A sad commentary on how far we have declined since the times of Reagan, the top four foreign policy honchos in America are Barack Obama, John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and John Brennan. Obama is the most moderate of all of them! Besides his palpable hostility towards Israel’s struggle with Islamofascism, the most glaring weakness of Hagel at the Pentagon are his nasty disposition, and his desire to cut the guts out of our defenses.
by Charles Krauthammer
This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”
to Dmitry Medvedev,
March 26, 2012The puzzle of the Chuck Hagel nomination for defense secretary is that you normally choose someone of the other party for your Cabinet to indicate a move to the center, but, as The Post’s editorial board pointed out, Hagel’s foreign policy views are to the left of Barack Obama’s, let alone the GOP’s. Indeed, they are at the fringe of the entire Senate.
So what’s going on? Message-sending. Obama won reelection. He no longer has to trim, to appear more moderate than his true instincts. He has the “flexibility” to be authentically Obama.
Hence the Hagel choice: Under the guise of centrist bipartisanship, it allows the president to leave the constrained first-term Obama behind and follow his natural Hagel-like foreign policy inclinations. On three pressing issues, in particular:
(1) Military Spending
Current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in August 2011 that the scheduled automatic $600 billion defense cuts (”sequestration”) would result in “hollowing out the force,” which would be “devastating.” And he strongly hinted that he might resign rather than enact them.
Asked about Panetta’s remarks, Hagel called the Pentagon “bloated” and needing “to be pared down.” Just the man you’d want to carry out a U.S. disarmament that will shrink America to what Obama thinks is its proper size on the world stage; i.e., smaller. [......]
(2) Israel
The issue is not Hagel’s alleged hostility but his public pronouncements. His refusal to make moral distinctions, for example. At the height of the second intifada, a relentless campaign of indiscriminate massacre of Israelis, Hagel found innocence abounding: “Both Israelis and Palestinians are trapped in a war not of their making.”
This pass at evenhandedness is nothing but pernicious blindness. Just last month, Yasser Arafat’s widow admitted on Dubai TV what everyone has long known — that Arafat deliberately launched the intifada after the collapse of the Camp David peace talks in July 2000. He told his wife to stay in the safety of Paris. Why, she asked? Because I’m going to start an intifada.
In July 2002, with the terror still raging, Hagel offered further exquisite evenhandedness: “Israel must take steps to show its commitment to peace.” Good God. Exactly two years earlier Israel had proposed an astonishingly generous peace that offered Arafat a Palestinian state — and half of Jerusalem, a previously unimaginable Israeli concession. Arafat said no, made no counteroffer, walked away and started his terror war. Did no one tell Hagel?
(3) Iran
Hagel doesn’t just oppose military action, a problematic option with serious arguments on both sides. He actually opposed any unilateral sanctions. You can’t get more out of the mainstream than that.
He believes in diplomacy instead, as if talk alone will deter the mullahs. He even voted against designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization at a time when they were supplying and supporting attacks on U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most tellingly, he has indicated that he is prepared to contain a nuclear Iran, a position diametrically opposed to Obama’s first-term, ostensibly unalterable opposition to containment. [.......]
And that’s the point. Hagel himself doesn’t matter. He won’t make foreign policy. Obama will run it out of the White House even more tightly than he did in the first term. Hagel’s importance is the message his nomination sends about where Obama wants to go. The lessons are being duly drawn. Iran’s official media have already cheered the choice of what they call this “anti-Israel” nominee. [......]
The rest of the world can see coming the Pentagon downsizing — and the inevitable, commensurate decline of U.S. power. Pacific Rim countries will have to rethink reliance on the counterbalance of the U.S. Navy and consider acquiescence to Chinese regional hegemony. Arab countries will understand that the current rapid decline of post-Kissinger U.S. dominance in the region is not cyclical but intended to become permanent.
Hagel is a man of no independent stature. He’s no George Marshall or Henry Kissinger. A fringe senator who left no trace behind, Hagel matters only because of what his nomination says about Obama.
However the Senate votes on confirmation, the signal has already been sent. Before Election Day, Obama could only whisper it to his friend Dmitry. Now, with Hagel, he’s told the world.
Read the rest - The meaning of Hagel
Tags: Charles Krauthammer, Chuck Hagel
I don’t think that Obama has anymore than an average intellect,
but he is cunning.
This nomination of Hagel is a can’t lose for Obama.
He is either confirmed or not, but there will be a battle.
The White House and the Media will portray the Republicans
as extreme for denying the President his choice.
Oh & by the way they will point out that Hagel is a Viet Vet.
They love anti-military vets.
@ RIX:
How the hell can we be extreme if the Muslim Brotherhood is considered moderate?
Hagel would also like to see us reduce our nukes to what could be reasonably be carried in a stock F-250 pickup truck. Then we could get rid of all those icky missiles, bombers and boomers.
looking into my crystal ball, I see mushroom clouds
unclassifiable wrote:
A mystery only revealed to the Progressive mind.
heysoos wrote:
Yep.
1389AD wrote:
would not surprise me in the least if it were Albuquerque, where I live
@ heysoos:
Doubt where you live. Isn’t high enough population and isn’t enough energy being produced there. Think somewhere on either coast to be honest.
New York, San Francisico, Los Angeles, Miami etc.
Oh Noes! Not Miami!
/
Oh my this is a very dead thread here…I’m so lonely now.
/I swear it was dead before I got here. Honest.
Mike C. wrote:
I know!!!!!!!!!!!! The horrors!!!!!!!!!!!
////////////
@ Lily:
Lilly, how are you today.
NRA Convention thread is up in Special Report
@ RIX:
Healing up Rix…sore and I start Cardio Rehab Monday. So beginning the long journey of getting well. I hope.
hey ya’ll
well the young lady and I have just returned fron the nashville gun show.
it was insane
we got there about 30 minutes after it opened and we had to wait 30 minutes to get in.
we were there for about 3 hrs (gotta check everything don’t ya know)
when we came out the line to get in was not one bit shorter
but if you had the money you could get what you wanted
one vendor told me that the state had processed about 15,000 background checks just in the last 2-3 days
As far as I’m concerned, the entire Обама Режим are a bunch of [Deleted] [Deleted]s!
@ Macker:
awww macker, stop sugar coating it, tell us how you really feel.
@ rain of lead:
My, my, my!!! Lots of people out buying guns now aren’t they? obama dividing the nation even more…it’s what he does for kicks.
@ Lily:
I have been to several of these local shows and I have NEVER, not in 25 years seen this many people or had to wait that long to get in.
I did find out that the young lady really like knives
Go BOOM!!
httpV://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgrnoDPqyq4
Darn it!
@ rain of lead:
Obama is at least keeping one area filled with jobs….certainly accidental I’m sure.
Knives??? Interesting. Easy to keep in your purse.
@ Lily:
errrr no
she liked the big sharp scary ones
sniff, I’m so proud
Lily wrote:
Don’t give those [Deleted] [Deleted]s I mentioned in my previous comment any ideas! Didn’t Britain outlaw certain knives?
@ rain of lead:
Just need a nice belt or a big purse.
@ Lily:
I’m thinking the school would not be to happy if she showed up with one strapped to her leg
@ Macker:
yeah, anything larger than a spork
@ Macker:
The problem is with Americans…if it is outlawed..a black market pops up…think of prohibition …worked out sooooooooo well there now it didn’t it??
rain of lead wrote:
LOL!!! Weekend only wear there.
rain of lead wrote:
… and any future boyfriend should be very, very respectful.
Song that reminds me of the obamas…really!
@ Lily:
Sounds like you are on the right track.
Today is my anniversary!!! 33 years and counting!
A song my hubby said reminded him of me….
@ RIX:
Yep getting there…thanks for asking Rix…
@ Lily:
Uhmmmm hubby just corrected me….it’s this song…
AZfederalist wrote:
speaking of girls…mine and her best friend were juniors in HS, coming home in the friends car, late and dark…they were at a stop light when some guy casually strolled up unnoticed and threw a chunk of concrete through the open window and hit my daughter on the cheek and laid it open…she was instantly out of the, she caught the guy and nearly pulled him dowm…he popped her another time and got away…this was all from the police report…two years later she was college and they caught the guy for various stuff and one wass tossing bricks at cars…she ID’d on that then testified in court against him…I was there for that…the guy was 22 at that time a bit bigger than me and a lot bigger than her…and I actually believe he was afraid of her…he went to jail for a couple of years…some girls don’t take any shit and she’s one of them….daddy’s little girl
@ heysoos:
There is hope for America. You’ve got a treasure there.
@ Lily:
S&H Green Stamp sign…that goes back a ways…I somehow lost the ability to posts vids, other than just the link…I like people to see what it is without having to open the link….over at DoD, just cut and paste, which is about the limit of my skillz
AZfederalist wrote:
I do and I thank my stars every day…she has two super kids and a good life going….she will be 30 tomorrow
@ heysoos:
Really? I know what you mean I like to have the little vid instead of just the link…are you putting the “v” in the right place. Like this:
httpV://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRdBsnX4N4 but make sure it is a lower case ‘v’….
heysoos wrote:
One year younger than my oldest son. Who is a hero to me too!
@ Lily:
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! {{Lily}}
@ Lily:
no…let me try it
@ Lily:
YAAAAY!…thank you….
you’ve opened my pandoras music box!….too cool
@ heysoos:
Got your skillz back!!
@ yenta-fada:
Thanks {{Yenta}}!!!!!
@ heysoos:
Any time hey, any time.
@ Lily:
I used to post a ton of music at LGF back in the day…tried to post stuff that fit the mood or thread…sometimes I’d go nuts….but I turned folks on to quality music they never heard before, that was the best part, the whole intention
I like this song because the bad hurricanes came in September in the last few years here …so wake me up when Sept. ends.
@ heysoos:
Welcome then….on dead threads like this..I post music. Whatever seems to flow with me is the case.
/oh and now you can post more than just a darn link.
storm music?….no problam
@ Calo:
Hey {{{{Calo}}}!
@ Calo:
oh shit…now that takes my breath away, every time
@ heysoos:
I’ll up you there….
rain music…
stiff competition
@ heysoos:
Indeed.
hurricane music…
flood music…cool slide show
That kinda thread? Okay…
burning bandwidth…but ya gotta get the message out
@ heysoos:
I have created a monster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
/LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL! LOL!
@ heysoos:
They will open up another thread if this one gets sluggish.
@ Mike C.:
You go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Mike C.:
Lily wrote:
I could post ‘southern’ music all day and never repeat myself
Lily wrote:
Okay…
@ heysoos:
I could too…until hubby says it’s time for the football game.
/but I might repeat myself.
@ Mike C.:
I need something with more edge, dirty r/b
Lily wrote:
most people are totally unaware of the musical legacy of NOLA, the Mississippi Delta blues, southern rock etc…the volume alone dwarfs any other region or style….southern music of all genres is the soul of America
@ heysoos:
Half to agree with you there. The music is rich.
@ Lily:
PIMP…….HAVE
/it’s Saturday and I’m still recovering. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Or one I’ve personally sung/played around a campfire maybe a hundred times. Political song, too!
And check out that long neck banjo!
@ heysoos:
Um, actually, a lot of southern/country music is basically Celtic in origin.
Yeah I do believe the Bronco’s are going to beat the Ravens. Just a guess on my part and a little football song.
Mike C. wrote:
and the Delta blues and gospel comes straight out of west Africa
True
@ Lily:
I might be wrong too.
/thankfully I have not put any money on the game.
Two of my favorite songs (excluding the real ballads) from one of my all-time favorite performers…
And my God, but he was young then. Weren’t we all?
to clarify…the blues and gospel are slave genres, directly related back to their African origins…turn of the century country music was heavily influenced by the Celts as MikeC points out…as these European immigrants moved into and through Appalachia, down across the south, they took with them the Celtic rhythms and the fiddle…and the music evolved into country music, western swing, rockabilly and eventually early rock and roll…as music travels it evolves due to the regional influences…pretty interesting stuff, at least to me
@ heysoos:
You forgot to add in there Blue Grass music…just sayin.
And speaking of that….
Lily wrote:
I meant country music in terms of rural, not Nashville…American bluegrass is the purist form of music that MickC was alluding to…Celtic music with an American twang…but they are joined at the hip…every bluegrass festival you’ll ever attend will have some Celtic people there…and I’ve seen Celtic acoustic bands that flat out blew me away with the pounding rhythms and fine string work…the Celts, in my view, are the earliest rock and rollers
@ heysoos:
And there you have it. I actually had that song I posted played to me by a Blue Grass music player (I guess you can call it that) back in the day…well waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day.
Ringo could never do this…
Celtic drums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96mB11cPYWY
Celts…this is just too cool
anybody here familiar with these guys?…awesome idea
any music lover will dig this
@ Lily:
I actually have that album… no turn table but lots of albums
@ brookly red:
I have tons of albums and my husband decided to update my stereo….guess what no turn table. I’m like what did you do????
It was supposed to be a surprise for me…I wish he would have asked.
I think they need to start making turn-tables again!!!!
@ brookly red:
Not to mention I love Bad Company! Hands down.
brookly red wrote:
I have almost 2k vinyl records in storage, no way to play them
Lily wrote:
oh they make em and really good inexpensive ones… thats how all the hip-hop DJs do the scratching thing. You can get a really good on for 100 bucks.
Playing For Change
Stevie Wonder
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=3hGSqqhhokE
RIX wrote:
Progressive’s have a mind??!! Learn something new everyday around here…
Da_Beerfreak wrote:
mostly they just mind…
brookly red wrote:
What I am going to have to do is basically buy me a whole new stereo system on my own. Because my hubby has no idea what I do with it or what I want in it. I just hate to hurt his feelings….but the time will come where I get what I need.
@ brookly red:
The main problem was he bought a reciever that just didn’t go with my turn-table and I really am just going to have to give what I do have to someone who will use it and start all over from the beginning…which reminds me of this song…
Lily wrote:
89 bucks will get you this…http://www.staples.com/Jensen-JTA-475-3-Speed-Stereo-Turntable-with-CD-System-Cassette-and/product_486632… youi will feel like your back in high school
@ brookly red:
Not bad…even cassette (which I want)….can you make a cassette too with that? Once I get better I’m going to have to put that on my to do list.
brookly red wrote:
Always up in everybodies business for sure!
I actually own a bodhrain -- a McClatchy, the only full-time maker in the ROI.
‘Course, I can’t play it worth a crap…
Lily wrote:
don’t know but the point is you can get what you want for very little money
Mike C. wrote:
yet, it’s a significant icon…keep it
brookly red wrote:
Oh I know! Thanks. I just haven’t looked around either. But I do need to undo what my hubby did to my stereo system. I’ve been sick so long I never even thought to look around on the net. “Duh!” on my part really. Thanks.
I just have a ton of music on albums, cassettes and cd’s…so whatever I get I need all three.
Everyone left?
you got this record?…it’s a must for blues folk
@ heysoos:
Nope I don’t have that one. Me and music are personal. I don’t know how to explain it other than the lyric’s and the music have to connect to me and then it becomes personnal. If I listen to a song that I listened to in the 70′s I suddenly am back in the 70′s…or if I listen to a song with lyric’s that connect to me then it becomes personnal too. I like just about all types of music. Each song …is a feeling, memory or a connection to me if I like it.
OT… i hear the man on the radio saying we got a flu epidemic in NYC, but I don’t know a single sick person and no one called in sick at work last week (we got over 400)… but the man one the radio says I need a flu shot right away !!11!
So this song is awesome to me..for some reason.
@ Lily:
I think that’s universal…you might like this take on Motown
brookly red wrote:
WOW!!! Same thing is going on down here too! An epidemic flu problem. I know no one sick either. And the paper said I NEED A FLU SHOT PDQ!!!
A flu shot will make me very, very sick. So the whole country has a flu epidemic?????
@ heysoos:
Only music lovers feel this way!!! I know some people that don’t feel as connected as I do. They just like music…me it goes a little more than like….it’s poetry in motion.
the blues…it’s an acquire taste, like Blue Mountain coffee
@ Lily:
Heh. I was in the pharmacy yesterday and turned my “free” flu shot down.
Lily wrote:
If your new stereo system has an unused aux input you could use something like this pre-amp for the short term.
@ heysoos:
But, I will never turn down Blue Mountain coffee.
Da_Beerfreak wrote:
Hey you big dummy. You forgot the link thingy…
Magnetic Cartridge Stereo Pre-Amp
It’s been one of those days…
Calo wrote:
No kidding! That is a sure thing on getting me sick if I get one of those. I may be odd…but I will get the flu if I get that damn shot. I am living proof that the shot makes you sick….I don’t care what they say…and that is just what I need right now of all times!!!
Calo wrote:
/hello I am here from the government to give you free germs…
Calo wrote:
I don’t like it, but I always bought it to give away…Krogers is fine with me
@ Da_Beerfreak:
Thanks! But hubby even got rid of my turn-table. He really thought he was getting me a nice stereo…problem is I don’t even know how to work it! And that is a new one…I can figure stereo systems out. I need to start all new from the ground up and basically build it myself or when my brother visits have him hook me up with what I want and need in a system. My husband just doesn’t understand what type of system I need or what. He thought he was doing good!
brookly red wrote:
No kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Lily:
Ouch!!
@ Da_Beerfreak:
Everyday is one of those days for me. Really!
Da_Beerfreak wrote:
Yeah! I thought “What did you do?” But said “Thank-you!” Bless his heart he tried.
I hope Manning loses, I don’t any of them