|
|
Post by goGopherBill on Mar 9, 2009 16:07:19 GMT -5
Obama floats idea to meet with the moderate taliban to discuss areas of mutual frame work?
Cool meet with those who would rather burn you instead of bombing you.
Change we can believe in..
It's time to look at his birth certificate.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 16:20:03 GMT -5
What's the deal, Bill? I thought you were a Petraeus fan?
I'm amazed at all the things Obama is taking on. Here it is, two months in office and he's already tackling almost every issue out there.
Good luck to him, I say.
Meanwhile, there's still those out there spreading their Limbaugh%*$#...
|
|
|
|
Post by OverAndUnder on Mar 9, 2009 16:48:45 GMT -5
Talking is such a waste of time. I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikegarrison on Mar 9, 2009 17:07:50 GMT -5
Talking is such a waste of time. I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. Game over, man. |
|
|
|
Post by bunnywailer on Mar 9, 2009 18:37:23 GMT -5
What's the deal, Bill? I thought you were a Petraeus fan? I'm amazed at all the things Obama is taking on. Here it is, two months in office and he's already tackling almost every issue out there. Good luck to him, I say. Meanwhile, there's still those out there spreading their Limbaugh%*$#...  Talking about something in front of the media and making speeches is not "tackling almost every issue out there". And nowhere out there does it say that Petraeus says this is a good idea. This is 100% Obama drawing a correlation that doesn't exist. Just because it was somewhat successful with Sunnis in Iraq doesn't mean you can plug-and-play the same thing with the Taliban in Afghanistan. |
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Mar 9, 2009 20:15:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by cardcounter on Mar 9, 2009 20:33:13 GMT -5
I read where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is negotiating with "moderate" Taliban to start a dialog. Let me know how that works out.
These guys have the philosophy,"If you don't agree with me, I will kill you. If you don't convert to my religion, I will kill you". The problem in negotiating with the Taliban is they believe that their God justifies any means to achieve their goal. They believe lying to the infidels is fine. Going back on their word is fine. Reneging on any treaty is fine. Anything to destroy the infidels.
Hilliary: reason will not work with these people. They understand military power and nothing else. This is starting to remind me of the way Chamberlain appeased Germany prior to WWII. Didn't work out so well.
Can anybody give me a summary of what Obama's foreign policy is? (In a response that doesn't include George Bush....Please try to look forward.)
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 21:06:40 GMT -5
Cardcounter--I'll take a crack at it...though if I refer to Bush, it is because it's hard to ignore the last eight years in terms of current policy.
1 - Return to an emphasis on American 'soft power' rather than military might to get ahead in the world. Examples: Instead of threatening bombing Iran, contact Russia and work a quid pro quo deal regarding E.Europe missile defense vis a vis helping with Iranian policy.
2 - Multi-governent coordination of economic stimulus plans--including efforts to get China to control the speed of its economic growth to avoid boom/bust cycles.
3 - A return to following treaties the US has signed (have to mention Bush as Bush abrogated several treaties/agreements)
4 - Work for climate control--not necessarily with Europe but a four-way deal with India, Indonesia, and China regarding carbon emissions (since those are the three other biggies besides the US)
5 - Slow pullout from Iraq while increasing a military commitment in Afghanistan. It should be noted that Obama has continued/affirmed Bush's policy of striking targets in Pakistan's tribal territories if we'll hit al-Qaeda leaders. **It's also important (because many people don't understand/confuse it)--the Taliban and al-Qaeda are two distinct, different groups. They are NOT the same thing.
How's that?
Cardcounter--talking with the enemy is never a bad thing. In most cases it defuses tensions. We talked to the USSR constantly during the Cold War--even though they were our enemy. That communications kept the world from nuclear war at least twice. Talking does not equal sympathy, nor does it confer trust.
|
|
|
|
Post by cardcounter on Mar 9, 2009 21:21:42 GMT -5
zenstudent; I like your response. Some parts I agree with and other parts I disagree. I appreciate that you were able to form a specific and well considered post without resorting to bashing former President Bush (whom I, incidentally, disagreed with on almost everything but think he is irrelevant to solving current world issues). I also admire that you were able to make your position known without resorting to exaggeration and distortion of facts. You are someone I would enjoy debating the important issues of the day.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 21:57:32 GMT -5
Cardcounter--thanks. By outlook, I consider myself traditional Republican--I very much admire Eisenhower, Goldwater, and Reagan. I HATE the current Republican Party--any organization that could make Goldwater say he felt too liberal...ugh.
I wish more people would be rational about their positions. Reagan NEVER let ideology get in the way of making progress elsewhere. He put national interest/practical issues ahead of screaming/yelling over unsolvable issues such as abortion. Sigh.
|
|
|
|
Post by IdahoBoy on Mar 9, 2009 22:24:00 GMT -5
Obama floats idea to meet with the moderate taliban to discuss areas of mutual frame work? Cool meet with those who would rather burn you instead of bombing you. Change we can believe in.. It's time to look at his birth certificate. At least Obama isn't afraid of confronting Bush's enemies, like W. was. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2009 13:37:55 GMT -5
What's the deal, Bill? I thought you were a Petraeus fan? I'm amazed at all the things Obama is taking on. Here it is, two months in office and he's already tackling almost every issue out there. Good luck to him, I say. Meanwhile, there's still those out there spreading their Limbaugh%*$#... Talking about something in front of the media and making speeches is not "tackling almost every issue out there". And nowhere out there does it say that Petraeus says this is a good idea. This is 100% Obama drawing a correlation that doesn't exist. Just because it was somewhat successful with Sunnis in Iraq doesn't mean you can plug-and-play the same thing with the Taliban in Afghanistan. I would suggest reading this article. This all goes back to moving away from the black and white world of Bush's first 6 years in office. www.newsweek.com/id/187093/page/1As for Petraeus: Would a strategy like this work in Afghanistan? David Kilcullen, a counterinsurgency expert who has advised Petraeus, says, "I've had tribal leaders and Afghan government officials at the province and district level tell me that 90 percent of the people we call the Taliban are actually tribal fighters or Pashtun nationalists or people pursuing their own agendas. Less than 10 percent are ideologically aligned with the Quetta Shura [Mullah Omar's leadership group] or Al Qaeda." These people are, in his view, "almost certainly reconcilable under some circumstances." Kilcullen adds, "That's very much what we did in Iraq. We negotiated with 90 percent of the people we were fighting." |
|
|
|
Post by cardcounter on Mar 10, 2009 14:08:02 GMT -5
David Kilcullen words about 90% of Afghanistan being controlled by tribal leaders and people with their own agendas is exactly why the U.S. goal to stabilize the country under one, unified, friendly government is ludicrous. Russia could not do it. We could not do it the first time around, we have not learned the lesson, and we continue to lose American lives.
This is also exactly why Iraq will break out in civil war, chaos, and a bloodbath as soon as the intimidation factor of U.S. military forces is removed. It is inevitable and just can not be avoided. The culture is too firmly ingrained in the "religion justifies killing" mentality of various religious sects and war lords.
Get all American troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan now, OBAMA.
|
|
