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Home Front: Politix |
The Meltdown |
2014-08-21 |
by Bret Stephens Long but worth the read [Commentary] As I write, the foreign policy of the United States is in a state of unprecedented disarray. In some cases, failed policy has given way to an absence of policy. So it is in Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and, at least until recently, Ukraine. In other cases the president has doubled down on failed policy--extending nuclear negotiations with Iran; announcing the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Sometimes the administration has been the victim of events, such as Edward Snowden's espionage, it made worse through bureaucratic fumbling and feckless administrative fixes. At other times the wounds have been self-inflicted: the espionage scandal in Germany (when it was learned that the United States had continued to spy on our ally despite prior revelations of the NSA's eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel); the repeated declaration that "core al-Qaeda" was "on a path to defeat"; the prisoner swap with the Taliban that obtained Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's release. Often the damage has been vivid, as in the collapse of the Israel--Palestinian talks in April followed by the war in Gaza. More frequently it can be heard in the whispered remarks of our allies. "The Polish-American alliance is worthless, even harmful, as it gives Poland a false sense of security," Radek Sikorski, Poland's foreign minister and once one of its most reliably pro-American politicians, was overheard saying in June. "It's bullshit." |
Posted by:Beavis |
#13 |
Posted by: gorb 2014-08-21 22:38 |
#12 |
Posted by: 3dc 2014-08-21 11:24 |
#11 US role supporting AQ/ISIS factions in Syria leading to the present state of hostilities in Iraq. All due to the early withdrawal from Iraq by the Champ's Administration. Arming and training them today, in order that they may turn on us and kill us at some point in the future. No, it's not book title, it's a foreign affairs strategy. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2014-08-21 11:06 |
#10 Iwonder what big scandal is being minimized by the media emphasis upon Ferguson? US role supporting AQ/ISIS factions in Syria leading to the present state of hostilities in Iraq. All due to the early withdrawal from Iraq by the Champ's Administration. Ya think ? |
Posted by: Hupiting Gray1781 2014-08-21 10:42 |
#9 Or worse, Granny Warren. |
Posted by: Raj 2014-08-21 10:01 |
#8 Obumble, being elected, was the biggest con game ever pulled off by the left. This is what you get. History might repeat itself if Hillary is elected in 2016. |
Posted by: JohnQC 2014-08-21 09:58 |
#7 He was hired by the left to be a figurehead with the real power being exercised behind the curtain by his handlers. Unfortunately for his governance committee, the midterm elections screwed up their plans. There was never the intention of the empty suit ever being a leader or a decision maker, that was supposed to be Clinton, Biden, Pelosi, and Reid. The press couldn't keep a lid on things and the great mass of the unwashed voted against their plans. The unraveling of ObumbleCare, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and the IRS scandals have all reduced the credibility of the grand leftist scheme to transform America. I wonder what big scandal is being minimized by the media emphasis upon Ferguson? |
Posted by: Bill Clinton 2014-08-21 09:42 |
#6 He and She are very interested in the royal trappings of the office, just not the responsibilities that to with it. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-08-21 08:53 |
#5 Lost Interest??? You have to have something before you can lose it. This scum was never interested in responsibilities of any kind. He has only been interested in self-aggrandisement, personal enrichment, and revenge against any critic. |
Posted by: AlanC 2014-08-21 08:18 |
#4 Yes, RTWT. My favorite part - Is the problem the president himself, a man who seems to have lost interest in the responsibilities (though not yet the perquisites) of his office? |
Posted by: Bobby 2014-08-21 08:07 |
#3 Don't you mean his Reggie Tackle? |
Posted by: Sonny Glarong6820 2014-08-21 07:39 |
#2 I'd like to see Obama on a clay court facing a pro tennis player. They can get that soft and fluffy ball to around 112 mph on an average. Imagine that on your face or wedding tackle after a bouncing top spin shot. |
Posted by: Pearl Borgia1889 2014-08-21 06:04 |
#1 Anyone for golf? |
Posted by: gorb 2014-08-21 01:55 |