September 18, 2009
And these are responses from our international friends!
Headlines from Polish and Czech newspapers:
"Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back," the Polish tabloid Fakt declared on its front page."No Radar. Russia won," the largest Czech daily, Mlada Fronta Dnes, declared in a front-page headline.
Aren't you glad George W. Bush isn't president anymore so the United States can realize improved relationships with foreign countries?
Obama punishes international democrats and rewards international tyrants
ADDENDUM #1:
Polish Prime Minister, Peeved Over Missile Shield Reversal, Rejects Call from Clinton.
Democrats to Obama: Um, what exactly are we getting for selling out Poland to Russia?
What are you getting? You’re getting the same thing you got when he sold out Honduras to Chavez over that non-coup "coup" they staged: The warm fuzzy glow of knowing that George Bush would heartily disapprove...If you’re looking for tea leaves to read about future cooperation, enjoy this piece from Russian media suggesting that the U.S. backing down on missile defense is hardly a concession at all, in which case why would a quid pro quo be necessary? Oh, and this one too from Fox News reminding us that Iran somehow managed to launch a satellite into space earlier this year, which suggests the sort of near-term long-range missile capability that our crack intel team now insists doesn’t require defending against.
ADDENDUM #2:
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright spoke at a forum in Omsk, Siberia. Pravda reported that her speech "surprised the audience." No wonder. The Russians in attendance must have wondered how they managed to lose the cold war:Madeleine Albright said during the meeting that America no longer had the intention of being the first nation of the world...The former US Secretary of State surprised the audience with her speech. She particularly said that democracy was not the perfect system. "It can be contradictory, corrupt and may have security problems," Albright said.
America has been having hard times recently, Albright said.
"We have been talking about our exceptionalism during the recent eight years. Now, an average American wants to stay at home - they do not need any overseas adventures. We do not need new enemies," Albright said adding that Beijing, London and Delhi became a serious competition for Washington and New York.
"My generation has made many mistakes. We give the future into the hands of the young. Your prime goal is to overcome the gap between the poor and the rich,' the former head of the US foreign political department said.
There you have it. And Albright was Secretary of State during the relatively moderate Clinton administration. I'm afraid she speaks for most Democratic foreign policy "experts." Promoting American weakness: it's not a bug, it's a feature.
By the way, since "overcoming the gap between the poor and the rich" is the world's number one priority, do you suppose Albright waived her speaker's fee, which is listed coyly as more than $40,000? No, I don't think so, either.
good to see we care about what polish "tabloids" say. Next lets look at the national enquierer about what to do with healthcare. If you read further in that article you cited, the reasoning is due to "the old plan was scrapped in part because the U.S. has concluded that Iran is less focused on developing the kind of long-range missiles for which the system was originally developed, making the building of an expensive new shield unnecessary. Since when does dealing with major powers (i.e. iran/russia) take a backseat to relations with Poland/Czech Repub.? Wouldn't commonsense dictate that economic agreements and other security matters also impact relations, thus the missile shield will only harm relations in the short term if at all? Also, since when do other nations saberrattling dictate what we as a nation should do? It seems like someone hasn't read up on IR and foreign relations since the end of the cold war. Or maybe its due to only chosing to read commentary magazine and the national review. I dont necc. believe in many of the administrations foreign policy choices, however critique it where it deserves it with detail. Don't make blanket claims about how we are "less safe" or other existential claims of threat, your just as loony as the lefties that claimed Bush ruined America's image in the world.
Posted by: steadman at September 18, 2009 1:08 PMThe East Europeans have been our staunch allies since 1989 when the communist horror was lifted off their backs.
The leftists in the US never backed Radio Free Europe or any other attempt to help these oppressed people.They weren't the right types of folks you see.Instead they kissed ass on the Soviets.
Now that the leftists have gotten power they're selling our integrity as trusted friends down the river with the Czech Republic,Poland,Bulgaria,Hungary,Slovakia,and Romania.
Obama is showing his ass again,this time to Putin.It wasn't enough when he abased himself with the Saudi tyrant.
Obama has an aversion to democratically elected leaders.
I am concerned what shape we'll be in our years down the road.
Afterthought:The Poles,Czechs,and Hungarians in particular must really be getting sick of being butt*****d by the western "democracies".
The East Europeans forgave us for urging the Hungrians and Czechs to insurgency against the Soviet Union, promising U.S. aid if they did - happened during the Eisenhower Administration. There were thousands killed and jailed as a result of our raising false hopes of support.
I suppose that they'll get over this one a lot easier than they did in 1956.
Also, you may want to check out the fine print in the current proposal and you'll find that mobile missile sites can be established in Central Europe. Not a word about that from your carping contributors. Incidentally, NATO thinks the new treaty is a good idea.
OldTimeLefty
Posted by: OldTimeLefty at September 19, 2009 1:02 PMoTL-nice to know you give a rat's ass about what NATO thinks.
Posted by: joe bernstein at September 19, 2009 3:51 PMjoe,
Why do you place the opinion of two governments over the opinion of the 28 nations that comprise NATO. Do I have to remind you that NATO supports and approves of the Obama plan.
In terms of staunch allies, the numbers are again against you as the East Europeans have been our staunch allies since 1989, NATO since 1949; do the math, it's a 40 year difference. Your argument based on "loyal since 1989" goes nowhere except to demonstrate that you made up your mind and then proceeded to argue. I expected more from you.
Well, it's disappointing, but not surprising that numbers or facts have no bearing on prejudiced opinions.
OldTimeLefty
Posted by: 0ldTimeLefty at September 20, 2009 1:05 PM