tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post1263248138239484221..comments2024-02-23T11:23:45.971-05:00Comments on Lost Motorcyclist: Looking at a Propaganda CartoonLost Motorcyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-75136083213025477502011-05-21T13:18:43.583-04:002011-05-21T13:18:43.583-04:00Paul: You write, 'those who would hail Obama&#...Paul: You write, '<i>those who would hail Obama's administration as being more peaceful would be sadly mistaken.</i>'<br /><br />How true that is. One need only look at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Defense_Spending_Trends.png" rel="nofollow">defense budget increases</a> during this administration.<br /><br />Tough to square those military spending increases with a trillion and half dollar deficit. <br /><br />The <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=DXY:IND" rel="nofollow">USDX</a> (U.S. dollar index) has depreciated 11.5% during the last 12 months, is now close to record lows, portending a flight from the dollar, with everything that entails. Tough times ahead.Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-52048710444551803472011-05-21T11:01:51.711-04:002011-05-21T11:01:51.711-04:00I think it's too bad that both sides have trie...I think it's too bad that both sides have tried to hard to take this victory from one side and attribute it to the other. Bush's administration was doing everything it could get to get Bin Laden, and Obama's administration did everything it could to get Bin Laden, and those nearly 10 years of hard work paid off. <br /><br />This was an American victory, regardless of what political pundits are trying to cast it as. <br /><br />Separate from the Bin Laden issue, though, those who would hail Obama's administration as being more peaceful would be sadly mistaken. He has ramped up drone attacks all over the world, sent more troops to Afghanistan, and has given lip service to removing troops from Iraq (50,000 of which are still there). Now we're involved in Libya, and his claim is that our involvement there is so limited that he doesn't need permission from Congress to continue his involvement.<br /><br />Madeye: Yes, we are much safer now that Bin Laden was dead. He was the inspiring figurehead, the organizer, and the main fund raiser for Al Qaida. They are <i>much</i> less affective as an organization now that he is gone, and I don't believe that they'll be able to mount any kind of affective retaliation.<br /><br />The killing of Bin Laden was not vengeance. It was justice against an enemy combatant in a declared war, a war which was declared on both sides. There is nothing wrong, unjust, or illegal about that.Paul Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14504277126628995931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-87117008190963845952011-05-03T15:57:28.633-04:002011-05-03T15:57:28.633-04:00'Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but ra...'<i>Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.</i>' <br />(Romans 12:19 - KJV)Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-36322734875505896492011-05-03T12:35:13.995-04:002011-05-03T12:35:13.995-04:00I am no psychologist, but I would bet that most Am...I am no psychologist, but I would bet that most Americans would want Bin Laden dead even at the risk of being a bit less safe. After all, they still drive cars that kill a lot more people than 9/11. If you want something bad enough, you're willing to take a few risks.Lost Motorcyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873504561959138792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156536327610779049.post-36128003373745180372011-05-03T11:04:44.988-04:002011-05-03T11:04:44.988-04:00Numerous analysts have maintained from the outset ...Numerous analysts have maintained from the outset that the most effective approach to targeting 'high value targets' such as 'terrorist' leaders is through the use of intelligence and focused action, rather than through conventional military deployments.<br /><br />Although that is likely a gross oversimplification, the bin Laden assassination suggests that there may be some merit to the argument. On the other hand, the experience of the Mossad's hit squads has been rather mixed.<br /><br />So, when it comes to allocating credit for taking out bin Laden, it all depends on how one looks at it. Obama supporters (including cartoonists) will spin it one way; Republican supporters will feel entitled to claim the opposite.<br /><br />But most people seem to ignoring the important question, '<i>Does this assassination make Americans any safer?</i>'Madeyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02593933575568389288noreply@blogger.com