Obama's Cabinet - Term 2

[Duchess]

I think in regards to that type of thing they are damned if they do & damned if they don't.

I don't know what the answer is, I have all I can do just to manage my own Kingdom.

[Cynical Ninja]

[quote='Cynical Ninja' pid='335644' dateline='1376241151']
I think the west needs to stay actively engaged diplomatically to protect our interests and not get taken off guard by regimes that have their sights set on forcibly expanding their domination beyond their own borders.

But, I agree that acting as puppeteers and/or trying to exert leadership control over other countries/regions (Middle Eastern or otherwise) is a strategy that typically backfires, for all parties involved.

I don't know.

I wish we could get away from the middle eastern oil barrel teat.

Haven't they found lots of new oil reserves in the US recently? I'd rather the UK buy oil from you than ragheads and kikes. We've got an increasing number of wind turbine farms in the UK and we have started fracking in the UK for gas as well.

Can we in the west not get off the middle eastern oil teat anytime soon?

[Cynical Ninja]

I think the west needs to stay actively engaged diplomatically to protect our interests and not get taken off guard by regimes that have their sights set on forcibly expanding their domination beyond their own borders.

But, I agree that acting as puppeteers and/or trying to exert leadership control over other countries/regions (Middle Eastern or otherwise) is a strategy that typically backfires, for all parties involved.

I don't know.

I wish we could get away from the middle eastern oil barrel teat.

Haven't they found lots of new oil reserves in the US recently? I'd rather the UK buy oil from you than ragheads and kikes. We've got an increasing number of wind turbine farms in the UK and we have started fracking in the UK for gas as well.

Can we in the west not get off the middle eastern oil teat anytime soon?

[Cynical Ninja]

Meh!

I give up.

This is the only forum I post on where this happens.

[HairOfTheDog]

Meh!

I give up.

This is the only forum I post on where this happens.

(Fixed the tags to display your post above this one, CN.)

I don't think oil is the only reason that the west is so vested in the Middle East.

The threat of WMDs being produced and deployed certainly ranks high on the list of concerns, IMO.

[HairOfTheDog]

A New Year Approaches -- Out with The Old, In with the New

Restocking the Cabinet


Chuck Hagel and Eric Holder

So......today, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced his resignation. He lasted almost two years and is the third person to hold the position since Obama's been in the White House. He will reportedly stay on board until a replacement takes over. Hagel was pushed out, reportedly because Obama wasn't happy with his Middle East policy. He'd recently questioned Obama's Syria policy. The full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/24...11426.html

And.....last month, US Attorney General Erich Holder confirmed that he is leaving the administration at the end of the year. He promised Obama six years when he first accepted the nomination, so his departure isn't entirely unexpected. I wonder if Obama had hoped Holder could be persuaded to stay two more years to finish out Obama's tenure.

[Maggot]

I think Hagel was fired because he said things Obama didn't want to hear. He does have a history of ignoring facts and Congress.

[Duchess]

None of them work for us. Has anything at all been accomplished in the last two administrations? Have Bush and Obama done anything positive for our country? Something is going to have to be pretty goddamn special to get my ass to the polls ever again.

[Carsman]

None of them work for us. Has anything at all been accomplished in the last two administrations? Have Bush and Obama done anything positive for our country? Something is going to have to be pretty goddamn special to get my ass to the polls ever again.

Will Hillary get you there?
(She'll get me there, only to vote her down!)

[Duchess]

Will Hillary get you there?
(She'll get me there, only to vote her down!)

I don't know, Cars but if my vote cancels out yours, I'm going for it.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think Hagel was fired because he said things Obama didn't want to hear. He does have a history of ignoring facts and Congress.

I think you're right. Hagel wasn't technically 'fired'. But (like Bernanke), he was pretty much fired.

Here's what David Rothkopf had to say about Hagel's departure in a CNN op ed piece today:
Yes, things have been coming to a head with Hagel for a while. There was reportedly a tough memo he wrote to national security adviser Susan Rice taking issue with the administration's handling of the crisis in Syria. The details have yet to be leaked, but apparently it caused a firestorm in the White House.

In addition, remarks by Hagel and senior military officials such as Gen. Martin Dempsey on how to fight ISIS have revealed gaps between the White House and Pentagon thinking that have frustrated officials close to Obama.

In fact, it is not passivity or weakness that some thought Hagel would bring to the job that have caused his downfall. Rather it was in part caused by his toughness and refusal to be just one more comfortable insider from the Senate club that is all Obama knew of Washington before he took office as President.

Indeed, the real problem that brought down Hagel had little to do with Hagel at all. It had to do with the fact that since Rice took over as national security adviser, the Obama administration has been buffeted by a stunning series of foreign policy missteps and challenges that have shaken confidence in the President at home and abroad.

These include growing chaos in the wake of the intervention in Libya, the consequences of pulling out too quickly in Iraq, compounded by the consequences of failing to take effective action of any sort in Syria, the resultant rise of ISIS, the mishandling of the National Security Agency revelations in ways that alienated our allies, the weak response to the Crimean adventure of Vladimir Putin and a host of related problems.

None of these can be traced to Hagel. Rather they are linked to a broken national security process, a President who has become reactive -- not proactive -- and defensive, who is more tactical than strategic and who, unlike past presidents serving a second term, has shown a resistance to growing in office as a statesman.

Full piece: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/24/opinio...?hpt=hp_t5

I don't agree with every example Rothkopf uses to support his theory as to why Hagel is out on his ass, but I think his theory is correct.

[Maggot]

Good lord..........Their gonna stick a yes man or woman in there. My son made a lego guy the other day called a micro-manager, its looks like a robot and I call him Barry. He doesn't know why but the name stuck. My wife thinks I'm an asshole but so what, She can shovel out her own car. My child has no clue.

[HairOfTheDog]

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Nominee


^ General Joseph Dunford identified his list of top threat to U.S. national security during his confirmation hearing today.

1. Russia:
"Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security," Gen. Joseph Dunford told the Senate Armed Services committee during his confirmation hearing to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

With its large nuclear arsenal, destabilizing role in Ukraine and threat to NATO nations on its borders, Russia presents a significant challenge to the U.S., even as it faces threats like that of ISIS.

Dunford told committee Chairman John McCain, an Arizona Republican, that it would be "reasonable" for the United States to provide sophisticated anti-tank and artillery assistance to the Ukrainian government in response to the situation in eastern Ukraine.

"Frankly, without that kind of support, they're not going to be able to protect themselves against Russian aggression," he said. Other top U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, have also voiced their support for supplying such weapons to Ukraine, but the Obama administration has declined to do so at this point.

2. China:
Dunford said China falls right behind Russia because of their capabilities and their behavior throughout the Asia Pacific.

China has been increasingly assertive in the South China and East China Seas, building up artificial islands for possible military use and asserting territorial rights disputed by their neighbors, most of whom are American allies.

While he said China does not currently pose a direct threat to U.S. national security, their activities bear watching.

3. Iran:
In the Middle East, he pointed to Iran as "the most destabilizing element" in the region and "clearly a malign influence."

He pointed to Tehran's support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as its involvement in Syria and Iraq.

He added, "They're creating, I think -- they're exacerbating, at least -- the Sunni-Shia sectarianism across the region."

Honorable mentions: North Korea and ISIS:
NK's ballistic missile capabilities. along with the growing international threat of ISIS, were among the threats Dunford noted wihen asked.

Other - Syria:
On the recent disclosure by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter that the U.S. has only trained 60 individuals in Syria to fight ISIS, Dunford said that that low figure had to do with the intense vetting done for the program. He adding that there would need to be a change in U.S. policy before such forces were able to also take on the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

If confirmed, Dunford, the current commandant of the Marine Corps and former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, will face an uncertain budget environment for the armed services, with the threat of forced cuts through sequestration looming later this year.

Ref: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/09/politi...index.html

[BlueTiki]

1. Russia:
"Russia presents the greatest threat to our national security,"

With its large nuclear arsenal . . .

2. China:
Dunford said China falls right behind Russia because of their capabilities . . .

Honorable mentions: North Korea
NK's ballistic missile capabilities.

This sounds eerily familiar to cold war rhetoric.

Commies and nukes . . . how 'bout Iranian nukes?

Time to Netflix Dr. Strangelove.

And not drink fluoridated water.

[Jimbone]

Funny, that sounds really familiar... where did I hear it before?

Oh yeah, Mitt Romney said that and Obama made fun of him.

[HairOfTheDog]

You might also have heard it several times from Hillary Clinton.

She reiterated her opinions about potential national security threats to the U.S. again back in January.


"No other country on earth is better positioned to thrive in a XXI century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats from countries like Russia, North Korea and Iran, and to deal with the rise of new powers like China."

She also stressed that the United States is prepared to counter such emerging threats as cyberattacks and terror networks, in particular the Islamic State group's expansion.

[Jimbone]

She should know, after beclowning herself with that ridiculous reset button stunt with Russia.

[HairOfTheDog]

I wish that reset attempt had been successful.