Theodore's World

Obama Won’t ‘Rubber Stamp’ Military Decisions
abc news
BAGHDAD, Iraq
July 21, 2008
VIDEO INTERVIEW IS HERE JUST CLICK THEN CLICK ON THE VIDEO – thank you
After meeting with top U.S. military commanders and members of the Iraqi government, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today said his opposition to the surge and support for a firm timetable for the withdrawal of troops hasn’t changed.
In an exclusive interview, Obama told “Nightline” that if elected president, “we’re going to begin to phase out our troops.”
Obama is seeing a vastly different Iraq than the one he saw when he last visited more than two years ago. Violence and American casualties are way down, and the streets of Baghdad are bustling again.
So far this month, five U.S. troops have been killed in combat, compared with 78 U.S. deaths last July. Attacks across the country are down more than 80 percent. Still, when asked if knowing what he knows now, he would support the surge, the senator said no.

“These kinds of hypotheticals are very difficult,” he said. “Hindsight is 20/20. But I think that what I am absolutely convinced of is, at that time, we had to change the political debate because the view of the Bush administration at that time was one that I just disagreed with, and one that I continue to disagree with — is to look narrowly at Iraq and not focus on these broader issues.”

Wild Thing’s comment…….
“My job is to think about the national security interests as a whole and to weigh and balance risks in Afghanistan and Iraq. Their job is just to get the job done here, and I completely understand that.”
Obama, in his arrogance, failed to recognize that Petraeus, having recently been promoted to head up Centcom, which oversees both Iraq and Afghanistan, would also be looking at Iraq from the same perspective.
I will never forgive Hussein Obama for his treatment when General Petraeus spoke here the last time, and now I will add this to how he has chosen not to heed the words of General Petraeus.
If he does not care what the General says to him before he ( Obama) is President ( if he wins), he sure as heck is NOT going to listen to him when he is in the Oval Office.
Dear God please dont’ let this military hater become Commander in Chief.

,

Wild Thing’s comment……..
OK ..shaking my head here……. He admits the surge is working, but when asked if he would have voted differently he says NO. …..”Obama immediately referred to political considerations.”…..! The surge working means we have a lot less injuries and death of our soldiers but even knowing this Obama COULD CARE LESS. It is POLITICS! It is about Obama disagreeing with a Republican, disagreeing with Bush and McCain. It is NOT about winning the war.
This viile POS, limp wristed girly man, Muslim, white hating, drug taking, terrorist loving, work of NON art needs to be as they say “bitch slapped”. I have no idea what bitch slapping is but it has always sounded like something that would not feel good. And so I say do it to him and that would be just for starters.
I’m convinced that Obama is, in a clinical sense, a sociopath – meaning that he lacks an innate sense of right and wrong, good and evil. He is the epitome of the self-seeking opportunist. And he is the most dangerous man to ever receive a major party nomination for the Presidency.
Lives of US soldiers and military victory are not as important as proving himself to be right. In a profession of egomaniacs, even this is over the top!
God help me I can’t stand this so called man. Obama has told us what we already know: his political welfare takes precedence over the welfare of the country. A man motivated by such a consideration is unfit to become its Commander In Chief!

Interview with Obama Foreign Policy Adviser
Der Spiegel Online
Susan Rice is senior foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama. In an interview with SPIEGEL, Rice discusses Obama’s upcoming visit to Europe, how it might be received in the US and how Obama intends to strengthen US-European ties — and commitments.
SPIEGEL: It is unusual for a US presidential candidate to travel to Europe in the middle of the campaign. Why is Barack Obama coming?
Susan Rice: Senator Obama believes it is critically important for the United States and Europe to cooperate far more effectively than we have in recent years. None of us can tackle the critical global challenges we face in isolation — be it terrorism, proliferation, climate change, disease, poverty or energy security. Obama will want to discuss in Europe and Germany how we each view these challenges and how we can best address them together.
SPIEGEL: Critics say the trip is nothing but a PR stunt to strengthen his foreign-policy credentials and that he has only rarely been to Europe before.
Rice: Senator Obama has travelled to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia many times before. He lived in Asia. He bows to nobody in his understanding of this world. This trip will be yet another opportunity for Senator Obama to exchange views with the leaders of countries whose partnership is critically important to US national security.
SPIEGEL: The reception for Obama in Europe will be very warm. But too much European enthusiasm could backfire in an US election campaign.
Rice: Americans understand that our security is enhanced when the United States is trusted and respected in the world. Unfortunately, our standing in the world has diminished in the last several years. This has hampered our ability to work cooperatively to confront global challenges. Americans are hungry for change both at home and in our relations with the rest of the world. Barack Obama represents a dramatic departure from the policies of the last eight years. There is no downside to Americans seeing the promise of change manifest both domestically and internationally.
SPIEGEL: Many expect Obama to promise “tough love” to the Europeans — more listening, but also more demands.
Rice: To deal effectively with critical global security challenges will require a greater commitment from both sides of the Atlantic. We cannot afford a least-common-denominator approach. Both America and Europe will have to do more to uphold our respective responsibilities in the context of true partnership — whether the issue is climate change, halting Iran’s nuclear program or securing Afghanistan from Al-Qaida and the Taliban.
SPIEGEL: What would be the major change in trans-Atlantic relations under a President Obama?
Rice: Obama would proceed from a fundamentally different premise than has been the case in recent years. Obama does not perceive Europe in terms of “old” versus “new.” He thinks it would be counterproductive to kick Russia out of the G-8. He sees the world as more complex than simply good versus evil. He recognizes that we can only deal effectively with global challenges if we have 21st century partnerships that work — partnerships based on shared values, common security and mutual respect, in which everybody does their part and pulls their weight.
SPIEGEL: You said Europeans have to “pull their weight.” What would that mean exactly in terms of their contribution in Afghanistan? More troops?
Rice: Obama’s view is that circumstances in Pakistan and Afghanistan pose the most dangerous threat to Europe and the US right now. Al-Qaida is regrouping and reconstituting their safe haven; the Taliban are gaining strength. Europe is closer to that threat than we are. Yet, we all have to take it very seriously. The US has to put more resources and troops into Afghanistan, and NATO should do the same, while — to the greatest extent possible — lifting operational restrictions.
SPIEGEL: Would that lead to disillusionment with Obama in Europe?
Rice: We must be honest in acknowledging that neither Germany nor the US has the luxury of assuming that we can skate by on half-measures in Afghanistan and Pakistan and not risk suffering the consequences.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
I would love to see McCain air an ad with Obama’s stuff like in this article and with Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” playing in the background.
Only a total ignoramus could imagine that he doesn’t need to bow to anyone — on any subject.
There’s always somebody who understands something you don’t.
Susan Rice’s comment that Obama “bows to nobody in understanding this world” parallels Michelle Obama’s claim a few months ago that “Barrack has seen everything.” How can a guy who has never run a business, never been impacted by marginal taxation, never seen combat, and never passed any meaningful legislation acquire such omniscience????!
The phrase “bows to nobody in understanding this world.” is truly a frightening statement. This is not a political campaign…it’s a cult rally.
Has anyone heard of any other person that has written TWO books – about themselves? And before he did much in his life?
Amazing he could fill up two volumes considering how little he has accomplished.

The National Anthem is played before every movie shown at a military theater.
From a Chaplain in Iraq :
I recently attended a showing of ‘Superman 3,’ here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem the music stopped.
Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments; and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place. Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. And again, at the same point, the music stopped.
What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter, as everyone finally sat down and expected the movie to start.
But here, you could have heard a pin drop. Every Soldier continued to stand at attention. Suddenly there was a lone voice,
then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off:
‘And the rockets red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free
And the home of the brave.’
It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq . I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here.
Remember them as they fight for you! Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. For many have already paid the ultimate price.
Written by
Chaplain Jim Higgins
LSA Anaconda
Balad Airport in Iraq , north of Baghdad

….Thank you Chief for sending this.

The Wall Street Journal
Al Gore gave a speech last week “challenging” America to run “on 100% zero-carbon electricity in 10 years” — though that’s just the first step on his road to “ending our reliance on carbon-based fuels.” Serious people understand this is absurd. Maybe other people will start drawing the same conclusion about the man proposing it.
The former vice president has also recently disavowed any intention of returning to politics. This is wise. As America’s leading peddler of both doom and salvation, Mr. Gore has moved beyond the constraints and obligations of reality.
His job is to serve as a Prophet of Truth.

In Mr. Gore’s prophesy, a transition to carbon-free electricity generation in a decade is “achievable, affordable and transformative.” He believes that the goal can be achieved almost entirely through the use of “renewables” alone, meaning solar, geothermal, wind power and biofuels.

And he doesn’t think we really have any other good options: “The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk,” he says, with his usual gift for understatement. “And even more — if more should be required — the future of human civilization is at stake.”

What manner the catastrophe might take isn’t yet clear, but the scenarios are grim: The climate crisis is getting worse faster than anticipated; global warming will cause refugee crises and destabilize entire nations; an “energy tsunami” is headed our way. And so on.
Here, however, is an inconvenient fact. In 1995, the U.S. got about 2.2% of its net electricity generation from “renewable” sources, according to the Energy Information Administration. By 2000, the last full year of the Clinton administration, that percentage had dropped to 2.1%.
Mr. Gore’s argument would be helped if he were also willing to propose huge investments in nuclear power, which emits no carbon dioxide and currently supplies about one-fifth of U.S. electricity needs, and about three-quarters of France’s. Britain has just approved eight new nuclear plants, and the German government of Angela Merkel is working to do away with a plan by the previous government to go nuclear-free.
But Mr. Gore makes no mention of nuclear power in his speech, nor of the equally carbon-free hydroelectric power. These are proven technologies — and useful reminders of what happens when environmentalists get what they wished for.
Then there are biofuels, whose recent vogue, the World Bank believes, may have been responsible for up to 75% of the recent rise in world food prices. Save the planet; starve the poor.
None of this seems to trouble Mr. Gore. He thinks that simply by declaring an emergency he can help achieve Stakhanovite results. He might recall what the Stakhanovite myth (about the man who mined 14 times his quota of coal in six hours) actually did to the Soviet economy.
A more interesting question is why Mr. Gore remains believable.

Or maybe he is believed simply because people want something in which to believe. “The readiness for self-sacrifice,” wrote Eric Hoffer in “The True Believer,” “is contingent on an imperviousness to the realities of life. . . . All active mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. They do this by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. . . . To rely on the evidence of the senses and of reason is heresy and treason. It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible.”

.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
What the hell is wrong with the Left? For a bunch that is so adamant about “separation of Church and state” they sure are obsessed about Prophets (Gore) and Messiahs (Obama).
“100% zero-carbon electricity”… ……use of “renewables” alone, meaning solar, geothermal, wind power and biofuels.
Hellloooo? Al needs a basic science lesson. Biofuels are made from plants, which contain carbon.
Remember when Gore said “Climate Crisis Worse Than Terrorism”? !!

“Former Vice President Al Gore (D) offered the opinion that global warming, not terrorism, is the biggest threat to America. The former VP said that it is imperative that the nation go “green” before it is too late.
“Terrorists may kill thousands,” Gore said. “Warming will kill billions and destroy civilization. If the government doesn’t take immediate action, the survival of the United States as we know it is at risk.”

Face the Nation – Interviews Obama In Afghanistan 20 July 2008

Barack Obama’s Butterfly Effect
abc news
CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in Afghanistan, told the paparazzi-pursued correspondent Lara Logan that

“the objective of this trip was to have substantive discussions with people like President Karzai or Prime Minister Maliki or President Sarkozy or others who I expect to be dealing with over the next eight to 10 years.”
“And it’s important for me to have a relationship with them early, that I start listening to them now, getting a sense of what their interests and concerns are.”

The notion that Obama will be dealing with world leaders for eighjt-to-ten years, possibly up through July 2018, suggests that either (a) he believes that not only will he be elected and re-elected, but the 22nd amendment will be repealed and he will be elected for a third term, OR (b) he was speaking casually and just meant two terms.
(I’m guessing b.)
There is a term in chaos theory describing the how infinitesmal variations of the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system.
Most of us are more familiar with the more common name for it: the butterfly effect.
The butterfly effect was introduced in Ray Bradbury’s 1952 short story “A Sound of Thunder,” when time travelers change the world beyond measure by accidentally killing a butterfly in prehistoric times.
Similarly, international diplomacy can be impacted by careless or glibly-chosen words. (Cue President Bush’s “crusade” remarks.)
Some Democratic allies of Obama’s are — off the record — concerned that the senator too often doesn’t consider the potential butterfly effect of his diction.

Take his support for an “undivided Jerusalem,” or his remarks about women seeking abortions when they’re “feeling blue,” which upset feminist leaders.

Or the media kerfuffle after his “refine my policies” presser.

On his press plane on July 5, after that incident, Obama said, “I’m surprised at how finely calibrated every single word was measured.”

A reporter noted that that is precisely what happens with the president, he can change world affairs with one word, finely calibrating your words is what happens.

“Well, of course, no, I understand,” Obama said. “But for me to say that I’m going to refine my policies, you know, I don’t think in anyway is inconsistent with prior statements and doesn’t change my strategic view that this war has to end and that I am going to end it as president.”

.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Say what? 10 years? LOL oh sure and that is President of 57 States I presume? Lord, have mercy!! What a bozo! This guy shouldn’t even be running for dog catcher never mind the most powerful office on the planet.
I would not pick (b) as the reason as it states above, I would say one of the reasons Obama makes as many mistakes like this is his stupidity. He may have become a lawyer but who took the tests for him at school. LOL
Hmmmmm it must be the Obama Communist plan…….Two “Five Year Plans” for the Communistas.
Words mean something and Obama needs to learn this if he wants to be President. Not only do words have tremendous meaning but so does the emphasis of them.

This is the welcome bag that every delegate and member of the media will receive upon arrival at the Democratic National Convention next month in Denver.

Big Corporation bag given out at the DNC convention (to be filled with goodies)
Salon.com
The financier and lobbyist Steve Farber, the Chief Fundraiser for the Democratic National Convention:
Mr. Farber’s vast contact list could prove crucial in raising the millions of dollars needed by the Denver host committee to showcase Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic Party in August in Denver.
“Steve Farber is involved with a lot of high-level candidates and ones who have won,” said Floyd Ciruli, head of Ciruli Associates, a Denver political consulting firm. “He’s famous for hiring ex-politicians, their children and ex-judges. He’s very good at making connections with people who have access to politicians” . . . .
As a result of Mr. Farber’s efforts, dozens of organizations have signed up as corporate sponsors of the Denver convention, including six that are lobbying clients of his firm:
United Health Group, AT&T, Comcast, the National Association of Home Builders, Western Union and Google.
In return for these donations, which can go up to $1 million or more, sponsors are promised prominent display space for corporate marketing and access to elected officials and Democratic leaders at a large number of parties and receptions.
“Farber has a dual role,” said Steve Weissman, a policy analyst at the Campaign Finance Institute who has studied convention finances. “He is a businessman and a community activist, and yet he is connected to a law firm that is one of the biggest in Washington. When any of Steve Farber’s clients have a problem, federal elected officials will feel obligated to listen to him if he approaches them later on federal policy interests.”
Although he is a Democrat, Mr. Farber’s firm draws political talent from both sides of the aisle. Its lobbyists include Jim Nicholson, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; former Senator Hank Brown, Republican of Colorado; and Judy Black, wife of Charlie Black, Senator John McCain’s chief adviser, and a major bundler of donations for Mr. McCain.
But then there’s this: “In raising money for the convention, Mr. Farber said he was not selling access to the many politicians attending the event, but promoting regional pride and the chance to participate in a historical event.” Everyone can decide for themselves which scenario they find more plausible.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
The rest of the article says it is made from recycled material from Coca-Cola. YUK, look what they did with the American Flag, they turned it into an Obama Nation flag and it is grotesque!
LOL Funny how big business supports the DNC when the Democrats hate big business and the rich. What phonies they are.
HERE is the list of corporate sponsors for the Dems Denver convention below:
http://www.denverconvention2008.com/index.cfm?page=sponsorlist

Barack Obama: Redeploy troops to Afghanistan from Iraq (For “Over the Next Eight to Ten Years”)
telegraph.co.uk ….for ocomplete article
Senator Barack Obama has demanded plans be drawn up immediately for US troops to be redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Visiting Kabul on the first stop of his first major overseas trip since winning the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Mr Obama described conditions in Afghanistan as “precarious and urgent”.
“I think the situation is getting urgent enough that we have to start doing something now,” he told CBS television. “We can’t wait for a new administration otherwise it will be a year before new troops arrive.”
Mr Obama, who is also due to visit Iraq during his eight-day tour, sought to seize the initiative on foreign policy from his Republican rival Senator John McCain, a Vetnam War veteran. Mr Obama met American troops and held talks with President Hamid Karzai, key elements of his trip to two war zones that is intended to convince doubters at home that despite his inexperience he is a plausible future commander-in-chief.
-snip-
Mr Obama has placed defeating the Taliban and al-Qaeda at the centre of his foreign policy. But in an unfortunate reminder of the worsening violence in Afghanistan, Nato admitted yesterday that its forces accidentally killed at least four civilians in the country’s east, while coalition troops mistakenly called in air strikes against Afghan police, killing nine.
Mr Obama did little to disappoint critics who accuse him of arrogance. He said the objective of the trip was to “hold substantive discussions” with national leaders “who I expect to be dealing with over the next eight to ten years”.
He added: “It’s important for me to have a relationship with them early.”
After Afghanistan and Iraq, Mr Obama will visit Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and finally Britain in a grand tour that is attracting unprecedented scrutiny for

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Hey, . Hussein O…… you’re still just a “presumptive” nominee — and getting less “presumptive” every day, it seems.
“It is important TO ME that I get to know them early”
Do they feel the same urgency in getting to know him?
Look at this…MCCain already made a statement about Afghanistan and Obama went on the attack.
http://www.johnmccain.com/downloads/weeklyradio_071908.mp3
Although the situation in Iraq is much improved, the war in Afghanistan has taken a bad turn that must be quickly reversed. Security in that country has deteriorated, and our enemies are on the offensive. And it is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to victory over the Taliban.
Our commanders on the ground in Afghanistan say they need at least three additional brigades. I will ensure our commanders in Afghanistan get the troops they need by asking NATO to send more and by sending U.S. troops as they become available.
But sending more forces, by itself, is not enough to prevail. What we need in Afghanistan is exactly what General David Petraeus brought to Iraq: a nationwide civil-military campaign plan that is focused on providing security for the population. Today no such integrated plan exists. When I am commander-in-chief, it will.
There are many differences between Afghanistan and Iraq, which any plan must account for. But, as in Iraq, the center of gravity is the security of the population. The good news is that our soldiers in Afghanistan have begun to apply the lessons of Iraq — especially in the east, where our forces are concentrated. These efforts, however, are too piecemeal. They are the work of innovative local commanders, rather than a strategy for the entire country. In particular, American forces must re-engage deeper in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban stronghold.
A cardinal rule in any military operation is unity of command, and this has been lacking in our Afghan campaign. Today, there are three different American military combatant commands operating in Afghanistan, as well as NATO. And some of their members operate under national restrictions as to where their troops can go and what they can do. This is not a smart military practice, and it is not how wars are won. As commander-in-chief, I will work with our allies to ensure unity of command. Moreover, with help from other nations, we must double the size of Afghanistan’s own fighting forces to 160,000 troops — so that battle-tested Afghan soldiers can safeguard their own people.
A successful counterinsurgency requires all instruments of our national power, and that military and civilian leaders work together, at all levels, under a joint plan. Too often in Afghanistan this is not happening. So I will appoint a highly-respected national security leader, based in the White House and reporting directly to the president, whose sole mission will be to assure victory in Afghanistan.
A special focus of our regional strategy must be Pakistan, where terrorists are known to hide. One way to root them out is to strengthen local tribes in the border areas that are willing to fight them. Senator Obama has spoken in public about taking unilateral military action in Pakistan. But in trying to sound tough, he has only made it harder to enlist the full support of Pakistan in the fight against terrorists.
In a time of war, the commander-in-chief’s job doesn’t get a learning curve. And if I have that privilege, I will bring to the job many years of military and political experience. It was this experience that guided me in the conviction that the surge in Iraq could turn things around, and clear a path to victory. And I believe with equal conviction that we can prevail in Afghanistan, assuring freedom to the Afghan people and greater security to the American people.
Thanks for listening.—John McCain

LINK to video:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/3032619/#25772851

Wild Thing’s comment……..
Well MSNBC sure tops itself once again with the Tour of Duty baloney connected with B.Hussein Obama. IMO it is a major insult to our military and all our Veterans.
Nicholas saw this when he was flipping channels.
The media will just say it is an innocent label for Obama’s trip I am sure, BUT it is NOT innocent, nothing the media does is innocent. It is planned out to give ithe impression that want to the sheep that take it all in as gospel.

Original Ojamas
source
Obama pajamas, Ojamas, are available in adult small, medium, large, extra large and youth small or medium. Eemblazoned with the “O” from top to bottom in an attractive step and repeat pattern. We are working around the clock to have a limited number of units available by August.
In all cases we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Image to the left is an example drawing for illustrative purposes until the garment production is complete. These pajamas make excellent gifts for the voter, delegate, or candidate who has everything. Great loungewear for students and professionals alike.
* Pajama day at school or on campus? Make it Ojama day!
* Election night pajama party? Make it an Ojama party!
* Quiet evening watching election returns? So much better in your Ojamas!
* Supporting the nominee even in your sleep? Only in Ojamas!
PRICE: $29.99

Wild Thing’s comment……..
OMG how awful! LMAO
And what is this with a pajama party I thought the idea of the Convention was to offically nominate their candidate, hear speechs, eat, party sure ok, eat some more lol, cheer on your candidate, wear funny hates, talk loud ( and hope you are not standing next to someone that REALLY talks loud), meet olther delegates, eat some more and for the drinkers drink some more….hahaha……oh oan bring home a lot of stuff that ends up in the trash later on when you wonder why you thought it was so neat to have.