Friday News Roundup - International
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-12-21/friday-news-roundup-international
An independent panel faults the U.S. State Department on Benghazi, Libya. Pakistani militants kill nine polio vaccine workers. And South Korea elects its first female president. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
Guests
Yochi Dreazen
contributing editor at The Atlantic and author of a forthcoming book on military suicide.
Susan Glasser
editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine.
Hisham Melhem
Washington bureau chief for Al-Arabiya News Channel.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Diane, please ask your commentators to address the benefit of the vote to the Republicans from the standpoint of strategy. This allows him to go back to the White House and say "Look Mr. President, you'll have to compromise more because we cannot get what's on the table....." More compromise from Democrats is required, eh? Smart move, really.
DaveMiller wrote:
Diane, please ask your commentators to address the benefit of the vote to the Republicans from the standpoint of strategy. This allows him to go back to the White House and say "Look Mr. President, you'll have to compromise more because we cannot get what's on the table....." More compromise from Democrats is required, eh? Smart move, really.
'scuse me Dave, I think that comment was supposed to be regarding the domestic hour of the show. I'm not sure why you posted it here, on the page for the international hour, 52 minutes before you could have anything to comment on.
Israel lobbying organizations are waging an all-out campaign to keep Senator Chuck Hagel from becoming Secretary of Defense. Please have your panelists discuss how the US loses qualified political appointees (e.g. Chaz Freeman) because they are not sufficiently deferential to the interests of a foreign country and its lobby.
What a well rounded panel we have this morning! Giving us the real truth as we didn't see it or live it during the weeks and months after 09/11/2012. Mr. Orwell would be impressed with the quality of the Newspeak. Thank You so much for this end of year program. God bless our dear president.
Please, on Chuck Hagel - the question was about the Israel Lobby. Your commenter Susan managed to avoid the question quite slickly. Hisham at least mentioned dirty politics in Washington and implied that critics of Hagel undercut established (at least in words) US policy, although he didn't go the whole way to specifically explicate the nefarious affect of the Israel Lobby on US politics and policy.
Hisham Melhem sounds like he is on the payroll of Obama or the democrats or both.
I for one am tired of the Israeli lobbyists defining our foreign policy. As Dennis Ross, long time middle eastern diplomat, has stated, we need to approach the Israeli Palestinian issue with our values. We have not. Both sides in this issue have engaged in aggressive tactics and without regard for any mutual respect. Giving unquestioning support to Israel is not anyone's best interest. Nor is condoning what the Palestinian has done. But overreaction from both sides pushed everyone to extremes.
Not doubt I will be called antisemitic for these comments. I am not but I am very tired and so is the rest of the world for this endless conflict.
With respect, Susan said, regarding Pakistani drones, you can't put technology back in the box. Pardon me, but the question is not about technology, it's about morality and killing. She further disgraces her comment by wrapping it in the fatuous fiction of the US 'constitutional framework' as, what, a moderating control on the use of drones?
And then referring to Israel and remembering, halfway through comment, that Israel is already weaponizing it's drones and, truth be told, the US seems to learn it's most antidemocratic tactics, as in counterinsurgency, from Israel.
Who changed the wording and removed “terrorists” from the speaking points? Who suggested the reason was due to a video, when early on, it was common knowledge that terrorists caused the Benghazi murders. [Air America widow Jon Merkel KIA Laos 18 Feb 70]
Benghazi....If the republicans were in power they would be saying "you go to diplomatic post with the security you have not with the security you wish you had"!!! FURTHERMORE... we need to investigate what the Bush administration knew about WMDs why did they invade I mean the real reason.....and why they sent troops over with inadequate armor..the list is endless GOP we will investigate every lapse unless it is committed by us AKA IOKIYAR
biltmore is super-astute in observing how Bush needed a certain number of US casualties to keep the war powered moneyball rolling. A traitor who'd condemn 3,000 to die the first day could easily stomach 5,000 over 10 years. In Biblical times Roman crucifixion was both a demonstration of power and a sadistic means of exercising it. Obama believes in exercizing and goes to the drone gym several times a week. Sometimes they hit a school and take out 20 grade-schoolers, but it's far away where there are no McDonalds and no one important notices. If it's Gaza; that's a victory! Too bad Israeli weapons aren't limited to seamstress scissors, because rocks dull scissors.
In regard to Iran's nuclear bomb program Mr. Hagel has already ruled out the use of military force. This is in contradiction to The President's stated policy that all options are on the table. If Mr. Hagel were to go through than the Iranian mullahs would read that there is no threat that the US would take military action and that they would be free to continue their dangerous policy. This would make it MORE likely that Israel would unilaterally launch an attack, not less.
It gets worse: as senator, Mr. Hagel repeatedly voted against Iran sanctions. He would not even exert that minimal pressure against the bomb makers in Iran.
Wrong choice.
I loved the comment,"we spend on more military marching bands than embassy security".....If that is true that is pathetic. Especially given the NeoNutzi clown show regarding Benghazi.
CindyDude: "sanctions . . .minimal pressure against the bomb makers in Iran. "
Cold, cold, cold. I guess retributive collective punishment against a civilian population is considered minimal. You're all heart.
Don S: This is the (Iranian)population which, after all, elected its leaders. They do bare some responsibility for their government's actions, no? Or maybe you don't believe that the Iranian elections were straight up, as Ahmadinejad claims.