The CFR vs Martin Dempsey

First thing I saw on the box today on my way out the door with the dogs was Richard Haas on "Brewed by Starbucks" attacking Dempsey's judgment. This was on the issue of whether or not the Iranian government is a "rational actor." His main argument was that Iran is assisting the Syrian government and that this shows that they/it are not rational actors. Well, if the Syrian "resistance" is mainly Sunni jihadis, how is it irrational for Iran to help the government against them? BTW, he also bitched about Dempsey's lack of deference to the Israeli government. We can expect pressure by the zombie media and the part of the Israeli parliament that sits in Washington for Dempsey's removal. Let's see if Obama is so gutless as to do that. He sent Depsey to tell the Israelis what he did. Let us say for a moment that the AIPAC/Likud crowd succeed in getting rid of CJCS, do they think he would be quiet thereafter? Oh, yes, Barnicle, the ancient plagiarist is clearly, in the words of one here, a "shill." He had his talking points this AM and he stuck to them.  pl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_N._Haass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Barnicle

 

Comments

[r whitman]

Interesting CYA article in NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/world/middleeast/in-din-over-iran-echoes-of-iraq-war-news-analysis.html

[Mike Martin, Yorktown, VA]

So much like ten years ago when Shinseki blasphemed against Feith's Special Plans for Iraq by saying it would require several hundred thousand troopa to get it right. And look what happened to Shinseki shortly thereafter.

Say, whatever happened to the roses the Iraqis greeted us with? And the oil revenue that would more than reimburse the US Treasury?

Nope - I'm writing my "3W's" this afternoon: Wittman, Webb, Warner.

[Sean McBride]

Richard Haass appears to be the irrational actor here -- he is unable to do the simple political math.

You know, it would be a pity if the CFR came to be viewed by many or most thinking Americans as an "Israel First" lobbying group.

How many CFR members are in fact also pro-Israel activists? To what degree is their political judgment about the American interest being influenced or warped by emotion about Israel? Are they clear thinkers and straight shooters? Or are they a bit conflicted and confused?

We would need to go down the CFR membership list member by member to get a handle on that question.

[mbrenner]

The colonel should be thanked for bringing the Haass interview to the attention of those of us who boycott television news (and, in my case, are almost never ambulatory at that hour). Haass' explicit association of himself with the ultra hawkish attitude toward Iran in the name of Israel's self-defined security interests is a marker of the progressive shift in the thinking of the foreign policy establishment. Haass is experienced, was never a neo-conservative, has a superior intelligence and is sane. He always has been pro-Israel but in a reasoned and reasonable way. Hus remarks, thereofre, are indicative of two troubling developments: the intensifying and hardening of the war party's determination to force a crisis, and a commensurate radicalization of thinking by people like Haass.

As to public opinion, let's remember that Americans are hearing only one perspective - relentlessly. Over time, the propoganda can and is overcoming instinctive inhibitions. There is no serious competing viewpoint being enunciated by other than Ron Paul. This is the latest evidence of the wave of iresponsibility that has swept over America's political class.

[robt willmann]

Yesterday, 21 February, while driving around I was doing something that tends to nudge you to drink while driving, namely, listening a little to Sean Hannity's radio show.

His guest at that time was actor, attorney, and former U.S. Senator and candidate in a presidential primary, Fred Thompson. Of course the subject of Iran came up, and Thompson said something negative about General Martin Dempsey, as I recall. I tried to verify what was said by looking at Hannity's Internet website, but in order to listen to past shows or download them, you have to pay money to subscribe to the site. Not desiring to contribute even one $5.95 monthly payment to the unthinking Mr. Hannity, I did not fact-check my memory on what exactly was said.

[Jake]

Scary debate in AZ on defense....Very scary!

[alinaustex]

Col Lang
My belief & hope is that having now appointed CJSC Dempsey President Obama will stand by him . It looks to me likely that the current administration will not be buffaloed into a preemptive war with Persia. But should any of the bunch now running for the GOP become POTUS you can simple head for the exits - because war will be waged.
Again I am not a former military service member - nor am I any type of expert -but it looks to me that President Obama can and will stand up to the Likud here & abroad .
And as a moderate midddle of the road voter -the fact that AIPAC is not running our foreign policy currently is reason enough to support the current administration for another term.
I also believe that the Feith , Cambone, Cheney ( both father & daughter ) W, Rumsfeld and others waged an illegal war of aggression in Iraq and should someday be held to account for that decision .

[stanleyhenning]

While I'm not a fan of Iran I think one must view Iran's "rationality" from the perspective of their environment, not necessarily ours. Also, looking at our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan one might question our rationality. Actually, a key element in the term "rationality" is it's reflection of how one might act in various situations and, from this perspective, Iran may be no less rational than we are. Unfortunately, our view, or at least the view of a segment of our "leadership", sees rationality only in terms their own personal prejudices.

[William R. Cumming]

I would be interested in PL or any of the commenters listing their top ten (10) for worst national existing borders in MENA or S. Asia! No rush! Am I correct that most existing borders in those regions were drawn by the British and French either before or during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919?
It seems established that DEAN RUSK as a Colonel drew the 38th Parallel in Korea as the division between South and North.

[brenda]

I wish I had the same faith in Obama as alinaustex, but I don't. I've reached the conclusion that our only hope is that the military will balk. I know this is probably not the right place to even breathe such a thought, but it would be the most patriotic thing to do IMHO.

I read an informed insider comment recently on how the Israeli gov't tried to strongarm Bush 2 into attacking Iran, and Bush was going along with it but was met with a threatened mass resignation from the US high command, so no attack on Iran during the Bush presidency. Anything to this?