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Obama refocuses terror threat to pre-9/11 level

20 Comments
By ROBERT BURNS

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Iraq?? Sure it is a mess,so let us thank BUSH for that bloody mess! The USA already has enough messed up cities and towns with lots of drugs and violence, time for the USA to let the Iraqis, Pakistanis etc...do a bit of blood shedding, let them blow of some steam, get rid of their stress by blowing themselves up night and day, that is their OWN country. The USA needs to focus on rebuilding and protecting Americans in AMERICA not waste money and lives on Somalia,etc..IMHO.

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There's no way that Republicans, the ones who tried to slash food stamps and disaster relief, will continue to pay for this. They are budget conscious and keep telling us we need to make sacrifices.

Hahahahha

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Superlib, lol, good point. :-)

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Iraq?? Sure it is a mess,so let us thank BUSH for that bloody mess!

You mean, thank the Sunni/Shiite sectarian violence, revenge and retaliatory attacks for the bloody mess. That remains the dominant reason for the mess. I know, it's much easier to blame Bush, but that bus left a looooooong time ago.

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@Superlib

Oh, so you think Obama should tax people even more, he's already turned the country upside down and IS the welfare food stamp President since President Johnson. The American people sacrificed more than enough!

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Terrorism is effective because of its use of guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla tactics are nearly impossible to completely defeat and extremely hard to defend against. Just read Sun Tzu's: The Art of War. The BEST defense (I know of) is to simply not be the target of aggression. So how do we learn as a nation (USA) to stop ruffling so many feathers across the globe? Why does the rest of the world label us as the "big bullies" of the block? It is about lack of respect. We need to learn to keep our big noses out of the affairs of other sovereign nations and mind our own business. And when we are forced to take action, after the exhaustion of all other possibilities, we should never act outside of UN consensus.

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bass4funk,

Oh, so you think Obama should tax people even more...

You kind of missed the point. SuperLib was employing something called sarcasm. Ironically, you also sort of proved his point with your decidedly one-sided defense of budget cuts.

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I know, it's much easier to blame Bush, but that bus left a looooooong time ago.

Think of it as saying, "It's easier to blame Bush for the fallout since he was the guy who pushed the button."

Honestly, bass4funk, I think the guy who coined the quote "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" must have been confronting your ideological ancestors.

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I thought al-Qaeda rebels in Syria were our friends? Does this mean no more al-Qaeda dinners at the pentagon?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/20/al-qaeda-terror-leader-dined-pentagon-months/

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I think the biggest problem with America’s “War on Terror” is that it is way too theatrical. Drawing so much attention to the situation has only served to re-enforce the image of the “big bully”, given the opposition a very useful recruiting tool and really hasn’t achieved all that much.

It’s in the shadowy, dirty side of the struggle where the real progress has been made. It’s a pretty smart move to stay out of the headlines while at the same time relentlessly killing off the other guys in their sleep. Misinformation campaigns, targeted assassinations, playing both sides against the middle are areas where America’s security apparatus has the potential to really shine.

The main thing is for them to keep their mouths shut and make it look like someone else did it. In fact, it would be pretty easy to have someone else do their dirty work for them in the first place and then just play dumb.

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@LFRAgain

How so? I didn't miss anything, I knew exactly what he meant. I also found his sarcasm quite condescending. I think his and your viewpoints are one-sided, thinking that it is a necessity to cut the defense, as to why you guys want a weak military gets me.

@yabits

I think the guy who coined the quote "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it" must have been confronting your ideological ancestors.

Really, why don't you tell your President that. Apparently, he wasn't paying attention to history, maybe that's why the nation is screwed up or better yet, the WH with all of its latest hurdles that keep on piling up. It's like a Christmas fruitcake the gift that keeps on giving, coming back and no matter what you do, you just can't get rid of it. Same analogy.

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maybe that's why the nation is screwed up

People like yourself are certainly doing their best in that regard, just to have something to blame on the president.

the WH with all of its latest hurdles that keep on piling up

That's what you conservatives do when a Democrat is in the White House -- pile up as many obstacles as you can.

It's like a Christmas fruitcake the gift that keeps on giving

Indeed, you folks truly are...

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@yabits

People like yourself are certainly doing their best in that regard, just to have something to blame on the president.

How's that "Hope and Change" working out for the Nation? Not that well, especially in the Black and Latino communities in the Urban cities and the private sector? Have something to blame??? So Benghazi is NOT the fault of the President, it was Bush right. The IRS scandal, the Holder and Obama were totally oblivious to what happened right? I could go on... But for you and most liberals, Obama and his admin. shouldn't be faulted for ANYTHING.

That's what you conservatives do when a Democrat is in the White House -- pile up as many obstacles as you can.

To a point, that's just typical politics, however, if Obama would have moved to the center (like Clinton did) and try (NOT lip service for which he is good for) try to meet the Republicans halfway, cut some of his outrageous spending, the Repubs would be more lenient to giving him what he wants and to compromise, but this man will never do that. Also, the obstacles that are in Obama's way are by his own doing. If you want to blame someone, blame him.

Indeed, you folks truly are...

Most WH Liberals?... Yes, I tend to agree!

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bass4funk: Oh, so you think Obama should tax people even more, he's already turned the country upside down and IS the welfare food stamp President since President Johnson. The American people sacrificed more than enough!

Utterly useless Republican parroting.

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bass4funk: as to why you guys want a weak military gets me.

Obama is trying to change the approach, not the goal. Do you have a problem with what he's doing? And can you tell me why without your main reason being how much you hate him or or how bad of a person/president he is?

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Utterly useless Republican parroting.

So that's what liberals are calling it now when you give them a dose of sunlight?

Obama is trying to change the approach, not the goal.

As we have seen in Benghazi, his approach is totally whacked.

Do you have a problem with what he's doing?

Don't even know where to begin, seriously. Way, way too much, but YES, I do!!

And can you tell me why without your main reason being how much you hate him or or how bad of a person/president he is?

I don't hate Obama, I think he is actually a good, man, father and husband, but I hate HIS policies. They are bad for the country and so far, everything has panned out that way. From the overall cost to his healthcare to NOT tackling the budget, how he is unwilling to move to the center to work with Republicans, how he and his admin. Always uses race to justify his wrong doings and on and on and on....

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Then perhaps soon the guests at GTMO will be invited to a nice dinner party hosted by Barak and Michelle.

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To a point, that's just typical politics, however, if Obama would have moved to the center (like Clinton did) and try (NOT lip service for which he is good for) try to meet the Republicans halfway, cut some of his outrageous spending, the Repubs would be more lenient to giving him what he wants and to compromise, but this man will never do that.

The Republican Party of long, long ago and far, far away would have done that. But let's keep our focus on today's Republican Party and recall the scenario during their contest to see who would become their nominee for president in 20012. All of the candidates were given this scenario: Nine dollars of spending cuts for every one dollar of tax increases. And every single one of the Republicans refused the deal. I appeal to readers to judge for themselves if someone hasn't reached out to meet them far more than halfway.

Please, dear reader, understand that there is no "center" that Republicans agree upon. If the President moves a foot in their direction, the first Republican to move even an inch in Obama's direction is subject to being considered a heretic, appeasing apostate by those who despise Obama -- and "primaried out" on their very next attempt to hold office. Yes, friends, these people have taken to eating their own young.

There are many examples, but one of the more striking ones is the case of former Congressman Bob Inglis of South Carolina. He garnered 100% and solid A ratings from the vast majority of conservative special interest groups. The "sin" that cost him is office is very illustrative in that it demonstrates the scorched-earth, uncompromising stances within the G.O.P. And so witness the delusion of those who openly state that Obama could have moved to some "center" and the Republicans would have compromised with him.

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Superlib: Do you have a problem with what he's doing?

bass4funk: Don't even know where to begin, seriously. Way, way too much, but YES, I do!!

OK, then why don't you tell me. From what I've read, he wants to get the US out of the mindset of perpetual war. He wants to stop policies where we commit massive amounts of US troops and resources to small areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost is unmanageable and the results are mixed. He wants to review the policies that were put in place right after 9/11 to see what is effective/needed and what is not. He wants more of a focus on home-grown terrorists. He wants to close GITMO and get rid of the 100 or so people left in it. He wants to create a policy system for things like drone strikes. He ultimately wants to portray terrorists as thugs instead of giving them credibility as world changers. He wants more control over the factors that might fuel the erroneous perception that it's the US. vs. Islam.

So, why don't you tell me which parts you don't like and we'll take it from there. And please, be specific to the policies. No over the top, fuzzy comments like some Republicans have given ("I'm more afraid of national security than at any other time in my life.")

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bass4funk: unwilling to move to the center to work with Republicans

Untrue. Obama has offered multiple spending cuts and has even put sacred cows (Medicare, Social Security) on the table for cuts. I'm sure you understand how monumental of move that is for a Democratic president.

On the other hand, Republicans have offered a budget with fuzzy math and includes repealing ObamaCare while making the tax on the top 1% the non-starter to the entire negotiation process. And it's not because they fear Obama or his policies, it's because they fear their own people. Any Republican move towards the center puts a target on his back and encourages others to learn from it by going even farther to the right. Getting primaried is a much, much bigger fear for Republicans than anything Obama could do to America.

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