Random Political comments...

He definitely got America involved in conflicts ...good read:

President Obama, who hoped to sow peace, instead led the nation in war
By CHRISTI PARSONS AND W.J. HENNIGAN

JAN. 13, 2017

President Obama discusses his administration’s counterterrorism policy in May 2013. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Before he took office in 2008, Barack Obama vowed to end America’s grueling conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his second term, he pledged to take the country off what he called a permanent war footing.

“Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue,” he said in May 2013. “But this war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. It’s what our democracy demands.”

But Obama leaves a very different legacy as he prepares to hand his commander-in-chief responsibilities to Donald Trump.

U.S. military forces have been at war for all eight years of Obama’s tenure, the first two-term president with that distinction. He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan.

Yet the U.S. faces more threats in more places than at any time since the Cold War, according to U.S. intelligence. For the first time in decades, there is at least the potential of an armed clash with America’s largest adversaries, Russia and China.

Obama slashed the number of U.S. troops in war zones from 150,000 to 14,000, and stopped the flow of American soldiers coming home in body bags. He also used diplomacy, not war, to defuse a tense nuclear standoff with Iran.

But he vastly expanded the role of elite commando units and the use of new technology, including armed drones and cyber weapons.

“The whole concept of war has changed under Obama,” said Jon Alterman, Middle East specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonprofit think tank in Washington.

Obama “got the country out of ‘war,’ at least as we used to see it,” Alterman said. “We’re now wrapped up in all these different conflicts, at a low level and with no end in sight.”
....

He leaves office with 5,262 U.S. troops in Iraq and 503 in Syria and a relentless air war that has helped push the militants out of key cities and towns, and crippled their ability to produce or sell oil.

In a speech on Dec. 6 at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, Obama all but conceded that he was unable to get America out of the foreign wars, large and small, that grew out of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

More of the conflicts outlined..
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/

 

There's nothing sadder or more destructive than extreme partisanship for the sake of extreme partisanship.

 

You're getting hung up on terms. No one is saying Russia rigged the election.

Russia interfered with our election through hacking with the intent of tilting the election in favor of Trump. The question the FBI, CIA, the Senate and Congress are trying to figure out is did the Trump administration have prior warning, and did they participate or encourage Russia to interfere with the election to help Clinton win.

Obviously the hacked emails had an affect on voter turnout. No they didn't make Trump win, but they did damage HRC, maybe enough to help him win??

If these investigative committees can find evidence that Trump and his campaign were complicit with the Russians to win the elections, he's in big trouble.

For some reason whenever Trump turns around, he's bumping into Russia.
The law firm Trump hired last week to draft a letter and send to Senator Lindsey Graham declaring he had no Russia ties?? That same law firm does extensive business in Russia and won a 'law firm of the year' award in 2016 for their private legal work....in Russia.

All it will takes is ONE piece of evidence showing a Russian official or spy communicating with Trump or one of his surrogates telling them they were going to steal data from the DNC and publish it, and the member of the Trump campaign team agreeing with that move.
After that, it's whether or not you believe one of Trump's subordinates would strike such a deal without his knowledge, or not.
A POTUS who has nothing to hide doesn't fire his FBI director over a 'silly nonsense' made up Russia controversy, they say he did it because Director Comey was unfairly mean to Hillary.

 

I don't know what you're saying. DO you think Obama should have withdrawn all our forces from Iraq and not been engaged militarily in ME countries fighting ISIS and Al Qaeda???

Say what you mean, unless you're just sticking out your tongue at the man over his foreign policy and you're okay with Iraq collapsing.
This LA Times article is misleading in that we don't have 'troops' in Syria, we have special ops and CIA personnel carrying out covert missions.
Notice the article doesn't address how many U.S. troops have died overseas since Obama became POTUS, since that number is much smaller and less incriminating of Obama's foreign entanglements.

I wish these reporters would have told the rest of us that the solution to cleaning up the mess left behind by Dubya was to simply withdraw all our combat troops from the ME.
Yeah, that works.

If fighting terrorism abroad is no longer a goal. let us know.

 

If you have 45 minutes some time, this investigative documentary is well worth watching and lays out plain the issues with Trump and Russia and why IMO he's going to resign before he ever gets impeached.
This time smoke equals fire.

 

I wonder how North Korea's air defense compares to Iraq's pre gulf war air force. Hussein had plenty of money and his aircraft were probably Russian made. Didn't stand a chance against us tho. Gotta have good air game to battle with the US or you gets stomped.

 

Our local DA nomination election was held yesterday. 11 Dems, one Republican.

The Democrat who won, Larry Krasner, out-paced the next dem vying for the seat by 9-1. Krasner, a defense Attorney, he has never been a prosecutor.

Now.....soneone donated $1.5 million dollars to a PAC that was supporting him....
That someone was George Soros.
In a local DA's race.


"Krasner quickly emerged as the darling of the (Progressive) left, the “Bernie Sanders of the DA’s race,” if you will. Over his career in criminal defense, he made a name for defending protesters..."

After Soro's DA choice - who is against the death penalty and less jailings, won - chants of 'FUCK THE POLICE" wete cheered from his supporters.

 

Why do you think they were cheering that particular phrase Bliss?

 

Because cops are god's gift to Middle America.

 

Are you being facetious or genuine?

 

Im serious, I want to know if you understand the kind of pain, and distrust that would lead a group of people to chant that phrase. Keep in mind I'm not condoning the behavior, I just want to know if you understand the history behind those words, because your original post seemed to take a condemning tone.

 

So you weren't serious. You just want to call me out.as if l'm unaware of the motives of such a chant.
Of course l understand some people dislike the police.

You act as if police brutality is an American thing only. Go to Geeece and see if you don't get your face or ears slapped, or beat up for even talking back to a cop. They're rutheless.

See what happened yesterday to the Kurdish protesters in Washington DC by the visiting Turkish President's bodyguards? They had their heads split open and were arrested. That's not uncommon in my culture.

So l know people hate cops.

However running for the DA it's bad to have your supporters chant that. Is that going to help? Krasner has distanced hinself from the chant.

They were also chanting "No cash bail!".
It's not rocket science why we have cash bail, but clearly they want no-show criminals roaming Philly streets.

I'm at the point where l'm moving from the city. Crime is out of control, our prison system is already a revolving door - l don't ever want to have a sawn-off shotgun in my face and then pressed to my ribs, ever again.
You have your pain, l have mine.

 

Well l'm not. middle America, lm east coast inner black city.

I have had horrible encounters with cops and incredible ones. I take them on a case by case basis.

 

Bliss, if I wanted to call you out I would just say that plainly, after all of our interactions you should know that I don't pull punches when I form an opinion. I asked the question because I was genuinely curious. Where in the world did I say that police brutality was only an American phenomenon? If I saw a news story of Greek people chanting anti police slogans, I would not just assume they are criminals or support criminals, I would seek to gain a better understanding as to why they are saying what they are saying, that is the point I was trying to make with you.

This is the first I am hearing of you being a victim of a violent crime, that must have been terrifying for you. I had a similar instance back in my college summer job days when I was a pizza delivery guy and got a .44 magnum shoved in my face, I gave up the $ and the pizzas with the quickness.

 

Cops need to called out for their bullshit.

 

If you lived in Greece you would know that there is a lot of anarchist protesters against the Govt and don't want to extend an olive-branch... they want them gone and replaced with their ideology.

The 'Fuck the Police" chants at our DA's race is counter-productive. Do they want a Baltimore situation where oeople are now pleading for police help? I know cops who feel very unappreciated.

Loki, lve said it enough times, l ache for innocent victims and despise rogue cops.
It also pains me that the men lve come to know have to worry they might not survive a police encounter. I totally get it. Based on crime in Philadelphia, l have a polar but same feeling that l won't survive a robbery.

My robber killed a (black) man after robbing me. I think the only reason he spared me was because my accent threw him off and l kept calling him "sweetheart". He saw how terrified l was and asked me to "calm down" and "hold him" like a boyfriend" and to walk with him arm-in-arm.
I have shared this story before...
l did not know you were held up. Wow. You were so lucky you were not hurt or killed. Thank God!!!

 

Interesting to know about the anarchists, I was not aware of that before, thanks for sharing that. Anarchists have never formed a functioning government, so that will be interesting to watch. If you recall, I did not say I agreed with the F the police chants, we actually agree that it is counter productive and is incredibly unfair to the good cops. I do however understand where that pain, fear and distrust comes from, which is why I choose to help funnel those feelings in a more productive direction with the young men that I mentor.

I must have missed when you shared your armed robbery story before, thank God you were not hurt as well, strange that he wanted you to walk with him, was he leading you somewhere? In my situation I was just glad to get out of there with my life as not only were both guys armed, I could smell that they were drunk as well, just punks who had nothing better to do than to rob me of $40 bucks and 3 pizzas.

 

Funny how the bad guys are supposed to just quit fighting and blowing shit up because Obama asks friendly.

If he was a Republican president taking out the scumbags, there would be cheers across the land. Like when brain-dead Trumpies cheered when Trump exploded that super-bomb in Afghanistan that didn't even kill anybody.

Obama took out the trash from bin Laden to the Somali pirates to ISIS and it's crocodile tears from righties and far-left hippies.

Fuck you hypocrites.

 

Cops feel under appreciated? Ok so what so does everyone in nearly every profession. Suck up the tears and the job correctly. Again I don't know the pay nationwide but here in NY these guys get 90k a year and with overtime it's close to 150k. That's far better than most people who have advanced degrees.