January 01, 2007The FreshmanDeborah Solomon interviewed James Webb last Saturday over at the NYT Magazine. A couple excerpts, in case you missed: Q: You previously belonged to the Republican Party and held two big positions — assistant secretary of defense and, later, secretary of the Navy — under President Reagan. And: Q: As a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, do you have a timetable in mind for getting us out of Iraq? Keep a close eye on Webb. I suspect he's going to be one of the very best pols we've got in the Senate--at least if you prefer independent thinkers to the goose-stepping herds that too often pass as legislators. P.S. It's good to see some Senators like Dodd and Specter (who like Webb understand the critical importance of a region-wide diplomatic approach) ditching the Crawford variant of the Führerprinzip and traveling to places like Damascus to (unthinkable!) actually dialogue with leaders with whom relations are strained. Sacrilege for bovine true-believers, I know, but increasingly critical as the regional situation continues to dangerously deteriorate. Posted by Gregory at January 1, 2007 12:48 AMComments
Glad to see you back and quite prolific. What is missing is any diplomatic effort. We have none. Not at the UN, not in the middle east. No where in the world do we have any credible diplomatic efforts. The idea of bringing change by force hasn't worked in the past 50 years and will not work now. The "sanctions" put in place to achieve changed hasn't worked in Cuba or any other place in the world. Only by open dialogue and exchanges, including trading, will change begin to happen. KitCarson Posted by: KitCarson at January 1, 2007 10:14 PM | Permalink to this commentWhile not being by any means whatsoever a member of the political Right here in America, much less a member of the Republican party, one is not entirely enthusiastic about Mr. Djerejian postive view of Senator-Elect Webb. Actually, having read the interview in the New York Times Sunday Magazine when it first came out, I was not very surprised at the contents of the interview. First, one must remember that the interviewer, Miss Deborah Solomon, is herself quite liberal (in the American sense) and, hence the entire interview was something in the nature of a As per Webb's comments on the current situation in Iraq, I found them entire jejune, and rien plus, as it were...Id est, nothing but, the usual Washington Pays Legal, chattering classes chit chat. Who but his dead uncle has not talked of the need for a 'diplomatic effort' in Iraq, in the last two or three months now. If not longer in fact, even prior to the ISG report. And, by the bye: what in the name of heaven is a 'aggressive diplomatic approach'? As opposed to an 'unaggressive diplomatic approach'? It is only the mere fact, that Messers. Webb, Biden et. al., do not have to implement any of their proposed solutions, that enables them to continue floating them. Not matter how unrealistic they are. Which, nota bene: is not to gainsay the positive value of diplomatic pourparlers, it is just a reminder that per se, such efforts, will avail the USA nothing, absolutley nothing in Iraq. As informed commentators have noted (see especially Nir Rose articles in particular) no outside power, has any great, determining influence in what is going on in Iraq currently. Unfortunately much of the mayhem currently going on in the country is purely Iraqi-based sectarian bloodshed, Shiite versus Sunni. Or more recently especially in Basra, Shiite versus Shiite warfare. In no case whatseover, does talking with anyone resolve these issues. Something that Senator-Elect Webb appears to be cheerfully ignorant of... Posted by: Charles Coutinho, PH. D. at January 2, 2007 06:47 AM | Permalink to this commentAs informed commentators have noted (see especially Nir Rose articles in particular) no outside power, has any great, determining influence in what is going on in Iraq currently. This is obviously correct. So why are we spending $12 billion a *month*, plus a dozen or so soldiers dead and a much larger number wounded, trying to control all that? Out now. Charles, CC, "I was not very surprised at the contents of the interview. First, one must remember that the interviewer, Miss Deborah Solomon, is herself quite liberal (in the American sense) and, hence the entire interview was something in the nature of a The press should only ask tough questions of critics of the administration. Three years of "we are winning" before any tough questions were asked of the administration says it all. Posted by: centrist at January 3, 2007 03:45 PM | Permalink to this comment |
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