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Monday, November 23, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part IX

This will be last post in this brief series. Of course, there’s ‘much more’ to be said, quite apart from matters of US domestic policy, an arena I shall not enter… But among the ‘much more’ that I did intend to address was what I (and not only I) saw as a dangerous shift in policy towards Israel.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 12:17 PM | add or view comments (14) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part VIII

When discussing the kind of war we’re conducting in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must consider yet another element of asymmetry: public opinion, or better public-opinion-as-portrayed-in-the-media. Among our adversaries there is no ‘public opinion’, there is no ‘open debate’ – at most, they may have to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 11:42 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 20, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part VII

In the comment section of the previous installment, two of my esteemed readers (Wiley and Justi) expressed regret that I do not respond to comments, and I must apologize and explain. Some of you may recall that, when I began blogging here in Jan of ’06 (has it really been that long? How ‘time... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 9:16 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, November 16, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part VI

War is a nasty business, whether we are talking of ‘just’ wars, ‘unjust’ ones or the ‘in-between’ kind. For example, and employing the ‘objective’ standards of Western concepts of justice, most people would regard WWII as a ‘just’ war, while at least most historians think of WWI as ‘in-between’,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 9:54 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part V

Having briefly mentioned Prof. Weinbaum’s ‘intangibles’ (my term, not his), I shall resist the temptation to flesh out the problems they relate to, and mention only Afghanistan’s ethnically and linguistically diverse, if not fissured, population of about 28 million. Roughly half of them are Pashtun,... Sign in to see full entry.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part IV

Afghanistan – a wild and beautiful land with a past as turbulent as the present, and borders that have meaning only for makers of maps… I won’t go into any details of Afghanistan ’s history, easily available online, but will merely note that at least a nodding acquaintance with it helps us to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 7:02 PM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part III

Okay, so we’ve got ourselves a bit of a debate. Some of the comments to the previous post in this series merit a response, and I shall provide one presently. First, though, permit me to clarify my position again. As a Canadian, I am an outside observer of the American political scene. I am a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 12:50 PM | add or view comments (17) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 6, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part II

Here we’re only in Part II, and we’re already getting into the ‘Much More’ part… In my previous post, I told you that my self-imposed leash snapped when I heard Davis Axelrod’s remarks about the Presidents lack of interest in ‘nation building’ and his determination to ‘defeat’ the Taliban or... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 8:08 PM | add or view comments (18) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Instead of the Planned Post...

Tonight I would just like to express my sorrow about the massacre at Fort Hood, TX, my sympathy for the victims, and my condolences for their families... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 5:28 PM | add or view comments (15) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Obama: A Year Later, and Much More…Part I

Today, I heard White House ‘advisor’ David Axelrod say on CNN that President Obama was not interested in ‘nation building’ in Afghanistan, but only in defeating the Taliban, ‘to keep America safe.’ This is not a verbatim quote, but is nonetheless what he said. (Actually, Axelrod may have said... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Nautikos at 4:24 PM | add or view comments (11) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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