Out of here and nowhere near as educated and eloquent as others obviously but sure okay you're right and the next time anyone tries to stand up to Ahmadinejad, for example, let's just keep our mouths shut and watch.

Obama is the President and leader of the free world.

Those people needed to know they were being heard and he was silent.

Way to go.

Out of here.

we've expanded our sphere of influence to the entire world. (today the world, tomorrow the universe?! :rolleyes:) it's been a mistaken foreign policy for years. and where has it gotten us? broke.

you can't 'support democracy' and then expect it all to end like it did here. how often have we actually seen that happen?
you can't say, we want free elections, and then say 'but make sure you elect the party we like'. lol how would that be an improvement for said country?

so, to hell with trying to figure out what would be best for everyone. it's impossible. so, can we start worrying more about what's best for this country???

:rolleyes:

i'd rather you answer my questions. show me where i'm incorrect in my thinking.
if we go and support democracy, and the muslim brotherhood is elected by the majority, would you feel that we succeeded? because pointman says we should support democracy, but then lists the two cases where elections were held, and complains about who was voted in. that's not logical.

and, no, obama is NOT the leader of the free world. he's the president of the u.s.
we can't say we are supporters of democracy. look at mubarek in the early stages of the egypt uprising. look at bahrain. two examples where our foreign policy doesn't match our supposed ideals. look at our support, for years, for saddam hussein. that didn't square with our 'mission statement' either.

i'd say much of our foreign policy is based on the same thing as our domestic.

follow the money.

so more war?

i swear I remember Obama calling the order to bomb Libya (why do I always think of woman parts when typing that country's name? lol) to support the people who wanted to overthrow the government.

Syria is hypocritical... why not intervene there when we intervened in Libya?? Syrians are not as important to us maybe? I dont know.. it seems hypocritical on our administrations part. I do know our goverment has thrown its verbal support behind the rebels in Syria, just not fire power support.

Personally, I dont want to mess with China or Russia. Doesnt seem like a smart thing to do at all.

We dont own the middle east... there are no American States or territories there. Either we are going to support every damn thing with our military and tax money or not. It's a tough situation. Nothing you posted above seem to be better solutions than what has already been done, IMO. Just more money and more lives.

Ron Paul! Lets protect our borders with the best of our strengths.

I'm tired of being the world police, the world "leader". If you look throughout history, once a country becomes the "world leader" it is ALL downhill from there.

I think that you missed my point. What I am saying is that Obama's lack of real support for the Arab Spring was a missed opportunity for us which could have spread in a big way and is becoming an opportunity that terrorists are seizing upon. While I hope that you are right and the vast majority of Libyan's really don't agree with global jihad, the jury is still out at this point as to who is really going to have control. Hopefully both Egypt and Libya will have democracies, but it appears that our willingness to stay out of it for the most part is allowing dictatorial factions against our interests the opportunity to grab control of the government.

The lack of support for the Iranian Arab Spring is indefensible IMO. Obama did not have Gaddafi killed, we were just one part of a coalition that provided no-fly zones which led to his killing.

Egypt is not a democracy yet, the military is still running that country, it remains to be seen if real democracy will occur there. As for swift action, those responsible must hunted down and be held accountable to send the message that violence against our embassies and diplomats will not be tolerated.

Obama is the President of the United States of America. just a correction there.

Sure, lets fight Iran. That's just what we need. Why not go to war with China and Russia while we're at it. World War 3 is the answer.

I do want you to know that when i said "stay out of it"... I didnt mean anyones opinion here. that we should stay out of the middle east.. thats what i meant.

we have thousands upon thousands of years of world history to study and learn from...

But what do we do?


Repeat it.

Human nature cannot change, I guess.

I'd like to see Libyian leaders and Libyian military hunt down and hold accountable the murderous people from yesterday. Now maybe that could send a message.

It did not have to be war, but more support for those trying to overthrow these terrorist governments and help in organizing true democracies instead of sitting on the sidelines. You touched on my point with Syria, we have sent no clear message to anyone and no analyzation can justify action in Libya but no action in Syria. Isolationism is worst possible policy and has never worked. Look where it got us with Hitler.

I dont think Germany in the 1930's compares at all to the middle eastern problem.

and it is completely impossible to do all this government and military intervention and also lower taxes and have an economic recovery. We are simply draining our resources.

I dont know... I'd just rather other countries deal with their own problems and we can deal with our own problems.

some smart guys thoughts:

George Washington:

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities."

Thomas Jefferson, admonished in his inaugural address : "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."

It would be nice if our country could deal only with our problems. But that is not the reality which is the lesson that WWII taught us. Right now, the Iranian's are aggresively pursuing a nuclear bomb with the ambition to impose their view that Allah is god of everyone and anyone who does not follow that view is an infidel.

If we put our head in the sand and do not pay attention to what is happening in the middle east and Iran obtains a nuclear bomb, we are likely to get involved in a war that will be far costlier both monetarily and in human lives than trying to deal with these issues today. We need a strong leader who will set a clear policy, not a weak leader who is willing to sit on the sidelines and shift these problems to the U.N., which is what we have right now.

fair enough, I can definately understand where you are coming from.

yes, it was a missed opportunity in that we first tried to keep mubarek in power. he missed the boat on that one, and then tried to change course. that only painted us in a worse light.
and yes, nato was the predominant force in libya. however, i feel that we have stretched ourselves too thin, into too many directions, and gotten involved outside of our 'sphere of influence' which for decades was north america alone. makes you wonder why we try to so hard to have all these allies, if we're still going to 'go it alone' and fund so much of this on our own. we've made so many errors in foreign policy for so long...it's not something we can fix overnight. but i think the first thing we should do is pull back.
the second thing we should do is be consistent. we are ignoring some damned good advice from some who came before. we were cautioned about getting involved in european affairs, those countries have been fighting each other for a couple millenia. we were also told 'don't have constant allies' and that's also a good point. just because someone is an ally, doesn't mean they're always right, or that we should always support them. it keeps you from standing for what's right, which demeans you in the end.
the spanish american war was fought because of our interests here. ww 1 was not. ww 2 was a mess, with ww1 being a big catalyst for two. we shouldn't have ever gotten involved in 'nam, which was caused by whom? france. what as ww1 over? europe and her empires. it had nothing to do with us, or our interests. we weren't a superpower until after ww2-but we managed to turn the tide in not one, but two conflagrations even tho we had next to no army leading up to both of those wars.
now look at us. and what has been gained, here, by us being everywhere? joseph stalin was our 'ally' in ww2. why? that's absurd. did you see the news yesterday, where the u.s. and u.k. willingly covered up the murder of thousands of poles by the russians, that we blamed the nazis? because we didn't want to 'alienate' our ally. he needed us far more than we needed him. that's when we started all that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' crap, and where are we now? look at all the years after ww2. we had a war started because germany invaded poland. hello! russian then invaded poland. decades of cold war from our erstwhile ally.
afganistan, largest recipient of foreign aid from us in the years leading to 9-11. we supported them vs the ussr, and for what? where did that get us? nowhere.
saddam hussein, dictator, an 'ally' during their war with iran.
mubarak, dictator, an ally in egypt. it makes no sense. and you want us more involved?

sorry, i completely disagree with that. we need to go back to how we were in the years before ww1. here, until absolutely, positively needed. and meanwhile, a country that others will want to emulate. but we need to quit thinking we should have a finger in every damned pie that comes down the pike.

i love, love, love history. it's fascinating. and then when you hear comments now...that people think are so original, i just laugh. because it's been said before, a million times over, in a million different eras.
those who ignore history truly are doomed to repeat it.


it actually does. it also compares to ww1. and also to previous wars in europe. you see, france had fought germany back in the later 1800's, and lost a lot of land. alsace/lorraine was part of it. germany was made out to be the bad guy in ww1, but it's far, far more involved than that. it was actually the dying austro/hungarian empire in her death throes that caused ww1. and what it all boiled down to was empire building/keeping and power. just like ww2.
france almost, almost caused germany to begin fighting again in ww1, because the price they demanded was so high-including the return of alsace/lorraine. germany was ultimately crippled by the treaty, which caused all the economic upheaval, anger, etc...which ultimately lead to hitler, the nazi party and his rise to power. wilson tried to get lighter sanctions, and it didn't happen. and look where that got europe.
a great part of the middle east was involved in both world wars, because much of africa and the middle east was controlled by european powers. what we're witnessing now is history in the making, with countries still trying to form identities. and i'm not sure whether we're helping or hindering. the fact that those countries are still essentially almost third world, with untapped resources is why we, and europe, are so involved. it's not for humanitarian reasons.

ding ding ding!!!

:tro:


ignore it, repeat it.

Oh I know, don't worry. :)

Mitt Romney is an idiot.

He exists because cults gain power and influence. His success is due to a strong family line with connections to a cult that masterfully made themselves appear as a Rockwell painting.

This is one of the worst elections of our republic.

I'm sickened by what we've become.

Here's the real problem..... MSM and their bias.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/vid...ypt_libya.html


what else are they covering up or shading the truth on ?

You're not ready to go down that rabbit hole. I wouldn't advise it either. Keep your sanity in the false reality. :D:D

We live in the rabbit hole - some of them just don't know it yet ;)

well, that's part of the real problem.

the real problem is that our government has become too beholden to those with the big money. it's those with the cash who also have the control-and not just in the media.

but the media has been controlled by poLIEticians as well. the parties used to have their own newspaper 'back in the day'. even thomas jefferson had a writer on his payroll, spouting stories that came straight from thomas (he abhorred confrontation, and always used others to be his attack dog) or one of his political buddies, such as madison. of course jefferson was both wealthy and a poLIEtician, so he was doubly damned.

http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2...situation?lite


note the points made, several paragraphs down, regarding blaming the media.

romney's idiocy aside, it is a tricky situation with the attacks last night that occurred in yemen.

No worries it's just a 'small minority' who are protesting. :rolleyes:

We gave and give Egypt billions and this is how they say thank you?

For God's sake stop the madness and checks going out NOW!

http://news.yahoo.com/libya-makes-ar...175308342.html

four arrested in libya, suspected of helping in the embassy attack.

Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction. I commend Obama for vowing to bring these thugs to justice. Let's see if he will actually carry through on that like a leader.

:tro: And if Ron Paul was running the show that is exactly what would be done.

http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae6...103b985f4742a2


BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — The attack that killed four Americans in Libya, including the U.S. ambassador, was an organized two-part operation by heavily armed militants that included a precisely timed raid on a supposedly secret safe house just as Libyan and U.S. security forces were arriving to rescue evacuated consulate staff, a senior Libyan security official said on Thursday.

Wanis el-Sharef, eastern Libya's deputy interior minister, said the attacks Tuesday night were suspected to have been timed to mark the 9/11 anniversary and that the militants used civilians protesting an anti-Islam film as cover for their action. Infiltrators within the security forces may have tipped off militants to the safe house location, he said.

He said an unspecified number of militants suspected of taking part in the attack have been arrested and that others were being closely monitored by police to see whether they are linked to a group. He refused to elaborate.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a..._smirked_.html

The story has just begun. We don’t yet know its contours—whether it will unfold as a one-shot tragedy or as the opening salvo of a monumental crisis. But less than a full day after the violent assault on the U.S. embassy in Egypt and the killing of our ambassador and three of his staff in Libya, a few lessons can be noted.

First, diplomacy still matters, perhaps above all else. Hillary Clinton reported this morning, in her most eloquent news conference as secretary of state, that Libyan citizens and security forces had tried to fight off the small mob of militants who set fire to the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and that, afterward, they’d sheltered many survivors and carried the ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, to a nearby hospital. They did this, in good part, because they knew Stevens. A year ago, as the U.S. emissary, he had helped the rebels—who now form Libya’s fledgling democratic government—in their fight to overthrow Muammar Qaddafi. Ever since, he’d been greeted as a friend in his travels around the country.

Similarly, Clinton said, Egyptian security forces helped American guards stave off those who stormed the U.S. embassy in Cairo before much damage was done. Though she didn’t mention it, the new president, Mohamed Morsi, must know that his country’s fortunes, and thus his own political prospects, depend on foreign aid and investment. A few days earlier, Morsi had met with American businessmen and tried to assure them that the climate for investment was sound. Nobody will believe this message if he can’t guarantee the security of foreign embassies on Egyptian soil—or prosecute those who violate their sovereign status.

Derka derka derka oi oi oi

or something.

Way to go Shillary!!

http://rt.com/news/chinese-ships-bre...al-border-101/

I'm sure it's no big deal.

Ugh.

Eve of Destruction

The real action is going to be a little farther south, where there are ever larger deposits of oil and gas, as well as some shipping lanes that the Chinese navy can easily block.

just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...-thwarted?lite


these types of stories just don't get enough attention. things like this are how we should be handling the 'war on terror'. should also remind people that other countries are taking this fight against militants seriously, and aren't just standing idly by, letting muslim extremists ruin their way of life.

I dont think I believe a word Hillary said.

There are pictures of Stevens being dragged on the ground.

Hillary only sees what's in her head.

There are pictures of Libyan security rushing Stevens on foot (they are carrying him) to the hospital. We have Stevens body. He was not "dragged through the streets by a mob", as has been falsely reported on some inflammatory American right-wing anti-Muslim web sites.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/wo...r-4th-day.html


more protests in more countries, and other country's embassies also being targeted.




and who can argue with this logic:

In Hilla, in the Shiite-dominated south, a witness reported the burning of American and Israeli flags. In Kufa, another Shiite town in the south, a mosque preacher declared his belief that the four Americans killed in the attack in Libya actually died at the hands of the American government to create a pretext for the United States to seek revenge and extend its presence in the region.




i can't believe they burned obama's effigy..i mean, he won the nobel peace prize!