Comments on: OBAMA’S FORIEGN APOLOGIES: WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?

By: Political Blog Weekly: 10 April 2009 | U.S. Common Sense

Political Blog Weekly: 10 April 2009 | U.S. Common Sense — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:08:51 +0000

[...] "Obama’s Foreign Apologies: What Did You Expect?" Originally published: 7 April 2009 Submitted by: U.S. Common Sense Summary: Looking back at the comments the President made overseas, and how people back at home responded. [...]

By: jackson1234

jackson1234 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:02:42 +0000

Michael, I obviously don’t hope it comes to a first strike. Yet you earlier laid out the reasons it likely will: we have few, if any, cards to play. Israel, which has fewer cards, likely will do it without our blessing although we will suffer enormous economic and political consequences. China might intervene if it believes the economic consequences would be so great it would threaten its American debt. But given what happened in North Korea this weekend, I don’t believe it will happen.

Busboy: I not only know quite a few people who opposed the Afghan invasion, I have family members who did. This was largely a West Coast phenomenon, and the image that sticks in my mind was that of a typical Sixties-era UCDavis professor who complained, “we were victims until this happened.” It is more important to be victims among these types.

I hope Californians don’t take offense at what I just wrote. I told friends in Manhattan that the same would have happened there if the attacks had been on L.A. As a matter of fact, there were professors and students at NYU who did protest the Afghan campaign (on a low key basis for obvious reasons).

By: Judith

Judith — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:47:40 +0000

obama’s excellent adventure last summer was another big apology for evil USA, and I could not vote for a man who so openly detested my country.
It is interesting that for all his actions, obama got zero. I am sure that the leaders with whom he associated have gone home with quite a chuckle and wonderful stories about this naive nabob.
Read bin laden’s fatwah, USA has elected the weak horse.

By: Maggie's Farm

Maggie's Farm — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:38:02 +0000

Wednesday morning links…

Image on right via Surber
A vote for sanity: Climate change bill sidetracked
Harvard student takes on Barney Frank
Black Caucus praises Castro. Nice role model.
Obama’s anti-nuke speech. Dino
Why "quality" medical care is dangerous
O…

By: funny man

funny man — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:28:01 +0000

I read a number of German papers and the response was pretty positive with both left and right. In their view the results were not as meager as often seen here. Be that as it may, I think it is great that the image of America is much better than it was in the previous years. I think it is wrong to think that everything is a plus or minus for Obama, for liberals, for conservatives. Those are just squabbles forgotten tomorrow.
In the long run Europe is and will be our best ally. That’s both in political and societal terms. Compared to the rest of the world that’s just the difference between Massachusetts and Oklahoma. Not a lot when compared to Yemen, North Korea, Kongo and what have you.
In that sense the trip was a success. Nothing wrong with true apologies too (so that excludes some of the campaign style rhetoric of Obama). As a German it still brings tears to my eyes when I remember Willy Brandt kneeling down in Warsaw to ask for forgiveness not for himself but for the German people. There is personal sin and their is the sin of a people and you can’t exclude yourself by just claiming innocence. It is a difficult topic but every nation’s history is tainted by the blood of innocents and IMHO nothing is worse than cocky self-righteousness.
Ooops time to go to bed.

By: Scrapiron

Scrapiron — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:23:33 +0000

I hope the military members in Iraq realize they would still be bleeding and dying in the sand and the Iraqi people would still live in fear of the terrorists if anyone had listened to O’Dumbo and his calls for surrender. Surrender is nothing to be proud of and neither is O’Dumbo. As a retired member of the military I will never shake his hand but would likely spit in his face if given the chance.

By: Surabaya Stew

Surabaya Stew — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:21:13 +0000

My only 2 cents is that Obama was actually quite limited in his choice of actions and words. After the extensive and critically reported (rightly or wrongly) traveling follies of our last president, Obama had a fixed role to play and that’s exactly what he did. His entire trip was very predictable; any serious observer (Rick included) was not surprised at all over his choice of words and seemingly humble nature on the European stage. Whether or not they were the best things to say or do remains to be seen, but certainly the short term results are favorable!

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:42:21 +0000

Does anyone here think, that when an Al Queda cell in NW Pakistan hears a predator drone, they consider Obama naive?Or that because Bush was a loose cannon, he was tough?Bush basically gave up on diplomacy,because Obama uses it doesn’t make him weak, although, rightwing radio today was throwing around the “Neville Chamberlain, appeasement mantra”. Always the Nazi’s with these people. pathetic

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:19:14 +0000

Barry, Obambi….dude I can pick out a rightwing nut from how they refer to PRESIDENT OBAMA. The clever little putdown nicknames are why its hard for me to take these people seriously.They don’t want rational give and take, they just want a forum to beat up Obama. But thanks rssg for showing your intellect. Its that kind of wingnuttery that will keep your party in the minority. Thanks Rick for another good article.

By: michael reynolds

michael reynolds — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:59:05 +0000

Jackson:

As you say, I won’t attempt to defend the foreign policy of the more liberal end of the Democratic party. In the great playground of life I tend to prefer pushing back over cringing.

I take the Islamic Republic Etc… as being merely the proper form of address, displaying respect. Young Iranians want to get along with us, and they will hold sway as time goes on. To show disrespect in the terms of our address while attempting to reach the people is self-defeating: it allows the regime to demonize us as disrespectful and leaves our many potential allies in Iran unable to defend us without seeming unpatriotic. They Khamenei regime needs the tension between us, we don’t.

As for a military attack we’d better all hope it doesn’t come to that. I seriously doubt the Israelis can pull it off without using their own nukes. And I don’t think we’re going to do it. Imagine the effect on the world economy if Iran closed the Gulf — something they can do with a handful of impossible-to-locate anti-ship missiles or even simple artillery tubes. No one is going to drive a tanker through the straits of Hormuz if the Iranian army is lobbing shells or missiles.

Add to that the effect on our friends and allies, the effects of Iranian countermoves in Iraq and even in Afghanistan, the possibility of the Iranians offering facilities to Chinese or Russian navies . . . It ain’t pretty.