U.S. President Barack
Obama's address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday was marked by
acceptance and resignation of America's decline from its exclusive
position of world leader.
In his speech, a clear
message emerged: The American superpower cannot bear the burden alone
for maintaining international order and the U.S. aspires to act
cooperatively with the international community while relying on
diplomatic tools.
Regarding Syria, the
sword that hung above President Bashar Assad's head disappeared in one
feel swoop and was replaced by the U.N. Security Council as an entity
that is supposed to enforce the Geneva Conventions. But Obama's mention
of international sanctions against Syria, should it violate its pledge
to give up its chemical weapons, was general and toothless.
The same went for Iran.
Obama repeated, almost word for word, the conciliatory message he sent
to the Iranian people and their leaders in 2009. However, this time,
unlike in the past, the message was delivered from a position of
significant weakness. This is because of the resounding failure of
Obama's attempt to gain congressional support for limited military
action in Syria and the titanic battle the White House is engaged in
with the House of Representatives on budget issues. There is no chance
that Obama would receive a green light from the current Congress to
strike Iran, no matter what the reasons.
Obama thus found himself at the U.N. raising a white flag on everything related to America's ability to shape global affairs.
Obama faces an Iran
that has been weakened by crippling sanctions. The result of this was
expressed by the president repeatedly in his speech, as he gave the
go-ahead to a diplomatic process with Iran following the harmonious
tones that have been emanating from Tehran recently.
The question to ask is
this: Given the current circumstances, particularly in the wake of the
Syrian fiasco, is there a real chance that the soft music being played
by President Hasan Rouhani will be translated into a strategic decision
by Iran to freeze its nuclear program?
The diplomatic process, to be led
on the American side by the indefatigable U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry, will shed light on this key question. One can only hope that
Kerry will be more successful in this than he was in enlisting support
for military action against Syria.
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