All Posts Tagged With: "Afghanistan"
Is it Rhetoric and Demogoguery, or Chimerical Pragmatism?
In an attempt to show Europe and the world that he has the gravitas, dynamism and commitment to be a world leader and capture the Presidency of the United States, Senator Obama took his campaign to Berlin.
There he delivered an unprecedented speech before a record crowd of more than 200,000, his previous record being 75,000 at a rally in western Oregon during the primary campaign.
He spoke eloquently, aristocratically and audaciously. He touched on every issue of concern, to a wide array of the populace. He spoke about nuclear proliferation, famine, poverty, global warming, the apartheid in South Africa, terrorism, irradiating AIDS, genocide in Darfur and a plethora of other issues. All to the chant of the throng, “yes, we can,” Obama’s mantra. He brought the crowd to a frenzy when he said, “the walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.” The largest clamor came when he said, “and despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.”
The biggest lull came when he brought the crowd to a somber silence with this statement. “This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.” This demonstrates Europe’s resolve to me. A true lack of consideration to confront world evil. An unwillingness to stand shoulder to shoulder with another to make the world a better place and to protect not only their own, but others.
But the preponderant issue for me appears to be the same for many others, as noted in a myriad of periodicals around the world. Obama’s speech was short on specifics and long on rhetoric. Although two statements he made humbled me and gave me pause: “I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
“At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning - his dream - required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.” And, “But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived - at great cost and great sacrifice - to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom - indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us - what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores - is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.
“These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people - everywhere - became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation - our generation - must make our mark on the world.”
What is one to think? After extensive research of Senator Obama’s record and accomplishments during his tenure, all the ducking and dodging about various controversial issues that have arisen henceforth, and not to mention the lack of specifics apropos issues he espouses, I believe this speech is nothing more than what he has been doing his entire campaign, demagoguery. After all, he is the quintessential demagogue isn’t he?
Majority Now Say U. S. Beating Terrorists
Despite Most Media’s Bashing Facts Leaking Through
Over half of American voters (51%) now believe the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, the highest figure recorded in nearly four years by Rasmussen Reports in a nationwide survey.
Only 16% now think the terrorists are on top, while 27% view it as a stalemate. Prior to this week’s survey, the number who believe the terrorists are winning had never fallen below 20%.
Last July, just 36% thought the U.S. and its allies were winning. At that time, an equal number-36%–thought the terrorists were ahead.
Other indicators in the survey also show that Americans have growing confidence that things are looking up in the war on terror.
Forty-two percent (42%) now think the situation in Iraq will improve over the next six months. That’s up from 37% a week ago and 23% a year ago.
Only 23% now expect things to get worse in Iraq, down from 49% last July.
The gap also is narrowing dramatically between those who think history will judge the war in Iraq as a success - 36% now - versus those who think it will be viewed as a failure (39%).
These results continue a trend noted last week when 48% said the U.S. and its allies were winning versus 20% who saw the terrorists ahead. The 28-point difference was the most favorable margin recorded by Rasmussen Reports since tracking began in January 2004. The previous high was established on September 6, 2004, when 52% thought the U.S. and its allies were winning but 26% thought the terrorists were winning — a 26-point favorable margin.
Now 35 points separate those who think the U.S. is ahead as opposed to the terrorists.
For the first time in months, more Democrats (35%) also think the U.S. is winning versus the number who credit the terrorists with being ahead (26%), although nearly a third (31%) are undecided. Last week, only 27% of Democrats thought the U.S. was winning.
Even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tours the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq on a fact-finding trip, Americans are evenly divided on whether he is too inexperienced to be president. Forty-five percent (45%) say Obama, who has been in the Senate three years after serving as a state legislator in Illinois, lacks the experience to sit in the White House, a number that has been trending higher in recent weeks. An identical percentage disagree.
The results on the war on terror come as a separate Rasmussen Reports national survey this week found that 63% of Americans want the troops brought home from Iraq within a year, reflecting little change in voter attitudes since tracking of this question began last August. Still, just 24% want the troops withdrawn immediately.
Forty-four percent (44%) of voters think the United States is safer today than before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but 39% disagree. Both figures are roughly comparable to the most optimistic figures on record.
Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain have stepped up their criticism of each other’s positions on the wars on terror and in Iraq in recent days, largely due to Obama’s current overseas trip. McCain, a longtime supporter of the war in Iraq, has consistently pushed for more U.S. troops there, and this so-called surge of forces is credited with bringing stability to the war-torn country. Obama remains a critic of the war but now acknowledges that the surge, which he opposed, has worked.
In another recent survey, however, 48% of Americans agreed with Obama that Afghanistan, and not Iraq, should be the “central front” in the war on terror.
Still in new polling this week McCain is again trusted by voters more than Obama when it comes to Iraq and the broader issue of national security.
Now 61% of men think the U.S. and its allies are winning the war on terror, up from 54% last week and 49% the week before. The number of women who agree has held steady at 43% for two weeks in a row, up from 37% a week earlier.
The percentage of Republicans who see the U.S. and its allies ahead also stayed roughly the same at 78%. Forty-five percent (45%) of unaffiliated voters, a bloc critical to the upcoming presidential election, agree, up two percentage points from a week earlier and 36% the week before that. Nationally, the race between Barack Obama and John McCain remains very close in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Thirty percent (30%) of likely Obama voters also see the U.S. winning, while 26% of them disagree.
Rasmussen Reports will continue polling weekly on this topic through the election and then resume monthly tracking. Weekly updates are posted on the Obama-McCain: By the Numbers page.
During weekly tracking in Election 2004, confidence that the U.S. and its allies were winning ranged from a low of 45% to a high of 52%, but the number who thought the terrorists were winning never fell below 25%.
The war on terror was the number one issue for voters in the 2004 election cycle. Voters now identify economic issues as their number one concern.
President Bush’s record low approval ratings have improved slightly from the new confidence in the outcome of the war on terror. Forty-six percent (46%) rate his job performance as poor, down from 49% last week, while 27% rate his work as good or excellent for the second week in a row.
Obama “Rocker” Like Tour Begins in Afghanistan
I will attack on the terror center on other side of border (in Pakistan), Obama
Presumed Democrat Presidential nominee Barack Obama was in Afghanistan for the first time Saturday. He did not repeat his criticism of Afghan president Karzai and his government, that it had “not gotten out of the bunker” and helped to organize the country or its political and security institutions. During his campaign Obama said , “if I become president I will withdraw the U.S. troops from Iraq and bring them to Afghanistan and I will attack on the terror center on other side of border (in Pakistan)” creating tensions and raising questions of attacking a sovereign nuclear armed Muslim nation a comment called dangerously naïve.
Obama did say of Afghanistan “This is a war that we have to win,” and said. “I will send at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, and use this commitment to seek greater contributions - with fewer restrictions - from NATO allies.
“I will focus on training Afghan security forces and supporting an Afghan judiciary, with more resources and incentives for American officers who perform these missions.” By contrast, his opposition to the war in Iraq - and call for an end to the U.S. combat role - helped him overcome his rivals in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama will also visit Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and England, traveling aboard a jet chartered by his presidential campaign, before his return to the United States. The weeklong trip marks his only foreign excursion as a presidential candidate; McCain has visited Canada, Colombia and Mexico, in part to highlight Obama’s opposition to trade deals with those allies.
ABC, NBC and CBS networks have been criticized for sending their news anchors with Obama while barely covering the McCain trips even after Columbia’s dramatic rescue of hostages held by the FARC terrorist organization which it was later revealed the U. S. played a big role in accomplishing.
Obama Accepts McCain Challenge To Visit Iraq and Afghanistan
Obama finally agrees to go to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee spoke with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday and told him he looks forward to seeing him in Baghdad.
Obama said he is considering a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan before the November election and that more details will be announced shortly.
Obama said he told Zebari he was encouraged by the reductions of violence in Iraq, but that as president he will carefully move to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq.
McCain challenged Obama to just such a visit, and offered to accompany him and show him around. It is not likely that Obama will include McCain in his entourage.
“Self Defense Only” Policy Lets Assassin of British Troops Escape
A top Taliban commander linked to the deaths of British soldiers has escaped German special forces because they were not allowed to kill him under their rules of engagement. The Scum Also Rises
I’m back on the USS John McCain floating down the river of shame. There can be no denying that I’m targeting the man in my writings. I’ve decided to simply admit to that because I managed to read something somewhere this weekend where the author admitted to his fantasy of having John McCain in office. He swore he would do whatever he could to help McCain win the presidency. Since then, I’ve decided to do everything in my power to inspire people to keep him out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where the most unpopular president in American history presently resides. I honestly don’t believe that this country could survive a repeat performance of the past eight years, but if McCain is elected we will be getting all that and more. McCain continues to reveal himself in full view of the mainstream media and they, in turn, continue to gloss over his transgressions. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Manager of the GOP convention has already resigned
McCain chose Doug Goodyear to manage the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, citing his management experience and expertise. Seems that Goodyear has expertise in other areas as well that could become a bit prickly for a candidate who likes to paint himself as a foe of special interests.
Let’s start with the $3 million CEO Goodyear helped DCI Group (a consulting firm) earn by lobbying for clients like ExxonMobil and General Motors. If that doesn’t bother you, how about the $384,000 that DCI collected in 2002 for representing Burma’s military junta in spite of its dismal human rights records? Regardless of the fact that this regime has been condemned by the State Department, it remains in power today. As has been the case with his entire election campaign entourage, McCain continues to surround himself with big-money lobbyists and many with questionable character.
Reading the writing on the wall, Goodyear has already resigned the position, stating that he does not want the issue to become a distraction. How about the real truth, Doug? You got caught with your ethics down and McCain would probably have fired you anyway because he will allow nothing to get in the way of his drive to the presidency.
Supporting the troops but, hey, there’s a limit
McCain has stated his opposition to Senator Jim Webb’s (D-VA) improved and expanded GI Bill. This bill would pay full college benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (cost not to exceed the cost of the most expensive state school in a veteran’s home state). This effectively brings the GI bill into the 21st Century, since the original Montgomery GI Bill pays only a fraction of the cost of today’s bloated tuition expenses.
Over the weekend, I noticed some blogs quibbling about what McCain’s exact words were regarding the Webb bill and whether or not he said what was quoted. It was clear that those who support McCain were running interference for him. Here are the facts: John McCain opposes the Webb bill, regardless of his exact words. Echoing the sentiments of the generals and others in the Pentagon, he’s afraid that enlistees will leave the military sooner than they normally would to pursue an education.
McCain is apparently working on his own legislation. On a recent campaign trip he stated, “I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military, as well as for people to join the military.” Nowhere does he talk about owing our veterans an education for the sacrifices they’ve made. However, that is the way that Webb, a former Navy secretary and decorated Vietnam combat veteran, views his bill.
Another concern of the Pentagon brass, and the Bush administration, is the cost of this bill – about $2.5 to $4 billion per year. That’s because the country is choking on the $12 billion per month war in Iraq. So, let’s just put this in perspective because the math is very simple. The president didn’t have a problem going to Congress and asking for another big fat bag of money ($178 million through the first quarter of 2009) for his war, but he considers the Webb GI bill too generous (a maximum of $4 billion per year). So you can gain an appreciation for this level of hypocrisy, you do the math. And just so you understand that this is about McCain, not Bush, McCain supports the war in Iraq every time, both ideologically and fiscally.
Opposes equal pay for women
Back in 2007, our misbegotten Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strip Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of much of its potency. This ruling makes it significantly harder for women (and other workers) to sue their employers for pay discrimination by stating that the worker has only 180 days from the date of the first discriminatory pay check to file a complaint. This resulted in the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Play Act (H.R. 2831), championed by Senator Edward Kennedy.
The bill does not create any new civil rights. It simply restores the potency of Title VII by making the 180-day rule apply after each discriminatory paycheck. Although he simply skipped the vote, McCain was opposed to this bill as well. Instead of legislation to assist women in the fight for equal pay he stated, “They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else.” Did you get that? Not only does he act like George Bush, but he also speaks just as eloquently. Allow me to translate this McCain-ism.
Women aren’t discriminated against in pay. They are just not educated enough to receive equal pay. So, we’ll educate them and then their employers will pay them just like they pay their male counterparts. Whoever McCain’s handlers are should inform him that many institutions of higher education in America presently enroll more women than men. Someone should also tell Mr. McCain that women in the higher echelons of organizations, in spite of being equally as or more educated than their male counterparts, rarely receive the same level of pay. He just needs to educate himself on the issue prior to opening his mouth.
While we are on the subject: Can the Supreme Court get any more conservative than it is? It sure can and McCain is determined to see that it does. He says he will use Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., as models for his own nominees. I address this in particular to women, but it should really go to everyone who cares about real freedom: One more conservative appointment could tip the balance of the court and will endanger reproductive and civil rights. He’s already received a zero from NARAL Pro-Choice America based, not only on his voting record, but also on his publicly-stated desire to overturn Roe v. Wade.
McCain’s quiet war on the environment
John McCain, although painting himself as an environmentalist of sorts, has been waging a silent war on the environment. He missed all fifteen critical votes on the environment in 2007, including those where a ‘yes’ vote from McCain would have resulted in the bill passing by a single-vote margin.
He finished dead last among his colleagues, earning him a big fat zero from the League of Conservation Voters. Out of 535 members, McCain was the only member to miss every single key environmental vote. That’s not just hypocrisy. That’s cowardice.
After eight years of George W. Bush, a John McCain administration is the last thing America needs. The American people will not get a true picture of McCain via the mainstream media. They have long since abandoned telling the truth about him. Americans must seek alternative news sources to gain information about all of the candidates running for the presidency, and for a true picture of the real issues surrounding this election.
Don’t look now, but the terrorists have won
Inarguably, the most seminal event in American history in the last half-century was the September 11 terrorist attacks. On September 13, 2001 President Bush stated, “The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him.” We fell into line behind our elected leader, resolute in avenging this horrendous act. We spoke with bravado about how we would return to the American ‘way of life’ because we were determined to live in freedom. We would not let the terrorists win. It matters not that six months to the day Bush made the comment about finding bin Laden, he said, “I don’t know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don’t care. It’s not that important. It’s not our priority.” By then, we had our nationalistic blinders on and President Bush was successfully using the politics of fear to keep Americans in line. With a misguided sense of ‘patriotism’ we gave up our civil rights so that our leaders could keep us safe. And even after the President of the United States proudly stated on the national news that he approved torture and abuse, we cannot summon the stomach to impeach him. Don’t look now, folks, but the terrorists have won.
The nation we have become under George Walker Bush has been shaped in large part by the 9-11 terrorist attacks. After the attacks, there was a great opportunity to bring about unity on a national and international scale. That opportunity was squandered by this administration. From the beginning, George Bush took the position that if certain nations did not do his bidding, they would be considered siding with the terrorists. When the families of those killed on 9-11 started to ask questions and press for an investigation, they were stonewalled for months. The administration finally relented and appointed the supposedly bi-partisan 9-11 commission, and then proceeded to first stonewall it, then lie to it. There are certainly enough holes in the official story to warrant an investigation, but we will never see it while George Bush is in office. The reality that every American has to face is that, at the very least, the Bush administration saw this tragic event as a broad-scale political opportunity and took advantage of our fears. That’s what dictators do.
For all the rhetoric that comes from this administration about democracy and freedom, the fact is that our civil liberties have been significantly curtailed and more are coming under assault every day as a result of 9-11. In October of 2001 our Congress foolishly passed the U.S.A. Patriot Act, giving the government unprecedented power to search telephone, e-mail, medical and financial records in the name of fighting terrorism. This was also the reason the Bush administration used to justify illegally wiretapping American citizens. The Protect America Act of 2007 retroactively legitimizes Bush’s illegal activity. If that isn’t enough, he also wants Congress to authorize retroactive immunity for the telecommunication companies that participated in this atrocious behavior.
If Ronald Reagan was ‘the great communicator,’ then George W. Bush is ‘the great liar.’ In October of 2002, Congress voted to give George Bush the power to unilaterally attack Iraq without so much as taking the time to verify and question the ‘facts’ used to justify the invasion: That Saddam Hussein was somehow involved in 9-11, that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that Iraq tried to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger. We now know that President Bush and several members of his administration, including Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, told these and many other lies in order to justify the invasion of Iraq. Had the Congress done its due diligence, the unnecessary death and destruction that this war has wrought could have been avoided.
Then we have the matter of torture. The United States has no business singling out nations like China and Cuba for human rights abuses when our president has violated (and continues to violate) the terms of the Geneva Convention. While the administration would have you believe that what happened at Abu Ghraib was the brainchild of low-level soldiers, we now know where the orders came from. President Bush himself proudly told ABC News just recently that he approved the torture techniques being used on detainees from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The terrorists have won because our government and way of life have become unrecognizable. We need not fear an attack from the outside because we are destroying ourselves from within. The U.S. Constitution, the cornerstone of our democracy, has been repeatedly violated by the Bush administration. Our system of checks and balances, anchored by a free and independent media and a Congress truly acting upon the will of the people, is all but gone. Finally, the American people themselves have become complacent sheep waiting out Bush’s term of office. We are not a stronger nation because of it. We are not a safer nation because of it. And the terrorists know that.