5 Foreign Policy Topics That Should’ve Made the Debate Cut
The week got off to a disappointing start for foreign policy junkies.
Thomas Merton wrote that no man is an island, and in this era of globalization few men can live on one, either. Globalization has connected the corners of the world so that there is no ignorance of a genocide or a famine or revolution on any continent — though there are still blind eyes. Perhaps politics for many stops at the street corner, perhaps the exposure brought by this glut of global information is overwhelming or a turn-off, but foreign policy is ranked nearly at the rock bottom of voters’ priority issues.
Thumbing their noses in the face of these voter rankings, the presidential campaigns agreed that the final match-up between the two candidates would focus on foreign policy. That’s how the Monday night face-off in Florida was billed, and where moderator Bob Schieffer desperately tried to steer the conversation.
But the economy got the better of the 90 minutes as Mitt Romney steered back to his comfort zone and President Obama followed for tussles over the auto bailout, teachers, unemployment, and more.
The Arab Spring predictably made the cut. Benghazi opened the night with a surprisingly finger-pointing-less exchange. And Osama bin Laden’s been tugged around the campaign trail on nearly every Democratic stop.
Mali got a few shout-outs. The massacre in Syria got some well-deserved time for Romney and Obama to agree that they agree. The Middle East is always a staple. Nuclear Pakistan and nearly nuclear Iran wedged their way in. Japan was mentioned — by the moderator.
What foreign policy issues that voters should know about were missed in the debate? A few spring to mind.
The Euro crisis: Very surprising that this wasn’t a topic considering how Obama frequently blames Europe for our sluggish economic recovery. With Europeans increasingly resistant to the austerity measures needed to get houses back in order, where does that leave the crisis’ influence on U.S. markets? New reports this week indicated the disaster in the 17-member bloc is getting even worse, with debt hitting 90 percent of GDP. Plus, the Angela Merkel-Nicolas Sarkozy team that was helming the belt-tightening efforts has been broken up by Sarkozy’s French election defeat this year — and replacement with socialist Francois Hollande. Panique!
Russia: This is about much more than the jabs over Obama’s hot-mic intentions to bend backward/forward for world leaders should he get re-elected. What’s so bad about the reign of Czar Putin? For one, any democracy, free speech, or rule of law left is rapidly evaporating — ask anyone from Garry Kasparov to Mikhail Khodorkovsky to Pussy Riot. For another, if you probe into the nefarious affairs of the Kremlin you have a tendency to end up dead — see journalist Anna Politkovskaya and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky (whose death sparked sanctions efforts in Congress). There is plenty of internal discontent that could come to a head in the next four years, as evidenced by the protests calling for fair elections (and then Putin got the presidency again, go figure). And the Kremlin, on a nationalist tear, has gone out of its way to indicate that any “embarrassment” suffered in the fall of the Soviet Union will not be repeated. They’ve been happy to cut deals with every nefarious regime, yet dangerously wield veto power at the UN Security Council. Syrians are killed with Russian arms, they’ve tried to supply Iran, and today Nigerian officials intercepted a boat full of Russian arms headed for the country wracked by an Islamist insurgency. This resurrected autocracy will sell its soul to the highest bidder, and put global security at risk in the process.
Merton (1915-1968) may have used “no man is an island” as the title of a book, but he got the line from John Donne, who wrote in 1624:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
REZKO, OBAMA, AND THE NADHMI AUCHI RAILROAD LINKING CHICAGO, WASHINGTON, AND BAGHDAD (Part 2 of 3)
http://illinoispaytoplay.com/2012/10/24/rezko-obama-and-the-nadhmi-auchi-railroad-linking-chicago-washington-and-baghdad-part-2-of-3/
Death be not proud…
Also Donne liked puns and may have been fun at parties:
When thou hast done, thou hast not done, for I have more.
Thanks, I was just about to do that. Are editors an extinct species?
Mitt Romney is running against an incumbent who has the support of 90% of the media. He is walking a tightrope. Shut up and demonstrate that you aren’t completely clueless.
2. I agree. This is no ordinary election; Romney has to get those Democrats of good will to cross over and vote for him—something he could never do if he humiliated Obama in public. So far, Mitt’s been doing pretty well. He may get a win out of this thing.
Agreed. Mitt is walking a tightrope, but the blow back from several foreign disasters will hit American shores, regardless who wins.
It was very upsetting that Mitt did not hold the Islamist-in-Chief’s bony feet to the fire, especially on Bengazigate. He surely had enough ammunition to hammer home, the grave implications of (what is more than likely) a gun running operation on steroids, benefiting Muslim Brotherhood operatives and Al Qaeda offshoots!
In other words, he could have made mincemeat out of The One’s halo over ‘he got Osama’ (never mind that he did nothing of the sort!), when Osama’s cohorts in terror are now reaping huge dividends from the POTUS. The irony.
In fact, he could have juxtaposed the hell unleashed on Nixon due to Watergate, and on Reagan over Iran Contra, and then brought down the hammer on Bengazigate, leaving the voters to decide what his fate should be.
Oh…the missed opportunities!
Surely the Radical-in-Chief’s mugging/affinity for Chavez could have been worked into the conversation, letting the voters know how he has facilitated the open door policy for Hizbullah-land operatives, snug up to America’s shores.
The icing on the cake could have been the deaths of many Mexicans, due to his good friend Holder, the Racialist AG, responsible for Fast & Furious.In other words, there were so many low hanging fruit.
As to Sudan. My oh my. Here’s the short and the long of it, and why it is VITAL to the battle against Islamic barbarism, and why surely Israel (Sayeret commandos, paving the way for IDF jet fighters)is the one behind the booms in the night-http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/08/14/fungible-definition-of-who-is-a-terrorist-invariably-leads-to-support-of-islamists-in-syria-sudan-elsewhere-when-politicsideology-trumps-morality-embedded-policy-paper-commentary-by/
There is so much more.
http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/08/14/fungible-definition-of-who-is-a-terrorist-invariably-leads-to-support-of-islamists-in-syria-sudan-elsewhere-when-politicsideology-trumps-morality-embedded-policy-paper-commentary-by/
With regard to
Surely the Radical-in-Chief’s mugging/affinity for Chavez could have been worked into the conversation
what should have been worked into any “conversation” where the bragger-in-Chief tells about how he has supported Israel’s Iron Dome attempt at stopping the rockets from Gaza is that the B-in-C has done absolutely nothing to stop the firing of rockets from Gaza. That action would have established as a fact that he has Israel’s back.
Not that he is alone in this as the Bush Admin also did nothing after Israel left Gaza.
After the Romney landslide victory, November 6th, please PJM contributors do not say there was no way to tell it was coming. Just admit you have no feel for politics.
Don’t get cocky, kid.
Ms. Johnson is not clueless. She has written some of the more telling articles of substance on a variety of issues. I don’t do the “rah,rah” thing. It behooves this board, however, not to act disrespectfully to an honest-to-God journalist whatever the disagreement. Honest and competent journalists are in short enough supply that I will never take them as a given. Telling Ms. Johnson to “shut up” speaks exclusively to the writer of that sentiment, and it is not a flattering depiction. Read the body of Ms. Johnson’s work and I think you’ll agree that the LAST thing a thinking person would want, would be for Ms. Johnson to shut up.
Notwithstanding all of that, feelings are indeed running high. It is less than two weeks until election day, it will not benefit us if our emotions run hot as well. It feels like a marathon because it is one and it’s almost over. Don’t be unkind to your friends (and I count nearly everyone on PJ’s boards as friends) during a time of high sensitivity. We may need to carry each other to the finish.
Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on
Some feel the heat and decide that they can’t go on
Some like it hot, but you can’t tell how hot ’til you try
Some like it hot, so lets turn up the heat ’til we fry
Perhaps you should have used the handle “Power Station” or “Robert Palmer”
We are less than 2 weeks to the election. It is now time to get 100% behind Mitt. These issues will never be addressed if Mitt is not elected.
Thank you, Terry. I am 110% behind R&R.
I think what Bridget is addressing is damned important even if, in this board’s estimation, it is ill timed. I am in absolute accord with everyone who has had to ride this pony for nearly 4 years, BELIEVE ME. I’ve been counting the days since they were years, so say we all.
What Bridget Johnson is talking about, I think, are exactly the kinds of issues that make removal of Obama from office imperative. Prematurely, perhaps, she is moving the ball past the election.
I remember having a drink at the local watering hole after my first child was born and the owner asked me why I was beaming, and I told him. His unsolicited comment was, “Having the baby’s the easy part.”
In the main, that is what we’re looking at, a happy delivery and a looooong slog back to sanity.
Just plain old Islam is the problem. Those you call “extremists” are just following Mohammad’s teachings, so there is nothing extreme about them, not for Islam anyway.
This is getting monstrous tiresome, so many people continuing to try to exonerate Islam by blaming everything bad coming from Islam on “extremists”.
Thanks, FeralCat. I too (and a few others)have been saying that the problem is Islam, not the straw man “Islamism”.
I simply can’t understand why even though the stated goal of EVERY “moderate” Muslim is the destruction of Israel and the worldwide imposition of the Caliphate some people continue to refuse to admit that they really mean it.
World domination by Islam is an integral part of Islam. When so called “moderate Muslims” say that they don’t support the violence of Mohamed or world domination I have one question for them: “Then why are you still a Muslim?” Muslims have no problem identifying us as their enemies so why can’t we at least acknowledge that they are enemies?
I will say it: ALL Of Islam Is The Enemy Of Civilization.
Some Indonesian moslems are trying to set up an actual moderate branch of Islam. With little luck so far. The mainstream moslems have been throwing as many roadblocks their way as possible, even trying to get the Indonesian gov’t to interfere with them.
So, there is a hope.
(The thermometer in he11 dropped a tenth of a degree.)
The Indonesian nativist-version of islam is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It is a blend of the original animistic faith, buddhism, naturism and some version of islam. It IS the moderate version you’re referring to and it is under seige by forces in large measure funded by the saudi wahabists.
As the largest muslim nation on earth,” the Indonesian archipelago of thousands of islands is a real plum for the jihadi recruiters. If they overstep too rapidly, the jihadis will find they have a tiger by the tale. On the other hand, the Timorese Christians will find themselves at greater risk.
“5 Foreign Policy Topics That Should’ve Made the Debate Cut”
Uh, that debate is over. And Romney delivered a masterful performance. I viewed it twice. In the first viewing, about twenty minutes in, I was asking myself: What the hell is he (Romney) doing? He’s wussing out! But then it shortly began to dawn on me that Mitt (thinking for himself, and laying out his own strategy) had it in mind to draw this stupid fish, Barack Hussein Obama, into the shallows and RIGHT into his net (followed by a short trip to the creel).
Please do what I did and listen to the entire debate, CAREFULLY. Romney took this clown apart.
Shoulda, woulda, coulda, hadda-mighta-wanna, is utterly USELESS to the cause of uninstalling the Error and replacing him with a good man of twice Obama’s (or, perhaps, Michelle’s) stature.
So please, let it go. Bridget (speaking as someone who really likes your product). Obama, in truth, lost all three debates because he could not defend his (insert the dire adjective of your choice) record in office. It is as simple as that. Even though our moronic MSM and Establishment-Rino-Commitariat (Charles Krauthammer, Karl Rove, etc.) cannot grasp the reality that was filtered down to us mere voters out here in Peoria.
Obama’s “aggressive” style points mean nothing — nothing whatsoever, except insofar as they reveal him to be a total A-Hole.
There is no need for a course-correction here. Mitt knows what he is doing, and everything is looking pretty damn good.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have become the quintessential Americans like George Patton and Joe DiMaggio. They attack the usurping tyrant boldly on all fronts and at all times and at this this they will not flag nor fail. They will never succumb to the siren call of the regime’s propaganda ministers that permeate the television waves. They will not bargain with this tyrant and his propaganda ministers and gutter rats. They will not try to reason with them as the tyrant and his gaggle of lying lackeys and deranged dingbats will grant no quarter for them and if they can, they will destroy them and their families and all of America without remorse. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will follow the tyrant Hussein Louie Benito Hugo Isuzu Obama to the inmost recesses of his mind and make him fear and dread the very sight and sound of them. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will never let up and they will make the Child Emperor’s fear of them permeate his thoughts from when he rises in the morning until he retires at night, where he will be allowed only a brief respite in between his nightmares as his day of reckoning approaches. On November 6 they will make the tyrant howl.
Yo! Pin the baby leftard squealing to the mat!
I doff.
I think before the Sudan issue is discussed, there needs to be debate (and action, mind you) on the collapse of Mali. Ever heard of it? A desperately poor sub-Saharan country that suffered a Islamist-backed coup in its northern provinces. The weak civilian government can’t regain control on its own, and to date ECOWAS has been ineffective (or unresponsive, I can’t tell which). At any rate, it is not in our best interests to let vicious, al-Qaeda-linked Islamists run around beating women, shooting Christians and telling off-color jokes in the Sahel. It’s like Clint Eastwood asked in “Million Dollar Baby”: what’re you gonna do about it? So far, from what I can see out of the Administration, the answer seems to be ‘go on Letterman.’
South Sudan needs a new name because they need to truly be independent, even in Googlenewssearchworld.
at least debate #3 has stimulated some discussion of the United States Navy.
btw, even tho Obama said “Israel” so many times I wondered what his internal polls are saying, neither ever got to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
So, for the record, El Salvador and Costa Rica embassies are in Jerusalem.
South Sudan announce they intend to also have their embassy in Jerusalem.
Speaking off the record Israeli military and political sources have revealed the following-
Netanyahu has twice ordered an attack against Iranian nuclear facilities. When American spy satellites read Israeli jets going hot the information was leaked, with White House approval, to a news agency for release once the planes became airborne. On both instances that attack had to be called off. Without the element of surprise the attack would have failed. Obama has become the chief protector of the Iranian regime. He has been protecting them and encouraging them from the beginning. The sanctions are a sideshow. He wants Iran to get the bomb.
For clarification the last three sentences are my own personal opinion. All else from reliable sources.
Impressed with the Salva Kiir reference. Mali, the most recent islamist safe haven is next ot the CIA’s hit parade. A combined african military force with an assist fro the CIA and French DGSE will attempt to prevent another Afghanistan. Africa is the next battleground with Al Quaeda and friends.
Mexican PRI is not so much a leftwing party as a crony capitalist party that employs the popular politcal perscriptions of the era. Classic politcal repression has never really existed in Mexico. During the PRI’s heyday you could espouse whatever opinions you wished and sleep good at night. The goon squad would never come and take you away. The PRI just counted the votes and won every election. They then went on to assimilate genteration after reformist politicians by incoperating them into the corruption/ crony capitalism. With the exception of the KGB inspired Tlatelolco massacre, nobody ever got hurt.
Romney knows what is up in Mexico, he has 2nd cousins there.
I disagree. In the 90(45?) minutes allotted, Romney was able to focus and address the foreign policy issues that are FOREFRONT in the minds of US voters.
Romney drove home what Americans really care about: The economy. Brilliant!
“This resurrected autocracy will sell its soul to the highest bidder, and put global security at risk in the process.”
That is an interesting point about Russia. It has gone from a country driven by ideology (communism), to a country driven by greed. And when the greed gets so bad that weapons turn up in the hands of some really horrible people, then we have some serious trouble. What would happen if some individuals in Russia decide to sell some chemical weapons to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and then those weapons are used against Israelis? What does the world do then? Does it just stand by, once again, while more Jews are gassed?
And that’s just one example. We all know that Russia is supplying both weapons and nuclear technology to the Iranians. Well, what happens when Iran finally does get its bomb and decides to actually use it against another country, like Israel? Or what if Iran uses a nuclear weapon against Saudi Arabia to destroy a vast majority of their oil fields (not to mention killing a large number of its population plus harming the Sunni religious shrines at Mecca and Medina)? This could easily happen and Russia would be the sponsor of it all. How would the world react?
Well, under this current president, we wouldn’t be doing much of anything. Oh sure, we would submit a formal protest at the United Nations, but after the Russians stopped laughing at that they would simply continue what they are doing now. Russia is turning into a major global threat, perhaps even more so than China. Why? Because China has enough internal security problems trying to feed its own people and doesn’t see the need to pick an open fight with its best customer, the United States. But Russia will do anything for money, especially if Putin gets a cut of the action. THAT is a very dangerous situation to be in and Romney will have his hands full dealing with it when he becomes president. And for Obama to minimize this growing threat, like he did during the last debate, only shows you how little he knows about foreign policy and global power politics.
“Groups like Hezbollah are also finding this doorstep to the U.S. just as inviting — and welcoming.”
They and Al Qaeda are both involved in opium trading (which is the raw material for cocaine and heroin). There is already evidence to support the claim that Islamist terrorists are being funded by Latin American drug cartels who, themselves, have ties to some of the corrupt governments south of us (most notably, Mexico.) Similarly, Islamic terrorists and the cartels are very likely trading in arms and the terrorists likely have “safe passage” and human trafficking deals made with the cartels. If illegals can still cross the border unnoticed, then so can terrorists.
Warrantless Eavesdropping Before Supreme Court BY DAVID KRAVETS 10.26.12
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/10/scotus-eavesdropping/