(11 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Real News Network CEO Paul Jay talks with Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, about the politics behind Barack Obama’s Afghanistan “surge”, who explains the devastation of the US Military by the occupation, and how a combination of Obama’s own presidential campaign rhetoric and manipulations by his generals had “locked him in” to escalating the occupation of Afghanistan.
Wilkerson then gives us his take from the perspective of being a teacher on the subject of presidential national security decision making about what the geopolitical consequences of this escalation will likely be.
Real News Network – December 4, 2009
“Obama’s choice” pure politics
Lawrence Wilkerson: Obama’s campaign rhetoric and his generals put him in a corner on Afghanistan
Also see: Part 2, Pure Politics Of Obama’s Afghanistan Escalation
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as president.
the proper word. The office, i.e. titular head of the executive branch of government, is something quite apart from the individual who “serves” as its placeholder for 4 or 8 years at a time. I don’t know why more people don’t understand this, it used to be explained quite well in 7th grade civics. A president is primarily a fundraiser for his party, and secondarily the focus of attention per whoever’s policy platform (party concerns) tweaks things one way or another during the term. Things are simply not allowed to veer far in either direction, given that the government/branch is much larger than the individual faceplate.