Comments on The World According to Oatney: The Politics of Appeasement

Apeasement huh? Bush claimed it has not worked so...

2008-05-18T19:54:00.000-04:00

Apeasement huh? Bush claimed it has not worked so far. This puzzles me. When did the US ever make any attempts at appeasement?

Would Bush be referring to the Reagan Administration selling weapons to Iran back in the 1980s? If so, he is indeed right. That did not work. As a matter of fact, much of what Ronnie and crew pulled back then in the Mid East is directly responsible for much of the madness today. Or would he be referring to our continued brown nosing of the House of Saud. The only thing that has done is keep oil flowing. Of course that may be all that is really important. After all Hummers need love too.

Appeasement. What a useless and stupid word. Just more garbage from one party to stir up election emotions.

Ps--Meant McCain is for negotiating with Hamas.Sur...

2008-05-17T21:04:00.000-04:00

Ps--Meant McCain is for negotiating with Hamas.
Sure...I'm happy to provide the proof.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icooZ4PTM60

However--From 2006---McCain is for negotiating wit...

2008-05-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

However--
From 2006---McCain is for negotiating with McCain. Interview with Jamie Rubin:

RUBIN: "Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?"

McCAIN: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

To be clear, Barack Obama would not negotiate with...

2008-05-17T20:52:00.000-04:00

To be clear, Barack Obama would not negotiate with Hamas. He has said he would try to talk with Iran and Syria.

He has been 100 percent clear he would not talk with Hamas without their recognition of Israel.

I'm Jewish, I'm pro Israel and I'm pro Obama, and know the facts about his position about Israel and her neighbors.

Ironic... what little success Bush has been able t...

2008-05-17T16:08:00.000-04:00

Ironic... what little success Bush has been able to claim with "the surge" in Iraq came from his own General's policy of talking with the very Sunni insurgents and terrorists who were killing Americans only months earlier. Not only did the US negotiate with the insurgents, the US armed them - and that's appeasement. I guess any small "success" in Iraq must be a "foolish delusion." Just reported yeterday, the US is resuming appeasement of N. Korea with food shipments.

Today, CNN reported on the abject hypocrisy of Bush's statements:

" It's also somewhat ahistorical. The president has authorized American diplomats to talk to the Iranians in Iraq. They talked to them in Afghanistan. They talked to them in Bonn, Germany, during the founding of the Afghan government during which the Iranians and Americans worked together. The president's own Secretary of Defense is right now arguing that we should be talking to the Iranians. We talked to the Soviet Union and China while they were forming revolutions all over the world and most recently, let's remember, that David Petraeus has talked to the Sunni insurgents and terrorists who were killing Americans only months earlier. And that - a large part of the success of the surge has been the willingness of Petraeus and the American military to talk to the people who they once called terrorists and insurgents."

None of this hypocrisy is surprising from an incompetent president who is a proven liar, who uses the rhetoric of fear to influence politics, or from McCain who proposes the continuation of a dangerous and isolationist foreign policy.

And a Rep. Con. with a divisive comment!Par for th...

2008-05-16T21:05:00.000-04:00

And a Rep. Con. with a divisive comment!Par for the course.

Interesting 3 libs with nothing to say. Sounds nor...

2008-05-16T20:22:00.000-04:00

Interesting 3 libs with nothing to say. Sounds normal.

At this stage of the election, its always somethin...

2008-05-16T18:50:00.000-04:00

At this stage of the election, its always something of a hoot to watch the two parties lob inane accusations at each other. Its kinda like watching a professional basketball game-----the first 55 minutes is meaningless, the decision will be made in the last five minutes---and in Presidential elections, nothing happens til after labor day----however for what its worth, this being my 13th presidential elction in which I am registered and will vote----what should be a Democratic Party win, appears to be kinda self destructing-----Obama's lack of experience, (his gaft of saying he would talk with terrorists), Hillary, obvously losing, but out there spending the party broke---and making herself appear something of a shrew in the process.-----Frankly kinda bored with the whole process, and the silly posturing and fight for 30 second sound bites----to bad we don't have a "None of the above" box to check.

Groetzinger,You are pointing out manifestations of...

2008-05-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

Groetzinger,
You are pointing out manifestations of reality. Reality does not count in GOP land, only winning. And if winning means lying they'll lie knowing that most of those that repeat the lies don't know they're repeating lies.
Oh and by the way, changing the menaings of words or using words outside their definitions is a common technique of propaganda. It's what "New Speak" was all about in George Orwells's 1984. Remember, those jerks are sameones that told as all about WMD's, mushroom clouds and so on; should we really expect them to to be honest about 'talking to' vs appeasment?
President Bush is a failure, let alone his foreign policy. McCain's only hope is to hang on to the GOP base, which he can only do by supporting Bush's failed policies. This will become more and more clear as we move toward the general election in November.

Talking to and appeasing to are two different thin...

2008-05-16T11:34:00.000-04:00

Talking to and appeasing to are two different things.you should invest in a dictionary.It seems people are using words they do not understand,elitist,divisive,and appease.Look up terrorism,it has nothing to do with bombs or killing.