OH, THE ANTICIPATION – AT 8:46 A.M. ET:  The president speaks at West Point today, whether they want him or not.  He will deliver what is billed as a major foreign-policy address, apparently a catch-up responding to months of criticism that his foreign policy is a mess.

And indeed it is.  The world seems to be descending into a remarkable level of chaos as the president contemplates the nature of man.  The latest descent is the rise of the far right in Europe, as evidenced by last week's elections for the European parliament. 

Apparently, Obama will announce some changes in Syria policy.  From Fox: 

President Obama, as part of an address at the U.S. Military Academy outlining a broad shift in U.S. foreign policy, is expected to indicate Wednesday that he will expand assistance to Syrian rebels.

Administration officials told The Associated Press that Obama and his team are weighing sending a limited number of U.S. troops to Jordan as part of a mission to train and equip certain moderate members of the Free Syrian Army. The president is expected to reference the Syria plans, without making any specific announcement, in his address at West Point in New York.

I love it, I love it.  The Obamans are "weighing."  And "without making any specific announcement..."  How long has this conflict been going on?  How many years?  We're finally getting a policy? 

The address is part of an overall effort to recast U.S. foreign policy, as an endeavor aimed at building international consensus and avoiding unilateral overreach. The speech comes one day after Obama announced his plan for gradually drawing down the U.S. force in Afghanistan after the war formally ends later this year.

If Obama signs off on the Syria program, it would mark a significant boost in U.S. support to the rebels, who have repeatedly asked the U.S. for military help in their four-year-long war against the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Administration officials said there is still internal discussion at the White House about the merits and potential risks of the program, which would involved instructing carefully vetted members of the Free Syrian Army on tactics, including counterterrorism operations.

COMMENT:  Douglas MacArthur once warned that all military disasters begin with two words:  too late.  It's already too late in Syria.  It was too late last year.  All Obama is doing is trying to protect his political flank from criticisms, including criticisms from Democrats, that he's a weak, vacillating president.  This won't help.

May 28,  2014