News Stories

[ganbaru]

Republicans Warn Iran -- and Obama -- That Deal Won't Last
http://www.bloombergview.com/article...eal-won-t-last

Marketing atrocity: Ancient Assyrians would have understood Islamic State’s methods
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debat...tates-methods/

Wisconsin capital marked by third day of protests after police shooting
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0M40WG20150309

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

Republicans Warn Iran -- and Obama -- That Deal Won't Last
http://www.bloombergview.com/article...eal-won-t-last

I'll say one thing. The Reps are right this time round. Those bible belts may be wrong about science and religion and race, but for this, they are right.

Iran is just making use of US weakness to take over Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan.

[KiraYamatoFan]

If Obama wasn't such a pussy on the foreign relations front, a number of issues would have been avoided or even solved by now.

[AmeNoJaku]

Back on Greece, euro, and another Union some conservatives somewhere try again to dissolve again... the left should resist, since negotiating with fascists is pointless, leave and try their own policies at what scale they can by themselves... this is the ideological difference between the two ideologies, one cares about the people and the other about the capital, which triggered the current crisis years ago... and again to challenge (I hope unintentionally) democracy and freedom, like those barbarians on both sides in the middle east, because after all despite Schauble's and ISIS tactics humans must also leave along with that minority... again and help then back into humanism.

[Ithekro]

What fascists?

[Solace]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I'll say one thing. The Reps are right this time round. Those bible belts may be wrong about science and religion and race, but for this, they are right.

Iran is just making use of US weakness to take over Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan.

It doesn't matter if they have a point or not. What they did is undermine the authority of the President to conduct negotiations with a foreign country, potentially destroying any possible chance to get Iran to sign a non-nuke treaty and crippling the power of the US and its allies to use or enforce sanctions. It increases the risk of having no serious diplomatic tools by which to resolve issues between nations.

What those senators did was tell every foreign country/power that any deal made with the President couldn't be trusted. That's not only dangerous and unprecedented, but borderline treasonous.

Can you imagine if democrats had done this while Bush was President? Holy shit conservatives would of had a meltdown.

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

If Obama wasn't such a pussy on the foreign relations front, a number of issues would have been avoided or even solved by now.

Oh, please go on. I'd love to hear what you think he should have done instead of being a "pussy".

[Nicaea]

Originally Posted by Solace

It doesn't matter if they have a point or not. What they did is undermine the authority of the President to conduct negotiations with a foreign country, potentially destroying any possible chance to get Iran to sign a non-nuke treaty and crippling the power of the US and its allies to use or enforce sanctions. It increases the risk of having no serious diplomatic tools by which to resolve issues between nations.

What those senators did was tell every foreign country/power that any deal made with the President couldn't be trusted. That's not only dangerous and unprecedented, but borderline treasonous.

Can you imagine if democrats had done this while Bush was President? Holy shit conservatives would of had a meltdown.


Oh, please go on. I'd love to hear what you think he should have done instead of being a "pussy".

Sure, conservatives are a lot kinds of bad, but there's no way that Iran would have signed such a treaty. A lot of countries already care not for the sanctions of the west.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Nicaea

Sure, conservatives are a lot kinds of bad, but there's no way that Iran would have signed such a treaty. A lot of countries already care not for the sanctions of the west.

That is beside the point. Whether the treaty could have succeeded have nothing to do with the fact that Republicans tried to sabotage it.

[Ithekro]

Treaties are approved of by Congress though.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Treaties are approved of by Congress though.

Approved. This means the treaties are sent to them for approval. They don't get to disrupt the actions of other parts of the government, that isn't their job.

[dredmorte]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I'll say one thing. The Reps are right this time round. Those bible belts may be wrong about science and religion and race, but for this, they are right.

Iran is just making use of US weakness to take over Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan.

I am not american and I know your wrong. Furthermore, according to the Logan Act, all those senators/reps have commited a serious crime.

[ganbaru]

Military analysis of what Russia really wants reveals nuclear dangers
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debat...clear-dangers/

China jails two for selling military secrets, including details of aircraft carrier
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0M60ZY20150310

U.S. declares Venezuela a national security threat, sanctions top officials
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0M51NS20150310

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

If Obama wasn't such a pussy on the foreign relations front, a number of issues would have been avoided or even solved by now.

Not having a 'Send in the carriers' or 'Send in the marines' as foreign policy is not being a pussy me thinks

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Solace

It doesn't matter if they have a point or not. What they did is undermine the authority of the President to conduct negotiations with a foreign country, potentially destroying any possible chance to get Iran to sign a non-nuke treaty and crippling the power of the US and its allies to use or enforce sanctions. It increases the risk of having no serious diplomatic tools by which to resolve issues between nations.

What those senators did was tell every foreign country/power that any deal made with the President couldn't be trusted. That's not only dangerous and unprecedented, but borderline treasonous.

Can you imagine if democrats had done this while Bush was President? Holy shit conservatives would of had a meltdown.

Originally Posted by dredmorte

I am not american and I know your wrong. Furthermore, according to the Logan Act, all those senators/reps have commited a serious crime.

Sorry if I chaffed my statement. What I mean was from a political perspective, they are right.

Their actions are definitely wrong from a constitutional and legal perspective.

Originally Posted by JokerD

Not having a 'Send in the carriers' or 'Send in the marines' as foreign policy is not being a pussy me thinks

Then what about "send the political action officers".

[MrTerrorist]

Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear host, suspended by BBC after 'fracas'

Why am i not surprise?

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Sorry if I chaffed my statement. What I mean was from a political perspective, they are right.

Their actions are definitely wrong from a constitutional and legal perspective.

No. They are still wrong. Iran is a legitimate nation-state. It has its interests. Interests are negotiable.

They are also treasonous scum. They were prepared to throw the U.S. and world economy into meltdown for a cheap political point, and they undermine the President's authority for even cheaper political points.

[MCAL]

How anyone can really defend republicans anymore is beyond me. Its pretty clear (most) of them left common sense and decency in the rear view mirror a long time ago.

[Ithekro]

Those that have no trust or faith in the President. Also those that still consider the President as a traitorous or subversive individual. There are people who srill think he is unfit and/or a non_native citizen, dispite evidence.

[SeijiSensei]

I didn't have any trust or faith in Richard Nixon, but I would have been outraged if Democratic Senators sent a letter to Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong telling them not to cut any deals with the President because, you know, we might change our minds later.

One of the more hilarious aspects of this otherwise sordid affair is how much better educated the Iranians are, even on matters of American constitutional law. The response from Iran's foreign minister to the letter was priceless.

In fact, the members of Iran's cabinet holds more degrees from American universities than Obama's, or indeed any other cabinet in the world.



Too many Americans are still stuck in 1979, even ones as young as the author of the letter, Tom Cotton (R-OK).

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by JokerD

Not having a 'Send in the carriers' or 'Send in the marines' as foreign policy is not being a pussy me thinks

That's not the point. The fact remains that Obama's general stance has been too soft regarding foreign policy whereas a large number of his predecessors, both Democrats and Republicans (excluding W.), knew how and when to use a stronger tone in order to make clear about who's the boss without escalating too much.

TBH, there are vibes of Jimmy Carter's presidency in Obama's in the sense that he let his geopolitical adversaries take advantage of his soft position.