Albright Criticizes Bush Foreign Policy

Reurters | 2/1/02

[Mr. D]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday criticized the Bush administration's foreign policy and took aim at the president's labeling of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil." Albright also questioned the administration's public relations approach to the detainees from Afghanistan being held at a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said the U.S. approach to the issue had been damaging diplomatically. In an interview with NBC's "Today" show, Albright said President Bush made a "big mistake" lumping together Iran, Iraq and North Korea in his State of the Union address. In his speech on Tuesday night, Bush used harsh language to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea, saying they were committed to developing weapons of mass destruction and must be stopped. "First of all they (Iran, Iraq and North Korea) are very different from each other," said Albright, who was Secretary of State in the Clinton administration. In the case of Iraq, Albright said the United States had been trying to contain President Saddam Hussein since 1991 and strong action was necessary. However, the situation with Iran was more complicated and the United States needed Tehran's help in dealing with Afghanistan. Looking at North Korea, Albright said it was a mistake to walk away from that communist state. The United States has attempted to hold talks with North Korea about its weapons program but that process has gone nowhere. "When we left office, we left the potential of a verifiable agreement to stop the export of missile technology abroad on the table. I think it's a mistake to walk away from that. We know that North Korea is dangerous but lumping those three countries together is dangerous," she said. The United States has come under fire from human rights groups and several Western governments for its treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, who are being held in open-air cells at a U.S. naval base there. Albright said instead of showing the world conditions at the Cuban prison, the United States had become involved in an "arcane" discussion about why it would not give its captives prisoner of war status, which grants certain rights. She suggested releasing a video to show the conditions under which the detainees were being held, which visitors to the prison had said were adequate. "It would help us not only with the problem in Pakistan but also generally where the international community thinks we have lost our minds," said Albright, referring to the kidnapping of an American journalist in Pakistan whose captors have demanded the release of prisoners being held in Guantanamo Bay.

[Toidylop]

Albright, who was Secretary of State in the Clinton administration..

You can just stop right there... Why the h*ll anyone wants to know what her opinion is beyond me.

[cactmh]

How do you know we are making progress? Call me crazy, but I bet President Bush and his advisors probably have a better grasp on our relations with foreign countries than YOU DO!

[cactmh]

Post #22 applies to you too.

[Southack]

Albright criminally betrayed the U.S. by participating in a coverup of Mujahedeen terrorists being in Kosovo fighting with the KLA.

In light of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings by Bin Laden Mujahedeen agents, her 1999 support of Bin Laden's terrorists in Kosovo and her coverup of those terrorists constitutes TREASON in my book.

Albright sided with those who attacked America, and she covered up relevent facts so that the American public was not aware of who we were supporting.

[desertcry]

What, the cleaning maid is criticizing the President, and the media is reporting it? The same restroom custodian, who ran after arafat to keep him from leaving a meeting she held? whoahhh hahahaha! You made my day.

[desertcry]

Now, you got those ragheads peeing on their boots! You are sooooo cruel!

[sandydipper]

The brawd is clueless. Heaven forbid that our President should "speak harshly" to anyone. The clintoon solution to these terrorist states was to have fat a** Albright write 'em a check.

[jwalsh07]

I think you guys are exactly wrong about Iran. The mullahs have been exporting terrorism for decades and as such they need to be brought in line in accordance with the Bush Doctrine.

What makes this a good time to bring pressure is that the masses are ready to rise up and throw the mullahs out with the bath water.

[linn37]

They can't send out a high-ranking democrat to snipe at Bush so they use her to plant those little niggling doubts about whether Bush is doing the right thing,very clever.

[Cicero]

Let's see. It was OK to bomb the hell out of civilian targets in Belgrade because a few Socialists decided they didn't like Serbs and clinton wanted a diversion from his impeachment problems? But it's not OK to defend ourselves against murderous terrorists who intend to kill as many Americans as possible?

Someone should tell Albright to crawl back under her rock.

[Smile-n-Win]

It will be interesting to read this again in 20XX when ALL of New York has become ground zero due to a North Korean nuclear attack after 8 years of Democratic misadministration!

[dfwgator]

We could at least have had good dialogue with them, but he made it really harsh with lumping them together with Iraq.

And we were still having good dialogue with the Japanese, right up to when they bombed Pearl Harbor.

[gunnedah]

Albrights name sure doesnt fit.She needs to crawl back under a rock until Halloween.The last Administration with her mentor is what caused all these problems and she herself certainly didnt help anything the no thinking, slow talking ugly bimbo.

[goldstategop]

Liquid Dishwashing's criticism is about the stupidest so far this year. Liberals always like to congratulate themselves for showing "understanding, conciliation, and restraint." When Madge Albright was Secretary Of State, her boss turned to be as unaware of and feckless on his watch towards terrorism as Jimmy Carter was in his heyday towards the threat of Soviet Communism. We all remember back then how Carter exhorted us we had nothing to fear from Communism --- until the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. When Ronald Reagan became President he gave a speech describing the Soviet Union as the "evil empire," which it was. The liberal critics ripped right into it. But he knew what he was talking about and by doing exactly the reverse of their decades along appeasement of Communism, he set in the motion the process that liberated the captive nations of Eastern Europe and ultimately brought about the downfall of the Evil Empire itself. President Bush is very Reaganesque in describing North Korea, Iran and Ieaq as being part of an "axis of evil." They are evil. And has he relented from his warning us about them? Far from it. President Bush like Ronald Reagan before him, seems convinced he has a mission as President, as where Reagan's was to make America and the world safe from the peril of Communism, Bush's is to make America and the world safe from the perils of terrorism. He's a very Reaganesque President on foreign policy and this is what drives the liberals like Dishwashing Liquid nuts. They hate his leadership and can't stand the American people lustily cheering their President on. No one in America would have said this before Sept. 11th but you know what --- Ronald Reagan is back among us and trust me President Bush will deal with his critics with the same candidness and disarming humor Reagan dealt with his on his watch. What a joy it is to see liberals up in arms over this President. I say to Albright and her brethen: bring it on. President Bush is rallying the country to "let's roll" in the face of evil and there is nothing his domestic opponents can do to stop him. I kind of think our President will really win one for the Gipper. Cheers!!! :-)

[Great Dane]

Yeah, as far as Albright is concerned, the only evil people in the world are SERBS.

[Pietro]

Hey maddie, aren't there some dustbins that need emptying. Stick w/ what you're good at-taking out the trash.

[Jean S]

This has already been posted here and here.

Please do a search before posting.

[solo gringo]

You know what this idiot believes what she is saying but i can tell you she and clintoooon are the only ones I wish the fleas of one thousand camels infest her arm pits.

[gitmogrunt]

Any Jewish person who, as a child was saved from the holocaust by the Serbs, then turned around and advocated bombing the serbs for defending themselves against terrrorism, is not worth listening too in any regard.

[Mr. D]

Excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me! It was not posted under headlines or breaking news, I just found it at Yahoo, but the article still has received many replies.