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Thoughts on Presidents Speech about ISIS and US Actions?

Thoughts on Presidents Speech about ISIS and US Actions?

  • Positive

    Votes: 11 21.6%
  • Negative

    Votes: 18 35.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 22 43.1%

  • Total voters
    51

TheDemSocialist

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What are your thoughts on the Presidents speech about ISIS?
 
Content, or delivery?

I think he's doing what he has to do. he said he has allies with us, so if that's true, it's a plus. He's only sending 475 troops to Iraq, if I heard him right.

But it is noteworthy that he's doing a complete about face. Again, he's doing what he feels he has to do. I'll support whatever gets done.
 
I was impressed that he figures we'll be as successful in Iraq as we have been in Somalia and Yemen.:roll:

In short, it sounds like he's doing pretty much exactly what Bush had planned 6 years ago even though he ****canned that plan back then when it might have prevented a lot of this crap.
 
How many more dead and maimed USA soldiers would we have if McCain had been President and left a residual force in perpetuity?
How bad would the two civil wars be right now?
How many more thousands of terrorists would have already flocked in to "bring it on" ?
 
How many more dead and maimed USA soldiers would we have if McCain had been President and left a residual force in perpetuity?
How bad would the two civil wars be right now?
How many more thousands of terrorists would have already flocked in to "bring it on" ?

Very in-depth analysis of Obama and his speech. Well done.
 
How many more dead and maimed USA soldiers would we have if McCain had been President and left a residual force in perpetuity?
How bad would the two civil wars be right now?
How many more thousands of terrorists would have already flocked in to "bring it on" ?

McCain is a pimp but I think he'd done a better job in keeping casualties down and I doubt we'd be reading about beheaded journalists.
 
All Americans need to see McCain's comments on CNN right now.

McCain has refused to allow Carney to speak when questioned and directly accused Obama of falsehoods--real nice on the world stage huh?

He is a bitter man who still can't deal with the fact he didn't get to direct the war machine President Eisenhower warned us of.

Carney is a far better man than I right now for the way McCain completely dishonored his position as a Senator and Statesman in the way he behaved .
 
I am unimpressed with his speech...but I am, perhaps naively, hopeful that he will succeed in eliminating ISIS.

I don't think we'll see any immediate results. Heck, I don't really think we'll see results until Obama is out of Office and we get a Republican President.
 
McCain is a pimp but I think he'd done a better job in keeping casualties down and I doubt we'd be reading about beheaded journalists.

So you were in favor of leaving a residual force which would have continued losing
lives as well as continuing the overload of the VA with thousands of more lives?

Not to mention that Americans were never going to allow Palin to be a heartbeat away from the President.
A President who finally got another war, one he doesn'ty want to vote on either .
 
I don't think we'll see any immediate results. Heck, I don't really think we'll see results until Obama is out of Office and we get a Republican President.
Then again that is what he said that its not going to happen like that. I mean hell, also I dont think we would see much of a difference with the GOP, the GOP is currently not much ready to vote to back much of anything right now....
 
What are your thoughts on the Presidents speech about ISIS?

anonymous polls suck

i was watching SyF channel's presentation of Russell Crowe in Robin Hood. that FICTION features a good actor, a gorgeous actress and real drama. far superior to the alternative choice
 
I am unimpressed with his speech...
Of course you are--yer always unimpressed with him--on everything.
Heck, I don't really think we'll see results until Obama is out of Office and we get a Republican President.
The kind of support I've come to expect from you people for the last six years .
 
Glad someone finally did.

All Americans need to see McCain's comments on CNN right now.

McCain has refused to allow Carney to speak when questioned and directly accused Obama of falsehoods--real nice on the world stage huh?

He is a bitter man who still can't deal with the fact he didn't get to direct the war machine President Eisenhower warned us of.

Carney is a far better man than I right now for the way McCain completely dishonored his position as a Senator and Statesman in the way he behaved .
 
Of course you are--yer always unimpressed with him--on everything.

The kind of support I've come to expect from you people for the last six years .

you can polish a turd only so much but it still stinks NIMBY. we give Obama the support he deserves-and far more than most of the Dems gave W during the war
 
Newt Gingrich is probably as sensible as I've ever heard him--actually praising Obama--but comparing him to Bush .
 
That's complete moronic nonsense as you would say TurtleDude.
All Americans were behind Bush after 9/11--could you have said that if 9/11 happened under Obama or Gore?
As we constantly see from you righties, Dems did support the Cheney war resolution--because they were lied to.
Once the lies came out--not so much .
you can polish a turd only so much but it still stinks NIMBY. we give Obama the support he deserves-and far more than most of the Dems gave W during the war
 
Glad someone finally did.

McCain completely dishonored his position as a Senator and a Statesman.
His bitterness on CNN is now part of the ISIL computer manual, since we know how tech-savvy they are .
 
His speech was fine. He said the right things, but I have no faith in Iraqi forces to accomplish anything. I have no idea how to eradicate an ideology.
 
Good speech. Not so good examples of what he thinks are successes. As far as a military strategy is concerned, I tend to be concerned that we are putting our hope in ground forces that so far have accomplished record desertions and set a new standard for fleeing from the enemy.

Air power will not, and has never, won a war or defeated and enemy.

What I found most interesting, was the dichotomy of his statements in the speech versus what he was saying just weeks ago, and then trying to present them as if it was his strategy all along - specifically this part: "Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven."

Also, he couched the entire speech as if it were some counter-terrorism campaign, yet ISIS has tanks, rocket launchers and is a real Army. Not a bunch of guys that are planning suicide bombings (although they do that as well), but a real Army, with money, heavy weapons and thousands of soldiers. I don't think that a counter-terrorist strategy is what is needed when this is a real war, which will be waged on the ground with ground troops, armor and heavy weapons. None of which the Arab countries, especially Iraq, is prepared to do.

I hope he is successful. I thought he gave a good speech. I just don't think it's going to be successful. I hope I'm wrong.
 
That's complete moronic nonsense as you would say TurtleDude.
All Americans were behind Bush after 9/11--could you have said that if 9/11 happened under Obama or Gore?
As we constantly see from you righties, Dems did support the Cheney war resolution--because they were lied to.
Once the lies came out--not so much .

with the election looming, the grim weepers of the Dem party in the media started whining about the deaths hoping for more to use as campaign fodder against the President. we used to see daily death reports in the news that were parroted by W haters all over the web. not here of course since this board didn't exist then but we saw it constantly. And yes, some Dems hoped for a military disaster in the fall of 04 so they could snatch back the white house after Sore-Loserman's attempt to steal the election away failed.
 
Very positive for a Muslim terrorist who hates America.

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Other.

I found the President’s strategy a mixed bag. There were parts I agreed with: airstrikes against ISIS, aiding Kurdish and Iraqi forces, expanding Intelligence-gathering and counterterrorism efforts, and continuing humanitarian assistance. Unfortunately, there were also parts that were counterproductive, namely the tactic of aiding actors in Syria’s vicious sectarian conflict with no mention of controls or mechanisms to assure that such assistance is directed at ISIS. Toward that end, the President declared:

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I again call on Congress to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters.

Assisting sectarian factions in Syria’s multifaceted civil war would be a counterproductive step. While the U.S. need not partner with the Assad government, it should not assist sectarian elements that have displayed little regard for civilian welfare, have engaged in shifting alliances of expediency resulting in weapons leakage to radical elements, have made no meaningful commitments toward American interests and those of regional American allies, and have contributed significantly to the instability that ISIS has exploited.

In the broader geopolitical framework, allies of the Assad regime can reasonably worry that increasing arms deliveries to various sectarian actors in Syria’s conflict is, at least in part, a backdoor “regime change” initiative. If so, one can expect them to step up their own assistance to that dictatorship. The end result could be a more intense sectarian conflict in Syria. Such an outcome could diminish the effectiveness of the air campaign against ISIS, as it could also create new opportunities for the terrorist organization from the expanded instability. Furthermore, there was no mention of helping Jordan and Egypt, both key American regional allies, deal with potential threats from ISIS.

Another point that I found troublesome is that the strategies in Yemen and Somalia were described as successful. In fact, both areas continue to face substantial terrorist activity. Just as President Bush famously erred in his “mission accomplished” address, I believe President Obama is prematurely proclaiming success in two initiatives that remain far more works in progress than concrete successes.

Finally, the President declared, “I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat” but provided no examples to demonstrate the breadth of this coalition. In fact, later in his speech, his remarks hinted that key parts of such a coalition are not yet in place. He stated:

Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today… and in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria to drive these terrorists from their lands.

IMO, given their direct and large interests in the situation, the White House should already have put together the Arab coalition. That it hasn’t is not exactly encouraging. This begs the question as to whether the White House is promising more than it can deliver when it comes to putting together such a coalition.

All said, the speech was a mixed bag. There were some strong points, but also the glaring weakness of aiding sectarian factions in Syria with no mention of controls or other mechanisms to assure that such assistance would be used strictly against ISIS rather than in the pursuit of those organizations’ own sectarian goals. In short, my guess is that the fight against ISIS is unlikely to be close to resolution in the near-term. Furthermore, there is a risk that ISIS will remain a fairly formidable regional threat even by the end of the President’s term in office.

The transcript can be found at: Text of Obama
 
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