tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post3134697715503659950..comments2023-10-25T06:13:28.265-04:00Comments on The Conservative Wahoo: Is America's Image Overseas Improving?The Conservative Wahoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17818674434286683162noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-11862602911484693822009-07-20T09:32:51.649-04:002009-07-20T09:32:51.649-04:00anon here again - thanks for the response CW. Fir...anon here again - thanks for the response CW. First, the Brits have the fourth largest economy and are vital trading partners with the US; second, for the past 100 years they have fought side by side with American forces; third, their proven track record of being trustworthy... Where as Israel has proven to be anything but trustworthy -- let me give a few examples - Aldridge Aims, the Rosenbergs, against our stated wishes seeking nuclear wpns, recipient of massive US aid, the greatest amount of US foreign aid (2+ Billion per yr), the attack on a US Navy ship in the Med during the 60s (i suspect you are more familiar with this than i am...). I don't think this is a very strong record for a trusted friend. With that said, I believe we should continue to seek a strong relationship with Israel - however, when our national interests do not coincide we should part ways...Litmus test - is it in our National interest.<br /><br />I believe Kissinger was the toughest and subsequently the most successful SecState when it came to dealing with Israel.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-71692936251501085802009-07-20T07:44:43.918-04:002009-07-20T07:44:43.918-04:00You see, this is what gets me about some folks who...You see, this is what gets me about some folks who post here. <br /><br />If you read the first few sentences of Anonymous' post below, it raises a very important question, one that really demands an answer.<br /><br />It doesn't reveal biases, it doesn't take potshots at anyone...just a very, very important question. Basically "Why (CW) do you believe Israel to be our most important mid-east ally."<br /><br />I would have been happy--no, excited to take a stab at that one. <br /><br />But then there's the rest of the post, one that seriously detracts from the beginning--followed quickly by a snarky riposte from Seingada, and a "what me?" response from Anonymous. Smoothfur does a good job bringing things back to a civil plane. I'll join him there.<br /><br />Here's why I believe Israel to be our most important mideast ally--because we can trust them. Quick--tell me what it is we get out of our relationship with Great Britain--and by "get", I mean some of the "material" things that are mentioned "Anonymously"? Jaguars? Land Rovers? Anything else of importance? Oh yeah...they make a few movies each year that make us laugh and that keep 10 or 11 British actors constantly employed.<br /><br />Other than that, Great Britain brings us NOTHING...except a trusted friend who will go the distance with us. <br /><br />I see Israel as just that sort of friend. Sure, they have interests of their own, and sometimes they are not completely aligned with ours. But at an elemental level--we can trust them and they can trust us. I just don't see that kind of a relationship with any other country in the Middle East--Jordan comes to mind as coming the closest. <br /><br />So no--we don't get oil or gas or much of anything else (though I am reliably told that my new hi-tech contact lenses are made in Israel) tangible from Israel. We simply get trusted friendship, and that is a commodity in short supply in that part of the world.The Conservative Wahoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818674434286683162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-49205678881371311192009-07-20T05:58:11.628-04:002009-07-20T05:58:11.628-04:00I have personally watched and on occasion been the...I have personally watched and on occasion been the victim of anti American bias in the Far East, Middle East, Africa, Central America and South America from the early 1960s to the present day.<br /><br />Our image around the world back then was driven by jealousy of our standard of living and fear of our military might.<br /><br />If President Obama is responsible for a change in our image today, it is due in no small measure to the adverse effect his policies have had on both our economy and our national defense and the resultant feeling glee around the world at our problems.Smoothfurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08141131580433212173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-63469215354968476212009-07-19T22:08:28.933-04:002009-07-19T22:08:28.933-04:00wow Seingada, you took an inch and went a mile on ...wow Seingada, you took an inch and went a mile on your own personal tagent... sorry it's not possible to bring an alternate perspectives about US - Israel policies without being attacked by the radical right. Glad there is some balance and objective views towards the whole ME now. Too bad you can't accept that...<br /><br />Barry O? wow -- your funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-24736300086049322862009-07-19T21:03:09.484-04:002009-07-19T21:03:09.484-04:00You are right Anonymous. Since Israel has no natu...You are right Anonymous. Since Israel has no natural resources we need, the Arabs would have less to bitch about if they didn't exist. Maybe Barry Hussein should just say the hell with them. <br /><br />Hell, American Jews knew what Barry O was all about and they still gave him almost 80% of their vote!<br /><br />So salam maleka and "Death to Israel", right?Seingadanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-22700918257979851782009-07-19T16:44:50.812-04:002009-07-19T16:44:50.812-04:00"makes our most important Middle East ally fe..."makes our most important Middle East ally feel any better about their precarious position." Please tell me what makes their our most important ally? Is it their abundant natural resources, oil, gas, etc... no. Is it their commitment to supporting American Values? Guess if your in the Cheney War Crime camp perhaps... seriously, what do they bring to warrant the title our most important ally in the region? I often ask myself was Sec State Marshall was right.....?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-88117800486447127392009-07-19T16:13:04.005-04:002009-07-19T16:13:04.005-04:00"But we are a long way from where we began.&q..."But we are a long way from where we began."<br /><br />Going in the wrong direction also produces this result.Smoothfurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08141131580433212173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8591018003444406729.post-32753228107524745892009-07-19T15:36:12.629-04:002009-07-19T15:36:12.629-04:00Very humorous - I think I am going to ask "me...Very humorous - I think I am going to ask "me" about "me"... <br />I sit here in middle America staggered by the nonsense. I think there are a great number of conservatives who have just "hunkered down" in order to survive the "shelling".TDBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14118235119610307015noreply@blogger.com