“Hillary is probably a better candidate for Vice President than I am.”
Lord, lord, don’t you just love this season?
You just can’t make these things up!
Can’t you just see Obama cringe?
Or Hillary supporters voting for the Obama ticket, taking it as a sign of Obama’s humility.
Today Sarah Palin told ABC Charles Gibson that it may be necessary to go to war with Russia
Mike, it wasn’t Obama who said it. It was Biden, the mouth that keeps on talking when he should stop.
And, it might be necessary to go to war with Russia. It all depends on what Russia does. There are many ways of going to war. You’ve read Sun Tzu, I assume? Remember the “Cold War?”
Steve Featherkile said:
Mike, it wasn't Obama who said it. It was Biden, the mouth that keeps on talking when he should stop.And, it might be necessary to go to war with Russia. It all depends on what Russia does. There are many ways of going to war. You’ve read Sun Tzu, I assume? Remember the “Cold War?”
I know, Biden said it. He was obviously trying to A: demonstrate humility, and B: charm hillary supporters by confirming what they already believe. I doubt Obama cringed
Steve it may indeed be necessary to go to war with Russia. It may be necessary to go to war with Canada, or China, or Turkey, or Pakistan or Switzerland or Ireland–it may be necessary to go to war with any country, depending on what they do.
Why start out with bluster and threats? More of the same reflexive bellicosity that we’ve had for the last 8 years. Why start ramping up the rhetoric?
More red meat to the base, at the expense of diplomacy and “nuance.”
Or, it may just be a message to Russia, “Don’t try it, you won’t get away with it.”
Do you know that in the Officer Training Schools of both Canada and the US, one of the exercises that the students do is to plan an invasion across the 48th parallel? Both ways. Then the student’s plans are sent to their counterparts for grading.
At least it used to be that way.
Steve Featherkile said:
Or, it may just be a message to Russia, "Don't try it, you won't get away with it."Do you know that in the Officer Training Schools of both Canada and the US, one of the exercises that the students do is to plan an invasion across the 48th parallel? Both ways. Then the student’s plans are sent to their counterparts for grading.
At least it used to be that way.
There are some odd people in northern Montana, but I don’t think they’re willing to break away from the US and join Canada. They might try to invade south of 48 though
I suspect you mean the 49th parallel.
OK. I’m heading off to Pedant’s Corner now.
Maybe Stevie was talking about invading across the 38th parallel.
Well, I could blame it on too much Holy Water… but that wouldn’t be true. 
mike omalley said:
Or Hillary supporters voting for the Obama ticket, taking it as a sign of Obama's humility.Today Sarah Palin told ABC Charles Gibson that it may be necessary to go to war with Russia
Here is the full text of what she said. Considerably less dramatic that mike would have us believe.
ABC News said:
Palin told Charles Gibson of ABC News that she'd favor including Georgia and Ukraine, both former Soviet republics, in NATO despite opposition by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Asked whether the United States would have to go to war with Russia if it invaded Georgia, and the country was part of NATO, Palin said: "Perhaps so."“I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you’re going to be expected to be called upon and help,” she said.
Pressed on the question, Palin responded: “What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against … We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.”
She added: “It doesn’t have to lead to war and it doesn’t have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to help us do that in this mission of keeping our eye on Russia and Putin and some of his desire to control and to control much more than smaller democratic countries.”
Never mind that Georgia invaded an independent state provoking Russia into responding to defend that independent state.
TonyWalsham said:Tony, those were not independent states, they were part of Georgia, and had been since the USSR fell apart. Get your facts straight.
Never mind that Georgia invaded an independent state provoking Russia into responding to defend that independent state.
Sorry Steve,
You had get your facts straight.
South Ossetia at least, was an autonomous state in the USSR before the USSR dissolved.
South Ossetia voted to stay an autonomous region in Russia, along with North Ossetia, even though Georgia claimed sovereignty over it.
Russia backed the movement and defended them when Georgia invaded South Ossetia just as the Olympic Games ceremony started.
Right on Tony, for once the Russians were not the bad guys, Georgia provoked them by invading South Ossetia, which is populated by ethnic Russians, most with Russian Passports, not Georgian.
Isn’t it the point that if a NATO member is attacked the other members of NATO will come to their defense?
Ric.
If a NATO country was attacked I would definitely agree with you.
However, Georgia is not yet a member of NATO.
Anyway, it was Georgia that attacked South Ossetia.
Tony makes the right point here–to cast Russia as the sole aggressor you have to ignore the facts, and the facts are complicated. Which is why you want someone who has some understanding of the subtleties of international relations, not someone who wants to play cowboy.
Palin does not know what is meant by “the Bush Doctrine,” which is, just to be clear, the idea that the US has a right to pre-emptively attack other countries on the grounds that they might be planning to attack us.
You could debate that point–but Palin does not even know what it is.
Gentlemen.
Please understand I am not taking any sides in the USA political debate. This is an International subject.
I am merely trying to make certain that any decisions made with regards to possible involvement in military action in Georgia are based on facts. Not what some vested interest might want them to be.
It did seem curious to me that the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia occurred right at the start of the Olympic games when the attention of the World was on those games.
I wonder why that was?
BTW, I am definitely not a supporter of Russia. I firmly believe Russia is run by the Mafia.
And we certainly understand what a threat an imperialist Georgia has been over the years…got to stop all that aggression in it’s tracks.
Ken I am glad you do understand. I would hate to think you were having the wool pulled over your eyes.
You did know about the vital oil line that runs from the East to the West via Georgia? Did you not?
Wikepedia is your friend:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetia
My point is not that one side or the other is clearly good or bad. My point is simply that we want someone as President who understands the complexities of the situation and can make decisions based on a real understanding of the issues.
She doesn’t–why should she? Being governor of Alaska requires no foreign policy experience or knowledge. You’d think she might have picked some up, but apparently not, and clearly she’s busy with all those kids. The McCain campaign argues that Palin has foreign policy experience because her state borders Russia. But I can look out the window and see the moon–that doesn’t make me an astronaut
Really, the troubling thing abut Palin isn’t Palin, it’s what it says about McCain’s judgement. He picked a good looking but clueless running mate.