Monday, September 24, 2012

Bumps in road: What is Mitt's point?

Obama yesterday referred to the rough and messy path towards Democracy in the Middle East, as "bumps in the road".  Today Mitt Romney shot back:
"Bumps in the road?  We had an ambassador assassinated. We had a Muslim Brotherhood member elected to the presidency of Egypt. Twenty thousand people have been killed in Syria. We have tumult in Pakistan and, of course, Iran is that much closer to having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon."
So let's examine each item separately.

"We had an ambassador assassinated."
No one could keep Mitt Romney from visiting the areas affected by Hurricane Isaac, but he couldn't bother asking to be included in the crowd that received the bodies of these Americans who died?  He couldn't be bothered to attend their funerals?  In other words, lives are political volleys for Mitt.  What's he going to do, send in the marines to take over Libya; send in Seal Team 6 to shoot everyone they suspect of being involved?  Mitt's got zero plan, thus he only offers up the opinion that he's upset.

"We had a Muslim Brotherhood member elected to the presidency of Egypt."
Mitt wants to physically intervene or issue threats against a popularly-elected (re: democracy) political body?  I am amused that Mitt Romney is concerned over a political group whose religious affiliation and desire to force its moral tenets onto everyone else, yet does not look to the Republican Party, and see the same issue facing America.  We don't have hippie gun shows, you know?

"Twenty thousand people have been killed in Syria."
Does Mitt want the US to risk life and treasure, against an enemy who has chemical weapons and has threatened to use it against any invaders?  I mean heck, Mitt's been arguing that he'll LOWER his own taxes; he's not even going to pay for the war out of his own pocket!  And are we supposed to give the rebels arms, some of which are Al Qaeda members?

"We have tumult in Pakistan."
Duh.  Pakistan has had coups every decade for the last half-century, and hasn't ever been stable in the last 2000 years.  Tell me something I didn't already know.  I don't understand Mitt's position -- is he saying that we need to wage war in Pakistan?

"Iran is that much closer to having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon."
As many in Israel have noted, Iran has been months away from building a nuclear weapon for the last 8 years.  And as Mitt has said himself, he wouldn't actually draw a red line in a spot that was different from Obama's.  If anything, this could be seen as political baiting between Bibi Netanyahu and Mitt Romney, to force another Iran hostage situation that won Reagan an election by way of his hostage negotiations in 1980.


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