Letters to the Editor
Uncle Fester
Published Letters: 1346 Editor's Choice: 12
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@lateagain xeroid47
[Read the article: Former advisor: Obama's Iraq plan "best-case scenario"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm with lateagain. I keep repeating no plan survives contact with the enemy.
If president, I trust either Hillary or Obama to make a best faith effort to implement their plans for Iraq. But I understand that reality may intrude. They better have a damn convincing explanation though.
I also agree that there doesn't look to be an easy way out of Iraq. That's why I believe failure should not be rewarded, especially with regards to making a bad call on going to war. Edwards, Biden, and Dodd are no longer in the race, partially due to their war authorization vote. So be it.
Here's a bit from Obama's website:
Barack Obama's Plan
[...]
Bringing Our Troops Home
Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/
I agree it lacks the nuance of the statement from S. Power. Presumably iIf al Qaeda stays we stay, if civil war breaks out we still leave.
Should we stay or should we go in the event of a full-out civil war?
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re: Could I buy a clue
[Read the article: Former advisor: Obama's Iraq plan "best-case scenario"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You could buy his book. Or borrow it from the library.
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@KateTex semi-OT
[Read the article: Former advisor: Obama's Iraq plan "best-case scenario"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've never read Dreams from my Father. But I am reading right now The Audacity of Hope, Thoughts on reclaiming the American Dream. I saw it in softback for 20% off. It's a book on politics and not an autobiography so it might be of more interest to you. His writing is above average; as far as I know there is no ghost writer.
I personally think Obama is a politician. And like all politicians, you need to keep the B.S. meter on. The genius of our political system is that it accepts the innate flaws of the people seeking office, and tries to harness the individual greed, ambition, and lust for power for the greater good. It's not perfect, but so far things have worked out over the long term. Within the context of this thread, I actually like Samantha Power's Iraq position better than what is on the Obama website (see prior post). I would like to a best faith effort to get out of Iraq in 16 months, but I also know it will not be easy and stuff may happen. But if you don't shoot for that goal, you're not going to make it. I agree with Obama that we shouldn't be building long-term bases and getting ready for an extended stay like we are now.
Right now I think we're getting a little carried away trying to tear down one candidate in order to raise another one up. Some of that is necessary and good, a little pounding does make you tougher. But a lot it now seems just like jousting with imaginary straw people, denouncing caricatures of the candidates. It seems to me to have more to do with primate tribal behaviour than any rational analysis.
In a few months we'll pick one of the three candiates, and then who knows what will happen; the house and senate landscape will be different, world events will intrude. I think McCain right now is the least predictable candidate. Is he the secret liberal that republicans fear, or the closet neocon the democrats loathe? Will he govern by consensus, or do whatever he wants? And what about his V.P. Hard to tell.
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@KateTex et al a politician is a politician is a politician is a...
[Read the article: Former advisor: Obama's Iraq plan "best-case scenario"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]C'mon, people, can we please stop pretending Obama lives on a higher moral/ethical plane than any other politician who ever lived? He's a politician, pure and simple.
I've been getting the strong impression that it's the Hillary supporters pretending that Obama supporters believe Obama lives on a higher plane so that they can whack the Obama people over the head with it. No doubt there are some idiots out there (AKA Smith loves to duel with them), but it seems to me that most people here have questions about goals, strategy and tactics. That's the lens through which they view Hillary and Obama. After all, she's a politican, pure and simple.
Meanwhile, you and others write many posts trying to convince Obama supporters that they don't get the real story, implying a sort of intellectual or moral deficit on their part. And I've detected a tendency among Hillary supports to dismiss any criticism or critique of Hillary's record as irrational, e.g. hatred.
Because it's easy to ignore the emotional, and hard to reason. It's obvious to me that a lot of Hillary supporters have a very strong attachment to her and her candidacy. I don't have a problem with that, she'll need that to prevail in the general if she's the nominee. But it seems silly to decry what's in the hearts of others when the same is in your own. But if you want to be a Star-bellied Sneetch, go ahead. My apologies to Dr. Suess.