Ashe, this is where our opinions differ. As former military and formerly involved with intelligence/special operations, Obamas approval of releasing the information only damaged our ability to stop the next significant attack if time is of the essence.
Before the anti-torture crazies start throwing their observations around that have been developed from zero real world experience, I do not advocate torture, neither do I appreciate letting our current and future enemies know the limits of our interrogation.
Obama is traveling right down the path of Jimmy Carter, let him, but don't be surprised when our economy has been decimated by high interest rates (which is on its way), stagnating home prices, stagnating job growth and even less capital to borrow in the market than is available today. All I have to say is start getting debt free and save up cash.
Dems and Repubs both caused this, but no financial adviser will tell you to borrow more and then take it to the casino, which is what he has done.
The pathetic job the Justice Dept did under Bush should be investigated, no problem there. But, even the left hates to admit we weren't struck in the proceeding years of 9/11 unlike our allies in Europe - and it wasn't for a lack of trying. At least give Bush that credit, he destroyed any idea he was a fiscal conservative but they stopped the Sears tower from being bombed and several other attacks that would have been catastrophic.
Obama will let Iran develop the nuke and Israel be the bad guy, what he fails to understand is they will do far worse than we would have ever thought of doing. He will open Cuba, not a bad idea at this point IMO, frankly we need to commercialize Cuba, put new American dollars in there and make it an awesome vacation destination the way it used to be. Korea will finish their nuke and unless ole Kim kicks it, don't be surprised if they do something stupid now they have the bomb. Don't get me started on Chavez.
For those of you who think Obama isn't a puppet (not saying Bush wasn't) and Pelosi and Frank aren't having their way with him, stop and look around. Investigations should be started on who was involved in the economic meltdown - Pelosi, Frank, Fannie and Freddie, some of Obamas cabinet will be on that list as well. This will never happen and the idea of transparency in govt is as laughable in DC as it is in Nola.
Many issues here but to stay on point...one thing I would bring to your attention is that Obama is not seeking prosecution of the actual interrogaters...he is calling for only the high level members in Bush's admin who authorized it to be prosecuted. I think it is absolutely the right decision.
I'm not claiming I know anything about the actual effectiveness of torture, I have no military background whatsoever.
But for me it is an ideological stance...and I shy away from being an ideologue on almost everything I can...but not when it comes to Human Rights issues. Regardless of it's immediate effectiveness, I think it's Machiavellian logic and it is ultimately counter productive to the advancement of the country and for that matter, the human race. Very broad ideological statement there I admit, but I do believe it.
As for Iran and Israel...I think this country needs to reconsider it's mindless support of the Israeli agenda. I am not a fan of Israel's policy towards Palestine....and I believe that diplomatic solutions can prove effective with Iran. Iran is a highly educated country compared to Arab states...if given the opportunity I believe it will become a productive member on the world stage. I don't believe Ahmadinejad represents the majority of the country and I think with the proper "influence" from the U.S. and it's western allies that the current Iranian regime will disappear within a generation. I believe a military option is the stupidest route we could take with Iran. North Korea....different story.
But I think Israel needs to learn how to live in the world without a big brother fighting it's battles for it...I think we have enough problems to deal with right now that affect our own national security as opposed to theirs.
As for Cuba...the last thing we want is for it to return back to what it was pre-Castro...Battista's despotic reign was much worse than Castro's quasi-communist reign. Let me be clear...both sucked....but Battista was by far the worst devil. I have actually been to Havana in 2001...it is a beautiful city and country. All the embargo has done is insulate the country from economic development and insure Castro's dominance for the past 5 decades. If we really wanted to get rid of Castro we should have dropped the embargo decades ago.
I think Chavez is really a non-threat. He's despotic, yes...but so far not militaristic...which can be dealt with. We've propped up so many sociopathic despots, i.e. Pinochet, in South America over the years...I think we somewhat deserve a Chavez as a repercussion of our empirical policies. As long as he keeps ranting and doesn't start launching grenades, I think he's manageable. The man has done nothing that wouldn't warrant a diplomatic approach....for that matter neither has Ahmadinejad....his rhetoric isn't that far off Bush senior calling them an axis of evil, no?
Now for the economic meltdown...I need a whole other post to address it. You can't possibly single out Frank, Pelosi, Dodd...just dems without going back through the past decade and looking at the republican or bi-partisan supported deregulation efforts which lead to the current state where in. They are all guilty. I don't agree with Obama's current policy towards the financial crisis...but my God...he is not to blame for it...he inherited it.
We both agree that W. was not a conservative it appears....conservatives don't do trillion dollar deficits.
I appreciate your non-confrontational approach...I would love to discuss this with you further.
Stick to more familiar turf, AZ. No good can be served by outing intelligence operations for partisan political purposes, as is clearly the intent here. You are too smart to think that the bozos in DC advocating Salem witch trials for these intelligence officials are selflessly motivated. Lives were saved, and evil men got justice. That's all I need to know.
I do not argue against non-partisan debate at the level of responsible, career intelligence officials. I would defer to their reasoned judgment as to what level of "enhanced interrogation" is appropriate and when and how to utilize it, all the while remaining consistent with our "values". What I argue against, sir, is a witch hunt by partisan hacks willing to sacrifice national security and to compromise the national interest on the altar of political expediency, which is exactly what is going on right now.
I think the debate needs to be very public, not behind closed doors. This issue will define us as a country and the simple fact of the matter is....the men who authorized torture broke the law.
Now if they want to change the law...we need to have this discussion and make a decision to pull out of the Geneva Convention treaties so the rest of the world knows where we stand and that we do indeed condone torture.
We are a country of honor, and we did not have the courage of our conviction when we chose to torture after signing a treaty that said we would not.
I don't believe this a partisan witch hunt...not at all. There were Republicans, during Bush's tenure, who were calling for investigations and even impeachment, i.e. Chuck Hagel.
I want you to point out one documented example of Chavez murdering or torturing anyone. Just one. Send me the link to the story.
I'm not gonna single out Obama just yet...he's just getting started and I think the first regions he needs to address are Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar.
But I'm sue that won't happen as none of those countries produce the petrol-crack we so desperately need.
And I just want to point out, once again, Obama is not "going after" the men on the front lines who served their country and followed orders. He's leaving it up to the AG to go after the men at the top who authorized it.
12 comments:
it will be a nice payday to see real justice served. bush and chaney lied to america. the country foolishly bought it.
Ashe, this is where our opinions differ. As former military and formerly involved with intelligence/special operations, Obamas approval of releasing the information only damaged our ability to stop the next significant attack if time is of the essence.
Before the anti-torture crazies start throwing their observations around that have been developed from zero real world experience, I do not advocate torture, neither do I appreciate letting our current and future enemies know the limits of our interrogation.
Obama is traveling right down the path of Jimmy Carter, let him, but don't be surprised when our economy has been decimated by high interest rates (which is on its way), stagnating home prices, stagnating job growth and even less capital to borrow in the market than is available today. All I have to say is start getting debt free and save up cash.
Dems and Repubs both caused this, but no financial adviser will tell you to borrow more and then take it to the casino, which is what he has done.
The pathetic job the Justice Dept did under Bush should be investigated, no problem there. But, even the left hates to admit we weren't struck in the proceeding years of 9/11 unlike our allies in Europe - and it wasn't for a lack of trying. At least give Bush that credit, he destroyed any idea he was a fiscal conservative but they stopped the Sears tower from being bombed and several other attacks that would have been catastrophic.
Obama will let Iran develop the nuke and Israel be the bad guy, what he fails to understand is they will do far worse than we would have ever thought of doing. He will open Cuba, not a bad idea at this point IMO, frankly we need to commercialize Cuba, put new American dollars in there and make it an awesome vacation destination the way it used to be. Korea will finish their nuke and unless ole Kim kicks it, don't be surprised if they do something stupid now they have the bomb. Don't get me started on Chavez.
For those of you who think Obama isn't a puppet (not saying Bush wasn't) and Pelosi and Frank aren't having their way with him, stop and look around. Investigations should be started on who was involved in the economic meltdown - Pelosi, Frank, Fannie and Freddie, some of Obamas cabinet will be on that list as well. This will never happen and the idea of transparency in govt is as laughable in DC as it is in Nola.
Anon 2,
Many issues here but to stay on point...one thing I would bring to your attention is that Obama is not seeking prosecution of the actual interrogaters...he is calling for only the high level members in Bush's admin who authorized it to be prosecuted. I think it is absolutely the right decision.
I'm not claiming I know anything about the actual effectiveness of torture, I have no military background whatsoever.
But for me it is an ideological stance...and I shy away from being an ideologue on almost everything I can...but not when it comes to Human Rights issues. Regardless of it's immediate effectiveness, I think it's Machiavellian logic and it is ultimately counter productive to the advancement of the country and for that matter, the human race. Very broad ideological statement there I admit, but I do believe it.
As for Iran and Israel...I think this country needs to reconsider it's mindless support of the Israeli agenda. I am not a fan of Israel's policy towards Palestine....and I believe that diplomatic solutions can prove effective with Iran. Iran is a highly educated country compared to Arab states...if given the opportunity I believe it will become a productive member on the world stage. I don't believe Ahmadinejad represents the majority of the country and I think with the proper "influence" from the U.S. and it's western allies that the current Iranian regime will disappear within a generation. I believe a military option is the stupidest route we could take with Iran. North Korea....different story.
But I think Israel needs to learn how to live in the world without a big brother fighting it's battles for it...I think we have enough problems to deal with right now that affect our own national security as opposed to theirs.
As for Cuba...the last thing we want is for it to return back to what it was pre-Castro...Battista's despotic reign was much worse than Castro's quasi-communist reign. Let me be clear...both sucked....but Battista was by far the worst devil. I have actually been to Havana in 2001...it is a beautiful city and country. All the embargo has done is insulate the country from economic development and insure Castro's dominance for the past 5 decades. If we really wanted to get rid of Castro we should have dropped the embargo decades ago.
I think Chavez is really a non-threat. He's despotic, yes...but so far not militaristic...which can be dealt with. We've propped up so many sociopathic despots, i.e. Pinochet, in South America over the years...I think we somewhat deserve a Chavez as a repercussion of our empirical policies. As long as he keeps ranting and doesn't start launching grenades, I think he's manageable. The man has done nothing that wouldn't warrant a diplomatic approach....for that matter neither has Ahmadinejad....his rhetoric isn't that far off Bush senior calling them an axis of evil, no?
Now for the economic meltdown...I need a whole other post to address it. You can't possibly single out Frank, Pelosi, Dodd...just dems without going back through the past decade and looking at the republican or bi-partisan supported deregulation efforts which lead to the current state where in. They are all guilty. I don't agree with Obama's current policy towards the financial crisis...but my God...he is not to blame for it...he inherited it.
We both agree that W. was not a conservative it appears....conservatives don't do trillion dollar deficits.
I appreciate your non-confrontational approach...I would love to discuss this with you further.
Stick to more familiar turf, AZ.
No good can be served by outing intelligence operations for partisan political purposes, as is clearly the intent here. You are too smart to think that the bozos in DC advocating Salem witch trials for these intelligence officials are selflessly motivated. Lives were saved, and evil men got justice. That's all I need to know.
this turf is familiar
And just to be clear...i'm not asking for a sentence. I'm asking for a prosecution.
would you not agree with me, sir...that these questions should be debated, debated, and debated?
I"m simply demanding a quorum. These are crucial matters.
I do not argue against non-partisan debate at the level of responsible, career intelligence officials. I would defer to their reasoned judgment as to what level of "enhanced interrogation" is appropriate and when and how to utilize it, all the while remaining consistent with our "values". What I argue against, sir, is a witch hunt by partisan hacks willing to sacrifice national security and to compromise the national interest on the altar of political expediency, which is exactly what is going on right now.
I think the debate needs to be very public, not behind closed doors. This issue will define us as a country and the simple fact of the matter is....the men who authorized torture broke the law.
Now if they want to change the law...we need to have this discussion and make a decision to pull out of the Geneva Convention treaties so the rest of the world knows where we stand and that we do indeed condone torture.
We are a country of honor, and we did not have the courage of our conviction when we chose to torture after signing a treaty that said we would not.
I don't believe this a partisan witch hunt...not at all. There were Republicans, during Bush's tenure, who were calling for investigations and even impeachment, i.e. Chuck Hagel.
I would like to see the human rights crusaders in B. Obama's administration go after Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Asad, Abdullah, Jintao, etc.
Talk about abuse, murder, torture, oppression. Then again, that might not be as easy as Monday morning quarterbacking on your own folks.
I want you to point out one documented example of Chavez murdering or torturing anyone. Just one. Send me the link to the story.
I'm not gonna single out Obama just yet...he's just getting started and I think the first regions he needs to address are Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar.
But I'm sue that won't happen as none of those countries produce the petrol-crack we so desperately need.
And I just want to point out, once again, Obama is not "going after" the men on the front lines who served their country and followed orders. He's leaving it up to the AG to go after the men at the top who authorized it.
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