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Egypt had an actual election, it was hardly a putch and it wasn't at all instigated by Obama, he just mildly cheered it along as you would any attempt to move t

by simonh 6y ago

Egypt had an actual election, it was hardly a putch and it wasn't at all instigated by Obama, he just mildly cheered it along as you would any attempt to move towards democracy. Just as the Conservative British government here in the UK did. Any of his predecessors would have done exactly the same thing, so it's bizarre that you try to make a partisan point out of it. What exactly was Gorge Bush's "Freedom Agenda" policy about? As for funding Iran, this was to settle a legal case the US was very obviously losing. In any case, after Iran Contra I wouldn't have thought there were any more lessons to be learned about pragmatic deal making on Republican benches, but there you go. As a British conservative that grew up in the Reagan/Thatcher era, nowadays I find dealing with US Republicans so exasperating. It very much reminds me of dealing with ideologically programmed socialist students back when I was a student. So much of the can-do optimism and results based pragmatism has just gone.

cheaprentalyeti 6y ago
1. I'm just repeating what I was told by the guy that temporarily saved me from homelessness back in 2010, who lives in the country in question, instead of "Conservative Britian." Whatever that means these days. 2. Obama did what the "international legal system" told him to do and it funded two entire new fronts in Iran's war with the Sunnis, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. (And at this point they use their "legally in the right/wrong" argument as if the deaths it led to don't matter.)
- simonh 6y ago
  Do you really think the Obama administration wanted to do this? Let's look at the alternatives. International courts have the power to freeze and appropriate assets abroad, this has been used many times against various governments. If previous Republican administrations were not prepared to engage in the process, they could have withdrawn at any stage in the last 5 decades. The problem is, that would mean the US dealing with sanctions, or not being able to use the international court system or arbitration mechanisms in their own interests in future. Bear in mind it's these processes that are used to impose sanctions on Iran and other governments like North Korea. Are you really saying you'd rather walk out on having any influence on these systems? So what would you have done? It's easy to fling mud when you're unwilling to accept any responsibility for the consequences.

by simonh 6y ago

cheaprentalyeti 6y ago

1. I'm just repeating what I was told by the guy that temporarily saved me from homelessness back in 2010, who lives in the country in question, instead of "Conservative Britian." Whatever that means these days. 2. Obama did what the "international legal system" told him to do and it funded two entire new fronts in Iran's war with the Sunnis, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. (And at this point they use their "legally in the right/wrong" argument as if the deaths it led to don't matter.)

simonh 6y ago
Do you really think the Obama administration wanted to do this? Let's look at the alternatives. International courts have the power to freeze and appropriate assets abroad, this has been used many times against various governments. If previous Republican administrations were not prepared to engage in the process, they could have withdrawn at any stage in the last 5 decades. The problem is, that would mean the US dealing with sanctions, or not being able to use the international court system or arbitration mechanisms in their own interests in future. Bear in mind it's these processes that are used to impose sanctions on Iran and other governments like North Korea. Are you really saying you'd rather walk out on having any influence on these systems? So what would you have done? It's easy to fling mud when you're unwilling to accept any responsibility for the consequences.