What's wrong with this discussion? Something's missing. Something - to his credit - I don't see Obama forgetting:
It's interesting that, because Obama is a domestic failure, he's also seen as a klutz in Middle East policy. The truth is, that's been one area where he's brilliantly following the U.S.' long-term strategy, to-the-letter. I don't know what Bush told him, or the Pentagon, or the C.I.A., but - whatever it was - he listened.
It's a reason liberals distrust him - and their distrust is a reason conservatives smell political opportunity where they shouldn't. Even with all our bickering, we shouldn't have to wait until something goes wrong, to rally together around a good idea. There should be times when the gamesmanship stops.
Risking our nation's interests, toying with a man, gains us nothing,...
The adults in DC (what few there are) must have sat him down and explained just how much danger he's in and convinced him that ,as far as the anti-terrorist policies in place were concerned, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
ReplyDeleteTo a certain extent within those guidelines, he's still tried and managed to screw up a lot.
Even the the stopped clock can be wrong all day, it seems.
So far, outside of a few big missteps (although, to be very honest, on a couple of things he's done better), he's been following the Bush policy -- which is, if you come down to it, not that far different from the foreign policy most Republican administrations have tried to follow since the 40s.
ReplyDeleteOn this one thing he has been more correct than his detractors: going in guns blazing (which by the way, Bush did not do, just to set the record straight) and/or isolationism ala Paul either one of these would be a fatal strategy (and so would giving up our sigint/intell advantages because of stupid Glenn Greenwald/Snowden!).
I'm really happy that he freaking listened and realized that there are some things quite beyond the President's power to order to his particular liking. Whatever else, he appears to be far and away much better than that rat bastard Clinton.
So, it is highly irritating when I see Republicans essentially fighting the lefties battles for them, and making huge miscalculations, due to ODS (which I'm sorry, but a lot of them have...just as badly as the liberals lost their minds with BDS). I realize that a lot of conservatives/Republicans are low information voters, but they should be capable of looking back to the Bush years and realizing that same as back then, there are things afoot that are not public knowledge, at least not yet.
Used to have the common sense to apprehend that, but not now.
PW