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Entry: We're obsessed with Power -- but the real issue is Obama Link: http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/were_obsessed_with_power_but_the_real_issue_is_obama#19387 Post contents: In places like "Darfur, Kenya, the Congo, Burma" I will rather have Obama as a face of USA than McCain. Contrary to popular belief, US presidents don't just wake up in the morning and decide to smash some small country later that day. Well maybe if your name is G.W.Bush you do... I wish I am more like Justin and be able to truly follow "prime directive" but in many cases US did make a right call to intervene. It took Bill Clinton years to bomb Serbs in Bosnia and at that point all sides were so exhausted that they were ready to accept any reasonable peace agreement that was on the table. Clinton bombed Serbs in Kosovo too. That also took at least a year of internal conflict and at that point Serbia had nearly 100,000 troops in Kosovo (between police, army and what-not.) Compare that to number of US troops in Iraq, expenses involved, and you will realize what Serbs have realized: loss of Kosovo is inevitable at that point. While I can't say what kind of deliberation was going on in Clinton administration at that time it seems they have made a right call, or rather did what was inevitable. Make no mistake, being of Serb origins and a Republican, that is not as easy for me to admit. Compare that to G.W.Bush and his foreign policy. I wish I can see overarching design or inevitability of giving Kosovo full independence but it escapes me. It comes down to him waking up one morning on trip in Albania, making a statement about "time has come etc." and proceeding to seriously shake foundations of international law and fanning hopes of hundreds of tribes, groups, regions that seek their own independence. Point is, some calls are made right some are wrong. Establishing some kind of "autopilot" doctrine that will condemn any intervention out of hand would be a grave mistake. That being said, I don't believe that Obama would be inclined any more than McCain or Hillary to make wrong calls on the issue. In any case, his "political capital" would be gone after first attempt that went wrong and his stance on Iraq is at least some kind of warranty that we won't see out troops stuck for decades. Sent at: 2008 08 29