Juan Cole, who IS a Middle East expert, knows who is NOT one when he sees them: eg. John McCain.
McCain: “Will the next President have the experience, the judgment experience informs, and the strength of purpose to respond to each of these developments in ways that strengthen our security and advance the global progress of our ideals? Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?'”
Cole:
These remarks were aimed at Barack Obama, and they are lies. McCain has repeatedly made this false charge, warning against sending troops to Waziristan. But Obama never advocated invading Pakistan with US ground troops. He said that the US should strike at al-Qaeda if it had actionable intelligence about its whereabouts in Pakistan, even if the Pakistani authorities refused to give permission.
This stance is US policy. In fact, George W. Bush implemented it with a Predator attack on an al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan just a couple of weeks ago, an attack that the Pakistani government declined to authorize.Actually, one of our overly deferential journalists should please get some backbone and just ask McCain what he would do if he had intelligence on Bin Laden’s whereabouts in Pakistan and could not get authorization from Islamabad to strike at him.
I personally think that Obama was unwise to make the statement he did, because there are some things better left unsaid. But aside from pure pacifists, what American would not pull the trigger on that old monster Usamah if he or she had the chance? I mind McCain pulling a Rove and making hay with a policy stance of his opponent that he actually agrees with.
And I think there is good reason to ask whether McCain helped create al-Qaeda and the mess in Pakistan to begin with. It is time for someone to start holding the Cold Warriors who deployed a militant Muslim covert army against their leftist enemies accountable for the blow-back they created.
Moreover, does McCain really know much about how the world works? Does he really understand Middle Eastern history?
McCain thinks when “only’ 4 US troops are wounded in a single day in Iraq, or when only 15 Iraqi police are killed in mortar strikes in a single day, that is a sign of ‘calm’ and that the ‘surge is working’ in Iraq, and it is all right for us to put up with these US casualties for the next 100 years and spend $9 billion a month on this boondoggle for his friends in Houston.
Check out Juan’s post here. He is none to pleased about McCain hoisting himself as the “security” solution, and sess him as complicit in much of the Bush administration’s disastrous policies.
Crap like this is why I WILL vote, even though I maintain a big share of doubt about how idyllic an Obama administration would be (although I want to see a fair amount of UNDOING of the “Bush shit” that has built up and hangs all over everything he and his minions have touched). This most excellent post by Charlie Pardue yesterday: Why I’m not Voting For Obama has much in it with which I heartily agree, but I just can’t abstain, because the Bush/Cheney/Rove Republicans have to go, and be soundly humiliated as they deserve, for the crimes against the world they have unleashed, not to mention the thorough poisoning of politics they have unleashed, along with their minion media outlets like Fox News. Their style of vile, cynical, and corrupt politics have to be put down.
It won’t be the Kingdom of God we’re voting for, but simply a refusal to proxy for the same old shit. Obama might disappoint, but we might be able to spray on some Lysol onto our disease infested political leadership in our country.
My vote is not so much a vote of confidence as it is a vote of rebuke and to say “SOMETHING else will have to do”.
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