The Great Uniter Fails

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Barack Obama fails to win Nato troops he wants for Afghanistan

Barack Obama made an impassioned plea to America’s allies to send more troops to Afghanistan, warning that failure to do so would leave Europe vulnerable to more terrorist atrocities.

But though he continued to dazzle Europeans on his debut international tour, the Continent’s leaders turned their backs on the US President.

Gordon Brown was the only one to offer substantial help. He offered to send several hundred extra British soldiers to provide security during the August election, but even that fell short of the thousands of combat troops that the US was hoping to prise from the Prime Minister.

Just two other allies made firm offers of troops. Belgium offered to send 35 military trainers and Spain offered 12. Mr Obama’s host, Nicolas Sarkozy, refused his request.

The derisory response threatened to tarnish Mr Obama’s European tour, which yesterday included a spellbinding performance in Strasbourg in which he offered the world a vision of a future free of nuclear weapons.

Mr Obama – who has pledged 21,000 more troops to combat the growing insurgency and is under pressure from generals to supply up to 10,000 more – used the eve of Nato’s 60th anniversary summit to declare bluntly that it was time for allies to do their share. “Europe should not simply expect the United States to shoulder that burden alone,” he said. “This is a joint problem it requires a joint effort.”

He said that failing to support the US surge would leave Europe open to a fresh terrorist offensive. “It is probably more likely that al-Qaeda would be able to launch a serious terrorist attack on Europe than on the United States because of proximity,” he said.

The presidential charm offensive failed to move fellow Nato countries. President Sarkozy told Mr Obama that France would not be sending reinforcements to bolster its existing force northeast of Kabul.

Germany, Italy, Poland, Canada and Denmark said that they were considering their positions. After a meeting with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, Mr Obama tried to apply further moral pressure. “I am sure that Germany, as one of the most important leaders in Europe, will be stepping up to the plate and helping us to get the job done.”

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Nato Secretary-General, warned that new laws proposed by President Karzai in Afghanistan sanctioning child marriage and marital rape had made it harder to raise more soldiers.

“We are there to defend universal values and when I see, at the moment, a law threatening to come into effect which fundamentally violates women’s rights and human rights, that worries me,” he said.

“I have a problem to explain to a critical public audience in Europe, be it the UK or elsewhere, why I’m sending the guys to the Hindu Kush.”

The temporary British deployment falls short of the 2,000 soldiers that the Army had planned to deploy long-term to Afghanistan and appeared to catch defence chiefs by surprise.

Mr Brown announced the commitment as he flew into Strasbourg for the two-day summit, but hopes that it would spur other allies to follow suit were soon dashed. British officials said that the extra troops, expected to number between 500 and 700 – increasing Britain’s military strength there to about 9,000 – would be dispatched to southern Afghanistan for a four-month period leading up to and beyond the election, due to take place on August 20.

The plan is to withdraw them once the election is over. Mr Brown said that the extra troops were only supposed to provide a “temporary uplift”.

Military contingency plans remain on the table to send up to 2,000 more troops long-term, taking the total to 10,000, but that will depend on the political will to approve the deployment.

Although the Prime Minister discussed Afghanistan with President Obama when they held bilateral talks before the G20 summit in London, it is understood that no formal offer of extra troops was made.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Wow, I thought we were told that as soon as Obama was elected all of Europe would suddenly start doing anything they were asked to. Where is the great diplomacy we were promised?

[phee]

Not quite the failure:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_..._he_do_analysis

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

But not success by any means.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

The question that flummoxed the great orator

Nick Robinson: "A question for you both, if I may. The prime minister has repeatedly blamed the United States of America for causing this crisis. France and Germany both blame Britain and America for causing this crisis. Who is right? And isn't the debate about that at the heart of the debate about what to do now?" Brown immediately swivels to leave Obama in pole position.

There is a four-second delay before Obama starts speaking [THANKS FOR NOTHING, GORDY BABY. REMIND ME TO HANG YOU OUT TO DRY ONE DAY.]

Barack Obama: "I, I, would say that, er ... pause [i HAVEN'T A CLUE] ... if you look at ... pause [WHO IS THIS NICK ROBINSON JERK?] ... the, the sources of this crisis ... pause [JUST KEEP GOING, BUDDY] ... the United States certainly has some accounting to do with respect to . . . pause [i'M IN WAY TOO DEEP HERE] ... a regulatory system that was inadequate to the massive changes that have taken place in the global financial system ... pause, close eyes [THIS IS GOING TO GO DOWN LIKE A CROCK OF SHIT BACK HOME. HELP]. I think what is also true is that ... pause [i WANT NICK ROBINSON TO DISAPPEAR] ... here in Great Britain ... pause [sHIT, GORDY'S THE HOST, DON'T LAND HIM IN IT] ... here in continental Europe ... pause [DAMN IT, BLAME EVERYONE.] ... around the world. We were seeing the same mismatch between the regulatory regimes that were in place and er ... pause [i'VE LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT AGAIN] ... the highly integrated, er, global capital markets that have emerged ... pause [i'M REALLY WINGING IT NOW]. So at this point, I'm less interested in ... pause [YOU] ... identifying blame than fixing the problem. I think we've taken some very aggressive steps in the United States to do so, not just responding to the immediate crisis, ensuring banks are adequately capitalised, er, dealing with the enormous, er ... pause [WHY DIDN'T I QUIT WHILE I WAS AHEAD?] ... drop-off in demand and contraction that has taken place. More importantly, for the long term, making sure that we've got a set of, er, er, regulations that are up to the task, er, and that includes, er, a number that will be discussed at this summit. I think there's a lot of convergence between all the parties involved about the need, for example, to focus not on the legal form that a particular financial product takes or the institution it emerges from, but rather what's the risk involved, what's the function of this product and how do we regulate that adequately, much more effective coordination, er, between countries so we can, er, anticipate the risks that are involved there. Dealing with the, er, problem of derivatives markets, making sure we have set up systems, er, that can reduce some of the risks there. So, I actually think ... pause [FANTASTIC. I'VE LOST EVERYONE, INCLUDING MYSELF] ... there's enormous consensus that has emerged in terms of what we need to do now and, er ... pause [i'M OUTTA HERE. TIME FOR THE USUAL CLOSING BOLLOCKS] ... I'm a great believer in looking forwards than looking backwards.

[phee]

But not success by any means.

Nope... just sort of average (which is better then we have had in a LONG TIME)

[Der Nister]

I guess some people want to see this country fail if their party of choice is not controlling everything.

[phee]

I guess some people want to see this country fail if their party of choice is not controlling everything.

+1 and agreed

[phee]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090404/ap_on_.../eu_nato_summit

[asphyxian_doll]

You're funny gaf.

Obama hasn't been in office for long and you're already charging the barricades.

mmm armchair crusading....must be a real pleasure.

Do you also pride in Spin doctoring everything as well?

I don't think anyone from any party, with any background...in office will EVER please the almighty fault finder.

[n0Mad]

I thought as soon as Obama was elected he was going to withdraw all troops from the middle east, not send more.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I guess some people want to see this country fail if their party of choice is not controlling everything.

I want America to succeed. For that to happen,I want Obama to fail. I don't think his agenda has our best interests in mind.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

You're funny gaf.

Obama hasn't been in office for long and you're already charging the barricades.

mmm armchair crusading....must be a real pleasure.

Do you also pride in Spin doctoring everything as well?

I don't think anyone from any party, with any background...in office will EVER please the almighty fault finder.

I was against him before he was in office. Nothing has changed.

He's still outwardly a Marxist (though inwardly i beleive he is far worse) who has put Wall Street in charge of the Government at the expense of the People.

I am more than an armchair crusader. I am involved with 4 different political groups that are opposed to Obama and involved in the planning of 3 local Tea Partys for the 15th.

I'm what you would call a community organizer.

Edited April 4, 2009 by Gaf The Horse With Tears

[phee]

Some people could see Obama saving children from a burning building and still want him to fail at the task because they don't like him that much

[asphyxian_doll]

I was against him before he was in office. Nothing has changed.

He's still outwardly a Marxist (though inwardly i beleive he is far worse) who has put Wall Street in charge of the Government at the expense of the People.

I am more than an armchair crusader. I am involved with 4 different political groups that are opposed to Obama and involved in the planning of 3 local Tea Partys for the 15th.

I'm what you would call a community organizer.

Bush put Wall Street in charge of the Government at the expense of the people.

Tunnel vision crusading in any shape or form does nothing for the "community".

In fact its a waste of time, even more so a waste of corporeal space.

Some people could see Obama saving children from a burning building and still want him to fail at the task because they don't like him that much

This is True.

If a politician doesn't measure up to EVERYONE'S standards and make EVERYONE happy, including hypocrites, drug addicts and paranoid conspiracy theorists, said politician is "fail"...xD

I lol'ed.

[candyman]

I thought as soon as Obama was elected he was going to withdraw all troops from the middle east, not send more.

They told him that they didn't want to leave...well a few of them did but they were only in it for the college money...

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Bush put Wall Street in charge of the Government at the expense of the people.

Tunnel vision crusading in any shape or form does nothing for the "community".

In fact its a waste of time, even more so a waste of corporeal space.

This is True.

If a politician doesn't measure up to EVERYONE'S standards and make EVERYONE happy, including hypocrites, drug addicts and paranoid conspiracy theorists, said politician is "fail"...xD

I lol'ed.

Bush didn't have a cabinet full if Wall Street insiders. Obama does. In fact, almost everyone on his cabinet came from Wall Street.

Bush was campaigning hard to get rid of the regulations that caused this whole mess. Thats public record, you should look it up. Fannie May and Freddie Mac were forced, by government regulation (enacted by Clinton), to give loans to people who could not pay them back. Bush had been trying to get those regulations removed since 2001. The Democrats filibustered every bill or budget that included the changes that would have avoided this whole mess. In fact, Democrats pushed for more regulations to force the banks to give out more junk loans. Please, please try to tell me that the housing melt down isn't the cause of the bank failures. Show me how much you don't know about whats going on.

I'm not sure why you are coming down on phee so hard. His steadfast opposition to Bush from day one is not reason to attack his character.

Or are you saying that we should all just blindly follow Obama where ever he leads us? We shouldn't question the almighty government? Are you really that naive? Last I checked, that led to Fascism and internment camps.

BTW. the person who got the largest amount of lobbyist money from Fanny May, was Obama.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Bush put Wall Street in charge of the Government at the expense of the people.

Tunnel vision crusading in any shape or form does nothing for the "community".

In fact its a waste of time, even more so a waste of corporeal space.

This is True.

If a politician doesn't measure up to EVERYONE'S standards and make EVERYONE happy, including hypocrites, drug addicts and paranoid conspiracy theorists, said politician is "fail"...xD

I lol'ed.

Just wanted to know... are you this critical of the Daily KOS and Moveon.org? They are the definition of armchair crusaders.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

White House team discloses TARP firm ties

Lawrence Summers, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pulled in more than $2.7 million in speaking fees paid by firms at the heart of the financial crisis, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Corp. and the now-defunct Lehman Brothers.

He pulled in another $5.2 million from D.E. Shaw, a hedge fund for which he served as managing director from October 2006 until joining the administration.

Thomas E. Donilon, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, was paid $3.9 million by the power law firm O’Melveny & Myers to represent clients including two firms that receieved federal bailout funds: Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. He also disclosed that he’s a member of the Trilateral Commission and sits on the steering committee of the supersecret Bilderberg group. Both groups are favorite targets of conspiracy theorists.

And White House Counsel Greg Craig earned $1.7 million in private practice representing an exiled Bolivian president, a Panamanian lawmaker wanted by the U.S. government for allegedly murdering a U.S. soldier and a tech billionaire accused of securities fraud and various sensational drug and sex crimes.

Those are among the associations detailed in personal financial disclosure statements released Friday night by the White House.

Presidential appointees are required to disclose information about their income, assets and investments, and those of their spouses and dependent children, within 60 days of starting work. And the disclosure forms filed by many appointees to top agency jobs have been available for public inspection for some time, thanks to the federal Freedom of Information Act.

But the White House is largely exempt from the act, and Obama press aides dragged their feet on reporters’ requests for the disclosure documents filed by officials in the Executive Office of the President.

Craig disclosed that his work for Williams & Connelly included representing Pedro Miguel Gonzalez Pinzon, a Panamanian lawmaker who allegedly murdered a U.S. soldier in 1992, as well as Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, a former Bolivian president who has lived in exile since 2003, when clashes between protesters and the Bolivian military killed an estimated 70 people and wounded hundreds more.

During the presidential campaign, Craig, then serving as a senior foreign policy adviser to Obama, drew flak for representing Sanchez de Lozada.

Craig also listed among his clients Henry Nicholas, founder of microchip maker Broadcom, who is facing securities fraud charges in an alleged stock option backdating plot. In June, the government unsealed an indictment also detailing a raft of drug and prostitution charges, which Craig called “a kitchen-sink attack on Dr. Nicholas.”

Valerie Jarrett, a senior Obama aide, reported $852,000 in salary and deferred compensation from Habitat Executive Services, a Chicago real estate development and management firm, plus nearly $350,000 in director’s fees from groups including the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and USG Corp.

She also indicated that she served as vice-chairwoman of the committee seeking to lure the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, which paid a public relations firm owned by Obama political guru David Axelrod and to which White House social director Desiree Rogers, another member of the Obama’s inner circle, donated more than $100,000.

Other forms showed that White House ethics lawyer Norm Eisen earned $1.3 million from the firm in which he was a partner, Zuckerman Spaeder, and press secretary Robert Gibbs earned $156,000 from Obama’s presidential campaign and also owns a pair of rental properties in Alexandria, Va., worth as much as $1 million.

Wow, what a bunch of upstanding people Obama surrounds himself with.

[Slogo]

I just lose my mind cause nobody has even given him a chance. I figured I'd give W a 1 year grace period in "01". And he ignored the information that pointed to 9/11

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I just lose my mind cause nobody has even given him a chance. I figured I'd give W a 1 year grace period in "01". And he ignored the information that pointed to 9/11

He has already broken som many of his promises though.

Where is that 5 day grace period before he signs bills for public review and feed back?

Why is his cabinet full of Wall street lobbyist when he promised to have none?

Why, after promising no tax hikes or new taxes on anyone that earns under 250k per year, did he sign a tax on the poor into law?

What happened to his promise to not sign any bill full of earmarks? 8,570 earmarks in the last bill he signed.

He promised to remove capital gains taxes from small businesses.. he raised them 25%.

Transprancy... one bill for $787 BILLION.. and no one (not even congress) was allowed to read it.

He promised no Executive signing statements... yet... he has used tehm on every bill he has signed...

[asphyxian_doll]

Take a breath gaf.

I don't care.

How do you spend so much time gathering so much information when you could be spending that time doing something say like...spending time with your kids?

This is horrid....I also say this for anyone who spends this much time obsessing over politics.

Its a waste, and completely unhealthy.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Then stop reading my posts and go back to staring at yourself in the mirror. Your recent obsession with me is unsettling.

[asphyxian_doll]

Then stop reading my posts and go back to staring at yourself in the mirror. Your recent obsession with me is unsettling.

What a pretentious thing to say to me Gaf.

I don't have an obsession with you,

come back to reality.

[Scales]

This is horrid....I also say this for anyone who spends this much time obsessing over politics.

Its a waste, and completely unhealthy.

If I can interject, friend, internet friend, associate, (or YOU), whichever you may choose.

Obsession is pretty much passion, its polarity whether bad or good, depends on pretenses and perception. Politics are a vital part of society and how it functions, so many of us are very passionate about it, even on a humble Goth board where people come and vanish.