Why my “perspective” on WHY Obama on foreign affairs is thousands of times better than “W” and Cheney? I killed for my country in combat. Cheney “had better things to do with his time” with deferments, only to run a company that made him millions by contracts to support killing people. W joined the National Guard to avoid Viet Nam, then he DID INDEED DESERT from the Guard. As Texas governor, to make up for his own lack of courage in passing out death, while at possible risk to himself in ‘Nam, he let the state to his killing for him, so he could get his giggles in. Then as POTUS he once again launched efforts to let the country do his killing for him, hundreds of thousands of folks who did nothing to the U.S. in fact, but hey, he showed "courage’ in that bunker on the infamous 9/11, right? Just like Cheney in his “secure undisclosed location”.
It is the cowardice of the chickenhawk that bothers me, not the resistance of a true leader to kill without caring, and seek peaceful solutions if possible.
“Like it or not, eventually we will have to confront radical Islam with a military solution.”You don’t get it. The more our troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia, the more we occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, the more radical Muslims will take up arms against us. We may not have liked Saddam, but he kept order in Iraq. When the US deposed Saddam, a vacuum was created that the US didn’t fill. Nature abhors a vacuum and the radicals were very quick to try to fill it.As the nursery rhyme goes, all of the king’s horses and all of the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again.
As the logistics alone in fighting wars on the other side of the world will guarantee that we run up more and more debt (almost as much of an anathema to liberals as conservatives), then just where do you insist that we fight such wars? As long as the Islamic extremists keep their noses out of our country, then we should keep our noses out of theirs. That is not too difficult a concept for you is it?
No, I said they take up arms against the US. Many of the Muslim holy sites are in Saudi Arabia. Radical Muslims are incensed that we have troops stationed on what they consider to be holy ground. In Afganistan and Iraq, the US military has killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians. The US military tortured and humiliated prisoners at Abu Ghraib. As for areas such as Chechnya, take a good look at the politics of the area. Chechnya has been fighting for independence from Russia since Yeltsin was President. The Russian army has been ruthless in their fight against the rebels and I seriously doubt Putin told his generals to ease up any.
“Like it or not, eventually we will have to confront radical Islam with a military solution. The question is do we fight the type of war they want on their terms, or do we fight the type of war we can win on our terms?”I thought that’s what President “Bring it on” tried to do. It’s a path that has failed over & over in the course of history: Ireland, Vietnam, British Afghanistan, Russian Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine… I can go on all day. The terrorist groups aren’t going to fight us on our terms. We can force them to go underground or leave an area with military force, but usually wind up creating resentment that feeds their numbers.I feel like I’m a broken record, but these groups are nothing more than organized criminals. Pretending they are an army, patriots or religious martyrs gives them more legitimacy than they deserve. Our security does require being aware of their plans & thwarting any attempt to attack our soil, but most of these groups are local threats that should be dealt with locally.
“So, you’re of the opinion that the only reason radical Muslims take up arms against us is because we have troops stationed in Saudi Arabia? Then why do radical Muslims take up arms against Christians sin Nigeria?”Thanks for underlining my point. Boko Haram is as vile a group of thugs that anyone could imagine. They have committed despicable acts against their countrymen. They are no threat to the US & if Nigeria had competent government, they wouldn’t be such a threat there.“Or in Indonesia? Or in Malaysia? Or in Chechnya?”Again, the terrorist groups there are fighting their government or in the case of Chechnya, Russia. The Boston Bombers were malcontents, one of which may have had some training abroad. But, they acted alone. Again, criminals, not an armed group in the field. Russia’s brutal treatment of Chechnya fueled their evil.
TripleAxel almost 10 years ago
President “smart power” has become President “it’s not my fault.”
Dtroutma almost 10 years ago
Why my “perspective” on WHY Obama on foreign affairs is thousands of times better than “W” and Cheney? I killed for my country in combat. Cheney “had better things to do with his time” with deferments, only to run a company that made him millions by contracts to support killing people. W joined the National Guard to avoid Viet Nam, then he DID INDEED DESERT from the Guard. As Texas governor, to make up for his own lack of courage in passing out death, while at possible risk to himself in ‘Nam, he let the state to his killing for him, so he could get his giggles in. Then as POTUS he once again launched efforts to let the country do his killing for him, hundreds of thousands of folks who did nothing to the U.S. in fact, but hey, he showed "courage’ in that bunker on the infamous 9/11, right? Just like Cheney in his “secure undisclosed location”.
It is the cowardice of the chickenhawk that bothers me, not the resistance of a true leader to kill without caring, and seek peaceful solutions if possible.
Spyderred almost 10 years ago
Much applause dtroutma.
Jason Allen almost 10 years ago
“Like it or not, eventually we will have to confront radical Islam with a military solution.”You don’t get it. The more our troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia, the more we occupy Afghanistan and Iraq, the more radical Muslims will take up arms against us. We may not have liked Saddam, but he kept order in Iraq. When the US deposed Saddam, a vacuum was created that the US didn’t fill. Nature abhors a vacuum and the radicals were very quick to try to fill it.As the nursery rhyme goes, all of the king’s horses and all of the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again.
frodo1008 almost 10 years ago
As the logistics alone in fighting wars on the other side of the world will guarantee that we run up more and more debt (almost as much of an anathema to liberals as conservatives), then just where do you insist that we fight such wars? As long as the Islamic extremists keep their noses out of our country, then we should keep our noses out of theirs. That is not too difficult a concept for you is it?
Jason Allen almost 10 years ago
No, I said they take up arms against the US. Many of the Muslim holy sites are in Saudi Arabia. Radical Muslims are incensed that we have troops stationed on what they consider to be holy ground. In Afganistan and Iraq, the US military has killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians. The US military tortured and humiliated prisoners at Abu Ghraib. As for areas such as Chechnya, take a good look at the politics of the area. Chechnya has been fighting for independence from Russia since Yeltsin was President. The Russian army has been ruthless in their fight against the rebels and I seriously doubt Putin told his generals to ease up any.
Uncle Joe Premium Member almost 10 years ago
“Like it or not, eventually we will have to confront radical Islam with a military solution. The question is do we fight the type of war they want on their terms, or do we fight the type of war we can win on our terms?”I thought that’s what President “Bring it on” tried to do. It’s a path that has failed over & over in the course of history: Ireland, Vietnam, British Afghanistan, Russian Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine… I can go on all day. The terrorist groups aren’t going to fight us on our terms. We can force them to go underground or leave an area with military force, but usually wind up creating resentment that feeds their numbers.I feel like I’m a broken record, but these groups are nothing more than organized criminals. Pretending they are an army, patriots or religious martyrs gives them more legitimacy than they deserve. Our security does require being aware of their plans & thwarting any attempt to attack our soil, but most of these groups are local threats that should be dealt with locally.
Uncle Joe Premium Member almost 10 years ago
“So, you’re of the opinion that the only reason radical Muslims take up arms against us is because we have troops stationed in Saudi Arabia? Then why do radical Muslims take up arms against Christians sin Nigeria?”Thanks for underlining my point. Boko Haram is as vile a group of thugs that anyone could imagine. They have committed despicable acts against their countrymen. They are no threat to the US & if Nigeria had competent government, they wouldn’t be such a threat there.“Or in Indonesia? Or in Malaysia? Or in Chechnya?”Again, the terrorist groups there are fighting their government or in the case of Chechnya, Russia. The Boston Bombers were malcontents, one of which may have had some training abroad. But, they acted alone. Again, criminals, not an armed group in the field. Russia’s brutal treatment of Chechnya fueled their evil.