Just want to say that I hold Prof Cole's informed comment as the best there is to get to the facts of these matters of interest. I do disagree in may aspects on the way out of Afghanistan. Basically I have come to respect General Petraeus since he called for recognizing Muqtada Al Sadr in Iraq as a legitimate political player in Iraq's future. I believe that helped get the US out of the mess and detestable US invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Afghanistan will take more time but the outcome will be sufficient in a war that at least was started as just.
Obama in my view has done a profile in courage as CinC in Afghanistan. He has gone quietly about the business and he did not take the politically expedient route out when he could have.
But if anyone wants to notice... Obama has stripped the right of the Champion's Belt when it comes to national security and matters of war from those Republicans.
He has overpowered the US Defense and intelligence apparatus and has command of it beyond anything I thought possible.
Petraeus is not going to 'lose' the war in Afghanistan. He has said it is not going to be a win. I know what that means. And Look where Petraeus is sitting. Genius. Political Genius as well as deftness towards a needed national security outcome.
Had Obama listened to the left and pulled out when the right wanted him to escalate that war, and the Taliban put Afghanistan back into the dark ages of 2000, Who knows what Osama Bin Ladin's defeat of his second super power would have meant.
But we can be sure... The war mongering right would be handing Obama his you know what and the left would be in the Defense Department Wilderness for years and years to come once again. Unfairly but once again.
I will vote for Obama and do so proudly and with clear-headed understanding of what is called reality.
Rush Limbaugh is real. Sean Hannity is real. Mark Levin is real. When I drive to work each morning in the D.C. area I cannot get a talk station on the radio that is not 18hrs six days a week of pure 'Great American' hatred of liberals progressives, and anything tied to the Democratic Party.
DC is Blue. Maryland is Blue. Northern Virgina is Blue. But the radio and nine times out of ten the Washington Post is RED.
Where are all you pious hard core lefties when this president needs you to have his back? Whining? Whining for what? Purity.
Let me tell you that the politically active on the right are hellbent on taking anything to the left of them out. The mushy middle (thats the reality - the mooshiness in the American moderate) can be fear-stoked up into believing anything the righties will throw at them.
The Cheney Family is real. Mitt Romney is real. Newt Gingrich for God's sakes is in second place in the GOP race.
Do you want to split Hard left to moderate to soft right up to have a three way race with the Tea Party?
Give America a break and get off your white horse in November and vote for the best man for the job for four more years...
He deserves it whether when you consider what he's been up against.
I have been conducting a self-prescribed study of the lack of concern with being informed and the flagrant and open disregard for reality and facts by those who pursue such right wing American fantasies and myths as "it was a good idea" to invade Iraq and "Bush won Iraq in 2008 but now Obama has lost it" for failing to negotiate keeping a residual force of U.S. troops there for some kind of McCain/Lieberman paranoia induced eternity.
There are some interesting noticeable and predictable traits or patterns of righties that I have collected over the years that clearly show a near 'cult-like' or tribal way with dealing with the world.
The trouble is, AOL has notified all that the Message Board Format is to be shut down on February 20 to go to some 'facebook' style of some sort.
I would like to know if there is some way to set up a daily discussion for news concerning war and the economy where the long running debates on the AOL Message Board could continue.
There is constant group split along left/right lines going back eight years that have discussed matters of war and politics both civilly and not.
It would be great if some major University could produce a set up as the current AOL Message boards... and archive these 'discussions' for research and tracking trends in the way Americans thing along ideological lines.
I agree...
Just want to say that I hold Prof Cole's informed comment as the best there is to get to the facts of these matters of interest. I do disagree in may aspects on the way out of Afghanistan. Basically I have come to respect General Petraeus since he called for recognizing Muqtada Al Sadr in Iraq as a legitimate political player in Iraq's future. I believe that helped get the US out of the mess and detestable US invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Afghanistan will take more time but the outcome will be sufficient in a war that at least was started as just.
Obama in my view has done a profile in courage as CinC in Afghanistan. He has gone quietly about the business and he did not take the politically expedient route out when he could have.
But if anyone wants to notice... Obama has stripped the right of the Champion's Belt when it comes to national security and matters of war from those Republicans.
He has overpowered the US Defense and intelligence apparatus and has command of it beyond anything I thought possible.
Petraeus is not going to 'lose' the war in Afghanistan. He has said it is not going to be a win. I know what that means. And Look where Petraeus is sitting. Genius. Political Genius as well as deftness towards a needed national security outcome.
Had Obama listened to the left and pulled out when the right wanted him to escalate that war, and the Taliban put Afghanistan back into the dark ages of 2000, Who knows what Osama Bin Ladin's defeat of his second super power would have meant.
But we can be sure... The war mongering right would be handing Obama his you know what and the left would be in the Defense Department Wilderness for years and years to come once again. Unfairly but once again.
I will vote for Obama and do so proudly and with clear-headed understanding of what is called reality.
Rush Limbaugh is real. Sean Hannity is real. Mark Levin is real. When I drive to work each morning in the D.C. area I cannot get a talk station on the radio that is not 18hrs six days a week of pure 'Great American' hatred of liberals progressives, and anything tied to the Democratic Party.
DC is Blue. Maryland is Blue. Northern Virgina is Blue. But the radio and nine times out of ten the Washington Post is RED.
Where are all you pious hard core lefties when this president needs you to have his back? Whining? Whining for what? Purity.
Let me tell you that the politically active on the right are hellbent on taking anything to the left of them out. The mushy middle (thats the reality - the mooshiness in the American moderate) can be fear-stoked up into believing anything the righties will throw at them.
The Cheney Family is real. Mitt Romney is real. Newt Gingrich for God's sakes is in second place in the GOP race.
Do you want to split Hard left to moderate to soft right up to have a three way race with the Tea Party?
Give America a break and get off your white horse in November and vote for the best man for the job for four more years...
He deserves it whether when you consider what he's been up against.
For the past eight years I have participated in what is called an AOL Message Board primarly dealing with the US invasion of Iraq.
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=557058&func=3&channel=Member+Guided+News&refresh=true
I have been conducting a self-prescribed study of the lack of concern with being informed and the flagrant and open disregard for reality and facts by those who pursue such right wing American fantasies and myths as "it was a good idea" to invade Iraq and "Bush won Iraq in 2008 but now Obama has lost it" for failing to negotiate keeping a residual force of U.S. troops there for some kind of McCain/Lieberman paranoia induced eternity.
There are some interesting noticeable and predictable traits or patterns of righties that I have collected over the years that clearly show a near 'cult-like' or tribal way with dealing with the world.
The trouble is, AOL has notified all that the Message Board Format is to be shut down on February 20 to go to some 'facebook' style of some sort.
I would like to know if there is some way to set up a daily discussion for news concerning war and the economy where the long running debates on the AOL Message Board could continue.
There is constant group split along left/right lines going back eight years that have discussed matters of war and politics both civilly and not.
It would be great if some major University could produce a set up as the current AOL Message boards... and archive these 'discussions' for research and tracking trends in the way Americans thing along ideological lines.
Any thoughts?