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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Chuck Norris Visits Iraq

Posted by: Townhall.com Staff at 11:22 AM

Townhall columnist Chuck Norris recently visited Iraq to give our troops a little pick-me-up. It's always good to see a celebrity supporting the troops.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

All the President's Fundraisers . . .

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 3:23 PM

Big Government's Kristinn Taylor and Andrea Shea King report that Code Pink leader and Obama fundraiser Jodie Evans met with Taliban in Afghanistan -- and then, at a San Francisco fundraiser, handed President Obama a packet lobbying for withdrawal of our troops.

First of all, it's remarkable that someone like Evans remains, apparently, a valued member of the Obama fundraising team, with enough access to be able personally to hand the President packets at a fundraising event.

Second, don't forget that this is the person who, almost a year ago, had plenty of honeyed words for the odious regime in Iran.

What does it say about the Obama administration's sympathies and priorities that Tea Partiers and Fox News reporters are considered wrong-doers -- but modern-day Tokyo Roses and enemy sympathizers like Jodie Evans are a welcome part of the team?

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Obama Is Censored By Chinese Government, Despite Declaring That He "Understands" Communism

Posted by: Townhall.com Staff at 11:20 AM

Obama told a group of carefully selected members of the Chinese Communist Party that freedom of expression is important, but that he recognizes "that different countries have different traditions." He also said that despite the Chinese government's history of oppressing its people, "the notion that we must be adversaries is not predestined."

Uh. He just tried to be non-adversarial and accepting, and was still restricted by China's communist government.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Well, At Least He Didn't Apologize

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 3:57 PM

President Obama refused to defend the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Well, at least he didn't apologize for it. (Yet.)

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Terrifying

Posted by: Townhall.com Staff at 2:05 PM

Putin getting down with Russian hip hop artists.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

AP: Obama Rejects All Proposed Strategies for Afghanistan

Posted by: Meredith Jessup at 11:08 PM

The Associated Press is reporting tonight that President Obama does not plan to accept any one of the four options presented by his advisors for proceeding operations in Afghanistan. Instead, a White House official reported the president will be pushing for clarifications on a timetable for U.S. troop presence and the handover of power to the Afghan government:

The AP report states that Obama's Afghanistan ambassador, Karl Eikenberry, voiced his own "misgivings about sending in new troops while there are still so many questions about the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai."

Still, the White House insists, the president is close to a final decision on a "revamped war strategy" he will announce when he returns from his trip to Asia on November 19.

Read More...

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

70% Of Americans Don't Think Obama Has "Clear Plan" In Afghanistan

Posted by: Jillian Bandes at 12:36 PM

Investors Business Daily attributes that percentage to the fact that Americans are still generally unsure about what to do in Afghanistan in the first place. If they aren't sure, how would they really have an idea about what Obama should be doing?

I still think it's Obama's responsibility, as the head of the U.S. military, to provide some stronger guidance.

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Monday, November 09, 2009

Berlin -- Hillary Pays Tribute To Those Who Destroyed The Wall; Doesn't Mention Reagan or Thatcher

Posted by: Greg Hengler at 5:54 PM

Somehow she manages to give a "shout out" to Obama for tearing down other kinds of walls, though.

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Monday, November 09, 2009

NBC's Lauer: It's "Egocentric" To Think Fall Of Berlin Wall Was An "American Victory"

Posted by: Greg Hengler at 1:14 PM

The chutzpah of "egocentric" Americans to think they (read: Reagan) were responsible for the fall of the Berlin Wall and Russian Communism. How dare we! There's no doubt The One would/has repeated Matt's sentiment:

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Monday, November 09, 2009

On Hillary at the Wall

Posted by: Chris Field at 12:29 PM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood in for President Obama at today's 20th Anniversary Celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany.

Don't know what was on the President's schedule -- Cabinet hoops, another doctor photo-op, take in a Broadway show with the Missus -- but he couldn't make it. So he sent Hillary in his stead.

NRO's Jay Nordlinger wrote this about Hillary's presence:

I remarked in a previous column on the absence of Barack Obama from the Berlin Wall — on the absence of the American president from ceremonies marking the end of the Cold War. What is also interesting to remark on is the presence of Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state: this good ’60s liberal who was of the school that thought the Cold War was basically a right-wing need, who opposed so many of the policies — Reaganite policies — that helped end the Cold War, and end the Soviet Union itself. These were people who thought that coexistence was the name of the game, and who thought that the very idea of opposing the Soviet Union and winning was dangerous, if not psychotic.

And Hillary Clinton is representing us at the Wall. Wonder if she’ll wear an old nuclear-freeze button. Funny old girl: not Hillary, but history.

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Monday, November 02, 2009

Ken Blackwell on Why "Dithering is Dangerous"

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 2:25 PM

Over at FoxForum, Ken Blackwell makes some good points about the dangers of dithering ...

This delay, this months-long dithering is dangerous. The Soviets watched very carefully when Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers for striking illegally. They were impressed by his swift and sure decisiveness. With Reagan, the KGB reported to the Kremlin party bosses, “words are deeds.” Obama’s Hamlet act is growing stale.

President Kennedy knew how important the presidency is. He eloquently said: “I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it.”

Could it be that Obama’s very public shrinking from the responsibility of decision is what is causing his own shrinking in the American public’s support? We don’t need a president who, in the words of Newsweek editor Evan Thomas “hovers above us all, sort of a god.” What we need is a president who understands what Harry Truman meant when he posted that now-famous sign on his desk in the Oval Office: “The buck stops here.”

(Emphasis mine)...

Obama's "dithering" has worked, so far, because it was in stark contrast to Bush's decisiveness. The public had grown tired of Bush, so the opposite of Bush seemed refreshing. At the end of the day, though, good leaders tend to be decisive. Obama should focus more on being a good leader and less on being the antiBush ...

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Monday, November 02, 2009

Why Won't Obama Celebrate Berlin Wall's Fall?

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 1:40 PM

One of the most underreported big events coming up worldwide is the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9.

Though he could find time to jet off to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago to get the Olympics -- President Obama has declared himself too busy to attend the festivities, despite having been invited personally by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

My Townhall column asks: Why is Barack Obama so reluctant to celebrate the great victory for freedom that the Berlin Wall's fall represents?

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Clinton Takes Bush-Bashing to Pakistan

Posted by: Meredith Jessup at 1:09 PM

After she prayed at the shrine for Muslim saint Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore today, Secretary of State continued her 3-day visit to Pakistan and delivered remarks to university:

As a way of repudiating past U.S. policies toward Pakistan, Clinton told the students “there is a huge difference” between the Obama administration’s approach and that of former President George W. Bush. “I spent my entire eight years in the Senate opposing him,” she said to a burst of applause from the audience of several hundred students. “So, to me, it’s like daylight and dark.”

Isn't that nice. It's so refreshing how this administration continues to look to the future and doesn't bend over backwards to appease other countries. Oh wait...

Image Source: AP

I really have to wonder how dignitaries from foreign countries--like Pakistan--would react if they visited the U.S. and we took them to pray at our National Cathedral. Am I wrong in assuming they wouldn't be happy, and may even consider us... intolerant?

I'm not criticizing Clinton or Pakistan for the vigil held at the shrine--I think it's lovely and important to recognize and have a healthy respect for different countries and their cultures. But one has to wonder... are we held to the same standard?

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Sounds Good, But Will It Work?

Posted by: Carol Platt Liebau at 3:30 PM

Thomas Friedman tries to offer a theoretical justification -- some might even call it rationalization -- for an American withdrawal in Afghanistan.

His argument reminds me a lot of the ones used by enablers -- enablers of abusers, drug addicts, alcoholics, you name it: That is, "they" won't change until "they" want to. We can't make it happen. And so the best we can do is get out. Then, "they'll" hit bottom and come to their senses.

Such an approach might well make sense in cases of private behavior -- thankfully, I don't have enough experience to know one way or another. But when it comes to very public behavior -- behavior that can result in a suitcase nuke going off in a major American city -- the reasoning is defective.

Friedman's approach might have worked in a different age, one without cell phones, computers and -- oh, yeah! -- suitase nukes. But if we fall for Friedman's line that a "stronger America" will result from abandoning Afghanistan, and then just leave, what could happen as a result? After all, it's important to weigh the risks of a proposed strategy, not just consider possible positive outcomes (as critics like Friedman would have been the first to tell the Bush administration).

Will America really be "stronger" -- as Friedman argues -- if Afghanistan falls to Al Qaeda and its allies, who then push the fight into the already-unstable nuclear power of Pakistan?

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Monday, October 26, 2009

147 Dead in Baghdad, 500 Injured

Posted by: Jillian Bandes at 9:46 AM

It's the deadliest day in two years for a country anticipating national elections in January, and for a President trying to build up his credibility on national security.

The high-profile Justice Ministry and Provincial Council complexes in Baghdad were hit by two simultaneous car bombs. Most analysts are blaming al Qaeda, though Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki balmed members of the Baath party as well. Maliki had recently removed security elements from Baghdad streets in an attempt to demonstrate his grip on security.

The timing of the blast coincided with the meeting of key cabinet ministers and political leaders who were congregating to discuss essential election law needed before the national elections.

From the wires:

With an attack Aug. 19 that killed about 100 people, insurgents have now wrecked an array of pillars of the state's authority: the Foreign, Finance, Justice, and Municipalities and Public Works ministries, along with the Baghdad provincial headquarters, which are all gathered in a fortified swath of downtown.