Obama’s handling of the Syrian crisis increasingly evokes Jimmy Carter’s handling of the Iranian hostage crisis 33 years ago, particularly the failed operation in 1980 to rescue the Americans abducted following the takeover of the US embassy in November 1979. Then, too, hesitation seemed to prevail over determination, contributing to the failure of the mission.
叙利亚危机十分清楚地说明了这一点。美国最近的外交举措非常业余而幼稚。奥巴马对叙利亚危机的处理越来越像33年前吉米·卡特对伊朗人质危机的处理，尤其是1980年的拯救行动（1979年11月美国大使馆遭袭，美国人被劫为人质）。接着，犹豫胜过了决心，整个任务以失败告终。