Thoughts on McCain

[manowar821]

Originally posted by: TallPilot

Originally posted by: manowar821
So you guys want to vote another terrorist into the white house?

No!! I would never vote for hillary

Neither would I, nor would I ever vote for McCain.

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: manowar821
So you guys want to vote another terrorist into the white house?

Terrorism is an effective means of achieving political, societal and economic goals. There are several good books regarding the political economy of terrorism that are worth reading. Of course, some people consider the use of terror to achieve goals distasteful. But I'm not in the position to make that kind of moral judgement when results are far more important.

So you have no problem with terrorism so long as it's your side doing it?

I have no problem with terrorism no matter who's doing it. It's an effective tactic that costs very little to employ, but inflicts dramatic costs on the enemy. All's fair in love and war. I don't hold it against them, we're in a war.

You're a troll. I won't bite.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: manowar821

Originally posted by: TallPilot

Originally posted by: manowar821
So you guys want to vote another terrorist into the white house?

No!! I would never vote for hillary

Neither would I, nor would I ever vote for McCain.

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: manowar821
So you guys want to vote another terrorist into the white house?

Terrorism is an effective means of achieving political, societal and economic goals. There are several good books regarding the political economy of terrorism that are worth reading. Of course, some people consider the use of terror to achieve goals distasteful. But I'm not in the position to make that kind of moral judgement when results are far more important.

So you have no problem with terrorism so long as it's your side doing it?

I have no problem with terrorism no matter who's doing it. It's an effective tactic that costs very little to employ, but inflicts dramatic costs on the enemy. All's fair in love and war. I don't hold it against them, we're in a war.

You're a troll. I won't bite.

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

 

[apoppin]

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

who is that?

and i don't think the terrorists really understand it themselves
- they are not very good at much besides blowing things up ... pretty primitive - and vulnerable

 

[Fern]

On the issues:

Iraq. I don't think it's gonna matter much who's elected, the course is pretty well charted out and has been for some time now. The rhetoric is different, but the reality is the same for all candidates. In spite of what they say, no one is gonna withdrawal quickly unless they wanna cause a clusterfux. But it seems it often takes a warrior to get a country out of war, this may be benefit unexpected by most.

Immigration Much of this depends upon Congress (as is the case with most things), not the President. I haven't liked his immigration reform policy, he claims to have learned his lesson, we'll see. I'm not optimistic, but given the attitude of the county neither Hillary or Obama can ram through without major political repurcussions.

The economy. As far as bailing out homeowners etc, I like his message of "personal responsibility as Hillary's disasterous proposals. Otherwise, the federal government's ability to steer the economy is overstated IMO. His anti-pork stance is appealing and it might actually happen, but I think it's require some veto's/showdowns with Congress. When one party controls everything the tendancy is for excessive spending on pent-up pet projects.

I don't like his "cap-n-trade' policy (pending legislation), it just injects a bunch of rich (and soon to be richer) people in as middlemen who drain funds from the system leaving less for the intended purpose of upgrading emmission equipment on power plants. This will unnecessarily add cost to our power bills (inflationary).

Foreign Policy I question his ability to build coalitions, and think he'll take a tough stance against Iran. We'll have to see how that plays out, but I think "warriors" like him are more reluctant to actually start a war.

Overall, I don't think he's a very bright person or one that particularly well educated. He's gonna need a damn good AG, I can't see McCain grasping the Constitutional issues with regards to FISA etc. Like mot others in Congress, I see him as clueless about economic issues (other than lining their pockets or thatof cronies). I dislike McCain-Feingold and see it as underscoring his inability to grasp complex concepts and solutions.

I don't see him as partisan, I think only he or Obama could actually get Washington working together again and engaging in less hyper-partisanship. He's been around DC a very long time and has good relations with many powerful Dems. This is completely different from GWB (and many other recent Presidents) who was an outsider. So I think his admin would be significantly different from GWB's in this regard.

No matter, I don't see him winning anyway.

Fern

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

who is that?

and i don't think the terrorists really understand it themselves
- they are not very good at much besides blowing things up ... pretty primitive - and vulnerable

Dr. Todd Sandler.

The ground troops blow things up. The people who orchestrate everything are smart and resourceful. They do enormous amounts of damage at very little cost to themselves.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: apoppin

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

who is that?

and i don't think the terrorists really understand it themselves
- they are not very good at much besides blowing things up ... pretty primitive - and vulnerable

Dr. Todd Sandler.

The ground troops blow things up. The people who orchestrate everything are smart and resourceful. They do enormous amounts of damage at very little cost to themselves.

thank you .. the name


you mean the ground troops blow themselves up and the Leaders who orchestrate it have - thankfully - no sense or real imagination as they play like little boys with exploding trains and planes

 

[Vic]

Terrorism is how political groups with small or no armies wage "unconventional" warfare. It dates back about 1,000 years to the Hashshashin (origin of the word assassin).

 

[NoStateofMind]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

Osama?

 

[apoppin]

waay before then .. think Israel - again
[ten tribes - 3.5K years ago]

it got named 1000 years ago ... as a sub class of "warfare"
--was it "five" ?

Asymmetric warfare

 

[BMW540I6speed]

Every reporter or pundit who presents McCain as a centrist should ask himself or herself this: is George W. Bush a centrist? But then, McCain is at the exact same place as Bush in terms of taxes, regulation, etc. and on foreign policy, and even on immigration, which is touted as proof of his centrism.

Arguably, his only significant departure from Bush is on torture. But then again, there are serious questions about his commitment on this (see waterboarding ban), plus, you have to wonder where this country has gone if mild wishy-washy criticism of state sponsered torture is enough to make someone a centrist.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: apoppin

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

who is that?

and i don't think the terrorists really understand it themselves
- they are not very good at much besides blowing things up ... pretty primitive - and vulnerable

Dr. Todd Sandler.

The ground troops blow things up. The people who orchestrate everything are smart and resourceful. They do enormous amounts of damage at very little cost to themselves.

thank you .. the name


you mean the ground troops blow themselves up and the Leaders who orchestrate it have - thankfully - no sense or real imagination as they play like little boys with exploding trains and planes

If you think the leaders of those who wage terrorism against the US are incompetent, or bad at their job, you're out of your mind. We've spend trillions because of them.

 

[Farang]

Nebor is right. Terrorism is political violence on the cheap, an effective tactic for groups without the huge resources necessary to conventionally fight most nation-states. Bringing down two of the tallest buildings in the world and seriously damaging to headquarters of the largest military in the world for under $500,000 (estimate from 9/11 commission I believe) is not done by incompetent people.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: apoppin

Like I said, there are numerous books about the effectiveness of terrorism in achieving goals. I've taken a graduate class on the political economy of terrorism taught by the leader in the field.

who is that?

and i don't think the terrorists really understand it themselves
- they are not very good at much besides blowing things up ... pretty primitive - and vulnerable

Dr. Todd Sandler.

The ground troops blow things up. The people who orchestrate everything are smart and resourceful. They do enormous amounts of damage at very little cost to themselves.

thank you .. the name


you mean the ground troops blow themselves up and the Leaders who orchestrate it have - thankfully - no sense or real imagination as they play like little boys with exploding trains and planes

If you think the leaders of those who wage terrorism against the US are incompetent, or bad at their job, you're out of your mind. We've spend trillions because of them.

that is only because "we" have as government the Bush Administration which is completely incompetent

Bin Laden is not smart .. he is stuck in the mud as he tries the same thing over and over .. his real advantage is his fanatically loyal followers who will each die for him and their cause

the terrorists [thankfully] have no imagination .. believe me i am not going to suggest anything

ask your Prof to email me if he really wants to know how to bring any nation to its knees far more quickly and effectively than playing with explosives
[i bet he does ]

 

[Obsoleet]

Originally posted by: apoppin
He is an outstanding choice - for Republicans ..
.. their best in many years as a candidate, since Ronnie! - even better!!
--However, my primary objection is his willingness to continue Bush's War indefinitely

I agree completely. He's not a conservative IMO, but this sums it up for me. Link