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shamash 23-Oct-12, 14:40	another take: "George W. Bush Won This Debate" George W. Bush Won This Debate by Peter Beinart "Barack Obama didn’t win tonight’s foreign policy debate. Neither did Mitt Romney. George W. Bush did. Bush won it because the framework for understanding the world that he put in place after Sept. 11 still holds, even though it wildly distorts the world that the next president will actually face. The Bush administration essentially defined American foreign policy as American military policy. The Bushies dismissed the Clinton administration’s emphasis on international economics as what Charles Krauthammer dubbed a “holiday from history.” In the Clinton era, treasury secretaries had been powerful foreign policy players. In the Bush administration, they became foreign policy afterthoughts. And judging from tonight’s debate, international economics remains an afterthought. Yes, there was some discussion of outsourcing and some bashing of China for not playing fair on trade. But there was virtually no discussion about the vast shifts in economic power that are remaking the globe. To listen to the candidates, you’d never know that the Chinese are now the largest source of aid and investment in much of the poor world. You’d never know that the European Union faces collapse. You’d never know that a couple of years ago the world financial system almost broke down, and could again. Obama, Romney and Bob Schieffer discussed foreign policy almost exclusively through the Bush prism. The focus was on countries where the United States is already at war, or soon could be. To be sure, Obama and Romney don’t want to approach those countries in the same way that Bush did in his first term. We no longer have the money or will to launch ground wars. Today, the preferred options are military training and aid (Afghanistan, Syria), drone strikes (Pakistan, Yemen) and perhaps a full-fledged air war (Iran). But the “war on terror” still largely defined which countries received attention. And as a result, the candidates spent an inordinate amount of time talking about weak, dysfunctional countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria and barely any time talking about fast-growing, increasingly powerful ones like India, Turkey, and Brazil. The only country in sub-Saharan Africa to receive a mention was one of its weakest and most remote, Mali, because they have some al Qaeda there. George W. Bush’s core mistake was his belief that because al Qaeda had bloodied us, it was the 21st-century version of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. It never was, because in the mid-20th century, what made Moscow and Berlin genuine competitors was their economic strength. The true successor to those once fearsome powers is not the mud-hut totalitarianism of al Qaeda, but China, and perhaps India and Brazil, countries that are becoming economic models for billions in the poor world. How the United States, its own might sapped by the financial crisis and wars of imperial overstretch, meets the challenge posed by countries that are converting their economic success into geopolitical power, is the defining foreign policy question of our time. Not only wasn’t that question answered tonight, it wasn’t even posed."
ace_kyi 23-Oct-12, 22:41	That's not true. US is still trying to correct Bush's mistake. Bush is correct in identifying the threat of Islamic terrorism and middle-east problems but his approach and means of solving by using US all out military power is wrong. Rather Bush should follow Otto Von Bismark's idea of using military only that serves German/US genuine interest. Bismarks said that there was no genuine German interest in the Balkans and yet the first world war broke out when Duke Ferdinand was asssinated by Serbian nationalist. Iraq war had no genuine American interest; for example to save iraqi people from tyrant Saddam Hussein is not a genuine American interest. After 10 years US learned the lesson that we cannot fight a guerilla war with massive US troops. Bush squandered the money and US military power in fighting those wars. He could not pay much attention on US economy and of energy independent of middle east oil. After second world war, while the US was busy in cold war with the former Soviet Union, Germany and Japan's economy thrived because they did not have any responsibility for defense and stability of the world peace. The situation is now similar with China which has no responsibility to shoulder part of policeman action for world peace. The US should no longer be the policeman of the world. If China wants middle-east oil let Chinese toops do the job and not the Us troops to do it but US must be prepared to be independent of middle east oil. Bush's mistake is obvious. The US should be prepared and fight economic wars and not militarily.
brigadecommander 23-Oct-12, 22:53	shamash you astound me!! if i could get you to distill beer with as much artistry as you have explained Geo-Economics, i could retire!!! My hat is off to you Sir!!!!!!!!!!!!;aferin, iyi gerçekten yapılır!
hennybogan1953 24-Oct-12, 03:44	All hail the shamash. There is a tale is Shamashistan that if children are good and they write notes to shamash in his own language and place it under their computer at night shamash will appear in a dream and shower them with artistry and poems.
hennybogan1953 24-Oct-12, 03:55	shamash thing...you make my heart sing... You make everything Groovy I said shamash thing... shamash, I think you astound me But I wanna know for sure Come on, explain geo economics tonight I love you shamash...you make my heart sing... You make everything Groovy I said shamash... shamash, I think you move me But I wanna know for sure So come on, astound me tonight You astound me
hennybogan1953 24-Oct-12, 06:57	Hoch je ngoHta' 'oH qaSpa' retlh Sum belmoH HIvje' DavID jajmey Hegh bIng yIn jaghpu' 'ach mIghtaHghach taHvIp tlha' vaD reH QaQ SuD Dev ghaj ghaH nach Daj tuq jIH Daq 'oH Hutlh Dev Qot yIn legh muSHa'ghach chen jIH wIj pong ghobe' pagh Hergh Dung tI yotlh Hemey ghuH Daq bom bommey chenqa' QaQtaHghach DevwI' naQ qettaH chIch QIb DIchDaq DevwI' qa' naQ vIHHa' DIch SopDaq chaH vegh Daq ngech yIt bIQmey joH'a' SoH lij
hennybogan1953 24-Oct-12, 07:30	Embrace Shamash as your king and God. Shamash makes an entrance! youtu.be

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