tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342454496014200176.post8066401336194229883..comments2023-05-05T06:38:34.592-04:00Comments on IMHO: GOLD STAR AWARDS, June, 2010Niceguy Eddiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03896896323840121445noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342454496014200176.post-20592225141085625542010-06-27T08:35:04.959-04:002010-06-27T08:35:04.959-04:00Thanks for the link to classicliberal's blog. ...Thanks for the link to classicliberal's blog. Sadly and unfortunately, I've grown to love fellow anti-Obama liberals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342454496014200176.post-33510482450982706282010-06-25T12:13:39.377-04:002010-06-25T12:13:39.377-04:00Class,
Honestly I don't really have any stron...Class,<br /><br />Honestly I don't really have any strong opinions about General Petreaus one way or the other, and know too little about any of the alternatives to say who might have been a better choice. Personally I think his performance in Iraq, in period since that infamous Betray-Us report to congress anyway, has been generally positive. While the Iraq war was a pointless, illegal and counterproductive venture from the start (see me post to Conchobar in the Ireland post for more on that) I never felt that way because it was being bungled by any one General, and esp not by Patreaus. It was something that just NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED. But that mistake lies squarely with Presidents Bush and Cheney. And he's got one upside: as someone who is already known to most of the troops and staff in place in Afghanistan, the transition from Gen. McChrystal to Gen. Petreaus might be less disruptive than to someone coming from a completely different school. In terms of carrying out Obama's foreign policy there, if the President is comfortable with him, then so am I.<br /><br />Is it yet another [unnecessarily] "safe" choice on Obama's part? Yeah, probably. But I can't call it “stupid” unless I though he was incapable of doing the job he's being sent to do. And as I said: I have no strong opinions about him one way or the other. I wouldn't advise fixing the last guy’s politicization of the General Staff by further politicizing the General Staff. OTOH... should you choose to write anything up on Petreaus himself? You KNOW I'll read it and give it some serious consideration. After all... I didn't feel that strongly about Elena Kagan until I read some of your stuff, which got me motivated to do some more follow-up on my own.<br /><br />OTOH... check Sotomayor (who you’ve also expressed misgiving about) in Skilling v United States: Dissenting along with Stevens and Breyer, when even Ginsburg concurred. And between you and me, while I see their point on the whole "vagueness" issue, there is NO WAY I'd have allowed a scumbag like Jeff Skilling be the one to set this precedent! For him to claim he was providing "honest services" or honest ANTHING should have been laughed right out of court.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment, and as much as we may ever disagree, yours will always remain an opinion that I hold in the highest regard.Niceguy Eddiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03896896323840121445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7342454496014200176.post-30977503636103518302010-06-24T21:01:31.388-04:002010-06-24T21:01:31.388-04:00Why, thank you very much. I hereby accept this awa...Why, thank you very much. I hereby accept this award, and consider it an honor, even if you <i>are</i> wrong about health care and filibusters!<br /><br />Something new with which you may agree with me, though, is the INCREDIBLE stupidity of the Obama in hiring David Betray-Us, who, like the man he was replacing, is a hardcore Bushite ideologue, part of the same clique of politician "generals" that surrounded Tommy Franks, all of whom owed their positions to their loyalty to Bush, rather than their competence as military men. They've never displayed any of the latter from these lofty positions (what a GREAT job in Iraq and Afghanistan, right?). Bush waged a purge against those who weren't considered loyal enough, and, instead of bringing some of those fellows back, Obama picks another Bush clown.<br /><br />--the Moonbatclassicliberal2http://lefthooktheblog.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com