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Yeah there are people in our government who want that but I don't think they're the ones posting on Spurstalk.
As usual stupid Blake clips snippets out of context to make ?what? point?. Just go suck Obamas and get it over with.
Yeah there are people in our government who want that but I don't think they're the ones posting on Spurstalk.
I don't believe I took anything out of context.
If obama has it figured out, explain what he should be pondering in regards to the original article you posted.
???????
It is what it is.
The world is not what you wish it was.
Well thats obvious, but that doesn't mean I have to conform and believe something was a mistake because those in power do.
Go yourself. I'll chat with Manny and Chump because they actually seem to have brains and use them.
Is this you trying to not chat with me because you want to use grown up talk?
Or is this your idea of a snipe attempt?
Imo, youre butt hurt again after being proven to be stupid and/or ignorant.
he didn't up in egypt. how could you, sean, rush and glenn be so stupid?
I've gotten the sense that Obama and crew are just "going with the flow" as it pertains to Libya. Not that I think it's a bad thing in this instance since thre are many hotspots involved. The less our fingerprints appear on the issue, the better I'd think.
Actually he and others have spent the last two years on this board telling us how much better they could have done the job Obama has. It's not ridiculous at all, but thanks for trying to save them some embarrassment.
As for Egypt, CC, what makes you think anything Obama did or could have done short of sending troops would have made any difference? Mubarak was going down no matter what. All Obama did was say "It's probably time for that." There wasn't even an implication of actual intervention.
I figure that's largely true for most of them.
cc wanted us to put those people down......and the army that supported them. lol
The world is not what he wishes it was.
Where did I say that?
At least TRY to base your attacks in truth.
Chump, we obviously aren't going to agree on this. I say that Obama's original speech on the situation in Egypt drastically misled the "downtrodden" people all over North Africa and the Middle East that the US would support them if they protested for more civil right just like he did in Egypt. The political reality is that he was just posturing for the US media and had no intention of backing dissidents in other areas, especially Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
I admit that his sentiments sounded noble and in a perfect world would have been great..but we live in a far from perfect world...and in my opinion Egypt set in motion a chain of events that are going to have a profoundly bad result on the entire region.
We will just have to agree to disagree about this one.
Here is the text of the speech:
He clearly is not following this same path in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain...THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. My administration has been closely monitoring the situation in Egypt, and I know that we will be learning more tomorrow when day breaks. As the situation continues to unfold, our first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. So I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors.
The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.
I also call upon the Egyptian government to reverse the actions that they’ve taken to interfere with access to the Internet, to cell phone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century.
At the same time, those protesting in the streets have a responsibility to express themselves peacefully. Violence and destruction will not lead to the reforms that they seek.
Now, going forward, this moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise. The United States has a close partnership with Egypt and we've cooperated on many issues, including working together to advance a more peaceful region. But we've also been clear that there must be reform -- political, social, and economic reforms that meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people.
In the absence of these reforms, grievances have built up over time. When President Mubarak addressed the Egyptian people tonight, he pledged a better democracy and greater economic opportunity. I just spoke to him after his speech and I told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise.
Violence will not address the grievances of the Egyptian people. And suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. What’s needed right now are concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people: a meaningful dialogue between the government and its citizens, and a path of political change that leads to a future of greater freedom and greater opportunity and justice for the Egyptian people.
Now, ultimately the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. And I believe that the Egyptian people want the same things that we all want -- a better life for ourselves and our children, and a government that is fair and just and responsive. Put simply, the Egyptian people want a future that befits the heirs to a great and ancient civilization.
The United States always will be a partner in pursuit of that future. And we are committed to working with the Egyptian government and the Egyptian people -- all quarters -- to achieve it.
Around the world governments have an obligation to respond to their citizens. That's true here in the United States; that's true in Asia; it is true in Europe; it is true in Africa; and it’s certainly true in the Arab world, where a new generation of citizens has the right to be heard.
When I was in Cairo, shortly after I was elected President, I said that all governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion. That is the single standard by which the people of Egypt will achieve the future they deserve.
Surely there will be difficult days to come. But the United States will continue to stand up for the rights of the Egyptian people and work with their government in pursuit of a future that is more just, more free, and more hopeful.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...03-16-06-43-07
Bahrain locks down kingdom as uprising surges
By BARBARA SURK and REEM KHALIFA
Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Soldiers and riot police in Bahrain overran a protesters' camp, imposed a 12-hour curfew and choked off movement nationwide Wednesday. Witnesses described helicopters firing on homes in a hunt for Shiites and attacking doctors treating the wounded, while the government called the demonstrators "outlaws" for demanding an end to the monarchy.
The nation that once led the Middle East in entrepreneurial openness went into lockdown, its government propped by troops from Sunni Gulf neighbors fearful for their own rule and the spread of Shiite Iran's influence.
The unrest that began last month increasingly looks like a sectarian showdown: The country's Sunni leaders are desperate to hold power, and majority Shiites want more rights and an end to their dynasty.
Wednesday's assault began in Pearl Square, the center of the uprising inspired by Arab revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. But the violence that left at least five people dead on Wednesday did not stop in the capital.
Doctors at the country's main hospital said their facility was taken over by security forces, effectively blocking physicians from either leaving or treating the wounded on-site.
"There are many people injured, but we can't bring them to the hospital because of the travel restrictions and doctors can't come to us," said Ali Marsouk, a resident of the Shiite village of Sitra, who said helicopters fired on homes in a three-hour attack.
Rania Ali, another resident, said police were charging after Shiites as they sought shelter.
"I saw them chasing Shiites like they were hunting," said Ali, a Sunni whose husband is Shiite.
The Salmaniya hospital complex has become a political hotspot - with the mostly Shiite personnel seen by authorities as possible protest sympathizers. The staff claim they must treat all who need care.
But there have been moments of open anger. As overwhelmed teams treated the injured from Tuesday's clashes, many broke out in calls to topple the monarchy.
"We are under siege," said Nihad el-Shirawi, an intensive care doctor who said she had been working for 48 hours. "We cannot leave and those on-call cannot come in."
The king's announcement of a three-month emergency rule and the crackdown on Pearl Square sent a message that authorities will strike back in the strategic island nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
President Barack Obama called King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to express deep concern over the violence. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama stressed the need for "maximum restraint."
Security forces barred journalists and others from moving freely. A 4 p.m to 4 a.m. curfew was imposed in most of the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the introduction of Gulf forces was "the wrong track."
"There is no security answer to this and the sooner they get back to the negotiating table and start trying to answer the legitimate needs of the people, the sooner there can be a resolution that will be in the best interests of everyone," she told CBS News.
Witnesses said at least two protesters were killed when the square was stormed. Officials at Ibn Nafees Hospital said a third protester died later. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisals.
A government statement said the only deaths during the raid were two policemen who were "repeatedly run over by three vehicles containing protesters."
The government did not say whether the offensive included soldiers from other Gulf nations - a Saudi-led force that has grown to nearly 1,000.
State TV showed military vehicles flying Bahrain's red-and-white flag as security officials moved through the wreckage of the encampment, set up at the base of a monument to the country's history as a pearl diving center.
During the attack, protesters fled into side streets and security forces blocked main roads into Manama. Mobile phones were apparently jammed during the height of the attack and Internet service remained at a crawl.
Hamid Zuher, a 32-year-old protester who slept at the square, said riot police first moved in on foot.
"They fired tear gas and then opened fire," Zuher said. "We lifted our arms and started saying 'Peaceful, Peaceful.' Then we had to run away."
The government said security forces came under attack from about 250 "saboteurs" hurling gasoline bombs and responded with tear gas. It denied live ammunition was used.
In Shiite villages, people went to mosques and held protest prayers. Others lit fires in anger. Clashes were reported in other mostly Shiite areas, where traffic was controlled by military forces in an apparent attempt to prevent gatherings or a surge of people toward the capital.
The government offers hints of a growing propaganda campaign. A statement said forces conducted an operation to "cleanse" Pearl Square and later state TV called the demonstrators "saboteurs" and "outlaws."
A senior opposition leader, Abdul Jalil Khalil, believes the messages seek to bring sectarian civil war.
"And what do they think, that spreading this hate will break our will?" Khalil said. "Until now, we were defiant at Pearl Square. Now we are defiant in every village and town."
Bahrain's sectarian clash is increasingly viewed as an extension of the region's rivalries between the Gulf Arab leaders and Iran. Washington, too, is pulled deeply into the Bahrain's conflict because of its naval base - the Pentagon's main Gulf counterweight to Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday denounced the crackdown and the presence of the Saudi-led force.
"How is it possible to stop waves of humanity with military force?" Ahmadinejad said.
Before the rise of Dubai and Qatar's capital Doha, the business center of the Gulf was in Bahrain. The tiny nation successfully marketed itself in the 1990s as a Western-friendly outpost for banking and financial services as a way to offset its relatively meager oil revenue. Its skyline - now dwarfed by Dubai - was once a symbol of the Gulf's emergence on the world stage.
The unrest has already given a stinging blow: the cancellation of the Formula 1 season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this month. The race is a major tourism draw and the highlight of Bahrain's international calendar.
---
Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Adam Schreck in Abu Dhabi; Hamid Ahmed in Baghdad, and Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Again, you think that his saying something somehow changed the course of events in Egypt.
It did not. Mubarak was done. It was easy to voice support once it was apparent the Egyptian army wasn't going to go to the mat for Hosni.
And people in Libya and Bahrain and Saudi Arabia aren't waiting for Obama to bless their democratic movements; it's more of a confirmation. That blessing is always implied by the United States' simply being a democratic republic and talking so much about how great it is. A big part of the reason the US is not trusted in the region is because its actions in the past did not back up that implied support and at times completely opposed and undermined it.
What is your "profoundly bad result" you think Obama brought about with a few paragraphs saying Mubarak should work to make Egypt more democratic? Indeed, Egyptians think the US didn't do enough to encourage the revolution. The US has to be on the right side of whatever actually comes to pass without forcing the outcome, especially with places like Bahrain.
And you still didn't say what you would do about Bahrain now.
We will just have to disagree on the effect Obama's speech had on the outcome in Egypt. Nothing unusual about that.
As for what to do now? Nothing. Events are rolling now. We will just sit back and shut up while the Bahrain military kills the out of the Shiites causing the trouble. It is what it is.
A few hundred shot is a pretty big deal when you realize that Bahrain has about the same population as the city of San Antonio.
You really think if Obama said nothing Mubarak would still be in power?
Mubarak was done for all intents and purposes before the speech since the army allowed the protests. He completely sealed his fate a couple of days later when the army actively worked to separate his camel riding goons from the protesters.
And thanks for walking back from your previous statement about Obama's lack of overt action regarding Bahrain.
We could have interceded with the army behind the scenes to work out a compromise if we had chosen that course of action.
you been drinkin the fire water?
That was up to Mubarak and he passed at the time of the camel stunt, after the speech.
Stupid Mubarak was probably filling out his tournament bracket.
i can't believe we didn't convince the egyptian army to hammer egyptians. lol
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