Obama Makes the 3 a.m. Call
Filed under: Barack Obama, Bush Foreign Policy, Presidential Campaign 2008
All of our attention here at C&C has been focused on the presidential race and Ohio politics this week. From time to time I scanned an article or two about Russia’s ongoing aggression against Georgia and found that it seemed to be Groundhog Day for about a week. A typical headline read over the past week: ‘Despite Cease Fire Russians Not Budging.’
Well, today they seem to be moving more of their forces north although some Russian checkpoints persist in Georgia. If you want to read one great article on the situation, read this from today’s New York Times.
Americans who are frustrated by U.S. incompetence in handling this situation over the first vital weekend of the crisis and our ensuing incompetence in having any positive effect on the outcome of the situation, should look forward to November.
I’ll leave it to the historians, but living in these times it seems that there has never been a presidential administration that has weakened America’s standing in the world more than the tag team of George Bush and Dick Cheney. Bush, with his incurious nature and lack of awareness has allowed Cheney’s dark, paranoid view of the world to overly influence policy and make the U.S. the new Evil Empire to many.
There has been no strategy for the long-term in Bush-Cheney foreign policy. Their short-term strategies have been ill-thought and unfounded and executed poorly on the tactical level. Diplomacy has taken a back seat at every turn.
If you are inclined to vote for Sen. Barack Obama this November – or still on the fence – you should take heart in the candidate’s choice for running mate. Sen. Joe Biden brings decades of foreign policy experience to the ticket and is seen by Democrats and Republicans in Washington as highly educated and clear thinking on America’s role in the world. For those who have criticized Obama for ‘lacking experience’ – we don’t hire a president to micro-manage. We hire a president to make decisions. George Bush famously referred to himself as “The Decider,” only his decisions have been shown to very often not really be his own and those decisions have had disastrous consequences for our economy and security.
Obama, today at 3 a.m. did not answer “the call.” He made it. Today at 3 p.m., he will formally introduce the world to the O-Biden ticket. I’m hopeful again already.
Musharraf, Pakistan Update
Pervez Musharraf Resigns as Pakistan President
Definitely an imperfect ally, but the General was an ally nonetheless. Let’s add things up, then think about the team we have in the White House:
- Pakistan with Nukes, Taliban, and Al-Qaeda and our guy is out
- Iran announces its warplanes can strike Israel (that’s just the bellicose statement of the week)
- Russia is able to attack a democratic neighbor with no repercussions
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
The News:
- Musharraf announces his resignation – New York Times
- What’s next for Pakistan and Musharraf? – CNN
- Pakistan poses US policy headache – BBC
- Pakistan’s president steps down – BBC
- Spies challenge Pakistan government – BBC
This last one is the scary story …
Transcript: Bush Statement at White House Today on Georgia
Filed under: Bush Foreign Policy, Russian/Georgian Conflict
President Bush Discusses Situation in Georgia, Urges Russia to Cease Military Operations
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I’ve just met with my national security team to discuss the crisis in Georgia. I’ve spoken with President Saakashvili of Georgia, and President Sarkozy of France this morning. The United States strongly supports France’s efforts, as President of the European Union, to broker an agreement that will end this conflict.
The United States of America stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia. We insist that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected. Read more
Tuesday a.m. Clips – Ohio Rs: No to Romney; Ohio Highway Patrol sexiness; Dimora & Russo; Ohio AG race; War of Russian Aggression; Dimora & Russo; Payday lending; Debunking offshore drilling
Filed under: Bush Foreign Policy, Cuyahoga Corruption, Energy Policy, Environment, Gov Strickland, Ohio AG's Race 2008, Ohio Economy, Peak Oil, Presidential Campaign 2008, Russian/Georgian Conflict, State of Ohio Govt
Ohio News
- Ohio activists reject Romney – Columbus Dispatch
- Troopers in trouble over romances – Columbus Dispatch
It’s time for Ohio Highway Patrol to resubmit to civilian authority – racism and sexiness too much – if the Army can take orders from W, OHP can bend to Strickland, Guzman
- McClendon wrongly held by state for 18 years – Columbus Dispatch
Original prosecutors and anyone else who stood in the way of justice in these cases should be disbarred.
- Dimora – Russo probe began long ago – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Ohio AG race overview – Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Opposing sides in payday lending fight over ballot language – Dayton Daily News
- Wind may hold energy and Ohio jobs – Mansfield News Journal
- Strickland: Ohio education system stuck in past – Newark Advocate
- Diebold to close Hebron plants – Newark Advocate
National/International News
- Russia orders halt to war in Georgia – Reuters
- What does Georgia want from Russia – NPR
- Russia says it has halted aggression – New York Times
- Healing wounds, Putin calls shots – New York Times
- Bayh offers risks and rewards – New York Times
- Global trail of online crime ring – New York Times
- Editorial: Russia’s War of Ambition – New York Times
- Endangered Species Act eyed – Washington Post
- Bush questions Moscow’s motives – Washington Post
- Editorial: ‘Snake Oil’ – Washington Post
Full Text: President Bush Statement on Georgia
Filed under: Bush Foreign Policy, Russian/Georgian Conflict
President Bush Discusses Situation in Georgia
Rose Garden
5:21 P.M. EDT August 11, 2008
THE PRESIDENT: I just met with my national security team to discuss the situation in Georgia.
I am deeply concerned by reports that Russian troops have moved beyond the zone of conflict, attacked the Georgian town of Gori, and are threatening the Georgia’s — Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi. There’s evidence that Russian forces may soon begin bombing the civilian airport in the capital city.
If these reports are accurate, these Russian actions would represent a dramatic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia. And these actions would be inconsistent with assurances we have received from Russia that its objectives were limited to restoring the status quo in South Ossetia that existed before fighting began on August the 6th. Read more
George Bush: When the World Needs a Leader He’s Four Days Late
Filed under: Bush Foreign Policy, Russian/Georgian Conflict
Not Only Moral Authority Squandered In Bush Foreign Policy
Something just didn’t feel right last Friday as Russia crossed the border of a sovereign nation with tanks and airplanes while President George W. Bush enjoyed the opening of the 29th Olympiad.
Friday stretched into all weekend as Bush could be seen by the entire world knee slapping and cheering on the American team in Beijing.
It used to be in this great big world of ours that the United States could be counted on to take the lead and at the very least feign righteous indignation when a big kid on the international playground picked on a wimp. It used to be that even the appearance of piqued U.S. interest could make the world’s bullies think twice — perhaps even mitigating already in-progress disasters.
That was before eight years of the strategically blind leading the stupid in the U.S. executive branch. That was before this great country of ours hastily left the war on terror and world support behind and created the mother of all messes in Mesopotamia. That was before the President’s and U.S. Department of State’s traditional powers were usurped by Dick Cheney and some half-assed lawyers who drove the nation down the trail to torture — squandering what was left of the U.S.A.’s moral authority around the globe. Read more
The Case Against Torture – Transcript: Bill Moyers inverview of Jane Mayer
Jane Mayer, a writer with the New Yorker and formerly of the Wall Street Journal has published her new book, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. She was interviewed Friday night on Bill Moyers’ Journal on PBS. Moyers’ report on the Congressional hearings on Bush Administration-sanctioned torture and lengthy interview with Mayer was riveting television. It also made me feel like I’ve been tuned out of a debate that no American should ignore.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee subcommittee which conducted the hearings on torture, detainee treatment, etc., did so over the course of around six weeks. They should have had these four hearings, back to back, four days in a row and gotten more of the public’s attention to this issue.
Philippe Sands, a University College of London law professor has also written a book detailing story behind the so-called torture memo signed by then SecDef Rumsfeld. Material from Sands’ book, Torture Team, became this article in Vanity Fair.
Now is the point in the post where I should write something about the rule of law, unintended consequences, and a presidency which tramples the Constitution, U.S. and international law. But, Sands said it best in his prepared testimony before the House Judiciary Committee:
From these conversations it became clear to me that the Administration has spun a narrative that is false, claiming that the impetus for the new interrogation techniques came from the bottom-up. That is not true: the abuse was a result of pressures and actions driven from the highest levels of government. The Administration claims that it simply followed the law. My investigation indicated that – driven by ideology – the Administration consciously sought legal advice to set aside international constraints on detainee interrogations. The Administration relied on a small number of political appointees, lawyers with no real background in military law, with extreme views on executive power, and with an abiding contempt for international rules like the Geneva Conventions. These are rules that the United States has done more to promote and put in place than maybe any other country. As result, under international law war crimes were committed: I have no doubt that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions was violated, alongside provisions of the 1984 Convention prohibiting Torture. The spectre of war crimes was raised by US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in the 2006 judgment in Hamdan v Rumsfeld. That judgment corrected the illegality of President Bush’s determination that none of the detainees at Guantanamo had any rights under Geneva.
For the complete transcript of Bob Moyers’ interview of Jane Mayer Read more
Good Money After Bad in Pakistan
Bush Administration Wants to Divert Funds From Terrorism to Paki F-16s
Those who follow the war on terrorism know that we’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars in additional aid to Pakistan since 9/11. What that money was supposed to buy us was a rock-solid moslem ally right next door to the Taliban and Afghanistan.
For the most part, Pakistan seems to have gotten the better part of the deal for going on seven years.
The Bush Administration and the informed public have known since the beginning of this envigored U.S.-Pakistan relationship that some of this money would go down the rat hole of the Pakistani military-political complex. The ISI, Pakistan’s version of the CIA has a history of support for Islamic extremists and there have always been questions about whether or not it was under the complete control of the Pakistani government.
Our tax dollars bought us an easier road to hoe in late 2001 and 2002 while the Taliban was officially routed from Afghanistan. Since then, the picture is not so clear.
The Taliban is resurgent in areas of Afghanistan, basing their operations just across the border in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous Tribal Areas. You may as well drop the semi, because the Pakistani government has shown neither the will nor the ability to semi-control those lands.
Obama putting experience jabs to rest
Filed under: Barack Obama, Bush Foreign Policy, John McCain, Presidential Campaign 2008
McCain Stuck in Neutral Back Home
Chris Matthews just went split screen on Hardball with two shots from today. On one side of our televisions is Sen. Barack Obama youthful, smiling and shooting hoops with the troops in Baghdad. On the other side is Sen. John McCain fully buttoned down with former President G.H.W. Bush who’s wearing a turtle neck and camel hair sport coat. It’s 91 freakin’ degrees out and these guys are so old they’re already into the winter wardrobe. Don’t call me an ageist, you know what I’m talking about.
While Obama is all hope and energy from Kabul to Baghdad, McCain is sour grapes and curmudgeon in Kennebunkport. McCain did grab one or two feeble headlines over the past 48 hours by whining about how Obama ‘has to admit he was wrong’ about the surge. Is this a campaign for president?
The problem is, McCain can’t do what a presidential candidate should do in these circumstances. What he’d like to do is go on the offensive over Obama’s stated Iraq policy. He’d like to draw a distinct paralell between his superior current and future view on U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Ooops. Current President Bush bollocksed that for him with his Friday pronouncement that it’s about time for a timetable. Ooops again. Iraqi President Maliki and his spokesman have spent all weekend talking about their view of a timetable for U.S. troop draw down. Read more
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