Steve Clemons: HRC is demonstrating a disturbing trend towards continuity of Bush policies

[mod mom]

That said, unless something earth-shattering happens, it is likely that either Obama or Clinton will be the next Democratic candidate for President, and very possibly the next President of the United States.

-snip

The Hillary we see today -- running hard right (if that is what one can call Bush's foreign policy) on a number of national security issues -- may not be the same Hillary we see in the Oval office. She may be ready to launch a new effort that helps reorder America's place in the world. Privately, I think she wants to do that. I have had at least one serious conversation with her -- and some occasional side comment moments with her -- that indicate to me that she really wants to push a 21st century foreign policy, not one sculpted in the last century.

That said, thus far in her campaign, she is demonstrating a disturbing trend towards incrementalism and continuity of Bush administration policies that she should cease.

This is a "discontinuous moment" in American history in which it's highly dangerous to American interests to plot tomorrow's course by what one did yesterday. There are no easy patterns or templates for the time we are in. America may be slipping from being a globally recognized, earth-sprawling hegemon to something that looks like just another great power -- well, perhaps not just any great power, a big one with great assets -- but that slippage has real costs.

-snip


http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/24/brzezinski_endorses_obama_calls_hillary_clintons_foreign_policy_very_conventional

THE ARTICLE WHICH IS A RESPONSE TO BRZEZINSKI'S ENDORSEMENT OF OBAMA OVER HILLARY, IS WORTH A FULL READ.

[Tom Joad]

1. HRC has promised to continue many of Bush policies, so let's take her at her word.

and reject this option... for the sake of the planet.

[mod mom]

4. We've got to make this an ISSUE driven election and not one based on who the

media is pushing.

Here we have 2 foreign policies experts warning about Hillary's policies. Time to wake the rest of the Dem Party up to her positions. I believe they are disastrous to this country!

[Cha]

17. Why in all of the name that's

sane would any Dem or repuke want to carry on the fascist buSHIT policies?! Except rudy, mccain, and any other fascists running right now.

[cui bono]

29. And for the sake of humanity. eom

[The Straight Story]

2. She'll do the same things, but tell us in nicer ways and with a smile

"Isn't this war terrible? It takes a village to fight a war, and one to end it. Someday this war will end, until then let us use the money from our village to help our troops get the things they need and the Iraqi's the rebuilding they need. So open up your pockets wide, for the children."

:rofl:

[dysfunctional press]

3. they're actually poppy's policies...or maybe even babs-

those two have been running the show since ronnie raygun took office. even through the clinton years...no reason to believe that another clinton mis-administration would be any diffeent.

[papau]

5. Steve's article is one I agree with - like him, I anticipate she will move left with new policy if

elected -

but like him I wish she was more left in foreign policy during the campaign.

What I do not see is the great difference between her and Obama beyond the statement on Cuba - which deals with travel by Cuban Americans to see family in Cuba - not a big deal.

Zbigniew Brzezinski asserted that there was a difference - and I respect the man's opinion - but I did not catch any areas where Obama had laid out a new policy beyond platitudes.

[mod mom]

7. Hillary has a tendency to deliver positions on what she believes an audience wants to hear.

My fear w Clemons comment that he thinks she might move away from BU$H's DISASTROUS POLICIES (MY WORDS) if elected, might be that Hillary thought Clemons would want to hear that. I don't trust political double talk. We had enough of it w * (think compassionate conservative). I want a genuine candidate who speaks from the heart not the pollsters.

[papau]

10. For me it is hard to tell who is following heart and not also polls - indeed I would

think anyone running would follow both.

But Obama does have a good image and that may make him our best candidate - I'm just saying I do not see anything all that "wrong" with Hillary - and I do not see foreign policy position differences in any specific way - except as to travel by tha Cuban Americans to see family in Cuba (Hillary wants this as part of some larger agreement - Obama wants it now).

[Cha]

20. I don't trust her to do

the right thing. There is no trust.

[Tom Joad]

25. you do have a point, i don't see any big change with obama either

nothin but devotion to advancing US empire from most of them.

[Blackhatjack]

6. typical strategy is run left to get Dem Nomination, run center right in Gen Election...

If this is HRC's version of running left, we may be in trouble. Hope I am wrong.

[rodeodance]

8. GET THIS---ANYONE who does not run hard on Nat Security will NOT will the

General election.

Simple as that!

[Skip Intro]

11. yup.

[Cameron27]

13. I agree

[jgraz]

15. It's not IF you run on it, it's HOW you run on it

Annyone running on the same Bushit crap about constraining civil liberties and continuing illegal detentions is not someone I can support. It's time to have real leadership in this area, not just a continual spouting of the same old tired talking points.

[Cha]

22. Right! At least Obama

Edwards, Kucinich, whomever have something fresh to offer..like a good strategy.

[jgraz]

27. yeah, even Biden has better ideas in this area

And here I thought he was going to be the right-wing standard-bearer for the Dems. :shrug:

[ThomWV]

16. National Security has nothing to do with Bush and Hillary's direction in Iraq

[glitch]

18. How about "smart" security? "hard" security not really effective, it just appears that way.

At least temporarily. We need real security, which is smart security, not the appearance, which is the hard security that Bushco has been selling.
If Clinton jumps on that illusion it won't help her campaign or our country's future.

[kenny blankenship]

9. If we want continuity with Bush Administration we can just write in Dick Cheney

I know I want a completely different direction than the one we've gone these last 6 and a half years.

[mod mom]

12. or how about following a tradition and pick Jeb

:sarcasm:

[kenny blankenship]

23. Poppy is also eligible since he served only one term. We could save Jeb for later.

That's 12 years more of Bushlerism instead of only 8. And maybe Hillary could take a turn in there sometime, too.

[DURHAM D]

14. Ok - here is what I took from this post and article.

(1) The heading on this post is not the title of the article.

(2) The author's first choice for President is Chuck Hagel.

(3) The author feels that HRC will likely not retain Bush policies if elected.

[Cha]

19. I guess some of us aren't the only

ones who see hillary for what she is.

[OzarkDem]

21. Her campaign advisor is married to Cheney's assistant

what more do you expect? She's crazy if she's listening to Carville, though she may have access to more information because of him.

Its a completely different world than it was in 1992. The old rules don't apply any longer.

[mod mom]

31. and Carville tipped off * that Kerry WASN'T going to concede (per Bob Woodward)

Did Carville Tip Bush Off to Kerry Strategy (Woodward)


By M.J. Rosenberg | bio




On page 344, Woodward describes the doings at the White House in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the day after the '04 election.

Apparently, Kerry had decided not to concede. There were 250,000 outstanding ballots in Ohio.

So Kerry decides to fight. In fact, he considers going to Ohio to camp out with his voters until there is a recount. This is the last thing the White House needs, especially after Florida 2000.

-snip

"Carville told her he had some inside news. The Kerry campaign was going to challenge the provisional ballots in Ohio -- perhaps up to 250,000 of them. 'I don't agree with it, Carville said. I'm just telling you that's what they're talking about.'

-snip

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward

[scarletwoman]

24. Well, duh. U.S. military imperialism has always been a bipartisan project among the Ruling Classes.

So, vote for the Ruling-Class approved candidate, and you will get a president who implements the Ruling Class prefered agenda. The war machine will continue to be well-fed.

sw

[dailykoff]

26. Next up: chickens have wings!

Stay tuned for more old news bulletins

[hfojvt]

28. nice of him to write off Edwards

NOT!

Apparently his concern is with foreign policy and Edwards talks too much about domestic issues to interest him.

[Karmadillo]

30. If Brzezinski's "unconventional" foreign policy includes

the following, I'll stick with conventional.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Intro_RogueState.html

Introduction
excerpted from the book
Rogue State
by William Blum
Common Courage Press, 2000

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Consider Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to Jimmy Carter. In a 1998 interview he admitted that the official story that the US gave military aid to the Afghanistan opposition only after the Soviet invasion in 1979 was a lie. The truth was, he said, that the US began aiding the Islamic fundamentalist Moujahedeen six months before the Russians made their move, even though he believed-and told this to Carter-that "this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention".

Brzezinski was asked whether he regretted this decision.

Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it' The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.7

Besides the fact that there is no demonstrable connection between the Afghanistan war and the breakup of the Soviet empire, we are faced with the consequences of that war: the defeat of a govemment committed to bringing the extraordinarily backward nation into the 20th century; the breathtaking camage; Moujahedeen torture that even US govemment officials called "indescribable horror"; half the population either dead, disabled or refugeesi the spawning of thousands of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists who have unleashed atrocities in numerous countries; and the unbelievable repression of women in Afghanistan, instituted by America's wartime allies.

And for playing a key role in causing all this, Zbigniew Brzezinski has no regrets. Regrets? The man is downright proud of it! The kindest thing one can say about such a person-as about a sociopath-is that he's arnoral. At least in his public incamation, which is all we're concemed with here. In medieval times he would have been called Zbigniew the Terrible.

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