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| Clinton says U.S. must embrace Arab Spring despite dangers |
| 2012-10-13 |
| The United States must look past the violence and extremism that has erupted after the "Arab Spring" revolutions and boost support for the region's young democracies to forge long-term security, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday. Clinton, seeking to reinforce the Obama administration's Middle East policy following a wave of anti-American violence and last month's deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said Washington cannot be deterred by "the violent acts of a small number of extremists." "We recognize that these transitions are not America's to manage, and certainly not ours to win or lose," Clinton said in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. "But we have to stand with those who are working every day to strengthen democratic institutions, defend universal rights, and drive inclusive economic growth. That will produce more capable partners and more durable security over the long term." Middle East unrest has become fodder for the U.S. presidential campaign, where Republican candidate Mitt Romney has sought to portray President Barack Obama as an ineffectual leader who has left the United States vulnerable at a time of international crisis. Romney and other Republicans have focused on the September 11 Benghazi attack, which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, accusing the Obama administration of security and intelligence lapses in what officials now describe as a terrorist attack. Clinton noted that the Benghazi incident was the subject of an official probe and vowed the United States would track down those responsible for the attack. But she stressed that U.S. diplomats must engage with an uncertain and dangerous world if they are to promote and protect U.S. interests. "We will never prevent every act of violence or terrorism, or achieve perfect security. Our people cannot live in bunkers and do their jobs," she said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 we don't have to "must" anything. Clinton forgets that she works for us, it's not the other way around. Time for her to go |
| Posted by: Jan 2012-10-13 21:08 |
| #10 Personally, I prefer plan B: Step 1: Rubble the places of Muslim infestation. Step 2: Make the rubble bounce. Rinse, repeat. Yeah, sure, there are a lot of Mussies to vaporize - but to those who say "The population is too large to eradicate" I can only say: "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step". Time is going to pass anyway - we might as well move through time with an ever-diminishing population of Muslin barbarians. Promote LTC Dooley, give him a Theater Battle Group, and tell him to get to work. Otherwise, a hundred years down the road, a handful of wretched survivors, trying to avoid annihilation by the Caliphate, will be muttering into their gruel "What in the f#$k were those idiots back at the turn of the last century THINKING when they allowed this pestilence to grow, unchecked, from scattered regional infestations, into the dominant global menace of menace of 2100. Hint for the "liberals" of 2011: Your priorities will no longer be "global warming, tree hugging, LGBT equality, ADA violation enforcement, and free contraceptives". They don't call this RANTburg for nothing. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2012-10-13 20:44 |
| #9 So what if we choose not to embrace the Arab Spring? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-10-13 19:13 |
| #8 there seems to be no grasp within the State Dept of what government by Sharia law really means. "democracy" is meaningless if clerics are running the country. that's pretty much where these Arab Spring countries are headed. there is no "middle ground" .... this is not like winning the vote in Iowa. :-) |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-10-13 16:37 |
| #7 SoS Clinton is so versed in history, cultures, and sensitivity. Just like in her viewing of the painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, March 27, 2009. Delta Bravo. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2012-10-13 13:25 |
| #6 Deflection, damage control, and denial Also - doubling down. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-10-13 10:49 |
| #5 Did we get involved in the Revolutions of 1848? No, but we got a lot of really talented German immigrants. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-10-13 10:41 |
| #4 Did we get involved in the Revolutions of 1848? No. Then again, no one really understands history anymore. It's all just a lot of propaganda and indoctrination 'studies'. How do you know where you are going, if you don't know where you've been? /rhet question |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-10-13 09:11 |
| #3 boost support for the region's young democracies In other words pay the Danegeld, more money for the Muzzies. Oh, where the he11 does she see democracy involved in this? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-10-13 07:25 |
| #2 You forgot defeat. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2012-10-13 05:17 |
| #1 Deflection, damage control, and denial. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-10-13 03:41 |