Earlier this week, King Abdullah of Jordan became the first Arab leader to visit Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003. This was a watershed visit—coming nearly five and a half years after Saddam Hussein’s ouster. Abdullah’s talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki focused on security and economic issues including renewing an agreement to sell oil to Jordan at a discounted price and discussing Iraqi refugees currently living in Jordan, who now number half a million according to most estimates. It is in Iraq’s interest to see this type of diplomatic engagement with its neighbors increase—support from its neighbors will be necessary to build on the recent declines in violence in Iraq and help stabilize the region.
A Rove-ian guide to effective attack ads for Democrats
Attack Ad #2: Bomb Iran
Voice-Over: "John McCain seems awfully eager to bomb Iran."
- Cut to video of McCain singing Bomb-Bomb, Bomb-Bomb Iran –
Voice-Over: "That may be difficult, because John McCain doesn’t know where Iran is."
- Cut to McCain "I think it’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border."
Voice-Over: "There is no Iraq-Pakistan border, because Iran is between Iraq and Pakistan. Shouldn’t your president know where a country is before he talks about bombing it? Let’s get our facts straight before rushing into another war."
The American people and in fact, all citizens of the world, should examine what we have done in the four years since reclaiming our government from the lobbyists and war criminals in the election of 2008. They will have to agree that the results have been unique in all history.
—Future Speech of Barack Obama
Four years are behind us. Look at what has happened during these four years. People are forgetful. They accept good and wonderful things as they happen — and then forget about them. But we do not want to forget how things were, and what has happened. This is the transformation which the whole world calls the American miracle. Let us look back and examine the unprecedented achievement and progressive policy that has occurred since the 2008 election.
What was it like four years ago? Think back on the great and moving events: how America was despised in the world, how millions responded to Barack's speech in Berlin with overflowing hearts and indescribable joy. Only people who have been freed from some burden rejoice like that. That is the message of change that Barack Obama has brought. That is the greatest thing a statesman can do: to bring hope to a country!
Is a US Blockade of Iran approaching? A blockade is considered an act of war. Perhaps war is the goal.
Two additional United States naval aircraft carriers are heading to the Gulf and the Red Sea, according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Kuwait Times.
Kuwait began finalizing its "emergency war plan" on being told the vessels were bound for the region.
The US Navy would neither confirm nor deny that carriers were en route.
One of the reasons I subscribe to The Economist is for the little stories...this one blew me away. Apparently, there is a serious plan being put together by the brother of Osama to work with a US contractor to build a bridge a series of cities between Djibouti and Yemen. The issue isn't so much what they plan, but who is involved and the questions this raises...
BTW, I originally posted this Sunday morning in the wee hours when it was incomplete. The 17 comments I surprisingly received were very helpful, and I thank those who took the time to offer their thoughtful opinions.
One of the reasons I subscribe to The Economist is for the little stories...this one blew me away. Apparently, there is a serious plan being put together by the brother of Osama to work with a US contractor to build a bridge a series of cities between Djibouti and Yemen. The issue isn't so much what they plan, but who is involved and the questions this raises...
BTW, I originally posted this Sunday morning in the wee hours when it was incomplete. The 17 comments I surprisingly received were very helpful, and I thank those who took the time to offer their thoughtful opinions.
Skyrocketing oil and natural gas prices in the second quarter of this year led ExxonMobil to report the highest profit ever by an American company. In spite of falling production and rising operating costs, Exxon brought in a 138 billion dollars in revenue and reported an astounding net income of 11.7 billion dollars.
Or at least that could be the summation of the article, by prestigious Israeli, super-reporter/writer David Horovitz.
This year. Horovitz, has already interviewed President George W. Bush, John McCain and now Barack Obama.
Obviously Horovitz, must be a very smart and knowledgable writer on Middle Eastern/Israeli Affairs, to get such coveted sitdowns. Well, Mr. Horovitz, gave us his musings. No he didn't call them the title of my diary (lol). But nonetheless, he provided some very interesting insight on our US politicians.
Below, are excerpts of the writers actual comments on Bush, McCain and Obama's mid-east entourages and their (in his opinion) knowledge of subject (as well as a link to the article.)
Last night, I watched Obama making his speech in Berlin where the infamous wall once stood, "the walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand," he said. I imagined him delivering the same speech with the separation wall Israel has created in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis, in the background...but it was only a fleeting fantasy.
When Barack Obama visited the Western Wall on his trip to Israel, I could not help but be curious about what was scribbled onto the paper he placed into the wall. If you ask anyone that knows me, they would vouch for the fact that I am just naturally, um... curious. On a personal level however, I would feel extremely violated if anyone published my prayers. Prayers are very intimate and a window into our souls. If our private prayers are shared, wouldn't this disclose personal fears, cares and desires?
Knowing what Barack Obama wrote on that note and placed into the Western Wall might erase some doubts, give us an unscripted glimpse into who and what he cares about and uncover what he fears most. This note could help us identify with Barack on some personal level. Am I placing too much value on this one sliver of paper?
Because I believe that its very hard to stay sane in the time we live without watching some of The Daily Show... I try to post a few diary entries about last night's episodes when I get the chance. I hope you enjoy the video recap and feel free to weigh in with comments.
Last night's show dealt with Robert Novak's accident as well as Obama's continued trip overseas, part of the ongoing "Obama Quest" series. But wait, Jon says, there is another Presidential candidate on a quest (you jerks!) - it's John McCain's quest for attention, touring backwater towns in Pennsylvania.
Also, the continuous Osama/Obama brain farts are montaged and Jon does a run down for how you can tell the difference between Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama.
Yes, I am not kidding. A few days ago McCain dropped a whopper: "I know how to win wars" Well, it's about to get topped. Remember a few days ago when it was reported that the NY Times rejected McCain's Iraq editorial in essence because it consisted of little more than attacks on Obama and very little about McCain's OWN vision for Iraq?
That really gets to the essence of McCain's problem in a nutshell: his entire campaign is based on slamming Obama, with a few minor policy ideas, and essentially no vision for what a McCain presidency would look like.
Case in point, take last night's interview on ABC News. Watch his response to a question about the Israeli/Palestinian issue and how he would resolve it:
Last week there was a bit of an uproar over the AP's announcement that they would be permitting a more personal style of writing in their news reporting. It's a bit of a shock because the AP is kind of old school when it comes to the who-what-when-where-why of news. Even though it was some time ago that the AP started disseminating stories with multiple ledes -- straight and more featurized -- this was new.
I don't have the same problem with it some do. Like Orwell, I think that personal, subjective writing might be the best way to preserve "the moral atmosphere of a particular moment in time," an argument that he makes in a wonderful essay called "Looking Back on the Spanish War."
Nevertheless, I think that the weird hybrid between news and personal writing that we're seeing now is just peculiar, and is evident in a recent NY Times story about Obama abroad.
My favorite answer to any of the press' questions of Obama in the past few days is, (and I'm paraphrasing) "My job is to look past Iraq. Of course, General Patreus will tell me what he thinks of conditions on the ground, his need for more or fewer resources, etc. That's his job. He's the Commander in Iraq. But my job is to take his opinions into account and look at our strategy in the region, and look beyond Iraq."
What a tremendous, smart statement.
If only McBush would take their blinders off and start looking at the whole of the Middle East and a comprehensive foreign policy... Of course, they're not going to do that. They want permanent US bases in Iraq and they want to tinker with the oil revenue at all costs because since they ousted Hussein and had elections, our presense there has never been about security and surges. It's been about oil revenue and control.
Senator Obama is holding a live Press conference in the town of Sderot Israel now.
He is being hosted by the Mayor of Sderot. The town is at the center of the fighting, and has received over 2600 missle attacks so far this year (that's whats behind Obama; spent missle shells).
But, further below (in the body), are the latest McCain Shenanigans. McCain, has altered his Surge story again. Today, in a speech, he blurred the lines between the Surge, and the Sunni Awakening, with out every calling it by name, but prasing General Petraeus's "new strategy" as a hero
Now to Obama: Dressed in a white open collar shirt, with no suit jacket.
He looks, and sounds so Presidential.
Obama is not picking the questions. That's being done by an Israeli (and so far most of the questions are being asked by Israeli media).
But these guys, are trying to really ask tough questions, or put Obama in a pickle. He's truly walking a minefield before he leaves for Europe. The haters (like A. Mitchell) are gonna really look for gaffes here.
This is being broadcast on MSNBC and CNN right now.
Obama has been catching some dimissive flak from certain pundits regarding his upcoming trip to Europe.
Granted, Sen. Obama is merely a candidate and not yet the leader of the Free World (although that may be a foregone conclusion) but it's interesting to compare the press musings before Pres. Kennedy's European trip in 1963, equally dismissive and patronizing--and ultimately so wrong.
From an article in Wednesday's Guardian, columnist Jonathan Freedland offers a different perspective on Obama and the Middle East, beginning with this nice opening metaphor:
It's lucky Barack Obama has people to carry his bags these days, because when he arrived in Israel last night he brought with him a whole lot of baggage.
