Quote Originally Posted by TuffStuffMcGruff View Post
Sounds like he's channeling PanzerJaeger. Scaremongers the lot of them. People who sacrifice freedom for security will end up with neither, as the old cliche goes. The difference is that Medvedev and other un-democratic leaders have something to gain by their misguided cynicism, PJ just looks gullible.
Ad hominems, appeals to emotion, and righteous indignation have never had much effect on me.

It is great that you are excited about these rebellions. I find it more difficult to applaud actions that result in diminished Western influence and greater instability in a critical region of the world, and all for less than certain outcomes.

Hopefully it will all work out, and I’m not advocating that we should take action to suppress these people. President Obama has actually done a good job in dealing with the situation. He has essentially told our allies behind the scenes that if they can reign in their dissidents we will continue our relationship with them, while being quick to jump ship when it is certain that the government would fall – making it appear like we’ve been on the side of the dissidents the whole time. Hopefully that will engender some pro-American sentiments.