GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGIES

American Cinderella

Political Tyros Have Tasteless Recipes to Cook in Kitchen of Foreign Policy

A short reply by Con George-Kotzabasis to:

Richard Vague: Throwing More Troops at Afghanistan WRONG Move

By Steve Clemons Washington Note December 23, 2008

 

Vague is another recruit in the league of political tyros led by Clemons. America is at war with an irreconcilable implacable enemy. In any war, especially in this one, there are no soft options. And those who suggest “retreats” and “withdrawals” prematurely from Iraq and Afghanistan are soft brained and they should never have delved in the complexity and hard tasks of war.

‘Vague was “very discouraged to hear...that the United States plans to send up to 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan next year’, says Clemons. Vague states that although “Obama said in his campaign that he would escalate in Afghanistan...I had hoped he was saying that as a way to deflect questions regarding Iraq without appearing soft, and when the time came he would exit  Iraq but resist escalating in Afghanistan.” Clemons says that Vague told him “there are a whole lot of cooks in the foreign-policy kitchen these days.”   

Looking at Vague’s photo, it’s obvious that he spends a lot of time in his own “kitchen” as a good cook in the culinary art but he would have made a very bad cook in the art of foreign policy. Clemons considers Vague to be ‘a giant in the U.S. credit card business’.

To each his own.

Paul Krugman Plays his Dirty Politics

By Con George-Kotzabasis

The eminent economist and crown prince of punditry of the New York Times Paul Krugman laments that we are “entering a period of severe crisis with weak and confused leadership.” And I would respond that the people in the media like himself should be warning us about the economic abyss we are facing instead of being out playing their dirty politics. Only few moments after the speech of President Bush warning Americans of the imminent perils of the economy and of the absolute necessity for Congress to pass the legislation immediately, as time was a crucial factor for the success of the plan-with which Krugman himself agrees-what Krugman did? He ingloriously tried to associate the speech of Bush with the so called lies of the war in Iraq. Thus like so many other weak commentators widening the credibility gap that was already extant between the President and many Americans and confusing the latter about the veracity of Bush about the economic crisis, when Krugman himself knew that what the president was saying was the absolute truth.

Tu ne cede malis

American who Considers that Obama will Make a Strong Leader

By Con George-Kotzabasis

Sweetness, you bring up many points and allow me to deal with some of them. First, let us assume you are right that on the issue of Obama saying ‘present’ at Congress sessions was strategy not indecision. But what about his savvy political decision to have Hillary as deputy that was vetoed by Michelle who hated her and Obama caving before his wife’s decision? You will say this is rumour. But let us see if this rumour can be verified by some facts. The worse mummy’s boy is the one without a mother. Obama was abandoned by both his parents when he was a little boy and was brought up by his grandparents. All his life he was searching for his lost father whom he finally found in his pastor Jeremiah, and more importantly, for his runaway mother whom he found when he married strong Michelle. (And that is probably the reason why he never abandoned her, like so many other African-Americans do with their wives.) It is Michelle that is wearing both pair of pants: Her own and her husband’s.

Secondly, on the war, his decision to oppose the war was not based on wisdom but on ignorance. Ignorant of the content of the briefings as a junior Senator that other Democrat Senators more senior became aware of and for that reason supported the impending war. On the issue of the Surge and Woodward’s assessment, the Surge was part of a new strategy under General Petraeus linked to the ‘groundbreaking new covert techniques...’ that were primary in defeating the insurgency, according to Woodward. And the Surge may have facilitated these new techniques to achieve their goal. Further Obama only six months ago had pledged to the American people that he would withdraw the troops from Iraq. And he would do this while the bravery and professionalism of the US army were winning the war in Iraq. Thus depriving the soldiers their glorious victory and, most dangerous of all, conceding to their enemies that the U.S. was defeated in the war in Iraq, as that would be the logical conclusion of Obama’s withdrawal. Surely, as a reasonable person, you would not consider these decisions of Obama arising from his strength of character.

Thirdly, what I meant to say was that Obama by ‘cutting his sails to the winds of populism’ went along with the uninformed masses who had made their decision on the issue of the war not by the power of their brain but by the beats of their heart, and it was on those “beats” that Obama also positioned himself on the same issue. Unlike McCain who supported the Surge at the peak of the unpopularity of the war. This shows clearly which of the two leaders is endowed with a strong character.