Your Smart Diplomacy™ Update

I'm often said that Obama and his laughably-named "national security" team could not find, say, Syria on a map. I meant that literally.

And I was right. From a - ahem! - "Senior administration official" on a September 10 conference call:

I guess I would just add one thing on the coalition question -- and I think this is important to really focus on, which is to say, in discussions with governments in the region, notably the Saudis and the Jordanians, what is clear is that we have a very common view of this threat.  And this is really quite unusual. 
ISIL has been I think a galvanizing threat around the Sunni partners in the region.  They view it as an existential threat to them.  Saudi Arabia has an extensive border with Syria.  The Jordanians are experiencing a destabilizing impact of over a million refugees from the Syrian conflict, and are profoundly concerned that ISIL, who has stated that their ambitions are not confined to Iraq and Syria, but rather to expand to the broader region.

(emphasis added)

Sigh! Anything wrong with this statement? Let's take a look:

If you can find the "extensive border" Saudi Arabia has with Syria, please call. (Map from Washington Examiner)

These people are, indeed, complete idiots.

As T. Becket Adams, taking one from Glenn Reynolds, put it: "But don't worry: The country's in the best of hands."