President Obama News Thread

[Jet Gorgon]

^ I wonder if more unemployed Dems are becoming Republicans.

[Panda]

Democratically elected leaders -- imagine that.

A new government elected by the citizens -- selecting their own leaders.

Yeah. That's not real good, is it?

If the US and UK put as much effort into Afghanistan as they did into Iraq it wouldn't be the mess it is now.

Numbers change, but the Yanks put around 160,000 troops into Iraq and only 20,000 into Afghanistan for a very long time. The UN backed US in its invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11, unlike the invasion of Iraq. So what did the Yanks do? Well they went off and invaded Iraq where the majority of their troops were sent and then started crying that NATO allies wernt sending enough troops to Afghanistan to help them out.

All thats left for the US supporters of the Iraq invasion to cling onto for justification of their illegal war is a change of government to a democracy.
No WMDs, no control of the Iraqi oil fields by US and UK companies. Just a country with a fragile democracy in far worse shape than it was under the dictator Saddam Hussein and open to influence by Iran.
But the war in Iraq was never even about democracy. It was about wiping the political slate clean and installing a puppet government so US and UK companies could get control of Iraqs vast oil reserves. The US and UK backed themselves into a corner re the oil by imposing trade sanctions on the Saddam Hussein regime. Meanwhile Hussein was signing contracts with the Chinese and Russians to develop Iraqs oil.

The war in Iraq has been a very costly failure for US and UK on all fronts. And while they were fighting for control of Iraqs oil they let Afghanistan become a lower priority. No wonder the Europeans are reluctant to pull USA out of the shit they created.
Oil in Iraq - UN Security Council - Global Policy Forum - Oil in Iraq

"Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves. According to oil industry experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq’s reserves to 200+ billion barrels of high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce. The four giant firms located in the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were excluded with the nationalization of 1972. During the final years of the Saddam era, they envied companies from France, Russia, China, and elsewhere, who had obtained major contracts. But UN sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK) kept those contracts inoperable. Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, much has changed. In the new setting, with Washington running the show, "friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades. The Iraqi constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language that guarantees a major role for foreign companies. Negotiators hope soon to complete deals on Production Sharing Agreements that will give the companies control over dozens of fields, including the fabled super-giant Majnoon. But first the Parliament must pass a new oil sector investment law allowing foreign companies to assume a major role in the country. The US has threatened to withhold funding as well as financial and military support if the law does not soon pass. Although the Iraqi cabinet endorsed the draft law in July 2007, Parliament has balked at the legislation. Most Iraqis favor continued control by a national company and the powerful oil workers union strongly opposes de-nationalization. Iraq's political future is very much in flux, but oil remains the central feature of the political landscape."

[Muadib]

Hmm, how many years did the Ruskies spend getting their arse handed to them in Afghanistan??? By the time it's over, BO will be sending troops into Pakistan also...

[Boon Mee]

Turkish authorities claim to have foiled a plot to assassinate Barack Obama, by a man carrying a press card for JihadTV.

Turkish security services have arrested a man of Syrian descent who was planning to assassinate US President Barack Obama during his current trip to Turkey, the Saudi daily Al Watan reported Monday.
According to the report, the man, who was arrested on Friday, was carrying a press card identifying him as an employee of Al Jazeera. He reportedly confessed to his intention to stab Obama with a knife and said that he was aided by three accomplices.
The report stated that Turkish authorities were still unsure as to whether the press card was a fake or whether it had actually been issued the man by the Qatari news network.


Al-Jazeera’s Ankara bureau chief, Yussef al-Sharif, told the paper that news of the suspected assassination plot had come as an utter surprise to the network’s staff in Turkey, adding that all of Al-Jazeera’s employees in the country claimed that they were not acquainted with the suspect.

[lysander]

Hmm, how many years did the Ruskies spend getting their arse handed to them in Afghanistan??? By the time it's over, BO will be sending troops into Pakistan also...

And the Russians weren't the first. The British retreated from Kabul in 1842. 15,000 troops and civilians left Kabul - one civilian reached safety and it's said (apocryphally) that the Afghanis let him live so he could tell the tale of the 14,999 casualties. Alexander the Great spent 3 years trying to control the place without much success.

[Boon Mee]

Hmm, how many years did the Ruskies spend getting their arse handed to them in Afghanistan??? By the time it's over, BO will be sending troops into Pakistan also...

And the Russians weren't the first. The British retreated from Kabul in 1842. 15,000 troops and civilians left Kabul - one civilian reached safety and it's said (apocryphally) that the Afghanis let him live so he could tell the tale of the 14,999 casualties. Alexander the Great spent 3 years trying to control the place without much success.

If I recall correctly it was Sir Harry Flashman!
Although he was allegedly on General Elphy's staff...

[raycarey]

don't know if i should post this in the republicans in meltdown thread.....

By a margin of 63 to 20, voters said they trusted Mr. Obama more than they trust Congressional Republicans to make the right decision about the nation’s economy.And by a margin 61 to 27, they said they trusted Mr. Obama to keep the nation safe, typically a Republican strong-suit, the poll found. Nearly one-quarter of Republicans said that they trusted Mr. Obama more than Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/us...l.html?_r=1&hp

Obama's war in Afghanistan is a quagmire.

Obama's War. Good one Tex.

beyond absurd. and it seems texpat's inherent partisanship is stronger than his patriotism.

[lysander]

Hmm, how many years did the Ruskies spend getting their arse handed to them in Afghanistan??? By the time it's over, BO will be sending troops into Pakistan also...

And the Russians weren't the first. The British retreated from Kabul in 1842. 15,000 troops and civilians left Kabul - one civilian reached safety and it's said (apocryphally) that the Afghanis let him live so he could tell the tale of the 14,999 casualties. Alexander the Great spent 3 years trying to control the place without much success.

If I recall correctly it was Sir Harry Flashman!
Although he was allegedly on General Elphy's staff...

I think you'll find that Sir Harry Flashman is a fictional character and the Flashman books are a series of novels. The many thousands of people who have died trying to conquer the unconquerable really are real dead people.

[panama hat]

I think you'll find that Sir Harry Flashman is a fictional character and the Flashman books are a series of novels.

Oh dear . . . FoxNews didn't mention that.

[Norton]

Good photoshop job. I mean, how many Turks wear white?

Not Photoshop but granted not Turkey either. Think it was Prague or one of them other Euro "libbie" countries. Someone, somewhere, at anytime can be found protesting something. The significance of a protest has to be put in context with the size of the gathering. The "anti" Obama or "anti" government protests sprinkled throughout the various Issues threads do not have a significant number of supporters to have any impact on policy change. Some of these protests may attract significant support to effect policy but currently they are insignificant.

[Norton]

It's another country FFS. The people of another country have every right to choose who will run the show in their own country. If the US would stop meddling in situations were a party or group that is not the preferred party or group is likely to gain control maybe there would be less folks out there that dislike the US.

Democratically elected leaders -- imagine that. A new government elected by the citizens -- selecting their own leaders. Yeah. That's not real good, is it?

Totally agree. When a country is in the position to freely elect it's leaders the result may not always favor the US. The US should accept the results and work with the elected to maintain good relationships.

Consistency in this area is key to US foriegn policy and if consistent, positive world opinion will follow. When inconsistent, such as the case with Hamas, the US should and will get criticism.

[Norton]

and relatively low approval ratings among Republicans (27%).

Of course it is. The Republican party is in complete disarray. Check the do not approve box is in line with Republican representatives strategy of vote no on any bill in congress.

Senator McCain seems to be one of the few who vote on merit rather than partisan attacks on any Obama initiative. The Republican party needs major change. Suggest those of you who are Republicans get involved in reforming the party to prevent another drubbing in the 2010 elections. Log on here and make yourself heard. I have.

Republican • National • Committee

[raycarey]

The Republican party needs major change. Suggest those of you who are Republicans get involved in reforming the party to prevent another drubbing in the 2010 elections.

they're busy with tea parties.

and they wonder why they're in the wilderness.

[venturalaw]

and relatively low approval ratings among Republicans (27%).

Of course it is. The Republican party is in complete disarray. Check the do not approve box is in line with Republican representatives strategy of vote no on any bill in congress.

Senator McCain seems to be one of the few who vote on merit rather than partisan attacks on any Obama initiative. The Republican party needs major change. Suggest those of you who are Republicans get involved in reforming the party to prevent another drubbing in the 2010 elections. Log on here and make yourself heard. I have.

Republican • National • Committee

A significant bolster for the Republican party is coming from BO. His recent diatribe while overseas of how the US is an "arrogant country", how proud he is of other countries, and of his "deep appreciation" for the Islamic faith" is being broadcast while there is a video of a 17 year old girl from a Muslim country being spanked with a pipe in the street for talking to a man. There is undeniable mounting evidence that BO detests the US and, unfortunately, he achieved the presidency thereby positioning himself to inflict tremendous harm.

[Norton]

There is undeniable mounting evidence that BO detests the US and, unfortunately, he achieved the presidency thereby positioning himself to inflict tremendous harm.

And this undeniable evidence would be?

[venturalaw]

There is undeniable mounting evidence that BO detests the US and, unfortunately, he achieved the presidency thereby positioning himself to inflict tremendous harm.

And this undeniable evidence would be?

The US was built upon individual achievement and initiative which use to be celebrated, not fodder for redistribution. BO became president of a country that he is now chiding by stating, at one point in France of all places, that the US is an arrogant country. Even his wife stated that she was ashamed of the US.
He believes that world conflict is America's fault. His dismantalling of Guantanamo Bay and placing Pineta as the director of the CIA is evidence of his belief that American does not need to have a place for captured terrorists or an intelligence agency that is run by someone who has at least a scintilla of experience. Pineta has none.
My question is what other country would it be better for America to emulate? Name one. BO has stated repeatedly that he feels ashamed of the US. Perhaps some feel this is good for the country. I do not.

[Texpat]

What you're hearing is the liberal guilt in him.

The white half.

[Boon Mee]

You would think BO would feel at home in a country called Turkey. Yet even there, he flounders.
Here we see the Moonbat Messiah declaring to a Muslim nation that 82% Christian America does not consider itself a Christian nation:





Speak for yourself, B. Hussein.
Here he is flinching when a ceremonial shot is fired:





What a whimp. …or maybe it was the Star Spangled Banner that made him flinch. At least he's putting his hand on his heart now...

[Boon Mee]

Hmm, how many years did the Ruskies spend getting their arse handed to them in Afghanistan??? By the time it's over, BO will be sending troops into Pakistan also...

And the Russians weren't the first. The British retreated from Kabul in 1842. 15,000 troops and civilians left Kabul - one civilian reached safety and it's said (apocryphally) that the Afghanis let him live so he could tell the tale of the 14,999 casualties. Alexander the Great spent 3 years trying to control the place without much success.

If I recall correctly it was Sir Harry Flashman!
Although he was allegedly on General Elphy's staff...

I think you'll find that Sir Harry Flashman is a fictional character and the Flashman books are a series of novels. The many thousands of people who have died trying to conquer the unconquerable really are real dead people.

Is that right?

btw, PH - Flashman, if he were alive today, would most likely watch Fox News, eh?

[Texpat]

At least he's putting his hand on his heart now...

Probably a defensive posture...

"US authorities confirmed that Turkish police have arrested a man who claims to have plotted to kill US President Barack Obama when he visited Turkey.

The Secret Service in Washington said Monday night that Turkish National Police arrested the man last Friday in Istanbul. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the president was never in any immediate danger, as Obama arrived in Turkey on Sunday, two days after the man's arrest.

As standard procedure involving a threat against the president overseas, the Secret Service is following up with Turkish authorities regarding the case and is not releasing any information about the suspect, Donovan said.

On Monday, the Saudi daily Al Watan reportedm that Turkish security services has arrested a man of Syrian descent who was planning to assassinate Obama during his trip to Turkey."
US confirms man plotted to kill Obama | Middle East | Jerusalem Post

***

Where is the LOVE?

[venturalaw]

You would think BO would feel at home in a country called Turkey. Yet even there, he flounders.
Here we see the Moonbat Messiah declaring to a Muslim nation that 82% Christian America does not consider itself a Christian nation:





Speak for yourself, B. Hussein.
Here he is flinching when a ceremonial shot is fired:





What a whimp. …or maybe it was the Star Spangled Banner that made him flinch. At least he's putting his hand on his heart now...

Regarding the speach about our not being a Christian nation - he REALLY was stumbling. Unbelievable. I thought he would have been much better prepared (actually he did not sound prepared at all) than that. Didn't he have his ever-present teleprompter?

[venturalaw]

Obama: Most Polarizing President Ever


Monday, April 6, 2009 7:47 PM

Article Font Size


In his first two months in office, President Barack Obama has succeeded in widening the political gulf among Americans more than any other president in modern history, according to a new poll. The "partisan gap" between Republicans and Democrats is 10 points larger than it was under George W. Bush.
The gulf – between Democrats and Republicans who say President Obama is succeeding – is also showing signs of further widening, according to a new Pew Research poll.
The poll indicates that 88 percent of Democrats approve of the president's job performance, while just 27 percent of Republicans say the same thing – a 61-point difference.
By comparison, the gap for President George W. Bush at a similar point in his administration was 51 points. It was 45 for Bill Clinton, 38 for George H. W. Bush, and 46 for Ronald Reagan.
The Pew Research Center poll – a survey of polls six weeks into the Obama era – concluded that despite the frequent calls for bipartisanship, U.S. politics is more polarized than at any equivalent point in the past four decades.
"There is no single answer as to why this is happening," Michael Dimock, the associate director at Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, and the author of this study, told Digital Journal.com. "This polarization is part of a long-term pattern. You see increasing polarization with Reagan and then with Bush and now with Obama.
"One argument is that it is the environment that Obama inherited," Dimock said. "The counter-argument is that people came into this presidency optimistic that he would be bipartisan. However, the polarization that we are seeing with Obama is occurring on both sides. It is not just a Republican issue. Democrats support him uniformly - more than they did under Clinton."
The irony is that Obama has made it a central pillar of his presidency to try and heal what was often described at the bitter partisanship of the last three decades. In the final days of the election campaign, he rebuffed Republican claims to represent the "real America" by saying, "There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else; we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots."
But his strong Democratic support seems to be due to the overwhelmingly liberal Democratic issues that Obama supports in a much more aggressive manner than Bill Clinton did, Dimock said. And that hurts him even more with conservative and moderate Republicans.
"He has taken on an ambitious agenda," Dimock said. "His policies cleave along partisan lines - they are right down the center. Obama's approval results are based on the decisions he has chosen to make."
The Pew findings suggest that, at least up to now, he has been unable to turn back an historic trend in American politics and society, FoxNews.com pointed out. Over the past 40 years the country has grown steadily more polarized.
Richard Nixon at the start of his first term in 1969 had a partisan gap of only 29 percent, and Jimmy Carter in 1977 of only 25 percent. Since then the gulf has widened with every new presidency other than the elder George Bush who succeeded in reducing the gap after Reagan to 38 percent.
"Thirty years ago people on the losing side of an election tended to give new presidents the benefit of the doubt early on, but that seems to have gone," said Dimock.
The explanation for Obama's failure to reintroduce a bipartisan note is in itself polarized, Dimock added.
"Some would argue that he inherited this problem - a nation where divisions were raw and the country divided, despite his best efforts,” he told reporters. “Others will follow the 'he brought it on himself' school of thought, pointing to his ambitious agenda that was always going to ruffle feathers."
© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

[Boon Mee]

Kinda quiet from the 'usual suspects' on this particular display of sucking up, bowing & scraping from BO, eh?

[Jet Gorgon]

^ Kind of an affront to Queen E, innit?

^^Actually, Norts, that was tongue in cheek (as usual). I think many male Turks wear white. Yep, wait for the 15 April tea party protests. I wonder if the libbie press will cover them if the number of protesters is big.

[raycarey]

Actually, Norts, that was tongue in cheek (as usual). I think many male Turks wear white.

Wonder how many of these folks there were. Maybe a pan shot would give us a little better idea. You know something like this.

Good photoshop job. I mean, how many Turks wear white?

of course it was.

just like you were 'joking' when you didn't know about the $2 bill, and didn't know that there were two houses of congress in the US, and that michelle obama was attending cabinet meetings, etc.....

the list of jet's "tongue in cheek" comments goes on and on.