PRESIDENT Obama added a line at the last minute that wasn't in the prepared text of his nuclear-disarmament speech in Prague: "I'm not naive."
He needed the disclaimer because, nearly simultaneous with his speech embracing the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Il launched a three-stage rocket over Japan. Coincidence? "I hate to speculate about North Korean motivations," said Gary Samore, the very mannerly White House coordinator for nonproliferation -- as if speculation were necessary.
North Korea's strategy for two decades has been to engage in spectacular acts of international malfeasance to bully and cajole the world into concessions and aid. In between provocations, Pyongyang has promised several times over to abandon its nuclear program. It has never truly given it up, lest it lose its most prized bargaining chip.
As soon as the UN Security Council passes another ineffectual resolution regretting the defiance of its last ineffectual resolution, the North knows it can eventually find the Obama administration back at a negotiating table for the charade's next act.
The meme in the press was how the test launch made Obama's disarmament speech all the more "urgent." It really makes it all the more childish and dangerous. In setting the goal of "Global Zero" (the program of universal disarmament that sounds a little like a new international Coke product), Obama hitched himself to a project as utopian as President George W. Bush's ambition to end tyranny in the world.
In fact, they're essentially the same goal. The bipartisan congressional Strategic Posture Review concluded in an interim report that to achieve Global Zero would require a "fundamental transformation of the world political order." All significant geopolitical conflicts would have to end, and all untrustworthy governments disappear. The verification regime would have to be so all-encompassing as to constitute a kind of world government.
The administration thinks Global Zero serves a hardheaded purpose against rogue states. The theory is that our arsenal makes us nuclear hypocrites. Only by pursuing its elimination do we gain the moral standing to pressure others to give up their nuclear ambitions.
This misreads the calculations that drive states to seek nuclear programs, and of human nature. If we had zero weapons, there would be even more of a premium on other states acquiring nukes.
The same weakness undercuts all the lesser arms-control schemes Obama touted in his Prague speech, from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to an international nuclear fuel bank: It's easier to get responsible states to comply than the truly dangerous ones -- or they wouldn't be dangerous.
The nuclear gambit is emblematic of Obama's "excuse me" (or "excuse my predecessor and my country") diplomacy. He played to the European crowd by chastising Bush and his countrymen for their arrogance. He took responsibility for starting the financial crisis. He noted his country's diminished power, with evident satisfaction.
All this can be justified as winning over Europe with a soft sell, if it weren't that he got nothing for it.
Obama pleaded for more troops in Afghanistan, arguing correctly that terrorists emanating from that region pose a more direct threat to Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy responded with no additional troops, 150 MPs, and an offer to take one Gitmo detainee when the detention facility closes. At that, he pronounced himself much pleased to be working "with a US president who wants to change the world and who understands that the world does not boil down to simply American frontiers and borders."
Obama referred at a press conference to every country having its "quirks." This is a cute way of saying all nations have their own character and interests. They may applaud our self-flagellation, but it won't change them.
Rex, please... For the sake of your party, please stop quoting right wing publications.
I know it makes you feel better, but you are starting to give Republicans a worse name than they already have.
The Republican Governor in my state raised taxes on cigarettes too. It's really not a left wing conspiracy. You made reference to the Boston Tea Party in another thread over this issue. Are you saying Michigan should hold such an event and separate itself from the greater United States... and if so, does that mean the US shouldn't bail out the big 3 which are based in the Peoples Republic of Michigan ??? There are times when we are individuals, and times when we are Americans. These days I'd rather be an American than try to pull myself up by my own bootstraps in this economy. If that means you have to pay more to smoke - I'm cool with that.
Your myspace page says you make more than a quarter mil every year so what's another buck on a pack of smokes to you anyway? Or is that number inflated because you have to claim all of the customer vehicles you "acquire" as income?
Yes the price increse of 3X on roll your own tobacco got me angry, however it wasnt a state increase, and I am willing to bet the increase where your at wasnt either. It was Federal. I dont know about your governer, but ours is a Canadian native, so I really cant say that I am one bit supprised at whats going on here.
I see what is happening. This is a KILL OR BE KILLED world. If you really think that us giving up our nukes will encourage others to do anything but take us out, then your are sorely mistaken. I say the things I say because I love America, and I understand that we take care of our own so good that many of them fail to realize how good they have it, and therefore think that the rest of the world works the same. I have been outside of the USA and to Europe, and I have seen what things are like.
When you go into the woods or the mountains and get attacked by a bear or lion do you think diplomacy will keep you alive? Im sure your going to rebut with some flimsy statement like "We are not wild animals" however thats just some kind of BS someone whom is in a lessor possition will say to seek mercy. There is nothing wrong with mercy, however it is for the weak. When push comes to shove we are ALL WILD ANIMALS. If placed in a hardship possition of "Do or Die", "Us or them", you cant deny the outcome... Pure survival of the fittest. People like you intend on making us UN-FIT or "Soft". By the time people realize whats going on, it will be too late. The war has been moved from Iraq to the USA, and there is NOTHING civil about it.
I just love how people justify jacking up prices because something is "Bad for your health" yet stand there with their hands out knowing damn well the work you do for that money is likley just as dangerous/bad. Meanwhile they squander it.
What about all the millions the Obama inner circle has made off the bailout? Do you need me to post up that little article?
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
We have conventional weapons like the M.O.A.B that can do nearly as much damage as a nuke without burdening the next 1000 generations with storing the nuclear waste.
Survival of the fittest eh? Is that really what you want? Do you really think you are fit enough to compete with Mafia members even if your survival depended on it. What formal training have you even had in the last 5 years? Your roloc spinning ICPR chucking ass would be kicked soooooooo hard.
Still impressive but you failed to read the article-
"Although its effect has often been compared to that of a nuclear weapon, it is only about one thousandth the power of the atomic bomb used against Hiroshima: it is equivalent to around 11 tons of TNT, whereas the Hiroshima blast was equivalent to 13,000 tons of TNT and modern nuclear missiles are far more powerful than the atomic bomb used against Hiroshima. However, the MOAB bomb's yield is comparable to the smallest of nuclear devices, such as the M-388 Davy Crockett."
Sure its clean... But it sounds somewhat lean...
And the Russians claim to have made one four times more powerful... And people think we should start tossing our nukes... Please nicca!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Well, exactly how many people do we need to kill in one shot for it to be considered a "good" bomb? I imagine we could drop lot's of these for the price of a nuke. And do things a little more surgically in the process while minimizing civilian deaths.
Luckily for you Rex, it's not size that matters but how you use it.
I feel better sleeping at night knowing that if someone fucks with us, we can bring this whole shit house of a planet down.
Its a balance you see.
Sure the M.O.A.B is good for small sized jobs, however if its all out war I rather know we got the big guns.
Fear is a good tool for keeping these radical bastards from over stepping their bounds. It demands respect, and without respect, we would have been taken over by now.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Are you a tree hugger PowerStroker? Because you sure sound like one...
Fear is not respect? Well then I guess Russia should be respected for their ferminted potatoes and wonderful vehicles that get distributed all over the world huh?
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
You think I am a hater because I look out for idiots like yourself.
I am concerned that America has fallen into the wrong hands for the wrong reasons. I feel that much of what you are going to see is phony, in an effort to get re-elected.
I dont like the way Obama has spoken of America or President Bush. You should know that Obama should have given Bush the respect that he expects from others, however he did nothing but bash bush and bring down the moral of the country in an effort to steal the election.
I understand the political affiliation does not change the fact that we are all on the same team. This does not mean that I wish for world war, or the distruction of the planet. I have my opinions, and you have yours. At the end of the day you must live with you and I must live with me.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Words are cheap Rex, I'm confident in my abilities so your childish remarks just roll right off. If you really want to see who the bitch is though, you should apply for a job at my dealership. Though you wouldn't make it as a tech, your ability to sell worthless crap and baffle customers with bullshit would definitely earn you a spot as a service writer.
Where the fuck is Pogo? I'm getting tired of doing this all by myself.
-- Edited by PowerStroker on Wednesday 8th of April 2009 07:43:11 PM