What ever happened to?

“Change we can believe in”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/24/obama-administration-decides-sign-treaty-banning-land-mines/?test=latestnews

“WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided not to sign an international treaty banning land mines.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly says the administration recently completed a review and decided not to change the Bush-era policy.

More than 150 countries have agreed to the Mine Ban Treaty’s provisions to end the production, use, stockpiling and trade in mines. Besides the United States, holdouts include: China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Russia. “

I agree with you. He’s not doing anything really different than what he campaigned on. The situation has gotten worse over there and I think taking his time to find the best solution was the right thing to do.

I wish we could bring our troops home now, but I don’t think it’s realistic. I’ll wait and see what his strategy is and if it sounds reasonable I’ll support it.

I don’t think we should feel we can’t disagree with him, I do lots of times on the economic front, but it sure doesn’t mean I want to go back to Repubs in power.

Now, it may all be for naught as some say (I’m undecided on this) but one has to admit, that he is being very predictable here.

Meanwhile, new thread:

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/economy/happy-hour-roundup-119/

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/economy/happy-hour-roundup-119/

I wish you would not mis-characterize my position. I said nothing about wanting a primary challenger to run against President Obama, in 2012. You need to go back and read what I wrote.

I said that this decision of his will turn off enough moderates and progressives, while not winning him any more support from right wingers, that his base turnout will be demoralized, and enough of them will sit out the 2012 election, that he will not win a second term.

I did not call for action to make that happen. I am saying that President Obama has made a decision that will end up very badly, and will cost him a second term.

As for those who think that the economy will save him; they need to put down their pipes. LBJ had a robust economic situation, when his war mistakes prevented him from going for a second term, and the current economy will not be nearly as robust in 2012, as it was back in 1968.

The jobs are all overseas now, and the new homes construction sector will not be providing very many jobs either.

Unlike Liam I’m not promising that would happen…but I personally would be someone who would vote for that person if Obama doesn’t get us out of this quagmire quickly.

I’m sick of the stupidity of a country that can’t provide healthcare but can piss away trillions on bs invasions of sovereign nations. England had their London bombing…Spain..the train bombing…they don’t feel the need for military adventures.

I really don’t know Tena but I’m seriously beginning to think Australia might be an option…Canada is just to fng cold.

Adding to my discomfort are the seriously disturbed individuals in the country who pull sh&t like this…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/24/michelle-obama-photo-goog_n_368760.html

It’s my understanding that Obama and Holder disagreed on some of this and also Obama would not allow the release of photos, and still hasn’t. It’s my belief he’s trying not to fan the abuse of prisoners flame, while I happen to disagree with him, I think we have the right to know what was done on our behalf. He has said we will not torture and otherwise seems to want to avoid the subject.

Adding more Troops is getting In In In Deeper, and Deeper.

We have been there for eight years, and things have gotten worse, not better. The Afghanistan people have heard it all before, from us, and from the Soviets before us. They are not going to stick their necks out again. They know that we have to leave, and that they will still have to live there once we have gone.

They have seen US Officers come and befriend them, and then go away, after their tours of duty are up, and see them replaced by new officers that they have no history with, and have to start all over again. That is why all the big colonial powers stationed their people permanently in their colonial offices, in order to maintain relationships with the indigenous populations. Even then, they ended up, getting gunned out of most countries.

Our Troops do no speak the language, or understand the culture, and they are here to day, and gone tomorrow deployments, so the Afghanistan tribal leaders are not going to go all in, on the side of the temporary strangers in their land.

We should be reducing our footprint, and keeping just a big enough base force to launch strikes from.

America has this strange belief that it can succeed where all others have failed. It is the naive doctrine of American exceptional-ism. How exceptional can a nation be, that has shipped almost all of it’s manufacturing jobs out to a country that looms as the biggest threat, in the future, and then borrow back all the money we spend with them, in order to wage wars, that the lender country benefits from, more than we do.

China loaned us back our own money, to fund the stupid war in Iraq, and they ended up getting big Oil Contracts, while we get to do the dying, and the paying back of the war loans.

China is now bribing their way into large mining contracts in Afghanistan, while we borrow back more of our money from them, in order to try and make their investments in Afghanistan more secure.

How many Troops did China send to Iraq? Answer; None, but they have sopped up the gravy for free.

How many Troops has China sent to Afghanistan? Answer: None, but they are also getting to sop up the gravy, for free.

We have become a nation of suckers who have fallen for our own false bluster.

Some one said: “I am not against all wars, I am just against stupid wars”.

Really? Then why is that person escalating this stupid war?

Eight years, and no light at the end of the tunnel, in a place, not a country, where a rag tag band of fourteenth century lunatic types have grown stronger, not weaker, since we went in.

After eigth years of failure, it is now; “A Stupid War”, and yet………

This is a tragic mistake by our President.

That’s the only other option here.

While I am in basic agreement with Liam…Obama is my President and I will try to listen with an open mind…but his clear rationale better answer the questions brought up by Liam and more importantly by Capt Matthew Hoh in his resignation letter.

He also better explain how we’re going to pay for any
escalation and why we’re doing HCR on the cheap but are so extravagant on our military adventures.

Most importantly he better offer a CLEARLY DEFINED exit strategy and warn if he plans any additional troop deployments…regardless of what the generals request…we have been through this before in Vietnam.
In 1964 we had 23,300 troops in country..four short years later we had over a half million. Ask any general about a solution and they will ALWAYS respond..give me more troops!

Yes, he did. Before he and Holder announced that they would in fact re-investigate the ETI program and launched unprecedented professional assaults on Bush administration lawyers — and illegally leaked information about their assault. All part of what Obama promised wouuld be a “reckoning” against the prior administration.

But let’s just call them the witch hunts they are.