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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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Apr 09, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com
The dominant propaganda meme of the day, as already noted by Colonel Lang, is that Bashar al Assad unleashed chemical weapons on "innocent women and children" in rebel held territory and that Russia and Iran, along with Syria, are responsible. We MUST take action (or so we are told emphatically by morons pretending to be news anchors on the various cable outlets). Few media outlets are willing to report that this information is not only uncorroborated but originates with established liars and rebel partisans--i .e., the White Helmets. Oh, and did you know that the White Helmets are funded largely by the Governments of the UK and the United States?
It is critical to keep the source of funds in mind if you are to understand the true nature of these Islamic scam artists. Ironically, Max Blumenthal, son of the infamous Sid, has been a leader in exposing these fraudsters. Blumenthal wrote, more than three years ago, that :
The White Helmets' leadership is driven by a pro-interventionist agenda conceived by the Western governments and public relations groups that back them. Anyone who visits the group's website -- which is operated by an opposition-funded PR company known as the Syria Campaign -- will be immediately directed to a request to sign a petition for a no-fly zone to "stop the bombs" in Syria. These sorts of communiques highlight the dual role the White Helmets play as a civil defense organization saving lives while lobbying for a US military campaign that will almost inevitably result in the collapse of Syria's government. . . .
The White Helmets were founded in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transitional Initiatives -- the wing that has promoted regime change around the world -- and have been provided with $23 million in funding from the department. USAID supplies the White Helmets through Chemonics, a for-profit contractor based in Washington DC that has become notorious for wasteful aid imbroglios from Haiti to Afghanistan.
While members of the White Helmets have been implicated in atrocities carried out by jihadist rebel groups, the names of many of the firms that supposedly monitor and evaluate their work have been kept secret by USAID on unspecified security grounds.
Anna , 12 hours ago
Nikki Haley: "Russia will "never be America's friend." Moscow can try to behave "like a regular country," but the US will "slap them when we need to," Haley said." ... "Everybody likes to listen to the words. I'm going to tell you – look at the actions," Haley urged. "We expelled 60 Russian diplomats/spies, we have armed Ukraine so that they can defend themselves..." https://www.rt.com/usa/423422-us-russia-stalemate-haley/Babak Makkinejad Anna , 6 hours agoThe UK has the pottery-boy Gavin Williamson as a Sec. of Defence and the US has a waste-management Nikki Haley as an US envoy to the United Nations. They both are ignoramuses and the eager ziocon tools.
Again, Israel's special relationships with anti-Assad forces and Israel's refusal to ratify the Chemical Arms Treaty make Israel the major suspect in the chemical attacks in Syria: https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-russia-links-syria-chemwar-to-israel-1.5333503
That "Russia will "never be America's friend" is not disputed. What is missing is that "US and Russia cannot afford to be enemies". Nixon understood all of that 30 years ago.Anna , a day agoYes. Has not Israel given orders? - https://www.fort-russ.com/2018/04/urgent-syria-under-attack/Sid Finster , 2 hours agoSociopaths care nothing for logic or morality of they stabs in the way of something they want. Like the Reichstag fire.Kooshy , 9 hours agoI don't understand why people refuse to see that we are run by sociopaths, or, at a minimum, by people indistinguishable from sociopaths.
I think Colonel is absolutely right, all signs are, that everybody on both sides are getting ready for a war, how big, and who will participate, nobody knows yet would it be 2 oceans and 3 continents war or just concentrated on Eurasia? Unfortunately, I think DJT' canoe has sunken in the swamp he said he will drain, or IMO he didn't even know what he is talking about, or is dealing with.TTG , 9 hours agoI agree that the uncritical and unwavering acceptance of the notion of Assad's chemical attacks on his people is ignorant and dangerous. It shows a true lack of imagination among the jihadis and their supporters. Not one of these attacks have been convincingly attributed to Assad's forces. To the contrary, the propaganda put out by the jihadis appears blatantly staged and bogus. The sooner we're out of Syria, the better. And the sooner Trump realizes unwavering support of the current Israeli regime is a cost center, the better.Terry , 11 hours agoThank you for reopening comments. I missed my tribe of non-conformists thinkers and all the various viewpoints. :-)SmoothieX12 , 11 hours agoThe insanity and distortion of reality and facts is getting extreme. Unfortunately tribalism with it's baggage of historical grievances, partisan loyalties, and mob mentalities are growing as our society returns to default human social behaviour while loyalty to the binding myths and ideas of the constitution and the founding of our republic fade. Truth is a casualty. Facts don't matter. Conformity to whatever tribal identity selected is the norm. Science show that there is a real decline in the higher brain functions when mobs form.
A good article on our decline into tribalism -
https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/09/can-democracy-survive-tribalism.html
robt willmann , 12 hours agoIf the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence, efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.Your "grasp" of air-defense issues, including suggestion of shooting down aircraft in Lebanon's (international) airspace, among many other things clearly shows an armchair "strategist" (no offense, I am one myself) who played, unlike me--I don't play video games, too much video-games and thinks that he knows better than say Russian General Staff. Indeed, what do they know, really--what a bunch of amateurs who do not follow your highly professional suggestion.
The Russian Defense Ministry is now saying that 8 missiles were fired at the Syrian T4 airfield and airbase from Israeli airplanes flying inside Lebanon. The report says that 5 of the missiles were knocked down by antiaircraft / missile defense systems and that 3 of them hit the area of the airfield--Anna , 12 hours agoAgree.james , 18 hours ago
The theater of absurd: Israelis "are shooting with live ammunition at people without guns:" Play Hideisrael to the rescue... they have to protect isis! and where would they be without regular support from the usa / uk.... white helmets are a pale imitation of israel at this point..Hood Canal Gardner , 20 hours agoPT .. thanks for the "outing" of Chemonics .. add Pakistan/HCG got a brick through his Islamabad bedroom window in the early1990s..tucked tail.Karl Kolchak , 20 hours ago"Chemonics, a for-profit contractor based in Washington DC that has become notorious for wasteful aid imbroglios from Haiti to Afghanistan."
Kathy , 20 hours ago"...a large number of supposedly intelligent Republicans and Democrats..."There's no such thing any more. Both parties chased their intelligent leaders out a long time ago. Indeed, this is a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a bunch of emotional ten-year-olds in charge.
Slightly OT, but in poking around the SCL/Cambridge Analytica web of intrigue, I found this tantalizing Wikipedia account of Vincent Tchenguiz, the largest shareholder in CA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Tchenguizblue peacock , 20 hours agoSome people are truly not fit to walk on this earth.
PTwisedupearly Ceo , 21 hours agoThis is getting more and more ridiculous. From the ludicrous novichok caper that May and Boris have made into a Monty Python skit to the yet another theatrical chemical attack performance starring the perennial Syrian villain, Animal Assad and the increasingly heated rhetoric emanating from DC, London, Beijing and Moscow. Of course with all the bugles and trumpets blowing from the hysterical media with the Borg agenda trying to cajole a highly skeptical public.
What do you make of all this? Is the Borg getting really desperate that their gig may be up? That their deceit and duplicity will be uncovered.
We have Brennan, Holder, Yates busy tweeting along with Trump. There is McCabe and his GoFundMe. We have Comey's book tour and even Loretta Lynch is to hit the airwaves. All to spin tales that less people believe unless of course you are a card carrying partisan. Then there is Sessions making announcements of US Attorneys investigating and possibly convening grand juries and supervising document production to Congress around the conspiracy at the highest levels of law enforcement & intelligence in the Obama administration. Is this Reality TV at it's best putting Jerry Springer to shame??
What does your spidy sense tell you?
I trust the Pentagon warned Israel not to launch cruise missiles from their submarines close to US surface fleet units.Anna , 21 hours ago"If the Russians don't respond... their international prestige will have vanished..."Peter in Toronto , a day ago
-- What are you implying -- that only deception, perfidy, and bullying deserve "prestige?" Would not it be great if the decent people have finally explained the "prestigious" Nikki Haley that she is an ignoramus and warmonger? And how about sending Gavin Williamson to his familiar proper place where he could resume selling the fine pottery and ceramic countertops instead of being a mockery to his current post of Sec of Defence?What is so prestigious about the opportunistic Theresa May and Boris Johnson, whose incompetent actions have been highly damaging to the UK reputation? And guess that the criminal (but very pious) Tony Blair fits the definition of "prestige."
There are people whose response is indeed important from the perspective of decency and competence and patriotism – these people are the US brass in the highest echelons of the US military. Do they serve the interests of the US or the interests of Israel? The question is very simple. The answer is yes or no.
Saker asks for patience: http://thesaker.is/missile-strikes-on-syria-tonight-do-not-rush-to-conclusions-please-post-here-what-you-hear/
Comment section: "The Lord Has Risen, and the forces of evil are rabid for more Death and Destruction."Salvos underway.The Beaver , a day agoIf the Russians don't respond in some discrete but substantive way, their presence, efforts and international prestige will have vanished by tomorrow morning.
T4 -East Homs being hit . Looks like the ISRAELIS are sending missilesAnna , a day ago"His master's voice (or how an obedient dog goes to war)": http://thesaker.is/his-masters-voice-or-how-an-obedient-dog-goes-to-war/Not In Istanbul , a day ago
"Israeli officials: the "U.S. must strike in Syria" because "Assad is the angel of death, and the world would be better without him."
Ziomedia is willing to report the Skripal nonsense with a straight face After all, if the Russians could use "Novichok and buckwheat" in the UK, why would they not use chemical weapons in Syria? And, no, the fact that neither the Russians nor the Syrians actually have any chemical weapons (both were fully disarmed and certified as such) makes absolutely no difference! "
And what country does not want to declare her chemical weapon? – http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175032
"The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Tuesday called on Israel to renounce chemical weapons and join the convention banning them just like Syria did."Cruise missile strikes are currently underway...Anna , a day ago"...Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of factual sloppiness that is typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West today."jjc , a day ago
-- In this case it is more than sloppiness: Owen Matthews is an opportunist loaded with the tribal grievances against Russia:
http://www.greanvillepost.com/2017/11/02/re-visiting-russian-counter-propaganda-methods/
"... in his book "Stalin's Children" Matthews clearly takes sides with, endorses and, possibly, even covers up for his Trotskyist Commissar grandfather and that makes him a fair target for criticism"The constant repetitive referral to "Obama's red line" has been effective in shaping a preferred response to these alleged attacks. Contrary to today's conventional wisdom, Obama did not "fail" to enforce his own line - the administration through its own State Department was quite prepared to rain bombs down on Damascus, but faced political opposition from Congress (as did Cameron's UK government fail to achieve support for the bombing in its Parliament). Congressional opposition was sparked by robust opposition from citizens/ constituents in the form of communications directed to their Congressional offices. This was all reported by the mainstream media at the time, yet a false recounting is predominant today. The "unrelenting information operation" is not possible without the witting collaboration of the supposed "free" media. The ownership and editorial staff of such are as fully responsible for this frightening state of affairs as anyone else.blowback , a day agoThe SOHR has some pretty solid reporting on what is going on in Douma. They make no mention of any use of chemical weapons in Douma, but instead attribute the deaths to suffocation resulting from the destruction of cellars containing civilians:Imagine , a day ago
And with the death of more citizens, it has increased to 96 at least including 27 children and 16 woman, the number of persons who have been killed since Friday, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation, where reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that some of the casualties and wounded suffocated as a result of the demolition of home basements due to the heavy and intense shelling on Douma city, and the trusted sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory of Rights that the number of injuries today has exceeds 500, including tens of children and tens of women, where more than 70 of them have suffered suffocation as a result of the demolition of home basements over them due to the heavy and intense shelling on the last area beyond the regime forces' control in the Eastern Ghouta , which is the stronghold of Jaysh al-Islam, and the Syrian Observatory published hours ago that 11 people at least including 5 children had suffocated, after bombardment by a warplane on an area near the old cemetery at the northern outskirts of Douma city in the Eastern Ghouta, also the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published that violent clashes taking place between the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against Jaish Al-Islam in areas in the vicinity of Douma area, where the regime forces continue their attempts to achieve more advancement in the area after they managed today morning to advance in the farms of Douma from the direction of Al-Raihan area. The regime forces managed to advance in 50 farms in the area following series of ongoing ground and aerial shelling of the regime forces and their warplanes and helicopters, which target the city and its vicinity.
http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=88817
Recent articles from SOHR can be found here:
http://www.syriahr.com/en/?cat=26&paged=2
and here:
http://www.syriahr.com/en/?cat=26Jaish al-Islam asked for quarter as the SAA appears to have broken Jaish al-Islam's defensive lines making their position in Douma untenable.
"Murder in the Sun Morgue" by Dr. Denis O'Brien (neuropharmacology expert):Swamp Yankee , a day ago"The primary conclusion of this study, based on a pharmacological analysis of the video and photographic evidence, is that the Ghouta Massacre near Damascus on Aug 21.2013 was not a sarin rocket attack carried out by Assad or his supporters. It was a false-flag stunt carried out by the insurgents using carbon monoxide or cyanide to murder children and use their corpses as bait to lure the Americans into attacking Assad."
288 pp. analysis. Also, some had slit throats:
https://www.scribd.com/document/230748990/Murder-in-the-SunMorgueThank you for this, Publius Tacitus -- and to you, Colonel Lang, re-opening the comments section here at SST.Patrick Armstrong , 10 hours agoI think it's notable that Owen Matthews' article at The Spectator betrays the kind of factual sloppiness that is typical of the pundit-political-business classes in the West today. For of course, "Arsenal of Democracy" is a phrase associated not with Truman but with Franklin Roosevelt.
I was the working-class scholarship kid at one of the elite educational institutions that forms a feeder-conduit to these echelons of media, political, and economic power, and one thing I have remarked is the utter mediocrity and laziness of so many members of our ruling class. As Corey Robin found out when he had an exchange with Chelsea Clinton over Hannah Arendt, and I discovered as an undergrad and in grad school, many of them simply never did the reading. They relied then, and still do today, on group-think and sheep-like intellectual conformity, which, of course, is then magnificently (and munificently!) rewarded. I also discovered that even when they did read something, it made no impression on them, not in any real way, they failed to keep the lessons taught thereby in their head once it was no longer needed for an exam or a paper.
To be led by fools such as these into a world war -- and why? -- is lunacy. That's why I'm grateful for places like this Committee to keep the home-fires of sanity burning. Thanks again, and let's hope that peace prevails, against the devoutly-hoped wishes of the Borg.
An excellent summary, I posted it on FB and VK.
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Aug 08, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com
The revelations from US Government records about the FBI/Intel Community plot to take out Donald Trump continue to flow thanks to the dogged efforts of Judicial Watch. The latest nugget came last Friday with the release of FBI records detailing their recruitment and management of Britain's ostensibly retired Intelligence Officer, Christopher Steele. He was an officially recruited FBI source and received at least 11 payments during the 9 month period that he was signed up as a Confidential Human Source.
You may find it strange that we can glean so much information from a document dump that is almost entirely redacted . The key is to look at the report forms; there are three types--FD-1023 (Source Reports), FD-209a (Contact Reports) and FD-794b (Payment Requests). There are 15 different 1023s, 13 209a reports and 11 794b payment requests covering the period from 2 February 2016 thru 1 November 2016. That is a total of nine months.
These reports totally destroy the existing meme that Steele only came into contact with the FBI sometime in July 2016. It is important for you to understand that a 1023 Source Report is filled out each time that the FBI source handler has contact with the source. This can be an in person meeting or a phone call. Each report lists the name of the Case Agent; the date, time and location of the meeting; any other people attending the meeting; and a summary of what was discussed.
What is clear from the new records is that Christopher Steele, a foreign intelligence officer, had frequent and extensive contacts with the FBI. Who was his FBI Case Agent?
Indeed we do need more information.chris chuba , 5 hours agoThe main thing I want to know is WHEN was the decision made to tar Trump with Russia - both at the FBI (and likely CIA) and at the DNC (over the leak) - and WHO was the deciding entity - Comey, Brennan, Clinton, Obama or someone else? And perhaps who came up with the idea in the first place (at the DNC, it was very likely Alexandra Chalupa, the Ukrainian-American DNC "consultant").
We can be pretty sure this predates any alleged Russian "hacking" (unless it occurred as a result of alleged Russian hacking of the DNC in 2015).
This needs to be pinned down if anyone is to be successfully prosecuted for creating this treasonous hoax.
A very closely related topic, Victor Davis Hanson is onto something but it is darker than he suggests, https://www.nationalreview.... Paraphrasing, he gives the typical, rally around the flag we must stop the Russians intro but then documents how govt flaks abused their power to influence our elections and then makes the point, 'this is why the public is skeptical of their claims'.Leonardo Facchin , 20 hours agoThe bad thing is that our MSM is so reverent of our Intel agencies that I see them encouraged to increasingly put their hand on the scale.
Recently, I saw arm flailing by a Congressman, Dan Coats, and Mueller about how the Russians are still at it. They are trying to disrupt or influence the 2018. Really, then I demand to get a list of the pro-Kremlin candidates. How long before the mere threat of being outed as a Kremlin agent is used to punish elected officials if they are not sufficiently hawkish or don't support certain programs. Unchallenged claims by Intel agencies gives them a lot of political power.
I am skeptical. Russia has a lot of fish to fry, why would they expend resources on midterm elections. Now everyone in the U.S. hates them, both traditional hawk Republicans and born again uber-hawk Democrats. There is a tiger behind both doors.
Thanks for the explanation.Publius Tacitus -> Leonardo Facchin , 17 hours agoWhat I can't figure out is: if Steele had been a CHS since at least February of 2016, what was the purpose of passing the Dossier to the FBI through Fusion GPS? Why not just going to his FBI handler? Was Steele collaboration with Fusion even in compliance with FBI regulations? Did the FBI know?
Because part of the plan was to leak the information in order to damage Trump. FBI could not do that. Would have exposed them to some real legal jeopardy. This was a dual track strategy. Diabolical almost.blue peacock -> Leonardo Facchin , 13 hours agoDon't forget the Nellie Ohr (Fusion GPS) -> Bruce Ohr (DOJ) back channel. The husband & wife tag team. Yes, the same Nellie that was investigating using ham radio to communicate to avoid NSA mass surveillance.Paul M -> Leonardo Facchin , 16 hours agoFrom the very beginning that information about all this was slowly leaking from the Congressional investigation, this whole thing smelled very fishy. Then add intense effort at DOJ & FBI to obstruct and obfuscate. And the unhinged tweets and interviews by Brennan, Clapper & Comey. And of course the media narrative that Rep. Nunes, Goodlatte and others were endangering "national security" by casting aspersions on the "patriotic" law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
He was working with FBI and GPS at the same time. GPS was in the dark supposedly about his work with the FBI and Steele got their approval to hand over what he had delivered to GPS to the FBI as a cover for his work with the FBI.David Habakkuk , 4 hours agoOf course, he had most likely already done so and its also likely FBI had some input into the content of what was delivered to GPS, and more importantly what was not delivered.
PT,Jack -> David Habakkuk , 2 hours agoFascinating.
Re the 'standing agreement to not recruit each other's intelligence personnel for clandestine activities.' As Steele was not by this time a current employee of MI6, was the FBI in technical violation of this?
The point is not merely a quibble. A central question in regard to Steele, as with quite a number of former intelligence/law enforcement/military people who have started at least ostensibly private sector operations, is how far these are being used as 'cover' for activities conducted on behalf of either the state agencies for which they used to work, or other state agencies.
It is at least possible that one advantage of such arrangements may be that they make it possible to evade the letter of agreements between intelligence agencies in different countries.
Another related matter has to do with the termination of Steele as a 'Confidential Human Source.'
It has long seemed to me that it was more than possible that this was not to be taken at face value. If, as seems likely, both current and former top FBI and DOJ people – very likely Mueller as well as Comey, Strzok and many others – were intimately involved in the conspiracy to subvert the constitution, then a means of making it possible for Steele to combine feeding information to the FBI while also engaging in 'StratCom' via the MSM could have been necessary.
An obvious means of 'squaring the circle' would have been to issue a formal 'termination' to Steele, while creating 'back channels' to those who were officially supposed not to be talking to him.
A report yesterday by John Solomon in 'The Hill' quotes from messages exchanged between Steele and Bruce Ohr after the supposed termination.
(See http://thehill.com/person/d... .)
When on 31 January 2017 – well after the publication of the dossier by BuzzFeed – Ohr provided reassurance that he could continue to help feed information to the FBI, Steele texted back:
"If you end up out though, I really need another (bureau?) contact point/number who is briefed. We can't allow our guy to be forced to go back home. It would be disastrous."
At that point, Solomon tells us that 'Investigators are trying to determine who Steele was referring to.' This seems to me a rather important question. It would seem likely, although not certain, that he is talking about another Brit. If he is, would it have been someone else employed by Orbis? Or someone currently working for British intelligence? What is the precise significance of 'forced to go back home', and why would this have been 'disastrous'?
Another crucial paragraph:
'In all, Ohr's notes, emails and texts identify more than 60 contacts with Steele and/or Simpson, some dating to 2002 in London. But the vast majority occurred during the 2016-2017 timeframe that gave birth to one of the most controversial counterintelligence probes in American history.'
The earlier contacts may be of little interest, but there again they may not be.
As it happens, it was following Berezovsky's arrival in London in October 2001 that the 'information operations' network he created began to move into high gear. It is moreover clear that this was always a transatlantic operation, and also fragments of evidence suggest that the FBI may have had some involvement from early on.
I have just finished taking a fresh look at Sir Robert Owen's travesty of a report into the death of Litvinenko. In large measure, this develops claims originally made in Christopher Steele's first attempt to provide a convincing account of why figures close to Putin might have thought it made sense to assassinate that figure, and to do so with polonium. The sheer volume of fabrication which has been deployed in an attempt to defend the patently indefensible almost beggars belief.
The original attempt came in a radio programme broadcast by the BBC – which was to become known to some of us as the 'Berezovsky Broadcasting Corporation' – on 16 December 2006, presented by Tom Mangold, a familiar 'trusty' for the intelligence services.
(A transcript sent out from the Cabinet Office at the time is available on the archived 'Evidence' page for the Inquiry, at http://webarchive.nationala... , as HMG000513. There is an interesting and rather important question as to whether those who sent it out, and those who received it, knew that it was more or less BS from start to finish.)
The programme was wholly devoted to claims made by the former KGB operative Yuri Shvets, who was presented as an independent 'due diligence' expert, without any mention of the rather major role he had played in the original 'Orange Revolution.'
Back-up was provided by his supposed collaborator in 'due diligence', the former FBI operative Robert 'Bobby' Levinson. No mention was made of the fact that he had been, in the 'Nineties, a, if not the lead FBI investigator into the notorious Ukrainian Jewish mobster Semyon Mogilevich.
The following March Levinson would disappear on the Iranian island of Kish, on what we now know was a covert mission on behalf of elements in the CIA.
Just as a question arises as to whether Steele is essentially acting on behalf of MI6, a question also arises as to whether the FBI leadership were knowledgeable about, and possibly involved with, the various shenanigans in which Shvets and Levinson were involved. Given that claims about Mogilevich have turned out to be central to 'Russiagate', that seems a rather important issue, and I am curious as to whether Ohr's communications with Steele may cast any light on it.
DavidKeith Harbaugh , 19 hours agoApparently the FBI got Deripaksa to fund the rescue of Levinson from Iran. Furthermore apparently FBI personnel maybe including McCabe visited with Deripaksa and showed him the Steele dossier. He supposedly had a nice guffaw and dismissed it as nonsense. So on the one hand while they make Russia out to be the most evil they play footsie with Russian oligarchs.
Thanks for this informative article.TTG , an hour agoThinking about "Christopher Steele was terminated as a Confidential Human Source for cause.", something that doesn't seem to have gotten as much attention is that Peter Strzok failed his poly:
- "Yes, It's True: Peter Strzok Failed His Polygraph Yet Retained Security Clearance and Position on Two Investigations " per sundance, 2018-07-06
- "Peter Strzok's Out of Scope Polygraph" per Marcy Wheeler, 2018-06-29
Seems rather surprising to me. Anyone have any comment on this?
Steele's relationship with the FBI extends far further back than February 2016. Shortly after he left MI6, he contracted with the Football Association to investigate possible FIFA corruption. Once he realized the massiveness of this corruption he contacted his old friends at the FBI Eurasian Crimes Task Force in 2011. Thus began his association with the FBI as a CHS. That investigation culminated in the 2015 FIFA corruption indictments and convictions. His initial contact with old friends at the FBI Eurasian Crime Task Force is awfully similar to his contacting these same friends in 2016 after deciding his initial Trump research was potentially bigger than mere opposition research.FB , 3 hours agoOne thing I don't understand...we have the anti-Trumpers saying that Donald Junior meeting with a Russian national to get 'dirt' on Hillary is illegal...due to some law about candidates collaborating with foreigners or something like that...[obviously I'm foggy on the technical details]... Yet we know that the Hillary campaign worked with a foreign national, Steele, to get dirt on Trump...how is this not the same...?Wally Courie , 4 hours agoEven worse is that the FBI was using this same foreign agent that a presidential candidate had hired to get dirt on an opponent... Even knowing nothing about legalities this just doesn't look very good...
Stupid question? As the Col. has explained, the President can declassify any document he pleases. So, why doesn't Donaldo unredact the redacted portions of these bullcrap docs? What is he afraid of? That the Intel community will get mad and be out to get him? Isn't time for him to show some cojones?blue peacock , 16 hours agoWhat role did Stefan Halper and Mifsud play as Confidential Human Sources in all this?akaPatience , 19 hours agoWhy was British Intelligence allegedly collecting and passing along info about Donald Trump in the first place? Or could this have been a pretext created to give cover and/or support to the agenda here in the US to insure his defeat? Could a foreign intelligence source such as this trigger/facilitate/justify the US counterintelligence investigation of Trump, or give cover to a covert investigation that may have already begun?Navstéva يزور 🐐 -> akaPatience , 17 hours agoBritish intelligence was collecting / passing on info about Trump because of his campaign stance on NATO (he said it was obsolete), his desire to end regime change wars (he castigated the fiasco in Iraq, took Bush to task over it etc.), and his often stated desire to get along with Russia (and China). Trump also talked of ending certain economic policies (NAFTA, TPP, etc.) and reenacting others (Glass-Steagall, the American System of Economics i.e. Hamilton, Carey, Clay), If Trump had acted on those, which he has not so far, he would changed the entire world system, a system in place since the end of WW II, or earlier. That was a risk too big to take without some kind of insurance policy - I believe Christopher Steele was that insurance policy.unmitigatedaudacity -> Navstéva يزور 🐐 , 16 hours agoBritish Intelligence is verifiably the foreign source with the most extensive and effective meddling in the 2016 election. Perfidious Albion.Bryn Nykrson -> Navstéva يزور 🐐 , 14 hours agoOr, GSHQ was hovering up signint on Trump campaign early-on (using domestics US resources and databases via their 5-Eyes "sharing agreement" with NSA) cuz Brennan asked them to do it? And therefore without having to mess about with any formal FISA warrant thingy's ... But, then use what might be found (or plausibly alleged) to try to get a proper FISA warrant later on (July 2016)? 'Parallel Discovery' of sorts; with Fusion GPS also a leaky cut-out: channelling media reports to be used as confirmation of Steele's "raw intelligence" in the formal FISA application(s)?Biggee Mikeee -> akaPatience , 17 hours agoTrump announced his run for President in 2015. I'm pretty sure that every intel service on the planet was watching him, they would be derelict not to. GCHQ may have been collecting intel on all the candidates,richardstevenhack -> Biggee Mikeee , 13 hours ago" Trump announced his run for President in 2015. I'm pretty sure that every intel service on the planet was watching him, they would be derelict not to. GCHQ may have been collecting intel on all the candidates, "
That's a good question, could it legally enable an end run around the FISC until enough evidence was gathered for a FISC surveillance authorization?.
I've heard that the Echelon system is used by the Five Eyes IC to do something similar. The Brits spy on US, and give the NSA the data so the NSA can evade US laws prohibiting spying on us, and we return the favor to help them evade what (few) laws they have that prohibits spying on their people.akaPatience -> Biggee Mikeee , 15 hours agoOnly a matter of time until someone figured out the same method could be used to "meddle" in national affairs.
I understand, but still wonder why the US would need to rely so much on British intelligence sources such as Steele about a very high profile American citizen and businessman -- aren't our intelligence services competent enough to have known and discovered as much if not more about Trump than other countries' intelligence services? I've read that Steele's cover was blown 20 years ago and he hasn't even been to Russia since, so I wonder why he was considered such a reliable source by both the US and UK? In my opinion as an absolute naif about such things, Steele seems like he may be a has-been when it comes to Russia.DianaLC -> akaPatience , 4 hours agoHere is a simple explanation from someone who knows almost nothing about how any of the people in power work: Most of them are not as clever and smart as they think they are. And most of the regular people who are just citizens are smarter than these people think they are.It's simply that their arrogant assessment of their own superiority caused them to do really stupid things.
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Feb 10, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com
by Chuck Ross of Daily Caller
When they said "Russian collusion", few expected it to be between the CIA and a "shadowy Russian operative." And yet, according to a blockbuster NYT report, that's precisely what happened.
* * *
The CIA paid $100,000 last year to a Russian operative who claimed to have derogatory information about President Trump, including a video tape of the Republican engaged with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room. If the video showed Trump, it would support claims made in the infamous Steele dossier, the salacious opposition research report financed by the Clinton campaign and DNC.
But U.S. intelligence officials have reason to doubt the veracity of the video and other information about Trump associates provided by the Russian, according to a fascinating report from The New York Times.
American spies made contact with the Russia early in 2017 after he offered to sell the Trump material along with cyber hacking tools that were stolen from the NSA that year, according to The Times. U.S. intelligence officials told The Times they were so desperate to retrieve those tools that they negotiated with the operative for months despite several red flags, including indications that he was working in concert with Russian intelligence.
Another red flag was the Russian's financial request. He initially sought $10 million for the information but dropped the asking price to $1 million.
After months of negotiations, American spies handed over $100,000 in cash in a brief case to the Russian during a meeting in Berlin in September.
The operative also offered documents and emails that purported to implicate other Trump associates, including former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. But The Times viewed the documents and reported that they were mostly information that is already in the public domain.
The Russian, who has ties to organized criminals and money launderers, showed the video purported to be Trump to a Berlin-based American businessman who served as his intermediary to the CIA. But according to the Times, the footage and the location of the viewing raised questions about its authenticity.
The 15-second clip showed two women speaking with a man. It is not clear if the man was Trump, and there was no audio. The Russian also showed the video to his American partner at the Russian embassy in Berlin, a sign that the operative had ties to Russian intelligence.
The Russian stonewalled the production of the cyber tools, and U.S. officials eventually cut ties, according to The Times. After the payout in Berlin, the man provided information about Trump and his associates of questionable veracity.
The Americans gave him an ultimatum earlier in 2018 to either play ball, leave Western Europe, or face criminal charges. He left, according to The Times, which interviewed U.S. officials, the American intermediary and the Russian for its article.
The Times' U.S. sources -- who appear to paint the American side in a positive light -- said that they were reluctant to purchase information because they did not want to be seen buying dirt on the president.
The officials also expressed concern that the Russian operative was planting disinformation on behalf of the Russian government. U.S. officials were worried that the Russian government has sought to sow discord between U.S. intelligence agencies and Trump. The revelation that the CIA purchased dirt on him would likely do the trick.
The Times report also has other new details.
Four other Russians with ties to the spy world have surfaced over the past year offering to sell dirt on Trump that closely mirrors allegations made in the dossier, according to the article. But officials have reason to believe that some of sellers have ties to Russian intelligence agencies.
The Times also provides new details on Cody Shearer, a notorious operative close to the Clintons. Shearer was recently revealed to have shopped around a so-called "second dossier" prior to the campaign which mirrored the sex allegations of the Steele report.
According to The Times, he has criss-crossed Europe over the past six months in an attempt to find video footage of Trump from the Moscow hotel room. Shearer claimed to have information from the FSB, Russia's spy service, that a video existed of Trump with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room.
He shared a memo making the allegations with his friend and fellow Clinton fixer, Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal in turn passed the memo to his friend, Jonathan Winer, a Department of State official. Winer then gave the information to Steele who provided it to the FBI in October 2016.
Steele also provided information to Winer, who wrote up a two-page memo that was circulated within the State Department.
Trump has denied allegations that he used prostitutes in Moscow. He has called the dossier a "hoax" and "crap."
* * *
On Saturday morning, Trump tweeted that "according to the @nytimes, a Russian sold phony secrets on "Trump" to the U.S. Asking price was $10 million, brought down to $1 million to be paid over time. I hope people are now seeing & understanding what is going on here. It is all now starting to come out - DRAIN THE SWAMP!
Of course, if Trump really wants to "drain the swamp", any such decision would have originate with him. Tags Politics Commercial Banks
InjectTheVenom -> Global Hunter Feb 10, 2018 11:47 AM Permalink
Billy the Poet -> InjectTheVenom Feb 10, 2018 12:04 PM PermalinkDRAIN. THE. SWAMP.
caconhma -> Billy the Poet Feb 10, 2018 12:42 PM PermalinkRelease the pee pee video now! No one pee peed in the $100,000 video in question. The 15-second clip showed two women speaking with a man. It is not clear if the man was Trump, and there was no audio. And how can anyone be more fascinated by the prospect of pee pee than by the fact that US intelligence agencies were buying bad information from extremely shady foreigners in an attempt to overthrow the President of the United States?
gatorengineer -> caconhma Feb 10, 2018 1:05 PM PermalinkTrump is the swamp. If zio-Banking Mafia did not have enough dirt of Trump, he would not be elected.
Arrowflinger -> InjectTheVenom Feb 10, 2018 12:18 PM PermalinkTrump is starting to assume that the people are dumber than Obowel did. Earth to Don, you sir have the drain pump, you sir have surrounded yourself with Swamp creatures.... You sir are.............
gatorengineer -> Arrowflinger Feb 10, 2018 1:06 PM PermalinkAccording to this, the Russians stole the hacking tools needed to cut through the Swamp levee, which were developed by the NSA, and now the CIA cannot buy them back. Now, since the USA wanted its Swamp, the Russians are more than happy to let the USA drown in its swamp.
What a country!
El Oregonian -> Global Hunter Feb 10, 2018 11:53 AM PermalinkAnyone have a link for the Qanon posts. I haven't seen them in a couple of weeks since he left 8chan where he was posting. I don't want the Youtube BS, I just want the link... anyone got one. Its strangely not googleable... LOLZ.
Bula_Vinaka -> El Oregonian Feb 10, 2018 12:10 PM PermalinkIf you think that the CIA is a U.S. intelligence agency working on the best interests of the United States, you better wake up and smell the treason. They only work for the best interests of themselves.
BurningFuld -> Bula_Vinaka Feb 10, 2018 12:40 PM PermalinkThey are parasites and nothing more.
Ahmeexnal -> caconhma Feb 10, 2018 1:03 PM PermalinkHere is a question. Why does the CIA not come out and clear the air re: Trump?
I mean they were even paying people to come up with dirt. He is now your president and the country is a fucking mess. Should the CIA not come out and say we tried but we got nothing? They do have the ability to fix all this Trump shit and yet crickets.
MarshalJimDuncan -> El Oregonian Feb 10, 2018 12:12 PM PermalinkCIA is the covert dirty dealing arm of the VATICAN.
Posa -> El Oregonian Feb 10, 2018 12:56 PM Permalinkooohh... they release this questionable information for all to hear and paid a lot of money for it too. this fucking government is a joke
Alfred -> El Oregonian Feb 10, 2018 12:59 PM PermalinkAnd the best interests of clients. The CIA started out is the muscle for the Dulles Brothers clients who were being booted out of various countries they were super-exploiting. The Agency hasn't looked back since.
Guitarilla -> Global Hunter Feb 10, 2018 12:35 PM PermalinkSeems wrong to call them 'intelligence' agencies. There must be a more descriptive name we can use... Anyone?
DownWithYogaPants -> Dr. Acula Feb 10, 2018 11:47 AM PermalinkNobody got whizzed on. That lurid fantasy came soley out of the head of Hillary Clinton, given to Blumenthal, passed around and made to look like it came from Russia.
Killtruck -> shimmy Feb 10, 2018 12:51 PM PermalinkCIA killed Kennedy. This pretty much removes all doubt. They are willing to do anything.
Able Ape -> shimmy Feb 10, 2018 12:57 PM Permalink"Oswald killed Kennedy. That's it."
It IS remarkable the stuff people believe when all logic goes against it. Like Oswald firing magic bullets from an old Italian Carcano...and jet fuel melting steel beams...and a building collapsing through the path of greatest resistance into its own footprint after NOT being hit by an airplane...and Kennedy being shot from behind, but his head snapping backwards from the impact...and Oswald picking the worst possible shooting location, but in front of Kennedy were two intersecting highways going in any direction...and terrorist passports floating gently down from the sky.
It sure is remarkable.
#letsrollpossible band name
OswaldandtheMagicBulletsPosa -> shimmy Feb 10, 2018 1:05 PM PermalinkWhat was Oswald's reason to kill JFK? And yeah, he picked the very building he worked at to commit the crime. He wasn't THAT stupid!...
mobius8curve -> Dr. Acula Feb 10, 2018 11:49 AM PermalinkRFK and Nixon knew immediately the assassination of JFK was a CIA hit job because they had CHAIRED those hit squad operations themselves for Cuban Operations. They saw the CIA- Cuban hit squad fingerprints all over the kill. RFK had personally fired Wm Harvey, Dulles' chief of assassinations. However, RFK was silenced because he and Jack had been tag-teaming Marilyn Monroe.
The reason JFK was killed was a) his openly stated determination to shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces so they could no longer operate as a dangerous, renegade private army; and b) in the Spring of '63 JFK delivered his famous American U address calling for the end of the Cold War...
Oswald was always a patsie... the WC documents how his rifle was inoperable... scope needed parts just to be be sited and take aim... even after parts installed the rifle attributed to Oswald remained highly inaccurate... Military sharpshooters couldn't even hit stationary targets reliably.
oDumbo -> Dr. Acula Feb 10, 2018 12:19 PM PermalinkIf there is a video you can be sure it was manufactured using these tools:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Nx404VLzw
Lawlessness is arising exponentially:
https://sumofthyword.com/2017/01/18/the-mystery-of-lawlessness/
Kelley -> Dr. Acula Feb 10, 2018 12:34 PM PermalinkDrain the swamp! Townsquare justice for Odumbo and Hitlery! George Soros to bathe in the Amazon River with 1 million Piranha Fish until it completely disappears. Drain the evil Dumorat swamp. Drain the banana republic CIA and FBI. Our tax dollars and constitution did not pay for this shit.
shovelhead -> Dr. Acula Feb 10, 2018 12:55 PM PermalinkWith today's technology, the CIA is most likely working on a fake video for you right now. They might release it on Vimeo or Netflix to cover the costs and give themselves plausible deniability. To add a finishing touch they will make a fake video of Julian Assange claiming he is releasing it. You'll be in hog heaven. Which is where folks like you go just before being slaughtered by your owners and turned into spam.
algol_dog Feb 10, 2018 11:38 AM Permalink10 Million...
1 million...
Ok, How about $9.99
DosZap -> algol_dog Feb 10, 2018 11:40 AM PermalinkMove along. Nothing to see here ...
SRV -> DosZap Feb 10, 2018 11:54 AM PermalinkWhat a load of camel dung, if there was a sex tape of Trump w/Russian hookers, it would have been out while he was RUNNING for the job, FAKE NEWS.
vulcanraven -> DosZap Feb 10, 2018 12:08 PM PermalinkOf course the story is a plant to introduce the hacking tools to cover the payment to Russians for dirt on a sitting POTUS by his own Intel Agency...
And CNN, MSNBC, etc are still wall to wall Trump impeachment... they no longer even pretend. Brain dead Erin Burnett opened with "the Republicans are at it again" to night (in my regular 30 secs of checking in for a laugh)!
silvermail -> algol_dog Feb 10, 2018 11:55 AM PermalinkNo shit, this is what I tell every Libtard when they cry the tired "Trump is corrupt and evil" meme. If there was ANYTHING on Trump, it would have oversaturated the airwaves 24/7 during his candidacy, and he would have never made it out of the primaries.
So which is it? Is he the world's greatest evil retard idiot, or a 9000+ IQ genius that is so slick and underhanded that he was able to collude with Putin, hide all evidence, and pull off the biggest caper in the history of the United States by sneaking into the Presidency? You can't have it both ways.
We must also give credit to the army of Russian bots that tell us how to think and act all day, where would we be without them?
TheWholeYearInn Feb 10, 2018 11:38 AM PermalinkI propose impeachment to any US president for eating, drinking and visiting toilets!
Global Hunter -> DosZap Feb 10, 2018 11:47 AM PermalinkWhat's the difference between prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room, or prostitutes in the FBI/DOJ?
I can't confirm price, so I will go with hotter (can't really confirm that either but Slavic chicks usually seem hot to me).
SRV -> DosZap Feb 10, 2018 11:54 AM Permalink
turkey george palmer -> SRV Feb 10, 2018 1:09 PM PermalinkOf course the story is a plant to introduce the hacking tools to cover the payment to Russians for dirt on a sitting POTUS by his own Intel Agency...
And CNN, MSNBC, etc are still wall to wall Trump impeachment... they no longer even pretend. Brain dead Erin Burnett opened with "the Republicans are at it again" to night (in my regular 30 secs of checking in for a laugh)!
A Sentinel -> SRV Feb 10, 2018 1:21 PM PermalinkFuckin eh right. That's probably the closest thing .
vulcanraven -> DosZap Feb 10, 2018 12:08 PM PermalinkDamn good point. And the dates are off too. A 6+/- month zh article about the dark web had the nsa software downloadable long before 2017.
Gee. Why would someone date that hack into 2017? What was different between 2016 and 2017?
SMH Trying to figure that out.
Winston Churchill -> buzzsaw99 Feb 10, 2018 12:02 PM PermalinkNo shit, this is what I tell every Libtard when they cry the tired "Trump is corrupt and evil" meme. If there was ANYTHING on Trump, it would have oversaturated the airwaves 24/7 during his candidacy, and he would have never made it out of the primaries.
So which is it? Is he the world's greatest evil retard idiot, or a 9000+ IQ genius that is so slick and underhanded that he was able to collude with Putin, hide all evidence, and pull off the biggest caper in the history of the United States by sneaking into the Presidency? You can't have it both ways.
We must also give credit to the army of Russian bots that tell us how to think and act all day, where would we be without them?
H-O-W Feb 10, 2018 11:46 AM PermalinkMore than you know, whenever Russian is stated, replace with Ukrainian. TPTB cannot help themselves but push forward on another agenda as the current one falls apart. The Russophobia is still being stoked no matter what.
Steele was a double agent, maybe triple. British,Ukrainian and probably American. Does that start to make a little more sense ? Those huuuge donations to the CF from Ukraine, McStains involvement, Steele's early retirement from MI6, Brennan's frequent trips to Ukraine, State Dept.s role. Investigate the Chalupa sisters to find out who the rest of the rats are.Lee Stranahan started before he was shut down.
buzzsaw99 Feb 10, 2018 11:48 AM PermalinkThe more we learn,
The more it looks like the Russians set this up perfectly.
- Set Hillary up.
- Set Obama up.
- Set the DNC up.
- Set the media up.
They know these scumbags better than we do!
Give Me Some Truth Feb 10, 2018 11:49 AM Permalinkthe CIA has to turn America into a criminal totalitarian regime in order to make the world safe for democracy.
desertboy -> Give Me Some Truth Feb 10, 2018 12:16 PM PermalinkGood point in the last sentence. If someone is going to "drain the swamp" it is going to have to be the president of the United States. I think I'm correct that he can fire anyone that works in the executive department for cause. He can also order investigations or hire people who will launch real investigations.
Mr. President, if you want to "drain the swamp," drain it.
P.S. You can start with an audit of The Fed.
Anunnaki -> Thordoom Feb 10, 2018 12:24 PM PermalinkThat last sentence assumes a rather critical fantasy.
Dre4dwolf Feb 10, 2018 12:11 PM PermalinkThe Tripod of Evil
- Deep State
- Presstitutes
- Corporate Democrats
Lord Raglan Feb 10, 2018 12:12 PM PermalinkIf there was a video it would of been leaked during the election, they have nothing that sticks on the guy.
All the evidence thus far states
Obama Hillary the FBI, DNC, CIA all spied on Trump and colluded with foreign governments (U.K. , Ukraine , Russia) to try and dig up dirt to use against Trump (and they more or less failed).
They turned over every rock they could, look at that stupid hot-mic video in the bus, how many hours of video did they have to go through to dig up that crumb? they went back searching through 30+ years of content and thats all they could come up with.... some locker room talk lol
People have to just face it.
Your government was and still is corrupt and its a weaponized system of control, Your government colluded with the enemy in a desperate attempt to stop Trump from becoming president. Your government started a sham "Russia investigation" to cover up its own crimes. Your government applied a different standard of justice to the clintons than it would have to you or anyone else.
To date ZERO evidence has been brought forward that Trump or anyone in his campaign did anything wrong, and the only people that have done anything wrong so far were picked by "the swamp" to fill positions..... all the others fell into petty perjury Traps on meaningless topics and insignificant factoids.
navy62802 -> Lord Raglan Feb 10, 2018 12:16 PM PermalinkHow much you wanna bet that Brennan, Obama's CIA Director, was behind buying this and thus, Obama and Hillary?
Kelley Feb 10, 2018 12:16 PM PermalinkYou mean the same Brennan who is the godfather of ISIS?
desertboy Feb 10, 2018 12:20 PM PermalinkIsn't it lovely to find out that your money and mine is being used by government agents to give us the government they want?
It's sort of like a thug robbing you and using part of your money to pay another thug to rough you up from time time to time if you ask any questions with the thugs believing it's for our own good.
Thanks, Hillary, for looking out for us. You and your best buds are the best. Such bighearted givers! Meanwhile, give our regards to your partner in slime Obama, although it must pain you to have been bested by 'Beavis' who thinks so much of himself to balance out how little he impresses anyone who knows him.
Consuelo Feb 10, 2018 12:22 PM Permalink"U.S. intelligence officials told The Times" Sounds like the Donald is finally learning to cooperate better with his masters. They can call off the hounds.
Kelley Feb 10, 2018 1:05 PM PermalinkOk - so we have yet another (likely factual) story here of overt, in-your-face abuse of power and agency aimed directly at American citizens for political gain. And tomorrow? Probably another. And then another. Until: 'Bimbo Fatigue' Remember that phrase. If real justice isn't thrown down soon, you can forget it. Looks to me like (possibly) Trump imploring for public support - i.e., he can't do this himself, or it's too dangerous and he knows it...
indaknow Feb 10, 2018 1:13 PM PermalinkAs taxpayers can we sue the CIA for misusing our funds? Pretty sure that buying sex videos for commercial release isn't part of the CIA's lawful mandate even at bargain prices.
hooligan2009 Feb 10, 2018 11:49 AM PermalinkWhy is the CIA trying to purchase dirt on a sitting President in 2017! Because they have nothing on him! And they are desperate to not all hang by the neck. The times are trying to portray this as Russian intelligence sowing discord between the US intelligence agencies and Trump...Wrong! The US Intel agencies are sowing that discord all on their fucking own. They weren't fooled at all, they created this fucking mess for their own treasonous reasons and now want us to believe that hey...if we fucked up its because the big bad russkies tricked us.
It's not going to work.
MusicIsYou Feb 10, 2018 1:14 PM Permalinkmy sauces tell me that pink pussyhat wearing hollywood types have been called in because they have a doppelganger for trump and access to 30,000 sexually abused victims that can act as Russian prostitutes for just ten bucks each. snapchat has a trump emoji that can be transplanted onto any porn video star - male or female - thus confirming that trump is a serial (serious?) user of ladies of the night
my sauces also tell me that the CIA offers a reward of 100,000 bucks (or 10 BTC) for every photo-shopped (snap-shopped or porn-shopped) material.
of course, the CIA already owns many many porn movie studios and films, but it would prefer third "party" movies - not from epstein's island where its operatives choose to rela with a pizza.
the CIA "pink" budget for such movies is limited to just 5,000 clips or 5 billion of taxpayers funds, whichever is the higher.
awesome sauce hey?
Robert A. Heinlein Feb 10, 2018 1:17 PM PermalinkFor only $100,000 that's all? Now I know it's probably not true.
hannah Feb 10, 2018 1:33 PM Permalink'The Russian, who has ties to organized criminals and money launderers' wtf! So far the Russians are playing our CIA like a bunch of amateurs. And the deep state/dem's bought it hook, line and sinker. Trump was right again. Dem's and Russia are colluding against a duly elected Presidential candidate. I guess it's safe to say we need another order for more Rope. Dem's and deepshit state just can't get enough of hanging themselves. This ain't over by a long shot.
RKae -> hannah Feb 10, 2018 1:47 PM Permalinki call bullshit. you dont 'buy back' a software program that can be copied in 30 seconds. this whole story is a fabrication just like the dossier. made up to inflect bad info on to trump.
i call bullshit.
Quantify Feb 10, 2018 1:38 PM PermalinkYeah, I loved that one. "Here. I'm giving you back that software I ripped off from you. I copied it to this CD and then deleted it from my computer... You know: wiped it with a cloth."
And I love that the CIA thinks they can get away with a tale like that when everyone but my 90-year-old mother-in-law knows how a digital file works.
RKae Feb 10, 2018 1:39 PM PermalinkThe CIA is at the head of the shadow government.
vofreason Feb 10, 2018 1:39 PM PermalinkSo were these "patriotic" CIA superheroes interested in Bill Clinton's rapes, rapes and more rapes? Were they concerned that he was snorting coke and using Arkansas state troopers for procurers of hosebags for him to screw?
I mean if they're so concerned about Trump and a couple of hookers... Better put some ice on that, CIA.
You all are so ridiculous and fooled with your "drain the swamp" bs. It's a great idea but Trump doing it is a joke, I mean just look at who he has hired, what's wrong with you all are you blind?!!
He can't even fill 1/3 of the government positions he's supposed to and the ones he has have no business holding the positions given to them and are so incompetent, downright criminal or just personally horrendous humans that they can't stay in office more than a few months. All their blatant and moronically concocted lies are backing them into corners every day that they just try and lie out of again. America is over if we really have gotten to the point that a group like Trump's has support, it's just astonishing.
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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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Jul 27, 2018 | thesaker.is
Alex on October 09, 2017 , · at 3:08 pm EST/EDT
Something tells me he doesn't want to push this too much as money for this film came from French and German sources. It is nice to see him sticking his neck out to uphold the Truth.When I watched the US rep. who supposedly investigated this Magnitzky affair for the US gov. state under oath that he never verified any of the info that Browder gave him, I kept thinking "Is this guy serious ?" But when you realize that they never did any investigation then it all seems logical.
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Dec 31, 2018 | www.unz.com
The Geopolitics of Trump's Trade War
Most recently, a dissident economist and failed California politician named Peter Navarro has parlayed his hostility toward China into the role of key architect of Donald Trump's "trade war" against Beijing. Like his Russian counterpart Alexander Dugin, Navarro is another in a long line of intellectuals whose embrace of geopolitics changed the trajectory of his career.
Raised by a single mom who worked secretarial jobs to rent one-bedroomapartments where he slept on the couch, Navarro went to college at Tufts on a scholarship and earned a doctorate in economics from Harvard. Despite that Ivy League degree, he remained an angry outsider, denouncing the special interests "stealing America" in his first book and later, as a business professor at the University of California-Irvine, branding San Diego developers "punks in pinstripes." A passionate environmentalist, in 1992 Navarro plunged into politics as a Democratic candidate for the mayor of San Diego, denouncing his opponent's husband as a convicted drug-money launderer and losing when he smirked as she wept during their televised debate.
For the next 10 years, Navarro fought losing campaigns for everything from city council to Congress. He detailed his crushing defeat for a seat in the House of Representatives in a tell-all book , San Diego Confidential, that dished out disdain for that duplicitous "sell out" Bill Clinton, dumb "blue-collar detritus" voters, and just about everybody else as well.
Following his last losing campaign for city council, Navarro spent a decade churning out books attacking a new enemy: China. His first "shock and awe" jeremiad in 2006 told horror stories about that country's foreign trade; five years later, Death By China was filled with torrid tales of "bone-crushing, cancer-causing, flammable, poisonous, and otherwise lethal products" from that land. In 2015, a third book turned to geopolitics, complete with carefully drawn maps and respectful references to Captain Mahan, to offer an analysis of how China's military was pursuing a relentless strategy of "anti-access, area denial" to challenge the U.S. Navy's control over the Western Pacific.
To check China, the Pentagon then had two competing strategies -- "Air-Sea Battle," in which China's satellites were to be blinded, knocking out its missiles, and "Offshore Control," in which China's entire coastline was to be blockaded by mining six maritime choke points from Japan to Singapore. Both, Navarro claimed, were fatally flawed. Given that, Navarro's third book and a companion film ( endorsed by one Donald Trump) asked: What should the United States do to check Beijing's aggression and its rise as a global power? Since all U.S. imports from China, Navarro suggested, were "helping to finance a Chinese military buildup," the only realistic solution was "the imposition of countervailing tariffs to offset China's unfair trade practices."
Just a year after reaching that controversial conclusion, Navarro joined the Trump election campaign as a policy adviser and then, after the November victory, became a junior member of the White House economic team. As a protectionist in an administration initially dominated by globalists, he would be excluded from high-level meetings and, according to Time Magazine , "required to copy chief economic adviser Gary Cohn on all his emails." By February 2018, however, Cohn was on his way out and Navarro had become assistant to the president, with his new trade office now the co-equal of the National Economic Council.
As the chief defender of Trump's belief that "trade wars are good and easy to win," Navarro has finally realized his own geopolitical dream of attempting to check China with tariffs. In March, the president slapped heavy ones on Chinese steel imports and, just a few weeks later, promised to impose more of them on $50 billion of imports. When those started in July, China's leaders retaliated against what they called "typical trade bullying," imposing similar duties on American goods. Despite a warning from the Federal Reserve chairman that "trade tensions could pose serious risks to the U.S. and global economy," with Navarro at his elbow, Trump escalated in September, adding tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods and threatening another $267 billion worth if China dared retaliate. Nonetheless, Beijing hit back, this time on just $60 billion in goods since 95% of all U.S. imports had already been covered.
Then something truly surprising happened. In September, the U.S. trade deficit with China ballooned to $305 billion for the year, driven by an 8% surge in Chinese imports -- a clear sign that Navarro's bold geopolitical vision of beating Beijing into submission with tariffs had collided big time with the complexities of world trade. Whether this tariff dispute will fizzle out inconsequentially or escalate into a full-blown trade war, wreaking havoc on global supply chains and the world economy, none of us can yet know, particularly that would-be geopolitical grandmaster Peter Navarro.
The Desire to be Grandmaster of the Universe
Though such experts usually dazzle the public and the powerful alike with erudition and boldness of vision, their geopolitical moves often have troubling long-term consequences. Mahan's plans for Pacific dominion through offshore bases created a strategic conundrum that plagued American defense policy for a half-century. Brzezinski's geopolitical lunge at the Soviet Union's soft Central Asian underbelly helped unleash radical Islam. Today, Alexander Dugin's use of geopolitics to revive Russia's dominion over Eurasia has placed Moscow on a volatile collision course with Europe and the United States. Simultaneously, Peter Navarro's bold gambit to contain China's military and economic push into the Pacific with a trade war could, if it persists, produce untold complications for our globalized economy.
No matter how deeply flawed such geopolitical visions may ultimately prove to be, their brief moments as official policy have regularly shaped the destiny of nations and of empires in unpredictable, unplanned, and often dangerous ways. And no matter how this current round of geopolitical gambits plays out, we can be reasonably certain that, in the not-too-distant future, another would-be grandmaster will embrace this seductive concept to guide his bold bid for global power.
Alfred W. McCoy, a TomDispatch regular , is the Harrington professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade , the now-classic book which probed the conjuncture of illicit narcotics and covert operations over 50 years, and the recently published In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power ( Dispatch Books).
joun , says: December 3, 2018 at 1:56 am GMT
Si1ver1ock , says: December 3, 2018 at 2:03 am GMTDugin, regardless of what minor success he had ten years ago, is not influential in the Kremlin. He did not orchestrate Russia's absorption of Crimea. Simple strategic needs demanded that Crimea be absorbed, and a flawless Russian execution of an ambitious plan won the day.
Peter Navarro is correct w/r/t China. Our trading relationship with China has been a disaster for our economy (to which I mean our ability to have an economy absent financial shenanigans) and USG has effectively funded China's rise. There is no strategic benefit to offshoring productive capacity. I don't really care if Navarro has failed at other tasks in his life. He is correct on this one.
Sean , says: December 9, 2018 at 12:57 pm GMTwe can be reasonably certain that, in the not-too-distant future, another would-be grandmaster will embrace this seductive concept to guide his bold bid for global power.
Damn! Sounds just like me. Anyway, the US has made a lot of mistakes. It transferred much of its manufacturing base to China and much of its technology. The Chinese see a chance to break away from the US economically and in technology.
The US invested in China's future. China invested in its future. Which is why China has a future.
China 2025:
animalogic , says: December 16, 2018 at 11:12 am GMThttps://www.waterstones.com/book/prisoners-of-geography/tim-marshall/9781783962433
Seeing geography as a decisive factor in the course of human history can be construed as a bleak view of the world, which is why it is disliked in some intellectual circles. It suggests that nature is more powerful than man, and that we can only go so far in determining our own fate.
Splitting the globe into ten distinct regions, former Sky News Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall redresses our techno-centric view of the world and suggests that our key political driver continues to be our physical geography. Beginning with Russia (and its bewildering eleven time-zones), we are treated to an illuminating, border-by-border disassembly of what makes the world what it is; why, for instance, China and India will never fall into conflict (the Himalayas), or why the Ukraine is such a tactical jewel in the crown. With its panoptic view over our circumstance, Prisoners of Geography makes a compelling case around how the physical framework of the world itself has defined our history. It's one of those books that prompts real reflection and one that on publication absolutely grasped the imagination of our customers, ensuring it as a guaranteed entrant to our 2016 Paperbacks of the Year.
'One of the best books about geopolitics you could imagine: reading it is like having a light shone on your understanding.' – Nicholas Lezard,
@jounAnon [275] Disclaimer , says: December 31, 2018 at 5:24 am GMT"There is no strategic benefit to offshoring productive capacity. "
Quite right. However – that horse has long bolted. And now, playing catch-up, the US is employing the crudest of methods: tariffs & military bullying (& God help us all, kidnapping).
Unfortunately, circumstances demand a radical & imaginative response & even harder, a realisation that the horse has bolted.
Puzzled , says: December 31, 2018 at 6:33 am GMTDear Mr. McCoy:
Now that you're here, you should read the Saker more. I'll pose this question though, If Russia and China are hell bent on imperial expansion, why don't they show any interest in Mongolia? Fertile land, rich mineral resources, a tiny population incapable of resistance it would be a no brainier. The reason they don't is because they are not imperial powers. Also, is empire a good thing? In every historical example it has followed the same pattern and failed. Civilisations however endure through the ages.
Anon [275] Disclaimer , says: December 31, 2018 at 6:49 am GMT" Vladimir Putin seeks to shatter the Western alliance with cyberwar " was where I noted this essayist is a fool and stopped reading. Russians! Russians! Russians everywhere!
*vomit*
@Puzzled ire is failing and wrote this insightful essay on why. http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176007/tomgram%3A_alfred_mccoy%2C_washington%27s_great_game_and_why_it%27s_failing_jilles dykstra , says: December 31, 2018 at 7:05 am GMTBut since then has gone on to muse how it might be extended. My argument is that the Empire does not serve the American people and is leading to the destruction of the republic and the American people. The sooner it ends the better, and if Trump can speed up its demise, then he is our guy.
Counterinsurgency , says: December 31, 2018 at 10:25 am GMTA very interesting article, for me, but, I suppose, for quite other reasons than most here expect. The essence of interest is in the last two paragraphs.
In the first of these two those men are mentioned who by geopolitical ideas caused world wide disasters. If they did, I do not know. The question 'did Napoleon make history or did history make Napoleon' still is a difficult one among historians, and will remain difficult, is my idea. The man not mentioned in this paragraph is Hitler.Then we get the ominous last paragraph, someone grabbing world wide power for geopolitical reasons, a great menace.
The essence of good propaganda is not telling lies, but telling just half truths. Not mentioned is that the area that now is Germany for maybe hundreds of years could not feed the population, had to import food. In order to be able to import one must export, a country with not enough agricultural production naturally must export industrial products, to fabricate these one needs raw materials.
Not for nothing both WWI and WWII had geopolitical causes, German economic expansion to the SW and E, economic expansion that threatened, in the British view, the autarcic British empire.
The implication of the last paragraph for me is clear, beware of the next Hitler. If the author has someone in mind who will unleash the last world war is not clear to me.
@Puzzled y_, section on "managing enemies".Biff , says: December 31, 2018 at 11:08 am GMTCopley implies that cohesive societies that seek victory over all other societies can't have it, because a cohesive society must have enemies, invented or carefully preserved if necessary. Perhaps that's what the Russia affair is about. If so, its not working.
It's like the Federal German republic trying 90 year old people who were drafted as teenagers to be concentration camp guards in late WW II, when the Reich was scraping through the bottom of the manpower barrel, or like the British digging up Cromwell's bones (see Wikipedia, "Oliver Cromwell", section: "Death and posthumous execution"). Not convincing.
Counterinsurgency
Herald , says: December 31, 2018 at 11:33 am GMTAlfred McCoy isn't the exact polar opposite of Bill Kristol who is wrong about everything , but McCoy does have a pretty good track record of being mostly correct about the issues he covers, nevertheless, he still reads like an opinion column. He also seems bonded by how he sees the American empire being some sort of force of benevolence when it acts and reacts in the same manner as any other empire that's come and gone – and of course he loathes the idea of the next empire simply by default(they'll brag about freedom too Alfred). And of course, in the realm of geopolitics, he never really mentions the bastard child; which leaves a gaping hole in his analysis.
My guess is McCoy's basically on the right track. Not exactly, but he'll get you out of the woods.
Alfred , says: December 31, 2018 at 12:41 pm GMTSpot on. The reference to Russia waging cyberwar was an early warning that reading this long article would be a waste of time.
Jayzerbee , says: December 31, 2018 at 12:41 pm GMTFor the past decade, he has been a forceful advocate for Russian expansionism
It gets a bit boring reading about how aggressive Putin is and how he wants to reconquer all the territories that were voluntarily given up by his predecessors. How exactly would Russia benefit by reaquiring the Baltic States or Poland? These countries are on life-support. Poland get $20bn annually in direct and indirect subsidies from the EU. As for Ukraine, what possible benefit to Russia would it be to have an extra 35 million people who are broke. Ukrainians today spend half their income on food and that other half on heat – and that in a country with a very cold winter.
Let's not forget that there would not have been a "Berlin Crisis" if Stalin had not given parts of Berlin to the USA, the UK and France. Can you imagine the USA doing something similar? This whole article is a real let down. I am disappointed. I guess every barrel has to have a rotten apple or two.
onebornfree , says: Website December 31, 2018 at 12:48 pm GMTI would add that in my life, Henry Kissinger was the other supreme geopolitical theorist who attempted to establish a multipolar geopolitics over a bipolar one. Keep in mind that it was he who essentially argued that China must be recognized in order to blunt the USSR. Nixon thus became the one who opened China to the US, so that in theory the world was to be divided into the Russia pole; the China pole; the American/NATO pole, and the "Third World" pole. With a dash of Mahan added to the mix, all would be balanced and stable, or so Kissinger argued. Hmmmm, maybe not!
Anonymous [349] Disclaimer , says: December 31, 2018 at 1:01 pm GMT"Chain chain chain, chain of fools"
Also, perhaps read "Hormegeddon" by the great Bill Bonner:
https://bonnerandpartners.com/prepare-for-hormegeddon/
Regards, onebornfree
@Miggle ext">jilles dykstra , says: December 31, 2018 at 1:25 pm GMTAre you for real? Have you looked at where these two respective areas are geographically? Hell, their borders aren't even adjacent.
As for China's interest in Tibet: what was once's part of the Empire will always be part of the Empire. Tibets been part of the empire twice now, first under Genghis' Yuan Dynasty and again during under the Qing. That simple fact means from now until the sun goes supernova, for China to be considered unified, Tibet must be a part of it. No ifs or buts.
That's not to mention the strategic considerations of occupying the high ground vis a vis the sub-continentals as well as the area being the source of several great rivers. You'd have to be a madman to give that kind of advantage up.
@Anon Ghandi was of the opinion that the people of India, forgot the number, 100 million or more ?, served 400.000 rich Britons.ThreeCranes , says: December 31, 2018 at 1:41 pm GMT
The Roman empire, I'd say 1% rich, 99% poor.
The tsarist empire, not much better.
The German empire again the exception, nowhere else at the end of the 19th century were common people in comparable living conditions.
The EU empire, EP members tax free incomes of some € 200.000 a year, plus an extravagant pension system.
Verhofstadt, additional income, not tax free, of at least € 450.000 a year.
Declarations, Schulz has been accused of spending € 700.000 in a year, among other things he liked a glass of wine.Patrick Armstrong , says: Website December 31, 2018 at 1:43 pm GMTWhen it suits their purpose, writers on economics–I won't call them Economists–praise the tiger-like speed and agility with which Capitalism responds to the vagaries of pressures and demands that arise in world markets. But when they're engaging in public relations we get this:
"Despite a warning from the Federal Reserve chairman that " trade tensions could pose serious risks to the U.S. and global economy ," .. Whether this tariff dispute will fizzle out inconsequentially or escalate into a full-blown trade war, wreaking havoc on global supply chains and the world economy
which throw a protective cloak over a poor, picked-upon capitalism which is, apparently, incapable of getting out of its own way.
SteveM , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:19 pm GMTDisappointing read. No, there is nothing to suggest that Dugin has any influence on Putin. No, there is no Russian cyberwar. Putin's aims are Russia's recovery from the disasters of communism (a road to a blind alley as he has called it) and defending Russia against NATO's expansion, colour revolutions and numerous false accusations.
Beijing is the place to look today for big strategic thinking.
@Puzzled reasons would be the last. Because the Europeans would find of other sources and shut out Russia as being an unreliable business partner. Moreover, Russia is now the largest exporter of wheat and is developing export levels of production in soybeans and pork. You can't sell to countries that you have wrecked militarily.Digital Samizdat , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:24 pm GMTIt's the U.S., not Russia that is playing the 800 pound Global Cop Gorilla with its war-mongering, economic warfare and global subversion.
Like Puzzled, when I read that stupid, irrational line by Alfred McCoy, I simply stopped reading. Because nobody that dense about obvious geo-political reality deserves to be read.
therevolutionwas , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:39 pm GMTDisappointing read. No, there is nothing to suggest that Dugin has any influence on Putin.
No kidding. This is what happens when you get your Russian news from the Times and the Beeb. I mean, if Dugin were such a Kremlin favorite, how could he have lost his job at Moscow State University? You'd think he could just pick up the phone, call 'Uncle Vova', and get his job back!
Of course Putin is a Eurasianist, but that's not because Dugin told him to be one. It's because every Russian ruler has been a Eurasianist for centuries now. Why? Just look at a map: Russia is located in Eurasia. Would we therefore expect the Russians to be Pan-Africanists or something else? Naturally they're going to be Eurasianists. They learned long ago that if they don't dominate Eurasia, somebody else will -- and that will cause security problems for Russia. I can't say I hold that against them. It's not as though the US would take kindly to some foreign empire coming on over to the Western Hemisphere and setting up shop, say, in Latin America. In fact, just consider how Washington reacted when the Soviets concluded an alliance with Cuba. There was no talk about the 'sovereignty of small nations' coming from the wallscreen then!
@jounReuben Kaspate , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:47 pm GMTWhat financial shenanigans? And how has the US effectively funded China's rise? And how do tariffs destroy China ? (tariffs are like shooting yourself in the foot)
@AnonymousReuben Kaspate , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:52 pm GMTTibet is the Achilles Heel of China it's there where the over confident Middle Kingdom will die the death of a thousand paper cuts!
@AnonReuben Kaspate , says: December 31, 2018 at 2:55 pm GMTFertile land? Are you out of your freaking wits, Anon [275]? You can't grow shit in Mongolia!
Ilyana_Rozumova , says: December 31, 2018 at 3:04 pm GMTMy prediction for 2019: America will remain the hyperpower for the next 81 years; thereafter, I couldn't give a schitt!
@therevolutionwasUnrepentant Conservative , says: December 31, 2018 at 3:04 pm GMTAnalysis of US investment in China would explain a lot. It is zero? I do not think so!!!!!!!!!
Agent76 , says: December 31, 2018 at 3:14 pm GMTBeware of self-styled strategic thinkers attempting to revive flagging careers and gain influence.
Sean , says: December 31, 2018 at 4:37 pm GMTThe cause for poverty is located at the Pentagon because they own the national debt! When if ever will the Joint Chiefs be put on trial for these treasonous Wars and lost trillions?
December 24, 2013 The Worldwide Network of US Military Bases
The US Military has bases in 63 countries. Adding to the bases inside U.S. territory, the total land area occupied by US military bases domestically within the US and internationally is of the order of 2,202,735 hectares, which makes the *Pentagon* one of the *largest* landowners worldwide.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-worldwide-network-of-us-military-bases/5564
Dec 21, 2013 Black Budget: US govt clueless about missing Pentagon $trillions
The Pentagon has secured a 630 billion dollar budget for next year, even though it's failed to even account for the money it's received since 1996. A whopping 8.5 trillion dollars of taxpayer cash have gone to defence programmes – none of which has been audited.
@Ilyana_Rozumova between other countries and with its own colonies. As the Dutch comparative advantage was frozen out, their military aggression declined with it. America sitting on its hands while China becomes a giant Hong Kong and countries all over Eurasia fall under its sway would by likely to lead to a very nasty war that America would loose and loose badly. It is better to try now to stop China growing that big and dangerous by declining to trade with them under conditions that will inevitably make them grow too large to fight. Will trade barriers to China work well enough? Probably not because they are past the lift off stage now (Carter did too good a job), but it is worth a try.wayfarer , says: December 31, 2018 at 4:39 pm GMTnever-anonymous , says: December 31, 2018 at 5:50 pm GMTThere is opportunity for an American renaissance and really the only practical solution for its people – that is to swiftly and decidedly push its pathetic government aside – and begin rapidly re-educating, re-training, re-tooling, and re-building a next-generation manufacturing base.
The Next Manufacturing Revolution is Here
jilles dykstra , says: December 31, 2018 at 6:02 pm GMTEverything 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.
@Sean ised an efficient military staff, efficient in planning. The Prussian army was the first to make extensive use of railways, first time after the French 1870 attack. Very capable people, Germans. Red Army use of railways even in 1941 was a mess.Lin , says: December 31, 2018 at 6:25 pm GMT
The GB preparations for the occupation of neutral Norway in April 1940, also a mess.
Pity quoted book is in German and with gothic letters, Ludendorff shows with extensive map material how the Germans in WWI fought a two front, sometimes even three front war. Just possible through detailed transport planning.
Erich Ludendorff, 'Meine Kriegserinnerungen 1914 = 1918′, Berlin, 1918@joun5371 , says: December 31, 2018 at 6:52 pm GMTAs I said before, rhetorics such as 'USG has effectively funded China's rise' are just over-exaggeration if not BS. Facts:
–Foreign investments only constitute a small % of Chinese domestic investment,
–The majority of foreign Investment in china are NOT from US.
–Total investment in China in recent years amount to $trillions per yearIf one cares to examine the major industrial sectors in China , like hi-speed rail, steel, photovoltaic panels, electricity, energy,.. automobiles Only in the auto sector the americans have a sizable role because the yanks want market access.
Ben Sampson , says: December 31, 2018 at 8:05 pm GMTNumerous historical howlers in this piece.
Agent76 , says: December 31, 2018 at 8:51 pm GMTwe can be reasonably certain that, in the not-too-distant future, another would-be grandmaster will embrace this seductive concept to guide his bold bid for global power.
my take is that we are in the end game of imperialism. the western empire is in terminal decline and there will be more empires. from the evidence Russia and China, having learned the lessons of a few thousand years of experience are not seeking for empires.
empires, traditional ones, are now altogether too costly, especially approaching their end. the world wont tolerate that anymore. the credit empire is working so far but the people have cottoned on to that. to end global banking power simply take over the banks, and recuse all debt for they were fraudulently accrued.
all banking will then by need be worker co-ops able to deal with all the financial services required by society..no conglomerates required
the capitalists will probably try a desperate military gambit to try maintain their empire but that wont work. they are already outgunned unless they decide to take the world down with them.
but I don't think we will have to worry about such trade 'grandmasters' farting around with the world for too much longer. the end of imperialism will make such work redundant
and if the democracy does not replace capitalism and the elite wins, it's a Brave New World we looking at. Brilliant geneticist bent on engineering humans. brilliant mind controllers, psychiatrists and such would be useful job qualifications to have, not trade specialist.
Brave New World also makes the trade 'genius' redundant
niceland , says: December 31, 2018 at 9:34 pm GMTDecember 31, 2018 War is Good for Business and Organized Crime. Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Opium Trade. Rising Heroin Addiction in the US Afghanistan's opium economy is a multibillion dollar operation which has a direct impact on the surge of heroin addiction in the US.
June 10, 2014 Drug War?
American Troops Are Protecting Afghan Opium. U.S. Occupation Leads to All-Time High Heroin Production
JLK , says: December 31, 2018 at 9:54 pm GMTIt's always fun to read articles and history. This article was fun and perhaps thought provoking. But at least some parts of it make no sense to me.
Take for example the "heartland" theory. Yes it probably made sense over a century ago when strategist -always looking in the rear view mirror- judged the situation based on the Roman empire or Napoleons conquest. And their thoughts grounded in traditional territorial wars.
Today with nuclear weapons, fast long range missiles and in very different economic reality, I don't think the "Heartland" is the key to control the world, Eurasia, Europe or indeed anything else than possibly the "Heartland" it self. Control from the Heartland over nuclear France or the U.K?
Annexing small part of land on your own borders whose inhabitants overwhelmingly welcome you with open arms, like Russians did in Crimea, is totally different from conquering unwilling, hostile neighbors. The latter is extremely costly and difficult exercise with just about zero upside but gaping black hole on the downside. Remember Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam? So the former isn't indication of the latter!
I dont't see anything that supports the theory the Russians are playing by the book of the Heartland theory. In current political situation it's outlandish idea. Perhaps the idea is to paint Russia's leaders as lunatics?
Yes the Russians are probably engaged in cyber-war. They seem to have the Russian troll farm in St. Petersburg – as reported by European media it's amateur operation costing perhaps few million dollars per year with 80 people from the unemployment list's hammering on laptops working shifts creating and nurturing social media accounts. No experts in politics or advanced computing in sight, no supercomputers, artificial intelligence. Like I said, amateur operation hardly indicating state-sponsored efforts.
Place this against the U.S. – NSA – on record for what seems to be global surveillance having tapped the phones of U.S. European allies heads of states like Angela Merkel -among other things- with it's budget of $80 billion per year. Similar amount to the total Russian defense budget. Then there is the CIA and other "three letter organizations" in the U.S. and similar operations in the U.K. I think this is David against Goliath struggle and the latter is doing most of the beating.
The press? R.T and few other outlets versus the western MSM who has in recent years acted like a pack of rabid dogs against Russia. Investigative journalism into international affairs is replaced by publishing official statements and "analysis" from "experts". This is war propaganda – nothing less. And the Russians are playing desperate defense most days.
This madness is driving Russia into coalition with China and creating all sorts of totally unnecessary tensions. Forcing them to avoid the US dollar and so forth. How any of this supports western interests, or the interests of U.S. or U.K. citizens is a great misery. One thing is certain – this is self-destruction policy for the U.S. in the long run. This is what happens when the lunatics take over the asylum.
Thankfully Vladimir Putin seems to be extremely capable and stable person – not likely to fall into temptation of hitting back with horrible consequences for world peace.
Happy new year everyone!
JLK , says: December 31, 2018 at 11:11 pm GMTIt was a nice history essay, but there isn't much of a logical relationship between Mahan, Haushofer, et al. and the present trade confrontation.
Navarro appears to have the full support of Silicon Valley, Boeing and our other high tech exporters. On the other side is Wall Street and possibly British interests. For all of the hullabaloo about Trump violating the law against private citizens conducting foreign diplomacy when he was President-elect, the Wall Street crowd appears to have transgressed much further:
It seems the New York banks would gladly trade the SV engineering jobs for a bigger share of the China banking business, a la the Cleveland and Detroit auto industry jobs of the past.
A possible break with Britain is something even bigger to watch, as their involvement in China is even more finance-related.
@Anon ng, which far exceeded direct investments into China by any other country.If we take a look at the Santander report on Hong Kong FDI, most of it seems to come from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands (both offshore banking locations, with the funds coming from who knows where) and the UK.
https://en.portal.santandertrade.com/establish-overseas/hong-kong/foreign-investment
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Dec 30, 2018 | jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com
At the inception of this entire RussiaGate spectacle I suggested that it was a political distraction to take the attention away from the rejection by the people of neoliberalism which has been embraced by the establishments of both political parties.
And that the result of the investigation would be indictments for perjury in the covering up of illicit business deals and money laundering. But that 'collusion to sway the election' was without substance, if not a joke.
Everything that has been revealed to date tends to support that.
One thing that Aaron overlooks is the evidence compiled by William Binney and associates that strongly suggests the DNC hack was no hack at all, but a leak by an insider who was appalled by the lies and double dealing at the DNC.
In general, RussiaGate is a farcical distraction from other issues as they say in the video. And this highlights the utterly Machiavellian streak in the corporate Democrats and the Liberal establishment under the Clintons and their ilk who care more about money and power than the basic principles that historically sustained their party. I have lost all respect for them.
But unfortunately this does open the door for those who use this to approve of the Republican establishment, which is 'at least honest' about being substantially corrupt servants to Big Money who care nothing about democracy, the Constitution, or the public. The best of them are leaving or have already left, and their party is ruined beyond repair.
This all underscores the paucity of the Red v. Blue, monopoly of two parties, 'lesser of two evils' model of political thought which has come to dominate the discussion in the US.
We are heavily propagandized by the owners of the corporate media and influencers of the narrative, and a professional class that has sold its soul for economic advantage and access to money and power.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/2HBA3Zm3dGM
And here is a bit more from Nate Silver --
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Dec 28, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com
Submitted by Tapainfo.com
" Nation states must today be prepared to give up their sovereignty ", according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who told an audience in Berlin that sovereign nation states must not listen to the will of their citizens when it comes to questions of immigration, borders, or even sovereignty.
No this wasn't something Adolf Hitler said many decades ago, this is what German Chancellor Angela Merkel told attendants at an event by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin. Merkel has announced she won't seek re-election in 2021 and it is clear she is attempting to push the globalist agenda to its disturbing conclusion before she stands down.
" In an orderly fashion of course, " Merkel joked, attempting to lighten the mood. But Merkel has always had a tin ear for comedy and she soon launched into a dark speech condemning those in her own party who think Germany should have listened to the will of its citizens and refused to sign the controversial UN migration pact:
" There were [politicians] who believed that they could decide when these agreements are no longer valid because they are representing The People ".
" [But] the people are individuals who are living in a country, they are not a group who define themselves as the [German] people ," she stressed.
Merkel has previously accused critics of the UN Global Compact for Safe and Orderly Migration of not being patriotic, saying " That is not patriotism, because patriotism is when you include others in German interests and accept win-win situations ".
Her words echo recent comments by the deeply unpopular French President Emmanuel Macron who stated in a Remembrance Day speech that " patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism [because] nationalism is treason ."
The French president's words were deeply unpopular with the French population and his approval rating nosedived even further after the comments.
Macron, whose lack of leadership is proving unable to deal with growing protests in France, told the Bundestag that France and Germany should be at the center of the emerging New World Order.
" The Franco-German couple [has]the obligation not to let the world slip into chaos and to guide it on the road to peace" .
" Europe must be stronger and win more sovereignty ," he went on to demand, just like Merkel, that EU member states surrender national sovereignty to Brussels over " foreign affairs, migration, and development " as well as giving " an increasing part of our budgets and even fiscal resources".
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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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Dec 27, 2018 | www.strategic-culture.org
On December 19, Donald Trump announced in a Twitter message: "Our boys, our young women, our men, they're all coming back and they're coming back now. We won". Shortly thereafter, Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement: "We have started the process of returning US troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign".
The reasons for Donald Trump's move are many, but they are mainly driven by US domestic concerns. The temperature is heating up for Trump following the midterms, as the Democrats prepare to take command of the House of Representatives in January, something that Trump had always hoped to avert. He surrounded himself with generals, in the forlorn hope that this would somehow protect him. If the last two years of his presidency were constantly under the cloud of Mueller's investigation, or insinuations of being an agent of Putin, from January 2019 the situation is going to get much more complicated. The Democratic electoral base is baying for the President's impeachment, the party already in full pre-primary mode, with more than 20 candidates competing, with the incumbent of the White House offering the rallying cry.
The combination of these factors has forced Trump to change gears, considering that the military-industrial-intelligence-media-complex has always been ready to get rid of Trump, even in favor of a President Pence. The only option available for Trump in order to have a chance of reelection in 2020 is to undertake a self-promotion tour, a practice in which he has few peers, and which will involve him repeating his mantra of "Promises Made, Promises Kept". He will list how he has fought against the fake-news media, suffered internal sabotage, as well as other efforts (from the Fed, the FBI, and Mueller himself) to hamper his efforts to "Make America Great Again".
Trump has perhaps understood that in order to be re-elected, he must pursue a simple media strategy that will have a direct impact on his base. Withdrawing US troops from Syria, and partly from Afghanistan, serves this purpose. It is an easy way to win with his constituents, while it is a heavy blow to his fiercest critics in Washington who are against this decision. Given that 70% of Americans think that the war in Afghanistan was a mistake, the more that the mainstream media attacks Trump for his decision to withdraw, the more they direct votes to Trump. In this sense, Trump's move seems to be directed at a domestic rather than an international audience.
The decision to get out of Syria is timed to coincide with another move that will also very much please Trump's base. The government shutdown is a result of the Democrats refusing to fund Trump's campaign promise to build a wall on the Mexican border. It is not difficult to understand that the average citizen is fed up with the useless wars in the Middle East, and Trump's words on immigration resonate with his voters. The more the media, the Democrats and the deep state criticize Trump on the wall, on the Syria pull out and on shutting down the government, the more they are campaigning for him.
This is why in order to understand the withdrawal of the United States from Syria it is necessary to see things from Trump's perspective, even as frustrating, confusing and incomprehensible that may seem at times.
The difference this time around was that the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria was Trump's alone, not something imposed on him by the generals that surround him. The choice to announce to his base, via Twitter, a victory against ISIS and the immediate withdrawal of US troops was a smart election move with an eye on the 2020 election.
It is possible that Trump, as is his wont, also wanted to send a message to his alleged French and British allies present in the northeast of Syria alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US soldiers. Trump may be now taunting: "Let's see what you can do without the US!"
It is as if Trump is admonishing these countries in a more concrete way for not lifting their weight in terms of military spending. Trump is vindictive and is not averse, after taking advantage of his opponent, to kicking him once he is down. Trump could be correct in this regard, and maybe French and British forces will be forced to withdraw their small group of 400 to 500 illegal occupiers of Syrian territory. Macron has for now reacted angrily at Trump's decision, intensifying the division between the two, and is adamant that the French military presence in Syria will continue.
There is also a more refined reason to justify the US withdrawal, even if Trump is probably unaware of it. The problem in these cases is always trying to peer through the fog of war and propaganda in order to discern the clear, unadulterated truth.
We should begin by listing the winners and losers of the Syrian conflict. Damascus, Moscow, Tehran and Hezbollah have won the war against aggression. Riyadh, Doha, Paris, London, Tel Aviv and Washington, with their al Qaeda, Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist proxies, failed to destroy Syria, and following seven years of effort, are forced to scurry away in defeat.
Those who are walking a tightrope between war and defeat are Ankara and the so-called SDF. The withdrawal of the United States has confirmed the balance on the ledger of winners and losers, with the clock counting down for Erdogan and the SDF to make their next determinative move.
The enemies of Syria survive thanks to repeated bluffs. The Americans of the military-industrial-intelligence apparatus maintain the pretence that they still have an influence in Syria, what with troops on the ground, attacking Trump for withdrawing. In fact, since the Russians have imposed a no-fly-zone across the country, with the S-300 systems and other sophisticated equipment that integrate the Syrian air-defenses into the Russian air defenses, US coalition planes are for all intents and purposes grounded, and the same goes for the Israelis.
Of course the French and British in Syria are infected with the same delusional disease, choosing to believe that they can count for something without the US presence. We will see in the near future whether they also withdraw their illegal presence from Syria.
The biggest bluff of all probably comes from Erdogan, who for months threatened to invade Syria to fight ISIS, the Kurds, or any other plausible excuse to invade a sovereign country for the purposes of advancing his dreams of expanding Turkish territory as far as Idlib (which Erdogan considers a province of Turkey). Such an invasion, however, is unlikely to happen, as it would unite the SDF, Damascus and her allies to reject the Turkish advance on Syrian territory.
The Kurds in turn seem to have only one option left, namely, a forced negotiation with Damascus to give back to the Syrian people, in exchange for protection, the control of their territory that is rich in oil and gas.
Erdogan wants to eliminate the SDF, and until now, the only thing that stood in his way was the US military presence. He even threatened to attack several times, even in spite of the presence of US troops. Ankara has long been on a collision course with NATO countries on account of this. By removing US troops, Trump imagines, relations between Turkey and the US may also improve. This of course is of little interest to the US deep state, since Erdogan, like Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), is considered unsuitable, and is accordingly branded a "dictator".
Trump probably believes that with this move, as with his defense of MBS concerning Khashoggi, that he can try and establish a strong personal friendship with Erdogan. There are even talks about the sale of Patriot systems to the Turks and the extradition of Gulen.
When Will They Leave, and Cui Prodest?
It remains to be confirmed when and to what extent US troops will leave Syria. If the US had no voice in the future in Syria, with 2,000 men on the ground, now it has even less. Leaving behind 200 to 300 special forces and CIA operatives, together with another 400 to 500 French and British personnel, will, once they are captured with their Daesh and al Qaeda friends, be an excellent bargaining chip for Damascus, as they were in Aleppo.
The military-industrial-intelligence-media complex considers Trump's decision the worst of of all possible moves. Mattis even resigned on account of this. The presence of US troops in Syria allowed the foreign-policy establishment to continue to formulate plans (and spend money to pay a lot of people in Washington) based on the delusion that they are doing something in Syria to change the course of events. For Israel, it is a double disaster, with Netanyahu desperate to survive, seeking to factor in expected elections in a now-or-never political move. Trump probably understands that Bibi is done for, and that at this point, the withdrawal of troops, fulfilling a fundamental electoral promise, counts more than Israeli money and his friendship to Bibi.
Erdogan has two options before him. On the one hand, he can act against the Kurds. On the other hand, he can sit down at the negotiating table with Damascus and the SDF, in an Astana format, guided by Iran and Russia. Putin and Rouhani are certainly pushing for this solution. Trump, on the other hand, would like to see Turkey enter Syria in the place of US forces, to demonstrate he concluded a win-win deal for everyone, beating the deep-state at their own game.
Erdogan does not really have the military force necessary to enter Syria, which is the big secret. He would be against both the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the SDF, though the two not necessarily in an alliance.
There is a triple bluff going on, and this is what is complicating the situation so much. On the one hand, the SDF is bluffing in not wanting help from Damascus in case Erdogan sends in his forces; on the other hand, Erdogan is bluffing in suggesting he is able to conquer the territory held by the SDF; and finally, the French and British are bluffing by telling the SDF they will be able to help them against both Erdogan and/or Assad.
Iran, Russia, Syria are the only ones who do not need to bluff, because they occupy the best position – the commanding heights. They view Trump's decisions and his allies with distrust. They know very well that these are mostly moves for internal consumption by the enemies of Syria.
If the US withdraws, there is so much to be gained. The priority then becomes the west of Syria, sealing the borders with Jordan, removing the pockets of terrorists from the east, and securing the al-Tanf crossing. If the SDF will request protection from Damascus and will be willing to participate in the liberation of the country and its reconstruction, Erdogan will be done for, and this could lead to the total liberation of Idlib. It would be the best possible outcome, an important national reconciliation between two important parts of the population. It would give Damascus new economic impetus and prepare the Syrian people to expel the remaining invaders (ISIS and the FSA/ Turkish Armed Forces) from the country, both in Idlib and in the northeast in Afrin.
Russia is aware of the risk that Erdogan is running with the choices he will take in the coming days. Perhaps the reason why Putin chose diplomacy over war with Turkey after the downing of a Russian Su-24 in 2015 was in order to arrive at this precise moment, with as many elements as possible present to convince Erdogan to stick with Russia and Iran instead of embracing Trump's strategy and putting himself on an open collision course with Damascus, Moscow and Tehran.
Putin has always been five moves ahead. He is aware that the US could not stay long in Syria. He knows that France and the UK cannot support the SDF, and that the SDF cannot hold territory it holds in Syria without an agreement with Damascus. He is also conscious that Turkey does not have the strength to enter Syria and hold the territory if it did. It would only be able justify an advance on Idlib with the support of the Russian Air Force.
Putin has certainly made it clear to Erdogan that if he made such a move to attack the SDF and enter Syria, Russia in turn would militarily support the SAA with its air force to free Idlib; and in case of incidents with Turkey, the Russian armed forces would respond with all the interest earned from the unrequited downing of the Su-24 in 2015.
Erdogan has no choice. He must find an agreement with Damascus, and this is why he found himself commenting on Trump's words the following day, criticizing US sanctions on Iran in the presence of Iranian president Rouhani. The SDF know that they are between a rock and a hard place, and have already sent a delegation to start negotiations with Damascus.
Trump's move was driven by US domestic politics and aimed at the 2020 elections. But in doing so, Trump inevitably called out once and for all the bluffs built by Syria's enemies, infuriating in the process the neoliberal imperialist establishment, revealing how each of these factions has no more cards to play and is in actual fact destined for defeat.
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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.
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@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
jilles dykstra , says: December 25, 2018 at 5:31 pm GMT
@Z-manIsrael 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'.
The destruction and destabilization 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 civilizations. 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 ?
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Kent , , December 24, 2018 at 9:23 amDec 25, 2018 | www.theamericanconservative.com
The New York Times , its journalists in mourning over the loss of a war, ask , "Who will protect America now?" Mattis the warrior-monk is juxtaposed with the flippant commander-in-Cheeto. The Times sees strategic disaster in an "abrupt and dangerous decision, detached from any broader strategic context or any public rationale, [that] sowed new uncertainty about America's commitment to the Middle East, [and] its willingness to be a global leader."
"A major blunder," tweeted Senator Marco Rubio. "If it isn't reversed it will haunt America for years to come." Senator Lindsey Graham called for congressional hearings. And what is history if not irony? Rubio talks of haunting foreign policy decisions in Syria seemingly without knowledge of previous calamities in Iraq. Graham wants to hold hearings on quitting a war Congress never held hearings on authorizing.
That's all wrong. Jim Mattis's resignation as defense secretary ( and on Sunday , Brett McGurk, as special envoy to the coalition fighting ISIS) and Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria and Afghanistan are indeed significant. But that's because they mark the beginning of the end of the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the singular, tragic, bloody driver of American foreign policy for almost two decades.
Why does the U.S. have troops in Syria?To defeat the Islamic State? ISIS's ability to hold ground and project power outside its immediate backyard was destroyed somewhere back in 2016 by an unholy coalition of American, Iranian, Russian, Syrian, Turkish, and Israeli forces in Iraq and Syria. Sure, there are terrorists who continue to set off bombs in ISIS's name, but they are not controlled or directed out of Syria. They are most likely legal residents of the Western countries they attack, radicalized online or in local mosques. They are motivated by a philosophy, which cannot be destroyed on the ground in Syria. This is the fundamental failure of the GWOT: that you can't blow up an idea.
Regime change? It was never a practical idea. As in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, there was never a plan for what to do next, for how to keep Syria from descending into complete chaos the day Assad was removed. And though progressives embraced the idea of getting rid of another "evil dictator" when it came through the mouthpiece of Obama's own freedom fighter Samantha Power, the same idea today has little drive behind it.
Russia? Overwrought fear of Moscow was once a sign of unhealthy paranoia satirized on The Twilight Zone . Today, Russia hate is seen as a prerequisite to patriotism, though it still makes no more sense. The Russians have long had a practical relationship with Syria, having maintained a naval base at Tartus since 1971, which they will continue to do. There was never a plan for the U.S. to push the Russians out -- Obama in fact saw the Russian presence are part of the solution in Syria. American withdrawal is far more of a return to status quo than anything like a win for Putin. (Elsewhere at TAC , Matt Purple pokes more holes in Putin paranoia.)
Washington Melts Down Over Trump's Syria Withdrawal Former Yazidi Sex Slave Is America's ShameThe Kurds? The U.S.-Kurd story is one of expediency over morality. We've used them only because, at every sad turn, there's been no force otherwise available in bulk. The Kurds have been abandoned many times by America: in 1991 when it refused to assist them in breaking away from Saddam Hussein following Gulf War I, when it insisted they remain part of a "united Iraq" following Gulf War II, and most definitively in 2017 following Gulf War III when the U.S. did not support their independence referendum, relegating them to Baghdad's forever half-loved stepchild.
After all that, America's intentions toward the Kurds in Syria are barely a sideshow-scale event. The Kurds want to cleave off territory from Turkey and Syria, something neither nation will permit and something the U.S. quietly understands would destabilize the region. Mattis, by the way, supported NATO ally Turkey in its fight against the Kurds, calling them an "active insurgency inside its borders."
Iran? Does the U.S. really have troops in Syria to brush back Iranian influence? As with "all of the above," that genie got out of the bottle years ago. Iranian power in the greater Middle East has grown dramatically since 2003, and has been driven at every step by the blunders of the United States. If the most powerful army in the world couldn't stop the Iranians from essentially winning Gulf Wars II and III, how can 2,000 troops in Syria hope to accomplish much?
The United States, of course, wasn't even shooting at the Iranians in Syria; in most cases it was working either with them or tacitly alongside them towards the goal of killing off ISIS. Tehran's role as Assad's protector was set as America rumbled about regime change. Iran has since pieced together a land corridor to the Mediterranean through Iraq and Syria, which it will not be giving up, certainly not because of the presence of a few thousand Americans.
What remains is that once-neocon, now progressive catch-all: we need to stay in Syria to preserve American credibility. While pundits can still get away with this line, the rest of the globe already knows the empire has no clothes. Since 2001, the United States has spent some $6 trillion on its wars, and killed multiple 9/11s worth of American troops and foreign civilians. The U.S. has tortured , still maintains its gulag at Guantanamo, and, worst of all credibility-wise, has lost on every front. Afghanistan after 17 years of war festers. Nothing was accomplished with Iraq. Libya is a failed state. Syria is the source of a refugee crisis whose long-term effects on Europe are still being played out. We are the "indispensable nation" only in our own minds. A lot of people around the world probably wish America would just stop messing with their countries.
So why does the U.S. have troops in Syria? Anyone? Bueller? Mattis?
America's presence in Syria, like Jim Mattis himself, is an artifact of another era, the failed GWOT. As a Marine, Mattis served in ground combat leadership roles in Gulf Wars I and II, and also in Afghanistan. He ran United States Central Command from 2010 to 2013, the final years of The Surge in Iraq and American withdrawal afterwards. There is no doubt why he supported the American military presence in Syria, and why he resigned to protest Trump's decision to end it: Mattis knew nothing else. His entire career was built around the strategy of the GWOT, the core of which was to never question GWOT strategy. Mattis didn't need a reason to stay in Syria; being in Syria was the reason.
So why didn't Trump listen to his generals? Maybe because the bulk of their advice has been dead wrong for 17 years? Instead, Trump plans a dramatic drawdown of troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. presence in Iraq has dwindled from combat to advise and assist. Congress seems poised to end U.S. involvement in Yemen against Mattis's advice.
There is no pleasure in watching Jim Mattis end his decades of service with a bureaucratic dirty stick shoved at him as a parting gift. But to see this all as another Trump versus the world blunder is very wrong. The war on terror failed. It should have been dismantled long ago. Barack Obama could have done it, but instead became a victim of hubris and bureaucratic capture, and allowed it to expand. His supporters give him credit for not escalating the war in Syria, but leave out the part about how he also left the pot to simmer on the stove instead of removing it altogether.
The raw drive to insta-hate everything Trump does is misleading otherwise thoughtful people. So let's try a new lens: during the campaign Trump outspokenly denounced the waste of America's wars. Pro-Trump sentiment in rural areas was driven by people who agreed with his critique, by people who'd served in these wars, whose sons and daughters had served, or, given the length of all this, both. Since taking office, the president has pulled U.S. troops back from pointless conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Congress may yet rise to do the same for American involvement in Yemen. No new wars have been started. Though the results are far from certain, for the first time in nearly 20 years, negotiations are open again with North Korea. Mattis's ending was clumsy, but it was a long time coming. It is time for some old ideas to move on.
Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well : How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People and Hooper's War : A Novel of WWII Japan . He is permanently banned from federal employment and Twitter.
Geo December 24, 2018 at 8:22 am
I'm about as left wing as they come and have had a distain for Trump for decades. But, if he can put an end to the GWOT and truly pull America out of those disasters I protested against back in 2001-2002 (not to mention Libya and Yemen) then he will be my favorite modern president. Granted, that's a low bar. I've not had one in my lifetime that was worth admiring, but would be a welcome change.I have my doubts he'll be able to pull it off but even if he manages to just not start any new wars that would be a novel new direction for us.
If Trump pulls this off, I'll actually consider voting for him in 2020.TomG , , December 24, 2018 at 9:24 am
It's good for Van Buren to remind people that our relationship with the Kurds has long been one of support when it is convenient and abandonment when it is not. For left and right to feign concern now is quite hypocritical.Stephen in Florida , , December 24, 2018 at 9:25 amReading this offers some hope though the bulk of coverage on the Syria withdrawal from left and right has been most depressing. May Mattis (and his ilk) go far and may it be soon!
Amen to everything in this article. I voted for Trump because of the way he strongly denounced the Iraq war and our policies of interventionism and nation building in general. It has taken two full years, but finally he is delivering what I hoped for. The media is trying to turn this into another Trump smear issue, but I expect them to fail at this. At this point in time how many people take the news channel narrative seriously? Especially if Trump removes our troops from Afghanistan, I expect his popularity to soar.JK , , December 24, 2018 at 9:51 amThe GWOT was not only a failure, it was a fraud. Saddam's Iraq was secular and had nothing to do with terrorism. The same can be said for Libya and Syria. We armed and trained jihadis for the purpose of overthrowing Assad. How is that fighting terrorism? The war on terror was a deception, to cover for wars which were aggressive and unjustified. These wars were not just a failure, they were criminal and should be a source of shame and sorrow for our country. The men who orchestrated these wars did so by lying to the American people every step of the way, with the media repeating their every lie and distortion with robotic consistency. The neocon planners and all their willing accomplices deserve a special place in hell for the death and destruction they have wrought. Thank God the neocon era seems to be coming to a close. Thank God for Donald Trump, with all his flaws, for having the guts and decency to put an end to this prolonged military outrage.
It's strange that Mr. van Buren celebrates the exit of Mattis as symbolizing the end of a long-discredited policy when Mattis was hired less than 2 years ago, many years after that policy became discredited, and after Mattis's hirer ran for President on a platform diametrically opposed to the discredited policy while denouncing the discredited policy. Now we find out belatedly that the only reason President Trump hired Mattis was because Mattis was fired for insubordination by former President Obama which incumbent President Trump hates, and for which a strong motivating factor is doing everything opposite of Obama. So now incumbent President Trump finds to his dismay that Mattis is insubordinate to himself as well. And yet Mr. van Buren thinks the important focus of this development is MattisKurt Gayle , , December 24, 2018 at 10:06 am
This is brilliant, Mr. Van Buren. Thank you:furbo , , December 24, 2018 at 10:08 am"The raw drive to insta-hate everything Trump does is misleading otherwise thoughtful people. So let's try a new lens: during the campaign Trump outspokenly denounced the waste of America's wars. Pro-Trump sentiment in rural areas was driven by people who agreed with his critique, by people who'd served in these wars, whose sons and daughters had served, or, given the length of all this, both. Since taking office, the president has pulled U.S. troops back from pointless conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Congress may yet rise to do the same for American involvement in Yemen. No new wars have been started It is time for some old ideas to move on."
The President made the right decision. I WISH it had been reached in a more traditional manner -- going thru the NSC and such, but we had no achievable strategic goals and were really only a bit player. The very real danger was that we were dancing around the Russians like two porcupines making love with the current "Russia!Russia!Russia!" political freakout preventing what could have been a genuine opportunity for cooperation in at least one area. Syria will not be any more chaotic for our departure, infact given less scrutiny and no danger of accidental WW III, the Russians/Iranians/Syrian gov't may be able to wrap this up more faster.Oleg Gark , , December 24, 2018 at 10:13 amRussia also has interest in Kurdish welfare and as 15% of Israelis ARE Russians, their wellfare as well. In an administration that needed to project credibility, SEC Mattis was a good choice and has done some great things cutting alot of uneeded red tape & worthless 'training' and giving clear priorities for the services. But, he's opposed almost everything the President including the Trans ban so it was 'when not if'.
The GWOT was a repudiation of the Powell Doctrine. Almost 20 years on, Powell looks like genius and the neocons like a bunch of morons.Seaman Bodine , , December 24, 2018 at 10:30 am
It all makes sense once you understand that by "restraint" they mean "leave American soldiers as hostages to fortune in Syria!" and "unlimited mulligans for failed generals in Afghanistan!" and "let's provoke Erdogan into releasing two or three million refugees into Europe!"Alex (the one that likes Ike) , , December 24, 2018 at 10:33 am
Dan Green , , December 24, 2018 at 10:52 amThe Times sees strategic disaster in an "abrupt and dangerous decision, detached from any broader strategic context or any public rationale, [that] sowed new uncertainty about America's commitment to the Middle East, [and] its willingness to be a global leader."
Geez. I can also come up with something like this artwork by the Times journalists. Here: "The lack of correlation between convergences caused an unwanted bifurcation of idiosyncratic dichotomies". Twaddle? But how badass is sounds! Just read it aloud -- and you'll see the credibility glittering like Swarovski crystals all over the place.
Merry Christmas to the MSM. I wish them to start writing something meaningful next year.
Too bad the military establishment had their Christmas ruined. They shouldn't get down there will new new wars.SteveM , , December 24, 2018 at 11:19 am
The retreat from Syria does not mean a U.S. retreat from its role as the Global Cop Gorilla. The Pentagon is merely changing its primary target set from the GWOT actors to the "revisionist powers".Citoyen , , December 24, 2018 at 11:55 amMattis fronted the updated National Defense Strategy. It again fear-mongers out the wazoo about Russia and China with the only solution being "more, more, more" for the War Machine.
The National Defense Strategy Commission's report, ironically and perversely released by the "United States Institute of Peace", validates the fear-monger claims and also the claims to more TRILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to feed the Gorilla as it marauds around the perimeter of Asia.
Re: "There is no pleasure in watching Jim Mattis end his decades of service with a bureaucratic dirty stick shoved at him as a parting gift."
Au Contraire , there is much pleasure watching that sanctified War-Monger and Pentagon Hack with his contrived "Don't make me have to kill you" schtick ride off into the sunset.
Unfortunately for those of us not deluded into the Cult of Military Exceptionalism, Mattis will no doubt segue to Fox News as yet another "Wizened Sage" of Pentagon wisdom and insight, where he'll live very large for simply gas-bagging his "Warrior Hero" script. And perhaps Mad Dog will even meander back to General Dynamics to pimp yet again for the Merchants of Death.
Make no mistake, Mattis and his General pals are enemies of the taxpayers and rank apostates of the Founders' principles. Mattis may soon be gone, but unfortunately, he won't be forgotten.
P.S. Merry Christmas
It's good to see Trump finally realizing that he is the president, and not his generals and "advisors" that no one elected. Goodbye and good riddance to Mattis, Haley et al. Next to go should be John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner.Kurt Gayle , , December 24, 2018 at 12:35 pmIt's no coincidence that Netanyahu's government fell apart today. Another good riddance. May the Israelis elect a new PM who actually wants peace in the Mideast.
"'A major blunder,' tweeted Senator Marco Rubio. 'If it isn't reversed it will haunt America for years to come.' Senator Lindsey Graham called for congressional hearings. And what is history if not irony? Rubio talks of haunting foreign policy decisions in Syria seemingly without knowledge of previous calamities in Iraq. Graham wants to hold hearings on quitting a war Congress never held hearings on authorizing."Stephen J. , , December 24, 2018 at 12:44 pmThe War Party is still The War Party -- which is why so many of us who are strong Trump supporters have never joined the Republican Party and have no plans to join. This moment in history is particularly instruction. The Democrats have blown their cover. The Democratic Party is as much The War Party as the Republican Party.
Article of interest at link below.Ron B. Saunders , , December 24, 2018 at 2:50 pm
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
Send the Mad Dog to the Corporate Kennel
by Ray McGovern Posted on December 22, 2018https://original.antiwar.com/mcgovern/2018/12/21/send-the-mad-dog-to-the-corporate-kennel/
No wonder Mr. Van Buren is banned from federal employment and Twitter. His clarity and surgical observations of American interventionism are indeed enlightening. Deep State forces must cringe when reading his missives.Mark Thomason , , December 24, 2018 at 3:19 pmI don't agree with everything Trump does, but I have high hopes for his intent to extract American military forces from the Middle East. Having cost trillions of dollars and countless lives, these profit-motivated, failed expeditions could never be morally justified even if they were successful.
Being the world's policeman does not make America a benevolent, inspiring global leader. The opposite is true, as much of the world now perceives America to be a disruptive force, conspiring against global peace for the benefit of the military industrial complex and multinational corporations.
Let's pray for a changing tide that steers us further from the brink.
"Now Trump, the guy everyone expected to start new wars"Hillary supporters said that. The rest of us knew that she was the danger of more and bigger wars. That was a prime reason to defeat her. Too bad the only way to defeat her was to elect Trump, but that is on the DNC, since they offered her, and every other Republican was even worse (Cruz!).
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Dec 24, 2018 | theweek.com
Senate Democrats have once again selected Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as their minority leader without so much as a whisper of a debate or contest. This is galling. The man is incompetent, has abysmal politics, and as we were reminded in a huge New York Times investigation into Facebook, is extremely corrupt.In his first two years as Senate minority leader, Schumer had two main priorities. First, preserve his vulnerable moderates running in deeply Trumpy states, like Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly in Indiana. Second, use the Trump presidency to sneak through some odious stuff that most liberals hate.
Schumer definitely succeeded in the latter objective. In keeping with his long career as a Wall Street stooge (and in sharp contrast with his predecessor Harry Reid ), he quietly shepherded financial deregulation through. And because he has an almost neoconservative foreign policy, he largely stood aside as Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal for no reason. He also attacked Trump from the right for not being belligerent enough towards North Korea.
And how about that first goal? Schumer failed spectacularly in preserving most of these seats. Nearly all of his moderates -- to whom he had granted significant leeway to vote for President Trump's judicial nominees and bills -- lost. Only Joe Manchin in West Virginia managed to hang on. The Democratic Senate margin is being somewhat bolstered only by other candidates knocking off Republican senators in Arizona and Nevada, which Schumer had little to do with. (Indeed, Harry Reid, who is still helping run a well-oiled labor turnout machine in Nevada, was the key figure behind the Nevada win.)
This brings me to Facebook. Sheera Frenkel, Nicholas Confessore, Cecilia Kang, Matthew Rosenberg, and Jack Nicas wrote a jaw-dropping piece of reporting for the Times about Facebook's lobbying operation. They focused on how the company has defended itself from evidence that Russian intelligence used the platform to help Trump win in 2016, and that political extremists have been using the platform to organize atrocities , including genocide .
Basically, the strategy conducted by Facebook's top executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, was the filthiest sludge out of the bottom of the lobbying barrel. (Facebook has defended itself and calls the report "grossly unfair.") The story is very long, but probably the most explosive revelation was that Facebook hired a soulless Republican propaganda shop to attack its critics -- notably the Open Markets Institute , which Anne-Marie Slaughter shoved out of the New America Foundation on instructions from her Google paymasters -- with anti-Semitic smears, casting it as the tool of wealthy Jewish philanthropist George Soros. Remarkably, at the very same time they convinced the Anti-Defamation League to cast criticism of Facebook as anti-Semitic, as both Zuckerberg and Sandberg are Jewish.
It's worth stopping for a moment to take this in. Just a couple weeks ago a right-wing terrorist hopped up on anti-Soros propaganda massacred 11 Jews at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Another sent a mail bomb to Soros' home. A third person in D.C. was recently arrested on suspicion of plotting another synagogue shooting.
Where does Schumer come in? Well, in 2017, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) opened an investigation into Facebook over Russiagate and misinformation generally. (Far from being some fire-breathing populist, Warner is among the most milquetoast, business-friendly Democrats who has ever held high office.) But Schumer has raised more money from Facebook than any other member of Congress, his daughter works there , and he helped get his former staffer appointed to the Federal Trade Commission (which oversees Facebook). In concert with Facebook brass, he told Warner to lay off the company, reported the Times : "Mr. Warner should be looking for ways to work with Facebook, Mr. Schumer advised, not harm it."
So when it comes to sellout Democrats voting to make another financial crisis more likely, Schumer wrings his hands and hectors progressives not to criticize them too much (after which most of the sellouts lose anyway). But when those same sellouts start criticizing one of his favored sources of campaign cash, suddenly he discovers a knack for backroom arm-twisting and hardball tactics.
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Dec 24, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com
Authored by Amir Taheri via The Gatestone Institute,
- President Donald Trump has put a number of burning issues back on the agenda. These include the widening income gap in the United States, the unintended and unexpected consequences of outsourcing, and the disequilibrium created by signing trade agreements with countries with different labor laws and environmental, health and safety standards.
- In foreign policy, Trump has managed to pass on an important message: don't take American heavy lifting for granted! More importantly, Trump has persuaded millions of Americans excluded or self-excluded from the political arena to end their isolation and demand a meaningful place in collective decision-making.
- Thus, for the time being at least, air-brushing Trump out of the picture is a forlorn task.
(Image source: Ryan Johnson/City of North Charleston/Wikimedia Commons)
As the American political elite head for Christmas holidays, the buzz in Washington circles is that 2019 will start with fresh attempts at curtailing the Trump presidency or, failing that, preventing Donald Trump's re-election in 2020. Amateurs of the conspiracy theory may suggest that the whole thing may be a trap set by the Trump camp to keep the president's opponents chained to a strategy doomed to failure.
By devoting almost all of their energies to attacking Trump personally and praying that the Mueller probe may open the way for impeachment, the president's opponents, starting with the Democrat Party leadership, have shut down debate about key issues of economic, social and foreign policy -- issues that matter to the broader public. Reducing all politics to a simple "Get Trump!' slogan makes them a one-trick pony that may amuse people for a while but is unlikely to go very far.
Despite sensational daily headlines furnished by the Mueller soap opera, there is little chance of the impeachment strategy to get anywhere close to success. And even if the pro-impeachment lobby succeeds in triggering the process, it is unlikely that this would lead to Trump's removal from office. In fact, out of the 45 men who have served as President of the United States only two, Andrew Jackson and Bill Clinton, faced formal impeachment procedures, but neither was driven out of office.
Two others, Richard Nixon and John Tyler, came close to being impeached but managed not to face the music in the end. Nixon resigned and Tyler dodged by not seeking re-electi on. With impeachment unlikely, Trump's opponents may be looking for other ways of terminating his tenure at the White House. One way is to exert so much psychological pressure that he decides to regain his tranquility by resigning. However, apart from Nixon's special case, the resignation has never been a feature of the American presidential history.
In any case, Trump looks like the last man on earth to opt for the humiliation of entering history as a quitter. A third way to get rid of Trump is to persuade the Republican Party not to nominate him for a second term . At first glance that may look like a credible option if only because the main body of the Republican Party has never warmed up to Trump.
In fact, calling Trump a Republican president may be more of a verbal conceit than an accurate depiction of reality. In the mid-term elections in November, some Republican senators and congressmen insisted that Trump should stay away from their campaigns. Some who did lose their seats may have regretted their decision, as Trump proved to be in command of his own support base beyond the Republican Party.
The anti-Trump section of the US media is desperate to find at least one Republican figure capable of challenging the incumbent president in the coming nomination contest. So far, however, none of the putative knights-in-shining-armor fielded by the anti-Trump media has succeeded in making an impression.
In any event, there are only five cases in which an incumbent president failed to win re-nomination by his party . Of these, four were men who had inherited the presidency after the death of the president.
One was the already mentioned -- John Tyler, who became president in 1841 after the death of President William Henry Harrison. Another was Millard Fillmore, who entered the White House after the death of President Zachary Taylor.
The third on the list was the already mentioned Andrew Jackson, who not only failed to secure re-nomination but also narrowly escaped impeachment. The fourth was Chester Arthur, who took over after the assassination of President James Garfield. He was ditched when he launched an anti-graft campaign that alienated many within his own party.
Only one sitting president who had won the first term failed to secure re-nomination by his party. He was Franklin Pierce, whose demise came in exceptional circumstances created by the division over the issue of slavery as the nation moved towards the War of Secession. Today, none of those conditions obtains in the United States and the Republican Party, and the possibility of a palace revolt against the incumbent seems remote. Some of Trump's opponents publicly pray that he might forswear a second term because of poor health. Although he has entered his eight-decade, however, Trump shows no signs of physical fatigue let alone serious illness leading to possible incapacitation. During the mid-term elections, this septuagenarian was capable of flying from one end of the continent to the other in a single day to address half a dozen public meetings.
That political power may act as an aphrodisiac and doping agent has been known at least since the time of the great Xerxes, whose only regret was that, in 100 years, none in his million-man army would be alive. There is no doubt that Trump thrives on power and, despite the extra kilos he has gained in the past two years, still sees himself as a long-distance runner. The mistake that Trump's opponents made from the start, and some still continue to make, is to underestimate him and dismiss his appeal to wide segments of society as an aberration.
Trump has, however, managed to question the political agenda by questioning the so-called Washington Consensus that led to globalization with all its benefits and drawbacks. In his unorthodox manner, Trump has put a number of burning issues back on the agenda.
These include the widening income gap in the United States, the unintended and unexpected consequences of outsourcing, and the disequilibrium created by signing trade agreements with countries with different labor laws and environmental, health and safety standards. In foreign policy, Trump has managed to pass on an important message: don't take American heavy lifting for granted! More importantly, Trump has persuaded millions of Americans excluded or self-excluded from the political arena to end their isolation and demand a meaningful place in collective decision-making. Thus, for the time being at least, air-brushing Trump out of the picture is a forlorn task. Tags Politics
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Dec 24, 2018 | nationalinterest.org
which is loosely translated as 'western oriented' always have been a minority.
After Ukraine and sanctions of 2014 they are like albinos
Колян Реалов • 10 days ago ,R. Arandas Колян Реалов • 8 days ago ,Who from Russian elite look west? Can you tell names? Who in Russian elite speak English except for Minister of foreign affair? Putin doesn't speak English. Some rich Russians have houses in foreign countries though it is 6th or 7th houses after few houses in Russia. If you speak about modern European culture than it has nothing similar with Russian culture. I have seen that Americans don't know Russia at all again.
dorotea R. Arandas • 8 days ago ,Russia is meant to be part of the greater European nation though...it is its destiny.
franciscoalmeida_br Колян Реалов • 9 days ago ,Not really. Google up the eternal 'zapadniki' vs 'slavophiles' split among Russian cultural elites. This argument is about 2 centuries old, if you start counting from Pushkin times - i.e. early 1800's. It never gets resolved, but the 'zapadniki' which is loosely translated as 'western oriented' always have been a minority. And with China's geopolitical star rising as quickly as it is, I see no reason for our 'zapadniki' not to become 'vostochniki'.
Колян Реалов franciscoalmeida_br • 9 days ago ,google "russian atlanticists".
Vic Колян Реалов • 9 days ago ,Russian atlanticists are something like African albinos.
Колян Реалов Vic • 9 days ago ,Yes, if african albinois owned media, had access to billions upon billions of dollars and the full support of the entire NATO propaganda apparatus and used to rule Russia with an iron fist driving it into the mud.
Pro-western parties have no 5% supporting for being in Russian parliament. Moreover they have no 3%. Russian media regularly show western russophobs. Then more disgusting their lie about Russia in western media than less Russians like west. They can spend any money while westerners lie about Russia, Russian atlantists are like albinos.
I had an account in a Russian bank (MosOblBank). The owner of the bank ran to UK with money of depositors. He has announced that he was under political pressure and UK don't give him to Russia though he is a just thief. I returned my money because it was insured by the government. What could I and few dozen of thousands depositors think about UK after it? A guy like this one is not Russian elite. It is Russian garbage. Majority of Russians consider that Russians living in London are thieves or LGBT.
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May 06, 2014 | mondoweiss.net
At the Huffington Post, Jim Sleeper addresses "A Foreign-Policy Problem No One Speaks About," and it turns out to Jewish identity, the need to belong to the powerful nation on the part of Jewish neoconservatives. Sleeper says this is an insecurity born of European exclusion that he understands as a Jew, even if he's not a warmongering neocon himself. The Yale lecturer's jumping-off point are recent statements by Leon Wieseltier and David Brooks lamenting the decline of American power.
In addition to Wieseltier and Brooks, the "blame the feckless liberals" chorus has included Donald Kagan, Robert Kagan, David Frum, William Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, and many other American neoconservatives. Some of them have been chastened, or at least been made more cautious, by their grand-strategic blunders of a few years ago ..
I'm saying that they've been fatuous as warmongers again and again and that there's something pathetic in their attempts to emulate Winston Churchill, who warned darkly of Hitler's intentions in the 1930s. Their blind spot is their willful ignorance of their own complicity in American deterioration and their over-compensatory, almost pre-adolescent faith in the benevolence of a statist and militarist power they still hope to mobilize against the seductions and terrors rising all around them.
At bottom, the chorus members' recurrent nightmares of 1938 doom them to reenact other nightmares, prompted by very similar writers in 1914, on the eve of World War I. Those writers are depicted chillingly, unforgettably, in Chapter 9, "War Fever," of Amos Elon's The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933. Elon's account of Germany's stampede into World War I chronicles painfully the warmongering hysterics of some Jewish would-be patriots of the Kaiserreich who exerted themselves blindly, romantically, to maneuver their state into the Armageddon that would produce Hitler himself.
This is the place to emphasize that few of Wilhelmine German's warmongers were Jews and that few Jews were or are warmongers. (Me, for example, although my extended-family history isn't much different from Brooks' or Wieseltier's.) My point is simply that, driven by what I recognize as understandable if almost preternatural insecurities and cravings for full liberal-nationalist belonging that was denied to Jews for centuries in Europe, some of today's American super-patriotic neo-conservatives hurled themselves into the Iraq War, and they have continued, again and again, to employ modes of public discourse and politics that echo with eerie fidelity that of the people described in Elon's book. The Americans lionized George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and many others as their predecessors lionized Kaiser Wilhelm, von Bethmann-Hollweg, and far-right nationalist associates who hated the neo-cons of that time but let them play their roles .
Instead of acknowledging their deepest feelings openly, or even to themselves, the writers I've mentioned who've brought so much folly and destruction upon their republic, are doubling down, more nervous and desperate than ever, looking for someone else to blame. Hence their whirling columns and rhythmic incantations. After Germany lost World War I, many Germans unfairly blamed their national folly on Jews, many of whom had served in it loyally but only a few of whom had been provocateurs and cheerleaders like the signatories of [Project for New American Century's] letter to Bush. Now neo-cons, from Wieseltier and Brooks to [Charles] Hill, are blaming Obama and all other feckless liberals. Some of them really need to take a look in Amos Elon's mirror.
Interesting. Though I think Sleeper diminishes Jewish agency here (Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban are no one's proxy) and can't touch the Israel angle. The motivation is not simply romantic identification with power, it's an ideology of religious nationalism in the Middle East, attachment to the needs of a militarist Sparta in the Arab world. That's another foreign policy problem no one speaks about.
Krauss, May 6, 2014, 2:11 pm
"Democracy in in the Middle East" was always just a weasel-word saying of "let's try to improve Israel's strategic position by changing their neighbours".
The neocons basically took a hardline position on foreign interventionism based out of dual loyalty. This is the honest truth. For anti-Semites, a handful of neocons will always represent "The Jews" as a collective. For many Jews, the refusal to come to grips with the rise of the neocons and how the Jewish community (and really by "community" I mean the establishment) failed to prevent them in their own midst, is also a blemish.
Of course, Jim Sleeper is doing these things now. He should have done them 15-20 years ago or so. But better late than never, I guess.
Krauss, May 6, 2014, 2:16 pm
P.S. While we talk a lot about neocons as a Jewish issue, it's also important to put them in perspective. The only war that I can truly think of that they influenced was the Iraq war, which was a disaster, but it also couldn't have happened without 9/11, which was a very rare event in the history of America. You have to go back to Pearl Harbor to find something similar, and that wasn't technically a terrorist attack but rather a military attack by Japan.
Leading up to the early 2000s, they were mostly ignored during the 1990s. They did take over the GOP media in the early 90s, using the same tactics used against Hagel, use social norms as a cover but in actuality the real reason is Israel.
Before the 90s, in the 70s and 80s, the cold war took up all the oxygen.
So yeah, the neocons need to be talked about. But comparing what they are trying to do with a World War is a bit of a stretch.Finally, talking about Israel – which Sleeper ignored – and the hardline positions that the political class in America have adopted, if you want to look who have ensured the greatest slavishness to Israel, liberal/centrist groups like ADL, AJC and AIPAC(yes, they are mostly democrats!) have played a far greater role than the neocons.
But I guess, Sleeper wasn't dealing with that, because it would ruin his view of the neocons as the bogeymen.
Just like "liberal" Zionists want to blame Likud for everything, overlooking the fact that Labor/Mapai has had a far greater role in settling/colonizing the Palestinian land than the right has, and not to speak about the ethnic cleansing campaigns of '48 and '67 which was only done by the "left", so too the neocons often pose as a convenient catch-all target for the collective Jewish failure leading up to Iraq.
And I'm using the words "collective Jewish failure" because I actually don't believe, unlike Mearsheimer/Walt, that the war would not have gone ahead unless there was massive support by the Israel/Jewish lobby. If Jews had decided no, it would still have gone ahead. This is also contrary to Tom Friedman's famous saying of "50 people in DC are responsible for this war".
I also think that's an oversimplification.But I focus more on the Jewish side because that's my side. And I want my community to do better, and just blaming the neocons is something I'm tired of hearing in Jewish circles. The inability to look at liberal Jewish journalists and their role in promoting the war to either gentile or Jewish audiences.
Kathleen, May 6, 2014, 6:53 pm
There was talk about this last night (Monday/5th) on Chris Matthew's Hardball segment on Condi "mushroom cloud" Rice pulling out of the graduation ceremonies at Rutger's. David Corn did not say much but Eugene Robinson and Chris Matthews were basically talking about Israel and the neocons desires to rearrange the middle east "the road to Jerusalem runs through Baghdad" conversation.
Bumblebye, May 6, 2014, 2:33 pm
"some of today's American super-patriotic neo-conservatives hurled themselves into the Iraq War"
Have to take issue with that – the neo-cons hurled young American (and foreign) servicemen and women into that war, many to their deaths, along with throwing as much taxpayer money as possible. They stayed ultra safe and grew richer for their efforts.
Citizen, May 7, 2014, 9:03 am
@ Bumblebye
Good point. During WW1, as I read the history, the Jewish Germans provided their fair share of combat troops. If memory serves, despite Weimar Germany's later "stab in the back" theory, e.g., Hitler himself was given a combat medal thanks to his Jewish senior officer. In comparison to the build-up to Shrub Jr's war on Iraq, the Jewish neocons provided very few Jewish American combat troops.
It's hard to get reliable stats on Jewish American participation in the US combat arms during the Iraq war. For all I've been able to ascertain, more have joined the IDF over the years. At any rate, it's common knowledge that Shrub's war on Iraq was instigated and supported by chicken hawks (Jew or Gentile) at a time bereft of conscription. They built their sale by ignoring key facts, and embellishing misleading and fake facts, as illustrated by the Downing Street memo.
Keith, May 6, 2014, 7:47 pm
ToivoS, May 7, 2014, 8:10 pmPHIL- Perhaps you are making too much of the so called decline of the neocons. At the strategic level, there is little difference between the neocon "Project for a the New American Century" and Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard," both of which are consistent with US policy and actions in the Ukraine.
The most significant difference seems to me to be the neocon emphasis on American unilateral militarism versus Obama's emphasis on multilateralism, covert operations and financial warfare to achieve the desired results.
Perhaps another significant difference is the neocon emphasis on the primacy of the American nation-state versus the neoliberal emphasis on an American dominated global empire.
So yes, the nationalistic emphasis is an anachronism, however, the decline of the US in conjunction with the extension of a system of globalized domination should hardly be of concern to elite power-seekers who will benefit. In fact, the new system of corporate/financial control will be beyond the political control of any nation, even the US. If they can pull it off. An interesting topic no doubt, but one which I doubt is suitable for extended discussion on Mondoweiss. As for power-seeking as a consequence of a uniquely Jewish experience, perhaps the less said the better.
Interesting to juxtapose Brzezinski and the neocons. In a Venn diagram they would over-lap 90%. The Ukraine crisis exposes that 10% difference. Brzezinski I very much doubt has any emotional attachment to Israel though he is happy to work in coalition with them to further his one true goal which is to isolate and defeat Russian influence in the world. In the 1980s both were on the same page in the "let my people go" campaign against the Soviet Union. Brzezinski saw it as a propaganda opportunity to attack Russia and the neocons saw it has a source of more Jews to settle Palestine.RudyM, May 7, 2014, 9:36 pmRight now, their interests have diverged over the Ukraine crisis. Though many of the American neocons do support subverting Ukraine as does Brzezinski it looks like Israel itself is leaning towards supporting Russia. When it comes down to it it is hard for many Jews, right wing or not, to support the political movement inside Ukraine that identifies with Bandera. Now that was one nasty antisemite whose followers killed many thousands of Ukrainian Jews during the holocaust. My wife's family immigrated from Galicia and the Odessa region and those left behind perished during the holocaust. The extended family includes anti-zionists and WB settlers. There is no way that any of them would identify with Ukrainian fascist movements now active there.
In any case, there does seem to be a potential split among the neocons over Ukraine. It would be the ultimate in hypocrisy for all of those eastern European Jews who became successful in the US in the last few generations to enter into coalition with the Bandera brigades.
Interesting, meaty analysis here of the various players in Ukraine. This is unequivocally from a Russian perspective, incidentally:American, May 6, 2014, 9:23 pm(I know I'm always grabbing OT threads of discussion, but when it comes down to it, I know much less about Zionism and Israel/Palestine than many, if not most of the regular commenters here.)
I also am going to drift further off-topic by saying there is strong evidence that the slaughter in Odessa last Friday was highly orchestrated and not solely the result of spontaneous mob violence. Very graphic and disturbing images in all of these links:
I have only glanced at these:
Citizen May 7, 2014, 9:46 am" and it turns out to Jewish identity, the need to belong to the powerful nation on the part of Jewish neoconservatives. Sleeper says this is an insecurity born of European exclusion that he understands as a Jew, ..>>Stop it Sleeper. Do not continue to use the victim card ' to explain' the trauma, the insecurities, the nightmares, the angst, the feelings, the sensitivities, blah blah, blah of Zionist or Israel.
That is not what they are about. These are power mad psychos like most neocons, period.
And even if it were, and even if all the Jews in the world felt the same way, the bottom line would still be they do not have the right to make others pay in treasure and blood for their nightmares and mental sickness.
@ yonah fredman"The freedom of Ukraine is a worthy goal."
As near as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong), the Ukrainians themselves are about half and half pro Russia and Pro NATO. Your glance at the history of the region as to why this is so, and your text on historical Ukranian suffering and POTV on MW commentary on this –did not help your analysis and its conclusion.
There's a difference between isolationism and defensive intervention, and even more so, re isolationism v. pro-active interventionism "in the name of pursuing the democratic ideal". See Ron Paul v. PNAC-style neocons and liberal Zionists.
Also, if you were Putin, how would you see the push of NATO & US force posts ever creeping towards Russia and its local environment? Look at the US military postings nearing Russia per se & those surrounding Iran. Compare Russia's.
And note the intent to wean EU from Russian oil, and as well, the draconian sanctions on Iran, and Obama's latest partnering sanctions on Russia.
Imagine yourself in Putin's shoes, and Iran's.
Don't abuse your imagination only by imagining yourself in Netanyahu's shoes, which is the preoccupation of AIPAC and its whores in the US Congress.
ToivoS, May 7, 2014, 8:49 pm
Interesting to juxtapose Brzezinski and the neocons. In a Venn diagram they would over-lap 90%. The Ukraine crisis exposes that 10% difference. Brzezinski I very much doubt has any emotional attachment to Israel though he is happy to work in coalition with them to further his one true goal which is to isolate and defeat Russian influence in the world. In the 1980s both were on the same page in the "let my people go" campaign against the Soviet Union. Brzezinski saw it as a propaganda opportunity to attack Russia and the neocons saw it has a source of more Jews to settle Palestine.ToivoSMay 7, 2014, 9:39 pmRight now, their interests have diverged over the Ukraine crisis. Though many of the American neocons do support subverting Ukraine as does Brzezinski it looks like Israel itself is leaning towards supporting Russia. When it comes down to it it is hard for many Jews, right wing or not, to support the political movement inside Ukraine that identifies with Bandera. Now that was one nasty anti-Semite whose followers killed many thousands of Ukrainian Jews during the holocaust. My wife's family immigrated from Galicia and the Odessa region and those left behind perished during the holocaust. The extended family includes anti-Zionists and WB settlers. There is no way that any of them would identify with Ukrainian fascist movements now active there.
In any case, there does seem to be a potential split among the neocons over Ukraine. It would be the ultimate in hypocrisy for all of those eastern European Jews who became successful in the US in the last few generations to enter into coalition with the Bandera brigades.
piotrMay 7, 2014, 10:18 pmYonah writes The freedom of Ukraine is a worthy goal. If the US is not able to back up our attempt to help them gain their freedom it is not something to celebrate, but something to lament.What are you saying? Ukraine has been an independent nation for 22 years. What freedom is this? What we have witnessed is that one half of Ukraine has gotten tired that the other half keeps on electing candidates that represent those Ukrainians that identify with Russian culture. They (the western half) successfully staged a coup and purged the other (eastern half) from the government. You call that "freedom". Doesn't it embarrass you, Yonah, that the armed militias that conducted that coup are descendants of the Bandera organization.
Does that ring a bell? These are the Ukrainians that were involved in the holocaust. Does Babi Yar stir any memories Yohan? It was a massacre of 40,000 Jews just outside of Kiev in 1942. It was the single largest massacre of Jews during WWII. The massacre was led by the Germans ( Einsatzgruppe C officers) but was carried out with the aid of 400 Ukrainian Auxillary Police. These were later incorporated into the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galician" made up mostly Ukrainians. The division flags are to this day displayed at Right Sector rallies in western Ukraine.
Right Sector militias are the fighting force that led the coup against the legally elected Yanukovich government and were almost certainly involved in the recent massacre in Odessa. And you support them for their fight for freedom? You should be ashamed. Zionism is sinking to new lows that they feel the need to identify with open neo-Nazis.
Well, the point is that Zionists in Israel do not identify with that particular set of open neo-Nazis. I suspect that this is simply a matter of the headcount of Jewish business tycoons that are politically aligned with (western) Ukraine and Russia. Or you can count their billions. In any case, the neutral posture is sensible for Israel here. Which is highly uncharacteristic for that government.yonah fredman, May 7, 2014, 10:38 pm
Toivo S- The history of Jew hatred by certain anti Russian elements in the Ukraine is not encouraging and nothing that I celebrate. Maybe I have been swayed by headlines and a superficial reading of the situation.If indeed I am wrong regarding the will of the Ukrainian people, I can only be glad that my opinion is just that, my opinion and not US or Israel or anyone's policy but my own. I assume that a majority of Ukrainians want to maintain independence of Russia and that the expressions of rebellion are in that vein.
My people were murdered by the einsatzgruppen in that part of the world and so maybe I have overcompensated by trying not to allow my personal history to interfere with what I think would be the will of the majority of the Ukraine.
But Toivo S. please skip the "doesn't it embarrass you" line of thought. Just put a sock in it and skip it.
ToivoSMay 8, 2014, 12:51 am
Well thanks for that Yonah. My wife's family descended from Jewish communities in Odessa and Galicia. They emigrated to the US between 1900 and 1940. After WWII none of their relatives left behind were ever heard from again. Perhaps you have family that experienced similar stories. What caused me to react to your post above is that you are describing the current situation in Ukraine as a "freedom" movement by the Ukrainians when the political forces there descended from the same people that killed my inlaws family (and apparently yours to). Why do you support them?yonah fredmanMay 8, 2014, 1:30 am
ToivoS- I support them because I trust/don't trust Putin. I trust him to impose his brand of leadership on Ukraine, I don't trust him to care a whit about freedom. It is natural that the nationalist elements of Ukraine would descend from the elements that expressed themselves the last time they had freedom from the Soviet Union, that is those forces that were willing to join with the Nazis to express their hatred for the communist Soviet Union's rule over their freedom. That's how history works. The nationalists today descend from the nationalists of yesterday.But it's been 70 years since WWII and the Ukrainians ought to be able to have freedom even if the parties that advocate for freedom are descended from those that supported the Nazis. (I know once i include the Nazi part of history any analogies are toxic, but if I am willing to grant Hamas its rights as an expression of the Palestinian desire for freedom, why would I deny the Ukrainian foul nationalist parties their rights to express their people's desire for freedom.)
Political parties are not made in a sterile laboratory, they evolve over history and most specifically they emerge from the past. I accept that Ukrainian nationalism has not evolved much, but nonetheless not having read any polls I assume that the nationalists are the representatives of the people's desire for freedom. And because Putin strikes me as something primitive, I accept the Ukrainian desire for freedom.
CitizenMay 8, 2014, 9:18 am
@ yonah fWhat are you supporting? Let me refresh your historic memory: Black's Transfer Agreement. Now apply analogy, responding to ToivoS. Might help us all to understand, explore more skillfully, Israel's current stance on the Putin-Ukranian matter .?
(I think Nuland's intervention caught on tape, combined with who she is married to, already explores with great clarification what the US is doing.
irishmosesMay 8, 2014, 12:32 pm
Yonah said:"The misadventure in Iraq has cost the US and the world a lot. The US a loss in humans and money and willingness to play the role of superpower, and the world has lost its cop. Most people here would probably disagree with Sleeper, because he does not deny that the world needs a cop, nor that the US would play a positive role, if it only had the means and the desire to do so. People here (overwhelmingly) see the US role as a negative one (let the Russians have their sphere of influence, let the Iranians have their bomb, let the Chinese do whatever they want to do in their part of the world,"
The problem with your reasoning, Yonah, is that you are espousing the Neocon line while not apparently recognizing that embarrassing fact. You lament that the US is no longer playing the role of the world's superpower, and acting as the world's cop, confronting militarily Russia, China, Iran and anyone else. It is precisely that mentality that got us into Iraq, could yet have us in a war with Iran, would like to see us defending Ukraine, and thinks we should confront China militarily over bits of rock it and its neighbors are quibbling over. That is a neocon, American supremacy mentality.
Contrast that with the realist or realism approach recommended by George Kennan, and followed by this country successfully through the end of the Cold War. That approach is conservative and contends we should stay out of wars unless the vital national security interests of the US are at stake, like protecting WESTERN Europe, Japan, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere. This meant we could sympathize with the plight of all the eastern Europeans oppressed by the Soviets, but would not defend militarily the Hungarians (1956) or the Czechs (1968). It also meant we wouldn't send US troops into North Vietnam because we didn't want to go to war with the Chinese over a country that was at best tangential to US interests. When we varied from that policy (Vietnam and Iraq wars, Somalia) we paid a very heavy price while doing nothing to advance or protect our vital national security interests.
The sooner this country can return to our traditional realism-based foreign policy the better. Part of that policy would be to disassociate the US from its entangling alliance with Likud Israel and its US Jewish supporters that espouse the Likud Greater Israel line.
Zionism under Likud has played a major role in promoting the neocon approach to foreign policy in the US. It was heavily involved in the birth of that approach, and has helped fund and promote the policy and its supporters and advocates in this country. They (Likud Zionists and Neocons) played a major role in getting us into the Iraq war and are playing a major role in trying to get us involved in a war with Iran, a war in Syria, and even potential wars in Eastern Europe. That is a very dangerous trend and one folks as intelligent as you are, should be focusing on.
Please note, my criticism is directed neither at all Jews in general, Jews in the US, nor or all Israeli Jews. It is directed at a particular subset of Zionists who support Likud policies, and their supporters, many of whom are not Jews. It is also directed at Neoconservative foreign policy advocates, comprised of Jews and non-Jews, and overlap between the two groups. Please also note my use of the term "major role", and that I am not saying the Neocons and their supporters (Jewish or non) were solely responsible for our involvement in the Iraq war. I am offering these caveats in the hope that the usual changes of antisemitism can be avoided in your or anyone else's response to my arguments.
The influence of Neocons on US foreign policy has been very harmful to this country and poses a grave danger to its future. It would be wise for you to reflect on that harm and those dangers and decide whether you belong in the realist camp or want to continue running with the Neocons.
seanmcbride, May 8, 2014, 1:01 pm
irishmoses,Please note, my criticism is directed neither at all Jews in general, Jews in the US, nor or all Israeli Jews. It is directed at a particular subset of Zionists who support Likud policies, and their supporters, many of whom are not Jews.
What about the role of *liberal Zionists*, like Hillary Clinton, in supporting and promoting the Iraq War? Clinton still hasn't offered an apology for helping to drive the United States in a multi-trillion dollar foreign policy disaster - and she has threatened to "totally obliterate" Iran.
What about Harry Reid's lavish praise of Sheldon Adelson?
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has for some time billed the Koch brothers as public enemy No.1 .
But billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson? He's just fine, Reid says.
"I know Sheldon Adelson. He's not in this for money," the Nevada Democrat said of Adelson, the Vegas casino magnate who reportedly spent close to $150 million to support Republicans in the 2012 presidential election."
Are there really any meaningful distinctions between neoconservatives in the Republican Party and liberal Zionists in the Democratic Party?
talknic, May 7, 2014, 3:24 am
@ yonah fredman "nationalist Armageddon that is nowhere found in the article by Sleeper"Strange
"state into the Armageddon .. ""The misadventure in Iraq has cost the US and the world a lot. The US a loss in humans and money and willingness to play the role of superpower, and the world has lost its cop. "
Tough. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi lives don't rate a mention.
" (let the Russians have their sphere of influence, let the Iranians have their bomb, let the Chinese do whatever they want to do in their part of the world, for after all they hold a trillion dollars in US government debt and so let them act like the boss, for in fact they have been put in that role by feckless and destructive and wasteful US policy). But Sleeper does not say that."
You do tho, without quoting anyone "here".
BTW Pajero, strawmen no matter how lengthy and seemingly erudite, rarely walk anywhere
JeffB, May 7, 2014, 9:06 am
I'm going to put this down as Jewish navel gazing.Jews are disproportionately liberal. Jews make up a huge chunk of the peace movement. Jews are relative to their numbers on the left of most foreign policy positions.
Iraq was unusual in that Jews were not overwhelming opposed to the invasion, but it is worth noting the invasion at the time was overwhel