. May 13, 2007 SouthAmerica: It is mind-boggling to me that at this point of the chaos and a nasty sectarian civil war going on in âMess-o-potamiaâ â and Condoleezza Rice still is the Secretary of State of the United States. That says to the world very clearly that US foreign policy is in complete shambles and today it is no better than in any other âBanana Republicâ. Today the US Secretary of State Condi Rice does not command respect even in Zimbabwe, Africa â never mind the rest of the world. When everything is considered regarding US foreign policy - the only conclusion a rational person can arrive to is that the United States requires an immediate change of Secretary of State. The United States is away overdue for a change in that area. I doubt that former secretary of state James Baker would want to return to that job with everything spinning out of control in the Middle East. He is too old for the job anyway. The Republican Party should tell George W. Bush that it is time for him to fire Condi Rice and replace her with a âReal Secretary of State.â. My first choice as the new Secretary of State would be General Anthony Zinni **** I posted the following on this forum on July 29, 2006 SouthAmerica: Here is a short biography of General Zinni. He has a few more credentials for the job of US Secretary of State than Condi Rice. If you remember when Condi Rice was promoted to US secretary of state some of her credentials were: 1) Very good concert pianist 2) Very good ice skater and so on⦠No wonder she has a job that is away above her head. I donât think she will be able to play the piano or ice skate her way out of the Middle East mess. In my opinion, General Zinni would be a better choice for US Secretary of State to handle US foreign policy on this time of major crisis. ********** Short Bio: General Anthony Zinni General Zinni joined the Marine Corps in 1961 and was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant in 1965 upon graduation from Villanova University. He has held numerous command and staff assignments that include platoon, company, battalion, regimental, Marine expeditionary unit, and Marine expeditionary force command. His staff assignments included service in operations, training, special operations, counter-terrorism and manpower billets. He has also been a tactics and operations instructor at several Marine Corps schools and was selected as a fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group. General Zinni's joint assignments include command of a joint task force and a unified command. He has also had several joint and combined staff billets at task force and unified command levels His military service has taken him to over 70 countries including deployments to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Western Pacific, Northern Europe and Korea. He has also served tours in Okinawa and Germany. His operational experiences include two tours in Vietnam, emergency relief and security operations in the Philippines, Operation Provide Comfort in Turkey and northern Iraq, Operation Provide Hope in the former Soviet Union, Operations Restore Hope, Continue Hope, and United Shield in Somalia, Operations Resolute Response and Noble Response in. Kenya, Operations Desert Thunder, Desert Fox, Desert Viper, Desert Spring, Southern Watch and the Maritime Intercept Operations in the Persian Gulf, and Operation Infinite Reach against terrorist targets in the Central Region. He was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Proven Force and Operation Patriot Defender in support of the Gulf War and noncombatant evacuation operations in Liberia, Zaire, Sierra Leone, and Eritrea. He has also participated in presidential diplomatic missions to Somalia, Pakistan, and Ethiopia-Eritrea and State Department missions involving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and conflicts in Indonesia and the Philippines. He has attended numerous military schools and courses including the Army Special Warfare School, the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and National War College. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Villanova University, a master's in international relations from Salvae Regina College, a master's degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University, and honorary doctorateâs from William and Mary College and the Maine Maritime academy. General Zinni's awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and gold star, the Purple Heart; the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star-, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" and gold star; the Navy Achievement Medal with gold star; the Combat Action Ribbon; and personal decorations from South Vietnam, France, Italy, Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen, and Bahrain. He also holds 36 unit, service, and campaign awards. His civilian awards include the Papal Gold Cross of Honor, the Union Leagueâs Abraham Lincoln Award, the Italic Studies Instituteâs Global Peace Award, the Distinguished Sea Service Award from the Naval Order of the United States, the Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Chapman Award from the Marine Corps University Foundation, the Penn Club Award, the Marconi Award from the Order Sons of Italy of America, the St. Thomas of Villanova Alumni Medal, the George P. Shultz Award for Public Service from the U.S. State Department, and the UNICO Grand Patriot Award. He currently holds positions on several boards of directors and advisors of major U.S. companies and non-profit organizations. In addition he has held academic positions that include the Stanley Chair in Ethics at the Virginia Military Institute, the Nimitz Chair at the University of California-Berkeley, the Hofheimer Chair at the Joint Forces Staff College, the Harriman Professor of Government appointment and membership on the board of the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary, the board of Villanova Universityâs Center for Responsible Leadership and Governance, and the Weissberg Chair in International Studies at Beloit College. He has worked with the University of Californiaâs Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva. He is President of UCLAâs Center for Middle East Development. He is also a Distinguished Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an Honorary Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also been appointed by the Governor as a member of the Virginia Commission on Military Bases. General Zinni has co-authored a New York Times best selling book with Tom Clancy about his career, Battle Ready. He recently co-authored a book with Tony Koltz, The Battle for Peace: A Frontline Vision of America's Power and Purpose, analysis of America's current global position. .
. May 14, 2007 SouthAmerica: If today the position of US secretary of state is part of a government racial quota system that applies to the top US government positions - then all they have to do to accommodate and meet that requirement is to ask General Anthony Zinni to wear an âoversized black Afro-Wigâ at all times - if he decides to accept the responsibility of being the new US Secretary of State. .
. May 15, 2007 SouthAmerica: The good news is that the Soviet Union is Condi Riceâs area of supposed expertise. Just imagine if she was not an expert on that area. Another job well done by the Bush administration: this administration has managed to return the United States even to the old "cold war" with the Russians. It will be interesting if China and Russia decide to start a space arms race with the United States. China and Russia have the money to finance such an endeavor but the USâ¦.. The US has $ 10 trillion dollars in outstanding government cumulative debt. Plus trillions in liabilities just started coming due regarding the expenses related to taking care of the baby boom generation. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost trillions of US dollars in the coming years. The defense department will need to invest hundreds of billions of dollars to replace all its armament that is being annihilated in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who will finance a space arms race of the United States in the future? The US economy will not have the cash flow necessary to pay even the bills that are coming due. Never mind having the extra money necessary to keep up with a new space arms race with the Russians and China. ********* âRice denies new "Cold War" between U.S., Russiaâ Chinaview - May 15, 2007 BEIJING, May 15 -- The US Secretary of State has acknowledged that the country's relations with Russia have hit a difficult period. But Condoleezza Rice maintains that tensions fall far short of a new Cold War. Rice arrived in Moscow on Monday ahead of high-level meetings with senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin. Relations between the two countries have become strained over major policy differences on several issues. They include US plans for a missile defense system in eastern Europe, and Russian threats to suspend a major military treaty, and oppose a UN plan for Kosovo's independence. But Rice says she is prepared for intensive diplomacy and that Washington is committed to working through its differences with Moscow. (Source: CCTV.com) .
. May 16, 2007 SouthAmerica: I donât know why the Russians are so angry about the following: âOn those issues the sides remained apart. âRussia confirmed its position on the antimissile shield,â Mr. Lavrov said, signaling that the Kremlin still distrusted the proposal, which would put missile interceptors in Poland and a supporting radar network in the Czech Republic. The Bush administration insists that the system is a necessary part of a network it is developing to keep pace with evolving missile threats from Iran and North Korea. Ms. Rice reiterated American plans to install the system over Russian objections.â Thereâs a very easy and obvious solution for that problem. And it is no big deal. The Russians should allow the United States to build its antimissile shield in Poland and Czech Republic. And in the other hand the United States should allow the Russians to build a similar antimissile shield system in Cuba, and in Venezuela. Problem solved and everybody is happy. ********** âAfter Rice and Putin Meet, Russia Agrees to Soften Languageâ By C. J. CHIVERS Published: May 16, 2007 The New York Times MOSCOW, May 15 â Russia agreed Tuesday to tone down the harsh language its senior officials have used against the United States in recent months, but the two countries remained at an impasse on several issues that have strained relations. The agreement to soften their public discourse was announced by the Kremlin after a meeting outside the capital between President Vladimir V. Putin and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and seemed to signal a restoration of state cordiality in the face of lingering disagreements. Ms. Riceâs two-day visit followed remarks by Mr. Putin on Red Square on May 9 that appeared to compare the United States to the Third Reich, the most severe of several such criticisms from him in his second term. After the meeting, Ms. Rice told reporters that while she had not discussed the Third Reich comment directly with Mr. Putin, she had raised the issue of tone and pointed out that President Bush had refrained from strong public criticism of Russia. â¦Relations between the countries have suffered in part from disputes over an American plan to install a missile defense system in Europe and over Russiaâs resistance to an American-backed plan to give effective independence to Kosovo. On those issues the sides remained apart. âRussia confirmed its position on the antimissile shield,â Mr. Lavrov said, signaling that the Kremlin still distrusted the proposal, which would put missile interceptors in Poland and a supporting radar network in the Czech Republic. The Bush administration insists that the system is a necessary part of a network it is developing to keep pace with evolving missile threats from Iran and North Korea. Ms. Rice reiterated American plans to install the system over Russian objections. âThe United States needs to be able to move forward to use technology to defend itself, and weâre going to do that,â she said, adding that the United States would not give a foreign country a âvetoâ on its national security interests. How much risk the plan poses to long-term relations is not clear, because the missile defense system will take years to install, meaning its fate will rest with a future American administration. The two sides also reported little progress on the status of Kosovo, the Serbian province under United Nations administration. Russia opposes a plan to grant Kosovo a form of independence under European Union supervision, and has suggested that it might veto it at the United Nations. â¦Recent use of American military power has been a potent theme in Russia, and Mr. Putin gave a searing speech in Munich in February in which he excoriated the United States for its handling of the Iraq war, for backing NATO expansion to Russiaâs border and for what he called risking a new arms race with its missile defense plans. Ms. Rice was conciliatory, saying the United States was willing to consult with Russia on foreign policy matters to minimize misunderstandings. âIf there are concerns about how the United States has and is continuing to exercise power, we can have that conversation,â she said. âAnd weâre not offended by it.â But she remained inflexible on efforts to expand relations with countries that had gained independence from the former Soviet Union, saying that the United States was a global power and it was normal for it to seek relations in any region. Although Mr. Bush has said he prefers not to criticize Russia in public, Ms. Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney have strongly criticized Russia for its near absence of political pluralism and for what the West perceives as the use of its energy resources to punish countries that fall from the Kremlinâs favorâ¦. .