tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383732783190307682.post5017727099112849802..comments2023-07-20T03:54:13.889-04:00Comments on A contrarian world: What Francois Hollande Learned from George Bush and Obama Did notAthenaeumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06662860639414150880noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383732783190307682.post-19925823241409799982015-12-27T00:52:14.689-05:002015-12-27T00:52:14.689-05:00Conceding the pale nature of Obama's presidenc...Conceding the pale nature of Obama's presidency vis a vis as the commander in chief when an evil force like the ISIS and Islamic terror is brazen, the post has given Bush Jr an aura that he seldom deserves. <br />Didn't we all know about Bush's vanishing act immediately after the 9/11 attacks? So much for a war-time CEO. As for the reaction later in Afghan or Iraq it was pathetic and criminal with no basics as to put to rest the raison d'être for the antagonism that the USA let solidify against it not just in the Islamic world but even in friendly European and third world countries. The legacy of Bush is what we stand on now, where no one and no part of the world is insulated.anilkurup59https://www.blogger.com/profile/07961961217418715354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383732783190307682.post-18053522938160976402015-12-24T12:42:42.739-05:002015-12-24T12:42:42.739-05:00Bah. Humbug!
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers of 9/...Bah. Humbug! <br /><br />Fifteen of the 19 hijackers of 9/11 were Saudis (2 from UAE, 1 each from Egypt and Lebonon), and there was ample evidence and to this day, there was no evidence that Iraq was anyway related to 9/11 events. Subsequent reports (both from UK and US) have laid bare the evidence to connect Saddam to 9/11 was non-existent, when Bush was actively promoting it (9/11 reports, Blair reports). <br /><br />Bush, at the nudging of Cheney and neocons, plunged this country into war with Iraq which has cost us blood - hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, four thousand US soldiers killed, tens of thousands of US soldiers maimed-, treasure - nearly a trillion dollars in direct costs alone-, and time - a decade of war. What was the result? We handed the power to Shih in Iraqi south - Maliki (after the failed attempts at installing Chalabi), and strengthened the hand of Iran in the region. The current destablisization in the middle east is a direct offshoot of Bush's misguided, macho war.<br /><br />This is the legacy of Bush that will be written in history.<br /><br />ISIS has 9000 soldiers, mostly from the former Sunni dominated Iraqi Republican Guard (that was dismantled by Paul Bremer), as its fighting core, which is put together with extortion, theft of oil, extreme religious identity, and brutality to enforce discipline and fear. ISIS has no airforce, no navy, no capacity to manufacture weapons, and as a military organization - is no way equal to any modern military force. Their only hope and strategy is to draw us in to a ground war that they can successfully exploit. <br /><br />Obama's strategy is right on. What do the republicans recommend? All the republican presidential candidates say loudly, that their bombing will be more intense (and yuuge) than Obama, their support for Kurds who fight ISIS will be more ardent. On the substance, there is no one, with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton and Lindsay Grahm, that they are willing to commit troops.<br /><br />It is embarassing blather. For a US president not to conflate a religion with a small sect of extremists is not something special, but a basic requirement. The fact that republican presidential candidates are ignorant of this, is a reflection of the sad state of their party, not of the country. <br /><br />It is amazing to witness the type of fever that living near a swamp can induce.<br /><br />Karikalan<br /><br />PS: You state: "A former administration official went on record to say that Obama dithered on cutting off the oxygen of money supply to ISIS, the oil wells, worrying about the damage to the environment."<br /><br />Is there a reference?<br /><br /><br /><br /> Raja Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04602256219789552953noreply@blogger.com