Where have all the super powers gone?  Weakened by years of neglect and abuse, the American military is breaking.  Thoroughly discredited by years of feckless foreign policy, American power is fading.  Global enemies are building up their militaries while Obama continues to ruthlessly cut US armed forces but still throws them into every idiotic breach that makes cable news.

Obama’s defense policies are irrational.  War is literally breaking out in every corner of the world, but Obama continues to disarm America.   The 2011-2012 sequestration amounted to about a 30% cut in military forces and Obama is still cutting - another 40K Army troops cut this year.  We are cutting defense while still at war; who does that?!

Our enemies sense and enjoy American weakness, China and Russia routinely challenge American military forces at sea and in the air.  The US Navy has almost daily encounters with the Iranian Navy.

The demise of American military power is no surprise; it was forecast and planned.  Military leaders warned “sequestration would not allow the US military to conduct even ONE sustained major combat operation.”  Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, testified in 2012:  “we would no longer be a global power.”

Proving the General’s prediction, Russian President Putin’s audacity exposes Obama’s utter incompetence.  Or, is it duplicity?  Is this the post-election flexibility Obama conveyed to Putin in 2012?  Leaving a leadership vacuum on the international stage, Obama handed Putin the opportunity to not only reenter the Middle East militarily but also grab the global helm against radical Islam?

At the United Nations, Putin sounded like Churchill declaring the need for bold leadership to defeat ISIS.  The next morning a low level Russian diplomat contacted the US embassy in Baghdad warning American forces to stay clear of Russian military operations in Syria.  To which Obama and Kerry have no cogent response and no options.

What can Obama say?  A disrespected America forfeited any leverage.  Kerry sputtered about de-confliction, but the Russians just pressed ahead with their bombing.  Russian intent is clear; they will fight ISIS after they eliminate the threat to their ally Bashar al Assad in Syria.  The Syrian rebels have nebulous ties to Al Qaeda and perhaps ISIS.

This is where American policy becomes convoluted and practically nonsensical.  Obama declared he will fight ISIS, but he thinks Assad is worse and wants to topple him first.  So, Obama is aiding Syrian rebels (this goes back to Benghazi) despite their murky ties to our enemies.  Fighting two fronts has resulted in not much happening on either.

Certainly no angel to his people, but what has Assad done to threaten America?  Why would we risk cooperating with our enemies against him when ISIS is the common enemy to everyone?  Why are we not working with the Russians to neutralize the most imminent destabilizing threat in the region?

If this is not confusing enough, consider that Iran supports Syria.  Now that Obama supports Iran over Israel, how does he oppose them in Syria?  He couldn’t even get American hostages back for nuclear weapons technology and about $150 billion.

Israel is not the target (yet), but this entire scenario has a surreal resemblance to the 2005 Joel Rosenburg novel, The Ezekiel Option.  An apocalyptic thriller based Ezekiel’s prophesy of a broad coalition coming against Israel.  The novel’s coalition is led by belligerent Russia and a newly nuclear armed Iran.

Russia has a growing military presence in Syria and Iranian troops are due at any moment, so the leaders of the prophesied enemies of Israel will have a military force on Israel’s northern border.

How’s that for eerie coincidence?  Or, is getting Iranian troops on Israel’s border the plan all along?

“I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.”  Ezekiel 39:21

Pete Riehm is the host of Common Sense Radio heard 8pm every Thursday on FMTalk106.5 or streaming at fmtalk1065.com.  Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net.