US drone strikes will give the term “blowback” new meaning
The example of U.S. Power
An interesting article appeared in the MumbaiMirror on Saturday July 8/12. My impression is that the MubaiMirror is a low quality newspaper. But like the Toronto Star, it does reflect popular sentiment.
Title:
“A day after Hillary’s apology, US drones strike Pak again”
Excerpts include:
Drone strikes are highly unpopular in Pakistan, where they are seen as an infringement of the country’s sovereignty and counter-productive in the fight against extremists …
and
Strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, on Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan have increased substantially under the US president Barack Obama’s regime. There were 52 drone strikes carried out carried out under the Bush administration, the NATO forces during Obama’s tenure have already carried out close to 300 drone attacks.
A search of “US drones” on the MumbaiMirror site generates the following:
This is a big issue in the countries affected by this. All Obama is doing is building more anger, resentment and ultimately hatred of the United States.
My prediction:
It is going to give the word “blowback” new meaning.
But of course, on the home front, the “Homelanders” are busy NOT thinking about what is going on in the rest of the world (actually not thinking at all about anything). And they wonder, “Why is America not popular?”
Once upon a time, didn’t our friend Barack Obama receive the Nobel Peace Prize? What were they thinking? This is hilarious. Get this:
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”
Oslo, October 9, 2009
The use of drones is surely not:
founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.
I once heard President Clinton comment that:
People are more impressed by the power of our example rather than the example of our power…”
Too bad Obama and the current group of Democrats can’t understand that.
The power of U.S. example
But, on a friendlier note: As you might know when Romney was running Bain Capital (you know the company that Obama believes was conceived to harm the Homelanders), Bain invested in Dominos Pizza. Dominos Pizza seems to have a big presence in India. People eat Dominos Pizza. Presumably people in India buy franchises.
Conclusion:
Obama sends drones to kill people in South Asia, illuminating the example of U.S. power.
Romney creates companies to feed people in South Asia, illuminating the power of U.S. example.
If either one should receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who would be the better candidate?
@Petros: I was thinking of a couple of others we haven’t heard from over the past few or couple of weeks. There could be various reasons, but I hope some of the recent comments or tones have not caused people to retreat.
Blaze, google analytics doesn’t show any significant variation in traffic. Over the weekend we had fewer posts, and that usually results in less traffic. But apart from Sally no one else has indicated that they will leave, not to me. I think most people realize that views expressed in comments are not necessarily the views of everyone here–that’s just common sense.
@tiger:
“most people today are aware that racism is just not acceptable.”
I have already been blatantly and falsely accused several times of racism on this thread and even after vindication not a soul has apologized. This is another chilling parallel to the Monty Python clip about witch hunts that I posted above.
To paraphrase Stalin, “its not who is racist that counts but who determines who is racist”.
Now its Drone Submarines! I’ll bet they can sink a lot more than an underwater mine.
“The U.S. Navy is transporting dozens of unmanned SeaFox submersibles to
the Persian Gulf to seek out and destroy mines, as part of a major U.S.
military buildup aimed at preventing Iran from closing the strategic
Strait of Hormuz.”
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/328372
Hi All, although I checked once in a while, I did take a break from this site to think about what I considered a change in tone and focus on the site that I wasn’t happy about. I didn’t say anything about it because I know my opinion doesn’t count for much. However, I finally decided the good far outweighs the bad and I resumed participation. I do not want censorship applied, as I think it’s important that we hear all kinds of opinions from all kinds of people, but I do consider some of the comments to have been derogatory and inflammatory and even wondered (as some others have) if they were intended to de-value this site. Checking in and monitoring once in a while, I decided that wasn’t the case, and they are real comments. I would appreciate having outright racial slurs (even if unintended) changed, as I am indeed one of those very “PC-brainwashed Canadians” that ConfederateH doesn’t have much respect for. This is a great site, and I usually enjoy the back and forth controveries, and I wouldn’t want that to change, so I appreciate the proposed ‘light editorial hand’.
@outraged canadian- I am sure that we are all glad to have you back. Thank you also for clearly stating your position on some thorny issues.
This site is truly a case of participatory democracy
@Outraged: Great to have you back. You are one of three people I had wondered about when we didn’t hear from you for a while. One of the others is back. The third is not. I have no idea if that absence has anything to do with a “change in tone” here, what a (nice, polite dignified Canadian way of putting it).
@Blaze, LOL. So why would the US want me back as a citizen? I just wouldn’t fit in, I’m too Canadian!
@Outraged: US doesn’t want you back. They just want your $$$$$!