Obama, It's Over (Daily kos diary) [View All]

[quinnox]

I thought this was a typical response I have seen while perusing some blogs. Evidently some people on the left are very upset about Obama's hawkish remarks.

This guy evidently was an Obama supporter but this seemed to have turned him away from Obama.

I don't agree with most of the diary but I found it interesting to read.

The Diary - titled - Obama, It's Over




You blew it. You took a perfect opportunity to reverse Hillary's lead with your excellent thrashing of her Cheney/Bush diplomacy model, and you tossed it out the window. You had just pulled ahead of her in the polls in South Carolina, and now it's all gonna go down the drain.

Why?

This is what you have done: you've pledged to unilaterally invade/attack a foreign country if you believe their government isn't acting to your satisfaction in the GWOT. You had just won (though of course, not by DC pundit/neocon standards) your debate with Hillary, and then just a short time later you've said something genuinely naive and irresponsible.

Why?



You had me fooled. I thought we were witnessing a genuine change in the way the US would deal with the rest of the world in the future. But your Bush-litelike threat to unilaterally attack a foreign country is not only a huge problem, it is by far worse than the mindless diplo-speak Hillary uttered in the You-Tube debate. At least Hillary's pledge is one of not doing something, which has far fewer deleterious consequences than a pledge to do something horrific.

I don't see how you can extricate yourself from this. If you back-track now, that will only play into the meme that you are too inexperienced to lead on foreign policy.

When are American politicians going to understand a simple concept? The world is not ours to bomb or threaten with military action any more than we believe ourselves to be any other country's bombing target (for whatever reason). If Musharraf thought you (as president in 2009, should that happen) were not acting fast enough to arrest or extradite someone wanted for terrorism in Pakistan, would you be OK with a Pakistani airstrike somewhere on US territory? I seriously doubt it.

If Pakistan is acting in a certain way that is so clearly a threat to the US, and nobody could deny that threat, then go ahead and declare war on Pakistan. If in fact the US would be so justified in doing so, then the world won't hold it against you, and you likely could create a genuine international partnership for the task. But that is not the situation you have described. For the situation you have described, there are plenty of diplomatic alternatives available before you resort to attacking/invading a sovereign country.

So what now?

Hillary is Out. You are out. Edwards supported you in his latest statement, and Biden supported Hillary for the You-Tube debate. Of the two alternatives, though, Biden is the only one with a workable plan for Iraq, which is a huge problem that will only get far far worse with time. I suggest you do the right thing, Barack. Drop out of the race now, and throw your support to Biden (after you apologize for your latest remark). Try to get Hillary and Edwards to do the same. And from here on out, it's time to start educating everyone about the basic principle that we cannot bomb and kill innocent people in foreign countries whenever we deem appropriate. That is the basic, fundamental principle that must be hammered home in this election, so that whoever is elected is sure to follow it completely.