6 ms·

Could you elaborate, which wars did he start? (honest question)

by vichle 2y ago

ulkram 2y ago
"He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan." https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/
- vichle 2y ago
  Technically not the same thing but ironic/hypocritical nonetheless.
- medo-bear 2y ago
  nah no way. i thought obama kool https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIUm1E4OcI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIUm1E4OcI so you can arguably add ukraine crisis to that list
- sekai 2y ago
  > "He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan." https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ A bit different from "started a war".
  - YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago
    Just because those countries could not realistically engage in a war with the US, seeing as they lack the necessary technology. Obviously, if you shoot fish in a barrel you're not starting a war with the fish, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're doing much to advance peace with the fish.
  - mardifoufs 2y ago
    If someone launched an airstrike against the continental US, what exactly would that mean?
- varjag 2y ago
  So the Great War with Pakistan turns out to be checks notes the raid on OBL compound?
crossroadsguy 2y ago
Tangential to your question but not the premise of this subthread/post - he became president in Feb 2009 and got the award in October. I don't think he started any new wars, but he inherited some and continued. Anyway, the point here should be the absurdity of a lot of Nobel awards and that stands - especially in his case. I mean Trump was nominated for the award for fuck's sake! More than 2 or 3 times iirc. So anyway.
- matsemann 2y ago
  The Nobel peace prize is awarded by a different institution than the science ones. And there are hundreds of people that can nominate, doesn't mean that a nomination reflects anything upon the committee that awards the prize.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - simiones 2y ago
    Each of the Nobel prizes is awarded by a different committee from a different organization. The Nobel Peace prize was established at the same time and in the same way as the Literature, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Chemistry prizes (through Alfred Nobel's will). Of course, by its nature, it is the most political of the prizes. The only Nobel prize that is separate is the Economics one, which was established much later and has no connection to Alfred Nobel (it is paid for by Sweden's central bank instead of the Nobel estate). But even that one is administered by the same Nobel foundation.
- DiogenesKynikos 2y ago
  Obama intervened in the Libyan civil war. The outcome was disastrous for Libya (13 years of chaos and counting, the entrance of ISIS into Libya, the re-emergence of slavery in Libya, to name a few consequences). Obama blatantly violated the War Powers Act, which requires the President to seek Congressional approval for any war waged abroad after 60 days. The act was passed on the tail end of the Vietnam War, to prevent a repeat of things like Nixon invading Cambodia in secret. The US Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but that power is absolutely meaningless if the President can just wage war wherever he chooses without a declaration. Obama specifically won the Nobel Peace Prize for talking about his "vision of a world free from nuclear weapons" as a candidate. As President, he initiated a massive program to upgrade the US' nuclear arsenal. It made a complete mockery of the Nobel Peace Prize, though Kissinger also won the Nobel Peace Prize, so it's not as if the prize has any credibility anyways.
simiones 2y ago
In addition to the other replies, he is the only US president in modern history to explicitly authorize the assassination of a US citizen without a trial, and create a legal doctrine allowing future presidents to do so; and he was the major escalator of the use of drone strikes in war (the practice started with Bush, but it expanded many fold under Obama).
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- jay-barronville 2y ago
  > […] [Obama] is the only US president in modern history to explicitly authorize the assassination of a US citizen without a trial Just one of the many things Obama did that upsets me so much. The precedent he set with that is criminal. Of course I’m against terrorism, but our government MUST NOT have the right to classify Americans as terrorists and just execute them without a trial—via drone strikes! Most Americans likely don’t even know about what happened to the al-Awlaki’s, which is unfortunate.

Could you elaborate, which wars did he start? (honest question)

by vichle 2y ago

Could you elaborate, which wars did he start? (honest question)

"He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan." https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/

vichle 2y ago
Technically not the same thing but ironic/hypocritical nonetheless.
medo-bear 2y ago
nah no way. i thought obama kool https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIUm1E4OcI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIUm1E4OcI so you can arguably add ukraine crisis to that list
sekai 2y ago
> "He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan." https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-obama-at-war/ A bit different from "started a war".
- YeGoblynQueenne 2y ago
  Just because those countries could not realistically engage in a war with the US, seeing as they lack the necessary technology. Obviously, if you shoot fish in a barrel you're not starting a war with the fish, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're doing much to advance peace with the fish.
- mardifoufs 2y ago
  If someone launched an airstrike against the continental US, what exactly would that mean?
varjag 2y ago
So the Great War with Pakistan turns out to be checks notes the raid on OBL compound?

crossroadsguy 2y ago

Tangential to your question but not the premise of this subthread/post - he became president in Feb 2009 and got the award in October. I don't think he started any new wars, but he inherited some and continued. Anyway, the point here should be the absurdity of a lot of Nobel awards and that stands - especially in his case. I mean Trump was nominated for the award for fuck's sake! More than 2 or 3 times iirc. So anyway.

matsemann 2y ago
The Nobel peace prize is awarded by a different institution than the science ones. And there are hundreds of people that can nominate, doesn't mean that a nomination reflects anything upon the committee that awards the prize.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- simiones 2y ago
  Each of the Nobel prizes is awarded by a different committee from a different organization. The Nobel Peace prize was established at the same time and in the same way as the Literature, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Chemistry prizes (through Alfred Nobel's will). Of course, by its nature, it is the most political of the prizes. The only Nobel prize that is separate is the Economics one, which was established much later and has no connection to Alfred Nobel (it is paid for by Sweden's central bank instead of the Nobel estate). But even that one is administered by the same Nobel foundation.
DiogenesKynikos 2y ago
Obama intervened in the Libyan civil war. The outcome was disastrous for Libya (13 years of chaos and counting, the entrance of ISIS into Libya, the re-emergence of slavery in Libya, to name a few consequences). Obama blatantly violated the War Powers Act, which requires the President to seek Congressional approval for any war waged abroad after 60 days. The act was passed on the tail end of the Vietnam War, to prevent a repeat of things like Nixon invading Cambodia in secret. The US Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but that power is absolutely meaningless if the President can just wage war wherever he chooses without a declaration. Obama specifically won the Nobel Peace Prize for talking about his "vision of a world free from nuclear weapons" as a candidate. As President, he initiated a massive program to upgrade the US' nuclear arsenal. It made a complete mockery of the Nobel Peace Prize, though Kissinger also won the Nobel Peace Prize, so it's not as if the prize has any credibility anyways.

simiones 2y ago

In addition to the other replies, he is the only US president in modern history to explicitly authorize the assassination of a US citizen without a trial, and create a legal doctrine allowing future presidents to do so; and he was the major escalator of the use of drone strikes in war (the practice started with Bush, but it expanded many fold under Obama).

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
jay-barronville 2y ago
> […] [Obama] is the only US president in modern history to explicitly authorize the assassination of a US citizen without a trial Just one of the many things Obama did that upsets me so much. The precedent he set with that is criminal. Of course I’m against terrorism, but our government MUST NOT have the right to classify Americans as terrorists and just execute them without a trial—via drone strikes! Most Americans likely don’t even know about what happened to the al-Awlaki’s, which is unfortunate.