Thomas Lindaman says Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak isn't going to step down, then he does... the very next day. Oops!
For damage control, Lindaman has to pull out his usual soundbite of "Obama isn't a leader", accusing him of being indecisive regarding Egypt.
Right-wingers who think these Republicans aren't the ones playing it safe are either quick to forget or simply kidding themselves. In the grand tradition of chickenhawk right-wing motherfuckers everywhere, the GOP talks a lot but aren't really saying (or doing) anything of substance.
Do you know why people like Lindaman isn't saying what Obama should've done? Because what the President did, is pretty much what any intelligent President would've been able to do: offer assistance for peaceful resolution, and support for the legal government, while standing for a solution that ends up with less people dead by their own government's forces, and where all parties are represented in the formation of a new government.
Of course, that won't stop right-wing cow-fuckers from waving the flag to support the Freedom Loving Peoples of Egypt, or trying to scare folks about the scary Muslims and trying to make poor analogies to the Iranian Revolution that has little to no relation to the current crisis in Egypt, but in the end, for the GOP candidates, it isn't really an issue, because they are personally powerless to do much, and in the end, it has little to do with the US, and by not engaging the issue, they don't have to admit that there isn't much different really to do.
Right-wing idiots have no idea. Seriously. This was one of the most delicate diplomatic situations we could have possibly faced. Mubarak, though a dictator, was our ally in the war on terror. He was also an ally of Israel. Had we backed the protesters and he then stayed in power, we'd be in deep trouble in the region as far as diplomacy and intelligence gathering goes.
If you look at this in the context of the Bush administration's disastrous "support" for democracy, it is clear as can be that the result of the Egyptian uprising was the best possible outcome. If Obama had come out swinging for the "freedom fighters" in Tahrir Square, or some Reaganesque tripe along those lines, you can bet the dictatorship would have immediately accused the protesters of being foreign agents, with predictable results. (Compare Iran's failed Green Revolution.)
We can support what the protesters want, we can push for a peaceful resolution, and we can condemn the fighting, but we cannot openly back an internal revolution against a legitimate government. Obama took a hands off approach, but was in favor of the guy stepping down. End result? The guy steps down, Obama gets his end result of choice, and it cost us very little. The right would have had us make the revolution about us, and not the Egyptians, and that would have made things worse.
Obama did the intelligent thing and let our military and their military talk through the thirty years of back channels to figure out what the hell needed to happen. The right has no idea how to handle something like this, as they are short-sighted failures when it comes to statesmenship.
Thank Christ this happened while the deliberative (not indecisive) Obama was president instead of Bush or McCain - or, god help us, Palin. Can you imagine?
A peaceful revolution in a Muslim country flies in the face of the 'spread democracy though force' ideology of the right. To make matters worse, Egypt tossed out a guy they were heavy supporters of.
It's a huge embarrassment for the right-wingers. It proved popular revolution can come without the US having to attack, or support a violent anti-government party.
It's a wrench in the Neocon fucked up book of foreign policy. No more grand American narrative about being the peacekeepers, no more fantasies about running roughshod all over brown people to be the white savior of a oppressed but simple mass of people. Nope, they can do it just fine on their own, which means all our of military buildup (justification for our budget wasted on expensive shit that can't stop a jetliner full of people as a terrorist threat) is wasted cash, effort, and time.
Obama played this one just right. And it absolutely infuriates the right wingers. Yay!
For damage control, Lindaman has to pull out his usual soundbite of "Obama isn't a leader", accusing him of being indecisive regarding Egypt.
Right-wingers who think these Republicans aren't the ones playing it safe are either quick to forget or simply kidding themselves. In the grand tradition of chickenhawk right-wing motherfuckers everywhere, the GOP talks a lot but aren't really saying (or doing) anything of substance.
Do you know why people like Lindaman isn't saying what Obama should've done? Because what the President did, is pretty much what any intelligent President would've been able to do: offer assistance for peaceful resolution, and support for the legal government, while standing for a solution that ends up with less people dead by their own government's forces, and where all parties are represented in the formation of a new government.
Of course, that won't stop right-wing cow-fuckers from waving the flag to support the Freedom Loving Peoples of Egypt, or trying to scare folks about the scary Muslims and trying to make poor analogies to the Iranian Revolution that has little to no relation to the current crisis in Egypt, but in the end, for the GOP candidates, it isn't really an issue, because they are personally powerless to do much, and in the end, it has little to do with the US, and by not engaging the issue, they don't have to admit that there isn't much different really to do.
Right-wing idiots have no idea. Seriously. This was one of the most delicate diplomatic situations we could have possibly faced. Mubarak, though a dictator, was our ally in the war on terror. He was also an ally of Israel. Had we backed the protesters and he then stayed in power, we'd be in deep trouble in the region as far as diplomacy and intelligence gathering goes.
If you look at this in the context of the Bush administration's disastrous "support" for democracy, it is clear as can be that the result of the Egyptian uprising was the best possible outcome. If Obama had come out swinging for the "freedom fighters" in Tahrir Square, or some Reaganesque tripe along those lines, you can bet the dictatorship would have immediately accused the protesters of being foreign agents, with predictable results. (Compare Iran's failed Green Revolution.)
We can support what the protesters want, we can push for a peaceful resolution, and we can condemn the fighting, but we cannot openly back an internal revolution against a legitimate government. Obama took a hands off approach, but was in favor of the guy stepping down. End result? The guy steps down, Obama gets his end result of choice, and it cost us very little. The right would have had us make the revolution about us, and not the Egyptians, and that would have made things worse.
Obama did the intelligent thing and let our military and their military talk through the thirty years of back channels to figure out what the hell needed to happen. The right has no idea how to handle something like this, as they are short-sighted failures when it comes to statesmenship.
Thank Christ this happened while the deliberative (not indecisive) Obama was president instead of Bush or McCain - or, god help us, Palin. Can you imagine?
A peaceful revolution in a Muslim country flies in the face of the 'spread democracy though force' ideology of the right. To make matters worse, Egypt tossed out a guy they were heavy supporters of.
It's a huge embarrassment for the right-wingers. It proved popular revolution can come without the US having to attack, or support a violent anti-government party.
It's a wrench in the Neocon fucked up book of foreign policy. No more grand American narrative about being the peacekeepers, no more fantasies about running roughshod all over brown people to be the white savior of a oppressed but simple mass of people. Nope, they can do it just fine on their own, which means all our of military buildup (justification for our budget wasted on expensive shit that can't stop a jetliner full of people as a terrorist threat) is wasted cash, effort, and time.
Obama played this one just right. And it absolutely infuriates the right wingers. Yay!