Ask Me Help Desk - Mid East erupts, and so does Romney

Mid East erupts, and so does Romney

Hello:

First off, why don't we shut that guy up down in Florida? Maybe our First Amendment is causing the Middle East to melt down...

But, on to my post... Did Romney shoot himself in the foot? Should he have mouthed off before he knew the facts? Didn't he know that when American is attacked, it's NOT time to attack the president? Did he score points with you? Is the election over? Did the fat lady sing?

RIP Ambassador Stevens.

excon

PS> There's another thread about the Mid East violence itself, waiting to break out. Who wants to start that one? I nominate Steve. It's up his alley. He can call it, Obama policies cause Mid East Meltdown...

You left out the part that led to Mitt's comment, and he was spot on. The U.S. embassy in Cairo apologized for "abuse" of free speech. That was a stupid, irresponsible thing to say. Even the administration thought so, but you wouldn't know it from the media's CYA job for their hero.

Quote:

But Obama's remarks belie the enormous frustration of top officials at the State Department and White House with the actions of the man behind the statement, Cairo senior public affairs officer Larry Schwartz, who wrote the release and oversees the embassy's Twitter feed, according to a detailed account of the Tuesday's events.

The official noted that the statement was posted at exactly 12:18 p.m. Cairo time -- 6:18 a.m. Washington time -- well before the protests began. Romney has said, wrongly, that the statement was the administration's first response to the protests, but the official said that the demonstrations did not begin until 4 p.m. Cairo time and protesters breached the wall about 2 hours later.

After the breach, as public criticism of the statement grew, the Cairo Embassy Twitter account continued to send out tweets defending it, some of which were later deleted. One deleted tweet, originally posted at 12:30 a.m. Cairo time, said, "This morning's condemnation (issued before protests began) still stands. As does condemnation of unjustified breach of the Embassy."

Before issuing the press release, Schwartz cleared it with just one person senior to himself, Deputy Chief of Mission Marc Sievers, who was the charge d'affaires at the embassy on Tuesday because Ambassador Anne Patterson was in Washington at the time, the official said.

Schwartz sent the statement to the State Department in Washington before publishing and the State Department directed him not to post it without changes, but Schwartz posted it anyway.

"The statement was not cleared with anyone in Washington. It was sent as ‘This is what we are putting out,'" the official said. "We replied and said this was not a good statement and that it needed major revisions. The next email we received from Embassy Cairo was ‘We just put this out.'"

Mitt was right, we don't apologize for American values.

You don't have far to look for a dill over there do you?

P.S. I wish the idiot in Florida would shut up, too, but it's his right to be an idiot. Oh, and Jones had nothing to do with the Islamist eruption, he's just along for the ride with a compliant media.

Quote:

The surprise for Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute is how the media lets Jones get away with it.

"The media apparently are biting on this without asking some critical questions,” she said.

“Specifically, how did Terry Jones have anything to do with the violence? And the answer is, he didn’t!”

The riots started after segments were shown on Egyptian television of a film mocking the Prophet Muhammad. And they learned about it from a blog post by Coptic-American Morris Sadek.

As riots flared across Egypt and Libya, Jones told the media that he supported the controversial film. Later, media outlets reported that Jones “promoted” the film.

Soon, the national and international media were flocking to his tiny church in Gainesville.

It was a well-worn path they had trod two years earlier, when Jones set off riots by threatening to burn the Koran. He later followed through on the threat and posted the video to YouTube.

But McBride says there’s little evidence Jones had anything to do with the latest film, "Innocence of Muslims," which was made by an Israeli named Sam Bacile.

The riots were going on long before Jones spoke out in favor of it.

“I think Jones is directly contributing to a distortion, and a lot of journalists are not calling him on it,” she said.

“A lot of journalists, it seems so plausible that he was part of this, they’re not slowing down and asking critical questions,” McBride said.

Of course they aren't asking questions, and meanwhile the Israeli guy that did make the film is in hiding.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Mitt was right, we don't apologize for American values.

Hello again, Steve:

Then we ought to see a bump in his numbers. Let's see how it plays..

excon

Romney was right on and it was the best moment of his campaign to date. What we needed yesterday was a Commander in Chief ;not someone who skips security briefings daily and flys off to campaign fundraisers in the middle of a crisis. The fact that there was a statement from the Cairo Embassy that the White House disavowed ;the statement was withdrawn ,and then reinstated ,not only proves his charge of mixed signals is correct;but also shows deep divisions between the President and his Sec State .

No I'm not finished . I think it was disgracefull the coward Republic leaders of Congress did not stand up for Romney. Shame on McConnell ,Cantor and Bonehead !

Mixed signals. When will you invade Libya to avenge this insult, no you will settle for drone assassinations. You don't get it do you, you have no friends in the middle east. You just have enemies, some who will tell you so and some who will plot against you. Keep you enemies close and your friends closer

Attacks on embassies are acts of war . Nothing more need be said.

Hello again, tom:

That's the way Limprod see's it too... But, I think it ain't going to play..

The Commander in Chief in a landslide.

excon

Quote:

Originally Posted by paraclete

you don't have far to look for a dill over there do you?

And you do? What exactly is your problem with us Clete? I'm quite certain you have more than your share of dills, too, but no one cares about what happens in Australia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

Attacks on embassies are acts of war . Nothing more need be said.

Hello again, tom:

The embassy in Cairo was attacked by a mob... They had their fun. They pulled down the flag. But, they didn't KILL anybody. I don't think we should declare war on Egypt because of it...

The attack in Libya, however, was an intentional terrorist attack. But, we're not going to declare war on Libya either.. We ARE going to go after the terrorists who did this. What? You think Obama doesn't know how to use drones?

excon

PS> Air Force One DOES have telephones..

Let's put it this way speech, no one cares what happens in america either, you can choose dill #1 or dill #2 I don't really care because either way you are screwed. As to the general distribution of dills, yes, we have imported more than our fair share. Mostly we find they come from some place else.

As Tom said, someone perpetrated an act of war, why are they still standing? If it was good enough to bomb Saddam, who was just blustering, surely it is good enough to wipe Cairo and Tripoli off the map. If GWB was still in the saddle he would have taken action, he would have bombed the crap out of something. Even Clinton retaliated

What I don't get is Al Qaeda could have plotted a strike on an embassy and you have no inkling of where they came from and where they went, could this be another intelligence failure?

Hello again, tom:

Let me add to my post above...

In terms of Egypt, Obama gave them a severe warning.. After years of being our ally, they're now in the let's wait and see category. The Muslim Brotherhood is either going to ACT like a country, and PROTECT our embassy's, or they'll be closed and the money stops flowing...

I don't know which way they'll go.

excon

Quote:

Originally Posted by excon

Hello again, tom:

Let me add to my post above...

In terms of Egypt, Obama gave them a severe warning.. After years of being our ally, they're now in the let's wait and see category. The Muslim Brotherhood is either gonna ACT like a country, and PROTECT our embassy's, or they'll be closed and the money stops flowing...

I dunno which way they'll go.

excon

Obama just spurned Bibi again and said he doesn't consider Egypt an ally so who knows where Obama stands? Wait I know where he stands, with whatever helps him get reelected. If this keeps going though he's going to be Carter in 1979 all over again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Obama just spurned Bibi again and said he doesn't consider Egypt an ally

There you go with that context thing again.

I watched the interview. President Obama said the U.S. would not consider Egypt an ally, "but we don’t consider them an enemy." He continued with the explanation that Egypt is a "new government that is trying to find its way."

Quote:

Originally Posted by excon

Hello again, tom:

The embassy in Cairo was attacked by a mob... They had their fun. They pulled down the flag. But, they didn't KILL anybody. I don't think we should declare war on Egypt because of it...

The attack in Libya, however, was an intentional terrorist attack. But, we're not gonna declare war on Libya either.. We ARE gonna go after the terrorists who did this. What? You think Obama doesn't know how to use drones??

excon

PS>..

The President is NOW beefing up security for the embassies. Why didn't he knowing that :
1. it was 9-11
2. the US was boasting that we had wacked the AQ 2nd in command
3. the Dems spent 3 days crowing about wacking OBL .

And yes I know Air Force One has telephones. But have you not heard that the President RARELY ever attends a security briefing ?I don't know... maybe national security bores him.

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

There ya go with that context thing again.

And there you go assuming it's just me trying to spin it. Don't blame me, blame this dude with NBC News and his Twitter feed. We live in a world of communicating in 140 characters or less now, you know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

And there you go assuming it's just me trying to spin it. Don't blame me, blame this dude with NBC News and We live in a world of communicating in 140 characters or less now, you know.

You believe everything someone else tells you on social media? Always best to go get the original content, not someone's digested source.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

And there you go assuming it's just me trying to spin it.

I was, like, *cough* quoting the man who actually said the words.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I was, like, *cough* quoting the man who actually said the words.

What I said was still correct, the last half of the quote was irrelevant as I never implied he considered them an enemy. If you want to nitpick, feel free to talk amongst yourself because I'm not going to play these silly games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

What I said was still correct, the last half of the quote was irrelevant as I never implied he considered them an enemy. If you want to nitpick, feel free to talk amongst yourself because I'm not going to play these silly games.

No, what you said was NOT correct. You are rewriting the rules of the game, you know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

You believe everything someone else tells you on social media? Always best to go get the original content, not someone's digested source.

I'm not playing your stupid games either, NK. There is a topic at hand, it isn't me and your unsolicited "advice" is not wanted or welcome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

No, what you said was NOT correct. You are rewriting the rules of the game, you know.

I stand by my previous posts 100 percent I'm not playing these puerile games.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

I stand by my previous posts 100 percent I'm not playing these puerile games.

I'm not a puer. I am a puella.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

I'm not playing your stupid games either, NK. There is a topic at hand, it isn't me and your unsolicited "advice" is not wanted or welcome.

Like your condescending advice to Wondergirl here?
We just follow your lead. Your unsolicited "advice" is not wanted or welcome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

Like your condescending advice to Wondergirl here?
We just follow your lead. Your unsolicited "advice" is not wanted or welcome.

Apparently you can't discern between a comment and advice. I made myself clear, I'm not playing your silly games.

NBC's chief foreign correspondent was more than surprised by Obama's ally or enemy comment. From the NEWS SOURCE as was my previous remark:

Quote:

TODD: I just want to get your first reaction, before you give me a report, of the President saying Egypt was not an ally or an enemy.

ENGEL: Yeah, I almost had to sit down when I heard that. For the last forty years, the United States has had two main allies in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the other ally in the Middle East being Israel. For the President to come out and say, well, he’s not exactly sure if Egypt is an ally any more but it’s not an enemy, that is a significant change in the perspective of Washington toward this country, the biggest country in the Arab world. It makes one wonder, well, was it worth it? Was it worth supporting the Arab Spring, supporting the demonstrations here in Tahrir Square, when now in Tahrir Square there are clashes going on behind me right in front of the US embassy?

You can see now teargas coming — teargas being fired into a crowd of demonstrators who are trying to get close to the embassy, which is at the end of the street, and throw rocks at the US embassy. A very different scene here, a very different Egypt before, when the United States — President Obama — was supporting the demonstrators, President Mubarak was in power, and Egypt was very much an ally. The President doesn’t seem to be sure if Egypt is an ally any more, and some demonstrators who the Arab Spring helped give a voice to are trying to attack the US embassy.

I guess you just completely miss the point. Wondergirl was using the president's own words to make her point about context. You keep using someone else's opinion of his words.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

I guess you just completely miss the point. Wondergirl was using the president's own words to make her point about context. You keep using someone else's opinion of his words.

One thousand greenies! You explained it better than even I could have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

I guess you just completely miss the point. Wondergirl was using the president's own words to make her point about context. You keep using someone else's opinion of his words.

I never miss the point but you both did. I was having a conversation with ex, that's how friends talk. But perhaps you don't have any friends so you may not know that, and if that's the case you have my pity.

If you two want to keep playing games feel free to congratulate each other on how brilliantly you think you smacked down the conservative and play amongst yourselves while ex and I talk. I couldn't care less what either of you think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

I never miss the point but you both did. I was having a conversation with ex, that's how friends talk. But perhaps you don't have any friends so you may not know that, and if that's the case you have my pity.

If you two want to keep playing games feel free to congratulate each other on how brilliantly you think you smacked down the conservative and play amongst yourselves while ex and I talk. I couldn't care less what either of you think.

I'll just quote this for posterity. A real insight into the conservative mindset.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

If you two want to keep playing games

How is this playing games? You deliberately gave the wrong impression about a quote taken out of context. And last I knew, this is an open board and doesn't belong to just two members. Maybe I don't have the proper ID?

I was indeed about to post the same thing. It is not a game when we try to keep facts involved in our discussions. Then accusing us of the same things that you do is poor form indeed. If you and your friends want to have a private chat you can use many free instant messaging programs, I can point you to a few if you want. But if you post disinformation here you WILL be called on it... whether you call it "games" or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

How is this playing games? You deliberately gave the wrong impression about a quote taken out of context. And last I knew, this is an open board and doesn't belong to just two members. Maybe I don't have the proper ID?

That's an outright lie Wondergirl, I did not deliberately mislead, I referred to and I quote, an "Emmy Award winning journalist" from NBC, but I showed you that way back. Nitpicking on something that has no bearing on the meaning of my comment is a game in my opinion.

As for your "this is an open board" remark, I have done nothing to prevent you from participating or suggest you shouldn't. It was an explanation as to why I didn't feel the need for context, it was just a remark to ex - we've been talking to each other that way for years on multiple boards you know.

Did Obama say he didn't consider Egypt an ally? Yes. Did he shun Bibi? Yes. Did I justify my comment to ex and cite the source? Yes. I have thoroughly addressed your initial complaint so if you want to pursue this further I can only consider it intentional provocation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

I was indeed about to post the same thing. It is not a game when we try to keep facts involved in our discussions. Then accusing us of the same things that you do is poor form indeed. If you and your friends want to have a private chat you can use many free instant messaging programs, I can point you to a few if you want. But if you post disinformation here you WILL be called on it...whether you call it "games" or not.

Calling me a liar is poor form.

Are you two done now? Do you have anything useful to add to the topic or not?

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Are you two done now? Do you have anything useful to add to the topic or not?

Just one question? Are you this way in real life?

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Are you two done now? Do you have anything useful to add to the topic or not?

Pipe down now, you're not the topic police. :D

Obviously the rules in this place are a joke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speechlesstx

Obviously the rules in this place are a joke.

Which rules do you mean?