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2013/01/31 21:33:10
Subject: Chuck Hagel getting spanked at the confirmation hearing...
AustonT wrote: Not really. He's like the COO of our corporation and 98% of us working the mail room. Other than how hard he works to get us funding he's essentially a non issue. The joint senior NCOs and Chiefs of Staff has more impact and even theirs is long term. The under secretaries and generals do most of the work, and the lowest level that really has a direct impact on soldiers is a corps commander.
Okay.. that makes sense.
Let's hope he's a big believer in delegating....
Automatically Appended Next Post:
djones520 wrote: I think it just depends on how in Obama's pocket he is. Is he going to fight to hold onto our funding, or will he be a yes man and make us the first (and only) target for spending cuts.
Um... aren't the SoD in the President's pocket anyways?
Automatically Appended Next Post: This made me chuckle.
whembly wrote:Lindsey Graham (!!) took Hagel to task of his anti-Isreal statements... but we know that about Hagel.
However, Ted Cruz PLAYED a Al Jazeera video where Hagel accepted the premise that the US is "the World's Bully"!
Um... now I really don't want this guy for SoD.
Questions to those who serve... how do you feel about this?
How are you capable of posting a video you obviously haven't watched? At no point did Hagel accept the prmise that the US is "the World's Bully". He accepted the premise that the US is perceived as such by the world.
That is a very, very different thing. I'm not sure exactly how you could have possibly mistaken one concept for the other.
I re-watched again... to me, it seems he did, but it can be argued otherwise... the point is that this guy goes on Al Jeezera (of all places) respond to the claim that the US (and its inference, the military) is "the world's bully" and he stated to the effect that it's an "important observation".
EDIT: also, please note that I have no idea who Hagel is, and I -obviously- have no dog in this fight. I'm just putting this out there simply out of my dislike of wanton spin-doctoring and demagoguery.
whembly wrote:Lindsey Graham (!!) took Hagel to task of his anti-Isreal statements... but we know that about Hagel.
However, Ted Cruz PLAYED a Al Jazeera video where Hagel accepted the premise that the US is "the World's Bully"!
Um... now I really don't want this guy for SoD.
Questions to those who serve... how do you feel about this?
How are you capable of posting a video you obviously haven't watched? At no point did Hagel accept the prmise that the US is "the World's Bully". He accepted the premise that the US is perceived as such by the world.
That is a very, very different thing. I'm not sure exactly how you could have possibly mistaken one concept for the other.
I re-watched again... to me, it seems he did, but it can be argued otherwise... the point is that this guy goes on Al Jeezera (of all places) respond to the claim that the US (and its inference, the military) is "the world's bully" and he stated to the effect that it's an "important observation".
That IS an important observation. It indicates how obvious is the fact that the USA has lost the "hearts and minds" of the rest of the world (or at least in many of the places where they once held them). To say as you have that he has done something damaging to the USA merely by his acknowledgement that many people believe the USA is arrogant and mean, rather than dismissing those people outright, is a perfect example of the mindset that caused those beliefs in the first place.
Okay... I'll give ya prompt for that.
I just wished he made a defense... that's all.
And I fail to understand how the location being for Al Jazeera makes any difference at all. Al Jazeera is a global news network that is generally respected by everyone except for the American Christian Fundamentalists and their own private programming network, FoxNews)
k... no point discussing further on that.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/02/01 02:41:47
2013/02/01 02:58:20
Subject: Re:Chuck Hagel getting spanked at the confirmation hearing...
LordofHats wrote: They're probably confused. When we and everyone else in the western world intervene in Libya, it's all well and good. But then we don't intervene in Syria because... Just cause. But then we invade Iraq, and we've gone to far. No one intervenes in Rwanda because it wasn't our business and we've failed to prevent a humanitarian crisis, but we totally went to Bosnia and it was okay then.
The world has a rather marvelous way of screwing with our expectations of acceptable and unacceptable foreign relations.
Exactly... that's why some of us have the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" mentality...
