Can Barack Obama Keep America Safe?
Some say the president's pragmatism in foreign policy is a powerful ideological weapon. Others insist that he still must prove himself with tough choices on Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and the future. Has this administration improved security?
Edited by Steve St. Angelo
Yes
By Sen. Evan Bayh
Indiana Democrat, Select Committee on Intelligence and Armed Services Committee member
For the first time in almost a decade, we have an American president who approaches the security threats facing our country from a standpoint of pragmatism, not ideology. Barack Obama's young presidency has blended realism with fidelity to American ideals in a way that has not only kept us safe but represents a fundamentally better approach than the discredited unilateralism of the recent past....
No
By Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon
California Republican, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee
The paramount duty of the president is to keep Americans safe. As President Obama continues his first year in office, surely he understands this awesome responsibility. The question facing Obama—one that will be highlighted in the coming weeks—is whether he will make the right policy choices across an array of thorny national security issues. These choices are always tough and inevitably come with trade-offs....
What do you think?
Reader Comments
President Obama
Bush/cheney would have had us in a war by now, but that would have not helped America with torture and other things America was guilty of. And besides as I recall President Obama is working with other Governments and cannot act on his own.
Don D. Brock
Walk softly with a big stick
I realy hope that the President is practical but until now all i see is naivety. It is frightening to see the US president travells to Denmark for a cause that everyone knew could not be acheived. It's frightening because it shows that the president realy believes that throught impressive speech he can deliver actual results. The extremists of Islam have an agenda based, in their opinion, on God's wish. It is exectly the same agenda that the extremists-Communists had, to "convince" the world to join then.They too chant, "we can change" but unlike the new president they follow-up the chants with dids. President Reagan understood it and eliminated Communism. President Obama must understand it otherwise, If the president does'nt show the stick soon, 9.11 will look like a midget in retrospect.
Obama was Duped by Iran
Here we have Iran sitting on top of an oil field stating that Iran wants nuclear power only for peaceful purposes; they need nuclear power to supply power to their country? Sure they do.
What will really happen is Iran will send low grade radioactive material to Russia for purification and in turn Russia will send Iran Weapons Grade Uranium and Plutonium because Iran and Russia are in bed with each other as they have been for many, many years. Russia has been coaching Iran as how to build up their nuclear power for weaponry and the final touch will be sending weapons grade atomic material so Iran can destroy Israel. Lets all sit back and watch this drama unfold, which it will.
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