is simply AMAZING that supposedly intelligent people are so completely oblivious to what is going on with the Muslim Brotherhood. McCain, Graham, and Lieberman cannot possibly be this clueless, can they? In every instance so far where there has been the removal of a dictator during the Arab Spring, the Muslim Brotherhood is filling the void. Why on earth would these people advocate for such a scenario in Syria? Perhaps it's because muruna is working.



h/t Hot Air

New Low for Romney: Robo-Calls of Santorum Endorsing him... in 2008!

This really is despicable and I hope it hurts Romney more than it helps him. In 2008, when he was not running for president, Rick Santorum appeared on the Laura Ingraham show and endorsed Mitt Romney's candidacy over John McCain. In perhaps the sleeziest tactic yet, Romney's Super PAC sent out robo-calls in Michigan that featured Santorum's endorsement from that interview.

Via the Detroit Free Press:

Some Michiganders — this reporter included — got what may have been a surprising call over the weekend: Romney’s chief rival Rick Santorum endorsing Mitt Romney.

The endorsement was in 2008, when Romney was running for president (and Santorum wasn’t). In an interview about the endorsement at the time, Santorum said he hesitated about who to endorse but decided on Romney as the best alternative to John McCain. The robocall was presumably paid for by either the campaign or the Super PAC supporting Romney.

After a short introduction in the automated call to Michigan voters, Santorum says: “If you’re a conservative, there really is only one place to go right now. I would even argue farther than that. If you’re a Republican, if you’re a Republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now, and that’s Mitt Romney.”

That's so pathetic, I'll bet even Obama cringed when he heard about it. It also shows how desperate Romney's campaign is to win Michigan. If he loses there, he's toast. It'd be nice to see this despicable attempt to save his candidacy actually sink it.

Here's the audio from the 2008 interview:



h/t Free Republic

Video: Santorum Aid calls Obama's Policies "Radical(ly) Islamic"

Frankly, I think it's a mistake to walk this one back. The key moment comes just after the 1:20 mark. Rick Santorum's spokesperson Alice Stewart was on MSNBC with Andrea Mitchell to defend her candidate's comments about Obama's theology. It's clear that Stewart didn't intend to say "(Obama's) radical Islamic policies" but it was definitely something that has a ring of truth to it, not because of Obama's theology but because of how his policies ARE benefiting radical Islamists.

Frankly, this is an opportunity that Santorum's camp could use to its advantage. First of all, there is a significant portion of his base that actually believes Obama has Islamic sympathies and what would make meat redder than a presidential candidate's spokesperson echoing the sentiment? Second, has anyone noticed that no one has benefited better from Obama's policies than the very radical Muslim Brotherhood? Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Maurutania, Morocco, and now Syria all seem to be falling into the hands of the Brotherhood.

Santorum could easily go on offense here instead of walking this freudian slip back by saying, well, yeah, Obama's policies are both radical and pro-Islamic.

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h/t GWP

Of course, if Santorum's campaign decides against doubling down and standing by Stewart's comments, the best response would be the dredging up of Obama's interview with George Stephanoplous in 2008 when then-candidate Obama referred to his "Muslim faith" before Steph helped him correct it on the spot. Santorum's camp could tell the media that if it chooses to go after his campaign for a misstep, Obama's misstep in the same respect in 2008 should be fair game.

Remember this?