戦闘服を着たオバマ大統領

といってもEconomistの表紙の話ですが。。。Mission relaunchedというタイトルと共に恐らく空母の上で戦闘服に身を包んだオバマ大統領が掲載されています。このタイトルでこの格好とくれば連想されるイメージは決まって来ます。

America and Islamic State
Mission relaunched
The fight against Islamic State will help define America’s role in the world
Sep 27th 2014 | From the print edition

今回の表紙のイメージの元になった出来事を社説の中でも以下のように書いています。軍事介入に積極的なブッシュも、消極的なオバマも同時に批判していますね。。。。

Its rise has also reflected American policy. First, the poorly thought-out intervention of George W. Bush, typified by the rash “Mission Accomplished” banner that greeted him on the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 after his invasion of Iraq. Then Mr Obama’s studious inaction. When Syrians rose up against the regime of Bashar Assad, the president stood back in the hope that things would sort themselves out—leaving Mr Assad free to commit atrocities against his own people. Even when Mr Assad crossed “the red line” of using chemical weapons, the superpower did not punish him. About 200,000 Syrians have died and 10m have been driven from their homes. Denied early American support, the moderate Syrian opposition has fragmented, leaving the field to the ruthless and well-organised IS.



the poorly thought-out intervention of George W. Bush, typified by the rash “Mission Accomplished” banner that greeted him on the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 after his invasion of Iraq.と失敗例のイメージを今回に結びつけているのは、皮肉な態度をとりやすいEconomistらしいのかもしれません。

Mission Relaunched（ミッション再開）とある以上、ブッシュWのイラク介入とパラレルに考えている部分もありそうです。圧倒的な軍事力は今も健在で、むしろ問題はその後の対応こそが問題だとEconomistは考えているようです。

The bigger question is whether Mr Obama can carry off delicate diplomacy. The lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan is that firepower alone will not prevail. Indeed, if America comes to be seen by Sunni Arabs as nothing more than a Shia air force, strikes will only bind IS to the local people.

If he is to win the argument in Iraq and Syria, Mr Obama needs coalitions and partnerships. For that he must get the diplomacy right. So far he has done well. He insisted on the replacement of Nuri al-Maliki, the Shia-chauvinist former prime minister of Iraq, with Haider al-Abadi, who is making efforts to bring Sunnis into government. He sent John Kerry, his secretary of state, to recruit regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to try to persuade Sunnis in Iraq and Syria that he is not taking sides against their branch of Islam. America has argued to the United Nations that its intervention—requested by Iraq but not Syria—is legal under Article 51 of the UN’s charter. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, appears to have accepted that argument; so should Britain’s Parliament, which will vote on whether to help America.

社説だけではなく、Briefingでも今回の空爆について取り上げています。合わせて読んでみようと思います。