James Baker: Talking To An Enemy Is Not Appeasement

A clip of former Secretary of State James Baker has been making the rounds recently, as a result of the current 'appeasement' debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. Unfortunately for McCain, Baker agrees with Obama. And even though the interview is from this past October, Baker addresses head-on the issue of appeasement, saying:

"Diplomacy involves talking to your enemies. You don't reward your enemies necessarily by talking to them if you are tough and you know what you are doing. You don't appease them. Talking to an enemy is not in my view appeasement."

[WATCH]

Comments

[rssrai]

McBush once thought we should talk with our enemies. I suppose when you have to suck up to the right wing all your good sense goes out the door. McBush will not be his own person since he will owe everything to the rightwing nut bags because they are the only ones giving him money. If I ever had any doubts about a third Bush term would happen with McBush, I have now seen the light. McBush is a sad, sad, pathetic man who has sold his soul to the neocons.

[seenitall]

the whole of the republican party is just aghast at who they have become, but they leave Bush/McCain as their brand...

[roller]

Pudding meet Proof! Do Not Let This John anywhere near a National Security Decision.

Let the truth ring out: the republican candidate is best known as McCan't. Period.

[Erdgeist]

One of the great Iran appeasers has been Dick Cheney. Cheney, who called Iran "the world's leading exporter of terror", when he was CEO of Halliburton, lobbyed to have the U.S. lift trade sanctions against Tehran. Presently, according to Global Research, Hallibuton is doing business with a key member of Iran's nuclear research team. http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-halliburton-charged-with-selling-nuclear-technologies-to-iran/

[dnail]

Read the article, and WOW, that is news to me. This quote from Cheney in 1996 nearly made me fall out of my chair:

“Let me make a generalized statement about a trend I see in the U.S. Congress that I find disturbing, that applies not only with respect to the Iranian situation but a number of others as well,” Cheney said. “I think we Americans sometimes make mistakes . . . There seems to be an assumption that somehow we know what’s best for everybody else and that we are going to use our economic clout to get everybody else to live the way we would like.”

[ErnestineBass]

Who cares what James Baker has to say!?!

Had Baker not strong-armed the SEC back in the 80s, that ignorant snotnose "Preznut" of ours would have gone to prison for insider trading after selling off his Harken stock.

Spare me, James...

[racom]

UH, right now insane mccain cares a whole lot. Like, how do we disappear this clip. Thank God for U-tube, the msm will not pick this up and run with it, it doesn't have rev wright or a missing blonde in it!!!

[lisakaz2]

Maybe he was just being a foot soldier and had no idea what a morooon GWB actually is.

(Spin perhaps?)

[ErnestineBass]

Darlin', a rarely-coherent Ronnie Raygun recognized GWB for a worthless maroon more than twenty years ago...'nuf­f said.

[lthuedk 1]

Remove all red buttons.

http://www.light-to-dark.com/Mad_McCain.html

[Psalm23]

Nice Pic.......­..........­...


Not just the Red buttons?,,­..........­..........­...... But all the buttons around him>

[littlepuffycloud]

As Keith likes to say, McCain will become the 'old man yells at cloud' when he gets a load of this.

[mybelovedcountry]

Talking to your enemies has been the only way that historically nations have has any meaningful results.
War or the threat of war has rarely been a deterrent . War or the threat of it usually hardens their resolve.

[Shelly1970]

God I love how wonderfully the internet can expose hypocrisy. McCain must hate that the media is no longer in the hands of the few.

[ErnestineBass]

Elect him, and it will be soon enough.

See today's story about Lieberman asking Google to remove YouTube content?

[JoeBlough]

If we are going to have OLD people getting involved over their heads with political issues, then we need to have remedial education. It’s been 5 or 6 decades since they have had education and apparently they are ignorant of the new world around them.

Teaching themselves doesn’t get the job done. They need classes to go with their glasses.

[Kaur]

CHECK PLEASE! Sorry McCain-Bush your are done!

[DShawn233]

Wow, Senator McCain is going to have one of those double fisted tantrums when he sees this.

[gbht12]

Everyone that has a brain knows this. McBush is pandering again. This is why we don't want a Republican in the White house again let alone an OLD Republican with his war loving ideas.

Any democrat that votes for this person over Obama is just voting against their own security and economic needs. Republican's have their own agenda and it is not helping the poor or middle class families. I just don't even begin to understand young people that vote for Republican's, it must be passed on by genes. There should be a vaccine to prevent the slow spread of corruption to our youth!

I have had enough of the stupidity of the Republicans to last a lifetime.

[August61]

Thank you for posting this clip! I agree this would make a good ad for the Obama team.

[shawnaNaustin]

Wow. This clip just shows how far the Republican party has fallen. They used to have some real leadership, intelligence and authenticity among their ranks. Now it's just the lowest common denominator, and proud of it.