Cheney P.O'd at Pelosi

Mephisto

Philosopher
Mephisto
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I guess if you want foreign diplomacy in this country, you have to do it yourself!

After all, isn't is simpler to just talk to people than to bomb them? Aren't you less likely to hate someone if you just take the time to get to know them? Wasn't it Sun Tsu who said keep your friends close by, but keep your enemies closer?

Cheney: Pelosi shows 'bad behavior' in Syria

POSTED: 9:01 a.m. EDT, April 6, 2007

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Vice President Dick Cheney accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday of "bad behavior" on her Middle East trip, saying she bungled a message for Syria's president that was later clarified by Israel.

Cheney harshly criticized Pelosi's visit to Syria this week and declared in an interview, "The president is the one who conducts foreign policy, not the speaker of the House."

Pelosi's Syrian stopover was opposed from the start by the Bush administration, which accuses Damascus of sponsoring terrorism and says it should be isolated from the international community.

While in Damascus Wednesday, Pelosi announced she had told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that Israel was prepared to negotiate with Syria. That prompted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office to underline the Jewish state's preconditions for such talks -- including that Syria abandon its "support for terrorist groups." (Watch how Pelosi's trip draws criticism on several fronts )

Cheney, pointing to the Israeli reaction, said it was obvious Olmert had not authorized the message Pelosi delivered.

"It was a non-statement, nonsensical statement and didn't make any sense at all that she would suggest that those talks could go forward as long as the Syrians conducted themselves as a prime state sponsor of terror," the vice president said on the Rush Limbaugh radio show.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/06/cheney.pelosi.reut/index.html
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Of course, since Cheney said these things on the Rush Limbaugh show, I'm sure there weren't too many people who disagreed.
 
Mephisto said:
I guess if you want foreign diplomacy in this country, you have to do it yourself!

After all, isn't is simpler to just talk to people than to bomb them? Aren't you less likely to hate someone if you just take the time to get to know them? Wasn't it Sun Tsu who said keep your friends close by, but keep your enemies closer?




Of course, since Cheney said these things on the Rush Limbaugh show, I'm sure there weren't too many people who disagreed.
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I saw some film clips, and heard some loud talk, but the whole bit about her "hajib" (looked like a scarf to me) struck me as little other than a show of modesty to go her halfway in her host's place. She was wearing a knee length skirt, so all this talk about her being submissive to Arab dress codes that oppress women was hogwash.

Her arrogating executive activity to herself as Speaker, without endorsement from the executive, is a legitimate beef from the executive branch. Her action smacks of "it's all about me, not about we" regarding US foreign policy. That's not so good.

That she is second in line after Bush and Cheney, if the two of them go hunting quail and off each other in the near future, makes this visit a demonstration of her establishing herself as a player. I am not keen on Senators and Reps showboating in State's arena. I don't think it is correct execution of the separation of powers, but I am sure there are some quibbles on that regarding Congressional delegations as a general tool of policy.

As to her speaking for Israel, or allegedly doing so, this would confirm in the eyes of the Arab world another data point for the existence of the Crusader Zionist alliance/axis. Doing that in an Arab capital strikes me as a tactical error, foreign policy wise.

That the Israeli's weren't all that happy about her remarks, or so the news seems to show, makes her public utterance all the more perplexing.

DR
 
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The Godfather Trilogy: Quotes & Terminology

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" - - Michael Coreleone

Sun-tzu borrowed it from the movie.;)
 
Since Nancy is so adept at foreign policy I'm looking forward to her return so that she can precisely explain what this foreign policy of hers is.

-z
 
rikzilla said:
Since Nancy is so adept at foreign policy I'm looking forward to her return so that she can precisely explain what this foreign policy of hers is.

-z
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I think it's something called, "listening to the other side of the story," something this administration has refused to do. :)
 
Michael Redman said:
Why it is a legitimate beef of Pelosi visits Syria, but it was perfectly fine for Republican Congressmen to visit Syria earlier?

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/national/BO47787/
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Verrrry interesting! I wasn't aware of this and thought this to be particularly telling (from the link):

Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended the U.S. launch a diplomatic initiative with Syria, but the Bush administration has rejected this.

"We think it's a good idea to establish the facts, to hopefully build the confidence between us," said Pelosi. "We have no illusions, but we have great hope."

In Damascus, a state-run newspaper welcomed Pelosi's visit, saying that through dialogue "a lot of misunderstandings (with the United States) could be removed."
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Of course, misunderstandings are what drives this administration and misunderestimating their enemies is what gets them in trouble. ;)
 
Mephisto said:
I think it's something called, "listening to the other side of the story," something this administration has refused to do. :)
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On the 2003 Iranian proposal to Washington which was rejected by Cheney...

One of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell's top aides told the BBC the state department was keen on the plan – but was over-ruled.
"We thought it was a very propitious moment to do that," Lawrence Wilkerson told Newsnight. "But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the Vice-President's office, the old mantra of 'We don't talk to evil'... reasserted itself."​
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Mephisto said:
I think it's something called, "listening to the other side of the story," something this administration has refused to do. :)
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That's not foreign policy. Foreign policy involves reaching goals in line with national security, commerce, etc... What are Pelosi's goals? Are they in line with our national security? What does she expect to do to reach these goals? Does she have the political power necessary to set policy???

-z
 
rikzilla said:
That's not foreign policy. Foreign policy involves reaching goals in line with national security, commerce, etc... What are Pelosi's goals? Are they in line with our national security? What does she expect to do to reach these goals? Does she have the political power necessary to set policy???

-z
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It may not be foreign policy, but it makes better sense than sticking your fingers in your ears (to keep your own twisted ideas about the world inside) while screaming, "LA, LA, LA, LA!"
 
Michael Redman said:
Why it is a legitimate beef of Pelosi visits Syria, but it was perfectly fine for Republican Congressmen to visit Syria earlier?

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/national/BO47787/
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and perfectly fine for Republican Congressmen to visit afterwards, also?

California Republican Darrell Issa said during his visit to Damascus that "the president has failed to promote the necessary dialogue to resolve disagreements between the U.S. and Syria. We have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies," Issa told reporters after separate meetings with Assad and his foreign minister, Walid Moallem. --- from AP.
 
webfusion said:
and perfectly fine for Republican Congressmen to visit afterwards, also?

California Republican Darrell Issa said during his visit to Damascus that "the president has failed to promote the necessary dialogue to resolve disagreements between the U.S. and Syria. We have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies," Issa told reporters after separate meetings with Assad and his foreign minister, Walid Moallem. --- from AP.
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Perhaps we can see this House member activity in Syria as the American form of a "no confidence vote" regarding US foreign policy, and Secretary of State Rice in specific.

DR
 
Darth Rotor said:
I saw some film clips, and heard some loud talk, but the whole bit about her "hajib" (looked like a scarf to me) struck me as little other than a show of modesty to go her halfway in her host's place. She was wearing a knee length skirt, so all this talk about her being submissive to Arab dress codes that oppress women was hogwash.
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Agreed. Gosh, Pelosi is 67, what do they expect her to wear, Daisy Dukes and a wonderbra? As for the hear scarf she was only respecting local custom, nothing more.

Would I wear a head scarf it I was visiting a conservative Islamic nation? Yes....that's why I won't ever visit one.
 
Mephisto said:
--- snip

After all, isn't is simpler to just talk to people than to bomb them? Aren't you less likely to hate someone if you just take the time to get to know them?

--- snip
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Exactly! A perfect example from the past is when Neville Chamberlain signed the "Munich Agreement" with Hitler.
Yup, that worked out real well.


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frank462 said:
Exactly! A perfect example from the past is when Neville Chamberlain signed the "Munich Agreement" with Hitler.
Yup, that worked out real well.
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Yep, using fascist regimes as bulwarks against communist regimes have always been ugly. It was done with Hitler and it was done with South Africa. Such is the common mistake of conservatives.
 
Doesn't she realize that we should call all people who disagree with the USA terrorists and then declare war on them?
 
Tony said:
Yep, using fascist regimes as bulwarks against communist regimes have always been ugly. It was done with Hitler and it was done with South Africa. Such is the common mistake of conservatives.
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Are you saying that Czechoslovakia was communist at that time? That is what Hilter conquered right after the Munich Agreement.


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The vice president doesn't talk to evil? How odd. I thought everybody talked to themselves occasionally.
 
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