Sy Hersh says Obama is Isolated... "differing opinions can't get to him"...he was "innocent"

[KoKo]

Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh assesses the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa amidst ongoing U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Despite touted gains and an upcoming U.S. military withdrawal deadline in Iraq, Hersh says, "Whatever you’re hearing, Iraq is going bad... It’s sectarian war. And the big question is going to be whether we pull out or not." On the uprisings, Hersh says Saudi Arabia, fearing an overthrow of the regional order, is driving the embattled regimes’ attempts to crush the protests.

Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh assesses the popular uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa amidst ongoing U.S. wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Despite touted gains and an upcoming U.S. military withdrawal deadline in Iraq, Hersh says, "Whatever you’re hearing, Iraq is going bad... It’s sectarian war. And the big question is going to be whether we pull out or not." On the uprisings, Hersh says Saudi Arabia, fearing an overthrow of the regional order, is driving the embattled regimes’ attempts to crush the protests.

Hersh gets into why Obama has been isolated as an "innocent" since his inauguration...about 2/3'rds of the way through this link:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/6/3/seymour_hersh_on_the_arab_spring]/b]

[Eagle Mall]

1. We should have already invaded Iran like 10 times according to Sy.

He's not very reliable.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

17. well, perhaps his spilling of beans had an impact?

There were moves in Viet Nam that were stopped dead because of media stories.
The whole invasion of Iraq was a fantasy, directed by Cheney, produced by Rumsfeld, with a cast of thousands. We did not get the real story, in great part because of embeds< for several years. Even then, the stories of torture and abuse were ridiculed in the press as being unpatriotic, lies spread by our enemies, and worse.

[Doctor Hurt]

20. perhaps it was also the magical unicorn aliens that stopped it.

"Perhaps" pretty much invalidates any conjecture, in the absence of further evidence.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

22. Unicorns LOVE beans, especially freshly spilled ones.

I am not sure about the alien unicorns, but our domestic types are well known bean connoisseurs.

[FrenchieCat]

2. I'm still waiting on our war with Lebanon and Iran that was going to break out.....when?

in 2005???

Journalist: U.S. planning for possible attack on Iran
January 17, 2005
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-16/politics/hersh.iran_1_iran-nuclear-program-secret-reconnaissance-missions?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS

Seymour Hersh: The Admin's war to bomb Iran
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/44536/
How many fucking threads did that start here at DU back then? :shrug:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. I think that it stopped being much of a concern after 2008

However, that doesn't mean it wasn't a legitimate concern. Hersh was talking about this while Bush/Cheney were in office. Before Obama was elected, I had severe doubts about Bush/Cheney and IMHO if they could've figured out a way to snooker us into invading Iran and overthrowing their government like they did with Iraq, I have little doubt that they would have. The *fortunate* thing for us is that Iraq ended up being such a clusterf**k and required way more in terms of time, money, and resources forcing the neocons to eventually give up on the idea of us going into Iran too and/or REALLY starting "World War 3". Bush/Cheney/GOP had to expend all the political capital that they had just to keep things going in Iraq post-2006 and had none really to spend on cooking up a rationale for invading/occupying Iran as well (or maybe they were hoping that the Israeli neocons would "light the spark" and get things on with Iran so that we'd have a justification for joining in). I think that Hersh was right to be concerned about it (hell, I even was) and I think that there was a "will" to invade Iran just not a way to do it. :shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

5. I hear what you are saying,

and will file this particular OP under speculative possible theory based on Sy Herch's concerns.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. I think I see what your concerns are (re: Hersh)

I wonder if he got confused for a second and thought he was talking about Bush. I don't see Obama being "isolated".
:wtf:
Well, sometimes even the best and brightest are wrong sometimes. :shrug:

[Avant Guardian]

15. That is exactly what they said about Bush for 8 years

I just cannot fathom Obama being 'kept' like Bush was. Like they say, opinions are like assholes, everybody has one.

[NCarolinawoman]

7. Gates and the Joint Chiefs blocked Cheney's stupid idea.

I remember that time well.

Wes Clark and John Soltz formed a group called STOP IRAN WAR NOW. I signed the petition and I still have my pin. (It has those words and the image of a dove on it.) Clark and Soltz wanted to draw attention to the matter--the neocons wanted it all hush hush.

Cheney and his evil brigade wanted to bomb the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, hoping they would retaliate and then we could be drawn into a larger war. (such a wonderful idea :sarcasm:)

The military were the cooler wiser heads on this; which is an understatement. I believe Admiral Fallon was one of the good guys as well as Gates.

[ClarkUSA]

3. Hersch is full of shit. How would he know? Still waiting for BushCo to invade Iran...

:rofl:

[tekisui]

13. He knows because he is a damn fine investigative journalist.

[Doctor Hurt]

21. who is apparently always wrong.

.

[MadMaddie]

6. Yawn! If the environment had not been right

that is President Obama being the president NO uprisings and political change would have happened in the Middle East.

[harun]

8. We're still in Iraq?

You'd think we'd hear something on the news about it if we were....

:sarcasm:

[Tarheel_Dem]

10. Unrec for stupidity & making shit up! Sy Hersch? Really?

:eyes:

[tekisui]

12. Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist. One of the best there is.

[Tarheel_Dem]

16. Call me when Cheney attacks Iran.

:eyes:

[tekisui]

19. You think he didn't want to?

Sy wasn't wrong in exposing the desire. They fucked up so badly in Iraq, it went off the table.

[NCarolinawoman]

23. Cheney and the Neocons absolutely had plans to do this.

Please read my post at #7.

[tekisui]

11. This was eye-opening and explains a lot about Obama's ill conceived foreign

policy decisions.

[Avant Guardian]

14. That is what they said about Bush for 8 years

They said Bush was so insulated by his handlers that he was absolutely clueless to the reality of what was going on. I refuse to believe that Obama is similarly ignorant.

"And I still think—I think right now—I would almost use the word "cult" to describe what’s going on in the White House. Everything is political. He’s isolated. Very good people say they’ve never seen a president this isolated, in terms of being unable to get to him with different opinions, etc. So here’s really captive of a few people there. I know this may sound strange, but I know what I’m talking about. You can’t get to the guy—and even, for example, Pickering, as competent as he is. And Pickering has done some wonderful stuff for the United States intelligence community undercover, and so he’s known as a trusted guy. "

I just do not believe Obama is that naive, sorry.

[jefferson_dem]

18. Sy...

Quit digging. You're done.

[bvar22]

24. Keep digging and publishing, Sy.

One of the very few investigative "journalists" remaining in a once proud profession.



"By their WORKS you will know them."