dagblog - Comments for "Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club"

Thanks for posting - pissing

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:38:55 +0000

In reply to Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club

Thanks for posting - pissing ourselves for 11 years now. And our wars hardly merit a mention anymore - we have accepted the endless war meme.

Very impressive speech, covering all the bases. I guess the only quibble I have is I see Africa as less dynamic and more just getting propped up by foreigners wanting resources - except us, who want them to play war games. But maybe I'm a pessimist.

And he ends by quoting in Star Wars. Brilliant speech. Hope the students listen, might make a difference in 5-10 years.

"The latest twist is a

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:47:49 +0000

In reply to Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club

"The latest twist is a campaign by prominent Israeli politicians and their American flacks to persuade us to give Israel still more weapons to improve its ability to attack Iran. This, they say, is the price we must pay to persuade Israel to agree to delay a unilateral assault on Iran till after our elections. As an astute observer of this interaction has pointed out, this is a bit like a pyromaniac demanding more matches to distract himself from setting fire to his neighborhood." [Ambassador Freeman]

In February 2009, unnamed sources leaked to the news media, initially to The Politico, that Freeman was Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair's choice to chair the National Intelligence Council in the Barack Obama administration.[1] After several weeks of criticisms from prominent supporters of Israeli policy, he withdrew his name from consideration and charged that he had been the victim of a concerted campaign by what he called “the Israel lobby”. [Wikipedia]

The latest twist is a

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:17:05 +0000

In reply to Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club

The latest twist is a campaign by prominent Israeli politicians and their American flacks to persuade us to give Israel still more weapons to improve its ability to attack Iran. This, they say, is the price we must pay to persuade Israel to agree to delay a unilateral assault on Iran till after our elections. As an astute observer of this interaction has pointed out, this is a bit like a pyromaniac demanding more matches to distract himself from setting fire to his neighborhood. [Ambassador Freeman]

In February 2009, unnamed sources leaked to the news media, initially to The Politico, that Freeman was Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair's choice to chair the National Intelligence Council in the Barack Obama administration.[1] After several weeks of criticisms from prominent supporters of Israeli policy, he withdrew his name from consideration and charged that he had been the victim of a concerted campaign by what he called “the Israel lobby”. [Wikipedia]

On that day, the world felt

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:24:06 +0000

In reply to Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club

On that day, the world felt our pain and stood with us. Le Monde famously proclaimed: “Nous sommes tous Américains!” The world’s solidarity with us reflected decades of goodwill for America, accumulated over the course of “the American Century” that Henry Luce had foreseen. But does anyone here imagine that a second 9/11 would draw the same global reaction today? By surrendering the aspirations for a higher standard of behavior that once endeared us to the world, we have lost much of our international followership. We have thereby compromised our capacity to lead. To regain our influence, we must rediscover our values and return to the practice of them. [Ambassador Freeman.]

Emphasis to text added although it was emphasized during the speech.

More from Ambassador

A Guy Called LULU — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 16:58:22 +0000

In reply to Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman at the National Press Club

More from Ambassador Freeman's speech at the National Press Club. About the world's reaction to 9/11 he said"

On that day, the world felt our pain and stood with us. Le Monde famously proclaimed: “Nous sommes tous Américains!” The world’s solidarity with us reflected decades of goodwill for America, accumulated over the course of “the American Century” that Henry Luce had foreseen. But does anyone here imagine that a second 9/11 would draw the same global reaction today? By surrendering the aspirations for a higher standard of behavior that once endeared us to the world, we have lost much of our international followership. We have thereby compromised our capacity to lead. To regain our influence, we must rediscover our values and return to the practice of them.