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Old 02-28-2008, 07:12 PM
markedixon markedixon is online now
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Default Talking: What's the danger?

Quote:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday sharply criticized foreign policies advocated by Democratic front-runner Barack Obama, saying it would be a mistake to meet the leaders of Iran and Cuba without preconditions or swiftly change course in Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/...sa_politics_dc
Any of you amateur foreign-policy experts want to offer a very simple (so I can understand it) explanation of why it's a bad idea to talk to hostile foreign governments? Not to capitulate to them, of course. Just to talk.

To me, this refusal just seems juvenile. (Plus, would we be lending that much status to some dictator to allow him to sit in a room with Bush?)
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Old 02-28-2008, 07:56 PM
Fergie Fergie is offline
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<put on cowboy hat>

Cause this here is 'merica and we are better then them and if they don't do what we want, then tough S**t, I say we bomb 'em ! Y'all with us or again' us ? Yeee-Haaaawwww
</cowboy hat off>
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Old 02-28-2008, 10:07 PM
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Of course we should be trying to talk to these people. It's called diplomacy, and it's something that hasn't existed for the last 7 1/2 years.
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Old 02-28-2008, 10:45 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markedixon View Post
Any of you amateur foreign-policy experts want to offer a very simple (so I can understand it) explanation of why it's a bad idea to talk to hostile foreign governments? Not to capitulate to them, of course. Just to talk.

To me, this refusal just seems juvenile. (Plus, would we be lending that much status to some dictator to allow him to sit in a room with Bush?)
It depends on which ones you're talking about. Some like Syria and Iran, we do talk to (oddly, it seems one Barack Obama doesn't know that), and some we'd have nothing to gain from speaking with, like Cuba.

Would recognition by POTUS of some tin-pot dictator like Raul Castro confer status on him? Uh... yes.
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Old 02-28-2008, 11:14 PM
Colin P. Varga Colin P. Varga is offline
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If the US government is going to talk to the governments of Syria & Iran maybe the American people should get a warrantless wire tap so the conversation can be monitored.
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Old 02-28-2008, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fergie View Post
It's called diplomacy, and it's something that hasn't existed for the last 7 1/2 years.
Sorry Fergie, blanket statements and a habit of only reading the headlines occasionally are a bad combination:

Libya scraps nuclear weapons program

Syrian Military Withdrawal From Lebanon

Establishment of President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Initiative

Israeli withdrawal from so called "palestinian territories", elections and border crossing deal

Six Party talks with North Korea

Convincing Russia not to block U.S. referral of Iran to UNSC

Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate

Free Elections in Pakistan

Free Trade Agreement with Panama, Chile, Colombia and Peru contingent on environmental protection requirements

Venezuela blocked from non-permanent seat on UNSC

Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative with India

Establishment of The Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Active talks for power sharing in Kenya

Joint U.S. Central American Nation Green House Gas Reduction Program

2 Elections and a Constitution adopted in Afghanistan

2 Elections and a Constitution adopted in Iraq
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Old 02-29-2008, 01:24 AM
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So you tell me that it's bad for me to read just the headlines, and then post like 20 headlines ?

No wonder why you voted for Bush
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Old 02-29-2008, 10:19 AM
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Quote:
Would recognition by POTUS of some tin-pot dictator like Raul Castro confer status on him? Uh... yes.
I don't understand what you mean by "recognition." Why does a conversation with the president of the United States -- or his/her representatives -- amount to sprinkling that "tin-pot dictator" with fairy dust?

It seems to me that a vacuum -- with is what we've had with Cuba for nearly 50 years -- produces nothing useful.
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Old 02-29-2008, 07:08 PM
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Nobody can explain the logic of this?
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Old 02-29-2008, 07:39 PM
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Yeah, sorry. I'm with you on this, so I don't know what sort of logic they are using. Fuzzy?
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