Thursday, July 26, 2007
A matter of choice
President Lyndon Johnson is attributed to have said, "hold your friends close and your enemies closer." In the recent Democratic debate in Charleston, Senator Barrack
Obama seemed to resonate that thought when he said if he were president, that he would sit down at the negotiating table with the countries we are at odds with, such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea, to try to find common ground in solving the problems that divide us. Senator Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, rejected this idea and said she would only do so if pre-conditions existed that would assure positive results. In other words, concessions would have to be forthcoming from these countries before she would agree to meet with them. Her position is understandable, given the track record of how these nations have re-acted to us in the past, but at the same time it can be argued that this country hasn't always put its best foot forward either. All things considered, I'm inclined to believe that it would be in our best interest to test the waters and go one-on-one with our adversaries to establish, once and for all, if dialogue and negotiation can lead to some degree of mutual accord. If not, we may as well gather around the wagons and get ready for a long cold winter of discontent and confrontation.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
Obama seemed to resonate that thought when he said if he were president, that he would sit down at the negotiating table with the countries we are at odds with, such as Iran, Syria, and North Korea, to try to find common ground in solving the problems that divide us. Senator Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, rejected this idea and said she would only do so if pre-conditions existed that would assure positive results. In other words, concessions would have to be forthcoming from these countries before she would agree to meet with them. Her position is understandable, given the track record of how these nations have re-acted to us in the past, but at the same time it can be argued that this country hasn't always put its best foot forward either. All things considered, I'm inclined to believe that it would be in our best interest to test the waters and go one-on-one with our adversaries to establish, once and for all, if dialogue and negotiation can lead to some degree of mutual accord. If not, we may as well gather around the wagons and get ready for a long cold winter of discontent and confrontation.
George Morin
Auburn, Ga.
