Egypt

The Middle East Headaches Of Barack Obama

Ronald 1 Comment

Now in its fifth day of intervention in the Libyan Civil War, the Obama Administration faces a whole series of headaches in the Middle East, many more problematical than Moammar Gaddafi!

The biggest problem of all is the Afghanistan War and the instability in next door Pakistan, which could blow up any time and affect the security of next door India, with the growing threat of Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism in the region.

Iran is also a problem that will NOT go away, with the growing dangers presented by the radical theocracy of that nation, and the movement ahead on development of nuclear weapons capability.

Third issue is Iraq, where the last 50,000 troops are supposed to be withdrawn by the end of this year, but Iran is gaining more influence by the week in a country which once fought an eight year conflict against Iran from 1980-1988.

Bahrain, where the US naval fleet is housed, and Yemen, which has an active Al Qaeda cell, both are undergoing revolutionary activities against then established governments, endangering American security interests.

Egypt and Tunisia have to adapt to their revolutions and evolve toward democracy, something they have never experienced before.

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle continues, and new violence has now erupted, leading to new possibilities of widespread bloodshed and turmoil.

Libya is less significant comparatively, but it is a reality that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates and others involved in the execution of foreign policy must be having sleepless, or at the least, restless nights!

The Moderation Of John McCain: Return Of The “Old” McCain

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Senator John McCain of Arizona has been transformed again, now back to the moderation he was famous for until he had a contested primary for re-election from former Congressman J. D. Hayworth in the midterm elections of 2010.

Highly critical of President Obama over the past two years, and generally very cranky and irritable, as well as mean spirited, and denying he had ever been a maverick, even though he called himself that for years, suddenly McCain is smiling and supportive in many ways of President Obama.

Now he feels that President Obama handled the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson masterfully, and also feels he has handled the Egyptian Revolution situation in am excellent manner. He has consulted recently with Obama, and suddenly, he is back to his old self that made him more appealing than most Republicans over the past decade.

Meanwhile, other Republicans, particularly many of those thinking of running for President, are finding fault with the approach of Obama, including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, John Bolton, and others.

Isn’t it amazing how when campaigning for advancement politically, candidates will conjure up criticism and be hypocritical, while when the pressure is off, such as with John McCain in 2011, suddenly a charming, smiling, supportive politician recognizes accomplishment when it occurs! 🙂

Robert Gibbs Leaves, Jay Carney Becomes Obama’s Press Spokesman

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Today marks the end of the tenure of Robert Gibbs as President Barack Obama’s press spokesman, and the succession of former Time Magazine journalist Jay Carney to that challenging position.

Gibbs worked with Obama since he announced for the Senate seat in Illinois in 2004, and will continue to work behind the scenes for the reelection campaign of the President. He was well liked by most journalists on the White House beat, but the position was starting to become a stressful one for him, as it is one of the more difficult jobs, to be the public spokesman for the President on a daily basis.

Carney, who was most recently the press spokesman for Vice President Joe Biden, with a strong journalistic background, and also married to ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman, should be able to stay on good relations with the press, at a time when the public image of the President should be even more significant, as he heads into the re-election campaign.

It was amazing to realize that Gibbs left his position on the single most historic day of the Obama Presidency, with the stunning success of the Egyptian Revolution!

A Day Of Historic Proportions: Egypt’s Revolution Triumphs!

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Today is a day of celebration for Egypt, the Middle East, and the whole world.

The peaceful overthrow of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak in a democratic non violent revolution is a cause for euphoria, and it gives a warning to the other Middle East autocracies, and dictatorship everywhere, including Iran and North Korea. It is a followup of the liberation of Eastern Europe in 1989, symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The power of social media, which cannot be easily controlled or monitored, is a method by which the masses can express their desires and lead to removal of despots. No one could have imagined the impact of Facebook and Twitter on the events that transpired in Egypt. Imagine, that in 18 days, Egypt transformed, and a thirty year dictatorship collapsed.

Egypt has now experienced two events of massive proportions that took 18 days to develop–this present revolution, and the Yom Kippur War where Anwar Sadat defeated Israel and took some land back in 1973 from the earlier 1967 Six Day War, but yet moved toward American friendship soon after and eventually to a peace agreement with Israel, including recognition of Israel, and a joint Nobel Peace Prize for Sadat and Israel’s leader, Menachem Begin.

This is also a moment to salute President Barack Obama, who handled this historic crisis deftly, supporting the masses of Egypt and pressuring Mubarak in private, while using carefully crafted language in public. No one could have handled this crisis better, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates did a fantastic job in assisting him and others to deal with this transforming event. This will go down as one of his greatest triumphs in the Presidency!

Even better, Barack Obama comes across as a hero to ordinary Egyptians, and by his open minded attitude to the Muslim world, he makes us a safer nation, but with full awareness that there are radical Muslim enemies who wish this nation ill, but diplomacy is essential if there is ever to be a potential for long term peace in the 21st century world!

Conservative And Republican Civil War Emerging: Mainstream Versus Nutty, Loony Glenn Beck And Sarah Palin!

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It is obvious that a split is emerging in the conservative movement and the Republican party over the crazy rantings of talk show host Glenn Beck and the indecipherable criticisms of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin!

Beck has asserted recently that the Bush family was out to promote the Muslim faith by its weak actions against the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that it was all part of a joint plot by radical Muslims and Communists out to promote a one world order!

Sarah Palin has been critical of the Obama policy toward the revolution against the Mubarak government of Egypt, without showing any understanding of the issue or offering any positive ideas.

The result of these two extremists making crazy statements has been that Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard and Rich Lowry of the National Review have attacked Glenn Beck, and made it clear that they believe that his ideas are totally off the wall.

At the same time, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has complimented Obama on Egypt policy and has criticized Palin for her empty statements attacking Obama on this matter, demonstrating she has no understanding of the issue.

These are signs of a civil war developing as mainstream conservatives are becoming more and more embarrassed by the outrageous and moronic statements of both Beck and Palin, who if they continue to maintain a powerful influence in the Republican party, will result in the total destruction of a party with a history of important leaders who were in the mainstream of American politics, while Beck and Palin are not in that mainstream!

The Budget Crisis And “False” Solutions: Earmarks, Space, And Foreign Aid

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As the debate continues over how to deal with the national deficit and the national debt, we hear simple but false solutions, which demonstrate the total ignorance, or the total demagoguery of those who profess those solutions!

We hear so much about “earmarks”, the awarding of federal money to congressional districts and states, brought about by Congressmen and Senators who are bringing home the “pork” or the “bacon”. We are told that such expenditures are a pure waste of taxpayer money, even though such spending is part of the lifeblood of American politics, the expectation that those who are elected to represent us have a responsibility to promote substantial improvements to the infrastructure, and which help to create economic growth and development. This is, in fact, one of the most important roles of a member of Congress until now, but apparently such earmarks will not be allowed over the next two years, something that will not please voters and citizens of our congressional districts, likely to lead to discontent and possible defeat of those who refuse to do what is the whole basis of the political system!

The point is one would think inordinate amounts of funds go to earmarks, when in actuality, it is only between one and two percent of the entire national budget!

Then we have those who condemn any investment in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the space program, failing to see the scientific advances promoted by such investment. But it is part of the anti-science mentality of many, who however are only too willing to give tax breaks to churches and synagogues and allow clergy to avoid paying taxes. It is part of the KNOW NOTHING mentality, that science is unimportant, next to the all powerful force of organized religion gaining subsidies. And the reality is the space investment of the US government is one half of one percent, as so emphasized by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist and leader at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City.

Additionally, we have complaints that we are giving away taxpayer money to foreign governments, including Israel and Egypt, as well as other nations around the world that we wish to create a stable influence on, to promote American national security and defense, but one must understand there are those who would wish to put America into an isolationist foreign policy. In any case, the total foreign aid budget is no more than one percent annually, but one would get a different impression from those who decry any foreign aid investment.

So while it is fine to waste money on many defense programs, and give tax breaks to the wealthy, many corporations, and religious institutions, we should go ahead and fail to improve the physical plant and infrastructure of the nation, dismiss the importance of promoting science, and take a utopian view of the world and bring ourselves back to pre 1941 mentality!

It is the unfortunate stupidity and ignorance of many that leads to these ridiculous beliefs and promotion of a world view that will set America back to the 19th century! 🙁