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Post by aycaramba on Sept 16, 2013 15:15:49 GMT -5
I don't consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but if one reads Dinesh D'Souza's book "Obama's America" or watches the documentary based on that book ("2016-Obama's America"), you can't help but conclude that when Obama leaves office, he is going to be pleased that he has left America in the condition it will likely be - a weakened nation on the global stage, both militarily and economically. Obama's view of America as an overbearing bully on the world stage is obvious, and upon reading this book, as well as its predecessor "The Roots of Obama's Rage", it is easy to see how he ended up with this view, given his mentors and other influences as he grew up. He said he would "fundamentally transform" America, and he is.
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Post by georgewashington on Mar 3, 2014 12:25:00 GMT -5
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Post by georgewashington on Jun 23, 2014 14:46:26 GMT -5
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Post by georgewashington on Jul 21, 2014 10:50:30 GMT -5
death totals palestinians 400 and israelis 20.
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Post by columbia on Jul 29, 2014 7:09:57 GMT -5
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Post by goforit on Jul 30, 2014 7:01:25 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Jul 30, 2014 8:15:38 GMT -5
I support Israel and they are an ally. I support their ability t defend themselves and wipe out Hamas. Unlike most US politicians, my support is not 24-7-365. They have gone too far in the sense they are killing too many civilians. Kill Hamas, but not all the people next door. I've lost count of the number of stories I read like this. news.yahoo.com/15-killed-gaza-un-school-israel-holds-fire-122027029.html
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Post by alexsaitta on Jul 30, 2014 8:15:48 GMT -5
I support Israel and they are an ally. I support their ability t defend themselves and wipe out Hamas. Unlike most US politicians, my support is not 24-7-365. They have gone too far in the sense they are killing too many civilians. Kill Hamas, but not all the people next door. I've lost count of the number of stories I read like this. news.yahoo.com/15-killed-gaza-un-school-israel-holds-fire-122027029.htmlIsrael is in a very difficult spot. They have to wipe out Hamas, but be nimble about it because everyone has a video camera and Facebook. They are not being nimble, and all these pictures will erode their support in the long run. And they need foreign support because they are surrounded by enemies. They are in a difficult spot.
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Post by alexsaitta on Aug 4, 2014 11:23:32 GMT -5
Gerald, I surprised you haven't commented on the fighting in the middle east. What is your take on that?
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Post by geraldgarrett on Aug 4, 2014 12:11:31 GMT -5
I could probably give a historical lesson of how all the pieces go together and how we arrived at this unhappy state affairs, but until Obama decides whose side he's on, my opinion doesn't mean a thing. Let's just say that hardly anybody in the Middle East trusts our President at the moment.
About the only ones who are relatively sure he's not going to undermine their agenda are the Iranians.
Everybody else - Kurdish (Turks), Syrians, Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Saudis, Egyptians (even though at the moment they think Obama is on their side against the Muslim Brotherhood - HA!), Iraqi Shi'tes (we were against them before we were for them) and Iraqi Sunnis (we were for them before we were against them) have to wake up every morning and check which way the wind's blowing, then try to figure out how that is going to influence Obama's next move. He's like the fellow who drives everybody to the party, then somehow loses his car keys while getting too drunk to find his car to take everybody home. The best thing to do if you can't drive yourself to the show is to stay out of his car and find another designated driver to avoid getting everybody stranded with no way back.
It'll be another two and a half years before we can replace the the current driver. We can only hope if he finds his keys, somebody will be smart enough to take them away from him, no matter how loudly he insists he can still drive.
If not, all we can hope is that the inevitable wreck doesn't set off World War III.
The strife in the Middle East goes back to before Moses' time, and it's complicated. Other than in our unwavering defense of Israel or when our national security is DIRECTLY affected, we should try to stay out of it. Unfortunately, our President and our Secretary of State (Kerry) are simple. Simple idiots.
There ya go, Alex. I guess that's my basic opinion. But right now, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the few remaining Christians in Iraq are being told to convert or die while Obama's administration is worried about who will and won't bake wedding cakes for same-sex couples. Oh, and some group of those religious fools in Iraq blew up Jonah's tomb (yes, that Jonah), with nary a word from Washington, DC, about respect for religious freedom.
I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed in our government's feeble responses to threats. Yet some among us say that we - we who firebombed Dresden, Germany, in 1943-44; who killed several hundred thousand civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with two bombs in 1945; we whose government tried mightily to cover up, then defend, the My Lai massacre in the early 1970s - have the moral authority to turn our backs on Israel when civilians being used as human shield by Hamas are killed by Israeli bombs.
Our bombs are smarter nowadays. We, sadly, aren't.
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Post by georgewashington on Aug 5, 2014 20:45:15 GMT -5
anyone who has followed the m.e. back to the 1960's - six days war - has to see this as very tiring. there is no answer only the best can be home for is a tenuous peace.
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Post by alexsaitta on Aug 7, 2014 18:30:32 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Aug 22, 2014 11:50:59 GMT -5
Read this story and then my comment. news.yahoo.com/katie-couric-interviews-siblings-of-slain-journalist-james-foley-070857840.htmlIf a US soldier gets captured, the US/ his fellow citizens need to do all they can to try and get that soldier back. I'm sorry this journalist was killed. I'm sorry for the family, but this was a journalist, who willfully went to this war zone or on behalf of his employer. The obligation to get him back sits primarily with his employer and his family, not other us citizens or the US government. If I go to Iraq to make a name for myself covering the war, and I'm taken captive, that responsibility sits with me and my employer, not my fellow citizens. It is like these people who travel abroad trying to undermine this or that government, get captured and then want the US government to rescue them. When you willfully leave the boarders of the US and go into a hostile situation abroad, you are on your own in my book. The US should do what it can to get those journalists freed, but not undermine the safety and interests of the US. Giving ransom money would do that. That would be a mistake.
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Post by georgewashington on Sept 3, 2014 6:57:23 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Sept 6, 2014 14:55:56 GMT -5
This miscalculation in the Middle East (US complete withdrawal from Iraq) will probably go down as one of the worst US military decisions of the first part of the 21st century. That US leadership did not foresee, once long-time dictators like Hussein, Mubarak, and Gadofi fell, their leadership would be followed by mob rule. This part of the world has the highest concentration of thug organizations that aim to put everyone else under their thumb. If there is a power vacuum, they will rise to the top.
Mob rule is what we have now in many parts of the Middle East, and it is destabilizing to US strategic and economic interests in that region.
The risk is unlimited. The Saudis are even feeling the heat, saying ISIL needs to be defeated. If ISIL is able to take Iraq, they could move into Saudi Arabia and the next day oil prices are $150 a barrel. If ISIL is able to acquire a country, and their oil revenue, they can further fund their military campaign, expanding, and maybe buy nuclear weapons. And they’ll use them.
I just watched an ETV documentary on the three leaders of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy and Khrushchev were on the brakes once the US exposed the missiles, but Castro said to Khrushchev, if Cuba is wiped out in the battle between Capitalism and Socialism, he was OK with that because it furthered the socialist cause. Castro was urging the conflict. There are a lot of those revolutionary types all over the Middle East that only care about furthering their cause.
The world is a dangerous place, and in world hot spots, the US is either going to be on the offense or on defense; there is no in-between.
In 2008 after the surge, the US had the upper hand in the Middle East, and our leadership threw it away. We should have kept many of our bases in Iraq agreeing to defend Iraq much like we did with Japan and Germany after WWII. A presence of 150,000 troops in the Middle East would have protected Iraq vital oil interests, allowed the US to export democracy to nearby countries, and given the US another strike force if need be against Russia or China.
None of this would be going on right now if the US took that course of action.
Now everyone is saying ISIL needs to be destroyed. Can it be done without US troops on the ground in the Middle East? I doubt it. I think most know that. Even Obama initially was saying we have to contain ISIL, because he probably knows that is the best that can be done with US airstrikes and the rag-tag Iraqi and Syrian Free Army. My guess is they’ll try the US airstrikes/ Iraqi/ Free Army troops on the ground for awhile, but ultimately, US troops will be back in the Middle East, likely as part of a multi-country effort to help stabilize the region.
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Post by georgewashington on Sept 19, 2014 7:57:48 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Oct 16, 2014 7:23:54 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Jan 8, 2015 12:25:38 GMT -5
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Post by alexsaitta on Jan 12, 2015 11:25:11 GMT -5
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Post by conservative on Jan 12, 2015 12:18:46 GMT -5
What will become of Venezuela and by extension, Cuba? Are they already so poor that becoming more poor will not be recognized?
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