Euskadi ta Askatasuna (Basque Fatherland and Liberty)
detonated a car bomb in Bilbao, killing one policeman, according to the Basque regional government.
ETA has been around for decades attempting to facilitate the creation of a Basque state in the Basque regions of Spain and France. They were quiet under the dictatorship of General Franco, but began to launch more attacks as the dictatorship fell and Basque regions were granted more freedom and autonomy. The lesson, apparently, is that the way to eliminate the terrorism of the ETA is to oppress the Basque people. I'd be willing to guess that that is not the lesson that the ETA would like people to take away, but that lesson seems simplest.
Iran's mullahs have
weighed in in favor of Ahmadinejad. Not that it matters. The president of Iran is a figure-head with actual authority vested in the mullahs and the supreme judicial council. What the mullahs' support means is that they view their interests best served by an apparent madman serving as their "president", rather than the "moderate". Likely this is an indication that their assessment of the "international community" is that the "community" is more likely to maintain a hands-off approach to Iran's nuclear ambitions if Iran is "led" by a holocaust denying/promising terrorist.
The pygmy kingdom continues to see just what they have to do to provoke a reaction. North Korea now intends to
launch a missile in the "direction" of Hawai'i. This missile will also pass over Japan.
I hate to say it, but VP Biden was right. Irresponsible members of the "international community" are testing their boundaries with a neophyte at the helm of the most powerful force for freedom in the world. The thing is, Pres Obama is not responding to it. Iran beats protesters with impunity--nothing. The PRC buzzes U.S. naval vessels--nothing. North Korea goes nuts on nuclear and missile tests--nothing.
I realize that the Administration is intent upon turning the United States into the United Socialist States of America, so his completely ignoring events having a direct impact on U.S. national security is, to some extent, understandable. I believe this is why Biden was placed on the ticket, however. Isn't VP Biden supposed to be the one dealing with distasteful national security issues?
The image best representing this administration is likely two-fold: fiddling while Rome burns and burying one's head in the sand.
The Administration is so intent on enacting its social engineering schemes that it fails to see that the debt being racked up will have to be paid for by someone; the debt of America will not be purchased indefinitely (we'll reach junk bond status if we keep on the road we're on); and the U.S. dollar is going to be seeing some massive inflationary pressures (when the government response to needing funds is simply printing more funds, we'll be using wheel-barrows to purchase loaves of bread before you know it).
Additionally, the Administration is operating under the delusion that "talking" is always the answer. It is not. Europe would not have been freed from the Nazis without force of arms. There are so many other examples it is pointless to list them. The point remains: military force and the threat thereof, is a vital tool of international diplomacy. Without a valid threat of military force, diplomacy is a non-starter the vast majority of the time. Diplomacy is a way of talking a nation around to a different definition of its national interests; persuasive arguments will not get the job done.