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.
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People with arrogant characteristics never can admit when they are wrong!
I do agree that Bush has been and is a "Total Failure" though.
Obama is a smart, well-grounded guy. The NYT is now reporting that Germany is grappling with managing the expected turn out to hear Obama speak. This is great news. See excerpt below:
According to the Obama campaign’s announcement, the senator will “give a major speech on the historic U.S.-Germa
City officials were having a difficult time judging the size of the expected crowd. The local Tagesspiegel newspaper quoted one as predicting “between 10,000 and a million.” In a sign that they are expecting a big turnout regardless, the city plans erect video monitors for those who cannot get close enough to see the candidate.
As expected, several German politicians criticized the location because of the historic overtones of the militarist monument. The Victory Column “is dedicated to victories over our neighbors, who today are our European friends and allies,” said Andreas Schockenhoff, a leading member of Mrs. Merkel’s conservative party, according
"Between 10,000 and a million"
O.M.G.
I hope it's a million and even CNN's close-up shots of Obama can't hide the fact the crowd (and ENTHUSIASM) are enormous!
The internet has so changed elections, even from 4 years ago.
My great thanks and appreciation to progressive bloggers everywhere--whether on their own blogs or on message boards! Working together in big ways or small, we can all help erode the corporate/
Yes. We. Can!
Obama'08
Well, one week less of Bush! I try to keep optimistic about things. I don't really know what we're going to do with Afghanistan. It broke Russia trying to fight there. What makes us think we're any better at it than the Russians? Weapons? Balderdash. I think it's going to be Vietnam times 5. We may be more advanced, as history teaches us, but they're far more determined. A guerilla fighting on his own turf is the toughest foe and we're merely visitors. If we had taken the time to know and trust the afghans, we might be able to get their assistance. Intimidate and conquer are the only tactics neoconservative know. Look at our Democratic leadership in Washington- case in point (as they are intimidated and conquered). This mess is getting bigger all the time. And with the new (illegal) executive powers in place, I don't trust whoever becomes president to rescind this power. Impeachment of Bush, Cheney, Pelosi and Reid is in order. Who becomes president pro temp if Nancy is impeached? Let Dennis run things for a few months.
Pretty much spot on, however, it was our covert aid to Bin Laden, yes, and the Taliban, that broke Russia in Afghanistan. We were simplisticly foolish enough to believe that if we helped the bad guys beat our cold-war foe, everything would turn out peachy, never considering what the bad guys would do once they were in power, nor having an workable plan for that eventuality.
You're so right that we cannot win there. Firstly, we lack any clear objective, and therefore have no plan of steps to attain that objective.
Repug's "intimidate and conquer" is the result of a party that only looks to the past for answers about the future.
Damn so much for naivete on the other hand Republicans will know a thing or two about naivety seeing as they elected one twice.
Naivete'
Oo La La! The spell checker would like the proper french diacritic added to the word, yet does not properly do so him/her self. Let us be oh so proper and spell it this way:
naïveté
(I love spell checking the spell checkers. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!)
Obama leads while others follow.
Meanwhile John McKeating is in big trouble. Like Bush he has bad karma - partly because he dumped his crippled first wife for Cindy the blond beer queen.
It is dangerous to focus only on troop levels in A. O. has repeatedly made the point -- and he's right -- that any increase must be in support of reconstruction: schools, police, etc. In I. the "surge worked" largely due to accommodations with opposing factions. That strategy won't work in A.
A. could easily be (more of a) quagmire, and McC's a one-trick pony.
We should reconstruct Afghanistan? When was it constructed in the first place? We can't turn that pile of rubble into Switzerland and we shouldn't try. So the surge had nothing to do with the decrease in violence in Iraq and increase in political accommodations? I guess when your old talking points for why Bush is to blame for the violence in Iraq become obsolete you gotta come up with new ones to explain why Bush doesn't deserve credit for when things get better. Why do liberals want so desperately for us to lose in Iraq?
Mosquito abatement is best accomplished by draining swamps. It is all very well and good to wage war on mosquitoes hoping they'll see the futility of their efforts and leave us alone (they hate our comfort!), but eliminating their breeding ground is the only thing that'll have any real effect.
No surprise there ...Repugs have a tedency to forget their past statements, errors or eggs on their faces ...They intensely focus on twisting the facts & as usual attack with lies and disingeous statements ...Alas the sheep swallow it ..so dont expect any better from them ...
Cluless citizens will always elect Incompetent Leaders that is what we have ....Amen
Too bad the MSM won't make these distinctions.
George W. Bush's foreign experience prior to January 2001 was as close to zero as one can get without accidentally passing it by in the blink of an eye.
It is a shame that it remains effectively in that same neighborhood.
MALIKI DOESN'T SUPPORT OBAMA'S PLAN.
If Maliki supported Obama's plan he would issue an executive order requiring US forces to leave Iran in 16 months. He supports no such plan as he said in the follow up to the magazine interveiw.
Uh, that's Iraq..I don't think q and n are even close on the keyboard.
njack - you are crazy! i'm over here crying over your comment! lol! too funny!
"If Maliki supported Obama's plan he would issue an executive order requiring US forces to leave Iran in 16 months."
Iran?
Go to barackobam
Thanks for your post.You are exactly right.
Barack is intelligent, shows incite, and it shows.
He is all ready showing how far he is ahead of Bush and McBush.
Too bad people hear only what they want to hear and disregard the rest
And until recently it would not even have been mentioned. Thank you Arianna for providing such a great forum to discuss things such as this.
Mass media communication is no longer one way. Power to the blogger!!!!!!
On Iraq, the troops will be withdrawn soon no matter what b/c they won't be needed much longer. Not much tail left to kick.
On Afghanistan, troop transfers from Iraq will start soon because they're needed there and not in Iraq.
On Iran, high level diplomacy is just a decoy before the airstrike (See Japanese before Pearl Harbor). Expect the missiles to start flying soon(:
McBush and George W, I offer you this towel to wash the egg of of your faces. No spin for these facts, so don't even try it.
If an Iraqi PM supports Obama in the desert, and nobody reports it, did he make a sound?
Bravo Arianna! Smackdown :)
And this should be the lead story on every news program Arianna. Who is leading and who is following?
SHOULD BE...
Won't be....
Thank You Ms. A for bringing out the facts. our Mass Media is just a Mass Mess in our Country and Owned by big corp. and have no interst in serving We The People. i look forward to your post every day.
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