‘a brilliant diplomatic strategy’

The UK Guardian: If the Obama administration does nothing else, it will always compare favourably with Bush’s for its diplomacy over Libya

The New York Times called it “inconsistent”. The Wall Street Journal questioned whether “any direction” could be divined behind the decision. But in referring to America’s part in the attack on Libyan forces, the mainstream media is blind to what has been a brilliant diplomatic – and domestic – political strategy on the part of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

…Having learned the lessons of Iraq and countless other American boondoggles in the region, President Obama has played his hand deftly to avoid accusations of American imperialism and to project the optics of consensus. Today, as the United States engages once more in the Middle East, it does so with the imprimatur of a United Nations resolution and an impressive coalition of allies – not just George Bush’s “coalition of the willing” – but countries not usually associated with military intervention in the region, including France and the countries of the Arab League.

…President Obama has “played it cool” – refusing to cut short his trip to Latin America and emphasising that American action will be short (if committed). This is a far cry from the sort of chest-thumping bellicosity from the Oval Office we saw under Bush.

There are, of course, domestic politics at play here as well. America is tired of seeing its military in Iraq and Afghanistan, let alone getting involved in a new Middle Eastern conflict. But through diplomatic and strategic manoeuvering, President Obama has ensured that the United States is simply one nation among many engaging in the region, lifting some of the weight of history from the shoulders of the nation.

Full article here

ah, a voice of sanity

Mediate: … while some on the left are disappointed with President Obama’s decision to send military force to Libya, Rachel Maddow argues that his talks with other nations and attempts to keep the Arab world at the forefront of the struggle are a sign he intends to keep his campaign promises.

“America as a country fights a lot of wars …  While most presidents campaign on policies of peace … President Obama is giving it a shot: The difference with Mr Obama as president is that he appears to be walking more of that walk than just talking the talk.”

His talks with the United Nations and wait for “a clear international consensus” differ starkly from some of the more aggressive work Americans have seen from their presidents in the past.

“The fact that he’s actually doing it as president is freaking out all corners of the political world that kind of liked the chest-thumping,” Maddow concludes. The idea behind President Obama’s insistence on talking to other nations, Maddow notes, is to “change the narrative”.

“Do you want the narrative of America’s role in the world to be ‘America leads Western aggression against Arab countries?” she asks rhetorically. “President Obama wants the narrative to be something different” by showing reluctance to partake in the struggle, she continues. “He wants everybody to know how reluctant he was,” she concludes, while “trying to force to the forefront the Arab world.”

Full article here

Thank you tigerfists88 😉

‘one should examine oneself … before thinking of condemning others’

There was a time I would have been more than happy to have babies with Michael Moore, I loved the fella. Then I read ‘Stupid White Men’ and my jaw fell to earth when I reached the chapter on Ireland – he was so embarrassingly clueless about the political situation in the country he had, for me, all the credibility of Fox ‘News’.

Then I learnt that he isn’t just clueless at times, he can also be a spectacular hypocrite.

Remember his impassioned support for union rights in Wisconsin and his criticism of President Obama for not being more vocal at the time?

ABC: Michael Moore used some non-union crew members when union workers were available in the production of his latest film “Capitalism: A Love Story,” a documentary that argues the capitalist system allows for greedy corporations to exploit working-class people.

…In a statement issued to ABCNews.com, Moore’s agent, Ari Emanuel, said the filmmaker wished the union included more documentary crew people – but he did not deny that IATSE members were snubbed in favor of non-union employees.

…An internal AFT memo, obtained by ABCNews.com, added that the non-union workers hired for the film did not receive health insurance.

The organized labor source said Moore and IATSE were in talks about Moore’s decision, but did not know why Moore had used union labor for some jobs and non-union employees for other jobs for which he could have employed union workers.

***

And now, on the issue of Libya, Moore is calling the President a hypocrite. Well, in fairness to Mike, he’s an expert on hypocrisy.

$$$$$$$$$$

😉

tuesday

All times Eastern

8:0AM: The First Family leave Santiago, Chile

2:45PM: The First Family arrives in San Savador, El Salvador

3:30PM: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama participate in an arrival ceremony

3:50PM: President Obama holds a bilateral meeting with President Funes

4:20PM: President Obama holds an expaned bilateral meeting with President Funes

4:55PM: President Obama and President Funes hold a joint press conference

**** To be confirmed ****

10:10PM: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend an official dinner hosted by President Funes

The President returns to Washington on Wednesday

teabaggers & professional left unite

Oh boy, I just watched a BBC Panorama program on Libya tonight and there really are no words for how horrific it was. I knew Gaddafi was brutal towards his own people, but I actually had no idea just how brutal he is. There was footage of his thugs slaughtering protestors and of a detention block where the secret police tortured dissenters. And photos of the thousands of ‘disappeared’.

If this is a war, then it’s the most ‘just’ war in my lifetime.

And instead of expressing relief that there is now a united international effort to save these people, all a bitter Dennis Kucinich has to offer is a suggestion that the President be impeached? A suggestion that left the Teabaggers and Professional Left fainting with ecstasy. Not for the first time, those two hate-filled extremes are united.

They put their detestation of President Obama above the lives of those brutalised by Gaddafi?

Truly, it says it all.

And we all know what Kucinich and his Professional Left groupies would have said if the President chose to stay out of this international effort: “You’re abandoning the tortured!”

Pathetic. **** them.

guests of honor (video added)

At the official dinner in Santiago, hosted by Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and his wife Cecilia Morel, President Obama offered a toast to his Chilean hosts. He said he and his family and staff, as they flew in this morning on Air Force One, were “struck by the incredible beauty of the Andes”.

“To you, and the people of Santiago and Chile, thank you for the extraordinary hospitality that you have shown both me, Michelle and our daughters. … thank you for the friendship and strong bonds.”

“For many years, this was a symbol of how Chile lost its democracy. Today, it stands as a testament to how Chile regained and rebuilt your democracy. … At a time when others around world are reaching for own rights struggling for their own sense of dignity, Chile sends a powerful message.”

Obama referred directly to the democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa before offering this thought: “Democracy can’t be imposed from the outside, it must spring from within from the hearts and souls of those who seek it.”

‘impeach obama over libya? you’ve got to be kidding’ (updated)

Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Perennial congressional gadfly Dennis Kucinich completely lost his political screws when he even uttered the word “impeachment” of President Obama over his action in Libya.

Kucinich has often been the lone, outraged voice, in blistering Obama on everything from his tax cut compromise with the GOP to his Afghan war policy, but the Libya outburst made no sense by even Kucinich’s radical rhetoric standards.

…Obama backed the Libyan no fly zone because the United Nations Security Council by unanimous vote backed it. The House Foreign affairs and intelligence committees backed the action. The Arab league backed it. And nearly every humanitarian group around has backed it. But most important, he backed it because it’s the politically and morally right thing to do.

Kucinich and others would have screamed the loudest if Obama had done nothing and Gaddafi slaughtered thousands in a revenge blood lust rampage against the rebel groups…

…Kucinich and some of Obama’s severest critics among Democrats real goal is to send the message that they don’t like a lot of what Obama does and they will pick at every little issue to dramatize their pique at him…

…At any other time, Kucinich would lustily demand and cheer the action Obama and the UN took. The fact that he and few others don’t, but chose to nitpick instead, tells us more about their ongoing political anger at Obama than any real concern over whether Obama snubbed his nose at Congress. Impeach Obama over Libya, you got to be kidding. When Kucinich uttered the word even Obama’s Democratic critics howled at that delusional thought.

More here

Just sayin’:

Hey, nothing’s changed – Barack Obama is still dealing with life on earth 😉

fox: compulsive, repulsive liars

ambassadors

Accompanied by Chilean first lady Cecilia Morel, in white dress, first lady Michelle Obama greets Elizabeth, granddaughter of Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera, after arriving at the Mirador Interactive Museum in Santiago

libya

“I think it’s also important to note that the way that the U.S. took leadership and managed this process ensures international legitimacy and ensures that our partners, members of the international coalition are bearing the burden of following through on the mission, as well. Because, as you know, in the past there have been times where the United States acted unilaterally or did not have full international support, and as a consequence typically it was the United States military that ended up bearing the entire burden.”

Text of remarks here

President Obama leads a briefing on the current situation in Libya, with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon aboard Air Force One, during a secure conference call on the flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Santiago, Chile