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Sey Hersh: military is waging war on Obama White House

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by tigermission1, Oct 24, 2009.

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  1. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Contributing Member

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    Hersh: Military waging war with White House

    http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full...g+war+with+White+House&instance=homethirdleft

    DURHAM — The U.S. military is not just fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America’s most renowned investigative journalist says.

    The army is also “in a war against the White House — and they feel they have [President] Obama boxed in,” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh told several hundred people in Duke University’s Page Auditorium on Tuesday night. “They think he’s weak and the wrong color. Yes, there’s racism in the Pentagon. We may not like to think that, but it’s true and we all know it.”

    In a speech on Obama’s foreign policy, Hersh, who uncovered the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and torture at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraqi war, said many military leaders want Obama to fail.

    “A lot of people in the Pentagon would like to see him get into trouble,” he said. By leaking information that the commanding officer in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says the war would be lost without an additional 40,000 American troops, top brass have put Obama in a no-win situation, Hersh contended.

    “If he gives them the extra troops they’re asking for, he loses politically,” Hersh said. “And if he doesn’t give them the troops, he also loses politically.”

    The journalist criticized the president for “letting the military do that,” and suggested the only way out was for Obama to stand up to them.

    “He’s either going to let the Pentagon run him or he has to run the Pentagon,” Hersh said. If he doesn’t, “this stuff is going to be the ruin of his presidency.”

    Hersh called the “Af-Pak” situation — the spreading conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan — Obama’s main challenge.

    The war in Afghanistan has destabilized Pakistan, which has 80 to 100 nuclear weapons, said Hersh, who recently returned from a visit to South Asia. “And the nuclear situation [in Pakistan] is more dire than you could know. It sucks.”

    The only way for the U.S. to extricate itself from the conflict, Hersh said, is to negotiate with the Taliban.

    “It’s the only way out,” he said. “I know that there’s a lot of discussion in the White House about this now. But Obama is going to have to take charge, and there’s no evidence he’s going to do that.”

    While critical of the president on Afghanistan, Hersh, who travels to the Middle East three or four times a year, did praise his foreign policy initiatives toward Iran.

    “When it comes to Iran, he’s changed the paradigm,” he said. “[President] Bush always said we’ll negotiate with those duty Iranians about their nuclear enrichment plans when they stop enriching nuclear material. Obama understands there is some room there to maneuver. That’s a huge change.”

    He also praised Obama for also changing the paradigm with his decision to shelve plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Doing that, he said, would help U.S. relations with Russia.

    “It’s about time we realize we have a lot in common with the Russians, like worrying about China and global terrorism,” Hersh said.

    The missiles, he added, were just a continuation of the Cold War, and “it’s about time for us to capture some of the benefit we were supposed to get from ending the Cold War.”
     
    #1 tigermission1, Oct 24, 2009
  2. Landlord Landry

    Landlord Landry Member

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    in before Glenn Beck/Fox News.
     
    #2 Landlord Landry, Oct 24, 2009
  3. Malcolm

    Malcolm Member

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    1 Proving my point that there is racism in the military.

    2 This guy does not speak for the ground troops who are actually doing the work and not in the strategy room getting all the credit for doing nothing but following old techniques they didn't design.
     
    #3 Malcolm, Oct 24, 2009
  4. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost be kind. be brave.
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    Same old, same old.
     
    #4 DonnyMost, Oct 24, 2009
  5. BetterThanEver

    BetterThanEver Contributing Member

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    Would Jindal be the right color, if he wins the next election? He's indian, but he is not a black man. Racism in the Pentagon, who knew? :rolleyes:
     
    #5 BetterThanEver, Oct 24, 2009
  6. Dubious

    Dubious Contributing Member

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    The politicians always have to rein in the military.


    There has been a very subtle shift in the spin coming out of the White House during this deliberation period, slowly separating the identities of Al Queada and the Taliban. They are setting up a new endgame where we negotiate a political settlement in Afghanastan; a power sharing agreement between the theocrats and the Karzi network of strongmen. And really what other endgame is there?
     
    #6 Dubious, Oct 24, 2009
  7. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    How does this prove there is racism in the military? Racism in the military exist because some journalist says its exist, using a very broad term of "they"? You people (hey! how did you like that unfair generality) on this BBS love to chastise other posters for posting opinions and not following up their facts with links for proof. But it doesn't matter if that link to that journalist doesn't back up his facts, as long as it agrees with your slanted thought, thus making it true.

    I guess the wingers are right ... if you disagree with obama, you're racist.
     
    #7 Space Ghost, Oct 24, 2009
  8. Major

    Major Member

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    Refman disagrees with Obama on a lot of things. No one's called him racist. So much for your theory.
     
    #8 Major, Oct 24, 2009
  9. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    No, it exists because it exists, genius:

    Vet blasts military racism

    SPLC finds evidence of white supremacist activity in military


    These are just a few examples. You are very good at fail.
     
    #9 SamFisher, Oct 24, 2009
  10. basso

    basso Contributing Member
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    A secret video of an NSA meeting on Af-Pak strategy has emerged:

    <object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YawagQ6lLrA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YawagQ6lLrA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object>
     
    #10 basso, Oct 24, 2009
  11. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    Once again, does this make everyone in the military racist? You can go into every town in America and find evidence of white supremacist, but according to you, I guess that makes all American towns racist.

    Its pretty silly to assume that racism doesn't exist anywhere in the military, but its even more foolish to go around calling the military racists. Then again, common sense is not your forte.
     
    #11 Space Ghost, Oct 24, 2009
  12. Sweet Lou 4 2

    Sweet Lou 4 2 Contributing Member
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    There's racism in every single corner of the country, from our legal system, to our gov't, and yes our military, so I don't know what the point of any of this discussion is.

    I am more concerned about the af-pak situation than anything else. This isn't about racism or Obama appearing weak, it's about a real problem.

    I don't think I have a problem with Obama taking his time considering the complexity of the situation. You have the Taliban, and a disputed election in Afghanistan, and a need not to take action to inflame Pakistan's opposition because that gov't is very weak.

    But Obama at the end of the day must come up with a very solid plan. Not sure if that's possible, but everyone, and I mean everyone, needs Obama to succeed here. This ain't the 2016 Olympics.
     
    #12 Sweet Lou 4 2, Oct 24, 2009
  13. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    Hey space ghost, how are you?

    Let's take your argument step by step.

    Did anybody argue that "everyone in the military" was racist?

    Please let me know which post # and the approximate time of the posting.

    Then we can investigate the validity of your allegation.

    Thanks in advance!

    :)
     
    #13 SamFisher, Oct 24, 2009
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