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[Deus Ex Machina]

PHOTOS: OBAMA meets with Afghan President Karzai. Commander complains of not getting enough help.

U.S Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (2nd R) and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (2nd L) walk at the presidential palace in Kabul July 20, 2008. Obama met the commander of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday to talk about the war he says is not getting enough attention from the Bush administration. REUTERS

U.S Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (R) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai (2nd R) walk at the presidential palace in Kabul July 20, 2008. Obama met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Sunday, the second day of a visit to Afghanistan that is meant to bolster the senator's foreign policy credentials. REUTERS

U.S Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (L) meets with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul July 20, 2008. REUTERS

U.S Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (centre L) meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul July 20, 2008.
REUTERS/

And, earlier, meeting with the troops...

Barack Obama (right) shakes hands with a US soldier during a visit to Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanista. Obama met here with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has been criticised by the Illinois senator for not doing enough to rebuild his war-torn country.
(AFP/US Coalition Forces/File)

 

[Smiles and Cries]

intresting since he is not president he does not get an American Flag placed next to him when visiting other world leaders... interesting

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

intresting since he is not president he does not get an American Flag placed next to him when visiting other world leaders... interesting

I did not know this.

Is that a rule?

 

[masud]

intresting since he is not president he does not get an American Flag placed next to him when visiting other world leaders... interesting

Or he chose not to have one...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Or he chose not to have one...

so are you saying there is no such rule?

hmmm how to look this up?

 

[StoOgE]

Or he chose not to have one...

I'm pretty sure it's a rule (not a law but a rule followed). Obama does not speak for America or represent the American people, thus he doesnt sit next to the flag. He represents the people of Illinois. I guess he could have an Illinois flag if he so chose.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I did not know this.

Is that a rule?

I was making an assumption that would be a rule but a good point was raised

 

[masud]

so are you saying there is no such rule?

hmmm how to look this up?

Well Obama's love for this country is questionable at best...

 

[Smiles and Cries]

Well Obama's love for this country is questionable at best...

lol

still I would bet one of the Euro stops will break this rule and cause a flag-gate3

 

[Tamanon]

Senators never have the flag in foreign countries. They don't speak for the US when talking to foreign leaders.

BTW, Lieberman said he would be open to speaking at the RNC. What else could he talk about besides how much he loves the war? Goodbye to his caucusing with the Dems.

 

[soul creator]

for some reason, this picture:

reminded me of this picture:

 

[Hootie]

Deus, I don't know if anyone's said this yet, but you are the man.

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Deus, I don't know if anyone's said this yet, but you are the man.

I feel special

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

VIDEO: Obama Eats With the Troops in Afghanistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smXwiGOCDXg

A very nice quiet moment eating and talking, just spending time with the troops. No feeling of a photo-op at all... just a natural moment.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

when is the Iraq stop?

 

[GhaleonEB]

when is the Iraq stop?

I don't think they've announced his itinerary in advance, for sercurity reasons.

 

[Tamanon]

He's probably there tonight.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

thanks Deus keep them coming guys

I feel really good about my vote for this guy seeing these for some reason it just feels right

Thanks McCain you made me more proud of Obama

 

[Tamanon]

Also these pics really hammer home how young most of our soldiers over there are. BTW, General Petraeus is apparently saying that Al Qaeda is shifting their focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if they're freely able to move between the countries and aren't just two separate entities.

 

[Frank the Great]

Also these pics really hammer home how young most of our soldiers over there are. BTW, General Petraeus is apparently saying that Al Qaeda is shifting their focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, as if they're freely able to move between the countries and aren't just two separate entities.

Al Qaeda is omnipresent.

 

[GhaleonEB]

The statement by an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling his remarks in Der Spiegel "misinterpreted and mistranslated" followed a call to the prime minister's office from U.S. government officials in Iraq.

Maliki had expressed support for a withdrawal plan similar to that of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in an interview with Der Speigel. U.S. troops should leave Iraq "As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned," Maliki had said. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

But after the Spiegel interview was published and began generating headlines Saturday, officials at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad contacted Maliki's office to express concern and seek clarification on the remarks, according to White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

Later in the day, a Maliki aide released a statement saying the remarks had been misinterpreted, though without citing specific comments.

US pressuring Maliki to back off his comments supporting Obama's timetable.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/20/maliki_aides_statement_came_af.html

 

[KRS7]

US pressuring Maliki to back off his comments supporting Obama's timetable.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/07/20/maliki_aides_statement_came_af.html

I don't get why the administration is pursuing this. Pressuring for this "retraction" while the magazine is standing by their story only gives it more legs. Maybe some new networks could try actual journalism for a change and do a report on the administration's influence over the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government.

 

[syllogism]

The one applying pressure is Maliki

http://www.gulflive.com/newsflash/i.../1216584545298650.xml&storylist=international

 

[Shirokun]

I've been taking a long break from the MSM, as their further sacrifice of integrity for ratings just completely turns me off lately. Now, just flipped on CNN for a second, and they're talking about Presidential-seal-gate AGAIN!

Is this seriously fu*king newsworthy a month or so after it was revealed?!

I can't wait for the day when these networks implode in on themselves.

 

[GhaleonEB]

I've been taking a long break from the MSM, as their further sacrifice of integrity for ratings just completely turns me off lately. Now, just flipped on CNN for a second, and they're talking about Presidential-seal-gate AGAIN!

Is this seriously fu*king newsworthy a month or so after it was revealed?!

I can't wait for the day when these networks implode in on themselves.

What? Are you serious?

The fuck?

 

[Frank the Great]

Does anyone know when Obama is returning from his trip?

Chuck Godd has repeatedly said that his VP will be announced then.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

(CBS/AP) A German magazine which published an interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stating his support for presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposed 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq is standing by its interview, despite statements issued by an al-Maliki spokesman claiming he was "mistranslated."

.

 

[scorcho]

it's great that the US military released an official statement by his representative countering the report.

 

[Father_Brain]

The sheer transparency of that "retraction" is just absurd; the aide didn't even bother specifying which part was supposedly mistranslated. None of Maliki's withdrawal-related comments are ambiguous enough for Speigel to have misinterpreted them.

 

[Tamanon]

Does anyone know when Obama is returning from his trip?

Chuck Godd has repeatedly said that his VP will be announced then.

Should be Thursday or Friday.

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

it's great that the US military released an official statement by his representative countering the report.

So what's going to happen now? The WH is going to come out with another retort?

 

[Tamanon]

So what's going to happen now? The WH is going to come out with another retort?

Pressure will begin soon if the media doesn't buy the Centcom response, pressure to Maliki himself to make a public statement.

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Obama, one million Germans, and history

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/20/10446/0072/95/554188

Obama, one million Germans, and history
by MBNYC
Sun Jul 20, 2008 at 10:57:56 AM PDT


Barack Obama's planned campaign rally and speech in Berlin on Thursday is roiling the German political class, reports Der Spiegel (article in German). Authorities in Berlin are preparing for a million spectators, which would instantly make Obama's speech the biggest political event in that country since unification in 1990. There are even plans to close down the street, a mile long, and replicate the setup during the World Cup with massive projection screens. Inevitably with a political earthquake of this magnitude, there's some controversy stoked by conservatives.

Obama will be speaking on the eastern side of the Victory Column - the Siegessäule - a monument to the Prussian victories in the wars of unification that preceded Bismarck's establishment of the Second Empire. The speech itself will be focused on the Trans-Atlantic relationship and give a preview of the foreign policy approaches of an Obama administration towards our NATO allies.

So what's the controversy?

Team Obama picked what is arguably one of the most historically evocative spots in Berlin for his speech, and that history is not uniformly benign. Conservative members of the German parliament, the Bundestag, are pointing out, correctly, that the Victory Column was built in triumph over countries Germany defeated in its quest for unification; Denmark in 1864, Austria in 1866, France in 1871. But, as is often the case in Berlin, this terrain carries far more associations than that, some inspiring, some evil.

snip//

Team Obama's decision to speak at this precise spot is not without symbolic peril; no place in Berlin is. The Victory Column is a complex spot in a complex city, layered with the bloody history of Europe over the last century and a half. Much of that bloody history originated within a few miles of where Obama will be speaking. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would wager that Shill O'Lielly will claim with as straight a face as he can manage that Obama will be speaking in front of a Nazi monument.

He'd be lying, of course, not that that's never stopped him before. Obama has chosen a location that speaks to a history we're well advised to understand and remember. In practical terms, he also picked the one spot in Berlin that can accommodate the huge crowds inspired by his candidacy and by the idea that America is turning over a new leaf. As to the larger symbolism, there are few places I can think of in Berlin better suited for a repudiation of America's own recent war of conquest and aggression than the German Empire's shattered monument to its own futile triumphs.

The Siegessaule is the site of the yearly Love Parade. The only "controversy" is manufactured.

 

[Rur0ni]

Wow @ Berlin thing. Wonder how many will turn up.

 

[masud]

A million people? I don't think this is a good idea. At least a couple thousand of them are bound to to be nazis. But seriously though how is Obama's European popularity gonna go over in the US? More importantly how is it going to be covered in the media?

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

A million people? I don't think this is a good idea. At least a couple thousand of them are bound to to be nazis. But seriously though how is Obama's European popularity gonna go over in the US? More importantly how is it going to be covered in the media?

How can they knock a million people showing up. A lot of us want our fellow countries to respect us again, if Obama is able to outdo Germany's own politicians, that should be perceived as a good thing. I don't cosign on the Obama Messiah stuff, but when somebody comes along and makes you give a damn like he does to people, you have to take notice.

 

[Tamanon]

Plus, I think America's pretty much done with isolationism for at least a little while. It'll be really tough to play that whole "He's a Euro-favorite" considering he draws crowds that fill whatever he's speaking in front of in America too.

 

[GenericPseudonym]

Germany is a country that goes far back with the USA, hell German Americans are the single largest ethnic group in the US. Despite the two World Wars and Germany's often left-leaning politics (relative to the Bush administration) Americans still have a lot more respect for the German people than the French.

I think Germany was a great choice: none of the baggage of France, yet it still is a far more "exotic" locale than the UK, plus it is Europe's biggest and most powerful nation and you can't disregard that Obama will pull in a million + spectators in a nation that still carries the baggage of the Nazi regime.

I don't see how a single American can dislike the fact that Obama probably is more popular in Europe and Canada than any other politician.

 

[Cheebs]

Germany is a country that goes far back with the USA

Not really. They have been barely an ally for 60 years compared to the roughly 200 or so compared to England or France.

 

[Frank the Great]

Not really. They have been barely an ally for 60 years compared to the roughly 200 or so compared to England or France.

Judging from everything else he said in the post, I think he meant in comparison to countries that aren't England or France

 

[GenericPseudonym]

Not really. They have been barely an ally for 60 years compared to the roughly 200 or so compared to England or France.

More Americans are of German heritage than anything else. Also Germany didn't exist two hundred years ago.

 

[scorcho]

GenericPseudonym: troll around any conservative site/blog (and some liberal ones too) and witness a near universal enmity greeting any foreign opinion/reaction to US politics.

 

[Tamanon]

The following is a direct translation from the Arabic of Mr. Maliki’s comments by The Times:

“Obama’s remarks that — if he takes office — in 16 months he would withdraw the forces, we think that this period could increase or decrease a little, but that it could be suitable to end the presence of the forces in Iraq.”

He continued: “Who wants to exit in a quicker way has a better assessment of the situation in Iraq.”

Oh yeah, I can certainly see where he was misquoted.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Oh yeah, I can certainly see where he was misquoted.

Heh. I was just coming in to post that. And of course, the original translation was done by Maliki's office, not Der Spiegel's.

 

[Tamanon]

Drudge is reporting that McCain and Obama both are agreeing to attend some megachurch forum on August 16th. That could work out bad for McCain to be presented directly opposite Obama in a faith-based forum.

 

[The Chosen One]

Didn't I call it last page that they would try to spin it that Maliki's statements were mistranslated? Too bad Maliki's spokeman didn't say what was mistranslated exactly. :lol

 

[GenericPseudonym]

GenericPseudonym: troll around any conservative site/blog (and some liberal ones too) and witness a near universal enmity greeting any foreign opinion/reaction to US politics.

Maybe the political hacks might dislike foreign opinions but I think the American public might enjoy having a leader who is respected and admired by others rather than hated. I mean do Americans want to be respected by the rest of the world again? I think so.

 

[reilo]

So, anyone going to counter-argue that the media has been fair in the coverage of the generals thus far?

Obviously, we are just looking for needles in a haystack, amirite?

 

[Tamanon]

If Obama can harness the same "Shining City on a Hill" vision, it'll work out great for him.

 

[esbern]

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34929

Here are the words of Barack Obama's advisor, Cass Sunstein, at the netroots convention and an outstanding reply from Mikal Hutto

an adviser to Barack Obama from the University of Chicago Law School, cautioned against prosecuting criminal conduct from the current Administration. Prosecuting government officials risks a "cycle" of criminalizing public service, he argued, and Democrats should avoid replicating retributive efforts like the impeachment of President Clinton--or even the "slight appearance" of it.

fuck.