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Mar 20, 2018 | www.counterpunch.org
The war on Iraq won't be remembered for how it was waged so much as for how it was sold. It was a propaganda war, a war of perception management, where loaded phrases, such as "weapons of mass destruction" and "rogue state" were hurled like precision weapons at the target audience: us.
To understand the Iraq war you don't need to consult generals, but the spin doctors and PR flacks who stage-managed the countdown to war from the murky corridors of Washington where politics, corporate spin and psy-ops spooks cohabit.
Consider the picaresque journey of Tony Blair's plagiarized dossier on Iraq, from a grad student's website to a cut-and-paste job in the prime minister's bombastic speech to the House of Commons. Blair, stubborn and verbose, paid a price for his grandiose puffery. Bush, who looted whole passages from Blair's speech for his own clumsy presentations, has skated freely through the tempest. Why?
Unlike Blair, the Bush team never wanted to present a legal case for war. They had no interest in making any of their allegations about Iraq hold up to a standard of proof. The real effort was aimed at amping up the mood for war by using the psychology of fear.
Facts were never important to the Bush team. They were disposable nuggets that could be discarded at will and replaced by whatever new rationale that played favorably with their polls and focus groups. The war was about weapons of mass destruction one week, al-Qaeda the next. When neither allegation could be substantiated on the ground, the fall back position became the mass graves (many from the Iran/Iraq war where the U.S.A. backed Iraq) proving that Saddam was an evil thug who deserved to be toppled. The motto of the Bush PR machine was: Move on. Don't explain. Say anything to conceal the perfidy behind the real motives for war. Never look back. Accuse the questioners of harboring unpatriotic sensibilities. Eventually, even the cagey Wolfowitz admitted that the official case for war was made mainly to make the invasion palatable, not to justify it.
The Bush claque of neocon hawks viewed the Iraq war as a product and, just like a new pair of Nikes, it required a roll-out campaign to soften up the consumers. The same techniques (and often the same PR gurus) that have been used to hawk cigarettes, SUVs and nuclear waste dumps were deployed to retail the Iraq war. To peddle the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell and company recruited public relations gurus into top-level jobs at the Pentagon and the State Department. These spinmeisters soon had more say over how the rationale for war on Iraq should be presented than intelligence agencies and career diplomats. If the intelligence didn't fit the script, it was shaded, retooled or junked.
Take Charlotte Beers whom Powell picked as undersecretary of state in the post-9/11 world. Beers wasn't a diplomat. She wasn't even a politician. She was a grand diva of spin, known on the business and gossip pages as "the queen of Madison Avenue." On the strength of two advertising campaigns, one for Uncle Ben's Rice and another for Head and Shoulder's dandruff shampoo, Beers rocketed to the top of the heap in the PR world, heading two giant PR houses: Ogilvy and Mathers as well as J. Walter Thompson.
At the State Department Beers, who had met Powell in 1995 when they both served on the board of Gulf Airstream, worked at, in Powell's words, "the branding of U.S. foreign policy." She extracted more than $500 million from Congress for her Brand America campaign, which largely focused on beaming U.S. propaganda into the Muslim world, much of it directed at teens.
"Public diplomacy is a vital new arm in what will combat terrorism over time," said Beers. "All of a sudden we are in this position of redefining who America is, not only for ourselves, but for the outside world." Note the rapt attention Beers pays to the manipulation of perception, as opposed, say, to alterations of U.S. policy.
Old-fashioned diplomacy involves direct communication between representatives of nations, a conversational give and take, often fraught with deception (see April Glaspie), but an exchange nonetheless. Public diplomacy, as defined by Beers, is something else entirely. It's a one-way street, a unilateral broadcast of American propaganda directly to the public, domestic and international, a kind of informational carpet-bombing.
The themes of her campaigns were as simplistic and flimsy as a Bush press conference. The American incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq were all about bringing the balm of "freedom" to oppressed peoples. Hence, the title of the U.S. war: Operation Iraqi Freedom, where cruise missiles were depicted as instruments of liberation. Bush himself distilled the Beers equation to its bizarre essence: "This war is about peace."
Beers quietly resigned her post a few weeks before the first volley of tomahawk missiles battered Baghdad. From her point of view, the war itself was already won, the fireworks of shock and awe were all after play.
Over at the Pentagon, Donald Rumsfeld drafted Victoria "Torie" Clarke as his director of public affairs. Clarke knew the ropes inside the Beltway. Before becoming Rumsfeld's mouthpiece, she had commanded one of the world's great parlors for powerbrokers: Hill and Knowlton's D.C. office.
Almost immediately upon taking up her new gig, Clarke convened regular meetings with a select group of Washington's top private PR specialists and lobbyists to develop a marketing plan for the Pentagon's forthcoming terror wars. The group was filled with heavy-hitters and was strikingly bipartisan in composition. She called it the Rumsfeld Group and it included PR executive Sheila Tate, columnist Rich Lowry, and Republican political consultant Rich Galen.
The brain trust also boasted top Democratic fixer Tommy Boggs, brother of NPR's Cokie Roberts and son of the late Congressman Hale Boggs of Louisiana. At the very time Boggs was conferring with top Pentagon brass on how to frame the war on terror, he was also working feverishly for the royal family of Saudi Arabia. In 2002 alone, the Saudis paid his Qorvis PR firm $20.2 million to protect its interests in Washington. In the wake of hostile press coverage following the exposure of Saudi links to the 9/11 hijackers, the royal family needed all the well-placed help it could buy. They seem to have gotten their money's worth. Boggs' felicitous influence-peddling may help to explain why the references to Saudi funding of al-Qaeda were dropped from the recent congressional report on the investigation into intelligence failures and 9/11.
According to the trade publication PR Week, the Rumsfeld Group sent "messaging advice" to the Pentagon. The group told Clarke and Rumsfeld that in order to get the American public to buy into the war on terrorism, they needed to suggest a link to nation states, not just nebulous groups such as al-Qaeda. In other words, there needed to be a fixed target for the military campaigns, some distant place to drop cruise missiles and cluster bombs. They suggested the notion (already embedded in Rumsfeld's mind) of playing up the notion of so-called rogue states as the real masters of terrorism. Thus was born the Axis of Evil, which, of course, wasn't an "axis" at all, since two of the states, Iran and Iraq, hated each other, and neither had anything at all to do with the third, North Korea.
Tens of millions in federal money were poured into private public relations and media firms working to craft and broadcast the Bush dictat that Saddam had to be taken out before the Iraqi dictator blew up the world by dropping chemical and nuclear bombs from long-range drones. Many of these PR executives and image consultants were old friends of the high priests in the Bush inner sanctum. Indeed, they were veterans, like Cheney and Powell, of the previous war against Iraq, another engagement that was more spin than combat .
At the top of the list was John Rendon, head of the D.C. firm, the Rendon Group. Rendon is one of Washington's heaviest hitters, a Beltway fixer who never let political affiliation stand in the way of an assignment. Rendon served as a media consultant for Michael Dukakis and Jimmy Carter, as well as Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Whenever the Pentagon wanted to go to war, he offered his services at a price. During Desert Storm, Rendon pulled in $100,000 a month from the Kuwaiti royal family. He followed this up with a $23 million contract from the CIA to produce anti-Saddam propaganda in the region.
As part of this CIA project, Rendon created and named the Iraqi National Congress and tapped his friend Ahmed Chalabi, the shady financier, to head the organization.
Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon handed the Rendon Group another big assignment: public relations for the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. Rendon was also deeply involved in the planning and public relations for the pre-emptive war on Iraq, though both Rendon and the Pentagon refuse to disclose the details of the group's work there.
But it's not hard to detect the manipulative hand of Rendon behind many of the Iraq war's signature events, including the toppling of the Saddam statue (by U.S. troops and Chalabi associates) and videotape of jubilant Iraqis waving American flags as the Third Infantry rolled by them. Rendon had pulled off the same stunt in the first Gulf War, handing out American flags to Kuwaitis and herding the media to the orchestrated demonstration. "Where do you think they got those American flags?" clucked Rendon in 1991. "That was my assignment."
The Rendon Group may also have had played a role in pushing the phony intelligence that has now come back to haunt the Bush administration. In December of 2002, Robert Dreyfuss reported that the inner circle of the Bush White House preferred the intelligence coming from Chalabi and his associates to that being proffered by analysts at the CIA.
So Rendon and his circle represented a new kind of off-the-shelf PSYOPs , the privatization of official propaganda. "I am not a national security strategist or a military tactician," said Rendon. "I am a politician, and a person who uses communication to meet public policy or corporate policy objectives. In fact, I am an information warrior and a perception manager."
What exactly, is perception management? The Pentagon defines it this way: "actions to convey and/or deny selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives and objective reasoning." In other words, lying about the intentions of the U.S. government. In a rare display of public frankness, the Pentagon actually let slip its plan (developed by Rendon) to establish a high-level den inside the Department Defense for perception management. They called it the Office of Strategic Influence and among its many missions was to plant false stories in the press.
Nothing stirs the corporate media into outbursts of pious outrage like an official government memo bragging about how the media are manipulated for political objectives. So the New York Times and Washington Post threw indignant fits about the Office of Strategic Influence; the Pentagon shut down the operation, and the press gloated with satisfaction on its victory. Yet, Rumsfeld told the Pentagon press corps that while he was killing the office, the same devious work would continue. "You can have the corpse," said Rumsfeld. "You can have the name. But I'm going to keep doing every single thing that needs to be done. And I have."
At a diplomatic level, despite the hired guns and the planted stories, this image war was lost. It failed to convince even America's most fervent allies and dependent client states that Iraq posed much of a threat. It failed to win the blessing of the U.N. and even NATO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Washington. At the end of the day, the vaunted coalition of the willing consisted of Britain, Spain, Italy, Australia, and a cohort of former Soviet bloc nations. Even so, the citizens of the nations that cast their lot with the U.S.A. overwhelmingly opposed the war.
Domestically, it was a different story. A population traumatized by terror threats and shattered economy became easy prey for the saturation bombing of the Bush message that Iraq was a terrorist state linked to al-Qaeda that was only minutes away from launching attacks on America with weapons of mass destruction.
Americans were the victims of an elaborate con job, pelted with a daily barrage of threat inflation, distortions, deceptions and lies, not about tactics or strategy or war plans, but about justifications for war. The lies were aimed not at confusing Saddam's regime, but the American people. By the start of the war, 66 per cent of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 and 79 per cent thought he was close to having a nuclear weapon.
Of course, the closest Saddam came to possessing a nuke was a rusting gas centrifuge buried for 13 years in the garden of Mahdi Obeidi, a retired Iraqi scientist. Iraq didn't have any functional chemical or biological weapons. In fact, it didn't even possess any SCUD missiles, despite erroneous reports fed by Pentagon PR flacks alleging that it had fired SCUDs into Kuwait.
This charade wouldn't have worked without a gullible or a complicit press corps. Victoria Clarke, who developed the Pentagon plan for embedded reports, put it succinctly a few weeks before the war began: "Media coverage of any future operation will to a large extent shape public perception."
During the Vietnam War, TV images of maimed GIs and napalmed villages suburbanized opposition to the war and helped hasten the U.S. withdrawal. The Bush gang meant to turn the Vietnam phenomenon on its head by using TV as a force to propel the U.S.A. into a war that no one really wanted.
What the Pentagon sought was a new kind of living room war, where instead of photos of mangled soldiers and dead Iraqi kids, they could control the images Americans viewed and to a large extent the content of the stories. By embedding reporters inside selected divisions, Clarke believed the Pentagon could count on the reporters to build relationships with the troops and to feel dependent on them for their own safety. It worked, naturally. One reporter for a national network trembled on camera that the U.S. Army functioned as "our protectors." The late David Bloom of NBC confessed on the air that he was willing to do "anything and everything they can ask of us."
When the Pentagon needed a heroic story, the press obliged. Jessica Lynch became the war's first instant celebrity. Here was a neo-gothic tale of a steely young woman wounded in a fierce battle, captured and tortured by ruthless enemies, and dramatically saved from certain death by a team of selfless rescuers, knights in camo and night-vision goggles. Of course, nearly every detail of her heroic adventure proved to be as fictive and maudlin as any made-for-TV-movie. But the ordeal of Private Lynch, which dominated the news for more than a week, served its purpose: to distract attention from a stalled campaign that was beginning to look at lot riskier than the American public had been hoodwinked into believing.
The Lynch story was fed to the eager press by a Pentagon operation called Combat Camera, the Army network of photographers, videographers and editors that sends 800 photos and 25 video clips a day to the media. The editors at Combat Camera carefully culled the footage to present the Pentagon's montage of the war, eliding such unsettling images as collateral damage, cluster bombs, dead children and U.S. soldiers, napalm strikes and disgruntled troops.
"A lot of our imagery will have a big impact on world opinion," predicted Lt. Jane Larogue, director of Combat Camera in Iraq. She was right. But as the hot war turned into an even hotter occupation, the Pentagon, despite airy rhetoric from occupation supremo Paul Bremer about installing democratic institutions such as a free press, moved to tighten its monopoly on the flow images out of Iraq. First, it tried to shut down Al Jazeera, the Arab news channel. Then the Pentagon intimated that it would like to see all foreign TV news crews banished from Baghdad.
Few newspapers fanned the hysteria about the threat posed by Saddam's weapons of mass destruction as sedulously as did the Washington Post. In the months leading up to the war, the Post's pro-war op-eds outnumbered the anti-war columns by a 3-to-1 margin.
Back in 1988, the Post felt much differently about Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction. When reports trickled out about the gassing of Iranian troops, the Washington Post's editorial page shrugged off the massacres, calling the mass poisonings "a quirk of war."
The Bush team displayed a similar amnesia. When Iraq used chemical weapons in grisly attacks on Iran, the U.S. government not only didn't object, it encouraged Saddam. Anything to punish Iran was the message coming from the White House. Donald Rumsfeld himself was sent as President Ronald Reagan's personal envoy to Baghdad. Rumsfeld conveyed the bold message than an Iraq defeat would be viewed as a "strategic setback for the United States." This sleazy alliance was sealed with a handshake caught on videotape. When CNN reporter Jamie McIntyre replayed the footage for Rumsfeld in the spring of 2003, the secretary of defense snapped, "Where'd you get that? Iraqi television?"
The current crop of Iraq hawks also saw Saddam much differently then. Take the writer Laura Mylroie, sometime colleague of the New York Times' Judy Miller, who persists in peddling the ludicrous conspiracy that Iraq was behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
How times have changed! In 1987, Mylroie felt downright cuddly toward Saddam. She wrote an article for the New Republic titled "Back Iraq: Time for a U.S. Tilt in the Mideast," arguing that the U.S. should publicly embrace Saddam's secular regime as a bulwark against the Islamic fundamentalists in Iran. The co-author of this mesmerizing weave of wonkery was none other than Daniel Pipes, perhaps the nation's most bellicose Islamophobe. "The American weapons that Iraq could make good use of include remotely scatterable and anti-personnel mines and counterartillery radar," wrote Mylroie and Pipes. "The United States might also consider upgrading intelligence it is supplying Baghdad."
In the rollout for the war, Mylroie seemed to be everywhere hawking the invasion of Iraq. She would often appear on two or three different networks in the same day. How did the reporter manage this feat? She had help in the form of Eleana Benador, the media placement guru who runs Benador Associates. Born in Peru, Benador parlayed her skills as a linguist into a lucrative career as media relations whiz for the Washington foreign policy elite. She also oversees the Middle East Forum, a fanatically pro-Zionist white paper mill. Her clients include some of the nation's most fervid hawks, including Michael Ledeen, Charles Krauthammer, Al Haig, Max Boot, Daniel Pipes, Richard Perle, and Judy Miller. During the Iraq war, Benador's assignment was to embed this squadron of pro-war zealots into the national media, on talk shows, and op-ed pages.
Benador not only got them the gigs, she also crafted the theme and made sure they all stayed on message. "There are some things, you just have to state them in a different way, in a slightly different way," said Benador. "If not, people get scared." Scared of intentions of their own government.
It could have been different. All of the holes in the Bush administration's gossamer case for war were right there for the mainstream press to expose. Instead, the U.S. press, just like the oil companies, sought to commercialize the Iraq war and profit from the invasions. They didn't want to deal with uncomfortable facts or present voices of dissent.
Nothing sums up this unctuous approach more brazenly than MSNBC's firing of liberal talk show host Phil Donahue on the eve of the war. The network replaced the Donahue Show with a running segment called Countdown: Iraq, featuring the usual nightly coterie of retired generals, security flacks, and other cheerleaders for invasion. The network's executives blamed the cancellation on sagging ratings. In fact, during its run Donahue's show attracted more viewers than any other program on the network. The real reason for the pre-emptive strike on Donahue was spelled out in an internal memo from anxious executives at NBC. Donahue, the memo said, offered "a difficult face for NBC in a time of war. He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives."
The memo warned that Donahue's show risked tarring MSNBC as an unpatriotic network, "a home for liberal anti-war agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity." So, with scarcely a second thought, the honchos at MSNBC gave Donahue the boot and hoisted the battle flag.
It's war that sells.
There's a helluva caveat, of course. Once you buy it, the merchants of war accept no returns.
This essay is adapted from Grand Theft Pentagon.
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Aug 05, 2018 | www.unz.com
I recently published a couple of long essays, and although they primarily focused on other matters, the subject of anti-Semitism was a strong secondary theme. In that regard, I mentioned my shock at discovering a dozen or more years ago that several of the most self-evidently absurd elements of anti-Semitic lunacy, which I had always dismissed without consideration, were probably correct. It does seem likely that a significant number of traditionally-religious Jews did indeed occasionally commit the ritual murder of Christian children in order to use their blood in certain religious ceremonies, and also that powerful Jewish international bankers did play a large role in financing the establishment of Bolshevik Russia .
When one discovers that matters of such enormous moment not only apparently occurred but that they had been successfully excluded from nearly all of our histories and media coverage for most of the last one hundred years, the implications take some time to properly digest. If the most extreme "anti-Semitic canards" were probably true, then surely the whole notion of anti-Semitism warrants a careful reexamination.
All of us obtain our knowledge of the world by two different channels. Some things we discover from our own personal experiences and the direct evidence of our senses, but most information comes to us via external sources such as books and the media, and a crisis may develop when we discover that these two pathways are in sharp conflict. The official media of the old USSR used to endlessly trumpet the tremendous achievements of its collectivized agricultural system, but when citizens noticed that there was never any meat in their shops, "Pravda" became a watchword for "Lies" rather than "Truth."
Now consider the notion of "anti-Semitism." Google searches for that word and its close variants reveal over 24 million hits, and over the years I'm sure I've seen that term tens of thousands of times in my books and newspapers, and heard it endlessly reported in my electronic media and entertainment. But thinking it over, I'm not sure that I can ever recall a single real-life instance I've personally encountered, nor have I heard of almost any such cases from my friends or acquaintances. Indeed, the only persons I've ever come across making such claims were individuals who bore unmistakable signs of serious psychological imbalance. When the daily newspapers are brimming with lurid tales of hideous demons walking among us and attacking people on every street corner, but you yourself have never actually seen one, you may gradually grow suspicious.
Indeed, over the years some of my own research has uncovered a sharp contrast between image and reality. As recently as the late 1990s, leading mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times were still denouncing a top Ivy League school such as Princeton for the supposed anti-Semitism of its college admissions policy, but a few years ago when I carefully investigated that issue in quantitative terms for my lengthy Meritocracy analysis I was very surprised to reach a polar-opposite conclusion. According to the best available evidence, white Gentiles were over 90% less likely to be enrolled at Harvard and the other Ivies than were Jews of similar academic performance, a truly remarkable finding. If the situation had been reversed and Jews were 90% less likely to be found at Harvard than seemed warranted by their test scores, surely that fact would be endlessly cited as the absolute smoking-gun proof of horrendous anti-Semitism in present-day America.
It has also become apparent that a considerable fraction of what passes for "anti-Semitism" these days seems to stretch that term beyond all recognition. A few weeks ago an unknown 28-year-old Democratic Socialist named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez scored a stunning upset primary victory over a top House Democrat in New York City, and naturally received a blizzard of media coverage as a result. However, when it came out that she had denounced the Israeli government for its recent massacre of over 140 unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, cries of "anti-Semite" soon appeared, and according to Google there are now over 180,000 such hits combining her name and that harsh accusatory term. Similarly, just a few days ago the New York Times ran a major story reporting that all of Britain's Jewish newspapers had issued an "unprecedented" denunciation of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, describing it as an "existential threat" to the Jewish community for the anti-Semitism it was fostering; but this apparently amounted to nothing more than its willingness to sharply criticize the Israeli government for its long mistreatment of the Palestinians.
One plausible explanation of the strange contrast between media coverage and reality might be that anti-Semitism once did loom very large in real life, but dissipated many decades ago, while the organizations and activists focused on detecting and combating that pernicious problem have remained in place, generating public attention based on smaller and smaller issues, with the zealous Jewish activists of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) representing a perfect example of this situation. As an even more striking illustration, the Second World War ended over seventy years ago, but what historian Norman Finkelstein has so aptly labeled "the Holocaust Industry" has grown ever larger and more entrenched in our academic and media worlds so that scarcely a day passes without one or more articles relating to that topic appearing in my major morning newspapers. Given this situation, a serious exploration of the true nature of anti-Semitism should probably avoid the mere media phantoms of today and focus on the past, when the condition might still have been widespread in daily life.
Many observers have pointed to the aftermath of the Second World War as marking a huge watershed in the public acceptability of anti-Semitism both in America and Europe, so perhaps a proper appraisal of that cultural phenomenon should focus on the years before that global conflict. However, the overwhelming role of Jews in the Bolshevik Revolution and other bloody Communist seizures of power quite naturally made them objects of considerable fear and hatred throughout the inter-war years, so the safest course might be to push that boundary back a little further and confine our attention to the period prior to the outbreak of the First World War. The pogroms in Czarist Russia, the Dreyfus Affair in France, and the lynching of Leo Frank in the American South come to mind as some of the most famous examples from that period.
Lindemann's discussion of the often difficult relations between Russia's restive Jewish minority and its huge Slavic majority is also quite interesting, and he provides numerous instances in which major incidents, supposedly demonstrating the enormously strong appeal of vicious anti-Semitism, were quite different than has been suggested by the legend. The famous Kishinev Pogrom of 1903 was obviously the result of severe ethnic tension in that city, but contrary to the regular accusations of later writers, there seems absolutely no evidence of high-level government involvement, and the widespread claims of 700 dead that so horrified the entire world were grossly exaggerated, with only 45 killed in the urban rioting. Chaim Weizmann, the future president of Israel, later promoted the story that he himself and some other brave Jewish souls had personally defended their people with revolvers in hand even as they saw the mutilated bodies of 80 Jewish victims. This account was totally fictional since Weizmann happened to have been be hundreds of miles away when the riots occurred.
Although a tendency to lie and exaggerate was hardly unique to the political partisans of Russian Jewry, the existence of a powerful international network of Jewish journalists and Jewish-influenced media outlets ensured that such concocted propaganda stories might receive enormous worldwide distribution, while the truth followed far behind, if at all.
For related reasons, international outrage was often focused on the legal confinement of most of Russia's Jews to the "Pale of Settlement," suggesting some sort of tight imprisonment; but that area was the traditional home of the Jewish population and encompassed a landmass almost as large as France and Spain combined. The growing impoverishment of Eastern European Jews during that era was often assumed to be a consequence of hostile government policy, but the obvious explanation was extraordinary Jewish fecundity, which far outstripped that of their Slavic fellow countrymen, and quickly led them to outgrow the available spots in any of their traditional "middleman" occupations, a situation worsened by their total disinclination to engage in agriculture or other primary-producer activities. Jewish communities expressed horror at the risk of losing their sons to the Czarist military draft, but this was simply the flip-side of the full Russian citizenship they had been granted, and no different from what was faced by their non-Jewish neighbors.
Certainly the Jews of Russia suffered greatly from widespread riots and mob attacks in the generation prior to World War I, and these did sometimes have substantial government encouragement, especially in the aftermath of the very heavy Jewish role in the 1905 Revolution. But we should keep in mind that a Jewish plotter had been implicated in the killing of Czar Alexander II, and Jewish assassins had also struck down several top Russian ministers and numerous other government officials. If the last decade or two had seen American Muslims assassinate a sitting U.S. President, various leading Cabinet members, and a host of our other elected and appointed officials, surely the position of Muslims in this country would have become a very uncomfortable one.
As Lindemann candidly describes the tension between Russia's very rapidly growing Jewish population and its governing authorities, he cannot avoid mentioning the notorious Jewish reputation for bribery, corruption, and general dishonesty, with numerous figures of all political backgrounds noting that the remarkable Jewish propensity to commit perjury in the courtroom led to severe problems in the effective administration of justice. The eminent American sociologist E.A. Ross, writing in 1913, characterized the regular behavior of Eastern European Jews in very similar terms .
Lindemann also allocates a short chapter to discussing the 1911 Beilis Affair, in which a Ukrainian Jew was accused of the ritual murder of a young Gentile boy, an incident that generated a great deal of international attention and controversy. Based on the evidence presented, the defendant seems likely to have been innocent, although the obvious lies he repeatedly told police interrogators hardly helped foster that impression, and "the system worked" in that he was ultimately found innocent by the jurors at his trial. However, a few pages are also given to a much less well-known ritual murder case in late 19th century Hungary, in which the evidence of Jewish guilt seemed far stronger, though the author hardly accepted the possible reality of such an outlandish crime. Such reticence was quite understandable since the publication of Ariel Toaff's remarkable volume on the subject was still a dozen years in the future.
Lindemann subsequently expanded his examination of historical anti-Semitism into a much broader treatment, Esau's Tears , which appeared in 1997. In this volume, he added comparative studies of the social landscape in Germany, Britain, Italy, and several other European countries, and demonstrated that the relationship between Jews and non-Jews varied greatly across different locations and time periods. But although I found his analysis quite useful and interesting, the extraordinarily harsh attacks his text provoked from some outraged Jewish academics seemed even more intriguing.
For example, Judith Laikin Elkin opened her discussion in The American Historical Review by describing the book as a "545-page polemic" a strange characterization of a book so remarkably even-handed and factually-based in its scholarship. Writing in Commentary , Robert Wistrich was even harsher, stating that merely reading the book had been a painful experience for him, and his review seemed filled with spittle-flecked rage. Unless these individuals had somehow gotten copies of a different book, I found their attitudes simply astonishing.
I was not alone in such a reaction. Richard S. Levy of the University of Illinois, a noted scholar of anti-Semitism, expressed amazement at Wistrich's seemingly irrational outburst, while Paul Gottfried, writing in Chronicles , mildly suggested that Lindemann had "touched raw nerves." Indeed, Gottfried's own evaluation quite reasonably criticized Lindemann for perhaps being a little too even-handed, sometimes presenting numerous conflicting analyzes without choosing between them. For those interested, a good discussion of the book by Alan Steinweis, a younger scholar specializing in the same topic, is conveniently available online .
The remarkable ferocity with which some Jewish writers attacked Lindemann's meticulous attempt to provide an accurate history of anti-Semitism may carry more significance than merely an exchange of angry words in low-circulation academic publications. If our mainstream media shapes our reality, scholarly books and articles based upon them tend to set the contours of that media coverage. And the ability of a relatively small number of agitated and energetic Jews to police the acceptable boundaries of historical narratives may have enormous consequences for our larger society, deterring scholars from objectively reporting historical facts and preventing students from discovering them.
The undeniable truth is that for many centuries Jews usually constituted a wealthy and privileged segment of the population in nearly all the European countries in which they resided, and quite frequently they based their livelihood upon the heavy exploitation of a downtrodden peasantry. Even without any differences in ethnicity, language, or religion, such conditions almost invariably provoke hostility. The victory of Mao's Communist forces in China was quickly followed by the brutal massacre of a million or more Han Chinese landlords by the Han Chinese poor peasants who regarded them as cruel oppressors, with William Hinton's classic Fanshen describing the unfortunate history that unfolded in one particular village. When similar circumstances led to violent clashes in Eastern Europe between Slavs and Jews, does it really make logical sense to employ a specialized term such as "anti-Semitism" to describe that situation?
Furthermore, some of the material presented in Lindemann's rather innocuous text might also lead to potentially threatening ideas. Consider, for example, the notorious Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion , almost certainly fictional, but hugely popular and influential during the years following World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The fall of so many longstanding Gentile dynasties and their replacement by new regimes such as Soviet Russia and Weimar Germany, which were heavily dominated by their tiny Jewish minorities, quite naturally fed suspicions of a worldwide Jewish plot, as did the widely discussed role of Jewish international bankers in producing those political outcomes.
Over the decades, there has been much speculation about the possible inspiration for the Protocols , but although Lindemann makes absolutely no reference to that document, he does provide a very intriguing possible candidate. Jewish-born British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli certainly ranked as one of the most influential figures of the late 19th century, and in his novel Coningsby , he has the character representing Lord Lionel Rothschild boast about the existence of a vast and secret network of powerful international Jews , who stand near the head of almost every major nation, quietly controlling their governments from behind the scenes. If one of the world's most politically well-connected Jews eagerly promoted such notions, was Henry Ford really so unreasonable in doing the same?
Lindemann also notes Disraeli's focus on the extreme importance of race and racial origins, a central aspect of traditional Jewish religious doctrine. He reasonably suggests that this must surely have had a huge influence upon the rise of those political ideas, given that Disraeli's public profile and stature were so much greater than the mere writers or activists whom our history books usually place at center stage. In fact, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, a leading racial theorist, actually cited Disraeli as a key source for his ideas. Jewish intellectuals such as Max Nordau and Cesare Lombroso are already widely recognized as leading figures in the rise of the racial science of that era, but Disraeli's under-appreciated role may have actually been far greater. The deep Jewish roots of European racialist movements are hardly something that many present-day Jews would want widely known.
One of the harsh Jewish critics of Esau's Tears denounced Cambridge University Press for even allowing the book to appear in print, and although that major work is easily available in English, there are numerous other cases where an important but discordant version of historical reality has been successfully blocked from publication. For decades most Americans would have ranked Nobel Laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn as among the world's greatest literary figures, and his Gulag Archipelago alone sold over 10 million copies. But his last work was a massive two-volume account of the tragic 200 years of shared history between Russians and Jews, and despite its 2002 release in Russian and numerous other world languages, there has yet to be an authorized English translation, though various partial editions have circulated on the Internet in samizdat form.
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At one point, a full English version was briefly available for sale at Amazon.com and I purchased it. Glancing through a few sections, the work seemed quite even-handed and innocuous to me, but it seemed to provide a far more detailed and uncensored account than anything else previously available, which obviously was the problem. The Bolshevik Revolution resulted in the deaths of many tens of millions of people worldwide, and the overwhelming Jewish role in its leadership would become more difficult to erase from historical memory if Solzhenitsyn's work were easily available. Also, his candid discussion of the economic and political behavior of Russian Jewry in pre-revolutionary times directly conflicted with the hagiography widely promoted by Hollywood and the popular media. Historian Yuri Slezkine's award-winning 2004 book The Jewish Century provided many similar facts, but his treatment was far more cursory and his public stature not remotely the same.
Near the end of his life, Solzhenitsyn gave his political blessing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Russia's leaders honored him upon his death, while his Gulag volumes are now enshrined as mandatory reading in the standard high school curriculum of today's overwhelmingly Christian Russia. But even as his star rose again in his own homeland, it seems to have sharply fallen in our own country, and his trajectory may eventually relegate him to nearly un-person status.
A couple of years after the release of Solzhenitsyn's controversial final book, an American writer named Anne Applebaum published a thick history bearing the same title Gulag , and her work received enormously favorable media coverage and won her a Pulitzer Prize; I have even heard claims that her book has been steadily replacing that earlier Gulag on many college reading lists. But although Jews constituted a huge fraction of the top leadership of the Soviet Gulag system during its early decades, as well as that of the dreaded NKVD which supplied the inmates, nearly her entire focus on her own ethnic group during Soviet times is that of victims rather than victimizers. And by a remarkable irony of fate, she shares a last name with one of the top Bolshevik leaders, Hirsch Apfelbaum, who concealed his own ethnic identity by calling himself Grigory Zinoviev.
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The striking decline in Solzhenitsyn's literary status in the West came just a decade or two after an even more precipitous collapse in the reputation of David Irving , and for much the same reason. Irving probably ranked as the most internationally successful British historian of the last one hundred years and a renowned scholar of World War II, but his extensive reliance on primary source documentary evidence posed an obvious threat to the official narrative promoted by Hollywood and wartime propaganda. When he published his magisterial Hitler's War , this conflict between myth and reality came into the open, and an enormous wave of attacks and vilification was unleashed, gradually leading to his purge from respectability and eventually even his imprisonment.
These important examples may help to explain the puzzling contrast between the behavior of Jews in the aggregate and Jews as individuals. Observers have noticed that even fairly small Jewish minorities may often have a major impact upon the far larger societies that host them. But on the other hand, in my experience at least, a large majority of individual Jews do not seem all that different in their personalities or behavior than their non-Jewish counterparts. So how does a community whose individual mean is not so unusual generate what seems to be such a striking difference in collective behavior? I think the answer may involve the existence of information choke-points, and the ability of relatively small numbers of particularly zealous and agitated Jews in influencing and controlling these.
We live our lives constantly immersed in media narratives, and these allow us to decide the rights and wrongs of a situation. The vast majority of people, Jew and Gentile alike, are far more likely to take strong action if they are convinced that their cause is a just one. This is obviously the basis for war-time propaganda.
Now suppose that a relatively small number of zealous Jewish partisans are known to always attack and denounce journalists or authors who accurately describe Jewish misbehavior. Over time, this ongoing campaign of intimidation may cause many important facts to be left on the cutting-room floor, or even gradually expel from mainstream respectability those writers who refuse to conform to such pressures. Meanwhile, similar small numbers of Jewish partisans frequently exaggerate the misdeeds committed against Jews, sometimes piling their exaggerations upon past exaggerations already produced by a previous round of such zealots.
Eventually, these two combined trends may take a complex and possibly very mixed historical record and transform it into a simple morality-play, with innocent Jews tremendously injured by vicious Jew-haters. And as this morality-play becomes established it deepens the subsequent intensity of other Jewish-activists, who redouble their demands that the media "stop vilifying Jews" and covering up the supposed evils inflicted upon them. An unfortunate circle of distortion following exaggeration following distortion can eventually produce a widely accepted historical account that bears little resemblance to the reality of what actually happened.
So as a result, the vast majority of quite ordinary Jews, who would normally behave in quite ordinary ways, are misled by this largely fictional history, and rather understandably become greatly outraged at all the horrible things that had been done to their suffering people, some of which are true and some of which are not, while remaining completely ignorant of the other side of the ledger.
Furthermore, this situation is exacerbated by the common tendency of Jews to "cluster" together, perhaps respresenting just one or two percent of the total population, but often constituting 20% or 40% or 60% of their immediate peer-group, especially in certain professions. Under such conditions, the ideas or emotional agitation of some Jews probably permeates others around them, often provoking additional waves of indignation.
As a rough analogy, a small quantity of uranium is relatively inert and harmless, and entirely so if distributed within low-density ore. But if a significant quantity of weapons-grade uranium is sufficiently compressed, then the neutrons released by fissioning atoms will quickly cause additional atoms to undergo fission, with the ultimate result of that critical chain-reaction being a nuclear explosion. In similar fashion, even a highly agitated Jew may have no negative impact, but if the collection of such agitated Jews becomes too numerous and clusters together too closely, they may work each other into a terrible frenzy, perhaps with disastrous consequences both for themselves and for their larger society. This is especially true if those agitated Jews begin to dominate certain key nodes of top-level control, such as the central political or media organs of a society.
Whereas most living organizations exist solely in physical reality, human beings also occupy an ideational space, with the interaction of human consciousness and perceived reality playing a major role in shaping behavior. Just as the pheromones released by mammals or insects can drastically affect the reactions of their family members or nest-mates, the ideas secreted by individuals or the media-emitters of a society can have an enormous impact upon their fellows.
A cohesive, organized group generally possesses huge advantages over a teeming mass of atomized individuals, just as a Macedonian Phalanx could easily defeat a vastly larger body of disorganized infantry. Many years ago, on some website somewhere I came across a very insightful comment regarding the obvious connection between "anti-Semitism" and "racism," which our mainstream media organs identify as two of the world's greatest evils. Under this analysis, "anti-Semitism" represents the tendency to criticize or resist Jewish social cohesion, while "racism" represents the attempt of white Gentiles to maintain a similar social cohesion of their own. To the extent that the ideological emanations from our centralized media organs serve to strengthen and protect Jewish cohesion while attacking and dissolving any similar cohesion on the part of their Gentile counterparts, the former will obviously gain enormous advantages in resource-competition against the latter.
Religion obviously constitutes an important unifying factor in human social groups and we cannot ignore the role of Judaism in this regard. Traditional Jewish religious doctrine seems to consider Jews as being in a state of permanent hostility with all non-Jews , and the use of dishonest propaganda is an almost inevitable aspect of such conflict. Furthermore, since Jews have invariably been a small political minority, maintaining such controversial tenets required the employment of a massive framework of subterfuge and dissimulation in order to conceal their nature from the larger society surrounding them. It has often been said that truth is the first casualty in war, and surely the cultural influences of over a thousand years of such intense religious hostility may continue to quietly influence the thinking of many modern Jews, even those who have largely abandoned their religious beliefs.
The notorious Jewish tendency to shamelessly lie or wildly exaggerate has sometimes had horrifying human consequences. I very recently discovered a fascinating passage in Peter Moreira's 2014 book The Jew Who Defeated Hitler: Henry Morgenthau Jr., FDR, and How We Won the War , focused on the important political role of that powerful Secretary of the Treasury.
A turning point in Henry Morgenthau Jr.'s relationship with the Jewish community came in November 1942, when Rabbi Stephen Wise came to the corner office to tell the secretary what was happening in Europe. Morgenthau knew of the millions of deaths and the lampshades made from victims' skin, and he asked Wise not to go into excessive details. But Wise went on to tell of the barbarity of the Nazis, how they were making soap out of Jewish flesh. Morgenthau, turning paler, implored him, "Please, Stephen, don't give me the gory details." Wise went on with his list of horrors and Morgenthau repeated his plea over and over again. Henrietta Klotz was afraid her boss would keel over. Morgenthau later said the meeting changed his life.
It is easy to imagine that Morgenthau's gullible acceptance of such obviously ridiculous war-time atrocity stories played a major role when he later lent his name and support to remarkably brutal American occupation policies that probably led to the postwar deaths of many millions of innocent German civilians .
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Dec 27, 2018 | finance.yahoo.com
The hard reality remains that the financial markets are, in the long term, forward-looking. But in the short-term, they are dominated by high-speed electronic trading.
Anyone who felt Monday's (December's, Q4's) meltdown, or watched Tuesday night's reopening of equity index futures, watched in entertained astonishment, if not anguish.
Clearly, sentient, reasoned thought has now been sacrificed at the altar of short-term profit. The task is to come up with a thesis moving forward, and the challenge is to stick to that conclusion at times when the evils of algorithmic, high-frequency and passive trading styles turn against those core beliefs. Risk Management. Before one might profit with sustained regularity, one must learn to effectively preserve one's capital.
just so 5 hours ago
You can have whatever opinion you want about Yahoo's reporting of the daily ups and downs of the markets, and keep in mind, the exchanges are betting parlors. That said, these types of wild swings over the last 6 weeks or so, are very similar to what took place before housing bubble burst in the late mid-ots, keep an eye on the amount of private uncollateralized debt that mid-cap companies are carrying, if they start defaulting and these private equity houses start running for cover, it create the same type of liquidity situation that Lehman's caused.
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Jul 09, 2018 | www.unz.com
renfro , July 4, 2018 at 7:23 pm GMT
@jilles dykstraL.K , July 4, 2018 at 9:24 pm GMTYou could help yourself by learning the real history ..I suggest the foremost historian on the subject Thomas Thompson and his ' History of Arabia'. Jerusalem was not founded by Jews, i.e. adherents of the Jewish religion. It was founded between 3000 BCE and 2600 BCE by a West Semitic people or possibly the Canaanites, the common ancestors of Palestinians, Lebanese, many Syrians and Jordanians, and many Jews. But when it was founded Jews did not exist.
Jerusalem was founded in honor of the ancient god Shalem. It does not mean City of Peace but rather 'built-up place of Shalem." The "Jewish people" were not building Jerusalem 3000 years ago, i.e. 1000 BCE. First of all, it is not clear when exactly Judaism as a religion centered on the worship of the one God took firm form. It appears to have been a late development since no evidence of worship of anything but ordinary Canaanite deities has been found in archeological sites through 1000 BCE. There was no invasion of geographical Palestine from Egypt by former slaves in the 1200s BCE. The pyramids had been built much earlier and had not used slave labor. The chronicle of the events of the reign of Ramses II on the wall in Luxor does not know about any major slave revolts or flights by same into the Sinai peninsula. Egyptian sources never heard of Moses or the 10 plagues & etc. Jews and Judaism emerged from a certain social class of Canaanites over a period of centuries inside Palestine. Jerusalem not only was not being built by the likely then non-existent "Jewish people" in 1000 BCE, but Jerusalem probably was not even inhabited at that point in history. Jerusalem appears to have been abandoned between 1000 BCE and 900 BCE, the traditional dates for the united kingdom under David and Solomon. So Jerusalem was not 'the city of David,' since there was no city when he is said to have lived. No sign of magnificent palaces or great states has been found in the archeology of this period, and the Assyrian tablets, which recorded even minor events throughout the Middle East, such as the actions of Arab queens, don't know about any great kingdom of David and Solomon in geographical Palestine. Since archeology does not show the existence of a Jewish kingdom or kingdoms in the so-called First Temple Period, it is not clear when exactly the Jewish people would have ruled Jerusalem except for the Hasmonean Kingdom. The Assyrians conquered Jerusalem in 722. The Babylonians took it in 597 and ruled it until they were themselves conquered in 539 BCE by the Achaemenids of ancient Iran, who ruled Jerusalem until Alexander the Great took the Levant in the 330s BCE. Alexander's descendants, the Ptolemies ruled Jerusalem until 198 when Alexander's other descendants, the Seleucids, took the city. With the Maccabean Revolt in 168 BCE, the Jewish Hasmonean kingdom did rule Jerusalem until 37 BCE, though Antigonus II Mattathias, the last Hasmonean, only took over Jerusalem with the help of the Parthian dynasty in 40 BCE. Herod ruled 37 BCE until the Romans conquered what they called Palestine in 6 CE (CE= 'Common Era' or what Christians call AD). The Romans and then the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium ruled Jerusalem from 6 CE until 614 CE when the Iranian Sasanian Empire Conquered it, ruling until 629 CE when the Byzantines took it back.A. The Muslims, who ruled it and built it over 1191 years.
B. The Egyptians, who ruled it as a vassal state for several hundred years in the second millennium BCE.
C. The Italians, who ruled it about 444 years until the fall of the Roman Empire in 450 CE.
D. The Iranians, who ruled it for 205 years under the Achaemenids, for three years under the Parthians (insofar as the last Hasmonean was actually their vassal), and for 15 years under the Sasanids.
E. The Greeks, who ruled it for over 160 years if we count the Ptolemys and Seleucids as Greek. If we count them as Egyptians and Syrians, that would increase the Egyptian claim and introduce a Syrian one.
F. The successor states to the Byzantines, which could be either Greece or Turkey, who ruled it 188 years, though if we consider the heir to be Greece and add in the time the Hellenistic Greek dynasties ruled it, that would give Greece nearly 350 years as ruler of Jerusalem.
G. There is an Iraqi claim to Jerusalem based on the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests, as well as perhaps the rule of the Ayyubids (Saladin's dynasty), who were Kurds from Iraq.@jilles dykstraL.K , July 4, 2018 at 9:28 pm GMTI understand what you are saying, Jilles, but let's be accurate, shall we?
The Jews have ZERO right to "return" to Palestine one cannot go back to a place one never left in the first place.
The story that the Romans expelled the Jews from Palestine 2000 years ago is FALSE.
See Israeli historian Shlomo Sand( the invention of the Jewish people).At any rate, even had the story been true – and it is NOT – the notion of modern Jews laying claim to the land 2000 years later is truly bizarre.
@renfroIn short, today's Palestinians and their ancestors have been living continuously between the River and the Sea for about 9,000 years."
Exactly.
In the preface of his book "Ten myths about Israel", Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, writes:Were the Jews indeed the original inhabitants of Palestine who deserved to be supported in every way possible in their "return" to their "homeland"? The myth insists that the Jews who arrived in 1882 were the descendants of the Jews expelled by the Romans around 70 CE. The counterargument questions this genealogical connection. Quite a hefty scholarly effort has shown that the Jews of Roman Palestine remained on the land and were first converted to Christianity and then to Islam. Who these Jews were is still an open question -- maybe the Khazars who converted to Judaism in the ninth century; or maybe the mixture of races across a millennium precludes any answer to such a question.
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Dec 31, 2018 | www.unz.com
never-anonymous , says: December 31, 2018 at 5:50 pm GMT
Everything about this CIA agent's history lesson sounds fake. The blood sucking military runs the White House. ISIS or ISIL or whatever the CIA calls itself today poses no threat.
Poor General Kelly, one of the generals who let 911 happen, is probably going to be promoted to Bechtel. I say poor because he's only worth about $5 Million, which is a low figure for the super rich who own the military industrial complex.
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Oct 17, 2018 | www.theguardian.com
The fund reports that Britain's finances are weaker than all other nations except Portugal, and says privatisation is to blame
Columnists usually proffer answers, but today I want to ask a question, a big one. What price is paid when a promise is broken? Because for much of my life, and probably yours, the political class has made this pledge: that the best way to run an economy is to hack back the public realm as far as possible and let the private sector run free. That way, services operate better, businesses get the resources they need, and our national finances are healthier.
It's why your tax credits keep dropping , and your mum has to wait half a year to see a hospital consultant – because David Cameron slashed public spending, to stop it "crowding out" private money. It's why water bills are so high and train services can never be counted on – because both industries have been privatised.
We let finance rip and flogged our assets. Austerity was bound to follow Will Hutton
From the debacle of universal credit to the forced conversion of state schools into corporate-run academies, the ideology of the small state – defined by no less a body than the International Monetary Fund as neoliberalism – is all pervasive. It decides how much money you have left at the end of the week and what kind of future your children will enjoy, and it explains why your elderly relatives can't get a decent carer.
I don't wish to write about the everyday failings of neoliberalism – that piece would be filed before you could say "east coast mainline". Instead, I want to address the most stubborn belief of all: that running a small state is the soundest financial arrangement for governments and voters alike. Because 40 years on from the Thatcher revolution, more and more evidence is coming in to the contrary.
Let's start with the IMF itself. Last week it published a report that barely got a mention from the BBC or in Westminster, yet helps reframe the entire debate over austerity. The fund totted up both the public debt and the publicly owned assets of 31 countries, from the US to Australia, Finland to France, and found that the UK had among the weakest public finances of the lot. With less than £3 trillion of assets against £5tn in pensions and other liabilities, the UK is more than £2tn in the red . Of all the other countries examined by researchers, including the Gambia and Kenya, only Portugal's finances look worse over the long run. So much for fixing the roof.
'British governments have flogged nearly everything in the cupboard from airports to the Royal Mail – often at giveaway prices – to friends in the City.' Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/ShutterstockAlmost as startling are the IMF's reasons for why Britain is in such a state: one way or another they all come back to neoliberalism. Thatcher loosed finance from its shackles and used our North Sea oil money to pay for swingeing tax cuts. The result is an overfinancialised economy and a government that is £1tn worse off since the banking crash. Norway has similar North Sea wealth and a far smaller population, but also a sovereign wealth fund. Its net worth has soared over the past decade.
The other big reason for the UK's financial precarity is its privatisation programme, described by the IMF as no less than a "fiscal illusion". British governments have flogged nearly everything in the cupboard, from airports to the Royal Mail – often at giveaway prices – to friends in the City. Such privatisations, judge the fund, "increase revenues and lower deficits but also reduce the government's asset holdings".
Throughout the austerity decade, ministers and economists have pushed for spending cuts by pointing to the size of the government's annual overdraft, or budget deficit. Yet there are two sides to a balance sheet, as all accountants know and this IMF work recognises. The same goes for our public realm: if Labour's John McDonnell gets into No 11 and renationalises the railways, that would cost tens of billions – but it would also leave the country with assets worth tens of billions that provided a regular income.
Instead, what this IMF research shows is that the Westminster classes have been asset-stripping Britain for decades – and storing up financial trouble for future generations.
Just look at housing to see the true cost of privatisation Dawn Foster
Privatisation and austerity have not only weakened the country's financial position – they have also handed unearned wealth to a select few. Just look at a new report from the University of Greenwich finding that water companies could have funded all their day-to-day running and their long-term investments out of the bills paid by customers. Instead of which, managers have lumbered the firms with £51bn of debt to pay for shareholders' dividends. Those borrowed billions, and the millions in interest, will be paid by you and me in our water bills. We might as well stuff the cash directly into the pockets of shareholders.
Instead of competitively run utilities, record investment by the private sector and sounder public finances, we have natural monopolies handed over to the wealthy, banks that can dump their liabilities on the public when things get tough, and an outsourcing industry that feasts upon the carcass of the public sector. As if all this weren't enough, neoliberal voices complain that we need to cut taxes and red tape, and further starve our public services.
This is a genuine scandal, but it requires us to recognise what neoliberalism promised and what it has failed to deliver. Some of the loudest critics of the ideology have completely misidentified it. Academics will daub the term "neoliberal" on any passing phenomenon. Fitbits are apparently neoliberal, as is Ben & Jerry's ice-cream and Kanye West. Pundits will say that neoliberalism is about markets and choice – tell that to any commuter wedged on a Southern rail train. And centrist politicians claim that the great failing of neoliberalism is its carelessness about identity and place, which is akin to complaining that the boy on a moped who snatched your smartphone is going too fast.
Let us get it straight. Neoliberalism has ripped you off and robbed you blind. The evidence of that is mounting up – in your bills, in your services and in the finances of your country.
• Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist and senior economics commentator
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Dec 29, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com
Relotius, meanwhile, has "gone underground," according to the Guardian, returning several awards for his work while being stripped of others, such as CNN's two Journalist of the Year awards. A German publication also stripped the journalist of a similar accolade.
At least 14 articles by Relotius for Der Spiegel were falsified , according to Steffen Klusmann, its editor-in-chief. They include an award-winning piece about a Syrian boy called Mouwiya who believed his anti-government graffiti had triggered the civil war. Relotius alleged he had interviewed the boy via WhatsApp .
The magazine – a prestigious weekly – is investigating if the interview took place and whether the boy exists. Relotius won his fourth German reporter prize this month with a story headlined "Child's Play".
Klusmann admitted the publication still had no idea how many articles were affected. On Thursday it was revealed that parts of an interview with a 95-year-old Nazi resistance fighter in the US were fabricated. - The Guardian
According to Relotius' Der Spiegel colleague Juan Moreno - who busted Relotius after conducting his own research after his bosses failed to listen to his doubts , released a video in which he attempted to describe how Relotius got away with his fabrications.
"He was the superstar of German journalism if one's honest, and if his stories had been true, that would have been fully justified to say so, but they were not," said Moreno. "At the start it was the small mistakes, things that seemed too hard to believe that made me suspicious."
In addition to having several awards stripped from him, the 33-year-old Relotius now faces embezzlement charges for allegedly soliciting donations for Syrian orphans from readers "with any proceeds going to his personal account," according to the BBC . On Thursday, Relotius denied the accusations.
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Dec 29, 2018 | finance.yahoo.com
BOSTON (Reuters) - Nancy Farrington, a retiree who turns 75 next month, admits to being in a constant state of anxiety over the biggest December stock market rout since Herbert Hoover was president.
"I have not looked at my numbers. I'm afraid to do it," said Farrington, who recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, from Boston. "We've been conditioned to stand pat and not panic. I sure hope my advisers are doing the same."
Retirees are worrying about their nest eggs as this month's sell-off rounds out the worst year for stocks in a decade, and some fear they are headed for a day of reckoning like the 2008 market meltdown or dot-com crash of the early 2000s.
Retirees have less time to recover from bad investment moves than younger workers. If they or their advisers panic and sell during a brief downturn, they may lock in a more meager retirement. But their portfolio could be even more at risk if they hold on too long in a prolonged decline.
"I have no way of riding it out if that happens," said Farrington. "I can feel the anxiety in my stomach all the time."
While many industrialized countries still have generous safety nets for retirees, pensions for U.S. private-sector workers largely have been supplanted by 401(k) accounts and other private saving plans. That means millions of older Americans are effectively their own pension managers.
Workers in countries like Belgium, Canada, Germany, France and Italy receive, on average, about 65 percent of their income replaced by mandatory pensions. In the Netherlands the ratio of benefits to lifetime average earnings is abut 97 percent, according to a 2017 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report.
The OECD says the comparable U.S. replacement rate from Social Security benefits is about 50 percent.
U.S. retirees had watched their private accounts mushroom during a bull stock market that began in early 2009. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero for years, enticing retirees deeper into stocks than previous generations as investments like certificates of deposit, government bonds and money-market funds generated paltry income.
At the end of 2016, 69 percent of investors in their 60s had at least 40 percent of their 401(k) portfolio invested in stocks, up from 65 percent in 2007, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington.
Still, fewer have gone all in on stocks in recent years. Just 19 percent had more than 80 percent of their 401(k) invested in stocks in 2016, down from 30 percent at year-end 2007, according to nonprofit research group EBRI.
"Nothing has gone wrong, but it seems the market is trying to figure out what could go wrong," said Brooke McMurray, a 69-year-old New York retiree who says she became a financial news junkie after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
"Unlike before, I now know what I own and I constantly read up on my companies," she said.
The three major U.S. stock indexes have tumbled about 10 percent this month, weighed by investor worries including U.S.-China trade tensions, a cooling economy and rising interest rates, and are on track for their worst December since 1931.
The S&P 500 is headed for its worst annual performance since 2008, when Wall Street buckled during the subprime mortgage crisis. But some are not quite ready to draw comparisons.
"We had lousy forecasts in 2008. The housing market was in a tailspin," said 76-year-old John Bauer, who worked for McDonnell Douglas and Boeing Co for 36 years in St. Louis. "Today, employment is way up. The housing market is steady and corporations are flush."
Still, Bauer said he is uneasy about White House leadership. He and several other retirees referenced U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's recent calls to top bankers, which did more to rattle than assure markets. U.S. stocks tumbled more than 2 percent the day before the Christmas holiday.
Nevertheless, Bauer is prepared to ride out any market turmoil without making dramatic moves to his retirement portfolio. "When it's up, I watch it. When it's down, I don't," he said. And there are some factors helping take the sting out of the market rout, said Larry Glazer, managing partner of Boston-based Mayflower Advisors LLC.
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
Digital Samizdat , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:54 pm GMT
Everybody say a prayer for Lindsay Graham this Christmas. I hear he's in distress
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
FB , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:13 am GMT
In defense of the chickenhawk -- the actual birdThe first time I saw one in action, it was quite a revelation I looked out the kitchen window to see what looked like a blue jay perching on some kind of largish rock that he was pecking at of course that made no sense at all and upon closer examination it turned out to be a tiny raptor, not even a foot long from beak to tail, standing on a much larger dead chicken and ripping flesh off of it I ran out back toward the chicken yard and the mighty little slayer flew off the poor hen had a good part of her back flesh removed
Pretty amazing that such a tiny bird could take a chicken easily ten times its weight -- the sharp shinned hawk weighs just 200-400 grams
So while I certainly despise the useless eaters that agitate for war while having not the slightest idea what combat of any kind is about, I always cringe at the degradation of the word 'chickenhawk' a mighty little predator whose good name should not be sullied in association with such human detritus
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:37 pm GMT
@Harold SmithMaybe I am overestimating the intelligence of MIC profiteers, but my impression is that those thieves know that their loot is only useful as long as they are alive. There is a lot of silly hostile talk against Russia and China, but have you noticed how the US military always makes sure that there are no direct confrontations with countries that can turn the US into radioactive dust? The profiteers want huge Pentagon budget to steal from, but not the war where they lose along with everyone else.
As to the wall, it is one of the silliest projects ever suggested. Maybe that's why it was so easy to sell it to the intellectually disadvantaged electorate. There are two things that can stop illegal immigration.
First, go for the employers, enact a law that fines them to the tune of $50,000 or more per every illegal they employ. Second, enact the law that anyone caught residing in the US illegally has no right to enter the US legally, to obtain asylum, permanent residency, or citizenship for life, and include a provision that marriage to a US citizen does not nullify this ban.Then enforce both laws. After that illegals would run out of the country, and greedy employers won't hire any more. Naturally, the wall, even if built, won't change anything: as long as there are employers trying to save on salaries, immigration fees, and Social Security tax, and people willing to live and work illegally risking nothing, no wall would stem the flow.
Unfortunately, no side is even thinking about real measures, both are just posturing.
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
geokat62 , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:44 pm GMT
@ChuckOrloskiAm wondering in which prosperous U.S. Zionist "career" field has John Yoo landed?
He is a distinguished professor at Berkley Law, UC. Here's his bio:
Professor Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law and director of the Korea Law Center, the California Constitution Center, and the Law School's Program in Public Law and Policy. His most recent books are Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War (Encounter 2017) (with Jeremy Rabkin) and Point of Attack: Preventive War, International Law, and Global Welfare (Oxford University Press, 2014). Professor Yoo is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution
From 2001 to 2003, he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security and the separation of powers.
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/john-yoo/
Notice how they gloss over his diabolical activities as deputy AG for the Bush II Adminstration "where he worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security and the separation of powers."
And, oh, yeah, he cobbled together legal statements that gave the Bush Admin carte blanche to engage in "enhanced interrogation techniques," more commonly known as "torture." He was about to be in big dodo for his crimes. but just like the 5 dancing Israelis were rescued by Chertoff, a guy named David Margolis managed to get Yoo off the hook:
The Office of Professional Responsibilty (OPR) report concluded that Yoo had "committed 'intentional professional misconduct' when he advised the CIA it could proceed with waterboarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques against Al Qaeda suspects," although the recommendation that he be referred to his state bar association for possible disciplinary proceedings was overruled by David Margolis, another senior Justice department lawyer.
Anyone familiar with David Margolis? Is he a MOT?
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
MAGAnotMISA , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:21 am GMTMy impression is, ISIS is a mossad-Jewish lobby creation to win the PR war against Muslims and to keep the US attacking and "containing" Israel's geopolitical adversaries and eternally occupying Arab lands, and well, to Make Israel Safe Again ™Anonymous [386] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:22 am GMTApart from the questions raised by some from the alternative media:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-is-a-us-israeli-creation-top-ten-indications/5518627
The fact is the mossad could easily pull this off, having so many Israelis from Northern-African and Middle Eastern extraction, fluent in Arab and looking exactly like well, Arabs. They could infiltrate and recruit Arab salafist patsies and easily organize terrorist attacks without executing the hits themselves. And it is actually a genius move:
1) Create a terrorist thread in Europe, making Westerners wary of Arabs, ie more likely to understand Israel policies towards Palestinians and side with Israel (message being: apartheid State? what else can we Israelis do? Palestinians are all gropers, misogynists, homophobes and potential terrorists FYI)
2) Hit the countries with the most Jews (France, Germany and UK) so they are more likely to start packing up to make Aliyah, so Israel's demographic problem is at least temporarily solved, retaining a majority population of Jews.
3) Make the US, through the Jewish lobby in the US, attack strategic countries such as Libya, Iraq and Syria, creating a migrant tsunami to flood Europe, making Europeans even more wary of Arabs and understanding of Israeli's treatment of Palestinians (Arabs) and also making European Jews even more likely to make Aliyah. I even have heard of Israeli NGOs funded by the Israeli Ministry of FA operating in Lesbos and helping "refugees" to flood Europe. After a public outcry the Ministry logo vanished from the NGOs sponsors page.
Even the Cologne issue with the gropings, and I am getting too conspiratorial here, could have been a group of Israeli provocateurs kickstarting the whole assaults wave. Let's say, a group of mossad operatives, composed of Israelis from Northern-African and/or Middle Eastern extraction, with false documentation and fluent in Arab, start groping and assaulting German women, taking advantage of the total chaos offered and facilitated by moronic Merkel. They get caught? no problem, false passports or even no passports at all, just give false names and disappear. Not that Arabs need that much help to make themselves look bad, after all some American reporter was assaulted *live* and for what I have read the lecherous groping of women walking alone is a well documented problem in all the ME. But maybe thanks to a little push by provocateurs, an incident big enough was engineered and the image of Arabs in the West reached historic lows thanks to the Cologne affair.
And creating phoney terrorist groups to use them for false flags is not something new at all for the mossad, let's all remember what the FLLF was and how almost executed an US Ambassador.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_for_the_Liberation_of_Lebanon_from_Foreigners
I'd like to hear Mr Giraldi's take on the matter, though I don't think he will ever write about it.
Merry Christmas to all.
@Durruti Kucinich is far from being a real American. Where are the the people that do not want to take?Art , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:58 am GMTFilmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted on Thursday that the president is a "childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist" who is "committing Treason" against the United States.anon [202] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:10 am GMTOh my – the Jew "meathead" is a "childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist" who is "committing Treason" against the United States.
Some things never change.
"Filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted on Thursday that the president is a "childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist" who is "committing Treason" against the United States."Moi , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:52 am GMTHe and fellow tribesmen are welcome to sign up and go fight Israel's wars themselves, just not with white male republican blood. The guy is good at border skirmishes, too. He led an effort to keep poor Mexicans out of his rich Malibu neighborhood back in 2014 by refusing Whole Foods a building location. Like most of his kind, he's a sociopathic hypocrite and a liar.
Further proof that we are nuts.jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:06 pm GMT@MAGAnotMISA What I miss is destroying white cultures through mass immigration.Montefrío , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:08 pm GMT
Though what I miss in this theory what exactly is the objective, is it whites and Muslims annihilating each other, or just divide and rule ?
But maybe thinking in this way has not gone far enough.Bernard Baruch's world domination plan failed miserably, but he even failed to understand that it had failed, otherwise he had not in 1946 pleaded for a world government. One must not underestimate the enemy, but also not overestimate him.
Jewish policies for the last 2000 years can hardly be seen as a success. Judaism lost the battle with christianity, bolsjewism failed in Russia, getting equal rights in W Europe led to the WWII deportations, with or without gas chambers, Israel succeeded in surrounding itself with enemies, as neighbours, and all over the world, and jewish puppet Hillary was not elected. The latest statements by Netanyahu confirm my idea of a complete idiot.
I continue to be amazed that anyone gives any credibility whatsoever who claims US Mideast military involvement is in the best interest of the nation. The above-mentioned commenters must almost inevitably more about self-interest than anything patriotic. As for appearing profound, well, there's Rob Reiner!jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:19 pm GMT@anon In the idea that the USA is the new zion Trump indeed commits treason.RVBlake , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:21 pm GMT
Before Israel was established many USA rabbis were against zionism, because in their view the USA already was zion.
As tochildish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist
, the use of such words for me means utter confusion, rational analysis no longer possible.
Arthur Koestler was of the opinion that yiddish precluded sensible discussion.
The mentioned words show that he was wrong about the cause.If there were any group that deserved rebuffing and blindsiding, it is most assuredly Trump's advisers and military commanders.APilgrim , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:43 pm GMTPresident Trump has ERASED the terrorists supported by Obama & McCain.APilgrim , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:51 pm GMTHis 'deconfliction' with Russia was instrumental in the Daesh Extermination.
If Congress passes an AUMF, we shall stay. Otherwise, Adios!
Today's Jerusalem Post had a link to this Kamala Harris political fund-raising ad.Sarah Toga , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:59 pm GMTThe cvnt.
As I sat in Christmas Eve service last night, an adorable little boy played quietly with his father in the seat next to us. The little boy was probably just under 2 years of age.Heros , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:01 pm GMTIn the middle of one of the Christmas Carols the thought struck me,
"I wonder if we will still be in ___________ war 17 years from now, when this little boy becomes enlistment age . . ."
That thought alone makes me favor Trump for re-election. I think (I could be wrong, I'm no expert) we have less war and a lesser risk of war with Trump. The "establishment" policies of: invade the world – invite the world – in hoc with the world; are horrifically deadly and destructive.
What great Christmas presents from Trump.FelicityRules , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:18 pm GMT1. US withdrawal from Syria, and apparently all non-nato committed US troops from Afghanistan.
2. Willingness to shutdown Government in order to force funding for the wall
3. Rumors of subpoena's being handed out at G.H.W Bush's funeral
4. Senate investigations into Clinton Foundation with auditors claiming jaw dropping corruption
5. Grand Jury empaneled to investigate into 9/11I don't know if Q is a psyop, but a lot of the things he has been saying appear to be coming closer to reality. We can be certain that none of this would have happened had Clinton been elected.
Meanwhile the deep state is not taking this lying down.
1. Netanyahu is threatening to increase operations in Syria. Perhaps he warned Trump to get out because he is going to go nuclear or bio.
2. The global warming panic propaganda is being turned up to "broil" as weather warfare has been unleashed across the planet.
3. Ukraine attempting to drag Nato into a war for the Kerch straight.
4. Stockmarkets tanking as the Fed keeps tightening while Mnuchin performs the "plunge protection team rag"
5. Iran war threats and Persian gulf sabre rattling
6. Heeb financial war against Russia, Iran and China.
7. Heeb technology war against China (Huawei arrest)Even if the US leaves Syria as Trump claims, they certainly will not just hand everything over to Assad. The Damascus/Baghdad hiway re-opening through Al Tanf and the hand over of all Euphrates river crossings to Syria would be indication of a true change of policy.
As usual, Giraldi is spot on with his observations. I wish him a Merry Christmas and hope to see a lot more of his articles in the coming year.Cortes , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:33 pm GMTI find Rob Reiner amusing, if not occasionally annoying. After having spent decades up to my nose with his tribe while working in LA in the entertainment industry I can guarantee Hollywood Jews go completely apoplectic anytime they perceive their government, the Jewish-occupied government that rules over us all, is not following their commands.
Come to think of it, apoplexy's first definition is a stroke, its second definition is: a state of intense and almost uncontrollable anger. One can only hope that jerks like Reiner who indulge so heavily in the second definition will end up experiencing the first, and good riddance.
@FB Well said.ChuckOrloski , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:37 pm GMTI'd just add that few things would please me more than to have DJT draft the human chickenhawks due to their indispensable expertise and place their backsides in-country to dole out their words of wisdom there.
The honorable & courageous American Man endowed with precision scientific/political wisdom wrote, with special appeal to me: "Withdrawing from Syria is the right thing to do, though one has to be concerned that there might be some secret side deals with Israel , that could actually result in more attacks upon Syria."Johnny Walker Read , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:43 pm GMTChristos Razdajetsja, Philip!
Call me crazy, but I'm still a bit leery, cautiously hopping this is not just another charade. Is this just another way to allow the dissection of Syria to take another path?Hunsdon , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:53 pm GMTAlways remember if Trump is in opposition to his globalist master's he will be removed, one way or the other.
@FB FB:Anon [257] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:03 pm GMTThank you for that! I now realize that the appellation chickenhawk used in reference to the "let's you and him" fight gang is a slur on a fine little raptor. You have educated me.
@anon What's the battle cry of the Israeli army?Tim K , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:10 pm GMT
Onward Christian SoldiersMerry Christmas every one
US out of Syria? Why were "we" ever in there?anon [122] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:20 pm GMTboot, nuland, shapiro, stephens, reiner, etc etc – one (((chickenhawk))) after anotherSparkon , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:27 pm GMTA mong hawks in N. America, Cooper's Hawk ( Accipiter cooperii ), Red-shouldered Hawk ( Buteo lineatus ), and Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) are the three species most likely to take domestic chickens, or yardbirds as they are sometimes called, and it is these three species that are or have been commonly called Chickenhawks in the United States, at least among non-birders, who are people with neither binoculars nor field guide.Johnny Walker Read , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:34 pm GMTBut I think most here know that Philip Giraldi is referring to the craven human variety of warmonger known in some circles as the Yellow-tailed Chickenhawk, or its close relative the Yellow-bellied Chickenhawk.
President Trump's announcement is a very nice Christmas present, which I choose to take a face value pending unwrapping. As always, actions speak louder than words. Let's hope that there isn't a booby prize or two lurking beneath the Christmas tree and hidden by the big surprise package, or that there isn't a lump of coal at the bottom of our holiday stockings.
Peace on Earth to all men of Good Will.
@wayfarer Not sure if the opening word's in the first video are spoken by Sheikh Imran N Hosein. It sounds like him. I just wanted to say I have listened to a lot of his messages and find him very enlightening. For those who believe in end time prophecy, I think you will find well versed and extremely intelligent, as compared to many of the so called "Christian" huckster's out there selling religion for dollars.The Alarmist , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm GMT@Tim KDESERT FOX , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm GMT"US out of Syria? Why were "we" ever in there?"
Pipelines to Europe for KSA and fresh water sources for Israel? Destabilising a local rival of both? Who knows?
What we do know is that "we" have allowed our "leaders" to pimp out our military to the rogue special interests of the world. We have the best government foreign interests can buy.
The Zionist MSM and MIC and the Zionist AIPAC and company are the hounds of Hell baying for war as warmongers always want war as long as they do not have to fight it and can reap the profits from the wars!Johnny Walker Read , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:47 pm GMTZionists have instigated every war that the U.S. has been in since WWI and right on down through the Mideast slaughter house that Israel and her Zionists patrons have sent Americans to fight and die in and by crippled for life in and the millions of civilians, men, women and children that have been murdered in the wars fought for Zionist Israel!
The most incredible thing was that the Zionists and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911 which was the precursor to the latest Mideast wars and the war on terror where the Zionists killed some 3000 Americans and blamed the Arabs and got away with it , when every thinking American knows that Israel and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911!
Finally Trump has done the right thing by getting out of Syria and now should get the hell out of the Mideast and Afghanistan and close the slaughter houses!
God bless Putin and Russia and Assad and Syria for saving the people of Syria and defeating ISIS aka Al CIADA ie a creation of the U.S. and Israel and Britain!
Zionists and Israel will be the death of America unless we wake up and smell the coffee!
@wayfarer Should have watched the video a little longer before I commented. It is indeed Sheikh Imran N Hosein in the video. LOL and Merry Christmas !follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:57 pm GMT@renfro One hopes that Russia will have stationed its advanced air defense systems throughout Syria. And they should not be afraid to shoot down the Israeli aggressors.follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:12 pm GMTJilles sounds like he is Max Boot in disguise.
@jilles dykstra Jilles,Parsnipitous , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:31 pm GMT
Haven't you completely contradicted your prior response to @renfro about Trump? You called him a "complete idiot, leading a country to destruction," now you are claiming he is a "reasonable man, who understands that warfare is just a destruction of wealth." He can't be both, can he?@follyofwar I think he meant NutandyahooChuckOrloski , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:33 pm GMT@DESERT FOX Of extreme importance, Desert Fox of"The most incredible thing was that the Zionists and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911 which was the precursor to the latest Mideast wars and the war on terror where the Zionists killed some 3000 Americans and blamed the Arabs and got away with it ,"follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:35 pm GMTChristmas Day greetings, Desert Fox!
Re; above sentence, a cordial question.
Is there anything you know & which you have not said (to date) that might signal that the American-Israeli Empire's mighty military is prepped to allow the Assad and Rouhani anti-Zionist governments to stand?
Uh perhaps, either delay or junk establishment of Greater Israel?
Am convinced Trump would only slow down international Jewry's plan. Or else no unguarded JFK convertible limo trips for him on reelection-campaign road.
Thanks, Desert, you always stand on solid ground.
@chris Let's think about this. The USA has not been able to defeat the Afghan Taliban forces in 17 years. It brought down Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, but, with that unfortunate country totally destroyed, how could you call that a win (I doubt if the Iraqi's consider the US to be liberators). Now the crack pot Obama/Hillary campaign has lost in Syria, and Trump wants to pull out. All three countries were much smaller and weaker than Iran, and the US is much weaker, morally and militarily, than it was after the 9/11 hoax. And, after Russia has expended much blood and treasure in ensuring victory for Assad and the Syrian people, will it now sit on its hands as the US Air Force dismantles Teheran? Plus there is a resurgent China, dependent on Iranian oil, to consider.wayfarer , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:39 pm GMTI'm not saying that Trump will not start a war against Iran (for Israel's benefit). But, he'd better be prepared for the consequences, which will all be devastating to the American Empire. Be careful what you wish for.
@Johnny Walker Read Sheikh Imran N. Hosein sure presented some compelling facts.Z-man , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:42 pm GMTBy the way, there're lots of colorful Christmas lights sparkling here in Yuma, Arizona.
On my beater trailer, I keep mine up and burning brightly all year round. It's a trashy Americana thing, LOL!
Have a dark hunch 2019 is going to be a rough one, but hey, no pain no gain.
Best of luck Johnny Walker Read, in this approaching new year.
follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:02 pm GMTBut Israel supported by Saudi Arabia does not like Iran and has induced Washington to follow its lead. Withdrawing from Syria recognizes that Iran is no threat in reality. Positioning American military forces to "counter" Iran does not reduce the threat against the United States because there was no threat there to begin with.
Yes of course, I would just add that Israel hates Iran.
Rand Paul and others have been pushing back hard against the NEOCON narrative here, good news. The initial anti Trump tide has turned in this matter.
I briefly saw Bill Krysrol's smug mug on TV the other day. Wouldnt it be nice if that Satanic 'fellow' was harrased at home like, unfortunatley, Tucker Carlson was. (Instead of Carlson)Trump telling General Mattis to pack his bags and begone is the work of a good CEO. Mad Dog could have done a lot of damage to Mr. Trump's agenda if he had been allowed to stay on until the end of February, as he had said he would. In corporate America, if an underling is disloyal to the CEO, he will be told to vacate the premises for good by the end of the workday, and escorted out of the building by armed security. His keys will be taken, all locks will be changed, and his passwords expunged. No doubt Trump, as CEO, has had to employ such tactics many times before. He obviously relishes saying "You're Fired!"Z-man , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:02 pm GMTAny competent Trump loyalist can be found to replace this worn out old soldier. I hope he won't be yet another general. MacArthur said that "old soldier never die, they just fade away." Time for Mattis to do just that, and never be heard from again.
@Z-man Arrggh, that would be that serpent Bill Kristol of course!follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:20 pm GMTMerry Christmas to all.
@Parsnipitous Reading my comment again, I can see where I might have misinterpreted Jilles intent. If so, I apologize. However, if he had identified, by name, who he was referring to, perhaps I wouldn't have been confused.never-anonymous , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:24 pm GMTSyria is a money pit for the taxpayers and giant profit source for the super rich. 'The United States military should only be deployed anywhere to defend the U.S. itself or vital interests' says Trump, Obama or Bush. But war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. Trump was appointed by rich people only so they could have someone to blame. 100% of the voters believe they personally have the right to kill women and children overseas with their hired mercenaries to defend the U.S. itself or vital interests. Americans shell out taxes to pay for US troops to guard mining operations and poppy fields in Afghanistan, oil fields in Iraq, online propaganda and so much more. Why deploy the United States Military when there's more profit in hiring private mercenaries? Plus you don't have to say that "vital interests" crap anymore.Durruti , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:36 pm GMT@Ronald Thomas West Good thinking:JoaoAlfaiate , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:37 pm GMTopening the door to NATO's Turkey to go after the Kurd units there
Must look to the North:
On Turkey's Northwest front, tensions are high between the Greek Military & some foreign controllers of Greece, and the Turkish Military, and their leaders.There are many other informational links.
Turkey (Erdogan), might face a 2 Front War if it seizes further portions of Syria (regardless of excuse).
The Zionist imperialists (and puppet USA, NATO, EU), face difficult choices of who to trigger, and who to restrain.
Russia and the Arab Nations may come out of this Hellish conundrum – in good shape. And that bodes well for all of us, from America, to Novorossiya.
This article is an excellent summary of msm and neocon reaction to the planned US withdrawal from Syria and a good survey of why getting Uncle Sam out of Syria makes sense. I would also add that allying with the Kurds was at best a short term solution. Not only would a Kurdish state in eastern Syria be unacceptable to Turkey but the Sunni Arabs of the Euphrates Valley would be certain to resist Kurdish rule. Merry Christmas to all!Reuben Kaspate , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:41 pm GMTFor once, let all nuclear arsenal be directed at the Middle East and when the smoke clears after a thousand years, there will be no God, Jews or Arabs to deal with any of remaining humans will be welcomed!DESERT FOX , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:43 pm GMT@ChuckOrloski In my opinion, Zionist Israel will never stop being the agent provocateur in the Mideast and elsewhere ie the Ukraine etc., and since the Zionists control the U.S. government I think their satanic NWO plans are still in place, and think the U.S. military is just going to be placed in Iraq and Jordan ie just across the border to Syria and will continue with their proxy mercenaries aka AL CIADA aka ISIS.jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:45 pm GMTSome good sites to follow are Southfront.org and Henrymakow.com and Stevequayle.com and Thetruthseeker.co.uk etc., all things considered even Putin said that Russia will wait and see if the U.S. really leaves the Mideast, I wish all our troops would be brought home, but with the Zionist control of our government it will never happen.
It is snowing here in Montana so we have a white Christmas, which we could do without, but have a Merry Christmas!
@follyofwar Here we agree.Boris M Garsky , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:54 pm GMT
But in a comment below I read that I sowed confusion.
Possible, I see no need to find out what went wrong.A brilliant move and timed perfectly.Renoman , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:58 pm GMTYes to Trump and withdrawal from Mid East Wars, down with MSM, The Neocons, the 1% , the deep state and Israel, the whole World hates these assholes. Go Donny Daddy!wayfarer , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:05 pm GMTBragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:23 pm GMTThere is nothing good or evil save in the will.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EpictetusRand Paul backs Trump on Withdrawing from Syria: Good!
If you want to know who's agitating for war, look no further than our "friends," the Brits.Charlie , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:30 pm GMTThis is what they do every single time a U.S. President doesn't commit troops to some war they've approved of, or started. They terror bait, or mock, or a combination of the two. And since a lot of people in Washington take them seriously, it has appreciable impact on our policies.
God bless you Ron Unz for providing this forum. Chickenhawks. Who would have thought.jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:31 pm GMT@Z-man Israel fears Iran, is my idea.jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:49 pm GMT
Norman Finkelstein once stated that Israeli jews do not see how there ever can be peace with the Palestinians 'after all we did to them'.Not all jews are idiots.
Forgot in which book I read that in the thirties a zionist reached Palestine, and saw that this was not the 'land without people for people without land'.
He stated 'this is a crime'.The destruction and destabilisation of the ME, an Israeli plan, as far as I know.
In 1921 and later years there was the enormous population exchange, without any financial compensation, between Turkey and Greece.
To this day tensions exist between the two countries.Iran is one of the oldest civilisations.
Twice, one might say even three time, the west overthrew Iranian democracy.
Iran knows of course quite well that the VS brought Saddam to power so that he could subjugate Iran, that had rid itself of the USA puppet shah.
Iran also of course knows quite well jewish power in the USA, Bush' s promise to AIPAC to destroy Iraq.
Will those leading Iran now ever trust the USA or Israel ?So that Netanyahu and USA jewry now are in complete panic, who had expected it to be otherwise ?
Uri Avnery wrote 'the only language zionists understand is power. Is there a problem, use power, if it does not help, use more power, if that also fails, use even more power'.There has never been any serious negotiation between Israel and its neighbours, or with the Palestinians.
About the Oslo negotiations a book appeared in Israel with the title 'how we fooled the Palestinians'?
Sharon answered any Arab League peace proposal with force, Jenin, one of them, if my recollection is correct.
There always was the idea of overwhelming more military power, and of USA support.Kissinger saved Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur war by flying over hundreds of the newest USA anti tank weapons, wire guided, TOW.
What will the USA do in case Israel is attacked ?
Is Netanyahu crazy enough to provoke an attack ?@Durruti EUChuckOrloski , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:50 pm GMThttps://www.bfmtv.com/politique/vacances-d-hiver-a-huis-clos-pour-emmanuel-macron-1597858.html
Macron is not skiing between Christmas and New Year.
French is my worst language, but 'huis clos' is curtains closed, the expression is used often for court proceedings without an audience, closed doors.
If my idea is correct that he stays indoors because his security cannot be guaranteed, maybe someone whose first language is French can enlighten me.Whatever the case, the man who wants an EU army now has trouble keeping peace in his own country.
NATO, Stoltenberg's face during the dinner with Trump, disbelief.
Trigger and restrain, at the moment the Yellow Vests have caused the impossibility for Brussels to do anything, survival is what concerns them.@DESERT FOX Desert Fox with a Montana-attitude, soft side, said: "It is snowing here in Montana so we have a white Christmas, which we could do without, but have a Merry Christmas!'jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:07 pm GMTGreetings from snowless Scranton, Desert Fox!
Over decades, have reflected upon Charles Schulz's great (1965) "Charlie Brown Christmas." Prior to it's release, I have scant memory that Mr. Schulz had to battle those who wanted the traditional Nativity of Christ and spiritual meaning out of the way. Fyi, Charles's opponents lost!
As Christ-trashing Hollywood "Christmas" films dominate & mis-educate our popular culture, please, please, please look (below) at the beautiful narration of "Charlie Brown Christmas."
@BragadociousAnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:11 pm GMTThis is what they do every single time a U.S. President doesn't commit troops to some war they've approved of, or started.
Who is they, and do what ?
Even the Dutch army could withstand the weapons shown here.This is the first sane thing Trump did in two years. Also, this is the first action he promised his supporters in 2016. Naturally, Israel-firsters, who in 2016 backed the corrupt mad witch to a man, are unhappy. Their unhappiness is a good sign that this action is actually in American interests. If Trump folds and reverses, this would expose him as a 100% fraud. If he sticks to his guns, maybe there is hope for him yet. Stay tuned.Johnny Walker Read , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:13 pm GMT@wayfarer No snow here in Albuquerque, NM, but the skies are loaded with chemtrails. I guess the sky spider's never get a day off. Here's hoping you and your's have a merry Christmas.Virgile , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:18 pm GMTTrump wants Turkey to stop harassing Saudi Arabia about Kashoogi's murder and be more complacent with Israel. He also wants Israel to become more anxious abiut its security so it agrees on the Palestinian peace plan elaborated by Jared Kuchner and MBS.chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:31 pm GMT
Turkey has now promised to fight ISIS which it never did. Saudi Arabia as well as Syria wants Turkey humiliated, defeated and out of Syria. It may well happen when the Turkish army will be confronted with a renewedc ISIS manipulated by Saudi Arabia and Syria.
It seems that the withdrawal of the US forces from Syria may trigger the end of Erdogan's hegemonic dreams in the region and the victorious return of Syria among the Arabs.@follyofwar Oh, no; I don't mean Trump will start some major ground offensive to win anything! No, they'll just try to destroy Iran in order to give jihadist a chance to kill as many people as possible. This will be a Libyan-style war and "victory."Bragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:39 pm GMT@jilles dykstra Yeah, not sure about the Dutch, with their history at Srebrenica.Harold Smith , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:44 pm GMTBut I was referring to the Brits trying to push Trump back into the Middle East war grinder.
"President Donald Trump's order to withdraw from Syria has been greeted, predictably, with an avalanche of condemnation culminating in last Thursday's resignation by Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Mattis resignation letter focused on the betrayal of allies "anon [231] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:59 pm GMTCall me cynical but I think you cannot take ANYTHING our masters say or do, e.g. this, at face value.
Orange clown's alleged disengagement from Syria may be (and probably is) nothing more that a tactical retreat/change in plans for which the Mattis resignation is merely a fig leaf; that is, it's just more of the same disingenuous dialectics that we've been bombarded with since the beginning of the "Trump" administration.
Apparently we're urged to conclude that Trump has finally had enough of the people he knowingly and willingly surrounded himself with, and their agenda, and now all of a sudden (because of some kind of a spiritual epiphany, pro-American New Year's resolution, etc.) he wants to do right by (some of) his supporters by doing what he should've done a long time ago. (And the hint of a military drawdown in Afghanistan adds a nice touch).
Sorry but I can't buy what they're selling.
If in addition to withdrawing from Syria orange clown were to stop arming the "government" of "Ukraine" and agree to negotiations with Russia on the issue of intermediate range nuclear armed missiles in Europe – with a goal to support/strengthen the INF treaty rather than withdraw from it – I might be willing to entertain the idea that something's changed.
As it is now it'll take a lot more than the obligatory "avalanche of condemnation" i.e., cheap words, to convince me that the perfidious orange clown and his jewish-supremacist handlers are doing anything other than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with one hand while steering it into the iceberg with the other hand.
@Harold Smithannamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:01 pm GMTCall me cynical but I think you cannot take ANYTHING our masters say or do, e.g. this, at face value.
agree
just watch their behaviour – the wall never gets built even though they are now talking about increasing the "defense" budget from $700 billion to $750 billion next year – the increase alone is the cost of two walls
@Puzzled "I have never been able to discern a strategy, other than to keep the region in turmoil"A123 , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:01 pm GMT
– Agree.Here is a tepid and academically deeply dishonest oeuvre by Richard Haass, who simply cannot help himself but to keep his day job of presstituting: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2018-12-11/how-world-order-ends
Sampling:
Although Russia has avoided any direct military challenge to NATO, it has nonetheless shown a growing willingness to disrupt the status quo: through its use of force in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine since 2014, its often indiscriminate military intervention in Syria, and its aggressive use of cyberwarfare to attempt to affect political outcomes in the United States and Europe.
Haass is a Cheney's choice of opportunist and Goebbelsian kind of criminal:
Haass was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn From 1989 to 1993, he was Special Assistant to United States President George H. W. Bush and National Security Council Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs. In 1991, Haass received the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping to develop and explain U.S. policy during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Haass argued that the leaders of the United States should adopt "an imperial foreign policy" to construct and manage an informal American empire (Haass 2000)
The U.S. has 2,000 soldiers in a kill-sack if Erdogan decides to cut off their supply lines. And, calling Erdogan "unreliable" is something of an understatement. The U.S. can say very little about Erdogan's behaviour while he can take reprisals on U.S. troops.Tony H. , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:06 pm GMT-- Turkey and Saudi are feuding, and the U.S. needs Saudi more than Turkey to maintain sanctions and other pressure on Iran.
-- Turkey is becoming dangerously deranged in its statements about Israel (1). And the U.S. / Israeli relationship is vital for many reasons.
-- Turkey has been a threat to Christian Cyprus for decades. The Leviathan-Cyprus-Greece pipeline is important to help free Christian Populist EU nations, such as Italy, from tyrannical rule under Soros-servitors Merkel and Macron.
Do not over over read the withdrawal as a change in regional strategy. There are no major policy changes. This is about opening the door to push out Erdogan, if that becomes necessary to support the existing U.S. regional strategy. And, the U.S. can still hope that Erdogan is saying demented things solely for domestic consumption and doesn't intend to actually follow thru on the crazy.
__________
"Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat.EugeneGur , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:08 pm GMT"which was rightly seen as a serious threat."
So it was, was it? That's really the beginning of the bullshit in American policy. There were a few naysayers back then, since largely vindicated by the opening of former Soviet archives, who claimed that Stalin's postwar moves were largely defensive in nature and intended to protect the USSR from the talked about US preemptive attack on the Soviet Union. Stalin was well aware of all the loose talk on the American side and his country had just endured the same attempt on the part of Nazi Germany.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:10 pm GMT"Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat.
Could someone explain to me how exactly was the Soviet Union a serious threat to the US, particularly in 1947? The country was devastated by the war; some regions suffered from hunger, for goodness' sake; tens of millions were dead or maimed; the worked force was depleted as million of young men were killed, so the economic burden fell on the shoulders of women and teenagers; the cost of housing of people left homeless by the war was staggering; the cost of caring for orphan children, wounded and invalids – ditto. In contrast, the United States was getting fatter by the minutes having benefited enormously from the war in Europe.
The Soviet Union "sometimes aggressive"? I am not aware of any Soviet plans to attack the US but we all know about the American and British plant to attack the USSR formulated as early as in 1945. No doubts the Soviet leadership was aware of such plans. The Soviets, having witnessed a demonstration staged for their benefits in Japans of the power of nuclear weapons, did everything with one purpose in mind: to prevent an attack, which they were in no position to withstand. Needless to say, the USSR didn't have nuclear weapons at that time but even after it had acquired them, it didn't quite catch up with the US in terms on number until the very end.
It's fair to say that the Soviet Union was never ever a thereat to the US. On the contrary, the US was a threat to the Soviet Union from the fist till the last day of its existence, as it remains a treat to Russia today. The problems with the Americans, even the most reasonable of them (not at all difficult to appear on today's insane background), is that they don't question the entire narrative they are fed but only the bits of it.
@MAGAnotMISA "ISIS is a mossad-Jewish lobby creation to win the PR war against Muslims and to keep the US attacking and "containing" Israel's geopolitical adversaries and eternally occupying Arab lands, and well, to Make Israel Safe Again "Michael Kenny , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:18 pm GMT– Hard to disagree with your statement. And who could forget the amazing care of the Jewish State for the White Helmets known for their cooperation with other "moderate" terrorists: https://gellerreport.com/2018/07/israel-syria-jordan.html/
Israel Evacuates 800 of Syria's White Helmets and Their Families to Jordan
The Israel Defense Forces said it engaged in the "out of the ordinary" gesture due to the "immediate risk" to the lives of the civilians, as Russian-backed regime forces closed in on the area. It stressed that it was not intervening in the ongoing fighting in Syria.
The Jordanian government, which has consistently refused to accept Syrian refugees in recent years, said an exception was made in this case as the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany agreed to take the 800 White Helmet rescuers and their families.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported that a convoy of dozens of buses crossed the Syrian border into Israel late Saturday, and were escorted to the Jordanian border by Israeli police and UN forces.
A lot of the rejoicing in the pro-Putin camp seems to be based on the idea that this somehow benefits Putin but I don't think it does. He is still irreversibly bogged down in Syria.Alfred , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:29 pm GMT@renfro Netanyahu is telling the idiotic Israeli public what they want to hear. Let's not forget that there are elections due on 9 April.2stateshmustate , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:31 pm GMTYou can hardly expect a politician to tell the public that if they so much as launch a missile against Damascus airport, the airport of Tel Aviv will be bombed in return. The days when the Israelis could do as they wished in Syria and Lebanon are gone.
@DESERT FOX You took the words right out of my mouth.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:32 pm GMT@MAGAnotMISA More on the Jewish State's beloved protege White Helmets and the profoundly zionized presstituting MSM: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/447385-white-helmets-un-panel/wayfarer , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:36 pm GMT"Organ theft, staged attacks: UN panel details White Helmets' criminal activities, media yawns," by Eva Bartlett.
"[During] a more than one-hour-long panel on the White Helmets at the United Nations on December 20 the irrefutable documentation was presented on the faux-rescue group's involvement in criminal activities, which include organ theft, working with terrorists -- including as snipers -- staging fake rescues, thieving from civilians, and other non-rescuer behaviour.
a Syrian civilian, Omar al-Mustafa, is cited as stating: "I saw them (White Helmets) bring children who were alive, put them on the floor as if they had died in a chemical attack."
In my own visits to eastern Ghouta towns last April and May, residents likewise spoke of organ theft, staged rescues, the White Helmets working with Jaysh al-Islam, while an Aleppo man likewise described them as thieves who steal from civilians, not rescuers.
Four days after the UN panel, to my knowledge, not a single corporate media outlet has covered the event and its critical contents.
This is in spite of the fact that the Western corporate media has been happy to propagandize about the White Helmets for years, and to attack those of us who dare to present testimonies and evidence from on the ground in Syria which contradicts the official narrative.
@Johnny Walker Read Merry Christmas, to you and the world, as well.wayfarer , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:46 pm GMTAny ideas as to why Albuquerque New Mexico is being targeted?
I've been following some theories surrounding the Paradise California fires.
It seems as if the "elite's" end-game is now at our door-step.
I don't know about you, but I can sure feel my soldier DNA starting to activate.
Not really looking forward to what's coming down humanity's dark road.
Alfred , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:49 pm GMTThere are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil, to one who is striking at the root.
New World Order Reveals Their Plans for U.S. in 2019
@DESERT FOX "The most incredible thing was that the Zionists and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911 which was the precursor to the latest Mideast wars and the war on terror where the Zionists killed some 3000 Americans and blamed the Arabs and got away with it , when every thinking American knows that Israel and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911!"annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:51 pm GMTThe number of victims of 9/11 in NYC are way above 3000. Cancers and so on just don't get counted. BTW, it is not from the dust. It is from the small nuclear bombs in the 2 buildings. The 3rd building was only explosives.
https://nypost.com/2018/08/11/nearly-10k-people-have-gotten-cancer-from-toxic-9-11-dust/
Here is a useful link:
""9-11/Israel did it""
@jilles dykstra "Is Netanyahu crazy enough to provoke an attack ?"anon [231] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:57 pm GMT– He is certainly endangering himself and his parasitic state by the silly ideas of mythological choseness.
Let's hope that the more intelligent Soviet Jews (as compared to the mediocre pool of the pre-Soviet Israelis) take pains to explain the former salesman the stupidity of military confrontation with Iran/Russia.As for the US-dwelling zionists' stupidity it is irredeemable.
@EugeneGurfollyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:14 pm GMTThe Soviet Union "sometimes aggressive"? I am not aware of any Soviet plans to attack the US but we all know about the American and British plant to attack the USSR formulated as early as in 1945.
obtuse
@Bragadocious What the hell is up with these dysfunctional Brits anyway? With their empire thankfully long gone, their society in tatters, and a Muslim mayor running majority-minority London, they think they can get the US to take on Iran for them? Spare me! This "special relationship" has got to end. The Brits must be under the thumb of the Zionists even more than is the USA. And their sad monarchy belongs in the dustbin of history.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:14 pm GMT@Tony H. George Kennan's attitude towards Russia had evolved throughout the 70s-90s, but this evolution has been carefully obscured by the ziocon warriors and other war-profiteers using the ZUSA resources for their personal enrichment:Realist , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:26 pm GMTWith the end of the Cold War, Kennan continued to emphasize the limits of American power and the need for restraint in the exercise of it.
He lived to see the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war and characteristically aimed to influence the role that the United States should play in the new world circumstances.
He objected to plans for North Atlantic Treaty Organization expansion and to what he saw as exploitation of Russian weakness.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/us-history-biographies/george-kennan
anon [228] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:26 pm GMTAnd he might want to think of a Christmas present for 2019. One might suggest a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
And in addition Syria, Iraq, Guam, Germany, Britain, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Norway and on and on. Give the present 11 months early.
@annamaria THis is that GELLER who has been riling up ant Muslim hysteria in US She has been co hosting the islamophobes and has been renting spaces for add against JihadSimply Simon , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:31 pm GMTOMG
WTFwake up America
Or is there 2 Gellers?
@FB Wow, great picture! Incredible detail. More than an iPhone I suspect.anon [228] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:32 pm GMT@Michael Kenny Like you are irreversibly bogged down in between your legs looking for Bush's WMD, Obama's gas, Netanyhu's water source , Rothschild's oil,Bolton's nooses around himself,Weekly Standard's lost child FDD and confused Sheldon's diaper.DESERT FOX , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:39 pm GMT
!@Alfred Agree that many have died and are dying from cancer caused by the asbestos and other materials in the dust, in my opinion the WTC towers were destroyed by direct energy weapons plus micro nukes and WTC buildings 3,4,5,and 6 were destroyed by direct energy weapons and WTC 7 was destroyed by conventional explosives, and there were 7 WTC buildings destroyed in total.Realist , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:42 pm GMTCheck the site Drjudywood.com and read her book Where Did The Towers Go and watch her videos on youtube, she is a scientist and very credible and it is from her that I got the directed energy weapons theory. There were no planes used and the planes that were seen were holograms and for an explanation of this see John Lears videos on youtube, John Lear is the son of William Lear the designer of the Lear Jet and John was a commercial pilot and his videos on 911 explain why no planes were used.
Zionist Israel and the zionist controlled deep state did 911.
@Ronald Thomas WestAnon [257] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:45 pm GMTIs Putin ready for Erdogan to back-stab Russia again? (recalling Erdogan's military had shot down a Russian jet.)
The biggest problem Putin has with Erogan is the control of the Russian navy's exit from the Black sea through the Bosporus.
@jilles dykstra It's just what you said, he's keeping a low profile and staying inside on advice of his security. They're probably worried about snipers in ahigh rise somewhere.Svigor , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:53 pm GMTIt's been fun listening to (((NPR))) try to spin military withdrawal as a bad thing without actually saying as much. "Trump's facing critics in his own party," "here are some Kurds bitching," "General McProcurer is really pissed," "Chikkenhauk Epsteinbergwitzbaum sez it's the end of the world," etc.m___ , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:09 pm GMTLOL.
No rationality, no credibility decision (Syria withdrawal).chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:18 pm GMTMost variables are missing. Trump is insignificant but as a figurehead. At least a few layers, the correlations and "secret" deals with Israel, Turkey, IS, Kurds, France, the UK, let's not forget Russia are missing. The commoner, deplorable, are lead by the nose, our middle class bread scribes are doing the herding by shifting the attention, and building an exit of face saving on what they omit to pull in the open.
No value in this "News" and "Christmas present" at all, but more of deceit of a global ruling class in the shadows. It is called smarts, to deceive the rest of the dumb (in the eyes of the elites) masses, it is relevant to call out our elites on not smart enough to think over the long term.
Who of a building presence of outliers can they still deceive?
@Sarah Toga "Death and taxes" for countries translates to "war and bankruptcy." Maybe we'll get lucky and hit the latter before we kill everyone in the former.AnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:20 pm GMT@Realist That's more like Erdogan's problem with Russia. Russian coastal defense system K-300P Bastion-P in Crimea is perfectly capable of making Bosporus and Dardanelles straits much wider. However crazy Erdogan is, he is well aware of that.RobinG , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:21 pm GMT.local sources told Al Jazeera and Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency --chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:27 pm GMTTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Ankara and Washington agreed to complete withdrawal of the YPG forces from Manbij before the US pulls out of Syria.
He added the US agreed to take back weapons given to the YPG.
Syrian government forces 'enter' Kurdish-controlled Manbij region
Trucks carrying regime forces and equipment, and armoured vehicles have arrived in the region, sources say.@Svigor Very funny, Svigor, still, you couldn't pay me enough to listen to NPR.Bragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:31 pm GMTThe smug, self-confidence of diletantnts combined with crass dishonesty is hard to beat when it comes to annoying!
@follyofwar Actually Brits think their country is doing just great. But yeah, the "special relationship" should be scuttled. We face a bigger threat from British jihadis than any Iranians anywhere. Richard Reid is sitting in a federal Supermax but I don't think any Iranians are.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:36 pm GMTBrits simply love using the U.S. military for their own venal objectives. And if anything goes wrong, the Brits can distance themselves and blame it on "the Yanks." A win-win.
Merry Christmas, dear Friends:AnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:42 pm GMThttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=217&v=qJ_MGWio-vc
@Svigor It is really funny to see "peace-loving" liberals trying not to look like warmongers that they are. NPR is not alone in attempting this sleight of hand: NYT, CNN, WaPo, and others of their ilk are desperately trying to appear peace-loving while promoting wars that benefit MIC and Israel. Hypocrisy at its most awkward. The only good thing is, they are forced to show their true colors.peterAUS , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:59 pm GMT@m___ Well you know, that perception of yours re how the real world really works is, actually, positive and optimistic.nickels , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:12 pm GMTIf if I get you correct, you believe/feel/think there IS the "overclass" (for a lack of better word) which rules the world. They are hidden, all powerful, competent, on the same page and malevolent re us , the common folks.
I am afraid that's not the case.
I believe/feel/think there is no such overclass.
My take is there are warring factions of mostly incompetent little people with a lot of power who fight among themselves who's going to get more power and related material wealth. The malevolent part re all those they see as below them is given, of course.And, gets worse, actually.
In this particular case I think the decision was made in a spur of a moment. Pure Emperor whim ,if you will.
On top of it, we still haven't seen any actual move on the ground.
And, even if those up to 2000 men do pull out, what about CIA/special forces/contractors bunch?
And, even better, those 2000 and more can return in 48 hours if the Emperor decides otherwise. In a spur of a moment too.Anyone so happy here commenting this .thing has been following what's really been happening with North Korea?
What exactly changed from that fateful meeting between the Emperor and the .Cult Leader?
Let's summarize: the very point of all that was stopping and rolling back NK capability for long range nuclear strike.
So .any "rolling" happened? Anything?
I don't think so, but, more than happy to be proven wrong. Proven, mind you.The only important, and sad actually, is how we all got into the stage when a tweet by that fellow can agitate us so much.
Mice and just a whiff of cheese over the cage.They really got us where they wanted. And those "they" aren't even that smart.
Just great.All wars are jews wars:annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:19 pm GMT"Trump is retreating from Syria – and from his pro-Israel Jewish conservative voters. If that decision is a harbinger of other strategic moves distancing him from Israel's security, much of his remaining Jewish support will fall off a cliff"
A wonderfully conciliatory and hopeful article by Thierry Meyssan: http://www.voltairenet.org/article204453.htmlAnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:20 pm GMT"The United States refuse to fight for the transnational financiers"
As soon as he entered the White House, Donald Trump was careful to surround himself with three senior military officers with enough authority to reposition the armed forces. Michael Flynn, John Kelly and especially James Mattis, have since left or are in the process of leaving. All three men are great soldiers who together had opposed their hierarchy during Obama's presidency. They did not accept the strategy implemented by ambassador John Negroponte for the creation of terrorist groups tasked with stirring up a civil war in Iraq. All three stood with President Trump to annul Washington's support for the jihadists.
The Pentagon project for the last seventeen years in the "Greater Middle East" will not happen. Conceived by Admiral Arthur Cebrowski, it was aimed at destroying all the state structures in the region, with the exception of Israël, Jordan and Lebanon. This plan, which began in Afghanistan, spread as far as Libya, and is still under way, will come to an end on Syrian territory.
It is no longer acceptable that US armies fight with taxpayers' funds for the sole financial interests of global financiers, even if they are US citizens.
The Bush Jr. and Obama administrations shoulder the entire responsibility for this war [in Syria]. They were the ones who planned it and realised it within the framework of a unipolar world .
Afghanistan's misery began during the Carter presidency. National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzeziński, called on the Muslim Brotherhood and Israël to launch a campaign of terrorism against the Communist government. Terrified, the government appealed to the Soviets to maintain order. The result was a fourteen-year war, followed by a civil war, and then followed by the Anglo-US invasion.
After forty years of uninterrupted destruction, President Trump states that US military presence is not the solution for Afghanistan, it's the problem.
@peterAUSRonald Thomas West , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 10:24 pm GMTMy take is there are warring factions of mostly incompetent little people with a lot of power who fight among themselves who's going to get more power and related material wealth. The malevolent part re all those they see as below them is given, of course.
And those "they" aren't even that smart.
My goodness! I agree with you on this.
@Realist When Erdogan's military had shot down the Russian jet, Turkey paid for it rapidly with an economic squeeze. Russian tourism to Turkey was shut down and green grocer exports to Russia were subjected to intense scrutiny/inspection and nearly halted. One could say the Turks are still feeling the effect, the impact was immediate and probably there hasn't been a full recovery to some of the businesses that had been damaged. Erdogan tucked his tail and played nice with Putin after all but he is no dependable ally of anyone, he's screwed everyone he'd ever done business with insofar as the M.E. regional game. The main problem with Turkey for Russia is the Erdogan regime's Salafi outlook (to say the leadership is sympathetic to al-Qaida would be an understatement.) Erdogan may have promised to 'neutralize' the Idlib extremists but he won't, he can't, in fact he doesn't dare, it is estimated there are upwards of 1,000 cells established in Turkey. How that plays out is anyone's guess but my money is on the idea he'll shove the the Idlib extremists off on the Kurds as a Turkish military proxy and cross Putin in the process (the USA won't mind this at all and in fact CIA Ops division might reward it.)Anon [149] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:36 pm GMTanon [376] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:43 pm GMTLOCKERBIE
@BragadociousRobinG , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:50 pm GMTBrits simply love using the U.S. military for their own venal objectives.
yeah, those dirty "Brits"
next thing you know they'll try to send the US Navy up the Yangtze River to force opium on the Chinese, lol
@AnonFromTN "The only good thing is, they are forced to show their true colors."Digital Samizdat , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:54 pm GMT
Exactly. The liars, frauds, gatekeepers, Hillary-bots, and every brand of stupid in between have been flushed into the open. For example, anyone who still admires Chomsky should take note:Aaron MatéVerified account @aaronjmate · Dec 24
Update: Chomsky was sent my Q & this is his response. He favors keeping US troops in Syria as a holding operation until a final settlement w/ Russia-Assad that could guarantee Kurds' safety. With US pulling out now, he argues that all leverage is lost to avoid a Turkish assault:
"What deal with the Russians (who right now are making cozy deals with Turkey)? And a deal with Assad, the main mass murderer in Syria – – who can in any event do nothing to deter Turkey.
In fact, in the longer term there should be a deal crucially involving Russia and with Assad, with some kind of guarantees (for what they are worth) to preserve at least some limited protection for the Kurds. But that's the longer term. This is now. For now, the sole deterrent to a Turkish assault is a small US contingent confined to Kurdish areas, as a holding operation for a possible longer term settlement along the lines just indicated."
Everybody say a prayer for Lindsay Graham this Christmas. I hear he's in distressAnon [149] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:36 pm GMTanon [376] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:43 pm GMTLOCKERBIE
@BragadociousRobinG , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:50 pm GMTBrits simply love using the U.S. military for their own venal objectives.
yeah, those dirty "Brits"
next thing you know they'll try to send the US Navy up the Yangtze River to force opium on the Chinese, lol
@AnonFromTN "The only good thing is, they are forced to show their true colors."Digital Samizdat , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:54 pm GMT
Exactly. The liars, frauds, gatekeepers, Hillary-bots, and every brand of stupid in between have been flushed into the open. For example, anyone who still admires Chomsky should take note:Aaron MatéVerified account @aaronjmate · Dec 24
Update: Chomsky was sent my Q & this is his response. He favors keeping US troops in Syria as a holding operation until a final settlement w/ Russia-Assad that could guarantee Kurds' safety. With US pulling out now, he argues that all leverage is lost to avoid a Turkish assault:
"What deal with the Russians (who right now are making cozy deals with Turkey)? And a deal with Assad, the main mass murderer in Syria – – who can in any event do nothing to deter Turkey.
In fact, in the longer term there should be a deal crucially involving Russia and with Assad, with some kind of guarantees (for what they are worth) to preserve at least some limited protection for the Kurds. But that's the longer term. This is now. For now, the sole deterrent to a Turkish assault is a small US contingent confined to Kurdish areas, as a holding operation for a possible longer term settlement along the lines just indicated."
Everybody say a prayer for Lindsay Graham this Christmas. I hear he's in distressSvigor , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:57 pm GMTI find it interesting that Drudge has had almost nothing about the Syria withdrawal, or the fallout Giraldi describes. I heard far more about it by tuning in to NPR.Haxo Angmark , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 11:07 pm GMTjust in case no one above has mentioned it:FB , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:08 pm GMT(((Reuters))) is a
(((Rothschild)))-owned fake news racket. And, incidentally,
(((Reuters))) is where the BBC got its 15-minutes premature bulletin
on the collapse of WT-7.
@Michael Kenny If Putin is 'bogged' down in Syria, one shudders to think of what kind of bog your tiny brain is stuck inRealist , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:17 pm GMT@AnonFromTNNoseytheDuke , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:25 pm GMTThat's more like Erdogan's problem with Russia. Russian coastal defense system K-300P Bastion-P in Crimea is perfectly capable of making Bosporus and Dardanelles straits much wider.
It's not that simple. Any attempt to take control of the of the Bosporus would make it at least temporarily impassable.
@follyofwar The real change will come should ever US military personnel realise that true patriotism would compel them not to serve, to sabotage equipment and even resort to fragging. Perhaps Incitatus could give instructions on how some could pull off a "Corporal Klinger" in order to evade service.geokat62 , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:27 pm GMTWell, that didn't take long:Svigor , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:37 pm GMT@Carlton Meyer Good clip. High points for LULZ were "if we're fighting Assad doesn't that help ISIS? And if we're fighting ISIS doesn't that help Assad?" and "now you know why people get their news from Youtube."NoseytheDuke , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:39 pm GMT@Bragadocious It is business as usual. I remember when GWB was having some difficulty selling the war on Iraq prior to the invasion. War criminal Tony Blair very eloquently addressed both houses in the US and closed the sale. I watched it live with a tough old former Marine friend who was actually moved to tears when he realised that the war would be going ahead. What hope is there for nations that have yet to hold to account such vermin as Blair, GWB, Howard etc?Digital Samizdat , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:43 pm GMT@follyofwar The Brits were the original Rothschild ass-muppets. Before there was the Fed, there was the Bank of England. Before there was the Senate, there was Parliament. And before there was Wall Street, there was the City of London. Hell, without Britain, Israel wouldn't even exist!Wally , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:51 pm GMTI'm not putting down ordinary British people, who tend to be very nice. I'm talking about their horrible ruling class, which is just rotten to the core.
@Anon What's the battle cry of the US army?Wally , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 11:56 pm GMT@anon LOLAnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:01 am GMTAlso how Kenny is "irreversibly bogged down in" trying to find proof of his fantasized '6,000,000 Jews & gas chambers'.
@Realist Taking into account long-range missiles, impassability of those straits is not such a great military problem. But the disappearance of a large chunk if Istanbul (the US would call it "collateral damage") would be a serious problem for Turkey.Wally , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:01 am GMTI don't think it would ever come to that: Erdogan is a cautious bastard. His whole stint with buying Russian C-400 was undertaken to make sure he is not "democratically" bombed by those who bring democracy on the heads of aborigines in half-a-ton TNT installments and then bitterly complain that those aborigines are ungrateful.
@Svigor Indeed, the once 'pro-peace left' is quite the opposite.NoseytheDuke , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:09 am GMTI always laugh when I see peace sign bumper stickers next to Obama and / or Hillary stickers.
@Bragadocious To be fair, the "Brits", as in the British people, bear the same responsibility as do the "Americans", as in the American people. Granted, a great many voters in both nations are quite utterly stupid but it might be more accurate to refer to The City and to Wall St as being the guilty ones.RobinG , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:17 am GMT@geokat62 Could be Maram was a little quick off the mark with the "raining down." But definitely, Israel may try anything in desperation.obwandiyag , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:38 am GMTSYRIANA ANALYSIS -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYj2WWh7Pgw&feature=youtu.be
Syrian air defences responding to hostile targets in Damascus
The US is ISIS. It's like stopping hitting yourself in the face.anon [246] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:42 am GMTIll believe it when they are gone.ChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:02 am GMTTrump now has a new acting Secretary of Defense [Shannahan]. Turkey is already dithering about needing more time.
Military will never stop slow walking this.
Although new alliances are being formed.
@wayfarer Christmas greetings, Wayfarer!wayfarer , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:10 am GMTThanks so much for the video examination of The Economist magazine cover. Oh, man! What s gift you gave U.R. commenters.
The stork carrying the baby delivery bag with bar code markings especially astonished me!
Thanks, again!
@FB Just a thought.ChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:13 am GMTGrunts, the ones actually doing the fighting and dying, will typically refer to one who speaks out in support of war, yet has avoided active military service, as a chickenshit and not a chickenhawk.
So it's probably safe to say, wikiquote needs to be updated.
source: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_(politics)
@geokat62 Hey geokat!Anon [512] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:20 am GMT(Zigh)
As drudgereport features today, Pope proclaims love is needed, Israel gave neighboring Syria some backward-love, uh, "evol," today, Christmas day!
Chickenhawk ought to become the term for warmongers too cowardly actually join the military themselves.Anon [512] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:30 am GMT@never-anonymous Your average American general isn't interested in America's welfare. He's interested in the defensive industry because he plans to retire early from the US army and get rich lobbying for defensive companies. People like this tend to be good at climbing the rank ladder because they are completely self-serving, and they are a genuine problem for the the US when they get to the top and claim the ear of a US president. All they do is promote more war to make their future employers rich, who then provide a quid pro quo by hiring these disgusting generals afterwards.Pft , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:39 am GMT"though one has to be concerned that there might be some secret side deals with Israel or Turkey that could actually result in more attacks on Syria and on the Kurds. "wayfarer , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:04 am GMTLol, yup, thats the plan
@ChuckOrloskiRobinG , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:35 am GMTThe patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth.
That is you, Chuck Orloski.
You're an American patriot, one who's proven to be a "reliable soldier" in the good fight.
Hope you've had a Merry Christmas.
Now standby for heavy rolls, in 2019.
@RobinG Or not.redmudhooch , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:49 am GMT@Partisangirl
#Israel murdered this Syrian soldier on #christmas. First lieutenant Gabriel Ali Raya won't be going home to his family. Yet fools keep believing Israeli lie that they are targeting Iran while it's bombing #Syria.This is most certainly good news if true, but lets not forget they're still poking at Russia, poking at China, still all over Africa, still stirring trouble in Latin America.Agent76 , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:30 am GMT
Who knows if they may be about to send in private mercenaries from Blackwater into Syria. Not to mention all the money and weapons we give the Israelis-Saudis so they'll still be stirring shit in Syria and elsewhere, all that American money could buy Israel lots of mercenaries to do the same thing in Syria.The entire MIC has gotten out of control, money buys congress, they have lots of money. Assuming Trump has any real power or actually cares, he should be trying to get the "defense" industries into doing something other than building weapons of war, maybe put them to work in technology or health or something that benefits humanity, gets America back to competing with Asia, instead of just killing folks.
As long as these "people" are making tons of money building weapons to kill, that is what they will do, wherever it may be. War shouldn't a business.
I guess we just have to wait and see, I'll believe it when I see it.April 07, 2017 Pentagon Trained Syria's Al Qaeda "Rebels" in the Use of Chemical WeaponsA123 , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:31 am GMTThe Western media refutes their own lies.
Apr 9, 2017 No More
DECEMBER 21, 2018 It's About Time for the U.S. to Exit Syria and Afghanistan
The final resolution of the U.S.-led war in Syria must be determined by Syrians themselves. All foreign forces must recognize and respect the sovereignty of the Syrian people and their legal representatives.
https://blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/usoutofsyria
@RobinG 100% of the planes sent by Israel have returned to base damage free.Agent76 , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:31 am GMTAfter Action Review [AAR]:
-- Assad' s forces definitely expended a significant number of very expensive interceptors.
-- They may, or may not, have shot down one or more less expensive standoff weapons launched by Israel.
-- Iranian forces in Syria were hit and damaged (TBD on repairable vs. destroyed).All objective analysts will score today's engagement as at least a minor win for the IDF.
Stand by for the non-objective, histrionic, Pallywood, Taqiyya artists' inevitable attempts to misrepresent the events.
_____The most critical question is, "What AA systems were active?"
The S-300 system, slated for eventual turnover to Syrian forces, has significant training requirements. There are still months of training to be done. So, odds are the S-300 and S-400 systems in theatre, under exclusive Russian control, stayed off.
Much more limited systems such as S-200, Pantsir, and earlier generations are beatable if they are accurately located during planning and shown the respect they deserve. These systems have one shootdown of an F-16 variant that was too low and may have had a serious mechanical failure in countermeasures.
The true decision points are still months away.
-- Will Russia ever turn an S-300 system over to Syrian control?
-- If so, will Assad pay the cash burn rate of ~$0.5 to $1.0 million per S-300 class interceptor?It is hard to believe that Assad will further bankrupt his nation and starve his children to defend the Iranian, al-Hezbollah rocket forces being targeted by Israel.
May 5, 2017 Syrian War And The Battle For Golan Heights – Genie Oil & Gas Exposed!JLK , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:51 am GMTThe battle for Golan Heights in Syria will soon be under way and in this video Dan Dicks of Press For Truth exposes the Genie Oil and Gas Company and everyone on their advisory board.
@AnonFromTNRobinG , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:59 am GMTStay tuned.
I'm as happy with the withdrawal from Syria as anyone here, but "stay tuned" is probably good advice so we don't get our hopes up too much. They may have moved them out of harm's way in preparation for initiating more mischief somewhere else.
@A123 Troll #A123 confirms,niceland , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:10 am GMT
ISRAEL KILLS ON CHRISTMASFollowing ancient pattern of Jews attacking on Holy Days.
Pantsir-S2 SAM system of #Syria Arab Air Defense Force launched eight 57E6-E surface to air missiles at Delilah cruise missiles launched by F-16Is of 107sq "Knights of the Orange Tail Squadron" flying from #Hatzerim AB.
@JLK Or perhaps a bargaining chip. Trump: "pay for my wall and I consider keeping the army in Syria"Anonymous [209] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:55 am GMT@AnonFromTN "If Trump folds and reverses, this would expose him as a 100% fraud."Miro23 , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:16 am GMTSo far, I presume that Trump is 75% fraud ? or is he only 27,5% fraud ?
If by now you don't know that Trump is 100% fraud, I doubt you know what fraud is.
Since JFK, you can't be President w/o being 100% fraud.
annamaria , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:32 am GMTDonald Trump is already under extreme pressure coming from all directions to reverse his decision to leave Syria and it is quite possible that he will either fold completely or bend at least a bit.
Trump is dealing with the lethal crowd who orchestrated 9/11, so keeping this in mind, the Syria withdrawal decision could conceivably be taken out of his hands using (another) False Flag,this time targeting Iran (and sacrificing a few thousand American servicemen in the Middle East) or alternatively, using covert action in the US, aimed directly at substituting Trump for Pence.
In an ethics free zone, combined with the enormous hubris of the maniacs running the Empire, possibilities have to extend this far.
@A123 "100% of the planes sent by Israel have returned to base damage free."A123 , says: December 26, 2018 at 6:23 am GMT– does this mean that you are ready to abandon the annoying quetching about "Jewish eternal victimhood" and "Jewish incomparable suffering?"
And how is the Jewish State cooperation with Ukrainian neo-Nazi going on?
The first ever Jewish prime-minister of Ukraine Mr. Groysman has been quite effective in keeping with the ongoing restoration of Nazism and banderism in the Kaganat of Nuland (former Ukraine). Guess the main local financier of the neo-Nazi, an Israeli/Ukrainian citizen Kolomojsky, is preparing for a special award from Knesset and AIPAC for his selfless service to the ideas of zionism/nazism.
@RobinG Please observe . as predicted, . the Taqiyya Trolls are now attempting to deploy histrionics to distract from The Truth.byrresheim , says: December 26, 2018 at 6:33 am GMTSerious questions:
-- Do violent Iranian al-Hezbollah forces in Syria take off for Christian holidays? No?
-- Do violent Iranian al-Hamas forces in Gaza disrespect their own religion by launching offensive, border assaults every Friday? Yes?
-- What militarily sound reason is there to give a free pass to violent Iranian forces that do not respect any religious traditions or holidays? None?The bottom line is pretty simple.
If Iran was not violent, there would be no military action against them on Christmas or any other day. As long as Iran is violent, their Taqiyya supporters cannot credibly whinge about countries defending themselves against Iranian violence.
@jilles dykstra You would do well to read up on the late Shah's stance towards western exploitation of the rest of the world. It's an eye opener.Wizard of Oz , says: December 26, 2018 at 6:47 am GMTEven then I wondered how the horrible events of '79 came to pass against the wishes of the Free West™.
@Digital Samizdat What "ruling class". As ruling classes go, especially in a powerful country, the British ruling class wasn't too bad till about 1900. Now the pseudomeritocracy scrambling to make sense in a much less powerful and important country hardly deserves the description "ruling class" at all. Indeed universal suffrage and the devastation of WW1 and the Great Depression may have predictably doomed it years ago.Wizard of Oz , says: December 26, 2018 at 6:54 am GMT@NoseytheDuke What do you make of the excuse for Howard (though Malcolm Fraser wouldn't have conceded it!!) that he wasn't critical to the war happening and that only one Australian soldier was killed (by his own hand, presumably accidentally)? 2003 was, after all, a bit early to be looking to China for Australia's comfortable place in the world.anon [365] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 7:02 am GMT@renfro Israel is attacking Lebanon and Syria . it is threatening other countries as well in between for lending voices to issues like nuclear treaties with Iran. It has earlier stolen passports, it has forged passports, it has assassinated leaders who were at that time in third country. Now criticizing these activities will be nothing but expression of anti semitism.Realist , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:58 am GMTWTF wrong with these snake charmers of enormous linguistic variability ? That what it is. They have tongues and they know how to coin new words .
@AnonFromTNErebus , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:12 am GMTBut the disappearance of a large chunk if Istanbul (the US would call it "collateral damage") would be a serious problem for Turkey.
The US would call it war .Turkey is a NATO member.
@JLKjilles dykstra , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:45 am GMT"stay tuned" is probably good advice
Indeed it is, but the cacophony Trump's announcement raised seems genuine enough.
There's something about this whole affair that instills (at least in me) a vague sense that Trump, having given up on a 2nd term, is going to get whatever he can via surprise Presidential Policy Announcements as long as he lasts in office. It's how he ran his campaign and almost certainly the only way he can get anything he said he wanted to do done.
Keep his detractors off-balance with a sufficiently constant stream of announcements that their heads haven't quite stopped spinning before the next one comes out.
To that end, keeping the barking mad ideologues around him on the payroll makes sense. They add to the noise that serves to make the announcement appear reasonable, whereas nuanced argument would undermine his policies even when they're fundamentally right.
So, I'm staying tuned. We may see lots more coming from the same place.
@Bragadocious No more than military and political stupidity.jilles dykstra , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:02 am GMT
It had been pointed out that defending Srebreniza needed 80.000 troops and heavy weapons.Macron not on skis this year.jilles dykstra , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:14 am GMT
My idea is not fear of snipers, but fear of Macron being surrounded by Yellow Vest skiers.
Honnecker's vacations were staying on a government estate, of course completely closed to the public.
Even there, when he went for a walk, a guard a hundred metres before him and another behind him.
Advertising his impopularity by completely closing a piste temporarily for just Macron and some guards probably was seen as not a smart move.@NoseytheDuke Well, after, if I remember well, a seven year investigation a devastating report was published about B-liars' war in GB.jilles dykstra , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:00 am GMT
In the Netherlands a somewhat similar report was published about Dutch complicity, the David's report, blaming prime minister Balkenende at the time, and his minister of foreign affairs then, De Hoop Scheffer, later Secretary of NATO.
None of the three is behind bars, true.
Nevertheless, they were exposed as war criminals.
I wonder if it is realistic to expect more, the crimes were political.
If Blair and the two Dutch could have refused, I wonder.@byrresheim If it was horrible is a matter of opinion, I see it as liberation.annamaria , says: December 26, 2018 at 12:33 pm GMT
Horrible regime, the shah's
It was possible because the USA had been driven out of Vietnam, could not afford another war.@anon "Israel is attacking Lebanon and Syria."Johnny Walker Read , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:20 pm GMTThe Jewish State and rabid Israel-firsters are attacking western civilization: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-25/inside-temple-covert-propaganda-integrity-initiative-uks-scandalous-information-war
The Smith Richardson Foundation was founded by billionaire heir to the Vicks fortune, H. Smith Richardson In 1973, the founder's son, Randolph Richardson – a free market fundamentalist and long-time patron of neoconservative ideologue Irving Kristol – inherited the organization.
Recipients of funding from the Smith Richardson Foundation include a who's who of neoconservative and militaristic right-wing institutions.
The Fusion GPS' bunch and Chris Steele are not the only people subverting the democratic process in the US:
Recent hacked documents have revealed an international network of politicians, journalists, academics, researchers and military officers, all engaged in highly deceptive covert propaganda campaigns funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), NATO, Facebook and hardline national security institutions.
This "network of networks", as one document refers to them, centers around an ironically named outfit called the Integrity Initiative. And it is all overseen by the Institute for Statecraft, which has operated under a veil of secrecy.
Where is the US Intelligence Community when the foreign nationals infiltrate election complain in the US?
Bracey-Lane is a 20-something British citizen He appeared out of nowhere to work in Iowa as a field organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign for president.
"I spent a year working, saving all my money, just thought I was gonna go on a two month road trip from Seattle to New York and I thought, you know what? I'm gonna stay and work for the Bernie Sanders campaign," Bracey-Lane told a reporter for AFP on January 27, 2016.
However An Institute for Statecraft document on "roles and relevant experience" of the outfit's "expert team" notes that Bracey-Lane conducted a "special study of Russian interference in the US electoral process." The document does not make clear when that study was conducted, however, it is listed directly next to its author's history of work with the Bernie campaign.
The Integrity Initiative (oh, irony!) has been also busy with subverting the democratic process in Spain and the UK:
The Integrity Initiative waged a successful covert campaign to destroy the appointment of Pedro Baños to Director of Spain's National Security Department by carry[ing] out the hit job through a hand-picked "cluster" of Spanish politicians and operatives to flood social media and sympathetic outlets with messages demonizing Baños.
The Integrity Initiative appears to have employed the same tactics to smear left-wing journalists and political figures across the West, including the leader of the UK's Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.
According to David Miller, professor of political sociology in the school of policy studies at the University of Bristol and the director of the Organization for Propaganda Studies, the Integrity Initiative "appears to be a military directed push."
@wayfarer Not sure, but we are home to Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Labs so I guess anything is possible. I just know it has been brutal all fall and winter. Starts out with massive chemtrailing and ends up with sky completely darkened.follyofwar , says: December 26, 2018 at 1:59 pm GMTMy spidy sense is also tingling, but I am in awe that no one seem's to notice, no one seem's to care. Like you, I feel the curtain is about to be pulled on the final act. God help us all.
@Realist I've read that Mr. Trump abrupted decided to pull out of Syria after a phone call with Erdogan. He wasn't about to confer with Mattis, Pompeo, or Bolton as they would have all objected. Trump cannot afford to be the president who allowed Turkey to leave NATO and align with Russia. It's all about geo-politics.Fran Macadam , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:07 pm GMTToo bad that crybaby Netanyahu doesn't like it. Israel has nowhere else to go and needs US support to even exist. The Kurds will be sacrificed, but Turkey is much more important. Trump must pull out the US troops ASAP as they nothing but sitting ducks – like those 400 or so Marines who were blown up during the Lebanese civil war during the Reagan Admin. My biggest concern is that they will be attacked with many casualties while in country, forcing Trump to stay.
"Filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted on Thursday that the president is a 'childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist' who is 'committing Treason' against the United States."geokat62 , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:42 pm GMTHe didn't just play a meathead on TV, he became one in real life.
@Fran Macadamjilles dykstra , says: December 26, 2018 at 2:48 pm GMTHe didn't just play a meathead on TV, he became one in real life.
Welcome to the dark side, Fran.
@follyofwar " Trump cannot afford to be the president who allowed Turkey to leave NATO and align with Russia. It's all about geo-politics. "AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:13 pm GMTWhat makes you think Turkey is still in NATO ?
And what is NATO ?
Both Merkel and Macron say they want an EU army.
An army for what, many here in Europe wonder.
Attacking the country that keeps the Germans warm in winter and German industry going ?@Realist Did you read Article V of NATO treaty?APilgrim , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:41 pm GMT
Here it is:Article V
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.To translate it into plain English, if one member is attacked and another member decides to send the victim pampers, that other member would be perfectly within its rights. The US made 100% sure it has no obligations whatsoever under that treaty. Not to mention that when the US does have obligations, it simply breaks the treaty (the deal with Iran being the latest glaring example).
@Johnny Walker Read I call Bull SH1TNoseytheDuke , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:46 pm GMTNew Mexico has little Snowpack, so far. https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/reports/UpdateReport.html?report=New+Mexico&format=SNOTEL+Snowpack+Update+Report – https://www.onthesnow.com/new-mexico/ski-apache/skireport.html
@Wizard of Oz A great legal mind such as your own would surely know that under US law any person involved in any way in a crime resulting in the deaths of victims is held to be equally responsible. Just being a wheelman or a lookout is enough to be found to be as equally guilty as the triggerman. All forces involved in the war crimes of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, other than the US, were token forces whose role was as much to legitimise the US invasions as to have much material impact. Howard's (and Blair's) excuse that it was due to faulty intel is an insult to those who serve honourably and legitimately in ASIO.AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:49 pm GMTString them up, I say, and you Sir would demean yourself should you attempt to defend them.
@Anonymous You are seeing the world in black and white, whereas in reality it has various shades of gray. The Deep State is not monolithic. Every snake in that pit wants to control not only us "deplorables", but the other snakes, as well. While all those greedy rothschilds, soroses, and adelsons beat even Devil himself in their lack of morals, some placed their bets on the corrupt mad witch, while others on the orange clown. Some snakes are smart enough to understand that to keep their loot they need the protection of a strong US state. Otherwise other thieves would gladly steal their ill-gotten riches.foolisholdman , says: December 26, 2018 at 3:55 pm GMTThe presidents are frauds in a sense that they are puppets, but not in a sense that they all have the same puppet master. Say, Nixon put the country ahead of the Empire and extricated us from the Vietnam quagmire. There is a chance that Trump (i.e., the faction of the Deep State that betted on him) also wants to save America as a country by acknowledging the losses of the Empire and acting accordingly. We'll see soon enough.
@anon Care to give us some examples of 'Soviet Aggression'?anon [994] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:07 pm GMT@annamaria WHAT IS ANTISEMITISM !AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:10 pm GMTIsrael behind civilian planes ( this time in Lebanon)attacked Syria.
criticizing this piece of Israeli behavior is known as anti semitism according to Jew and the jew slave Congress Senate , Diet , Parliament , ( USA Germany UK )
. If Saddam were Jewish , his pals were Likud and the citizen worshipped in synagogue , criticism against 1990 invasion of Kuwait would have been called anti semitism punishable by jail .@foolisholdman There were cases of real Soviet aggression, although, contrary to the assertion of Western propaganda, much fewer than there were cases of the US aggression. To give you an example, invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was Soviet aggression at its stupidest. The US invasion of the same Afghanistan in 2001 was equally stupid. One can argue that it was even more stupid, given that Soviet example preceded it. Only a hopeless moron steps into a trap knowing that it is a trap.Svigor , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:34 pm GMTHowever disgusting the US foreign policy was and still is, the USSR was no knight in shining armor, either.
@foolisholdman Sure Finland Czechoslovakia Hungary Romania Ukraine Poland Germany Belarus Armenia Azerbaijan Estonia Latvia Bulgaria Georgia Yugoslavia Lithuania Moldova Chechnia etc.Agent76 , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:35 pm GMT@DESERT FOX September 11, 2016 Al Qaeda: The Data BaseRobinG , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:42 pm GMTShortly before his untimely death, former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the House of Commons that "Al Qaeda" is not really a terrorist group but a database of international mujaheddin and arms smugglers used by the CIA and Saudis to funnel guerrillas, arms, and money into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.
@AnonFromTN Try again. Maybe 1979 was foolish, since "invasion" was manufactured.MacNucc11 , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:57 pm GMTAs Zbig Brzezinski admitted, the Soviet action was produced by the CIA support to anti-Russian Jihadi terrorism, not the other way round. Basically CIA funded terrorism to "give USSR its own Vietnam." His interview is online.
@wayfarer An argument could be made that even chickenshit is being improperly associated since it most likely has some use as opposed to none at all.ChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 4:59 pm GMT@geokat62 geo warmly offered Fran: 'Welcome to the dark side, Fran."A123 , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:01 pm GMTHey G.D.L.-robed Brother geokat!
As you likely are aware, the Syrian ballistic missile system gave 14 of 16 Israeli F-16 (dark) missiles aimed at Damascus outskirt a bright & shiny welcome.
But nonetheless, please refer to Haaretz article below, and Russian knowledge of Israel's endangering two civilian airplane flight trajectories.
@AnonFromTN The Iran/JOCPA deal was not a Treaty.DESERT FOX , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:15 pm GMTArticle II, Section 2, Clause 2, of the United States Constitution:
[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur .
No such Treaty as approval was ever given by the Senate. Soros sock-puppet Obama lied when he claimed to have extra-constitutional powers to bind future administrations. Remember Obama's promise, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor"? There were plenty of warning signs that Obama was a liar, so no one should be surprised that he lied about JOCPA.
Trump did not violate or break anything , because the non-ratified, non-treaty did not meet Constitutional minimums.
__________Putin supporters should understand this as Russia has an identical issue in play. The 1950′s transfer of Crimea to Ukraine did not meet Russian constitutional standards.
Thus, identical to Trump's treatment of JOCPA, Putin is free to ignore the unconstitutional acts of the prior Krushchev / Vorashilov administration.
@Agent76 Agree, and would add that AL CIADA ie ISIS is a creation of the CIA and the MOSSAD and MI6 and NATO and Robin Cook was killed shortly after he made those statements, who benefits?Harold Smith , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:26 pm GMT@Miro23 "Trump is dealing with the lethal crowd who orchestrated 9/11 "foolisholdman , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:31 pm GMTWell this line of thought raises some serious question: (1) Why did Trump run for president in the first place? (2) Why did he run on a platform of open defiance to the "deep state" only to occupy a position of intimidating powerlessness? (3) Why does he not fight back by investigating 9/11 or merely threatening to do so? (4) Why does he not use the power of the "presidential bully pulpit" against the "deep state"? (5) If he was sincere during the campaign, why did the "lethal crowd" not deploy a "lone nut" against him before the election? (With so much at stake, why would they risk letting a sincere person anywhere near the levers of power in the first place?) (6) How could a reasonable person be coerced into a course of action (in the realm of "foreign policy") that seems to be leading to nuclear war/planetary extinction? (7) If he was sincere about putting America first, then failing everything else, why doesn't he simply resign?
@jilles dykstra From what I heard, Tony Blair was more enthusiastic about the Iraq war before it started, than was Bush.Dessert Bunny , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:37 pm GMT@MacNucc11 Chicken shit makes excellent fertilizer. So it promotes life.AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:47 pm GMT@RobinG Well, it did give the USSR its own Vietnam. Now Afghanistan is Vietnam 2.0 for the US (Iraq being Vietnam 3.0; Syria being Vietnam 4.0).AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 5:50 pm GMT@A123 Legally speaking, you are right. Not to mention that Obama was proven to be a liar in many other things. But withdrawing from the Iran deal damaged the US credibility even among its European vassals.anonymoys , says: December 26, 2018 at 6:26 pm GMT@AnonFromTN I've got good news for you. Sometimes the world/truth is really black and white. And in this case, certainly is: Trump is a fraud , has always been and will always be.AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 7:21 pm GMTAnd as far as I know , "American" presidents all have the same master, which by the way,is the same master that Putin and his bunch of corrupt oligarchs serve.. Of course there are exceptions Nixon did try to fight against his master but I presume you know what happened to the poor man. Poor but lucky. He died in his bed.
You got something right: "We'll see soon enough.".
But let me tell you the future: there will be no withdraw from Syria UNLESS the king of Israel agrees.
And if the King agrees, it is because, he has other objectives which his puppets, Trump, Putin, Macron will certainly try to implement.But don't worry, the deep state and the "experts" will always give you "arguments" so you can keep seeing the world in "various shades of gray".
@anonymoys Agree with two things. First, Nixon was luckier than Kennedy, he was only forced to resign, whereas Kennedy was murdered. Second, the same forces were responsible for both events.geokat62 , says: December 26, 2018 at 7:54 pm GMTBut these dark forces are not all-powerful. The world is more complicated than you paint it. There are different factions at work in the US and Russian politics, and these factions are doing their best to cut each others' throats, which is a good thing. We should sincerely wish success to both teams.
Say, many Russian oligarchs (BTW, oligarchs everywhere are criminals, in Russia, in the US, in Europe, etc.) are likely Zionists, but there are other forces supporting Putin's throne. That's why Russia screwed up the Israeli plan to break up Syria into a bunch of warring impotent Bantustans, using Islamic bandits, some paid scum, some just incredibly stupid "true believers". In this Russia teamed up with the Israeli arch-enemy Iran. Judging by the Imperial tantrums in the US, which reached a hysterical pitch lately, Zionists are unhappy with Russian and Chinese stances. So, there is hope for humanity yet.
@ChuckOrloskiChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:22 pm GMTIsrael's endangering two civilian airplane flight trajectories.
Cynthia McKinney's reaction:
@geokat62 Peace, joy, and The Protection be upon Cynthia, geokat! Thanks!!ChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:29 pm GMTBelow, fyi, Israel is withdrawing/ (confiscating?), hee-hee, funds allocated to German Holocaust museums.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/12/26/583970/Holocaust-Missing-Funds
Anyone here at U.R. surprised? Including Wally?
@ChuckOrloski Hey geo!Cloak And Dagger , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:37 pm GMTMy apology, a misfire, should be Holocaust "survivor" allocated money and not for German Holocaust "museums.'
@ChuckOrloskiWizard of Oz , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:51 pm GMTIsrael's endangering two civilian airplane flight trajectories
The same rules of morality and International law regarding the use of human shields do not apply to Israel. Perhaps you remember this from the past:
During war there are no civilians
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2010/09/201098123618465366.html
"During war there are no civilians," that's what "Yossi," an Israeli military (IDF) training unit leader simply stated during a round of questioning on day two of the Rachel Corrie trials, held in Haifa's District Court earlier this week. "When you write a [protocol] manual, that manual is for war," he added.
@NoseytheDuke I bow to your superior knowledge of American law(s) but do recall the distasteful way in which one reads of not completely innocent defendants being swept up for plea bargains by such devices as conspiracy charges. But yes, I'm afraid Howard was at least an accessory before the fact and I have no doubt it was Howard that JMF had in mind when he looked at me at an anti Howard government affair in October 2004 and spoke of war criminals who ought to be tried though I recall thinking at the time that it went a bit far to include Howard, the hanger on. As one who came to give Howard amoral admiration just for the sustained determination needed to become a truly successful politician (Cf. F.S. Oliver "The Endless Adventure" and "In Defence of Politics" by Bernard Crick) I am more critical of him for what he did and didn't do with his surprise control of the Senate (not so surprising to him actually by August 2004 polling) including election giveaways that did much to prevent Keating's superannuation schemes ever leading to relief of the burden of old age pensions or, worse, the rise of industry funds to, effectively, be a funding arm for (often private school educated) Labor careerists who will give us 25 years of reduced productivity and unnecessary retail penalty rates and (at least for a while) reduced shopping hours and availability of path and radiology .. just e.g. Then maybe the drag from China no longer making our coal and iron ore super valuable will force changes that recognise we 99 per cent of us are lucky drones (pending a Merkel influx of a million incompatible refugees anyway, but that I would not expect from Shorten).A123 , says: December 26, 2018 at 8:58 pm GMT@AnonFromTN I will suggest that a blanket statement on credibility does not work as a logical construct. To be accurate, one must define the perspective via the question:A123 , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:11 pm GMT
-- Credibility in the eyes of whom?I observed a significant increase in U.S. credibility among the citizens and governments of practicing Christian nations of the EU. For example: Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Italy.
Nations such as China that laughed at and casually rolled "Barak Hussein Obama the Submissive" also upped their respect for the U.S. when Trump took over. Though, I do concede that getting over a bar set at 0% (less than Rodney Dangerfield) is pretty easy.
Yes, U.S. National Socialist Democrats [DNC] lost credibility among Establishment Elites of the NWO/UN Circle of Arrogance. After all, they failed to deliver Hillary Clinton to the White House. However, DNC credibility among unelected elites at the debauched UN has nothing to do with U.S. credibility among the civilized people of the world.
@Cloak And Dagger More Taqiyya deliberate deception.Harold Smith , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:37 pm GMTIsrael did not fire any weapon system at any civilian airplane. It is a lie to say that they did. Given the air space congestion in the area it is functionally impossible to fly a combat mission without overlapping a flight route.
The only force that endangered civilian airliners were those firing anti-aircraft missiles that could hit those planes.
This is why it is highly likely that Russia will never turn over S-300 systems to Syrian control. Russia wants to sell these systems. Interest will drop to zero if Syrian forces use the S-300 to shoot down a civilian airliner over another nation such as Lebanon or Turkey.
@AnonFromTN "There are different factions at work in the US and these factions are doing their best to cut each others' throats, which is a good thing. We should sincerely wish success to both teams."Cloak And Dagger , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:44 pm GMTSeriously? With the exception of perhaps "the wall" and a few other relatively minor distractive issues (which won't matter very much when the U.S. is a pile of nuclear ash), I don't see any kind of "faction" offering any serious political opposition whatsoever to anything of significance that orange clown does. All I see is cheap talk/posturing.
@A123AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:44 pm GMTIsrael did not fire any weapon system at any civilian airplane.
Strawman.
Nobody said your people fired missiles at a civilian airline. You used civilian airplanes to hide behind. It is called using human shields – a war crime.
As for Russia handing over control of S-300′s to Syria, I would advise you to continue to believe that. I look forward to your hubris and arrogance causing you to vanish in a puff of smoke one day.
In any case, leave the US out of your squabbles.
@A123AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:46 pm GMTblanket statement on credibility does not work as a logical construct
Agree. But you appear to think that a blanket statement on "civilized people of the world" works as a logical construct. Sorry to disappoint, it does not work, either.
After Trump announced that the US withdraws, every one of the other signatories of JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal), namely China, France, Germany, EU, Russia, UK, and Iran said that they will abide by the deal, with Iranian stipulation that if the US attempts any hostile action, it would consider itself no longer bound by it. To wit, France, Germany, UK, and EU are subservient pawns of the Empire in most cases.
Iranians explicitly said that the US unilateral withdrawal from this deal shows that it is useless to negotiate with the US and come to any agreements with it, as the US will likely break its word any time it finds it convenient. This did a huge damage to the credibility of the country, no matter how you slice or dice it.
I agree regarding DNC credibility. After they falsified the results of their primaries (as Wasserman-Schultz resignation right before the convention affirmed), DNC cannot claim any credibility. Not that they even needed this trick: Sanders proved to be just as much of a fraud and a piece of shit as the mad witch. However, DNC has nothing to do with it. Obama administration was supposed to represent the country, not DNC. If the ability of Trump to act as President depended on the credibility of RNC (which is as low as that of DNC, although they did not falsify primaries, to the dismay of Deep State), our country is done for.
The President is supposed to be the leader of the country, not just his party. The actions of both Obama and Trump in the international affairs that are meant for internal consumption undermine the US more than any act of its avowed enemies.
@A123ChuckOrloski , says: December 26, 2018 at 9:52 pm GMTThe only force that endangered civilian airliners were those firing anti-aircraft missiles that could hit those planes.
Are you saying that when Israeli rockets see a civilian aircraft, they turn away from it? LOL.
@Cloak And Dagger Yes, C&D. Agree.anon [265] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:05 pm GMTFyi, I particularly despise the Zionist GWOT designations, "collateral damage," and the demonic branding of wartime Prisoners of War as "non-combatants," and exempt from internationally recognized Geneva Convention treatment while in ZUSA military captivity.
As a veteran who took an August 1970 solemn oath to honor humane treatment of war prisoners, & post-9/11, am wondering if taking such noble vow was being done throughout Basic Training posts, stationed across our (argh!) "Homeland."
Really made me sick to see how Sergeant Charles Garner and P.F.C. Lyndi England were held accountable for their barbaric Abu Ghraib acts, and shortly afterward, the freak-intellectual, John Yoo, became the distorted administration's Prisoner-Torture High Priest. (Zigh)
Am wondering in which prosperous U.S. Zionist "career" field has John Yoo landed?
Hm. Perhaps U.R. Comment-Research Specialist can help me here?Thanks a lot, C&D!
@A123anon [265] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:08 pm GMT-- Do violent Iranian al-Hezbollah forces in Syria take off for Christian holidays? No?
-- Do violent Iranian al-Hamas forces in Gaza disrespect their own religion by launching offensive, border assaults every Friday? Yes?everyone is violent except israel – yes? no?
@anonymoysanon [265] Disclaimer , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:11 pm GMTI've got good news for you. Sometimes the world/truth is really black and white. And in this case, certainly is: Trump is a fraud , has always been and will always be.
we can't be 100% sure yet but it's looking that way
unless that wall starts getting built pronto i don't see any reason to suport him 2020
@RobinGWinston1984 , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:46 pm GMTAs Zbig Brzezinski admitted .
this creep should be written out of history
same with kissinger
All right and clearanon [228] Disclaimer , says: December 27, 2018 at 12:16 am GMT
Pity, that the lot is stained by the dropping-like sterotype about Goebels' "big lie"
Never mind it's of Hitler's labour, not Goebels', but, more important, in Mein Kampf it is clearly expressed as a warning (beware..) against the chosen-tribe techniques.. The autor should be learned enough to know better: superficiality or malice?@A123 You are so desperate that you are looking under the mattress to find your last penny. Why don't you ask your grandmother to ( Ben Guiron or Gold mare or some WaPo Rubin or KKK- Krathamer Kristol Kagan ) to find it for you ?jacques sheete , says: December 27, 2018 at 12:44 am GMT@anonYour article names the supporters
He does that consistently and it's exactly what needs to be done. It's also what makes him one of the few people I bother to read any more.
We 'Merkins would be a lot better off with a few more PGs around and I hope he had a fine Christmas was a very Happy Nw Year!
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renfro , says: December 26, 2018 at 11:20 pm GMT
@ChuckOrloski They are constantly, constantly stealing.17 charged in massive Holocaust fraud case -- US news -- Crime
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40093058/ns/us /charged-million-holocaust-fraud-case/Nov 9, 2010 -- 17 charged in $42 million Holocaust fraud case. FBI: Employees at Jewish Claims Center had people pretend to be victims of Nazi persecution so they could collect money German funds over 6000 phony claims
Germany Seeks Compensation for $57M Holocaust Fraud -- The Forward
https://forward.com › News › WorldApr 17, 2015 -- Germany is for the first time seeking compensation for the $57 million lost to fraud at the Claims Conference. But the Holocaust agency says it
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Dec 27, 2018 | finance.yahoo.com
Compare with "That's set to worsen in the new year, experts told CNBC on Monday, pointing to risks including the Federal Reserve likely raising interest rates further and mounting concerns about a global economic slowdown." The problem iether expecting rally or expecting further downturn is that stock prices are so detached from reality that everything is possible.
Wall Street will see a "relief rally" in stocks that would offer a better selling opportunity for investors, technical analyst Katie Stockton says.
The rally would last for several weeks and would be up to 8 percent higher than where the markets closed on Friday, she says.
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james charles , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:27 am GMT
"So we go to fallback argument B, which is "containing Iran." "Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat."Tony H. , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:06 pm GMTSeen as a serious threat by some?
"Taken together, these four volumes constitute an extraordinary commentary on a basic weakness in the Soviet system. The Soviets are heavily dependent on Western technology and innovation not only in their civilian industries, but also in their military programs. An inevitable conclusion from the evidence in this book is that we have totally ignored a policy that would enable us to neutralize Soviet global ambitions while simultaneously reducing the defense budget and the tax load on American citizens."
"Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat.EugeneGur , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:08 pm GMT"which was rightly seen as a serious threat." So it was, was it? That's really the beginning of the bullshit in American policy. There were a few naysayers back then, since largely vindicated by the opening of former Soviet archives, who claimed that Stalin's postwar moves were largely defensive in nature and intended to protect the USSR from the talked about US preemptive attack on the Soviet Union. Stalin was well aware of all the loose talk on the American side and his country had just endured the same attempt on the part of Nazi Germany.
annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:14 pm GMT"Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat.
Could someone explain to me how exactly was the Soviet Union a serious threat to the US, particularly in 1947? The country was devastated by the war; some regions suffered from hunger, for goodness' sake; tens of millions were dead or maimed; the worked force was depleted as million of young men were killed, so the economic burden fell on the shoulders of women and teenagers; the cost of housing of people left homeless by the war was staggering; the cost of caring for orphan children, wounded and invalids -- ditto. In contrast, the United States was getting fatter by the minutes having benefited enormously from the war in Europe.
The Soviet Union "sometimes aggressive"? I am not aware of any Soviet plans to attack the US but we all know about the American and British plant to attack the USSR formulated as early as in 1945. No doubts the Soviet leadership was aware of such plans. The Soviets, having witnessed a demonstration staged for their benefits in Japans of the power of nuclear weapons, did everything with one purpose in mind: to prevent an attack, which they were in no position to withstand. Needless to say, the USSR didn't have nuclear weapons at that time but even after it had acquired them, it didn't quite catch up with the US in terms on number until the very end.
It's fair to say that the Soviet Union was never ever a thereat to the US. On the contrary, the US was a threat to the Soviet Union from the fist till the last day of its existence, as it remains a treat to Russia today. The problems with the Americans, even the most reasonable of them (not at all difficult to appear on today's insane background), is that they don't question the entire narrative they are fed but only the bits of it.
@Tony H. George Kennan's attitude towards Russia had evolved throughout the 70s-90s, but this evolution has been carefully obscured by the ziocon warriors and other war-profiteers using the ZUSA resources for their personal enrichment:With the end of the Cold War, Kennan continued to emphasize the limits of American power and the need for restraint in the exercise of it.
He lived to see the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war and characteristically aimed to influence the role that the United States should play in the new world circumstances.
He objected to plans for North Atlantic Treaty Organization expansion and to what he saw as exploitation of Russian weakness.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/us-history-biographies/george-kennan
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AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:37 pm GMT
@Harold SmithMaybe I am overestimating the intelligence of MIC profiteers, but my impression is that those thieves know that their loot is only useful as long as they are alive. There is a lot of silly hostile talk against Russia and China, but have you noticed how the US military always makes sure that there are no direct confrontations with countries that can turn the US into radioactive dust? The profiteers want huge Pentagon budget to steal from, but not the war where they lose along with everyone else.
As to the wall, it is one of the silliest projects ever suggested. Maybe that's why it was so easy to sell it to the intellectually disadvantaged electorate. There are two things that can stop illegal immigration.
First, go for the employers, enact a law that fines them to the tune of $50,000 or more per every illegal they employ. Second, enact the law that anyone caught residing in the US illegally has no right to enter the US legally, to obtain asylum, permanent residency, or citizenship for life, and include a provision that marriage to a US citizen does not nullify this ban.Then enforce both laws. After that illegals would run out of the country, and greedy employers won't hire any more. Naturally, the wall, even if built, won't change anything: as long as there are employers trying to save on salaries, immigration fees, and Social Security tax, and people willing to live and work illegally risking nothing, no wall would stem the flow.
Unfortunately, no side is even thinking about real measures, both are just posturing.
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jacques sheete , says: December 27, 2018 at 1:00 am GMT
@anonymoysAnonFromTN , says: December 27, 2018 at 1:28 am GMTBut let me tell you the future: there will be no withdraw from Syria UNLESS the king of Israel agrees.
No doubt about it. I'm sure the Trumpster is telling us peasants what we want to hear, just as he did while campaigning, and who knows if the US military will really get out of Syria on his order. I myself think he's bullshitting, but I hope I'm wrong.
@ChuckOrloski Pretty much. Sounds like "the only democracy in the Middle East".But if we cry for every victim of Israeli scheming, we can't drink enough to replenish the store of tears. Maybe we should do something about it, rather than crying or laughing? Or commenting here lulled by false anonymity? NSA is listening, anyway.
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Harold Smith , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:44 pm GMT
"President Donald Trump's order to withdraw from Syria has been greeted, predictably, with an avalanche of condemnation culminating in last Thursday's resignation by Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Mattis resignation letter focused on the betrayal of allies "anon [231] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:59 pm GMTCall me cynical but I think you cannot take ANYTHING our masters say or do, e.g. this, at face value.
Orange clown's alleged disengagement from Syria may be (and probably is) nothing more that a tactical retreat/change in plans for which the Mattis resignation is merely a fig leaf; that is, it's just more of the same disingenuous dialectics that we've been bombarded with since the beginning of the "Trump" administration.
Apparently we're urged to conclude that Trump has finally had enough of the people he knowingly and willingly surrounded himself with, and their agenda, and now all of a sudden (because of some kind of a spiritual epiphany, pro-American New Year's resolution, etc.) he wants to do right by (some of) his supporters by doing what he should've done a long time ago. (And the hint of a military drawdown in Afghanistan adds a nice touch).
Sorry but I can't buy what they're selling.
If in addition to withdrawing from Syria orange clown were to stop arming the "government" of "Ukraine" and agree to negotiations with Russia on the issue of intermediate range nuclear armed missiles in Europe -- with a goal to support/strengthen the INF treaty rather than withdraw from it -- I might be willing to entertain the idea that something's changed.
As it is now it'll take a lot more than the obligatory "avalanche of condemnation" i.e., cheap words, to convince me that the perfidious orange clown and his jewish-supremacist handlers are doing anything other than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic with one hand while steering it into the iceberg with the other hand.
@Harold Smithannamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:01 pm GMTCall me cynical but I think you cannot take ANYTHING our masters say or do, e.g. this, at face value.
agree
just watch their behaviour -- the wall never gets built even though they are now talking about increasing the "defense" budget from $700 billion to $750 billion next year -- the increase alone is the cost of two walls
@Puzzled "I have never been able to discern a strategy, other than to keep the region in turmoil"
-- Agree.Here is a tepid and academically deeply dishonest oeuvre by Richard Haass, who simply cannot help himself but to keep his day job of presstituting: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2018-12-11/how-world-order-ends
Sampling:
Although Russia has avoided any direct military challenge to NATO, it has nonetheless shown a growing willingness to disrupt the status quo: through its use of force in Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine since 2014, its often indiscriminate military intervention in Syria, and its aggressive use of cyberwarfare to attempt to affect political outcomes in the United States and Europe.
Haass is a Cheney's choice of opportunist and Goebbelsian kind of criminal:
Haass was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn From 1989 to 1993, he was Special Assistant to United States President George H. W. Bush and National Security Council Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs. In 1991, Haass received the Presidential Citizens Medal for helping to develop and explain U.S. policy during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Haass argued that the leaders of the United States should adopt "an imperial foreign policy" to construct and manage an informal American empire (Haass 2000)
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RobinG , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:21 pm GMT
.local sources told Al Jazeera and Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency --Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Ankara and Washington agreed to complete withdrawal of the YPG forces from Manbij before the US pulls out of Syria.
He added the US agreed to take back weapons given to the YPG.
Syrian government forces 'enter' Kurdish-controlled Manbij region. Trucks carrying regime forces and equipment, and armoured vehicles have arrived in the region, sources say.
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renfro , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:06 am GMT
anon [243] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:24 am GMTWithdrawing from Syria is the right thing to do, though one has to be concerned that there might be some secret side deals with Israel or Turkey that could actually result in more attacks on Syria and on the Kurds.
Netanyahu says he will escalate attacks against Iran in Syria. Lets see if Russia takes exception to that.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel will escalate its fight against Iranian-aligned forces in Syria after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Some Israeli officials have said U.S. President Donald Trump's move, announced on Wednesday, could help Iran by removing a U.S. garrison that stems the movement of Iranian forces and weaponry into Syria from Iraq.
Israel also worries that its main ally's exit could reduce its diplomatic leverage with Russia, the Syrian government's big-power backer.
"We will continue to act very aggressively against Iran's efforts to entrench in Syria," Netanyahu said in televised remarks, referring to an Israeli air campaign in Syria against Iranian deployments and arms transfers to Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, carried out with Moscow often turning a blind eye.
"We do not intend to reduce our efforts. We will intensify them, and I know that we do so with the full support and backing of the United States."
4,000,000 Muslims have been killed as a consequence of the wars since 2001, millions more displaced. More than 8,000 U.S. military have died in wars whose purpose was to take the oil from the Arab s, a purpose which started in 1897 with at the Zionist Congress in Switzerland. -- $6 trillion you say and counting, much of it borrowed. War without end means killing without end and it has to stop.Ronald Thomas West , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 8:48 am GMTYour article names the supporters of the war bandits and invading countries who rob the govern of there of their money, so the money can be used to destroy the lives and to reduce the quality of life in the target place to tribal at best (Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan). You mentioned war gang supporters Reuters, NYT, WoPo, mainstream television news providers , Pentagon, the Middle East Institute, and Israel.. but you left out so many others.
The important people to be considered in this are the Syrians humans governed by the Assad Syrian Government. & years of catching USA, British, French, Turkish, and Israeli bombs and donating, to Saudia Arabia raised Wahhabi's, Syrian heads and Syrian body parts, and being forced into homeless status as refugees of one more invader war, the Syrian people have evolved into strong nation organized to defend against the most powerful militarises in the world, they have voted 87% to keep Dr. Assad in three different elections as their leader. But something else happened: Syria became stronger, Syria became an international player, because both Russia and Iran joined to help Syria defend its sovereignty and to defend the lives of the Syrian people. I cannot think of one single American who wants anything the Syrian people have?
Why the war? So a few oil companies can steal the oil in Syria and run oil pipelines through Syria in order to defeat Russia's oil sales to Europe. Its not about Israel security (no threatens to invade Israel), its about Zionist greed and the urge to be entertained by murdering people in their homes.
So, Trump bends over his second least favorite babysitter/general, Mattis, and orders a complete withdrawal from Syria opening the door to NATO's Turkey to go after the Kurd units there, which is an interesting development.Durruti , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:36 pm GMTPutin wanted the USA out but he also has warned Erdogan against funneling Idlib's Salafi militants to Syria's Kurdish region, something Erdogan has been keen to do. Actually I expect the erratic Erdogan will go for it anyway, and small wonder at that, considering Erdogan's intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan, whose personal history is one of a bona fide member of al Qaida. Is Putin ready for Erdogan to back-stab Russia again? (recalling Erdogan's military had shot down a Russian jet.) This has to be the biggest geopolitical soap opera of the moment:
"The third disagreement is related to the fate of extremists as Turkish officials want to transfer them to Kurdish-controlled areas while Russian officials insist on "terminating them""
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1410516/russian-turkish-dispute-over-idlib-agreement-explanation-sources https://ronaldthomaswest.com/2018/10/03/natos-takfiri-laundromat/So, then Trump's detractors (includes Mattis) will point the finger at Trump (not Turkey) when Syria's east is reinfected with Salafi militants but secretly pleased Erdogan has reopened the terrorism pipeline into Syria if only because it will cause Assad and Russia problems, as well, there is the perpetual profits motive (noted by Phil.) And, so it goes
@Ronald Thomas West Good thinking:opening the door to NATO's Turkey to go after the Kurd units there
Must look to the North:
On Turkey's Northwest front, tensions are high between the Greek Military & some foreign controllers of Greece, and the Turkish Military, and their leaders. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/27/tensions-flare-greece-turkey-answer-provocation-erdogan
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
President Donald Trump's order to withdraw from Syria has been greeted, predictably, with an avalanche of condemnation culminating in last Thursday's resignation by Defense Secretary James Mattis. The Mattis resignation letter focused on the betrayal of allies, though it was inevitably light on details, suggesting that the Marine Corps General was having some difficulty in discerning that American interests might be somewhat different than those of feckless and faux allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia that are adept at manipulating the levers of power in Washington and in the media. Mattis clearly appreciates that having allies is a force multiplier in wartime but fails to understand that it is a liability otherwise as the allies create an obligation to go to war on their behalf rather than in response to any actual national interest.
The media was quick to line up behind Mattis. On Friday, The New York Times featured a lead editorial entitled "Jim Mattis was right" while neocon twitter accounts blazed with indignation. Prominent chickenhawk mouthpieces David Frum and Bill Kristol, among many others, tweeted that the end is nigh.
During the day preceding Mattis's dramatic announcement, the press went to war against the Administration over Syria and also regarding other reports that there would be troop reductions in Afghanistan. The following headline actually appeared on a Reuters online article the day after the announcement by the president: "In Syria retreat, Trump rebuffs top advisers and blindsides U.S. commanders." It would be difficult to imagine stuffing more bullshit into one relatively short sentence. "Retreat," "rebuffs" and "blindsides" are not words that are intended to convey any sort of even-handed assessment of what is occurring in U.S. policy towards the Middle East. They are instead meant to imply that "Hey, that moron in the White House has screwed up again!"
Consider for a moment the agenda that Reuters is apparently pushing. It is supporting an illegal and unconstitutional invasion of Syria by the United States that has a stated primary objective of removing a terrorist organization which is already mostly gone and a less frequently acknowledged goal of regime change for the legitimate government in Damascus and the expulsion of that government's principal allies. Reuters is asserting that staying in Syria would be a good thing for the United States and also for its "allies" in the region even though there is no way to "win" and no exit strategy.
Reuters is presumably basing its assessment on the collective judgments of a group of "top advisers" who are warmongers that the rest of the world as well as many Americans consider to be psychopaths or possibly even insane. And then there are the preferences of the "blindsided" generals, like Mattis, who have a personal interest in career terms for maintaining a constant state of warfare. If you want to really know how what the military thinks about an ongoing war ask a sergeant or a private, never a general. They will tell you that they are sick of endless deployments that accomplish nothing.
The New York Times lead story headline on Thursday also let you know that its Editors were not please by Trump's move. It read "U.S. ExitSeen as a Betrayal of the Kurds, and a Boon for ISIS." They also editorialized "Trump's Decision to Withdraw From Syria Is Alarming. Just Ask His Advisers."
The Washington Post was not far behind. It immediately ran an op-ed by the redoubtable neocon chickenhawk Max Boot, whom Caitlin Johnstone has dubbed The Man Who Has Been Wrong About Everything. The piece was entitled Trump's surprise Syria pullout is a giant Christmas gift to our enemies making a twofer with an incredible "Fuck the EU" Victoria Nuland's piece entitled "In a single tweet Trump destroys U.S. policy in the Middle East," which appeared simultaneously. That anyone would regard Boot and Nuland as objective authorities on the Middle East given their ultimate and prevailing loyalty to Israel has to be wondered at, but then again Fred Hiatt is the editorial/opinion page editor and he is of the same persuasion, both ethnically and philosophically. They are all, of course, devoted Zionists and the big lie about what is going on in the region is apparently always worth repeating. As Joseph Goebbels put it in 1941 " when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it even at the risk of looking ridiculous."
Comments relating to the articles, op-eds and editorials in the Post and Times bordered on the hysterical, sometimes suggesting that readers actually believe that Trump was following orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin. And what was stirring at Reuters, The Times , and the Post was only the tip of the iceberg. The mainstream television news providers united in condemning the audacity of a president who might actually try to end a war while the only favorable commentary on Trump's having taken a step that is long overdue came from the alternative media.
One might profitably recall how Trump has only been praised as "presidential" by the Establishment twice – when he staged cruise missile attacks on Syria based on faulty intelligence. The Deep State wants blood, make no mistake about it and it is not interested in "retreat." And Trump will also get almost no support from Congress, with only longtime critics of Syrian policy Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee as well as Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard praising the move initially.
The arguments being made to criticize the Trump initiative were essentially cookie cutter neocon soundbites. The Reuters piece in its first few lines of text asserts that the reversal of policy "stunned lawmakers and allies with his order for U.S. troops to leave Syria, a decision that upends American policy in the Middle East. The result, said current and former officials and people briefed on the decision, will empower Russia and Iran and leave unfinished the goal of erasing the risk that Islamic State, or ISIS, which has lost all but a sliver territory, could rebuild." The article goes on to quote an anonymous Pentagon source who opined that " Trump's decision was widely seen in the Pentagon as benefiting Russia as well as Iran, both of which have used their support for the Syrian government to bolster their regional influence. Iran also has improved its ability to ship arms to Lebanese Hezbollah for use against Israel. Asked who gained from the withdrawal, the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, replied: 'Geopolitically Russia, regionally Iran.'"
Another so-called expert Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute was also cited in the article, saying "It completely takes apart America's broader strategy in Syria, but perhaps more importantly, the centerpiece of the Trump administration policy, which is containing Iran."
Israel is also turning up the heat on Trump, claiming that the move will make it more insecure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to increase air attacks on Iranian targets in Syria as an added security measure to make up for the American betrayal. Normally liberal American Jews have joined the hue and cry against Trump on behalf of Israel. Filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted on Thursday that the president is a "childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist" who is "committing Treason" against the United States.
The real story, lost in the wailing and gnashing to teeth, is that even after conceding that Donald Trump's hyperbolic claim that the United States had defeated ISIS as the motive for the withdrawal is nonsense, there is still no good reason for Washington to continue to keep troops in Syria. The U.S. in reality did far less in the war against the terrorist groups infesting the region than did the Russians, Iranians or the Syrians themselves and, as a result, it will have less say in what kind of Syria emerges from the carnage. That is almost certainly a good thing for the Syrian people.
But let's assume for sake of argument that the U.S. invasion really was about ISIS. Well, ISIS continues to hold on to a small bit of territory near the Euphrates River and is reported to have between one and two thousand remaining fighters. There are other estimates suggesting that between 10,000 and 20,000 followers have dispersed and gone underground awaiting a possible resurgence by the group. The argument that ISIS will reorganize and re-emerge as a result of the American withdrawal assumes that it is the 2,000 strong U.S. armed forces that are keeping it down, which is ridiculous. The best remedy against an ISIS recovery is to support a restored and re-unified Syria, which will have more than enough resources available to eliminate the last bits of the terrorist groups remaining in its territory.
So we go to fallback argument B, which is "containing Iran." "Containment" was a U.S. policy devised by George Kennan in 1947 to inhibit the expansion of a powerful and sometimes aggressive soon-to-be nuclear armed Soviet Union, which was rightly seen as a serious threat. Iran is a second world country with a small military and economy with no nuclear arsenal and it neither threatens the United States nor any of its neighbors. But Israel supported by Saudi Arabia does not like Iran and has induced Washington to follow its lead. Withdrawing from Syria recognizes that Iran is no threat in reality. Positioning American military forces to "counter" Iran does not reduce the threat against the United States because there was no threat there to begin with.
And then there is the argument that the U.S. departure empowers Iran and Russia. Staying in Syria is, on the contrary, a drain on both those countries' limited resources. The more money and manpower they have to commit to Syria the less they have to become engaged elsewhere and it is hard to imagine how either country would exploit the "victory" in Syria to leverage their involvement in other parts of the world. Both would be delighted if a final settlement of the Syrian problem could be arrived at so they can get out.
And as for the United States, the military should only be deployed anywhere to defend the U.S. itself or vital interests. There is nothing like that at stake in Syria. So, is American national security better or worse if the U.S. leaves? As Russian and American soldiers only confront each other directly in Syria, U.S. national security would in fact be greatly improved because the danger of igniting an accidental war with Russia would be dramatically reduced. There have reportedly already been a dozen incidents between U.S. and Russian troops, including some involving shooting. That has been a dozen too many. Even the possibility of starting an unintended war with Iran would potentially be disastrous for the United States as well as for everyone else in the region, so it is far better to put some distance between the two sides.
And finally, it is necessary to go to the argument for disengagement from Syria that is too little heard in the western media or from the usual bonehead politicians named Graham and Rubio who pronounce on foreign policy. How has American intervention in the Middle East and south and central Asia benefited the people in the countries that have been invaded or bombed? Not at all. By some estimates four million Muslims have been killed as a consequence of the wars since 2001 and millions more displaced. More than eight thousand U.S. military have died in the process in wars that had no purpose and no exit strategy. And the wars have been expensive – $6 trillion and counting, much of it borrowed. War without end means killing without end and it has to stop Syria Withdrawal Enrages the Chickenhawks, by Philip Giraldi - The Unz Review
Withdrawing from Syria is the right thing to do, though one has to be concerned that there might be some secret side deals with Israel or Turkey that could actually result in more attacks on Syria and on the Kurds. Donald Trump is already under extreme pressure coming from all directions to reverse his decision to leave Syria and it is quite possible that he will either fold completely or bend at least a bit. It is to be hoped that he will not do so as a Christmas present to the American people. And he might want to think of a Christmas present for 2019. One might suggest a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is www.councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is [email protected] . Syria Withdrawal Enrages the Chickenhawks, by Philip Giraldi - The Unz Review
Fiendly Neighbourhood Terrorist , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 8:19 am GMTThe very fact that Hollywood twits who couldn't find Syria on the outline map of the world to save their lives have been roped in to get all outraged about Trump withdrawing troops from Syria proves that the military industrial complex is worried that it will lose sales if the Amerikastani Empire steps back from actively looking for war.anon [243] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:24 am GMTThe military industrial complex, after all, runs Hollywood ...
4,000,000 Muslims have been killed as a consequence of the wars since 2001, millions more displaced. More than 8,000 U.S. military have diedjilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:25 am GMT....
Again I have the idea that my, not just mine, theory about Trump is confirmed, he understands that the USA will destroy itself economically and politically by continuing to try to control the world. Of course, USA Deep State is furious, through its mouth pieces CNN, Washpost and NYT.chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:08 am GMTOf course Netanyahu is more than furious, Sharon's 'we control America' seems to be over. If Putin and Trump agree explicitly or implicitly, I do not know, and, if they indeed agree, it does not matter. The essential thing for me is that both in Washington and in Moscow we now have reasonable men, who understand that warfare is just destruction of wealth. Interesting is what the consequences for EU and NATO will be. They must be in utter confusion.
What a great present, unexpectedly getting a Phil Giraldi column on Christmas day! Merry Christmas, Phil and everyone !Realist , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:15 am GMTI'm little more pessimistic about Trump's withdrawal from Syria; it seems to me all the more proof that he's getting ready to attack Iran !
If you wanted to do that, you'd first clear it with the Israelis and they'd be quiet (check) – actually, this would be their plan; then you would get US troops out of Syria to protect them from Iranian troops in Syria (invited by Assad), (check). then you would move one or two aircraft carriers into the Persian gulf (check)!
Then you would hit Iran on New Year's Day (open), and then you would take Trump down for starting an illegal war (open).
All birds down with Stalin-esque (criminal) elegance!
@PuzzledMAGAnotMISA , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:21 am GMTLet us hope he keeps with his campaign promise on this one.
Good luck.
My impression is, ISIS is a mossad-Jewish lobby creation to win the PR war against Muslims and to keep the US attacking and "containing" Israel's geopolitical adversaries and eternally occupying Arab lands, and well, to Make Israel Safe Again ™anon [202] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:10 am GMTApart from the questions raised by some from the alternative media: https://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-is-a-us-israeli-creation-top-ten-indications/5518627
The fact is the mossad could easily pull this off, having so many Israelis from Northern-African and Middle Eastern extraction, fluent in Arab and looking exactly like well, Arabs. They could infiltrate and recruit Arab salafist patsies and easily organize terrorist attacks without executing the hits themselves. And it is actually a genius move:
1) Create a terrorist thread in Europe, making Westerners wary of Arabs, ie more likely to understand Israel policies towards Palestinians and side with Israel (message being: apartheid State? what else can we Israelis do? Palestinians are all gropers, misogynists, homophobes and potential terrorists FYI)
2) Hit the countries with the most Jews (France, Germany and UK) so they are more likely to start packing up to make Aliyah, so Israel's demographic problem is at least temporarily solved, retaining a majority population of Jews.
3) Make the US, through the Jewish lobby in the US, attack strategic countries such as Libya, Iraq and Syria, creating a migrant tsunami to flood Europe, making Europeans even more wary of Arabs and understanding of Israeli's treatment of Palestinians (Arabs) and also making European Jews even more likely to make Aliyah. I even have heard of Israeli NGOs funded by the Israeli Ministry of FA operating in Lesbos and helping "refugees" to flood Europe. After a public outcry the Ministry logo vanished from the NGOs sponsors page.
Even the Cologne issue with the gropings, and I am getting too conspiratorial here, could have been a group of Israeli provocateurs kickstarting the whole assaults wave. Let's say, a group of mossad operatives, composed of Israelis from Northern-African and/or Middle Eastern extraction, with false documentation and fluent in Arab, start groping and assaulting German women, taking advantage of the total chaos offered and facilitated by moronic Merkel. They get caught? no problem, false passports or even no passports at all, just give false names and disappear. Not that Arabs need that much help to make themselves look bad, after all some American reporter was assaulted *live* and for what I have read the lecherous groping of women walking alone is a well documented problem in all the ME. But maybe thanks to a little push by provocateurs, an incident big enough was engineered and the image of Arabs in the West reached historic lows thanks to the Cologne affair.
And creating phoney terrorist groups to use them for false flags is not something new at all for the mossad, let's all remember what the FLLF was and how almost executed an US Ambassador.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_for_the_Liberation_of_Lebanon_from_Foreigners
I'd like to hear Mr Giraldi's take on the matter, though I don't think he will ever write about it.
Merry Christmas to all.
"Filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted on Thursday that the president is a "childish moronic mentally unstable malignant narcissist" who is "committing Treason" against the United States."Moi , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:52 am GMTHe and fellow tribesmen are welcome to sign up and go fight Israel's wars themselves, just not with white male republican blood. The guy is good at border skirmishes, too. He led an effort to keep poor Mexicans out of his rich Malibu neighborhood back in 2014 by refusing Whole Foods a building location. Like most of his kind, he's a sociopathic hypocrite and a liar.
Further proof that we are nuts.jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:06 pm GMT@MAGAnotMISA What I miss is destroying white cultures through mass immigration. Though what I miss in this theory what exactly is the objective, is it whites and Muslims annihilating each other, or just divide and rule ? But maybe thinking in this way has not gone far enough.Montefrío , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:08 pm GMTBernard Baruch's world domination plan failed miserably, but he even failed to understand that it had failed, otherwise he had not in 1946 pleaded for a world government. One must not underestimate the enemy, but also not overestimate him.
Jewish policies for the last 2000 years can hardly be seen as a success. Judaism lost the battle with Christianity, Bolshevism failed in Russia, getting equal rights in W Europe led to the WWII deportations, with or without gas chambers, Israel succeeded in surrounding itself with enemies, as neighbors, and all over the world, and Jewish puppet Hillary was not elected.
The latest statements by Netanyahu confirm my idea of a complete idiot.
I continue to be amazed that anyone gives any credibility whatsoever who claims US Mideast military involvement is in the best interest of the nation. The above-mentioned commenters must almost inevitably more about self-interest than anything patriotic. As for appearing profound, well, there's Rob Reiner!APilgrim , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:51 pm GMTToday's Jerusalem Post had a link to this Kamala Harris political fund-raising ad.Sarah Toga , says: December 25, 2018 at 12:59 pm GMTThe cvnt.
As I sat in Christmas Eve service last night, an adorable little boy played quietly with his father in the seat next to us. The little boy was probably just under 2 years of age.FelicityRules , says: December 25, 2018 at 1:18 pm GMTIn the middle of one of the Christmas Carols the thought struck me,
"I wonder if we will still be in ___________ war 17 years from now, when this little boy becomes enlistment age . . ."
That thought alone makes me favor Trump for re-election. I think (I could be wrong, I'm no expert) we have less war and a lesser risk of war with Trump. The "establishment" policies of: invade the world – invite the world – in hoc with the world; are horrifically deadly and destructive.
As usual, Giraldi is spot on with his observations. I wish him a Merry Christmas and hope to see a lot more of his articles in the coming year.Tim K , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:10 pm GMTI find Rob Reiner amusing, if not occasionally annoying. After having spent decades up to my nose with his tribe while working in LA in the entertainment industry I can guarantee Hollywood Jews go completely apoplectic anytime they perceive their government, the Jewish-occupied government that rules over us all, is not following their commands.
Come to think of it, apoplexy's first definition is a stroke, its second definition is: a state of intense and almost uncontrollable anger. One can only hope that jerks like Reiner who indulge so heavily in the second definition will end up experiencing the first, and good riddance.
US out of Syria? Why were "we" ever in there?anon [122] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:20 pm GMTBoot, Nuland, Shapiro, Stephens, Reiner, etc etc – one (((chickenhawk))) after anotherSparkon , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:27 pm GMTA mong hawks in N. America, Cooper's Hawk ( Accipiter cooperii ), Red-shouldered Hawk ( Buteo lineatus ), and Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ) are the three species most likely to take domestic chickens, or yardbirds as they are sometimes called, and it is these three species that are or have been commonly called Chickenhawks in the United States, at least among non-birders, who are people with neither binoculars nor field guide.The Alarmist , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm GMTBut I think most here know that Philip Giraldi is referring to the craven human variety of warmonger known in some circles as the Yellow-tailed Chickenhawk, or its close relative the Yellow-bellied Chickenhawk.
President Trump's announcement is a very nice Christmas present, which I choose to take a face value pending unwrapping. As always, actions speak louder than words. Let's hope that there isn't a booby prize or two lurking beneath the Christmas tree and hidden by the big surprise package, or that there isn't a lump of coal at the bottom of our holiday stockings.
Peace on Earth to all men of Good Will.
@Tim KDESERT FOX , says: December 25, 2018 at 2:39 pm GMT"US out of Syria? Why were "we" ever in there?"
Pipelines to Europe for KSA and fresh water sources for Israel? Destabilizing a local rival of both? Who knows?
What we do know is that "we" have allowed our "leaders" to pimp out our military to the rogue special interests of the world. We have the best government foreign interests can buy.
The Zionist MSM and MIC and the Zionist AIPAC and company are the hounds of Hell baying for war as warmongers always want war as long as they do not have to fight it and can reap the profits from the wars! ...follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:35 pm GMT@chris Let's think about this. The USA has not been able to defeat the Afghan Taliban forces in 17 years. It brought down Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, but, with that unfortunate country totally destroyed, how could you call that a win (I doubt if the Iraqi's consider the US to be liberators).Z-man , says: December 25, 2018 at 3:42 pm GMTNow the crack pot Obama/Hillary campaign has lost in Syria, and Trump wants to pull out. All three countries were much smaller and weaker than Iran...
follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:02 pm GMTBut Israel supported by Saudi Arabia does not like Iran and has induced Washington to follow its lead. Withdrawing from Syria recognizes that Iran is no threat in reality. Positioning American military forces to "counter" Iran does not reduce the threat against the United States because there was no threat there to begin with.
Yes of course, I would just add that Israel hates Iran. Rand Paul and others have been pushing back hard against the NEOCON narrative here, good news. The initial anti Trump tide has turned in this matter. I briefly saw Bill Krysrol's smug mug on TV the other day....
Trump telling General Mattis to pack his bags and begone is the work of a good CEO. Mad Dog could have done a lot of damage to Mr. Trump's agenda if he had been allowed to stay on until the end of February, as he had said he would. In corporate America, if an underling is disloyal to the CEO, he will be told to vacate the premises for good by the end of the workday, and escorted out of the building by armed security. His keys will be taken, all locks will be changed, and his passwords expunged. No doubt Trump, as CEO, has had to employ such tactics many times before. He obviously relishes saying "You're Fired!"never-anonymous , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:24 pm GMTAny competent Trump loyalist can be found to replace this worn out old soldier. I hope he won't be yet another general. MacArthur said that "old soldier never die, they just fade away." Time for Mattis to do just that, and never be heard from again.
Syria is a money pit for the taxpayers and giant profit source for the super rich. 'The United States military should only be deployed anywhere to defend the U.S. itself or vital interests' says Trump, Obama or Bush. But war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought.JoaoAlfaiate , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:37 pm GMTTrump was appointed by rich people only so they could have someone to blame. 100% of the voters believe they personally have the right to kill women and children overseas with their hired mercenaries to defend the U.S. itself or vital interests. Americans shell out taxes to pay for US troops to guard mining operations and poppy fields in Afghanistan, oil fields in Iraq, online propaganda and so much more. Why deploy the United States Military when there's more profit in hiring private mercenaries? Plus you don't have to say that "vital interests" crap anymore.
This article is an excellent summary of msm and neocon reaction to the planned US withdrawal from Syria and a good survey of why getting Uncle Sam out of Syria makes sense. I would also add that allying with the Kurds was at best a short term solution. Not only would a Kurdish state in eastern Syria be unacceptable to Turkey but the Sunni Arabs of the Euphrates Valley would be certain to resist Kurdish rule. Merry Christmas to all!DESERT FOX , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:43 pm GMT@ChuckOrloski In my opinion, Zionist Israel will never stop being the agent provocateur in the Mideast and elsewhere ie the Ukraine etc., and since the Zionists control the U.S. government I think their satanic NWO plans are still in place, and think the U.S. military is just going to be placed in Iraq and Jordan ie just across the border to Syria and will continue with their proxy mercenaries aka AL CIADA aka ISIS.Renoman , says: December 25, 2018 at 4:58 pm GMTSome good sites to follow are Southfront.org and Henrymakow.com and Stevequayle.com and Thetruthseeker.co.uk etc., all things considered even Putin said that Russia will wait and see if the U.S. really leaves the Mideast, I wish all our troops would be brought home, but with the Zionist control of our government it will never happen.
It is snowing here in Montana so we have a white Christmas, which we could do without, but have a Merry Christmas!
Yes to Trump and withdrawal from Mid East Wars, down with MSM, The Neocons, the 1% , the deep state and Israel...Bragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:23 pm GMTIf you want to know who's agitating for war, look no further than our "friends," the Brits. This is what they do every single time a U.S. President doesn't commit troops to some war they've approved of, or started. They terror bait, or mock, or a combination of the two. And since a lot of people in Washington take them seriously, it has appreciable impact on our policies.AnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:11 pm GMTThis is the first sane thing Trump did in two years. Also, this is the first action he promised his supporters in 2016. Naturally, Israel-firsters, who in 2016 backed the corrupt mad witch to a man, are unhappy. Their unhappiness is a good sign that this action is actually in American interests. If Trump folds and reverses, this would expose him as a 100% fraud. If he sticks to his guns, maybe there is hope for him yet. Stay tuned.chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:31 pm GMT@follyofwar Oh, no; I don't mean Trump will start some major ground offensive to win anything! No, they'll just try to destroy Iran in order to give jihadist a chance to kill as many people as possible. This will be a Libyan-style war and "victory."Bragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 6:39 pm GMT@jilles dykstra Yeah, not sure about the Dutch, with their history at Srebrenica.A123 , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:01 pm GMTBut I was referring to the Brits trying to push Trump back into the Middle East war grinder.
The U.S. has 2,000 soldiers in a kill-sack if Erdogan decides to cut off their supply lines. And, calling Erdogan "unreliable" is something of an understatement. The U.S. can say very little about Erdogan's behaviour while he can take reprisals on U.S. troops.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:10 pm GMT-- Turkey and Saudi are feuding, and the U.S. needs Saudi more than Turkey to maintain sanctions and other pressure on Iran.
-- Turkey is becoming dangerously deranged in its statements about Israel (1). And the U.S. / Israeli relationship is vital for many reasons.
-- Turkey has been a threat to Christian Cyprus for decades. The Leviathan-Cyprus-Greece pipeline is important to help free Christian Populist EU nations, such as Italy, from tyrannical rule under Soros-servitors Merkel and Macron.
Do not over over read the withdrawal as a change in regional strategy. There are no major policy changes. This is about opening the door to push out Erdogan, if that becomes necessary to support the existing U.S. regional strategy. And, the U.S. can still hope that Erdogan is saying demented things solely for domestic consumption and doesn't intend to actually follow thru on the crazy.
__________
@MAGAnotMISA "ISIS is a mossad-Jewish lobby creation to win the PR war against Muslims and to keep the US attacking and "containing" Israel's geopolitical adversaries and eternally occupying Arab lands, and well, to Make Israel Safe Again "Michael Kenny , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:18 pm GMT– Hard to disagree with your statement. And who could forget the amazing care of the Jewish State for the White Helmets known for their cooperation with other "moderate" terrorists: https://gellerreport.com/2018/07/israel-syria-jordan.html/
Israel Evacuates 800 of Syria's White Helmets and Their Families to Jordan
The Israel Defense Forces said it engaged in the "out of the ordinary" gesture due to the "immediate risk" to the lives of the civilians, as Russian-backed regime forces closed in on the area. It stressed that it was not intervening in the ongoing fighting in Syria.
The Jordanian government, which has consistently refused to accept Syrian refugees in recent years, said an exception was made in this case as the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany agreed to take the 800 White Helmet rescuers and their families.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported that a convoy of dozens of buses crossed the Syrian border into Israel late Saturday, and were escorted to the Jordanian border by Israeli police and UN forces.
A lot of the rejoicing in the pro-Putin camp seems to be based on the idea that this somehow benefits Putin but I don't think it does. He is still irreversibly bogged down in Syria.Alfred , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:29 pm GMT@renfro Netanyahu is telling the idiotic Israeli public what they want to hear. Let's not forget that there are elections due on 9 April.2stateshmustate , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:31 pm GMTYou can hardly expect a politician to tell the public that if they so much as launch a missile against Damascus airport, the airport of Tel Aviv will be bombed in return. The days when the Israelis could do as they wished in Syria and Lebanon are gone.
@DESERT FOX You took the words right out of my mouth.annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:32 pm GMT@MAGAnotMISA More on the Jewish State's beloved protege White Helmets and the profoundly zionized presstituting MSM: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/447385-white-helmets-un-panel/Alfred , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:49 pm GMT"Organ theft, staged attacks: UN panel details White Helmets' criminal activities, media yawns," by Eva Bartlett.
"[During] a more than one-hour-long panel on the White Helmets at the United Nations on December 20 the irrefutable documentation was presented on the faux-rescue group's involvement in criminal activities, which include organ theft, working with terrorists -- including as snipers -- staging fake rescues, thieving from civilians, and other non-rescuer behaviour.
a Syrian civilian, Omar al-Mustafa, is cited as stating: "I saw them (White Helmets) bring children who were alive, put them on the floor as if they had died in a chemical attack."
In my own visits to eastern Ghouta towns last April and May, residents likewise spoke of organ theft, staged rescues, the White Helmets working with Jaysh al-Islam, while an Aleppo man likewise described them as thieves who steal from civilians, not rescuers.
Four days after the UN panel, to my knowledge, not a single corporate media outlet has covered the event and its critical contents.
This is in spite of the fact that the Western corporate media has been happy to propagandize about the White Helmets for years, and to attack those of us who dare to present testimonies and evidence from on the ground in Syria which contradicts the official narrative.
@DESERT FOX "The most incredible thing was that the Zionists and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911 which was the precursor to the latest Mideast wars and the war on terror where the Zionists killed some 3000 Americans and blamed the Arabs and got away with it , when every thinking American knows that Israel and the Zionist controlled deep state did 911!"annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 7:51 pm GMTThe number of victims of 9/11 in NYC are way above 3000. Cancers and so on just don't get counted. BTW, it is not from the dust. It is from the small nuclear bombs in the 2 buildings. The 3rd building was only explosives.
https://nypost.com/2018/08/11/nearly-10k-people-have-gotten-cancer-from-toxic-9-11-dust/
Here is a useful link: ""9-11/Israel did it"" https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it
@jilles dykstra "Is Netanyahu crazy enough to provoke an attack ?"follyofwar , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:14 pm GMT– He is certainly endangering himself and his parasitic state by the silly ideas of mythological choseness. Let's hope that the more intelligent Soviet Jews (as compared to the mediocre pool of the pre-Soviet Israelis) take pains to explain the former salesman the stupidity of military confrontation with Iran/Russia. As for the US-dwelling zionists' stupidity it is irredeemable.
@Bragadocious What the hell is up with these dysfunctional Brits anyway? With their empire thankfully long gone, their society in tatters, and a Muslim mayor running majority-minority London, they think they can get the US to take on Iran for them? Spare me! This "special relationship" has got to end. The Brits must be under the thumb of the Zionists even more than is the USA. And their sad monarchy belongs in the dustbin of history.Realist , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:26 pm GMTRealist , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:42 pm GMTAnd he might want to think of a Christmas present for 2019. One might suggest a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
And in addition Syria, Iraq, Guam, Germany, Britain, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Norway and on and on. Give the present 11 months early.
@Ronald Thomas WestAnon [257] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:45 pm GMTIs Putin ready for Erdogan to back-stab Russia again? (recalling Erdogan's military had shot down a Russian jet.)
The biggest problem Putin has with Erogan is the control of the Russian navy's exit from the Black sea through the Bosporus.
@jilles dykstra It's just what you said, he's keeping a low profile and staying inside on advice of his security. They're probably worried about snipers in ahigh rise somewhere.Svigor , says: December 25, 2018 at 8:53 pm GMTIt's been fun listening to (((NPR))) try to spin military withdrawal as a bad thing without actually saying as much. "Trump's facing critics in his own party," "here are some Kurds bitching," "General McProcurer is really pissed," "Chikkenhauk Epsteinbergwitzbaum sez it's the end of the world," etc.m___ , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:09 pm GMTLOL.
No rationality, no credibility decision (Syria withdrawal).chris , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:18 pm GMTMost variables are missing. Trump is insignificant but as a figurehead. At least a few layers, the correlations and "secret" deals with Israel, Turkey, IS, Kurds, France, the UK, let's not forget Russia are missing. The commoner, deplorable, are lead by the nose, our middle class bread scribes are doing the herding by shifting the attention, and building an exit of face saving on what they omit to pull in the open.
No value in this "News" and "Christmas present" at all, but more of deceit of a global ruling class in the shadows. It is called smarts, to deceive the rest of the dumb (in the eyes of the elites) masses, it is relevant to call out our elites on not smart enough to think over the long term.
Who of a building presence of outliers can they still deceive?
@Sarah Toga "Death and taxes" for countries translates to "war and bankruptcy." Maybe we'll get lucky and hit the latter before we kill everyone in the former.AnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:20 pm GMT@Realist That's more like Erdogan's problem with Russia. Russian coastal defense system K-300P Bastion-P in Crimea is perfectly capable of making Bosporus and Dardanelles straits much wider. However crazy Erdogan is, he is well aware of that.Bragadocious , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:31 pm GMT@follyofwar Actually Brits think their country is doing just great. But yeah, the "special relationship" should be scuttled. We face a bigger threat from British jihadis than any Iranians anywhere. Richard Reid is sitting in a federal Supermax, but I don't think any Iranians are.AnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:42 pm GMTBrits simply love using the U.S. military for their own venal objectives. And if anything goes wrong, the Brits can distance themselves and blame it on "the Yanks." A win-win.
@Svigor It is really funny to see "peace-loving" liberals trying not to look like warmongers that they are. NPR is not alone in attempting this sleight of hand: NYT, CNN, WaPo, and others of their ilk are desperately trying to appear peace-loving while promoting wars that benefit MIC and Israel. Hypocrisy at its most awkward. The only good thing is, they are forced to show their true colors.peterAUS , says: December 25, 2018 at 9:59 pm GMT@m___ Well you know, that perception of yours re how the real world really works is, actually, positive and optimistic.nickels , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:12 pm GMTIf if I get you correct, you believe/feel/think there IS the "overclass" (for a lack of better word) which rules the world. They are hidden, all powerful, competent, on the same page and malevolent re us , the common folks.
I am afraid that's not the case.
I believe/feel/think there is no such overclass. My take is there are warring factions of mostly incompetent little people with a lot of power who fight among themselves who's going to get more power and related material wealth. The malevolent part re all those they see as below them is given, of course.
And, gets worse, actually. In this particular case I think the decision was made in a spur of a moment. Pure Emperor whim,if you will. On top of it, we still haven't seen any actual move on the ground. And, even if those up to 2000 men do pull out, what about CIA/special forces/contractors bunch? And, even better, those 2000 and more can return in 48 hours if the Emperor decides otherwise. In a spur of a moment too.
Anyone so happy here commenting this .thing has been following what's really been happening with North Korea? What exactly changed from that fateful meeting between the Emperor and the Cult Leader? Let's summarize: the very point of all that was stopping and rolling back NK capability for long range nuclear strike. So .any "rolling" happened? Anything? I don't think so, but, more than happy to be proven wrong. Proven, mind you.
The only important, and sad actually, is how we all got into the stage when a tweet by that fellow can agitate us so much. Mice and just a whiff of cheese over the cage.
They really got us where they wanted. And those "they" aren't even that smart. Just great.
All wars are jews wars: "Trump is retreating from Syria – and from his pro-Israel Jewish conservative voters. If that decision is a harbinger of other strategic moves distancing him from Israel's security, much of his remaining Jewish support will fall off a cliff"annamaria , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:19 pm GMTA wonderfully conciliatory and hopeful article by Thierry Meyssan: http://www.voltairenet.org/article204453.htmlAnonFromTN , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:20 pm GMT"The United States refuse to fight for the transnational financiers"
As soon as he entered the White House, Donald Trump was careful to surround himself with three senior military officers with enough authority to reposition the armed forces. Michael Flynn, John Kelly and especially James Mattis, have since left or are in the process of leaving. All three men are great soldiers who together had opposed their hierarchy during Obama's presidency. They did not accept the strategy implemented by ambassador John Negroponte for the creation of terrorist groups tasked with stirring up a civil war in Iraq. All three stood with President Trump to annul Washington's support for the jihadists.
The Pentagon project for the last seventeen years in the "Greater Middle East" will not happen. Conceived by Admiral Arthur Cebrowski, it was aimed at destroying all the state structures in the region, with the exception of Israël, Jordan and Lebanon. This plan, which began in Afghanistan, spread as far as Libya, and is still under way, will come to an end on Syrian territory.
It is no longer acceptable that US armies fight with taxpayers' funds for the sole financial interests of global financiers, even if they are US citizens.
The Bush Jr. and Obama administrations shoulder the entire responsibility for this war [in Syria]. They were the ones who planned it and realised it within the framework of a unipolar world .
Afghanistan's misery began during the Carter presidency. National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzeziński, called on the Muslim Brotherhood and Israël to launch a campaign of terrorism against the Communist government. Terrified, the government appealed to the Soviets to maintain order. The result was a fourteen-year war, followed by a civil war, and then followed by the Anglo-US invasion.
After forty years of uninterrupted destruction, President Trump states that US military presence is not the solution for Afghanistan, it's the problem.
@peterAUSRonald Thomas West , says: Website December 25, 2018 at 10:24 pm GMTMy take is there are warring factions of mostly incompetent little people with a lot of power who fight among themselves who's going to get more power and related material wealth. The malevolent part re all those they see as below them is given, of course.
And those "they" aren't even that smart.
My goodness! I agree with you on this.
@Realist When Erdogan's military had shot down the Russian jet, Turkey paid for it rapidly with an economic squeeze. Russian tourism to Turkey was shut down and green grocer exports to Russia were subjected to intense scrutiny/inspection and nearly halted. One could say the Turks are still feeling the effect, the impact was immediate and probably there hasn't been a full recovery to some of the businesses that had been damaged. Erdogan tucked his tail and played nice with Putin after all but he is no dependable ally of anyone, he's screwed everyone he'd ever done business with insofar as the M.E. regional game. The main problem with Turkey for Russia is the Erdogan regime's Salafi outlook (to say the leadership is sympathetic to al-Qaida would be an understatement.) Erdogan may have promised to 'neutralize' the Idlib extremists but he won't, he can't, in fact he doesn't dare, it is estimated there are upwards of 1,000 cells established in Turkey. How that plays out is anyone's guess but my money is on the idea he'll shove the the Idlib extremists off on the Kurds as a Turkish military proxy and cross Putin in the process (the USA won't mind this at all and in fact CIA Ops division might reward it.)Anon [149] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:36 pm GMTanon [376] Disclaimer , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:43 pm GMTLOCKERBIE http://aanirfan.blogspot.com/2018/12/lockerbie.html
@BragadociousRobinG , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:50 pm GMTBrits simply love using the U.S. military for their own venal objectives.
yeah, those dirty "Brits" next thing you know they'll try to send the US Navy up the Yangtze River to force opium on the Chinese, lol
@AnonFromTN "The only good thing is, they are forced to show their true colors."Exactly. The liars, frauds, gatekeepers, Hillary-bots, and every brand of stupid in between have been flushed into the open. For example, anyone who still admires Chomsky should take note:
Aaron MatéVerified account @aaronjmate · Dec 24
Update: Chomsky was sent my Q & this is his response. He favors keeping US troops in Syria as a holding operation until a final settlement w/ Russia-Assad that could guarantee Kurds' safety. With US pulling out now, he argues that all leverage is lost to avoid a Turkish assault:
"What deal with the Russians (who right now are making cozy deals with Turkey)? And a deal with Assad, the main mass murderer in Syria – – who can in any event do nothing to deter Turkey.
In fact, in the longer term there should be a deal crucially involving Russia and with Assad, with some kind of guarantees (for what they are worth) to preserve at least some limited protection for the Kurds. But that's the longer term. This is now. For now, the sole deterrent to a Turkish assault is a small US contingent confined to Kurdish areas, as a holding operation for a possible longer term settlement along the lines just indicated."
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
FB , says: December 25, 2018 at 11:13 am GMT
In defense of the chickenhawk -- the actual birdThe first time I saw one in action, it was quite a revelation I looked out the kitchen window to see what looked like a blue jay perching on some kind of largish rock that he was pecking at of course that made no sense at all and upon closer examination it turned out to be a tiny raptor, not even a foot long from beak to tail, standing on a much larger dead chicken and ripping flesh off of it I ran out back toward the chicken yard and the mighty little slayer flew off the poor hen had a good part of her back flesh removed
Pretty amazing that such a tiny bird could take a chicken easily ten times its weight -- the sharp shinned hawk weighs just 200-400 grams
So while I certainly despise the useless eaters that agitate for war while having not the slightest idea what combat of any kind is about, I always cringe at the degradation of the word 'chickenhawk' a mighty little predator whose good name should not be sullied in association with such human detritus
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
Digital Samizdat , says: December 25, 2018 at 10:54 pm GMT
Everybody say a prayer for Lindsay Graham this Christmas. I hear he's in distress
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Dec 27, 2018 | discussion.theguardian.com
RatioDecidend , 4 Jun 2018 01:33
This article is excellent and well overdue. All we need to do now is to wrench control of our mainstream media out of the hands of Corporate (foreign) control. We are being told to vote against ourselves in order for the few corporate elite to accrue massive wealth and power over us.RatioDecidend -> Lawrie Griffith , 4 Jun 2018 00:51MEDIA laws need to be very strict with very, very severe financial penalties for bias and propaganda. Certainly remove this concept of self regulation whereby they sit on their own disciplinary boards. Raise the standards of our media and allow us to retrieve some semblance of our democracy.
Without media control, how would corporations be able to manipulate and propagandise the populace with their own vested interests.
That is why governments are doing corporate bidding and getting fascist style surveillance of its people, in order to counteract the ability of the people to gain knowledge through the internet and vote against corporate control of our democracy.... nothing to do with terrorism which was caused mostly by corporate foreign extraction of wealth through weapon sales; resource acquisition, etc.
Oops, got to go, hope that makes sense.
It is back to control of our mainstream media by the very (foreign) corporations that are sucking out our wealth and putting nothing back.Corporate media ia all powerful. They insidiously permeate the populace with corporate views of Australia's financial and economy; infrastructure and every aspect of social life from birth to euthanasia with racism and religion thrown in for good measure.
Should a politician have the audacity to act against their corporate interests, they do not last long, without exclusions - PMs Whitlam and Rudd being prime examples.
This current mob of gutless underachieving dinosaur neo con nutters in govt, are completely turning over Australia to these Corporate (foreign) parasites and our prospect is not looking good.
Within no time we will be a Corporatocracy (as is the USA) and along with that comes 1% owning 99% of the wealth; third world poverty; crime through the roof; drugs out of control; public health and education a joke; public services non existent; legal system in disarray and entrenched with bias and inequity.
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Dec 27, 2018 | www.unz.com
jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:31 pm GMT
@Z-man Israel fears Iran, is my idea. Norman Finkelstein once stated that Israeli jews do not see how there ever can be peace with the Palestinians 'after all we did to them'. Not all jews are idiots. Forgot in which book I read that in the thirties a Zionist reached Palestine, and saw that this was not the 'land without people for people without land'. He stated 'this is a crime'.AnonFromTN , says: December 26, 2018 at 10:37 pm GMTThe destruction and destabilisation of the ME, an Israeli plan, as far as I know.
In 1921 and later years there was the enormous population exchange, without any financial compensation, between Turkey and Greece. To this day tensions exist between the two countries.
Iran is one of the oldest civilisations. Twice, one might say even three time, the west overthrew Iranian democracy. Iran knows of course quite well that the VS brought Saddam to power so that he could subjugate Iran, that had rid itself of the USA puppet shah. Iran also of course knows quite well Jewish power in the USA, Bush' s promise to AIPAC to destroy Iraq. Will those leading Iran now ever trust the USA or Israel ?
So that Netanyahu and USA jewry now are in complete panic, who had expected it to be otherwise ? Uri Avnery wrote 'the only language zionists understand is power. Is there a problem, use power, if it does not help, use more power, if that also fails, use even more power'.
There has never been any serious negotiation between Israel and its neighbors, or with the Palestinians. About the Oslo negotiations a book appeared in Israel with the title 'How we fooled the Palestinians'? Sharon answered any Arab League peace proposal with force, Jenin, one of them, if my recollection is correct. There always was the idea of overwhelming more military power, and of USA support.
Kissinger saved Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur war by flying over hundreds of the newest USA anti tank weapons, wire guided, TOW. What will the USA do in case Israel is attacked ? Is Netanyahu crazy enough to provoke an attack ?
@Harold SmithMaybe I am overestimating the intelligence of MIC profiteers, but my impression is that those thieves know that their loot is only useful as long as they are alive. There is a lot of silly hostile talk against Russia and China, but have you noticed how the US military always makes sure that there are no direct confrontations with countries that can turn the US into radioactive dust? The profiteers want huge Pentagon budget to steal from, but not the war where they lose along with everyone else.
As to the wall, it is one of the silliest projects ever suggested. Maybe that's why it was so easy to sell it to the intellectually disadvantaged electorate. There are two things that can stop illegal immigration. First, go for the employers, enact a law that fines them to the tune of $50,000 or more per every illegal they employ. Second, enact the law that anyone caught residing in the US illegally has no right to enter the US legally, to obtain asylum, permanent residency, or citizenship for life, and include a provision that marriage to a US citizen does not nullify this ban. Then enforce both laws. After that illegals would run out of the country, and greedy employers won't hire any more. Naturally, the wall, even if built, won't change anything: as long as there are employers trying to save on salaries, immigration fees, and Social Security tax, and people willing to live and work illegally risking nothing, no wall would stem the flow.
Unfortunately, no side is even thinking about real measures, both are just posturing.
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Dec 25, 2018 | finance.yahoo.com
Volatility on Wall Street has led shares worldwide on a wild ride in recent months, resulting in a number of stock markets dipping into bear territory -- typically defined as 20 percent or more off a recent peak.
That's set to worsen in the new year, experts told CNBC on Monday, pointing to risks including the Federal Reserve likely raising interest rates further and mounting concerns about a global economic slowdown.
"I think the worst is yet to come next year, we're still in the first half of a global equity bear market with more to come next year," said Mark Jolley, global strategist at CCB International Securities. Volatility on Wall Street has led shares worldwide on a wild ride in recent months, resulting in a number of stock markets dipping into bear territory -- typically defined as 20 percent or more off a recent peak.
That's set to worsen in the new year, experts told CNBC on Monday, pointing to risks including the Federal Reserve likely raising interest rates further and mounting concerns about a global economic slowdown.
"I think the worst is yet to come next year, we're still in the first half of a global equity bear market with more to come next year," said Mark Jolley, global strategist at CCB International Securities.
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Dec 25, 2018 | www.unz.com
Probably the single most important political fact about the modern world has been the steady rise of the United States of America. From a geopolitical point of view, the United States really is in a class of its own. While the Soviet Union might have rivaled the U.S. militarily, and while China and the European Union may be comparable economic giants, no other nation comes even close to having America's combination of economic, diplomatic, military, cultural, and, increasingly important, surveillance power.
At least since the Second World War, there has been a veritable cottage industry of books predicting America's supposedly inevitable decline, due either to the myth of American "exceptionalism" or to imperial hubris. In actual fact, one is struck at how steadily America has maintained its global share of power. Despite their economic recovery in the postwar years, the decline of Western Europe and Japan has in fact proved a more fundamental tendency. Russia has only partially recovered from the collapse from the Soviet Union. After decolonization – the collapse of the overseas European empires – in fact virtually none of Third World has been able to organize themselves as influential actors ("Brazil is the country of the future and always will be," De Gaulle is supposed to have said.) Only capitalist China, it seems, will have the organization, intelligence, and sheer size to decisively overtake the United States economically.
... ... ...
The United States was however not merely founded by Europeans, but in particular by the English, who have the distinction of having been one the most dynamic and economically successful of European nations. England, blessed with mostly harmlessly small Celtic neighbors and a crucial little expanse of water between itself and the Continent (a mere 33 kilometers between Dover and Calais!), could develop in relative security develop in a most unique direction. Whereas virtually all European principalities developed
Whereas political survival on the mainland depended on the state's coercive ability to raise the men and taxes necessary to a large army, in England this depended instead on the maintenance of a large navy, which itself required an advanced trading economy. The American Founding Fathers were acutely aware of the role of war in the development of Continental despotism and self -consciously made their republic into a counter-model.
peterAUS , says: December 20, 2018 at 9:05 pm GMT
Good article.
Takeaway, I guess, based on:
For the foreseeable future however, I expect that America's combination of size, dollar hegemony, energy, natural individualist dynamism, cultural power, and cognitive elitism will continue to make the leading superpower outside of the Sinosphere.
and
I would not be surprised if secession were a viable prospect by mid-century
is:
I expect that America's combination of size, dollar hegemony, energy, natural individualist dynamism, cultural power, and cognitive elitism will continue to make the leading superpower outside of the Sinosphere at least until mid-century
Now, there are some things conspicuously missing from the article. Demographics change, destruction of middle class and that 1 %/deplorables thing.
I guess that could've been mentioned, even addressed, but, well ..Anyway, given thos
