Letters to the Editor
-
Strange wording in this Reuters article on Barack's response to McCain
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080319/pl_nm/usa_politics_dc
I don't know if I'm allowed to post links here, but note how they say Obama "Belittles McCain" for his mistake. Weird, huh? I've never noticed them use the term "belittle" for a political response. Normally, you see headlines like "McCain attacks XXX" or "So-and-so Attacks XXX for YYY Comments."
But Barack "belittles" people? I guess he's just not your average candidate...
-
RE Hypothetical Question
"And I mean definitive proof, whatever it may be, that leaves no doubt about it."
Well, are we talking Powell-at-the UN unassailble blurry pictures of a truck and a building proof? Or Bush SOTU "The British government has learned..." proof? Or the Rumsfeldian, "We know where the WMDs are located, they are in the area around Tikrit, north, south, and east of it," kind of proof? Will Judy Miller write the breathtaking story? Or would Michael Gordon or one of the Kagans be more believable? I know: Bill Kristol, 'cause he's always right and believable.
-
McCain is just going to keep stumbling on this sort of thing again and again
I mean, he got confused over whether he's a conservative or liberal!
I don't revel in McCain's mistakes, because on some level I want to like the guy, but I don't think he is fit to be Commander-in-Chief. No wonder the fighting is so fierce between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- both of them know that this primary race is really a race to see who will become president. No way will a majority of people pick McCain over either of them.
Video style points: What music is that, Tangerine Dream? Nice jacket though. Mr. Koppelman, treat yourself to some good cognac when you hit the bars tonight.
-
Thats the problem
After Iraq, there doesn't seem to be any "fact" anymore. Everything is spun from whichever side, and every side lies. Anyone can plant a laptop with official looking fake documents. Even a picture of Ahmandinejad shaking hands with Osama infront of a calendar dated today won't count.
-
Step One - Dealing with McCain
Simple fact here is that McCain is clearly building the case for an invasion of Iran. Recent history gives critical thinkers everywhere the right to doubt the veracity of this statement even if it were well thought out and intelligently presented.
Considering that his very public proclamations on the subject sounds like something a crazy uncle would say at the dinner table after a few to many, we have much more reason to question what is going on.
McCain, as has been stated in other posts, is a one trick candidate. He's the guy who wanted to follow Osama bin Ladin "to the gates of hell." Of course, he still has said virtually nothing about seeking out the Al Quada that existed prior to 2003, and was responsible for the attacks on the world trade center and the pentagon. He instead babbles about a bunch of loosely affiliated poseurs who have risen up in the wake of the idiot child emperor's Freudian war of choice.
With unfinished jobs sitting in Afghanistan and Iraq, he is frothing at the mouth to open a can of worms that is considerably larger and nastier than the ones currently festering on our national dinner plate.
Our next president needs to be focused on getting us out of these senseless engagements. So that we can focus our resources on fixing our own country. We cannot swagger around calling ourselves the model for all other nations until we get our house in order. The next president needs to Pakistan about putting up or shutting up in their "ally in the war on terror" status, since a capture of Bin Ladin and his gang will rid the jihadists of their most inspirational (US created) folk hero.
McCain has no domestic agenda, will escalate US military spending across the board to the point where 70% or more of our national budget will end up going overseas in the form of bullets, bombs and American lives.
If you want to get real scary, let us keep in mind that he's rattling sabers against Iran. Iran has a tight relations with Russia, up to and including and open "We got your back" style proclamation from "Prime Minister" Vladimir Putin. Now consider the Putin and his entire party are hardcore former KGB, leftovers from the old-line pseudo-communist regimes. Who tortured McCain for 5 years in Vietnam? Communists. Even if McCain were capable of presenting a sane looking facade to the world at large, one would have to question where his decision making would be if faced with the worst possible scenarios that our increasingly complex world is presenting.
His crazy little proclamation of Iran/Al Queada alliance tells you exactly where his head is at.
-
Step 2 - The Hypothetical
If there were definitive, smoking gun, absolute, undeniable proof of Iran's active participation in training of Iraqi insurgents; the logical choice would be to present this amazing evidence to the world. We would need to demand that those responsible (and clearly such evidence would name names and preferably show them at work) be turned over to the International Court of Justice for trial as war criminals.
From there, it's anyone's guess. We don't have the resources to take Iran out. Sure we can bomb them, but are we prepared for any sort of conventional follow up?
They have Russia in their corner. Considering Iran's oil wealth, China would probably be simpatico. Since they annoy the US, Venezuela would continue relations as well. Since training for guerilla warfare can be done in population centers, there is no guarantee of us striking military targets. Any civilian casualties will make the US look psychotic on the world stage.
Sanctions don't work. It is always the huddled masses who feel them first. A smart government will always blame the sanctioning bodies and anti-American/anti-western sentiment is formed. Extremists are forged in the crucible of poverty and propaganda etc etc etc.
Ultimately, if it came out there would be little we could do at this point.
As long as we are fully engaged in Iraq we lack the military might to definitively handle any other situations. Likewise, our credibility in diplomatic circles has been crushed.
The only way for any forward progress on the world stage is to extricate ourselves from Bush's quagmire with as much grace as we can muster, make Iraq's reconstruction an international affair spearheaded by the Iraqis themselves, and finally demonstrate a national will to improve our own situation as a means to be the beacon the neocons think we are.