Posted on 01/12/2008 1:48:20 AM PST by forkinsocket
I believe the most precious gift the next president could bestow upon America is an end to the politics of fear.
Fear, of course, has its place. Seven decades ago, the world did not fear Hitler enough. Today, Iraq remains a powder keg, Afghanistan a struggle, Iran a potential danger and North Korea a puzzle not yet solved. Pakistan combines all the elements that give us an international migraine. Al-Qaeda and its offshoots deserve our most urgent attention, because when people say they want to kill us, we would be fools not to take them at their word.
Still, we have had an overdose of fear in recent times.
We have been told to be afraid so that we might be less protective of our Constitution, less mindful of international law, less respectful toward allies, less discerning in our search for truth and less rigorous in questioning what our leaders tell us. We have been exhorted by the White House to embrace a culture of fear that has driven and narrowed our foreign policy while poisoning our ability to communicate effectively with others.
One manifestation of fear is an unwillingness to think seriously about alternative perspectives. America's standing in the world has been in free fall these past few years because our country is perceived as trying to impose its own reality -- to fashion a world that is safe and comfortable for us with little regard for the views of anyone else.
I love America deeply and I believe our country is still the best in the world, but I also believe we have developed a dangerous lack of self-awareness. No nukes, we say, while possessing the world's largest arsenal. Respect the law, we demand, while disregarding the Geneva Conventions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Why? This is the same "others" that came up with fascism, communism, and now this thing called Islamofascism.
What a slimy and unhinged woman.
She sure did fit in with the Clinton administration, didn’t she?
Madeline, you obscene POS, do you remember when YOU justified the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis - allegedly caused by the U.S./U.N. sanctions - on the grounds that Saddam Hussein posed a serious threat to U.S. national security? Do you remember? Does the WP remember? No, because it, like you, are a liar and a revisionist.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep
the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be
led to safety) by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
- H. L. Mencken
I don’t give a damn how others see us! What does she think this is, anyway? High school!
We heard that ad nauseam in the 1990’s...give us a break.
But she did it the RIGHT way, via international law.
Maddy the Dancing Midget pranced around for Kim Jong Il while hundreds of thousands of innocent North Korean men, women and children were imprisoned, tortured, used for medical ‘experiments’ and murdered.
She was more than happy to play ‘let’s make a deal’ with Comrade Chia Pet.
But Maddy gets a pass, because the Bush Administration is doing exactly the same thing on their final journey to Legacyville.
Deja Vu all over again in the worst nightmare America has experienced in the last hundred years.
Apparently so. This woman does not understand the simple principle of human psychology that is leading by example. When you are the leader of the free world, leading by example, there are and will be a LOT of jealous countries who will stop at next to nothing to knock you off the top perch. It's human nature to do so. It's why we relish Valedictorians, sports champions and the like, but it's also why the folks following behind them try to better their mark. This woman isn't qualified to write an article, much less have ever been Secretary of State.....she's a loon!
>>Seven decades ago, the world did not fear Hitler enough.<<
Wrong! The world was too fearful of OFFENDING Hitler (sort of like today, with respect to certain modern-day Hitlers.)
But this article is so riddled with fallacious thinking...
The sad part is Condi Rice seems to be following the Bohemiam Bag Lady’s foreign policy
LLS
“No nukes, we say..”
Who is we? Speak for yourself, toots, learn to love the bomb!
Albright’s article is nothing but a bunch of nice platitudes. There are no practical ideas on how to deal with any of the problems she writes about.
I assume this is Hillary’s foreign policy.
when people say they want to kill us, we would be fools not to take them at their word.
Still, ....”
The fatal Liberal flaw: Trying to see the “Other’s” side as opposed to their own country’s interest. It leads to indecision and paralysis.
Just being sarcastic.
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