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Originally Posted by seand
"Spiritual advisor" if it means Meeks is a political ally who is also a preacher and with whom Obama has been known to bow his head in prayer with as a form of non-denominational fellowship. Sure. Thats exactly what the article says. But "spiritual advisor" if it implies some sense of obedience to Meeks's church's teachings, nope, it ain't there, and thats why i take beef with the choice of words.
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As long as we understand the choice of words wasn't mine; it was Obama's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seand
In case any readers at home are confused like McCain, Iran is a Shiia religious state and is funneling aide to several Shiia factions - both those associated with anti-American cleric Muqtada al Sadr and those associated with Iranian inspired Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, part of Prime Minister Mailiki's ruling Shiite political bloc. Al Queda on the other hand are Sunni extremists and view Shiias as defilers of the true Muslim faith. The chief stumbling block to a stable government in Iraq is lack of political reconciliation between Sunni and Shiia factions, though more recently fighting between Shiia factions have come to the fore as well. If you need to understand one thing about the violence in Iraq, the Sunni-Shiia conflict should be it.
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I've actually posted about this problem before. Congressional Quarterly did a
story about Sylvestre Reyes, the Democrat who took over the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee when the Democrats won the majority. He didn't know the difference. It's not as if the situation was better when the GOP was in charge; his Republican predecessor didn't know the difference.
FBI counterterrorism officials didn't know the difference. (I once heard Susan Rice, a Middle East expert who advised Kerry and -- I think -- Obama, get Syria's alignment wrong.)
I've never heard any of the three presidential candidates say anything that suggested they understood how the Sunni-Shi'ite fault line affects events in the region; nor have I heard much in the way of understanding for the Turkish-Arabic-Persian division of the Islamic world in the Middle East.
(It's frustrating to imagine that the government could become far more competent in its dealings with that part of the world if people in charge of intelligence, members of Congress, Cabinet department leaders and candidates for president took just one weekend to read a book or two by Bernard Lewis.)
A pox on all their houses (except Lieberman's, I guess) until learn the basic facts we pay them so much to know.
At a time when it's most necessary, geography just isn't a strong suit among politicians. Obama thinks Kentucky is closer to Arkansas than it is to Illinois. If Obama, probably the most book-smart of the remaining major candidates, can't grasp his own state's placement in the map of the U.S., understanding the players in the Middle East will be a problem for years to come.
Oh, and as promised, Hagee's a putz.