Obama: facing certain realities
You see, this is the kind of thing I have in mind when I’m less than enthusiastic about an Obama presidency…
American officials in Afghanistan have confirmed that a number of civilians have been killed in an air strike.
This kind of thing isn’t going to go away any time soon. Indeed, we can reasonably expect civilian deaths to climb if Obama goes ahead with plans to escalate the Afghan offensive.
So, how many dead Afghan civilians are worth whatever-it-is Obama is offering? How much slack do you cut him before you say ‘enough’? More or less than we cut George Bush? We hate Bush for his foreign policy; we marched against it. Where do you go if Obama’s foreign policy is little different? Or worse?
Obama supporters on the liberal left are going to have to swallow a big dose of pragmatism in the coming years. And it’s exactly the same pragmatism they refused to swallow for George Bush.
Posted on November 5th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
| See also • The top and bottom of the special relationship • President Obama: get your disillusionment while it’s hot • Beneath contempt Down Under |
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I doubt that there will be much change in US foreign policy any time soon. Too many intractible problems and too many defence contractors to keep busy in a recession.
Here’s another killjoy.
For some reason that PZM post hacks me off. Though he’s right regarding the likes of Chambliss, Inhofe and the grim outlok re Proposition 8…
How much slack to cut him?
In Afghanistan, quite a bit.
I remember marching against Iraq, but did we all march against the invasion of Afghanistan? Did anyone?
I’d've thought that a push in Afghanistan would mean more troops on the ground, and so, hopefully, less drone-strikes. Hopefully.