I just saw a cnn news flash that we have a new policy for kidnappings abroad. Now the policy is that we can negotiate with terror groups and guerrillas.
Any thoughts on this? I don't mind personally, but I'm sure some people will have their blood boiling over it

We got a terrorist as President. We are negotiating with Iran are they terrorist's bet your arse they are.

Next time the Iranian comes here to speak before students at Columbia university. Kidnappe him and hold him for ransomed. Then when they pay us kill the mother fucker on tv

foots, the iranians are fighting isis. isis needs to be defeated no matter who does it.

Isis is how many men again. We can destroy Isis anytime we feel like.

Compare that with Iran. Iran is the real problem.

foots, you want to invade iran?

Why is Iran the real problem

Iran is taking over Iraq not Isis. They have always been the problem. Iran or the U.S. Or the Saudi can stop Isis.


Let them do it not us.

Iran is the real problem because they do nothing but stir the pot by fighting proxy wars against the United States, Israel and other allies using Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Gaurd.

Do you not understand how ridiculous it sounds to accuse Iran of fighting a proxy war against America -- while IN IRAQ?

Or accusing Iran of fighting a proxy war against Israel -- who is literally taking over the remnamts of Palestine, day by day?

Iran could be a useful ally, they offered their help after 9/11 and we turned it down. Are they completely trustworthy? No. Are we? No. Is any country? No.

Was Iran not helping and supplying the insurgents in Iraq during the war which led to US forces being killed. It is not ridiculous, it in naive to believe otherwise. You want a country whose parliament chants death to America to be our ally! Not to mention Hamas and their role with shelling Israel or the kidnapping of innocents. And are you comparing Iran to the United States in foreign policy. We may do things that are misguided, but we do them for the right reasons. They are a known state sponsor of terrorism, we are not. There is right and wrong and black and white with some grey, but Iran is a nation we do not need nor want as an ally

And Iraq is Iraq, not Iran, so yes it is a proxy war when they aide the enemy.

So it is okay for the United States to invade Iraq and destroy an entire country, but Iran is the aggressor because they then join the fighting -- when the country is their neighbor.

There is no right and wrong and black and grey in this, that's what you don't understand...

Of course Iran could be our ally -- a tenuous ally, but yes, an ally.

Their parliament chants Death to America? How many times has OUR congress threaten to invade their country?

Put the petty shit behind you... You have to understand, most of the world views the US as the biggest threat to world peace. So whatever ideas you have about the US being "right" then I need to understand your reasoning.

you are absolutely right, we use drones to kill innocent people in the middle east, and that is wrong.

Padrone, you think the US isn't responsible for sponsoring terrorism??

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/08/is-america-the-worlds-largest-sponsor-of-terrorism.html

And to call the invasion and subsequent apocalypse of Iraq "misguided" is a bit of an understatement is it not?

You need to look at things objectively and realise just how the USA's actions around the world are actually viewed by other countries and the potential for conflict which it raises. People with the insular attitude of some chest beating "patriot" hick, coupled with the ignorant opinion that every other country outside the US is somehow backward and must be westernised, is as crazy to me as radicalised muslims screaming allahu akbar over dead bodies.

How they even form this opinion is beyond me...only 20% of US citizens actually even have a passport, so how or why they feel qualified to shout about any invasion of other countries is ridiculous. You're last President didn't even know where Iraq was ffs!

Thats not all aimed at you by the way Padrone

I know that it is not all aimed at me and I have these arguments with my friends all of the time so its cool, but by way of background... I am the first person in my family to have gone to college and I was born in 1975. I have had a US passport since the age of 17 that I paid for with my own money to travel after high school with friends with money that I earned from summer jobs. I have a bachelors degree two masters and a JD. I have traveled extensively and work helping people immigrate and assimilate to the United States. (That is my job). I understand and respect all cultures, but when it comes to foreign policy you must understand that although not perfect the United States is the shining light on the hill compared to other nations. If that were not true, then 60% of the earths population would not be trying to come here.

It is not blind patriotism, but reality. I am not a chest beating patriot although I love my country and believe that when we do things we do it for the right reasons. Do I believe that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and that Bush believed that, No. We went there to kill terrorists and that is a good thing. We created a sandbox there so as not to fight them here. Do I think that an embargo on Cuba because they are communist while we trade freely with China is fair, No. but Castro regime are murderers and need to put out of business. Talk to a refugee who floated 90 miles on a raft and ask them where they would rather live. Ask a Persian Jew or Christian where they would rather live. An African, a South American, a Moldovan a Pole for Christ sake and it is here. We may be far from perfect but our imperfection is by far better than what most others are offering.

I mean, it sounds like we disagree.

I don't believe we went to Iraq because there were terrorists there. We tried to find a link -- and by tried, I mean we tortured the shit out of people to get them to say it -- but we knew that invading Iraq would create more terrorism. That was a well established thought in the intelligence community in the run up to the war.

As for the Cuban Embargo, it is ridiculous to stop the flow of much needed medical supplies, while we throw money at, say, Saudi Arabia because they have oil. They are one of the most retrograde countries in the world and a key supporter of terror.

On a personal level Padrone, your obviously a good guy (and one of the 20% who actually hold a passport and have actually seen some of the world), however.....(!) it sounds like in your line of work, your only going to hear good things about the US-every person you work with obviously wants to live there, so, arguably, its not really a balanced view you'll get. Im sure on your travels years back, people were no doubt generally happy where they were living - Im not sure about 60% of the world trying to get to the US...the migration levels from North Africa and middle eastern countries into Europe is at epidemic levels - not by those who would comfortably obtain a green card either I might add.

I think if you asked all the people you mentioned where they would want to live, they would say their home country immediately. Unfortunately, in many cases, due directly as a result of American foreign policies past and present, their home country is a disaster zone-look at half of latin america (Ive posted about Kissenger at length here) and obviously most of the middle east. Im obviously not saying this is the problem in every case, however, if the US was as good at facilitating economies - in line with the rest of the UN - it was at destroying countries, we'd all be in a better place.

We never, ever, went to Iraq to "kill terrorists", thats a naive statement at best. We went there on a lie, in the ignorant assumption that a puppet government could be created and installed (see Latin America) and obviously, and without any hindsight needed, ended up creating thousands more terrorists - don't you see that? How on earth do you think invading a country to "kill terrorists" would ever work? Name me one time it ever has. Especially a country already divided by religion and a region which lives in an entirely different way to western countries.

How come we're not invading Africa to save the thousands of christians being killed by the Isis off-shoot, boko haram? Again, another group who's motives are fuelled and given credence directly as a result of failed US foreign policy

@Mighty...totally agree

The most confusing thing for me is that America is a country founded and built on multi-culturism and it celebrates it in every way it can. People describe themselves at every opportunity as Italian-American, Africa-American etc etc and love to talk positively about any roots they have from almost every country in the world, no matter where their ancestors might have come, from and I think thats great.

Then you examine foreign policy and it's the most disrespectful, divisive and ignorant plan you could ever create to undermine other nations. And some of those same people beat their chest and chant USA at the mere hint of a war - having never even left their own shores, sometimes city, to see other places or shown any inclination to do so

Strange.....

Yes we have supported terrorism in the past. We supplied Bin Laden with AK-47's against the Russians in the 80's and look at how much that "helped" us!

As for ISIS, the only good thing that happened is when them and Iran got into it. Let Iran lose their troops in a ground war with these animals while we keep dropping bombs with drones on them.

Now the ragheads will be trying to kidnap every American they can find now so they can get some buddies out of Gitmo.

Dixie, yes the US supplied Bin Laden (obviously The Bush family also has a long business relationship with them as well) and those "freedom fighters with weapons and training in the 80's.

The US also trained and armed Syrian freedom fighters at bases in Jordan - many of whom subsequently joined Isis. Saudi Arabia also directly sponsor many jihadi groups in Iraq and Syria, and obviously the US has a close relationship with the Saudis....why should Iran now have to send its troops in to sort out the mess? They'll no doubt turn into Western "allies" soon.....

Said it before though, the US doesn't really choose its "friends" wisely....

All this talk about American foreign policy and who or what created more terrorist aside part of me feels for the families of the kidnapped especially when videos of a loved one being beheaded is online, but it also shows weakness and make me wonder what else these guys think they can get away with.

as to gitmo..... the mere mention of the name means torture.

gitmo should have been closed down years ago, it takes a special kind to promote torture, and George bush was, and is that kind,

no wonder he was the worst president in US history.

he should have been prosecuted for war crimes,

my opinion only.

There are fake torture and real torture. Water boarding and a punch in the face is fake torture. What else did they do at that place?

Shall I tell you what real torture is the kind you don't walk away from.

Worse President? What about king Obama what was so fucking good about him?

Wait until 2016 when all the Obama shit hits the fan. You will be the first one to wonder what the fuck happened to our economy.

Torture you don't walk away from is called murder. And there are plenty of examples of that too.

Since I know you will respect him, ask John McCain if its torture or not. He knows.

In fact, entire militias in the north of Syria that have been provided with american made TOW missiles via Saudi Arabia have been willing fighting along side of non-ISIS terror groups like the Jabhat Al Nusra (AKA Al Qaeda) and Ahrar Ash Sham. Most of the major ones are self described islamists (though not as extreme as some). Knowing all this, both republicans and democrats seem to have decided that the main goal in syria should be to take out assad. It makes me giggle whenever I hear one of these assholes seriously talk about backing these 'moderates'. Are we supposed to believe that the moderates who couldn't overthrow the regime would be able to beat the jihadists who could?

Also the last sentence reminds me on one country very relevant to the conflict: Turkey. Is there any other US 'friend' that has been as problematic lately. Qatar isn't up there on the list either.

Them ragheads deserved to be tortured.

The problem in Syria now is that if the Assad regime is removed by western forces or form of ally, you leave a void which will be immediately filled by Isis.

And saying that "ragheads deserved to be tortured" is definetly understandable, but just continues the vicious cycle. To break it, you've obviously got to look at, and start to address, the reasons behind their actions