Governor Romney stubbed his toe on this point in the debate last night.
How dumb do they think we are? When we send people to unstable countries to interact with the people that live there, the job is dangerous. Especially if, as seems to have been the case with Ambassador Stevens, those diplomats are actually capable of talking with and possibly understanding something about the locals. Many Libyans seem to have liked the guy -- and, though Republicans seem to think that's a sign of weakness -- that's a kind of strength that begins to offset some of the enemies our gross imperial pretensions have collected.
Libyans demonstrate after the Benghazi attack.
This dangerous job is why we have diplomats. It can never be a completely safe position -- unless we lock our folks down so they never interact with the locals. And if we do that, we become blinded fools about those other countries -- oh yeah, we did just have a Republican president and staff who were such fools. But ignorance is nothing to aspire to.
Unless maybe you are a Republican...
Once again you nailed it. Right on! Republicans at least think Republicans are morons.
ReplyDeleteNo, you missed the essence. The Obama command is and was hiding the fact that AQ is growing and that the US is getting moved out, little by little, from the Middle East, thanks to bipartisan meddling and intervention.
ReplyDeleteOnly people like Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul have clean hands in the Middle East.
Romney of course offers no positive alternative, so choose your interventionist poison.
@Ken: If various Islamists (probably not AQ) are gaining ground in these societies, it is most likely because people are sick and tired of being dissed and oppressed by foreigners and their own elites who treat them like dirt. People seek dignity and a decent life. They'll do things that look awful from the outside when hurting badly enough.
ReplyDeleteMostly the U.S. is part of the problem and almost never the solution.