Comments on: More On Freeman

By: WRW

WRW — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:32:59 +0000

Jetan,
You may well be right about Obama picking his battles. As for the rest of your response to Grumpy, you’re way too hip for me.

By: TGGP

TGGP — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:40:56 +0000

An exception to the correlational trend is Thomas Barnett. His basically imperialist vision of one world liberal-democratic capitalist order seems straight out of Fukuyama neoconservatism, but he also constantly pushes for friendlier relations with China & Iran.

By: jetan

jetan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:42:09 +0000

Well, Grumpy Old Man – and thanks for giving me the chance to say that to someone – even Israel can’t control Netenyahoo. Doesn’t he remind you of Santa Anna in that, no matter how dramatic and egregious his errors, he gets returned to power anyway? He’s like Castro…he’ll outlive all of us.
I’m not too worried about war with Iran because I think we lack the money….and the money…and the military power and diplomatic pull that a conventional war would require. The Victor Davis Hanson types who like to fantasize about their unipolar superpower Jedi Matrix trip are just grooving in their own Private Idaho.

By: Grumpy Old Man

Grumpy Old Man — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:32:30 +0000

Jetan, alas you may be right. If we pay for it by war with Iran, it will be a colossal crime and disaster. Can BHO–will BHO–control the odious Netanyahu?

By: jetan

jetan — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:30:23 +0000

I don’t mean to sound like a total hack and Obama apologist but I WRW underestimates the power of the Israeli lobby within the Democratic party….I mean, Chuck Schumer already basically said “No F***ing Way” to the Freeman appointment and Hillary’s very mild gestures toward some form of even-handedness with respect to Palestine have been greeted with shrill indignation. So, given the already daunting list of foreign policy and domestic challenges on-deck, I think he has wisely decided that this is a big tar-baby hassle he doesn’t need. Even if he holds the line and seats Freeman he will have to pay back the pro-Israel types back down the line, probably with interest. That ain’t the way it should be, but it’s sho’ nuff the way it is.

By: WRW

WRW — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:43:16 +0000

Another interesting test of Obama. His personnel choices in foreign policy to date seem to more indicate a lack of courage to challenge the status quo than “changing the mindset” that led to the Iraq War. If Freeman is dropped/rejected what will that indicate? (Assuming, it’s not actually because of any conflict.)

By: Maximos

Maximos — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:16:06 +0000

The Iranian Threat… Make that the “Iranian Threat”. How obviously must these hacks and frauds declare that they will only accept intelligence ‘products’ with pre-arranged, foreknown conclusions? The NIE concludes that there is no Iranian nuclear weapons programme, propagators of the meme remain heedless of the difference between the low-enriched uranium that Iran possesses, and is capable of processing, and the highly-enriched material required for the manufacture of weapons, which they do not possess – and still, we hear about the “Iranian Threat”!

By: Daniel Larison

Daniel Larison — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:18:26 +0000

My guess is that it is Freeman’s reported aversion to groupthink and moralistic cant that led him to be critical of Israel in the first place, and that this inclination probably became stronger as time has gone by. I am also inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt inasmuch as I am rather familiar with how one posting or one statement can be taken out of a much larger body of work and be made to stand in for your entire worldview.

There does seem to be some considerable overlap between those making the most noise about Freeman and those preoccupied with the “Iranian threat.”

By: Grumpy Old Man

Grumpy Old Man — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:48:38 +0000

Your comments are wise as usual.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that Freeman is an Israel-skeptic, which is why the Lobby’s minions are out to get him. The Saudi and Chinese issues are simply protective coloration, although on the whole the neocons would like to stir up something between us and China if they could. Dennis Ross working for the “Jewish People Project,” funded by the Jewish Agency, doesn’t raise their hackles.

With Freeman filtering intelligence, they’re afraid they won’t get their war with Iran. Such a war, of course, could well be a leap into the abyss, especially in a time of economic collapse.

High stakes. Interesting times, in which we are condemned to live.