Why Americans are Saying 'No'

Discussion in 'Latest US & World News' started by Marlowe, Sep 10, 2013.

  1. Marlowe

    Marlowe New Member

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    Why Americans are Saying 'No'

    The American people do not support military action. A Reuters-Ipsos poll had support for military action at 20%, Pew at 29%. Members of Congress have been struck, in some cases shocked, by the depth of opposition from their constituents. A great nation cannot go to war—and that's what a strike on Syria, a sovereign nation, is, an act of war—without some rough unity as to the rightness of the decision. Widespread public opposition is in itself reason not to go forward.

    Can the president change minds? Yes, and he'll try. But it hasn't worked so far. This thing has jelled earlier than anyone thought. More on that further down.

    What are the American people thinking? Probably some variation of: Wrong time, wrong place, wrong plan, wrong man.

    Twelve years of war. A sense that we're snakebit in the Mideast. Iraq and Afghanistan didn't go well, Libya is lawless. In Egypt we threw over a friend of 30 years to embrace the future. The future held the Muslim Brotherhood, unrest and a military coup. Americans have grown more hard-eyed—more bottom-line and realistic, less romantic about foreign endeavors, and more concerned about an America whose culture and infrastructure seem to be crumbling around them.

    The administration has no discernible strategy. A small, limited strike will look merely symbolic, a face-saving measure. A strong, broad strike opens the possibility that the civil war will end in victory for those as bad as or worse than Assad. And time has already passed. Assad has had a chance to plan his response, and do us the kind of damage to which we would have to respond.

    There is the issue of U.S. credibility. We speak of this constantly and in public, which has the effect of reducing its power. If we bomb Syria, will the world say, "Oh, how credible America is!" or will they say, "They just bombed people because they think they have to prove they're credible"?


    http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
     
  2. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    It takes Americans far longer than most to grasp the obvious. But eventually they get around to it.
     
  3. Taxcutter

    Taxcutter New Member

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    Months too late, Americans have figured out that Hussein Obama is either an idiot or evil to the core.
     
  4. trout mask replica

    trout mask replica New Member

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    The people have been stung with Iraq and having been bitten once they are reluctant to get duped again. The people are rightly cynical with the political class. What we are dealing with here is a bunch of liars in the White House who are attempting the rush to war before their lies are, once again, exposed.
     
  5. klipkap

    klipkap Well-Known Member

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    Evil? Why? Because he is contemplating violating the UN Charter?

    What does that make Dubya and Ronnie the Gunslinger?

    ...............................

    Which brings up a point. What is the status of international law in the eyes of Joe the Plumber. Can the US just shrug it off when it suits them? .... nealy 100 years of carefully crafted legislation aimed at avoiding global chaos and anarchy?

    Europe still seems to respect the law: http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/9/u-s-skeptical-aboutsyriacedingchemicalweapons.html
     
  6. debrarae

    debrarae New Member

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  7. Taxcutter

    Taxcutter New Member

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    "Do you think Americans are wrong to oppose a strike on Syria...?"

    Taxcutter says:
    No.

    A strike on Syria is completely counterproductive. America wants the Syrian war to be reduced to a battle of small arms. It might drag on for a decade or more. chemical weapons kill wholesale. AK-47s are retail killers.
     
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  8. Bishadi

    Bishadi Banned

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    I think that people are saying no because human beings have a conscious and can think for themselves.

    i dont believe that the bamboozle job on this issue, is good enough.

    i personally do not believe assad fired the chemical weapons. That one underlying concept cannot be overcome with pictures of dead people.

    No words from Kerry, which putin labeled a liar, will assist. Obama, hagel or all the generals in the world, will not be able to offer just talk that will change the requirement of evidence.

    America is no longer a people that will accept leadership just telling them what to do. A method of observing this, is with the children.

    How many people have children and have come to learn that everything told to them must come with an explanation?

    The reason is people (especially the children) are learning that they can find out more on their own, than many parents, teachers, preachers and news casters are willing to state.

    .

    I rather like it. It is 'freedom of choice' at its finest!

    .
     
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  9. tecoyah

    tecoyah Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    As an American...I say no because it is not our problem, and no matter what we do they will keep killing each other...it is wasted time and resources on people that do not deserve our attention and do not like in the fist place.
     
  10. Sadistic-Savior

    Sadistic-Savior New Member Past Donor

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    Because the US is tired of defending people only to be hated by everyone anyway. It is a no-win situation politically.

    Lets see what happens when the US does not intervene. I am predicting atrocities followed by "OMG America why didn't you DO something!"
     
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  11. Sadistic-Savior

    Sadistic-Savior New Member Past Donor

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    Which is really how we should have handled Iraq as well. Arm and support rebel groups only. If we intervene directly we are always seen as invaders, even though we leave afterwards. If we just let them fight their own wars, we will still get what we want eventually with far fewer American lives lost and probably at much lower financial cost as well.

    It will of course mean far more deaths for them. And probably a lot more atrocities. This is apparently what the rest of the world prefers though.
     
  12. Phoebe Bump

    Phoebe Bump New Member

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    I think I might be in favor of war with Syria if our intention was to kick its arse really hard, have a post-war Nuremburg-type thing, and then occupy the country indefinitely as we did with Germany and Japan.
     
  13. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    It almost always is. But that never stopped us before. Looks like we may be wising up. A country with $14 trillion in debt, with a generally horrible record in regard to military intervention, should just say no. Enough is enough. Hell, enough was enough decades ago, but we are slow learners. Like the phrase goes: America always does the right thing-after it tries everything else first.
     
  14. happy fun dude

    happy fun dude New Member

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    You're right. While the essential catalyzing event is there, it didn't involve Americans and so it won't help much.
     
  15. Marlowe

    Marlowe New Member

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    Obama's problem now would be what new tactics he + Kerry should adopt after having invested so much energy in demonizing Bashar Al Assad it will be politically difficult for him to convince the American people that they should accept a peaceful solution proposed by the Russians.
    ,,,,


    Looks like the Russians have saved Obama's admin making the same mistakes Bush/Rumsfeld /Cheney / Blair made ten years ago.

    ..
     
  16. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    The American people also helped save the administration. There are not too many silver linings with the Afghan and (especially) Iraq wars, but maybe they finally, after decades of us never learning from our mistakes, tipped the scales a bit toward a rationale foreign policy. The policy of making enemies then going to fight them is not exactly a winning strategy in the long run.
     
  17. tecoyah

    tecoyah Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yet, we reserve the right to protect the nation from those who wish to damage it.....thus we decide to develop lethal robotic death machines and kill bad guys without going to war.

    Makes a sinister sense to me.
     
  18. Marlowe

    Marlowe New Member

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    Glad to hear that the majority have finally reached a point in not swallowing the BS fed to them by those SOB's in Washington, and brainlessly going along with FOX news or whichever other US propaganda media .

    ...
     
  19. stekim

    stekim New Member

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    Every nation does. But most do not actively recruit other countries to wish it damage. You also have a right to self defense. But regardless, going out of your way to (*)(*)(*)(*) people off for no logical reason seems a silly thing to do. There is really no need to cause your own problems. America is not universally disliked (or even hated) randomly. And those wishing to do America harm did not just wake up one day and decide that is what they want to do. Through our own actions we have created a circle of action-hate-response that never ends.
     
  20. Marlowe

    Marlowe New Member

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    Pity , who've not yet woken up to the damages which groups working for foreign governments, such as ADL/AIPAC Jewish lobby , etc is causing . I remember a time when America was respected in most Arab + third world countries , I'm afraid , that's no longer so .

    Quote : "“Every time anyone says that Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, I can’t help but think that before Israel, we had no enemies in the Middle East.”
    — John Sheehan, S.J

    ....
     
  21. Durandal

    Durandal Well-Known Member Donor

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    I'm sure they're all just being wassis against Obama again.
     
  22. tecoyah

    tecoyah Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If the international community (or individual nations) wish to avoid American interference I am all for it...but, they need to figure out WHO they wish to intervene when they ask for help....I would love to see the United Nations step up and take our place. We have policed the world for way too long, and now we are expected to police a gang war.

    I say let them kill each other and make the clean up easier when needed.
     
  23. Ronstar

    Ronstar Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    #1 tired of middle-east wars.

    #2 worried that the strike could lead to a regional conflict.

    #3 why can't the Arabs handle it?
     
  24. Durandal

    Durandal Well-Known Member Donor

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    Why? Why "should" we have been in there at all? We had no legitimate reason to be in Iraq.

    - - - Updated - - -

    The CIA started it. Perhaps the Mossad as well.
     
  25. Marlowe

    Marlowe New Member

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    As far as I can tell , the only times USA (Washington ) intervenes in any foreign countries internal affairs is when it serves its own interests , or in the case of its Middle East policies , when its under Zionists pressure to serve Israel's interests.


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