Entries from September 2009
September 30, 2009 · 2 Comments
If there’s one thing that just ain’t right, it’s America getting smacked for not being strong on the international stage.
It’s expecially bad when it comes from the French.
The real work of the U.N. Security Council should have been condemning and again warning North Korea and Iran that they are not welcome into the nuclear club and that every effort is going to be used to stop them from continuing on that path. It took French President Nicolas Sarkozy to call the Security Council exercise weak and to chastise its members, including President Obama, for not condemning Iran and North Korea more forcefully.
“How, before the eyes of the world, could we justify meeting without tackling them?” He went on to say: “We live in the real world, not a virtual world. And the real world expects us to take decisions.”
Ouch.
Categories: Military
Tagged: Sarkozy smacks Obama, Virtual denuclearization
September 29, 2009 · 1 Comment
Interesting article here about the supposed “Return of the Neocons.” Makes a great point that they have not “returned” because that would imply that they left in the first place. It’s that the blinding sheen of hope has dimmed a little bit to reveal that the troubles of the world still remain. Thus, those who would venture to correct those troubles, or at the least defend against them, are still relevent.
None of this is to say that neoconservatism represents some kind of infallible doctrine—or that it’s even a doctrine. Neocons have erred in overestimating the U.S. public’s willingness to engage in long struggles on behalf of other people. They have erred also in overestimating the willingness of other people to fight for themselves, or for their freedom.
But as the pendulum has swung to a U.S. foreign policy based on little more than the personal attractions of the president, it’s little wonder that the world is casting about for an alternative. And a view of the world that understands that American power still furnishes the margin between freedom and tyranny, and between prosperity and chaos, is starting to look better all the time. Even in France.
Good article, but it forgets to mention one thing.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
Yes, there have been gross over-estimations on the apetite and willingness to be the world’s police. But even though the neocons are still holding the flame, as it were, unless the apetite is restored in short order, someone else will rush in to fill the void left by the departure of our determination.
And then we’ll be stuck wondering if the new powers are our friend.
Or is it hoping?
Categories: Life
September 28, 2009 · 2 Comments
If there’s one thing I tire of, it’s trite comparisons of the war in Afghanistan to Viet Nam.
A) it bores me because it shows a lack of creativity. For some reason, there is never an analysis of conflict that stands on its own. It is always compared to another war effort. “Afghanistan is Obama’s Vietnam.” “Iraq is Bush’s Vietnam.” You never see good stuff like “Viet Nam is Johnson’s Little Big Horn.”
But it also only seems to show up when we’re perceived as losing. You never see “Iraq was Bush’s Defeat of the Japanese” or something.
B) Viet Nam and Afghanistan are wholly different conflicts. Say what you want about insurgent similarities. I’m talking about how we got here and our presence as it is. We didn’t limp quietly in the Stan and fail to firmly commit to making shit happen. We did in Southeast Asia. The problem we face now is that we’re trying to limp out instead of grabbing the problem by the balls and squeezing a bit.
So, boorish analysis by Princeton Historians annoy me. Especially when they not only compare Afghanistan to Vietnam, but do so in order to impress upon us that the President should listen to the Vice President.
I’m not saying Obama shouldn’t listen to Biden *ever*, just not when he comes up with a hair brained idea on how to win in Afghanistan. Especially when “winning” seems to be spoken “quietly run away” per the IC Manual…
Vice President Joseph Biden is emerging as an important voice within the White House on the war in Afghanistan.
The New York Times reported that during a meeting in the situation room on September 13, Biden urged the president to consider reducing America’s troop presence in Afghanistan. Rather than embracing a mission to protect the Afghan population, the U.S., Biden reportedly said, should target al Qaeda cells in the region through special operations forces and targeted missile attacks.
The emerging relationship between Biden and President Obama brings back memories of Vice President Hubert Humphrey and President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1964, many congressional Democrats were strongly warning Johnson that it was not wise to escalate America’s involvement in Vietnam.
…
Last week there was evidence that Obama won’t ignore the voices of colleagues who are disagreeing with him. Despite having called Afghanistan a “war of necessity” and ordering an increase of 21,000 troops after becoming president, Obama is now saying publicly that he is skeptical that more troops will have the desired effect in Afghanistan.
“I’m not interested in just being in Afghanistan for the sake of being in Afghanistan or saving face or, in some way — you know, sending a message that America is here for the duration,” the president recently said on television.
So, what message ARE you interested in sending?
Categories: Military · middle east
Tagged: Afghanistan is not Vietnam, Biden on Afghanistan
September 25, 2009 · 1 Comment
“Clearly, no serious person in the world has listened to Gadhafi in years and the Holocaust-denying Ahmadinejad is nothing more than the “Members Only” jacket-wearing mouthpiece of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “
– Arsalan Iftikhar
Categories: Quotes
Tagged: Gadhafi is a clown, so is Ahmadinejad
The new Stan Strategy is all about them….
Joe Biden: “Seriously, Stan. Where was I? Oh yeah. I’m not a pussy cat. Truth. Remember those pirates off the coast of Somalia? I was like, “You know what, Rahm, we just should tell B-Rock to have some of our ninjas pop some caps into their skinny asses. At night. From a moving position. Onto a moving target. Through glass. Bobbing up and down. Three simultaneous head shots. Like at a carnival. That’s what I told B-Rock he should do. And he did it. And you know what? I was right. Ninjas are so TOTALLY where it’s at.”
The Man: …
Joe Biden: “And afterward, Rahm was like, “Excellent suggestion broseph — I mean Joseph! — Make those skinnies think twice before messing with Uncle Sam.”
Read the whole thing. Funny.as.heck.
Categories: Life
Tagged: Biden and Ninjas
