Iran's Junta just stole a MASSIVE election and murdered their own people, and are intent on murdering more. Every regime in the world looked at that, then looked at the Weeney-in-chief at the White House, and laughed up their sleeve. Way to go guys! First California's complete and utter economic destruction and now the end of any opportunity Obama had in effecting any kind of international policy. The Left is batting 1.000!
Just a couple of words to you Obamaphiles:
The U.S. does not NEED to influence our friends and other liberal democracies. We NEED to influence authoritarian regimes. You will wind up with far more blood on your hands than your boogey man, GWB.
The presidency is not for the faint of heart.
27 comments:
Obama, and the American Left are more interested in the adulation of their European counterparts than actual foreign policy. While genocide was occuring in the former Yugoslavia, the EU watched. It was right in their own back yard, on the European continent.
Bill Clinton stepped up to save Muslims from "ethnic cleansing." I was suprised and glad that he did. I figured he would express concern and wring his hands like a good social democrat. I don't expect any such guts from BHO.
Regards,
Coal Guy
It wasn't a real election. Amadinejad had no real power. He was a figurehead -- a weak, 3rd rate "mayor." The only hope the Iranian kids had was internal dissension in the current Iranian government (the mullahs fighting amongst themselves) and some kind of real organization of the revolutionary movement. The news hinted that dissension did exist, but apparently it didn't gestate. And the protesters also said that they themselves were lacking in leadership. Iranians aren't very good at running anything: their oil industry is a complete, unmitigated mess; they subsidize everything, even though they can't afford it & they can't even run a police state very well. They are spoiled, and each wants a car and an air conditioner. It should be no surprise that the revolution will not be televised .. even on a typical barren Monday night. Obama had no chance.
I think we, under Bush, worked out a deal with Iran. They help calm down Iraq, we keep Israel from attacking their atomic program. Obama does not want to upset this agreement, Iran could cause a lot of trouble in Iraq and Afghan.
Greg what do you think Obama should have done regarding Iran?
Of course we should have nuked them and ginned up the craziness in the region. McCain would have had the balls to do that.
And for sure swinging Dick Cheney would not have given it another thought.
Human wave assaults in Iraq and Afghanistan would certainly give the coalition troops something to perk up about.
And plus it would keep all those unemployed Iranian youth out of trouble.
Why can't we have a real foreign policy?
Running an empire is hard work and the wussies just don't know how to do it.
It is all about us and what we want, isn't it?
The rest of the West plays tag-along at best to US foreign policy. When things get tough, who else in the world steps up or holds the line? Really, think about it. Who?
Kim Jong Very Ill has it figured out. Obama will do nothing, so he canceled his agreement on nukes and is pressing his agenda. The rest of the world will figure it out too. There are a lot of what-ifs out there. I'd worry a lot if I lived in South Korea, Tai Wan or Isreal. That's for sure. What will the Russians do? Will it be easier for them to press and agenda with the EU? When the US stands down, the world will change. I don't think for the better.
Regards,
Coal Guy
At the very least, Obama should have demanded increased economic sanctions against Iran. The youth there are sick of being isolated from the rest of the world. Some positive reinforcement in that area is in order. Help them be a bit angrier at their government
Regards,
Coal Guy
and now the cap and trade bill )1300 pages and counting) is up for vote today.
Pickdog
And by the way, it's not about how BHO will react if China attacks Tai Wan, it's about making sure that China believes that it is just not worth it to try. Same for every other sore spot on the face of the globe. The world is MUCH more dangerous now than it was on Jan 18th. And I'm no Bush fan.
Regards,
Coal Guy
Greg; I disagree, and on several counts.
Firstly Obama is right when he says he doesn't want the USA to be the Big Bad Boogieman to be blamed for interfering in another sovereign states' affairs.
You yourself pointed out that change is inevitable when 70% of the population is under 30 - it just takes time to play out.
Obama is being a patient stateman, not shooting from the hip to please the reactionary back-home crowd, most of whom couldn't find Iran on a map!
Next, what was Obama to do? He can only give an opinion, he can't back it up with any action on his own; better to work with Europe and the RotW to indicate his concerns. Or do you want to go start a war there too?
It is time for the USA to realise that it has failed in Afganistan and pretty much failed in Iraq, just as it failed in Vietnam. It's about time it recognised its limitations.
The USA is not the World's policeman and has no more right to comment on Iran's election than Iran has the right to comment on Florida's scam vote-rigging for GWB.
If you want to comment on non-democratic states - at least they had an election! And they have internet connections. Be consistant, should Obama advocate sanctions against China and Saudi too?
If you really want to influence authoritarian regimes, stop borrowing money or buying stuff from China, and stop buying oil from Saudi Arabia or Russia.
Anon 9:26 AM:
OK, I'll bite... (and by that I enjoy your leading question, but the possible responses were myriad.)
Among many other things, I think Obama needed to press our allies to pressure Iran. Iran cannot function in a vacuum. China and Russia will have no problem looking the other way while Iran builds gallows and stakes for firing squads. Where is NATO? Where is the U.S. leadership? Where are our allies? Are we waiting until Israel and Tehran start lobbing nuclear bombs at each other?
The presidency is a bully pulpit. Obama has been Thespian in Chief, and the Thespian candidate before that. Where is he now?
A firm response was in order, not only to keep Iran thinking, but to keep the rest of the Middle East thinking. A diplomatic effort was in order to put up a united front to the world's other despotic regimes.
In the final analysis, Obama is DONE on the world stage. Finished. Kaput. Sunk. Glug... Come back to this post in 2012. Iran will be seen as a HUGE missed opportunity. The only folks on the planet that don't see this are partisan members of the American Democratic Party.
Last but not least... If you think the car and truck bombings in Iraq last week were coincidental, I got a bridge and some swampland for you. Iran was sending us a message. That's how those guys roll.
In dealing with Iran, Somalia, North Korea, et al, it is far better to be feared than ANYTHING else.
Donal:
Military action against Iran is NOT an option. For a number of reasons.
This was a show of diplomacy, which is often a game of "chicken".
BTW... some of you Obamaphiles might not like my analysis... that does not make my analysis incorrect.
TIme will tell, and what I think it will tell is that Jimmy Carter is back.
"If you really want to influence authoritarian regimes, stop borrowing money or buying stuff from China, and stop buying oil from Saudi Arabia or Russia"
Come on Donal... I surprised at this from you...
There was no opportunity to influence any of the internal political outcomes in China, Saudi, or Russia. Are you waxing moralistic on me? We are talking DIPLOMACY, and an opportunity presented itself in a country that is months, or perhaps a few years, away from a nuclear weapon. China and Russia already have these, and it is not possible to put the shaving cream back in the can. But China and Russia have proved possible to "do business with", if you will. Iran has proven to be anything BUT reasonable.
You guys in Europe should really consider what the day after a nuclear exchange between Israel and Iran would look like in your neighborhood.
Let us remain germane to the conversation. An opportunity was missed and a president communicates with the world in what they say and do, and what they don't say and do.
Does anybody really think that Obama accomplished something positive for himself, the U.S., the West, NATO, etc... in this exchange?
REALLY??!!
I thought you were a libertarian. You sound like more like a big active government person now.
Greg. Thanks for the reply. By and large I agree, but there is only so much the US can do given all the potential and actual trouble spots. Once peak oil really kicks in and things become very local what happens elsewhere will matter even less, except for the fallout.
Anon 9:26 AM:
Oderint dum metuant only works if one has the stomach to back it up Caligula did but we don’t.
Anon @ 7:11:
Pu leeeeze......!
Libertarians are not precluded from noticing poor governing.
Your gang made a lot of promises, and made a multitude of accusations... Now DELIVER!!!
If you don't, I am going to throw the yellow flag.
Here's the deal:
The Obama Administration's failure to better manage the Iran situation is going to be a key issue going forward - unless they get their head out of their @$$#.
The financial system has been saved from the abyss by continuing the same policies this administration took from the last.
You can spin it anyway you like. But in the end, Obama won the election because he was pro choice, pro gay marriage, and black. He won based on popularity, not because of anything he has done in his public life - and that's OK, that is what our system has evolved into with the consent of the people. That does not preclude me and other folks with an ability for critical, abstract thought from making rational observations.
Obama is in his 6 month of governing. You and your ilk have got to let go of GWB! He is not president anymore! Obama is, and he and his team have to govern, engage in diplomacy, submit budgets, pick judges, etc... and all of the other messy things one must do when one must ACTUALLY govern (as opposed to campaigning - and we all know what that is: LIEING.)
Anon: at 9:34:
Sort of. Nuclear exchanges ANYWHERE in the world will matter to everyone - irrespective of how local we become.
This is just chess, and the next move really counts.
Lastly:
PRESIDENT Barak Obama. That is his title. That is the job he ran for. He is no longer Senator. He is not cool-speaker-in Chief.
Sorry folks, the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES has a very specific Constitutionally directed role and job description. If you don't want the role, don't run for president.
Barak Obama asked to be Commander in Chief, among other things, and this is tough thing for any human being to take on - but that is the job.
For non Americans:
You may or may not like America's preeminence, but it exists, and the American people did not elect Obama to give that position to China, Russia, India, etc... he is answerable to the American people first and foremost as they were the people that put him in power.
Only the U.S., with all of its faults and historical wrongs, has ANY moral authority ALONG WITH the international power to be of assistance to freedom fighters. (And yes, I am aware that some "freedom fighters" have enjoyed our support only to become enemies... history moves on a time line, and things change. Iran has publicly called for the extermination of Israel - this is not the sort of not a nation that deserves to have much of its Sovereign status respected.
Spare me the fact that the Founders were all slave owning white men. Should we now disband and chuck the Constitution, the greatest political document for the furtherance of freedom the world has ever seen, because some/most of the founder's were hypocrites?
We are ALL hypocrites.
Greg; perhaps I was being a little, well, provocative!
But I have to say that the European perspective of Obama is different to the US perspective; as far as we're concerned he's acting like a European diplomat should. Trouble is, we see than as a compliment, but for you colonial brethren over the Pond......!
As for Israel, few people here believe Israel so much as farts without permission from the US, let alone plans the launch of a nuclear war. That's not to say that, if Iran gets close to making a deliverable bomb, an Israeli jet may get some foreign target practice!
And regarding China, it was America's gift of its industries to China that has given it a 20 year leg-up in industrialisation. I don't recall ANY president making serious noises along the way about their democracy or human rights record, or even more than a blip in trade during the Tiannamen Square massacre. Foreign policy must be consistant if diplomacy is to carry any weight.
If Obama pulls off a Palestinian solution and forces Israel to back off with its illegal settlements, that will cut the ground from under radical muslim organisations, including Iran, and strengthen America's ability to continue to trade (e.g. buy oil) in the Middle East. THAT'S diplomacy.
On the founders being hypocrites; the 3/5 rule in article 1 section 2 uses the term “other persons” instead of slaves because the issue was so contentious that even mentioning slavery in the document would have doomed it.
Similarly article 1 section 9 danced around the wording while allowing a ban on the importation 20 years in to the future. Incidentally the only thing 1808 had going for it was that it was twenty years into the future. The founders weren’t hypocrites they were realist; something in short supply today.
Greg,
I think you have one of the top blogs on the net. I trust you totally around financial matters. However, I have lived overseas--Europe, Japan, Saudi now for over 23 years and you don't know what you're talking about--Obama losing it. Really, just a thoughtless sweeping generalization. Stick to finance, livestock, and gardening, please. Thanks much.
Anon @ 11:48
Thank you.
I will stick with my generalization. Obama's Admin's problems internationally are JUST beginning. It is my opinion that you are staring directly into the rearview mirror. Obama is popular internationally. The regimes are unpopular. In chess, who matters? The pawns? Or the King(s)?
Come back to this blog in 3 years, and we shall debate it anew. I would be VERY willing to place a substantial bet on the outcome, not that anyone can be sure of an outcome... it is the ability to handicap outcomes independently of ones belief system that leads to better forecasting accuracy.
AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE:
You may not like my analysis. That does not make the analysis incorrect.
Dan:
"Realist", "Hypocrite"... symantics, really.
The U.S. , at its inception, had legacies... just like every other "new" nation. These legacies do nlt detract from the accomplishment, nor do any of the other wrongs done by the people running the government at a particular time.
I LOVE America. I love to travel, but I LOVE that get to come back home - here. I value the rights that Americans have. I value my American experience, and I hope that you value your experience. People have free will - they can be fat, drunk, and stupid... or they can be healthy, wealthy, and wise... it is a personal choice... America has its dopes, but I have traveled the world, and the concentration of this type is no different here than elsewhere.
American politics and policy are not perfect, and neither are China's, Russia's, India's.... policies & politics, that is. I prefer our ideals, thank you, and leave you to yours.
Hey what's your opinion on the Climate Change and Energy Bill that was passed by the House? I see it as a hidden tax to fund healthcare!
Good one!
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