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#541 | |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Local Time: 01:15 AM
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#542 |
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 7,471
Local Time: 02:15 AM
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Sting, I moved your post about tax policy to Dread's economic issues thread because I think it'd be better served there.
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#543 | |
Blue Crack Supplier
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 34,032
Local Time: 09:15 PM
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very, very interesting ...
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perhaps this should be in the VP thread? |
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#544 |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Apr 2002
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he needs a tutor.
will he be able to get enough cramming in before his oral exams? (the debates) |
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#545 | |
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2004
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I thought CODELS were actually required by law to be bipartisan?
Feels more like a PR coup than a brazen VP-pick hint to me, but, no doubt that will up the buzz on Hagel at least. Quote:
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#546 | |
Blue Crack Supplier
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Washington, DC
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Local Time: 09:15 PM
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Quote:
no. he won't. it's going to be a disaster. Obama knows nothing about the world and isn't a quick study. Hagel will have his work cut out for him, and it's an impossible task, someone trying to teach Barack Obama beans about how the world works and how complex it truly is (this is a Republican specialty -- recognizing complexity). no man could do it in the time Hagel has. Obama will come back and be ill-prepared for the debates. McCain will embarrass him with his felicity with the facts and impressive grasp of history and nuance. he'll be able to capitalize on the small, reversible improvements of late in Iraq, while effectively distancing himself from GWB. Obama will stutter and sputter and will mix Sunnis up with Shiites. he'll perform poorly in front of small, tepid European crowds and he'll speak (poorly, natch) to barely 5,000 people at Mile High Stadium after the convention. McCain will jump out to a 15 point lead and Obama will look confused, like a deer in headlights, wondering what just hit him and asking himself why he was so audacious to think that a mere child like himself was capable of even pretending to think that he was somehow capable of ascending to the most powerful office in the world. in fact, after the debates, so outclassed, outsmarted, outperformed will he be by the silver tongue and steel trap mind of John McCain, Obama will simply concede the presidency to the triumphant, dashing John McCain and he'll start to campaign on his behalf. what looks like crushing defeats in both the House and the Senate will turn into gained seats for the GOP. and all because of that slow study, that silly naif, that delusional Negro, that Barack Obama. is that what you want to hear? |
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#547 | |
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Quote:
and reading it one time it was offensive I think Obama is proving to be a 'quick' study. and elections are about "perceptions". McCain seems to have his best lead in the "national security", "experience" categories. and that is where Obama is weakest, again these are what polls suggest the perceptions are. For Obama to 'orchestrate' the perception that he is getting 'up to speed' on these issues will improve his chances for success, which are already very good. |
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#548 | |
Resident Photo Buff
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#549 |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,943
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With US military deaths in Iraq down 63%, Iraqi deaths down 70%, in the first 6 months of 2008, from where they were in the first 6 months of 2007, your going to refer to that as a "small improvement"?
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#550 |
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Join Date: May 2006
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The most important adjective he used there was "reversible."
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#551 |
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#552 | |
Blue Crack Supplier
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Quote:
i'm sorry you were offended, but i did mean some (ironic but mild) offense because i don't think you're aware just how patronizing you come off |
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#553 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2003
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Quote:
the other thing to note is that the goal of the surge wasn't the reduction of violence, it was the creation of enough stability for there to be real, measured political process on the ground. there has been some small, reversible progress. i am encouraged by Maliki's demanding of a timetable. though some believe that his insistence on a hard out date for US forces is motivated by none other than Blackwater, and their immunity from any sort of law or oversight and Maliki's overall apprehension at the privitization of the reconstruction of iraq. |
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#554 | |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Quote:
The #1 goal in any violent destabilized country is the reduction of violence because without a reduction in violence, its almost impossible for political and economic progress to be made. On the political front, 15 of the 18 benchmarks that congress set for the Iraqi government are close to completion. On the other 3, Security forces like the military have made enormous progress while the Police force is still a far behind. The Iraqi military has conducted military operations largely independent of the US military on a scale that only 2 years ago most would have thought impossible. While and Iraqi oil law has yet to be signed, oil revenue is being distributed to all the provinces. While the all the Militia's have not been disarmed, most have largely retreated from the scene and have been removed from many of their base area's of support such as area's in Basra and even Sadr City in Baghdad. There is nothing small about the political progress that has been made and it continues. Barack Obama and most Democrats said the surge could not make it happen, and they have been proven wrong. |
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#555 | |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Here is what US military officers on the ground in Iraq currently have to say about Obama's withdrawal plans.
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#556 |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Here is the video portion of the above article:
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#557 | |
Blue Crack Addict
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Strongbow,
here is the problem. and we can revisit this in mid 2009 to see if my suspicions are correct. (if we are both, still here) Maliki wants to stay in power, and he believes the Iranians are a safer bet (for him), than the, regime change prone, American Administration. Quote:
Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs |
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#558 | |
Refugee
Join Date: Dec 2007
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Quote:
A future Iraq is certainly going to have closer ties with Iran than it has in the past, but that does not mean that Iraq is suddenly going to become an Iranian proxy. Iraqi internal stability would not survive a too close relationship with Iran. Sunni Arab's, Kurds, and other minorities which make up 40% of Iraq's population have a negative view of Iran. In addition, many Shia Arabs also have a negative view of Iran. Many Shia Arab's remember the Iran/Iraq war which by the way was primarily fought by Iraq with a military that was majority Shia Arab. Much of the fighting took place in Shia Arab area's of Iraq and many Iraqi Shia Arabs do not have fond memories of the Iranians. Shia Arab's may share a religion with Shia Persians in Iran, but they share national, cultural, ethnic and language ties with Sunni Arabs in Iraq as well as having fought a bloody 8 year war against the Iranians. For Iraq to stay together and in order for any political party to be able to successfully govern Iraq, they are going to have to walk a tightrope that will make it seem that they are tilting to one side or the other at various times. Because of Iraq's religious, political, and ethnic make up, Iraq cannot act as an anti-Iranian country like it once did in the past, but nor can it become a proxy for Iran. The Muslim world is 85% Sunni only 15% Shia. The last thing the Maliki government wants to do is align itself with Iran in such a way that they risk their relationships with the Arab world and the United States. The United States and the Arab world collectively have far more to offer any Iraqi government than Iran alone would be able to offer it. Already, the Iraqi military has developed strong ties with the US military over the past 5 years that are well ahead of any ties with Iran. US military forces, not Iranian forces have been on the ground in Iraq the past 5 years fighting to build the country and develop the Iraqi military. No other country on the planet can offer the Maliki government the military, economic, and logistical support that the United States can. The Maliki government is doing a smart thing by trying to work with and satisfy many of the competing interest groups within the country. At times this will make it appear that it is tilting toward Iran and other times it will look the opposite. Its the best way for Iraq's competing political groups to be reconciled. Also, the Maliki governments idea of US withdrawal is not what Barack Obama has in mind. It involves first completing the transfer of Iraqi provinces to the control of the Iraqi military. That process is only 50% complete at this point and may not be completed until 2010. Then they would like to see a redeployment of US forces from the cities, but for such forces to remain in the country for another 3 to 5 years with the security conditions on the ground reviewed every 6 months and full withdrawal dependent on conditions on the ground. There has been no Iraqi proposal for a hard withdrawal date independent of conditions on the ground. |
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#559 | |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Quote:
Is this a trend? Obama has been sliding. And McCain rising. ![]() |
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#560 | |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: A far distance down.
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Quote:
I was not personally offended ![]() your remarks came off as racist I would think that most people would be offended by such remarks |
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