Obama: America "Exceptional" Because of All the Wars

● Weeks of failed efforts to sell the Syrian War to the American public seemingly still aren’t over, as President Obama used the occasion of his speech to the UN General Assembly to demand a UN resolution authorizing military action against Syria if the chemical disarmament process stalls.
● While giving lip-service to the idea of diplomacy, President Obama made it clear repeatedly during the speech that his view of American “exceptionalism” centers entirely around its willingness to fight unwise wars.
● “I believe America is exceptional, in part because we have shown a willingness, through the sacrifice of blood and treasure, to stand up not only for our own narrow self-interest, but for the interests of all,” Obama insisted. This of course segued back into calls for authorization to attack Syria.

Bill Van Auken: Obama at the UN: A defense of unilateral aggression ■ Aside from the self-serving contention that Washington’s unending military interventions—from Somalia to the Balkans, Haiti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Central Africa and elsewhere in the past two decades alone—are in the “interest of all,” this use of the term American exceptionalism betrays a historical ignorance that is unintentionally revealing. [...] Now, America’s “exceptionalism” is invoked not to praise American wealth and democratic institutions, but to justify American militarism—the means by which US imperialism increasingly seeks to offset its relative economic decline. This testifies to the depth of its political crisis, and the revolutionary implications of the sweeping changes in social relations during the past 35 years, which have turned the US into one of the most socially unequal nations on the planet.

Stephen Lendman: Obama's General Assembly Address ■ His address didn't surprise. It was beginning-to-end demagogic boilerplate. It featured imperial mumbo jumbo. He turned truth on its head like he always does. A year ago he claimed intervening in Libya was to "cope with violent conflict, care for the wounded, and craft a vision for the future in which the rights of all Libyans would be respected." "And after the revolution, (he) supported the birth of a new democracy, as Libyans held elections, and built new institutions, and began to move forward after decades of dictatorship." Fact check: Libya was Africa's most developed country. Most Libyans supported Gaddafi. They did so for good reasons. He provided free healthcare, education and much more. His Libya no longer exists. Obama turned it into a charnel house. Now Libya's a failed state. Obama lied claiming otherwise. He bears full responsibility for what happened. He moved on. He's waging war on Syria. He wants another imperial trophy. He'll stop at nothing to get it. Rogue states operate this way.