Reaganesque foreign policy needed

Post #128,349 by lincoln 12/1/03 5:07:19 PM Reply	Reaganesque foreign policy needed But any resemblance between the two presidents on foreign affairs is strictly rhetorical. Yes, Reagan tirelessly preached the virtues of freedom for all the world, but Bush is hardly the first president to follow that example. ("America's ideals--liberty, democracy and peace--are, more and more, the ideals of humanity."--Bill Clinton, Nov. 27, 1995) In the realm of actual policy, Bush has about as much in common with Reagan as Crawford has with Hollywood. Overlooked in all this is a huge irony: The Iraqi dictator recently deposed by Bush is the same Iraqi dictator that Reagan chose to help during the 1980s, when Saddam Hussein was fighting a war with Iran. Nor did Reagan agitate for democracy in that part of the world. When Bush accuses Western nations of "excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East" for the last 60 years, he might mention that his most recent Republican predecessors were as guilty as anyone. This may sound like a minor inconsistency. In fact, it goes to the heart of Reagan's approach to foreign policy. However stirring his rhetoric, Reagan was a model of hard-headed prudence when it came to putting American lives and resources at risk. He didn't liberate Eastern Europe by attacking the Soviet Union; he simply built up our military power to discourage Soviet expansion. That's exactly the opposite of Bush's approach to Iraq. Where Reagan tried to roll back the Soviet empire, it was only in peripheral places like Afghanistan and Nicaragua. Even then, he didn't mount an American invasion--he furnished arms and money and let others do the dying. [link\|http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0311270354nov27,1,3664213.column?coll=chi-news-col\|source] login = iwethey/iwethey lincoln "Windows XP has so many holes in its security that any reasonable user will conclude it was designed by the same German officer who created the prison compound in "Hogan's Heroes." - Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/resume.htm\|VB/SQL resume] [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/tandem_resume.htm\|Tandem resume] [link\|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net\|contact me]
Post #128,389 by marlowe 12/1/03 9:13:18 PM Reply	Of course. The liberation of Grenada never happened. Neither did that shameful and decidedly imprudent cut-and-run at Beirut. Reagan did what worked, given the situation he faced. So does Dubya, in a different situation, with a different sort of enemy entirely. Hindsight has applauded Reagan, but he took a lot of carping from the peanut gallery at the time. Dubya is taking a lot of carping from the peanut gallery at this time, but hindsight has yet to render a verdict in his case. Clinton did what worked - for him. But he left a horrible mess for the next guy. Hindsight isn't being very kind to him. Don't ever mistake Islamist/pan-Arabist terrorism for the Soviet Union. It's true the mouth-foaming Left is in love with the terrorists, just as it was with Stalin. But the Left is shallow. It judges only on surface appearances. In the end, the Russians loved their children too. I don't think we can say that of, for instance, the Palestinians. ---------------------------------------------------------------- DEAL WITH IT. "If I may be candid for a moment, and let's see you try to stop me..." - Jay Conrad Levinson Compromise is for suckers. Seeking a middle ground is what led to 9/11. "I do not want to be admired by scumbags and liars and wife beaters. I want to be admired by good and decent, intelligent and just people, and in order to achieve this I need to do things that make me despised by their opposites." - Bill Whittle Never mind all the mass graves. Where's the nerve gas? [link\|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html\|http://www.angelfire...arlowe/index.html]
Post #128,551 by lincoln 12/2/03 9:34:59 PM Reply	"The liberation of Grenada"??? Let's see, we attacked a tiny island with all of the might of the US armed forces just to "liberate" a bunch of college kids going to a third world medical school, on the pretense that the Cubans were building up the infrastructure and trying to indoctrine the natives on socialism and communism. If that's what you call "liberation"... Quote: Hindsight has applauded Reagan, but he took a lot of carping from the peanut gallery at the time. and Clinton did what worked - for him. But he left a horrible mess for the next guy. NO - the REPUBLICANS have applauded Reagan; people with common sense don't thank him for QUADRUPLING the federal budget deficit. lincoln "Windows XP has so many holes in its security that any reasonable user will conclude it was designed by the same German officer who created the prison compound in "Hogan's Heroes." - Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/resume.htm\|VB/SQL resume] [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/tandem_resume.htm\|Tandem resume] [link\|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net\|contact me]
Post #128,592 by jb4 12/3/03 9:57:59 AM Reply	NO FEED Filbert! jb4 "There are two ways for you to have lower Prescription-drug costs. One is you could hire Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper ... or you can elect me President." John Kerry
Post #128,625 by pwhysall 12/3/03 12:15:35 PM Reply	Filbert. Excellent. You win a prize! Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #128,601 by andread 12/3/03 10:17:47 AM Reply	Re: "The liberation of Grenada"??? Strangely enough, Reagan may have acted responsibly in Grenada His dispute was with the Bishop government Bishop was overthrown in a coup and when the people took to the streets to protest many were killed this is when Reagan invaded the stuff about the medical students may have been exaggerated but ask yourself if you would wnat to reside in a country where the new government was killing people in the streets and controlled the one airport sadly, the aftermath of the invasion did not lead to a new and democratic Grenada still the killing stopped and the country was stabilized A personally I hate it when guys like Reagan are right about something but even a stopped watch is right twice a day Play I Some Music w/ Papa Andy Saturday 8 PM - 11 PM ET All Night Rewind 11 PM - 5 PM Reggae, African and Caribbean Music [link\|http://wxxe.org\|Tune In]

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