Senator Marco Rubio has penned an op-ed in the Washington Post, noting how bad Obama’s Middle East policies have failed
The fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to the Islamic State and recent gains by the group in Syria are the latest signs that President Obama’s strategy to defeat this brutal terrorist group is failing. But the problem is far bigger than that. The president’s entire approach to the Middle East has backfired.
The Middle East is more dangerous and unstable than when Obama came into office — a time when Iraq and Syria were more stable, the Iranian nuclear program was considerably less advanced and the Islamic State did not yet exist.
Much of this instability is a result of Obama’s disengagement from the region, best symbolized by the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. The vacuum created by America’s pullback has been filled by bad actors, including terrorist extremists, both Sunni and Shiite, who have flourished in the absence of U.S. leadership.
There’s a few more paragraphs of that, noting the rise of ISIS and the problems with Iran, which fails to delve into how bad Obama’s Libya policies were and are, how he started a war then just let things go, his failure to engage during the Iranian Green Uprising and the Arab Spring, his botched Egyptian policies, his poor Israeli policies, has poor Syria policies, which leads into his ideas for the Middle East, which are (read the entire op-ed for the full details)
- Broaden the coalition
- Increase U.S. involvement in the fight (note: he’s not calling for a massive surge of troops)
- Not cut a bad deal with Iran
- Prevent the Islamic State’s expansion beyond Iraq and Syria
This is all interesting, and what he is doing is laying out a few of his ideas in opposition to Obama. As Hillary once said “at this point, what difference does it make?” Well, it can certainly make a bit of a differnce, being that Obama still has over a year and a half (shudder) left in office, plenty of time to make things worse. But, Obama has as much chance of changing his “policies” as a an alligator does in growing wings. This is a campaign op-ed by a guy running for President, and neither the word “Clinton” nor “Hillary” appear anywhere within the piece. He seems to forget that she was Secretary of State for 4 years, and much of the failure of the policies can be laid are her doorstep. He’s missing a big chance to take her on, force the media and others to ask her tough questions…well, since she won’t actually take questions, force the media to write about what Rubio said. Frame it in terms of “well, here are my ideas for the Middle East, what are Hillary’s? How would her policies be any different from Obama’s during her 4 years at State?” He needs to take a page from Carly Fiorina, and go after the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
I predicted two years ago that Hillary would run again and win the election for president.
Not because I support her, which I do not… She is the last person I want in there.
But because I noticed how the media was grooming the public in regards to women leadership and the rise of warrior feminism. The powers that be want Hillary as their next puppet, and they need the public mindset a certain way so that those who support her think it was their idea and a victory for women in society.
Think about how much the warrior feminist movement has been promoted in the media over the last two years, from YouTube about sexual harassment on New York streets to equal pay complaints covered by major networks. Men are being portrayed as the reason all our lives suck because those in power know our economy is not getting better and our fiscally overwhelming adventures overseas are not providing the return inn vestment as they had initially thought they would. The world is falling apart and someone needs to blamed, namely men, black or white.
Obamas failures won’t be blamed on democrat and progressive policies, they will be blamed on the fact that he is a man, and Hillary will and already has been leading the charge on Americas next war. The war on MEN.
The world is changing faster than we think, all under the auspices that the government is the great equalizer and provider of security and stability.
Sorry to burst everyone’s bube about government…. But it’s the worst invention ever created by mankind, and the sooner we can rid ourselves of it, the better of we will all be!
Every RWNJ should have this tattooed across their chest, word for word (or at least put it on a T-shirt).
Michael typed:
Not exactly long odds on this, so you shouldn’t hurt your shoulder patting yourself on the back. Granted, in conservaworld Secretary Clinton is considered such wounded goods that you can be excused for thinking your opinion is profound.
and:
Conservatives understand that the US presidency rightfully belongs to white men; Negroes and women are usurpers.
But to your point about the media – they’re not doing a very good job of promoting Secretary Clinton, are they? Story after story about the Clinton Foundation and story after story repeating Republican talking points – BENGHAZI!! – EMAIL-gate!! She’s rich!! BENGHAZI!!
Maybe they’ll do for her what they did to Al Gore (and to the nation) in 2000.
Broaden our coalition?? ISIS is/has always been supported by Israel(covertly) Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the Gulf States. Our coalition partner in the fight against ISIS is Iran.
Increase our troop numbers??? when we had 180,000 troops it didn’t end so well did it? Do you really think the Iraqis even want US troops back again? Do you think they have forgiven our 10 year occupation and want another 5 years?
Teach HE did not start a war in Libya and it was our NATO partners led by France and Britain that did all the heavy lifting there. We didn’t and shouldn’t have sent ground troops like they did.
Teach has our intervention in the internal affairs of soverign countries in the Mideast been a success? why the hell should we bother to listen to any advice from anyone who advocated in jumping into that mess in the first place?
Did Rubio say how long we should plan on having our ground troops in constant danger in Iraq? Did he say anything about how after 10 years of training the Iraqi Army is not willing to fight? Did he give ANY idea of an exit strategy because Americans are NOT willing to give Iraq another 10 years of blood and treasure. The faux patriotism of teh GOP has always been eager to send troops here there wherever, it DOES make good business for the companies that give primarily to GOP pols but it is not a good policy for our country. If the GOP pols want to fight ISIS I say let them be in the first wave of volunteers to head over. You know, walk the walk like you are always saying the “warmists” should do
OK
with those warhawks. let them go first. I will believe ISIS is a big danger when YOU go over there and YOU do what YOU think should be done
Jeffery,
You must have me confused with being a Republican, which I am not.
I tried my hand in Republican politics and found out quickly that they may advocate for smaller government, but they don’t actually embrace it in their actions.
There is no RIGHT WING NUT JOB that advocate no government. That is left to the other third or more of our population that is not represented. The non republicans and democrats who aren’t interested in using violence against our neighbors both domestic and foreign. We don’t like liars, cheaters, and thieves who advocate government in whatever flavor suits them at the moment.
Government is evil. It’s a bad invention. No party is going to fix something that is based of violent and force against your fellow human. Therefore both parties are evil as well just by the very nature that they advocate their version of evil against man under the auspice of doing good.
You will never understand because you advocate evil. You are evil and you love it. You will defend it, your version of it anyways.
I’m not interested in government. Our founders came as close as they could to chaining down evil… But the best way to avoid this kind of evil is to just not let it exist in your society to begin with.
There is nothing a government does that the free market can’t do… Government is not special. It’s ideas require force to exist because they are bad ideas and no one would even consent to it willingly.
So make fun of Republicans all you want but stop making an ass out of yourself by assuming I’m part of that mess.
I represent the rest of America… The true minority in politics that will never be heard because government hates competition from us.
I didn’t refer to you as a Republican, did I?
You seem like a proto-anarchist to me.
Do you consider police part of government? What’s to stop a big guy with a bigger gun getting the drop on you and taking your house, wives and property and enslaving your children?
No money? Everything a barter of goods and services?
No roads? No bridges? Or will companies be responsible for building roads and bridges to get workers to factories and goods to markets? Will the companies have security forces to protect their workers and non-human capital from others? Will this security force enforce contracts between workers and the company and between other companies. How will company A force company B to deliver the parts on time as promised?
Who will enforce the contracts your free market system will necessarily have?
Or in your Nirvana do private citizens get together decide they need a road, obtain money from the citizens to be affected, and contract with a road-building company to build it? Who oversees the construction to make sure the money is well spent? One of your neighbors? Or do you just trust the road builder? What if the road builder takes the neighborhood money and takes off? What if he has a big security force?
I find this whole idea fascinating and instructive about the evolution of social order.
Do you live your life today as you describe?
You’re response infered the idea was acceptable to RWNJ. Which it is not, nor do I and the RWNJ see politically the same way. They are nut jobs because they would impose their version of government upon me as well.
Their version would be a religious theocracy based upon what they have determined moral while at the same time ignoring the brutality imposed on others through government goons.
I can’t debate how government would be replaced, like building roads and such since you don’t even realize that roads are already privately built by developers and then handed over to local government control.
Your ignorance on who builds what is a debate stopper for me concerning the issue. Governments rarely build anything… They are dependent on others to spend the money and labor and then get the stuff for free, never once paying for anything, but maintaining their power and control over something that was never really theirs in the first place.
Government is a joke.
Actually, you inferred that I thought you were a RWNJ.
I am genuinely interested in how a government free society would work, but I clearly misjudged you.
You hate government but seem to have given little thought to the idea. It appears I gave it more thought in 5 minutes of typing than you have in a lifetime. You hate government.
I’ll leave you alone.
Too Funny. A libertarian debating government with a progressive. Literally opposite ends of the spectrum. This pretty much sums up the AGW debate as well….Truthers and Deniers. Progressives and libertarians. Extremes everywhere.
How did Marco answer the question about whether he would have invaded Iraq in 2003?
Is he a hypocrite for claiming that radical Islamists are the gravest threat to the US yet not fighting them himself? Perhaps if the wartalkers led by example the 70% of Americans who don’t believe them would at least consider their messages.
Hey Teach: Why not send Marco a twitter tweet asking him when he is going to pick up a rifle and head over to Syria/Iraq and fight that greatest threat to America, ISIL?
If Michael is a libertarian, he is the most extreme example. He wants to eliminate government.
And you are surprised to find extremists at a right-wing extremist website?
Civilization needs governments.
“The question is, which is to be master – that’s all.” – Humpty Dumpty
We should be masters of our government, not the other way around.
Jefferey,
you stated,
I did not invent the concept of a government free society…. yet you are genuinely interested in how it would work as if I am the founder and only source?? Had you truly had a
“genuine interest”, you would have already looked it up. The internet is chalk full of libertarian concepts, non aggression principled concepts, anarchocapitalism and anarchocommunism concepts that all give examples and strategies for such a society. Although each may be at odds with another in certain finer details. Rather than debate certain practical applications of such concepts, you would rather give me this outrageous to do list instead of any research on your part because of your “genuine Interest”. So I have to call BS on the genuine part.
But since you want to belittle me as if I have spent no time researching and understanding a variety of ideologies, including the one I follow, rather than understanding, it is you who has took less than 5 minutes researching anything outside of your own personal ideology(as far as I can tell), I will indulge your curiosity.
Yes, I am a sort of Proto-Anarchist, much like Frederic Bastiat, who happens to be my biggest influence. Many times I simply refer to myself as a libertarian to those outside of our world of influence because the rest of the world does not realize or cares that there is a large variety of Anarchists out there. A true libertarian is actually referred to as a minarchist. Someone like Ron Paul is considered a minarchist, although some also refer to him as a crptoarchist because he works within the Statist party and governmental system which is intended to transition to a freer society.
Anarchist of all variety call anyone who supports any type of centralized governance of one person over another a Statist, or one who support statism. Statism might as well be called Satanism to us, hahaha I happen to be a christian who believes Jesus was an Anarchist as well. And as a result was crucified by Statists. But Anarchists come in all shape and sizes and all religions as well.
Now to your finer points of question.
Police are mere protection beyond your own efforts. Government is not necessary to ensure security beyond yourself. Yes, there is always someone trying to muscle over others, but not to the extent you have been programmed to believe. And believe me, you are conditioned and programmed since birth, whether intentionally or just because that is what happens in a statist society like ours. Think about it, if the average person was really the Mad Max blood thirsty savages as government and Hollywood like you to believe, there would never be a government big enough to contain it. It’s a fiction of the State. Yes, there are bad people, but not in the percentages as portrayed by those who love to keep you afraid.
Now in case you didn’t know, when government fails or is inadequate, guess what happens naturally in society, even in a Satist one? They form their own security or police. Yeah, ofcourse the rich and powerful always have their own police and body guards, but what about the less fortunate and poor, or even middle class??
Things like town watch or neighborhood watch communities develop and exist today, and there would be no reason they would not exist on a stateless society. The guardian Angels group was formed out of the lack of police services, and in our own community we have a biker gang that provides special protection to abused women and children from the abusive individual. The great thing about people is that they will take care of each other, with or without pay.
Do you really think there would be no money without government?? I am truely shocked by this one. Anyone can measure an ounce of silver and state their own price for goods and services. Government is not needed to mint coins of gold or silver and they are not needed for establishing prices for goods and services. Hell, we even have a cryptocurrency now called bitcoin. The government didn’t invent it, doesn’t decide it’s value or tells what goods and services should cost in bitcoin…. How can this be??? asked the statist. Bitcoin was created and is supported in the Anarcho communities. I even have my own credit system in my own business that was invented by me, regulated and controlled by me, and value is established by me…. my customers love it! No government though was required for it to exist. I think Chuck e Cheese’s has their own money as well… ofcourse you can only spend it there, but if you and I decided we were going to trade in CeC coins, who is to stop us as long as we both conset to such an arrangement…. we are both adults and have the power to figure it out.
No roads?? hahahaha who do you think builds roads?? My friend runs a development business where he builds new neighborhoods. He builds all the roads and infrastructure. He passes the costs onto the new home buyer as part of the initial cost of the home, but because he builds so many homes at ones, he is able to do it much cheaper than one individual building one home and all the infrastructure themselves. When he is done, he simply hands the city all the infrastructure property. The city pays nothing for it. Pretty sweet deal for the city right. I’m in the wrong business! hahaha.
Let’s imagine a world without the state. Company A builds neighborhoods with no roads or infrastructure and Company B builds everything. Yes, company A can charge much less for their houses, but who in the hell is going to buy a house with no running water, no electricity, no indoor toilette, no cable or phone lines, no roads?????? Maybe someone might, but I’m not certain company A will be around very long.
All commercial companies will have an interest to have roads to and from their factories and stores… most roads would be managed by contracted firms of behalf of the business community in that area… and guess how nice the roads would be?? No potholes! Their incentive is not to be replaced by the complaining customers. Can you replace your local city works?? Nope, they have monopoly control… you have a complaint?? fill out this form, don’t call us, we will call you. Don’t worry, we don’t need your phone number.
Who continues to do business with a liar, cheater, and thief? There are only so many bridges you can burn until your word is not worth a hill of ants…. it’s like the Credit system we have today… Associations would form to establish contractual trust… a rating system based on your ability to honor your agreements. I’m confused… why is government necessary? You don’t trust people? So you make a government and trust those people who have unquestioned monopoly control instead… hahaha
Epic fail.
Yes, I work for myself and do what I can for myself as far as the government does not restrict or ban me. I am pretty self sufficient. My security is myself and I contract with a local security group called Per Mar Security. I am trained in hand to hand combat(Judo) and I can disarm anyone holding a pistol to my face, head, or chest. I am not incorporated with the state, but rather operate my business as a sole proprietor, taking on all liability personally rather than using State law to shield myself as I believe that it is unethical and immoral to not exercise the right of contract without personal responsibility and liability. My business is expanding into 4 counties now, and I plan to go nationwide in the near future.
So hopefully that explains everything. Please do some research…. what good is having all the information at your fingertips literally from your bedroom while in your underwear if you don’t use it?? It is a luxury that no one has have for thousands of years of man’s history and we seem to be too lazy to use it outside of entertainment and porn….
We cannot rely on getting an education from a government that may differ from and potentially be competition to the ideas of government control and fear. We must rely on ourselves, friends and neighbors to help further beyond the old ways of the past. We are better than violence against each other through a ballot box.
What “did they do to Al Gore and the nation in 2000?”
I have little interest in politics. But you offer a communist dictatorship who runs everything. He offers little to no government who runs little.
Somewhere in the middle lies the real answer. Unfortunately neither of you have the real answers to the needs of the people.
Governments are important. The problem is that they always…and history shows this….they always lose their way, become The be all end all of every civilization and in the end they collapse and die.
History is replete with Kingdoms that came and went. Ascended quickly and died quickly. The Communist revolution in the USSR lasted all of about 100 years before it collapsed. The only thing that has revived her power is Europes insatiable need for energy. Oil and Natural Gas of which Russia has plenty to give.
Let us face it Jeffery you know in your heart you would love to see all your political enemies in death camps or poisioned or in a coma somewhere….and this is why the progressive movement in the USA is the biggest threat to America…..not ISIL, not AGW, Not Nukalar Bombs and not Religion.
The Church of progressivism is the most extreme form of Nazi’ism reincarnate. I fear you and yours more then any muslim terrorist because you lurk in the shadows, you deceive, you rally large masses under false pretenses…..the false pretense of actually wanting to help them….when in reality you only want to help your own bottom line, gain power…..
POWER is everything…..POWER consumes….POWER is the be all, end all. It is the crack cocaine of any politically active person or group………as George Soros once said He would do anything to see Bush out of power……Well nothing hold any less weight then Obama Opposition holding the same view points………Both sides WANT THE POWER…..so they can dictate their wills.
And neither side gives a flying flip about the middle class, the poor or any of that crap. If they really cared they would actually do something about it instead of passing more regulations that harm the poor while helping the rich.
YOU do realize that Every corporation WANTS TO BE REGULATED RIGHT? and why is that you ask? BECAUSE REGULATIONS STIFFLE COMPETITION……..once your the big guy………REGULATIONS guarantee you will ALWAYS BE the big guy.
I laugh at both sides of the political spectrum….The real difference between the two is in whose name is on the Oval Office as to which group of billionaires makes the most money this 4 or 8 years.
As for libertarians. I would surmise there are more peacenik libertarians then ever existed in the progressive movement. While I find the extreme form of libertarianism scary when you have 7 billion people trying to practice it, I find that for the most part libertarians are a pretty self reliant, self absorbed group of people who just want to be left alone.
Literally the opposite end of the spectrum of progressives who want to be in every aspect of your lives up to and including telling teachers HOW TO SPEAK IN A CLASSROOM and telling families WHAT to feed their children and how much….of course its for their own good because all good progressives understand the typical sheeple cant make their own decisions.
I find both sides scary….Just Libertarians are scary in a different way. If I had to choose I would choose libertarianism over progressivism any day of the week and when the real SHEET hits the fan the only ones standing are going to be the self sufficient, self reliant libertarians while the progressives are left helpless, wandering in the dessert starving because their is no more FREE STUFF..
I hold out little hope for civilization and any progressive who believes that the ISIL threat of beheading you for not converting to their religion is something to be ignored is a pure fool because as Saul Alinsky says…….do not be diverted from the task at hand….be sure to use every current affair to your advantage……Hence the Why dont you cons go over and fight ISIL if its such a great threat mantra.
I fear for my children and grand children. Because we have become a fractured and split society in which the only thing that now matters is POWER and whose running the show…..And both sides actually believe their side is the good guys.
It would be funny if it wasnt such a huge lie.