Shut up already!
The State Department has a message for White House candidates wanting to expound on sensitive diplomatic issues: Shut up.
Apparently talking about what they may do once they're in office isn't helping diplomatic efforts overseas. When Obama ssaid that he would send troops into Pakistan with or without Musharraf's consent, I said that the domestic posturing of the US candidates may turn out to be the most dangerous threat of all to their foreign policy. It's kind of nice to know the US State Department agrees with me.
Of course, Obama's statement is the tamest of the current round of rhetoric. Hillary's refusal to rule out nuking Afghanistan or Pakistan is worse, and both pale to near irrelevance compared to Tancredo's threatening to wipe out Mecca and Medina, a long expressed wish of the nut-roots, and quite appropriately nuts. I'm sure that little speech is going to be very popular on the jihadist's version of YouTube for propaganda purposes.
But the warning is clear, all Presidential candidates should stop telling anyone what it is they plan to do about terrorism, how they will conduct diplomatic negotiations, or otherwise give any indication of what they will do internationally once they are elected to the most powerful political position on the planet. Apparently knowing these kinds of things could adversely affect the fine job the Bush Administration has been doing the last six and a half years.
From now on, all stupid and threatening comments about international affairs will be confined to their proper place, the Vice President's Office. Thank-you for your attention.
