OoE,
OTOH...such silliness hasn't damaged the relationships we have with other countries, either. US-ROK, US-JPN, US-PHL, you name it--- all of these relationships have gotten stronger since 2008, primarily because China has been throwing her weight around...and the US was well positioned to take advantage of it.
not sure which serious policymaker thinks that. re: Chinese crappy economic practices, reason why RMB re-evaluation isn't talked about much is because...that's precisely what the Chinese are doing. RMB hit a record high rate against the USD in august.
it's not bull at all. both you and i know that the planning/political interference in the execution of the afghanistan/iraq wars verged on disaster. blame for this lies within both the military and the political establishment.
so, again, i don't think it's an exaggeration to say the bush administration's amateur hour resulted in both wars being significantly more costly than they had to be. these are costs that the US...and her coalition partners...and the iraqis...and the afghanis...paying to this very day.
if the US is a second rate power, then there is no "first rate power".
the US, of all the western powers (with the possible exception of germany) emerged from the financial crisis stronger than before. her long-term fundamentals are better than all of her allies...and all of her potential enemies.
the wars were a strategic necessity. bungling the wars was not.
frankly that's what they were doing in 2002-2008, as well. past the initial scare in 2003, Iran/China/NK were laughing all the way while hundreds of thousands of US troops were fighting sunni/shia insurgents in the streets of Ramadi and Fallujah for nine long years. Iran was busy fighting the US down to the last of sadr's muppets.
the point is that presidential strength isn't the end-all be-all when it comes to international affairs. even less so today vice twenty or thirty years ago. hell, even then, the US survived jimmy carter. and had a few things gone bad (Able Archer 83 comes to mind), we might not have survived reagan!
bowing before the Japanese Emperor did not help in this matter.
And gave the world an impression that the Chinese now have a say in domestic American economic matters and silenced American criticism of Chinese ill economic practices.
This is the kind of bull that I find sickening. There is no clean way to fight a war. Wars are dirty, unpredictable, and damned expensive in both blood and treasure. The only way to avoid it was to avoid the wars all together ... and you can't tell me that we could have avoided Afghanistan.
Iraq was poorly thought out but to this date, no one has ever counter-argued that getting rid of Saddam was not a strategic imperative.
Iraq was poorly thought out but to this date, no one has ever counter-argued that getting rid of Saddam was not a strategic imperative.
so, again, i don't think it's an exaggeration to say the bush administration's amateur hour resulted in both wars being significantly more costly than they had to be. these are costs that the US...and her coalition partners...and the iraqis...and the afghanis...paying to this very day.
That's because the US is also a second rate power.
the US, of all the western powers (with the possible exception of germany) emerged from the financial crisis stronger than before. her long-term fundamentals are better than all of her allies...and all of her potential enemies.
A strategic necessity, especially after 11 September.
Instead, we're letting the likes of North Korea, China, and Iran dictate the picture of their own regional peace and war.
Both Obama and Hillary were adamant that Iran would not be allowed a nuke. Too late.
Both Obama and Hillary were adamant that Iran would not be allowed a nuke. Too late.
the point is that presidential strength isn't the end-all be-all when it comes to international affairs. even less so today vice twenty or thirty years ago. hell, even then, the US survived jimmy carter. and had a few things gone bad (Able Archer 83 comes to mind), we might not have survived reagan!
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