Why do Republicans hate Europe?
I would really like to know the answer to this. I live in Britain (Scotland) and we are suposedly America's closest ally. However when Obama was proposing a new health care system the Republicans put out adverts slagging British healthcare off. It actually made the news over here because they LIED. And before anyone says I'm wrong I live in Britain so I know what our healthcare is like and what they were saying was complete bollocks. There was a British woman who felt let down by our health care system BUT she wanted to keep our NHS and just tweak it so started an organisation dedicated to tweaking the NHS. The Republicans contacted her and got her to do an advert slagging off our NHS and she was horrified because they edited it to look like she wanted to get rid of our system which she didn't. People from the British embassy in America had to quietly (so as not to upset the Republicans) go around trying to correct the down right lies that they'd told. This Scot is not sure whether to consider America an all ally any more. They have definetly hurt our special relationship.
Do you agree with this analogy on Republicans vs. Democrats?
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, very much in favor of the redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking her how she was doing in school. Taken back, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Aubrey doing?" She replied, "Aubrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over." Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1 .0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA." The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That wouldn't be fair!” I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Aubrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!" The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican Party"
How does America justify bombing Syria?
The 'top contributer' Uncle John is calling for the killing of people simply because they are of a certain nationality. I've reported him comment as violating the rules and ethics of yahoo answers but it will not proceed without one or more people also reporting his answering. So I encourage people to do so in order to prevent disgusting and vile comments such as his becoming commonplace here. Of I think the raid on Syria was terrible, but it was also confusing. Why would they attack when they know Syria isn't a threat? Could they be looking for retaliation by a weaker Middle East power right before the US elections so that McCain, the Republican will have a greater standing in the election!?! His whole campaign will be helped by a security problem for America, and this seems the best way to fabricate one while the Republicans are still in power. This is the best justification I can see for this horrible action in Syria. And lastly... not all Americans support this! Some are well informed and oppose their military by protesting, organizing, etc. I'd like everyone to recognize that.
Why don't the US and Assad bury the hatchet to fight ISIS in Syria?
ISIS has put US in a very tight spot by having to consider the cooperation of its enemies - Iran and Syria [who are in turn backed by Russia] - and having to alienate its core allies - Turkey and Saudi Arabia. This was a masterstroke by ISIS - no one has ever put US in such a tight dilemma.However, Obama would not support Assad because:US increasingly realizes that Assad is the lighting rod for pro-IS supporters. As long as he is there, ISIS would keep getting more recruits. Obama seeks review of Syria strategy, sees Assad removal as necessary: CNNAssad is strongly opposed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. US needs both of them in a war. Saudi Arabia's Shadow War and Assad's warnings start to ring true in TurkeyDomestically, Republicans are breathing fire on Obama for being soft on Assad. Is Obama Done Playing Footsie With Assad? More than ever, Obama needs Republican support now as the Congress is with them. Supporting Assad would unify the Sunnis who might go with ISIS. For now, US wants to attract many of the tribes that hate both Assad and ISIS into the US camp. Supporting Assad will also embolden ISIS as they could claim a moral victory by forcing US administration to be publicly shown as hypocrites [Obama lashed out on Assad barely a year ago].It is not fully clear on who is the bigger evil - Assad or ISIS. Both seem to produce equally big dead body counts. Obama Says U.S. Won’t Use Assad to Battle Islamic StatePage on alarabiya.net
How does the Iraq War make AMERICA safer?
Sen. John Warner asked this question to Gen. Petreus twice. The first time, he tried to dodge the question. The second time, he said he didn't know, only that the mission in Iraq is seeing some success. All the spin is on Hillary attacking Petreus at that hearing, saying she had to suspend her disbelief, or something unimportant like that. To me, Warner's question was the highlight, and most telling part...and he's a Republican. So tell me, how does Iraq make us safer here in America? Maybe someone here can tell me because Gen. Petreus couldn't.
Is President Obama to blame for the emergence of ISIS?
Absolutely. I love some of these answers from Obama apologists; they all come down to "blame Bush." Well, this one falls squarely on Barack Obama. The Bush administration invaded Iraq to stop the growth of terrorism. Saddam had been trolling around for a way to win greater acclaim in the terrorism world and WMDs were it. He'd been working with the small fry, funding suicide bombers and the like for years, but with Osama kicked out of Afghanistan, Saddam had a major opportunity. With a supposed disarmament that everyone knew was badly bungled (and 250 chemical weapons were found ) and enough evidence of a biological program to at least appear realistic, he knew real terrorists would be interested. But so was Bush and he invaded. The Bush administration did make a major mistake by dissolving the Iraqi military. This was a major cause of the Iraqi insurgency. However, in spite of heavy domestic opposition, Bush appointed new generals, reset the strategy, and by bringing the Sunnis into the government neutralized the vast majority of that insurgency. It was, in the words of Barack Obama, "an Iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/2...) That was January of 2009. According to an article from Der Spiegel, the leaders of ISIS where jailed during the Bush administration (during 2006-08). They even survived the last gasp of the US military in 2010 as military leaders tried to eliminate the worst of the terrorists before the withdrawal. But afterwards, that is during the Obama era and with a timeline driven by Obama's fumbling foreign policy, ISIS grew and formed into the terrorist threat it is today. (http://www.spiegel.de/internatio...)And lastly, a word about the withdrawal and the SOFA. Bush negotiated several of these during his administration. Each time the Iraqis asked for full judicial power over US troops and each time Bush turned them away. Each new SOFA came with an extended timeline. In 2008 Bush was trying to negotiate a six year deal, but had to accept a three year extension. In the State Department's final handover briefing they specified how to negotiate a new one with an extended deadline and very limited jurisdiction. Evidently Hilary shredded that. In Jan of 2009, ISIS's leaders were just getting out of detention. They formed, reformed and grew ISIS entirely on Obama's watch. 99% of the blame goes to Obama.