Posted on 04/06/2009 3:58:00 AM PDT by Schnucki
Barack Obama's praise for the Czech government's "courage" in hosting a planned United States missile defence fell flat with many of his supporters during a speech to an audience of 20,000 on Sunday.
President Obama linked America's missile defence project to his wider vision of a world free of atomic weapons while setting out his new US policy on nuclear non-proliferation.
"Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the US, but to Iran's neighbours and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defence against these missiles," he said.
"As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defence system."
The comments met with the enthusiastic approval of centre right government ministers and supporters at the front of the audience but were greeted with an unusually stony silence throughout most of the crowd.
Commitments by the Polish and Czech governments to host antimissiles or radar stations have divided Europe and proved deeply unpopular with voters.
In the Czech Republic, polling has shown 70 per cent of people to be opposed to the presence of US missile defence radar bases in their country.
Local referendums in communities where radar sites are planned have shown that 95 per cent of Czechs are opposed.
Widespread opposition to the system is also regarded as an important factor in the collapse of the Czech government two weeks ago.
Jiri Parubek, a former Czech prime minister and leader of the opposition Social Democrats, signed a letter, along with 22 MPs, urging Mr Obama to "stop" the rader sites.
"We call on you to respect the will of a majority of the Czech Republic and to renounce installation of the radar," said the letter.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
LLS
what the he!! do liberals have against a DEFENSE shield???
I could never understand the idiocy behind ANY argument the put forth on this- ITS DEFENSE not OFFFENSE
HEY, I THOUGHT EVERYBODY WAS GOING TO LOVE US ONCE OBAMA WAS PRESIDENT: “Demonstrators shout slogans against U.S. President Barack Obama during a protest in Istanbul April 5, 2009. The placards read ‘Go away Obama’.”
 Related: Smoke on the water. Plus:  Demonstrators protest at Taxim square in Istanbul on Sunday April 5, 2009 against the visit of US President Barack Obama. The posters read 'Obama go home'. President Barack Obama arrives in Ankara Monday for a two day visit to Turkey. (AP/Ibrahim Usta) Maybe they missed the news that Obama wants Turkey in the EU because it would be a positive signal to Muslim nations. Germany and France immediately rejected Obama's suggestion. posted by Gateway Pundit at 4/05/2009 07:54:00 PM | |
I didn’t realize the Czech people didn’t want this. I knew the government did, but the people don’t? I guess they don’t want to bombed to hell and back when other countries are trying to take these sites out.
“what the he!! do liberals have against a DEFENSE shield???”
Things you frequently hear from liberals:
If you own a gun you will be shot;
(In the UK): Carrying a knife will get you stabbed;
Fighting terrorists begets more terrorism;
Guns cause crime.
So defending yourself or being prepared to defend yourself is seen as a risky thing that brings the threat of atack, disgrace, maybe even decision-making where some liberal must decide.
The Soviets say that they will attack if there is a defense shield, so maybe there is something to that.
LOL! So they have their own equivalent of: FUBO!
Yep, it was fun following the blog commentary overnight, because at first the rough translation was "go home," then somebody chimed in with a "hey, wait a minute- it's really a lot ruder than that!"
I remember a couple of years ago when President Bush was in one of the former soviet bloc countries and 10s of 1000s came out to greet him. The only coverage we were treated to was the fact that one nut job threw a grenade.
Much like President Bush's recent trip and speech in Canada. A handful of protesters against him received the coverage while ignoring the fact that 1500 folks paid $4000 a piece to attend his speech.
I loathe the ENEMEDIA!
More mush from the Wimp.
The agitation against missile defense goes back a long way. It was started by Moscow using agents of influence in the United States. The KGB either covertly contributed money to those who sought to undermine U.S. policies with which Moscow disagreed, making them sincere but unwitting allies of the Soviet Union or paid journalists and others who were sympathetic them to promote the Soviet line.
There are always a certain faction of people who are hostile to any policy, especially defense policies, for deep psychological reasons. Mostly it stems from resentment, or egotism. People who feel alienated from their native country are susceptible as are people with oversized feelings of self worth, who embrace unpopular or contrarian ideas as a way of feeling superior or as a way of striking back. Academics are especially prone to this disorder.
The sophistry and rationalizations they employ are similar to circle squarers, perpetual motion machine inventors or similar cranks. It is too exhausting and unrewarding to engage them, emotionally and mentally healthy people tend to avoid them.
You nailed it!
LLS
I remember a couple of his colleagues at MIT (who actually knew what they were talking about) testifying before Congress that they did not believe he could have made the conclusions he did based on the information he claimed to have used. Basically physics professors, not professors of "Science, Technology, and International Security" were calling him a quack.
Whom do you think CNN is going to call upon when they want an opinion on Missile Defense?
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