Sunday, February 8, 2009

CNN reports that 'Biden promises 'new tone' in U.S. foreign affairs' presumably by putting his foot in his mouth whenever possible

So, Ole' Hoof in Mouth Biden is promising a new foreign policy for America. I'm kinda curious as to what he means by new...

"Vice President Joe Biden emphasized a "new tone" in Washington and around the world as he delivered his first major speech Saturday in Munich, Germany. Biden told delegates at a security conference that the United States will work "preventively, not pre-emptively" whenever possible to avoid conflict, and will at the same time "vigorously defend" the nation's security."

Awesome, more doublespeak bullshit. Hey Hoof in Mouth, when you pre-empt someone or something, you're making an attempt to prevent it. As for avoiding conflict, how can one avoid conflict whenever possible while at the same time vigorously defend our security. Let's break this down. Vigorously defending implies being aggressive, going on the offensive. Avoiding conflict as much as possible means that one cannot be aggressive, but rather passive. Let's create an example, say, Iran and nukes. Iran's developing nukes and says that it's going to blow us off the map (hey, anything's possible with the Democlowns). We can vigorously defend ourselves, mainly by blasting Iran before it has a chance to attack us. We could also vigorously avoid conflict and wait until Iran attacks. See what I mean?

"He also said the United States will do everything possible to end the threat posed by extremists.
'We reject as false the choice between our safety and ideals,' Biden told the Munich
Security Conference audience, which included German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "America will vigorously defend our security and our values, and in doing so we will all be more secure.' "

Yeah, because Merkel and Sarkozy have been backing us to the hilt up to this point. But enough of the Eurotrash. The focus is on Biden. If the United States will do everything possible to end the threat, then there has to be, by logical definition, at least some choice between safety and our ideals. I mean, if al qaeda sets off a bomb in this country, are we really going to sit back and tell ourselves "well, we just got pasted, but at least we believed in our ideals..." I say utter horseshit. We may have to scale back on freedoms. I'm not saying I like it, I'm not even advocating it. However, does one honestly think that if terrorists set off an NBC weapon(s) in this country, then we won't change in some profound way? I can almost guarantee you'd have martial law in this country very quickly to offset the nationwide panic. Martial law tends to put a little bit of a dampener on freedoms, you know? Hoof in Mouth is playing a very dangerous game with words here.

"That policy will be in force at Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the U.S. prison that the Obama administration intends to close, Biden said. 'America will not torture. We will uphold the rights of those we bring to justice,' Biden said."

Ok, so it seems that Hoof in Mouth is willing to grant full Constitutional rights to fanatical thugs trying to annhilate us. Talk about being naive...I can see every slick lawyer drooling over the chance to make a name for him/herself by defending these dirtbags. And if you don't believe me, remember OJ...
If they are found guilty, then what? Throw them into already super overcrowded prisons? Create a temptation for a prison breakout (which, incidentally did happen with Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan last year)? Better yet, a chance for these hardened killer fanatics to gain converts in the system? Are we really comprehending the long-term consequences of this? Methinks not.

"The vice president emphasized cooperation with allies and to extend a hand to others. He asked for shared responsibility for security and fighting extremism. 'America will do more. That's the good news,' Biden said. 'The bad news is, America will ask from more from our partners as well.'
Obama's administration doesn't believe international alliances or organizations will diminish American power, Biden said. In fact, he said, such alliances do the opposite -- as long as they are "credible and effective
."

Yeah, because the Europeans and others have been falling over themselves to help us up to this point. America may or may not do more to fight this war. Given the rhetoric of the left, I somehow doubt it. But it's pretty much a given that Europe, far from expanding its role in the war, wants to wind it down as quickly as possible because their governments are under far more pressure from their leftists than we are here. And that is the crux of the argument for Hoof in Mouth regarding alliances. He's right in that sense. An effective alliance is one that works. However, I'd say that NATO, as a fighting force, is becoming less and less credible. In order to project any kind of power, it must rely on American transport, it still very much relies on American firepower for support, and it doesn't have the political will (it's far worse in Europe than here) to back their soldiers up. Time will tell, but history hasn't been very optimistic.

"He said nations working together can help persuade Iran to forgo the development of nuclear weapons, an 'illicit' program that Biden said is not conducive to peace.
'Our administration is reviewing our policy toward Iran, but this much is clear: We'll be willing to talk,' Biden said. 'We'll be willing to talk to Iran and to offer a very clear choice: Continue down the current course and there will be pressure and isolation; abandon the illicit nuclear program and your support for terrorism and there will be meaningful incentives
.' "

Hasn't there been international pressure to force Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program for some time now? If it didn't work before, how is it going to work now? Iran stated recently that the US will have to apologize before it will enter talks. Obviously this is a move expressly designed for our country to lose face. The Democrats may even be stupid enough to go along with it. So here's what it seems like what Hoof in Mouth is saying to Iran (once he gets this awesome support from the rest of the world): Keep developing the weapons and we'll do nothing (economic sanctions are useless) and you'll be as isolated as you have been since the 80's (again, that's been a winning approach so far) or give it up and we'll give you goodies that we can't afford to give because our economy is in the toilet. Yeah, some deal...

"By acting preventively to avoid conflict, Biden said, the United States can start to recapture its strength.
Biden stressed a commitment to reach peace in the Middle East and draw down U.S. forces in Iraq. He also said the United States will continue to work for a stable Afghanistan.
'We look forward to sharing that commitment with the government and people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and with all of our allies and partners, because a deteriorating situation in the region poses a security threat not just to the United States, but I would suggest, somewhat presumptively, to every one of you assembled in this room,' Biden said
."

While it is possible to regain strength by curtailing constant military conflict (hell, even Sun Tzu says as much), I cannot help but wonder if this is a Democratic catchphrase which essentially says they'll let the world walk all over us. Unfortunately, Iraq is still not completely stabilized and the consequences of a pullout there could be disastrous. And if that happens, then are we going to simply ignore it and concentrate on Afghanistan, or will we split things up like we did before?

"Obama ordered a strategic review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is soliciting input from allies, Biden said.
'We are sincere in seeking your counsel,' Biden said. 'As we undertake this review, there's a lot at stake. The result must be a comprehensive strategy for which we all take responsibility.'
The United States also aims to increase foreign assistance to ease poverty, boost education, cancel the debts of poor countries, and launch a 'green revolution' that produces sustainable supplies of food.
"We also are determined to build a sustainable future for our planet," Biden said. "We are prepared to once again lead by example
."

So, we're going to curtail military activities but we're going to solve the food, education and financial problems of the world??? I would love to know who's going to pay for that one. I can guess, but I suspect it won't be the tax-evading Democrats. And we're going to start the Green Revolution to boot! Woo Hoo! We'll fight al qaeda with Greenpeace...Super awesome.

So essentially, we won't just be creating give-away programs for those in our country, but for the entire world! That'll be the underpinnings of the next massive porkulus/spendulus/stimulus package (and I can't wait to see how much that one will cost) next year. Anyway, I thought we were fighting the Muslims. How did 9/11 turn into a fight to have a sustainable planet? Are we recruiting Captain Planet to fight our glorious crusade?

"On the issue of a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe -- a bone of contention with Russia -- Biden said the United States will remain firm in defending against the nuclear threat, and he said Washington aims to work together with Moscow.
'We will not agree with Russia on everything,' he said. 'For example, the United States will not -- will not -- recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. We will not recognize any nation having a sphere of influence.'
But, Biden added, 'the United States and Russia can disagree and still work together where our interests coincide, and they coincide in many places.' Deputy Russian Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov had started off the day Saturday by proposing a ban on deployment of strategic offensive weapons outside a country's borders, Russia's Interfax news agency reported
."

Russia already outflanked us on the missile shield, so it's irrelevant. They tweaked our noses on that and they go what they wanted. As for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, they are Russian satellites and there's very little to nothing that we can do about that for the forseeable future. As for spheres of influences, that's an absolute guarantee that we'll end up in some sort of conflict. International political reality is that there are spheres of influence around strong nations. To cite some examples, China's sphere of influence is around West Asia. Russia's is in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Ours is the Western Hemisphere and wherever we can project force. That's just a reality that one quaint sentence from Hoof in Mouth cannot erase.

"Biden also promised that America will 'act aggressively against climate change.' "

That'll be the third porkulus package coming our way. But then, that's the Democrat way: spend, spend and spend until we bleed ourselves white.

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