Sunday Roundup

Republicans love to portray Obama as naïve when it comes to foreign policy. Let's go to the scorecard. Iraq: Prime Minister Maliki just announced he supports Obama's troop withdrawal plan. Afghanistan: Obama has long argued that Iraq has been a dangerous distraction from what should be the real focus of the war on terror, Afghanistan, and has recommended sending additional troops there. McCain, who has opposed sending additional troops, did an about-face on Tuesday, all but yelling "Me too!" Iran: Obama has taken a lot of GOP fire for his willingness to negotiate with Tehran. This week, we learned the Bush administration has decided to send a top diplomat to a meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, and is planning to open an "interests section" in Tehran. Score three for naiveté.

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[swift goat pet for truth]

Well, score three of naivete.

But that equals ZERO on the Corporate Media scoreboard, that is constantly pounding out MCCAIN KNOWS THE WORLD SITUATION, AND OBAMA DOESN'T (according to some polls).

[Oilygarch]

Arianna,

Thanks for your post and your website.

It's as tho the Bush Administration finally sees the writing on the wall and serves at the pleasure of the new chief. *LOL*

Just as the Boosh admin did all it could to render diplomacy the UN as irrelevant, the time has come when they now have seen the tables turned.

[Leatherhelmet]

Better read the news again. They did not support Obama's plan.

[crease]

"Score three for naiveté". Nicely done A.H.,Obama has the credentials and smarts to deal with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, he is going to be in an unfortunate position come Janurary of 2009 when he takes the oath of office.Let`s hope the shrub doesn`t doing anything really stupid between now and Janurary and the same for Israel too.With a credible diplomatic team Obama can do the right thing and bring our soldiers home after they get Osama bin hidin in the mountains and the SHRUB couldn`t or wouldn`t find him,I am more inlined towards wouldn`t find him due to the SHRUBS tie with the Saudis, DOH............................

[MissKaren]

If Israel does "something stupid" it will be as Bush's proxy.

I do wish Israel would wise up and stop letting the Christian Zionists play rapture games within its borders. Those guys are as good for Israel as the Ebola virus.

[skruff]

Liberals hot on a war in Afganistan? Hummm. I was willing to go along with their plans to withdraw from Iraq, but, stupidly. I thought this meant we were bringing our troops home, not sending them into a pissing contest with Russian failure.

We thought we were superior to the French, They couldn't win in Vietnam, so the Great powerful USA (at the height of its power I might add) pushed into the Jungle of Southeast Aisa and got their tails seriously whipped... Just like the French, Now we're going to show the Russians how it should have been done in Afganistan..

Freud's definition of "INSANE" was doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results.

[Sp8z]

Great post, I agree wholeheartedly. Where does it say we have to be at war somewhere? Can we just "Give Peace a Chance"?

[KOisGod]

That was Einstein's quote, not Freuds, Einstein.

[JoeBlough]

It's interesting to note that when France was fighting in VietNam, the U.S. was paying 80% of their expenses over there. I'll bet somebody thought it would be a good idea that we jump in after the French to generate some kind of return on investment.

[EarthToZoey]

Hush hush... you don't want to be called unpatriotic, do you?? It is our moral imperative to police the world!

[thecanadian]

Great Post Arianna! Congratulations to Obama. The Bushies are finally listening to Obama - establishing a diplomatic centre in Tehran.

Go Obama Go

[BaltimoreSteve]

Let's not get tied down in Afghanistan too.

[lainey]

Our troops and strategy had much success in the early stages of Afghanistan, prior to Bush's need to go to Iraq. There is no reason to think that would not continue. The people and government of Afghanistan wish to be rid of the Taliban and al-Qiada as much as we do. If done strategically--which I pray it is so--Afghanistan is a place that can become the nation it once was--that of prosperity, peace and little extreme ideology. Furthermore, the multilateral strength of NATO doesn't put all the pressure on the US and brings in many different ideas for strategy. This is a step forward for all involved, especially the innocent people who have suffered under such extreme and wrong interpretation of their religion. Thank you Senator Obama for having the keen insight into this situation.

[gbach]

Looks like we are hell bent on substituting one war for another, and there isn't even
much oil there. Has Obama gone nuts, or is war necessary for our economy. Like
the Russians he seems to want to chase the Taliban over the sand dunes from
now through eternity

[23000Days]

It's all about the pipeline that will take the oil we steal from Iraq and Iran to China. Hamid Karzai approved it on his first day in office.

[calchala]

Afghanistan is something we took the ball off of for far too long. That's the problem. If we focused on purely Afghanistan to finish the fight we wouldn't be in this mess that we're in. We have to clean up the mess Bush made in Iraq. I don't think we're "hell bent on substituting one war for another". We had the war in Afghanistan before and we need to make sure (due to primarily it's close location to Pakistan) that we turn the country around for the better. We can't afford to just leave all wars completely. That would be inanely stupid, for the individuals in Afghanistan plotted attacks against us and were left to their own devices after Iraq and the people whom we promised to turn their lives around by keeping them away from the drug trade would be left to the wolves. Your overall statement is dangerously naive in this environment.

[Danny]

We're in Afghanistan because of an oil pipeline that traverses it. Democracy, my foot, oil, it's always oil and greed.

I am behind Al Gore's goal of weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels within ten years and developing alternative fuels -- solar, wind, geothermal, tidal ... The technology to make this happen already EXISTS. It's just being mothballed by the V-P's minions.

[SurrealPumpkin]

Can you say "9/11"? Moving into Afganistan is about finally nabbing Osama bin Laden and his cohorts. You know, the ones Bush decided didn't matter much.

[naluca]

Naive or not, he simply has limited knowledge and is - to say the least - new to the game. The truth is, the US simply doesn't have a candidate for the presidency who is well- versed in and had shown good judgement in either foreign or domestic policies. Our electoral system invites and even encourages people who can play the game of getting elected, but have not spent the time gaining experience in areas where it really counts.

[waiguoren]

You say Obama has "limited knowledge."

Are you aware of someone who has unlimited knowledge?

[KOisGod]

No one knows EVERYTHING, and certainly McCain has forgotten more then he knows.

An astute leader gathers around him the experts, and, those who disagree with others so all sides of an issue are vetted. Obama has shown he has the good sense to chose smart people to advise him. What he does with that advise is his call. But I know this. The DECIDER doesn't listen to the experts, he fits the facts to mirror his IDIOTOLOGY, not the other way around.

Obama is doing just fine, and he'll make a great president.

[carol]

Among the criticism of Obama's trip coming from McCain's quarters is that Obama never presided over "a hearing on/ in? Iraq." One might see this absence of experience with Iraq as a great advantage. In fact, Lord save us from Iraq experience if McCain, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush, and Rice are the exemplars.

[Grousefeather]

Yup, no doubt about it, Obama is the new leader of the Republican party.

[lainey]

It is important to note that Senator Obama's message of change means that he will be President for all of America, not just Democrats (which he is), and that does include Republicans. It is clear that his ideas and philosophy differ from his Republican rivals, yet since he has a Republican on this visit with him, it is evident that his intention to bring us all together has remained constant. Senator Obama will not be beholden to any group or ideology as to best solve a problem is to see it from all angles. Rest assured, the final decision will be his--and that of course will make some upset--but he will take into account all ideas. Remember, his goal is to create a "Team of Rivals" as he governs our land. He welcomes Republicans and Independents to his team, yet there is a (D) behind his name.

[Okieborn]

Reading the "PROPER" score card in this political year"THANK GOD for The Huffington Post and especially Arianna !!!
CNN, MSNBC and the rest !! want the American citizenry to believe that Mccain=Bush is the man with the plan.
Mccain=Bush is so out of it he probably makes a mistake just getting up in the mornings !!!

[Yasmine]

WHAT GALL THE REPUBLICANS HAVE...............now trying to make Obama look wrong on Iraq.
How many troops have been killed since the surge ? The US military can never be defeated militarily............so it is easy to rely on them sacrificing.............but the politicians should choose less coslty policies.
Had the Biden plan been put into effect we could have solved Iraq problem without having lost either lives .
I truly believe that Our military would have been totally VICTORIOUS in the first year had the Pentagon and the PRESIDENT listened to the GENERALS at the beginning of the war and not after 4 years.and THOUSANDS KILLED AND MAIMED ., amd Billions lost.

[JennyJay]

I don't see the rest of the media accentuating these EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FACTS. What buffoons they must be. It is coming to a point here - that Huffpost news will be the only news that
matters. - - - - HATS OFF TO YA HUFFPOST!

[Sciguy]

I was quite tickled to see the Bush administration beginning overt diplomatic talks with Iran. Even Dubya isn't dumb enough to just plain ignore Iran, so I've been assuming that covert talks have been underway for quite some time. However, I did get a kick out of hearing that our diplomat will not be allowed to actually TALK to the Iranian envoy http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/15/iran.nuclear.talks.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch . I guess he'll have to remember his childhood, and if he wants to say anything, he can tell the guy next to him whatever it is, and have THAT guy pass it on. Kinda like when you were a kid and got mad at someone... You told someone else "Tell him ..." and then you waited for the answer to be told to someone else, who would tell it to you.

... sigh ... I guess anything is better than nothing...

[jsinclair]

Obama's foreign policy successes are lucky for McCain, too. Now, all he needs to (try) to memorize for the debates is one sentence:

"Senator Obama, you were right--right about Iraq, right about Iran, right about Afghanistan, and right about Pakistan."

The broadcast media, as usual, is minimizing his success as much as they can. (Fortunately, I believe by the time he wraps up in Europe, the enthusiasm will be so GREAT that they will no longer be able to hide it).

The MSM is a disgrace. Fortunately, Senator Obama and the majority of the American people have changed the game plan.

Hooray!

Obama '08 -- Yes, we CAN be proud of our government again

[RS]

"The MSM is a disgrace."

That's because it's CORPORATE OWNED, primarily by the "Big Six" media conglomerates:

1. Time Warner
2. Disney
3. Viacom
4. CBS Corporation
5. News Corporation
6. General Electric

Remember jsinclair: Corporate owned media has ONE OBJECTIVE ONLY: to make as much $$$$ as possible for their shareholders--not to provide the American people with useful information.

[jsinclair]

I agree that corporate ownership has some impact. But I think we're naive if we think that's -all- it is.

Even when the majority of the public wants to see and hear about Obama, many in the media (looking at you, CNN, Howie Kurtz) are trying to find negative spin any way that they can.

It's not enough to say "corporate media". We also have to remember that many rich media anchors and correspondents support Republicans (even including Bush) and find all kinds of tricks to spin on their behalf.

It doesn't boost ratings, and it doesn't affect shareholders, but it does work for a political point of view.

Rove 101: Republican talking points disseminated by conservative friends in the press and repeated until they're accepted as truth.

I think it goes beyond "GE, Time Warner, etc" ownership, though that definitely is a big problem, too.

[23000Days]

...under the guise of providing the American public with useful information.

[Yasmine]

JSINCLAIR........................good for you. I hope we ALL can be proud of our government..........again.
Poor Michelle was honest in saying that it was THE FIRST TIME IN HER ADULT LIFE THAT SHE WAS ...........................REALLY ............PROUD OF HER COUNTRY.........
98% of analysts ABC THIS WEEK and THE N EW REPUBLICAN ADS AGAINST MICHELLE OBAMA
HAVE ,....................CONVENIENTLY CENSORED THE WORD ....REALLY before proud..............making it look really bad for Michelle.
Let us not be complacent.............and work hard so OBAMA can WIN the Presidency.
I SENSE a lot of hatred and jealousy against OBAMA even the Media is getting PRO McCain by the minute

[HAYMONBRANDON]

I AGREE THE MEDIA IS DOWN PLAYING HIS TRIP THEY ARE OUT RIGHT SAYING IT'S A PHOTO OP ON FOX NO SHAME CNN IS DOING THE SAME THING. THEY ARE SCARE S... LESS THEY ARE PUTTING ALL GOP ON THE SHOWS LIKE THE PUBLIC WON'T NOTICE WHAT IS GOING ON AND THEY BAD MOUTH HIM EVERYDAY . THE JEALOUSY IS RUNNING WILD MSNBC HAS A LOT OF CHICKEN HEAD WOMEN WHO ARE DOING THE SAME THING. I DIDN'T WATCH MEET THE PRESS OR CHRIS WALLACETO SEE HOW THEY ARE DEAL WITH OBAMA BEING OVER SEAS. RUSSET IS MISSED.

[IowaKid]

Great article as usual Arianna.