American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny in the Age of Obama
Current events, both man-made and natural, are causing us to examine our place in the world. Two defining concepts for how Americans see the mission of America are American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny.
American Exceptionalism is the concept that America as a society is qualitatively better than other societies. That the structure of our government, our institutions and the liberties granted to us as citizens, allows us to outperform and achieve beyond the capabilities of other nations. This concept was there at the founding, guided our development and became our identity in the Post-WWII era as we led the world in all areas. It is the self-confidence of the American people to meet whatever challenge arises. It relies on faith in the presence of fear and doubt. It is our nobler hopes combined with our determined action to overcome and improve the quality of life wherever we meet up with it.
Manifest Destiny is the flip side of the coin to American Exceptionalism. It's root is conceit. Instead of a firm belief that the hand of God guides our nobler selves, Manifest Destiny declares that we are on a mission from God so get out of our way. The concept evolved from the earliest days of the European Colonial era, where Europe set forth to gain resources, establish new trade routes, and with the influence of the Christian church, "civilize the savages". It was as Rudyard Kipling said, the "white man's burden". It is the prideful cousin of American Exceptionalism, and must be held in check, for pride comes before every fall.
Both Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism are a double-edge sword in practice. In the expansion of America promoted by Manifest Destiny, we became a large, powerful, and prosperous country. We also became a country that fell short of it's ideals in the scourge of slavery and the decimation of the native cultures.
As Manifest Destiny partnered with American Exceptionalism, we saw an expansion of the democratic ideal. With the aid of this partnered concept, Europe was liberated from tyranny under war twice. This partnership led to a victory in a cold war against that "other" superpower, and the emergence of liberty and democracy in Latin America.
We have turned American Exceptionalism inward to deal with our own coming of age, a Great Depression, addressing the old wounds of racial discord, and by moving more people out of poverty and into the "American Dream". There have been fits and starts, but the American ideal is to promote the best of America. That is the highest form of American Exceptionalism.
The other edge of American Exceptionalism that will, and has cut us lies in losing sight of the mission of this exceptionalism. It is to be used to defend the down-trodden and to promote the values of liberty, freedom and independence. It is to be offered with humility, and not force-fed because as America, we are right and you are wrong.
America has come back from a nation on the decline in the 1970's to the sole superpower we see ourselves as today. Along the way we have replaced our humble self-confidence with hubris. Yes, it is true that we are the only superpower, and yes, it's true that if we go full out we can defeat any other nation. We are the 800 lb gorilla. Everyone else on the planet is aware of that, which is why, in the days after 9/11 everyone came to our side - even those that we have been at odds with for many years. No country wants to be on the receiving end of America's anger.
In the aftermath of 9/11 the world understood our beef with Afghanistan, and supported our taking care of business there. Then the Bush Administration put Iraq into the mix for what seemed like a myriad of reasons - pick the one you like best. When no WMD's were found, consolation could be taken in taking out the corrupt regime of Saddam Hussein. It was thought that American-style democracy would be a useful thing in the Middle East. The only other country in the area working that system is Israel.
Here is where Manifest Destiny divorced American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism calls for the expansion of liberty to all people. Manifest destiny looks to create American-style democracy in all nations. Bush 43 called it "exporting democracy", detractors, including candidate G W Bush called it nation building. Manifest destiny without the conscience of American Exceptionalism is Imperialism.
This is where our hubris undercut our honor. Perhaps we were drunk on both our anger and the solidarity of all nations standing with us against the attacks. The Big W had a sweeping vision that his father lacked. He saw a world at peace, all living in western-style democracies. What better place to start than the two places where we had standing armies already there - Iraq and Afghanistan? As Donald Rumsfeld has said, "No plan survives contact with the enemy." .
Which brings us to our current time and our current situation. Iraq has a fractious Parliament that may or may not develop into an actual functioning government, depending on how the rioting works out. All that our installed government rules in Afghanistan is Kabul. Pakistan is now a captive and unreliable partner. Iran is blusterous with it's nukes. The terrorist group Hamas was elected to rule the Gaza Strip. All of the Emirates are suffering instability and rioting. Mubarak has fallen in Egypt. Libya is engaged in civil war. No one is sure where the next domino will fall.
So what becomes of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism in the age of Obama? A strong and swift reaction to provocation has been the trademark characteristic that we admire in our leaders. This is a necessary quality in a dangerous world where delay can invite more trouble. Obama has shown a tendency to take his time and think. This can be both a blessing and a serious liability.
Those that we consider the greatest Presidents when dealing with crisis, especially in world affairs could both make snap decisions and map out long range strategies. This duality of talents was apparent in Washington, Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Reagan. The snap decisions fit seamlessly with the long range strategy. Those who snap to judgment but lack a long range strategy - W, for example - we suffer for, at least in the short term. Those who study the problem as a scholar doing a full analysis (Carter, Wilson, and to a good degree Clinton) we generally suffer for in the longer term.
With the current set of events unfolding as "democracy" or "mobocracy" movements around the Mediterranean, we are seeing how the concepts of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism are taking hold in the Obama Administration. American Exceptionalism has left the building, and Manifest Destiny is calling the shots. We have already examined how the lack of concert between the two leads us astray from our honor as a nation.
This is borne out in the confused response coming from the White House. Throughout the region the Administration puts on an air of even-handedness that equates rebels and regimes as equally legitimate. They are not, and uniquely so in each individual country. American Exceptionalism requires a moral judgment call as to which side is on the right, and then asks how it may best assist. American Exceptionalism does not support despots (Gadaffi, for example)and it does not support despots in waiting (say, the Muslim Brotherhood). It does support the legitimate aspirations of people to self determination and securing of the rights that we consider coming from a higher source than man.
Manifest Destiny, left to it's own devices is just "civilizing the savages" and teaching them how to live. This is borne out in the lectures of the Obama Administration admonishing all sides to avoid violence, to institute reforms in the areas of (insert your buzzword), and basically to do what we say because we know better (and have warships that we WILL use after agonizing over it for a couple of weeks). President Obama treads the same path as W in pushing his version of our system to countries who may or may not be interested in it.
Common Sense Dictates
Tunisia and Egypt seem to be heading in the right direction (by Obama's standards) in implementing reforms fairly peaceably. Gadaffi and Libya are not, and have resorted to violence which is their exercise of self-determination. It is called civil war. Under those conditions, there should be violence, but it should not be the United States exercising it. Or France. Or Britain. The reason that regimes toppled in Tunisia and Egypt is that there was enough popular support to carry those seeking change to victory. It was not imposed by the outside. Or nudged along in the right direction while using the preposterous argument that we prevent violence by committing an act of war, but we are neutral in the outcome of the conflict. President Obama has said plainly that Gadaffi must go.
Which then means that Obama has made a judgment call, but one inspired of a different kind of exceptionalism. An exceptionalism not so crude as American Exceptionalism which so often sees in black and white. This new exceptionalism sees all the varying degrees of gray and deems them equally legitimate. Shall we call it Relative Exceptionalism? It requires experts to determine a correct course to a prudent outcome equitable to all parties involved. How about Progressive Exceptionalism? It requires the experts to report to a man who can discern the information presented and to choose the best course for the conflicted parties. What type of exceptionalism shall we call that? It is "teaching the savages how to live". Oops - we're back at Manifest Destiny, and it's pride has taken us down the wrong path too many times.
Common Sense dictates that we go back to the combination that works. Manifest Destiny without American Exceptionalism is just brute force imposing it's will. America is better than that. We urge the Administration to be so as well.
RLB
American Exceptionalism is the concept that America as a society is qualitatively better than other societies. That the structure of our government, our institutions and the liberties granted to us as citizens, allows us to outperform and achieve beyond the capabilities of other nations. This concept was there at the founding, guided our development and became our identity in the Post-WWII era as we led the world in all areas. It is the self-confidence of the American people to meet whatever challenge arises. It relies on faith in the presence of fear and doubt. It is our nobler hopes combined with our determined action to overcome and improve the quality of life wherever we meet up with it.
Manifest Destiny is the flip side of the coin to American Exceptionalism. It's root is conceit. Instead of a firm belief that the hand of God guides our nobler selves, Manifest Destiny declares that we are on a mission from God so get out of our way. The concept evolved from the earliest days of the European Colonial era, where Europe set forth to gain resources, establish new trade routes, and with the influence of the Christian church, "civilize the savages". It was as Rudyard Kipling said, the "white man's burden". It is the prideful cousin of American Exceptionalism, and must be held in check, for pride comes before every fall.
Both Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism are a double-edge sword in practice. In the expansion of America promoted by Manifest Destiny, we became a large, powerful, and prosperous country. We also became a country that fell short of it's ideals in the scourge of slavery and the decimation of the native cultures.
As Manifest Destiny partnered with American Exceptionalism, we saw an expansion of the democratic ideal. With the aid of this partnered concept, Europe was liberated from tyranny under war twice. This partnership led to a victory in a cold war against that "other" superpower, and the emergence of liberty and democracy in Latin America.
We have turned American Exceptionalism inward to deal with our own coming of age, a Great Depression, addressing the old wounds of racial discord, and by moving more people out of poverty and into the "American Dream". There have been fits and starts, but the American ideal is to promote the best of America. That is the highest form of American Exceptionalism.
The other edge of American Exceptionalism that will, and has cut us lies in losing sight of the mission of this exceptionalism. It is to be used to defend the down-trodden and to promote the values of liberty, freedom and independence. It is to be offered with humility, and not force-fed because as America, we are right and you are wrong.
America has come back from a nation on the decline in the 1970's to the sole superpower we see ourselves as today. Along the way we have replaced our humble self-confidence with hubris. Yes, it is true that we are the only superpower, and yes, it's true that if we go full out we can defeat any other nation. We are the 800 lb gorilla. Everyone else on the planet is aware of that, which is why, in the days after 9/11 everyone came to our side - even those that we have been at odds with for many years. No country wants to be on the receiving end of America's anger.
In the aftermath of 9/11 the world understood our beef with Afghanistan, and supported our taking care of business there. Then the Bush Administration put Iraq into the mix for what seemed like a myriad of reasons - pick the one you like best. When no WMD's were found, consolation could be taken in taking out the corrupt regime of Saddam Hussein. It was thought that American-style democracy would be a useful thing in the Middle East. The only other country in the area working that system is Israel.
Here is where Manifest Destiny divorced American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism calls for the expansion of liberty to all people. Manifest destiny looks to create American-style democracy in all nations. Bush 43 called it "exporting democracy", detractors, including candidate G W Bush called it nation building. Manifest destiny without the conscience of American Exceptionalism is Imperialism.
This is where our hubris undercut our honor. Perhaps we were drunk on both our anger and the solidarity of all nations standing with us against the attacks. The Big W had a sweeping vision that his father lacked. He saw a world at peace, all living in western-style democracies. What better place to start than the two places where we had standing armies already there - Iraq and Afghanistan? As Donald Rumsfeld has said, "No plan survives contact with the enemy." .
Which brings us to our current time and our current situation. Iraq has a fractious Parliament that may or may not develop into an actual functioning government, depending on how the rioting works out. All that our installed government rules in Afghanistan is Kabul. Pakistan is now a captive and unreliable partner. Iran is blusterous with it's nukes. The terrorist group Hamas was elected to rule the Gaza Strip. All of the Emirates are suffering instability and rioting. Mubarak has fallen in Egypt. Libya is engaged in civil war. No one is sure where the next domino will fall.
So what becomes of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism in the age of Obama? A strong and swift reaction to provocation has been the trademark characteristic that we admire in our leaders. This is a necessary quality in a dangerous world where delay can invite more trouble. Obama has shown a tendency to take his time and think. This can be both a blessing and a serious liability.
Those that we consider the greatest Presidents when dealing with crisis, especially in world affairs could both make snap decisions and map out long range strategies. This duality of talents was apparent in Washington, Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Reagan. The snap decisions fit seamlessly with the long range strategy. Those who snap to judgment but lack a long range strategy - W, for example - we suffer for, at least in the short term. Those who study the problem as a scholar doing a full analysis (Carter, Wilson, and to a good degree Clinton) we generally suffer for in the longer term.
With the current set of events unfolding as "democracy" or "mobocracy" movements around the Mediterranean, we are seeing how the concepts of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism are taking hold in the Obama Administration. American Exceptionalism has left the building, and Manifest Destiny is calling the shots. We have already examined how the lack of concert between the two leads us astray from our honor as a nation.
This is borne out in the confused response coming from the White House. Throughout the region the Administration puts on an air of even-handedness that equates rebels and regimes as equally legitimate. They are not, and uniquely so in each individual country. American Exceptionalism requires a moral judgment call as to which side is on the right, and then asks how it may best assist. American Exceptionalism does not support despots (Gadaffi, for example)and it does not support despots in waiting (say, the Muslim Brotherhood). It does support the legitimate aspirations of people to self determination and securing of the rights that we consider coming from a higher source than man.
Manifest Destiny, left to it's own devices is just "civilizing the savages" and teaching them how to live. This is borne out in the lectures of the Obama Administration admonishing all sides to avoid violence, to institute reforms in the areas of (insert your buzzword), and basically to do what we say because we know better (and have warships that we WILL use after agonizing over it for a couple of weeks). President Obama treads the same path as W in pushing his version of our system to countries who may or may not be interested in it.
Common Sense Dictates
Tunisia and Egypt seem to be heading in the right direction (by Obama's standards) in implementing reforms fairly peaceably. Gadaffi and Libya are not, and have resorted to violence which is their exercise of self-determination. It is called civil war. Under those conditions, there should be violence, but it should not be the United States exercising it. Or France. Or Britain. The reason that regimes toppled in Tunisia and Egypt is that there was enough popular support to carry those seeking change to victory. It was not imposed by the outside. Or nudged along in the right direction while using the preposterous argument that we prevent violence by committing an act of war, but we are neutral in the outcome of the conflict. President Obama has said plainly that Gadaffi must go.
Which then means that Obama has made a judgment call, but one inspired of a different kind of exceptionalism. An exceptionalism not so crude as American Exceptionalism which so often sees in black and white. This new exceptionalism sees all the varying degrees of gray and deems them equally legitimate. Shall we call it Relative Exceptionalism? It requires experts to determine a correct course to a prudent outcome equitable to all parties involved. How about Progressive Exceptionalism? It requires the experts to report to a man who can discern the information presented and to choose the best course for the conflicted parties. What type of exceptionalism shall we call that? It is "teaching the savages how to live". Oops - we're back at Manifest Destiny, and it's pride has taken us down the wrong path too many times.
Common Sense dictates that we go back to the combination that works. Manifest Destiny without American Exceptionalism is just brute force imposing it's will. America is better than that. We urge the Administration to be so as well.
RLB
Posted by The Thomas Paine Project at 3/22/2011 6:52 PM 
Categories: National Security, Foreign Affairs, Historical perspective, political leadership
Tags: American interests manifest destiny foreign policy political leadership
Categories: National Security, Foreign Affairs, Historical perspective, political leadership
Tags: American interests manifest destiny foreign policy political leadership
We do live in dangerous times, and the "thinking about it" is what I do worry about the most with Big O. There are times when there is no time to think, and I'm still don't think that Obama is up to the task. It was Carter thinking about it that brought our Hostages in Iran more than 440 days of Teheran hospitality. As Reagan was being sworn in the hostages were clearing Iranian airspace. Sometime the attitude and bluster is important - especially if that's all the enemy understands.
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Both of the concepts of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism reek of colonialism and the subjugation of native peoples for the benefit of the colonizer. To label ourselves "better" than another group of people is in the least, ill-informed, and in the worst, racist. I would think that as a civilized people we have gotten beyond the need to exploit those less fortunate or to "convert the savages". The whole concept is offensive.
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I don't think anyone is saying that a human being in America is inherently better than a human in another country, but as societies go, I believe there is a good argument for this. As a general rule, Americans don't kidnap foreign nationals and saw their heads off while alive. As a general rule we don't have armies of thugs rolling roughshod over the authorities and hacking limbs off of children. As a general rule, our poor are not starving to death, but paradoxically, tend to be obese (not necessarily a plus). As a general rule, you don't go to sleep at night fearing the police will crash in and remove your loved ones. As a society we are arguably better than many. Are we the best? Well, that's up for debate, but people risk life and limb to come here - I don't see them crashing the gate to get into Russia, China or even Canada (with that great healthcare system...). If by example and persuasion we inspire others to imitate our ways, that is not ill-informed or racist. It is simply helping a less fortunate society to help itself. There is nothing offensive in that.
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Well said slaterj - well said
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5000 years ago there were flourishing and advanced civilizations in Egypt, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Xia Dynasty (the first of the legendary dynasties of China) had been formed. These societies were skilled in mathematics, astronomy, engineering, and art - the essence of civilization. At this same time the Greeks figured out how to build a boat and the Romans were living in caves and huts. 500 years ago Europe was coming out of the Dark Ages, figured out the world was round, and tripped across America and thought it was India. And these were the people determined to "civilize the savages"? OK, I just don't get it.
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This is a real nice theoretical discussion, but in case no one has noticed, we've just stepped into a third war in a very unfriendly part of the world. There is absolutely no strategic value for us in Libya, and we haven't cared about Quadaffi since the lat time we blew his palace up. This was badly thought out, and we shouldn't be there. Hell, at least Bush tried to sell the idea of Iraq. Obama just went in.
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Yeah, I read we have a jet shot down already and two men on the ground waiting to be picked up. This has the potential to go all "Black Hawk Down" on us. The French wanted this one. We should have left it to them.
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Obama has been all over the place on all of these. The troubling trend is that if the dictator in charge is one of our "allies", he gets tossed under the bus. If he's some sort of brutal thug or Islamic radical (like in Libya and Iran), he's all hands off until he's forced into action. The guy is clueless.
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Wasn't Shrillary all against the idea of a no-fly zone last week? What changed her mind - having a Frenchman display more balls than her?
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Gates wasn't on board either. Must be something going on that we don't know about. Can't imagine that in this TRANSPARENT administration.
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You know, you guys are never satisfied. He doesn't stick his nose in Iran and you complain. He gets involved in Egypt you complain. He pulls off the fastest diplomacy in the world to put together a no-fly zone and you say too little too late. He picks a side you complain, He doesn't you complain. I don't think that there's anything he can do to satisfy you.
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Resign?
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OK, seriously, now the big hub-bub is over "command" - get this, they are arguing over what flag to fly! Seriously! It's a BS mission and they have no idea what they are trying to accomplish, but they need to take time to argue about the flag they fly. We are led by morons.
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It's like children are in charge of every nation on the planet, and we have the biggest child running ours. Libya is turning into a world class game of hot potato. France starts a mess and now it's getting thrown from country to country until it lands here. It always lands here. If Obama believes otherwise he has no grasp of reality. He should give either Bush a call to see how these things just take on a life of their own.
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Most of the command fight is that Libya is the principal supplier of oil to France. Sarkozy wants control as this is a national security issue for France. Obama wants Nato, but Nato doesn't want it - Germany has said that it will not participate. Britain doesn't want it either. A lot of the trouble goes to Obama. Merkel has no respect for him, Sarkozyhas publicly called him a fool, and Cameron thinks that Libya is just a distration to Obama. Our 3 closest allies think that our President is a clown. Worse, they feel that they can't trust him. Looking at how things have played out lately, maybe they can't.
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It looks like Iran is behind a lot of this. All of the targeted countries are Sunni, not Shia. Muslims are not allowed to make war on other muslims,but Shia don't think of Sunnis as muslim, so they can justify it. Iran has been pushing the caliphate since Khomeini. It looks like after all this time the plan is working for them.
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Iran has been at this for 30 years and hasn't gotten anywhere. Now all of a sudden they are taking over. What gives?
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America has gone from being run by neocons to being run by neophytes. Neither is a good idea, and neophytes are just plain dangerous.
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A lot of the problem is that we have not had a forward thinking foreign policy in decades, since Reagan as far as I can tell. Everything has been reactive - in response to some outside thing happening. We reacted in the first Gulf War, we reacted to 9/11, we are reacting in Libya. There is no coordinated strategy for the United States that passes from President to President. We had Clinton undoing Bush, bush undoing Clinton, and Obama undoing Bush. Foreign policy was not a political issue when we were facing down the communists. We need a long term strategy for thi struggle as well. And it needs to serve the interest of the United States - even the humanitarian aid that we give. Having a foreign policy that does not serve the interests of the United States is by definition a bad policy.
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Now Syria is collapsing as well, which is a twist as that is a client state of Iran. This sort of chaos is a dangerous thing to just let play out. Of course, most of it happened because the US is sending mixed messages all over the place. Bush might not have been a genius, but he understood consistency in foreign relations.
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Modoman said it earlier. This is about oil. Libya is the principal supplier of oil to France, England and Italy. We are sending our troops into harm's way so that Prince Charles can gas up the limo. No one gave a damn about Libya or Quadaffi for 40 years. There is no vital interest for the US. If the Euros want to insure their oil let them have at it. We should be sitting this one out.
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Loks like we get to find out where Obama's head is at on this with the Liby address tonight. I hope he's clearer than he was in his remarks this past weekend. The man says nothing better than anyone else.
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Let's step back from the Islamic troubles for a second. Let's think bigger. I can tell you exactly what he is going to say. He's a globalist and that's what he wants - a global system. He doesn't believe that nations are relevant anymore, and is doing his best to see that they aremade obsolete. The speech will be that we're all in this together. That's what to expect.
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Yup. A disappointing speech from a guy who either really is clueless or is actively siding with Al Qaeda. Did you see Biden. He looked ready to hurl a shoe at Obama during most of the speech. I'm thinking he disagrees with current policy. It's a sad state of affairs when Joe Biden has a better grasp of reality than the President.
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Both the terms being discussed have a moral underpinning. The problem is that we as a nation no longer do."American exceptionalism" is not an economic or politcal term. It is a phrase that describes the inherent goodness of American ideals. "Manifest Destiny" implies a Godly mission. We have lost our moral foundation. The judeo-christian values that were so deeply intertwined into the founding principles of our naton have been abandoned. This was made evident in the relativistic spin put on by President Obama about our "mission" in Libya. How does one stop the loss of innocent life by dropping bombs? Where is the compassion for Darfur? President Obama's policies are spinning out of control because he seems to have lost his moral bearings. If everything is equal, then there is no right and wrong. Yet we know for a fact that there is right and wrong. We need to restore our morality and our faith to restore our American ideals.
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So now the worst kept secret is Obama authorized covert actions by the CIA to assist and arm the Libyan rebels. Obama doesn't have a clue as to who they are or what they want except to take down Gadafi (however youspell it). They have been tied to Al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood. We are potentially arming terrorists to take over Libya and then be hostile to us when in power. We are being governed by morons.
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This has me past nervous. CIA on the ground equals boots on the ground. Next there will be "advisers." This is exactly how Vietnam and Afghanistan against the Soviets. We know how they worked out. I try to be reasonable, but this scares the hell out of me, especially since we have troops in 2 active wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) and bases in 2 Muslim countries that are unstable (Bahrain and Saudi Arabia). That's a lot of troops sitting in the middle of a mess. It wouldn,t take a bigincident to turn thisinto a full scale war.
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