Obama Proves Peter Principle at NATO [Updates]

U heard this reported on NPR and they gave the impression that this was a huge victory. From your assessment, doesn’t sound like it….

Well, of course he did. He knows full well that these G-20 leaders know the extent of our bankster fraud, and that Obama is engaged in a conspiracy to cover-up the damage that both Democrats and Republicans, Bush and now Obama, are continuing to commit while they cover up the extent of the implosion. He must bow and scrape and beg now. The United States is a debtor nation, a banana republic, a failed third world economy. We don’t have the money or the moral authority to demand anything anymore. We’re at the mercy of our allies, and our enemies. Get used to it. The US is now the junior partner to world affairs.

Susan: Lots of info to ponder in your report.

What is really striking is that adding more troops to Afghanistan does not help, it only puts more civilians at risk.

Yesterday, Oxfam’s story: “Troop surge in Afghanistan must not endanger civilians”

The planned troop surge in Afghanistan could see more Afghans suffering in the conflict unless international military forces prioritize the safety of civilians in all their operations, say leading aid agencies.

As NATO celebrates its 60th anniversary, 11 international aid agencies including Oxfam International, ActionAid, CARE Afghanistan and Save the Children UK released a new report, called “Caught in the Conflict”, which says NATO and other international military forces must transform the way their soldiers operate in Afghanistan.

In 2008 there were 2,100 civilian casualties, a 30% increase on the previous year. Although 55% of civilian deaths were caused by militants, there are serious concerns about fatalities caused by air strikes from pro-government forces, which increased by 70% to 552.

The full report can be downloaded here: http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/civilians-caught-in-the-conflict-afghanistan

$33 Billion was spent on military action in Afghanistan, and only $1.7 Billion for improvement of services and infrastructure. What a waste of money and innocent lives. It is not too late to change the course in Afghanistan, we just need the will to do so.

Oops — Meant “I” not “U”.

“British officials traveling to the summit with Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters aboard his plane that Brown will offer to send more troops to Afghanistan but that depended upon other NATO members being prepared to send additional forces, Britain’s Press Association reported.” Sounds like even the Brits aren’t too enthusiastic about participating…

I am a little ambivalent about this. In one way it felt nice to NOT hear George W’s arrogance and dismissiveness, which I believe was the heaviest contributor to anti-American sentiments. On the other hand, I did not like feeling like we had given up our dignity and what credibilty and honor the people of America deserve.

Tough call.

What does Belgium do with its F16 fighters? Are they ever actually used in combat?

BTW, got an email from the San Antonio Teaparty organizers, and it’s somewhat encouraging. I’m not sure if you all have heard, but Glenn Beck is coming here to the teaparty, so the response is becoming massive. (I think the fact that San Antonio had a way cool video helped: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXGrQ9uiLSo)

The organizers have been ADAMANT that this remain a non-partisan event. In the email today, they stressed that No sitting politician or people seeking political office will have the microphone at our rally. They’ve done a good job of insisting it’s about the voice of the people, and not letting the politicians glom onto it and hijack it to campaign for themselves.

Yes, it’s still mostly conservatives organizing, but a few of them state outright that they are pragmatists, who want neither huge unresponsive govt, nor for govt to disappear. Mostly they want BOTH parties to stop doing whatever the hell they want, and listen to us. I am hoping that despite the fact that I’m sure there will be nutjob extremists in abundance, they can keep the focus where it needs to be.

This is simply a continution of the Big Lie. We had mushroom clouds and “Mission Accomplished” from the Bush administration and now we have “Overseas Contingiency Operations = war and lame European support reported as a “rousing success.”

It’s same old, same old. The Obama folks knew going in that the G-20 leaders were not going to make concessions on these hair-brained economic plans. They’re trying to put a smiley face on it. Afghanistan has disaster written all over it. And where’s the money coming from, btw? Or was that what all the bowing and scraping was for?

The Big Lie never changes. Only the narrator is different.

Hey guys stop being so arrogant, Obama is in charge America is going to become the greatest socialist country in the world, just wait and see.

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/04/administration-seeking-to-circumvent.html

NPR is simply not a good source for information these days, and hasn’t been since the primaries. Their Rick Somebody compared Hillary to the Glenn Close character in “Fatal Attraction”. Gwen Ifill has beccome an AA first and a newsperson second… It’s pretty much 24/7 Obama (with the emphasis on the baaa).

Welcome to USSA (United States of Socialist America)

Indeed. Different president, same crock of manure. Why does this country insist on electing morons?

The organizers have been ADAMANT that this remain a non-partisan event.

Well, about time is all I can say. Neither party is devoted to anything other than their own aggrandizement. Screw the parties and the agenda they rode in on.

It’s not socialism, it’s fascism. Fascism retains the illusion of free markets, but in fact the major corporations become an arm of the government. They are allowed to make HUGE profits on the back of the taxpayer, so long as they advance the government’s interests.

You’re correct. That One has managed to unite the opposite ends of the spectrum into one sordid singularity. We get the worst of both in the bargain.

I believe you’re thinking of The Netherlands.

I agree with you Tricia. It seems we have had two extreme positions-one that was arrogant, followed by the one who is apolgetic. Hillary would have displayed strength minus the arrogance.

maybe 0bama can send his new private army to afghanistan. im sure all those acorn volunteers would love it.

I’m sure they will be going soon. Zer0 has plans for them for sure. I’m going to have to work on my grandson so that he knows not to sign up with the Organize for American sham..future army of Zer0.

All I have to say about these tea parties is “Where the hell were they when Dubya was spending us into the ground and the GOP Congress was rubber-stamping every single one of Dubya’s spending bills?”
It does seem like these events are being organized by “conservatives” who are more outraged that Obama was elected and they’re using these “protests” SOLELY to avoid being tagged as “racists” (which is, unfortunately, being used far too often to downplay criticism of The One, just as “traitor” and “unAmerican” or “anti-American” was used to offset criticism of Dubya and his cronies).
I’m incredibly disappointed that these “conservatives” didn’t organize the first of these tea parties when Dubya’s policies were destroying the economy, but not very surprised.
And to make a claim of being non-partisan when Glenn Beck is attending is undescribably absurd (almost smacking of a Disneyesque fantasy). Beck may not be a politician but he is, in no uncertain terms, incredibly partisan.

“Obama’s gyrations on Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran are not the actions of one imbued with superior intuitive judgment, but rather the machinations of a political opportunist looking to avoid having his fingerprints on any issue that might be controversial, and require real judgment, while preserving his freedom to bludgeon his adversary for actually taking positions as elected office demands.”

Mr. Joseph Wilson, a true patriot. Believes in honesty over popularity. He was willing to criticize a popular president (Bush II) and a popular media darling, then Sen. Obama.

America needs more Joe Wilsons.

Susan,

Your post is a little nieve. You expect Obama to get a larger commitment out of Nato? Given that he has been in power for a couple of months and he is still living with the Bush strategy, I think this is a very tall order at this time. A bit of a joke to try and blame Obama for the limited commitment of some NATO countries. The policy, strategy and ability to influence other countries with essentially a U.S. problem was broken a long time ago, in fact years ago, by the Bush adminstration. To expect Obama to work miricles in this short a period of time is complete BS. As usual “you” set a very high bar and then you crusify Obama if he does not pass “your” standard. In a very short period of time Obama has seemed to have created a much warmer relationship with the countries of Europe. At least they are listening to him and he is listening to them. I am sure the leaders of Europe could not stand Bush. And Bush’s go it alone policy has likely cost the U.S. significantly.

You mean “tea bagging” party! Have fun!

Yeah, send all of those voluntary mandatory GIVE/ACORN folks to fight the wars and let the GIs on their 4th or 5th tour come home.

I’m all for that.

So that’s how you use your spare time, huh, Julie? Wow, illiterate, a bot, and a deviant. You’re on a roll, toodles.

Notice the phrase, non-partisan. Perhaps they, too, have had enough of BOTH parties.

Julie,

It was President Obama, not Susan, who raised expectations that NATO would provide more troops.

And, if he knew anything at all about the recent history of that organization, he would have known not to expect anything other than the response he got.

European countries are not undermining NATO because of opposition to President Bush. They are undermining it, at the behest of France, due to opposition to any American involvement at all – your leader does not matter.

France will not be content until NATO is disbanded, and ESDP takes it place. And don’t be fooled by Sarkozy’s meaningless promise to re-integrate France into NATO, either.

At what cost? He stood in front of these same leaders and trashed the US. He called Americans arrogant. If he’ll do that to his own country do you think they’ll trust him? I think not.

Well, That One does know a little bit about arrogance, though in this case he is projecting again. Time for another repair to the TelePrompTer.

Mostly they want BOTH parties to stop doing whatever the hell they want, and listen to us.

Sounds like a bunch of libertarians in the making

It will be very interesting to see how the MSM reports these events. If they ignore them like they did the first round, there will be even more public anger.

I used to listen to NPR all the time – until the primaries. It’s one thing to be biased in favor of one party, but they made it the Obama party. They didn’t approach the primaries with a fairness to all the democratic candidates – it was all Obama, all the time. They weren’t fair to Hillary, at all.

I tuned out.

JosefAl, I agree about Beck. And I agree about the conservatives who did not care about Dubya’s spending. HOWEVER, there were some who did. And there were some conservatives who were upset over the war, and the patriot act, and fisa. They were mostly silent.

Why did they not protest? Because all the protests were organized by the Left. Because they dared not join hands on issues they AGREED with us on, for fear of appearing to “agree” with the entire agenda of the left. You know, the same way some liberals now won’t go to a teaparty because they might get republican cooties.

It was wrong and cowardly of them. It is just as wrong and cowardly, in my mind, to sneer at those now who are trying to make a difference.

If we do not get over this asinine “keeping score”, then we have no hope of EVER holding our politicians accountable for anything, because we will never wield our power as a people in any united way. We will wait for the other side to do it first, to admit all their wrongs, so we can do our “I told you so” dance, before we will join them in calling out abuses.

GROW THE FUCK UP, America.

for barky to call us arrogant is total horse manure.
lets see in the last 15years it was which country that took the leed in stopping genocide in the balkens.and oh ya you have to remeber all those great europeans that are buried overlooking the beaches of normandy.yes we must be grateful to the europeans for saving us for all of the tyrants of the last 100 years.oh what thats right it was the other way around the us cleaning up after their mistakes.

False generalization. The British are Europeans and they took day and night bombing from the Nazis for months and remained standing.

This is standard obot BS trying to disguise itself as intelligent comment.

Julie: It’s called a dictionary.

NAIVE ! NAIVE !

How did Bush’s policies “cost” the United States other than piss of the europeans that are already under socialistic rule? They were already pissed off about losing their freedoms. Misery loves company. Is that what you want, Julie? Less freedom?

Please enlighten us all and don’t forget to give your resources, Julie.

We really get the dumbazz trolls around here. Sigh.

Obama’s Principles at NATO

Greant analysis, Susan!..

I just read Glenn Greenwald’s article (i think in Salon) on Larry Summers, Tim Geithner’s control of Washington.

Why did Larry Summers, the corrupt, incompetent misogynist jerk telephone in ’98 Brooksley Born when she was head of CFTC to blackmail her into accepting that “there’s no Fraud in the markets..we don’t need your regulations”?

This now retired lady was the ONLY voice of reason and she is being praised by Samuel Johnson in his phenomenal May issue column in the ATLANTIC May issue. Ms. Brooksly BORN was the head of CFTC whose rebellion and insistence that the crooks sign on her recommendaitons for Regulation cost her her job! Ms Born was the first female Editor of Stanford Law REview in l964! A great mind….

THANK you MS. BROOKSLY BORN. Have a wonderful retirement if you are reading this.

Greant analysis, Susan!..

I just read Glenn Greenwald’s article (i think in Salon) on Larry Summers, Tim Geithner’s control of Washington.

Why did Larry Summers, the corrupt, incompetent misogynist jerk telephone in ’98 Brooksley Born when she was head of CFTC to blackmail her into accepting that “there’s no Fraud in the markets..we don’t need your regulations”?

This now retired lady was the ONLY voice of reason and she is being praised by Samuel Johnson in his phenomenal May issue column in the ATLANTIC May issue. Ms. Brooksly BORN was the head of CFTC whose rebellion and insistence that the crooks sign on her recommendaitons for Regulation cost her her job! Ms Born was the first female Editor of Stanford Law REview in l964! A great mind….Clinton had her as A.G. shortlist

THANK you MS. BROOKSLY BORN. Have a wonderful retirement if you are reading this.

Why is NATO necessary? It hasn’t been for over 20 years. It is the costly equivalent and fraudulent stand-by of the Financing Industry–with billions of costly taxpayer-funded dollars yearly!
It should be dismantled as it serves the same purposes as Bushie’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. Fiction for the masses to justify military spending. Send hospital nursing staff, school supplies, women’s micromananging techniques, money to Afganistan/Iraq. They don’t need soldiers with guns! It’s hte equivalent of a husband beating the crap out of his wife to “make sure she does the right thing”. The last justified War was in the 40s…

D. Eisenhower was right when he said we must watch out for the expansion of the Military-Industrial Empire…