Posted on 11/18/2008 5:02:10 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
Omri Ceren’s headline says it all: Obama’s Top NSA And CIA Picks: Harsh On Israel, Sympathetic To Iran And Hezbollah.
Well that was totally unpredictable wasn’t it?
General James L. Jones is widely rumored to be Obama’s preferred candidate to be White House National Security Adviser... Jones prepared a report on Israel’s policies in the territories... The World Tribune said it “blasted Israel’s role” for “hampering the movement of PA forces, blocking plans for weapons shipments and technology to the Palestinians and resisting coordination.” ... Obama said this about Jones: “Let me tell you who I associate with... If I’m interested in figuring out my foreign policy, I associate myself with my running mate, Joe Biden or with Dick Lugar...or General Jim Jones, the former supreme allied commander of NATO.”
Totally, totally unpredictable:
John Brennan... is rumored to be Obama’s pick to head the CIA. Brennan published a long article on Iran in July 2008... "... U.S. national security would be best served if Washington publicly acknowledged and explored the roots of this shift in Iranian state support for terrorist activities ... the new U.S. administration must be willing to exercise strategic patience....It would not be foolhardy, however, for the United States to tolerate, and even to encourage, greater assimilation of Hezbollah into Lebanon’s political system.
It’ll be REAL interesting if Israel votes right-wing next time around.
It won’t happen. Jews have historically voted dem and will continue to even to Israel’s detriment. Even Rushbo can’t explain this one.
Bush appointed a lot of people who are/were not conservative. He thought he was still in TX, where he got along with Dems.
There is a vast difference in TX/southern Dems and East coast/West coast/DC Dems. One lesson Bush never learned or tried to learn. He should have come in cleaning house and appointed his own men.
NOTE--I have been trying to find something on DeMint's comments about McCain losing the election and the way he ran his campaign. Rush said he was going to talk about it yesterday, but if he did, I missed it.
Thanks!
vaudine
If Israel is ever going to save itself by taking out Iran, it better do it now before Obama cuts off their water.
If you are correct, then my post should be reversed - Israel will be the smoking hole rather than Iran, can’t predict date though. Probably sometime after The One does a Chamberlain visit to I’mANutJob in Tehran.
Yes, my point was the silliness in whining about this as a radical appointment. General Jones, who as I've noted I've been very critical of at times, is a Marine 4 star, former Commandant, solid record, who was Condi's choice to train the palestinian security forces. In that position I'd expect him to be critical of Israeli pushback against the capabilities of the palestinians to maintain order. Having failed for over a decade. But that doesn't make him pro-palestinian, nor a nutball, liberal choice. Same with Brennan, best known on the left as pro-torture, and the head of a Bush created agency.
These aren't incompetants. Nor out of the mainstream.
IMO, politically, it's better to wait to criticize policy positions.
BTW, in the Reagan years, I think Jones may have worked with McCain as Naval attache to the Senate, or some similar position. Small world.
Frightening...
And Republican presidents tend to keep such “picks.”
No Republican worth his salt would have supported "Osama" Obama during the campaign, as Gen. Jones (Ret.?)did.
How can you say "he comes from the Republican side of the aisle" if you don't have his entire background for reference? Not all career military people are Republicans. From what little is in the article on his background, he reminds me somewhat of Wesley Clark.
Apparently Jones didn't think too much of McCain because he worked for Obama during this campaign.
I haven't a clue about Gen. Jones political affiliation. Like most career military, I doubt he's expressed one. But his career is distinguished, I don't like the positions he advocates in his current State Dept. position, but he simply can't be characterized as nutball appointee. And his current position is as an appointee for the Bush administration.
I'm not a big fan of Gen. Clark at all, but if Obama taps him for something, he's not a nutball appointee either.
Obama is a Democrat, he can appoint dems who at least are knowledgeable, regrarless of whether we agree with their positions. Or he can nominate true incompetants, of which he knows many.
These appointments aren't incompetants, they aren't radicals, better he appoints qualified people, and if you think you'll change Jewish voters minds by characterizing them that way, you're dreaming. You can't even convince me.
Wait for the policies, there are no elections for two years. And if Obama governs to the right of GWB and we have nothing to criticize, that's not the end of the world. But it won't happen.
I don't know that. I think he's still hanging out in Ramallah, though I don't know where he's quartered. I doubt an administration official was campaigning for anyone. Even Condi didn't
He was mentioned in June as a possible Obama running mate by the NY Times, and was mentioned by Obama in the third presidential debate as someone he hangs out with (in rebuttal to McCain's briging up O's hanging out with Ayres?). Let's be sensible. Obama would have never brought up his name in that context unless he know Jones was supporting him.
He was mentioned in June as a possible Obama running mate by the NY Times, and was mentioned by Obama in the third presidential debate as someone he hangs out with (in rebuttal to McCain's briging up O's hanging out with Ayres?). Let's be sensible. Obama would have never brought up his name in that context unless he knew Jones was supporting him.
bump for later read.
I am not sure it matters how the deck chairs are arranged or who is sitting in which deck chair.
There will be a serious attack with a large loss of life early in Obama’a term. If as expected Obama’s response is heavy on rhetoric, diplomacy, teaming up with the media (behind the scenes) to blame the attack on George Bush’s misguided policies and no real action; then the flood gates of jihadist violence will open.
I may be right that he’s a month or so out of the position, but the point is that this isn’t an irrational appointment. And there’s no political capital to be made here, particularly by blaming Jewish voters for bring a Marine 4 star, former Commindant, into government. I admit most of them wouldn’t know about that, and would be clueless as to the significance. But there’s simply nothing in these 2 appointments. Be patient, he’ll make mistakes.
If you are correct, then my post should be reversed - Israel will be the smoking hole rather than Iran, can’t predict date though. Probably sometime after The One does a Chamberlain visit to I’mANutJob in Tehran.
The threat is still more a matter of getting a single device or maybe two into the hands of terrorists such as Hezbollah and smuggling it over land into Israel proper. Imagining they can pull this off, they would then be in position to deny any responsibility in the aftermath of the blast, at which point Obama’s inclination to do nothing might be a difference maker—though, by then, even the idiot liberals in Israel might take action or get voted out real quick.
Basically, he does have to be a NutJob to go this route. I think the bigger threat for Obama’s 4 years is the liklihood of yet more proliferation in the region as Iran ramps up a nuke program. Saudi has a dormant program they might re-start. Kuwait has expressed interest. Etc. The whole damn region could end up nuclearized if our “president” takes a hnads-off approach.
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