The Chemical Weapons of Bashar al Assad

We read in the NY Times that the Obamarrhoids are starting to think that maybe, just maybe, they were deluded in thinking that Barack Obama sweet talked chemical weapons out of the hands of Bashar al Assad.  Let's think about this.

Bashar al Assad did not decide one day to attack "his" people.  Possibly, the initial unrest in 2011 was agitation for civil rights, but that unrest was quickly appropriated by Sunni fighters and converted into a jihad against the Alawites.

Bashar al Assad is the leader of the Alawites.  Contrary to popular belief in the West, Alawites are not a denomination of Shia Islam.  They may have started that way in the 9th century, but their syncretistic faith, that includes a strong resemblance to the triune god of the Christians, puts them beyond the pale in the eyes of mainstream Islam.

Depending on their mood, Muslims view Alawites either as heretics or apostates.  Either quality is perilous for the Alawites.  Historically the Alawites were severly oppressed and very poor.  Only by the machinations of the colonial French did the Alawites become a military elite and, after colonialism, a ruling elite.  And that is intolerable to the Muslims.

If al Assad loses the fight, there will be a genocide of the Alawites, that is why he will do anything to win.  There is no atrocity he will not commit.  He will fight to the death.  He will make a pact with the Devil, if he has to.  Making deals with Russians and Iranians was a no brainer for him.

Into this grisly scenario enters Barack H. Obama with a fetish for chemical weapons.  Barack wanted al Assad to give up one important weapon in exchange for...what?  Was Barack going to send in the Marines to protect the Alawites?  Was he going to give aerial support (as the Russians ultimately did)?  Was there going to be an endless stream of military supplies and financial support?  What, exactly, was Barack offering, beyond words on paper?

Bashar al Assad was bargaining for the salvation of his people, and the unserious Barack Obama was talking shit.  And today, the Obamarrhoids are scratching their...heads...and starting to think that maybe, just maybe, that deal they thought they had with al Assad did not go quite like they thought it went.

It is hard to fathom just what kind of a nitwit you would have to be to think that Bashar al Assad would gamble the safety of his people on the empty assurances of a transparent poseur.  This is what I thought in 2014 when the oafish John Kerry said, "...we struck a deal where we got 100 percent of the chemical weapons out", and today the NY Times admits it.