Obama on tour .....

[dancing-loon]

Obama meets Afghan leader Karzai

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has met President Hamid Karzai while on a visit to Afghanistan.

The senator had breakfast with US troops in the city of Kabul.

Mr Obama is later expected to visit Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.

Correspondents say the Illinois senator is hoping to address security issues, seen as the weakest aspect of his bid to win the presidency in November's election.
Opinion polls suggest Americans regard Mr McCain, senator for Arizona, as a better potential commander-in-chief. Here is the latest opinion poll:

TRUSTED ON MIDDLE EAST

Americans with more trust in one candidate than the other to handle the situation involving -

Iraq: McCain 47%, Obama 45%

Iran: McCain 46%, Obama 44%

Israel and the Palestinians: McCain 44%, Obama 42%
In a speech earlier this week, Mr Obama promised to commit at least two more combat brigades - up to 10,000 men - to Afghanistan, if he wins November's election.
He also said the US military should focus on that country rather than Iraq.
Mr Obama also said he would talk to commanders in both Afghanistan and Iraq to find out about their concerns.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7516063.stm
------------------------------------------------------------
That opinion poll doesn't show a significant difference for Obama to worry about.

Too bad he didn't say he would end the war in Afghanistan and rather offer to help rebuild that country. He does disappoint me, but I hope he will show his true nature once he is in the White House... IF he gets that far.

 

[Colpy]

Obama meets Afghan leader Karzai

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has met President Hamid Karzai while on a visit to Afghanistan.

The senator had breakfast with US troops in the city of Kabul.

Mr Obama is later expected to visit Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.

Correspondents say the Illinois senator is hoping to address security issues, seen as the weakest aspect of his bid to win the presidency in November's election.
Opinion polls suggest Americans regard Mr McCain, senator for Arizona, as a better potential commander-in-chief. Here is the latest opinion poll:

TRUSTED ON MIDDLE EAST

Americans with more trust in one candidate than the other to handle the situation involving -

Iraq: McCain 47%, Obama 45%

Iran: McCain 46%, Obama 44%

Israel and the Palestinians: McCain 44%, Obama 42%
In a speech earlier this week, Mr Obama promised to commit at least two more combat brigades - up to 10,000 men - to Afghanistan, if he wins November's election.
He also said the US military should focus on that country rather than Iraq.
Mr Obama also said he would talk to commanders in both Afghanistan and Iraq to find out about their concerns.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7516063.stm
------------------------------------------------------------
That opinion poll doesn't show a significant difference for Obama to worry about.

Too bad he didn't say he would end the war in Afghanistan and rather offer to help rebuild that country. He does disappoint me, but I hope he will show his true nature once he is in the White House... IF he gets that far.

How, exactly, would you end the war in Afghanistan?

 

[scratch]

How, exactly, would you end the war in Afghanistan?

I may speaking through my hat, but this is a tough country. Look what happened to the Soviets/Russians (their Viet Nam).

The U.S. intention has gone far beyond their planning.
It may not be the manly thing to do, but pull out.
You cannot force these people.
Leave them to their own devices.

Just my P.O.V.

 

[dancing-loon]

How, exactly, would you end the war in Afghanistan?

Let's imagine I take over from Bush. I would hold a meeting with all the participating forces and tell them I'm tired! It was never my plan to see that many people killed, civilians as well as soldiers. As of immediately I'm going to pull my troops out, every single one. "Thank you for your loyal support, but I no longer need your help here. Good luck and good bye!"
Mr. Karzai I would tell that I was willing to help with the reconstruction, when needed and when there is peace in the land.

If I was replacing Mr.Harper I would call Bush and tell him he is on his own, I'm taking all my troops home. Good luck; good bye!
Just like scratch said, they have to figure out their own destiny, but I would offer to help fix all the things we broke!

 

[talloola]

Obama meets Afghan leader Karzai

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has met President Hamid Karzai while on a visit to Afghanistan.

The senator had breakfast with US troops in the city of Kabul.

Mr Obama is later expected to visit Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.

Correspondents say the Illinois senator is hoping to address security issues, seen as the weakest aspect of his bid to win the presidency in November's election.
Opinion polls suggest Americans regard Mr McCain, senator for Arizona, as a better potential commander-in-chief. Here is the latest opinion poll:

TRUSTED ON MIDDLE EAST

Americans with more trust in one candidate than the other to handle the situation involving -

Iraq: McCain 47%, Obama 45%

Iran: McCain 46%, Obama 44%

Israel and the Palestinians: McCain 44%, Obama 42%
In a speech earlier this week, Mr Obama promised to commit at least two more combat brigades - up to 10,000 men - to Afghanistan, if he wins November's election.
He also said the US military should focus on that country rather than Iraq.
Mr Obama also said he would talk to commanders in both Afghanistan and Iraq to find out about their concerns.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7516063.stm
------------------------------------------------------------
That opinion poll doesn't show a significant difference for Obama to worry about.

Too bad he didn't say he would end the war in Afghanistan and rather offer to help rebuild that country. He does disappoint me, but I hope he will show his true nature once he is in the White House... IF he gets that far.

There is no way to rebuild the country without defending themselves, they had to protect their own troops who were rebuilding, as they were being attacked while working. It would be nice to have peacekeeping and rebuilding, but there is no peace,
and taliban isn't interested in it.
The taliban don't want peace, they want to continue ravaging the people, killing and
violating families, and enforcing thier ancient violent/tribal laws.

 

[Kreskin]

I hope President Obama has a good trip.

 

[darkbeaver]

There is no way to rebuild the country without defending themselves, they had to protect their own troops who were rebuilding, as they were being attacked while working. It would be nice to have peacekeeping and rebuilding, but there is no peace,
and taliban isn't interested in it.
The taliban don't want peace, they want to continue ravaging the people, killing and
violating families, and enforcing thier ancient violent/tribal laws.

Good thing they don't have B52s and Apachee helecopters eh, then they could obliterate thier own wedding partys themselves without the heroic Coalition of right perfect liberators eh.

 

[scratch]

Good thing they don't have B52s and Apachee helecopters eh, then they could obliterate thier own wedding partys themselves without the heroic Coalition of right perfect liberators eh.

Good One , dark.

 

[dancing-loon]

Barack Obama begins firsthand inspection of Iraq

U.S. (president;-)) Barack Obama, left, talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday.

While in Iraq, the senator will meet with U.S. commanders on the ground to discuss progress in a war he has pledged to end.

He will also meet with Iraqi leaders to explain details of his proposals for troop withdrawals.
Obama has long opposed the Iraq war and now fears that an open-ended mission there will drain military resources and focus.

"The senator is on a fact-finding mission and he'll come back and he'll evaluate with his top advisers (about) what he saw," Steven Cook, with the Council on Foreign Relations, told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.
~ ~ ~ ~
On Sunday, Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, telling him the U.S. will fight terrorism "with vigour" if elected. Obama also continued to press for a troop "surge" to help battle the increasingly deadly situation in Afghanistan.

The senator sees the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan as the most important battle facing America.

Cook said Afghanistan has started to take centre stage in the U.S. because the situation has deteriorated there so rapidly in the last six months.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc...q_Obama_080721
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Obama is doing o.k. sofar. The presidents of both countries had no problem meeting and talking with him.
I agree with him on troop withdrawal from Iraq, better still a complete withdrawal! Let's wait, and hear what Petraeus will tell him.

 

[talloola]

Good thing they don't have B52s and Apachee helecopters eh, then they could obliterate thier own wedding partys themselves without the heroic Coalition of right perfect liberators eh.

You're right (even with the sarcasm),if ever those 'religious driven' people get sofisticated weapons they will
destroy the world, maybe with a good dose of western style attitude over there,
a few of them will decide to mellow out a little and 'just' live.
At the moment those just have shoulder fired rockts and guns and they still probably
pack swords.
I think all of the women should move out, I know I would, but then I would be killed
by one of those men in seconds, as soon as I refused to wear that stupid thing on my
head, or wrap myself in some kind of drapery. Think I will stay home.:-?

I'm not satisfied to walk away from the taliban and just 'turn' my back and let them treat
those people the way they do. we can live our cushy little lives here, and pretend those
things dont happen to the 'real' citizens of that country, well, I can't do that.
Keep it front and center, and slowly, over time, the people will get stronger and
the women more educated, and they can move up and out of that prisoner like atomospher the taliban thrust on them.

 

[thomaska]

Cliff Notes of Obama's babblings in Jordan...

1. “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.”
2. As commander-in-chief, er, rather, when I’m commander-in-chief…
3. The surge I opposed is working.
4. The architect of the surge, Gen. David Petraeus, is going to waste money on electricity projects, so I must be there to stop him.
5. “Ummmmmm.”
6. Now, stop asking me questions and take pictures.
And 7. “Israel is a strong friend of Israel.”

The Tour de Farce continues…

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/07/22/cliff-notes-version-of-obama-press-conference-in-jordan/

 

[dancing-loon]

There is no way to rebuild the country without defending themselves, they had to protect their own troops who were rebuilding, as they were being attacked while working. It would be nice to have peacekeeping and rebuilding, but there is no peace, and Taliban isn't interested in it.
The Taliban don't want peace, they want to continue ravaging the people, killing and violating families, and enforcing their ancient violent/tribal laws.

I believe, once the occupying forces speak a softer, more conciliatory tone and stop isolating and ostracizing the Taliban, they will come around and settle peacefully amongst the Afghan people. Whether they will be the rulers depends a lot on the people. I could imagine that they will have dialogs, discussions and negotiations between themselves. If wanted, they could ask for mediators from a neutral country. The whole experience of the last decades will surely have taught them something! The main thing is to get the unwanted foreigners out of their country and allow them to conduct their own affairs... allow them to be the captain of their ship!!

Talloola, I'm afraid we here in the West get news and facts presented that are not completely in harmony with the real truth over there. It is so easy for us to fall in the same media groove that is conditioned to make it necessary for us to be there and protect them from their own people, as if they were totally helpless. We, the West, are accruing a shyte-load of bad karma for ourselves. We have absolutely no right to condemn and kill a group of people who have never touched us, never harmed us. The truth is we are there for our own egotistic reasons.

 

[talloola]

I believe, once the occupying forces speak a softer, more conciliatory tone and stop isolating and ostracizing the Taliban, they will come around and settle peacefully amongst the Afghan people. Whether they will be the rulers depends a lot on the people. I could imagine that they will have dialogs, discussions and negotiations between themselves. If wanted, they could ask for mediators from a neutral country. The whole experience of the last decades will surely have taught them something! The main thing is to get the unwanted foreigners out of their country and allow them to conduct their own affairs... allow them to be the captain of their ship!!

Talloola, I'm afraid we here in the West get news and facts presented that are not completely in harmony with the real truth over there. It is so easy for us to fall in the same media groove that is conditioned to make it necessary for us to be there and protect them from their own people, as if they were totally helpless. We, the West, are accruing a shyte-load of bad karma for ourselves. We have absolutely no right to condemn and kill a group of people who have never touched us, never harmed us. The truth is we are there for our own egotistic reasons.

The truth is, they all went there as a retalliation for 911, simple. It could have been
almost peacefull there now, if bush hadn't turned his back and 'for his own egotistical
reasons' attacked iraq.
The taliban are not a friend of the afghans, many different documentaries and other
sources have shown me how they tried to occupy that country, take over to become
their government. Karzi doesn't seem to have enough power or forces to sort this out on his own, he does need help.
I know all of those people have their own agenda, so it is very difficult to 'just' help
them. Their first concern is, making enough money to feed their families.

I thoroughly understand how our media try to manipulate us, and they don't even do
it on purpose, they just need a story, and they scramble each day to fill their space, and it is they who are fooled, but
they really don't care, as long as they write something interesting, catch the eye of
the public, and raise a few eyebrows in disgust.
One has to search many sources, and even then we don't know it all, that is for sure.
We have to also know what they do tell us, that is 'true', as that is there too, mixed
with all of their hype.

 

[scratch]

I believe, once the occupying forces speak a softer, more conciliatory tone and stop isolating and ostracizing the Taliban, they will come around and settle peacefully amongst the Afghan people. Whether they will be the rulers depends a lot on the people. I could imagine that they will have dialogs, discussions and negotiations between themselves. If wanted, they could ask for mediators from a neutral country. The whole experience of the last decades will surely have taught them something! The main thing is to get the unwanted foreigners out of their country and allow them to conduct their own affairs... allow them to be the captain of their ship!!

Talloola, I'm afraid we here in the West get news and facts presented that are not completely in harmony with the real truth over there. It is so easy for us to fall in the same media groove that is conditioned to make it necessary for us to be there and protect them from their own people, as if they were totally helpless. We, the West, are accruing a shyte-load of bad karma for ourselves. We have absolutely no right to condemn and kill a group of people who have never touched us, never harmed us. The truth is we are there for our own egotistic reasons.

I'll agree to that.

 

[dancing-loon]

'This is our moment'

BERLIN — Before an enormous crowd, Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Thursday summoned Europeans and Americans together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it" as surely as they conquered communism a generation ago. (he is my man!!!)

"The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand," Mr. Obama said, speaking not far from where the Berlin Wall once divided the city.
"The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand," he said.

Mr. Obama said he was speaking as a citizen, not as a president, but the evening was awash in politics.

"People of Berlin, people of the world, this is our moment. This is our time," he said. (I agree!!!)

Knots of bystanders waited along Mr. Obama's motorcade route for him to pass. One man yelled out in English, "Yes, we can," the senator's campaign refrain, when he emerged from his car to enter his hotel.

Mr. Obama drew loud applause as he strode confidently across a large podium erected at the base of the Victory Column in Tiergarten Park in the heart of Berlin. (aha, not the Brandenburg Gates!)

Full story here...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
----------------------------------------------------------
I'm so happy the German people received him with open hearts.

 

[talloola]

He will repair the damages that were caused by bush. The international community will,
and allready see his 'broadminded' approach to 'life on this earth', and his willingness and
insistance to be 'diplomatic', which is a very 'strong' position, and not weak at all, as the
right wing preach.

They are so 'rigid' and 'stubborn', and they themselves take a position
that is dangerous, violence just breeds violence, and it seems from so many remarks and
speeches over the last 8 years, that the republicans really 'enjoy' the war game, and look
for any reason to throw it about, and threaten, and talk about themselves as the supreme
leader in the world, well, they have abused that position, and now they are looked upon as the bullies.

 

[Kreskin]

I wonder if the majority of Americans understand how much influence they will have worldwide if they elect him. The world wants to unite behind Obama. I hope he is successful. It will make for good TV, if nothing else.

 

[Colpy]

I wonder if the majority of Americans understand how much influence they will have worldwide if they elect him. The world wants to unite behind Obama. I hope he is successful. It will make for good TV, if nothing else.

You mean the way the world wanted to unite behind Bush on Sept. 12, 2001?

 

[Kreskin]

You mean the way the world wanted to unite behind Bush on Sept. 12, 2001?

The world wanted to unite then Bush wanted to divide. No, he was a complete asshole. He couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery.

 

[no color]

Cliff Notes of Obama's babblings in Jordan...

1. “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.”
2. As commander-in-chief, er, rather, when I’m commander-in-chief…
3. The surge I opposed is working.
4. The architect of the surge, Gen. David Petraeus, is going to waste money on electricity projects, so I must be there to stop him.
5. “Ummmmmm.”
6. Now, stop asking me questions and take pictures.
And 7. “Israel is a strong friend of Israel.”

The Tour de Farce continues…

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/07/22/cliff-notes-version-of-obama-press-conference-in-jordan/

What in blue blazes is Obama waiting for to admit that he was wrong. He opposed the surge and it turns out that the surge has worked effectively to stabilize Iraq and force the insurgents to retreat. Be a man and admit that you were wrong for God sakes! :x