News Roundup - Hour 2
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-06-25/news-roundup-hour-2
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Mark Bartosch and Staff Sgt. Bradley Watts pull security on the outskirts of the village of Margah, during a presence patrol. Sgt. Maj. Bartosch is the Operations Sgt. Maj. for the 187th Infantry and Staff Sgt. Watts is a member of 4th Platoon, ABU Company, 1-187th Infantry (Air Assault), Combat Outpost Margah, Paktika Province, Afghanistan, 6 May 2010.
Sgt. Derec Pierson for the U.S. Army via isafmedia on Flickr
In Afghanistan, General Petraeus is in and General McChrystal out. China says its currency can fluctuate and the U.S. wins a thriller at the World Cup. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
Moises Naim
chief international columnist, El Pais.
Elise Labott
senior State Department producer for CNN.
Kevin Whitelaw
defense and foreign policy editor, Congressional Quarterly.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
I have been losely following the World Cup results. I find it interesting that the U.S.A. won their group beating out the british. I look forward to the U.S.'s next game against Ghana. I will also be rooting for England to beat the Germans (cause I listen to & watch the BBC when I can.) On a more serious note; Is China really serious about changing their monitary exchange rate? Will it really help with our trade deficit?
The comment that General McChrystal was seen as too concerned with Civilian casualties and so wasn't as agressive as he might have been sounds like a cover. The rules of engagement are based on directives from the White House are they not. They are so strick that they actually put Our forces in danger and allow the enemy to take safe haven among Civilians, knowing we won't shoot then. Where ever you want to wrongly place blame, hopefully General Perteaus can ease the rules of engagement and allow or troops to protect themselves.
Gen Stanley A. McChrystal's date of rank is June 15, 2009
He'd need to stay on active duty until June 2011 to retire as a 4-star. That means he'll need to hang around in the Pentagon or some Service School for 12 months. It would take some interesting assignment flexibility to allow that.
Pentagon insiders: is that likely? Is it even possible? Even given a generous separation leave?
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal)
I became upset when Diane replied to a listener commenting on demonstrators in Toronto at the G20 Summit to the effect that the era of demonstrations is ended. This may seem true at the present time but one must ask where our rights to gather peaceably and have our grievances addressed went (I realize the meetings are in Canada but this does not negate human rights under the UN Charter, and US officials are representing us there.) Soon a time my come when nonviolent civil actions are important and Diane Rehm's comment seems to negate such a possibility. Are the only alternatives to contribute money or wisely manage our investments? I suggest that neither option is viable for a population with diminishing wealth. Most Americans cannot move residence or even change jobs to express political concerns. To deny people the just use of their most basic possession, their body, is to join the camp of oil executives and retired Senator Alan Simpson who see those without wealth as lesser or little, of no consequence to the powerful. I had faith in Diane and believed she had not been corrupted by mingling with insiders. Apathy is a condition caused by hopelessness, feeling inferior and well-founded fear of the powerful. It is sad when Diane Rehm with nearly 2 million listeners tells potential complaintants to tend to their own business or stay home because the only viable mode of reaction available to them is out of fashion. That's like not being able to go out in public without the latest shoes and handbag, a sick and unrealistic position. I do not write to hurt Diane, but only to describe how hurt I felt