Bernie’s Mirror

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Clarissa

November 15, 2015

I missed the foreign policy part of the debate, and it’s just as well because if that’s what Bernie had to say, then what’s the point of listening:

Muslim nations in the region—Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Jordan—all of these nations, they’re going to have to get their hands dirty, their boots on the ground. They are going to have to take on ISIS. This is a war for the soul of Islam. . . But those Muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort. They are not doing it now.

Bernie’s position on foreign policy is consistently that of, “It bores me to think of it, so I’ll imagine how things might be in the perfect world and proceed from that fantasy.” Three “going to haves” in the quoted statement without any indication of how this imperial goal-setting will be received by the people in question.

Russia and China should care about global warming, Muslims should lead the effort on battling ISIS. They aren’t doing anything of the kind, of course, but what an infernal bore trying to figure out what they actually want and need. Let’s tell them what they are going to have to do instead and watch them jump to attention.

This is, yet again, the case of an American projecting his own needs on the world and then expecting the world to act as the mirror of his desires. The Other is not allowed any existence of its own because it has got to act as this perfect mirror.

On the positive side, O’Malley was even worse in the subject.

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12 responses to “Bernie’s Mirror”

Dreidel

November 15, 2015

You’re asking what Bernie sees when he looks in a mirror? Here’s a close approximation:

(All in jest, of course.)

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cliff arroyo

November 15, 2015

As I’ve said, he assumes that New England upper middle class liberals are the highest form of human life toward which all are striving (unless they’re tragically mistaken and to be pitied more than censured).

He’s always trying to appeal to the inner New England upper middle class liberal in other people and incapable of understanding that lots of people have none….

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 15, 2015
  
  And this is considered a progressive position because it’s so magnanimous to elevate “the savages” to his own lofty heights. Of course, it’s not done consciously but the belief in one’s own superiority is absolutely there.
  
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cliff arroyo

November 15, 2015

To put it another way, Bernie imagines that when Putin looks in the mirror, this is what he sees:

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The Dark Avenger

November 15, 2015

Better for local nations to handle their own affairs regionally, instead of us playing Uncle Sucker for the Saudis and the Turks. Let them ask for succor from Putin, and see how far it gets them.

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 15, 2015
  
  Yes, it’s better. According to us. But not according to them. These “local nations” don’t want to stay local. They don’t think it’s in their interest. These are free agents of their own lives who are not interested in what you, me or Bernie have decided is better for them. And shocking news: they often deeply resent Americans for these grandiose pronouncements about what’s better for them and for seeing them as “local.” Putin, for instance, detests this kind of thing.
  
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Stringer Bell

November 15, 2015

I’m perplexed that not one candidate raised the possibility of freezing the assets of these sheikhs and their families frolicking in the west. Thanks to wikileaks we know that the state department under Clinton knew that Saudi Arabia funds terror all around the world.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a39727/paris-attacks-middle-eastern-oligarchies/

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba – but the Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money, according to Hillary Clinton. “More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups,” says a secret December 2009 paper signed by the US secretary of state. Her memo urged US diplomats to redouble their efforts to stop Gulf money reaching extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,” she said. Three other Arab countries are listed as sources of militant money: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

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1. Clarissa
  
  November 15, 2015
  
  And then the Saudis will manipulate oil prices, wipe out the results of the US oil revolution, and create the kind of crisis for us that will make the Recession of 2008 look pleasant. What kind of a politician will risk all that just to annoy some sheikh?
  
  The only realistic way out of tolerating the Saudis is an alternative to oil. Everything else is a fantasy.
  
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  1. Stringer Bell
    
    November 15, 2015
    
    The US is not as heavily dependent on oil as it used to be. It has its own massive reserves. Of course, an alternative to oil would be ideal, but until then it’s not like the Saudis have that much leverage.
    
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-could-be-bankrupt-within-five-years-imf-predicts-a6706821.html
    
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    1. Stringer Bell
      
      November 15, 2015
      
      http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/saudi-wells-running-dry-of-water-spell-end-of-desert-wheat
      
      One of the largest aquifers on earth and these idiots pumped it dry in one generation. They can’t produce food anymore. Very soon, they might need the west more than the west needs them.
      
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    2. Stringer Bell
      
      November 15, 2015
      
      I meant the US is not heavily dependent on Saudi oil as it used to be.
      
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    3. Clarissa
      
      November 15, 2015
      
      The US is not dependent on the oil as much as it is dependent on the prices of oil. The Saudis have already shown what they can do to an oil-rich economy when they hit Russia last year with lowering oil prices. And they only lowered the prices by 50%.
      
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