{"id":3136,"date":"2014-02-17T19:28:41","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T19:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/?p=3136"},"modified":"2017-11-14T21:28:22","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T19:28:22","slug":"super-bowl-super-power-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/super-bowl-super-power-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Bowl, Super Power?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Last Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl was the culmination of America\u2019s National Football League\u2019s sixteen game season and the playoffs that followed to determine who would win the sport\u2019s ultimate prize—the Vince Lombardi Trophy. \u00a0One of the world\u2019s most widely watched annual television events, the Super Bowl was very disappointing to those fans wishing to see a game won or lost in the last seconds. \u00a0From the opening kickoff, the Seattle Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos delivering a 43-8 beating, one of the worst in Super Bowl history.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Seattle\u2019s defense, the best in the league, throttled Denver\u2019s offense, also the best in football. \u00a0The game was lopsided: despair for the losers and euphoria for the winners. But in a far greater and different context, the game was a metaphor for the United States and its global role.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
As with the Seahawks, the U.S. has formidable defenses. \u00a0And, like Denver, its offensive power is the greatest in the world. \u00a0On some occasions, American policies were as decisive as Seattle\u2019s triumph. \u00a0But it also has had failures comparable to Denver\u2019s ignominious defeat. \u00a0While sport is not a substitute for politics, how might the U.S. emulate Seattle\u2019s success and avoid Denver\u2019s plight?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
First, U.S. policy making has been diluted and distorted by political animosities that render objectivity virtually impossible. In Washington long ago, one was entitled to an opinion but not to his or her own facts. \u00a0Today, opinions and facts promiscuously intermingle. The Affordable Health Care Act is a vivid example. \u00a0Despite its strengths and weaknesses, the White House denies all flaws. \u00a0And critics refuse to recognize benefits. \u00a0 <\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Second, tough policy choices need thorough review. Basic assumptions as well as possible consequences underlying decisions must be challenged before taking action. \u00a0The second Iraq War and the Afghanistan-Pakistan (AfPak) study failed in that regard. Assumptions and actions went unchallenged. \u00a0The results were predictable.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Third, the public must be informed. \u00a0In this process, truth and objectivity must supersede political expediency. \u00a0For example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who faces a tough re-election campaign opposes \u201cfast track\u201d trade authority. \u00a0Yet one individual no matter how powerful one individual may be, the national interest must trump. \u00a0Whether the Obama White House has the courage and subtly to overcome Reid\u2019s objections remains to be seen.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Last, unlike Denver\u2019s first possession of the football, policy cannot tolerate fumbles. Syria is a case in point. Syria is a human tragedy in which another hundred thousand or more citizens could easily perish. \u00a0The U.S. has two basic options. \u00a0It can intervene. \u00a0Or it can remain on the sidelines promoting a political solution and providing humanitarian assistance. Red lines and demands issued by the White House that President Assad must go were fumbles. <\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Intervention has several options. \u00a0The U.S. could arm and train the Syrian Free Army (SFA). \u00a0While that will take many months, the Assad regime and its Russian supporters would come to realize that, over time, 100,000 or more SFA well-trained and supported troops will take the field. \u00a0At that stage, allied airpower could attack Syria\u2019s air bases removing its attack helicopter and fighter aircraft advantages.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Alternatively, the U.S. could work with Russia vis a vis Iran to obtain a nuclear agreement. \u00a0With that in hand, Iran might be persuaded to reduce its aid to Syria in exchange for further openings to the west. \u00a0Hezbollah activities might be curtailed putting further pressure on Assad to negotiate or to stand down as president.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Neither of those possibilities appears likely. \u00a0The fear of the SFA being controlled by al Qaeda or a terrorist derivative such as al Nusra makes arming the opposition a non-starter. \u00a0The failure to exploit Russian cooperation in removing Syrian chemical and biological weapons renders these second likewise beyond reach.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The remaining option will be a diplomatic effort possibly with more negotiations in Geneva as the only way to achieve a ceasefire or broader political solution. \u00a0That negotiation is likely to fall. \u00a0Thus, the end of the civil war may only be when the civil war ends. \u00a0That may take decades to happened as did the civil war in Lebanon.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Laying out these options and the consequences for the public to understand however is crucial. \u00a0Then, whatever decision is made, the costs and benefits can be fully explained. Unfortunately, the White House prefers propaganda and spin to straight talk.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
It is impossible to predict that future policies will yield outcomes as dramatic as Seattle\u2019s victory or Denver\u2019s demise. \u00a0Politics is not the super bowl. \u00a0The stakes are infinitely greater. \u00a0Yet, the prospects for success or failure follow similar trajectories.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
That President Obama favors basketball over football may preclude the relevance of this analogy. \u00a0The challenge however remains. \u00a0How does the U.S. win in the foreign policy super bowls in which it plays?<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Sunday\u2019s Super Bowl was the culmination of America\u2019s National Football League\u2019s sixteen game season and the playoffs that followed to determine who would win the sport\u2019s ultimate prize—the Vince Lombardi Trophy. \u00a0One of the world\u2019s most widely watched annual television events, the Super Bowl was very disappointing to those fans wishing to see a game won or lost in the last seconds. \u00a0From the opening kickoff, the Seattle Seahawks demolished the Denver Broncos delivering a 43-8 beating, one of the worst in Super Bowl history. \u00a0 Seattle\u2019s defense, the best in the league, throttled Denver\u2019s offense, also the best in football. \u00a0The game was lopsided: despair for the losers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,65,84,76,102,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americas","category-blog-en","category-global-governance","category-harlan-ullman-en","category-issues","category-regions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3137,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3136\/revisions\/3137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cass-ro.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}