jsteele
Post 09/13/2012 16:20     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:
For starters, he could have taken a day off from campaigning in Vegas. He could have met with the president of one of the only Middle Eastern countries that hasn't attacked one of our embassies or killed Americans.


Assuming you are talking about Netanyahu, you have an accuracy rate that would make Mittens blush. Netanyahu is the Prime Minister, not President. He is not in the US, so Obama could not have met with him, and Israel has killed Americans. Have you heard of Rachel Courie ore the USS Liberty?

So, actually, you don't have a practical suggestion for what Obama should have done.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 16:11     Subject: Re:Is this what you want from a leader?
OP, I can only assume that you have completely forgotten that we were not greeted in the streets as "liberators" following the Iraq invasion. That we waged a wholly unnecessary war without a plan to win the hearts and minds of the occupied and that it was left to the next president to dedicate the time and resources to find the mastermind of 9/11 because the prior administration decided it was no longer worth the time and expense.

I no longer work in the international arena - takes tact, sense of good timing, and patience as well as deep knowledge. Perhaps you are unaware, but the poll after poll shows that the American people believe that Democrats are more capable to handle international affairs than Republicans. This may be due to the eight years under Bush-Cheney Inc where the MO was to shoot first and aim later.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 16:06     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His description seems pretty spot on and diplomatic to me.


Our embassy in Libya was attacked. Our ambassador and other citizens were murdered. Now, our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere have been attacked. It might be because of an offensive video. And Obama is being diplomatic. Am I supposed to think that's a good thing?


Don't you know? Diplomacy with nations where Americans have been violently killed is a good thing. However, diplomacy with the only Middle Eastern nation who has not attacked an American embassy, ambassador, or citizen is a bad thing.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 16:03     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His description seems pretty spot on and diplomatic to me.


Our embassy in Libya was attacked. Our ambassador and other citizens were murdered. Now, our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere have been attacked. It might be because of an offensive video. And Obama is being diplomatic. Am I supposed to think that's a good thing?


What exactly would you have him do?

For starters, he could have taken a day off from campaigning in Vegas. He could have met with the president of one of the only Middle Eastern countries that hasn't attacked one of our embassies or killed Americans.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:38     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His description seems pretty spot on and diplomatic to me.


Our embassy in Libya was attacked. Our ambassador and other citizens were murdered. Now, our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere have been attacked. It might be because of an offensive video. And Obama is being diplomatic. Am I supposed to think that's a good thing?


What exactly would you have him do?
jsteele
Post 09/13/2012 15:28     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:His description seems pretty spot on and diplomatic to me.


Our embassy in Libya was attacked. Our ambassador and other citizens were murdered. Now, our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere have been attacked. It might be because of an offensive video. And Obama is being diplomatic. Am I supposed to think that's a good thing?


Yeah, I think you should be glad that he is not inflaming the situation. He has also made a number of statements saying that the perpetrators of the attack in Libya will be brought to justice. Do you have any understanding of the consequences of inflaming our relationship with Egypt? Alienate Egypt and we won't have to worry about Israel attacking Iran. It will have its hands full already.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:22     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:His description seems pretty spot on and diplomatic to me.


Our embassy in Libya was attacked. Our ambassador and other citizens were murdered. Now, our embassies in Egypt, Yemen, and elsewhere have been attacked. It might be because of an offensive video. And Obama is being diplomatic. Am I supposed to think that's a good thing?
jsteele
Post 09/13/2012 15:19     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP. I don't have a view if Egypt should or should not be our ally. I do think our president should be able to say plainly which is the case. Have we not learned from Jimmy Carter that diplomacy does not work in the middle east?

I hear all the time what a great orator Obama is, how smart he is. He can't even explain something as simple as "Egypt is not our ally" in plain language. Romney said what he meant about the Middle East situation, and people think that's horrible.

Mushy language is good. Speaking plainly is not being diplomatic. I get it now.


That's not far from the truth when it comes to international relations. Your suggestion that Obama should clearly say that "Egypt is not our ally" is pretty remarkable.

BTW, this "Carter" to whom you refer. Is that the same "Carter" whose diplomacy led to Sadat going to Jerusalem? The "Carter" that led the Camp David peace process that culminated in Egypt and Israel signing a peace treaty? Is that the Carter that is supposed to have demonstrated that diplomacy doesn't work in the Middle East?
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:18     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
How did this turn into a Romney thread?
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:16     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
My family is Egyptian and I agree with Obama. Egypt's not an ally. It's not an enemy. Nobody is sure which direction the relationship will head. Why put a name to it if there is none?
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:13     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Nothing Obama said in this context contradicts the State Depr.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:11     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
I'm the OP. I don't have a view if Egypt should or should not be our ally. I do think our president should be able to say plainly which is the case. Have we not learned from Jimmy Carter that diplomacy does not work in the middle east?

I hear all the time what a great orator Obama is, how smart he is. He can't even explain something as simple as "Egypt is not our ally" in plain language. Romney said what he meant about the Middle East situation, and people think that's horrible.

Mushy language is good. Speaking plainly is not being diplomatic. I get it now.
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:10     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:Well except that the US Govt. has designated Egypt as a "Major Non-NATO Ally" since 1989.

And now the State Department has said that Egypt is an "ally."

That is your foreign relations lesson for the day.


There've been some changes in Egypt recently that might make a good leader take a step back and reconsider the relationship.

But I am not surprised that you object to having a leader who "thinks."
Anonymous
Post 09/13/2012 15:10     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/obama-egypt_n_1879549.html

In this video interview Obama is asked about America's relationship with Egypt. He says, "I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy,"

This is not how a true leader speaks. The mushy language ("I don't think" "we don't consider them") doesn't tell me if Egypt is actually an ally or not. He is our president. He and his state department need to tell us if Egypt is or is not our ally, not what he "thinks" or "considers" to be the case. The way he speaks just disgusts me. He seems so passive and dispassionate about the whole thing. He says a few facts as though he's broadcasting the weather, but he says nothing about what he plans to do regarding our relationship with Egypt. Just sit back and see what the Egyptians do. He can get all riled up during a political convention or at a fundraiser. But he has been completely incompetent in his foreign policy. No, he has not earned his Nobel Peace Prize, not even a little bit.

This isn't the first time he's under-reacted, just the biggest and most recent time.


Why? Satisfying your curiosity is not a good reason to take hasty positions that can't be undone. Do you really want someone who goes off half-cocked and stakes out a position in the middle of an ever-evolving situstion, no matter what the consequences are?
jsteele
Post 09/13/2012 15:08     Subject: Is this what you want from a leader?
Anonymous wrote:How did Mitt lie about the administration's statements?


He said the administration's first reaction to the attack on our embassy was to apologize for our values. The statement in question came from the Embassy in Egypt, not from the White House. It merely criticized anti-religious bigotry and was issued before the demonstrations, not in response to them. So, he lied about who made the statement, the nature of the statement, and when the statement was made. That's pretty amazing for such a short statement.