In Libya, Obama playing the cards he’s been dealt
President Obama’s decision to join our European and Arab allies in launching air assaults against Libyan forces has been criticized by some as an ad hoc, patched-together reaction rather than a carefully thought-out strategy. And to a degree, they’re right. Sometimes, an unexpected and quickly changing situation does not permit the careful application of strategy. Sometimes, you just have to play your cards as they are dealt, recalculating risk and reward as each card is flipped your way. I don’t know how this is going to play out, but so far Obama seems to be playing his hand rationally and cautiously.
Sure, intervening earlier against Gadhafi on the side of the Libyan rebels might have proved more effective in military terms, but it also would have put the United States in the position of trying to dictate outcomes in the Arab world. And not intervening at all, as some on the left still advocate, was a cruel option at best. Had the coalition not acted when it did last week, the world today would probably be sitting back and watching helplessly while a brutal Gadhafi massacred tens of thousands of his fellow Libyans.
Many of those now condemning Obama for acting would have been condemning him for not acting. That’s how these things go. As Obama himself noted in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, “I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That is why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.”
The fact that we are acting, somewhat reluctantly, at the urging of European and Arab allies also minimizes the geo-political risk. This is not an American initiative in which the United Nations and others are being strong-armed to support our policy; this is an international initiative which the United States has agreed to join as its most powerful member. There’s a world of difference between the two, not least because it has forced other countries to shed their infantilism and take responsibility, rather than leaving the tough decisions to Uncle Sam all the time and then grumbling about the outcome.
Obama’s critics also point out that we have no real idea how this will end, or even how we want it to end. Again, that’s accurate to a degree. However, Gadhafi himself has made it clear that he sees only two possible outcomes: victory or death. He has no third option — at this point, he can’t leave Libya to live elsewhere, and he knows it.
Publicly, coalition leaders are saying that Gadhafi is not a military target, but the smoking ruins of his personal compound in Tripoli offer more convincing evidence to the contrary. And at some point, if Western air power doesn’t take him out, his own commanders might. They now see their units being taken apart from the air, and there’s nothing they can do to defend themselves. The quickest way to make it stop is to make Gadhafi stop.
So we shall see.
– Jay Bookman
ADDENDUM: After all these years, the cynicism of Newt Gingrich continues to amaze and even disgust.
Until last week, the former speaker had been pressing Obama to intervene militarily in Libya and force Gadhafi’s ouster. “This is a moment to get rid of him,” he told Greta Van Susteren on Fox. “Do it. Get it over with.”
So what does he say now? As Politico reports:
“Newt Gingrich blasted the decision to attack Libya Sunday afternoon as “opportunistic amateurism without planning or professionalism.”
“It is impossible to make sense of the standard for intervention in Libya except opportunism and news media publicity,” Gingrich said in a statement to POLITICO, his first public comments since President Barack Obama gave the go-ahead order on Saturday.
Iran and North Korea pose “vastly bigger threats” to American national interests, he argued. There are other countries in Africa where strongmen brutalize civilians, including Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe.
“Mugabe has killed more people, the Sudanese dictatorship has killed more people, there are a lot of bad dictators doing bad things,” Gingrich said.
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1,639 comments Add your comment
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:25 am
NUKE the Middle East. That is the answer! The whole area is full of regimes that would murder rebellious civilians.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:25 am
“If I remember, Afganistan’s leaders (the Taliban) allowed their country to be used as a base of Al-qaida, who launched a successful attack on the World Trade Buildings. Did you forget?”
Huh?
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:26 am
“You lead with two cheap shots directed at our President’s moral character, @ 11.05 and 11.08. ‘
Just two? Dang, I’ve already thrown out about 100.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:26 am
WOW 11:23 – amen, no doubt. War mongering Bush opens a third US war!!
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:26 am
“Wow, Barack Obama now has us embroiled in three wars against sovereign nations that have done nothing to us.”
Yeah, and?
stands for decibels
March 21st, 2011
11:26 am
NUKE the Middle East. That is the answer! The whole area is full of regimes that would murder rebellious civilians.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love…
Left wing management
March 21st, 2011
11:26 am
jm: “I am against the EB engaging in a war without legislative approval.”
Ok, fair enough.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:27 am
Hmmmm Jay you seem to think it is ok that we go to war with Libya but when Saddam did nearly the exact same thing you labeled Bush a war monger! Great job!
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:27 am
jm
Nothing like watching the left implode with their own Frankenstein monster, Obama. They created him and now they will chase him back to the castle to burn him.
TaxPayer
March 21st, 2011
11:27 am
Obama. The third Bush administration
So, Republicans are going to re-elect Obama and make it an even four terms for Bush, huh.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
SO DEMOCRATS, HELP ME UNDERSTAND?? This war is okay because it was ordered by a Democrat?? It is extremely similar to the Iraq war besides Libya being much much weaker. We are entering a country that has not attacked us in any way. I happen to be okay with it because we have a duty to protect people who are being slaughtered by their own government. But, any Democrat that agrees with this war is simply a HYPOCRITE!!
Any way you slice it.
If this was Bush the reaction would be completely different from the left, what a joke…
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
Do you think Obama is to Bush what Medvedev is to Putin? I think so.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
“Hmmmm Jay you seem to think it is ok that we go to war with Libya but when Saddam did nearly the exact same thing you labeled Bush a war monger! ‘
DING DING DING!!!!!!
Independent
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
And I may not agree with the timing of the attack, but remember that Ghadaffi (however you spell his name) almost certainly ordered the attack that resulted in the Lockerbie disaster, in which a large number of Americans died. Of course, for that to be the reason, we should have attacked him then.
Doggone/GA
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
“but when Saddam did nearly the exact same thing”
you’re late…been brought up already. Can you REALLY not see there’s a difference between a reaction to an immediate crisis and one that happened 10 YEARS in the past?
stands for decibels
March 21st, 2011
11:28 am
Dang, I’ve already thrown out about 100.
Sorry. Harry’s amusing to watch when you make his head essplode. You, not so much.
later, all.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:29 am
Taxpayer 11:27 –
Um. Not quite.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:29 am
sfd, You liberals are the ones using THAT justification to attack Libya. So can’t we use it to eliminate all Mid-Eastern leaders, China and Russia. Me, I don’t think it was not the right time. We don’t even know who these rebels that we are protecting are!
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:29 am
“Sorry. Harry’s amusing to watch when you make his head essplode. You, not so much.”
That’s because I don’t explode, stands.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:29 am
Doggone……I am not sure the civilians that were killed by their leader care if it was yesterday or 10 years ago. Do you really think that Saddam only killed his people 10 years ago and stopped??? Seriously?
Normal
March 21st, 2011
11:30 am
Y’all,
jt’s Lew Rockwell rant, notwithstanding, I heard this morning that they are or have raised the enlistment age to 40. 40??? Give me a break. If this doesn’t say volumes about our military readiness, nothing will.
Despite Rangel’s color or Mr. Rockwell’s rant, it might be a good idea to reconsider a military draft. Since our military seems to be more and more minority heavy, it might be a good idea to infuse some white, middle and upper class blood.
Y’all might want to read “The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire”. You will see many similarities that we can learn from. One is mercenary armies….
I’ve been in a war and I hate wars. There is no reason that we have to be in any of them…except, as I’ve said before and will say many times more….The Military Industrial Complex can’t make money without them, read, human sacrifice for the American God of Economics, period.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:30 am
Anybody seen Granny lately? I would loooooooooooooooooooove to get her take on this.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:31 am
“An early spring is the right time to highlight an early bloomer ”
I think Jay has a bunch of typos in this headline. I think he meant to say:
“An early spring is the right time for a firefight and a late bomber”
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:31 am
“Y’all might want to read “The Rise and Fall of The Roman Empire”. You will see many similarities that we can learn from. ”
Rome fell from within, Normal. Corruption, moral decay etc.
DebbieDoRight
March 21st, 2011
11:32 am
jm: As I make my list list up for my companies fifth layoff under this Administration, I like nothing about Obama, his cabinet,his staff, his thinking, or his policies. I hope he is a one term President.
Quick question – is Obama, (his cabinet, staff, etc.), on the governing board of your company? If so, you’d better stop blogging bullcrap about him or you can kiss that job goodbye for real.
Paul – Oil. The real power behind every throne and presidency today. As for the Humanitarian part, if we, the world, were so concerned about becoming Humanitarians and policing the world, then why aren’t we enforcing no fly zones in Africa? I mean there are enough coups, genocides, hostile takeovers etc. in Africa to keep everyone “humanitarian” for a long time.
WOW- hmm……wellll……WOW!!…….I see that reading comprehension is not your strong suit so I won’t even bother…..have a nice day.
SoCo: (Hi SoCo!! ) Obama should have continued the path he was on and not allowed himself to be goaded into joining in on the no-fly zone. People can claim “humanitarian” all they want, but where were those people when the sh*t hit the fan in Rwanda? We should not be involved in Northern Africa at all. If the Arab League wanted a no-fly zone, then they should have gotten off their asses and done it themselves.
Yeah. What SoCo said. I’m with it.
jm – RE: Bush – does the truth hurt? Jeesh man! Facts are facts are facts. Ignoring them, fudging them, pretending they don’t exist is not going to change the fact that they are FACTS. Sorry.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:33 am
WOW 11:30 – GG recently spotted puking into a toilet and fashioning up a protest sign: No MORE WAR! Stop OBAMA!
She then OD’d on barbituates from depression at the liberal war mongering president…. fortunately, rehab is working wonders.
AmVet
March 21st, 2011
11:33 am
getalife, they don’t want to know. They’re the right wing equivalent of holocaust deniers.
And the poor twisting in the wind, Hollywood wannabes were as clueless about BHO as they were his predecessor.
These myopic clowns keep asking why the libs are all in support of this strike, yet they can’t name anyone of these supposed libs. Ah life, in the neo-con parallel reality.
BMDPD, it’s called not suffering fools gladly.
“Is it worth our time and resources?”
That is a very legitimate question.
For me, the ultimate decision always revolves around one thing – the loss of US lives.
I could give a ____ about being the world’s policeman. If those thugs want to kill their fellow thugs in massive numbers, that is a damn shame. For them.
This attitude is premised on the fact that we all just watched as the one of the biggest liars in US Presidential history, willfully spilled enormous amounts of American blood. For no good reason.
And this was a scant 30 years past another horrific debacle. Was he so high on smack that he simply forgot about not going there? He should have been shipped off to the jungle. Maybe he would have learned something important about needlessly losing American lives.
With the enormous caveat, that I know next to nothing about the issues, parties, history and the relevant data concerning this violence in Libya and elsewhere – as is almost certainly the case with virtually everyone here – I’ll answer your question; “is it worth our time and resources”, as follows:
No. Let other mothers and fathers from other countries lose their sons and daughters if their “leaders” so wish…
Enough of our politicians and their sycophants feeling good about themselves while waving red, white and blue pom poms from under their beds…
WOODSTOCK MIKE
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
DEMOCRATS shouldn’t even try to make excuses as to why this WAR is legit and Iraq was not. It only makes you look worse. Just go ahead and take the position that Obama shouldn’t have authorized this, that is the only position that gives you any respect.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
Normal, this white boy from Peachtree City did 20 years as an enlisted man. Plus, the military is good for minorities. Those quotas sure come in handy during advancement.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
I want to hear what AmVet has to say about his great leader now being a war promoter!
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
“WOW- hmm……wellll……WOW!!…….I see that reading comprehension is not your strong suit so I won’t even bother…..have a nice day.”
Debbie Translator 2000: She has no real rebuttal and therefore plays the tired old Al Gore “I’m educated, you’re not” BS.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
DDR 11:32 – you’re all wacked out mam. Your first post about “fifth layoff” stuff, I didn’t write.
Your last question was unhinged and disconnected to anything I’ve written. Please hit reset button on your brain.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:35 am
“They’re the right wing equivalent of holocaust deniers.”
AmVet Translator 2000: He just makes up crazy garbage to throw out because he hasn’t a clue as to what he’s talking about.
Normal
March 21st, 2011
11:35 am
Rome fell from within, Normal. Corruption, moral decay etc.
exactly! And it started here 10 year ago and going faster today.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:35 am
“I want to hear what AmVet has to say about his great leader now being a war promoter!”
Vets response: You’re a holocaust denier.
stands for decibels
March 21st, 2011
11:36 am
WOW 11:30 – GG recently spotted puking into a toilet and fashioning up a protest sign: No MORE WAR! Stop OBAMA!
She then OD’d on barbituates from depression at the liberal war mongering president…. fortunately, rehab is working wonders.
so, Jay, this is ok, but me throwing the fictional Harry Callahan’s 2nd-most-famous-line back at the guy calling himself “Harry Callahan,” that’s out of bounds?
Got it.
/drive-by
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:36 am
“exactly! And it started here 10 year ago and going faster today.’
It started looooooooong before that and has nothing to do with one political party. You can thank bad parents for that.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:36 am
Obama’s War Motto for Liberals: NOT ON MY WATCH!
When a Republican is in office: War Mongering Fascist Nazis Must be Stopped!
Add that to the hypocrisy tally sheet.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:37 am
WOW….hahah great…….I guess these clowns would follow Obama off of a cliff if they had the chance…..Wait a minute….I wonder if we can arrange that.
Kamchak
March 21st, 2011
11:37 am
I want to hear what AmVet has to say about his great leader now being a war promoter!
Ralph Nader is advocating war?
Gotta link for that?
carlosgvv
March 21st, 2011
11:37 am
WOW – “Rome fell from within. Corruption, moral decay, etc.”
And that is precisely what has been happening in the USA for some time now.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:38 am
WOW, DDR has been hittin the bong a few too many times.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:38 am
“I guess these clowns would follow Obama off of a cliff”
We could only HOPE.
Normal
March 21st, 2011
11:39 am
Rome fell from within, Normal. Corruption, moral decay etc.
I did my time 66-70 and 75-91 as enlisted Navy too. Today is a lot different and a 40 year old eligible enlistment age is too scary.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:39 am
carlos….no kidding…..we have to stop illegal immigration NOW!
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:39 am
“And that is precisely what has been happening in the USA for some time now.”
Are you Normal’s parrot? He said the exact same thing.
Mick
March 21st, 2011
11:39 am
wow
Translator cliche has been used a bit much….besides everything cannot be boiled down to obama did it therefore it must be bad or I’m always right because I post continiously…a dose of humility every now and then would be a good thing…
Normal
March 21st, 2011
11:39 am
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:34 am
My last was meant for you…
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:40 am
sfd 11:36 – just a more elaborate version of the liberal accusations about republicans smokin too much somepin or other, or drinking too much, or whatever. reeeeeeeeeeelax. It’s just a couple hundred million worth of bombs and a few hundred lives.
WOODSTOCK MIKE
March 21st, 2011
11:40 am
SO INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THE USUAL SUSPECTS ON THIS BLOG DON’T HAVE MUCH TO SAY TODAY???
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:40 am
“Translator cliche has been used a bit much”
Not as much as HALLIBURTON!!!
“besides everything cannot be boiled down to obama did”
Sure it can.
Mick
March 21st, 2011
11:41 am
wow
Thanks for proving my point…
DebbieDoRight
March 21st, 2011
11:41 am
WMike: This war is okay because it was ordered by a Democrat?? It is extremely similar to the Iraq war besides Libya being much much weaker.
Sigh……..
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution endorsing a no-fly zone to halt government troops now around 100 km (60 miles) from Benghazi. It also authorized “all necessary measures” — code for military action — to protect civilians against Gaddafi’s forces.
The US is a member of the United Nations, contributes millions annually to its coffers, and generally follows their doctrines. When Bush was president he went to the UN to enforce restrictions on Iraq BEFORE he decided to go it alone.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:42 am
If Obama and the coalition capture Gaddafy, will he be tried in NY City?
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:42 am
Woodstock Mike 11:40 – see previous posts. They’re pretty much all in counseling at the moment. Zanax is being Fedexed. Thank heavens for capitalist drug makers and shippers.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:42 am
“Thanks for proving my point…”
blah blah blah
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:43 am
Normal, I picked up on that.
WOW
March 21st, 2011
11:43 am
“When Bush was president he went to the UN to enforce restrictions on Iraq BEFORE he decided to go it alone.”
LOL!!!!! Love the left wing talking points. Go it alone? Guess you forgot that the UK, Canada, Australia etc were all their own countries.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:44 am
WOW…..they always seem to forget the facts when it comes to Iraq….
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:45 am
RE Newt. One does wonder. Is he playing politics. Or do the 2 hemispheres of his brain do battle and depending on which one wakes up first, it gets to control his mouth that day.
In all seriousness, there are pros and cons to this whole Libya thing. I can see both sides of the argument. Newt sees both of them too. But just picks the one against Obama. Its like Opposite Day in Newt Land.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:45 am
WOW, how many UN resolutions were passed against Iraq? None, right
!
DebbieDoRight
March 21st, 2011
11:46 am
MPercy: So you contend that Congress is rife with idiots (or do I repeat myself?)
You repeat yourself…
who were overtaken by the Idiot-In-Chief’s cooked up intelligence?
Yep. But in fairness to Congress they were also overtaken by their electorate’s cries of VENGANCE too, their fear of another 9/11 happening, and by their own apathy, (over half couldn’t tell you what was exactly in the declaration of War that was brought forth by Bush et al.)
All those sacred Democratic leaders duped by an incompetent bumbler? What’s that say about them?
Not all. But the sane ones were drowned out by the ones who were pandering to the fear.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:46 am
There are no current positives on the Libya attack. None!
James Stephenson
March 21st, 2011
11:46 am
Well I for one support us helping the Civilians in Libya. But it is funny, liberals wanted us out of Iraq by saying it was a civil war and we had no business being there. Yet, here is an actual proven civil war, lets see if the Liberals support this action. Something tells me that since one of theirs is in office they will.
Regardless, our troops are now in harms way and I expect all Americans to be backing them.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:47 am
jm, Name one positive for the Libya attack in the way it was carried out.
Normal
March 21st, 2011
11:48 am
Oh well, gotta go back to work, but before I go…President Obama has really disappointed me and I hope to the heavens that Hillery will challenge him in the Primaries. She would win and 2012 would begin with another Democratic President. If I am faced with President Obama, the Republicans had better have somebody better than their usual list of candidates…’s all I’m gonna say…have a good afternoon, all y’all.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:48 am
BMDPD…..really? I bet their civilians would disagree.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:49 am
James S., what do those civilians in Libya represent? What drives them? What are their political, social, religious motives?
Road Scholar
March 21st, 2011
11:49 am
“opportunistic amateurism without planning or professionalism.”
Newt should know!
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:49 am
Normal….Hillary is going to run against him in 2012. As crazy as it sounds if the election were just Obama and Hillary I would actually vote for HIllary.
Paul
March 21st, 2011
11:49 am
Huh.
Looks like the Arab League’s charge we’re over-liberal in our interpretation of ground attacks in enforcement of no-fly zone is waaaay off the mark.
““4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;”
Here’s the resolution:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm#Resolution
Doggone/GA
March 21st, 2011
11:50 am
“liberals wanted us out of Iraq by saying it was a civil war and we had no business being there”
There was no civil war in Iraq…until AFTER we invaded.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:51 am
Doggone…..really? You are right Iraq is much worse now than it was before we went to War……great post clown.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:52 am
George, see my last post. Who are these civilians? Would they repeated rape a blonde newswoman from the west? Would they sympathize and donate to AlQaeda, Hamas, etc…? Are they Shiites backed by Iran like the protesters in Bahrain? or are they pro democracy?
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:52 am
BMDPD 11:47 – well it ain’t over yet, so hard to judge. IF it works out, it’ll be the end of Ghadafi. If he’s still around, it will be a failure.
Doggone/GA
March 21st, 2011
11:52 am
“Doggone…..really?”
Yes, really. Check it out, MAYBE you’ll actually LEARN somthing.
Or try educating us…who was fighting whom in Iraq BEFORE we invaded?
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:53 am
dang, that should say repeatedly.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:54 am
RE HILLARY: This may have been little seen. I think Hillary may run….. possible.
Hillary Clinton swears: Being secretary of state is her last political job. Clinton, 63, told CNN Wednesday she will not serve another term overseeing the State Department, even if President Obama wins reelection in 2012.
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
11:54 am
jm, so we get rid of a strong Dictator in the Middle East…..Hmmmmm, how did that work out for us last time?
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:55 am
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/03/17/2011-03-17_hillary_clinton_i_wont_seek_another_term_as_secretary_of_state_even_if_obama_is_.html
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:55 am
Doggone……do you not remember the weapons inspectors? Hans Blix mean anything to you? How about the mass graves that were uncovered in Iraq?
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:55 am
“so we get rid of a strong Dictator in the Middle East”
hard to know what will happen. Could be a bunch of new morons. Could be a bunch of UN peacekeeping crud. who the hell knows.
George W
March 21st, 2011
11:56 am
BMDPD…..actually getting rid of Saddam has worked out GREAT….thanks for your post.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:56 am
BTW, Hillary said she will not be SOS even if Obama wins re-election. Well, what did she think will happen if he loses?
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:57 am
Basically, Hillary just threw Obama under the bus.
TaxPayer
March 21st, 2011
11:57 am
It looks to me as though the claims that the Dem’s heads would be exploding was all a con — “Ooh Look, A Ducky!” — to distract folks from the exploding GOP talking heads.
DebbieDoRight
March 21st, 2011
11:58 am
WOW: Debbie Translator 2000: She has no real rebuttal and therefore plays the tired old Al Gore “I’m educated, you’re not” BS.
Like I said, reading comprehension problem. Oh well…..
jm if I inadvertently posted to you I’m sorry. No need to get classless and snotty because of it. Oh right, I forgot, you’re a godly republican……you can’t help yourself. Sorry.
jm
March 21st, 2011
11:59 am
Even juan williams supports defunding NPR. Its overdue.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51646.html
patriot
March 21st, 2011
11:59 am
And just what was he dealt? Did Libya attack us while I wasn’t paying attention? Did they threaten to attack us? Did they do one damn thing to anything associated with the United States???
What he was dealt was an offer from the global elites that he could not refuse. Distract attention away from the global economic crisis, secure “our” oil, spend a ton of money on the military industrial complex, and reinforce the status of the UN as the global police force for good. Or else.
Obama is just another new world order puppet. That of course is exactly how a black man from Kenya with virtually no political experience can become president. Their investment is paying off handsomely.
Doggone/GA
March 21st, 2011
11:59 am
“Would they repeated rape a blonde newswoman from the west?”
According to updated reports, she was NOT raped: “Fortunately, Lara reportedly told colleagues a group of Egyptian women protected her from being raped by throwing themselves on top of her”
http://www.okmagazine.com/2011/02/lara-logan-details-emerge-of-assault-in-egypt/
BMDPD
March 21st, 2011
12:00 pm
George W, you think it has worked out great. I am ultra conservative and would hardly call it great. It has helped bury our country in debt. It has empowered the Ach mini jihad in Iran. We have lost a lot of troops and the Iraqi civilians are no better off. Christians are killed daily. If So dammmm was still in power, we wouldn’t have those issues, but that is another topic entirely.
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:00 pm
DDR 11:58 – no worries, lighten up.
I posted a response to myself earlier in the day. Don’t know how I did that….. lack of coffee probably.
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:01 pm
Former NPR commentator Juan Williams is speaking out, calling on Congress and President Barack Obama to end federal funding for the “insular” and “self-righteous” public radio giant.
“Even after they fired me, called me a bigot and publicly advised me to only share my thoughts with a psychiatrist, I did not call for defunding NPR. I am a journalist, and NPR is an important platform for journalism,” Williams, who describes himself as left-leaning, wrote in an op-ed published Monday in The Hill.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51646.html#ixzz1HFaayBQ5
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:01 pm
NPR is “fully capable of standing on its own.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51646.html#ixzz1HFalGpNN
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:02 pm
Williams said that he decided he needed to speak out after reading a fundraising letter from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel. In the letter, Israel characterized NPR as playing an important role for Democrats by counterbalancing conservative talkers. “If the Republicans had their way, we’d only be left with the likes of Glenn Beck, [Rush] Limbaugh and Sarah Palin to dominate the airwaves,” Israel wrote.
With that letter, Williams felt prompted to act. “Rep. Israel has unintentionally endorsed every conservative complaint about NPR as a liberal mouthpiece,” he wrote in his column. “No journalist should have to work with one finger in the political winds, anxiously waiting to see if Democrats continue to be pleased with what they hear on NPR as a counter to what they don’t like hearing from Rush Limbaugh.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51646.html#ixzz1HFatOe5Q
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:02 pm
“Journalists should not be doing news to please any donors — private citizens, political parties or government officials — out of fear of losing funding,” he wrote. But he fears that at NPR, they are doing just that.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51646.html#ixzz1HFb0OyMo
patriot
March 21st, 2011
12:02 pm
It would be far more helpful to the discussion if all the republicans posting would just admit that Bush is just as big a war criminal as Obama and that both have engaged in launching unconstitutional and immoral wars against nations that have never attacked or threatened our security. The Democrats need to do the same. The back and forth name calling serves nobody well, least of all the victims of our imperial overreach.
electrician
March 21st, 2011
12:03 pm
Debbie…vietnam was a police action.let me say that my son was permanently disabled in afghanistan.he survived but his marriage did not,I DO NOT CARE WHAT THE DEFINITION OF WAR IS!,people get killed and that is how it is,my son is separated from his sons by 800 miles as well as me .so take your platitudes elsewhere
Doggone/GA
March 21st, 2011
12:03 pm
“do you not remember the weapons inspectors? Hans Blix mean anything to you?”
I does indeed. He and his team reported that they were given access to every site they requested, including Saddam Hussein’s personal compounds and residences and NO WMD were found.
jm
March 21st, 2011
12:04 pm
RE Hillary and Obama and Libya
The former Bush insider, who advised No. 43 during the lead-up to the Iraq war, portrayed President Obama’s secretary of state as the voice of reason in a “reluctant” administration struggling over what to do about Libya.
Ultimately, Rove said on Fox News, Clinton knew that “action needed to be taken and we needed to work with our allies and take concrete steps to remove Qadhafi from power and constrain his attacks on the small ‘d’ democrats in the east of the country.”
“God bless her for doing it,” Rove said, adding that the episode showed why “we need strong members of the Cabinet.”