Bolton's successor (Zalmay Khalilzad)

December 9, 2006 ^ | 12-9-06 | Robert D. Novak

[TomGuy]

One paragraph from that link:

Khalilzad's close connections to Islamic extremists in South Asia and to the oil giant Unocal have been the subject of sharp criticism. As Truthout opined in a 2001 piece, "Simply put, Khalilzad's appointment means oil. Oil for the United States.

[traderrob6]

Jeane Kirkpatrick is a real hero of mine, she was John Bolton and Maggie Thatcher rolled up into one. Truely a brilliant and devoted public servant who will be missed dearly.

[traumer]

"and is the highest-ranking Muslim in the Bush administration...."

APPEASEMENT continues

[traderrob6]

"Khalilzad's close connections to Islamic extremists in South Asia and to the oil giant Unocal have been the subject of sharp criticism. As Truthout opined in a 2001 piece, "Simply put, Khalilzad's appointment means oil. Oil for the United States."

And you find what wrong with this?

[jveritas]

The man is serving now as our ambassador in the most violent part of the world, he can be killed at any moment, and he has been dealing with tough head Arabs for a long time, but some freepers do not see that he is tough enough for the job to be at the UN. If you can deal with hot headed people like the Iraqis you can definitely deal with the spineless UN.

[jveritas]

What appeasement?

[zarf]

Glad to see your quoting Truthout. Quite the source of high minded, insightful commentary.

[traumer]

Will he swear on this?

[null and void]

The only thing that appears to have many on this thread hysterical is the fact that he's Muslim which in my mind is NOT by itself indicative of untrustworthiness or inability to look out for our interests.

Still, it does cause some (including me) to be concerned about his ultimate loyalty.

It does a man no service to place him in a position where he has to deny his god to serve his country.

[johnny7]

That link sure as hell ain't reassuring...

[traderrob6]

I quoted it as an illustration of what one might hear at the DU. He was looking out for our interests something unacceptable on the left but highly regarded for us on the right.

[null and void]

Fixed your typo:

Considering how anti-Israel the UN is, this appears to be an awful choice. It is possible this man is not hostile to Israel, but I wouldn't bet the farm kibbutz on it.

[jveritas]

Did he swear on it when he was sent to be an ambassador to Iraq? I have no idea. Do your research and let me know. Are you objecting to have any muslim in the US government? Now answer this simple question.

[zarf]

Mr Khalilzad is more of an American that you you could ever hope to be. Your ignorance is breathtaking.

[traderrob6]

"It does a man no service to place him in a position where he has to deny his god to serve his country."

I see absolutely nothing in his past that would indicate a subjugation of his countries interests to that of his religious beliefs.

[marsh_of_mists]

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

He is the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, having been sworn in on June 21, 2005...Khalilzad's previous assignment was as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

He is a member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the January 26, 1998, PNAC Letter sent to President Bill Clinton. Khalilzad is also a former board member of Friends of Afghanistan, which received extensive U.S. funding.

An ethnic Pashtun, he was born in the city of Mazari Sharif, in northern Afghanistan....Khalilzad received his doctorate at the University of Chicago, where he studied closely with strategic thinker Albert Wohlstetter, who is a prominent nuclear deterrence thinker and an opponent to the disarmament treaties.

From 1979 to 1989, Dr. Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. During this time he worked closely with Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Carter administration's architect of the policy supporting the Afghan Mujahadeen resistance to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.

His wife, Cheryl Benard, is a political analyst with the RAND Corporation. They have two children, Alexander and Maximilian.

From 1985 to 1989, Khalilzad served as a senior State Department official advising on the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq war

Khalilzad served under former U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush as special assistant to the president for Southwest Asia, the Near East and North Africa. From 1991 to 1992, he was a senior Defense Department official for policy planning, serving as a counsellor to Donald Rumsfeld. Khalilzad initially viewed the Taliban as a potential force for stability and as counter balance to Iran, but his views changed over time, especially after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Between 1993 and 1999, Dr. Khalilzad was Director of the Strategy, Doctrine and Force Structure program for the RAND Corporation's Project Air Force. RAND is a think-tank primarily focused on "national security" issues...and now closely linked to the neoconservatives (Donald Rumsfeld was chairman 1981-1986).

Khalilzad co-authored the RAND study, "The United States and a Rising China".

Dr. Khalilzad headed the Bush-Cheney transition team for the Department of Defense and has been a Counselor to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

Khalilzad wrote several articles on the subject of the value of U.S. global leadership in the mid-90's. The specific scenarios for conflict he envisioned in the case of a decline in American power have made his writings extremely popular in the world of competitive high school and college policy debate.

Just for the record.

[zarf]

Remember, Jesus Christ is the only God out there.../s

[TomGuy]

And you find what wrong with this?

This part is of concern: "Khalilzad's close connections to Islamic extremists...

[zarf]

This part is of concern: "Khalilzad's close connections to Islamic extremists...

...and the Bush's have close ties with our friends the Saudi's....

[null and void]

That is good to know.