|
like most aspects of contemporary conservatism, the worst thing for it was for conservatives to actually have power. neo-con "realism" is done.
an indication is not only did obama do his first interview as president on al-arabiya and said what i would think any sane person would say, but he's also beginning the process of engaging with iran--which the iranians have been signalling they want via backchannels for a very long time. the position of the united states has been so undermined by the bush squad that there's no alternative--but even were that not the case, this combination of types of power is far more sensible than was neo-con dick-waving.
what i expect is if ahmenddijad remains in political tenuous domestically in iran, that this will go a long way toward undermining him. but i am not sure that he remains in that position as i haven't really been following the matter closely of late.
one thing is already obvious, though: the obama administration has a pretty clear sense not only of the fiasco that was the bush administration, but also of a path out of the mess he left behind. while i am dubious about his policy toward afghanistan, i can see how it fits together with the other moves---an acceleration of activity there prevents the rest of the actions from appearing as a simple backing-down. i don't like what he's doing, but at least it makes sense overall, which is a welcome change from the bush period.
seriously, ace--you sound like fred barnes.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
|