dagblog - Comments for "Obama Made Maduro a Martyr"

Casualties were relatively

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 07:21:07 +0000

Casualties were relatively few in Eastern Europe over 40 years as well.

Certainly not the only measure of success.

I also would never phrase what we did in Iraq an "experiment in western style democracy" - it was an experiment, but one for export only, like those tarnished goods we dump on 3rd world countries.

Perhaps we could think about resuming non-military aid, trade, job/industrial growth and democratic institutions as the key parts of our diplomacy - won't work for everyone, but even David Brooks has noticed that poor people (oops, "people without values") sitting around with too little opportunity tend to lead lot rougher self-destructive lives.

Yes, if I believe some

NCD — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 01:58:59 +0000

In reply to First, I don't accept that

Yes, if I believe some Islamic nations like Egypt, Iraq and even Libya, were/or/are better off under military dictators, while not so in most other nations.

I agree that is a double standard. I don't think many Islamic nations in the Middle East are ready for authentic secular democracy as we know it. What they need is security, and more security, and Egypt has had orders of magnitude less casualties getting to where they are now, then our $1-3 trillion dollar 10 year experiment in western style democracy spreading in Iraq.

I totally agree

Resistance — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:47:14 +0000

In reply to First, I don't accept that

I totally agree

The US Cartel is stepping up its game against their enemies and supporting their friends.

Model to follow

Mexico's 7 Most Notorious Drug Cartels - Business Insider

President Nicolás Maduro and others either agree to obey the pecking order, or they’re out.

First, I don't accept that

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:30:23 +0000

In reply to See my response to PP below.

First, I don't accept that Egypt is better off under Sisi. Morsi may not have been a great president, but he was much less repressive than Sisi, and unlike Sisi, he was actually democratically elected. But even if one accepts your premise that the region needs Sisi's autocratic leadership, doesn't that create a double-standard? What's acceptable to us in the Middle East (and Africa and Central Asia) is not acceptable in South America? It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the disparity is not about stability or human rights but rather about the attitude of these leaders to the United States.

See my response to PP below.

NCD — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:52:37 +0000

In reply to He has an approval rating of

See my response to PP below.

As to Sisi, it is obvious with the Middle East crawling with weapons, bombers, throat cutters and Jihadists from Libya to Syria to Pakistan, and with our democracy experiment in Iraq ending in chaos, guys like Sisi, in many Arab nations, may be the only alternative to civil war, mayhem or another Caliphate. The region is not better off without Saddam, or Mubarek and it won't be better off without Sisi.

Basically agree. Almost

NCD — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:51:46 +0000

In reply to Besides what you said, you'd

Basically agree. Almost certain the Venezuela move will have little effect on the nation's descent into whatever it is descending into, the US move may be the scheming bright idea of some Latin American/Pentagon geeks than something Obama was losing sleep over.

Besides what you said, you'd

PeraclesPlease — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:21:53 +0000

In reply to Obama Made Maduro a Martyr

Besides what you said, you'd think that focusing on say Mexican relations & issues would be a much more productive use of our time. There's only so much attention we have for foreign policy, and when we waste it in 1 direction, there's nothing left for others.

[and yes, there's a whole 1 1/2 continents down there to think about - and we mostly ignore them even though they're largely our friends and trading mates despite us being arrogant pushy bastards most of the time. Much of the Latin American economy gets run out of Miami.]

Perhaps Obama can read the famous Doña Barbara to see what this caudillism is that he seems to want to revive in Latin America. Perhaps he's working against FDR-style overreach in other countries so he can finally attack it at home. [comment applies to Chavez more than Maduro, who's a puny also-ran to his much more talented predecessor]

He has an approval rating of

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:14:00 +0000

In reply to Don't you think that

He has an approval rating of 22%, has elections coming up in December.

Exactly. So why would we boost his approval rating? Why not wait for the election? And why Maduro as opposed to more brutal dictators around the world with whom we get along quite happily? El-Sisi has slaughtered hundreds and imprisoned thousands of political opponents, yet instead of sanctioning him, we send military aid just like we did to Mubarak before him.

Don't you think that

NCD — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 23:33:43 +0000

In reply to Obama Made Maduro a Martyr

Don't you think that the boilerplate 'Yanqui Go Home' portrayal was no surprise to Obama and his foreign policy experts?

According to a guest on NPR Maduro, in his short rule, has claimed to have foiled 14 separate coups. He has an approval rating of 22%, has elections coming up in December.

Maduro becoming a 'martyr' because 7 of his thugs were sanctioned apparently seemed less of a 'bad' factor to the White House than Maduro arresting more opposition leaders. Meanwhile, Venezuela is slipping more and more into a failed state status (murders, kidnappings, crime rate/gangs, disappearance or emigration of middle class).