First of all, Sarkozy is not France. Just like GW Bush was not America, although French people criticized all Americans for the policies of GWB.
Secondly, how is Obama's refusal to let big-talking France and UK manipulate America into doing all the heavy lifting in a war against Iran not putting America first? It is the exact definition of putting America first. Gordon Brown and N. Sarkozy want to be big boys at the big boys table, but all they do is talk and then let America spend all the money and spill all the blood. That's like me going to a bar and being a big loudmouth and then saying "my friend here [America] is gonna kick your ass" if you don't do what I want.
Let's just be clear, because Krauthammer and the other neocons like to dance around it: they want a war with Iran. Sanctions are a prelude, a mere technical hurdle to war because sanctions never work against stalwart regimes; and indeed they turn the population against the sanctioner who makes them suffer while their leaders live in palaces. The neocons like CK want to bomb Iran, which would require attacking all major Iranian cities, and perhaps require troops (since it's debatable whether bombing alone can truly destroy all of Iran's nuke facilities). That means more U.S. boots on the ground in the Middle East, hooray. And even then, how can we be sure? You can't bomb or shoot knowledge; and the key to building a nuclear program is the knowledge how to do it. So the only sure way to kill Iran's nuclear program is to destroy its government and install a new one, and ... to support that government would require U.S. aid and administration and security and training, and.... Are you having deja vu, too, or is it just me?
These chickenhawk, chicken-necked pundits and think-tank nerds are leading you and me by the nose into another disastrous war with unpredictable consequences, and unknown duration for the third time in less than 10 years (!) and making it seem as if America has no other choice. These war-mongering jerks who sit comfortably in DC telling us we need to go to war once again have no shame after starting two disasters that are still exploding in our faces. Somebody trying to be clever once said that, "Neocons are liberals who have been mugged by reality." Well, with great sadness but in all truth I would revise that remark: "Americans are mugged by neocons who live in their own reality."
Just be clear: Even bombing Iran would mean war. And it would be a real war, in the sense that American civilians will be put at risk, not just our military. We wouldn't be at war with a nation that is a basket case hobbled by a war and a decade of sanctions like Saddam's Iraq, or a primitive tribal culture with no government or army like Afghanistan. Iran can and will use its resources to foment anti-US terrorism all over the globe, their gloves will come completely off, and they will make bin Laden look like a Girl Scout. (And you'd better believe that Iran has been preparing for this contingency for years.)
Also understand this: you can kiss any hope for democracy or liberal reforms in Iran goodbye the moment the first U.S. bomb drops. Yeah, yeah, you say their elections are all fixed but this is not actually true, and there are opposition politicians and liberal/reform movements that are strong and have some protection in Iran. (Remember when McCain and the neocons said the U.S. gov't needed to do more to support them?) But when the bombing starts, Iranians will rally around Ahmadinejad and the ayatollahs, and any stragglers will be rounded up and quietly disposed of by the secret police without a word of criticism while the world community is dazzled by the shock & awe on CNN.
Taking potshots at Obama is all fine and good, but please be conscious of what policy you conservatives are tacitly supporting: starting a third war with a stronger enemy than Iraq or Afghanistan, while those two wars are still unfinished, and killing any hope for democracy in Iran. Once the first bomb drops, there will be only one exit: through the barrel of a gun.
On Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 7:16 AM, <> wrote:
wanted you to see this: Obama's French Lesson
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Message from :
This is why I don't think Obama cares about America first. Even France sees he lacks intention.
Obama's French Lesson
By Charles Krauthammer
URL: http://townhall.com/content/13cdf7e0-7129-4a9a-95ed-e1456160fc00
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