The real scary problem here is that if cooler heads do not prevail, and Putin continues his present possible course, then the only result will probably be WWIII. A nuke war that would result in the extermination of not only human civilization upon this pretty planet, but possibly all life itself. Possibly, all of the war drum beating by ultra conservatives is not the best course? President Obama is doing just fine to be cautious!!
Obama is not being cautious. He is being naive. Hillary’s reset button was the beginning of a lack of vision by the administration to a very dangerous world.
Big power politics is big power politics. The US acts like a big power and throws its weight around when it can, and Russia tries to act like a big power and throws its weight around when it can. Now and again they bump into each other. There are differences. Russia mostly misbehaves in its own neighborhood, while the US thinks the whole world is its sphere of influence. The US is interested in control rather than ownership, i.e. neo-imperialism, while Russia is interested in real or virtual ownership, even annexation at times, more like old fashioned imperialism. The US generally has been more successful, particularly through the use of non-governmental (or semi-governmental) aspects of control, such as multinational corporations. Nationalism has become a tool used by the ruling classes to control workers. Working people around the world have more in common with each other than they have with the ruling elites where they live.
Obama is being cautious. It’s McCain and the blowhards on the right who are incredibly naive and have learned nothing from their foreign policy failures under Bush. A military threat is EXACTLY what Putin wants, since that is the only thing propping up his popularity at home. Republicans gave Osama bin Laden exactly the military action that what HE wanted too, and it didn’t work out well then either. Obama’s moves to block banks and Visa and Mastercard were genius. The Russian stock market is starting to plummet, and Putin’s popularity won’t be far behind.
I did Ruff along with the original Brown University sources..First, the cost of 2.2 Trillion is based on estimates of veteran benefits through 2060..Then there is no attempt on the part of the Costofwar.org people to thoroughly document any of their findings. The civilian casualty numbers are as spurious as those published and widely discredited that Lancet made in England..Then there is no actual cost accounting dividing sunk and fixed costs from variable ones. Everything is lumped into the $2.2 trillion number to inflate the costs for political purposes..While I recognize that the war did increase the cost of military operations I also don’t like that those arguing against it are using what are essentially disingenious lies to try and promote their position. They need to let facts that are accurate and open make their case. But, they don’t do that..It seems to me that out of one side of their mouth they scream about Bush lying and then out of the other they lie about their own position.Whether Bush lied or not is a seperate issue. But, lying to promote the opposition position is equally bad and Brown University is doing that and Reuters is repeating it.
KAL’s point is perfectly rational, and now we’re saying we’ll go after the Ugandan “bad guy”… As a nation in the past 40 years, it’s time we stopped pretending to be “good cop” while everyone who opposes us is either “bad cop”, or bad guy.
So, your counter argument is based on two Leftist Progressive academics who worked for Clinton and now Obama?The bias of their views is self evident from their CV’s.
Kevin Kallaugher as you well know the Iraq war was a war designed to take control of Iraqi oil under the Cheney-Bush Administration* and that President Obama therefore inherited that war and was left with the unenviable task of trying to clean it up and end it. Such satirical commentary as yours can only leave one to conclude that you are just another “Bought and Paid For” Republican thug and mouth piece without moral or ethical conscious or…simply an idiot.
However in America money is what it is all about, and with that in mind you are certainly cultivating and planting the right kind of invective’s that ought to flower and fruit well with those who “Are in the Money”. In the latter respect then you are no idiot at all. It is in the former that we all must be concerned, and I would think you should be concerned even more so than any of us.
frodo1008 about 10 years ago
The real scary problem here is that if cooler heads do not prevail, and Putin continues his present possible course, then the only result will probably be WWIII. A nuke war that would result in the extermination of not only human civilization upon this pretty planet, but possibly all life itself. Possibly, all of the war drum beating by ultra conservatives is not the best course? President Obama is doing just fine to be cautious!!
Enoki about 10 years ago
I’d love to see the numbers on how that $2 trillion was arrived at.
lonecat about 10 years ago
Yes, it does seem low, doesn’t it.
Mneedle about 10 years ago
Obama is not being cautious. He is being naive. Hillary’s reset button was the beginning of a lack of vision by the administration to a very dangerous world.
lonecat about 10 years ago
Big power politics is big power politics. The US acts like a big power and throws its weight around when it can, and Russia tries to act like a big power and throws its weight around when it can. Now and again they bump into each other. There are differences. Russia mostly misbehaves in its own neighborhood, while the US thinks the whole world is its sphere of influence. The US is interested in control rather than ownership, i.e. neo-imperialism, while Russia is interested in real or virtual ownership, even annexation at times, more like old fashioned imperialism. The US generally has been more successful, particularly through the use of non-governmental (or semi-governmental) aspects of control, such as multinational corporations. Nationalism has become a tool used by the ruling classes to control workers. Working people around the world have more in common with each other than they have with the ruling elites where they live.
ARodney about 10 years ago
Obama is being cautious. It’s McCain and the blowhards on the right who are incredibly naive and have learned nothing from their foreign policy failures under Bush. A military threat is EXACTLY what Putin wants, since that is the only thing propping up his popularity at home. Republicans gave Osama bin Laden exactly the military action that what HE wanted too, and it didn’t work out well then either. Obama’s moves to block banks and Visa and Mastercard were genius. The Russian stock market is starting to plummet, and Putin’s popularity won’t be far behind.
Enoki about 10 years ago
I did Ruff along with the original Brown University sources..First, the cost of 2.2 Trillion is based on estimates of veteran benefits through 2060..Then there is no attempt on the part of the Costofwar.org people to thoroughly document any of their findings. The civilian casualty numbers are as spurious as those published and widely discredited that Lancet made in England..Then there is no actual cost accounting dividing sunk and fixed costs from variable ones. Everything is lumped into the $2.2 trillion number to inflate the costs for political purposes..While I recognize that the war did increase the cost of military operations I also don’t like that those arguing against it are using what are essentially disingenious lies to try and promote their position. They need to let facts that are accurate and open make their case. But, they don’t do that..It seems to me that out of one side of their mouth they scream about Bush lying and then out of the other they lie about their own position.Whether Bush lied or not is a seperate issue. But, lying to promote the opposition position is equally bad and Brown University is doing that and Reuters is repeating it.
Dtroutma about 10 years ago
KAL’s point is perfectly rational, and now we’re saying we’ll go after the Ugandan “bad guy”… As a nation in the past 40 years, it’s time we stopped pretending to be “good cop” while everyone who opposes us is either “bad cop”, or bad guy.
Enoki about 10 years ago
So, your counter argument is based on two Leftist Progressive academics who worked for Clinton and now Obama?The bias of their views is self evident from their CV’s.
leweclectic about 10 years ago
Kevin Kallaugher as you well know the Iraq war was a war designed to take control of Iraqi oil under the Cheney-Bush Administration* and that President Obama therefore inherited that war and was left with the unenviable task of trying to clean it up and end it. Such satirical commentary as yours can only leave one to conclude that you are just another “Bought and Paid For” Republican thug and mouth piece without moral or ethical conscious or…simply an idiot.
However in America money is what it is all about, and with that in mind you are certainly cultivating and planting the right kind of invective’s that ought to flower and fruit well with those who “Are in the Money”. In the latter respect then you are no idiot at all. It is in the former that we all must be concerned, and I would think you should be concerned even more so than any of us.
*Yes I stated that correctly, “Cheney-Bush”.