Comments on The National Scold: Daily Scold: Appeasing the security dilemma

Chuck Hagel said it best: "I never understand how ...

2008-05-21T13:55:00.000-04:00

Chuck Hagel said it best: "I never understand how anyone in any realm of civilized discourse could sort through the big issues and challenges and threats and figure out how to deal with those without engaging in some way..."

He continued: "You take some risks in talking about this, especially in the Congress, because you can immediately be branded as an appeaser."

"If you engage a world power or a rival, it doesn't mean you agree with them or subscribe with what they believe or you support them in any way," he said. "What it does tell you is that you've got a problem you need to resolve. And you've got to understand the other side and the other side has got to understand you."

Also it is worth mentioning that Kennedy negotiate...

2008-05-21T11:39:00.000-04:00

Also it is worth mentioning that Kennedy negotiated with Kruschev IN SECRET unlike what Obama proposes.

Really there is no comparison at all to what Obama wants to do vs. what Kennedy did.

All due respect to our editor, but this story is s...

2008-05-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

All due respect to our editor, but this story is such bullcrap.

Kennedy did negotiate with Kruschev, but he had like 5,000 Army divisions ready to invade Cuba after it got bombed to hell by the 10,000 bombers he had ready to go in at a moment's notice.

Obama is talking about negotiating without any of these mechanisms in place. And let's face it, the mullahs and Grand Ayatollah and Ahmadinejad himself have made it clear they will never stop their nuclear program.

Negotiation, direct or otherwise, can have only two out comes. 1.) they fail, no agreement is made, and we're back to square one, except the Iranians get parade clips of that meeting to their people to prove they've forced America to the table. Or 2.) WE bite the bullet and hand over technology, aid and money to these zealous state sponsors of terrorism, in exchange for them stopping their nuclear program.

Either way we look weak. Better to stonewall these people, convince everyone else we've got to stop Iran from getting the bomb (that's a much easier case to make to our allies than to Ahmadinejad), and take preemptive force if we need to, exactly like Kennedy was ready to.