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Surrender to neocons: Trump administration after its Colin Powell moment

Trump bowed to NeoCon pressure: hello Ms Clinton

Is the US air forces assuming the role of  Al Qaeda/Al Nusra air forces  a "right idea"?

News The Deep State  Recommended Links Shoot-first-ask-questions-later: Trump ME policy Trump after his Colin Powell moment Purple revolution Khan Sheikhoun gas attack History of American False Flag Operations Did Obama order wiretaps of Trump conversations
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“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action”

― Ian Fleming

After three following event there is no doubt  that Thump became a neocon stooge with the only fotign pollicy intiiaves of his own that can be attributied to his own  impulsivity  and lack of international experience. Those three event  are as following

  1. Bombing of Syria after fake chemical attack at Khan Sheikhoun gas attack
  2. Expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats after Skripal poisoning
  3. Bombing Syria again after Douma gas attack --  yet another false flag poisoning

The initial conversion  happened  just three month after inauguration and full evolution into neocon took slightly more then a year.

Attack in Syria after Khan Sheikhoun gas attack was a game changer. And a sign that Trump capitulated due to the intensity of anti-Russian hysteria. In other words Trump surrendered to the neocons. Suddenly the the neoliberal/neocon MSM who launched the witch hunt against him after the elections are lauding him for a senseless escalation.  His plan now is just to survive, and under the implicit agreement signed at capitulation,  he can no longer control US foreign policy under any circumstances. It is neocons who again in change of the US foreign policy. The Trump administrations motivations appear to be purely  political, defensive, dictation in conditions when he is under siege, and extremely short term. I want to survive is tootoed on his forehead.  Nikki Haley's TV remarks that the US now thinks there can be no solution to the Syrian crisis (created by the USA) that leaves Assad in power signify that Trump is no longer has any inflince on forerigh policy. He is a puppet, not a puppeteer and he does not control  Nikki Haley. It is Nikki Haley and her neocon hanglers who control Trump:

meshpal | Apr 11, 2017 7:46:36 AM | 6

It appears that US foreign policy is in turmoil and no longer well managed. The key goal has been to keep the US dollar as a reserve currency and every state in-line with their privately owned central bank. The petrol dollar is no longer working and debts are out-of-control. Libya and Operation Odyssey Dawn helped bring down a functional government but remember the first thing they did was establish a new private central bank and get rid of an independent one. Cuba, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan still have an independent bank and people at the top don’t like that. What a coincidence that having an independent central bank and being an enemy of America are the same.

In any case, it looks like the US is just winging it in Syria; anything to stop Russia, Iran, and Syria working together in peace. And make sure that central bank ownership is changed. Chaos may not be great, but it seems to generate profits and achieve goals for people at the top of the food chain. I do not hear much complaining about Libya. Why not the same for Syria?

The new Syria policy seems to be the plan of Kushner, who resembles/is a neocon: No More Mister Nice Blog IN THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE, THE DEMOCRATS (AND THE DEMOCRATS) COULD BE OUT OF FAVOR BY SUMMER

Meanwhile, an interventionist foreign policy may be getting Trump good press for the moment, but do you honestly believe he's going to get results? I don't say that because Kushner appears to be running foreign policy and he's completely unqualified to do so. I say it because even the administration's wiser, more experienced foreign policy aides -- the generals Trump admires so much -- aren't going to help him score crowd-pleasing wins.

There is little chance that the US can split Syria from Russia by staging of suporting the staged false flag attack using sarin. While Russia is under pressure in Kaliningrad, Crimea and Syria it has lived through way worse situation and these have always increased its determination. So chances that Putin fold right now are slim. His couse is right: to get rid of Islam fundamentalists in Syria even if this means preserving Assad government, as there is no real alternative to Assad in Syria other then islamists.

The key warning sign that something is wrong is the fact that the USA hit Assad forces before any investigation, US Congress resolution, or God forbid UN Security Council resolution. So Trump behaves exactly like previous administration, and it is clear that not the previous dysfunctional jingoistic neoliberal elite, hell bent of the idea of global neoliberal empire led by the USA dictates trump policies.  Of course, the USA is an exceptional nation, so it does not need any UN support.

And the reason for the existence of UN is probably as unclear to Trump as it was unclear to Bush II, but the latter at least arranged this historical spectacle with Colin Powell.

What is interesting is that this was not the first attempt to stage a false flag operation using sarin to get the US into action to remove Assad goverment and install jihadists in power, as already happened in Lybia.  The first was 2013 Ghouta chemical attack

Sarin is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [(CH3)2CHO]CH3P(O)F. It can be lethal even at very low concentrations, where death can occur within one to ten minutes after direct inhalation of a lethal dose, due to suffocation from lung muscle paralysis, unless some antidotes, typically atropine and an oxime, such as pralidoxime, are quickly administered. People who absorb a non-lethal dose, but do not receive immediate medical treatment, may suffer permanent neurological damage.

... ... ...

2004: Iraqi insurgents detonated a 155 mm shell containing binary precursors for sarin near a U.S. convoy in Iraq. The shell was designed to mix the chemicals as it spun during flight. The detonated shell released only a small amount of sarin gas, either because the explosion failed to mix the binary agents properly or because the chemicals inside the shell had degraded with age. Two United States soldiers were treated after displaying the early symptoms of exposure to sarin.[50]

2013: Ghouta chemical attack; sarin was used in an attack in the Ghouta region of the Rif Dimashq Governorate of Syria during the Syrian civil war.[51] Varying[52] sources gave a death toll of 322[53] to 1,729.[54]

See also Herch discussion of  2013 Ghouta chemical attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS5DOg-_XXE

As sarin is extremely toxic anybody who approached a child killed by the gas without protective suits should probably be dead by now unless he/she wear full protection suit. Which was not the case. Touching the victim is enough to be dead.

That means that sarin "gas attack" hypothesis propagated by the US MSM smells with Iraq WDMs.

Also in Syria children are usually accompanied by women. There was little  women casualties (full list of causalities and whether they were locals or hostages is currently unknown). What is known is that many victims are children.

That means that it might be a cloud of some herbicide with similar formula, but less toxic for adults; can happen if the bomb his the storage unit ).

Now MSM downgraded the gas to chlorine (can you imaged any sovereign state air force use chorine - based munitions, but Al Qaeda and affiliated groups do use them as well as sarin).

The last but least: the US is essentially acting as air force for Al Nusra is a questionable use of 30 million or so which those Tomahawks cost. Each cruse missile cost is about $569,000 in 1999 dollars, according to the US Navy, -- equivalent to about $832,000 today. The cost of 50 units is the cost of a pretty nice residential complex in the USA for 100-200 families.

BTW both Turkey and KSA had bet all cards on Syrian insurgency. In the past Turkey's intelligence service MIT was supporting not only the Free Syrian Army but also Al-Nusra, which produced sarin from components bought in Turkey.

Even if we assume that this was a "Monica" type of attack, to distuct from "russian probe" witch hunt, it is still very questionable act by Trump administration. Who BTW already lost two key people which were anti-globalists. The last was Bannon.

It looks like it took Trump metamorphosed around 100 days to metamorphose into Hillary Clinton administration ;-).

Around the same time Obama transformed is administration into Bush II administration. So Trump might even beat the king of "bait and switch" Obama in this area.

 

Piskie54
2d ago
 
12 13
Is this the same situation as Sadaam Hussein - "We know they've got chemical weapons, because we've got the receipts"? It certainly seems to be the usual unfortunate situation where it's a terrible thing for "them" to use chemical weapons and kill civilians, but nowhere near as bad when "we" do it.

 

The UN haven't even concluded who is actually responsible for the attack yet, but Trump ordered the attack. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/06/donald-trumps-senseless-syria-strikes-accomplish-nothing#comments

Donald Trump, the man who just over a month ago wanted to bar entry of all Syrian refugees into the United States, now wants us to think that he cares deeply about Syrian children. I don’t believe it.

What I do believe is that our president is a bad actor. He was a bad actor on his old television show, and he’s still a bad actor today. And he’s a bad actor in both senses of the term, which is to say his actions are poorly executed and morally questionable.

Addressing the nation from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president announced that he had authorized “a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched”. Trump was referring to a chemical weapons attack on Tuesday that killed more than 80 people, including dozens of women and children, in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun. The chemical attack had in all likelihood been carried out by the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Phil Gollin
2d ago
 
21 22
.

Well, definitely an act of aggression and hence illegal under the UN Charter - now, who will bring a condemning Resolution in the Security Council ? And who will vote against it, or even veto it ?

I see the UK Government has already mindlessly agreed with the aggressive act.

But what will the US’s military strike – a barrage of at least 59 (offensively named) Tomahawk cruise missiles aimed at a lone airfield – really accomplish?

12inchPianist
2d ago
 
  • 9 10
    It's pretty clear that this is Trump just being the lunatic amateur that he is, you know the one we all worried because he had his finger on the button. He authorised the fatally flawed Yemen raid only days after assuming office. This is Dr Trumplove in action, there's nothing the public and his sycophantic fans would enjoy more than a reprise of the missiles down elevator chutes that lit up our televisions in '92. This time the war will not be televised...it will be on twitter.
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  • ID236207
    2d ago
     
    0 1
    Interesting that America claims to care about Arab children, while it recently killed over 150 civilians in Iraq.

    Having said that, I find it difficult not to support a targeted strike at Assad's military bases. I would never however support an invasion or occupation of another Arab country as we all know that would be a huge mistake; the tens of thousands of Arabs that would die, Western military personnel put at risk and financial cost.

    Assad must be stopped, but only the Syrians themselves must take the lead in forming a new government without continued interference from the outside. Formation of a new government at any point must be home-grown alone.

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    • clematlee ID236207
      2d ago
       
    7 8
    Why must Assad be stopped he is fighting the same demented loonies who have done attacks all over Europe, including the UK. Are you saying its ok for us to kill these loonies but not Syria.Get real.
  • brotherJAK
    2d ago
     
    55 56
    Using gas was a terrorist attack, not a military one.
    In that case, why on earth would Assad do it. It weakens his case in all respects and strengthens his enemies.
    But of course such an argument flies in the face of hawks worldwide.
    Mongolikecandy
    2d ago
     
    67 68
    The whole thing is a sad sorry affair. I'm not sure I can trust anything any side is saying. One thing is certain is this proxy wars between Russia and the US will continue in all shapes and form first the next 20 years at least.
    One question though. Those US air strikes that killed over 100 civilians last week. Why have they not got the same coverage as the chemical weapons? Isn't killing, killing?
    pittens
    2d ago
     
    30 31
    Well, the deep state always wins. The idea that assad used chemical weapons (which the country was declared free of a fee years ago) immediately after trump declared a policy of non regime change beggars belief.

    This article is calling for the grounding of Russian and syrian planes. The first action could cause WWIII. The second would allow isis to invade Damascus.

    Derryclare pittens
    2d ago
     
  • 4 5
    I suppose the use of chemical weapons in 2013 in Syria was doen to the CIA and Obama? You are probably yet another conspiracy "nut" who thinks that the gassing of the Kurds in northern Iraq by Assad's chum Saddam was Fake News.
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  • pittens Derryclare
    2d ago
     
    8 9
    It probably was.

    https://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n24/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin

  • Catona
    2d ago
     
    42 43
    Are we sure it wasn't the so called rebels? It would make no sense for Assad to do this now. Who financed the whole coup in the first place arming the 'rebels'? They are responsible for the whole mess.
    SeventhOne Catona
    2d ago
     
    27 28
    Yes, Syrian and Russian forces are striking ISIS, Al-Queda and Al-Nusra, while the US strikes Syria. Sums up the whole thing really.
    queequeg7
    2d ago
     
    61 62
    According to a poll this morning between 41% and 51% of British voters would support an escalation even if it meant conflict with Russia. We're being turned into a country of gurning imbeciles and if I die because of all this bollocks I'll be really pissed off.
    Alan Urdaibay
    2d ago
     
    3 4
    It depends what you mean by 'accomplish nothing.'

    The chances are that there will be no response of any kind. Will this drive a President, having an unhealthy mix of behavioral problems and frustrated by failure in his domestic policy, to take further dramatic action in order to attract attention in the style of his spoilt brat counterpart in North Korea, Kim Jong-un?

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    • brotherJAK Alan Urdaibay
      2d ago
       
    1 2
    Trump will feel emboldened by this move. A frighening thought indeed.
    AusterityAspirant
    2d ago
     
    8 9
    I am sure that Netanyahu will be pleased that America has finally agreed to remove another Arab leader.
    PaulDLion
    2d ago
     
    9 10
    This is a set up by the criminal regime in Washington and their servile allies in London. I don't believe their propaganda claims about this chemical attack, and in any case they are not interested in waiting for any evidence. They must be made to pay a heavy price for this criminal act.
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    • LiberalTory PaulDLion
      2d ago
       
    1 2
    "They must be made to pay a heavy price for this criminal act."

    As long as "they" does not include the innocent UK/US population.

    PaulDLion LiberalTory
    2d ago
     
    2 3
    No, certainly not. I would never advocate terrorist acts against anybody. But this action will do the US and the Western alliance no good at all and will diminish their standing in the world. The US/UK population must hold their leaders to account over this nonsense, and demand proof of the dubious claims over the supposed chemical attack.
    torhan
    2d ago
     
    70 71
    This was a failed US aggression based on propaganda. A repetition of the invented story about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq Syrian style.

    The rebels will get an advantage if they use chemical weapons and blames Assad. Assad has nothing to gain from using such weapons.

    It's simply not logical and believable that Assad. used chemical weapons. What happened to information based decisions and critical journalism?

    Muzzledagain
    2d ago
     
    26 27
    So here we go, nothing really changes in the land of the free. Warmongers they will remain. Al Qaeda rejoices.
    goodtable
    2d ago
     
    7 8
    I actually feel that Trump may have got this just about right. If we actually believe that a plane from this airbase delivered a Sarin attack, then it was necessary to prevent a repetition. But equally it was necessary to avoid the US being dragged into a war against Assad, which so many are desperate to see happen, and it was necessary to avoid World War 3 by avoiding killing Russians.

    If the Russians, as they probably did, warned the Syrians and few people were actually killed by this strike, then maybe it will all calm down now, the Syrian air force won't ever use Sarin again and can concentrate on defeating the rebels instead which, like it or not, is probably the quickest route to peace.

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    • Daniel Kells goodtable
      2d ago
       
    5 6
    I have to question whether or not it was actually Assad who committed the attack, why would he risk retaliation from the US when he is currently winning the Syrian Civil war
    MalcolmsPond
    2d ago
     
    7 8
    Agreed the main thing it shows is a kneejerk reaction. Incredibly dangerous from a US president but perhaps not unexpected.

    Even if Assad needs to be removed the idea as well that Trump has a post regime plan to do that is laughable.

    We have seen what happened in Iraq and Libya when bad dictators were overthrown and a bad situation ended up much worse in terms of a replacement by militant Islamist groups.

    Unfortunately what we have here is ISIS 1 (Trump o.g), Commonsense and sanity 0

    Muzzledagain CABHTS
    2d ago
     
    3 4
    But if the alleged planes carrying chemical weapons came from Homs that just got 59 bombs, where was the topic cloud? Weren't they suppose to have a chemical stock in this airbase ? Strange that no chemical in sight.
    scalatorOverTheHill
    2d ago
     
    0 1
    Trump – Russia...Trump – Russia...Trump – Russia...

    Oh, wait a minute...

    1. Susan Rice – mother lode for all the Trump-Russia conspiracy theories via her unmasking of names and wide dispersal of same, but “nothing to see here”.

    2. “Donald Trump's Syrian air-strike 'significant blow to US-Russia relations', says Kremlin” (Guardian headline).

    I would have posted this comment below said title but, of course, no comments are possible, just as they aren't below most of, for example, David Smith's execrable anti-Trump 'output'.

    clematlee
    2d ago
     
    3 4
    This attack is an act of war against Syria. North Korea has nuclear weapons will the usa warmongers risk a nuclear war.
    Angular Greek FrankRoberts
    2d ago
     
    2 3
    "Lavrov, please release some pictures from the videos of Trump with the prostitutes!"
    Prasad Iyer
    2d ago
     
    9 10
    Five months ago: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/donald-trump-terrorists-families/

    "The other thing with the terrorists is you have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. They care about their lives, don't kid yourself. When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families," Trump said.

    Now:

    “I will tell you that attack on children had a big, big impact on me,” he said. “That was a horrible, horrible thing.”

    Eh?

    SeventhOne
    2d ago
     
    23 24
    Assad has absolutely no motive to order this attack. His forces, with Russia's assistance have gained the upper hand in the protracted conflict with US and UK backed terrorists. Why on earth would he do something that he knows would bring international condemnation and likely military action from the US?

    Stinks to high heaven of a false flag- the fact that global MSM had solved the crime and broadcast the perpertrators all over global media within an hour is enough proof for me - the stories would have had to have been pre-packaged.

    Manners01
    2d ago
     
    10 11
    Breaking news, Assad has Sarin tipped long-range missiles that can hit the UK in 30 mins. We need to go in and destroy these WMDs immediately.

    "S**t, we've used that one before, any ideas?"

    geniusofmozart
    2d ago
     
    12 13
    Spot-on.

    Perhaps you could tell that to the Guardian writers (the "liberal interventionists") who have been beating the war drums for years, failing to learn any lessons from Iraq and Libya. I see no plan for the aftermath, and I see no real consideration given to the threat of a further decline in relations with Russia.

    And, do these people seriously want Trump overseeing a regime change? It would be more chaotic than when Bush tried it in Iraq.

    PekkaRoivanen
    2d ago
     
    14 15
    There are at likely two parties that are very happy about the USA attack on Syrian airfield. They are Syrian al-Qaeda which governs Idlib province where the alleged chemical attack happened and ISIS.

    Both can count that alleging Assad for chemical attacks may get Donald Trump´s USA to become their air force. If there is a red line, cross it and blame Assad. I think that may be how al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders are interpreting the events.

    neocomments95
    2d ago
     
    5 6

    a barrage of at least 59 (offensively named) Tomahawk cruise missiles aimed at a lone airfield – really accomplish?

    That's $70 million down the drain JUST on missiles.
    .
    Made a certain group of shareholders owning a certain military company trading in NYSE slightly wealthier.
    .
    Also, a participatory certificate for participating in a virility contest.

    Bambawap
    2d ago
     
    0 1
    I thought Russian air defences were supposed to be able to shoot down tomahawk missiles. They don't travel all that fast. Perhaps they wanted to put pressure on Assad and let them pass.
    Sorry4Soul
    2d ago
     
    5 6
    As the missile strike have already happened ('justice' before investigation) so will there be an independent investigation about what was the cause of the gas leakage ?
    BloodyNora49
    2d ago
     
    4 5
    The usual suspects, those actually responsible for false flag unleashing chemical weapons, have apparently achieved only a limited response from el trumpo... and one unlikely to satisfy their lust ultimately to bring down the Syrian government. This action designed as a stage to that end to uncouple trumpo and putin...
    Ruth Boulton
    2d ago
     
    5 6
    This will improve his ratings!
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    • kronfeld Ruth Boulton
      2d ago
       
    3 4
    That is all he cares about.
    whitesnake
    2d ago
     
    12 13
    Trump bowed to NeoCon pressure. He was supposed to be different. But then so was Obama. 300,000 people have died! Were those killed by bombs any less tragic? Who is funding, arming and supporting ISIS? It's not about these children it's about anti Assad/Iran/Russia influence in the region. Again, 300,000 have died already!

     


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    • 20200108 : Soleimani and Al-Muhandis are being mourned in Aleppo churches ( Jan 08, 2020 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20200108 : As long as Neocons and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed. ( Jan 08, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200107 : Pompeo and his lies got us into this mess with Iran caucus99percent ( Jan 07, 2020 , caucus99percent.com )
    • 20200107 : a popular figure ( Jan 07, 2020 , twitter.com )
    • 20200107 : The neocon foreign policy brings only bankruptcy moral and financial by Ron Paul ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200107 : As long as Neocons and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed. ( Jan 07, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200106 : Adam Schiff Demands Public Hearings on Soleimani Strike and suggested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo misrepresented intelligence indicating that killing Soleimani saved American lives. ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20200106 : Was Suleimani a diplomatic envoy at the time of his killing? ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20200106* How To Avoid Swallowing War Propaganda by Nathan J. Robinson ( Jan 05, 2020 , www.currentaffairs.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20200106 : Pompeo's Petty Decision to Bar Zarif ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20200106 : Mike Pompeo- Killing Qasem Soleimani disrupted an imminent attack ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20200106 : Buttigieg on Soleimani strike- We need answers ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20200106 : Elizabeth Warren on Qasem Soleimani killing- People are reasonably asking, why this moment ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20200106* Neocon Pompeo pushed Trump to kill Soleimani; Looks like West Point educated military contactor mafia to which Pompeo and Esper belongs controls the President, although Trump malleability and recklessness are inexcusable ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.washingtonpost.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20200106 : Tucker Carlson is livid with anger and frustration at Trump's actions . ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200106 : Democrats demand answers on Soleimani killing - This is not a game ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.nbcnews.com )
    • 20200106* The threat of General Soleimani - TTG ( Jan 06, 2020 , turcopolier.typepad.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20200106 : But they could always find an un-scorched Iranian passport in mint condition among the debris of the explosion. ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200106 : Now I know for sure that the US government spreads shameless lies, so you can't believe anything it says. ( Jan 06, 2020 , www.unz.com )
    • 20200105* The USA is now at war, de-facto and de-jure, with BOTH Iraq and Iran (UPDATED 6X) The Vineyard of the Saker ( Jan 05, 2020 , thesaker.is ) [Recommended]
    • 20200104* Will Trump welcome the ejection of the US from Iraq - He should by Colonel Lang ( Jan 03, 2020 , turcopolier.typepad.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20191231 : Now that Trump so much complains and threats by Twitter about "civilians" in Idlib...we remember the aerial bombing of the Iraq-Kuwzit highway by US... ( Dec 31, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20191229 : There has rarely been a Secretary of State as dishonest and political as Pompeo, and his brief time running the department has been one of the low points in its history. But probably only until Trump find a replacement ( Dec 29, 2019 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20191207* Why the foreign policy establishment consensus is neocon by default. ( Dec 07, 2019 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20191202 : US No doubt That Villain-Of-The-Day Has Banned Weapons ( Apr 30, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20191124 : 25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish On Russia by Caitlin Johnstone ( Nov 19, 2019 , consortiumnews.com )
    • 20191028 : Important facts developed in video as for KSA role in financing ISIS ( Oct 28, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20191015 : Leaked John Kerry audio White House wanted ISIS to rise in Syria by Systematic ( Oct 15, 2019 , off-guardian.org )
    • 20190922 : Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin saif the US operated the drones that attack Russia Hmeymim airbase in Syria ( Sep 22, 2019 , thenewkremlinstooge.wordpress.com )
    • 20190922* US reconnaissance plane operated drones that attacked Hmeymim ( Oct 01, 2025 , tass.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20190904 : Veterans Mattis Spent Career Tending the Status Quo The American Conservative ( Sep 04, 2019 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20190820 : Trump administration hostlity to Russia ( Aug 20, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20190803 : Features of the military-political line of Russia on the Syrian "track" ( Aug 03, 2019 , alaff84.wordpress.com )
    • 20190618 : Schr dinger's Cat view on Pompeo interview to Fox News Saturday ( Jun 18, 2019 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20190618 : Iran, Trump -- and what the crisis says about his lack of credibility - The Washington Post ( Jun 18, 2019 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20190618 : Another neocon reshuffling in Trump administration ( Jun 18, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20190618 : Sections ( Jun 18, 2019 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20190608 : McMaster and 'Nuclear Blackmail' The American Conservative ( Jun 08, 2019 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20190513 : It's time for Trump to stop John Bolton and Mike Pompeo from sabotaging his foreign policy Mulshine ( May 12, 2019 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20190420 : Here is an interesting interpretation of Trumps selection of cabinet and advisor positions ( Nov 20, 2016 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20190210* Pussy John Bolton and His Codpiece Mustache by Fred Reed ( Feb 10, 2019 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20190210 : Pussy John Bolton and His Codpiece Mustache by Fred Reed ( Feb 10, 2019 , www.unz.com )
    • 20190130 : Just one more to a long list of Trump appointments. I believe Trump is some kind of pervert, like the ones that like to get whipped, only Trump likes to get stabbed in the back ( Jan 30, 2019 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20190119 : Welcome to the rabbit hole ( Jan 19, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20190109 : Mattis One More General For The Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone ( Jan 09, 2019 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20190105 : Are Trump's senior people going rogue? ( Jan 05, 2019 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20181229 : Why Mattis' Exit Is A Defining Moment In US Foreign Policy ( Dec 29, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20181228 : Send Mad Dog James Mattis to the Corporate Kennel ( Dec 28, 2018 , www.mintpressnews.com )
    • 20181224 : Mattis Resigns ( Dec 24, 2018 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20181223 : Good riddance to James Mattis, Trump's last general ( Dec 23, 2018 , www.salon.com )
    • 20181222 : Fallout Of Trump's Syria Withdrawal - Why Erdogan Does Not Want To Invade ( Dec 22, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20181110 : ISIS is as authentic and real as The White Helmets ( Nov 10, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20181026 : Russian general says US plane directed drones towards airbase in Syria News ( Oct 26, 2018 , www.dw.com )
    • 20181012 : Terrorists Want America to Reverse Engineer Russian Machineguns by Michael Peck ( Oct 12, 2018 , russia-insider.com )
    • 20180929 : The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against by Sharmine Narwani ( Sep 26, 2014 , ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20180926 : Hired to Drain the Swamp, Fired in Less Than a Year ( Sep 26, 2018 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20180915 : "The United States does not seek to fight the Russians" a Pentagon spokesman said. "However, the United States will not hesitate to use necessary and proportionate force to defend US, coalition or partner forces ( Sep 15, 2018 , thenewkremlinstooge.wordpress.com )
    • 20180910 : Should Assad subsequently fall - and that is the actual aim of intervention - then Syria will become another anarchic wasteland ruled over by fundamentalist warlords. ( Apr 20, 2018 , discussion.theguardian.com )
    • 20180907 : >An Uber-Hawk Flies High Again in Trump's Washington ( Sep 07, 2018 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20180907 : The New York Times op-ed and the 13 people who might be the author ( Sep 07, 2018 , www.cnn.com )
    • 20180814 : Why Did 51 American State Department Officials 'Dissent' Against Obama and Call for Bombing Syria? ( Aug 14, 2018 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180814 : Latest Sanctions Against Russia Show Trump Not in Control of His Administration by F. Michael Maloof ( Aug 10, 2018 , russia-insider.com )
    • 20180703 : Donald Trump has been business partners with George Soros in at least $6 Billion in properties for more than a decade before his candidacy. They were even codefendants in a RICO suit (organized crime, as in the Jewish Mafia). ( Jul 03, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180621 : Mad Dog Mattis, the destroyer of Raqqa, frets about losing moral authority by Finian Cunningham ( Jun 20, 2018 , www.rt.com )
    • 20180520 : Exclusive: Dangerous Phase of Terrorism, Trump's Israeli Connections Proved (Updated) ( May 20, 2018 , www.veteranstoday.com )
    • 20180425 : If Mattis didn't know about it, then he should have done and likewise with Trump ( Apr 25, 2018 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180419 : Jews vs non-Jews in Trump administration ( Apr 19, 2018 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180326 : The US expulsions were part of "a coordinated effort" ( Mar 26, 2018 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20180325 : Basically McMaster started clearing out the Israel Zios in the department ...including several who violate security rules on top secret info ( Mar 24, 2018 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20180325 : Neocons Panting for President 'Mad Dog' Mattis by Daniel McAdams ( Apr 22, 2016 , www.ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20180323* Inglorious end of career of neocon McMaster ( Mar 23, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20180323 : Let's get over the McMaster ouster. The fact is that he was completely unqualified to be the National Security advisor. McMaster was uneducated in history and international politics. ( Mar 23, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180322 : Trump's National Security Chief Calls Russian Interference 'Incontrovertible' ( Mar 22, 2018 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20180318 : Mattis' Weak Case for Supporting the War on Yemen by Daniel Larison ( Mar 18, 2018 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20180316 : H.R. McMaster Gives The Kremlin a Double Bird Salute ( Mar 16, 2018 , www.thedailybeast.com )
    • 20180315 : Mattis is as dangerous warmonger as McMaster ( Mar 15, 2018 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20180314 : It's impossible to overstate how terrible Trump's entire cabinet is ( Mar 14, 2018 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180310 : The frankly farcical nature of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' report into Khan Sheikhoun ( Mar 10, 2018 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20180309 : A conflict in North Korea, John, would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes ( Mar 09, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180308 : Hope Hicks Tells House Intel Committee That Her Emails Were Hacked ( Mar 08, 2018 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180306 : CNN: Trump 'berated' Hicks after House Intel testimony ( TheHill )
    • 20180303 : The poisonous Guardian about Hope Hicks by Tom McCarthy ( Mar 03, 2018 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20180302 : Trump Is 'Losing a Limb' With the Departure of Hope Hicks ( Mar 02, 2018 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20180302 : Hope Hicks Kept Detailed Diary At White House, Gets $10MM Book Offer Zero Hedge ( Mar 02, 2018 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180302 : McMaster may be on his way out ( Mar 02, 2018 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20180223 : The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster ( May 09, 2017 , foreignpolicy.com )
    • 20180222 : McMaster, Kelly On Their Way Out Zero Hedge ( Feb 22, 2018 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180217 : What s good for the Jews Stephen Miller by Marcus Alethia ( Feb 11, 2018 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180215 : Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more. I really can not see what Tillerson and Mattis have to offer Turkey other than threats. ( Feb 15, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180214 : Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more. ( Feb 14, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180213 : Rob Porter's First Ex-Wife Criticizes Kellyanne Conway for Defending Hope Hicks - Breitbart ( Feb 13, 2018 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20180211 : Hope Hicks: Trump s confidante finds herself center stage in scandal ( Feb 11, 2018 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20180207 : CIA False Flag Likely in Drone Attack on Russia's Syrian Bases by Finian CUNNINGHAM ( Jan 17, 2018 , www.strategic-culture.org )
    • 20180131 : Chief lunatic McMaster will levitate with enthusiasm for more war. ( Jan 31, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180120 : As of today, Gen. Mathis exposing the new Us Defense Strategy warned that: The US will counter any threat to America s democracy experiment in the world, if necessary with military force ( Jan 20, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180117 : The Russian "Zap" can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were. ( Jan 17, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180117 : Drones keep entering no-fly zones over Washington, raising security concerns ( Jan 17, 2018 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20180116 : Drones keep entering no-fly zones over Washington, raising security concerns ( Jan 16, 2018 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20180116 : The Russian "Zap" can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were. ( Jan 16, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180115 : US military not only admits to training Syrian militants, but says they do not care if they choose to fight with terrorist organizations by Paul Antonopoulos ( Jan 15, 2018 , thesaker.is )
    • 20180115 : By saying they "knew" who it was and then effectively "zapping" the "militants concerned", this is a very clear warning ( Jan 15, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180115 : Russia says it eliminated rebels behind swarm drone attack in Syria by Jeff Daniels ( Jan 12, 2018 , www.cnbc.com )
    • 20180115 : Russia 'eliminated' rebels behind airbase attack in Syria ( Jan 12, 2018 , www.middleeasteye.net )
    • 20180114 : Russians asking for help after swarming drone attacks ( Jan 14, 2018 , www.atimes.com )
    • 20180114 : Trump Stumped As Bannon-Backed Roy Moore Wins Alabama Republican Primary By Landslide ( Sep 27, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180113 : Who Attacked a Russian Military Base with a Swarm Strike ( Jan 13, 2018 , nationalinterest.org )
    • 20180112 : Air raids and missile attacks show Israel flexing its muscles in Syria by Patrick Cockburn ( Jan 09, 2018 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180112 : We Know Who They Are Putin Claims State Provocateur Behind Terrorist Drones In Syria ( Jan 12, 2018 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20180112 : Syria - Army Gains In Idleb - Insurgents To Challenge Foreign Occupiers ( Jan 12, 2018 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20180110 : Yahoo News - Latest News Headlines ( Jan 10, 2018 , www.yahoo.com )
    • 20180106 : Looks like Bannon self-immolated himself by his cooperation with Wolff ( Feb 15, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20180103 : When Putin Talks on Syria, It Is Worth Listening ( Jan 03, 2018 , russia-insider.com )
    • 20180102 : Meet Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Secret Source In Trump Probe – The Forward ( Jan 02, 2018 , forward.com )
    • 20180102 : False flag attacks using sharpshooters as a standard instrument of color revolutions ( Jan 02, 2018 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20180102* Neocon warmongers should be treated as rapists by Andrew J. Bacevich ( Dec 22, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20180102 : BOOK REVIEW: America s War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich by David Rohde ( Apr 15, 2016 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20180102* American exceptionalism extracts a price from common citizens ( Jul 01, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20171231 : Looks like Trump foreign policy is unsane and overextend the USA military capabilities ( Dec 31, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171231 : Looks like Trump foreign policy is unsane and overextend the USA military capabilities ( Dec 31, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171230 : In Syria Russia has been very restraint to avoid direct conflict with US even under attacked. ( Dec 30, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171230 : The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity All Is Not Quiet on the Syrian Front US to Launch Another War ( Dec 30, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20171230 : Russian Foreign Minister: US Military Must Leave All Of Syria ( Dec 30, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171228* On your surmise that Putin prefers Trump to Hillary and would thus have incentive to influence the election, I beg to differ. Putin is one smart statesman; he knows very well it makes no difference which candidates gets elected in US elections. ( Dec 28, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20171226 : National Security Searches for a Strategy by Philip Giraldi ( Dec 26, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171223 : Seems that those cuddly White Helmets really ARE good guys in the parallel universe Guardian readers are thought to inhabit. ( Dec 23, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171223 : Slovenia is among the Coalition of the 128 NOT willing to be punked by USA. Melania better keep a low profile around Trump and Nikki ( Dec 23, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171222 : A Stunning Rebuke 128 Nations Support UN Call For Trump To Withdraw Jerusalem Decision ( Dec 22, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20171222 : US elites and media are constantly freaking out about some Iranian "empire" supposedly being created and threatening US allies in the mideas ( Dec 22, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171221* The RussiaGate Witch-Hunt Stockman Names Names In The Deep State's Insurance Policy by David Stockman ( Dec 18, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171220 : It seems like the intelligence agencies are spending more time monitoring politicians and public than Al Queda. ( Mar 23, 2017 , )
    • 20171219 : I won t be optimistic about AmeriKKKa until Russia and/or China announce a Zero Tolerance policy toward US military adventurism in countries on the borders of Russia/China. But this will never happen ( Dec 19, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171216 : Mohammed bin Salman's ill-advised ventures have weakened Saudi Arabia, by Patrick Cockburn - The Unz Review ( Dec 16, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171215* Rise and Decline of the Welfare State, by James Petras ( Dec 13, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171215 : FBI Edits To Clinton Exoneration Go Far Beyond What Was Previously Known; Comey, McCabe, Strzok Implicated Zero Hedge ( Dec 15, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20171214* Was Peter Strzok the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director John Brennan? ( consortiumnews.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171214* The Foundering Russia-gate 'Scandal' Consortiumnews ( Dec 14, 2017 , consortiumnews.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171214* The 1970's was in many ways the watershed decade for the neoliberal transformation of the American economy and society ( Dec 14, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171212* Bad Moon Rising, by Philip Giraldi - The Unz Review ( Dec 12, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171212* We are all just hapless passengers on the Neocon Titanic, unable to influence what is playing out on the bridge ( Dec 12, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171210* When Washington Cheered the Jihadists Consortiumnews ( Dec 10, 2017 , consortiumnews.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171209* Hyping the Russian Threat to Undermine Free Speech by Max Blumenthal ( Nov 13, 2017 , www.truthdig.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171209 : Mideast Peacemaking is No Longer Made-in-America ( Dec 09, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20171201* Neocon Chaos Promotion in the Mideast ( Apr 15, 2015 , antiwar.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171130* Heritage Foundation + the War Industry What a Pair by Paul Gottfried ( Nov 30, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171130* Money Imperialism by Michael Hudson ( Nov 30, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171128* The Duplicitous Superpower by Ted Galen Carpenter ( Nov 28, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171128 : Trump Wants Peace With Erdogan - The Military Wants To Sabotage It ( Nov 28, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171128 : Israeli Defense Minister Contradicts Netanyahu There Is No Iranian Military Force On Syrian Land ( Nov 28, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20171122 : Drums Along the Euphrates ( Nov 22, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20171122 : DECAMERON And Now, Calling to Start US War in Syria All Over Again ( Nov 22, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20171122 : I think global alignments are changing fast, with MENA as the focal point. Every player has a different deck of cards than just 3 years ago. The over-riding trajectory of course is the ongoing fall of Pax Americana, and its replacement by a Pax Multiplicita. ( Nov 22, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171122 : Boy, Is This Stupid or What, by Philip Giraldi ( Nov 22, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171122 : Syria, Experts, and George Monbiot by Jonathan Cook ( Nov 22, 2017 , original.antiwar.com )
    • 20171122 : Just imagine what songs Bandar Bush is singing in the Ritz these days ( Nov 22, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171116 : MoA - Syria Summary The Idlib Battle Comes Into Sight ( Nov 16, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171115 : Alex Azar Can There Be Uglier Scenarios than the Revolving Door naked capitalism ( Nov 15, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20171113 : Arab League To Hold Urgent Meeting On Iran As Saudis Reportedly Mobilize Fighter Jets ( Nov 12, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20171112 : The Islamic Emirate of Iraq (future Daesh) was created during the term of George W. Bush, under the control of General Petraeus who commanded the troops in Iraq, to deflect the wrath of the Iraqis against the troops of occupation and turn it into a civil war; a device that Leon Panetta took on and supported ( Nov 12, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171110 : Moon of Alabama ( Nov 10, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171108 : Russias Line in the Sand on Syria by Dmitri Trenin ( Feb 05, 2012 , Foreign Affairs )
    • 20171107 : Moon of Alabama: Saudi Arabia This 'Night Of The Long Knives' Is A Panic-Fueled Move ( Nov 07, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171107 : Consortium News: Israeli-Saudi Tandem Adjusts to Syria Loss ( Nov 07, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171107 : Washington's Wonderful World of Corruption - The Unz Review ( Nov 07, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171105 : US sent troops to Lebanon in 1958 ( Nov 05, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171031* Above All - The Junta Expands Its Claim To Power ( Oct 31, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20171031 : Neocons Hijack Trump's Syria Policy - Ron Paul Asks Haven't We Done Enough Damage ( Oct 31, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20171030 : Reuters try to sow "anti-war" sentiment in Russia by emphasizing the number of casualties ( Oct 30, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171030 : Ex-Qatari premier: US coordinated foreign support for terrorists in Syria ( Oct 30, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171030 : Shouldn't these people be prosecuted? ( Oct 30, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20171029* Whose Bright Idea Was RussiaGate by Paul Craig Roberts ( Oct 03, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20171029* In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War ( Oct 29, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20171029 : John Feffer The Real Disuniting of America by Tom Engelhardt ( Oct 24, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171029 : UN On Khan Sheikhoun - Victims Hospitalized BEFORE Claimed Incident Happened ( Oct 29, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171025* Tomorrow Belongs to the Corporatocracy by C.J. Hopkins ( Oct 20, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171025 : The Definitive Demise of the Debunked Dodgy Dossier on The Donald ( Jan 23, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20171025 : Ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele in hiding after Trump dossier ( Jan 12, 2017 , www.bbc.com )
    • 20171025 : Former MI6 agent behind Trump dossier returns to work by Luke Harding and Nick Hopkins ( Mar 07, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20171025 : Raqqa Destroyed to Liberate It by Eric Margolis ( Oct 25, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171024 : Sic Semper Tyrannis US policy in Islamdom is a chaos. Part 1 ( Oct 21, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20171022 : Trump and His 'Beautiful' Weapons by William Blum ( Oct 21, 2017 , consortiumnews.com )
    • 20171017 : For War Hawks, Iran Deal Dump Is Music to the Ears ( Oct 13, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20171016 : Trump Looks Set to Start Blowing Up the Iran Deal by Eli Clifton ( Oct 16, 2017 , fpif.org )
    • 20171016 : President Trump Beats War Drums For Iran by Ron Paul ( Oct 16, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171016 : Trump acts like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Which might be the symptom of floundering, weakened, posturing US Empire -- decending into empty threats (Iran, NK) which are often rightly dismissed by others. Which make this historical period very dangerous indeed. ( Oct 16, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20171014 : The Deep State's Bogus 'Iranian Threat' by David Stockman ( Oct 14, 2017 , original.antiwar.com )
    • 20171011 : Donald Trump is exposing the contradictions of the elite by David Callahan ( Oct 11, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20171009* After Nine Months, Only Stale Crumbs in Russia Inquiry by Scott Ritter ( Oct 09, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171009* Autopilot Wars by Andrew J. Bacevich ( Oct 08, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171005 : Tillerson Summoned to White House Amid Presidential Fury ( Oct 05, 2017 , www.msn.com )
    • 20171004 : Wheels and Deals Trouble Brewing in the House of Saud by Pepe Escobar ( Oct 04, 2017 , www.counterpunch.org )
    • 20171003* The Vietnam Nightmare -- Again by Eric Margolis ( Sep 30, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20171003 : Are You Ready to Die by Paul Craig Roberts ( Oct 02, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171002 : The Russian Defence Minister has released photos of US Forces stationed on Daesh territory ( Oct 02, 2017 , www.voltairenet.org )
    • 20171002 : The Kurdish independence referendum was a political miscalculation ( Oct 02, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20171001 : Goodbye, American neoliberalism. A new era is here by Cornel West ( Nov 17, 2016 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170930 : Is the US in cahoots with IS - TTG ( Sep 27, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170928 : Russias Stand-Off Capability The 800 Pound Gorilla in Syria ( Sep 28, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170927* Come You Masters of War by Matthew Harwood ( Sep 26, 2017 , www.fff.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20170926* US-Saudi Alliance Fragments the Middle East (2-2) by RANIA KHALEK ( Sep 26, 2017 , therealnews.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170924* Mark Ames When Mother Jones Was Investigated for Spreading Kremlin Disinformation by Mark Ames ( Jun 03, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170924 : Russian special forces repel a US-planned attack in Syria, denounce the USA and issue a stark warning - The Unz Review ( Sep 24, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170924 : Donald Trump is now embarked on a Pyongyang-style military-first policy in which resources, money, and power are heading for the Pentagon and the U.S. nuclear arsenal, while much of the rest of the government is downsized ( Sep 24, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170923* The Exit Strategy of Empire by Wendy McElro ( Sep 23, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20170923 : Uncle Sam vs. Russia in Eastern Syria the Nightmare Scenario ( Sep 23, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170923 : Spinning by NYT can and will form the base of a conspiracy. NYT is lying . But this lies can help build the necessary platform for future wars ( www.unz.com )
    • 20170922 : America Can Never Be Trusted! by Stephen LENDMAN ( Sep 22, 2017 , www.strategic-culture.org )
    • 20170921 : Trump Slams US and Saudi Foreign Policy in Fiery UN Speech ( Sep 21, 2017 , theantimedia.org )
    • 20170920* The Politics of Military Ascendancy by James Petras ( Sep 15, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170920 : The hubris, ignorance and stupidity in face of the failure of "regime change" operation in Syria ( Sep 20, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170920 : Sovereign Nations Is Main Theme Of Trump's UN Speech ( Sep 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170919 : Massive White Helmets Photo Cache Proves Hollywood Gave Oscar to Terrorist Group ( Sep 19, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170919 : Since the initial strike in April, the Trump administration has deliberately attacked regime or allied forces an additional five times ( Sep 19, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170919 : How Trumps advisers schooled him on globalism ( Sep 19, 2017 , apnews.com )
    • 20170918* How The Military Defeated Trumps Insurgency ( Sep 18, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20170918* Looks like Trump initially has a four point platform that was anti-neoliberal in its essence: non-interventionism, no to neoliberal globalization, no to outsourcing of jobs, and no to multiculturism. All were betrayed very soon ( Jun 02, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170918 : Trump won but he is completely alone. The Neocons have a total, repeat total, control of the Congress, the media, banking and finance, and the courts. From Clinton to Clinton they have deeply infiltrated the Pentagon, Foggy Bottom, and the three letter agencies by The Saker ( Aug 18, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170918 : Why Petraeus, Obama And Brennan Should Face 5,000 Years In Prison ( Aug 04, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170917 : Mattis still seems stuck with his Iran obsession. Shame I thought he had the intellectual curiosity to adapt. ( Jul 11, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170917 : Neocons such as Mr. Morell, the Kagans' clan, AIPAC, aare still quite powerful policy makers. The violation of a ceasefire by the US in Syria, which produced dozens of deaths among military personnel (perhaps including a Russian or two) and some 200 wounded was intentional; moreover, the violation was followed immediately by an attack by ISIS ( Sep 17, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170913* A despot in disguise: one mans mission to rip up democracy by George Monbiot ( Sep 13, 2017 , www.theguardian.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170903 : These Lethal U.S. Anti Tank Missiles Are Showing up in ISIS Arsenals by Jared Keller ( Sep 02, 2017 , nationalinterest.org )
    • 20170903 : These Lethal U.S. Anti Tank Missiles Are Showing up in ISIS Arsenals The National Interest Blog ( get= )
    • 20170902 : Sic Semper Tyrannis US will allow Iranian forces in Syria to operate within 8 km of Israel by Andrew Illingworth ( Sep 02, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170902 : The truth about US support for the FSA terrorists in Syria ( Sep 02, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170901 : FSA planning gas use in Deraa, Syria ( Sep 01, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170828 : The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster by Kate Brannen ( May 09, 2017 , foreignpolicy.com )
    • 20170828 : The ouster of Mattis: Some follow-up details and a White House response by homas E. Ricks ( ttis still seems stuck with his Iran obsession. Shame I thought he had the intellectual curiosity to adapt. < )
    • 20170828 : Andrew Bacevich on Trump's eventual Afghanistan decision ( Aug 16, 2017 , www.libertarianinstitute.org )
    • 20170828 : Let's Call "Trump's Generals" What They Are A Military Junta ( Aug 27, 2017 , www.informationclearinghouse.info )
    • 20170828 : The ouster of Mattis: Some follow-up details and a White House response ( get= )
    • 20170827 : What A Mess! - Pentagon At War With CIA In Syria Zero Hedge ( Sep 06, 2016 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170826 : Russian air defense at their Tartus naval facility in Syria shot down an American RQ-21 "Blackjack" spy drone on May 27th, ( Aug 26, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170826 : US troops in Syria must all be social workers in uniform. Or maybe 'SF" stands for 'Super Friendly' and not 'Special Forces'. It's okay when Uncle Sam kills people, because he has love in his heart. ( Aug 26, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170825 : Influential GOP Donor Sheldon Adelson Supports Campaign to Oust McMaster report ( Aug 25, 2017 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20170824 : Kelly, Mattic and McMaster complete the militarization of the executive branch ( Aug 24, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170824 : MoA - Notes On The Junta, An Unnecessary Land-Corridor And A Regular Russian Maneuver ( Aug 24, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170823 : The Mini-Skirt Deception How McMaster Got His Afghan 'Surge' - Antiwar.com Original ( Aug 23, 2017 , original.antiwar.com )
    • 20170823 : Military leaders consolidate power in Trump administration ( Aug 23, 2017 , www.msn.com )
    • 20170822 : Pat Buchanan ( Aug 22, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170820 : McMaster solidifies power at NSC -- and supports Iran deal, sees Israel as occupier by Philip Weiss ( Aug 05, 2017 , mondoweiss.net )
    • 20170820 : Mr. Bannon's disdain for General McMaster also accelerated his demise ( Aug 20, 2017 , www.msn.com )
    • 20170820 : Breitbart Goes After Ivanka And McMaster ( Aug 20, 2017 , dailycaller.com )
    • 20170820 : Breitbart goes after McMaster ( Aug 20, 2017 , thehill.com )
    • 20170820 : The Bannon - McMaster war can be very easily explained ( Aug 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170820 : Stick a fork in Trump. He's done. ( Aug 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170818 : Steve Bannon goes as the military takes over the Trump administration by Alexander Mercouris ( Aug 18, 2017 , theduran.com )
    • 20170818 : Pentagon took over White house: The firing of Bannon leaves the Generals without an opposing view. They will no longer be contradicted ( Aug 18, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170818 : Banish Bannon Trump weighs his options as top aides feud Defend Democracy Press ( Aug 18, 2017 , www.defenddemocracy.press )
    • 20170818 : Alt-Right and Ultra-Zionist Alliance against National Security Advisor McMaster ( Aug 18, 2017 , therealnews.com )
    • 20170818 : I'm somewhat surprised that Peter Escpbar did not mention the Western supplied chemical weapon components recently captured by the SAA and prominently displayed by Russia's Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affair s-- news kept out by Charlottesville ( Aug 18, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170817 : Grown-ups Versus Ideologues The Media Narrative of the White House May Be All Wrong ( Aug 17, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170816 : Dont be Fooled, the CIA was Only Half the Problem in Syria Defend Democracy Press by Steven MacMillan ( August 2, 2017 www.defenddemocracy.press )
    • 20170814 : Slouching Toward Mar-a-Lago ( Aug 14, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170812 : Memo by Former Aide Warns of Leftist Conspiracy Against Trump ( Aug 12, 2017 , www.msn.com )
    • 20170810 : I sense a developing narrative that erases any and all responsibility of Western political leaders for the Syrian disaster ( Aug 10, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170810 : I think the USA neocons first hoped to forestall any intervention by keeping Russia busy elsewhere (Ukraine, economic troubles, etc.). And threats that if Russia did intervene, it would "pay heavy price" an true Russian passenger jet was blow in the air, while there had been no such terror attack against USA. ( Aug 10, 2017 , jackrabbit.blog )
    • 20170809* Force Multipliers and 21st Century Imperial Warfare Practice and Propaganda by Maximilian C. Forte ( Nov 08, 2015 , zeroanthropology.net ) [Recommended]
    • 20170809 : Economic Principals a weekly column about economics and politics, formerly of The Boston Globe, independent since 2002 Page ( Aug 09, 2017 , www.economicprincipals.com )
    • 20170809 : I think the USA neocons first hoped to forestall any intervention by keeping Russia busy elsewhere (Ukraine, economic troubles, etc.). And threats that if Russia did intervene, it would "pay heavy price" an true Russian passenger jet was blow in the air, while there had been no such terror attack against USA. ( Aug 09, 2017 , jackrabbit.blog )
    • 20170809 : The current CIA-led regime change operation in Venezuela seems to be following the same script as used in Ukraine and Syria with armed oppostion attacks on state forces, ignored by the western media who focus solely on presenting what appears to be unprovoked attacks against hapless protestors. If the CIA has their way, the next stage should be mysterious snipers shooting both sides. ( Aug 09, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170809 : Trump adviser fired over memo warning of globalist-Islamist 'deep state' ( Aug 08, 2017 , www.wnd.com )
    • 20170801 : Gareth Porter on Barack Obama's policy of arming jihadists in Syria ( Aug 01, 2017 , www.libertarianinstitute.org )
    • 20170731 : How Romney Loyalists Hijacked Trumps Foreign Policy ( Jul 31, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170730 : Derek Harvey - one less neocon ( Jul 30, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170730 : Kelly vs the Mooch ( Jul 29, 2017 , turcopolier.typepad.com )
    • 20170730 : Night of the Little Knives - Reince Priebus Out, Former General John Kelly In ( Jul 28, 2017 , jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com )
    • 20170729 : Trump Faces Down the CIA and Co-Opts the Pentagon on Syria (for the time being) by Glen Ford ( Jul 27, 2017 , www.informationclearinghouse.info )
    • 20170728 : Tucker and Tulsi on Syria vs CIAria ( Jul 28, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170728 : Trump End the Syria War Now ( Jul 28, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170728 : The Syrian army were standing up to Isis long before the Americans ever fired a missile ( Jul 28, 2017 , independent.co.uk )
    • 20170727 : Propaganda Techniques of Empire by James Petras ( Jul 27, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170726 : The Bulgarian revelations about the existence of a vast arms traffic to syriamilitanst set up by General David Petraeu ( Jul 25, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170725 : Thomas acknowledged that American forces are fighting in a sovereign Syria, where they will likely have no ability to stay if that presence is questioned in terms of international law. Although Im sure that the State Department/Pentagon lawyers are looking for a reason to stay. ( Jul 23, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170725 : Whether or not the arming and financing of ISIS groups was "accidental" or "deliberate" remains something of an open question; most likely the actual US policy from 2011-2012 onwards was to give support to anyone trying to overthrow Assad's government regardless of affiliation. ( Jul 25, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170725 : Pat Buchanan ( Jul 25, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170725 : Political Islam as the way to slow down the industrialization of Arab nations ( Jul 25, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170723 : MoA - Murder, Spies And Weapons - Three Fascinating 'Deep State' Stories ( Jul 23, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170722 : Multiple and illegal US Troop Locations in Syria ( Jul 21, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170720 : Trump orders the CIA to halt all financial, military aid for rebels in Syria ( Jul 20, 2017 , moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170720 : Training Jihadists for Syria Operations: Whistleblowers Speak ( Jul 20, 2017 , moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170719 : Vassals sometimes behave like stooges: EU puts sanctions on Syrian scientists, military officials over non-existent gas attack and prohibit selling inflatable boats to Libya, which they destroyed ( Jul 19, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170719 : On Crapified News And Foreign Policy ( Jul 19, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170714 : Is Killing Leaders Useful Or Not - U.S. Centcom Can't Decide ( Jul 14, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170714 : The US dilemma over Syria is that, if they stop financing the proxy forces, then Syria will establish economic cooperation with Iran. There's no doubt at all that it was the expansion of Syria-Iran economic cooperation that motivated the Syrian regime change games of Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration (Israel and Saudi Arabia, too) ( Jul 14, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170712 : The Syrian Test of the Trump-Putin Accord by Ray McGovern ( Jul 10, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170711 : The Consequences of Donald Trump Jr.s Stupidity ( Jul 11, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170711 : Mattis still seems stuck with his Iran obsession. Shame I thought he had the intellectual curiosity to adapt. ( Jul 11, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170711 : While Trump Talks, The Pentagon Balks by Finian Cunningham ( Jul 11, 2017 , www.informationclearinghouse.info )
    • 20170711 : There's No Strategy Behind Trump's Wars -- Only Brute Force ( Jul 11, 2017 , fpif.org )
    • 20170711 : I think that the prospects for US-Russia cooperation in Syria are not very good and the reason for that is that the U.S. and Russia are diametrically opposed on the issue of Iran and Iranian influence in the region ( Jul 11, 2017 , http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19511:Trump-&-Putin-Talk,-But-US-Russia-Confrontation-Lingers"therealnews.com )
    • 20170710 : Egyptian Daily Releases Documents of Saudi Crown Prince's Support for ISIL, Al-Qaeda Egyptian Daily Releases Documents of Saudi Crown Prince's Support for ISIL, Al-Qaeda ( Jul 10, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170709 : New Syria Ceasefire Deal May Be US Attempt to Save Rebels From Defeat by Sputnik News ( Jul 07, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20170707 : U.S. MILITARY OFFICIALS THERE WAS NO CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK IN SYRIA TRUMP BOMBED SYRIA DESPITE ADVICE FROM MILITARY ( Jul 07, 2017 , www.ascertainthetruth.com )
    • 20170707 : Tillerson Russia Must Ensure Syria Does Not 'Illegitimately' Retake Its Territory ( Jul 07, 2017 , russia-insider.com )
    • 20170706 : Quatar did not fold: the conflect between countries_supporting juhadists continues unabated ( Jul 06, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170703 : Mohammed ben Salmane takes power at Riyadh ( Jul 03, 2017 , www.voltairenet.org )
    • 20170703 : Erdogans Silent Backers Who Egged Turkish Leader to Attack Su24 ( Nov 30, 2015 , sputniknews.com )
    • 20170703 : The demise of the Caliph and the origin of the Islamic State ( Jul 03, 2017 , www.voltairenet.org )
    • 20170703 : Internal Communications Show Syrian War Is a Lie, Russia Could Crush US Military ( Jul 03, 2017 , www.ascertainthetruth.com )
    • 20170703 : Adjustements in the Middle East by Thierry Meyssan ( Jun 20, 2017 , www.voltairenet.org )
    • 20170702 : It would seem that the CIA control of the USA media is complete ( Jul 02, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170701 : Deception Inside Deception The Alleged Sarin Gas Attack by Paul Craig Roberts ( Jun 30, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170701 : The dogs of war are still barking ( Jul 01, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170701 : Ukraine A New Plan by Hall Gardner ( Jul 01, 2017 , americanaffairsjournal.org )
    • 20170701 : Ex-Weapons Inspector: Trumps Sarin Claims Built on Lie ( Jul 01, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170630 : More clumsy comedy from the Exceptional Nation; America announces that it believes Syria has backed away from its diabolical plan to murder more women and children in another Assad-signature chemical attack ( Jun 30, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170630 : Make No Mistake, We Are Already at War in Syria by Philip Giraldi ( Jun 30, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170630 : After Hersh Investigation, Media Connive in Propaganda War on Syria ( Jun 30, 2017 , www.counterpunch.org )
    • 20170630 : What we see at present in Syria is war between USA and collaborators, as Israel, Germany, France and the Netherlands, against Russia, Assad and Iran, ( Jun 30, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170628 : Bashar al-Assad visits Russian air base in Syria after US warning ( Jun 28, 2017 , telegraph.co.uk )
    • 20170628 : Trump Has Been Continuing Obamas Syria-Policy by Eric Zuesse ( Jun 27, 2017 , off-guardian.org )
    • 20170627 : What this strange USa annoncemnt about forthcoming chemical attack from Sirian foverment on ISI (althout in the past reverse was true) might mean ( Jun 27, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170627 : US may preempt an Assad chemical strike in Syria ( Jun 27, 2017 , app.debka.com )
    • 20170627 : In case you did not have time to look for the widely available information on how the US has been supplying certain forces in Syria with various weaponry, including anti aircraft weapons ( Jun 27, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170627 : MoA - White House Says It Will Fake Chemical Weapon Attack In Syria ( Jun 27, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170626* The Soft Coup Under Way In Washington by David Stockman ( Jun 22, 2017 , www.informationclearinghouse.info ) [Recommended]
    • 20170626 : Saudi Hijinks, US Policy Stinks ( marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170626 : The Middle East back in the 1950s under the Baathists was not infected with islamic fundamentalism. It took multi-year and multi-billion Us efforts to propel politicla islam to the level of ISIS ( Jun 26, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170625 : The 6-year-long US intervention in Syria failed to achieve its goals, while causing death of thousand of civilians ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170625 : Syria Trumps Red Line by Seymour M. Hersh ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.welt.de )
    • 20170625 : Macron Breaks With Previous French Policy, Says Sees No Legitimate Successor to Syria's Assad ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.haaretz.com )
    • 20170625 : Locked Into Al-Tanf U.S. Military Concedes It Lost The Race To Occupy South-East Syria ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170625 : The Latest Escalation in Syria – What Is Really Going On - The Unz Review ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170625 : If Russia Wants the Syria Mess, Let Them Have It by Ted Galen Carpente ( Jun 25, 2017 , nationalinterest.org )
    • 20170625 : US Army Preparing to Occupy Large Part of Syria ( Jun 24, 2017 , en.farsnews.com )
    • 20170625 : Everyone is focused on the war in Syria and the turmoil in Yemen and not on the going Israeli land grabs. ( www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170625 : How America Armed Terrorists in Syria ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170625 : Iran's Missile Launch and U.S. Downing a Syrian Jet - Explained ( economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170625 : Trump vision might crystallized as a fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and support for Izrael. While Obama supported it and tolerated its agents in the government, such as Huma Abedin ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170625 : The story about about the legendary Qatari pipeline is probably British fake ( Jun 25, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170624* The Saudi-Qatar spat - the reconciliation offer to be refused>. Qater will move closer to Turkey ( Jun 23, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org ) [Recommended]
    • 20170624 : US invaded Syria conducting military operations in sovereign land and airspace of Syria without the permission of the Syrian government. Unlike Russia, from which Syria officially requested military assistance. ( Jun 24, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170623 : Highly Graphic Video's – White Helmets Film Themselves Participating in Beheading's of Syrian Soldiers ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170623 : King Faisal, supporter of Palestine, became too demanding in 1974. He was killed in 1975 ( Jun 23, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170621 : Accept it. Syria will never get Golan back. Its not right. Its not fair. But sometimes the bad guys win and there is nothing anybody can do about it. ( Jun 21, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170621 : Resist This the United States is at War With Syria ( Jun 21, 2017 , www.counterpunch.org )
    • 20170621 : US Attack Fails To Disrupt Push To Deir Ezzor ( Jun 21, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170621 : A quick reminder, a reality check... the utter stupidity, the illegality of US Syria policy ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170621 : There is no shortage of tiresome Neocons but Lt. Col, Ralph Peterson wrote a particularly vile piece for the NY Post ( Jun 21, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170621 : More Details Appear About US Attack Against Syrian Su-22 ( Jun 20, 2017 , southfront.org )
    • 20170621 : The Problem with Kurdish Independence by Daniel Larison ( Jun 20, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170621 : Somewhat interesting reports the Syrian plane had only been airborne about 15 minutes when it was shot down, reportedly without having delivered its bomb load ( Jun 21, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170620 : James Mattiss Role in Fallujah Haditha Massacre ( Jun 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170620 : General James Mattiss Role in Fallujah Haditha Massacre ( news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170620 : Investigation Did Trumps Defense Secretary Nominee James Mattis Commit War Crimes in Iraq Democracy Now! ( thesaker.is )
    • 20170620 : After the ISIS War, a US-Russia Collision - Antiwar.com Original ( Jun 20, 2017 , original.antiwar.com )
    • 20170620 : My guess is that the Americans are trying very hard to push the SDF/Kurds into conflict with the SAA, by any means necessary ( Jun 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170619 : Syria and Our Illegal Acts of War The American Conservative ( Jun 19, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170619 : Russia Threatens to Attack U.S. Planes in Syria Following Assad Jet Fighter Shootdown - Breitbart ( Jun 19, 2017 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20170619 : MoA - Syria Summary - U.S. Attack Fails To Disrupt Push To Deir Ezzor ( Jun 19, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170618 : Turning to Occupied Syria. ( Jun 18, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170618 : New video footage exposes US military helping ISIS fighters escape Syrian city of Raqqa ( Jun 18, 2017 , theduran.com )
    • 20170617* The Collapsing Social Contract by Gaius Publius ( Jun 16, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170617 : What would US foreign policy look like under President Pence by Hady Amr and Steve Feldstein ( May 25, 2017 , thehill.com )
    • 20170617 : Qatar-Saudi Catfight Unveils Western Terrorist Propaganda Outlets ( Jun 17, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170617 : As Secretary of State Tillerson rightly said: The U.S. has no legal authority to attack Syrian, Iranian or Russian forces. None at all. It is invading Syria with no legitimate reason. Syria, in contrast, has the legal authority to throw the U.S. troops out ( www.unz.com )
    • 20170617 : Pentagon Trained Syrias Al Qaeda Rebels in the Use of Chemical Weapons ( Jun 12, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170617 : Russia, Syria and allies severed the Jordan-Daesh supply route to Deir Ezzor by restoring government control over al-Bawdah north-east of al-Tanf and bordering Iraq ( Jun 09, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170617 : Iran Claims Proof Of Direct US Support For ISIS Days After Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Floats The Idea Zero Hedge ( Jun 14, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170617 : Langleys Jihadists: From the Mujaheddin to ISIL ( Jun 09, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170615 : Mattis Attacks on Syrian Forces Were Self-Defense by Jason Ditz ( Jun 13, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170615 : Pentagon Agrees To Sell $12 Billion In F-15s To Qatar Zero Hedge ( Jun 14, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170614 : Are We Nearing Civil War by Patrick J. Buchanan ( Jun 14, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170613 : After US intevertions the entire Middle East situation is now a gigantic mess ( Jun 13, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170613 : As early as 2011, the U.S. was arming Syrian dissidents from the arsenals in Libya, flying in weapons to Turkey to hand over to the rebels. ( Jun 13, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170612 : Trump Just Dropped Chemical Weapons in a Major City, 100,000 Civilians Trapped ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170612 : When the US regime wants to overthrow the goverment of the next country, they are not going to be able to get the UN to go along with their plans ( Jun 12, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170610 : Krugman is a political hack for Clinton wing of Democratic Party and as such can not see was is wrong with Dems and what needs to be done after Hillary Fiasco ( Jun 10, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170610 : In Europe, right-wing parties are preaching herrenvolk social democracy, a welfare state but only for selected groups. In America, however, Trump_vs_deep_state is faux populism that appeals to white identity but actually serves plutocrats ( Jun 10, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170609 : Saudi Arabias Coalition Could Accidentally Unleash Iran ( Jun 09, 2017 , nationalinterest.org )
    • 20170606 : US-led coalition destroys Syrian government forces within de-confliction zone - Pentagon ( Jun 06, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170604 : Syrian Madness: Neocons The Anti-Realists by Robert Parry ( Jan 17, 2015 , consortiumnews.com )
    • 20170604 : MUHAYSINI BOOTED OUT OF JARJANAAZ BY ENRAGED CITIZENS; SYRIAN ARMY GRINDS ISIS INTO DUST IN ALEPPO; ADRIFT IN THE NEAR EAST ( Jun 04, 2017 , syrianperspective.com )
    • 20170604 : NATO votes to start by getting waist deep into the mess in Syria and Iraq to appease the US ( Jun 04, 2017 , al-monitor.com )
    • 20170531 : Blowing things and people up is seen as a demonstration of clarity and resolve (unless someone is doing it to us, in which case its correctly recognized as cowardly and evil) by John Quiggin ( May 28, 2017 , crookedtimber.org )
    • 20170530 : It is estimated that over 120 ISIS rats were killed in the air raids. Over 500 are reported wounded or missing. Of the 39 pickups traveling in the convoy, 32 were confirmed destroyed. ( May 30, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170529 : Stephen Cohen Will Syrian State Collapse Fall into More Chaos If Assad Is Toppled Democracy Now! by Stephen Cohen ( Apr 13, 2017 , www.democracynow.org )
    • 20170528 : Trump Dancing with Wolves on the Titanic - The Unz Review ( May 28, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170527 : Neoliberals tears about Hillary loss might create dragons teeth effect ( May 27, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170523* Are they really out to get Trump by Philip Girald ( May 16, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170523 : Trump Backs Sunni Radical Islam over Moderate Shi'ism ( May 23, 2017 , www.strategic-culture.org )
    • 20170523 : Partitioning Syria is now on US agenda ( May 23, 2017 , www.strategic-culture.org )
    • 20170523 : Talking Tactics, Lacking Strategy - The Generals On Syria And Iraq ( May 23, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170522 : Making this event even more scandalous than the war crime which it all ready objectively is, is the fact that the attack occurred inside one of the de-escalation zones ( May 18, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170522 : U.S. Attacks Syrian Government Forces - It Now Has To Make Its Choice ( May 22, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170521* What Obsessing About Trump Causes Us To Miss by Andrew Bacevich ( May 08, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170521* WhateverGate -- The Crazed Quest To Find Some Reason (Any Reason!) To Dump Trump by John Derbyshire ( May 21, 2017 , www.unz.com ) [Recommended]
    • 20170521* Speech of Lavrov at the Military Academy of the General Staff ( Apr 02, 2017 , thesaker.is ) [Recommended]
    • 20170520 : Still Chasing the Wrong Rainbows by Andrew Bacevich ( May 20, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170519 : The US hit a combination of Syrian and Iraqi Shia forces, not the SAA alone. The fact is that Syria and Iraq are attempting to reestablish road contacts with another in southern Syria territory ( May 19, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170516 : Trump facing shark tank feeding frenzy from military industrial media ( May 16, 2017 , www.rt.com )
    • 20170516 : Donald Trump may finally begin THE PURGE Today! ( May 16, 2017 , www.eutimes.net )
    • 20170516 : The Real Meaning of Sensitive Intelligence by Philip Giraldi ( May 16, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170515 : Trump fires FBI director James Comey, Swamp Goes Wild ( May 10, 2017 , www.eutimes.net )
    • 20170514 : Turkish-American relations at crossroads by M.K. Bhadrakumar ( May 14, 2017 , www.atimes.com )
    • 20170510 : Will Trumps Firing of FBI Director James Comey Be His Saturday Night Massacre? (Updated) ( May 09, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170510 : Trump Fires FBI Boss James Comey - Its About Time ( May 10, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170508 : Before calling this an act of deliberate betrayal think about bad cop/good cop ploy. DNC democrats gave us deregulation, killed GlassSteagall, refused to prosecute banksters, gave us a hokey republican health insurance plan, tried to give us TPP, continued more ME wars, screw with Russia ( May 08, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170505 : Wag The Dog - How Al Qaeda Played Donald Trump And The American Media ( May 05, 2017 , www.huffingtonpost.com )
    • 20170501 : Here is Why We Should not Laugh at Donald Trumps 100-Day Faceplant by Jon Schwarz ( Apr 29, 2017 , theintercept.com )
    • 20170428 : I seem to recall Ivanka telling Leslie Stahl she would be just a daughter and stay in NY. Now shes ordering up missile strikes. ( Apr 28, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170428 : The Final Stage of the Machiavellian Elites Takeover of America by Paul Fitzgerald & Elizabeth Gould ( www.truthdig.com )
    • 20170428 : The US is at last facing the neocon captivity ( May 19, 2015 , mondoweiss.net t )
    • 20170428 : Former President Obama Has a New Job Control the Official Narrative of American Exceptionalism - Truthdig ( Apr 28, 2017 , www.truthdig.com )
    • 20170427 : Wall Street Journal Reports on Appearance of Private Equity Self-Dealing at Blackstone and Other Firms Nearly Four Years After We Broke the Story ( Apr 27, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170426 : Trumps Aggressions in Syria Will Have Long-Term Consequences ( Apr 26, 2017 , www.activistpost.com )
    • 20170426 : Did Assad Order the Syrian Gas Attack ( Apr 25, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170426 : Ron Paul on New Syria Sanctions and Still Unproven Gas Attack Claim ( Apr 25, 2017 , www.antiwar.com )
    • 20170424 : The Honeymoon of the Generals ( Apr 24, 2017 , antiwar.com )
    • 20170424 : Debunking Trumps Casus Belli ( Apr 24, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170424 : Trump and the Thucydides Trap The American Conservative ( Apr 24, 2017 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20170421 : Trump has lost control over the Pentagon ( thesaker.is )
    • 20170421 : West does not want to investigate incident in Idlib, Russian diplomat says ( Apr 21, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170421 : First Transgender President Trump Becomes Hillary by Fred Reed ( Apr 20, 2017 , unz.com )
    • 20170420 : Only Chlorine, Not Sarin, Involved In The Khan Sheikhun Incident ( Apr 20, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170420 : Oliver Stone Rages Against The Deep States Wonderful Job Of Throwing America Into Chaos ( Apr 20, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170419 : Bannons Worldview Dissecting the Message of The Fourth Turning ( Apr 19, 2017 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20170419 : Wikileaks Hillary Clinton Told Al Qaeda Is On Our Side ( Apr 19, 2017 , www.eutimes.net )
    • 20170419 : Russia should be persistent and keep pressuring UNSC for investigation. This must not be swept under the rug. ( Apr 19, 2017 , theduran.com )
    • 20170418 : Tulsi Gabbard seems to be one of the few principled politicians in this case and for that she is marginalized for saying what few others have the moral courage to say. Many on the left are hoping she will run in 2020 for President. ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170418 : How the U.S. Government Spins the Story by Philip Giraldi ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170418 : NSC has been filled with McMaster loyalists aka Neocon preemptive strikers ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170418 : NSC has been filled w/McMaster loyalists aka Neocon/preemptive-strikers versus the Flynn/Bannon camp aka pragmatic-realists ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170418 : Russian Defence Minsitry No one has asked for antidotes or medicines around location of alleged Idlib chemical attack ( Apr 18, 2017 , theduran.com )
    • 20170418 : Attack Against Syria and the Region Speaking Up ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.informationclearinghouse.info )
    • 20170418 : Putin Syria Chemical Attack Was 'False Flag,' More 'Provocations' Coming ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20170418 : Apparently, we only care when "beautiful, beautiful babies" are killed. ( Apr 18, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170417 : US Attack on Syria Cements Kremlins Embrace of Assad ( Apr 17, 2017 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20170417 : The pot calling the kettle black ( Apr 16, 2017 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20170417 : Trump is escalating foreign conflicts ( Apr 17, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170417 : The Syria Strikes A Conspiracy Theory ( Apr 17, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170417 : The cruise missile attack was planned several days before it actually happened. Most likely, the attack was decided on before the Ross left Rota on April 3 ( Apr 14, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170417 : Meanwhile, overwhelming majority of US political elite is generally an office plankton with law or political science (or journalism--which is not a profession or a skill) ( Apr 17, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170417 : Did Al Qaeda Fool The White House Again ( Apr 17, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170417 : News became propaganda when alternative viewpoints are not fairly represented or worse, supressed ( Apr 17, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170416 : Joe Scarborough Giddy Over Souring Russian-US Relations, Says Russia is Helpless to Protect Syria ( Apr 16, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170416 : Trumps Beautiful Syria Airstrike and What It Means Opinion teleSUR English ( Apr 16, 2017 , www.telesurtv.net )
    • 20170416 : Bolivia UN Envoy on Syria Attack History Teaches Us that US Lies to Justify Wars ( Apr 07, 2017 , telesurtv.net )
    • 20170415 : The Nerve Agent Attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria (+Addendum) - The Unz Review ( Apr 15, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170415 : Syria Where the Rubber Meets the Road - The Unz Review ( Apr 15, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170415 : 3-31-17 Arnaldo Claudio on National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMasters human rights violations of Iraqis in 2005 ( Apr 15, 2017 , www.libertarianinstitute.org )
    • 20170415 : Man made political and economic institutions underlie economic success or lack of it ( Apr 15, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170415 : Report issued on April 11 consciously use false claims for justifying a war of aggression act against Syria supporting ISIS: ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170415 : Top Ten Reasons To Doubt Official Story On Assad Poison-Gas Attack ( Apr 15, 2017 , www.globalresearch.ca )
    • 20170415 : Why Is Trump Fighting ISIS in Syria ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20170415 : Russia Says Evidence Growing Syria Chemical Attack Was Staged ( Apr 15, 2017 , www.bloomberg.com )
    • 20170413 : Syria Accuses US Of Hitting ISIS Chemical Weapons Depot Killing Hundreds; Russia Sends Drones Zero Hedge ( Apr 13, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170413 : The Escalating War on Syria and Need for International Law Opinion teleSUR English ( Apr 13, 2017 , www.telesurtv.net )
    • 20170413 : Former GM Vice Chair Trashes Tesla Musk Is A Great Salesman But Theyre Doomed. Its Going To Fail ( Apr 13, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170413 : Simply no incentive for the SAF to launch a chemical weapons attack. ( Apr 13, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170413 : Is it hard to wonder why Syrians might hold a grudge against the US? ( Apr 13, 2017 , discussion.theguardian.com )
    • 20170413 : Former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern debunks the alleged Syria 'Chemical Attack' ( Apr 09, 2017 , gosint.wordpress.com )
    • 20170413 : Former DIA Colonel: "US strikes on Syria based on a lie" ( Apr 07, 2017 , gosint.wordpress.com )
    • 20170413 : The problem with handing an ultimatum, is what will the US do when Russia rejects and ignores the ultimatum? More harsh words? More name calling? More sanctions. I think Russia is prepared for any eventuality. ( Apr 13, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170412 : Outraged Ivanka influenced Donald Trumps decision to strike Syria, Eric Trump says ( Apr 12, 2017 , watoday.com.au )
    • 20170412 : Did Assad Really Use Sarin ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.counterpunch.org )
    • 20170412 : With Bannon and Kushner not getting along, well, it's a slam dunk that Bannon's out. ( www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170412 : White House Intelligence Assessment Is No-Such-Thing - Shows Support for Al-Qaeda ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170412 : Those interested in how the MSM fell in love with terrorists in Syria should go back and check out Charlie Skeltons illuminating piece from The Guardian 2012 ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170412 : Mattis US-Russia Tensions Wont Spiral Out of Control by Jason Ditz ( Apr 12, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170412 : If Assad is removed, Iran is the next and then Russia ( Apr 12, 2017 , thesaker.is )
    • 20170412 : Look at what the Bolivian representative at the UNSC dared to do: ( Apr 12, 2017 , thesaker.is )
    • 20170412 : US Threatens Further Attacks on Syria ( Apr 12, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170412 : White House claims on Syria chemical attack 'obviously false' – MIT professor ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.rt.com )
    • 20170412 : Did Assad Really Use Sarin ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.counterpunch.org )
    • 20170412 : Putin Will Not Meet Tillerson In Russia, As Confusion Grows Over US Policy Toward Syria ( www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170412 : Arnaldo Claudio on National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMasters human rights violations of Iraqis in 2005 ( Mar 31, 2017 , www.libertarianinstitute.org )
    • 20170412 : The Verifiable Information Vacuum From Syria ( Apr 12, 2017 , original.antiwar.com )
    • 20170412 : US Officials Cant Explain Reason for Syria Chemical Attack ( Apr 12, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170412 : Tillerson Meets Putin; Visit Polite But Major Differences Remain ( Apr 12, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170412 : Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson: The Syrian chemical attack story is a hoax ( Apr 10, 2017 , gosint.wordpress.com )
    • 20170412 : US-Russia relations at a low, says Tillerson after meeting with Putin ( Apr 12, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170412 : A multi-level analysis of the US cruise missile attack on Syria and its consequences The Vineyard of the Saker ( Apr 12, 2017 , thesaker.is )
    • 20170411 : Is There A New U.S. Syria Policy? Is There One At All? ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170411 : Vladimir Putin claimed ISIS planned false-flag chemical weapon attacks to justify further US missile strikes. ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170411 : Chuck Todd Interviewes Nikki Haley On NBCs Meet The Press ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170411 : The road to war and the death of millions is paved with dead baby propaganda ( Apr 11, 2017 , marknesop.wordpress.com )
    • 20170411 : After Trumps Syria Attack, What Comes Next ( Apr 10, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20170411 : Idlib chemical attack was false flag to set Assad up, more may come – Putin - RT News ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.rt.com )
    • 20170411 : Chuck Todd Interviewes Bernie Sanders On NBCs Meet The Press ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170411 : John McCain interview On CBSs Face the Nation with John Dickerson (4-9-2017) ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170411 : Robert Steele - Inside Source Says Brennan, McCain McMaster Responsible for Syrian False Flag ( Apr 10, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170411 : Mattis Syria Will Not Spiral Out Of Control ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170411 : If US succeeds in regime change future bands of terrorists attacking the infidel will be trained in Aleppo ( Apr 11, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170411 : The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity Why Does Assad Have To Go -- With Lew Rockwell ( Apr 11, 2017 , ronpaulinstitute.org )
    • 20170411 : US Bolsters Protection of Ground Troops in Syria as Tensions Rise Growing Concerns Last Week's Strikes Could Fuel Retaliation ( Apr 11, 2017 , news.antiwar.com )
    • 20170411 : Donald Trump surrendered to neocons and sacrificed his Syrian policy in hope to squash Russian-ties witch hunt against him and his close allies ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170411 : Russian MoD US Missile Attack on Syrian Airbase was Prepared Long Time Ago ( Apr 11, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170411 : Something about typical narrow-minded, provincial neocon chichenhawks ( Apr 11, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170411 : The US should have supported a through UN investigation and international law in regard to the gas attacks in Syria. ( Apr 11, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170410 : If US succeeds in regime change future bands of terrorists attacking the infidel will be trained in Aleppo ( Apr 10, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170410 : That was roundly 30 tons of weight. ( Apr 10, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170410 : The Sarin Gas Attack In Syria Ignited an Information Battle ( Apr 10, 2017 , www.defenseone.com )
    • 20170409 : Tucker Carlson Takes on Sen Graham After Syrian Strikes ( www.youtube.com )
    • 20170409 : You would hope that our independent media might ask some important questions, rather than simply swallow the narrative our governments feed them ( Apr 09, 2017 , discussion.theguardian.com )
    • 20170409 : The re bels will now have an incentive to fake another chemical attack and bring the US fully into the war with Syria and Russia. Syria will then be left to the warring factions to fight it out just like Libya and Iraq. ( Apr 09, 2017 , discussion.theguardian.com )
    • 20170409 : Miilitary brass notes only 40% of Tomahawk missiles fired hit targeted Syrian base ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170409 : The Syrian military denies using chemical weapons ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.jacobinmag.com )
    • 20170409 : If Trump says Assad is responsible Assad is responsible. Trump doesnt need evidence. Not even a dodgy dossier. ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170409 : The USA and its allies such as Turkey and KSA invested six billions or so building insurgency supplying them with weapons (including some from Lybia) ( Apr 09, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170409 : No evidence of air attack using low or no explosive type cluster munitions which are needed for this type of ordinance ( Apr 09, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170409 : False flag or not ? ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170409 : This is Colin Powell's justification for Iraq war all over again ( Apr 09, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170409 : Even the liberals were all over this -- Bill Maher disgusted by the cable news response to Syria ( www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20170409 : Former CIA Officer The Intelligence Confirms The Russian Account On Syria ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170409 : Russian FM US Secretary of State discuss US strike on Syria in phone call ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.rt.com )
    • 20170409 : Trump now supports removal of Assad and another American led genocide ( Apr 09, 2017 , discussion.theguardian.com )
    • 20170409 : Trump, Syria, and Chemical Weapons What We Know, What We Dont, and the Dangers Ahead naked capitalism ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170409 : Russia condemns US missile strike on Syria, suspends key air agreement by David Filipov ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20170409 : Is Assad to blame for the chemical weapons attack in Syria? ( Apr 09, 2017 , www.dw.com )
    • 20170408 : Was Trumps Syria Strike Illegal? ( Apr 08, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170408 : Theyre terrified that peace was going to break out – Ron Paul on US Syria strike ( Apr 08, 2017 , www.rt.com )
    • 20170408 : US just flew tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) in order to support al Qaeda, acting essentially as Al Qaeda air force. ( Apr 08, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170407 : US Launches Airstrikes Against Syria (Updated) ( Apr 07, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170407 : This Fishy Smell of Sarin, or Was It Chlorine? ( Apr 07, 2017 , www.unz.com )
    • 20170407 : Syria The Toxic Meltdown ( Apr 07, 2017 , sputniknews.com )
    • 20170407 : Ron Paul Zero Chance Assad Behind Chemical Weapons Attack In Syria; Likely A False Flag Zero Hedge ( Apr 06, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170407 : Trump took Hillary Clintons advice to bomb Assad Air Bases ( Apr 07, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170407 : Tillerson Warns Russia Coalition Steps Are Underway To Remove Assad ( Apr 07, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170407 : Trump Orders Strikes Against Syrian Regime Airbase in Response to Chemical Attack ( Apr 07, 2017 , www.breitbart.com )
    • 20170407 : Missile strike demonstrates American leadership. Always bipartisan support for that ( Apr 07, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170407 : MoA - WMDs In The UNSC - History Repeats Itself, First As Tragedy, Second As Farce ( Apr 07, 2017 , www.moonofalabama.org )
    • 20170406 : Where are canisters and where are bomblets. ( Apr 06, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170404 : The pursuit of Trump may have caught the Obama White House ( Apr 04, 2017 , www.washingtonpost.com )
    • 20170404 : Drones, special operations, CIA arms supplies, military advisers, aerial bombings - the whole nine yards. ( Apr 04, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170404 : No Evidence That Khan Sheikhoun Gas Attack Resulted From Aerial Bombardment ( Apr 04, 2017 , www.therussophile.org )
    • 20170402 : How Obama White House Weaponized Media Against Trump ( Apr 02, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170401 : What Devin Nunes Knows ( Apr 01, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170401 : Sean Spicer Repeats Trump s Unproven Wiretapping Allegation ( Apr 01, 2017 , www.nytimes.com )
    • 20170309 : Wiretarring scandal is a sign of empire in decay ( Mar 08, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170306 : Victim of Obama Administration Surveillance Order, James Rosen, Discusses His Experiences, says Trump Wiretape Plausible ( Mar 06, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170305 : Senator Sasse Issues Statement On Trumps Very Serious Wiretapping Allegations ( Mar 04, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170305 : Obama Advisor Rhodes Is Wrong: The President Can Order A Wiretap, And Why Trump May Have The Last Laugh ( Mar 04, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170304 : Obama Slams False Trump Accusation, Says Never Ordered Wiretapping ( Mar 04, 2017 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20170220 : Trump Chooses General McMaster as National Security Adviser ( Feb 20, 2017 , economistsview.typepad.com )
    • 20170219 : The swamp fights back ( Feb 19, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20170129 : How Obama Framed Trump with Faux Mortgage Insurance Rate Decrease ( Jan 29, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170124 : The Definitive Demise of the Debunked Dodgy Dossier on The Donald ( Jan 23, 2017 , www.nakedcapitalism.com )
    • 20170121 : James Mattis confirmed as secretary of defense ( Jan 20, 2017 , www.theguardian.com )
    • 20170121 : Donald Trump Introduced To The Audience At Swearing In Ceremony - YouTube ( Jan 21, 2017 , www.youtube.com )
    • 20161230 : The Coup against Trump and His Military ( Dec 28, 2016 , www.unz.com )
    • 20161113 : Fears that Trump will be tamed by the deep state and neocons ( Nov 13, 2016 , www.zerohedge.com )
    • 20161007 : The media are misleading the public on Syria by Stephen Kinzer ( Feb 18, 2016 , The Boston Globe )
    • 20161005 : The VP Debate and Syria The American Conservative ( Oct 05, 2016 , www.theamericanconservative.com )
    • 20160802 : NSA Architect: Agency Has ALL of Clinton's Deleted Emails ( www.breitbart.com )

    Old News ;-)

    [Feb 29, 2020] Secret Wars, Forgotten Betrayals, Global Tyranny. Who s Really In Charge Of The US Military by Cynthia Chung

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Thus, it should be no surprise to anyone in the world at this point in history, that the CIA holds no allegiance to any country. And it can be hardly expected that a President, who is actively under attack from all sides within his own country, is in a position to hold the CIA accountable for its past and future crimes ..."
    Jan 21, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

    Authored by Cynthia Chung via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

    "There is a kind of character in thy life, That to the observer doth thy history, fully unfold."

    – William Shakespeare

    Once again we find ourselves in a situation of crisis, where the entire world holds its breath all at once and can only wait to see whether this volatile black cloud floating amongst us will breakout into a thunderstorm of nuclear war or harmlessly pass us by. The majority in the world seem to have the impression that this destructive fate totters back and forth at the whim of one man. It is only normal then, that during such times of crisis, we find ourselves trying to analyze and predict the thoughts and motives of just this one person. The assassination of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a true hero for his fellow countrymen and undeniably an essential key figure in combating terrorism in Southwest Asia, was a terrible crime, an abhorrently repugnant provocation. It was meant to cause an apoplectic fervour, it was meant to make us who desire peace, lose our minds in indignation. And therefore, that is exactly what we should not do.

    In order to assess such situations, we cannot lose sight of the whole picture, and righteous indignation unfortunately causes the opposite to occur. Our focus becomes narrower and narrower to the point where we can only see or react moment to moment with what is right in front of our face. We are reduced to an obsession of twitter feeds, news blips and the doublespeak of 'official government statements'.

    Thus, before we may find firm ground to stand on regarding the situation of today, we must first have an understanding as to what caused the United States to enter into an endless campaign of regime-change warfare after WWII, or as former Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff Col. Prouty stated, three decades of the Indochina war.

    An Internal Shifting of Chess Pieces in the Shadows

    It is interesting timing that on Sept 2, 1945, the very day that WWII ended, Ho Chi Minh would announce the independence of Indochina. That on the very day that one of the most destructive wars to ever occur in history ended, another long war was declared at its doorstep. Churchill would announce his "Iron Curtain" against communism on March 5th, 1946, and there was no turning back at that point. The world had a mere 6 months to recover before it would be embroiled in another terrible war, except for the French, who would go to war against the Viet Minh opponents in French Indochina only days after WWII was over.

    In a previous paper I wrote titled "On Churchill's Sinews of Peace" , I went over a major re-organisation of the American government and its foreign intelligence bureau on the onset of Truman's de facto presidency. Recall that there was an attempted military coup d'état, which was exposed by General Butler in a public address in 1933, against the Presidency of FDR who was only inaugurated that year. One could say that there was a very marked disapproval from shadowy corners for how Roosevelt would organise the government.

    One key element to this reorganisation under Truman was the dismantling of the previously existing foreign intelligence bureau that was formed by FDR, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) on Sept 20, 1945 only two weeks after WWII was officially declared over. The OSS would be replaced by the CIA officially on Sept 18, 1947, with two years of an American intelligence purge and the internal shifting of chess pieces in the shadows. In addition, de-facto President Truman would also found the United States National Security Council on Sept 18, 1947, the same day he founded the CIA. The NSC was a council whose intended function was to serve as the President's principal arm for coordinating national security, foreign policies and policies among various government agencies.

    In Col. Prouty's book he states,

    " In 1955, I was designated to establish an office of special operations in compliance with National Security Council (NSC) Directive #5412 of March 15, 1954. This NSC Directive for the first time in the history of the United States defined covert operations and assigned that role to the Central Intelligence Agency to perform such missions , provided they had been directed to do so by the NSC, and further ordered active-duty Armed Forces personnel to avoid such operations. At the same time, the Armed Forces were directed to "provide the military support of the clandestine operations of the CIA" as an official function . "

    What this meant, was that there was to be an intermarriage of the foreign intelligence bureau with the military, and that the foreign intelligence bureau would act as top dog in the relationship, only taking orders from the NSC. Though the NSC includes the President, as we will see, the President is very far from being in the position of determining the NSC's policies.

    An Inheritance of Secret Wars

    " There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare. "

    – Sun Tzu

    On January 20th, 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President of the United States. Along with inheriting the responsibility of the welfare of the country and its people, he was to also inherit a secret war with communist Cuba run by the CIA.

    JFK was disliked from the onset by the CIA and certain corridors of the Pentagon, they knew where he stood on foreign matters and that it would be in direct conflict for what they had been working towards for nearly 15 years. Kennedy would inherit the CIA secret operation against Cuba, which Prouty confirms in his book, was quietly upgraded by the CIA from the Eisenhower administration's March 1960 approval of a modest Cuban-exile support program (which included small air drop and over-the-beach operations) to a 3,000 man invasion brigade just before Kennedy entered office.

    This was a massive change in plans that was determined by neither President Eisenhower, who warned at the end of his term of the military industrial complex as a loose cannon, nor President Kennedy, but rather the foreign intelligence bureau who has never been subject to election or judgement by the people. It shows the level of hostility that Kennedy encountered as soon as he entered office, and the limitations of a President's power when he does not hold support from these intelligence and military quarters.

    Within three months into JFK's term, Operation Bay of Pigs (April 17th to 20th 1961) was scheduled. As the popular revisionist history goes; JFK refused to provide air cover for the exiled Cuban brigade and the land invasion was a calamitous failure and a decisive victory for Castro's Cuba. It was indeed an embarrassment for President Kennedy who had to take public responsibility for the failure, however, it was not an embarrassment because of his questionable competence as a leader. It was an embarrassment because, had he not taken public responsibility, he would have had to explain the real reason why it failed. That the CIA and military were against him and that he did not have control over them. If Kennedy were to admit such a thing, he would have lost all credibility as a President in his own country and internationally, and would have put the people of the United States in immediate danger amidst a Cold War.

    What really occurred was that there was a cancellation of the essential pre-dawn airstrike, by the Cuban Exile Brigade bombers from Nicaragua, to destroy Castro's last three combat jets. This airstrike was ordered by Kennedy himself. Kennedy was always against an American invasion of Cuba, and striking Castro's last jets by the Cuban Exile Brigade would have limited Castro's threat, without the U.S. directly supporting a regime change operation within Cuba. This went fully against the CIA's plan for Cuba.

    Kennedy's order for the airstrike on Castro's jets would be cancelled by Special Assistant for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy, four hours before the Exile Brigade's B-26s were to take off from Nicaragua, Kennedy was not brought into this decision. In addition, the Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles, the man in charge of the Bay of Pigs operation was unbelievably out of the country on the day of the landings.

    Col. Prouty, who was Chief of Special Operations during this time, elaborates on this situation:

    " Everyone connected with the planning of the Bay of Pigs invasion knew that the policy dictated by NSC 5412, positively prohibited the utilization of active-duty military personnel in covert operations. At no time was an "air cover" position written into the official invasion plan The "air cover" story that has been created is incorrect. "

    As a result, JFK who well understood the source of this fiasco, set up a Cuban Study Group the day after and charged it with the responsibility of determining the cause for the failure of the operation. The study group, consisting of Allen Dulles, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, Adm. Arleigh Burke and Attorney General Robert Kennedy (the only member JFK could trust), concluded that the failure was due to Bundy's telephone call to General Cabell (who was also CIA Deputy Director) that cancelled the President's air strike order.

    Kennedy had them.

    Humiliatingly, CIA Director Allen Dulles was part of formulating the conclusion that the Bay of Pigs op was a failure because of the CIA's intervention into the President's orders. This allowed for Kennedy to issue the National Security Action Memorandum #55 on June 28th, 1961, which began the process of changing the responsibility from the CIA to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Prouty states,

    " When fully implemented, as Kennedy had planned, after his reelection in 1964, it would have taken the CIA out of the covert operation business. This proved to be one of the first nails in John F. Kennedy's coffin. "

    If this was not enough of a slap in the face to the CIA, Kennedy forced the resignation of CIA Director Allen Dulles, CIA Deputy Director for Plans Richard M. Bissell Jr. and CIA Deputy Director Charles Cabell.

    In Oct 1962, Kennedy was informed that Cuba had offensive Soviet missiles 90 miles from American shores. Soviet ships with more missiles were on their way towards Cuba but ended up turning around last minute. Rumours started to abound that JFK had cut a secret deal with Russian Premier Khrushchev, which was that the U.S. would not invade Cuba if the Soviets withdrew their missiles. Criticisms of JFK being soft on communism began to stir.

    NSAM #263, closely overseen by Kennedy, was released on Oct 11th, 1963, and outlined a policy decision " to withdraw 1,000 military personnel [from Vietnam] by the end of 1963 " and further stated that " It should be possible to withdraw the bulk of U.S. personnel [including the CIA and military] by 1965. " The Armed Forces newspaper Stars and Stripes had the headline U.S. TROOPS SEEN OUT OF VIET BY '65. Kennedy was winning the game and the American people.

    This was to be the final nail in Kennedy's coffin.

    Kennedy was brutally shot down only one month later, on Nov, 22nd 1963. His death should not just be seen as a tragic loss but, more importantly, it should be recognised for the successful military coup d'état that it was and is . The CIA showed what lengths it was ready to go to if a President stood in its way. (For more information on this coup refer to District Attorney of New Orleans at the time, Jim Garrison's book . And the excellently researched Oliver Stone movie "JFK")

    Through the Looking Glass

    On Nov. 26th 1963, a full four days after Kennedy's murder, de facto President Johnson signed NSAM #273 to begin the change of Kennedy's policy under #263. And on March 4th, 1964, Johnson signed NSAM #288 that marked the full escalation of the Vietnam War and involved 2,709,918 Americans directly serving in Vietnam, with 9,087,000 serving with the U.S. Armed Forces during this period.

    The Vietnam War, or more accurately the Indochina War, would continue for another 12 years after Kennedy's death, lasting a total of 20 years for Americans.

    Scattered black ops wars continued, but the next large scale-never ending war that would involve the world would begin full force on Sept 11, 2001 under the laughable title War on Terror, which is basically another Iron Curtain, a continuation of a 74 year Cold War. A war that is not meant to end until the ultimate regime changes are accomplished and the world sees the toppling of Russia and China. Iraq was destined for invasion long before the vague Gulf War of 1990 and even before Saddam Hussein was being backed by the Americans in the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. Iran already suffered a CIA backed regime change in 1979.

    It had been understood far in advance by the CIA and US military that the toppling of sovereignty in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran needed to occur before Russia and China could be taken over. Such war tactics were formulaic after 3 decades of counterinsurgency against the CIA fueled "communist-insurgency" of Indochina. This is how today's terrorist-inspired insurgency functions, as a perfect CIA formula for an endless bloodbath.

    Former CIA Deputy Director (2010-2013) Michael Morell, who was supporting Hillary Clinton during the presidential election campaign and vehemently against the election of Trump, whom he claimed was being manipulated by Putin, said in a 2016 interview with Charlie Rose that Russians and Iranians in Syria should be killed covertly to 'pay the price' .

    Therefore, when a drone stroke occurs assassinating an Iranian Maj. Gen., even if the U.S. President takes onus on it, I would not be so quick as to believe that that is necessarily the case, or the full story. Just as I would not take the statements of President Rouhani accepting responsibility for the Iranian military shooting down 'by accident' the Boeing 737-800 plane which contained 176 civilians, who were mostly Iranian, as something that can be relegated to criminal negligence, but rather that there is very likely something else going on here.

    I would also not be quick to dismiss the timely release, or better described as leaked, draft letter from the US Command in Baghdad to the Iraqi government that suggests a removal of American forces from the country. Its timing certainly puts the President in a compromised situation. Though the decision to keep the American forces within Iraq or not is hardly a simple matter that the President alone can determine. In fact there is no reason why, after reviewing the case of JFK, we should think such a thing.

    One could speculate that the President was set up, with the official designation of the IRGC as "terrorist" occurring in April 2019 by the US State Department, a decision that was strongly supported by both Bolton and Pompeo, who were both members of the NSC at the time. This made it legal for a US military drone strike to occur against Soleimani under the 2001 AUMF, where the US military can attack any armed group deemed to be a terrorist threat. Both Bolton and Pompeo made no secret that they were overjoyed by Soleimani's assassination and Bolton went so far as to tweet "Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran." Bolton has also made it no secret that he is eager to testify against Trump in his possible impeachment trial.

    Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo was recorded at an unknown conference recently, but judging from the gross laughter of the audience it consists of wannabe CIA agents, where he admits that though West Points' cadet motto is "You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.", his training under the CIA was the very opposite, stating " I was the CIA Director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. It was like we had entire training courses. (long pause) It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment. "

    Thus, it should be no surprise to anyone in the world at this point in history, that the CIA holds no allegiance to any country. And it can be hardly expected that a President, who is actively under attack from all sides within his own country, is in a position to hold the CIA accountable for its past and future crimes .

    Tags Politics War Conflict


    ThomasChase1776 , 3 minutes ago link

    General Smedley Butler had an answer. Read his book.

    https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/major-general-smedley-butler

    Is-Be , 8 minutes ago link

    Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a true hero for his fellow countrymen

    All his countrymen?

    Element , 15 minutes ago link

    Who's Really In Charge Of The US Military? - Cynthia Chung via The Strategic Culture Foundation

    Donald Trump, you stupid time-wasting twat .

    ThomasChase1776 , 5 minutes ago link

    LOL. That's a good one.

    Assuming Trump is doing what he said he would, why isn't our military guarding our border?
    Why hasn't our military left the middle east already?

    Who really runs our government?

    InTheLandOfTheBlind , 1 hour ago link

    As much as I hate the CIA, mi6 had more of hand in overthrowing iran than Langley did

    ThomasChase1776 , 4 minutes ago link

    Is that supposed to be an excuse?

    GRDguy , 1 hour ago link

    ". . . the CIA holds no allegiance to any country." But they sure kiss the *** of the financial sociopaths who write their paychecks and finance the black ops.

    ThomasChase1776 , 4 minutes ago link

    and Mossad

    Slaytheist , 1 hour ago link

    Does this bitch not know that the CIA is the currency mafia police....ffs, that's a **** ton of words.

    oneno , 1 hour ago link

    She knows ...

    SRV , 1 hour ago link

    Fletcher Prouty's book The Secret Team is a must read... he was on the inside and watched the formation of the permanent team established in the late 50s that assumed the power of the president.

    JFK fought that team...

    cynicalskeptic , 1 hour ago link

    Look at who the OSS recruited - Ivy League Skull and Bones types from rich families that made their fortunes in often questionable ventures.

    If you're the patriarch of some super wealthy family wouldn't you be thrilled to have younger family members working for the nation's intelligence agencies? Sort of the ultimate in 'inside information'. Plus these families had experience in things like drug smuggling, human trafficking and anything else you can imagine..... While the Brits started the opium trade with China, Americans jumped right in bringing opium from Turkey.

    Didn't take long before the now CIA became owned by the families whose members staffed it.

    InTheLandOfTheBlind , 43 minutes ago link

    Again ignoring the British influence. The CIA does not have a monopoly on intelligence

    Spiritual Anunnaki , 2 hours ago link

    One major aspect pertaining American involvment in Veitnam was something like 90% of the rubber produced Globally came from the region.

    It is more diverse now, being 3rd, with the association revealing that in 2017, Vietnam earned US$2.3 billion from export of 1.4 million tonnes of natural rubber, up 36% in value and 11.4% in volume year on year.

    Haboob , 2 hours ago link

    Fighting for rubber monopoly in Vietnam,fighting for oil monopoly in the middle east.

    That's life.

    Benito_Camela , 1 hour ago link

    Gunboat diplomacy is nothing new. War is and always has been a racket.

    InTheLandOfTheBlind , 38 minutes ago link

    Unfortunately it is a winning racket.

    Art_Vandelay , 2 hours ago link

    Betrayals, secrets, tyranny? Who's in charge? **** Cheney & Co.

    Benito_Camela , 1 hour ago link

    Mike Pimpeo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPt-zXn05ac

    InTheLandOfTheBlind , 36 minutes ago link

    The British crown

    Kan , 2 hours ago link

    Rockfellers formed the OSS then the CIA which is the brute force for the CFR which they also run and own. The bankers run y our country and bought and blackmailed all your politicians... Only buttplug and pedo's get to be in charge now folks.... and some 9th circle witches of course...

    TeethVillage88s , 1 hour ago link

    OSS & CIA were formed from Ivy League Schools/Uni's... who turned out to be Traitors to England & USSR... Same today I

    [Feb 29, 2020] Pompeo lies and smokescreen

    Pompeo has just four terms in the House of Representives befor getting postions of Director of CIA (whichsuggests previous involvement with CIA) and then paradoxically the head of the State Department, He retired from the alry in the rank of comptain and never participated in any battles. He serves only in Germany, and this can be classified as a chickenhawk. He never performed any dyplomatic duries in hs life and a large part of his adult life (1998-2006) was a greddy military contractor.
    Jan 07, 2020 | www.truthdig.com

    UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard tweeted,

    #Pentagon statement on targeted killing of #suleimani :

    1. It mentions that it aimed at "deterring future Iranian attack plans". This however is very vague. Future is not the same as imminent which is the time based test required under international law. (1)

    -- Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 3, 2020

    2. Overall, the statement places far greater emphasis on past activities and violations allegedly commuted by Suleimani. As such the killing appears far more retaliatory for past acts than anticipatory for imminent self defense.

    -- Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 3, 2020

    3. The notion that Suleimani was "actively developing plans" is curious both from a semantic and military standpoint. Is it sufficient to meet the test of mecessity and proportionality?

    -- Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 3, 2020

    4. The statement fails to mention the other individuals killed alongside Suleimani. Collateral? Probably. Unlawful. Absolutely.

    -- Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) January 3, 2020

    [Feb 25, 2020] How John Bolton and a Phony Script Brought Us to the Brink of War by Scott Ritter

    Bolton is a typical "Full Spectrum Dominance" hawk, a breed of chickenhawks that recently proliferated in Washinton corridors of power and which are fed by MIC.
    Notable quotes:
    "... the way the IRGC came to be designated as an FTO is itself predicated on a lie. ..."
    "... The person responsible for this lie is President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, who while in that position oversaw National Security Council (NSC) interagency policy coordination meetings at the White House for the purpose of formulating a unified government position on Iran. Bolton had stacked the NSC staff with hardliners who were pushing for a strong stance. But representatives from the Department of Defense often pushed back . During such meetings, the Pentagon officials argued that the IRGC was "a state entity" (albeit a "bad" one), and that if the U.S. were to designate it as a terrorist group, there was nothing to stop Iran from responding by designating U.S. military personnel or CIA officers as terrorists. ..."
    "... The memoranda on these meetings, consisting of summaries of the various positions put forward, were doctored by the NSC to make it appear as if the Pentagon agreed with its proposed policy. The Defense Department complained to the NSC that the memoranda produced from these meetings were "largely incorrect and inaccurate" -- "essentially fiction," a former Pentagon official claimed. ..."
    "... This was a direct result of the bureaucratic dishonesty of John Bolton. Such dishonesty led to a series of policy decisions that gave a green light to use military force against IRGC targets throughout the Middle East. ..."
    Feb 25, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    President Trump's decision to assassinate Qassem Soleimani back in January took the United States to the brink of war with Iran.

    Trump and his advisors contend that Soleimani's death was necessary to protect American lives, pointing to a continuum of events that began on December 27, when a rocket attack on an American base in Iraq killed a civilian translator. That in turn prompted U.S. airstrikes against a pro-Iranian militia, Khati'ab Hezbollah, which America blamed for the attack. Khati'ab Hezbollah then stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in protest. This reportedly triggered the assassination of Soleimani and a subsequent Iranian retaliatory missile strike on an American base in Iraq. The logic of this continuum appears consistent except for one important fact -- it is all predicated on a lie.

    On the night of December 27, a pickup truck modified to carry a launchpad capable of firing 36 107mm Russian-made rockets was used in an attack on a U.S. military compound located at the K-1 Airbase in Iraq's Kirkuk Province. A total of 20 rockets were loaded onto the vehicle, but only 14 were fired. Some of the rockets struck an ammunition dump on the base, setting off a series of secondary explosions. When the smoke and dust cleared, a civilian interpreter was dead and several other personnel , including four American servicemen and two Iraqi military, were wounded. The attack appeared timed to disrupt a major Iraqi military operation targeting insurgents affiliated with ISIS.

    The area around K-1 is populated by Sunni Arabs, and has long been considered a bastion of ISIS ideology, even if the organization itself was declared defeated inside Iraq back in 2017 by then-prime minister Haider al Abadi. The Iraqi counterterrorism forces based at K-1 consider the area around the base an ISIS sanctuary so dangerous that they only enter in large numbers.

    For their part, the Iraqis had been warning their U.S. counterparts for more than a month that ISIS was planning attacks on K-1. One such report, delivered on November 6, using intelligence dating back to October, was quite specific: "ISIS terrorists have endeavored to target K-1 base in Kirkuk district by indirect fire (Katyusha rockets)."

    Another report, dated December 25, warned that ISIS was attempting to seize territory to the northeast of K-1. The Iraqis were so concerned that on December 27, the day of the attack, they requested that the U.S. keep functional its tethered aerostat-based Persistent Threat Detection System (PTSD) -- a high-tech reconnaissance balloon equipped with multi-mission sensors to provide long endurance intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and communications in support of U.S. and Iraqi forces.

    Instead, the U.S. took the PTSD down for maintenance, allowing the attackers to approach unobserved.

    The Iraqi military officials at K-1 immediately suspected ISIS as the culprit behind the attack. Their logic was twofold. First, ISIS had been engaged in nearly daily attacks in the area for over a year, launching rockets, firing small arms, and planting roadside bombs. Second, according to the Iraqis , "The villages near here are Turkmen and Arab. There is sympathy with Daesh [i.e., ISIS] there."

    As transparent as the Iraqis had been with the U.S. about their belief that ISIS was behind the attack, the U.S. was equally opaque with the Iraqis regarding whom it believed was the culprit. The U.S. took custody of the rocket launcher, all surviving ordnance, and all warhead fragments from the scene.

    U.S. intelligence analysts viewed the attack on K-1 as part of a continuum of attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq since early November 2019. The first attack took place on November 9, against the joint U.S.-Iraqi base at Qayarrah , and was very similar to the one that occurred against K-1 -- some 31 107mm rockets were fired from a pickup truck modified to carry a rocket launchpad. As with K-1, the forces located in Qayarrah were engaged in ongoing operations targeting ISIS, and the territory around the base was considered sympathetic to ISIS. The Iraqi government attributed the attack to unspecified "terrorist" groups.

    The U.S., however, attributed the attacks to Khati'ab Hezbollah, a Shia militia incorporated with the Popular Mobilization Organization (PMO), a pro-Iranian umbrella organization that had been incorporated into the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. The PMO blamed the U.S. for a series of drone strikes against its facilities throughout the summer of 2019. The feeling among the American analysts was that the PMO attacked the bases as a form of retaliation.

    The U.S. launched a series of airstrikes against Khati'ab Hezbollah bases and command posts in Iraq and Syria on December 29, near the Iraqi city of al-Qaim. These attacks were carried out unilaterally, without any effort to coordinate with America's Iraqi counterparts or seek approval from the Iraqi government.

    Khati'ab Hezbollah units had seized al-Qaim from ISIS in November 2017, and then crossed into Syria, where they defeated ISIS fighters dug in around the Syrian town of al-Bukamal. They were continuing to secure this strategic border crossing when they were bombed on December 29.

    Left unsaid by the U.S. was the fact that the al-Bukamal-al Qaim border crossing was seen as a crucial "land bridge," connecting Iran with Syria via Iraq. Throughout the summer of 2019, the U.S. had been watching as Iranian engineers, working with Khati'ab Hezbollah, constructed a sprawling base that straddled both Iraq and Syria. It was this base, and not Khati'ab Hezbollah per se, that was the reason for the American airstrike. The objective in this attack was to degrade Iranian capability in the region; the K-1 attack was just an excuse, one based on the lie that Khati'ab Hezbollah, and not ISIS, had carried it out.

    The U.S. had long condemned what it called Iran's "malign intentions" when it came to its activities in Iraq and Syria. But there is a world of difference between employing tools of diplomacy to counter Iranian regional actions and going kinetic. One of the reasons the U.S. has been able to justify attacking Iranian-affiliated targets, such as the al-Bukamal-al-Qaim complex and Qassem Soleimani, is that the Iranian entity associated with both -- the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC -- has been designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and as such military attacks against it are seen as an extension of the ongoing war on terror. Yet the way the IRGC came to be designated as an FTO is itself predicated on a lie.

    The person responsible for this lie is President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, who while in that position oversaw National Security Council (NSC) interagency policy coordination meetings at the White House for the purpose of formulating a unified government position on Iran. Bolton had stacked the NSC staff with hardliners who were pushing for a strong stance. But representatives from the Department of Defense often pushed back . During such meetings, the Pentagon officials argued that the IRGC was "a state entity" (albeit a "bad" one), and that if the U.S. were to designate it as a terrorist group, there was nothing to stop Iran from responding by designating U.S. military personnel or CIA officers as terrorists.

    The memoranda on these meetings, consisting of summaries of the various positions put forward, were doctored by the NSC to make it appear as if the Pentagon agreed with its proposed policy. The Defense Department complained to the NSC that the memoranda produced from these meetings were "largely incorrect and inaccurate" -- "essentially fiction," a former Pentagon official claimed.

    After the Pentagon "informally" requested that the NSC change the memoranda to accurately reflect its position, and were denied, the issue was bumped up to Undersecretary of Defense John Rood. He then formally requested that the memoranda be corrected. Such a request was unprecedented in recent memory, a former official noted. Regardless, the NSC did not budge, and the original memoranda remained as the official records of the meetings in question.

    President Trump designated the IRGC a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in April 2018.

    This was a direct result of the bureaucratic dishonesty of John Bolton. Such dishonesty led to a series of policy decisions that gave a green light to use military force against IRGC targets throughout the Middle East. The rocket attack against K-1 was attributed to an Iranian proxy -- Khati'ab Hezbollah -- even though there was reason to believe the attack was carried out by ISIS. This was a cover so IRGC-affiliated facilities in al-Bakumal and al-Qaim, which had nothing to do with the attack, could be bombed. Everything to do with Iran's alleged "malign intent." The U.S. embassy was then attacked. Soleimani killed. The American base at al-Assad was bombarded by Iranian missiles. America and Iran were on the brink of war.

    All because of a lie.

    Scott Ritter is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. He is the author of several books, most recently, Deal of the Century: How Iran Blocked the West's Road to War (2018).

    [Feb 23, 2020] Did not Pompous Pompeo accidentally found a good method to ensure vassals compliance?

    Notable quotes:
    "... He is making the USA a laughing stock, very threatening for sure, but he is a laughing stock and he perfectly sets up the scenario to ridicule his mongrel stupid president. ..."
    Feb 14, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Piotr Berman , Feb 11 2020 23:08 utc | 26

    On the big issue though I cant help seeing Pontious Pompeo as hurling himself about the globe tilting at windmills. He is making the USA a laughing stock, very threatening for sure, but he is a laughing stock and he perfectly sets up the scenario to ridicule his mongrel stupid president.

    uncle tungsten | Feb 11 2020 22:52 utc | 30

    Isn't it a good method? This way, the vassals can comply with a smile.

    [Feb 16, 2020] Pompeo's Empty Boasting in Munich

    These demented human beings are miserable, self seeking failures by any measurement of dignity. In a way they are possessed with "Full Spectrum Dominance" delution.
    Feb 16, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    tone-deaf, arrogant speech in Munich this weekend in which he proclaimed that "the West is winning." In the most hypocritical and absurd section of the speech, Pompeo railed against other states' violations of sovereignty:

    Look, this matters. This matters because assaults on sovereignty destabilize. Assaults on sovereignty impoverish. Assaults on sovereignty enslave. Assaults on sovereignty are, indeed, assaults on the very freedom that anchors the Western ideal.

    Trump administration officials like talking about the importance of sovereignty almost as much as they enjoy trampling on the sovereignty of other states. The problem with Pompeo's sovereignty talk is that the U.S. obviously doesn't respect the sovereignty of many countries, and almost every criticism that he levels against someone else can be turned around against the U.S. The U.S. daily violates Syrian sovereignty with an illegal military presence. U.S. forces remain in Iraq against the wishes of the Iraqi government, and our military has repeatedly carried out attacks inside Iraq over their government's objections in just the last two months. The Trump administration respects sovereignty and territorial integrity so much that it has endorsed illegal Israeli annexation of Syrian territory and it has given a green light to more annexations in the future. It is now supporting an illegal Turkish incursion into Syria.

    Pompeo said at one point:

    Respect for sovereignty of nations is a secret of and central to our success. The West is winning.

    As we look back on the record of how the U.S. and our allies have behaved over the last 30 years, respect for other nations' sovereignty is not what we see. On the contrary, there has been a series of unnecessary and sometimes illegal wars that the U.S. and its allies have waged either to overthrow a foreign government, or to take sides in an internal conflict, or both. The U.S. and our allies and the other countries certainly would have been better off if that hadn't happened. Our recent record is nothing to boast about. It is typical of Pompeo that he celebrates successes where there aren't any. He says that "the West is winning," but what exactly have we won? The U.S. is still involved in multiple desultory conflicts, and relations with many of our most important allies are more strained than at any time since the start of the Iraq war. If "the West is winning," what would repeated failures look like?

    Pompeo calls out economic coercion as one of the harmful things that other states do, but he is part of an administration that has used economic warfare more than anyone else against more targets than ever before. If the U.S. refrained from using economic coercion as one of its main tools in trying to compel other states to do what Washington wants, the attacks on other states' use of economic coercion might carry some weight. As things stand, Pompeo's words are just so much wind.

    The theme of Pompeo's speech is refuting criticism from allies about how the U.S. is conducting its foreign policy, but I doubt that many Europeans in the audience were reassured by his hectoring, triumphalist tone. It doesn't help when he is accusing many of our allies of being fools and dupes:

    When so-called Iranian moderates play the victim, remember their assassination and terror campaigns against innocent Iranian civilians and right here on European soil itself.

    When Russia suggests that Nord Stream 2 is purely a commercial endeavor, don't be fooled. Consider the deprivations caused in the winters of 2006 and 2008 and 2009 and 2015.

    When Huawei executives show up at your door, they say you'll lose out if you don't buy in. Don't believe the hype.

    Needless to say, many of our European allies have very different views on all of these issues, and berating their position isn't going to make them agree with the Trump administration's unreasonable demands. Pompeo wants to tout the virtues of sovereignty, but as soon as our allies take decisions that displease him and Trump he castigates them for it. Respecting the sovereignty and independence of other states includes respecting their right to make decisions on policy that our government doesn't like. Of course, Pompeo would rather have our allies behave like vassals and expects other partners to obey as if they are colonies. Behind all the sovereignty rhetoric is an unmistakable desire to dictate terms and force others to do the administration's bidding. The countries that are on the receiving end of this insufferable arrogance can see through Pompeo's words. All three of those issues touch on areas where the U.S. insists that our allies abandon their own interests because Washington tells them to. That is exactly the sort of heavy-handed "leadership" that our allies resent, and Pompeo's speech will just remind them why they hate it.

    [Feb 15, 2020] Shifting narrative: Trump administration now Justifies Killing Soleimani for Past Actions, not Imminent Threat by Dave DeCamp

    Notable quotes:
    "... Although the memo says one purpose of the action was to "deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces," it does not cite any specific threats. Both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the killing was done to prevent imminent attacks and led on like they had the intelligence to prove it. ..."
    "... The New York Times recently reported that Iraqi military and intelligence officials believe the December 27 th rocket attack that killed a US contractor was likely carried out by ISIS, not the Shi'ite militia the US blamed and retaliated against. This attack led to a series of provocations that resulted in the assassination of Soleimani. Iraqi officials do not have proof that ISIS carried out the attack, but this possibility makes the US justification for killing Soleimani even more flimsy. ..."
    "... Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) responded to the White House's memo in a statement on Friday, "The administration's explanation in this report makes no mention of any imminent threat and shows that the justification the president offered to the American people was false, plain and simple." ..."
    Feb 14, 2020 | news.antiwar.com

    The White House released a memo on Friday to Congress justifying the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Despite earlier claims from the administration of Soleimani and his Quds Force planning imminent attacks on US personnel in the region, the memo uses past actions as the justification for the killing.

    The memo says President Trump ordered the assassination on January 2nd "in response to an escalating series of attacks in preceding months by Iran and Iran-backed militias on United States forces and interests in the Middle East region."

    Although the memo says one purpose of the action was to "deter Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against United States forces," it does not cite any specific threats. Both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the killing was done to prevent imminent attacks and led on like they had the intelligence to prove it.

    The New York Times recently reported that Iraqi military and intelligence officials believe the December 27 th rocket attack that killed a US contractor was likely carried out by ISIS, not the Shi'ite militia the US blamed and retaliated against. This attack led to a series of provocations that resulted in the assassination of Soleimani. Iraqi officials do not have proof that ISIS carried out the attack, but this possibility makes the US justification for killing Soleimani even more flimsy.

    Lawmakers from both parties criticized Trump for killing Iran's top general without congressional approval. The memo argues that Trump had authority to order the attack under Article II of the US Constitution, and under the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 AUMF).

    Congress is taking measures to limit Trump's ability to wage war with Iran. The Senate passed the Iran War Powers Resolution on Thursday, and the House voted to repeal the 2002 AUMF in January.

    Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) responded to the White House's memo in a statement on Friday, "The administration's explanation in this report makes no mention of any imminent threat and shows that the justification the president offered to the American people was false, plain and simple."

    [Feb 14, 2020] More Lies on Iran The White House Just Can t Help Itself as New Facts Emerge by Philip Giraldi

    Notable quotes:
    "... It soon emerged that the Iranian was in fact in Baghdad to discuss with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi a plan that might lead to the de-escalation of the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a meeting that the White House apparently knew about may even have approved. If that is so, events as they unfolded suggest that the US government might have encouraged Soleimani to make his trip so he could be set up and killed. Donald Trump later dismissed the lack of any corroboration of the tale of "imminent threat" being peddled by Pompeo, stating that it didn't really matter as Soleimani was a terrorist who deserved to die. ..."
    "... It now appears that the original death of the American contractor that sparked the tit-for-tat conflict was not carried out by Kata'ib Hezbollah at all. An Iraqi Army investigative team has gathered convincing evidence that it was an attack staged by Islamic State. In fact, the Iraqi government has demonstrated that Kata'ib Hezbollah has had no presence in Kirkuk province, where the attack took place, since 2014. It is a heavily Sunni area where Shi'a are not welcome and is instead relatively hospitable to all-Sunni IS. It was, in fact, one of the original breeding grounds for what was to become ISIS. ..."
    Feb 14, 2020 | www.unz.com

    Admittedly the news cycle in the United States seldom runs longer than twenty-four hours, but that should not serve as an excuse when a major story that contradicts what the Trump Administration has been claiming appears and suddenly dies. The public that actually follows the news might recall a little more than one month ago the United States assassinated a senior Iranian official named Qassem Soleimani. Openly killing someone in the government of a country with which one is not at war is, to say the least, unusual, particularly when the crime is carried out in yet another country with which both the perpetrator and the victim have friendly relations. The justification provided by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking for the administration, was that Soleimani was in Iraq planning an "imminent" mass killing of Americans, for which no additional evidence was provided at that time or since.

    It soon emerged that the Iranian was in fact in Baghdad to discuss with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi a plan that might lead to the de-escalation of the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a meeting that the White House apparently knew about may even have approved. If that is so, events as they unfolded suggest that the US government might have encouraged Soleimani to make his trip so he could be set up and killed. Donald Trump later dismissed the lack of any corroboration of the tale of "imminent threat" being peddled by Pompeo, stating that it didn't really matter as Soleimani was a terrorist who deserved to die.

    The incident that started the killing cycle that eventually included Soleimani consisted of a December 27th attack on a US base in Iraq in which four American soldiers and two Iraqis were wounded while one US contractor, an Iraqi-born translator, was killed. The United States immediately blamed Iran, claiming that it had been carried out by an Iranian supported Shi'ite militia called Kata'ib Hezbollah. It provided no evidence for that claim and retaliated by striking a Kata'ib base, killing 25 Iraqis who were in the field fighting the remnants of Islamic State (IS). The militiamen had been incorporated into the Iraqi Army and this disproportionate response led to riots outside the US Embassy in Baghdad, which were also blamed on Iran by the US There then followed the assassinations of Soleimani and nine senior Iraqi militia officers. Iran retaliated when it fired missiles at American forces , injuring more than one hundred soldiers, and then mistakenly shot down a passenger jet , killing an additional 176 people. As a consequence due to the killing by the US of 34 Iraqis in the two incidents, the Iraqi Parliament also voted to expel all American troops.

    It now appears that the original death of the American contractor that sparked the tit-for-tat conflict was not carried out by Kata'ib Hezbollah at all. An Iraqi Army investigative team has gathered convincing evidence that it was an attack staged by Islamic State. In fact, the Iraqi government has demonstrated that Kata'ib Hezbollah has had no presence in Kirkuk province, where the attack took place, since 2014. It is a heavily Sunni area where Shi'a are not welcome and is instead relatively hospitable to all-Sunni IS. It was, in fact, one of the original breeding grounds for what was to become ISIS.

    This new development was reported in the New York Times in an article that was headlined "Was US Wrong About Attack That Nearly Started a War With Iran? Iraqi military and intelligence officials have raised doubts about who fired the rockets that started a dangerous spiral of events." In spite of the sensational nature of the report it generally was ignored in television news and in other mainstream media outlets, letting the Trump administration get away with yet another big lie, one that could easily have led to a war with Iran.

    Iraqi investigators found and identified the abandoned white Kia pickup with an improvised Katyusha rocket launcher in the vehicle's bed that was used to stage the attack. It was discovered down a desert road within range of the K-1 joint Iraqi-American base that was hit by at least ten missiles in December, most of which struck the American area.

    There is no direct evidence tying the attack to any particular party and the improvised KIA truck is used by all sides in the regional fighting, but the Iraqi officials point to the undisputed fact that it was the Islamic State that had carried out three separate attacks near the base over the 10 days preceding December 27th. And there are reports that IS has been increasingly active in Kirkuk Province during the past year, carrying out near daily attacks with improvised roadside bombs and ambushes using small arms. There had, in fact, been reports from Iraqi intelligence that were shared with the American command warning that there might be an IS attack on K-1 itself, which is an Iraqi air base in that is shared with US forces.

    The intelligence on the attack has been shared with American investigators, who have also examined the pick-up truck. The Times reports that the US command in Iraq continue to insist that the attack was carried out by Kata'ib based on information, including claimed communications intercepts, that it refuses to make public. The US forces may not have shared the intelligence they have with the Iraqis due to concerns that it would be leaked to Iran, but senior Iraqi military officers are nevertheless perplexed by the reticence to confide in an ally.

    If the Iraqi investigation of the facts around the December attack on K-1 is reliable, the Donald Trump administration's reckless actions in Iraq in late December and early January cannot be justified. Worse still, it would appear that the White House was looking for an excuse to attack and kill a senior Iranian official to send some kind of message, a provocation that could easily have resulted in a war that would benefit no one. To be sure, the Trump administration has lied about developments in the Middle East so many times that it can no longer be trusted. Unfortunately, demanding any accountability from the Trump team would require a Congress that is willing to shoulder its responsibility for truth in government backed up by a media that is willing to take on an administration that regularly punishes anyone or any entity that dares to challenge it

    That is the unfortunate reality in America today.



    AnonStarter , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 12:25 am GMT

    Well, the 9/11 Commission lied about Israeli involvement, Israeli neocons lied America into Iraq, and Netanyahu lied about Iranian nukes, so this latest news is just par for the course.
    KA , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 12:59 am GMT
    @04398436986 lets stay focused.

    Pompeo had evidence of immediate catastrophic attack. That turned out to be a lie and plain BS.
    Why should we believe Pompeo or White House or intelligence about the situation developing around 27-29 Dec ? Is it because it's USA who is saying so?

    anonymous [307] Disclaimer , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:12 am GMT
    [it would appear that the White House was looking for an excuse to attack and kill a senior Iranian official to send some kind of message, a provocation that could easily have resulted in a war that would benefit no one.]

    The Jewish mafia stooge and fifth column, Trump, is a war criminal and an ASSASSIN.

    ... ... ...

    melpol , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:13 am GMT
    War with Iran is off the table. Carpet bombing Iran would lead to the destruction of Israel and its nuclear facility...
    Sean , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 2:23 am GMT

    Worse still, it would appear that the White House was looking for an excuse to attack and kill a senior Iranian official to send some kind of message, a provocation that could easily have resulted in a war that would benefit no one.

    Soleimani was a soldier involved in covert operations, Iran's most celebrated hero, and had been featured in the Iraq media as the target of multiple Western assassination attempts. He did not have diplomatic status.

    As it happens Iran did not declare war on America and America did not declare war on Iran. If Americans soldiers killed in Iraq should not have been there in the first place, then the same goes for an Iranian soldier killed there too.

    KA , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 2:30 am GMT
    @04398436986 There is western assertion and western assertion only that Iran influences Iraqi administration and intelligence . It can be a projection from a failing America . It can be also a valid possibility .

    But lying is America's alter ego . It comes easily and as default explanation even when admitting truth would do a better job .

    Now let's focus on ISIS 's claims . Why is Ametica not taking it ( claim of ISIS) as truth and fact when USA has for last 19 years has jailed , bombed, attacked mentally retarded , caves and countries because somebody has pledged allegiance to Al Quida or to ISIS!!!

    It seems neither truth nor lies , but what suits a particular psychopath at a particular time – that becomes USA's report ( kind of unassigned sex – neither truth nor lies – take your pick and find the toilet to flush it down memory hole) – so Pompeo lies to nation hoping no one in administration will ask . When administrative staff gets interested to know the truth , Pompeo tells them to suck it up , move on and get ready to explain the next batch of reality manufactured by a regime and well trained by philosopher Karl Rove

    AnonStarter , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 4:06 am GMT
    @04398436986 conspiracy mongers

    To what "conspiracy" are you referring? It's a well established fact that your ilk was, at the very least, aware that the 9/11 attacks would occur and celebrated them in broad daylight. No conspiracy theory needed. Mossad ordnance experts were living practically next door to the hijackers. Well established fact.

    It's also undeniable that the 9/11 Commission airbrushed Israeli involvement from their report. No conspiracy theory there, either.

    Same goes for Israeli neocons and their media mandarins using "faulty intel" to get their war in Iraq. "Clean Break"? "Rebuilding America's Defenses"? Openly written and published. Judith Miller's lies? Also no conspiracy.

    And Israel's own intelligence directors were undermining Netanyahu's lies on Iran. Not a conspiracy in sight.

    contemplating the outcome of normal everyday competition, influenced by good & bad luck, is just too much truth for some psychological makeups

    That's one of the lamest attempts at deflection I've seen thus far, and I've seen quite a few here.

    Those who deny the official version of 9/11 are in the majority now:

    https://www.livescience.com/56479-americans-believe-conspiracy-theories.html

    We've reached critical mass. Clearly, that's just too much truth for your psychological makeup. Were we really that worthy of ignoring, your people wouldn't be working 24/7/365 to peddle your malarkey in fora of this variety.

    JUSA , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 5:23 am GMT
    I have thought that Trump's true impeachable crime was the illegal assassination of a foreign general who was not in combat. Pence should also be impeached for the botched coup in Venezuela. That was true embarrassment bringing that "El Presidente" that no one recognizes to the SOTU.

    USA is basically JU-S-A now, Jews own and run this country from top to bottom, side to side, and because of it, pretty much run the world. China-Russia-Iran form their new "Axis of Evil" to be brought in line. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the Covid-19 is a bioweapon, except not one created by China. Israel has been working on an ethnic based bioweapon for years. US sent 172 military "athletes" to the Military World Games in Wuhan in October, 2019, two weeks before the first case of coronavirus appeared. Almost too coincidental.

    animalogic , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 6:20 am GMT
    @Sean He wasn't there as a soldier -- he was there in a diplomatic role. (regardless of his official "status"). It also appears he was lured there with intent to assaninate.
    Your last para is not only terrible logic but ignores the point of the article. Iran likely was not responsible for the US deaths. Even had it been responsible it would still not legitimate such a baldly criminal action.
    Sean , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 6:29 am GMT
    @JUSA

    [I]illegal assassination of a foreign general who was not in combat

    Lawful combat according to the Geneva Convention in which war is openly declared and fought between two countries each of which have regular uniformed forces that do all the actual fighting is an extremely rare thing. It is all proxy forces, deniability and asymmetric warfare in which one side (the stronger) is attacked by phantom combatants.

    The Israeli PM publically alluded to the fact that Soleimani had almost been killed in the Mossad operation to kill Imad Mughniyeh a decade ago. The Iranian public knew that Soleimani had narrowly escaped death from Israeli drones, because Soleimani appeared on Iranian TV in October and told the story. A plot kill him by at a memorial service in Iran was supposedly foiled. He came from Lebanon by way of Syria into Iraq as if none of this had happened. Trump had sacked Bolton and failed to react to the drone attack on Saudi oil.

    Iran seems to have thought that refusal to actually fight in the type of war that the international conventions were designed to regulate is a licence to exert pressure by launch attacks without being targeted oneself. Now do they understand.

    Ace , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 8:41 am GMT
    @Sean American troops invaded Iraq under false pretenses, killed thousands, and caused great destruction. Chaos and vengeful Sunnis spilled over into Syria where the US proceeded to grovel before the terrorists we fret about. Soleimani was effective in organizing resistance in Iraq and Syria and was in both countries with the blessing of their governments.

    How you get Soleimani shouldn't be there out of that I have no idea.

    Zen , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 12:04 pm GMT
    @04398436986 Yet you ignore that the Neocons have lied about virtually every cause if war ever. Lied about Iraq, North Korea and Iran nuclear info actions, about chem weapons in Syria, lied about Kosovo, lied about Libya, lied about Benghazi, lied about Venezuela. So Whom I gonna believe, no government, but a Neocon led one least of all
    Vojkan , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:05 pm GMT
    @Sean American soldiers went there uninvited. Soleimani went there because he was invited. That makes a hell of a difference.
    Robjil , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:05 pm GMT
    It is common knowledge that ISIS is a US/Israeli creation. ISIS is the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service. Thus, the US/Israel staged the attack on the US base on 12.27.2019.

    https://www.globalresearch.ca/isis-is-a-us-israeli-creation-top-ten-indications/5518627

    ISIS is a US-Israeli Creation: Indication #2: ISIS Never Attacks Israel

    It is more than highly strange and suspicious that ISIS never attacks Israel – it is another indication that ISIS is controlled by Israel. If ISIS were a genuine and independent uprising that was not covertly orchestrated by the US and Israel, why would they not try to attack the Zionist regime, which has attacked almost of all of its Muslim neighbors ever since its inception in 1948? Israel has attacked Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, and of course has decimated Palestine. It has systemically tried to divide and conquer its Arab neighbors. It continually complains of Islamic terrorism. Yet, when ISIS comes on the scene as the bloody and barbaric king of Islamic terrorism, it finds no fault with Israel and sees no reason to target a regime which has perpetrated massive injustice against Muslims? This stretches credibility to a snapping point.

    ISIS and Israel don't attack each other – they help each other. Israel was treating ISIS soldiers and other anti-Assad rebels in its hospitals! Mortal enemies or best of friends?

    Coward Corps , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:07 pm GMT
    The MQ-9 pilot and sensor operator will be looking over their shoulders for a long time. They're as famous as Soleimani. Their command chain is well known too, hide though they might far away.

    And who briefed the president that terror Tuesday? The murder program isn't Air Force.

    Eek , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:25 pm GMT
    Hey now, you learn to put the best gloss on things when your troops are pathetic little timmies scared of rocks and 12-year olds. Bunch of pussies.

    https://southfront.org/dumbfucks-russian-troops-react-to-us-forces-using-firearms-against-syrian-villagers/

    The IRGC is going to make mincemeat of these chumps.

    Moi , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:36 pm GMT
    @anonymous The kind of crap Trump pulled in the assassination of Soleimani is what he should be impeached about–not the piss-ant stuff about Hunter Biden's job in the Ukaranian gas company and his pappy's role in it.
    Sick of Orcs , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:49 pm GMT
    We're really benefitting, carrying water for (((our greatest ally.)))
    Really No Shit , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 1:59 pm GMT
    Iraq an ally of the United States! Is it some kind of a joke? How can a master and slave be equal? We, the big dog want their oil and the tail that wags us, Israel, want all Muslims pacified and the Congress, which is us wether we like or not, compliant out of financial fears. Unless we curb our own greedy appetite for fossil fuels and at the same time tell an ally, which Israel is by being equal in a sense that it can get away with murder and not a pip is raised, to limit its ambition, nothing is going to be done to improve the situation. Until then it's an exercise in futility, at best!
    anonymous [307] Disclaimer , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 2:46 pm GMT
    @Ozymandias You are so ignorant.

    Iran has NO choice but to defend itself from the savages. It has not been Iran that invaded US, but US with a plan that design years before 9/11 invaded many countries. Remember: seven countries in five years. Soleimani was a wise man working towards peace by creating options for Iran to defend itself. Iran is not the aggressor, but US -Israel-UK are the aggressor for centuries now. Is this so difficult to understand. 9/11 was staged by US/Israel killing 3000 Christians to implement their criminal plan.

    Soleimani, was on a peace mission, where was assassinated by Trump, an Israeli firster and a fifth column and the baby killer Netanyahu. Is this difficult to understand by the Trump worshiper, a traitor.

    Now, Khamenie is saying the same thing: "Iran should be strong in military warfare and sciences to prevent war and maintain PEACE.

    Only ignorant, arrogant, and racists don't understand this fact and refuse to understand how the victims have been pushed to defend themselves.

    The Assassin at the black house should receive the same fate in order to bring the peace.

    anonymous [307] Disclaimer , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 2:48 pm GMT
    @Moi I totally agree with you. Both parties are a fifth column and criminals.
    Fiendly Neighbourhood Terrorist , says: Website Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 2:57 pm GMT
    When does Amerikastan *not* lie about anything? If an Amerikastani tells you the sun rises in the east, you're probably on Venus, where it rises in the west.
    DaveE , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 3:05 pm GMT
    I think this article is getting close to the truth, that this whole operation was and is an ISIS (meaning Israeli Secret Intelligence Service) affair designed to pit America against the zionists' most formidable enemy thus far, Iran.

    I'm of the opinion that Trump did not order the hit on Soleimani, but was forced to take credit for it, if he didn't want to forfeit any chance of being reelected this year. The same ISIS (Israeli) forces that did the hit also orchestrated the "retaliation" that Mr. Giraldi so heroically documents in this piece.

    As usual, this is looking more and more like a zionist /jewish false flag attack on the Muslim world, with the real dirty-work to be done by the American military.

    Ahoy , says: Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 3:17 pm GMT
    The dealer in the M.E. poker game is Putin. This is what drives the very elite crazy. How could this have happened? We had conquered Russia in 1917.

    Well, you must have made a small mistake along the way. Trumpstein can't save you. Soon the dollar won't have any value. There is nothing behind it.

    The new policeman in the M.E. will be Iran. The legacy of Lawrence of Arabia has died long time ago.

    Greg Bacon , says: Website Show Comment February 14, 2020 at 3:33 pm GMT

    It soon emerged that the Iranian was in fact in Baghdad to discuss with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi a plan that might lead to the de-escalation of the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a meeting that the White House apparently knew about may even have approved.

    It's now obvious that the slumlord son-in-law Jared Kushner is really running the USA's ME policy.
    Kushner is not only a dear friend of at-large war criminal Bibi Nuttyahoo, he also belongs to the Judaic religious cult of Chabad Lubavitcher, whom make the war-loving Christian Evangelicals almost look sane. Chabad also prays for some kind of Armageddon to bring forth their Messiah, just like the Evangelicals.

    One can tell by Kushner's nasty comments he makes about Arabs/Persians and Palestinians in particular, that he loathes and despises those people and has an idiotic ear to cry into in the malignant form of Zion Don, AKA President Trump.

    It's been said that Kushner is also a Mossad agent or asset, which is a good guess, since that agency has been placing their agents into the WH since at least the days of Clinton, who had Rahm Emmanuel to whisper hate into his ear.

    That the Iranian General Soleimani was lured into Iraq so the WH could murder the man probably most responsible for halting the terrorist activities of the heart-eating, head-chopping US/Israel/KSA creation ISIS brings to mind the motto of the Israeli version of the CIA, the Mossad.

    "By way of deception thou shalt make war."

    Between Trump's incompetence, his vanity–and yes, his stupidity– and his appointing Swamp creatures into his cabinet and allowing Jared to run the ME show, Trump is showing himself to be a worse choice than Hillary.
    If that maniac gets another 4 years, humanity is doomed. Or at least the USA for sure will perish.

    [Feb 09, 2020] Following the US assassination of Soleimani, the Trump administration is leading American conduct abroad into a zone of probably unprecedented lawlessness by Patrick Lawrence

    Notable quotes:
    "... In our late-imperial phase, we seem to have reached that moment when, whatever high officials say in matters of the empire's foreign policy, we must consider whether the opposite is in fact the case. So we have it now. ..."
    "... Lawlessness begets lawlessness is the operative (and obvious) principle. In a remarkable speech at the Hoover Institution last week, Pompeo termed the Soleimani assassination "the restoration of deterrence" and appeared to promise other such operations against other nations Washington considers adversaries. Ominously enough, Pompeo singled out China and Russia. ..."
    "... Against the background of the events noted above, it is clear from this speech alone that our secretary of state is a dangerously incompetent figure when it comes to judging global events, the proper responses to them, and the probable consequences of a given response. If we are going to think about costs, the heaviest will fall on Americans in months to come. ..."
    "... Immediately after the U.S. drone that killed Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport, Mohammad Javad Zarif sent out a message whose importance should not be missed. "End of US's malign presence in West Asia has begun," Iran's foreign minister wrote. These few words, rendered in Twitterese, bear careful consideration given they come from an official whose nation had just sustained a critical blow. ..."
    "... Gradually but rather certainly now, the community of nations is losing its patience with late-phase imperial America. With exceptions such as Japan and Israel, the Baltics and Saudi Arabia, this is so across both oceans and more or less across the non–Western world. In the Middle East, the American presence will remain for the time being, but we are now in the beginning-of-the-end phase. This was Zarif's meaning. And we now know the end will come neither peaceably nor lawfully. ..."
    "... Amazing how the US government is bringing back the old days: "Slave markets" See: reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-rights/executions-torture-and-slave-markets-persist-in-libya-u-n-idUSKBN1GX1JY "Pillage", as pointed out in this article. ..."
    "... To have such a person as the top diplomat in the USA shows how low the USA has sunk. For him to pretend to be some sort of Christian is sinister and extremely dangerous for everyone. There is NO reason for the US animosity towards Iran except subservience to Israel, which, again without real justification, claims to be terrified of Iran, which unlike Israel is NOT attacking others and has not for centuries. ..."
    "... SecStae's remarks about deterrence befit a military commander, NOT a diplomat. Paranoia, grandiosity and violence begin with potus and cascade downward and about. Congress does its part in investing in machinery of war. ..."
    "... Pompeo reminds me of the pigs in Animal Farm. He is a grotesque figure, steely-eyed, cold-blooded, fanatical, and hateful. "We lied, cheated, and stole" Pompous Maximus will get his comeuppance one of these days ..."
    "... Pillage as policy. The Empire has fully embraced gangster capitalism for its modus operandi. ..."
    "... Here is an interesting article that explains how governments have changed the rules so that they can justify killing anyone who they believe may at some point in time have the potential to be involved in a terrorist plot: viableopposition.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-bethlehem-doctrine-and-new.html ..."
    "... This rather Orwellian move gives governments the justification that they to kill any of us just because they feel that we might pose a threat and that is a very, very scary prospect. It is very reminiscent of the movie Minority Report where crimes of the future are punished in the present. ..."
    Jan 21, 2020 | consortiumnews.com

    Special to Consortium News

    Of all the preposterous assertions made since the drone assassination of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3, the prize for bottomless ignorance must go to the bottomlessly ignorant Mike Pompeo.

    Speaking after the influential Iranian general's death, our frightening secretary of state declaimed on CBS's Face the Nation , "There was sound and just and legal reason for the actions the President took, and the world is safer as a result." In appearances on five news programs on the same Sunday morning, the evangelical paranoid who now runs American foreign policy was a singer with a one-note tune. "It's very clear the world's a safer place today," Pompeo said on ABC's Jan. 5 edition of This Week.

    In our late-imperial phase, we seem to have reached that moment when, whatever high officials say in matters of the empire's foreign policy, we must consider whether the opposite is in fact the case. So we have it now.

    We are not safer now that Soleimani, a revered figure across much of the Middle East, has been murdered. The planet has just become significantly more dangerous, especially but not only for Americans, and this is so for one simple reason: The Trump administration, Pompeo bearing the standard, has just tipped American conduct abroad into a zone of probably unprecedented lawlessness, Pompeo's nonsensical claim to legality notwithstanding .

    This is a very consequential line to cross.

    Hardly does it hold that Washington's foreign policy cliques customarily keep international law uppermost in their minds and that recent events are aberrations. Nothing suggests policy planners even consider legalities except when it makes useful propaganda to charge others with violating international statutes and conventions.

    Please donate to the Winter Fund Drive.

    Neither can the Soleimani assassination be understood in isolation: This was only the most reckless of numerous policy decisions recently taken in the Middle East. Since late last year, to consider merely the immediate past, the Trump administration has acted ever more flagrantly in violation of all international legal authorities and documents -- the UN Charter, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice in the Hague chief among them.

    Washington is into full-frontal lawlessness now.

    'Keeping the Oil'

    Shortly after Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria last October, the president reversed course -- probably under Pentagon and State Department pressure -- and said some troops would remain to protect Syria's oilfields. "We want to keep the oil," Trump declared in the course of a Twitter storm. It soon emerged that the administration's true intent was to prevent the Assad government in Damascus from reasserting sovereign control over Syrian oilfields.

    The Russians had the honesty to call this for what it was. "Washington's attempt to put oilfields there under [its] control is illegal," Sergei Lavrov said at the time. "In fact, it's tantamount to robbery," the Russian foreign minister added. (John Kiriakou, writing for Consortium News, pointed out that it is a violation of the 1907 Hague Convention. It is call pillage.)

    Few outside the Trump administration, and possibly no one, has argued that Soleimani's murder was legitimate under international law. Not only was the Iranian general from a country with which the U.S. is not at war, which means the crime is murder; the drone attack was also a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty, as has been widely reported.

    In response to Baghdad's subsequent demand that all foreign troops withdraw from Iraqi soil, Pompeo flatly refused even to discuss the matter with Iraqi officials -- yet another openly contemptuous violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

    It gets worse. In his own response to Baghdad's decision to evict foreign troops, Trump threatened sanctions -- "sanctions like they've never seen before" -- and said Iraq would have to pay the U.S. the cost of the bases the Pentagon has built there despite binding agreements that all fixed installations the U.S. has built in Iraq are Iraqi government-owned.

    At Baghdad's Throat

    Trump, who seems to have oil eternally on his mind, has been at Baghdad's throat for some time. Twice since taking office three years ago, he has tried to intimidate the Iraqis into "repaying" the U.S. for its 2003 invasion with access to Iraqi oil. "We did a lot, we did a lot over there, we spent trillions over there, and a lot of people have been talking about the oil," he said on the second of these occasions.

    Baghdad rebuffed Trump both times, but he has been at it since, according to Adil Abdul–Mahdi, Iraq's interim prime minister. Last year the U.S. administration asked Baghdad for 50 percent of the nation's oil output -- in total roughly 4.5 million barrels daily -- in exchange for various promised reconstruction projects.

    Rejecting the offer, Abdul–Mahdi signed an "oil for reconstruction" agreement with China last autumn -- whereupon Trump threatened to instigate widespread demonstrations in Baghdad if Abdul–Mahdi did not cancel the China deal. (He did not do so and, coincidentally or otherwise, civil unrest ensued.)

    U.S. Army forces operating in southern Iraq, April. 2, 2003. (U.S. Navy)

    Blueprints for Reprisal

    If American lawlessness is nothing new, the brazenly imperious character of all the events noted in this brief résumé has nonetheless pushed U.S. foreign policy beyond a tipping point.

    No American -- and certainly no American official or military personnel -- can any longer travel in the Middle East with an assurance of safety. All American diplomats, all military officers, and all embassies and bases in the region are now vulnerable to reprisals. The Associated Press reported after the Jan. 3 drone strike that Iran has developed 13 blueprints for reprisals against the U.S.

    Lawlessness begets lawlessness is the operative (and obvious) principle. In a remarkable speech at the Hoover Institution last week, Pompeo termed the Soleimani assassination "the restoration of deterrence" and appeared to promise other such operations against other nations Washington considers adversaries. Ominously enough, Pompeo singled out China and Russia.

    Here is a snippet from Pompeo's remarks:

    "In strategic terms, deterrence simply means persuading the other party that the costs of a specific behavior exceed its benefits. It requires credibility; indeed, it depends on it. Your adversary must understand not only do you have the capacity to impose costs but that you are, in fact, willing to do so . In all cases we have to do this."

    Against the background of the events noted above, it is clear from this speech alone that our secretary of state is a dangerously incompetent figure when it comes to judging global events, the proper responses to them, and the probable consequences of a given response. If we are going to think about costs, the heaviest will fall on Americans in months to come.

    Immediately after the U.S. drone that killed Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport, Mohammad Javad Zarif sent out a message whose importance should not be missed. "End of US's malign presence in West Asia has begun," Iran's foreign minister wrote. These few words, rendered in Twitterese, bear careful consideration given they come from an official whose nation had just sustained a critical blow.

    24 hrs ago, an arrogant clown -- masquerading as a diplomat -- claimed people were dancing in the cities of Iraq.

    Today, hundreds of thousands of our proud Iraqi brothers and sisters offered him their response across their soil.

    End of US malign presence in West Asia has begun. pic.twitter.com/eTDRyLN11c

    -- Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 4, 2020

    Gradually but rather certainly now, the community of nations is losing its patience with late-phase imperial America. With exceptions such as Japan and Israel, the Baltics and Saudi Arabia, this is so across both oceans and more or less across the non–Western world. In the Middle East, the American presence will remain for the time being, but we are now in the beginning-of-the-end phase. This was Zarif's meaning. And we now know the end will come neither peaceably nor lawfully.

    Patrick Lawrence, a correspondent abroad for many years, chiefly for the International Herald Tribune , is a columnist, essayist, author and lecturer. His most recent book is "Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century" (Yale). Follow him on Twitter @thefloutist . His web site is Patrick Lawrence . Support his work via his Patreon site .

    The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.

    Please donate to the Winter Fund Drive.


    Jeff Harrison , January 21, 2020 at 19:38

    Well, there's two relevant bits here. Bullshit walks and money talks. Our money stopped talking $23T ago. What goes around, comes around. Whenever, however it comes down, it's gonna hurt.

    Antiwar7 , January 21, 2020 at 13:46

    Amazing how the US government is bringing back the old days: "Slave markets" See: reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-rights/executions-torture-and-slave-markets-persist-in-libya-u-n-idUSKBN1GX1JY "Pillage", as pointed out in this article.

    rosemerry , January 21, 2020 at 13:28

    To have such a person as the top diplomat in the USA shows how low the USA has sunk. For him to pretend to be some sort of Christian is sinister and extremely dangerous for everyone. There is NO reason for the US animosity towards Iran except subservience to Israel, which, again without real justification, claims to be terrified of Iran, which unlike Israel is NOT attacking others and has not for centuries.

    Even if the USA hates Iran, it has already done inestimable damage to the Islamic Republic before this disgraceful action. Cruelty to 80 million people who have never harmed, even really threatened, the mighty USA, by tossing out a working JCPOA and installing economic "sanctions", should not be accepted by the rest of the world-giving in to blackmail encourages worse behavior, as we have already seen.

    "It requires credibility; indeed, it depends on it. " This is exactly what should be rejected by us all. These "leaders" will not change their behavior without solidarity among "allies" like the European Union, which has already caved in and blamed Iran for the changes -Iran has explained clearly why it made- to the JCPOA which the USA has left.

    Abby , January 21, 2020 at 20:15

    The only difference between Trump and Obama is that Trump doesn't hide the US naked aggression as well as Obama did. So far Trump hasn't started any new wars. By this time in Obama's tenure we had started bombing more countries and accepted one coup.

    dfnslblty , January 21, 2020 at 12:43

    SecStae's remarks about deterrence befit a military commander, NOT a diplomat. Paranoia, grandiosity and violence begin with potus and cascade downward and about. Congress does its part in investing in machinery of war.

    Cheyenne , January 21, 2020 at 11:49

    The above comment shows exactly why bellicose adventurism for oil etc. is so stupid and dangerous. If we continually prance around robbing people, they're gonna unite to slap us down.

    Hardly seems like anyone should need that pointed out but if anybody mentioned it to Trump or any other gung ho warhawk, he must not have been listening.

    Dan Kuhn , January 21, 2020 at 13:08

    Trump and Pompeo seem to have entered the Wild West stage of recent American history. I think they watch too many western movies, without understanding the underrlying plot of 100% of them. It is the bad guys take over a town, where they impose their will on the population, terrorizing everyone into obediance. They steal everything in sight and any who oppose them are summarily killed off. In the end a good guy ( In American parlance, " a good guy with a gun" shows up . The town`s people approach him and beg him to oppose the bad guys. He then proceeds to kill off the bad guys after the general population joins him in his crusade. it looks as though we are at the stage in the movie where the general population is ready to take up arms against the bad guys.

    The moral of the story the bad guys, the bullies, Pompeo and Trump, are either killed or chased out of town. But perhaps the problem is that this plot is too difficult for Trump and Pompeo to understand. So they don`t quite get the peril that there gunmen and killers are now in. They don`t see the writing on the wall.

    Caveman , January 21, 2020 at 11:30

    It seems the only US considerations in the assassination were – will it weaken Iran, will it strengthen the American position? On that perspective, the answer is probably yes on both counts. Legal considerations do not seem to have carried any weight. In the UK we recently saw a chilling interview with Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It was clear that he saw the assassination as another nail in the coffin of the Iranian regime, simply furthering a policy objective.

    Vera Gottlieb , January 21, 2020 at 11:19

    What is even sadder is the world's lack of gonads to stand up to this bully nation – that has caused so much grief and still does.

    Michael McNulty , January 21, 2020 at 11:01

    The US government became a crime syndicate. Today its bootleg liquor is oil, the boys they send round to steal it are armies and their drive-by shootings are Warthog strafings using DU ammunition. Their drug rackets in the back streets are high-grade reefer, heroin and amphetamines, with pharmaceutical-grade chemicals on Main Street. They still print banknotes just as before; but this time it's legal but still doesn't make them enough, so to make up the shortfalls they've taken armed robbery abroad.

    paul easton , January 21, 2020 at 12:55

    The US Government is running a protection racket, literally. In return for US protection of their sources of oil, the NATO countries provide international support for US war crimes. But now that the (figurative) Don is visibly out of his mind, they are likely to turn to other protectors.

    Gary Weglarz , January 21, 2020 at 10:34

    One need not step back very far in order to look at the bigger longer range picture. What immediately comes into focus is that this is simply the current moment in what is now 500 plus years of Western colonialism/neocolonialism. When has the law EVER had anything to do with any of this?

    ML , January 21, 2020 at 10:31

    Pompeo reminds me of the pigs in Animal Farm. He is a grotesque figure, steely-eyed, cold-blooded, fanatical, and hateful. "We lied, cheated, and stole" Pompous Maximus will get his comeuppance one of these days. I hope he plans more overseas trips for himself. He is a vile person, a psychopath proud of his psychopathy. He alone would make anyone considering conversion to Christianity, his brand of it, run screaming into the night. Repulsive man.

    Michael Crockett , January 21, 2020 at 09:40

    Pillage as policy. The Empire has fully embraced gangster capitalism for its modus operandi. That said, IMO, the axis of resistance has the military capability and the resolve to fight back and win. Combining China and Russia into a greater axis of resistance could further shrink the Outlaw US Empire presence in West Asia. Thank you Patrick for your keen insight and observations. The Empires days are numbered.

    Sally Snyder , January 21, 2020 at 07:28

    Here is an interesting article that explains how governments have changed the rules so that they can justify killing anyone who they believe may at some point in time have the potential to be involved in a terrorist plot: viableopposition.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-bethlehem-doctrine-and-new.html

    This rather Orwellian move gives governments the justification that they to kill any of us just because they feel that we might pose a threat and that is a very, very scary prospect. It is very reminiscent of the movie Minority Report where crimes of the future are punished in the present.

    [Feb 09, 2020] Syria Russia Publish Evidence Of US Weapons Recovered In Idlib 'Terrorist Enclave'

    Feb 09, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com

    Syria & Russia Publish Evidence Of US Weapons Recovered In Idlib 'Terrorist Enclave' by Tyler Durden Sat, 02/08/2020 - 22:00 0 SHARES The Syrian Army is making major gains inside Idlib in a military offensive condemned by Turkey and the United States, over the weekend capturing the key town of Saraqib from al-Qaeda linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham .

    Amid the military advance, the Syrian and Russian governments say they've recovered proof of US support for the anti-Assad al-Qaeda insurgent terrorists, publishing photographs of crates of weapons and supplies to state-run SANA :

    Syrian Arab Army units have found US-made weapons and ammunition, and medicines made in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait at the positions and caches of terrorist organizations in the towns of Mardikh and Kafr Amim in Idleb southeastern countryside after crushing terrorism in them.

    Syrian reporters say they were recovered in newly liberated areas of southeastern Idlib province, where army units "found weapons, ammunition and US-made shells and Grad missiles left behind by terrorists at their positions in the town of Kafr Amim after they fled from the area after the advancement of the army."

    The Russian Embassy in Syria also circulated the photos on Saturday, saying there were some "interesting findings" in areas that were controlled by terrorists:

    #SYRIA | The #Syrian Army is coming across interesting findings as it liberates new areas in #Idlib from terrorists: lots of ammunition and medical supplies from various foreign countries ➡️ https://t.co/YqlSd0GZYZ | #IdlibBattle #سوريا #ادلب #إدلب_تحت_النار #USA #Nusra #grad pic.twitter.com/WyfFbvTfW6

    -- Russian Embassy, Syria (@RusEmbSyria) February 8, 2020

    For years since nearly the start of the war in 2011 and 2012, Damascus and Moscow have repeatedly offered proof of US weaponry in the hands of jihadist terrorist groups, including ISIS.

    Pentagon and even some former CIA officials have since admitted the covert US program 'Timber Sycamore' resulted in American arms 'unintentionally' making their way to terrorists in Syria; however, many informed commentators have said Washington knew exactly what it was doing in its 'at all costs' push to overthrow Assad.

    Meanwhile, in the past days the US State Department has issued repeat warnings to Damascus that it must halt its joint offensive with Russia - going so far as to release a new video framing the operation as an attack on civilians .

    The US State Dept has issued a propaganda video that warns against any assaults on #Idlib & promises to "use all its power to oppose normalization of the Assad regime into the int'l community". This is the US playing a part in supporting Al-Qaeda's war effort in #Syria . pic.twitter.com/jyb8zHPzBZ

    -- Walid (@walid970721) February 7, 2020

    The US has charged that Damascus is harming "peace" in Idlib despite the fact that as of 2017 the US Treasury had quietly designated the main anti-Assad group in control of Idlib, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham , as a terrorist organization .

    At the same time, top Turkish and Russian officials held high level talks in Ankara on Saturday over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Idlib.

    syrian forces begins combing the city of Saraqib after controlling it.. pic.twitter.com/PNrTpZOwHz

    -- Geo_monitor (@ConstantinGreco) February 8, 2020

    Turkey fears the fallout and strain of the hundreds of thousands of refugees now fleeing Idlib toward the Turkish border, while Russia has charged that Erdogan has failed in his promises to bring neutralize terrorist groups, who have even begun attacking civilians deep inside of neighboring Aleppo province.


    Floki_Ragnarsson , 1 minute ago link

    The guns Hillary, Obama, Juan McLame, and Eric Dickholder ran to Libya and beyond. That was what got the US Amb whacked and why the stand down order was given by Valerie Jarrett.

    OliverAnd , 16 minutes ago link

    Of course the weapons are made in the USA! This is what happens when you allow Turkey into NATO and sell it weapons. The weapons were made in the USA, sold to Turkey and then the Turks sold/gave them to their brothers the Syrian Turkmen and ISIS fighters.

    porco rosso , 20 minutes ago link

    While the US the "land of the free and brave" is giving weapons to murderous islamistic gangs, Iran, the "ultimate evil" is fighting these same inhumane rats for years.

    Alice-the-dog , 16 minutes ago link

    Land of the tax slave, home of the subservient. Since when are the US Sociopaths In Charge guilty of morality? Israel wants Syria destroyed, they happily send our sons and daughters to their death to accommodate them, and supply weapons to the very faction they claim to oppose.

    yerfej , 22 minutes ago link

    It would be nice if the ******* assholes who run the MIC would realize that they can just stand back and watch war WITHOUT participating. Nothing EVER gets accomplished in any war except a transfer of real estate. What a complete waste, just look at the total destruction. Then once done the idiots will go looking for another war to play in.

    William Dorritt , 32 minutes ago link

    The boxes are signed "With Love" John McCain

    E5 , 36 minutes ago link

    "'Timber Sycamore' resulted in American arms 'unintentionally' making their way to terrorists in Syria"

    and yet the Sycamore tree is the icon of Syria. I don't understand why they think we are going to believe it was unintentional?

    wdg , 39 minutes ago link

    Make America...oops Israel....Great Again. The US and Israel funded and equipped the ISIS to attack the Syrian government while pretending to be fighting ISIS. Bush, Clinton, Obama and Trump, it makes little difference despite Trump's rhetoric...or should we say blatant lies. Trump is actually more dangerous than Obama because so many conservatives/patriots are sucked in by the lies and disarmed as a result.

    NuYawkFrankie , 57 minutes ago link

    USSA Weapons To ISIS....

    Meanwhile at an Auto-Dealership in Galveston Texas:

    " Gee... Where The FCK did all my Toyota Trucks disappear to???"

    madashellron , 38 minutes ago link

    Some guy who said he works for the state department ordered 200 of them.

    NuYawkFrankie , 1 hour ago link

    USSA - The Planet's PREMIER PROMOTER of TERRORISM

    wdg , 37 minutes ago link

    The US is now the Evil American Empire and the greatest threat to peace and prosperity in the entire world.

    VW Nerd , 1 hour ago link

    Syria and Russian forces attack enemy insurgents illegally occupying Syria's Idlib and the US CIA and State Department condemn it as a threat to civilians, yet one of Syria's neighbors hit Damascus with repeated airstrikes, risking civilians, and the same US operatives are silent about these actions??? I'm confused....

    madashellron , 59 minutes ago link

    No they weren't silent. The State Department came out and said Israel was justified in attacking Syria. Despite the fact Israel was using yet again a commerical airliner has bate. Hoping that Syria would shoot down the jet.

    VW Nerd , 50 minutes ago link

    Very true. I'm just wanting to bring to light the empty, mendacious argument about the "threat to civilians".

    madashellron , 1 hour ago link

    Imagine that, the District of Criminals. Using false pretexts in Syria and Iraq. To justify killing a Iranian General and bomb Syria and Iraq.

    https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/07/washington-false-pretext-escalation-iraq/amp/

    Geocen Trist , 1 hour ago link

    Or to perhaps further a New World Order. :-D

    booboo , 20 minutes ago link

    My uncle worked for the federal government as a shoveler at the Money Hole. Retired there to as a manager at the Money Hole. He said the weapons pickers at the Weapons Tree had it tough, said jobs at the weapons tree went to mainly undocumented workers after Haliburton took over the Weapons Tree contract.

    Equinox7 , 1 hour ago link

    The White House needs to figure out how to drip the information out that the Retarded Bush 43 regime and Barry Sotoro regime, along with their cabinets, were running Deep State regime change in the middle East and around the world. Congress isn't going to drop anything. 50%+ of Congress is the Deep State.

    I realize most Americans couldn't mentally handle a total information dump of truth all at once. Their patriotism would be destroyed if they truly understood what the Demoncrats and the Rhino Republicans and the Deep State Intelligence network have been doing since 1947 around the globe. They turned the US into a warmonger Empire, just like Rome.

    McStain needs to be exposed though. Perhaps exposing a dead man's crimes first could start the drip.

    freedommusic , 1 hour ago link

    At least we know these weapons will NOT trace back to John McCain .

    Equinox7 , 1 hour ago link

    They need to trace back to John McStain, a treasonous traitor.

    Truthistheagenda , 2 hours ago link

    All done under Obama's watch... with the help of McStain, HRC, Jarret, Rice and many more.

    And you thought Benghazi was just a spontaneous protest over some video... It was arms running and they needed to make sure there were no Ambass, oops I mean loose ends.

    ZKnight , 2 hours ago link

    The US are the Terroists

    Truthistheagenda , 2 hours ago link

    No, the Obama Administration was Terrorist...

    it isn't the people, it's the ******* leadership.

    simpson seers , 1 hour ago link

    https://www.fort-russ.com/2020/01/u-s-regime-has-killed-20-30-million-people-since-world-war-ii/

    cashback , 2 hours ago link

    CIA had the ISIS program up and running since 1999. Iraq war, among other reasons, was designed to get ISIS up and running. Took a decade and still didn't pay off.

    mog , 33 minutes ago link

    It was going strong before the Iraq war.

    The USA and NATO were creating, arming, training, financing and importing islam terrorists against the Serbs in the early 1990s.

    Even the Guardian exposes the US link with the Mujahareem in Bosnia = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/22/warcrimes.comment

    More

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33345618

    https://balkaninsight.com/2016/04/21/bosnian-serb-soldier-recalls-mujahideen-cutting-off-heads-04-21-2016/

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3254890.stm

    http://serbianna.com/blogs/bozinovich/archives/732

    Just the tip of.....

    Musum , 2 hours ago link

    So now Trump too is arming and supporting terrorists, like Obama and Clinton, the Saudis and Israelis.

    What clusterfcuks -- all of them.

    demoses , 2 hours ago link

    Trump is Bibis lil handpuppet...

    zerofucks , 2 hours ago link

    trump was turned by the MIC/MIGA back in 2017 when he bombed syria

    wake up

    Totin , 3 hours ago link

    That "From the USA for mutual defense" with the unaligned symbol and text is a dead giveaway. No way anyone would fake that. Were these found in a baby milk factory? Or maybe the maternity ward of a hospital?

    Truthistheagenda , 2 hours ago link

    The West Bank

    Whopper Goldberg , 3 hours ago link

    All the Trumptards are still blaming Obomber even though Trump has been President for 3 years.

    schroedingersrat , 3 hours ago link

    Trump increased Obombers bombing campaigns by +400% & increased troops in ME by 15k. Trump is even worse than Obomber. Maybe not as bad as Bush Jr. tough.

    tuetenueggel , 2 hours ago link

    at least not as stupid as those 2 idiots were.

    beemasters , 3 hours ago link

    Israhell has been very careful not to have their name associated with terrorists; they get Americans to do their dirty work and supply the terrorists instead. Good to be the puppet master, especially when you have control of American politicians/POTUS.

    Largebrneyes1 , 4 hours ago link

    Wow, 6 whole crates, huh?

    Now let's have russia and syria count how many hundreds of thousands of Russian AKs, PKMs, VKSs, RPKs, NSVs, RGNs, RPGs, Koronets, Konkurs, Fagots, and all the rest of the russian millitary hardware is being used in Syria every day....but I am sure they cannot count that high.

    Stop posting trash.

    schroedingersrat , 3 hours ago link

    Russian military hardware is used in Syria because the Russians were invited to the country. Quite a difference :)

    Largebrneyes1 , 47 minutes ago link

    And yet russian hardware is the ubiquitous weapon of choice for the Hajis head choppers...nicely done.

    simpson seers , 1 hour ago link

    https://www.fort-russ.com/2020/01/u-s-regime-has-killed-20-30-million-people-since-world-war-ii/

    grumpygus , 38 minutes ago link

    Those are USSR / Warsaw pact weapons not Russian weapons. They come from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and the Ukraine not Russia. AK-47 and most RPG's are open source design. They make them all over the world.

    Barney Fife , 4 hours ago link

    I smell ******** on the first photo. Dark ops policy executors are never stupid enough to ever put a "courtesy of America" on any weapons shipments in order to maintain plausible deniability. Otherwise how could they claim a fabricated story like "they were stolen out of a NATO depot" or something like that?

    Sorry, seems bullshitty to me. Russian press lies too. Everybody lies.

    dogfish , 3 hours ago link

    The US never thought this war would ever end its defeat and did not care what the crates had printed on them, arrogance told the US that the truth would never be known.

    cashback , 3 hours ago link

    In the beginning no one expected Russians to jump in the Syrian war and if it wasn't for the Russians, no one would have known the truth about ISIS like people are still oblivious to all the terrorism in Iraq was sponsored by Mossad.

    Barney Fife , 3 hours ago link

    Nah, that's conjecture. Nothing more. Sorry, I still smell BS. Black-ops are never this sloppy. If they were we'd have revolted decades ago.

    dogfish , 2 hours ago link

    So are you denying that the anti tank missiles are made in the US?

    simpson seers , 1 hour ago link

    ." Black-ops are never this sloppy."........seriously?

    booboo , 14 minutes ago link

    The US has openly admitted and acknowledge arming ISIS. You are either in denial or just playing dumb. Stop already, you only look foolish.

    BlueLightning , 4 hours ago link

    Holly **** batman there's a surprise, America a zionist controlled terrorist state.

    simpson seers , 1 hour ago link

    never.........these people were all terrorists I'm sure, all 30 million....

    https://www.fort-russ.com/2020/01/u-s-regime-has-killed-20-30-million-people-since-world-war-ii/

    [Feb 02, 2020] The most interesting issue is the role of NSC in this impeachment story

    Highly recommended!
    Edited for clarity
    Notable quotes:
    "... Currently they can wrap themselves into constitution defenders flag and be pretty safe from any criticism. Because charges that Schiff brought to the floor are bogus, and probably were created out of thin air by NSC plotters. Senators on both sides understand this, creating a classic Kabuki theater environment. ..."
    "... In any case, it is clear that Trump is just a marionette of more powerful forces behind him, and his impeachment does not means much, if those forces are untouchable. Impeachment Kabuki theatre is an attempt of restoration of NSC (read neocons) favored foreign policy from which Trump slightly deviated. ..."
    Feb 02, 2020 | angrybearblog.com

    likbez , February 2, 2020 10:40 pm

    Far more interesting issue is the role of NSC in this impeachment story.

    Potential whistleblower (actually CIA informant) was from NSC as were Fiona Hill, Alex Vindman and a couple of other major Ukrainegate players.

    In this NSC coup d'état against the President or what ? About earlier role of NSC see

    https://off-guardian.org/2020/02/01/secret-wars-forgotten-betrayals-global-tyranny-who-is-really-in-charge-of-the-u-s-military/

    As for "evil republican senators", they would be viewed as evil by electorate if and only only if actual crimes of Trump regime like Douma false flag, Suleimani assassination (actually here Trump was set up By Bolton and Pompeo) and other were discussed.

    Currently they can wrap themselves into constitution defenders flag and be pretty safe from any criticism. Because charges that Schiff brought to the floor are bogus, and probably were created out of thin air by NSC plotters. Senators on both sides understand this, creating a classic Kabuki theater environment.

    Both sides are afraid to discuss real issues, real Trump regime crimes.

    Schiff proved to be patently inept in this whole story even taking into account limitations put by Kabuki theater on him, and in case of Trump acquittal *which is "highly probable" borrowing May government terminology in Skripals case :-) to resign would be a honest thing for him to do.

    Assuming that he has some honestly left. Which is highly doubtful with statements like:

    "The United States aids Ukraine and her people so that we can fight Russia over there so we don't have to fight Russia here."

    And

    "More than 15,000 Ukrainians have died fighting Russian forces and their proxies. 15,000."

    Actually it was the USA interference in Ukraine (aka Nulandgate) that killed 15K Ukrainians, mainly Donbas residents and badly trained recruits of the Ukrainian army sent to fight them, as well as volunteers of paramilitary "death squads" like Asov battalion financed by oligarch Igor Kolomyskiy

    In any case, it is clear that Trump is just a marionette of more powerful forces behind him, and his impeachment does not means much, if those forces are untouchable. Impeachment Kabuki theatre is an attempt of restoration of NSC (read neocons) favored foreign policy from which Trump slightly deviated.

    [Feb 02, 2020] This neocon snake Pompeo

    Feb 02, 2020 | newrepublic.com

    Then Trump ordered the drone strike on Soleimani, drastically escalating a simmering conflict between Iran and the United States. All of a sudden the roles were reversed, with Bolton praising the president and asserting that Soleimani's death was " the first step to regime change in Tehran ." A chorus of neocons rushed to second his praise: Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer and prominent Never Trumper, lauded Trump's intestinal fortitude, while Representative Liz Cheney hailed Trump's "decisive action." It was Carlson who was left sputtering about the forever wars. "Washington has wanted war with Iran for decades," Carlson said . "They still want it now. Let's hope they haven't finally gotten it."

    [Jan 31, 2020] Two "nice" Americans

    Jan 31, 2020 | off-guardian.org

    Norn ,

    "nice" Americans: .. Here is a sample of nice Americans who want to control our breath: Pompeo , Fri 24 Jan 2020: "You Think Americans Really Give A F**k About Ukraine?"

    Michael Richard Pompeo (57 y.o.) is the United States secretary of state. He is a former United States Army officer and was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 until April 2018

    Nuland , earlier than Feb 2014: "Fuck the EU."

    Victoria Jane Nuland (59 y.o) is the former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State. She held the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest diplomatic rank in the United States Foreign Service. She is the former CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), and is also a Member of the Board of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

    [Jan 30, 2020] The Neocons Strike Back by Jacob Heilbrunn

    Notable quotes:
    "... A chorus of neocons rushed to second his praise: Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer and prominent Never Trumper, lauded Trump's intestinal fortitude, while Representative Liz Cheney hailed Trump's "decisive action." It was Carlson who was left sputtering about the forever wars. "Washington has wanted war with Iran for decades," Carlson said . "They still want it now. Let's hope they haven't finally gotten it." ..."
    "... Neoconservatism as a foreign policy ideology has been badly discredited over the last two decades, thanks to the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in the blinding flash of one drone strike, neoconservatism was easily able to reinsert itself in the national conversation. It now appears that Trump intends to make Soleimani's killing -- which has nearly drawn the U.S. into yet another conflict in the Middle East and, in typical neoconservative fashion, ended up backfiring and undercutting American goals in the region -- a central part of his 2020 reelection bid . ..."
    "... The neocons are starting to realize that Trump's presidency, at least when it comes to foreign policy, is no less vulnerable to hijacking than those of previous Republican presidents, including the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The leading hawks inside and outside the administration shaping its approach to Iran include Robert O'Brien, Bolton's disciple and successor as national security adviser; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook; Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; David Wurmser, a former adviser to Bolton; and Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton. Perhaps no one better exemplifies the neocon ethos better than Cotton, a Kristol protégé who soaked up the teachings of the political philosopher Leo Strauss while studying at Harvard. Others who have been baying for conflict with Iran include Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who is now Trump's personal lawyer and partner in Ukrainian crime. In June 2018, Giuliani went to Paris to address the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose parent organization is the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or MeK. Giuliani, who has been on the payroll of the MeK for years, demanded -- what else? -- regime change. ..."
    "... The fresh charge into battle of what Sidney Blumenthal once aptly referred to as an ideological light brigade brings to mind Hobbes's observation in Leviathan : "All men that are ambitious of military command are inclined to continue the causes of war; and to stir up trouble and sedition; for there is no honor military but by war; nor any such hope to mend an ill game, as by causing a new shuffle." The neocons, it appears, have caused a new shuffle. ..."
    "... the killing of Soleimani revealed that the neocon military-intellectual complex is very much still intact, with the ability to spring back to life from a state of suspended animation in an instant. Its hawkish tendencies remain widely prevalent not only in the Republican Party but also in the media, the think-tank universe, and in the liberal-hawk precincts of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the influence and reach of the anti-war right remains nascent; even if this contingent has popular support, it doesn't enjoy much backing in Washington beyond the mood swings of the mercurial occupant of the Oval Office. ..."
    "... The neocons supplied the patina of intellectual legitimacy for policies that might once have seemed outré. ..."
    "... But it was the neoconservatives, not the paleocons, who amassed influence in the 1990s and took over the GOP's foreign policy wing. Veteran neocons like Michael Ledeen were joined by a younger generation of journalists and policymakers that included Robert Kagan, Bill Kristol (who founded The Weekly Standard in 1994), Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas J. Feith. The neocons consistently pushed for a hard line against Iraq and Iran. In his 1996 book, Freedom Betrayed, for example, Ledeen, an expert on Italian fascism, declared that the right, rather than the left, should adhere to the revolutionary tradition of toppling dictatorships. In his 2002 book, The War Against the Terror Masters, Ledeen stated , "Creative destruction is our middle name. We tear down the old order every day." ..."
    "... Still, a number of neocons, including David Frum, Max Boot, Anne Applebaum, Jennifer Rubin, and Kristol himself, have continued to condemn Trump vociferously for his thuggish instincts at home and abroad. They are not seeking high-profile government careers in the Trump administration and so have been able to reinvent themselves as domestic regime-change advocates, something they have done quite skillfully. In fact, their writings are more pungent now that they have been liberated from the costive confines of the movement. ..."
    "... And so, urged on by Mike Pompeo, a staunch evangelical Christian, and Iraq War–era figures like David Wurmser , Trump is apparently prepared to target Iran for destruction. In a tweet, he dismissed his national security adviser, the Bolton protégé Robert O'Brien, for declaring that the strike against Soleimani would force Iran to negotiate: "Actually, I couldn't care less if they negotiate," he said . "Will be totally up to them but, no nuclear weapons and 'don't kill your protesters.'" Neocons have been quick to recognize the new, more belligerent Trump -- and the potential maneuvering room he's now created for their movement. Jonathan S. Tobin, a former editor at Commentary and a contributor to National Review , rejoiced in Haaretz that "the neo-isolationist wing of the GOP, for which Carlson is a spokesperson, is losing the struggle for control of Trump's foreign policy." Tobin, however, added an important caveat: "When it comes to Iran, Trump needs no prodding from the likes of Bolton to act like a neoconservative. Just as important, the entire notion of anyone -- be it Carlson, former White House senior advisor Steve Bannon, or any cabinet official like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo -- being able to control Trump is a myth." ..."
    "... One reason is institutional. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hudson Institute, and AEI have all been sounding the tocsin about Iran for decades. Once upon a time, the neocons were outliers. Now they're the new establishment, exerting a kind of gravitational pull on debate, pulling politicians and a variety of news organizations into their orbit. The Hudson Institute, for example, recently held an event with former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who exhorted Iran's Revolutionary Guard to "peel away" from the mullahs and endorsed the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign. ..."
    "... Meanwhile, Wolfowitz, also writing in the Times , has popped up to warn Trump against trying to leave Syria: "To paraphrase Trotsky's aphorism about war, you may not be interested in the Middle East, but the Middle East is interested in you." With the "both-sides" ethos that prevails in the mainstream media, neocon ideas are just as good as any others for National Public Radio or The Washington Post, whose editorial page, incidentally, championed the Iraq War and has been imbued with a neocon, or at least liberal-hawk, tinge ever since Fred Hiatt took it over in 2000. ..."
    "... Above all, Trump hired Michael Flynn as his first national security adviser. Flynn was the co-author with Ledeen of a creepy tract called Field of Fight, in which they demanded a crusade against the Muslim world ..."
    "... At a minimum, the traditional Republican hard-line foreign policy approach has now fused with neoconservatism so that the two are virtually indistinguishable. At a maximum, neoconservatism shapes the dominant foreign policy worldview in Washington, which is why Democrats were falling over themselves to assure voters that Soleimani -- a "bad guy" -- had it coming. Any objections that his killing might boomerang back on the U.S. are met with cries from the right that Democrats are siding with the enemy. This truly is a policy of "maximum pressure" at home and abroad. ..."
    Jan 23, 2020 | newrepublic.com

    There was a time not so long ago, before President Donald Trump's surprise decision early this year to liquidate the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, when it appeared that America's neoconservatives were floundering. The president was itching to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. He was staging exuberant photo-ops with a beaming Kim Jong Un. He was reportedly willing to hold talks with the president of Iran, while clearly preferring trade wars to hot ones.

    Indeed, this past summer, Trump's anti-interventionist supporters in the conservative media were riding high. When he refrained from attacking Iran in June after it shot down an American drone, Fox News host Tucker Carlson declared , "Donald Trump was elected president precisely to keep us out of disaster like war with Iran." Carlson went on to condemn the hawks in Trump's Cabinet and their allies, who he claimed were egging the president on -- familiar names to anyone who has followed the decades-long neoconservative project of aggressively using military force to topple unfriendly regimes and project American power over the globe. "So how did we get so close to starting [a war]?" he asked. "One of [the hawks'] key allies is the national security adviser of the United States. John Bolton is an old friend of Bill Kristol's. Together they helped plan the Iraq War."

    By the time Trump met with Kim in late June, becoming the first sitting president to set foot on North Korean soil, Bolton was on the outs. Carlson was on the president's North Korean junket, while Trump's national security adviser was in Mongolia. "John Bolton is absolutely a hawk," Trump told NBC in June. "If it was up to him, he'd take on the whole world at one time, OK?" In September, Bolton was fired.

    The standard-bearer of the Republican Party had made clear his distaste for the neocons' belligerent approach to global affairs, much to the neocons' own entitled chagrin. As recently as December, Bolton, now outside the tent pissing in, was hammering Trump for "bluffing" through an announcement that the administration wanted North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. "The idea that we are somehow exerting maximum pressure on North Korea is just unfortunately not true," Bolton told Axios . Then Trump ordered the drone strike on Soleimani, drastically escalating a simmering conflict between Iran and the United States. All of a sudden the roles were reversed, with Bolton praising the president and asserting that Soleimani's death was " the first step to regime change in Tehran ." A chorus of neocons rushed to second his praise: Reuel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA officer and prominent Never Trumper, lauded Trump's intestinal fortitude, while Representative Liz Cheney hailed Trump's "decisive action." It was Carlson who was left sputtering about the forever wars. "Washington has wanted war with Iran for decades," Carlson said . "They still want it now. Let's hope they haven't finally gotten it."

    Neoconservatism as a foreign policy ideology has been badly discredited over the last two decades, thanks to the debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in the blinding flash of one drone strike, neoconservatism was easily able to reinsert itself in the national conversation. It now appears that Trump intends to make Soleimani's killing -- which has nearly drawn the U.S. into yet another conflict in the Middle East and, in typical neoconservative fashion, ended up backfiring and undercutting American goals in the region -- a central part of his 2020 reelection bid .

    The anti-interventionist right is freaking out. Writing in American Greatness, Matthew Boose declared , "[T]he Trump movement, which was generated out of opposition to the foreign policy blob and its endless wars, was revealed this week to have been co-opted to a great extent by neoconservatives seeking regime change." James Antle, the editor of The American Conservative, a publication founded in 2002 to oppose the Iraq War, asked , "Did Trump betray the anti-war right?"

    In the blinding flash of one drone strike, neoconservatism was easily able to reinsert itself in the national conversation.

    Their concerns are not unmerited. The neocons are starting to realize that Trump's presidency, at least when it comes to foreign policy, is no less vulnerable to hijacking than those of previous Republican presidents, including the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The leading hawks inside and outside the administration shaping its approach to Iran include Robert O'Brien, Bolton's disciple and successor as national security adviser; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook; Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; David Wurmser, a former adviser to Bolton; and Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton. Perhaps no one better exemplifies the neocon ethos better than Cotton, a Kristol protégé who soaked up the teachings of the political philosopher Leo Strauss while studying at Harvard. Others who have been baying for conflict with Iran include Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who is now Trump's personal lawyer and partner in Ukrainian crime. In June 2018, Giuliani went to Paris to address the National Council of Resistance of Iran, whose parent organization is the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or MeK. Giuliani, who has been on the payroll of the MeK for years, demanded -- what else? -- regime change.

    The fresh charge into battle of what Sidney Blumenthal once aptly referred to as an ideological light brigade brings to mind Hobbes's observation in Leviathan : "All men that are ambitious of military command are inclined to continue the causes of war; and to stir up trouble and sedition; for there is no honor military but by war; nor any such hope to mend an ill game, as by causing a new shuffle." The neocons, it appears, have caused a new shuffle.


    Donald Trump has not dragged us into war with Iran (yet). But the killing of Soleimani revealed that the neocon military-intellectual complex is very much still intact, with the ability to spring back to life from a state of suspended animation in an instant. Its hawkish tendencies remain widely prevalent not only in the Republican Party but also in the media, the think-tank universe, and in the liberal-hawk precincts of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the influence and reach of the anti-war right remains nascent; even if this contingent has popular support, it doesn't enjoy much backing in Washington beyond the mood swings of the mercurial occupant of the Oval Office.

    But there was a time when the neoconservative coalition was not so entrenched -- and what has turned out to be its provisional state of exile lends some critical insight into how it managed to hang around respectable policymaking circles in recent years, and how it may continue to shape American foreign policy for the foreseeable future. When the neoconservatives came on the scene in the late 1960s, the Republican old guard viewed them as interlopers. The neocons, former Trotskyists turned liberals who broke with the Democratic Party over its perceived weakness on the Cold War, stormed the citadel of Republican ideology by emphasizing the relationship between ideas and political reality. Irving Kristol, one of the original neoconservatives, mused in 1985 that " what communists call the theoretical organs always end up through a filtering process influencing a lot of people who don't even know they're being influenced. In the end, ideas rule the world because even interests are defined by ideas."

    At pivotal moments in modern American foreign policy, the neocons supplied the patina of intellectual legitimacy for policies that might once have seemed outré. Jeane Kirkpatrick's seminal 1979 essay in Commentary, "Dictatorships and Double Standards," essentially set forth the lineaments of the Reagan doctrine. She assailed Jimmy Carter for attacking friendly authoritarian leaders such as the shah of Iran and Nicaragua's Anastasio Somoza. She contended that authoritarian regimes might molt into democracies, while totalitarian regimes would remain impregnable to outside influence, American or otherwise. Ronald Reagan read the essay and liked it. He named Kirkpatrick his ambassador to the United Nations, where she became the most influential neocon of the era for her denunciations of Arab regimes and defenses of Israel. Her tenure was also defined by the notion that it was perfectly acceptable for America to cozy up to noxious regimes, from apartheid South Africa to the shah's Iran, as part of the greater mission to oppose the red menace.

    The neocons supplied the patina of intellectual legitimacy for policies that might once have seemed outré.

    There was always tension between Reagan's affinity for authoritarian regimes and his hard-line opposition to Communist ones. His sunny persona never quite gelled with Kirkpatrick's more gelid view that communism was an immutable force, and in 1982, in a major speech to the British Parliament at Westminster emphasizing the power of democracy and free speech, he declared his intent to end the Cold War on American terms. As Reagan's second term progressed and democracy and free speech actually took hold in the waning days of the Soviet Union, many hawks declared that it was all a sham. Indeed, not a few neocons were livid, claiming that Reagan was appeasing the Soviet Union. But after the USSR collapsed, they retroactively blessed him as the anti-Communist warrior par excellence and the model for the future. The right was now a font of happy talk about the dawn of a new age of liberty based on free-market economics and American firepower.

    The fall of communism, in other words, set the stage for a new neoconservative paradigm. Francis Fukuyama's The End of History appeared a decade after Kirkpatrick's essay in Commentary and just before the Berlin Wall was breached on November 9, 1989. Here was a sharp break with the saturnine, realpolitik approach that Kirkpatrick had championed. Irving Kristol regarded it as hopelessly utopian -- "I don't believe a word of it," he wrote in a response to Fukuyama. But a younger generation of neocons, led by Irving's son, Bill Kristol, and Robert Kagan, embraced it. Fukuyama argued that Western, liberal democracy, far from being menaced, was now the destination point of the train of world history. With communism vanquished, the neocons, bearing the good word from Fukuyama, formulated a new goal: democracy promotion, by force if necessary, as a way to hasten history and secure the global order with the U.S. at its head. The first Gulf War in 1991, precipitated by Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, tested the neocons' resolve and led to a break in the GOP -- one that would presage the rise of Donald Trump. For decades, Patrick Buchanan had been regularly inveighing against what he came to call the neocon " amen corner" in and around the Washington centers of power, including A.M. Rosenthal and Charles Krauthammer, both of whom endorsed the '91 Gulf War. The neocons were frustrated by the measured approach taken by George H.W. Bush. He refused to crow about the fall of the Berlin Wall and kicked the Iraqis out of Kuwait but declined to invade Iraq and "finish the job," as his hawkish critics would later put it. Buchanan then ran for the presidency in 1992 on an America First platform, reviving a paleoconservative tradition that would partly inform Trump's dark horse run in 2016.

    But it was the neoconservatives, not the paleocons, who amassed influence in the 1990s and took over the GOP's foreign policy wing. Veteran neocons like Michael Ledeen were joined by a younger generation of journalists and policymakers that included Robert Kagan, Bill Kristol (who founded The Weekly Standard in 1994), Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas J. Feith. The neocons consistently pushed for a hard line against Iraq and Iran. In his 1996 book, Freedom Betrayed, for example, Ledeen, an expert on Italian fascism, declared that the right, rather than the left, should adhere to the revolutionary tradition of toppling dictatorships. In his 2002 book, The War Against the Terror Masters, Ledeen stated , "Creative destruction is our middle name. We tear down the old order every day."

    We all know the painful consequences of the neocons' obsession with creative destruction. In his second inaugural address, three and a half years after 9/11, George W. Bush cemented neoconservative ideology into presidential doctrine: "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world." The neocons' hubris had already turned into nemesis in Iraq, paving the way for an anti-war candidate in Barack Obama.

    But it was Trump -- by virtue of running as a Republican -- who appeared to sound neoconservatism's death knell. He announced his Buchananesque policy of "America First" in a speech at Washington's Mayflower Hotel in 2016, signaling that he would not adhere to the long-standing Reaganite principles that had animated the party establishment.

    The pooh-bahs of the GOP openly declared their disdain and revulsion for Trump, leading directly to the rise of the Never Trump movement, which was dominated by neocons. The Never Trumpers ended up functioning as an informal blacklist for Trump once he became president. Elliott Abrams, for example, who was being touted for deputy secretary of state in February 2017, was rejected when Steve Bannon alerted Trump to his earlier heresies (though he later reemerged, in January 2019, as Trump's special envoy to Venezuela, where he has pushed for regime change). Not a few other members of the Republican foreign policy establishment suffered similar fates.

    Kristol's The Weekly Standard, which had held the neoconservative line through the Bush years and beyond , folded in 2018. Even the office building that used to house the American Enterprise Institute and the Standard, on the corner of 17th and M streets in Washington, has been torn down, leaving an empty, boarded-up site whose symbolism speaks for itself.


    Still, a number of neocons, including David Frum, Max Boot, Anne Applebaum, Jennifer Rubin, and Kristol himself, have continued to condemn Trump vociferously for his thuggish instincts at home and abroad. They are not seeking high-profile government careers in the Trump administration and so have been able to reinvent themselves as domestic regime-change advocates, something they have done quite skillfully. In fact, their writings are more pungent now that they have been liberated from the costive confines of the movement.

    It was Trump -- by virtue of running as a Republican -- who appeared to sound neoconservatism's death knell.

    But other neocons -- the ones who want to wield positions of influence and might -- have, more often than not, been able to hold their noses. Stephen Wertheim, writing in The New York Review of Books, has perceptively dubbed this faction the anti-globalist neocons. Led by John Bolton, they believe Trump performed a godsend by elevating the term globalism "from a marginal slur to the central foil of American foreign policy and Republican politics," Wertheim argued . The U.S. need not bother with pesky multilateral institutions or international agreements or the entire postwar order, for that matter -- it's now America's way or the highway.

    And so, urged on by Mike Pompeo, a staunch evangelical Christian, and Iraq War–era figures like David Wurmser , Trump is apparently prepared to target Iran for destruction. In a tweet, he dismissed his national security adviser, the Bolton protégé Robert O'Brien, for declaring that the strike against Soleimani would force Iran to negotiate: "Actually, I couldn't care less if they negotiate," he said . "Will be totally up to them but, no nuclear weapons and 'don't kill your protesters.'" Neocons have been quick to recognize the new, more belligerent Trump -- and the potential maneuvering room he's now created for their movement. Jonathan S. Tobin, a former editor at Commentary and a contributor to National Review , rejoiced in Haaretz that "the neo-isolationist wing of the GOP, for which Carlson is a spokesperson, is losing the struggle for control of Trump's foreign policy." Tobin, however, added an important caveat: "When it comes to Iran, Trump needs no prodding from the likes of Bolton to act like a neoconservative. Just as important, the entire notion of anyone -- be it Carlson, former White House senior advisor Steve Bannon, or any cabinet official like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo -- being able to control Trump is a myth."

    In other words, whether the neocons themselves are occupying top positions in the Trump administration is almost irrelevant. The ideology itself has reemerged to a degree that even Trump himself seems hard pressed to resist it -- if he even wants to.

    How were the neocons able to influence another Republican presidency, one that was ostensibly dedicated to curbing their sway?

    One reason is institutional. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Hudson Institute, and AEI have all been sounding the tocsin about Iran for decades. Once upon a time, the neocons were outliers. Now they're the new establishment, exerting a kind of gravitational pull on debate, pulling politicians and a variety of news organizations into their orbit. The Hudson Institute, for example, recently held an event with former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who exhorted Iran's Revolutionary Guard to "peel away" from the mullahs and endorsed the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign. The event was hosted by Michael Doran, a former senior director on George W. Bush's National Security Council and a senior fellow at the institute, who wrote in The New York Times on January 3, "The United States has no choice, if it seeks to stay in the Middle East, but to check Iran's military power on the ground." Then there's Jamie M. Fly, a former staffer to Senator Marco Rubio who was appointed this past August to head Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; he previously co-authored an essay in Foreign Affairs contending that it isn't enough to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities: "If the United States seriously considers military action, it would be better to plan an operation that not only strikes the nuclear program but aims to destabilize the regime, potentially resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis once and for all."

    Meanwhile, Wolfowitz, also writing in the Times , has popped up to warn Trump against trying to leave Syria: "To paraphrase Trotsky's aphorism about war, you may not be interested in the Middle East, but the Middle East is interested in you." With the "both-sides" ethos that prevails in the mainstream media, neocon ideas are just as good as any others for National Public Radio or The Washington Post, whose editorial page, incidentally, championed the Iraq War and has been imbued with a neocon, or at least liberal-hawk, tinge ever since Fred Hiatt took it over in 2000.

    But there are plenty of institutions in Washington, and neoconservatism's seemingly inescapable influence cannot be chalked up to the swamp alone. Some etiolated form of what might be called Ledeenism lingered on before taking on new life at the outset of the Trump administration. Trump's overt animus toward Muslims, for example, meant that figures such as Frank Gaffney, who opposed arms-control treaties with Moscow as a member of the Reagan administration and resigned in protest of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, achieved a new prominence. During the Obama administration, Gaffney, the head of the Center for Security Policy, claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the White House and National Security Agency.

    Above all, Trump hired Michael Flynn as his first national security adviser. Flynn was the co-author with Ledeen of a creepy tract called Field of Fight, in which they demanded a crusade against the Muslim world: "We're in a world war against a messianic mass movement of evil people." It was one of many signs that Trump was susceptible to ideas of a civilizational battle against "Islamo-fascism," which Norman Podhoretz and other neocons argued, in the wake of 9/11, would lead to World War III. In their millenarian ardor and inflexible support for Israel, the neocons find themselves in a position precisely cognate to evangelical Christians -- both groups of true believers trying to enact their vision through an apostate. But perhaps the neoconservatives' greatest strength lies in the realm of ideas that Irving Kristol identified more than three decades ago. The neocons remain the winners of that battle, not because their policies have made the world or the U.S. more secure, but by default -- because there are so few genuinely alternative ideas that are championed with equal zeal. The foreign policy discussion surrounding Soleimani's killing -- which accelerated Iran's nuclear weapons program, diminished America's influence in the Middle East, and entrenched Iran's theocratic regime -- has largely occurred on a spectrum of the neocons' making. It is a discussion that accepts premises of the beneficence of American military might and hegemony -- Hobbes's "ill game" -- and naturally bends the universe toward more war.

    At a minimum, the traditional Republican hard-line foreign policy approach has now fused with neoconservatism so that the two are virtually indistinguishable. At a maximum, neoconservatism shapes the dominant foreign policy worldview in Washington, which is why Democrats were falling over themselves to assure voters that Soleimani -- a "bad guy" -- had it coming. Any objections that his killing might boomerang back on the U.S. are met with cries from the right that Democrats are siding with the enemy. This truly is a policy of "maximum pressure" at home and abroad.

    As Trump takes an extreme hard line against Iran, the neoconservatives may ultimately get their long-held wish of a war with the ayatollahs. When it ends in a fresh disaster, they can always argue that it only failed because it wasn't prosecuted vigorously enough -- and the shuffle will begin again.

    Jacob Heilbrunn is the editor of The National Interest and the author of They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons. @ JacobHeilbrunn

    Read More Politics , The Soapbox , Donald Trump , Islamic Republic of Iran , Qassem Soleimani , Bill Kristol , Irving Kristol , David Frum , John Bolton , Norman Podhoretz , Doug Feith , Paul Wolfowitz , George W. Bush , George H.W. Bush , Ronald Reagan , Pat Buchanan , Mike Pompeo , Tom Cotton , Lindsey Graham , Rudy Giuliani , Gulf War , Iraq War , Cold War , Francis Fukuyama , Jeane Kirkpatrick

    [Jan 29, 2020] Pompeo about Hezbollah threat

    Jan 29, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    J Villain • 19 hours ago

    It leaves me yearning for the integrity of the Nixon foreign policy team and they were a certified pack of sociopaths.

    [Jan 29, 2020] Pompeo Iranian Proxy Mobilizing in America's Backyard

    Notable quotes:
    "... Yet the U.S. has little real insight into what happens in hostile regimes like Maduro's, and "Pompeo is probably the least reliable person in the world when it comes to information about Iran or its proxies," said Abrahms. "He has a terrible track record; he is an ideologue. He is the opposite of an impartial empiricist. I would never accept anything he says without corroborating sources." ..."
    "... According to what we know, a Hezbollah agent conducted years of surveillance on potential targets , and alleged sleeper agents within U.S. cities have so far not been activated, even in the wake of Iranian Quds force General Soleimani's death and the series of crippling sanctions the Trump administration has put on Iran. ..."
    Jan 28, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Why is Pompeo suddenly directing increasingly heated rhetoric towards Iran and its proxies in South America?

    "Anti-Iran hawks like Pompeo like to emphasize that Iran is not a defensively-minded international actor, but rather that it is offensively-minded and poses a direct threat to the United States," said Max Abrahms, associate professor of political science at Northeastern and fellow of the Quincy Institute said in an interview with The American Conservative. "And so for obvious reasons, underscoring Hezbollah's international tentacles helps to sell their argument that Iran needs to be dealt with in a military way, and that the key to dealing with Iran is through confrontation and pressure."

    Stories highlighting the role of Hezbollah in America's backyard "are almost always peddled by anti-Iran hawks," he said.

    Like Clare Lopez, vice president for research and analysis at the Center for Security Policy, who aligns with the argument that Hezbollah has been populating South America since the days of the Islamic revolution.

    "From at least the 1980s, many Lebanese fled to South America, and among that flow Hezbollah embedded themselves," she told The American Conservative in a recent interview. Their activity "really expanded throughout the continent" during the presidencies of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

    During that time, Lopez added, "there was a really strong relationship that developed Iranians established diplomatic facilities, enormous embassies and consulates, embedded IRGC cover positions and MOIS (intelligence services) within commercial companies and mosques and Islamic centers. This took place in Brazil in particular but Venezuela also."

    Iran and Hezbollah intensified their involvement throughout the region in technical services like tunneling, money laundering, and drug trafficking. Venezuela offered Iran an international banking work-around during the period of sanctions, said Lopez.

    Obviously security analysts like Lopez and even Pompeo, have been following this for years. But the timing here, as the Senate impeachment inquiry heats up, looks suspicious.

    Last week, just as it looks increasingly likely that former national security advisor John Bolton and Pompeo himself will be hauled before the Senate as witnesses about the foreign aid hold-up to Ukraine, Pompeo praised Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala for designating "Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organization," and slammed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for embracing the terrorist group.

    Hezbollah "has found a home in Venezuela under Maduro. This is unacceptable," Pompeo said when he met with Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido last week.

    Asked by Bloomberg News how significant a role Hezbollah plays in the region, Pompeo responded, "too much."

    From the interview:

    Pompeo : " I mentioned it in Venezuela, but in the Tri-Border Area as well. This is again an area where Iranian influence – we talk about them as the world's largest state sponsor of terror. We do that intentionally. It's the world's largest; it's not just a Middle East phenomenon. So while – when folks think of Hezbollah, they typically think of Syria and Lebanon, but Hezbollah has now put down roots throughout the globe and in South America, and it's great to see now multiple countries now having designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. It means we can work together to stamp out the security threat in the region."

    Question: "I'm struck by this, because even hearing you – what you're saying, right, now – I mean, to take a step back, an Iranian-backed terrorist organization has found a home in America's backyard."

    Pompeo: "It's – it's something that we've been talking about for some time. When you see the scope and reach of what the Islamic Republic of Iran's regime has done, you can't forget they tried to kill someone in the United States of America. They've conducted assassination campaigns in Europe. This is a global phenomenon. When we say that Iran is the leading destabilizing force in the Middle East and throughout the world, it's because of this terror activity that they have now spread as a cancer all across the globe. "

    Pompeo has also been publicly floating increasing sanctions on Venezuela. He called the behavior of Maduro's government "cartel-like" and "terror-like," intensifying the sense that there is a real security "threat" in our hemisphere.

    Yet the U.S. has little real insight into what happens in hostile regimes like Maduro's, and "Pompeo is probably the least reliable person in the world when it comes to information about Iran or its proxies," said Abrahms. "He has a terrible track record; he is an ideologue. He is the opposite of an impartial empiricist. I would never accept anything he says without corroborating sources."

    There's no question that Hezbollah has a presence in South America, said Abrahms, "but the nature of its presence has been politicized."

    According to what we know, a Hezbollah agent conducted years of surveillance on potential targets , and alleged sleeper agents within U.S. cities have so far not been activated, even in the wake of Iranian Quds force General Soleimani's death and the series of crippling sanctions the Trump administration has put on Iran.

    "What this underscores is that Iran could pull the trigger, it could bloody the U.S., including the U.S. homeland, but tends to avoid such violence. I think the question that needs to be asked isn't just, 'where in the world could Iran commit an attack?' but whether Iran is a rational actor that can be deterred," said Abrahms. "Interestingly, this administration as well as its hawkish supporters tend to emphasize their belief that Iran can in fact be deterred," since that is the logic behind "maximum pressure" against Iran, after all. "The main causal mechanism according to advocates of maximum pressure, is that it will force Iran as a rational actor to reconsider whether it wants to irritate the U.S By applying economic pressure through sanctions, [they hope to] succeed in coaxing Iran to restructure the nuclear deal and making additional concessions to the west and reigning in its activities in the Persian Gulf and the Levant. At least on a rhetorical level, the hawks say they believe Iran can be deterred," he said.

    It would not be the first time that a president reacted to an intensifying impeachment inquiry by redirecting national focus to threats abroad. In December 1998, as the impeachment inquiry into then-President Bill Clinton heated up, Clinton launched airstrikes against Iraq. We should therefore apply some caution when we see decades-old threats amplified by administration officials.

    Barbara Boland is TAC's foreign policy and national security reporter. Previously, she worked as an editor for the Washington Examiner and for CNS News. She is the author of Patton Uncovered, a book about General George Patton in World War II, and her work has appeared on Fox News, The Hill, UK Spectator, and elsewhere. Boland is a graduate from Immaculata University in Pennsylvania. Follow her on Twitter

    [Jan 28, 2020] Pompeo's Petty Despotism

    Pompeo proved to be impulsive bully. Like Bolton, he is yet another "wise" Trump choice that disqualifies Trump for running in 2020 elections.
    Jan 28, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    Nomuka • 15 hours ago • edited
    Well, it looks like I'll need to start contributing to NPR again. They are a little too woke for my tastes, but Pompeo is a liar, and frankly beyond the pale. A perfect representative of the current administration by the way. Kudos to NPR for standing up to him.
    TomG • 10 hours ago
    One correction--instead of "by acting as if he is a petty despot" it should read "evermore blatantly showing the world the petty despot he is."
    bumbershoot • 10 hours ago
    The Secretary of State has all of the vanity and arrogance of a diva, but none of the talent.

    Hmm, that seems to remind me of someone else in this administration...

    FL_Cottonmouth • 9 hours ago
    Much like U.S. foreign policy, it seems that Mike Pompeo is going to ignore the facts and keep recklessly escalating the conflict. Surely he's aware that The Washington Post published the email correspondence between Ms. Kelley and press aide. This just makes him look like a coward.
    ZizaNiam • 9 hours ago
    From the Trump voter perspective, this journalist should feel lucky that she wasn't sent to Guantanamo Bay. All Trump voters think this way, there is no exception.
    Taras77 • 6 hours ago
    Absolutely no longer any surprises about this pathetic individual!

    [Jan 27, 2020] The end of Trump? Trump betrayed all major promises of his 2016 election campaign. Trump needs to go...

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... This may well be a fatal mistake of his. And while i have thought Trump to be the lesser evil compared to Clinton, i am now at a point where i seriously fear what his ignorance and slavery to the neocon doctrine may bring the world in 4 more years. ..."
    "... besides much talk and showmastery, he has not really changed anything substantial in this regard; Nothing that could seriously change the course. ..."
    "... So he stripped himself of any true argument to vote for him, besides for ultra neocons and ultra fundamental evangelical Christians. And even they don't seem to trust in his intentions. ..."
    Jan 27, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    EveryoneIsBiased , 26 January 2020 at 04:40 PM

    Thank you Colonel; I have been waiting for your take on this. And thank you for opening the comments again. If there is a problem with my post, please point them out to me.

    And i agree. This may well be a fatal mistake of his. And while i have thought Trump to be the lesser evil compared to Clinton, i am now at a point where i seriously fear what his ignorance and slavery to the neocon doctrine may bring the world in 4 more years.

    Still, immigration is another important issue, but besides much talk and showmastery, he has not really changed anything substantial in this regard; Nothing that could seriously change the course.

    So he stripped himself of any true argument to vote for him, besides for ultra neocons and ultra fundamental evangelical Christians. And even they don't seem to trust in his intentions.

    And China? He may have changed some small to medium problems for the better, but nothing is changed in the overall trend of the US continuing to loose while China emerges as the next global superpower.

    It may have been slowed for some years; It may even have been accelerated, now that China has been waken up to the extend of the threat posed by the US.

    North Korea? They surely will never denuclearize. Even less after how Trump showed the world how he treats international law and even allies.

    With Trump its all photo ops and showmanship. And while he senses what issues are important, it is worth a damn if he butchers the execution, or values photo ops more than substantial progress.

    Not that i would see a democratic alternative. No. But at least now everyone who wants to know can see, that he is neither one.

    4 years ago, democracy was corrupted, but at least there was someone who presented himself as an alternative to that rotten establishment.
    Now, even that small ray of light is as dark as it gets.
    And that is the saddest thing. What worth is democracy, when one does not even have a true alternative, besides Tulsi on endless wars, and Bernie for the socialist ;) ?

    I just have watched again the Ken Burns documentary of the civil war. I know it is not perfect (Though i love Shelby Foote's parts), but the sense of the divided 2 Americas there, is still the same today. Today, America seems to break apart culturally, socially and economically on the fault lines that have sucked it into the civil war over 150 years ago.

    And just like with seeing no real way out politically, i sadly can see no way to heal and unite this country, as it never was truly united after the civil war, if not ever before. As you Colonel said some weeks ago, the US were never a nation.

    And looking at other countries, only a major national crisis may change this.
    A most sad realization. But this hold true also for other western countries, including my own.

    An even worse decade seems to be ahead.

    [Jan 27, 2020] The ME may yet destroy Trump

    Trump outlived his shelf life. Money quote: "This may well be a fatal mistake of his. And while i have thought Trump to be the lesser evil compared to Clinton, i am now at a point where i seriously fear what his ignorance and slavery to the neocon doctrine may bring the world in 4 more years."
    Notable quotes:
    "... Some combination of the disasters that may emerge from these ME factors might well turn Trump's base against him and this result would be entirely of his own making ..."
    "... This may well be a fatal mistake of his. And while i have thought Trump to be the lesser evil compared to Clinton, i am now at a point where i seriously fear what his ignorance and slavery to the neocon doctrine may bring the world in 4 more years. ..."
    "... besides much talk and showmastery, he has not really changed anything substantial in this regard; Nothing that could seriously change the course. ..."
    "... So he stripped himself of any true argument to vote for him, besides for ultra neocons and ultra fundamental evangelical Christians. And even they don't seem to trust in his intentions. ..."
    "... Trump stands no chance if things get hot with Iran. He didn't win by enough to sacrifice the antiwar vote. ..."
    "... Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo have got themselves in a no-win situation. NATO cannot occupy both Syria and Iraq, illegally. There are way too few troops. The bases in these nations are sitting ducks for the next precision ballistic missile attack. Any buildup would be contested. Ground travel curtailed. A Peace Treaty and Withdrawal is the only safe way out. ..."
    "... Donald Trump is blessed with his opponents. Democrats who restarted the Cold War with Russia in 2014 are now using it to justify his Impeachment. If leaders cannot see reality clearly, they will keep making incredibly stupid mistakes. If Joe Biden is his opponent, I can't vote for either. Both spread chaos. ..."
    "... President Trump controls part of the White House -- definitely not the NSC ..."
    "... His hold elsewhere in the DC bureaucracy may be 5 - 15%. When the President decided to pull US troops out of Syria, his NSC Director flew to Egypt and Turkey to countermand the order. Facing the opposition of a united DC SWAMP, the President caved, and thereby delayed his formal impeachment by a year. ..."
    "... Going out on a limb, President Trump continues to play a very weak hand and may survive to fight another day. Fortunately for the US, his tax and regulatory policies, as well as his economic negotiations with China, Japan, Korea and Mexico seem to be on target and successful. ..."
    Jan 26, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    President Trump will easily be acquitted in the senate trial. This may occur this week and there will probably be no witnesses called. That will be an additional victory for him and will add to the effect of his trade deal victories and the general state of the US economy. These factors should point to a solid victory in November for him and the GOP in Congress.

    Ah! Not so fast the cognoscenti may cry out. Not so fast. The Middle East is a graveyard of dreams:

    1. Iraq. Street demonstrations in Iraq against a US alliance are growing more intense. There may well have been a million people in Muqtada al-Sadr's extravaganza. Shia fury over the death of Soleimani is quite real. Trump's belief that in a contest of the will he will prevail over the Iraqi Shia is a delusion, a delusion born of his narcissistic personality and his unwillingness to listen to people who do not share his delusions. A hostile Iraqi government and street mobs would make life unbearable for US forces there.

    2. Syria. The handful of American troops east and north of the Euphrates "guarding" Syrian oil from the Syrian government are in a precarious position with the Shia Iraqis at their backs across the border and a hostile array of SAA, Turks, jihadis and potentially Russians to their front and on their flanks.

    3. Palestine. The "Deal of the Century" is approaching announcement. From what is known of its contours, the deal will kill any remaining prospects for Palestinian statehood and will relegate all Palestinians (both Israeli citizens and the merely occupied) to the status of helots forever . Look it up. In return the deal will offer the helotry substantial bribes in economic aid money. Trump evidently continues to believe that Palestinians are untermenschen . He believe they will sell their freedom. The Palestinian Authority has already rejected this deal. IMO their reaction to the imposition of this regime is likely to be another intifada.

    Some combination of the disasters that may emerge from these ME factors might well turn Trump's base against him and this result would be entirely of his own making . pl


    Elora Danan , 26 January 2020 at 11:24 AM

    ...and his unwillingness to listen to people who do not share his delusions...

    That precisely is the problem, apart from explosive shouting Pompeo, it seems he has recruited this extravanza of woman as adviser into the WH...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w0kSkvusjI&feature=emb_title

    Could it be true? If that is the case, it´s more scary than Elora thought when that of Soleimani happened....This starts to look as a frenopatic...isn´t it?

    HK Leo Strauss , 26 January 2020 at 01:12 PM
    With Iran and her allies holding the figurative Trump Card on escalation, will they ramp up the pressure to topple him? They could end up with a Dem who couldn't afford to "lose" Syria or Iraq.
    JamesT , 26 January 2020 at 04:14 PM
    I submit to you, Colonel, that the biggest threat to Trump is a Bernie/Tulsi ticket. Bernie is leading in the Iowa and NH polls, and the recent spat with Warren (in my opinion) leaves Bernie with no viable choice for VP other than Tulsi.
    Barbara Ann said in reply to JamesT ... , 26 January 2020 at 05:32 PM
    JamesT

    Judging by what just happened at the embassy in Baghdad, the intentions of the Iraqi electorate would seem to be a more pressing concern.

    EveryoneIsBiased , 26 January 2020 at 04:40 PM
    Thank you Colonel; I have been waiting for your take on this. And thank you for opening the comments again. If there is a problem with my post, please point them out to me.

    And i agree. This may well be a fatal mistake of his. And while i have thought Trump to be the lesser evil compared to Clinton, i am now at a point where i seriously fear what his ignorance and slavery to the neocon doctrine may bring the world in 4 more years.

    Still, immigration is another important issue, but besides much talk and showmastery, he has not really changed anything substantial in this regard; Nothing that could seriously change the course.

    So he stripped himself of any true argument to vote for him, besides for ultra neocons and ultra fundamental evangelical Christians. And even they don't seem to trust in his intentions.

    And China? He may have changed some small to medium problems for the better, but nothing is changed in the overall trend of the US continuing to loose while China emerges as the next global superpower.

    It may have been slowed for some years; It may even have been accelerated, now that China has been waken up to the extend of the threat posed by the US.

    North Korea? They surely will never denuclearize. Even less after how Trump showed the world how he treats international law and even allies.

    With Trump its all photo ops and showmanship. And while he senses what issues are important, it is worth a damn if he butchers the execution, or values photo ops more than substantial progress.

    Not that i would see a democratic alternative. No. But at least now everyone who wants to know can see, that he is neither one.

    4 years ago, democracy was corrupted, but at least there was someone who presented himself as an alternative to that rotten establishment.
    Now, even that small ray of light is as dark as it gets.
    And that is the saddest thing. What worth is democracy, when one does not even have a true alternative, besides Tulsi on endless wars, and Bernie for the socialist ;) ?

    I just have watched again the Ken Burns documentary of the civil war. I know it is not perfect (Though i love Shelby Foote's parts), but the sense of the divided 2 Americas there, is still the same today. Today, America seems to break apart culturally, socially and economically on the fault lines that have sucked it into the civil war over 150 years ago.

    And just like with seeing no real way out politically, i sadly can see no way to heal and unite this country, as it never was truly united after the civil war, if not ever before. As you Colonel said some weeks ago, the US were never a nation.

    And looking at other countries, only a major national crisis may change this.
    A most sad realization. But this hold true also for other western countries, including my own.

    An even worse decade seems to be ahead.

    turcopolier , 26 January 2020 at 05:15 PM
    everyoneisbiased

    The economy is actually quite good and he is NOT "a dictator." Dictators are not put on trial by the legislature. He is extremely ignorant and suffers from a life in which only money mattered.

    emboil , 26 January 2020 at 05:27 PM
    Once Bernie wins the nomination, it's going to be escalation time. Trump stands no chance if things get hot with Iran. He didn't win by enough to sacrifice the antiwar vote.
    walrus , 26 January 2020 at 06:14 PM
    I'm starting to think that Trumps weakness is believing that everyone and everything has a monetary price. I think perhaps his dealings with China may reinforce his perception, as, also, his alleged success in bullying the Europeans over Iran -- with the threat of tariffs on European car imports. His almost weekly references to Iraqi and Syrian oil, allies "not paying their way", financial threats to the Iraq Government, all suggest a fixation on finance that has served him well in business.

    The trouble is that one day President Trump is going to discover there is something money can't buy, to the detriment of America.

    VietnamVet , 26 January 2020 at 07:28 PM
    Colonel,

    Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo have got themselves in a no-win situation. NATO cannot occupy both Syria and Iraq, illegally. There are way too few troops. The bases in these nations are sitting ducks for the next precision ballistic missile attack. Any buildup would be contested. Ground travel curtailed. A Peace Treaty and Withdrawal is the only safe way out.

    Donald Trump is blessed with his opponents. Democrats who restarted the Cold War with Russia in 2014 are now using it to justify his Impeachment. If leaders cannot see reality clearly, they will keep making incredibly stupid mistakes. If Joe Biden is his opponent, I can't vote for either. Both spread chaos.

    My subconscious is again acting out. The mini-WWIII with Iran could shut off Middle Eastern oil at any time. The Fed is back to injecting digital money into the market. China has quarantined 44 million people. Global trade is fragile. Today there are four cases of Wuhan Coronavirus in the USA.

    If confirmed that the virus is contagious without symptoms and an infected person transmits the virus to 2 to 3 people and with a 3% mortality rate and a higher 15% rate for the infirmed, the resupply trip to Safeway this summer could be both futile and dangerous.

    Haralambos , 26 January 2020 at 07:48 PM
    Two Greek words: "hubris" and "nemesis" come to mind.
    Patrick Armstrong , 26 January 2020 at 08:19 PM
    It's an old story. Mr X is elected POTUS; going to do this and that; something happens in the MENA. That's all anyone remembers. Maybe time to kiss Israel goodbye, tell SA to sell in whatever currency it wants, and realise that oil producers have to sell the stuff -- it's no good to them in the ground...
    Petrel , 26 January 2020 at 08:31 PM
    President Trump controls part of the White House -- definitely not the NSC -- and much of the Department of Commerce & Treasury. His hold elsewhere in the DC bureaucracy may be 5 - 15%. When the President decided to pull US troops out of Syria, his NSC Director flew to Egypt and Turkey to countermand the order. Facing the opposition of a united DC SWAMP, the President caved, and thereby delayed his formal impeachment by a year.

    Going out on a limb, President Trump continues to play a very weak hand and may survive to fight another day. Fortunately for the US, his tax and regulatory policies, as well as his economic negotiations with China, Japan, Korea and Mexico seem to be on target and successful.

    Godfree Roberts , 26 January 2020 at 09:19 PM
    As Richard Nixon told a young Donald Rumsfeld when he asked about specializing in Latin America, "Nobody gives a shit about Latin America."

    Nobody gives a shit about the Middle East.

    Johnb , 26 January 2020 at 11:27 PM
    We may yet see John McCains Revenge in the Senate Colonel, it only requires 4 Republican votes to move into Witnesses.
    EEngineer , 26 January 2020 at 11:27 PM
    Carthage must be destroyed! I don't know if Trump is going to war with Iran willingly or with a Neocon gun to his head, but if he's impeached I expect Pence to go on a holy crusade.

    [Jan 27, 2020] Pompeo's Revealing Meltdown

    Jan 26, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    Daniel Larison We saw how Mike Pompeo made a fool of himself on Friday with his angry tirade against Mary Louise Kelly, a reporter for NPR. That outburst came after an interview that he cut short in which he was asked legitimate questions that he could not answer. His response to the report about this was to malign the reporter with bizarre lies in what could be the most unhinged statement ever sent out by an American Secretary of State:

    Official response from Pompeo about his NPR interview. Haven't seen anything like this before with a State Department seal on it: pic.twitter.com/Hi1P18ZS0A

    -- Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) January 25, 2020

    Pompeo's accusatory statement confirmed the substance of what Kelly had reported, and absolutely no one believes him when he says that she lied to him. All of the available evidence supports Kelly's account, and nothing supports Pompeo's:

    On the program, Ms. Kelly said Katie Martin, an aide to Mr. Pompeo who has worked in press relations, never asked for that conversation to be kept off the record, nor would she have agreed to do that.

    Mr. Pompeo's statement did not deny Ms. Kelly's account of obscenities and shouting. NPR said Saturday that Ms. Kelly "has always conducted herself with the utmost integrity, and we stand behind this report." On Sunday, The New York Times obtained emails between Ms. Kelly and Ms. Martin that showed Ms. Kelly explicitly said the day before the interview that she would start with Iran and then ask about Ukraine. "I never agree to take anything off the table," she wrote.

    It is the new definition of chutzpah for Pompeo to accuse someone else of lying and lack of integrity, since he has been daily shredding his credibility by making things up about non-existent U.S. policy successes and telling easily refuted lies about North Korea , Iran , Yemen , and Saudi Arabia . We have good reason to believe that the recent claim that there was an "imminent attack" from Iran earlier this month was another one of those lies . For her part, Kelly has a reputation for solid and reliable reporting, and no one thinks that she would do the things he accuses her of doing. Pompeo's dig at the end is meant to imply that she misidentified Ukraine on the blank map that he had brought in to test her. No one believes that claim, either. This is another preposterous lie that tells us that his version of events can't be true. Pompeo has been waging a war on the truth for the last year and a half, and this is just the most recent assault. The Secretary's meltdown this weekend has been useful in making it impossible to ignore this any longer.

    Literally nobody thinks Mike Pompeo is telling the truth about this, or anything. He works for Donald Trump, who also lies about everything, always. https://t.co/yTzZDZl5Gw

    -- Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) January 25, 2020

    All of this is appalling, unprofessional behavior from any government official, and in a sane administration this conduct along with his other false and misleading statements would be grounds for resignation. When Pompeo publicly attacks a journalist for doing her job and impugns her integrity to cover up for the fact that he doesn't have any, he is attacking the press and undermining public accountability. He is also undermining the department's advocacy for freedom of the press when he tries to intimidate journalists with his obnoxious outbursts. Pompeo already alienated and disgusted people in his department with his failure to come to the defense of officials that were being publicly attacked and smeared, and this latest display has further embarrassed them. We need a Secretary of State who isn't a serial liar, and right now we don't have one.

    Daniel Larison is a senior editor at TAC , where he also keeps a solo blog . He has been published in the New York Times Book Review , Dallas Morning News , World Politics Review , Politico Magazine , Orthodox Life , Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week . He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter . email

    [Jan 25, 2020] You Think Americans Really Give A Fk About Ukraine - Pompeo Flips Out On NPR Reporter

    How tank maintenance mechanical engineer and military contractor who got into congress pretending to belong to tea party can became the Secretary of state? Only in America ;-)
    Jan 25, 2020 | www.zerohedge.com
    "You Think Americans Really Give A F**k About Ukraine?" - Pompeo Flips Out On NPR Reporter by Tyler Durden Sat, 01/25/2020 - 15:05 0 SHARES

    Democrats' impeachment proceedings were completely overshadowed this week by the panic over the Wuhan coronavirus. Still, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is clearly tired of having his character repeatedly impugned by the Dems and the press claiming he hung one of his ambassadors out to dry after she purportedly resisted the administration's attempts to pressure Ukraine.

    That frustration came to a head this week when, during a moment of pique, Secretary Pompeo launched into a rant and swore at NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly after she wheedled him about whether he had taken concrete steps to protect former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

    House Democrats last week released a trove of messages between Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and Connecticut Republican Congressional candidate Robert Hyde. The messages suggested that Yovanovitch might have been under surveillance before President Trump recalled her to Washington. One of the messages seems to reference a shadowy character able to "help" with Yovanovitch for "a price."

    Kelly recounted the incident to her listeners (she is the host of "All Things Considered")

    After Kelly asked Pompeo to specify exactly what he had done or said to defend Yovanovitch, whom Pompeo's boss President Trump fired last year, Pompeo simply insisted that he had "done what's right" with regard to Yovanovitch, while becoming visibly annoyed.

    Once the interview was over, Pompeo glared at Kelly for a minute, then left the room, telling an aide to bring Kelly into another room at the State Department without her recorder, so they could have more privacy.

    Once inside, Pompeo launched into what Kelly described as an "expletive-laden rant", repeatedly using the "f-word." Pompeo complained about the questions about Ukraine, arguing that the interview was supposed to be about Iran.

    "Do you think Americans give a f--k about Ukraine?" Pompeo allegedly said.

    The outburst was followed by a ridiculous stunt: one of Pompeo's staffers pulled out a blank map and asked the reporter to identify Ukraine, which she did.

    "People will hear about this," Pompeo vaguely warned.

    Ironically, Pompeo is planning to travel to Kiev this week.

    The questions came after Michael McKinley, a former senior adviser to Pompeo, told Congress that he resigned after the secretary apparently ignored his pleas for the department to show some support for Yovanovitch.

    Listen to the interview here. A transcript can be found here .

    NPR's Mary Louise Kelly says the following happened after the interview in which she asked some tough questions to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. pic.twitter.com/cRTb71fZvX

    -- Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 24, 2020

    Last we checked, the team at NPR is waiting on Pompeo to apologize

    Mike Pompeo Does in fact owe Yovanovitch an apology https://t.co/imazFrG3Q6

    -- Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) January 25, 2020

    We suspect they might be waiting a while...


    CarteroAtómico , 5 minutes ago link

    He's right. American don't give a **** about Ukraine. But why did Clinton and Obama and now Trump and Pompeo? Why are they spending our money there instead of either taking care of problems here or paying off the national debt?

    MOLONAABE , 8 minutes ago link

    The best thing that could happen to the Ukraine is for Russia to take it back.. they would clean up that train wreck of a country... they've proven themselves as to being the scumbags they are gypsies and grifters...

    Goodsport 1945 , 11 minutes ago link

    The Bidens do, so there must be $omething very attractive over there.

    carman , 13 minutes ago link

    He's right. Nobody cares about Ukraine. NPR= National Propaganda Radio.

    CarteroAtómico , 1 minute ago link

    But why are Trump and Pompeo continuing the policy of Obama and Clinton there? Remember Trump said he would pay off the national debt in 8 years? How about stop spending our money on the War Party's foreign interventions for a starter.

    kindasketchy , 17 minutes ago link

    I wish the same level of questioning was directed at Pompeo regarding Syria and Iran. You may like his response because of the particular topic, but it doesn't change the fact that he's a psycho neo-con fucktard who should be shot for treason.

    Collectivism Killz , 21 minutes ago link

    Truth. Most Americans know nothing about Ukraine, some just know orange man bad and orange man bad for Ukr

    roach clipper , 21 minutes ago link

    I despise fkn traitor Pompus from USMA (traitor training school) but in this case he doesn't owe yovanobitch anything.

    morefunthanrum , 27 minutes ago link

    People care about a secretary of state who supports his diplomats...about a president whose not a lying conniving spoiled piece of ****

    roach clipper , 22 minutes ago link

    There are NO diplomats in the Dept. of State, otherwise we wouldn't have been at war all century.

    [Jan 25, 2020] Pompeo Crumbles Under Pressure

    Jan 25, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo participates in a press conference with U.S. President Donald J. Trump during the NATO Foreign Ministerial in Brussels on July 12, 2018. (State Department photo/ Public Domain)

    January 24, 2020

    |

    9:21 pm

    Daniel Larison Mike Pompeo has proven to be a blowhard and a bully in his role as Secretary of State, and nothing seems to bother him more than challenging questions from professional journalists. All of those flaws and more were on display during and after his interview with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly today. After abruptly ending the interview when pressed on his failure to defend members of the Foreign Service, Pompeo then threw a fit and berated the reporter who asked him the questions:

    Immediately after the questions on Ukraine, the interview concluded. Pompeo stood, leaned in and silently glared at Kelly for several seconds before leaving the room.

    A few moments later, an aide asked Kelly to follow her into Pompeo's private living room at the State Department without a recorder. The aide did not say the ensuing exchange would be off the record.

    Inside the room, Pompeo shouted his displeasure at being questioned about Ukraine. He used repeated expletives, according to Kelly, and asked, "Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" He then said, "People will hear about this."

    People are certainly hearing about it, and their unanimous judgment is that it confirms Pompeo's reputation as an obnoxious, thin-skinned excuse for a Secretary of State. Kelly's questions were all reasonable and fair, but Pompeo is not used to being pressed so hard to give real answers. We have seen his short temper and condescension before when other journalists have asked him tough questions, and he seems particularly annoyed when the journalists calling him out are women. Pompeo probably has the worst working relationship with the press of any Secretary of State in decades, and this episode will make it worse.

    When Pompeo realized he wouldn't be able to get away with his standard set of vacuous talking points and lies, he ended the conversation. The entire interview is worth reading to appreciate how poorly Pompeo performs when he is forced to explain how failing administration policies are "working." When pressed on his untrue claims that "maximum pressure" on Iran is "working," all that he could do was repeat himself robotically:

    QUESTION: My question, again: How do you stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon?

    SECRETARY POMPEO: We'll stop them.

    QUESTION: How?

    SECRETARY POMPEO: We'll stop them.

    QUESTION: Sanctions?

    SECRETARY POMPEO: We'll stop them.

    Kelly refused to accept pat, meaningless responses, and she kept insisting that Pompeo provide something, anything, to back up his assertions. This is how administration officials should always be interviewed, and it is no surprise that the Secretary of State couldn't handle being challenged to back up his claims. The questions wouldn't have been that hard to answer if Pompeo were willing to be honest or the least bit humble, but that isn't how he operates. He sees every interview as an opportunity to snow the interviewer under with nonsense and to score points with the president, and giving honest answers would get in the way of both.

    The section at the end concerned Pompeo's failure to stand up for State Department officials, especially Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine. Since Pompeo's support for these officials has been abysmal, there was nothing substantive that he could say about it and tried to filibuster his way out of it. To her credit, Kelly was persistent in trying to pin him down and make him address the issue. He had every chance to explain himself, but instead he fell back on defensive denials that persuade no one:

    QUESTION: Sir, respectfully, where have you defended Marie Yovanovitch?

    SECRETARY POMPEO: I've defended every single person on this team. I've done what's right for every single person on this team.

    QUESTION: Can you point me toward your remarks where you have defended Marie Yovanovitch?

    SECRETARY POMPEO: I've said all I'm going to say today. Thank you. Thanks for the repeated opportunity to do so; I appreciate that.

    Pompeo could have defended Yovanovitch and other officials that have come under attack, but to do that would be to risk Trump's ire and it would require him to show the slightest bit of courage. In the end, his "swagger" is all talk and his rhetoric about supporting his "team" at State is meaningless. Pompeo made a fool of himself in this interview, and it is perfectly in keeping with his angry, brittle personality that he took out his frustrations by yelling at the reporter who exposed him as the vacuous blowhard that he is.

    about the author Daniel Larison is a senior editor at TAC , where he also keeps a solo blog . He has been published in the New York Times Book Review , Dallas Morning News , World Politics Review , Politico Magazine , Orthodox Life , Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week . He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter . email


      17 comments theamericanconservative Login 1
      Recommend
    Clyde Schechter • 17 hours ago
    Wow! She did a great interview there. Really a model for what all reporters should be doing.

    Thanks for bringing this to light, Mr. Larison.

    SFBay1949 • 16 hours ago • edited
    I don't suppose you'll be interviewing Pompeo any time soon Daniel. I very much appreciate your being so honest about what you see and hear.
    K squared • 14 hours ago
    Left out was the part when pompeo had one of his minions bring out a blank world map and challenged her to find the Ukraine which she immediately did - i wonder if trump could find it
    FL_Cottonmouth K squared • 7 hours ago
    That's hilarious.
    John Mann K squared • 2 hours ago
    Apparently, Pompeo has suggested Kelly had pointed to Bangladesh, not Ukraine, on the map, and commented "It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine."

    I don't suppose we are ever likely to see conclusive evidence that will establish for certain where she pointed.

    It's probably just a matter of looking at their respective records of lying, cheating, and stealing, and making a guess based on that.

    stephen pickard • 5 hours ago
    My God, can he get any worse. I suppose so since his boss always falls to a lower level. There is no bottom. Just admit that everyday brings a new low. Only thing surprising is that we get surprised at their despicable behavior.
    Jeff Dickey stephen pickard • 3 hours ago
    That's the problem with Trump henchmen: they can always get worse. There is no bottom, for to have a limit below which the henchmen will not go would embarrass the Capo di Tutti Capi for blowing through it on the way down. Henchmen have bills to pay, too, you know, just like people.
    stephen pickard Jeff Dickey • an hour ago
    As I said awhile back, lies are debts that must be repaid.
    FL_Cottonmouth • 4 hours ago
    Looming over her and leering down at her? What a creep!
    Jonah • 3 hours ago
    I'm sorry, is the "conservative" in the name of this blog some kind of parody? You all sure sound like liberal democrats. Never been here before, won't be coming back.

    Oh, and you forgot about the part where Pompeo came ready to discuss one topic, which was agreed to beforehand, and the interviewer transitioned to a new topic. And the way she did so was to ask Pompeo if he owed Marie Yanokovich an apology. Yes, riveting journalism devoid of partisan bias. Lol! But it was Pompeo. Right.

    Jonah Jonah • 3 hours ago
    To the person who down voted me, I don't care. Honestly I'm glad you butthurt whiners have a place to share your hurt feelings. Maybe if you're lucky Joe Biden will be President soon and you can all rejoice that "decency" is back, or something.
    SFBay1949 Jonah • 3 hours ago
    Apparently Pompeo can only keep so many talking points in his head. One topic only. Are we to believe the Secretary of State can't expound on more than a single subject? It must be true, otherwise he wouldn't go around insisting he will only talk about one subject during an interview. I expect he won't be getting many invites for interviews outside of FOX. Just as well, he's a bag of hot air anyway.
    Sandra Jonah • 2 hours ago
    I think there are many conservatives writing and commenting on this site. But perhaps you are confusing "conservative" with "republican". There is little conservatism left in the republican party.
    Awake and Uttering a Song Jonah • an hour ago
    "...Pompeo came ready to discuss one topic, which was agreed to beforehand, and the interviewer transitioned to a new topic."

    Oh, the humanity!

    Secretary Pompous couldn't just give a little chuckle and say something like "Now, now. You know we agreed to talk only on one topic, so let's get together on another day to discuss other topics". ?

    Just another guy in power who is too full of himself.

    sglover Jonah • 20 minutes ago
    It's terrible when the citizenry goes off-script, isn't it?
    ChrisD • 2 hours ago
    Pompeo just tweeted this statement about the NPR interview::

    Personan0ngrata • an hour ago
    QUESTION: My question, again: How do you stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon?

    Italicized/bold text was excerpted from the website www.dni.gov within a US National Intelligence Estimate published in Nov2007 titled:

    Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities

    ANSWER: Key Judgements

    A. We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program; we also assess with moderate-to-high confidence that Tehran at a minimum is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons. We judge with high confidence that the halt, and Tehran's announcement of its decision to suspend its declared uranium enrichment program and sign an Additional Protocol to its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement, was directed primarily in response to increasing international scrutiny and pressure resulting from exposure of Iran's previously undeclared nuclear work.

    https://www.dni.gov/files/d...

    Italicized/bold text was excerpted from the website fas.org a report published (updated 20Dec2019) by the Congressional Research Service titled:

    Page 53, 2nd paragraph -

    Iran's Nuclear Program: Status

    Director of National Intelligence Coats reiterated the last sentence in May 2017 testimony.330He testified in January 2019 that the U.S. intelligence community "continue[s] to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device." Subsequent statements from U.S. officials indicate that Iran has not resumed its nuclear weapons program. According to an August 2019 State Department report, the "U.S. Intelligence Community assesses that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons development activities judged necessary to produce a nuclear device." Any decision to produce nuclear weapons "will be made by the Supreme Leader," Clapper stated in April 2013.

    https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuk...

    [Jan 24, 2020] Lawrence Wilkerson Lambasts 'the Beast of the National Security State' by Adam Dick

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Wilkerson provided a harsh critique of US foreign policy over the last two decades. Wilkerson states: ..."
    "... America exists today to make war. How else do we interpret 19 straight years of war and no end in sight? It's part of who we are. It's part of what the American Empire is. ..."
    "... We are going to lie, cheat and steal, as [US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo] is doing right now, as [President Donald Trump] is doing right now, as [Secretary of Defense Mark Esper] is doing right now, as [Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)] is doing right now, as [Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)] is doing right now, and a host of other members of my political party -- the Republicans -- are doing right now. We are going to cheat and steal to do whatever it is we have to do to continue this war complex. That's the truth of it, and that's the agony of it. ..."
    "... That base voted for Donald Trump because he promised to end these endless wars, he promised to drain the swamp. Well, as I said, an alligator from that swamp jumped out and bit him. And, when he ordered the killing of Qassim Suleimani, he was a member of the national security state in good standing, and all that state knows how to do is make war. ..."
    Jan 13, 2020 | ronpaulinstitute.org

    Lawrence Wilkerson, a College of William & Mary professor who was chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powel in the George W. Bush administration, powerfully summed up the vile nature of the US national security state in a recent interview with host Amy Goodman at Democracy Now.

    Asked by Goodman about the escalation of US conflict with Iran and how it compares with the prior run-up to the Iraq War, Wilkerson provided a harsh critique of US foreign policy over the last two decades. Wilkerson states:

    Ever since 9/11, the beast of the national security state, the beast of endless wars, the beast of the alligator that came out of the swamp, for example, and bit Donald Trump just a few days ago, is alive and well.

    America exists today to make war. How else do we interpret 19 straight years of war and no end in sight? It's part of who we are. It's part of what the American Empire is.

    We are going to lie, cheat and steal, as [US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo] is doing right now, as [President Donald Trump] is doing right now, as [Secretary of Defense Mark Esper] is doing right now, as [Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)] is doing right now, as [Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)] is doing right now, and a host of other members of my political party -- the Republicans -- are doing right now. We are going to cheat and steal to do whatever it is we have to do to continue this war complex. That's the truth of it, and that's the agony of it.

    What we saw President Trump do was not in President Trump's character, really. Those boys and girls who were getting on those planes at Fort Bragg to augment forces in Iraq, if you looked at their faces, and, even more importantly, if you looked at the faces of the families assembled along the line that they were traversing to get onto the airplanes, you saw a lot of Donald Trump's base. That base voted for Donald Trump because he promised to end these endless wars, he promised to drain the swamp. Well, as I said, an alligator from that swamp jumped out and bit him. And, when he ordered the killing of Qassim Suleimani, he was a member of the national security state in good standing, and all that state knows how to do is make war.

    Wilkerson, over the remainder of the two-part interview provides many more insightful comments regarding US foreign policy, including recent developments concerning Iran. Watch Wilkerson's interview here:
    • https://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2020/1/6/lawrence_wilkerson_iraq_war_soleimani_assassination
    • https://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2020/1/13/lawrence_wilkerson_american_empire_war

    Wilkerson is an Academic Board member for the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.


    Copyright © 2020 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.
    Please donate to the Ron Paul Institute Related
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    [Jan 21, 2020] Maybe we should put sanctions on Pompeo

    Jan 21, 2020 | www.unz.com

    Old and grumpy , says: Show Comment January 21, 2020 at 3:48 pm GMT

    Maybe we should put sanctions on Pompeo. He could use the diet. Maybe raiding his pantry would feed Iraqi for a couple months. He is truly perfect spokesman American empire. Sadistic, bloated, and corrupt.
    Just passing through , says: Show Comment January 21, 2020 at 4:20 pm GMT
    @Old and grumpy Trump also needs to have food sanctions placed on him. His body is being oppressed and is crying out for (diet) regime change.

    [Jan 19, 2020] Pompeo idea of deterence means "deterrence to protect [the financial and energy hegemony of] America".

    Notable quotes:
    "... Pompeo omitted a crucial part of this sentence: "deterrence to protect [the financial and energy hegemony of] America". ..."
    "... a regular part of the MSM/cinema diet masticated by the general public that we have completely forgotten that the basic function of the armed forces is the pursuit of vested interests through superior violence. ..."
    "... No qualms or BS 'deterrence', armies are for taking other people's stuff by force (land-grabs, etc). I would respect Pompeo a whole lot more (but not much more...) if he just once came out and said: "Iran is run by people who don't want us to take their stuff; we want to undermine them and replace them with paid yes-men who will let us take Iran's stuff. We will use violence and armed force to make this happen. ..."
    "... But we have no intention of distributing this loot evenly among our citizens. Instead it will be paid as dividends to select shareholders and spent retooling the military for next poor bastards who stand up to us." ..."
    Jan 19, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Patroklos , Jan 19 2020 5:40 utc | 84

    "...deterrence to protect America."

    Pompeo omitted a crucial part of this sentence: "deterrence to protect [the financial and energy hegemony of] America".

    While this might be obvious to us, the narrative that US foreign policy is about protecting citizens, values and apple pie from 'bad guys' -- and indeed that the militaries of all Western countries are benign police forces preventing ISIS from burning your old Eagles albums and other violations of 'freedom' -- is such a regular part of the MSM/cinema diet masticated by the general public that we have completely forgotten that the basic function of the armed forces is the pursuit of vested interests through superior violence.

    It always seemed strange to me that the post-ww2 cinematic template for war-movies, and by extension the basic plot of all reporting of western military activity in the media, always represented the enemy as evil precisely because they use militaries in an instrumental way (i.e for the purpose they were designed). The Germans, or for that matter the Persians in 300 , or any baddies in war films, seek to extend and protect their interests (real or imagined) by deploying armed forces.

    The good guys are always identifiable through this idea of 'deterrence': "hey man, all we want is just to live and let live, but you pushed us so we pushed back." Then one stirs in a little 'preemptive deterrence': you looked like you were going to push so we acted. If we 'accidentally' go too far, it's because there is a deranged C-in-C: Hitler, or Xerxes, or some other naughty boy who can be the fall-guy, scapegoat, etc.

    To get serious we need to go back a very long way, to, say, the Iliad , which, like all Greek (and Roman) literature, assumes as a premise (and it's tragedy) that the warrior's basic function is to kill, pillage, rape and occasionally protect others from the same. But mostly take by force .

    No qualms or BS 'deterrence', armies are for taking other people's stuff by force (land-grabs, etc). I would respect Pompeo a whole lot more (but not much more...) if he just once came out and said: "Iran is run by people who don't want us to take their stuff; we want to undermine them and replace them with paid yes-men who will let us take Iran's stuff. We will use violence and armed force to make this happen.

    But we have no intention of distributing this loot evenly among our citizens. Instead it will be paid as dividends to select shareholders and spent retooling the military for next poor bastards who stand up to us."

    Just once.

    [Jan 19, 2020] Now BoneSpurs Opened the Pandora's Box of Open State Level Assassinations Not Ethical - Inhumane and Imbecilic, really. That's why I am voting for Gabbard this Time. A 2nd Gen Navy Vet. Been to War Zones in the Gulf.

    Jan 19, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    IronForge , Jan 18 2020 3:03 utc | 93

    The MIC were running about without leashes.

    Once they delved into "Conquest and Exploitation", the Military were OverScoped and Few People thought of rebuilding/modernizing Civil Infrastructure and Economy of the Conquered.

    Also, IMHO, every Govt-Job that affect the Military and Veterans' Lives should be held by Veterans. Need them to be where the Rubber Meets the Road before sending others into harm's way. I'd go as far to require WH, Congress, Supremes to be Previously Assigned to Combat Units/Hot Zones (FatBoy Pompeo Fails here) - and have Combat Eligible Family be in Active Duty or Drilling Reserves - ready to be sent to the Front Lines should they call for War while running the Republic-turned-Hegemon.

    That would include BoneShards' Adult Children and Spouses.

    WH have been on a PetroUSD/MIC/PNAC7/AIPAC Bandwagon - which drive down Non-Yielding Nation-States with Sanctions.

    Now BoneShards Opened the Pandora's Box of Open State Level Assassinations using Diplomatic Peace Missions as Venues. Worse? Against a Nation-State which can Respond in Kind - AND Develop+Deploy Nuclear WMDs. Not Ethical - Inhumane and Imbecilic, really. That's why I am voting for Gabbard this Time. A 2nd Gen Navy Vet. Been to War Zones in the Gulf.

    lysias , Jan 18 2020 3:24 utc | 97

    This retired Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Navy has also been donating to Gabbard.

    [Jan 16, 2020] Trump's fits the pattern the Russians have used to depict the USA: "not agreement capable".

    One of the strongest predictive sign that you have a sociopathic boss is that he/she is not agreement capable.
    The maintenance of fear, chaos and blowback are exACTLY the desired result. Deliberately and on purpose.
    Notable quotes:
    "... I would put it a bit differently. Trump's erraticness is a strong signal he fits to a pattern the Russians have used to depict the US: "not agreement capable". ..."
    Jan 16, 2020 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

    Yves Smith Post author , , January 14, 2020 at 12:31 pm

    I would put it a bit differently. Trump's erraticness is a strong signal he fits to a pattern the Russians have used to depict the US: "not agreement capable". That's what I meant by he selects for weak partners. His negotiating style signals that he is a bad faith actor. Who would put up with that unless you had to, or you could somehow build that into your price?

    barnaby33 , , January 14, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    Considering I doubt the Russians have ever honored a single deal they made, that's maybe not a good example!

    Yves Smith Post author , , January 15, 2020 at 12:16 am

    I have no idea who your mythical Russians are. I know two people who did business in Russia before things got stupid and they never had problems with getting paid. Did you also miss that "Russians" have bought so much real estate in London that they mainly don't live in that you could drop a neutron bomb in the better parts of Chelsea and South Kensington and not kill anyone?

    Pray tell, how could they acquire high end property if they are such cheats?

    Boomka , , January 15, 2020 at 6:38 am

    somebody was eating too much US propaganda? how about this for starters:
    https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/26-years-on-russia-set-to-repay-all-soviet-unions-foreign-debt

    "It is politically important: Russia has paid off the USSR's debt to a country that no longer exists," said Mr Yuri Yudenkov, a professor at the Russian University of Economics and Public Administration. "This is very important in terms of reputation: the ability to repay on time, the responsibility," he told AFP.

    It would have been very easy for Russia to say it cannot be held responsible for USSR's debts, especially in this case where debt is to a non-existent entity.

    [Jan 16, 2020] "Ruptured" Pompeo delivers: we just entered a new and far more dangerous era

    Jan 16, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    V , Jan 15 2020 1:32 utc | 104

    Some rather alarming news this morning (here); Pompeo now says the assassination of Soleimani was deterrence.

    Not stopping there, he went on to say that U.S. deterrence also applies to Russia and China!

    I'd say the gauntlet has been thrown down; just how far behind can war be now?

    The U.S. has been pushing the limits of international crime for decades; and I think they're so used to being not challenged, that they forget (or stupidly think they're invincible) Russia and China will fight rather than cow tow to any U.S. coercion...

    IMO, we just entered a new and far more dangerous era...

    [Jan 15, 2020] Just Trust Us, Says the Most Dishonest Administration Ever

    Notable quotes:
    "... On Sunday, the Washington Post, citing a senior U.S official, reported that "Pompeo first spoke with Trump about killing Suleimani months ago but neither the president nor Pentagon officials were willing to countenance such an operation." On Thursday, CNN's Nicole Gaouette and Jamie Gangel reported that "Pompeo was a driving force behind President Donald Trump's decision to kill" the Iranian general. The CNN story said that Pompeo, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump before he moved to the State Department, viewed Suleimani as the mastermind of myriad operations targeting Americans and U.S interests. It also quoted an unnamed source close to Pompeo, who recalled the Secretary of State telling friends, "I will not retire from public service until Suleimani is off the battlefield." ..."
    theamericanconservative.com
    One of the new bogus explanations that the administration has been offering up is that there was a threat to one or more U.S. embassies that led to the assassination. Rep. Justin Amash notes this morning that they have presented no evidence to Congress to back up any of this or their original claim of an "imminent" attack:
    The administration didn't present evidence to Congress regarding even one embassy. The four embassies claim seems to be totally made up. And they have never presented evidence of imminence -- a necessary condition to act without congressional approval -- with respect to any of this. The administration didn't present evidence to Congress regarding even one embassy. The four embassies claim seems to be totally made up. And they have never presented evidence of imminence -- a necessary condition to act without congressional approval -- with respect to any of this. https://t.co/Eg0vaCnqFd -- Justin Amash (@justinamash) -- Justin Amash (@justinamash) -- Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 12, 2020
    The administration's story keeps changing, because they are just making up unconvincing justifications for what they did. The president invents new excuses for the illegal assassination, and his subordinates feel obliged to follow his lead because they are implicated in his decision. The strange thing is that this administration still expects to be believed on something as important as this despite their constant lying to Congress and the public about everything else. The president and Secretary of State have trashed their credibility long ago, so there is no chance that we would give them the benefit of the doubt now. As a result, there is much more healthy and appropriate skepticism about the administration's claims since January 2nd than there usually is. We are still piecing together what happened at the start of this year in the days leading up to the assassination, but the picture we are getting is one of a push by determined hard-line ideologues to take military action against a government they hate. Pompeo was the leading advocate for doing this. John Cassidy The administration's story keeps changing, because they are just making up unconvincing justifications for what they did. The president invents new excuses for the illegal assassination, and his subordinates feel obliged to follow his lead because they are implicated in his decision. The strange thing is that this administration still expects to be believed on something as important as this despite their constant lying to Congress and the public about everything else. The president and Secretary of State have trashed their credibility long ago, so there is no chance that we would give them the benefit of the doubt now. As a result, there is much more healthy and appropriate skepticism about the administration's claims since January 2nd than there usually is. We are still piecing together what happened at the start of this year in the days leading up to the assassination, but the picture we are getting is one of a push by determined hard-line ideologues to take military action against a government they hate. Pompeo was the leading advocate for doing this. John Cassidy We are still piecing together what happened at the start of this year in the days leading up to the assassination, but the picture we are getting is one of a push by determined hard-line ideologues to take military action against a government they hate. Pompeo was the leading advocate for doing this. John Cassidy We are still piecing together what happened at the start of this year in the days leading up to the assassination, but the picture we are getting is one of a push by determined hard-line ideologues to take military action against a government they hate. Pompeo was the leading advocate for doing this. John Cassidy reports :
    On Sunday, the Washington Post, citing a senior U.S official, reported that "Pompeo first spoke with Trump about killing Suleimani months ago but neither the president nor Pentagon officials were willing to countenance such an operation." On Thursday, CNN's Nicole Gaouette and Jamie Gangel reported that "Pompeo was a driving force behind President Donald Trump's decision to kill" the Iranian general. The CNN story said that Pompeo, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump before he moved to the State Department, viewed Suleimani as the mastermind of myriad operations targeting Americans and U.S interests. It also quoted an unnamed source close to Pompeo, who recalled the Secretary of State telling friends, "I will not retire from public service until Suleimani is off the battlefield."
    Pompeo has Pompeo has lied constantly about Iran and the nuclear deal before and after he became Secretary of State, so it is not surprising that he has been the administration's public face as they lie to Congress and the public about this illegal assassination. No wonder he doesn't want to appear before Congress to testify.

    kouroi • 32 minutes ago

    Add to this the concomitant attempt made in Yemen, where there is no American presence other than the bombs dropping from the sky, against an Iranian operative, and it shows the push of the administration to go for the kill as the main factor. The US is becoming more and more like Israel: kill first, no excuses, we are the chosen ones - The "revenge" of Dinah's brothers, Genesis 34:25. This is The US of A's diplomacy nowadays. The world has really been put on notice. And the world will be reacting, see the visit of Chancellor Merkel to Moscow immediately after that.

    The question is what the American citizens are going to do? What are they going to vote for?

    JSC2397 • 18 minutes ago • edited
    Why shouldn't Trump and his Administration's creatures "expect to be believed"? He and his toadies have misstated, misled, BS-ed and outright lied to the public for three years now; and - despite a "credibility gap" of Vallis Marineris proportions - have gotten no appreciable pushback from the media.
    The right-wing media simply cheerlead him, as usual: and everybody else just sort of nods, grunts, and moves on.

    [Jan 14, 2020] Patrick Henningsen on Twitter I see we have reached peak hypocrisy now. Resign Mike. You are an embarrassment to the people

    Jan 14, 2020 | twitter.com


    Patrick Henningsen ‏ 1:47 AM - 13 Jan 2020

    I see we have reached peak hypocrisy now. Resign Mike. You are an embarrassment to the people of the United States who you claim to be serving. Every day you read the same script, and it's a bevy of lies, every time.

    btowngoatsnbirds ‏ 1:57 AM - 13 Jan 2020

    Shhh....the grownups have a country to run

    Patrick Henningsen ‏ 2:46 AM - 13 Jan 2020

    Yes, I heard that one too.

    Cheryl Sanchez ‏ 1:50 PM - 13 Jan 2020

    Indeed.

    [Jan 11, 2020] How Pompeo convinced Trump to kill Soleimani and fulfilled a decade-long goal - KRDO

    Notable quotes:
    "... Pompeo has forged "very close relationships" with Haspel and Esper, alliances that bolstered his ability to make the case to Trump. "They all work together very, very closely," said the former Republican national security official. ..."
    Jan 11, 2020 | krdo.com

    ... ... ...

    As planning got underway, Pompeo worked with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Army Gen. Mark Milley and the commander of CENTCOM Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie to assess the profile of troops in the field. Multiple sources also say that hawkish Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, were kept in the loop and also pushed Trump to respond.

    Trump was not at all reluctant to target Soleimani, multiple sources said, adding that the President's other senior advisers -- Esper, Milley, CIA Director Gina Haspel and national security adviser Robert O'Brien -- "were all on board."

    Pompeo has forged "very close relationships" with Haspel and Esper, alliances that bolstered his ability to make the case to Trump. "They all work together very, very closely," said the former Republican national security official.

    That said, the former official expressed concern about the lack of deep expertise in Trump's national security team. Several analysts pointed to this as one factor in Pompeo's outsized influence within the administration.

    The government is so compromised by Trump and by all the vacancies and lack of experience, this former official said, that "everything is being done by a handful of principles -- Pompeo, Esper, Milley. There are a lot of things being left on the floor."

    'Such a low bar'

    Pompeo is arguably the most experienced of the national security Cabinet, the former national security official said, "but it's such a low bar."

    "It's such a small group and there's so much that needs to be done," the former official said. "Everyone in this administration is a level and a half higher than they would be in a normal administration. They have no bench," they said.

    The Trump administration has been handicapped by the President's refusal to hire Republicans who criticize him. Other Republicans won't work for the administration, for fear of being "tainted" or summarily fired, the former official said.

    As layers of experience have been peeled away at the White House, some analysts say safeguards have been removed as well. CNN's Peter Bergen has written in his new book, "Trump and his Generals," that former Defense Secretary James Mattis told his aides not to present the President with options for confronting Iran militarily.

    Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, argues that since the departure of Mattis, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and former White House chief of staff and retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, there are very few voices at the White House to offer "deeply considered advice."

    "We don't have those people who have that experience and could look Trump in the eye and who have his respect and who could say, 'Hey, hey, hey -- wait!'," Slim said.

    [Jan 11, 2020] 'Brought to Jesus' the evangelical grip on the Trump administration US news The Guardian

    Jan 11, 2020 | www.theguardian.com

    'Brought to Jesus': the evangelical grip on the Trump administration The influence of evangelical Christianity is likely to become an important question as Trump finds himself dependent on them for political survival

    Julian Borger in Washington

    Fri 11 Jan 2019 02.00 EST Last modified on Fri 18 Jan 2019 16.51 EST Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Donald Trump at the Republican national convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on 18 July 2016. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters I n setting out the Trump administration's Middle East policy, one of the first things Mike Pompeo made clear to his audience in Cairo is that he had come to the region as "as an evangelical Christian".

    In his speech at the American University in Cairo, Pompeo said that in his state department office: "I keep a Bible open on my desk to remind me of God and his word, and the truth."

    The secretary of state's primary message in Cairo was that the US was ready once more to embrace conservative Middle Eastern regimes, no matter how repressive, if they made common cause against Iran.

    His second message was religious. In his visit to Egypt, he came across as much as a preacher as a diplomat. He talked about "America's innate goodness" and marveled at a newly built cathedral as "a stunning testament to the Lord's hand".

    ss="rich-link"> 'Toxic Christianity': the evangelicals creating champions for Trump Read more

    The desire to erase Barack Obama's legacy, Donald Trump's instinctive embrace of autocrats, and the private interests of the Trump Organisation have all been analysed as driving forces behind the administration's foreign policy.

    The gravitational pull of white evangelicals has been less visible. But it could have far-reaching policy consequences. Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo both cite evangelical theology as a powerful motivating force.

    Just as he did in Cairo, Pompeo called on the congregation of a Kansan megachurch three years ago to join a fight of good against evil.

    "We will continue to fight these battles," the then congressman said at the Summit church in Wichita. "It is a never-ending struggle until the rapture. Be part of it. Be in the fight."

    For Pompeo's audience, the rapture invoked an apocalyptical Christian vision of the future, a final battle between good and evil, and the second coming of Jesus Christ, when the faithful will ascend to heaven and the rest will go to hell.

    For many US evangelical Christians, one of the key preconditions for such a moment is the gathering of the world's Jews in a greater Israel between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. It is a belief, known as premillenial dispensationalism or Christian Zionism – and it has very real potential consequences for US foreign policy .

    It directly colours views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and indirectly, attitudes towards Iran, broader Middle East geopolitics and the primacy of protecting Christian minorities. In his Cairo visit, Pompeo heaped praise on Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for building the new cathedral, but made no reference to the 60,000 political prisoners the regime is thought to be holding, or its routine use of torture.

    Pompeo is an evangelical Presbyterian, who says he was "brought to Jesus" by other cadets at the West Point military academy in the 1980s.

    https://www.theguardian.com/email/form/plaintone/4300

    "He knows best how his faith interacts with his political beliefs and the duties he undertakes as secretary of state," said Stan van den Berg, senior pastor of Pompeo's church in Wichita in an email. "Suffice to say, he is a faithful man, he has integrity, he has a compassionate heart, a humble disposition and a mind for wisdom."

    As Donald Trump finds himself ever more dependent on them for his political survival, the influence of Pence, Pompeo and the ultra-conservative white Evangelicals who stand behind them is likely to grow.

    "Many of them relish the second coming because for them it means eternal life in heaven," Andrew Chesnut, professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University said. "There is a palpable danger that people in high position who subscribe to these beliefs will be readier to take us into a conflict that brings on Armageddon."

    Chesnut argues that Christian Zionism has become the "majority theology" among white US Evangelicals, who represent about a quarter of the adult population . In a 2015 poll , 73% of evangelical Christians said events in Israel are prophesied in the Book of Revelation. Respondents were not asked specifically whether their believed developments in Israel would actually bring forth the apocalypse.

    The relationship between evangelicals and the president himself is complicated.

    Trump himself embodies the very opposite of a pious Christian ideal. Trump is not churchgoer. He is profane, twice divorced, who has boasted of sexually assaulting women. But white evangelicals have embraced him.

    Eighty per cent of white evangelicals voted for him in 2016, and his popularity among them is remains in the 70s. While other white voters have flaked away in the first two years of his presidency, white evangelicals have become his last solid bastion.

    Some leading evangelicals see Trump as a latterday King Cyrus, the sixth-century BC Persian emperor who liberated the Jews from Babylonian captivity.

    The comparison is made explicitly in The Trump Prophecy , a religious film screened in 1,200 cinemas around the country in October, depicting a retired firefighter who claims to have heard God's voice, saying: "I've chosen this man, Donald Trump, for such a time as this."

    Lance Wallnau , a self-proclaimed prophet who features in the film, has called Trump "God's Chaos Candidate" and a "modern Cyrus".

    "Cyrus is the model for a nonbeliever appointed by God as a vessel for the purposes of the faithful," said Katherine Stewart , who writes extensively about the Christian right.

    She added that they welcome his readiness to break democratic norms to combat perceived threats to their values and way of life.

    "The Christian nationalist movement is characterized by feelings of persecution and, to some degree, paranoia – a clear example is the idea that there is somehow a 'war on Christmas'," Stewart said. "People in those positions will often go for authoritarian leaders who will do whatever is necessary to fight for their cause."

    Trump was raised as a Presbyterian, but leaned increasingly towards evangelical preachers as he began contemplating a run for the presidency.

    Trump's choice of Pence as a running mate was a gesture of his commitment, and four of the six preachers at his inauguration were evangelicals, including White and Franklin Graham, the eldest son of the preacher Billy Graham, who defended Trump through his many sex scandals, pointing out: "We are all sinners."

    Having lost control of the House of Representatives in November, and under ever closer scrutiny for his campaign's links to the Kremlin, Trump's instinct has been to cleave ever closer to his most loyal supporters.

    Almost alone among major demographic groups, white evangelicals are overwhelmingly in favour of Trump's border wall, which some preachers equate with fortifications in the Bible.

    Evangelical links have also helped shape US alliances in the Trump presidency. As secretary of state, Pompeo has been instrumental in forging link with other evangelical leaders in the hemisphere, including Guatemala's Jimmy Morales and the new Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro . Both have undertaken to follow the US lead in moving their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem .

    Trump's order to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv – over the objections of his foreign policy and national security team – is a striking example of evangelical clout.

    ss="rich-link"> Sheldon Adelson: the casino mogul driving Trump's Middle East policy Read more

    The move was also pushed by Las Vegas billionaire and Republican mega-donor, Sheldon Adelson, but the orchestration of the embassy opening ceremony last May, reflected the audience Trump was trying hardest to appease.

    The two pastors given the prime speaking slots were both ardent Christian Zionists: Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor on record as saying Jews, like Muslims and Mormons, are bound for hell ; and John Hagee, a televangelist and founder of Christians United for Israel (Cufi), who once said that Hitler and the Holocaust were part of God's plan to get Jews back to Israel , to pave the way for the Rapture.

    For many evangelicals, the move cemented Trump's status as the new Cyrus, who oversaw the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

    The tightening of the evangelical grip on the administration has also been reflected in a growing hostility to the UN, often portrayed as a sinister and godless organisation.

    Since the US ambassador, Nikki Haley, announced her departure in October and Pompeo took more direct control, the US mission has become increasingly combative, blocking references to gender and reproductive health in UN documents.

    Some theologians also see an increasingly evangelical tinge to the administration's broader Middle East policies, in particular its fierce embrace of Binyamin Netanyahu's government, the lack of balancing sympathy for the Palestinians – and the insistent demonisation of the Iranian government.

    ss="rich-link"> US will expel every last Iranian boot from Syria, says Mike Pompeo Read more

    Evangelicals, Chesnut said, "now see the United States locked into a holy war against the forces of evil who they see as embodied by Iran".

    In a speech at the end of a regional tour on Thursday, Pompeo reprised the theme, describing Iran as a "cancerous influence".

    This zeal for a defining struggle has thus far found common cause with more secular hawks such as the national security adviser, John Bolton, and Trump's own drive to eliminate the legacy of Barack Obama, whose signature foreign policy achievement was the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, which Trump abrogated last May.

    In conversations with European leaders such as Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May, Trump has reportedly insisted he has no intention of going to war with Iran. His desire to extricate US troops from Syria marks a break with hawks, religious and secular, who want to contain Iranian influence there.

    But the logic of his policy of ever-increasing pressure, coupled with unstinting support for Israel and Saudi Arabia, makes confrontation with Iran ever more likely.

    One of the most momentous foreign policy questions of 2019 is whether Trump can veer away from the collision course he has helped set in motion – perhaps conjuring up a last minute deal, as he did with North Korea – or instead welcome conflict as a distraction from his domestic woes, and sell it to the faithful as a crusade.

    Topics Donald Trump Evangelical Christianity Trump administration US foreign policy Religion US politics Christianity features

    [Jan 11, 2020] Big Money in Politics Doesn't Just Drive Inequality. It Drives War. - FPIF

    Notable quotes:
    "... Citizens United ..."
    Jan 11, 2020 | fpif.org

    Big Money in Politics Doesn't Just Drive Inequality. It Drives War.

    Military contractors have shelled out over $1 million to the 2016 presidential candidates -- including over $200,000 to Hillary Clinton alone.

    By Rebecca Green , April 27, 2016 . Originally published in OtherWords .

    Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Military-Industrial Diagnosis

    Khalil Bendib / OtherWords.org

    The 2016 presidential elections are proving historic, and not just because of the surprising success of self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders, the lively debate among feminists over whether to support Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump's unorthodox candidacy.

    The elections are also groundbreaking because they're revealing more dramatically than ever the corrosive effect of big money on our decaying democracy.

    Following the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision and related rulings, corporations and the wealthiest Americans gained the legal right to raise and spend as much money as they want on political candidates.

    The 2012 elections were consequently the most expensive in U.S. history. And this year's races are predicted to cost even more. With the general election still six months away, donors have already sunk $1 billion into the presidential race -- with $619 million raised by candidates and another $412 million by super PACs.

    Big money in politics drives grave inequality in our country. It also drives war.

    After all, war is a profitable industry. While millions of people all over the world are being killed and traumatized by violence, a small few make a killing from the never-ending war machine.

    During the Iraq War, for example, weapons manufacturers and a cadre of other corporations made billions on federal contracts.

    Most notoriously this included Halliburton, a military contractor previously led by Dick Cheney. The company made huge profits from George W. Bush's decision to wage a costly, unjustified, and illegal war while Cheney served as his vice president.

    Military-industrial corporations spend heavily on political campaigns. They've given over $1 million to this year's presidential candidates so far -- over $200,000 of which went to Hillary Clinton, who leads the pack in industry backing.

    These corporations target House and Senate members who sit on the Armed Forces and Appropriations Committees, who control the purse strings for key defense line items. And cleverly, they've planted factories in most congressional districts. Even if they provide just a few dozen constituent jobs per district, that helps curry favor with each member of Congress.

    Thanks to aggressive lobbying efforts, weapons manufacturers have secured the five largest contracts made by the federal government over the last seven years. In 2014, the U.S. government awarded over $90 billion worth of contracts to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman.

    Military spending has been one of the top three biggest federal programs every year since 2000, and it's far and away the largest discretionary portion. Year after year, elected officials spend several times more on the military than on education, energy, and the environment combined.

    Lockheed Martin's problematic F-35 jet illustrates this disturbingly disproportionate use of funds. The same $1.5 trillion Washington will spend on the jet, journalist Tom Cahill calculates , could have provided tuition-free public higher education for every student in the U.S. for the next 23 years. Instead, the Pentagon ordered a fighter plane that can't even fire its own gun yet.

    Given all of this, how can anyone justify war spending?

    Some folks will say it's to make us safer . Yet the aggressive U.S. military response following the 9/11 attacks -- the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the NATO bombing of Libya, and drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen -- has only destabilized the region. "Regime change" foreign policies have collapsed governments and opened the doors to Islamist terrorist groups like ISIS.

    Others may say they support a robust Pentagon budget because of the jobs the military creates . But dollar for dollar, education spending creates nearly three times more jobs than military spending.

    We need to stop letting politicians and corporations treat violence and death as "business opportunities." Until politics become about people instead of profits, we'll remain crushed in the death grip of the war machine.

    And that is the real national security threat facing the United States today. Share this:

    [Jan 11, 2020] Meet the CEOs Raking It in from Trump's Aggression Toward Iran - FPIF

    Notable quotes:
    "... Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-edits the IPS publication Inequality.org. Follow her at @SarahDAnderson1. ..."
    Jan 11, 2020 | fpif.org

    Meet the CEOs Raking It in from Trump's Aggression Toward Iran

    Major military contractors saw a stock surge from the U.S. assassination of an Iranian general. For CEOs, that means payday comes early.

    By Sarah Anderson , January 6, 2020 . Originally published in Inequality.org .

    Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint military-industrial-complex-arms-contractors

    Chris Devers / Flickr

    CEOs of major U.S. military contractors stand to reap huge windfalls from the escalation of conflict with Iran. This was evident in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian military official last week. As soon as the news reached financial markets, these companies' share prices spiked, inflating the value of their executives' stock-based pay.

    I took a look at how the CEOs at the top five Pentagon contractors were affected by this surge, using the most recent SEC information on their stock holdings.

    Northrop Grumman executives saw the biggest increase in the value of their stocks after the U.S. airstrike that killed Qasem Suleimani on January 2. Shares in the B-2 bomber maker rose 5.43 percent by the end of trading the following day.

    Wesley Bush, who turned Northrop Grumman's reins over to Kathy Warden last year, held 251,947 shares of company stock in various trusts as of his final SEC Form 4 filing in May 2019. (Companies must submit these reports when top executives and directors buy and sell company stock.) Assuming Bush is still sitting on that stockpile, he saw the value grow by $4.9 million to a total of $94.5 million last Friday.

    New Northrop Grumman CEO Warden saw the 92,894 shares she'd accumulated as the firm's COO expand in value by more than $2.7 million in just one day of post-assassination trading.

    Lockheed Martin, whose Hellfire missiles were reportedly used in the attack at the Baghdad airport, saw a 3.6 percent increase in price per share on January 3. Marillyn Hewson, CEO of the world's largest weapon maker, may be kicking herself for selling off a considerable chunk of stock last year when it was trading at around $307. Nevertheless, by the time Lockheed shares reached $413 at the closing bell, her remaining stash had increased in value by about $646,000.

    What about the manufacturer of the MQ-9 Reaper that carried the Hellfire missiles? That would be General Atomics. Despite raking in $2.8 billion in taxpayer-funded contracts in 2018, the drone maker is not required to disclose executive compensation information because it is a privately held corporation.

    We do know General Atomics CEO Neal Blue is worth an estimated $4.1 billion -- and he's a major investor in oil production, a sector that also stands to profit from conflict with a major oil-producing country like Iran.

    *Resigned 12/22/19. **Resigned 1/1/19 while staying on as chairman until 7/19. New CEO Kathy Warden accumulated 92,894 shares in her previous position as Northrop Grumman COO.

    Suleimani's killing also inflated the value of General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic's fortune. As the weapon maker's share price rose about 1 percentage point on January 3, the former CIA official saw her stock holdings increase by more than $1.2 million.

    Raytheon CEO Thomas Kennedy saw a single-day increase in his stock of more than half a million dollars, as the missile and bomb manufacturer's share price increased nearly 1.5 percent. Boeing stock remained flat on Friday. But Dennis Muilenberg, recently ousted as CEO over the 737 aircraft scandal, appears to be well-positioned to benefit from any continued upward drift of the defense sector.

    As of his final Form 4 report, Muilenburg was sitting on stock worth about $47.7 million. In his yet to be finalized exit package, the disgraced former executive could also pocket huge sums of currently unvested stock grants.

    Hopefully sanity will soon prevail and the terrifyingly high tensions between the Trump administration and Iran will de-escalate. But even if the military stock surge of this past Friday turns out to be a market blip, it's a sobering reminder of who stands to gain the most from a war that could put millions of lives at risk.

    We can put an end to dangerous war profiteering by denying federal contracts to corporations that pay their top executives excessively. In 2008, John McCain, then a Republican presidential candidate, proposed capping CEO pay at companies receiving taxpayer bailouts at no more than $400,000 (the salary of the U.S. president). That notion should be extended to companies that receive massive taxpayer-funded contracts.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, for instance, has a plan to deny federal contracts to companies that pay CEOs more than 150 times what their typical worker makes.

    As long as we allow the top executives of our privatized war economy to reap unlimited rewards, the profit motive for war in Iran -- or anywhere -- will persist. Share this:

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    Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-edits the IPS publication Inequality.org. Follow her at @SarahDAnderson1.

    [Jan 10, 2020] Mike Pompeo played loose with the facts and should step down as secretary of state: there were no eminent threat

    He's played fast and loose with the facts, undermining his credibility on the world stage.
    Democrats insist the move was hasty and claim there wasn't adequate intelligence to justify killing Soleimani. Essetually he was murged because Pompeo wanted to show the strength of the USA in view of the attack on the USA embassy (which did not have any victims)
    Pompeo collected more campaign donations from the Kochs and their employees than any candidate in the country
    Notable quotes:
    "... In fact, military analysts say Soleimani's assassination by the US is tantamount to a declaration of war against regional superpower Iran. What is certain is that his death marks the beginning of a terrifying new and unpredictable era in an already turbulent region. ..."
    "... Indeed, in retrospect it seems nothing short of astonishing that just a day earlier the ayatollah himself had mocked Trump about the violence outside the US embassy in Iraq, which Washington claimed was orchestrated by Iran. 'You can't do anything,' Khamenei said, in what will surely go down in history as one of the most ill-advised tweets ever posted by a country's leader. ..."
    "... While most people in the West will not have known much, if anything, about Soleimani before the announcement of his death yesterday, in Iran he was the most revered military leader since the country's 1979 revolution. ..."
    Jan 10, 2020 | dailymail.co.uk

    Consequences: Donald Trump appears to have no strategy for dealing with the fall-out

    In fact, military analysts say Soleimani's assassination by the US is tantamount to a declaration of war against regional superpower Iran. What is certain is that his death marks the beginning of a terrifying new and unpredictable era in an already turbulent region.

    Unsurprisingly, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned that 'severe consequences' await the killers of Soleimani, while the country's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, denounced the assassination as an 'act of international terrorism'.

    Meanwhile in the US, a number of major cities have increased security to protect prominent landmarks and civilians from possible revenge terrorist attacks.

    Whether or not that US reaction is justified, it would be difficult to overstate just how big a loss Soleimani's death is for the Iranian regime, how seriously we should take its vows of revenge – or, just as crucially, how humiliatingly off-guard Iran's leaders were when Trump gave his kill order.

    Indeed, in retrospect it seems nothing short of astonishing that just a day earlier the ayatollah himself had mocked Trump about the violence outside the US embassy in Iraq, which Washington claimed was orchestrated by Iran. 'You can't do anything,' Khamenei said, in what will surely go down in history as one of the most ill-advised tweets ever posted by a country's leader.

    Meanwhile, so apparently unconcerned was Soleimani about his own safety that the general – famed for constantly outsmarting his enemies on the battlefield – did not bother to keep his travel plans secret.

    While most people in the West will not have known much, if anything, about Soleimani before the announcement of his death yesterday, in Iran he was the most revered military leader since the country's 1979 revolution.

    [Jan 10, 2020] Pompous killer

    Notable quotes:
    "... Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been revealed to be the puppet master behind POTUS Trump's motion to liquidate a top Iranian commander, CNN reported citing sources inside and around the White House, with the revelation indicating Pompeo's influential status in the Trump administration. ..."
    "... The sources suggested that the Iranian general was Pompeo's fixation, so that he even sought to get a visa to Iran in 2016 when he represented Kansas in Congress, before assuming the role of CIA director and then his current one. ..."
    "... Despite winning the moniker of "Trump whisperer" over the ties he has developed with POTUS, Pompeo's ability to sell an aggressive Iran strategy to Trump, who has commonly opposed any military confrontation, has caused a certain sway, the sources implied. ..."
    "... "He's the one leading the way", according to the source in Pompeo's inner circle, discussing the showdown with Iran. "It's the president's policy, but Pompeo has been the leading voice in helping the president craft this policy. There is no doubt Mike is the one leading it in the Cabinet". ..."
    "... While bragging about Washington's "big and accurate" missiles as well as US achievements during his tenure, he separately praised the "new powerful economic sanctions" aimed at Iran, promising that they would be in place until Tehran "changes its behaviour". Also, he invited NATO to get more deeply involved in what is going on in the Middle East, with the Transatlantic bloc reacting favorably to the suggestion. ..."
    Jan 10, 2020 | sputniknews.com

    Mike Pompeo has reportedly long cherished plans to take the Iranian general off the Middle East battlefield, as he is said to have for quite a while seen late Commander Soleimani as the one behind the spiralling tensions with Tehran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been revealed to be the puppet master behind POTUS Trump's motion to liquidate a top Iranian commander, CNN reported citing sources inside and around the White House, with the revelation indicating Pompeo's influential status in the Trump administration.

    According to several sources, taking Iranian General Qasem Soleimani – the leader of the elite Quds Force, a powerful military group with vast leverage in the region - "off the battlefield" has been Pompeo's goal for a decade.

    Pompeo "was the one who made the case to take out Soleimani, it was him absolutely", a source said, adding he apparently floated the idea when debating the US Embassy raid over New Year with Trump.

    According to a number of sources close to Pompeo, the secretary of state has at all times believed that Iran is the root cause of the woes in the Middle East, and Soleimani in particular - the mastermind of terrorism raging across the region. This point of view is notably in tune with how Pompeo commented on the commander's assassination:

    "We took a bad guy off the battlefield", Pompeo told CNN on 5 January. "We made the right decision". The same day, Pompeo told ABC that killing Soleimani was important "because this was a fella who was the glue, who was conducting active plotting against the United States of America, putting American lives at risk".

    The sources suggested that the Iranian general was Pompeo's fixation, so that he even sought to get a visa to Iran in 2016 when he represented Kansas in Congress, before assuming the role of CIA director and then his current one.

    Despite winning the moniker of "Trump whisperer" over the ties he has developed with POTUS, Pompeo's ability to sell an aggressive Iran strategy to Trump, who has commonly opposed any military confrontation, has caused a certain sway, the sources implied.

    "He's the one leading the way", according to the source in Pompeo's inner circle, discussing the showdown with Iran. "It's the president's policy, but Pompeo has been the leading voice in helping the president craft this policy. There is no doubt Mike is the one leading it in the Cabinet".

    Regardless of who inspired the drone attack that killed Soleimani, the two countries are indeed going through a stint of severe tensions, but no direct military confrontation. After Tehran's retaliatory attack, Trump announced a slew of more stringent economic limitations to be slapped on Iran.

    While bragging about Washington's "big and accurate" missiles as well as US achievements during his tenure, he separately praised the "new powerful economic sanctions" aimed at Iran, promising that they would be in place until Tehran "changes its behaviour". Also, he invited NATO to get more deeply involved in what is going on in the Middle East, with the Transatlantic bloc reacting favorably to the suggestion.

    [Jan 10, 2020] "Moqtada al-Sadr advices to prepare for the battle by closing all Hashd al-Shaabi offices to avoid offering easy targets to the #US when the decision of armed resistance is decided and if the US refuses to withdraw from Iraq."

    Notable quotes:
    "... Hopefully you are right on the Kurds and Sunnis, but the US ability to enlist proxies has always surprised me. ..."
    "... Newspeak: IRAN APPEARS TO BE STANDING DOWN. Imperial words when attacked directly. ..."
    "... Iran has been patiently demonstrating its capabilities. The following terms came into the vernacular and are associated with those capabilities: Stena Impero/Adryan Darya, Khurais and Abqaiq, RQ-4A Global Hawk, PMU/PMF and many others, and now, Ain al-Asad. ..."
    "... US cannot afford to fight a war with Iran directly. If so, it would have to fight from Hindu Kush to the Mediterranean, so, just be ready for skirmishes here and there. I see RSH is posting here now. He has been predicting a war between the two nations by the end of 2010, end of 2011, end of 2012, and on and on, on other sites. Haven't read enough of his comments to see if it's now by the end of 2020? ..."
    "... But I think both Iran and North Korea will keep the pressure on the US high throughout this election year, entirely intentional of course. ..."
    "... Damn, I'm late to the party again. It's probably been said already, but Iran's response is pure genius. Early warning to try to avoid casualties, speaks volumes about the differences between the evil empire and the Iranians. ..."
    "... Unless one entertains the belief that Iran's missile attacks all misfired and missed their human targets-which appears to be the view that the friends of Israel and those who believe in the indefatigability of the US military, hold- then what Iran has just provided is spectacular confirmation that, short of a nuclear attack, there is nothing that the US can do, but go. ..."
    "... Clearly its bases cannot be defended, that is what the craters and smashed buildings are telling them. If the Secretary of Defense wants to wait for a written request to leave the country that is his privilege-he's lucky not to be living there- but there is no way that the US forces can stay there. They have become unwelcome guests. ..."
    "... People voted for Trump primarily for two reasons: Obama and the D-Party had stabbed them in the back allowing millions to lose their homes while the fraudulent banksters got away scot-free and with $Trillions too-boot, and they knew Clinton was a deranged warmonger while Trump talked reasonably about the Outlaw US Empire's many Imperial Follies. In short, Trump was seen by many as the lesser of two evils. No, I voted Green. ..."
    "... It sounds as though Abdel Mahdi is being forced into the popular opinion. The US is being reduced into its best defended bases. Where from there, when those bases are isolated? ..."
    "... The US did not escalate today. Trump's speech was all bluster and falsehood, directed almost exclusively to American audience in the interest of domestic politics. ..."
    "... It is also possible that what Pompeo and Esper and Netanyahoo are seeking to accomplish is to maintain the highest level of tension possible without precipitating actual war. This is because all parties recognize that actual war with Iran would entail the destruction of much of Israel's infrastructure and many thousands of Israeli casualties, and these are prices too high to pay for the overthrowing of even the "evil" Iranian "regime". ..."
    "... The Iranians have just displayed that they can and will attack targets with precision. No message? Seriously? You've missed the bigger picture. Iran have scored one on the Strategic level. What you're also missing is that Iraq is moving even closer to Iranian and Chinese-Russian orbit. ..."
    "... Iran communicated its intent to strike US targets in Iraq directly to the Iraqi Prime Minister a full two hours prior to the missiles being launched; Iraq then shared this information with US military commanders, who were able to ensure all US troops were in hardened shelters at the time of the attack. ..."
    Jan 10, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Clueless Joe , Jan 8 2020 21:43 utc | 296

    psychohistorian , Jan 8 2020 21:43 utc | 297
    About whether any died in the Iran attack

    Iran told the US they were going to attack and what areas.

    Of course the US military is not going to abandon its radar installation is it? Maybe there were a few others stationed where survival was iffy. If they die then not surprising that their deaths were covered up because they were told those areas would be hit.

    That is the reason we had the Trump presser today that was projection of, we got the message, don't do any more...stand down.

    If the latest about bombs in the Baghdad Green Zone are accurate then either more Iran or some other factor wanting to trigger US response or ???

    We are all still alive so China/Russia is backstopping Iran from nuclear attack seems clear

    karlof1 , Jan 8 2020 21:44 utc | 298
    Events continue

    Bubbles , Jan 8 2020 20:18 utc | 231

    With those poor disenfranchised American folks putting all their hope in trump and his agenda, are they realizing the benefits of their support yet? I've read 71% of young Americans can't afford to buy a home now the money men have inflated prices to the extreme. Trump's people, the money men.

    Did they vote for him as a show of support for his granting every wish Netanyahu ever had?

    Did they vote for him to support Netanyahu's aggression against his chosen foe, which clearly was an effort to cast the spear of fear into the hearts of Israeli's?

    Demagogues and wannabes set about to rule by making the population afraid.

    Peter AU1 , Jan 8 2020 20:25 utc | 233
    Walter
    Thanks for the explanation.In layman terms and I would guess many professions and trades, speed and velocity are interchangeable.

    Laguerre. Hopefully you are right on the Kurds and Sunnis, but the US ability to enlist proxies has always surprised me. There always seem to be corruptible people anywhere, plus others interested in using the US for their small time ends. But Iraq has changed with the killing of Soleimani. Anti US may end up trumping local grievances for the majority.

    Sakineh Bagoom , Jan 8 2020 20:26 utc | 235
    Newspeak: IRAN APPEARS TO BE STANDING DOWN. Imperial words when attacked directly.

    What is lost in all this debate whether this was Kabuki or not is that Iran went toe to toe with the empire -- directly. Pissed on the red lines set by the empire a day earlier. No need for proxies. No need for false flag from the enemies. Iran has justified legality under article 51 as Zarif pointed out.

    Terror needed re-balancing, and for now, balance of terror has been established.

    Iran has been patiently demonstrating its capabilities. The following terms came into the vernacular and are associated with those capabilities: Stena Impero/Adryan Darya, Khurais and Abqaiq, RQ-4A Global Hawk, PMU/PMF and many others, and now, Ain al-Asad.

    US cannot afford to fight a war with Iran directly. If so, it would have to fight from Hindu Kush to the Mediterranean, so, just be ready for skirmishes here and there. I see RSH is posting here now. He has been predicting a war between the two nations by the end of 2010, end of 2011, end of 2012, and on and on, on other sites. Haven't read enough of his comments to see if it's now by the end of 2020?

    Alexander P , Jan 8 2020 20:28 utc | 236
    Posted by: oldhippie | Jan 8 2020 19:26 utc | 204

    The stage rigging is on plain display here. This was arranged and calculated well in advance. Arranged by someone with power to compel obedience, who would expect perfect compliance to a scheme with many moving parts. So may parts of this might have gone wrong, with WW3 as the consequence of a mistake.

    I completely agree, I think this entire thing is a precursor to something much worse, such as a massive false-flag that will let this conflict turn hot. Last night was but a small taste or using Iranian wording 'mosquito bite'. People are quick to dismiss that war would never be a viable option for the powers that be. When really they have been setting the stage for global calamity for quite some time. The Iran/US/Israel theater is just the first of a number of dominoes that have been carefully set up (NK-US; India-Pakistan; Russia-NATO) to name but a few. Tensions are intentionally being ratcheted up for a major cascading explosion that will ripple around the globe. The ponzi economy bubble-game they have created during the last 20 years is part of that plan to trigger even worse panic among the populace. Having said all of this, it seems to me that they want Trump to still be re-elected before things really turn sour, so there seems to be some time left, which is why the current de-escalation.

    But I think both Iran and North Korea will keep the pressure on the US high throughout this election year, entirely intentional of course.

    Mao , Jan 8 2020 20:28 utc | 237 ben , Jan 8 2020 20:30 utc | 238
    Damn, I'm late to the party again. It's probably been said already, but Iran's response is pure genius. Early warning to try to avoid casualties, speaks volumes about the differences between the evil empire and the Iranians.

    Thanks b, and all. So much better coming here, as opposed to the MSM..

    Mao , Jan 8 2020 20:30 utc | 239 WJ , Jan 8 2020 20:31 utc | 240
    It all depends now on Trump's reelection strategy: Will he run on bringing the troops home or will he run on another Middle East war.

    Posted by: somebody | Jan 8 2020 16:34 utc | 108

    Were I a zionist advisor/donor to Trump, I would advise/blackmail him to do the following: Run a 2020 campaign premised on bringing the troops home, and indeed bring enough of them home (or to Germany) to make that plausible. Then, after you win the election, stage some action or invent some pretext (we control the media and can help you do both) that requires you do go to war against Iran. It will be unpopular and many of your citizens will die. But you are in your second term, we have given you lots of $$$$, and we still have that video tape from the late 1990s of you and the 14-year old eastern european girl.

    bevin , Jan 8 2020 20:34 utc | 243
    Unless one entertains the belief that Iran's missile attacks all misfired and missed their human targets-which appears to be the view that the friends of Israel and those who believe in the indefatigability of the US military, hold- then what Iran has just provided is spectacular confirmation that, short of a nuclear attack, there is nothing that the US can do, but go.

    Clearly its bases cannot be defended, that is what the craters and smashed buildings are telling them. If the Secretary of Defense wants to wait for a written request to leave the country that is his privilege-he's lucky not to be living there- but there is no way that the US forces can stay there. They have become unwelcome guests.

    Of course there are still those who tell us that Iraqi public opinion is divided and that the sunni and the Kurds will be willing agents of the imperialists: I don't think so. What the US has done is to unite Iraqis around nationalist objects and to close the carefully opened divide between the sects. They have come full circle since 2003 and now even the Iraqi members of ISIS (who are a small minority in the Foreign Legion of Uighurs, Bosnians, Albanians, Chechens and wahhabis) will not serve as a wedge to keep Iraqis fighting each other.

    Or Iran: it has taken trillions of dollars and decades for Washington to knock it into the densest politicians' heads but now everyone understands:

    "The US is our enemy, it sees us as untermenschen to be exterminated like vermin. In order to survive and to rebuild our lives and communities we must expel them. We have no choice.

    First we will ask the Swiss Embassy to tell them to leave, then we will pass resolutions in Parliament, and put on fireworks displays at their bases. And they will leave."

    And next will come the matter of Palestine, and the al quds Soleimani's brigade was named for. Israel is beginning to look very lonely now in the Levant- a very abusive, violent and noisy neighbour given to trespassing and larceny.

    Zanon , Jan 8 2020 20:35 utc | 244
    Jackrabbit
    That's all he got. Sanctions?

    Sanctions are act of war. Trump has Conducted a War against Iran for many months with sanctions https://twitter.com/jricole/status/1214912785999650816

    Mina , Jan 8 2020 20:37 utc | 245
    #219
    As in "sanctions vs the EU doing business with"
    Peter AU1 , Jan 8 2020 20:38 utc | 246
    https://ejmagnier.com/2020/01/08/iranian-messages-behind-attacking-us-bases-in-iraq-and-the-consequences/

    "Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi -- according to well-informed sources in Baghdad -- answered that "this act may carry devastating results on the Middle East: Iraq refuses to become the theatre for a US-Iran war".

    The Iranian official replied: "Those who began this cycle of violence are the US, not Iran; the decision has been taken."

    Prime Minister Abdel Mahdi informed the US forces of the Iranian decision. US declared a state of emergency and alerted all US bases in Iraq and the region in advance of the attack.

    Iran bombed the most significant US military base in Iraq, Ayn al-Assad, where just in the last two days, the US command had gathered the largest number of forces. Many US bases, particularly in Shia controlled areas and around Baghdad, were evacuated in the last days for security reason towards Ayn al-Assad, a base that holds anti-nuclear shelters."

    Peter AU1 , Jan 8 2020 20:44 utc | 250
    Easy to see why the US approved of Mahdi as president. A pissweak appeaser how can do no more than write letters to the UN. If he doesn't want a US Iran war in Iraq then he should be booting the yanks out as the Yanks are based there purely on Iran's account. What Mahdi is doing amounts to providing sanctuary to the US on Iran's border.
    Lone Wolf , Jan 8 2020 20:47 utc | 254
    I stand corrected, Magnier has just posted, now b has a source to copy and paste.
    https://ejmagnier.com/2020/01/08/iranian-messages-behind-attacking-us-bases-in-iraq-and-the-consequences/

    Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 8 2020 20:38 utc | 246

    Thank you, Peter AU1!

    Lone Wolf

    james , Jan 8 2020 20:47 utc | 255
    @ lone wolf... bye, bye... why would anyone bother to get worked up about your post? lol..
    Cynica , Jan 8 2020 20:48 utc | 256
    @Lone Wolf #248

    Some of us are indeed quite skeptical that there were no casualties reported whatsoever - by "Western" media outlets. This commenter previously noted that it would be in the US establishment's interest to downplay the impact of the attack as much as possible. Furthermore, to those who are wondering how true casualty figures could be prevented from being leaked, all the US government has to do is declare such information classified, at which point it becomes a serious felony (think Snowden or Manning) to leak it.

    Passer by , Jan 8 2020 20:48 utc | 257
    Posted by: DFC | Jan 8 2020 19:20 utc | 198

    >>b) The fact that Suleimani was a national hero for a nation of 82 million people and also for 150 million of shia around the world, mourned by millions in the streets, make a bigger Trump "victory" over the Iranian "regime", and it is a powerful advice to the others leaders and commanders in the world that try to fight or oppose to USA.

    This is not a gain, the US will be hated and sabotaged by the many shia groups across the world (a young and growing demographic with combat experience), and there will be many covert activities against it all over the place. An american dying here and there, a US company sabotaged here and there. The US will be very busy fighting shia groups undercover just as it needs to compete with Russia and China, not to mention the security costs. They will probaly give tacit support to some sunni groups already fighting the US. Taliban getting manpads and targeting info of US presence in Afghainstan? No, this is not good news for the US. It means having more and more enemies everywhere and dividing resources into many fronts. Taking on Russia, China and Iran/Iraq/Shia Crescent will to be too much. The debt clock is ticking.

    >>g) The retaliation of the PMU lob some katyusha rockets in the backyard of few US bases

    No, they will simply make it impossible for any american to get out outside of the Embassy in Iraq. Workers, companies etc. will be driven out by harrassment.

    >>h) Trump is defiant about not leaving Iraq, I think at the end they will go but after they have a very good deal. Of course it is all about the Iraqi oil, in exchange for the American blood and money wasted in Iraq. Iraq has the biggest oil reserves in the world and USA want a good chunk of them, they never ever leave "giving" all of them to the Chinese or Iranians or anybody else. Trump does not want US soldiers in Iraq, but he wants the oil above anything else (it is condition "sine qua non" to maintain the Empire)

    You don't know much about Iraq then. Iraq (including elites) does not want the US there. It does not want to be a battlefield and it does not want to have Shia leaders attacked in their own country. This is a Red Line for iraqis. Muqtada Al Sadr, the most influential person in Iraq, who kicked the arse of the US occupation in 2004-2007 wants the US and even the Embassy out, embargo on US products, etc. Iraqi shia are not intimidated by the US, far from it, they have seen far worse in the past and that only angered them even more. Iraq will move into China-Russia-Iran orbit, this is a done deal. A chinese delegation just arrived in Iraq to provide security solutions for the country.

    >> Trump has now the full enthusiastic support of the AIPAC and all the others powerful Israeli lobby he will have more money than required for the election. He has demonstrated he is the best possible POTUS for Israel.

    This is debatable, considering that 80 % of US jews voted against Trump. Israel is not the only issue for US jews. They do not like loud mouthed white racists. US media is an expression of US jews and US media continues to be highly hostile to Trump. If they really wanted him, media would be supportive.

    j) In the short term USA will leave Syria and in the medium term Iraq, OK, but they never ever leave "all the region", they need to be there to maintain the "American Way of Live" (US $ as reserve currency)

    There will be less US presence in the Middle East and it won't be just Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan drawdowns. US debt levels point to unsustainable military spending. That is, in 2025 - 2030 the US will be forced to cut military spending significantly. Even now the US is cutting the number of ships due to lack of money. So in general, there will be less US presence everywhere, including in the Middle East. Too much debt.

    As for Iraq, the US HQ for Iraq was just evacuated to Kuwait, US forces stopped operations and are confinded to their bases (defacto house arrest), and US workers are fleeing the country.

    >>If nothing dramatically change, I expect a crushing victory of Trump in the coming US election, he has all the cards now in his hand, and he will not waste them.

    And i see people in the US and all over the world deeply disturbed by his behavior. People want calm, not never ending drama, threats, sexism, racism, vulgarity and warmongering. Women (majority of voters) do not like such behavior. Women and minorites are very hostile to Trump due to this. Republicans lost the House and it looks like someone did not get the message. Even if Trump somehow wins, this will lead to civil war like situation in the US due to the changing demographics. Minorities DO NOT want Trump and their numbers will only be increasing far into the future. This means growing division and infighting within the US.

    You look at this through the eyes of an American, that is why you see it as 'kabuki' and 'face saving' weakness, because as an American your answer is wholesale slaughter. Body count is your metric of success.

    Zanon , Jan 8 2020 20:59 utc | 262
    Two Rockets Fall in Green Zone in Iraqi Capital of Baghdad
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001081077983534-two-blasts-sirens-heard-in-iraqi-capital-of-baghdad-reports/

    If this is Iran. This is getting ridiculous and wont be appreciated by Iraq.

    Nemo , Jan 8 2020 21:01 utc | 264
    America cant retaliate because they know the next blow will bleed. They were unable to intercept the incoming missiles because US point defenses are mediocre. Once a projectile gets past the patriots, not a difficult task, they will only face some rail mounted stingers and 20 mm cannon. Has to be scarry for the dumb grunts.
    albagen , Jan 8 2020 21:02 utc | 265
    @ lone wolf

    I won't attack you or your post, but it is no good manners to enter somebody's house and speak shit. If your family didn't teach you this, and your education didn't manage to polish the animal in you, then you are a lost case, no need to deal with you. You'll live on mother earth and then die without having any good impact whatsoever.

    good riddance

    karlof1 , Jan 8 2020 21:03 utc | 266
    Bubbles @231--

    People voted for Trump primarily for two reasons: Obama and the D-Party had stabbed them in the back allowing millions to lose their homes while the fraudulent banksters got away scot-free and with $Trillions too-boot, and they knew Clinton was a deranged warmonger while Trump talked reasonably about the Outlaw US Empire's many Imperial Follies. In short, Trump was seen by many as the lesser of two evils. No, I voted Green.

    If you read Dr. Hudson's analysis and the transcript from this show , you'll be informed about a great many facts about the Outlaw US Empire that the vast majority of its citizens are unaware of thanks to BigLie Media. And I could direct you to dozens of additional examples that provide even more facts about the situation, the core of the problem and potential solutions.

    Many good academics and others have tried to inform the USA's citizenry about the why of their dilemma and provided suggestions for action, but their voices are drowned out by what's known as the Establishment Narrative parroted by BigLie Media. IMO, Sanders would have waxed Trump in 2016, but he was clearly the target of a conspiracy to prevent him from gaining the D-Party nomination. IMO, the only reason he endorsed Clinton was he knew of the sort of domestic mayhem Trump and the R-Party would wreck upon his supporters. Please, before denigrating the masses within the Evil Outlaw US Empire, try to discover why they behave as they do. Lumping them all together and calling them dumb fuck-wits won't get you anywhere and only serves to exacerbate things.

    Laguerre , Jan 8 2020 21:03 utc | 267
    Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 8 2020 20:38 utc | 246

    It sounds as though Abdel Mahdi is being forced into the popular opinion. The US is being reduced into its best defended bases. Where from there, when those bases are isolated?

    I am reposting this.

    The Iranians care, they sent some of the best gifts, and they're rightly proud of them. A Hallmark kinna time, the Holidays n all that.

    Brother, I have read about the problems involved, I took some calculus long ago, but the engineering behind what Iran has demonstrated in very complex. They put the clown on the back foot.

    There is a realignment of strategy in the Celestial Heaven of DC... Not a change in goal, just "whaddwe do now, how r we gunna smash 'em"...

    jayc , Jan 8 2020 21:06 utc | 270
    The US did not escalate today. Trump's speech was all bluster and falsehood, directed almost exclusively to American audience in the interest of domestic politics. If anything, the call for NATO to step up was an indication the Americans planned to step back. The Turks will not be pouring troops into Iraq. Trump was referring to the Europeans. The US corporate media continues to report with subdued tone, with ultra hawkish Fox News continuing to describe the struck airbases as "Iraqi facilities".
    WJ , Jan 8 2020 21:10 utc | 273
    Cynica @256,

    "This commenter previously noted that it would be in the US establishment's interest to downplay the impact of the attack as much as possible."

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This is true only on the assumption that the "US establishment" is united in seeking to de-escalate with Iran. But evidence suggests that at least two members of that establishment--Pompeo and Esper--are clearly not interested in de-escalation (notwithstanding Pompeo's directive to the embassies). For them, the death of dozens of American soldiers could only be a good thing, as it would easily be manipulated in the press to motivate the US populace's desire for retribution.

    It is also possible that what Pompeo and Esper and Netanyahoo are seeking to accomplish is to maintain the highest level of tension possible without precipitating actual war. This is because all parties recognize that actual war with Iran would entail the destruction of much of Israel's infrastructure and many thousands of Israeli casualties, and these are prices too high to pay for the overthrowing of even the "evil" Iranian "regime".

    De-escalation with Iran hurts Netanyahoo; actual war with Iran hurts Netanyahoo. What helps Netanyahoo is the constant threat of war with Iran along with the public perception that only he, of all Israeli politicians, has the sufficient resolve to face down the Persian menace. Because I am of the view that Israel is not just an outpost of the US empire but in many cases the tail that wags the dog of this empire, I fully expect that the US will continue to seek to ride the escalation-de-escalation wave with Iran until Netanyahoo either stabilizes his domestic position in Israel or loses it altogether.

    Passer by , Jan 8 2020 21:13 utc | 275
    Posted by: Zanon | Jan 8 2020 19:25 utc | 203

    Actually the Hashd Al Shaabi militia, which is part of the Iraqi military, wanted to take over the US Embassy and Mehdi threatened to resign over that, not over the protests in general or the harrassment of the US Embassy. This is why iraqi troops stayed out as the Embassy was besieged. He chose China over the US for reconstruction of Iraq and made very compromising remarks about Trump (how he threatened to put snipers killing people in Iraq, how Soleimani was there for diplomatic mission as peace envoy, etc.)

    Mehdi is an expression of the majority Shia sentiment in Iraq - it is him who came to Parliament to demand a resolution for US withdrawal from the country. As for Iraqi Shia sentiment, numerically speaking, 80 % of Shia MPs and the PM demanded a US withdrawal from the country.

    David G , Jan 8 2020 21:14 utc | 276
    What is the source for the account that the Swiss embassy received advance warning of the missile strike?

    I haven't seen it elsewhere. I'm not saying that to knock it, but since b doesn't mention or link to a source, and I don't see it discussed in comments, I'd like to know where he got that report from.

    CNN.com says Iran reached out through various channels, "including through Switzerland and other countries", but after the strike, to make known there was nothing else on the way.

    Walter , Jan 8 2020 21:19 utc | 279
    WJ | Jan 8 2020 21:10 utc | 273

    If Iran succeeds in forcing the Empire out, then obviously the zionists would be unable to remain more than briefly. But without zionists Jews and Arabs have always got along reasonably well... So we may imagine "Israel" going through a "phase change" when Empire departs...because then the decent people can have a say in things, then justice may prevail - something all Abrahamic Creeds respect and call for as a basic foundation. Of course there's nothing pretty about a civil war in Israel, or as it is at present "forward operating base zion"

    Zanon , Jan 8 2020 21:28 utc | 283
    Passer By

    Actually what they said about foreign troops:

    "The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason."

    Mahdi have tried hard to disband PMU. https://thedefensepost.com/2019/07/03/iraq-mahdi-orders-popular-mobilization-units-integration/ That is the PMU that US, Israel have been bombing for months.

    Ian2 , Jan 8 2020 21:34 utc | 288
    Ian Dobbs | Jan 8 2020 19:52 utc | 223:
    This entire episode has been an absolute disaster for the Iranians. They sent no message to the US.

    Disaster? How so? The Iranians have just displayed that they can and will attack targets with precision. No message? Seriously? You've missed the bigger picture. Iran have scored one on the Strategic level. What you're also missing is that Iraq is moving even closer to Iranian and Chinese-Russian orbit.

    The missile strikes is also a message to Iranian regional competitors. I can guarantee you Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have taken notice.

    I'm expecting more small level attacks on US assets in Iraq and it'll likely spread to other neighboring countries. Death by a thousand cuts. In the end, the US will have no choice but to leave Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

    David G , Jan 8 2020 21:38 utc | 291
    Further from mine @276:

    Scott Ritter also says there was advance warning, though via the Iraqi government, not mentioning the Swiss embassy in Tehran:

    Iran communicated its intent to strike US targets in Iraq directly to the Iraqi Prime Minister a full two hours prior to the missiles being launched; Iraq then shared this information with US military commanders, who were able to ensure all US troops were in hardened shelters at the time of the attack.
    https://www.rt.com/op-ed/477759-iran-missiles-subdued-us-strike/

    Ritter doesn't give his sourcing either. Of course the significant thing is that such advance warning was given at all. I'd just like to know how solid the factual basis is, and to what extent it is officially confirmed by any of the relevant governments.

    Clueless Joe , Jan 8 2020 21:43 utc | 296

    If US soldiers were killed by the attack, this can't be hidden forever; sooner or later, coffins will go back home and families will be informed. Specially if it's as high as 80. Though for the moment, the Pentagon can stay quiet, and won't publicly acknowledge it, the bodies will have to come back to the US and be buried - as far as I know, they're not janissaries but US military, most have relatives, friends and family and can't be disappeared just like that.

    The USS Liberty is a different situation: the US didn't hide for decades that people were lost in the bombing, it didn't acknowledge that it was a deliberate attack. Pretty much the opposite case to the present one.

    [Jan 10, 2020] This reckless act by Trump administion was the last gasp of "Full spectrum dominance" doctime and probably means end of Pompeo career as the Secretary of state and Trump as the President

    See also With his imminent attack fake Mike Pompeo Is a Dollar Store Kissinger
    Notable quotes:
    "... This is not just about how to de-escalate – it's about recognizing that America fundamentally needs to change its disastrous course. Even if de-escalation of the acute tensions is possible, the risks will remain as long as the United States pursues a reckless policy. ..."
    Jan 10, 2020 | www.theguardian.com

    This crisis was sparked by Donald Trump. Trump withdrew from the deal that had stopped Iran's nuclear weapons program, leading Iran to restart its nuclear program. Trump ramped up economic pressure and sent more US troops to the region, and tensions grew. Then the US killed Gen Qassem Suleimani , signaling a significant escalation, to which Iran responded with an attack on Iraqi bases where US and Iraqi troops are stationed.

    ass="inline-garnett-quote inline-icon ">

    ass="inline-garnett-quote inline-icon ">

    America is far worse off today towards Iran and in the Middle East than it was when Trump took office

    It is up to Congress and the American people to force Trump to adopt a more pragmatic path. For too long Congress has ceded to the executive branch its authority to determine when America goes to war, and the current crisis with Iran is exactly the kind of moment that requires intense coordination between the legislative and executive branches. The president cannot start a war without congressional authorization, and with the erratic Trump in office, Congress must make that clear by cutting off the use of funds for war with Iran.

    This is not just about how to de-escalate – it's about recognizing that America fundamentally needs to change its disastrous course. Even if de-escalation of the acute tensions is possible, the risks will remain as long as the United States pursues a reckless policy. America is far worse off today towards Iran and in the Middle East than it was when Trump took office – even worse off than we were on 1 January 2020. Today, Iran is advancing its nuclear program, America has suspended its anti-Isis campaign, Iraq's parliament has voted to evict US troops from the country, and we are in a dangerous military standoff with Iran.

    Digging out of this hole will be difficult and this administration is not capable of it. Over the long run, future administrations will need to reorient America's goals and policies. America needs to re-enter the nuclear deal and begin negotiations to strengthen it; work with partners like Iraq – without a large US troop presence – in countering potential threats like a resurgence of Isis; and adopt a broader regional policy that focuses on protecting US interests and standing up for human rights and democracy rather than picking sides in a regional civil war between dictatorships like Iran and Saudi Arabia.

    Achieving US goals in the region will not be possible with a mere de-escalation of tensions – we need to find a new path towards Iran and the Middle East.

    [Jan 10, 2020] Mike Pompeo Fed the Rats in the President* s Brain to Get What He Wanted by Charles P. Pierce

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.esquire.com
    America's top diplomat does not seem to think his job is to prevent war.

    The Washington Post dives deeply into what is laughingly called the administration*'s "process" leading up to the decision to kill Qasem Soleimani with fire last week. In short, all the "imminent threat" palaver was pure moonshine. According to the Post, this particular catastrophe was brewed up for a while amid the stalactites in the mind of Mike Pompeo, a Secretary of State who makes Henry Kissinger look like Gandhi.

    The secretary also spoke to President Trump multiple times every day last week, culminating in Trump's decision to approve the killing of Iran's top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at the urging of Pompeo and Vice President Pence, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

    Pompeo had lost a similar high-stakes deliberation last summer when Trump declined to retaliate militarily against Iran after it downed a U.S. surveillance drone, an outcome that left Pompeo "morose," according to one U.S. official. But recent changes to Trump's national security team and the whims of a president anxious about being viewed as hesitant in the face of Iranian aggression created an opening for Pompeo to press for the kind of action he had been advocating.

    Poor Mike was morose. So, in an effort to bring himself out of the dumps, Mike decided to keep feeding the rats in the president*'s head.

    Trump, too, sought to draw down from the Middle East as he promised from the opening days of his presidential campaign. But that mind-set shifted on Dec. 27 when 30 rockets hit a joint U.S.-Iraqi base outside Kirkuk, killing an American civilian contractor and injuring service members. On Dec. 29, Pompeo, Esper and Milley traveled to the president's private club in Florida, where the two defense officials presented possible responses to Iranian aggression, including the option of killing Soleimani, senior U.S. officials said.
    The whole squad got involved on this one.
    Alex Wong Getty Images
    Trump's decision to target Soleimani came as a surprise and a shock to some officials briefed on his decision, given the Pentagon's long-standing concerns about escalation and the president's aversion to using military force against Iran. One significant factor was the "lockstep" coordination for the operation between Pompeo and Esper, both graduates in the same class at the U.S. Military Academy, who deliberated ahead of the briefing with Trump, senior U.S. officials said. Pence also endorsed the decision, but he did not attend the meeting in Florida.

    First-in-His-Class Mike Pompeo knows his audience. There's no question that he knows how to get what he wants from a guy who doesn't know anything about anything, and who may have gone, as George V. Higgins once put it, as soft as church music. This, I guess, is a skill. Of course, Pompeo's job is easier because the president* is still a raving maniac on the electric Twitter machine. A handy compilation:

    Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
    They attacked us, & we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before!
    The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way...and without hesitation!

    And, this, perhaps my favorite piece of presidentin" yet.

    These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!

    You have been informed, Congress. You have been informed, Iran.

    No, really. It's down there below the cat videos.

    Trump Dished Some Bullsh*t on Iran

    Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here .

    Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

    [Jan 09, 2020] Mike Pompeo is officially the Secretary of State. Apparently, he is also unofficially the Secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the very model of a modern major bureaucrat by Charles P. Pierce

    Jan 07, 2020 | www.esquire.com

    Mike Pompeo is officially the Secretary of State. Apparently, he is also unofficially the Secretary of Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the very model of a modern major bureaucrat. He's running things on war and peace these days because the president* sure as hell isn't. He's a Dollar Store Kissinger with nobody to restrain him. And he has no compunction whatsoever about lying in public -- about Barack Obama, and about the definition of the word "imminent," which, to Pompeo, seems to extend back in time to the Persian Empire and forward into the second term of the Malia Obama administration.

    Pompeo met the press on Tuesday and everything he said was completely worthless. For example, did you know that the Iran nuclear deal hastened the development of Iran's nuclear capacity, but that pulling out of it, and frying the second-highest official of their government, slowed it down? Mike Pompeo knows that.

    President Trump could not be more clear. On our watch, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon and, when we came into office, Iran was on a pathway that had been provided by the nuclear deal, which clearly gave them the opportunity to get those nuclear weapons. We won't let that happen...It's not political. The previous administration made a different choice. They chose to underwrite and appease. We have chose to confront and contain.

    But that's not political, you appeasing, underwriting wimps who worked for 11 years to get a deal with these people. And that goes for all you appeasing, underwriting European bastards as well, who don't think this president* knows anything about anything. And, as to the whole imminence thing, well, everything is imminent sometime, and it's five o'clock somewhere.

    "We know what happened at the end of last year in December ultimately leading to the death of an American. If you're looking for imminence, you needn't look no further than the days that led up to the strike that was taken against Soleimani. Then you had in addition to that what we could clearly see was continuing efforts on behalf of this terrorist to build out a network of campaign activities that were going to lead potentially to the death of many more Americans. It was the right decision, we got it right."

    Yeah, they got nothing -- except the power, of course. The last time we had a terrible Republican president determined to lie us into a war in the Middle East, he and his people at least did not do so by employing utter and transparent gibberish. Times change.

    [Jan 08, 2020] Pompeo and his lies got us into this mess with Iran caucus99percent

    Pompeo was and is despicable liar: If the threat was 'imminent', wouldn't that already be known?
    Notable quotes:
    "... @Not Henry Kissinger ..."
    "... @Not Henry Kissinger ..."
    Jan 08, 2020 | caucus99percent.com

    gjohnsit on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 6:14pm Just a few days ago SoS Mike Pompeo said that we assassinated General Soleimani to stop an 'imminent attack' on Americans.
    No evidence was presented to back up this claim. We are just supposed to believe it.

    It turns out that Pompeo and VP Pence had pushed Trump hard to do this assassination.

    gjohnsit on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 6:28pm
    Netanyahu was obviously involved

    @Not Henry Kissinger
    But I can understand his efforts to distance himself.
    It shows more smarts than what Trump has been doing.

    The patient way the Iranians are preparing to respond is scaring them.

    Not Henry Kissinger on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 6:37pm
    Netanyahu should be scared.

    @gjohnsit

    Bibi for Soleimani is looking more and more like the appropriate 'proportional' response for all concerned.

    gjohnsit on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 7:02pm
    Meanwhile in Kenya/Somalia

    @gjohnsit
    normally this would be big news

    "Seven aircraft and three military vehicles were destroyed in the attack," said the statement, which included photos of aircraft ablaze and an al Shabaab militant standing nearby. In a tweet, the US Africa Command confirmed an attack on the Manda Bay Airfield had occurred.

    3 americans killed

    One US military service member and two contractors were killed in an Islamist attack on a military base in Kenya.

    Islamist militant group al-Shabab attacked the base, used by Kenyan and US forces, in the popular coastal region of Lamu on Sunday.
    The US military said in a statement that two others from the Department of Defense were wounded.

    "The wounded Americans are currently in stable condition and being evacuated," the US military's Africa Command said.

    Raggedy Ann on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 6:34pm
    Hilarious!

    @Not Henry Kissinger
    Here we go - a pissing contest about to begin!

    But the response of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , was particularly striking, as he has been one of Trump's staunchest supporters on the world stage.

    He told a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday: "The assassination of Suleimani isn't an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it."

    Uh huh.

    data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==

    [Jan 08, 2020] Iraqi Journalist: Killing Soleimani "Ended An Era In Which Iran And The United States Coexisted In Iraq" by Tim Hains

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Now, he told "Democracy Now!", it will be hard for the Iraqi public to see the bases as anything but "a force that is driving them into a war between Iran and the United States." ..."
    "... "Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. I mean, remember, Qassem Soleimani arrived in Baghdad airport, where half of it is an American base. Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. He took selfies. People took his pictures. That didn't happen in secret. Qassem Soleimani was not Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hiding in a cave or moving stealthily through the country. He stayed in the Green Zone. So, all this happened because there was an understanding between the Americans and the Iranians. So, if the Americans wanted to keep their bases in Iraq, the Iranians would have the freedom to move. And with the killing of Soleimani, the rules of the game have totally changed," he said. ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.realclearpolitics.com

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/TKvE-nIsj1Y?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:%2F%2Fwww.realclearpolitics.com

    "The Guardian" journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad says that before the attack on Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week "there was an understanding between the Americans and the Iranians" that allowed officials from Iran and the U.S. to move freely within Iraq and maintained relative goodwill toward American bases.

    "The killing of Qassem Soleimani ended an era in which both Iran and the United States coexisted in Iraq," he said.

    Now, he told "Democracy Now!", it will be hard for the Iraqi public to see the bases as anything but "a force that is driving them into a war between Iran and the United States."

    "Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. I mean, remember, Qassem Soleimani arrived in Baghdad airport, where half of it is an American base. Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. He took selfies. People took his pictures. That didn't happen in secret. Qassem Soleimani was not Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hiding in a cave or moving stealthily through the country. He stayed in the Green Zone. So, all this happened because there was an understanding between the Americans and the Iranians. So, if the Americans wanted to keep their bases in Iraq, the Iranians would have the freedom to move. And with the killing of Soleimani, the rules of the game have totally changed," he said.

    AMY GOODMAN: Ghaith, can you comment on this new information that's come to light about the timing of Soleimani's assassination Friday morning? Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi has revealed he had plans to meet with Soleimani on the day he was killed to discuss a Saudi proposal to defuse tension in the region. Mahdi said, quote, "He came to deliver me a message from Iran responding to the message we delivered from Saudi Arabia to Iran" -- Saudi Arabia, obviously, a well-known enemy of Iran. Was he set up? Talk about the significance of this.

    GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD: Well, it is very significant if it's actually General Qassem Soleimani came to Iraq to deliver this message, if it was actually there was a process of negotiations in the region. We know that Abdul-Mahdi and the Iraqi government, in general, over the last year had been trying to position Iraq as this middle power, as this power where both -- you know, as a country that has a relationship with both Iran and the United States. In that awkward place Iraq found itself in, Iraq has tried to maximize on this. So they started back in summer and fall, when there was an escalation between Iran and the United States, when Iran shot down an American drone. We've seen Adel Abdul-Mahdi fly to Iran, try to mediate. We've seen Adel Abdul-Mahdi open channels of communications with the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia.

    So, if it actually, the killing of General Soleimani, ended that peace initiative, it will be kind of disastrous in the region, because, as Narges was saying earlier, it is -- you know, Pompeo is speaking about Iran being this ultimate evil in the region, as this crescent of Shias, as if they just arrived in the past 10 years in the region. The fact if we see Iran's reactions, it's always a reaction to an American provocation. You've seen the occupation of Iraq in 2003. You've seen Iran declared as an "axis of evil." So, if you see it from an Iranian perspective, it's always this existential threat coming from the United States. And I don't think there is a more existential threat than in past year. So, yes, I know -- I mean, I think Adel Abdul-Mahdi and the Iraqi government were trying to find this middle ground, which I think is totally lost, because even Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the person who was trying to find this middle ground, was the person who proposed this law yesterday in the Parliament to expel all American troops from the country.

    And I would like to add like another thing. The killing of Qassem Soleimani ended an era in which both Iran and the United States coexisted in Iraq. So, from 2013, '14, we, as journalists, we've seen on the frontlines how the proxies of each power have been helping each other. So we've seen Iranian advisers helping the American-trained Iraqi Army unit or counterterrorism unit in the fight against ISIS. In the same sense, we've seen American airstrikes on threats to these -- kind of to ISIS when it was threatening these militias. That coexistence, it didn't only come from both having a -- sharing an enemy, which is ISIS, or Daesh, but also these were the rules of the game. These were the rules in which Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. I mean, remember, Qassem Soleimani arrived in Baghdad airport, where half of it is an American base. Qassem Soleimani could travel openly in Iraq. He took selfies. People took his pictures. That didn't happen in secret. Qassem Soleimani was not Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi hiding in a cave or moving stealthily through the country. He stayed in the Green Zone. So, all this happened because there was an understanding between the Americans and the Iranians. So, if the Americans wanted to keep their bases in Iraq, the Iranians would have the freedom to move. And with the killing of Soleimani, I think the rules of the game have totally changed.

    So now I think the first victim of the assassination will be the American bases in Iraq. I don't see any way where the Americans can keep their presence as they did before the assassination of Soleimani. And even the people in the streets, even the people who opposes Iran, who opposes the presence of Iranian militias in power and politics, the corruption of these pro-Iranian parties, even those people would look at these American bases now as not as a force that came to help them in the fight against ISIS, but a force that's dragging them into a war between Iran and the United States.

    [Jan 08, 2020] Pompeo's Falsehood-Laden Briefing Echoed Uncritically by Media Outlets

    Jan 08, 2020 | news.antiwar.com

    Antiwar.com Regional News

    Unbacked allegations and plain contradictions drive anti-Iran narrative Jason Ditz Posted on January 7, 2020 Categories News Tags Iran , Pompeo

    As the Trump Administration continues to barrel toward a war with Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a press conference in which he once again claimed that every dubious accusation made by the administration was true, and the internally inconsistent comments among top officials are all somehow in agreement.

    Pompeo's comments, even the ones that made no sense or were obviously untrue, were echoed across US media outlets as absolute facts following the briefing. Everyone was clearly more comfortable just reporting " Pompeo says " than analyzing it.

    Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was very critical of some of the worst claims Pompeo made , saying one would have to be brain-dead to believe them. He noted it made no sense to attack Iran to "preempt" attacks when the attack just made attacks even more likely.

    Pompeo was largely dismissive of questions about the US attack, and rejected claims that Gen. Qassem Soleimani was working on Saudi diplomacy, saying nobody believed Soleimani was engaged in diplomacy and that Iranian FM was lying about that. In reality, Iraq's PM Adel Abdul Mahdi was the one who broke the story of why Soleimani was in Iraq. Instead of evidence to the contrary, Pompeo just denied.

    On the question of the US barring Zarif from the UN in violation of the headquarters agreement, Pompeo said the US doesn't comment on why they deny people entrance, and insisted that the US always complies with the headquarters agreement, despite it flat out saying you can't block officials from speaking at the UN, and the US doing exactly that.

    The closest anyone at the briefing came to calling Pompeo on his contradictions was on the matter of the US attacking cultural sites. President Trump threatened to attack Iranian cultural sites on Saturday, Pompeo said Trump never said that on Sunday, and Trump said it again on Sunday evening. Pompeo was asked to address this.

    Pompeo said that what he said, that Trump never said there would be attacks on cultural sites, was "completely consistent with what the President has said," which repeatedly was that he intends to attack cultural sites. This was a bit too glaring, and one of the press said "No, but the President has -" before being interrupted by Pompeo.

    At this point, Pompeo went off on a tangent claiming that the ayatollah is the "real threat" to Iranian culture. When asked if that meant US attacks on cultural sites are "ruled out," despite Trump's comments, Pompeo promptly ended the briefing and left.

    Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also claimed on Tuesday that Soleimani was planning to attack Americans "within days" if the US hadn't killed him. As with Pompeo, his claim did not include any evidence, and ask with Pompeo's claims, the press is echoing it.

    [Jan 08, 2020] Soleimani and Al-Muhandis are being mourned in Aleppo churches

    Jan 08, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    StSarkiscathedraltehran2016

    (Tehran Armenian Cathedral)

    Mike Pompeo was on the TeeVee today scoffing at those who do not agree with him and the Ziocon inspired "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. It must be a terrible thing for intelligence analysts of integrity and actual Middle East knowledge and experience to have to try to brief him and Trump, people who KNOW, KNOW from some superior source of knowledge that Iran is the worst threat to the world since Nazi Germany, or was it Saddam's Iraq that was the worst threat since "beautiful Adolf?"

    The "maximum pressure" campaign is born of Zionist terrors, terrors deeply felt. It is the same kind of campaign that has been waged by the Israelis against the Palestinians and all other enemies great and small. This approach does not seem to have done much for Israel. The terrors are still there.

    Someone sent me the news tape linked below from Aleppo in NW Syria. I have watched it a number of times. You need some ability in Arabic to understand it. The tape was filmed in several Christian churches in Aleppo where these two men (Soleimani and al-Muhandis) are described from the pulpit and in the street as "heroic martyr victims of criminal American state terrorism." Pompeo likes to describe Soleimani as the instigator of "massacre" and "genocide" in Syria. Strangely (irony) the Syriac, Armenian Uniate and Presbyterian ministers of the Gospel in this tape do not see him and al-Muhandis that way. They see them as men who helped to defend Aleppo and its minority populations from the wrath of Sunni jihadi Salafists like ISIS and the AQ affiliates in Syria. They see them and Lebanese Hizbullah as having helped save these Christians by fighting alongside the Syrian Army, Russia and other allies like the Druze and Christian militias.

    It should be remembered that the US was intent on and may still be intent on replacing the multi-confessional government of Syria with the forces of medieval tyranny. Everyone who really knows anything about the Syrian Civil War knows that the essential character of the New Syrian Army, so beloved by McCain, Graham and the other Ziocons was always jihadi and it was always fully supported by Wahhabi Saudi Arabia as a project in establishing Sunni triumphalism. They and the self proclaimed jihadis of HTS (AQ) are still supported in Idlib and western Aleppo provinces both by the Saudis and the present Islamist and neo-Ottoman government of Turkey.

    Well pilgrims, there are Christmas trees in the newly re-built Christian churches of Aleppo and these, my brothers and sisters in Christ remember who stood by them in "the last ditch."

    "Currently there are at least 600 churches and 500,000–1,000,000 Christians in Iran." wiki below. Are they dhimmis? Yes, but they are there. There are no churches in Saudi Arabia, not a single one and Christianity is a banned religion. These are our allies?

    Mr. Jefferson wrote that "he feared for his country when he remembered that God is just." He meant Virginia but I fear in the same way for the United States. pl

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1214223383635857409

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Iran

    Posted at 02:13 PM in As The Borg Turns , Borg Wars , Current Affairs , Iran , Iraq , Israel , Middle East , Pakistan , Religion , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Yemen | Permalink

    [Jan 08, 2020] As long as Neocons and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed.

    Jan 08, 2020 | www.unz.com

    Z-man , says: Show Comment January 7, 2020 at 1:27 pm GMT

    Yes, as long as Neoco hens and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed.
    BTW, Mike Pompeo or as I affectionately call him; Lard face, Plump'eo, crazed CZ-zealot fat boy, etc., is now a legitimate target of the Iranians. May Allah provide justice to the family of Soleimani. (Grin) And look, I'm wishing 'ill will' on a zealot 'goy' (gentile) instead of a typical Neo-cohen snake, how ironic. (Another grin)
    A positve spin:
    With the 'incorrect' memo leaked by the Pentagon about an orderly exit from Iraq this can be the silver lining in all this mess. This assassination might actually accelerate the exiting of US forces from Iraq and the surrounding quagmires. Who knows, Trump might be a genius.
    Again, NO MORE WARS FOR ZION, BDS NOW, ONE STATE SOLUTION-PALESTINE.
    And to really stick it to Neo cohens (My apologies to Prof. Steven Cohen ), Trump-Putin Axis Da!! Destroy the Deep State and the CABAL .

    [Jan 07, 2020] Pompeo and his lies got us into this mess with Iran caucus99percent

    Jan 07, 2020 | caucus99percent.com

    gjohnsit on Mon, 01/06/2020 - 6:14pm Just a few days ago SoS Mike Pompeo said that we assassinated General Soleimani to stop an 'imminent attack' on Americans.
    No evidence was presented to back up this claim. We are just supposed to believe it.

    It turns out that Pompeo and VP Pence had pushed Trump hard to do this assassination.

    [Jan 07, 2020] a popular figure

    Notable quotes:
    "... Naturally, we learned soon after from the Iraqi PM himself that Soleimani was in Iraq as part of a diplomatic effort to de-escalate tensions. In other words, he was apparently lured to Baghdad under false pretenses so he'd be a sitting duck for a U.S. strike. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. ..."
    "... As you'd expect, some of the most ridiculous propaganda came from Mike Pompeo, a man who genuinely loves deception and considers it his craft.. For example: ..."
    "... Moving on to the really big question: what does this assassination mean for the future role of the U.S. in the Middle East and American global hegemony generally? A few important things have already occurred. For starters, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution calling for U.S. troops to leave. Even more important are the comments and actions of Muqtada al-Sadr. ..."
    "... Unmentioned in the above tweet, but extremely significant, is the fact al-Sadr has been a vocal critic of both the American and Iranian presence in Iraq. He doesn't want either country meddling in the affairs of Iraqis, but the Soleimani assassination clearly pushed him to focus on the U.S. presence. This is a very big deal and ensures Iraq will be far more dangerous for U.S. troops than it already was. ..."
    Jan 07, 2020 | twitter.com

    Before discussing what happens next and the big picture implications, it's worth pointing out the incredible number of blatant lies and overall clownishness that emerged from U.S. officials in the assassination's aftermath. It started with claims from Trump that Soleimani was plotting imminent attacks on Americans and was caught in the act. Mass media did its job and uncritically parroted this line, which was quickly exposed as a complete falsehood.

    CNN anchor uncritically repeating government lies.
    This is what mass media does to get wars going. https://t.co/QK1JET7TIj

    -- Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) January 6, 2020

    It's incredibly telling that CNN would swallow this fact-free claim with total credulity within weeks of discovering the extent of the lies told about Syrian chemical attacks and the Afghanistan war . Meanwhile, when a reporter asked a state department official for some clarification on what sorts of attacks were imminent, this is what transpired.

    When asked by a reporter for details about what kinds of imminent attacks Soleimani was planning, the State Dept. responds with:

    "Jesus, do we have to explain why we do these things?"

    Totally normal. pic.twitter.com/FDWtpfItEp

    -- Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) January 6, 2020

    Naturally, we learned soon after from the Iraqi PM himself that Soleimani was in Iraq as part of a diplomatic effort to de-escalate tensions. In other words, he was apparently lured to Baghdad under false pretenses so he'd be a sitting duck for a U.S. strike. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

    Iraqi Prime Minister AbdulMahdi accuses Trump of deceiving him in order to assassinate Suleimani. Trump, according to P.M. lied about wanting a diplomatic solution in order to get Suleimani on a plane to Baghdad in the open, where he was summarily executed. https://t.co/HKjyQqXNqP

    -- Joshua Landis (@joshua_landis) January 5, 2020

    As you'd expect, some of the most ridiculous propaganda came from Mike Pompeo, a man who genuinely loves deception and considers it his craft.. For example:

    Pompeo on CNN says US has "every expectation" that people "in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom."

    -- Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) January 3, 2020

    Then there's what actually happened.

    Absolutely massive crowds on the streets of Mashhad awaiting the arrival of Qassem Suleimani.

    "We are ready for war." pic.twitter.com/ZK4O8KQB17

    -- Sam (@sonofnariman) January 5, 2020

    Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Qassem Soleimani's daughter Zeinab were among the hundreds of thousands mourning Soleimani in Tehran today. Iranian state TV put the crowd size at 'millions,' though that number could not be verified. https://t.co/R6EbKh6Gow

    -- CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) January 6, 2020

    Moving on to the really big question: what does this assassination mean for the future role of the U.S. in the Middle East and American global hegemony generally? A few important things have already occurred. For starters, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution calling for U.S. troops to leave. Even more important are the comments and actions of Muqtada al-Sadr.

    WOW,

    Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr orders the return of "Mahdi Army" in response the American strike that killed Suleimani.

    Mahdi Army fought against the US troops during the invasion in 2003. Sadr disbanded the group in 2008.

    -- Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 3, 2020

    Unmentioned in the above tweet, but extremely significant, is the fact al-Sadr has been a vocal critic of both the American and Iranian presence in Iraq. He doesn't want either country meddling in the affairs of Iraqis, but the Soleimani assassination clearly pushed him to focus on the U.S. presence. This is a very big deal and ensures Iraq will be far more dangerous for U.S. troops than it already was.

    Going forward, Iran's response will be influenced to a great degree by what's already transpired. There are three things worth noting. First, although many Trump supporters are cheering the assassination, Americans are certainly nowhere near united on this , with many including myself viewing it as a gigantic strategic blunder. Second, it ratcheted up anti-American sentiment in Iraq to a huge degree without Iran having to do anything, as highlighted above. Third, hardliners within Iran have been given an enormous gift. With one drone strike, the situation went from grumblings and protests on the ground to a scene where any sort of dissent in the air has been extinguished for the time being.

    Exactly right, which is why Iran will go more hardline if anything and more united.
    If China admitted to taking out Trump even Maddow wouldn't cheer. https://t.co/zqaEDIoWH1

    -- Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) January 6, 2020

    Iranian leadership will see these developments as important victories in their own right and will likely craft a response taking stock of this much improved position. This means a total focus on making the experience of American troops in the region untenable, which will be far easier to achieve now.

    If that's right, you can expect less shock and awe in the near-term, and more consolidation of the various parties that were on the fence but have since shifted to a more anti-American stance following Soleimani's death. Iran will start with the easy pickings, which consists of consolidating its stronger position in Iraq and making dissidents feel shameful at home. That said, Iran will have to publicly respond with some sort of a counterattack, but that event will be carefully considered with Iran's primary objective in mind -- getting U.S. troops out of the region.

    This means no attacks on U.S. or European soil, and no attacks targeting civilians either. Such a move would be as strategically counterproductive as Assad gassing Syrian cities after he was winning the war (which is why many of us doubted the narrative) since it would merely inflame American public opinion and give an excuse to attack Iran in Iran. There is no way Iranian leadership is that stupid, so any such attack must be treated with the utmost skepticism.

    [Jan 07, 2020] The neocon foreign policy brings only bankruptcy moral and financial by Ron Paul

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.unz.com

    President Trump and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told us the US had to assassinate Maj. Gen. Qassim Soleimani last week because he was planning "Imminent attacks" on US citizens. I don't believe them.

    Why not? Because Trump and the neocons – like Pompeo – have been lying about Iran for the past three years in an effort to whip up enough support for a US attack. From the phony justification to get out of the Iran nuclear deal, to blaming Yemen on Iran, to blaming Iran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, the US Administration has fed us a steady stream of lies for three years because they are obsessed with Iran.

    And before Trump's obsession with attacking Iran, the past four US Administrations lied ceaselessly to bring about wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Serbia, Somalia, and the list goes on.

    At some point, when we've been lied to constantly and consistently for decades about a "threat" that we must "take out" with a military attack, there comes a time where we must assume they are lying until they provide rock solid, irrefutable proof. Thus far they have provided nothing. So I don't believe them.

    President Trump has warned that his administration has already targeted 52 sites important to Iran and Iranian culture and the US will attack them if Iran retaliates for the assassination of Gen. Soleimani. Because Iran has no capacity to attack the United States, Iran's retaliation if it comes will likely come against US troops or US government officials stationed or visiting the Middle East. I have a very easy solution for President Trump that will save the lives of American servicemembers and other US officials: just come home. There is absolutely no reason for US troops to be stationed throughout the Middle East to face increased risk of death for nothing.

    In our Ron Paul Liberty Report program last week we observed that the US attack on a senior Iranian military officer on Iraqi soil – over the objection of the Iraq government – would serve to finally unite the Iraqi factions against the United States. And so it has: on Sunday the Iraqi parliament voted to expel US troops from Iraqi soil. It may have been a non-binding resolution, but there is no mistaking the sentiment. US troops are not wanted and they are increasingly in danger. So why not listen to the Iraqi parliament?

    Bring our troops home, close the US Embassy in Baghdad – a symbol of our aggression – and let the people of the Middle East solve their own problems. Maintain a strong defense to protect the United States, but end this neocon pipe-dream of ruling the world from the barrel of a gun. It does not work. It makes us poorer and more vulnerable to attack. It makes the elites of Washington rich while leaving working and middle class America with the bill. It engenders hatred and a desire for revenge among those who have fallen victim to US interventionist foreign policy. And it results in millions of innocents being killed overseas.

    There is no benefit to the United States to trying to run the world. Such a foreign policy brings only bankruptcy – moral and financial. Tell Congress and the Administration that for America's sake we demand the return of US troops from the Middle East! (Republished from The Ron Paul Institute by permission of author or representative)

    [Jan 07, 2020] As long as Neocons and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed.

    Jan 07, 2020 | www.unz.com

    Z-man , says: Show Comment January 7, 2020 at 1:27 pm GMT

    Yes, as long as Neoco hens and Christian Zionists run our foreign policy we're screwed.
    BTW, Mike Pompeo or as I affectionately call him; Lard face, Plump'eo, crazed CZ-zealot fat boy, etc., is now a legitimate target of the Iranians. May Allah provide justice to the family of Soleimani. (Grin) And look, I'm wishing 'ill will' on a zealot 'goy' (gentile) instead of a typical Neo-cohen snake, how ironic. (Another grin)
    A positve spin:
    With the 'incorrect' memo leaked by the Pentagon about an orderly exit from Iraq this can be the silver lining in all this mess. This assassination might actually accelerate the exiting of US forces from Iraq and the surrounding quagmires. Who knows, Trump might be a genius.
    Again, NO MORE WARS FOR ZION, BDS NOW, ONE STATE SOLUTION-PALESTINE.
    And to really stick it to Neo cohens (My apologies to Prof. Steven Cohen ), Trump-Putin Axis Da!! Destroy the Deep State and the CABAL .

    [Jan 06, 2020] Adam Schiff Demands Public Hearings on Soleimani Strike and suggested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo misrepresented intelligence indicating that killing Soleimani saved American lives.

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.breitbart.com

    "I think there should be open hearings on this subject," Schiff told the Washington Post in an interview published Monday. "The president has put us on a path where we may be at war with Iran. That requires the Congress to fully engage."

    Asked for his thoughts on President Trump warning Iran that the U.S. will hit 52 sites, including cultural sites, if Tehran retaliates the California Democrat said: "None of that could come out of the Pentagon. Absolutely no way."

    ... ... ...

    Schiff 's comments to the Post come after he suggested Secretary of State Mike Pompeo misrepresented intelligence indicating that killing Soleimani saved American lives.

    "It was a reckless decision that increased the risk to America all around the world, not decreased it. When Secretary Pompeo says that this decision to take out Qasem Soleimani saved American lives, saved European lives, he is expressing a personal opinion, not an intelligence conclusion," he told CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper. "I think it will increase the risk to Americans around the world. I have not seen the intelligence that taking out Soleimani was going to either stop the plotting that is going on or decrease other risks to the United States."

    [Jan 06, 2020] Was Suleimani a diplomatic envoy at the time of his killing?

    Notable quotes:
    "... How do you think Soleimani organized, sustained and coordinated his Resistance Militias in different countries turning them into a formidable military offensive resistance strategy? With strategic military and diplomatic savvy. Soleimani was sent as an envoy to Russia by Iran's Supreme Leader at a critical time in the Syrian war and also at Putin's request. If Soleimani was lured by the U.S. and Saudis on a pretext of peace to be assassinated by a U.S. drone this proves just how depraved Trump is. This strategy is right out of the Zionist dirty tricks playbook and Trump has proven in every way he is all in with Zionists and is one of them. ..."
    "... I take the Iraqi Prime Minister at his word, and reassert the need for Trump and his administration to be impeached on treasonous grounds. ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Circe , Jan 5 2020 19:42 utc | 93

    @78 Jackrabbit

    Suleimani was not a diplomat... Really? I'd say he was a great military leader and just as great a diplomat to accomplish what he did.

    Soleimani unfurled the Syria Russia strategy in Moscow

    How do you think Soleimani organized, sustained and coordinated his Resistance Militias in different countries turning them into a formidable military offensive resistance strategy? With strategic military and diplomatic savvy. Soleimani was sent as an envoy to Russia by Iran's Supreme Leader at a critical time in the Syrian war and also at Putin's request. If Soleimani was lured by the U.S. and Saudis on a pretext of peace to be assassinated by a U.S. drone this proves just how depraved Trump is. This strategy is right out of the Zionist dirty tricks playbook and Trump has proven in every way he is all in with Zionists and is one of them.

    albagen , Jan 5 2020 19:43 utc | 94

    Iraqi PM said so
    juliania , Jan 5 2020 19:53 utc | 96
    As reported by krollchem @ 67 and by b in this and the following post, the involvement of Trump directly in premeditated murder cannot be absolved, and the circumstances are abhorrent to any patriotic American citizen. May God have mercy on the souls of the peace makers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

    I take the Iraqi Prime Minister at his word, and reassert the need for Trump and his administration to be impeached on treasonous grounds.

    Where that will lead in terms of the rest of the US government I cannot say but VP Pence is also impeachable here, so it is difficult to see who is least culpable in this. It may mean that there is need for a provisional government to be put in place - not party organized. If impeachment proceeds apace as it should, behind the scenes such a people's approved peaceful citizens coalition needs to be considered. This cannot stand as official US government policy. It is heinous.

    I too, as forward @ 24 has done, sent prayers for the souls of the departed Iran general as well as his friend from Iraq and their companions this morning in my home chapel. It is the Sunday before Christmas, old calendar. May the Lord bring them and so many others before them to a place where the just repose.

    [Jan 06, 2020] How To Avoid Swallowing War Propaganda by Nathan J. Robinson

    Highly recommended!
    Jan 05, 2020 | www.currentaffairs.org
    • Nathan J. Robinson
    The Trump administration has assassinated Iran's top military leader, Qassim Suleimani, and with the possibility of a serious escalation in violent conflict, it's a good time to think about how propaganda works and train ourselves to avoid accidentally swallowing it.

    The Iraq War, the bloodiest and costliest U.S. foreign policy calamity of the 21 st century, happened in part because the population of the United States was insufficiently cynical about its government and got caught up in a wave of nationalistic fervor. The same thing happened with World War I and the Vietnam War. Since a U.S./Iran war would be a disaster, it is vital that everyone make sure they do not accidentally end up repeating the kinds of talking points that make war more likely.

    Let us bear in mind, then, some of the basic lessons about war propaganda.

    Things are not true because a government official says them.

    I do not mean to treat you as stupid by making such a basic point, but plenty of journalists and opposition party politicians do not understand this point's implications, so it needs to be said over and over. What happens in the leadup to war is that government officials make claims about the enemy, and then those claims appear in newspapers ("U.S. officials say Saddam poses an imminent threat") and then in the public consciousness, the "U.S. officials say" part disappears, so that the claim is taken for reality without ever really being scrutinized. This happens because newspapers are incredibly irresponsible and believe that so long as you attach "Experts say" or "President says" to a claim, you are off the hook when people end up believing it, because all you did was relay the fact that a person said a thing, you didn't say it was true. This is the approach the New York Times took to Bush administration allegations in the leadup to the Iraq War, and it meant that false claims could become headline news just because a high-ranking U.S. official said them. [UPDATE: here's an example from Vox, today, of a questionable government claim being magically transformed into a certain fact.]

    In the context of Iran, let us consider some things Mike Pence tweeted about Qassim Suleimani:

    "[Suleimani] assisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan of 10 of the 12 terrorists who carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States Soleimani was plotting imminent attacks on American diplomats and military personnel. The world is a safer place today because Soleimani is gone."

    It is possible, given these tweets, to publish the headline: "Suleimani plotting imminent attacks on American diplomats, says Pence." That headline is technically true. But you should not publish that headline unless Pence provides some supporting evidence, because what will happen in the discourse is that people will link to your news story to prove that Suleimani was plotting imminent attacks.

    To see how unsubstantiated claims get spread, let's think about the Afghanistan hijackers bit. David Harsanyi of the National Review defends Pence's claim about Suleimani helping the hijackers. Harsanyi cites the 9/11 Commission report, saying that the 9/11 commission report concluded Iran aided the hijackers. The report does indeed say that Iran allowed free travel to some of the men who went on to carry out the 9/11 attacks. (The sentence cut off at the bottom of Harsanyi's screenshot, however, rather crucially says : "We have no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack.") Harsanyi admits that the report says absolutely nothing about Suleimani. But he argues that Pence was "mostly right," pointing out that Pence did not say Iran knew these men would be the hijackers, merely that it allowed them passage.

    Let's think about what is going on here. Pence is trying to convince us that Suleimani deserved to die, that it was necessary for the U.S. to kill him, which will also mean that if Iran retaliates violently, that violence will be because Iran is an aggressive power rather than because the U.S. just committed an unprovoked atrocity against one of its leaders, dropping a bomb on a popular Iranian leader. So Pence wants to link Suleimani in your mind with 9/11, in order to get you blood boiling the same way you might have felt in 2001 as you watched the Twin Towers fall.

    There is no evidence that either Iran or Suleimani tried to help these men do 9/11. Harsanyi says that Pence does not technically allege this. But he doesn't have to! What impression are people going to get from helped the hijackers? Pence hopes you'll conflate Suleimani and Iran as one entity, then assume that if Iran ever aided these men in any way, it basically did 9/11 even if it didn't have any clue that was what they were going to do.

    This brings us to #2:

    Do not be bullied into accepting simple-minded sloganeering

    Let's say that, long before Ted Kaczynski began sending bombs through the mail, you once rented him an apartment. This was pure coincidence. Back then he was just a Berkeley professor, you did not know he would turn out to be the Unabomber. It is, however, possible, for me to say, and claim I am not technically lying, that you "housed and materially aided the Unabomber." (A friend of mine once sold his house to the guy who turned out to be the Green River Killer, so this kind of situation does happen.)

    Of course, it is incredibly dishonest of me to characterize what you did that way. You rented an apartment to a stranger, yet I'm implying that you intentionally helped the Unabomber knowing he was the Unabomber. In sane times, people would see me as the duplicitous one. But the leadup to war is often not a sane time, and these distinctions can get lost. In the Pence claim about Afghanistan, for it to have any relevance to Suleimani, it would be critical to know (assuming the 9/11 commission report is accurate) whether Iran actually could have known what the men it allowed to pass would ultimately do, and whether Suleimani was involved. But that would involve thinking, and War Fever thrives on emotion rather than thought.

    There are all kinds of ways in which you can bully people into accepting idiocy. Consider, for example, the statement "Nathan Robinson thinks it's good to help terrorists who murder civilians." There is a way in which this is actually sort of true: I think lawyers who aid those accused of terrible crimes do important work. If we are simple-minded and manipulative, we can call that "thinking it's good to help terrorists," and during periods of War Fever, that's exactly what it will be called. There is a kind of cheap sophistry that becomes ubiquitous:

    • I don't think Osama bin Laden should have been killed without an attempt to apprehend him. -- > So you think it's good that Osama bin Laden was alive?
    • I think Iraqis were justified in resisting the U.S. invasion with force. -- > So you're saying it's good when U.S. soldiers die?
    • I do not believe killing other countries' generals during peacetime is acceptable. -- > So you believe terrorists should be allowed to operate with impunity.

    I remember all this bullshit from my high school years. Opposing the invasion of Iraq meant loving Saddam Hussein and hating America. Thinking 9/11 was the predictable consequence of U.S. actions meant believing 9/11 was justified. Of course, rational discussion can expose these as completely unfair mischaracterizations, but every time war fever whips up, rational discussion becomes almost impossible. In World War I, if you opposed the draft you were undermining your country in a time of war. During Vietnam, if you believed the North Vietnamese had the more just case, you were a Communist traitor who endorsed every atrocity committed in the name of Ho Chi Minh, and if you thought John McCain shouldn't have been bombing civilians in the first place then clearly you believed he should have been tortured and you hated America.

    "If you oppose assassinating Suleimani you must love terrorists" will be repeated on Fox News (and probably even on MSNBC). Nationalism advocate Yoram Hazony says there is something wrong with those who do not "feel shame when our country is shamed" -- presumably those who do not feel wounded pride when America is emasculated by our enemies are weak and pitiful. We should refuse to put up with these kind of cheap slurs, or even to let those who deploy them place the burden of proof on us to refute them. (In 2004, Democrats worried that they did appear unpatriotic, and so they ran a decorated war veteran, John Kerry, for president. That didn't work.)

    Scrutinize the arguments

    Here's Mike Pence again:

    "[Suleimani] provided advanced deadly explosively formed projectiles, advanced weaponry, training, and guidance to Iraqi insurgents used to conduct attacks on U.S. and coalition forces; directly responsible for the death of 603 U.S. service members, along with thousands of wounded."

    I am going to say something that is going to sound controversial if you buy into the kind of simple-minded logic we just discussed: Saying that someone was "responsible for the deaths of U.S. service members" does not, in and of itself, tell us anything about whether what they did was right or wrong. In order to believe it did, we would have to believe that the United States is automatically right, and that countries opposing the United States are automatically wrong. That is indeed the logic that many nationalists in this country follow; remember that when the U.S. shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, causing hundreds of deaths, George H.W. Bush said that he would never apologize for America, no matter what the facts were. What if America did something wrong? That was irrelevant, or rather impossible, because to Bush, a thing was right because America did it, even if that thing was the mass murder of Iranian civilians.

    One of the major justifications for murdering Suleimani is that he "caused the deaths of U.S. soldiers." He was thus an aggressor, and could/should have been killed. That is where people like Pence want you to end your inquiry. But let us remember where those soldiers were. Were they in Miami? No. They were in Iraq. Why were they in Iraq? Because we illegally invaded and seized a country. Now, we can debate whether (1) there is actually sufficient evidence of Suleimani's direct involvement and (2) whether these acts of violence can be justified, but to say that Suleimani has "American blood on his hands" is to say nothing at all without an examination of whether the United States was in the right.

    We have to think clearly in examining the arguments that are being made. Here 's the Atlantic 's George Packer on the execution:

    "There was a case for killing Major General Qassem Soleimani. For two decades, as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, he executed Iran's long game of strategic depth in the Middle East -- arming and guiding proxy militias in Lebanon and Iraq that became stronger than either state, giving Bashar al-Assad essential support to win the Syrian civil war at the cost of half a million lives, waging a proxy war in Yemen against the hated Saudis, and repeatedly testing America and its allies with military actions around the region for which Iran never seemed to pay a military price."

    The article goes on to discuss whether this case is outweighed by the pragmatic case against killing him. But wait. Let's dwell on this. Does this constitute a case for killing him? He assisted Bashar al-Assad. Okay, but presumably then killing Assad would have been justified too? Is the rule here that our government is allowed unilaterally to execute the officials of other governments who are responsible for many deaths? Are we the only ones who can do this? Can any government claim the right?

    He assisted Yemen in its fight against "the hated Saudis." But is Saudi Arabia being hated for good reason? It is not enough to say that someone committed violence without analyzing the underlying justice of the parties' relative claims.

    Moreover, assumptions are made that if you can prove somebody committed a heinous act, what Trump did is justified. But that doesn't follow: Unless we throw all law out the window, and extrajudicial punishment is suddenly acceptable, showing that Suleimani was a war criminal doesn't prove that you can unilaterally kill him with a drone. Henry Kissinger is a war criminal. So is George W. Bush. But they should be captured and tried in a court, not bombed from the sky. The argument that Suleimani was planning imminent attacks is relevant to whether you can stop him with violence (and requires persuasive proof), but mere allegations of murderous past acts do not show that extrajudicial killings are legitimate.

    It's very easy to come up with superficially persuasive arguments that can justify just about anything. The job of an intelligent populace is to see whether those arguments can actually withstand scrutiny.

    Keep the focus on what matters

    "The main question about the strike isn't moral or even legal -- it's strategic." -- The Atlantic

    "The real question to ask about the American drone attack that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani was not whether it was justified, but whether it was wise" -- The New York Times

    "I think that the question that we ought to focus on is why now? Why not a month ago and why not a month from now?" -- Elizabeth Warren

    They're going to try to define the debate for you. Leaving aside the moral questions, is this good strategy? And then you find yourself arguing on those terms: No, it was bad strategy, it will put "our personnel" in harms way, without noticing that you are implicitly accepting the sociopathic logic that says "America's interests" are the only ones in the world that matters. This is how debates about Vietnam went: They were rarely about whether our actions were good for Vietnamese people, but about whether they were good or bad for us , whether we were squandering U.S. resources and troops in a "fruitless" "mistake." The people of this country still do not understand the kind of carnage we inflicted on Vietnam because our debates tend to be about whether things we do are "strategically prudent" rather than whether they are just. The Atlantic calls the strike a "blunder," shifting the discussion to be about the wisdom of the killing rather than whether it is a choice our country is even permitted to make. "Blunder" essentially assumes that we are allowed to do these things and the only question is whether it's good for us.

    There will be plenty of attempts to distract you with irrelevant issues. We will spent more time talking about whether Trump followed the right process for war, whether he handled the rollout correctly, and less about whether the underlying action itself is correct. People like Ben Shapiro will say things like :

    "Barack Obama routinely droned terrorists abroad -- including American citizens -- who presented far less of a threat to Americans and American interests than Soleimani. So spare me the hysterics about 'assassination."

    In order for this to have any bearing on anything, you have to be someone who defends what Obama did. If you are, on the other hand, someone who belives that Obama, too, assassinated people without due process (which he did), then Shapiro has proved exactly nothing about whether Trump's actions were legitimate. (Note, too, the presumption that threatening "America's interests" can get you killed, a standard we would not want any other country using but are happy to use ourselves.)

    Emphasis matters

    Consider three statements:

    • "The top priority of a Commander-in-Chief must be to protect Americans and our national security interests. There is no question that Qassim Suleimani was a threat to that safety and security, and that he masterminded threats and attacks on Americans and our allies, leading to hundreds of deaths. But there are serious questions about how this decision was made and whether we are prepared for the consequences."
    • "Suleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war."
    • "When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the country and the region. Today, 17 years later, that fear has unfortunately turned out to be true. The United States has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and we've spent trillions on this war. Trump's dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars. Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one."

    These are statements made by Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, respectively. Note that each of them is consistent with believing Trump's decision was the wrong one, but their emphasis is different. Buttigieg says Suleimani was a "threat" but that there are "questions," Warren says Suleimani was a "murderer" but that this was "reckless," and Sanders says this was a "dangerous escalation." It could be that none of these three would have done the same thing themselves, but the emphasis is vastly different. Buttigieg and Warren lead with condemnation of the dead man, in ways that imply that there was nothing that unjust about what happened. Sanders does not dwell on Suleimani but instead talks about the dangers of new wars.

    We have to be clear and emphatic in our messaging, because so much effort is made to make what should be clear issues appear murky. If, for example, you gave a speech in 2002 opposing the Iraq War, but the first half was simply a discussion of what a bad and threatening person Saddam Hussein was, people might actually get the opposite of the impression you want them to get. Buttigieg and Warren, while they appear to question the president, have the effect of making his action seem reasonable. After all, they admit that he got rid of a threatening murderer! Sanders admits nothing of the kind: The only thing he says is that Trump has made the world worse. He puts the emphasis where it matters.

    I do not fully like Sanders' statement, because it still talks a bit more about what war means for our people , but it does mention destabilization and the total number of lives that can be lost. It is a far more morally clear and powerful antiwar statement. Buttigieg's is exactly what you'd expect of a Consultant President and it should give us absolutely no confidence that he would be a powerful voice against a war, should one happen. Warren confirms that she is not an effective advocate for peace. In a time when there will be pressure for a violent conflict, we need to make sure that our statements are not watery and do not make needless concessions to the hawks' propaganda.

    Imagine how everything would sound if the other side said it.

    If you're going to understand the world clearly, you have to kill your nationalistic emotions. An excellent way to do this is to try to imagine if all the facts were reversed. If Iraq had invaded the United States, and U.S. militias violently resisted, would it constitute "aggression" for those militias to kill Iraqi soldiers? If Britain funded those U.S. militias, and Iraq killed the head of the British military with a drone strike, would this constitute "stopping a terrorist"? Of course, in that situation, the Iraqi government would certainly spin it that way, because governments call everyone who opposes them terrorists. But rationality requires us not just to examine whether violence has been committed (e.g., whether Suleimani ordered attacks) but what the full historical context of that violence is, and who truly deserves the "terrorist" label.

    Is there anything Suleimani did that hasn't also been done by the CIA? Remember that we actually engineered the overthrow of the Iranian government, within living people's lifetimes . Would an Iranian have been justified in assassinating the head of the CIA? I doubt there are many Americans who think they would. I think most Americans would consider this terrorism. But this is because terrorism is a word that, by definition, cannot apply to things we do, and only applies to the things others do. When you start to actually reverse the situations in your mind, and see how things look from the other side, you start to fully grasp just how crude and irrational so much propaganda is.

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/hPOy-LutJQg?feature=oembed

    Watch out for euphemisms

    • "It was not an assassination." -- Noah Rothman, conservative commentator
    • "That's an outrageous thing to say. Nobody that I know of would think that we did something wrong in getting the general." -- Michael Bloomberg, on Bernie Sanders' claim that this was an "assassination"

    Our access to much of the world is through language alone. We only see our tiny sliver of the world with our own eyes, much of the rest of it has to be described in words or shown to us through images. That means it's very easy to manipulate our perceptions. If you control the flow of information, you can completely alter someone's understanding of the things that they can't see firsthand.

    Euphemistic language is always used to cover atrocities. Even the Nazis did not say they were "mass murdering innocent civilians." They said they were defending themselves from subversive elements, guaranteeing sufficient living space for their people, purifying their culture, etc. When the United States commits murder, it does not say it is committing murder. It says it is engaging in a stabilization program and restoring democratic rule. We saw during the recent Bolivian coup how easy it is to portray the seizure of power as "democracy" and democracy as tyranny. Euphemistic language has been one of the key tools of murderous regimes. In fact, many of them probably believe their own language; their specialized vocabulary allows them to inhabit a world of their own invention where they are good people punishing evil.

    Assassination sounds bad. It sounds like something illegitimate, something that would call into question the goodness of the United States, even if the person being assassinated can be argued to have "deserved it." Thus Rothman and Bloomberg will not even admit that what the U.S. did here was an assassination, even though we literally targeted a high official from a sovereign country and dropped a bomb on him. Instead, this is " neutralization ." (Read this fascinatingly feeble attempt by the Associated Press to explain why it isn't calling an obvious assassination an assassination, just as the media declined to call torture torture when Bush did it.)

    Those of us who want to resist marches to war need to insist on calling things exactly what they are and refuse to allow the country to slide into the use of language that conceals the reality of our actions.

    Remember what people were saying five minutes ago

    Five minutes ago, hardly anybody was talking about Suleimani. Now they all speak as if he was Public Enemy #1. Remember how much you hated that guy? Remember how much damage he did? No, I do not remember, because people like Ben Shapiro only just discovered their hatred for Suleimani once they had to justify his murder.

    During the buildup to a war there is a constant effort to make you forget what things were like a few minutes ago. Before World War I, Americans lived relatively harmoniously with Germans in their midst. The same thing with Japanese people before World War II. Then, immediately, they began to hate and fear people who had recently been their neighbors.

    Let us say Iran responds to this extrajudicial murder with a colossal act of violent reprisal, after the killing unifies the country around a demand for vengeance. They kill a high-ranking American official, or wage an attack that kills our civilians. Perhaps it will attack some of the soldiers that are now being moved into the Middle East. The Trump administration will then want you to forget that it promised this assassination was to " stop a war ." It will then want you to focus solely on Iran's most recent act, to see that as the initial aggression. If the attack is particularly bad, with family members of victims crying on TV and begging for vengeance, you will be told to look into the face of Iranian evil, and those of us who are anti-war will be branded as not caring about the victims. Nobody wants you to remember the history of U.S./Iran relations, the civilians we killed of theirs or the time we destabilized their whole country and got rid of its democracy. They want you to have a two-second memory, to become a blind and unthinking patriot whose sole thought is the avenging of American blood. Resisting propaganda requires having a memory, looking back on how things were before and not accepting war as the "new normal."

    Listen to the Chomsky on your shoulder.

    "It is perfectly insane to suggest the U.S. was the aggressor here." -- Ben Shapiro

    They are going to try to convince you that you are insane for asking questions, or for not accepting what the government tells you. They will put you in topsy-turvy land, where thinking that assassinating foreign officials is "aggression" is not just wrong, but sheer madness. You will have to try your best to remember what things are, because it is not easy, when everyone says the emperor has clothes, or that Line A is longer than Line B, or that shocking people to death is fine, to have confidence in your independent judgment.

    This is why I keep a little imaginary Noam Chomsky sitting on my shoulder at all times. Chomsky helps keep me sane, by cutting through lies and euphemisms and showing things as they really are. I recommend reading his books, especially during times of war. He never swallowed Johnson's nonsense about Vietnam or Bush's nonsense about Iraq. And of course they called him insane, anti-American, terrorist-loving, anti-Semitic, blah blah blah.

    What I really mean here though is: Listen to the dissidents. They will not appear on television. They will be smeared and treated as lunatics. But you need them if you are going to be able to resist the absolute barrage of misinformation, or to hear yourself think over the pounding war drums. Times of War Fever can be wearying, because there is just so much aggression against dissent that your resistance wears down. This is why a community is so necessary. You may watch people who previously seemed reasonable develop a pathological bloodlust (mild-mannered moderate types like Thomas Friedman and Brian Williams going suck on our missiles ). Find the people who see clearly and stick close to them.

    Someday peace will prevail. If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to our magnificent print edition or making a donation . Current Affairs is 100% reader-supported. Nathan J. Robinson

    [Jan 06, 2020] Pompeo's Petty Decision to Bar Zarif

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Pompeo's Petty Decision to Bar Zarif European External Action Service/Flickr

    January 6, 2020

    |

    8:43 pm

    Daniel Larison Colum Lynch and Robbie Gramer report on the Trump administration's decision to refuse a visa to Iran's foreign minister. Barring Zarif from the U.S. is a blatant violation of U.S. obligations as the host of U.N. headquarters:

    "Any foreign minister is entitled to address the Security Council at any time and the United States is obligated to provide access to the U.N. headquarters district," said Larry Johnson, a former U.N. assistant secretary-general. Under the terms of the U.S. agreement with the United Nations, "they are absolutely obligated to let him in."

    Johnson, who currently serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University Law School, noted that the U.S. Congress, however, passed legislation in August 1947, the so-called Public Law 80-357, that granted the U.S. government the authority to bar foreign individuals invited by the United Nations to attend meetings at its New York City headquarters if they are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. national security. But Johnson said the U.S. law would require the individual be "expected to commit some act against the U.S. national security interest while here in the United States."

    Refusing to admit Zarif is another foolish mistake on the administration's part. Preventing him from coming to the U.N. not only breaches our government's agreement with the U.N., but it also closes off a possible channel of communication and demonstrates to the world that the U.S. has no interest in a diplomatic resolution of the current crisis. Far from conveying the "toughness" that Pompeo imagines he is showing, keeping Zarif out reeks of weakness and insecurity. Zarif is a capable diplomat, but is the Trump administration really so afraid of what he would say while he is here that they would ignore U.S. obligations to block him?

    By barring Zarif, the Trump administration has given him and his government another opportunity to score an easy propaganda win. They have squandered an opportunity to reduce tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. needs to find an off-ramp to avoid further conflict following the president's assassination order, but thanks to Pompeo's decision that off-ramp won't be found in New York.

    [Jan 06, 2020] Mike Pompeo- Killing Qasem Soleimani disrupted an imminent attack

    Looks like Pompeo a gifted liar...
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.youtube.com

    James Shaw , 2 days ago

    THE PEOPLE OF BOTH COUNTRIES DO NOT WANT WAR...ITS THE LEADERS THAT WANT WAR, NOT THE PEOPLE

    Moses Tekper , 2 days ago

    The world is a safer place there but all American civilians should get out of the region. What a joke.

    Fi Vongphachanh , 2 days ago

    Trump screwed up that why need to move American people's.

    Sidra Irfan , 1 day ago

    Trump try to open door of third [world] war He is really sick man.

    Bhai Log , 1 day ago

    Shameless act by trump. World need peace but Donald trump doesn't want

    WADA FAKA , 2 days ago

    Now those who fought ISIS with blood and swear are systematically eliminated by the USA😎

    Manny M , 2 days ago

    Your asking the wrong people for the strikes, ask Israel 🇮🇱 you'll get little more then here!!

    delonix regia , 1 day ago

    Mike Pompeo? " We lie , cheat and steal " . That's all we have to know about this guy .

    Fix News , 2 days ago

    Done our level best under the direct guidance of the president. Oh boy.

    Aldemar Delapuy , 2 days ago

    Who wants a jeep ride with an Iranian general?

    G.E. B. , 2 days ago

    As soon as he opened his mouth he started to glorify Trump.....

    Captain1 Jones , 1 day ago

    What's different is that Trump got impeached.

    A Warrior of Christ , 2 days ago

    Puppet Pompeo, Trump's hand is behind his back and manipulating his lips!

    Green Orange , 2 days ago

    There is No justice, if there was , most of the USA politicians would be sentenced for War Crimes.

    Sherry Osinga , 2 days ago

    ... you don't understand, we don't trust you.

    Muntadher Alqrashie , 2 days ago

    Think of us the Iraqi people before you start a war. We're tired from wars.. enough

    Hadzra Hatta , 2 days ago

    Does Mike Pompeo know what he's talking about?

    Sandy Phelps , 1 day ago

    Pompeo is a traitor and a liar. We are letting liars lead us into a terrible war.

    Elizabeth Klimas , 2 days ago

    have weapon of mass destruction being found yet other than CHEMTRAILS in the USA?????

    BARTETMEDIA , 2 days ago

    Trump stuck his right foot way up his a$$ this time. Now the left foot it's coming.

    [Jan 06, 2020] Buttigieg on Soleimani strike- We need answers

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.youtube.com


    jason thomas , 3 hours ago

    Don't trust the CIA


    Aramai Jonassi
    , 9 hours ago

    We have nothing to worry about with Jared Kushner being in charge of middle East peace, amiright?🙄

    Deborah Lawson , 8 hours ago (edited)

    More people at Mara Lago knew that General Suliemeni was going to be hit than congressmen and congresswomen? That tells me trump was bragging about how much power he has. He's so insecure and feeble that he has no business holding the most power office in the land!


    light Archer
    , 10 hours ago

    The main beneficiaries of Solimanies death are his arch enemies, Isis. Trump turned on both his field allies against Isis, the Kurds and Solimani's militia. Who are America's allies in the field, now?

    Idin Azadipour , 5 hours ago

    Let me tally this up for the wonderful viewers, an American backed coupe of a democratically elected prime minister who wanted to nationalize the oil fields of Iran which at time was owned by Britain. The shooting down of a plane with 290 people in it by an American Naval vessel. The backing of Saddam with chemical weapons and millions of dollars, to go to war with Iran leaving half a million dead. The installation of a dictator whose secret police force imprisoned, tortured and killed political dissidence. Learn your history.

    Katherine Diaz , 20 minutes ago (edited)

    All jokes aside but everyone this isnt a joke anymore becuase of our wreckless president making dumb distractions ive ever heard of trump is a sociopath he makes the rich richer, the poor poorer. Just remember this guy and his family are banned from having fun raisers in the state of new york becuase trump held a big fundraiser to help fight kids cancer he stole money from kids to search to find a cure for cancer. He nearly shut down the gouverment becuase Congress refused to give him the money for him to build the wall but not most of all 5 general from the us resigned becuase they didnt agree with his intensions. He doesnt care about anyone but himself and anyone with common sense can sse that and im done with the US government and this isnt the American that i grew up loving. All the hatred for eachother is disgusting and disturbing


    TheFarmanimalfriend
    , 11 hours ago

    The Iranian fiasco started in 1953 when America overthrew Iran's democratically elected government, so we could get their oil. The autocrat we installed had a nasty habit of torturing and murdering any who opposed him, but he did sell us oil. In 1979 the Iranians, united by their clergy, threw him out. We keep stirring the hornets nest we created and are surprised when we get stung? Now you too can have a front row seat at this foreign policy debacle! War? We don't need no stinking war. Trump is desperate to distract the American people from seeing how incompetent and stupid he really is.

    [Jan 06, 2020] Elizabeth Warren on Qasem Soleimani killing- People are reasonably asking, why this moment

    Warren kept her ground wonderfully in this exchange. Warren suggests that people are reasonable asking about timing. Also warmongering of Trump.
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.youtube.com

    Richie Beck , 6 hours ago (edited)

    "When everyone else is losing their heads, it is important to keep yours." - Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and Irony.

    Bob Bart , 7 hours ago (edited)

    " What is human warfare but just this; an effort to make the laws of God and nature take sides with one party. " ~ Henry David Thoreau

    personal cooking , 4 hours ago

    China is laughing.US pay attention in middel east now.

    [Jan 06, 2020] Neocon Pompeo pushed Trump to kill Soleimani; Looks like West Point educated military contactor mafia to which Pompeo and Esper belongs controls the President, although Trump malleability and recklessness are inexcusable

    Highly recommended!
    So Trump instead of draining the swamp brought swamp creatures like Pompeo into his Administration; now he can pay the price.
    Notable quotes:
    "... The greenlighting of the airstrike near Baghdad airport represents a bureaucratic victory for Pompeo ..."
    "... "We took a bad guy off the battlefield. We made the right decision," Pompeo told CNN. "I'm proud of the effort that President Trump undertook." ..."
    "... On Dec. 29, Pompeo, Esper and Milley traveled to the president's private club in Florida, where the two defense officials presented possible responses to Iranian aggression, including the option of killing Soleimani, senior U.S. officials said. ..."
    "... One significant factor was the "lockstep" coordination for the operation between Pompeo and Esper, both graduates in the same class at the U.S. Military Academy, who deliberated ahead of the briefing with Trump, senior U.S. officials said. Pence also endorsed the decision, but he did not attend the meeting in Florida. ..."
    "... Some defense officials said Pompeo's claims of an imminent and direct threat were overstated, and they would prefer that he make the case based on the killing of the American contractor and previous Iranian provocations. ..."
    "... On Sunday, Iran announced that it was suspending all limits of the nuclear deal, including on uranium enrichment, research and development, and enlarging its stockpile of nuclear fuel. Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China, were original signatories of that deal with the United States and Iran, and all opposed Trump's decision to withdraw from the pact. ..."
    "... "No one trusts what Trump will do next, so it's hard to get behind this," said the European diplomat. ..."
    "... Since his time as CIA director, Pompeo has forged a friendship with Yossi Cohen, the director of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, said a person familiar with their meetings. The men have spoken about the threat posed by Iran to both Israel and the United States. In a prescient interview in October, Cohen said Soleimani "knows perfectly well that his elimination is not impossible." ..."
    "... At every step of his government career, Pompeo has tried to stake out a maximalist position on Iran that has made him popular among two critical pro-Israel constituencies in Republican politics: conservative Jewish donors and Christian evangelicals. ..."
    "... After Trump tapped Pompeo to lead the CIA, Pompeo quickly set up an Iran Mission Center at the agency to focus intelligence-gathering efforts and operations, elevating Iran's importance as an intelligence target. ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.washingtonpost.com

    The secretary also spoke to President Trump multiple times every day last week, culminating in Trump's decision to approve the killing of Iran's top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, at the urging of Pompeo and Vice President Pence, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

    Pompeo had lost a similar high-stakes deliberation last summer when Trump declined to retaliate militarily against Iran after it downed a U.S. surveillance drone, an outcome that left Pompeo "morose," according to one U.S. official. But recent changes to Trump's national security team and the whims of a president anxious about being viewed as hesitant in the face of Iranian aggression created an opening for Pompeo to press for the kind of action he had been advocating.

    The greenlighting of the airstrike near Baghdad airport represents a bureaucratic victory for Pompeo, but it also carries multiple serious risks: another protracted regional war in the Middle East; retaliatory assassinations of U.S. personnel stationed around the world; an interruption in the battle against the Islamic State; the closure of diplomatic pathways to containing Iran's nuclear program; and a major backlash in Iraq, whose parliament voted on Sunday to expel all U.S. troops from the country.

    For Pompeo, whose political ambitions are a source of constant speculation , the death of U.S. diplomats would be particularly damaging given his unyielding criticisms of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton following the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and other American personnel in Benghazi in 2012.

    But none of those considerations stopped Pompeo from pushing for the targeted strike, U.S. officials said, underscoring a fixation on Iran that spans 10 years of government service from Congress to the CIA to the State Department.

    "We took a bad guy off the battlefield. We made the right decision," Pompeo told CNN. "I'm proud of the effort that President Trump undertook."

    Pompeo first spoke with Trump about killing Soleimani months ago, said a senior U.S. official, but neither the president nor Pentagon officials were willing to countenance such an operation.

    For more than a year, defense officials warned that the administration's campaign of economic sanctions against Iran had increased tensions with Tehran, requiring a bigger and bigger share of military resources in the Middle East when many at the Pentagon wanted to redeploy their firepower to East Asia.

    How the siege of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad unfolded On Jan. 1, the siege on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad appeared to come to an end after supporters of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia retreated. (Liz Sly, Joyce Lee, Mustafa Salim/The Washington Post)

    Trump, too, sought to draw down from the Middle East as he promised from the opening days of his presidential campaign. But that mind-set shifted on Dec. 27 when 30 rockets hit a joint U.S.-Iraqi base outside Kirkuk, killing an American civilian contractor and injuring service members.

    On Dec. 29, Pompeo, Esper and Milley traveled to the president's private club in Florida, where the two defense officials presented possible responses to Iranian aggression, including the option of killing Soleimani, senior U.S. officials said.

    Trump's decision to target Soleimani came as a surprise and a shock to some officials briefed on his decision, given the Pentagon's long-standing concerns about escalation and the president's aversion to using military force against Iran.

    One significant factor was the "lockstep" coordination for the operation between Pompeo and Esper, both graduates in the same class at the U.S. Military Academy, who deliberated ahead of the briefing with Trump, senior U.S. officials said. Pence also endorsed the decision, but he did not attend the meeting in Florida.

    "Taking out Soleimani would not have happened under [former secretary of defense Jim] Mattis," said a senior administration official who argued that the Mattis Pentagon was risk-averse. "Mattis was opposed to all of this. It's not a hit on Mattis, it's just his predisposition. Milley and Esper are different. Now you've got a cohesive national security team and you've got a secretary of state and defense secretary who've known each other their whole adult lives."

    Mattis declined to comment.

    In the days since the strike, Pompeo has become the voice of the administration on the matter, speaking to allies and making the public case for the operation. Trump chose Pompeo to appear on all of the Sunday news shows because he "sticks to the line" and "never gives an inch," an administration official said.

    But critics inside and outside the administration have questioned Pompeo's justification for the strike based on his claims that "dozens if not hundreds" of American lives were at risk.

    [ Trump faces Iran crisis with fewer experienced advisers and strained relations with allies ]

    Lawmakers left classified briefings with U.S. intelligence officials on Friday saying they heard nothing to suggest that the threat posed by the proxy forces guided by Soleimani had changed substantially in recent months.

    When repeatedly pressed on Sunday about the imminent nature of the threats, whether it was days or weeks away, or whether they had been foiled by the U.S. airstrike, Pompeo dismissed the questions.

    "If you're an American in the region, days and weeks -- this is not something that's relevant," Pompeo told CNN.

    Some defense officials said Pompeo's claims of an imminent and direct threat were overstated, and they would prefer that he make the case based on the killing of the American contractor and previous Iranian provocations.

    Critics have also questioned how an imminent attack would be foiled by killing Soleimani, who would not have carried out the strike himself.

    "If the attack was going to take place when Soleimani was alive, it is difficult to comprehend why it wouldn't take place now that he is dead," said Robert Malley, the president of the International Crisis Group and a former Obama administration official.

    Following the strike, Pompeo has held back-to-back phone calls with his counterparts around the globe but has received a chilly reception from European allies, many of whom fear that the attack puts their embassies in Iran and Iraq in jeopardy and has now eliminated the chance to keep a lid on Iran's nuclear program.

    "We have woken up to a more dangerous world," said France's Europe minister, Amelie de Montchalin.

    Two European diplomats familiar with the calls said Pompeo expected European leaders to champion the U.S. strike publicly even though they were never consulted on the decision.

    "The U.S. has not helped the Iran situation, and now they want everyone to cheerlead this," one diplomat said.

    "Our position over the past few years has been about defending the JCPOA," said the diplomat, referring to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

    On Sunday, Iran announced that it was suspending all limits of the nuclear deal, including on uranium enrichment, research and development, and enlarging its stockpile of nuclear fuel. Britain, France and Germany, as well as Russia and China, were original signatories of that deal with the United States and Iran, and all opposed Trump's decision to withdraw from the pact.

    "No one trusts what Trump will do next, so it's hard to get behind this," said the European diplomat.

    Pompeo has slapped back at U.S. allies, saying "the Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did -- what the Americans did -- saved lives in Europe as well," he told Fox News.

    Israel has stood out in emphatically cheering the Soleimani operation, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praising Trump for "acting swiftly, forcefully and decisively."

    "Israel stands with the United States in its just struggle for peace, security and self-defense," he said.

    Since his time as CIA director, Pompeo has forged a friendship with Yossi Cohen, the director of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, said a person familiar with their meetings. The men have spoken about the threat posed by Iran to both Israel and the United States. In a prescient interview in October, Cohen said Soleimani "knows perfectly well that his elimination is not impossible."

    Though Democrats have greeted the strike with skepticism, Republican leaders, who have long viewed Pompeo as a reassuring voice in the administration, uniformly praised the decision as the eradication of a terrorist who directed the killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

    "Soleimani made it his life's work to take the Iranian revolutionary call for death to America and death to Israel and turn them into action," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.

    A critical moment for Pompeo is nearing as he faces growing questions about a potential Senate run, though some GOP insiders say that decision seems to have stalled. Pompeo has kept in touch with Ward Baker, a political consultant who would probably lead the operation, and others in McConnell's orbit, about a bid. But Pompeo hasn't committed one way or the other, people familiar with the conversations said.

    Some people close to the secretary say he has mixed feelings about becoming a relatively junior senator from Kansas after leading the State Department and CIA, but there is little doubt in Pompeo's home state that he could win.

    At every step of his government career, Pompeo has tried to stake out a maximalist position on Iran that has made him popular among two critical pro-Israel constituencies in Republican politics: conservative Jewish donors and Christian evangelicals.

    After Trump tapped Pompeo to lead the CIA, Pompeo quickly set up an Iran Mission Center at the agency to focus intelligence-gathering efforts and operations, elevating Iran's importance as an intelligence target.

    At the State Department, he is a voracious consumer of diplomatic notes and reporting on Iran, and he places the country far above other geopolitical and economic hot spots in the world. "If it's about Iran, he will read it," said one diplomat, referring to the massive flow of paper that crosses Pompeo's desk. "If it's not, good luck."

    [Jan 06, 2020] Tucker Carlson is livid with anger and frustration at Trump's actions .

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.unz.com

    KA , says: Show Comment January 5, 2020 at 8:57 pm GMT

    @Just passing through https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/04/media/fox-news-iran-soleimani/index.html

    Tucker Carlson is livid with anger and frustration at Trump's actions .

    Death to America is a rallying point for Iran to emphasize the same aspect of American status .
    They talk in future . Carlson is reminding that we are already there .

    If people woke up with anger at Iran., they would find that the dead horse isn't able to do much but only can attract a lot of attention from far .

    The reason Taliban didn't inform Mulla Omar's death was to let the rank and file continues to remain engaged without getting into internal feuding fight .
    A trues state of US won't be televised until the horse starts rotting but then that would be quite late .

    I don't recall any dissent until this assassination . Now 70 cities are witnessing protests and a few in Media are not happy at all .

    There is a big unknown if and when Iran would strike back and at who. Persian is not like khasaogi murderer or Harri kidnapper .

    [Jan 06, 2020] Democrats demand answers on Soleimani killing - This is not a game

    Most probably Pompeo was cheating and deceived Trump to get the approval of this asssasination. now with his head on the block he is trying to avoid the responsibility.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said public assurances from the Trump administration that such a threat was "imminent" were simply not enough. ..."
    "... Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said on CNN's "State of the Union" that until the administration provides answers on "how this decision was reached ... then this move is questionable , to say the least." ..."
    "... "I still worry about whether this president really understands that this is not a show, this is not a game," he said. "Lives are at stake right now." ..."
    "... the administration has yet to make public its evidence that Soleimani was acting out of step in comparison with his years of similar planning as a leader in Iran's proxy wars and other covert operations, which have led to U.S. deaths . ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.nbcnews.com

    Democrats on Sunday demanded answers about the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as tensions mounted with Iran and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that the United States had faced an imminent threat.

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on ABC's "This Week" that he worried that President Donald Trump's decision "will get us into what he calls another endless war in the Middle East ." He called for Congress to "assert" its authority and prevent Trump from "either bumbling or impulsively getting us into a major war."

    Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said public assurances from the Trump administration that such a threat was "imminent" were simply not enough.

    "I think we learned the hard way ... in the Iraq War that administrations sometimes manipulate and cherry-pick intelligence to further their political goals," he said.

    "That's what got us into the Iraq War. There was no WMD," or weapons of mass destruction, he said. "I'm saying that they have an obligation to present the evidence."

    Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said on CNN's "State of the Union" that until the administration provides answers on "how this decision was reached ... then this move is questionable , to say the least."

    "I still worry about whether this president really understands that this is not a show, this is not a game," he said. "Lives are at stake right now."

    Booker: 'All Americans should be concerned right now' JAN. 5, 2020 04:18

    The fraught relationship with Iran has significantly deteriorated in the days since Soleimani's death, which came days after rioters sought to storm the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad and a U.S. contractor was killed in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base in Kirkuk.

    The Defense Department said Soleimani, the high-profile commander of Iran's secretive Quds Force, who was accused of controlling Iranian-linked proxy militias across the Middle East, orchestrated the attacks on bases in Iraq of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group, including the strike that killed the U.S. contractor. In addition, the Defense Department said Soleimani approved attacks on the embassy compound in Baghdad.

    " We took action last night to stop a war ," Trump said Friday in a televised address, referring to the airstrike that killed Soleimani. "We did not take action to start a war."

    But the administration has yet to make public its evidence that Soleimani was acting out of step in comparison with his years of similar planning as a leader in Iran's proxy wars and other covert operations, which have led to U.S. deaths .

    Iran and its allies vowed to retaliate for the general's death, and Trump has since escalated his language in response.

    Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

    [Jan 06, 2020] The threat of General Soleimani - TTG

    Highly recommended!
    Below are some idea from Below are some idea from OffGuardian that clrify TT post...
    The Saker took a look yesterday at The Soleimani murder – what could happen next . He thinks, as he has said before, that Trump is regarded as a disposable asset by his Deep State handlers and is being used as a front man for risky policy actions that he can be scapegoated for if/when they go wrong.
    war with Iran has been the auto-erotic fixation for the hardcore war nuts in Washington for years, and imminent confrontation has been predicted regularly since at least 2005
    Trump administration from the very beginning has been ramping up the tensions (Adelson money at work): Trump teared up the nuclear deal, re-imposed sanctions, making provocations, making threats. But this has all been within the familiar framework that always just stops short of actual conflict. The murder of Soleimani is orders of magnitude beyond anything they have ever risked before. the US and Israel now have carte blanche to stage as much false flag 'terrorism' as they want and blame it on Iranian 'revenge'. Whatever else happens, we can almost certainly look forward to some of that. The murder of Soleimani is orders of magnitude beyond anything they have ever risked before. the US and Israel now have carte blanche to stage as much false flag 'terrorism' as they want and blame it on Iranian 'revenge'. Whatever else happens, we can almost certainly look forward to some of that. The murder of Soleimani is orders of magnitude beyond anything they have ever risked before. the US and Israel now have carte blanche to stage as much false flag 'terrorism' as they want and blame it on Iranian 'revenge'. Whatever else happens, we can almost certainly look forward to some of that.
    The major question really though is – will this backtracking and odd claims of wanting de-escalation actually do anything to de-escalate? Will it persuade Iran not to seek retaliation, supposing this is now what Pompeo et al want?
    It's become a commonplace to describe Trump foreign policy as 'insane', and it's an apposite description. But the murder of Soleimani takes the evident insanity to new and self-defeating levels.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Eric, the embassy attack hurt little more than our pride. Yes, an entrance lobby and it's contents were burned and destroyed but no American was injured or even roughed up. It was the Iraqi government that let the demonstrators approach the embassy walls, not Soleimani. The unarmed PMU soldiers dispersed as soon as the Iraqi government said their point was made. If we are so thin skinned that rude graffiti and gestures induce us to committing assassinations, we deserve to be labeled as international pariahs. ..."
    "... Yes, I see Soleimani as a threat, but he was a threat to the jihadis and the continued US dreams of regional hegemony. ..."
    "... According to published pictures of the rockets recovered after the K-1 attack, they were the same powerful new weapons that Turkish troops recovered from a YPG ammo depot in Afrin last year: 'Iranian' 107mm rockets Manufactured 2016 Lot 570. I know matching lots isn't proof of anything, but what are the chances? ..."
    "... This "imminent" threat of Gen. Soleimani attacking US forces seems eerily reminiscent of the "mushroom cloud" imminent threat that Bush, Cheney and Blair peddled. Now we even have Pence claiming that Soleimani provided support to the Saudi 9/11 terrorists. Laughable if it wasn't so tragic. But of course at one time the talking point was Saddam orchestrated 9/11 and was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden. ..."
    "... After the Iraq WMD, Gadhaffi threat and Assad the butcher and the incorrigible terrorist loving Taliban posing such imminent threats that we must use our awesome military to bomb, invade, occupy, while spending trillions of dollars borrowed from future generations, and our soldiers on the ground serving multiple tours, and our fellow citizens buy into the latest rationale for killing an Iranian & Iraqi general, without an ounce of skepticism, says a lot! ..."
    "... IMO, Craig Murray is pointing in the right direction around the word 'immanent,' by pointing out that it is referring to the legally dubious Bethlehem Doctrine of Self Defense, the Israeli, UK and US standard for assassination, in which immanent is defined as widely as, 'we think they were thinking about it.' The USG managed to run afoul of even these overly permissive guidelines, which are meant only against non-state actors. ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com
    The threat of General Soleimani - TTG W7kf87eV

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States had "clear, unambiguous" intelligence that a top Iranian general was planning a significant campaign of violence against the United States when it decided to strike him, the top U.S. general said on Friday, warning Soleimani's plots "might still happen."

    Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a small group of reporters "we fully comprehend the strategic consequences" associated with the strike against Qassem Soleimani, Tehran's most prominent military commander.

    But he said the risk of inaction exceeded the risk that killing him might dramatically escalate tensions with Tehran. "Is there risk? Damn right, there's risk. But we're working to mitigate it," Milley said from his Pentagon office. (Reuters)

    -- -- -- -- --

    This is pretty much in line with Trump's pronouncement that our assassination of Soleimani along with Iraqi General Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was carried out to prevent a war not start one. Whatever information was presented to Trump painted a picture of imminent danger in his mind. What did the Pentagon see that was so imminent?

    Well first let's look at the mindset of the Pentagon concerning our presence in Iraq and Syria. These two recent quotes from Brett McGurk sums up that mindset.

    "If we leave Iraq, that will just increase further the running room for Iran and Shia militia groups and also the vacuum that will see groups like ISIS fill and we'll be right back to where we were. So that would be a disaster."

    "It's always been Soleimani's strategic game... to get us out of the Middle East. He wants to see us leave Syria, he wants to see us leave Iraq... I think if we leave Iraq after this, that would just be a real disastrous outcome..."

    McGurk played a visible role in US policy in Iraq and Syria under Bush, Obama and Trump. Now he's an NBC talking head and a lecturer at Stanford. He could be the poster boy for what many see as a neocon deep state. He's definitely not alone in thinking this way.

    So back to the question of what was the imminent threat. Reuters offers an elaborate story of a secret meeting of PMU commanders with Soleimani on a rooftop terrace on the Tigris with a grand view of the US Embassy on the far side of the river.

    -- -- -- -- --

    "In mid-October, Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani met with his Iraqi Shi'ite militia allies at a villa on the banks of the Tigris River, looking across at the U.S. embassy complex in Baghdad, and instructed them to step up attacks on U.S. targets in the country"

    "Two militia commanders and two security sources briefed on the gathering told Reuters that Soleimani instructed his top ally in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and other powerful militia leaders to step up attacks on US targets using sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran."

    "Soleimani's plans to attack US forces aimed to provoke a military response that would redirect Iraqis' anger towards Iran to the US, according to the sources briefed on the gathering, Iraqi Shi'ite politicians and government officials close to Iraq PM Adel Abdul Mahdi."

    "At the Baghdad villa, Soleimani told the assembled commanders to form a new militia group of low-profile paramilitaries - unknown to the United States - who could carry out rocket attacks on Americans housed at Iraqi military bases." (Reuters)

    -- -- -- -- --

    And what were those sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran? They were 1960s Chinese designed 107mm multiple rocket launcher technology. These simple but effective rocket launchers were mass produced by the Soviet Union, Iran, Turkey and Sudan in addition to China. They've been used in every conflict since then. The one captured outside of the K1 military base seems to be locally fabricated, but used Iranian manufactured rockets.

    Since when does the PMU have to form another low profile militia unit? The PMU is already composed of so many militia units it's difficult to keep track of them. There's also nothing low profile about the Kata'ib Hizbollah, the rumored perpetrators of the K1 rocket attack. They're as high profile as they come.

    Perhaps there's something to this Reuters story, but to me it sounds like another shithouse rumor. It would make a great scene in a James Bond movie, but it still sounds like a rumor.

    There's another story put out by The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Although it also sounds like a scene form a James Bond movie, I think it sounds more convincing than the Reuters story.

    -- -- -- -- --

    Delegation of Arab tribes met with "Soleimani" at the invitation of "Tehran" to carry out attacks against U.S. Forces east Euphrates

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that a delegation of the Arab tribes met on the 26th of December 2019, with the goal of directing and uniting forces against U.S. Forces, and according to the Syrian Observatory's sources, that meeting took place with the commander of the al-Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassim Soleimani, who was assassinated this morning in a U.S. raid on his convoy in Iraq. the sources reported that: "the invitation came at the official invitation of Tehran, where Iran invited Faisal al-al-Aazil, one of the elders of al-Ma'amra clan, in addition to the representative of al-Bo Asi clan the commander of NDF headquarters in Qamishli Khatib al-Tieb, and the Sheikh of al-Sharayin, Nawaf al-Bashar, the Sheikh of Harb clan, Mahmoud Mansour al-Akoub, " adding that: "the meeting discussed carrying out attacks against the American forces and the Syria Democratic Forces."

    Earlier, the head of the Syrian National Security Bureau, Ali Mamlouk, met with the security committee and about 20 Arab tribal elders and Sheikhs in al-Hasakah, at Qamishli Airport Hall on the 5th of December 2019, where he demanded the Arab tribes to withdraw their sons from the ranks of the Syria Democratic Forces. (SOHR)

    -- -- -- -- --

    I certainly don't automatically give credence to anything Rami sends out of his house in Coventry. I give this story more credibility only because that is exactly what I would do if Syria east of the the Euphrates was my UWOA (unconventional warfare operational area). This is exactly how I would go about ridding the area of the "Great Satan" invaders and making Syria whole again. The story also includes a lot of named individuals. This can be checked. This morning Colonel Lang told me some tribes in that region have a Shia history. Perhaps he can elaborate on that. I've read in several places that Qassim Soleimani knew the tribes in Syria and Iraq like the back of his hand. This SOHR story makes sense. If Soleimani was working with the tribes of eastern Syria like he worked with the tribes and militias of Iraq to create the al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbi, it no doubt scared the bejeezus out of the Pentagon and endangered their designs for Iraq and Syria.

    So, Qassim Soleimani, the Iranian soldier, the competent and patient Iranian soldier, was a threat to the Pentagon's designs a serious threat. But he was a long term threat, not an imminent threat. And he was just one soldier.The threat is systemic and remains. The question of why, in the minds of Trump and his generals, Soleimani had to die this week is something I will leave for my next post.

    A side note on Milley: Whenever I see a photo of him, I am reminded of my old Brigade Commander in the 25th Infantry Division, Colonel Nathan Vail. They both have the countenance of a snapping turtle. One of the rehab transfers in my rifle platoon once referred to him as "that J. Edgar Hoover looking mutha fuka." I had to bite my tongue to keep from breaking out in laughter. It would have been unseemly for a second lieutenant to openly enjoy such disrespect by a PV2 and a troublemaking PV2 at that. God bless PV2 Webster, where ever you are.

    TTG

    • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-usa-milley/top-u-s-general-soleimani-was-planning-campaign-of-violence-against-u-s-idUSKBN1Z222T
    • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-soleimani-insight/inside-the-plot-by-irans-soleimani-to-attack-u-s-forces-in-iraq-idUSKBN1Z301Z
    • http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=152158

    John Merryman , 04 January 2020 at 06:33 PM

    Wondering how much more intense the security will be around Trump's campaign rallies during the election.
    The Twisted Genius , 04 January 2020 at 06:46 PM
    Eric, the embassy attack hurt little more than our pride. Yes, an entrance lobby and it's contents were burned and destroyed but no American was injured or even roughed up. It was the Iraqi government that let the demonstrators approach the embassy walls, not Soleimani. The unarmed PMU soldiers dispersed as soon as the Iraqi government said their point was made. If we are so thin skinned that rude graffiti and gestures induce us to committing assassinations, we deserve to be labeled as international pariahs.

    Yes, I see Soleimani as a threat, but he was a threat to the jihadis and the continued US dreams of regional hegemony. I was glad we went back into Iraq to take on the threat of IS and cheered our initial move into Syria to do the same. That was the Sunni-Shia war you worry about. More accurately, it was a Salafist jihadist-all others war. Unfortunately, we overstayed the need and our welcome. It's a character flaw that we cannot loosen our grasp on empire no matter how much it costs us.

    Jack -> The Twisted Genius ... , 04 January 2020 at 08:16 PM
    TTG,

    Thanks for your post. What it says I buy. We are in the Middle East and have been for a while to impose regional hegemony. What that has bought us is nebulous at best. Clearly we have spent trillions and destabilized the region. Millions have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have been killed and maimed, including thousands of our soldiers. Are we better off from our invasion of Iraq, toppling Ghaddafi, and attempting to topple Assad using jihadists? Guys like McGurk, Bolton, Pompeo will say yes. Others like me will say no.

    The oil is a canard. We produce more oil than we ever have and it is a fungible commodity. Will it impact Israel if we pull out our forces? Sure. But it may have a salutary effect that it may force them to sue for peace. Will the Al Sauds continue to fund jihadi mayhem? Likely yes, but they'll have to come to some accommodation with the Iranian Shia and recognize their regional strength.

    Our choice is straightforward. Continue down the path of more conflict sinking ever more trillions that we don't have expecting a different outcome or cut our losses and get out and let the natural forces of the region assert themselves. I know which path I'll take.

    JamesT -> The Twisted Genius ... , 04 January 2020 at 09:48 PM
    TTG,

    With all due respect, I think you are wrong. I think the protesters swarming the embassy was exactly the same kind of tactic that US backed protesters used in Ukraine (and are currently using in Hong Kong) to great effect. The Persians are unique in that they are capable of studying our methodologies and tactics and appropriating them.

    When the US backed protesters took over Maidan square and started taking over various government building in Kiev, Viktor Yanukovych had two choices - either start shooting protesters or watch while his authority collapsed. It was and is a difficult choice.

    In my humble opinion, there are few things the stewards of US hegemony fear more than the IRGC becoming the worlds number one disciple of Gene Sharp.

    PavewayIV , 04 January 2020 at 06:46 PM
    TTG - "And what were those sophisticated new weapons provided by Iran?"

    According to published pictures of the rockets recovered after the K-1 attack, they were the same powerful new weapons that Turkish troops recovered from a YPG ammo depot in Afrin last year: 'Iranian' 107mm rockets Manufactured 2016 Lot 570. I know matching lots isn't proof of anything, but what are the chances?

    If the U.S. only had a Dilyana Gaytandzhieva to bird-dog out the rat line. Wait... the MSM would have fired her by now for weaponizing journalism against the neocons [sigh].

    Factotum , 04 January 2020 at 07:21 PM
    If a goal is to get the heck out of the Middle East since it is an intractable cess pit and stat protecting our own borders and internal security, will we be better off with Soleimani out of the picture or left in place.

    Knowing of course, more just like him will sprout quickly, like dragon's teeth, in the sands of the desert.ME is a tar baby. Fracking our own tar sands is the preferable alternative.

    Real war war would be a direct attack on Israel. Then they get our full frontal assault. But this pissy stuff around the edges is an exercise in futility. 2020 was Trump's to lose.Incapacity to handle asymmetirc warfare is ours to lose.

    Jane , 04 January 2020 at 07:35 PM
    There is no necessary link between the Iranian support for the Assad regime, to include its operations in tribal areas of Syria. The Iranian-backed militias and Iranian government officials have been operating in that area for a long time, supporting the efforts of Security/Intel Ali Mamlouk. That Suleimani knew the tribes so well is a mark of his professional competence. Everyone is courting the Syrian tribes, some sides more adeptly than others. It is also worth noting that in putting together manpower for their various locally formed Syrian militias, the Iranians took on unemployed Sunnis.

    That said, there are small Ismaili communities in Syria and there are apparently a couple of villages in Deir ez Zor that did convert to Shiism, but no mass religious change. The Iranians are sensitive to the fact that they could cause a backlash if they tried hard to promote "an alien culture."

    Elora Danan , 04 January 2020 at 07:40 PM
    Well, The Donald has turned to Twitter menacing iran with wiping out all of its World Heritage Sites....which is declared intention to commit a war crime...

    https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112

    For what it seems Iran must sawllow the assasination of its beloved and highjly regarded general...or else...

    Do you really think there is any explanation for this, whatever Soleimani´s history ( he was doing his duty in his country and neighboring zone...you are...well...everywhere...) or that we can follow this way with you escalating your threats and crimes ever and that everybody must leave it at that without response or you menace coming with more ?

    That somebody or some news agency has any explanation for this is precisely the sign of our times and our disgrace. That there is a bunch of greedy people who is willing to do whatever is needed to prevail and keep being obscenely rich...

    BTW, would be interesting to know who are the main holders of shares at Reuters...

    Elora Danan , 04 January 2020 at 08:09 PM
    Board of Directors of Reuters

    The same monopolizing almost each and every MSM and news agency at every palce in the world, big bank, big pharma, big business, big capital ( insurances companies nad hedge funds ) big real state, and US think tanks...

    Elora Danan , 04 January 2020 at 08:33 PM
    In Elora´s opinion, Bret MacGurk is making revanche from Soleimani for the predictable fact that a humble and pious man bred in the region, who worked as bricklayer to help pay his father´s debt during his youth, and moreover has an innate irresistible charisma, managed to connect better with the savage tribes of the ME than such exceptionalist posh theoric bred at such an exceptionalist as well as far away country like the US.

    But...what did you expect, that MacGurk would become Lawrence of Arabia versus Soleimani in his simpleness?

    May be because of that that he deserved being dismembered by a misile...

    As Pence blamed shamefully and stonefacelly Soleimani for 9/11, MacGurk blames him too for having fallen from the heights he was...

    It seems that Pence was in the team of four who assesed Trump on this hit...along with Pompeo...

    A good response would be that someone would leak the real truth on 9/11 so as to debunk Pence´s mega-lie...

    Factotum , 04 January 2020 at 08:48 PM
    Two years ago, the public protest theme for Basel's winter carnival Fashnach was the imminent threat nuclear war as NK and US were sabre rattling, and NK was lobbing missles across Japan with sights on West Coast US cities.

    Then almost the following week, NK and US planned to meet F2F in Singapore. And we could all breathe again. In the very early spring of 2018.

    blue peacock , 04 January 2020 at 09:54 PM
    TTG

    This "imminent" threat of Gen. Soleimani attacking US forces seems eerily reminiscent of the "mushroom cloud" imminent threat that Bush, Cheney and Blair peddled. Now we even have Pence claiming that Soleimani provided support to the Saudi 9/11 terrorists. Laughable if it wasn't so tragic. But of course at one time the talking point was Saddam orchestrated 9/11 and was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden.

    I find it fascinating watching the media spin and how easily so many Americans buy into the spin du jour.

    After the Iraq WMD, Gadhaffi threat and Assad the butcher and the incorrigible terrorist loving Taliban posing such imminent threats that we must use our awesome military to bomb, invade, occupy, while spending trillions of dollars borrowed from future generations, and our soldiers on the ground serving multiple tours, and our fellow citizens buy into the latest rationale for killing an Iranian & Iraqi general, without an ounce of skepticism, says a lot!

    Yeah, it will be interesting to see how Trump's re-election will go when we are engaged in a full scale military conflagration in the Middle East? It sure will give Tulsi & Bernie an excellent environment to promote their anti-neocon message. You can see it in Trump's ambivalent tweets. On the one hand, I ordered the assassination of Soleimani to prevent a war (like we needed to burn the village to save it), while on the other hand, we have 52 sites locked & loaded if you retaliate. Hmmm!! IMO, he has seriously jeapordized his re-election by falling into the neocon Deep State trap. They never liked him. The coup by law enforcement & CIA & DNI failed. The impeachment is on its last legs. Voila! Incite him into another Middle Eastern quagmire against what he campaigned on and won an election.

    I would think that Khamanei has no choice but to retaliate. How is anyone's guess? I doubt he'll order the sinking of a naval vessel patrolling the Gulf or fire missiles into the US base in Qatar. But assassination....especially in some far off location in Europe or South America? A targeted bombing here or there? A cyber attack at a critical point. I mean not indiscriminate acts like the jihadists but highly calculated targets. All seem extremely feasible in our highly vulnerable and relatively open societies. And they have both the experience and skills to accomplish them.

    If ever you have the inclination, a speculative post on how the escalation ladder could potentially be climbed would be a fascinating read.

    Jack -> blue peacock... , 05 January 2020 at 12:01 AM
    "I find it fascinating watching the media spin and how easily so many Americans buy into the spin du jour."

    BP,

    Yes, indeed. It is a testament to our susceptibility that there is such limited scepticism by so many people on the pronouncements of our government. Especially considering the decades long continuous streams of lies and propaganda. The extent and brazenness of the lies have just gotten worse through my lifetime.

    I feel for my grand-children and great-grand children as they now live in society that has no value for honor. It's all expedience in the search for immediate personal gain.

    I am and have been in the minority for decades now. I've always opposed our military adventurism overseas from Korea to today. I never bought into the domino theory even at the heights of the Cold War. And I don't buy into the current global hegemony destiny to bring light to the savages. I've also opposed the build up of the national security surveillance state as the antithesis of our founding. I am also opposed to the increasing concentration of market power across every major market segment. It will be the destruction of our entrepreneurial economy. The partisan duopoly is well past it's sell date. But right now the majority are still caught up in rancorous battles on the side of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

    Something To Think About , 04 January 2020 at 10:19 PM
    A question to the committee: what is the source for the claim that Soleimani bears direct responsibility for the death of over 600 US military personnel?

    Craig Murray points to this article:
    https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2019/04/04/iran-killed-more-us-troops-in-iraq-than-previously-known-pentagon-says/

    If that is the case (and it appears to be) then the US govt's claim is nonsense, as it clearly says " 'During Operation Iraqi Freedom, DoD assessed that at least 603 U.S. personnel deaths in Iraq were the result of Iran-backed militants,' Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email."

    So those figures represent casualties suffered during the US-led military invasion of Iraq i.e. casualties suffered during a shooting-war.

    If Soleimani is a legitimate target for assassination because of the success of his forces on the battlefield then wouldn't that make Tommy Franks an equally-legitimate target?

    Jack , 04 January 2020 at 10:33 PM
    Pulitzer Prize winning author of Caliphate, Romanian-American, Rukmini Callimachi, on the intelligence on Soleimani "imminent threat" being razor-thin.

    https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/1213421769777909761?s=21

    PavewayIV said in reply to Jack... , 04 January 2020 at 11:01 PM
    You just beat me to her thread, Jack. For the Twitter shy, this is the first of a series of 17 tweets as a teaser:
    1. I've had a chance to check in with sources, including two US officials who had intelligence briefings after the strike on Suleimani. Here is what I've learned. According to them, the evidence suggesting there was to be an imminent attack on American targets is "razor thin".

    Summary: [Too shameful to type]

    Roy G , 04 January 2020 at 11:59 PM
    IMO, Craig Murray is pointing in the right direction around the word 'immanent,' by pointing out that it is referring to the legally dubious Bethlehem Doctrine of Self Defense, the Israeli, UK and US standard for assassination, in which immanent is defined as widely as, 'we think they were thinking about it.' The USG managed to run afoul of even these overly permissive guidelines, which are meant only against non-state actors.

    https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/01/lies-the-bethlehem-doctrine-and-the-illegal-murder-of-soleimani/

    [Jan 06, 2020] But they could always find an un-scorched Iranian passport in mint condition among the debris of the explosion.

    Jan 06, 2020 | www.unz.com

    Commentator Mike , says: Show Comment January 5, 2020 at 9:08 pm GMT

    @Bookish1

    Not only Mossad but probably many others would like to see a suicide bomber blow himself up somewhere in the US killing alot of people. That makes it difficult to figure out who did it and maybe impossible to figure it out. It would be a mess.

    But they could always find an un-scorched Iranian passport in mint condition among the debris of the explosion.

    [Jan 06, 2020] Now I know for sure that the US government spreads shameless lies, so you can't believe anything it says.

    Notable quotes:
    "... So, I did not see it as a war crime back then, but I do now. ..."
    Jan 06, 2020 | www.unz.com

    AnonFromTN , says: Show Comment January 5, 2020 at 10:22 pm GMT

    @ChuckOrloski At the time I thought that it might be justified, if Al Qaida actually did 9/11. Now I know that Al Qaida was and is a CIA operation and have my doubts regarding its involvement in 9/11.

    Even if it was, that was on direct orders of its American handlers.

    What's more, now I know for sure that the US government spreads shameless lies, so you can't believe anything it says. In fact, you can safely assume that everything it says is a lie and be right 99.9% of the time.

    So, I did not see it as a war crime back then, but I do now.

    [Jan 05, 2020] The USA is now at war, de-facto and de-jure, with BOTH Iraq and Iran (UPDATED 6X) The Vineyard of the Saker

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason ..."
    "... Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the parliamentary resolution to end foreign troop presence in the country did not go far enough, calling on local and foreign militia groups to unite . I also have confirmation that the Mehdi Army is being re-mobilized . ..."
    "... The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation! ..."
    Jan 05, 2020 | thesaker.is
    The blowback has begun

    First, let’s begin by a quick summary of what has taken place (note: this info is still coming in, so there might be corrections once the official sources make their official statements).

    1. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdl Mahdi has now officially revealed that the US had asked him to mediate between the US and Iran and that General Qassem Soleimani to come and talk to him and give him the answer to his mediation efforts. Thus, Soleimani was on an OFFICIAL DIPLOMATIC MISSION as part of a diplomatic initiative INITIATED BY THE USA .
    2. The Iraqi Parliament has now voted on a resolution requiring the government to press Washington and its allies to withdraw their troops from Iraq.
    3. Iraq’s caretaker PM Adil Abdul Mahdi said the American side notified the Iraqi military about the planned airstrike minutes before it was carried out. He stressed that his government denied Washington permission to continue with the operation.
    4. The Iraqi Parliament has also demanded that the Iraqi government must “ work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason “
    5. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that Baghdad had turned to the UN Security Council with complaints about US violations of its sovereignty .
    6. Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said the parliamentary resolution to end foreign troop presence in the country did not go far enough, calling on local and foreign militia groups to unite . I also have confirmation that the Mehdi Army is being re-mobilized .
    7. The Pentagon brass is now laying the responsibility for this monumental disaster on Trump (see here ). The are now slowly waking up to this immense clusterbleep and don’t want to be held responsible for what is coming next.
    8. For the first time in the history of Iran, a Red Flag was hoisted over the Holy Dome Of Jamkaran Mosque , Iran. This indicates that the blood of martyrs has been spilled and that a major battle will now happen . The text in the flag say s “ Oh Hussein we ask for your help ” (u nofficial translation 1) or “ Rise up and avenge al-Husayn ” (unofficial translation 2)
    9. The US has announced the deployment of 3’000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to Kuwait .
    10. Finally, the Idiot-in-Chief tweeted the following message , probably to try to reassure his freaked out supporters: “ The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation! “. Apparently, he still thinks that criminally overspending for 2nd rate military hardware is going to yield victory…
    Analysis

    Well, my first though when reading these bullet points is that General Qasem Soleimani has already struck out at Uncle Shmuel from beyond his grave . What we see here is an immense political disaster unfolding like a slow motion train wreck. Make no mistake, this is not just a tactical "oopsie", but a major STRATEGIC disaster . Why?

    For one thing, the US will now become an official and totally illegal military presence in Iraq. This means that whatever SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) the US and Iraq had until now is void.

    Second, the US now has two options:

    Fight and sink deep into a catastrophic quagmire or Withdraw from Iraq and lose any possibility to keep forces in Syria

    Both of these are very bad because whatever option Uncle Shmuel chooses, he will lost whatever tiny level of credibility he has left, even amongst his putative "allies" (like the KSA which will now be left nose to nose with a much more powerful Iran than ever before).

    The main problem with the current (and very provisional) outcome is that both the Israel Lobby and the Oil Lobby will now be absolutely outraged and will demand that the US try to use military power to regime change both Iraq and Iran.

    Needless to say, that ain't happening (only ignorant and incurable flag-wavers believe the silly claptrap about the US armed forces being "THE BEST").

    Furthermore, it is clear that by it's latest terrorist action the USA has now declared war on BOTH Iraq and Iran.

    This is so important that I need to repeat it again:

    The USA is now at war, de-facto and de-jure , with BOTH Iraq and Iran.

    I hasten to add that the US is also at war with most of the Muslim world (and most definitely all Shias, including Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis).

    Next, I want to mention the increase in US troop numbers in the Middle-East. An additional 3'000 soldiers from the 82nd AB is what would be needed to support evacuations and to provide a reserve force for the Marines already sent in. This is NOWHERE NEAR the kind of troop numbers the US would need to fight a war with either Iraq or Iran.

    Finally, there are some who think that the US will try to invade Iran. Well, with a commander in chief as narcissistically delusional as Trump, I would never say "never" but, frankly, I don't think that anybody at the Pentagon would be willing to obey such an order. So no, a ground invasion is not in the cards and, if it ever becomes an realistic option we would first see a massive increase in the US troop levels, we are talking several tens of thousands, if not more (depending on the actual plan).

    No, what the US will do if/when they attack Iran is what Israel did to Lebanon in 2006, but at a much larger scale. They will begin by a huge number of airstrikes (missiles and aircraft) to hit:

    Iranian air defenses Iranian command posts and Iranian civilian and military leaders Symbolic targets (like nuclear installations and high visibility units like the IRGC) Iranian navy and coastal defenses Crucial civilian infrastructure (power plants, bridges, hospitals, radio/TV stations, food storage, pharmaceutical installations, schools, historical monuments and, let's not forget that one, foreign embassies of countries who support Iran). The way this will be justified will be the same as what was done to Serbia: a "destruction of critical regime infrastructure" (what else is new?!)

    Then, within about 24-48 hours the US President will go on air an announce to the world that it is "mission accomplished" and that "THE BEST" military forces in the galaxy have taught a lesson to the "Mollahs". There will be dances in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (right until the moment the Iranian missiles will start dropping from the sky. At which point the dances will be replaced by screams about a "2nd Hitler" and the "Holocaust").

    Then all hell will break loose (I have discussed that so often in the past that I won't go into details here).

    In conclusion, I want to mention something more personal about the people of the US.

    Roughly speaking, there are two main groups which I observed during my many years of life in the USA.

    Group one : is the TV-watching imbeciles who think that the talking heads on the idiot box actually share real knowledge and expertise. As a result, their thinking goes along the following lines: " yeah, yeah, say what you want, but if the mollahs make a wrong move, we will simply nuke them; a few neutron bombs will take care of these sand niggers ". And if asked about the ethics of this stance, the usual answer is a " f**k them! they messed with the wrong guys, now they will get their asses kicked ".

    Group two : is a much quieter group. It includes both people who see themselves as liberals and conservatives. They are totally horrified and they feel a silent rage against the US political elites. Friends, there are A LOT of US Americans out there who are truly horrified by what is done in their name and who feel absolutely powerless to do anything about it. I don't know about the young soldiers who are now being sent to the Middle-East, but I know a lot of former servicemen who know the truth about war and about THE BEST military in the history of the galaxy and they are also absolutely horrified.

    I can't say which group is bigger, but my gut feeling is that Group Two is much bigger than Group One. I might be wrong.

    I am now signing off but I will try to update you here as soon as any important info comes in.

    The Saker

    UPDATE1 : according to the Russian website Colonel Cassad , Moqtada al-Sadr has officially made the following demands to the Iraqi government:

    Immediately break the cooperation agreement with the United States. Close the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Close all U.S. military bases in Iraq. Criminalize any cooperation with the United States. To ensure the protection of Iraqi embassies. Officially boycott American products.

    Cassad (aka Boris Rozhin) also posted this excellent caricature:

    UPDATE2: RT is reporting that " One US service member, two contractors killed in Al-Shabaab attack in Kenya, two DoD personnel injured ". Which just goes to prove my point that spontaneous attacks are what we will be seeing first and that the retaliation promised by Iran will only come later.

    UPDATE3 : al-Manar reports that two rockets have landed near the US embassy in Baghdad.

    UPDATE4 : Zerohedge is reporting that Iranian state TV broadcasted an appeal made during the funeral procession in which a speaker said that each Iranian ought to send one dollar per person (total 80'000'000 dollars) as a bounty for the killing of Donald Trump. I am trying to get a confirmation from Iran about this.

    UPDATE5 : Russian sources claim that all Iranian rocket forces have been put on combat alert.

    UPDATE6 : the Russian heavy rocket cruiser "Marshal Ustinov" has cross the Bosphorus and has entered the Mediterranean.

    The Essential Saker III: Chronicling The Tragedy, Farce And Collapse of the Empire in the Era of Mr MAGA

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    63 Comments

    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:39 pm EST/EDT

    Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdl Mahdi has now officially revealed that the US had asked him to mediate between the US and Iran and that General Qassem Soleimani to come and talk to him and give him the answer to his mediation efforts. Thus, Soleimani was on an OFFICIAL DIPLOMATIC MISSION as part of a diplomatic initiative INITIATED BY THE USA.

    If this is true, it makes America's murder of General Soleimani even more outrageous. This would be like the USA sending an American regime official to some other country for a negotiation only to have him/her drone striked in the process!

    America reveals its malign character as even more sick that even its opponents have thought possible.

    Perhaps, Iran should request that Mike Pompeo come to Baghdad for a negotiation about General Soleimani 's murder and then "bug splat" Pompeo's fat ass from a drone!

    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:08 pm EST/EDT
    "For one thing, the US will now become an official and totally illegal military presence in Iraq. This means that whatever SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) the US and Iraq had until now is void."

    -I actually read somewhere that the Iraqi government is just a caretaker government and even thought it voted to remove foreign forces, it is not actually legally binding.

    Anyone that can conform or deny?

    Lysander on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:18 pm EST/EDT
    I'm no lawyer. I don't see why that would matter. If a caretaker government is presented with a crisis, why would it not have the authority to act?

    That said, It could be the line the US government chooses to use to insist its presence is still legal. If course the MSM will repeat and repeat and make it seem real.

    Serbian girl on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:42 pm EST/EDT
    Not the entire government. Only the PM Mahdi as far as I understand. He resigned after some protests. The parliament approved his resignation on Dec 2019. He is the caretaker until they appoint another PM.
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/29/iraq-pm-resign-protests-abdul-mahdi-al-sistani
    Pamela on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:59 pm EST/EDT
    Couldn't agree more. When I read that my jaw dropped and I'm sure my eyes went huge. I just couldn't believe they could be that stupid, or that immoral, that sunk in utter utter depravity. They truly are those who have not one shred of decency, and thus have no way of recognising or understanding what decency is. Pure psychopath – an inability to grasp the emotions, values, and world view of those who are normal. This truly is beyond the pale, and this above everything else will ensure the revenge the heartbroken people of Iran are seeking. May God bless them.
    Mark on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:45 pm EST/EDT
    Well, this is going to be interesting for sure. I for one cannot see any way out for the Yankees, so I expect them to do their usual doubling down .

    Assassinate some more people, airstrikes etc.

    Hans on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:51 pm EST/EDT
    The US Armed Forces do not need to be 'THE BEST". All they need is mountains of second rate ordinance to re-bury Iraq bury Iran under rubble. They can then keep their forces in tightly fortified compounds and bomb the c**p out of any one who wants to 'steal their oil', or any one who wants to 'steal the land promised by God to the Chosen People'. The U.S. has always previously been limited in their avarice for destruction by their desire to be viewed as the 'good guy'. This limitation has now been stripped away. There is now nothing to stop the AngloZionist entity except naked force in return.

    As the Saker says, 'all hell will break loose '.

    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:09 pm EST/EDT
    "realistic option we would first see a massive increase in the US troop levels, we are talking several tens of thousands, if not more (depending on the actual plan)."

    -There is an interesting article on colonal cassad about this, USA actually has around 100k troops in ME spread out over various bases.
    https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/5543349.html

    Yes, but these are not part of a single force, many of these are more a target than a threat. Besides, they need to be concentrated into a a few single forces to actually participate in an invasion.
    The Saker

    Anonymouse on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:15 pm EST/EDT
    To understand troop size and relevance think along these lines. For every US front line soldier there will be 5 others in support roles, logistics etc. So for every front line fighting Marine there will be 5 others who got him there and who support him in his work. 10,000 front line fighting troops means 50,000 troops shipping out to the borders of Iran. I think perhaps you would need 100,000 US front line troops for an invasion AND occupation (because we all know if they go in they aren't going to leave quickly) We're talking about half a million US troops, this simply isn't going to happen for multiple reasons, not least they need to amass at some form of base (probably Iraq – yeah right) maybe Kuwait? They'd just be a constant sitting target. Saker is correct in that if this goes down it's going to be an air campaign (will the Iranians use the S300s they have?) and possibly Navy supported. the Israelis will help out but in turn make themselves targets at home for rocket attacks. Again I can't see it happening, it would take too long to arrange plus from the moment it kicks off every US base, individual is just a target to the majority of anti US forces spread across the whole middle east. I expect back door diplomacy, probably to little effect, and a ham fisted token blitz of cruise missiles and drone bombs at Iranian infrastructure, sadly this will not work for the Americans, we will have a long running campaign on ME ground but also mass terrorist activity across the US and some of its allies. Its a best guess scenario but if that plays out whatever happens to Iran this war will be another long running death by a 1000 cuts for the US and will guarantee Trump does not get re-elected.
    Whoever sold this to Trump (Bolton via Pompeo? Bibi?) has really lit the touch paper of ruin. Yes it stinks of Netanyahoo but it also reaks of full strength neocon, Bolton style. Trump is dumb enough to fall for it and obviously did.
    Cosimo on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:38 pm EST/EDT
    1. To read the Colonel Cassad website in English or any other language, just go to https://translate.yandex.com/ and then paste in the Cassad URL, which is given above but again, it's https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/ The really nice thing is that when you click on links, Yandex Translate automatically translates those links. Two problems, though. 1. For some unknown reason, Yandex always first translates Cassad as English-to-Russian, and then you have to click on a little window near the top left, to again request Russian-to-English and then it translates everything fine. I do not experience this problem when using Yandex on any other website. 2. Unlike what Benders-Lee intended when he invented the web browser, the "back button" almost doesn't work on Yandex Translate. So always right-click to open links in a new tab.

    2. The US could probably carry out a large number of air attacks, but the Iranian response would be to destroy all the Gulf oil facilities AND everything worth bombing in Israel. This potential for offense is Iran's best defense, and, I think, the main reason why there hasn't been a war. Iran's air defense missiles are probably more effective than the lying MSM will admit, and might shoot down a large percentage of the humans and aluminum the US would throw at Iran, but it's a matter of attrition, and Iran would suffer grave damage. We can't rule out that that might be the plan since the Empire is run by psychopaths. A US Army elite training manual, from 2012 in Kansas, implied that by 2020, Europe would not be a major power. Perhaps they were thinking that Europe would go out of business from a lack of Persian Gulf oil.

    3. As for a ground war against Iran, I don't think the US or even the US with the former NATO coalition, would have any hope and they know it. A real invasion force would require at least 250,000 troops, probably 500,000, maybe more. 80 million very determined and united Iranians, many of whom who don't fear martyrdom, would make the Vietnam War look like a bad picnic with fire ants . Yes, Vietnam had jungle for guerillas to hide behind, but South Vietnamese society was divided and many supported the Americans. Iran has no such division. Even the Arab province of Khuzestan would stand united, knowing how the Shiite Arabs are mistreated in the Eastern Province and in Kuwait.

    Tom Welsh on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:31 pm EST/EDT
    "They can then keep their forces in tightly fortified compounds "

    eating and drinking what? When no Iraqi will even speak to them, let alone do anything for them.

    Greifenburg on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:52 pm EST/EDT
    Count me in as part of group two. As a former U.S. Army service member I can assure anyone reading this that this action is an historic strategic mistake. What the Saker has outlined above is very likely. There is most probably no way to walk back now. Who in the ME would negotiate with the U.S. Government? Their perfidy is well known. Many citizen in this country feel like they are held hostage by a government that doesn't represent their interests or feelings. I hope the people in the ME know this.
    The Saker on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:57 pm EST/EDT
    Since the folks in the ME know that the US is a "pretend democracy" they also realize that the people of the USA are just as oppressed by the AngloZionist regime as the people abroad. Frankly, I have traveled on a lot of countries and I have never come across anything like real hostility towards the US American people. The very same people who hate Uncle Shmuel very much enjoy US music, literature, movies, novel ideas, etc. I believe that the Empire is truly hated across the globe, but not the people of the USA.
    Kind regards
    The Saker
    Melotte 22 on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:23 pm EST/EDT
    As long as people of the USA tolerate their government criminal activities around the world, and this is happening for last 70 years, I don't agree with your comment. These crimes are commited in the name of people of the USA, who are doing nothing to prevent them. As for movies coming from US, most of them are propaganda about 'exceptional nation'. No thanks.
    Auslander on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:09 pm EST/EDT
    The United States of America is not a democracy, it is a constitutional republic. That being said, the fall elections are going to be of significant interest.

    With kindest regards
    Auslander

    Nachtigall on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:18 pm EST/EDT
    Couldn't agree with you less Saker. They share the spoils of war, generation after generation. From the killing of indigenous population to neocolonial resource extraction today, they get their cut. You cannot have it both ways, enjoying the spoils of war and hiding behind invalid rationalizations, pretending you have no-thingz to do with that.
    The Saker on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:12 pm EST/EDT
    Russian TV says that there were anti-war demonstrations in 80 (!) US cities.
    I don't have the time to check whether this is true, but it sure sounds credible to me.
    The Saker
    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:24 pm EST/EDT
    Greetings Mr. Saker,

    This information is true. I personally took part in the march in Denver, Colorado. I would estimate we had about 500 people, which is a lot more than most anti-war protests have ever gotten in recent memory.

    Do not count out the possibility of a sudden large and massive anti-war movement suddenly springing out of nowhere.

    Unfortunately, I do not see how "peaceful" protests will accomplish anything on their own. Rioting may be necessary. The system needs to be shut down and commerce slow to a crawl so that nobody may ignore this.

    The Saker on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:32 pm EST/EDT
    Thank you for this precious confirmation!
    And keep up the good fight!
    Kind regards
    The Saker
    durlin on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:25 pm EST/EDT
    anonymous, fellow Coloradoan here, would appreciate some info on where I need to look for the next one,. I will be there
    Richard Sauder on January 05, 2020 , · at 2:55 pm EST/EDT
    Yes. I am thinking about the Deagel.com numbers again. They're starting to come into better focus.

    http://www.deagel.com/country/forecast.aspx

    I agree that there will first be a period of violent confusion, followed by -- well, what sane person even wants to think about what possible horrors lie ahead?

    The threat of one or more spectacular false flag attacks to further fan the flames would also appear to be a possibility.

    Real evil has been unleashed, that is clear. The empire has decided to fight, and to fight very dirty.

    Nikolai on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:08 pm EST/EDT
    Wasn't the Saker working in the employ of the US or NATO when they attacked Srbija without cause? Because that was my understanding.

    Actually, no. I was working at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research.
    But thanks for showing everybody how ugly, petty and clueless ad hominem using trolls can be!
    The Saker

    Marko on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:20 pm EST/EDT
    Looks like our Nikolai is a Canvas Otpor Belgrade troll.
    Serbian girl on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:46 pm EST/EDT
    Or perhaps not Serbian at all
    Flabbergasted on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:11 pm EST/EDT
    "I can't say which group is bigger, but my gut feeling is that Group Two is much bigger than Group One. I might be wrong."

    My personal observation is unfortunately the opposite. I think the population that is over 40 is probably leans 80% toward the TV-watching imbecile category with zero critical thinking abilities and exposure to four plus decades of propaganda. The population under 40 is largely too apathetic to have an opinion and unwilling to engage in research.

    History will most likely play out in disaster resulting from a corrupt ruling class, systemic institutional rot, and brain-washed public not realizing what's happened.

    Nikolai on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:23 pm EST/EDT
    I will hazard a guess and say there are far more men than women in Group 1, and many more draft-age young adults of both sexes in Group 2.

    But by and large a disturbing number of people in America regard world events as being akin to a football game, with Team A and Team B and a score to be kept. If things don't appear to be going well for their "team," they speak and behave irrationally, with crass statements like "nuke the whole place and turn it into a glass parking lot." Impressive, isn't it? Grown adults, comporting themselves like overindulged little children, always accustomed to getting their way – and displaying a terrifying willingness to set the whole house on fire when they don't.

    It is a spiritual illness which pollutes the USA. Terrible things will have to happen before the society can become well, again

    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:26 pm EST/EDT
    Even if only 20% of the population join us, that will be enough. Because guess what? The TV-watching imbeciles are fat, lazy, and they won't do anything to support the government either, and they definitely aren't brave enough to get in the way of an angry mob
    JJ on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:08 pm EST/EDT
    About 50% of UK people opposed the UK intervention into Iraq .1 m people held marches on London and cities ..made no difference.
    cdvision on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:39 pm EST/EDT
    Its not just the US that's braindead. This from a once reputable newspaper in the UK

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/01/05/boris-johnson-calls-de-escalation-iran-us-killing-ofgeneral/

    Its behind a paywall so you only get the first few paragraphs – frankly all you need. BUT its the comments that tell the story!

    Pamela on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:11 pm EST/EDT
    It's interesting to me, this comment of Sakers'. I have been thinking, with these revelations of the utter depravity and total lack of what was once called "honour " and treating the enemy with respect, of a few instances which seemed to show me that not all of America was like this.

    There is a scene in the much loved but short lived** TV series "Firefly" in which the rebel "outsider" spaceship Captain offers a doctor on the run a berth with them. The Doctor says "but you dont like me. You could kill me in my sleep" to which the Captain replies "Son, you dont know me yet, So let me tell you know, If i ever try to kill you, you will be awake, you will be facing me, and you will be armed"

    Exactly I thought. There is a Code of Honour by which battles used to be fought. This latest by US has shown how low it's Ruling Regime is, that is doesn't not see that. But from examples like the above, I gathered that there are people in America who still hold to it closely – and that's good to know.

    ** Short lived because it showed as it's heroes a group of people who lived outside the Ruling Tyrannical Regime, who had fought for Independence and lost, and now lived "by their wits" and not always according to law. Not surprising that the rulers of US weren't going to allow that to go to air!!

    Nikolai on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:13 pm EST/EDT
    Wasn't the Saker working in the employ of the US and NATO when they attacked and bombed Srbija without cause? Because that was my understanding.

    Thanks, now we all know how good your "understanding" is!
    The Saker :-P

    Rufus Palmer on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:32 pm EST/EDT
    Unfortunately I believe the largest group in the USA is the "nuke 'em group". All of my friends watch Fox and none have an understanding of the empire.

    Sake thank you as always for your excellent work. What do you think Iran will attack first?

    teranam13 on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:19 pm EST/EDT
    Thanks Saker for this discussion/information space you provide when nothing is very trustworthy and on what is a holiday week end for you.

    Two points:
    Never underestimate the perfidy of the Kurds. They held back on the censure/withdrawal vote in the Iraqi\
    parliament and are probably offering withdrawal airport space for US military.

    And Agreed, about most Americans being absolutely horrified and ashamed.Even Alex Jones had to put Syrian Girl on and to post her on video.banned. One of his callers demanded that Alex apologize to his listening audience on "bended knee" for his support of Trump's attack on Iran. When Alex tried to schmooze
    the irate caller -- The man started yelling -- "Who cares, Alex, who cares about Iran my neighbors have no jobs
    and are dying from drug overdoses. who cares about Israel? Let them take care of themselves."

    Trump has sealed his own fate on many levels and ours her in looneylandia. It is said that a nation gets the leadership it deserves. We are about to become a nation of the yard-sale.

    Craig Mouldey on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:27 pm EST/EDT
    Whew, this is something to chew on and try to digest. That first point jumped right off the page. General Soleimani was on an official diplomatic mission, requested by the U.S.! They set him up and were waiting for him to get in his car at the airport and go onto the road.
    The entire world will know there is no way to justify this. It is just as ugly as the public murder of JFK. They have zero credibility in all they say and do. It will be interesting to see who supports what is coming and who have gotten the message from this murder and have decided they cannot support this beast.
    Clarence on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:33 pm EST/EDT
    How many missiles does the us have in the middle east?
    How many air defense missiles does have iran?
    Does iran have the ability to destroy us airbases to prevent aircraft from attacking iranian territory? That would be my first move: destroying the ennemy s fighter jets while they are still on the ground.
    How many missiles does iran can launch ? How far can they hit?
    I think these are important questions if we want to make a good assessment of the situation
    One Tribe on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:36 pm EST/EDT
    Thank you for the continuing courageous, fact-based reporting.

    All as-yet-unenslaved-minds of the oppressed people living under the auspices of the empire share the horror of what has happened, made worse so, for I personally, learning the evil duplicity of the 'fake' diplomacy of the masters of the U.S.A. administration.
    If there had been any credibility whatsoever, left for the U.S.A. diplomatic integrity, it is now completely murdered.

    I should like to point out, yet again, the perverse obviousness of the utter subordination of the utterly testiclesless america n ' leadership ' by the affiliates, dually loyal extra-nationals, aligned to the quasi-nation of pychopathic hatred against humanity.

    In spite of, and now increasingly because of, the absurd perception management/propaganda agencies, completely controlled by this aforementioned affiliation, and their ongoing absurd efforts, people are becoming aware of the ultimate source of the hatred and agenda we re witnessing in the ME, and indeed, in ever country under the auspices of the empire.
    It is becoming impossible to cover, even for the most timid followers of the citizens of empire-controlled nation states.
    The war continues against the non-subliminated citizens, and will certainly escalate as the traction of the perception-management techniques have been pushed way over their best-before date.

    Even not wanting to know this, people are becoming aware of it.

    I urge all those self-identifying with this affiliation of secretive hatred against humanity to disavow either publicly, or privately, this collective of hatred.
    The recusement of the fifth-column will undermine these machinations.

    It is now the time to realize that no promise of superior upward mobility, in exchange for activities supporting the affiliation, is worth the stark prospect of complete destruction of the biosphere.

    Paul23 on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:38 pm EST/EDT
    Saker: what makes you think it will just be a couple of days of bombing? I would have thought they would set up a no fly zone then fly over that country permanently blowing the shit out of any military thing on the ground until the gov collapses.

    Iran doesn't have the ability to prevent this & running a country under these conditions is impossible.

    Randy Brady on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:10 pm EST/EDT
    Set up a no-fly zone over Iran? Iran is well aware of American air-power. They have a multi-layer air defense. And I wouldn't be surprised that the Iranian's are capable of taking out U.S. satellites.

    Iran knows their enemy. They have been preparing for conflict with the U.S. for 40 years. This is a sophisticated, and highly advanced nation, with brilliant leadership. They understand what their weaknesses are, and what their strengths are.

    The wild cards are threefold: Russia. China. North Korea. If one wants to think about the possible asymmetrical capabilities of those three, let alone the pure power their militaries, it boggles the mind.

    Prediction: The U.S. stands down on orders of their own military. People like John Bolton quietly pass away in their sleep.

    Kilombo Zumbi on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:02 pm EST/EDT
    The only no fly zone to be implemented will be on all american warplanes over Iran and Iraq. Do you remember the multimillion drone that went down? Multipliy it by hundreds of manned planes. God, how delusional can you be?!!!
    You have a fighting force that is a disgrace composed by little girls that start screeming once they get bullets flying over their heads. You have aircraft battle groups that are sitting ducks waitng to go to the bottom of the sea. Wake up and get your pills, man!
    Tom Welsh on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:39 pm EST/EDT
    Paul23, from where will the aircraft take off to implement your "no-fly zone"? Any air base within 2,000 km would be destroyed by a shower of cruise missiles and possibly drones.

    Any aircraft carrier within 2,000 km likewise.

    Mike from Jersey on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:45 pm EST/EDT
    File this next article under "Just when you thought that things couldn't get any crazier."

    Pompeo is slamming Europe for not being supportive of the American murders in the Middle East.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europeans-havent-been-helpful-after-suleimani-killing-pompeo-slams-allies-not

    Nussiminen on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:48 pm EST/EDT
    It is Group 1 -- loud, reactionary, extremely vulgar, militant parasites -- which defines the US national character. Exceptional and indispensable simply mean "entitled to other peoples' natural resources and labour output". Trying to reason with these lowlives is a waste of time. Putin understands this; hence the new Russian weapons. The latter will be needed very soon.
    Mike from Jersey on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:08 pm EST/EDT
    I am an American and I am not sure that is true.

    Americans are a good people but America is one of the most heavily propagandized nations in the world. The media is corrupt. The educational systems teach a sanitized version of history. But that is only a part of it.

    Pro-Military propaganda is everywhere. Even before the Superbowl, jet bombers fly over the stadium – as if Militarism constituted a basic American value. At Airports, "Military Personnel" are given preferential boarding. At retail stores customers are asked to make donations to "military families." College football games are dedicated to "Military Appreciation Day." High Schools work in unison with Military Recruiters to steer students into the Military. Even playground facilities for children that have video displays display pro military messages. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

    Most of this propaganda is paid for out of the obscene military budget. The average citizen doesn't have a chance.

    Americans are a good people, if they really knew what was being done in their name, they would put a stop to it.

    Nussiminen on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:37 pm EST/EDT
    Militant parasites do live in a world of total lies, deception, and delusion but never at the expense of their survival instincts. US imperial coercion, mayhem, and murder globally are absolutely crucial to the American way of life, and the 99% know it. Their living standards would drop enormously without the imperial loot. Thus, they dearly yearn for all the repression, war, and chauvinism they vote for and more.
    Steki on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:53 pm EST/EDT
    One thing is telling, at least for me. Who the f in the right state of mind kills other state's official and then admits of doing it?!? The common sense sense tells me that you do something and to avoid bigger consequences you stay quet and deny everything. Just like CIA is doing. Trump just put US military personnel in grave danger. We know how they accused Manning for showing the to the world US war crimes. They put him in the jail for what Trump just did. But, I cannot believe that they are that much stupid. If US does not want war, as Trump is saying, they could have done this and then blame someone else because now it has been shown that they wanted to "talk" to Iran, as Iraqis PM said. At least, US brought new meaning to the word "talk"
    Rostislav_Velka_Morava on January 05, 2020 , · at 3:56 pm EST/EDT
    Russia will not allow this, and will put their foot down.
    Hussan Carim on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:00 pm EST/EDT
    The most damaging, no most devestating, assymetrical attack on the US would be a 'non violent' attack.

    Let me quickly explain.

    It has been well known since the exposure of the man behind the curtain during the great financial crisis of 2007-08 that all Human operations – all Human life in fact – is financialised in some way.

    Some ways being so sophisticated or 'subtle' that barely 1 person in 1000 is even aware, much less capable of understanding them, much less the financial control grid (and state / deepstate power base) which empoverishs them and enslaves them to an endless cycle of aquiring and spending 'money'.

    Look deeply and the wise will see how 'Human resources' (as opposed to Human Beings) are herded like cattle to be worked on the farm, 'fleeced', or slaughtered as appropriate to the money masters.

    We have been programmed, trained, and conditioned to call 'currency units' (dollar/euro/pound/yuan, etc) 'money', when they are actually nothing of the sort, they are state or bank issued money substitutes.

    In the middle east and north africa some leaders recognised this determined how to escape slavery and subjegation. They attempted to field this knowledge like an economic-nuke, but without the massive protection required, and they were destroyed by the empire – Sadam Hussain with his oil for Gold (and oil for Euros) program, and Col. Gadaffi of Libya with his North African 'Gold Dinar' and 'Silver Durham' Islamic money program.

    To cut a very long story short – the evil empire depends upon all nations and peoples excepting thier pieces of paper currency units as 'real' money – which the empire print / create in unlimited quantities to fund thier war machine and global progrram of domination.

    All financial markets are either denominated or settled in US Dollars (or are at least convertable).

    All Nations Central Banks (except Irans I believe) are linked via various US Dollar exchange / liquidity mechanisms, and all 'settle' in US Dollars.

    Currently all nations use US controlled electronic banking communications / exchange / tranfer systems (swift being the most well known).

    Would it therefore not make sence to go for the very beating heart of the Beast – the US financial system?

    The most powerful attack against the empire would therefore be against this power base – the global reserve currency – the US dollar – and the US ability to print any quantity of it (or create digits on a screen and call them 'Dollar Units').

    It would be pointless trying to fight an emnemy capable of printing for free enough currency to buy every resource (including peoples lives) – unless that super ability was destroyed or disrupted.

    Example of a massive nuclear equivilent attack on the beast would be an internal and major disrruption of interbank electronic communications (at all levels from cash machine operation and card payment readers up to interbank transfers and federal banking operations).

    Shut down the US banking system and you shut down the US war machine.

    Not only that you shut down the US ability to buy resources and bribe powerful leaders – which means they wont be able to recover from such a blow quickly.

    Shutting down banking and electronic payments of all kinds would cause the US people – particularly those currently enjoying bread and circus distraction and pacification – to tear appart thier own communities, and each other, as the spoiled and gready fight for the remaining resources, including food and fuel.

    The 'grid' has been studied in great depth by both Russia and China (and Israel as part of thier neo-sampson option) and we can therefore deduce that Iran has some knowledge of how it works and where the weak links are (and not just the undersea optical cables and wireless nodes).

    I, and a thousand other people have always said, the best, perhaps only way to defeat the US and end its reign of terror on this Earth is to take away its ability to create out of thin air the Worlds global reserve currency – the US Dollar.

    Reducing the US to an empoverished 3rd world state by taking its check book away would be a worthy and lasting revenge and humiliation.

    Amon Ra on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:09 pm EST/EDT
    " I, and a thousand other people have always said, the best, perhaps only way to defeat the US and end its reign of terror on this Earth is to take away its ability to create out of thin air the Worlds global reserve currency – the US Dollar. "

    No, the best way would be for each nation to ditch the intertwined, privately ( Rothschild ) controlled central banks, and to return to printing their own money. Anything, short of that will just perpetuate the same system from a different home base ( nation ), most likely China next. This virus can jump hosts and it will given a chance.

    Auslander on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:03 pm EST/EDT
    Who knows what will happen, but an actual boots on the ground invasion of Iran will not happen. Iran is not Irak and things have changed since that war.

    US does not have 6 to 12 months to gather it's forces and logistics for an invasion (remember, the election is coming), plus US no longer has the heavy lift assets to do this. Toss in the fact that Iran is now on a war footing and has allies in the general AO, hired RoRo's and other logistics and supply assets will be targets before they get anywhere near the ports or beaches to off load. Plus, you can kiss oil goodbye, Iran will close the straights a nanosecond after the first bomb is in the air.

    An air assault such as Serbia will be very expensive, Iran will fight back from the first bomb if not before, and Iran has a pretty viable air defense system and the missiles to make life miserable for any cluster of troops and logistics within roughly 300 kilometers of the borders if not longer. Look at a map. There is a long border between Iran and Irak, but as such and considering the terrain, any viable ground attack has to come from Irak territory. With millions of Iraki's seething at what Uncle Sugar just did and millions of Iranians seething at what Uncle Sugar just did, any invading troops will not be greeted with showers spring blossoms. To paraphrase a quote, 'You will be safe nowhere, our land will be your grave.'

    Toss in the fact that an invasion of Irak, if even half successful, will put American troops on a war footing perilously close to Russian territory and possibly directly on the Russian Lake, aka Caspian Sea, and sovereign territory of Russia. Won't happen, VVP will not allow it.

    Ergo, in spite of all the bluster and chest beating, at best all Foggy Bottom can do is bomb, bomb some more and bomb again. The cost in airframes and captured pilots will be a disaster and if RoRo's and other logistic heavy lift assets or bases are hit, the body bags coming back to Dover will be of numbers that can not be hidden as they are today with explanations that the dead are victims of training accidents or air accidents.

    Foggy Bottom, and Five Points with Langley, have painted themselves in to a corner and unfortunately for them, (and it's within the realm of possibility that Five Points egged Trump on for this deal regardless of their protestations of innocence and surprise) they are now in a case of put up or shut up. As a point of honor they will continue down the spiral path of open warfare and war is like a cow voiding it's watery bowels, it splatters far beyond the intended target.

    As my friend said a few years ago, damn you, damn your eyes, damn your souls, damn you back to Satan whose spawn you are. Go back to your fetid master and leave us in peace.

    Auslander
    Author http://rhauslander.com/

    Never The Last One, paper back edition. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521849056 A deep look in to Russia, her culture and her Armed Forces, in essence a look at the emergence of Russian Federation.

    An Incident On Simonka. paperback edition. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1696160715 NATO Is Invited To Leave Sevastopol, One Way Or The Other.

    Auslander on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:19 pm EST/EDT
    "Toss in the fact that an invasion of Irak, if even half successful," should read:

    "Toss in the fact that an invasion of Iran, if even half successful,"

    It's late and this old man is tired. More tomorrow.

    Auslander

    Anonymous on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:04 pm EST/EDT
    "UPDATE2: RT is reporting that "One US service member, two contractors killed in Al-Shabaab attack in Kenya, two DoD personnel injured". Which just goes to prove my point that spontaneous attacks are what we will be seeing first and that the retaliation promised by Iran will only come later."

    -Al-Shabaab is a salafist terror group

    Observer on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:17 pm EST/EDT
    Saker, Some of us might be curious to know what your experience with the UN Institute for Disarmament Research informs you about the imminent Virginia gun bans and confiscations planned for this year and next. Can Empire afford to fight an actual shooting war on two fronts, one externally against Iraq/Iran and the second internally against its own people, some of whom will paradoxically be called away to fight on the first front? Perhaps the two conflicts could become conjoined as Uncle Shmuel mislabels every peaceful gun owner who just wants to be left alone as a foreign enemy-sympathizer and combatant by default, thereby turning brother against brother in a bloody prolonged hell in the regions immediately around Washington DC? Could the Empire *truly* be that suicidal?
    Hajduk on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:20 pm EST/EDT
    'Mr. Trump, the Gambler! Know that we are near you, in places that don't come to your mind. We are near you in places that you can't even imagine. We are a nation of martyrdom. We are the nation of Imam Hussein You are well aware of our power and capabilities in the region. You know how powerful we are in asymmetrical warfare You know that a war would mean the loss of all your capabilities. You may start the war, but we will be the ones to determine its end '
    Gen. Soleimani (2018)
    Bikkin on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:31 pm EST/EDT
    Hello Saker,
    I would like to ask you a question.
    According to the Russian nuclear doctrine "The Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction against itself or its allies and also in response to large-scale aggression involving conventional weapons in situations that are critical for the national security of the Russian Federation and its allies."
    In your opinion does Russia consider Iran such an ally? Will Russia shield Iran against USAn / Israeli nuclear strikes? In case of an imminent nuclear strike on Iran is Russia (and possibly others) going to issue a nuclear ultimatum to the would-be aggressor? And in case an actual nuclear attack on Iran happens is Russia going to retaliate / deter further attacks with its own nukes?
    What is your opinion?
    One thing: please do not start explaining why the above scenario is completely unthinkable, unrealistic and why it would never ever happen. I need your opinion on the possible events if such an attack does take place or it is about to happen. I do not need reasons why it would not happen; I need your opinion what might take place if it does happen. If you cannot answer my question, have no opinion or simply do not want to answer it please let me know it.
    In case there is a formal commitment by Russia – one I know not of – when, where was it made?
    Thanks in advance.
    Nachtigall on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:27 pm EST/EDT
    2nd that, but be polite to the Saker. Ask nicely next time, like someone who is civilized.

    Thanks you for your indispensable work, dear Saker!

    Marko on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:32 pm EST/EDT
    I think USA still has nuclear option.
    They will not hesitate to use it on Iran if Israel is in danger.
    So, I think Iran shall be defeated anyway, as USA is much stronger.

    Wrong. If the US uses nukes, then this will secure the total victory of Iran.
    The Saker

    Nachtigall on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:31 pm EST/EDT
    How does this secure a total victory, dear Saker? Please help my to understand this: Nukes on every major city, industrial site, infrastructure with pos. millions dead – how is this a victory?
    robert on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:41 pm EST/EDT
    So, how many hostages for Iran are in Iraq now?
    Petro-G on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:44 pm EST/EDT
    I think that if Iran were to launch some devastating missiles into Israel, either a US ship/submarine or Israel will launch a nuclear bomb into Iran. The US knows there is nothing to be gained by a ground invasion. If we [the US] were to start launching missiles into Iran, Iran would rightfully be launching sophisticated arms back toward US ships and Israel and the US can't stand for that. We are good at dishing it out, but lousy at receiving it.

    I can only believe we assassinated Solieman [apologies] because it is the writhing of a dying petrodollar. The US is desperate. But I don't understand how going to war is supposed to help?

    Stand Easy on January 05, 2020 , · at 4:56 pm EST/EDT
    Some short comments on the strategic blunder made by US.

    Meantime, global ramifications are being felt. View from China, one of the biggest consumers of ME oil:

    https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1175782.shtml

    and some mind-reading from a HK based rag:

    "Beijing's ties with Tehran are crucial to its energy and geopolitical strategies, and with Moscow also in the mix, a broader conflagration is a real possibility"

    https://www.asiatimes.com/2020/01/article/could-china-take-irans-side-in-a-war-with-us/

    Japan had planned to send some military hardware to the ME just before the new year but Gen Soleimani's murder may change the calculus.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/03/national/japan-sdf-assassination-iran-qassem-soleimani/#.XhJYxfLmjN4

    Last but not least, Happy Nativity to all Orthodox Christians (thanks for the beautifully illustrated Orthodox calendar, The Saker.)
    Let us all pray for peace.

    Kent on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:33 pm EST/EDT
    "(thanks for the beautifully illustrated Orthodox calendar, The Saker.)"

    Credits for the calendar(s) should go to one of our in house Artists and poets Ioan.

    You obviously do not visit the Cafe' very often, do you?

    Regards
    Kent

    Wendy on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:24 pm EST/EDT
    Trump is the King of the South. Killing under a flag of parley is a rare thing these days and is the reason why Trump will end up going to war with no allies by his side just like the path mapped oit for him in Daniel.

    Analysis sans eschatology is Onism.

    Tom on January 05, 2020 , · at 5:32 pm EST/EDT
    It's not a blunder.
    Trump's goals pre-assassination:
    1) withdraw US troops from the ME ("Fortress America") and
    2) placate Israel
    This is how it is done. Not a direct "hey guys, we have to bring the boys home." Trump tried that and got smashed by the Deep State and Israel. Instead, he is going to force the Islamic world to do the talking for him by refusing to host our pariah army (that's all they have to do, not destroy a major US base or two). Then even the Deep State will admit it's a lost cause. He can say he did all he could while achieving his goals.
    As The Saker pointed out, the troops being sent now are to evacuate, not to conquer Tehran. Next time this year the US will have its troops home and Trump will be reelected

    [Jan 04, 2020] Will Trump welcome the ejection of the US from Iraq - He should by Colonel Lang

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Somehow the Ziocons around Trump have forgotten that the present state of Iraq refused to yield to Obama's demands for a SOFA and in effect expelled the US from the country. ..."
    "... The Iraqi parliament is going to vote in emergency session over the issue of the death of al-Muhandis. Will they vote to expel the US from their country? ..."
    "... What a lot of commentators seem to overlook is that America has basically declared war on Iraq, while our soldiers are hosted on joint bases with Iraqi soldiers. ..."
    "... "We need to get out of Iraq and Syria now. That is the only way that we're going to prevent ourselves from being dragged into this quagmire, deeper and deeper into a war with Iran." Tulsi Gabbard. ..."
    "... Assassination of generals, one from an allied country, one from a country with which we have no declared war, and both assassinations performed on the territory of an allied, sovereign country without permission? This is piracy. Why should anyone trust the word of a country which does not honor the most basic of international law? ..."
    "... Will we go if they vote that way? I'll go with no. The Neocons desperately want us in Iraq to protect Israel and stick it to Iran as much as possible. They have a laundry list of prepared arguments and we have the dumbest, most compliant, state media in recorded history. We also have a President who believes that intnl law is for weaklings and loves saying 'take the oil'. ..."
    "... Take a look at this interview to David Petraeus by FP on yesterday´s summary executions...What you make of this? https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/03 He sounds as if he were the brain behind this operation on summary executions..along some other think tankers.. ..."
    "... Whoever is President we will have war. The President is just a feckless puppet controlled by the Zionist. I'll never vote again. It's a waste of time and a farce. Hillary or Donald no different just a matter of timing. Obama destroyed Libya and Syria. Bush II the simpleton and his fairy tale WMD lie. I've lost all respect for whatever "the republic" is suppose to be. On top of that the masses are too stupid for democracy to work. ..."
    Jan 03, 2020 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian soldier. He lived by the sword and died by the sword. He met a soldier's destiny. It is being said that he was a BAD MAN. Absurd! To say that he was a BAD MAN because he fought us as well as the Sunni jihadis is simply infantile. Were all those who fought the US BAD MEN? How about Gentleman Johhny Burgoyne? Was he a BAD MAN? How about Sitting Bull? Was he a BAD MAN? How about Aguinaldo? Another BAD MAN? Let us not be juvenile.

    The Iraqi PMU commander who died with Soleimani was Abu Mahdi al Muhandis. He was a member of a Shia militia that had been integrated into the Iraqi armed forces. IOW, we killed an Iraqi general. We killed him without the authorization of the supposedly sovereign state of Iraq.

    We created the present government of Iraq through the farcical "purple thumb" elections. That government holds a seat in the UN General Assembly and is a sovereign entity in international law in spite of Trump's tweet today that said among other things that we have "paid" Iraq billions of US dollars. To the Arabs, this statement that brands them as hirelings of the US is close to the ultimate in insult.

    Somehow the Ziocons around Trump have forgotten that the present state of Iraq refused to yield to Obama's demands for a SOFA and in effect expelled the US from the country.

    The Iraqi parliament is going to vote in emergency session over the issue of the death of al-Muhandis. Will they vote to expel the US from their country?

    Will we go if they vote that way? We should. If we do not, then we will be exposed as imperialist hypocrites.

    Trump should welcome such a vote. He wants to get out of the ME? What greater opportunity could we have to do so?

    Let us leave if invited to go. Let the oh, so clever locals deal with their own hatreds and rivalries. pl


    phodges , 03 January 2020 at 02:20 PM

    What a lot of commentators seem to overlook is that America has basically declared war on Iraq, while our soldiers are hosted on joint bases with Iraqi soldiers.
    Elora Danan , 03 January 2020 at 02:39 PM
    Thank you, Pat!

    But...Elora guesses you are being rhetorical here...because... if he would have died by the sword...would not have he had the opportunity to defend himself against his enemy/opponent?
    Instead...he was caught on surprise...unarmed...and hit by an overwhelming force...he was going to some funerals...

    Cameron Kelley , 03 January 2020 at 02:56 PM
    Thank you, Colonel. We don't know, we don't care, but we can kill - that's not a recipe for success.
    Jack , 03 January 2020 at 04:09 PM
    "We need to get out of Iraq and Syria now. That is the only way that we're going to prevent ourselves from being dragged into this quagmire, deeper and deeper into a war with Iran." Tulsi Gabbard.

    https://twitter.com/tulsigabbard/status/1213168223127949313?s=21

    Would we get out if Iraq asks us to do so? I don't think so. There will be a hue & cry about appeasement of terror!

    ex PFC Chuck -> Jack... , 03 January 2020 at 05:25 PM
    It took Tulsi about 18 hours to get that brief statement out. Can't help but wonder what that delay was all about.
    Elora Danan , 03 January 2020 at 04:14 PM
    Some impressive images worth thousands words...just to remember everybody that this man was an appreciated human being...doing his duty....for his motherland...and his God....
    • https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1213136118843084800
    • https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1213180968045088768
    • https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1213185614197248000
    • https://twitter.com/farnazfassihi/status/1212996980051529728
    Elora Danan said in reply to Elora Danan... , 03 January 2020 at 05:07 PM
    To better understand the pain of that elderly yazidi woman in the video, some testimony by Rania Khalek on the role of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis ( the other militia commander killed who is being as well slandered as terrorist along Soleimani ...) in stopping yazidi genocide in Iraq when nobody else was giving a damn, less any help, for this people...

    https://twitter.com/RaniaKhalek/status/1213198497668833280

    divadab , 03 January 2020 at 04:17 PM
    Assassination of generals, one from an allied country, one from a country with which we have no declared war, and both assassinations performed on the territory of an allied, sovereign country without permission? This is piracy. Why should anyone trust the word of a country which does not honor the most basic of international law?

    And am I alone to be disgusted to see the senior members of our government lie blatantly and constantly, when they're not fellating the nearest likudnik....

    Elora Danan , 03 January 2020 at 04:20 PM
    Tulsi...may be our last hope...

    https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1213168223127949313

    Tulsi for president!

    ISL , 03 January 2020 at 04:27 PM
    Dear Colonel, seems you find yourself in Tulsi's (good) company.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=kToUJaOVgTA&feature=emb_logo

    prawnik , 03 January 2020 at 04:32 PM
    Trump should, but he won't. Might as well quote Bible verses to a robber.
    turcopolier , 03 January 2020 at 04:38 PM
    ISL

    I have been giving her money every month.

    Factotum , 03 January 2020 at 04:57 PM
    We go where we are wanted and appreciated. We have no skin in Iraq. Build the Wall and protect our own borders. Concentrate our resources on cyber-security.
    A. Pols , 03 January 2020 at 05:48 PM
    Tulsi makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately that disqualifies her for the presidency, not because she couldn't execute the functions of the presidency, but because neither the party apparatchiks nor the voters would give her the chance. These days either nationalistic claptrap or promises of more freebies are what carry the day. Quelle domage, eh?

    As for the Iraqi parliament voting to expel U.S. forces? That's an interesting question. If they did, they'd better vote to expel the "den of spies" at the embassy and insist on our having a normal sized legation (as all countries would be well advised to do). But if they do, would we leave? I personally doubt it even though it would be best if we did and let the Iraqis do what they will, which would probably be reverting back to some sort of strongman govt, of a type more suited to their cultural traditions and inclinations. It's high time we afforded the rest of the world the type of cultural and political autonomy we claim to revere so much.

    So, we leave? A good thing for us and for them and the world at large.

    Or, we don't? Then we expose the truth the rest of the world already knows, but we at least expose the truth to our own people who have been fed a steady diet of mendacious BS about what we've been doing over there all these years.

    That attack on the "airport limo" vehicles leaving Baghdad airport sure took some nerve on our part to think that we could sell something like that...

    And, did Trump actually order it, or did someone else in the MIC order it first and Trump laid claim to it afterwards? Uncle Joe, if he had ordered it, would have afterwards announced the execution of a fall guy and denied any complicity! If Trump didn't order it, he should throw whoever did under the bus instead of crowing and wrapping himself in the flag. I wonder about what actually happened in planning this hit job on prominent military people on their way to a funeral for 31 people who may or may not have had anything whatsoever to do with the death of a single American mercenary in Iraq in an attack by persons unknown on a small outpost.

    J , 03 January 2020 at 06:01 PM
    It's times like this I wish I was a fly on the wall, listening to what the Russian General Staff conversations regarding this assassination are at this moment.

    Trump IMHO would do well to seek Putin's counsel on how to exit the corner that Trump has backed US into. While this spells problems for our US, it also creates additional problems for Russia in the ways that could cause them MAJOR problem as well as in a full blown Mideast War with many players in the mix. Not a good mix either.

    Israel can't handle a full blown Mideast War, no matter how much their narcissistic national psyche thinks they can. Israel is a mere postage stamp in a sea of rage, which tsunami waves could very easily consume them. Sheldon Adelson and his Likud/NEOCON blowhards have no concept of what is on the short horizon, that can go one way or the other.

    I'm glad I'm retired in this instance. My glass of bourbon is more palatable than the grains of Mideast sand that fixing to get stirred up.

    God help us all.

    Pat, why does the US military always get left with the shit-storms to clean up after? Why?

    Christian J Chuba , 03 January 2020 at 06:32 PM
    Will we go if they vote that way? I'll go with no. The Neocons desperately want us in Iraq to protect Israel and stick it to Iran as much as possible. They have a laundry list of prepared arguments and we have the dumbest, most compliant, state media in recorded history. We also have a President who believes that intnl law is for weaklings and loves saying 'take the oil'.

    I can hear the talking points already ...
    1. 'Obama made the same mistake and it created ISIS.'
    2. 'Iran has taken over Iraq, it's not a legitimate request' (look at how we selectively recognize govts in South America and no one blinks).
    3. 'Iran will use Iraq as a base to attack us' (yeah, its about 100 miles closer).

    I can't stand what we have become, the jackals have taken over and the MSM attacks the very few who are not jackals.

    turcopolier , 03 January 2020 at 07:05 PM
    A Pols

    OK. Who do you think would have had the power to order the strike? Not the CIA, the military would not accept such an order. Not the chairman of the JCS, he is not in the chain of command. That leaves Esper, SECDEF. Really? He looks like a putschist to you? You are ignorant of the American government.

    Elora Danan , 03 January 2020 at 07:18 PM
    Take a look at this interview to David Petraeus by FP on yesterday´s summary executions...What you make of this? https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/01/03 He sounds as if he were the brain behind this operation on summary executions..along some other think tankers..
    Harlan Easley , 03 January 2020 at 07:20 PM
    Whoever is President we will have war. The President is just a feckless puppet controlled by the Zionist. I'll never vote again. It's a waste of time and a farce. Hillary or Donald no different just a matter of timing. Obama destroyed Libya and Syria. Bush II the simpleton and his fairy tale WMD lie. I've lost all respect for whatever "the republic" is suppose to be. On top of that the masses are too stupid for democracy to work.

    [Dec 31, 2019] Now that Trump so much complains and threats by Twitter about "civilians" in Idlib...we remember the aerial bombing of the Iraq-Kuwzit highway by US...

    Dec 31, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Sasha , Dec 29 2019 18:44 utc | 11

    Now that Trump so much complains and threats by Twitter about "civilians" in Idlib...we remember the aerial bombing of the Iraq-Kuwzit highway by US...
    This crime cannot be overstated as one of the most disgusting acts the US committed in the region. A column of withdrawing soldiers and civilians which were even found to be in compliance with UN resolution 660, were completely eviscerated by the US Air Force. A war crime. https://twitter.com/mideastwitness/status/1211109428759613440

    https://twitter.com/AssyrianSR/status/1211233637699477504

    DFC , Dec 29 2019 20:59 utc | 18

    As Lozion said, USAF has attacked five positions of the PMU's (KH units), three in Irak and two in Syria, it seems there are a scores of people have been killed and injured in those air strikes, some of them seems to be senior commanders

    https://southfront.org/u-s-announces-strikes-against-iranian-backed-forces-in-iraq-syria/

    Could be the Third Iraq War? or may be the First Iran War?

    [Dec 29, 2019] There has rarely been a Secretary of State as dishonest and political as Pompeo, and his brief time running the department has been one of the low points in its history. But probably only until Trump find a replacement

    Dec 29, 2019 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    The other possible replacements include Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Deputy Secretary of State Biegun, U.S. ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, Trump's Iran envoy Brian Hook, and two hard-liners from the Senate, Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton. Most of these names inspire some mixture of loathing and dread, and of the seven men being considered Biegun is the only one remotely qualified to take the job. Hook has disqualified himself , and he shouldn't even be working at the State Department right now much less running it. Grenell functions as little more than an international troll , and he has done a terrible job representing the U.S. in Berlin, so promoting him would be an equally terrible mistake.

    Rubio and Cotton are fanatics with the most toxic foreign policy views, and they would also likely be very poor managers of the department. In that respect, they are very much like Pompeo. Mnuchin would likely have great difficulty getting confirmed, and replacing one sanctions-happy Secretary with the Treasury Secretary who has been enforcing those sanctions is no improvement at all. As for O'Brien, he was a bad choice for National Security Advisor , he has done nothing since he took over from Bolton to suggest otherwise, and so it makes absolutely no sense to promote him. Biegun clearly has the confidence of the Senate following his overwhelming confirmation vote to be Deputy Secretary, so having him take over the department for whatever time is left in Trump's term seems the best available choice.

    It is a measure of how chaotic and unsuccessful Trump's foreign policy is that we are talking about the possible nomination of a third Secretary of State in less than three years. Pompeo has outlasted many of his administration colleagues to become one of the longest-serving Cabinet officials under this president, and his tenure is not even two years old. It is no wonder that the list of likely replacements is so weak. Who would want to join a scandal-ridden administration with a failed foreign policy?

    Pompeo's departure will be good news for the State Department, and the sooner it comes the better. There has rarely been a Secretary of State as dishonest and political as Pompeo, and his brief time running the department has been one of the low points in its history. Considering the damage that Pompeo has done along with the harm done by Tillerson, the next Secretary of State will have a lot of work to do to rebuild and not much time to do it in. Pompeo should clear the way for the next Secretary and resign as soon as possible.

    [Dec 07, 2019] Why the foreign policy establishment consensus is neocon by default.

    Highly recommended!
    Dec 07, 2019 | www.unz.com

    Never in the history of America, probably never in the history of any country, had there been such open and direct control of governmental activities by the very rich. So long as a handful of men in Wall Street control the credit and industrial processes of the country, they will continue to control the press, the government, and, by deception, the people. They will not only compel the public to work for them in peace, but to fight for them in war. -- John Turner, 1922

    [Dec 02, 2019] US No doubt That Villain-Of-The-Day Has Banned Weapons

    Notable quotes:
    "... "There can be no doubt in the international community's mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all. There is no longer any doubt ," Mattis told reporters. ..."
    "... there's absolutely No Doubt that the Outlaw US Empire's mouthpieces are lying yet again. ..."
    "... Perhaps the more disturbing alternative is Mattis is fully aware of everything surrounding the run up to the 2003 Iraq war and is thinking to himself: "Declaring there is no doubt worked last time..." ..."
    "... The particular genius of our oppressors has been to erode the public's collective memory. With a dumbed-down educational system, a 24-hour propaganda, and an utterly vacuous popular culture, we are deprived of precisely that faculty on which following Burke's admonition depends. With our "post-literate" reliance on the Internet, it's a wonder any of us can remember what happened last week. ..."
    "... If the Syrians used them, then clearly they have them. Did the Syrians use them? The US does not recognize that as a valid question. That is where Mattis goes astray. It is a valid question. We were fooled by false flag use before. There are signs it may have happened again. It is not clear enough to be sure, but it is not clear enough to be sure the other way either. ..."
    "... That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. ~Aldous Huxley ..."
    Apr 30, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    U.S.: 'No doubt' That Villain-Of-The-Day Has Banned Weapons

    Mattis: ' No doubt ' Syrian regime has chemical weapons , April 21, 2017

    "There can be no doubt in the international community's mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all. There is no longer any doubt ," Mattis told reporters.

    Full text of Dick Cheney's speech , August 27, 2002

    Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us. And there is no doubt that his aggressive regional ambitions will lead him into future confrontations with his neighbors ...

    "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."

    ― Edmund Burke

    karlof1 | Apr 21, 2017 1:46:09 PM | 1

    And there's absolutely No Doubt that the Outlaw US Empire's mouthpieces are lying yet again. Makes me even more curious as to what Putin said to Tillerson, as both Putin's and Lavrov's remarks about the global situation are blunter and more accusatory than ever before. Given the info provided by Lavrov at the press conference following the meeting of their Foreign Ministers Astana, I must assume the SCO nations are on the same page regarding the entire International Situation. In June in Astana, the SCO Summit will admit India and Pakistan as full members and begin the process to enroll Iran. Here, again, is the link to that press release, http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2734712
    WG | Apr 21, 2017 1:47:24 PM | 2
    Perhaps the more disturbing alternative is Mattis is fully aware of everything surrounding the run up to the 2003 Iraq war and is thinking to himself: "Declaring there is no doubt worked last time..."
    Harry | Apr 21, 2017 1:56:09 PM | 3
    The particular genius of our oppressors has been to erode the public's collective memory. With a dumbed-down educational system, a 24-hour propaganda, and an utterly vacuous popular culture, we are deprived of precisely that faculty on which following Burke's admonition depends. With our "post-literate" reliance on the Internet, it's a wonder any of us can remember what happened last week.
    Mark Thomason | Apr 21, 2017 1:58:45 PM | 4
    If the Syrians used them, then clearly they have them. Did the Syrians use them? The US does not recognize that as a valid question. That is where Mattis goes astray. It is a valid question. We were fooled by false flag use before. There are signs it may have happened again. It is not clear enough to be sure, but it is not clear enough to be sure the other way either.

    Therefore, Mattis is wrong to conclude anything either way. However, given the official position of the US, he can hardly say anything different in public.

    We ought to be looking at this very closely, but we vetoed such a close look by the international body that would do it. That would put into question the missile strikes we launched based on assumptions.

    karlof1 | Apr 21, 2017 2:09:35 PM | 5
    Pepe Escobar evokes T.S. Eliot's Hollow Men in his latest enumeration of Russia & China's strategic relationship. Oh, and I forgot to mention in #1 that BRICS also stands with Russia regarding all events Syria and Ukraine; and despite many efforts to destabilize it, BRICS still stands in solidarity and continues its work to economically counter the Outlaw US Empire, which Pepe also reminds us about, https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201704211052866086-washington-terrified-of-russia-china/

    SmoothieX12 | Apr 21, 2017 2:10:55 PM | 6
    @2, WG

    Perhaps the more disturbing alternative is Mattis is fully aware of everything surrounding the run up to the 2003 Iraq war and is thinking to himself:

    "Declaring there is no doubt worked last time..."

    Mattis' motivation is completely different.

    Mina | Apr 21, 2017 2:11:30 PM | 7
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/265369/World/Region/Syria-evacuees-on-move-again-after-hour-delay.aspx
    De Mistura admits that someone lured the children with some sweets
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/265361/World/Region/Iraqi-officials--hostages,-including-Qatari-royals.aspx
    Does he admit it may have something to do with Qataris in iraq?

    laserlurk | Apr 21, 2017 2:16:33 PM | 8
    Why would insignificant village be intentionally "gassed by Assad" while he has an absolute upper hand on the field? - is the question nobody in the Western media asks, nor has an answer to it.

    Bio-chem weapons would be last resort to use on the battlefield in a desperate situation - was an original thought of making and having them.

    Me and probably all of us here have no doubt that it is just a false flag perpetrated, oversaturated and pathetically served to us to validate continuation to oust Assad for Saudi's concessions, oil and money. Pure con and a rather amateurish one.
    As expected, no doubt. :)

    chet380 | Apr 21, 2017 2:20:39 PM | 9
    Which state is Iran's greatest enemy? - Israel .. Where was the statement made? .. Who are the greatest financial political contributors in America? Res Ipsa Loquitur.

    ruralito | Apr 21, 2017 2:21:37 PM | 10
    Their lies are pitched to induce psychosis.

    Mike Maloney | Apr 21, 2017 2:21:38 PM | 11
    The importance of Mattis's pronouncement, as well as some " tilling of the soil " in the prestige press, is that another false flag attack is coming. The Hillary-McCain directive to take out Syrian airfields is going to be implemented.

    MadMax2 | Apr 21, 2017 2:27:09 PM | 12
    @1 karlof1
    Talking Lavrov, talking history... The comprehensive history lesson Lavrov delivers to Tillerson is worth watching a number of times. It is an absolute shut down, in Tillersons face...rolling straight off the tongue.
    Tillerson: 'trust us, we are sure, beyond doubt, Assad has chemical weapons'
    Lavrov: 'here have this 5 minute history lesson you cabbage. '

    The Mattis/Cheney comparison reminds me of the statements of the Canadian & Australian Prime Ministers prior to the Iraq 2003.

    Eugene | Apr 21, 2017 2:30:06 PM | 13
    And then when Mattis is dumped, he'll do the same as Colin Powell did. Welcome to the show. Bring your own popcorn.

    Marko | Apr 21, 2017 2:36:44 PM | 14
    @10

    "Their lies are pitched to induce psychosis."

    Speaking for myself , I think it's working.

    harrylaw | Apr 21, 2017 2:38:55 PM | 15
    SmoothieX12 Difference this time is Syria has Russian backing and the BRICS [almost half the population of the World].Russia knows Syria is the key to the Middle East, if Syria fell, Hezbollah could not resist the head choppers from the North and East and attacks from the aparthied state from the South. Iran would then be exposed and attacked financially and militarily. Of course its a huge gamble, will those nutcases in Washington take it? These are existential stakes for many states in the region.

    Perimetr | Apr 21, 2017 2:46:14 PM | 16
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704211052869570-israel-warplanes-syria-army/
    Israeli aviation launched a missile attack on Syrian army's positions in the province of Quneitra bordering Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, a Syrian military source told Sputnik.

    wwinsti | Apr 21, 2017 3:05:38 PM | 17
    @harrylaw #15

    Assad's recent announcement about wanting to buy more Russian air defense systems comes close to addmiting that the Russians will not be defending Syrian airspace.

    To paraphrase tRump:

    ...the submarines, even more powerful than the carriers...

    So, all the assets are in place. We're starting to see the accusation swarm against Assad occur at a rate that's too fast to refute individual charges against the Syrian president.

    Don't be surprised if the decapitation strikes against Syria and N.Korea happen simultaneously.


    Mina | Apr 21, 2017 3:30:35 PM | 18
    Macron gave a martial speech explaining that he would defend France from more terror and that would imply out of the borders...

    dh | Apr 21, 2017 4:05:30 PM | 19
    @18 This probably won't appear in the MSM so I'll post it here...

    "Emmanuel Macron fears this as well. The 39-year-old presidential candidate – an unknown quantity here just two years ago– is campaigning for the Jewish vote, keenly aware of the threat. But when France goes to the polls on Sunday, its Jews will face a unique choice: To vote in the spirit of Jewish Americans, prioritizing principles of welfare and liberal democratic values, or in the Israeli posture, with security first in mind.

    Macron is betting on the former, appealing to Jewish community values shared with the French Republic of liberty, equality and fraternity.

    "He knows there is a real danger from a double extremism – from the far-Right with Marine Le Pen, and from the far-Left," said Gilles Taieb, a prominent member of the French Jewish community who joined Macron's En Marche! campaign in August. "He understands the specific needs of the Jewish community.""


    http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Macron-fights-for-Frances-Jewish-vote-488269

    Yul | Apr 21, 2017 4:11:51 PM | 20
    @ dh #19

    He does not have to worry - he used to work for the Edmond de Rothschild Bank (Jewish family -closed ties to Israel)

    SmoothieX12 | Apr 21, 2017 4:15:37 PM | 21
    @17

    Assad's recent announcement about wanting to buy more Russian air defense systems comes close to addmiting that the Russians will not be defending Syrian airspace.

    This is rather a confusing (in BBC's or NYT vein) statement, since Russia, through a number of her high ranking representatives openly stated that she will upgrade Syria's AD. Syria IS NOT going to buy them, since has very little precious money, but what Syria is doing already is letting a truck load of Russia's extracting and construction companies on her market. Google Translate will do the job (link is in Russian)

    https://vz.ru/news/2017/4/21/867336.html

    SmoothieX12 | Apr 21, 2017 4:22:12 PM | 22
    @15, Harrylaw

    Iran would then be exposed and attacked financially and militarily.

    I have a different opinion about this dynamics and I will not be surprised if Iran "suddenly" will become a full member of ODKB. At least for a little while.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Security_Treaty_Organization

    wwinsti | Apr 21, 2017 4:28:15 PM | 23
    @SmoothieX12

    Fog of war warning and all, but Assad definitely mentioned price as a factor in getting New AD systems in a sputniknews interview.

    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704211052845528-russia-syria-assad-air-defense/

    SmoothieX12 | Apr 21, 2017 4:49:15 PM | 24
    @23

    Fog of war warning and all, but Assad definitely mentioned price as a factor in getting New AD systems in a sputniknews interview.

    Of course, mechanism of what in Russian is called vzaimoraschety (mutual "payments" or "coverage") is always established. The price of military technology may be compensated through other means, such as contractual preferences or any other privileges. I think Russia's oil companies will be quite happy and so will be weapons' manufacturers. Come to think about it--they already are.

    harrylaw | Apr 21, 2017 5:17:08 PM | 25
    The question of Russian air defence missiles to Syria should not even be asked, Israel has nuclear weapons, the US don't care, the US supplies Israel with the latest OFFENSIVE weaponry and aircraft [f35, f16 ect]plus Iron Dome. It would be the height of folly for Russia not to give Syria the means to defend themselves.

    harrylaw | Apr 21, 2017 5:31:08 PM | 26
    I forgot nuclear capable submarines from Germany [with a discount thrown in].

    Alaric | Apr 21, 2017 5:37:17 PM | 27
    The Russians and Iranians need to end this already. The US clearly wants to try regime change again.

    Information_Agent | Apr 21, 2017 5:38:24 PM | 28
    Just as an FYI, I'm unable to access this site when I use a VPN server based in Canada, however VPN servers located elsewhere connect without issue. Anyone else experience this?

    jfl | Apr 21, 2017 5:55:59 PM | 29
    what's the sound of one mad dog jarhead barking? if it sounds off in the media echo-chamber, does it make a noise? it only echoes in the tnc msm. every american knows he's howling at the moon. it may well be that there's plenty of energy among those clipping coupons on american war bonds for more war, and no energy among those who fruitlessly opposed empire in the face of those same coupon-clippers.

    its all-war, all-the-time with tee-rump just as it was with obama, bush, and clinton before him. people who are surprised at this are no more acute than those who might salute the flag the mad dogs have again run up the flag pole.

    speaking of russia 'extracting' and 'constructing' in syria, the us of a is doing same in iraq : US approves nearly $300 million weapons deal to Kurdish Peshmerga . hi ho, you owe.

    it would be exceptionally keen if all those cruise missiles unleashed on syria and/or north korea not only turned around, but struck their origin. wouldn't that be the end?

    ben | Apr 21, 2017 5:56:34 PM | 30
    The American public has to be the most ignorant and gullible group of ass-hats on the planet, if they fall for this BS being shoveled at them again. God-almighty this crap gets old!!!

    All for the sake of global hegemony, and more wealth for the Trumps of the world.

    peter | Apr 21, 2017 6:16:39 PM | 31
    @12 madmax

    First of all, I don't know how you can tell those speeches are the same though I heard them both mention WMDs. But here's the kicker, that's not the Canadian PM, not on that date, he was the Leader of the Opposition at that time. Harper became PM later.

    Jean Chretien was the PM and he kept Canada out of Iraq. End of story.

    likklemore | Apr 21, 2017 6:19:02 PM | 32
    b cites Edmund Burke "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."

    There is also this little ditty:

    "If at first you don't succeed try and try and try again. Never stop trying."

    It works very well for TPTB who hold the sheeples are too dumbed down and will never recall moving lips.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    @ Perimetr 16

    Israel needs to take the other side of the Golan - that's where the oil bubbles bigly. Ask Genie HQ NJ and while at it check out their Board of Directors, Strategic Advisory Board.
    Hint, it's the gang and No One dares to spank
    [Alert: page may load slowly but a worthy wait].

    So forget about it. The op word is Strategic

    Israel can strike Syria with 10 MOABs per second 24hr/7 and lips will be festiviously sealed tighter than a crabs rear-end.

    A long essay by Robert Kennedy Jr Feb 2016:


    "[W]e may want to look beyond the convenient explanations of religion and ideology and focus on the more complex rationales of history and oil, which mostly point the finger of blame for terrorism back at the champions of militarism, imperialism and petroleum here on our own shores," Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., intoned in an April editorial for Ecowatch

    Peter AU | Apr 21, 2017 6:26:21 PM | 33
    US Embassey Syria twitter acount is worth a read through. Reality has ceased to exist for the US admin.
    https://twitter.com/USEmbassySyria

    woogs | Apr 21, 2017 7:24:19 PM | 34
    Also from Edmund Burke:

    When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.

    Not from Edmund Burke, but a favorite if mine:

    The mightiest oak is just a little nut that wouldn't give up.

    james | Apr 21, 2017 7:37:56 PM | 35
    thanks b... waiting for the exceptional empire to collapse.. not holding my breathe here.. the same game is being played and the same folks are hoping for the same results.. they are already getting them when it comes to money thrown into war and prep for war.. they are winning regardless if they can convince everyone to go deeper..

    @17 wwinsti.. could be a head fake... no one knows for sure other then assad and russia.. welcome to the world of endless speculation..


    @28 ia... this canuck is not having any issues accessing moa.. who nose.. maybe trudeau and freeland have set up a firewall to protect us from a different perspective then the 'rah, rah, rah - war 24/7 we support twitter mans agenda'..

    @34 woogs.. good quote on the bottom. thanks.

    MadMax2 | Apr 21, 2017 8:06:30 PM | 36
    @31 peter
    Indeed you're correct re: Chretien - and fair play to him. Though, the transcripts are fairly damning, as is the resignation of the plagiarist:
    http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/harper-staffer-quits-over-plagiarized-2003-speech-on-iraq-1.756590

    ALberto | Apr 21, 2017 8:19:17 PM | 37
    When WWIII commences I wonder which side Switzerland will throw their lot in with?

    iegee | Apr 21, 2017 9:23:52 PM | 38
    The verdict on the chemical attack was swift and certain. When it comes to the recent bus bombing, somehow it is so different:
    We are investigating, but I don't have any specific ... But we think it's exaggerated .
    Inqury on Syria. Security Council Stakeout, 21 April, 2017

    Those people have no shame. They are not going to investigate the Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack. All the want is the flight plans from the Syrian government to finish their "work".

    x | Apr 21, 2017 10:10:23 PM | 39
    "No doubt" is not a statement about an objective reality out there (in country x); it is a statement about the subjective reality in the mind of the speaker (observer). A cunning ploy to speak a non-falsehood (about the mental conditioning of speaker and audience) that is merely opinion implying it is fact about a situation lacking empirical evidence.

    Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 21, 2017 10:42:45 PM | 40
    This hype is getting so tedious.
    The WMD crap from The International (Christian Colonial) Community isn't about 'manufacturing consent'. It's about manufacturing CONSENSUS within the Christian Colonial Community itself. The Jew-controlled MSM takes care of the brainwashing. We already know that bribed politicians are paid to disregard the Will Of The People.

    stumpy | Apr 21, 2017 11:24:26 PM | 41
    @40, HW, the power of their glory...

    Marko | Apr 22, 2017 12:14:53 AM | 42
    @38

    "Those people have no shame. They are not going to investigate the Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack."

    They're just plugging stuff into the dossier so that historians will be able to look back and see how reasonable and restrained the U.S. was before deciding to bomb the crap out of Assad and his country.

    Here's how they can do that : They say " Look , we admit that proving guilt absolutely is next to impossible in these events , and that we may have been a bit hasty in bombing Syria's airfield before the investigation was done. We'll even concede the odds in Assad's favor , say 3:1 , or only a 25% chance he was guilty for any given sarin attack , even though we're pretty sure he's been the culprit. Just know this , when we're sure - let's set a higher standard here and say 90% certainty - when we're sure about his culpability for just one use of sarin , big or small , that's our red line, after that he gets the full Gaddafi , no questions asked. OK ? Understand ? "

    Everyone nods , probably including some here. When there's any uncertainty , which there always is , he gives Assad the benefit of the doubt , and then requires a higher threshold to hold him accountable. You can't get more reasonable than that.

    Well , maybe somewhat predictably , false-flag activity picks up - two sarin attacks per month over the following two months , always with the typical doubts about who dunnit. The U.S. keeps their word , with no significant escalation. With the next event , as soon as sarin is confirmed but well before we think we know who was guilty , the U.S. announces breach of the red line and launches a full-scale attack on Assad and his partners , demanding that he step down immediately or watch as his country is turned to rubble. Why ?

    Counting the three sarin attacks to date , and the five more that follow , the probability that the rebels committed all eight attacks is .75^8 , or 10%. That means there's a 90% chance that Assad was responsible for at least one attack - i.e. , he crossed the red line.

    That's why the false-flags will continue , and why a regime-change war with Syria is inevitable , and why the buy-in by the public when it happens will be nearly unanimous.

    lysander | Apr 22, 2017 12:49:39 AM | 43
    @ 17, wwinsti,

    That could just as easily be interpreted as Russia planning to intervene while claiming that "Syrian" air defenses have shot down US aircraft/tomohawaks. I certainly don't know for sure that Russia has actually decided to take it to that level. Perhaps the Russians will never do that, or perhaps they themselves have not yet decided but want to keep that option open to them if later they do. At any rate, there is no advantage at all to reassuring the Americans that they will NOT intervene. It is best to keep Mattis and McMaster guessing just like we are.

    I do not know to what degree US planners are confident of easily overcoming serious air defenses. They probably feel that if they defeat the S400s then US military dominance will remain unchallenged for a very long time. I'm not sure if they've gamed the opposite outcome. If "Syria" shoots down a few F22s or 35s the US is in deep trouble and any victory (to the extent bringing jihadists to power can be called a victory) would be a Pyrhic one.

    V. Arnold | Apr 22, 2017 1:30:21 AM | 44
    Well, fuck! Here we go again; U.S. is blitzing the international airways with propaganda and lies.
    Zieg heil, zeig heil, herr Trump...
    You bloody, rotten, bastard!

    guy | Apr 22, 2017 1:54:30 AM | 45
    Karlof1 and Harrylaw: talking about BRICS'support to Russia, never trust Brazil. After Lula and Rousseff,the right-wing president Michel Temer has transformed the country in just another latin american lackey of Trump...

    james | Apr 22, 2017 3:12:32 AM | 46
    @42 hey marko.. your writing style reminds me of paveways..

    wwinsti | Apr 22, 2017 3:24:45 AM | 47
    @ lydander #42:

    Of course, there's no way to predict the outcomes of certain actions or read minds of any of the various actors involved with this sarin drama, but the events in Syria since Sept. 2015 or even Sept. 2001 do allow us to lean our interpretations a certain way, don't you think?

    At the end of the day, an increasingly desperate USA has available 4 Ohio class submarines that carry just short of 200 cruise missiles each. They are, with some quibbling, decapitation weapon systems designed to overwhelm nearly any defense. I can't see the US not making use of such a capacity if they are as hell bent on regime change as they claim.

    wwinsti | Apr 22, 2017 3:27:00 AM | 48
    I meant lysander@ 43. Apologies.

    Marko | Apr 22, 2017 3:37:48 AM | 49
    @46

    "your writing style reminds me of paveways"

    James,

    My writing style reminds you of a laser-guided bomb ? Really ? Cool.

    I've always thought of it more like a barrel bomb full of cluster munitions , with a dash of incendiary and a few cow pies.

    michaelj72 | Apr 22, 2017 3:39:37 AM | 50
    "no doubt" and "no longer any doubt" always means to me that there's plenty of good reasons to doubt everything they say.

    in fact, I consider it to be an indicator that they are lying about whatever they are saying. and they "no doubt" know it....


    harrylaw | Apr 22, 2017 4:07:12 AM | 51
    Because the strike on Syrian territory was against International law http://www.dw.com/en/us-missile-strike-on-syria-a-violation-of-international-law/a-38389950 Putin has to make up his mind, if the US strike Syria again or repeatedly without harming Russial personnel or assets and without a military response, Russia should sue for peace and get the hell out of Syria, thereby acknowledging that the US are the only Nation that can decide the fate of Nations with regard to International affairs. In other words the unanimous agreement of the 5 veto wielding members of the UNSC will no longer be applicable and article 2 of the UN Charter is null and void.

    Article 2. [3] UN Charter All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

    [4] All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

    Peter AU | Apr 22, 2017 4:25:43 AM | 52
    51 "Russia should sue for peace and get the hell out of Syria"
    ??

    col from oz | Apr 22, 2017 4:56:26 AM | 53
    number 4

    Are you the NEW York Times commentator. I really enjoy your comments their. I hardly drop by NYT however this week you were the only sane poster on North Korea. Your a jem keep it up. In fact I think cut and pasted you comment onto a Australian paper. Bravo.

    lysander | Apr 22, 2017 5:19:47 AM | 54
    @ 47 wwinsti,

    Yes, the US has an enormous amount of cruise missiles. But judging by the damage done by the last 60 tomohawaks, it does not have enough to destroy Syrian air power with tomohawaks alone. In past invasions, they were used to destroy radars so that the subsequent air campaign can be conducted without contending with air defenses. They are not an end in and of themselves. In this case, that isn't possible unless the US plans on attacking Russian forces on both land and sea directly. The US is so far extremely reluctant to kill any Russian personnel and that is not likely to change. And this reluctance is not because of good sportsmanship.

    Add to that, the Russians have shut down the deconfliction line. It means the US can't warn the Russians to get out of the way during the next attack. In other words, the Russians are prepared to be human shields to protect Syria. That does not scream "we are backing down" to me. There are also indications that US and allied sortie rates over Syria have dropped in number quite substantially since communication has been shut down.

    While I agree the US is absolutely determined to destroy Syria, it is not at all clear that Russia plans to step aside while the US does it.

    Pft | Apr 22, 2017 6:20:11 AM | 55
    OT but LA, SF, NYC all experience power outages at the same and only RT makes the connection while MSM oblivious. Meanwhile exercises for an EMZ attack over a major US city ongoing. Strange

    harrylaw | Apr 22, 2017 6:34:57 AM | 56
    Peter AU @52. Sorry Peter I was being a little sarcastic. I think it has already been established that any US attack on Syria must be countered in the first instance by Syrian forces, since Russia was invited into Syria to help put down terrorism, it might not be in Russia's interest or anybody's [unless their forces are hit] to start WW3. Hence my point about arming Syria up the same way the US does with Israel and Saudi Arabia.All 5 veto wielding powers are of course above International law for all time, so that if the other members of the Security Council propose a Resolution condemning US aggression, the US simply uses its veto and that Resolution goes down the memory hole. Here is an excellent article on the veto.. http://www.david-morrison.org.uk/iraq/ags-legal-advice.pdf

    Felicity | Apr 22, 2017 6:36:24 AM | 57

    As you, remembering the last lies. Thank you for your peerless, ever spot on, shining pieces.

    http://www.globalresearch.ca/legal-bombshell-former-iraqi-army-chief-of-staff-to-prosecute-tony-blair/5586196

    ashley albanese | Apr 22, 2017 7:15:01 AM | 58
    Lysander 54
    The U S should keep in mind that the Russians did burn Moscow in 1812 .

    Eric Zuesse | Apr 22, 2017 7:15:46 AM | 59
    "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it" does not appear in the complete 12-volume set of Works of Edmund Burke, and Bartlett's books of quotations have never included it, but the allegation nowadays is common that Burke said this, because many writers say things that are false. Anyone who trusts a mere allegation, like gossip, is not reliable and cannot be trusted in what that person alleges, because falsehoods mix in with truths for any such person. The person isn't necessarily fabricating, not necessarily intentionally falsifying; the person just doesn't care whether what he or she alleges to be true IS true. Any such person is untrustworthy to cite on anything.

    Furthermore, that alleged Burke-quotation doesn't even sound like Burke's writing-style, which was a very distinctive style. So, anyone who has actually read Burke would suspect that this apocryphal statement from him was probably never said by him. Only pretentious people would allege that Burke said it -- people who pretend to have read Burke.

    jfl | Apr 22, 2017 7:29:32 AM | 60
    @54 lysander, 'In other words, the Russians are prepared to be human shields to protect Syria.'

    i don't think that's the message sent or that it's indicative of the action to be taken in the event of another us attack on syria. as it stood pre-tee-rump-attack the us could call the russians and 'warn' them that the cruise missiles were theirs ... now they can no longer do that, and the russians have made a point of stating that an attacking aircraft/missile - and the originating vessel/station - are going to be shot down/taken down ... that the russians will not waste time in trying to figure out just whose attacking missiles/aircraft they are destroying.

    i think it will be a cold day in hell before the russians 'sacrifice' themselves to make a point.

    V. Arnold | Apr 22, 2017 7:38:51 AM | 61
    Eric Zuesse | Apr 22, 2017 7:15:46 AM | 59
    "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it"

    This from, of all places, Yahoo answers (blech); however it is referenced;
    CITES: George Santayana, The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress: Reason in Common Sense 284 (2nd ed., Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York 1924 (originally published 1905 Charles Scribner's Sons)(appears in chapter XII, "Flux and Constancy in Human Nature")). George Santayana, The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress 82 (one-volume edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York 1954)(appears in Book I, Reason in Common Sense, chapter 10, "Flux and Constancy in Human Nature").

    This information was found at: http://members.aol.com/Santayana/gsguestbook.htm
    ``Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it,'' said Penton, echoing philosopher George Santayana's famous admonition.

    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp951119/11170741.htm

    In any event, I agree with your admonition...

    Addendum; cannot access references, so maybe more garbage.

    Posted by: V. Arnold | Apr 22, 2017 7:41:25 AM | 62

    Addendum; cannot access references, so maybe more garbage.

    Posted by: V. Arnold | Apr 22, 2017 7:41:25 AM | 62

    Anon1 | Apr 22, 2017 7:42:55 AM | 63
    All this lies, fake news, psyop by US, NATO and MSM is possibly just because they rule the world. They refuse any other views, parties, nations questioning their wars and propaganda. Its quite scary when you think about it.
    Like, is there ANYONE condemning this in the MSM nowadays? No one.
    Every journalist (MSM) from Germany, to US, to Spain, to Portugal, to Columbia, to Sweden, to South Korea etc, all western MSM peddle this same propaganda for the american empire and their endless wars.

    1984?

    @ 60, I don't think sacrifice is the word I would use. The US understands that killing openly Russian soldiers soldiers (vs indirectly by arming terrorist proxies) would mean Russian retaliation. And therefore will not do it.

    Posted by: lysander | Apr 22, 2017 7:46:14 AM | 64

    @ 60, I don't think sacrifice is the word I would use. The US understands that killing openly Russian soldiers soldiers (vs indirectly by arming terrorist proxies) would mean Russian retaliation. And therefore will not do it.

    Posted by: lysander | Apr 22, 2017 7:46:14 AM | 64

    V. Arnold | Apr 22, 2017 7:48:07 AM | 65
    ...and then there is this;
    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (George Santayana)

    I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive."
    ― Kurt Vonnegut

    john | Apr 22, 2017 7:50:16 AM | 66
    Eric Zuesse

    well, we're real impressed that you've memorized all 12 volumes of Edmund Burke, but for those of us who haven't, Google does credit him with this remark. a simple oversight, perhaps? so thanks for the lesson(even if you haven't cleared anything up), and the mini diatribe, teach, even though your scholarly footnotes have fuck all to do with b's intent.

    Curtis | Apr 22, 2017 7:56:57 AM | 67
    "no doubt"
    Did they get this from Bush's speech to congress in March, 2003?
    "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
    Real intelligence left all kinds of doubt especially from the family members of Iraqi scientists who went into Iraq to ask. They risked their lives for this and were ignored.

    "we assess" - recent prepeated mantra from USG declarations. I'm waiting for The Donald or his CIA minion to declare Syrian WMDs to be a "slam dunk." I think Cheney used to say "we have it on good authority." The rule for most politicians and media is if their lips move they're lying.

    Curtis | Apr 22, 2017 7:59:29 AM | 68
    Perhaps after another coalition of the willing has destroyed Syria will the US president joke about searching for WMDs like Bush did. An insult to us all.

    Formerly T-Bear | Apr 22, 2017 8:41:31 AM | 69
    @ 59 and ff commentary

    The Oxford Concise Dictionary of Quotations has the quote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" made by George Santayana (1863 - 1952) in The Life of Reason (1905) vol. 1, ch. 12

    Oxford is fairly reliable sourcing for such questions, FWIW. As far as the western world and history another quote comes to mind from Dante Alighiere (1265-1321) that translates: Abandon all hope, you who enter! [with regard to history].

    Curtis | Apr 22, 2017 10:34:43 AM | 70
    We need a Jon Stewart style montage of all these people saying "no doubt" followed by the group No Doubt saying it. (like he did with the GOP/FNC meme of "It's A Trap")

    Curtis | Apr 22, 2017 10:36:27 AM | 71
    "The mightiest oak is just a little nut that wouldn't give up."
    woogs 34

    I am Groot.

    james | Apr 22, 2017 12:22:11 PM | 72
    @49 marko.. - good stuff either way, lol..

    Piotr Berman | Apr 22, 2017 12:22:18 PM | 73
    "Counting the three sarin attacks to date , and the five more that follow , the probability that the rebels committed all eight attacks is .75^8 , or 10%. That means there's a 90% chance that Assad was responsible for at least one attack - i.e. , he crossed the red line."

    I understand that this was presented as an incorrect reasoning, but perhaps not all readers here see the mistakes. First, probability is used to describe random events and not historical events. The post that you see here could be written by Piotr Berman, an identifiable individual, or by an impostor. In itself the claim that it was written by Piotr Berman is true or false, it does not have probability. However, from the point of view of a reader, it is but one of a large number of comments posted on internet so one can apply some guessed estimates, like "10% of comments signed with uniquely identifiable names are written by impostors". This of course begs the question how we arrive at such estimates etc. In short, the probability assigned to a single sarin attack is an exhalation from someones terminal end of the digestive system and quite hazardous if used.

    However, even if we form an abstract model in which a chemical attack is randomly perpetrated by X with probability p and not by X with probability 1-p, and we have 8 attacks, the probability that X perpetrated at least one attack is anywhere between 0 and 1. The formula (1-p)^8 applies only if the events are independent. For example, if X possesses the means to perpetrate an attack with probability q, then the probability that it perpetrated any of many attacks is never larger than q.

    That said, probabilities have their place in war strategy. If a false flag attack has a random effect on a key decision maker, that repeating it many times may increase the probability that a desired decision will be made. And Trump's and Obama's behavior has (and had) a degree of randomness.

    james | Apr 22, 2017 12:33:58 PM | 74
    @73 piotr.. that logic is insane of course..

    Marko | Apr 22, 2017 1:54:22 PM | 75
    @73

    piotr,

    You're correct about the technical probability considerations , of course , but I think the real-life effect of each new false-flag may fall closer to the line drawn by the bad model than by the good. I think all parties involved know that each new false-flag has an incremental impact driving us closer to war ,in addition to the random one you mention , at least as long as there remains considerable doubt about the true culprit with each new event.

    From Khan al-Assal to Ghouta to Khan Sheikhoun we've moved closer and closer to the real "red line". For the anti-Assad camp , the false-flag strategy is still working and they'll keep it up , though I'm sure they're getting impatient. For the Assad side , gaining territory has the opposite effect , moving us away from the red line. Had Assad and Putin doubled-down on battlefield intensity after Aleppo and made further gains , rather than pausing as they did , I think they'd be in much better shape today.

    Dean | Apr 22, 2017 2:10:38 PM | 76
    How close is the USA and Israel? Look at Mattis's lapel pin during his presser.

    https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-led-coalition-methodically-remove-defense-secretary/

    Isn't that normally the country he represents?

    IMO this shows that Israel foreign policy = USA foreign policy.

    MusicofE | Apr 22, 2017 5:30:48 PM | 77
    I I follow the link to the U.S. embassy Twitter page @33, unbelievable!. The Trump administration partying like it is 1984.

    Piotr Berman | Apr 22, 2017 7:37:20 PM | 78
    The usage of "there can be no doubt" is a bit different from what we could learn in English classes. First, "doubt" is a kind of thought-weed that is at times harmless, and at times seriously detrimental and thus subjected to eradication efforts. "There is no doubt" declares the success of the eradication campaign while "There can be no doubt" is more like "There should not be any doubt", i.e. an exhortation to continue and expand eradication campaign. Usually the large fields of major agribusiness companies are well tended with copious amounts of herbicides, while on the edges, meadows, smaller organically tended fields etc. the weeds can survive and in isolated places they can even thrive.

    From that point of view excessive consumption of, say, NYT or TV news can make people positive for "symptoms of sarin or sarin-like chemicals" like Roundup when we take swabs from their mucosal surfaces and analyze with sensitive instruments. Smaller but proudly "mainstream" publications like New Yorker have no doubt either (in this case it is easy, because New Yorker is very compartmentalized, few individuals are allowed to write on the topic, this way they can keep doubt from showing without mass use of chemicals). The Nation has some articles written by doubt-free persons (like Katha Pollit) but doubt levels are significant -- kept down mostly by small number of articles on Syria. And Counterpunch is a weed in itself.

    AKSA | Apr 22, 2017 7:56:06 PM | 79
    @ Dean | Apr 22, 2017 2:10:38 PM | 76

    No kidding!? How old are you?

    How about this: The US is prime Nazi country/regime, and the Zionist state is modeled after the US, or the European racism. The settler states are known for its unprecedented violence. Unfortunately, still the phenomenon of extermination is connected with Germany and not the US.

    http://warisacrime.org/content/how-us-race-laws-inspired-nazis

    One of many U.S. state laws that Nazis examined was this from Maryland:

    "All marriages between a white person and a Negro, or between a white person and a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race or between a Negro and a member of the Malay race, or between a person of Negro descent to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race . . . [skipping over many variations] . . . are forever prohibited . . . punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less than eighteen months nor more than ten years."

    jfl | Apr 22, 2017 8:31:15 PM | 80
    @78 bp. 'From that point of view excessive consumption of, say, NYT or TV news can make people positive for "symptoms of sarin or sarin-like chemicals" like Roundup when we take swabs from their mucosal surfaces and analyze with sensitive instruments.'

    very nice piotr berman. the metaphor is so well drawn, and in the following cases as well. One has a malady, here, a malady. One feels a malady.

    the dysfunctions all swell from a common source, into a slum of bloom. the wigs despoiling the Satan ear.

    karlof1 | Apr 22, 2017 10:24:15 PM | 81
    guy @45--

    Yes, I was apprehensive at first, but the new regime toed BRICS's lines, participated in its functions as usual, and has tried to use it in its national interest. Brazil's internal contradictions don't allow it to abandon its one big success story. And as I stated, BRICS policy declarations are all in line with Russia and China's in every area.

    psychohistorian | Apr 23, 2017 2:32:49 AM | 82
    @ karlof1 who writes about geopolitics

    While many of the big brains go to Wall St. to front guess Mr. Market, there are others, "no doubt", that build geopolitical dashboards, models and simulations for the elite to monitor all the countries/governments/militaries/public.

    In spite of their visibility of their universe, they are losing control and know it. The absurdity of the ongoing global debt situation is a tell.

    All countries have evolving relationships with both the US and China as well as within the various groups of nations. China is talking growth and the US/private finance is talking austerity. It is not if but a matter of when growth wins out and global finance is put under public control.

    Temporarily Sane | Apr 23, 2017 8:43:48 AM | 83
    That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history. ~Aldous Huxley

    Afghan officials have said nearly 100 militants and no civilians were killed, but the remoteness of the area, the presence of Islamic State fighters, and, more recently, American security forces, has left those claims unverified.

    [Nov 24, 2019] 25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish On Russia by Caitlin Johnstone

    From the point of view of election promise of detente with Russia, Trump clearly betrayed them. He was a neocon puppet from the beginning to the end, His policy was not that different from hypothetical policy of Hillary administration.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Caitlin Johnstone discredits a CNN listicle on Trump's "softness" towards Moscow. In fact, she writes, the U.S. president has actually been consistently reckless towards Moscow, with zero resistance from either party. ..."
    "... It would be understandable if you were unaware that Trump has been escalating tensions with Moscow more than any other president since the fall of the Berlin Wall; it's a fact that neither of America's two mainstream political factions care about, so it tends to get lost in the shuffle. Trump's opposition is interested in painting him as a sycophantic Kremlin crony, and his supporters are interested in painting him as an antiwar hero of the people, but he is neither ..."
    "... Anyone who has not read Orwell's 1984 should do so sooner rather than later. The official control of narrative in the novel is what we are presently drowning in. To watch it work so spectacularly is beyond depressing. ..."
    "... The complete corruption of Western MSM is the reason many of us regularly read Caitlin and Consortium, all desperately trying to get some sort of a reality-check in an otherwise "Orwellian" media environment. ..."
    "... The simple truth here is that in regard to the military (read 'military complex', which includes the deep state and shadow government [intelligence agencies] every president is a puppet. ..."
    "... The coup in Ukraine was a major provocation to Russia, but was also a repeat of the Americans' rape and pillaging of Russia under Yeltsin, Clinton's puppet. The per capita median income of Ukrainians has dropped in half from 2013, despite pumping $billions in from the US. ..."
    "... Failing impeachment, from the attempts by the Clinton Campaign, to the Congressional sanctions on Russia, to sabotage of Syria withdrawal to the Mueller hoax, to the State Dept hawks protests on Ukraine, the effort to prevent Trump from following through on his campaign promise has been the primary goal of the intelligence community. It is instructive to note that the phone call that has led to the current impeachment inquiry was made on July 26, the day following Robert Mueller's clownish testimony before Congress, effectively ending that line of impeachment. ..."
    "... Also note that although the phone call was made in July, nothing was said about it until after John Bolton was fired in September, 2 months later. ..."
    Nov 19, 2019 | consortiumnews.com

    • 30 Comments

    Caitlin Johnstone discredits a CNN listicle on Trump's "softness" towards Moscow. In fact, she writes, the U.S. president has actually been consistently reckless towards Moscow, with zero resistance from either party.

    CaitlinJohnstone.com

    CNN has published a fascinatingly manipulative and falsehood-laden article titled " 25 times Trump was soft on Russia ," in which a lot of strained effort is poured into building the case that the U.S. president is suspiciously loyal to the nation against which he has spent his administration escalating dangerous new cold war aggressions.

    The items within the CNN article consist mostly of times in which Trump said some words or failed to say other words; "Trump has repeatedly praised Putin," "Trump refused to say Putin is a killer," "Trump denied that Russia interfered in 2016," "Trump made light of Russian hacking," etc. It also includes the completely false but oft-repeated narrative that "Trump's team softened the GOP platform on Ukraine", as well as the utterly ridiculous and thoroughly invalidated claim that "Since intervening in Syria in 2015, the Russian military has focused its airstrikes on anti-government rebels, not ISIS."

    CNN's 25 items are made up almost entirely of narrative and words; Trump said a nice thing about Putin, Trump said offending things to NATO allies, Trump thought about visiting Putin in Russia, etc. In contrast, the 25 items which I am about to list do not consist of narrative at all, but rather the actual movement of actual concrete objects which can easily lead to an altercation from which there may be no re-emerging. These items show that when you ignore the words and narrative spin and look at what this administration has actually been doing , it's clear to anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty that, far from being "soft" on Russia, Trump has actually been consistently reckless in the one area where a US president must absolutely always maintain a steady hand. And he's been doing so with zero resistance from either party.

    It would be understandable if you were unaware that Trump has been escalating tensions with Moscow more than any other president since the fall of the Berlin Wall; it's a fact that neither of America's two mainstream political factions care about, so it tends to get lost in the shuffle. Trump's opposition is interested in painting him as a sycophantic Kremlin crony, and his supporters are interested in painting him as an antiwar hero of the people, but he is neither. Observe:

    1. Implementing a Nuclear Posture Review with a more aggressive stance toward Russia

    Last year Trump's Department of Defense rolled out a Nuclear Posture Review which CNN itself called "its toughest line yet against Russia's resurgent nuclear forces."

    "In its newly released Nuclear Posture Review, the Defense Department has focused much of its multibillion nuclear effort on an updated nuclear deterrence focused on Russia," CNN reported last year.

    This revision of nuclear policy includes the new implementation of "low-yield" nuclear weapons , which, because they are designed to be more "usable" than conventional nuclear ordinances, have been called "the most dangerous weapon ever" by critics of this insane policy. These weapons, which can remove some of the inhibitions that mutually assured destruction would normally give military commanders, have already been rolled off the assembly line.

    2. Arming Ukraine

    Lost in the gibberish about Trump temporarily withholding military aide to supposedly pressure a Ukrainian government who was never even aware of being pressured is the fact that arming Ukraine against Russia is an entirely new policy that was introduced by the Trump administration in the first place. Even the Obama administration, which was plenty hawkish toward Russia in its own right, refused to implement this extremely provocative escalation against Moscow. It was not until Obama was replaced with the worst Putin puppet of all time that this policy was put in place.

    3. Bombing Syria

    Another escalation Trump took against Russia which Obama wasn't hawkish enough to also do was bombing the Syrian government, a longtime ally of Moscow. These airstrikes in April 2017 and April 2018 were perpetrated in retaliation for chemical weapons use allegations that there is no legitimate reason to trust at this point.

    4. Staging coup attempts in Venezuela

    Venezuela, another Russian ally, has been the subject of relentless coup attempts from the Trump administration which persist unsuccessfully to this very day . Trump's attempts to topple the Venezuelan government have been so violent and aggressive that the starvation sanctions which he has implemented are believed to have killed tens of thousands of Venezuelan civilians .

    Trump has reportedly spoken frequently of a U.S. military invasion to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, provoking a forceful rebuke from Moscow .

    "Signals coming from certain capitals indicating the possibility of external military interference look particularly disquieting," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We warn against such reckless actions, which threaten catastrophic consequences."

    5. Withdrawing from the INF treaty

    For a president who's "soft" on Russia, Trump has sure been eager to keep postures between the two nations extremely aggressive in nature. This administration has withdrawn from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, prompting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to declare that "the world lost an invaluable brake on nuclear war." It appears entirely possible that Trump will continue to adhere to the John Bolton school of nuclear weapons treaties until they all lie in tatters, with the administration strongly criticizing the crucial New START Treaty which expires in early 2021.

    Some particularly demented Russiagaters try to argue that Trump withdrawing from these treaties benefits Russia in some way. These people either (A) believe that treaties only go one way, (B) believe that a nation with an economy the size of South Korea can compete with the U.S. in an arms race, (C) believe that Russians are immune to nuclear radiation, or (D) all of the above. Withdrawing from these treaties benefits no one but the military-industrial complex.

    6. Ending the Open Skies Treaty

    "The Trump administration has taken steps toward leaving a nearly three-decade-old agreement designed to reduce the risk of war between Russia and the West by allowing both sides to conduct reconnaissance flights over one another's territories," The Wall Street Journal reported last month , adding that the administration has alleged that "Russia has interfered with American monitoring flights while using its missions to gather intelligence in the US."

    Again, if you subscribe to the bizarre belief that withdrawing from this treaty benefits Russia, please think harder. Or ask the Russians themselves how they feel about it:

    "US plans to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and multiply the risks for the whole world, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said," Sputnik reports .

    "All this negatively affects the predictability of the military-strategic situation and lowers the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, which drastically increases the risks for the whole humanity," Patrushev said.

    "In general, it is becoming apparent that Washington intends to use its technological leadership in order to maintain strategic dominance in the information space by actually pursuing a policy of imposing its conditions on states that are lagging behind in digital development," he added.

    7. Selling Patriot missiles to Poland

    "Poland signed the largest arms procurement deal in its history on Wednesday, agreeing with the United States to buy Raytheon Co's Patriot missile defense system for $4.75 billion in a major step to modernize its forces against a bolder Russia," Reuters reported last year .

    8. Occupying Syrian oil fields

    The Trump administration has been open about the fact that it is not only maintaining a military presence in Syria to control the nation's oil, but that it is doing so in order to deprive the nation's government of that financial resource. Syria's ally Russia strongly opposes this, accusing the Trump administration of nothing short of "international state banditry".

    "In a statement, Russia's defense ministry said Washington had no mandate under international or US law to increase its military presence in Syria and said its plan was not motivated by genuine security concerns in the region," Reuters reported last month.

    "Therefore Washington's current actions – capturing and maintaining military control over oil fields in eastern Syria – is, simply put, international state banditry," Russia's defense ministry said.

    9. Killing Russians in Syria

    Reports have placed Russian casualties anywhere between a handful and hundreds , but whatever the exact number the U.S. military is known to have killed Russian citizens as part of the Trump administration's ongoing Syria occupation in an altercation last year.

    exact number the U.S. military is known to have killed Russian citizens as part of the Trump administration's ongoing Syria occupation in an altercation last year.

    10. Tanks in Estonia

    Within weeks of taking office, Trump was already sending Abrams battle tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and other military hardware right up to Russia's border as part of a NATO operation.

    "Atlantic Resolve is a demonstration of continued US commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America's dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine," the Defense Department said in a statement.

    11. War ships in the Black Sea

    12. Sanctions

    Trump approved new sanctions against Russia on August 2017. CNN reports the following:

    "US President Donald Trump approved fresh sanctions on Russia Wednesday after Congress showed overwhelming bipartisan support for the new measures," CNN reported at the time . "Congress passed the bill last week in response to Russia's interference in the 2016 US election, as well as its human rights violations, annexation of Crimea and military operations in eastern Ukraine. The bill's passage drew ire from Moscow -- which responded by stripping 755 staff members and two properties from US missions in the country -- all but crushing any hope for the reset in US-Russian relations that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had called for."

    "A full-fledged trade war has been declared on Russia," said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in response.

    13. More sanctions

    "The United States imposed sanctions on five Russian individuals on Wednesday, including the leader of the Republic of Chechnya, for alleged human rights abuses and involvement in criminal conspiracies, a sign that the Trump administration is ratcheting up pressure on Russia," The New York Times reported in December 2017 .

    14. Still more sanctions

    "Trump just hit Russian oligarchs with the most aggressive sanctions yet," reads a Vice headline from April of last year.

    "The sanctions target seven oligarchs and 12 companies under their ownership or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian bank," Vice reports. "While the move is aimed, in part, at Russia's role in the U.S. 2016 election, senior U.S. government officials also stressed that the new measures seek to penalize Russia's recent bout of international troublemaking more broadly, including its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and military activity in eastern Ukraine."

    15. Even more sanctions

    The Trump administration hit Russia with more sanctions for the alleged Skripal poisoning in August of last year, then hit them with another round of sanctions for the same reason again in August of this year.

    16. Guess what? MORE sanctions

    "The Trump administration on Thursday imposed new sanctions on a dozen individuals and entities in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea," The Hill reported in November of last year. "The group includes a company linked to Bank Rossiya and Russian businessman Yuri Kovalchuk and others accused of operating in Crimea, which the U.S. says Russia seized illegally in 2014."

    17. Oh hey, more sanctions

    "Today, the United States continues to take action in response to Russian attempts to influence US democratic processes by imposing sanctions on four entities and seven individuals associated with the Internet Research Agency and its financier, Yevgeniy Prigozhin. This action increases pressure on Prigozhin by targeting his luxury assets, including three aircraft and a vessel," reads a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from September of this year.

    18. Secondary sanctions

    Secondary sanctions are economic sanctions in which a third party is punished for breaching the primary sanctions of the sanctioning body. The U.S. has leveled sanctions against both China and Turkey for purchasing Russian S-400 air defense missiles, and it is threatening to do so to India as well.

    19. Forcing Russian media to register as foreign agents

    Both RT and Sputnik have been forced to register as "foreign agents" by the Trump administration. This classification forced the outlets to post a disclaimer on content, to report their activities and funding sources to the Department of Justice twice a year, and could arguably place an unrealistic burden on all their social media activities as it submits to DOJ micromanagement.

    20. Throwing out Russian diplomats

    The Trump administration joined some 20 other nations in casting out scores of Russian diplomats as an immediate response to the Skripal poisoning incident in the U.K.

    21. Training Polish and Latvian fighters "to resist Russian aggression"

    "US Army Special Forces soldiers completed the first irregular and unconventional warfare training iteration for members of the Polish Territorial Defense Forces and Latvian Zemmessardze as a part of the Ridge Runner program in West Virginia, according to service officials," Army Times reported this past July.

    "U.S. special operations forces have been training more with allies from the Baltic states and other Eastern European nations in the wake of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014," Army Times writes. "A low-level conflict continues to simmer in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region between Russian-backed separatists and government forces to this day. The conflict spurred the Baltics into action, as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia embraced the concepts of total defense and unconventional warfare, combining active-duty, national guard and reserve-styled forces to each take on different missions to resist Russian aggression and even occupation."

    22. Refusal to recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation

    even while acknowledging Israel's illegal annexation of the Golan Heights as perfectly legal and legitimate.

    23. Sending 1,000 troops to Poland

    From the September article " 1000 US Troops Are Headed to Poland " by National Interest :

    Key point: Trump agreed to send more forces to Poland to defend it against Russia.

    What Happened: U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to deploy approximately 1,000 additional U.S. troops to Poland during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, Reuters reported Sept. 23.

    Why It Matters: The deal, which formalizes the United States' commitment to protecting Poland from Russia, provides a diplomatic victory to Duda and his governing Law and Justice ahead of November elections. The additional U.S. troops will likely prompt a reactive military buildup from Moscow in places like neighboring Kaliningrad and, potentially, Belarus.

    24. Withdrawing from the Iran deal

    Russia has been consistently opposed to Trump's destruction of the JCPOA. In a statement after Trump killed the deal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was "deeply disappointed by the decision of US President Donald Trump to unilaterally refuse to carry out commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action", adding that this administration's actions were "trampling on the norms of international law".

    25. Attacking Russian gas interests

    Trump has been threatening Germany with sanctions and troop withdrawal if it continues to support a gas pipeline from Russia called Nord Stream 2.

    "Echoing previous threats about German support for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Trump said he's looking at sanctions to block the project he's warned would leave Berlin 'captive' to Moscow," Bloomberg reports . "The US also hopes to export its own liquefied natural gas to Germany."

    "We're protecting Germany from Russia, and Russia is getting billions and billions of dollars in money from Germany" for its gas, Trump told the press.

    I could have kept going, but that's my 25. The only reason anyone still believes Trump is anything other than insanely hawkish toward Russia is because it doesn't benefit anyone's partisanship or profit margins to call it like it really is. The facts are right here as plain as can be, but there's a difference between facts and narrative. If they wanted to, the political/media class could very easily use the facts I just laid out to weave the narrative that this president is imperiling us all with dangerous new cold war provocations, but that's how different narrative is from fact; there's almost no connection. Instead they use a light sprinkling of fact to weave a narrative that has very little to do with reality. And meanwhile the insane escalations continue.

    In a cold war, it only takes one miscommunication or one defective piece of equipment to set off a chain of events that can obliterate all life on earth. The more things escalate, the greater the probability of that happening. We're rolling the dice on Armageddon every single day, and with every escalation the number we need to beat gets a bit harder.

    We should not be rolling the dice on this. This is very, very wrong, and the U.S. and Russia should stop and establish detente immediately. The fact that outlets like CNN would rather diddle made-up Russiagate narratives than point to this obvious fact with truthful reporting is in and of itself sufficient to discredit them all forever.

    Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly at Medium . Follow her work on Facebook , Twitter , or her website . She has a podcast and a new book " Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers ."

    This article was re-published with permission. The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.


    Roger D Owens , November 20, 2019 at 11:28

    Our historians here seem to be forgetting the brutal takeover of Ukraine by the USSR in the 50's, in which millions of Ukrainians were shot, raped, beaten and starved out, while "ethnic Russians" moved in and took over. Kruschev didn't "give" Crimea away, he simply transferred the administration thereof to the Soviet Republic of "the" Ukraine (a term Ukranians have always decried as a way to make it seem as if Ukraine had always been a part of the USSR). The "ethnic Russians" wouldn't have been there at all if the Soviets hadn't put them there. That argument is the same one Hitler used as his excuse to annex Poland, and Polk used to annex Texas. It's true Russia's self-interest (and well-founded fears of foreign betrayal) have been largely ignored, but it's also disingenuous to ignore their murderous 20th-century imperialism. Just because we're not the good guys doesn't mean they are either.

    anon4d2 , November 20, 2019 at 18:12

    Perhaps you forgot that the USSR actions in eastern Europe after WWII were in direct response to the murder of 20 million Russians in WWII by the Nazi forces, attacking through E Europe just as Napoleon had done. All US casualties in all its wars are less than five percent of that, and 95 percent of Nazi division-months were spent in the USSR. On that front they had nearly all of the casualties and did nearly all of the fighting. No wonder they were a bit uncomfortable afterward with leaving open the favorite attack route of the west. What would the US have done if a hundred times its WWII casualties were caused by two invasions through (for example) Mexico? Would we have left the door open? Such circumstances cannot be ignored. Starting one's version of history after the world's greatest provocation cannot be said to clarify the history.

    Toby McCrossin , November 21, 2019 at 02:56

    "Our historians here seem to be forgetting the brutal takeover of Ukraine by the USSR in the 50's"

    Nice alternative facts. Ukraine was one of the original constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922!

    " Kruschev didn't "give" Crimea away"

    Huh? Crimea had been part of Russia since 1783. You know you can check this stuff yourself using Google, right?

    "The "ethnic Russians" wouldn't have been there at all if the Soviets hadn't put them there."

    Right, so the Soviets put the Russians in Crimea in 1783, 139 years before it was in existence. I guess the Soviets mastered time travel.

    I know reading's hard and all but you might wanna try it some time.

    Jon Anderholm , November 20, 2019 at 02:22

    An essential article by Caitlin .. Thanks so much .

    Sam F , November 19, 2019 at 22:56

    Another excellent article by Caitlin Johnstone.

    Jeff G. , November 19, 2019 at 19:59

    Given the laws of cause and effect, our nuclear missiles might as well be considered to be pointed straight at ourselves. Like shooting at one's image in a mirror or joining in a mutual suicide pact. Sheer insanity.

    ranney , November 19, 2019 at 17:26

    WONDERFUL article, Caitlin. You are so right! I agree with Alan Ross, you deserve an award for this, and I hope this gets passed around for a wide readership.

    Antonio Costa , November 19, 2019 at 15:14

    When elected POTUS you are elected, no matter the campaign rhetoric, to take the reins of the imperial empire.

    Trump did that willingly, in fact to a fault given his "big mouth". He's no more nor less dangerous than his predecessors. And like them, his is a mass of rhetorical contradictions. Policy is all that should really matters. It is our only means of identifying some truth.

    Trump knows what most here know regarding US invasions and assassinations. What he thinks about any leader is anyone's guess (including his). For him it's all deal making as if it's his private Trump Towers Enterprises. But in the end he's playing the chief gangsta role of his like. (If you've ever listened to Sinatra at the Sands (the full concert), you'll hear how Trump has mimicked the popular gangsta singer to the last "love ya baby ").

    The media is not free. It is an arm of the national security state, with occasional outages of truth telling, all the more to tell the big lies. It's purpose is to pacify and repress any rebellions. Since the end of Vietnam it has succeeded. And here we are, never knowing truth from lie. (I think of Obama as deceitful to the max, while Trump just tells transparent lies so you don't know when he's actually telling a profound truth.)

    "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

    -- Joseph Goebbels (was a German Nazi politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945)

    Mark Thomason , November 19, 2019 at 14:22

    We can go one step further than to say that Trump was reckless toward Russia, "with zero resistance from either party."

    Both parties demanded it. They approved it as "Presidential" whenever he did it, and attacked him for any effort to be less reckless. They'd done the same to Obama, but Trump proved weaker and more malleable.

    Jeff Harrison , November 19, 2019 at 14:14

    Verra nice peroration. I have two objections. One, I doubt that the people of the Donbass are Russian backed in the same sense that the "moderate" rebel scum in Syria is US backed with weapons, intelligence, and training but the people of the Donbass are ethnic Russians. With a steady stream of anti-Russian legislation coming out of Kiev, I imagine they're looking for an out. Putin is trying to get it for them without starting a war with Ukraine. The real question that Washington has yet to address is what are they going to do if the people of Ukraine notice that since they signed on to the neo-liberal dictates of Washington and Brussels they've become the poorest nation in Europe. I know that there are a number of Ukrainians who think wistfully of the days when they were part of Mother Russia. But you never know, the CIA is notorious for its subversion and the Ukrainians might prove to be spectacularly stupid. After all, they weren't doing badly until they let the US and EU foment a coup for them.

    And, two, "We should not be rolling the dice on this. This is very, very wrong, and the U.S. and Russia should stop and establish detente immediately." While I agree with the sentiment, don't bring Russia into this. Everything that Russia has done has been a reaction to what is usually an American violation of international law. Putin has been very clear that he wants to back off this cold war but he has also been very clear that we started it and we're going to have to be the ones to start backing off.

    David Hamilton , November 20, 2019 at 02:11

    I absolutely agree with your number two reaction to Caitlin's suggestion that Russia and the U.S. should stop it and establish detente immediately. Everything Russia's leadership is doing is a reaction to American imperial dares to defy their law violations. They exhibit extreme and principled restraint to the Orwellian madness emanating from this place.

    I think it is important that this be understood. Russians have been used and abused once before by American largesse in the form of Clinton's puppet's assistance in the rape of the former Soviet Union by the Harvard-sponsored project. That was the one during the nineties that privatized national industries and created a dozen neoliberal oligarchs. The cost was a huge increase in death rate that lowered life expectancy into the 50's from 70 years I think. Cynical foreign policy, isn't it?

    Lois Gagnon , November 19, 2019 at 13:16

    Anyone who has not read Orwell's 1984 should do so sooner rather than later. The official control of narrative in the novel is what we are presently drowning in. To watch it work so spectacularly is beyond depressing.

    Many thanks to Caitlin Johnstone, Consortium News and all the others pushing back against this system of perception management. I keep repeating it because it rings true. It's like waking up in the Twilight Zone.

    John Neal Spangler , November 19, 2019 at 12:44

    She is right. CNN. MSNBC, NYT, and Wapo totally irresponsible. Fox not much better. So many anti-Russian bigots in US

    Jimmy gates , November 19, 2019 at 12:37

    Thank you Caitlin. The neoliberals and neocons both desperately want a greatly intensified cold war with Russia, but want it started by Trump ( because he is personally an outsider).

    This gives the Democrat and Republican donors contracts for the war machine. Ever since Clinton administration moved NATO to the Russian border, the process has worked for the oligarchs who control all US policies, foreign and domestic.

    Gary Weglarz , November 19, 2019 at 12:20

    The complete corruption of Western MSM is the reason many of us regularly read Caitlin and Consortium, all desperately trying to get some sort of a reality-check in an otherwise "Orwellian" media environment.

    For anyone who has been waiting for the publication of reporter Udo Ulfkotte's best selling book (in Germany), a book based on his experience as a well respected journalist whose reporting was completely compromised by Western intelligence services and business interests, it is finally available in an English language edition. The English language edition has been quite obviously suppressed for the last several years and the book was published in 9 languages BEFORE this English edition became available. It is a book that is well worth reading to better understand why literally NOTHING written by MSM should be believed at face value, ever:
    See:

    amazon.com/Presstitutes-Embedded-Pay-CIA-Confession/dp/1615770178/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0/131-5128290-0014039

    Skip Scott , November 19, 2019 at 15:34

    I would urge anyone interested in buying this book to get it directly from the publisher- Progressive Press. Amazon and other mega monopolies are a big part of our problems. Take the time to make a few extra clicks and boycott Jeff Bezos.

    Noah Way , November 19, 2019 at 10:58

    The simple truth here is that in regard to the military (read 'military complex', which includes the deep state and shadow government [intelligence agencies] every president is a puppet. Nobel Peace Prize winner oBOMBa bombed 7 countries, overthrew Ukraine's democratic government, invaded Syria, armed terrorists as proxy armies, authorized drone assassinations, and bombed a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

    The last president to resist the military complex? JFK

    peter mcloughlin , November 19, 2019 at 10:19

    Caitlin Johnstone's list points to growing tensions with Russia. Failure of the political and media establishment to see this makes the task of avoiding world war three all the more difficult. In the West the end of the Cold War was seen as the dawn of peace. But the Cold War was the peace, a post-world war environment: we are now in a pre-world war environment.

    Jimmy gates , November 19, 2019 at 12:45

    The Democratic Party members have not " missed" anything that Trump has done. They will not impeach him on those grounds, because they too are guilty of complicity in those war crimes. As Pelosi said regarding impeaching GWB for the torture program or invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan " it's off the table". Because she was complicit.

    Lois Gagnon , November 19, 2019 at 13:23

    Russia did not illegally annex Crimea. A referendum was held and 90% of the voters voted to rejoin Russia. Most people in Crimea are ethnic Russians and speak Russian. They were understandably scared to death of what their fate would be under the rule of the fascists the US installed in Ukraine.

    And frankly, Russia had every right to protect its only warm water port in Sevastopol that would have been taken over by NATO if Crimea had remained part of Ukraine. Too many Americans have been indoctrinated in the belief that Russia has no legitimate self interest to defend.

    michael , November 19, 2019 at 18:22

    In addition to what Lois Gagnon points out, you have to realize that the re-patriation of Crimea to Russia in March 2014 was the direct result of Obama, Biden, Nuland et al overthrowing the democratically elected President of Ukraine, Yanukovych, in the Maidan coup in February, 2014, and replacing him with a neoNAZI regime. Russian speech was outlawed, which has been the language of the majority of Crimea since Catherine the Great.

    The coup in Ukraine was a major provocation to Russia, but was also a repeat of the Americans' rape and pillaging of Russia under Yeltsin, Clinton's puppet. The per capita median income of Ukrainians has dropped in half from 2013, despite pumping $billions in from the US.

    Jeff G. , November 19, 2019 at 20:25

    Crimeans have an absolute right of self-determination as a fundamental human right under established international law, just as the Kosovars did when we were supporting the breakup of Serbia when Clinton was president. Ethnic Russians voted in an overwhelming majority in a free and fair plebiscite to rejoin Russia, which they had been part of for centuries, because the neo-Nazi US coup government allied with Azov battalions in Kyiv terrified them and they wanted nothing further to do with them. Crimea had every right to decide. Russia did nothing to interfere, not a bullet was fired. Russia's troops were already stationed in Crimea by treaty and did not invade. Russia warned NATO against the Kosovo precedent that it would come back to bite them someday, and it was ignored. NATO is unhappy because it was denied an illegitimate geostrategic advantage they thought they would gain. Crimea is happy, so what's the problem?

    DH Fabian , November 19, 2019 at 21:08

    "We," who? Regardless, the issues you raise can't be understood outside of their historical context, and Americans never try to understand the world within that historical context.

    anon , November 19, 2019 at 22:54

    Crimea was part of Russia for roughly 200 years before the USSR premier (Kruschev?) gave it to Ukraine, although its inhabitants were nearly all of Russian heritage and language, like E Ukraine. So not surprising that they wanted to go back to being part of Russia.

    dean 1000 , November 20, 2019 at 19:26

    Couldn't agree more Lois Gagnon. Washington did an illegal coup. Russia did a legal annexation.

    btw – The Autonomous Republic of Sevastopol on SW Crimea is no longer the only ice-free port of the Russian Navy. Kaliningrad (on the Baltic sea) has been part of Russia since 1945. Its deep ice-free harbor is the home port of Russia's Baltic fleet according to the 2012 world book DVD.

    Good one Caitlin. Again

    jdd , November 19, 2019 at 09:51

    This article properly puts to rest the absurd notion that President Trump is a "tool of Putin, " and correctly notes that it has created a potentially disastrous situation.

    However, let's put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the Anglo/American led forces arrayed against Trump from the moment he announced his intention to run on a platform of "getting along" with Russia and joining with Putin to defeat ISIS.

    Failing impeachment, from the attempts by the Clinton Campaign, to the Congressional sanctions on Russia, to sabotage of Syria withdrawal to the Mueller hoax, to the State Dept hawks protests on Ukraine, the effort to prevent Trump from following through on his campaign promise has been the primary goal of the intelligence community. It is instructive to note that the phone call that has led to the current impeachment inquiry was made on July 26, the day following Robert Mueller's clownish testimony before Congress, effectively ending that line of impeachment.

    Nick , November 19, 2019 at 16:50

    Also note that although the phone call was made in July, nothing was said about it until after John Bolton was fired in September, 2 months later.

    Alan Ross , November 19, 2019 at 09:47

    This article alone deserves an award for public service. And in a more sensibly run world Caitlin Johnstone would have gotten at least fifty such awards for past articles.

    [Oct 28, 2019] Important facts developed in video as for KSA role in financing ISIS

    Oct 28, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    snake , Oct 26 2019 17:08 utc | 109

    State of Saudi Arabia, not a few citizens, funded ISIS, paid USA to engage Syria in war

    Important facts developed in video suggest barflies analyze it..

    [Oct 15, 2019] Leaked John Kerry audio White House wanted ISIS to rise in Syria by Systematic

    Notable quotes:
    "... if this is to inform us that Kerry is a duplicitous weasel,then id guess this has been known for at least a decade ..."
    "... He is just a puppet of some big families and interest groups. He is their voice. He is maybe good in tactics but not in strategy. That's why he made a faulty assumption in Syria. ..."
    "... I can't remember exactly what, but I noticed he was inconsistent in his bullcrapping. So he wanted an election, and democracy – gotta mouth 'democracy' -and he didn't. ..."
    "... He of course expected to 'negotiate' with Assad, assuming that after Assad tasted fire he'd get lost, but that didn't go well when the evilest people around, the Russians, who just don't care about international law, were invited in to Syria, lol, because the law is the law. He was all over the place! ..."
    "... Meanwhile, How many different scholars and politicians declaim loudly that the US should forget about international law?, starting with Michael Glennon. ..."
    "... Those are Kerry's words. Among other things of interest, the recording also shows that the establishment actually do mouth their lies even to themselves, perhaps as a means of disciplining their own ranks. It's institutionalized schizophrenia. ..."
    "... It is not a "free and fair" election without US interference! ..."
    "... "Democracy has some virtues, folks" – so sayeth the old Bonesman. Enjoy your retirement , John. ..."
    Oct 15, 2019 | off-guardian.org

    South Front reports :

    On Wednesday, Wikileaks released new evidence of US President-elect On Wednesday, Wikileaks released new evidence of US President-elect Donald Trump 's assertion that Barack Obama was the founder of ISIS – a leaked audio of US Secretary of State John Kerry's meeting with members of the Syrian opposition at the Dutch Mission of the UN on September 22.

    The audio also is an evidence of the fact that mainstream media colluded with the Obama's administration in order to push the narrative for regime change in Syria, hiding the truth about arming and funding ISIS by the US, as it exposed a 35 minute conversation that was omitted by CNN.

    Kerry admits that the primary goal of the Obama's administration in Syria was regime change and the removal of Syrian President Bahar al-Assad, as well as that Washington didn't calculate that Assad would turn to Russia for help.

    In order to achieve this goal, the White House allowed the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group to rise. The Obama's administration hoped that growing power of the IS in Syria would force Assad to search for a diplomatic solution on US terms, forcing him to cede power. In its turn, in order to achieve these two goals, Washington intentionally armed members of the terrorist group and even attacked a In order to achieve this goal, the White House allowed the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group to rise.

    The Obama's administration hoped that growing power of the IS in Syria would force Assad to search for a diplomatic solution on US terms, forcing him to cede power. In its turn, in order to achieve these two goals, Washington intentionally armed members of the terrorist group and even attacked a Syrian government military convoy, trying to stop a strategic attack on the IS, killing 80 Syrian soldiers.

    According to Wikileaks, "the audio gives a glimpse into what goes on outside official meetings. Note that it represents the US narrative and not necessarily the entire true narrative." Earlier the audio was published by the "And we know that this was growing, we were watching, we saw that DAESH [the IS] was growing in strength, and we thought Assad was threatened," Kerry said during the meeting.

    . "(We) thought, however," he continued to say, "We could probably manage that Assad might then negotiate, but instead of negotiating he got Putin to support him." "I lost the argument for use of force in Syria," Kerry concluded.

    Note that it represents the US narrative and not necessarily the entire true narrative." Earlier the audio was published by the "I lost the argument for use of force in Syria," Kerry concluded.

    Earlier the audio was published by the New York Times and CNN, however, the both outlets chose only some its part, reporting on certain aspects, and omitted the most damning comments made by Kerry. In fact, they tried to hide the statements that would allow public to understand what has actually taken place in Syria.

    The full audio has never been published by the New York Times; the outlet released only selected snippets. The full audio has never been published by the New York Times; the outlet released only selected snippets. The full audio has never been published by the New York Times; the outlet released only selected snippets.


    Mickey

    What a surprise!!
    Don Rhudy
    We know by observation and by reports from the sailors who served with Kerry on a Swiftboat that Kerry is a coward, liar, and enemy of the United States of America. He faked three Purple hearts to leave Swiftboat service early and return to the states, and he lied to the U.S. Congress while under oath. He belongs in Federal Prison.
    JamesH
    US Secretary of State John Kerry: "The problem is we in the US care about international law and Russia does not. This is the reason why we can't directly attack Assad forces.

    The only way we can directly intervene is if we have a UN Security Council resolution, or if our forces are under attack by theirs, or if we are invited by the LEGITIMATE regime well not saying here they're "legitimate" ok, Assad's regime. The Russians were invited in and we're not."

    The U.S. knows their presence in Syria is illegal

    Kerry contradicts himself when he said that Russia does not care about international law when fact is Russia is legally allowed to operate in Syria at the invitation of the "legitimate" Syrian regime (admittedly, his tongue slipped at that point)

    Cynthia Banks
    You are so right and it has been proven, Kerry and Hillary are the ones who armed ISIS a d ISIS was the one doing the gas attacks. Assad has the right to his nation and Kerry promised these rebels they could win and they are only seventeen percent of the populace. The people of Syria support Assad. It was a civil uprising we had no right to get involved in. But as we learned the US was trying to take over seven nations in seven years.

    We were the bad guys, https://youtu.be/9RC1Mepk_Sw

    Thank God they failed.

    fmf

    Its not about Syrian regime change, US also wanted to topple Shiite Iraqi Government through ISIS to install Sunni/Wahhabi regime to counter the Tehran influences in Iraq.

    doug
    I had come to the conclusion many years ago that democrats can never be trusted. All the do is lie and plot and cheat and cast aspersions and smears on everyone who disagrees with them. The smears are usually them trying to smear others with lacks in character that almost always apply to themselves. This news is nothing new. Glenn Beck for just one example has claimed this for years. He has maintained from the fall of Libya and the attack in Benghazzi that it was all about moving arms to Syria to arm and bolster ISIS.
    Barbara
    The reason why we can no longer trust the Democrats is because they have been infiltrated by the Communist party.
    Barbara
    Also remember this, the war criminals Rumsfeld and Chaney went to Syria to organize and start pumping out the Syrian oil. They just couldn't wait to get their hands on it. It's about the oil.
    George Cornell
    And even that wasn't enough to make honest people out of them.
    Inerich
    Wrong. No UN resolution when Trump attacked 2 Russian chemical weapons bases in Syria. As Commander in Chief, President Trump made the decision to bomb and destroy.
    Cynthia Banks
    You can't trust the RINO's either. Bush got us into this and I voted for him twice. https://youtu.be/9RC1Mepk_Sw
    JDD
    PUT him in a rioom with families of the victims of 911. Lock the door.
    pavlovscat7

    Put him in a room with the families of Sandy Hook and he'd have to take out his wallet again.

    D3F1ANT
    None of this evidence matters. Look at what happened with Hillary and the proof of her MYRIAD crimes. Someone could post a video a Democrat breaking the law and it wouldn't matter. Lynch and Comey and their minions have proven that power-brokers on the Left are simply beyond the reach of the "long-arm" of the Law.
    antirepublocrat
    Treason.
    Lumpy Gravy

    CNN deleted the audio at all, explaining this with the request of some of the participants out of concern for their personal safety.

    So, who then took part in the meeting at the Dutch UN mission? What are the names and the whereabouts of these so called Syrian opposition types? What are the names of the colluding Dutch mission staff? Seeing that none them ever cared in the least about the safety of the Syrian people, why should anyone care for their personal safety? With hundreds of thousands dead, millions of refugees or internally displaced and the country in ruins these people have a lot to answer for. I do hope that they and the hyena who over the past five years so eagerly promoted this mayhem in the western media will be held to account for their crimes at some point.

    bill
    if this is to inform us that Kerry is a duplicitous weasel,then id guess this has been known for at least a decade
    Sam
    He is just a puppet of some big families and interest groups. He is their voice. He is maybe good in tactics but not in strategy. That's why he made a faulty assumption in Syria.

    I really hope that all the responsibles of casualties of civilians and innocent people will face an international tribunal or face the direct cosmic judgement. They betrayed all the secular and tolerant forces in the Middle East by creating a religious confusion. Just to remove Assad? What about the feudal system in Saudia, Qatar (slavery, stoning, beheading )? Where are the Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Who voted democratically for all those wars in the US? What is the power of Congress ? Who is going to bring back or payback taxpayers money? Poverty is rising in the US and the number of homeless people becomes astronomical.

    Ronald Smith
    A decade? I've known since he was in Vietnam. Him an John McCain we're both traitors to our country.
    carinaragno
    Reblogged this on Piazza della Carina .
    Arrby
    I hope someone, at some point, will be able to provide a transcript. It was a bit hard to follow, hard as I did. The women talked fast and maybe the accent didn't help.
    The audio, which gives us a glimpse into the pathology of politicians who sell their souls for gain and have to do verbal contortions, speaking in code even to each other (lest somebody want to stab someone else in the back), in order to communicate. There was so much vileness attached to Kerry's inconsitent comments.
    BigB
    Hear hear! I got most of the slime coming from Kerry (and the 2nd American?) – but the female and particularly the male opposition rep – I couldn't quite pick.
    I did get the bit when she had a meltdown when Kerry suggested an open election (because the US is big on free and fair elections – including their own as we have just seen.) Apparently the Syrian opposition aren't that keen on them either.

    Do I take it from this that the Americans think that if the 'diaspora' is included in the vote, that there are enough Syrians abroad inculcated by western propaganda to ouster Assad? Or will that just blowback in their face?

    BTW – as most regular commenters are well aware – the recent 2014 Syrian election was completely 'free and fair' – certainly by American standards. Assad won by a landslide.

    Arrby
    Yes, I think that you have that right. Kerry is keen on an American managed election (a la Haiti or Honduras) and must believe that the diaspora is sufficiently bamboozled for that to go swimmingly.
    BigB
    Kerry said that Assad was worried by the prospect of an election. I wonder where he gets his intel from – WaPo or the CIA? Mind you, that's a single-source these days!
    Arrby
    I can't remember exactly what, but I noticed he was inconsistent in his bullcrapping. So he wanted an election, and democracy – gotta mouth 'democracy' -and he didn't.

    He of course expected to 'negotiate' with Assad, assuming that after Assad tasted fire he'd get lost, but that didn't go well when the evilest people around, the Russians, who just don't care about international law, were invited in to Syria, lol, because the law is the law. He was all over the place!

    Meanwhile, How many different scholars and politicians declaim loudly that the US should forget about international law?, starting with Michael Glennon.

    Pierre-henri Bredontiot
    "the Russians, who just don't care about international law, "

    How can you say such a thing? Only Russians are allowed to fight in Syria. Assad has been choosed by his people, and call Russia for help, nobody else.

    No country but Russia is allowed to put a foot in Syria: that is International Right. That is ONU's law. USA, GB, France, Qatar, South Arabia, THEY don't care about international law. Please excuse my bad language, I'm French. But you understand what I mean.

    Vaska
    Those are Kerry's words. Among other things of interest, the recording also shows that the establishment actually do mouth their lies even to themselves, perhaps as a means of disciplining their own ranks. It's institutionalized schizophrenia.
    Ron
    Amen. Kerry babbled about 'all the people in the camps" voting. Yeah, we know how 'free and fair' the voting will be in Erdogan's camps! -- And we know -- and these hotel-dwelling shysters know -- how many Syrian missions were closed, as in the US, Australia and many other countries -- or were denied allowing voting, because they knew bloody well who ex-pat Syrians would vote for! Over a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon trekked many miles, though Hariri-occupied salafist ghettos, to vote in 2014, so many that there was chaos finding enough voting slips. And ALL for Assad!
    The tone of this cabal is all. It's losers, and so they will remain.
    bevin
    "Do I take it from this that the Americans think that if the 'diaspora' is included in the vote, that there are enough Syrians abroad inculcated by western propaganda to ouster Assad?"

    He was obviously hinting that the opposition need not worry about the 'free and fair' bit. After all we have seen, in Haiti most clearly, what they will do to ensure that the people they don't want lose. In Haiti Aristide- a shoo-in- was not allowed to compete. In Yemen only one (US/Saudi approved) name was allowed on the ballot for President. In Iraq no Socialists were allowed to run. In Ukraine the Communist Party was banned. The beauty if the diaspora option is that it would allow ballot boxes to be stuffed in every city in Europe and Arabia, away from the supervision of the election authorities.

    But poor old Kerry's audience didn't understand him-they are afraid he really believes in 'democracy'. They probably think that they are smarter than him and have cheated him by pretending to subscribe to democracy!

    BigB
    It is not a "free and fair" election without US interference!
    http://www.trueactivist.com/us-interfered-in-foreign-presidential-elections-at-least-81-times-in-54-years/
    BigB
    "Democracy has some virtues, folks" – so sayeth the old Bonesman. Enjoy your retirement , John.
    Greg Bacon
    The U.S. Government Supplied ISIS' Iconic Pickup Trucks
    Posted on October 12, 2015 by WashingtonsBlog
    U.S. counter-terror officials have launched an investigation into how ISIS got so many of those identical Toyota pickup trucks which they use in their convoys.
    They don't have to look very far

    The Spectator reported last year:

    The [Toyota] Hilux [pics] is light, fast, manoeuvrable and all but indestructible ('bomb-proof' might not, in this instance, be a happy usage). The weapons experts Jane's claimed for the Hilux a similar significance to the longbows of Agincourt or the Huey choppers of Nam.

    A US Army Ranger said the Toyota sure 'kicks the hell out of a Humvee' (referring to the clumsy and over-sized High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle made by AM General).

    The fact is the Toyotas were supplied by the US government to the Al Nusra Front as 'non-lethal aid' then 'acquired' by ISIS.
    Al Nusra Front is literally Al Qaeda.

    http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/10/the-u-s-government-supplied-isis-iconic-pickup-trucks.html

    Yonatan
    The Washingtonsblog article contains an invalid link for the original Spectator article.
    The correct link for the 2014 Spectator article is:
    http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2014/09/the-four-wheel-drive-is-to-isis-what-the-longbow-was-to-the-english-at-agincourt/
    jeb1511
    The US govt via the CIA provided Ford F250 in their thousands to "liberation" movements in Africa back in the 70's.
    Brian Harry, Australia
    So, the U.S. taxpayers paid for the vehicles. No wonder the USA's National Debt is heading towards $19 TRILLION. There seems to be no end to the stupidity in America, giving Israel $3BILLION/year, fighting Israel's wars, and supplying their mercenaries, while the debts keep piling higher???
    Not to mention sacrificing young American soldiers etc.
    jimsresearchnotes
    Reblogged this on EU: Ramshackle Empire .
    leruscino
    Reblogged this on leruscino .
    Brian Harry, Australia
    Is it any wonder that the people who put Obama in the White House(to act as their stooge) are now in panic mode as Trump readies for the White House, having thumbed his nose at them(by threatening to "Drain the Swamp"). Despite the USA's image as "The most powerful nation on Earth", the people in charge now find themselves in a very weak position, and in danger of loosing control. Trump will need to watch his back during his term as President, the people behind the façade of Freedom and Democracy will do ANYTHING to hold their grip on power.
    Sav
    Wondering if John Hinckley Jr's release was for a reason 🙂
    BigB
    LMFAO – I expect he'll be having dinner with the Bush family soon! That cut throat gesture by the old man HW was a promise – not a threat!
    Brian Harry, Australia
    Sav. Good comment, but, I'm sure the CIA have a ready supply of 'guns for hire' ..
    mohandeer
    Reblogged this on Worldtruth and commented:

    Assad was going to cut a deal with Russia regarding the Russian pipeline through Syria, Iran and on to China. No way could the US allow this to happen. How to destroy Assad's plan?

    Deploy murderous nutters and pretend it was all Assad's own fault with a prepared false narrative which the complicit MSM would spoon feed their public with. Simple.

    Enter Russia's Putin with the most sophisticated and advanced military force in the world, add Hezbollah/Iran and China and watch the carnage the US and it's backers have unleashed. Simple, effective, murderous and criminal.

    falcemartello
    How much more evidence does one need these days to have these people tried for crimes against humanity
    Hers some historical facts.

    Germany in the 30's invaded Czechoslovakia
    US and Nato bombed Yugoslavia in the 90's

    Germany invaded Poland in the late 30's
    US and Nato bombed and invaded Afghanistan in 2001

    Germany and Italy bombed Spain in the 30's
    Us and nato bombed Iraq in the first Gulf war in 1991

    Germany invade France and western europe in the 40's
    US and Nato have the biggest military buildup on Russians border since the second world war

    Germany in 42 initiate operation barbarossa and invade the USSR
    ... ... ...

    Using critical thinking and historical analysis.

    The difference in time is circa 70 years . All we hear in the west is Russian aggression , Chinese aggression, Iranian aggression. The parody is amazing .
    FREEDOM JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY IS LOOKING LIKE FASCISM THE FASCIST WAY.

    The washington consensus is loosing badly and just like most bullies is behaving badly and here where the danger lies. These establishment characters whom ever they may be ( mind u most of my fellow bloggers know full well whom they r) r dying for a war .

    Seeing that their terrorist islamaphobic narrative can only carry so much destruction we need to really muddy the waters with a Russia whom historically speaking has been such a bogie man for the west going back to Peter the Great.

    [Sep 22, 2019] Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin saif the US operated the drones that attack Russia Hmeymim airbase in Syria

    Sep 22, 2019 | thenewkremlinstooge.wordpress.com

    et Al September 22, 2019 at 8:18 am

    I saw this via Moon of Alabama:

    Tass: US reconnaissance plane operated drones that attacked Hmeymim -- defense official
    https://tass.com/defense/1027736

    Like Like

    et Al September 22, 2019 at 8:23 am
    25 Oct 2018.

    Wierd. I saw this posted via another source on MoA but dated 20 September 2019:

    https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-spy-plane-operated-drones-that-attacked-hmeymim-base-in-syria-russia/

    Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said at a plenary session of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security on Thursday

    Mark Chapman September 22, 2019 at 9:48 am
    Next time, just shoot the plane down. You can always claim afterward that it was a mistake and you were shooting at something else, or cleaning the missile launcher and it went off; something like that. It works great for the Israelis.

    [Sep 22, 2019] US reconnaissance plane operated drones that attacked Hmeymim

    Highly recommended!
    Oct 01, 2025 | tass.com

    Thirteen drones moved according to common combat battle deployment, operated by a single crew Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin © Vadim Grishankin/Russian Defense Ministry's press service/TASS BEIJING, October 25. /TASS/. The drones that attacked Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria were operated from the US Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said at a plenary session of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security on Thursday.

    "Thirteen drones moved according to common combat battle deployment, operated by a single crew. During all this time the American Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane patrolled the Mediterranean Sea area for eight hours," he noted. Read also Three layers of Russian air defense at Hmeymim air base in Syria When the drones met with the electronic countermeasures of the Russian systems, they switched to a manual guidance mode, he said. "Manual guidance is carried out not by some villagers, but by the Poseidon-8, which has modern equipment. It undertook manual control," the deputy defense minister noted.

    "When these 13 drones faced our electronic warfare screen, they moved away to some distance, received the corresponding orders and began to be operated out of space and receiving help in finding the so-called holes through which they started penetrating. Then they were destroyed," Fomin reported.

    "This should be stopped as well: in order to avoid fighting with the high-technology weapons of terrorists and highly-equipped terrorists it is necessary to stop supplying them with equipment," the deputy defense minister concluded.

    The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that on January 6 militants in Syria first massively used drones in the attack on the Russian Hmeymim airbase and the Russian naval base in Tartus. The attack was successfully repelled: seven drones were downed, and control over six drones was gained through electronic warfare systems. The Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the solutions used by the militants could be received only from a technologically advanced country and warned about the danger of repeating such attacks in any country of the world.

    The forum

    The eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security will run until October 26 in Beijing. It was organized by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, China Association for Military Science (CAMS) and China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS). Representatives for defense ministries, armed forces and international organizations, as well as former military officials, politicians and scientists from 79 countries are taking part in the forum.

    [Sep 04, 2019] Veterans Mattis Spent Career Tending the Status Quo The American Conservative

    Notable quotes:
    "... But what happens when those "standards of excellence" lead to 20 years of fighting unwinnable wars on the peripheries of the planet? When do habits and practices turn into mental stagnation? ..."
    "... You know when it comes to generals, whether they're Marines, whether they're Army, whether they're Mattis who's supposedly this "warrior monk," these guys talk tactics and then claim it's strategy. What they consider to be strategic thinking really is just tactical thinking on a broad scale . I think the biggest problem with all the four-star generals are they're "how" thinkers not "if" thinkers. ..."
    "... This inability of America's elites (including its generals) to grapple with strategic concepts is a result of the United States' post-Cold War unipolar moment. When there's only one superpower, geopolitics and the need for international balancing fall by the wayside. ..."
    "... Mattis, like virtually all of his four-star peers, is a reactionary, fighting every day against the forces of change in modern warfare ..."
    "... "[W]hen you shave it all down, his problem with being the epitome of establishment Washington is that he sees the alliance as the end, not as a means to an end," says Davis. "The means should be to the end of improving American security and supporting our interests." ..."
    "... "By clinging to unsustainable military solutions from the distant past, he has condemned future generations of soldiers and marines to repeat disasters like Pickett's Charge," says Macgregor. ..."
    Sep 04, 2019 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Last week, The Wall Street Journal published a lengthy op-ed written by former secretary of defense James Mattis, his first public statement since his resignation in December. The article is adopted from his forthcoming book, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead , out this week.

    The former Pentagon chief opens a window into his decision making process, explaining that accepting President Trump's nomination was part of his lifelong devotion to public service: "When the president asks you to do something, you don't play Hamlet on the wall, wringing your hands. So long as you are prepared, you say yes." Mattis's two years at DoD capped off 44 years in the Marine Corps, where he gained a popular following as a tough and scholarly leader.

    Mattis received widespread praise from the foreign policy establishment when he resigned in protest over President Trump's directive for a full U.S. military withdrawal from Syria and a partial withdrawal from Afghanistan. "When my concrete solutions and strategic advice, especially keeping faith with our allies, no longer resonated, it was time to resign, despite the limitless joy I felt serving alongside our troops in defense of our Constitution," he writes.

    But did Mattis really offer "concrete solutions and strategic advice" regarding America's two decades of endless war? spoke with four military experts, all veterans, who painted a very different picture of the man called "Mad Dog."

    "I think over time, in General Mattis's case a little over 40 years, if you spend that many years in an institution, it is extremely hard not to get institutionalized," says Gil Barndollar, military fellow-in-residence at the Catholic University of America's Center for the Study of Statesmanship. Barndollar served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps and deployed twice to Afghanistan. "In my experiences, there are not too many iconoclasts or really outside-the-box people in the higher ranks of the U.S. military."

    It's just that sort of institutionalized thinking that makes the political establishment love Mattis. "[A] person with an institutional mind-set has a deep reverence for the organization he has joined and how it was built by those who came before. He understands that institutions pass down certain habits, practices and standards of excellence," wrote David Brooks in a hagiographic New York Times column .

    But what happens when those "standards of excellence" lead to 20 years of fighting unwinnable wars on the peripheries of the planet? When do habits and practices turn into mental stagnation?

    "The problem is, from at least the one-star the whole way through, for the last two decades, you've seen them do nothing but just repeat the status quo over and over," observes Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, who served 21 years in the U.S. Army and deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan. "I mean every single general that was in charge of Afghanistan said almost the same boilerplate thing every time they came in (which was nearly one a year). You see the same results, nothing changed."

    "And if those guys took someone from a major to a two-star general, we'd probably have a lot of better outcomes," he adds.

    Major Danny Sjursen, who served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, agrees:

    You know when it comes to generals, whether they're Marines, whether they're Army, whether they're Mattis who's supposedly this "warrior monk," these guys talk tactics and then claim it's strategy. What they consider to be strategic thinking really is just tactical thinking on a broad scale . I think the biggest problem with all the four-star generals are they're "how" thinkers not "if" thinkers.

    Barndollar says: "The vast majority of military leaders, up to and including generals at the three-, four-star level, are not operating at the strategic level, in terms of what that word means in military doctrine. They're not operating at the level of massive nation-state resources and alliances and things like that. They're at the operational level or often even at the tactical level."

    This inability of America's elites (including its generals) to grapple with strategic concepts is a result of the United States' post-Cold War unipolar moment. When there's only one superpower, geopolitics and the need for international balancing fall by the wayside.

    The only component of national security policy Mattis discusses in his op-ed is America's system of alliances, which he believes is the key to our preeminence on the world stage. "Returning to a strategic stance that includes the interests of as many nations as we can make common cause with, we can better deal with this imperfect world we occupy together," he writes.

    "Mattis, like virtually all of his four-star peers, is a reactionary, fighting every day against the forces of change in modern warfare," counters Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who served 28 years in the U.S. Army. "He lives in denial of the technological breakthroughs that make the World War II force structure (that he as SecDef insisted on funding) an expensive tribute to the past."

    Mattis muses that the Department of Defense "budget [is] larger than the GDPs of all but two dozen countries." Yet having acknowledged that disparity, how can such underpowered foreign nations possibly contribute to American security?

    "He has that line in there about bringing as many guns as possible to a gun fight. What are those guns?" asked Barndollar. For example, the British Royal Navy is the United States' most significant allied naval force. But the United Kingdom has only seven vessels stationed in the Persian Gulf and they're "stretched to the absolute limit to do that."

    "Our problem has been double-edged," says Davis of America's reliance on others. "On the one hand, we try to bludgeon a lot of our allies to do what we want irrespective of their interests as an asset. And then simultaneously, especially in previous administrations, we've almost gone too far [in] the other direction: 'we'll subordinate our interests for yours.'"

    "[W]hen you shave it all down, his problem with being the epitome of establishment Washington is that he sees the alliance as the end, not as a means to an end," says Davis. "The means should be to the end of improving American security and supporting our interests."

    Sjursen says:

    Mattis's view is the old Einstein adage: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity." Well that's all he's proposed. He has no new or creative solutions. For him, it's stay the course, more of the same, stay in place, fight the terrorists, maintain the illegitimate and corrupt governments that we back. That's what he's been talking about for 18 years. It's all the same interventionist dogma that's failed us over and over again since September 12, 2001.

    "In the two years he was in office, what did he do that changed anything? He was a caretaker of the status quo. That's the bottom line," says Davis, adding, "you need somebody in that job especially that is willing to take some chances and some risk and is willing to honestly look at 18 consecutive years of failure and say, 'We're not doing that anymore. We're going to do something different.' And that just never happened."

    Barndollar is more generous in his estimation of Mattis: "He needs to be lauded for standing for his principles, ultimately walking away when he decided he could no longer execute U.S. national security policy. I give him all the credit for that, for doing it I think in a relatively good manner, and for trying to do his best to stay above the fray and refuse to be dragged in at a partisan level to this point."

    Mattis ends his Wall Street Journal op-ed by recounting a vignette from the 2010 Battle of Marjah, where he spoke with two soldiers on the front lines and in good cheer. But his story didn't sit well with Sjursen, who says it encapsulates Mattis' inability to ask the bigger questions: "He never talks about how those charming soldiers with the can-do attitude maybe shouldn't have been there at all. Maybe the mission that they were asked to do was ill-informed, ill-advised, and potentially unwinnable."

    All this suggests that a fair evaluation of Mattis is as a soldier who is intelligent but unoriginal. A homegrown patriot, but one who'd like to plant the Stars and Stripes in Central Asia forever. A public servant, but one who would rather resign than serve the cause of restraint.

    "By clinging to unsustainable military solutions from the distant past, he has condemned future generations of soldiers and marines to repeat disasters like Pickett's Charge," says Macgregor.

    Hunter DeRensis is a reporter for The National Interest . Follow him on Twitter @HunterDeRensis .

    [Aug 20, 2019] Trump administration hostlity to Russia

    Aug 20, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Passer by , Aug 20 2019 16:54 utc | 97

    Posted by: Arioch | Aug 20 2019 14:22 utc | 83

    >Problem then is, Russia does not care that much about nominal GDP and even about PPP GDP

    GDP does matter, lowering the GDP of certain country weakens the country. Other factors matter too, such as demographics or landmass and natural resources.

    >targetting EU and Russia economically was perhaps a mis-aiming

    I would not call it misaiming, Europe has one of the largest economies in the world and the Euro is the second most important currency in the World. As long as Russia and the EU attack each other - it is a win for the US.

    >Also, take a single line - "congress obliges Trump to enlist russian officials for sanctions"

    It is not simply Congress, the Trump Admin is hawkish on Russia by itself. Pompeo and Bolton are anti-russian and were instrumental in the US leaving the INF. The pressure against Nord Sream is greater than during the Obama Admin, Second Fleet was activated for containing Russia, a russian consulate was captured in pretty brutal manner, etc. Recently, another set of sanctions were enacted by the Trump Admin.

    >Estimations are just that, estimations. Guesses into the future mixed with propaganda.

    I'm not dismissive of growth estimates and forecasts, this is the job of various companies, organisations and universities. Overall things could be predicted roughly, for example via demographics, median age of population, labour force growth, total factor productivity. The OECD for example is an international organisation working on such forecasts. They can get the rough shapes of growth patterns right - for example it is pretty clear that India or China would be growing faster than, let say, Germany or the US. And this is what their forecasts show. So these are not guestimates.

    >Pro-American Modi in power of India was a definite win for USA. But i do not think Trump did it in 2016. Such events are grown for years and years of undercover works.

    This is not what i had in mind. While this is true, you did not take into account the prefidy of the US Government, which is working to retard indian economic growth via tarrifs and by trying to remove the WTO perks for developing countries. Even when Modi is frendly to the US, this is still not enough, because the growth of Asia, including India, threatens the dollar.

    >Well, maybe. However does it boost much US the hegemon position today?

    Iranian economy was booming after the JCPOA was signed. If the Plan remained, Iran would be stronger than today. The whole point is to retard iranian economic growth, which would be far stronger without the sanctions.

    >Also notice how this pushes Iran back to Russian bucket

    Even back in 2015, Iran did not stop being an israeli adversary, which means that the US would have targeted it one way or another. Plus the US was not in position to gain much from the iranian market, due to their still strained relations caused by the israeli lobby in the US, which caused all types of sabotage in the Iran - US trade relations, the process of removal of sanctions, etc. A big beneficiary from the JCPOA was the EU, and the main losses from the sactions (outside from Iran) were for the EU again. Retarding the EU economy via blocking its trade with Iran (or Russia) is a benefit for the US.

    >Venezueala in deep recession. True, and this is again fitting the isolationist bill, to a degree.True, and this is again fitting the isolationist bill, to a degree.

    This isn't about isolationism, but about retarding the economy of the rest of the world, and especially of still uncontrolled countries. The point is to preserve the share of relative power the US has, or to slow down its decline as much as possible.

    >Now Venezuela can adjust to the new brave world

    The point is that Venezuela would be growing far faster without sanctions, thus the US is weakening the independent multipolar world and slowing down its rise.

    >Did it really made USA position better in 2018 than it was in 2014?

    Obviously. Venezuela today, vis a vis the US, is weaker in relative power terms than in 2014. For the US its better to wreck Venezuela's economy than to allow it to flourish and expand its influence.

    >Basically turning EU elites against USA and splitting "Western Hegemony" into rivaling factions.

    They are not turning them against the US, that's the point. Europe is too much of a puppet of the US. The US causes various conficts on Europe's perifery in order to turn it against Russia and make it dependent on itself. Divide and Rule.

    >would it be much difference for, say, Russia or China or Iran, whether USD or EUR

    Yes, Europe is less hawkish than the US overall. If it was up to Europe JCPOA will still be here and there would be no trade wars with China.

    >Also, didn't he kind of forced EU elites into Chinese OBOR camp

    Its more about economic weakness. Those in Europe with poor economy signed up for BRI - such as eastern Europe and Italy. The big 3 - Germany, France and the UK refuse to join BRI (which is different than AIIB) as of now. I do not see greater western european - China cooperation today than before 5 years. The EU commission declared China a european rival.

    >EU was in with US in looting Libya, EU was in with US in looting Serbia, now US calls for EU to join in "patrolling" Persian Gulf and response is... like the one about invading Venezuela. Hegemon became stronger?

    The iranian issue has always been a red card for Europe as it fears a really big war in the Gulf. There is nothing new in that. If you are going to talk about "now", the EU did join the US against Syria, its sanctions against Syria still remain, and it does support removing Maduro from power. It did put sanctions against Venezuela, although not at the same level as the US. It is no friend of the Maduro Government.

    >And i wish to see more of those wars not less. Won't you?

    Currently the result of them is weakeing multipolarity by retarding growth in most of the world. They have negative impact on the global economy.

    >EU is the power, that took part in creating narco-haven in Kosovo, murdering children of Iraq, building sex slaves markets in Libya, destroying what was left of democracy in Ukraine. EU power is diminishing? Let it crash and burn if you ask me.

    Yes, but the US does not want to crush and burn the EU, it simply wants to make it weak and dependent on itself. A colony.

    >Wasn't in 2012 Turkey part of Hegemon entourage neck-deep in bloody ISIS affair?

    The more players around, the better. Strong Turkey will be more independent from the US, the US understand that, this is why it want weak Turkey

    >Trump could smash Turkey and instate Kudistan.

    Trump can not directly smash Turkey, the moment an attempt like this is made is the moment Turkey will invite Russia and China into the country. Rather, a hybrid war is being waged on Turkey, with the aim of weakening Erdogan and replacing him with a reliable puppet.

    > Overall situation - the US share in the world economy is declining at slower rates than before Won't this mean Trump's economic policy is if limited success?

    No. There is nothing better than this that could be done to stop the US relative decline, it depends on the cards one has to play. Economic convergence process and technological diffusion, driven by globalisation, means that it is impossible the fully stop the rise of the developing world. But if the US did not react like it reacted, and just stayed on its hands, i think its power would have been gone in 2 - 3 years.

    >Uni-polarity is not about economic growth.

    It is also about the economy and growth. You can't have unipolarity if you don't have the largest economic, as well as military power. One needs to have the largest economy to rule the world (among other things), or they will fail. You can't have it without the dollar dominance as well.

    [Aug 03, 2019] Features of the military-political line of Russia on the Syrian "track"

    Aug 03, 2019 | alaff84.wordpress.com

    ALAFF continues to post the translation of chapters from the newest book of Russian diplomat Maria Khodynskaya-Golenischeva. The first part of the translation (as well as information about the book and other details) can be read here

    ... ... ...

    The deliberate distancing of the Russian side from the actions of the Syrian government was manifested not only in this, but also, for example, in the unwillingness of Moscow -- the co-chair of the Ceasefire Task Force and Humanitarian Access International Syria Support Group -- to bear full responsibility for the behavior of Damascus in the area of adherence to the cessation of hostilities and to ensure humanitarian access. The thesis regularly voiced by the Russian leadership that "Moscow does not hold on to B. Assad" (2012) [9] and Russia "does not support B. Assad" (2017) [10] contained only a small share of guile.

    It makes no sense to deny that, in parallel with being drawn into the conflict, Russia and the government of B. Assad naturally increased their cooperation, which means that relations were gradually getting closer and closer. However, if for B. Assad and his entourage, the involvement of Moscow in the conflict on the side of Damascus was directly related to the issue of political survival, for Russia -- and the author was personally convinced of this, interacting with the Syrian leadership -- the SAR became an ally largely due to circumstances. If at the global level Russia believed that it was pursuing a policy of giving the world system greater justice through strengthening the foundations of international humanitarian law and updating the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, then translated into Russian-Syrian relations for Moscow this meant preventing the regime from falling. Official Damascus has often used this in attempts to "bind" the Russian side closer to itself.

    Thus, it is futile and harmful to look for elements of foreign policy intercession in the motives of the Russian line [on Syria], because it can distract from the definition of the driving forces and understanding of the essential content of Russia's policy on the Syrian "dossier". The desire to establish a fair world order (which, from the point of view of the Russian leadership, meant returning closer to the post-war principles of international relations) was dictated not only by anxiety over the fate of the Middle East. And the desire to avoid negative security consequences, which are becoming a consequence of the destabilization of the region, played an important but not the key role.

    1.3. Motivation of Moscow's policy on the Syrian direction

    Let's look at the complex of considerations that formed the line of Moscow in the Syrian direction.

    The first group is internal-local considerations. In their center is to prevent fragmentation and weakening of the post-Soviet space and Russia itself. Hence, a permanent emphasis on the inadmissibility of an unconstitutional change of power in the SAR, the importance of building the process of resolving the crisis in Syria in the framework of the norms of international law enshrined in the UN Charter. This, however, was achieved without dispersion of resources and with an eye on internal public opinion. This explains Moscow's unwillingness to get too deeply involved in the Syrian conflict, in particular, to send a ground force troops to the SAR, which threatened a repetition of the Afghan (USSR) and Iraqi (US) scenarios.

    The second group is global considerations. It is about the "return" of Russia to the international arena through the Middle East and participation in the formation of a more equitable (from the point of view of Moscow) world order.

    The question arises: why was the Syrian conflict chosen by Moscow to solve this problem? At the same time, other crises that Moscow could use to restore geopolitical weight were present on the world map -- Libya, Yemen, Ukraine.

    The unequivocal support of a particular military or political force in post-Gaddafi Libya, and even more so armed intervention, involved a difficult choice between numerous armed units that fought in the country with no guaranteed result. In the conditions of victories of H. Haftar "in the field", the support of the "legitimate government" in Tobruk threatened a major foreign policy loss (although Moscow officially recognized Tobruk as legitimate). The unconditional stake on H. Haftar was risky and would go against the resolutions of the UN Security Council on Libya.

    Moreover, an in-depth intervention in the Libyan crisis would mean that Moscow would have to deal with the legacy left by Western countries in Libya. Illegal migration resulting from the short-sighted policies of Europe in Libya did not pose a threat to Russia.

    If Yemen, which is very far from Russia both politically and geographically, was of interest to Moscow [at all], then not from a counter-terrorist point of view (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was localized and, to a certain extent, grew out of the local tribal structure, not posing a direct threat to Russia), but rather in the context of securing [Russia] the role of power, without whose participation the settlement of regional crises was of little prospect.

    Ukraine was a special crisis for Russia. The tough, clearly anti-Russian position of the US and the EU with regard to the sequence of implementation of the Minsk agreements and the lifting of sanctions demanded from Moscow verified, careful steps, hybrid forms of regulation and extreme caution in the choice of means. An open demonstration of the position, as was the case in Syria, for example, the participation of Russian military personnel in armed actions on the side of the DPR and the LPR, and especially the armed assistance of the Russian Aerospace Forces would cost Moscow very dearly, both economically and politically. Syria did not fit into the paradigm about the "expansionist policy" of Russia, which was being advanced by the Western elites, and therefore was not perceived as the intersection of the "red line" requiring serious anti-Russian measures from the West.

    It was in this connection that the instructions to Russian diplomats on how to respond to calls by international non-governmental organizations to receive work permits in the DPR and LPR indicated that it was necessary to respond in the spirit of Moscow not exercising control over the self-proclaimed republics, and therefore international workers should directly contact authorities of the DPR and LPR. At the same time, Moscow did not hide the opportunity to influence the Syrian leadership. Keeping distance from the most odious steps of Damascus (methods of warfare, attitude to international initiatives on the Syrian settlement, rhetoric against the armed opposition and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria, etc.), Moscow nevertheless recognized that, if necessary, it can get from the Syrian leadership of various steps (as was the case when the LAS mission obtained permission to work in the SAR; export and destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons in 2013; resolutions of the UN Security Council on SAR; agreements in the framework of the Astana format, some of which Damascus perceived critically).

    It is on the basis of these considerations that Russia agreed to the role of one of the two co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group, which assumed pressure on the authorities of the SAR in favor of implementing the decisions of the Group. Thus, the demonstration of "implication" in the Syrian settlement, involvement in it was not so politically costly for Russia, and the Syrian crisis could be used by the Russian leadership to return positions in the international arena.

    When deciding on active participation in resolving the Syrian conflict, the Russian leadership could not fail to take into account the internal situation in which it had to act.

    Thus, after the Libyan drama, which in Russian society was linked to "Medvedev's soft policy", the country's top leadership realized the impossibility of further demonstrating flexibility with respect to the steps of the West (in the minds of Russians it was the generalized "West" that overthrew M. Gaddafi, not a coalition of states which included, among other things, the countries of the region) in its policy of redrawing the geopolitical map of the Middle East to its liking.

    Moscow could not afford to contemplate detachedly the overthrow of B. Assad. In this case, it threatened to lose the support of the part of the population that was negatively disposed towards the West in general and the USA in particular. Russian public opinion demanded that V.V. Putin (Russia's foreign policy, which, in accordance with the Constitution, is determined by the head of state [11], is personified), who again led the country, take a tough stance on the Syrian issue and prevent the overthrow of the next Middle Eastern regime.

    ... ... ...

    It is worth mentioning the personal-psychological factor that was present in the politics of Russia and reflected in the events in the SAR. In the context of cooling relations with the West (including the US and the EU), which reached its peak during the events in Ukraine, Moscow began to pay special attention to developing relations with the new centers of power. The development and strengthening of cooperation with the countries of the post-Soviet space, the Middle East and Asia -- taking into account the mentality and specifics of these regions -- required the head of state to build personal relations with the leaders of the respective countries. The latter were to see in Moscow an ally who would not give up on them due to some short-term reasons or under the pretext of their non-observance of human rights or humanitarian standards. V.V. Putin's position on V.F. Yanukovych and B. Assad (and his regime) inspired many regional leaders, in contrast watching the indifferent attitude of the B. Obama administration towards the fate of H. Mubarak, who built close relations with Washington.

    It is characteristic that a positive perception of the prospects for the return of Moscow to the region as a key player was shown not only by Russia's former allies (for example, Egypt, Syria, Iran), but also by some Gulf countries -- for example, the UAE and KSA, whose leaders, in conversations with the author's participation, positively spoke up about a consistent line of Russia that was not subject to fluctuations.

    Such a position combining two components: the rejection of the implementation of transformations of state systems outside the constitutional field and the de facto firm support of an ally on all fronts (political and military) could not but arouse the approval of the leaders of states that for one reason or another felt vulnerable and did not rule out that [they] may be subject to aggressive action by the United States.

    A typical example is the approach publicly voiced during a visit to Moscow on July 24, 2017 by the Vice President and former Prime Minister of Iraq, the leader of the "Daawa" party N. Al-Maliki during a trip to Moscow in favor of strengthening Russia's position in the region [18]. This looked particularly symptomatic against the background of the fact that the Shiites were obliged to obtain a serious role in the political life of Iraq for the American invasion.

    The beginning in the fall of 2015 of the operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces against terrorists in the SAR strengthened Moscow's position not only in the Syrian "dossier", but also in the international arena as a whole, having served as a catalyst for the creation of new formats of Syrian settlement involving both Russia and the countries of the region -- International Syria Support Group, Lausanne "Five", Astana format.

    [Jun 18, 2019] Schr dinger's Cat view on Pompeo interview to Fox News Saturday

    Jun 18, 2019 | www.washingtonpost.com

    Schrodingers Cat 10 hours ago

    "There is no doubt," Pompeo told "Fox News Sunday,"

    This, from Sec. Mike Pompous, to the Apparatchik arm of the Administration. As if the American public, or the world, would/could believe anything out of the mouths of these pathetic, bombastic, buffoons.

    mcsmcs

    ...We are supposed to believe the intelligence community about this, but not anything else apparently.

    BassHunter

    The trifecta of ignorant bellicosity (ie Trump/Bolton/Pompeo) have no credibility because they constantly and consistently lie about everything all the time. It is a situation of their own making. The true surprise here is that THEY are surprised that others refuse to believe them...

    [Jun 18, 2019] Iran, Trump -- and what the crisis says about his lack of credibility - The Washington Post

    Jun 18, 2019 | www.washingtonpost.com

    13 hours ago Would someone please explain to me why anyone would attempt to remove an unexploded mine from the side of a ship, and take it on board their own vessel? Seriously. Is this a case of waste not, want not?

    It doesn't matter much, though, even if it's true. Nobody believes a word coming out of this administration. We are a global laughing stock run by pathological liars. Like thumb_up 5 Reply reply Link link Report flag

    mcsmcs 12 hours ago They would take it because it could be traced back to the country that made it and/or put it there.

    But it they could have taken it off and let it fall to the bottom of the ocean. Like thumb_up 1 Reply reply Link link Report flag

    longretired 10 hours ago The other question is why was the min attached above the waterline? Mrine mines are designed to explode underwater.
    Like thumb_up 1 Reply reply Link link Report flag Patti C 14 hours ago Trump and Pompeo are abhorrent. They have destroyed our foreign policy. No one in their right mind should be voting for Trump for a second term. This administration has no credibility nationally and internationally. Americans who support Trump are ruining our country and are voting against their interests over and over again. Wake up! Republicans and Mitch McConnell should be punished for the amoral Trump Administration. Democrats need to dominate in the 2020 elections! Democrats need to work with all communities across the country to save our democratic republic. Vote Democrats across the nation in 2020. 10 hours ago About what? He actually said the Government has determined. And we all know how unreliable this government is.

    The intelligence community always has lots of dat . Like the lies about the Iraq war start, it did not support their assertions. 15 hours ago Odd the only countries siding with the US version of this incident are the ones who stand to gain from continuing to isolate Iran.
    Saudi Arabia especially is not a fair player, as exemplified by their behavior in Sudan as well. 15 hours ago Simple. Reread The Boy Who Cried Wolf. When you have a narcissistic president who cannot speak the truth and goes around naked in The Emperor's New Clothes, his sycophantic appointees say, "Oh yes, you are wearing the most Beautiful new robe." Like thumb_up 4 Reply reply Link link Report flag Portia1992 15 hours ago The U.S. has zero credibility and should never be trusted. We are warmongers controlled by U.A.E., Saudi Arabia & Israel.
    22 hours ago (Edited) This is how stupid we've become: My fear is the real reason we pulled out of a deal that was very effective at both keeping Iran from developing nuclear weapons and incentivizing them to behave (for greater economic opportunities) is that Trump hates the fact that Obama developed the deal.

    He's forever spoke of developing "a better deal" with regard to everything Obama did. He wanted a "better" healthcare plan to replace Obamacare too. But the very folks that voted for Trump (especially in places like Kentucky) benefited too greatly from "Obamacare" and loudly demanded that Trump not touch it.

    Here we go again with Trump trying to screw things up (even if it means risking American military lives in a conflict that was COMPLETELY unnecessary when Trump took office).

    It was never truly about what Iran was doing. They were behaving so well that all of our European allies cheered the former peace deal (IT WAS WORKING VERY WELL). Some of this is about Trump's weird love for Saudi Arabia (a bitter enemy of Iran).

    But most of this is in Trump's bigoted head. Put simply, we are on the brink of war with a very nasty adversary mainly because Trump hates Obama and everything he did. Even our closest allies (that loved Obama) are not treated as well as Putin (who hated Obama, too). Like thumb_up 9 Reply reply Link link Report flag BassHunter 12 hours ago Bingo! Like thumb_up 1 Reply reply Link link Report flag NormaLee10 22 hours ago (Edited) Report from my last trip to Iran. I just love the Chinese sneakers I bought in Ahwaz (sorry Nike) Love the Russian fur hat I bought in Tabriz((sorry Gap) The high speed train, built by the Chinese, was a wonderful ride. . Thank you to the Russian Crew inviting us to tour their ship in the port near the Caspian. I get compliments on my Turkish scarves , my Indian cotton dresses. The new boutique hotel, refurbished by a German chain was great.
    Just think, if the Dump would have stayed and expanded on the Nuclear agreement,he could have sent Ivanka over to pick up where she left off, designing a hotel in Kazakhstan , or stolen some designs off Persian carpets.
    23 hours ago The U.S. lost all credibility under W, who claimed that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction.

    Not a single person in a gubbmint office has learned a damned thing since. Like thumb_up 6 Reply reply Link link Report flag decaff 23 hours ago So we watched W. Bush get into a huge mess in Iraq (actually it was Cheney). Just imagine the mess that the Orange Clown may get us into with Iran. (which benefits his relationships with Saudi Arabia).
    Like thumb_up 5 Reply reply Link link Report flag Ralph Carlson 23 hours ago Trump is and always has been nothing more than a bully
    Like thumb_up 4 Reply reply Link link Report flag RGR 23 hours ago This guy came in on a wild horse ride, Mexicans are rapists, etc...Pull out of the Iran deal (even though it appeared to be working)....and how he is helping the military (while taking money out of their budget for 'the wall').

    TURNS OUT...he is the wild horse, and this one is not one that should be allowed out of the barn...

    He is a fool...how long does it take to figure this out...his district in NY only voted 10% for him...they knew! Like thumb_up 5 Reply reply Link link Report flag Citizen of the Planet 1 day ago You are now witnessing the manifestation of 2 years of Trump's chest pounding and bullying. No one trusts us. No one. Nobody. Like thumb_up 6 Reply reply Link link Report flag Al Terego Oz 1 day ago Interesting how quickly it's gone from being possibly a mine to definitely a mine. Like thumb_up 3 Reply reply Link link Report flag Bimberg 22 hours ago Very soon Trump will announce that "It's mine, mine, mine!"
    Like thumb_up 1 Reply reply Link link Report flag Pinky_the_Cat 1 day ago The reason Trump can't make a case for this is that there is no evidence.

    There is so little evidence that Trump had to buy propaganda from Heritage.org . That is how thin this

    [Jun 18, 2019] Another neocon reshuffling in Trump administration

    Notable quotes:
    "... Acting totally mad and indicating you don't care is a good way to defeat those who is your equal. Isn't this is exactly how the US government has been acting lately? ..."
    "... Interesting this WaPost op/ed totally trashing Trump/Pompeo foreign policy and their utter inability didn't generate any further comment on the previous thread. Sure, it came from BezosPost, but it surely represents some powerful faction that's totally at odds with the directionlessness of Trump and Pompeo. ..."
    "... Its June and you know who loves blood to be spilled in June, and right before July 4 you know. Look for a limited aerial strike per PCR, and then they hope Iran retaliates and gives an excuse for them to escalate. ..."
    "... Americans are so brainwashed into buying into US militarism and exceptionalism that Trumps approval ratings will go up. Anyone criticizing the military or war is labelled anti-American and censored by Social Media. ..."
    "... Seems that Shanahan balked at being the scapegoat for the next war so they found another. Shanahan is said to be pretty smart (Masters and MBA from MIT). ..."
    "... Has Trump been misled by his advisors, when he twitted about the infamous video shot in the dark by modern means that would surprise the Iranians?I Mean ,because now it turns out to be made in clear daylight with the newly published images. Is Trump angry about being cheated or did he play with the game and was his twitted remark kind of an inside joke? ..."
    "... Previously we had G.Haspel showing non-pertinent to the matter camera shots of duck and children to convince him into expelling a max number of Russian diplomats. ..."
    "... I am sure there are many Americans interested to know who is in charge at the USA.. ..."
    "... ... the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in distinct social contexts. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy and neutrality... Doublethink is notable due to a lack of cognitive dissonance -- thus the person is completely unaware of any conflict or contradiction. ..."
    "... Such that Trump is both peace-loving nationalist and empire-loving antagonist. Except that the latter is expressed as a positive: "staunch ally", "tough negotiator", "protector", etc instead of a negative. Some people fall for it (Kool-Aid drinkers) and MSM ignores those that talk about the meta issues of MSM complicity. ..."
    "... IMO President's are just members of the Deep State team. Presidents lead the team that's "on the field" - like a quarterback in American football. But the Deep State 'coach' calls the plays. And the 'coach' is, in turn, ultimately responsible to the owners (capitalists). ..."
    "... In light of what the WaPost published I linked to above regrading the utter lack in confidence in both Trump and Pompeo to conduct a rational foreign policy, I seriously doubt the change at SecDef will provide optimism for improvement. Some apparently think such dissent is just shadowplay; IMO, they are mistaken. And I will again note the dissent isn't just about Iran; rather, it's about the conduct of overall foreign policy, especially Trade Policy, which is eating into corporate profitability. ..."
    "... That would be a terrible miscalculation from US leadership. The one reason why Pearl Harbour wasn't a lasting disaster for the US is that the carriers survived. What if Iran actually manages to sink a carrier air group? I mean, nukes and nearly untouchable power projection through aircraft carriers are the two main reasons why the US is still the supreme superpower around. Show people that the carriers can be taken out and actually begin to take them out, and plenty of people and countries will begin to consider leaving that mad army parading as a country to itself - not to mention some will soon openly rebel. ..."
    "... The US has 50,000 troops and a carrier strike group "protecting American interests" in the Persian Gulf area of the Middle East. Somebody in government ought to tell us what those "interests" are, which require such an investment. That would be nice. ..."
    "... The Guardian-- The Iran crisis was created in Washington. The US must be talked down ..."
    Jun 18, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Trump Fires Shanahan. Pompeo For Sec Def? Bolton To State?

    Trump just fired his acting Secretary of Defense.

    Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump - 16:59 UTC· 18 Jun 2019

    Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who has done a wonderful job, has decided not to go forward with his confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family....

    ....I thank Pat for his outstanding service and will be naming Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, to be the new Acting Secretary of Defense. I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job

    On May 9 the White House announced that it would nominate Shanahan for the Secretary of Defense position. But it never sent the nomination request to Congress to have Shanahan confirmed. During the usual FBI background check before a confirmation, a 2010 domestic violence incident Shanahan was involved in came up . It seems that it now ended his short career at the Pentagon.

    Shanahan had zero experience in the military. He is a former Boeing manager. A recent Politico portrait of Shanahan described him as weak leader who allowed the war hawks in National Security Council to directly talk with regional commanders without even informing him. He was no counterweight for Bolton and Pompeo who are eager to wage war on Iran.

    Yesterday ABC News reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with talk with the Central Command and Special Operations Command leaders without Shanahan being there. It was extremely unusual:

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Florida on Monday to meet with leaders from U.S. Central Command and Special Operations Command on Tuesday. The U.S. is considering "all options," including military force, to respond to Iran's reported attack on two oil vessels, Pompeo said on Sunday, raising concerns of a U.S. strike.
    ...
    Pompeo will meet with CENTCOM and Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Tuesday to "discuss regional security concerns and ongoing operations," according to Ortagus, after calling several world leaders over the weekend to discuss America's evidence that Iran was behind last week's attacks.

    There is no information what plans those talks were about.

    Mark Knoller @markknoller - 16:45 utc - 18 Jun 2019

    At @CENTCOM at @MacDill_AFB, @SecPompeo says he conferred with military commanders to coordinate State and Defense Dept policy on Iran.
    Says US is serious about deterring Iran regime from further aggression in the region.
    Says Pres Trump does not want war against Iran.

    [Another very unusual sign is that the old war criminal Henry Kissinger visited the Pentagon yesterday and today .]

    Trump already had difficulties to find a new Secretary of Defense. Shanahan was not his first choice. To now find a new candidate will be difficult.

    It is unlikely that the U.S. would launch a war without a Secretary of Defense in place. Bolton and Pompeo obviously want a war on Iran and they try their best to instigate it. They need a new SecDef in place as soon as possible. Pompeo served five years as an officer in the U.S. army. He has extensive political experience. Would he want to become Secretary of Defense?

    That would leave the Secretary of State position open for John Bolton to move in. The confirmation would be a bit difficult but the Senate is in Republican hands and might go with it. One of Bolton's cronies could then take over the National Security Advisor position. From the war-hawks' point of view it would be the ideal configuration to launch a big one.

    Posted by b on June 18, 2019 at 02:03 PM | Permalink


    Blue , Jun 18, 2019 2:11:15 PM | 1

    Apparently, he is choosing Mark Esper https://sputniknews.com/us/201906181075942685-trump-mark-esper-shanahan-quits/
    b , Jun 18, 2019 2:17:45 PM | 2
    Esper was Trumps third choice for Secretary of Army. He only got the job after two preferred candidates did not want it.

    He is now made acting Secretary because someone needs to do that job. But I doubt that Trump really wants him.

    Bruce , Jun 18, 2019 2:30:23 PM | 3
    https://consortiumnews.com/2019/06/12/john-boltons-long-goodbye/
    John Kiriakou's sources indicate Bolton is on the way out. That would support speculation Trump is unhappy with a Sec of Def that cannot control Bolton/Pompeo.
    Blue , Jun 18, 2019 2:35:34 PM | 4
    @2 b,

    Possibly true. I was only looking at this from Sputnick:

    "The numerous US media stated that Secretary of the Army Mark Esper had been discussed as a possible alternative choice as defense secretary to Shanahan if Trump decided not to nominate him."

    Jonathan Everett Gil , Jun 18, 2019 3:34:54 PM | 9
    I have hard time believing that Bolton and Pompeo under consideration. Pompeo isn't gonna wanna leave his current job and as for Bolton John Kiriakou wrote last week that Trump is quietly working behind the scenes to find a replacement for him. If anything it might suggest that Trump is working to covertly reign in Bolton and Pompeo with another SecDef who can better control them.
    b , Jun 18, 2019 3:38:38 PM | 10
    Oh boy -
    NYT
    Besides Mr. Esper, who was confirmed as secretary of the Army in November 2017, officials said that Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and Richard V. Spencer, the secretary of the Navy, are on the short list for defense secretary.

    ... and I thought I was to far out speculative with the above.

    Stever , Jun 18, 2019 3:40:28 PM | 11

    Jimmy Dore - Mike Gravel Smashes War Machine With Facts

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ByAkTiwQEw

    Yul , Jun 18, 2019 3:48:57 PM | 13
    @ b

    WRT Henry the warmonger. He was attending this :

    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/05/2019-11628/defense-policy-board-notice-of-federal-advisory-committee-meeting

    Norwegian , Jun 18, 2019 3:52:24 PM | 15
    It is unlikely that the U.S. would launch a war without a Secretary of Defense in place.

    Well, they are not exactly planning to defend themselves.

    Ash , Jun 18, 2019 4:07:34 PM | 16
    Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 18, 2019 3:52:24 PM | 14

    Purely euphemistic of course, though it actually did used to be called the Department of War.

    ralphieboy , Jun 18, 2019 4:07:46 PM | 17
    "From the war-hawks' point of view it would be the ideal configuration to launch a big one." Gosh, and I thought that Hillary was the big warmonger...guess it would've only been worse under her.
    KC , Jun 18, 2019 4:19:24 PM | 21
    Obama didn't have a problem getting re-elected with all of his own secret foreign wars and dronings going on. If indeed Pimpeo and Bolt-On get their way, Trump will execute the same type of campaign against Iran except there will be no boots on the ground, even "advisors" given the relationship status of the countries surrounding Iran. The U.S. has exhausted its credibility and goodwill. So we'll be funding terrorists, perpetrating false flags, using drones to attack Iranian seagoing military vessels and launching the occasional "precision" cruise missile strike against alleged nuclear weapons and maybe even chemical weapons processing facilities.

    If there is a land war, Israel will fight to the last American troop.

    dus7 , Jun 18, 2019 4:31:33 PM | 23
    Trump's list of Most Unsuitable Candidates for Higher Office is getting perilously short. Assuming our most famous U.S. billionaire capitalists are not interested, what are Cheney and Condoleezza doing these days? Erik Prince? Some aging Grand Wizard of the KKK? A random death row inmate? The mind boggles.
    james , Jun 18, 2019 4:32:03 PM | 24
    i said this on the last thread, but i would be curious for others feedback on it..

    "think about it... is there going to be more money made and generated starting a war on iran, or not?? the choice is obvious for those into money... create mayhem and raise a lot of money off of it.. and what countries seem to excel at that??"

    as for innocent people dying, that has never been a concern for those into money...

    criag murray has a good article up from yesterday i read earlier today that is relevant..
    The Broader View Reveals the Ugliest of Prospects

    Clueless Joe , Jun 18, 2019 4:37:50 PM | 25
    Just to see how far we've come, or how bad the situation is, I'd consider Kissinger going on his own to check things out with the top military brass to actually be a good sign. He's no fool and knows that war with Iran will only confirm to Russia and China that they have to stand together, strong, against the USA, and that they'd probably better back Iran up on this one. I wouldn't be surprised if Kissinger is back to his old ways, and that's it's a similar move to when he warned the generals to call him right away if Nixon ever gave the order to use nukes. The guy is slimy and ruthless, but knows the limits and doesn't plan to suicide half the planet.

    Colonel Pat Lang assumes that Shanahan just resigns in disgust because Pompeo and Bolton are running the show without consulting with the military. Not sure which is right.

    One can hope that the neo-con buddies overplayed their hands and that they just put Trump in such a shitty situation that he's going to tell them to go to Hell soon - hopefully before anyone does something *really* stupid. But right now, that's just that, hope.

    NYT saying Pompeo is considered for SecDef might just be Pompeo and his neo-con buddies saying dumb shit and leaking false information to appear important, and trying to force Trump's hands. I really hope that's what happened - because then it would piss Trump off and he might be looking for a way of getting rid of him. If the leak is genuine, on the other hand, that's a terrible sign.

    ken , Jun 18, 2019 4:46:16 PM | 26
    @21 ADKC

    Yes, I believe the US would use nukes if they think they could get away with it... that's how crazy works. Would the other nuclear powers step in,,, highly doubtful. If that happens then the US might even threaten them with annihilation. They would believe the US is sooo insane that it would really risk planet destruction and could decide to cave to the US wishes.

    Acting totally mad and indicating you don't care is a good way to defeat those who is your equal. Isn't this is exactly how the US government has been acting lately?

    Christian J Chuba , Jun 18, 2019 5:04:11 PM | 28
    "I believe the US would use nukes if they think they could get away with it...that's how crazy evil works."

    and Sean Hannity would say ... "never has a country had so much power and abused it so little, the Iranians [10 minute Litany of robotic talking point lies] left us no choice." Pompeo, Pence and Haley all declaring it the most righteous and justifiable act ever. Trump would close the border to any Iranian refugees and embargo any Iranians who survived just like he is doing to the Syrians and Venezuelans now.

    These people are depraved.

    ADKC , Jun 18, 2019 5:14:59 PM | 30
    Isn't the Secretary of State the most senior member of the cabinet and regarded as more powerful that POTUS? The position where real power resides? How could a buffoon like Bolton even be considered for Secretary if State? Just another one of Trump's ricaldoodlelus appointments? What a lark!

    Bolton graduated from Yale in 1970. I wonder if he is a member of the Skull & Bones? Or closely associated? If so, that makes him much, much more than a mere buffoon but, rather, the very embodiment of the Deep State's and neo-Con's war strategy; that would make Bolton a very, very dangerous person in a very, very powerful position.

    Trump would appear to be nothing more than a facilitator.

    Both George H.W & George W. Bush were bonesman. Cheney only went to Yale but didn't graduate. Far from Cheney being the controlling influence over George W. (as presented in media and movies) maybe Cheney was just following orders.

    Marie Colville (did she ever really exist?) also appears to have been an alumni of Yale (was a fake background constructed?).

    Supposedly, the Skull & Bones control Yale; what a very strange place. Anyone, associated with Yale (like Bolton) should be kept well away from power!

    GeorgeV , Jun 18, 2019 5:16:30 PM | 31
    Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Just when you think the US of A's Generalissimo Bone Spur and President Chief Kaiser of Ignorance Arrogance, Stupidity and Hypocrisy (aka: Donald Trump) could not sink to any lower level of idiocy than he already has, he does so. What a country! Only in America!
    fastfreddy , Jun 18, 2019 5:28:16 PM | 32
    Shouldn't be difficult for Iran, if bmobed at all by US/NATO, to hit Israel - in a big way - from a number of geographic locations and a variety of methods. It would be major and catastrophic.

    It poses too great a danger to good friends, with whom the USA maintains an "irrevocable bond", according to the US Congress, the Apartheid State of Israel.

    wagelaborer , Jun 18, 2019 5:39:49 PM | 33
    I guess Shanahan resigned so he could spend more time abusing his family. I find it interesting that one of the ships attacked, the Front Altair, had a crew of Russians and Filipinos. This was the crew saved by the Iranians. The US story is that they were picked up by a Dutch tanker and then kidnapped by the Iranians. Clearly, the Iranians still saved them, no matter who actually picked them up first.

    If the Dutch had turned the crew over to the US, who believes that they would already be released? (The Iranians already released them).

    I know that B thinks that this attack was from the Iranians, but the fact that one ship was Japanese, while Abe was in Tehran, and the other had a crew of Russians and Filipinos, both countries under attack from the US, makes me believe that those men were destined to be held for leverage.

    Damn straight they were saved by the Iranians.

    fx , Jun 18, 2019 5:40:11 PM | 34
    For a preview of what things would look like with Pompeo and Bolton in those positions, I recommend a viewing of the movie Vice. (Vice, as in Cheney, working with Rumsfeld and narcissistic poodles such as Powell to start the current ME quagmire.)
    Virgile , Jun 18, 2019 5:49:02 PM | 35
    Trump went too far with Iran under the devilish advice and initiatives of Heckle and Jeckle... If he wants to stop the escalation with Iran, before it gets out of control, the only way is to move Pompeo to Sec of Defense where he will have to face the powerful and war-reluctant military. Trump would also simultaneously fire Bolton. Depending on the reactions of the neocons and Jewish lobby, he will then choose a new sec of state, 'brilliant' Jared Kushner?
    wagelaborer , Jun 18, 2019 6:14:10 PM | 37
    Sharon @ 36. I was going by this post....
    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/06/todays-attacks-on-ships-in-the-gulf-of-oman-are-not-in-irans-interest.html#more

    Posted by: paulll , Jun 18, 2019 6:16:14 PM | 38

    I think the US has become very skilled at fighting wars without taking casualties. I think the air attacks in Syria - on Iranian forces - have made it pretty clear that Iran has no meaningful defense capabilities vs air attack. What Trump is probably counting on is a turkey shoot and I think that is exactly what it will be.
    brian , Jun 18, 2019 6:16:25 PM | 39
    What is Trump's motivation to be provocative with Iran?' Pelosi asks – and the answer is Adelson. Adelson called on the last president, Barack Obama, to nuke Iran in 2013 https://mondoweiss.net/2019/06/motivation-provocative-adelson/ its a war for israel
    Harry Law , Jun 18, 2019 6:34:19 PM | 41
    We should take heart from readers comments in the New York Times in response to an article by the NYT Editorial Board.
    There were 473 of them before the Times closed the discussion, and we could not find a single one that is supportive of war or of U.S. efforts to continue pressure on Iran. So Bret Stephens gets to spur on a war in his Times column, but the paper's readers are universally against the idea. Moreover, they hold the Times responsible and see through the equivocations in the editorial. Several point out that the press was the handmaiden of the Iraq disaster. https://mondoweiss.net/2019/06/readers-newspaper-abetting/#comments

    The US position is an attempt to keep hegemony over the region because both Israel and Saudi Arabia feel the US is losing it, and they are correct.

    Trump walked away from the JCPOA at the behest of Israel with the accusation that it was a bad deal, the deal did in fact rule out enrichment of uranium above 3.5%, approx 90% enrichment is required to build a nuclear device.

    The Ayatollah issued a decree to the effect that nuclear weapons were un-Islamic, therefore Iran should not have them.

    The real reason Trump walked away was because Iran was in rapid production of highly accurate conventional ballistic missiles some of which would find their way to Hezbollah, the UN Resolution banned the building of missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload, but not conventional warheads, to ban the latter would have rendered Iran defenseless, which was the whole idea of the Israeli and Saudi Arabian intervention.

    Being incapable of defending itself is not something any state could countenance, that's why it will never happen, hence the stand off.

    In my opinion there will be no war with Iran, too many losers, Saudi Arabia/UAE, Israel, the US fleet [in Bahrain] the US bases all over the Middle East, of course Iran and its friends could be destroyed [but at what cost?] The Strait of Hormus is bristling with Iranian anti ship missiles, the first sign of war would see the US fleet depart from Bahrain, the lumbering giant and vulnerable B52's based in Qatar would not get off the ground and US airbases in the region well within range if Iranian missiles would be reduced to rubble. As for any US carriers in the area and why US carriers are obsolete, especially in the Iranian situation here is an article by Gary Brecher from 10 years ago and very witty.. http://exiledonline.com/the-war-nerd-this-is-how-the-carriers-will-die/all/1/

    karlof1 , Jun 18, 2019 6:39:05 PM | 42
    Interesting this WaPost op/ed totally trashing Trump/Pompeo foreign policy and their utter inability didn't generate any further comment on the previous thread. Sure, it came from BezosPost, but it surely represents some powerful faction that's totally at odds with the directionlessness of Trump and Pompeo.

    After so many fiascos, there seems to be very little appetite for armed conflict amongst the Vassals except for UK. There's lots of domestic uproar over Trump policies the tanker attacks have muted so far but won't go away anytime soon -- particularly the Concentration Camp charges, which are 100% correct, extremely damning and damaging.

    Look at the situation from overseas. Escalating belligerency across the board aimed at enemies and allies alike is combined with visibly repressive, likely unconstitutional and, in the world's eyes, morally reprehensible actions toward vulnerable innocents from which horror stories occur on a daily basis. Oh, and don't forget Assange and the War against Truth. And your government is being asked to support TrumpCo's policies?! I bet plenty of leaders are biting their tongues. The G-20's in ten days.

    Curtis , Jun 18, 2019 6:49:27 PM | 43
    At least Gates resisted the Obama/Hillary mission to destroy Libya (worked with JCS to contact Gaddhafi's sons). Hillary put a stop to that. One wonders if Pompeo and Bolton are playing a multi-view game of picking a SecDef that they (and Kushner/Netanyau) approve of.
    Curtis , Jun 18, 2019 6:55:29 PM | 44
    Oops. It wasn't so much Gates as Kucinich leading that effort with the JCS. But Gates was hesitant in a TIME article about a meeting with Obama and KerryHillary to discuss possible military action against Iran. At the time, I figured it was posturing for Israel. I focused on the description of Kerry and Hillary as "interventionists."
    Pft , Jun 18, 2019 7:01:27 PM | 45
    This is rather ominous. Sounds a bit like cleaning house and removing potential witnesses who aren't will the program or may soon have a grudge to bear.

    Its June and you know who loves blood to be spilled in June, and right before July 4 you know. Look for a limited aerial strike per PCR, and then they hope Iran retaliates and gives an excuse for them to escalate.

    Americans are so brainwashed into buying into US militarism and exceptionalism that Trumps approval ratings will go up. Anyone criticizing the military or war is labelled anti-American and censored by Social Media. Declining IQ's and chronic illnesses due to vaccines and other environmental toxins will limit any protests. Besides, the military is the one way to get a free college education while getting paid to go to school. The young will continue lining up to serve and fight these threats to the American way of life. Shouting America First. MAGA. Waving their Made in China flag. God blesses US. Might makes right, etc

    Puppet regimes in occupied Europe will go along. Fellow Fake wrestlers in China and Russia will make squeaky noises. So predictable

    karlof1 , Jun 18, 2019 7:02:15 PM | 46
    It dawned on me that those outside the Outlaw US Empire don't know about TrumpCo's Concentration Camps and the surrounding, escalating controversy. As I've written, conflation of Concentration with Death Camps and decades of propaganda are fueling the issue:

    "'The Holocaust did not begin with the murder of six million Jews,' writer Bess Kalb tweeted in response to Cheney. 'It began with the same dehumanization, deportation, and internment we see today. You, sickeningly, invoke the Holocaust to minimize their suffering. Shame.'

    As you might imagine given the level of Jewish/Zionist support, Cheney and the Republicans have made an enormous mistake.

    Pft , Jun 18, 2019 7:07:54 PM | 47
    Ort@27

    "Come to think of it, unless Dick Cheney is busy with other priorities, he ought to be available for a reboot of Shock & Awe."

    There are some who believe he is the unofficial President running things from his underground city built as part of the Continuity of Government that kicks in during National Emergencies such as the one declared 18 years ago and still in effect

    Not 100% sure this is true but I suspect his voice is being heard

    Don Bacon , Jun 18, 2019 7:08:32 PM | 48
    President Trump made the announcement with a pair of midday tweets that Shanahan was withdrawing and that Army Secretary Mark Esper would take his place as acting Defense secretary

    On Esper, in April Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan announced that the president nominated Army Gen. Mark Milley to serve as the next JCS chairman which would be effective in about September when General Joseph Dunford leaves after four years on the job. His predecessor was an Army general, so it was considered odd to select another Army general to be top dog.

    Now, Esper is Army too and if he were nominated for SecDef that would shake some people. What about Air Force and Navy? What are they, chopped liver?

    . . .more on Esper from The Hill:

    Esper graduated from West Point in 1986 and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring. His Army career includes a combat tour in Iraq during the Gulf War. Several Republican senators have already said they'd support Esper should he be nominated.

    . . .(but) Esper was a lobbyist at defense contractor Raytheon for seven years prior to becoming Army secretary. Esper's lobbyist past could bring up some of the issues that dogged Shanahan on potential conflicts of interest.

    Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement that Esper "risk[s] being tainted by his previous work for a major defense contractor. The group's allegations against Shanahan in part prompted the inspector general investigation.

    "While Esper may not have had sway over these types of deals as secretary of the Army, as acting secretary of Defense he will have potential influence over such deals, as well as over the controversial proposed merger of Raytheon and UTC to become the second largest defense company in the U.S.," Bookbinder said. "His ethics agreement -- and his ability to follow it -- will be something we will be watching closely." . . . here

    Jackrabbit , Jun 18, 2019 7:11:25 PM | 49
    SecDef: A Poisoned Chalice

    Seems that Shanahan balked at being the scapegoat for the next war so they found another. Shanahan is said to be pretty smart (Masters and MBA from MIT).

    Is it that he's not a strong manager or did he just play along to get his ticket stamped? I wouldn't be surprised if he's made the new CEO of Boeing (It's now clear that Boeing will have to do more to recover from their 737Max debacle) . Or perhaps he'll join a Defense-focused Private Equity firm, or simply sit on the Boards of several defense-related enterprises. Any of these will be better than accepting the Trump Administration's Poison Chalice.

    Jackrabbit , Jun 18, 2019 7:11:49 PM | 50
    SecDef: A Poisoned Chalice

    Seems that Shanahan balked at being the scapegoat for the next war so they found another. Shanahan is said to be pretty smart (Masters and MBA from MIT).

    Is it that he's not a strong manager or did he just play along to get his ticket stamped? I wouldn't be surprised if he's made the new CEO of Boeing (It's now clear that Boeing will have to do more to recover from their 737Max debacle) . Or perhaps he'll join a Defense-focused Private Equity firm, or simply sit on the Boards of several defense-related enterprises. Any of these will be better than accepting the Trump Administration's Poison Chalice.

    willie , Jun 18, 2019 7:30:12 PM | 51
    Has Trump been misled by his advisors, when he twitted about the infamous video shot in the dark by modern means that would surprise the Iranians?I Mean ,because now it turns out to be made in clear daylight with the newly published images. Is Trump angry about being cheated or did he play with the game and was his twitted remark kind of an inside joke?

    Previously we had G.Haspel showing non-pertinent to the matter camera shots of duck and children to convince him into expelling a max number of Russian diplomats.

    And much earlier it was pictures shown to Melania and him of dead or agonizing Syrian children that made him order missile attack on Syria. Is that the way he is being handled by his surroundings in his decision process? Is there a doctor around at the White House?

    Peter AU 1 , Jun 18, 2019 7:33:05 PM | 52
    Reading Harry Law's post @41, it looks like the US needs another Pearl Harbour to carry its people to war.
    Plenty of Pearl Harbour type assets around the Persian Gulf. Problem for the US is getting Iran to react and hit some of these.
    snake , Jun 18, 2019 8:06:12 PM | 53
    Henry Law @ 41 and Peter Au 1 @ 52 might find the content of this link very interesting. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51773.htm

    I am sure there are many Americans interested to know who is in charge at the USA..

    Jackrabbit , Jun 18, 2019 8:17:51 PM | 54
    willie @51: Has Trump been misled by his advisors ...

    The media promote Doublethink

    ... the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in distinct social contexts. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy and neutrality... Doublethink is notable due to a lack of cognitive dissonance -- thus the person is completely unaware of any conflict or contradiction.

    Such that Trump is both peace-loving nationalist and empire-loving antagonist. Except that the latter is expressed as a positive: "staunch ally", "tough negotiator", "protector", etc instead of a negative. Some people fall for it (Kool-Aid drinkers) and MSM ignores those that talk about the meta issues of MSM complicity.

    And it's not just Trump. Whenever a President does things that might cause cognitive dissonance, apologists and the feckless press explain it away as a positive or blame subordinates for "sabotaging" the hero President.

    TLDR: stop falling for MSM false narratives .

    Jackrabbit , Jun 18, 2019 8:24:14 PM | 56
    snake @53: I am sure there are many Americans interested to know who is in charge at the USA..

    IMO President's are just members of the Deep State team. Presidents lead the team that's "on the field" - like a quarterback in American football. But the Deep State 'coach' calls the plays. And the 'coach' is, in turn, ultimately responsible to the owners (capitalists).

    dltravers , Jun 18, 2019 8:38:10 PM | 57
    They appointed a VP of Raetheon as Secretary of Defense which is appropriate because that is who is selling the US the missiles to demolish Iran.

    US intelligence learns from a highly credible source that Iran's Revolutionary Guards have completed preparations for a large-scale assault on an important Saudi oil facility within days.

    @DEBKA

    You know this stuff is being fed to the military industrial congressional complex. It looks like they will start some limited bombing of Iran prior to the 2020 elections to get everyone waving their flags and shouting Hurahh.

    Zachary Smith , Jun 18, 2019 8:50:30 PM | 58
    @ Harry Law | Jun 18, 2019 6:34:19 PM #41

    I hope there isn't a war, but there is one nation you didn't mention which doesn't figure it'll be hurt much by an outbreak of violence. A large number of goyim ending up dead doesn't bother them the least bit. I'd imagine the smashing of Iran would be worth receiving a few bombs on their stolen land. But not a lot, for if that happened they'd start waving around the nuke option and cause Trump to keep on till the job was done to their satisfaction.

    Thanks for the old War Nerd link. If the situation with aircraft carriers was bad then, a 2019 update would show them to be even worse in the death-trap category. But we're still building them.

    karlof1 , Jun 18, 2019 8:57:19 PM | 59
    In light of what the WaPost published I linked to above regrading the utter lack in confidence in both Trump and Pompeo to conduct a rational foreign policy, I seriously doubt the change at SecDef will provide optimism for improvement. Some apparently think such dissent is just shadowplay; IMO, they are mistaken. And I will again note the dissent isn't just about Iran; rather, it's about the conduct of overall foreign policy, especially Trade Policy, which is eating into corporate profitability.

    Which side will take the next move is the question now. Perhaps another Houthi attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, which present very soft, vulnerable targets. Perhaps a Houthi ballistic missile attack on UAE port facilities. The Idlib offensive will begin again after the non-ceasefire that saw continual al-Qaeda attacks and mounting Terrorist losses; perhaps, the long awaited push West from Aleppo will occur. But Syria is tangential to the Iranian confrontation. Maybe the EU will announce something significant that shows independent thinking? Time marches inexorably onward to the next event.

    Clueless Joe , Jun 18, 2019 8:58:11 PM | 60
    Peter AU1 - 52

    That would be a terrible miscalculation from US leadership. The one reason why Pearl Harbour wasn't a lasting disaster for the US is that the carriers survived. What if Iran actually manages to sink a carrier air group? I mean, nukes and nearly untouchable power projection through aircraft carriers are the two main reasons why the US is still the supreme superpower around. Show people that the carriers can be taken out and actually begin to take them out, and plenty of people and countries will begin to consider leaving that mad army parading as a country to itself - not to mention some will soon openly rebel.

    Grieved , Jun 18, 2019 9:11:23 PM | 61
    @60 Clueless Joe - "..mad army parading as a country"

    nice one. Good analysis too.

    Don Bacon , Jun 18, 2019 9:18:28 PM | 62
    The US has 50,000 troops and a carrier strike group "protecting American interests" in the Persian Gulf area of the Middle East. Somebody in government ought to tell us what those "interests" are, which require such an investment. That would be nice.
    SharonM , Jun 18, 2019 9:18:37 PM | 63
    Wagelaborer@37

    I think that article is about Iran having a reason to do it, but I didn't read in it that "b" believed that Iran had done it. I took him as more musing about the possibility without believing it himself?

    Don Bacon , Jun 18, 2019 9:24:03 PM | 64
    The Guardian-- The Iran crisis was created in Washington. The US must be talked down
    Unnecessarily aggressive, ill-considered – and deceptively presented – US policies have once again brought the Middle East to the brink of an accidental war very few want. America's European friends, including Britain, have an urgent responsibility to talk it down – and drag it back from the abyss.

    [Jun 18, 2019] Sections

    Jun 18, 2019 | www.washingtonpost.com

    Democracy Dies in Darkness

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    https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-33/html/container.html Global Opinions What the Iran crisis tells us about Trump's lack of credibility Why the Persian Gulf is a flashpoint for U.S.-Iran tensions

    Here's what you need to know about the two suspected attacks on five ships in the Persian Gulf in the last month and the region where they occurred. (Joyce Lee, Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post) By Jason Rezaian Global Opinions writer June 17

    Nearly a week after two oil tankers were attacked with explosives in the Gulf of Oman, what actually happened is still in dispute. What is clear to everyone watching, though, is the Trump administration's complete lack of credibility as it continues its bumbling attempts to express a coherent Iran policy.

    Soon after the attack, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed a grainy video of several men on a small boat pulling an object from the side of a much larger vessel. He claimed the video showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the ship. This, he said, was irrefutable evidence that Iran had launched an attack on a Japanese-owned ship. Pompeo made these statements on the same day that Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited Tehran -- at the behest of President Trump -- to urge Iran to begin new negotiations with the White House.

    The skepticism was immediate. Allies who are predisposed to agree with the United States on all issues (such as Britain or and Israel), or specifically on anti-Iran measures (such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates) were on board.

    https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-33/html/container.html

    But where was everyone else?

    "The video is not enough. We can understand what is being shown, sure, but to make a final assessment, this is not enough for me," Germany's foreign minister, Heiko Maas, told reporters on Friday. Japan has also requested stronger evidence .

    Iran could very well have been behind the tanker attacks, as the Trump administration claims. But the lingering doubts about the White House's account, expressed by friends and adversaries alike, are the real story here.


    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department on June 13. (Alex Brandon/AP)

    [ Today's WorldView: Trump rails against Iran. But who's listening? ]

    "There is no doubt," Pompeo told "Fox News Sunday," adding, "The intelligence community has lots of data, lots of evidence. The world will come to see much of it, but the American people should rest assured we have high confidence with respect to who conducted these attacks as well as half a dozen other attacks throughout the world over the past 40 days."

    https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-33/html/container.html

    But there appears to be great doubt, and the fault lies with the administration's flimsy and unconvincing case to counter what it claims is an increasing threat from Tehran.

    As though on cue, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced on Monday that it would increase its stockpile of enriched uranium to beyond the limits it had agreed to as part of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, including the United States.

    From the start, the entire premise of Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear agreement with Iran was disingenuous. Like the Obama-era deal or not, it seemed to be doing what it was intended to do: limiting Iran's nuclear activities so that it couldn't weaponize its program. By withdrawing from the deal, the Trump administration gave up key leverage that it could use against the regime.

    Iran's move to begin pulling back from its commitments under the nuclear deal underscores that fact, and marks yet another escalation in tensions between Tehran and Washington.

    The State Department's narrative that Iran's malign behavior over recent months is a result of a regime emboldened by a weak nuclear deal, and then angered by Washington pulling out of that same deal, is a farce.

    The Iranian regime has been engaged in terrible acts since its inception 40 years ago. Its antagonism toward the United States and its allies has ebbed and flowed, depending on perceived threats and opportunities -- and the U.S. withdrawal from the deal took away the major incentive Iran had to behave.

    By its own rhetoric, the Trump administration is currently exerting what it calls "maximum pressure" on Tehran. Under this policy, reactions from Iran -- such as the tanker attacks or increased uranium enrichment -- are not only expected, but are, in essence, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    By being pushed into a corner economically and militarily, the regime in Tehran may perceive there to be few other options.

    Given recent events, the administration has reason to call for increased pressure on Iran. But other world leaders are signaling to the White House that they don't trust Washington to lead the way.

    The big question, then, is why is the administration failing so miserably in making its case to the world? The reactions to Pompeo's remarks reflect how much credibility the administration has lost -- both on Iran, and on its foreign policy objectives as a whole.

    Pointing a finger at Iran for any crime was once as close to a slam dunk as there was in international politics. Not anymore.

    That is because we are reminded at every turn that the notions of U.S. supremacy and security have little to do with the promotion of foreign democracy. The Trump team's inability to take a principled stand on the thuggish behavior of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the tepid response to the crisis in Venezuela are prime examples.

    And if Iran did attack the tankers, it was likely banking on exactly what has happened: one more crack in the United States' shield of credibility.

    Read more:

    Iran threatens to exceed limits on uranium set by nuclear pact

    Max Boot: In Iran crisis, our worst fears about Trump are realized

    Jennifer Rubin: Trump is seen as all bluff and no policy on Iran

    Jason Rezaian: The State Department has been funding trolls. I'm one of their targets.

    Iran standoff exposes credibility issue for Trump with U.S. allies

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    [Jun 08, 2019] McMaster and 'Nuclear Blackmail' The American Conservative

    Notable quotes:
    "... Even more depressing, McMaster is author of the excellent book, "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam". Now he's retailing lies of his own in pursuit of another war. ..."
    "... The "Foundation for the Defense of Democracies" subsists on donations intended to advance the foreign policy agendas of countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those are the kind of "democracies" they want America to "defend" ..."
    Jun 08, 2019 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    Daniel DePetris follows up on McMaster's crazy North Korea comments :

    McMaster then proceeds to mount a hypothetical -- nuclear blackmail. "This regime could say [if U.S. forces] don't go off the Korean Peninsula, we're going to threaten the use of nuclear weapons," the retired general explained. And yet this, too, is riddled with nonsense, the biggest objection being that making such an ultimatum would court the very military confrontation with the United States he wants to avoid.

    When McMaster was in the Trump administration, he floated many of the same arguments about why attacking North Korea should be an option. Those arguments didn't make any sense when he made them as National Security Advisor, and they haven't improved now that he has migrated to the inaccurately named Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). McMaster's latest statements confirm that his preventive war talk wasn't just empty rhetoric on his part when he worked for Trump. He was apparently deadly serious about entertaining a U.S. attack on North Korea, and he continues to talk about it as though it were a reasonable and legitimate policy option. The reporting that he and others in the administration had a "messianic fervor" about this seems to have been right.

    It can't be stressed enough that launching an attack on North Korea would an outrageous act of aggression. It would put the U.S. in clear violation of the U.N. Charter and make our government an illegal aggressor just like North Korea was in 1950. McMaster was and still is promoting the idea that the U.S. should be willing to commit a massive crime against another country. Unfortunately, talk of preventive war against certain states is not just tolerated in Washington, but it is actively encouraged and embraced by many other hard-liners, including the current National Security Advisor, who is also in favor of launching an attack on North Korea. These hard-liners dismiss the possibility of deterring these states so that they can have an excuse to attack, but invariably the behavior they cite as evidence that a state can't be deterred is proof that they desire self-preservation and regime security above all else.

    Hard-liners also like to warn about "nuclear blackmail" from other states, but they can't ever produce an example of a nuclear weapons state that has successfully engaged in such blackmail to extract concessions from others. It makes even less sense when we consider what would happen to the blackmailing state if it followed through on the threat. Threatening to launch a nuclear first strike to gain concessions from other governments wouldn't get that government what it wants, and carrying out the threat would result in the state's certain annihilation. There is no upside to engaging in "nuclear blackmail" and a huge downside. If "nuclear blackmail" worked, there would likely have been a lot more blackmail attempts by nuclear weapons state over the last seventy-four years, and more states would want to acquire nuclear weapons for this purpose. In reality, just about the only use that nuclear weapons have is to deter attacks from others, and that is pretty clearly why North Korea built their nuclear arsenal. Threatening them with attack just confirms them in their view that they have to retain them, and actually attacking them would be the only thing that is likely to prompt them to use them.


    Corwin , says: June 5, 2019 at 2:05 pm

    There's a scene in the movie Dr. Strangelove where all the powerful men were sitting in the war room discussing the possible state of the world after the nuclear attack. They start by lamenting the deaths of tens of millions of Americans, and that they might be the only leaders left to rebuild America. They then worked their way to moving to a bunker to make sure they were safe, then bringing in women who could help repopulate the country, and then making sure the women were beautiful and that there would be enough to get started on having lots of children right away. So in less than 2 minutes, they go from the end of civilization to having a harem for each of them. When powerful people can see a disaster as a chance to gain even more power, they will take it regardless of the consequences to anyone else. That's who they are.
    Fran Macadam , says: June 5, 2019 at 3:30 pm
    I must have missed when our own official policy renounced nuclear first strike. As far as I know, it's still "one of the options on the table." And now with the latest "low yield nuke" deployments in the pipeline, it gives the illusion that nuclear war can be a winning option to defend the heartland or expand the empire's overseas power.
    Alan Vanneman , says: June 5, 2019 at 3:58 pm
    Even more depressing, McMaster is author of the excellent book, "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam". Now he's retailing lies of his own in pursuit of another war.
    Basic Training , says: June 5, 2019 at 4:50 pm
    "the inaccurately named Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)"

    That name is a sick joke. The "Foundation for the Defense of Democracies" subsists on donations intended to advance the foreign policy agendas of countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those are the kind of "democracies" they want America to "defend".

    Taras 77 , says: June 5, 2019 at 5:07 pm
    McMaster has literally gone off the edge since he was named as the head of a group over at the FDD group of warmongers -- they literally on a daily basis call for more war, attacks on Iran, and NK -- more tragically, they have access and influence with Bolton and Pompeo.
    Sick beyond belief but that is where their money comes into play.

    https://spectator.us/mcmaster-disaster/

    Tony , says: June 6, 2019 at 8:38 am
    The 'nuclear blackmail' argument is totally bogus. The United States had some 32,000 nuclear weapons when it was defeated in Indochina.

    The Soviet Union also had many nuclear weapons when it left Afghanistan.

    rayray , says: June 6, 2019 at 11:33 am
    @Corwin

    Loved that. Kubrick, George, and Southern just nailed it. I'm waiting for a writer brilliant and angry enough to do the same for today.

    [May 13, 2019] It's time for Trump to stop John Bolton and Mike Pompeo from sabotaging his foreign policy Mulshine

    Bolton power over Trump is connected to Adelson power over Trump. To think about Bolton as pure advisor is to seriously underestimate his role and influence.
    Notable quotes:
    "... But I always figured you needed to keep the blowhards under cover so they wouldn't stick their feet in their mouths and that the public position jobs should go to the smoothies..You, know, diplomats who were capable of some measure of subtlety. ..."
    "... A clod like Bolton should be put aside and assigned the job of preparing position papers and a lout Like Pompeo should be a football coach at RoosterPoot U. ..."
    "... "Once he's committed to a war in the Mideast, he's just screwed," ..."
    "... Not only Trump, at the same time the swamp creatures risk losing control over the Democrat primaries, too. With a new major war in the Mideast, Tulsi Gabbard's core message of non-interventionism will resonate a lot more, and that will lower the chances of the corporate DNC picks. A dangerous gamble. ..."
    "... The other day I was thinking to myself that if Trump decides to dismiss Bolton or Pompeo, especially given how terrible Venezuela, NKorea, and Iran policies have turned out (clearly at odds with his non-interventionist campaign platform), who would he appoint as State Sec and NS adviser? and since Bolton was personally pushed to Trump by Adelson in exchange for campaign donation, would there be a backlash from the Jewish Republican donors and the loss of support? I think in both cases Trump is facing with big dilemmas. ..."
    "... Tulsi for Sec of State 2020... ..."
    "... Keeping Bolton and Pompeo on board is consistent with Trump's negotiating style. He is full of bluster and demands to put the other side in a defensive position. I guess it was a successful strategy for him so he continues it. Many years ago I was across the table from Trump negotiating the sale of the land under the Empire State Building which at the time was owned by Prudential even though Trump already had locked up the actual building. I just sat there, impassively, while Trump went on with his fire and fury. When I did not budge, he turned to his Japanese financial partner and said "take care of this" and walked out of the room. Then we were able to talk and negotiate in a logical manner and consumate a deal that was double Trump's negotiating bid. I learned later he was furious with his Japanese partner for failing to "win". ..."
    "... You can still these same traits in the way that Trump thinks about other countries - they can be cajoled or pushed into doing what Trump wants. If the other countries just wait Trump out they can usually get a much better deal. Bolton and Pompeo, as Blusterers, are useful in pursuing the same negotiation style, for better or worse, Trump has used for probably for the last 50 years. ..."
    "... I have seen this style of negotiations work on occasion. The most important lesson I've learned is the willingness to walk. I'm not sure that Trump's personal style matters that much in complex negotiations among states. There's too many people and far too many details. ..."
    "... Having the neocons front & center on his foreign policy team I believe has negative consequences for him politically. IMO, he won support from the anti-interventionists due to his strong campaign stance. While they may be a small segment in America in a tight race they could matter. ..."
    "... Additionally as Col. Lang notes the neocons could start a shooting match due to their hubris and that can always escalate and go awry. We can only hope that he's smart enough to recognize that. I remain convinced that our fawning allegiance to Bibi is central to many of our poor strategic decision making. ..."
    "... I agree that this is Trump's style but what he does not seem to understand is that in using jugheads like these guys on the international scene he may precipitate a war when he really does not want one. ..."
    "... "Perhaps the biggest lie the mainstream media have tried to get over on the American public is the idea that it is conservatives, that start wars. That's total nonsense of course. Almost all of America's wars in the 20th century were stared by liberal Democrats." ..."
    "... Exceptions are: Korea? (Eisenhower); Grenada? (Reagan); Iraq? (Bush Sr.) ..."
    "... So what exactly is Pussy John, then, just a Yosemite Sam-type bureaucrat with no actual portfolio, so to speak? I defer to your vastly greater knowledge of these matters, but at times it sure seems like they are pursuing a rear-guard action as the US Empire shrinks ..."
    "... If were Lavrov, what would I think to myself were I to find myself on the other side of a phone call from PJ or the Malignant Manatee? ..."
    May 12, 2019 | turcopolier.typepad.com
    It's time for Trump to stop John Bolton and Mike Pompeo from sabotaging his foreign policy | Mulshine

    "I put that question to another military vet, former Vietnam Green Beret Pat Lang.

    "Once he's committed to a war in the Mideast, he's just screwed," said Lang of Trump.

    But Lang, who later spent more than a decade in the Mideast, noted that Bolton has no direct control over the military.

    "Bolton has a problem," he said. "If he can just get the generals to obey him, he can start all the wars he wants. But they don't obey him."

    They obey the commander-in-chief. And Trump has a history of hiring war-crazed advisors who end up losing their jobs when they get a bit too bellicose. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley comes to mind."

    " In Lang's view, anyone who sees Trump as some sort of ideologue is missing the point.

    "He's an entrepreneurial businessman who hires consultants for their advice and then gets rid of them when he doesn't want that advice," he said.

    So far that advice hasn't been very helpful, at least in the case of Bolton. His big mouth seems to have deep-sixed Trump's chance of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And that failed coup in Venezuela has brought up comparisons to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion during the Kennedy administration." Mulshine

    --------------

    Well, pilgrims, I worked exclusively on the subject of the Islamic culture continent for the USG from 1972 to 1994 and then in business from 1994 to 2006. I suppose I am still working on the subject. pl

    https://www.nj.com/opinion/2019/05/its-time-for-trump-to-stop-john-bolton-and-mike-pompeo-from-sabotaging-his-foreign-policy-mulshine.html


    JJackson , 12 May 2019 at 04:11 PM

    What is happening with Trump's Syrian troop withdrawal? Someone seems to have spiked that order fairly effectively.
    tony , 12 May 2019 at 05:12 PM
    I don't get it I suppose. I'd always thought that maybe you wanted highly opinionated Type A personalities in the role of privy council, etc. You know, people who could forcefully advocate positions in closed session meetings and weren't afraid of taking contrary positions. But I always figured you needed to keep the blowhards under cover so they wouldn't stick their feet in their mouths and that the public position jobs should go to the smoothies..You, know, diplomats who were capable of some measure of subtlety.

    But these days it's the loudmouths who get these jobs, to our detriment. When will senior govt. leaders understand that just because a person is a success in running for Congress doesn't mean he/she should be sent forth to mingle with the many different personalities and cultures running the rest of the world?

    A clod like Bolton should be put aside and assigned the job of preparing position papers and a lout Like Pompeo should be a football coach at RoosterPoot U.

    turcopolier -> tony... , 12 May 2019 at 06:55 PM
    No. I would like to see highly opinionated Type B personalities like me hold those jobs. Type B does not mean you are passive. It means you are not obsessively competitive.
    ex-PFC Chuck said in reply to tony... , 12 May 2019 at 08:06 PM
    What do you expect when the boss himself is a loud-mouthed blowhard?
    rho , 12 May 2019 at 06:34 PM
    "Once he's committed to a war in the Mideast, he's just screwed,"

    Not only Trump, at the same time the swamp creatures risk losing control over the Democrat primaries, too. With a new major war in the Mideast, Tulsi Gabbard's core message of non-interventionism will resonate a lot more, and that will lower the chances of the corporate DNC picks. A dangerous gamble.

    E Publius , 12 May 2019 at 06:55 PM
    Interesting post, thank you sir. Prior to this recent post I had never heard of Paul Mulshine. In fact I went through some of his earlier posts on Trump's foreign policy and I found a fair amount of common sense in them. He strikes me as a paleocon, like Pat Buchanan, Paul Craig Roberts, Michael Scheuer, Doug Bandow, Tucker Carlson and others in that mold.

    The other day I was thinking to myself that if Trump decides to dismiss Bolton or Pompeo, especially given how terrible Venezuela, NKorea, and Iran policies have turned out (clearly at odds with his non-interventionist campaign platform), who would he appoint as State Sec and NS adviser? and since Bolton was personally pushed to Trump by Adelson in exchange for campaign donation, would there be a backlash from the Jewish Republican donors and the loss of support? I think in both cases Trump is facing with big dilemmas.

    My best hope is that Trump teams up with libertarians and maybe even paleocons to run his foreign policy. So far Trump has not succeeded in draining the Swamp. Bolton, Pompeo and their respective staff "are" indeed the Swamp creatures and they run their own policies that run against Trump's America First policy. Any thoughts?

    Rick Merlotti said in reply to E Publius... , 13 May 2019 at 10:17 AM
    Tulsi for Sec of State 2020...
    jdledell , 13 May 2019 at 09:23 AM
    Keeping Bolton and Pompeo on board is consistent with Trump's negotiating style. He is full of bluster and demands to put the other side in a defensive position. I guess it was a successful strategy for him so he continues it. Many years ago I was across the table from Trump negotiating the sale of the land under the Empire State Building which at the time was owned by Prudential even though Trump already had locked up the actual building. I just sat there, impassively, while Trump went on with his fire and fury. When I did not budge, he turned to his Japanese financial partner and said "take care of this" and walked out of the room. Then we were able to talk and negotiate in a logical manner and consumate a deal that was double Trump's negotiating bid. I learned later he was furious with his Japanese partner for failing to "win".

    You can still these same traits in the way that Trump thinks about other countries - they can be cajoled or pushed into doing what Trump wants. If the other countries just wait Trump out they can usually get a much better deal. Bolton and Pompeo, as Blusterers, are useful in pursuing the same negotiation style, for better or worse, Trump has used for probably for the last 50 years.

    Jack said in reply to jdledell... , 13 May 2019 at 02:14 PM
    I have seen this style of negotiations work on occasion. The most important lesson I've learned is the willingness to walk. I'm not sure that Trump's personal style matters that much in complex negotiations among states. There's too many people and far too many details. I see he and his trade team not buckling to the Chinese at least not yet despite the intense pressure from Wall St and the big corporations.

    Having the neocons front & center on his foreign policy team I believe has negative consequences for him politically. IMO, he won support from the anti-interventionists due to his strong campaign stance. While they may be a small segment in America in a tight race they could matter.

    Additionally as Col. Lang notes the neocons could start a shooting match due to their hubris and that can always escalate and go awry. We can only hope that he's smart enough to recognize that. I remain convinced that our fawning allegiance to Bibi is central to many of our poor strategic decision making.

    rho said in reply to jdledell... , 13 May 2019 at 04:33 PM
    jdledell

    Just out of curiosity: Did the deal go through in the end, despite Trump's ire? Or was Trump so furious with the negotiating result of his Japanese partner that he tore up the draft once it was presented to him?

    turcopolier , 13 May 2019 at 11:17 AM
    jdledell

    I agree that this is Trump's style but what he does not seem to understand is that in using jugheads like these guys on the international scene he may precipitate a war when he really does not want one.

    Outrage Beyond , 13 May 2019 at 11:51 AM
    Mulshine's article has some good points, but he does include some hilariously ignorant bits which undermine his credibility.

    "Jose Gomez Rivera is a Jersey guy who served in the State Department in Venezuela at the time of the coup that brought the current socialist regime to power."

    Wrong. Maduro was elected and international observers seem to agree the election was fair.

    "Perhaps the biggest lie the mainstream media have tried to get over on the American public is the idea that it is conservatives, that start wars. That's total nonsense of course. Almost all of America's wars in the 20th century were stared by liberal Democrats."

    Exceptions are: Korea? (Eisenhower); Grenada? (Reagan); Iraq? (Bush Sr.)

    O'Shawnessey , 13 May 2019 at 01:21 PM
    So what exactly is Pussy John, then, just a Yosemite Sam-type bureaucrat with no actual portfolio, so to speak? I defer to your vastly greater knowledge of these matters, but at times it sure seems like they are pursuing a rear-guard action as the US Empire shrinks and shudders in its death throes underneath them, and at others it seems like they really have no idea what to do, other than engage in juvenile antics, snort some glue from a paper bag and set fires in the dumpsters behind the Taco Bell before going out into a darkened field somewhere to violate farm animals.

    If were Lavrov, what would I think to myself were I to find myself on the other side of a phone call from PJ or the Malignant Manatee?

    turcopolier , 13 May 2019 at 01:21 PM
    O'Shaunessy - He is an adviser who has no power except over his own little staff. The president has the power, not Bolton.

    [Apr 20, 2019] Here is an interesting interpretation of Trumps selection of cabinet and advisor positions

    Notable quotes:
    "... Trump's main problem in this respect is that the diversity of viewpoints within the military, the NSA or other government agencies might already be too narrow and he needs a Republican version of Stephen Cohen who has always advocated for engagement with Russia, along with other people from outside Washington DC but with experience in state legislatures for the various departments. ..."
    "... I agree and I suspect Trump regards Putin as a fellow CEO and perhaps the best one on the planet. ..."
    "... A more fundamental problem is that the US has not yet reached rock bottom. So, its delusions remain strong. Trump, as said before, may be a false dawn unless the bottom is closer than suspected and he has new allies (perhaps foreign allies). ..."
    Nov 20, 2016 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    Patient Observer , November 19, 2016 at 8:41 am

    Here is an interesting interpretation of Trump's selection of cabinet and advisor positions:

    https://sputniknews.com/politics/201611191047623363-trump-administration-analysis/

    It is not about politics, but Trump's peculiar management style, Timofey Bordachev, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at Russia's High School of Economics, told RIA Novosti.

    "Those who have been studying the business biography of the newly elected president have noted that he has always played off his high-ranking employees against each other. While doing so he remained above the fight," he said.

    And

    Gevorg Mirzayan, an assistant professor of the Political Science department at the Financial University in Moscow pointed out two purposes for the nominations.

    "Trump needs to consolidate the Republican Party, hence he should nominate representatives of different party groups to key positions in his administration to win the support of the whole party," he told RIA Novosti. Surveillance © Photo: Pixabay Trump National Security Team Reportedly Wants to Dismantle Top US Spy Agency The second purpose is to form an administration that doesn't look too "dovish" or too "hawkish" to be able to avoid further accusations of excessive loyalty towards Moscow, he suggested. Thus without an image of a 'dove" who neglects the national interests, he will be able to normalize Russian-American relations, the expert said.

    The above brings rationality to the diverse selections made by Trump.

    However, the black swan event will be an economic collapse (fast or protracted over several years). That will be the defining event in the Trump presidency. I have no inkling how he or those who may replace him would respond.

    Jen , November 19, 2016 at 12:18 pm
    I had guessed myself that Trump was going to run the government as a business corporation. Surrounding himself with people of competing viewpoints, and hiring on the basis of experience and skills (and not on the basis of loyalty, as Hillary Clinton might have done) would be two ways Trump can change the government and its culture. Trump's main problem in this respect is that the diversity of viewpoints within the military, the NSA or other government agencies might already be too narrow and he needs a Republican version of Stephen Cohen who has always advocated for engagement with Russia, along with other people from outside Washington DC but with experience in state legislatures for the various departments.

    If running the US government as a large mock business enterprise brings a change in its culture so it becomes more open and accountable to the public, less directed by ideology and identity politics, and gets rid of people engaged in building up their own little empires within the different departments, then Trump might just be the President the US needs at this moment in time.

    Interesting that Russian academics have noted the outlines of Trump's likely cabinet and what they suggest he plans to do, and no-one else has. Does this imply that Americans and others in the West have lost sight of how large business corporations could be run, or should be run, and everyone is fixated on fake "entrepreneurship" or "self-entrepreneur" (whatever that means) models of running a business where it's every man, woman, child and dog for itself?

    Patient Observer , November 19, 2016 at 5:21 pm Patient Observer , November 19, 2016 at 5:21 pm
    I agree and I suspect Trump regards Putin as a fellow CEO and perhaps the best one on the planet. Trump may have noted how Putin did an incredible turnaround of Russia and it all started with three objectives: restore the integrity of the borders, rebuild the industrial base and run off the globalists/liberals/kreakles. I am certainly not the first one to say this and I think that there is a lot of basis for that analysis. However, Trump will have a far more difficult challenge and frankly I don't think he has enough allies or smarts to pull it off.

    A more fundamental problem is that the US has not yet reached rock bottom. So, its delusions remain strong. Trump, as said before, may be a false dawn unless the bottom is closer than suspected and he has new allies (perhaps foreign allies).

    [Feb 10, 2019] Pussy John Bolton and His Codpiece Mustache by Fred Reed

    Highly recommended!
    We have until recently never had government as aggressive, reckless, or psychiatrically fascinating as now.
    Appointment on Bolton essentially confirms Fred Reed diagnose of Trump: "profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects, were sometimes corrupt, and could be disagreed with on many grounds. They weren't crazy. ..."
    "... The problem with the current occupants of the White House is not that they are conservatives, if they are. It is that they are nuts. ..."
    "... Start with the head cheese, Donald Trump, profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law ..."
    "... A particularly loathsome sort of politician is one who dodges his country's wars when of military age, and then wants to send others to die in later wars. This is Pussy John, arch hawk, coward, amoral, bully, willing to kill any number while he prances martially in Washington. Speaking as one who carried a rifle in Viet Nam, I would like to confine this fierce darling for life in the bottom of a public latrine in Uganda. ..."
    "... I remarked how it seemed so strange that many of these hawks never fought in a war even when they had ample opportunity in their youth ..."
    "... The crazy irresponsibility of Trump's foreign policy is entirely counter productive & inexcusable, however it's symptomatic of a slowly swelling sense of unconscious desperation. The reality, the feeling of unconstrained power the US experienced in the 90's & naughties has gone. The US has slowly woken to the nightmare possibility of real peer competitors. ..."
    Feb 10, 2019 | www.unz.com

    American government has become a collection of sordid and dangerous clowns. It was not always thus. Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects, were sometimes corrupt, and could be disagreed with on many grounds. They weren't crazy. Today's administration would seem unwholesome in a New York bus station at three in the morning. They are not normal American politicians.

    In particular they seem to be pushing for war with Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela. And -- this is important -- their behavior is not a matter of liberals catfighting with conservatives. All former presidents carefully avoided war with the Soviet Union, which carefully avoided war with America.

    It was Reagan, a conservative and responsible president, who negotiated the INF treaty, to eliminate short-fuse nuclear weapons from Europe. By contrast, Trump is scrapping it. Pat Buchanan, the most conservative man I have met, strongly opposes aggression against Russia. The problem with the current occupants of the White House is not that they are conservatives, if they are. It is that they are nuts.

    Donald the Cockatoo

    Start with the head cheese, Donald Trump, profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law. His supporters will explode in fury at this. All politics being herd politics, the population has coalesced into herds fanatically pro-Trump and fanatically anti-Trump. Yet Trump's past is not a secret. Well-documented biographies describe his behavior in detail, but his supporters don't read them. The following is a bit long, but worth reading.

    From The Making of Donald Trump , Johnston, David Cay. (p. 23). Melville House. Kindle Edition.

    "I always get even," Trump writes in the opening line of that chapter. He then launches into an attack on the same woman he had denounced in Colorado. Trump recruited the unnamed woman "from her government job where she was making peanuts," her career going nowhere. "I decided to make her somebody. I gave her a great job at the Trump Organization, and over time she became powerful in real estate. She bought a beautiful home.

    "When Trump was in financial trouble in the early nineties .."I asked her to make a phone call to an extremely close friend of hers who held a powerful position at a big bank and would have done what she asked. She said, "Donald, I can't do that." Instead of accepting that the woman felt that such a call would be inappropriate, Trump fired her. She started her own business. Trump writes that her business failed. "I was really happy when I found that out," he says.

    "She had turned on me after I did so much to help her. I had asked her to do me a favor in return, and she turned me down flat. She ended up losing her home. Her husband, who was only in it for the money, walked out on her and I was glad. Over the years many people have called me asking for a recommendation for her. I always gave her bad recommendation. I can't stomach disloyalty. ..and now I go out of my way to make her life miserable."

    All that because (if she exists) she declined to engage in corruption for the Donald. That is your President. A draft dodger, a pampered rich kid, and Ivy brat (Penn, Wharton). This increasingly is a pattern at the top: Ivy, money, no military service.

    Pussy John Bolton

    A particularly loathsome sort of politician is one who dodges his country's wars when of military age, and then wants to send others to die in later wars. This is Pussy John, arch hawk, coward, amoral, bully, willing to kill any number while he prances martially in Washington. Speaking as one who carried a rifle in Viet Nam, I would like to confine this fierce darling for life in the bottom of a public latrine in Uganda.

    Pussy John, an Ivy flower (Yale) wrote in a reunion books that, during the 1969 Vietnam War draft lottery, "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost." In an interview, Bolton explained that he decided to avoid service in Vietnam because "by the time I was about to graduate in 1970, it was clear to me that opponents of the Vietnam War had made it certain we could not prevail, and that I had no great interest in going there to have Teddy Kennedy give it back to the people I might die to take it away from."

    This same Pussy John, unwilling to risk his valuable being in a war he could have attended, now wants war with Iran, Venezuela, Russia, Syria, and Afghanistan. In these wars millions would die while he waggled his silly lip broom in the West Wing. His truculence is pathological and dangerous.

    Here is PJ on Iran: which has not harmed and does not threaten America: "We think the government is under real pressure and it's our intention to squeeze them very hard," Bolton said Tuesday in Singapore. "As the British say, 'squeeze them until the pips squeak'."

    How very brave of him. He apparently feels sadistic delight at starving Venezuelans, inciting civil war, and ruining the lives of millions who have done nothing wrong. Whence the weird hostility of this empty jockstrap, the lack of humanity? Forgot his Midiol? Venezuela of course has done nothing to the US and couldn't if it wanted to. America under the Freak Show is destroying another country simply because it doesn't meekly obey. While PJ gloats.

    Bush II

    Another rich kid and Yalie, none too bright, amoral as the rest, another draft dodger, (he hid in the Air National Guard.) who got to the White House on daddy's name recognition. Not having the balls to fight in his own war, he presided over the destruction of Iraq and the killing of hundreds of thousands, for no reason. (Except oil, Israel, and Empire. Collectively, these amount to no reason.) He then had the effrontery to pose on the deck of an aircraft carrier and say, "Mission accomplished." You know, just like Alexander the Great. Amoral. No empathy. What a man.

    The striking pattern of the Ivy League avoiding the war confirmed then, as it does now, that our present rulers regard the rest of America as beings of a lower order. These armchair John Waynes might have called them "deplorables," though Hillary, another Yalie bowwow hawk, had not yet made the contempt explicit. This was the attitude of Pussy John, Bushy-Bushy Two, and Cockatoo Don. Compare this with the Falklands War in which Prince Andrew did what a country's leadership should do, but ours doesn't..

    Wikipedia: "He (Prince Andrew) holds the rank of commander and the honorary rank of Vice Admiral (as of February 2015) in the Royal Navy, in which he served as an active-duty helicopter pilot and instructor and as the captain of a warship. He saw active service during the Falklands War, flying on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, and casualty evacuation"

    The Brits still have class. Compare Andrew with the contents of the Great Double-Wide on Pennsylvania Avernus.

    Gina

    A measure of the moral degradation of America: It is the only country that openly and proudly engages in torture. Many countries do it, of course. We admit it, and maintain torture prisons around the globe. Now we have a major government official, Gina Haspel, head of the CIA, a known sadist. "Bloody Gina." Is this who represents us? Would any other country in the civilized world put a sadist publicly in office?

    Think of Gina waterboarding some guy, or standing around and getting off on it. You don't torture people unless you like it. The guy is tied down, coughing, choking, screaming, begging, desperate, drowning, and Gina pours more water. The poor bastard vomits, chokes. Gina adds a little more water .

    What kind of woman would do this? Well, Gina's kind obviously. Does she then run off to her office and lock the door for half an hour? Maybe it starts early. One imagines her as a little girl, playing with her dolls. Cheerleader Barbie, Nurse Barbie, Klaus Barbie .

    Michael Pompeo

    Another pathologically aggressive chickenhawk. In a piece in Foreign Affairs he describes Iran as a "rogue state that America must eliminate for the sake of all that is good. Note that Pompeo presides over a foreign policy seeking to destroy Venezuela's economy and threatens military invasion, though Venezuela is no danger to the US and is not America's business; embargoes Cuba, which in no danger to the US and is not America's business; seeks to destroy Iran's economy, though Iran is no danger to the US and none of Americas business; sanctions Europe and meddles in its politics; sanctions Russia, which is not a danger to the United States, in an attempt to destroy its economy, pushes NATO up to Russia's borders, abandons the INF arms-control treaty and establishes a Space Command which will mean nuclear weapons on hair trigger in orbit, starts another nuclear arms race; wages a trade war against China intended to prevent its economic progress; sanctions North Korea; continues a seventeen-year policy of killing Afghans for no discernible purpose; wages a war against Syria; bombs Somalis; maintains unwanted occupation forces in Iraq; increasingly puts military forces in Africa; supports regimes with ghastly human-rights records such as Saudi Arabia and Israel; and looks for a war with China in the South China Sea, which is no more America's business than the Gulf of Mexico is China's.

    But Pompeo is not a loon, oh no, and America is not a rogue state. Perish forfend.

    Nikki Haley

    A negligible twit -- I choose my vowel carefully -- but characterized, like Trump, PJ, and Pompeo Mattis

    "After being promoted to lieutenant general, Mattis took command of Marine Corps Combat Development Command. On February 1, 2005, speaking at a forum in San Diego, he said "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling."

    Perhaps in air-to-air combat you want someone who regards killing as fun, or in an amphibious assault. But in a position to make policy? Can you image Dwight Eisenhower talking about the fun of squaring a man's brains across the ground?

    The Upshot

    We have until recently never had government as aggressive, reckless, or psychiatrically fascinating as now. Again, it is not a matter of Republicans and Democrats. No administration of any party, stripe, or ideology has ever pushed to aggressively toward war with so many countries. These people are not right in the head.


    Gene Su , says: February 8, 2019 at 3:07 am GMT

    I remember in high school one of my teachers stating how weird it seems that it would be the leadership of the US military who would call for the American government to intervene less in the affairs of other countries and to not be so quick to use military force. This was, of course, decades ago.

    A few years ago, I had a conversation with one of my colleages. He remarked how scary it was that so many American politicians were calling for war with Russia (with Hillary Clinton leading the pack?). I remarked how it seemed so strange that many of these hawks never fought in a war even when they had ample opportunity in their youth (Vietnam).

    animalogic , says: February 8, 2019 at 8:05 am GMT
    Fred is absolutely correct: the current administration is pathological & insane.

    However, it's worth remembering that their insane behavior is based on the same Imperial goals that have been in play since at least 1945.

    The crazy irresponsibility of Trump's foreign policy is entirely counter productive & inexcusable, however it's symptomatic of a slowly swelling sense of unconscious desperation. The reality, the feeling of unconstrained power the US experienced in the 90's & naughties has gone. The US has slowly woken to the nightmare possibility of real peer competitors.

    China & Russia are real novelties -- & as such, damn scary. Taken together, they are near equal military & economic rivals of the US.

    To US elites this is almost incomprehensible. How ? How did China suddenly become leaders in cutting edge tech? How did Russia suddenly appear with hypersonsic missiles ?

    It's impossible ! Given the already existing moral & psychological inadequacies of individual Trump team members, insanity & juvenile behavior are fairly predictable responses .

    MikeatMikedotMike , says: February 8, 2019 at 7:20 pm GMT
    The fact that you left Bill Clinton off this list (you know, the president that fired Tomahawk missiles into the country of Sudan to take attention away from the Lewinsky hearings, sexually assaulted subordinate women for decades, and spent time banging underage sex slaves via the Lolita Express, pardons a bunch of Puerto Rican terrorists in 2000 to help swing PR votes to his bag of shit wife in the New York Senate race and was, oh yeah, a draft dodger) is pathetic even for you , Kiko. I guess NAFTA makes up for all that rapey shit, huh?

    And when can we expect a detailed critique of the Mexican political climate, Kiko? Is it still never? A little too worried about that knock on the door if you bring up all the inconvenient murder going on down there, and all of the gutless politicians and law enforcement that turn a blind eye to it, you insufferable hypocrite?

    Reactionary Utopian , says: February 8, 2019 at 10:31 pm GMT

    No administration of any party, stripe, or ideology has ever pushed to aggressively toward war with so many countries. These people are not right in the head.

    Now there, I will certainly agree with Mr. Reed, but in a qualified way. The Trump administration is somewhat more warlike and interventionist in its talk than previous ones have been. But, so far, all talk (except for its repudiation of the Iran nuclear deal, which is ominous).

    Also, even in terms of the bellicose hot air, the current regime's increase over its predecessors is a matter of degree, not of kind. Even the increase itself I'd call incremental.

    Also, I wrote, "So far, all talk." That doesn't mean I'm not concerned. As the man who jumped off a skyscraper said, when passing the 2nd floor, "All right so far!"

    Truth , says: February 9, 2019 at 1:28 am GMT
    @NoseytheDuke My friend, I understand what you are saying, but at some point the wise man stops playing checkers on the chessboard.

    There is, functionally, no difference between The Donna and Cackles.

    riversedge , says: February 9, 2019 at 1:43 am GMT
    So what's the difference between Trump's neocons and the neocons who would have run Hillary? Nothing. There is no one more chicken hawkish, and slavish to Israel than Hillary.
    Asagirian , says: February 9, 2019 at 2:11 am GMT
    Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects,

    Obama came AFTER Bush II and continued his Zionist-supremacist policies.

    Asagirian , says: February 9, 2019 at 2:14 am GMT
    Give Trump some credit. He tried to ease ties with Russia and end war in Syria. But look how the Jewish supremacists in media and Deep State goons all jumped on him. And almost no one in the Establishment came to his side.

    Obama and his goons pushed the Russia Collusion Hoax. Obama and Bush II have more in common.

    Trump tried but he's seen turned pussy.

    ThreeCranes , says: February 9, 2019 at 3:15 pm GMT
    @Sean wages a trade war against China intended to prevent its economic progress

    "About time too. Nixon deciding the US would getting pally with China was a hostile act as far as Russia was concerned."

    Exactly right. Glad someone else remembers things as they were. Getting pally with China will turn out to be the most disastrous mistake the USA has ever made in foreign policy.

    Arrogantly thinking that we could make them our junior partners we have given or sold them everything which made us great. Our industries, technology, patents, education at premier research institutions etc. Now, utilizing everything we provided them, they will surpass and then suppress us. Meanwhile our ignorant politicians, blinded by traitorous, dual-citizen economists and bankers who promised a new economy based upon finance and "information", plod along, single file, to oblivion.

    KenH , says: February 9, 2019 at 9:50 pm GMT

    Start with the head cheese, Donald Trump, profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law. His supporters will explode in fury at this.

    Most of us knew that Trump is a flawed man but were willing to overlook that because he was the only one talking sense on immigration and offering solutions that would benefit white America. Of course, after two years Trump has been all tweet and little action on immigration and appears poised to sell out out to Javanka, Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers and the Business Roundtable.

    He's narcissistic and a bit of a con man but not profoundly ignorant. Profoundly ignorant people don't become billionaires and will themselves to the presidency.

    Trump has done a 180 on his campaign foreign policy and filled his administration with Israel first neocon retreads from the George W. Bush era instead of America firsters. People like Bolton deserve all the hate and condemnation heaped upon them by Fredrico.

    Fredrico just hates Trump because he doesn't worship Mexico and Mexicans like Fredrico does and spoke the truth about many Mexican illegals being predisposed to violent crime. Fredrico and his hispandering Bobbsey twin Ron Unz get easily triggered at the slightest criticism of hispanics, even if based in fact, and fly into a foaming at the mouth rage.

    Carroll Price , says: February 10, 2019 at 1:29 am GMT
    @KenH The first priority of any president is staying alive, which probably explains why every US president, including Donald Trump ends up doing the exact opposite of what they promise on the campaign trail. As to Trump's neocon advisors, I suspect they were appointed by the deep state, with him having no say in the matter.

    [Feb 10, 2019] Pussy John Bolton and His Codpiece Mustache by Fred Reed

    We have until recently never had government as aggressive, reckless, or psychiatrically fascinating as now.
    Appointment on Bolton essentially confirms Fred Reed diagnose of Trump: "profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law.
    Notable quotes:
    "... I remarked how it seemed so strange that many of these hawks never fought in a war even when they had ample opportunity in their youth ..."
    "... The crazy irresponsibility of Trump's foreign policy is entirely counter productive & inexcusable, however it's symptomatic of a slowly swelling sense of unconscious desperation. The reality, the feeling of unconstrained power the US experienced in the 90's & naughties has gone. The US has slowly woken to the nightmare possibility of real peer competitors. ..."
    Feb 10, 2019 | www.unz.com

    American government has become a collection of sordid and dangerous clowns. It was not always thus. Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects, were sometimes corrupt, and could be disagreed with on many grounds. They weren't crazy. Today's administration would seem unwholesome in a New York bus station at three in the morning. They are not normal American politicians.

    In particular they seem to be pushing for war with Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela. And -- this is important -- their behavior is not a matter of liberals catfighting with conservatives. All former presidents carefully avoided war with the Soviet Union, which carefully avoided war with America.

    It was Reagan, a conservative and responsible president, who negotiated the INF treaty, to eliminate short-fuse nuclear weapons from Europe. By contrast, Trump is scrapping it. Pat Buchanan, the most conservative man I have met, strongly opposes aggression against Russia. The problem with the current occupants of the White House is not that they are conservatives, if they are. It is that they are nuts.

    Donald the Cockatoo

    Start with the head cheese, Donald Trump, profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law. His supporters will explode in fury at this. All politics being herd politics, the population has coalesced into herds fanatically pro-Trump and fanatically anti-Trump. Yet Trump's past is not a secret. Well-documented biographies describe his behavior in detail, but his supporters don't read them. The following is a bit long, but worth reading.

    From The Making of Donald Trump , Johnston, David Cay. (p. 23). Melville House. Kindle Edition.

    "I always get even," Trump writes in the opening line of that chapter. He then launches into an attack on the same woman he had denounced in Colorado. Trump recruited the unnamed woman "from her government job where she was making peanuts," her career going nowhere. "I decided to make her somebody. I gave her a great job at the Trump Organization, and over time she became powerful in real estate. She bought a beautiful home.

    "When Trump was in financial trouble in the early nineties .."I asked her to make a phone call to an extremely close friend of hers who held a powerful position at a big bank and would have done what she asked. She said, "Donald, I can't do that." Instead of accepting that the woman felt that such a call would be inappropriate, Trump fired her. She started her own business. Trump writes that her business failed. "I was really happy when I found that out," he says.

    "She had turned on me after I did so much to help her. I had asked her to do me a favor in return, and she turned me down flat. She ended up losing her home. Her husband, who was only in it for the money, walked out on her and I was glad. Over the years many people have called me asking for a recommendation for her. I always gave her bad recommendation. I can't stomach disloyalty. ..and now I go out of my way to make her life miserable."

    All that because (if she exists) she declined to engage in corruption for the Donald. That is your President. A draft dodger, a pampered rich kid, and Ivy brat (Penn, Wharton). This increasingly is a pattern at the top: Ivy, money, no military service.

    Pussy John Bolton

    A particularly loathsome sort of politician is one who dodges his country's wars when of military age, and then wants to send others to die in later wars. This is Pussy John, arch hawk, coward, amoral, bully, willing to kill any number while he prances martially in Washington. Speaking as one who carried a rifle in Viet Nam, I would like to confine this fierce darling for life in the bottom of a public latrine in Uganda.

    Pussy John, an Ivy flower (Yale) wrote in a reunion books that, during the 1969 Vietnam War draft lottery, "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost." In an interview, Bolton explained that he decided to avoid service in Vietnam because "by the time I was about to graduate in 1970, it was clear to me that opponents of the Vietnam War had made it certain we could not prevail, and that I had no great interest in going there to have Teddy Kennedy give it back to the people I might die to take it away from."

    This same Pussy John, unwilling to risk his valuable being in a war he could have attended, now wants war with Iran, Venezuela, Russia, Syria, and Afghanistan. In these wars millions would die while he waggled his silly lip broom in the West Wing. His truculence is pathological and dangerous.

    Here is PJ on Iran: which has not harmed and does not threaten America: "We think the government is under real pressure and it's our intention to squeeze them very hard," Bolton said Tuesday in Singapore. "As the British say, 'squeeze them until the pips squeak'."

    How very brave of him. He apparently feels sadistic delight at starving Venezuelans, inciting civil war, and ruining the lives of millions who have done nothing wrong. Whence the weird hostility of this empty jockstrap, the lack of humanity? Forgot his Midiol? Venezuela of course has done nothing to the US and couldn't if it wanted to. America under the Freak Show is destroying another country simply because it doesn't meekly obey. While PJ gloats.

    Bush II

    Another rich kid and Yalie, none too bright, amoral as the rest, another draft dodger, (he hid in the Air National Guard.) who got to the White House on daddy's name recognition. Not having the balls to fight in his own war, he presided over the destruction of Iraq and the killing of hundreds of thousands, for no reason. (Except oil, Israel, and Empire. Collectively, these amount to no reason.) He then had the effrontery to pose on the deck of an aircraft carrier and say, "Mission accomplished." You know, just like Alexander the Great. Amoral. No empathy. What a man.

    The striking pattern of the Ivy League avoiding the war confirmed then, as it does now, that our present rulers regard the rest of America as beings of a lower order. These armchair John Waynes might have called them "deplorables," though Hillary, another Yalie bowwow hawk, had not yet made the contempt explicit. This was the attitude of Pussy John, Bushy-Bushy Two, and Cockatoo Don. Compare this with the Falklands War in which Prince Andrew did what a country's leadership should do, but ours doesn't..

    Wikipedia: "He (Prince Andrew) holds the rank of commander and the honorary rank of Vice Admiral (as of February 2015) in the Royal Navy, in which he served as an active-duty helicopter pilot and instructor and as the captain of a warship. He saw active service during the Falklands War, flying on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, and casualty evacuation"

    The Brits still have class. Compare Andrew with the contents of the Great Double-Wide on Pennsylvania Avernus.

    Gina

    A measure of the moral degradation of America: It is the only country that openly and proudly engages in torture. Many countries do it, of course. We admit it, and maintain torture prisons around the globe. Now we have a major government official, Gina Haspel, head of the CIA, a known sadist. "Bloody Gina." Is this who represents us? Would any other country in the civilized world put a sadist publicly in office?

    Think of Gina waterboarding some guy, or standing around and getting off on it. You don't torture people unless you like it. The guy is tied down, coughing, choking, screaming, begging, desperate, drowning, and Gina pours more water. The poor bastard vomits, chokes. Gina adds a little more water .

    What kind of woman would do this? Well, Gina's kind obviously. Does she then run off to her office and lock the door for half an hour? Maybe it starts early. One imagines her as a little girl, playing with her dolls. Cheerleader Barbie, Nurse Barbie, Klaus Barbie .

    Michael Pompeo

    Another pathologically aggressive chickenhawk. In a piece in Foreign Affairs he describes Iran as a "rogue state that America must eliminate for the sake of all that is good. Note that Pompeo presides over a foreign policy seeking to destroy Venezuela's economy and threatens military invasion, though Venezuela is no danger to the US and is not America's business; embargoes Cuba, which in no danger to the US and is not America's business; seeks to destroy Iran's economy, though Iran is no danger to the US and none of Americas business; sanctions Europe and meddles in its politics; sanctions Russia, which is not a danger to the United States, in an attempt to destroy its economy, pushes NATO up to Russia's borders, abandons the INF arms-control treaty and establishes a Space Command which will mean nuclear weapons on hair trigger in orbit, starts another nuclear arms race; wages a trade war against China intended to prevent its economic progress; sanctions North Korea; continues a seventeen-year policy of killing Afghans for no discernible purpose; wages a war against Syria; bombs Somalis; maintains unwanted occupation forces in Iraq; increasingly puts military forces in Africa; supports regimes with ghastly human-rights records such as Saudi Arabia and Israel; and looks for a war with China in the South China Sea, which is no more America's business than the Gulf of Mexico is China's.

    But Pompeo is not a loon, oh no, and America is not a rogue state. Perish forfend.

    Nikki Haley

    A negligible twit -- I choose my vowel carefully -- but characterized, like Trump, PJ, and Pompeo Mattis

    "After being promoted to lieutenant general, Mattis took command of Marine Corps Combat Development Command. On February 1, 2005, speaking at a forum in San Diego, he said "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling."

    Perhaps in air-to-air combat you want someone who regards killing as fun, or in an amphibious assault. But in a position to make policy? Can you image Dwight Eisenhower talking about the fun of squaring a man's brains across the ground?

    The Upshot

    We have until recently never had government as aggressive, reckless, or psychiatrically fascinating as now. Again, it is not a matter of Republicans and Democrats. No administration of any party, stripe, or ideology has ever pushed to aggressively toward war with so many countries. These people are not right in the head.


    Gene Su , says: February 8, 2019 at 3:07 am GMT

    I remember in high school one of my teachers stating how weird it seems that it would be the leadership of the US military who would call for the American government to intervene less in the affairs of other countries and to not be so quick to use military force. This was, of course, decades ago.

    A few years ago, I had a conversation with one of my colleages. He remarked how scary it was that so many American politicians were calling for war with Russia (with Hillary Clinton leading the pack?). I remarked how it seemed so strange that many of these hawks never fought in a war even when they had ample opportunity in their youth (Vietnam).

    animalogic , says: February 8, 2019 at 8:05 am GMT
    Fred is absolutely correct: the current administration is pathological & insane.

    However, it's worth remembering that their insane behavior is based on the same Imperial goals that have been in play since at least 1945.

    The crazy irresponsibility of Trump's foreign policy is entirely counter productive & inexcusable, however it's symptomatic of a slowly swelling sense of unconscious desperation. The reality, the feeling of unconstrained power the US experienced in the 90's & naughties has gone. The US has slowly woken to the nightmare possibility of real peer competitors.

    China & Russia are real novelties -- & as such, damn scary. Taken together, they are near equal military & economic rivals of the US.

    To US elites this is almost incomprehensible. How ? How did China suddenly become leaders in cutting edge tech? How did Russia suddenly appear with hypersonsic missiles ?

    It's impossible ! Given the already existing moral & psychological inadequacies of individual Trump team members, insanity & juvenile behavior are fairly predictable responses .

    MikeatMikedotMike , says: February 8, 2019 at 7:20 pm GMT
    The fact that you left Bill Clinton off this list (you know, the president that fired Tomahawk missiles into the country of Sudan to take attention away from the Lewinsky hearings, sexually assaulted subordinate women for decades, and spent time banging underage sex slaves via the Lolita Express, pardons a bunch of Puerto Rican terrorists in 2000 to help swing PR votes to his bag of shit wife in the New York Senate race and was, oh yeah, a draft dodger) is pathetic even for you , Kiko. I guess NAFTA makes up for all that rapey shit, huh?

    And when can we expect a detailed critique of the Mexican political climate, Kiko? Is it still never? A little too worried about that knock on the door if you bring up all the inconvenient murder going on down there, and all of the gutless politicians and law enforcement that turn a blind eye to it, you insufferable hypocrite?

    Reactionary Utopian , says: February 8, 2019 at 10:31 pm GMT

    No administration of any party, stripe, or ideology has ever pushed to aggressively toward war with so many countries. These people are not right in the head.

    Now there, I will certainly agree with Mr. Reed, but in a qualified way. The Trump administration is somewhat more warlike and interventionist in its talk than previous ones have been. But, so far, all talk (except for its repudiation of the Iran nuclear deal, which is ominous).

    Also, even in terms of the bellicose hot air, the current regime's increase over its predecessors is a matter of degree, not of kind. Even the increase itself I'd call incremental.

    Also, I wrote, "So far, all talk." That doesn't mean I'm not concerned. As the man who jumped off a skyscraper said, when passing the 2nd floor, "All right so far!"

    Truth , says: February 9, 2019 at 1:28 am GMT
    @NoseytheDuke My friend, I understand what you are saying, but at some point the wise man stops playing checkers on the chessboard.

    There is, functionally, no difference between The Donna and Cackles.

    riversedge , says: February 9, 2019 at 1:43 am GMT
    So what's the difference between Trump's neocons and the neocons who would have run Hillary? Nothing. There is no one more chicken hawkish, and slavish to Israel than Hillary.
    Asagirian , says: February 9, 2019 at 2:11 am GMT
    Until Bush II, those governing were never lunatics. Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Obama, Clinton had their defects,

    Obama came AFTER Bush II and continued his Zionist-supremacist policies.

    Asagirian , says: February 9, 2019 at 2:14 am GMT
    Give Trump some credit. He tried to ease ties with Russia and end war in Syria. But look how the Jewish supremacists in media and Deep State goons all jumped on him. And almost no one in the Establishment came to his side.

    Obama and his goons pushed the Russia Collusion Hoax. Obama and Bush II have more in common.

    Trump tried but he's seen turned pussy.

    ThreeCranes , says: February 9, 2019 at 3:15 pm GMT
    @Sean wages a trade war against China intended to prevent its economic progress

    "About time too. Nixon deciding the US would getting pally with China was a hostile act as far as Russia was concerned."

    Exactly right. Glad someone else remembers things as they were. Getting pally with China will turn out to be the most disastrous mistake the USA has ever made in foreign policy.

    Arrogantly thinking that we could make them our junior partners we have given or sold them everything which made us great. Our industries, technology, patents, education at premier research institutions etc. Now, utilizing everything we provided them, they will surpass and then suppress us. Meanwhile our ignorant politicians, blinded by traitorous, dual-citizen economists and bankers who promised a new economy based upon finance and "information", plod along, single file, to oblivion.

    KenH , says: February 9, 2019 at 9:50 pm GMT

    Start with the head cheese, Donald Trump, profoundly ignorant, narcissistic, a real-estate con man who danced just out of reach of the law. His supporters will explode in fury at this.

    Most of us knew that Trump is a flawed man but were willing to overlook that because he was the only one talking sense on immigration and offering solutions that would benefit white America. Of course, after two years Trump has been all tweet and little action on immigration and appears poised to sell out out to Javanka, Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers and the Business Roundtable.

    He's narcissistic and a bit of a con man but not profoundly ignorant. Profoundly ignorant people don't become billionaires and will themselves to the presidency.

    Trump has done a 180 on his campaign foreign policy and filled his administration with Israel first neocon retreads from the George W. Bush era instead of America firsters. People like Bolton deserve all the hate and condemnation heaped upon them by Fredrico.

    Fredrico just hates Trump because he doesn't worship Mexico and Mexicans like Fredrico does and spoke the truth about many Mexican illegals being predisposed to violent crime. Fredrico and his hispandering Bobbsey twin Ron Unz get easily triggered at the slightest criticism of hispanics, even if based in fact, and fly into a foaming at the mouth rage.

    Carroll Price , says: February 10, 2019 at 1:29 am GMT
    @KenH The first priority of any president is staying alive, which probably explains why every US president, including Donald Trump ends up doing the exact opposite of what they promise on the campaign trail. As to Trump's neocon advisors, I suspect they were appointed by the deep state, with him having no say in the matter.

    [Jan 30, 2019] Just one more to a long list of Trump appointments. I believe Trump is some kind of pervert, like the ones that like to get whipped, only Trump likes to get stabbed in the back

    Jan 30, 2019 | www.zerohedge.com

    XXX

    Just one more to a long list of Trump appointments. I believe Trump is some kind of pervert, like the ones that like to get whipped, only Trump likes to get stabbed in the back. XXX , 34 minutes ago

    He does what Sheldon and Bibi tell him.

    You think you're so ******* smart, but this some how eludes you?

    YYY, 3 hours ago (Edited)

    Donald Trump's House of Cons, Clowns, Crappolas, Criminals, and Conspirators:

    1. Mike Pence
    2. Mike Pompeo
    3. Steven Mnuchin
    4. John Bolton
    5. Elliot Abrams
    6. Nikki Haley
    7. Gina Haspel
    8. Peter Navarro
    9. Wilbur Ross
    10. Kirstjen Nielsen
    11. Robert Lighthizer
    12. Dan Coats

    [Jan 19, 2019] Welcome to the rabbit hole

    Jan 19, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Jackrabbit , Jan 19, 2019 10:25:14 PM | link

    bevin @48

    Yes. Not an "insurance policy" for overturning the election. But I'd say that how they used the dossier was exactly how they intended to use it:

    • - to get wiretaps from the FISA court;
    • - to poison Trump campaign media relations;
    • - to justify a cloud of suspicion (17 intelligence agencies agree!) over the Trump Administration that prompts a special council investigation after Trump fires Comey.
    But there is a more basic problem with your analysis: You think personalities matter. You think it is absurd that the establishment would choose Trump as President over Hillary. That is their firewall. What you and millions of others think is impossible is a lever for manipulation/psyop. Constitutional lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama can be nothing but good! Western democracies are trustworthy! Well funded humanitarian organizations working in a war zone are heros! Etc.

    (Repeating:) MAGA is a Deep State/establishment POLICY CHOICE as much as it is Trump's campaign slogan. A populist nationalist is exactly what they wanted to lead the Empire (just as a populist socialist was what was wanted when Obama was elected.) Trump "unlikely" win was conveniently pinned on the Russians and Wikileaks.

    How else does one explain Trump's Deep State/establishment nominations that further the agenda of people that are supposedly against Trump:

    • VP Pence Besties with McCain
    • John Bolton Most neocons are 'Never Trump' (or pretend to be)
    • Gina Haspel Brennan's acolyte
    • William Barr Long time friend of Bushes, Mueller, and Comey (Comey is Mueller's pal)
    Welcome to the rabbit hole.

    [Jan 09, 2019] Mattis One More General For The Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone

    Jan 09, 2019 | www.zerohedge.com

    Mattis: One More General For The "Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone"

    by Tyler Durden Wed, 01/09/2019 - 21:55 20 SHARES Authored by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos via The American Conservative,

    Big brass and government executives play both sides of the military revolving door, including "the only adult in the room."

    Before he became lionized as the "only adult in the room" capable of standing up to President Trump, General James Mattis was quite like any other brass scoping out a lucrative second career in the defense industry. And as with other military giants parlaying their four stars into a cushy boardroom chair or executive suite, he pushed and defended a sub-par product while on both sides of the revolving door. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that contract turned out to be an expensive fraud and a potential health hazard to the troops.

    According to a recent report by the Project on Government Oversight, 25 generals, nine admirals, 43 lieutenant generals, and 23 vice admirals retired to become lobbyists, board members, executives, or consultants for the defense industry between 2008 and 2018. They are part of a much larger group of 380 high-ranking government officials and congressional staff who shifted into the industry in that time.

    To get a sense of the demand, according to POGO, which had to compile all of this information through Freedom of Information requests, there were 625 instances in 2018 alone in which the top 20 defense contractors (think Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin) hired senior DoD officials for high-paying jobs -- 90 percent of which could be described as "influence peddling."

    Back to Mattis. In 2012, while he was head of Central Command, the Marine General pressed the Army to procure and deploy blood testing equipment from a Silicon Valley company called Theranos. He communicated that he was having success with this effort directly to Theranos's chief executive officer. Even though an Army health unit tried to terminate the contract due to it's not meeting requirements, according to POGO, Mattis kept the pressure up. Luckily, it was never used on the battlefield.

    Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise but upon retirement in 2013, Mattis asked a DoD counsel about the ethics guiding future employment with Theranos. They advised against it. So Mattis went to serve on its board instead for a $100,000 salary. Two years after Mattis quit to serve as Trump's Pentagon chief in 2016, the two Theranos executives he worked with were indicted for "massive" fraud , perpetuating a "multi-million dollar scheme to defraud investors, doctors and patients," and misrepresenting their product entirely. It was a fake.

    But assuming this was Mattis's only foray into the private sector would be naive. When he was tapped for defense secretary -- just three years after he left the military -- he was worth upwards of $10 million . In addition to his retirement pay, which was close to $15,000 a month at the time, he received $242,000 as a board member, plus as much as $1.2 million in stock options in General Dynamics, the Pentagon's fourth largest contractor. He also disclosed payments from other corporate boards, speech honorariums -- including $20,000 from defense heavyweight Northrop Grumman -- and a whopping $410,000 from Stanford University's public policy think tank the Hoover Institution for serving as a "distinguished visiting fellow."

    Never for a moment think that Mattis won't land softly after he leaves Washington -- if he leaves at all. Given his past record, he will likely follow a very long line, as illustrated by POGO's explosive report, of DoD officials who have used their positions while inside the government to represent the biggest recipients of federal funding on the outside. They then join ex-congressional staffers and lawmakers on powerful committees who grease the skids on Capitol Hill. And then they go to work for the very companies they've helped, fleshing out a small army of executives, lobbyists, and board members with direct access to the power brokers with the purse strings back on the inside.

    Welcome to the Swamp

    "[Mattis's' career course] is emblematic of how systemic the problem is," said Mandy Smithberger, POGO's lead on the report and the director of its Center for Defense Information.

    "Private companies know how to protect their interests. We just wish there were more protections for taxpayers."

    When everything is engineered to get more business for the same select few, "when you have a Department of Defense who sees it as their job to promote arms sales does this really serve the interest of national security?"

    That is something to chew on. If a system is so motivated by personal gain (civil servants always mindful of campaign contributions and private sector job prospects) on one hand, and big business profits on the other, is there room for merit or innovation? One need only look at Lockheed's F-35 joint strike fighter, the most expensive weapon system in history, which was relentlessly promoted over other programs by members of Congress and within the Pentagon despite years of test failures and cost overruns , to see what this gets you: planes that don't fly, weapons that don't work, and shortfalls in other parts of the budget that don't matter to contractors like pilot training and maintenance of existing systems.

    "It comes down to two questions," Smithberger noted in an interview with TAC.

    " Are we approving weapons systems that are safe or not? And are we putting [servicemembers'] lives on the line" to benefit the interests of industry?

    All of this is legal, she points out. Sure, there are rules -- "cooling off" periods before government officials and members of Congress can lobby, consult, or work on contracts after they leave their federal positions, or when industry people come in through the other side to take positions in government. But Smithberger said they are "riddled with loopholes" and lack of enforcement.

    Case in point: current acting DoD Secretary Patrick Shanahan spent 31 years working for Boeing , which gets about $24 billion a year as the Pentagon's second largest contractor. He was Boeing's senior vice president in 2016 just before he was confirmed as Trump's deputy secretary of defense in 2017. Last week he recused himself from all matters Boeing, but he wasn't always so hands off. At one point, he "prodded" for the purchase of 12 $1.2 billion Boeing F-15X fighter planes, according to Bloomberg.

    But the revolving door is so much more pervasive and insidious than POGO could possibly catalogue. So says Franklin "Chuck" Spinney , who worked as a civilian and military officer in the Pentagon for 31 years, beginning in 1968. He calls the military industrial complex a "quasi-isolated political economy" that is in many ways independent from the larger domestic economy. It has its own rules, norms, and culture, and unlike the real world, it is self-sustaining -- not by healthy competition and efficiency, but by keeping the system on a permanent war footing, with money always pumping from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon to the private sector and then back again. Left out are basic laws of supply and demand, geopolitical realities, and the greater interest of society.

    "That's why we call it a self-licking ice cream cone," Spinney explained to TAC.

    " [This report] is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more subtle stuff going on. When you are in weapons development like I was at the beginning of my career, you learn about this on day one, that having cozy relationships with contractors is openly encouraged. And then you get desensitized. I was fortunate because I worked for people who did not like it and I caught on quickly."

    While the culture has evolved, basic realities have persisted since the massive build-up of the military and weapons systems during the Cold War. The odds of young officers in the Pentagon making colonel or higher are slim. They typically retire out in their 40s. They know implicitly that their best chance for having a well-paid second career is in the only industry they know -- defense. Most take this calculation seriously, moderating their decisions on program work and procurement and communicating with members of Congress as a matter of course.

    " Let's just say there's a problem [with a program]. Are you going to come down hard on a contractor and try to hold his feet to the fire? Are you going to risk getting blackballed when you are out there looking for a job ? Sometimes there is no word communicated, you just don't want to be unacceptable to anyone," said Spinney. It's ingrained, from the rank of lieutenant colonel all the way up to general.

    So the top five and their subsidiaries continue to get the vast majority of work, usually in no-bid contracts ($100 billion worth in 2016 alone) , and with cost-plus structures that critics say encourage waste and never-ending timetables, like the $1.5 trillion F-35. "The whole system is wired to get money out the door," said Spinney. "That is where the revolving door is most pernicious. It's everywhere."

    The real danger is that under this pressure, parties work to keep bad contracts alive even if they have to cook the books. "Essentially from the standpoint of Pentagon contracting you are not going to have people writing reports saying this product is a piece of shit," said Spinney. Worse, evaluations are designed to deflect criticism if not oversell success in order to keep the spigot open. The most infamous example of this was the rigged tests that kept the ill-fated "Star Wars" missile defense program going in the 1980s.

    * * *

    Everyone talks about generals like Mattis as though they're warrior-gods. But for decades, many of them have turned out to be different creatures altogether - creatures of a semi-independent ecosystem that operates outside of the normal rules and benefits only a powerful minority subset: the military elite, defense contractors, and Congress. More recently, the defense-funded think tank world has become part of this ecology, providing the ideological grist for more spending and serving as a way-station for operators moving in and out of government and industry.

    Call it the Swamp, the Borg, or even the Blob, but attempting to measure or quantify the revolving door in the military-industrial complex can feel like a fool's errand. Groups like POGO have attempted to shine light on this dark planet for years. Unfortunately, there is little incentive in Capitol Hill or at the Pentagon to do the very least: pull the purse strings, close loopholes, encourage real competition, and end cost-plus practices.

    "We generally need to see more (political) championing on this issue," Smithberger said. Until then, all outside efforts "can't result in any meaningful change."


    Son of Captain Nemo , 4 minutes ago link

    So tell me again how "Mad Pedo" evaded Obama's axing of all the non-compliant General(s) and Admiral(s) in charge of the U.S. strategic command?!!!

    Answered my own question. He's like the rest of them since the Balkans that just does counter insurgencies!...

    "SUCCESS" in every direction on the weather vane you look!!!

    Or... Another way of saying it.

    How to build your successful U.S. military career turning $8 trillion in unfunded liability debt into $200 trillion in unfunded liability debt in less than 20 years!

    Who wants to line up for that 'self help book"?!!!

    MusicIsYou , 9 minutes ago link

    Mattis is just another self serving cockroach in a U.S uniform.

    __name___3O4jF">Realname Wild tree , 31 minutes ago link

    It has nothing to do with the defense of our nation, or the unnecessary spilling of the blood of our nation.

    It has everything to do with greed at the expense of our youths blood and the nations security. Follow the money.

    As the light of truth shines as this article illustrates, the cockroaches scurry. Rumsfield's DoD 2 trillion missing comment the day before 9/11 comes to mind. Wonder how he knew.......

    Wild tree , 31 minutes ago link

    It has nothing to do with the defense of our nation, or the unnecessary spilling of the blood of our nation.

    It has everything to do with greed at the expense of our youths blood and the nations security. Follow the money.

    As the light of truth shines as this article illustrates, the cockroaches scurry. Rumsfield's DoD 2 trillion missing comment the day before 9/11 comes to mind. Wonder how he knew.......

    hotrod , 39 minutes ago link

    All this corruption in so nauseating. Yet Americans do nothing

    peippe , 39 minutes ago link

    These generals have been in the military a long time.

    Not long enough to remember winning a real war....

    Mr. Kwikky , 25 minutes ago link

    It was and is never about winning, but keeping the US in perpetual war state (report from iron moutain). Cui bono? the mic

    [Jan 05, 2019] Are Trump's senior people going rogue?

    Numerous MSM articles appear about Trump's standing up to the Generals: Mattis, Kelly, Dunford, etc. Yet Bolton feels free to conspire against the President's agenda? The narrative that Trump is fighting for his campaign promises, but allows Bolton and Pompeo to scheme against him does not make any sense.
    A more realistic take is that rump is a faux populist. He is the Republican Obama - pretending to be a populist peacemaker while working for the establishment. The "populist hero" is a gimmick that reinforces people's belief in USA democracy and the righteousness of USA actions. The Trump/Deep-State conflict is a propaganda psy-op.
    The major inconsistency here is why the Deep State is hell bent of deposing him. Is The Trump/Deep-State conflict is a propaganda psy-op? I do no not think so.
    Trump is certainly a 'faux populist' as all right wing populists are: promises to the people while promoting the interests of the 1%. But there is a genuine struggle going on within the ruling class due to the crisis of neoliberal governance. The world is a complex place and Washington's influence is declining. No surprise that parts of the US elite that got used to "full spectrum dominance" are panicking. And it is all real.
    Notable quotes:
    "... "The president's statement offered the latest illustration of the dramatic gyrations that have characterized his foreign policy and fueled questions about whether his senior advisers are implementing his policies or pursuing their own agendas." ..."
    "... Here we have the question asked, in effect: Are Trump's senior people going rogue? Does the master of spin Washington Post, by putting the question in a manner sympathetic to Trump and unsympathetic to Bolton and Pompeo, and by extension the hordes denouncing Trump's decision to reduce US involvement in Syria suggest a new orientation in the Mockingbird media? ..."
    Jan 05, 2019 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Robert Snefjella , Jan 5, 2019 10:21:56 PM | link

    The Washington Post article that b links to ("never signed off") has the headline " 'They can do what they want' Trump's Iran comments defy his top aids"

    The "They" in the quote in the headline is a reference to Iran in Syria. "President Trump stuck a dagger in a major initiative advanced by his foreign policy team:
    Iran's leaders, the president said, "can do what they want" in Syria.

    With a stray remark, Trump snuffed out a plan from his national security adviser, John Bolton, who this fall vowed that the United States would not leave Syria
    "as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders." Pompeo has of course also obsessed over Iran.

    Now the next paragraph in the WP piece is I think quite remarkable: "The president's statement offered the latest illustration of the dramatic gyrations that have characterized his foreign policy and fueled questions about whether his senior advisers are implementing his policies or pursuing their own agendas."

    Here we have the question asked, in effect: Are Trump's senior people going rogue? Does the master of spin Washington Post, by putting the question in a manner sympathetic to Trump and unsympathetic to Bolton and Pompeo, and by extension the hordes denouncing Trump's decision to reduce US involvement in Syria suggest a new orientation in the Mockingbird media?

    Also note that acting Defense Sec Patrick Shanahan, who was injected immediately into his position when Trump gave Mattis the boot, is becoming part of the strategic scene.

    From the NYT: "He is the brightest and smartest guy I worked with at Boeing," said Carolyn Corvi, a former executive at the company. "He has the ability to see over the horizon and {implement needed change]."

    "Ana Mari Cauce, the president of University of Washington, worked with Mr. Shanahan .... She said his outsider perspective was helpful in questioning old practices, forcing people to look at problems in different ways."

    [Dec 29, 2018] Why Mattis' Exit Is A Defining Moment In US Foreign Policy

    Dec 29, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    William Bowles , Dec 27, 2018 4:52:43 AM | link

    Why Mattis' Exit Is A Defining Moment In US Foreign Policy

    by M. K. BHADRAKUMAR

    An important analysis!

    https://orientalreview.org/2018/12/27/why-mattis-exit-is-a-defining-moment-in-us-foreign-policy/

    [Dec 28, 2018] Send Mad Dog James Mattis to the Corporate Kennel

    Notable quotes:
    "... Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an Army Infantry/Intelligence officer before working as a CIA analyst for the next 27 years. Ray admits to a modicum of bias against Marine officers, but not those with whom he worked back in the day. He is co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, which includes Marines who remember what Semper Fi means. ..."
    "... A case in point is when you hear members of congress criticize Trump decision to withdraw the US army personals from Syria and Afganistan. These members forget that the US army in Syria is in violation of international laws and US laws as well. ..."
    Dec 28, 2018 | www.mintpressnews.com

    utgoing Defense Secretary Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis was famous for quipping , "It's fun to shoot some people." It remains a supreme irony that Mattis was widely considered the only "adult in the room" in the Trump administration. Compared to whom? John Bolton, the rabid neocon serving as national security adviser? That would be the epitome of "condemning with faint praise."

    With his ramrod-straight image, not to mention his warrior/scholar reputation extolled in the media, Mattis was able to disguise the reality that he was, as Col. Andrew Bacevich put it on Democracy Now! this morning, "totally unimaginative." Meaning that Mattis was simply incapable of acknowledging the self-destructive, mindless nature of U.S. "endless war" in the Middle East, which candidate-Trump had correctly called "stupid." In his resignation letter, Mattis also peddled the usual cant about the indispensable nation's aggression being good for the world.

    Mattis was an obstacle to Trump's desire to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan (and remains in position to spike Trump's orders). Granted, the abrupt way Trump announced his apparently one-man decision was equally stupid. But the withdrawal of ground troops is supremely sane, and Mattis was and is a large problem. And, for good or ill, Trump -- not Mattis -- was elected president.

    Marine Wisdom

    Historically, Marines are the last place to turn for sound advice. Marine Gen. Smedley Butler (1881-1940), twice winner of the Medal of Honor, was brutally candid about this after he paused long enough to realize, and write, "War is a Racket":

    I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military profession I never had an original thought until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher- ups. "

    Shortly after another Marine general, former CENTCOM commander Anthony Zinni, retired, he stood by silently as he personally watched then-Vice President Dick Cheney give his most important speech ever (on August 26, 2002). Cheney blatantly lied about Iraq's (non-existent) WMD, in order to grease the skids for the war of aggression against Iraq. Zinni had kept his clearances and was "back on contract." He was well read-in on Iraq, and knew immediately that Cheney was lying.

    A few years later, Zinni admitted that he decided that his lips would be sealed. Far be it for a Marine to play skunk at the picnic. And, after all, he was being honored that day at the same Veterans of Foreign Wars convention where Cheney spoke. As seems clear now, Zinni was also lusting after the lucrative spoils of war given to erstwhile generals who offer themselves for membership on the corporate Boards of the arms makers/merchants that profiteer on war.

    (For an earlier critique of senior Marines, see: "Attacking Syria: Thumbing Noses at Constitution and Law." )

    Marine officer, now Sen. Pat Roberts, R, Kansas, merits "dishonorable mention" in this connection. He never rose to general but did become Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee at an auspicious time for Cheney and Bush. Roberts kowtowed, like a "good Marine," to their crass deceit, when a dollop of honesty on his part could have prevented the 2003 attack on Iraq and the killing, maiming, destruction, and chaos that continues to this day. Roberts knew all about the fraudulent intelligence and covered it up -- together with other lies -- for as long as he remained Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman

    Scott Ritter on Pat Roberts

    Roberts's unconscionable dereliction of duty enraged one honest Marine, Maj. Scott Ritter, who believes "Semper Fi" includes an obligation to tell the truth on matters of war and peace. Ritter, former UN chief weapons inspector for Iraq, who in April 2005 wrote, "Semper Fraud, Senator Roberts," based partly on his own experience with that complicit Marine.

    Needless to say, higher ranking, more malleable Marines aped Zinni in impersonating Uncle Remus's Tar Baby -- not saying nuttin'.

    It is conceivable that yet another sharply-saluting Marine, departing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, may be tapped by Trump to take Mattis's job. If that happens, it will add to President Trump's bizarre penchant for picking advisers hell-bent on frustrating the objectives he espoused when he was running for office, some of which -- it is becoming quite clear -- he genuinely wants to achieve.

    Trump ought to unleash Mattis now, and make sure Mattis keeps his distance from the Pentagon and the Military-Industrial Complex before he is asked to lead an insurrection against a highly vulnerable president -- as Gen. Smedley Butler was asked to do back in the day. Butler said no.

    Top Photo | U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, sits on stage during a change of command ceremony at the U.S. Southern Command headquarters on Nov. 26, 2018, in Doral, Fla. Brynn Anderson | AP

    Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an Army Infantry/Intelligence officer before working as a CIA analyst for the next 27 years. Ray admits to a modicum of bias against Marine officers, but not those with whom he worked back in the day. He is co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, which includes Marines who remember what Semper Fi means.

    Mahmoud HAm • 4 days ago ,

    I am not so much surprised that military generals keep their mouths shot rather than tell the truth when the truth is needed to avoid wars. But worse is that the US congress which are supposed to overlook over the government misbehavior to make the government abide by the laws and protect the interests of the people against government wrongs.

    A case in point is when you hear members of congress criticize Trump decision to withdraw the US army personals from Syria and Afganistan. These members forget that the US army in Syria is in violation of international laws and US laws as well.

    The congress are supposed the authority to declare war but the US is engaged in multiple wars without US Congress authorization. Worse off these idiots want to force the Trump administration to keep its illegal wars going on? What is the role of the congress??? To correct and force the Administration to abide by the rule of laws of the force them to keep violating international laws and US laws as well????

    Felix Hoenikker • 5 days ago ,

    Trump's bizarre penchant for picking advisers hell-bent on frustrating the objectives he espoused when he was running for office

    It's bizarre that he's hired so many Bill Kristol approved neocons when they abandoned him for Hillary in 2016. Or not so bizarre when one remembers what Russ Tice said about Cheney using the NSA to get blackmail dirt. Now they've lost control, so it will be interesting to see how they try to regain it.

    [Dec 24, 2018] Mattis Resigns

    Notable quotes:
    "... The Defense Department under Mattis became more opaque and less accountable to the public and Congress. He presided over two years of shameful support for the Saudi coalition war on Yemen, and he went out of his way to offer absurd justifications for continued U.S. support for the war to the end of his tenure. ..."
    "... No less than Secretary Pompeo, Mattis discredited himself in the desperate, unsuccessful effort to derail S.J.Res. 54. An administration that fights as hard as this has to keep the war on Yemen going is definitely not one interested in peace and restraint no matter what else happens. ..."
    Dec 24, 2018 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Secretary Mattis has resigned :

    Officials said Mr. Mattis went to the White House on Thursday afternoon with his resignation letter already written, but nonetheless made a last attempt at persuading Mr. Trump to reverse his decision about Syria, which the president announced on Wednesday over the objections of his senior advisers.

    Mr. Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, was rebuffed. Returning to the Pentagon, he asked aides to print out 50 copies of his resignation letter and distribute them around the building.

    Mattis' departure from the administration after the midterms had been floated as a possibility for months, but I don't think anyone seriously expected him to resign suddenly over a policy disagreement with the president. It is telling and not to Mattis' credit that ending an illegal war in Syria was the one policy disagreement with Trump that Mattis couldn't stomach. The Defense Secretary had repeatedly disagreed with Trump on a range of issues, and he usually lost the internal debate. The only times that he prevailed with Trump were when he advised him to escalate ongoing U.S. wars, and his influence had waned enough that he couldn't get his way on that, either. I was extremely skeptical that a Syria withdrawal would actually happen. Now that Mattis has tried and failed to reverse that decision, I have to acknowledge that I overestimated the ability of Trump's advisers to change his mind.

    The Defense Department under Mattis became more opaque and less accountable to the public and Congress. He presided over two years of shameful support for the Saudi coalition war on Yemen, and he went out of his way to offer absurd justifications for continued U.S. support for the war to the end of his tenure. The disagreement over Syria will dominate coverage of Mattis' resignation, but it is important to remember that when it came to the most indefensible U.S.-backed war he and Trump were always on the same page. No less than Secretary Pompeo, Mattis discredited himself in the desperate, unsuccessful effort to derail S.J.Res. 54. An administration that fights as hard as this has to keep the war on Yemen going is definitely not one interested in peace and restraint no matter what else happens.

    As wrong as Mattis was on a number of foreign policy issues, there is a real danger that his successor could be far worse. Even if Trump doesn't nominate a Tom Cotton or Lindsey Graham, the next Defense Secretary is very likely to be a yes-man in the mold of Mike Pompeo. Almost every time that Trump has replaced his top national security officials, he has chosen someone who will flatter and praise him instead of telling him the truth and giving him the best advice.

    The next Defense Secretary is less likely to resist Trump's belligerent tendencies, and he is more likely to indulge the president's worst impulses. Just as Pompeo has proven to be a worse Secretary of State than Tillerson, Mattis' successor will very likely prove to be an inferior Secretary of Defense.

    about:blank


    Robert December 20, 2018 at 11:53 pm

    How about Rand Paul as SecDef?
    Farewells , says: December 21, 2018 at 12:46 am
    You're right to fear what may replace him, especially after the disgusting Pompeo replaced the decent but ineffectual Tillerson, but I'm glad Mattis is gone, especially if he quit over the Syria decision, a no-brainer which should have been made two years ago.

    It's hard to imagine anyone being worse than he was. Sadly, we may not have to imagine it.

    another take , says: December 21, 2018 at 1:54 am
    There's also the danger that the elites and establishment will now escalate their efforts to remove him from office.

    I've disagreed with Trump about many things, and I don't like the man, but I still trust him more than the corrupt incompetents and foreign agents who dragged us into these Middle East hellholes.

    That is the terrible and ongoing damage that must be stopped.

    But now that Trump has made a move in the direction of winding it down, you will almost certainly see the fury and resentment of the elites and establishment redoubled. From their point of view, the only thing worse than a Trump who doesn't keep his campaign promises is one who does.

    prodigalson , says: December 21, 2018 at 8:55 am
    I'm still happy to see him go. Someone with the handle of "Mad Dog" is perhaps not the best fit for national defense issues.

    Agree his replacement will likely be worse but such seems to be the case for hardening our pharoah's hearts.

    Christian Chuba , says: December 21, 2018 at 9:09 am
    His next appointee will be no better and more than likely worse, a crafty Neocon who will bite their tongue when they disagree with Trump in order to remain so that he can encourage his worst tendencies. Bolton is a stellar example of this.

    If he appoints someone like Cotton or Gen Jack Keane then Trump will be the last adult in the room.

    Alex (the one that likes Ike) , says: December 21, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    what this withdrawal means to the Kurds? Leaving them once again in the lurch?

    Perhaps ceasing to deceive them with impossible promises given by both the previous Democratic and the current Republican administrations?

    Sid Finster , says: December 21, 2018 at 1:51 pm
    My SWAG, and this is merely SWAG, is that, since his election, Trump has given the neocons everything they wanted or asked for, but he still is allowed any freedom of action.

    In spite of governing much like a garden variety Republican, his enemies are still looking for any excuse to remove him.

    This is Trump reminding his enemies that he can do lots of things to upset the apple cart, so cut him some slack, already.

    [Dec 23, 2018] Good riddance to James Mattis, Trump's last general

    Notable quotes:
    "... You want to know what those casualty numbers tell us? American forces in Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq aren't going outside the wire – off American bases – very often. That's how you stay alive in places like Syria and Afghanistan. You stay away from places where things like IEDs can kill you. And even then, in the comparative safety of American bases, you're not safe, because there are enemy soldiers posing as "friendly" Afghan soldiers who will kill you. ..."
    "... This is the nature of the conflicts we're engaged in. You take thousands of American soldiers and send them thousands of miles away from home into combat zones in foreign lands, and you have them do as little as possible so not too many of them get killed. ..."
    "... It pains me to say this, but Trump pulling 2,000 soldiers out of Syria and 7,000 soldiers out of Afghanistan is the right thing to do. It might be getting done by a certifiable loon with an orange muskrat on his head, but it's the right thing to do and it should have been done a long time ago. ..."
    Dec 23, 2018 | www.salon.com

    ... ... ...

    The arm-waving and hand-flapping and pearl-clutching in the foreign affairs and national security "communities," not to mention in the Congress and among prominent Democrats, is something to behold. Significant portions of all those communities have long thought we didn't have any business being in Syria in the first place. Not to mention fighting our 17th year of the so-called "war" in Afghanistan, from which Trump intends to remove some 7,000 American troops...

    More than 2,400 American soldiers dead in Afghanistan so far. More than 30,000 Afghan civilians killed. Sixty percent of Afghan districts under control of the Taliban. Opium production at an "all-time high." Dozens, sometimes hundreds of Afghan soldiers killed every single week. You thought Vietnam was a misbegotten military misadventure? How about 17 years in Afghanistan with no end in sight? Hell, opium production was said to be at an "all-time high" when I was in the Kunar River Valley in Afghanistan in 2004. That's 14 years ago, 14 years of record-setting opium crops!

    And what are the pundits saying about our military foray into the morass called Syria? Listen to what I heard from one "expert" on MSNBC yesterday.

    "Syria is a very winnable proposition," this numbskull said, looking gravely at the other "experts" at the table. "The U.S. presence is actually very small numbers." Two thousand is the "very small number" this blazer-and-tie wearing "expert" was talking about as he reached for his "I'm a Pundit on the Katy Tur Show" cup and went on to blather about how "winnable" Syria is.

    Let me tell you what 2,000 soldiers is. It's about the size of a brigade, commanded by a full colonel. A brigade is typically three to five battalions of 500 to 1,000 soldiers, commanded by lieutenant colonels. Battalions are made up of three to five companies with around 200 soldiers, commanded by captains. Companies comprise three to four platoons of 40 to 100 soldiers, commanded by second lieutenants. So 2,000 soldiers is about 30 to 40 platoons of soldiers. I used to command a platoon. I was 22 years old. There were about 40 soldiers in my platoon. Let me tell you, taking care of 40 soldiers was a big fucking job, and we weren't even in combat.

    Taking care of 2,000 soldiers in a place like Syria with bullets flying and IEDs going off is a huge fucking job. Taking care of 14,000 soldiers, like we currently have in Afghanistan, or 7,000 which we'll have when Trump gets finished with his draw-down, is a massive fucking job.

    ... ... ...

    And now Trump's Last General's feelings are all hurt, because he wasn't consulted about pulling 2,000 troops out of Syria or 7,000 troops out of Afghanistan. What were those troops doing in Syria? We don't know, and I don't think Mattis had much of an idea what they were doing, either.

    We can get some idea what they're doing by the number of casualties American forces have suffered in both places. An American soldier was killed in Manbij, Syria, by a roadside bomb in March of this year. He was the fourth American killed in Syria since our forces entered the country in 2014. There have been 18 Americans killed in Afghanistan this year. Eleven were killed there last year. About half of those killed in Afghanistan have been so-called "green-on-green" killings, incidents where "friendly" Afghans killed American soldiers, usually on American bases.

    You want to know what those casualty numbers tell us? American forces in Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq aren't going outside the wire – off American bases – very often. That's how you stay alive in places like Syria and Afghanistan. You stay away from places where things like IEDs can kill you. And even then, in the comparative safety of American bases, you're not safe, because there are enemy soldiers posing as "friendly" Afghan soldiers who will kill you.

    This is the nature of the conflicts we're engaged in. You take thousands of American soldiers and send them thousands of miles away from home into combat zones in foreign lands, and you have them do as little as possible so not too many of them get killed.

    It pains me to say this, but Trump pulling 2,000 soldiers out of Syria and 7,000 soldiers out of Afghanistan is the right thing to do. It might be getting done by a certifiable loon with an orange muskrat on his head, but it's the right thing to do and it should have been done a long time ago.

    Advertisement:

    All the talk you're hearing about how we've got to have American forces in this desert or that mountainous no-man's land as a "counterbalance" to countries like Russia and Iran is lip-flapping twaddle from the kind of "experts" who got us involved in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan in the first place. They are the same "experts" you didn't hear a peep from when Mattis stood loyally by Trump as he virtually capitulated to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, trashed NATO every chance he got, and sat down for Nuclear Kimchi with Kim Jong Un. Now Mattis is all "maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies" in his resignation letter. Talk about a day late and a dollar short, he should call Angela Merkel and ask her how much "respect" she's felt from the United States lately.

    You want to know who can stop the resident of the adult day care center in the White House? It wasn't Adult in the Room General McMaster. It wasn't Adult in the Room General Kelly. It wasn't Adult in the Room General Mattis. And it's sure as hell not going to be somebody like Secretary of Defense Kushner, or whoever the hell Trump decides he's going to sentence to a padded cell on the E-Ring in the Pentagon next.

    Trump can be stopped by Congress. The Congress can cut the funding for our misbegotten misadventures in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. It can refuse to fund the laughable wall along our 1,900 mile border with Mexico that Trump apparently thinks 6,000 soldiers can guard in the meantime. And Congress can impeach and convict Trump's insane clown ass for conspiring with a foreign nation to defraud the United States of America. Congress can do all of this if Republicans will stop bowing down before the Orange Hair Helmet and start looking out for the United States of America.

    I told you before that Trump's generals wouldn't save us , and they sure as hell haven't, not even Mad Dog Mattis, who's now being lauded as the only thing standing between us and the total collapse of the Western World.

    Just between you and me, we'll wake up tomorrow morning, and even with The Last Adult in the Room on his way out the door, the Western World will still be here, and so will Trump. Trust me.


    Lucian K. Truscott IV

    Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He has covered stories such as Watergate, the Stonewall riots and wars in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels and several unsuccessful motion pictures. He has three children, lives on the East End of Long Island and spends his time Worrying About the State of Our Nation and madly scribbling in a so-far fruitless attempt to Make Things Better. He can be followed on Facebook at The Rabbit Hole and on Twitter @LucianKTruscott.

    [Dec 22, 2018] Fallout Of Trump's Syria Withdrawal - Why Erdogan Does Not Want To Invade

    Notable quotes:
    "... Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis resigned from his position effective February 28. He disagreed with the president's decision. It was the second time in five years that an elected commander in chief had a serious conflict with Mattis' hawkishness. President Obama fired him as Central Command chief for urging a more aggressive Iran policy. Mattis is also extremely hawkish towards Russia and China. ..."
    "... Mattis is an ingrained imperialist. He always asked for more money for the military and for more meddling abroad. One of Mattis' little notice acts as Defense Secretary was a unannounced change in the mission of the Pentagon : ..."
    "... The Pentagon no longer "deters war" but provides "lethal force" to "sustain American influence abroad." There was no public nor congressional debate about the change. I doubt that President Trump agreed to it. Trump will now try to recruit a defense secretary that is more aligned with his own position. ..."
    "... Associated Press ..."
    "... Trump did not "capitulate". He always wanted to pull the U.S. troops out of Syria. He said so many times. When he was finally given a chance to do so, he grabbed the opportunity. Erdogan though, was not ready for that: ..."
    "... Erdogan had planned to only occupy a 10 miles deep strip along the Syrian-Turkish border. Some 15,000 Turkish controlled 'Syrian rebels' stand ready for that. He would need some 50-100,000 troops to occupy all of east Syria northward of the Euphrates. It would be a hostile occupation among well armed Kurds who would oppose it and an Arab population that is not exactly friendly towards a neo-Ottoman Turkey. ..."
    "... Any larger occupation of northeast Syria would create a serious mess for Turkey. Its army can do it, but it would cost a lot of casualties and financial resources. Turkey will hold local government election in March and Erdogan does not want any negative headlines. He will invade, but only if Syria and Russia fail to get the Kurds under control. ..."
    "... 'The Pentagon's official website now defines its mission this way: "The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide a lethal Joint Force to defend the security of our country and sustain American influence abroad."' ..."
    "... '"We had decided last week to launch a military incursion... east of the Euphrates river," he said in a speech in Istanbul'. So much for the UN Charter, then. Anyone who wants to can invade any other country and take over as much of its territory as he wants to - as long as Washington agrees. But, as Saddam Hussein could testify if he were still alive, it would be sensible to get such consent in writing. ..."
    "... Macron's forces are illegally present too. Assad would have to request their presence, but I really doubt he will given the harm France has done to Syria over the past 7 years. Word is SAA's Tiger Forces will get sent East of Euphrates; when is now the question. ..."
    "... One's got to worry about who will replace Mad Dog Mattis after February 28 next year. It would seem that whoever succeeds Mattis will be another former general, likely to share his views on maintaining and increasing US forces in Syria, Iraq and other parts of western Asia ..."
    "... Compared to Mattis, Pompeo and Bolton, and now Nauert at the UN, are raving jingos. Thank Gord they have no ties to the US military. ..."
    "... "there also a contingent of 1,100 French troops"... You can hear me laughing after reading this. The French empire was over a long long time ago and they still think that Syria is their colony. France has been sending French Jihadists for regime change in Syria since 2011 and their mission has failed since Russia intervened in 2015. France cannot even send troops to Mali - destabilized by Jihadists created by France in Libya to topple Kadhafi, without the help of the US!!! France is a de-facto vassal state of the US since they decided to joined the NATO central command under Sarkozy who was bribed by the zionist neocons. ..."
    "... I personally distinguish between Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria and his move to withdraw partially from Afghanistan. The latter is a step towards ending a brutal, illegal NATO occupation war of over 17 years. The former is also illegal but the Syrian Kurds (left wing and largely communist) are likely to be supplanted as counters to "Iran" by fascists Turkey and Israel (this has been confirmed in reports), so we're moving from tactical NATO proxies to actual NATO governments seizing Syrian land. ..."
    Dec 22, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Fallout Of Trump's Syria Withdrawal - Why Erdogan Does Not Want To Invade uuu , Dec 21, 2018 1:37:31 PM | link

    President Trump's strategic decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria creates some significant fallout. The U.S. and international borg is enraged that Trump ends an occupation that is illegal under international as well as U.S. domestic law. "That's un-American!"

    Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis resigned from his position effective February 28. He disagreed with the president's decision. It was the second time in five years that an elected commander in chief had a serious conflict with Mattis' hawkishness. President Obama fired him as Central Command chief for urging a more aggressive Iran policy. Mattis is also extremely hawkish towards Russia and China.

    President Trump campaigned on lessening U.S. involvement in wars abroad. He wants to get reelected. He does not need a Secretary of Defense that involves him in more wars that have little to none defined purpose.

    Mattis is an ingrained imperialist. He always asked for more money for the military and for more meddling abroad. One of Mattis' little notice acts as Defense Secretary was a unannounced change in the mission of the Pentagon :

    For at least two decades, the Department of Defense has explicitly defined its mission on its website as providing "the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country." But earlier this year, it quietly changed that statement, perhaps suggesting a more ominous approach to national security.
    ...
    The Pentagon's official website now defines its mission this way: "The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide a lethal Joint Force to defend the security of our country and sustain American influence abroad."

    The Pentagon no longer "deters war" but provides "lethal force" to "sustain American influence abroad." There was no public nor congressional debate about the change. I doubt that President Trump agreed to it. Trump will now try to recruit a defense secretary that is more aligned with his own position.

    The White House also announced that 7,000 of the 14,000 soldier the U.S. has in Afghanistan will withdraw over the next few months. The war in Afghanistan is lost with the Taliban ruling over more than half of the country and the U.S. supported government forces losing more personal than they can recruit. It was Mattis who had urged Trump to increase the troop numbers in Afghanistan from 10,000 to 14,000 at the beginning of his term. There are also 8,000 NATO and allied troops in Afghanistan which will likely see a proportional withdrawal.

    The Associated Press has a new tic toc of Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria:

    Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two officials briefed on the matter said.
    ...
    "The talking points were very firm," said one of the officials, explaining that Trump was advised to clearly oppose a Turkish incursion into northern Syria and suggest the U.S. and Turkey work together to address security concerns. "Everybody said push back and try to offer (Turkey) something that's a small win, possibly holding territory on the border, something like that."

    Erdogan, though, quickly put Trump on the defensive, reminding him that he had repeatedly said the only reason for U.S. troops to be in Syria was to defeat the Islamic State and that the group had been 99 percent defeated. "Why are you still there?" the second official said Erdogan asked Trump, telling him that the Turks could deal with the remaining IS militants.
    ...
    Erdogan's point, Bolton was forced to admit, had been backed up by Mattis, Pompeo, U.S. special envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey and special envoy for the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk, who have said that IS retains only 1 percent of its territory, the officials said.
    ...
    Bolton stressed, however, that the entire national security team agreed that victory over IS had to be enduring, which means more than taking away its territory.

    Trump was not dissuaded, according to the officials, who said the president quickly capitulated by pledging to withdraw, shocking both Bolton and Erdogan.

    Trump did not "capitulate". He always wanted to pull the U.S. troops out of Syria. He said so many times. When he was finally given a chance to do so, he grabbed the opportunity. Erdogan though, was not ready for that:

    Caught off guard, Erdogan cautioned Trump against a hasty withdrawal , according to one official. While Turkey has made incursions into Syria in the past, it does not have the necessary forces mobilized on the border to move in and hold the large swaths of northeastern Syria where U.S. troops are positioned , the official said.

    The call ended with Trump repeating to Erdogan that the U.S. would pull out , but offering no specifics on how it would be done, the officials said.


    bigger

    Erdogan had planned to only occupy a 10 miles deep strip along the Syrian-Turkish border. Some 15,000 Turkish controlled 'Syrian rebels' stand ready for that. He would need some 50-100,000 troops to occupy all of east Syria northward of the Euphrates. It would be a hostile occupation among well armed Kurds who would oppose it and an Arab population that is not exactly friendly towards a neo-Ottoman Turkey.

    Erdogan knows this well. Today he announced to delay the planned invasion :

    "We had decided last week to launch a military incursion... east of the Euphrates river," he said in a speech in Istanbul. "Our phone call with President Trump, along with contacts between our diplomats and security officials and statements by the United States, have led us to wait a little longer.

    "We have postponed our military operation against the east of the Euphrates river until we see on the ground the result of America's decision to withdraw from Syria."

    The Turkish president said, however, that this was not an "open-ended waiting period".

    Any larger occupation of northeast Syria would create a serious mess for Turkey. Its army can do it, but it would cost a lot of casualties and financial resources. Turkey will hold local government election in March and Erdogan does not want any negative headlines. He will invade, but only if Syria and Russia fail to get the Kurds under control.

    Unfortunately the leaders of the anarcho-marxist PKK/YPK in Syria have still not learned their lesson. They make the same demands to Damascus that were already rejected when similar demands were made for Afrin canton before Turkey invaded and destroyed it.

    agitpapa @agitpapa 11:14 utc - 21 Dec 2018
    YPG delegation was flown in to Mezzeh yday. Negos were inconclusive because they just repeated their usual line of "SAA protects the border, we control the rest." No army allows someone else allied with an enemy to control its rear and its supply lines. +
    + The YPG leadership is still stuck in its pro-Western rut. It needs to be purged before any deal can be made with Damascus. Their present track will just lead to another Afrin, then another, then another. Thousands of brave YPG/YPJ fighters will have died for nothing.
    Elijah J. Magnier @ejmalrai - 16:31 utc - 21 Dec 2018
    #Breakingnews: Private sources : President Bashar al Assad has rejected the Kurdish proposal while Turkey is gathering forces (Euphrates Shield et al) to attack the Kurdish controlled area north of #Syria. #Russia seems holding back president Erdogan for a while. A lot of pressure

    It is not (only) Russia that is holding Erdogan back. As seen above he has serious concerns about such an operation. Moreover, he does not have enough troops yet and the U.S. troops have not yet changed their pattern. As of today they still patrolled on the Turkish border and yesterday new U.S. war material was still coming in from Iraq. Erdogan does not dare to attack U.S. troops.

    He will most likely want to avoid any additional military involvement in Syria. If Damascus and Moscow can get the PKK under control, Ankara will be satisfied.

    Besides the presence of 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. troops and contractors in northeast Syria there also a contingent of 1,100 French troops and an unknown number of British forces. France for now says it wants to stay to finish the fight against the Islamic State enclave along the Euphrates.

    But France does not have the capability to sustain those forces without U.S. support. Syria and Russia could ask Macron to put them under their command to finish the fight against ISIS, but it is doubtful that President Macron would agree to that. It is more likely that he will agree to a handover of their position to Russian, Syrian or even Iraqi or Iranian forces. Those forces can then finish the fight.

    Posted by b on December 21, 2018 at 01:09 PM | Permalink

    Comments next page " Some of the conclusions toward the end of this article don't entirely make sense to me. Trump is withdrawing 2000-4000 US troops. Why does it follow that their absence would create a space requiring 50000 Turkish troops to fill? I don't see how occupation of the entire eastern would be under consideration at all.

    As far as IS is concerned, their defeat will be "enduring" when their sponsors stop paying them, first of all.


    Guy Thornton , Dec 21, 2018 1:38:25 PM | link

    Mattis comes across to me as a psycho case of a suppressed faggot who has spent his life trying to disprove and conceal the blatantly obvious. There we go...fairly succinct analysis.
    Tobin Paz , Dec 21, 2018 1:44:44 PM | link
    The neo-liberal meltdown is astonishing, it's like the Iraq war never happened: James Mattis Is a War Criminal: I Experienced His Attack on Fallujah Firsthand
    More importantly, Mattis, known to some by the nickname of "Mad Dog," has shown a callous disregard for human life, particularly civilians, as evidenced by his behavior leading marines in Iraq, comments he made about enjoying fighting in Afghanistan because "it's fun to shoot some people. You know, it's a hell of a hoot," and myriad other problems.
    ...
    While reporting from inside Fallujah during that siege, I personally witnessed women, children, elderly people and ambulances being targeted by US snipers under Mattis' command. Needless to say, all of these are war crimes.
    Russ , Dec 21, 2018 1:46:37 PM | link
    For at least two decades, the Department of Defense has explicitly defined its mission on its website as providing "the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country." But earlier this year, it quietly changed that statement, perhaps suggesting a more ominous approach to national security.
    ...
    The Pentagon's official website now defines its mission this way: "The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide a lethal Joint Force to defend the security of our country and sustain American influence abroad."

    At least Mattis is more honest than most of his fellow psychopath war criminals.

    If the AP account is factually accurate (i.e. leaving aside the tendentious pro-imperial, pro-war editorializing), then it's funny how fast Erdogan goes from "What are you doing here? Why don't you leave?" to "I didn't mean now!" He was probably angling for something else and didn't really want US withdrawal.

    As for the French, what a contemptible squeak from a government on the ropes trying to look tough.

    Never Mind the Bollocks , Dec 21, 2018 1:48:37 PM | link
    It's the US imperialism that has been defeated in Syria, but it's now gathering forces to go after Iran
    Sally Snyder , Dec 21, 2018 1:49:03 PM | link
    Here is a look at how the United States is putting a mechanism in place that will increase its ability to sell arms around the world:

    https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2018/11/american-international-arms-sales-and.html

    The hawks in Washington need not worry, there will be plenty of war to go around.

    Tom Welsh , Dec 21, 2018 1:52:40 PM | link
    'The Pentagon's official website now defines its mission this way: "The mission of the Department of Defense is to provide a lethal Joint Force to defend the security of our country and sustain American influence abroad."'

    I wonder whether, perchance, the Chief Executive and Commander in Chief should have been consulted about that. Traditionally, US Presidents have had some considerable say in defining the country's foreign policy.

    Although one could interpret the change as being wholly in tune with Mr Trump's overriding policy of transparent honesty. After all, as long ago as 1900 - on the evidence of Marin Major-General Smedley Butler - we know that the US armed forces were used almost exclusively to promote American interests abroad. Maybe it's just refreshingly open to admit it at last.

    Tom Welsh , Dec 21, 2018 1:54:45 PM | link
    "Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides..." Please remind me: who was elected in 2016 - Mr Trump, or "his top aides"?
    lysias , Dec 21, 2018 1:54:56 PM | link
    When David Ignatius reported that Mattis's bedtime reading was Marcus Aurelius in the original Latin, who was responsible for the mistake? (Marcus Aurelius wrote in Greek.) Ignatius, an aide of Mattis's, or Mattis himself?
    Tom Welsh , Dec 21, 2018 1:57:50 PM | link
    "While Turkey has made incursions into Syria in the past, it does not have the necessary forces mobilized on the border to move in and hold the large swaths of northeastern Syria where U.S. troops are positioned, the official said".

    Splendid! Let them hand it back to the lawfully elected democratic government of Syria, then.

    Tom Welsh , Dec 21, 2018 2:00:51 PM | link
    '"We had decided last week to launch a military incursion... east of the Euphrates river," he said in a speech in Istanbul'. So much for the UN Charter, then. Anyone who wants to can invade any other country and take over as much of its territory as he wants to - as long as Washington agrees. But, as Saddam Hussein could testify if he were still alive, it would be sensible to get such consent in writing.
    james , Dec 21, 2018 2:14:27 PM | link
    thanks b... who replaces the war criminal mattis? and when does any american get charged in the hague for the countless wars they start? how long do we have to wait for this to happen? the fact he changed the wording is at least more honest, so i give him credit for that... he could have said 'we are the worlds policeman, and we will continue to be the worlds policeman too' which would have been equally appropriate...

    one thing i do like about trump is his ability to surprise... he could have done this earlier in his term - pull out of syria - but i guess he was waiting to see how things went... as it stands i think the knifes are out for trump big time now, and i suspect he is not going to last as president.. someone else mentioned this on the previous thread, and i agree with that assessment..

    at some point in the next month, it is going to look different if USA follows thru with the commanders new position... meanwhile Russia has to continue to keep turkey on a leash and Syria, Russia and Iran have to continue to work at regaining the area east of the Euphrates as this unfolds... the leadership in France at this point are loony... the smart thing for them would be to leave or hand it over to syria/ russia...

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 2:21:14 PM | link
    Macron's forces are illegally present too. Assad would have to request their presence, but I really doubt he will given the harm France has done to Syria over the past 7 years. Word is SAA's Tiger Forces will get sent East of Euphrates; when is now the question.

    Rolling-back the Outlaw US Empire's overseas troop deployments and shuttering their bases is something I've argued for since I was honorably discharged in 1985, with the monies turned to desperate domestic needs -- the financial statement may declare the USA the world's richest nation, but reality tells a very different story. That reality got Trump elected. The haphazard, laissez-faire, unplanned structural nature of the USA's economy is in no way prepared for the rising technological revolution, which is in stark contrast to China and Russia's plans. The most important message Putin delivered in his annual meeting yesterday was about the whys and hows of changing the structure of Russia's economy:

    "I have said it on numerous occasions, and I will repeat it today. We need a breakthrough. We need to transition to a new technological paradigm. Without it, the country has no future . This is a matter of principle, and we have to be clear on this....

    " Healthcare, education, research and human capital come first, since without them there is no way a breakthrough can be achieved . The second vector deals with manufacturing and the economy. Of course, everything is related to the economy, including the first part. But the second part is directly linked to the economy, since it deals with the digital economy, robotics, etc. I have already mentioned infrastructure....

    "But we will not be able to achieve the GDP growth rates necessary for this breakthrough unless the structure of the economy is changed. This is what the national projects are aimed at, and why such enormous funds will be invested, which I have already said – to change the structure and build an innovation-based economy . The Government is counting on this, because if this happens, and we should all work towards this, then the growth rates will increase and there will be other opportunities for development." [My Emphasis]

    200 million residents of the USA--2/3s of the populous--also need a breakthrough, which is why the Green New Deal has such widespread support : "The survey results show overwhelming support for the Green New Deal, with 81% of registered voters saying they either 'strongly support' (40%) or 'somewhat support' (41%) this plan." IMO, domestic political pressure generally supports Trump's MAGA, but the monies need to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is from the Outlaw US Empire part of the USA.

    lysias , Dec 21, 2018 2:25:14 PM | link
    It was only a couple of years after de Gaulle returned to power in 1958 that it became clear that he was going to pull out of Algeria.
    Jen , Dec 21, 2018 2:36:37 PM | link
    One's got to worry about who will replace Mad Dog Mattis after February 28 next year. It would seem that whoever succeeds Mattis will be another former general, likely to share his views on maintaining and increasing US forces in Syria, Iraq and other parts of western Asia where they're despised by the local people, and perhaps not averse to sounding out good ol' Erik Prince to fill the vacancies left when US troops start leaving.

    Krishnadev Calamur, "Four People Who Could Be the Next Defense Secretary" https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/578809/ Good God, not David Petraeus!

    CD Waller , Dec 21, 2018 2:51:41 PM | link
    Tom Welsh. It's my understanding that the Constitution states that foreign policy IS the job of the President. This Congress doesn't seem to have gotten the memo and though strictly a legislative body, have engaged in some pretty spectacular over reach.

    The Constitution also puts an elected civilian (the President) in charge of the armed forces but put the power to declare war firmly in the hands of Congress.

    The 1973 War Powers act has obscured this division of power. The President can order troops anywhere for a short time but must get an Authorization for Military Force from Congress. However, this is supposed to only in the case of attack or imminent danger, hardly the case in the ME.
    Time limits on AFMF are often ignored and Congressional! purse strings almost never limit (exception: at the end of Viet Nam Congress was about to cut funding) any and all military adventurism.

    Don Bacon , Dec 21, 2018 2:52:31 PM | link
    @ karlof1 14
    Healthcare, education, research and human capital come first, since without them there is no way a breakthrough can be achieved.

    It would seem to me that if US politicians really cared about their job performance they would be working more on your "human capital" and less on warfare and Russian collusion. But there's no money in that, so they don't. So much for "democracy." Here's a recent article on a US achieved "breakthrough," in a negative sense that is.

    WaPo, Nov 29

    Life expectancy in the United States declined again in 2017, the government said Thursday in a bleak series of reports that showed a nation still in the grip of escalating drug and suicide crises.

    The data continued the longest sustained decline in expected life span at birth in a century, an appalling performance not seen in the United States since 1915 through 1918. That four-year period included World War I and a flu pandemic that killed 675,000 people in the United States and perhaps 50 million worldwide.

    Public health and demographic experts reacted with alarm to the release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual statistics, which are considered a reliable barometer of a society's health. In most developed nations, life expectancy has marched steadily upward for decades. . . here

    Kevin J Quinn , Dec 21, 2018 2:53:40 PM | link
    Compared to Mattis, Pompeo and Bolton, and now Nauert at the UN, are raving jingos. Thank Gord they have no ties to the US military.
    uncle tungsten , Dec 21, 2018 3:02:58 PM | link
    Mattis could not, would not accept responsibility for the misappropriated 21 trillion dollars at HIS defence department. Kick him out. He was always a moron and demonstrated his arrogant dismissal of the elected president almost every day. $21 trillion buys a lot of MAGA.
    ConfusedPundit , Dec 21, 2018 3:05:43 PM | link
    Kurdish population in Syria is only 5% whereas the land they now control is 30% of the country thanks to the democratic EUSA nations?

    They can no longer feed the ISIS inmates (they'll end up in France or Germany or elsewhere undertaking new projects?) since Khashoggi case (or Mr. Erdogan who caught the Saudis by their balls) made Saudis quit financing the YPG. Almost all ISIS inmates left in Syria are from abroad (they had been released from Libyan, Afghan, Iraqi prisons en mass at the beginning of the war and are ready for relocation?

    Will the globalists controlled China arrive to rebuild what the US demolitionmen destroyed in Syria?

    Who founded (USrael?) ISIS and made them lose water and oil rich territories in Syria to the PKK/YPG/SDF and what are they planning to do now?

    Hoarsewhisperer , Dec 21, 2018 3:09:39 PM | link
    It'd be funny if Trump appointed Tulsi Gabbard to the post of DefSec. I don't know much about her except that she's definitely very cute and probably isn't a pushover. If the glowing praise of her MoA fans is any guide then she'd do a better job than any recent appointment to the role and would then become a shoe-in for POTUS. If that came to pass then 'Hillary Who?' would become part of America's Permanent Lexicon.
    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 3:26:44 PM | link
    Don Bacon @18--

    Thanks for your reply! Yes, the financialization and industrial hollowing-out of the USA's economy renders following the path being broken by Russia/China very difficult, but the projected outcome will be dire if the economy isn't radically restructured and the fake economists and their financial predators aren't driven from the Temple by modern Tribunes.

    Meanwhile, shrouded by the Trump/Mattis circus, Turkey & Iran held an "historic summit" that likely had an impact on Trump's decision as everywhere he looks his previous foreign policy choices driven by his neocon advisors are mostly backfiring.

    Robert Snefjella , Dec 21, 2018 3:35:04 PM | link
    Re US president and foreign policy:

    The language of the US Constitution gives the President the power to make treaties and choose Ambassadors, in consultation with and with the consent (2/3 majority) of the Senate. Also, President is Commander-in-Chief of the military. This includes state militias if formed. He also receives political figures from abroad.

    Like so much else in the US Constitution, there has been creepy or 'necessary' or when it's handy mission creep in regard to these delineated functions.

    But more to the point, the US is and has long been a serial de facto repudiator of the US Constitution and of International law. 'Let us discuss the fine points of law pertaining to the repeated launching of wars of aggression on the basis of lies.'

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 3:37:58 PM | link
    CD Waller @17 and others never having taken a US Civics course--

    This essay details how the separation of powers construct works in the formulation of US foreign policy.

    Hoarsewhisperer , Dec 21, 2018 3:39:00 PM | link
    Forgive the levity but here's Hillary's theme song.

    Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
    Pretending that I'm doing well (ooh ooh)
    My need is such I pretend too much
    I'm lonely but no one can tell.

    Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
    Adrift in a world of my own (ooh ooh)
    I play the game but to my real shame
    You've left me to dream all alone.

    Too real is this feeling of make believe
    Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal

    Ooh ooh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
    Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh)
    I seem to be what I'm not (you see)
    I'm wearing my heart like a crown
    Pretending that I'm still around.
    (stiill a rounnd)

    michael smith , Dec 21, 2018 3:49:49 PM | link
    If the U.S. withdraws its forces from NE Syria who will control the air space. That will likely determine who controls the territory in the future. I don't think the Kurds have an airforce.

    mls

    financial matters , Dec 21, 2018 4:13:46 PM | link
    karlof1 @ 14

    """But we will not be able to achieve the GDP growth rates necessary for this breakthrough unless the structure of the economy is changed. This is what the national projects are aimed at, and why such enormous funds will be invested, which I have already said – to change the structure and build an innovation-based economy. The Government is counting on this, because if this happens, and we should all work towards this, then the growth rates will increase and there will be other opportunities for development."""

    Similar sentiments are expressed by Rhiana Gunn-Wright.

    After Sanders lost the Democratic primary in 2016 a group called 'Brand New Congress' formed to carry on his ideas. This morphed into 'Justice Democrats' which helped Ocasio-Cortez get elected. She is serving as a lightning rod giving the Green New Deal popularity.

    Rhiana Gunn-Wright is a young energetic and talented policy wonk working for 'New Consensus' which is a spin off of the 'Justice Democrats'.

    She is being tasked with forming policy for the Green New Deal.

    'Again, the GND is not just climate policy. It's about transforming the economy, lifting up the poor and middle class, and creating a more muscular, active public sector.

    The GND "opens an opportunity to renegotiate power relationships between the public sector, the private sector, and the people," says Gunn-Wright. "We are interested in solutions that create more democratic structures in our economy.'

    green new deal explained

    slit , Dec 21, 2018 4:16:39 PM | link
    Thanks to b for stellar continued coverage!

    $21 Trillion + "interests abroad" DoD mission creep
    >>
    Silicon Valley hot air equity ($150,000 starting salaries for fresh graduates) on cash flow only digital assetts
    + offshore oligarch accounts (kkr et al)

    I found it helpful to take stock of reported conditions surrounding the troops out move:

    * ksa reportedly going bankrupt
    * ksa reneges on golden glow globe sword dance MIC mou-s
    * failed israeli missile attempt to start wwiii & ensuing s300 reinforcements
    * kashoggi and related muslim brotherhood entanglements
    * clinton foundation in DC "hearings" censored by msm
    * continued censorship of Awan bros Blackberry scandal (espionage?)
    * Cricket hero Khan batting for Pakistan
    * Huawei affair
    * Bibi & family corruption scandal

    Trump has a keen eye for ratings, and surely knows giving the deplorables (private contractors, self employeds etc) trying to rub two pennies together gasoline under $3/gallon in the holiday season will mean much more to the public than Cnn Russiagate drivel working people have no time for anyway. Keeping armed forces rank and file happy and re purposing for disaster relief would be a good move.

    Karlof1 is correct to make the most of the narrative. Glad b is on it. Hope troops arent cleared for nuclear Armeggedon!

    Josh , Dec 21, 2018 4:23:57 PM | link
    @mls The US currently does not control Syrian airspace. The Russians do, ever since they switched from using the existing old Syrian S200 to the current advanced model S300, after the downing of their plane by the Israeli interference.
    This was probably another factor that made operating in Syria increasingly problematic and handicapped: options of 'punishing Assad' or bombing mobile Iranian units were limited if they didn't want to coordinate with the Russians.
    The Syrians now have to amass a large contingent to 'control' the Kurdish area; likely the Russians will be go-between to lower Kurdish demands as well as placate the SAA and achieve some kind of tense co-existence which can keep Turkey satisfied.
    Interesting to see how Syria will handle both wanting to mop up Idlib as well as re-establish control over the North-East and its oil wells.
    Noirette , Dec 21, 2018 4:29:57 PM | link
    I read that Trump did not inform Netanyahu of the USA's Syria 'withdrawal' until about an hour before it was made public via tweet. Five mins! according to another article. Also, that Trump did discuss it with B.N. several days before (Haaretz), that sounded like a smoothing over. Another article claimed that it was Pompeo who clued in Israel a short while before. So who knows?

    Right from the first time they met, Bibi was terrified of Trump, though I could not find one telling vid. I saw.

    Feb. 15 2017.

    Trump today said that he is keeping his options open about how best to reach a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian situation but urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in occupied territories.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmfseeZt5fA

    President Trump veered from years of U.S. policy in the Middle East by backing off the "two-state solution," as the only path to peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

    https://youtu.be/Wf-3916zpGA

    One article stated that Macron and Merkel learnt of the 'withdrawal' from the media! I have noted that Macron is always very 'late' and 'behind the times' as far as the US is concerned, obviously the F 'info' services have no clue, or he isn't kept informed, etc.

    Not that there will be consequent 'fall-out' from either, for the moment. (Israel can only go along, and the EU has more serious stuff on its plate.)

    Pnyx , Dec 21, 2018 4:39:59 PM | link
    "If Damascus and Moscow can get the PKK under control, Ankara will be satisfied."
    Well - let's hope Allah (or whoever) will enlighten Erdo...
    steve , Dec 21, 2018 4:42:14 PM | link
    First President since JFK to say no to the CIA. Lets see that SITRAP
    Kadath , Dec 21, 2018 4:42:18 PM | link
    Re: #3 Tobin Pa,


    Yes, it's dispiriting, but not surprising that the anti-war "Left" movement has almost totally dissolved following their failure to prevent the Iraq war. As a deeply cynical person I'm certain that Hillary and the Clintonites worked behind the scenes in the DNC to undermine the Anti-war movement in expectation of her eventual 2008 & 2016 runs, since she and Bill supported the Iraq war and were no shrinking violets when it came to the use of military force in furtherance of their foreign policy goals. The consequence of destroying the Anti-war movement with the Democratic Party is that they have become a defacto Pro-war party even in situations where the use of the military is blatantly illegal, futile and against the National interest (since there is no organized Anti-war movement articulating why they should not go to war/use military force to stand against the Military Industrial Complex that is constantly advocating for more war). Hilariously, by becoming a Pro-war Party when the American people are increasingly tired of constant warfare the Democratic Party lost the 2016 election to a mildly anti-war Trump, who will most likely be re-elected (unless he is impeached or assassinated). In the long-term, unless the DNC faces up to the 30 years of disastrous Clinton mismanagement and corruption and cleans house, I could certainty see the Democratic Party collapsing over the next 15 years just like how the Labour Party in the UK is still struggling with the legacy of Tony Blair.

    What's really galling to me though is watching all these so called "liberals" (Cher, Beth Midler, Rachael "Mad Cow" Maddow & Mia Farrow) whine about how the US should never leave Syria and stay there indefinitely; Are they or their children going to be fighting this war? Who gave the US such authority take seize parts of Syria? What exactly is the benefit to the US & her people in doing all of this? How many hundreds of thousands people (mostly Syrians) need to die for this ill-defined goal of spiting Syria & Russia? Just like the destruction of the Anti-war left in the Democratic Party had long term consequences, people will remember how Hollywood liberals behaved like jabbering, ignorant, warmongering ideologues during this period of US decline and it will cause profound damage to them and their professed causes.

    stonebird , Dec 21, 2018 4:48:40 PM | link
    KarlofI@14 and Fin Matters @33

    Nice thoughts, but I don't think you have the time.
    "Worst December since the great depression"
    Just look at the pictures (charts), and scroll down.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-21/fear-reaches-most-extreme-ever-traders-see-panic-air
    ....
    Trump has a tactic of "giving people what they ask for" (eg Jerusalem). Just to break a deadlock. This Syria gambit seems to be something of the same as Erdogan now gets what he has been asking for - and finds he doesn't want it yet.

    I still think that there will be a continued US presence in Syria, concentrated around the Oil sources. The Agricultural lands further north were owned by "Arabic", Christian, Yadizi and other various tribes and ethnies. The Kurds only made up a small portion.
    One reason that Trump may have decided to throw the Kurds to the wolves, is that they were overstretched, and not motivated enough to continue to be cannon fodder for Uncle Sam. The SDF (Which incorporates some turncoat ISIS members, which partly explains why there has only been slow "progress" against the last ISIS enclave in Eastern Syria, brother against ex-brother), also contains foreign mercenaries from various sources. What they will "demand" is open to question. The tribal forces in the SAA who are directly opposite contain members of the Shaitah, who saw 700 of their women and children massacred by ISIS. They may want their own land back too, as well as "payback".

    The other reason for Trump to act now is that Flynn has been given three months in which to change his guilty "plea". After which, Mueller will HAVE TO provide proof, and not just accusations and people that have been blackmailed into "plea deals". Trump doesn't have too much time left for subtle tweet-tweets before the Dems arrive. etc (big topic by itself)

    .... By the way, OT; Butina was really "brain-washed". 67 days in solitary confinement with all the recognised means of brainwashing used on her. Assault (including sexual) sleep deprivation, continued stress (including randomly timed "strip searches") probably lighting either permanently on or randomly used to destroy time awareness. There are other methods to be included, and at a "key" break point, a "counsellor/handler will whisper sweet nothings in hear ear to control her way of thinking ( I am NOT a specialist in Brainwashing, but the outline of what she suffered, means that she will always repeat what she has been told to say.) Real Brainwashing from the cold war era .

    Red Ryder , Dec 21, 2018 5:09:03 PM | link
    b's statement regarding Turkey: "Its army can do it, but it would cost a lot of casualties and financial resources."

    During the entire war, Turkey's army has done not so much and not so well. Manbij, Afrin, and where else? Well before the US presence with bases, the Turks could not hold their border region from the Kurds.

    They cannot impact deep anywhere. Their AF is not even as effective as Syria's, yet it is a much better, more advanced arm of the military. It's special forces?

    They are used to doing what NATO and US troops do. They murder civilians and massacre opposition. They did little against ISIS which was a very fierce, mobile and effective military.

    They do have logistical advantage and can move heavy weapons for a siege. But they are a set piece land force.

    The Kurds also are quite overrated.

    Erdogan knows that the notion of him holding the East is a pipedream. His FSA allies are the weakest lot in Syria.
    His real fighters are those in Idlib, al Nusra and the Uyghurs.

    If he intends to hold land the US has marked out in the North-east and East, he will have to move the headchoppers.
    The Russians will annihilate them if they cross the zones in Idlib.

    With the US vacuum the Syrians, Hezbollah, Quds, Iranian militias and the Russians will complete the war.

    The French and Brits say they are staying. They should write their Last Will letters. They will be shot out of the sky and incinerated on the ground. Folly.

    The pullouts from Syria and Afghanistan are severe blows to NATO as hegemonic shock troops.
    This time next year we will hear and see how Russia won and NATO is gone from Eurasia.

    This is also an object lesson to those nations on Russia's periphery who are flirting with the US, EU and NATO. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan will have to recalculate.


    Grieved , Dec 21, 2018 5:14:15 PM | link
    @b

    I think we will see many more updates such as this one, showing us who's pushing back, who's wavering, and who's simply blowing hot air. I could wish for better sources of the back story than AP and Reuters, but we must wait for better analysis I think. I'm sure I'll see it here first - thanks for your continued vigilance.

    Meanwhile my guesses are that Trump holds the longest knife and will prevail in this course. And that Erdogan is not faltering as the Reuters report implies, but is simply letting players and forces adjust to the new situation. And that, regardless of the details on the ground, the US flag has been struck in Syria, irreversibly. This is a geopolitical milestone, and everything now changes from this.

    mls , Dec 21, 2018 5:17:11 PM | link
    @35 It has been my understanding that while the Russian forces have stepped up their air defense systems the Americans still fly freely to the north-east of the Euphrates and have not hesitated to attack SAA forces who came close to their proxies on the ground, as well as attacking the SAA when they moved toward the U.S. base at al-Tanf. If the U.S. really does evacuate their troops it will be interesting to see if they discontinue their air movements over the eastern bank of the Euphrates. mls
    Sasha , Dec 21, 2018 5:19:12 PM | link
    Almost all ISIS inmates left in Syria are from abroad (they had been released from Libyan, Afghan, Iraqi prisons en mass at the beginning of the war and are ready for relocation?

    Who founded (USrael?) ISIS and made them lose water and oil rich territories in Syria to the PKK/YPG/SDF and what are they planning to do now?

    Posted by: ConfusedPundit | Dec 21, 2018 3:05:43 PM | 23

    Terrorice Europe?

    Two Scandinavian backpackers hacked to death in Morocco, mother spammed with gruesome images

    Sasha , Dec 21, 2018 5:35:59 PM | link
    But how this "withdrawal" holds when new equipment is arriving to US bases in Syria?

    US reinforces new base in Syria despite announcement of withdrawal

    Schmoe , Dec 21, 2018 5:40:34 PM | link
    @ Kadath 39
    As respects Rachel Mad Cow,MSNBC has been reading from the neo-con playbook for several years now. Pre-Iraq War,Chris Matthews was vehemently against it, but in my limited recent viewership they are silent on Syria in general. They did however have a one hour special by Richard Engle which was essentially an hour of showing the carnage and saying "look what Assad did". It was even more absurd than Fox's islamaphobic specials they ran a few times. Truly pathetic and it feels like MSNBC is hewing to the HRC model "of no one can criticize me fro the right on "national security".
    james , Dec 21, 2018 5:41:33 PM | link
    emptywheel is suggesting tom cotton as a replacement for mattis.. this is the first time i can recall ew
    james , Dec 21, 2018 5:43:43 PM | link
    my comment was chopped off... first time i can recall ew writing on foreign policy! at any rate, skip the ew comment section, as the folks at ew can completely in denial about the role the democrats have played in bringing the usa to this point in time... read @35 kadath post for greater clarity on that...
    BRF , Dec 21, 2018 5:50:37 PM | link
    Too many "old men who think in terms of nation states and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There is only the Federal Reserve, the BIS, IMF, WB, WTO and an entourage of multinational corporations all inextricably inter associated." as redux of Ned Beatty's soliloquy from the film Network.

    These pesky wars, as one front of many fronts, are getting in the way of NWO timing. The world's major central banks are now involved in quantitative tightening and much of the liquidity that was handed out as loans will now disappear and the debt trap will now be sprung on many 'nation states' as it was in Greece. Turkey's major industries owe about 300 Billion. This while the Lira drops ever lower in relation to the Fed Reserve Note, euphemistically the USD, and will be hard pressed to pay back the less abundant, higher valued amounts at the higher interest rates of the FRN's borrowed. War, with very real deaths, continues but on another front and Trump as the front figure is the main conductor of this coming war.

    Piotr Berman , Dec 21, 2018 5:51:32 PM | link
    When David Ignatius reported that Mattis's bedtime reading was Marcus Aurelius in the original Latin, who was responsible for the mistake? (Marcus Aurelius wrote in Greek.) Ignatius, an aide of Mattis's, or Mattis himself?

    Posted by: lysias | Dec 21, 2018 1:54:56 PM | 9

    Explanation from an aide of Mattis: the General purchased the volume while visiting Latin America, so he always assumed that it is in Latin.

    Sasha , Dec 21, 2018 5:55:53 PM | link
    What theis "withdrawal" is about....To continue causing turmoil in Syria so as to impede its rebuilt and return to peaceful normal life...This is why Israel has not said a word....

    US pullout from Syria result of secret deal with Turkey, says expert

    Lochearn , Dec 21, 2018 6:03:22 PM | link
    I have been away in the Scottish wilderness for a while, cut off from everything, so it with somewhat jaded joy that I come back to stunning news from this unfailingly brilliant place to hear the latest (US getting out of Syria, Mattis out, Macron on fire, Britain in an existential crisis the like of which I have neither seen nor read about).

    Like a schoolkid who has absented themselves I venture back into the classroom to take my little seat, all the while carrying with me audio of howling winds and the low whistle of a friend who came to visit, an Irish instrument that so resembles native American flutes. In this Highland cabin I filled the stove with ash and oak and beech, listened to the haunting sound of the low whistle and drank whisky as I watched the snow drift down.

    Sasha , Dec 21, 2018 6:12:53 PM | link
    The SDF (Which incorporates some turncoat ISIS members, which partly explains why there has only been slow "progress" against the last ISIS enclave in Eastern Syria, brother against ex-brother), also contains foreign mercenaries from various sources.

    Posted by: stonebird | Dec 21, 2018 4:48:40 PM | 40

    This is why they wear masks/balaclavas....the same way they used to do on Iraq....

    US-supported militias in eastern Syria take Hayin

    Peter Grafström , Dec 21, 2018 6:14:19 PM | link
    Josh on #35 hints at an explanation for Trumps action which is confirmed by a romanian military expert in the article http://www.voltairenet.org/article204433.html
    Assuming that analysis is correct, Trumps military associates like Mattis must have known but was apparently more willing to risk american casualties.
    Pft , Dec 21, 2018 6:49:31 PM | link
    So the past 2 years of bombing and support for bombing and special forces operations in Syria, Yemen, Africa, Afghanistan and of course the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians in Israel is blamed on Trumps aids, all of whom he hired.

    Whenever something positive comes out (and Trump has said he was done in Syria before only to be followed later by a barrage of missiles due to outrage over the poor babies killed in the CW attack blamed on Assad) its presented as Trump heroically goes against his aids advice and does right.

    This is a common theme in MSM and almost all of the alt media now. Trumps swamp included Bolton, Barr, Devos, Pompeo, Mnuchkin, Acosta, Haspel, Ross, Mulvaney, Kushner, Pruit, Mattis. Blame them instead of the guy who hired them and has authority over them. Right.

    Piotr Berman , Dec 21, 2018 6:55:08 PM | link
    I have been away in the Scottish wilderness for a while, cut off from everything,
    Posted by: Lochearn | Dec 21, 2018 6:03:22 PM | 51

    I once spent a week in Glen Lyon which is not cut off from anything, there is a paved road (one-lane for two way traffic, only in Scotland!) and Royal Mail operated, but these days young people complain when there is no cell phone reception, there was a land line but our niece was could not send any pics and texts to her boyfriend. Thus she very eagerly joined me for a hike and after ascending 1000 m and getting the view of Loch Tay she immediately texted etc. But something is brewing outside quiet glens: [video of parliamentary session] The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, says the UK will have 3,500 service personnel on standby 'to support any government department on any contingencies they may need'

    Watch the situation, Lochearn, and if needed, run back to the hills.

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 7:03:00 PM | link
    financial matters @33--

    Thanks for your reply with its post-2016 info! I returned to following domestic happenings a few months prior to the 2018 election and was surprised by the gumption of the new Freshman class. There was lots of negative speculation about how AOC would become a sellout, but I'm impressed and added her twitter to my ever lengthening list. The first 2020 polls have appeared with the narrative being Biden over washed up Sanders, but the reality is the opposite. Wife and I had a dinner table discussion about that and related matters last night from the frame of Media Truth from Putin's meeting I posted. There's an ideological divide within the USA; but as AOC notes in this very informative* twitter thread :

    "People are starting to realize our issues aren't left and right, but top and bottom.

    "And the just solutions will come from the bottom-up."

    *--Informative due to the immoral hatred revealed, which unfortunately validates my references to Monopoly philosophy and Zerosumism. Scrooge was tame in comparison.

    hopehely , Dec 21, 2018 7:11:55 PM | link
    Posted by: Piotr Berman | Dec 21, 2018 5:51:32 PM | 49

    Explanation from an aide of Mattis: the General purchased the volume while visiting Latin America, so he always assumed that it is in Latin.
    Or in Latin American...
    And it wasn't bedtime reading but bathroom reading.

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 7:37:52 PM | link
    stonebird @40--

    Fortunately, the stock markets are not the economy. Trump campaigned on MAGA; the Green New Deal makes MAGA possible and as the polling I linked to shows is popular across political lines--the people know something must be done. Currently, it's the D Party Old Guard standing in the way doing R Party work. When it comes to the traditional definitions of national security and national interest, Trump was correct to say MAGA is a matter of national security. Too many Trillions have already been wasted, and we within the USA cannot afford any more of those mistakes from the past as the margin for success gets thinner daily. When I compare the directions of China, Russia and USA, the former two are rising by attaining their planned national goals, while the USA drops downward thanks to directionless policy that only supports the greed of the greedy. I know its much better for an individual to be a poor worker in China than a poor worker in the state of Georgia and too many other places--very few opportunities and almost no social support very similar to the Great Depression; but nowadays, you can't even hop a freight to go somewhere else as was possible in the '30s.

    Red Ryder , Dec 21, 2018 7:38:55 PM | link
    Apparently, Mattis bought the book for the illustrations.

    Latin America speaks Spanish and Portuguese not Latin American, which is not a language.
    Plus, there are secondary languages of indigenous people, and tertiary languages like German and Italian, Japanese and Chinese as well as English.

    From the "story" about Mattis, I think it is laughable. He pretended his whole life to be a Patton.
    Read their career stories and it is a joke that Mattis had four-stars, as did Patton.

    bjd , Dec 21, 2018 7:42:17 PM | link
    The only reading generals do is Macchhiavelli, Von Clausewitz and Superman
    O yeah -- and the bible, these days.
    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 8:25:24 PM | link
    Comic Relief courtesy of the UK government :

    "UK government refuses to release the documents on its 'counter-disinformation' programme linked to the Integrity Initiative. Because (don't laugh now), it could 'undermine the programme's effectiveness'."

    Craig Murray has an update on the affair--all the documents provided by Anonymous have proven genuine.

    Jen , Dec 21, 2018 8:45:15 PM | link
    Lysias, Piotr B, Hopehely, Red Ryder & others:

    Maybe Mattis bought the book for interior decoration. It makes his coffee table look good. What language it's in is irrelevant.

    snedly arkus , Dec 21, 2018 8:49:46 PM | link
    Where is the evidence of widespread support for a green new deal as pushed by a couple of people here. A poll of 966 people sorted by whether or not they are voters does not mean there is widespread support. As in most polls claiming whatever we do not know the questions that were asked or how they were framed. Thus they could have said "would you be for a new green deal if it energized the economy bringing riches to all and extremely cheap rates on power would you be for it." Until we know the full extent of this poll it's a nothing burger pushing an agenda.
    psychohistorian , Dec 21, 2018 9:00:16 PM | link
    @ financial matters # 33 with the link to the Green New Deal....thanks

    The problem with the GND is that it does not seem to address the underlying fact that private finance makes all investment decisions. If they evolve to understand that, they can do all they want if it is within the public government plans for investment.

    If the government controlled finance instead of the private folk I would expect there to be public input to/(control over) investment decisions.....just like the GND folks are pushing for but in a more comprehensive context and manner.

    Piotr Berman , Dec 21, 2018 9:02:39 PM | link
    The only reading generals do is Macchhiavelli, Von Clausewitz and Superman
    O yeah -- and the bible, these days.
    Posted by: bjd | Dec 21, 2018 7:42:17 PM | 60

    A general slurps macchiato while reading The Prince of Niccolò Machiavelli.

    In the history of my country there is a nice episode when one of the main generals was rousing the units before the critical battle that actually went well "In loco, spes in virtute, salus in victoria" - Here, the (only) hope (lies) in bravery, salvation in victory, which quotes Ceasar's De Bello Gallico. . Sadly, while the battle was brilliant, the war was not. Nevertheless, I would recommend Ceasar.

    Ceasar was victorious, so he should be balanced with History of the Peloponnesian War of Thucidites. A terrible was in which one side lost terribly, while the other succumbed to hubris, imposed painful domination on all and sundry to be irreversibly defeated one generation after. Woe to the defeated, but the victors should be careful too.

    The story of "Woe to the defeated", Vae victis , is interested too. Romans were treated mercilessly by victorious (unmitigated?) Gauls, but then see De Bello Gallico above.

    Don Bacon , Dec 21, 2018 9:04:06 PM | link
    Five unforgettable quotes by the killer, James Mattis (He will be missed?):
    >1. 'It's quite fun to shoot them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people.'
    >2. 'There are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.'
    >3. 'I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all.'
    >4. 'Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.'
    >5. 'There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don't think you do.'. . . here

    Don't let the door hit ya, Jimbo.
    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 9:07:15 PM | link
    63--

    You sound just like an D Party hack doing the work of the R Party. Must pay good.

    psychohistorian , Dec 21, 2018 9:10:22 PM | link
    I am sure getting tired of entering my personal info each time I post a comment because the remember doesn't work...

    @ karlof1 with
    "
    "UK government refuses to release the documents on its 'counter-disinformation' programme linked to the Integrity Initiative. Because (don't laugh now), it could 'undermine the programme's effectiveness'."
    "

    They are lying through there teeth. The real problem for them is that some could end up in jail, and rightfully so. We can only hope that they take the City of London down with them.

    What is their long term plan for containing the IntegrityNOTInitiative scandal? The house of cards seems to be falling and now is when we hope that the losers love their children enough to not takes us to extinction with their pride.

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 9:12:46 PM | link
    psychohistorian @64--

    It appears more people are aware of such a threat as this article notes . Pelosi's unfortunately a whore of the sort needing pasteurization, along with Feinstein.

    karlof1 , Dec 21, 2018 9:17:58 PM | link
    Don Bacon @66--

    Mattis makes the fictional Hannibal Lecter a Prince of Peace by comparison. The end of February can't come soon enough.

    hopehely , Dec 21, 2018 9:31:18 PM | link
    Posted by: Don Bacon | Dec 21, 2018 9:04:06 PM | 66
    Five unforgettable quotes by the killer, James Mattis ...
    Yep, the influence of Marcus Aurelius is all over him. Through and through.
    True philosopher general indeed.
    Pft , Dec 21, 2018 9:35:07 PM | link
    The problem with the GND being discussed here is in the Green. Any New Deal that starts with a false premise and bad science is a bad idea IMO.

    That said, a New Deal that incorporates Ellen Browns and Edison/Fords ideas on public financing I am all for. Goals should be universal health care, guaranteed income and housing, vast infrastructure projects and alternative energy development. The latter two should be green in the sense of nonpolluting (Co2 is not a pollutant). Jobs are fine but with automation, AI, and robotics lets face it, a world where most people dont work except as a hobby or to live better than others is coming, as my old science teacher predicted with envy over 50 years ago. The neomalthusians and transhumanists have other ideas.

    I would also devote massive resources for researching the safety of GMO , vaccines and medicines as well as upgrading climate monitoring and climate research since climate does change and we have so little understanding of it. Climate measurements are indadequate (number of weather stations in US have dropped by a factor of 3 since climate became a thing and quality is a key concern. This research needs to be free of influence from parties having an agenda (political and financial). Good luck with that.

    Kooshy , Dec 21, 2018 9:54:32 PM | link
    Mattis is a coward, he knows the American efforts in Syria has failed, and will go nowhere. So for him this was a great excuse and a good uportunity to resign and not share the blame for failure of his past advise and insistence to continue a lost effort. Now all the blames for loosing in Syria will go to Trump. The blame game has already started coming out of MSM and the DC swamp (you read sewer).
    ben , Dec 21, 2018 9:56:02 PM | link
    Seems as though we've heard this "withdrawal" meme before. We'll see.

    IMO, the key to ME peace is STILL based on liberty and justice for the Palestinian people.

    Heard some noise about "The green new deal". This from The Nation magazine;

    https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-green-new-deal/

    psychohistorian , Dec 21, 2018 10:00:12 PM | link
    @ pft will the great follow on the the GND proposal

    I want to add a data point to the universal health care initiative.

    Because we are a society wedded to the profit motive we put it between the client and the health care provider and worse only promote "therapies" that make a profit. Let me provide my personal proof of that statement.

    This week, after a 12 year journey, I can state that I have healed myself (with help) from a traumatic brain injury using neurofeedback. Neurofeedback in a non-drug, non-invasive EEG based therapy based on the mental health brain paradigm of dis-regulated neural networks. The world of Big Pharma does not want to see neurofeedback advance because it will eliminate most of them.

    Some on MoA have read me writing about this before and I will do so more in some future Open Thread.....when the dust settles a bit.

    Yeah, Right , Dec 21, 2018 10:01:41 PM | link
    @1 Isn't it obvious? US forces are there to support the Kurdish forces. Training, supplying, and a little moral "stiffening".

    But Turkisk forces would go in with the aim of defeating those Kurds, and then suppressing the local pop in. That requires an order of magnitude more troops.

    Don Bacon , Dec 21, 2018 10:17:15 PM | link
    One think-tanker expects problems with troop morale, which by the way was the killer that ended the stupid Vietnam War.
    Trump's sudden decisions to drawdown troops in Syria and Afghanistan that sparked Mattis' resignation marked for perhaps the first time in American history the departure of a defense secretary in protest and adds to the overall unease that remains, experts said.
    "I think it adds to a feeling that in some sense the wheels are beginning to come off of American foreign policy and national security policy," said John Hannah, a senior counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute on foreign policy and national security in Washington.
    Hannah said he thinks the Mattis resignation will inevitably affect troop morale . . . . here

    That's a good thing.
    Circe , Dec 21, 2018 11:01:47 PM | link
    @47

    Tom Cotton is a rabid hawk especially on Iran. If Trump choses him then this will signal what Trump meant by the next phase of the campaign after he announced a withdrawal from Syria.

    I read General Jack Keane was in the running but he doesn't want the job.

    That leaves Lindsey Graham and David Petraeus. Both of these might be willing to take the job, but I see Trump picking Petraeus over Graham, although Graham just visited the troops in Afghanistan; maybe he's sending a subtle hint to Trump.

    If it's Cotton, we should brace ourselves for escalation with Iran.

    Pft , Dec 21, 2018 11:19:21 PM | link
    Yeah Right@76

    Well there are 50K Al Nusra fighters in Idlib that Russia and Syria want out of there and Turkey is protecting. Maybe they will be on the move soon to deal with the Kurds in the NE once the US pulls out. US can pretend ignorance and then step back in again under the cover of stabilizing the region with replacement for the kurds to use against Assad and protect assets in the NE. Everyone except the Kurds is happy, almost.

    Kadath , Dec 21, 2018 11:24:12 PM | link
    @46, Schmoe

    Further to your point about MSNBC, I just watched Michael Moore on MSNBC being interviewed by Ali Velshi and Moore was actually advocating that the troops stay in Syria and blamed Putin for ordering Trump to do this ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0SP7puk8f8) - words fail..... Michael Moore, the Anti-Iraq war activist, the Occupy Wall Street advocate, the Anti-Imperialist, has reached the terminal phase of his Trump Derangement Syndrome. His irrational hatred of Trump has just driven him to torch all of his prior Anti-War work; to betray every speech, every millimeter of film he's ever made all because he hates Trump that much and everything he has previously done can be jettisoned if it furthers this new goal.

    Ugh... Is he doing this all for the money he can glean from the mainstream Media by being even more extreme than them, was he always this shallow and empty? This is what I just cant get over, do these jackanapes not understand that their words and behaviours are being recorded and people will remember it, it will haunt their futures and taint their legacies. Hating Trump is one thing (there is certainly no shortage of reasons to hate him), but I'm rethinking my entire interpretation of Moore and his career because of these constant, irrationally hateful and extreme statements. Michael Moore, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, Rachal Maddow and Stephen Colbert can play to the crowd for now, but once Trump's term ends people will never be able to take them seriously as public figures again because of all of their delusional tirades while Trump was in office.

    Pft , Dec 21, 2018 11:30:32 PM | link
    Don Bacon@77

    Troop moral today is far different than Vietnam. Reason in no order of importance

    1. Well paid volunteer army, well trained with skills transferrable to private sector
    2. Limited tour length, long paid breaks between tours
    3. Skype/internet access on tours to stay in touch with family firiends
    4. Contractors to do much of the dirty work
    5. Military glorification at home treats them as heros and plenty of discounts
    6. Far fewer casualties
    7. Great benefits once the leave miliitary (loans, paid university transferrable)
    8. Tax benfits for companies hiring vets helps them in job market

    The main negative with fewer troops in Syria or Afghanistan means there are fewer tours which means less money.

    I expect they will be deployed elsewhere. Where is the big question. Like you say, moral not an issue


    flayer , Dec 21, 2018 11:34:45 PM | link
    RE: Posted by: Pft | Dec 21, 2018 11:30:32 PM | 81

    This is why you should never "thank them for their service." They're selfish and/or deluded pricks. Not heroes. It's a scam from start to finish.

    Peter AU 1 , Dec 21, 2018 11:48:20 PM | link
    Kadath 80 "do these jackanapes not understand that their words and behaviours are being recorded and people will remember it"
    The average person that watches MSM have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to politics.

    "His irrational hatred of Trump has just driven him to torch all of his prior Anti-War work"
    Most that make it in politics or entertainment go with the flow - whatever will further their career. Empty people. I don't know this Michael Moor, but sounds lie he is one of this type.

    telescope , Dec 21, 2018 11:48:22 PM | link
    People like Lindsey Graham simply cannot comprehend that USA is in fact a demolished country, with its last leg - the stock market - getting cut off in real time, as we speak. The implications of American equity markets collapse are momentous. The relentless year-end selling means that government revenues will be drastically reduced, by at least couple hundred billion dollars, driving US budget deficit to well in excess of $1.2T in current fiscal year. And that's in a benign case. If America slips in a recession, and has to resort to fiscal stimulus, we are talking about $1.5-2T budget shortfall. Add quickly deteriorating demographics, and "japanisation" of the USA is all but inevitable (and yes, US financial system is a dead man walking)
    Trump, although not the brightest bulb, is infinitely smarter than Grahams, Rubios and Cottons of the world. He knows that it's much better to withdraw on what looks like own accord now, than being kicked out in the most disgraceful fashion upon the passage of time. Or even worse, having your troops marooned in the troubled region without any prospect of being extricated, unless on the most humiliating terms.
    Whether Trump succeeds or fails in returning the troops home is irrelevant at this point. They are coming home anyway. The only question remaining is not if but when, and how.
    Pft , Dec 21, 2018 11:57:14 PM | link
    Bolton announces Trumps Africa strategy

    https://thehill.com/policy/international/421179-bolton-warns-russia-china-threaten-us-in-africa

    The Cebrowski plan for Latin America

    http://www.voltairenet.org/article204400.html

    Maybe Trump is diversyfing, scaling down in the The Middle East (a lots been accomplished already) and ramp up efforts in Africa and Latin America to counter BRICS

    Pft , Dec 22, 2018 12:00:04 AM | link
    Meant "diversifying". Spell check hasnt been working well here since i upgraded to ios12
    once and future , Dec 22, 2018 12:20:01 AM | link
    Thanks, b.

    stonebird @40
    OT (apologies) Can you help with the evidence that Maria Butina was subjected to these abuses while in solitary?

    ben , Dec 22, 2018 12:45:15 AM | link
    @ 80: Yes, agreed, my impressions on MM will change. Too bad really, that people sacrifice their credibility, based on blind hatred.

    I'm speaking only of MM, the rest lost their credibility, IMO, long ago..

    james , Dec 22, 2018 12:50:40 AM | link
    @87 once and future... first off i want to thank stonebird for there comments on this topic.. solitary confinement is inhumane.. that the usa is keen to use it in all sorts of circumstances, is a reflection of their abu ghraib, guantanemo mentality... solitary confinement is more of the same.. in a civilized world it would never be allowed to be done... but this is more exceptional nation stuff from the exceptional nation and what the world has come to expect from a country that preaches one thing while practicing something completely different..

    80 kadath... michael moore has really fallen... i was unaware of this and am not tapped into the usa msm to be able to follow.. in fact, it is so depressing i have no interest in following much of anything coming out of the usa at this point...

    @78 circe.. another name mentioned was this tulsi gabbard from hawaii.. i doubt it very much... the usa continues to fly way off the rails...

    what is especially telling is the response from the usa on trumps decision here... caitin johnstone has a good overview on this..
    Endless War Has Been Normalized And Everyone Is Crazy

    karlof1 , Dec 22, 2018 1:10:40 AM | link
    james @89 and others--

    Michael Moore destroyed his credibility when he failed to denounce Obama for not jailing the Banksters and it's been downhill from there as it's been with so many of his ilk. Another case of money ruining youthful idealism. Caitlin's on a roll and deserves a much larger audience. The propagandizers have deluded themselves via their own machinations and are now going mad.

    Albert Pike , Dec 22, 2018 1:11:24 AM | link
    "there also a contingent of 1,100 French troops"... You can hear me laughing after reading this. The French empire was over a long long time ago and they still think that Syria is their colony. France has been sending French Jihadists for regime change in Syria since 2011 and their mission has failed since Russia intervened in 2015. France cannot even send troops to Mali - destabilized by Jihadists created by France in Libya to topple Kadhafi, without the help of the US!!! France is a de-facto vassal state of the US since they decided to joined the NATO central command under Sarkozy who was bribed by the zionist neocons.
    Hoarsewhisperer , Dec 22, 2018 1:44:00 AM | link
    ...
    US can pretend ignorance and then step back in again under the cover of stabilizing the region with replacement for the kurds to use against Assad and protect assets in the NE. Everyone except the Kurds is happy, almost.
    Posted by: Pft | Dec 21, 2018 11:19:21 PM | 79

    I think you're right. And I hope so, too...
    The Yanks should be counting their blessings. I thought it was extraordinarily generous of Putin to agree with Donald that "the US beat ISIS in Syria" considering how half-assed/limp-wristed their anti-ISIS actions were in comparison with Russia's 100+ sorties per day 24/7 for many months.
    Imo, if the Yanks dream up another excuse to go back into Syria, Putin will caution against it and then make sure that none of them get out alive.

    Blooming Barricade , Dec 22, 2018 2:07:30 AM | link
    I personally distinguish between Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria and his move to withdraw partially from Afghanistan. The latter is a step towards ending a brutal, illegal NATO occupation war of over 17 years. The former is also illegal but the Syrian Kurds (left wing and largely communist) are likely to be supplanted as counters to "Iran" by fascists Turkey and Israel (this has been confirmed in reports), so we're moving from tactical NATO proxies to actual NATO governments seizing Syrian land.

    All of that being said, both are policy decisions that should be able to be debated freely. I can totally see why many on the anti-imperialist left welcome the decision to withdraw from Syria, I'm not entirely unsympathetic to them. It the US and international media response has been horrific.

    The New York Times and Guardian are basically now neconservative papers indistinguishable from the Wall Steet Journal and Daily Telegraph. Not a word of dissent is even remotely allowed or involved. The Blob has totally taken over the entirety of the liberal global establishment which sees Trump's move as "treasonous." Not looking forward to 2020 when Democrats will run on identical foreign policy platforms to Mitt Romney.

    Circe , Dec 22, 2018 2:15:25 AM | link
    @80

    Not sure if you watched when Michael Moore received the Oscar for Farenheit 9/11. Let's remember he was addressing the top elite Liberal crowd and got booed. What is it they say about prophets in their own land? Oh yeah, Jesus said: A prophet is without honor in his own country.

    I actually have some sympathy for Michael Moore. Aside from being a major critic of the Bush Administration, Michael Moore was also very critical of Obama, and Hillary and was lambasted by liberal centrists and neolibs. He was considered part of the radical left and despite the success of his documentaries, he continued to be marginalized and never received the respect he deserved. In 2015, Moore was supporting Bernie Sanders, but when Bernie was railroaded, Moore who couldn't see himself voting for a Republican ever, especially a depraved billionaire whom he rightly viewed as Chaos personified felt that Hillary was the lesser evil, and from there found the respect that had been denied to him by his own side and especially after he predicted Hillary was about to lose despite the polls and Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania would deny her the Presidency. From the day his prediction materialized Democrats were in awe of his perception. Since then he exchanged integrity for their respect. The Michael Moore of 2003 would never criticize military de-escalation.

    However, Moore recently released a new documentary Farenheit 11/9 wherein apparently he's critical of Democrats whom he blames for the rise of Trump.

    So don't be too hard on Moore who was an outcast in liberal country for too long. Once you've earned the respect of your own and the mainstream it's not so easy to speak your truth anymore. Thanks to Trump and the Dems, Moore has been temporarily altered. But you're right, he'll look back with regret on this Syria opinion.

    I can't stand Trump either, but I agree that getting out of Syria and de-escalating is a good thing...IF in fact that's what he's really up to.

    Circe , Dec 22, 2018 2:20:02 AM | link
    JR might be interested to know that Michael Moore believes that Hillary handed Trump the Presidency.
    b , Dec 22, 2018 2:23:14 AM | link
    Bolton's Hawkish Syria Plan Backfired, Pushing Trump to Get Out

    The national security adviser expanded U.S. goals in Syria to challenge Iran. But Trump wasn't on board, senior officials say, and Turkey took an opportunity to push the U.S. out.

    Hoarsewhisperer , Dec 22, 2018 2:26:43 AM | link
    ...
    Most that make it in politics or entertainment go with the flow - whatever will further their career. Empty people. I don't know this Michael Moor, but sounds lie he is one of this type.
    Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Dec 21, 2018 11:48:20 PM | 83

    Michael Moore has produced some brilliant anti-establishment docos focusing on gun-control (Bowling for Columbine), the US healthcare rort, the sub-prime scam, and the absence of socio-economic well-being in AmeriKKKa (Where To Invade Next?).
    I'm hoping that Kadath @ #80 is kidding, but he's right about Moore being rabidly anti-Trump from the get-go.

    Peter AU 1 , Dec 22, 2018 2:37:58 AM | link
    Geo-political chess. Russia, Turkey, Iran have called check and Trump is moving his pieces accordingly. I think he will pull the US out of Syria. Seems he is not as blinded by his hatred of Iran as his appointees.
    psychohistorian , Dec 22, 2018 2:47:28 AM | link
    @ b with the link about Bolton

    So, does this mean that Bolton should or will resign?

    I thought the update of the linked article with the statement about the Kurds from the White House official was interesting: ""They've done the majority of the fighting against ISIS in Syria," one U.S. official said. "How do you treat a partner like this?""

    [Nov 10, 2018] ISIS is as authentic and real as The White Helmets

    Nov 10, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    never mind , Nov 10, 2018 7:30:32 AM | link

    ISIS is as authentic and real as The White Helmets. There are mercenaries trained, paid and moved around by foreign intelligence, but there is no independent entity with a cyber division between the deserts of syria and iraq.

    It's all make believe.

    [Oct 26, 2018] Russian general says US plane directed drones towards airbase in Syria News

    Oct 26, 2018 | www.dw.com

    A US military aircraft took control of 13 drones over Syria in January and tried to redirect them in an attack on a Russian airbase, a senior Russian official has claimed. Russia's military managed to thwart the attempt.

    The US military helped coordinate an attempted drone attack on Russia's Hemeimeem base in Syria, Russian deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin claimed at a summit in Beijing on Thursday. The alleged attack took place in January 2018.

    Fomin's statement marks the first time Russia has directly accused the US of targeting Russian forces.

    The Russian official said that a coordinated group of 13 drones was directed toward the base while a US Poseidon-8, a high-tech reconnaissance plane, was cruising over the Mediterranean. Once the drones "reached our barrier of radio-electronic interference," they were switched to manual navigation, according to Fomin.

    "This manual control is not conducted by just some villager, but by a normal, modernized Poseidon-8," Fomin added. "It took on manual control."

    Read more: Russia starts drone surveillance missions in Syria

    Fomin did not say who had launched the drones before the the US plane took over their direction. 'This needs to stop'

    Russian forces managed to shoot down seven of the drones and then hack and take control of the remaining six, landing them safely. "And this needs to stop -- in order to avoid high-tech weapons falling into terrorists' hands and having well-equipped terrorists, it is necessary to stop strengthening them," Fomin told delegates at China's Xiangshan security forum.

    The three-day summit in Beijing is organized by the Chinese defense ministry, with delegates expected from 79 countries.

    Moscow has repeatedly accused the US of supplying and arming jihadist groups fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

    Islamist rebels often use drones to target Russian forces in Syria. Russia's defense ministry has claimed that rebel drones appear to be basic, but are equipped with modern navigation and ordinance delivery systems. This suggests that "a country possessing the technology to produce such systems supplied them to international terrorist groups," the ministry said, according to remarks cited by Russia's RIA Novosti agency.

    Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.

    Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.

    Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. The Turkish military has intervened alongside rebels in northern Aleppo, Afrin and Idlib province.

    The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.

    A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.

    The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.

    Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.

    "Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is facing defeat in both countries after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.

    IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.

    Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.

    In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the information was "very alarming," but added only the Russian military could provide details.

    Putin might raise the issue when meeting US President Donald Trump in Paris on November 11, Peskov told reporters.

    The US Pentagon did not immediately comment on Fomin's claims.

    The news of the alleged US-coordinated attack comes some two months after Russia lost a high-tech plane in Syria in an incident Moscow says was caused by Israel . Russia responded by pledging to supply Syrian forces with S-300 aerial defense systems.

    dj/jm (AP, Reuters, Interfax, dpa)

    [Oct 12, 2018] Terrorists Want America to Reverse Engineer Russian Machineguns by Michael Peck

    Notable quotes:
    "... US Special Forces Command wants to copy Russian firearms in the US to give away to proxies around the world ..."
    Oct 12, 2018 | russia-insider.com

    US Special Forces Command wants to copy Russian firearms in the US to give away to proxies around the world

    Wed, Oct 10, 2018 | 500 words 4,029 45 Why would U.S. special forces want to manufacture Russian machine guns?

    Just watch any video of a conflict such as Iraq and Syria, and the answer becomes clear. Many of the combatants are using Russian or Soviet weapons, or local copies thereof, from rifles to rocket launchers to heavy machine guns mounted on pickups. Which means that when U.S. special forces provide some of these groups with weapons, they have to scrounge through the global arms market to buy Russian hardware as well as spare parts.

    So U.S. Special Forces Command, which oversees America's various commando units, has an idea: instead of buying Russian weapons, why not build their own? That's why USSOCOM is asking U.S. companies to come up with a plan to manufacture Russian and other foreign weapons.

    The goal is to "develop an innovative domestic capability to produce fully functioning facsimiles of foreign-made weapons that are equal to or better than what is currently being produced internationally," according to the USSOCOM Small Business Innovation Research proposal .

    v76 • a day ago ,

    "develop an innovative domestic capability to produce fully functioning facsimiles of foreign-made weapons that are equal to or better than what is currently being produced internationally,"

    I laughed and stopped reading.

    Kjell Hasthi v76 • a day ago ,

    It is a good story. US needed so many AK-47 for African terrorists group, killing Blacks, they had to build a new factory in Africa to handle demand. There were not that many AK-47 available on the black market

    Think about that. Look into a mirror and say slowly
    - WE LIBERALS ARE TERRORISTS

    Mary Floyd Kjell Hasthi • 3 hours ago ,

    Actually, that should read: We American politicians and military are terrorists...the worst in the world

    [Sep 29, 2018] The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against by Sharmine Narwani

    Notable quotes:
    "... On the ground in Syria, dead civilians - some of them children killed by US bombs - muddied the perfect script. Confused Syrian rebels - many who had called for foreign intervention to help crush the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – demanded to know how these airstrikes were meant to help them. ..."
    "... The Syrian armed forces have spent little time on the ISIL threat because their focus has traditionally been on protecting their interests in Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama – and the countryside in these areas – as well as towns and cities around the Lebanese and Jordanian borders. That changed when ISIL staged successful attacks on Mosul and created new geopolitical urgency for Assad"s allies – which triggered some major Syrian strikes against ISIL targets. ..."
    "... Obama has managed to get the whole world singing from the same hymn sheet in just two months, including, and this is important, the three states - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey - most instrumental in financing, weaponizing and assisting ISIL and other extremist militias inside Syria. ..."
    "... For three years, Washington has overlooked and even encouraged illegal and dangerous behaviors from its regional Sunni allies – all in service of defeating Assad. With all eyes on America and expectations that Obama will fail in his War on Terror just like his predecessors, the US is going to have to pull some impressive tricks from its sleeves. ..."
    "... Ideally, these would include the shutting down of key border crossings (Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon); punishing financiers of terror and inhibiting the flow of funds and assistance from Washington"s regional allies; cutting off key revenue streams; tightening immigration policies to stem the flow of foreign fighters; disrupting communications networks of targeted terrorist groups; broader intelligence sharing with all regional players; and empowering existing armies and allied militias inside the "chaos zone" to lead and execute ground operations. ..."
    "... If there is the slightest deviation from the "guarantees" provided by the US, this trio has plenty of room to maneuver. Iran, for one, has dallied with the Americans in both Iraq and Afghanistan and they know how to cause some pain where it counts. The Russians, for that matter, have many playgrounds in which to thwart US ambitions – most urgently in Ukraine and in Afghanistan, from which the US hopes to withdraw billions of dollars" worth of military equipment by the end of 2014. ..."
    "... Reprinted with permission from RT . ..."
    Sep 26, 2014 | ronpaulinstitute.org

    Kerry Arab Saudi

    Undoubtedly the attacks were timed to occur on the eve of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, so "Coalition" partners could cluster behind the decision to bomb a sovereign state, uninvited.

    The irony, of course, is that they are doing so at the UN – the global political body that pledges to uphold international law, peace and stability, and the sanctity of the nation-state unit.

    The goal this week will be to keep the "momentum" on a "narrative" until it sinks in.

    On day one, heads of state from Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UK and France were paraded onto the podium to drum in the urgency of American strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Jabhat al-Nusra and other militant groups inside Syria.

    Every American official – past and present - in the White House rolodex was hooked up to a microphone to deliver canned sound bites and drive home those "messages." In between, video-game-quality footage of US strikes hitting their targets was aired on the hour; clips of sleek fighter jets refueling midair and the lone Arab female fighter pilot were dropped calculatingly into social media networks.

    The global crew of journalists that descends annually on the UN for this star-studded political event, enthused over US President Barak Obama"s ability to forge a coalition that included five Arab Sunni states – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and the UAE.

    Few mentioned that these partners are a mere fig leaf for Obama, providing his Syria campaign with Arab and Muslim legitimacy where he otherwise would have none. Not that any of these five monarchies enjoy "legitimacy" in their own kingdoms – kings and emirs aren"t elected after all – and two of these Wahhabi states are directly responsible for the growth and proliferation of the Wahhabi-style extremism targeted by US missiles.

    Even fewer spent time dissecting the legality of US attacks on Syria or on details of the US "mission" – as in, "what next?"

    But with a mission this crippled at the outset, it didn"t take long for an alternative view to peek through the thick media fog.

    On the ground in Syria, dead civilians - some of them children killed by US bombs - muddied the perfect script. Confused Syrian rebels - many who had called for foreign intervention to help crush the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – demanded to know how these airstrikes were meant to help them.

    Sunni Arabs would be radicalized by these strikes, they warned, as ideologically sympathetic citizens of the Arab coalition states took to their information channels and swore revenge for airstrikes against ISIL and al-Nusra.

    The Syrian government, for the most part, remained mute – whether to save face or because they could "smell" the gains coming. Contrary to Washington"s prevailing narrative, privately the story was that the US had informed the Assad government of both the timing and targets of the attacks in advance.

    Sources say that the US even provided "guarantees" that no Syrian military or government interests would be targeted. A Reuters exclusive claiming that the US went so far as to provide assurances to Iran, suggests this version is closer to the truth. When US airstrikes against Syria were on the table a year ago, the various parties went through a similar game of footsies. Last September, the Americans backed off – allegedly because of communications from their adversaries that even a single US missile would trigger a warfront against Israel. This time, Washington needed to know that scenario was not going to be activated, and this week they offered the necessary guarantees to ensure it.

    Although the Russians and Iranians have publicly lashed out at the illegality of US strikes, they do not seem too worried. Both know – like the Syrian government – that these air attacks could be a net gain for their "Axis."

    Firstly, the United States is now doing some useful heavy-lifting for Assad, at no real cost to him. The Syrian armed forces have spent little time on the ISIL threat because their focus has traditionally been on protecting their interests in Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama – and the countryside in these areas – as well as towns and cities around the Lebanese and Jordanian borders. That changed when ISIL staged successful attacks on Mosul and created new geopolitical urgency for Assad"s allies – which triggered some major Syrian strikes against ISIL targets.

    But to continue along this path, the Syrians would have to divert energy and resources from key battles, and so the American strikes have provided a convenient solution for the time being.

    Secondly, the Syrians have spent three years unsuccessfully pushing their narrative that the terrorism threat they face internally is going to become a regional and global problem. The US campaign is a Godsend in this respect – Obama has managed to get the whole world singing from the same hymn sheet in just two months, including, and this is important, the three states - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey - most instrumental in financing, weaponizing and assisting ISIL and other extremist militias inside Syria.

    Syria, Iran, Russia, Hezbollah and a host of like-minded emerging powers are pleased about this new laser focus on jihadi terror and for the accompanying resource shift to address the problem.

    Thirdly, the US has now been placed in the hot seat and will be expected to match words with action. For three years, Washington has overlooked and even encouraged illegal and dangerous behaviors from its regional Sunni allies – all in service of defeating Assad. With all eyes on America and expectations that Obama will fail in his War on Terror just like his predecessors, the US is going to have to pull some impressive tricks from its sleeves.

    Ideally, these would include the shutting down of key border crossings (Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon); punishing financiers of terror and inhibiting the flow of funds and assistance from Washington"s regional allies; cutting off key revenue streams; tightening immigration policies to stem the flow of foreign fighters; disrupting communications networks of targeted terrorist groups; broader intelligence sharing with all regional players; and empowering existing armies and allied militias inside the "chaos zone" to lead and execute ground operations.

    Thus far, there are signs that some of these things are already happening, with possibly more to come.

    Now for the fun part. The Syrians, Iranians and Russians do not fundamentally trust Washington or its intentions. The suspicion is that the US is on another one of its regime-change missions, displaying its usual rogue-state behavior by violating the territorial integrity of a sovereign state under false pretenses, and that it will shortly revert to targeting the Syrian government.

    While they can see clear gains from the current level of US intervention – as distasteful as they find it - they are watching carefully as events unfold.

    If there is the slightest deviation from the "guarantees" provided by the US, this trio has plenty of room to maneuver. Iran, for one, has dallied with the Americans in both Iraq and Afghanistan and they know how to cause some pain where it counts. The Russians, for that matter, have many playgrounds in which to thwart US ambitions – most urgently in Ukraine and in Afghanistan, from which the US hopes to withdraw billions of dollars" worth of military equipment by the end of 2014.

    All understand that Washington has just assumed a risky public posture and that many, many things can go wrong. The Sunni Arab fig leaf can disappear in a nano-second if domestic pressures mount or revenge attacks take place internally. Information could leak about continued assistance to terrorist militias from one or more of its coalition partners – a huge embarrassment for Washington and its wobbly Coalition. ISIL will almost certainly act against coalition partner soft-targets, like carrying out further kidnappings and executions. Continued airstrikes will almost definitely result in a growing civilian casualty count, turning those "hearts and minds" to stone. Syrian rebels could swiftly turn against the US intervention and radicalize further. Massive displacement caused by airstrikes could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.And as in all other past US military War-on-Terror adventures, terrorism could thrive and proliferate in quantum leaps.

    As Moscow-based political analyst Vladimir Frolov noted to the Washington Post:

    The United States has underestimated the complexity of the situation before, so let's just wait until they run into problems.
    The idea that US military engagement could continue for the long-term is unlikely given the myriad things that can go wrong fast. Obama is going to be reluctant to have his last two years in office defined by the hazardous Syrian conflict – after all, he was to be the president who extracted America from unessential wars.

    But the most compelling reason that this Coalition will not pass the first hurdle is that its key members have entirely different ambitions and strategic targets.

    Over a decade ago, these US-engineered coalitions were wealthier, less-burdened and shared common goals. Today, many of the coalition members face domestic economic and political uncertainties – and several states are directly responsible for giving rise to ISIL. How can the Coalition fight ISIL and support it, all at once?

    What"s missing is a formula, a strategy, a unified worldview that can be equally as determined as the ideological adversary it faces.

    Down the road, we will discover that the only coalition able and willing to fight extremism does indeed come from inside the region, but importantly, from within the conflict zone itself: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran. For starters, they are utterly vested in the outcome of their efforts – and would lead with political solutions alongside military ones. Those elusive boots-on-the-ground that everyone is seeking? They live it. Pit that group against Obama"s Coalition-of-the-Clueless any day and you know which side would win handily.

    The question is, can this Coalition stomach a solution it is working so hard to avoid? Will it partner with vital regional players that were foes only a few months ago? It is doubtful. That would require a worldview shift that Washington is still too irrational to embrace.

    Reprinted with permission from RT .

    [Sep 26, 2018] Hired to Drain the Swamp, Fired in Less Than a Year

    Notable quotes:
    "... @markperrydc . ..."
    "... Well, we know where Mattis is going when he leaves the Pentagon. Nice work if you can get it. ..."
    "... Seriously, anyone taking a knife to the Pentagon budget is putting a knife top their throat, unless they have support. ..."
    "... Gen Mattis wants to save big money stop sending US forces to needless adventures. ..."
    "... On top of the firing, I found the last three or four paragraphs all about insider trading as opposed to job performance, goals, budget cutting, not even budget accountability . . . Personalities over performance -- holy petolies. ..."
    "... Given that the United States spends more money on defense than the next seven countries COMBINED including Russia and China it's not a question of how much you spend it's a question of how well. Until DOD passes that financial audit that all other agencies are obligated to do DOD should be get any increase in funding. ..."
    "... When folks learn that the DOD is the swamp, then we can start having a conversation. ..."
    "... "Lap Dog" Mattis. ..."
    "... The Trump Administration is the most incompetent and corrupt since Warren G. Harding. There is no swamp draining going on. It is just a fight on who occupies it. ..."
    Sep 26, 2018 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Hired to Drain the Swamp, Fired in Less Than a Year 'This is the Boeing mafia in all of its glory,' one DoD official said of John 'Jay' Gibson's mysterious demise. By Mark Perry • September 26, 2018

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    The Pentagon ( Frontpage / Shutterstock ) On April 4, 2003, Col. Joseph Dowdy -- whose 1st Marine Regiment was then fighting its way through a tangle of Iraqi villages south of Baghdad -- was called to the tent of Gen. James Mattis and told he was being relieved of his command. A career Marine, Dowdy was stunned: Mattis's action in the midst of a battlefield fight was nearly unprecedented and, as Dowdy knew, would mark the end of his military career. Adding to the humiliation, Mattis told Dowdy to remove his sidearm and hand it to him. "We're going to give you a rest," he said.

    Dowdy had known that his job was in danger, the result of complaints from Mattis and his staff that he wasn't moving his regiment quickly enough. But it's not as if Dowdy was taking his time: his troopers had been involved in bitter firefights against tenacious "Saddam Fedayeen" killers every day for the previous two weeks. But Dowdy had no choice in the matter, so while he objected to Mattis's action he packed up his gear, called his wife, returned to the U.S. and retired from the Marine Corps.

    That Mattis acts quickly and decisively is part of his lore -- it's what good Marines do. But while quick and decisive might work on the battlefield, they're not always a good fit for a secretary of defense. Mattis learned this earlier this month, after he fired John H. "Jay" Gibson II, the Pentagon's first-ever Chief Management Officer and its third highest ranking official. The reason for the firing, as The Wall Street Journal's Gordon Lubold reported on September 5, was for "lack of performance."

    The firing was immediately controversial, spurring under-the-radar resentments among senior defense officials in the Pentagon's E-Ring where military and civilian managers huddle to run the world's largest bureaucracy. "This doesn't make any sense," a senior Pentagon official told TAC . "Jay was CMO for seven months; he hadn't even gotten his staff in place."

    John H. 'Jay' Gibson II (U.S. Government)

    Gibson came to Washington to oversee Mattis's attempt to cut waste from the Pentagon budget by identifying savings that would lessen the ballooning impact of the Trump administration's $670 billion defense spending proposal. Armed with an impressive resume (including a successful stint as an assistant secretary of the Air Force and deputy undersecretary of defense for management reform, where his efforts saved billions of dollars), Gibson was tasked with reforming Pentagon procedures in buying and developing weapons and in managing logistics and supply, technology systems, community services, human resources, and health care.

    Gibson was given a broad mandate to "shake up the system," which the deputy defense secretary Patrick Shanahan (the department's number two official and Gibson's boss) admitted would cause "screaming and yelling" from the Pentagon bureaucracy.

    Even so, Gibson was told he would have the Trump administration's support -- which is why he decided to give up his post as president of XCOR Aerospace, a Texas company that develops rocket engines and space launch systems. "Jay did this over his wife's objections," a friend of Gibson and a senior official at a major private sector financial institution told TAC in a wide-ranging interview, "because he thought he could make a difference. He is a cracker-jack administrator; he knows how to dig and dig. So he came into D.C., started digging into the Pentagon budget and was fired. In my world, when that happens it isn't because you're doing a lousy job, but because you're stepping on the wrong toes."

    In fact, as the senior Pentagon official with whom I spoke says, the toes that Gibson stepped on belonged to Patrick Shanahan, the deputy secretary of defense and a former vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, a major Pentagon contractor. Shanahan and Gibson had a falling out in August, according to the senior Pentagon official with whom I spoke, and Shanahan reported the difficulty to Mattis -- "who pulled a Dowdy." Put simply, this official adds, when the "screaming and yelling" from the Pentagon's senior bureaucracy reached a fever pitch at the end of the summer, Mattis and Shanahan decided that firing Gibson would be easier than defending him.

    The Recruitment Problem the Military Doesn't Want to Talk About Forget Trump: The Military-Industrial Complex is Still Running the Show

    "I am not familiar with the details of what happened here and I wouldn't want to speculate," Todd Harrison, an official with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (and a well-known defense budget expert) says. "But I think that anyone in the new CMO position was signing on to the toughest job in Washington. It's one thing to identify waste, and another to actually get rid of it. The truth is that waste is built into the Pentagon budget; if you eliminate it, you eliminate jobs." A Pentagon official confirms this, but adds that "firing an official charged with making reforms for 'lack of performance' is laughable. Who are these guys trying to kid? The truth is that if Jay didn't perform, he'd still have his job."

    The timing of Gibson's firing, just weeks after the death of Senate Armed Services Committee heavyweight John McCain, also raises uncomfortable questions. "The minute Gibson was fired, McCain would have had Mattis, Shanahan, and Gibson on the carpet in his office, asking them what the hell they were doing," a senior congressional staffer who monitors Pentagon personnel issues notes. "That's not going to happen now."

    In fact, McCain had little love for Shanahan, telling aides that his appointment raised conflict of interest issues. McCain's worries were aired when he grilled Shanahan on answers the Boeing executive gave to written questions posed to him by the committee in June 2017. It was a classic McCain scorcher: "The answers that you gave to the questions," he told Shanahan, "whether intentionally or unintentionally, were almost condescending, and I'm not overjoyed that you came from one of the five corporations that receive 90 percent of taxpayers' dollars. I have to have confidence that the fox is not going to be put back into the henhouse." McCain was livid.

    "Not a good beginning," McCain told Shanahan. "Do not do that again, Mr. Shanahan, or I will not take your name up for a vote before this committee. Am I perfectly clear?" Shanahan nodded his agreement. "Very clear," he said.

    As it turns out, Shanahan's appointment resulted from a series of contentious negotiations between Trump transition official Mira Ricardel and retired Adm. Kevin Sweeney, Mattis's chief of staff. "There was no love loss between Mattis and Ricardel," the senior Pentagon civilian with whom TAC spoke says. "So the SecDef told Sweeney to deal with her. Sweeney is a tough guy and Mira has sharp elbows, so this got nasty."

    The skirmishing got so bad that when Ricardel said she wanted to be the Pentagon's undersecretary for policy, Mattis killed the idea, with Ricardel sidelined as the undersecretary of commerce for export administration. But Ricardel got her revenge: she not only successfully slotted Shanahan as Mattis's number two, she was named as deputy to John Bolton, appointed by Trump to succeed H.R. McMaster as the administration's national security advisor. "It's the ultimate irony," the senior Pentagon official says. "Jim Mattis ignored H.R. and he ends up with Mira Ricardel. Incredible."

    That Jay Gibson has been caught in the Mattis-Ricardel crossfire is an open secret at the Pentagon, where key officials speculate that Ricardel's promotion of Shanahan has less to do with his commitment to Pentagon budget reform than to the fact that the two were close colleagues at Boeing, where Ricardel served for nine years (from 2006 to 2015) as vice president of strategic missile and defense systems. That is to say, Jay Gibson's still unexplained firing has reinforced John McCain's worries that the fox would end up guarding the henhouse.

    "This is the Boeing mafia in all of its glory," the senior Pentagon official says. "Anyone who comes in here [to the Pentagon] will always have Jay Gibson's experience as a marker. You think anyone who's willing to take on the bureaucracy is going to want that job? No way. Budget reform is dead, d-e-a-d dead. So much for draining the swamp."

    Mark Perry is the author of The Most Dangerous Man in America and The Pentagon's Wars . Follow him on Twitter @markperrydc .



    Whine Merchant September 26, 2018 at 12:05 am

    Well, we know where Mattis is going when he leaves the Pentagon. Nice work if you can get it.
    EliteCommInc. , , September 26, 2018 at 3:24 am
    "Even so, Gibson was told he would have the Trump administration's support -- "

    Look these are the issues in which the executive has to be made of sterner stuff. I suspect that the tag line after the articles title heading is more accurate and that has probably nothing to do with COS being quick on the draw.

    Seriously, anyone taking a knife to the Pentagon budget is putting a knife top their throat, unless they have support.

    Gen Mattis wants to save big money stop sending US forces to needless adventures.

    On top of the firing, I found the last three or four paragraphs all about insider trading as opposed to job performance, goals, budget cutting, not even budget accountability . . . Personalities over performance -- holy petolies.

    In this day and age there seems to be no other tune.

    david , , September 26, 2018 at 5:49 am
    All federal agencies are by congressional mandate obligated to pass financial audits EVERY year. DOD hasn't done one in over 10 years. Mattis supposedly was "working" on one for this year. Where is it?

    We see endless stories of waste, fraud, and mismanagement in DOD. The littoral combat ship that more than doubled in price and clearly can't do what it was designed to do. So many others.

    Given that the United States spends more money on defense than the next seven countries COMBINED including Russia and China it's not a question of how much you spend it's a question of how well. Until DOD passes that financial audit that all other agencies are obligated to do DOD should be get any increase in funding.

    Kent , , September 26, 2018 at 6:39 am
    When folks learn that the DOD is the swamp, then we can start having a conversation.
    b. , , September 26, 2018 at 9:24 am
    "Lap Dog" Mattis.
    Scott , , September 26, 2018 at 10:27 am
    The Trump Administration is the most incompetent and corrupt since Warren G. Harding. There is no swamp draining going on. It is just a fight on who occupies it.

    The Trump Administration taking months to fill a position and then not having a support staff in place after 7 months is totally incompetent.

    [Sep 15, 2018] "The United States does not seek to fight the Russians" a Pentagon spokesman said. "However, the United States will not hesitate to use necessary and proportionate force to defend US, coalition or partner forces

    Sep 15, 2018 | thenewkremlinstooge.wordpress.com

    Northern Star September 12, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    All Stooges should read this wsws article and the accompanying comments

    Why?

    Bcuz I-NS-say so !!!!!

    http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/12/pers-s12.html

    "The Pentagon made clear that US forces are fully prepared to engage Russian troops. "The United States does not seek to fight the Russians" a Pentagon spokesman said. "However, the United States will not hesitate to use necessary and proportionate force to defend US, coalition or partner forces."

    Really?? What psychopaths in the pentagon think this to be the case

    Americans need to understand that complete psycho ccksckers like Groeteschele are as real in 2018 as they were in 1964 .

    http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/429672/Fail-Safe-Movie-Clip-Convicts-And-File-Clerks.html

    Mark Chapman September 13, 2018 at 12:18 pm
    Don't you get it?? You have no right at all to be in Syria, forming 'partnerships' with 'rebels' or anyone else!! Get the fuck out!! Your presence is a violation of sovereignty, as you were not invited by the elected government!

    [Sep 10, 2018] Should Assad subsequently fall - and that is the actual aim of intervention - then Syria will become another anarchic wasteland ruled over by fundamentalist warlords.

    Notable quotes:
    "... We know the proceeds will go unmentioned into offshore havens and the London property market. Britain would derive no geopolitical benefit as a whole. The benefits would accrue only to a kleptocracy who think they have a right to use our country as a loan shark's leg-breaker. ..."
    Apr 20, 2018 | discussion.theguardian.com

    Vermithrax , 13 Apr 2018 15:39

    Freedland recently put this argument on Newsnight.

    It is flawed to the point of dishonesty.

    He talks of removing assets as if the process was being conducted under laboratory conditions. There are ten nations enmeshed in a warzone with numerous factions under no one's control. It is magical thinking that cannot be achieved and will only result in rapid, uncontrolled escalation. The idea that there will be no collateral damage is laughable and I regret to suggest that it is deliberately misleading.

    Moreover, in engaging Assad when he is on the brink of victory, the Syrian Civil War will be extended. The Syrian people will then pay the price.

    Should Assad subsequently fall - and that is the actual aim of intervention - then Syria will become another anarchic wasteland ruled over by fundamentalist warlords. The spiral of migration will be renewed bringing loons wrapped in the dispossessed to our own streets. Worse, the militants next stop will be Lebanon and then Israel will be directly involved. Freedland advocates acting against Assad without even attempting to predict the consequences. At the very least I would expect the usual misdirection 'of course this time we must have a plan for rebuilding Syria', secure in the knowledge that by that time there will be another crisis and Syria can be left in entropy.

    No good can come from military intervention. The satisfaction of commentators that the right thing has been done is an irrelevance. The right thing is always just public relations. Every bit of ruthless geopolitics has to have a casus belli to make the killing all righteous and unavoidable. It has always been thus. For resources to be expended on this kind of scale there has to be a rock solid bit of bankable realpolitik. In this case its the struggle for regional hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Syria can either be part of a supply chain selling Sunni gas/oil to Europe or Shi'a gas/oil to Europe. This is about killing Syrians for the glory of Saudi Arabia. You can see why there has to be a casus belli because thats not something that can be sold. We know the proceeds will go unmentioned into offshore havens and the London property market. Britain would derive no geopolitical benefit as a whole. The benefits would accrue only to a kleptocracy who think they have a right to use our country as a loan shark's leg-breaker.

    It is therefore my contention that Freedland is promoting an immoral act that will have serious consequences without offering any serious improvement in the situation. This is arguably the most dangerous situation since the Cuban Missile crisis and an analysis that advocates pouring oil on the flames is either ridiculously stupid or calculatedly duplicitous.

    thousandautumns -> balancedman , 13 Apr 2018 15:39
    "Up to" 13,000 "opponents" killed over five years during a period of war. I'm assuming that number of "opponents" includes a large number of out and out terrorists who have thrown the country into chaos.
    Brianto , 13 Apr 2018 15:39
    What is Porton Down manufacturing?
    oldeborr , 13 Apr 2018 15:38
    The UK and France bares a heavy responsibility for the current situation in Syria. The cavalier attitude that the ConDems took to international law during the Arab spring encouraged the Saudi s and their proxies to distablise the recognised Govt. Assad is no paragon of virtue, but prior to the insurgency steps were in place to make the country a better place for its citizens, and whilst its true political dissent was not allowed, people could live their lives and go about their business in safety.

    [Sep 07, 2018] >An Uber-Hawk Flies High Again in Trump's Washington

    Notable quotes:
    "... Curt Mills is the foreign affairs reporter at ..."
    "... where he covers the State Department, National Security Council, and the Trump presidency. ..."
    Sep 07, 2018 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Professional Islamophobe to some, truthsayer to others, Frank Gaffney's found a new perch among the old gang. By CURT MILLS • August 3, 2018

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    Gage Skidmore/Flickr

    The spring of 2016 in Washington, D.C. was unusually warm, as I remember, perhaps foreshadowing the raucous year yet to come. One night a group of journalists and policy hands gathered at the Dupont Circle bar Rebellion to commiserate. No one knew it yet but it was the closing moment in Act One of the Trump revolution; our 21st-century P.T. Barnum was well on his way from presidential impossibility to presumptive nominee. Yet no one was talking about Trump. That evening, perhaps bespeaking of both the sleeplessness and sexlessness of those gathered, the conversation focused on a new addition to Senator Ted Cruz's national security team: Frank Gaffney, the former Reagan hand and uber-foreign policy hawk.

    Back in 2016, Cruz -- capable, erudite, and reviled -- was positioning himself as the last great hope of movement conservatism. The only candidate who could still plausibly defeat Trump, or individually force a convention brawl, Cruz wanted to convert his early primary brand -- a kind of diluted libertarianism mixed with cultural evangelicalism -- into something more conventionally Republican. Gone was the poaching of the platforms of Rand Paul and Ben Carson, and in was Lindsey Graham who had previously called the junior Texas senator "demonic."

    "This is what we're supposed to oppose Trump with? The paragon of reason, Frank Gaffney?" intoned one policy veteran sympathetic to a restrained foreign policy and, correspondingly, to Paul, who had only recently dropped out of the race. In truth, Cruz was simply trying to replicate a trick mastered by Trump -- a sort of Heisenberg Uncertainty machination of modern conservative politics -- occupying, at the same time, the least and most hawkish spaces on the political field. For every enthrallingly refreshing "Iraq was a big fat mistake" from candidate Trump, there was "we're going to bomb the s**t out of ISIS" and promises to restart the torture program of the Bush years.

    Gaffney's recent career, now re-ascendent in Trump's orbit, is perhaps most emblematic of that conflict of vision.

    When you talk to Gaffney, as I did in his Washington offices at the Center for Security Policy in August of 2017, you get the sense that he and his allies think that the September 11 attacks are now almost a distraction. For the hardcore -- and this includes some principals at more mainstream outfits such as the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) -- the true, largely unencumbered villain in America's war on terror is either -- pick your poison -- the Muslim Brotherhood or Hezbollah. For Gaffney, and his life's work stands as testament to this, it's decidedly the former. Anxieties about the alleged power of the the Muslim Brotherhood are rife in the publications put out by his Center for Security Policy. This often lapses into matters more sinister and conspiratorial: the enemy within, and the enemy itself. His center's books -- and he readily gave me more than 10 -- have titles such as Star Spangled Sharia and Bridge-Building to Nowhere: The Catholic Church's Case Study in Interfaith Delusion . The texts allege elaborate financial and political influence maneuvers by Muslim agents, most concerningly the Brotherhood. Gaffney even intimated to me, before backtracking, that Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, could be a Brother, or at least compromised by the Brotherhood.

    "The assertion that the dangers that we're facing, most obviously post-9/11, have nothing to do with Islam and [that] the people who are fighting us with terrorism or in Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere, are actually hijacking a great Abrahamic faith and a religion of peace and all of that, is simply uninformed," Gaffney told me. "What the authorities of Islam call sharia , has, at its core, our destruction." He added that adherents to sharia "are obliged to engage in jihad, of one kind or another, to impose it on everybody else."

    Yet Gaffney, in the seventh month of the presidency of the man who once told CNN "I think Islam hates us," seemed lukewarm at best over Donald Trump.

    The week I met with him came just after the largest bloodletting of the administration: the rapid-fire ousters of key figures who had been with Trump during the campaign -- Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci, and Stephen K. Bannon. From where Gaffney was sitting, the White House inner circle was now a mishmash of the kind of conventional Republicans -- James Mattis, Rex Tillerson, H.R. McMaster, and John Kelly -- who, as Peter Beinart reported in The Atlantic , had long "treated Gaffney as a pariah." The so-called axis of adults was unlikely to prioritize fighting for the embattled travel ban in the courts, or pursuing regime change in Iran or Qatar -- "the ATM of the Muslim Brotherhood," as Jonathan Schanzer of FDD put it in a phone conversation with me.

    John Bolton's History of Tirades and Dirty Tricks Iran Hawks and Trump's Contempt for the Iranian People

    Since that discussion, however, Gaffneyism has experienced a clear uptick in fortunes.

    Gaffney's relevance stems from his relationship with Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, as well as the chief of staff of Bolton's National Security Council, Fred Fleitz. Fleitz has worked as chief for both men. As I detailed in the Spectator USA , Bolton was eventually able to leverage his media appearances into one of the most senior positions in the government. (Gaffney is also a fellow, though not parallel, traveler of Bannon's.)

    Both the genius and the secret of the modern anti-establishment right is, like Trump, its ability to occupy two places at once. Bannon's former outlet Breitbart News , where Gaffney is a regular radio guest (as was Bolton previously), is proof positive. Breitbart has staunchly defended most actions of the Netanyahu government in Israel while condemning the Pentagon for its support of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. On foreign policy, the Trump coalition is a tenuous alliance between some of the GOP's least interventionist voices, Rand Paul as well as Bannon on most issues, and some of its most interventionist voices, like Gaffney and Bolton.

    But there is one area where the hawks in this arrangement have prevailed: cutting Iran down to size.

    In fact, it hasn't been much of a fight: Trump leaving the Iran nuclear deal in some fashion was never really in doubt. As I reported last fall, at one point, the fight inside Trump circles was essentially between two plans to exit the deal as written during the Obama years: Bolton, Bannon, and Gaffney's plan versus the more restrained architecture favored by the FDD.

    Gaffney didn't get full sway over that decision, but he didn't have to.

    His biggest victory was the president's selection of Bolton. While Bolton himself campaigned to get the job at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), it was Gaffney who was most direct: "You know, everybody says it's great to be back at CPAC, but nobody means it like I do," he said, declaring, "The president of the United States must fire H.R. McMaster and hire John Bolton!" Years back, Gaffney had denounced CPAC's organizing body, the American Conservative Union (ACU), for its support of Suhail Khan, a Muslim former Bush administration official he accused of being an agent of the Brotherhood. The dispute had played out prominently in the national news.

    And that's really the handle: going forward, will Gaffney's very real policy influence be sundered by what some see as a penchant for wacky prejudice? He isn't without real influence, and as Peter Beinart argued earlier this year, Bolton has helped rehabilitate him even further on the right. "The man has one of the best minds in D.C.," said Raheem Kassam, who was raised Muslim and is the former editor of Breitbart London. He added, however: "Genius doesn't come without eccentricity."

    One example is that, in conducting research for this article, two sources familiar with the matter told me of Gaffney's history of compiling opposition research dossiers on those who fall out of his favor. One recent case involved a former member of Gaffney's circle (a clique that includes Ginny Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas) who became romantically involved with a Muslim -- apparently a bridge too far. And Gaffney's flare-ups with Grover Norquist, the conservative tax policy kingmaker who married a Muslim woman in 2004, are well documented. A dossier put out by CSP and its allies on the subject reads: "The Islamists' -- and their Enablers' -- Assault on the Right: The Case Against Grover Norquist and Suhail Khan."

    Cracks on policy have shown. In addition to holding views on Islam that are emphatically outside the mainstream, Gaffney, doctrinaire hawkish in a way that the president is not, recently joined in on the criticism of Trump's Helsinki summit, while his center has repeatedly urged regime change as the best course in North Korea. After Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin, Gaffney said Trump could be making President Obama look strong by comparison. In a published statement, he intoned: "President Trump needs now to clarify -- and walk back -- any mandates for institutionalizing Moscow's agenda in ways that would make the appalling Obama-Clinton 'reset' with Russia seem robust."

    That's the real question for Bolton's NSC and this Republican Party: as Trump continues to remake American conservatism in his image, at what point, if any, does Gaffney go from lodestar to liability?

    Curt Mills is the foreign affairs reporter at The National Interest, where he covers the State Department, National Security Council, and the Trump presidency. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR

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    Recommended by Hide 13 comments 13 Responses to An Uber-Hawk Flies High Again in Trump's Washington

    H.D. August 2, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    The unholy alliance of Zionist puppet masters and the crazy-eyed white conspiracists

    Seven Iron , says: August 3, 2018 at 5:11 am

    Gaffney's a crank. This kind of attention only encourages him.

    He and other neoconservatives didn't get the good hard boot in the face they so richly deserved after the Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen disasters they caused. Happily for Christendom, it seems that omission will be remedied in the not too distant future.

    SteveM , says: August 3, 2018 at 9:58 am

    Note that at the February CPAC conference in which Gaffney endorsed Bolton for Trump's NSA, he also called for "regime change" in China.

    Amazing. Gaffney sees the Super-Power U.S. as a giant hegemonic anaconda that can swallow anything no matter how big.

    Note too that Gaffney's Center for Security Policy took in over $7,000,000 in 2016, (last posted IRS Form 990). Where does that money come from? Especially given that Gaffney is a supposed "crank". He obviously has benefactors who want to leverage his fear-monger schtick for their own purposes.

    And OBTW, Gaffney pays himself over $350 Grand via a crony Board of Directors who authorize that kind of mad money. Not bad scratch for just showing up and gas-bagging.

    In the end, Gaffney is the quintessential parasitic Beltway Hack, i.e., paid large for mind dumps scripted for his benefactors.

    LM , says: August 3, 2018 at 2:53 pm

    HD Id agree with the Zionist puppet masters (which I normally think of as neoconservatives and neoliberals).

    I have to wonder whether Trumps embrace of hawks and warmongerers is to placate and passify them so they don't join the ranks of never Trumpers, Russian colluders and other manufactured and fictional stories to undermine the Trump Administration.

    So far he has embraced them with a military buildup, tough talk with North Korea, withdrawing from the JCPOA, chastising NATO, waging trade wars and sending US ships into the South China Sea (to the consternation of China) and sending US troops to African to fight Islamic radicalism (there is more than one place in the world where Islamic wars are being fought).

    But at the same time, Trump has not fallen into the trap of GBushII in being their lapdog following their dictates nor has he opposed them withdrawn and starved the military like Obama.

    Trump has used hawks to appear strong and strengthen his defenses but he has not created any new military confrontations which gives me confidence that Trump knows how to handle powerful constituencies. Lets hope he continues to do so.

    The Dean , says: August 3, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    Interesting article. There is a lot to digest but does the writer have evidence to the contrary of what Mr. Gaffney is saying in his reports.

    I read Robert Spencer's book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" years ago and it made quite an impression on me.

    Sometimes these so called fringe people are right on track but so far ahead of popular thought that no one wants to believe what they are saying until it is too late.

    Fayez Abedaziz , says: August 4, 2018 at 12:52 am

    This is one of many really disgusting people that the media has been having on for years.
    How about asking this question:
    how come they never have a critic of these neo-con policy guys?
    How come no critics of what these guys who peddle hate against a whole religion and nationalities are ever on?
    But these neo-cons are on all the time.
    And, let's not keep kidding ourselves and each other-every 'think tank' that has an 'expert' on foreign affairs is in that neo-con group and the hosts on any network, cable and otherwise, don't even tell the viewers what the hell the think tank/s is about!
    They are one of the top, if not the number one reason why the American public knows either nothing about what the Middle-East situations are, or they have a stupid slanted view and it is always against anything Arabic, Palestinian and such
    you know it and I know it
    can you dig it
    thanks, this is,
    dear Fayez

    Stitch In Time , says: August 5, 2018 at 12:45 am

    "Sometimes these so called fringe people are right on track but so far ahead of popular thought that no one wants to believe what they are saying until it is too late."

    like the fruit-cakes out in Idaho jabbering about "ZOG" back in the 1980s and 90s. We knew better didn't we? No danger of excessive Israeli influence on US politicians or policy, and even if there were, what possible negative consequences could there be? It's not like the Muslims would get all riled up and knock down the World Trade Center or something. Right? Ha ha ha ha! Only paranoids and anti-semites believe that sort of nonsense.

    M. Orban , says: August 5, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    @The Dean, Stitch In Time
    I think it isn't too hard to recognize Gaffney & Co what they are: pro Israeli, pro-Likud propagandists. I am cool with that. A number of folks on the right fast becoming Russophiles for a variety of reasons, that isn't illegal either.
    In our history we went through times when various groups advocated in the interest of country A or B and we are still here.
    So Gaffney and the likes can spew nonsense as long as we recognize what he is up to.

    No need for rank antisemitism, using phrases like ZOG sending out happy merchant memes, because that instantly eliminates you from any sort of reasonable discussion.

    Kurt Gayle , says: August 5, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    During the Reagan administration Gaffney was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under neocon Richard Perle (aka "Prince of Darkness"). In April 1987, Gaffney was nominated to the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Unfortunately for Gaffney–but fortunately for America–he served in that position for only seven months during which time he was deliberately and systematically excluded by senior Reagan administration officials from the then-ongoing arms control talks with the Soviet Union. In Nov, 1987 Gaffney was forced out of the Pentagon and immediately began a campaign criticizing President Reagan for his efforts to bring about an arms control agreement with the USSR.

    "In a 1997 column for The Washington Times, Gaffney alleged that a seismic incident in Russia was actually a nuclear detonation at that nation's Novaya Zemlya test site, indicating Russia was violating the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTB). (Subsequent scientific analysis of Novaya Zemlya confirmed the event was a routine earthquake.) Reporting on the allegation, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists observed that, following its publication, 'fax machines around Washington, D.C. and across the country poured out pages detailing Russian duplicity. They came from Frank Gaffney'." (Wikipedia)

    It probably won't add anything to this discussion for me to say that Gaffney is a dangerous whack-job, so I'm not going to call Gaffney a dangerous whack-job.

    Down Home , says: August 6, 2018 at 4:17 am

    "I think it isn't too hard to recognize Gaffney & Co what they are: pro Israeli, pro-Likud propagandists. I am cool with that."

    I'm not. Trillions of dollars. Thousands of American dead. Tens of thousands of American with ruined brain, amputated limbs, grievous wounds that haven't healed.

    That's a big price to pay for Gaffney and Co. and their sick foreign policy prescriptions.

    Too big.

    It's past time they were shut up and expelled from American public life. It's not anymore about mere differences of opinion, matters over which decent people can disagree. There's real evil here. And real damage to America.

    So Gaffney and the likes can spew nonsense as long as we recognize what he is up to."

    Not good enough.

    PAX , says: August 7, 2018 at 10:14 am

    The opportunity cost of allowing the neocons to impregnate our national and international life is too high. Iraq will forever be a blotch on our national soul. Their embedded power must never be underestimated. It must be understood in the context of what they really want. Which country do they actually support? It is difficult to include the U.S. as a beneficiary in their neverending lust for more wars. Now, as folks like TAC, seek a reason as to why the main front will be an attack on free speech. Ask yourself -why? Who fears free speech?

    Joe Schmo , says: August 7, 2018 at 6:18 pm

    Frank Gaffney is an ironic figure. Today he leads the Center for Security Policy which purports to expose Muslim Brotherhood influence operations in the US. 20 years ago he was part of American Committee for Peace in Chechnya which wrote apologia for Chechen militants who worked closely with Al Qaeda. The leader of the Chechen rebels was a Saudi born man personally dispatched by Osama bin Laden so this connection was not a secret. ACPC didn't just have Gaffney, but also Bill Kristol, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and James Woolsey to name a few. It also recieved funding from the FDD and NED so it wasn't a rogue operation by any means. Considering this Frank Gaffney's commitment to combating Islamic extremism seems dubious at best. He warrants a closer look if anyone does.

    Sources:
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/08/usa.russia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Committee_for_Peace_in_Chechnya

    One of their papers explaining that suicide bombing was a response to Russian repression.
    http://www.radicalparty.org/content/american-committee-peace-chechnya-chechnya%E2%80%99s-suicide-bombers-desperate-devout-or-deceived-jo

    Shannon , says: August 13, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    In my opinion the Centre for Security Policy is NOT into just "spewing hate." Listen to their podcasts and read their policy position papers. Look down the lists of their guest speakers and interviewees: they are mostly the old school realist (not neocon) conservative national security apparatus. Their attitude is there are three tremendous national security threats that in each case have elements THAT IN THE EXPERIENCE OF TOP MILITARY INTELLIGENCE agents have proved themselves time & time again simply NOT WORTHY OF BEING TRUSTED and that if the USA gives them a "trust blank cheque" they would surely lose a major conflict, just as much as France "trusted" that its vaunted Maginot Line was sufficient to keep a "cowed" Prussian-led German Army & the Germans would never be so foolish to attempt another invasion of France. THe most talked about danger at the moment by Gaffney and its informative Centre is the danger of an EMP attack, which is surely neither "hate" nor "wackiness."

    [Sep 07, 2018] The New York Times op-ed and the 13 people who might be the author

    This is a provocation/false flag operation completely in style of Steele dossier. So MI6 links might exist. Among "candidates" They missed late Senator McCain, who was involved with Steele dossier. They also included two definitely bogus candidates (Jarvanka and Melania)
    BTW in 2008, the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, saved the Times from bankruptcy. "When that guy saves your company, you dance to his tune." -- Carlos Slim- The New York Times' Sugar Daddy
    Sep 07, 2018 | www.cnn.com
    Don McGahn We know the White House counsel is a short-timer -- planning to leave in the fall. We also know that McGahn has clashed with Trump repeatedly in the past -- refusing Trump's order to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. And McGahn has already shown a willingness to look out for the broader public good, sitting down for more than 30 hours with special counsel Robert Mueller's team to aid their investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Dan Coats The Director of National Intelligence is very much a part of the long-term Washington establishment, having spent not one but two stints in the nation's capital as a senator from Indiana. Coats has also shown a tendency to veer from the Trump songbook. Informed of Trump's plans to invite Russian president Vladimir Putin for a summit in the United States this fall, Coats said "That is going to be special" -- a line that drew the ire of the President. Kellyanne Conway Conway, a White House counselor, is someone who has survived for a very long time in the political game. And not by being dumb or not understanding which way the wind blows. Plus, there is the X-factor of her husband -- George -- whose Twitter feed regularly trolls Trump . John Kelly The chief of staff has clashed repeatedly with the President and seems to be on borrowed time . Kelly sees his time in the job as serving his country in the only way left to him. Might he view exposing Trump in this way as a last way to be of service? Kirstjen Nielsen The head of the Department of Homeland Security is a close ally of Kelly, who we know has a very fraught relationship with Trump. And she has reasons of her own: Trump scolded her in a Cabinet meeting over the number of undocumented immigrants entering the country. Nielsen reportedly drafted a resignation letter but backed away. Jeff Sessions Sessions sticks out as a possibility for a simple reason: He's got motive . No one has been more publicly maligned by Trump than his attorney general. Trump has repeatedly urged Sessions to use the Justice Department for his own pet political concerns. And this week, Sessions found out that Trump has referred to him as "mentally retarded" and mocked his southern accent, according to a new book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward. Sessions is also someone who spent two decades in the Senate prior to being named attorney general by Trump after the 2016 election. LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING?

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    James Mattis The defense secretary has been Trump's favorite Cabinet member. But the quotes attributed to Mattis in Woodward's book are VERY rough on Trump, though Mattis quickly denied that he ever said them. And if anyone has less to lose than Mattis -- he is a decorated military man serving his country again -- it's hard to figure out who that would be. Plus, Mattis is an ally of John Kelly (see above) and Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state that Trump ran out on a rail. Fiona Hill Hill, a Russian expert who joined the Trump administration from the Brookings Institution, a DC think tank, might have reason to so publicly clash with Trump. She is far more skeptical about Russia's motives than Trump -- and was notably left out when Trump and Putin huddled on the sides of the G20 meeting in Germany in 2017. She was a close adviser to national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who was removed from the White House . And, she was also reportedly mistaken for a clerk by Trump in one of her earliest meetings with him on Russia. Mike Pence The vice president is all smiles, nods and quiet, deferential loyalty in public. Which of course means that he has the perfect cover to write something like this in The New York Times. Pence is also ambitious -- and there's no question he wants to be president. But would taking such a risk as writing this scathing op-ed be a better path to the White House than just waiting Trump out? Pence's deputy chief of staff and communications director Jarrod Agen denied Thursday that Pence or anyone from their office authored the op-ed.

    Jarrod Agen ✔ @VPComDir

    The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @ nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.

    7:01 AM - Sep 6, 2018
    • 10.3K
    • 5,846 people are talking about this
    Twitter Ads info and privacy Nikki Haley The United Nations ambassador is, like Pence, one of Trump's favorites. She is also, however, someone deeply engaged on the world stage and a voice of concern when it comes to how the President views Russia and Putin. Haley, again like Pence, is ambitious and has her eye on national office. Would this service that goal?

    ... ... ...

    [Aug 14, 2018] Why Did 51 American State Department Officials 'Dissent' Against Obama and Call for Bombing Syria?

    Aug 14, 2018 | www.unz.com

    renfro , August 14, 2018 at 7:25 pm GMT

    @Colin Wright

    Yea it was suppose to be Hillary. Under her 51 US State Dept. officials demanded Obama bomb Syria.

    Why Did 51 American State Department Officials 'Dissent' Against Obama and Call for Bombing Syria?

    https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/06/why-did-51-american-state-department-officials-dissent-against-obama-and-call-for-bombing-syria.html

    51 U.S. diplomats who still haven't grasped the negative outcomes of the disastrous wars launched since 2002, the solution is to bomb the world into America's image. In an internal dissent cable addressed to Barack Obama, seasoned diplomats have urged airstrikes on the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
    Chas Freeman, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, told me he found the cable "unusual" in two respects. First, it garnered a large number of signatures. Most of those who signed the cable, a State Department official told me, were "rank and file" diplomats, such as a deputy to U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and a secretary in the Near East Bureau. They had a good understanding of the current situation in the region. The second reason this cable is unusual, said Ambassador Freeman, is that the signatories "are arguing for rather than against the use of force." Over the past 40 years, diplomats have used the "dissent channel" to caution against a rush to war. Now these diplomats are asking for an intensification of war.

    A former ambassador told me that many of the diplomats have great fealty to Hillary Clinton. Could they have leaked this cable to boost Clinton's narrative that she wanted a more robust attack on Damascus as early as 2012? Is this a campaign advertisement for Clinton, and a preparation for her likely Middle East policy when she takes power in 2017? Clinton certainly advocated tougher military action in Syria. She joined CIA chief David Petraeus to push for a U.S.-backed rebel army in 2012, and she argued for air strikes when there was no appetite for this in the White House.

    [Aug 14, 2018] Latest Sanctions Against Russia Show Trump Not in Control of His Administration by F. Michael Maloof

    It could be the Trump was already deposed as a President by Pompeo.
    I never understood appointment of Haley and appointment of Bolton if we assume that Trump is not a neocon and does not want to continue previous administration policies. Haley is kind of Sikh variant of Samantha Power. Bolton is probably as bad as Wolfowitz. Pompeo also can be viewed as Hillary 2.0.
    Notable quotes:
    "... In addition, the US has delivered an ultimatum, saying that if Russia does not give assurances within 90 days that it will no longer use chemical weapons and allow international inspectors to inspect its production facilities, further sanctions will be implemented. But Russia denies it used chemical weapons. Unlike the US, it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile in accordance with international treaties. ..."
    "... The legislation gave a 60-day window to begin implementation of sanctions after the Trump administration determined that the now-British citizen Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by a strain of the Novichok nerve-agent. The US came to that conclusion following an initial determination by the British government. ..."
    "... However, the US administration missed the deadline by more than a month. That prompted Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, to write a letter to Trump some two weeks ago slamming the president for ignoring the deadline. ..."
    "... Strangely, a government research facility at Porton Down in Amesbury, not far from Salisbury where the alleged March poisoning took place, examined the strain of Novichok. Porton Down lab does work for British Defense Science and Technology Laboratory, run by the Ministry of Defense, and the Public Health England. ..."
    "... All of this makes makes the issue as to why Britain, and even the US, never wanted to share samples taken from the poisoning of the Skripals with Moscow more concerning. Yet, they all went ahead in lock-step to condemn Moscow for the poisoning, without any evidence, suggesting a more sinister reason for lobbying increased sanctions against Russia with the goal of further isolating the country. ..."
    "... It reflects the need especially by the US to have a demon in an effort to justify its defense spending to bolster NATO up to the border of the Russian Federation in the form of a new containment policy that launched the Cold War in the first place. ..."
    "... With even further sanctions against Russia in the recently passed Defense Department Authorization Bill about to go into effect, it is becoming apparent that the allegations against Russia are politically-motivated, false flag allegations to be used as an excuse for a greater geostrategic reason -- to contain Russia just as the Trump administration is increasingly finding its US-led unilateral world order being challenged more than ever. ..."
    "... Trump talks about better relations with Russia, but the actions of his own administration in demonizing Moscow dictate otherwise. ..."
    Aug 10, 2018 | russia-insider.com
    Forget about running the Empire or the American state. Trump isn't even in control of his team US President Donald Trump is not in control of his own administration, as evidenced by the latest round of sanctions imposed against Russia for the alleged involvement in the poisoning of the Skripals in the UK in March.

    The sanctions came the same day that US Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced on a trip to Moscow that he had handed over a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin from Trump calling for better relations between the two countries. For that reason, the timing appears to be suspect, suggesting strongly that Trump has his own foreign policy while the Trump administration, comprised mainly of bureaucrats referred to as the Deep State, have their own. Right now, they appear to be in control, not President Trump, over his own administration, and it is having the adverse effect of further alienating Washington and Moscow.

    The neocons, led by National Security Advisor John Bolton, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, comprise the Trump " war cabinet " ostensibly aimed at directing a harder line toward Syria, North Korea, Iran but also Russia. Bolton, in particular, has been outspoken in calling for regime change in some of these countries. Trump not so much so. In fact, he has said just the opposite. Nevertheless, their anti-Russian flair in Washington has breathed new life into the neocons who, along with the Democrats, Deep State and much of the mainstream media, have pushed the false narrative of collusion between Russia and Trump.

    This persistent anti-Russian rant and repeated sanctions which have been imposed have had the effect of leading to further threats of sanctions for questionable reasons, raising the potential prospect of suspension of diplomatic ties.

    Even at the height of the Cold War, relations between the US and Russia never reached such low depths as they have now. The latest sanctions affect primarily dual-use technologies which are civilian products with potential military applications. They include gas turbine engines, electronics and integrated circuits which will now be denied. Previous sanctions going back to the Obama administration, however, already imposed bans on many of these dual-use technologies.

    In addition, the US has delivered an ultimatum, saying that if Russia does not give assurances within 90 days that it will no longer use chemical weapons and allow international inspectors to inspect its production facilities, further sanctions will be implemented. But Russia denies it used chemical weapons. Unlike the US, it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile in accordance with international treaties.

    Implementation of the sanctions stem from provisions of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991.

    The legislation gave a 60-day window to begin implementation of sanctions after the Trump administration determined that the now-British citizen Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by a strain of the Novichok nerve-agent. The US came to that conclusion following an initial determination by the British government.

    However, the US administration missed the deadline by more than a month. That prompted Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, to write a letter to Trump some two weeks ago slamming the president for ignoring the deadline.

    Curiously, the British government hasn't implemented similar sanctions, although the US has. It may reflect the continued uncertainty among some British politicians and experts over the origin of the Novichok and concern with Britain's trade dependency on Russia. But since the Americans opted to implement sanctions due to existing legislation, there was apparently no objection from London even though it initially implemented sanctions by kicking out Russian diplomats from the country.

    Moscow, however, vehemently denied that it was involved in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter. Novichok was created by Russian scientists during the Cold War but never used on the battlefield. Russian officials asked Britain for evidence of Russian involvement and called for a joint investigation to be conducted by the Kremlin and British governments.

    The British government repeatedly turned down the offer, as did other Western members of the United Nations Security Council, the US and France, when Moscow sought such a joint investigation.

    The US claimed that the information linking the poison to Russia was " classified ."

    Strangely, a government research facility at Porton Down in Amesbury, not far from Salisbury where the alleged March poisoning took place, examined the strain of Novichok. Porton Down lab does work for British Defense Science and Technology Laboratory, run by the Ministry of Defense, and the Public Health England.

    Results from the examination confirmed the poison was a form of Novichok but – importantly – could not determine where the poison had been created or who had used it. This development created further confusion and prompted disputes among politicians.

    It is known that samples of Novichok have been in the hands of many NATO countries for years after the German foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, or BND, had reportedly obtained a sample from a Russian defector in the 1990s.

    The formula was later shared with Britain, the US, France, Canada and the Netherlands, where small quantities of Novichok reportedly were produced in an effort to develop countermeasures. Porton Down labs similarly had received samples to study. Czech President Milos Zeman recently admitted that his country synthesized and tested a form of Novichok. Sweden and Slovakia also have the technical capability to produce the nerve agent, according to Russian officials.

    All of this makes makes the issue as to why Britain, and even the US, never wanted to share samples taken from the poisoning of the Skripals with Moscow more concerning. Yet, they all went ahead in lock-step to condemn Moscow for the poisoning, without any evidence, suggesting a more sinister reason for lobbying increased sanctions against Russia with the goal of further isolating the country.

    It reflects the need especially by the US to have a demon in an effort to justify its defense spending to bolster NATO up to the border of the Russian Federation in the form of a new containment policy that launched the Cold War in the first place.

    With even further sanctions against Russia in the recently passed Defense Department Authorization Bill about to go into effect, it is becoming apparent that the allegations against Russia are politically-motivated, false flag allegations to be used as an excuse for a greater geostrategic reason -- to contain Russia just as the Trump administration is increasingly finding its US-led unilateral world order being challenged more than ever.

    The reason, however, isn't due to anything that Moscow initiated but by Trump himself who isn't in control of his own administration, and maybe never has been. Many of his campaign promises such as dropping out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iranian nuclear agreement, the threat of sanctions against any company that trades with Iran, his tariff war with US allies are in conflict with each other, leading to increased world instability. At the same time, Trump talks about better relations with Russia, but the actions of his own administration in demonizing Moscow dictate otherwise.

    F. Michael Maloof is a former Pentagon security analyst.

    [Jul 03, 2018] Donald Trump has been business partners with George Soros in at least $6 Billion in properties for more than a decade before his candidacy. They were even codefendants in a RICO suit (organized crime, as in the Jewish Mafia).

    Jul 03, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    integer @35. Not a fan of George Soros? Ready to peak into the rabbit hole?

    Donald Trump has been business partners with George Soros in at least $6 Billion in properties for more than a decade before his candidacy. They were even codefendants in a RICO suit (organized crime, as in the Jewish Mafia).

    http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-10-28/news/0410280265_1_donald-trump-soros-fund-management-blackacre-institutional-capital-management

    http://www.pionline.com/article/20081009/ONLINE/810099993/developer-sues-soros-fortress-cerberus

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/realestate/commercial/the-kushner-companies-deal-for-666-fifth-avenue-avoids-foreclosure.html

    After spending 17 years at Goldman Sachs, Trump's new Treasure Secretary, Steven Mnuchin ran OneWest Bank in CA. Guess who he worked for? George frigging Soros.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/07/22/john-paulson-and-george-soros-score-big-selling-onewest-bank-for-3-4-billion/#32e7ee635ab0

    So, Trump is partners with infamous globalist atheist George Soros, Orthodox Jews, Islamic Extremists, Goldman Sachs and GHW Bush's Carlyle Group.

    And one more morsel to ponder. The CEO of CNN (portrayed as rabidly anti-Trump) is one of a long list of Globalist Zionists who have been Trump supporters for decades.

    http://nojeveje.net/2017/01/23/trumps-jewish-elite-mafia-5-dancing-israelis/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RplnqsLas0g

    Posted by: Daniel | Jul 2, 2018 4:05:48 PM | 55

    [Jun 21, 2018] Mad Dog Mattis, the destroyer of Raqqa, frets about losing moral authority by Finian Cunningham

    Notable quotes:
    "... "shake and bake" ..."
    "... For Mattis to lament during a speech at a naval college last week that America's moral authority is being eroded by Putin is a symptom of the delusional official thinking infesting Washington. ..."
    "... Mattis told his audience: "Putin aims to diminish the appeal of the western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority." He added that the Russian leader's "actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals." ..."
    "... It is classic "in denial" ..."
    "... "What a powerful delusion Mattis and Western leaders like him are encumbered with," ..."
    "... "The US undercuts and compromises its own avowed beliefs and ideals because it has lost any moral integrity that it might have feasibly pretended to have due to decades of its own criminal foreign conduct." ..."
    "... "America's so-called moral authority is the free pass it gives itself to topple democracy in Ukraine, replacing it with neo-Nazis; it has turned economically prosperous Libya into a wasteland, after murdering its leader Muammar Gaddafi; it funds and openly sponsors the MKO terror group in Iran for regime change in Tehran; and it is neck deep in fueling the Saudi coalition's genocidal war in Yemen." ..."
    "... Despite this litany of criminality committed by the US with the acquiescence of European allies, Washington, says Martin, "preaches a bizarre doctrine of 'exceptionalism' and somehow arrogates a moral right to dominate the world. This is the fruit of the diseased minds of sociopaths." ..."
    Jun 20, 2018 | www.rt.com

    Jun 20, 2018, RT Op-ed The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

    It's parallel universe time when US Pentagon chief James 'Mad Dog' Mattis complains that America's "moral authority" is being undermined by others – specifically Russian leader Vladimir Putin. This is the ex-Marine general who gained his ruthless reputation from when illegally occupying US troops razed the Iraqi city of Fallujah in the 2004-2005 using "shake and bake" bombardment of inhabitants with banned white phosphorus incendiaries.

    A repeat of those war crimes happened again last year under Mattis' watch as Pentagon chief when US warplanes obliterated the Syrian city of Raqqa, killing thousands of civilians. Even the pro-US Human Rights Watch abhorred the repeated use of white phosphorus during that campaign to "liberate" Raqqa, supposedly from jihadists.

    These are but two examples from dense archives of US war crimes committed over several decades, from its illegal intervention in Syria to Libya, from Iraq to Vietnam, back to the Korean War in the early 1950s when American carpet bombing killed millions of innocent civilians.

    For Mattis to lament during a speech at a naval college last week that America's moral authority is being eroded by Putin is a symptom of the delusional official thinking infesting Washington.

    According to Mattis, the problem of America's diminishing global reputation has nothing to do with US misconduct – even though the evidence is replete to prove that systematic misconduct. No, the problem, according to him, is that Russia's Putin is somehow sneakily undermining Washington's moral authority.

    Mattis told his audience: "Putin aims to diminish the appeal of the western democratic model and attempts to undermine America's moral authority." He added that the Russian leader's "actions are designed not to challenge our arms at this point but to undercut and compromise our belief in our ideals."

    The US Secretary of Defense doesn't elaborate on how he thinks Russia is achieving this dastardly plot to demean America. It is simply asserted as fact. This has been a theme recycled over and over by officials in Washington and Brussels, other Western government leaders and of course NATO and its affiliated think-tanks. All of which has been dutifully peddled by Western news media.

    It is classic "in denial" thinking. The general loss of legitimacy and authority by Western governments is supposedly nothing to do with their own inherent failures and transgressions, from bankrupt austerity economics, to deteriorating social conditions, to illegal US-led wars and the repercussions of blowback terrorism and mass migration of refugees.

    Oh no. What the ruling elites are trying to do is shift the blame from their own culpability on to others, principally Russia. American political analyst Randy Martin says that Mattis' latest remarks show a form of collective delusion among Western political establishments and their aligned mainstream news media.

    "What a powerful delusion Mattis and Western leaders like him are encumbered with," says Martin. "The US undercuts and compromises its own avowed beliefs and ideals because it has lost any moral integrity that it might have feasibly pretended to have due to decades of its own criminal foreign conduct."

    Read more This is America: Outrage at Trump is phony, US leaders have praised dictators for decades

    The analyst added: "America's so-called moral authority is the free pass it gives itself to topple democracy in Ukraine, replacing it with neo-Nazis; it has turned economically prosperous Libya into a wasteland, after murdering its leader Muammar Gaddafi; it funds and openly sponsors the MKO terror group in Iran for regime change in Tehran; and it is neck deep in fueling the Saudi coalition's genocidal war in Yemen."

    Despite this litany of criminality committed by the US with the acquiescence of European allies, Washington, says Martin, "preaches a bizarre doctrine of 'exceptionalism' and somehow arrogates a moral right to dominate the world. This is the fruit of the diseased minds of sociopaths."

    This week, three headline-making issues speak volumes about America's declining moral authority.

    ... ... ...

    The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

    Finian Cunningham (born 1963) has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, he is a Master's graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. For over 20 years he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Now a freelance journalist based in East Africa, his columns appear on RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation and Press TV.

    [May 20, 2018] Exclusive: Dangerous Phase of Terrorism, Trump's Israeli Connections Proved (Updated)

    Notable quotes:
    "... "the United States has links with terrorist 'Islamic State', also known as Daesh Daesh a tool of US After it [the US] dropped the [mother of all] bomb on Afghanistan, it did not eliminate Daesh the terrorist group has been supplied weapons by the United States forces The US Army helicopters and army bases are being used to provide assistance to ISIS terrorists I do not differentiate at all between Daesh and America Reports of American assistance to the terrorists are coming from all over the country." ..."
    "... "Trump's standards, his comments about the Orlando shooting have been reckless and self-serving. They are also dangerous for the country the strongest remaining force that propels the Islamic State is the Islamophobia of Trump and his European counterparts, argue senior intelligence strategists for the U.S.-led coalition. Inflammatory, xenophobic statements about Muslims reinforce the jihadists' claims that they are Muslim knights fighting against an intolerant West. Trump unwittingly gives them precisely the role they dream about." ..."
    "... "In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough! The United States will be immediately implementing much tougher Extreme Vetting Procedures. The safety of our citizens comes first!" ..."
    May 20, 2018 | www.veteranstoday.com

    By VT Senior Editors - May 20, 2018 1 1043

    By Sajjad Shaukat

    Modern history of terrorism shows that it has gone through distinct phases, with shifting missions, messages, and means of mobilizing. But, owing to the US President Donald Trump's Israeli connections, terrorism has entered a dangerous phase.

    Everyone knows that Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban were created by the American CIA to fight against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

    In this regard, former British Foreign secretary, Robin Cook stated, "Throughout the 1980s, he [Bin Laden] was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan."

    Osama bin-Laden (Col. Tim Osman) with Ziggy Brzezinski

    The then US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski met Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and said about the militants (Mujahideen), "We know of their deep belief in God, and we are confident their struggle will succeed because, you are fighting against the infidel Russians."

    However, one of the alarming phases of terrorism started when, after fulfilling their interests, Washington left Afghanistan in particular and Pakistan in general to face the fallout of a prolonged conflict -- terrorism and instability.

    These Mujahideen who pulled the Russians out of Afghanistan, later become the Taliban, Al-Qaeda (new version) and the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State group (also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh). They got the label of terrorists.

    After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, former US President Bush (41), in connivance with his Zionist-advisers, saw Islamic fundamentalism as a great threat. Since then, sometimes, Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda have routinely been used by the US and some Western countries as a scapegoat to malign Pakistan for 'de-nuclearisation,' as the latter is the only nuclear country in the Muslim World. Sometimes, the bogeyman of Al-Qaeda was raised to achieve their goals of external policy, and sometimes to pacify their public, including the opposition. In all cases, the secret underlying purpose was to safeguard the interests of the Zionists and Israel.

    The new frightening phase of terrorism started after the September 11 tragedy inside the United States. In this regard, US President George W. Bush (43) and neo-conservatives crossed all the limits in protecting the political, economic and religious interests of the Jews and Israel at the cost of Muslims and patriot Americans.

    Just after the 9/11 catastrophe, statements of Bush, high officials of his administration and Zionist-controlled media deliberately developed chauvinism and extremism among the Americans. There had been an organised campaign against the Muslims in the US and other western countries. Its main themes were that Islam and the Muslims were the true cause of terrorism.

    President Bush used the phrase, "crusade against the evil-doers", adding to the perception that the ongoing 'different war' against terrorism is actually a war against the Muslim countries. Inside the US, suddenly, every Muslim found himself divested of his nationality. Arrests, detentions and harassment of the Muslims by the CIA and the FBI in the US were other steps which still continue.

    Brushing aside Israeli atrocities on the Palestinians, American unity was projected with such force as to allow no questioning of US policy.

    Under the cover of the 9/11 catastrophe, a pre-planned strategy of the neo-conservatives headed towards a series of unexpected developments and events. Bush warned the world to choose sides by saying, "either you are with us or with terrorists." It was due to employment of pressure-diplomacy on the weak states – Muslim countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, Libya etc. – that almost all the Arab states joined Bush's anti-terrorism war. By manipulating public emotion about the 9/11 carnage, Bush also got the sympathies of almost all the major Western countries including NATO states, which also joined the fake global war on terror.

    Meanwhile, making Osama and Al-Qaeda scapegoats, a number of fake video messages were telecast on various TV channels and websites by some Zionists to obtain Israel's anti-Muslim goals. For example, during the November 2004 elections in the US, a fake video helped the incumbent president George W. Bush to gain a lead over John Kerry.

    Can a leopard change its spots?

    It is well-known that, in a tape released on December 27, 2001, the authenticity of which is not in question, Osama denied any involvement in the September 11 tragedy.

    However, later, two video tapes appeared to validate his guilt in relation to 9/11, because the main aims of the Bush administration were to provoke American public outrage against the Muslims and to justify a global war on terror -- the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq to possess energy resources of Central Asia and Iraq, including proxy wars in other Middle Eastern countries and to get their support for a propaganda campaign against Pakistan and Iran.

    Other actions of the Bush era – such as America's state-sponsored terrorism in the volatile Islamic countries; persecution of Muslims through torture, detentions and arrests; CIA and FBI-operated facilities; and radicalization of the western Christians against the Muslims – provided a golden chance for India and Israel to accelerate the systematic genocide of the Palestinians and Kashmiris, and protected the real architects of the 9/11 tragedy.

    While President Barack Obama stated during his first election-campaign that he would rectify the blunders committed by his predecessor in the name of war on terror, he continued them in their worst form to secure the illegitimate interests of Israel.

    The Obama Administration continued with various techniques of ruthless terror and extrajudicial killings of innocent persons through illegitimate drone attacks, as in Iraq; and created more collapsed states such as Libya, Yemen and Syria, thus opening the door for Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

    If the double game of President Bush franchised Al-Qaeda at the global level, President Obama's dual policy franchised both Al-Qaeda and ISIS as part of the anti-Muslim campaign, and left no stone unturned in advancing the agenda of the Zionists, Israeli lobbies and the neoconservatives in the pretext of a phony global war on terror.

    Secretly, President Obama authorized the CIA to create ISIS. His perennial, covert support of the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians. He was silent about the smuggling of oil by ISIS to some European countries whose governments have also not taken action against those companies which were exporting oil from ISIS-controlled regions of Iraq. He was silent about the CIA-assisted Al-Qaeda (Al-Nusra Front), ISIS militants and rebel groups who were fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to achieve the aims of a Greater Israel. All of this comprised Obama's double game.

    Training and supply of arms by CIA and Israeli Mossad to these terrorist outfits and medical treatment of their militants in Israeli hospitals, including arrests of some CIA and Mossad agents in Syria and Iraq have also verified the Western connections. Yet, as part of the dual strategy, America and its Western partners have also been waging a war against ISIS.

    But at the same time, CIA and Mossad openly support this terrorist group and its linked terror outfits, in accordance with the covert aims of Tel Aviv, not of America.

    In this respect, the Russian TV channel, Russia Today (RT) reported on September 24, 2017 "The Russian Ministry of Defense has released aerial images which they say show US Army special forces' equipment north of the town of Deir er-Zor, where ISIS militants are deployed. US Army special units provide free passage for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) through the battle formations of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists Despite that the US strongholds being organized at them

    "This could mean that the US military staff feel absolutely safe in the area which is held by the terrorists All of the images were taken from September 8 to 12. The photos show several Cougar infantry mobility vehicles and Hummer armored vehicles of the US Army Special Forces, according the Russian MoD data In this case, securing IS assistance for an unopposed advance of US backed SDF forces could enable the SDF, widely seen as a US proxy, to seize strategically important (and oil rich) territory in Deir ez-Zor that otherwise would soon be retaken by rapidly advancing Syrian Army. If so this once again will raise questions as to what the true purpose of US forces-purportedly in Syria to fight IS-actually is. Earlier in September, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov accused the SDF of collusion with ISIS terrorists.SDF militants work to the same objectives as IS terrorists."

    According to Global Research Canada (Centre for Research on Globalization), "In other words, ISIS, al-Nusra, and so-called SDF forces are virtually the same thing – US-recruited, -armed, -funded and -directed cutthroat killers, waging naked aggression against Syria and its people

    "The Pentagon's so-called Operation Inherent Resolve so far is silent on Russia's damning evidence Separately, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem accused Washington of working with its terrorist assets in Syria, including al-Nusra, to undermine Astana peace talks Russia's Defense Ministry saying its intelligence revealed US forces together with al-Nusra terrorists tried halting the successful advance of government forces east of Deir Ezzor Russian airpower smashed their offensive. Sergey Lavrov condemned the US-led coalition for refusing to combat al-Nusra, calling it absolutely unacceptable According to Russia's Defense Ministry, nearly 90% of Syrian territory held by ISIS is now liberated. Moscow will respond appropriately to any US efforts to impede the campaign to free Syria entirely from control by terrorists."

    Intel Agencies' and False Flag Events

    In the case of Asia and particularly South Asia, well-entrenched in Afghanistan and some Gulf states, intelligence agencies such as CIA, Indian RAW, Mossad and MI6 are assisting various terror outfits, including Al-Qaeda and particularly ISIL, in order to achieve the covert goals of the US-led countries against Pakistan, Syria, Iraq China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Somalia, Yemen etc. and even Afghanistan, which are being destabilized by various forms of terrorism-related assaults, and which have continued in one way or the other.

    In this context, a news item was published by all the leading dailies of Pakistan on October 8, 2017 regarding the statement of Afghanistan's Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai who, while dismissing criticism of Russian ties with the Taliban and echoing Russian claims of American support to the ISIS terrorists, told Voice of America (VOC) that

    "the United States has links with terrorist 'Islamic State', also known as Daesh Daesh a tool of US After it [the US] dropped the [mother of all] bomb on Afghanistan, it did not eliminate Daesh the terrorist group has been supplied weapons by the United States forces The US Army helicopters and army bases are being used to provide assistance to ISIS terrorists I do not differentiate at all between Daesh and America Reports of American assistance to the terrorists are coming from all over the country." (It also includes Karzai's revelations to VOC of April 20, 2017 and Newsweek's report of the same day).

    In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera's UpFrontaired on November 10, 2017, Karzai again disclosed that the US government had allowed ISIL to flourish inside Afghanistan. He said, "In my view under the full presence, surveillance, military, political, intelligence, Daesh [ISIL] has emerged And for two years the Afghan people came, cried loud about their suffering, of violations. Nothing was done the US administration of President Donald Trump used ISIL as an excuse to drop a massive bomb on Afghanistan in April 2017 And the next day, Daesh takes the next district in Afghanistan That proves to us that there is a hand in it and that hand can be no one else but them [the US] in Afghanistan."

    In September 2015, the Russian-led coalition of Iran, Iraq, the Syrian army-the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Lebanon-based Hezbollah started breaking the back of the ISIS terrorists, Al-Qaeda's Al-Nusra Front and the rebels in Syria and Iraq. In response, Israel's Mossad, which already had clandestine contact with ISIS, directed this outfit to plan the November 13 terror attacks in Paris in connivance with the French home-grown militants.

    Similarly, when Russian-led forces began retaking many cities from the control of these insurgents, on the other side, agents of Mossad who were in collaboration with the CIA sympathizers and the ISIL militants arranged various sorts of terror attacks in Europe and the US.

    Through all these false-flag terror operations, the US and Israel wanted to obtain their covert aims against Russia and the Muslims.

    Mossad had also provided US President Donald Trump with an opportunity to manipulate various terror assaults of Europe and America to win the US presidential election and to reunite America and Europe, as a rift had been created between America and its Western allies, especially Europe on a number of issues, including NATO. And, President Trump left no stone unturned in implementing anti-Muslim policies, while speaking openly against the Muslims and Syrian immigrants.

    Trump had started exaggerating the threat of Islamophobia, while some incidents were not linked to ISIS, but were the result of self-radicalization by individual actors.

    Regarding the shooting at the gay night club in Orlando (Florida) which killed at least 49 individuals on June 12, 2016, The Washington Post in an article, under the caption, "Trump's reckless, dangerous Islamophobia helps the Islamic State", wrote on June 13, 2016,

    "Trump's standards, his comments about the Orlando shooting have been reckless and self-serving. They are also dangerous for the country the strongest remaining force that propels the Islamic State is the Islamophobia of Trump and his European counterparts, argue senior intelligence strategists for the U.S.-led coalition. Inflammatory, xenophobic statements about Muslims reinforce the jihadists' claims that they are Muslim knights fighting against an intolerant West. Trump unwittingly gives them precisely the role they dream about."

    In this regard, Khaled A. Beydoun opined on the Aljazeera multimedia network on March 13, 2016,

    "The world brand Trump is becoming synonymous with expansion of racism and incitement of Islamophobia I think Islam hate us, said Donald Trump, 24 hours before the Republican presidential debate in Miami is a call to his voting base, to further galvanise them around a disdain for Islam that not only heightens hateful fervour at his rallies, but incites violence on American blocks and pushes bigots to the ballot box the statement is rooted in the very ignorance and hate which made him the darling of bigots and surged him up the polls Islamophobia the suspicion and fear of Islam and its 1.7 billion adherent-is political ideology for Trump."

    Nevertheless, the incident of shooting at the gay club in Orlando not only exposed that false flag operation, but also endorsed other false flag terror-attacks in the US and Europe. In this connection, in an interview with Brazilian TV on June 14, 2016, the ex-wife of the Orlando shooter Omar Mateen Sitora Yusufiy revealed that American FBI pressured her to keep quiet about his homosexuality.

    While Mateen had been dubbed as an Islamic terrorist by the American politicians, senior officials and commentators following reports that he had pledged allegiance to the ISIS, the FBI wanted to downplay the personal and self-hating nature of the assault.

    President Obama stated on June 12, 2016, "Federal authorities had made no definitive judgment on the killer's motivation, and whether he was inspired by or directed by Islamic State or other terrorist groups."

    Obama clarified by explaining "Orlando shooting was the result of Mateen's personal resentment in relation to the gay club."

    Similarly, the teenager Ali David Sonboly who killed 9 people in Munich had no connection with the ISIS. Police investigation revealed that he was "a mentally troubled person" and police also discovered extremist material, linked to the attack by Andres Behring Brevik, the white supremacist who murdered 77 persons in Norway in 2011.

    Likewise, the shooting in the French city of Nice was also a false flag terror-act, as CIA-Mossad arranged it with the help of ISIS, which used homegrown terrorists of France.

    At least eight people were killed on October 31, 2017 when the driver of a pickup truck hit people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan, New York City near the World Trade Centre. The vehicle then hit a school bus, injuring two adults and two children on board.

    According to the US media reports,

    "American investigators found ISIS-related images and videos on Saipov's cellphone handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that indicated allegiance to the Islamic State But investigators had not uncovered evidence of any direct or enabling ties between Mr. Saipov and ISIS and were treating the episode as a case of an "inspired" attacker Police records show he was arrested in Missouri last year over a traffic fine. Almost immediately, as investigators began to look into Mr. Saipov's history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal authorities. Three officials said he had come to the federal authorities' attention as a result of an unrelated investigation."

    However various conflicting reports show that, as with previous terror attacks in the US and Europe, the New York terror attack was likely a false flag operation conducted by Mossad in connivance with some CIA operatives and the ISIS terrorists. It might also be an individual act of Saipov, who had been inspired by the extremist agenda of ISIS.

    Even then, responsibility goes to the agents of these intelligence agencies, who have already been radicalizing the Muslims and Christians by dividing them on religious lines, in order to fulfill the Zionist agenda of Israel. Contradictory and anti-Muslim statements of the pro-Israeli, Donald Trump, about the terror assaults have further verified collaboration of agencies.

    Tweeting his immediate reaction, President Trump said,

    "In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and elsewhere. Enough! The United States will be immediately implementing much tougher Extreme Vetting Procedures. The safety of our citizens comes first!" He did not elaborate further.

    Regarding the New York terror attack of November 2, 2017, President Trump again tweeted about immigration, calling for an end to "chain migration lets people bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil."

    President Trump first introduced the screening process during the election campaign on a pledge to indefinitely ban the Muslims from entering the United States -- his campaign aides later tried to finesse as a broader policy aimed at implementing "extreme vetting" for immigrants from certain countries. As president, he introduced a ban on arrivals to the US from a number of mainly-Muslim countries.

    While America's Western partners, especially European countries had strongly condemned Trump's travel ban on the Muslim countries as discriminatory and violations of human rights, in a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union – a civil rights group – said that the term "extreme vetting" was a "euphemism for discriminating against Muslims."

    It is noteworthy that 59 people were killed and more than 500 others injured on October 1, last year, when a gunman-an American national, Stephen Paddock opened fire on concertgoers from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. Next day , through its Amaq propaganda agency, ISIL, claimed responsibility for the incident, disclosing that, "the Las Vegas attacker is a soldier of the Islamic State in response to calls to target coalition countries -- converted to Islam several months ago" -- but provided no evidence to support the assertion." Senior US homeland security officials said that there was no evidence Paddock had links to international or domestic terror groups or ISIS.

    On social media, many individuals had pointed out that if Paddock had been a Muslim, if he had shouted "Allahu akbar" before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas, the term "terrorist" would have been used almost immediately to describe him, as a link to Islamist terrorism would be assumed even without evidence.

    To what extent President Trump wants to obtain Israeli illegitimate goals at the cost of Muslims and the patriot Americans could be judged from the terrorism-related assaults which occurred in the Spanish city of Barcelona on August 17, 2017 and in her town of Cambrils on August 18, 2017. After condemning the terror attacks and offering US assistance to Spain, the US President Trump suggested "fighting terrorism by executing Muslims with bullets dipped in pigs blood."

    India's Anti-Muslim and Anti-Pakistan Agenda

    It also deserves particular attention that since the fundamentalist party BJP led by the Indian Prime Minister Narindra Modi came to power in India, it has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan agenda. Encouraged by the BJP, assaults on Muslims, Christians and other minorities by the Hindu extremist parties might be cited as instance. India which has strategic partnership with Israel has perennially been manipulating the double game of the US-led West regarding world phenomena of terrorism in connection with Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    In wake of Modi's aggressive diplomacy, India has continued shelling in Pakistani side of Kashmir which remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the neighbouring countries.

    Emboldened by the President Trump, both Tel Aviv and New Delhi have been equating the 'wars of liberation' in Palestine and Kashmir with terrorism. Their main purpose is to divert the attention of the West from their own state terrorism, while employing delaying tactics in the solution of these issues.

    Israel Criticizes the UN and Obama

    It is worth-mentioning that Obama's anti-Muslim policies were clearly exposed. Therefore, before the end of his tenure, President Obama wanted to rectify his blunders. In this context, on December 23, 2016, the US abstained and allowed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territories of the Palestinians to be adopted, defying extraordinary pressure from Israeli PM Netanyahu's government, which was in alliance with the US President-elect Donald Trump.

    In a statement, Netanyahu's office accused the Obama administration of "colluding" with the UN and said it looked forward to working with Trump, as well as Israel-friendly members of Congress, "to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution."

    Netanyahu called the resolution "shameful" and said Israel would not abide by its terms and continue the construction of the settlements.

    In this connection, in a series of tweets, posted on December 28, 2016, Donald Trump harshly criticized the Obama's policies on the settlement issue and reiterated his support for Israel. He questioned the effectiveness of the UNO, saying, "it's just a club for people to have a good time."

    US' Jerusalem Embassy and Palestinian Massacre

    Despite criticism, Trump Administration announced the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, this year.

    The same day witnessed a ceremony attended by Netanyahu and the administration of President Trump who buried the peace process and the two-state solution, killing any hope in the minds of the people of the Middle East as a whole with the possibility of peace in the region.

    On the same day, Israeli security forces shot and killed at least 58 Palestinians and wounded more than 2700 during mass protests along the Gaza border.

    Donald Trump tweeted, "A great day for Israel", as he delivered on his promise to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

    Trump who had already vowed to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and had nominated an ambassador in David Friedman who was supportive of settlers by pledging that the Palestinians would no longer have a platform at the UN when he becomes president on January 20, had said, last year, "We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S the beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.) Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching."

    Besides, Trump's strong backing of the NATO-like alliance by the Saudi Arabia -- the Sunni-countries against Iran and accusing Tehran of promoting terrorism and motivating religious extremism among the Muslims and Christians, Jews and Hindus show his clear links with Tel Aviv.

    Nonetheless, President Trump's Israeli connections were undoubtedly proved on May 14, this year, when he implemented his decision of December 6, 2018 by officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and reversed nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and set in motion a plan to move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to the fiercely contested Holy City.

    In this regard, Trump had stated, last year, "Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel's capital This is nothing more or less than recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done."

    America's Western allies who had disavowed Trump's move, which reversed decades of US neutrality on the status of Jerusalem have again denounced Trump's move.

    Over the US Embassy move, perennial killings of the Palestinians, strong reaction was seen in the Islamic World in particular and the Western World in general.

    The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the principle of proportionality in the use of force and show restraint, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a similar appeal.

    President of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas, furious over the embassy ceremony, stated that he would not accept any peace deal proposed by the Trump administration. He also urged the international community to condemn the massacres carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza, and officials of the PLO said that the Palestinians would file a war crimes complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court over settlement construction.

    Egypt, a key Israeli ally, condemned the killings of Palestinian protesters, while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, decried the shocking killing of dozens.

    Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States, saying it "disregarded the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and would "not serve peace, security and stability in the region." It also recalled its ambassador to Israel after a massacre of Palestinians on the Gaza border. South Africa, a fervent supporter of the Palestinians, also recalled its ambassador for consultations.

    Muslim leaders called on May 18, 2018 for an international force to be deployed to protect Palestinians after hundreds of protesters were shot dead by Israeli forces on the Gaza border.

    At a special summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul on May 18, this year, following the call of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to address the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in Gaz. The OIC has condemned the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem as part of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Israeli state, and decried the deaths of more than 60 Palestinians. Earlier, Erdoğan stated that Israel will never be permitted to "steal" Jerusalem.

    The OIC leaders also pledged to take appropriate political and economic measures against countries that followed the United States in moving their Israel embassies to contested Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. It said that the violence should be put on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly, and called on the United Nations to investigate the killings.

    The summit was also attended by Jordan's King Abdullah, a US close ally whose Hashemite dynasty is custodian of Muslim sites in Jerusalem. Abdullah stated: "The U.S. decision five months ago to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital had weakened the pillars of peace and deepened the despair that leads to violence."

    Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Muslim countries "to totally cut their relations with the Zionist regime [Israel] and also to revise their trade and economic ties with America".

    Trump's Israeli connections could also be judged from the unrealistic statement of Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UNO, who told an emergency meeting of the Security Council that Israel had acted with restraint. She dismissed suggestions that the violence was related to the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

    In condemnation of Trump's unilateral step to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, besides protests and rallies which were held in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters held demonstrations in other Islamic countries such as Iran, Turkey, Pakistan etc. where the protesters burnt American and Israeli flags. Even in Jordan, protesters near the heavily-defended US Embassy in Amman chanted: "America is the head of the snake. No U.S. Embassy on Jordanian soil."

    Hamas leader Ismail Haniya have stated the US decision on recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transfer of the American Embassy to Jerusalem are a war declaration against Palestinians.

    At present, savage crimes committed by the US-backed Israeli forces against the Palestinians continue unabated.

    Undoubtedly, angry elements within the Islamic countries, especially the pro-Arab states may react against America and its interests in the form of terrorism and other violent actions. Unquestionably, the US president's move on Jerusalem will create new risks for all of Washington's allies in the Middle East, as the decision will offer extremist groups a valuable opportunity to capitalise on anti-US sentiment and direct such anger towards regimes which are close to the US and non-confrontational towards Israel.

    Notably, Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant with a pipe bomb strapped to his body set off an explosion at one of New York's busiest commuter hubs on December 11, 2017, leaving five people injured. According to the US media, the suspect told investigators that he detonated a crude bomb after he spotted a holiday display and did it in the name of ISIS to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world, law enforcement officials said. The concerned American officials stated that there is no evidence that Ullah, an electrician, had any direct contact with the ISIS. But, he said "his anger over U.S. bombings in ISIS-controlled territory and recent Israeli actions in Gaza , fueled his desire to carry out a suicide bombing."

    Now, we can witness that terrorism-related attacks in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, Europe, America and elsewhere in the world have, rapidly, been increasing.

    Mossad is playing a key role in terror assaults, as Israel will prefer a nuclear war between Russia and the US-led West to avoid the two-state settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Atomic war could also erupt between Pakistan and India, as New Delhi also avoids solution of the Kashmir issue. While fanatic leaders are in power in the US, India and Israel, their connivance may culminate into 'clash of civilizations', particularly between the Muslim and the Christians worlds.

    We can conclude that terrorism has entered the dangerous phase and Trump's Israeli connections have undoubtedly been proved.

    It is the right hour that loyalist Americans, non-Zionist Jews and peace-loving citizens of every other religious community should play their positive role for global peace by stopping the division of the international community on religious and cultural lines.

    Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

    Email: [email protected]

    [Apr 25, 2018] If Mattis didn't know about it, then he should have done and likewise with Trump

    Apr 25, 2018 | www.unz.com

    Some of you do not understand the degree of compartmentation in government. It is nothing like a monolith. The WHs are largely funded by USAID which is part of State Department, and administered by the UK. There is no particular reason why Mattis would know much about it. It is possible that Trump doesn't know much about it.


    Herald , April 25, 2018 at 6:13 pm GMT

    @Patrick Lang

    If Mattis didn't know about it, then he should have done and likewise with Trump. Ignorance of the hard facts by either of these men is scarcely believable and even if true would be totally inexcuseable.

    Randal , April 25, 2018 at 6:44 pm GMT
    @RobinG

    "Lange didn't support the strike but he saw it as the best of a lot of bad options."

    Better than the option of allowing a real investigation?

    At the crucial moment, Lang published the following on his website. More than likely it was seen by Mattis:

    An appeal to James Mattis

    I beseech you, sir, to consider the possibility that the supposed chlorine gas attack at Douma, Syria may have been a carefully constructed propaganda fraud on the part of the rebels encircled in Douma. Such a fraud would have as its purpose the elicitation of exactly the kind of response that we are seeing in the Western media. The rebels have been defeated in East Gouta Their fighters and families are being evacuated to Turkish occupied Jarabulus by air-conditioned bus. How would it benefit the Syrian government to make such an attack in this situation?

    I hope that you will determine the exact facts of what occurred at Douma before any action is taken.

    I recommend that you send someone competent to Syria to make an on the ground investigation.

    W. Patrick Lang

    Colonel (Ret.) US Army

    http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/04/an-appeal-to-james-mattis.html

    L.K , April 25, 2018 at 7:19 pm GMT
    @Herald

    If Mattis didn't know about it, then he should have done and likewise with Trump. Ignorance of the hard facts by either of these men is scarcely believable and even if true would be totally inexcuseable.

    So true but I'm pretty sure they knew.

    JerseyJeffersonian , April 25, 2018 at 8:32 pm GMT
    @RobinG

    RobinG,

    It were wise to consider that Mattis' access to information might be being impeded – actively and/or passively – by the NeoCon bitter enders installed during the previous administrations, people who believe that it is their job to do so. (We have been seeing this very thing from the bitter enders at the FBI and the "Justice" departments in their plotting against the new administration, yes? So you have an example of that right in front of your eyes.)

    With that understanding, and given Col. Lang's likely experience of this sort of obstruction by hostile underlings, his appeal to Mattis might be seen as an admonition to dig a little deeper, & to press his underlings about their truthfulness. So, Mattis could indeed be misinformed, and precisely because of the compartmentalization that you accede. Hence the letter going hand in hand with his worries about active and/or passive obstruction in access to vital information, or the existence of contrary intelligence and interpretation.

    [Apr 19, 2018] Jews vs non-Jews in Trump administration

    It is much better to view this issue in ideological terms as neocons and neoliberalas and remnant of paleoconservatives and News Dealers.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Jews are a powerful voice but they are, by and large, not in the decision-making seat. Why do you absolve Trump, Haley, Pence, Bolton, etc.? Maybe they are "brainwashed" by the Jews? Well maybe the Jews are "brainwashed" too? ..."
    Apr 19, 2018 | www.unz.com

    CalDre , April 18, 2018 at 10:46 pm GMT

    @Art

    Today, America's Big Jews and Little Jews bear responsibility for this sad situation – end of story.

    That is simply ignorant and racist. Most of the Senate is not Jews, the President is not a Jew, the Secretary of Defense is not a Jew, and the vast majority of general aren't Jews. Yet they are all going along with this "bomb Syria" thing, with a few exceptions – one of them being Bernie Sanders, a Jew.

    Jews are a powerful voice but they are, by and large, not in the decision-making seat. Why do you absolve Trump, Haley, Pence, Bolton, etc.? Maybe they are "brainwashed" by the Jews? Well maybe the Jews are "brainwashed" too?

    I don't see how you get to selectively blame one group and absolve others except via ignorant, counterproductive and stupid racism.

    By the way, Jerry Brown is a huge advocate of open borders and a primary contributor to it. Is he a Jew too?

    It's fair and honorable to point out the Jewish role in these affairs, but it is just as unfair and dishonorable to not only ignore, but try to bury, the non-Jewish role in these affairs.

    I agree with "think peace" – but the non-Jews Trump, Pence, Ryan, Haley, Pompeo, etc. are anything but peaceful. I don't see any Jewish guns to their head, so they are 100% responsible for their own actions. Why do you excuse them? Hmmm?

    [Mar 26, 2018] The US expulsions were part of "a coordinated effort"

    You are guilty because I am hungry: neoliberal Forth Reich punishes dissident Russia.
    Mar 26, 2018 | www.theguardian.com

    The Russian government called the expulsions "a provocative gesture" and said it would retaliate in kind, raising the prospect of further tit-for-tat expulsions, as the US and Europe left the door open for additional measures. The Kremlin said Vladimir Putin would make the final decision, and the Russian embassy in the US launched a poll on Twitter asking which US consulate in Russia should be closed.

    The US has ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian officials who Washington says are spies, including a dozen based at the United Nations, and told Moscow to shut down its consulate in Seattle, which would end Russian diplomatic representation on the west coast.

    The EU members Germany, France and Poland are each to expel four Russian diplomats with intelligence agency backgrounds. Lithuania and the Czech Republic said they would expel three, and Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands two each. Estonia, Latvia, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Sweden and Romania each expelled one Russian. Iceland announced it would not be sending officials to the World Cup in Russia .

    Ukraine, which is not an EU member, is to expel 13 Russian diplomats, while Albania, an EU candidate member, ordered the departure of two Russians from the embassy in Tirana. Macedonia, another EU candidate, expelled one Russian official.

    Canada announced it was expelling four diplomatic staff serving in Ottawa and Montreal who the Canadian government said were spies. A pending application from Moscow for three more diplomatic posts in Canada is being denied.

    Raj Shah, a White House spokesperson, told reporters Monday that the US expulsions were part of "a coordinated effort".

    He added that Donald Trump "spoke with many foreign leaders, European allies and others and encouraged them to join with the United States in this announcement".

    [Mar 25, 2018] Basically McMaster started clearing out the Israel Zios in the department ...including several who violate security rules on top secret info

    Mar 24, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    catherine -> Barbara Ann ... , 24 March 2018 at 04:32 PM

    Thanks for link. What they are talking about is the ZOA report on why McMaster should be fired
    Here is the full..and very long report.

    https://zoa.org/2017/08/10371905-zoa-nscs-mcmaster-reassign-him-to-area-not-dealing-with-israel-or-iran/

    Basically McMaster started clearing out the Israel Zios in the department ...including several who violate security rules on top secret info. The report list person after person McMaster canned and the ZOA is furious all their inside boys were turned out.

    Very cleverly the report is presented to Trump as McMaster firing all the 'Pro Trumpers" because McMasters is ''anti Trump''.

    So the ZOA are now Trump Loyalist..lol...just pledge your loyalty to Trump and he'll follow you like a puppy.

    I am beginning to wonder though if there is a small but growing number of upper rank military that are trying to weed out the bomb Iran Zionist.

    [Mar 25, 2018] Neocons Panting for President 'Mad Dog' Mattis by Daniel McAdams

    Notable quotes:
    "... The Iranian regime, in my mind, is the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East...For all the talk of ISIS and Al Qaida everywhere right now they're a very serious threat. But nothing is as serious in the long term enduring ramifications, in terms of stability and prosperity and some hope for a better future for the young people out there, than Iran. ..."
    "... We know that vacuums left in the Middle East seem to be filled by either terrorists or by Iran or their surrogates or Russia In order to restore deterrence, we have to show capability, capacity and resolve. ..."
    "... Using our special neocon-speak translator, we see that "capability, capacity and resolve" actually means "weapons, deployments, and wars." No wonder Kristol and company are touting this man as their savior. ..."
    Apr 22, 2016 | www.ronpaulinstitute.org
    The neocons have been in a panic this election season. One by one, their preferred choice for the Republican presidential nomination has been soundly rejected by the uncooperative American voting public. Sen. Lindsey Graham made a run for the nomination saying , "If you're tired of war, don't vote for me," and nobody did. Perhaps the idea of perpetual war to the very last US dollar is beginning to wear thin among Republican voters.

    Though the two Republicans left standing, Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, have endorsed sending thousands of troops into the Middle East and even turning the sand into glass with a nuclear weapon, they are viewed as not reliably neoconservative enough for the Beltway bombardiers. William Kristol, absolutely forlorn over the American voter's rejection of the reliable Republican neocons in the race, has thrown his hat in with a very reliable Democrat neocon, Hillary Clinton. "I would rather see Hillary than Trump," said Kristol.

    But such a move comes not without risk for the Kristol-ites. The neocons migrated from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party like a virus to a new host and one promising candidate does not a happy return necessarily make.

    What to do? Again from Kristol: "We'll have to start a new party if it's Trump." And that's what they're doing. With the help of the compliant media, of course.

    Thanks to Target Liberty for its diligence in "Mad Dog" spotting , we see the (former) house organ of the CIA, Time Magazine, joining the neocon cheering section behind the notion of a third party run by retired Major General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, former Commander of the US Central Command.

    In an article with the fallacious title, Why Americans Want a Military General in the White House , Time wonders:

    What is it about military leaders that has led so many voters to champion them for the Presidency? After all, it's not like the nation has emerged victorious from its recent wars. ... Retired Marine general James "Mad Dog" Mattis, who hung up his uniform three years ago, has fervent supporters who want him to run for President.
    The very title of the article is a fraud. Who are these "Americans" who are clamoring for a General to become president? Neocons! What percentage to neocons make up of the US electorate? Re-read the first paragraph for an indication.

    Why are the neocons panting like a dog in heat for "Mad Dog" Mattis? His speech today at the military-industrial complex funded Center for Strategic and International Studies tells the tale of the tape. What gets the Mad Dog all hot and bothered? War with Iran!

    Barked the "Dog" today:

    The Iranian regime, in my mind, is the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East...For all the talk of ISIS and Al Qaida everywhere right now they're a very serious threat. But nothing is as serious in the long term enduring ramifications, in terms of stability and prosperity and some hope for a better future for the young people out there, than Iran.
    And, in what must be music to the ears of all those inside the Beltway who have become rich robbing the rest of us to pay for their wars, Mattis spells out his foreign policy. In a word: War!
    We know that vacuums left in the Middle East seem to be filled by either terrorists or by Iran or their surrogates or Russia In order to restore deterrence, we have to show capability, capacity and resolve.
    Using our special neocon-speak translator, we see that "capability, capacity and resolve" actually means "weapons, deployments, and wars." No wonder Kristol and company are touting this man as their savior.

    General George Washington was a reluctant political leader. He accepted the office of president only at the insistence of others. His preference after the battle was won was to hang up his guns and retire to hemp-growing and whiskey-distilling. In these days of increasingly political military officers , it seems the notion of civilian control of the military is, like the Constitution itself, just another anachronism.

    Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you President Mattis:

    • The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some a**holes in the world that just need to be shot.
      ( Business Insider )
    • I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f*ck with me, I'll kill you all.
      ( San Diego Union Tribune )
    • Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.
      ( San Diego Union Tribune )
    • Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.
      ( San Diego Union Tribune )
    • You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.
      ( CNN )
    • I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.
      ( San Diego Union Tribune )
    Woof woof!
    Copyright © 2016 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

    Please donate to the Ron Paul Institute

    [Mar 23, 2018] Inglorious end of career of neocon McMaster

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... President Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin to his reelection as president of the Russian Federation. It was a matter of simply courtesy to do so. The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (aka the National Security Advisor), three star general McMaster, had advised him to not congratulate Putin. (McMaster now claims differently .) That was bad advice. But it became even worse when McMaster, or someone in his shop, promptly leaked this to the press. The usual Republican nutters like John McCain grumbled and Trump was furious. ..."
    Mar 23, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    President Trump congratulated Vladimir Putin to his reelection as president of the Russian Federation. It was a matter of simply courtesy to do so. The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (aka the National Security Advisor), three star general McMaster, had advised him to not congratulate Putin. (McMaster now claims differently .) That was bad advice. But it became even worse when McMaster, or someone in his shop, promptly leaked this to the press. The usual Republican nutters like John McCain grumbled and Trump was furious.

    Trump decided to fire McMaster the very next day. He had it coming. Both the White House Chief of Staff Kelly as well as the Secretary of Defense Mattis wanted McMaster out. Unfortunately for them Trump chose a replacement that they did not want and will find difficult to live with.

    [Mar 23, 2018] Let's get over the McMaster ouster. The fact is that he was completely unqualified to be the National Security advisor. McMaster was uneducated in history and international politics.

    Mar 23, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Don Bacon , Mar 22, 2018 9:20:29 PM | 45

    Let's get over the McMaster ouster. The fact is that he was completely unqualified to be the National Security advisor. McMaster was uneducated in history and international politics. McMaster (1) was excellent as an army unit leader and (2) obtained a PhD with a thesis that claimed that the US lost in Vietnam because generals weren't listened to, which is complete BS.
    Now we may not like Bolton, but at least he's qualified. Does the NSA have the authority to start a war? No. The simple fact is that in the most likely war scenarios, Korea and Iran, the US has bases, ships etc. within easy reach of prospective enemies. Forward basing, it's called. The Pentagon knows this very well. They hate it when bases are destroyed and ships are sunk.
    Currently the US is crowing about an evacuation exercise in Korea -- with a hundred people, when there are tens of thousands of Americans in South Korea endangered by any war.
    So let's cheer up.
    Jackrabbit , Mar 22, 2018 9:45:06 PM | 49
    Don Bacon

    As I understand it, Mc Master's thesis was worse than 'generals weren't listened to", it was that Generals knew what it would take to win but were reluctant to press their case.

    I think McMaster's view gets watered-down and sugar-coated into: "Generals should provide true info to civilian authority" when it seems to me that the message he conveys to Generals is simply this: be stubborn; insist on full and unconditional support of civilian authority for any military action. We see this attitude reflected in "The Powell Doctrine" and now Trump's hand's-off approach to the military.

    I see this as civilian authority (the President) essentially handing the keys to the Generals once any military action is authorized.

    Don Bacon , Mar 22, 2018 9:57:49 PM | 55
    @jr 49
    Vietnam, a US attempt at nation-building within a nation (stupid), was a lost cause to begin with and so what generals "knew" was irrelevant.
    Harry Truman got it right.
    A couple of President Harry Truman quotes: "It's the fellows who go to West Point and are trained to think they're gods in uniform that I plan to take apart". . ."I didn't fire him [General MacArthur] because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three quarters of them would be in jail."

    Now currently generals aren't any smarter, they are still dumb SOBs who rise up by sucking up, but at least they are smart enough to realize that forward basing dooms any offensive attacks against countries that have the capability to counter-attack against US bases and ships. That would be North Korea and Iran, for starters. Bolton's ascendance won't change that simple truth, so the sky isn't falling.

    Grieved , Mar 22, 2018 10:18:19 PM | 60
    @45 Don Bacon

    Yes, agreed, let's please cheer up. We live in a age of miracles, when Russia and China see fit to ally, and preserve, or create, world stability.

    Trump has always been surrounded by completely vile people, and none of this has stopped Russia from laying down the gauntlet. Bolton is as much a nothing, I suggest, as Boris Johnson across the ocean. Neither of them holds power. The west doesn't hold power any longer. It's been checkmated at every turn - by Russia militarily and China economically.

    Power is the ability to force things to your will, and it's backed up by a gun or it fails in the end. Trump's button may be big but it's old and maybe rusted and the odds are good it doesn't even work very well, especially against next generation jamming and hypersonic speeds.

    So the west can bluster and parade its theater all it wants, it means nothing as the caravans all move on into the future. And even the theater is getting found out in advance now, with chemical-weapon caches and plans rendered visible before they can act.

    As for the bluster, it only works on domestic populations, who have no power and thus cannot affect reality, and whose governments have no power and thus cannot use a mandate to war even if given one by their populations, gulled by propaganda. It's a useless, circular mechanism whose paradigm has ended, is defunct.

    I find it encouraging beyond words to watch the real power on the ground in this Eurasian Century, as the west declines. And I'll quote just one last time, because I love the potency of this equation: "Power. The one quality of the human condition that you can't fake."

    [Mar 22, 2018] Trump's National Security Chief Calls Russian Interference 'Incontrovertible'

    Mar 22, 2018 | www.nytimes.com

    MUNICH -- Just hours after the Justice Department indicted 13 Russians in what it charged was a broad conspiracy to alter the 2016 election, President Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, accused Moscow of engaging in a campaign of "disinformation, subversion and espionage" that he said Washington would continue to expose.

    The evidence of a Russian effort to interfere in the election "is now incontrovertible," General McMaster said at the Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of European and American diplomats and security experts, including several senior Russian officials. On Friday, just hours before the indictment, the top White House official for cyberissues accused Russia of "the most destructive cyberattack in human history," against Ukraine last summer.

    Taken together, the statements appeared to mark a major turn in the administration's willingness to directly confront the government of President Vladimir V. Putin. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo also attended the Munich conference, and while they did not speak publicly, in private meetings with others here they reiterated similar statements.

    The comments highlighted a sharp division inside the administration about how to talk about the Russian covert efforts, with only Mr. Trump and a few of his close advisers holding back from acknowledging the Russian role or talking about a larger strategy to deter future attacks.

    The indictment characterized the cyberattacks and social media fraud as part of a larger effort by Russia to undermine the United States. A senior administration official called the effort to confront Russia "a significant point of contention" within the administration.

    After the indictment on Friday Mr. Trump declared in a Twitter post that "the results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong -- no collusion!" He made no mention of Russia as a "revisionist power," the description used in his own National Security Strategy, or of the elaborate $1.2 million-a-month effort that the indictment indicated Russia's Internet Research Agency spent in an effort to discredit the election system and ultimately to support his candidacy.

    Vice President Mike Pence, speaking this past week in Washington, misstated American intelligence conclusions about the election hacking, arguing "it is the universal conclusion of our intelligence communities that none of those efforts had any effect on the outcome of the 2016 election." The intelligence chiefs have said they have not, and cannot, reach such a conclusion.

    Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, cited Mr. Pence's comments during the session here Saturday to make the case that Russia did nothing wrong. "So until we see the facts, everything else is just blabber," he said.

    The man who served as the Russian ambassador to the United States during the period covered by the indictments, Sergey I. Kislyak, picked up on a favorite theme of Mr. Trump's: questioning the credibility of the F.B.I. and intelligence agency assessments.

    "I have seen so many indictments and accusations against Russians," Mr. Kislyak said on Saturday afternoon. "I am not sure I can trust American law enforcement to be the most truthful source against Russians." He added, "The allegations being mounted against us are simply fantasies."

    Mr. Kislyak, who has been caught up in the investigation because of meetings with Trump campaign officials during his time as ambassador, went on to cite a study, which he said he was keeping in his briefcase, that proved the "main source of computer attacks in the world is not Russia. It is the United States."

    [Mar 18, 2018] Mattis' Weak Case for Supporting the War on Yemen by Daniel Larison

    Notable quotes:
    "... "Mattis' Weak Case for Supporting the War on Yemen" ..."
    Mar 18, 2018 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    The Secretary of Defense has written to Congressional leaders to express his opposition to S.J.Res. 54, the resolution that would end U.S. involvement in the war on Yemen:

    In a letter sent to congressional leaders Wednesday and obtained by The Washington Post, Mattis wrote that restricting military support the United States is providing to the Saudi-led coalition "could increase civilian casualties, jeopardize cooperation with our partners on counterterrorism, and reduce our influence with the Saudis -- all of which would further exacerbate the situation and humanitarian crisis."

    He urged Congress not to impose restrictions on the "noncombat," "limited U.S. military support" being provided to Saudi Arabia, which is "engaging in operations in its legitimate exercise of self-defense."

    The Pentagon has been putting forward very weak legal arguments against S.J.Res. 54, and Mattis' statement of the policy arguments against the resolution are not any better. The Saudi-led coalition would have great difficulty continuing their war without U.S. military assistance. U.S. refueling allows coalition planes to carry out more attacks than they otherwise could, so it is extremely unlikely that ending it could possibly result in more civilian casualties than the bombing campaign causes now. Mattis is taking for granted that U.S. military assistance somehow makes coalition bombing more accurate and less likely to result in civilian casualties, but that is hard to credit when coalition forces routinely target civilian structures on purpose and when the military admits that it doesn't keep track of what happens after it refuels coalition planes.

    Secretary Mattis says that cutting off support could jeopardize cooperation on counter-terrorism, but the flip side of this is that continuing to enable the Saudi-led war creates the conditions for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the local ISIS affiliate to flourish. The coalition's war has made AQAP stronger than it was before, and AQAP members have sometimes even fought alongside coalition forces on the ground. Instead of worrying about whether the U.S. is jeopardizing cooperation with these states, we should be asking whether that cooperation is worth very much in Yemen.

    He claims that the Saudis and their allies are engaged in "a legitimate exercise of self-defense," and this is simply not true. The Saudis and their allies were not attacked and were not threatened with attack prior to their intervention. Saudi territory now comes under attack because the coalition has been bombing Yemen for years, but that doesn't make continuing the war self-defense. If an aggressor launches an attack against a neighboring country, it is the neighbor that is engaged in self-defense against the state(s) attacking them.

    Mattis also warns that ending support for the Saudi-led coalition would have other undesirable consequences:

    As Mattis put it in his letter to congressional leaders Wednesday, "withdrawing U.S. support would embolden Iran to increase its support to the Houthis, enabling further ballistic missile strikes on Saudi Arabia and threatening vital shipping lanes in the Red Sea, thereby raising the risk of a regional conflict."

    These claims also don't hold water. Iranian support for the Houthis remains limited, but it has increased as a direct result of the war. The longer that the war goes on, the greater the incentive the Houthis and Iran will have to cooperate. The absurdity of this intervention is that it was dishonestly sold as a war against Iranian "expansionism" and yet it has done more to aid Iran than anything Iran's government could have done on its own. Missile strikes on Saudi Arabia wouldn't be happening if the Saudis and their allies weren't regularly bombing Yemeni cities. If the coalition halted its bombing, the missile strikes would almost certainly cease as well. Continuing the war is a guarantee that those attacks will continue, and U.S. military assistance ensures that the war will continue. Every reason Mattis gives here for continuing U.S. support for the war is actually a reason to end it.

    Shipping lanes weren't threatened before the intervention and won't be threatened after it ends. Yemenis have every incentive to leave shipping lanes alone, since these are their country's lifeline. Meanwhile, the cruel coalition blockade is slowly starving millions of Yemenis to death by keeping out essential commercial goods from the main ports that serve the vast majority of the population. Mattis is warning about potential threats to shipping from Yemen while completely ignoring that the main cause of the humanitarian disaster is the interruption of commercial shipping into Yemen by the Saudi-led blockade. The regional conflict that Mattis warns about is already here. It is called the Saudi-led war on Yemen. If one wants to prevent the region from being destabilized further, one would want to put an end to that war as quickly as possible.

    Mattis mentions that the U.S. role in the war is a "noncombat" and "limited" one, but for the purposes of the debate on Sanders-Lee resolution that is irrelevant. It doesn't matter that the military assistance the U.S. is providing doesn't put Americans in combat. That is not the only way that U.S. forces can be introduced into hostilities. According to the War Powers Resolution , the U.S. has introduced its armed forces into hostilities under these circumstances:

    For purposes of this joint resolution, the term "introduction of United States Armed Forces" includes the assignment of member of such armed forces to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany [bold mine-DL] the regular or irregular military forces of any foreign country or government when such military forces are engaged, or there exists an imminent threat that such forces will become engaged, in hostilities.

    Any fair reading of this definition has to apply to the regular U.S. refueling of coalition planes that are engaged in an ongoing bombing campaign. The U.S. is obviously participating in the "movement" of coalition forces when it provides their planes with fuel. Indeed, our forces are making the movement of their forces possible through refueling. U.S. involvement in the war on Yemen clearly counts as introducing U.S. forces into hostilities under the WPR, and neither administration has sought or received authorization to do this. No president is permitted to do this unless there is "(1) a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces." There has obviously been no action from Congress that authorizes this, and there is certainly no emergency or attack that justifies it. U.S. involvement in the war on Yemen is illegal, and the Senate should pass S.J.Res. 54 to end it.


    so it's blackmail March 15, 2018 at 11:00 am

    "Mattis wrote that restricting military support the United States is providing to the Saudi-led coalition "could increase civilian casualties, jeopardize cooperation with our partners on counterterrorism, and reduce our influence with the Saudis -- all of which would further exacerbate the situation and humanitarian crisis.""

    Wow. So MBS is blackmailing us. He's threatening to kill more civilians, to stop anti-terror cooperation, and to shut us out of other Saudi regional security decisions if we don't help him starve and wreck Yemen.

    Maybe the situation is a little clearer, but how can anyone take Trump seriously after this embarrassing confession by Mattis?

    We may assume that Trump has no self-respect, but doesn't he have any respect for his office? Is he really going to let this disgusting little torture freak jerk him around like this? When it implicates all Americans in Saudi war crimes?

    SteveM , says: March 15, 2018 at 2:14 pm
    Re: "Mattis' Weak Case for Supporting the War on Yemen"

    Unfortunately, in this day of warped Military Exceptionalism as the civic religion, a 4-Star pedigree fronting weak arguments makes them essentially unassailable. No matter how immoral, idiotic or costly to the taxpayers.

    Mad Dog Mattis got a free ride with his logically incoherent, hyper-belligerent pronouncements related to the National Security Strategy. Expect no different response to his perverse rationalizations of the Yemen catastrophe.

    Generals and Admirals now pop off stupid and dangerous opinions right and left and are never challenged by an MSM that is bedazzled by anyone wearing stars on their shoulders.

    Mattis' case for Yemen is not only weak, it's pathetic. Too bad the co-opted and seduced MSM will never suggest that to the public at large deluded by the omnipresent propaganda of the National Security State.

    Nothing will change until the undeserved fawning adoration of the War Machine Elite is substantially attenuated.

    Alex Ingrum , says: March 15, 2018 at 3:12 pm
    The neocons will stop at nothing to bring down anyone they suspect of threatening Israel or U.S. military hegemony in the Middle East.

    First, they lied about WMDs in Iraq and started a completely illegal war, killing millions and devastating that country for generations. That led directly to the creation of ISIS and the havoc it has wrought on both Iraq and Syria (and increasingly in other countries).

    Then under Obama and Sec. Clinton, they allowed the military takeover of Egypt by the murderous and oppressive El-Sisi and launched an aggressive war of regime change in Libya, throwing both North African countries into turmoil.

    Then they supported the brutal and savage ongoing Saudi war against Yemen to curb non-existent Iranian influence, followed by politically isolating Qatar for its supposed chumminess with Iran.

    The neocons will do absolutely anything to bring down the Iranian regime, no matter how many foreign and American lives and destroyed to achieve that end.

    b. , says: March 15, 2018 at 3:38 pm
    The details of Mattis' letter of indulgence do not matter as much as the fact that he is willing to defend the indefensible. Even if his professed concerns were not only genuine, but actually reflected reality, he also has to know better than anybody else within the administration about the consequences of the US-backed Saudi/UAE invasion of Yemen.

    Mattis has joined Graham and Albright in the "worth it" campaign to sustain and extend perfectly predictable atrocities.

    If he wants to make the case that we cannot accept uncertainty with respect to an alleged Iranian aggression towards Saudi Arabia – and with even more unlikely acquiescence by the Houthi to let Iran use them the way the US uses the Kurds – or even assuming that Mattis wants to misrepresent possible Houthi blowback against Saudi Arabia as "Iranian" just for convenience – then it should be clear that he is claimng we can easily accept uncertainty with respect to Yemeni blowback against the US – blowback that he also uses to justify the US campaign inside Yemen, and that fueled Obama's pathological obsession with ideological cleansing in Yemen and other prospective "safe harbors".

    Mattis is proving the validity of the actual Powell Doctrine – if you join it, you own it – both with respect to US co-belligerence in Yemen, and with respect to Mattis personally. He is also proving the observation that anybody who is willing to join an administration as criminal as that of Bush, Obama or Trump is unlikely to do any good – by their voluntary association they have irredeemably tainted themselves.

    Uncle Billy , says: March 15, 2018 at 7:54 pm
    We do not want to get in the middle of this Sunni vs. Shiite war. The Saudis want to destroy the Shiites in Yemen and we are fools at best and criminals at worst to help them. The people of Yemen are no threat to the US and for theAmerican Government to cooperate with the Saudis in the murderof Yemeni women and children is revolting.
    Sisera , says: March 16, 2018 at 6:06 pm
    Americans have heard for years that supporting "democracy" and popular uprisings throughout the Middle East are in our national interests, the basis being that oppressed people are more likely to resort to terrorism.

    Yet in the cases of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and now Yemen popular revolutions of Shias demanding equal rights are actually deemed a threat to our national security.

    The neocons have gotten so deep in the Gulf/Israel v. Iran conflict that they're not even keeping to the ostensible reasons for interventionism.

    [Mar 16, 2018] H.R. McMaster Gives The Kremlin a Double Bird Salute

    Notable quotes:
    "... "We believe that Russia was responsible for this attack, and we call on the Russian government to answer all questions related to this incident, and to provide full information to the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]. No nation -- Russia, China, or anybody else, any other nation -- should be using chemical weapons and nerve agents," McMaster said, following what critics have called a belated Wednesday statement casting blame on Moscow for the attack on Skripal. ..."
    Mar 16, 2018 | www.thedailybeast.com

    If H.R. McMaster is on his way out of the White House, he's going out with two middle fingers raised and pointed in the direction of the Kremlin.

    "Russia is also complicit in [Syrian dictator Bashar] Assad's atrocities," McMaster, President Trump's national security adviser, said Thursday during an appearance at a discussion of the Syrian civil war held at the U.S. Holocaust memorial museum.

    His voice raised, McMaster used harsher and more moralistic language than his boss does in characterizing Russia's geopolitical influence, and unequivocally blamed the Kremlin for "the abhorrent nerve agent attack" on a former double agent, Sergei Skripal , and proposed "serious political and economic consequences" for Russian aggression.

    "We believe that Russia was responsible for this attack, and we call on the Russian government to answer all questions related to this incident, and to provide full information to the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]. No nation -- Russia, China, or anybody else, any other nation -- should be using chemical weapons and nerve agents," McMaster said, following what critics have called a belated Wednesday statement casting blame on Moscow for the attack on Skripal.

    McMaster's brief remarks, lasting under 20 minutes, came as the Army three-star general is the subject of furious speculation that Trump will soon fire him and install hardliner ex-ambassador John Bolton atop the National Security Council. His capstone achievement thus far has been a Russia-and-China-centric security strategy that has been conspicuously out of step with Trump's rhetoric and actions toward both countries.

    "Russia has done nothing to encourage Assad to ensure delivery of humanitarian aid, to respect ceasefires and de-escalation agreements or to comply with U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254's call for a U.N.-monitored political process," McMaster said.

    Those remarks suggested that Trump got suckered during his 2017 rounds of personal diplomacy with Vladimir Putin. In November, Trump and Putin issued a joint statement firmly pledging support for what is known as the 2254 Process -- though critics considered it a cover for Moscow to continue ensuring support for its client, Assad -- that "took note" of Assad's "recent commitment to the Geneva process and constitutional reform and elections as called for under UNSCR 2254."

    And that followed July's acquiescence from Trump and just-ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signing onto a Russia-driven process centered around achieving ceasefires that McMaster said Russia was not respecting.

    [Mar 15, 2018] Mattis is as dangerous warmonger as McMaster

    Notable quotes:
    "... The problem is that this would have some semblance of solubility were it not for Israel. Israel desperately, repeat desperately, wants the U.S. to go to war in a very big way in the ME. That could tip the scales. ..."
    "... I hope you are wrong, but Trump sees very clearly what "Wartime President" did for the cipher Bush. It's the only straw left for him to grasp at ..."
    Mar 15, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    FB Ali , 15 March 2018 at 12:00 AM

    This post was about Mattis being the only "grown-up in the room".

    I'm not sure that's something to be reassured about. Brian Cloughley is a seasoned military writer and analyst. A few years ago he wrote a piece on Mattis that was not very complimentary. If even half of it is right, we should all be worried.

    The article is at: http://tinyurl.com/ycp8yta2

    Bill Herschel , 15 March 2018 at 12:29 AM
    Trump's mojo has evaporated. He has no coattails. He has negative coattails. So it is time for war.

    The problem is that this would have some semblance of solubility were it not for Israel. Israel desperately, repeat desperately, wants the U.S. to go to war in a very big way in the ME. That could tip the scales.

    I hope you are wrong, but Trump sees very clearly what "Wartime President" did for the cipher Bush. It's the only straw left for him to grasp at .

    [Mar 14, 2018] It's impossible to overstate how terrible Trump's entire cabinet is

    Mar 14, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com


    Jayda1850 Tue, 03/13/2018 - 21:32 Permalink

    Fixed it for you.

    Just wait until John Bolton replaces Mcmasters.

    Bes -> Jayda1850 Tue, 03/13/2018 - 21:34 Permalink
    • all DEEP STATE
    • all MIC
    • all ZIONIST
    • all MBS
    • all the way
    • #Trump2020
    JimmyJones -> Bes Tue, 03/13/2018 - 21:44 Permalink

    If it's all lying and misdirection then could Pompeo actually like WikiLeaks?

    Steve Pieczenik made this call months ago.

    Manthong -> JimmyJones Tue, 03/13/2018 - 21:45 Permalink

    Killary would have done the same.

    Gaius Frakkin' -> Manthong Tue, 03/13/2018 - 21:52 Permalink

    Do some of you ding-a-lings actually think Trump can go off the rails against the bureaucracy when he's got Mueller trying to crawl up his ass? He's got to find a balance somehow. He's got to stay alive. Both politically and personally.

    [Mar 10, 2018] The frankly farcical nature of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' report into Khan Sheikhoun

    Mar 10, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    David Habakkuk -> JohnB... , 04 February 2018 at 10:35 AM

    JohnB,

    In response to comment 2.

    If you are interested in Higgins and 'Bellingcat', you might want be interested in a 'Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media' which has recently been set up by a group of British academics.

    (See http://syriapropagandamedia.org .)

    At the moment, work which has already been done is being prepared for publication on the site. However, some of it has already appeared on the blog of one of the members, Tim Hayward.

    This includes a detailed discussion of the report of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' on the Khan Sheikhoun attack by Paul McKeigue.
    His professorship, at Edinburgh, is in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics. This means that, unlike most of us interested in these matters, with the obvious exception of Theodore Postol, he has a grasp of a lot of relevant science.

    (See https://timhayward.wordpress.com/2017/12/22/khan-sheikhoun-chemical-attack-guest-blog-featuring-paul-mckeigues-reassessment/ .)

    A basic tool of his trade is a technique called 'Bayesian analysis', one of whose many applications is to separate out genetic factors in disease from others. His use of it in the piece may make bits of it somewhat hard going for those of us whose scientific education stopped at school.

    But if you are interested in a demonstration of the way that the kind of pure charlatanry propagated by Higgins and Kaszeta has come to be accepted uncritically by supposed impartial international bodies, you should read the piece.

    Also on Hayward's blog is an article which was submitted to the Guardian's 'Comment is Free' page, in response to a piece by Olivia Solon smearing those who have had the temerity to suggest that the 'White Helmets' may be something less than a band of disinterested charity workers, and an account of the attempts of the 'Working Group' to get a response from the paper.

    (See https://timhayward.wordpress.com/2018/01/12/the-guardian-white-helmets-and-silenced-comment/ .)

    This has links to material on that organisation already published. A lot more work will be appearing on the 'Working Group' site.

    David Habakkuk -> blowback... , 06 February 2018 at 11:42 AM

    blowback,

    In response to 36.

    Thanks for the link. But what Mattis has said relates to the latest accusations, not early ones. Key paragraphs:

    'A deadly sarin attack on another rebel-held area in April 2017 prompted President Donald Trump to order a U.S. missile strike on the Shayrat airbase, from which the Syrian operation is said to have been launched.

    '"We are on the record and you all have seen how we reacted to that, so they would be ill-advised to go back to violating the chemical (weapons) convention," Mattis said.'

    So he is not repudiating the conventional wisdom according to which sarin was used at Khan Sheikhoun, and the possibility of a military response to a fresh 'false flag' is left open. Unless he is basing his accusation on credible evidence, this to be blunt, comes close to inciting jihadists to atrocity.

    The extent -- and unscrupulousness -- of the mounting propaganda campaign in relation to the recently claims is well brought out in a piece by Rick Sterling in 'Consortium News' on Sunday. Whether those involved are still hoping to precipitate a serious American military intervention, and whether those hopes might be realistic, I cannot say.

    (See https://consortiumnews.com/2018/02/04/wmd-claims-in-syria-raise-concerns-over-u-s-escalation/ .)

    This makes the detailed demonstration by Professor McKeigue of the frankly farcical nature of the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' report into Khan Sheikhoun, to which I linked, all the more important. In addition to exposing the total dependence of its analysis on a completely incredible claim about the aircraft which is supposed to have delivered the chemical weapon, and discussing much other evidence, he brings out a key point about developments in 'chemical forensics' over the past years.

    As well as the 1995 sarin attacks, the 2001 anthrax letter attacks led to an enormous investment of money and intellectual energy in the development of analytical techniques making it possible to identify perpetrators of chemical weapons incidents. A fascinating article entitled 'Tracing a Threat' by Bethany Halford in 'Chemistry & Engineering News World' in February 2012 provides a good picture of what the state of play was at that time.

    (See https://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i6/Tracing-Threat.html .)

    She quotes an expert called Joseph Chipuk, from a consultancy called 'Signature Science' in Austin, explaining how the 'spectra' -- different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation associated with different 'impurities' in samples, including 'environmental' ones, such as soil, fragments of weapons, and clothing -- can be matched with reconstructions of possible 'synthetic pathways'.

    The levels of sophistication of which this kind of analysis was already capable, he made clear, are close to breathtaking:

    'To figure out signatures based on various synthetic routes and conditions, Chipuk says that the synthetic chemists on his team will make the same chemical threat agent as many as 2,000 times in an "almost robotic manner," following a database that tells them exactly what conditions to use. They then hand off the product to the analytical chemists, who look at all the tiny impurities that turn up along with the toxic chemical -- "the stuff that's down in the weeds," as Chipuk describes it. From there, the hundreds or, in some cases, thousands of spectra that are collected go to statisticians and computer scientists who work their magic to tease out the unique attribution signatures.'

    At the end of the article, Halford quotes Chipuk again making clear that improvement is continuous in a way that is making it quite extraordinarily difficult to fool analysts who are genuinely looking for the truth -- as not only Dan Kaszeta but, very regrettably, key figures at the OPCW and some of its 'Designated Laboratories' do not appear to be:

    '"The fact is that technology continues to improve, instrumentation continues to improve, and computers continue to improve. The chances of someone being able to slip by undetected are getting smaller and smaller," says Signature Science's Chipuk. "If you were to choose to do something like this, the science is going to catch up to you."'

    In relation to the claims now being made, what is initially at issue is simply the question of whether the 'impurities' identified by the 'spectra' in samples from the incidents at Khan Sheikhoun, Ghouta, Saraqeb, and Khan Al-Asal match.

    What characterised the 'hexamine hypothesis' as put forward by Kaszeta was the -- close to surreal -- suggestion that a single substance, hexamine, was a 'smoking gun'. To anyone who had taken the trouble to read easily accessible discussions of the methodology, such as Halford's piece, it would be apparent that it is simply ludicrous to base a claim on a single substance -- particularly given that hexamine is also used in explosives.

    In the 'Reuters' report on 30 January, we were told:

    'Two compounds in the Ghouta sample matched those also found in Khan Sheikhoun, one formed from sarin and the stabilizer hexamine and another specific fluorophosphate that appears during sarin production, the tests showed.'

    (See https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-chemicalweapons-exclusiv/exclusive-tests-link-syrian-government-stockpile-to-largest-sarin-attack-sources-idUSKBN1FJ0MG .)

    So we have an -- unidentified -- compound which supposedly establishes that the hexamine did indeed form part of the sarin production process, rather than of the explosive charge. And we are then told of the presence of another compound, which are told is 'another specific fluorophosphate': why not tell us which?

    To anyone interested in actually making sense of the evidence, to have a mere two compounds mentioned, and those not adequately identified, suggests an alternative possibility: that people who knew details of the 'synthetic pathway' by which Syrian government sarin had been synthesised leaked them to those who were producing the substance for a 'false flag.' It would have been beyond the capabilities of a relatively primitive operation to produce any kind of close fit -- to get a couple of compounds to match would probably not have been difficult at all.

    If this suspicious interpretation if false, there is a very simple way to refute it -- and General Mattis is in a perfect position to do this.

    The close links between the American and British 'intelligence communities' have been stressed in comments on this thread. It is clear that in relation to Syrian chemical weapons, there was a division of labour.

    Analysis of 'environmental' samples was concentrated at the British OPCW-certified facility, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down in Wiltshire. Meanwhile, preparations for the dismantling of the Syrian chemical arsenal were the made at one of the two American OPCW-certified laboratories, the U.S. Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland.

    The destruction of the 581 tonnes of the sarin precursor methylphosphonyl difluoride, or DF, aboard the specially kitted out vessel 'M.V. Cape Ray' in the Mediterranean was announced in August 2014. In the extensive reporting on the preparations for this, it was made absolutely clear that -- as one would expect -- the vessel was equipped with a proper analytical laboratory, with OPCW scientists involved as well as those from the Edgewood Center.

    (See https://www.chemistryworld.com/feature/eliminating-syrias-chemical-weapons/7390.article .)

    In a post entitled 'Sentence First -- Verdict Afterwards?' shortly after the Khan Sheikhoun attack, and then in two 'open letters' to the members of our Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees, I pointed to the mass of evidence suggesting that the test results from different incidents did not match each other or those from the stocks destroyed on the 'Cape Ray.'

    (See http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/habakkuk/ .)

    The publicly available evidence, I argued, provided strong reason to believe that results from Porton Down and the OPCW confirmed the claim made by the Russians, supposedly on the basis of tests from their own OPCW-certified laboratory, that the sarin used at Khan Al-Asal and Ghouta was a 'cottage industry' product. This was also what Seymour Hersh claimed that tests carried out at Porton Down had revealed about the sarin used at Ghouta - he used the term 'kitchen sarin.'

    What the Reuters report has -- perhaps inadvertently -- confirmed is that Porton Down had in fact tested 'environmental' samples from the Khan Al-Asal incident on 19 March 2013, the first where sarin was used in Syria, by suggesting that tests from that incident as well as those at Ghouta and Khan Sheikhoun matched the results from the stocks on the 'Cape Ray':

    'Laboratories working for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons compared samples taken by a U.N. mission in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta after the Aug. 21, 2013 attack, when hundreds of civilians died of sarin gas poisoning, to chemicals handed over by Damascus for destruction in 2014.

    'The tests found "markers" in samples taken at Ghouta and at the sites of two other nerve agent attacks, in the towns of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib governorate on April 4, 2017 and Khan al-Assal, Aleppo, in March 2013, two people involved in the process said.

    '"We compared Khan Sheikhoun, Khan al-Assal, Ghouta," said one source who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the findings. "There were signatures in all three of them that matched."'

    Can anyone seriously believe that if the tests we know to have been done on at Porton Down had established what this 'source' who does not have the guts to the identify himself claims, this fact would not have been trumpeted to the skies -- first when the results from Ghouta matched those from Khan Al-Asal, and then when both matched those from the 'Cape Ray'?

    Allright -- sometimes the practically incredible turns out to be true. But if he has any evidence on which to base his claims, General Mattis should have the courage of his convictions, and order the disclosure of the relevant 'spectra.'

    David Habakkuk -> Babak Makkinejad... , 07 February 2018 at 09:28 AM
    Babak Makkinejad,

    You are wrong about this. That the 'chain of custody' principle has been flagrantly violated in the reports of the 'Fact-Finding Mission' and the 'Joint Investigative Mechanism' is patently the case, and in itself reason why the almost unanimous acceptance of these in the MSM is scandalous. But that is a separate issue.

    (See http://russiaun.ru/en/news/opcwun -- the whole document is well worth reading.)

    The reasons why the test results from the various laboratories were critical were set out last April in my '"Sentence First -- Verdict Afterwards"?' piece, and the two 'open letters' to the members of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committees pointing out the need for clarification as to what was being claimed about the test results.

    Let me recap, and update.

    An example of the kind of 'chemical forensics' one needs in incidents like this was provided by the analysis of test results on 'shell and soil' samples purporting to derive from the Khan Al-Asal incident on 19 March 2013 which formed part of the document from the Russian OPCW-certified laboratory which was submitted to the UN Secretary-General on 9 July that year.

    On 4 September, as part of the attempt to stop the visible attempt to use Ghouta to create an unstoppable momentum towards the destruction of the Syrian government, more details of what looks like an expanded version of the original document were made public by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In it they claimed that:

    'shell and soil samples contained nerve agents -- sarin gas and diisopropylfluorophosphate -- not synthesized in an industrial environment, which was used by Western states for producing chemical weapons during World War II.'

    It was also made clear that the conclusions rested upon precisely the kind of very complex analysis Bethany Halford is describing:

    'We highlight that the Russian report is extremely specific. It is a scientific and technical document containing about 100 pages with many tables and diagrams of spectral analysis of the samples. We expect that it will significantly assist in the investigation into this incident by the UN. Unfortunately, it has in fact not started yet.'

    (See https://www.rusemb.org.uk/fnapr/3169 .)

    Unfortunately, the detailed 'spectra' have not been released, but they have certainly been analysed by experts at the OPCW and that organisation's 'Designated Laboratories' in the West, including Porton Down. We know that the results from the materials tested on the 'Cape Ray' will show a sarin precursor 'manufactured in an industrial environment.'

    To prove what Mattis and others want to claim it is necessary that the 'spectra' from none of the other tests match those in the Russian report, and the 'markers' from the 'Cape Ray' materials are the same as those from Khan Sheikhoun, Ghouta, and Khan Al-Asal. If there are serious 'chain of custody' problems, the 'markers' from the four sets of tests might not be sufficient to establish Syrian government culpability -- a lack of a match would be quite sufficient to establish that the indictment cannot be accepted as it stands.

    As I brought out in my post last April, the publicly available evidence -- of which Hersh's 'Red Line and Rat Line' article and subsequent interviews form an important part -- strongly suggests the Russian claims that the toxin used in both Khan Al-Asal and also Ghouta was 'cottage industry', as they put it, or 'kitchen sarin', as he put it, are correct.

    It is simply not a refutation of these claims to treat one compound supposed to validate the 'hexamine hypothesis', and an unspecified fluorophosphate, which could be the diisopropylfluorophosphate reported by the Russians, or hexafluorophosphate, as conclusive evidence. (The implications, or lack of them, would be quite different, depending on which compound it was.)

    And all this hush-hush whisper-whisper from 'diplomats and scientists' who are not prepared to be identified, as well as assurances from that supposedly 'independent' expert Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, only add to the grounds for scepticism. As I brought out in my post, he is under the strongest possible suspicion of having been involved in covering up, and quite possibly colluding in, the 'false flags.'

    If they have evidence to support the case, then let Western governments produce the 'spectra' -- as also should the Russians. We do not need complete reports, which may need to be kept secret for perfectly good reasons -- simply the 'many tables and diagrams' which must exist. Once these were out in the open, then it would be much easier to have an informed argument.

    Most of this ground I covered last April. However, there is some crucial new context. Part of this is provided by a report in 'The Intercept' last October, entitled 'NSA Document Says Saudi Prince Directly Ordered Coordinated Attack By Syrian Rebels On Damascus.' As it explains:

    'According to a top-secret National Security Agency document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the March 2013 rocket attacks were directly ordered by a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Salman bin Sultan, to help mark the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution. Salman had provided 120 tons of explosives and other weaponry to opposition forces, giving them instructions to "light up Damascus" and "flatten" the airport, the document, produced by U.S. government surveillance on Syrian opposition factions, shows.'

    (See https://theintercept.com/2017/10/24/syria-rebels-nsa-saudi-prince-assad/ .)

    This was on 18 March -- the day before Khan Al-Asal. Further relevant context is provided by a piece in February 2017 on the 'Monitor on Massacre Marketing' site by Adam Larson, entitled 'What happened on March 19, 2013?' which is subtitled 'The First Bodies Tossed Across Obama's "Red Line" in Syria.'

    (See http://libyancivilwar.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/what-happened-on-march-19-2013.html .)

    This starts by reviewing the -- ample -- evidence that the Khan Al-Asal attack came at a point where there was very visible enthusiasm on the part of a lot of people in the United States and Western Europe for intervention in support of the 'Assad must go' agenda, so that he had every incentive to avoid chemical weapons use, and the insurgents every incentive to produce a 'false flag.'

    And Larson goes on to note that 'Ironically, the first solid news of the feared chemical attack came in the form of a Syrian government announcement on March 19 that their forces had been gassed by "terrorists" in a town just west of Aleppo" -- that is, the Shi'ite town of Khan Al-Asal.

    There follow detailed reviews of the evidence of another incident on the same day, in which the victims appeared to be insurgents, at the Damascus suburb variously transliterated as Otaybah and Uteibah, and more fragmentary and puzzling evidence about events at Homs.

    And Larson goes on to suggest that a three-pronged 'false flag' was planned for 19 March, in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs -- the country's three largest cities. This would obviously fit very well with the NSA intercept, in that it would suggest that the intent was to portray these as Assad's savage response to the attacks in Damascus, thus, hopefully, generating unstoppable momentum for American military intervention.

    This seems to me eminently plausible, but it leaves open two possible interpretations of Khan Al-Asal. When insurgents who are difficult to control are given access to weapons like sarin, there is an obvious possibility of matters developing in unexpected directions, either as the result of their bungling an attack, or succumbing to the temptation to use it against government forces.

    However, a different set of unintended consequences is also possible. It could be that Syrian intelligence, perhaps with the assistance of Russian and/or Iranian, and with a combination of 'SIGINT' and 'HUMINT' methods quite possibly being deployed, knew precisely what was going on -- and had double agents inside the groups preparing the 'false flags.'

    Rather than wait until the inevitable chorus calling for all-out air strikes began, it could well have made sense to turn one of the incidents into a 'false flag' within a 'false flag.'

    The anti-Assad camp would then have been effectively 'snookered.' They would have faced a situation where they would know that, if they acceded to the calls from the Syrians and Russians for a proper UN/OPCW investigation, making a rigorous use of 'chemical forensics', these would implicate the insurgents. And if the evidence suggested that it was these who had crossed Obama's 'red line', it would have been game and set, and probably match, to the Syrian and Russian governments.

    Irrespective of people's views on what interpretation is plausible in relation to Khan Al-Asal, the important point is that strategies which rely strongly on convert action -- as the 'régime change' projects I outlined in the current post do -- are inherently liable to run out of control. The uncontrollability of their instruments, and the possibility of covert action meeting covert action in return, are always liable to generate unintended consequences which can escalate.

    As soon as the possible that an impartial investigation would implicate the insurgents was real, in relation to Khan Al-Asal, irrespective of whether the imputation would have been justified, the alternative to facing a complete collapse of their projects in Syria, for Western governments, was inherently likely to be at best covering up, at worst colluding in, further 'false flags.' Moreover, intense pressure had to be mounted, to ensure that what were supposed to be sources of independent expertise supported their cover-ups.

    This pattern, I am suggesting is common both to history of the 'StratCom' in which Christopher Steele has been involved, and that relating to chemical weapons use in Syria. Particularly when the 'Fourth Estate' ceases to do its job, a likely result is the progressive systematic corruption of institutions.

    blowback , 04 February 2018 at 03:20 PM
    David,

    You have read one of the articles on what James Mattis said on Friday about sarin? He quite clearly states that the United States has no evidence that the Syrian government has used sarin. Given the way, the French, British, German, etc. intelligence services share information, that suggests that if James Mattis is speaking the truth then no one in NATO, except perhaps for Turkey given Erdogan's recent behavior, has any evidence either. This means that both incidents, East Ghouta and Khan Shaykhoun, and any other incidents that are alleged by the terrorists to have involved sarin are not what they are claimed to be in western msm and most western politicians. Bellingcat and all the other NGOs who have made similar claims about sarin are all wrong.

    Mattis does claim that Syria has used chlorine.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-usa/u-s-mattis-says-concerned-about-syrias-potential-use-of-sarin-gas-idUSKBN1FM1VJ

    [Mar 09, 2018] A conflict in North Korea, John, would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes

    Mar 09, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Don Bacon | Mar 9, 2018 10:24:50 PM | 39

    Dickerson: "What keeps you awake at night?"
    Mattis: "Nothing, I keep other people awake at night."
    and. . .
    MATTIS: A conflict in North Korea, John, would be probably the worst kind of fighting in most people's lifetimes.
    Why do I say this? The North Korean regime has hundreds of artillery cannons and rocket launchers within range of one of the most densely populated cities on earth, which is the capital of South Korea.

    We are working with the international community to deal with this issue. This regime is a threat to the region, to Japan, to South Korea, and in the event of war, they would bring danger to China and to Russia as well.

    But the bottom line is, it would be a catastrophic war if this turns into combat, if we are not able to resolve this situation through diplomatic means. here

    Don Bacon , Mar 9, 2018 10:56:44 PM | 41

    We shouldn't expect that any meeting and talks would actually solve anything, because the DPRK and US positions are basically irreconcilable. DPRK wants the US out of Korea, US wants DPRK to denuke (disarm).

    The DPRK strategy, probably, is to spawn endless meetings for a long time. The Vietnam peace talks serve as a model, first with the parties discussing the shape of the table, etc. I look for DPRK to play this game.

    It's a basic east vs. west gambit, where the east has the patience to endure years whereas the west expects quick results.

    [Mar 08, 2018] Hope Hicks Tells House Intel Committee That Her Emails Were Hacked

    Notable quotes:
    "... We're keeping our eyes out for another report confirming that Hick's account had been hacked (by shadowy Russia-affiliated hackers, no doubt). ..."
    Mar 08, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com

    As NBC News pointed out, Hicks' hacking claim raises questions about who hacked the account and why. But the committee wasn't able to pursue those questions because Hicks, like many other members of the White House staff who have appeared before the House Intel Committee, has refused to answer questions about her time at the White House or her experiences during the transition -- and also because she was appearing voluntarily and not under a subpoena for her testimony.

    It is standard practice for lawmakers to ask witnesses about phone numbers and email accounts. However, it is uncommon, according to people familiar with the committee process, for a witness to tell lawmakers that he or she no longer has access to past accounts.

    Special Counsel Robert Mueller has famously been pursuing the emails of Trump associates and other records from the campaign period, transition and the Trump administration.

    Mueller recently sent a subpoena to former Trump aide Sam Nunberg ordering Nunberg to turn over documents relating in any way to 10 current and former Trump associates, including Hicks.

    As NBC points out, Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager (who reportedly dated Hicks during the campaign while he was married to another woman), is slated to testify before the committee on Thursday.

    We're keeping our eyes out for another report confirming that Hick's account had been hacked (by shadowy Russia-affiliated hackers, no doubt).

    Throat-warbler Thu, 03/08/2018 - 14:52 Permalink

    What is always a mystery to me is why these email servers are attached and available to the public Internet. Any script kiddie with a version of "crack" can eventually guess a password that is composed of regular words or favorite clichés. Not to mention some inherently hackable OSs.

    GeezerGeek -> Throat-warbler Thu, 03/08/2018 - 15:07 Permalink

    Are your email accounts all hosted on servers not attached to the internet?

    Email servers, even ones attached to the internet, can be protected. Not perfectly, but well enough. Throw in proper use of non-trivial passwords and you become even safer in a relatively private environment such as a corporation or campaign committee might set up. When email services are offered freely to everyone you are always at risk, because the hosts will have full access to whatever you send and receive.

    One more thing: make certain you can trust those running your servers. Then you won't have to hire someone to kill them when they steal stuff via direct access to the servers. Think Seth Rich.

    [Mar 06, 2018] CNN: Trump 'berated' Hicks after House Intel testimony

    TheHill

    President Trump reportedly berated former White House communications director Hope Hicks the day before her resignation, according to a new report.

    CNN's Erin Burnett reported Wednesday that Trump was angry with Hicks following her closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, in which she reportedly revealed she was sometimes required to tell "white lies" as part of her work in the White House.

    Burnett reported one of Trump's "close allies" told CNN that Trump asked Hicks after her testimony "how she could be so stupid."

    "Apparently, that was the final straw for Hope Hicks," Burnett said.

    Hicks, one of Trump's closest advisers, announced her resignation from the White House Wednesday.

    "There are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump. I wish the president and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country," Hicks said in a statement announcing her departure.

    The 29-year-old has served as a top adviser to Trump since he launched his presidential campaign in 2015.

    Hicks has set no departure date but is expected to leave the White House in the next few weeks, White House officials said.

    Her departure comes one day after her lengthy interview with the House Intelligence panel as part of its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

    [Mar 03, 2018] The poisonous Guardian about Hope Hicks by Tom McCarthy

    So this pro-Hillary bastion of Neoliberal innuentndo -- Guardian -- does not not like Hicks. As onecommneter noted " The poisonous Guardian which is so toxic I would advise folks not to use it even as an ass wipe, did not allow comments as is their custom now." Source
    Mar 03, 2018 | www.theguardian.com

    What is despicable pressitute is this guy: "The Washington Post has found that "members of the Trump campaign interacted with Russians at least 31 times throughout the campaign" in "at least 19 known meetings"."

    Hicks, 29, had the high-pressure job last summer of crafting , with the president, an explanation for his son Donald Trump Jr's secret meeting with Russians at Trump Tower in New York in 2016 – an explanation later revealed as false. More recently, Hicks was said to have run the botched White House response to domestic abuse allegations against former aide Rob Porter, with whom she has been linked romantically.

    ... ... ...

    Hicks aggressively defended the president-elect and his team against charges of inappropriate ties to Russian figures.

    "The campaign had no contact with Russian officials," she said. Two days after the election, she said: "We are not aware of any campaign representatives that were in touch with any foreign entities before yesterday, when Mr Trump spoke with many world leaders."

    The Washington Post has found that "members of the Trump campaign interacted with Russians at least 31 times throughout the campaign" in "at least 19 known meetings".

    Discrepancies such as those have perhaps accelerated Hicks' political education. On Tuesday, the House intelligence committee questioned her for close to nine hours about the campaign's Russia ties.

    Hicks refused to answer some of the most sensitive questions, including about the explanation for Trump Jr's meeting with Russians, according to House Democrat Adam Schiff.

    But Hicks was said to have made one concession, admitting to having told, on an unspecified number of occasions, certain "white lies" on the president's behalf.

    [Mar 02, 2018] Trump Is 'Losing a Limb' With the Departure of Hope Hicks

    Hope Hicks, President Trump's communications director and one of his longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she planned to leave the White House in the next few weeks.
    Mar 02, 2018 | www.nytimes.com

    When Hope Hicks walked into President Trump's private study on Wednesday to inform him that she planned to leave the White House -- concluding a can't-make-it-up run in which Ms. Hicks, a woman with zero political experience three years ago, became the closest aide to the most powerful man in the world -- the president responded like a father whose daughter had outgrown the nest.

    According to a person with knowledge of their conversation, Mr. Trump expressed an understanding of Ms. Hicks's desire to pursue a new phase of her life. But, the person added, he also acknowledged something else: that Ms. Hicks's happiness in her role had begun to wane lately, after a trying few weeks in the public glare.

    The departure of Ms. Hicks, arguably the least experienced person to ever hold the job of White House communications director, capped an astounding rise for a political neophyte whose seemingly implausible career hinged on a deep understanding of, and bottomless patience for, her mercurial charge.

    But as someone with a pull toward discretion -- Ms. Hicks, 29, who grew up in the buttoned-up suburb of Greenwich, Conn., the daughter and granddaughter of prominent public relations men -- seeing her name splashed across international tabloids had taken a toll.

    Advertisement Continue reading the main story

    In explaining her decision to friends, Ms. Hicks, a communications director who rarely spoke publicly, made clear that she had no interest in being at the center of the public conversation.

    Continue reading the main story

    Related Coverage

      Opinion Contributing Op-Ed Writer Will Hope Hicks Find Her Voice? MARCH 1, 2018 Hope Hicks to Leave Post as White House Communications Director FEB. 28, 2018 Hope Hicks Acknowledges She Sometimes Tells White Lies for Trump FEB. 27, 2018 As Other Aides Face Trump's Ire Over Rob Porter's Departure, Hope Hicks Is Praised FEB. 9, 2018 Hope Hicks: The Woman Who 'Totally Understands' Donald Trump JUNE 24, 2016
    Advertisement Continue reading the main story

    That aversion to the spotlight had become increasingly difficult to maintain.

    Ms. Hicks's role in helping write a statement by Donald J. Trump Jr. about a 2016 meeting with Russian officials has drawn attention from federal investigators. On Tuesday, she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee and made headlines for admitting that she had sometimes told fibs as part of her job.

    Last month, the man she had been dating, the former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, was accused by his former wives of domestic abuse, sparking an ongoing scandal that offered a glimpse of her closely guarded personal life and drew paparazzi to her apartment building. There were rumblings that Mr. Trump questioned Ms. Hicks's judgment after the White House initially defended Mr. Porter, although a bevy of administration officials, including the president's daughter Ivanka Trump, later vouched for Ms. Hicks in on-the-record interviews.

    Ms. Hicks had stopped monitoring news coverage of herself, restricting her television intake to Fox News, which she often watched on mute, assuming that the Trump-friendly network would rarely include her name on its chyrons.

    Friends who reached out to her, offering support or guidance, acknowledged that Ms. Hicks had been distressed. But they also received text messages from her in which she declared that she was tougher than people assumed.

    Ms. Hicks's career followed a curious trajectory. As a young model, she appeared on the covers of young adult paperbacks and in Ralph Lauren catalogs before going to work for Ms. Trump's apparel and licensing brand. Even after she had begun serving as an Oval Office gatekeeper, she maintained a low public profile, which fueled the fascination -- and sometimes disdain -- of those who watch national politics closely.

    Recent Comments

    paula 1 hour ago

    "I don't worry about Hope, I fully expert her to land on her feet," says Feldman.Seems she should land in jail on obstruction of justice...

    MS 1 hour ago

    One can already foresee the title of her future tell all book, ''Little White Lies".

    Emma 1 hour ago

    No one cares about hope hicks. I hope she never gets another job.

    MJJ Palo Alto, CA 21 hours ago

    Trump's relationship with Hope was always puzzling and oddly salacious. Hicks dated Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski while he was still married, to Alison Hardy. She later began dating former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter. This is not acceptable in the Me too and Times Up era. I am a woman and I have seen inappropriate office romances that adversely affected everyone in the office.

    Point is Trump's penchant for surrounding himself with beauty queens is inappropriate. Her behavior is also inappropriate. Then, there are the lies. Sometimes known as, "Alternative facts".

    Beautiful girl. She will have a great career at Fox.

    Dan88 Long Island NY 21 hours ago

    "Ms. Hicks's success was viewed as a product of other qualities, including her nuanced understanding of Mr. Trump's moods, her ability to subtly nudge him away from his coarser impulses..."

    She did that? When? And what on earth is a "nuanced understanding of Mr. Trump's moods?" Angry and angrier?

    [Mar 02, 2018] Hope Hicks Kept Detailed Diary At White House, Gets $10MM Book Offer Zero Hedge

    Mar 02, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com

    Hope Hicks Kept "Detailed Diary" At White House, Gets $10MM Book Offer

    by Tyler Durden Fri, 03/02/2018 - 15:55 21 SHARES

    Soon-to-be-former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks hasn't even left the West Wing yet, but unsurprisingly, she's already received a flood of offers from powerful publishers and producers promising eight-figure paydays if she's wiling to provide juicy insider details like those.

    A friend of Hicks' who spoke with the Daily Mail said the communications director - who once handled as many as 250 media requests per day - was "overwhelmed" by the response. As the Mail points out, the desirability of Hicks' story has increased because of her informal position as the "most glamorous person in the West Wing."

    One anonymous source from inside the publishing industry even went so far as to compare Hicks with Jackie Kennedy.

    One insider told the Mail that Hicks kept a diary of her time in the White House, which could be an incredible resource should she decide to write a memoir.

    What would it take to do your story as a mini-series or on the big screen? I can get the financing, like tomorrow, and make you rich and even more famous. You have an incredible story. Let's talk!'

    And since then Hick has been overwhelmed with messages offering millions of dollars in advances for book deals by major publishers, and offers from Hollywood to make biopics about her glamorous political and scandalous life.

    As one publishing executive told DailyMail.com, 'Next to Ivanka and Melania, Hope is the woman closest to the president, and knows all the secrets, all the foibles, all the quirks.

    'She's also the most glamorous White House female since Jackie Kennedy. Her story will be a blockbuster. I have the authority to offer her an advance of $10 million, and we're open to negotiate.'

    If she does decide to publish, it'd be prudent for Hicks to hold an auction. Hicks could probably walk away with an agreement to keep 15% of total sales.

    'If a book were to happen, it would undoubtedly be the subject of an auction among the major publishers, which would be a key factor in driving up the amount of the advance.'

    Another prestigious literary agent who has represented Pulitzer Prize-winning political journalists, among other high-profile, celebrity clients – and receives a fifteen percent commission on every book sold -- told DailyMail.com: 'Hope Hicks was a star Washington insider.

    'I always saw a book coming from her when the time was right. Now the time's right. Overnight she's become a potential goldmine.

    Several Trump confidants, employees and advisers have books in the works. Corey Lewandowski, Trump's first campaign manager who briefly dated Hicks during the campaign while he was married to another woman, published a book last year that earned high praise from Trump.

    Former Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced in December that he was publishing a West Wing tell-all of his own.

    And while we imagine Spicer knows where at least some of the bodies are buried, James Comey's book - "A Higher Honor: Truth, Lies and Leadership" - is set to be published in mid-April. It already has a sizable backlog of preorders.

    Hicks is turning 30 in October. During her time running the communications department, Hicks rarely gave interviews or on-the-record statements - which only deepened the mystique surrounding her personality. That and she famously dated Lewandowski and former Staff Secretary Rob Porter.

    We imagine, after all those months of silence, Hicks probably has something to say. The question is: Will she risk her relationship with the president to say it?

    [Mar 02, 2018] McMaster may be on his way out

    Notable quotes:
    "... According to MSNBC, H.R.McMaster may be on his way out , orchestrated by CoS Kelly and Sec Def. Mattis ..."
    Mar 02, 2018 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    The Beaver , 01 March 2018 at 05:21 PM

    According to MSNBC, H.R.McMaster may be on his way out , orchestrated by CoS Kelly and Sec Def. Mattis

    [Feb 23, 2018] The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster

    So one year ago McMaster was under attack and survived. Note that this was the time of appointment of the Special Prosecutor which changed the dynamics, probably preserving his scalp. This time might be different.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Washington Post ..."
    May 09, 2017 | foreignpolicy.com

    The Afghanistan strategy McMaster is pushing, with the support of Defense Secretary James Mattis, would send roughly 3,000-5,000 U.S. and NATO troops to Afghanistan, according to a separate source familiar with the internal deliberations. These troops would be sent to help bulk up the Afghan National Security Forces, which, after years of U.S. assistance, are still struggling against the Taliban, al Qaeda, and a small Islamic State presence in the country.

    According to the Washington Post , the new strategy "would authorize the Pentagon, not the White House, to set troop numbers in Afghanistan and give the military far broader authority to use airstrikes to target Taliban militants." The hope is that by increasing pressure on the Taliban, it will force them to the negotiating table with more favorable terms for Kabul and Washington. Sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan follows a decision made last year by then-President Barack Obama, who announced in July that 8,400 U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan through January 2017 because of the "precarious" security situation there, undoing his previous plan to draw down to 5,500 by the time he left office.

    The Post reported that "those opposed to the plan have begun to refer derisively to the strategy as 'McMaster's War,'" and this particular criticism is repeated in a handful of negative stories about McMaster that have already cropped up this week. For those plugged into the dicey world of Trump administration power plays, this slur has the hallmarks of a hit job by Bannon's team. (It's worth noting that the same people who oppose McMaster are no fans of Mattis's moderating influence on the president, but he's seen as politically untouchable for now.)

    [Feb 22, 2018] McMaster, Kelly On Their Way Out Zero Hedge

    Feb 22, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com

    In January, McMaster quashed rumors of his departure, telling reporters "I have a job and it is my intention to go as long and hard as I can in service of the President of the nation," adding that it was "a tremendous honor to do this job every day."

    Trump's first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, resigned shortly after taking office amid a controversy over whether he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.

    On Thursday, the Pentagon directed all inquiries about McMaster to the White House. "General McMaster works for President Trump. Any decision with regards to staff, the White House will make those determinations," said chief spokesperson Dana White. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday that Trump "still has confidence in General McMaster."

    A Source within the White House, leaking to CNN, reports that Trump can't stand McMaster's demeanor during briefings - and that the President considers his National Security Advisor to be "gruff and condescending."

    He prefers the briefing style of someone like CIA Director Mike Pompeo or Defense Secretary James Mattis, who patiently answer his questions, regardless of the premise. McMaster, meanwhile, is the person who delivers the news that Trump doesn't want to hear on a daily basis, according to the senior Republican source.

    The issue is not political but mostly stylistic, as McMaster and Mattis tend to discuss information before it is presented to the President, the same source added. - CNN

    Kelly and McMaster both declined to comment, however Reuters' sources were quick to add that "tensions could blow over, at least for now, as have previous episodes of discord between the president and other top officials who have fallen out of favor."

    4

    LetThemEatRand Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:18 Permalink

    So much for the "military is behind Trump" meme. Kudos to Trump for telling this guy where he can shove it after repeating Deep State propaganda.

    Sir Edge -> LetThemEatRand Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:18 Permalink

    Finally... 'Dereliction Of Duty' comes home to roost...


    Edgey...

    J S Bach -> Sir Edge Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:21 Permalink

    McSinister is the essence of Goldfinger in the old James Bond fiction. One couldn't envision a more stereotypical "worm-tonguesque" villain in charge of our armed forces and acting presidential "advisor".

    GUS100CORRINA -> Normalcy Bias Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:57 Permalink

    McMaster Finally Out? Pentagon Paving Way For Return To Military: Report

    My response: Looks like the POTUS is prepping for the Return of General Flynn.

    McMaster has some very suspicious associations and has been referenced in Q-ANON posts. He was an "OBOZO" plant.

    Also, it appears that "OBOZO's" LEGAL problems are growing by the day.

    "OBOZO" maybe the first POTUS in US history to be charged with TREASON. Also, KERRY is in a DEEP PILE OF SHIT as well. He directed the US State Department to provide 9 million dollars to her charity. This is ladies and gentlemen of ZH is BULLSHIT!!!!!!

    CORRUPTION and CRIME as far as the EYE can see for the last four POTUS office holders. It make me ashamed of my nation at times.

    May GOD bless, guide and protect President TRUMP and the TRUMP administration as they "DRAIN THE SWAMP".

    Chupacabra-322 -> Luc X. Ifer Thu, 02/22/2018 - 21:21 Permalink

    Flynn blew the whistle on Pure Evil War Criminal Treasonous Seditious Psychopath Obama, the CIA & State Dept. arming, funding & training terror organizations.

    The Criminal Deep State has had it for him ever since.

    gatorengineer -> J S Bach Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:52 Permalink

    Member of the council on foreign relations... Nough said? Trump sure likes Obama stooges for some reason

    directaction -> gatorengineer Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:54 Permalink

    Trump is refusing to start new wars.

    That's annoying the deep state rats inside the military.

    I sure wish Trump would stop all of Obama's wars, too.

    gatorengineer -> directaction Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:58 Permalink

    Boy you sure get a different news feed than I do.... Mine says we have heavy ground presence in Syria (didnt under Obowel), are on the verge of war with the NORKs after the Olympics, and our CIA has been stirring the shit pot in Iran....

    Does your news coverage come before of after the episodes of My little pony?

    The only difference between Trump and Hillary is Hillary has better hair. Follow what Trump actually does and not what he Tweets, HUGE difference. WE ARENT WINNING.

    loveyajimbo -> LetThemEatRand Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:30 Permalink

    McMaster is a Deep State maggot... but who on Trump's team is not??? Too many MIC Generals all begging for moar war for profit...

    Sessions is the biggest maggot... he has overseen the total breakdown of the rule of law in America and should be tarred and feathered.

    Navymugsy -> LetThemEatRand Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:40 Permalink

    The military is an arm of the deep state. Congratulations West Point, Annapolis, etc.

    squilmi -> LetThemEatRand Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:51 Permalink

    McMaster was NEVER with Trump. The military in general is.

    New_Meat -> nmewn Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:31 Permalink

    SecDef knows him (from in the sandbox) and might want/need him to fill a CinC slot. The pussified O crowd cut off the balls of many of the flag ranks and they need to be purged (Regan did that and brought in/up Starry and Papa Bear and Vuono and Art C-ski and the other knuckle draggers).

    POTUS might be getting his foreign policy situation sorted out. McMaster hasn't ever been a smooth team player within the Army structure--that would also endear him to Jim, but not suit him to a staff/advisor role.

    We can always blame it on Global Climate Change and the Rooskies--cover all the bases.

    lurker since 2012 Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:26 Permalink

    Fuck yea put him in Nork country. Fat boy and Monster McMaster can face off in the octagon.

    Previous post regarding McMaster...

    lurker since 2012 Tue, 02/20/2018 - 17:27 Permalink

    Monster McMaster opening greeting to the Munich security conference, "I know OUR good friend John McCain can't be here, as unfortunately he can't, but he brings you good wishes"....Then he proceeded to outline Russian Election bullshit. Cyber bot farm meddling invading Georgia BLA BLA BLA. This is why war is plausible, McMaster is Military SWAMP.

    Brazen Heist Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:37 Permalink

    Oh boy, some oversized ego tripping....the sheer hubris of it all....fuckers cannot see or admit to the gross amount of meddling they have done to the world, and yet react like little bitches when allegations are merely cooked up.

    I cannot believe that this is the lowly state of American political discourse in 2018 AD.

    Just another Rome, only with a much bigger budget for bullshit and weaponry.

    Dickguzinya Thu, 02/22/2018 - 20:50 Permalink

    Fire him. Forget the fourth star. He is undeserving. Another scumbag trying to upend President Trump's agenda/objectives. The scumbag conveniently doesn't mention that the Russian Hacking didn't have an impact on the election. This untrustworthy piece of shit never should have been brought into the fold. And don't even think about allowing him back into the military. Fuck off you turncoat.

    Green2Delta Thu, 02/22/2018 - 21:06 Permalink

    This guy was the commanding officer of 3rd ACR while I was in. Only time I saw him in Iraq was when he flew down to tell us how sorry he was, or something like that, after we lost 1/3 of our platoon. The rest of the time he was in northern Iraq where it was safe. While those of us unlucky enough to be in 3rd Squadron were stuck down on the south side of Baghdad. If you read his bio they make it out like he personally did all kinds of Rambo shit. I guess that's they way it is for officers. Those guys will slit your throat for the next shiny thing to stick on their uniform.

    Even back then my buddy SSG Judy, just talked to him an hour ago, told me McMaster was being groomed for bigger roles. He definitely nailed that one.

    NoWayJose Thu, 02/22/2018 - 22:35 Permalink

    These two and Mad Dog keep whispering "Evil Russia" at Trump and demanding US troops keep poking a stick at the bear - meanwhile Trump knows there is no collusion. How does that square up?

    [Feb 17, 2018] What s good for the Jews Stephen Miller by Marcus Alethia

    Notable quotes:
    "... Culture of Critique ..."
    "... The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State. ..."
    Feb 11, 2018 | www.unz.com

    Young right-leaning Jews don't have many Jewish figures to look up to. Illustrious elder scholar and "alt right godfather" Paul Gottfried . Taki columnist and revisionist David Cole Stein . Brilliant neo-reactionary thinker and half-Jew Curtis Yarvin ( Mencius Moldbug ).

    But thankfully we now have Stephen Miller, the 32-year old Trump advisor and immigration hard-liner recently blamed by Democratic senators for scuttling their desired amnesty deal for illegal immigrants. Transparently, the Dems are trying to spoil Trump's relationship with Miller, as they did with Bannon, by insinuating that Miller is pulling Trump's strings. Of course it is absurd to suggest that Trump is anything but his own man. But Miller is a crucially important figure in the Trump administration and his influence is, from what I can tell, entirely positive for the interest of Americans concerned with mass immigration and the very tangible threat of Europeans and people of European descent becoming minorities in their own countries.

    Jews, and Americans overall, need more Stephen Millers. Brash, unafraid, quick-witted, verbally formidable, and unabashedly "America First," Miller is a powerful spokesman for economic nationalist positions , anti-globalism , and for preserving this country's original culture and people against the Democratic scheme to flood it with illegal and legal immigrants whose main gift to America will be their reliable Democratic votes in every future election. Miller is roundly despised by the establishment for his positions and rhetoric. Nancy Pelosi has called Miller a "White supremacist," while others on the left have compared him to Joseph Goebbels . He's the only Jew I can think of offhand that the mainstream media actively encourages the country to hate.

    But we Jews should be honest: for every mensch like Miller, we have shmucks like Tim Wise , Noel Ignativ , Rob Reiner , Charles Schumer, and thousands of other high-profile Jews who seem to hate or fear White Christian Americans and seek to hasten their demise as the ethnic majority of this country. Yes, we Jews have Miller, but we also have the ADL and the SPLC -- powerful well-funded groups who conduct witch hunts against anyone who dares speak out against multiculturalism, open-borders, globalist doctrine, or who dares to criticize Jews. Jewish political influence in the US is still overwhelmingly negative, despite the great work of a few good Jews.

    As an American (first) and Jew (second) who supports Trump and Trumpism, the European New Right, and anyone concerned with the long-term impacts of mass immigration, I want to see more Jews, particularly younger, Generation Z Jews move to our ideological side. I have tried to explore my own motivations for this. Why do I find myself so far to the Right on the issue of immigration and of protecting European cultures and peoples? Why do I hope other Jews follow me on this ideological journey? And there is growing indication they are.

    First of all, it has nothing to do with being "self-hating", a common but largely asinine Jewish slur used against Jews who step out of line. I neither hate myself or Jews collectively. Like many non-Jewish critics of Jews, I just want Jews to stop attacking Europeans and their descendants in their former colonies by pushing destructive ideologies and policies.

    Secondly, I agree with the major criticism of Jews and certainly of Jewish activists: that they seek to do what they think is good for Jews, while hiding their ethnocentrism by pretending their interests are universalist. Self-interest is often disguised as "tikun olam," bringing light to the world.

    Most importantly, accepting some of the recent critique of the JQ, or the Jewish role in the West's current situation -- without thinking the situation is simple, monocausal, or part of a grand conspiracy, I view it as important to think about what Jews can do positively in the current year.

    It seems clear that ethnic Jewish activists in the 20 th century had a conscious or subconscious fear of European Christians maintaining their ethnic or cultural identities, and this manifested itself in the various movements MacDonald brilliantly analyzes in the Culture of Critique : the anthropology of race, psychoanalysis, communism, the Frankfort School and Cultural Marxism. When Jewish activists pushed through immigration reform in the US, the effects were absolutely transformative. Jews largely achieved their goals, or maybe even surpassed them. Now, more than 50 years later, we can re-examine the question: was this actually good for the Jews?

    To me the answer to this question is a resounding NO. To look at just one simple factor: the people pouring into the US in recent years are no more Jew-friendly then the White Americans who made up almost 90% of the county in 1960 were. In fact, they are likely to be considerably less Jew friendly. Mexicans have no special relationship with Jews or with Israel. Neither do Somalis, or Syrians, or Afghans, or MS-13. Identity-politics obsessed leftist college activists have already made it quite clear that Jews who side against them are to be viewed as White s -- their Jewishness will not protect them. This trend will continue, and Jews will become Whites in the eyes of the many people who hate Whites. However different things may have looked to our parents' or grandparents' generation, there is no tangible benefit today to ordinary American Jews today from the importation of quarter of Mexico's population, or to ordinary French Jews from a million new Muslims. To think otherwise is to deny reality.

    A main motivation for Jewish activism on immigration and other related issues was Jewish fear of being a major outgroup in American society. Perhaps these fears may have seemed real in the wake of the Second World War, or perhaps even then they were delusional. Today, they seem absurd. Maybe it is a generational thing, or maybe my Jewish identification is too weak, or maybe it was the context I grew up in; but I just can't understand American Jews having feelings of fear or hostility towards White Christian Americans in general. I grew up around White Christians; work with them; live amongst them; and count many as friends, neighbors, colleagues or teachers. Jewish neurosis or not, a generalized Jewish fear of American Whites is, in my view, insane. Granted, things could change in the future if we reach such a desperate state that American Whites begin to focus on some of the negative influence Jews have had in changing their society, and collectively determine to do something about it. But flooding the country with immigrants doesn't lessen the possibility that will happen. Quite the opposite, it increases it.

    Given that, what is really best for the Jews? As American Whites slowly begin to wake up to the reality of their own ethnic interests, what kind of Jews do we want as our representatives in the public sphere: Stephen Miller or Charles Schumer?

    From my point of view, what is "best for the Jews" is to realize that while Jewish elites have been pushing a corrosive and destructive agenda for 50 years or more, the rest of us are under no obligation to support it. Being Jewish doesn't mean one has to be a leftist or multiculturalist booster, or work to disenfranchise White majorities in traditionally White countries. Stephen Miller is proof of that.

    But there is another response to the question "what is good for the Jews?" that is also worth serious consideration by American Jews. The response is: who cares? Seriously, look at the current state of Jews in America. Jews have an extremely disproportionate share of control over the media, entertainment industry, banking and financial sector, law, medicine, academia, and important policy-making institutions. Jews are the wealthiest ethnic group in the country. I don't allege any conspiracy here. Jews' tendency to position ourselves close to power is well described in Benjamin Ginsberg's The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State. Jews have high IQs and are excellent verbalists, and obviously Jewish nepotism exists as well. While I abhor the contemporary politicized notion of "privilege" that minority groups use to cover up their lack of rational argument, it would be dishonest to not admit that if there is a privileged ethnic group in the US today, that group is not Whites as a whole, but Jews.

    It is impossible to look at the situation objectively and not see that generally things have been going very well for American Jews, and certainly for Jewish elites, for some time. There is thus no reason to spend time and energy thinking about what is good for the Jews. Even if things do go wildly wrong for diaspora Jews in the future, we have a viable ethnostate that we know will take us in; a luxury few other peoples in the world possess.

    There are abundant reasons however to worry about the welfare of Europeans and people of European descent. The migration crisis in Europe and the reality of looming major demographic increases in Africa and the Middle East that could drive much larger waves of migrants are rapidly creating a potential future in which entire peoples could become minorities in their own countries. In the US, demographic changes due to migration and considerably higher fertility rates among immigrants will alter the country permanently unless drastic changes to immigration policies are made. Jews need to focus our "tikun olam" on the moral necessity of protecting ethnic homelands and cultures in Europe, and the neo-Europes. In Stephen Miller we see a Jew who seems to understand what needs to be done. There is no reason other American Jews can't follow his lead.

    In my view, in 2018 what's good for the Jews is for us to stop thinking about what's good for the Jews and start thinking about the right to self-determination and survival for the people we live amongst: the people who have facilitated the most stunning successes of our tribe's history in diaspora to date, Americans, Europeans, and people of European descent. (Republished from The Occidental Observer by permission of author or representative)

    [Feb 15, 2018] Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more. I really can not see what Tillerson and Mattis have to offer Turkey other than threats.

    Feb 15, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more.

    The terrorists are mentally ill. They would kill millions if they could.

    Implacable.

    Thus, the reason for the rise of Russia and the influence and respect for Putin. Russians will kill terrorists but embrace Islamic people who want peaceful cooperation.

    Peace is a long way off. The Hegemon abhors Peace and has the means and ideology to create chaos, death and destruction anywhere on the globe.

    The American economic system depends on MIC expenditures, debt, waste, corruption, and fiscal abuse.

    Nothing much will change until multi-polar economic forces come into dominance and coerce the American changes. Those are a long way off, also, though a few of those forces are coming into view.

    Posted by: Red Ryder | Feb 12, 2018 12:21:31 PM | 2


    ConfusedPundit , Feb 12, 2018 1:33:01 PM | 4

    Mattis is coming to Turkey soon.

    Pentagon statement today: 550 million dolar, 2018 budget, for PKK.
    (Meaning: You can defeat terrorism, but you can't you beat our purse!)

    There is a massive propaganda campaing targeting Turkey in the past 2-3 days. It's coming from international sources. BBC, AFP etc.

    This is the main theme

    "Turks, beware of Russia, Syria and Iran! They are your enemy. Israel is your friend! The USA is a superpower, obey!"

    I believe nobody, no muslim targets America or ordinary American people for that mater! So any incident should be received as provocation.
    Those who pull the strings in the USA, behind the doors, maybe under risk though.

    IMHO

    jsn , Feb 12, 2018 1:55:10 PM | 7
    Mattis/Pentagon just doing business development for the MIC
    nonsense factory , Feb 12, 2018 11:39:44 PM | 32
    @colin 3, Yes, I used to try to update the wikipedia page on the TAPI pipeline and while some things remained on the site, most of it was edited away. Anything to do with Exxon, Chevron, US military actions along the pipeline route, Hillary Clinton's cheerleading for the project during the Obama era, actions taken by the US State Department in summer 2001 (pre 9-11) aimed at pressuring the Taliban into signing off on the deal (in exchange for handing over bin Laden, etc.) all gone. Not worth the bother; you're up against PR firms with full-time staff devoted to sanitizing everything.

    @4 CP, the corporate media PR stream, it's something I can't even watch anymore (I follow it with Google News search just to see what the headlines are, but it's basically predictable content so that's enough). Here and there across the web there are some honest discussions though:
    https://thewire.in/219467/russia-turkey-iran-triangle-economic-interests-paramount/

    I really can't see what Tillerson and Mattis have to offer Turkey other than threats.

    xaderp , Feb 13, 2018 3:47:05 AM | 35
    I think you are reading Mattis's comments wrong.

    The moment the USA pulls its troops out of the middle east, a bomb will go off at Times Square .

    john , Feb 13, 2018 6:07:37 AM | 43
    Yeah, Right says:

    "If America Wasn't America, The United States Would Be Bombing It".
    Damn, that's funny

    yeah, i just read the article , and while the title is indeed humorous, the content is decidedly not. but it's a good synopsis of the unprecedented amount of death and destruction wrought on this undeserving planet by the US of Argh.

    ConfusedPundit , Feb 13, 2018 12:12:09 PM | 49
    What's this man talking about? US led NATO has been terrorising another member, Turkey.
    By means of 3 Proxies: PKK, ISIS, Gulenists.

    It's a misconception that the Turks and Americans want a war.
    However, both Americans and Turks do want a war against the Neocons!

    Perhaps it's time for a false flag nuke at Times Sq or Taksim Sq or Tiananmen Sq or Trafalgar Sq.

    Eric Neoconman the chief provocator.

    Turkey Is Out of Control.Time for the U.S. to Say So

    Partisan , Feb 14, 2018 5:57:41 AM | 72
    The West and in particular Amerikkans constantly use the Circular Argument in its public relation and propaganda statements. That kind of attitude works with an allies, nominal or otherwise, in the cases where sovereignty/national interest is threatened that kind of deception is treated just like that, deception.
    Unfortunately Tayyip has been used as client state for long time, from Libya to Syria where he experienced sudden awakening.

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/erdogan-slams-support-kurdish-ypg-fighters-180214070010174.html


    The US has reiterated that it has no plans to withdraw its forces from Manbij.

    Paul Funk, the commander of US forces in Syria and Iraq, made a recent visit to Manbij and said that the US and its partners in Syria would hit back if attacked.

    "You hit us, we will respond aggressively. We will defend ourselves," Funk said.

    Erdogan took aim at that, saying: "It is obvious that those, who say they will 'give a sharp response' if they were hit, have not been hit by the Ottoman slap."

    He, he, he....that would be something to see.

    [Feb 14, 2018] Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more.

    Feb 14, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Mattis is probably mentally ill. He'll gleefully kill millions more.

    The terrorists are mentally ill. They would kill millions if they could.

    Implacable.

    Thus, the reason for the rise of Russia and the influence and respect for Putin. Russians will kill terrorists but embrace Islamic people who want peaceful cooperation.

    Peace is a long way off. The Hegemon abhors Peace and has the means and ideology to create chaos, death and destruction anywhere on the globe.

    The American economic system depends on MIC expenditures, debt, waste, corruption, and fiscal abuse.

    Nothing much will change until multi-polar economic forces come into dominance and coerce the American changes. Those are a long way off, also, though a few of those forces are coming into view.

    Posted by: Red Ryder | Feb 12, 2018 12:21:31 PM | 2

    [Feb 13, 2018] Rob Porter's First Ex-Wife Criticizes Kellyanne Conway for Defending Hope Hicks - Breitbart

    Notable quotes:
    "... State of the Union ..."
    Feb 13, 2018 | www.breitbart.com

    Conway appeared Sunday on CNN's State of the Union with Jake Tapper to address questions surrounding Porter's departure, which came last week after accusations that he had abused his two ex-wives.

    Tapper asked about Porter's reported relationship with Hicks, and concerns expressed by Jennie Willoughby, Porter's second ex-wife, that Porter would abuse Hicks, too. Conway said that she did not worry about Hicks because she is "strong."

    [Feb 11, 2018] Hope Hicks: Trump s confidante finds herself center stage in scandal

    Feb 11, 2018 | www.theguardian.com

    Throughout Donald Trump's campaign and relentlessly chaotic presidency, the single constant presence at his side, outside of his family, has been the 29-year-old former Ralph Lauren model and White House communications director Hope Hicks.

    While aides and advisers fall in and out of favor, Hicks has remained Trump's Oval Office gatekeeper, companion and sounding board, offering consistent loyalty.

    But now Hicks has herself been cast into two plotlines currently playing out in the presidential daytime reality-soap.

    In one, Hicks features as a likely target in the special counsel Robert Mueller's effort to acquire cooperating witnesses in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Hicks has reportedly been interviewed by Mueller's investigators.

    In the other, her prized judgment is being called into question over Rob Porter, the senior White House aide accused of physically abusing two ex-wives and whom Hicks has reportedly been dating.

    Publicly, Trump has offered his support for Hicks, saying: "Hope is absolutely fantastic. She was with the campaign from the beginning, and I could not ask for anything more. Hope is smart, very talented and respected by all."

    But in private, the president is believed to have issued rare criticism of a woman who by some estimates is the most influential figure in the administration after Trump himself.

    At issue is whether Hicks, who also served as communications director during the campaign, relaxed her judgment owing to her relationship with Porter.

    White House officials have said Hicks knew that an ex-girlfriend of Porter's had informed aides that both of Porter's ex-wives had said he was violent. Hicks continued to see him and did not tell the president. Porter denies the allegations against him.

    If the unfolding episode calls into question the maturity of Hicks' judgement, she clearly is invaluable as a personal assistant. In his campaign memoir, Let Trump Be Trump, Corey Lewandowski, the early campaign strategist – with whom, coincidentally, Hicks also had an affair – described her steaming Trump's suit while he is wearing it.

    "She's really quite talented and able," Christopher Ruddy, a close friend of the president and chief executive of the conservative website Newsmax, told the Washington Post .

    But her professional experience, especially where is comes to matters that carry potentially legal consequences, is limited. Hicks came to the Trumps through a PR firm that represented the Trump Organization. The family later hired her away to work exclusively for them, furnishing her with responsibilities that included working on Ivanka Trump's fashion line.

    A GQ magazine profile in June 2016 described her: "She is a hugger and a people pleaser, with long brown hair and green eyes, a young woman of distinctly all-American flavor – the sort that inspires Tom Petty songs, not riots."

    But her looks and fashion background can cause people to underestimate her. She has a background in PR and is a graduate of Dallas' Southern Methodist University.

    [Feb 07, 2018] CIA False Flag Likely in Drone Attack on Russia's Syrian Bases by Finian CUNNINGHAM

    Notable quotes:
    "... What's more the Russian government appears to have the incriminating evidence on who sanctioned the drone attacks against the Russian air base at Hmeimim and its naval port at Tartus on January 6. ..."
    "... Furthermore, the drones were unlikely to have been made by Syrian militants. Russian analysis of the explosive PENT substance indicates that Ukraine was the source. That points to the Americans as the bridging agency between Ukraine and Syria. ..."
    "... Another key factor is that at the time of the attacks, Russian military detected a US Poseidon surveillance aircraft in proximity over the Syrian coastal area. The Poseidon would have the ability to guide the drones to the precise location of the Russian bases. Although the plane is commonly thought of as part of the US Navy fleet, that does not preclude the CIA having their own Poseidon aircraft. ..."
    "... It is also significant that Crimean lawmaker Ruslan Balbek has recently claimed that American Poseidon aircraft are being used to mount drone attacks by the US-backed Kiev regime. Balbek went further and said be believes the objective is to conduct a false flag attack on the minority Tatar community in Crimea. The "atrocity" would then be pinned on the Crimean authorities which the Western media would in turn amplify as condemnation of Russia. ..."
    "... "Those aircraft were only camouflaged – I want to emphasize this – to look like handicraft production. In fact, it is quite obvious that there were elements of high-tech nature there," Putin said. ..."
    "... For its part, the Pentagon has categorically denied US involvement in the drone incidents. At a press conference in Washington DC last week, Marine Corps Lieutenant General Kenneth F McKenzie Jr said: "The United States was not involved in any way with the drone attack on Russian bases at any time." ..."
    "... If so then that points to the other candidate being the CIA. After all, as US-based political analyst Randy Martin commented for this column, it is the CIA which has been the main driver behind the entire American drone weapon and surveillance program around the world, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Ukraine to a swathe of African countries. ..."
    "... Given the routine clandestine and autonomous nature of the CIA, it is conceivable that neither the Pentagon nor even the Trump White House would be aware of all the agency's operations. The agency is apt to go rogue at any time, and the lack of knowledge among other branches of government in Washington affords the all-important foil of "plausible denial". ..."
    "... Here is a speculative, but credible scenario: CIA operatives on the ground in Syria launch a swarm of armed drones on the Russian bases. The rickety design of the UAVs is aimed at giving the appearance of Turkish-backed militants in Idlib province. As Putin remarked, the objective was to scapegoat Turkey as complicit. If that worked, then relations between Moscow and Ankara, as well as Tehran, would become acutely strained. Washington is known to be unhappy with the rapprochement between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ..."
    "... The hi-tech navigation equipment and explosives onboard the drones, plus the telltale presence of an American Poseidon surveillance aircraft in the skies above suggest the involvement of a US state agency – the CIA. ..."
    Jan 17, 2018 | www.strategic-culture.org

    The audacious multiple-drone attack on Russia's military bases in Syria is increasingly looking like a false flag carried out by the American Central Intelligence Agency. Sophisticated technology and a Ukrainian connection indicate that the swarm attack with 13 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was not the work solely of Syrian anti-government militants.

    What's more the Russian government appears to have the incriminating evidence on who sanctioned the drone attacks against the Russian air base at Hmeimim and its naval port at Tartus on January 6.

    The weapons failed to execute their deadly mission. Of the 13 drones used, seven were shot down by Russian Pantsir S-1 air defenses and six were safely landed by Russian electronic jamming technology. Those captured intact UAVs will have provided forensic information about what agency authored the plot. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said coyly, "We know who did it", without as of yet specifying the culprit.

    Images of the UAVs released by the Russian Ministry of Defense showed rudimentary construction from what appeared to be plywood.

    However, the navigation technology and explosives onboard were sophisticated and professionally made. This was no amateurish mission, as might have been expected if militants alone had carried it out.

    Furthermore, the drones were unlikely to have been made by Syrian militants. Russian analysis of the explosive PENT substance indicates that Ukraine was the source. That points to the Americans as the bridging agency between Ukraine and Syria.

    Another key factor is that at the time of the attacks, Russian military detected a US Poseidon surveillance aircraft in proximity over the Syrian coastal area. The Poseidon would have the ability to guide the drones to the precise location of the Russian bases. Although the plane is commonly thought of as part of the US Navy fleet, that does not preclude the CIA having their own Poseidon aircraft.

    It is also significant that Crimean lawmaker Ruslan Balbek has recently claimed that American Poseidon aircraft are being used to mount drone attacks by the US-backed Kiev regime. Balbek went further and said be believes the objective is to conduct a false flag attack on the minority Tatar community in Crimea. The "atrocity" would then be pinned on the Crimean authorities which the Western media would in turn amplify as condemnation of Russia.

    On the Syrian attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week at a meeting with senior Russian media executives that the culprit was not Turkey even though the drones were initiated from the northern Syrian province of Idlib where Turkish military forces are associated with militant groups.

    "The attacks were provocations to destroy relations between Russia, Turkey and Iran. They were provocateurs, but they were not Turks," said Putin.

    Russia has yet to publicly attribute explicit blame for who was behind the drone operation. But the Kremlin appears to be confident in its incriminating information.

    "Those aircraft were only camouflaged – I want to emphasize this – to look like handicraft production. In fact, it is quite obvious that there were elements of high-tech nature there," Putin said.

    The Russian president appeared to address the culprit with a cryptic remark: "You know that I know," he said.

    For its part, the Pentagon has categorically denied US involvement in the drone incidents. At a press conference in Washington DC last week, Marine Corps Lieutenant General Kenneth F McKenzie Jr said: "The United States was not involved in any way with the drone attack on Russian bases at any time."

    Another Pentagon spokesmen said accusations of American complicity were "ridiculous" and "reckless".

    The US military chiefs may be genuinely speaking honestly – as far as they know about the circumstances. In other words, it is plausible that the Pentagon was not involved in the drone attacks.

    If so then that points to the other candidate being the CIA. After all, as US-based political analyst Randy Martin commented for this column, it is the CIA which has been the main driver behind the entire American drone weapon and surveillance program around the world, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Ukraine to a swathe of African countries.

    Given the routine clandestine and autonomous nature of the CIA, it is conceivable that neither the Pentagon nor even the Trump White House would be aware of all the agency's operations. The agency is apt to go rogue at any time, and the lack of knowledge among other branches of government in Washington affords the all-important foil of "plausible denial".

    Here is a speculative, but credible scenario: CIA operatives on the ground in Syria launch a swarm of armed drones on the Russian bases. The rickety design of the UAVs is aimed at giving the appearance of Turkish-backed militants in Idlib province. As Putin remarked, the objective was to scapegoat Turkey as complicit. If that worked, then relations between Moscow and Ankara, as well as Tehran, would become acutely strained. Washington is known to be unhappy with the rapprochement between Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    The hi-tech navigation equipment and explosives onboard the drones, plus the telltale presence of an American Poseidon surveillance aircraft in the skies above suggest the involvement of a US state agency – the CIA.

    Washington's agenda in Syria has nothing to do with defeating terrorism. It is to propagate instability and chaos to undermine the Syrian government of President Assad and allied Russian achievement in overcoming the US regime-change plot. Nothing would please the American agenda more than for Russia, Turkey and Iran to bust up their detente in Syria.

    The CIA has the expertise and technological capability to mount the sophisticated drone attack on the Russian bases. It also has the motivation to carry it out to further its regime-change intrigues. Who gains?

    Still, there is another wild card in the pack, as analyst Randy Martin posits. He says: "The swarm drone attack was probably the first time that such a tactic was ever used in military records. It may have been carried out not only as a false flag to blame Turkey, but also as a way for the operatives to test Russian air defenses and signals intelligence."

    Martin added: "The danger is that we can expect more such attacks, perhaps with deadly consequences, against Russian forces in Syria as well as against Crimea and separatists in Eastern Ukraine."

    The implications are grave. If it is confirmed that the CIA were behind the drone attack on Russian bases in Syria, then that is tantamount to an act of war by the Americans – regardless of it being actioned by a rogue agency.

    That might explain why the Kremlin is holding its cards very close to its chest on the matter. This is explosive.

    [Jan 31, 2018] Chief lunatic McMaster will levitate with enthusiasm for more war.

    Notable quotes:
    "... General Flynn had warned Trump during the campaign before election and afterward that CIA briefers were lying to him. Flynn took over briefing Trump himself and that ended when they got Flynn out. ..."
    Jan 31, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Red Ryder | Jan 29, 2018 2:49:34 PM | 4

    In the WH it will be NSC adviser and chief lunatic McMaster. He will levitate with enthusiasm for more war.

    The briefings Trump gets are packed with lies and he has grown to trust them.

    The entire foreign policy is so different from his stated goals and intentions that it is clear he is fed fairy tales of success and bogus estimates of what the US can accomplish.

    Last weeks Voltairnet.org piece by Thierry Meyssan indicated that Trump did not know what his planners were doing.

    "The president Trump had not been informed of the plan Votel-McGurk. The secretary of Defense, James Mattis, confirmed to his men the instructions of the White House against the jihadists. However Votel and McGurk are still in place." -- Thierry Meyssan

    General Flynn had warned Trump during the campaign before election and afterward that CIA briefers were lying to him. Flynn took over briefing Trump himself and that ended when they got Flynn out.

    We have a President misled who is told bogus results based on biased input data and reports.

    Meyssan has been crazy in love with Trump for a year, so for him to report this shows he knows things are being setup for Trump to be trapped in Syria.

    harrylaw , Jan 29, 2018 3:40:40 PM | 6
    The Neocons have the perfect candidate to implement those mad cap schemes...
    John Bolton Remains Leading Candidate to Replace H. R. McMaster http://nationalinterest.org/feature/john-bolton-remains-leading-candidate-replace-h-r-mcmaster-24232?page=2

    [Jan 20, 2018] As of today, Gen. Mathis exposing the new Us Defense Strategy warned that: The US will counter any threat to America s democracy experiment in the world, if necessary with military force

    Jan 20, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    CarlD | Jan 19, 2018 11:38:25 AM | 56

    I am afraid, if one is to believe Mathis words, that the Syrian, Ukrainian and Korean potential confrontations will lead to exchanges that will force us into wars on several theaters in the very near future.

    As of today, Gen. Mathis exposing the sew Us Defense Strategy warned that: The US will counter any "threat to America's democracy experiment" in the world, if necessary with military force, the Pentagon chief threatened.

    He singled out Russia and China as "adversaries", a far cry form the "partners" designation used by Russia in designing the USA. He vowed: the US will respond with lethal force.

    So the stage is set for escalation of escalation in several theaters. How long will the bear be poked and the dragon provoked before retaliation ensues?

    I am afraid that war looks more and more certain in 2018.

    james , Jan 19, 2018 12:49:13 PM | 62

    @40 b... thanks for that... the place was getting out of hand.. you are becoming too popular..

    @56 carl... it is an outrageous statement from mattis, any way you read it!

    "The US will counter any threat to America's democracy experiment in the world..."

    usa as country that gets to dictate its agenda anywhere in the world.. it would explain why they want to circumvent any international body that they don't already control too, like the un.. america's democracy experiment is imposing the us$ as world currency under the threat of their military.. it is already starting to fall apart on all accounts which explains mattis's anxiousness in representing these same undemocratic structures and institutions he refers to as 'america's ''democracy'' experiment'... he needs to get a gig in hollywood at comedy central.. he never found his true calling..

    harrylaw , Jan 19, 2018 1:16:21 PM | 63
    "We will modernize key capabilities," Mattis said. "Investments in space and cyberspace, nuclear deterrent forces, missile defense, advanced autonomous systems and resilient and agile logistics will provide our high-quality troops what they need to win." [Sputnik News]
    Just two quotes from 'Mad dog' Mattis which prove he needs to be put in an asylum.
    "I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill you all".
    "Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact."
    Temporarily Sane , Jan 19, 2018 1:52:11 PM | 64
    @56 CarlD
    He singled out Russia and China as "adversaries", a far cry form the "partners"
    designation used by Russia in designing the USA. He vowed: the US will
    respond with lethal force.

    Actions speak louder than words. The US is scared of two things: 1) a military conflict where its troops get slaughtered wholesale, and 2) going up against any army or regular military force it can't destroy from the air. Whatever happens in the near future we can rest assured Uncle Scam won't be engaging in direct hostilities with China or Russia.

    dh , Jan 19, 2018 2:03:17 PM | 66
    @63 "Investments in space and cyberspace, nuclear deterrent forces, missile defense, advanced autonomous systems and resilient and agile logistics will provide our high-quality troops what they need to win."

    Nice for the high-quality troops. Sounds like they should be totally risk-free. But I don't share Mad Dog's faith in technology. Looks like an accident waiting to happen.

    karlof1 , Jan 19, 2018 3:37:08 PM | 72
    Mattis opens his mouth and reveals his level of ignorance when it comes to understanding the Outlaw US Empire's history--it's certainly not a "democracy experiment," nor has it ever tried to install a democracy anywhere on the planet. I'd bet he's just as ignorant when it comes to military history, too. He reminds me of the ignorant brute Sgt. Snorkel from the Beatle Bailey comic strip. The so-called "new" "defense posture" is no more than a tidied-up version of the two that preceded it: What we say goes; either you're with us or against us.

    By way of rebuttal, I highly recommend reading this interview of Hassan Nasrallah from 3 Jan 2018, particularly his remarks about differences in the quality of soldiers from The Resistance versus those of the enemy--IDF, NATO, USA, Daesh--and why they exist.

    Contrary to all the hype about the Empire being a new energy exporting colossus, it needed to import LNG to keep its East Coast dwellings warm, but the cargo seems to have found a better price elsewhere. Just how will it displace Russian gas from the market when it can't provide enough domestic supply?

    Meanwhile, Tillerson pulls an Albright : "Signs of starvation and death in North Korea indicate that US diplomatic strategy works fine, says the secretary of state." Is he being two-faced? You bet! From last year : "We're not your enemy, we're not your threat..."

    Ignorant, lying, immoral are just a few of the important behavioral traits of those leading faces of the Outlaw US Empire. And my historical investigations prove such traits have been in the forefront since its inception. Guess we can thank its tutor, the British Empire.

    virgile , Jan 19, 2018 5:14:33 PM | 79
    January 19, 2018 at 10:10 pm GMT • 100 Words

    The US administration either is very smart in bluffing to temporarily reassure its panicking regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia or it is living in the la-la land of an incompetence close to stupidity.

    Do they really believe that the Russians will allow the USA to rob their victory in Syria over ISIS? Or that the Turks will stay idle while the USA is building a Kurdish military entity on their border? Or that Iran and Syria will allow the partitioning of Syria and the US illegal long term presence in the region?
    The USA administration is posed for dramatic blowbacks and reshuffling of alliances in the region.Maybe that is why it is running like a headless hen!

    Ghost Ship , Jan 19, 2018 6:52:28 PM | 88
    This will damage Trump with his base. Reducing the involvement of the United States military abroad was one of the more important commitments he made to his base and now he has broken that commitment and quite a few of his base are disappointed. Even if it's just a couple of hundred thousand of them, there goes the next presidential election for Trump and the Republicans. By forgetting about Russia-gate, focusing on his foreign military involvements, and provided the Democratic candidate is not a Clinton, the presidency is for there for taking by the Democrats. Having Tulsi Gabbard on the ticket would help.
    The only reservation I have is if Trump is stiffing the generals in the White House and sometime in the future pulls the plug on all those interventions then he'll remain in the White House for another four years.
    Mike K. , Jan 19, 2018 7:08:43 PM | 90
    Tillerson could have been speaking for Trump, or Obama, or Bush - under whose regime the Likudnik/neocons/Zionists were able to foment a policy coup while using the OSP to concoct lies for Israel's long-desired war.

    https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/trump-isnt-another-hitler-he-s-another-obama-51ea7db498b4

    https://www.activistpost.com/2018/01/new-trump-admin-policy-on-syria-is-the-same-as-obamas-and-hillary-clintons.html


    While there are generally multiple motives for entry into wars, only one is whitewashed. As Phil Giraldi put it:

    ""Why doesn't anyone ever speak honestly about the six-hundred-pound gorilla in the room? Nobody has mentioned Israel in this conference and we all know it's American Jews with all their money and power who are supporting every war in the Middle East for Netanyahu? Shouldn't we start calling them out and not letting them get away with it?"

    https://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2017/09/21/1015592-americas-jews-are-driving-americas-wars/

    They have also very heavily figured, neocon and neoliberal Jews both, in promoting the #Russiahoax in media and on the hill.

    http://russia-insider.com/en/its-time-drop-jew-taboo/ri22186


    Here's where we are, as the same cabal cheerlead for war on Iran (Lebanon must be first) a you are either committed to stopping the drive to war by all cognizable social and pitical forces, or you are not.

    The time for letting cries of 'anti-Semite' preclude FAIR dis ussuon of the role of Jews and the Israel Lobby is over.

    Those who censor this necessary component of analysis should be deemed confederates of the bankers, MIC, transnationals, and Zionist Jews who have been driving wars for decades.

    With millions dead, playtime is over. Those censoring the truth side with the warmongers.

    [Jan 17, 2018] The Russian "Zap" can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were.

    Notable quotes:
    "... To add a bit;" The ISIS /US seem to want to recreate the "Caliphate" (The southern bit of east Syria was supposed to form the village "basis" with Raqqua and Mosul etc the jam on the top. The SDF have released a number of ISIS "captives" recently. (Plus a whole lot that mysteriously became SDF at the moment they might have got hit by Russian aerial bombardments). ..."
    "... Note that the Tanf US base is also training and arming ISIS and other rebels (and a seperate lot from the Rubakan refugee camp), with heavy weapons and anti-tank missiles among the arms. ..."
    "... Note that the main suspects - stated to be the Pentagon/etc.; could also be Israel (who support Al Nusra in the area and who sent four planes to attack the SAA near Damascus at almost the same time); The mercenary "contracters" (CIA paid); or someone benefitting from a Saudi based supply line. ..."
    "... However, as the USKurd area has to be able to have import export supply lines, we can expect to see more attacks on the Syrian/Iraqi positions in the southern corner (Al Qaim) from the Western side of the Euphrates (ie Tanf). ..."
    Jan 17, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    stonebird | Jan 14, 2018 12:33:39 PM | 7

    Peter AU1 @2

    "Reading through the article, US is now seems to be publicly stating it is in Syria to stay, with Kurd's guarding the US/Turkish border, and retrained ISIS guarding the US/Syria, and US/Iraq borders"

    To add a bit;" The ISIS /US seem to want to recreate the "Caliphate" (The southern bit of east Syria was supposed to form the village "basis" with Raqqua and Mosul etc the jam on the top. The SDF have released a number of ISIS "captives" recently. (Plus a whole lot that mysteriously became SDF at the moment they might have got hit by Russian aerial bombardments).

    Note that the Tanf US base is also training and arming ISIS and other rebels (and a seperate lot from the Rubakan refugee camp), with heavy weapons and anti-tank missiles among the arms.

    There are supposed to be 14 US bases in Syria. (source; Al Jazeera or Qatar - not sure which).

    OK: that is the US side. Now the other side.

    1) who would attack the US camps and proxies? Might this be Erdogan who is already making noises about the Kurdish build-up on his borders? At least he will try to stop reinforcements and oil exports via Turkish territory if this is the case. (If the Syrians attacked the US camps directly then Trump and the Pentagon would leap with joy and use that as an excuse to re-start the war in that area.)

    2) The recent drone attack on the Russians. By saying they "knew" who it was and then effectively "zapping" the "militants concerned", this is a very clear warning. Note that the main suspects - stated to be the Pentagon/etc.; could also be Israel (who support Al Nusra in the area and who sent four planes to attack the SAA near Damascus at almost the same time); The mercenary "contracters" (CIA paid); or someone benefitting from a Saudi based supply line. Whichever: The Russian "Zap", extremely accurate (!) and timed, can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones, who were the ones trying to get to the minibus. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were. No need, the warning is made.

    However, as the USKurd area has to be able to have import export supply lines, we can expect to see more attacks on the Syrian/Iraqi positions in the southern corner (Al Qaim) from the Western side of the Euphrates (ie Tanf).

    [Jan 17, 2018] Drones keep entering no-fly zones over Washington, raising security concerns

    Jan 17, 2018 | www.washingtonpost.com

    Don Bacon | Jan 15, 2018 11:46:23 AM | 84

    The evolution of guided missiles has revolutionized warfare, obsoleting many military systems such as aircraft carries (the Pentagon of course has not gotten the message) and economizing threats.

    Now come the cheap and virtually unstoppable drones, like in the recent attack on the Russian air base. In the Washington area:

    In the middle of a federal no-fly zone for drones, in some of the most sensitive and restricted airspace in the United States, technicians working with Duggan recorded nearly 100 drone sightings over two months last summer. And that was just around two Army posts he oversees. . . ."

    Are they bad guys? Well, we don't know," Duggan said. "It's a technology that can be used to attack us at home. Why? Because we are not as prepared as we need to be."

    [Jan 16, 2018] Drones keep entering no-fly zones over Washington, raising security concerns

    Jan 16, 2018 | www.washingtonpost.com

    The evolution of guided missiles has revolutionized warfare, obsoleting many military systems such as aircraft carries (the Pentagon of course has not gotten the message) and economizing threats.
    Now come the cheap and virtually unstoppable drones, like in the recent attack on the Russian air base. In the Washington area:

    In the middle of a federal no-fly zone for drones, in some of the most sensitive and restricted airspace in the United States, technicians working with Duggan recorded nearly 100 drone sightings over two months last summer. And that was just around two Army posts he oversees. . . ."Are they bad guys? Well, we don't know," Duggan said. "It's a technology that can be used to attack us at home. Why? Because we are not as prepared as we need to be."

    Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 15, 2018 11:46:23 AM | 84

    [Jan 16, 2018] The Russian "Zap" can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were.

    Notable quotes:
    "... Note that the main suspects - stated to be the Pentagon/etc.; could also be Israel (who support Al Nusra in the area and who sent four planes to attack the SAA near Damascus at almost the same time); The mercenary "contracters" (CIA paid); or someone benefitting from a Saudi based supply line. ..."
    Jan 16, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    stonebird | Jan 14, 2018 12:33:39 PM | 7

    Peter AU1 @2
    "Reading through the article, US is now seems to be publicly stating it is in Syria to stay, with Kurd's guarding the US/Turkish border, and retrained ISIS guarding the US/Syria, and US/Iraq borders"

    To add a bit;" The ISIS /US seem to want to recreate the "Caliphate" (The southern bit of east Syria was supposed to form the village "basis" with Raqqua and Mosul etc the jam on the top. The SDF have released a number of ISIS "captives" recently. (Plus a whole lot that mysteriously became SDF at the moment they might have got hit by Russian aerial bombardments).
    Note that the Tanf US base is also training and arming ISIS and other rebels (and a seperate lot from the Rubakan refugee camp), with heavy weapons and anti-tank missiles among the arms.

    There are supposed to be 14 US bases in Syria. (source; Al Jazeera or Qatar - not sure which).

    OK: that is the US side. Now the other side.
    1) who would attack the US camps and proxies? Might this be Erdogan who is already making noises about the Kurdish build-up on his borders? At least he will try to stop reinforcements and oil exports via Turkish territory if this is the case. (If the Syrians attacked the US camps directly then Trump and the Pentagon would leap with joy and use that as an excuse to re-start the war in that area.)

    2) The recent drone attack on the Russians. By saying they "knew" who it was and then effectively "zapping" the "militants concerned", this is a very clear warning. Note that the main suspects - stated to be the Pentagon/etc.; could also be Israel (who support Al Nusra in the area and who sent four planes to attack the SAA near Damascus at almost the same time); The mercenary "contracters" (CIA paid); or someone benefitting from a Saudi based supply line. Whichever: The Russian "Zap", extremely accurate (!) and timed, can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones, who were the ones trying to get to the minibus. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were. No need, the warning is made.

    However, as the USKurd area has to be able to have import export supply lines, we can expect to see more attacks on the Syrian/Iraqi positions in the southern corner (Al Qaim) from the Western side of the Euphrates (ie Tanf).

    [Jan 15, 2018] US military not only admits to training Syrian militants, but says they do not care if they choose to fight with terrorist organizations by Paul Antonopoulos

    Jan 15, 2018 | thesaker.is

    JJ on January 15, 2018 , · at 5:06 am UTC

    US military not only admits to training Syrian militants, but says they do not care if they choose to fight with terrorist organizations
    January 15, 2018 – Fort Russ News – Paul Antonopoulos

    DAMASCUS, Syria – The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), the United States military branch responsible for North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, has admitted to a journalist that they only train militants and does not care if they join internationally recognized terrorist organizations afterwards.

    Sharmine Narwani, an award winning journalist, asked a CENTCOM spokesperson what they thought of US-trained "rebels" allying with Al-Qaeda.

    In response to the question, the spokesperson responded with "We don't 'command and control' these forces – we only 'train and enable' them Who they say they're allying with, that's their business."
    16h

    Sharmine Narwani

    [Jan 15, 2018] By saying they "knew" who it was and then effectively "zapping" the "militants concerned", this is a very clear warning

    Jan 15, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    stonebird | Jan 14, 2018 12:33:39 PM | 7

    1) who would attack the US camps and proxies? Might this be Erdogan who is already making noises about the Kurdish build-up on his borders? At least he will try to stop reinforcements and oil exports via Turkish territory if this is the case. (If the Syrians attacked the US camps directly then Trump and the Pentagon would leap with joy and use that as an excuse to re-start the war in that area.)
    2) The recent drone attack on the Russians. By saying they "knew" who it was and then effectively "zapping" the "militants concerned", this is a very clear warning. Note that the main suspects - stated to be the Pentagon/etc.; could also be Israel (who support Al Nusra in the area and who sent four planes to attack the SAA near Damascus at almost the same time); The mercenary "contracters" (CIA paid); or someone benefitting from a Saudi based supply line. Whichever: The Russian "Zap", extremely accurate (!) and timed, can be seen as a direct threat to the ORIGINATORS of the drones, who were the ones trying to get to the minibus. Also explains why Putin has not directly mentioned who they were. No need, the warning is made.

    [Jan 15, 2018] Russia says it eliminated rebels behind swarm drone attack in Syria by Jeff Daniels

    Jan 12, 2018 | www.cnbc.com
    • Moscow said it conducted a military operation to "eliminate" militants behind a coordinated drone attack on its Syrian military bases.
    • Russia said more than a dozen drones were used in attacks.
    • Experts say more swarm-like drone attacks can be expected in the future, from terrorists and others.
    Russia 's defense ministry said Friday it tracked down and killed the group of militants responsible for a recent coordinated drone attack against one of its bases in Syria .

    Experts said swarm-like attacks using weaponized drones is a growing threat and likely to only get worse. They also said the possibility exists of terrorists using these drones in urban areas against civilians.

    "We're likely to see more attacks of larger scale going forward, potentially even larger than this and in a variety of things -- air, land and sea," said Paul Scharre, director of the Technology and National Security program at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank.

    Earlier this month, militants in Syria launched a drone attack using more than a dozen weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles in Russia's Hmeymim airbase as well as a navy supply base in Tartus. Most of the drones were used on the attack against Hmeymim, located in western Syria near the city of Latakia.

    The Russian defense ministry claims its air defenses detected 13 "small-size air targets" approaching its bases and repelled the attack, shooting down seven drones with its anti-aircraft missile systems and taking control of six others using electronic warfare. "The incident itself, while it wasn't necessarily a spectacular attack by terrorist standards, it certainly portends a very dark future," said Colin Clarke, a political scientist at the RAND think tank who specializes in terrorism, insurgency and criminal networks.

    "What it signals to me is a lot of the things that we talk about that we know are going to be problems in the future may be problems now or a lot sooner than we thought," Clarke said.

    The RAND expert also said the U.S. and other nations have a lot of thinking to do about how to deal with the weaponized drone technology, because it could be used not just on the battlefield but potentially in urban areas by organized terrorist groups or other bad actors.

    On Friday, Russia said its forces conducted an operation to "eliminate" the group of insurgents who attacked the Hmeymim airbase Dec. 31. "All forces and means of the multi-level Russian military intelligence in Syria were involved," it said.

    Russia's defense ministry also released video of what it said was the targeted strike against the militants. The ministry also has shown images of what appear to be the captured drones and homemade drone bombs.

    According to Moscow, it was able to track down the militants' launch site after its experts "decoded the data recorded on the UAVs."

    "U.S. bases are targets, and Russian bases are targets," said Olga Olicker, senior advisor and director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington defense think tank.

    Experts say the U.S. also has the capability to shoot down multiple drones as well as electronic warfare and advanced jamming technology to target or take control of enemy UAVs. The U.S. Air Force last year purchased "counter-unmanned aerial systems" from an Israeli company.

    "The key is not just finding a way to target these drones," said Scharre. "It's finding a way to do it in a cost-effective way. If you shoot down a $1,000 drone with a $1 million missile, you're losing every time you're doing it."

    The coordinated drone attack follows a mortar shelling attack on New Year's Eve that reportedly killed two Russian service members at the Hmeymim airbase. The Russian daily Kommersant reported at least seven aircraft were destroyed , including fighter jets and a transport aircraft, but Russia's state-run Tass news agency denied aircraft were destroyed.

    Also, it comes less than a month after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Hmeymim base and boasted about Russia's "successful intervention" against Islamic State terrorists in Syria's conflict.

    Islamic State militants previously used weaponized drones and showed video of its bomb-dropping UAVs. The terrorist group has attacked U.S.-backed forces fighting ISIS with drones and used them for surveillance purposes. ISIS also used booby-trapped drones to kill two Kurdish fighters in 2016.

    "We have seen nonstate actors use armed drones in the past, but this is a significant step up in terms of the scale of attacks and just how many they were able to use simultaneously," said Scharre, who previously worked in the Pentagon and focused on unmanned and autonomous systems and emerging weapons technology.

    Meantime, Russia said it analyzed the construction of the drones and explosives of the captured crafts, concluding that the militants in Syria must have had help from a technologically advanced country. However, the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS has denied it had a role.

    At the same time, Russia implied that the explosive material used in the bomb may have come from a Ukrainian chemical plant.

    "Some of the Russian accusations and insinuations that have been floating around I think are meant to suggest that foreign intelligence helped provide targeting information, if not the technology," said Olicker.

    She said the technology itself appears to look like "off-the-shelf stuff" so the claims of assistance from a technologically advanced country are "spurious." She added that Moscow's "tendency to blame other state actors" for drone tech in the hands of militants appears disingenuous.

    [Jan 15, 2018] Russia 'eliminated' rebels behind airbase attack in Syria

    Jan 12, 2018 | www.middleeasteye.net

    Russia said it had "eliminated" militants on Friday who were behind a mortar attack that killed two Russian soldiers on New Year's Eve.

    Special forces from the Russian army had tracked the fighters to their base camp near the border of Idlib, a statement said on Friday.

    "The command of our troops in Syria carried out a special operation to find and eliminate the group of militants that carried out the mortar attack on the Hmeimim base (western Syria)," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

    The ministry added that the fighters were "destroyed by a Krasnopol guided missile" as they were leaving the base.

    The Russians did not confirm which group the militants were affiliated to.

    "A drone assembly and storage area was also discovered," the announcement said.

    Ten drones equipped with explosives attacked Russia's airbase in Hmeimim in the early hours of 6 January, the military previously reported. There were no casualties.

    [Jan 14, 2018] Russians asking for help after swarming drone attacks

    Notable quotes:
    "... The bomblets are released by a solenoid that opens gaps in a sliding metal bar. The bomblets contain about 1 KG of PETN plus a string of epoxied ball bearings wrapped around the PETN explosive. ..."
    "... The Russians claim that one of the drones carried a camera and had the ability to adjust the track of the other drones if needed. The drones themselves were guided by GPS and the flight path for each one was pre-programmed. ..."
    "... What especially disturbs the Russian analysts – and on this point they are still unable to identify the source – is that the drones were accurately programmed not only to reach the bases, but to hit specific targets that could not be attacked using standard GPS-generated maps or rely on GPS for accurate targeting. The single camera-equipped drone was there to help adjust the final target, indicating a fairly sophisticated command and control capability, something that clearly impressed the Russian General Staff. The drones also were programmed with accurate intelligence that was harmonized with GPS maps. ..."
    "... the accuracy of the drones is certainly the big issue and the Russians are almost certainly right that someone was helping the terrorists . ..."
    Jan 14, 2018 | www.atimes.com

    ussia is seeking international assistance in its quest to determine the source of swarming drone attacks on two of its military bases in Syria.

    The twin strikes represent the first time swarming drones have been used by terrorists against hardened targets, and judging from the excitement on the Russian side, they are clearly worried and upset. While denying that they lost any equipment in the strikes, it is hard to explain otherwise the level of alarm in Russia's military.

    The Russian General Staff held a briefing in Moscow to show off some of the home-made drones that were used to attack Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria and the important Russian naval base in Tartus .

    The drones themselves are simple. They use a small commercial gasoline two stroke engine that might be found in a weed whacker or used to power a bicycle. Structurally the drones are made out of wooden spars and styrofoam "boards" that are tied into the wooden structure with glue and plastic wrap.

    The drone itself is launched from some sort of simple rail platform and guided by two piece of wood on the drone with cutouts to protect the drone's aerodynamic quality. The drones carry either eight or ten bomblets, each stuffed with the explosive PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate), a very energetic explosive that has been favored by terrorists such as the shoe bomber, Richard Reid. PETN needs to be ignited by an explosive fuse, and the bomblets all have fuses that explode on contact.

    The Russians have pointed to the Ukraine as a possible source of PETN for the bombs. But there are many other sources and PETN and other explosives such as RDX are widely available on the black market. No doubt the Russians are trying to find out if the PETN in the drones has some chemical characteristic that would point to its source, but it is unlikely even the Russians will be able to identify the Ukrainians as the source.

    The bomblets are released by a solenoid that opens gaps in a sliding metal bar. The bomblets contain about 1 KG of PETN plus a string of epoxied ball bearings wrapped around the PETN explosive.

    It appears the mission of the swarming drones was three-fold:

    • it was to show the Russians that their bases are vulnerable to attack even if the terrorists are far off (the attack was launched about 50 km away originating in Idlib according to reports and the Russians have now destroyed a stockpile of drones there);
    • that the Russian aircraft and missiles were vulnerable to a drone strike;
    • and finally that the bomblets could be used to terrorize ground crews and military personnel on the Russian bases.

    Most of the focus was on Hmeimim Air Base where 10 drones were used in a swarming attack; another three drones struck the Tartus Naval Base.

    The Russians claim that one of the drones carried a camera and had the ability to adjust the track of the other drones if needed. The drones themselves were guided by GPS and the flight path for each one was pre-programmed.

    What especially disturbs the Russian analysts – and on this point they are still unable to identify the source – is that the drones were accurately programmed not only to reach the bases, but to hit specific targets that could not be attacked using standard GPS-generated maps or rely on GPS for accurate targeting. The single camera-equipped drone was there to help adjust the final target, indicating a fairly sophisticated command and control capability, something that clearly impressed the Russian General Staff. The drones also were programmed with accurate intelligence that was harmonized with GPS maps.

    The Russians captured a number of the drones which they claim they were able to gain control over and crash land (the drones are not capable of landing in the normal sense). They were able to read out the directional plots and see that the programming was very accurate to locate targets. More than likely the targeting was aimed at parked Russian aircraft, since the bomblets would do very little damage to buildings. It is less sure the targeting included Russian air defense missiles, as these are of little or no interest to terrorist who don't have an air force.

    Bottom line: the accuracy of the mapping means that the drones were supported by a well-established military organization capable of spotting the targets and adjusting GPS maps to their exact location. Putting aside the fact that the drones may, or may not have achieved their objectives (whether you believe the Russians shot down or controlled most of them and did not suffer any losses, or alternatively the terrorist-leaks to the press where some seven Russian aircraft, including at least one Su-35 are claimed to have been destroyed) the accuracy of the drones is certainly the big issue and the Russians are almost certainly right that someone was helping the terrorists .

    At first the Russians blamed the Turks. Next they blamed the Americans and pointed out that a US Navy Reconnaissance plane may have been involved. More recently the Russians are accusing the Ukrainians.

    What the Russians have not done is to blame the Iranians, ostensibly their ally in Syria. But the Iranians know the Russians are under pressure for a settlement of the Syrian mess (maybe linked to some deal on Ukraine), and perhaps the biggest demand (from Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel) is for the Iranians and Hezbollah to leave Syria. Kicking the Russians hard may be the Iranian way of sending a strong message to Putin that they are not leaving and that Putin needs "them" to protect vital Russian bases.

    Whatever one thinks, the Russians are deeply troubled and afraid these kinds of attacks will migrate to Russian territory in the hands of local terrorists (who also have been operating with ISIS in Syria). That's why even the Russian Defense Ministry and General Staff are looking for international help to prevent swarm drone attacks.

    [Jan 14, 2018] Trump Stumped As Bannon-Backed Roy Moore Wins Alabama Republican Primary By Landslide

    Bannon backed candidate later lost. So much for this Bannon "success".
    This idea of Trump playing 6 dimensional chess is a joke. It's the same explanation that was pushed for Obama disastrous neocon foreign policy. Here is one very apt quote: "What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis, killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to Afghanistan..." What 6-dimetional chess?
    According to Occam razor principle the simplest explanation of Trump behaviour is probably the most correct. He does not control foright policy, outsourcing it to "generals" and be does not pursue domestic policy of creating jobs as he promised his electorate. In other words, both in foreign policy and domestic policy, he became a turncoat, betraying his electorate, much like Obama. kind of Republican Obama.
    And as time goes by, Trump looks more and more like Hillary II or Republican Obama. So he might have problems with the candidates he supports in midterm elections. His isolationism, if it ever existed, is gone. Promise of jobs is gone. Detente with Russia is gone. What's left?
    Note the level disappointment of what used to be Trump base in this site comment section...
    Notable quotes:
    "... In a serious rebuke for President Trump (and perhaps moreso for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), ousted judge and alt-right favorite Roy Moore has won the Alabama Republican Primary by a landslide ..."
    "... The Steve Bannon-backed candidate, who defied court orders to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom and refused to recognize gay marriage after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, is leading by 9.6 points with 92% of the votes counted... ..."
    "... These attacks on Bannon were one of the most prominent news stories in the first week following Trump's election victory. It didn't take long, however, for a counter-attack to emerge - from the right-wing elements of the Jewish community. ..."
    "... Bannon is a true fucking patriot trying to pull this once great country from the sinkhole. ..."
    "... I think the reality is that this was a message to McConnell much more than Trump. That message is simple: I'm coming to kill your career. Bannon went out of his way to say he fully supports Trump (despite backing the opposite candidate). And, let's face it, if Bannon buries McConnell, he's doing everyone a service, Trump included. ..."
    "... The echo chamber media "is so surprised" that in Germany and the US we are seeing a rising tide of pissed off people, well imagine fucking that? Leaving the echo chamber and not intellectually trying to understand the anger, but living the anger. ..."
    "... Well, we can only hope that Trump gets the message. He was elected to be President of the USA, not Emperor of the World. Quote from that Monty Python film: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very naughty boy!" ..."
    "... A cursory background reading on Roy Moore tells me that he is one of the worst types for public office. And he might just turn out to be like Trump -- act like an anti-swarm cowboy and promise a path to heaven, then show his real colors as an Establishment puppet once the braindead voters put him in office. ..."
    "... When Trump won the Republican nomination, and then the Presidency it was because people were rebelling against the establishment rulers. There is considerable disgust with these big government rulers that are working for themselves and their corporate cronies, but not for the US population. ..."
    "... Trump seems to have been compromised at this point, and his support of the establishment favourite, Luther Strange is evidence that he isn't really the outsider he claimed to be. Moore's victory in Alabama says the rebellion still has wheels, so there is some hope. ..."
    "... In Missouri where I live, the anti-establishment Republican contender for the upcoming US Senatorial 2018 race is Austin Peterson. It will be interesting to see how he, and his counterparts in other states do in the primaries. Both of the current Missouri Senators are worthless. ..."
    "... I remember well the last "3-Dimensional Chess master" Obama while he too was always out maneuvering his apponents, per the media reports... ..."
    "... Every now and then Trump tends to make huge blunders, and sometimes betrayals without knowing what he is doing. "Champions"- (great leaders) do not do that. ..."
    "... What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis, killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to Afghanistan... ..."
    "... It is epitome of self-delusion to see people twisting themselves into pretzels, trying to justify/rationalize Trump's continuing display of disloyalty to America ..."
    "... YOU CAN'T BE A ZIONIST AND AN AMERICAN FIRSTER, IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER. ..."
    Sep 27, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!

    In a serious rebuke for President Trump (and perhaps moreso for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), ousted judge and alt-right favorite Roy Moore has won the Alabama Republican Primary by a landslide

    The Steve Bannon-backed candidate, who defied court orders to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom and refused to recognize gay marriage after the Supreme Court's June 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, is leading by 9.6 points with 92% of the votes counted...

    ... ... ...

    However, as Politco reported this evening, President Donald Trump began distancing himself from a Luther Strange loss before ballots were even cast, telling conservative activists Monday night the candidate he's backing in Alabama's GOP Senate primary was likely to lose ! and suggesting he'd done everything he could do given the circumstances.

    Trump told conservative activists who visited the White House for dinner on Monday night that he'd underestimated the political power of Roy Moore, the firebrand populist and former judge who's supported by Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon, according to three people who were there.

    And Trump gave a less-than full-throated endorsement during Friday's rally.

    While he called Strange "a real fighter and a real good guy," he also mused on stage about whether he made a "mistake" by backing Strange and committed to campaign "like hell" for Moore if he won.

    Trump was encouraged to pick Strange before the August primary by son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner as well as other aides, White House officials said. He was never going to endorse Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, who has at times opposed Trump's agenda, and knew little about Moore, officials said.

    ... ... ...

    Déjŕ view -> Sanity Bear •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM

    AIPAC HAS ALL BASES COVERED...MIGA !

    On Sept. 11, the Alabama Daughters for Zion organization circulated a statement on Israel by Moore, which started by saying the U.S. and Israel "share not only a common Biblical heritage but also institutions of representative government and respect for religious freedom." He traced Israel's origin to God's promise to Abram and the 1948 creation of modern Israel as "a fulfillment of the Scriptures that foretold the regathering of the Jewish people to Israel."

    Moore's statement includes five policy positions, including support for U.S. military assistance to Israel, protecting Israel from "Iranian aggression," opposing boycotts of Israel, supporting Israel at the United Nations, and supporting direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations without outside pressure. He added, "as long as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority wrongly refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist, such negotiations have scant chance of success."

    While those views would give Moore common ground with much of the Jewish community regarding Israel, most of the state's Jewish community has been at odds with Moore over church-state issues, such as his displays of the Ten Commandments in courthouses, and his outspoken stance against homosexuality, both of which led to him being ousted as chief justice.

    http://www.sjlmag.com/2017/09/alabama-senate-candidates-express.html?m=1

    justa minute -> Déjŕ view •Sep 27, 2017 2:53 AM

    moore misreads the Bible as most socalled christians do. they have been deceived, they have confused the Israel of God( those who have been given belief in Christ) with israel of the flesh. They cant hear Christs own words, woe is unto them. they are living in their own selfrighteousness, not good. they are going to have a big surprise for not following the Word of God instead following the tradition of men.

    They were warned over and over in the Bible but they cant hear.

    I Claudius -> VinceFostersGhost •Sep 27, 2017 6:27 AM

    Forgive? Maybe. Forget? NEVER!! He tried to sell "US" out on this one. We now need to focus on bringing "Moore" candidates to the podium to run against the RINO's and take out McConnell and Ryan. It's time for Jared and Ivanka to go back to NYC so Jared can shore up his family's failing empire. However, if his business acumen is as accurate as his political then it's no wonder the family needed taxpayer funded visas to sell the property. Then on to ridding the White House of Gen Kelly and McMaster - two holdover generals from the Obama administration - after Obama forced out the real ones.

    Clashfan -> Mycroft Holmes IV •Sep 26, 2017 11:33 PM

    Rump has hoodwinked his supoprt base and turned on them almost immediately. Some refuse to acknowledge this.

    "Ha! Your vote went to the Israel first swamp!"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gdw_MVY1Vo

    Déjŕ view -> Clashfan •Sep 27, 2017 1:00 AM

    MIGA !

    These attacks on Bannon were one of the most prominent news stories in the first week following Trump's election victory. It didn't take long, however, for a counter-attack to emerge - from the right-wing elements of the Jewish community. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) came to Bannon's defense and accused the ADL of a "character assassination" against Bannon.

    http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.807776

    The Wizard -> Oh regional Indian •Sep 26, 2017 10:12 PM

    Trump should figure out the Deep State elites he has surrounded himself with, don't have control of the states Trump won. Trump thought he had to negotiate with these guys and his ego got the best of him. Bannon was trying to convince him he should have stayed the course and not give in.


    Theosebes Goodfellow -> Oh regional Indian •Sep 26, 2017 10:35 PM

    ~"American politics gets moore strange by the day..."~

    Technically speaking OhRI, with Moore's win politics became less Strange, or "Strange less", or "Sans Luther", depending on how one chose to phrase it [SMIRK]

    Adullam -> Gaius Frakkin' Baltar •Sep 26, 2017 11:05 PM

    Trump needs to fire Jared! Some news outlets are saying that it was his son in law who advised him to back Strange. He has to quit listening to those who want to destroy him or ... they will.

    overbet -> Killtruck •Sep 26, 2017 9:41 PM

    Bannon is a true fucking patriot trying to pull this once great country from the sinkhole.

    Juggernaut x2 -> overbet •Sep 26, 2017 10:07 PM

    Trump better pull his head out of his ass and quit being a wishy-washy populist on BS like Iran- the farther right he goes the greater his odds of reelection because he has pissed off a lot of the far-righters that put him in- getting rid of Kushner, Cohn and his daughter and negotiating w/Assad and distancing us from Israhell would be a huge help.

    opport.knocks -> Juggernaut x2 •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM

    Distancing us from Israel... LOLOLOLOL

    https://youtu.be/tm5Je73bYOY

    The whole Russiagate ploy was a diversion from (((them)))

    NoDebt -> Killtruck •Sep 26, 2017 9:42 PM

    I think the reality is that this was a message to McConnell much more than Trump. That message is simple: I'm coming to kill your career. Bannon went out of his way to say he fully supports Trump (despite backing the opposite candidate). And, let's face it, if Bannon buries McConnell, he's doing everyone a service, Trump included.

    Oldwood -> NoDebt •Sep 26, 2017 10:08 PM

    I think it was a setup.

    Bannon would not oppose Trump that directly unless there was a wink and a nod involved.

    Trump is still walking a tightrope, trying to appease his base AND keep as many establishment republicans at his side (even for only optics). By Trump supporting Strange while knowing he was an underdog AND completely apposed by Bannon/his base he was able to LOOK like he was supporting the establishment, while NOT really. Trump seldom backs losers which makes me think it was deliberate. Strange never made sense anyway.

    But what do I know?

    Urahara -> NoDebt •Sep 27, 2017 12:20 AM

    Bannon is hardcore Isreal first. Why are you supporting the zionist? It's an obvious play.

    general ambivalent -> Urahara •Sep 27, 2017 2:23 AM

    People are desperate to rationalise their failure into a victory. They cannot give up on Hope so they have to use hyperbole in everything and pretend this is all leading to something great in 2020 or 2024.

    None of these fools learned a damn thing and they are desperate to make the same mistake again. The swamp is full, so full that it has breached the banks and taken over all of society. Trump is a swamp monster, and you simply cannot reform the swamp when both sides are monsters. In other words, the inside is not an option, so it has to be done the hard way. But people would prefer to keep voting in the swamp.

    Al Gophilia -> NoDebt •Sep 27, 2017 3:58 AM

    Bannon as president would really have those swamp creatures squirming. There wouldn't be this Trump crap about surrounding himself with likeminded friends, such as Goldman Sachs turnstile workers and his good pals in the MIC.

    Don't tell me he didn't choose them because if he didn't, then they were placed. That means he doesn't have the clout he pretends to have or control of the agenda that the people asked him to deliver. His backing of Stange is telling.

    Lanka -> LindseyNarratesWordress •Sep 26, 2017 11:07 PM

    McMaster and Kelly have Trump under house arrest.

    Bobbyrib -> LindseyNarratesWordress •Sep 27, 2017 5:38 AM

    He will not fire Kushner or Ivanka who have become part of the swamp. I'm so sick of these 'Trump is a genius and planned this all along.'

    To me Trump is a Mr. Bean type character that has been very fortunate and just goes with the flow. He has nearly no diplomacy, or strategic skills.

    NoWayJose •Sep 26, 2017 10:35 PM

    Dear President Trump - if you like your job, listen to these voters. Borders, Walls, limited immigrants (including all those that Ryan and McConnell are sneaking through under your very nose), trade agreements to keep American jobs, and respect for our flag, our country, and the unborn!

    nevertheless -> loveyajimbo •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM

    I had hope for Trump, but as someone who reads ZH often, and does not suffer from amnesia (like much of America), I knew he was way too good to be true.

    We all know his back tracking, his flip flops...and while the media and many paid bloggers like to spin it as "not his fault", it actually is.

    His sending DACA to Congress was the last straw. Obama enacted DACA with a stroke of his pen, but Trump "needed to send it to Congress so they could "get it right". The only thing Congress does with immigration is try and get amnesty passed.

    Of course while Trump sends DACA to Congress, he does not mind using the military without Congress, which he actually should do.

    Why is it when it's something American's want, it has to go through the "correct channels", but when its something the Zionists want, he does it with the wave of his pen? We saw the same bull shit games with Obama...

    Dilluminati •Sep 26, 2017 11:02 PM

    Anybody surprised by this is pretending the civility at the workplace isn't masking anger at corporate America and Government. I'll go in and put in the 8 hours, I'm an adult that is part of the job. However I'm actually fed up with allot of the stupid shit and want the establishment to work, problem is that we are witnessing failed nations, failed schools, failed healthcare, even failed employment contracts, conditions, and wages.

    The echo chamber media "is so surprised" that in Germany and the US we are seeing a rising tide of pissed off people, well imagine fucking that? Leaving the echo chamber and not intellectually trying to understand the anger, but living the anger.

    You haven't seen anything yet in Catalonia/Spain etc, Brexit, or so..

    This is what failure looks like: That moment the Romanovs and Louis XVI looked around the room seeking an understanding eye, there was none.

    Pascal1967 •Sep 26, 2017 11:19 PM

    Dear Trump:

    Quit listening to your moron son-in-law, swamp creature, Goldman Sachs douchebag son-in-law Kushner. HE SUCKS!! If you truly had BALLS, you would FIRE his fucking ass. HE is The Swamp, He Is Nepotism! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HATE HIM.

    MAGA! LISTEN TO BANNON, DONALD.

    DO NOT FUCK THIS UP!

    ROY MOORE, 100%!!!!

    You lost, Trump ... get your shit together before it is too late!

    ElTerco •Sep 26, 2017 11:28 PM

    Bannon was always the smarts behind the whole operation. Now we are just left with a complete idiot in office.

    Also, unlike Trump, Bannon actually gives a shit about what happens to the American people rather than the American tax system. At the end of the day, all Trump really cares about is himself.

    samsara •Sep 26, 2017 11:25 PM
    I think most people get it backwards about Trump and the Deplorables.

    I believed in pulling troops a from all the war zones and Trump said he felt the same

    I believed in Legal immigration, sending people back if here illegal especially if involved in crime, Trump said he felt the same.

    I believed in America first in negotiating treaties, Trump said he felt the same.

    I didn't 'vote' for Trump per se, he was the proxy.

    We didn't leave Him, He left us.

    BarnacleBill •Sep 26, 2017 11:31 PM

    Well, we can only hope that Trump gets the message. He was elected to be President of the USA, not Emperor of the World. Quote from that Monty Python film: "He's not the Messiah; he's a very naughty boy!" It's high time he turned back to the job he promised to do, and drain that swamp.

    napper •Sep 26, 2017 11:47 PM

    A cursory background reading on Roy Moore tells me that he is one of the worst types for public office. And he might just turn out to be like Trump -- act like an anti-swarm cowboy and promise a path to heaven, then show his real colors as an Establishment puppet once the braindead voters put him in office.

    America is doomed from top (the swarm) to bottom (the brainless voters).

    Sid Davis •Sep 27, 2017 1:40 AM

    When Trump won the Republican nomination, and then the Presidency it was because people were rebelling against the establishment rulers. There is considerable disgust with these big government rulers that are working for themselves and their corporate cronies, but not for the US population.

    Trump seems to have been compromised at this point, and his support of the establishment favourite, Luther Strange is evidence that he isn't really the outsider he claimed to be. Moore's victory in Alabama says the rebellion still has wheels, so there is some hope.

    In Missouri where I live, the anti-establishment Republican contender for the upcoming US Senatorial 2018 race is Austin Peterson. It will be interesting to see how he, and his counterparts in other states do in the primaries. Both of the current Missouri Senators are worthless.

    nevertheless -> pfwed •Sep 27, 2017 7:33 AM

    I remember well the last "3-Dimensional Chess master" Obama while he too was always out maneuvering his apponents, per the media reports...

    LoveTruth •Sep 27, 2017 2:56 AM

    Every now and then Trump tends to make huge blunders, and sometimes betrayals without knowing what he is doing. "Champions"- (great leaders) do not do that.

    nevertheless -> LoveTruth •Sep 27, 2017 7:16 AM

    What Trump has done are disasters, and equates to treason. Selling billions of dollars of weapons the our enemies the terrorists/Saudis, killing innocent people in Syria, and Yemen, sending more troops to Afghanistan...

    But most treasonous of all was his sending DACA to "get it right", really? Congress has only one goal with immigration, amnesty, and Chump knows dam well they will send him legislation that will clearly or covertly grant amnesty for millions and millions of illegals, dressed up as "security".

    Obama enacted DACA with the stroke of a pen, and while TRUMP promised to end it, he did NOT. Why is it when it's something Americans want, it has to be "Constitutional", but when it comes form his banker pals, like starting a war, he can do that unilaterally.

    archie bird -> nevertheless •Sep 27, 2017 7:45 AM

    Bernie wants to cut aid to Israel https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/09/25/bernie-sanders-yeah-i...

    nevertheless •Sep 27, 2017 8:04 AM

    It is epitome of self-delusion to see people twisting themselves into pretzels, trying to justify/rationalize Trump's continuing display of disloyalty to America, and loyalty to Zionism.

    Trump should always have been seen as a likely Zionist shill. He comes form Jew York City, owes everything he is to Zionist Jewish bankers, is a self proclaimed Zionist...

    YOU CAN'T BE A ZIONIST AND AN AMERICAN FIRSTER, IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER.

    Either Zero Hedge is over run with Zionist hasbara, giving cover to their boy Chump, or Americans on the "right" have become as gullible as those who supported Obama on the "left".

    [Jan 13, 2018] Who Attacked a Russian Military Base with a Swarm Strike

    Quite possible it was UAE behind the attack. See Brennan and Morrell might work on creating UAE Intelligence agency modeled after CIA
    Notable quotes:
    "... So no one will be surprised that the Taliban in Afghanistan also has the capability to attack US bases with drone swarms ..."
    "... "what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" - Walter Scott ..."
    Jan 13, 2018 | nationalinterest.org

    Hippie! , January 12, 2018 9:35 PM

    So no one will be surprised that the Taliban in Afghanistan also has the capability to attack US bases with drone swarms?

    "what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" - Walter Scott

    [Jan 12, 2018] Air raids and missile attacks show Israel flexing its muscles in Syria by Patrick Cockburn

    Jan 09, 2018 | www.unz.com

    Israeli jets and ground-to-ground missile attacks on targets in the outskirts of Damascus are a mark of Israel's heightened concern as President Bashar al-Assad comes close to winning the civil war in Syria. Israel's security cabinet has held meetings several times in recent days to discuss how it should respond to the "day-after" the war as Syria returns to Mr Assad's control and to Iran's expanded influence in Syria according to Israeli television reports.

    ... ... ...

    Israel has received vociferous backing from President Trump and the US but the Israelis must wonder – along with the rest of the world – how much Mr Trump's supportive tweets are really worth. Even his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not an unalloyed gain for Israel since it changes nothing much on the ground, but it has put the Israeli-Palestinian issue back at the top of the political agenda in the Middle East to a degree not seen since 9/11 and the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    The Israeli air strikes are not necessarily a precursor to a wider military conflict, but they do show that Israel believes it can no longer stay on the margins of the Syrian war. As the conflict comes to an end that is bound to be messy, Israel wants to be a leading player in shaping its final outcome.

    [Jan 12, 2018] We Know Who They Are Putin Claims State Provocateur Behind Terrorist Drones In Syria

    Jan 12, 2018 | www.zerohedge.com

    Also notable in terms of the potential for US involvement, which also affirms that Russian suspicions are not mere "paranoia," is that one of the high level planners behind CIA operations in Syria, former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell, declared publicly that "we need to make the Russians pay the price" in Syria by "covertly" killing them via proxies.

    Though as the Daily Beast notes anti-government insurgents in Syria have long had access to black market drones sold through social media, Russia has consistently pointed to the high tech navigational and weapons components added. An earlier Russian Defense Ministry statement said the attack needed a "high-level engineer" and that "not every country is able to get sharp coordinates using space intelligence data" while also citing the presence of "foreign detonating fuses". The statement further indicated that, " Russian specialists are determining supply channels, through which terrorists had received the technologies and devices, as well as examining type and origin of explosive compounds used in the IEDs."

    And given Putin's words on Thursday, it sounds like Russia believes it has proof of the outside sponsor of the operation - though it's unclear why it is not forthcoming with the evidence as it has been in some past incidents. It could be that Russian defense doesn't actually have the level of proof needed to convince an international audience, or the more likely scenario perhaps involves the delicacy of Russia's current attempts to negotiate a settlement to the war and continued military withdrawal of its forces .

    Regarding these negotiations, Putin said on Thursday of the recent attacks on its Syrian bases, "Those were provocations aimed at disrupting the earlier agreements, in the first place . Secondly, it was about our relations with our partners - Turkey and Iran. It was also an attempt to destroy those relations." Last November a trilateral Syria deal was reached between Russia, Turkey, and Iran in Sochi, Russia over the future of Syria which emphasized winding down the war while keeping the country intact and creating a humanitarian and diplomatic solution, and also included planned Moscow-sponsored talks between the Syrian government and recognized opposition.

    The US and other Western powers were notably excluded from the talks, which many analysts now see as signifying that Putin is in the driver's seat when it comes to setting the final terms for winding down the war. Russia suspects that the latest attacks on Khmeimim are provocations designed to introduce suspicion among signatories to the deal , especially those elements of the Syrian opposition set to meet for continued Russian sponsored negotiations at the end of January .

    Interestingly, the Russian Foreign Ministry actually previously warned of "staged provocations " aimed at doing just this in the days prior to the first January mortar attack on Khmeimim. As we reported at the time of a prior missile attack on the base, FM spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned at a December 28 press conference that ongoing attacks were " another link in the chain of ongoing and, perhaps, staged provocations involving terrorists and extremists from the Syrian opposition aimed at disrupting the positive trends in the development of the situation in Syria and, in particular, at creating obstacles to convening and holding the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi on January 29-30."

    Also notable in terms of the potential for US involvement, which also affirms that Russian suspicions are not mere "paranoia," is that one of the high level planners behind CIA operations in Syria, former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell, declared publicly that "we need to make the Russians pay the price" in Syria by "covertly" killing them via proxies.

    The CIA's Morell said the following in a televised Charlie Rose interview at that time :

    Morell : We need to make the Iranians pay the price in Syria; we need to make the Russians pay the price.

    Rose: We make them pay the price by killing Russians and killing Iranians?

    Morell : Yes. Covertly. You don't tell the world about it. You don't stand at the Pentagon and say we did this. But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran. I want to go after those things that Assad sees as his personal power base. I want to scare Assad. I want to go after his presidential car. I want to bomb his offices in the middle of the night. I want to destroy his presidential aircraft. I want to destroy his presidential helicopters. I want to make him think we are coming after him.

    With such brazen and public past admissions by US intelligence officials it is clear that no scenario should be taken off the table regarding what happened with these recent technologically advanced attacks on Russian assets in Syria. This could indeed very likely be the United States or a regional state actor making Russians "pay the price" for being there .

    Though both attacks would appear to be merely the work of Islamist rebel factions occupying nearby Idlib, multiple extraordinary factors led the Russian Ministry of Defense to immediately state that the perpetrators must have had outside state sponsorship. First there was - as the Russian Ministry of Defense mentioned in an early media statement - "strange coincidences" surrounding the terrorist attack: these included a US spy plane spotted in the area, namely a US Navy's Boeing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft on patrol between the Khmeimim airbase and Tartus naval base in Syria during the time of the attack.

    Secondly, the airbase lies deep within Syrian regime territory in what is among the most secure areas in all of Syria, which also underscores the need for advanced satellite and navigational coordination from a state actors. The Russian military claims the drones came from the village of Muwazarra in Idlib, around 50 miles away, which makes Ahrar Al Sham or Hay'at Tahrir Al Sham the immediate culprit. Both groups, though blacklisted as terror organizations by the Pentagon, have received direct and indirect assistance by the CIA and allied intelligence services at various points over the course of the war, especially during the 2015 campaign to wrest Idlib city from the control of the Syrian government.

    Third, the Russian military in its examination of the recovered drones found high tech components well beyond what initially appeared to be rebel-made improvised devices manufactured locally. Putin went so far as to say the drones and explosives were purposefully made to appear primitive and homemade in order to conceal the advanced technology they were outfitted with . On Thursday he said, "As for these attacks, they were undoubtedly prepared well. We know when and where these unmanned vehicles were handed over [to the attackers], and how many of them there were. These aerial vehicles were disguised - I would like to stress that - as homemade. But it is obvious that some high-tech equipment was used."

    Russia has yet to reveal the identity of those responsible, but has strongly hinted at the United States or a regional US ally, which elicited a Pentagon response this week with a spokesperson saying the suggestion is " without any basis in fact and is utterly irresponsible."

    The UK Daily Mail featured detailed Russian defense photographs of the recovered drones, which were noted to be "immune to jamming technology" and summarized the advanced capabilities as follows :

    • "Jam-resistant terrorist drones" could not have been made without foreign help, Russia says

    • They carried sophisticated software and precision-guided weaponry

    • The explosives they carried were 'stuffed with ball bearings'


    Also notable in terms of the potential for US involvement, which also affirms that Russian suspicions are not mere "paranoia," is that one of the high level planners behind CIA operations in Syria, former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell, declared publicly that "we need to make the Russians pay the price" in Syria by "covertly" killing them via proxies.

    The CIA's Morell said the following in a televised Charlie Rose interview at that time :

    Morell : We need to make the Iranians pay the price in Syria; we need to make the Russians pay the price.

    Rose: We make them pay the price by killing Russians and killing Iranians?

    Morell : Yes. Covertly. You don't tell the world about it. You don't stand at the Pentagon and say we did this. But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran. I want to go after those things that Assad sees as his personal power base. I want to scare Assad. I want to go after his presidential car. I want to bomb his offices in the middle of the night. I want to destroy his presidential aircraft. I want to destroy his presidential helicopters. I want to make him think we are coming after him.

    With such brazen and public past admissions by US intelligence officials it is clear that no scenario should be taken off the table regarding what happened with these recent technologically advanced attacks on Russian assets in Syria. This could indeed very likely be the United States or a regional state actor making Russians "pay the price" for being there .

    Brazen Heist -> peddling-fiction Jan 12, 2018 1:40 PM Permalink

    Who would want to attack the Russians in Syria...hmm let me bring out the list of candidates...

    • Saudi Arabia
    • USA
    • Israel
    • Qatar
    • Some patsy working for the above
    JSBach1 -> Brazen Heist Jan 12, 2018 1:52 PM Permalink

    Interesting article on moon of alabama about a new offensive in SE Idlib region against SAA forces by "moderate" rebels supplied/assisted by Turkey entitled: ' Syria - Erdogan (Again) Switches Sides - Delivers New Supplies For Terrorist Attacks'

    D503 -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 2:01 PM Permalink

    Societal collapse or world war, societal collapse or world war....hmmmm. What do you think single mother, government dependent, pussy hat wearing, terrorist inviting, uninformed voter?

    JSBach1 -> D503 Jan 12, 2018 2:18 PM Permalink

    " Morell : Yes. Covertly. You don't tell the world about it. You don't stand at the Pentagon and say we did this . But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran. I want to go after those things that Assad sees as his personal power base. I want to scare Assad. I want to go after his presidential car. I want to bomb his offices in the middle of the night. I want to destroy his presidential aircraft. I want to destroy his presidential helicopters. I want to make him think we are coming after him ."

    ...spoken like a true psychopath that he and others like him who hold/held high-ranking positions think about day-in and day-out ...

    a fitting end for such vermin is the gallows...

    [EDIT]: Remember this article: Israel Threatens To Bomb Assad's Presidential Palace ...

    ... or this: Yoav Galant, a former general said : "... time has come to assassinate Assad ... And when we finish with the tail[Syria] of the serpent, we will reach the head of the serpent, which can be found in Tehran, and we will deal with it, too "

    ... or then SOS Hillary Clinton, as provided by Wikileaks , stated: " The best way to help Israel deal with Iran's growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad ...

    Iran's nuclear program and Syria's civil war may seem unconnected, but they are. For Israeli leaders, the real threat from a nuclear-armed Iran is not the prospect of an insane Iranian leader launching an unprovoked Iranian nuclear attack on Israel that would lead to the annihilation of both countries. What Israeli military leaders really worry about -- but cannot talk about -- is losing their nuclear monopoly . An Iranian nuclear weapons capability would not only end that nuclear monopoly but could also prompt other adversaries, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, to go nuclear as well. The result would be a precarious nuclear balance in which Israel could not respond to provocations with conventional military strikes on Syria and Lebanon, as it can today. "

    Why is it that top US officials sound almost exactly like their Israeli counterparts...who speaks for whom (rhetorical question)???

    Teja -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 2:34 PM Permalink

    Ah, I thought psychopathic "open words" are all the rage these days? Shitholes, anyone?

    stizazz -> Teja Jan 12, 2018 6:54 PM Permalink

    "we (CIA) need to make the Russians pay the price for being in Syria..."

    ... our Israeli Masters told us to.

    http://bipworldview.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/whats-really-going-on-in-t

    peddling-fiction -> stizazz Jan 12, 2018 7:13 PM Permalink

    I have a feeling that Jordan somehow is involved as well, or Jordan is wandering off the reservation.

    Look at the dirt that just was flung at Jordan by the Russians.

    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201801131060719736-jordan-king-secre

    In a tale of forbidden love, secret princes, madness and murder that would be difficult to believe as the plot of an airport paperback, the CIA has declassified documents showing that King Hussein of Jordan had a child out of wedlock with an American Jewish actress - who was later killed by their own lovechild.

    Edgy-Tyler, do you dare put that article on ZH?

    Note to myself: Need to buy lots of popcorn.

    Not Too Important -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 3:12 PM Permalink

    Wasn't this solved the other day?

    "A Strange Coincidence": US Spy Plane Circled Near Russian Base During Massive Drone Attack

    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-09/strange-coincidence-us-spy-pl

    Scipio Africanuz -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 8:23 PM Permalink

    You're absolutely correct, they're scared. Trump gave them what was not in his power to give, Jerusalem. They couldn't take possession because the entire world, less the brigands, said hell no!

    The wound is a fatal one for the isreali regime, just a matter of time now, all their plans and actions, achieve the opposite of their desires, from Iraq, to Syria, to Iran. The world is woke!

    uhland62 -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 9:48 PM Permalink

    Meddlers, satisfying their bloodlust. It's a requirement for office in D.C. How do we dethrone them?

    HowdyDoody -> JSBach1 Jan 12, 2018 3:17 PM Permalink

    The article is bullshit. The APCs could have been supplied by the Turks. They could have been supplied by Gulenist/CIA agents in Turkey. They could have been captured by US-ISIS forces from the Turkish forces in Syria. They could have been captured from the Turks by US-Kurd forces and supplied to US-ISIS forces. Transport vehicles are strategically irrelevant. Now if the floodgates for ISIS reinforcements was opened, that would be strategically significant. By one of those amazing coinkydinks, the US-Kurds released hundreds of US-ISIS 'prisoners' shortly before the attacks. I bet they didn't go on R&R after release.

    Putin has confirmed the Turks were not involved in the swarm attack and it was intended to drive a wedge between Turkey and Russia. The supply of Turkish vehicles ditto. Qui bono?

    JSBach1 -> HowdyDoody Jan 12, 2018 5:31 PM Permalink

    HD: (BTW I did not junk you)

    I do not believe the article I referenced insinuated that those vehicles came from Dubai (if that is what you are alleging) or what was the originating source, only that it was a variant of one that is known to produce "Special Purpose Vehicles" in Dubai -- but that Turkey was used as a conduit to supply weapons (bolded text my own):

    "The Syrian army captured one of the the new armored personal carriers. The various pictures and videos show a variant of the Armored Panthera F9 produced by the company Minerva SPV which resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates."

    Turkey (again) delivered hundreds of tons of weapons to the jihadis. New supplies of TOW anti-tank missiles, distributed exclusively by the CIA, have also been seen. (Turkey is also again supplying jihadists in Libya. The Greek navy just caught a ship going from Turkey to Libya with 29 containers full of bomb precursors, detonators and other bomb making parts.)

    Ali Özkök‏ @Ozkok_ - 10:06 AM - 11 Jan 2018
    #Turkey supplied Feylaq el-Sham militia with at least six armoured vehicles . This is a major indicator that Turkey also supports the massive counter offensive of rebels and islamists in #Idlib and #Hama against Syrian army and allies ! I guess we will see soon some ATGM strikes.

    The "moderate" rebel forces where trying to stop the breakthrough by SAA to split their, the "moderate" rebels', pocket in Idlib region into two, thus encircling the eastern portion completely (look at the map provided in the aforementioned article). Is it not interesting that this new counteroffensive by the "moderate" rebels was aimed -- coincidentally to be sure /s -- at a breakthrough to the ISIS enclave that seems trapped in the eastern pocket (again see the map provided in the aforementioned article)?

    The other thing to keep an eye on was this (bolded text my own):

    "The "rebels" in Idleb also set up a website with 150 pre-scripted tweets about killed children and barrel bombed hospitals which their fans can distribute at will . In the next few days we will hear news of the destruction of at least eight "last hospitals" in the Idleb governorate ..."

    Ghost of PartysOver -> peddling-fiction Jan 12, 2018 1:49 PM Permalink

    Troglodyte Erudite, Washington Post is not even worthy of the effort it takes to click a mouse button.

    BobEore -> Troglodyte Erudite Jan 12, 2018 8:49 PM Permalink

    Are your suggesting that the UAE is behind it? Intriguing! In the delicate dance between the members of the love-hate menage a trois - Srael, Russia... and their jointly if somewhat chaotically managed puppet state Turkey...

    the strings sometimes pull sharply this way, then sharply the other. Currently, the dynamic has shifted a bit to the Srael side, and the groupings of jihadist factions controlled by Ankara have been busy making signals of displeasure about the thwarting of the caliphs plans for further intrusions in north Syria/Rojava.

    As a result... the drone drama. There is very little mystery about the source of the weaponry. It has doubtless been lab-tested and identified. Turkish military manufacturers have been busy turning out.. and seeking markets for... their new array of drones with the latest military applications. Their recent attendance at the s e Asian trade fair in Thailand with all their various arsenals on display was a sign of their eagerness to impress cash-rich clients. But the proof is in the pudding - as always - and therefore 'field demonstrations' the order of the day!

    Masters of the tight-lipped \delayed response/kind of diplomatic warfare, the Russkies have observed this sally from their erstwhile 'partners' in tel aviv with the same discipline as was applied when their ambassador was offed in Turkey in a previous episode of tit for tat intrigue which the mediaz were unable to wrap their noggins round. And as always... foolish fanbouys will rush in ... on cue... with the usual blustery bullshit bout "CIAs" and other creatures of the night... hoping to ward off further erosion of a fake news storyline the wheels of which have been falling off to no end lately!

    [Jan 12, 2018] Syria - Army Gains In Idleb - Insurgents To Challenge Foreign Occupiers

    Jan 12, 2018 | www.moonofalabama.org

    While the U.S. seems to have given up on regime change in Syria it is still trying to sabotage the progress of the Syrian government and its allies.

    The recent drone attack on the Russian base Khmeimim in Latakia is just one example. Thirteen sophisticated armed drones with a reach of some 100 kilometers attacked the base at the same time as a U.S. electronic warfare plane was circling off the Syrian coast . The attack was unsuccessful. Russia has sophisticated electronic warfare means and hijacked the command over six of the drones. The other seven were taken down by Russian air defenses.

    To claim, as the U.S. does, that ISIS or some "rebels" did this is nonsense. ISIS has made short range weaponized drones flown by remote control in line of sight mode. This attack was by autonomous drones using GPS and barometric sensors to find their way to their targets. This is qualitatively on a whole new level. I doubt that Russia will let this go unanswered. Look out for some "mishap" that may soon hit some U.S. troops or interests abroad.

    Three significant military operations took place over the last few weeks.

    TG , Jan 10, 2018 8:56:45 AM | 1

    Minor point: it is surprising just how sophisticated hobbyist drones can be. You can buy modules for GPS and barometric pressure and multi-axis gyros etc. for dirt cheap. Of course, these modules will not be civilian grade and will not be hardened against jamming etc., which certainly sounds like what happened. Civilian GPS in particular can be easily over-ridden by external jamming. Granted that military systems are likely more robust, I am sure that the US is very interested in Russian anti-GPS jamming systems, given the heavy reliance of the US on GPS technology.
    augusto , Jan 10, 2018 9:28:01 AM | 2
    well, what U really mean in your comment up here,TG?
    the US has deep interest in russian anti GPS systems but seemingly the 13 or so devices used last week to hit Russian bases were cheap hobbyist, shelf type stuff?
    Or have we misinterpreted your view?
    Piotr Berman , Jan 10, 2018 9:31:28 AM | 3
    "most impotent operation of the last week", it was quite potent and important
    Lea , Jan 10, 2018 9:44:18 AM | 4
    Russian MoD: a US spy plane was spotted patrolling above the two Russian bases in Syria at the time of the drone attack.
    https://www.rt.com/news/415374-drones-syria-terrorists-russian-defense/

    Posted by: TG | Jan 10, 2018 8:56:45 AM | 1

    The Russian MoD denies the drones were anything like hobbyist or makeshift drones, precisely. Those were serious military-grade combat drones.
    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-09/strange-coincidence-us-spy-plane-circled-near-russian-base-during-massive-drone

    Don Bacon , Jan 10, 2018 10:06:42 AM | 6
    The US/YPG forces hold mostly-desert eastern Syria, east of the Euphrates (yellow portion of upper map), including the oil fields in the south of that area, but they will be completely land-locked by Turkey, Iraq and Syria. The US (after suffering some pay-back casualties perhaps) will have to admit defeat and leave.
    J Swift , Jan 10, 2018 10:46:08 AM | 8
    ZeroHedge quoting the Pentagon statement: "The Pentagon countered that while the US was "concerned" over the incident, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankin-Galloway, however, claimed that "those devices and technologies can easily be obtained in the open market." He later also told Sputnik that the US already saw what it called "this type of commercial UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] technology" being used in Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) missions."

    Interesting. How does HE know what technologies were used in the drones? Sounds like the US protest was a Freudian slip. And quite the coincidence that the operation was being monitored by a Poseidon. Was a warning radioed to the Russians that what appeared to be a swarm of drones was detected incoming? The attacks by various mediums over the last few days on the Russian airbase clearly shows defenses are being tested, and apparently tested in some scientific detail by having spy plane monitors. May be for planning of future attacks, may be because the US has determined it is losing and wants to gain as much intel as possible now, in case they have to bug out soon and lose the ability to test current tech Russian defenses. Where else in the world could they do so without starting a top-level conflict? One wonders if the drones were all configured differently, in an attempt to pin down up to what level of shielding Russian tech could take over a drone, and beyond which they would have to be shot down?

    Don Bacon , Jan 10, 2018 10:46:48 AM | 9
    The principal US objective, using ISIS, YPG and others, has been to break the "Shia crescent" from Tehran to Beirut, which the US stupidly created with its Operation Iraqi Freedom. That is a failure even with the US/YPG in eastern Syria, as seen here .
    So chalk up another military failure for the Pentagon and its clueless generals.
    Don Bacon , Jan 10, 2018 10:54:42 AM | 11
    from M K Bhadrakumar
    >Why is the US is contesting the Russian bases in Syria? The point is, these Russian bases are located in Latakia province along the Mediterranean coast. And the US military objective is to gain access to the Mediterranean coast for the Kurdistan enclave it is creating in Syria without which the enclave will be landlocked and dependent critically on supply routes via Turkey or Iraq, apart from being economically unviable (although it is an oil-rich region of Syria.)
    > The Saudi establishment daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Monday that the Trump administration is planning to grant diplomatic recognition to the Kurdistan enclave in northern Syria (which is of the size of Lebanon.) The idea is to create a permanent foothold for the US and Israel in a strategic, economically self-sufficient independent Kurdistan where the borders of Turkey, Iraq and Syria meet, and which may eventually reach Iran's western border with northern Iraq.
    > But the US-Israeli strategy will remain a pipedream if the Kurdistsn is land-locked and continues to be challenged by Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Hence the criticality of creating an access route to the Mediterranean via Latakia province.. . . here
    Jackrabbit , Jan 10, 2018 11:02:25 AM | 12
    The first map shows pockets of Dash still exist.

    The UN mandate called on countries that were able to "eradicate the safe haven" that Dash and al Qaeda had created for themselves in Syria.

    As long as pockets of Dash and al Qaeda exit, doesn't that allow US to justify their presence in the country?

    Michael , Jan 10, 2018 11:04:41 AM | 13
    I'm not surprised by the use of drones by the US. IMO Syria is THE testbed for new military technology, as the US can probe the efficacy of Russian S-400 systems. It was just a matter of time before swarming technologies were being tested in combat.

    As stated in other news sources, the attack would require a sophisticated control center to manage the attack, which would explain the presence of a US spy plane lurking nearby.

    The strategy of launching said drones from Turkish controlled areas adds the additional benefit of attempting to drive a wedge between the Turks and Russians.

    The downside of testing this new technology is that the result will be escalatory with a green light given to the Russians to test their drone technology on American assets. This is after all a war, cold to hot, irrespective to what the diplomats may say.

    IMO the entire affair is particularly tragic, as the constant drought besetting the entire Middle East for the last 5 to 9 years is just a prelude to the climatic challenges awaiting us all. The the situation will become all the more grim as water becomes more scarce, and temperatures soar, due to a runaway climate beginning to rear its ugly head with the melting of the Arctic. While the US lost half of its wheat crop in a matter of weeks to a flash drought last summer, Russia has become the largest exporter of wheat, due to our 2014 sanctions. I wonder what the West will do when it starts getting hungry and it has alienated a possibly great food supplier.

    JTMcPhee , Jan 10, 2018 11:18:50 AM | 17
    It's grim pleasure, and sort of entertaining fun, to sit among the armchair "warfighters" and geopoiliticians with all our varying degrees of expertise and knowledge. To sit and watch "events," and parse and digest and predict and prognosticate about all the complex goings-on in the subdivision of global forever war that we call "Syria." Which we cognoscenti tend to refer to as a reification with substance (yet lacking the kind of detail that can give a possibly more accurate and possibly predictive notion of 'What's shakin.' )The same simplification via hypostatization that we also do in talking and thinking about all the other players and moving parts of the Game, I guess necessarily, given the mode and scope of the blog form of communication.

    I imagine, probably inaccurately, that the more involved players, with their white papers and intelligence estimates and assessments and access to the Global Network-Centric Interoperable Battlespace thingie and all the inputs from intel and lobbyists and courtiers from all the players fiscally interested in movements and outcomes, might have better and more accurate and "grainier" views and understandings of the state of play, along with a more complete review of the bidding. And some kind of organizing principle in mind, for what they have done, what they are doing, and hope and plan to do in future. Of course if one looks around, one finds input and thinking that looks a lot like this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1269463/Afghanistan-PowerPoint-slide-Generals-left-baffled-PowerPoint-slide.html

    What are, and what "ought to be," the organizing principles best to be pursued and actuated by us nearly 8 billion humans? All well and good to be a little comforted that the Syrian national army (with its backers and allies) is maybe kicking some brigands and thieves and war-banders out of areas they have "taken over."' Takeovers done with the encouragement and assistance of other backers and allies. Or, given the Byzantine and Machiavellian and totally corrupt and cynical nature of the Game, maybe some of the same people "backing" and "supplying" and "training" the "pro-Government forces," who the heck knows?) All those "take-overs" accomplished with more ,or less, cooperation and resistance from people living there.

    So discourse about the Game and its play is structured around naming and attempting to analyze and put in context and rationalize and excoriate actions and structures of all the mostly mythical unitary characters, "monads" if you will, like "Syria" and "the US" and "Russia" and "Venezuela" and "Nigeria" and "China" and so forth, in this ongoing set of complex activities, shifting interests and alliances and supply chains and weapons development and murder. We, who spend time looking down this set of silos and postholes, try to tease out the threads of continuity and organization that we are just SURE must tie together, or at least explain and offer hints how to manipulate and ameliorate, all this activity and plotting and counter-counter-counter-inititaives and -operations. Kind of like the authors of a deep scholarly law review articles, who clam to find rules of decision and hence "rule of law" in the variegated decisions of our Supreme and lower courts.

    Do the people running all the bits of this have any kind of organizing principle(s) directing their so very energetic daily workload and planning sessions? Another blog owner, who ought to know, said in response to that question, 'of course not, it's as it has always been and will be, it's just individuals and groups pursuing immediate interests.' He, of course, spent his career working for, and now spends his days speaking for, an organizing principle, maybe styled 'reformed and more successful hegemony" in the current parlance. And he is only one of millions who are thus involved in the Game., pulling on one of the many ropes attached to the Jaganath all are worshiping and augmenting.

    So, many of us look for rationales and structures, and signs of hope that this is not just the end-game for our species, yet we sit in among people who are also (if only we knew, in this anonymous internet space where new forms of contention and deception and "persuasion") playing smaller or larger roles, as part of still other "operations and initiatives." And try to sort out "true facts" from the sly manipulations and deceptions and distractions of those ladling out the flood of Bernays Sauce we are all poaching in.

    Too bad there is no such thing as a Prime Directive, an organizing principle, particularly one that says "do not kill your species with your stratagems and predilections." Increasingly, it looks like a mass death wish, with all the stacking of means and modes of destruction and death, from nuclear weapons (proliferating, on top of the thousands "commanded" the Demonstrably Incompetent Yet Massively Self-interested Warfighters in every "nation-state" and "tribe with flags," like the 200 to 600 the Israelites have built, and now the NKs, and the hate-driven folks in India and Pakistan with their ancient enmities and "rational mutual suspicions. And ambitions") to CRSP-R technology, to the globalized world of trade and finance, to AI that even its proponents and creators fear, to plastics everywhere, soil depletion and killing of potable water resources to irreversible climate effects from several centuries of carbo-combusts-consumption, to the IoT as a self-destructive Golem, for which we have lost the magic word of control. And so forth.

    Though, of course, where lies and deception and stratagems plotted and carried out by the "successful few" at the top of heap are concerned, we can't even tell if it's the case that all the bad news and sorrows we are informed about aren't just part of some grand "fear, uncertainty and doubt" initiative and operation to fill us with existential dread and inject the virus of a vast sense of futility (an initiative that would go along with the asymptotic increase in looting behaviors by the Few and their commensallists) to keep the mass of us passive and bowed and accepting the sweep of the executioner's blade, after they have taken all our stuff and all our futures... Funny lines from "Buckaroo Banzai," rendered immortal by John Lithgow in his character as a Red Lectroid from the 8th Dimension: "Laugh'a while you can, monkey-boy!" And another, apropos of what I'm exploring here: "Jesu Christe! It'a Make the ganglia TWITCH!" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xCyyU0bSPtk

    One wonders, then, "Is that all there is?" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9kKf7SHco

    Red Ryder , Jan 10, 2018 11:19:07 AM | 18
    Russia has an opportunity to go USS Liberty ship on US electronics planes and UAVs.
    Of course, they won't.

    The most interesting information from b. and Magnier's blog is that Syria intends to wage an insurgency war of its own against the Turks, Kurds, AQ, al Nusra proxies in the de-escalation zones.

    This seems very good. Better than waging a counter-insurgency war that the US and Israel are shaping for the Syrians to fight. The US attempt to turning ISIS and AQ into insurgents seems problematic. Mostly, they will be terrorists on small scale, disrupting transportation and reconstruction of Syrian economy.

    If Syria launches its own insurgents in "occupied" areas, it will have the 'sea' of the populace to support its warriors. Already, in Idlib this is occurring. And presumably, along the Lebanon, Golan borders.

    Whatever, the future is more war, large scale or small scale. Poor Syria. How its neighbors desire to consume her.

    Russia will be forced out of its recent enclave strategy sooner than later. Diplomacy without military leverage will not result in security or sovereignty as the Russians hope.

    fastfreddy , Jan 10, 2018 11:42:43 AM | 19
    Carl at 7

    Trump the Isolationist. He's gone.

    Trump to enrich the MIC further with increased nuclear weapons development and then break out the nukes first in response to conventional weapons attacks.

    Use of nukes to be in response to an attack on "critical infrastructure".

    In other words, any road, bridge, water tower, airstrip, utility, drainage ditch.

    In other words, a wide-open interpretation. Carte Blanche.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    xor , Jan 10, 2018 12:10:38 PM | 20
    The first bigger map has a wrong URL and should be http://www.moonofalabama.org/images5/syriamap20180109.jpg so withouth the 2 a's.

    I think it's not that the US invaders and their SDF grunts are having troubles clearing the area of Daesh but that a lot less resources are made available now that they lost the race to Abu Kamal and the US needs an official pretense to stay in Syria and occupy the area which is completely illegal under international law. Without Daesh there would be even less reason and the one given would stick even less.

    xor , Jan 10, 2018 12:10:38 PM | 20
    The first bigger map has a wrong URL and should be http://www.moonofalabama.org/images5/syriamap20180109.jpg so withouth the 2 a's.

    I think it's not that the US invaders and their SDF grunts are having troubles clearing the area of Daesh but that a lot less resources are made available now that they lost the race to Abu Kamal and the US needs an official pretense to stay in Syria and occupy the area which is completely illegal under international law. Without Daesh there would be even less reason and the one given would stick even less.

    james , Jan 10, 2018 1:18:12 PM | 24
    thanks b.. excellent coverage of what is happening in syria... unfortunately the usa-israel-ksa and company are not going to back down.. they will continue as they see the strengthening of syria as part of a larger problem of the strengthening of iran, or even iraq and other players that are not playing the same song book these players want.. i think the recent drone attack is proof of my viewpoint.. russia needs to make a move based on this brazen act and it needs to send a message loud and clear to not fuck with russia they way the usa-israel is doing at present..
    Peter AU 1 , Jan 10, 2018 1:19:53 PM | 25
    SAA is pushing through to Aleppo following the rail line. Seems more important than a new road. The ISIS pocket is advancing in step with SAA. On a map, it looks like they are covering SAA's right flank. Perhaps the ISIS pocket is Syrians looking for reconciliation?
    harrylaw , Jan 10, 2018 1:34:44 PM | 29
    Buy a drone from Alibaba length 3.4m, wingspan 4m, Range 900 Km, carry load of 5Kg. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/CHILONG-Red-Dragon-V-9hrs-endurance_60568131307.html?spm=a2700.7724857.main07.77.6648f0c7i3zoWI
    harrylaw , Jan 10, 2018 1:55:12 PM | 32
    The Syrian government have said the Kurds can have an administrative devolution type settlement within a united and sovereign Syria, this is probably ok with Turkey. The US partitioning plan will not be agreed by Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Russia or Iran or by many Kurds. Because it is landlocked the oil and gas could not be exported. Maybe a Berlin airlift operation could work?
    JS , Jan 10, 2018 2:39:23 PM | 35
    @30 Peter AU 1:

    According to Tass , the drones took off from one of the four de-escalation zones in Syria, this one being in Iblib zone:

    "The ministry also said the drones that tried to attack Hmeymim and Tartus had been launched from the area of Muazzar, in the southwestern part of the de-escalation zone Idlib, held by the armed groups of the so-called moderate opposition."
    Kassandra , Jan 10, 2018 4:26:28 PM | 44
    Details on the drones: http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3923666.html#

    They had been crafted by experienced manufacturers using all kind of components, not buildt in a professional military equipment factory. However, the craftsmen have been experienced and used widely available professional components for these one-way drones.

    Might well be that they got some support and know-how from Western services who took care of plausible deniability. owever, the timely monitoring of the attack and the Russion defense capabilities is suspicious.

    I recommend https://translate.yandex.com/translate for translation.

    michaelj72 , Jan 10, 2018 4:50:28 PM | 47
    if the US was in any responsible for those drones, it would also be very interested in watching the Russian response - the timing, success rate, etc, in order to also learn more about the russian equipment and capabilities in Syria for... uh... future 'reference'

    form the RT news article, "...Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankin-Galloway, however, claimed that "those devices and technologies can easily be obtained in the open market."....

    https://www.rt.com/news/415374-drones-syria-terrorists-russian-defense/

    Well I guess those "open market" technologies and devices can go both ways, right? Who could believe that there won't be blow-back against US interests or forces somewhere in eastern Europe or the middle east?

    harrylaw , Jan 10, 2018 5:12:26 PM | 48
    Iran has been developing drone warfare for years, they have just reverse engineered the US Sentinel RQ170 they brought down several years ago. Hezbollah also have armed drones flying around Israel.One intercepted flying near Dimona. Oh dear.

    "According to video evidence, the Lebanese militant group has used small, cheap unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to drop bombs on Syrian rebels in northern Syria. A video posted on YouTube in August shows what appears to be shrapnel bombs being launched from micro-drone operated by Hezbollah". http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-hezbollah-enters-new-war-use-armed-drones-syria-11412100

    Jonathan , Jan 10, 2018 8:37:24 PM | 60
    @55 zakukomander,

    John Robb's been writing quite a bit about weaponizing drones and suggested terrorizing the OBOR as a matter of US national interest. I can almost smell the pride in this piece on the Hmeymim attack. http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2018/01/drone-swarm-vs-russian-base-in-syria.html

    FB , Jan 10, 2018 11:55:33 PM | 62
    @ Jonathan...

    I checked out this brief piece by John Robb...

    He adds this at the bottom...

    '...The swarm also appears to be remotely controlled, likely as a means to provide target acquisition and terminal guidance. This allowed defense units to hack them...'

    'Remotely controlled' is highly unlikely...in fact I would say ridiculous...

    This cannot be done with off the shelf RC airplane stuff...which radio controllers only work within line of sight due to the nature of the radio frequency...which is 72 megaHertz...there are 50 dedicated channels from 72.01 to 72.99 MHz...in 0.02 MHz increments...

    This small slice of radio band is reserved for RC aircraft and this is what the radio controllers are built for...

    This frequency is in the VHF band... [very high frequency] which is used for FM radio, TV as well as air traffic control communications with aircraft...and air navigation systems...ie navaids for landing and such...each particular use of this band has a certain block of frequencies set aside for its exclusive use...

    Aircraft cruising at high altitude can communicate quite long distances in this band but this makes use of high ground antennas...so they are still line of sight communications...but can reach longer due to the antenna height and aircraft altitude...

    Even flying in a small plane at say 3,000 ft you will be lucky to get good radio at a distance of 40 nautical miles...[about 70 km]

    This equipment also uses more powerful radio transmitters and receivers...both on the ground and in the airplane...

    So 'remotely controlled' is not going to happen beyond line of sight with off the shelf model RC airplane equipment that is much weaker...that's going to be maybe a few kilometers...

    For radio comms beyond line of sight the HF [high frequency] band is used...this is a lower frequency of between 3 and 30 MHz...these can reach very long distances because the radio signals in this wavelength bounce off the ionosphere...

    These are used for radio comms with aircraft over ocean routes...where there are obviously no ground antennas nearby...but they are notoriously sensitive and temperamental...due to the bouncing...

    Anyway this kind of equipment is not suitable for a flight of 100 km...it is really for much longer distances...and would be very difficult for anything but an expert to cook up...

    So this John Robb...who claims to be a USAF Academy graduate in astronautics...as well as an airline transport pilot...is talking nonsense here about remotely controlled airplanes with off the shelf equipment reaching 100 km...

    Like I said earlier...a well working autopilot will get this kind of aircraft to 100 km if it is designed correctly...but there is no remote control involved once the autopilot takes over...

    Hacking into the airplane would not be that difficult by spoofing the GPS/Glonass receiver on board the aircraft...ie feeding a false location signal...this is how the Iranians brought down the extremely advanced USAF RQ170 Sentinel UAV...


    Peter AU 1 , Jan 11, 2018 12:04:15 AM | 63
    US tried to use a swarm of Tomahawks against the Syrian airbase last year, but lost over half of them. I guess they would be interested in what tech Russia used. Now a small swarm of drones attacks the Russian base and just by chance a US surveillance plane is loitering in the area.
    Grieved , Jan 11, 2018 1:59:58 AM | 64
    @61 Peter AU 1

    Makes sense. Force the enemy to move so you can read him. Probing by fire, it was sometimes called. The attack serves multiple purposes. So it fits multiple analyses. Russian MOD says it was foreign, despite the plausible deniability built in.

    I wonder if we'll even see the Russian response - it depends what they want to find out, or demonstrate, I suppose. It's the ironic thing about Russia, the better it performs, the more its supporters are in the dark about what it's doing.

    Personally, I'm glad to see this turn into insurgency warfare. Less people die, the hands of the doomsday clock stop and maybe even relax a notch or two, and the tricks become more subtle.

    ~~

    I read the analysis by Magnier and I can see why b recommended it. The piece by Bhadrakumar that Don Bacon linked @11 was equally good. And combined with the post by Ziad Fadel that karlof1 linked @49 we have a trifecta of superb analysis that rounds out b's summation, and places it all into global and historical perspective.

    We've entered an entirely distinct new phase of the Syrian conflict, which is itself the crucible of a much larger regional conflict, and ultimately of course a global and perhaps even civilizational conflict.

    This is the time of patience now, and those who are not patient will not meet the demands of this time, not on the battlefield, and not here on the sidelines - IMHO.

    Grieved , Jan 11, 2018 2:08:51 AM | 65
    @62

    Guess I should have recapped those links: Magnier , Bhadrakumar , Fadel .

    Piotr Berman , Jan 11, 2018 8:07:00 AM | 66
    Turkey is more plausible as the instigator of drones because they have the best control of what goes to Idlib-stan. Recently Erdogan was making pretty hostile comments against Assad, and he is unhappy with the offensive that aims to cut 1/3 of the Idlib-stan away.

    On the ground, both sides have limited number of mobile forces capable of serious attacks, and on Idlib-stan side, the leadership of such forces is fractured. Some decent counter attacks were launched in the last 24 hours, the advance of Tigers onto Abu Al-Duhur was repelled and there was an attack on the west flank of the salient that changed the control of two villages, if temporarily. This attack is ongoing. OTOH, Tigers are the best of SAA, of second-best are still quite good. Defense of Khanasser highway seem to consist of "third-best" and a quick reaction force that liquidates any breaches through third-best defenses. Now these "second-best" attack to split the east lobe of Idlib-stan into southern and northern parts, and they made impressive progress. That makes a real dilemma for the defenders how to allocate forces: Tigers on their west side, ISIS on their south, and Khanasser forces on the east (they were described as "SAA-led").

    Strangely enough, ISIS pocket so far avoided attacks on SAA, but one was also reported in the last 24 hours. This is a multi-way war theater.

    Ghost Ship , Jan 11, 2018 8:41:21 AM | 69
    Oh, and another thing? Does the United States have anything like the Pantsir? They used to have mobile radar-controlled autocannons but I think they were scrapped as being obsolete in the brave new world of air supremacy. I'd be interested to know how effective an F-22 or F-35 would be against a swarm of these drones.
    Actually I doubt the United States military would be so stupid as to organize an operation like this because it lays bare major issues they would have with such an attack. On the otherhand the idiots at the CIA are stupid and arrogant enough to do something like this and tell the USN that it would be worth their while to have a Posiden lurking in the area.

    I have to add that I'm a bit puzzled that it was a USN Boeing P-8 Poseidon that was used given it's designed for "anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping interdiction, along with an early warning self-protection (EWSP) ability". I would have expected it to be something like the USAF Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS. I suppose a naval aircraft flying over the Mediterranean is a bit more deniable.

    FB , Jan 11, 2018 12:21:23 PM | 73
    Ghost Ship @ 71...

    Yes...the Poseidon would have been within line of sight to the drones even from a long distance...

    This is a good point...

    Being an ASW ship doesn't mean the P8 can't carry all kinds of additional gear on board as needed...it's a Boeing 737 after all...with plenty of room on board...

    This brings up the possibility that the P8 'could' conceivably have been carrying radio transmitters working in the 72 MHz band and able to remotely control the UAVs...

    These transmitters would need to be much more powerful than off the shelf RC airplane transmitters which are limited to just 0.75 watt power by the FCC...

    By comparison a passenger jet VHF radio is 25 watts...and ATC [air traffic control] radios are from 25 to 100 W...

    It would not be difficult for any radio engineer to build a custom radio set in the 72 MHz band that could be as powerful as you want...25 W would be plenty to reach well over 100 km at an altitude a P8 would fly at...

    The antenna would be quite small and could even be inside a flying aircraft...similar to the small handheld backup VHF radios used by private pilots...

    However...and this is a big one...

    Doing something like this would be sure to be picked up instantly by the Russians...who are monitoring every single radio blip over Syria and beyond...

    This kind of thing could not be denied...

    We recall the incident in Syria in October 2016 where the Russians identified two Belgian F16s flying out of Jordan that bombed a village near Aleppo...

    The problem was that the US side did not notify the Russians of the flight in advance as per the deconfliction rules...

    Brussels denied the flight ever took place...but the Russians even had the airplanes' tail numbers...which is the real shocker...

    This info is only available to 'friendlies' by means of the warplane's IFF [identification friend or foe] transponder...which transmits an encrypted radio code...

    Friendly aircraft can thus identify the plane...but adversaries cannot...[although they can hear the transmissions]...

    It is still a mystery as to how the Russians managed to do this...but they made a big diplomatic kerfuffle over it and even presented the proof to the Belgians...so one must assume that they did in fact manage to do this...

    This gives an important clue as to the Russians' capability in the electronic warfare sphere...

    Considering this...it would seem idiotic that the Americans would try something like controlling that flight of terrorist UAVs from one of their aircraft...it would be easily proven as a hostile act against Russian forces...the repercussions would be significant...

    As for the possibility of having some terrorists near Hmeimim and Tartus with off the shelf RC transmitters...well...this could of course happen...but one would assume such infiltrators could not get very near those facilities...and those weak transmitters might not be up to the job from a distance of more than a few km...

    In any case...it is not necessary...an autopilot equipped homemade UAV like this could quite easily do what these did...

    Peter AU 1 , Jan 11, 2018 2:24:24 PM | 74
    According to this article, Putin is saying Turkey had nothing to do with the drone attack.
    https://sputniknews.com/russia/201801111060680364-putin-syria-bases-attack/
    ..."There were provocateurs there but they were not Turks, we know who was it was We know, how much and whom they have paid for this provocation," Putin said...
    ..."Concerning the attacks, we have no doubts that they had been well prepared, we know when and where these drones were transferred, as well as the number of drones," Putin added...

    [Jan 10, 2018] Yahoo News - Latest News Headlines

    Notable quotes:
    "... The National Interest ..."
    "... Dave Majumdar is the defense editor for The National Interest. You can follow him on Twitter: ..."
    Jan 10, 2018 | www.yahoo.com

    Russia Came Under Attack by a 'Swarm' In Syria, Says Report

    Dave Majumdar , The National Interest • January 08, 2018

    Dave Majumdar

    Security,

    <img src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/14vNXUc0bud_hF4Y3Vz_iw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/the_national_interest_705/57c59cea21ad2bbf47e88aaf673a158d" itemprop="url"/>
    Who launched the attack?

    Russia Came Under Attack by a 'Swarm' In Syria, Says Report

    Russian military forces at the Hmeymim air base and the Tartus logistics center in Syria came under attack by what appears to have been a swarm of drones. Some thirteen small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) made the attack, six of which were diverted by Russian electronic warfare systems while seven additional aircraft were dispatched by Pantsir-S1 air defense batteries.

    "During the hours of darkness Russian air defense facilities made clear 13 remoted unknown small-sized air targets approaching the Russian military assets," the Russian Defense Ministry told the TASS news agency . "Ten combat UAVs were approaching Russia's Hmeymim air base and three more - the logistics center of Tartus."

    The Russians are asserting that the unmanned aerial vehicles -- which appear to have indigenously manufactured -- were constructed with the aid of a developed country.

    Recommended: 1,700 Planes Ready for War: Everything You Need To Know About China's Air Force

    Recommended: Stealth vs. North Korea's Air Defenses: Who Wins?

    Recommended: America's Battleships Went to War Against North Korea ​

    "Engineering solutions used by terrorists when attacking Russian facilities in Syria could have been received only from a country with high technological potential on providing satellite navigation and distant control of firing competently assembled self-made explosive devices in appointed place," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

    Analysts dispute the Russian contention, arguing that UAV components are easily accessible and that drones are no longer the sole purview of state actors.

    "It's very likely that such parts were most likely acquired commercially, in which case we are entering a dangerous terra incognita with respect to unsanctioned UAV use by non-state and terrorist organizations," Samuel Bendett, a researcher specializing in unmanned systems at the Center for Naval Analyses, told The National Interest .

    Indeed, the UAVs -- which were 'home-made' -- were more capable in many regards than one might expect with ranges as great as 60 miles or more.

    "Previous UAV-borne attacks were via small commercial quadrocopters- their accuracy was often questionable but such UAVs used by the terrorist organizations created a powerful psychological effect," Bendett said. "Now, we seem to have home-made UAVs that flew for tens of kilometers to their target."

    The attack on the Russian forces in Syria -- though unsuccessful -- is likely the harbinger of more such UAV-borne swarm attacks.

    "If the Syrian conflict is a showcase of what is possible with existing and emerging technologies, then such a UAV-borne threat is dead-serious," Bendett said. "Some expertise is required to outfit such a UAV with navigational technologies, but again, those could be procured on the open market."

    While the Russians seem to believe that the insurgent group that launched the attack had support from an advanced nation-state, there does not seem to be much validity to Moscow's position.

    "So far, there is no validity to those claims," Bendett said. "The technology and expertise to make such a UAV is fairly widespread at this point."

    The fact of the matter is that drone technology has been democratized and this attack on the Russians in Syria is the harbinger of a future where even insurgent groups will have access to advanced capabilities.

    Dave Majumdar is the defense editor for The National Interest. You can follow him on Twitter: @davemajumdar .

    [Jan 06, 2018] Looks like Bannon self-immolated himself by his cooperation with Wolff

    Notable quotes:
    "... Bannon is almost universally loathed by the Washington press corps, and not just for his politics. When he was the CEO of the pro-Trump Breitbart website, he competed with traditional media outlets, and he has often mercilessly attacked and ridiculed them. ..."
    "... The animosity towards Bannon reached new heights last month, when he incautiously told the New York Times that "the media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while." He also said the media was "the opposition party" to the Trump administration. To the Washington media, those are truly fighting words. ..."
    "... Bannon's comments were outrageous, but they are hardly new. In 2009, President Obama's White House communications director, Anita Dunn, sought to restrict Fox News' access to the White House. She even said, "We're going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent." The media's outrage over that remark was restrained, to say the least. ..."
    "... Reporters and pundits are also stepping up the effort to portray Bannon as the puppet master in the White House. Last week, MSNBC's Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski said, "Legitimate media are getting word that Steve Bannon is the last guy in the room, in the evening especially, and he's pulling the strings." Her co-host, Joe Scarborough, agreed that Bannon's role should be "investigated." ..."
    "... I'm all for figuring out who the powers behind the curtain are in the White House, but we saw precious little interest in that during the Obama administration. ..."
    "... Liberal writer Steven Brill wrote a 2015 book, America's Bitter Pill , in which he slammed "incompetence in the White House" for the catastrophic launch of Obamacare. "Never [has there] been a group of people who more incompetently launched something," he told NPR's Terry Gross, who interviewed him about the book. He laid much of the blame at Jarrett's doorstep. "The people in the administration who knew it was going wrong went to the president directly with memos, in person, to his chief of staff," he said. "The president was protected, mostly by Valerie Jarrett, from doing anything. . . . He didn't know what was going on in the single most important initiative of his administration." How important was Jarrett inside the Obama White House? Brill interviewed the president about the struggles of Obamacare and reported Obama's conclusion: "At this point, I am not so interested in Monday-morning quarterbacking the past." ..."
    "... five of the highest-ranking Obama officials had told him that "as a practical matter . . . Jarrett was the real chief of staff on any issues that she wanted to weigh in on, and she jealously protected that position by making sure the president never gave anyone else too much power." When Brill asked the president about these aides' assessment of Jarrett, Obama "declined comment," Brill wrote in his book. That, in and of itself, was an answer. Would that Jarrett had received as much media scrutiny of her role in eight years under Obama as Bannon has in less than four weeks. ..."
    "... I've had my disagreements with Bannon, whose apocalyptic views on some issues I don't share. Ronald Reagan once said that if someone in Washington agrees with you 80 percent of the time, he is an ally, not an enemy. I'd guess Bannon wouldn't agree with that sentiment. ..."
    Feb 15, 2017 | www.unz.com
    ... ... ..

    Bannon is almost universally loathed by the Washington press corps, and not just for his politics. When he was the CEO of the pro-Trump Breitbart website, he competed with traditional media outlets, and he has often mercilessly attacked and ridiculed them.

    The animosity towards Bannon reached new heights last month, when he incautiously told the New York Times that "the media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while." He also said the media was "the opposition party" to the Trump administration. To the Washington media, those are truly fighting words.

    Joel Simon, of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told CNN that "this kind of speech not [only] undermines the work of the media in this country, it emboldens autocratic leaders around the world." Jacob Weisberg, the head of the Slate Group, tweeted that Bannon's comment was terrifying and "tyrannical."

    Bannon's comments were outrageous, but they are hardly new. In 2009, President Obama's White House communications director, Anita Dunn, sought to restrict Fox News' access to the White House. She even said, "We're going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent." The media's outrage over that remark was restrained, to say the least.

    Ever since Bannon's outburst, you can hear the media gears meshing in the effort to undermine him. In TV green rooms and at Washington parties, I've heard journalists say outright that it's time to get him. Time magazine put a sinister-looking Bannon on its cover, describing him as "The Great Manipulator." Walter Isaacson, a former managing editor of Time , boasted to MSNBC that the image was in keeping with a tradition of controversial covers that put leaders in their place. "Likewise, putting [former White House aide] Mike Deaver on the cover, the brains behind Ronald Reagan, that ended up bringing down Reagan," he told the hosts of Morning Joe . "So you've got to have these checks and balances, whether it's the judiciary or the press."

    Reporters and pundits are also stepping up the effort to portray Bannon as the puppet master in the White House. Last week, MSNBC's Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski said, "Legitimate media are getting word that Steve Bannon is the last guy in the room, in the evening especially, and he's pulling the strings." Her co-host, Joe Scarborough, agreed that Bannon's role should be "investigated."

    I'm all for figuring out who the powers behind the curtain are in the White House, but we saw precious little interest in that during the Obama administration.

    It wasn't until four years after the passage of Obamacare that a journalist reported on just how powerful White House counselor Valerie Jarrett had been in its flawed implementation. Liberal writer Steven Brill wrote a 2015 book, America's Bitter Pill , in which he slammed "incompetence in the White House" for the catastrophic launch of Obamacare. "Never [has there] been a group of people who more incompetently launched something," he told NPR's Terry Gross, who interviewed him about the book. He laid much of the blame at Jarrett's doorstep. "The people in the administration who knew it was going wrong went to the president directly with memos, in person, to his chief of staff," he said. "The president was protected, mostly by Valerie Jarrett, from doing anything. . . . He didn't know what was going on in the single most important initiative of his administration." How important was Jarrett inside the Obama White House? Brill interviewed the president about the struggles of Obamacare and reported Obama's conclusion: "At this point, I am not so interested in Monday-morning quarterbacking the past."

    Brill then bluntly told the president that five of the highest-ranking Obama officials had told him that "as a practical matter . . . Jarrett was the real chief of staff on any issues that she wanted to weigh in on, and she jealously protected that position by making sure the president never gave anyone else too much power." When Brill asked the president about these aides' assessment of Jarrett, Obama "declined comment," Brill wrote in his book. That, in and of itself, was an answer. Would that Jarrett had received as much media scrutiny of her role in eight years under Obama as Bannon has in less than four weeks.

    I've had my disagreements with Bannon, whose apocalyptic views on some issues I don't share. Ronald Reagan once said that if someone in Washington agrees with you 80 percent of the time, he is an ally, not an enemy. I'd guess Bannon wouldn't agree with that sentiment.

    But the media's effort to turn Bannon into an enemy of the people is veering into hysterical character assassination. The Sunday print edition of the New York Times ran an astonishing 1,500-word story headlined: "Fascists Too Lax for a Philosopher Cited by Bannon." (The online headline now reads, "Steve Bannon Cited Italian Thinker Who Inspired Fascists.") The Times based this headline on what it admits was "a passing reference" in a speech by Bannon at a Vatican conference in 2014 . In that speech, Bannon made a single mention of Julius Evola, an obscure Italian philosopher who opposed modernity and cozied up to Mussolini's Italian Fascists.

    - John Fund is NRO's national-affairs correspondent . https://twitter.com/@JohnFund

    [Jan 03, 2018] When Putin Talks on Syria, It Is Worth Listening

    Notable quotes:
    "... He talked about the welfare of Syrians as essential to preventing new terrorist outbreaks, about resettling refugees, about working with foreign partners, about the peace process. "All the parties involved should resist the temptation to take advantage of short-term political goals," ..."
    Jan 03, 2018 | russia-insider.com

    Originally from: When Putin Talks, It Is Worth Listening

    ... ... ...

    Syria. Putin did not distinguish between the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, which is in keeping with Russia's policy since it intervened at the Assad government's request two years ago. But he spoke about post–conflict challenges, notably. While most terrorist groups have been defeated, he said, there is a mop-up phase to complete. Russian forces have begun to withdraw, thus, but some will remain. This is what one would have expected. He had no comment on the Pentagon's recent announcement that US security forces will remain on Syrian soil indefinitely.

    The interesting part of Putin's remarks on Syria, at least to me, concerned Russia's responsibilities now that the war is over. He talked about the welfare of Syrians as essential to preventing new terrorist outbreaks, about resettling refugees, about working with foreign partners, about the peace process. "All the parties involved should resist the temptation to take advantage of short-term political goals,"

    Putin asserted. This is a healthy handful of tasks on which Russia now must prove out. Especially for those who supported Moscow's defense of Damascus to prevent Syria's collapse into another Libya or Iraq, it is time to watch the Russians. This will be their most importance performance since, by way of the Syria conflict, they have assumed a more influential role in the region.

    [Jan 02, 2018] Meet Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Secret Source In Trump Probe – The Forward

    Notable quotes:
    "... Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman ..."
    "... Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman ..."
    Jan 02, 2018 | forward.com

    ho is Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the 30-year-old White House aide who could be a key player in the blockbuster investigation into Russian ties to President Trump and his campaign?

    Cohen-Watnick, 30, who The New York Times reports provided key information in the probe, is a once fast-rising protege of ousted Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn with deep roots in suburban Washington's Jewish community.

    The paper identified him as one of two staffers who explosively gave information on intelligence gathering in the Russia probe to Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a move that potentially compromised the lawmaker's role in the bombshell probe.

    Share
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    Cohen-Watnick grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside the nation's capital, and attended the nearby Conservative synagogue Ohr Kodesh. Last November he celebrated his engagement to Rebecca Miller at the synagogue.

    He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2008. Cohen-Watnick began working as an intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency after college. At the DIA, Cohen-Watnick met Flynn, the then-director who was later removed from his position during the Obama administration.

    me title=

    After Trump won the November election, Flynn brought Cohen-Watnick from the DIA to the Trump transition team, where the young staffer, according to The Washington Post, was among the few Trump advisers to hold a top security clearance. He participated in high-level intelligence briefings and briefed Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their team on national security issues.

    When Flynn was appointed to lead the National Security Council, he hired Cohen-Watnick to work with him there. But Flynn served as national security adviser for less than a month before being asked to leave following revelations that he had maintained ties with Russia during the campaign.

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    Ezra Cohen-Watnick Identified As White House Source In Trump Russia Probe Daniel J. Solomon March 30, 2017

    Flynn's successor, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, sought to remove Cohen-Watnick from the team, following input from the CIA director who pointed to problems intelligence officers had when dealing with Cohen-Watnick. Questions were raised about his ability to carry out the position of senior NSC director for intelligence programs, who oversees ties with intelligence agencies and vets information that should reach the president's desk.

    me scrolling=

    But Cohen-Watnick was spared when Trump personally intervened, reportedly after top White House aides Sphen Bannon and Jared Kushner stepped in. Cohen-Watnick still serves as senior director at the NSC.

    Cohen-Watnick is known for holding hawkish views on national security issues and of being a proponent of an American tough line toward Iran.

    The Times said that Cohen-Watnick became swept up in the Russia probe this month, shortly after Trump wrote on Twitter about unsubstantiated claims of being wiretapped on the orders of the former president Barack Obama.

    Cohen-Watnick apparently was reviewing highly classified reports detailing the intercepted communications of foreign officials that consisted primarily of ambassadors and other foreign officials talking about how they were trying to curry favor with Trump's family and inner circle in advance of his inauguration.

    Share
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    Ezra Cohen-Watnick Kept In National Security Post After Trump Intervenes Josefin Dolsten Mar 15, 2017

    He and another aide, identified as Michael Ellis, came across information that Trump aides may have been inadvertently caught on some of the surveillance.

    Nunes says he went to the White House to meet with the aides, whom he has refused to identify. Nunes wolud not share the information with his colleagues on the committee but did brief Trump, raising major questions about his independence.

    Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman

    Read more: https://forward.com/news/367690/meet-ezra-cohen-watnick-the-secret-source-at-the-center-of-trump-russia-pro/ ho is Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the 30-year-old White House aide who could be a key player in the blockbuster investigation into Russian ties to President Trump and his campaign?

    Cohen-Watnick, 30, who The New York Times reports provided key information in the probe, is a once fast-rising protege of ousted Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn with deep roots in suburban Washington's Jewish community.

    The paper identified him as one of two staffers who explosively gave information on intelligence gathering in the Russia probe to Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a move that potentially compromised the lawmaker's role in the bombshell probe.

    Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Email

    Cohen-Watnick grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside the nation's capital, and attended the nearby Conservative synagogue Ohr Kodesh. Last November he celebrated his engagement to Rebecca Miller at the synagogue.

    He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 2008. Cohen-Watnick began working as an intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency after college. At the DIA, Cohen-Watnick met Flynn, the then-director who was later removed from his position during the Obama administration.

    me title=

    After Trump won the November election, Flynn brought Cohen-Watnick from the DIA to the Trump transition team, where the young staffer, according to The Washington Post, was among the few Trump advisers to hold a top security clearance. He participated in high-level intelligence briefings and briefed Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and their team on national security issues.

    When Flynn was appointed to lead the National Security Council, he hired Cohen-Watnick to work with him there. But Flynn served as national security adviser for less than a month before being asked to leave following revelations that he had maintained ties with Russia during the campaign.

    Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    Ezra Cohen-Watnick Identified As White House Source In Trump Russia Probe Daniel J. Solomon March 30, 2017

    Flynn's successor, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, sought to remove Cohen-Watnick from the team, following input from the CIA director who pointed to problems intelligence officers had when dealing with Cohen-Watnick. Questions were raised about his ability to carry out the position of senior NSC director for intelligence programs, who oversees ties with intelligence agencies and vets information that should reach the president's desk.

    me scrolling=

    But Cohen-Watnick was spared when Trump personally intervened, reportedly after top White House aides Sphen Bannon and Jared Kushner stepped in. Cohen-Watnick still serves as senior director at the NSC.

    Cohen-Watnick is known for holding hawkish views on national security issues and of being a proponent of an American tough line toward Iran.

    The Times said that Cohen-Watnick became swept up in the Russia probe this month, shortly after Trump wrote on Twitter about unsubstantiated claims of being wiretapped on the orders of the former president Barack Obama.

    Cohen-Watnick apparently was reviewing highly classified reports detailing the intercepted communications of foreign officials that consisted primarily of ambassadors and other foreign officials talking about how they were trying to curry favor with Trump's family and inner circle in advance of his inauguration.

    Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Email
    Ezra Cohen-Watnick Kept In National Security Post After Trump Intervenes Josefin Dolsten Mar 15, 2017

    He and another aide, identified as Michael Ellis, came across information that Trump aides may have been inadvertently caught on some of the surveillance.

    Nunes says he went to the White House to meet with the aides, whom he has refused to identify. Nunes wolud not share the information with his colleagues on the committee but did brief Trump, raising major questions about his independence.

    Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @nathanguttman

    Read more: https://forward.com/news/367690/meet-ezra-cohen-watnick-the-secret-source-at-the-center-of-trump-russia-pro/

    [Jan 02, 2018] False flag attacks using sharpshooters as a standard instrument of color revolutions

    Notable quotes:
    "... Andrew Bacevich needs to study more deeply about Syrian history and politics, since his description of Syrian president Bashar Assad as a brutal dictator fits as a description of Bashar's father Hafez Assad but is inaccurate in relation to Bashar Assad, who seems to have a rather gentle personality and is actually one of the more benign leaders in the Middle East. ..."
    "... Under that new constitution, in 2014 he ran in a free election observed by international observers against two other politicians and was reelected president. He has promised that if he loses the next election he will step down. ..."
    "... Nevertheless Assad has been systematically demonized by the governments and MSM of the US, UK, and France, as well as by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Demonization is a technique that is often used to prepare the way for regime change, and it is not based on objective analysis. ..."
    "... Similar tactics were used in Ukraine in February 2014 by ultranationalist Right Sector sharpshooters, who were seen shooting Maidan demonstrators. The deaths of the demonstrators were then blamed on the police. ..."
    "... "'From the start the protest movements were not purely peaceful. From the start I saw armed demonstrators marching along in the protests, who began to shoot at the police first. Very often the violence of the security forces has been a reaction to the brutal violence of the armed rebels.' ..."
    "... opposition is armed and frequently employs brutality and violence, only in order then to blame the government. ..."
    "... For an objective overview of the context of the events of 2011 in Syria that led to the international war against the elected Syrian government, see Stephen Gowans, "The Revolutionary Distemper in Syria That Wasn't." ..."
    "... Also see Gowans' well-researched 2016 book 'Washington's Long War on Syria.' The US has been demonizing and trying to overthrow the Syrian government for several decades now, above all because it is the only remaining semi-socialist nation in the Middle East and has single-payer national health insurance, support for the elderly, and free college education for all. Assad is no saint, but he is one of the more democratic and forward-looking leaders in the Middle East today. ..."
    Jan 02, 2018 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

    Gen Dau , , May 8, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    Andrew Bacevich needs to study more deeply about Syrian history and politics, since his description of Syrian president Bashar Assad as a brutal dictator fits as a description of Bashar's father Hafez Assad but is inaccurate in relation to Bashar Assad, who seems to have a rather gentle personality and is actually one of the more benign leaders in the Middle East.

    Bashar Assad had planned to be a doctor, and he studied medicine for two years in the UK before being ordered to return to Syria by his father after his elder brother died in an accident. Although there were some excesses by the police in 2011, Bashar Assad quickly relaxed some old security laws and pushed for a new democratic constitution, which was promulgated in 2012. Under that new constitution, in 2014 he ran in a free election observed by international observers against two other politicians and was reelected president. He has promised that if he loses the next election he will step down.

    Nevertheless Assad has been systematically demonized by the governments and MSM of the US, UK, and France, as well as by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Demonization is a technique that is often used to prepare the way for regime change, and it is not based on objective analysis. Although Assad is often called a butcher who gasses his own people, experts such as Theodore Postol of MIT and others have shown that not a single allegation of gassing by the Syrian government under Assad has ever been proven. In addition, many of the excesses by the Syrian police against demonstrators in 2011 seem to have been initiated by armed members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda in Syria, who quickly infiltrated the demonstrations.

    There have even been allegations that jihadi sharpshooters on rooftops shot demonstrators in false-flag attacks.

    Similar tactics were used in Ukraine in February 2014 by ultranationalist Right Sector sharpshooters, who were seen shooting Maidan demonstrators. The deaths of the demonstrators were then blamed on the police. In the case of Syria:

    "Syrian-based Father Frans van der Lugt was the Dutch priest murdered by a gunman in Homs . His involvement in reconciliation and peace activities never stopped him from lobbing criticisms at both sides in this conflict. But in the first year of the crisis, he penned some remarkable observations about the violence – this one in January 2012:

    "'From the start the protest movements were not purely peaceful. From the start I saw armed demonstrators marching along in the protests, who began to shoot at the police first. Very often the violence of the security forces has been a reaction to the brutal violence of the armed rebels.'

    "In September 2011 he wrote: 'From the start there has been the problem of the armed groups, which are also part of the opposition The opposition of the street is much stronger than any other opposition. And this opposition is armed and frequently employs brutality and violence, only in order then to blame the government. '"

    https://www.rt.com/op-edge/157412-syria-hidden-massacre-2011/

    For an objective overview of the context of the events of 2011 in Syria that led to the international war against the elected Syrian government, see Stephen Gowans, "The Revolutionary Distemper in Syria That Wasn't."

    https://gowans.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/the-revolutionary-distemper-in-syria-that-wasnt/

    Also see Gowans' well-researched 2016 book 'Washington's Long War on Syria.' The US has been demonizing and trying to overthrow the Syrian government for several decades now, above all because it is the only remaining semi-socialist nation in the Middle East and has single-payer national health insurance, support for the elderly, and free college education for all. Assad is no saint, but he is one of the more democratic and forward-looking leaders in the Middle East today.

    [Jan 02, 2018] Neocon warmongers should be treated as rapists by Andrew J. Bacevich

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... What's puzzling is why that capacity for outrage and demand for accountability doesn't extend to our now well-established penchant for waging war across much of the planet. ..."
    "... Compare their culpability to that of the high-ranking officials who have presided over or promoted this country's various military misadventures of the present century. Those wars have, of course, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and will ultimately cost American taxpayers many trillions of dollars. Nor have those costly military efforts eliminated "terrorism," as President George W. Bush promised back when today's G.I.s were still in diapers. ..."
    "... Bush told us that, through war, the United States would spread freedom and democracy. Instead, our wars have sown disorder and instability, creating failing or failed states across the Greater Middle East and Africa. In their wake have sprung up ever more, not fewer, jihadist groups, while acts of terror are soaring globally. These are indisputable facts. ..."
    "... For starters, there is no "new strategy." Trump's generals, apparently with a nod from their putative boss, are merely modifying the old "strategy," which was itself an outgrowth of previous strategies tried, found wanting, and eventually discarded before being rebranded and eventually recycled. ..."
    "... Thus far, Trump's interventionism has been a fragment of what the Hillary campaign promised. ..."
    "... This is the center of a world empire. It maintains a gigantic military which virtually never stops fighting wars, none of them having anything to do with defense. It has created an intelligence monstrosity which makes old outfits like Stazi seem almost quaint, and it spies on everyone. Indeed, it maintains seventeen national security establishments, as though you can never have too much of a good thing. And some of these guys, too, are engaged full-time in forms of covert war, from fomenting trouble in other lands and interfering in elections to overthrowing governments. ..."
    "... It's unlikely that the USA would be remaining in Afghanistan if its goals were not being attained. So the author has merely shown that the stated goals cannot be the real goals. What then are the real goals? I propose two: 1) establish a permanent military presence on a Russian border; 2) finance it with the heroin trade. Given other actions of the Empire around the globe, the first goal is obvious. The bombing of mud huts containing competitors' drug labs, conjoined with the fact that we do not destroy the actual poppy fields (obvious green targets in an immense ocean of brown) make this goal rather obvious as well. The rest of the article is simply more evidence that the Empire does not include mere human tragedy in its profit calculation. ..."
    "... Andrew Bacevich calls for a Weinstein moment without realizing that it already happened more than ten years ago. The 2006 midterm elections were the first Weinstein moment, which saw the American people deliver a huge outpouring of antiwar sentiment that inflicted significant congressional losses on the neocon Republicans of George W. Bush. ..."
    Dec 22, 2017 | www.unz.com

    What makes a Harvey Weinstein moment? The now-disgraced Hollywood mogul is hardly the first powerful man to stand accused of having abused women. The Harveys who preceded Harvey himself are legion, their prominence matching or exceeding his own and the misdeeds with which they were charged at least as reprehensible.

    In the relatively recent past, a roster of prominent offenders would include Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, and, of course, Donald Trump. Throw in various jocks, maestros, senior military officers, members of the professoriate and you end up with quite a list. Yet in virtually all such cases, the alleged transgressions were treated as instances of individual misconduct, egregious perhaps but possessing at best transitory political resonance.

    All that, though, was pre-Harvey. As far as male sexual hijinks are concerned, we might compare Weinstein's epic fall from grace to the stock market crash of 1929: one week it's the anything-goes Roaring Twenties, the next we're smack dab in a Great Depression.

    How profound is the change? Up here in Massachusetts where I live, we've spent the past year marking John F. Kennedy's 100th birthday. If Kennedy were still around to join in the festivities, it would be as a Class A sex offender. Rarely in American history has the cultural landscape shifted so quickly or so radically.

    In our post-Harvey world, men charged with sexual misconduct are guilty until proven innocent, all crimes are capital offenses, and there exists no statute of limitations. Once a largely empty corporate slogan, "zero tolerance" has become a battle cry.

    All of this serves as a reminder that, on some matters at least, the American people retain an admirable capacity for outrage. We can distinguish between the tolerable and the intolerable. And we can demand accountability of powerful individuals and institutions.

    Everything They Need to Win (Again!)

    What's puzzling is why that capacity for outrage and demand for accountability doesn't extend to our now well-established penchant for waging war across much of the planet.

    In no way would I wish to minimize the pain, suffering, and humiliation of the women preyed upon by the various reprobates now getting their belated comeuppance. But to judge from published accounts, the women (and in some cases, men) abused by Weinstein, Louis C.K., Mark Halperin, Leon Wieseltier, Kevin Spacey, Al Franken, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, Garrison Keillor, my West Point classmate Judge Roy Moore, and their compadres at least managed to survive their encounters. None of the perpetrators are charged with having committed murder. No one died.

    Compare their culpability to that of the high-ranking officials who have presided over or promoted this country's various military misadventures of the present century. Those wars have, of course, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and will ultimately cost American taxpayers many trillions of dollars. Nor have those costly military efforts eliminated "terrorism," as President George W. Bush promised back when today's G.I.s were still in diapers.

    Bush told us that, through war, the United States would spread freedom and democracy. Instead, our wars have sown disorder and instability, creating failing or failed states across the Greater Middle East and Africa. In their wake have sprung up ever more, not fewer, jihadist groups, while acts of terror are soaring globally. These are indisputable facts.

    It discomfits me to reiterate this mournful litany of truths. I feel a bit like the doctor telling the lifelong smoker with stage-four lung cancer that an addiction to cigarettes is adversely affecting his health. His mute response: I know and I don't care. Nothing the doc says is going to budge the smoker from his habit. You go through the motions, but wonder why.

    In a similar fashion, war has become a habit to which the United States is addicted. Except for the terminally distracted, most of us know that. We also know -- we cannot not know -- that, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. forces have been unable to accomplish their assigned mission, despite more than 16 years of fighting in the former and more than a decade in the latter.

    It's not exactly a good news story, to put it mildly. So forgive me for saying it ( yet again ), but most of us simply don't care, which means that we continue to allow a free hand to those who preside over those wars, while treating with respect the views of pundits and media personalities who persist in promoting them. What's past doesn't count; we prefer to sustain the pretense that tomorrow is pregnant with possibilities. Victory lies just around the corner.

    By way of example, consider a recent article in U.S. News and World Report. The headline: "Victory or Failure in Afghanistan: 2018 Will Be the Deciding Year." The title suggests a balance absent from the text that follows, which reads like a Pentagon press release. Here in its entirety is the nut graf (my own emphasis added):

    "Armed with a new strategy and renewed support from old allies, the Trump administration now believes it has everything it needs to win the war in Afghanistan. Top military advisers all the way up to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis say they can accomplish what two previous administrations and multiple troop surges could not: the defeat of the Taliban by Western-backed local forces, a negotiated peace and the establishment of a popularly supported government in Kabul capable of keeping the country from once again becoming a haven to any terrorist group."

    Now if you buy this, you'll believe that Harvey Weinstein has learned his lesson and can be trusted to interview young actresses while wearing his bathrobe.

    For starters, there is no "new strategy." Trump's generals, apparently with a nod from their putative boss, are merely modifying the old "strategy," which was itself an outgrowth of previous strategies tried, found wanting, and eventually discarded before being rebranded and eventually recycled.

    Short of using nuclear weapons, U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan over the past decade and a half have experimented with just about every approach imaginable: invasion, regime change, occupation, nation-building, pacification, decapitation, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency, not to mention various surges , differing in scope and duration. We have had a big troop presence and a smaller one, more bombing and less, restrictive rules of engagement and permissive ones. In the military equivalent of throwing in the kitchen sink, a U.S. Special Operations Command four-engine prop plane recently deposited the largest non-nuclear weapon in the American arsenal on a cave complex in eastern Afghanistan. Although that MOAB made a big boom, no offer of enemy surrender materialized.

    $65 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars. And under the circumstances, consider that a mere down payment.

    According to General John Nicholson, our 17th commander in Kabul since 2001, the efforts devised and implemented by his many predecessors have resulted in a "stalemate" -- a generous interpretation given that the Taliban presently controls more territory than it has held since the U.S. invasion. Officers no less capable than Nicholson himself, David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal among them, didn't get it done. Nicholson's argument: trust me.

    In essence, the "new strategy" devised by Trump's generals, Secretary of Defense Mattis and Nicholson among them, amounts to this: persist a tad longer with a tad more. A modest uptick in the number of U.S. and allied troops on the ground will provide more trainers, advisers, and motivators to work with and accompany their Afghan counterparts in the field. The Mattis/Nicholson plan also envisions an increasing number of air strikes, signaled by the recent use of B-52s to attack illicit Taliban " drug labs ," a scenario that Stanley Kubrick himself would have been hard-pressed to imagine.

    Notwithstanding the novelty of using strategic bombers to destroy mud huts, there's not a lot new here. Dating back to 2001, coalition forces have already dropped tens of thousands of bombs in Afghanistan. Almost as soon as the Taliban were ousted from Kabul, coalition efforts to create effective Afghan security forces commenced. So, too, did attempts to reduce the production of the opium that has funded the Taliban insurgency, alas with essentially no effect whatsoever . What Trump's generals want a gullible public (and astonishingly gullible and inattentive members of Congress) to believe is that this time they've somehow devised a formula for getting it right.

    Turning the Corner

    With his trademark capacity to intuit success, President Trump already sees clear evidence of progress. "We're not fighting anymore to just walk around," he remarked in his Thanksgiving message to the troops. "We're fighting to win. And you people [have] turned it around over the last three to four months like nobody has seen." The president, we may note, has yet to visit Afghanistan.

    I'm guessing that the commander-in-chief is oblivious to the fact that, in U.S. military circles, the term winning has acquired notable elasticity. Trump may think that it implies vanquishing the enemy -- white flags and surrender ceremonies on the U.S.S. Missouri . General Nicholson knows better. "Winning," the field commander says , "means delivering a negotiated settlement that reduces the level of violence and protecting the homeland." (Take that definition at face value and we can belatedly move Vietnam into the win column!)

    Should we be surprised that Trump's generals, unconsciously imitating General William Westmoreland a half-century ago, claim once again to detect light at the end of the tunnel? Not at all. Mattis and Nicholson (along with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster) are following the Harvey Weinstein playbook: keep doing it until they make you stop. Indeed, with what can only be described as chutzpah, Nicholson himself recently announced that we have " turned the corner " in Afghanistan. In doing so, of course, he is counting on Americans not to recall the various war managers, military and civilian alike, who have made identical claims going back years now, among them Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in 2012 .

    From on high, assurances of progress; in the field, results that, year after year, come nowhere near what's promised; on the homefront, an astonishingly credulous public. The war in Afghanistan has long since settled into a melancholy and seemingly permanent rhythm.

    The fact is that the individuals entrusted by President Trump to direct U.S. policy believe with iron certainty that difficult political problems will yield to armed might properly employed. That proposition is one to which generals like Mattis and Nicholson have devoted a considerable part of their lives, not just in Afghanistan but across much of the Islamic world. They are no more likely to question the validity of that proposition than the Pope is to entertain second thoughts about the divinity of Jesus Christ.

    In Afghanistan, their entire worldview -- not to mention the status and clout of the officer corps they represent -- is at stake. No matter how long the war there lasts, no matter how many " generations " it takes, no matter how much blood is shed to no purpose, and no matter how much money is wasted, they will never admit to failure -- nor will any of the militarists-in-mufti cheering them on from the sidelines in Washington, Donald Trump not the least among them.

    Meanwhile, the great majority of the American people, their attention directed elsewhere -- it's the season for holiday shopping, after all -- remain studiously indifferent to the charade being played out before their eyes.

    It took a succession of high-profile scandals before Americans truly woke up to the plague of sexual harassment and assault. How long will it take before the public concludes that they have had enough of wars that don't work? Here's hoping it's before our president, in a moment of ill temper, unleashes " fire and fury " on the world.

    Andrew J. Bacevich, a TomDispatch regular , is the author, most recently, of America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History .

    anonymous , Disclaimer December 11, 2017 at 3:31 am GMT

    It's astonishing to see people make the claim that "victory" is possible in Afghanistan. Could they actually believe this or are they lying in order to drag this out even longer and keep the money pit working overtime? These are individuals that are highly placed and so should know better. It's not really a war but an occupation with the native insurgents fighting to oust the foreign occupier. The US has tried every trick there is in trying to tamp down the insurgency. They know what we're trying to do and can thwart us at every step. The US lost even as it began it's invasion there but didn't know it yet in the wake of it's initial success in scattering the Taliban, not even a real army and not even a real state. They live there and we don't; they can resist for the next thirty years or fifty years. When does the multi-billion bill come due and how will we pay it?
    Issac , December 12, 2017 at 4:07 am GMT
    "How long will it take before the public concludes that they have had enough of wars that don't work?"

    It already happened, but Progressives like you failed to note that Republican voters subbed the Bush clan and their various associates for Trump in the Primary season, precisely because he called the Iraq and Afghan wars mistakes. The Americans suffer under a two party establishment that is clearly antagonistic to their interests. As a part of that regime, a dutiful Progressive toad, you continue to peddle the lie that it was the war-weary White Americans who celebrated those wars. In reality, any such support was ginned up from tools like you who wrote puff pieces for their Neocon Progressive masters.

    Thus far, Trump's interventionism has been a fragment of what the Hillary campaign promised. Might you count that among your lucky stars? Fat chance. You cretinous Progressive filth have no such spine upon which to base an independent thought. You trot out the same old tiresome tropes week after week fulfilling your designated propagandist duty and then you skulk back to your den of iniquity to prepare another salvo of agitprop. What a miserable existence.

    USAMNESIA , December 14, 2017 at 3:32 am GMT
    This is the center of a world empire. It maintains a gigantic military which virtually never stops fighting wars, none of them having anything to do with defense. It has created an intelligence monstrosity which makes old outfits like Stazi seem almost quaint, and it spies on everyone. Indeed, it maintains seventeen national security establishments, as though you can never have too much of a good thing. And some of these guys, too, are engaged full-time in forms of covert war, from fomenting trouble in other lands and interfering in elections to overthrowing governments.

    Obama ended up killing more people than any dictator or demagogue of this generation on earth you care to name, several hundred thousand of them in his eight years. And he found new ways to kill, too, as by creating the world's first industrial-scale extrajudicial killing operation. Here he signs off on "kill lists," placed in his Oval Office in-box, to murder people he has never seen, people who enjoy no legal rights or protections. His signed orders are carried out by uniformed thugs working at computer screens in secure basements where they proceed to play computer games with real live humans as their targets, again killing or maiming people they have never seen.

    If you ever have wondered where all the enabling workers came from in places like Stalin's Gulag or Hitler's concentration camps, well, here is your answer. American itself produces platoons of such people. You could find them working at Guantanamo and in the far-flung string of secret torture facilities the CIA ran for years, and you could find them in places like Fallujah or Samarra or Abu Ghraib, at the CIA's basement game arcade killing centers, and even all over the streets of America dressed as police who shoot unarmed people every day, sometimes in the back.

    https://chuckmanwords.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/john-chuckman-essay-of-wizards-and-washington-and-the-dreary-unrelenting-reality-of-american-politics-a-raw-and-sometimes-darkly-comic-survey-of-americas-treacherous-political-terrain/

    nsa , December 18, 2017 at 5:36 am GMT
    ZOG has now asserted the right to kill anyone, anywhere, anytime, for any reason. No trial, no hearing, no witnesses, no defense, no nothing. Is this actually legal? Any constitutional lawyers out there care to comment? Has ZOG now achieved the status of an all-powerful all-knowing deity with the power of life and death over all living things?
    Waiting too , December 18, 2017 at 10:36 am GMT
    It's unlikely that the USA would be remaining in Afghanistan if its goals were not being attained. So the author has merely shown that the stated goals cannot be the real goals. What then are the real goals? I propose two: 1) establish a permanent military presence on a Russian border; 2) finance it with the heroin trade. Given other actions of the Empire around the globe, the first goal is obvious. The bombing of mud huts containing competitors' drug labs, conjoined with the fact that we do not destroy the actual poppy fields (obvious green targets in an immense ocean of brown) make this goal rather obvious as well. The rest of the article is simply more evidence that the Empire does not include mere human tragedy in its profit calculation.
    War for Blair Mountain , December 18, 2017 at 1:09 pm GMT
    5.6 TRILLION $$$$$$ FOR GULF WAR 1 AND GULF WAR 2

    The Native Born White American Working Class Teenage Male Population used as CANNON FODDER for Congressman Steven Solarz's and Donald Trump's very precious Jewish only Israel .

    WAR IS A RACKET!!!! don't you think?

    DESERT FOX , December 18, 2017 at 1:43 pm GMT
    Israel and the deep state did the attack on 911 and thus set the table for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and Libya and Syria and the Zionist neocons who control every facet of the U.S. gov and the MSM and the MIC and the FED ie the BANKS set in motion the blood sacrifice for their Zionist god SATAN, that is what they have done.

    The Zionist warmongers and Satanists will destroy America.

    Michael Kenny , December 18, 2017 at 2:17 pm GMT
    It's not so much that America is addicted to war as that the American "business model" makes permanent war inevitable. US global dominance rests on economic domination, in particular, the dollar as world reserve currency. That has allowed the US economy to survive in spite of being hollowed out, financialised and burdened with enormous sovereign debt. Economic dominance derives from political dominance, which, in its turn, flows from military dominance. For that military dominance to be credible, not only must the US have the biggest and best military forces on the planet, it must show itself willing to use those forces to maintain its dominance by actually using them from time to time, in particular, to unequivocally beat off any challenge to its dominance (Putin!). It also, of course, must win, or, more correctly, be able to present the outcome credibly as a win. Failure to maintain military dominance will undermine the position of the dollar, sending its value through the floor. A low dollar means cheap exports (Boeing will sell more planes than Airbus!), but it also means that imports (oil, outsourced goods) will be dear. At that point the hollowed out nature of the US economy will cut in, probably provoking a Soviet-style implosion of the US economy and society and ruining anyone who has holdings denominated in dollars. I call that the Gorbachev conundrum. Gorby believed in the Soviet Union and wanted to reform it. But the Soviet system had become so rigid as to be unreformable. He pulled a threat and the whole system unravelled. But if he hadn't pulled the thread, the whole system would have unravelled anyway. It was a choice between hard landing and harder landing. Similarly, US leaders have to continue down the only road open to them: permanent war. As Thomas Jefferson said of slavery, it's like holding a wolf by the ears. You don't like it but you don't dare let go!
    TG , December 18, 2017 at 2:36 pm GMT
    "How long will it take before the public concludes that they have had enough of wars that don't work?" Answer: Never.

    In Alabama when people would rant about how toxic Roy Moore was, I would politely point out that his opponent for Senate was OK with spending trillions of dollars fighting pointless winless wars on the other side of the planet just so politically connected defense contractors can make a buck, and ask if that should be an issue too? The response, predictably, was as if I was an alien from the planet Skyron in the galaxy of Andromeda.

    We are sheep. We are outraged at these sexual transgressions because the corporate press tells us to be outraged. We are not outraged at these stupid foreign wars, because the corporate press does not tell us to be outraged. It's all mass effect, and the comfort of being in a herd and all expressing the same feelings.

    Intelligent Dasein , Website December 18, 2017 at 2:37 pm GMT
    Andrew Bacevich is wrong about a couple of things in this article.

    First, he says that the American public is both apathetic and credulous. I agree that we have largely become apathetic towards these imperial wars, but I disagree that we have become credulous. In fact, these two states of mind exclude one another; you cannot be both apathetic and credulous with respect to the same object at the same time. The credulity charge is easy to dismiss because virtually no one today believes anything that comes out of Washington or its mouthpieces in the legacy media. The apathy charge is on point but it needs qualification. The smarter, more informed Americans have seen that their efforts to change the course of American policy have been to no avail, and they've given up in frustration and disgust. The less smart, less informed Americans are constrained by the necessity of getting on with their meager lives; they are an apolitical mass that possesses neither the understanding nor the capacity to make any difference on the policy front whatsoever.

    Second, Andrew Bacevich calls for a Weinstein moment without realizing that it already happened more than ten years ago. The 2006 midterm elections were the first Weinstein moment, which saw the American people deliver a huge outpouring of antiwar sentiment that inflicted significant congressional losses on the neocon Republicans of George W. Bush. An echo of that groundswell happened again in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected to office on an explicitly antiwar platform. But Obama turned out to be one of the most pro-war presidents ever, and thus an angry electorate made one final push in the same direction by attempting to clean house with Donald Trump. Now that Donald has shown every sign of having cucked out to the war lobby, we seem to be left with no electoral solutions.

    The only thing that's going to work is for the American Imperium to be handed a much-deserved military and financial defeat. The one encouraging fact is that if the top ten percent of our political and financial elite were planed off by a foreign power, the American people would give as few damns about that as they currently do about our imperial wars.

    Ilyana_Rozumova , December 18, 2017 at 3:04 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Very good but some little errors. Concerning Russia and China, Russia vent all or nothing. China was much smarter. First they allowed self employment, than small business and long time after they started to sell state enterprises,

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 18, 2017 at 3:17 pm GMT
    If Tom's Dispatch continues to be successful, Americans will continue to be asleep.

    Masterful propaganda. War, according to our favorite spooks, is necessary to win, but otherwise reprehensible.

    Sex is otherwise necessary for human life but Harvey Weinstein is ugly. Hold tightly to your cognitive dissonance, because you're expected to remember John F Kennedy who got it on, but is the expendable martyr you should care about, not that other guy

    Let's review: terror attacks are wins. Superior or effective anti-war propaganda comes from the military
    itself. They really don't want war, but really they do.

    nebulafox , December 18, 2017 at 4:00 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    We're trying to make Afghanistan not Afghanistan: aka, trying to be a miracle worker. We can throw as much money as we like at that place, and it isn't going to happen, least of all with troops on nine month shifts.

    Let Iran and Pakistan squabble over it. Good riddance.

    nebulafox , December 18, 2017 at 4:08 pm GMT
    @Waiting too

    1) doesn't really make much sense, given that Poland and the Baltic States would be more than happy to take all US forces in Europe to give us a presence near Russia in a part of the world that would be far easier to justify to the American public-and to the international community. Afghanistan? Who exactly is Russia going to mess with? Iran is their-for now, longer term, the two have conflicting agendas in the region, but don't expect the geniuses in the Beltway to pick up on that opportunity-ally, and unlike the USSR, the Russians don't want to get involved in the India-Pakistan conflict. Russia's current tilt toward China makes a strategic marriage with India of the kind that you found in the Cold War impossible, but they obviously don't want to tilt toward the basketcase known as Pakistan. The only reason that Russia would want to get involved with Afghanistan beyond having a more preferable status than having American troops there is power projection among ex-Soviet states, and there are far more effective ways to do than muddle about with Afghanistan.

    2, on the other hand, given Iran-Contra who knows? The first generation of the Taliban pretty much wiped the heroin trade out as offensive to Islamic sensibilities, but the newer generations have no such qualms.

    I think you give America's rulers far too much credit. The truth is probably far scarier: the morons who work in the Beltway honestly believe their own propaganda-that we can make Afghanistan into some magical Western democracy if we throw enough money at it-and combine that with the usual bureaucratic inertia.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 18, 2017 at 4:28 pm GMT
    @Waiting too

    Another bonus is that Afghan heroin seeps into Russia and wreaks havoc in the regions bordering Afghanistan -- krokodil and all that.

    Art , December 18, 2017 at 4:45 pm GMT
    According to General John Nicholson, our 17th commander in Kabul since 2001,

    We have been killing these people for 17 years. Now our generals say that if we indiscriminately kill enough men, women, and children who get in the way of our B52s, that they will see the light and make peace. How totally wonderful.

    My solution is to gage the Lindsey Grahams for a year.

    What will do more good for peace – B52s or shutting up Graham's elk?

    Think Peace -- Art

    MarkinLA , December 18, 2017 at 5:59 pm GMT
    I remember when Trump said he knew more than the generals and was viciously attacked for it. It turns out he did know more than the generals just by knowing it was a waste. Trump was pushed by politics to defer to the generals who always have an answer when it comes to a war – more men, more weapons, more time.
    Sollipsist , December 18, 2017 at 6:20 pm GMT
    @Intelligent Dasein

    "The less smart, less informed Americans are constrained by the necessity of getting on with their meager lives; they are an apolitical mass that possesses neither the understanding nor the capacity to make any difference on the policy front whatsoever."

    I wonder if any Abolitionists criticized the slaves for failing to revolt? Probably not; I'm guessing they were mostly convinced that the negro required intervention from outside, whether due to their nature or from overwhelming circumstance.

    If the enslaved American public is liberated, I hope we'll know what to do with ourselves afterwards. It'd be a shame to simply end up in another kind of bondage, resentful and subject to whatever oppressive system replaces the current outrage. Perhaps the next one will more persuasively convince us that we're important and essential?

    peterAUS , December 18, 2017 at 6:46 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Agree.
    Very good post, IMHO.

    That phrase "a choice between hard landing and harder landing" is good and can be easily applied to USA today.

    Interesting times.

    peterAUS , December 18, 2017 at 6:47 pm GMT
    @TG

    Agree.
    This is well written, IMHO:

    We are sheep. We are outraged at these sexual transgressions because the corporate press tells us to be outraged. We are not outraged at these stupid foreign wars, because the corporate press does not tell us to be outraged. It's all mass effect, and the comfort of being in a herd and all expressing the same feelings.

    Sowhat , December 18, 2017 at 7:29 pm GMT
    Thank you, Andrew J. Bacevich, for your words of wisdom and thank you, Mr. Unz, for this post.
    This corporation needs to be dissolved. I've read about "the inertia" of Federal Government that has morphed into a cash cow for a century of wasted tax dollars funding the MIIC, now the MIIC. Does our existence have to end in financial ruin or, worse yet, some foreign entity creating havoc on our soil?
    The Founders NEVER intended that the US of A become a meddler in other Sovereignty's internal affairs or the destroyer of Nation States that do not espoused our "doctrine." Anyone without poop for brains knows that this is about Imperialism and greed, fueled by money and an insatiable luster for MORE.
    This should be easier to change than it appears. Is there no will? After all, it Is our Master's money that lubricates the machinery. So, we continue to provide the lubrication for our Masters like a bunch of imbeciles that allow them to survail our words and movements. Somebody please explain our stupidity.
    Delinquent Snail , December 18, 2017 at 8:57 pm GMT
    @nebulafox

    If americans would just go all in and commit genocide. That would lead to victory.

    No afgans, no enemy.

    joe webb , December 18, 2017 at 8:58 pm GMT
    the folks in the US are sick of the wars, contrary to Bacevich. They simply will vote come next election accordingly. They register their disgust in all the polls.

    This article is not very useful. More punditry puff.

    No comments on the Next War for Israel being cooked up by the new crop of neocon youngsters, I guess, and Trump who will trump, trump, trump into the next War for the Jews.

    How about some political science on Iran, Syria, Hisbollah, Hamas and the US, Arabia, Judenstaat axis of evil?

    Joe Webb

    Jim Christian , December 18, 2017 at 9:07 pm GMT
    Hey Bacevich? When you link to WashPost and NYTimes to make your points, you don't. They block access if you've already read links to those two papers three times each and can no longer, for the month, read there. When folks link to papers that won't let you read, it makes one wonder why.
    Simply Simon , December 18, 2017 at 10:26 pm GMT
    I believe Americans are damned sick and tired of the stupid, needless war in Afghanistan. But then they should have been sick and tired of stupid , needless wars like Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, and probably most of them were. But it's easy to be complacent when someone else's son is doing the fighting and dying And it's easy to be complacent when your stomach is full and you have plenty of booze and pain killers available. There will be a day of reckoning when the next big economic bust arrives and which may make the Great Depression paltry by comparison. America is a far different place then it was in the 1930s when our population was 140 million. Americans were not so soft and the conveniences we now take for granted not available. When the supermarkets run out of food, watch out. There may not even be any soup lines to stand in.
    Joe Franklin , December 18, 2017 at 11:21 pm GMT

    In truth, U.S. commanders have quietly shelved any expectations of achieving an actual victory -- traditionally defined as "imposing your will on the enemy" -- in favor of a more modest conception of success.

    Your assumptions are wrong about the US goal of the invasion of Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Iraq were not invaded to establish democracy or impose American will whatever that is. Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded to establish a temporary military staging ground for a US invasion of Iran, the designated regional enemy of Israel. As long as the current regime in Iran remains, the US will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    ... ... ...

    Druid , December 19, 2017 at 12:41 am GMT
    @Waiting too

    And minerals! Eric Prince himself recently tried to sell the idea of having his private militias do the fighting in Afghanistan for the US and finance it by mining said country's minerals, thus making himself even richer.

    anno nimus , December 19, 2017 at 1:53 am GMT
    "i can live without a friend, but not without an enemy."
    Cloak And Dagger , December 19, 2017 at 5:03 am GMT
    @SolontoCroesus

    I was onboard with Mr. Bacevich, until I got to this:

    Almost as soon as the Taliban were ousted from Kabul, coalition efforts to create effective Afghan security forces commenced. So, too, did attempts to reduce the production of the opium that has funded the Taliban insurgency

    What utter rubbish! The Taliban was instrumental in shutting down the poppy production until the CIA came along and restarted it to fund their black ops.

    http://www.sfaw.org/newswire/2017/03/28/a-conspiracy-theory-that-became-a-conspiracy-fact-the-cia-afghanistans-poppy-fields-and-americas-growing-heroin-epidemic/

    We have the reverse Midas touch. Everything we touch (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, etc., etc.) turns to shit. We supposedly attack countries to liberate them from their tyrants who are supposedly killing their own people, and end up killing more people than all of them put together. And, oh yes, we have our favorite tyrants (Saudis, Israelis) whom we provide with horrible weapons (like cluster bombs) to help them kill people we hate.

    Mr. Bacevich is right about the lack of outrage about our wars, but the current Weinstein explosion consists of hordes of mostly American female victims, mostly white, a (very) few jews, and a few men, who have the stage to complain about their oppressors. What would be the counterpart of that w.r.t. the wars? Millions of brown victims in far away lands that most of us couldn't even find on a map? How likely is that to happen?

    So yes, no outrage, and none likely. The last 17 years have proven that.

    Joe Wong , December 20, 2017 at 2:25 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    You don't know the American has been paying everything through monopoly money printed through the thin air since WWI, i.e. a keystroke on the Federal Reserve's computer? No wonder the Americans have been waging reckless wars all over the world on the fabricated phantom WMD allegations as humanitarian intervention relentlessly.

    Romans did not stop waging reckless wars until their empire collapsed; the British imitates the Romans and the American is born out of the British, hence the Americans will no stop waging reckless wars until their empire collapsed like the Romans.

    [Jan 02, 2018] BOOK REVIEW: America s War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich by David Rohde

    This review way written almost two year ago. The new President is now sitting in White house. Nothing changed.
    The problem with Bacevich' views is that neoliberalism dictates expansion and maintenance of neoliberal empire as well in best Trotskyism tradition "export of neoliberal revolution" using bayonets, if other means do not work. So this is the nature of the neoliberal beast, not an aberration like he assumes. Militarism is essence of US foreign policy under neoliberalism.
    Notable quotes:
    "... This book, Bacevich's eighth, extends his string of brutal, bracing and essential critiques of the pernicious role of reflexive militarism in American foreign policy. As in past books, Bacevich is thought-­provoking, profane and fearless. Assailing generals, journalists and foreign policy experts alike, he links together more than a dozen military interventions that span 35 years and declares them a single war. Bacevich analyzes each intervention, looking for common themes from Carter's late 1970s missteps to Barack Obama's widespread use of assassination by drone strike today. ..."
    "... A presumption that using military power signified to friends and foes that Washington was getting serious about a problem diminished the role of diplomats and diplomacy. " 'Getting serious' also implied a preference for uniforms over suits as the principal agents of U.S. policy," Bacevich writes. "Henceforth, rather than military power serving as the handmaiden of diplomacy, the reverse would be true." ..."
    "... In another repeated mistake, triumphalist American commanders prematurely declare victory without realizing that their opponent has simply withdrawn to fight another day as a guerrilla force, as occurred in Afghanistan in 2001. They also personalize the enemy, wrongly assuming that the removal of figures like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Muammar Qaddafi will instantly end conflict. ..."
    "... From Somalia in 1993 to Yemen today, American commanders and policy makers overestimated the advantage American military technology bestows on them. And most crucially of all, the United States has failed to decide whether it is, in fact, at war. ..."
    "... "In the war for the greater Middle East, the United States chose neither to contain nor to crush, instead charting a course midway in between," Bacevich writes. "Instead of intimidating, U.S. military efforts have annoyed, incited and generally communicated a lack of both competence and determination." ..."
    "... For all that, Bacevich is right that the United States' reflexive use of armed intervention in the Middle East is folly. An unquestioning faith in military might and an underinvestment in diplomacy has tied Washington in a policy straitjacket. Bacevich's call for Americans to rethink their nation's militarized approach to the Middle East is incisive, urgent and essential. ..."
    Apr 15, 2016 | www.nytimes.com

    BOOK REVIEW: AMERICA'S WAR FOR THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST (A Military History) By Andrew J. Bacevich Illustrated. 453 pp. Random House. $30.

    In the opening chapter of his latest book, the military historian Andrew J. Bacevich blames Jimmy Carter, a president commonly viewed as more meek than martial, for unwittingly spawning 35 years of American military intervention in the Middle East. Bacevich argues that three mistakes by Carter set precedents that led to decades of squandered American lives and treasure.

    First, Carter called on Americans to stop worshiping "self-indulgence and consumption" and join a nationwide effort to conserve energy. Self-sacrifice, he argued in what is now widely derided as Carter's "malaise speech," would free Americans from their dependence on foreign oil and "help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country."

    The president came across as more hectoring pastor than visionary leader, Bacevich argues in "America's War for the Greater Middle East." His guileless approach squandered an opportunity to persuade Americans reeling from high foreign oil prices to trade "dependence for autonomy."

    Carter's second mistake was authorizing American support to guerrillas fighting a Soviet-backed regime in Afghanistan, a move that eventually helped fuel the spread of radical Islam. Finally, in a misguided effort to counter views that he was "too soft," Carter declared that the United States would respond with military force to any outside effort to seize Persian Gulf oil fields. "This statement, subsequently enshrined as the Carter Doctrine, inaugurated America's war for the greater Middle East," Bacevich writes.

    This book, Bacevich's eighth, extends his string of brutal, bracing and essential critiques of the pernicious role of reflexive militarism in American foreign policy. As in past books, Bacevich is thought-­provoking, profane and fearless. Assailing generals, journalists and foreign policy experts alike, he links together more than a dozen military interventions that span 35 years and declares them a single war. Bacevich analyzes each intervention, looking for common themes from Carter's late 1970s missteps to Barack Obama's widespread use of assassination by drone strike today.

    Washington's penchant for intervention, Bacevich contends, is driven by more than America's thirst for oil or the military-­industrial complex's need for new enemies. In addition to these two factors, he argues that "a deeply pernicious collective naďveté" among both Republicans and Democrats spawns interventions doomed by "confusion and incoherence."

    The ultimate responsibility for the United States' actions lies with an "oblivious" American public engrossed in "shallow digital enthusiasms and the worship of celebrity," Bacevich writes. Americans support freedom, democracy and prosperity in other nations, he tells us, as long as they get the lion's share of it. "Ensuring that Americans enjoy their rightful quota (which is to say, more than their fair share) of freedom, abundance and security comes first," Bacevich says. "Everything else figures as an afterthought."

    Bacevich's argument is heavy-handed at times, but when he writes about military strategy, he is genuinely incisive. Citing numerous examples, he convincingly argues that destructive myths about the efficacy of American military power blind policy makers, generals and voters. The use of overwhelming lethal force does not immediately cause dictators or terrorists to turn tail and run, even if that's what politicians in Washington want to believe. Rather, it often leads to resentment, chaos and resistance.

    A presumption that using military power signified to friends and foes that Washington was getting serious about a problem diminished the role of diplomats and diplomacy. " 'Getting serious' also implied a preference for uniforms over suits as the principal agents of U.S. policy," Bacevich writes. "Henceforth, rather than military power serving as the handmaiden of diplomacy, the reverse would be true."

    In another repeated mistake, triumphalist American commanders prematurely declare victory without realizing that their opponent has simply withdrawn to fight another day as a guerrilla force, as occurred in Afghanistan in 2001. They also personalize the enemy, wrongly assuming that the removal of figures like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and Muammar Qaddafi will instantly end conflict.

    From Somalia in 1993 to Yemen today, American commanders and policy makers overestimated the advantage American military technology bestows on them. And most crucially of all, the United States has failed to decide whether it is, in fact, at war.

    "In the war for the greater Middle East, the United States chose neither to contain nor to crush, instead charting a course midway in between," Bacevich writes. "Instead of intimidating, U.S. military efforts have annoyed, incited and generally communicated a lack of both competence and determination." The historical forces at work in the Middle East are different from the dynamics that led to American victories in World War II and the Cold War. American officials have failed to understand that. What's more, a deluded Washington foreign policy establishment believes that an American way of life based on "consumption and choice" will be accepted over time in the "Islamic world."

    But it is here, in his description of the "Islamic world," that Bacevich stumbles. What is missing in this book about "the greater Middle East" are the people of the greater Middle East. Bacevich's most highly developed Muslim character in these pages is Saddam Hussein. The former Afghan president Hamid Karzai is a distant second. Beyond those two, the rest of the world's estimated 1.6 billion Muslims come across as two-dimensional caricatures.

    And so Bacevich lumps together vastly different nationalities - from Bosnians to Iraqis to Somalis - often referring to all of them primarily as "Muslims." The dizzying complexities of each country's history, politics, culture, resources and rivalries are missing. And when it comes to how "Muslims" view the world, Bacevich veers into the simplistic essentialism that he accuses Washington policy makers of following.

    Bacevich suggests that in the "Islamic world" lifestyles based on "consumption and choice" might not work. Such broad-brush statements might well be considered simplistic and even bigoted if applied to other faiths. Can one contend that a "Christian world," "Hindu world" or "Jewish world" exists? Are such generalizations analytically useful? Do the world's hundreds of millions of Muslims practice their faith identically?

    As a result of this essentialism, Bacevich glosses over a vital point about the Middle East today: A historic and brutal struggle between radicals and modernists for the future of the region is underway. One can argue that the United States has no place in that fight, but making sweeping generalizations about Muslims as Bacevich does limits our understanding of the forces at work in the region. It also plays into the hands of extremists who seek to divide the world by faith.

    In the most troubling passage of the book, Bacevich breezily questions pluralism itself. "According to one of the prevailing shibboleths of the present age, this commingling of cultures is inherently good," he writes. "It fosters pluralism, thereby enriching everyday life. Yet cultural interaction also induces friction, whether spontaneously generated or instigated by demagogues and provocateurs."

    We do live in a dangerous world, but it is also an inevitably interconnected one. The commingling of cultures cannot be stopped. Nor should it be.

    For all that, Bacevich is right that the United States' reflexive use of armed intervention in the Middle East is folly. An unquestioning faith in military might and an underinvestment in diplomacy has tied Washington in a policy straitjacket. Bacevich's call for Americans to rethink their nation's militarized approach to the Middle East is incisive, urgent and essential.

    David Rohde is the national security investigations editor for Reuters and a contributing editor for The Atlantic.

    [Jan 02, 2018] American exceptionalism extracts a price from common citizens

    Highly recommended!
    Widespread anti-American sentiment is as stupid and reactionary as any other form of nationalism. It's just another 'divide and rule' ideology to keep ordinary people at each others' throats, rather than see them united against their common enemy, the global so-called 'elite'/ oligarchs.
    Notable quotes:
    "... For all the haters of us ugly Americans, just remember that we at this blog are suffering in our country standing up for the truth, pitted against our neighbors, coworkers, and friends in the arena of political debate and decrying the massive injustice of our foreign aggression. ..."
    "... The world knows the military industrial complex that has worked over years, and year to create the ugly tentacles throughout what was once our government has been usurped. Dollars. All these bastards see is dollars. Not human life. Not the potential of that lost life in science, math, technology. Just dollars. ..."
    "... or heavens sakes the voters in Arizona returned the worst of ALL Warmongers to Congress. ..."
    "... We can't even get the voters to learn that their votes equal WAR pushed by both Parties they are aligned with. Get real. Our challenge is yours. Help us! ..."
    "... I know there are many highly intelligent Americans, who are already today suffering and paying a price. And I agree that (widespread) anti-American sentiment is as stupid and reactionary as any other form of nationalism. It's just another 'divide and rule' ideology to keep ordinary people at each others' throats, rather than see them united against their common enemy, the global so-called 'elite'/ oligarchs. ..."
    "... Playing groups of people against one another is the oldest domination trick in the world, but it seems to work every single time...sad! ;-) ..."
    "... I'm from California. Technically the USA. My take on things is we United States of Americans are exceptional. Most of us are exceptionally ignorant and violent. That is exceptionally sad. ..."
    Jul 01, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    NemesisCalling | Jun 30, 2017 8:21:54 PM | 31

    For all the haters of us ugly Americans, just remember that we at this blog are suffering in our country standing up for the truth, pitted against our neighbors, coworkers, and friends in the arena of political debate and decrying the massive injustice of our foreign aggression.

    I won't call ya out by name, but lumping us forlorn sacks into your "untouchable" category reeks of reactionary arrogance that is, to pay patrons at this fine blog their due, beneath you.

    In the mean time, American issues = issues concerning the empire they we all want to see destroyed. Liberating Americans should also be on your wish list.

    lex.talionis | Jun 30, 2017 9:14:01 PM | 36
    Amen @31

    The world knows the military industrial complex that has worked over years, and year to create the ugly tentacles throughout what was once our government has been usurped. Dollars. All these bastards see is dollars. Not human life. Not the potential of that lost life in science, math, technology. Just dollars.

    For heavens sakes the voters in Arizona returned the worst of ALL Warmongers to Congress. And you, the World, think for a moment we, citizens in this colony, have a snowball's chance in hell reeling these creatures in all by ourselves are sorely mistaken.

    We can't even get the voters to learn that their votes equal WAR pushed by both Parties they are aligned with. Get real. Our challenge is yours. Help us!

    h | Jun 30, 2017 8:38:56 PM | 32

    @Nemesis

    Well said...!

    I know there are many highly intelligent Americans, who are already today suffering and paying a price. And I agree that (widespread) anti-American sentiment is as stupid and reactionary as any other form of nationalism. It's just another 'divide and rule' ideology to keep ordinary people at each others' throats, rather than see them united against their common enemy, the global so-called 'elite'/ oligarchs.

    Playing groups of people against one another is the oldest domination trick in the world, but it seems to work every single time...sad! ;-)

    smuks | Jun 30, 2017 8:50:51 PM | 35

    @ Nemesis and all,

    I'm from California. Technically the USA. My take on things is we United States of Americans are exceptional. Most of us are exceptionally ignorant and violent. That is exceptionally sad.

    I am very glad to have found MoA and the crew of experts. I have learned so very much.

    Big up b! Booyakah as they say in JA. God help us.

    [Dec 31, 2017] Looks like Trump foreign policy is unsane and overextend the USA military capabilities

    Dec 31, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Ludwig Watzal , Website December 31, 2017 at 5:46 am GMT

    There are hardly any rational actors left in the Trump administration.

    Rex Tillerson is a joke and should have long done these bunch of crazies. Russia and China should join forces and should tell Trump and his Ziocon backers what is at stake if they attack Syria or Iran.

    Nikki Haley is the mouthpiece of the Zionist regime and tried to make Colin Powell. If the US-Zionist and the Saudi regime attack Iran, at least the Zionist regime and the decadent Saudi one will be doomed. The US should adjust itself to more coffins from the Middle East and Afghanistan.

    Just recently I watched an interview with Security adviser McMasters on BBC, and I could not believe the nonsense this guy was saying about Iran, Hezbollah et cetera. He is very dangerous. Such a policy advice is not rational but insane.

    [Dec 31, 2017] Looks like Trump foreign policy is unsane and overextend the USA military capabilities

    Dec 31, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Ludwig Watzal , Website December 31, 2017 at 5:46 am GMT

    There are hardly any rational actors left in the Trump administration.

    Rex Tillerson is a joke and should have long done these bunch of crazies. Russia and China should join forces and should tell Trump and his Ziocon backers what is at stake if they attack Syria or Iran.

    Nikki Haley is the mouthpiece of the Zionist regime and tried to make Colin Powell. If the US-Zionist and the Saudi regime attack Iran, at least the Zionist regime and the decadent Saudi one will be doomed. The US should adjust itself to more coffins from the Middle East and Afghanistan.

    Just recently I watched an interview with Security adviser McMasters on BBC, and I could not believe the nonsense this guy was saying about Iran, Hezbollah et cetera. He is very dangerous. Such a policy advice is not rational but insane.

    [Dec 30, 2017] In Syria Russia has been very restraint to avoid direct conflict with US even under attacked.

    Notable quotes:
    "... Russia know Erogan is only the meganomania fool puppet. A Russia counterstrike will activate NATO obligation. So Putin ingeniously bring Turkey to his side, finished off terrorists, have whole Syria, Iran & Hezbollah so indebted, perpetual base in Syria, showcase Russia weapons and power, take high moral ground to raise Russia status in world stage as indispensable leader of Middle East, that's true Art of War -- Winning everything at least cost. Humiliating US is the biggest revenge. ..."
    Dec 30, 2017 | www.unz.com

    TT , December 29, 2017 at 5:23 pm GMT

    Saker, this article has only general facts without your usual sharp analysis. It even contradict your own previous NK war analysis. Has Crazy Trumps & his WH really disheartened you so much? But some said Trumps is godsend, he has bared all US(Nato & Israel too) hypocrisy, destroying whole US in every aspects, either intentionally to reconstruct the ultra corrupted & manipulated US, or unintentionally hasten the empire collapse. Cheer up, look at the bright side like China, they are very positive about Trumps(he only love $, not war).

    1. Afghanistan: Yes nothing will happen, unless US attack Russia army in Syria, then this will be one hot spot that Russia can heat up by equipping whoever(Taliban) to inflict heavy casualties for US.

    The rockets attacked in Afghanistan airport during US Defense Secretary Mad Dog visit is to sent a very clear warning signal to US incharged, what Russia can pay back for the death of its General in Syria? To kill a few generals won't scare off Mattis, this will.

    2. Syria: Russia has been very restraint to avoid direct conflict with US even under attacked. This emboldened US & Nato. So its likely US/Israel will conduct some air raids or missiles attack on SAA, Iran, Hezbollah, but no suicidal ground attack with these war harden formidable fighters.

    3. Russia: Swift & Assets freeze -- Russia already has its own clearing system set up for this. China got its warning from WH too. When US did that to Russia, the world will hasten the Petrol dollar replacement with Yuan. So its unlikely US like it, unless direct war break out.

    Shoot down Russia plane? Not likely, Syria plane Yes -- Recent Su35 chasing off F22 showed US is just a paper tiger. S400 can bring down some US birds too in return. Come to direct conflict, Russia is fully capable to inflict greater damage to many US bases in Middle East with missiles. So US can only continue using its "moderate" terrorists to harass but not shoot down Russia plane directly.

    There is probably agreement in place, No SAM equipment to terrorists(ISIS hasn't got any SAM in entire Syria war), as it can threaten US too when moderates switch camp. Certainly Israel know Russia has no lack of SAM to equip Hezbollah as a return courtesy.

    That's right, when Putin failed to direct attack Turkey after its Su24 is shot down, it emboldened US Nato. But Putin is a cold Grand chess player. He won't let a impulse lost his entire game. Sure he had exacted the revenge later. As a starter, he had the entire Turkey's Uyghur Turks terrorists army that killed the pilot carpet bombed, making Turkey Erogan thumping chest. Doubt US want its whole terrorists with its embedded Special force get carpet bombed yet.

    Russia know Erogan is only the meganomania fool puppet. A Russia counterstrike will activate NATO obligation. So Putin ingeniously bring Turkey to his side, finished off terrorists, have whole Syria, Iran & Hezbollah so indebted, perpetual base in Syria, showcase Russia weapons and power, take high moral ground to raise Russia status in world stage as indispensable leader of Middle East, that's true Art of War -- Winning everything at least cost. Humiliating US is the biggest revenge.

    4. Iran May be more than tearing off Nuclear deal, Trumps is all in with Israel. So everything is possible, including US limited missiles attack to Iran to fulfil Israel wish, but not full scale war which need much preparation.

    5. Ukraine US sure love to escalate this proxy war to suck in Russia for full scale war. Its depends whether Ukraine will get force into this bloody shit hole . which is very likely with its manipulated leaders.

    6. Korea War No war, all hot air, as your last analysis shown its gonna too bloody for US to contemplate. Biggest factor is Russia and China behind, not about $. US knew too well in Vietnam war and previous Korea war. FB has some good analysis in this.

    Myanmar is certainly a cakewalk, but why for last 50 years US didn't attempt to attack for its tremendous rich unexplored resources? Its the China factor.

    7. Venezuela This is the easiest sweetest soft target for Trumps if he ever need a war. Army is weak. There is no China Russia next door factor. And it has the world largest oil to pay. At the same time can destroy China and Russia dominant investments like Libya case, also removing their present at its backyard. Venezuela is what US capable to bully, not Iran or DPRK.

    [Dec 30, 2017] The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity All Is Not Quiet on the Syrian Front US to Launch Another War

    Notable quotes:
    "... Reprinted with permission from Strategic Culture Foundation . ..."
    Dec 30, 2017 | ronpaulinstitute.org

    This is a classic example of flip-flop policy. In November, the US promised Turkey to stop arming Kurdish militias in Syria after the Islamic State was routed. Brett McGurk, the US Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat Islamic State, explained that after the urban fighting in Raqqa was over "adjustments in the level of military support" would be made. "We had to give some equipment – and it's limited, extremely limited – all of which was very transparent to our NATO ally, Turkey," he said during a special briefing on December 21. In June, the US told Turkey it would take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in northern Syria after the defeat of Islamic State.

    But sophisticated weapons will continue to be sent to Syria in 2018, including thousands of anti-tank rocket launchers, heat seeking missiles and rocket launchers. The list of weaponry and equipment was prepared by US Department of Defense as part of the 2018 defense budget and signed by Trump of Dec. 12. It includes more than 300 non-tactical vehicles, 60 nonstandard vehicles, and 30 earth-moving vehicles to assist with the construction of outposts or operations staging areas. The US defense spending bill for 2018 ("Justification for FY 2018 Overseas Contingency Operations / Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Train and Equip Fund") includes providing weapons worth $393 million to US partners in Syria. Overall, $500 million, roughly $70 million more than last year, are to be spent on Syria Train and Equip requirements. The partners are the Kurds-dominated Syria Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG – the group that is a major concern of Turkey – is the backbone of this force.

    The budget does not refer to Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but instead says "Vetted Syrian Opposition". According to the budget list, there are 25,000 opposition forces supported as a part of the train and equip program in Syria. That number is planned to be increased to 30,000 in 2018. The arming of Kurdish militants with anti-tank rockets is a sensitive topic because of Turkey's reliance on its armored Leopard tanks in northern Syria.

    Talal Sillo, a former high-ranking commander and spokesperson of the US-backed SDF, who defected from the group last month to go to Turkey, divulged details of the US arming the Kurdish group.

    The list does not detail which vetted Syrian groups will receive certain pieces of equipment. In northern Syria, there is the SDF, including the YPG, and the Syria Arab Coalition -- a group of Arab fighters incorporated into the SDF. The Maghawir al-Thawra and Shohada al-Quartayn groups are operating in the southeastern part of Syria. They are being trained by US and British instructors at the al-Tanf border crossing between Syria and Iraq.

    Besides the SDF and the groups trained at al-Tanf, the US is in the process of creating the New Syria Army to fight the Syrian government forces. The training is taking place at the Syrian Hasakah refugee camp located 70 kilometers from the border of Turkey and 50 kilometers from the border of Iraq.

    Around 40 Syria opposition groups on Dec. 25 rejected to attend the planned Sochi conference on Syria scheduled to take place in January. They said Moscow, which organizes the conference, was seeking to bypass the UN-based Geneva peace process, despite the fact that UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said that Russia's plan to convene the congress should be assessed by its ability to contribute to and support the UN-led Geneva talks on ending the war in Syria. If fighting starts, these groups are likely to join the formations created by the US.

    So, the United States not only maintains its illegal military presence in Syria and creates new forces to fight against the Syrian government, it appears to be preparing for a new war to follow the Islamic State's defeat. The continuation of arming and training Kurdish militias will hardly improve Washington's relations with Ankara, while saying one thing and doing another undermines the credibility of the United States as a partner.

    Reprinted with permission from Strategic Culture Foundation .


    Related
    • The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against Syria - 26 September 2014
    • The Real Status of Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq - 5 October 2014
    • Presidents and the War Power - 8 October 2014
    • The Siege Of Kobani: Obama's Syrian Fiasco In Motion - 6 October 2014
    • Is Obama Misleading the World to War? Depends How You Define 'Misleading' - 26 September 2014
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    • 2017
      • December
        • All Is Not Quiet on the Syrian Front: US to Launch Another War

          29th December 2017

        • New Trump Executive Order: Good Move Or Global Asset Forfeiture?

          28th December 2017

        • Who Are the Leading State Sponsors of Terrorism?

          28th December 2017

        • Reasons to Doubt the Veracity of the 'Steele Dossier' on Trump are Still Emerging

          28th December 2017

        • Heaven Forbid! China Sells Oil To North Korea!

          27th December 2017

        • Whither the Antiwar Movement?

          27th December 2017

        • Homeland Security's Multi-Billion Dollar Comedy Show

          26th December 2017

        • US Decides to Provide Ukraine with Lethal Weapons

          26th December 2017

        • Intel Vets Tell Trump Iran Is Not Top Terror Sponsor

          26th December 2017

        • Merry Christmas To All Our Friends...

          25th December 2017

        • Political Immorality and Personal Immorality

          25th December 2017

        • Iraq Redux in the Making? US Rhetoric on Iran Brings Back Memories of 2003

          22nd December 2017

        • De Facto Travel Restrictions Now Exist For Americans

          21st December 2017

        • 'A Stunning Rebuke' - 128 Nations Support UN Call For Trump To Withdraw Jerusalem Decision

          21st December 2017

        • Another Flip-Flop: Trump Approves Lethal Arms To Ukraine

          21st December 2017

        • 'Forcing' North Korea Denuclearization...But Does South Korea Agree?

          20th December 2017

        • Trump's National Security Speech

          19th December 2017

        • Will Nikki Haley Get Her Iran War?

          19th December 2017

        • The RussiaGate Witch-Hunt - The Deep State's 'Insurance Policy'

          18th December 2017

        • 'Make 'Em Pay'? Trump Spends $5 Billion On Europe's Defense

          18th December 2017

        • Who to Believe on Washington's Korea Policy, Tillerson or Trump?

          18th December 2017

        • US Defense Secretary Mattis Rejects War on Iran

          17th December 2017

        • Heads Up, President Trump, Secretary Tillerson: Beware 'Project Overreach'

          17th December 2017

        • Deconstructing the Almighty Russian Hackers Myth

          16th December 2017

        • Weapons Went From The CIA To ISIS In Less Than Two Months

          15th December 2017

        • The Foundering Russia-Gate 'Scandal'

          15th December 2017

        • 'Everyone is Worried About War'

          14th December 2017

        • Trump To Release New US Strategy: Will Neocons Cheer?

          14th December 2017

        • Why America's Law Enforcement Empire Resembles Secret Police in a Dictatorship

          14th December 2017

        • Tillerson Ready For North Korea Talks...But Is Trump?

          13th December 2017

        • Russia's Pulling Out Of Syria...Why Can't We?

          12th December 2017

        • The Non-Crime of 'Lying to the FBI'

          12th December 2017

        • Pentagon Audit - Just Another Cover-Up!

          11th December 2017

        • The Enemy Within - the 'Intelligence Community'

          11th December 2017

        • Yes, the FBI is America's Secret Police

          11th December 2017

        • Government Should Leave Bakers Alone

          11th December 2017

        • Strzok-Gate and the Mueller Cover-Up

          10th December 2017

        • State Department, Meet the New Boss, Same/Worse as the Old Boss?

          9th December 2017

        • US Made Secret Deal With ISIS to Let Thousands of Fighters Flee Raqqa to Battle Assad in Syria, Former Ally Says

          8th December 2017

        • The US Just Announced It Will Stay in Syria Even After ISIS Is Defeated: Here's Why

          7th December 2017

        • Bipartisanship On Jerusalem: Does It Make Us Safer?

          7th December 2017

        • Israel's Capital: Who Decides?

          6th December 2017

        • Bake The Cake? How Should The Supremes Rule?

          5th December 2017

        • The FBI's Perjury Trap Of The Century

          5th December 2017

        • From 'Russia-Gate' to 'Israel-Gate'

          4th December 2017

        • 'Fair' Tax, Just War, Houston Astros and more...#AskRonPaul!

          4th December 2017

        • The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Of The Flynn Plea

          4th December 2017

        • Good News: Young Americans Want a New Political Party

          4th December 2017

        • ABC News Retracts Flynn Bombshell Story

          2nd December 2017

        • Slave Markets in 'Liberated' Libya and the Silence of the Humanitarian Hawks

          2nd December 2017

        • The Case Against Michael Flynn: Lying to the FBI About Asking Russia's Help to Protect Israel

          1st December 2017

      • November
        • How Hitler Analogies Obscure Understanding of Mideast Power Struggle

          30th November 2017

        • What If Trump Dismantled the State Department, and It Didn't Matter?

          30th November 2017

        • Massacre In Somalia: US Troops To Blame?

          30th November 2017

        • The Trump Era and Weaponization of the Media

          29th November 2017

        • 'Turning The Corner' in Afghanistan...Again

          29th November 2017

        • US & Europe's Farcical Hypocrisy Over Russian Foreign Media Law

          29th November 2017

        • What Good Are Domestic Military Bases?

          29th November 2017

        • Iran Re-Certified; Washington In Denial

          28th November 2017

        • Russiagate Explained

          27th November 2017

        • Hypocrisy: US Meddling In Hungarian Elections

          27th November 2017

        • Is North Korea Really a 'State Sponsor of Terrorism'?

          27th November 2017

        • Washington's Wars

          25th November 2017

        • Routed in Syria, the US Should Admit Its Crime, Face Punishment

          25th November 2017

        • Thanksgiving 2017 - Why There Is No Peace On Earth

          24th November 2017

        • Being Thankful in Difficult Times...

          23rd November 2017

        • US-Led Anti-ISIS Coalition Ignores Civilian Deaths – and the Media Let Them Get Away With It

          23rd November 2017

        • A Basic Principle About Drug Laws

          23rd November 2017

        • US Military Fraud Endemic in Overseas Operations

          23rd November 2017

        • JFK, the CIA, and Secrecy

          22nd November 2017

        • Abolish The TSA As Soon As Possible. With Guest Jim Bovard

          22nd November 2017

        • Who's A 'Foreign Agent'?

          21st November 2017

        • Saudi Purges Explained, With Marwa Osman Live From Lebanon

          21st November 2017

        • Did the US Allow ISIS to Escape to Keep the Fighting Going?

          21st November 2017

        • DOD Conference Bill Passed...Yet We're Less Safe & Poorer

          20th November 2017

        • Why Are We Helping Saudi Arabia Destroy Yemen?

          20th November 2017

        • Thanksgiving Travel: Trump's Holiday Gift is More Invasive Airport Security

          18th November 2017

        • Attack on RT Is Another Step Towards Sovietization of American Media

          18th November 2017

        • Secretary Mattis Is Off Base: US Military Presence in Syria Has No Legal Grounds

          17th November 2017

        • How America's Deep State Operates to Control the Message

          17th November 2017

        • The Real Cost Of War: Three Times More Than The Government Admits

          16th November 2017

        • There is Nothing Patriotic or Conservative About Our Bloated Defense Budget

          16th November 2017

        • Do Trump's Liberal Critics Seem Increasingly Unhinged?

          15th November 2017

        • America's Righteous Russia-gate Censorship

          15th November 2017

        • War on ISIS - Whose Side Are We Really On?

          15th November 2017

        • Bombshell Report Confirms US Coalition Struck A Deal With ISIS

          14th November 2017

        • Kochs Spend Big On Foreign Policy Realism...Should Neocons Be Worried?

          14th November 2017

        • Is Trump Getting A Bad Rap On His Asia Trip?

          13th November 2017

        • Mocking Trump Doesn't Prove Russia's Guilt

          13th November 2017

        • Saudi Arabia and Israel Know They Cannot Defeat Iran, Want to Drag the US into an Uncontainable War

          13th November 2017

        • Education Scholarship Tax Credits Help Children and Advance Liberty

          13th November 2017

        • US Demand for RT FARA Registration 'Sounds Like Desperation' - Daniel McAdams

          12th November 2017

        • Foreign Agents Registration Act Marked by History of Politicization, Selective Enforcement

          11th November 2017

        • Can Trump Salvage his Presidency?

          11th November 2017

        • America's 'Allies' Are Setting Up Another Trap for US in the Middle East

          10th November 2017

        • Manipulation: The US State Department's New Program to Take On Hungarian Media

          10th November 2017

        • Saudi Escalation: Lebanon And Yemen In The Crosshairs

          9th November 2017

        • South Korea Should 'Brexit' the United States

          8th November 2017

        • Deconstructing 'Russia-Gate'

          8th November 2017

        • The Creation of 'Russia-Gate'

          8th November 2017

        • Ducks Lining Up: Saudi, Israeli, US Moves On Iran, Lebanon

          7th November 2017

        • America Breaks Down: The Anatomy of a National Nervous Breakdown

          7th November 2017

        • Trump In Asia: Diplomacy Or Sabre-Rattling?

          6th November 2017

        • Dubious Osama bin Laden Documents: A Pretext for a War on Iran

          6th November 2017

        • GOP Tax Plan Increases the Most Insidious Tax

          6th November 2017

        • Visitors to the Colony of Afghanistan

          4th November 2017

        • Facebook Farce Shows Lawmaker Deviousness, Demagoguery

          4th November 2017

        • Mission Creep in Darkest Africa

          4th November 2017

        • 'It Sure Looked Unethical': Brazile Discloses Deal That Gave Hillary Clinton Control Over DNC Before Primary

          3rd November 2017

        • Bombshell Revelation of US and Saudi Culpability in Creating ISIS Ignored by Mainstream Media – and by Team Trump

          3rd November 2017

        • How Obama and Hillary Clinton Weaponized the 'Dossier'

          3rd November 2017

        • 'US Govt Undermines Democracy' Seeking More Control Over Social Media

          2nd November 2017

        • Oliver Stone Was Right About the CIA

          2nd November 2017

        • War on Terror Costs Taxpayers $250 Million a Day

          2nd November 2017

        • Revealed: How The Russians Stole Our Election

          1st November 2017

        • Tragic Horrors...From New York To Yemen

          1st November 2017

      • October
        • Mueller Mugs America: The Case Of Baby George Papadopoulos

          31st October 2017

        • How to End the Endless War

          31st October 2017

        • Do We Need A New War Authorization?

          31st October 2017

        • NATO Threatens Turkey...

          30th October 2017

        • The Rise of MEK/NCRI in Washington: Pay Off The Right People and You Are No Longer A Terrorist

          30th October 2017

        • Neocons Hijack Trump's Syria Policy

          30th October 2017

        • In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War

          29th October 2017

        • Deciphering Trump's Foreign Policy

          28th October 2017

        • Russia-gate Breeds 'Establishment McCarthyism'

          27th October 2017

        • Twitter Rescues American Democracy By Banning Ads From RT And Sputnik

          27th October 2017

        • US Allows Saudi Arabia To Plant Wahhabi Seed In Raqqa Rubble

          26th October 2017

        • Congress Passes 'Harshest' Sanctions On North Korea...And The People Suffer

          26th October 2017

        • Are Republicans Libertarians?

          25th October 2017

        • Jeff Flake and The DC Impasse: Who's At Fault?

          25th October 2017

        • The Harmful Effects of Antifa

          25th October 2017

        • Pentagon Expands 'Terror War' To Africa: Where Is Congress?

          24th October 2017

        • In A Dramatic Pivot, Shia Militia Leader Tells US: 'Get Ready To Leave Iraq'

          24th October 2017

        • Mutual Assured Destruction: Missile Defense Might be a Lie

          24th October 2017

        • Cold War Returned: B-52s Back On 'Ready Alert'

          23rd October 2017

        • Winning in Africa

          23rd October 2017

        • Trump's Fed Picks? More of the Same!

          23rd October 2017

        • Great News, Everyone! The CIA Has Promised To Become 'Much More Vicious'!

          21st October 2017

        • 'The Police Just F**ked My Life' - Alabamians Outraged As Civil Asset Forfeitures Soar

          21st October 2017

        • Raqqa Destroyed to Libertate it

          21st October 2017

        • Torturer-in-Chief Turned Savior of Freedom?

          20th October 2017

        • Mogadishu Attack Was Revenge for Murderous US-Somali Raid

          20th October 2017

        • An Attack on Iran or North Korea Wouldn't Be Putting 'America First'

          20th October 2017

        • Donald Trump Didn't Create Danger of Presidential Dictatorship, He Inherited it

          19th October 2017

        • Killing For Peace? More Civilian Deaths Now Than Under Obama

          19th October 2017

        • McCain As Metaphor

          19th October 2017

        • Saudi Money In Syria - Sowing The Seeds Of ISIS 2.0

          18th October 2017

        • Blowback In Africa - Mogadishu Again!

          18th October 2017

        • How Trump Is Fueling the Refugee Crisis He Despises

          18th October 2017

        • The Battle Of Kirkuk - All About Oil?

          17th October 2017

        • Hillary Clinton Just Told Five Blatant Lies About WikiLeaks

          17th October 2017

        • This Is How Tyranny Rises and Freedom Falls: The Experiment in Freedom Is Failing

          17th October 2017

        • Trump And Iran: Have The Neocons Won?

          16th October 2017

        • US Deploys Special Forces 'Decapitation' Team To South Korea

          16th October 2017

        • President Trump Beats War Drums For Iran

          16th October 2017

        • Trump Shoot The US in The Foot Over Iran

          15th October 2017

        • The Russiagate Scandal Descends into Total Absurdity

          14th October 2017

        • This Is What Americans Heard During The Mysterious Cuban Sonic Attacks, And Why Experts Don't Buy It

          14th October 2017

        • Eager To Kill Iran Deal, Trump Finds Allies In Iraq WMD Peddling Neocons

          13th October 2017

        • The Deep State's Bogus 'Iranian Threat'

          12th October 2017

        • Russia Wades into Saudi-Iran Rift

          12th October 2017

        • 'Russiagate' And The Decline Of Journalism - With Robert Parry

          12th October 2017

        • Did Trump Call For Ten Times More Nukes?

          11th October 2017

        • Horrific New Revelations On CIA Torture

          10th October 2017

        • Sputnik and RT Under Investigation

          10th October 2017

        • Trump's 70-Point Immigration Reform - Here's A Better Way

          9th October 2017

        • Antifa in Theory and in Practice

          9th October 2017

        • Will Tax Reform Increase or Limit Liberty?

          9th October 2017

        • Longest War in US History Turns 16 Today – Thousands Dead, No End in Sight & It's Getting Worse

          7th October 2017

        • Trump Will Declare Iran Nuclear Deal 'Not in the National Interest'

          6th October 2017

        • Ron Paul: The Revolution At Ten Years

          6th October 2017

        • Russia Issues Third Warning Against US Cooperation With Terrorists in Syria

          5th October 2017

        • Britain Moves To Criminalize Reading Extremist Material On The Internet

          5th October 2017

        • USA LIBERTY Act - Making Spying On You Permanent

          5th October 2017

        • Cuba's 'Sonic Weapons' - Real Or Imagined?

          4th October 2017

        • Trump and 'His Generals' on Collision Course Over Iran

          4th October 2017

        • Whose Bright Idea Was RussiaGate?

          3rd October 2017

        • US Violence Abroad Begets Violence at Home

          3rd October 2017

        • America: The Dictatress of the World

          2nd October 2017

        • Trump Vs. Tillerson: War Or Diplomacy?

          2nd October 2017

        • What Did Washington Achieve in its Six Year War on Syria?

          2nd October 2017

        • Vietnam Déjŕ Vu

          1st October 2017

      • September
        • Ron Paul: Anti-Russia Campaign Stems From Bias and Desire to Limit Free Speech

          30th September 2017

        • Congress Relying On Debunked 'Guilt By Association' Online Tool To Track 'Russian Influence'

          30th September 2017

        • Coverup? FBI, DOJ Refuse To Comply With Congressional 'Trump Dossier' Subpoena

          29th September 2017

        • Dissonance: When Cult of Personalities Gets in the Way of Understanding

          29th September 2017

        • 'US in Grip of Anti-Russia Hysteria, Worse Than Days of Salem Witch Trials'

          29th September 2017

        • The Push To 'Fight Foreign Propaganda' Is The Same As Government Book Burning

          28th September 2017

        • North Korea Would Be Stupid to Trust the US

          28th September 2017

        • Surviving The Coming Bond Crash

          28th September 2017

        • The Atlantic Council: 'Debates' Between People Who Hate Russia & People Who Really Hate Russia

          27th September 2017

        • Trump Says 'No' To Catalan Independence

          27th September 2017

        • Christians Return to Syria- But Not to Iraq

          27th September 2017

        • Washington Post Pushes More Dubious Russia-Bashing

          26th September 2017

        • Kurd Independence Vote - Progress Or Danger?

          26th September 2017

        • More on Imran Awan - Where Are All Those Congressional Emails?

          26th September 2017

        • Syria - US CentCom Declares War On Russia

          25th September 2017

        • Trump Vs The NFL - The Right To Protest

          25th September 2017

        • How to End the Korea Crisis

          25th September 2017

        • How World War One Still Haunts America

          23rd September 2017

        • Trump's UN Speech: the Swamp's Wine in an 'America First!' Bottle

          22nd September 2017

        • Oil, Gas, Geopolitics Guide US Hand In Playing The Rohingya Crisis

          22nd September 2017

        • Hysteria in America: Congress Filled With 'Totalitarians' Who Oppose 'Free Market of Ideas'

          21st September 2017

        • Defense Secretary Mattis: US Cannot Survive On 'Puny' Military Budget

          21st September 2017

        • Juggalo Blues: Their Beef With FBI No Laughing Matter

          21st September 2017

        • The Worst Mistake in US History

          20th September 2017

        • Trump's UN Speech: A Neocon Dream?

          20th September 2017

        • US Sanctions Against Venezuela Will Hurt Americans

          20th September 2017

        • Let Catalonia Decide

          20th September 2017

        • The US Has New Red Line in Syria -- And It's...Ridiculous!

          19th September 2017

        • President Trump To Unleash The CIA Drones

          19th September 2017

        • Korea Solution Needs US to Sign a Peace Treaty

          19th September 2017

        • Scandal: The Pentagon's $2 Billion Underground Syria Weapons Pipeline

          18th September 2017

        • America's Slow-Motion Military Coup

          18th September 2017

        • Rand Paul's Senate Vote Rolls Back the Warfare State

          18th September 2017

        • Accused of War Crimes, Saudis Investigate Themselves and Find No Wrongdoing

          16th September 2017

        • Afghanistan - US Resolved To Repeat Failures

          15th September 2017

        • Janet Reno: Saint or Tyrant?

          15th September 2017

        • Reagan Documents Shed Light on US 'Meddling'

          15th September 2017

        • The Neocon Case Against The Iran Nuclear Deal - One Big Lie!

          14th September 2017

        • Six Major US Foreign Policy Failures of the Post-Cold War Era

          14th September 2017

        • Sen. Rand Paul Forces Vote On 16 Year Undeclared War

          13th September 2017

        • Bombshell Report Catches Pentagon Falsifying Paperwork For Weapons Transfers To Syrian Rebels

          13th September 2017

        • The UN Losing Poker Hand in Libya

          12th September 2017

        • Welcome to 1984: Big Brother Google Now Watching Your Every Political Move

          12th September 2017

        • What We Lost on September 11th

          11th September 2017

        • The Case Against the Iranian Nuclear Deal is One Big Lie

          11th September 2017

        • Why Did Robert Mueller Obstruct Congress's 9/11 Probe?

          11th September 2017

        • Congress Exploits Hurricane to Raise Debt Ceiling

          11th September 2017

        • Israel Launches Air Strikes On Syria And Assad's Waiting Game'

          8th September 2017

        • The Bombast of Nikki Haley

          8th September 2017

        • The USS Liberty Wins One!

          7th September 2017

        • GOP Congressman: Trump Losing Me on Foreign Policy

          6th September 2017

        • Interventionism and the Korean Crisis

          6th September 2017

        • What Michael Moore Gets Right and Wrong about the Police State

          6th September 2017

        • American Jackboot Diplomacy

          5th September 2017

        • Trump Bumbling Into Unnecessary War With North Korea

          4th September 2017

        • Government 'Aid' Makes Disasters Worse

          4th September 2017

        • Russia Responds to Netanyahu's Ultimatum in Syria With a Warning to Israel

          3rd September 2017

        • Three Dangerous Delusions about Korea

          3rd September 2017

        • Always Planning Never Winning: While US Wins Some Battles, Insurgents Win the Wars

          2nd September 2017

        • Time To Listen to Our Korean Allies

          2nd September 2017

        • Last Eight Months Prove United States a Bonafide 'Regime'

          1st September 2017

      • August
        • What Afghan 'Stalemate' is All About

          31st August 2017

        • Is a Militarized Police The Answer To Inner City Turmoil?

          30th August 2017

        • Making Stuff up on Twitter is the New 'Journalism' -- and We Deserve it

          30th August 2017

        • Ruby Ridge Lessons for Fighting Right-Wing Extremism

          29th August 2017

        • Iran, Again...Will Israel Start a New War?

          29th August 2017

        • Will Congress and Trump Declare War on WikiLeaks?

          28th August 2017

        • Wikileaks' Julian Assange to Join RPI Conference!

          26th August 2017

        • One Way to End Drug War Violence

          26th August 2017

        • I Predict a 'RIOT' as Dissent in American Media Becomes Illegitimate

          26th August 2017

        • Trump and Korea. I'm Also Scared

          25th August 2017

        • Trump's New Strategy for Afghanistan Is Neither New, nor a Strategy, nor Trump's

          25th August 2017

        • Unlike Trump, JFK Didn't Bend the Knee

          24th August 2017

        • US Liberals Cozy up to Antifa, America's Anti-Free Speech 'Taliban'

          23rd August 2017

        • The Mini-Skirt Deception: How McMaster Got His Afghan 'Surge'

          23rd August 2017

        • Freedom for the Speech We Hate: The Legal Ins and Outs of the Right to Protest

          22nd August 2017

        • The International Criminal Court is the Antithesis of Justice

          22nd August 2017

        • One Step Closer to War: US, South Korea Hold New Military Drills

          21st August 2017

        • Oppose Fascism of the Right and the Left

          21st August 2017

        • Escape from Aleppo

          20th August 2017

        • Everyone Is Wrong About North Korea

          19th August 2017

        • Weapons Money Intended for Economic Development Being Secretly Diverted to Lobbying

          18th August 2017

        • Marco Rubio Says It's OK To Beat People For Their Thoughts

          18th August 2017

        • Iran Will be Trump's Nemesis

          17th August 2017

        • Korea and Venezuela: Flip Sides of the Same Coin

          15th August 2017

        • The Wrong Narrative in Charlottesville

          14th August 2017

        • North Korea and The Unintended Consequences of Trump

          14th August 2017

        • Attack Venezuela? Trump Can't be Serious!

          14th August 2017

        • Trump Isn't Going to Invade Venezuela, But What He's Planning Might be Just as Bad

          12th August 2017

        • If War Comes, Don't Blame the 'Military-Industrial Complex' – Things Are Even Worse Than You Think

          12th August 2017

        • End Democracy Promotion Balderdash

          11th August 2017

        • Bring the Troops Home From Korea

          11th August 2017

        • Why President Donald Trump May Let Hillary Clinton Walk Scot-Free

          10th August 2017

        • Pentagon Unveils Plan For 'Pre-Emptive Strike' On North Korea

          10th August 2017

        • US Military Presence Overseas Mushrooming: Here, There and Everywhere

          10th August 2017

        • The Unsung Summit of Putin and Trump

          9th August 2017

        • If America Was Trying to Start a World War, This Is How It Would Happen

          9th August 2017

        • Reports of Hungary's Slide into 'Dictatorship' Have Been Exaggerated

          8th August 2017

        • The Tale of the Brothers Awan

          8th August 2017

        • Jeff Sessions Endorses Theft

          7th August 2017

        • NATO Beefs Up Logistics Infrastructure for Offensive Operations

          6th August 2017

        • McMaster: U.S. Preparing For 'Preventive War' With North Korea

          5th August 2017

        • Time to End the Lost Afghan War

          5th August 2017

        • Where Trump Might Be Vulnerable

          4th August 2017

        • Isolated Trump Flails Helplessly as He Bows to Irrational Policies on Russia and Europe Imposed by Congress

          4th August 2017

        • Russia Sanctions and The Coming Crackdown on Americans

          3rd August 2017

        • US Ignores Saudi Beheading of 14 Activists, Labels Venezuela Dictatorship Despite Elections

          2nd August 2017

        • Groupthink at the CIA

          1st August 2017

        • Trump Calls On Police To Be Rougher In Handling Suspects In Speech Denounced By Police Organizations

          1st August 2017

      • July
        • America Declares Economic War Against Europe

          31st July 2017

        • Russia's Expulsion of Staff From the US Embassy in Moscow is Unprecedented and Huge

          31st July 2017

        • North Korea or Iran Where Will President Trump Attack First?

          31st July 2017

        • Countdown To War On Venezuela

          29th July 2017

        • Bipartisanship! The Evil Party and Stupid Party Team Up to Cripple Trump, Subvert the Rule of Law, and Put the US on a Road to War

          29th July 2017

        • Get Out of Afghanistan and Go Home

          28th July 2017

        • US Sanctions Aimed at Russia Strike Western European Allies

          28th July 2017

        • Home Alone – Trump Is the Kevin McCallister of American Politics

          27th July 2017

        • The Atlantic Council: Experts on the Front Line of Disinformation

          27th July 2017

        • President Trump: The Only America First Afghan Policy is to Get Out of Afghanistan

          26th July 2017

        • Trump Is Being Moved Aside So That Conflict with Russia Can Proceed

          26th July 2017

        • Israel Anti-Boycott Act - An Attack On Free Speech?

          25th July 2017

        • Mr. Trump: Veto This Bill! - Sanctions Lead To War

          24th July 2017

        • Sour Grapes: Iran Wins the Iraq War, and I Scooped the NYT by Six Years on the Story

          24th July 2017

        • US Ends CIA Program in Syria but Continues Preparations for Big War

          24th July 2017

        • Trump Should Veto Congress' Foolish New Sanctions Bill

          24th July 2017

        • Five Weird Conspiracy Theories from CIA Director Mike Pompeo

          22nd July 2017

        • Syria Gas Attack and Russian Election Hacking...Debunking Fake News With Scott Ritter

          21st July 2017

        • Trump Ends Syrian Regime Change Campaign

          21st July 2017

        • US Urges All Nationals In North Korea To 'Depart Immediately,' Bans Tourists From Visiting

          21st July 2017

        • RPI's Peace and Prosperity 2017 Conference: 'Where We're Going and How We'll Get There!'

          20th July 2017

        • 40,000 Civilian Dead In Mosul?

          20th July 2017

        • New Survey: Americans Afraid Of Major War. Whose Fault?

          19th July 2017

        • Silencing War Criticism: The Iraq Invasion of 2003

          19th July 2017

        • It Took Obama More Than Two Years to Kill This Many Civilians. It Took Trump Less Than Six Months.

          19th July 2017

        • Jeff Sessions Declares War On Liberty

          18th July 2017

        • US Stumbling into War with Iran

          18th July 2017

        • How to Sustain Perpetual War (It's Easy!)

          18th July 2017

        • Four Major Famines - Unintended Consequences Of US Foreign Policy

          17th July 2017

        • Photos Of Aleppo Rising: Swimsuits, Concerts And Rebuilding In First Jihadi-Free Summer

          17th July 2017

        • Big Military Spending Boost Threatens Our Economy and Security

          17th July 2017

        • Democrats Gone Mad: The Year of Living Stupidly

          16th July 2017

        • 20th Anniversary, Asian Financial Crisis: Clinton, The IMF And Wall Street Journal Toppled Suharto

          15th July 2017

        • Obama's AWOL Antiwar Protest

          15th July 2017

        • Tucker Carlson, Neocon Slayer

          14th July 2017

        • Aleppo and Mosul: A Tale of Two Liberated Cities

          14th July 2017

        • Return of Pentagon Mercenaries Worries US Active Duty Military

          14th July 2017

        • US Taxpayers Will be 'Crying in Their Beers' When Iraqi Reconstruction Bill Arrives

          13th July 2017

        • Can Tillerson Referee The Qatar/Saudi Crisis?

          13th July 2017

        • Mosul: Another 'Mission Accomplished'

          12th July 2017

        • The Destructiveness of America's Alliances

          12th July 2017

        • Back To Benghazi - Are More US Troops The Answer?

          11th July 2017

        • Who Is the Real Enemy?

          11th July 2017

        • Partial Syria Ceasefire (Again). Who's Winning, Trump Or Putin?

          10th July 2017

        • Russophobia Hits the Libertarian Movement

          10th July 2017

        • Janet Yellen: False Prophet of Prosperity

          10th July 2017

        • The Unspeakable Crime of Viktor Orban

          8th July 2017

        • Why Imperial Washington Should Cool it On North Korea

          8th July 2017

        • New Syria Ceasefire Deal May Be US Attempt to Save Rebels From Defeat

          7th July 2017

        • Don't Be Surprised to See Trump Bomb North Korea

          7th July 2017

        • Trump Meets Putin - Who Has the Upper Hand?

          6th July 2017

        • Trump Sends in the Gun Confiscation Cops

          6th July 2017

        • 'Russiagate': The Stink Without a Secret

          6th July 2017

        • Let South Korea Be South Korea

          5th July 2017

        • Anti-Interventionist Voters Elected Trump

          5th July 2017

        • Time to End Our 14 Year Middle East Misadventure

          5th July 2017

        • Declaring Independence - A Novel Idea!

          4th July 2017

        • The Fraud of the White Helmets

          4th July 2017

        • Trump Appoints Himself Chicago Police Chief

          3rd July 2017

        • You Want a Picture of the Future? Imagine a Boot Stamping on Your Face

          3rd July 2017

        • We Must Declare Independence

          3rd July 2017

        • How Accidental are America's Accidental Civilian Killings Across the Middle East?

          1st July 2017

      • June
        • 'The Putin Interviews' - Oliver Stone Speaks Out!

          30th June 2017

        • NYT Finally Retracts Russia-gate Canard

          30th June 2017

        • Mad Dog's Pathetic Syrian Chemical Attack Propaganda

          30th June 2017

        • Fake News Media Suppress Two Blockbuster Stories on Syria

          29th June 2017

        • Peace Is Popular

          29th June 2017

        • Is Civil War Coming To Saudi Arabia?

          29th June 2017

        • More Americans See Liberty In Decline. Why?

          28th June 2017

        • Trump's Super Fake Syria News: More US Attacks Expected

          27th June 2017

        • Trump's Reckless Syria Folly

          27th June 2017

        • Intel Behind Trump's Syria Attack Questioned

          26th June 2017

        • The Age of No Privacy: The Surveillance State Shifts Into High Gear

          26th June 2017

        • Republicans Still Pushing False Flags In Syria And Cold War With Russia

          26th June 2017

        • Republican Healthcare Plan Fails the 'Jimmy Kimmel Test'

          26th June 2017

        • Tyranny at Home to Fight Tyranny Abroad

          24th June 2017

        • Snowden Part Two: Edward Interviews Ron!

          24th June 2017

        • The Saudi-Qatar Spat - An Offer To Be Refused

          23rd June 2017

        • Groundhog Day in Iraq? Nope, Worse

          23rd June 2017

        • How America Armed Terrorists In Syria

          22nd June 2017

        • Russia/Iran Sanctions Delayed In House: Policy Change...or Deep State Pressure?

          22nd June 2017

        • Ron Paul: 'US Should Mind its Own Business; It Shouldn't be in Syria'

          21st June 2017

        • Paul Ryan's Tax 'Reform' -- Beware!

          21st June 2017

        • Our Rush to War in Syria -- It's a Disaster in the Making

          21st June 2017

        • Supreme Court Rules Overwhelmingly To Strike Down 'Disparagement Clause' Used To Bar Offensive Trademarks

          20th June 2017

        • Self-Defense Is No Defense for US Acts of War in Syria

          20th June 2017

        • Security...or Surveillance? The Edward Snowden Interview

          20th June 2017

        • Escalation! US Hits Syrian Jet, Russia Cuts Communications

          19th June 2017

        • Hodgkinson's Disease: Politics and Paranoia in the Age of Trump

          19th June 2017

        • Trump Turns Back the Clock With Cold War Cuba U-Turn

          19th June 2017

        • The ICC Should be on Trial not Saif Gaddafi

          18th June 2017

        • It's the Russia, Stupid

          16th June 2017

        • Derangement And Danger On The Potomac

          16th June 2017

        • Trump Administration Following in Obama Administration's Footsteps on Marijuana

          16th June 2017

        • The War In Afghanistan Is A Racket

          15th June 2017

        • New Russia Sanctions: The Deep State Unifies Congress

          15th June 2017

        • Tyranny Over There but Not Over Here

          15th June 2017

        • Gen. Mattis Admits Afghanistan Truth: After 15 Years, No End In Sight

          14th June 2017

        • The Saudi War Against Qatar

          14th June 2017

        • Lynching Free Speech: The Intolerant State of America

          13th June 2017

        • Global Peace Index: Where Do We Rank...And Why?

          13th June 2017

        • Liars Lying About Nearly Everything

          13th June 2017

        • Qatar Chaos: Washington's Middle East Mass Confusion

          12th June 2017

        • Understanding the Cost of War: Moral Injury

          12th June 2017

        • Why Are We Attacking the Syrians Who Are Fighting ISIS?

          12th June 2017

        • Saudi Arabia is Destabilizing the World

          11th June 2017

        • Can Gaddafi Save Libya?

          11th June 2017

        • The Surveillance State and Big Brother Trump

          10th June 2017

        • Terror in Tehran, Qatar Spat, and Race for Syria-Iraq Border: the Washington 'Swamp' Gives Green Light for Saudi Arabia's Jihad Agenda

          9th June 2017

        • Russia-gate's Mythical 'Heroes'

          9th June 2017

        • The Imperial City Unhinged -- J. Edgar Comey's Big Fat Nothingburger

          9th June 2017

        • Comey Under The Gun: Truth-Telling...Or Just Politics?

          8th June 2017

        • Trump -- Blundering into European Truths

          8th June 2017

        • Punishing People for Helping Dying Children is Evil Too

          8th June 2017

        • CrowdStrike, The DNC's Security Firm, Was Under Contract With The FBI

          7th June 2017

        • Russia: US-Declared 'De-Confliction Zone' In Syria Illegitimate

          7th June 2017

        • Hey Intercept, Something is Very Wrong with Reality Winner and the NSA Leak

          7th June 2017

        • Twilight of the Courts: The Elusive Search for Justice in the American Police State

          6th June 2017

        • Bring the Troops Home, Mr. President

          6th June 2017

        • London Attacks: Don't Blame Iran

          5th June 2017

        • Is Libya War Coming to an End?

          5th June 2017

        • Beyond 'Blowback': Islam and Terror

          5th June 2017

        • Trump's Budget: Radical Change or More of the Same?

          5th June 2017

        • Haven't We Had Enough of Afghanistan?

          2nd June 2017

        • Washington's War on Food is Making Us Sick!

          2nd June 2017

        • Five Bad Arguments the Left is Using to Restrict Speech from the Right

          1st June 2017

      • May
        • An Update on Blocking The Saudi Arms Deal with Senator Rand Paul

          31st May 2017

        • Libya's Post-Gaddafi Chaos: Is There Any Way Out?

          31st May 2017

        • What Did John Brennan and Anonymous Sources Really Say?

          30th May 2017

        • World in Flames - the Deadly Legacy of Cold War Warrior Brzezinski

          30th May 2017

        • Memorial Day: What Should We Remember?

          29th May 2017

        • The Troops Don't Defend Our Freedoms

          29th May 2017

        • 'Libya's Utterly Predictable Chaos Perfect for Exporting Weapons & Jihadists into Syria'

          29th May 2017

        • Are We Fighting Terrorism, Or Creating More Terrorism?

          28th May 2017

        • The Great White Father Comes to Saudi Arabia

          27th May 2017

        • Blame David Cameron for Manchester Bombing!

          26th May 2017

        • Lying DEA Officials Get a Pass (Just Like Clapper)

          26th May 2017

        • Rebels 'Went to Libya With MI5 Blessing' Amid Abedi Probe

          26th May 2017

        • NSA Spying On Americans 'Widespread' - Let Sec. 702 Expire!

          25th May 2017

        • Was Manchester Blowback?

          24th May 2017

        • Slovakia: NATO Exit Idea Gains Momentum

          24th May 2017

        • The 'War On Terrorism' Isn't Working

          24th May 2017

        • The Republic Has Fallen: The Deep State's Plot to Take Over America Has Succeeded

          23rd May 2017

        • Manchester Tragedy: Understanding The Big Picture

          23rd May 2017

        • Trump In Saudi Arabia - 'Peace In Our Time?'

          22nd May 2017

        • Donald of Arabia: A Disgusting Spectacle

          22nd May 2017

        • Will the Trump Administration Overdose on Authoritarianism?

          22nd May 2017

        • US Attacks Syrian Government Forces - It Now Has To Make Its Choice

          21st May 2017

        • The Russian Obsession Goes Back Decades

          20th May 2017

        • The Assault on Trump

          20th May 2017

        • Seth Rich, Craig Murray and the Sinister Stewards of the National Security State

          20th May 2017

        • Black Swans And Interventionistas...With Special Guest Nassim Nicholas Taleb

          19th May 2017

        • The Special Counsel Comes to Town: It's the Moscow Trials, Revisited

          19th May 2017

        • While the Deep State 'Death Star' Seeks to Finish Off Trump, 'Mr. Massacre' Returns Pushing for Greater Albania

          19th May 2017

        • US Thinking on Arming the Kurds: Complex, Intricate, Nuanced, or Just Plain Stupid?

          18th May 2017

        • Mueller Appointed 'Chief Prosecutor' -- 'Russiagate' Crisis Over...Or Just Beginning?

          18th May 2017

        • The 'Giuliani Moment' 10 Years On: What Does It Mean Today?

          17th May 2017

        • America's Reign of Terror: A Nation Reaps What It Sows

          17th May 2017

        • 'Russiagate' -- National Security Threat...Or Just Politics?

          16th May 2017

        • Israel Minister: 'The Time Has Come To Assassinate Bashar Assad'

          16th May 2017

        • Are They Really Out to Get Trump?

          16th May 2017

        • Jeff Sessions' Authoritarian Drug Crackdown Won't Work

          15th May 2017

        • President Trump: Toss Your Generals' War Escalation Plans In the Trash

          14th May 2017

        • Ron Paul Rewind (2010): 'End the War in Afghanistan Now!'

          13th May 2017

        • Comey Fring Justly Knocks FBI off its Pedestal

          13th May 2017

        • Shut Down the 'Russia-gate' Farce

          13th May 2017

        • Will Trump Agree to the Pentagon's Permanent War in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria?

          12th May 2017

        • Watergate Redux or 'Deep State' Coup?

          12th May 2017

        • No Evidence of Russian Intrusion in US Political System

          11th May 2017

        • Arming The Kurds - A Dangerous Idea

          11th May 2017

        • Syria Doesn't Need Our Help Against Terrorists

          10th May 2017

        • Comey Fired...Now Fire The FBI!

          10th May 2017

        • McCain Hammers Tillerson On Human Rights: Why The Panic?

          9th May 2017

        • On That Day Began Lies

          9th May 2017

        • Trump's First Trip: Will He 'Stabilize' The Middle East?

          8th May 2017

        • ProPublica Attacks First Amendment, Cloudflare Edition

          8th May 2017

        • President Trump: Cancel Your Saudi Trip, Play More Golf

          7th May 2017

        • How Berkeley and NYU's Anti-Free Speech Actions are as Unconstitutional as Hell

          6th May 2017

        • Pre-emptive War Is A Pandora's Box

          5th May 2017

        • What the North Korean 'Crisis' Is Really About

          4th May 2017

        • Madison Was Right About War

          4th May 2017

        • Syria Safe Zones Declared: Will The Killing Finally End?

          4th May 2017

        • Welcome to the White House, President Duterte

          3rd May 2017

        • Ask Ron Paul: NAFTA, Obamacare, Taxes, State Rights, And More...

          3rd May 2017

        • War or Peace?

          3rd May 2017

        • Enemy Of The Week: US To Slap Iran With New Sanctions

          2nd May 2017

        • The Real WMD in Syria – West's Weapon of Mass Disorientation

          2nd May 2017

        • Big Brother Is Still Watching You: Don't Fall for the NSA's Latest Ploy

          1st May 2017

        • As Expected, A 'Bipartisan' Budget...More Spending!

          1st May 2017

        • Peace: Neither Ink nor Blood

          1st May 2017

        • Save Liberty, Shut Down the Government

          1st May 2017

      • April
        • Two Western Narratives on North Korea; Both Cannot be True

          30th April 2017

        • President Trump: You Can't Fight the Whole World

          30th April 2017

        • Saddam Hussein at 80: Iraq Without its 'Liberation'

          29th April 2017

        • Gen Mattis' Syria Chemical Claim Smacks of Politicized Intelligence

          29th April 2017

        • Julian Assange Speaks Out: The War On The Truth

          28th April 2017

        • Phony Hysterics Over North Korea

          28th April 2017

        • Trump's Foreign Policy after 100 Days: Tweeting with Bombs?

          28th April 2017

        • Do American Airports Suck? Yes, Yes They Do

          28th April 2017

        • A Libertarian Laughs At The State, With Dave Smith

          27th April 2017

        • CIA Director Pompeo Doesn't Understand the First Amendment

          27th April 2017

        • Our Turk Allies Just Attacked Our Kurd Allies - Whose Side Are We On?

          26th April 2017

        • What Comes After the US Missile Strike in Syria?

          26th April 2017

        • State Governments Are Becoming the Biggest Drug Lords of All

          26th April 2017

        • New Syria Sanctions; Gas Attack Claims Still Unproven

          25th April 2017

        • The Iron Jaws of the Police State: Trump's America Is a Constitution-Free Zone

          25th April 2017

        • Why is US Media Ignoring Prof. Postol's Study on Syria Chemical Weapons Attack?

          24th April 2017

        • Tell Us Why We're At War, President Trump

          24th April 2017

        • Will the FBI Spy on the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity? It Wouldn't Surprise Me

          24th April 2017

        • Candidate Trump: 'I Love Wikileaks.' President Trump: 'Arrest Assange!'

          24th April 2017

        • France: Will 'La Morosite' Win the Vote?

          22nd April 2017

        • US 'Deep State' Sold Out Counter-Terrorism to Keep Itself in Business

          22nd April 2017

        • On Interventionistas and their Mental Defects

          22nd April 2017

        • The Spy State Unleashed

          21st April 2017

        • Berkeley Cancels Coulter Speech . . . Coulter Vows To Defy University

          20th April 2017

        • Tillerson Threatens Iran: 'The Great Destabilizer'?

          20th April 2017

        • President Trump's Disappearance

          20th April 2017

        • More US Troops To Afghanistan: Will A New 'Surge' Work?

          19th April 2017

        • How the US Government Spins the Story

          18th April 2017

        • 'Doing Time Like A Spy' - With Guest John Kiriakou

          18th April 2017

        • Why The Donald Should Cool It On North Korea

          18th April 2017

        • Run for Your Life: The American Police State Is Coming to Get You

          17th April 2017

        • Who 'Provoked And Destabilized' North Korea? China?

          17th April 2017

        • The Federal Reserve Is, and Always Has Been, Politicized

          17th April 2017

        • Did Al Qaeda Fool the White House Again?

          15th April 2017

        • Trump's Middle East Policy: Shifting 'America First' to 'America Omnipresent'

          15th April 2017

        • Tillerson in Moscow: Is World War III Back on Track?

          14th April 2017

        • Trump Walks Into Syria Trap Via Fake 'Intelligence'

          14th April 2017

        • If You're Wondering Why Trump Can Just Bomb Countries, Ask Obama, Bush, and Clinton

          14th April 2017

        • Does Anybody Know What Our Russia Policy Is?

          13th April 2017

        • President Trump, with respect, start ruthlessly purging the US general officer corps

          13th April 2017

        • Donald J. Trump: The Empire's Spanker-In-Chief

          12th April 2017

        • Why Does Assad Have To Go? -- With Lew Rockwell

          11th April 2017

        • Is There A New US Syria Policy? Is There One At All?

          11th April 2017

        • Iran the Destabilizer

          11th April 2017

        • After Trump Bombed Syria, Are We All Neocons Now?

          10th April 2017

        • After Trump's Syria Attack, What Comes Next?

          10th April 2017

        • If you have time, Mr. President, Senator Paul can help you learn the Constitution means what it says

          9th April 2017

        • Bomb the Usual Arabs

          9th April 2017

        • Syria: New US Air Support On Request Scheme For Al-Qaeda

          7th April 2017

        • US Bombs Syria - National Security Or Aggression? With Guest, US Rep. Thomas Massie

          7th April 2017

        • WWI Anniversary: 100 Years Of 'Making World Safe For Democracy'

          6th April 2017

        • Another Dangerous Rush to Judgment in Syria

          6th April 2017

        • Woodrow Wilson Made Democracy Unsafe for the World

          6th April 2017

        • Syria Gas Attack: Assad's Doing...Or False Flag?

          5th April 2017

        • By Jingo, an 'Act of War!'

          4th April 2017

        • Susan Rice Spy Scandal: Was Trump Right? And What It Means.

          4th April 2017

        • Just Bring the Troops Home

          3rd April 2017

        • Threatening China Over Korea: Grandstanding...Or Wise Diplomacy

          3rd April 2017

        • Does it Matter Who Pulls the Trigger in the Drone Wars?

          3rd April 2017

        • Yes, Let's Allow The Syrian People To Decide For Themselves

          3rd April 2017

        • The Sleazy Origins of Russia-Gate

          1st April 2017

      • March
        • Ron Paul Rewind (1999): 'Our Foolish Policy in Iraq Invites Terrorist Attacks Against US Territory'

          31st March 2017

        • There Was No 'Russian Hacking' of the 2016 Election

          31st March 2017

        • Mosul: Where Obama's Last Gambit Could Ruin Trump

          31st March 2017

        • War Between US And China Brewing in South China Sea?

          31st March 2017

        • Free Market Healthcare? Favorite Country? Ron Paul Answers Viewer Questions

          30th March 2017

        • Constitutional Q&A: The Legality of Stop and ID Procedures

          29th March 2017

        • Escalation Everywhere: Will Trump's Foreign Policy Succeed?

          29th March 2017

        • Ending Syria's Nightmare will Take Pressure From Below

          28th March 2017

        • Dick Cheney Surfaces: Claims Interfering In Elections 'An Act Of War'

          28th March 2017

        • Death at Your Door: Knock-and-Talk Police Tactics Rip a Hole in the Constitution

          28th March 2017

        • Trump's War on Terror Has Quickly Become as Barbaric and Savage as He Promised

          27th March 2017

        • Game of Thorns: Revelations From The 2016 Campaign

          27th March 2017

        • Did the Government Spy on Trump? Of Course. It Spies on All of Us!

          27th March 2017

        • Macedonia to George Soros and USAID: Go Away

          24th March 2017

        • 'Has America become North Korea, where speaking to Russia is forbidden?'

          24th March 2017

        • The evidence that the Russians hacked the DNC is collapsing

          24th March 2017

        • Is Tillerson Skipping NATO for Russia a Crisis? (No.)

          23rd March 2017

        • Comey Lied? Trump Vindicated? Nobody's Safe From PATRIOT Act

          23rd March 2017

        • Fool Me Once: Crowdstrike Claimed Two Cases Of 'Russian Hacking.' One Has Been Proven Wrong.

          22nd March 2017

        • Is North Korea An 'Imminent Threat'?

          22nd March 2017

        • 'US Democrats and Neocons Need Some Anti-Psychotic Medication Over Trump'

          21st March 2017

        • House Russia Hearing: Revelations Or More Speculation?

          21st March 2017

        • Israel Precipitates New Tensions in Syria

          21st March 2017

        • McCain and Montenegro: The Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory

          21st March 2017

        • Trump Budget Cuts Bankroll New Waste

          20th March 2017

        • Neocons Strike Back: Kagan Family On The Warpath (Again)

          20th March 2017

        • Mainstream Media in Total Collapse

          20th March 2017

        • Obamacare Repeal or Obamacare 2.0?

          19th March 2017

        • Why Are Americans Searched at the Border?

          18th March 2017

        • No One Needs Another Korean War

          18th March 2017

        • How To End the Korean War

          17th March 2017

        • Jeff Sessions is Less of a Threat to Marijuana Legalization than You May Think

          17th March 2017

        • The Kagans Are Back; Wars to Follow

          16th March 2017

        • Fed Hikes Rate - Stagflation Ahead?

          16th March 2017

        • The Four Horsemen Of The Trumpocalypse

          15th March 2017

        • Trump/Saudi Collusion: Laying Plans For More War In The Middle East

          15th March 2017

        • State Department: Is America's Oldest Cabinet Agency Trumped?

          15th March 2017

        • US Practices 'Taking Out' Kim Jong-Un -- What Will Be The Consequences?

          14th March 2017

        • What Is the CIA Hack All About?

          14th March 2017

        • New Rules Of Engagement: More Authority To The Generals

          13th March 2017

        • More Mideast Madness as Trump Prepares to March

          13th March 2017

        • Why Trump's Syria 'Surge' Will Fail

          13th March 2017

        • Assad Calls US Forces In Syria 'Invaders,' Loses Faith In Trump

          12th March 2017

        • Death in Ghayil

          11th March 2017

        • Do We Live in a Police State?

          10th March 2017

        • When Whistleblowers Tell The Truth They're Traitors. When Government Lies It's Politics

          9th March 2017

        • The Lynching of Lynne Stewart (1939-2017)

          9th March 2017

        • Race For Raqqa: Major US Escalation In Syria

          9th March 2017

        • Truman Was Right About the CIA

          8th March 2017

        • Trump's Global Hot Spots - Is He Losing Control?

          8th March 2017

        • Spygate: America's Political Police vs. Donald J. Trump

          8th March 2017

        • The CIA Leak Casts Doubt on Russian Involvement in the DNC/Podesta Leaks

          7th March 2017

        • New TSA Rules -- More Aggressive Pat-Downs!

          7th March 2017

        • The Left's Great Russian Conspiracy Theory

          6th March 2017

        • Reflections on the Revolution in Middlebury

          6th March 2017

        • Trump Tapped? President Accuses Obama Of Spying On His Campaign

          6th March 2017

        • Arizona Challenges the Fed's Money Monopoly

          5th March 2017

        • Why Libya's Cry for Justice Must be Heard

          5th March 2017

        • TSA Launches 'Invasive' Pat-Downs With 'More Intimate Contact Than Before'

          4th March 2017

        • Obama Ordered Abuse Of Intelligence To Sabotage Trump Policies

          3rd March 2017

        • GOP - Which Way?

          3rd March 2017

        • Dissent and the State Department: What Comes Next?

          3rd March 2017

        • The Basic Formula For Every Shocking Russia/Trump Revelation

          2nd March 2017

        • Lobbyists Concealed Their Saudi Paymasters From Veterans Pressed to Lobby Against 9/11 Bill

          2nd March 2017

        • Will The Neocons 'Flynn' Jeff Sessions?

          2nd March 2017

        • US-Backed Siege of Mosul Shows How Hypocritical Media Manipulates Us

          1st March 2017

        • Was Trump's Speech Libertarian?

          1st March 2017

        • Expect Increased Spending under President Trump, and Not Just on the Military

          1st March 2017

      • February
        • Trump's 'Obsolete NATO' Means Europe Paying for US Militarism

          28th February 2017

        • A Troubled CIA Analyst Finds Jesus (and the devil is spelled T-R-U-M-P)

          28th February 2017

        • What's Going On In Djibouti? US/China Face-off in Africa

          28th February 2017

        • War And Peace In The Age Of Trump

          27th February 2017

        • Trump and Haley's Uncoordinated and Contradictory Syria Paths

          27th February 2017

        • On Military and Spending, It's Trump Versus Trump

          27th February 2017

        • Sleepwalking Into a Nuclear Arms Race with Russia

          24th February 2017

        • The Futility and Corruption of the Drug War

          24th February 2017

        • Shock Poll: Is Russia Friend Or Foe?

          23rd February 2017

        • Trump's First Terror Arrest: A Broke Stoner The FBI Threatened at Knifepoint

          23rd February 2017

        • The Sacrifice of Tulsi Gabbard

          22nd February 2017

        • CIA Weapons Pause In Syria - Are We Backing Off...Or Escalating?

          22nd February 2017

        • Why Do 'Progressives' Like War?

          21st February 2017

        • McMaster To NSC - More Troops To Middle East?

          21st February 2017

        • Veterans Being Misled On JASTA, Says International Law Expert

          21st February 2017

        • The 'Blind Sheik' And The CIA - Media Bury US Support For Radical Islamism

          20th February 2017

        • More Troops: Why Trump's ISIS Strategy Will Fail

          20th February 2017

        • McCain in Munich: The War Party Fights Back

          20th February 2017

        • Trump's ISIS Plan: Another US Invasion?

          20th February 2017

        • Red Hysteria Engulfs Washington

          19th February 2017

        • 'America wants empire and for Europeans to remain subservient'

          18th February 2017

        • Bribes, Catapults, and Corruption Trump Trumps Wall

          17th February 2017

        • Flynn's Gone But They're Still Gunning For You, Donald

          17th February 2017

        • You Are Forbidden to Talk with Russians!

          16th February 2017

        • Is The Intelligence Community At War With Trump?

          16th February 2017

        • Trump and Duterte: Birds of a Feather

          15th February 2017

        • Trump Caves on Flynn's Resignation

          15th February 2017

        • Ignore The Tough Talk - Trump's Iran Policy Will be Much Like Obama's

          14th February 2017

        • Gen. Flynn Out At NSC -- Winners and Losers

          14th February 2017

        • Can't Judge Fake News in the Dark

          13th February 2017

        • Saudi Lobbyists Recruiting Veterans to Kill 9/11 Lawsuit

          13th February 2017

        • Will Congress Stop Forcing Pro-Life Americans to Subsidize Abortion?

          13th February 2017

        • US Special Forces Deployed To 70 Percent Of The World In 2016

          11th February 2017

        • The Warlords of Kiev

          10th February 2017

        • Trump is Wrong - Saudi Arabia, Not Iran is the World's 'Number One Terrorist State

          10th February 2017

        • Trump's Fearmongering is White House Tradition

          10th February 2017

        • Are the Neocons Slithering into the New Administration?

          8th February 2017

        • 'Extreme Vetting' - Homeland Security's Attack On Liberty?

          8th February 2017

        • The FBI: The Silent Terror of the Fourth Reich

          8th February 2017

        • 'When Trump won, Ukraine's Poroshenko put himself in pretty bad position'

          7th February 2017

        • US Tanks, Troops Arrive In Estonia As Part Of NATO Anti-Russia Build Up

          7th February 2017

        • Elliott Abrams To State Dept: You Can't Be Serious!

          7th February 2017

        • Business As Usual - Is Trump's Foreign Policy Just More Bush And Obama?

          6th February 2017

        • Cut, Don't Reform, Taxes

          6th February 2017

        • 'The Media Coverage on Syria is the Biggest Media Lie of our Time' -- Interview with Flemish Priest in Syria

          4th February 2017

        • 'America: Please Stop Intervening in Our Affairs'

          3rd February 2017

        • A Billion Dollars of Federally Funded Paranoia

          3rd February 2017

        • Trump Team Gone Wild: Now UN Ambassador Threatens Russia!

          2nd February 2017

        • What Will Rex Tillerson Inherit at the State Department?

          2nd February 2017

        • Iran 'On Notice' - Will Trump Pull The Trigger?

          2nd February 2017

        • Ukraine - Coup Government Tries To Sabotage US-Russia Rapprochement

          1st February 2017

        • Settled Science? A 'Climate Change' Dissident Speaks Out

          1st February 2017

      • January
        • Like Saudi Arabia, Israel Has a Soft Spot for Sunni Extremism

          31st January 2017

        • Rule by Brute Force: The True Nature of Government

          31st January 2017

        • Droning On: More US Bombs On Yemen

          31st January 2017

        • Obama Killed a 16-Year-Old American in Yemen. Trump Just Killed His 8-Year-Old Sister.

          30th January 2017

        • Trump's Travel Ban: Targeting Terrorism...Or Iran?

          30th January 2017

        • A Better Solution Than Trump's Border Wall

          30th January 2017

        • About That Trump - Putin Phone Call...

          29th January 2017

        • The End Of Mingling - 'Moderate Rebels' Join Al-Qaeda In Syria

          28th January 2017

        • Did the CIA Ruin Classical Music for the Masses?

          28th January 2017

        • The Birth Of The American Empire

          27th January 2017

        • Trump Bull in the Mideast China Shop

          27th January 2017

        • Those 'Resignations': What Really Happened at the State Department

          27th January 2017

        • The Syrian People Desperately Want Peace

          26th January 2017

        • Trump Proposal For Syria 'Safe Zones' To Escalate US Military Involvement In The Region

          26th January 2017

        • Perpetual Drug War Deja Vu

          25th January 2017

        • How To Really Reform Military Spending : Is Cutting Waste Enough?

          25th January 2017

        • Has the American Dream Become the American Nightmare?

          24th January 2017

        • The Neocon Lament Nobody wants them in Trump's Washington

          24th January 2017

        • Trump's 31 Airstrikes - A Taste Of Things To Come?

          24th January 2017

        • Is Medical Marijuana A Crime?

          23rd January 2017

        • Trump's Foreign Policy: An Unwise Inconsistency?

          23rd January 2017

        • US intervention in Syria? Not under Trump

          21st January 2017

        • What Trump Could Do

          20th January 2017

        • We're Still Here, 1/20/17, Consumed Most of All by Our Fears

          20th January 2017

        • Obama's Wasted, Deadly, and Destructive Presidency

          19th January 2017

        • McCain's $5 Trillion Military Budget: Will It Make America Great Again?

          19th January 2017

        • Obama's Achievement: Whitewashing Permanent Warfare With Eloquence

          18th January 2017

        • Chelsea Manning Clemency: Did Obama Do The Right Thing?

          18th January 2017

        • A Demand for Russian 'Hacking' Proof

          18th January 2017

        • Executive Power In The Age Of Trump

          17th January 2017

        • Who Is Michael Morell?

          16th January 2017

        • Antiwar And Anti-Violence: The Revolutionary MLK

          16th January 2017

        • Abolish the CIA

          16th January 2017

        • Protesters Succeed In Preventing Conservative Speakers From Appearing At The University of California At Davis

          15th January 2017

        • Will Trump Continue the Bush-Obama Legacy?

          15th January 2017

        • Is Trump Already Finished?

          14th January 2017

        • The Secret Trump Dossier -- What Does It Mean?

          13th January 2017

        • One Final Expansion of the Surveillance State as Obama Heads for the Door

          13th January 2017

        • Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich Ask President Obama to Free Chelsea Manning

          12th January 2017

        • The Tillerson Hearing: Will Trump Have A Neocon Foreign Policy?

          12th January 2017

        • American Troops 'Roll Into Poland' In Largest Deployment Since The Cold War

          12th January 2017

        • Will the CIA Retaliate Against Trump?

          11th January 2017

        • Where Was Meryl Streep When Obama Was Prosecuting Whistleblowers & Bombing Weddings?

          10th January 2017

        • Confirmation: Tillerson's Turn In The Hot Seat

          10th January 2017

        • Washington Invented Hacking and Interfering in Elections

          10th January 2017

        • Sen. Jeff Sessions: Libertarian Or Authoritarian?

          9th January 2017

        • The Globalists' Russia Game

          9th January 2017

        • Trump Must Expose Obama-era Power Grabs

          9th January 2017

        • Will Obama's 'Good War' in Afghanistan Continue?

          8th January 2017

        • Stop Demonizing North Korea and Talk Business

          7th January 2017

        • Is That All There Is? Intel Community Releases Its Russia 'Hacking' Report

          6th January 2017

        • Here's Why the US Elite Fear RT

          6th January 2017

        • 'Surreal Echo Chamber' - Challenging the 'Russia Hacked US Elections' Narrative

          6th January 2017

        • Purge the CIA

          6th January 2017

        • The Coup Against Truth

          5th January 2017

        • Can Trump Rein In The CIA?

          5th January 2017

        • Foreign Policy Blowback in Germany

          3rd January 2017

        • Facts Or Fakes: Can We Trust The Washington Post?

          3rd January 2017

        • America or Israel? Quislings in Congress and the Media Need to Decide Which Comes First

          3rd January 2017

        • Good News: Washington Frozen Out of Syria Peace Plan

          2nd January 2017

    • 2016
      • December
        • Russia Hysteria Infects WashPost Again: False Story About Hacking US Electric Grid

          31st December 2016

        • Another 50 Years of Mideast Strife

          31st December 2016

        • Symbolic Failure Point: Female Afghan Pilot Wants Asylum In The US

          30th December 2016

        • Obama Under 'Intense Pressure' To Release Evidence Proving Russians Hacked The Election

          29th December 2016

        • Does the Cause of Peace Have a Future?

          29th December 2016

        • Peace and Prosperity in 2017?

          28th December 2016

        • Trump's Pentagon Budget Time Bomb

          28th December 2016

        • 2016: The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

          28th December 2016

        • Syria - Peace Talk Rumors And Parameters

          28th December 2016

        • Behind the Real US Strategic Blunder in Syria

          27th December 2016

        • Why Did 'Faithless Elector' Bill Greene Vote For Ron Paul?

          27th December 2016

        • Obama Quietly Signs The 'Countering Disinformation And Propaganda Act' Into Law

          26th December 2016

        • New Year's Resolutions for Donald Trump and Congress

          26th December 2016

        • Trump's Need to Trust Americans

          24th December 2016

        • The Fraudulent Obama War on Corruption

          22nd December 2016

        • Meltdown in Turkey?

          21st December 2016

        • Global War On Terrorism: Are We Winning?

          20th December 2016

        • The War on Terror: Anyway You Look at it, it's a Failure

          20th December 2016

        • Electoral College - Should We Abolish It?

          19th December 2016

        • The Bad Losers and What They Fear Losing

          19th December 2016

        • After Aleppo: We Need a New Syria Policy

          19th December 2016

        • Moscow Attacks!

          18th December 2016

        • Ron Paul: What's Missing From The Russian Hack Argument?

          17th December 2016

        • Guess Who's Behind Facebook's New 'Fake News' Detector?

          16th December 2016

        • You Opened the Box

          16th December 2016

        • Getting Real News From Aleppo - With Vanessa Beeley

          15th December 2016

        • Credibility Tips for Journalists

          14th December 2016

        • Bipartisan War: New Study Urges More US Interventions

          14th December 2016

        • Will Congress Roll Over On Trump's Economic Stimulus?

          13th December 2016

        • Peace in Syria - It's the Last Thing the US Wants

          12th December 2016

        • Election 'Hack' - Do We Believe Snowden And Assange...Or McCain And Graham?

          12th December 2016

        • Karma Over Russia?

          12th December 2016

        • War on 'Fake News' Part of a War on Free Speech

          11th December 2016

        • US Sends 200 More Troops To Syria Days After Obama Lifts Ban On Arms Supplies To Rebels

          10th December 2016

        • Japan's 'Nobility of Failure' in 1941

          10th December 2016

        • Freedom's Just Another Word

          10th December 2016

        • Washington Post Issues Correction To 'Fake News' Story

          9th December 2016

        • Hillary Reemerges, Slams 'Dangerous Epidemic' Of Fake News

          8th December 2016

        • The Horrific Consequences of US Interventionism

          8th December 2016

        • Will Gen. Kelly Re-Militarize The Drug War?

          8th December 2016

        • Requiem for the Obama Administration, Trump Edition

          7th December 2016

        • After Libya, NATO Looks To Montenegro

          7th December 2016

        • US Strikes on Syrian Troops: Report Data Contradicts 'Mistake' Claims

          7th December 2016

        • Gen. Mattis: Can Trump Leash His Pentagon 'Mad Dog'?

          6th December 2016

        • PropOrNot Doesn't Identify Russian Propaganda

          6th December 2016

        • Trump's Taiwan Call - What's The Motive?

          5th December 2016

        • Trump's Promised 'New Foreign Policy' Must Abandon Regime Change for Iran

          4th December 2016

        • Mr. Trump: Use Your America-First Instincts to Pick a Secretary of State

          3rd December 2016

        • Will Obama be Named Russian Agent for Saying US Elections Reflect Will of American Voters?

          2nd December 2016

        • Presidential War is Unconstitutional

          2nd December 2016

        • Mr Trump, Don't Tear Down This Deal

          2nd December 2016

        • The End Of Globalism - With Doug Casey

          1st December 2016

        • OSU's Foreign Policy Blowback

          1st December 2016

      • November
        • The Uselessness of NATO: Do We Really Need to Defend Montenegro?

          30th November 2016

        • Ron Paul: 'Fake News Comes From our Own Government'

          30th November 2016

        • The Only Way Trump Could Actually 'Drain the Swamp'

          30th November 2016

        • The Coming Fall Of Aleppo: Victory For Whom?

          29th November 2016

        • Iranophobes on Parade: Will Iran be the Target of the Trump Regime?

          29th November 2016

        • The War Against Castro Comes to an End

          29th November 2016

        • More Fake News: Who's On The Washington Post Blacklist?

          28th November 2016

        • The Western War On Truth

          28th November 2016

        • To Really 'Make America Great Again,' End the Fed!

          27th November 2016

        • Suez: The End of Europe's Empires

          27th November 2016

        • RPI's Daniel McAdams on the Washington Post 'Fake News' Attack Piece

          26th November 2016

        • Washington Post Peddles Tarring of Ron Paul Institute as Russian Propaganda

          25th November 2016

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Ron Paul on Julian Assange

          25th November 2016

        • Things We Are Thankful For, Thanksgiving 2016

          24th November 2016

        • After 2016: What Is The Future Of Libertarianism?

          23rd November 2016

        • What Would an 'America First' Foreign Policy Look Like?

          23rd November 2016

        • Trump's Tulsi Gabbard Factor

          23rd November 2016

        • When It Comes to Fake News, the US Government Is the Biggest Culprit

          22nd November 2016

        • Re-Branding Libertarianism: The Silver Lining of the 2016 Election

          21st November 2016

        • Mr. Trump: Here is a Worthy, Perhaps Final Opportunity to Put America First

          21st November 2016

        • Education System Broken: Let's Try 'Ed-Exit'

          21st November 2016

        • Help Wanted, Apply Now!

          21st November 2016

        • War Breaks Out Between Neo-Cons And Libertarians Over Trump's Foreign Policy

          20th November 2016

        • Those Damn Emails

          19th November 2016

        • The Russians are Coming – By Sea!

          19th November 2016

        • Donald and Vladimir

          18th November 2016

        • Memo To Congress: Bring Back Earmarks!

          17th November 2016

        • The Best Iran Deal Is Unilateral Hands-Off Iran

          16th November 2016

        • For A Libertarian Foreign Policy: Five Key Fixes

          16th November 2016

        • Trump and Putin Begin Work on US-Russia Reset

          16th November 2016

        • The Bolton Threat to Trump's Middle East Policy

          15th November 2016

        • China And Middle East Hot Spots: Diplomacy Or Militarism?

          15th November 2016

        • US Elections Shockwaves Hit Europe

          14th November 2016

        • Assad Must Stay: US Policy Shift In Syria?

          14th November 2016

        • Bulgaria & Moldova Switch from Hillary's Euro-Atlantic Column

          14th November 2016

        • Memo to the Next Administration: Defense Spending Must Be For Actual Defense

          13th November 2016

        • Long Live the Establishment!

          12th November 2016

        • Commander-In-Chief Donald Trump Will Have Terrifying Powers. Thanks, Obama.

          11th November 2016

        • Ron Paul to Trump: Don't Listen to Neocons!

          11th November 2016

        • Trump: Don't Follow the Bush-Obama Foreign Policy Legacy

          10th November 2016

        • Tug Of War Between NATO And Trump: Who Will Win?

          10th November 2016

        • Post-Election Roundup: How Did Liberty Do?

          9th November 2016

        • Election 2016 - Prediction Of Things To Come

          8th November 2016

        • Strange Silence of Neo-Con Trolls as Mikheil Saakashvili Stabs His Patron Poroshenko in the Back

          8th November 2016

        • Oh, What a Lovely War!

          8th November 2016

        • Another US Massacre in Afghanistan

          7th November 2016

        • Raqqa/Mosul: Politicians Fiddle As Middle East Burns

          7th November 2016

        • Regardless of How America Votes, Americans Want a Different Foreign Policy

          7th November 2016

        • US Hypocrisy: Bombing of Aleppo is No Worse Than What Happened in Gaza and Iraq

          5th November 2016

        • Washington's Meddling in Foreign Elections

          5th November 2016

        • Will the Media Reset After the Election or Are We Stuck With This Tabloid Stuff?

          4th November 2016

        • Twenty Years of a Dictatorial Democracy

          4th November 2016

        • Sleepwalking into a New Cold War, Pentagon Style

          4th November 2016

        • ISIS: Mortal Threat Or Paper Tiger?

          3rd November 2016

        • Bill Weld is Hillary Clinton's Libertarian Party Surrogate

          3rd November 2016

        • The Rise of Mandatory Vaccinations Means the End of Medical Freedom

          3rd November 2016

        • Purchasing Loyalty with Foreign Aid

          2nd November 2016

        • Turkey Prepares to Intervene in Mosul

          2nd November 2016

        • Who Will Weed Out the Warmongers?

          1st November 2016

        • New Poll: Americans Feel Less Safe After 15 Years Of War

          1st November 2016

        • Obama's Victory Lap?

          1st November 2016

      • October
        • Not Guilty: The Power of Nullification to Counteract Government Tyranny

          31st October 2016

        • Will The Deep State Win The Election?

          31st October 2016

        • Raqqa Now Key to US Strategy in Syria and the Wider Region

          31st October 2016

        • Blame Government, Not Markets for Monopoly

          31st October 2016

        • Selling 'Regime Change' Wars to the Masses

          29th October 2016

        • Comey Sends Letter To Congress Citing New Evidence (and An Investigation) In The Clinton Email Scandal

          28th October 2016

        • Paper Tiger ISIS Digs Into Mosul

          28th October 2016

        • Should America Pardon the National Security State?

          27th October 2016

        • PATRIOT Act At 15: Do You Feel Safer?

          27th October 2016

        • Why Is the Foreign Policy Establishment Spoiling for More War? Look at Their Donors.

          26th October 2016

        • What Did Sen. Richard Black Learn In Syria?

          26th October 2016

        • Looking Ahead: Clinton's Plans for Syria

          25th October 2016

        • Hypocritical Air Force Secretary Deborah James Wants to Draft Women (Other Than Herself)

          25th October 2016

        • The Battle For Mosul: Who Benefits?

          25th October 2016

        • The Path to Total Dictatorship: America's Shadow Government and Its Silent Coup

          24th October 2016

        • Philippine Pivot To China: What Does It Mean?

          24th October 2016

        • Obama's Pivot to Asia Hits a Roadblock in the Philippines

          24th October 2016

        • Khadaffi's Murder

          22nd October 2016

        • Former Hungarian Communist Party Paper Goes Bankrupt, Washington Panics

          21st October 2016

        • Paranoid Apoplexy Over the Russkies

          21st October 2016

        • Obama and Hillary's Two-Minutes of Hate for Russia

          21st October 2016

        • An 'Epidemic of Graft' – Anti-Corruption Efforts in Afghanistan Fail Hard

          20th October 2016

        • Are The Russians Rigging Our Elections?

          20th October 2016

        • Assange's Fate

          19th October 2016

        • Trump/Clinton Final Debate: Questions We Would Ask

          19th October 2016

        • Western Doublethink on Aleppo & Mosul Obscures Terror Complicity

          19th October 2016

        • After Mosul Falls, ISIS will Flee to Syria. Then What?

          18th October 2016

        • CNN: It Is Illegal For Voters To Possess Wikileaks Material

          18th October 2016

        • Battle For Mosul: Not False Flag, False Hope!

          18th October 2016

        • The Horror of Endless Interventionism

          17th October 2016

        • Who Brought the World to the Brink of World War III?

          17th October 2016

        • Iceland Today, the US Tomorrow?

          17th October 2016

        • The Real Humanitarian Crisis Is Not Aleppo

          16th October 2016

        • WikiLeaks: The Two Faces of Hillary Clinton on Syria

          15th October 2016

        • Russia-US Relations: Inevitable Clash?

          14th October 2016

        • West is Gunning for Russian Media Ban

          14th October 2016

        • DOJ Drops Charges Against Arms Dealer - Why?

          13th October 2016

        • Prepare Yourself for Blowback From Yemen

          13th October 2016

        • The Imperial President's Toolbox of Terror: A Dictatorship Waiting to Happen

          12th October 2016

        • FBI Comes Clean On Homegrown Terror

          12th October 2016

        • The Legacy of United States Interventionism

          11th October 2016

        • Hillary's Public Vs. Private Positions - Deceit?

          11th October 2016

        • Enough Sabre Rattling Already!

          11th October 2016

        • Kerry's Anger as Assad Poised to Win; the US Still Serves Israel and Saudi Arabia

          10th October 2016

        • Debate Round Two: Issues Vs. Character

          10th October 2016

        • A Government is Seizing Control of Our Election Process, and It Is Not the Russians

          10th October 2016

        • Fifteen Years Into the Afghan War, Do Americans Know the Truth?

          9th October 2016

        • Obama's Syria Policy and the Illusion of US Power in the Middle East

          9th October 2016

        • America's Longest War Gets Longer

          8th October 2016

        • A Sandy Beach and Constitutional Political Economy

          8th October 2016

        • Why Snowden the Movie Matters

          7th October 2016

        • Syria -- What Cost 'Victory'?

          6th October 2016

        • Free Speech Victory: The 'Ron Paul' Sign Can Stay!

          6th October 2016

        • Destroying Syria: A Joint Criminal Enterprise

          5th October 2016

        • VP Debate: Hawk Versus Hawk

          5th October 2016

        • CNN Celebrates Iraqi Housewife Who Beheaded and Then Cooked the Skulls of ISIS fighters

          4th October 2016

        • Inside the Shadowy PR Firm That's Lobbying for Regime Change in Syria

          4th October 2016

        • Iraq Will Use Sept 11 Bill To Sue US Government For 2003 Invasion, Demand Compensation

          3rd October 2016

        • War Profits: PR Firm Gets $500 Million To Spin Iraq War

          3rd October 2016

        • After Peres, Is Peace Possible in the Middle East?

          3rd October 2016

        • How Far Are We From War With Russia Over Syria?

          2nd October 2016

        • Pentagon Paid PR Firm $540 Million to Make Fake Terrorist Videos

          2nd October 2016

        • Russia Warns US Military 'Aggression' In Syria Would Lead To 'Terrible, Tectonic' Consequences

          1st October 2016

      • September
        • Libertarianism and War: The Rothbard Rule

          30th September 2016

        • Russia-US relations: Increased Tensions

          30th September 2016

        • Syria - The US Propaganda Shams Now Openly Fail

          30th September 2016

        • The US is Your Know-it-All Friend Who Should Just Keep His Mouth Shut

          29th September 2016

        • Why Everything You Hear About Aleppo Is Wrong

          29th September 2016

        • Obama Humiliated: For The First Time, Congress Votes To Override President's 'Sept 11' Bill Veto

          28th September 2016

        • Al-Qaeda: 'America Is On Our Side'

          28th September 2016

        • The Symbiotic Relationship Between Central Banking and Total War

          28th September 2016

        • Israel's $38 Billion Scam

          27th September 2016

        • The 'Great Debate' - Who Won?

          27th September 2016

        • George Soros's False Flag Factories

          27th September 2016

        • A Few Uncomfortable Truths You Won't Hear from the 2016 Presidential Candidates

          26th September 2016

        • The Hillary Clinton Presidency Has Already Begun As Lame Ducks Promote Her War

          26th September 2016

        • Wells Fargo or the Federal Reserve: Who's the Bigger Fraud?

          26th September 2016

        • How the Pentagon Sank the US-Russia Deal in Syria – and the Ceasefire

          24th September 2016

        • Journey To Aleppo: Exposing The Truth Buried Under NATO Propaganda

          23rd September 2016

        • What Trump Should Do - With David Stockman

          23rd September 2016

        • The US Road Map to Balkanize Syria

          22nd September 2016

        • Mission Accomplished? More US Troops To Iraq

          22nd September 2016

        • How American Media Serves as a Transmission Belt for Wars of Choice

          22nd September 2016

        • Syria - The Aid Convoy Attack Points To Further Escalation

          21st September 2016

        • Liberty In The House - With US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)

          21st September 2016

        • Syria Ceasefire In Tatters - Why And What's Next?

          20th September 2016

        • Deep State America

          20th September 2016

        • Time to Admit Washington's Syria Policy Has Gone Completely Off the Rails

          20th September 2016

        • What Lesson To Take From 'Snowden' Movie?

          19th September 2016

        • Why Are We Sending $38 Billion to Rich and Powerful Israel?

          19th September 2016

        • Western Media Credibility In Free Fall Collapse

          17th September 2016

        • American Commandos 'Forced to Run Away' From US-Backed Syrian Rebels

          16th September 2016

        • Two Boys in Aleppo

          16th September 2016

        • Who Are The Crazies on Korea?

          16th September 2016

        • Israel To Get Biggest US Aid Package In History - A Good Idea?

          15th September 2016

        • Oliver Stone's New Movie 'Snowden' Tackles the Myth

          15th September 2016

        • Can New Syria Ceasefire Hold?

          14th September 2016

        • Israel Wins in November - It Doesn't Matter Who is Elected

          14th September 2016

        • Republic Not Empire

          14th September 2016

        • The Truth About War and the State

          12th September 2016

        • Truth About 9/11

          12th September 2016

        • The Fed Plans for the Next Crisis

          12th September 2016

        • The Trumpillary War Machine Is Bad News

          8th September 2016

        • Top 10 Western Lies About Syrian Conflict

          8th September 2016

        • Iran: The Inside Story

          7th September 2016

        • Newly Released FBI Records Raise Questions of Intentional Destruction of Evidence By Clinton Contractor

          7th September 2016

        • US Blocks Former British Ambassador From Entering America to Honor CIA Whistleblower

          7th September 2016

        • Battling Big Government...From Washington!

          6th September 2016

        • For What Do We Stand?

          6th September 2016

        • John Kerry is Wrong – Media Shouldn't Stop Covering Terrorism, But They Should Start Explaining it

          5th September 2016

        • How to Solve the Illegal Immigration Problem

          5th September 2016

        • Is the United States Trying to Incite Unrest in Venezuela?

          3rd September 2016

        • US V US in Syria

          2nd September 2016

        • Acceptable Losses: Aiding and Abetting the Saudi Slaughter in Yemen

          2nd September 2016

        • The Campaign to Blame Putin for Everything

          1st September 2016

        • Traveling To Cuba: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

          1st September 2016

      • August
        • Homeland Security To Save Us From 'Rigged Elections'?

          31st August 2016

        • Ron Paul's Quick Conference Update

          30th August 2016

        • The Real US Syria Scandal: Supporting Sectarian War

          30th August 2016

        • Is There a Turkish-Russian Alliance: Why Should We Care?

          30th August 2016

        • The Election Has Been Hacked: The Dismal Reality of Having No Real Electoral Choices

          29th August 2016

        • The USS Gerald Ford - A $13 Billion Boondoggle?

          29th August 2016

        • Tell Us Why We're At War, Candidates

          29th August 2016

        • US in Denial Over Sponsoring Terrorism is Why Syrian War Rages On

          28th August 2016

        • The Right Lessons from Obamacare's Meltdown

          28th August 2016

        • The Man Who Captured Abu Zubaydah Says It's Time to End His Ordeal and Send Him Home

          27th August 2016

        • Do You Want a Peaceful and Prosperous Society or Not?

          26th August 2016

        • Kerry In Kenya - Spreading 'American Exceptionalism'

          25th August 2016

        • The Alternate Reality of Anders Fogh Rasmussen

          25th August 2016

        • America's Communist Program

          24th August 2016

        • Turkey/US Invade Syria - Hillary Gets 'No-Fly' Zone

          24th August 2016

        • The Blessing of Cash

          23rd August 2016

        • The Neoconservatives, the War on Iraq, and the National Interest of Israel

          23rd August 2016

        • What's Iran Up To; Fed Plans New $4 Trillion QE

          23rd August 2016

        • Children of the American Police State: Just Another Brick in the Wall

          22nd August 2016

        • US Policy Shift In Syria; Pentagon's Lost Trillions

          22nd August 2016

        • Follow the Money Trail for Source of 'Russian Threat' Paranoia

          22nd August 2016

        • What Should We Do About Crimea?

          21st August 2016

        • Leaked Memo Proves Soros Ruled Ukraine In 2014: Minutes From 'Breakfast With US Ambassador Pyatt'

          20th August 2016

        • US Defense Contractors Tell Investors Russian Threat Is Great for Business

          20th August 2016

        • Leaked Memo Shows George Soros Worked to Push Greece to Support Ukraine Coup, Paint Russia as Enemy

          19th August 2016

        • NED, the Legal Window of the CIA

          18th August 2016

        • Bin Laden Speaks...Should We Listen?

          18th August 2016

        • Will Hungary Be Next to Exit the EU?

          18th August 2016

        • Turkey Harmonises With Russia, Iran on Syria

          17th August 2016

        • Ninth Circuit Bars Federal Medical Marijuana Prosecutions; Full Protection Requires Congress Action

          17th August 2016

        • US Weapons Fuel Saudi Slaughter In Yemen

          17th August 2016

        • Trouble Follows When the US Labels You a 'Thug'

          16th August 2016

        • Trump Foreign Policy Speech - Cheers Or Jeers?

          16th August 2016

        • While Beijing and Manila Talk, Washington Spoiling for a Fight

          16th August 2016

        • New Yemeni Government Ready To Accept Al-Saud's Capitulation

          15th August 2016

        • It's August 15th - Where Is Your Gold?

          15th August 2016

        • Rethinking The Cold War

          15th August 2016

        • Election 2016: Liberty Loses No Matter Who Wins

          14th August 2016

        • Shocking Report Finds U.S. Military Consistently 'Distorted, Suppressed, Or Substantially Altered' ISIS-Related Intel

          14th August 2016

        • Even Nukes Grow Old

          13th August 2016

        • The Ron Paul Conference

          12th August 2016

        • In Vilifying Russian Swimmer Yulia Efimova, Americans are Splashing Murky Waters

          12th August 2016

        • Bush Administration Official: Saudi Ties to 9/11 Hidden to Protect Iraq War Narrative

          11th August 2016

        • War Clouds Gathering Over Crimea

          11th August 2016

        • Recovered Emails Show Clinton Foundation Officials Intervening For Donors and Aides With State Department

          11th August 2016

        • 'Prague Calling, Prague Calling' - The Alternative Reality of RFE/RL

          10th August 2016

        • The Military Base Dole

          10th August 2016

        • War With China Unthinkable? Think Again!

          10th August 2016

        • Killer Instincts: When Police Become Judge, Jury and Executioner

          9th August 2016

        • CIA's Morell Cozies Up To Clinton - Looking For Work?

          9th August 2016

        • Chemical Weapons in Syria: Methods of Waging Information Wars

          9th August 2016

        • Pentagon, CIA Form Praetorian Guard for Clinton as Warmonger President

          8th August 2016

        • Iran Executes Scientist/Spy - What's Hillary's Role?

          8th August 2016

        • The Phony Job Recovery

          8th August 2016

        • Hiroshima: the Crime That Keeps on Paying, But Beware the Reckoning

          7th August 2016

        • Trump's Mouth is His Worst Enemy

          6th August 2016

        • The Sham Rebrand of al-Qaeda's Nusra Front

          5th August 2016

        • Kerry's And Al-Qaeda's 'Very Different Track' Attack On Aleppo Fails

          4th August 2016

        • McCain's Nightmare - Dr. Kelli Ward For US Senate

          4th August 2016

        • Milosevic Exonerated, as the NATO War Machine Moves On

          3rd August 2016

        • Should The IMF Director Be Fired...And Does It Matter?

          3rd August 2016

        • Captain Khan Was Waging an Unconstitutional War

          2nd August 2016

        • Libya War Escalates - Congress AWOL

          2nd August 2016

        • As Israel Prospers, Obama Set to Give Billions More in Aid While Netanyahu Demands Even More

          1st August 2016

        • Capt. Humayun Khan: Sacrifice Or Victim?

          1st August 2016

        • Can Hillary Clinton Be Pro-War and a Progressive?

          1st August 2016

        • Americans Are Going to be Disappointed in Election Outcome

          1st August 2016

      • July
        • America's Longest War Gets Longer

          31st July 2016

        • Gaddafi's Ghosts: Return of the Libyan Jamahiriya

          30th July 2016

        • Strategic Shift? Putin to Receive Erdogan in Hometown

          29th July 2016

        • Who Hacked the DNC?

          29th July 2016

        • Just Who Is The War Party?

          28th July 2016

        • The Secret Rules That Allow the FBI to Spy on Journalists

          28th July 2016

        • Trump: Siberian Candidate?

          27th July 2016

        • Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin: Potential Partners – Not Allies or Even Friends

          26th July 2016

        • Stop Drinking the Kool-Aid, America: Political Fiction in an Age of Televised Lies

          26th July 2016

        • A Tipping Point for Liberty

          26th July 2016

        • Clinton, Wasserman Schultz and the Wheezing Corpse of the Democratic Process Revealed

          25th July 2016

        • Can Bombs Win War on ISIS?

          25th July 2016

        • New From RPI: A Tipping Point for Liberty

          25th July 2016

        • Defeating Islamic Terrorism. Here's How

          25th July 2016

        • The Path to Fed-Exit

          24th July 2016

        • The Real Story Behind The Turkish Coup

          23rd July 2016

        • 28pages.org Founder Brian McGlinchey to Speak at RPI Conference!

          21st July 2016

        • Cleveland Police to RNC Protesters: Don't Hide Your Faces (Facial Recognition)

          21st July 2016

        • The 28 Pages - Finally Revealed

          21st July 2016

        • 9/11: Bush's Guilt and the 28 Pages

          21st July 2016

        • Syria's 'Moderate Rebels' are Not Moderate, Not Rebels

          20th July 2016

        • Orlando Shooter's Statements Vindicate Ron Paul

          20th July 2016

        • Iraq War Families Seek Crowdfunding to Sue Tony Blair

          19th July 2016

        • Millennials Are Facing Existential Crisis

          19th July 2016

        • Turkey Coup - Is It Over?

          18th July 2016

        • The Saudis Did 9/11

          18th July 2016

        • My Senator Thinks Drafting Women Gives Equal Opportunity

          18th July 2016

        • Don't Reform the Fed, Fed-Exit!

          17th July 2016

        • Great News: Turks Closed US Incirlik Base

          16th July 2016

        • The Counter-Coup Begins: Erdogan Purges 2,745 Judges, Prosecutors; Arrests Hundreds

          16th July 2016

        • The Horror in Nice

          15th July 2016

        • After Nice Attack - Round Up Usual Suspects?

          15th July 2016

        • The Risky Business of Being a US Ally

          14th July 2016

        • Lena Dunham Encourages People To Tear Apart The Movie Posters Of Other Artists

          14th July 2016

        • How Disinformation Feeds The War Machine

          14th July 2016

        • Time to Talk to Syria

          13th July 2016

        • State Department Stonewalls On Syria Weapons

          13th July 2016

        • Connecting the Dots

          13th July 2016

        • Brexit: A Win For Localism?

          12th July 2016

        • Don't Just Blame the Cops: Who Is Responsible for America's Killing Fields?

          12th July 2016

        • Fool's Errand: NATO Pledges Four More Years of War in Afghanistan

          11th July 2016

        • Whitewash Won't Cover Blair's Guilt

          9th July 2016

        • A Primer: USAID & US Hegemony

          9th July 2016

        • Why Dallas Happened

          8th July 2016

        • The Baghdad Bombings, Islamic State, and What America Still Hasn't Learned

          8th July 2016

        • 'FBI's failure to prosecute Clinton is essentially a political coup'

          7th July 2016

        • NATO's Warsaw War Plans

          7th July 2016

        • Programmed to Kill: The Growing Epidemic of Cops Shooting Dogs

          6th July 2016

        • Is NATO necessary?

          6th July 2016

        • UK's Chilcot Report Exposes Iraq War Lies

          6th July 2016

        • Conspiracy Fact: NATO's Russia War Push

          5th July 2016

        • On July 4th Demand Freedom, Don't Celebrate The State

          3rd July 2016

        • America Should Exit From NATO and the National Security State

          3rd July 2016

        • Confessions Of A War Propagandist

          2nd July 2016

        • Stop Giving Chickens Away, Bill Gates

          1st July 2016

      • June
        • RPI Conference Update: Paul and Rockwell Together Again in DC!

          30th June 2016

        • Ask Ron Paul - Cuba, Bureaucracy, Benghazi, And More

          30th June 2016

        • Obama's 'New Beginning' was the Beginning of the End

          30th June 2016

        • Istanbul Bombing - Who's At Fault?

          29th June 2016

        • The Syria 'Dissent' Memo and US Bureaucratic Pressure Strategy

          29th June 2016

        • The Magnitsky Hoax?

          28th June 2016

        • 'We the Prisoners': The Demise of the Fourth Amendment

          28th June 2016

        • A New European Superstate Is Hardly The Answer

          28th June 2016

        • Google, YouTube, Facebook, Others, Now Using Automated Blocking of 'Extremist' Content

          27th June 2016

        • Brexit: Truth And Consequences

          27th June 2016

        • After 'Brexit,' Can We Exit a Few Things Too?

          27th June 2016

        • Do We Really Want War With Russia?

          25th June 2016

        • The Brexit Vote - What Does it Mean?

          24th June 2016

        • Saudis Push Washington Revolt Against Obama on Syria

          23rd June 2016

        • Teen Sues US Over Cavity Drug Search for Which She was Billed $575

          23rd June 2016

        • Fifty-One Foreign Service Officers Can't be Wrong Or Can They? More bombs and Less Talk on Syria

          21st June 2016

        • 'Hello, Lenin!' Three Components of America's Misguided Foreign Policy

          21st June 2016

        • Orlando: Islam or Blowback?

          20th June 2016

        • Nazis Have Rights Too

          20th June 2016

        • Orlando: The New 9/11?

          20th June 2016

        • Huge Scandal Erupts Inside NATO: Alliance Member Germany Slams NATO 'Warmongering' Against Russia

          19th June 2016

        • Why Are Defense Policy Wonks So Ineffectual?

          18th June 2016

        • Interventionism is a Rotten Tree With Rotten Fruit

          17th June 2016

        • US Senate Votes to Legalize Kidnapping of Women (AKA: Military Draft)

          16th June 2016

        • Militarized USDA and EPA using SWAT Teams to Terrorize Innocent People Including Lemon Growers and Small Farmers

          16th June 2016

        • BREXIT: Boon Or Bust For UK?

          16th June 2016

        • Join us in September at the 'Peace and Prosperity 2016' Conference

          15th June 2016

        • Clinton Discussed Top Secret CIA Drone Info, Approved Drone Strikes, Via Her Blackberry

          14th June 2016

        • Violence Begets Violence: The Orlando Shootings and the War on Terror

          14th June 2016

        • Orlando: Was It LGBT, Radical Islam, Guns...Or Something Else?

          13th June 2016

        • Fascism: A Bipartisan Affliction

          13th June 2016

        • The Peacemaker and the Psychopath

          12th June 2016

        • State Department Emails Reveal How Unqualified Clinton Donor Was Named to Intelligence Board

          11th June 2016

        • A Champion of Peace - The Walter Jones Interview

          11th June 2016

        • Democrats Are Now the Aggressive War Party

          10th June 2016

        • US Unleashes the Dogs of War in Afghanistan

          10th June 2016

        • Sometimes You Eat the Bear and Sometimes the Bear Eats You - Thoughts on Syria

          9th June 2016

        • Rep. Walter Jones - The Neocon Slayer

          9th June 2016

        • Playing With Fire: NATO Launches Massive Wargame In Russia's Backyard

          8th June 2016

        • Rehearsing for World War III

          8th June 2016

        • Color Revolutions – Opium of the People

          7th June 2016

        • State Department Tries to Send Embarrassing Press Video Down the Memory Hole

          7th June 2016

        • Ali Won His Greatest Fight

          6th June 2016

        • Next Time Someone Says Nothing Is Made in the USA Anymore, Show Them This

          6th June 2016

        • The Keynesians Stole The Jobs

          6th June 2016

        • Muhammad Ali Risked It All When He Opposed The Vietnam War

          4th June 2016

        • The Census Bureau's Latest Peril to Freedom

          3rd June 2016

        • War Criminal Blair Warmongers for Ground Invasion of Syria and Iraq

          2nd June 2016

        • Hawks Hand Hillary A Foreign Policy Blueprint: Will She Bite?

          2nd June 2016

        • No "Glitch": State Department Admits That Press Briefing Was Intentionally Edited To Remove Passage . . . But Insisted It Cannot Find Official Responsible

          2nd June 2016

        • Clinton Offers New Explanation For Email Scandal

          1st June 2016

        • Was the White Rose Right or Wrong on Patriotism?

          1st June 2016

      • May
        • Congress' Treachery, the FBI's Double-Crossing and the American Citizenry's Cluelessness: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

          31st May 2016

        • Obama and the Myth of Hiroshima

          31st May 2016

        • Third Battle For Fallujah -- Time To Finally Come Home?

          31st May 2016

        • Thank The Troops for Destroying Our Country

          30th May 2016

        • Government Can't Help; It Can Only Hurt

          29th May 2016

        • As Our Past Wars Are Glorified This Memorial Day Weekend, Give Some Thought To Our Prospects Against The Russians And Chinese In World War III

          29th May 2016

        • Memorializing the Horrors of War with 10 Must-See War Films

          28th May 2016

        • Europe Revolts Against Russian Sanctions

          27th May 2016

        • The New State Department Report on Hillary's Email, and Why it Matters

          27th May 2016

        • State Department Refutes Key Statements By Clinton On Email Scandal; Finds That She Violated Clear Rules

          26th May 2016

        • My Dreams Seek Revenge: Hiroshima

          26th May 2016

        • More Syrian Refugees To US: Costs And Consequences

          25th May 2016

        • Kosovo: Hillary Clinton's Legacy of Terror

          25th May 2016

        • Intel Vets Urge Fast Report on Clinton's Emails

          24th May 2016

        • Court Decision Grants Shocking New Government Powers

          24th May 2016

        • How the World Ends - Baiting Russia is Not Good Policy

          24th May 2016

        • Poof! Our Wars are All Forgotten

          23rd May 2016

        • Obama in Vietnam: Diplomacy Or Deep State Duplicity?

          23rd May 2016

        • Much Ado About Restrooms

          22nd May 2016

        • Beware What You Wish For: Russia is Ready for War

          22nd May 2016

        • America – the Most Frightened Nation on Earth

          21st May 2016

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Repeal Indefinite Detention!

          20th May 2016

        • Merle Haggard vs. Eliot Cohen

          20th May 2016

        • Obama's Global Anti-Corruption Cops Should Call Internal Affairs

          20th May 2016

        • Bill Clinton to Poland and Hungary: Do As We Say on Immigration, You Dirty Little Putins!

          20th May 2016

        • Lavender Leninists and Heretic-Hunters: The Thoughtcrime Prosecution of Ruth Neely

          19th May 2016

        • TSA Total Failure - No Surprise!

          19th May 2016

        • Anti-War is Pro-American

          19th May 2016

        • Return Of The Gold Standard? Why Now?

          18th May 2016

        • The Police State and License Plate Scanners

          18th May 2016

        • The Facebook Facedown

          17th May 2016

        • Architects of Disastrous Iraq War Still at Large

          17th May 2016

        • The Civil War Inside the US Military

          16th May 2016

        • Kurd Fighter in Iraq Destroys U.S.-Made Turkish Helo With Russian-Model Missile

          16th May 2016

        • NDAA 2017: Military Industrial Complex Wins, People Lose

          16th May 2016

        • Defense Bill Coming This Week: A Boost for War and Tyranny

          15th May 2016

        • Ellen Brown Scripps Would Have Been Proud

          14th May 2016

        • Washington Coup in Brazil? Was Incoming President US Embassy Informant?

          13th May 2016

        • Showdown: Poland Refuses To Accept Any Refugees, Will Not Comply With European 'Blackmail'

          13th May 2016

        • US Asia 'Rebalance' Threatened With Meltdown

          12th May 2016

        • America's War For The Greater Middle East

          12th May 2016

        • Another Needless US/China Clash In South China Sea

          11th May 2016

        • Against the Feel-Good Study of History and Literature

          11th May 2016

        • Syria, ISIS, and the US-UK Propaganda War

          11th May 2016

        • US Escalation in Afghanistan: A 'Recipe For Disaster'

          10th May 2016

        • Turkey's Erdogan Gives Europe the Middle Finger

          9th May 2016

        • Secret Service Handcuffs The First Amendment

          9th May 2016

        • Trump's Wall vs Kerry's Open Border - Is There A Libertarian Option?

          9th May 2016

        • What Happened to the Revolution?

          9th May 2016

        • Mr. Trump, Explain Why America First Must Mean Ending Foreign Aid and Foreign Military Assistance

          6th May 2016

        • US Ambassador to Hungary: Overthrow Assad, Let in Refugees, and Fight Russia...or Else!

          6th May 2016

        • Aleppo – Syria's Stalingrad?

          6th May 2016

        • Texas Teachers and Police Launch Absurd Investigation After Eighth Grader Attempted To Pay for Lunch With $2 Bill

          5th May 2016

        • Are Young People Really Going Socialist?

          5th May 2016

        • Suspect Held in Solitary for Seven Months for Forgetting Hard Drive Passwords

          4th May 2016

        • Mandatory Draft Registration: A Victory For Women?

          4th May 2016

        • What Is the US Military Doing in the Baltics?

          4th May 2016

        • Remember How We Got Out of Vietnam

          4th May 2016

        • Torture: Stopping Terrorism...Or IS It Terrorism?

          3rd May 2016

        • Iraq: The Interventionist Hellhole

          2nd May 2016

        • 'Green Zone' Breached: Iraq Falling Apart?

          2nd May 2016

        • 'This Is A Game': The Clintons Continue To Mock Email Investigation

          2nd May 2016

        • Drafting Women Means Equality in Slavery

          1st May 2016

      • April
        • US-Created System In Iraq Is Collapsing: Protesters Storm Parliament, State of Emergency Declared

          30th April 2016

        • State Department Follies

          29th April 2016

        • Remember the Golan Heights?

          29th April 2016

        • Obama Went to Germany to Deliver Europe's Latest Report Card

          28th April 2016

        • iPhone Ruse: FedGov Now Demands Backdoor To All Devices

          28th April 2016

        • How NATO-Linked Think Tanks Control EU Refugee Policy

          27th April 2016

        • Is This What's in Those 28 Pages? And Does it Matter?

          27th April 2016

        • The Pentagon Gong Show

          27th April 2016

        • The Classified '28 Pages': A Diversion From Real US-Saudi Issues

          26th April 2016

        • Wartime Washington Lives In Luxury...Guess Who Pays The Bills?

          26th April 2016

        • The Hell on Earth Paved by Samantha Power's Good Intentions

          26th April 2016

        • Censored, Surveilled, Watch Listed and Jailed: The Absurdity of Being a Citizen in the American Police State

          25th April 2016

        • Escalation Without Representation: Syria, Iraq, and Black Sea

          25th April 2016

        • Yes, Prince Faisal, We Need to 'Recalibrate' Our Relationship

          24th April 2016

        • Defending Democracy to the Last Drop of Oil

          23rd April 2016

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'You're Painting an Overly Optimistic Picture of Afghanistan Success' (2004)

          22nd April 2016

        • US-Saudi Relations: Yesteryear Days are Gone Forever

          22nd April 2016

        • US Assaults British Sovereignty

          21st April 2016

        • US Protects Saudis From Terror Suits, Yet Backs Suits Against Iran

          21st April 2016

        • Saudis To Kerry: We Created ISIS...And CIA Knew

          21st April 2016

        • Collateral Damage - Obama OKs More Civilian Drone Deaths

          20th April 2016

        • Sue Saudis for 9/11 and the US For All its Wars

          20th April 2016

        • Nation-Building: Global Hegemony Without Local Knowledge

          20th April 2016

        • Enemies Everywhere - The US War On The World

          19th April 2016

        • Washington's War Against the World

          19th April 2016

        • The Terrorist iPhone Snow Job

          18th April 2016

        • After Vote to Remove Brazil's President, Key Opposition Figure Holds Meetings in Washington

          18th April 2016

        • Saudi 9/11 Blackmail: 'We'll Dump Dollar!'

          18th April 2016

        • What Did Fed Chairman Yellen Tell Obama?

          17th April 2016

        • The Phony War in Syria

          16th April 2016

        • Deadly Myths: Iraq 'Surge' General Calls for 'Surge 2.0'

          16th April 2016

        • Ron Paul's 'What If' Speech - Like You've Never Seen it Before

          15th April 2016

        • Does Over-Classification Matter With the Hillary Emails?

          15th April 2016

        • President Killary: Would The World Survive Another President Clinton?

          13th April 2016

        • Plan B - US Arms Syria Rebels...AGAIN!

          13th April 2016

        • John Kerry, and the Legacy of Hiroshima

          13th April 2016

        • On 60 Minutes, A Compelling Case for Releasing 28 Pages on 9/11

          12th April 2016

        • Military Suicides - Not Combat Related?

          12th April 2016

        • Fleecing the American Taxpayer: The Profit Incentives Driving the Police State

          12th April 2016

        • In India, Defense Secretary Carter to Push Anti-China Alliance

          11th April 2016

        • The Enemy Within: Terrorist Enablers on the Potomac

          11th April 2016

        • As Ukraine Collapses, Europeans Tire of US Interventions

          10th April 2016

        • A Media Unmoored from Facts

          8th April 2016

        • Syria - As Rebels Break Ceasefire Army Gathers For New Campaign

          8th April 2016

        • Dutch People Say 'No' To Ukraine Treaty - Big Blow To The NWO?

          7th April 2016

        • Congress Shirks War Responsibility-What Are The Costs?

          6th April 2016

        • Fixing The Intelligence Around The Policy...In Syria

          5th April 2016

        • Happy Birthday, NATO: It's Time to Retire!

          5th April 2016

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Condemns US Support of Terrorist Insurrection in Syria (2012)

          4th April 2016

        • Selective Leaks Of The 'Panama Papers' Create Huge Blackmail Potential

          4th April 2016

        • 'The Boys Who Said No!': New Documentary About War Resisters

          4th April 2016

        • Vietnam War at 50: Have We Learned Nothing?

          3rd April 2016

        • The Cover-Up of the Damning 9/11 Report Continues

          1st April 2016

      • March
        • US Troops To Russia's Border - To Fight 'Russian Aggression'

          31st March 2016

        • Bill Buckley Conservatism Is Dead...Meanwhile, Rothbard Soars

          30th March 2016

        • Japan Goes Neocon - Dumps Antiwar Constitution

          30th March 2016

        • Can the State Enforce Virtuous Behavior?

          29th March 2016

        • Greatest Terror Attack In Modern History - Guess Where?

          29th March 2016

        • Iraq Invasion – Anniversary of The Biggest Terrorist Attack in Modern History

          29th March 2016

        • All Quiet on Western Front After Syrian Forces Recapture Palmyra From ISIS

          28th March 2016

        • No Matter How You Vote, The Insiders Decide

          28th March 2016

        • A European PATRIOT Act Will Not Keep People Safe

          28th March 2016

        • Back to the Future: The Unanswered Questions from the Debates

          26th March 2016

        • Ukraine is Turning into Liberia

          25th March 2016

        • Should Europeans Sacrifice Liberty For Promises Of Security?

          24th March 2016

        • How Narratives Killed the Syrian People

          24th March 2016

        • A Better Approach To Terrorism

          23rd March 2016

        • Trump vs. Clinton on Foreign Policy

          23rd March 2016

        • Reporting (or Not) the Ties Between US-Armed Syrian Rebels and Al Qaeda's Affiliate

          22nd March 2016

        • My Too-Intimate Relations With The TSA

          22nd March 2016

        • Brussels Attack, Back To Iraq - What Would Reagan Do?

          22nd March 2016

        • Obama in Cuba - Too Soon Or Too Late?

          21st March 2016

        • Google This! Hillary Clinton and the Syrian Regime-Change Conspiracy

          21st March 2016

        • Soros Disruption: American-Style

          21st March 2016

        • Beltway Conservative Budget Plans Are Big Spending and Anti-Liberty

          20th March 2016

        • The Kurdish Genie - A Case of Complexity Papered Over by Arrogance and Ignorance

          20th March 2016

        • The Islamic State Is Pretext To Again Mug Libya

          18th March 2016

        • The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention

          17th March 2016

        • Kurds Declare Autonomous Region: Self-Determination Or Foreign Mischief?

          17th March 2016

        • Republicans Are The Big Spenders - Does Anybody Care?

          16th March 2016

        • America Doesn't Need a National-Security State

          16th March 2016

        • Russia Leaves Syria...When Do We?

          15th March 2016

        • America's Gestapo: The FBI's Reign of Terror

          15th March 2016

        • The US Middle East Killing Racket

          15th March 2016

        • Kerry Sought Missile Strikes to Force Syria's Assad to Step Down

          14th March 2016

        • Chicago Political Violence: Whose Fault?

          14th March 2016

        • Loretta Lynch and the Government War on Free Speech

          13th March 2016

        • The Queen of Chaos and the Threat of World War III

          12th March 2016

        • Food Farm Freedom: Mr. Salatin Goes to Washington

          12th March 2016

        • Alternative Germany Speaks Up

          11th March 2016

        • Clinton Declares That She Will Never Be Indicted And Insists That Her 'Predecessors Did The Same Thing' On Emails

          10th March 2016

        • Conservatives Want More War Spending, The People Disagree

          10th March 2016

        • Washington Hubris on Full Display at London Foreign Policy Speech

          9th March 2016

        • FBI vs. Apple: Why You Should Care

          9th March 2016

        • Smelling EU fear, Turkey Moves in for $6.6bn Kill

          8th March 2016

        • You Should Care About Apple, Your iPhone, and the FBI

          8th March 2016

        • Neocon Games: Warhawks Looking For New War Party?

          8th March 2016

        • Hungarian Revolution: Orban Says 'No!' to Brussels Migration Plan

          7th March 2016

        • Just Shut Up and Vote: The Futility of Representative Government in an Age of Robber Barons

          7th March 2016

        • Hillary's Libya: Arab Spring Or Dark Winter?

          7th March 2016

        • Do We Need To 'Rebuild The Military'?

          6th March 2016

        • US Sends 'Small Armada' to Confront China as Beijing Accuses Washington of 'Containment'

          5th March 2016

        • Getting Intervention 'Just Right': The West's Goldilocks Strategy in Libya

          5th March 2016

        • Murder Is Washington's Foreign Policy

          4th March 2016

        • Libya: How Hillary Clinton Destroyed a Country

          4th March 2016

        • Hillary's Emails: Is The End At Hand?

          3rd March 2016

        • Ron and Bernie

          3rd March 2016

        • US Military Contractors Return In Droves to Iraq

          2nd March 2016

        • FBI 1, Apple 1: Congress To Step In?

          2nd March 2016

        • 'Plan B' and the Bankruptcy of US Syria Policy

          2nd March 2016

        • Washington's Neocon Occupation Upholds Illusion Of Choice In The Two-Party Duopoly

          1st March 2016

        • Intel Agencies: Clinton Emails Match Top Secret Documents

          1st March 2016

      • February
        • Reality Check: No Matter Who Wins the White House, the New Boss Will Be the Same as the Old Boss

          29th February 2016

        • Migrant Crisis: The End Of The EU?

          29th February 2016

        • First They Came For the iPhones...

          28th February 2016

        • US Plotting Color Revolt in Russia?

          28th February 2016

        • NATO Weakens As Old Alliances Break Down

          27th February 2016

        • The US Banking System as an Arm of US Foreign Policy

          26th February 2016

        • The New Bipolar World Has Arrived

          26th February 2016

        • What's Wrong With Regime Change? RPI's Daniel McAdams on LibertyTalkRadio

          25th February 2016

        • The Media are Misleading the Public on Syria

          25th February 2016

        • Guantanamo Travesty: A Consequence Of Unconstitutional War

          24th February 2016

        • Killing by Sanctions

          23rd February 2016

        • Syria Ceasefire: More War Or Chance For Peace?

          23rd February 2016

        • Will Syria Ceasefire Deal End War, or Lead to Nuclear Exchange?

          23rd February 2016

        • The Age of Authoritarianism: Government of the Politicians, by the Military, for the Corporations

          22nd February 2016

        • CIA Sends Torture Report Down Memory Hole

          22nd February 2016

        • Intervention Fail: Back to Libya

          21st February 2016

        • Bush Haunts The GOP

          21st February 2016

        • Reading Ron Paul in Beijing

          19th February 2016

        • Aleppo Notebook: The City's Terrorist Besiegers Will Now Be Besieged

          18th February 2016

        • FBI vs. Apple: Is Liberty At Stake?

          18th February 2016

        • Terror in Turkey: Is Erdogan Playing Washington?

          18th February 2016

        • Obama's 'Moderate' Syrian Deception

          18th February 2016

        • Supreme Court - The Soft Tyranny Of Judicial Review

          17th February 2016

        • NATO -- America's Misguided Instrument of Leadership

          17th February 2016

        • Federal Magistrate Orders Apple To Help FBI Hack Its Own Phones . . . Apple Refuses

          17th February 2016

        • Turkey Bombing Syria - The Start Of Something Big?

          16th February 2016

        • Cold War Redux: Dishing it to the Russkies

          16th February 2016

        • Ron Paul Rewind: All US Supreme Court Justices are Good and Bad

          16th February 2016

        • Presidents Day 2016: Who Was Best? Who Was Worst?

          15th February 2016

        • Turkey Flexes Muscle in Syria

          15th February 2016

        • What Markets Are Telling Us

          14th February 2016

        • The Future of Banking: The Dangers of Electronic Currency

          14th February 2016

        • Coming to Terms With Iraq

          12th February 2016

        • The Three Republican Stooges Who Would Draft Your Daughters

          11th February 2016

        • Anatomy Of The Deep State: An Open Conspiracy

          11th February 2016

        • Washington's Libido for the Ugly

          10th February 2016

        • Drafting Women - Equality Or Equal Slavery?

          10th February 2016

        • Not-So-Convincing Anti-Second Amendment Arguments

          10th February 2016

        • Will Geneva Talks Lead Right Back to Assad's 2011 Reforms?

          10th February 2016

        • FDA Wants to Jail Sam Girod for 48 Years, for Making Salves People Love

          9th February 2016

        • Saudis Poised For Syria Invasion?

          9th February 2016

        • Obama Caves To Neocons - Military Spending To Skyrocket

          8th February 2016

        • Coincidence? Baltic Invasion Story Reappears as Pentagon Seeks to Quadruple Europe Spending

          8th February 2016

        • An Exasperated John Kerry Throws In Towel On Syria: 'What Do You Want Me To Do, Go To War With The Russians?!'

          8th February 2016

        • Mandatory Depression Screening is A Depressing Thought

          7th February 2016

        • The Super Bowl Promotes War

          7th February 2016

        • Giving Peace Very Little Chance

          6th February 2016

        • Ron Paul Says Entering Presidential Race as Libertarian Party Candidate 'Not in the Cards'

          5th February 2016

        • German Spy Chief Says ISIS Operatives Have Infiltrated Europe Disguised As Refugees

          5th February 2016

        • The Washington Post's Interventionist Mindset

          5th February 2016

        • Your Perception Is Worth Big Bucks To The Military-Industrial Complex

          5th February 2016

        • Rand Out - Victory For Hawks?

          4th February 2016

        • Free State Project - Is It Happening?

          3rd February 2016

        • Breaking The Neocon Stranglehold On Washington

          2nd February 2016

        • Delusions on Syria Prevail in Official Washington

          2nd February 2016

        • Remember Kosovo?

          1st February 2016

      • January
        • Is Congress Declaring War on ISIS or on You?

          31st January 2016

        • State Department: 22 Emails Will Not Be Released As "Top Secret"

          31st January 2016

        • Ron Paul: Congress is AWOL on US Wars

          29th January 2016

        • American Take on the Freedom of the Press

          29th January 2016

        • Why Adolf Eichmann's Final Message Remains so Profoundly Unsettling

          29th January 2016

        • Six Years and $17 Billion Wasted in Afghanistan

          28th January 2016

        • 'Carpet Bomber' Cruz: Libertarian or Neocon?

          28th January 2016

        • The Continuing Demonization Of Cash

          27th January 2016

        • Presidential Crimes Then And Now

          27th January 2016

        • Saudi Arabia Is Killing Civilians with US Bombs

          26th January 2016

        • However You Vote, The Secret Government Always Wins

          26th January 2016

        • You Won't Like It, But Here's the Answer to ISIS

          25th January 2016

        • Senate To Offer President Total War Authority

          25th January 2016

        • Here Come the Free Staters!

          25th January 2016

        • Congress is Writing the President a Blank Check for War

          24th January 2016

        • Pentagon Chief Says 'Boots On The Ground' Part Of 'Accelerated' Strategy For ISIS Fight

          22nd January 2016

        • Hillary to Bernie: Stop Sounding Like Ron Paul on Iran!

          22nd January 2016

        • Syria's Moment: RPI's Daniel McAdams on Crosstalk

          22nd January 2016

        • Democrats in 'Group Think' Land

          21st January 2016

        • The Injustice Of Mandatory Minimums

          21st January 2016

        • The Riverine Mysteries

          20th January 2016

        • The Right to Tell the Government to Go to Hell: Free Speech in an Age of Government Bullies, Corporate Censors and Compliant Citizens

          19th January 2016

        • When Free Trade Fails, War Follows

          19th January 2016

        • Missing from the 'State of the Union'

          19th January 2016

        • When Peace Breaks Out With Iran

          17th January 2016

        • Caught With Our Pants Down in the Gulf

          15th January 2016

        • Ron Paul on MSNBC: Talking Presidential Race and Rise of Libertarian Ideas

          15th January 2016

        • Neocons Furious: Diplomacy Worked With Iran

          14th January 2016

        • Why Brookings Institution and Establishment Love Wars

          14th January 2016

        • Obama Speech Ignored His Death Toll at Home and Abroad

          13th January 2016

        • Executive Order: Will Background Checks Solve The Gun Problem?

          13th January 2016

        • Cold War Fearmongering on Cuba and Korea

          13th January 2016

        • What's the Real Story Behind Saudi Arabia's Execution of Shia Cleric al-Nimr?

          12th January 2016

        • B-52s Over Korea...Protecting Our Homeland?

          11th January 2016

        • The State of the Nation: A Dictatorship Without Tears

          11th January 2016

        • American Foreign Policy Oxymorons

          11th January 2016

        • Oregon Standoff: Isolated Event or Sign of Things to Come?

          10th January 2016

        • Nearly 60 Percent of Republicans Support Candidates Who Oppose Ousting Assad

          9th January 2016

        • Gun Control? What About US Arms Sales?

          7th January 2016

        • US (In)Justice Department Created Mess In Oregon

          7th January 2016

        • New 'Jihadi John?' ISIS Video Features English-Speaker

          7th January 2016

        • North Korea Nukes: A Case For Non-Intervention?

          6th January 2016

        • Enough Already! It's Time To Send The Despicable House Of Saud To The Dustbin Of History

          6th January 2016

        • Dollar Dominance: Deconstructing the Myths, Untangling the Web

          5th January 2016

        • US Politicians On Saudi Beheadings: It's All Iran's Fault!

          5th January 2016

        • 2016: An Explosive New Year?

          4th January 2016

        • US Military Leadership Resisted Obama's Bid for Regime Change in Syria, Libya

          4th January 2016

        • About That ISIS Plan to Attack Munich

          4th January 2016

        • Purism is Practical

          3rd January 2016

        • US Should Stop Supporting Likely Saudi War Crimes

          3rd January 2016

        • Why There Is No Peace On Earth

          1st January 2016

    • 2015
      • December
        • Soros Plays Both Ends in Syria Refugee Chaos

          31st December 2015

        • The Washington Post's World of Good and Evil

          30th December 2015

        • Make Your Year-End Donation To RPI!

          30th December 2015

        • Syria: It's Not a Civil War and it Never Was

          29th December 2015

        • What's in Store for Our Freedoms in 2016? More of Everything We Don't Want

          29th December 2015

        • Retro Cold War Guff From the NY Times

          28th December 2015

        • What Are The Chances For Peace in 2016?

          28th December 2015

        • The FBI's 1,800-Page Obsession With Peace Activist Pete Seeger

          27th December 2015

        • A Call for Proof on Syria-Sarin Attack

          24th December 2015

        • Ron Paul Warned About This: TSA Removes Opt-Out From Full Body Scanners

          24th December 2015

        • Your Business Been Hacked? Thanks NSA!

          24th December 2015

        • Kerry In Moscow: Assad Can Stay?

          22nd December 2015

        • The SEALS Beat a Man to Death -- Should We Care?

          22nd December 2015

        • What If Jesus Had Been Born 2,000 Years Later in the American Police State?

          22nd December 2015

        • Congress Passes PATRIOT Act II In Secret

          21st December 2015

        • Do We Need the Fed?

          21st December 2015

        • The Clash of Stupidity: Republican Debate Part V

          19th December 2015

        • Why the US Pushes an Illusory Syrian Peace Process

          18th December 2015

        • Obama Administration Fights To Withhold Over 2,000 Photos Of Alleged US Torture and Abuse

          18th December 2015

        • Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us

          17th December 2015

        • Washington's 'Plan B' in Syria: Renewed Military Intervention to Oust Assad?

          17th December 2015

        • How US and EU Manipulate Public Consciousness: Montenegro

          16th December 2015

        • GOP Debate: Fear Won, Liberty Lost

          16th December 2015

        • 'Washington Has Gone From "Regime Change" to "Political Transition" in Syria, But We are Not Stupid'

          16th December 2015

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Smacking Down Militarism and Liberty Abuses in 2011 CNN Debate

          15th December 2015

        • ISIS Is Big Winner In Saudis' Yemen War

          15th December 2015

        • Turkey's Dangerous Game

          15th December 2015

        • What Truly Conservative Foreign Policy Looks Like

          14th December 2015

        • Cheap Oil: Great For The Economy?

          14th December 2015

        • If You Want Security, Pursue Liberty

          14th December 2015

        • Israel's al-Qaeda Rescue Program

          12th December 2015

        • The Second Cold War

          11th December 2015

        • What ISIS Really Has in Mind

          11th December 2015

        • From Crisis Comes Leviathan

          10th December 2015

        • Losing The 'Good War': Taliban Returns In Afghanistan

          10th December 2015

        • Trump Didn't Vote to Kill One Million Muslims in Iraq, Hillary Did

          9th December 2015

        • Congress Plans To Tax and Spy On You More

          9th December 2015

        • Don't Believe the Hype About Gun Shootings in the US

          9th December 2015

        • Saudis Bomb Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Yemen

          8th December 2015

        • Women In Combat: An Issue Of Rights?

          8th December 2015

        • Up From Imperialism: How to End the Terrorist Threat and Return to Normalcy

          7th December 2015

        • Obama Speech: Don't Give In To Fear...But Be Scared To Death

          7th December 2015

        • Will the IRS Take Your Passport?

          6th December 2015

        • 'No Gun for You!': Obama's 'Soup Nazi' Gun Control Proposal

          6th December 2015

        • Are We In A Clash Of Civilizations?

          6th December 2015

        • Are We in a Clash of Civilizations?

          5th December 2015

        • War With Russia or With ISIS: What Ever Happened to Peace?

          5th December 2015

        • Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: 'Is Overthrowing the Syrian Government Worth Risking Nuclear War with Russia?'

          4th December 2015

        • Think Before You Rush to War!

          4th December 2015

        • After 13 Years in Gitmo, Pentagon Says Detainee is Case of 'Mistaken Identity'

          4th December 2015

        • CA Shooting Reaction: Wrong Diagnosis, Wrong Treatment

          3rd December 2015

        • TSA Bombs the Holidays

          3rd December 2015

        • After PATRIOT Act Reform, Spying Continues

          2nd December 2015

        • Iraqis Swear: US "In Cahoots With ISIS It Is Not In Doubt"

          2nd December 2015

        • Turkey, Russia, and the Fallacy of 'Collective Security'

          1st December 2015

        • COP21: Climate Action Or Pushing A Hoax?

          1st December 2015

      • November
        • Life in the Electronic Concentration Camp: The Surveillance State Is Alive and Well

          30th November 2015

        • Sen. Lindsey Graham In Iraq - Wants US Troops To Come Back!

          30th November 2015

        • Russia Bans Soros Foundation as a 'Threat To National Security And Constitutional Order'

          30th November 2015

        • The War on Terror is Creating More Terror

          30th November 2015

        • 'Deadliest Terror Group in the World': The West's Latest Gift to Africa

          28th November 2015

        • Two Reasons The 'War on Terror' Will Always Fail

          28th November 2015

        • The Most Dangerous Time in Our History?

          26th November 2015

        • Massachusetts Cheerleader Tweets Criticism Of Illegal Immigration, School Bans Her From Team

          26th November 2015

        • US Blames Afghanistan Hospital Massacre On 'Malfunctioning Sensors,' 'Human Error'

          26th November 2015

        • Who Is Protecting ISIS And Why?

          25th November 2015

        • This Thanksgiving, Let's Say 'No Thanks' to the Tyranny of the American Police State

          25th November 2015

        • Turks Hit Russian Fighter - What's Next?

          24th November 2015

        • On the ISIS Terrorist Threat

          23rd November 2015

        • Standard Narrative on Syria Conflict Whitewashes US Role

          23rd November 2015

        • The Morality of Conscientious Objection

          23rd November 2015

        • Who Should Pay For the Syrian Refugees?

          23rd November 2015

        • Michael Scheuer: US Foreign Policy is Leading 'Directly to Fascism in America'

          22nd November 2015

        • How Terror in Paris Calls for Revising US Syria Policy

          21st November 2015

        • Hillary Clinton's Road to War

          21st November 2015

        • Ron Paul: Foreign Intervention Will Motivate 'A Lot More' Blowback Like in Paris

          21st November 2015

        • US Special Forces in Combat: Nothing New for Iraq and Syria

          20th November 2015

        • The Most Important Question About ISIS That Nobody Is Asking

          19th November 2015

        • Does ISIS Exist? Some Say No

          18th November 2015

        • Stopping ISIS: Follow the Money

          18th November 2015

        • Saudi Arabia: Friend Or Foe?

          17th November 2015

        • Someone Wants War with Russia

          17th November 2015

        • Blowback -- The Washington War Party's Folly Comes Home To Roost

          17th November 2015

        • Paris Attack Motivation: Retaliation?

          16th November 2015

        • Paris and What Should Be Done

          15th November 2015

        • The City of Light Falls Dark

          15th November 2015

        • Opting Out: A Small Step for Peace

          15th November 2015

        • Paris: You Don't Want to Read This

          14th November 2015

        • Paid Patriotism: The Artist Formerly Known as 'Propaganda'

          13th November 2015

        • America's Dedication to Regime Change in Syria Halting Peace Process

          13th November 2015

        • US Isolationists Still Block Iran Trade

          12th November 2015

        • How Ukraine's Finance Chief Got Rich

          12th November 2015

        • Thanking Iraq War Veterans For Their Service

          11th November 2015

        • NATO Admits Afghan Mission Failure

          11th November 2015

        • The Deep State: The Unelected Shadow Government Is Here to Stay

          10th November 2015

        • Missile Test Terrorism Over Los Angeles

          10th November 2015

        • A Warmonger's Guide to Militarism and Imperialism

          9th November 2015

        • Does the Bell Toll for the Fed?

          9th November 2015

        • Reinventing Guns and Butter Politics for the 21st Century

          7th November 2015

        • TSA Trained Disney World in Goofy 'Terrorist Detection' Methods

          7th November 2015

        • US Air Force Blames Lack Of October ISIS Strikes On 'Poor Weather'

          7th November 2015

        • The Sham Syrian Peace Conference

          7th November 2015

        • An Age of Innocence, in Retrospect

          6th November 2015

        • Who Downed Metrojet Flight 9268?

          6th November 2015

        • Gitmo Reflects Disdain For The Constitution

          5th November 2015

        • Without Authority, Obama's Syria War Illegal

          5th November 2015

        • CIA, Saudis To Give 'Select' Syrian Militants Weapons Capable Of Downing Commercial Airliners

          5th November 2015

        • Washington DC's 'Missing' Memorial

          5th November 2015

        • Is Germany's Migrant Crisis Leading To War?

          4th November 2015

        • US Officials Outline 'Secret' Summer Operation To Stop Flow Of Dollars To ISIS

          3rd November 2015

        • The Rise Of America's Secret Government

          3rd November 2015

        • Erdogan's Victory is a Threat to Turkish Stability

          2nd November 2015

        • Russian Plane Down Over Egypt. Blowback?

          2nd November 2015

        • Save The Apologies, Just Stop Promoting War!

          1st November 2015

        • US Special Forces Deployed as 'Human Shields' to Salvage Terror Assets in Syria

          1st November 2015

      • October
        • Tell Us Why We're At War in Iraq Again, Mr. President

          30th October 2015

        • Saudi Arabia vs. Iran: Why Are We In The Middle?

          30th October 2015

        • Breaking: Obama Puts US Boots in Syria - Where is Congress?

          30th October 2015

        • NATO Looks To Station Thousands Of Troops On Border With Russia

          29th October 2015

        • Is Liberty Rising?

          29th October 2015

        • Hill Budget Battle: Another D.C. Charade?

          28th October 2015

        • We Must Oppose Obama's Escalation in Syria and Iraq!

          27th October 2015

        • Are We Looking For A Fight In The South China Sea?

          27th October 2015

        • About That Delta Force Guy Killed in Iraq

          27th October 2015

        • Fear of the Walking Dead: The American Police State Takes Aim

          26th October 2015

        • Syrian War Ends West's Dominance of Middle East

          26th October 2015

        • Blair's Iraq 'Apology': Sincere Or Spin?

          26th October 2015

        • House Benghazi Hearings: Too Much Too Late

          25th October 2015

        • The Older, Better Canada is Back Again

          25th October 2015

        • The Benghazi Hearing: What Neither Hillary nor the Republicans Want to Talk About

          23rd October 2015

        • Israeli Nuclear Panel Supports Iran Deal

          23rd October 2015

        • America's Civilian Killings are No Accident

          22nd October 2015

        • Benghazi Questions No One Dares Ask

          22nd October 2015

        • Fox, Daily Beast Stories on Cubans in Syria Lack One Thing: Evidence of Cubans in Syria

          21st October 2015

        • Yes, There Still are Some Benghazi Questions Worth Asking

          21st October 2015

        • Our Syria War Is Over - Time To Come Home

          21st October 2015

        • General In Charge Of 'Total Failure' Syrian 'Train And Equip' Program Gets Promotion

          20th October 2015

        • Things Are Getting Scary: Global Police, Precrime and the War on Domestic 'Extremists'

          20th October 2015

        • Irwin Schiff - A 'Most Dangerous Man'

          20th October 2015

        • CNN Anchor Demands Americans 'Stop Swooning Over Putin'

          18th October 2015

        • Debt Ceiling Debate: Don't Mention Warfare/Welfare State!

          18th October 2015

        • Want to Understand Syria?

          18th October 2015

        • Turkey: Slow-Motion Crash

          17th October 2015

        • Assassinations: Is This 'American Exceptionalism'?

          16th October 2015

        • Is Hillary Clinton Above the Law?

          16th October 2015

        • Obama Won't Admit the Real Targets of Russian Airstrikes

          16th October 2015

        • ISIS In 'Retreat' As Russia Destroys 32 Targets While Putin Trolls Obama As 'Weak With No Strategy'

          15th October 2015

        • Obama's New War In Africa: Do We Need It?

          15th October 2015

        • How Can Anyone Still Be An Interventionist?

          14th October 2015

        • MH-17 Final Report: Who Shot Down The Plane?

          14th October 2015

        • The New McCarthyism

          14th October 2015

        • The "A" Word That Terrifies Washington

          14th October 2015

        • Syria Quagmire? Copyright Tyranny. Weird Politics. Around the World With Lew Rockwell

          13th October 2015

        • Global Freedom Index: We're Number 20!

          12th October 2015

        • Politicians Exploit School Shooting While Ignoring Bombing Victims

          12th October 2015

        • Two Minutes of Hate For Belarus

          11th October 2015

        • A Decisive Shift In The Power Balance Has Occurred

          11th October 2015

        • The Mystery of ISIS' Toyota Army Solved

          9th October 2015

        • The Impulsiveness of US Power

          8th October 2015

        • Neocons Demand Escalation in Syria

          8th October 2015

        • Syria Intervention is a Mistake: US Can't Run Entire Middle East

          7th October 2015

        • Turkey's 'Bear Trap' Option in Syria

          7th October 2015

        • This Has Become Routine

          7th October 2015

        • Ron Paul on Fox Business: 'No Reason in the World for us to Be Involved in Syria'

          7th October 2015

        • How to Sustain Perpetual War (It's Easy!)

          6th October 2015

        • Seize the Chaos: Israel, the Neocons, and their Bloody, Blundering 'Art' of War

          6th October 2015

        • Gun Violence - More Control Needed?

          5th October 2015

        • The Russian Bear Growls

          5th October 2015

        • I Wish Nobody Was Bombing Syria

          5th October 2015

        • A Useful Prep-Sheet on Syria for Media Propagandists

          3rd October 2015

        • On The Ropes: 60 % Don't Trust Media

          3rd October 2015

        • War Party Hates Putin and Loves al-Qaeda

          2nd October 2015

        • Obama's Ludicrous 'Barrel Bomb' Theme

          2nd October 2015

        • Assad Must Go; Assad Must Stay. Who's Right?

          1st October 2015

      • September
        • Will Migrant Crisis Kill EU?

          30th September 2015

        • The Government We Deserve?

          30th September 2015

        • Orwell at the UN: Obama Re-Defines Democracy as 'a Country That Supports US Policy'

          30th September 2015

        • Obama Deifies American Hegemony

          29th September 2015

        • Deserting Libya: The Rhetoric of British Foreign Policy

          29th September 2015

        • 'Minority Report' Is 40 Years Ahead of Schedule: The Fictional World Has Become Reality

          28th September 2015

        • Intel Analysts: US Fixing Facts Around Policy

          28th September 2015

        • Congress and the Fed Refuse to Learn From Their Mistakes

          27th September 2015

        • Catalonia Vote - Will They Secede?

          26th September 2015

        • The Harsh Lessons of History: Faux Reports of Progress Against IS

          25th September 2015

        • Saving Syria

          25th September 2015

        • Good News: Gallup Finds Half of US Fears Government

          24th September 2015

        • The Rape of Afghanistan

          23rd September 2015

        • Iran's Parchin Nuclear Myth Begins to Unravel

          23rd September 2015

        • Foreign Policy by Intimidation: GOP Candidates Show How It's Done

          22nd September 2015

        • Putin's Consistency on Syria has Washington Fuming

          20th September 2015

        • Blame America? No, Blame Neocons!

          20th September 2015

        • Was Ahmed Mohamed's Arrest Really All About Religion and Race?

          19th September 2015

        • Washington Wants 'Regime Change' in Ecuador

          18th September 2015

        • The Russians are Coming!

          18th September 2015

        • Russia Exposes US Hidden Agenda in Syria

          16th September 2015

        • In Syria, More Lies Brings More Chaos

          15th September 2015

        • Public School Students Are the New Inmates in the American Police State

          15th September 2015

        • How to End the Refugee Flood

          14th September 2015

        • Madness of Blockading Syria's Regime

          14th September 2015

        • Congress Fiddles While the Economy Burns

          13th September 2015

        • America's Police State is Rooted in Four Federal Wars

          11th September 2015

        • Should Tweeting Be A Capital Offense?

          9th September 2015

        • Why The US and Iran Aren't Cooperating Against ISIS

          9th September 2015

        • A Russian Buildup in Syria? The Propaganda Machine Strikes Again

          8th September 2015

        • 'Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death': The Loss of Our Freedoms in the Wake of 9/11

          8th September 2015

        • Turning the Cradle of Civilization Into its Graveyard

          7th September 2015

        • Color Revolution 2.0 in Lebanon: From Piles of Trash to Piles of Rubble

          7th September 2015

        • The Real Refugee Problem – And How To Solve It

          6th September 2015

        • 'Refugees' Arrive in Munich, Hungary Demonized: What's The Endgame?

          5th September 2015

        • False Flag Alert on Refugee 'Crisis'?

          4th September 2015

        • War Drums Beating - Real Or Imagined?

          3rd September 2015

        • Ron Paul and Lost Lessons of War

          3rd September 2015

        • Buy the Rights-Abusing Cops Lunch Says Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick

          3rd September 2015

        • Abusing Dead Syrian Children

          3rd September 2015

        • Refugee Crisis - Demise Of The EU?

          2nd September 2015

        • Sheep Led to the Slaughter: The Muzzling of Free Speech in America

          1st September 2015

      • August
        • Why the War on Terror is Failing

          31st August 2015

        • Saudi Coalition Bombs Yemen Water Bottling Plant, Killing Dozens of Civilians

          31st August 2015

        • ISIS Gold Standard: Will it Work?

          31st August 2015

        • Blame the Federal Reserve, Not China, for Stock Market Crash

          30th August 2015

        • Beijing Bingo

          29th August 2015

        • Follow the Money? Not with Hillary, Follow Pat

          28th August 2015

        • Sanders' Foreign Policy - Not Antiwar

          28th August 2015

        • Syria: The Propaganda Ring

          27th August 2015

        • 'Unprivileged Belligerents' - The US War On Journalists

          27th August 2015

        • Weaponizing Migrants

          26th August 2015

        • Who Tipped Off Al-Qaeda in Syria?

          26th August 2015

        • UK Police Scanned the Faces of 100,000 People at Music Festival

          26th August 2015

        • Markets Crash - Is China to Blame?

          25th August 2015

        • The Raping of America: Mile Markers on the Road to Fascism

          24th August 2015

        • Western Complicity in Yemen Genocide Met With Media Silence

          24th August 2015

        • For Immigration Answers, Look to Liberty

          23rd August 2015

        • Hillary Clinton, A Friend of International Terrorism?

          22nd August 2015

        • Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran With Lies, Lies, Lies

          21st August 2015

        • Tony Blair Holds up Iraq Inquiry Report Over Tough Criticism?

          20th August 2015

        • Undiplomatic Power

          19th August 2015

        • Rabbis For Iran Deal - Is Schumer Wrong?

          19th August 2015

        • We Are the Government: Tactics for Taking Down the Police State

          18th August 2015

        • Did Iranian Weapons Kill Americans?

          18th August 2015

        • Who is the West's Lead MH17 Investigator?

          17th August 2015

        • Twisting The Truth On The Iraq War

          17th August 2015

        • The Seamless Web of Liberty

          17th August 2015

        • 'Deal or War': Is Doomed Dollar Really Behind Obama's Iran Warning?

          15th August 2015

        • Republicans Can't Face the Truth About Iraq

          15th August 2015

        • Iran Deal's Surprising Supporters

          14th August 2015

        • Full-Scale War Looms in Donbass

          14th August 2015

        • Iran Nuclear Deal: Why Empire Blinked First

          14th August 2015

        • Predisposed to Peace: Ron Paul's Faith in Basic Human Decency and the Power of Ideas

          13th August 2015

        • Iraq and American Sniper

          13th August 2015

        • Understanding Why the Clinton Emails Matter

          11th August 2015

        • The Aspen War Games -- No Place For Old Peaceniks

          11th August 2015

        • Don't Be Fooled by the Political Game: The Illusion of Freedom in America

          11th August 2015

        • ISIS Winning? Will Trump's Plan Work?

          10th August 2015

        • The Return of Ron Paul

          10th August 2015

        • Islamic State is Winning, America Must Soon Use Its One Remaining Option

          10th August 2015

        • Real Education Reform Leaves the Government Behind

          9th August 2015

        • Why Do We Lament A-Bombs But Not Firebombs?

          8th August 2015

        • US Intelligence Confirms US Support for ISIS

          8th August 2015

        • My Dreams Seek Revenge: Revisiting Hiroshima One More Time

          7th August 2015

        • Hiroshima at 70: Have We Learned Anything?

          6th August 2015

        • Ron Paul Takes On The War Party

          6th August 2015

        • US Drone War Accelerates - Victims Unknown

          5th August 2015

        • Power in the Service of Power

          5th August 2015

        • Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and My Lai Were All War Crimes

          4th August 2015

        • Ron Paul Plays Hardball

          4th August 2015

        • Assad's 'Barrel Bombs'...and Ours

          4th August 2015

        • Washington's Fifth Columns Inside Russia and China

          3rd August 2015

        • Politics Is Not the Path to Pro-Life Victory

          2nd August 2015

        • Ron Paul, Champion of God's Peace

          1st August 2015

      • July
        • Dealing With The Cops

          31st July 2015

        • Monsters of Ukraine: Made in the USA

          31st July 2015

        • How Did the Turkish Peace Process Collapse?

          30th July 2015

        • Post-Constitutional America, Where Innocence is a Poor Defense

          30th July 2015

        • MH-17 Shootdown After One Year: What Do We Know?

          30th July 2015

        • Drivers, Beware: The Costly, Deadly Dangers of Traffic Stops in the American Police State

          29th July 2015

        • ISIS 'Ally' Turkey Seeks NATO Support As Two-Front 'War' Escalates

          29th July 2015

        • $100 Million to Sink Iran Peace Effort

          28th July 2015

        • Do We Need to Bring Back Internment Camps?

          27th July 2015

        • Obama's Line on The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Second False Narrative

          26th July 2015

        • Must We Really Know What Merkel is Having for Dinner?

          25th July 2015

        • State Department and Intelligence Agencies Ask For Criminal Investigation in the Clinton Email Scandal

          25th July 2015

        • Wesley Clark Calls for Internment Camps for 'Radicalized' Americans

          24th July 2015

        • The Kagans: Seeking War to the End of the World

          23rd July 2015

        • Sandra Bland is Everyman

          23rd July 2015

        • Obama Should Release MH-17 Intel

          22nd July 2015

        • The American Nightmare: The Tyranny of the Criminal Justice System

          22nd July 2015

        • US Military Seeks Reasons To Prolong Afghanistan Occupation

          20th July 2015

        • Ron Paul at His Best

          20th July 2015

        • Iran Agreement Boosts Peace, Defeats Neocons

          20th July 2015

        • Praise To Barack Obama For Stiffing The War Party -- Peace Is Finally Being Given A Chance

          18th July 2015

        • US/Israeli/Saudi 'Behavior' Problems

          17th July 2015

        • In His Own Words: Ron Paul On His New Book, Swords into Plowshares

          17th July 2015

        • Central Banking and War: Ron Paul's 'Swords Into Plowshares' reviewed

          17th July 2015

        • New Law Says Web Sites Would Have to Inform Law Enforcement about Readers' 'Terrorist Activity'

          16th July 2015

        • It's Official: ISIS is No Threat to the US Homeland

          16th July 2015

        • Freedom or the Slaughterhouse? The American Police State from A to Z

          15th July 2015

        • 'EU Periphery Countries Taking Brunt of US/EU Interventionist Policies in Ukraine'

          14th July 2015

        • MH17: The Blaming Putin Game Goes On

          14th July 2015

        • Greece Today, America Tomorrow?

          12th July 2015

        • Destroying Syria to Make it Safe for American Values

          12th July 2015

        • Do Flags Kill People?

          11th July 2015

        • Demanding What You Can't Get: Obama's Gamble with the Iran Talks in Vienna

          11th July 2015

        • When Money Dies

          10th July 2015

        • Pentagon Concludes America Not Safe Unless It Conquers The World

          10th July 2015

        • Obama Fails to Make the Strategic Case for an Iran Nuclear Deal

          8th July 2015

        • Government Warmongering Criminals: Where Are They Now?

          7th July 2015

        • Jade Helm, Terrorist Attacks, Surveillance, and Other Fairy Tales for a Gullible Nation

          6th July 2015

        • For Normal Relations With Cuba, End US Interventionism

          6th July 2015

        • ISIS Makes the British Lion a De-Clawed and Shabby Cat

          4th July 2015

        • Independence Day: Celebration or Sadness?

          3rd July 2015

        • Greek Crisis Awaits Other NATO Partners

          3rd July 2015

        • What It Really Takes For a US-Iran Deal

          3rd July 2015

        • California's 'Corporate Fascist' Vaccine Law

          2nd July 2015

        • Greece Shows Why Banks & Governments Hate Cash: Bank Runs

          1st July 2015

        • New Embassy in Cuba - But Will Congress Kill the Deal?

          1st July 2015

        • Clean Break to Dirty Wars

          1st July 2015

      • June
        • Are Neocons Embracing Al-Qaeda?

          30th June 2015

        • Electric Yerevan and Lessons on the Color-Spring Tactic

          29th June 2015

        • The Emergence of Orwellian Newspeak and the Death of Free Speech

          29th June 2015

        • Obamacare's Best Allies: The Courts and the Republicans

          28th June 2015

        • NATO Hypes Russia Threat While NATO Members Reduce Military Spending

          27th June 2015

        • Battlefield America

          26th June 2015

        • The National Security State's Crisis Racket

          26th June 2015

        • Greek Crisis: How Long Before a Fed Bailout?

          25th June 2015

        • Five Things That Won't Work in Iraq

          25th June 2015

        • US Spoiling for More Wars, But Why?

          24th June 2015

        • If You Want to Get Rid of 'Racist Flags,' How About Starting with the American Flag?

          24th June 2015

        • Shona Banda Drug Arrest: A Prime Case for Jury Nullification

          23rd June 2015

        • Keeping Government Bureaucrats Off the Backs of the Citizenry: The Supreme Court Responds

          22nd June 2015

        • Echoes of Vietnam, or Between Iraq and a Hard Place

          22nd June 2015

        • One Person Dead, a Tragedy; A Million Dead, a Statistic

          22nd June 2015

        • Will Seizure of Russian Assets Hasten Dollar Decline?

          21st June 2015

        • If Greece Defaults, Will the Fed Bailout Europe?

          20th June 2015

        • Why The US Military Opposed New Combat Roles in Iraq

          20th June 2015

        • National Endowment for Democracy? Hardly!

          19th June 2015

        • Road Pirates: Assemble! 'Desert Snow' is Coming to Idaho

          19th June 2015

        • House Refuses to Curb Obama's Middle East War

          18th June 2015

        • Policing and Defending Then and Now

          17th June 2015

        • Samantha Power: Liberal War Hawk

          16th June 2015

        • Congress Blocks Nazi Training in Ukraine

          16th June 2015

        • The Magna Carta at 800 Years: Is it Still Alive?

          15th June 2015

        • Dangers of a Declining Global Power

          15th June 2015

        • Recent Syrian Rebel Gains Result From US Support Of Extremists

          15th June 2015

        • Death Penalty: The Ultimate Corrupt, Big Government Program

          14th June 2015

        • Soros - An American Oligarch's Dirty Tale of Corruption

          13th June 2015

        • The Prosecution of Dennis Hastert and the Government's War on Cash

          13th June 2015

        • Europeans Reject NATO's War

          12th June 2015

        • US Planning to Send 450 More Military Personnel to Iraq

          11th June 2015

        • Iraq in Chaos: An Excuse to Escalate?

          11th June 2015

        • Saudi Arabia's Yemen Offensive, Iran's 'Proxy' Strategy, and the Middle East's New 'Cold War'

          11th June 2015

        • Maidan 3.0: Another Revolution in Ukraine?

          10th June 2015

        • Are Waco Bikers Getting Justice?

          9th June 2015

        • Cold War II to McCarthyism II

          9th June 2015

        • The Washington Intellectual Gravy Train

          8th June 2015

        • Afghan Drone Strike: Expect More Blowback

          8th June 2015

        • Soros Pushes US Bailouts and Weapons for Ukraine

          7th June 2015

        • Military Madness: US Officials Consider Nuclear Strikes against Russia

          7th June 2015

        • TSA Has No Excuse to Continue the Groping

          6th June 2015

        • Brzezinski's Delusion of Eurasian Conquest

          6th June 2015

        • Demands in US-Iran Nuclear Talks as Political Kabuki Theatre

          5th June 2015

        • Macedonia: Another Color Revolution

          5th June 2015

        • Free Speech, Facebook and the NSA: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

          4th June 2015

        • Insanity's Definition is Sending More US Ground Troops to Iraq

          3rd June 2015

        • Soros Seeks to Expand War in Ukraine...Why?

          3rd June 2015

        • ISIS, Assad Regime Now Fighting Together In Syria, US Alleges

          3rd June 2015

        • TSA is The Danger - 95% Fail Rate

          2nd June 2015

        • Hope for Iraq? Depends on What You're Hoping For

          1st June 2015

        • The CIA: Providing Security or Threatening Liberty?

          1st June 2015

      • May
        • Ex-Im Bank is Welfare for the One Percent

          31st May 2015

        • Will Congress Save PATRIOT Act...And Does It Matter?

          30th May 2015

        • Whether in the USSR or USSA, Politicians Come and Go -- But the Security Organs Remain

          29th May 2015

        • The Hollywoodization Of War

          28th May 2015

        • To Beat ISIS, Kick Out US-Led Coalition

          27th May 2015

        • The NSA's Technotyranny: One Nation Under Surveillance

          26th May 2015

        • Who Won't Fight in Iraq?

          26th May 2015

        • A Color Revolution for Macedonia

          26th May 2015

        • New Evidence US Backed ISIS

          25th May 2015

        • Iraq and Another Memorial Day

          25th May 2015

        • Janet Yellen is Right: She Can't Predict the Future

          24th May 2015

        • Obama's Fail on Saudi-Qatari Aid to al-Qaeda Affiliate

          23rd May 2015

        • A Military 'Pivot to Asia'

          22nd May 2015

        • This Is How You 'Boost' GDP: US Sells Over $4 Billion In Weapons To Israel, Iran, And Saudi Arabia

          22nd May 2015

        • A Rough Week in Iraq, But It Will Get Rougher

          21st May 2015

        • US Failure in Iraq and Syria: Troops on the Way?

          21st May 2015

        • Militarization Is More Than Tanks and Rifles: It's a Cultural Disease, Acclimating the Citizenry to Life in a Police State

          21st May 2015

        • Pity the Poor Stormtroopers: Baby Bou-Bou Ambushed Them

          20th May 2015

        • Cashless Society: More Attacks on Our Privacy

          19th May 2015

        • Making the World Less Safe: Sending the Wrong Message to Russia, China, and Iran

          19th May 2015

        • More Evidence of Israel's Dirty Role in the Syrian Proxy War

          19th May 2015

        • US Allies Flee Ramadi, US Weapons to ISIS

          18th May 2015

        • New Military Spending Bill Expands Empire But Forbids Debate on War

          17th May 2015

        • Garland's Lesson? Democrats, Republicans, and Neocons Bring The Jihad to America

          17th May 2015

        • Bin Laden Killing: Who's Telling The Truth?

          16th May 2015

        • US Drone Program 'Should've Never Started' - Ron Paul

          15th May 2015

        • Love, Visas, and Marriage in Post-Constitutional America

          14th May 2015

        • 'We the People' Need to Circle the Wagons: The Government Is on the Warpath

          13th May 2015

        • FBI Monitored Peaceful Demos in Baltimore with High-Tech Surveillance

          13th May 2015

        • Why is Terrorism on the Rapid Rise?

          12th May 2015

        • Free Speech, Property, and Provocations

          11th May 2015

        • NSA Spying Ruled Illegal, But Will Congress Save the Program Anyway?

          10th May 2015

        • Pinpoint Drone Attacks? There's No Such Thing!

          10th May 2015

        • The Real Victor of World War II in Europe

          9th May 2015

        • Are We A Nation of Wimps?

          9th May 2015

        • State Department Won't Review Clinton Ethics

          8th May 2015

        • NSA Spying: Not 'Authorized' or Not Constitutional?

          8th May 2015

        • The Cold War Against Cuba Changed Us

          7th May 2015

        • The Choice Before Europe

          7th May 2015

        • Is NATO Looking For a New War?

          6th May 2015

        • In a Cop Culture, the Bill of Rights Doesn't Amount to Much

          6th May 2015

        • The Media Misses The Point on 'Proxy War'

          5th May 2015

        • ISIS in Texas?

          5th May 2015

        • The Neoconservatives: Tyranny's Fifth Column

          5th May 2015

        • Who Lost Iraq and Syria?

          4th May 2015

        • Washington Post Blames Obama for Syrian Mess

          4th May 2015

        • USA FREEDOM Act: Just Another Word for Lost Liberty

          3rd May 2015

        • The Ghosts of Vietnam Should Haunt Us – But Don't

          2nd May 2015

        • Patriot Act Reform: A Hoax

          1st May 2015

        • Saudi Succession Struggles: Who's on Top and Why

          1st May 2015

      • April
        • Jade Helm: A Military Takeover?

          30th April 2015

        • General Dempsey Errs by Telling The Truth, But Quickly Recants

          29th April 2015

        • Who's Starving Yemen's Children?

          29th April 2015

        • Unending War on Terror

          28th April 2015

        • A Return to the Peace Party

          28th April 2015

        • Ron Paul: Why Are US Special Forces in 81 Countries?

          27th April 2015

        • Crisis, What Crisis? -- The al-Qaeda Takeover of Syria

          27th April 2015

        • The Real War on the Middle Class

          26th April 2015

        • Morsi Jailed: Another Mission Accomplished

          26th April 2015

        • Libya Migrant Crisis: Whose Fault?

          24th April 2015

        • Obama's Drone Strike: A Targeted Assassination

          23rd April 2015

        • First They Came for the Anti-Vaxxers

          23rd April 2015

        • Houthi Arms Bonanza Came From Saleh, Not Iran

          23rd April 2015

        • US-backed Criminal Slaughter in Yemen Revealed

          22nd April 2015

        • Protecting the Vicious, Punishing the Virtuous: Marijuana Prohibition and Idaho's Prison-Industrial Complex

          21st April 2015

        • Biased Reporting on Syria in the Service of War

          20th April 2015

        • Political Murders in Kiev, US Troops to Ukraine

          19th April 2015

        • Ron Paul Celebrates Two Years With the Ron Paul Institute!

          17th April 2015

        • Wolf Pack vs. Bear

          17th April 2015

        • The $1.4 Billion Ebola Scam

          17th April 2015

        • Why Does The World Wage War Against The People Of Yemen?

          17th April 2015

        • Ron Paul: Political Moves Behind Iran Deal

          16th April 2015

        • Inflicting the Death Penalty Before Trial

          15th April 2015

        • Venezuela: An 'Extraordinary Threat'?

          14th April 2015

        • Christians in Peril Because of Western Foreign Policy

          13th April 2015

        • The New Militarism: Who Profits?

          12th April 2015

        • What Was US Defense Secretary Doing in Japan?

          10th April 2015

        • Obama Should Rescind Sanctions Against Venezuela

          10th April 2015

        • Obama Inherits Saudi Arabia's Yemeni War

          10th April 2015

        • Does The Government Make Us Safe?

          10th April 2015

        • Kick Open the Doorway to Liberty: What Are We Waiting For?

          9th April 2015

        • More Weapons for the Yemen War

          8th April 2015

        • $416 Million Afghan Program to Empower Women: No 'Tangible Benefit'

          7th April 2015

        • All Praise To The Iranian Nuclear Framework -- It Finally Exposes The War Party's Big Lie

          7th April 2015

        • Mysterious Deaths in Ukraine

          7th April 2015

        • Reality Check: America Needs Iran

          7th April 2015

        • Lawrence Wilkerson: Iran 'Win-Win' Announced but Many Congressional Republicans Still Want War

          6th April 2015

        • The IRS and Congress Both Hold Our Liberty in Contempt

          5th April 2015

        • Soros Looks to Co-Own Ukraine

          4th April 2015

        • NATO is Building Up for War

          4th April 2015

        • America's Warfare State Revolution

          3rd April 2015

        • Yemen: The Stage is Set

          3rd April 2015

        • Ron Paul: Why Can't the US Let Go of Iranian Sanctions?

          1st April 2015

        • Iran Demands Lifting of Sanctions for 'Irreversible' Moves, Says Insider

          1st April 2015

      • March
        • The Biggest Threat to American Liberty

          31st March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Is Indiana Law a Good Answer?

          30th March 2015

        • After HIV Spike, Drug Warrior Governor Grants Limited Temporary Needle Exchange

          30th March 2015

        • Repeal, Don't Reform the IMF!

          29th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Is Yemen the Next Big War?

          27th March 2015

        • Sanctions and the Fate of the Nuclear Talks

          27th March 2015

        • Leave the Houthis Alone!

          27th March 2015

        • Yemen Exploding: Is The Stage Set for the Big War?

          26th March 2015

        • For Once, Don't Blame the Israelis

          26th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Another Letter on Iran? House Sends Message to President...

          25th March 2015

        • How Will The Yemeni Civil War End?

          25th March 2015

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 2007 Presidential Exploratory Committee Announcement

          24th March 2015

        • Congress Demands War in Ukraine!

          23rd March 2015

        • After a Twelve Year Mistake in Iraq, We Must Just March Home

          22nd March 2015

        • A Family Business of Perpetual War

          22nd March 2015

        • Cold War II: This Time, The Commies Are In Washington

          21st March 2015

        • 'Ukraine New Spy Law Designed as Provocation, Opens Whole Can of Worms'

          20th March 2015

        • Why Do American Weapons End Up in Our Enemies' Hands?

          19th March 2015

        • Rep. Walter Jones: No More Dollars for Afghanistan

          18th March 2015

        • White House Email Archiving Office Exempts Self from FOIA Disclosures

          18th March 2015

        • Republican 'Balanced' Budget Boosts Military Spending

          17th March 2015

        • The Wolf Is Guarding the Hen House: The Government's War on Cyberterrorism

          17th March 2015

        • US Intel Stands Pat on MH-17 Shoot-down

          16th March 2015

        • Iran Fighting ISIS – Is it Really a Problem?

          15th March 2015

        • CNN is Beating the Drums of War

          15th March 2015

        • Ron Paul on the 'Green Light for American Empire'

          14th March 2015

        • A Green Light for the American Empire

          14th March 2015

        • Get Out Peacefully: The Libertarian Principle of Secession

          13th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Will the US and Israel Send a 'Thank You' Note to Iran?

          12th March 2015

        • Obama's Venezuelan Dictatorship

          11th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Why is Libya Going to ISIS?

          11th March 2015

        • The Intellectual as Servant of the State

          11th March 2015

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Iran Sanctions Are 'One More Step to Another War We Don't Need'

          10th March 2015

        • Azerbaijan Should be Very Afraid of Nuland

          10th March 2015

        • How DNA Is Turning Us Into a Nation of Suspects

          9th March 2015

        • Don't Be Fooled by the Federal Reserve's Anti-Audit Propaganda

          8th March 2015

        • The Future of Mosul is Kobane

          7th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: 'Netanyahu's US Trip is All About Politics'

          7th March 2015

        • The Long History of Israel Gaming the 'Iranian Threat'

          6th March 2015

        • 'Nuland Ensconced in Neocon Camp Who Believes in Noble Lie'

          5th March 2015

        • America Must Reject Netanyahu's War Cry on Iran

          4th March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Syrian 'Moderates' Again Join al-Qaeda

          4th March 2015

        • Private Police: Mercenaries for the American Police State

          3rd March 2015

        • Ron Paul: Killing of Boris Nemtsov and War Propaganda

          2nd March 2015

        • Department of Homeland Security: What is it Good For?

          1st March 2015

      • February
        • Liberty in Search of Protector - Interview With Vaclav Klaus

          28th February 2015

        • Ron Paul: Is Government Regulation of Internet Helpful?

          27th February 2015

        • State Department Gives 87 Percent of Afghan Funds to Only Five Recipients

          27th February 2015

        • Stephen Hawking and the Meaning of Non-Aggression

          27th February 2015

        • 'US Spends Millions on Overseas Propaganda, But No One is Buying it'

          26th February 2015

        • Domestic Fear is the Price of Empire

          26th February 2015

        • Janet Yellen On Capitol Hill - Ron Paul Liberty Report

          25th February 2015

        • Ukraine: A Cuban Missile Crisis in Reverse

          24th February 2015

        • The Washington Post's Gross Mischaracterization of Ron Paul's Message

          23rd February 2015

        • Another Nail in The Coffin of The Case for Libyan 'Intervention'

          23rd February 2015

        • Interventionism Kills: Post-Coup Ukraine One Year Later

          22nd February 2015

        • Ukraine Coup One Year On and Does Obama Hate America? - Ron Paul Liberty Report

          21st February 2015

        • How US Diplomatic Strategy Gave Netanyahu Leverage

          21st February 2015

        • Operation Iraqi 'Freedom'

          19th February 2015

        • Happy Kosovo Independence Day?

          18th February 2015

        • Libya: A Perfect Storm of Interventionist Failure

          17th February 2015

        • Ron Paul Liberty Report: President's Day and Washington, D.C. Speech

          17th February 2015

        • Putin Heads Off a US-Russia War

          16th February 2015

        • How Many More Wars?

          16th February 2015

        • Ron Paul: 'I Am Not Pro-Putin, I Am Not Pro-Russia, I Am Pro-Facts'

          15th February 2015

        • The Real Problem of 'Getting to Yes' With Iran

          14th February 2015

        • What You Should Know About the New Defense Secretary

          13th February 2015

        • What Will 'Minsk II' Agreement be Worth?

          12th February 2015

        • The Seduction of Brian Williams: Embedded with the Military

          12th February 2015

        • Yemen Today: Another 'Fall of Saigon' Moment for US

          11th February 2015

        • Obama's Force Authorization is a Blank Check for War Worldwide

          11th February 2015

        • Brian Williams Helped Pave the Way to War

          10th February 2015

        • Sami Al-Arian and the Defining Moral and Political Challenge of Our Time

          9th February 2015

        • Kiev's Bloody War Is Backfiring

          9th February 2015

        • Were the Saudis Behind 9/11?

          8th February 2015

        • Vaccine Controversy Shows Why We Need Markets, Not Mandates

          8th February 2015

        • Ron Paul Liberty Report: Behind the Scenes on Vaccines and Ukraine

          7th February 2015

        • Greece: The Problem with Playing Hardball

          7th February 2015

        • Supreme Court Rules in Favor of TSA Whistleblower Robert MacLean

          6th February 2015

        • No Doubt: US Taxpayers Will be Robbed to Arm Poroshenko

          4th February 2015

        • America's James Bond Complex

          4th February 2015

        • History In the Balance: Why Greece Must Repudiate Its 'Banker Bailout' Debts And Exit The Euro

          3rd February 2015

        • Netanyahu's Speech and the Politics of Iran Policy

          2nd February 2015

        • Mini-Maidan Picks Up Steam in Budapest

          2nd February 2015

        • The Failed Yemen Model

          1st February 2015

      • January
        • March to Folly in Ukraine

          31st January 2015

        • Surrendering Liberty: America's Fatal Freedom Apathy

          29th January 2015

        • China Looks West: What Is at Stake in Beijing's 'New Silk Road' Project

          28th January 2015

        • 'Two Percent Inflation' and The Fed's Current Mandate

          28th January 2015

        • Beware the Two Percent!

          28th January 2015

        • New Russia 'Spy' Scandal: US Foreign Policy Goes Retro

          28th January 2015

        • After The 'Syriza Shock' - Now Comes The Hard Choice Of Escape Or Merely Re-setting The Terms of Greece's EU Servitude

          26th January 2015

        • Education is Too Important Not to Leave to the Marketplace

          25th January 2015

        • Adios Cuba!

          25th January 2015

        • Beware a New Cold War

          23rd January 2015

        • A Second Even More Unjustifiable Episode of Government Collection of Phone Records

          23rd January 2015

        • The Ambiguity of Charlie Hebdo: France Under the Influence

          21st January 2015

        • Ron Paul: The Real State of Liberty 2015

          20th January 2015

        • The Danger of an MH-17 'Cold Case'

          20th January 2015

        • Why Should Charlie Hebdo Deaths Mean More Than Those in E.Ukraine?

          19th January 2015

        • If the Fed Has Nothing to Hide, It Has Nothing to Fear

          18th January 2015

        • Fed Asset Seizures Rollback Less Than Advertised

          18th January 2015

        • Will New US Training Program Produce More ISIS Fighters in Syria?

          17th January 2015

        • Do You Believe it Was a False Flag? Ron Paul on Paul Craig Roberts' Controversial Article

          16th January 2015

        • The Open Society and its Worst Enemies

          16th January 2015

        • America Is Open for Business in Iraq (Psst... Wanna Buy an M1 Tank?)

          15th January 2015

        • 'US Incapable of Backing Down on Russia Over Ukraine'

          15th January 2015

        • CIA on Trial in Virginia for Planting Nuke Evidence in Iran

          14th January 2015

        • From Neighborhood Cops to Robocops: The Changing Face of American Police

          14th January 2015

        • Charlie Hebdo Shootings: False Flag?

          14th January 2015

        • Lessons from Paris

          12th January 2015

        • The Police Threat Is Too High

          10th January 2015

        • EU-Backed Libyan Government Bombs EU Citizens But No New No Fly Zone in Sight

          9th January 2015

        • Inner City Turmoil and Other Crises: My Predictions for 2015

          8th January 2015

        • Paris Slayings: What Do You Say When You Have Nothing to Say?

          8th January 2015

        • Ron Paul: Paris Attack 'Obscene,' But Blowback for French Interventionism

          7th January 2015

        • Welcome to the Matrix: Enslaved by Technology and the Internet of Things

          7th January 2015

        • What Didn't Happen in 2014: The Paranoia Year in Review

          6th January 2015

        • Blowback on the Saudi Border – Senior General Killed

          5th January 2015

        • Total National Security Spending Is Much Greater than the Pentagon's Base Budget

          5th January 2015

        • Ten New Year's Resolutions for Congress

          4th January 2015

        • Without 'Qualified Immunity,' Would Cops Be So Quick to Kill?

          1st January 2015

    • 2014
      • December
        • A Radical Question About the CIA in the Mainstream Press

          31st December 2014

        • The Victory of 'Perception Management'

          30th December 2014

        • America: Australia's Dangerous Ally

          29th December 2014

        • Why is it Illegal to Buy Food From Your Neighbors?

          29th December 2014

        • The Real Meaning of the 1914 Christmas Truce

          28th December 2014

        • 'The Interview' Flops, FBI 'North Korean Hack' Story Also Debunked

          28th December 2014

        • 2014: The Year Propaganda Came Of Age

          27th December 2014

        • Why Obama Won't Reach an Agreement With Iran

          27th December 2014

        • US Looks to Israel to Justify Torture

          26th December 2014

        • Should You Condemn the CIA for Torture If You Don't Condemn the Iraq War?

          26th December 2014

        • Why Millions of Christians Will Mourn This Christmas

          23rd December 2014

        • Janet Yellen's Christmas Gift to Wall Street

          21st December 2014

        • Cold War Spy Games Show the Moral Bankruptcy of the US National Security State

          20th December 2014

        • Regime Change in Cuba

          19th December 2014

        • US Overlooks Russia Sanctions Backlash on Own Economy

          18th December 2014

        • Bombs Away! Obama Signs Lethal Aid to Ukraine Bill

          18th December 2014

        • Torture and the Destruction of the Human Being Shaker Aamer by the United States

          18th December 2014

        • For Truly Better Relations with Cuba, Open the Door and Get Out of the Way!

          17th December 2014

        • The Cold War Has Never Ended for the CIA

          17th December 2014

        • Three Members of Congress Just Reignited the Cold War While No One Was Looking

          16th December 2014

        • BBC US Editor Parrots CIA, Republican Talking Points on Senate Torture Report

          16th December 2014

        • After Ukraine: Are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary Veering Off The NATO/EU Reservation?

          15th December 2014

        • All I Want for Christmas is a (Real) Government Shutdown

          14th December 2014

        • Eric Garner, the Torture Report, and Authoritarian Psychology

          12th December 2014

        • Torture and the Myth of Never Again: The Persecution of John Kiriakou

          11th December 2014

        • Do They Really Oppose Torture?

          11th December 2014

        • US Foreign Policy: Into the Heart of Darkness

          10th December 2014

        • 'A Litany of Federal Crimes' - Judge Napolitano on the CIA Torture Report

          9th December 2014

        • Washington's Frozen War Against Russia

          9th December 2014

        • The Long Arm of US Law

          8th December 2014

        • Our Enemies, the Presidents

          7th December 2014

        • House Chooses New Cold War With Russia

          7th December 2014

        • Ukraine's Made-in-USA Finance Minister

          6th December 2014

        • Ron Paul: Anti-Russia Bill Passed by Congress 'Part of the War Propaganda Machine'

          6th December 2014

        • US Army Sends 100 Tanks To Eastern Europe To 'Deter Russian Aggression'

          5th December 2014

        • Reckless Congress 'Declares War' on Russia

          4th December 2014

        • Just Like the Stasi...

          4th December 2014

        • Fear is a Political Instrument, but Knowledge is Power

          3rd December 2014

        • Ron Paul on the Next US Defense Secretary

          3rd December 2014

        • No to War, Hot or Cold, With Russia

          2nd December 2014

        • Why Not Pardon Drug War Victims in Addition to Turkeys?

          1st December 2014

        • MH17: Barring Malaysia From Investigation Reeks of Cover-up

          1st December 2014

      • November
        • Who Wants to be Defense Secretary?

          30th November 2014

        • Nuclear Chicken in the Mideast

          29th November 2014

        • Darren Wilson and the Reality of 'Blue Privilege'

          28th November 2014

        • Syrian Christians: 'Help Us to Stay - Stop Arming Terrorists'

          26th November 2014

        • We Are the Enemy: Is This the Lesson of Ferguson?

          25th November 2014

        • 'Coercive Diplomacy' and the Failure of the Nuclear Negotiations

          25th November 2014

        • What Does Hagel's Ouster Mean for US Syria Policy?

          24th November 2014

        • Reform the CIA? What Good Would That Do?

          24th November 2014

        • Defeat of USA FREEDOM Act is a Victory for Freedom

          23rd November 2014

        • ISIS: Fighting the Modern Wahabis

          22nd November 2014

        • Lew Rockwell: Europe Bowing to US Hegemon on Russia Sanctions

          22nd November 2014

        • Ron Paul: 'Help!'

          20th November 2014

        • Biden in Ukraine, War Surely to Follow

          20th November 2014

        • The United States Lost the Cold War

          20th November 2014

        • Still Letting the Neocons Lead

          19th November 2014

        • Russia invades Ukraine. Again. And Again. And Yet Again!

          19th November 2014

        • Voiceprints: Time to be Afraid Again

          18th November 2014

        • Are 'We the People' Useful Idiots in the Digital Age?

          17th November 2014

        • Do Wars Really Defend America's Freedom?

          17th November 2014

        • Internet Gambling Ban: A Winner for Sheldon Adelson, A Losing Bet for the Rest of Us

          16th November 2014

        • No Good War; No Bad Peace

          15th November 2014

        • Anti-Assad Propaganda Tricks MSM 'Sophisticates'

          14th November 2014

        • When Henry Kissinger Makes Sense...

          14th November 2014

        • Hungary's Orban Threatened by Maidan-Style Protest Movement

          13th November 2014

        • A Lesson in Intervention in Iraq

          12th November 2014

        • American Journey From Terror to Peace, 9/11 to 11/11

          11th November 2014

        • US: Kicking Vietnam Syndrome Once and for All

          11th November 2014

        • The Devil's Bargain: The Illusion of a Trouble-Free Existence in the American Police State

          10th November 2014

        • Iraq War 3.0: What Could Possibly Go Right?

          10th November 2014

        • What The Mid-Term Elections Really Mean For Peace and Liberty

          9th November 2014

        • NYPD Union Leader: Reducing Marijuana Arrests is "Beginning of the Breakdown of a Civilized Society"

          9th November 2014

        • Dennis Kucinich: 'The US Must Work to Reestablish Friendly Relations With Russia'

          7th November 2014

        • Obama Demands Another 1,500 Troops and $5.6 Billion for War Expansion

          7th November 2014

        • Why US Anti-ISIS Videos Don't Work

          6th November 2014

        • Ron Paul's Take on the 2014 Midterm Elections

          5th November 2014

        • Washington-Backed 'Rebels' Surrender US Arms to Al Qaeda in Syria

          5th November 2014

        • The FBI: America's Secret Police

          4th November 2014

        • US Destroying Syria's Oil Infrastructure Under Guise of Fighting ISIS

          3rd November 2014

        • More Guns Plus Less War Equals Real Security

          2nd November 2014

        • Afghanistan: None Dare Call it a Defeat

          1st November 2014

        • In Ukraine, A Tale of Two Elections

          1st November 2014

      • October
        • US Post Office Spying on Americans Without Oversight

          31st October 2014

        • The Iranian Nuclear Issue and Sino-Iranian Relations

          31st October 2014

        • The Cheney-Powell-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz Strategy: An Evaluation

          30th October 2014

        • Obama's Phony Foreign-Aid Reform

          29th October 2014

        • Putin's Complaint: Is Washington a Revisionist Power?

          29th October 2014

        • Time Mag to Ron Paul: Stop Telling The Truth!

          28th October 2014

        • Don't Let Lunatics Make Our Policies

          27th October 2014

        • Once-Peaceful Canada Turns Militaristic; Blowback Follows

          26th October 2014

        • Anti-Assad Warmongers Drag in the Holocaust

          25th October 2014

        • Fragile Fact-Checking: How The Media Fell in And Out of Love With The Sikorski 'Revelations'

          23rd October 2014

        • Hollow Justice and Courts of Order in an Age of Government-Sanctioned Tyranny

          22nd October 2014

        • The Cuban Embargo is an Attack on Both Cubans And Americans

          20th October 2014

        • National Service is Anti-Liberty and Un-American

          19th October 2014

        • The Real Secret of Iraq's Germ Weapons

          18th October 2014

        • The Neocons -- Masters of Chaos

          18th October 2014

        • Warmongering Washington Hunting for Ebola, Russia and Islamic State

          17th October 2014

        • Ron Paul Blasts 'Deeply Flawed' US Foreign Policy - Interview With Larry King

          17th October 2014

        • The Politicians Are Scaring You Again

          16th October 2014

        • Seven Worst-Case Scenarios in the Battle With the Islamic State

          16th October 2014

        • Committing Highway Robbery to Fund Police Militarization

          15th October 2014

        • Where Did Iraq Get Its Weapons of Mass Destruction?

          15th October 2014

        • Shielded from Justice: The High Cost of Living in a Police State

          14th October 2014

        • US/Afghan Pact: Permanent Occupation

          14th October 2014

        • Again the Peace Prize Not for Peace

          13th October 2014

        • Liberty, Not Government, is Key to Containing Ebola

          12th October 2014

        • A 'Final Solution' to the 'Muslim Problem'?

          11th October 2014

        • From Pol Pot to ISIS: 'Anything That Flies on Everything That Moves'

          11th October 2014

        • Celebrating Ron Paul's Forty Years in the Political Arena

          11th October 2014

        • Afghanistan Faces Uncertain Future

          9th October 2014

        • The Abominable No Fly List

          9th October 2014

        • Urgent: Right-Left Alliance Needed to Stop This War!

          8th October 2014

        • Pennsylvania Legislature Moves To Pass Injunctive Law In Wake Of Abu-Jamal Commencement Speech

          8th October 2014

        • Presidents and the War Power

          8th October 2014

        • Washington Is Destroying The World

          7th October 2014

        • The Siege Of Kobani: Obama's Syrian Fiasco In Motion

          6th October 2014

        • The Real Status of Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq

          5th October 2014

        • Hong Kong Boiling -- But Gently So Far

          4th October 2014

        • War, The Fed, and More Wars: Ron Paul's LPAC 2014 Speech!

          3rd October 2014

        • America's Never-Ending War in the Middle East

          1st October 2014

      • September
        • There is Much to Fear

          30th September 2014

        • Obama Invented Fake 'Threat' to Launch War on Syria

          29th September 2014

        • Scottish Referendum Gives Reasons to be Hopeful

          28th September 2014

        • Western-Backed Kiev Regime Burying the Truth About Its Atrocities?

          27th September 2014

        • Ron Paul: Obama Has Started 'Immoral and Illegal' War in Iraq and Syria

          27th September 2014

        • Syria/Iraq/Afghanistan: As Bad As a Crime, a Blunder

          27th September 2014

        • Gateway Policies: ISIS, Obama and US Financial Boots-on-the-Ground

          26th September 2014

        • Is Obama Misleading the World to War? Depends How You Define 'Misleading'

          26th September 2014

        • The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against Syria

          26th September 2014

        • Welcome To Barack Obama's Syrian Gong Show

          25th September 2014

        • The Real Reason We Are Bombing Syria

          24th September 2014

        • Apocalypse Now, Iraq Edition

          23rd September 2014

        • Breaking: US Attacks Syria!

          22nd September 2014

        • Turning Americans into Snitches for the Police State: 'See Something, Say Something' and Community Policing

          22nd September 2014

        • NATO vs. ISIS?

          21st September 2014

        • Congress Votes for More War in the Middle East

          21st September 2014

        • The Disastrous Myth of Airpower Victory

          20th September 2014

        • Anarchy in Washington: Is Anybody in Charge?

          19th September 2014

        • The Tower Of Babel Comes To Paris: The Folly Of Obama's War On ISIS

          18th September 2014

        • Poroshenko in Washington: A Marriage Made in Heaven?

          17th September 2014

        • 8 Reasons Why Congress Should Vote No on Training and Funding Syrian Rebels

          17th September 2014

        • Ron Paul: War on ISIS is Foolish Continuation of 24 Years of US War in Middle East

          16th September 2014

        • An Unbearable and Choking Hell: The Loss of Our Freedoms in the Wake of 9/11

          16th September 2014

        • Under Cover of Ceasefire, NATO-Armed Kiev Poised to Attack

          16th September 2014

        • Washington's War Against Russia

          15th September 2014

        • Are You Going to LPAC?

          14th September 2014

        • Will The Swiss Vote to Get Their Gold Back?

          14th September 2014

        • Neocons Revive Syria 'Regime Change' Plan

          13th September 2014

        • Obama's ISIL Speech: Five Lies, Four Truths, and a Potential War Crime

          12th September 2014

        • Obama, Speak Plainly: This is War!

          12th September 2014

        • Obama Distorts Founders and Constitution to Promote War and Worldwide Domination

          12th September 2014

        • Barack, We Hardly Knew Ye

          11th September 2014

        • Obama's Speech: 'Bush on Steroids'

          11th September 2014

        • Obama Follows Bush's Iraq Playbook

          10th September 2014

        • Obama: I Do Not Need Congressional Approval To Go To War With ISIS

          10th September 2014

        • Resistance is Futile: The Violent Cost of Challenging the American Police State

          10th September 2014

        • 'Think Tank-Gate': Corruption Is the Price of Empire

          8th September 2014

        • Stop Being Mean to Tony Blair!

          8th September 2014

        • Nixon's Vindication

          7th September 2014

        • Desperate Drug War Beneficiaries Spread Marijuana Legalization Disinformation

          6th September 2014

        • Mr. President, The Less You Do Overseas The Better

          6th September 2014

        • Iraq Has WMDs and Russia Has Invaded!

          4th September 2014

        • US Boots in Iraq and Baltics, Authorization to Attack Syria...and US Troops in Ukraine!

          4th September 2014

        • Remembering Eugene V. Debs' Imprisonment for Speaking Against War

          3rd September 2014

        • Western Doublethink on Blind Path to War

          3rd September 2014

        • Top Ten Ways You Can Tell if Russia Has Invaded Ukraine

          1st September 2014

        • US Slouches Toward Syria, Again...

          1st September 2014

      • August
        • Obama Has No Middle East Strategy? Good!

          31st August 2014

        • Is This The Libertarian Moment?

          30th August 2014

        • The Mother of All Blowback

          30th August 2014

        • Washington Piles Lie Upon Lie

          29th August 2014

        • Red Alert: NATO Mission Creep Advancing to Russian Border

          28th August 2014

        • Bombs Away Over Syria! Washington Has Gone Stark Raving Mad

          27th August 2014

        • The Murder of James Foley

          27th August 2014

        • Ron Paul and Mark Spitznagel Talk Freedom, Farming, and the Fed

          26th August 2014

        • Peace President Plots War on Syria

          26th August 2014

        • The Syrian Arab Government and ISIS Have Always Been Enemies

          25th August 2014

        • Missed Ron Paul's Birthday? It's Not Too Late To Claim Your Gift!

          25th August 2014

        • Ferguson: The War Comes Home

          24th August 2014

        • Obama's Skewed Policy Priorities in Middle East

          24th August 2014

        • Cautious Outrage Over Alleged Foley Execution

          23rd August 2014

        • US/NATO Slam Russian Aid to Eastern Ukraine

          22nd August 2014

        • Hagel and Dempsey: We Must Attack Syria! Get Ready!

          21st August 2014

        • Obama, Democrats, Republicans, and NATO: Still Playing the Islamists' Foil

          21st August 2014

        • Ron Paul, the Gateway Drug

          20th August 2014

        • It's Ron Paul's Birthday. Guess What He Wants?

          20th August 2014

        • Ukraine Crisis Continues

          20th August 2014

        • Ron Paul: Mission Creep in Iraq...and Missouri!

          18th August 2014

        • The Terrorists Fighting Us Now? We Just Finished Training Them.

          18th August 2014

        • What Have We Accomplished in Iraq?

          17th August 2014

        • Police Have No Right to Shoot Someone Running Away

          15th August 2014

        • From Boston to Ferguson: Have We Reached a Tipping Point in the Police State?

          15th August 2014

        • Iraq Policy: Washington's Puzzle Palace Keeps Getting Curiouser

          12th August 2014

        • Ron Paul: 'US Out of Iraq Now!'

          12th August 2014

        • Why Obama is bombing the Caliph

          12th August 2014

        • A Faul's Errand: Washington's Amateur Diplomacy – An Obituary

          11th August 2014

        • Why Reform the CIA?

          11th August 2014

        • America Started This Ukraine Crisis

          10th August 2014

        • US Sanctions on Russia May Sink the Dollar

          10th August 2014

        • What if There's a Real War in Ukraine?

          9th August 2014

        • Washington Opened The Gates Of Hell In Iraq: Now Come The Furies

          8th August 2014

        • Crushing Protests in Kiev: Neocons Never Liberate Twice

          7th August 2014

        • US Government Still Trying for Cuba Regime Change

          7th August 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'Bombing Yugoslavia Cannot Be a Proud Moment'

          6th August 2014

        • Bill Clinton's Body-Snatchers: The Truth About the 'Humanitarian' War on Yugoslavia

          6th August 2014

        • Flight 17 Shoot-Down Scenario Shifts: White House vs. Intelligence Community?

          5th August 2014

        • Ron Paul: Don't Palestinians Have a Right to Defend Themselves Too?

          5th August 2014

        • Crimes Against Humanity in Gaza: Is it Really a 'Buffer Zone' – or a Bigger Plan?

          5th August 2014

        • We're All Criminals and Outlaws in the Eyes of the American Police State

          4th August 2014

        • Ron Paul on C-SPAN, Ron Paul on Everything

          4th August 2014

        • The State's Worst Atrocity

          4th August 2014

        • Why Won't Obama Just Leave Ukraine Alone?

          3rd August 2014

        • Political Purges Loom as Ukraine Falls Apart

          2nd August 2014

        • 'We Tortured Some Folks' -- Obama Admits United States Committed Acts Violating Federal and International Law

          1st August 2014

        • Not Talking to Vladimir Putin Signals Impotence, Not Strength

          1st August 2014

        • CIA Admits Hacking Senate Computers After Months of Denials

          1st August 2014

      • July
        • The Rise of the 'Petro-yuan' and the Slow Erosion of Dollar Hegemony

          31st July 2014

        • New Post

          31st July 2014

        • Stop! Thief! Stop! -- The Looting of Ukraine

          30th July 2014

        • On Dominoes, WMDs And Putin's 'Aggression': Imperial Washington Is Intoxicated By Another Big Lie

          29th July 2014

        • In Foreign Affairs, Not Doing Anything Is The Thing To Do

          29th July 2014

        • The Absurd, Bureaucratic Hell That Is the American Police State

          28th July 2014

        • End Torture, Shut Down the CIA!

          27th July 2014

        • Israel's 155mm Cure For 'Terrorism'

          27th July 2014

        • Another 'Saigon': US Evacuates From Libya

          26th July 2014

        • What Does the U.S. Support When It Supports Israel?

          26th July 2014

        • 'Hard-Core Libertarian' Austin Petersen's Advice for 'Soviet' Ron Paul

          25th July 2014

        • Ron Paul: 'I Don't Blame America, I Blame Neocons'

          25th July 2014

        • Breedlove...or Strangelove?

          25th July 2014

        • Ron Paul: What's So Bad About a Split-Up Ukraine?

          24th July 2014

        • 9/11 Commission: 10th Anniversary of a Bootlicking National Disgrace

          23rd July 2014

        • Parallel Construction: Unconstitutional NSA Searches Deny Due Process

          23rd July 2014

        • On Malaysian Crash, Obama's Case Against Russia Disintegrates

          23rd July 2014

        • Kerry's Latest Reckless Rush to Judgment

          21st July 2014

        • The Stealing of America by the Cops, the Courts, the Corporations and Congress

          21st July 2014

        • What the Media Won't Report About Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17

          20th July 2014

        • What Happened to the Malaysian Airliner?

          20th July 2014

        • What Gaza's Crisis Shows About Israel's Ambitions and America's Decline

          19th July 2014

        • David Versus Goliath in Gaza

          19th July 2014

        • Blood, Treasure and Soul: The Exorbitant Price of the American Empire

          18th July 2014

        • New Post

          18th July 2014

        • US Foreign Food Aid Hurts the Poor

          17th July 2014

        • Neocons Go Undercover

          16th July 2014

        • New Post

          16th July 2014

        • West's Confusing Foreign Policy Contradictions

          15th July 2014

        • Ron Paul Institute Now in Texas!

          13th July 2014

        • What's Missing in the Current Immigration 'Crisis' Debate

          13th July 2014

        • How to Lose Friends and Make People Hate You

          12th July 2014

        • In Washington's View, It's Still 1945 in Europe

          12th July 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Israel Encouraged Growth of Hamas

          11th July 2014

        • Inside the Strange Mind of NATO's Anders Fogh Rasmussen

          11th July 2014

        • Don't Cry For Me, Shevardnadze...

          10th July 2014

        • Fox News and Terrorist Propaganda

          9th July 2014

        • Media Blaming Libertarians for Republican Candidates' Losses Four Months Before Election

          9th July 2014

        • The Emperor's New Clothes: The Naked Truth About the American Police State

          8th July 2014

        • Why it's OK to arm 'Moderate' jihadists in Syria

          8th July 2014

        • Iraq: What They Died For

          7th July 2014

        • Hobby Lobby Decision Creates Small Island of Freedom in Ocean of Statism

          6th July 2014

        • Payback Time For Sarko In France's Dirty Politics?

          6th July 2014

        • Dennis Kucinich: 'Interventionism Is Not The Wave of The Future'

          4th July 2014

        • The National-Security State's Murder of Two Americans

          3rd July 2014

        • Empire's Age-Old Aim: Wealth and Power

          1st July 2014

      • June
        • Celebrate Independence Day By Opposing Government Tyranny

          29th June 2014

        • Cold War Renewed With A Vengeance While Washington Again Lies

          29th June 2014

        • Hell No! Taxpayers Shouldn't Go To Syria

          28th June 2014

        • Ron Paul: No More US Aid to Syria Insurgents; Better for House to Impeach than Sue Obama

          28th June 2014

        • Iraq: The Things Warmongers Said

          28th June 2014

        • Obama's Self-Made Foreign Policy Problem

          27th June 2014

        • Ron Paul, the CIA, and Dr. Zhivago

          27th June 2014

        • Federal Court Rules Government's No-Fly List Is Unconstitutional

          25th June 2014

        • The US Supreme Court Is Marching in Lockstep with the Police State

          24th June 2014

        • Opt-Out of Common Core, Opt-In to The Ron Paul Curriculum

          22nd June 2014

        • The Orwellian Daily Mail

          20th June 2014

        • Eric Margolis: 'Any US Move in Iraq Will Be Wrong'

          20th June 2014

        • Iraq, Foreign Policy, Amnesty, John Bolton: Ron Paul Interviewed By Mike Church

          19th June 2014

        • The Blair Peace Project: Serial Warmonger's Call For New Iraq War Will Have Opposite Effect

          18th June 2014

        • Iraq: Will the Neocons Get Away With It Again?

          18th June 2014

        • Has the Dept. of Homeland Security Become America's Standing Army?

          17th June 2014

        • How to Evolve an Exit Strategy From America's Foreign Policy Shambles -- The Polk Report

          17th June 2014

        • America's Middle East Delusions

          16th June 2014

        • Stop Calling the Iraq War a 'Mistake'

          16th June 2014

        • Haven't We Already Done Enough Damage in Iraq?

          15th June 2014

        • Iraq Blows Wide Open

          14th June 2014

        • Don't Compound the Damage Already Done in Iraq by Doubling Down in Syria

          13th June 2014

        • Once Again Into The Breach: U.S. Shipping More Weapons and Preparing More Military Aid To Iraq

          13th June 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'Do Not Attack Iraq!' (2002)

          13th June 2014

        • Ground Hog Day in the Drug War

          13th June 2014

        • Critiquing America's Brain-Dead Foreign Policy 'Debate'

          11th June 2014

        • Why Should Anyone Trust a Government That Kills, Maims, Tortures, Lies, Spies, Cheats, and Treats Its Citizens Like Criminals?

          9th June 2014

        • Obama's Foreign Policy Rhetoric Does Not Match US Actions

          8th June 2014

        • The Big Snub in Paris

          7th June 2014

        • Washington's Iron Curtain in Ukraine

          7th June 2014

        • Washington's Only Standards Are Double Standards

          6th June 2014

        • The Disaster That is US Foreign Policy

          6th June 2014

        • America's Shale Revolution and the Dangerous Myth of Energy Independence

          5th June 2014

        • US Turns Blind Eye to Lugansk Massacre

          4th June 2014

        • Ron Paul: 'Get Rid Of the NSA'

          4th June 2014

        • Obama: Stop The Sanctimonious Kidstuff; Let Europe Fund Its Own Security

          3rd June 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Legalize Medical Marijuana and Hemp

          2nd June 2014

        • Just Shoot: The Mindset Responsible for Turning Search Warrants into Death Warrants, and SWAT Teams into Death Squads

          2nd June 2014

        • What Obama Told Us At West Point

          2nd June 2014

        • Mental Health Screening a Good Way to Decrease Liberty, Poor Way to Increase Security

          1st June 2014

      • May
        • Trivial Pursuit: Obama Versus the Interventionists

          30th May 2014

        • A Middle East Tragedy: Obama's Syria Policy Disaster

          29th May 2014

        • Ukraine Asks for Lend-Lease from US

          29th May 2014

        • Boko Haram a Blessing for Imperialism in Africa: U.S. Training Death Squads

          29th May 2014

        • Ukraine and EU Integration of Popular Revolt against Oligarchs

          27th May 2014

        • Why War Is Inevitable

          26th May 2014

        • Western Media Coverage of the Ukraine Crisis Is as Distorted as Soviet Propaganda

          26th May 2014

        • The VA Scandal is Just the Tip of the Military Abuse Iceberg

          25th May 2014

        • No Water For You: Obama Administration Moves To Cut Off Water To Pot Growers In Washington and Oregon

          24th May 2014

        • The Great Western Gas Fiasco

          24th May 2014

        • Judge Napolitano: US Troops to Nigeria is Illegal

          24th May 2014

        • The War on America's Military Veterans, Waged with SWAT Teams, Surveillance and Neglect

          23rd May 2014

        • The Sino-Russian Hydrocarbon Axis Grows Up

          21st May 2014

        • Just Imagine... If Russia Had Toppled the Canadian Government

          21st May 2014

        • Militarist Bunkum: July 4 and the Lies of the Empire

          19th May 2014

        • The Chicoms Are Coming! Reflections On The Folly Of The War On Vietnam And Its Progeny

          18th May 2014

        • Tax Reform is Useless Without Spending Reform

          18th May 2014

        • Why Won't Kerry Leave Syria Alone?

          16th May 2014

        • Ron Paul on Boom/Bust: US Interventionism Always Leads to Trouble

          15th May 2014

        • No Nation Left Un-Invaded: Sen. McCain Would Put US Military Into Nigeria In 'A New York Minute'

          14th May 2014

        • Killing Your Own People -- a Brief Guide

          13th May 2014

        • 400 US Mercenaries in Ukraine?

          12th May 2014

        • What Does The US Government Want in Ukraine?

          11th May 2014

        • Ukraine Military Attacks Anti-Coup Civilians, US Silent

          9th May 2014

        • Syria: The Hidden Massacre

          8th May 2014

        • To Understand Or Not to Understand Putin

          8th May 2014

        • Western Warmongering Based on Lies and Fabrication

          7th May 2014

        • Bravo, Rep. Walter Jones! Primary Win Sends Neocons Packing

          7th May 2014

        • Syria Election: Vote The Right Way -- Or Else

          6th May 2014

        • Slaughter in Ukraine and US Government Lies

          6th May 2014

        • The Devil's Beltway Workshop: Why The Warfare State Must Be Dismantled

          5th May 2014

        • Another NYT 'Sort of' Retraction on Ukraine

          5th May 2014

        • Why We're No Longer Number One

          4th May 2014

        • Why Deal When Israel Holds All The Cards

          4th May 2014

        • Don't Invite More Presidential Wars

          3rd May 2014

        • Ron Paul on Ukraine: 'Why Are We Are Making Things Worse?'

          2nd May 2014

        • The 'Eastern Partnership' is Fading Away Before Our Very Eyes

          2nd May 2014

        • Ron Paul Speaks: 'Liberty Defined and The Future of Freedom'

          1st May 2014

      • April
        • Obama Administration Quietly Strips Senate Bill Of Provision Requiring Disclosure Of Annual Drone Kills

          29th April 2014

        • Ron Paul: 'No Russia Sanctions and Leave Ukraine Alone!'

          28th April 2014

        • Western Democracy-Mongers Prefer War To Admitting a Mistake on Ukraine

          28th April 2014

        • Obama's Drone Wars Undermine American Values

          27th April 2014

        • The Dirty Hand of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Venezuela

          26th April 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: A Warning Against Arming the BLM...in 1997!

          25th April 2014

        • Obama Wants Parents to be Snitches, Terrorism Recruiters, and Target-Spotters

          24th April 2014

        • US Botches Ukraine: 'Who's Sorry Now?'

          24th April 2014

        • Obama Plays With Fire in Ukraine

          23rd April 2014

        • Shocking Photos From Bundy Raid

          22nd April 2014

        • The Bundy Paradigm: Will You Be a Rebel, Revolutionary or a Slave?

          22nd April 2014

        • The Smoking Pop-Gun: Obama Endorses a Forgery

          21st April 2014

        • Amateur Hour in Ukraine

          21st April 2014

        • Nevada Standoff a Symptom of Increasing Authoritarianism

          20th April 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'Disband NATO!'

          19th April 2014

        • What John Kerry Didn't Say in Geneva

          18th April 2014

        • Ranchers vs. Regulators: The Clark County Range War

          18th April 2014

        • Congress Investigates "Slush Fund" At USAID Used To Get Lawmakers To Pass Reforms

          16th April 2014

        • CIA Terror Chief Pulls Rank in Kiev

          16th April 2014

        • I'm Confused, Can Anyone Help Me?

          16th April 2014

        • Ron Paul On Bundy Ranch Showdown: Cautious Optimism

          15th April 2014

        • Nevada: Early Lessons of Bunkerville

          14th April 2014

        • Another Phony Budget Debate

          13th April 2014

        • Patriotism is The Platform of Fools

          12th April 2014

        • Stephen Colbert's Ron Paul Interviews

          12th April 2014

        • The Cliven Bundy Standoff: Wounded Knee Revisited?

          12th April 2014

        • The American Spring

          12th April 2014

        • Kucinich: NATO 'Anachronistic Nightmare' and Should Be Disbanded

          10th April 2014

        • Is the US or the World Coming to an End?

          10th April 2014

        • Hayden: Feinstein Too 'Emotional' To Discuss The Torture Program

          9th April 2014

        • Ron Paul Blasts US Ukraine Policy

          8th April 2014

        • Why Are Americans Paying to Be Searched, Spied On, Shot At and Robbed Blind by the Government?

          7th April 2014

        • Can the West Get Out of Its (Self-Made) Cul-de-Sac in Syria?

          6th April 2014

        • Ft. Hood: An Avoidable Tragedy

          6th April 2014

        • US Government's Regime Change Obsession Rears Its Ugly Head Again

          5th April 2014

        • For America, Perhaps Now is The Time For Neutrality

          5th April 2014

        • Afghan Elections for Another Fake Regime

          5th April 2014

        • NATO Exploits Ukraine Crisis to Demonstrate Its Relevance

          4th April 2014

        • The Theory Behind USAID Is Wrong...And in Practice It's Worse!

          4th April 2014

        • The US Government Should Butt Out of Venezuela

          3rd April 2014

        • Senate Report Exposes Torture and Misrepresentations By CIA Officials . . . But Recommends No Prosecution

          1st April 2014

        • Targeting Iran

          1st April 2014

      • March
        • 'Just Salute and Follow Orders': When Secrecy and Surveillance Trump the Rule of Law

          31st March 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'Repeal the Whole War on Drugs'

          31st March 2014

        • Ron Paul, Richard Cobden, and the Risks of Opposing War

          31st March 2014

        • Aid to Ukraine a Bad Deal For All

          30th March 2014

        • We Really Do Not Need Saudi Arabia Any Longer

          29th March 2014

        • The Danger of False Narrative

          28th March 2014

        • Non-Intervention is Non-Negotiable!

          27th March 2014

        • Ukraine and the Deferential Press

          26th March 2014

        • A Military Plot to Take Over America: Fifty Years Later, Was the Mission Accomplished?

          25th March 2014

        • Meet the Americans Who Put Together the Coup in Kiev

          25th March 2014

        • How US 'Democracy Promotion' Destroys Democracy Overseas

          23rd March 2014

        • War in Syria Set to Intensify

          22nd March 2014

        • New Sanctions on Russia -- What's the Endgame?

          21st March 2014

        • Kto Kogo?* The NATO Syndrome, the EU's Eastern Partnership Program, and the EAU

          21st March 2014

        • Drug Warriors Just Don't Get It

          21st March 2014

        • Crimean Referendum Ilegal? Nonsense!

          20th March 2014

        • RPI's Laughland on the Crimea Referendum

          19th March 2014

        • Help Ron Paul Fight Back Against The Neocons!

          19th March 2014

        • Simple Stuff About Ukraine

          18th March 2014

        • The Use of Force, the Reflexive Resort to Economic Sanctions, and the Trials of America's Hegemonic Mindset

          17th March 2014

        • Disband NATO!

          17th March 2014

        • If Spying on Senate is So Bad, Why is it OK For Them To Spy On Us?

          16th March 2014

        • After the Referendum...

          16th March 2014

        • Neocons Have Weathered the Storm

          15th March 2014

        • Against Ukraine War? Obama May Seize Your Assets

          14th March 2014

        • The Failure of German Leadership on Ukraine

          13th March 2014

        • Absolute Perversion of the Law in US Drone Killings

          13th March 2014

        • Ron Paul on CIA Targeting Congress

          13th March 2014

        • Russia Annexing Crimea is the Cost of US/EU intervention in Ukraine

          13th March 2014

        • Sanctions Against Russia 'Absurd'

          12th March 2014

        • Lights, Camera, Arrested: Americans Are Being Thrown in Jail for Filming Police

          11th March 2014

        • Pledging American Lives in the Defense of NATO

          10th March 2014

        • How NGOs Helped Plan Ukraine War

          10th March 2014

        • Can We Afford Ukraine?

          9th March 2014

        • Gen. Dempsey Pushes Back Against War Fever

          9th March 2014

        • 'Vlad the Bad' Moves His Chess Pieces

          8th March 2014

        • Forgetting His Own History: William Hague Once Understood a Black Sea Crisis

          7th March 2014

        • Ukraine and The US National Security State

          6th March 2014

        • Ron Paul: No US Bailout for Ukraine

          6th March 2014

        • Regime Change Blueprint: The NED At Work

          6th March 2014

        • Ukraine Uprising: A Western Conspiracy?

          5th March 2014

        • Ukraine: Ron Paul Could be America's Solzhenitsyn

          5th March 2014

        • Russia Reminds Us of Us

          4th March 2014

        • 'US and EU Played Central Role in Supporting Protestors in Kiev'

          3rd March 2014

        • Bombshell: Ukraine President Requested Russian Assistance

          3rd March 2014

        • Free Speech, RIP: A Relic of the American Past

          3rd March 2014

        • Hagel's 'Defense Cuts' Are Smoke And Mirrors

          2nd March 2014

        • 'NATO Countries Unleashed Nationalism And Fear in Ukraine'

          2nd March 2014

        • The Crimea Will Soon Be Back in Russia

          1st March 2014

      • February
        • Obama Draws Red Lines As World Lurches Toward War

          28th February 2014

        • Did Ukraine's Regime Change Go According to Western Plan?

          28th February 2014

        • Judge Andrew Napolitano: Supreme Court Makes 'U-Turn' Away from Protecting Privacy

          27th February 2014

        • 'West Plays With Fire to Drive the Russian Naval Base Out of Crimea'

          27th February 2014

        • Ukraine's Fractured Future

          24th February 2014

        • Leave Ukraine Alone!

          23rd February 2014

        • EU Writes Ukraine's Eulogy

          23rd February 2014

        • In Ukraine, EU and US Interventionists Nearing the Civil War They Caused

          23rd February 2014

        • A No-Fly Zone is an Act of War

          22nd February 2014

        • 'Ukraine is in Revolutionary Situation'

          22nd February 2014

        • Ukraine: It's Not About Europe vs Russia

          21st February 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Questions US Meddling in Ukraine...in 2004!

          19th February 2014

        • 'Whole of Ukraine held hostage by a small group of radicals'

          19th February 2014

        • Invasions of the Mind Snatchers

          19th February 2014

        • Western Imperialism's Creative Destruction in Syria

          19th February 2014

        • Paranoia, Surveillance and Military Tactics: Have We Become Enemies of the Government?

          18th February 2014

        • At the Fed, The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

          16th February 2014

        • The US Government Makes a Mockery of the Principal-Agent Relationship

          14th February 2014

        • On Cuba, The Times Just Might Be A'Changin'

          14th February 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: 'What If..."

          13th February 2014

        • Russia's Right Turn

          12th February 2014

        • Washington Orchestrated Protests Are Destabilizing Ukraine

          12th February 2014

        • America and the Arab Awakening: Déjŕ Vu?

          12th February 2014

        • Judge Andrew Napolitano: Targeted Killings of Americans are Illegal and Unconstitutional

          11th February 2014

        • Victoria Nuland Comes Clean with Dirty Language

          11th February 2014

        • Diagnosing Sochi Media Coverage: Virulent Russophobia

          10th February 2014

        • Will No One Challenge Obama's Executive Orders?

          9th February 2014

        • Victoria Nuland's 'Ukraine-gate' Deceptions

          9th February 2014

        • 'F**k the EU': Tape Reveals US Runs Ukraine Opposition

          6th February 2014

        • Is a New Cold War Brewing?

          5th February 2014

        • Victoria Nuland: The Bride At Every Wedding

          5th February 2014

        • Nice Job, Conservatives

          5th February 2014

        • What is the Real Price of Starting Another Cold War?

          3rd February 2014

        • The Continuing Al-Qaeda Threat

          2nd February 2014

        • Stalin's Crimes Haunt Sochi Games

          1st February 2014

      • January
        • The Year of Iran: Tehran's Challenge to American Hegemony in 2014

          31st January 2014

        • Kerry's Astounding Hypocrisy on Ukraine

          31st January 2014

        • Obama and Kerry Jeopardize Peace With Iran

          30th January 2014

        • New Post

          29th January 2014

        • Radical Ukraine?

          29th January 2014

        • How Waist Deep in the Big Muddy Finally Got on Network Television in 1968

          29th January 2014

        • US 'Elephant in the Room' at Russia-EU Summit

          29th January 2014

        • The Persecution of Justin Bieber

          29th January 2014

        • Winning the New York Times Prize!

          27th January 2014

        • Ron Paul: Do We Live in a Police State?

          26th January 2014

        • The Economics of the Police State

          24th January 2014

        • Ukrainian Opposition and the West 'Playing with Fire Siding With Extreme Nationalists'

          23rd January 2014

        • 'Foreign Pressure on Ukraine Will Only Make Matters Worse'

          23rd January 2014

        • Radicals in Riots? 'Euromaidan Failed to Separate From Neo-Nazis'

          22nd January 2014

        • The Ugly American (and Friends) in Geneva

          22nd January 2014

        • The US Wager on Moderate Islam in Syria an Utter Failure

          21st January 2014

        • Warfare, Welfare, and Wonder Woman -- How Congress Spends Your Money

          21st January 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Battling The Surveillance State Back In 1984

          20th January 2014

        • Foreign Aid is a Real Joke

          20th January 2014

        • American Fascism

          20th January 2014

        • Obama's NSA Speech: What Reform?

          18th January 2014

        • Breaking: Obama Declares NSA 'Reforms' While Dismissing Influence Of Snowden Leaks

          17th January 2014

        • You Can't Opt Out: 10 NSA Myths Debunked

          17th January 2014

        • New Post

          16th January 2014

        • 'We Need Iran in Geneva to Stop Spread of Terror Throughout Middle East'

          15th January 2014

        • A Tipping Point For Liberty Against Leviathan

          14th January 2014

        • Who's To Blame For More Violence Against Afghan Women?

          14th January 2014

        • Is Obama Trying to Resolve or Prolong the Conflict in Syria?

          13th January 2014

        • Congress Defers to President On NSA Reform

          12th January 2014

        • Al-Qaeda is Everywhere!

          11th January 2014

        • In Defense of Dennis Rodman

          10th January 2014

        • Morality versus the National Security State

          10th January 2014

        • Peace is the Enemy of Empire

          9th January 2014

        • The Reactionary Essence of the Syrian Insurgency

          7th January 2014

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Defense Spending vs. Empire Spending

          7th January 2014

        • Life in the Electronic Concentration Camp: The Many Ways That You're Being Tracked, Catalogued and Controlled

          6th January 2014

        • Iran, the United States, and the Middle East in 2014

          5th January 2014

        • Iraq: The 'Liberation' Neocons Would Rather Forget

          5th January 2014

        • World Danger Spots for 2014

          4th January 2014

        • I Worked On the US Drone Program. Here's What Really Goes On

          2nd January 2014

    • 2013
      • December
        • 11 Good Things for Liberty in 2013

          31st December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: End US Marijuana Prohibition and War on Drugs

          31st December 2013

        • Life in the Emerging American Police State: What's in Store for Our Freedoms in 2014?

          31st December 2013

        • 'NSA Has Become a Four-Letter Word in US'

          29th December 2013

        • Vitali Klitschko's American Coaches

          28th December 2013

        • Turkey's Role in Syria's Unfolding Crisis

          27th December 2013

        • Saudi Anger Has Many Faces

          27th December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Who Warned Us About Sudan?

          27th December 2013

        • We're The Good Guys

          26th December 2013

        • NSA Task Force Member Says Program Should Be Expanded Not Limited

          23rd December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: North Korea?

          23rd December 2013

        • Progress Toward Peace in 2013, But Dark Clouds Remain

          22nd December 2013

        • Washington Acts Like Government-in-Exile For Ukraine

          21st December 2013

        • Syria Conflict: You Can't Make Sound Policy by Disregarding Reality

          19th December 2013

        • A Christmas To-Do List for a Better World

          19th December 2013

        • Washington Has Discredited America

          19th December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: You Can't Manage A Bad War

          18th December 2013

        • McCain in Ukraine: What Is He Really Up To?

          17th December 2013

        • Sen. McCain, Interventionism's 'Energizer Bunny'

          17th December 2013

        • Is NATO's Trojan Horse Riding Toward the 'Ukraine Spring'?

          16th December 2013

        • Breaking: Federal Court Declares NSA Program Unconstitutional

          16th December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: They Don't Attack Us Because We're Free & Prosperous

          15th December 2013

        • Washington Drives the World Toward War

          15th December 2013

        • Is The US Waking Up To The Insanity of its Syria Policy?

          14th December 2013

        • Kiev Protests: Another CIA-Coordinated Color Revolution In Progress

          13th December 2013

        • Congress Scares The People

          13th December 2013

        • Sinister Fruits of The West's Alliance with Jihad Warriors in Syria

          13th December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Ignore The Calls For Sacrifice...Cut The Empire!

          12th December 2013

        • What We Missed in the Hunger Games

          11th December 2013

        • Ron Paul And Lew Rockwell: The Interview!

          11th December 2013

        • 'Parade of Losers': EU Delegation to Kiev Threatens Democracy

          11th December 2013

        • Ron Paul Rewind: Are the Palestinians An Invented People?

          10th December 2013

        • Hobby Lobby Case is About Rights, Not Contraceptives

          8th December 2013

        • The Phony Pullout From Afghanistan

          7th December 2013

        • Israel Aims to Sabotage the Geneva Agreement with Iran

          7th December 2013

        • Welcome To The Memory Hole

          5th December 2013

        • We Are All Non-Interventionists Now!

          5th December 2013

        • Ukraine: What Would Washington Do?

          4th December 2013

        • 'Despite Rumors of a Coup, Another Orange Revolution in Ukraine is Unlikely'

          4th December 2013

        • The Unwelcome Return of Navi Pillay

          3rd December 2013

        • Prof. Mark Almond: Ukraine Protestors May Topple Government

          2nd December 2013

        • You Cannot Negotiate With Iran?

          1st December 2013

        • Syria's Mother Agnes Mariam: In Her Own Words

          1st December 2013

      • November
        • Iran Gets Short End Of The Nuclear Deal

          30th November 2013

        • The National-Security State's Dangerous China Taunt

          28th November 2013

        • Ukraine Refused to Sign EU's 'Suicide Note'

          28th November 2013

        • On Being Thankful...For State Violence?

          28th November 2013

        • Is The Iran Agreement a Good Deal?

          27th November 2013

        • The Globalization of NATO: Military Doctrine of Global Warfare

          26th November 2013

        • Judge Andrew Napolitano: Congress Can Cut the NSA Budget

          26th November 2013

        • US Dead-Enders Still Dream of Color Revolutions

          26th November 2013

        • What We Should Not Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving

          26th November 2013

        • America's Little Spy Helpers Down Under Create an Uproar

          25th November 2013

        • Can Karzai Save Us?

          24th November 2013

        • Terrorism and the Bill of Rights

          22nd November 2013

        • P5+1 Talks With Iran Headed For Failure?

          22nd November 2013

        • Free Speech Repressing Bureaucrat Threatens Alex Jones and Hundreds at Dallas Gathering

          22nd November 2013

        • Obama Сhanges Direction in the Middle East

          20th November 2013

        • Veterans Day and Foreign Interventionism

          19th November 2013

        • Exclusive: Watch Ron Paul's 'Plea For Peace'

          18th November 2013

        • Drones, Tanks, and Grenade Launchers: Coming Soon to a Police Department Near You

          18th November 2013

        • Ron Paul: The US is in the Middle of an Intellectual Revolution

          17th November 2013

        • Understanding Media Propaganda About Recent Talks Over Iran's Nuclear Program

          17th November 2013

        • The Iran Question – What Next?

          16th November 2013

        • Quitting Over Syria

          15th November 2013

        • Handing Off Ron Paul's Chevette 'Green Pea'

          14th November 2013

        • What Is The Real Agenda Of The American Police State?

          14th November 2013

        • Obama's Refusal to Respect Iran's Sovereignty and Treaty Rights is Leaving America on the Self-Defeating Path to War

          14th November 2013

        • FBI v. The First Amendment: The US Government's Investigation of Antiwar.com

          13th November 2013

        • Who's to Blame for Battlefield America? Is It Militarized Police or the Militarized Culture?

          11th November 2013

        • Thoughts on Veterans Day

          11th November 2013

        • US Expands Missile Defense Plans in Romania

          9th November 2013

        • Welcome to Deming, New Mexico -- Where Police Rape is a Matter of 'Protocol'

          8th November 2013

        • How America Was Lost

          8th November 2013

        • What I Told The Homeland Security Committee

          7th November 2013

        • America's Moment of Truth About Iran

          7th November 2013

        • Syria Analysts, Impartial? Not likely!

          6th November 2013

        • America's Lead Iran Negotiator Misrepresents U.S. Policy (and International Law) to Congress

          5th November 2013

        • Welcome to the United Police States of America, Where Police Shoot First & Ask Questions Later

          4th November 2013

        • Ramblin' Man: John Kerry is a Figure of His Times (and That's Not a Good Thing)

          4th November 2013

        • What Was Not Said About Iraq

          3rd November 2013

        • Ben Franklin Was Right About the NSA

          2nd November 2013

      • October
        • Overreach: MN Judge Puts Crimp in MDA's 10-Year Pursuit of Raw Dairy Farmer Hartmann

          31st October 2013

        • Obama, NSA Spying and the Dangers of Secretive, Authoritarian Government

          30th October 2013

        • Ron Paul: How Americans Rejected War

          29th October 2013

        • Israel and the NSA: Partners in Crime

          29th October 2013

        • Rep. Rogers To The French: You're Welcome

          28th October 2013

        • A Welcome US/Saudi 'Reset'

          27th October 2013

        • Al-Qaeda's Corridor Through Syria

          26th October 2013

        • Stasi Meets Steve Jobs

          26th October 2013

        • Crying Wolf Over Iran

          26th October 2013

        • Beirut Bombings at 30: Interventionism Kills

          23rd October 2013

        • As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap

          23rd October 2013

        • Who Will Protect You from the Police? The Rise of Government-Sanctioned Home Invasions

          22nd October 2013

        • Washington Casts Blame for Expansion of Al-Qaeda on Turkey

          21st October 2013

        • Ukraine: Europe's Partner or Puppet?

          20th October 2013

        • British Press Shills for Syria War With 'Baby Snipers' Story

          20th October 2013

        • Does Our Military Spending Really Make Us Better Off?

          18th October 2013

        • Obama Sidesteps Detractors to Engage Iran

          18th October 2013

        • American Hemp Farming Poised for Resurgence Despite US Prohibition

          17th October 2013

        • The OPCW wins Nobel by default

          16th October 2013

        • Will Obama Blow His Diplomatic Opportunity with Iran?

          14th October 2013

        • Obscuring the Details: A Panoramic Look at America's Case Against Syria

          14th October 2013

        • That Big Salmonella Outbreak: Chickens Coming Home to Roost on Bankrupt Food Safety Double Standard

          12th October 2013

        • The Myth of American Exceptionalism

          11th October 2013

        • The Fourth Branch of Government

          10th October 2013

        • Saudis to Unify Hardline Islamist Groups in Syria

          10th October 2013

        • St. Tony Does Tirana...Again

          9th October 2013

        • Is Turkey on the Cusp of Rethink on Syria?

          8th October 2013

        • Transforming America's Schools into Authoritarian Instruments of Compliance

          7th October 2013

        • An Opening to Iran?

          6th October 2013

        • CIA Activities in Syria: Stepped Up Aid to Islamists

          6th October 2013

        • Libya in Chaos Two Years After NATO's 'Humanitarian Liberation'

          4th October 2013

        • What Can Be Learned From the Golden Dawn Arrests?

          3rd October 2013

        • Mother Agnes Mariam Attacked...By Human Rights Watch!

          2nd October 2013

      • September
        • Own a Piece of Ron Paul History

          30th September 2013

        • From NSA Spying and VIPR Sweeps to Domestic Drones: A Round-Up of the Police State Programs NOT Affected by a Government Shutdown

          30th September 2013

        • AFRICOM: The US Pivot to Africa

          29th September 2013

        • The Dragon Enters NATO's Orchard

          29th September 2013

        • A Grand Bargain for Liberty?

          29th September 2013

        • East Ghouta: False Flag Chemical Attack

          28th September 2013

        • Ron Paul Electrifies on Jay Leno

          27th September 2013

        • Obama at the UN: Syrian Blues and a Persian Puzzle

          25th September 2013

        • Kenya Mall Attack: The Bitter Fruits of Interventionism

          25th September 2013

        • US Policy is to Prolong the Violence in Syria

          24th September 2013

        • Washington's Tyranny

          24th September 2013

        • Can Washington Reciprocate Iran's 'Constructive Engagement'?

          23rd September 2013

        • Lawrence Wilkerson Interview: 'John McCain and Lindsey Graham Need to Shut Their Mouths'

          22nd September 2013

        • Ron Paul Institute at LPAC Conference

          21st September 2013

        • Ron Paul With Charlie Rose: 'The Meaning of Non-Interventionism'

          20th September 2013

        • Serving America's War Machine

          19th September 2013

        • RPI Advisor Kucinich Interviews Syrian President Assad

          19th September 2013

        • McAdams Talks New Ron Paul Book, Syria With Jay Taylor

          18th September 2013

        • Five Lies Invented to Spin UN Report on Syria

          18th September 2013

        • RPI at the Liberty Political Action Conference

          17th September 2013

        • A Short History of the War on Syria, 2006-2014

          17th September 2013

        • Licensed to Kill: The Growing Phenomenon of Police Shooting Unarmed Citizens

          17th September 2013

        • Has The Tide Turned Against the Warmongers?

          16th September 2013

        • Marching Into Uncertain Future Requires Leadership

          15th September 2013

        • The People Against the 800 Pound Gorilla

          15th September 2013

        • Ron Paul Brings Down House at DePauw

          15th September 2013

        • American Exceptionalism: Putin, the Neocons, and Ron Paul

          13th September 2013

        • Holding Assad Accountable

          13th September 2013

        • Putin Steps Into World Leadership Role

          13th September 2013

        • Hillary Mann Leverett: 'Obama Made Two Unforced Errors, in Libya and Syria'

          10th September 2013

        • Ron Paul on Geraldo Rivera Radio

          10th September 2013

        • What's the Evidence Behind the Case for War?

          10th September 2013

        • Obama, Syria, and Interventionism: Ten Questions Worth Pondering

          10th September 2013

        • The Golan Heights as a Key to Understanding the Problems of Syria

          9th September 2013

        • The Wishful Thinking Left: Unwitting Agents of the Imperial Order

          8th September 2013

        • The Intelligence Community's Revolt Against Obama on Syria

          7th September 2013

        • Syria and Lessons Unlearned from The Bombing of Kosovo

          6th September 2013

        • US/Russia Summit Urgently Needed

          6th September 2013

        • Syria: The Iron in Obama's Soul

          5th September 2013

        • Ron Paul Takes on Obama-Cultists on MSNBC

          5th September 2013

        • Ron Paul on Cavuto: 'We are joining up with a group of thugs who kill Christians'

          5th September 2013

        • Ron Paul on Syria With Wolf Blitzer

          4th September 2013

        • Libya Has Moved On...Into Lawlessness and Ruin

          4th September 2013

        • Iraq: A Seething Boiler About to Explode

          4th September 2013

        • No War for Bernard Henri Lévy

          3rd September 2013

        • Call It War, Not a Shot Across the Bow

          3rd September 2013

        • Obama Nearing Point of No Return

          3rd September 2013

        • Congressional Danse Macabre Has Begun

          2nd September 2013

        • Surveillance State: We Are One Step Away from Glass Houses

          2nd September 2013

        • Lapdog Regime Journalists versus a Bona Fide Expert: Watch the Sparks Fly!

          1st September 2013

        • Will Congress Endorse Obama's War Plans? Does it Matter?

          1st September 2013

        • The Real Reason for US Syria Attack

          1st September 2013

      • August
        • Syria and the Waning of American Hegemony

          30th August 2013

        • Obama's Syria Dossier: 'Trust Us'

          30th August 2013

        • Ron Paul on Cavuto on the Baying Dogs of War

          30th August 2013

        • Obama's Flimsy Case For Attacking Syria Falls Apart

          29th August 2013

        • Iran Can Finesse Obama's Legacy

          28th August 2013

        • Obama Set for Tomahawk War: Responsibility to Attack

          28th August 2013

        • Syria: Another Western War Crime In The Making

          27th August 2013

        • Justifying the Unjustifiable: US Uses Past Crimes to Legalize Future Ones

          25th August 2013

        • US Set to Launch 'Iraq, The Sequel', in Syria

          24th August 2013

        • Ron Paul Interviewed by Larry King on Politicking Program

          24th August 2013

        • Making the World the 'Enemy'

          23rd August 2013

        • The West Strikes Back in Syria

          22nd August 2013

        • Ron Paul Talks Egypt and US One Party State on Cavuto Today

          20th August 2013

        • The NSA: 'The Abyss from Which There Is No Return'

          20th August 2013

        • Rep. Dennis Kucinich: NSA Should be Abolished

          20th August 2013

        • Should You Be Able to Buy Food Directly From Farmers? The Government Doesn't Think So

          18th August 2013

        • Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

          18th August 2013

        • NSA 'Violations' Irrelevant

          17th August 2013

        • Storm on the Nile

          17th August 2013

        • Egypt's Junta Has Nothing to Lose

          16th August 2013

        • McCain and Graham's Strange Egyptian Adventure

          12th August 2013

        • Why Are We At War in Yemen?

          11th August 2013

        • How Ron Paul Changed My Heart and Mind on War

          10th August 2013

        • Washington's Drive For Hegemony Is A Drive To War

          9th August 2013

        • Does Washington Post Purchase Create Spooky Conflict of Interest?

          8th August 2013

        • US Egypt Policy: Democracy Promotion?

          8th August 2013

        • Welcome to Post-Constitution America: The Weapons of War Come Home

          7th August 2013

        • The Ron Paul Channel Will Launch August 12th

          7th August 2013

        • Are Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

          5th August 2013

        • President José Mujica Versus the United Nations

          5th August 2013

        • Why Won't They Tell Us the Truth About NSA Spying?

          4th August 2013

        • NSA Spying: Fiction versus Fact

          3rd August 2013

        • McCain Declares War on Russia

          2nd August 2013

        • Rouhani's Inauguration and the West's Strategic Suicide

          1st August 2013

        • Time to Abolish the DHS?

          1st August 2013

      • July
        • The American Surveillance State Is Here. Can It Be Evaded?

          29th July 2013

        • Japan Must Face Up To China

          28th July 2013

        • A House Divided Over NSA Spying on Americans

          28th July 2013

        • Kafka's America: Secret Courts, Secret Laws, and Total Surveillance

          24th July 2013

        • Sen. Ron Wyden's Warning on the Surveillance State

          24th July 2013

        • NRA vs Medical Associations: Guess Who Wants You in the Government Database?

          23rd July 2013

        • The Kurdish Spring in Turkey's Backyard

          22nd July 2013

        • The Road to Nowhere: Kerry's Mideast Journey

          20th July 2013

        • The Homeland Security Monstrosity

          18th July 2013

        • Adam Kokesh and the Drugs and Guns Prosecution Trap

          18th July 2013

        • William Hague: The Foolish Puppet

          17th July 2013

        • The disease is war, Not Snowden

          17th July 2013

        • The Government's 'Passion' to Protect Us

          15th July 2013

        • RT on Ron Paul Institute and Ron Paul Channel

          13th July 2013

        • A Possible Change in Turkey's Syria Policies?

          12th July 2013

        • Why the EU is Also Desperate for Snowden's Capture

          11th July 2013

        • Ron Paul Talks the Coming Ron Paul Channel!

          8th July 2013

        • New Egyptian War: Americans Lose, Again

          7th July 2013

        • New Post

          5th July 2013

        • US Egypt Policies Don't Pass the Laugh Test

          4th July 2013

        • What is Happening in Egypt?

          4th July 2013

        • Snowden Case Highlights Deep Constitutional Erosion

          1st July 2013

        • If You Like the Surveillance State, You'll Love E-Verify

          1st July 2013

      • June
        • Ron Paul: Against Neocon Domination

          29th June 2013

        • Will Egypt Implode Tomorrow?

          29th June 2013

        • Obama's Wild Neo Con Dream

          29th June 2013

        • Why Is No One Listening to the US Government?

          24th June 2013

        • The Death of Daniel Somers

          24th June 2013

        • What We Have Learned From Afghanistan

          23rd June 2013

        • Nobody is Listening to Our Phone Calls?

          21st June 2013

        • Obama Chooses Intensified but Strategically Useless Violence over Serious Diplomacy in Syria

          20th June 2013

        • A Tipping Point in Syria Conflict

          19th June 2013

        • Ron Paul Talks NSA Spying on Neil Cavuto Today

          18th June 2013

        • It's Obama's Safari – But We're the Ones Taken for a Ride!

          17th June 2013

        • Rouhani Won the Iranian Election. Get Over it

          16th June 2013

        • US Mass Spying Loses Obama's 'Shoddy Coat of Legitimacy'

          16th June 2013

        • Obama's Syria Policy Looks a Lot Like Bush's Iraq Policy

          16th June 2013

        • Ron Paul Talks About Obama's Syria Claims

          14th June 2013

        • Obama Signals Start of US War in Syria

          14th June 2013

        • The Uprising Against Brother Erdogan

          12th June 2013

        • Iran's Presidential Election Will Surprise America's So-called Iran 'Experts'

          12th June 2013

        • Turkish Protests: A Backlash Against Interventionism?

          12th June 2013

        • Ron Paul on MSNBC: 'NSA leakers are "the real heroes"'

          11th June 2013

        • Turkey: Another Egypt?

          10th June 2013

        • Government Spying: Should We Be Shocked?

          9th June 2013

        • Ron Paul Warned Us About "1984" -- in 1984!

          9th June 2013

        • Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

          2nd June 2013

        • Those Old Colonial Lusts

          1st June 2013

        • Turkey's Erdogan Gets Taste of His Own Medicine?

          1st June 2013

      • May
        • Illinois School District Forces Students to Self-Incriminate

          31st May 2013

        • The Self-Defeating Dynamics of American Hegemony in the Middle East

          28th May 2013

        • US Makes Syria an 'Offer it Can't Refuse' – again

          27th May 2013

        • The Real Meaning of President Obama's National Security Speeches

          25th May 2013

        • When Terrorism Comes Home

          23rd May 2013

        • Tony Does Tirana

          21st May 2013

        • As Scandals Deepen, Obama, His Party, and Republicans Will Militarily Intervene in Syria

          21st May 2013

        • The Great Peacemaker U.S. and Its Benevolent Effort to Bring Peace to Syria

          21st May 2013

        • Dealing remote-control drone death

          17th May 2013

        • Boston Becomes Toxic

          16th May 2013

        • Washington's Hegemonic Ambition and U.S. Policy Toward Syria (excerpts)

          16th May 2013

        • The Rise and the Fall of the Humanitarian Interventionists

          15th May 2013

        • What No One Wants to Hear About Benghazi

          13th May 2013

        • The Iranian Nuclear Issue: What's at Stake for the BRICS

          3rd May 2013

        • The Neo-Jacobin Ideology of American Empire

          3rd May 2013

      • April
        • Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sequester - Trust?

          30th April 2013

        • Liberty Was Also Attacked in Boston

          28th April 2013

        • Scenes From the Ron Paul Institute Press Conference

          22nd April 2013

        • Congress Exploits Our Fears to Take Our Liberty

          22nd April 2013

        • New Post

          17th April 2013

        • News Analysis

          16th April 2013

        • The Coming Non-Intervention Revolution

          16th April 2013


    [Dec 30, 2017] Russian Foreign Minister: US Military Must Leave All Of Syria

    Notable quotes:
    "... For now, the Iranian's Trump-tautning has remained unanswered. The problem is that if Iran continues to dare the US, and its new regional allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, now that there is a regional axis meant to "contain" Iran by any means necessary, it won't take much for the US, and especially Israel, to respond accordingly." ..."
    "... The more desperate the establishment grows, the more rabid it will turn. For those, for whom cannot be what can't be, devastating times lie ahead. The polarization of the planet has reached a new dimension. ..."
    Dec 30, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Here is the latest from ZH on Syria

    Russian Foreign Minister: US Military Must Leave All Of Syria

    The take-away quote

    "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Thursday that US forces must leave all of Syria. Speaking to Interfax news agency, Lavrov stated that the UN Security Council has not approved the work of the United States and its coalition in Syria, nor has been invited by the legitimate Syrian government.

    Concerning a prior statement by US Defense Secretary James Matisse voicing the intent for US troops to stay in Syria until achieving progress in a political settlement, Lavrov pointed out that such statement is "surprising" because it means that Washington reserves the right to determine such progress and wants to maintain control over parts of Syrian territory in order to achieve the result it wants."

    Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 28, 2017 5:03:22 PM | 6

    elsi , Dec 28, 2017 5:50:04 PM | 7

    @Jen | Dec 28, 2017 4:10:15 PM | 4

    Well, it took also the "casuality" that the Russian Syrian base of Hmeimim was attacked by missiles launched by terrorists today...Of course, not only St. Petersburg, but the world is wide and huge...but, eventhough, I think that all these "terrorist attacks" are related...to the current insistence by Russian officials on US troops leaving Syria asap....

    psychohistorian , Dec 28, 2017 8:43:51 PM | 18
    Sometime ZH has news that is portrayed more in a propaganda manner than other times or authors...whatever. That said the link and quotes below show how the ME rhetoric is marching along

    US And Israel Reach "Secret Plan" To Counter Iran

    "One month after we reported that Israel would take the unprecedented step of sharing intelligence with Saudi Arabia as the two countries ramped up efforts to curb what they perceive as "Iranian expansion" in the region, on Thursday Israel's Channel 10 reported that Israel has also pivoted to the US and reached a similar plan to counter Iranian activity in the Middle East. As Axios adds, U.S. and Israeli officials said the joint understandings were reached in "a secret meeting" between senior Israeli and U.S. delegations at the White House on December 12th."

    "Meanwhile, apparently unconcerned by the Saudi-Israeli-US axis that has formed to contain his nation, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump would fail in his hardened stance towards Iran, saying Tehran is stronger than during the time of Ronald Reagan.

    "Reagan was more powerful and smarter than Trump, and he was a better actor in making threats, and he also moved against us and they shot down our plane,"

    Khamenei said in a speech carried on state television.

    For now, the Iranian's Trump-tautning has remained unanswered. The problem is that if Iran continues to dare the US, and its new regional allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, now that there is a regional axis meant to "contain" Iran by any means necessary, it won't take much for the US, and especially Israel, to respond accordingly."

    Beat those drums! Beat those drums! There must be a war for Trump to be a Real US President and cover for the posturing of the other two "new"(grin) regional allies.

    My hope is that instead of a war, Trump gets to oversee the US default on the national debt, which he has some experience with personally. That would be the precipitation event for the new Bretton Woods agreement about global finance going forward.

    What is the next chapter in this story and is everyone fearful enough yet?

    nottheonly1 , Dec 29, 2017 4:40:00 AM | 25
    Who Are The Leading State Sponsors of Terrorism?

    For many, that has not been a serious question for a very long time. The answer reveals, that the umpire has only two possible exit strategies. One is that start WW3 and the other one is actually not a strategy - only an exit from the world.

    Pretty much everybody is no longer wearing clothes. The naked truth is for all decent people to see. The implosion is underway and can no longer be averted. The only question that remains is how many lives will be lost/wasted and how many can be saved.

    The more desperate the establishment grows, the more rabid it will turn. For those, for whom cannot be what can't be, devastating times lie ahead. The polarization of the planet has reached a new dimension.

    And yes, I am convinced that the inability to post and glitches when typing have nothing to do with b. or this website, but everything to do with the manipulation of the internet and all it's users.

    USS America is sinking. No iceberg was needed.

    [Dec 28, 2017] On your surmise that Putin prefers Trump to Hillary and would thus have incentive to influence the election, I beg to differ. Putin is one smart statesman; he knows very well it makes no difference which candidates gets elected in US elections.

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... I accept your point that the Democrats and the Republicans are two sides of the same coin, but it's important to understand that Putin is deeply conservative and very risk averse. ..."
    "... Hillary Clinton may be a threat to Russia but she knows the "rules" and is very predictable, while Trump doesn't know the rules and appears to act on a whim ..."
    "... However, given the problems that Hillary Clinton had to overcome to get elected, backing her against Trump would be risky. So the highly risk averse Putin would logically stay out of the election entirely and all the claims of Russia hacking the election are fake news. ..."
    "... As for the alleged media campaign, my response is "so what!". Western media, including state-owned media, interferes around the world all the time so complaining about Russian state-owned media doing the same is pure hypocrisy and should be ignored. ..."
    Dec 28, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Ghost Ship , Dec 27, 2017 10:17:37 AM | 92

    Posted by: Oriental Voice | Dec 26, 2017 3:56:16 PM | 35
    On your surmise that Putin prefers Trump to Hillary and would thus have incentive to influence the election, I beg to differ. Putin is one smart statesman; he knows very well it makes no difference which candidates gets elected in US elections.

    I accept your point that the Democrats and the Republicans are two sides of the same coin, but it's important to understand that Putin is deeply conservative and very risk averse.

    Hillary Clinton may be a threat to Russia but she knows the "rules" and is very predictable, while Trump doesn't know the rules and appears to act on a whim , so if Putin were to have interfered in the 2016 presidential election, logic would suggest that he would do so on Hillary Clinton's side. However, given the problems that Hillary Clinton had to overcome to get elected, backing her against Trump would be risky. So the highly risk averse Putin would logically stay out of the election entirely and all the claims of Russia hacking the election are fake news.

    As for the alleged media campaign, my response is "so what!". Western media, including state-owned media, interferes around the world all the time so complaining about Russian state-owned media doing the same is pure hypocrisy and should be ignored.

    [Dec 26, 2017] National Security Searches for a Strategy by Philip Giraldi

    Trump is now 100% pure neocon. What a metamorphose is less a year from inauguration...
    Notable quotes:
    "... It says, with extreme hyperbole, that "China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to destabilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies, and brutalize their own people." ..."
    "... A somewhat more detailed account of what Moscow is up to is also contained in the written report, stating that "Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America's commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness to violate the sovereignty of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate its neighbors with threatening behavior, such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment of offensive capabilities." ..."
    "... Nearly every detail in the indictment of Russia can be challenged. Most notably, if anyone is forward deploying offensive capabilities in Eastern Europe or invading other countries it is the United States, a trend that continues under Donald Trump. Just this past week, Trump approved the sale of offensive weapons to Ukraine, which has already drawn a warning from Moscow and will make any dialogue with Russia unlikely. ..."
    "... And, of course, there is the usual softball for Israel claiming that "For generations the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from jihadist terrorist organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the cause of the region's problems." It is a conclusion that must make the unspeakable Benjamin Netanyahu smile. One might observe that as Israel has attacked all of its neighbors since it was founded, holding its governments blameless is a formulation that others in the region might well dispute. ..."
    "... So the Donald Trump National Security Strategy will be more of the same, a combination of the worst ideas to emerge from his two predecessors with little in the way of mitigation. Trump might balk at going toe-to-toe with North Korea because they have the actual capability to strike back and might think they have nothing to lose if they are about to be incinerated, something no bully likes to see, but Iran is certainly in the cross hairs and you best believe they have taken notice and will be preparing. Vladimir Putin too can sit back and wonder how Trump could possibly have gotten everything so ass-backwards when he had so much latitude to get at least some things right. The National Security Strategy will deliver little in the way of security but it will provide an answer to why most of the world has come to hate the United States. ..."
    Dec 26, 2017 | www.unz.com

    If one takes Trump at his word, the U.S. will use force worldwide to make sure that only Washington can dominate regionally, a frightening thought as it goes beyond even the wildest pretensions of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. And equally ridiculous are the potential consequences of such bullying – the White House clearly believes that it will make other nations respect us and follow our leadership whereas quite the reverse is likely to be true.

    On the very limited bright side, Trump did have good things to say about the benefits derived from intelligence sharing with Russia and he also spoke about both Moscow and Beijing as "rivals" and "adversaries" instead of enemies. That was very refreshing to hear but unfortunately the printed document did not say the same thing.

    The NSS report provided considerably more detail than did the speech but it also was full of generalizations and all too often relied on Washington group think to frame its options. The beginning is somewhat terrifying for one of my inclinations on foreign policy:

    "An America that is safe, prosperous, and free at home is an America with the strength, confidence, and will to lead abroad. It is an America that can preserve peace, uphold liberty, and create enduring advantages for the American people. Putting America first is the duty of our government and the foundation for U.S. leadership in the world. A strong America is in the vital interests of not only the American people, but also those around the world who want to partner with the United States in pursuit of shared interests, values, and aspirations."

    One has to ask what this "lead" and "leadership" and "partner" nonsense actually represents, particularly in light of the fact that damn near the entire world just repudiated Trump's decision to move the American Embassy in Israel as well as the nearly global rejection of his response to climate change? And Washington's alleged need to lead has brought nothing but grief to the American people starting in Korea and continuing with Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and numerous lesser stops along the way in places like Somalia, Panama and Syria. The false narrative of the threat coming from "foreigners" has actually done nothing to make Americans safer while also diminishing constitutional liberties and doing serious damage to the economy.

    The printed report is much more brutal than was Trump about the dangers facing America and it is also much more carefree in the "facts" that it chooses to present. It says, with extreme hyperbole, that "China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to destabilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies, and brutalize their own people."

    A somewhat more detailed account of what Moscow is up to is also contained in the written report, stating that "Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America's commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia demonstrated its willingness to violate the sovereignty of states in the region. Russia continues to intimidate its neighbors with threatening behavior, such as nuclear posturing and the forward deployment of offensive capabilities."

    Nearly every detail in the indictment of Russia can be challenged. Most notably, if anyone is forward deploying offensive capabilities in Eastern Europe or invading other countries it is the United States, a trend that continues under Donald Trump. Just this past week, Trump approved the sale of offensive weapons to Ukraine, which has already drawn a warning from Moscow and will make any dialogue with Russia unlikely.

    And, of course, there is the usual softball for Israel claiming that "For generations the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been understood as the prime irritant preventing peace and prosperity in the region. Today, the threats from jihadist terrorist organizations and the threat from Iran are creating the realization that Israel is not the cause of the region's problems." It is a conclusion that must make the unspeakable Benjamin Netanyahu smile. One might observe that as Israel has attacked all of its neighbors since it was founded, holding its governments blameless is a formulation that others in the region might well dispute.

    So the Donald Trump National Security Strategy will be more of the same, a combination of the worst ideas to emerge from his two predecessors with little in the way of mitigation. Trump might balk at going toe-to-toe with North Korea because they have the actual capability to strike back and might think they have nothing to lose if they are about to be incinerated, something no bully likes to see, but Iran is certainly in the cross hairs and you best believe they have taken notice and will be preparing. Vladimir Putin too can sit back and wonder how Trump could possibly have gotten everything so ass-backwards when he had so much latitude to get at least some things right. The National Security Strategy will deliver little in the way of security but it will provide an answer to why most of the world has come to hate the United States.

    [Dec 23, 2017] Seems that those cuddly White Helmets really ARE good guys in the parallel universe Guardian readers are thought to inhabit.

    Dec 23, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    Cortes , December 18, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Quite the week of Ancient History here the last few days, what with Lesbians torn between the Spartans and the Athenians (!) and the daddy of Western lawgivers, Solon, has snuck in.

    Witnesseth:

    conspiracy-theories

    Here's the article author's "bio":

    https://muckrack.com/oliviasolon/bio

    Seems (selon Solon as they'll be saying at Charlie Hebdo) that those cuddly White Helmets really ARE good guys in the parallel universe Guardian readers are thought to inhabit. The Russians done calumnify those latter day saints.

    Cortes , December 18, 2017 at 11:25 am
    Oops!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/syria-white-helmets-conspiracy-theories

    And, yes, the Imp of the Perverse forced me to use THAT word.

    marknesop , December 18, 2017 at 1:13 pm
    What a pity, such upstanding citizens smeared. Perhaps next year for the Nobel, what?
    Fern , December 19, 2017 at 5:29 am
    Ah, the pain of these folk in the MSM as they experience losing control of the narrative ..we should be more understanding and compassionate. I also love the conjugation of the Guardian's irregular verbs we are independent, impartial journalists who are experts on Syria because we talk only to those people who share our views, you are a mere blogger, they, being courageous folk like Vanessa Beeley and Eva Bartlett who've actually been to Syria and talked to people outside the western bubble are Assad and Putin stooges.

    [Dec 23, 2017] Slovenia is among the Coalition of the 128 NOT willing to be punked by USA. Melania better keep a low profile around Trump and Nikki

    Dec 23, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    Northern Star , , December 21, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    Uh Oh Slovenia is among the Coalition of the 128 NOT willing to be punked by USA..

    Maybe some panic stricken late night 911 DV calls from the WH??

    Melania better keep a low profile around Trump and Nikki !!!!!! LOL!!

    Jen , December 21, 2017 at 2:48 pm
    India was naughty as well and Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley ought to have taken the Indian ambassador's name down as well. Maybe she'll even declare she won't ever set foot in India again. Her relatives there will breathe sighs of relief!
    Cortes , December 21, 2017 at 4:27 pm
    She's made herself untouchable.
    Jen , December 21, 2017 at 8:03 pm
    Ha ha!
    Moscow Exile , December 21, 2017 at 8:41 pm
    She makes me Sikh

    [Dec 22, 2017] A Stunning Rebuke 128 Nations Support UN Call For Trump To Withdraw Jerusalem Decision

    Notable quotes:
    "... America has lost moral grounds. Its propaganda machine is falling apart exposing America as an international outlaw ..."
    "... America is in a situation when it cannot wage an open full-scale war and it cannot negotiate anything. For example, a war with N. Korea potentially will be an extremely bloody for America with totally unpredictable consequences and, at the same time, America cannot negotiate anything since, in a case of Iran, Trump stated that he did not give a shit to any negotiated agreements. ..."
    "... Trump vision of making America great is to be a greater lackey of Israel and by impoverishing the America middle class by enriching his lenders on the Wall Street. ..."
    Dec 22, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    C_Tacitus -> Truthoutthere , Dec 21, 2017 6:14 PM

    Meanwhile in the Trump administration neo-cons are filling up the senior ranks on foreign policy : (well word the read)

    " there are many vacancies, which has opened the door to eager neoconservative-leaning nominal Republicans to re-enter government . At the State Department Brian Hook of the neocon John Hay Initiative is now chief of policy planning, courtesy of Margaret Peterlin, Tillerson's chief of staff. They have recently hired David Feith , the son of the infamous Pentagon Office of Special Plans head Doug Feith , to head the Asia desk. And Wes Mitchell , whose policies are largely indistinguishable from his predecessor, has replaced Victoria Nuland as Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs . While Elliot Abrams, Eliot Cohen, the Kagans and other prominent neocons have been blocked, second-tier activists carrying less political baggage have quietly been brought in . "

    " The unfortunate Donald Trump Administration decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel serves no visible American interest , in spite of what some of the always-loyal-to-Israel punditry has been suggesting. Israel is already moving to exploit the situation in its usual fashion . Immediately after the announcement was made, Israeli Ambassador in Washington Ron Dermer suggested that the decision on Jerusalem could now be extended to include other disputed areas, most particularly Syria's Golan Heights that were occupied in 1967"

    " Nothing good will come out of the Trump decision as the situation in the region is already starting to unravel. The Turks are talking about opening an Embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem and the 56 other Muslim countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation might follow suit."

    philipat -> C_Tacitus , Dec 21, 2017 7:24 PM

    The perfect example of the present state of American "morality". We are paying you off to agree with us and if not we will take our ball and go home. And as for Haley's comment that "This is what the American people want and is the right thing to do", when were the American people ever asked and who says it is the right thing to do other than neocons?

    Sanctions and Miltary intervention is the sum total of US foreign policy. Is it any wonder that the Chinese are winning friends and making inroads around the world by engaging in quiet diplomacy and reaching win/win investment solutions with no political demands made on the host country.

    caconhma -> BennyBoy , Dec 21, 2017 11:14 PM

    The Trump's foreign policies are a total catastrophe:

    • America has lost moral grounds. Its propaganda machine is falling apart exposing America as an international outlaw
    • America is in a situation when it cannot wage an open full-scale war and it cannot negotiate anything. For example, a war with N. Korea potentially will be an extremely bloody for America with totally unpredictable consequences and, at the same time, America cannot negotiate anything since, in a case of Iran, Trump stated that he did not give a shit to any negotiated agreements.
    • Trump vision of making America great is to be a greater lackey of Israel and by impoverishing the America middle class by enriching his lenders on the Wall Street.
    techpriest -> The_Juggernaut , Dec 21, 2017 1:37 PM

    IIRC from my international affairs classes, the UN was always a rubber stamp for American interests. Every "international" organization was like this. Now, we see the tables are turning and we might end up ditching these organizations as the Empire no longer controls them.

    techpriest -> Mementoil , Dec 21, 2017 1:41 PM

    Look back at the Korean War. Originally, the loss of sovereignty was meant to be an MIC rubber stamp, to commit the US to war while going around Congress. In other words, the UN was the MIC's rubber stamp to approve whatever it wanted, without Congressional approval, and without making American politicians bear the burden of guilt.

    C_Tacitus -> Mementoil , Dec 21, 2017 2:09 PM

    Stop right there trollie .... the ONLY outrageous challenge to US "sovereignty" is the Zionist talmudist ethnocentric chosenites who have their "dual"-citizens pulling the strings on US foreign policy:

    "Neoconservative Douglas Feith writes a position paper entitled "A Strategy for Israel." Feith proposes that Israel re-occupy "the areas under Palestinian Authority control" even though "the price in blood would be high." [Commentary, 9/1997; American Conservative, 3/24/2003; In These Times, 3/13/2007] Feith is the co-author of the 1996 position paper "A Clean Break" (see July 8, 1996), which advocates a similar aggressive posture for Israel."

    "January 30, 2001: First National Security Council Meeting Focuses on Iraq and Israel, Not Terrorism. The Bush White House holds its first National Security Council meeting. The focus is on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...But Bush isn't interested in terrorism...Instead, Bush channels his neoconservative advisers, particularly incoming Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz... in taking a new approach to Middle East affairs, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

    Rice begins noting "that Iraq might be the key to reshaping the entire region."...Bush orders Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Hugh Shelton to begin preparing options for the use of US ground forces in Iraq's northern and southern no-fly zones in support of a native-based insurgency against the Hussein regime..."Meeting adjourned. Ten days in, and it was about Iraq...

    "US Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, later recalls: "From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go. From the very first instance, it was about Iraq. It was about what we can do to change this regime...officials never questioned the logic behind this policy. No one ever asked, "Why Saddam?" and "Why now?" Instead, the issue that needed to be resolved was how this could be accomplished. "It was all about finding a way to do it," O'Neill will explain. "That was the tone of it. The president saying 'Go find me a way to do this.'""

    "The president told his Pentagon officials to explore the military options, including use of ground forces..."These were the policies that even the Israeli right had not dared to implement." One senior administration official says after the meeting, "The Likudniks are really in charge now."..."

    "Shortly After September 11, 2001: Pentagon Officials Wolfowitz and Feith Set Up Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group"

    "Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith set up a secret intelligence unit, named the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group (CTEG -- sometimes called the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group), to sift through raw intelligence reports and look for evidence of a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda... George Packer will later describe their process, writing, "Wurmser and Maloof were working deductively, not inductively: The premise was true; facts would be found to confirm it."...Critics claim that its members manipulate and distort intelligence, "cherry-picking" bits of information that support their preconceived conclusions... They were cherry-picking intelligence and packaging it for [Vice President] Cheney and [Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld to take to the president. That's the kind of rogue operation that peer review is intended to prevent."...A defense official later adds, "There is a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Defense Department and the intelligence community, to include its own Defense Intelligence Agency. Wolfowitz and company disbelieve any analysis that doesn't support their own preconceived conclusions. The CIA is enemy territory, as far are they're concerned."... For weeks, the unit will attempt to uncover evidence tying Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks, a theory advocated by both Feith and Wolfowitz..."

    "The rest of the US intelligence community is not impressed with CTEG's work. "I don't have any problem with [the Pentagon] bringing in a couple of people to take another look at the intelligence and challenge the assessment," former DIA analyst Patrick Lang will later say. "But the problem is that they brought in people who were not intelligence professionals, people were brought in because they thought like them. They knew what answers they were going to get."..."

    "Dismissing CIA's Findings that Iraq, al-Qaeda are Not Linked... In CTEG's view, policy makers should overlook any equivocations and discrepancies and dismiss the CIA's guarded conclusions: "[T]he CIA report ought to be read for content only -- and CIA's interpretation ought to be ignored." Their decision is powered by Wolfowitz, who has instructed them to ignore the intelligence community's view that al-Qaeda and Iraq were doubtful allies. They also embrace the theory that 9/11 hijacker Mohammad Atta met with an Iraqi official in Prague, a theory discredited by intelligence professionals..."

    "The group is later accused of stovepiping intelligence directly to the White House. Lang later tells the Washington Times: "That unit had meetings with senior White House officials without the CIA or the Senate being aware of them. That is not legal. There has to be oversight." According to Lang and another US intelligence official, the two men go to the White House several times to brief officials, bypassing CIA analysts whose analyses they disagreed with..."

    C_Tacitus -> C_Tacitus , Dec 21, 2017 2:57 PM

    For those how do not want to read the article I've linked to these quotes let me highlight a few passages (apologies in advance as someone replied to my previous article so I could not do it prior):

    "Neoconservative Douglas Feith writes a position paper entitled " A Strategy for Israel ." Feith proposes that Israel re-occupy "the areas under Palestinian Authority control" even though "the price in blood would be high." [Commentary, 9/1997; American Conservative, 3/24/2003; In These Times, 3/13/2007] Feith is the co-author of the 1996 position paper " A Clean Break " (see July 8, 1996), which advocates a similar aggressive posture for Israel."

    " January 30, 2001 : First National Security Council Meeting Focuses on Iraq and Israel, Not Terrorism

    The Bush White House holds its first National Security Council meeting. The focus is on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...But Bush isn't interested in terrorism ...Instead, Bush channels his neoconservative advisers, particularly incoming Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz... in taking a new approach to Middle East affairs, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

    Rice begins noting "that Iraq might be the key to reshaping the entire region."...Bush orders Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Hugh Shelton to begin preparing options for the use of US ground forces in Iraq's northern and southern no-fly zones in support of a native-based insurgency against the Hussein regime..."Meeting adjourned. Ten days in, and it was about Iraq ...

    "US Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill, later recalls: "From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go. From the very first instance, it was about Iraq . It was about what we can do to change this regime...officials never questioned the logic behind this policy . No one ever asked, "Why Saddam?" and "Why now?" Instead, the issue that needed to be resolved was how this could be accomplished. " It was all about finding a way to do it ," O'Neill will explain. "That was the tone of it. The president saying 'Go find me a way to do this.'""

    "The president told his Pentagon officials to explore the military options, including use of ground forces ..."These were the policies that even the Israeli right had not dared to implement." One senior administration official says after the meeting, "The Likudniks are really in charge now."..."

    "Shortly After September 11, 2001: Pentagon Officials Wolfowitz and Feith Set Up Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group"

    "Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith set up a secret intelligence unit, named the Counter Terrorism Evaluation Group (CTEG -- sometimes called the Policy Counterterrorism Evaluation Group), to sift through raw intelligence reports and look for evidence of a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda... George Packer will later describe their process, writing, "Wurmser and Maloof were working deductively, not inductively: The premise was true; facts would be found to confirm it ."...Critics claim that its members manipulate and distort intelligence, "cherry-picking" bits of information that support their preconceived conclusions... They were cherry-picking intelligence and packaging it for [Vice President] Cheney and [Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld to take to the president. That's the kind of rogue operation that peer review is intended to prevent. "...A defense official later adds, "There is a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Defense Department and the intelligence community, to include its own Defense Intelligence Agency. Wolfowitz and company disbelieve any analysis that doesn't support their own preconceived conclusions . The CIA is enemy territory, as far are they're concerned."... For weeks, the unit will attempt to uncover evidence tying Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks, a theory advocated by both Feith and Wolfowitz..."

    "The rest of the US intelligence community is not impressed with CTEG's work. "I don't have any problem with [the Pentagon] bringing in a couple of people to take another look at the intelligence and challenge the assessment," former DIA analyst Patrick Lang will later say. "But the problem is that they brought in people who were not intelligence professionals , people were brought in because they thought like them. They knew what answers they were going to get ."..."

    "Dismissing CIA's Findings that Iraq, al-Qaeda are Not Linked... In CTEG's view, policy makers should overlook any equivocations and discrepancies and dismiss the CIA's guarded conclusions: "[T]he CIA report ought to be read for content only -- and CIA's interpretation ought to be ignored." Their decision is powered by Wolfowitz, who has instructed them to ignore the intelligence community's view that al-Qaeda and Iraq were doubtful allies . They also embrace the theory that 9/11 hijacker Mohammad Atta met with an Iraqi official in Prague, a theory discredited by intelligence professionals..."

    "The group is later accused of stovepiping intelligence directly to the White House . Lang later tells the Washington Times: " That unit had meetings with senior White House officials without the CIA or the Senate being aware of them . That is not legal . There has to be oversight." According to Lang and another US intelligence official, the two men go to the White House several times to brief officials, bypassing CIA analysts whose analyses they disagreed with ..."

    http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=western_support_for_islam...

    Oldwood -> C_Tacitus , Dec 21, 2017 7:48 PM

    Oh, that's right. Bill Clinton and the Democrats NEVER condoned regime change in Iraq. Just like they NEVER proposed accepting Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

    ... .. ...

    Hans-Zandvliet -> drendebe10 , Dec 22, 2017 2:18 AM

    The UN is Washington's most powerfull tool to keep the rest of the world in check.

    And because Washington wants to preserve the global status quo (which has been constructed to Washington's advantage), the UN is not allowed to do "anything productive".

    As a Gringo, you should be damn content with the UN, because Washington's control over the UN facilitates your luxurious Gringo-lifestyle.

    But you can't have it all: AND a luxurious Gringo-lifestyle AND the applause of the rest of the world.

    UN, IMF and World Bank are just the three pillars on which the neo-colonial US-empire is built.

    Most of the world would wish to be liberated from you Gringos,but you don't even realize what you're wishing for, because you've never looked beyond your home-town, next month's pay check or thought about what happened longer than a week ago.

    Hans-Zandvliet -> NugginFuts , Dec 22, 2017 2:02 AM

    "Could we just finally leave the UN now? Or are we waiting for them to finally like us?"

    Yes! Please! Leave! Go with god, but go!

    I think it's long over due to move the UN out of New York to any-place-is-better. To be blackmailed by its xenofobic USA-host, is just unacceptably lethal to a plurinational institution like the UN.

    Maybe the Crimea Peninsula would be a rather suitable place: it's more central for most of the rest of the world and Russia is a much more respectful and hospitable host.

    To be rid of the two most murderous rogue states of the UN, would make life so much easier for the rest of the world. Without the USA and Israel, the UN would be able to advance with leaps on a laundry list of bogged down global problems.

    I'm quite sure that within a few years of voluntary isolation, the USA and Israel would come back, begging to be atmitted again to the UN. But of course, the USA would not get back its veto right in the Security Counsil anymore.

    Crazy Or Not -> tmosley , Dec 21, 2017 2:43 PM

    > Gotta love those no-lose situations..

    While its populist to shit post the UN, many here are smarter than that. Likely you appreciate this may be the first signs of the great pivot East. Putin & Xi Jingping will be crunching their popcorn with interest at this, if not cackling down the phone to each other. US may well save on its UN subscriptions if this course is pursued, the end result will be UN HQ will move, not to Switzerland, but to Bejing and with it American isolationism in a way thats not been experienced since the great depression. More than anything else, the US needs foreign trade, and that calls for engagement.

    The disturbing part is why choose now to recognise Jerusalem? What exactly has Israel done for the US? Dance on some rooftops while WTC came down? Caused havoc to most of her neighbors? Schemed and conived to set one neighbor against another.

    The Don knew this would sit badly abroad, possibly it's linked with some push back against Putin in Syria, and to tell Iraq how pissed he is they rained on the Kurdish State parade. Likely it includes some MIC trade off to pull CiA dogs off his back??? IDK - but it will forment more dissent in Middle East, and since that's where much of the world's oil & gas still comes from, we'll all feel the hit.

    It seems an action more guided by the Generals? and whilst US does have a formidable military to add leverage to decisions, it's military infrastructure was built in the cold war. Much of it in need of replacement:

    https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2017/10/31/americas-nuclear-we...

    There may be some short term MAGA in this, but the bill will come later, and it will be painful. IMHO.

    opport.knocks -> Crazy Or Not , Dec 21, 2017 3:57 PM

    Stop overthinking. This is nothing more than a campaign funding promise to Sheldon Adelson and his conservative Isreali-American Council (note which name appears first). $50+ million to his campaign, $5 million to inauguration.

    https://972mag.com/is-sheldon-adelson-behind-trumps-decision-on-jerusale...

    Some even think the Las Vegas shooting (Adelson owns Las Vegas) was a not so subtle signal to Trump to get on with it or more events like it would happen.

    Crazy Or Not , Dec 21, 2017 12:52 PM

    Polyanna says: "But but we introduce peace and democracy around the world"

    https://williamblum.org/essays/read/overthrowing-other-peoples-governmen...

    me or you , Dec 21, 2017 12:58 PM

    The Empire of Chaos is falling apart. The whole world is now together to fight the evil who threats humanity.

    Soph , Dec 21, 2017 12:58 PM

    I would think "Go fuck yourselves" seems to be the appropriate diplomatic response from Trump and his team.

    totenkopf88 -> Soph , Dec 21, 2017 1:15 PM

    "Go fuck yourself" is what Trump is telling his base

    Eyes Opened -> Soph , Dec 21, 2017 3:34 PM

    Seems like Murica likes to GIVE bloody noses.... but not be on the recieving end of a bloody nose....hypocritical ??

    foxenburg , Dec 21, 2017 1:01 PM

    "Haley warned the international body that the U.S. would remember the vote as a betrayal by the U.N"

    She should remember the vote as being a complete rejection of the USA and its values by 128 sovereign nations.

    It also shows how popular Israel is.

    Albertarocks -> Davidduke2000 , Dec 21, 2017 1:19 PM

    Canada's entire economic system is so incredibly connected to the USA that it is to a great extent dependent on a happy and prosperous USA. The last thing Canada needs right now (since the country already has an embarrassing buffoon as a leader) is to upset the US.

    To abstain was their only option, especially since it was known that it would make no difference in the vote. So it was the wise choice. It had little to do with dumbass Trudeau.

    [Dec 22, 2017] US elites and media are constantly freaking out about some Iranian "empire" supposedly being created and threatening US allies in the mideas

    Notable quotes:
    "... The supposed threat of an Iranian empire is a common theme in interventionist US media and in certain think tanks/pressure groups, even five minutes of googling produced this: ..."
    Dec 22, 2017 | www.unz.com

    German_reader , December 18, 2017 at 9:51 pm GMT

    @Art Deco US elites and media are constantly freaking out about some Iranian "empire" supposedly being created and threatening US allies in the mideast since you seem to put great trust in their credibility, shouldn't that concern you?

    Personally I think those fears are exaggerated, but how can it be denied that Iran's influence has increased a lot in recent years and that the removal of Saddam's regime facilitated that development?

    Iranian revolutionary guards and Iranian-backed Shia militias operate in Iraq, the Iraqi government maintains close ties to Iran, and Iran is also an active participant in the Syrian civil war would that have been conceivable like this before 2003?

    German_reader , December 18, 2017 at 10:46 pm GMT
    @Art Deco

    No, they aren't.

    The supposed threat of an Iranian empire is a common theme in interventionist US media and in certain think tanks/pressure groups, even five minutes of googling produced this:

    https://nypost.com/2015/02/01/the-iranian-dream-of-a-reborn-persian-empire/

    http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/01/15/fmr-nato-supreme-allied-commander-stavridis-iran-will-be-imperial-power-due-to-iran-deals-golden-shower-of-money/

    https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/iran/iran-and-the-imperialism-hypocrisy/

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/30/what-to-do-about-an-imperial-iran-middle-east-persia-regional-dominance/

    http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/may-clifford-d-the-new-persian-empire/ (btw, the Foundation for defense of democracies agrees with me that the removal of Saddam's regime was to Iran's benefit).

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/henry-kissinger-isis-iranian-radical-empire-middle-east-a7881541.html

    Obviously I don't want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, though imo US policy in this regard has been rather counter-productive recently.

    Regarding the Iraq war, it's probably pointless to continue the discussion, if you want to continue regarding it as a great idea, I won't argue with you.

    Randal , December 18, 2017 at 11:14 pm GMT
    @German_reader

    And after 9/11 I was very pro-US, e.g. I argued vehemently with a stupid leftie teacher who was against the Afghanistan war (and I still believe that war was justified, so I don't think I'm just some mindless anti-American fool). But Iraq was just too much, too much obvious lying and those lies were so stupid it was hard not to feel that there was something deeply wrong with a large part of the American public if they were gullible enough to believe such nonsense. At least for me it was a real turning point in the evolution of my political views.

    The common factor amongst you, reiner and myself here is that none of us come from a dogmatically anti-American background or personal world-view, nor from a dogmatically pacifist one.

    As I've probably noted here previously, I grew up very pro-American and very pro-NATO in the late Cold War, and as a strong supporter of Thatcher and Reagan. I saw the fall of the Soviet Union as a glorious triumph and a vindication of all the endless arguments against anti-American lefties and CND numpties. I also strongly supported the Falklands War (the last genuinely justified and intelligent war fought by my country, imo) and also the war against Iraq in 1990/1, though I'm a little less certain on that one nowadays. I'm significantly older than you both, it seems, however, and it was watching US foreign policy in the 1990s, culminating in the Kosovo war, that convinced me that the US is now the problem and not the solution.

    When the facts changed, I changed my opinion.

    So I was a war or two ahead of you, chronologically, because I'm older, but we've travelled pretty much the same road. Our views on America have been created by US foreign policy choices.

    [Dec 21, 2017] The RussiaGate Witch-Hunt Stockman Names Names In The Deep State's Insurance Policy by David Stockman

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Needless to say, the Never Trumpers were eminently correct in their worry that Trump would sully, degrade and weaken the Imperial Presidency. That he has done in spades with his endless tweet storms that consist mainly of petty score settling, self-justification, unseemly boasting and shrill partisanship; and on top of that you can pile his impetuous attacks on friend, foe and bystanders (e.g. NFL kneelers) alike. ..."
    Dec 18, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    Deep State's "Insurance Policy" Tyler Durden Dec 18, 2017 11:05 PM 0 SHARES Authored by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

    There was a sinister plot to meddle in the 2016 election, after all. But it was not orchestrated from the Kremlin; it was an entirely homegrown affair conducted from the inner sanctums---the White House, DOJ, the Hoover Building and Langley----of the Imperial City.

    Likewise, the perpetrators didn't speak Russian or write in the Cyrillic script. In fact, they were lifetime beltway insiders occupying the highest positions of power in the US government.

    Here are the names and rank of the principal conspirators:

    • John Brennan, CIA director;
    • Susan Rice, National Security Advisor;
    • Samantha Power, UN Ambassador;
    • James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence;
    • James Comey, FBI director;
    • Andrew McCabe, Deputy FBI director;
    • Sally Yates, deputy Attorney General,
    • Bruce Ohr, associate deputy AG;
    • Peter Strzok, deputy assistant director of FBI counterintelligence;
    • Lisa Page, FBI lawyer;
    • and countless other lessor and greater poobahs of Washington power, including President Obama himself.

    To a person, the participants in this illicit cabal shared the core trait that made Obama such a blight on the nation's well-being. To wit, he never held an honest job outside the halls of government in his entire adult life; and as a careerist agent of the state and practitioner of its purported goods works, he exuded a sanctimonious disdain for everyday citizens who make their living along the capitalist highways and by-ways of America.

    The above cast of election-meddlers, of course, comes from the same mold. If Wikipedia is roughly correct, just these 10 named perpetrators have punched in about 300 years of post-graduate employment---and 260 of those years (87%) were on government payrolls or government contractor jobs.

    As to whether they shared Obama's political class arrogance, Peter Strzok left nothing to the imagination in his now celebrated texts to his gal-pal, Lisa Page:

    "Just went to a southern Virginia Walmart. I could SMELL the Trump support......I LOATHE congress....And F Trump."

    You really didn't need the ALL CAPS to get the gist. In a word, the anti-Trump cabal is comprised of creatures of the state.

    Their now obvious effort to alter the outcome of the 2016 election was nothing less than the Imperial City's immune system attacking an alien threat, which embodied the very opposite trait: That is, the Donald had never spent one moment on the state's payroll, had been elected to no government office and displayed a spirited contempt for the groupthink and verities of officialdom in the Imperial City.

    But it is the vehemence and flagrant transparency of this conspiracy to prevent Trump's ascension to the Oval Office that reveals the profound threat to capitalism and democracy posed by the Deep State and its prosperous elites and fellow travelers domiciled in the Imperial City.

    That is to say, Donald Trump was no kind of anti-statist and only a skin-deep populist, at best. His signature anti-immigrant meme was apparently discovered by accident when in the early days of the campaign he went off on Mexican thugs, rapists and murderers----only to find that it resonated strongly among a certain element of the GOP grass roots.

    But a harsh line on immigrants, refugees and Muslims would not have incited the Deep State into an attempted coup d'état; it wouldn't have mobilized so overtly against Ted Cruz, for example, whose positions on the ballyhooed terrorist/immigrant threat were not much different.

    No, what sent the Imperial City establishment into a fit of apoplexy was exactly two things that struck at the core of its raison d' etre.

    First was Trump's stated intentions to seek rapprochement with Putin's Russia and his sensible embrace of a non-interventionist "America First" view of Washington's role in the world. And secondly, and even more importantly, was his very persona.

    That is to say, the role of today's president is to function as the suave, reliable maître d' of the Imperial City and the lead spokesman for Washington's purported good works at home and abroad. And for that role the slovenly, loud-mouthed, narcissistic, bombastic, ill-informed and crudely-mannered Donald Trump was utterly unqualified.

    Stated differently, welfare statism and warfare statism is the secular religion of the Imperial City and its collaborators in the mainstream media; and the Oval Office is the bully pulpit from which its catechisms, bromides and self-justifications are propagandized to the unwashed masses---the tax-and-debt-slaves of Flyover America who bear the burden of its continuation.

    Needless to say, the Never Trumpers were eminently correct in their worry that Trump would sully, degrade and weaken the Imperial Presidency. That he has done in spades with his endless tweet storms that consist mainly of petty score settling, self-justification, unseemly boasting and shrill partisanship; and on top of that you can pile his impetuous attacks on friend, foe and bystanders (e.g. NFL kneelers) alike.

    Yet that is exactly what has the Deep State and its media collaborators running scared. To wit, Trump's entire modus operandi is not about governing or a serious policy agenda---and most certainly not about Making America's Economy Great Again. (MAEGA)

    By appointing a passel of Keynesian monetary central planners to the Fed and launching an orgy of fiscal recklessness via his massive defense spending and tax-cutting initiatives, the Donald has more than sealed his own doom: There will unavoidably be a massive financial and economic crisis in the years just ahead and the rulers of the Imperial City will most certainly heap the blame upon him with malice aforethought.

    In the interim, however, what the Donald is actually doing is sharply polarizing the country and using the Bully Pulpit for the very opposite function assigned to it by Washington's permanent political class. Namely, to discredit and vilify the ruling elites of government and the media and thereby undermine the docility and acquiescence of the unwashed masses upon which the Imperial City's rule and hideous prosperity depend.

    It is no wonder, then, that the inner circle of the Obama Administration plotted an "insurance policy". They saw it coming-----that is, an offensive rogue disrupter who was soft on Russia, to boot--- and out of that alarm the entire hoax of RussiaGate was born.

    As is now well known from the recent dump of 375 Strzok/Gates text messages, there occurred on August 15, 2016 a meeting in the office of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (who is still there) to kick off the RussiaGate campaign. As Strzok later wrote to Page, who was also at the meeting:

    " I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office -- that there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk......It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event that you die before you're 40."

    They will try to spin this money quote seven-ways to Sunday, but in the context of everything else now known there is only one possible meaning: The national security and law enforcement machinery of Imperial Washington was being activated then and there in behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

    Indeed, the trail of proof is quite clear. At the very time of this August meeting, the FBI was already being fed the initial elements of the Steele dossier, and the latter had nothing to do with any kind of national security investigation.

    For crying out loud, it was plain old "oppo research" paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC. And the only way that it bore on Russian involvement in the US election was that virtually all of the salacious material and false narratives about Trump emissaries meeting with high level Russian officials was disinformation sourced in Moscow, and was completely untrue.

    As former senior FBI official, Andrew McCarthy, neatly summarized the sequence of action recently:

    The Clinton campaign generated the Steele dossier through lawyers who retained Fusion GPS. Fusion, in turn, hired Steele, a former British intelligence agent who had FBI contacts from prior collaborative investigations. The dossier was steered into the FBI's hands as it began to be compiled in the summer of 2016. A Fusion Russia expert, Nellie Ohr, worked with Steele on Fusion's anti-Trump research. She is the wife of Bruce Ohr, then the deputy associate attorney general -- the top subordinate of Sally Yates, then Obama's deputy attorney general (later acting AG). Ohr was a direct pipeline to Yates.....

    Based on the publication this week of text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer with whom he was having an extramarital affair, we have learned of a meeting convened in the office of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe...... right around the time the Page FISA warrant was obtained......

    Bruce Ohr met personally with Steele. And after Trump was elected, according to Fusion founder Glenn Simpson, he requested and got a meeting with Simpson to, as Simpson told the House Intelligence Committee, "discuss our findings regarding Russia and the election."

    This, of course, was the precise time Democrats began peddling the public narrative of Trump-Russia collusion. It is the time frame during which Ohr's boss, Yates, was pushing an absurd Logan Act investigation of Trump transition official Michael Flynn (then slotted to become Trump's national-security adviser) over Flynn's meetings with the Russian ambassador.

    Here's the thing. There is almost nothing in the Steele dossiers which is true. At the same time, there is no real alternative evidence based on hard NSA intercepts that show Russian government agents were behind the only two acts----the leaks of the DNC emails and the Podesta emails----that were of even minimal import to the outcome of the 2016 presidential campaign.

    As to the veracity of the dossier, the raving anti-Trumper and former CIA interim chief, Michael Morrell, settled the matter. If you are paying ex-FSA agents for information on the back streets of Moscow, the more you pay, the more "information" you will get:

    Then I asked myself, why did these guys provide this information, what was their motivation? And I subsequently learned that he paid them. That the intermediaries paid the sources and the intermediaries got the money from Chris. And that kind of worries me a little bit because if you're paying somebody, particularly former [Russian Federal Security Service] officers, they are going to tell you truth and innuendo and rumor, and they're going to call you up and say, 'Hey, let's have another meeting, I have more information for you,' because they want to get paid some more,' Morrell said.

    Far from being "verified," the dossier is best described as a pack of lies, gossip, innuendo and irrelevancies. Take, for example, the claim that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen met with Russian Federation Council foreign affairs head Konstantin Kosachev in Prague during August 2016. That claim is verifiably false as proven by Cohen's own passport.

    Likewise, the dossier 's claim that Carter Page was offered a giant bribe by the head of Rosneft, the Russian state energy company, in return for lifting the sanctions is downright laughable. That's because Carter Page never had any serious role in the Trump campaign and was one of hundreds of unpaid informal advisors who hung around the basket hoping for some role in a future Trump government.

    Like the hapless George Papadopoulos, in fact, Page apparently never met Trump, had no foreign policy credentials and had been drafted onto the campaign's so-called foreign policy advisory committee out of sheer desperation.

    That is, because the mainstream GOP foreign policy establishment had so completely boycotted the Trump campaign, the latter was forced to fill its advisory committee essentially from the phone book; and that desperation move in March 2016, in turn, had been undertaken in order to damp-down the media uproar over the Donald's assertion that he got his foreign policy advise from watching TV!

    The truth of the matter is that Page was a former Merrill Lynch stockbrokers who had plied his trade in Russia several years earlier. He had gone to Moscow in July 2016 on his own dime and without any mandate from the Trump campaign; and his "meeting" with Rosneft actually consisted of drinks with an old buddy from his broker days who had become head of investor relations at Rosneft.

    Nevertheless, it is pretty evident that the Steele dossier's tale about Page's alleged bribery scheme was the basis for the FISA warrant that resulted in wiretaps on Page and other officials in Trump Tower during September and October.

    And that's your insurance policy at work: The Deep State and its allies in the Obama administration were desperately looking for dirt with which to crucify the Donald, and thereby insure that the establishment's anointed candidate would not fail at the polls.

    So the question recurs as to why did the conspirators resort to the outlandish and even cartoonish disinformation contained in the Steele dossier?

    The answer to that question cuts to the quick of the entire RussiaGate hoax. To wit, that's all they had!

    Notwithstanding the massive machinery and communications vacuum cleaners operated by the $75 billion US intelligence communities and its vaunted 17 agencies, there are no digital intercepts proving that Russian state operatives hacked the DNC and Podesta emails. Period.

    Yet when it comes to anything that even remotely smacks of "meddling" in the US election campaign, that's all she wrote.

    There is nothing else of moment, and most especially not the alleged phishing expeditions directed at 20 or so state election boards. Most of these have been discredited, denied by local officials or were simply the work of everyday hackers looking for voter registration lists that could be sold.

    The patently obvious point here is that in America there is no on-line network of voting machines on either an intra-state or interstate basis. And that fact renders the whole election machinery hacking meme null and void. Not even the treacherous Russians are stupid enough to waste their time trying to hack that which is unhackable.

    In that vein, the Facebook ad buying scheme is even more ridiculous. In the context of an election campaign in which upwards of $7 billion of spending was reported by candidates and their committees to the FEC, and during which easily double that amount was spent by independent committees and issue campaigns, the notion that just $44,000 of Facebook ads made any difference to anything is not worthy of adult thought.

    And, yes, out of the ballyhooed $100,000 of Facebook ads, the majority occurred after the election was over and none of them named candidates, anyway. The ads consisted of issue messages that reflected all points on the political spectrum from pro-choice to anti-gun control.

    And even this so-called effort at "polarizing" the American electorate was "discovered" only after Facebook failed to find any "Russian-linked" ads during its first two searches. Instead, this complete drivel was detected only after the Senate's modern day Joseph McCarthy, Sen. Mark Warner, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a leading legislator on Internet regulation, showed up on Mark Zuckerberg's doorstep at Facebook headquarters.

    In any event, we can be sure there are no NSA intercepts proving that the Russians hacked the Dem emails for one simple reason: They would have been leaked long ago by the vast network of Imperial City operatives plotting to bring the Donald down.

    Moreover, the original architect and godfather of NSA's vast spying apparatus, William Binney, has essentially proved that the DNC emails were leaked by an insider who downloaded them on a memory stick. By conducting his own experiments, he showed that the known download speed of one batch of DNC emails could not have occurred over the Internet from a remote location in Russia or anywhere else on the planet, and actually matched what was possible only via a local USB-connected thumb drive.

    So the real meaning of the Strzok/Gates text messages is straight foreword. There was a conspiracy to prevent Trump's election, and then after the shocking results of November 8, this campaign morphed into an intensified effort to discredit the winner.

    For instance, Susan Rice got Obama to lower the classification level of the information obtained from the Trump campaign intercepts and other dirt-gathering actions by the Intelligence Community (IC)--- so that it could be disseminated more readily to all Washington intelligence agencies.

    In short order, of course, the IC was leaking like a sieve, thereby paving the way for the post-election hysteria and the implication that any contact with a Russian--even one living in Brooklyn-- must be collusion. And that included calls to the Russian ambassador by the president-elect's own national security advisor designate.

    Should there by any surprise, therefore, that it turns out the Andrew McCabe bushwhacked General Flynn on January 24 when he called to say that FBI agents were on the way to the White House for what Flynn presumed to be more security clearance work with his incipient staff.

    No at all. The FBI team was there to interrogate Flynn about the transcripts of his perfectly appropriate and legal conversations with Ambassador Kislyak about two matters of state----the UN resolution on Israel and the spiteful new sanctions on certain Russian citizens that Obama announced on December 28 in a fit of pique over the Dems election loss.

    And that insidious team of FBI gotcha cops was led by none other than......Peter Strzok!

    But after all the recent leaks---and these text messages are just the tip of the iceberg-----the die is now cast. Either the Deep State and its minions and collaborators in the media and the Republican party, too, will soon succeed in putting Mike Pence into the Oval Office, or the Imperial City is about ready to break-out in vicious partisan warfare like never before.

    Either way, economic and fiscal governance is about ready to collapse entirely, making the tax bill a kind of last hurrah before they mayhem really begins.

    In that context, selling the rip may become one of the most profitable speculations ever imagined.

    CuttingEdge -> The_Juggernaut , Dec 19, 2017 2:05 AM

    Not sure why Stockman went off on a tangent about Trump's innumerate economic strategy - kinda dilutes from an otherwise informative piece for anyone who hasn't a handle on the underhand shit that's been hitting the fan in recent months. Its like he has to have a go about it no matter what the main theme. Like PCR and "insouciance". And then there's the texting...

    Clue yourself in, David.

    A very small percentage of the public are actually informed about what is really going down. Those that visit ZH or your website. Fox is the only pro-Trump mainstream TV news outlet, and as to the NYT, WP et al? The media disinformation complex keep the rest in the matrix, and it has been very easy to see in action over the last year or so because it has been so well co-ordinated (and totally fabricated).

    Given the blatant and contemptous avoidance of the truth by the MSM (the current litany of seditious/treasonous actions being a case in point), it is fair to say that Trump's tweets provide a very real public service - focussing the (otherwise ignorant) public's attention on many things the aforementioned cunts (I'll include Google and FaecesBook) divert from like the plague (and making them look utter slime in the process).

    Don't knock it

    A Sentinel -> BennyBoy , Dec 19, 2017 2:23 AM

    I do respect stockman but here's bullshit-call #1: he says that the deep state doesn't like the divisiveness he causes: bush certainly did that and Obama' did so at an order of magnitude higher. I don't believe that the left is more upset by trump than we were by Barry- we're just not a bunch of sniveling, narcissistic babies like they are.

    redmudhooch -> BennyBoy , Dec 19, 2017 1:14 PM

    Hondurans accuse US of election meddling

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/hondurans-accuse-election-meddling...

    The US embassy in Honduras has been surrounded by protesters infuriated by the three-week-wait for the definitive result of the presidential election.

    Demonstrators accuse the US of meddling in last month's vote which both candidates say they won.

    Wage Slave 927 -> shitshitshit , Dec 19, 2017 1:45 AM

    When the details of the FISA warrant application are revealed, it will be like a megaton-class munition detonating, and the Deep State will bear the brunt of destruction.

    enough of this , Dec 18, 2017 11:19 PM

    The Comey - Strzok Duet satire:

    http://investmentwatchblog.com/the-comey-strzok-duet-on-the-eve-of-the-c...

    SheHunter , Dec 18, 2017 11:25 PM

    For those of you who have not yet discovered it Mr. Stockman's Contra Corner is a hands-down great blog well worth a nightly read.

    zagzigga -> Mini-Me , Dec 18, 2017 11:48 PM

    Similar mass deception was in play to start the Iraq war as well. Constant bombardment led to public consensus and even the liberal New York Times endorsed the war. Whenever we see mass hysteria about something new, we should just go with the flow and not ask any questions at all. It is best for retaining sanity in this dumbed down and getting more dumber world.

    Anunnaki , Dec 18, 2017 11:31 PM

    Susan Rice and Obama should be indicted for illegally wiretapping Trump Towers for the express purpose of finding oppo research to help Hellary's late term abortiion of a campaign

    Tapeworm -> Anunnaki , Dec 19, 2017 8:25 AM

    This one is deeper but well laid out. Comey & Mueller Ignored McCabe's Ties to Russian Crime Figures & His Reported Tampering in Russian FBI Cases, Files

    https://truepundit.com/comey-mueller-ignored-mccabes-ties-to-russian-cri...

    I damned near insist that y'all read this one. Please???

    Cardinal Fang , Dec 18, 2017 11:40 PM

    Great read, loved the 'Imperial City's immune system' analogy...

    I disagree about the economy though.

    It feels strange to me that the architect of the Reagan Revolution is unable to see the makings of another revolution, the Trump Revolution.

    We have had 10-20 years of pent up demand in the economy and instead of electing another neo-Marxist Alynski acolyte, the American people elected a hard charging anti-establishment bull in a China shop.

    Surely Dave can see the potential.

    It kills me when people are surprised by a 12 month, 5000 point run up on Wall Street.

    For God's sake the United States was run by a fucking commie for 8 years, what the fuck did you think was gonna happen?

    Jeez

    GoldHermit , Dec 18, 2017 11:58 PM

    America is divided and will remain divided. I think it will last at least for the next 50 years, maybe longer. The best way out is to limit the federal government and give each state more responsibility. States can succeed or fail on their own. People will be free to move where they want.

    Not My Real Name -> GoldHermit , Dec 19, 2017 1:21 AM

    "The best way out is to limit the federal government and give each state more responsibility."

    Oh, you mean follow the Constitution as it was written. Good one, Hermit!

    bh2 , Dec 19, 2017 12:01 AM

    Somewhere there is a FISA judge who should be defrocked and exposed as a fraud. No sober judge would accept such evidence for any purpose, much less authorizing government snooping on a major party candidate for president.

    MrSteve -> bh2 , Dec 19, 2017 12:29 AM

    This makes FISA a totalitarian joke and that should be investigated.

    RonBananas , Dec 19, 2017 4:51 AM

    The CIA holds all the videos from Jeff Epstein's Island (20 documented trips by Bill, 6 documented trips by Hillary), I'm sure Bill doing a 12 year old, Hillary and Huma doing an 8 year old girl together, etc. So what are they willing to do for the CIA? Anything at any cost, getting caught red handed with a dossier is chump change when you look at the big picture..they don't care and will do anything...ANYTHING to get rid of Trump.

    This is the only reason they are so frantic. There is absolutely no other reason they would play at this level.

    Pol Pot -> RonBananas , Dec 19, 2017 4:57 AM

    Correct on all except it's the Mossad and not the CIA who ran flight Epstein.

    shutterbug , Dec 19, 2017 5:47 AM

    Trump is gone in a few months or the DoJ, FBI and all others connected to FBI-gate are prosecuted...

    Session's (in-)action will be crucial to one of these paths...

    Stud Duck , Dec 19, 2017 6:42 AM

    As always, Dave puts it all into prospective for even the brain dead. Ya think Joe and his gang will be talking about this article on their morning talk show today?? I wonder how Brezenski's daughter is going to tell daddy that the gig is up and they may want to look into packing a boogie bag just to play it safe?

    David Stockman is a flame of hope in a world of dark machievellian thought!

    Occams_Razor_Trader , Dec 19, 2017 7:25 AM

    Why did the alt media and the msm all stop reportinmg that McCabe's wife recieved 700 thousand dollars from Terry McAulife (former Clinton campaign manager times 2!) for a Virginia State Senate run? Quid pro quo? Oh no, never the up and up DemonRats.

    So when I hear that the conversation was held in McCabe's office- I want to puke first then start building the gallows.

    MATA HAIRY , Dec 19, 2017 7:34 AM

    fucken brilliant article!! There is a lot I don't like about trump (some of which stockman discusses above), but as a retired govt worker, I can tell you that he right about what he is saying here.

    insanelysane , Dec 19, 2017 8:14 AM

    One little tidbit that has been lost in all of this:

    If the FBI was willing to use their power to back Hillary and defeat Trump at the national level, what did they try to do in McCabe's wife's state senate campaign? She is a pediatrician and she ran for state senate. ??? WTF is that about? She's not only a doctor but a doctor for children. Those people are usually wired to help people. Yet she was going to for-go being a doctor for a state senate position. ??? And the DNC forked over $700,000 to put her on the map.

    I'm sure the people meeting daily in Andy's office were not pleased with the voter resistance to his wife and to Hillary. The FBI needs to be shut down. They have become an opposition research firm for the DNC. Even if they can't find dirt on candidates using the NSA database, they are able to tap that database to find out political strategies in real time on opposition The fish is rotten from the head down to the tail.

    unklemunky , Dec 19, 2017 8:20 AM

    No matter what article you read here, and don't get me wrong, I love the insight, but every fucking article is "it's all over. America is doomed, the petro dollar days are over, China China China. It's getting a bit old. The charts and graphs about stock market collapse......it becoming an old record that needs changed. If I say it's going to rain every fucking day, at some point I will be right. That doesn't make me a genius....it makes me persistent.

    insanelysane , Dec 19, 2017 8:24 AM

    It's a Deep State mess and Sessions is trying his best as he cowers in a corner sucking his thumb.

    If they continue to go after Trump, the FBI is going to be found guilty of violating the Hatch Act by exonerating Hillary. See burner phones. See writing the conclusion in May when the investigation supposedly ended with Hillary's interview on July 3rd. The FBI will also be exposed for sedition as they then carried out the phony Russiagate investigation as their "insurance policy."

    However, they have created an expectation with the left that Trump and his minions will be brought to "justice." If we thought the Left didn't handle losing the election well, they will not be pleased at losing Russiagate.

    MrBoompi , Dec 19, 2017 4:25 PM

    How dare anyone contradict or go against the wishes of ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, or MSNBC? Don't you know they understand what's best for us?

    [Dec 20, 2017] It seems like the intelligence agencies are spending more time monitoring politicians and public than Al Queda.

    Notable quotes:
    "... Freedom Watch lawyer Larry Klayman has a whistle-blower who has stated on the record, publicly, he has 47 hard drives with over 600,000,00 pages of secret CIA documents that detail all the domestic spying operations, and likely much much more. ..."
    "... The rabbit hole goes very deep here. Attorney Klayman has stated he has been trying to out this for 2 years, and was stonewalled by swamp creatures, so he threatened to go public this week. Several very interesting videos, and a public letter, are out there, detailing all this. Nunes very likely saw his own conversations transcripted from surveillance taken at Trump Tower (he was part of the transition team), and realized the jig was up. Melania has moved out of Trump Tower to stay elsewhere, I am sure after finding out that many people in Washington where watching them at home in their private residence, whichi is also why Pres Trump sent out those famous angry tweets 2 weeks ago. Democrats on the Committee (and many others) are liars, and very possibly traitors, which is probably why Nunes neglected to inform them. Nunes did follow proper procedures, notifying Ryan first etc, you can ignore the MSM bluster there ..observe Nunes body language in the 2 videos of his dual press briefings he gave today, he appears shocked, angry, disturbed etc. ..."
    "... This all stems from Obama's Jan 16 signing of the order broadening "co-operation" between the NSA and everybody else in Washington, so that mid-level analysts at almost any agency could now look at raw NSA intercepts, that is where all the "leaks" and "unmasking" are coming from. ..."
    "... AG Lynch, Obama, and countless others knew, or should have known, all about this, but I am sure they will play the usual "I was too stupid too know what was going on in my own organization" card. ..."
    Mar 23, 2017 |
    fresno dan March 22, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    So I see where Nunes in a ZeroHedge posting says that there might have been "incidental surveillance" of "Trump" (?Trump associates? ?Trump tower? ?Trump campaign?)
    Now to the average NC reader, it kinda goes without saying. But I don't think Trump understands the scope of US government "surveillance" and I don't think the average citizen, certainly not the average Trump supporter, does either – the nuances and subtleties of it – the supposed "safeguards".

    I can understand the rationale for it .but this goes to show that when you give people an opportunity to use secret information for their own purposes .they will use secret information for their own purposes.

    And at some point, the fact of the matter that the law regarding the "incidental" leaking appears to have been broken, and that this leaking IMHO was purposefully broken for political purposes .is going to come to the fore. Like bringing up "fake news" – some of these people on the anti Trump side seem not just incapable of playing 11th dimensional chess, they seem incapable of winning tic tac toe .

    Was Obama behind it? I doubt it and I don't think it would be provable. But it seems like the intelligence agencies are spending more time monitoring repubs than Al queda. Now maybe repubs are worse than Al queda – I think its time we have a real debate instead of the pseudo debates and start asking how useful the CIA is REALLY. (and we can ask how useful repubs and dems are too)

    craazyboy March 22, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    If Obama taped the information, stuffed the tape in one of Michelle's shoeboxes, then hid the shoebox in the Whitehouse basement, he could be in trouble. Ivanka is sure to search any shoeboxes she finds.

    Irredeemable Deplorable March 23, 2017 at 2:57 am

    Oh the Trump supporters are all over this, don't worry. There are many more levels to what is going on than what is reported in the fakenews MSM.

    Adm Roger of NSA made his November visit to Trump Tower, after a SCIF was installed there, to .be interviewed for a job uh-huh yeah.

    Freedom Watch lawyer Larry Klayman has a whistle-blower who has stated on the record, publicly, he has 47 hard drives with over 600,000,00 pages of secret CIA documents that detail all the domestic spying operations, and likely much much more.

    The rabbit hole goes very deep here. Attorney Klayman has stated he has been trying to out this for 2 years, and was stonewalled by swamp creatures, so he threatened to go public this week. Several very interesting videos, and a public letter, are out there, detailing all this. Nunes very likely saw his own conversations transcripted from surveillance taken at Trump Tower (he was part of the transition team), and realized the jig was up. Melania has moved out of Trump Tower to stay elsewhere, I am sure after finding out that many people in Washington where watching them at home in their private residence, whichi is also why Pres Trump sent out those famous angry tweets 2 weeks ago. Democrats on the Committee (and many others) are liars, and very possibly traitors, which is probably why Nunes neglected to inform them. Nunes did follow proper procedures, notifying Ryan first etc, you can ignore the MSM bluster there ..observe Nunes body language in the 2 videos of his dual press briefings he gave today, he appears shocked, angry, disturbed etc.

    You all should be happy, because although Pres Trump has been vindicated here on all counts, the more important story for you is that the old line Democratic Party looks about to sink under the wieght of thier own lies and illegalities. This all stems from Obama's Jan 16 signing of the order broadening "co-operation" between the NSA and everybody else in Washington, so that mid-level analysts at almost any agency could now look at raw NSA intercepts, that is where all the "leaks" and "unmasking" are coming from.

    AG Lynch, Obama, and countless others knew, or should have known, all about this, but I am sure they will play the usual "I was too stupid too know what was going on in my own organization" card.

    Lambert Strether Post author March 23, 2017 at 4:08 am

    > Was Obama behind it? I doubt it and I don't think it would be provable

    I think he knew about it. After fulminating about weedy technicalities, let me just say that Obama's EO12333 expansion made sure that whatever anti-Trump information got picked up by the intelligence community could be spread widely, and would be hard to trace back to an individual source .

    [Dec 19, 2017] I won t be optimistic about AmeriKKKa until Russia and/or China announce a Zero Tolerance policy toward US military adventurism in countries on the borders of Russia/China. But this will never happen

    The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with or without Trump and we are seeing it play out now.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Ok, he has been called the most pro Israel President by Netanyahu himself, his administration just recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something even most ardent analysts in here did not predict. His son-in-law who he listens to is a pure Zionist and the neo-con lap dog Hailey is quite clearly gearing the audience up for a confrontation with Iran. One way or another....watch out 2018. ..."
    "... But no he is not controlled enough by the Zionists? The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with or without Trump and we are seeing it play out now. ..."
    "... America is a particularly vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink and I just cannot see anyone/movement espousing alternative ways of operating getting traction. ..."
    "... Simply pay attention to what those monsters actually do. The Trump Administration has continued and expanded US domestic and foreign policy precisely as has his predecessors. NATO is bigger, better funded, and more heavily deployed along Russia's "near abroad" than at any time in history. The Pentagon now admits we have 2,000 to 5,000 active "boots on the ground" in Syria, and they have no intention of ever leaving. Goldman Sachs is embedded in every Executive Branch office. Taxes on the wealthy and corporations are being slashed soon to be followed in social services, as neo-liberal economics remains the god worshipped by all. ..."
    Dec 19, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    ben , Dec 19, 2017 10:10:35 PM | 53

    "I won't be optimistic about AmeriKKKa until Russia and/or China announce a Zero Tolerance policy toward US military adventurism in countries on the borders of Russia/China - by promising to bomb the continental USA if it attacks a Russia/China neighbor.

    Imo it's absolutely essential to light a big bonfire under AmeriKKKa's Impunity. And it would be delightful, sobering, and a big boost for Peace and Diplomacy to hear the Yankees whingeing about being threatened by entities quite capable of following through on their threats."

    Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 19, 2017 11:10:32 AM | 14

    Hell yes, I'd love that scenario, but never happen. Too much $to be made by kissing up to the empire.

    Sad Canuck @ 31: Abso fukken 'lutely!!

    b, you better change what you're smoken' if you believe the empire is going isolationist.

    Alexander P , Dec 19, 2017 10:17:08 PM | 54
    @48 They did not want him lol? So many comments in here make me chuckle.

    Ok, he has been called the most pro Israel President by Netanyahu himself, his administration just recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something even most ardent analysts in here did not predict. His son-in-law who he listens to is a pure Zionist and the neo-con lap dog Hailey is quite clearly gearing the audience up for a confrontation with Iran. One way or another....watch out 2018.

    But no he is not controlled enough by the Zionists? The overall direction of the empire was never going to change with or without Trump and we are seeing it play out now.

    dh , Dec 19, 2017 10:27:40 PM | 55
    @26 "I think you would find that the vast majority of Americans would be quite happy to disengage militarily from the rest of the world, and put resources at work on domestic problems."

    Disengage militarily? I would like to think so sleepy but why do they keep getting so involved internationally? Instead of concentrating on domestic issues putting 'America first' seems to mean bullying any country that doesn't do what it's told.

    psychohistorian , Dec 19, 2017 10:42:31 PM | 56
    @ Debsisdead with the end of his comment
    "
    America is a particularly vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink and I just cannot see anyone/movement espousing alternative ways of operating getting traction.
    "

    There are those that say the same (vivid example of indoctrinated groupthink) about China, so there might be some competition in our world yet.

    I , for one, want to end private finance and maybe give the China way a go. Anyone else? I did future studies in college and am intrigued by planning processes at the scale that China has done 13 of....their 5-year plans.

    May we live to see structural change in the way our species comports itself......soon, I hope

    Daniel , Dec 19, 2017 10:51:15 PM | 57
    NemesisCalling, I suggest paying little to know attention to Trump's (or any other politician/oligarch) platitudes.

    Simply pay attention to what those monsters actually do. The Trump Administration has continued and expanded US domestic and foreign policy precisely as has his predecessors. NATO is bigger, better funded, and more heavily deployed along Russia's "near abroad" than at any time in history. The Pentagon now admits we have 2,000 to 5,000 active "boots on the ground" in Syria, and they have no intention of ever leaving. Goldman Sachs is embedded in every Executive Branch office. Taxes on the wealthy and corporations are being slashed soon to be followed in social services, as neo-liberal economics remains the god worshipped by all.

    I remain amazed that people who KNOW that the MSM lies to us constantly, about things big and small, still believe with all their hearts the MSM narrative that Trump is an "outsider" whom the Establishment hates and has fought against ever since they gave him $5 billion in free advertising.

    Don Bacon , Dec 19, 2017 10:52:39 PM | 58
    Disengage? In 2017, U.S. Special Operations forces, including Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets, deployed to 149 countries around the world, according to figures provided to TomDispatch by U.S. Special Operations Command. That's around 75 percent of the nations on the planet.

    What the vast majority of Americans might want has been cast aside by this president after he got their votes. There go hope and change again, damn.

    [Dec 16, 2017] Mohammed bin Salman's ill-advised ventures have weakened Saudi Arabia, by Patrick Cockburn - The Unz Review

    Notable quotes:
    "... We are the ones who have been fomenting destabilization all throughout the region some of whom would have been allies of the Saudis in some common cause. ..."
    "... I think there are more effective choices concerning Yemen and Qatar. But figuring out what the choices are is not going to be easy. And harder still perhaps is implementing them. As for backfire -- we are just not in a position to judge, at the moment. Anyone hoping that another major state collapses in that region is probably miscalculating the value of instability. ..."
    Dec 16, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia is the undoubted Middle East man of the year, but his great impact stems more from his failures than his successes. He is accused of being Machiavellian in clearing his way to the throne by the elimination of opponents inside and outside the royal family. But, when it comes to Saudi Arabia's position in the world, his miscalculations remind one less of the cunning manoeuvres of Machiavelli and more of the pratfalls of Inspector Clouseau.

    Again and again, the impulsive and mercurial young prince has embarked on ventures abroad that achieve the exact opposite of what he intended. When his father became king in early 2015, he gave support to a rebel offensive in Syria that achieved some success but provoked full-scale Russian military intervention, which in turn led to the victory of President Bashar al-Assad. At about the same time, MbS launched Saudi armed intervention, mostly through airstrikes, in the civil war in Yemen. The action was code-named Operation Decisive Storm, but two and a half years later the war is still going on, has killed 10,000 people and brought at least seven million Yemenis close to starvation.

    The Crown Prince is focusing Saudi foreign policy on aggressive opposition to Iran and its regional allies, but the effect of his policies has been to increase Iranian influence. The feud with Qatar, in which Saudi Arabia and the UAE play the leading role, led to a blockade being imposed five months ago which is still going on. The offence of the Qataris was to have given support to al-Qaeda type movements – an accusation that was true enough but could be levelled equally at Saudi Arabia – and to having links with Iran. The net result of the anti-Qatari campaign has been to drive the small but fabulously wealthy state further into the Iranian embrace.

    Saudi relations with other countries used to be cautious, conservative and aimed at preserving the status quo. But today its behaviour is zany, unpredictable and often counterproductive: witness the bizarre episode in November when the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was summoned to Riyadh, not allowed to depart and forced to resign his position. The objective of this ill-considered action on the part of Saudi Arabia was apparently to weaken Hezbollah and Iran in Lebanon, but has in practice empowered both of them.

    What all these Saudi actions have in common is that they are based on a naïve presumption that "a best-case scenario" will inevitably be achieved. There is no "Plan B" and not much of a "Plan A": Saudi Arabia is simply plugging into conflicts and confrontations it has no idea how to bring to an end.

    MbS and his advisers may imagine that it does not matter what Yemenis, Qataris or Lebanese think because President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and chief Middle East adviser, are firmly in their corner. "I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing," tweeted Trump in early November after the round up and confinement of some 200 members of the Saudi elite. "Some of those they are harshly treating have been 'milking' their country for years!" Earlier he had tweeted support for the attempt to isolate Qatar as a supporter of "terrorism".

    But Saudi Arabia is learning that support from the White House these days brings fewer advantages than in the past. The attention span of Donald Trump is notoriously short, and his preoccupation is with domestic US politics: his approval does not necessarily mean the approval of other parts of the US government. The State Department and the Pentagon may disapprove of the latest Trump tweet and seek to ignore or circumvent it. Despite his positive tweet, the US did not back the Saudi confrontation with Qatar or the attempt to get Mr Hariri to resign as prime minister of Lebanon.

    For its part, the White House is finding out the limitations of Saudi power. MbS was not able to get the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to agree to a US-sponsored peace plan that would have given Israel very much and the Palestinians very little. The idea of a Saudi-Israeli covert alliance against Iran may sound attractive to some Washington think tanks, but does not make much sense on the ground. The assumption that Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the promise to move the US embassy there, would have no long-term effects on attitudes in the Middle East is beginning to look shaky.

    It is Saudi Arabia – and not its rivals – that is becoming isolated. The political balance of power in the region changed to its disadvantage over the last two years. Some of this predates the elevation of MbS: by 2015 it was becoming clear that a combination of Sunni states led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey was failing to carry out regime change in Damascus. This powerful grouping has fragmented, with Turkey and Qatar moving closer to the Russian-backed Iranian-led axis, which is the dominant power in the northern tier of the Middle East between Afghanistan and the Mediterranean.

    If the US and Saudi Arabia wanted to do anything about this new alignment, they have left it too late. Other states in the Middle East are coming to recognise that there are winners and losers, and have no wish to be on the losing side. When President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a meeting this week in Istanbul of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, to which 57 Muslim states belong, to reject and condemn the US decision on Jerusalem, Saudi Arabia only sent a junior representative to this normally moribund organisation. But other state leaders like Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, King Abdullah of Jordan and the emirs of Kuwait and Qatar, among many others, were present. They recognised East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital and demanded the US reverse its decision.

    MbS is in the tradition of leaders all over the world who show Machiavellian skills in securing power within their own countries. But their success domestically gives them an exaggerated sense of their own capacity in dealing with foreign affairs, and this can have calamitous consequences. Saddam Hussein was very acute in seizing power in Iraq but ruined his country by starting two wars he could not win.

    Mistakes made by powerful leaders are often explained by their own egomania and ignorance, supplemented by flattering but misleading advice from their senior lieutenants. The first steps in foreign intervention are often alluring because a leader can present himself as a national standard bearer, justifying his monopoly of power at home. Such a patriotic posture is a shortcut to popularity, but there is always a political bill to pay if confrontations and wars end in frustration and defeat. MbS has unwisely decided that Saudi Arabia should play a more active and aggressive role at the very moment that its real political and economic strength is ebbing. He is overplaying his hand and making too many enemies.

    Svigor , December 16, 2017 at 6:24 am GMT
    The only hope someone as cloistered as a Saudi crown prince can have of being an effective ruler is either by being an extraordinary person (very curious, love learning for its own sake, etc), or be at least moderately intelligent, and listen to consensus.

    For its part, the White House is finding out the limitations of Saudi power. MbS was not able to get the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to agree to a US-sponsored peace plan that would have given Israel very much and the Palestinians very little.

    Lies and Jew-hatred. Everyone knows that despite their infamous sharpness in business dealings, the world's longest history of legalism, a completely self-centered and ethnocentric culture, and their longstanding abuse of the Palestinians, every single deal the Jews try to sign with the Palestinians heavily favors the Palestinians, and the only reason the Palestinians won't sign is because they're psychotic Jew-haters.

    The idea of a Saudi-Israeli covert alliance against Iran may sound attractive to some Washington think tanks, but does not make much sense on the ground. The assumption that Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the promise to move the US embassy there, would have no long-term effects on attitudes in the Middle East is beginning to look shaky.

    Hey, you skipped the part where you did anything to support the idea that a Zionist-Saudi alliance doesn't make sense.

    K, let's all wait for Art Deco to come in and spew some Hasbara then tell us he's not a Zhid.

    Avery , December 16, 2017 at 6:28 am GMT
    {Mohammed Bin Salman's Ill-Advised Ventures Have Weakened Saudi Arabia}

    GREAT news. Hopefully the evil, cannibalistic terrorism spreading so-called 'kingdom' of desert nomads will continue on its path of self destruction, and disappear as a functioning state.

    Tammy , December 16, 2017 at 9:51 am GMT
    Once more a Saudi Firster was detained in KSA. This time the owner of Arab Bank, a Jordanian with dual Jordan and KSA citizenship. Saad Hariri a Lebanese was the first one who was dual Lebanon and KSA citizens and who lost his diplomatic immunity in KSA.

    I wonder if the Israel Firster who are dual citizens are now sweating? Wonder, if Netanyahu is still an USA citizen? Happy days are coming back .

    Jake , December 16, 2017 at 12:31 pm GMT
    "Saudi relations with other countries used to be cautious, conservative and aimed at preserving the status quo. But today its behaviour is zany, unpredictable and often counterproductive:"

    Saudis allied with Israelis, backed by the wealth and might of the US? Guaranteed to bring out the worst in Saudis (which is bad enough at base) and Israelis and Americans.

    cbrown , December 16, 2017 at 1:07 pm GMT
    Machiavellian skills really ? I'd see 6 months ahead if this was true. MBS just made a show that they are a de facto Mafia not a businessman to the whole world. I'd bet he just quashed a lot of efforts and money spent on raising the racing horses of the saud monarch and in turn destroyed some serious connection that were vital but aren't readily available to them. Just how potent money they thought it would be ? Sure all is businesses and it will work so long you can pay the right person. The problem is where to find the right person.
    Joe Hide , December 16, 2017 at 1:53 pm GMT
    Come on Cockburn, look at the Big Picture, not the little one. This the old fallacy of looking at the trees and not seeing the forest. What is happening in Saudi Arabia is a piece of the much bigger puzzle being put together over years, decades, and maybe generations.

    The psychopaths at the top of the power pyramid have been engaged in this hidden global game for generations, it's always been part of their longterm strategy.

    Very recently Highly intelligent, realistic, morally and ethically centered, and practically oriented individuals, have also formed secret powerful groups to arrive at beneficial goals for humanity. These truly Good Guys have learned that the criminal, murderous, lecherous, degenerate, deviate, psychopaths in positions of great power are irredeemable and should be eliminated where possible. What you see in Saudi Arabia is merely a tree, not the forest. Just the same, to the author, keep writing but research the subject much much more before you put pen to paper, as you do have apersuasive and talented style.

    EliteCommInc. , December 16, 2017 at 2:25 pm GMT
    I am going to come to the defence here.

    1. We have been screaming about the unintended consequences of Saudi giving to charities since 2004.

    2. We removed the buffer of Iraq from Iranian ambitions (as unclear as it may be debated) creating issues not only for Saudi Arabia, but others in the region as well.

    3. We are the ones who have been fomenting destabilization all throughout the region some of whom would have been allies of the Saudis in some common cause.

    4. No one is escaping the negative consequences of our Iraq invasion.

    5. We have been complaining about rogue and irresponsible wealthy Muslims ad naseum.

    Now when someone steps up the plate to meet the challenges many caused by the US – our first complaint is not astute counsel but rather a series of articles highlighting failure. I would not contend that I support every choice. But I think we should at least take a wait and see perspective. He is operating in a region rife with intrigue and ambitions, not to mention -- Muslims bent on spreading Islam as one would expect a muslim to do. Frankly I am not sure how one governs in the arena of the middle east – especially now – it's a region in major shift.

    I think there are more effective choices concerning Yemen and Qatar. But figuring out what the choices are is not going to be easy. And harder still perhaps is implementing them. As for backfire -- we are just not in a position to judge, at the moment. Anyone hoping that another major state collapses in that region is probably miscalculating the value of instability.

    DESERT FOX , December 16, 2017 at 2:39 pm GMT
    The Saudis are the U.S. and ISISRAELS puppet, they do what the Zionist neocons tell them to do, which is to be the Zionist agent provocateur in the Mideast.

    The Saudis have helped the U.S. and ISISRAEL create and finance ISIS aka AL CIADA and for this the Saudis can rot in hell, and by the way the reason for the attack on Yemen is that the Saudis oil reserves are diminishing and so the Saudis figured they would take Yemens oil.

    The main creators of ISIS aka AL CIADA are the U.S. and ISISRAEL and BRITAIN ie the CIA and the MOSSAD and MI6.

    Anon , Disclaimer December 16, 2017 at 4:55 pm GMT
    The irony is that Saudis, before MbS and during his dominance, are making exactly the same suicidal blunders as the US. No enemy could have damaged the US and its positions in the world more than its Presidents and the Congress in the last 17 years. The same is true for KSA, with the same mistakes being made: undermining the financial system of the country, global over-reach that forces all opposition to unite, crazy military expenses, etc.
    Art , December 16, 2017 at 5:57 pm GMT
    Sorry, but these people dressed in 14 century robes and garb, cannot be taken seriously. They look like play-people feigning a furious grandeur. Without their petrochemicals – they would be laughed at by everyone – including their own kind. They should not be respected because they are religious – they are old world tribalist thugs hiding behind a religion. They use and abuse their people – holding them back from modernity.

    Think Peace -- Art

    Anon , Disclaimer December 16, 2017 at 6:17 pm GMT
    @Z-man

    Thing is, Saudi regime was rotten through and through before MbS, remains rotten under his rule, and will remain rotten when some other jerk kicks him out and establishes himself at the helm.

    neutral , December 16, 2017 at 6:31 pm GMT
    It does not matter how smart Saudi Arabia is with their foreign policy now, they became allies with Israel, that means Saudi Arabia can never claim to be a power working for the interests of Islam. MBS is a marked man, no matter how many purges he undertakes in his army, or even if he just hires Pakistani soldiers, if he has Muslims fighting in his army he will always be carrying the risk of being assassinated by somebody who has seen him cross the red line and become pro jewish.
    Svigor , December 16, 2017 at 6:51 pm GMT
    I don't really understand the constant hopes that the Saudi regime will fall. How is that any different from cheering Bush's disastrous regime change in Iraq? How will the fallout be any better in Arabia than it was in Iraq, Libya, etc?
    cbrown , December 16, 2017 at 7:43 pm GMT
    @Svigor

    It's not that there's a constant hope it's just they'd fall in the near future and fortunately it will balance the geopolitical power in the future. Their fallout aren't going to be as bad unless the people pulling their string persistent in keeping them in power.

    neutral , December 16, 2017 at 8:14 pm GMT
    @Svigor

    It will be better because it means Israel loses an ally, also with the Saudis gone Egypt will also be unable to keep their population in check. The fall of the Saudis means that Israel will be surrounded by regimes that oppose it...

    someone , December 17, 2017 at 12:14 am GMT
    Another Junior Gaddafi that is going to ruin his entire nation while intoxicated with NYT or other Western media coverage. He talks of corruption after spending 1.1 Billion dollars on a yacht and a painting.
    Netenyahu is much the same. He has weakened Israel immensely by playing the scary wolf.
    anon , Disclaimer December 17, 2017 at 12:33 am GMT
    @neutral

    South Africa was never in danger from their hostile neighbors . They committed suicide. Egypt cannot control its own territory let alone start wars , ditto for Syria and Lebanon. Jordan is a client state of Israel and lacks a functioning army. ...

    [Dec 15, 2017] Rise and Decline of the Welfare State, by James Petras

    Highly recommended!
    Petras did not mention that it was Carter who started neoliberalization of the USA. The subsequent election of Reagan signified the victory of neoliberalism in this country or "quite coup". The death of New Deal from this point was just a matter of time. Labor relations drastically changes and war on union and atomization of workforce are a norm.
    Welfare state still exists but only for corporation and MIC. Otherwise the New Deal society is almost completely dismanted.
    It is true that "The ' New Deal' was, at best, a de facto ' historical compromise' between the capitalist class and the labor unions, mediated by the Democratic Party elite. It was a temporary pact in which the unions secured legal recognition while the capitalists retained their executive prerogatives." But the key factor in this compromise was the existence of the USSR as a threat to the power of capitalists in the USA. when the USSR disappeared cannibalistic instincts of the US elite prevailed over caution.
    Notable quotes:
    "... The earlier welfare 'reforms' and the current anti-welfare legislation and austerity practices have been accompanied by a series of endless imperial wars, especially in the Middle East. ..."
    "... In the 1940's through the 1960's, world and regional wars (Korea and Indo-China) were combined with significant welfare program – a form of ' social imperialism' , which 'buy off' the working class while expanding the empire. However, recent decades are characterized by multiple regional wars and the reduction or elimination of welfare programs – and a massive growth in poverty, domestic insecurity and poor health. ..."
    "... modern welfare state' ..."
    "... Labor unions were organized as working class strikes and progressive legislation facilitated trade union organization, elections, collective bargaining rights and a steady increase in union membership. Improved work conditions, rising wages, pension plans and benefits, employer or union-provided health care and protective legislation improved the standard of living for the working class and provided for 2 generations of upward mobility. ..."
    "... Social Security legislation was approved along with workers' compensation and the forty-hour workweek. Jobs were created through federal programs (WPA, CCC, etc.). Protectionist legislation facilitated the growth of domestic markets for US manufacturers. Workplace shop steward councils organized 'on the spot' job action to protect safe working conditions. ..."
    "... World War II led to full employment and increases in union membership, as well as legislation restricting workers' collective bargaining rights and enforcing wage freezes. Hundreds of thousands of Americans found jobs in the war economy but a huge number were also killed or wounded in the war. ..."
    "... So-called ' right to work' ..."
    "... Trade union officials signed pacts with capital: higher pay for the workers and greater control of the workplace for the bosses. Trade union officials joined management in repressing rank and file movements seeking to control technological changes by reducing hours (" thirty hours work for forty hours pay ..."
    "... Trade union activists, community organizers for rent control and other grassroots movements lost both the capacity and the will to advance toward large-scale structural changes of US capitalism. Living standards improved for a few decades but the capitalist class consolidated strategic control over labor relations. While unionized workers' incomes, increased, inequalities, especially in the non-union sectors began to grow. With the end of the GI bill, veterans' access to high-quality subsidized education declined ..."
    "... With the election of President Carter, social welfare in the US began its long decline. The next series of regional wars were accompanied by even greater attacks on welfare via the " Volker Plan " – freezing workers' wages as a means to combat inflation. ..."
    "... Guns without butter' became the legislative policy of the Carter and Reagan Administrations. The welfare programs were based on politically fragile foundations. ..."
    "... The anti-labor offensive from the ' Oval Office' intensified under President Reagan with his direct intervention firing tens of thousands of striking air controllers and arresting union leaders. Under Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and William Clinton cost of living adjustments failed to keep up with prices of vital goods and services. Health care inflation was astronomical. Financial deregulation led to the subordination of American industry to finance and the Wall Street banks. De-industrialization, capital flight and massive tax evasion reduced labor's share of national income. ..."
    "... The capitalist class followed a trajectory of decline, recovery and ascendance. Moreover, during the earlier world depression, at the height of labor mobilization and organization, the capitalist class never faced any significant political threat over its control of the commanding heights of the economy ..."
    "... Hand in bloody glove' with the US Empire, the American trade unions planted the seeds of their own destruction at home. The local capitalists in newly emerging independent nations established industries and supply chains in cooperation with US manufacturers. Attracted to these sources of low-wage, violently repressed workers, US capitalists subsequently relocated their factories overseas and turned their backs on labor at home. ..."
    "... President 'Bill' Clinton ravaged Russia, Yugoslavia, Iraq and Somalia and liberated Wall Street. His regime gave birth to the prototype billionaire swindlers: Michael Milken and Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff. ..."
    "... Clinton converted welfare into cheap labor 'workfare', exploiting the poorest and most vulnerable and condemning the next generations to grinding poverty. Under Clinton the prison population of mostly African Americans expanded and the breakup of families ravaged the urban communities. ..."
    "... President Obama transferred 2 trillion dollars to the ten biggest bankers and swindlers on Wall Street, and another trillion to the Pentagon to pursue the Democrats version of foreign policy: from Bush's two overseas wars to Obama's seven. ..."
    "... Obama was elected to two terms. His liberal Democratic Party supporters swooned over his peace and justice rhetoric while swallowing his militarist escalation into seven overseas wars as well as the foreclosure of two million American householders. Obama completely failed to honor his campaign promise to reduce wage inequality between black and white wage earners while he continued to moralize to black families about ' values' . ..."
    "... Obama's war against Libya led to the killing and displacement of millions of black Libyans and workers from Sub-Saharan Africa. The smiling Nobel Peace Prize President created more desperate refugees than any previous US head of state – including millions of Africans flooding Europe. ..."
    "... Forty-years of anti welfare legislation and pro-business regimes paved the golden road for the election of Donald Trump ..."
    "... Trump and the Republicans are focusing on the tattered remnants of the social welfare system: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. The remains of FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society -- are on the chopping block. ..."
    "... The moribund (but well-paid) labor leadership has been notable by its absence in the ensuing collapse of the social welfare state. The liberal left Democrats embraced the platitudinous Obama/Clinton team as the 'Great Society's' gravediggers, while wailing at Trump's allies for shoving the corpse of welfare state into its grave. ..."
    "... Over the past forty years the working class and the rump of what was once referred to as the ' labor movement' has contributed to the dismantling of the social welfare state, voting for ' strike-breaker' Reagan, ' workfare' Clinton, ' Wall Street crash' Bush, ' Wall Street savior' Obama and ' Trickle-down' Trump. ..."
    "... Gone are the days when social welfare and profitable wars raised US living standards and transformed American trade unions into an appendage of the Democratic Party and a handmaiden of Empire. The Democratic Party rescued capitalism from its collapse in the Great Depression, incorporated labor into the war economy and the post- colonial global empire, and resurrected Wall Street from the 'Great Financial Meltdown' of the 21 st century. ..."
    "... The war economy no longer fuels social welfare. The military-industrial complex has found new partners on Wall Street and among the globalized multi-national corporations. Profits rise while wages fall. Low paying compulsive labor (workfare) lopped off state transfers to the poor. Technology – IT, robotics, artificial intelligence and electronic gadgets – has created the most class polarized social system in history ..."
    "... "The collaboration of liberals and unions in promoting endless wars opened the door to Trump's mirage of a stateless, tax-less, ruling class." ..."
    "... Corporations [now] are welfare recipients and the bigger they are, the more handouts they suck up ..."
    "... Corporations not only continuously seek monopolies (with the aid and sanction of the state) but they steadily fine tune the welfare state for their benefit. In fact, in reality, welfare for prols and peasants wouldn't exist if it didn't act as a money conduit and ultimate profit center for the big money grubbers. ..."
    "... The article is dismal reading, and evidence of the failings of the "unregulated" society, where the anything goes as long as you are wealthy. ..."
    "... Like the Pentagon. Americans still don't readily call this welfare, but they will eventually. Defense profiteers are unions in a sense, you're either in their club Or you're in the service industry that surrounds it. ..."
    Dec 13, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Introduction

    The American welfare state was created in 1935 and continued to develop through 1973. Since then, over a prolonged period, the capitalist class has been steadily dismantling the entire welfare state.

    Between the mid 1970's to the present (2017) labor laws, welfare rights and benefits and the construction of and subsidies for affordable housing have been gutted. ' Workfare' (under President 'Bill' Clinton) ended welfare for the poor and displaced workers. Meanwhile the shift to regressive taxation and the steadily declining real wages have increased corporate profits to an astronomical degree.

    What started as incremental reversals during the 1990's under Clinton has snowballed over the last two decades decimating welfare legislation and institutions.

    The earlier welfare 'reforms' and the current anti-welfare legislation and austerity practices have been accompanied by a series of endless imperial wars, especially in the Middle East.

    In the 1940's through the 1960's, world and regional wars (Korea and Indo-China) were combined with significant welfare program – a form of ' social imperialism' , which 'buy off' the working class while expanding the empire. However, recent decades are characterized by multiple regional wars and the reduction or elimination of welfare programs – and a massive growth in poverty, domestic insecurity and poor health.

    New Deals and Big Wars

    The 1930's witnessed the advent of social legislation and action, which laid the foundations of what is called the ' modern welfare state' .

    Labor unions were organized as working class strikes and progressive legislation facilitated trade union organization, elections, collective bargaining rights and a steady increase in union membership. Improved work conditions, rising wages, pension plans and benefits, employer or union-provided health care and protective legislation improved the standard of living for the working class and provided for 2 generations of upward mobility.

    Social Security legislation was approved along with workers' compensation and the forty-hour workweek. Jobs were created through federal programs (WPA, CCC, etc.). Protectionist legislation facilitated the growth of domestic markets for US manufacturers. Workplace shop steward councils organized 'on the spot' job action to protect safe working conditions.

    World War II led to full employment and increases in union membership, as well as legislation restricting workers' collective bargaining rights and enforcing wage freezes. Hundreds of thousands of Americans found jobs in the war economy but a huge number were also killed or wounded in the war.

    The post-war period witnessed a contradictory process: wages and salaries increased while legislation curtailed union rights via the Taft Hartley Act and the McCarthyist purge of leftwing trade union activists. So-called ' right to work' laws effectively outlawed unionization mostly in southern states, which drove industries to relocate to the anti-union states.

    Welfare reforms, in the form of the GI bill, provided educational opportunities for working class and rural veterans, while federal-subsidized low interest mortgages encourage home-ownership, especially for veterans.

    The New Deal created concrete improvements but did not consolidate labor influence at any level. Capitalists and management still retained control over capital, the workplace and plant location of production.

    Trade union officials signed pacts with capital: higher pay for the workers and greater control of the workplace for the bosses. Trade union officials joined management in repressing rank and file movements seeking to control technological changes by reducing hours (" thirty hours work for forty hours pay "). Dissident local unions were seized and gutted by the trade union bosses – sometimes through violence.

    Trade union activists, community organizers for rent control and other grassroots movements lost both the capacity and the will to advance toward large-scale structural changes of US capitalism. Living standards improved for a few decades but the capitalist class consolidated strategic control over labor relations. While unionized workers' incomes, increased, inequalities, especially in the non-union sectors began to grow. With the end of the GI bill, veterans' access to high-quality subsidized education declined.

    While a new wave of social welfare legislation and programs began in the 1960's and early 1970's it was no longer a result of a mass trade union or workers' "class struggle". Moreover, trade union collaboration with the capitalist regional war policies led to the killing and maiming of hundreds of thousands of workers in two wars – the Korean and Vietnamese wars.

    Much of social legislation resulted from the civil and welfare rights movements. While specific programs were helpful, none of them addressed structural racism and poverty.

    The Last Wave of Social Welfarism

    The 1960'a witnessed the greatest racial war in modern US history: Mass movements in the South and North rocked state and federal governments, while advancing the cause of civil, social and political rights. Millions of black citizens, joined by white activists and, in many cases, led by African American Viet Nam War veterans, confronted the state. At the same time, millions of students and young workers, threatened by military conscription, challenged the military and social order.

    Energized by mass movements, a new wave of social welfare legislation was launched by the federal government to pacify mass opposition among blacks, students, community organizers and middle class Americans. Despite this mass popular movement, the union bosses at the AFL-CIO openly supported the war, police repression and the military, or at best, were passive impotent spectators of the drama unfolding in the nation's streets. Dissident union members and activists were the exception, as many had multiple identities to represent: African American, Hispanic, draft resisters, etc.

    Under Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, Medicare, Medicaid, OSHA, the EPA and multiple poverty programs were implemented. A national health program, expanding Medicare for all Americans, was introduced by President Nixon and sabotaged by the Kennedy Democrats and the AFL-CIO. Overall, social and economic inequalities diminished during this period.

    The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the American militarist empire. This coincided with the beginning of the end of social welfare as we knew it – as the bill for militarism placed even greater demands on the public treasury.

    With the election of President Carter, social welfare in the US began its long decline. The next series of regional wars were accompanied by even greater attacks on welfare via the " Volker Plan " – freezing workers' wages as a means to combat inflation.

    Guns without butter' became the legislative policy of the Carter and Reagan Administrations. The welfare programs were based on politically fragile foundations.

    The Debacle of Welfarism

    Private sector trade union membership declined from a post-world war peak of 30% falling to 12% in the 1990's. Today it has sunk to 7%. Capitalists embarked on a massive program of closing thousands of factories in the unionized North which were then relocated to the non-unionized low wage southern states and then overseas to Mexico and Asia. Millions of stable jobs disappeared.

    Following the election of 'Jimmy Carter', neither Democratic nor Republican Presidents felt any need to support labor organizations. On the contrary, they facilitated contracts dictated by management, which reduced wages, job security, benefits and social welfare.

    The anti-labor offensive from the ' Oval Office' intensified under President Reagan with his direct intervention firing tens of thousands of striking air controllers and arresting union leaders. Under Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and William Clinton cost of living adjustments failed to keep up with prices of vital goods and services. Health care inflation was astronomical. Financial deregulation led to the subordination of American industry to finance and the Wall Street banks. De-industrialization, capital flight and massive tax evasion reduced labor's share of national income.

    The capitalist class followed a trajectory of decline, recovery and ascendance. Moreover, during the earlier world depression, at the height of labor mobilization and organization, the capitalist class never faced any significant political threat over its control of the commanding heights of the economy.

    The ' New Deal' was, at best, a de facto ' historical compromise' between the capitalist class and the labor unions, mediated by the Democratic Party elite. It was a temporary pact in which the unions secured legal recognition while the capitalists retained their executive prerogatives.

    The Second World War secured the economic recovery for capital and subordinated labor through a federally mandated no strike production agreement. There were a few notable exceptions: The coal miners' union organized strikes in strategic sectors and some leftist leaders and organizers encouraged slow-downs, work to rule and other in-plant actions when employers ran roughshod with special brutality over the workers. The recovery of capital was the prelude to a post-war offensive against independent labor-based political organizations. The quality of labor organization declined even as the quantity of trade union membership increased.

    Labor union officials consolidated internal control in collaboration with the capitalist elite. Capitalist class-labor official collaboration was extended overseas with strategic consequences.

    The post-war corporate alliance between the state and capital led to a global offensive – the replacement of European-Japanese colonial control and exploitation by US business and bankers. Imperialism was later 're-branded' as ' globalization' . It pried open markets, secured cheap docile labor and pillaged resources for US manufacturers and importers.

    US labor unions played a major role by sabotaging militant unions abroad in cooperation with the US security apparatus: They worked to coopt and bribe nationalist and leftist labor leaders and supported police-state regime repression and assassination of recalcitrant militants.

    ' Hand in bloody glove' with the US Empire, the American trade unions planted the seeds of their own destruction at home. The local capitalists in newly emerging independent nations established industries and supply chains in cooperation with US manufacturers. Attracted to these sources of low-wage, violently repressed workers, US capitalists subsequently relocated their factories overseas and turned their backs on labor at home.

    Labor union officials had laid the groundwork for the demise of stable jobs and social benefits for American workers. Their collaboration increased the rate of capitalist profit and overall power in the political system. Their complicity in the brutal purges of militants, activists and leftist union members and leaders at home and abroad put an end to labor's capacity to sustain and expand the welfare state.

    Trade unions in the US did not use their collaboration with empire in its bloody regional wars to win social benefits for the rank and file workers. The time of social-imperialism, where workers within the empire benefited from imperialism's pillage, was over. Gains in social welfare henceforth could result only from mass struggles led by the urban poor, especially Afro-Americans, community-based working poor and militant youth organizers.

    The last significant social welfare reforms were implemented in the early 1970's – coinciding with the end of the Vietnam War (and victory for the Vietnamese people) and ended with the absorption of the urban and anti-war movements into the Democratic Party.

    Henceforward the US corporate state advanced through the overseas expansion of the multi-national corporations and via large-scale, non-unionized production at home.

    The technological changes of this period did not benefit labor. The belief, common in the 1950's, that science and technology would increase leisure, decrease work and improve living standards for the working class, was shattered. Instead technological changes displaced well-paid industrial labor while increasing the number of mind-numbing, poorly paid, and politically impotent jobs in the so-called 'service sector' – a rapidly growing section of unorganized and vulnerable workers – especially including women and minorities.

    Labor union membership declined precipitously. The demise of the USSR and China's turn to capitalism had a dual effect: It eliminated collectivist (socialist) pressure for social welfare and opened their labor markets with cheap, disciplined workers for foreign manufacturers. Labor as a political force disappeared on every count. The US Federal Reserve and President 'Bill' Clinton deregulated financial capital leading to a frenzy of speculation. Congress wrote laws, which permitted overseas tax evasion – especially in Caribbean tax havens. Regional free-trade agreements, like NAFTA, spurred the relocation of jobs abroad. De-industrialization accompanied the decline of wages, living standards and social benefits for millions of American workers.

    The New Abolitionists: Trillionaires

    The New Deal, the Great Society, trade unions, and the anti-war and urban movements were in retreat and primed for abolition.

    Wars without welfare (or guns without butter) replaced earlier 'social imperialism' with a huge growth of poverty and homelessness. Domestic labor was now exploited to finance overseas wars not vice versa. The fruits of imperial plunder were not shared.

    As the working and middle classes drifted downward, they were used up, abandoned and deceived on all sides – especially by the Democratic Party. They elected militarists and demagogues as their new presidents.

    President 'Bill' Clinton ravaged Russia, Yugoslavia, Iraq and Somalia and liberated Wall Street. His regime gave birth to the prototype billionaire swindlers: Michael Milken and Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff.

    Clinton converted welfare into cheap labor 'workfare', exploiting the poorest and most vulnerable and condemning the next generations to grinding poverty. Under Clinton the prison population of mostly African Americans expanded and the breakup of families ravaged the urban communities.

    Provoked by an act of terrorism (9/11) President G.W. Bush Jr. launched the 'endless' wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and deepened the police state (Patriot Act). Wages for American workers and profits for American capitalist moved in opposite directions.

    The Great Financial Crash of 2008-2011 shook the paper economy to its roots and led to the greatest shakedown of any national treasury in history directed by the First Black American President. Trillions of public wealth were funneled into the criminal banks on Wall Street – which were ' just too big to fail .' Millions of American workers and homeowners, however, were ' just too small to matter' .

    The Age of Demagogues

    President Obama transferred 2 trillion dollars to the ten biggest bankers and swindlers on Wall Street, and another trillion to the Pentagon to pursue the Democrats version of foreign policy: from Bush's two overseas wars to Obama's seven.

    Obama's electoral 'donor-owners' stashed away two trillion dollars in overseas tax havens and looked forward to global free trade pacts – pushed by the eloquent African American President.

    Obama was elected to two terms. His liberal Democratic Party supporters swooned over his peace and justice rhetoric while swallowing his militarist escalation into seven overseas wars as well as the foreclosure of two million American householders. Obama completely failed to honor his campaign promise to reduce wage inequality between black and white wage earners while he continued to moralize to black families about ' values' .

    Obama's war against Libya led to the killing and displacement of millions of black Libyans and workers from Sub-Saharan Africa. The smiling Nobel Peace Prize President created more desperate refugees than any previous US head of state – including millions of Africans flooding Europe.

    'Obamacare' , his imitation of an earlier Republican governor's health plan, was formulated by the private corporate health industry (private insurance, Big Pharma and the for-profit hospitals), to mandate enrollment and ensure triple digit profits with double digit increases in premiums. By the 2016 Presidential elections, ' Obama-care' was opposed by a 45%-43% margin of the American people. Obama's propagandists could not show any improvement of life expectancy or decrease in infant and maternal mortality as a result of his 'health care reform'. Indeed the opposite occurred among the marginalized working class in the old 'rust belt' and in the rural areas. This failure to show any significant health improvement for the masses of Americans is in stark contrast to LBJ's Medicare program of the 1960's, which continues to receive massive popular support.

    Forty-years of anti welfare legislation and pro-business regimes paved the golden road for the election of Donald Trump

    Trump and the Republicans are focusing on the tattered remnants of the social welfare system: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. The remains of FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society -- are on the chopping block.

    The moribund (but well-paid) labor leadership has been notable by its absence in the ensuing collapse of the social welfare state. The liberal left Democrats embraced the platitudinous Obama/Clinton team as the 'Great Society's' gravediggers, while wailing at Trump's allies for shoving the corpse of welfare state into its grave.

    Conclusion

    Over the past forty years the working class and the rump of what was once referred to as the ' labor movement' has contributed to the dismantling of the social welfare state, voting for ' strike-breaker' Reagan, ' workfare' Clinton, ' Wall Street crash' Bush, ' Wall Street savior' Obama and ' Trickle-down' Trump.

    Gone are the days when social welfare and profitable wars raised US living standards and transformed American trade unions into an appendage of the Democratic Party and a handmaiden of Empire. The Democratic Party rescued capitalism from its collapse in the Great Depression, incorporated labor into the war economy and the post- colonial global empire, and resurrected Wall Street from the 'Great Financial Meltdown' of the 21 st century.

    The war economy no longer fuels social welfare. The military-industrial complex has found new partners on Wall Street and among the globalized multi-national corporations. Profits rise while wages fall. Low paying compulsive labor (workfare) lopped off state transfers to the poor. Technology – IT, robotics, artificial intelligence and electronic gadgets – has created the most class polarized social system in history. The first trillionaire and multi-billionaire tax evaders rose on the backs of a miserable standing army of tens of millions of low-wage workers, stripped of rights and representation. State subsidies eliminate virtually all risk to capital. The end of social welfare coerced labor (including young mother with children) to seek insecure low-income employment while slashing education and health – cementing the feet of generations into poverty. Regional wars abroad have depleted the Treasury and robbed the country of productive investment. Economic imperialism exports profits, reversing the historic relation of the past.

    Labor is left without compass or direction; it flails in all directions and falls deeper in the web of deception and demagogy. To escape from Reagan and the strike breakers, labor embraced the cheap-labor predator Clinton; black and white workers united to elect Obama who expelled millions of immigrant workers, pursued 7 wars, abandoned black workers and enriched the already filthy rich. Deception and demagogy of the labor-

    Issac , December 11, 2017 at 11:01 pm GMT

    "The military-industrial complex has found new partners on Wall Street and among the globalized multi-national corporations."

    "The collaboration of liberals and unions in promoting endless wars opened the door to Trump's mirage of a stateless, tax-less, ruling class."

    A mirage so real, it even has you convinced.

    whyamihere , December 12, 2017 at 4:24 am GMT
    If the welfare state in America was abolished, major American cities would burn to the ground. Anarchy would ensue, it would be magnitudes bigger than anything that happened in Ferguson or Baltimore. It would likely be simultaneous.

    I think that's one of the only situations where preppers would actually live out what they've been prepping for (except for a natural disaster).

    I've been thinking about this a little over the past few years after seeing the race riots. What exactly is the line between our society being civilized and breaking out into chaos. It's probably a lot thinner than most people think.

    I don't know who said it but someone long ago said something along the lines of, "Democracy can only work until the people figure out they can vote for themselves generous benefits from the public treasury." We are definitely in this situation today. I wonder how long it can last.

    Disordered , December 13, 2017 at 8:41 am GMT
    While I agree with Petras's intent (notwithstanding several exaggerations and unnecessary conflations with, for example, racism), I don't agree so much with the method he proposes. I don't mind welfare and unions to a certain extent, but they are not going to save us unless there is full employment and large corporations that can afford to pay an all-union workforce. That happened during WW2, as only wartime demand and those pesky wage freezes solved the Depression, regardless of all the public works programs; while the postwar era benefited from the US becoming the world's creditor, meaning that capital could expand while labor participation did as well.

    From then on, it is quite hard to achieve the same success after outsourcing and mechanization have happened all over the world. Both of these phenomena not only create displaced workers, but also displaced industries, meaning that it makes more sense to develop individual workfare (and even then, do it well, not the shoddy way it is done now) rather than giving away checks that probably will not be cashed for entrepreneurial purposes, and rather than giving away money to corrupt unions who depend on trusts to be able to pay for their benefits, while raising the cost of hiring that only encourages more outsourcing.

    The amount of welfare given is not necessarily the main problem, the problem is doing it right for the people who truly need it, and efficiently – that is, with the least amount of waste lost between the chain of distribution, which should reach intended targets and not moochers.

    Which inevitably means a sound tax system that targets unearned wealth and (to a lesser degree) foreign competition instead of national production, coupled with strict, yet devolved and simple government processes that benefit both business and individuals tired of bureaucracy, while keeping budgets balanced. Best of both worlds, and no military-industrial complex needed to drive up demand.

    Wally , Website December 13, 2017 at 8:57 am GMT
    "President Obama transferred 2 trillion dollars to the ten biggest bankers and swindlers on Wall Street " That's twice the amount that Bush gave them.
    jacques sheete , December 13, 2017 at 10:52 am GMT

    The American welfare state was created in 1935 and continued to develop through 1973. Since then, over a prolonged period, the capitalist class has been steadily dismantling the entire welfare state.

    Wrong wrong wrong.

    Corporations [now] are welfare recipients and the bigger they are, the more handouts they suck up, and welfare for them started before 1935. In fact, it started in America before there was a USA. I do not have time to elaborate, but what were the various companies such as the British East India Company and the Dutch West India Companies but state pampered, welfare based entities? ~200 years ago, Herbert Spencer, if memory serves, pointed out that the British East India Company couldn't make a profit even with all the special, government granted favors showered upon it.

    Corporations not only continuously seek monopolies (with the aid and sanction of the state) but they steadily fine tune the welfare state for their benefit. In fact, in reality, welfare for prols and peasants wouldn't exist if it didn't act as a money conduit and ultimate profit center for the big money grubbers.

    Den Lille Abe , December 13, 2017 at 11:09 am GMT
    Well, the author kind of nails it. I remember from my childhood in the 50-60 ties in Scandinavia that the US was the ultimate goal in welfare. The country where you could make a good living with your two hands, get you kids to UNI, have a house, a telly ECT. It was not consumerism, it was the American dream, a chicken in every pot; we chewed imported American gum and dreamed.

    In the 70-80 ties Scandinavia had a tremendous social and economic growth, EQUALLY distributed, an immense leap forward. In the middle of the 80 ties we were equal to the US in standards of living.

    Since we have not looked at the US, unless in pity, as we have seen the decline of the general income, social wealth fall way behind our own.
    The average US workers income has not increased since 90 figures adjusted for inflation. The Scandinavian workers income in the same period has almost quadrupled. And so has our societies.

    The article is dismal reading, and evidence of the failings of the "unregulated" society, where the anything goes as long as you are wealthy.

    wayfarer , December 13, 2017 at 1:01 pm GMT

    Between the mid 1970's to the present (2017) labor laws, welfare rights and benefits and the construction of and subsidies for affordable housing have been gutted. 'Workfare' (under President 'Bill' Clinton) ended welfare for the poor and displaced workers. Meanwhile the shift to regressive taxation and the steadily declining real wages have increased corporate profits to an astronomical degree.

    source: http://www.unz.com/jpetras/rise-and-decline-of-the-welfare-state/

    What does Hollywood "elite" JAP and wannabe hack-stand-up-comic Sarah Silverman think about the class struggle and problems facing destitute Americans? "Qu'ils mangent de la bagels!", source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_them_eat_cake

    ... ... ...

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 13, 2017 at 1:40 pm GMT
    @Greg Fraser

    Like the Pentagon. Americans still don't readily call this welfare, but they will eventually. Defense profiteers are unions in a sense, you're either in their club Or you're in the service industry that surrounds it.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 13, 2017 at 2:43 pm GMT
    As other commenters have pointed out, it's Petras curious choice of words that sometimes don't make too much sense. We can probably blame the maleable English language for that, but here it's too obvious. If you don't define a union, people might assume you're only talking about a bunch of meat cutters at Safeway.

    The welfare state is alive and well for corporate America. Unions are still here – but they are defined by access and secrecy, you're either in the club or not.

    The war on unions was successful first by co-option but mostly by the media. But what kind of analysis leaves out the role of the media in the American transformation? The success is mind blowing.

    America has barely literate (white) middle aged males trained to spout incoherent Calvinistic weirdness: unabased hatred for the poor (or whoever they're told to hate) and a glorification of hedge fund managers as they get laid off, fired and foreclosed on, with a side of opiates.

    There is hardly anything more tragic then seeing a web filled with progressives (management consultants) dedicated to disempowering, disabling and deligitimizing victims by claiming they are victims of biology, disease or a lack of an education rather than a system that issues violence while portending (with the best media money can buy) that they claim the higher ground.

    animalogic , December 13, 2017 at 2:57 pm GMT
    @Wally

    ""Democracy can only work until the people figure out they can vote for themselves generous benefits from the public treasury." We are definitely in this situation today."

    Quite right: the 0.01% have worked it out & US democracy is a Theatre for the masses.

    Reg Cćsar , December 13, 2017 at 3:08 pm GMT

    They elected militarists and demagogues as their new presidents.

    Wilson and FDR were much more militarist and demagogic than those that followed.

    Reg Cćsar , December 13, 2017 at 3:20 pm GMT
    @whyamihere

    I don't know who said it but someone long ago said something along the lines of, "Democracy can only work until the people figure out they can vote for themselves generous benefits from the public treasury."

    Some French aristocrat put it as, once the gates to the treasury have been breached, they can only be closed again with gunpowder. Anyone recognize the author?

    phil , December 13, 2017 at 4:48 pm GMT
    The author doesn't get it. What we have now IS the welfare state in an intensely diverse society. We have more transfer spending than ever before and Obamacare represents another huge entitlement.

    Intellectuals continue to fantasize about the US becoming a Big Sweden, but Sweden has only been successful insofar as it has been a modest nation-state populated by ethnic Swedes. Intense diversity in a huge country with only the remnants of federalism results in massive non-consensual decision-making, fragmentation, increased inequality, and corruption.

    HallParvey , December 13, 2017 at 4:57 pm GMT
    @Anonymous

    The welfare state is alive and well for corporate America. Unions are still here – but they are defined by access and secrecy, you're either in the club or not.

    They are largely defined as Doctors, Lawyers, and University Professors who teach the first two. Of course they are not called unions. Access is via credentialing and licensing. Good Day

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 13, 2017 at 4:57 pm GMT
    @Linda Green

    Bernie Sanders, speaking on behalf of the MIC's welfare bird: "It is the airplane of the United States Air Force, Navy, and of NATO."

    Elizabeth Warren, referring to Mossad's Estes Rockets: "The Israeli military has the right to attack Palestinian hospitals and schools in self defense"

    Barack Obama, yukking it up with pop stars: "Two words for you: predator drones. You will never see it coming."

    It's not the agitprop that confuses the sheep, it's whose blowhole it's coming out of (labled D or R for convenience) that gets them to bare their teeth and speak of poo.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 13, 2017 at 5:54 pm GMT
    @HallParvey

    What came first, the credentialing or the idea that it is a necessary part of education? It certainly isn't an accurate indication of what people know or their general intelligence – although that myth has flourished. Good afternoon.

    Logan , December 13, 2017 at 9:10 pm GMT
    @Realist

    For an interesting projection of what might happen in total civilizational collapse, I recommend the Dies the Fire series of novels by SM Stirling.

    It has a science-fictiony setup in that all high-energy system (gunpowder, electricity, explosives, internal combustion, even high-energy steam engines) suddenly stop working. But I think it does a good job of extrapolating what would happen if suddenly the cities did not have food, water, power, etc.

    Spoiler alert: It ain't pretty. Those who dream of a world without guns have not really thought it through.

    Logan , December 13, 2017 at 9:19 pm GMT
    @phil

    It has been pointed out repeatedly that Sweden does very well relative to the USA. It has also been noted that people of Swedish ancestry in the USA do pretty well also. In fact considerably better than Swedes in Sweden

    [Dec 15, 2017] FBI Edits To Clinton Exoneration Go Far Beyond What Was Previously Known; Comey, McCabe, Strzok Implicated Zero Hedge

    Notable quotes:
    "... In addition to Strzok's "gross negligence" --> "extremely careless" edit, McCabe's damage control team removed a key justification for elevating Clinton's actions to the standard of "gross negligence" - that being the " sheer volume " of classified material on Clinton's server. In the original draft, the "sheer volume" of material "supports an inference that the participants were grossly negligent in their handling of that information." ..."
    "... It's also possible that the FBI, which was not allowed to inspect the DNC servers, was uncomfortable standing behind the conclusion of Russian hacking reached by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. ..."
    "... Johnson's letter also questions an " insurance policy " referenced in a text message sent by demoted FBI investigator Peter Strzok to his mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page, which read " I want to believe the path you threw out to consideration in Andy's office -- that there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk." It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40...." ..."
    "... One wonders if the "insurance policy" Strzok sent to Page on August 15, 2016 was in reference to the original counterintelligence operation launched against Trump of which Strzok became the lead investigator in "late July" 2016? Of note, Strzok reported directly to Bill Priestap - the director of Counterintelligence, who told James Comey not to inform congress that the FBI had launched a counterintelligence operation against then-candidate Trump, per Comey's March 20th testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. (h/t @TheLastRefuge2 ) ..."
    "... That's not to say Hillary shouldn't have been prosecuted. But what we're seeing here looks like perfectly normal behavior once the decision has been made not to prosecute; get the statements to be consistent with the conclusion. In a bureaucracy, that requires a number of people to be involved. And it would necessarily include people who work for Hillary Clinton, since that's whose information is being discussed. ..."
    "... And the stuff about how a foreign power might have, or might possibly have, accessed her emails is all BS too. We already know they weren't hacked, they were leaked. ..."
    "... Maybe people who don't understand complicated organizations see something nefarious here, but nobody who does will. Nothing will come of this but some staged-for-TV dramatic pronouncements in the House, and on FOX News, and affiliated websites. There's nothing here. ..."
    "... Debatable re. biggest story being kept quiet. The AWAN Brothers/Family is a Pakistani spy ring operating inside Congress for more than a decade, and we hear nothing. They had access to virtually everything in every important committee. They had access to the Congressional servers and all the emails. Biggest spy scandal in our nations hsitory, and........crickets. ..."
    "... They have had a year to destroy the evidence. Why should the CIA controlled MSM report the truth? ..."
    "... Precisely. That's actually a very good tool for decoding the Clintons and Obama. "You collaborated with Russia." Means "I collaborated with Saudi Arabia." It takes a little while and I haven't fully mastered it yet, but you can reverse alinsky-engineer their statements to figure out what they did. ..."
    "... And get this, Flynn was set up! Yates had the transcript via the (illegal) FISA Court of warrant which relied on the Dirty Steele Dossier, when Flynn deviated from the transcript they charged him Lying to the FBI. Comey McCabe run around lying 24/7. Their is no fucking hope left! The swamp WINS ALWAYS. ..."
    Dec 15, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    FBI Edits To Clinton Exoneration Go Far Beyond What Was Previously Known; Comey, McCabe, Strzok Implicated Tyler Durden Dec 15, 2017 10:10 AM 0 SHARES detailed in a Thursday letter from committee chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

    James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok

    The letter reveals specific edits made by senior FBI agents when Deputy Director Andrew McCabe exchanged drafts of Comey's statement with senior FBI officials , including Peter Strzok, Strzok's direct supervisor , E.W. "Bill" Priestap, Jonathan Moffa, and an unnamed employee from the Office of General Counsel (identified by Newsweek as DOJ Deputy General Counsel Trisha Anderson) - in what was a coordinated conspiracy among top FBI brass to decriminalize Clinton's conduct by changing legal terms and phrases, omitting key information, and minimizing the role of the Intelligence Community in the email investigation. Doing so virtually assured that then-candidate Hillary Clinton would not be prosecuted.

    Heather Samuelson and Heather Mills

    Also mentioned in the letter are the immunity agreements granted by the FBI in June 2016 to top Obama advisor Cheryl Mills and aide Heather Samuelson - who helped decide which Clinton emails were destroyed before turning over the remaining 30,000 records to the State Department. Of note, the FBI agreed to destroy evidence on devices owned by Mills and Samuelson which were turned over in the investigation.

    Sen. Johnson's letter reads:

    According to documents produced by the FBI, FBI employees exchanged proposed edits to the draft statement. On May 6, Deputy Director McCabe forwarded the draft statement to other senior FBI employees, including Peter Strzok, E.W. Priestap, Jonathan Moffa, and an employee on the Office of General Counsel whose name has been redacted. While the precise dates of the edits and identities of the editors are not apparent from the documents, the edits appear to change the tone and substance of Director Comey's statement in at least three respects .

    It was already known that Strzok - who was demoted to the FBI's HR department after anti-Trump text messages to his mistress were uncovered by an internal FBI watchdog - was responsible for downgrading the language regarding Clinton's conduct from the criminal charge of "gross negligence" to "extremely careless."

    "Gross negligence" is a legal term of art in criminal law often associated with recklessness. According to Black's Law Dictionary, gross negligence is " A severe degree of negligence taken as reckless disregard ," and " Blatant indifference to one's legal duty, other's safety, or their rights ." "Extremely careless," on the other hand, is not a legal term of art.

    According to an Attorney briefed on the matter, "extremely careless" is in fact a defense to "gross negligence": "What my client did was 'careless', maybe even 'extremely careless,' but it was not 'gross negligence' your honor." The FBI would have no option but to recommend prosecution if the phrase "gross negligence" had been left in.

    18 U.S. Code § 793 "Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information" specifically uses the phrase "gross negligence." Had Comey used the phrase, he would have essentially declared that Hillary had broken the law.

    In addition to Strzok's "gross negligence" --> "extremely careless" edit, McCabe's damage control team removed a key justification for elevating Clinton's actions to the standard of "gross negligence" - that being the " sheer volume " of classified material on Clinton's server. In the original draft, the "sheer volume" of material "supports an inference that the participants were grossly negligent in their handling of that information."

    Also removed from Comey's statement were all references to the Intelligence Community's involvement in investigating Clinton's private email server.

    Director Comey's original statement acknowledged the FBI had worked with its partners in the Intelligence Community to assess potential damage from Secretary Clinton's use of a private email server. The original statement read:

    [W]e have done extensive work with the assistance of our colleagues elsewhere in the Intelligence Community to understand what indications there might be of compromise by hostile actors in connection with the private email operation.

    The edited version removed the references to the intelligence community:

    [W]e have done extensive work [removed] to understand what indications there might be of compromise by hostile actors in connection with the personal e-mail operation.

    Furthermore, the FBI edited Comey's statement to downgrade the probability that Clinton's server was hacked by hostile actors, changing their language from "reasonably likely" to "possible" - an edit which eliminated yet another justification for the phrase "Gross negligence." To put it another way, "reasonably likely" means the probability of a hack due to Clinton's negligence is above 50 percent, whereas the hack simply being "possible" is any probability above zero.

    It's also possible that the FBI, which was not allowed to inspect the DNC servers, was uncomfortable standing behind the conclusion of Russian hacking reached by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

    The original draft read:

    Given the combination of factors, we assess it is reasonably likely that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton's private email account."

    The edited version from Director Comey's July 5 statement read:

    Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton's personal e-mail account.

    Johnson's letter also questions an " insurance policy " referenced in a text message sent by demoted FBI investigator Peter Strzok to his mistress, FBI attorney Lisa Page, which read " I want to believe the path you threw out to consideration in Andy's office -- that there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk." It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40...."

    One wonders if the "insurance policy" Strzok sent to Page on August 15, 2016 was in reference to the original counterintelligence operation launched against Trump of which Strzok became the lead investigator in "late July" 2016? Of note, Strzok reported directly to Bill Priestap - the director of Counterintelligence, who told James Comey not to inform congress that the FBI had launched a counterintelligence operation against then-candidate Trump, per Comey's March 20th testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. (h/t @TheLastRefuge2 )

    Transcript , James Comey Testimony to House Intel Committee, March 20, 2016

    The letter from the Senate Committee concludes; "the edits to Director Comey's public statement, made months prior to the conclusion of the FBI's investigation of Secretary Clinton's conduct, had a significant impact on the FBI's public evaluation of the implications of her actions . This effort, seen in the light of the personal animus toward then-candidate Trump by senior FBI agents leading the Clinton investigation and their apparent desire to create an "insurance policy" against Mr. Trump's election, raise profound questions about the FBI's role and possible interference in the 2016y presidential election and the role of the same agents in Special Counsel Mueller's investigation of President Trump ."

    Johnson then asks the FBI to answer six questions:

    1. Please provide the names of the Department of Justice (DOJ) employees who comprised the "mid-year review team" during the FBI's investigation of Secretary Clinton's use of a private email server.
    2. Please identify all FBI, DOJ, or other federal employees who edited or reviewed Director Comey's July 5, 2016 statement . Please identify which individual made the marked changes in the documents produced to the Committee.
    3. Please identify which FBI employee repeatedly changed the language in the final draft statement that described Secretary Clinton's behavior as "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless. " What evidence supported these changes?
    4. Please identify which FBI employee edited the draft statement to remove the reference to the Intelligence Community . On what basis was this change made?
    5. Please identify which FBI employee edited the draft statement to downgrade the FBI's assessment that it was "reasonably likely" that hostile actors had gained access to Secretary Clinton's private email account to merely that than [sic] intrusion was "possible." What evidence supported these changes?
    6. Please provide unredacted copies of the drafts of Director Comey's statement, including comment bubbles , and explain the basis for the redactions produced to date.

    We are increasingly faced with the fact that the FBI's top ranks have been filled with political ideologues who helped Hillary Clinton while pursuing the Russian influence narrative against Trump (perhaps as the "insurance" Strzok spoke of). Meanwhile, "hands off" recused Attorney General Jeff Sessions and assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein don't seem very excited to explore the issues with a second Special Counsel. As such, we are now almost entirely reliant on the various Committees of congress to pursue justice in this matter. Perhaps when their investigations have concluded, President Trump will feel he has the political and legal ammunition to truly clean house at the nation's swampiest agencies.

    swmnguy -> 11b40 , Dec 15, 2017 4:42 PM

    All I see in this story is that the FBI edits their work to make sure the terminology is consistent throughout. This is not a smoking gun of anything, except bureaucratic procedure one would find anywhere any legal documents are prepared.

    That's not to say Hillary shouldn't have been prosecuted. But what we're seeing here looks like perfectly normal behavior once the decision has been made not to prosecute; get the statements to be consistent with the conclusion. In a bureaucracy, that requires a number of people to be involved. And it would necessarily include people who work for Hillary Clinton, since that's whose information is being discussed.

    Now, if Hillary hadn't been such an arrogant bitch, we wouldn't be having this conversation. If she had just take the locked-down Android of iOS phone they issued her, instead of having to forward everything to herself so she could use her stupid Blackberry (which can't be locked down to State Dep't. specs), everything would have been both hunky and dory.

    And the stuff about how a foreign power might have, or might possibly have, accessed her emails is all BS too. We already know they weren't hacked, they were leaked.

    Maybe people who don't understand complicated organizations see something nefarious here, but nobody who does will. Nothing will come of this but some staged-for-TV dramatic pronouncements in the House, and on FOX News, and affiliated websites. There's nothing here.

    youarelost , Dec 15, 2017 8:59 AM

    What did Obozo know and when did he know it

    E.F. Mutton -> youarelost , Dec 15, 2017 9:04 AM

    False Flag time - distraction needed ASAP

    Bigly -> E.F. Mutton , Dec 15, 2017 9:14 AM

    We need to look for this as there are a LOT of people who need to be indicted and boobus americanus needs distraction.

    My concern is that there are not enough non-corrupts there to handle and process the swamp as Trump did not fire and replace them 10 months ago.

    shitshitshit -> Bigly , Dec 15, 2017 9:16 AM

    I wonder how high will this little game go...

    That obongo of all crooks is involved is a sure fact, but I'd like to see how many remaining defenders of the cause are still motivated to lose everything for this thing...

    In other terms, what are the defection rates in the dem party, because now this must be an avalanche.

    cheka -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 9:45 AM

    applied neo-bolshevism

    macholatte -> cheka , Dec 15, 2017 10:23 AM

    I am tired of this shit. Aren't you?

    Please, EVERYONE with a Twitter account send this message Every Day (tell your friends on facebook):

    Mr. President, the time to purge the Obama-Clinton holdovers has long passed. Please get rid of them at once. Make your base happy. Fire 100+ from DOJ - State - FBI. Hire William K. Black as Special Prosecutor

    send it to:

    @realDonaldTrump
    @PressSec
    @KellyannePolls
    @WhiteHouse


    Does anybody know how to start an online petition?
    Let's make some NOISE!!

    Bay of Pigs -> macholatte , Dec 15, 2017 12:02 PM

    Sadly, I don't see this story being reported anywhere this morning. Only the biggest scandal in American history. WTF?

    11b40 -> Bay of Pigs , Dec 15, 2017 1:22 PM

    Debatable re. biggest story being kept quiet. The AWAN Brothers/Family is a Pakistani spy ring operating inside Congress for more than a decade, and we hear nothing. They had access to virtually everything in every important committee. They had access to the Congressional servers and all the emails. Biggest spy scandal in our nations hsitory, and........crickets.

    Of course, they may all be related, since Debbie Wasserman-Shits brought them in and set them up, then intertwined their work in Congress with their work for the DNC.

    grizfish -> Bay of Pigs , Dec 15, 2017 1:53 PM

    They have had a year to destroy the evidence. Why should the CIA controlled MSM report the truth? It's just like slick willy. Deny. Deny. Deny.

    ThePhantom -> grizfish , Dec 15, 2017 3:35 PM

    The Media is "in on it" and just as culpabale.... everyone's fighting for their lives.

    grizfish -> Bay of Pigs , Dec 15, 2017 4:29 PM

    Just more theater. Throwing a bone to the few citizens who think for themselves. Giving us false hope the US legal system isn't corrupt. This will never be prosecuted, because the deep state remains in control. They've had a year to destroy the incriminating evidence.

    Lanka -> macholatte , Dec 15, 2017 2:27 PM

    Tillerson is extremely incompetent in housecleaning. He needs to be replaced by Fred Kruger, Esq.

    TerminalDebt -> cheka , Dec 15, 2017 12:43 PM

    I guess we know now who the leaker was at the FBI and on the Mule's team

    Joe Davola -> TerminalDebt , Dec 15, 2017 1:27 PM

    I'm guessing the number of leakers is bigger than 1

    eclectic syncretist -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 10:01 AM

    What's next? The FBI had Seth Rich killed? Is that why Sessions and everyone else appears paralyzed? How deep does this rabbit hole go?

    Overfed -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 10:58 AM

    I'm sure that Chaffets and Gowdy will hand down some very stern reprimands.

    Mr. Universe -> Overfed , Dec 15, 2017 11:24 AM

    Ryan and his buddies in Congress will make strained faces (as if taking a dump) and wring their hands saying they must hire a "Special" Investigator to cover up this mess.

    Duane Norman -> Mr. Universe , Dec 15, 2017 11:31 AM

    http://fmshooter.com/claiming-fbis-reputation-integrity-not-tatters-comp...

    Yeah, but it won't make a difference.

    Gardentoolnumber5 -> Overfed , Dec 15, 2017 3:12 PM

    Chaffets left Congress because he couldn't get any more help from Trump's DOJ than he did from Obama's. Sad, as he was one of the good guys. imo

    ThePhantom -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 3:38 PM

    did you notice the story yesterday about "Russian hacker admits putin ordered him to steal dnc emials" ? someones worried about it....

    grizfish -> ThePhantom , Dec 15, 2017 4:38 PM

    They tweet that crap all the time. Usually just a repeat with different names, but always blaming a Ruskie. About every 6 months they hit on a twist in the wording that causes it to go viral.

    Bush Baby -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 11:37 AM

    Before Trump was elected , I thought the only way to get our country back was through a Military Coup, but it appears there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

    eclectic syncretist -> Bush Baby , Dec 15, 2017 11:57 AM

    I wonder if that light is coming from the soon to be gaping hole in the FBI's asshole when the extent of this political activism by the agency eventually seeps into the public conciousness.

    rccalhoun -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 12:43 PM

    you can't clean up a mess of this magnitude. fire everyone in washington---senator, representative, fbi, cia, nsa ,etc and start over---has NO chance of happenning

    the only hope for a non violent solution is that a true leader emerges that every decent person can rally behind and respect, honor and dignity become the norm. unfortunately, corruption has become a culture and i don't know if it can be eradicated

    Lanka -> rccalhoun , Dec 15, 2017 2:31 PM

    Just expose the Congress, McCabe, Lindsey, McCabe, Clinton, all Dem judges, Media, Hollywood, local government dems as pedos; that will half-drain the swamp.

    shankster -> eclectic syncretist , Dec 15, 2017 4:11 PM

    Does the US public have a consciousness?

    lew1024 -> Bush Baby , Dec 15, 2017 2:54 PM

    If Trump gets the swamp cleaned without a military coup, he will be one of our greatest Presidents. There will be people who hate that more than they hate being in jail.

    checkessential -> BennyBoy , Dec 15, 2017 1:00 PM

    And they say President Trump obstructed justice for simply asking Comey if he could drop the Michael Flynn matter. Wow.

    TommyD88 -> checkessential , Dec 15, 2017 1:09 PM

    Alinsky 101: Accuse your opponent of that which you yourself are doing.

    Overfed -> redmudhooch , Dec 15, 2017 2:47 PM

    Getting rid of the FBI (and all other FLEAs) would be a good thing for all of us.

    A Sentinel -> TommyD88 , Dec 15, 2017 2:13 PM

    Precisely. That's actually a very good tool for decoding the Clintons and Obama. "You collaborated with Russia." Means "I collaborated with Saudi Arabia." It takes a little while and I haven't fully mastered it yet, but you can reverse alinsky-engineer their statements to figure out what they did.

    lurker since 2012 -> checkessential , Dec 15, 2017 4:09 PM

    And get this, Flynn was set up! Yates had the transcript via the (illegal) FISA Court of warrant which relied on the Dirty Steele Dossier, when Flynn deviated from the transcript they charged him Lying to the FBI. Comey McCabe run around lying 24/7. Their is no fucking hope left! The swamp WINS ALWAYS.

    Ramesees -> BaBaBouy , Dec 15, 2017 9:31 AM

    I have - it's was NBC Nightly News - they spent time on the damning emails from Strozk. Maybe 2-3 minutes. Normal news segment time. Surprised the hell out of me.

    A Sentinel -> Ramesees , Dec 15, 2017 2:14 PM

    Someone probably got fired for that.

    ThePhantom -> Ramesees , Dec 15, 2017 3:41 PM

    the "MSM" needs to cover their own asses ...like "an insurance policy" just in case the truth comes out... best to be seen reporting on the REAL issue at least for a couple minutes..

    [Dec 14, 2017] Was Peter Strzok the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director John Brennan?

    Highly recommended!
    That question arise during recent senate session of Rosenstein
    It's been suggested that Strzok's job as counterintelligence deputy would have made him the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director Brennan.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post paid any price for their promotion of the invasion and destruction of Iraq. They might not get off as easy this time. One can hope. ..."
    "... I can add one more. It's been suggested that Strzok's job as counterintelligence deputy would have made him the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director Brennan. At least this point was made explicitly in a recent LarouchePAC Live broadcast on Youtube (perhaps Will Wertz's presentation at last Saturday's Manhattan Project event) though I don't know what their evidence is. So we can ask: Was Peter Strzok the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director John Brennan? ..."
    consortiumnews.com

    Zachary Smith , December 13, 2017 at 11:00 pm

    I've been seeing all sorts of places where this fellow Strzok's name pops up. Things like a FISA judge recusing himself. Things like him possibly arranging things so Hillary was able to continue her run for President. At a super-right-wing site I found these "questions".

    1. Did Peter Strzok receive the Steele Dossier from Hillary Clinton on July 4th when he interviewed her?
    2. If Hillary didn't give Strzok the dossier, who did?
    3. Did Peter Strzok put together the FISA Court material, which included the Steele Dossier?
    4. Did Peter Strzok go to the FISA Court and ask for the surveillance of the Trump team based on the Steele Dossier?
    5. Did James Comey assign Peter Strzok to the Clinton email case?
    6. Did James Comey assign Peter Strzok to the Trump surveillance case?
    7. Did James Comey know that Peter Strzok was compromised when he sent him to interview Michael Flynn (where surveillance was used to interview him based on the Steele Dossier that was presented to the FISA Court that Strzok put together?)

    Neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post paid any price for their promotion of the invasion and destruction of Iraq. They might not get off as easy this time. One can hope.

    Steven A , December 14, 2017 at 8:36 am

    I can add one more. It's been suggested that Strzok's job as counterintelligence deputy would have made him the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director Brennan. At least this point was made explicitly in a recent LarouchePAC Live broadcast on Youtube (perhaps Will Wertz's presentation at last Saturday's Manhattan Project event) though I don't know what their evidence is. So we can ask: Was Peter Strzok the principal FBI liaison to CIA Director John Brennan?

    [Dec 14, 2017] The Foundering Russia-gate 'Scandal' Consortiumnews

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... The disclosure of fiercely anti-Trump text messages between two romantically involved senior FBI officials who played key roles in the early Russia-gate inquiry has turned the supposed Russian-election-meddling "scandal" into its own scandal, by providing evidence that some government investigators saw it as their duty to block or destroy Donald Trump's presidency. ..."
    "... As much as the U.S. mainstream media has mocked the idea that an American "deep state" exists and that it has maneuvered to remove Trump from office, the text messages between senior FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and senior FBI lawyer Lisa Page reveal how two high-ranking members of the government's intelligence/legal bureaucracy saw their role as protecting the United States from an election that might elevate to the presidency someone as unfit as Trump. ..."
    "... In the text messages, Strzok also expressed visceral contempt for working-class Trump voters, for instance, writing on Aug. 26, 2016, "Just went to a southern Virginia Walmart. I could SMELL the Trump support. it's scary real down here." ..."
    "... Another text message suggested that other senior government officials – alarmed at the possibility of a Trump presidency – joined the discussion. In an apparent reference to an August 2016 meeting with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Strzok wrote to Page on Aug. 15, 2016, "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office -- that there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk." ..."
    "... The scheme involved having some Democratic electors vote for former Secretary of State Colin Powell (which did happen), making him the third-place vote-getter in the Electoral College and thus eligible for selection by the House. But the plan fizzled when enough of Trump's electors stayed loyal to their candidate to officially make him President. ..."
    "... After that, Trump's opponents turned to the Russia-gate investigation as the vehicle to create the conditions for somehow nullifying the election, impeaching Trump, or at least weakening him sufficiently so he could not take steps to improve relations with Russia. ..."
    "... And, the new revelations of high-level FBI bias puts Clapper's statement about "hand-picked" analysts in sharper perspective, since any intelligence veteran will tell you that if you hand-pick the analysts you are effectively hand-picking the analysis. ..."
    "... Although it has not yet been spelled out exactly what role Strzok and Page may have had in the Jan. 6 report, I was told by one source that Strzok had a direct hand in writing it. Whether that is indeed the case, Strzok, as a senior FBI counterintelligence official, would almost surely have had input into the selection of the FBI analysts and thus into the substance of the report itself. [For challenges from intelligence experts to the Jan. 6 report, see Consortiumnews.com's " More Holes in the Russia-gate Narrative. "] ..."
    "... If the FBI contributors to the Jan. 6 report shared Strzok's contempt for Trump, it could explain why claims from an unverified dossier of Democratic-financed "dirt" on Trump, including salacious charges that Russian intelligence operatives videotaped Trump being urinated on by prostitutes in a five-star Moscow hotel, was added as a classified appendix to the report and presented personally to President-elect Trump. ..."
    "... That discovery helped ensnare another senior Justice Department official, Associate Attorney General Bruce Ohr, who talked with Steele during the campaign and had a post-election meeting with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson. Recently, Simpson has acknowledged that Ohr's wife, Nellie Ohr, was hired by Fusion GPS last year to investigate Trump. ..."
    "... But the story soon collapsed when it turned out that the date on the email was actually Sept. 14, 2016, i.e., the day after ..."
    "... Yet, despite the cascade of errors and grudging corrections, including some belated admissions that there was no "17-intelligence-agency consensus" on Russian "hacking" – The New York Times made a preemptive strike against the new documentary evidence that the Russia-gate investigation was riddled with conflicts of interest. ..."
    "... Pursuing the truth can be a fascinating hobby, that leads to a person awakening. Make it interesting, awaken your friend's curiosity. ..."
    "... Weeks before the 2016 election, Peter Strzok's FBI team agreed to pay former MI6 agent and Fusion GPS operative Christopher Steele $50,000 if he could verify the claims contained within the dossier – which relied on the cooperation of two senior Kremlin officials. (One more time for you, Walter Devine -- "if he [Steele] could verify the claims"). When Steele was unable to verify the claims in the dossier, the FBI wouldn't pay him according to the New York Times. ..."
    "... Despite the fact that Steele was not paid by the FBI for the dossier, Peter Strzok used it to launch a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump's team. Steele was ultimately paid $168,000 by Fusion GPS to assemble the dossier. ..."
    "... Of interest to me is why the Republicans did not hammer Hillary for placing an ambassador in what was essentially a CIA compound in the first place. My guess and I can only guess is that they no objection to its being a ratline to ship Libya's stolen armaments to head-chopping jihadists (with USA blessing) fighting Assad. So to raise the issue of why putting an ambassador there would have opened the door to sensitive questions -- if the press would ask them, of course. ..."
    "... That's the real Benghazi story the MSM won't talk about. Although I suspect the armaments were given to the head choppers by the CIA, and then they rebelled at having them transferred to the head choppers in Syria after they had succeeded in killing Ghaddafi. ..."
    "... "Madame Secretary, WHY was it necessary to destroy Libya?" No republican asked THAT question. ..."
    "... Hello Skip, nice to read your good comments again and to exchange info. Here is an article which talks about the weapons ratline in Syria. Within four days, the powerful anti-tank missiles that CIA bought in Bulgaria and (supposedly) delivered to "moderate" rebels, ended up in ISIS hands. The only problem with the article's narrative is that it is still drawing the official line that the lack of oversight is to blame for such, whilst it was clearly a deliberate action to supply weapons to ISIS wrapped up in plausible deniability of passing them through the hands of some poor inept souls serving as intermediaries. ..."
    "... Starting a grand-scale investigation on the basis of allegations of conspiracy with another government and treason is rather dubious when these allegations from dirty campaign tactics are not based on any tangible facts. It is true that the Muller team does not leak as much to the press as the intelligence services did previously. This investigation still plays an important role for the media propaganda that still pushes the Russiagate conspiracy theory even though there had never been any factual basis for it and no evidence has been found in over a year. Since there is still this investigation is going on, they can use it for justifying their daily minutes of hate against Russia, their calls for censorship and denounciation of any political position that diverges from the neoconservative and neoliberal ideology. ..."
    "... the most dubious thing was, of course, the lobbying related to a UN security council resolution vote, but that might at best hint at colluding with Israel, it certainly does not fit the Russiagate conspiracy theory ..."
    "... So, if we judge the Muller investigation by its results, it is not going anywhere. Obviously, that is what should be expected when a commission is set up for investigating a conspiracy theory for which there had never been any evidence to begin with. I suppose the result would be similar if the Illuminati, the Elders of Zion, or reptiloids were officially investigated. ..."
    "... It seems that the Muller team wants to delay that moment when they have to confess that the conspiracy theory has broken down, but that won't necessarily make it easier, either. ..."
    "... Think you nailed it. The bankster regime changers already tried once to structurally adjust Russia into being a US puppet state in the 90s under Clinton. Russia was robbed blind while Yeltzin drank himself into a stupor. Putin is the one who put a stop to the looting. That is his crime against the western oligarchs and why he is enemy #1. ..."
    "... There's no 'lack of discussion about what they have uncovered' which has basically amounted to a pile of dirt. Have not read from the VIPS and William Binney? Uncovering shady business with oligarchs doesn't show collusion, but the dossier oppo does, but it's business as usual. Denying the FBI-DNC server subpoena was odd don't you think? ..."
    "... "Fusion GPS appears to be in the center of a web of corruption. Who hired Fusion GPS to ramp up its opposition research against Trump? Hillary Clinton and the DNC. the wife of Justice Department official Bruce G. Ohr worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 presidential election. Nellie Ohr is listed as working for the CIA's Open Source Works department in a 2010 DOJ report." Look how the CIA, FBI, and DNC have found each other and made a friendship forever. ..."
    "... Also, do you personally have any concern about the murder of Seth Rich? -- Donna Brazil has become afraid of being Seth-Riched. How come? What kind of scum the Democratic apparatus has become? -- Guess Tony Podesta and Bill Clinton and madame "we came, we saw, he died ha, ha, ha " are the composite face of the Democratic Party today. ..."
    "... Have at it Walter. What exactly have they uncovered? The "process" lost credibility long ago. The "intelligence" report of January 6th was garbage and it's been all downhill since. ..."
    "... Obama's expulsion of the Russian diplomats after Trump's election, with no reason based on fact/danger to the USA gave a good start to the Russophobia encouraged by the Clinton losers and leading on to the ludicrous extreme situation still going on. ..."
    "... Since the whole Guccifer 2.0 operation appears to be an attempt to falsely smear WikiLeaks as a Russian agent (by publicly claiming to be a hacker associated with WikiLeaks and then being "caught" releasing documents (the ones of June 15, 2016) with "Russian fingerprints"), perhaps his uploading files (Sept 13, 2016) to a server with (past) ties to someone associated with WikiLeaks (Kim Dot Com) would have been part of the same effort. ..."
    "... Such a reversal of evidence and conclusion bespeaks deliberate deception. The motive is unclear, as the failed Newsweek is said to have been revived in 2013 by a Korean-American Christian fundamentalist David Jang formerly of Moon's Unification Church, whose followers consider him the Second Coming of JC, according to the linked source. http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/03/newsweek-ibt-olivet-david-jang/ ..."
    "... It's been a year and a half since Hillary Clinton first accused Donald Trump of being a Putin puppet and in collusion with the Kremlin. Any fool should be able to understand that if there existed any real evidence to support this accusation the world would have seen it under banner headlines long ago. ..."
    "... Thank you for your spot-on analysis! The motives of the deep state – including FBI operatives, NY Times and WAPO – is crystal clear. They do not want Trump to be president, and are determined to either remove him or handcuff him indefinitely. But why? Why has the establishment gone crazy? Is it simply political, or something deeper and darker? ..."
    "... The real "deep" reason is the PNAC plot to make sure that the USA remains the sole super power that can impose its will anywhere in the world. Trump's campaign position of seeking detente with Russia would have led us into a multi-polar world giving Russia a sphere of influence. That is unacceptable to the empire. ..."
    "... RussiaGate is an attempt to remove Trump from power, or at a minimum make it impossible for him to seek detente. I am no Trump apologist, but I do think our only hope for a future in this nuclear age is to seek peace and cooperation in a multi-polar world that respects national sovereignty and the rule of law. I suspect Trump will continue to be brought to heel, with or without the success of RussiaGate. And there is always the JFK solution as a last resort. ..."
    "... Where is William Binney's "Thin String" signals intelligence (SIGINT) software when it's needed? Wouldn't it be lovely to focus it on the communications of our own government? Binney says applying it after 9/11 to the pre-9/11 communications streams did successfully predict the 9/11 attacks. If only we had stored all communications of government officials dating back to . hey, let's say 1774 or so, what truths might we now know, and what proofs might we now have? What would FDR's communications prior to Pearl Harbor reveal? What about the JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X assassinations? ..."
    Dec 14, 2017 | consortiumnews.com

    Exclusive: Taking on water from revealed FBI conflicts of interest, the foundering Russia-gate probe – and its mainstream media promoters – are resorting to insults against people who note the listing ship, writes Robert Parry.

    By Robert Parry

    The disclosure of fiercely anti-Trump text messages between two romantically involved senior FBI officials who played key roles in the early Russia-gate inquiry has turned the supposed Russian-election-meddling "scandal" into its own scandal, by providing evidence that some government investigators saw it as their duty to block or destroy Donald Trump's presidency.

    Peter Strzok, who served as a Deputy Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, second in command of counterintelligence.

    As much as the U.S. mainstream media has mocked the idea that an American "deep state" exists and that it has maneuvered to remove Trump from office, the text messages between senior FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok and senior FBI lawyer Lisa Page reveal how two high-ranking members of the government's intelligence/legal bureaucracy saw their role as protecting the United States from an election that might elevate to the presidency someone as unfit as Trump.

    In one Aug. 6, 2016 text exchange, Page told Strzok: "Maybe you're meant to stay where you are because you're meant to protect the country from that menace." At the end of that text, she sent Strzok a link to a David Brooks column in The New York Times, which concludes with the clarion call: "There comes a time when neutrality and laying low become dishonorable. If you're not in revolt, you're in cahoots. When this period and your name are mentioned, decades hence, your grandkids will look away in shame."

    Apparently after reading that stirring advice, Strzok replied, "And of course I'll try and approach it that way. I just know it will be tough at times. I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps."

    At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, criticized Strzok's boast that "I can protect our country at many levels." Jordan said: "this guy thought he was super-agent James Bond at the FBI [deciding] there's no way we can let the American people make Donald Trump the next president."

    In the text messages, Strzok also expressed visceral contempt for working-class Trump voters, for instance, writing on Aug. 26, 2016, "Just went to a southern Virginia Walmart. I could SMELL the Trump support. it's scary real down here."

    Another text message suggested that other senior government officials – alarmed at the possibility of a Trump presidency – joined the discussion. In an apparent reference to an August 2016 meeting with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Strzok wrote to Page on Aug. 15, 2016, "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office -- that there's no way he gets elected -- but I'm afraid we can't take that risk."

    Strzok added, "It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event that you die before you're 40."

    It's unclear what strategy these FBI officials were contemplating to ensure Trump's defeat, but the comments mesh with what an intelligence source told me after the 2016 election, that there was a plan among senior Obama administration officials to use the allegations about Russian meddling to block Trump's momentum with the voters and -- if elected -- to persuade members of the Electoral College to deny Trump a majority of votes and thus throw the selection of a new president into the House of Representatives under the rules of the Twelfth Amendment .

    The scheme involved having some Democratic electors vote for former Secretary of State Colin Powell (which did happen), making him the third-place vote-getter in the Electoral College and thus eligible for selection by the House. But the plan fizzled when enough of Trump's electors stayed loyal to their candidate to officially make him President.

    After that, Trump's opponents turned to the Russia-gate investigation as the vehicle to create the conditions for somehow nullifying the election, impeaching Trump, or at least weakening him sufficiently so he could not take steps to improve relations with Russia.

    In one of her text messages to Strzok, Page made reference to a possible Watergate-style ouster of Trump, writing: "Bought all the president's men. Figure I needed to brush up on watergate."

    As a key feature in this oust-Trump effort, Democrats have continued to lie by claiming that "all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies concurred" in the assessment that Russia hacked the Democratic emails last year on orders from President Vladimir Putin and then slipped them to WikiLeaks to undermine Hillary Clinton's campaign.

    That canard was used in the early months of the Russia-gate imbroglio to silence any skepticism about the "hacking" accusation, and the falsehood was repeated again by a Democratic congressman during Wednesday's hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.

    But the "consensus" claim was never true. In May 2017 testimony , President Obama's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged that the Jan. 6 "Intelligence Community Assessment" was put together by "hand-picked" analysts from only three agencies: the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency.

    Biased at the Creation

    And, the new revelations of high-level FBI bias puts Clapper's statement about "hand-picked" analysts in sharper perspective, since any intelligence veteran will tell you that if you hand-pick the analysts you are effectively hand-picking the analysis.

    Although it has not yet been spelled out exactly what role Strzok and Page may have had in the Jan. 6 report, I was told by one source that Strzok had a direct hand in writing it. Whether that is indeed the case, Strzok, as a senior FBI counterintelligence official, would almost surely have had input into the selection of the FBI analysts and thus into the substance of the report itself. [For challenges from intelligence experts to the Jan. 6 report, see Consortiumnews.com's " More Holes in the Russia-gate Narrative. "]

    If the FBI contributors to the Jan. 6 report shared Strzok's contempt for Trump, it could explain why claims from an unverified dossier of Democratic-financed "dirt" on Trump, including salacious charges that Russian intelligence operatives videotaped Trump being urinated on by prostitutes in a five-star Moscow hotel, was added as a classified appendix to the report and presented personally to President-elect Trump.

    Though Democrats and the Clinton campaign long denied financing the dossier – prepared by ex-British spy Christopher Steele who claimed to rely on second- and third-hand information from anonymous Russian contacts – it was revealed in October 2017 that the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign shared in the costs, with the payments going to the "oppo" research firm, Fusion GPS, through the Democrats' law firm, Perkins Coie.

    That discovery helped ensnare another senior Justice Department official, Associate Attorney General Bruce Ohr, who talked with Steele during the campaign and had a post-election meeting with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson. Recently, Simpson has acknowledged that Ohr's wife, Nellie Ohr, was hired by Fusion GPS last year to investigate Trump.

    Bruce Ohr has since been demoted and Strzok was quietly removed from the Russia-gate investigation last July although the reasons for these moves were not publicly explained at the time.

    Still, the drive for "another Watergate" to oust an unpopular – and to many insiders, unfit – President remains at the center of the thinking among the top mainstream news organizations as they have scrambled for Russia-gate "scoops" over the past year even at the cost of making serious reporting errors .

    For instance, last Friday, CNN -- and then CBS News and MSNBC -- trumpeted an email supposedly sent from someone named Michael J. Erickson on Sept. 4, 2016, to Donald Trump Jr. that involved WikiLeaks offering the Trump campaign pre-publication access to purloined Democratic National Committee emails that WikiLeaks published on Sept. 13, nine days later.

    Grasping for Confirmation

    Since the Jan. 6 report alleged that WikiLeaks received the "hacked" emails from Russia -- a claim that WikiLeaks and Russia deny -- the story seemed to finally tie together the notion that the Trump campaign had at least indirectly colluded with Russia.

    Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona. March 21, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

    This new "evidence" spread like wildfire across social media. As The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald wrote in an article critical of the media's performance, some Russia-gate enthusiasts heralded the revelation with graphics of cannons booming and nukes exploding.

    But the story soon collapsed when it turned out that the date on the email was actually Sept. 14, 2016, i.e., the day after WikiLeaks released the batch of DNC emails, not Sept. 4. It appeared that "Erickson" – whoever he was – had simply alerted the Trump campaign to the public existence of the WikiLeaks disclosure.

    Greenwald noted , "So numerous are the false stories about Russia and Trump over the last year that I literally cannot list them all."

    Yet, despite the cascade of errors and grudging corrections, including some belated admissions that there was no "17-intelligence-agency consensus" on Russian "hacking" – The New York Times made a preemptive strike against the new documentary evidence that the Russia-gate investigation was riddled with conflicts of interest.

    The Times' lead editorial on Wednesday mocked reporters at Fox News for living in an "alternate universe" where the Russia-gate "investigation is 'illegitimate and corrupt,' or so says Gregg Jarrett, a legal analyst who appears regularly on [Sean] Hannity's nightly exercise in presidential ego-stroking."

    Though briefly mentioning the situation with Strzok's text messages, the Times offered no details or context for the concerns, instead just heaping ridicule on anyone who questions the Russia-gate narrative.

    "To put it mildly, this is insane," the Times declared. "The primary purpose of Mr. Mueller's investigation is not to take down Mr. Trump. It's to protect America's national security and the integrity of its elections by determining whether a presidential campaign conspired with a foreign adversary to influence the 2016 election – a proposition that grows more plausible every day."

    The Times fumed that "roughly three-quarters of Republicans still refuse to accept that Russia interfered in the 2016 election – a fact that is glaringly obvious to everyone else, including the nation's intelligence community." (There we go again with the false suggestion of a consensus within the intelligence community.)

    The Times also took to task Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, for seeking "a Special Counsel to investigate ALL THINGS 2016 – not just Trump and Russia." The Times insisted that "None of these attacks or insinuations are grounded in good faith."

    But what are the Times editors so afraid of? As much as they try to insult and intimidate anyone who demands serious evidence about the Russia-gate allegations, why shouldn't the American people be informed about how Washington insiders manipulate elite opinion in pursuit of reversing "mistaken" judgments by the unwashed masses?

    Do the Times editors really believe in democracy – a process that historically has had its share of warts and mistakes – or are they just elitists who think they know best and turn away their noses from the smell of working-class people at Walmart?

    Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America's Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com ).

    mike k , December 13, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    The NYT is just another tool of the multi-billionaire oligarchs who rule this USA from the shadows. They fear nothing more than the light. When that investigative light gets strong enough, more and more ordinary folks will begin to awake to the massive fraud that has been perpetrated at their expense. And when that happens, we will finally see the Oligarchy begin to crumble under the pressure of the 99%. The truth will out, then heads will roll ..

    mike k , December 13, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    Keep up the pressure – get your friends interested, tell them about CN, Counterpunch, Strategic-Culture, Chris Hedges, etc. Pursuing the truth can be a fascinating hobby, that leads to a person awakening. Make it interesting, awaken your friend's curiosity.

    incontinent reader , December 14, 2017 at 12:04 am

    How about also including RT in your list? It's a news and commentary site with strong journalistic values and credibility, notwithstanding what the Administration or the MSM may say or imply.

    T.J , December 14, 2017 at 8:45 am

    If RT didn't have the qualities you describe, attempts by the Administration and the MSM to discredit it would have been successful. However they will attempt to silence it by other means.

    Adam Kraft , December 14, 2017 at 11:59 am

    Very true TJ. I found counterpunch when wapo / propornot blacklisted them. Gave 'em creds imo. I also like mint press, occupy, naked capitalism, **world socialist website**, disobedient media, truthout, some of Glenns work on the Intercept and my youtube subs include: wearechange, **anonymous Scandinavia**, **the jimmy dore show**, RT America, TeleSUR English*, Zoon Politikon, **democracy at work**, HA Goodman, theRealNews*, mintpressnews, watching the hawks, secular talk, laura kinhtlinger, judicial watch, empire files, redacted tonight, TBTV, a little from Julian Assange's twitter.

    tina , December 14, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    what about Al-Jazeera?

    Erik G , December 14, 2017 at 8:03 am

    Good suggestion; in such persuasion, one must respectfully suggest better sources and avoid any conflict.

    Mr. Parry has well summarized for beginners these essential counterpoints to the mass media propaganda.

    Those who would like to petition the NYT to make Robert Parry their senior editor may do so here:
    https://www.change.org/p/new-york-times-bring-a-new-editor-to-the-new-york-times?recruiter=72650402&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
    While Mr. Parry may prefer independence, and we all know the NYT ownership makes it unlikely, and the NYT may try to ignore it, it is instructive to them that intelligent readers know better journalism when they see it. A petition demonstrates the concerns of a far larger number of potential or lost subscribers.

    Amyg , December 14, 2017 at 1:40 pm

    I like this use of "awakened," in contrast to the establishment culture's fascination with "woke." People don't need to get woke. They need to become awakened. Thanks to Robert Parry.

    Walter Devine , December 13, 2017 at 10:15 pm

    I thought we were waiting to hear what the evidence is found. The lack of discussion about what they have uncovered seems to me to speak of a professional operation. Once they are done and present what they have found, then everyone can get on their soap boxes and let loose. As for Bias, that exists in everyone to some extent or another, where was the moral outrage from the Republicans charging this today when the Benghazi investigation was being conducted by folks with known axes to grind themselves? It is the Washington hypocrisy machine at its most obvious. As for the media, print or otherwise, they are just preaching to their choirs in order to sell whatever their particular consumers are buying. Frankly I have come to expect more from you than this article Mr. Parry, here's hoping

    Robert Gardner , December 13, 2017 at 10:45 pm

    I've been skeptical out the Russian conspiracy so far, but I agree with what Walter Devine wrote.

    tina , December 13, 2017 at 11:42 pm

    I am still waiting . Mr. Parry can ride on his story back in the 1980's. We are in 2017, The internet is good. What did those people in Washington do today? get rid of net neutrality? Love you all people on CN, Happy Hanukah Merry Christmas, and Kwanzaa, And the winter solstice. Peace to all. Love, tina everyone is going to believe that they want to believe.

    incontinent reader , December 14, 2017 at 12:08 am

    Are you kidding about Benghazi? Obviously you have still not informed yourself about the egregious security breakdown of the Administration or how the Benghazi facility factored into the CIA's proxy war in Syria. (And, btw, where was Hillary "Rod up her Hiney" Clinton when that '3AM call' came in at 4pm?

    Larco Marco , December 14, 2017 at 4:32 am

    Hillary Rodham Clinton AND William Hamrod Clinton

    Anna , December 14, 2017 at 12:56 am

    Thank you for bringing attention to the Benghazi scandal: "FBI Chief Instructed Agents To Lie About Benghazi To Protect Hillary" http://yournewswire.com/fbi-lie-benghazi-hillary/

    "By placing the interests of the Obama administration over the public's interests, the order is yet another data point highlighting the politicization of the FBI: After the September 11, 2012 attack against U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration peddled a lie, telling the public that the attack was related to Muslims who had become enraged at an anti-Islam YouTube video, and not a planned act of terrorism – despite Hillary Clinton emailing Chelsea Clinton from her unsecure @clintonemail.com server the night of the attack to say exactly that."

    -- On a topic of evidence: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-13/anti-trump-texts-between-fired-fbi-agents-having-extramarital-affair-leak-and-theyre "

    In 2016, [the FBI] received the infamous anti-Trump "dossier" The "dossier" was a compendium of allegations about then-candidate Trump and others around him that was compiled by the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The firm's bank records, obtained by House investigators, revealed that the project was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

    Weeks before the 2016 election, Peter Strzok's FBI team agreed to pay former MI6 agent and Fusion GPS operative Christopher Steele $50,000 if he could verify the claims contained within the dossier – which relied on the cooperation of two senior Kremlin officials. (One more time for you, Walter Devine -- "if he [Steele] could verify the claims"). When Steele was unable to verify the claims in the dossier, the FBI wouldn't pay him according to the New York Times.

    Despite the fact that Steele was not paid by the FBI for the dossier, Peter Strzok used it to launch a counterintelligence investigation into President Trump's team. Steele was ultimately paid $168,000 by Fusion GPS to assemble the dossier.

    -- More evidence" "FBI Texts Reveal "Insurance Policy" To Prevent Trump Presidency" http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-13/we-cant-take-risk-fbi-texts-reveal-insurance-policy-prevent-trump-presidency

    -- Have you noticed the numbers for payments? The bank records? The names? -- these are the evidence. Or you believe that there a Bias against the miserable Steele?

    bobzz , December 14, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Of interest to me is why the Republicans did not hammer Hillary for placing an ambassador in what was essentially a CIA compound in the first place. My guess and I can only guess is that they no objection to its being a ratline to ship Libya's stolen armaments to head-chopping jihadists (with USA blessing) fighting Assad. So to raise the issue of why putting an ambassador there would have opened the door to sensitive questions -- if the press would ask them, of course.

    Skip Scott , December 14, 2017 at 4:28 pm

    That's the real Benghazi story the MSM won't talk about. Although I suspect the armaments were given to the head choppers by the CIA, and then they rebelled at having them transferred to the head choppers in Syria after they had succeeded in killing Ghaddafi.

    Jon Adams , December 14, 2017 at 6:17 pm

    "Madame Secretary, WHY was it necessary to destroy Libya?" No republican asked THAT question.

    Kiza , December 14, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    Hello Skip, nice to read your good comments again and to exchange info. Here is an article which talks about the weapons ratline in Syria. Within four days, the powerful anti-tank missiles that CIA bought in Bulgaria and (supposedly) delivered to "moderate" rebels, ended up in ISIS hands. The only problem with the article's narrative is that it is still drawing the official line that the lack of oversight is to blame for such, whilst it was clearly a deliberate action to supply weapons to ISIS wrapped up in plausible deniability of passing them through the hands of some poor inept souls serving as intermediaries.

    Thus, the CIA kept being surprised that its powerful weapons kept ending up in ISIS hands but kept doing the same over and over: oops an oversight mistake, oops and another one, oops one more, and another one, . the two hundredth one

    https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/blowback-isis-got-a-powerful-missile-the-cia-secretly?utm_term=.joevpx9dG#.lxegj54A7

    Adrian Engler , December 14, 2017 at 3:44 am

    Starting a grand-scale investigation on the basis of allegations of conspiracy with another government and treason is rather dubious when these allegations from dirty campaign tactics are not based on any tangible facts. It is true that the Muller team does not leak as much to the press as the intelligence services did previously. This investigation still plays an important role for the media propaganda that still pushes the Russiagate conspiracy theory even though there had never been any factual basis for it and no evidence has been found in over a year. Since there is still this investigation is going on, they can use it for justifying their daily minutes of hate against Russia, their calls for censorship and denounciation of any political position that diverges from the neoconservative and neoliberal ideology.

    I wonder how long this can go on. So far, the indictments of the Muller team have had nothing to do with the Russiagate conspiracy theory. Paul Manafort was indicted for tax evasion related to lobbying business with Ukraine, mostly years ago. Michael Flynn was indicted because when he reported a call from his holidays to the Russian ambassador to the FBI more than three weeks later, he left out two elements (the FBI had the recordings from the NSA, anyway, so they wouldn't have had to ask him about the telephone call). There was nothing illegal about the contents of the telephone call (the most dubious thing was, of course, the lobbying related to a UN security council resolution vote, but that might at best hint at colluding with Israel, it certainly does not fit the Russiagate conspiracy theory). It seems quite plausible that Flynn just forgot these two elements of a telephone call in which quite a large number of points was raised and that he pleaded guilty because of a plea deal (otherwise he might have been indicted in connection with his lobbying work for Turkey). Superficially, the closest to the idea of Russiagate is the indictment of Papadopoulos, someone who played a minor role in the Trump campaign and was looking for contacts with Russians, but, as it seems did not get very far (for some reasons he seemed to think a Russian woman he was talking with was a relative of Putin). His actions may have been naïve or misguided, but nothing about them was illegal, like in the case of Michael Flynn, he is only accused of lying to the FBI about normal, legal actions.

    So, if we judge the Muller investigation by its results, it is not going anywhere. Obviously, that is what should be expected when a commission is set up for investigating a conspiracy theory for which there had never been any evidence to begin with. I suppose the result would be similar if the Illuminati, the Elders of Zion, or reptiloids were officially investigated.

    The question is how they will wind down. If they just say that apart from things like Manafort's possible tax evation and Flynn's lobbying for Israel, they have not found anything – certainly nothing that confirms the Russiagate conspiracy theory -, that will be quite difficult, people will demand that it is investigated how it came about that such a conspiracy was spread and played such an influential role in political discourse for some time. It seems that the Muller team wants to delay that moment when they have to confess that the conspiracy theory has broken down, but that won't necessarily make it easier, either.

    Antiwar7 , December 14, 2017 at 7:24 am

    How long should we wait until we hear of ONE, that's right, ONE piece of evidence backing these claims up? Please answer: 2 years? 10 years? The only evidence so far amounts to "trust us".

    And that's ignoring the monumental number of pieces of false evidence that have been put forward. That in itself makes the whole "investigation" suspicious. On top of the long, documented history of the CIA planting false stories in the press.

    bobzz , December 14, 2017 at 3:09 pm

    I don't know. How long did it take the Dutch to cook the evidence to condemn Russian partisans for the downing of the Malaysian airliner -- with Ukraine holding a gun to their heads.

    Dunno , December 14, 2017 at 4:43 pm

    Dear Mr. 7, I have come to the grudging conclusion that Russia-gate is and has always been more about Russia and Putin than about the crooked Don. If we stop to think about it, Trump has succumbed to the deep control of the Deep-State colossus. Russia evil; Israel good! Got it? When the pathetic wiener & crotch-grabber isn't bitchin' for Bibi and doing little pooch tricks for Israel, he is being programmed by the pentagon and the Deep State, and making sure that the super-rich get super richer. His own SOS Tillerson called him an effin' moron. Enough said!

    Therefore, 7, Russia-gate is all about keeping the pot boiling for the presidential election in Russia next year. Demonizing Putin and Russia is the new great game of our era. The NWO Nebula lusts after Russia's geostrategic location and its abundant resources. It's 1905-1925 all over again. Read the book, "Wall Street and the Russian Revolution 1905-1925" by Richard B. Spence and also take a gander at Trine Day books' website of suppressed books. The deep-state Plutocrats and their secret societies hatch their evil little plots, while trying to keep the rest of us in the dark. Right now, Trump is a convenient platform for anti-Russian propaganda.

    Lois Gagnon , December 14, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    Think you nailed it. The bankster regime changers already tried once to structurally adjust Russia into being a US puppet state in the 90s under Clinton. Russia was robbed blind while Yeltzin drank himself into a stupor. Putin is the one who put a stop to the looting. That is his crime against the western oligarchs and why he is enemy #1.

    Sam F , December 14, 2017 at 8:10 am

    Once more the standard troll line about being a prior supporter, which plainly "Devine" is not.
    We are well over a year into this matter with nothing but speculation and manufactured claims.
    It is clear that Russia-gate = Israel-gate, a diversion from zionist control of the DNC.
    Where is the concern of "Devine" for the lack of investigation of control of elections and mass media by Israel?
    Why does he seek to cover up the complete destruction of democracy by the foreign power Israel?

    Lois Gagnon , December 14, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    Oliver Stone had this to say on the matter on FaceBook. If you're on FB, here is the link.

    https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=oliver%20stone

    Adam Kraft , December 14, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    facts don't show bias walt. yeah, media sells to the public, but they're also selling (or trading narratives for access) to the gov't. Wikileaks exposed the MSM – DNC collusion and we've witnessed the leaks and anonymous sources from the IC. Trust the CIA?

    There's no 'lack of discussion about what they have uncovered' which has basically amounted to a pile of dirt. Have not read from the VIPS and William Binney? Uncovering shady business with oligarchs doesn't show collusion, but the dossier oppo does, but it's business as usual. Denying the FBI-DNC server subpoena was odd don't you think?

    I personally believe that progressive hope dies at the DNC and exposing the party's lies (their private and public views) and undemocratic practices (preliminary process, fundraising) is the best thing for the country. It brings us one step closer to potentially building a third party that represents the proletariat and petty bourgeois classes.

    Lois Gagnon , December 14, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    I agree with your sentiment, but I'm finding it disturbing how many so called progressives are convinced beyond any doubt, despite the evidence I produce to instill doubt, that Russia interfered in "our democracy."

    They have come unglued to the point of idiocy over Trump. They are firmly in the clutches of the CIA Deep State apparatus.

    Anna , December 14, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Hey, Walter Devine, here is more for your whining about evidence: There are plenty of evidence when the disgusting clintonistas are concerned: http://theduran.com/fusion-gps-admits-that-it-hired-wife-of-doj-official-to-investigate-then-candidate-trump/

    "Fusion GPS appears to be in the center of a web of corruption. Who hired Fusion GPS to ramp up its opposition research against Trump? Hillary Clinton and the DNC. the wife of Justice Department official Bruce G. Ohr worked for Fusion GPS during the 2016 presidential election. Nellie Ohr is listed as working for the CIA's Open Source Works department in a 2010 DOJ report." Look how the CIA, FBI, and DNC have found each other and made a friendship forever.

    Also, do you personally have any concern about the murder of Seth Rich? -- Donna Brazil has become afraid of being Seth-Riched. How come? What kind of scum the Democratic apparatus has become? -- Guess Tony Podesta and Bill Clinton and madame "we came, we saw, he died ha, ha, ha " are the composite face of the Democratic Party today.

    Paul E. Merrell, J.D. , December 14, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    @ Walter Devine: "Once they are done and present what they have found, then everyone can get on their soap boxes and let loose."

    But overlook that the Democrats and mainstream media are doing the opposite? It seems to me that this is precisely the point that Mr. Parry's reporting has been aimed at, that the Democrats and mainstream media are jumping enormously to RussiaGate conclusions without disclosing any evidence to back up their incredibly dangerous claims and that there *is* very strong evidence of ulterior motives.

    Gregory Herr , December 14, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    Have at it Walter. What exactly have they uncovered? The "process" lost credibility long ago. The "intelligence" report of January 6th was garbage and it's been all downhill since.

    Peter de Klerk , December 14, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    I had great respect Parry's earlier writing which had a healthy dose of MSM skepticism (albeit largely for personal reasons). This whole business of jumping to conclusions on the Russia meddling has put me off him totally. All the reporting seems to be in service of defending a forgone conclusion. I wonder if this has anything to do with fundraising.

    falcemartello , December 13, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    This whole Russia ate my lunch has entered the realm of alternate truth. The MSM are now actually stating that the Russian hacking the 2016 election as fact. Just like all the other false and fabricated statements of world events in the last 20 years . Fro Yugoslavia, Milosovic exonerated for the falsely laid charges of genocide . How convenient after his death . Qadaffi murdering and slaughtering his own people hence RPL interventionist and voila the highest standard of living in the African continent is now reduced to takfiri heaven for the NATO proxy army recruiting centre. MH17 disaster is still being paroled as Russian deliberate murder. No facts no evidence that would stand even in a Stalinist show trial. Assad gassing his own people. More than debunked by multiple sources and US academics to boot no still being paroled as fact by western MSM.

    The whole charade post 9/11 has gone into this Orwellian nightmare that just keep on growing and news and information has become pure Hollwoodian fantasy that the sheeple are sleep walking into this futuristic hell hole that these vile masters of the universe will not be able to back track without losing face and without causing the populace to stand up and be counted and kick tjhese vile players out for good.

    john wilson , December 14, 2017 at 6:00 am

    Take heart Falcemartello, its not all bad. Over here in the Britain RT has its own free to view TV channel which sits next to the BBC news and the parliament programme. It is now widely watched by the public and has millions of viewers with many using RT as their main news source. The fact that the American deep state criminals have made things difficult for RT America in the US, is a clear indication that the fake news masters otherwise known as the MSN, and their handlers in the deep state are rattled by the ever growing alternative voice. Its up to you, me and the rest of the posters on CN to tell our friends colleagues and others about CN, RT etc. If only one percent take a look then alternative opinion will start to filter through and more importantly, show the public what liars and criminals are in charge of their country.

    Skip Scott , December 14, 2017 at 8:15 am

    Thanks for the info John. I am really glad that at least Britain has a reasonable degree of freedom of the press. If it spreads across Europe, the USA may eventually find itself so isolated by its own propaganda that the whole evil empire scheme will implode, and we will have to learn to wage peace in a multi-polar world. That is my Christmas wish.

    BobS , December 14, 2017 at 11:36 am

    It's not difficult to get RT in the US- I watch it regularly on Dish Network. Youtube is another option- I'm guessing it's big and rich enough to survive any changes in net neutrality that will result from the Trump/Pai FCC (of course, Obama and Clinton were just as bad, DEEP STATE!!!!, etc.).
    If you're going to tout conspiracies, get your facts straight.

    rosemerry , December 14, 2017 at 4:48 pm

    John Pilger has an article in counterpunch explaining the importance of documentaries (not just his!). It is notable that his first one, on Cambodia, in 1970, was shown free to air on TV in the UK and thirity other countries, with huge audience impact, but refused by PBS as too disturbing!!

    The free press in the USA is in tune with the ptb.

    rosemerry , December 14, 2017 at 5:06 pm

    I see the Pilger article is here on consortiumnews. It is worth a read, like the rest here!

    Kiza , December 14, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    What you wrote john wilson is simply not the complete truth, although I wish it was. It is true that RT UK has its own terrestrial digital TV channel. It appears that Margarita Simonyan bid for such channel at an auction when Britain was converting from analogue to digital TV and got it. Thus, the British TV viewers can now see RT without any subscription or special equipment, "next to BBC" as you optimistically say.

    What you did not mention john wilson is that the British Government regulator Ofcom is putting severe pressure on RT because their news offered an alternative view to the British propaganda. They rinse and repeat the same biased-news allegations almost every year, keeping RT UK under constant threat of the loss of its broadcasting licence due to "breach of truth standards" = "fake news". They even banned the lightbox, radio and other media advertising campaign of RT in Britain, the so called "RT is the second opinion", only because the campaign claimed that if RT existed before UK attack on Iraq in 2003, Tony Blair may have not been successful in passing the war resolutions through the parliament.

    What most people do not appreciate is that the methods of suppression are not the same in all Western countries, and why should they be? Simonyan got a terrestrial TV channel and the broadcasting licence because of the British propaganda hubris – the British still believed that their post-imperial propaganda is the best in the World, just because it was the best in the world during the empire. They simply never expected the Russians to be so successful, just the same as US.

    In summary:
    US => force RT to register as a foreign agent to force reporting of every little detail of its operations; refuse journalistic credentials to Congress etc to disadvantage its reporting
    UK => keep constant threat of the loss of broadcasting licence to skew the reporting towards the British Government version of the news

    I post the links relevant to what I wrote here separately to avoid being put on hold.

    Kiza , December 14, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    https://secondopinion.rt.com/

    https://www.rt.com/about-us/press-releases/rt-uk-second-opinion/

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/10/russia-today-ofcom-sanctions-impartiality-ukraine-coverage

    https://theintercept.com/2015/03/02/uk-media-regulator-threatens-rt-bias-airing-anti-western-views/

    Joe Tedesky , December 13, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    Philip Giraldi writes about a shift occurring over at the CIA in Trump's favor, Politico's interview with a somewhat repentant Trump hater Mike Morell now saying 'maybe our plan wasn't that well thought out' , and now these MSM Russia Gate screwups coupled with a discovery of FBI Trump haters, is a result of Trump's recognizing Jerusalem as it being Israel's capital? Just say'n.

    rosemerry , December 14, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    Obama's expulsion of the Russian diplomats after Trump's election, with no reason based on fact/danger to the USA gave a good start to the Russophobia encouraged by the Clinton losers and leading on to the ludicrous extreme situation still going on.

    BobH , December 14, 2017 at 1:43 pm

    Amen

    Kiza , December 14, 2017 at 8:19 pm

    Spot on Bob, the unfortunate and idealistic Mr Seth Rich became the DNC's bottom line, the shining example of its "anything goes as long as we have friends in the right places" (FBI, DOJ, CIA, etc etc).

    Lois Gagnon , December 14, 2017 at 9:04 pm

    Agreed. Let's not forget Process Server for the DNC Fraud Lawsuit Shawn Lucas who died mysteriously 2 weeks after serving the DNC either.

    I never would have believed the rot in the Democratic Party establishment would rival the Republicans, but here we are.

    Anon , December 14, 2017 at 8:23 am

    "Tina" is a troll assigned to CN to claim extremism, and never presents evidence or argument.

    Steven A , December 13, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    This is another great review by Robert Parry. However, he again uses the formulation that "WikiLeaks published" and "WikiLeaks released" purloined DNC emails on September 13, 2016. Greenwald and the Washington Post have stated, more carefully, that WikiLeaks "promoted" the data source of these emails by means of a Tweet on that date.

    Adam Carter noted in a comment under Parry's previous article that the DNC emails in question are the NGP/VAN files associated with Guccifer 2.0's pre-announced "hack" on July 5, 2016 and reportedly released by him on Sept 13, 2016.

    In fact, they are certainly not part of WikiLeak's official archive. One can see from their website that they published nothing between the times of the DNC emails release of July 22, 2016 and the Podesta emails release of October 7. So "published" is clearly the wrong word.

    Whether or in what sense it may fairly be stated that WikiLeaks "released", "promoted" or "uploaded" (as according to the Erickson email, which probably represents nothing more than an outsider's impression) the September 13 files needs to be cautiously assessed. Their Tweet did include an access key, as did the Erickson email, and the address for the file given in the latter was a "mega.nz" address. I assume that this address is associated with Kim Dot Com, who also claims to have been involved with WikiLeaks.

    Did Guccifer 2.0 himself upload the files to mega.nz? Did he play Kim Dot Com to use the latter's association with Wikileaks to get Wikileaks itself to put out the Sept 13 Tweet advertising the data release? I'm not sure how this all worked, but it seems that it is misleading to simply refer to this set of emails as having been "published" by Wikileaks.

    incontinent reader , December 14, 2017 at 12:12 am

    Didn't you read the VIPS analyses of the DNC leaks?

    Steven A , December 14, 2017 at 8:21 am

    Yes, I did, but not while writing my comment above. Do they say anything relevant to the question of whether it is accurate to correct the false media report that the Trump campaign was given access to the NGP/VAN DNC emails before WikiLeaks published them with a "corrected" statement that the Trump campaign was notified (but may never have noticed) of a link to those files by a random member of the public _after WikiLeaks had already published them_? As I recall, the original VIPS memo was itself somewhat confused about the distinction between the NGP/VAN material and the five DNC documents made public by "Guccifer 2.0" on June 15, 2016, so I'm not sure one will find anything relevant to my question there.

    While it is true that the "correction" here is _much_ closer to the truth than the original misinformation, the underlined part at the end of my question still seems misleading in that the "publication" is attributed to WikiLeaks without qualification. And it seems Parry is not the only one to make this mistake. As Adam Carter pointed out two days ago, he was very surprised that almost no one has been noticing that the files in question came from "Guccifer 2.0" and not from WikiLeaks. While Parry's attribution misleading, I am still not clear in my own mind about precisely what did happen, i.e. how WikiLeaks came to "promote" the release of the files and whether in some loose or indirect sense WikiLeaks did "release" them.

    mike k , December 14, 2017 at 11:08 am

    Is there really any other purpose in your involved questioning but seeking to cloud and confuse the obvious issues in the "Russia hacked" affair?

    Steven A , December 14, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    How is it clouding the issue to suggest, as Adam Carter did, that one element in Parry's (and others') description of the facts in an otherwise excellent article seems to be misleading?

    Paul E. Merrell, J.D. , December 14, 2017 at 2:33 pm

    @ "the address for the file given in the latter was a "mega.nz" address. I assume that this address is associated with Kim Dot Com, who also claims to have been involved with WikiLeaks."

    Kim Dot Com's relationship with Mega was already extremely strained by the time of the Guccifer leaks and to the extent he ever had control of the company it had apparently ended. See e.g., https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-warns-mega-users-to-backup-their-files-160421/

    Steven A , December 14, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    These are the sort of details I haven't been familiar with and about which I was hoping to learn more – so thanks! I was relying on a vague impression from memory when I made the link between the "mega.nz" address seen in the email from Erickson and Kim Dot Com.

    Since the whole Guccifer 2.0 operation appears to be an attempt to falsely smear WikiLeaks as a Russian agent (by publicly claiming to be a hacker associated with WikiLeaks and then being "caught" releasing documents (the ones of June 15, 2016) with "Russian fingerprints"), perhaps his uploading files (Sept 13, 2016) to a server with (past) ties to someone associated with WikiLeaks (Kim Dot Com) would have been part of the same effort.

    A contemporary article says this about the release: "'Guccifer 2.0' released over 670 megabytes of documents at a cybersecurity conference in London Tuesday . The documents were released on a file storage system and not on WikiLeaks or on Guccifer 2.0's website." https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hacker-guccifer-2-0-releases-more-dnc-docs-including-tim-n647921

    Thus the statement that "WikiLeaks published" the files in question (repeated by Parry, Justin Raimondo and others) appears to be false. I share the surprise expressed by Adam Carter (under Parry's previous piece) that few appear to have noticed or bothered to correct this error – even though they were on target in exposing the main part of the latest MSM lie.

    robjira , December 14, 2017 at 12:17 am

    Great related reporting on BAR.
    https://www.blackagendareport.com/entire-russian-hacking-narrative-invalidated-single-assange-tweet
    https://www.blackagendareport.com/russsiagate-and-collapse-obamas-war-against-syria

    Bob Van Noy , December 14, 2017 at 4:37 pm

    Excellent links, robjira. Thanks.

    Karl Sanchez , December 14, 2017 at 12:57 am

    Those of us who live within the Outlaw US Empire have been seduced by lies Big and small since we could understand language. RussiaGate is an example of a Big Lie, just as the Outlaw US Empire being a democracy is a Big Lie–both are indoctrinational. Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Great Pumpkin, Sand Man, Cupid, et al are other excellent examples of indoctrinational Big Lies. One of the most severe is the maxim delivered from parents: You must share and play nice, when the real world acts in the exact opposite fashion. What's more, RussiaGate serves as a cover-up for several major crimes–some by Clinton, some by DNC, some by FBI, some by Justice Department, and some by CIA: None of them are being actively investigated despite there being lots of evidence existing in the public domain, which is why we know those crimes occurred.

    I very highly suggest reading this article, https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/13/the-u-s-is-not-a-democracy-it-never-was/

    Marko , December 14, 2017 at 2:22 am

    The last great hope for the Dems :

    "A Russian hacker accused of stealing from Russian banks reportedly confessed in court that he hacked the U.S. Democratic National Committee (DNC) and stole Hillary Clinton's emails under the direction of agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB)"

    PUTIN ORDERED THEFT OF CLINTON'S EMAILS FROM DNC, RUSSIAN HACKER CONFESSES
    BY CRISTINA MAZA ON 12/12/17

    http://www.newsweek.com/russian-hacker-stealing-clintons-emailshacking-dnc-putinsfsb-745555

    irina , December 14, 2017 at 4:03 am

    And on PBS tonite the author of this Atlantic article got to put in her two cents about Putin:

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/putins-game/546548/

    in which she stated that not only did Putin 'annex Crimea' but also invaded Ukraine, among other things. None of her statements were backed up by any facts, which apparently are irrelevant anymore. Wikipedia has an interesting bio on her.

    Bob Van Noy , December 14, 2017 at 9:57 am

    Thank you irina for that "catch". I'm a long time reader of "The Atlantic Magazine" well aware of its long, liberal history and was surprised to find David Frum reporting there. David was a speech writer for W. Bush and apparently came up with the infamous "Axis of Evil" tag for President Bush's State Of The Union speech. I'll link the Wikipedia page below for those interested. I'm concerned that propaganda has spread far and wide

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_evil

    Sam F , December 14, 2017 at 8:56 am

    Despite its extremely conclusive title and substance, the Newsweek article later admits the extremely suspect nature of the accusation, and the lack of any evidence whatsoever:

    "Andrei Soldatov an expert on Russian cybersecurity, said he believes Kozlovsky invented the story about his direction from the FSB for personal gain. 'I've been communicating with [Kozlovsky] for four months, and he has failed to give me any proof or answer my questions," Soldatov told Newsweek .'He was put in jail by these guys so it could be out of revenge, or he wanted to make a deal with the FSB,'"

    Such a reversal of evidence and conclusion bespeaks deliberate deception. The motive is unclear, as the failed Newsweek is said to have been revived in 2013 by a Korean-American Christian fundamentalist David Jang formerly of Moon's Unification Church, whose followers consider him the Second Coming of JC, according to the linked source. http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/03/newsweek-ibt-olivet-david-jang/

    Perhaps another quasi-religious CIA front like Fethullah Gulen's madrassas in Turkey and across central Asia.

    exiled off mainstreet , December 14, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    They keep publishing the same horseshit just like Pravda did in the Soviet era and just like the Voelkischer Beobachter and Stuermer did during the Nazi era. I guess the uninformed hoi polloi get so used to it in these situations that they accept the situation, like ducks and frogs accept watery ponds as their environments.

    Manfred Whimplebottem , December 14, 2017 at 9:20 pm

    I think I heard a similar story from newsweek months ago, looks like someone took the deal(?).

    FBI Probe Into Clinton Emails Prompted Offer of Cash, Citizenship for Confession, Russian Hacker Claims

    "On October 5, 2016, days before U.S. intelligence publicly accused Russia of endorsing an infiltration of Democratic Party officials' emails, Nikulin was arrested in Prague at the request of the U.S. on separate hacking charges. Now, Nikulin claims U.S. authorities tried to pin the email scandal on him."

    "ikulin's lawyer, Martin Sadilek, [claims] that the FBI visited him at least a couple of times, offering to drop the charges and grant him U.S. citizenship as well as cash and an apartment in the U.S. if the Russian national confessed to participating in the 2016 hacks of Clinton campaign chief John Podesta's emails in July."

    "[They told me:] you will have to confess to breaking into Clinton's inbox for [U.S. President Donald Trump] on behalf of [Russian President Vladimir Putin]," Nikulin wrote"

    http://www.newsweek.com/fbi-investigation-clinton-emails-russia-hack-607538

    Wm. Boyce , December 14, 2017 at 2:33 am

    I'm curious as to why this is still an issue. Here's a link to an article from last August:
    http://www.businessinsider.com/top-fbi-investigator-peter-strzok-steps-away-from-russia-probe-2017-8

    At that time, it wasn't known why Mr. Strzok was transferred/whatever from counter-intelligence, but since then it has been revealed that Mr. Mueller did so for his ( Strzok) political opinions. That would seem a fair thing to do. What's the problem? Might be right-wing fear.

    Marko , December 14, 2017 at 4:43 am

    " What's the problem? "

    C'mon , man. Given Strzok's position and his influence on Russiagate AND the earlier Hillarygate investigations , the fact that he was transferred in July is of little comfort. Any damage he could do he'd already done by then. Jim Jordan will explain it to you , in six minutes :

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=cShxjlUfmhk

    exiled off mainstreet , December 14, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    The problem is that when that story first appeared, nothing else was disclosed. The damning material took months to emerge, as did Strzok's links to the Clinton coverups and the links to the fake dossier and the FBI's "anti-Trump" insurance policy. Those who want to believe the regime's falsehoods can always come up with rationales such as "I guess the government people know best" which was typical of the answers to sceptics against the Viet Nam war in the mid '60s.

    Realist , December 14, 2017 at 2:43 am

    It's been a year and a half since Hillary Clinton first accused Donald Trump of being a Putin puppet and in collusion with the Kremlin. Any fool should be able to understand that if there existed any real evidence to support this accusation the world would have seen it under banner headlines long ago. Instead, we get nothing but one set of sensational fake headlines unsupported by any actual facts time and again, all in an attempt to fool the mentally-challenged public. Yet the NYT and the rest of the yellow press continue to insist that the evidence continues to mount against Trump. What a laugh. Moreover, these deceivers are the people that want what they define as "fake news" to be systematically rooted out and stricken from the public record so no thinking person can ever see it. And, they tell us this is a free and democratic country. Got any more jokes?

    Homina , December 14, 2017 at 3:48 am

    Totally agree. And it reminds me of some reality "quest" shows about finding Bigfoot or the Oak Island treasure, etc.

    If those were actually found, it would be reported a day or two later, unless every single one of the producers, actors, workers, etc. were under an NDA enough to wait until some season finale a year or two later. Ridiculous. If Bigfoot exists that will come to us on news, and big news, international. It won't come on a 4th season of some Bigfoot-finding show.

    So yeah, season two of the Trump-Russia whatever.

    Maddow/MSNBC and the likes have gone utterly insane. Bigfoot behind every door. Scant or zero facts, who cares. This isn't like Benghazi or White Water or Bush's air service this is 24/7 inane terrible journalism from nearly every journalist publisher in the US.

    exiled off mainstreet , December 14, 2017 at 3:30 am

    I think that the new evidence discussed provides Trump the cover to pull the plug on the whole Mueller operation despite the Alabama debacle. Sure the media talkers would compare it to the Saturday Night Massacre, but the proven falsity of the whole absurd circus renders risible such comparisons. While I don't expect much out of Trump, the championing of this absurd theory by the mainstream democrats renders them an existential threat to civilization itself based on the fact that enmity with Russia seems to be their be-all and end-all. It is all not only criminal but profoundly stupid.

    Homina , December 14, 2017 at 3:40 am

    "The primary purpose of Mr. Mueller's investigation is not to take down Mr. Trump. It's to protect America's national security and the integrity of its elections by determining whether a presidential campaign conspired with a foreign adversary to influence the 2016 election – a proposition that grows more plausible every day."

    1. How is Russia an "adversary"? And even if Russia is, that's weasel-words and subjective. Is Turkey a foreign adversary? Is Israel? China? Mexico?

    2. Why wasn't there decades ago a special Election Panel looking into foreign influence? I guess it just started to happen in this last election though .Only with Putin!

    3. "more plausible" .this fucking idiot. After a year of headlines of "this is what will finally take down Trump" and such, all with zero reasons, zero facts .Is naught more plausible than naught?

    4. I detest Trump. I more detest hypocrites and idiots.

    But sure, "blah blah more possible take trump down" says some idiot or collective NYT idiocy. Bore me more your next op-ed, you partisan morons.

    Sam F , December 14, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    Yes, the NYT is mere propaganda. We already know that "a presidential campaign conspired with a foreign adversary to influence the 2016 election" because Clinton's top ten donors were all Zionists, and she supported all wars for Israel.

    Rich Monahan , December 14, 2017 at 3:57 am

    Thank you for your spot-on analysis! The motives of the deep state – including FBI operatives, NY Times and WAPO – is crystal clear. They do not want Trump to be president, and are determined to either remove him or handcuff him indefinitely. But why? Why has the establishment gone crazy? Is it simply political, or something deeper and darker?

    Skip Scott , December 14, 2017 at 8:59 am

    The real "deep" reason is the PNAC plot to make sure that the USA remains the sole super power that can impose its will anywhere in the world. Trump's campaign position of seeking detente with Russia would have led us into a multi-polar world giving Russia a sphere of influence. That is unacceptable to the empire.

    RussiaGate is an attempt to remove Trump from power, or at a minimum make it impossible for him to seek detente. I am no Trump apologist, but I do think our only hope for a future in this nuclear age is to seek peace and cooperation in a multi-polar world that respects national sovereignty and the rule of law. I suspect Trump will continue to be brought to heel, with or without the success of RussiaGate. And there is always the JFK solution as a last resort.

    M C Martin , December 14, 2017 at 6:08 am

    Where is William Binney's "Thin String" signals intelligence (SIGINT) software when it's needed? Wouldn't it be lovely to focus it on the communications of our own government? Binney says applying it after 9/11 to the pre-9/11 communications streams did successfully predict the 9/11 attacks. If only we had stored all communications of government officials dating back to . hey, let's say 1774 or so, what truths might we now know, and what proofs might we now have? What would FDR's communications prior to Pearl Harbor reveal? What about the JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X assassinations?

    While I can't endorse our government's illegal and immoral collection and storing of virtually all communications among people, if the store is there and is used against petty criminals, why couldn't or shouldn't it be used to detect and prove the illegal acts of our government power brokers?

    What's good for the goose

    [Dec 14, 2017] The 1970's was in many ways the watershed decade for the neoliberal transformation of the American economy and society

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... What I also remember well however, is how little support PATCO was able to garnish from other unionized workers (and in many cases from union leadership as well). It seemed to me at the time that some of the strongest hostility came from rank and file of trade and utilities unions. ..."
    "... I recall too that it was in the 1970's that the threat of "relocation", at that time mainly from the more heavily unionized north and northeastern states to the union-hostile south began to play a major role in the destruction of the power of labor. ..."
    "... And I remember the beginning of the financialization of the American corporation that I experienced on a "micro" scale, a kid lucky enough to have a summer job while in university at a large resource-extraction corporation's HQ in NYC. I recall white-collar conversations about compensation and about how salaries had steadily risen over the past decade (the company was said to be doing "really well"). And I remember how towards the end of my summer stints more and more conversation was about stock prices and Wall Street favor and about the new executive managerial style brought in by "those young MBA"s", and about (for the first time) worries of a "take-over" by "outsiders" (the company, although public, had had family leadership for many years). ..."
    "... And most of all I remember how gradually the material-economic components to the identity of the blue-collar and middle class worker were written out of existence. The great narrative, the myth that explains to us what it means to be "an American," no longer included any hint of class solidarity, of the kind of work we did, the pay we earned, the common living conditions in the small towns and urban neighborhoods and "cookie-cutter" suburbs of America. ..."
    "... Formerly the struggle of economic and material improvement was seen by most ordinary Americas as a struggle for certain necessary conditions to maintain, strengthen, and perpetuate a way-of-life in which the common core assumptions about the "good life" remained basically stable and unchallenged: family, stable job, residential security, public schools, public places -- neighborhood bars, coffee shops, civic clubs, parks and playgrounds -- where people could meet and interact as social equals. ..."
    "... The financialization of the economy, indeed of social life itself to a great extent, meant the drive for the maximization of private profit and the pursuit of interests and 'efficiencies" conceived entirely apart from any impact of the common good of society as a whole, and should have been seen as a grave threat to the very conditions of material and economic security, only recently achieved, that were the foundation of these other civic and social institutions. ..."
    "... Instead, through a grand and diabolical deceit cynically promulgated by a mostly Republican capitalist class of privilege, but also aided and abetted by a "new Left" that increasingly postured itself as the enemy of this older and more traditional way of life ..."
    Dec 14, 2017 | www.unz.com

    BigAl , December 13, 2017 at 1:17 pm GMT

    The 1970's was in many ways the watershed decade for the radical transformation of the American economy and society, even more than the 1960's (I lived through both as a young man). I have yet to read the definitive social-critical analysis of these years to explain the changes that, looking back, seem to have taken the country of my childhood right out from under me, gone forever, increasingly difficult to remember through the fog of nostalgia that tends to distort as much as to reveal.

    Some of the things I do remember about this time include the PATCO (air traffic controllers) strike, very well. What is often not mentioned is that PATCO was attempting to do something that had not been permitted under federal civil service law, that is, bargain for wages as well as working conditions. Wage bargaining, PATCO correctly assessed, was the issue that made or broke unions and had enabled state and local public employees to finally begin to earn a decent, living wage beginning in the 1960's (think the iconic Mike Quill and the NYC TWU).

    Reagan correctly (from his point of view) saw that to fail to break PATCO on this issue was to open the floodgates and turn the U.S. civil services into something akin to its European counterpart, with the possibility of general strikes and the rest. And of course to encourage private sector unions in their drive to organize and to change federal and state labor laws to strengthen the right to picket strike and organize.

    What I also remember well however, is how little support PATCO was able to garnish from other unionized workers (and in many cases from union leadership as well). It seemed to me at the time that some of the strongest hostility came from rank and file of trade and utilities unions. Of course Reagan, following the Nixon playbook, shrewdly played the patriot-nationalist card, painting PATCO as a threat to national security as well as composed of a bunch of ingrates who should have been happy to have jobs. But by then the segmentation of the American workforce, a tactic that played right into the hands of the corporate-capitalist class was in full swing. The American worker lucky enough to possess a decent paying skilled or semi-skilled union job was being taught to see their situation as morally "deserved" and to see newer aspirants to similar positions, whether recently arrived immigrants or members of racial-ethnic groups previously suppressed by law, custom and prejudice as threats/dangers/enemies of their own recently won status.

    I recall too that it was in the 1970's that the threat of "relocation", at that time mainly from the more heavily unionized north and northeastern states to the union-hostile south began to play a major role in the destruction of the power of labor. This was the beginning of the "globalization" factor and of the off-shoring of manufacturing jobs that has been commented on extensively and that took off a decade or so later. What is often not recalled is that unions and other pro-labor groups attempted to lobby Congress to amend the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) and to appoint labor-friendly members to the NLRB to ensure that plant relocation would be a mandatory subject of bargaining and thus prevent unilateral (by capital ownership) relocation or the threat of relocation as a means to destroy the power of labor. They were, of course, not successful, and factories and business continued to move away from traditional centers of labor power and worker-protections, first to so-called "right-to-work" states and eventually to Asia.

    And I remember the beginning of the financialization of the American corporation that I experienced on a "micro" scale, a kid lucky enough to have a summer job while in university at a large resource-extraction corporation's HQ in NYC. I recall white-collar conversations about compensation and about how salaries had steadily risen over the past decade (the company was said to be doing "really well"). And I remember how towards the end of my summer stints more and more conversation was about stock prices and Wall Street favor and about the new executive managerial style brought in by "those young MBA"s", and about (for the first time) worries of a "take-over" by "outsiders" (the company, although public, had had family leadership for many years).

    And most of all I remember how gradually the material-economic components to the identity of the blue-collar and middle class worker were written out of existence. The great narrative, the myth that explains to us what it means to be "an American," no longer included any hint of class solidarity, of the kind of work we did, the pay we earned, the common living conditions in the small towns and urban neighborhoods and "cookie-cutter" suburbs of America.

    Formerly the struggle of economic and material improvement was seen by most ordinary Americas as a struggle for certain necessary conditions to maintain, strengthen, and perpetuate a way-of-life in which the common core assumptions about the "good life" remained basically stable and unchallenged: family, stable job, residential security, public schools, public places -- neighborhood bars, coffee shops, civic clubs, parks and playgrounds -- where people could meet and interact as social equals.

    The financialization of the economy, indeed of social life itself to a great extent, meant the drive for the maximization of private profit and the pursuit of interests and 'efficiencies" conceived entirely apart from any impact of the common good of society as a whole, and should have been seen as a grave threat to the very conditions of material and economic security, only recently achieved, that were the foundation of these other civic and social institutions.

    Instead, through a grand and diabolical deceit cynically promulgated by a mostly Republican capitalist class of privilege, but also aided and abetted by a "new Left" that increasingly postured itself as the enemy of this older and more traditional way of life, the enemy was reconceived as the new "elites", the young, urban, hipster "Leftist" who despised the old ways and represented a singular assault on everything good about America.

    Meanwhile, steadily, relentlessly, the material conditions and hard-won economic improvements that had gradually made small town, urban-neighborhood, and inner-suburban life decent and livable were being destroyed by a class that paid lip-service to Capra's Bedford Falls while at the same time endlessly working to transform it into Pottersville.

    [Dec 12, 2017] Bad Moon Rising, by Philip Giraldi - The Unz Review

    Highly recommended!
    neocons == Hillary Clinton Democrats
    Notable quotes:
    "... At the time, I agreed, but I did note that the neoconservatives have proven to be remarkable resilient, particularly as many of them have remained true to their Democratic Party values on nearly everything but foreign policy, where they are irredeemable hawks, hostile to Russia and Iran and always reliably in the corner of Israel. In short, many neocons can be unmasked as Hillary Clinton Democrats if one looks at them issue by issue, which certainly helps to explain some subsequent developments. ..."
    "... Multiple sources are predicting Tillerson out and Mike Pompeo in at State Department with Pompeo replaced at CIA by Senator Tom Cotton. The White House is denying the story, calling it "fake news," but it is clear that Trump is uncomfortable with the current arrangement and Tillerson will be gone sooner or later. ..."
    "... Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State replaces a somewhat bumbling businessman adept at dealing in energy futures contracts who has been struggling with reducing State's enormously bloated payroll. Pompeo, a real hard-nosed political hardliner who tends to see complex issues in fairly simplistic ways, has become a presidential confidant, briefing Trump frequently on the state of the world, most recently pushing for the horrific decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. ..."
    "... Pompeo would like to turn the United States into an unleashed wrecking ball directed against the enemies of the American Way and he appears intent on starting that process in the Middle East. ..."
    "... And Pompeo will be replaced as CIA Director by Tom Cotton. The less said about Tom the better, but I will attempt to summarize in 8 words here: Tom is completely owned by the Israel Lobby. ..."
    "... I do not wish to imply that Cotton and Pompeo are somehow stupid, but they do tend to see the world in a very monochromatic fashion, just like their boss. Pompeo was first in his class at West Point and Cotton graduated from Harvard as an undergrad and also from the Law School ..."
    "... Haley really is stupid. And ambitious. And is also owned by the Israel Lobby, which appears to be a thread that runs its way through all the Trump foreign policy appointees. ..."
    "... Neocon watchers will undoubtedly note that big names like Brill Kristol, the Kagans, Michael Chertoff and Max Boot will not be showing up in government. True, but that is because they will instead be working through their foundations, of which FDD is only one. The Alliance for Securing Democracy, which has recently sprung up in lobby-land, markets itself as "bipartisan, and transatlantic " but it actually is pure neocon. ..."
    "... The replacement of former political appointees in the government has been so slow in Trump's first year that it has actually benefited the neocons in their recovery. Many survivors of the two previous administrations are still in place, nearly all of whom reflect the hawkishness prevalent during 2001-2016. They will be supplemented by second and third tier neoconservatives, who will fill in the policy gaps, virtually guaranteeing that the neocon crafted foreign policy that has been around for the past sixteen years will be here for some time longer. ..."
    Dec 12, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Back during the admittedly brief shock and awe period that immediately followed on the Trump electoral victory, it appeared that there might be an actual realignment of American foreign policy. The neoconservatives virtually unanimously had opposed Donald Trump in the most vile terms, both in the GOP primaries and during the actual electoral campaign, making clear that Hillary was their choice for a future full of unrelenting, ideologically driven warfare to convert the world to democracy. By that metric, one would assume that Trump would prefer to be roasted on a spit rather than have neocons on his national security team, and many in the punditry did agree with that analysis and went on to share that view.

    At the time, I agreed, but I did note that the neoconservatives have proven to be remarkable resilient, particularly as many of them have remained true to their Democratic Party values on nearly everything but foreign policy, where they are irredeemable hawks, hostile to Russia and Iran and always reliably in the corner of Israel. In short, many neocons can be unmasked as Hillary Clinton Democrats if one looks at them issue by issue, which certainly helps to explain some subsequent developments.

    Some Washington observers who actually care about such things have been writing how there has been a kumbaya process going on between self-described conservative neocons and liberal interventionists. Katrina vanden Heuvel describes the progressive hawks as "the essential-country crowd," borrowing a phrase from ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

    There are inevitably minor disconnects between the two groups based on their motives for aggression – Democrats claim to do it to bring democracy and freedom while Republicans say they do it to enhance national security. Both are lying in any event as it all comes down to great power rivalries, with big powerful nations pushing smaller weaker nations around because they are able to get away with it and feel more comfortable if everyone lines up behind them.

    So everyone in Washington and New York's financial services industry agrees that a more assertive America is a better America even when the reality is that no one winds up with either democracy or security. Which brings us to the latest shuffle in the Donald Trump cabinet and what it is likely to mean down the road. Multiple sources are predicting Tillerson out and Mike Pompeo in at State Department with Pompeo replaced at CIA by Senator Tom Cotton. The White House is denying the story, calling it "fake news," but it is clear that Trump is uncomfortable with the current arrangement and Tillerson will be gone sooner or later.

    Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State replaces a somewhat bumbling businessman adept at dealing in energy futures contracts who has been struggling with reducing State's enormously bloated payroll. Pompeo, a real hard-nosed political hardliner who tends to see complex issues in fairly simplistic ways, has become a presidential confidant, briefing Trump frequently on the state of the world, most recently pushing for the horrific decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In a recent speech , Pompeo criticized the CIA, observing that it had both forgotten how to spy, which is almost certainly true, while adding that it will have to become "more vicious" to accomplish its mission of making the United States "safe." Pompeo would like to turn the United States into an unleashed wrecking ball directed against the enemies of the American Way and he appears intent on starting that process in the Middle East.

    And Pompeo will be replaced as CIA Director by Tom Cotton. The less said about Tom the better, but I will attempt to summarize in 8 words here: Tom is completely owned by the Israel Lobby. In his 2014 election as junior Senator from Arkansas, he received $1 million from the Emergency Committee for Israel headed by Bill Kristol as well as additional assistance from the Republican Jewish Coalition. In March 2015, Tom paid those supporters back when 47 Republican United States Senators signed a letter allegedly written by him that was then sent to the Iranian government directly, warning that any agreement over that country's nuclear program reached with President Barack Obama would likely be overturned by the Congress. The letter, which undercuts the authority of the American president before an international audience, was signed by the entire Republican Party leadership in the Senate and also included then presidential contenders Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

    I do not wish to imply that Cotton and Pompeo are somehow stupid, but they do tend to see the world in a very monochromatic fashion, just like their boss. Pompeo was first in his class at West Point and Cotton graduated from Harvard as an undergrad and also from the Law School . Trump claims to be the smartest person in the room no matter where he is standing. But for all the academic credentials and other posturing, it is hard to imagine how the new choices could possibly be worse from a common-sense perspective unless one includes Nikki Haley, who is, fortunately, otherwise engaged. Haley really is stupid. And ambitious. And is also owned by the Israel Lobby, which appears to be a thread that runs its way through all the Trump foreign policy appointees.

    What is wrong about the whole Trump team is that they all seem to believe that you can go around the world kicking the shit out of everyone without there being any consequences. And they all hate Iran for reasons that continue to be obscure but may be connected to their relationships with – you guessed it – the neoconservatives and the Israeli Lobby!

    Yes, the neocons are back. I noted back in October that when Pompeo and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster wanted a friendly place to drop by to give a policy speech that would be warmly received they went to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), whose marketing masthead slogan is "Fighting Terrorism and Promoting Freedom." FDD is currently neocon central, used like the American Enterprise Institute was when Dick Cheney was Vice President and needed a friendly audience. It is headed by Canadian Mark Dubowitz, whose passion in life is making sure that sanctions on Iran are enforced to the letter. Unfortunately, it is not easy to deport a Canadian.

    Neocon watchers will undoubtedly note that big names like Brill Kristol, the Kagans, Michael Chertoff and Max Boot will not be showing up in government. True, but that is because they will instead be working through their foundations, of which FDD is only one. The Alliance for Securing Democracy, which has recently sprung up in lobby-land, markets itself as "bipartisan, and transatlantic " but it actually is pure neocon. Its goal is to "expose Putin's ongoing efforts to subvert democracy in the United States of America and Europe." It includes the usual neocon names but also has the loyal Democratic opposition, including ex-CIA Acting Director Mike Morell and Jake Sullivan, both of whom were top level advisers to Hillary Clinton.

    The replacement of former political appointees in the government has been so slow in Trump's first year that it has actually benefited the neocons in their recovery. Many survivors of the two previous administrations are still in place, nearly all of whom reflect the hawkishness prevalent during 2001-2016. They will be supplemented by second and third tier neoconservatives, who will fill in the policy gaps, virtually guaranteeing that the neocon crafted foreign policy that has been around for the past sixteen years will be here for some time longer.

    What all this means is that, now that the Palestinians have been disposed of and the Israelis rewarded, we can expect armed conflict with Iran within the next year, followed by increased hostility towards Moscow as Russiagate continues to play out. I do not even want to guess at what kind of insanity the gang in the West Wing Situation Room will come up with for dealing with North Korea. The good news is that the builders of home bomb shelters, a booming enterprise when I was growing up back in the 1950s and 1960s now used to cultivate mushrooms, will be back in business.

    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] .

    [Dec 12, 2017] We are all just hapless passengers on the Neocon Titanic, unable to influence what is playing out on the bridge

    Highly recommended!
    Of course, UNZ is more radical on this issue then most (actually they use the terms "Jew", "neocons" and "Zionist" almost interchangeably, but in most case the meaning is neocon -- ideology, not nationality ) , but it looks like public support of neocons in the USA now dropped dramatically, especially after their attacks on Trump during 2016 elections.
    Notable quotes:
    "... They are not a threat to the US and while I think we will be in a support capacity -- with Israel obviously -- to a bunker buster attack it will be regarded as US backed war throughout the Islamic world. Trump may be too weak to resist Netanyahu's best sales pitch. ..."
    "... The Neocons are turning up at MSNBC of late. In addition to Podhoretz, Brooks, Kristol, we are now seeing E. Johnson, B. Stephens, D. Pletka on the scene as regular rotation players. No doubt where they will be leading. Moving in where opportunities abound for some reason? ..."
    "... "Trump may be too weak to resist Netanyahu's best sales pitch." Trump is an Israeli sycophant ..a loser. ..."
    "... That US missile attack on the Syrian airport cost Trump a lot of domestic and international support for zero benefit... ..."
    "... This is a war of an elite. [Tom] Friedman laughs: I could give you the names of 25 people (all of whom are at this moment within a five-block radius of this office) who, if you had exiled them to a desert island a year and a half ago, the Iraq war would not have happened. ..."
    "... Yet if you point out the obvious, that our foreign policy has been hijacked by an element whose first loyalty is to Israel, you will catch all sorts of hell, be banned from making comments on blogs and news sites, or like the brave Mr. Giraldi, lose your job. And be blasted with the worn-out canard of being an anti-Semite. Maybe even a Jew hater, all because you show concern for the nation you love and are loyal to. ..."
    "... While Pompeo would be not good, Tillerson has been a big disappointment with his latest statements on Crimea and Ukraine included. ..."
    "... You obviously do not live here. 99% of Americans have a flat screen TV installed in their living rooms and believe everything (jooie managed images and info) spewing forth from it. ..."
    "... The "problem" is that the whole American "business model" is based on global economic supremacy, which means, essentially, the dollar as world reserve currency. If that goes, the whole US house of cards will probably implode, Soviet-style. That requires unchallenged American "world leadership". The big threat to the "American model" isn't the EU and certainly not the Russian Federation. It's China. ..."
    "... Yeah, yeah, yeah big bad ISIS. The Israeli Secret Intelligence Service. "Keeping Fools and Idiots At Each Other's Throats". Since 1950. I don't know what to tell you ..."
    "... The US is expansionist, projecting itself all over the globe and uses force against anyone who resists. Force is all it understands. What happens when the irresistible force bumps into the immovable object? War hysteria, of which we've had an unending amount for the past three generations. Objectively there's nothing conservative about the so-called neocons. They're hardly any different from fascists except the rhetoric is different. Mussolini had limits as to how much territory he wanted to conquer for his empire unlike the US which recognizes no limits. ..."
    "... BTW, I still don't see an attack on Iran as being very likely. If Russia and China would not greenlight an attack on Syria, they will be doubly reluctant to greenlight an attack on Iran. ..."
    "... The "democracy" the neocons want to push is the one in which (((mass media))) successfully lobotomizes the electorate into thinking it has democracy. The zombies then make their way to the polls seeking "hope & change" but with no choice. Hegemony is the goal, not democracy. ..."
    "... American has an all volunteer armed forces (mercenary), they are paid to kill or be killed, their fates is only a few seconds on the screens if the MSM decided to air them, otherwise the wars and the American soldiers' lives have nothing to do with the American public. Mayhem in far away land in out of sight and out of mind. ..."
    "... The real issue is how to finance the war, as long as the war does not cause hyper inflation in the USA, the warmongers in the Washington beltway will go ahead with the war without much concern, with EU, Australia, Japan and S Korea in line paying the bills, the American should be able to wage another regime change war in the ME without much difficulty. ..."
    "... Having some small portion of Scotch-Irish ancestry myself, and having ancestors who pioneered Tennessee, I don't think General Andrew Jackson would support the Israel First foreign policy of Tom Cotton. ..."
    "... Yet if you point out the obvious, that our foreign policy has been hijacked by an element whose first loyalty is to Israel, you will catch all sorts of hell, be banned from making comments on blogs and news sites, or like the brave Mr. Giraldi, lose your job. And be blasted with the worn-out canard of being an anti-Semite. Maybe even a Jew hater, all because you show concern for the nation you love and are loyal to. ..."
    "... Re: At the time, I agreed, but I did note that the neoconservatives have proven to be remarkable resilient, particularly as many of them have remained true to their Democratic Party values on nearly everything but foreign policy, where they are irredeemable hawks, hostile to Russia and Iran and always reliably in the corner of Israel ..."
    "... And when it comes to foreign policy, of course the Neocons are globalists, like the international bankers whom they serve. ..."
    "... The Neocons are nothing less than a parasitical foreign body which has us thinking in accordance with its interests; in fact they are mortal enemies, nothing less. ..."
    "... Wall Street power held a gun to the head of the entire US economy and said 'Give us money, OR we will take ALL OF YOU down with us.' ..."
    "... My knowledge of foreign policy is headline-quality only. My knowledge of some domestic policy is pretty good. I've been on the public stump in my area. The reality of American policy, as I've seen it, is that it's bought and paid for. There is no "public interest", no "national interest". I'm not even sure there's an America, in the sense of a people joined by some common values. Sometimes I think of America as an agglomeration of rackets. You're goddamned right I don't like thinking this way. ..."
    "... Dump's second big mistake was firing Comey again on the advice of Kushner. Which got the Mueller ball rolling. Some have rightly drawn the parallels of Kushner whispering in Dump's ear to the same role of Kissinger vis a vis Nixon's downfall ..."
    "... Then Kushner appeared to connive with his buddy KSA Clown Prince MBS to engineer the Hariri fiasco [which Tillerson managed to "deftly undo..."] ..."
    "... That is a useless statement on many levels Tillerson deftly managed what is arguably America's most important corporation in what is surely the most strategic and geopolitical global industry energy ..."
    "... The neocons are of course insane they are picking fights with Iran, Venezuela and others who are going to be the first to ditch the petrodollar and accelerate the tipping point to the new global financial order that is going to impoverish the US overnight ..."
    "... The same neocons are also the ones who are undermining US demographics because their Ponzi scheme economy is based on perpetual growth which, in turn, requires perpetual population growth which means more immigration. Also the immigration keeps the wages low which is just extra gravy for the Plutocracy ..."
    Dec 12, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Mark James , December 12, 2017 at 5:57 am GMT

    I'm really concerned an attack on Iran is a correct assessment Philip. They are not a threat to the US and while I think we will be in a support capacity -- with Israel obviously -- to a bunker buster attack it will be regarded as US backed war throughout the Islamic world. Trump may be too weak to resist Netanyahu's best sales pitch.

    Tillerson will be gone sooner or later: No question, perhaps the week between Christmas and New Year?

    Cotton and Pompeo: Pompeo may have problems with the Mueller probe. Cotton has a number of rumors in his past and maybe they are just unfortunate talk? But I don't see him at CIA (we shall see?)

    The Neocons are turning up at MSNBC of late. In addition to Podhoretz, Brooks, Kristol, we are now seeing E. Johnson, B. Stephens, D. Pletka on the scene as regular rotation players. No doubt where they will be leading. Moving in where opportunities abound for some reason? At least two (Halperin, Ford) aren't around anymore on Coffee Joe.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 7:22 am GMT
    Well, if the rumours about Cotton and Pompeo appointments materialise, Trump might as well move his own office to Jerusalem
    Fran Macadam , December 12, 2017 at 7:42 am GMT
    We're all just hapless passengers on the Neocon Titanic, unable to influence what's playing out on the bridge. Steady as she goes on the unsinkable U.S.S.
    Realist , December 12, 2017 at 9:08 am GMT
    @Mark James

    "Trump may be too weak to resist Netanyahu's best sales pitch." Trump is an Israeli sycophant ..a loser.

    Philip Smeeton , December 12, 2017 at 11:02 am GMT
    From the movie Iron Sky, meant as a condemnation of Nazism, but inadvertently conveying a sensible message about the merits of purity.

    Renate Richter:

    This is very simple. The world is sick, but we are the doctors. The world is anemic, but we are the vitamin. The world is weary, but we are the strength. We are here to make the world healthy once again, with hard work, with honesty, with clarity, with decency. We are the product of loving mothers and brave fathers. We are the embodiment of love and bravery! We are the gift of both God and Science. We are the answer to the question. We are the promise delivered to all mankind. For that, we raise our hands to one Nation. We step to the beat of one drum. We march to the beat of one heart and it is this song that we will sing to this world. We are the people who carry the children on our shoulders in the same way that our fathers carried us and their fathers carried them. We are the one people united and strong. We are the one people with certainty, moral certainty. We are invincible and we have no fear because the truth makes us wise.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 11:23 am GMT
    @peterAUS

    Well, if conflict is simply air assault on Iranian nuclear facilities that shouldn't be a problem for either party. Israelis/Americans bomb a bit and then everything goes back to normal. Something as that cruise missile launch on Syria.

    That US missile attack on the Syrian airport cost Trump a lot of domestic and international support for zero benefit...

    jacques sheete , December 12, 2017 at 11:53 am GMT

    I do not even want to guess at what kind of insanity

    Insanity. That's the key. Sick beyond redemption. No rational person could ever begin to understand their motives. Somehow the jackals need to be restrained.

    Greg Bacon , Website December 12, 2017 at 12:46 pm GMT
    We see the same usual suspects time and again, waving their pom-poms lustily cheering on endless war that does NOT help or benefit the USA. In fact, it is destroying our nation economically, spiritually and politically.

    From an April 2003 Haaretz article:

    The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history. Two of them, journalists William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer, say it's possible.

    This is a war of an elite. [Tom] Friedman laughs: I could give you the names of 25 people (all of whom are at this moment within a five-block radius of this office) who, if you had exiled them to a desert island a year and a half ago, the Iraq war would not have happened.

    http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/white-man-s-burden-1.14110

    Yet if you point out the obvious, that our foreign policy has been hijacked by an element whose first loyalty is to Israel, you will catch all sorts of hell, be banned from making comments on blogs and news sites, or like the brave Mr. Giraldi, lose your job. And be blasted with the worn-out canard of being an anti-Semite. Maybe even a Jew hater, all because you show concern for the nation you love and are loyal to.

    Will Americans ever realize they are being played for fools by a country and Zionist con artists which doesn't give a tinkers damn about us or will we keep jumping up and down to the pom-pom waving?

    Den Lille Abe , December 12, 2017 at 1:43 pm GMT
    Yes all this Newspeak, to hide the fact that the US is a threat in anyone that disagrees with them
    Z-man , December 12, 2017 at 2:18 pm GMT
    Of course I hope you're wrong Phil. While Pompeo would be not good, Tillerson has been a big disappointment with his latest statements on Crimea and Ukraine included.

    Cotton would be another matter altogether and even though there is a 'collegial spirit' in the Senate I would hope that Rand Paul and other senators with common sense would squash this guys nomination. Even if he has to carry himself back from Kentucky, broken ribs and all, to squash this Neocon stooge Cotton. Also, I'm hopping there are some boys in the closet when it comes to Cotton. lol

    Zumbuddi , December 12, 2017 at 2:22 pm GMT
    @LondonBob

    Faith in Bush the OLDER is misplaced. In 1979 he stood shoulder to shoulder w/ Bibi and Benzion Netenyahu, and Midge Decter & other neocons, in Jerusalem, as they drafted the blueprint for GWOT. Planning went so far as to name the 7 states to take out. USSR was #1 at the time. Jews got Jews Who had been highly educated at Russian expense – out of Russia, now Russia is back in the crosshairs.

    ... ... ...

    Anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 3:10 pm GMT

    Americans are stoopid and cowardly fucks for being so easily manipulated by the Jew.

    Not so much anymore. Meanwhile, didn't the Muslims spend five years fighting each-other right on the Israeli border? But wait – they did attack Israel once – and apologised:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-28/isis-apologized-israel-attacking-idf-soldiers

    I don't know what to tell you

    nsa , December 12, 2017 at 3:24 pm GMT
    @peterAUS

    "the American public isn't as gullible as before ."

    Ha, Ha. You obviously do not live here. 99% of Americans have a flat screen TV installed in their living rooms and believe everything (jooie managed images and info) spewing forth from it. More than 50% of Americans have multiple flat screen TV in their homes so they can be sure not to miss the latest disinfo or lies.

    .... ... ...

    Michael Kenny , December 12, 2017 at 3:41 pm GMT
    The "problem" is that the whole American "business model" is based on global economic supremacy, which means, essentially, the dollar as world reserve currency. If that goes, the whole US house of cards will probably implode, Soviet-style. That requires unchallenged American "world leadership". The big threat to the "American model" isn't the EU and certainly not the Russian Federation. It's China. 1.4 billion people and rapidly heading for global economic hegemony. To say nothing of a rising India at 1.2 billion. At 300 million, the US is small beans. How to ward off the Yellow Peril? That's the problem the US hegemonists had to resolve.

    ... ... ...

    DaveE , December 12, 2017 at 3:45 pm GMT
    @Anonymous

    Yeah, yeah, yeah big bad ISIS. The Israeli Secret Intelligence Service. "Keeping Fools and Idiots At Each Other's Throats". Since 1950. I don't know what to tell you ..

    anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 3:47 pm GMT
    @jacques sheete

    Somehow the jackals need to be restrained.

    It's not that difficult to strategize HOW to go about "restraining the jackals." 99 44/100% of what ziocons accuse others of is projection. They say, "They [_____ Iran, ISIS, Palestinians, Russians - fill in the blank] understand only force." This projects that the only thing that will restrain psychopathic Israel is force.

    When an Iranian nuclear engineer was assassinated in Tehran, Ronen Bergman told Brian Williams that "Israel has used assassination more than any other state; not even Stalin or Hitler used assassination as much as Israel. . . ."

    ... ... ...

    anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 3:58 pm GMT
    @Ben Frank

    So far the President has proved much smarter than most people expected him to be

    Exactamundo, Ben Frank (any relation to Anne, Princess of the Ballpoint Pen?). Naming Jerusalem the capital of Israel was fucking brilliant. Don't you worry your pretty little head about all the US forces in the multiple bases in the region that are accessible to mad-as-hornets Muslims; Israel will have their backs, fer shur.

    --

    Come to think of it, maybe Trump can burnish his "much smarter-ness" by taking a page out of Reagan's playbook: Immediately after the first US soldier is plinked by an Angry Arab, Trump should pull ALL US FORCES out of the region: do a Reagan-post-Black Hawk down.

    If the Israelis want to stir the pot, let them stand over the steam-heat and wield the spoon. We're outa there.

    anonymous , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 3:58 pm GMT
    The people of the ME can't catch a break. Since being pried away from the Ottoman empire a hundred years ago they've been the plaything of various western countries. Their national borders drawn up by distant foreigners, they've been interfered with constantly, their regimes dictated by foreigners. Then the selfsame westerners turn around and point to their backwardness as proof that they're incapable of doing anything on their own.

    The US is expansionist, projecting itself all over the globe and uses force against anyone who resists. Force is all it understands. What happens when the irresistible force bumps into the immovable object? War hysteria, of which we've had an unending amount for the past three generations. Objectively there's nothing conservative about the so-called neocons. They're hardly any different from fascists except the rhetoric is different. Mussolini had limits as to how much territory he wanted to conquer for his empire unlike the US which recognizes no limits.

    Rurik , December 12, 2017 at 4:21 pm GMT

    replaced at CIA by Senator Tom Cotton.

    it was faint, and barely perceptible, but at some level, I did actually tremble when I read those words. Cotton is the new John McCain. The ultimate traitor to this nation and its people and all people of good will on the planet and every tenet of decency known to the universe

    a lickspittle to Sheldon Adelson and everything that repulsive toad represents. if Cotton is exalted to head the CIA, I'll have to think very hard about leaving these shores. perhaps Bobby Fischer was right, and the ZUSA is endemically, irredeemably evil.

    there can be no doubt that the zio-Fiend is the incarnation of evil itself, but I always keep hoping that the good people of the ZUS will repudiate the zio-Fiend- that has them waging serial wars all over the planet to benefit the Jews. As their infrastructure crumbles back home, and their veterans can't get health care, and the jobs are 'in' and outsourced to the third world. what will it take to wake up the bovine, cud-chewing sheople?!

    their children come home in body bags, or with their souls so eviscerated by the sheer evil of the wars they're forced to fight, that they often just 'snuff it' as the only escape from their nightmares. (and the realization that the ZUSA is a drooling fiend and that they've murdered innocent people and destroyed nations on its behalf)

    those young people can not abide the evil that the ZUS government has become, and their only salvation is to end their young lives.

    for those of us with more choices at hand, why can't we finally and simply repudiate the zio-scum who've done us and so many others so much harm?!

    NOT TOM COTTON!!!!!

    fuck no!

    SolontoCroesus , December 12, 2017 at 4:39 pm GMT
    @SolontoCroesus

    PS If the USA / American people and their representatives conformed foreign as well as economic policy to the vision of George Washington rather than Louis Brandeis -- > Benjamin Netanyahu & fellow psychopaths and traitors, USA would engage with OBOR rather than attempt to destroy it.

    Check out anon20171212′s comment at #21, above http://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/bad-moon-rising/#comment-2115106

    Destruction (and deception) are the way of the Talmudists. Even Heinrich Graetz, the Germanophilic Jew who authored the first modern history of the Jewish people, had nothing but opprobrium to heap on Talmudists.

    https://archive.org/details/historyofthejews014022mbp

    The American 'way' is not the way of the Talmud. Christian values are not Talmudic values. George Washington's legacy was not Talmudic, it was America First :

    https://www.varsitytutors.com/earlyamerica/milestone-events/george-washingtons-farewell-address-full-text

    Astuteobservor II , December 12, 2017 at 4:43 pm GMT
    @Anonymous

    doesn't matter, we are still the ones doing the dirty work. there is no escape from the responsibility. it is like a hitman claiming he is a professional, it is just business. that doesn't fly.

    Ken S , December 12, 2017 at 4:47 pm GMT
    What's with it with neoconservative Israel lackeys like Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz graduating from a prestigious and supposedly left-wing school like Harvard? Are they book-smart without common sense? The country would be better off if Cotton stayed in the Senate. He can do less damage if 1 of 100. Plus, the shelf-life of anyone in the Trump admin seems to be very short – and he'd better not have groped any Harvard classmates, who might just be waiting in the wings to destroy his career.
    Seamus Padraig , December 12, 2017 at 5:34 pm GMT
    As recently as a month ago, I was still willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. But it should now be obvious to all what a total zio-muppet he really is. If there's any silver lining in all of this, it's the fact that the Jew-media have expended so much effort in attacking Trump that he'll now make a very poor spokesman for their cause abroad.

    BTW, I still don't see an attack on Iran as being very likely. If Russia and China would not greenlight an attack on Syria, they will be doubly reluctant to greenlight an attack on Iran.

    Frank Walus , December 12, 2017 at 7:24 pm GMT
    The "democracy" the neocons want to push is the one in which (((mass media))) successfully lobotomizes the electorate into thinking it has democracy. The zombies then make their way to the polls seeking "hope & change" but with no choice. Hegemony is the goal, not democracy.

    Trump may have been skeptical as a candidate about America's role as policeman of the world, but the establishment knives are out and he might (correctly?) surmise that the only way to stay in office is to make the ziocons happy. Even Bill Kristol would see the error in never-Trump_vs_deep_state if bombs started falling on Iran.

    Joe Wong , December 12, 2017 at 8:04 pm GMT
    @peterAUS

    American has an all volunteer armed forces (mercenary), they are paid to kill or be killed, their fates is only a few seconds on the screens if the MSM decided to air them, otherwise the wars and the American soldiers' lives have nothing to do with the American public. Mayhem in far away land in out of sight and out of mind. Citing the American public gullibility is really a residual sentiment of old days cold war mentality and trying to attach some kind of morality to the wars the American has been fighting. American has long been demonstrated they are just as morally defunct imperialist as the British and their mentor, the Romans.

    The real issue is how to finance the war, as long as the war does not cause hyper inflation in the USA, the warmongers in the Washington beltway will go ahead with the war without much concern, with EU, Australia, Japan and S Korea in line paying the bills, the American should be able to wage another regime change war in the ME without much difficulty.

    Charles Pewitt , December 12, 2017 at 8:14 pm GMT
    Tom Cotton is not to be trusted. Many gave US Senator Tom Cotton credit for his offering a bill that would cut legal immigration in half and would significantly reduce illegal immigration. It is now clear that the immigration reduction ploy proffered by Tom Cotton was a sneaky way to mollify the White Core American voter base of President Trump.

    Tom Cotton is a stooge for Sheldon Adelson and the Neo-Conservatives. The Neo-Conservatives know they are highly vulnerable on the immigration issue and the national question. That is why they sent their puppet Tom Cotton out with instructions to bang the pot on reducing immigration.

    Recently, the Neo-Conservative-controlled, Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal gave Tom Cotton a half page, above the fold puff piece where Tom Cotton is said to be offering a foreign policy fit for "Jacksonian America." I think Tom Cotton must be referring to Michael Jackson or some other Jackson, and not General Andrew Jackson. Having some small portion of Scotch-Irish ancestry myself, and having ancestors who pioneered Tennessee, I don't think General Andrew Jackson would support the Israel First foreign policy of Tom Cotton.

    IMMIGRATION and the NATIONAL QUESTION are the two things that will finally dislodge the nation-wrecking Neo-Conservatives and their politician puppets from the ruling class of the American Empire.

    Z-man , December 12, 2017 at 8:22 pm GMT
    @Greg Bacon

    Yet if you point out the obvious, that our foreign policy has been hijacked by an element whose first loyalty is to Israel, you will catch all sorts of hell, be banned from making comments on blogs and news sites, or like the brave Mr. Giraldi, lose your job. And be blasted with the worn-out canard of being an anti-Semite. Maybe even a Jew hater, all because you show concern for the nation you love and are loyal to.

    If you remember what happened to Rick Sanchez, the former talking head of NBC and CNN when he was pushed into calling out the Jew in a 'gotcha' interview as he sarcastically replied that yeah Jews are underrepresented in the media. He was gone in '60 seconds'!

    Whatever happened to Rick Sanchez??? LOL!!!

    Veranon , December 12, 2017 at 8:25 pm GMT
    Re: At the time, I agreed, but I did note that the neoconservatives have proven to be remarkable resilient, particularly as many of them have remained true to their Democratic Party values on nearly everything but foreign policy, where they are irredeemable hawks, hostile to Russia and Iran and always reliably in the corner of Israel.
    -- -- -- -- -
    Of course. The Jewish Neocons and their "useful idiots," whether "bought and paid for" or voluntarily enlisted, are necessarily "liberal" in relation to domestic policy because the idea is to destroy all Western and Christian norms and values by means of cultural marxist "critical theory." And it's working very well. The mass media and the educational system have hopelessly corrupted American and European minds with this profoundly subversive "intellectual" garbage.

    And when it comes to foreign policy, of course the Neocons are globalists, like the international bankers whom they serve. Israel first, because they are not there to defend their country's interests, but to defend Israel's, in accordance with the permanent goal of Eretz Ysrael and world hegemony in accordance with the ultimate goal of Jewish supremacy via the money power, and in preparation for their "messiah". It's all disguised as for the sake of American greatness and "our values."

    The Neocons are nothing less than a parasitical foreign body which has us thinking in accordance with its interests; in fact they are mortal enemies, nothing less. The Western goyim–as well as innocent Jews here and in Israel itself–will be cheerfully sacrificed by the Zionists, who serve darker forces and interests than those of their people. Western humanity has been rendered helpless because they are intellectually helpless and because in consequence they have been dispossessed of deep faith and corresponding real virtues. This was noted years ago by Solzhenitsyn, among others. Ideas rule human beings for good or ill, since we are thinking beings. But when the ideas that determine us are profoundly wrong and when intellectual chaos and unbridled individualism reign, nothing real can be accomplished. However, in due time vincit omnia veritas –the Real has the last word. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

    Priss Factor , Website December 12, 2017 at 9:50 pm GMT
    North Korea's survival strategy is "If you invade us, we will blow up South Korea and maybe even Tokyo." Ruled by a vile regime but with rational concern for survival, even if it has no moral right to survive. But then, what is the other option? South Korea is a puppet state of US globalist empire. If NK was ruled by wiser people, its case would be made more intelligently. It would tell the world community that it needs for defense given US record in the Middle East and North Africa. But it's ruled by some egotistical brat-boy whose idea of culture is Dennis Rodman and Rap trash-talking.

    As different as NK and Jewish Power, they have one thing in common: WGYG or We Go, You Go. The idea is that if they are destroyed, they will take others with them.

    Jewish Power pulled this off in 2008. When Lehman Brothers wasn't bailed out by the government, Wall Street pushed a 'too big to fail' scheme and threatened Total Collapse of the Economy UNLESS it was showered with super-generous bailouts that would eventually come to enrich the banks during a severe recession for most Americans. Bush couldn't do anything about it except go along. Obama bailed out Wall Street. And McCain would have done the same had he won. Jewish Wall Street power held a gun to the head of the entire US economy and said 'Give us money, OR we will take ALL OF YOU down with us.'

    The system is rigged so that a major collapse of Jewish Power will trigger total collapse of the entire system. It's been wired that way. The whole tower will collapse. So, if anyone tries to cut the wire of Jewish Power, kaboom, the whole thing blows up, and everyone dies. Gentiles must carry Jewish Power like a crate of nitroglycerin. One false step and Kaboom.

    JackOH , December 12, 2017 at 10:04 pm GMT
    Phil, thanks.

    "Tom [Cotton] is completely owned by the Israeli lobby."

    " . . . [Nikki] Haley is stupid. And ambitious. And is also owned by the Israeli lobby . . .".

    My knowledge of foreign policy is headline-quality only. My knowledge of some domestic policy is pretty good. I've been on the public stump in my area. The reality of American policy, as I've seen it, is that it's bought and paid for. There is no "public interest", no "national interest". I'm not even sure there's an America, in the sense of a people joined by some common values. Sometimes I think of America as an agglomeration of rackets. You're goddamned right I don't like thinking this way.

    There are only insider players who bankroll and blackmail their way into getting the decisions they want. I wish I could say something high-minded, but I can't.

    anon , Disclaimer December 12, 2017 at 10:52 pm GMT
    @Priss Factor

    India and Pakistan have nukes. How would they respond to an Israeli Sampson Option?

    How about China? An Izzie attack on European capitals could destroy a lot of Chinese investment. China has sufficient nuclear capability to detach Israel from the Mediterranean littoral and create an irradiated submerged island.

    Does van Crevald think Putin will sit on his hands and wait a thousand years for the dust to clear?

    van Crevald says Israel can hit Rome. That's zionism's wet dream, to completely obliterate Rome.
    How many Jews live a parasitical life in Rome and other European capitals?

    Can Izzies reach USA? Didn't think so. What do they think would happen to hundreds of Jewish institutions, and Jewish people, in USA if Israel destroys Europe -- again?

    FB , December 13, 2017 at 12:03 am GMT
    People need to let go of the idea that Dump is anything but a conman and a weak one at that

    The office of President holds a lot of authority that Dump has not been able [or willing] to wield that speaks to his own weakness as a leader

    It's time to admit that he is not the messiah that many Lunchpail Joes wanted to believe

    As to the specifics of this article yes I agree with Mr. Giraldi that the neocons are back in the driver's seat if they ever left in the first place

    Exhibit One is Jared Kushner the Clown Prince of the Shite House. This is the guy who has inflicted most of the damage on Dump starting with his advice to dump Flynn. Dump was under zero pressure to do any such thing the neocon Pence is the one who demanded Flynn's head. Dump could have pushed back there was nothing wrong with Flynn the incoming National Security Adviser speaking to the Russians or anyone else and what he spoke of with the Russians was in lobbying THEM in the US interest not the other way round

    Dump's second big mistake was firing Comey again on the advice of Kushner. Which got the Mueller ball rolling. Some have rightly drawn the parallels of Kushner whispering in Dump's ear to the same role of Kissinger vis a vis Nixon's downfall

    Then Kushner appeared to connive with his buddy KSA Clown Prince MBS to engineer the Hariri fiasco [which Tillerson managed to "deftly undo..."]

    ' Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was accompanying the president during his Asia tour at the time of the Saudi-engineered initiative, was "completely blindsided" by the move, as several senior Middle East diplomats confirmed to TAC.

    While Tillerson would later be accused of being "totally disengaged" from the crisis, several former and current U.S. diplomats have told us that just precisely the opposite was the case '

    ' The unlikely hero in all of this might well be Rex Tillerson, who quietly engineered a U.S. policy at odds with the views of Donald Trump -- and his son-in-law. The exact details of how Tillerson pulled this off remain unknown ("I think Tillerson just told Trump what he was going to do," the senior diplomat with whom we spoke speculates, "and then just did it.") '

    So that's the backstory right there about why the neocons are agitating for Tillerson's ouster. I have to strongly disagree with Mr. Giraldi's characterization of Tillerson as

    ' a somewhat bumbling businessman adept at dealing in energy futures contracts who has been struggling with reducing State's enormously bloated payroll '

    That is a useless statement on many levels Tillerson deftly managed what is arguably America's most important corporation in what is surely the most strategic and geopolitical global industry energy

    The global oil trade is 14 trillion dollars even at today's prices and the petrodollar is the underpinning of the entire US system a free ride for printing free money because every nation has to buy US dollars to buy or sell oil. In 1971

    ' I was informed at a White House meeting that U.S. diplomats had let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries know that they could charge as much as they wanted for their oil, but that the United States would treat it as an act of war not to keep their oil proceeds in U.S. dollar assets '

    Writes economist Michael Hudson" from personal recollection of the many meetings he had at the WH

    This whole saga surrounding Dump's readiness to tie the can to Tillerson is proof positive if any more were needed that conman Dump has been a fake from the beginning

    If the neocons are ascendant and back in the driver's seat it is no one's fault but the Dumpster

    He has cast his lot with Kushner who appears to be the neocons' Trojan Horse

    There can be no more sympathy or understanding anymore for Dump

    If we recall his campaign rhetoric of 'draining the swamp' and rebuilding America's failing infrastructure improving relations with Russia all good things

    we must also recall that he has been vehemently anti-Iran from the get-go

    One has to ask why ?

    Iran is a completely Israeli-owned issue Iran has nothing to do with the interests of the US other than to benefit leading US industries like aircraft manufacturing which were immediately rewarded with a $100 billion order of Boeing aircraft in the aftermath of the Obama nuclear deal

    That vehement anti-Iran attitude even on the campaign trail should have been a red flag to everyone

    Even Hellary would have been better in that regard and as for the Russia 'issue' what could Hellary or the US to do Russia anyway ?

    Militarily nothing even in Syria the US military would certainly not go for an open war against Russia neither would the regional players hosting US bases which would need to be on board for such an adventure

    same goes for the breakaway region of eastern Ukraine

    Germany and France are anyway moving closer to Russia, which has de facto established itself as an energy distribution superpower for the continent and for China

    The big picture is that the petrodollar and the free ride for US prosperity is living on borrowed time China is the world's biggest energy importer and is not going to support the petrodollar forever

    Already an alternative financial architecture is being built and the BRICS countries now outpace the combined GDP of the G7 so the writing is on the wall

    Dump has shown himself to be a conman first and an incredibly weak president he deserves no sympathy or support

    The neocons are of course insane they are picking fights with Iran, Venezuela and others who are going to be the first to ditch the petrodollar and accelerate the tipping point to the new global financial order that is going to impoverish the US overnight

    The same neocons are also the ones who are undermining US demographics because their Ponzi scheme economy is based on perpetual growth which, in turn, requires perpetual population growth which means more immigration. Also the immigration keeps the wages low which is just extra gravy for the Plutocracy

    The US will be a white-minority country by 2050 much of the Southwest already is

    None of that is going to change when the party is over and the Titanic sinks the handful of necons and Plutocrats will have their lifeboats ready

    FB , December 13, 2017 at 12:14 am GMT
    @FB

    Sorry my link to the Kushner role in the Hariri circus and Tillerson's save did not come through here it is: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/kushner-kept-tillerson-in-the-dark-on-saudi-lebanon-move/

    [Dec 10, 2017] When Washington Cheered the Jihadists Consortiumnews

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... William Roebuck, the American embassy's chargé d'affaires in Damascus, thus urged Washington in 2006 to coordinate with Egypt and Saudi Arabia to encourage Sunni Syrian fears of Shi'ite Iranian proselytizing even though such concerns are "often exaggerated." It was akin to playing up fears of Jewish dominance in the 1930s in coordination with Nazi Germany. ..."
    "... A year later, former NATO commander Wesley Clark learned of a classified Defense Department memo stating that U.S. policy was now to "attack and destroy the governments in seven countries in five years," first Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. (Quote starts at 2:07 .) ..."
    "... So the answer was not to oppose the Islamists, but to use them. Even though "the Islamist surge will not be a picnic for the Syrian people," Gambill said, "it has two important silver linings for US interests." One is that the jihadis "are simply more effective fighters than their secular counterparts" thanks to their skill with "suicide bombings and roadside bombs." ..."
    "... The other is that a Sunni Islamist victory in Syria will result in "a full-blown strategic defeat" for Iran, thereby putting Washington at least part way toward fulfilling the seven-country demolition job discussed by Wesley Clark. ..."
    "... The U.S. would settle with the jihadis only after the jihadis had settled with Assad. The good would ultimately outweigh the bad. This kind of self-centered moral calculus would not have mattered had Gambill only spoken for himself. But he didn't. Rather, he was expressing the viewpoint of Official Washington in general, which is why the ultra-respectable FP ran his piece in the first place. ..."
    "... The parallels with the DIA are striking. "The west, gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition," the intelligence report declared, even though "the Salafist[s], the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI [i.e. Al Qaeda in Iraq] are the major forces driving the insurgency." ..."
    "... ancien régime, ..."
    "... With the Saudis footing the bill, the U.S. would exercise untrammeled sway. ..."
    "... Has a forecast that ever gone more spectacularly wrong? Syria's Baathist government is hardly blameless in this affair. But thanks largely to the U.S.-backed sectarian offensive, 400,000 Syrians or more have died since Gambill's article appeared, with another 6.1 million displaced and an estimated 4.8 million fleeing abroad. ..."
    "... So instead of advancing U.S. policy goals, Gambill helped do the opposite. The Middle East is more explosive than ever while U.S. influence has fallen to sub-basement levels. Iranian influence now extends from the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean, while the country that now seems to be wobbling out of control is Saudi Arabia where Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is lurching from one self-induced crisis to another. The country that Gambill counted on to shore up the status quo turns out to be undermining it. ..."
    "... It's not easy to screw things up so badly, but somehow Washington's bloated foreign-policy establishment has done it. Since helping to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Gambill has moved on to a post at the rightwing Middle East Forum where Daniel Pipes, the group's founder and chief, now inveighs against the same Sunni ethnic cleansing that his employee defended or at least apologized for. ..."
    "... The Frozen Republic: How the Constitution Is Paralyzing Democracy ..."
    "... I do not believe than anyone in the civil or military command ever believed that arming the jihadists would bring any sort of stability or peace to the region. I do not believe that peace was ever an interest of the US until it has once again gained hegemonic control of central Asia. This is a fight to retain US global domination – causalities do not matter. The US and its partners or co-rulers of the Empire the Saud family and the Zionist oligarchy will slaughter with impunity until someone stops them or their own corruption defeats them. ..."
    "... The Empire can not exist without relentless ongoing slaughter it has been at it every day now for 73 years. It worked for them all that time but that time has run out. China has already set the date for when its currency will become fully freely exchanged, less than 5 years. ..."
    "... Even the most stupid person on earth couldn't think that the US was using murdering, butchering head choppers in a bid to bring peace and stability to the middle East. The Neocons and the other criminals that infest Washington don't want peace at any price because its bad for business. ..."
    "... It's the same GROTESQUE caricature of these wars that the mainstream media always presents: that the U.S. is on the side of good, and fights for good, even though every war INVARIABLY ends up in a bloodbath, with no one caring how many civilians have died, what state the country is left in, that civilian infrastructure and civilians were targeted, let alone whether war could have been prevented. For example, in 1991, shortly after the first Gulf War, Iraqis rose up against their regime, but George H. Bush allowed Saddam to fly his military helicopters (permission was needed due to the no-fly zones), and quell the rebellion in blood – tens of thousands were butchered! Bush said that when he told Iraqis to rebel, he meant the military generals, NOT the Iraqi people themselves. In other words, the U.S. wanted Saddam gone, but the same regime in place. The U.S. never cared about the people! ..."
    "... The military-industrial-complex sicced Mueller on Trump because they despise his overtures towards rapprochement with the Kremlin. The military-industrial-complex MUST have a villain to justify the gigantic defense [sic] spending which permeates the entire U.S. politico-economic system. Putin and Russia were always the preferred demon because they easily fit the bill in the minds of an easily brainwashed American public. Of course saber rattling towards Moscow puts the world on the brink of nuclear war, but no matter, the careerism and fat contracts are all that matter to the MIC. Trump's rhetoric about making peace with the Kremlin has always mortified the MIC. ..."
    "... This is a rare instance of our elites battling it out behind the scenes, both groups being reprehensible power hungry greed heads and sociopaths, it's hard to tell how this will end. ..."
    "... Lets be clear: The military-industrial-complex wants plenty of low intensity conflict to fuel ever more fabulous weapons sales, not a really hot war where all those pretty expensive toys are falling out of the sky in droves. ..."
    "... On 24 October 2017, the Intercept released an NSA document unearthed from leaked intelligence files provided by Edward Snowden which reveals that terrorist militants in Syria were under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the war which has now claimed half a million lives. ..."
    "... The US intelligence memo is evidence of internal US government confirmation of the direct role that both the Saudi and US governments played in fueling attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as military targets in pursuit of "regime change" in Syria. ..."
    "... Israel's support for terrorist forces in Syria is well established. The Israelis and Saudis coordinate their activities. ..."
    "... An August 2012 DIA report (written when the U.S. was monitoring weapons flows from Libya to Syria), said that the opposition in Syria was driven by al Qaeda and other extremist groups: "the Salafist, the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI are the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria." The "deterioration of the situation" was predicted to have "dire consequences" for Iraq, which included the "grave danger" of a terrorist "Islamic state". Some of the "dire consequences" are blacked out but the DIA warned one such consequence would be the "renewing facilitation of terrorist elements from all over the Arab world entering into Iraqi Arena." ..."
    "... The heavily redacted DIA memo specifically mentions "the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran)." ..."
    "... To clarify just who these "supporting powers" were, mentioned in the document who sought the creation of a "Salafist principality," the DIA memo explained: "The West, Gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition; while Russia, China, and Iran support the regime." ..."
    "... The DIA memo clearly indicates when it was decided to transform US, Saudi, and Turkish-backed Al Qaeda affiliates into ISIS: the "Salafist" (Islamic) "principality" (State). NATO member state Turkey has been directly supporting terrorism in Syria, and specifically, supporting ISIS. In 2014, Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle's reported "'IS' supply channels through Turkey." DW exposed fleets of hundreds of trucks a day, passing unchallenged through Turkey's border crossings with Syria, clearly bound for the defacto ISIS capital of Raqqa. Starting in September 2015, Russian airpower in Syria successfully interdicted ISIS supply lines. ..."
    "... The usual suspects in Western media launched a relentless propaganda campaign against Russian support for Syria. The Atlantic Council's Bellingcat disinformation operation started working overtime. ..."
    "... The propaganda effort culminated in the 4 April 2017 Khan Shaykhun false flag chemical incident in Idlib. Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins and Dan Kaszeta have been paraded by "First Draft" coalition media "partners" in a vigorous effort to somehow implicate the Russians. ..."
    "... In a January 2016 interview on Al Jazeera, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn admitted that he "paid very close attention" to the August 2012 DIA report predicting the rise of a "declared or undeclared Salafist Principality" in Syria. Flynn even asserts that the White House's sponsoring of terrorists (that would emerge as Al Nusra and ISIS) against the Syrian regime was "a willful decision." ..."
    "... Flynn was interviewed by British journalist Mehdi Hasan for Al Jazeera's Head to Head program. Flynn made it clear that the policies that led to the "the rise of the Islamic State, the rise of terrorism" were not merely the result of ignorance or looking the other way, but the result of conscious decision making ..."
    "... General Flynn explained to Hersh that 'If the American public saw the intelligence we were producing daily, at the most sensitive level, they would go ballistic.' Hersh's investigative report exposed a kind of intelligence schism between the Pentagon and CIA concerning the covert program in Syria. ..."
    "... The article raises a very serious charge. Up till now it appeared that supplying weapons to Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria was just another example of Pentagon incompetence but the suggestion here is that it was a concerted policy and it's hard to believe that there was no one in the Pentagon that was privy to that policy who wouldn't raise an objection. ..."
    "... That it conformed with Israeli, Saudi and CIA designs is not surprising, but that there was no dissension within the Pentagon is appalling (or that Obama didn't raise objections). Clark's comment should put him on the hot seat for a congressional investigation but, of course, there is no one in congress to run with it. The policy is so manifestly evil that it seems to dwarf even the reckless ignorance of preceding "interventions". ..."
    "... The DIA report released by Gen. Flynn in 2012 predicted the Islamic State with alarm. That is why Flynn was fired as Director of DIA. He objected to the insane policy of supporting the CIA/Saudi madness and saw it as not only counter-productive but disastrous. His comments to AlJazeera in 2016 reinforced this position. Gen Flynn's faction of the American military has been consistent in its opposition to CIA support of terrorist forces. ..."
    "... I see Gen. Flynn as a whistleblower. The 2012 report he circulated saw the rise of the Salafist Islamic state with alarm ..."
    "... Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the DIA between 2012 and 2014, confirmed that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire consequences of toppling Assad. ..."
    "... Thank you. Gen Flynn also urged coordination with Russia against ISIS, so it doesn't take much to see why he was targeted. ..."
    "... The use of Islamist proxy warriors to help achieve American geo-political ends goes back to at least 1979, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Libya, and Syria. One of the better books on 9/11 is Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed's "The War On Truth: 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism". The first section of that book – "The Geopolitics of Terrorism" – covers, across 150 well-sourced pages, the history and background of this involvement. It is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to be better informed on this topic. ..."
    "... Jaycee, actually you have to go back much further than that to WW2. Hitler used the marginalized Turkic people in Russia and turned them into effective fighters to create internal factions within the Soviet Union. After Hitler lost and the Cold War began, the US, who had no understanding of the Soviets at the time radicalized and empowered Islamist including the Muslim Brotherhood to weaponize Islam against the Soviet Union. ..."
    "... All these western imperial geostrategic planners are certifiably insane and have no business anywhere near the levers of government policy. They are the number one enemy of humanity. If we don't find a way to remove them from power, they may actually succeed in destroying life on Earth. ..."
    "... There is a volume of evidence that the war criminals in our midst were arming and training "jihadists." See link below. http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2016/10/the-evidence-of-planning-of-wars.html ..."
    "... Incompetence and stupidity are their only defense because if anyone acknowledged that trillions of dollars have been made by the usual suspects committing these crimes, the industrialists of war would face a justice symbolized by Nuremberg. ..."
    "... The American groupthink rarely allows propaganda and disinformation disturb: endless wars and endless lies and criminality, have not disturbed this mindset. It is clever to manipulate people to think in a way opposite of truth so consistently. All the atrocities by the US have been surrounded by media propaganda and mastery of groupthink techniques go down well. Mention something unusual or real news and you might get heavily criticized for daring to think outside the box and doubt what are (supposedly) "religious truths". Tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. ..."
    "... The CIA was a key force behind the creation of both al Qaeda and ISIS. Most major incidents of "Islamic Terrorism" have some kind of CIA backing behind them. See this large collection of links for compiled evidence: http://www.pearltrees.com/joshstern/government-supporting/id18814292 ..."
    "... This journalist and other journalists writing on some of my favorite Russian propaganda news websites, have reported the US empire routinely makes "deals with the devil", the enemy of my enemy is my friend, if doing so furthers their goal of perpetual war and global hegemony. Yet, inexplicably, these journalists buy the US empire's 911 story without question, in the face of many unanswered questions ..."
    "... Bin Laden (CIA staffer) and a handful of his men, all from close allied countries to the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, delivered the 2nd Pearl Harbor on 911. What a timely coincidence! We accept the US Empire provides weapons and military support to the same enemy, and worse, who attacked us on 911, but one is labeled a "conspiracy nut" if they believe that same US Empire would orchestrate 911 to justify their long planned global war. One thing about being a "conspiracy nut", if you live long enough, often you will see your beliefs vindicated ..."
    "... So many questions, and so much left unanswered, but don't worry America may run out of money for domestic vital needs but the U.S. always has the money to go fight another war. It's a culture thing, and if you ain't into it then you just don't pay no attention to it. In fact if your life is better off from all of these U.S. led invasions, then your probably not posting any comments here, either. ..."
    "... From the October 1973 Yom Kippur War onward, the United States had no foreign policy in the Middle East other than Israel's. Daniel Lazare should read "A clean break: a new strategy for the Realm". ..."
    "... For the majority of amoral opportunists of the US, money=power=virtue and they will attack all who disagree. ..."
    "... I am stunned that anyone could be so foolish as to think that the US military machine, US imperialism, does things "naively", bumbling like a helpless giant into wars that destroy entire nations with no end in sight. One need not be a "conspiracy theorist" to understand that the Pentagon does not control the world with an ever-expanding war budget equal to the next 10 countries combined, that it does this just because it is stuck on the wrong path. No! US imperialism develops these "big guns" to use them, to overpower, take over and dominate the world for the sake of profits and protection of the right to exploit for private profit. ..."
    "... Daniel Pipes, from what I've read of him, is among those who counsel the U.S. government to use its military power to support the losing side in any civil wars fought within Israel's enemy states, so that the wars will continue, sparing Israel the threat of unified enemy states. What normal human beings consider a humanitarian disaster, repeated in Iraq, Syria and Libya, would be reckoned a success according to this way of thinking. The thinking would appear to lead to similar treatment of Iran, with even more catastrophic consequences. ..."
    "... I think this pattern of using Salafists for regime change started already in Afghanistan, with Brzezinski plotting with Saudi-Arabia and Pakistan to pay and train Osama bin Laden to attack the pro Russia regime and trying to get the USSR involved in it, also trying to blame the USSR for its agression, like they did in Syri"r? ..."
    "... Yes, the Brzezinski/Reagan support of fanatic insurgencies began in AfPak and was revived for the zionists. Russia happened to be on the side more or less tending to progress in both cases, so it had to be opposed. The warmongers are always the US MIC/intel, allied with the anti-American zionist fascists for Mideast wars. ..."
    "... Sheldon Adelson, Soros, Saban all wanted carving up of Arabic states into small sectarian pieces (No Nasseric pan-Arabic states, a threat to Israël). And protracted wars of total destruction. Easy. ..."
    "... Of course, they were told (by whom?) that the jihadists were 'democratic rebels' and 'freedom fighters' who just wanted to 'bring democracy' to Syria, and get rid of the 'tyrant Assad.' 5 years later, so much of the nonsense about "local councils" and "white helmets" has been exposed for what it was. Yet many 'free thinking' people bought the propaganda. Just like they do on Russiagate. Who needs an "alt-right" when America's "left" is a total disgrace? ..."
    Dec 10, 2017 | consortiumnews.com

    When a Department of Defense intelligence report about the Syrian rebel movement became public in May 2015, lots of people didn't know what to make of it. After all, what the report said was unthinkable – not only that Al Qaeda had dominated the so-called democratic revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for years, but that the West continued to support the jihadis regardless, even to the point of backing their goal of creating a Sunni Salafist principality in the eastern deserts.

    Journalist James Foley shortly before he was executed by an Islamic State operative in August 2014.

    The United States lining up behind Sunni terrorism – how could this be? How could a nice liberal like Barack Obama team up with the same people who had brought down the World Trade Center?

    It was impossible, which perhaps explains why the report remained a non-story long after it was released courtesy of a Judicial Watch freedom-of-information lawsuit . The New York Times didn't mention it until six months later while the Washington Post waited more than a year before dismissing it as "loopy" and "relatively unimportant." With ISIS rampaging across much of Syria and Iraq, no one wanted to admit that U.S. attitudes were ever anything other than hostile.

    But three years earlier, when the Defense Intelligence Agency was compiling the report, attitudes were different. Jihadis were heroes rather than terrorists, and all the experts agreed that they were a low-risk, high-yield way of removing Assad from office.

    After spending five days with a Syrian rebel unit, for instance, New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers wrote that the group "mixes paramilitary discipline, civilian policing, Islamic law, and the harsh demands of necessity with battlefield coldness and outright cunning."

    Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, assured the Washington Post that "al Qaeda is a fringe element" among the rebels, while, not to be outdone, the gossip site Buzzfeed published a pin-up of a "ridiculously photogenic" jihadi toting an RPG.

    "Hey girl," said the subhead. "Nothing sexier than fighting the oppression of tyranny."

    And then there was Foreign Policy, the magazine founded by neocon guru Samuel P. Huntington, which was most enthusiastic of all. Gary Gambill's " Two Cheers for Syrian Islamists ," which ran on the FP web site just a couple of weeks after the DIA report was completed, didn't distort the facts or make stuff up in any obvious way. Nonetheless, it is a classic of U.S. propaganda. Its subhead glibly observed: "So the rebels aren't secular Jeffersonians. As far as America is concerned, it doesn't much matter."

    Assessing the Damage

    Five years later, it's worth a second look to see how Washington uses self-serving logic to reduce an entire nation to rubble.

    First a bit of background. After displacing France and Britain as the region's prime imperial overlord during the 1956 Suez Crisis and then breaking with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser a few years later, the United States committed itself to the goal of defeating Arab nationalism and Soviet Communism, two sides of the same coin as far as Washington was concerned. Over the next half-century, this would mean steering Egypt to the right with assistance from the Saudis, isolating Libyan strong man Muammar Gaddafi, and doing what it could to undermine the Syrian Baathist regime as well.

    William Roebuck, the American embassy's chargé d'affaires in Damascus, thus urged Washington in 2006 to coordinate with Egypt and Saudi Arabia to encourage Sunni Syrian fears of Shi'ite Iranian proselytizing even though such concerns are "often exaggerated." It was akin to playing up fears of Jewish dominance in the 1930s in coordination with Nazi Germany.

    A year later, former NATO commander Wesley Clark learned of a classified Defense Department memo stating that U.S. policy was now to "attack and destroy the governments in seven countries in five years," first Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. (Quote starts at 2:07 .)

    Since the United States didn't like what such governments were doing, the solution was to install more pliable ones in their place. Hence Washington's joy when the Arab Spring struck Syria in March 2011 and it appeared that protesters would soon topple the Baathists on their own.

    Even when lofty democratic rhetoric gave way to ominous sectarian chants of "Christians to Beirut, Alawites to the coffin," U.S. enthusiasm remained strong. With Sunnis accounting for perhaps 60 percent of the population, strategists figured that there was no way Assad could hold out against religious outrage welling up from below.

    Enter Gambill and the FP. The big news, his article began, is that secularists are no longer in command of the burgeoning Syrian rebel movement and that Sunni Islamists are taking the lead instead. As unfortunate as this might seem, he argued that such a development was both unavoidable and far from entirely negative.

    "Islamist political ascendancy is inevitable in a majority Sunni Muslim country brutalized for more than four decades by a secular minoritarian dictatorship," he wrote in reference to the Baathists. "Moreover, enormous financial resources are pouring in from the Arab-Islamic world to promote explicitly Islamist resistance to Assad's Alawite-dominated, Iranian-backed regime."

    So the answer was not to oppose the Islamists, but to use them. Even though "the Islamist surge will not be a picnic for the Syrian people," Gambill said, "it has two important silver linings for US interests." One is that the jihadis "are simply more effective fighters than their secular counterparts" thanks to their skill with "suicide bombings and roadside bombs."

    The other is that a Sunni Islamist victory in Syria will result in "a full-blown strategic defeat" for Iran, thereby putting Washington at least part way toward fulfilling the seven-country demolition job discussed by Wesley Clark.

    "So long as Syrian jihadis are committed to fighting Iran and its Arab proxies," the article concluded, "we should quietly root for them – while keeping our distance from a conflict that is going to get very ugly before the smoke clears. There will be plenty of time to tame the beast after Iran's regional hegemonic ambitions have gone down in flames."

    Deals with the Devil

    The U.S. would settle with the jihadis only after the jihadis had settled with Assad. The good would ultimately outweigh the bad. This kind of self-centered moral calculus would not have mattered had Gambill only spoken for himself. But he didn't. Rather, he was expressing the viewpoint of Official Washington in general, which is why the ultra-respectable FP ran his piece in the first place.The Islamists were something America could employ to their advantage and then throw away like a squeezed lemon. A few Syrians would suffer, but America would win, and that's all that counts.

    The parallels with the DIA are striking. "The west, gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition," the intelligence report declared, even though "the Salafist[s], the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI [i.e. Al Qaeda in Iraq] are the major forces driving the insurgency."

    Where Gambill predicted that "Assad and his minions will likely retreat to northwestern Syria," the DIA speculated that the jihadis might establish "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality" at the other end of the country near cities like Hasaka and Der Zor (also known as Deir ez-Zor).

    Where the FP said that the ultimate aim was to roll back Iranian influence and undermine Shi'ite rule, the DIA said that a Salafist principality "is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran)."

    Bottle up the Shi'ites in northwestern Syria, in other words, while encouraging Sunni extremists to establish a base in the east so as to put pressure on Shi'ite-influenced Iraq and Shi'ite-ruled Iran.

    As Gambill put it: "Whatever misfortunes Sunni Islamists may visit upon the Syrian people, any government they form will be strategically preferable to the Assad regime, for three reasons: A new government in Damascus will find continuing the alliance with Tehran unthinkable, it won't have to distract Syrians from its minority status with foreign policy adventurism like the ancien régime, and it will be flush with petrodollars from Arab Gulf states (relatively) friendly to Washington."

    With the Saudis footing the bill, the U.S. would exercise untrammeled sway.

    Disastrous Thinking

    Has a forecast that ever gone more spectacularly wrong? Syria's Baathist government is hardly blameless in this affair. But thanks largely to the U.S.-backed sectarian offensive, 400,000 Syrians or more have died since Gambill's article appeared, with another 6.1 million displaced and an estimated 4.8 million fleeing abroad.

    U.S.-backed Syrian "moderate" rebels smile as they prepare to behead a 12-year-old boy (left), whose severed head is held aloft triumphantly in a later part of the video. [Screenshot from the YouTube video] War-time destruction totals around $250 billion , according to U.N. estimates, a staggering sum for a country of 18.8 million people where per-capita income prior to the outbreak of violence was under $3,000. From Syria, the specter of sectarian violence has spread across Asia and Africa and into Europe and North America as well. Political leaders throughout the advanced industrial world are still struggling to contain the populist fury that the Middle East refugee crisis, the result of U.S.-instituted regime change, helped set off.

    So instead of advancing U.S. policy goals, Gambill helped do the opposite. The Middle East is more explosive than ever while U.S. influence has fallen to sub-basement levels. Iranian influence now extends from the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean, while the country that now seems to be wobbling out of control is Saudi Arabia where Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is lurching from one self-induced crisis to another. The country that Gambill counted on to shore up the status quo turns out to be undermining it.

    It's not easy to screw things up so badly, but somehow Washington's bloated foreign-policy establishment has done it. Since helping to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Gambill has moved on to a post at the rightwing Middle East Forum where Daniel Pipes, the group's founder and chief, now inveighs against the same Sunni ethnic cleansing that his employee defended or at least apologized for.

    The forum is particularly well known for its Campus Watch program, which targets academic critics of Israel, Islamists, and – despite Gambill's kind words about "suicide bombings and roadside bombs" – anyone it considers the least bit apologetic about Islamic terrorism.

    Double your standard, double the fun. Terrorism, it seems, is only terrorism when others do it to the U.S., not when the U.S. does it to others.

    Daniel Lazare is the author of several books including The Frozen Republic: How the Constitution Is Paralyzing Democracy (Harcourt Brace).

    Babyl-on , December 8, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    I do not believe than anyone in the civil or military command ever believed that arming the jihadists would bring any sort of stability or peace to the region. I do not believe that peace was ever an interest of the US until it has once again gained hegemonic control of central Asia. This is a fight to retain US global domination – causalities do not matter. The US and its partners or co-rulers of the Empire the Saud family and the Zionist oligarchy will slaughter with impunity until someone stops them or their own corruption defeats them.

    The Empire can not exist without relentless ongoing slaughter it has been at it every day now for 73 years. It worked for them all that time but that time has run out. China has already set the date for when its currency will become fully freely exchanged, less than 5 years. When that happens the world will return to the gold standard + Bitcoin possibly and US dollar hegemony will end. After that the trillion dollar a year military and the 20 trillion debt take on a different meaning. Before that slaughter non-stop will continue.

    john wilson , December 9, 2017 at 6:31 am

    Really, Baby-lon, your first short paragraph sums this piece by Lazare perfectly and makes the rest of his blog seem rather pointless. Even the most stupid person on earth couldn't think that the US was using murdering, butchering head choppers in a bid to bring peace and stability to the middle East. The Neocons and the other criminals that infest Washington don't want peace at any price because its bad for business.

    Jerald Davidson , December 9, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Babyl-on and John Wilson: you have nailed it. The last thing the US (gov't.) wants is peace. War is big business; casualties are of no concern (3 million Koreans died in the Korean War; 3 million Vietnamese in that war; 100's of thousands in Iraq [including Clinton's sanctions] and Afghanistan). The US has used jihadi proxies since the mujahedeen in 1980's Afghanistan and Contras in Nicaragua. To the US (gov't.), a Salafist dictatorship (such as Saudi Arabia) is highly preferable to a secular, nationalist ruler (such as Egypt's Nasser, Libya's Gaddafi, Syria's Assad).
    So the cover story of the jjihadi's has changed – first they are freedom fighters, then terrorists. What does not change is that in either case they are pawns of the US (gov't.) goal of hegemony.
    (Incidentally, Drew Hunkins must be responding to a different article.)

    BannanaBoat , December 9, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    Exactly Baby right on, Either USA strategists are extremely ignorant or they are attempting to create chaos, probably both. Perhaps not continuously but surely frequently the USA has promoted war prior to the last 73 years. Native Genocide , Mexican Wars, Spanish War, WWI ( USA banker repayment war)

    Richard , December 9, 2017 at 5:24 pm

    Exactly Babylon! Looks like consortiumnews is turning into another propaganda rag. Assad was allied with Russia and Iran – that's why the U.S. wanted him removed. Israel said that they would preferred ISIS in power over Assad. The U.S. would have happily wiped out 90% of the population using its terrorist proxies if it thought it could have got what it wanted.

    Sam F , December 10, 2017 at 8:50 am

    CN tends to make moderate statements so as to communicate with those most in need of them. One must start with the understandings of the audience and show them that the evidence leads further.

    Richard , December 10, 2017 at 10:27 am

    Sam F, no, it's a DELIBERATE lie in support of U.S. foreign policy. The guy wrote: "the NAIVE belief that jihadist proxies could be used to TRANSFORM THE REGION FOR THE BETTER." It could have been written as: "the stated justification by the president that he wanted to transform the region for the better, even though there are often ulterior motives."

    It's the same GROTESQUE caricature of these wars that the mainstream media always presents: that the U.S. is on the side of good, and fights for good, even though every war INVARIABLY ends up in a bloodbath, with no one caring how many civilians have died, what state the country is left in, that civilian infrastructure and civilians were targeted, let alone whether war could have been prevented. For example, in 1991, shortly after the first Gulf War, Iraqis rose up against their regime, but George H. Bush allowed Saddam to fly his military helicopters (permission was needed due to the no-fly zones), and quell the rebellion in blood – tens of thousands were butchered! Bush said that when he told Iraqis to rebel, he meant the military generals, NOT the Iraqi people themselves. In other words, the U.S. wanted Saddam gone, but the same regime in place. The U.S. never cared about the people!

    Either Robert Parry or the author wrote that introduction. I suspect Mr Parry – he always portrays the president as having a heart of gold, but, always, sadly, misinformed; being a professional journalist, he knows full well that people often only read the start and end of an article.

    Drew Hunkins , December 8, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    What we have occurring right now in the United States is a rare divergence of interests within our ruling class. The elites are currently made up of Zionist-militarists. What we're now witnessing is a rare conflict between the two factions. This particular internecine battle has reared its head in the past, the Dubai armaments deal comes to mind off the top of my head.

    Trump started the Jerusalem imbroglio because he's concerned about Mueller's witch hunt.

    The military-industrial-complex sicced Mueller on Trump because they despise his overtures towards rapprochement with the Kremlin. The military-industrial-complex MUST have a villain to justify the gigantic defense [sic] spending which permeates the entire U.S. politico-economic system. Putin and Russia were always the preferred demon because they easily fit the bill in the minds of an easily brainwashed American public. Of course saber rattling towards Moscow puts the world on the brink of nuclear war, but no matter, the careerism and fat contracts are all that matter to the MIC. Trump's rhetoric about making peace with the Kremlin has always mortified the MIC.

    Since Trump's concerned about 1.) Mueller's witch hunt (he definitely should be deeply concerned, this is an out of control prosecutor on mission creep), and 2.) the almost total negative coverage the press has given him over the last two years, he's made a deal with the Zionist Power Configuration; Trump, effectively saying to them: "I'll give you Jerusalem, you use your immense influence in the American mass media to tamp down the relentlessly hostile coverage toward me, and perhaps smear Mueller's witch hunt a bit ".

    This is a rare instance of our elites battling it out behind the scenes, both groups being reprehensible power hungry greed heads and sociopaths, it's hard to tell how this will end.

    How this all eventually plays out is anyone's guess indeed. Let's just make sure it doesn't end with mushroom clouds over Tehran, Saint Petersburg, Paris, Chicago, London, NYC, Washington and Berlin.

    Abe , December 8, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    Trump's purported deviation from foreign policy orthodoxy regarding both Russia and Israel was a propaganda scam engineered by the pro-Israel Lobby from the very beginning. As Russia-gate fiction is progressively deconstructed, the Israel-gate reality becomes ever more despicably obvious.

    The shamelessly Israel-pandering Trump received the "Liberty Award" for his contributions to US-Israel relations at a 3 February 2015 gala hosted by The Algemeiner Journal, a New York-based newspaper, covering American and international Jewish and Israel-related news.

    "We love Israel. We will fight for Israel 100 percent, 1000 percent." VIDEO minutes 2:15-8:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiwBwBw7R-U

    After the event, Trump did not renew his television contract for The Apprentice, which raised speculation about a Trump bid for the presidency. Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015.

    Trump's purported break with GOP orthodoxy, questioning of Israel's commitment to peace, calls for even treatment in Israeli-Palestinian deal-making, and refusal to call for Jerusalem to be Israel's undivided capital, were all stage-managed for the campaign.

    Cheap theatrics notwithstanding, the Netanyahu regime in Israel has "1000 percent" support from the Trump regime.

    Drew Hunkins , December 8, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    If Trump were totally and completely subservient to Netanyahu he would have bombed Damascus to remove Assad and would have bombed Tehran to obliterate Iran. Of course thus far he has done neither. Don't get me wrong, Trump is essentially part and parcel of the Zionist cabal, but I don't quite think he's 1,000% under their thumb (not yet?).

    I don't think the Zionist Power Configuration concocted Trump's policy of relative peace with the Kremlin. Yes, the ZPC is extremely powerful in America, but Trump's position of detente with Moscow seemed to be genuine. He caught way too much heat from the mass media for it to be a stunt, it's almost torpedoed his presidency, and may eventually do just that. It was actually one of the very few things Trump got right; peace with Russia, cordial relations with the Kremlin are a no-brainer. A no-brainer to everyone but the military-industrial-complex.

    Abe , December 8, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    Russian. Missiles. Lets be clear: The military-industrial-complex wants plenty of low intensity conflict to fuel ever more fabulous weapons sales, not a really hot war where all those pretty expensive toys are falling out of the sky in droves.

    Whether it was "bird strike" or something more technological that recently grounded the "mighty" Israeli F-35I, it's clear that America isn't eager to have those "Inherent Resolve" jets, so busily not bombing ISIS, painted with Russian SAM radar.

    Russia made it clear that Trump's Tomahawk Tweet in April 2017 was not only under totally false pretenses. It had posed a threat to Russian troops and Moscow took extra measures to protect them.

    Russian deployment of the advanced S-400 system on the Syrian coast in Latakia also impacts Israel's regional air superiority. The S-400 can track and shoot down targets some 400 kilometers (250 miles) away. That range encompasses half of Israel's airspace, including Ben Gurion International Airport. In addition to surface-to-air missiles installations, Russian aircraft in Syria are equipped with air-to-air missiles. Those weapons are part of an calculus of Israeli aggression in the region.

    Of course, there's much more to say about this subject.

    WC , December 9, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    Here's a good one from Hedges (for what little good it will do). https://www.truthdig.com/articles/zero-hour-palestine/

    john wilson , December 9, 2017 at 6:34 am

    Surely, Drew, even the brain washed sheep otherwise known as the American public can't seriously believe that their government armed head choppers in a bid to bring peace to the region, can they?

    Drew Hunkins , December 9, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    Yup Mr. Wilson. It's too much cognitive dissonance for them to process. After all, we're the exceptional nation, the beacon on the hill, the country that ONLY intervenes abroad when there is a 'right to protect!' or it's a 'humanitarian intervention.' As Ken Burns would say: Washington only acts "with good intentions. They're just sometimes misplaced." That's all. The biggest global empire the world has ever seen is completely out of the picture.

    mike k , December 8, 2017 at 5:34 pm

    When evil people with evil intentions set out to do something in the world, the result is evil. Like Libya, or Iraq, or Syria. Why do I call these people who killed millions for their own selfish greed for power evil? If you have to ask that, then you just don't understand what evil is – and you have a lot of company, because many people believe that evil does not even exist! Such sheeple become the perfect victims of the evil ones, who are destroying our world.

    john wilson , December 9, 2017 at 6:36 am

    Correction, Mike. The public do believe that evil exists but they sincerely think that Putin and Russia are the evil ones'

    mike k , December 9, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    One of the ways to avoid recognizing evil is to ascribe it to inappropriate, incorrect sources usually as a result of believing misleading propaganda. Another common maneuver is to deny evil's presence in oneself, and believe it is always "out there". Or one can feel that "evil" is an outmoded religious concept that is only used to hit at those one does not like.

    Mild - ly Facetious , December 8, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Oh Jerusalem: Requiem for the two-state solution (Gas masks required)

    https://electronicintifada.net/content/oh-jerusalem-requiem-two-state-solution/22521

    Abe , December 8, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    On 24 October 2017, the Intercept released an NSA document unearthed from leaked intelligence files provided by Edward Snowden which reveals that terrorist militants in Syria were under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the war which has now claimed half a million lives.

    https://theintercept.com/2017/10/24/syria-rebels-nsa-saudi-prince-assad/

    Marked "Top Secret" the NSA memo focuses on events that unfolded outside Damascus in March of 2013.

    The US intelligence memo is evidence of internal US government confirmation of the direct role that both the Saudi and US governments played in fueling attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as military targets in pursuit of "regime change" in Syria.

    Israel's support for terrorist forces in Syria is well established. The Israelis and Saudis coordinate their activities.

    Abe , December 8, 2017 at 6:27 pm

    An August 2012 DIA report (written when the U.S. was monitoring weapons flows from Libya to Syria), said that the opposition in Syria was driven by al Qaeda and other extremist groups: "the Salafist, the Muslim Brotherhood, and AQI are the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria." The "deterioration of the situation" was predicted to have "dire consequences" for Iraq, which included the "grave danger" of a terrorist "Islamic state". Some of the "dire consequences" are blacked out but the DIA warned one such consequence would be the "renewing facilitation of terrorist elements from all over the Arab world entering into Iraqi Arena."

    The heavily redacted DIA memo specifically mentions "the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran)."

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf

    To clarify just who these "supporting powers" were, mentioned in the document who sought the creation of a "Salafist principality," the DIA memo explained: "The West, Gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition; while Russia, China, and Iran support the regime."

    The DIA memo clearly indicates when it was decided to transform US, Saudi, and Turkish-backed Al Qaeda affiliates into ISIS: the "Salafist" (Islamic) "principality" (State). NATO member state Turkey has been directly supporting terrorism in Syria, and specifically, supporting ISIS. In 2014, Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle's reported "'IS' supply channels through Turkey." DW exposed fleets of hundreds of trucks a day, passing unchallenged through Turkey's border crossings with Syria, clearly bound for the defacto ISIS capital of Raqqa. Starting in September 2015, Russian airpower in Syria successfully interdicted ISIS supply lines.

    The usual suspects in Western media launched a relentless propaganda campaign against Russian support for Syria. The Atlantic Council's Bellingcat disinformation operation started working overtime.

    The propaganda effort culminated in the 4 April 2017 Khan Shaykhun false flag chemical incident in Idlib. Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins and Dan Kaszeta have been paraded by "First Draft" coalition media "partners" in a vigorous effort to somehow implicate the Russians.

    Abe , December 9, 2017 at 12:26 pm

    In a January 2016 interview on Al Jazeera, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn admitted that he "paid very close attention" to the August 2012 DIA report predicting the rise of a "declared or undeclared Salafist Principality" in Syria. Flynn even asserts that the White House's sponsoring of terrorists (that would emerge as Al Nusra and ISIS) against the Syrian regime was "a willful decision."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Y274U7QIs

    Flynn was interviewed by British journalist Mehdi Hasan for Al Jazeera's Head to Head program. Flynn made it clear that the policies that led to the "the rise of the Islamic State, the rise of terrorism" were not merely the result of ignorance or looking the other way, but the result of conscious decision making:

    Hasan: "You are basically saying that even in government at the time you knew these groups were around, you saw this analysis, and you were arguing against it, but who wasn't listening?"

    Flynn: "I think the administration."

    Hasan: "So the administration turned a blind eye to your analysis?"

    Flynn: "I don't know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a willful decision."

    Hasan: "A willful decision to support an insurgency that had Salafists, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood?"

    Flynn: "It was a willful decision to do what they're doing."

    Holding up a paper copy of the 2012 DIA report declassified through FOIA, Hasan read aloud key passages such as, "there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in Eastern Syria, and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime."

    Rather than downplay the importance of the document and these startling passages, as did the State Department soon after its release, Flynn did the opposite: he confirmed that while acting DIA chief he "paid very close attention" to this report in particular and later added that "the intelligence was very clear."

    Lt. Gen. Flynn, speaking safely from retirement, is the highest ranking intelligence official to go on record saying the United States and other state sponsors of rebels in Syria knowingly gave political backing and shipped weapons to Al-Qaeda in order to put pressure on the Syrian regime:

    Hasan: "In 2012 the U.S. was helping coordinate arms transfers to those same groups [Salafists, Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda in Iraq], why did you not stop that if you're worried about the rise of quote-unquote Islamic extremists?"

    Flynn: "I hate to say it's not my job but that my job was to was to to ensure that the accuracy of our intelligence that was being presented was as good as it could be."

    Flynn unambiguously confirmed that the 2012 DIA document served as source material in his own discussions over Syria policy with the White House. Flynn served as Director of Intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) during a time when its prime global mission was dismantling Al-Qaeda.

    Flynn's admission that the White House was in fact arming and bolstering Al-Qaeda linked groups in Syria is especially shocking given his stature. The Pentagon's former highest ranking intelligence officer in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden confessed that the United States directly aided the Al Qaeda terrorist legions of Ayman al-Zawahiri beginning in at least 2012 in Syria.

    Abe , December 9, 2017 at 12:44 pm

    Mehdi Hasan goes Head to Head with Michael Flynn, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency

    Full Transcript: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/2016/01/transcript-michael-flynn-160104174144334.html

    Abe , December 9, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    "Flynn would later tell the New York Times that this 2012 intelligence report in particular was seen at the White House where it was 'disregarded' because it 'didn't meet the narrative' on the war in Syria. He would further confirm to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that Defense Department (DoD) officials and DIA intelligence in particular, were loudly warning the administration that jihadists were leading the opposition in Syria -- warnings which were met with 'enormous pushback.' Instead of walking back his Al Jazeera comments, General Flynn explained to Hersh that 'If the American public saw the intelligence we were producing daily, at the most sensitive level, they would go ballistic.' Hersh's investigative report exposed a kind of intelligence schism between the Pentagon and CIA concerning the covert program in Syria.

    "In a personal exchange on his blog Sic Semper Tyrannis, legendary DoD intelligence officer and former presidential briefer Pat Lang explained [ ] that the DIA memo was used as a 'warning shot across the [administration's] bow.' Lang has elsewhere stated that DIA Director Flynn had 'tried to persuade people in the Obama Administration not to provide assistance to the Nusra group.' It must be remembered that in 2012 what would eventually emerge as distinct 'ISIS' and 'Nusra' (AQ in Syria) groups was at that time a singular entity desiring a unified 'Islamic State.' The nascent ISIS organization (referenced in the memo as 'ISI' or Islamic State in Iraq) was still one among many insurgent groups fighting to topple Assad.

    "In fact, only one year after the DIA memo was produced (dated August 12, 2012) a coalition of rebels fighting under the US-backed Revolutionary Military Council of Aleppo were busy celebrating their most strategic victory to date, which served to open an opposition corridor in Northern Syria. The seizure of the Syrian government's Menagh Airbase in August 2013 was only accomplished with the military prowess of fighters identifying themselves in front of cameras and to reporters on the ground as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

    "Public embarrassment came for Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford who reluctantly confirmed that in fact, yes, the US-funded and supplied FSA commander on the ground had personally led ISIS and Nusra fighters in the attack (Ford himself was previously filmed alongside the commander). This after the New York Times publicized unambiguous video proof of the fact. Even the future high commander of Islamic State's military operations, Omar al-Shishani, himself played a leading role in the US sponsored FSA operation."

    Obama and the DIA 'Islamic State' Memo: What Trump Gets Right
    By Brad Hoff
    https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2016/07/01/obama-and-the-dia-islamic-state-memo-what-trump-gets-right/

    Abe , December 9, 2017 at 3:08 pm

    "one first needs to understand what has happened in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries in recent years. The original plan of the US and Saudi Arabia (behind whom stood an invisible Israel) was the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and his replacement with Islamic fundamentalists or takfiris (Daesh, al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra).

    "The plan involved the following steps:

    • sweep away a strong secular Arab state with a political culture, armed forces and security services;
    • generate total chaos and horror in Syria that would justify the creation of Israel's 'security zone', not only in Golan Heights, but also further north;
    • start a civil war in Lebanon and incite takfiri violence against Hezbollah, leading to them both bleeding to death and then create a "security zone", this time in Lebanon;
    • prevent the creation of a "Shiite axis" of Iran/Iraq/Syria/Lebanon;
    • continue the division of Syria along ethnic and religious lines, establish an independent Kurdistan and then to use them against Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
    • give Israel the opportunity to become the unquestioned major player in the region and force Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and everyone else to apply for permission from Israel in order to implement any oil and gas projects;
    • gradually isolate, threaten, undermine and ultimately attack Iran with a wide regional coalition, removing all Shiite centers of power in the middle East.

    "It was an ambitious plan, and the Israelis were completely convinced that the United States would provide all the necessary resources to see it through. But the Syrian government has survived thanks to military intervention by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. Daesh is almost defeated and Iran and Hezbollah are so firmly entrenched in Syria that it has driven the Israelis into a state of fear bordering on panic. Lebanon remains stable, and even the recent attempt by the Saudis to abduct Prime Minister Saad Hariri failed.

    "As a result, Saudi Arabia and Israel have developed a new plan: force the US to attack Iran. To this end, the 'axis of good"' (USA-Israel-Saudi Arabia) was created, although this is nothing new. Saudi Arabia and the other Arab States in the Persian Gulf have in the past spoken in favor of intervention in Syria. It is well known that the Saudis invaded Bahrain, are occupying it de facto, and are now at war in Yemen.

    "The Israelis will participate in any plan that will finally split the Sunnis and Shiites, turning the region into rubble. It was not by chance that, having failed in Lebanon, they are now trying to do the same in Yemen after the murder of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

    "For the Saudis and Israelis, the problem lies in the fact that they have rather weak armed forces; expensive and high-tech, but when it comes to full-scale hostilities, especially against a really strong opponent such as the Iranians or Hezbollah, the 'Israel/Wahhabis' have no chance and they know it, even if they do not admit it. So, one simply needs to think up some kind of plan to force the Shiites to pay a high price.

    "So they developed a new plan. Firstly, the goal is now not the defeat of Hezbollah or Iran. For all their rhetoric, the Israelis know that neither they nor especially the Saudis are able to seriously threaten Iran or even Hezbollah. Their plan is much more basic: initiate a serious conflict and then force the US to intervene. Only today, the armed forces of the United States have no way of winning a war with Iran, and this may be a problem. The US military knows this and they are doing everything to tell the neo-cons 'sorry, we just can't.' This is the only reason why a US attack on Iran has not already taken place. From the Israeli point of view this is totally unacceptable and the solution is simple: just force the US to participate in a war they do not really need. As for the Iranians, the Israeli goal of provoking an attack on Iran by the US is not to defeat Iran, but just to bring about destruction – a lot of destruction [ ]

    "You would need to be crazy to attack Iran. The problem, however, is that the Saudis and the Israelis are close to this state. And they have proved it many times. So it just remains to hope that Israel and the KSA are 'crazy', but 'not that crazy'."

    The Likelihood of War with Iran By Petr Lvov https://journal-neo.org/2017/12/09/the-likelihood-of-war-with-iran/

    BobH, December 8, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    The article raises a very serious charge. Up till now it appeared that supplying weapons to Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria was just another example of Pentagon incompetence but the suggestion here is that it was a concerted policy and it's hard to believe that there was no one in the Pentagon that was privy to that policy who wouldn't raise an objection.

    That it conformed with Israeli, Saudi and CIA designs is not surprising, but that there was no dissension within the Pentagon is appalling (or that Obama didn't raise objections). Clark's comment should put him on the hot seat for a congressional investigation but, of course, there is no one in congress to run with it. The policy is so manifestly evil that it seems to dwarf even the reckless ignorance of preceding "interventions".

    Linda Wood , December 8, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    There WAS dissension within the Pentagon, not only about being in a coalition with the Gulf States and Turkey in support of terrorist forces, but about allowing ISIS to invade Ramadi, which CENTCOM exposed by making public that US forces watched it happen and did nothing. In addition, CENTCOM and SOCOM publicly opposed switching sides in Yemen.

    http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/17/us-generals-think-saudi-strikes-in-yemen-a-bad-idea.html

    A senior commander at Central Command (CENTCOM), speaking on condition of anonymity, scoffed at that argument. "The reason the Saudis didn't inform us of their plans," he said, "is because they knew we would have told them exactly what we think -- that it was a bad idea.

    Military sources said that a number of regional special forces officers and officers at U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) argued strenuously against supporting the Saudi-led intervention because the target of the intervention, the Shia Houthi movement -- which has taken over much of Yemen and which Riyadh accuses of being a proxy for Tehran -- has been an effective counter to Al-Qaeda.

    The DIA report released by Gen. Flynn in 2012 predicted the Islamic State with alarm. That is why Flynn was fired as Director of DIA. He objected to the insane policy of supporting the CIA/Saudi madness and saw it as not only counter-productive but disastrous. His comments to AlJazeera in 2016 reinforced this position. Gen Flynn's faction of the American military has been consistent in its opposition to CIA support of terrorist forces.

    BobH , December 8, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    Thanks, I never read anything about it in the MSM (perhaps Aljazeera was an exception?). However, this doesn't explain Gen. Flynn's tight relationship with Turkey's Erdogan who clearly backed the Al Qaeda affiliated rebels to the point of shooting down a Russian jet over Syria.

    Sam F , December 10, 2017 at 8:57 am

    The fighter shoot-down incident was before Erdogan's reversals in Syria policy.

    Linda Wood , December 8, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    I see Gen. Flynn as a whistleblower. The 2012 report he circulated saw the rise of the Salafist Islamic state with alarm.

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf

    B. THE SALAFIST, THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, AND AQI ARE THE MAJOR FORCES DRIVING THE INSURGENCY IN SYRIA.

    C. THE WEST, GULF COUNTRIES, AND TURKEY SUPPORT THE OPPOSITION; WHILE RUSSIA, CHINA, AND IRAN SUPPORT THE REGIME.

    C. IF THE SITUATION UNRAVELS THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE SYRIAN REGIME, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE STRATEGIC DEPTH OF THE SHIA EXPANSION (IRAQ AND IRAN).

    D. THE DETERIORATION OF THE SITUATION HAS DIRE CONSEQUENCES ON THE IRAQI SITUATION AND ARE AS FOLLOWS:

    –1. THIS CREATES THE IDEAL ATMOSPHERE FOR AQI TO RETURN TO ITS OLD POCKETS IN MOSUL AND RAMADI, AND WILL PROVIDE A RENEWED MOMENTUM UNDER THE PRESUMPTION OF UNIFYING THE JIHAD AMONG SUNNI IRAQ AND SYRIA ISI COULD ALSO DECLARE AN ISLAMIC STATE THROUGH ITS UNION WITH OTHER TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA, WHICH WILL CREATE GRAVE DANGER IN REGARDS TO UNIFYING IRAQ AND THE PROTECTION OF ITS TERRITORY

    https://geopolitics.co/2015/12/22/dempseys-pentagon-aided-assad-with-military-intelligence-hersh/
    London Review of Books Vol. 38 No. 1 · 7 January 2016
    Military to Military: US intelligence sharing in the Syrian war
    Seymour M. Hersh

    Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the DIA between 2012 and 2014, confirmed that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire consequences of toppling Assad. The jihadists, he said, were in control of the opposition. Turkey wasn't doing enough to stop the smuggling of foreign fighters and weapons across the border. 'If the American public saw the intelligence we were producing daily, at the most sensitive level, they would go ballistic,' Flynn told me. 'We understood Isis's long-term strategy and its campaign plans, and we also discussed the fact that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of the Islamic State inside Syria.' The DIA's reporting, he said, 'got enormous pushback' from the Obama administration. 'I felt that they did not want to hear the truth.'

    j. D. D. , December 9, 2017 at 8:33 am

    Thank you. Gen Flynn also urged coordination with Russia against ISIS, so it doesn't take much to see why he was targeted. Ironically, the MSM is now going bananas over his support for nuclear power in the region, which he had tied to desalination of sea water, toward alleviating that crucial source of conflict in the area.

    Abbybwood , December 9, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    I believe Wesley Clark told Amy Goodman that he was handed the classified memo regarding the U.S. overthrowing seven countries in five years starting with Iraq and ending with Iran, in 2001, not 2006. He said it was right after 9/11 when he visited the Pentagon and Joint Chief of Staff's office and was handed the memo.

    jaycee , December 8, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    The use of Islamist proxy warriors to help achieve American geo-political ends goes back to at least 1979, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Libya, and Syria. One of the better books on 9/11 is Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed's "The War On Truth: 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism". The first section of that book – "The Geopolitics of Terrorism" – covers, across 150 well-sourced pages, the history and background of this involvement. It is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to be better informed on this topic.

    One disturbing common feature across the years have been US sponsored airlifts of Islamist fighters facing defeat, as seen in Afghanistan in late 2001 and just recently in eastern Syria. In 2001, some of those fighters were relocated to North Africa, specifically Mali – the roots of the Islamist insurgency which has destabilized that country over the past few years. Where exactly the ISIS rebels assisted some weeks ago were relocated is yet unknown.

    turk151 , December 9, 2017 at 10:03 pm

    Jaycee, actually you have to go back much further than that to WW2. Hitler used the marginalized Turkic people in Russia and turned them into effective fighters to create internal factions within the Soviet Union. After Hitler lost and the Cold War began, the US, who had no understanding of the Soviets at the time radicalized and empowered Islamist including the Muslim Brotherhood to weaponize Islam against the Soviet Union.

    Hence the birth of the Mujaheddin and Bin Laden, the rest is history.

    j. D. D. , December 8, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    The article does not support the sub-headline. There is no evidence provided, nor is there any evidence to be found, that Washington's policy in the region was motivated by anything other than geopolitical objectives.

    David G , December 9, 2017 at 7:25 am

    I think that phrasing may point to the hand of editor Robert Parry. The incredible value of CN notwithstanding, Parry in his own pieces (erroneously in my eyes) maintains a belief that Obama somehow meant well. Hence the imputation of some "naïve" but ultimately benevolent motive on the part of the U.S. genocidaires, as the whole Syria catastrophe got going on Obama's watch.

    Anon , December 9, 2017 at 9:14 am

    The imputation of naivete works to avoid accusation of a specific strategy without sufficient evidence.

    Skip Scott , December 9, 2017 at 9:45 am

    Although I am no fan of Obama, and most especially the continuation of the warmongering for his 8 years, he did balk at the "Red line" when he found out he was being set up, and it wasn't Assad who used chemical weapons. I don't think he "meant well" so much as he knew the exact length of his leash. His bragging about going against "The Washington playbook" was of course laughable; just as his whole hopey/changey thing was laughable with Citigroup picking his cabinet.

    Stephen , December 9, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Off topic but you can listen to some of Obama's banking handiwork here: https://sputniknews.com/radio_loud_and_clear/201712091059844562-looming-government-shutdown-will-democrats-fight-trumps-pro-rich-plan/ It starts at about minute 28:14. It explains the whole reaction by Obama and Holder to the banking fiasco in my mind. Sorry but I had to get it from the evil Rooski radio program.

    Lois Gagnon , December 8, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    All these western imperial geostrategic planners are certifiably insane and have no business anywhere near the levers of government policy. They are the number one enemy of humanity. If we don't find a way to remove them from power, they may actually succeed in destroying life on Earth.

    Stephen J. , December 8, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    There is a volume of evidence that the war criminals in our midst were arming and training "jihadists." See link below. http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2016/10/the-evidence-of-planning-of-wars.html

    MarkU , December 8, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    "Official Washington helped unleash hell on Syria and across the Mideast behind the naïve belief that jihadist proxies could be used to transform the region for the better, explains Daniel Lazare." What a load of old rubbish, naïve belief indeed. it is difficult to believe that anyone could write this stuff with a straight face.

    Linda Wood , December 8, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    Incompetence and stupidity are their only defense because if anyone acknowledged that trillions of dollars have been made by the usual suspects committing these crimes, the industrialists of war would face a justice symbolized by Nuremberg.

    Zachary Smith , December 8, 2017 at 11:37 pm

    That Gary Gambill character "outed" himself as a Zionist on September 4 of this year. He appears to have mastered the propaganda associated with the breed. At the link see if you can find any mention of the murders, thefts, ethnic cleansing, or apartheid of his adopted nation. Blaming the victim may be this fellow's specialty. Sample:

    The well-intentioned flocked in droves to the belief that Israeli- Palestinian peace was achievable provided Israel made the requisite concessions, and that this would liberate the Arab-Islamic world from a host of other problems allegedly arising from it: bloated military budgets, intolerance of dissent, Islamic extremism, you name it.

    Why tackle each of these problems head on when they can be alleviated all at once when Israel is brought to heel? Twenty years later, the Middle East is suffering the consequences of this conspiracy of silence.

    Zachary Smith , December 8, 2017 at 11:37 pm

    http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-accidental-Zionist-504221

    Gerry , December 9, 2017 at 4:51 am

    The American groupthink rarely allows propaganda and disinformation disturb: endless wars and endless lies and criminality, have not disturbed this mindset. It is clever to manipulate people to think in a way opposite of truth so consistently. All the atrocities by the US have been surrounded by media propaganda and mastery of groupthink techniques go down well. Mention something unusual or real news and you might get heavily criticized for daring to think outside the box and doubt what are (supposedly) "religious truths". Tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth.

    It takes courage to go against the flow of course and one can only hope that the Americans are what they think they are: courageous and strong enough to hear their cherished truths smashed, allow the scales before their eyes to fall and practise free speech and free thought.

    Theo , December 9, 2017 at 6:35 am

    Thanks for this article and many others on this site.In Europe and in Germany you hardly hear,read or see any of these facts and their connections.It seems to be only of marginal interest.

    Josh Stern , December 9, 2017 at 6:49 am

    The CIA was a key force behind the creation of both al Qaeda and ISIS. Most major incidents of "Islamic Terrorism" have some kind of CIA backing behind them. See this large collection of links for compiled evidence: http://www.pearltrees.com/joshstern/government-supporting/id18814292

    triekc , December 9, 2017 at 8:27 am

    This journalist and other journalists writing on some of my favorite Russian propaganda news websites, have reported the US empire routinely makes "deals with the devil", the enemy of my enemy is my friend, if doing so furthers their goal of perpetual war and global hegemony. Yet, inexplicably, these journalists buy the US empire's 911 story without question, in the face of many unanswered questions.

    Beginning in the 1990's, neocons who would become W's cabinet, wrote detailed plans of military regime change in Middle East, but stating they needed a "strong external shock to the United States -- a latter-day 'Pearl Harbor", to get US sheeple to support increased militarism and global war. Few months after W took office, and had appointed those war mongering neocons to positions of power, Bin Laden (CIA staffer) and a handful of his men, all from close allied countries to the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, delivered the 2nd Pearl Harbor on 911. What a timely coincidence! We accept the US Empire provides weapons and military support to the same enemy, and worse, who attacked us on 911, but one is labeled a "conspiracy nut" if they believe that same US Empire would orchestrate 911 to justify their long planned global war. One thing about being a "conspiracy nut", if you live long enough, often you will see your beliefs vindicated

    Joe Tedesky , December 9, 2017 at 11:27 am

    You commented on what I was thinking, and that was, 'remember when al Queda was our enemy on 911'? So now that bin Laden is dead, and his al Queda now fights on our side, shouldn't the war be over? And, just for the record who did attack us on 911?

    So many questions, and so much left unanswered, but don't worry America may run out of money for domestic vital needs but the U.S. always has the money to go fight another war. It's a culture thing, and if you ain't into it then you just don't pay no attention to it. In fact if your life is better off from all of these U.S. led invasions, then your probably not posting any comments here, either.

    Knowing the Pentagon mentality they probably have an 'al Queda combat medal' to pin on the terrorists chest. Sarcasm I know, but seriously is anything not within the realm of believable when it comes to this MIC establishment?

    Christene Bartels , December 9, 2017 at 8:53 am

    Great article and spot on as far as the author takes it. But the world is hurtling towards Armageddon so I'd like to back things up about one hundred years and get down to brass tacks.

    The fact of the matter is, the M.E. has never been at total peace but it has been nothing but one colossal FUBAR since the Ottoman Empire was defeated after WWI and the Allied Forces got their grubby, greedy mitts on its M.E. territories and all of that luscious black gold. First up was the British Empire and France and then it really went nuclear (literally) in 1946 when Truman and the U.S. joined in the fun and decided to figure out how we could carve out that ancient prime piece of real estate and resurrect Israel. By 1948 ..violà ..there she was.

    So now here we sit as the hundred year delusion that we knew what the hell we were doing comes crashing down around us. Seriously, whoever the people have been who thought that a country with the historical perspective of a toddler was going to be able to successfully manage and manipulate a region filled with people who are still tribal in perspective and are still holding grudges and settling scores from five thousand years ago were complete and total arrogant morons. Every single one of them. Up to the present moment.

    Which gets me down to those brass tacks I alluded to at the beginning of my comment. Delusional crusades lead by arrogant morons always, always, always end up as ash heaps. So, I would suggest we all prepare for that rapidly approaching conclusion accordingly. For me, that means hitting my knees.

    Gregory Herr , December 9, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    Middle Eastern people are no more "tribal" or prone to holding grudges than any other people. Middle Eastern people have exhibited and practiced peaceful and tolerant living arrangements within several different contexts over the centuries. Iraq had a fairly thriving middle class and the Syrians are a cultured and educated people.

    Gregory Herr , December 9, 2017 at 10:07 pm

    Syrian society is constructed very much within the construct of close family ties and a sense of a Syrian homeland. It is solely the business of the Syrian people to decide whether the socialist Ba'ath government functions according to their own sense of realities and standards. Some of those realities may include aspects of a necessitated national security state (necessitated by CIA and Israeli subterfuge) that prompts shills to immediately characterize the Assad government as "an authoritarian regime" and of course that's all you need to know. Part of what pisses the West off about the Syrians is that they are so competent, and that includes their intelligence and security services. One of the other parts is the socialist example of government functioning in interests of the general population, not selling out to vultures.

    It bothers me that Mr. Lazare wrote: "Syria's Baathist government is hardly blameless in this affair." Really? Well the Syrian government can hardly be blamed for the vile strategy of using terrorist mercenaries to take or destroy a people's homeland–killing horrific numbers of fathers, mothers, and children on the way to establish some kind of Wild West control over Damascus that can then be manipulated for the typical elite deviances. What was purposely planned and visited upon the Syrian people has had human consequences that were known and disregarded by the planners. It has been and continues to be a grave crime against our common humanity that should be raised to the roof of objection! People like Gambill should be excoriated for their crass appraisal of human costs .and for their contrived and twisted rationalizations and deceits. President Assad recently gave an interview to teleSUR that is worth a listen. He talks about human costs with understanding for what he is talking about. Gambill doesn't give a damn.

    BASLE , December 9, 2017 at 10:46 am

    From the October 1973 Yom Kippur War onward, the United States had no foreign policy in the Middle East other than Israel's. Daniel Lazare should read "A clean break: a new strategy for the Realm".

    Sam F , December 10, 2017 at 9:08 am

    Yes, Israel is the cut-out or fence for US politicians stealing campaign money from the federal budget. US policy is that of the bribery sources and nothing else. And it believes that to be professional competence. For the majority of amoral opportunists of the US, money=power=virtue and they will attack all who disagree.

    Herman , December 9, 2017 at 10:47 am

    "Official Washington helped unleash hell on Syria and across the Mideast behind the naïve belief that jihadist proxies could be used to transform the region for the better, explains Daniel Lazare."

    Lazare makes the case very well about our amoral foreign policy but I think he errs in saying our aim was to "transform the region for the better." Recent history, going back to Afghanistan shows a very different goal, to defeat our enemies and the enemies of our allies with little concern for the aftermath. Just observing what has happened to the people where we supported extremists is evidence enough.

    Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men. We hope the conscience of our nation is bothered by our behavior but we know that is not true, and we sleep very well, thank you.

    Marilyn Vogt-Downey , December 9, 2017 at 11:18 am

    I am stunned that anyone could be so foolish as to think that the US military machine, US imperialism, does things "naively", bumbling like a helpless giant into wars that destroy entire nations with no end in sight. One need not be a "conspiracy theorist" to understand that the Pentagon does not control the world with an ever-expanding war budget equal to the next 10 countries combined, that it does this just because it is stuck on the wrong path. No! US imperialism develops these "big guns" to use them, to overpower, take over and dominate the world for the sake of profits and protection of the right to exploit for private profit.

    There is ample evidence–see the Brookings Institute study among many others–that the Gulf monarchies–flunkies of US imperialism–who "host" dozens of US military bases in the region, some of them central to US war strategy–initiated and nourished and armed and financed the "jihadi armies" in Syria AND Libya AND elsewhere; they did not do this on their own. The US government–the executive committee of the US ruling class–does not naively support the Gulf monarchies because it doesn't know any better! Washington (following British imperialism) organized, established and backed these flunky regimes. They are autocratic, antediluvian regimes, allowing virtually civil rights, with no local proletariat to speak of, no popular base. They are no more than sheriffs for imperialism in that region of the world, along with the Zionist state of Israel, helping imperialism do the really dirty work.

    I research this and gathered the evidence to support what I just asserted in a long study printed back in Dec. 2015 in Truthout. Here is the link: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34151-what-is-the-war-on-terror-and-how-to-fight-it

    Look at the evidence. Stop the totally foolish assessment that the US government spends all this money on a war machine just to "naively" blunder into wars that level entire nations–and is not taking on destruction of the entire continent of Africa to eliminate any obstacles to its domination.

    No! That is foolish and destructive. Unless we look in the face what is going on–the US government since its "secret" intervention in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s, has recruited, trained, armed, funded and relied on jihadi armies to unseat regimes and destabilize and destroy populations and regimes the US government wants to overthrow, and destroy, any that could potentially develop into an alternative model of nationalist, bourgeois industrial development on any level.

    Wake up!!! The evidence is there. There is no reason to bumble and bungle along as if we are in the dark.

    Randal Marlin , December 9, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Daniel Pipes, from what I've read of him, is among those who counsel the U.S. government to use its military power to support the losing side in any civil wars fought within Israel's enemy states, so that the wars will continue, sparing Israel the threat of unified enemy states. What normal human beings consider a humanitarian disaster, repeated in Iraq, Syria and Libya, would be reckoned a success according to this way of thinking.
    The thinking would appear to lead to similar treatment of Iran, with even more catastrophic consequences.

    Behind all this is the thinking that the survival of Israel outweighs anything else in any global ethical calculus. Those who don't accept this moral premise but who believe in supporting the survival of Israel have their work cut out for them. This work would be made easier if the U.S. population saw clearly what was going on, instead of being preoccupied with salacious sexual misconduct stories or other distractions.

    Zachary Smith , December 9, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    A Russian interceptor has been scrambled to stop a rogue US fighter jet from actively interfering with an anti-terrorist operation, the Russian Defense Ministry said. It also accused the US of provoking close encounters with the Russian jets in Syria.

    A US F-22 fighter was preventing two Russian Su-25 strike aircraft from bombing an Islamic State (IS, former ISIS) base to the west of the Euphrates November 23, according to the ministry. The ministry's spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov described the episode as yet another example of US aircraft attempts to prevent Russian forces from carrying out strikes against Islamic State.

    "The F-22 launched decoy flares and used airbrakes while constantly maneuvering [near the Russian strike jets], imitating an air fight," Konashenkov said. He added that the US jet ceased its dangerous maneuvers only after a Russian Su-35S fighter jet joined the two strike planes.

    If this story is true, then it illustrates a number of things. First, the US is still providing ISIS air cover. Second, either the F-22 pilot or his commander is dumber than dirt. The F-22 may be a fine airplane, but getting into a contest with an equally fine non-stealth airplane at eyeball distances means throwing away every advantage of the super-expensive stealth.

    Zachary Smith , December 9, 2017 at 2:43 pm

    https://www.rt.com/news/412590-russia-us-syria-air-force/

    Pablo Diablo , December 9, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    Gotta keep the War Machine well fed and insure Corporate control of markets and taking of resources.

    Abe , December 9, 2017 at 2:54 pm

    In October 1973, a nuclear armed rogue state almost triggered a global thermonuclear war.

    Yom Kippur: Israel's 1973 nuclear alert
    By Richard Sale
    https://www.upi.com/Yom-Kippur-Israels-1973-nuclear-alert/64941032228992/

    Israel obtained operational nuclear weapons capability by 1967, with the mass production of nuclear warheads occurring immediately after the Six-Day War. In addition to the Israeli nuclear arsenal, Israel has offensive chemical and biological warfare stockpiles.

    Israel, the Middle East's sole nuclear power, is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    In 2015, the US-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated that Israel had 115 nuclear warheads. Outside estimates of Israel's nuclear arsenal range up to 400 nuclear weapons.

    Israeli nuclear weapons delivery mechanisms include Jericho 3 missiles, with a range of 4,800 km to 6,500 km (though a 2004 source estimated its range at up to 11,500 km), as well as regional coverage from road mobile Jericho 2 IRBMs.

    Additionally, Israel is believed to have an offshore nuclear capability using submarine-launched nuclear-capable cruise missiles, which can be launched from the Israeli Navy's Dolphin-class submarines.

    The Israeli Air Force has F-15I and F-16I Sufa fighter aircraft are capable of delivering tactical and strategic nuclear weapons at long distances using conformal fuel tanks and supported by their aerial refueling fleet of modified Boeing 707's.

    In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at Dimona, fled to the United Kingdom and revealed to the media some evidence of Israel's nuclear program and explained the purposes of each building, also revealing a top-secret underground facility directly below the installation.

    The Mossad, Israel's secret service, sent a female agent who lured Vanunu to Italy, where he was kidnapped by Mossad agents and smuggled to Israel aboard a freighter. An Israeli court then tried him in secret on charges of treason and espionage, and sentenced him to eighteen years imprisonment.

    At the time of Vanunu's kidnapping, The Times reported that Israel had material for approximately 20 hydrogen bombs and 200 fission bombs by 1986. In the spring of 2004, Vanunu was released from prison, and placed under several strict restrictions, such as the denial of a passport, freedom of movement limitations and restrictions on communications with the press. Since his release, he has been rearrested and charged multiple times for violations of the terms of his release.

    Safety concerns about this 40-year-old reactor have been reported. In 2004, as a preventive measure, Israeli authorities distributed potassium iodide anti-radiation tablets to thousands of residents living nearby. Local residents have raised concerns regarding serious threats to health from living near the reactor.

    According to a lawsuit filed in Be'er Sheva Labor Tribunal, workers at the center were subjected to human experimentation in 1998. According to Julius Malick, the worker who submitted the lawsuit, they were given drinks containing uranium without medical supervision and without obtaining written consent or warning them about risks of side effects.

    In April 2016 the U.S. National Security Archive declassified dozens of documents from 1960 to 1970, which detail what American intelligence viewed as Israel's attempts to obfuscate the purpose and details of its nuclear program. The Americans involved in discussions with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and other Israelis believed the country was providing "untruthful cover" about intentions to build nuclear weapons.

    mike k , December 9, 2017 at 6:38 pm

    The machinations of those seeking to gain advantages for themselves by hurting others, are truly appalling. If we fail to name evil for what it is, then we fail as human beings.Those who look the other way as their country engages in an organized reign of terror, are complicit in that enormous crime.

    Den Lille Abe , December 9, 2017 at 8:54 pm

    The path the US has chosen since the end of WWII has been over dead bodies. In the name of "security", bringing "Freedom" and "Democracy" and complete unconstrained greed it has trampled countless nations into piles of rubble. To say it is despised or loathed is an overwhelming understatement. It is almost universally hated in the third world. Rightly. Bringing this monstrosity to a halt is a difficult task, and probably cannot be done militarily without a nuclear war, economically could in the end have the same outcome, then how?

    Easy! Ruin its population. This process has started, long ago. The decline in the US of health, general wealth, nutrition, production, education, equality, ethics and morals is already showing as cracks in the fabrics of the US.

    A population of incarcerated, obese, low iQ zealot junkies, armed to teeth with guns, in a country with a crumbling infrastructure, full of environmental disasters is 21 st century for most Americans. In all the areas I mentioned the US is going backwards compared to most other countries. So the monster will come down.

    turk151 , December 9, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    I think you are being a little hard on the incarcerated, obese, low iQ zealot junkies, armed to teeth with guns

    I am not sure who is more loathsome the evangelicals who were supporting the Bush / Cheney cabal murderous wars until the bitter end or the liberal intelligentsia careerist cheerleaders for Obama and Hilary's Wars in Iraq and Syria, who also dont give a damn about another Arab country being destroyed and sold into slavery as long as Hillary gets elected. At least with the former group, you can chalk it up to a lack of education.

    Linda Wood , December 10, 2017 at 1:52 am

    This is possibly the most intelligent and hopeful discussion I have read since 9/11. It says that at least some Americans do see that we have a fascist cell in our government. That is the first step in finding a way to unplug it. Best wishes to all of you who have written here. We will find a way to put war out of business.

    Barbara van der Wal-Kylstra , December 10, 2017 at 2:46 am

    I think this pattern of using Salafists for regime change started already in Afghanistan, with Brzezinski plotting with Saudi-Arabia and Pakistan to pay and train Osama bin Laden to attack the pro Russia regime and trying to get the USSR involved in it, also trying to blame the USSR for its agression, like they did in Syri"r?

    Sam F , December 10, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Yes, the Brzezinski/Reagan support of fanatic insurgencies began in AfPak and was revived for the zionists. Russia happened to be on the side more or less tending to progress in both cases, so it had to be opposed. The warmongers are always the US MIC/intel, allied with the anti-American zionist fascists for Mideast wars.

    Luutzen , December 10, 2017 at 9:15 am

    Sheldon Adelson, Soros, Saban all wanted carving up of Arabic states into small sectarian pieces (No Nasseric pan-Arabic states, a threat to Israël). And protracted wars of total destruction. Easy.

    mike k , December 10, 2017 at 11:05 am

    The US Military is part of the largest terrorist organization on Earth. For the super rich and powerful rulers of that US Mafia, the ignorant religious fanatics and other tools of Empire are just pawns in their game of world domination and universal slavery for all but themselves. These monsters of evil delight in profiting from the destruction of others; but their insatiable greed for more power will never be satisfied, and will become the cause of the annihilation of every living thing – including themselves. But like other sold out human addicts, at this point they don't really care, and will blindly pursue their nightmare quest to the very end – and perhaps they secretly hope that that final end of everything will at last quench their burning appetite for blood and gold.

    Joe Tedesky , December 10, 2017 at 11:12 am

    I'm leaving a link to a very long David Swanson article, where Mr Swanson goes into quite a lot of detail to how the U.S. wages war.

    http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2017/12/76-years-pearl-harbor-lies.html

    Brendan , December 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    What's interesting of course is how not just Washington, but much of the 'left' also cheered on the jihadists.

    Of course, they were told (by whom?) that the jihadists were 'democratic rebels' and 'freedom fighters' who just wanted to 'bring democracy' to Syria, and get rid of the 'tyrant Assad.' 5 years later, so much of the nonsense about "local councils" and "white helmets" has been exposed for what it was. Yet many 'free thinking' people bought the propaganda. Just like they do on Russiagate. Who needs an "alt-right" when America's "left" is a total disgrace?

    [Dec 09, 2017] Hyping the Russian Threat to Undermine Free Speech by Max Blumenthal

    Highly recommended!
    This is a simply a brilliant article. Probably the best written on the subject so far. Kudos to Max Blumenthal
    Thinks tanks are really ideological tanks -- formidable weapon in propaganda wars that crush everything on its way. And taken together far right think tanks financed by defense sector or intelligence agencies are really a shadow far right political party with its own neocon agenda. Actually subverting the will of American people (who elected Trump) for more peaceful relations (aka detente) with Russia in favor of interest of weapon manufactures and the army of "national security parasites".
    At a time when the ruling elite, across virtually the entire western world, is losing it; it being, political legitimacy and the breakdown of any semblance of a social contract between the ruled and the rulers those think tanks decides to create a fake narrative and blame Russians. Is not this a classic variant of projection ?
    The slow strangulation of the US MSM means the crisis of confidence. A strong and confident ruling class welcomes criticism and is ready to brush it all off with a smile and a shrug. When they start running scared and pretending there is no dissent or opposition, well, this is a sign of of degradation of the ruling elite. They are losing the battle of ideas and the battle of solutions to social problems. All that really stands between them and a social revolution is a thin veneer of 'authority' and status, as well as intelligence agencies spying on everybody.
    Now all those well paid ( and sometimes even talented) war propagandist intend to substitute the real crisis of neoliberalism in the USA demonstrated during the recent Presidential Elections for the artificial problem of Russian meddling. And they are succeeding in this unfair and evil substitution. The also manage to "poison the well" -- relation between two nations were now at the level probably lower then during Cold War (when many Russians were sympathetic to the USA). I think 70% of Democratic voters now are convinced the Russia was meddling in the USA election and about 30% of Republican voters also think so. For the creators of 'artificial reality" such numbers signify big success. A very big success to be exact.
    Notable quotes:
    "... In perhaps the most chilling moment of the hearings, and the most overlooked, Clint Watts, a former U.S. Army officer who had branded himself an expert on Russian meddling, appeared before a nearly empty Senate chamber. Watts conjured up a stark landscape of American carnage, with shadowy Russian operatives stage managing the chaos ..."
    "... The spectacle perfectly illustrated the madness of Russiagate, with liberal lawmakers springboarding off the fear of Russian meddling to demand that Americans be forbidden from consuming the wrong kinds of media ..."
    "... A former U.S. Army officer who spent years in obscurity at a defense industry funded think tank called the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), Watts has become a go-to source for cable news producers and print journalists on the subject of Russian bots, always available with a comment that reinforces the sense that America is under sustained cyborg attack. This September, his employers at FPRI hailed him as "the leading expert on developments related to Russian-backed efforts to not only influence the 2016 presidential election, but also to inflame racial and cultural divisions within the U.S. and across Europe." ..."
    "... Watts boasts an impressive-looking bio that is replete with fancy sounding fellowships at national security-oriented outfits, including George Washington University's Center Cyber and Homeland Security. His bio also indicates that he served on an FBI Joint Terror Task Force. ..."
    "... Though Watts is best known for his punditry on Russian interference, it's fair to say he is as much an expert on Russian affairs as Harvey Weinstein is a trusted voice on feminism. Indeed, Watts appears to speak no Russian, has no record of reporting or scholarship from inside Russia, and has produced little to no work of any discernible academic value on Russian affairs. ..."
    "... Whether or not he has the substance to support his claims of expertise, Watts has proven a talented salesman, catering to popular fears about Russian interference while he plies credulous lawmakers with ease. ..."
    "... In the widely publicized testimony, Watts explained to the panel of senators that he first noticed the pernicious presence of Russian social media bots after he co-authored an article in 2014 in Foreign Affairs titled, " The Good and The Bad of Ahrar al Sham ." The article urged the US to arm a group of Syrian Salafi insurgents known for its human rights abuses , sectarianism and off-and-on alliances with Al Qaeda. Watts and his co-authors insisted that Ahrar al-Sham was the best proxy force for wreaking havoc on the Syrian government weakening its allies in Iran and Russia. Right below the headline, Watts and his co-authors celebrated Ahrar al-Sham as "an Al Qaeda linked group worth befriending." ..."
    "... Watts rehashed the same argument at FPRI a year later, urging the U.S. government to harness jihadist terror as a weapon against Russia. "The U.S. at a minimum, through covert or semi-covert platforms, should take advantage and amplify these free alternative [jihadist] narratives to provide Russia some payback for recent years' aggression," he wrote. In another paper, Watts asked , "Why shouldn't the U.S. redirect some of the jihadi hatred towards those with the dirtiest hands in the Syrian conflict: Russia and Iran?" Watts did not specify whether the theater of covert warfare should be limited to the Syrian battlefield, or if he sought to encourage jihadists to carry out terrorist acts inside Russia and Iran. ..."
    "... Next, Watts introduced his signature theme, claiming that Russia manipulated civil rights protests to exploit divisions in American society. Declaring that "pro-Russian" outlets were spreading "chaos in Black Lives Matter protests" by deploying active measures, Watts did not bother to say what those measures were. ..."
    "... Watts then moved to the main course of his testimony, focusing on how Trump employed Russian "active measures" to attack his opponents. Watts told the Senate panel that the Russian-backed news outlets RT and Sputnik had produced a false report on the U.S. airbase in Incirlik, Turkey being "overrun by terrorists." He presented the Russian stories as the anchor for a massive influence operation that featured swarms of Russian bots across social media. And he claimed that then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort invoked the incident to deflect from negative media coverage, suggesting that Trump was coordinating strategy with the Kremlin. In reality, it was Watts who was spreading the fake news. ..."
    "... Watts has pushed his bogus narrative of RT and Sputnik's Incirlik coverage in numerous outlets, including Politico . Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen echoed Watts' false account on the Senate floor while arguing for legislation to force RT out of the U.S. market on political grounds. And Jim Rutenberg, the New York Times' media correspondent, reproduced Watts' distorted account in a major feature on RT and Sputnik's "new theory of war." Almost no one, not one major media organization or public figure, has bothered to fact check these false claims, and few have questioned the agenda behind them. ..."
    "... The episode began during a Trump rally at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump read out an email purportedly from longtime Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal (the father of this writer), hoping to embarrass Clinton over Benghazi. The text of the email turned out to be part of a column written by the pro-Clinton Newsweek columnist Kurt Eichenwald, not an email by Blumenthal. ..."
    "... The source of Trump's falsehood appeared to have been a report by Bill Moran, then a reporter for Sputnik, the news service funded by the Russian government. Having confused Eichenwald's writing for a Blumenthal email, Moran scrubbed his erroneous article within 20 minutes. Somehow, Moran's retracted article had found its way onto the Trump campaign's radar, a not atypical event for a campaign that had relied on material from far-out sites like Infowars to undercut its opponents. ..."
    "... In his column at Newsweek, Eichenwald framed Moran's honest mistake as the leading edge of a secret Russian influence operation. With help from pro-Clinton elements, Eichenwald's column went viral, earning him slots on CNN and MSNBC, where he howled about the nefarious Russian-Trump-Wikileaks plot he believed he had just exposed. (Glenn Greenwald was perhaps the only reporter with a national platform to highlight Eichenwald's falsifications .) Moran was fired as a result of the fallout, and would have to spend the next several months fighting to correct the record. ..."
    "... When Moran appealed to Eichenwald for a public clarification, Eichenwald staunchly refused. Instead, he offered Moran a job at the New Republic in exchange for his silence and warned him, "If you go public, you'll regret it." (Eichenwald had no role at the New Republic or any clear ability to influence the magazine's hiring decisions.) Moran refused to cooperate, prompting Eichenwald to publish a follow-up piece painting himself as the victim of a Russian "active measures" campaign, and to cast Moran once again as a foreign agent. ..."
    "... Representing himself in court, Moran elicited a settlement from Newsweek that forced the magazine to scrub all of Eichenwald's articles about him -- a tacit admission that they were false from top to bottom. This meant that the most consequential claim Watts made before the Senate was also a whopping lie. ..."
    "... The day after Watts' deception-laden appearance, he was nevertheless transformed from an obscure national security into a cable news star, with invites from Morning Joe, Rachel Maddow, Meet the Press, and the liberal comedian Samantha Bee, among many others. His testimony received coverage from the gamut of major news outlets, and even earned him a fawning profile from CNN. From out of the blue, Watts had become the star witness of Russiagate, and one of corporate media's favorite pundits. ..."
    "... Dr. Strangelove ..."
    "... It was not until this summer, however, that the influence operation Watts helped establish reached critical capacity. He had approached one of Washington's most respected think tanks, the German Marshall Fund, and secured support for an initiative called the Alliance for Securing Democracy. The new initiative became responsible for a daily blacklist of subversive, "pro-Russian" media outlets, targeting them with the backing of a who's who of national security honchos, from Bill Kristol to former CIA director and ex-Hillary Clinton surrogate Michael Morrell, along with favorable promotion from some of the country's most respected news organizations. ..."
    Nov 13, 2017 | www.truthdig.com

    Nearly a year after the presidential election, the scandal over accusations of Russian political interference in the 2016 election has gone beyond Donald Trump and reached into the nebulous world of online media. On November 1, Congress held hearings on "Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online." The proceedings saw executives from Facebook, Twitter and Youtube subjected to tongue-lashings from lawmakers like Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who howled about Russian online trolls "spread[ing] stories about abuse of black Americans by law enforcement."

    In perhaps the most chilling moment of the hearings, and the most overlooked, Clint Watts, a former U.S. Army officer who had branded himself an expert on Russian meddling, appeared before a nearly empty Senate chamber. Watts conjured up a stark landscape of American carnage, with shadowy Russian operatives stage managing the chaos.

    "Civil wars don't start with gunshots, they start with words," he proclaimed. "America's war with itself has already begun. We all must act now on the social media battlefield to quell information rebellions that can quickly lead to violent confrontations and easily transform us into the Divided States of America."

    Next, Watts suggested a government-imposed campaign of media censorship: "Stopping the false information artillery barrage landing on social media users comes only when those outlets distributing bogus stories are silenced: silence the guns and the barrage will end."

    The censorious overtone of Watts' testimony was unmistakable. He demanded that government news inquisitors drive dissident media off the internet and warned that Americans would spear one another with bayonets if they failed to act. And not one member of Congress rose to object. In fact, many echoed his call for media suppression in the House and Senate hearings, with Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Jackie Speier agreeing the most vehemently. The spectacle perfectly illustrated the madness of Russiagate, with liberal lawmakers springboarding off the fear of Russian meddling to demand that Americans be forbidden from consuming the wrong kinds of media -- including content that amplified the message of progressive causes like Black Lives Matter.

    Details of exactly what transpired vis a vis Russia and the U.S. in social media in 2016 are still emerging. This year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence published a declassified version of the intelligence community's report on "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections," written by CIA, FBI and NSA, with its central conclusion that Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow's longstanding desire to undermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order."

    To be sure, there is ample evidence that Russian-linked trolls have attempted to exploit wedge issues on social media platforms. But the impact of these schemes on real-world events appears to have been exaggerated. According to Facebook's data , 56 percent of Russian-linked ads appeared after the 2016 presidential election, and another 25 percent "were never shown to anyone." The ads were said to have "reached" over 100 million people, but that assumes that Facebook users did not scroll through or otherwise ignore them, as they do with most ads. Content emanating from "Russia-linked" sources on YouTube, meanwhile, managed to rack up hit totals in the hundreds , not exactly a viral smash.

    Facebook posts traced to the infamous Internet Research Agency troll factory in Russia amounted to only 0.0004 percent of total content that appeared on the social network. (Some of these posts targeted "animal lovers with memes of adorable puppies," while another hawked an LGBT-themed " Buff Bernie coloring book for Berniacs.") According to its " deliberately broad" review , Twitter found that only 0.74 percent of its election-related tweets were "Russian-linked." Google, for its part, documented a grand total of $4,700 of "Russian-linked ad spending" during the 2016 election cycle. While some have argued that the Russian-linked ads were micro-targeted, and could have shifted key electoral voting blocs, these ads appeared in a media climate awash in a multi-billion dollar deluge of political ad spending from both established parties and dark money super PACs.

    However, a blitz of feverish corporate media coverage and tension-filled congressional hearings has convinced a whopping 82 percent of Democrats that "Russian-backed" social media content played a central role in swinging the 2016 election. Russian meddling has even earned comparisons by lawmakers to Pearl Harbor, to "acts of war," and by Hillary Clinton to the attacks of 9/11 . And in an inadvertent way, these overblown comparisons were apt.

    As during the aftermath of 9/11, the fallout from Russiagate has spawned a multimillion-dollar industry of pundits and self-styled experts eager to exploit the frenetic atmosphere for publicity and profits. Many of these figures have emerged out of the swamp that flowed from the war on terror and are gravitating toward the growing Russia fearmongering industrial complex in search of new opportunities. Few of these characters have become as prominent as Clint Watts.

    So who is Watts, and how did he emerge seemingly from nowhere to become the star congressional witness on Russian meddling?

    Dubious Expertise, Impressive Salesmanship

    A former U.S. Army officer who spent years in obscurity at a defense industry funded think tank called the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), Watts has become a go-to source for cable news producers and print journalists on the subject of Russian bots, always available with a comment that reinforces the sense that America is under sustained cyborg attack. This September, his employers at FPRI hailed him as "the leading expert on developments related to Russian-backed efforts to not only influence the 2016 presidential election, but also to inflame racial and cultural divisions within the U.S. and across Europe."

    Watts boasts an impressive-looking bio that is replete with fancy sounding fellowships at national security-oriented outfits, including George Washington University's Center Cyber and Homeland Security. His bio also indicates that he served on an FBI Joint Terror Task Force.

    Though Watts is best known for his punditry on Russian interference, it's fair to say he is as much an expert on Russian affairs as Harvey Weinstein is a trusted voice on feminism. Indeed, Watts appears to speak no Russian, has no record of reporting or scholarship from inside Russia, and has produced little to no work of any discernible academic value on Russian affairs.

    Whether or not he has the substance to support his claims of expertise, Watts has proven a talented salesman, catering to popular fears about Russian interference while he plies credulous lawmakers with ease.

    Before Congress, a String of Deceptions

    Back on March 30, as the narrative of Russian meddling gathered momentum, Watts made his first appearance before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee.

    Seated at the front of a hearing room packed with reporters, Watts introduced Congress to concepts of Russian meddling that were novel at the time, but which have become part of Beltway newspeak. His testimony turned out to be a signal moment in Russiagate, helping transition the narrative of the scandal from Russia-Trump collusion to the wider issue of online influence.

    In the widely publicized testimony, Watts explained to the panel of senators that he first noticed the pernicious presence of Russian social media bots after he co-authored an article in 2014 in Foreign Affairs titled, " The Good and The Bad of Ahrar al Sham ." The article urged the US to arm a group of Syrian Salafi insurgents known for its human rights abuses , sectarianism and off-and-on alliances with Al Qaeda. Watts and his co-authors insisted that Ahrar al-Sham was the best proxy force for wreaking havoc on the Syrian government weakening its allies in Iran and Russia. Right below the headline, Watts and his co-authors celebrated Ahrar al-Sham as "an Al Qaeda linked group worth befriending."

    Watts rehashed the same argument at FPRI a year later, urging the U.S. government to harness jihadist terror as a weapon against Russia. "The U.S. at a minimum, through covert or semi-covert platforms, should take advantage and amplify these free alternative [jihadist] narratives to provide Russia some payback for recent years' aggression," he wrote. In another paper, Watts asked , "Why shouldn't the U.S. redirect some of the jihadi hatred towards those with the dirtiest hands in the Syrian conflict: Russia and Iran?" Watts did not specify whether the theater of covert warfare should be limited to the Syrian battlefield, or if he sought to encourage jihadists to carry out terrorist acts inside Russia and Iran.

    The premise of these op-eds should have raised serious concerns about Watts and his colleagues, and even questions about their sanity. They had marketed themselves as national security experts, yet they were lobbying the US to "befriend" the allies of Al Qaeda, the group that brought down the Twin Towers. (Ahrar al-Sham was founded by Abu Khalid al-Suri, a Madrid bombing suspect who was named by Spanish investigators as Osama bin-Laden's courier.) Anyone cynical enough to put such ideas into public circulation should have expected a backlash. But when the inevitable wave of criticism came, Watts dismissed it all as a Russian bot attack.

    Addressing the Senate panel, Watts said that those who took to social media to mock and criticize his Foreign Affairs article were, in fact, Russian bots. He provided no evidence to support the claim, and a look at his single tweet promoting the article shows that he was criticized only once (by @Navsteva, a Twitter user known for defending the Syrian government against regime change proponents, not an automated bot). Nevertheless, Watts painted the incident as proof that Russia had revived a Cold War information warfare strategy of "Active Measures," which was supposedly aimed at "crumbl[ing] democracies from the inside out [by] creating political divisions."

    Next, Watts introduced his signature theme, claiming that Russia manipulated civil rights protests to exploit divisions in American society. Declaring that "pro-Russian" outlets were spreading "chaos in Black Lives Matter protests" by deploying active measures, Watts did not bother to say what those measures were. In fact, the only piece of proof he offered (in a Daily Beast transcript of his testimony) was a single link to an RT article that factually documented a squabble between Black Lives Matter protesters and white supremacists -- an incident that had been widely covered by other outlets, from the Houston Chronicle to the Washington Post . Watts did not explain how this one report by RT sowed any chaos, or whether it had any effect at all on actual events.

    Watts then moved to the main course of his testimony, focusing on how Trump employed Russian "active measures" to attack his opponents. Watts told the Senate panel that the Russian-backed news outlets RT and Sputnik had produced a false report on the U.S. airbase in Incirlik, Turkey being "overrun by terrorists." He presented the Russian stories as the anchor for a massive influence operation that featured swarms of Russian bots across social media. And he claimed that then-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort invoked the incident to deflect from negative media coverage, suggesting that Trump was coordinating strategy with the Kremlin. In reality, it was Watts who was spreading the fake news.

    In the articles cited by Watts during his testimony, neither RT nor Sputnik made any reference to "terrorists" taking over Incirlik Airbase. Rather, these outlets compiled tweets by Turkish activists and sourced their coverage to a report by Hurriyet, one of Turkey's largest mainstream papers. In fact, the incident was reported by virtually every major Turkish news organization ( here , here , here and here ). What's more, the events appeared to have taken place approximately as RT and Sputnik reported it, with protesters readying to protect the airbase from a coup while Turkish police sealed the base's entrances and exits. A look at RT's coverage shows the network even downplayed the severity of the event, citing a tweet by a U.S.-based national security analysis group stating, "We are not finding any evidence of a coup or takeover." This stands entirely at odds with Watts' claim that RT exaggerated the incident to spark chaos.

    Watts has pushed his bogus narrative of RT and Sputnik's Incirlik coverage in numerous outlets, including Politico . Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen echoed Watts' false account on the Senate floor while arguing for legislation to force RT out of the U.S. market on political grounds. And Jim Rutenberg, the New York Times' media correspondent, reproduced Watts' distorted account in a major feature on RT and Sputnik's "new theory of war." Almost no one, not one major media organization or public figure, has bothered to fact check these false claims, and few have questioned the agenda behind them.

    Questions emailed to Watts via his employers at FPRI received no reply.

    Another Watts Deception, This Time Discredited in Court

    During his Senate testimony, Watts introduced a second, and even more distorted claim of Trump employing Russian "active measures" to attack his political foes. The details of the story are complex and difficult for a passive audience to absorb, which is probably why Watts has been able to get away with pushing it for so long.

    Watts' testimony was the culmination of a mainstream media deception that forced an aspiring reporter out of his job, drove him to contemplate suicide, and ultimately prompted him to take matters into his own hands by suing his antagonists.

    The episode began during a Trump rally at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump read out an email purportedly from longtime Hillary Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal (the father of this writer), hoping to embarrass Clinton over Benghazi. The text of the email turned out to be part of a column written by the pro-Clinton Newsweek columnist Kurt Eichenwald, not an email by Blumenthal.

    The source of Trump's falsehood appeared to have been a report by Bill Moran, then a reporter for Sputnik, the news service funded by the Russian government. Having confused Eichenwald's writing for a Blumenthal email, Moran scrubbed his erroneous article within 20 minutes. Somehow, Moran's retracted article had found its way onto the Trump campaign's radar, a not atypical event for a campaign that had relied on material from far-out sites like Infowars to undercut its opponents.

    In his column at Newsweek, Eichenwald framed Moran's honest mistake as the leading edge of a secret Russian influence operation. With help from pro-Clinton elements, Eichenwald's column went viral, earning him slots on CNN and MSNBC, where he howled about the nefarious Russian-Trump-Wikileaks plot he believed he had just exposed. (Glenn Greenwald was perhaps the only reporter with a national platform to highlight Eichenwald's falsifications .) Moran was fired as a result of the fallout, and would have to spend the next several months fighting to correct the record.

    When Moran appealed to Eichenwald for a public clarification, Eichenwald staunchly refused. Instead, he offered Moran a job at the New Republic in exchange for his silence and warned him, "If you go public, you'll regret it." (Eichenwald had no role at the New Republic or any clear ability to influence the magazine's hiring decisions.) Moran refused to cooperate, prompting Eichenwald to publish a follow-up piece painting himself as the victim of a Russian "active measures" campaign, and to cast Moran once again as a foreign agent.

    When Watts revived Eichenwald's bogus version of events in his Senate testimony, Moran began to spiral into the depths of depression. He even entertained thoughts of suicide. But he ultimately decided to fight, filing a lawsuit against Newsweek's parent company for defamation and libel.

    Representing himself in court, Moran elicited a settlement from Newsweek that forced the magazine to scrub all of Eichenwald's articles about him -- a tacit admission that they were false from top to bottom. This meant that the most consequential claim Watts made before the Senate was also a whopping lie.

    The day after Watts' deception-laden appearance, he was nevertheless transformed from an obscure national security into a cable news star, with invites from Morning Joe, Rachel Maddow, Meet the Press, and the liberal comedian Samantha Bee, among many others. His testimony received coverage from the gamut of major news outlets, and even earned him a fawning profile from CNN. From out of the blue, Watts had become the star witness of Russiagate, and one of corporate media's favorite pundits.

    FPRI, a Pro-War Think Tank Founded by White Supremacist Eugenicists

    Before he emerged in the spotlight of Russiagate, Watts languished at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, earning little name recognition outside the insular world of national security pundits. Based in Philadelphia, the FPRI has been described by journalist Mark Ames as "one of the looniest (and spookiest) extreme-right think tanks since the early Cold War days, promoting 'winnable' nuclear war, maximum confrontation with Russia, and attacking anti-colonialism as dangerously unworkable."

    Daniel Pipes, the arch-Islamophobe pundit and former FPRI fellow, offered a similar characterization of the think tank, albeit from an alternately opposed angle. "Put most baldly, we have always advocated an activist U.S. foreign policy," Pipes said in a 1991 address to FPRI. He added that the think tank's staff "is not shy about the use of force; were we members of Congress in January 1991, all of us would not only have voted with President Bush and Operation Desert Storm, we would have led the charge."

    FPRI was co-founded by Robert Strausz-Hupé, a far-right Austrian emigre, with help from conservative corporations and covert funding from the CIA From the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Strausz-Hupé gathered a "Philadelphia School" of Cold War hardliners to develop a strategy for protracted war against the Soviet Union. His brain trust included FPRI co-founder Stefan Possony, an Austrian fascist who was a board member of the World Anti-Communist League, the international fascist organization described by journalists Scott Anderson and Jon Lee Anderson as a network of "those responsible for death squads, apartheid, torture, and the extermination of European Jewry." True to his fascist roots, Possony co-authored a racialist tract, " The Geography of Intellect ," that argued that blacks were biologically inferior and that the people of the global South were "genetically unpromising." Strausz-Hupé seized on Possony's racialist theories to inveigh against anti-colonial movements led by "populations incapable of rational thought."

    While clamoring for a preemptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union -- and acknowledging that their preferred strategy would cause mass casualties in American cities -- Strausz-Hupé and his band of hawks developed a monomaniacal obsession with Russian propaganda. By the time of the Cuban missile crisis, they were stricken with paranoia, arguing on the pages of the New York Times that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was a Soviet useful idiot whose film, Dr. Strangelove , advanced "the principal Communist objectives to drive a wedge between the American people and their military leaders."

    Ultimately, Strausz-Hupé's fanaticism cost him an ambassadorship, as Sen. William Fulbright scuttled his appointment to serve in Morocco on the grounds that his "hard line, no compromise" approach to communism could shatter the delicate balance of diplomacy. Today, he is remembered fondly on FPRI's website as "an intellectual and intellectual impresario, administrator, statesman, and visionary." His militaristic legacy continues thanks to the prolific presence -- and bellicose politics -- of Watts.

    The Paranoid Style

    This year, FPRI dedicated its annual gala to honoring Watts' success in mainstreaming the narrative of Russian online meddling. Since I first transcribed a Soundcloud recording of Watts' keynote address, the file has been mysteriously scrubbed from the internet. It is unclear what prompted the removal, however, it is easy to understand why Watts would not want his comments examined by a critical listener. His speech offered a window into a paranoid mindset with a tendency for overblown, unverifiable claims about Russian influence.

    While much of the speech was a rehash of Watts' Senate testimony, he spent an unusual amount of time describing the threat he believed Russian intelligence agents posed to his own security. "If you speak up too much, you'll get knocked down," Watts said, claiming that think tank fellows who had been too vocal about Russian meddling had seen their laptops "burned up by malware."

    "If someone rises up in prominence, they will suddenly be -- whoof! -- swiped down out of nowhere by some crazy disclosure from their email," Watts added, referring to unspecified Russian retaliatory measures. As usual, he didn't produce concrete evidence or offer any examples.

    "Anybody remember the reporters that were outed after the election? Or maybe they tossed up a question to the Clinton campaign and they were gone the next day?" he asked his audience. "That's how it goes."

    It was unclear which reporters Watts was referring to, or what incident he could have possibly been alluding to. He offered no details, only innuendo about the state of siege Kremlin actors had supposedly imposed on him and his freedom-fighting colleagues. He even predicted he'd be "hacked and cyber attacked when this recording comes out."

    According to Watts, Russian "active measures" had singlehandedly augmented Republican opinion in support of the Kremlin. "It is the greatest success in influence operations in the history of the world," Watts confidently proclaimed. He contrasted Russia's success with his own failures as an American agent of influence working for the U.S. military, a saga in his career that remains largely unexamined.

    Domestic Agent of Influence

    "I worked in influence operations in counter-terrorism for 15 years," Watts boasted to his audience at FPRI. "We didn't break one or two percent [increase in the approval rating of US foreign policy] in fifteen years and we spent billions a year in tax dollars doing it. I was paid off of those programs. We had almost no success throughout the Middle East."

    By Watts' own admission, he had been part of a secret propaganda campaign aimed at manipulating the opinions of Middle Easterners in favor of the hostile American military operating in their midst. And he failed massively, wasting "billions a year in tax dollars."

    Given his penchant for deception, this may have been yet another tall tale aimed at burnishing his image as an internet era James Bond. But if the story was even partially true, Watts had inadvertently exposed a severe scandal that, in a fairer world, might have triggered congressional hearings.

    Whatever took place, it appears that Watts and his Cold Warrior colleagues are now waging another expensive influence operation, this time directed against the American public. By deploying deceptions, half-truths and hyperbole with the full consent of Congress and in collaboration with the mainstream press, they have managed to convince a majority of Americans that Russia is "trying to knock us down and take us over," as Watts remarked at the FPRI's gala.

    In just a matter of months, public consent for an unprecedented array of hostile measures against Russia, from sanctions and consular raids to arbitrary crackdowns on Russian-backed news organizations, has been assiduously manufactured.

    It was not until this summer, however, that the influence operation Watts helped establish reached critical capacity. He had approached one of Washington's most respected think tanks, the German Marshall Fund, and secured support for an initiative called the Alliance for Securing Democracy. The new initiative became responsible for a daily blacklist of subversive, "pro-Russian" media outlets, targeting them with the backing of a who's who of national security honchos, from Bill Kristol to former CIA director and ex-Hillary Clinton surrogate Michael Morrell, along with favorable promotion from some of the country's most respected news organizations.

    In the next installment of this investigation, we will see how a collection of cranks, counter-terror retreads and online vigilantes overseen by the German Marshall Fund have waged a search-and-destroy mission against dissident media under the guise of combating Russian "active measures," and how the mainstream press has enabled their censorious agenda.

    Read part two here .

    Max Blumenthal is a senior editor of the Grayzone Project at AlterNet, and the award-winning author of " Goliath ," " Republican Gomorrah ," and " The 51 Day War ." He is the co-host of the podcast, Moderate Rebels . Follow him on Twitter at @MaxBlumenthal .

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    [Dec 09, 2017] Mideast Peacemaking is No Longer Made-in-America

    Dec 09, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    As 2017 comes to a close, the warring parties in Syria are moving towards reconciliation -- but the U.S. is not among them.

    The Islamic State is all but defeated, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies are now closing in on the few remaining pockets occupied by other extremists, and Iranians, Russians, and Turks are mapping out the peace to come.

    Then there's America. Donald Trump may have hinted at changes up his sleeve, but he's treading the same tired path as his predecessor on Syria.

    Determined to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a means to weaken Iran and re-establish U.S. regional hegemony, Barack Obama's White House placed its bets on two pathways to this goal: 1) a military strategy to wrest control over Syria from the regime, and 2) a UN-sponsored and U.S.-backed mediation in Geneva to transition Assad out.

    Washington lost its military gamble when the Russian air force entered the battle in September 2015, providing both game-changing air cover and international clout to Assad's efforts.

    So the U.S. turned its hand to resuscitating a limp Geneva peace process that might have delivered a Syrian political settlement sans Assad.

    Instead, two years on, the tables have turned in this sphere, too. Today, it is the Iranians, Turks, and Russians leading reconciliation efforts in Syria through a process established in Astana and continued last week in Sochi -- not Geneva. The three states have transformed the ground war by isolating key extremists, carving out ceasefire zones, and negotiating deals to keep the peace.

    To nobody's surprise, the Americans are neither part of this new initiative, nor have they offered any constructive counters. Meanwhile, the UN's Geneva framework, after eight rounds of talks, has not once been able to bring the two Syrian sides face-to-face at the Big Table.

    To illustrate, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who leads these talks, now says things like this with a straight face: "We have started very close proximity parallel meetings. In fact, I have been shuttling between two rooms at a distance of five meters from each other."

    In short, the U.S.'s Syrian efforts have hit a brick wall, while new regional and international power brokers have stepped in to pick up the slack.

    Geneva: A process designed to fail

    Just one week ago, with great media fanfare, we were promised a fresh start and new twists in Syria. For the first time since the Geneva I conference launched in June 2012, we were told the opposition was "unified" and there were no "pre-conditions" that might hold up talks.

    Those expectations were shattered almost immediately when various Syrian opposition members went off-message and insisted that "Assad must go" at some point during a future transition period. Unified they were not. And the Syrian government didn't hide their disgust. They arrived a day late and scurried back to Damascus just as quickly.

    And here is why Geneva negotiations will never, ever get off the ground.

    Firstly, the "Syrian opposition" do not actually represent "the Syrian people." Most of these individuals have been selected by foreign governments -- until recently, mainly by U.S. allies in Riyadh, Doha, Ankara -- to do their bidding in Geneva, and have been "elected" by no more than a few dozen other Syrians in foreign capitals.

    UN envoy de Mistura didn't bother to hide that fact last week when he thanked the Saudis for facilitating "the establishment of a unified opposition delegation."

    The UN-led process -- like the U.S. administration -- has created conditions that exclude Syria's more independent and nationalistic domestic opposition from negotiations. These are people who have largely rejected foreign intervention and the militarization of the conflict, rail against Western-imposed sanctions, and signal actual readiness to talk to Assad's government about the reforms they desire.

    The Russians and Iranians have kept open channels to these individuals and groups, and many of them have beaten a path to Moscow over the years to strike compromises and seek solutions. A few even made the cut, for the first time, at this eighth round of Geneva talks.

    Secondly, the Syrian opposition have lost the war -- victors decide the peace, not the vanquished. The team sitting in Geneva seems oblivious to the fact that the Syrian government and its allies have now gained an almost-irreversible military advantage on the battlefield. These are not two parties on equal footing -- and no great-power mentors in the world can change that fact.

    Assad's government has said on numerous occasions that it is willing to sit with any Syrian who comes without preconditions and negotiates in good faith. Years of "reconciliations" on the ground between the government, local citizens, NGOs, friendly foreign state-guarantors, and rebel fighters lend a proven track record to those claims. This is the format for future negotiations -- it is a tested, homegrown Syrian solution, not one made-in-America-or-Riyadh.

    "Ceasefires" struck in Astana

    The breakthrough came in late 2016. Turkey, the main adversary state through which weapons and jihadists flowed into Syria, made a U-turn on its Syria strategy, driven by U.S. military support for Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, which Ankara views as a national security threat. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a tactical engagement with Russia and Iran, and pulled Qatar and its respective Syrian rebel allies along with him. These moves tipped the balance on the battlefield, allowing the SAA and its allies to liberate Aleppo (a turning point in the war) and launch their ultimately successful campaign against ISIS.

    Shortly afterward, delegations consisting of the Syrian government and a dozen opposition rebel factions convened in Astana, Kazakhstan, for indirect talks sponsored by Turkey, Iran, and Russia.

    By early May, the three countries had signed a memorandum to establish four "de-escalation zones" in rebel-occupied areas in Syria. The zones cover key hotspots in northern Homs, southern Syria, eastern Ghouta, and Idlib province, and are renewable at six-month intervals. While some armed groups have rejected the concept, the de-escalation zones have largely succeeded at halting hostilities and, importantly, have helped create separation between extremists and rebels willing to participate in ceasefires.

    Furthermore, for the more than two million people believed to reside in these zones, the Astana process also guarantees humanitarian and medical access, the return of displaced persons to their towns and homes, the reconstruction of vital infrastructure, and other benefits.

    In July, the U.S. and Jordan joined Russia to broker the details of the southern Syrian de-escalation zone, with a joint command established in Jordan. And in September, Iran, Russia, and Turkey agreed to implement the fourth and final de-escalation zone in Idlib, a stronghold of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra terrorist group.

    In short, within eight months, four key areas of Syria demilitarized under the watch of three countries: Turkey, a major supporter of Syrian opposition militants, and Iran and Russia, both close allies of the Syrian government.

    A "political solution" in Sochi next?

    Ceasefires are, incidentally, one of the two primary objectives of the Geneva process. They are the military part of a Syrian solution.

    The other objective is the political settlement of the Syrian conflict, envisioned by Geneva's architects as the establishment of a transitional government that would generate a revised constitution, prepare elections, and the like.

    Last week, on the eve of Geneva-8, the three Astana sponsors convened in Sochi after an unexpected meeting there between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin that appeared to signal an official Syrian approval for what came next.

    In a joint statement , the presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey called for a "Syrian National Dialogue Congress" to be held in Sochi in the near future, consisting of the Syrian government and "the opposition that are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity and non-fractional character of the Syrian state."

    While they were careful to point out that the initiative is intended to "complement" Geneva, not act as an "alternative," the statement also made clear that "Iran, Russia and Turkey will consult and agree on participants of the Congress."

    Will this be another rubber-stamped opposition directed by foreign mentors? An informed source says no, "any Syrian who does not exclude him or herself can participate."

    It is highly likely that hardliners and extremists will exclude themselves from the Sochi talks -- they have consistently rejected direct interactions with the Syrian government and will never accept a future with Assad at the helm. Instead, Sochi is likely to draw interest from a larger cross-section of Syrian society closer to the views of Syria's traditional domestic opposition , who were never given a chance in Geneva.

    In the end, it is altogether conceivable that a final Syrian political solution will look very similar to the reforms Assad offered up in 2011 and 2012. His proposals were never given the time or space to mature and were, at the time, rejected outright by foreign governments and their Syrian allies.

    But most importantly, if Sochi can finish what Geneva could never start, we will be thrust into a genuine post-American era where alternative regional actors will be able to broker globally significant peace deals.

    The resolution of a conflict of this magnitude largely outside the umbrella of a UN- or U.S.-led framework breaks with the assumption that major geopolitical solutions need be made-in-America.

    The most common refrain in a disgruntled Middle East today is that "Americans don't solve conflicts, they manage them."

    Trump this week forever dispelled the notion that America is an honest mediator in Middle East peace efforts when he unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It is not surprising that the Saudis , Jordanians Qataris Sudanese Egyptians, and others are now beating a path to Moscow for some fresh thinking.

    Sharmine Narwani is a commentator and analyst of Mideast geopolitics based in Beirut. 12 Responses to Mideast Peacemaking is No Longer Made-in-America

    No Daylight Pariah December 7, 2017 at 11:04 pm

    Yeah, especially after Trump's pointless, ridiculous Jerusalem move, more negotiations and multilateral deals will be struck without US involvement. Our hyper-militarized approach to diplomacy, and a Middle East obsessed foreign policy dictated by Israel, has shocked and disgusted the world, including our actual treaty allies, who are now moving on without us.
    Our Shift Is Over (finally) , says: December 7, 2017 at 11:14 pm
    "But most importantly, if Sochi can finish what Geneva could never start, we will be thrust into a genuine post-American era where alternative regional actors will be able to broker globally significant peace deals."

    I pray that you're right. America must disentangle itself from the legacy of failure, futility, and colossal expense of the "peace process". Let others do it. It sounds like the Turks, Russians, Qataris, and Iranians have had some success at this. Fine. Let them take over Israel / Palestine. And let the US get the hell out and come home to do some of the "America First" stuff that Trump promised. Like withdrawing our troops from the Middle East and defending our own borders with them instead.

    Whine Merchant , says: December 8, 2017 at 12:00 am
    Well, Kim-il-Trump has eliminated the US as a participant in any settlement. Putin and Erdogan will get whatever they want while the US stands on the sidelines, a diminishing power. Maybe Jared can get his family permission to build a few more settlements in the occupied territories, sited on a Palestinian olive grove.

    All the while, Xi Jinping grows stronger as he guides China to be the last remaining superpower.

    Make America Great Again [pass he fries]

    MEOW , says: December 8, 2017 at 3:22 am
    Very interesting article. Thank you. Having worked in the Middle East the U.S. is regarded as nothing more than a pawn of Israel. Sad but true. This by people who often have relatives and friends living well in the U.S. who understand that the shackles on U.S. foreign policy are tight and well-controlled from Tel Aviv and now Jerusalem. These people cede the goodwill of the American people and love us for it, but know the reality of decision-making is made by neocons with dubious loyalties to the U.S. Trump's Jerusalem decision will put QED to these assumptions as to who is the boss. Many of us will have lived our mortal span under this most frustrating and counter-productive phenomenon. Will future generations throw off this heavy and unbearable yolk? It will take courage.
    Mccormick47 , says: December 8, 2017 at 11:17 am
    After invading Iraq twice, once at the behest of the House of Saud, the second time for no reason at all, why would anyone in the Mideast listen to us about peace?
    Youknowho , says: December 8, 2017 at 12:17 pm
    Considering that the US has become the bull in the China shop in the area, the sooner it is out of it, the better.
    This Holy Land , says: December 8, 2017 at 1:11 pm
    People cut us a lot of slack because they know we're hamstrung by the Israel Lobby buying, threatening, or blackmailing our politicians. But after a while it's like the Germans and Nazism: there's the question "why didn't you do anything? It's your country. How could you let this happen?"

    Now that Trump has starkly, publicly dramatized the problem by putting America at further risk of terror attacks in order to please Israel and Israel's American agents, it becomes harder for others to believe that Americans don't really know what's going on. And it becomes likelier we'll be held responsible, likelier that the rest of the world will distance itself from us, likelier that Americans will be attacked and killed.

    One thing's for sure. You don't make America great again by doing what Obama called "stupid s***" for Israel.

    In fact, our relationship with the modern state of Israel has been a steadily worsening burden and curse. Which suggests (to this Christian American) that the modern state that calls itself "Israel" is not the Israel that the Bible says we should bless. He is punishing us, His people, Americans, and our land, America, with war and staggering costs for worshiping the false idol of "Israel".

    midtown , says: December 8, 2017 at 1:41 pm
    This is all good news for the United States and its citizens. Not so much for the war party of McCain and Romney.
    Alex , says: December 8, 2017 at 1:43 pm
    The US has never had any influence in Syria whereas Russia always had. So, I do not understand what all that noise is about.

    BTW, it was not the US who started all that mess in Syria. It was a civil/religious war.

    Michael Kenny , says: December 8, 2017 at 1:56 pm
    The weakness in all this is that Putin has bogged himself down irreversibly in Syria, just as the Soviets did in Afghanistan and for exactly the same reason. Putin has made himself Assad's protector and must now prop him up for all time and against all comers. The US can lower the boom on him at any time by simply re-launching the war, for example, as a terrorist campaign which can penetrate all the way up to the Mediterranean coast and inflict casualties directly on the Russians.
    Janwaar Bibi , says: December 8, 2017 at 4:17 pm
    Trump this week forever dispelled the notion that America is an honest mediator in Middle East peace efforts when he unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It is not surprising that the Saudis, Jordanians, Qataris, Sudanese, Egyptians, and others are now beating a path to Moscow for some fresh thinking.

    This is excellent news. One reason why the US felt free to attack country after country at the behest of its Israeli and Saudi masters is that after the collapse of the USSR, there were no countries left to challenge its actions. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    If Russia and China can provide a counterweight to US power, the likelihood of the US behaving like a rogue nation goes down drastically, and that will be good for everyone, the US included.

    PR Doucette , says: December 8, 2017 at 4:38 pm
    While some reasonable long term level of peace in Syria would be a welcome outcome of these negotiations, it will be interesting to see how far Assad is willing to go in ceding power away from himself and the minority Alawites who have historically held many of the senior positions in the Syrian government and military if this is what is required to get a peace agreement. Whatever is agreed it seems likely the Syrian people will have to accept the presence of the Russian military for years to come.

    [Dec 01, 2017] Neocon Chaos Promotion in the Mideast

    Highly recommended!
    It's interesting to reread this two years article by
    Ray McGovern (who actually in a really excellent analyst)
    Here is an extremely shred observation: "I lived in the USSR during the 1970s and would not wish that kind of restrictive regime on anyone. Until it fell apart, though, it was militarily strong enough to deter Wolfowitz-style adventurism. And I will say that – for the millions of people now dead, injured or displaced by U.S. military action in the Middle East over the past dozen years – the collapse of the Soviet Union as a deterrent to U.S. war-making was not only a "geopolitical catastrophe" but an unmitigated disaster.
    Notable quotes:
    "... how Paul Wolfowitz and his neoconservative co-conspirators implemented their sweeping plan to destabilize key Middle Eastern countries once it became clear that post-Soviet Russia "won't stop us." ..."
    "... the neocons had been enabled by their assessment that -- after the collapse of the Soviet Union – Russia had become neutralized and posed no deterrent to U.S. military action in the Middle East. ..."
    "... the significance of Clark's depiction of Wolfowitz in 1992 gloating over what he judged to be a major lesson learned from the Desert Storm attack on Iraq in 1991; namely, "the Soviets won't stop us." ..."
    "... Would the neocons – widely known as "the crazies" at least among the remaining sane people of Washington – have been crazy enough to opt for war to re-arrange the Middle East if the Soviet Union had not fallen apart in 1991? ..."
    "... The geopolitical vacuum that enabled the neocons to try out their "regime change" scheme in the Middle East may have been what Russian President Vladimir Putin was referring to in his state-of-the-nation address on April 25, 2005, when he called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [past] century." Putin's comment has been a favorite meme of those who seek to demonize Putin by portraying him as lusting to re-establish a powerful USSR through aggression in Europe. ..."
    "... Putin seemed correct at least in how the neocons exploited the absence of the Russian counterweight to over-extend American power in ways that were harmful to the world, devastating to the people at the receiving end of the neocon interventions, and even detrimental to the United States. ..."
    "... I lived in the USSR during the 1970s and would not wish that kind of restrictive regime on anyone. Until it fell apart, though, it was militarily strong enough to deter Wolfowitz-style adventurism. And I will say that – for the millions of people now dead, injured or displaced by U.S. military action in the Middle East over the past dozen years – the collapse of the Soviet Union as a deterrent to U.S. war-making was not only a "geopolitical catastrophe" but an unmitigated disaster. ..."
    "... "We should have gotten rid of Saddam Hussein. The truth is, one thing we did learn is that we can use our military in the Middle East and the Soviets won't stop us. We've got about five or 10 years to clean up those old Soviet client regimes – Syria, Iran (sic), Iraq – before the next great superpower comes on to challenge us." ..."
    "... the scene was surreal – funereal, even, with both Wolfowitz and Lieberman very much down-in-the-mouth, behaving as though they had just watched their favorite team lose the Super Bowl. ..."
    "... In her article, entitled "Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria," Rudoren noted that the Israelis were arguing, quietly, that the best outcome for Syria's (then) 2 ˝-year-old civil war, at least for the moment, was no outcome: ..."
    "... In September 2013, shortly after Rudoren's article, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, then a close adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel favored the Sunni extremists over Assad. ..."
    "... "The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc," Oren said in an interview . "We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren't backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran." He said this was the case even if the "bad guys" were affiliated with Al-Qaeda. ..."
    "... In June 2014, Oren – then speaking as a former ambassador – said Israel would even prefer a victory by the Islamic State, which was massacring captured Iraqi soldiers and beheading Westerners, than the continuation of the Iranian-backed Assad in Syria. "From Israel's perspective, if there's got to be an evil that's got to prevail, let the Sunni evil prevail," Oren said. ..."
    "... That Syria's main ally is Iran with which it has a mutual defense treaty plays a role in Israeli calculations. Accordingly, while some Western leaders would like to achieve a realistic if imperfect settlement of the Syrian civil war, others who enjoy considerable influence in Washington would just as soon see the Assad government and the entire region bleed out. ..."
    "... As cynical and cruel as this strategy is, it isn't all that hard to understand. Yet, it seems to be one of those complicated, politically charged situations well above the pay-grade of the sophomores advising President Obama – who, sad to say, are no match for the neocons in the Washington Establishment. Not to mention the Netanyahu-mesmerized Congress. ..."
    "... Speaking of Congress, a year after Rudoren's report, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, who now chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, divulged some details about the military attack that had been planned against Syria, while lamenting that it was canceled. In doing so, Corker called Obama's abrupt change on Aug. 31, 2013, in opting for negotiations over open war on Syria, "the worst moment in U.S. foreign policy since I've been here." Following the neocon script, Corker blasted the deal (since fully implemented) with Putin and the Syrians to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. ..."
    "... Wolfowitz, typically, has landed on his feet. He is now presidential hopeful Jeb Bush's foreign policy/defense adviser, no doubt outlining his preferred approach to the Middle East chessboard to his new boss. Does anyone know the plural of "bedlam? ..."
    Apr 15, 2015 | antiwar.com
    Former Washington insider and four-star General Wesley Clark spilled the beans several years ago on how Paul Wolfowitz and his neoconservative co-conspirators implemented their sweeping plan to destabilize key Middle Eastern countries once it became clear that post-Soviet Russia "won't stop us."

    As I recently reviewed a YouTube eight-minute clip of General Clark's October 2007 speech, what leaped out at me was that the neocons had been enabled by their assessment that -- after the collapse of the Soviet Union – Russia had become neutralized and posed no deterrent to U.S. military action in the Middle East.

    While Clark's public exposé largely escaped attention in the neocon-friendly "mainstream media" (surprise, surprise!), he recounted being told by a senior general at the Pentagon shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 about the Donald Rumsfeld/Paul Wolfowitz-led plan for "regime change" in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.

    This was startling enough, I grant you, since officially the United States presents itself as a nation that respects international law, frowns upon other powerful nations overthrowing the governments of weaker states, and – in the aftermath of World War II – condemned past aggressions by Nazi Germany and decried Soviet "subversion" of pro-U.S. nations.

    But what caught my eye this time was the significance of Clark's depiction of Wolfowitz in 1992 gloating over what he judged to be a major lesson learned from the Desert Storm attack on Iraq in 1991; namely, "the Soviets won't stop us."

    That remark directly addresses a question that has troubled me since March 2003 when George W. Bush attacked Iraq. Would the neocons – widely known as "the crazies" at least among the remaining sane people of Washington – have been crazy enough to opt for war to re-arrange the Middle East if the Soviet Union had not fallen apart in 1991?

    The question is not an idle one. Despite the debacle in Iraq and elsewhere, the neocon "crazies" still exercise huge influence in Establishment Washington. Thus, the question now becomes whether, with Russia far more stable and much stronger, the "crazies" are prepared to risk military escalation with Russia over Ukraine, what retired U.S. diplomat William R. Polk deemed a potentially dangerous nuclear confrontation, a "Cuban Missile Crisis in reverse."

    Putin's Comment

    The geopolitical vacuum that enabled the neocons to try out their "regime change" scheme in the Middle East may have been what Russian President Vladimir Putin was referring to in his state-of-the-nation address on April 25, 2005, when he called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [past] century." Putin's comment has been a favorite meme of those who seek to demonize Putin by portraying him as lusting to re-establish a powerful USSR through aggression in Europe.

    But, commenting two years after the Iraq invasion, Putin seemed correct at least in how the neocons exploited the absence of the Russian counterweight to over-extend American power in ways that were harmful to the world, devastating to the people at the receiving end of the neocon interventions, and even detrimental to the United States.

    If one takes a step back and attempts an unbiased look at the spread of violence in the Middle East over the past quarter-century, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Putin's comment was on the mark. With Russia a much-weakened military power in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was nothing to deter U.S. policymakers from the kind of adventurism at Russia's soft underbelly that, in earlier years, would have carried considerable risk of armed U.S.-USSR confrontation.

    I lived in the USSR during the 1970s and would not wish that kind of restrictive regime on anyone. Until it fell apart, though, it was militarily strong enough to deter Wolfowitz-style adventurism. And I will say that – for the millions of people now dead, injured or displaced by U.S. military action in the Middle East over the past dozen years – the collapse of the Soviet Union as a deterrent to U.S. war-making was not only a "geopolitical catastrophe" but an unmitigated disaster.

    Visiting Wolfowitz

    In his 2007 speech, General Clark related how in early 1991 he dropped in on Paul Wolfowitz, then Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (and later, from 2001 to 2005, Deputy Secretary of Defense). It was just after a major Shia uprising in Iraq in March 1991. President George H.W. Bush's administration had provoked it, but then did nothing to rescue the Shia from brutal retaliation by Saddam Hussein, who had just survived his Persian Gulf defeat.

    According to Clark, Wolfowitz said: "We should have gotten rid of Saddam Hussein. The truth is, one thing we did learn is that we can use our military in the Middle East and the Soviets won't stop us. We've got about five or 10 years to clean up those old Soviet client regimes – Syria, Iran (sic), Iraq – before the next great superpower comes on to challenge us."

    It's now been more than 10 years, of course. But do not be deceived into thinking Wolfowitz and his neocon colleagues believe they have failed in any major way. The unrest they initiated keeps mounting – in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Lebanon – not to mention fresh violence now in full swing in Yemen and the crisis in Ukraine. Yet, the Teflon coating painted on the neocons continues to cover and protect them in the "mainstream media."

    True, one neocon disappointment is Iran. It is more stable and less isolated than before; it is playing a sophisticated role in Iraq; and it is on the verge of concluding a major nuclear agreement with the West – barring the throwing of a neocon/Israeli monkey wrench into the works to thwart it, as has been done in the past.

    An earlier setback for the neocons came at the end of August 2013 when President Barack Obama decided not to let himself be mouse-trapped by the neocons into ordering U.S. forces to attack Syria. Wolfowitz et al. were on the threshold of having the U.S. formally join the war against Bashar al-Assad's government of Syria when there was the proverbial slip between cup and lip. With the aid of the neocons' new devil-incarnate Vladimir Putin, Obama faced them down and avoided war.

    A week after it became clear that the neocons were not going to get their war in Syria, I found myself at the main CNN studio in Washington together with Paul Wolfowitz and former Sen. Joe Lieberman, another important neocon. As I reported in "How War on Syria Lost Its Way," the scene was surreal – funereal, even, with both Wolfowitz and Lieberman very much down-in-the-mouth, behaving as though they had just watched their favorite team lose the Super Bowl.

    Israeli/Neocon Preferences

    But the neocons are nothing if not resilient. Despite their grotesque disasters, like the Iraq War, and their disappointments, like not getting their war on Syria, they neither learn lessons nor change goals. They just readjust their aim, shooting now at Putin over Ukraine as a way to clear the path again for "regime change" in Syria and Iran. [See Consortiumnews.com's "Why Neocons Seek to Destabilize Russia."]

    The neocons also can take some solace from their "success" at enflaming the Middle East with Shia and Sunni now at each other's throats – a bad thing for many people of the world and certainly for the many innocent victims in the region, but not so bad for the neocons. After all, it is the view of Israeli leaders and their neocon bedfellows (and women) that the internecine wars among Muslims provide at least some short-term advantages for Israel as it consolidates control over the Palestinian West Bank.

    In a Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity memorandum for President Obama on Sept. 6, 2013, we called attention to an uncommonly candid report about Israeli/neocon motivation, written by none other than the Israel-friendly New York Times Bureau Chief in Jerusalem Jodi Rudoren on Sept. 2, 2013, just two days after Obama took advantage of Putin's success in persuading the Syrians to allow their chemical weapons to be destroyed and called off the planned attack on Syria, causing consternation among neocons in Washington.

    Rudoren can perhaps be excused for her naďve lack of "political correctness." She had been barely a year on the job, had very little prior experience with reporting on the Middle East, and – in the excitement about the almost-attack on Syria – she apparently forgot the strictures normally imposed on the Times' reporting from Jerusalem. In any case, Israel's priorities became crystal clear in what Rudoren wrote.

    In her article, entitled "Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria," Rudoren noted that the Israelis were arguing, quietly, that the best outcome for Syria's (then) 2 ˝-year-old civil war, at least for the moment, was no outcome:

    "For Jerusalem, the status quo, horrific as it may be from a humanitarian perspective, seems preferable to either a victory by Mr. Assad's government and his Iranian backers or a strengthening of rebel groups, increasingly dominated by Sunni jihadis.

    "'This is a playoff situation in which you need both teams to lose, but at least you don't want one to win - we'll settle for a tie,' said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. 'Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death: that's the strategic thinking here. As long as this lingers, there's no real threat from Syria.'"

    Clear enough? If this is the way Israel's leaders continue to regard the situation in Syria, then they look on deeper U.S. involvement – overt or covert – as likely to ensure that there is no early resolution of the conflict there. The longer Sunni and Shia are killing each other, not only in Syria but also across the region as a whole, the safer Tel Aviv's leaders calculate Israel is.

    Favoring Jihadis

    But Israeli leaders have also made clear that if one side must win, they would prefer the Sunni side, despite its bloody extremists from Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. In September 2013, shortly after Rudoren's article, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, then a close adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel favored the Sunni extremists over Assad.

    "The greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc," Oren said in an interview. "We always wanted Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren't backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran." He said this was the case even if the "bad guys" were affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

    In June 2014, Oren – then speaking as a former ambassador – said Israel would even prefer a victory by the Islamic State, which was massacring captured Iraqi soldiers and beheading Westerners, than the continuation of the Iranian-backed Assad in Syria. "From Israel's perspective, if there's got to be an evil that's got to prevail, let the Sunni evil prevail," Oren said.

    Netanyahu sounded a similar theme in his March 3, 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress in which he trivialized the threat from the Islamic State with its "butcher knives, captured weapons and YouTube" when compared to Iran, which he accused of "gobbling up the nations" of the Middle East.

    That Syria's main ally is Iran with which it has a mutual defense treaty plays a role in Israeli calculations. Accordingly, while some Western leaders would like to achieve a realistic if imperfect settlement of the Syrian civil war, others who enjoy considerable influence in Washington would just as soon see the Assad government and the entire region bleed out.

    As cynical and cruel as this strategy is, it isn't all that hard to understand. Yet, it seems to be one of those complicated, politically charged situations well above the pay-grade of the sophomores advising President Obama – who, sad to say, are no match for the neocons in the Washington Establishment. Not to mention the Netanyahu-mesmerized Congress.

    Corker Uncorked

    Speaking of Congress, a year after Rudoren's report, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, who now chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, divulged some details about the military attack that had been planned against Syria, while lamenting that it was canceled. In doing so, Corker called Obama's abrupt change on Aug. 31, 2013, in opting for negotiations over open war on Syria, "the worst moment in U.S. foreign policy since I've been here." Following the neocon script, Corker blasted the deal (since fully implemented) with Putin and the Syrians to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.

    Corker complained, "In essence – I'm sorry to be slightly rhetorical – we jumped into Putin's lap." A big No-No, of course – especially in Congress – to "jump into Putin's lap" even though Obama was able to achieve the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons without the United States jumping into another Middle East war.

    It would have been nice, of course, if General Clark had thought to share his inside-Pentagon information earlier with the rest of us. In no way should he be seen as a whistleblower.

    At the time of his September 2007 speech, he was deep into his quixotic attempt to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. In other words, Clark broke the omerta code of silence observed by virtually all U.S. generals, even post-retirement, merely to put some distance between himself and the debacle in Iraq – and win some favor among anti-war Democrats. It didn't work, so he endorsed Hillary Clinton; that didn't work, so he endorsed Barack Obama.

    Wolfowitz, typically, has landed on his feet. He is now presidential hopeful Jeb Bush's foreign policy/defense adviser, no doubt outlining his preferred approach to the Middle East chessboard to his new boss. Does anyone know the plural of "bedlam?"

    Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He is a 30-year veteran of the CIA and Army intelligence and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS). McGovern served for considerable periods in all four of CIA's main directorates.

    Reprinted with permission from Consortium News.

    [Nov 30, 2017] Heritage Foundation + the War Industry What a Pair by Paul Gottfried

    Highly recommended!
    Heritage Foundation is just a neocon swamp filled with "national security parasites". What you can expect from them ?
    Notable quotes:
    "... A 2009 Heritage Foundation report, " Maintaining the Superiority of America's Defense Industrial Base ," called for further government investment in aircraft weaponry for "ensuring a superior fighting force" and "sustaining international stability." ..."
    "... These special pleas pose a question: which came first, Heritage's heavy dependence on funds from defense giants, or the foundation's belief that unless we steadily increase our military arsenal we'll be endangering "international stability"? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle: someone who is predisposed to go in a certain direction may be more inclined to do so if he is being rewarded in return. ..."
    "... No doubt both corporations will continue to look after Heritage, which will predictably call for further increases, whether they be in aerospace or shipbuilding. ..."
    "... National Review ..."
    "... Like American higher education, Conservatism Inc. is very big business. Whatever else it's about rates a very far second to keeping the money flowing. "Conservative" positions are often simply causes for which foundations and media enterprises that have the word "conservative" attached to them are paid to represent. It is the label carried by an institution or publication, not necessarily the position it takes, that makes what NR or Heritage advocates "conservative." ..."
    Nov 30, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com
    According to recent reports the Heritage Foundation, clearly the most established and many would say politically influential conservative think tank in Washington, is considering David Trulio, Lockheed Martin vice president and longtime lobbyist for the defense industry, to be its next president. While Heritage's connection to Washington's sprawling national security industry is already well-established, naming Trulio as its president might be seen as gilding the lily.

    If anything, reading this report made me more aware of the degree to which the "conservative policy community" in Washington depends on the whims and interests of particular donors.

    And this relationship is apparently no longer something to be concealed or embarrassed by. One can now be open about being in the pocket of the defense industry. Trulio's potential elevation to Heritage president at what we can assume will be an astronomical salary, will no doubt grease the already well-oiled pipeline of funds from major contractors to this "conservative" foundation, which already operates with an annual disclosed budget of almost $100 million.

    A 2009 Heritage Foundation report, " Maintaining the Superiority of America's Defense Industrial Base ," called for further government investment in aircraft weaponry for "ensuring a superior fighting force" and "sustaining international stability." In 2011, senior national security fellow James Carafano wrote " Five Steps to Defend America's Industrial Defense Base ," which complained about a "fifty billion dollar under-procurement by the Pentagon" for buying new weaponry. In 2016, Heritage made the case for several years of reinvestment to get the military back on "sound footing," with an increase in fiscal year 2016 described as "an encouraging start."

    These special pleas pose a question: which came first, Heritage's heavy dependence on funds from defense giants, or the foundation's belief that unless we steadily increase our military arsenal we'll be endangering "international stability"? Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle: someone who is predisposed to go in a certain direction may be more inclined to do so if he is being rewarded in return. Incidentally, the 2009 position paper seems to be directing the government to throw more taxpayer dollars to Boeing than to its competitor Lockheed. But it seems both defense giants have landed a joint contract this year to produce a new submersible for the Navy, so it may no longer be necessary to pick sides on that one at least. No doubt both corporations will continue to look after Heritage, which will predictably call for further increases, whether they be in aerospace or shipbuilding.

    Although one needn't reduce everything to dollars and cents, if we're looking at the issues Heritage and other likeminded foundations are likely to push today, it's far more probable they'll be emphasizing the national security state rather than, say, opposition to gay marriage or the defense of traditional gender roles. There's lots more money to be made advocating for the former rather than the latter. In May 2013, Heritage sponsored a formal debate between "two conservatives" and "two liberals" on the issue of defense spending, with Heritage and National Review presenting the "conservative" side. I wondered as I listened to part of this verbal battle why is was considered "conservative" to call for burdening American taxpayers with massive increases in the purchase of Pentagon weaponry and planes that take 17 years to get off the ground.

    Like American higher education, Conservatism Inc. is very big business. Whatever else it's about rates a very far second to keeping the money flowing. "Conservative" positions are often simply causes for which foundations and media enterprises that have the word "conservative" attached to them are paid to represent. It is the label carried by an institution or publication, not necessarily the position it takes, that makes what NR or Heritage advocates "conservative."

    In any event, Mr. Trulio won't have to travel far if he takes the Heritage helm. He and his corporation are already ensconced only a few miles away from Heritage's Massachusetts Avenue headquarters, if the information provided by Lockheed Martin is correct. It says: "Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services." A company like that can certainly afford to underwrite a think tank -- if the price is right.

    Paul Gottfried is Raffensperger Professor of Humanities Emeritus at Elizabethtown College, where he taught for twenty-five years. He is a Guggenheim recipient and a Yale PhD. He writes for many websites and scholarly journals and is the author of thirteen books, most recently Fascism: Career of a Concept and Revisions and Dissents . His books have been translated into multiple languages and seem to enjoy special success in Eastern Europe.

    [Nov 30, 2017] Money Imperialism by Michael Hudson

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Since World War II the United States has used the Dollar Standard and its dominant role in the IMF and World Bank to steer trade and investment along lines benefiting its own economy. But now that the growth of China's mixed economy has outstripped all others while Russia finally is beginning to recover, countries have the option of borrowing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and other non-U.S. consortia. ..."
    "... The problem with surrendering is that this Washington Consensus is extractive and lives in the short run, laying the seeds of financial dependency, debt-leveraged bubbles and subsequent debt deflation and austerity. The financial business plan is to carve out opportunities for price gouging and corporate profits. Today's U.S.-sponsored trade and investment treaties would make governments pay fines equal to the amount that environmental and price regulations, laws protecting consumers and other social policies might reduce corporate profits. "Companies would be able to demand compensation from countries whose health, financial, environmental and other public interest policies they thought to be undermining their interests, and take governments before extrajudicial tribunals. These tribunals, organised under World Bank and UN rules, would have the power to order taxpayers to pay extensive compensation over legislation seen as undermining a company's 'expected future profits.' ..."
    "... At the center of today's global split are the last few centuries of Western social and democratic reform. Seeking to follow the classical Western development path by retaining a mixed public/private economy, China, Russia and other nations find it easier to create new institutions such as the AIIB than to reform the dollar standard IMF and World Bank. Their choice is between short-term gains by dependency leading to austerity, or long-term development with independence and ultimate prosperity. ..."
    "... The price of resistance involves risking military or covert overthrow. Long before the Ukraine crisis, the United States has dropped the pretense of backing democracies. The die was cast in 1953 with the coup against Iran's secular government, and the 1954 coup in Guatemala to oppose land reform. Support for client oligarchies and dictatorships in Latin America in the 1960 and '70s was highlighted by the overthrow of Allende in Chile and Operation Condor's assassination program throughout the continent. Under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the United States has claimed that America's status as the world's "indispensible nation" entitled it back the recent coups in Honduras and Ukraine, and to sponsor the NATO attack on Libya and Syria, leaving Europe to absorb the refugees. ..."
    "... The trans-Atlantic financial bubble has left a legacy of austerity since 2008. Debt-ridden economies are being told to cope with their downturns by privatizing their public domain. ..."
    "... The immediate question facing Germany and the rest of Western Europe is how long they will sacrifice their trade and investment opportunities with Russia, Iran and other economies by adhering to U.S.-sponsored sanctions. American intransigence threatens to force an either/or choice in what looms as a seismic geopolitical shift over the proper role of governments: Should their public sectors provide basic services and protect populations from predatory monopolies, rent extraction and financial polarization? ..."
    "... Today's global financial crisis can be traced back to World War I and its aftermath. The principle that needed to be voiced was the right of sovereign nations not to be forced to sacrifice their economic survival on the altar of inter-government and private debt demands. The concept of nationhood embodied in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia based international law on the principle of parity of sovereign states and non-interference. Without a global alternative to letting debt dynamics polarize societies and tear economies apart, monetary imperialism by creditor nations is inevitable. ..."
    "... The past century's global fracture between creditor and debtor economies has interrupted what seemed to be Europe's democratic destiny to empower governments to override financial and other rentier interests. Instead, the West is following U.S. diplomatic leadership back into the age when these interests ruled governments. This conflict between creditors and democracy, between oligarchy and economic growth (and indeed, survival) will remain the defining issue of our epoch over the next generation, and probably for the remainder of the 21 st century. ..."
    "... wiki/Anglo-Persian Oil Company "In 1901 William Knox D'Arcy, a millionaire London socialite, negotiated an oil concession with Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar of Persia. He financed this with capital he had made from his shares in the highly profitable Mount Morgan mine in Queensland, Australia. D'Arcy assumed exclusive rights to prospect for oil for 60 years in a vast tract of territory including most of Iran. In exchange the Shah received Ł20,000 (Ł2.0 million today),[1] an equal amount in shares of D'Arcy's company, and a promise of 16% of future profits." Note the 16% = ~1/6, the rest going off-shore. ..."
    "... The Greens in Aus researched the resources sector in Aus, to find that it is 83% 'owned' by off-shore entities. Note that 83% = ~5/6, which goes off-shore. Coincidence? ..."
    "... Note that in Aus, the democratically elected so-called 'leaders' not only allow exactly this sort of economic rape, they actively assist it by, say, crippling the central bank and pleading for FDI = selling our, we the people's interests, out. Those traitor-leaders are reversing 'Enlightenment' provisions, privatising whatever they can and, as Michael Hudson well points out the principles, running Aus into debt and austerity. ..."
    "... US banking oligarchs will expend the last drop of our blood to prevent a such a linking, just as they were willing to sacrifice our blood and treasure in WW1 and 2, as is alluded to here.: ..."
    "... The past century's global fracture between creditor and debtor economies has interrupted what seemed to be Europe's democratic destiny to empower governments to override financial and other rentier interests. Instead, the West is following U.S. diplomatic leadership back into the age when these interests ruled governments. This conflict between creditors and democracy, between oligarchy and economic growth (and indeed, survival) will remain the defining issue of our epoch over the next generation, and probably for the remainder of the 21st century. ..."
    "... It's important to note that such interests have ruled (owned, actually) imperial Britain for centuries and the US since its inception, and the anti-federalists knew it. ..."
    "... "After World War I the U.S. Government deviated from what had been traditional European policy – forgiving military support costs among the victors. U.S. officials demanded payment for the arms shipped to its Allies in the years before America entered the Great War in 1917. The Allies turned to Germany for reparations to pay these debts." The Yank banker, the Yankee Wall Street super rich, set off a process of greed that led to Hitler. ..."
    "... But they didn't invent anything. They learned from their WASP forebears in the British Empire, whose banking back to Oliver Cromwell had become inextricably entangled with Jewish money and Jewish interests to the point that Jews per capita dominated it even at the height of the British Empire, when simpleton WASPs assume that WASPs truly ran everything, and that WASP power was for the good of even the poorest WASPs. ..."
    "... The Berlin Baghdad railway was an important cause for WWI. ..."
    "... Bingo. Stopping it was a huge factor. There was no way the banksters of the world were going to let that go forward, nor were they going to let Germany and Russia link up in any other ways. They certainly were not about to allow any threats to the Suez Canal nor any chance to let the oil fields slip from their control either. ..."
    "... This is not how the Enlightenment was supposed to evolve ..."
    "... In fact, this is exactly how it was supposed to work. The wave of liberal democracies was precisely to overturn the monarchies, which were the last bulwark protecting the people from the full tyranny of the financiers, who were, by nature, one-world internationalists. ..."
    "... The real problem with this is that any form of monetary arrangement involves an implied trusteeship, with obligations on, as well as benefits for, the trustee. The US is so abusing its trusteeship through the continual use of an irresponsible sanctions regime that it risks a good portion of the world economy abandoning its system for someone else's, which may be perceived to be run more responsibility. The disaster scenario would be the US having therefore in the future to access that other system to purchase oil or minerals, and having that system do to us what we previously did to them -- sanction us out. ..."
    "... " Marx believed that capitalism was inherently built upon practices of usury and thus inevitably leading to the separation of society into two classes: one composed of those who produce value and the other, which feeds upon the first one. In "Theories of Surplus Value" (written 1862-1863), he states " that interest (in contrast to industrial profit) and rent (that is the form of landed property created by capitalist production itself) are superfetations (i.e., excessive accumulations) which are not essential to capitalist production and of which it can rid itself." ..."
    Nov 30, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Money Imperialism Introduction to the German Edition Michael Hudson November 29, 2017 3,500 Words 1 Comment Reply

    In theory, the global financial system is supposed to help every country gain. Mainstream teaching of international finance, trade and "foreign aid" (defined simply as any government credit) depicts an almost utopian system uplifting all countries, not stripping their assets and imposing austerity. The reality since World War I is that the United States has taken the lead in shaping the international financial system to promote gains for its own bankers, farm exporters, its oil and gas sector, and buyers of foreign resources – and most of all, to collect on debts owed to it.

    Each time this global system has broken down over the past century, the major destabilizing force has been American over-reach and the drive by its bankers and bondholders for short-term gains. The dollar-centered financial system is leaving more industrial as well as Third World countries debt-strapped. Its three institutional pillars – the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization – have imposed monetary, fiscal and financial dependency, most recently by the post-Soviet Baltics, Greece and the rest of southern Europe. The resulting strains are now reaching the point where they are breaking apart the arrangements put in place after World War II.

    The most destructive fiction of international finance is that all debts can be paid, and indeed should be paid, even when this tears economies apart by forcing them into austerity – to save bondholders, not labor and industry. Yet European countries, and especially Germany, have shied from pressing for a more balanced global economy that would foster growth for all countries and avoid the current economic slowdown and debt deflation.

    Imposing austerity on Germany after World War I

    After World War I the U.S. Government deviated from what had been traditional European policy – forgiving military support costs among the victors. U.S. officials demanded payment for the arms shipped to its Allies in the years before America entered the Great War in 1917. The Allies turned to Germany for reparations to pay these debts. Headed by John Maynard Keynes, British diplomats sought to clean their hands of responsibility for the consequences by promising that all the money they received from Germany would simply be forwarded to the U.S. Treasury.

    The sums were so unpayably high that Germany was driven into austerity and collapse. The nation suffered hyperinflation as the Reichsbank printed marks to throw onto the foreign exchange also were pushed into financial collapse. The debt deflation was much like that of Third World debtors a generation ago, and today's southern European PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain).

    In a pretense that the reparations and Inter-Ally debt tangle could be made solvent, a triangular flow of payments was facilitated by a convoluted U.S. easy-money policy. American investors sought high returns by buying German local bonds; German municipalities turned over the dollars they received to the Reichsbank for domestic currency; and the Reichsbank used this foreign exchange to pay reparations to Britain and other Allies, enabling these countries to pay the United States what it demanded.

    But solutions based on attempts to keep debts of such magnitude in place by lending debtors the money to pay can only be temporary. The U.S. Federal Reserve sustained this triangular flow by holding down U.S. interest rates. This made it attractive for American investors to buy German municipal bonds and other high-yielding debts. It also deterred Wall Street from drawing funds away from Britain, which would have driven its economy deeper into austerity after the General Strike of 1926. But domestically, low U.S. interest rates and easy credit spurred a real estate bubble, followed by a stock market bubble that burst in 1929. The triangular flow of payments broke down in 1931, leaving a legacy of debt deflation burdening the U.S. and European economies. The Great Depression lasted until outbreak of World War II in 1939.

    Planning for the postwar period took shape as the war neared its end. U.S. diplomats had learned an important lesson. This time there would be no arms debts or reparations. The global financial system would be stabilized – on the basis of gold, and on creditor-oriented rules. By the end of the 1940s the United States held some 75 percent of the world's monetary gold stock. That established the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, freely convertible into gold at the 1933 parity of $35 an ounce.

    It also implied that once again, as in the 1920s, European balance-of-payments deficits would have to be financed mainly by the United States. Recycling of official government credit was to be filtered via the IMF and World Bank, in which U.S. diplomats alone had veto power to reject policies they found not to be in their national interest. International financial "stability" thus became a global control mechanism – to maintain creditor-oriented rules centered in the United States.

    To obtain gold or dollars as backing for their own domestic monetary systems, other countries had to follow the trade and investment rules laid down by the United States. These rules called for relinquishing control over capital movements or restrictions on foreign takeovers of natural resources and the public domain as well as local industry and banking systems.

    By 1950 the dollar-based global economic system had become increasingly untenable. Gold continued flowing to the United States, strengthening the dollar – until the Korean War reversed matters. From 1951 through 1971 the United States ran a deepening balance-of-payments deficit, which stemmed entirely from overseas military spending. (Private-sector trade and investment was steadily in balance.)

    U.S. Treasury debt replaces the gold exchange standard

    The foreign military spending that helped return American gold to Europe became a flood as the Vietnam War spread across Asia after 1962. The Treasury kept the dollar's exchange rate stable by selling gold via the London Gold Pool at $35 an ounce. Finally, in August 1971, President Nixon stopped the drain by closing the Gold Pool and halting gold convertibility of the dollar.

    There was no plan for what would happen next. Most observers viewed cutting the dollar's link to gold as a defeat for the United States. It certainly ended the postwar financial order as designed in 1944. But what happened next was just the reverse of a defeat. No longer able to buy gold after 1971 (without inciting strong U.S. disapproval), central banks found only one asset in which to hold their balance-of-payments surpluses: U.S. Treasury debt. These securities no longer were "as good as gold." The United States issued them at will to finance soaring domestic budget deficits.

    By shifting from gold to the dollars thrown off by the U.S. balance-of-payments deficit, the foundation of global monetary reserves came to be dominated by the U.S. military spending that continued to flood foreign central banks with surplus dollars. America's balance-of-payments deficit thus supplied the dollars that financed its domestic budget deficits and bank credit creation – via foreign central banks recycling U.S. foreign spending back to the U.S. Treasury.

    In effect, foreign countries have been taxed without representation over how their loans to the U.S. Government are employed. European central banks were not yet prepared to create their own sovereign wealth funds to invest their dollar inflows in foreign stocks or direct ownership of businesses. They simply used their trade and payments surpluses to finance the U.S. budget deficit. This enabled the Treasury to cut domestic tax rates, above all on the highest income brackets.

    U.S. monetary imperialism confronted European and Asian central banks with a dilemma that remains today: If they do not turn around and buy dollar assets, their currencies will rise against the dollar. Buying U.S. Treasury securities is the only practical way to stabilize their exchange rates – and in so doing, to prevent their exports from rising in dollar terms and being priced out of dollar-area markets.

    The system may have developed without foresight, but quickly became deliberate. My book Super Imperialism sold best in the Washington DC area, and I was given a large contract through the Hudson Institute to explain to the Defense Department exactly how this extractive financial system worked. I was brought to the White House to explain it, and U.S. geostrategists used my book as a how-to-do-it manual (not my original intention).

    Attention soon focused on the oil-exporting countries. After the U.S. quadrupled its grain export prices shortly after the 1971 gold suspension, the oil-exporting countries quadrupled their oil prices. I was informed at a White House meeting that U.S. diplomats had let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries know that they could charge as much as they wanted for their oil, but that the United States would treat it as an act of war not to keep their oil proceeds in U.S. dollar assets.

    This was the point at which the international financial system became explicitly extractive. But it took until 2009, for the first attempt to withdraw from this system to occur. A conference was convened at Yekaterinburg, Russia, by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The alliance comprised Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kirghizstan and Uzbekistan, with observer status for Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia. U.S. officials asked to attend as observers, but their request was rejected.

    The U.S. response has been to extend the new Cold War into the financial sector, rewriting the rules of international finance to benefit the United States and its satellites – and to deter countries from seeking to break free from America's financial free ride.

    The IMF changes its rules to isolate Russia and China

    Aiming to isolate Russia and China, the Obama Administration's confrontational diplomacy has drawn the Bretton Woods institutions more tightly under US/NATO control. In so doing, it is disrupting the linkages put in place after World War II.

    The U.S. plan was to hurt Russia's economy so much that it would be ripe for regime change ("color revolution"). But the effect was to drive it eastward, away from Western Europe to consolidate its long-term relations with China and Central Asia. Pressing Europe to shift its oil and gas purchases to U.S. allies, U.S. sanctions have disrupted German and other European trade and investment with Russia and China. It also has meant lost opportunities for European farmers, other exporters and investors – and a flood of refugees from failed post-Soviet states drawn into the NATO orbit, most recently Ukraine.

    To U.S. strategists, what made changing IMF rules urgent was Ukraine's $3 billion debt falling due to Russia's National Wealth Fund in December 2015. The IMF had long withheld credit to countries refusing to pay other governments. This policy aimed primarily at protecting the financial claims of the U.S. Government, which usually played a lead role in consortia with other governments and U.S. banks. But under American pressure the IMF changed its rules in January 2015. Henceforth, it announced, it would indeed be willing to provide credit to countries in arrears other governments – implicitly headed by China (which U.S. geostrategists consider to be their main long-term adversary), Russia and others that U.S. financial warriors might want to isolate in order to force neoliberal privatization policies. [1] I provide the full background in "The IMF Changes its Rules to Isolate China and Russia," December 9, 2015, available on michael-hudson.com, Naked Capitalism , Counterpunch and Johnson's Russia List .

    Article I of the IMF's 1944-45 founding charter prohibits it from lending to a member engaged in civil war or at war with another member state, or for military purposes generally. An obvious reason for this rule is that such a country is unlikely to earn the foreign exchange to pay its debt. Bombing Ukraine's own Donbass region in the East after its February 2014 coup d'état destroyed its export industry, mainly to Russia.

    Withholding IMF credit could have been a lever to force adherence to the Minsk peace agreements, but U.S. diplomacy rejected that opportunity. When IMF head Christine Lagarde made a new loan to Ukraine in spring 2015, she merely expressed a verbal hope for peace. Ukrainian President Porochenko announced the next day that he would step up his civil war against the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine. One and a half-billion dollars of the IMF loan were given to banker Ihor Kolomoiski and disappeared offshore, while the oligarch used his domestic money to finance an anti-Donbass army. A million refugees were driven east into Russia; others fled west via Poland as the economy and Ukraine's currency plunged.

    The IMF broke four of its rules by lending to Ukraine: (1) Not to lend to a country that has no visible means to pay back the loan (the "No More Argentinas" rule, adopted after the IMF's disastrous 2001 loan to that country). (2) Not to lend to a country that repudiates its debt to official creditors (the rule originally intended to enforce payment to U.S.-based institutions). (3) Not to lend to a country at war – and indeed, destroying its export capacity and hence its balance-of-payments ability to pay back the loan. Finally (4), not to lend to a country unlikely to impose the IMF's austerity "conditionalities." Ukraine did agree to override democratic opposition and cut back pensions, but its junta proved too unstable to impose the austerity terms on which the IMF insisted.

    U.S. neoliberalism promotes privatization carve-ups of debtor countries

    Since World War II the United States has used the Dollar Standard and its dominant role in the IMF and World Bank to steer trade and investment along lines benefiting its own economy. But now that the growth of China's mixed economy has outstripped all others while Russia finally is beginning to recover, countries have the option of borrowing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and other non-U.S. consortia.

    At stake is much more than just which nations will get the contracting and banking business. At issue is whether the philosophy of development will follow the classical path based on public infrastructure investment, or whether public sectors will be privatized and planning turned over to rent-seeking corporations.

    What made the United States and Germany the leading industrial nations of the 20 th century – and more recently, China – has been public investment in economic infrastructure. The aim was to lower the price of living and doing business by providing basic services on a subsidized basis or freely. By contrast, U.S. privatizers have brought debt leverage to bear on Third World countries, post-Soviet economies and most recently on southern Europe to force selloffs. Current plans to cap neoliberal policy with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) go so far as to disable government planning power to the financial and corporate sector.

    American strategists evidently hoped that the threat of isolating Russia, China and other countries would bring them to heel if they tried to denominate trade and investment in their own national currencies. Their choice would be either to suffer sanctions like those imposed on Cuba and Iran, or to avoid exclusion by acquiescing in the dollarized financial and trade system and its drives to financialize their economies under U.S. control.

    The problem with surrendering is that this Washington Consensus is extractive and lives in the short run, laying the seeds of financial dependency, debt-leveraged bubbles and subsequent debt deflation and austerity. The financial business plan is to carve out opportunities for price gouging and corporate profits. Today's U.S.-sponsored trade and investment treaties would make governments pay fines equal to the amount that environmental and price regulations, laws protecting consumers and other social policies might reduce corporate profits. "Companies would be able to demand compensation from countries whose health, financial, environmental and other public interest policies they thought to be undermining their interests, and take governments before extrajudicial tribunals. These tribunals, organised under World Bank and UN rules, would have the power to order taxpayers to pay extensive compensation over legislation seen as undermining a company's 'expected future profits.' "

    [2] Lori M. Wallach, "The corporation invasion," La Monde Diplomatique , December 2, 2013, http://mondediplo.com/2013/12/02tafta . She adds: "Some investors have a very broad conception of their rights. European companies have recently launched legal actions against the raising of the minimum wage in Egypt; Renco has fought anti-toxic emissions policy in Peru, using a free trade agreement between that country and the US to defend its right to pollute (6). US tobacco giant Philip Morris has launched cases against Uruguay and Australia over their anti-smoking legislation." See also Yves Smith, "Germany Bucking Toxic, Nation-State Eroding Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership," Naked Capitalism , July 17, 2014, and "Germany Turning Sour on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership," Naked Capitalism, October 30, 2014.

    This policy threat is splitting the world into pro-U.S. satellites and economies maintaining public infrastructure investment and what used to be viewed as progressive capitalism. U.S.-sponsored neoliberalism supporting its own financial and corporate interests has driven Russia, China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization into an alliance to protect their economic self-sufficiency rather than becoming dependent on dollarized credit enmeshing them in foreign-currency debt.

    At the center of today's global split are the last few centuries of Western social and democratic reform. Seeking to follow the classical Western development path by retaining a mixed public/private economy, China, Russia and other nations find it easier to create new institutions such as the AIIB than to reform the dollar standard IMF and World Bank. Their choice is between short-term gains by dependency leading to austerity, or long-term development with independence and ultimate prosperity.

    The price of resistance involves risking military or covert overthrow. Long before the Ukraine crisis, the United States has dropped the pretense of backing democracies. The die was cast in 1953 with the coup against Iran's secular government, and the 1954 coup in Guatemala to oppose land reform. Support for client oligarchies and dictatorships in Latin America in the 1960 and '70s was highlighted by the overthrow of Allende in Chile and Operation Condor's assassination program throughout the continent. Under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the United States has claimed that America's status as the world's "indispensible nation" entitled it back the recent coups in Honduras and Ukraine, and to sponsor the NATO attack on Libya and Syria, leaving Europe to absorb the refugees.

    Germany's choice

    This is not how the Enlightenment was supposed to evolve. The industrial takeoff of Germany and other European nations involved a long fight to free markets from the land rents and financial charges siphoned off by their landed aristocracies and bankers. That was the essence of classical 19 th -century political economy and 20 th -century social democracy. Most economists a century ago expected industrial capitalism to produce an economy of abundance, and democratic reforms to endorse public infrastructure investment and regulation to hold down the cost of living and doing business. But U.S. economic diplomacy now threatens to radically reverse this economic ideology by aiming to dismantle public regulatory power and impose a radical privatization agenda under the TTIP and TAFTA.

    Textbook trade theory depicts trade and investment as helping poorer countries catch up, compelling them to survive by becoming more democratic to overcome their vested interests and oligarchies along the lines pioneered by European and North American industrial economies. Instead, the world is polarizing, not converging. The trans-Atlantic financial bubble has left a legacy of austerity since 2008. Debt-ridden economies are being told to cope with their downturns by privatizing their public domain.

    The immediate question facing Germany and the rest of Western Europe is how long they will sacrifice their trade and investment opportunities with Russia, Iran and other economies by adhering to U.S.-sponsored sanctions. American intransigence threatens to force an either/or choice in what looms as a seismic geopolitical shift over the proper role of governments: Should their public sectors provide basic services and protect populations from predatory monopolies, rent extraction and financial polarization?

    Today's global financial crisis can be traced back to World War I and its aftermath. The principle that needed to be voiced was the right of sovereign nations not to be forced to sacrifice their economic survival on the altar of inter-government and private debt demands. The concept of nationhood embodied in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia based international law on the principle of parity of sovereign states and non-interference. Without a global alternative to letting debt dynamics polarize societies and tear economies apart, monetary imperialism by creditor nations is inevitable.

    The past century's global fracture between creditor and debtor economies has interrupted what seemed to be Europe's democratic destiny to empower governments to override financial and other rentier interests. Instead, the West is following U.S. diplomatic leadership back into the age when these interests ruled governments. This conflict between creditors and democracy, between oligarchy and economic growth (and indeed, survival) will remain the defining issue of our epoch over the next generation, and probably for the remainder of the 21 st century.

    Endnotes

    [1] I provide the full background in "The IMF Changes its Rules to Isolate China and Russia," December 9, 2015, available on michael-hudson.com, Naked Capitalism , Counterpunch and Johnson's Russia List .

    [2] Lori M. Wallach, "The corporation invasion," La Monde Diplomatique , December 2, 2013, http://mondediplo.com/2013/12/02tafta . She adds: "Some investors have a very broad conception of their rights. European companies have recently launched legal actions against the raising of the minimum wage in Egypt; Renco has fought anti-toxic emissions policy in Peru, using a free trade agreement between that country and the US to defend its right to pollute ( 6 ). US tobacco giant Philip Morris has launched cases against Uruguay and Australia over their anti-smoking legislation." See also Yves Smith , " Germany Bucking Toxic, Nation-State Eroding Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ," Naked Capitalism , July 17, 2014 , and " Germany Turning Sour on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ," Naked Capitalism, October 30, 2014 .

    Priss Factor , Website November 30, 2017 at 5:28 am GMT

    More like Dollar Supremacism

    The Alarmist , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 8:02 am GMT

    "Austerity" is such a misused word these days. What the Allies did to Germany after Versailles was austerity, and everyone paid dearly for it.

    What the IMF and the Western Banking Cartel do to third world countries is akin to a pusher hopping up addicts on debt and then taking it away while stripping them of their assets, pretty much hurting only the people of the third world country; certainly not the WBC, and almost certainly not the criminal elite who took the deal.

    The Austerity everyone complains about in the developed world these days is a joke, hardly austerity, for it has never meant more than doing a little less deficit-spending than in prior periods, e.g. UK Labour whining about "Austerity" is a joke, as the UK debt has done nothing but grow, which in terms understandable to simple folk like me means they are spending more than they can afford to carry.

    jilles dykstra , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 8:15 am GMT
    " The immediate question facing Germany and the rest of Western Europe is how long they will sacrifice their trade and investment opportunities with Russia, Iran and other economies by adhering to U.S.-sponsored sanctions "

    In the whole article not a word about the euro, also an instrument of imperialism, that mainly benefits Germany, the country that has to maintain a high level of exports, in order to feed the Germans, and import raw materials for Germany's industries.

    Isolating China and Russia, with the other BRICS countries, S Africa, Brazil, India, dangerous game.
    This effort forced China and Russia to close cooperation, the economic expression of this is the Peking Petersburg railway, with a hub in Khazakstan, where the containers are lifted from the Chinese to the Russian system, the width differs.
    Four days for the trip.
    The Berlin Baghdad railway was an important cause for WWI.
    Let us hope that history does not repeat itself in the nuclear era.

    Edward Mead Earle, Ph.D., 'Turkey, The Great Powers and The Bagdad Railway, A study in Imperialism', 1923, 1924, New York

    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 11:29 am GMT
    Another excellent article.

    The U.S. response has been to extend the new Cold War into the financial sector, rewriting the rules of international finance to benefit the United States and its satellites – and to deter countries from seeking t o break free from America's financial free ride .

    Nah, the NY banksters wouldn't dream of doing such a thing; would they?

    skrik , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 11:29 am GMT

    This is not how the Enlightenment was supposed to evolve

    What I said, and beautifully put, the whole article.

    World War I may well have been an important way-point, but the miserable mercantile modus operandi was well established long before.

    An interesting A/B case:

    a) wiki/Anglo-Persian Oil Company "In 1901 William Knox D'Arcy, a millionaire London socialite, negotiated an oil concession with Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar of Persia. He financed this with capital he had made from his shares in the highly profitable Mount Morgan mine in Queensland, Australia. D'Arcy assumed exclusive rights to prospect for oil for 60 years in a vast tract of territory including most of Iran. In exchange the Shah received Ł20,000 (Ł2.0 million today),[1] an equal amount in shares of D'Arcy's company, and a promise of 16% of future profits." Note the 16% = ~1/6, the rest going off-shore.

    b) The Greens in Aus researched the resources sector in Aus, to find that it is 83% 'owned' by off-shore entities. Note that 83% = ~5/6, which goes off-shore. Coincidence?

    Then see what happened when the erstwhile APOC was nationalized; the US/UK perpetrated a coup against the democratically elected Mossadegh, eventual blow-back resulting in the 1979 revolution, basically taking Iran out of 'the West.'

    Note that in Aus, the democratically elected so-called 'leaders' not only allow exactly this sort of economic rape, they actively assist it by, say, crippling the central bank and pleading for FDI = selling our, we the people's interests, out. Those traitor-leaders are reversing 'Enlightenment' provisions, privatising whatever they can and, as Michael Hudson well points out the principles, running Aus into debt and austerity.

    We the people are powerless passengers, and to add insult to injury, the taxpayer-funded AusBC lies to us continually. Ho, hum; just like the mainly US/Z MSM and the BBC do – all corrupt and venal. Bah!

    Now, cue the trolls: "But Russia/China are worse!"

    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 12:04 pm GMT

    The immediate question facing Germany and the rest of Western Europe is how long they will sacrifice their trade and investment opportunities with Russia, Iran and other economies by adhering to U.S.-sponsored sanctions.

    US banking oligarchs will expend the last drop of our blood to prevent a such a linking, just as they were willing to sacrifice our blood and treasure in WW1 and 2, as is alluded to here.:

    Today's global financial crisis can be traced back to World War I and its aftermath.

    Excellent.:

    The principle that needed to be voiced was the right of sovereign nations not to be forced to sacrifice their economic survival on the altar of inter-government and private debt demands Without a global alternative to letting debt dynamics polarize societies and tear economies apart, monetary imperialism by creditor nations is inevitable.

    This is a gem of a summary.:

    The past century's global fracture between creditor and debtor economies has interrupted what seemed to be Europe's democratic destiny to empower governments to override financial and other rentier interests. Instead, the West is following U.S. diplomatic leadership back into the age when these interests ruled governments. This conflict between creditors and democracy, between oligarchy and economic growth (and indeed, survival) will remain the defining issue of our epoch over the next generation, and probably for the remainder of the 21st century.

    Instead, the West is following U.S. diplomatic leadership back into the age when these interests ruled governments. It's important to note that such interests have ruled (owned, actually) imperial Britain for centuries and the US since its inception, and the anti-federalists knew it.

    Here is a revolution as radical as that which separated us from Great Britain.

    You will find all the strength of this country in the hands of your enemies [ ed comment: the money grubbers ]

    Patrick Henry June 5 and 7, 1788―1788-1789 Petersburg, Virginia edition of the Debates and other Proceedings . . . Of the Virginia Convention of 1788

    The Constitution had been laid down under unacceptable auspices; its history had been that of a coup d'état.

    It had been drafted, in the first place, by men representing special economic interests. Four-fifths of them were public creditors, one-third were land speculators, and one-fifth represented interests in shipping, manufacturing, and merchandising. Most of them were lawyers. Not one of them represented the interest of production -- Vilescit origine tali.

    - Albert Jay Nock [Excerpted from chapter 5 of Albert Jay Nock's Jefferson, published in 1926]

    Biff , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 12:39 pm GMT
    The golden rule is one thing. The paper rule is something else. May you live in interesting times.
    Jake , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:09 pm GMT
    "After World War I the U.S. Government deviated from what had been traditional European policy – forgiving military support costs among the victors. U.S. officials demanded payment for the arms shipped to its Allies in the years before America entered the Great War in 1917. The Allies turned to Germany for reparations to pay these debts." The Yank banker, the Yankee Wall Street super rich, set off a process of greed that led to Hitler.

    But they didn't invent anything. They learned from their WASP forebears in the British Empire, whose banking back to Oliver Cromwell had become inextricably entangled with Jewish money and Jewish interests to the point that Jews per capita dominated it even at the height of the British Empire, when simpleton WASPs assume that WASPs truly ran everything, and that WASP power was for the good of even the poorest WASPs.

    Joe Hide , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:12 pm GMT
    To Michael Hudson,
    Great article. Evidence based, factually argued, enjoyably readable.
    Replacements for the dollar dominated financial system are well into development. Digital dollars, credit cards, paypal, stock and currency exchange online platforms, and perhaps most intriguing The exponential rise of Bitcoin and similar crypto-currencies.

    The internet is also exponentially exposing the screwing we peasants have been getting by the psychopath, narcissistic, hedonistic, predatory lenders and controllers. Next comes the widespread, easily usable, and inexpensive cell phone apps, social media exposures, alternative websites (like Unz.com), and other technologies that will quickly identify every lying, evil, jerk so they can be neutrilized / avoided

    The Alarmist , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:13 pm GMT

    "Textbook trade theory depicts trade and investment as helping poorer countries catch up, compelling them to survive by becoming more democratic to overcome their vested interests and oligarchies along the lines pioneered by European and North American industrial economies."

    I must be old; the economic textbooks I had did explain the benefits of freer trade among nations using Ricardo and Trade Indifference Curves, but didn't prescribe any one political system being fostered by or even necessary for the benefits of international trade to be reaped.

    Astuteobservor II , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:26 pm GMT
    to be honest, this way of running things only need to last for 10-20 more years before automation will replace 800 million jobs. then we will have a few trillionaire overlords unless true AI comes online. by that point nothing matters as we will become zoo animals.
    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:36 pm GMT
    @The Alarmist

    What the IMF and the Western Banking Cartel do to third world countries is akin to a pusher hopping up addicts on debt and then taking it away while stripping them of their assets, pretty much hurting only the people of the third world country; certainly not the WBC, and almost certainly not the criminal elite who took the deal.

    That's true and the criminals do similar asset stripping to their own as well, through various means.

    It's always the big criminals against the rest of us.

    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:48 pm GMT
    @jilles dykstra

    The Berlin Baghdad railway was an important cause for WWI.

    Bingo. Stopping it was a huge factor. There was no way the banksters of the world were going to let that go forward, nor were they going to let Germany and Russia link up in any other ways. They certainly were not about to allow any threats to the Suez Canal nor any chance to let the oil fields slip from their control either.

    The wars were also instigated to prevent either Germany or Russia having control of, and free access to warm water ports and the wars also were an excuse to steal vast amounts of wealth from both Germany and Russia through various means.

    All pious and pompous pretexts aside, economics was the motive for (the) war (s), and the issues are not settled to this day. I.e., it's the same class of monstrously insatiable criminals who want everything for themselves who're causing the major troubles of the day.

    Unfortunately, as long as we have SoB's who're eager to sacrifice our blood and treasure for their benfit, things will never change.

    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 2:51 pm GMT

    The golden rule is one thing. The paper rule is something else.

    May you live in interesting times.

    The golden rule is for dreamers, unfortunately. Those who control paper money rule, and your wish has been granted; we live in times that are both interesting and fascinating, but are nevertheless the same old thing. Only the particular particulars have changed.

    Michael Kenny , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 3:01 pm GMT
    Essentially, the anti-EU and anti-euro line that Professor Hudson has being pushing for years, which has now morphed into a pro-Putin line as the anti-EU faction in the US have sought to use Putin as a "useful idiot" to destroy the EU. Since nobody in Europe reads these articles, Ii doesn't really matter and I certainly don't see any EU leader following the advice of someone who has never concealed his hostility to the EU's very existence: note the use of the racist slur "PIIGS" to refer to certain EU Member States. Thus, Professor Hudson is simply pushing the "let Putin win in Ukraine" line dressed up in fine-sounding economic jargon.
    jacques sheete , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 3:54 pm GMT

    Since nobody in Europe reads these articles, Ii doesn't really matter

    None of it rally matters anyway, no matter how valid. To paraphrase Thucydides, the money grubbers do what they want and the rest of us are forced to suck it up and limp along.

    and I certainly don't see any EU leader following the advice

    I doubt that that's Hudson's intent in writing the article. I see it as his attempt to explain the situation to those of us who care about them even though our concern is pretty much useless.

    I do thank him for taking the time to pen this stuff which I consider worthwhile and high quality.

    Anonymous , Disclaimer Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 4:08 pm GMT
    That sounds good but social media is the weapon of choice in the EU too. Lot's of kids know and love Hudson. Any half capable writer who empathetically explains why you're getting fucked is going to have some followers. Watering, nutrition, weeding. Before too long you'll be on the Eurail to your destination.
    Wally , Website Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 4:23 pm GMT
    @Jake

    said: "The Yank banker, the Yankee Wall Street super rich, set off a process of greed that led to Hitler." If true, so what? That's a classic example of 'garbage in, garbage out'. http://www.codoh.com

    nickels , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 4:48 pm GMT

    This is not how the Enlightenment was supposed to evolve

    In fact, this is exactly how it was supposed to work. The wave of liberal democracies was precisely to overturn the monarchies, which were the last bulwark protecting the people from the full tyranny of the financiers, who were, by nature, one-world internationalists.

    William McAdoo , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 5:08 pm GMT
    The real problem with this is that any form of monetary arrangement involves an implied trusteeship, with obligations on, as well as benefits for, the trustee. The US is so abusing its trusteeship through the continual use of an irresponsible sanctions regime that it risks a good portion of the world economy abandoning its system for someone else's, which may be perceived to be run more responsibility. The disaster scenario would be the US having therefore in the future to access that other system to purchase oil or minerals, and having that system do to us what we previously did to them -- sanction us out.

    The proper use by the US of its controlled system thus should be a defensive one -- mainly to act so fairly to all players that it, not someone else, remains in control of the dominant worldwide exchange system. This sensible course of conduct, unfortunately, is not being pursued by the US.

    joe webb , Next New Comment November 30, 2017 at 10:11 pm GMT
    there is fuzzy, and then there is very fuzzy, and then there is the fuzziness compounded many-fold. The latter is this article.

    Here from wiki: "

    " Marx believed that capitalism was inherently built upon practices of usury and thus inevitably leading to the separation of society into two classes: one composed of those who produce value and the other, which feeds upon the first one. In "Theories of Surplus Value" (written 1862-1863), he states " that interest (in contrast to industrial profit) and rent (that is the form of landed property created by capitalist production itself) are superfetations (i.e., excessive accumulations) which are not essential to capitalist production and of which it can rid itself."

    Wiki goes on to identify "rentier" as used by Marx, to be the same thing as "capitalists." What the above quotation says is that capitalism CAN rid itself of genuine rent capital. First, the feudal rents that were extracted by landowners were NOT part of a free market system. Serfdom was only one part of unfree conditions. A general condition of anarchy in rules and laws by petty principalities characteristic of feudalism, both contained commerce and human beings. There was no freedom, political or economic.

    The conflation (collapsing) of rents and interest is a Marxist error which expands into complete nonsense when a competitive economy has replaced feudal conditions. ON top of that, profits from a business, firm, or industrial enterprise are NOT rents.

    Any marxist is a fool to pretend otherwise, and is just another ideological (False consciousness ) fanatic.

    ... ... ...

    Wally, Next New Comment December 1, 2017 at 1:49 am GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Indeed, Putin should be praised & supported. But where is the proof that 'Russia & Trump colluded to get Trump elected'? You also ignore the overwhelming Crimean support for returning to Russia. And you won't like this at all: Trump Declares "National Day for the Victims of Communism." https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/11/07/national-day-victims-communism Hence, the Liars of the scamming "Holocau$t Industry" go crazy: https://www.salon.com/2017/11/07/trumps-national-day-for-the-victims-of-communism-is-opposite-of-holocaust-statement/

    ThreeCranes , December 1, 2017 at 3:34 am GMT
    @jilles dykstra

    Germany loans money back to the poorer nations who buy her exports just as China loans money to the United States (they purchase roughly a third of our Treasury bonds) so that Americans can continue to buy Chinese manufactured goods.

    The role to be played by the USA in the "new world order" is that of being the farmer to the world. The meticulous Asians will make stuff.

    The problem with this is that it is based on 19th century notions of manufacturing. Technique today is vastly more complicated than it was in the 1820′s and a nation must do everything in its power to protect and nurture its manufacturing and scientific excellence. In the United States we have been giving this away to our competitors. We educate their children at our taxpayer's expense and they take the knowledge gained back to their native countries where, with state subsidies, they build factories that put Americans out of work. We fall further and further behind.

    [Nov 28, 2017] The Duplicitous Superpower by Ted Galen Carpenter

    Highly recommended!
    At some point quantity of duplicity turns into quality. and affect international relations. Economic decline can speed this process up. The US elite has way too easy life since 1991. And that destroyed the tiny patina of self-restraint that it has during Cold War with negative (hugely negative) consequences first of all for the US population. Empire building is a costly project even if it supported by the dominance of neoliberal ideology and technological advances in computers and telecommunication. . The idea of "full spectrum dominance" was a disaster. But the realization of this came too late and at huge cost for the world and for the US population. Russia decimated its own elite twice in the last century. In might be the time for the USA to follow the Russia example and do it once in XXI century. If we thing about Hillary Clinton Jon McCain, Joe Biden, Niki Haley, as member of the US elite it is clear that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark).
    Notable quotes:
    "... How Washington's chronic deceit -- especially towards Russia -- has sabotaged U.S. foreign policy. ..."
    "... Unfortunately, North Korean leaders have abundant reasons to be wary of such U.S. enticements. Trump's transparent attempt to renege on Washington's commitment to the deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- which the United States and other major powers signed in 2015 to curb Tehran's nuclear program -- certainly does not increase Pyongyang's incentive to sign a similar agreement. His decision to decertify Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, even when the United Nations confirms that Tehran is adhering to its obligations, appears more than a little disingenuous. ..."
    "... There seems to be no limit to Washington's desire to crowd Russia. NATO has even added the Baltic republics, which had been part of the Soviet Union itself. In early 2008, President George W. Bush unsuccessfully tried to admit Georgia and Ukraine, which would have engineered yet another alliance move eastward. By that time, Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders were beyond furious. ..."
    "... The timing of Bush's attempted ploy could scarcely have been worse. It came on the heels of Russia's resentment at another example of U.S. duplicity. In 1999, Moscow had reluctantly accepted a UN mandate to cover NATO's military intervention against Serbia, a long-standing Russian client. The alliance airstrikes and subsequent moves to detach and occupy Serbia's restless province of Kosovo for the ostensible reason of protecting innocent civilians from atrocities was the same "humanitarian" justification that the West would use subsequently in Libya. ..."
    "... Nine years after the initial Kosovo intervention, the United States adopted an evasive policy move, showing utter contempt for Russia's wishes and interests in the process. Kosovo wanted to declare its formal independence from Serbia, but it was clear that such a move would face a certain Russian (and probable Chinese) veto in the UN Security Council. Washington and an ad-hoc coalition of European Union countries brazenly bypassed the Council and approved Pristina's independence declaration. It was an extremely controversial move. Not even all EU members were on board with the policy, since some of them (e.g., Spain) had secessionist problems of their own. ..."
    "... Russia's leaders protested vehemently and warned that the West's unauthorized action established a dangerous, destabilizing international precedent. Washington rebuffed their complaints, arguing that the Kosovo situation was unique. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns made that point explicitly in a February 2008 State Department briefing. Both the illogic and the hubris of that position were breathtaking. ..."
    "... This -- in the context of the long history of US and EU deceit and duplicity in their dealings with Russia is why Russia is supporting Catalan separatism (e.g. RT en Espańol's constant attacks on Spain and promotion of the separatists). The US and the EU effectively gave Russia permission to do this back in the 1990s. We set a precedent for their actions in Catalonia -- and, more famously, in Ukraine. ..."
    "... One could scarcely ask for a better summary of why the Cold War seems, sadly, to be reheating as well as why Democratic attempts to blame it on Russian meddling are a equally sad evasion of their share of bipartisan responsibility for creating this mess. Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer for, "the courage to change the things I can," is painfully appropriate. ..."
    "... "No one forced any eastern European country to join NATO and the EU – decisions that indicate these countries feared a Russian revival after the collapse of the USSR. Russia always believed that these countries were in their near abroad or backyard." ..."
    "... Putin is a rationally calculating man. He has made his strategic objectives well known. They are economic. He sees Russia as the great linchpin of the pan-Eurasian One Belt/One Road (OB/OR) initiative proposed by China as well as the AIIB. In that construct, Europe and East Asia are Russia's customers and bilateral trading partners. Military conquest would wreck that vision and Putin knows it. ..."
    "... He's been remarkably restrained when egged on by Big Mouth Nikki Haley, Mad Dog Mattis or that other Pentagon nutcase Phillip Breedlove (former Supreme Commander of NATO) who have gone out of their way to demonize Russia. Unfortunately, with those Pentagon hacks whispering in Trump's ear, too much war-mongering is never enough. ..."
    "... U.S. foreign policy is an unmitigated disaster. The War Machine Hammer wrecks everything that it touches while sending the befuddled taxpayers the bill. ..."
    "... When you meet individual Americans, they are frequently so nice and level-headed that you are perplexed trying to imagine where their leaders come from. And while we're on that subject, America does not actually have a foreign policy, as such. Its foreign policy is to bend every other living soul on the planet to the service of America. ..."
    Nov 28, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    How Washington's chronic deceit -- especially towards Russia -- has sabotaged U.S. foreign policy.

    For any country, the foundation of successful diplomacy is a reputation for credibility and reliability. Governments are wary of concluding agreements with a negotiating partner that violates existing commitments and has a record of duplicity. Recent U.S. administrations have ignored that principle, and their actions have backfired majorly, damaging American foreign policy in the process.

    The consequences of previous deceit are most evident in the ongoing effort to achieve a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis. During his recent trip to East Asia, President Trump urged Kim Jong-un's regime to "come to the negotiating table" and "do the right thing" -- relinquish the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Presumably, that concession would lead to a lifting (or at least an easing) of international economic sanctions and a more normal relationship between Pyongyang and the international community.

    Unfortunately, North Korean leaders have abundant reasons to be wary of such U.S. enticements. Trump's transparent attempt to renege on Washington's commitment to the deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- which the United States and other major powers signed in 2015 to curb Tehran's nuclear program -- certainly does not increase Pyongyang's incentive to sign a similar agreement. His decision to decertify Iran's compliance with the JCPOA, even when the United Nations confirms that Tehran is adhering to its obligations, appears more than a little disingenuous.

    North Korea is likely focused on another incident that raises even greater doubts about U.S. credibility. Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi capitulated on the nuclear issue in December of 2003, abandoning his country's nuclear program and reiterating a commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In exchange, the United States and its allies lifted economic sanctions and welcomed Libya back into the community of respectable nations. Barely seven years later, though, Washington and its NATO partners double-crossed Qaddafi, launching airstrikes and cruise missile attacks to assist rebels in their campaign to overthrow the Libyan strongman. North Korea and other powers took notice of Qaddafi's fate, making the already difficult task of getting a de-nuclearization agreement with Pyongyang nearly impossible.

    The Libya intervention sullied America's reputation in another way. Washington and its NATO allies prevailed on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution endorsing a military intervention to protect innocent civilians. Russia and China refrained from vetoing that resolution after Washington's assurances that military action would be limited in scope and solely for humanitarian purposes. Once the assault began, it quickly became evident that the resolution was merely a fig leaf for another U.S.-led regime-change war.

    Beijing, and especially Moscow, understandably felt duped. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates succinctly described Russia's reaction, both short-term and long-term:

    The Russians later firmly believed they had been deceived on Libya. They had been persuaded to abstain at the UN on the grounds that the resolution provided for a humanitarian mission to prevent the slaughter of civilians. Yet as the list of bombing targets steadily grew, it became obvious that very few targets were off-limits, and that NATO was intent on getting rid of Qaddafi. Convinced they had been tricked, the Russians would subsequently block any such future resolutions, including against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

    The Libya episode was hardly the first time the Russians concluded that U.S. leaders had cynically misled them . Moscow asserts that when East Germany unraveled in 1990, both U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and West German Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher offered verbal assurances that, if Russia accepted a unified Germany within NATO, the alliance would not expand beyond Germany's eastern border. The official U.S. position that there was nothing in writing affirming such a limitation is correct -- and the clarity, extent, and duration of any verbal commitment to refrain from enlargement are certainly matters of intense controversy . But invoking a "you didn't get it in writing" dodge does not inspire another government's trust.

    There seems to be no limit to Washington's desire to crowd Russia. NATO has even added the Baltic republics, which had been part of the Soviet Union itself. In early 2008, President George W. Bush unsuccessfully tried to admit Georgia and Ukraine, which would have engineered yet another alliance move eastward. By that time, Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders were beyond furious.

    The timing of Bush's attempted ploy could scarcely have been worse. It came on the heels of Russia's resentment at another example of U.S. duplicity. In 1999, Moscow had reluctantly accepted a UN mandate to cover NATO's military intervention against Serbia, a long-standing Russian client. The alliance airstrikes and subsequent moves to detach and occupy Serbia's restless province of Kosovo for the ostensible reason of protecting innocent civilians from atrocities was the same "humanitarian" justification that the West would use subsequently in Libya.

    Nine years after the initial Kosovo intervention, the United States adopted an evasive policy move, showing utter contempt for Russia's wishes and interests in the process. Kosovo wanted to declare its formal independence from Serbia, but it was clear that such a move would face a certain Russian (and probable Chinese) veto in the UN Security Council. Washington and an ad-hoc coalition of European Union countries brazenly bypassed the Council and approved Pristina's independence declaration. It was an extremely controversial move. Not even all EU members were on board with the policy, since some of them (e.g., Spain) had secessionist problems of their own.

    Russia's leaders protested vehemently and warned that the West's unauthorized action established a dangerous, destabilizing international precedent. Washington rebuffed their complaints, arguing that the Kosovo situation was unique. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns made that point explicitly in a February 2008 State Department briefing. Both the illogic and the hubris of that position were breathtaking.

    It is painful for any American to admit that the United States has acquired a well-deserved reputation for duplicity in its foreign policy. But the evidence for that proposition is quite substantial. Indeed, disingenuous U.S. behavior regarding NATO expansion and the resolution of Kosovo's political status may be the single most important factor for the poisoned bilateral relationship with Moscow. The U.S. track record of duplicity and betrayal is one reason why prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomacy are so bleak.

    Actions have consequences, and Washington's reputation for disingenuous behavior has complicated America's own foreign policy objectives. This is a textbook example of a great power shooting itself in the foot.

    Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, is the author of 10 books, the contributing editor of 10 books, and the author of more than 700 articles and policy studies on international affairs.

    Magdi , says: November 28, 2017 at 5:46 am

    you are dead ON! I have been saying this since IRAQ
    fiasco (not one Iraqi onboard on 9/11) we should have invaded egypt and saudi arabia. how the foolish american public(sheep) just buys the american propaganda is beyond me.. don't blame the Russians one spittle!!
    Herbert Heebert , says: November 28, 2017 at 7:47 am
    A few points:

    1. I think North Korea might also be looking at the example of Ukraine, and Russia's clear violation of the Budapest Memorandum.

    2. It's silly to put so much weight on Baker's verbal assurance re: NATO expansion.

    3. I would suggest Mr. Carpenter make a list of Russia's betrayals. But I have the impression he is not interested.

    Viriato , says: November 28, 2017 at 9:25 am
    Excellent piece. The US really has destroyed its credibility over the years.

    This points Ted Galen Carpenter makes in this piece go a long way toward explaining Russia's destabilizing behavior in recent years.

    One point in particular jumped out at me:

    "Kosovo wanted to declare its formal independence from Serbia, but it was clear that such a move would face a certain Russian (and probable Chinese) veto in the UN Security Council. Washington and an ad-hoc coalition of European Union countries brazenly bypassed the Council and approved Pristina's independence declaration. It was an extremely controversial move. Not even all EU members were on board with the policy, since some of them (e.g., Spain) had secessionist problems of their own. Russia's leaders protested vehemently and warned that the West's unauthorized action established a dangerous, destabilizing international precedent. Washington rebuffed their complaints, arguing that the Kosovo situation was unique."

    This -- in the context of the long history of US and EU deceit and duplicity in their dealings with Russia is why Russia is supporting Catalan separatism (e.g. RT en Espańol's constant attacks on Spain and promotion of the separatists). The US and the EU effectively gave Russia permission to do this back in the 1990s. We set a precedent for their actions in Catalonia -- and, more famously, in Ukraine.

    This

    craigsummers , says: November 28, 2017 at 10:09 am
    Mr. Carpenter

    You have made a reasonable case that the US and Europe have not always been reliable, but the expansion of NATO is not one of them. No one forced any eastern European country to join NATO and the EU – decisions that indicate these countries feared a Russian revival after the collapse of the USSR. Russia always believed that these countries were in their near abroad or backyard.

    The idea of a "sphere of influence" is a cold war relic which Russia invoked with the Medvedev Doctrine in 2008. This is currently on display in Ukraine. Russia is aggressively denying Ukraine their sovereignty. Who could possibly blame former Soviet Block countries for hightailing it to NATO during a lull in Russian aggression?

    DOD , says: November 28, 2017 at 10:23 am
    One could scarcely ask for a better summary of why the Cold War seems, sadly, to be reheating as well as why Democratic attempts to blame it on Russian meddling are a equally sad evasion of their share of bipartisan responsibility for creating this mess. Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer for, "the courage to change the things I can," is painfully appropriate.
    Michael Kenny , says: November 28, 2017 at 12:12 pm
    The whole weakness of the author's argument is a classic American one: very few Americans seem to be able to get their heads around the fact that the Soviet Union ceased to exist 26 years ago! They are still totally locked into their cold war mentality. He thus unquestioningly accepts Putin's pre-1789 "sphere of influence" theory in which there are "superior" and "inferior" races, with only the superior races being entitled to have a sovereign state and the inferior races being forced to submit to being ruled by foreigners. Mr Carpenter really needs to put his cold war mentality aside and come into the 21st century!

    Most seriously of all, Mr Carpenter offers no solution for improving relations between the US and Russia. Saying that past US actions were wrong, even if true, says nothing about the present and offers nothing for the future. At best, Mr Carpenter's article is empty moralising.

    And the unspoken, but perfectly obvious, subtext, namely that the US should "atone for its sins" by capitulating to Putin, is morally reprehensible and politically unrealistic. Since, by Mr Carpenter's own account, the problem is caused by US wrongdoing, isn't it for the US to put things right (for example, by getting Putin out of Ukraine) and not simply make a mess in someone else's country and then run for home with its tail between its legs? Who gave Americans the right to give away other people's countries?

    Will Harrington , says: November 28, 2017 at 12:58 pm
    Herbert Heevert

    The one problem with your argument if, you are an american as I am, is that Russia is not acting in our names. If the US government, supposedly a government of, by, and for the people breaks its word, then you and I are foresworn oathbreakers as well because the government is (theoretically, at least) acting on OUR authority.

    Will Harrington , says: November 28, 2017 at 1:15 pm
    Craig Summers

    Really?! "Russia always believed that these countries were in their near abroad or backyard."

    I think that if you look at a map or a globe, you will find that this is not a belief but a fact. How you could overlook this, I don't know.

    "The idea of a "sphere of influence" is a cold war relic "

    If you are going to try and use history to influence opinion, it is best to check your facts. This is a very old concept.What do you think the Great Game between Imperial Russia and the British Empire in Central Asia was about? For that matter, what we call the Byzantine Commonwealth was a clearly attempt by the Romaoi to establish a political, cultural, and religious sphere of influence to support the power of the Empire, much as the United States has been doing over the past several decades.

    NoldorElf , says: November 28, 2017 at 1:31 pm
    You could make the case that Iraq too in 2003 is another reason why the Russians and the North Koreans distrust the US.

    At this point, it is fairly certain that the Bush Administration knew that Saddam was not building nuclear weapons of mass destruction, which is what Bush strongly implied in his ramp up to the war.

    One other takeaway that the North Koreans mag have from the 2003 Iraq invasion is that the US will lie any way to get what it wants.

    Not saying that Russia or North Korea are perfect. Far from it. But the US needs to take a hard look in the mirror.

    Jeeves , says: November 28, 2017 at 1:42 pm
    What Craigsummers said.

    And, Mr. Carpenter, when you have time off from your job as Russian apologist, learn the meaning of "verbal." It's not a synonym for "oral."

    SteveM , says: November 28, 2017 at 1:49 pm
    Re: craigsummers, "No one forced any eastern European country to join NATO and the EU – decisions that indicate these countries feared a Russian revival after the collapse of the USSR. Russia always believed that these countries were in their near abroad or backyard."

    Except both here and abroad, the Global Cop Elites in Washington shape the strategy space through propaganda, fear-mongering and subversion. Moreover, the Eastern European countries are happy to join NATO when it's the American taxpayers who foot a large percentage of the bill.

    Standard U.S. MO: create the threat, inflate the threat, send in the War Machine at massive cost to sustain the threat.

    Rather than being broadened, NATO should have been ratcheted back after the fall of the Soviet Union, and the U.S. military presence in Europe massively reduced. Then normalized relations between Europe and Russia would have been designed and developed by Europe and Russia. Not the 800 pound Gorilla Global Cop that is good at little more than breaking things. (And perversely, after flushing TRILLIONS of tax dollars down the toilet, duping Americans to wildly applaud the "Warrior-Heroes" for a job well done.)

    b. , says: November 28, 2017 at 2:33 pm
    The 2008 war between Georgia and Russia was, per observers at the time, in Russian word and thought directly linked to the Balkan 's precedent.

    The subtext here – of nation states, sovereignty, separatism and secessionist movements – is even more relevant with respect to US-China relationships. Since WW2 and that brief, transient monopoly on nuclear weapons, US foreign policy has eroded the Peace of Westphalia while attempting to erect an "international order" of convenience on top if it.

    Both China and Russia know that nothing will stop the expansionism of US "national interests". In response to the doctrinal aspirations of the Soviets, the US has committed itself to an ideology that is just a greedy and relentless. In retrospect, it is hard to tell how many decades ago the Cold War stopped being about opposition to Soviet ideology, and instead became about "projecting" – in every sense of the word – an equally globalist US ideology.

    We are the redcoats now. Now wonder the neocons and neolibs are shouting "Russia!" at every opportunity.

    Janek , says: November 28, 2017 at 2:45 pm
    I am amazed how many masochistic conservatives are in USA conservative circles especially in the CATO institute. Mr. T. G. Carpenter, as is clear from not only this and other articles, is a staunch defender of Yalta and proponent of Yalta 2 after the Cold War ended. As far as I remember Libya was the hatchet job of the Europeans especially the French and British. B. Obama at first didn't want to attack Libya but gave in after lobbying by the French, British and the neoliberal/neo-conservative lobby and supporters of the Arab Spring in the USA. America lost credibility after and only since the conservatives neoliberals and neocons manipulated USA and the West's foreign politics for thirty plus years. USA is still a democratic country so it is easy to blame everything on the US. In today's Putin's Russia similar critics of the Russian politics wouldn't be so "easy".

    The Central Europe doesn't want Russia's sphere of influence precisely because of centuries of Russian occupation and atrocities in there especially after WW2, brutal and bloody invasion of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, the Cuban Crisis, Afghanistan, Chechnya etc. Now you have infiltration by Russia of the American electoral process and political system and some conservatives still can't connect the dots and see what is going on. I wonder why the western conservatives and US in particular are such great supporters of Russia. If Russia should be allowed to keep her sphere of influence after the Cold War then what was the reason to fight the Cold War in the first place. Wouldn't it be easier to surrender to Russia right after WW2.

    SteveM , says: November 28, 2017 at 2:45 pm
    One other observation about Russia that should be made but isn't is that the Russia-phobes can't point to an actual motive for Russian military aggression. There is no "Putin Plan" for conquest and domination by Russia like in Das Kapital or Hitler's Mein Kampf . What strategic value would Russia see from overrunning Poland and then having to perpetually suppress 35 million resistors? Or retaking the Baltic states that have only minority ethnic Russian populations?

    Putin is a rationally calculating man. He has made his strategic objectives well known. They are economic. He sees Russia as the great linchpin of the pan-Eurasian One Belt/One Road (OB/OR) initiative proposed by China as well as the AIIB. In that construct, Europe and East Asia are Russia's customers and bilateral trading partners. Military conquest would wreck that vision and Putin knows it.

    In the gangster movies, a mob boss often says that he hates bloodshed because it's bad for business. That's Putin. He's been remarkably restrained when egged on by Big Mouth Nikki Haley, Mad Dog Mattis or that other Pentagon nutcase Phillip Breedlove (former Supreme Commander of NATO) who have gone out of their way to demonize Russia. Unfortunately, with those Pentagon hacks whispering in Trump's ear, too much war-mongering is never enough.

    U.S. foreign policy is an unmitigated disaster. The War Machine Hammer wrecks everything that it touches while sending the befuddled taxpayers the bill.

    Mark , says: November 28, 2017 at 3:00 pm
    "And, Mr. Carpenter, when you have time off from your job as Russian apologist, learn the meaning of "verbal." It's not a synonym for "oral."

    I imagine you thought you were being funny; and you were, just not in the way you foresaw. In fact, verbal is a synonym for oral; to wit, "spoken rather than written; oral. "a verbal agreement". Synonyms: oral, spoken, stated, said, verbalized, expressed."

    Of course anyone who attempts to portray the United States as duplicitous and sneaky (those are synonyms!)is immediately branded a "Russian apologist". As if there are certain countries which automatically have no rights, and can be assumed to be lying every time they speak. Except they're not, and the verbal agreement that NATO would not advance further east in exchange for Russian cooperation has been acknowledged by western principals who were present.

    As SteveM implies, NATO's reason for being evaporated with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, and was dead as a dodo with the breakup of the Soviet Union. Everything since has been a rationalization for keeping it going, including regular demonizations of imaginary enemies until they become real enemies. You can't just 'join NATO' because it's the in-crowd, you know. No, there are actually criteria, one of which is the premise that your acceptance materially enhances the security of the alliance. Pretty comical imagining Montenegro in that context, isn't it?

    When you meet individual Americans, they are frequently so nice and level-headed that you are perplexed trying to imagine where their leaders come from. And while we're on that subject, America does not actually have a foreign policy, as such. Its foreign policy is to bend every other living soul on the planet to the service of America.

    [Nov 28, 2017] Trump Wants Peace With Erdogan - The Military Wants To Sabotage It

    Notable quotes:
    "... "President Trump instructed [his generals] in a very open way that the YPG will no longer be given weapons. He openly said that this absurdity should have ended much earlier ," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters after the phone call. ..."
    "... The YPG is the Syrian sister organization of the Turkish-Kurdish terror group PKK. Some weapons the U.S. had delivered to the YPK in Syria to fight the Islamic State have been recovered from PKK fighters in Turkey who were out to kill Turkish security personal. Despite that, supply for the YPG continued. In total over 3,500 truckloads were provided to it by the U.S. military. Only recently the YPK received some 120 armored Humvees , mine clearance vehicles and other equipment. ..."
    "... The generals in the White House and other parts of the administration were caught flat-footed by the promise Trump has made. The Washington Post writes : "Initially, the administration's national security team appeared surprised by the Turks' announcement and uncertain what to say about it. The State Department referred questions to the White House, and hours passed with no confirmation from the National Security Council." ..."
    "... The U.S. military uses the YPG as proxy power in Syria to justify and support its occupation of north-east Syria, The intent of the occupation is , for now, to press the Syrian government into agreeing to a U.S. controlled "regime change": ..."
    "... When in 2014 the U.S. started to use Kurds in Syria as its foot-soldiers, it put the YPG under the mantle of the so called Syrian Democratic Forces and paid some Syrian Arabs to join and keep up the subterfuge. This helped to counter the Turkish argument that the U.S. was arming and supporting terrorists. But in May 2017 the U.S. announced to arm the YPG directly without the cover of the SDF. The alleged purpose was to eliminate the Islamic State from the city of Raqqa. ..."
    "... A spokesperson of the SDF, the ethnic Turkman Talaf Silo, recently defected and went over to the Turkish side. The Turkish government is certainly well informed about the SDF and knows that its political and command structure is dominated by the YPK. The whole concept is a sham. ..."
    "... Sometimes it's hard to see if Trump actually believed what he was saying about foreign policy on the campaign trail -- but either way it doesn't matter much as he seems incapable of navigating the labyrinth of the Deep State even if he had in independent thought in his head. I don't expect US weapons to stop making their way into Kurdish hands as they try to extend their mini-Israel-with-oil foothold in Syria. But it would certainly be a welcome sight if the US left Syria alone for once! ..."
    "... Trump personally sent General Flynn to recruit back Erdogan and the Turks right before the election. Flynn wrote his now infamous editorial "Our ally Turkey is in crisis and needs our support" and published in "The Hill". http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/305021-our-ally-turkey-is-in-crisis-and-needs-our-support ..."
    "... But if you know the role he played for Trump in the campaign and then the post-election role as soon to be NSC advisor, you will see that Trump was sending him to bring Turkey back into the fold after the coup attempt by CIA, Gulen and Turkey's AF and US State Dept failed. ..."
    "... Trump wanted to prevent the Turkish Stream. It was a huge rival to his LNG strategy. All these are why Flynn did what he did for Trump. Now Trump has to battle CIA and State, as well as the CENTCOM-Israeli plans for insurgencies in Syria. It's not just the Kurd issue or the other needs of NATO to hold the bases in Turkey. It's the whole southwest containment of Russian gas and Russian naval power, and the reality of sharing the Mediterranean as well as MENA with the Bear. ..."
    "... Furthermore, I've always been suspicious of Erdogan's 'turn' toward Russia. Many have suspected that the attempted coup was staged by Erdogan (with CIA help?) so as to enable Erdogan to remain in office. IMO Erdogan joined the 'Assad must go!' effort not just because he benefited from the oil trade but because he leans toward Sunnis (Surely he was aware of the thinking that: the road to Tehran runs through Damascus .) ..."
    Nov 28, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    President Trump is attempting to calm down the U.S. conflict with Turkey . The military junta in the White House has different plans. It now attempts to circumvent the decision the president communicated to his Turkish counterpart. The result will be more Turkish-U.S. acrimony.

    Yesterday the Turkish foreign minister surprisingly announced a phone call President Trump had held with President Erdogan of Turkey.

    United States President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke on the phone on Nov. 24 only days after a Russia-Turkey-Iran summit on Syria, with Ankara saying that Washington has pledged not to send weapons to the People's Protection Units (YPG) any more .

    "President Trump instructed [his generals] in a very open way that the YPG will no longer be given weapons. He openly said that this absurdity should have ended much earlier ," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters after the phone call.

    Trump had announced the call:

    Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

    Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East. I will get it all done, but what a mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the first place!
    12:04 PM - 24 Nov 2017

    During the phone call Trump must have escaped his minders for a moment and promptly tried to make, as announced, peace with Erdogan. The issue of arming the YPG is really difficult for Turkey to swallow. Ending that would probably make up for the recent NATO blunder of presenting the founder of modern Turkey Kemal Atatürk and Erdogan himself as enemies.

    The YPG is the Syrian sister organization of the Turkish-Kurdish terror group PKK. Some weapons the U.S. had delivered to the YPK in Syria to fight the Islamic State have been recovered from PKK fighters in Turkey who were out to kill Turkish security personal. Despite that, supply for the YPG continued. In total over 3,500 truckloads were provided to it by the U.S. military. Only recently the YPK received some 120 armored Humvees , mine clearance vehicles and other equipment.

    The generals in the White House and other parts of the administration were caught flat-footed by the promise Trump has made. The Washington Post writes : "Initially, the administration's national security team appeared surprised by the Turks' announcement and uncertain what to say about it. The State Department referred questions to the White House, and hours passed with no confirmation from the National Security Council."

    The White House finally released what the Associated Press called :

    a cryptic statement about the phone call that said Trump had informed the Turk of "pending adjustments to the military support provided to our partners on the ground in Syria."

    Neither a read-out of the call nor the statement AP refers to are currently available on the White House website.

    The U.S. military uses the YPG as proxy power in Syria to justify and support its occupation of north-east Syria, The intent of the occupation is , for now, to press the Syrian government into agreeing to a U.S. controlled "regime change":

    U.S. officials have said they plan to keep American troops in northern Syria -- and continue working with Kurdish fighters -- to pressure Assad to make concessions during peace talks brokered by the United Nations in Geneva, stalemated for three years now. "We're not going to just walk away right now," Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week.

    To solidify its position the U.S. needs to further build up and strengthen its YPG mercenary forces.

    When in 2014 the U.S. started to use Kurds in Syria as its foot-soldiers, it put the YPG under the mantle of the so called Syrian Democratic Forces and paid some Syrian Arabs to join and keep up the subterfuge. This helped to counter the Turkish argument that the U.S. was arming and supporting terrorists. But in May 2017 the U.S. announced to arm the YPG directly without the cover of the SDF. The alleged purpose was to eliminate the Islamic State from the city of Raqqa.

    The YPG had been unwilling to fight for the Arab city unless the U.S. would provide it with more money, military supplies and support. All were provided. The U.S. special forces, who control the YPG fighters, directed an immense amount of aerial and artillery ammunition against the city. Any potential enemy position was destroyed by large ammunition and intense bombing before the YPG infantry proceeded. In the end few YPG fighters died in the fight. The Islamic State was let go or eliminated from the city but so was the city of Raqqa . The intensity of the bombardment of the medium size city was at times ten times greater than the bombing in all of Afghanistan. Airwars reported :

    Since June, an estimated 20,000 munitions were fired in support of Coalition operations at Raqqa . Images captured by journalists in the final days of the assault show a city in ruins

    Several thousand civilians were killed in the indiscriminate onslaught.

    The Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is defeated. It no longer holds any ground. There is no longer any justification to further arm and supply the YPG or the dummy organization SDF.

    But the generals want to continue to do so to further their larger plans. They are laying grounds to circumvent their president's promise. The Wall Street Journal seems to be the only outlet to pick up on the subterfuge:

    President Donald Trump's administration is preparing to stop sending weapons directly to Kurdish militants battling Islamic State in Syria, dealing a political blow to the U.S.'s most reliable ally in the civil war, officials said Friday.

    ...

    The Turkish announcement came as a surprise in Washington, where military and political officials in Mr. Trump's administration appeared to be caught off-guard. U.S. military officials said they had received no new guidance about supplying weapons to the Kurdish forces. But they said there were no immediate plans to deliver any new weapons to the group. And the U.S. can continue to provide the Kurdish forces with arms via the umbrella Syrian militant coalition

    The "military officials" talking to the WSJ have found a way to negate Trump's promise. A spokesperson of the SDF, the ethnic Turkman Talaf Silo, recently defected and went over to the Turkish side. The Turkish government is certainly well informed about the SDF and knows that its political and command structure is dominated by the YPK. The whole concept is a sham.

    But the U.S. needs the YPG to keep control of north-east Syria. It has to continue to provide whatever the YPG demands, or it will have to give up its larger scheme against Syria.

    The Turkish government will soon find out that the U.S. again tried to pull wool over its eyes. Erdogan will be furious when he discovers that the U.S. continues to supply war material to the YPG, even when those deliveries are covered up as supplies for the SDF.

    The Turkish government released a photograph showing Erdogan and five of his aids taking Trump's phonecall. Such a release and the announcement of the call by the Turkish foreign minister are very unusual. Erdogan is taking prestige from the call and the public announcement is to make sure that Trump sticks to his promise.

    This wide publication will also increase Erdogan's wrath when he finds out that he was again deceived.

    Posted by b on November 25, 2017 at 12:14 PM | Permalink

    WorldBLee | Nov 25, 2017 12:48:12 PM | 1

    Sometimes it's hard to see if Trump actually believed what he was saying about foreign policy on the campaign trail -- but either way it doesn't matter much as he seems incapable of navigating the labyrinth of the Deep State even if he had in independent thought in his head. I don't expect US weapons to stop making their way into Kurdish hands as they try to extend their mini-Israel-with-oil foothold in Syria. But it would certainly be a welcome sight if the US left Syria alone for once!
    Red Ryder | Nov 25, 2017 12:49:33 PM | 2
    Trump personally sent General Flynn to recruit back Erdogan and the Turks right before the election. Flynn wrote his now infamous editorial "Our ally Turkey is in crisis and needs our support" and published in "The Hill". http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/305021-our-ally-turkey-is-in-crisis-and-needs-our-support

    Some interpret this act on Election eve as a pecuniary fulfillment by Flynn of a lobbying contract (which existed).

    But if you know the role he played for Trump in the campaign and then the post-election role as soon to be NSC advisor, you will see that Trump was sending him to bring Turkey back into the fold after the coup attempt by CIA, Gulen and Turkey's AF and US State Dept failed.

    Flynn understood the crucial need for US and NATO to hold Turkey and prevent the Russians from getting Erdogan as an ally for Syria and the Black Sea, the Balkans and Mediterranean as well as Iran, Qatar and Eurasia. Look at what has transpired between Turkey and Russia since. Gas will be flowing through the Turkish Stream and Erdogan conforms to Putin's wishes.

    Trump wanted to prevent the Turkish Stream. It was a huge rival to his LNG strategy. All these are why Flynn did what he did for Trump. Now Trump has to battle CIA and State, as well as the CENTCOM-Israeli plans for insurgencies in Syria. It's not just the Kurd issue or the other needs of NATO to hold the bases in Turkey. It's the whole southwest containment of Russian gas and Russian naval power, and the reality of sharing the Mediterranean as well as MENA with the Bear.

    Flynn was on it for Trump. And the IC and State want him prosecuted for defying their efforts to replace Erdogan with a stooge like Gulen. It looks like Mueller is pursuing that against the General.

    Harry | Nov 25, 2017 1:18:07 PM | 3
    Its not a problem for US to drop Kurds if they are no longer needed, BUT for now they are essential for US/Israel/Saudi goals, therefore you can bet 100% Kurds support will continue. Trump's order (he hasn't made it official either) will be easily circumvented.

    The real question is, what Resistance will do with the backstabbing Kurds? It wont be easy to make a deal while Kurds maintain absurd demands and as long as they have full Axis of Terror support.

    Go Iraq's way like they reclaimed Kirkuk? US might have sitten out that one, I doubt they'll allow this to happen in Syria as well, unless they get something in return.

    alabaster | Nov 25, 2017 1:19:42 PM | 4
    While America's standard duplicity of saying one thing while doing the opposite has been known for decades, they have been able to play games mainly because of the weakness of the other actors in the region.
    The tables have turned now, but America still thinks it holds top dog position.
    Wordplay, semantics and legal loopholes wont be tolerated for very long, and when hundreds of US boots return home in body bags a choice will have to be made - escalate, or run away.
    Previous behavior dictates run away, but times have changed.
    A cornered enemy is the most dangerous, and the USA has painted itself into a very small corner...
    Jean | Nov 25, 2017 1:35:55 PM | 5
    Gee. While reading B's article what got to my mind is: "Turkey is testing the ground". Whatever Trump said to Erdogan on the phone, it seems to me that the Turks are playing a card to see how the different actors in the US that seems to follow different agendas will react. If Turkey concludes that the US will continue to back YPG, it's split from the US and will be definitive.

    Erdogan is shifting away from US/NATO. He even hinted today that he might talk to Assad. That's huge! I wouldn't be surprised if Turkey leaves NATO sooner than later. And if it's the case, it will be a major move of a tectonic amplitude.

    Peter AU 1 | Nov 25, 2017 1:36:09 PM | 6
    Trump.. "Will be speaking to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey this morning about bringing peace to the mess that I inherited in the Middle East. I will get it all done, but what a mistake, in lives and dollars (6 trillion), to be there in the first place!"

    General Wesley Clark - seven countries in five years with Iran last on the list = "Get it all done"?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw

    Jen | Nov 25, 2017 2:36:10 PM | 7
    Surely by now Erdogan must realise that whatever the US President says and promises will be circumvented by the State Department, the Pentagon, the 17 US intel agencies (including the CIA and the NSA) and rogue individuals in these and other US government departments and agencies, and in Congress as well (Insane McCain comes to mind)? Not to mention the fact that the Israeli government and the pro-Israeli lobby on Capitol Hill exercise huge influence over sections of the US government.

    If Erdogan hasn't figured out the schizoid behaviour of the US from past Turkish experience and the recent experience of Turkey's neighbours (and the Ukraine is one such neighbour), he must not be receiving good information.

    Though as Jean says, perhaps Erdogan is giving the US one last chance to demonstrate that it has a coherent and reliable policy towards the Middle East.

    Hausmeister | Nov 25, 2017 3:37:06 PM | 8
    Jen | Nov 25, 2017 2:36:10 PM | 6

    Well, the US policy has been coherent and reliable in the last years. It enhanced local conflicts, supported both sides at the same time but with different intensities. Whoever wins would be "our man". Old stuff since the Byzantine period. It always takes a lot of time to prove the single actions that were done. In most cases we learn about it years later. The delay is so big and unpleasant that quite a number of folks escapes to stupid narratives that explain everything in one step, and therefore nothing. By the way: is the interest of Kurds to remain under the umbrella of the Syrian state but not be governed by Baath type of Arabic nationalism illegitimate?

    stonebird | Nov 25, 2017 3:44:32 PM | 9
    How can Trump have his cake and eat it?

    The Kurds (PKK basically) are only necessary to give a "face" to the force the US is trying to align in E. Syria. The "fighting" against ISIS (if there really was any) is coming to a close. The Chiefs of ISIS have been airlifted to somewhere nearby, and the foreign mercenary forces sent elsewhere by convoy. ALL the valuable personnel have now become "HTS2" with reversible vests. These, plus the US special forces are the basis of a new armed anti-Syrian force. (Note that one general let slip that there are 5'000 US forces in E-Syria - not the 500 spoken of in the MSM).
    So Trump may well be correct in saying that the Kurds (specifically) will not get any more arms - because they have other demands and might make peace with the Syrian Government, to keep at least some part of their territorial gains. The ISIS "bretheren" and foreign mercenaries do not want any peaceful solution because it would mean their elimination.. So The CIA and Pentagon will probably continue arms supplies to "HTS2" - but not the Kurds.

    (ex-ISIS members; Some are from Saudi Arabia, Qatar - the EU and the US, as well as parts of Russia and China. They are not farming types but will find themselves with some of the best arable land in Syria. Which belonged to Syrian-arabs-christians-Druzes-Yadzis etc. Who wil want their properties back.)

    Note that the US forces at Tanf are deliberately not letting humanitarian help reach the nearby refugee camp. Starvation and deprivation will force many of the younger members to become US paid terrorists.

    james | Nov 25, 2017 4:00:51 PM | 10
    thanks b.. i tend to agree with @4 jean and @5 jen... the way i see it, there is either a real disconnect inside the usa where the president gets to say one thing, but another part of the establishment can do another, or trump has made his last lie to turkey here and turkey is going to say good bye to it's involvement with the usa in any way that can be trusted.. seems like some kind of internal usa conflict to me at this point, but maybe it is all smoke and mirrors to continue on with the same charade.. i mostly think internal usa conflict at this point..
    A P | Nov 25, 2017 4:34:19 PM | 11
    Odd that no one has mentioned the fact the US was behind the attempted coup, where Erdogan was on a plane with two rogue Syrian jets that stood down rather than execute the kill shot. I have read opinion that the fighter pilots were "lit up" by Russian missile batteries and informed by radio they would not survive unless they shut down their weapons targeting immediately. This is probably a favour Putin reminds Erdogan of on a regular basis, whenever Erdo tries to play Sultan. The attempted coup/asassination also shows Erdogan exactly how much he can trust the US/Zionists at any level.

    And Edrogan must also know Syria was once at least partly in the US-orbit, as Syria was the destination for many well-documented US-ordered rendition/torture cases. It is probable Mossad (or their proxy thugs) killed Assad's father and older brother, so Erdo knows he's better relying on Putin than Trumpty Dumbdy.

    Virgile | Nov 25, 2017 5:09:38 PM | 12
    Erdogan is about to make a u-turn toward Syria. He is furious at Saudi Arabia for boycotting its ally Qatar, for talking about owning Sunni Islam and by the continuous support of Islamists and Sunni Kurds in Syria.
    Erdogan is preparing the turkish public opinion to a shift away from the USA-Israeli axis. This may get him many points in the 2019 election if the war in Syria is stopped, most Syrian refugees are back, Turkish companies are involved in the reconstruction and the YPG neutralized. Erdogan has 1 year and half to make this to happen. For that he badly needs Bashar al Assad and his army on his side.

    Therefore he is evaluating what is the next move and he needs to know where the USA is standing about Turkey and Syria. Until now the messages from the USA are contradictory yet Erdogan keeps telling his supporters that the USA is plotting against Turkey and against Islam. Erdogan's reputation also is been threatened by the outcome of Reza Zarrab's trial in the US where the corruption of his party may be exposed.

    That is why Erdogan is making another check about the US intentions before Erdogan he starts the irreversible shift toward the Iran-Russia (+Qatar and Syria) axis.

    dirtyoilandgas | Nov 25, 2017 6:13:37 PM | 13
    missing in this analysis is oil gas ... producers, refiners, slavers, middle crooks, and the LNG crowd :Israel, Fracking, LNG and wall street... these are the underlying directing forces that will ultimately dictate when the outsiders have had enough fight against Assad over Assad's oil and Assad's refusal to allow outsiders to install their pipelines. Until then, gangland intelligence agencies will continue the divide, destroy and conquer strategies sufficient to keep the profits flowing. The politicians cannot move until the underlying corruptions resolve..
    les7 | Nov 25, 2017 6:59:27 PM | 14
    The word 'byzantine' has been used for centuries to describe the intricate and multi-leveled forms of agreement, betrayal, treachery and achievement among the shifting power brokers in the region. The US alone has three major and another three minor players at work - often fighting each other. If however, it thinks it can outplay people whose lives are steeped in such a living tradition, it is sadly deluded and will one day be in for a very rude surprise. Even the Russians have had difficulty navigating that maze.

    When confronted with such a 'Gordian knot' of treachery and shifting alliances, Alexander the Great drew his sword and cut through it with a vision informed by the sage Socrates as taught by Aristotle.

    Despite claiming to represent such a western heritage, the US has no such Socratic wisdom, no Aristotelian logic, and no visionary leadership that could enable it to do what Alexander did. Lacking this, it is destined to get lost in its' own hubris, and be consumed by our current version of that region's gordian knot.

    flankerbandit | Nov 25, 2017 7:53:29 PM | 15
    'Hausmaus' @7 says...
    '...By the way: is the interest of Kurds to remain under the umbrella of the Syrian state but not be governed by Baath type of Arabic nationalism illegitimate?..'

    ...showing that he either knows only the crap spouted by wikipedia...or nothing at all about the Baath party...

    ...which happens to be a socialist and secular party interested in pan-Arab unity...not nationalism...[an obvious oxymoron to be pan-national and 'nationalist' at the same time...]

    Of course there is always a 'better way'...right Hausmaus...?

    The Baath socialism under Saddam in Iraq was no good for anyone we recall...especially women, students, sick people etc...

    A 'better way' has since been installed and it is working beautifully...all can agree...

    Same thing in Libya...where the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was no good for anyone...

    Of course everyone wanted the 'Better Way'...all those doctoral graduates with free education and guaranteed jobs...a standard of living better than some European countries...etc...

    Again...removing the 'socialist' Kadafi has worked out wonderfully...

    We now have black African slaves sold in open air markets...where before they did all the broom pushing that was beneath the dignity of the Libyan Arabs...

    ...and were quite happy to stay there and have a job and paycheck...instead of now flooding the shores of Italy in anything that can float...

    Oh yes...why would anyone in Syria want to be governed by the socialist Baath party...?

    ...especially the Kurds...who just over the border in Turkey are not even recognized as humans...never mind speaking their own language...

    Oh yes yes yes...we all want the 'Better Way'...

    It's a question of legitimacy you see...

    Daniel | Nov 25, 2017 7:55:00 PM | 16
    I'd really hoped that Donald Trump® would be the "outsider" that both the MSM and he have been insisting he is for the past couple of years. Other than the Reality TV Show faux conflicts with which the MSM entertains us nightly, I see no such "rogue" Administration.

    This say one thing, and do the other has been US foreign policy forever.

    Recall, for instance that on February 21, 2014, Obama's State Department issued a statement hailing Ukrainian President Yanukovych for signing an agreement with the "pro-democracy Maidan Protest" leaders in which he acquiesced to all of their demands.

    Then, on February 22, 2014, the US State Department cheered the "peaceful and Constitutional" coup after neo-nazis stormed the Parliament.

    A few months later, Secretary of State Kerry hailed the Minsk Treaty to end the war in Ukraine. Later that day, Vickie Nuland said there was no way her Ukies would stop shelling civilians, and sure enough they didn't (until they'd been on the retreat for weeks, and came whimpering back to the negotiations table).

    A couple years later, Kerry announced that the US and Russia would coordinate aerial assaults in Syria. The next day, "Defense" Secretary Carter said, "no way," and within a week or so, we "accidentally" bombed Syrian forces at Deir ez Zoir for over an hour.

    From my perspective, they keep us chasing the next squirrel, while bickering amongst each other about each squirrel. But the wolves are still devouring the lambs, with only the Bear preventing a complete extinction.

    flankerbandit | Nov 25, 2017 8:16:50 PM | 17
    Some good comments here with food for thought...

    What we know with at least some level of confidence...

    Dump is not the 'decider'...the junta is...he's just a cardboard cutout sitting behind the oval office desk...

    And he's got no one to blame but himself...he came in talking a big game about cleaning house and got himself cleaned out of being an actual president...

    This was inevitable from the moment he caved on Flynn...the only person he didn't need to vet with the senate...and a position that wields a lot of power...

    This was his undoing on many levels...not only because he faced a hostile deep state and even his own party in congress with no one by his side [other than Flynn]...

    ...but because it showed that he had no balls and would not stand by his man...

    This is not the stuff leaders are made of...

    The same BS we see with Turkey is playing out with Russia on the Ukraine issue...

    Now the junta and their enablers in congress want to start sending offensive arms to Ukraine...Dump and his platitudes to Putin...no matter how much he may mean it...mean nothing...he's not in charge...

    https://www.rt.com/op-edge/410942-trump-putin-friendly-words/

    Yeah, Right | Nov 25, 2017 9:44:37 PM | 18
    I think that Jean @4 has the best take on this: Erdoğan went very public on Trump's "promise" in a classic put-up-or-shut-up challenge to the USA.

    Either the word of a POTUS means something or it doesn't, and if it doesn't then Turkey is going to join Russia in concluding that the USA as simply not-agreement-capable.

    Erdoğan will then say "enough!!!", give the USA the two-finger-salute, and then take Turkey out of NATO.

    And the best thing about it will be that McMaster, Kelly and Mathis will be so obsessed with playing their petty little games that they won't see it coming.

    ritzl | Nov 25, 2017 11:08:38 PM | 19
    It's hard to tell what Erdoğan is doing or intending other than that he is navigating something - objective TBD. It'll be interesting to see if he constrains the use of Incirlik airbase should the US keep arming the YPG/PKK forces. Airpower is the enabler (sole enabler, IMO) of the/any Kurdish overreach inside Syria. Seems like Erdoğan holds the ace card in this muddle but has yet to play it.
    Grieved | Nov 25, 2017 11:32:17 PM | 20
    @18 ritzl

    Seems like Turkey has more than one card to play. A commenter on another site mentioned recently that the US really doesn't want Erdogan to have that S-400 system from Russia. Got me thinking, could Russia have deliberately loaded Erdogan's hand with that additional card to help him negotiate with the US?

    Turkey may well leave NATO and as others have pointed out, this would be a game changer far beyond the matter of the US's illegal presence in NE Syria. This possibility brings immense existential gravitas to Erdogan's position right now. He could ask for many concessions at this point, not to leave. And from the Eurasian point of view, it doesn't matter if he leaves or stays, while from the western view, it matters greatly.

    Would the US give up Syria, in order to keep Turkey in NATO? It's a western dichotomy, not one that affects Asia. It would be simple to throw S-400 at that dynamic to watch it squirm.

    Jackrabbit | Nov 25, 2017 11:42:26 PM | 21
    The plays the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.

    - Hamlet

    As the endgame plays out, Erdogan's conscience may be revealed.

    b has made the point that the partition that US-led proxy forces have carved out is unsustainable. But it would be sustainable if Erdogan can be convinced to allow trade via Turkey.

    For that reason, I thought Trump's ceasing direct military aid to the Kurds made sense as it provided Erdogan with an excuse to allow land routes for trade/supply. Erdogan can argue that he wants to encourage such good behavior and doesn't want to make US an enemy (Turkey is still a NATO country).

    Furthermore, I've always been suspicious of Erdogan's 'turn' toward Russia. Many have suspected that the attempted coup was staged by Erdogan (with CIA help?) so as to enable Erdogan to remain in office. IMO Erdogan joined the 'Assad must go!' effort not just because he benefited from the oil trade but because he leans toward Sunnis (Surely he was aware of the thinking that: the road to Tehran runs through Damascus .)

    Hasn't Erdogan's vehement anti-Kurdish stance done R+6 a disservice? It seems to me that it has helped USA to convince Kurds to fight for them and has also been a convenient excuse for Erdogan to hold onto Idlib where al Queda forces have refuge. If Erdogan was really soooo angry with Washington, and soooo dependent on Moscow, then why not relax his anti-Kurdish stance so as to bring Kurds back into the Syrian orbit?

    Seby | Nov 26, 2017 12:25:05 AM | 22
    tRump just wants to hide the truth that he is castrated and with a tiny penis, like his hands.

    Also just cares about money and soothing his narcissism. So f***'in American, in the worst sense!

    Ian | Nov 26, 2017 12:29:05 AM | 23
    Jackrabbit @20:
    Erdogan may feel that if he relaxed his stance against the Syrian Kurds, it could embolden Turkish Kurds to further pursue their agenda. It would also make him appear weak towards his supporters.
    Fernando Arauxo | Nov 26, 2017 1:45:51 AM | 24
    Erdogan is NOT going to leave NATO. Why should he? It would be the stupidest chess move ever? He's in the club and they can't kick him out. He can cause all the trouble he wants and hobble that huge machine that is the western alliance. He will not get EU membership, but he has his NATO ID CARD and that ain't bad. Erdo now knows that the poor bastard Trumps is WORTHLESS that he is a toothless executive in name only. This is a wake up call, if I were Erdo, I would be very afraid of the USA and it's Syria, MENA policy. It is being run by LUNATICS and is a slow moving train wreak. So for now, Erdo must be looking at Moscow, admiring Putin for this is a man who has his shit together and truly knows how to run a country. Maybe even a sense of admiration and more respect for Putin is even present. If I were Erdo, I'd double down in my support for Russia's Syria policy.
    Hausmeister | Nov 26, 2017 3:46:55 AM | 25
    @ flankerbandit | Nov 25, 2017 7:53:29 PM | 14

    You do not get it:
    „...which happens to be a socialist and secular party interested in pan-Arab unity...not nationalism..."
    According to this ideology the coherence of a society comes from where? And who is excluded if one applies it?
    So your contribution is just a rant using rancidic rhetoric tools. But I will not call you „flunkerbandit". My advice is to move to this area and have a look into such a society from a more close position. Armchair type of vocal leadership does not help.

    Anon | Nov 26, 2017 5:11:53 AM | 26
    In the Obama years there was a:
    • Whitehouse policy
    • Army Policy
    • CIA policy
    • State department policy.

    Which policy is Trump really up against?

    Jen | Nov 26, 2017 6:38:32 AM | 27
    Anon @ 25: Tempted to say Trump is up against all of them plus NSA policy, FBI policy, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) policy and the policies of, what, 12 other intel agencies?
    https://www.businessinsider.com.au/17-agencies-of-the-us-intelligence-community-2013-5?r=US&IR=T
    Yeah, Right | Nov 26, 2017 7:27:43 AM | 28
    @23 "Erdogan is NOT going to leave NATO. Why should he?"

    I guess one possible reason would be this: as long as Turkey remains in NATO then he is obliged to allow a US military presence in his country, and that's just asking for another attempt at a military coup.

    After all, wasn't Incirlik airbase a hotbed of coup-plotters during the last coup attempt?

    arbetet | Nov 26, 2017 10:14:56 AM | 29
    This came up:

    SDF official: Kurds will join the Syrian Arab Army ranks!

    Harry | Nov 26, 2017 10:33:01 AM | 30
    @ arbetet | 29

    "when the Syrian settlement is achieved, Syria's democratic forces will join the Syrian army."
    "When the Syrian state stabilizes, we can say that the Americans did what they said, then withdraw as they did in Iraq and set a date for their departure and leave."

    Nothing new here, nothing good either. Kurds so far are keeping up their demands of de-facto independence under fig-leaf of "we are part of federalised Syria" with weak central government and autonomous Kurds. Thats how US plan to castrate Syria. Russia offered cultural autonomy, Kurds rejected.

    As for Americans "withdrawing" willfully, it never happened. Iraq had to kick them out, and then US used ISIS and Kurds to get back in.

    As for Syria's stabilization part, US is doing everything in its power to prevent it.

    dan of steele | Nov 26, 2017 11:00:06 AM | 31
    @Yeah Right #26
    Turkey is not obliged to keep foreign troops in their country to remain in NATO. De Gaulle invited the US to leave France in 1967 but is still a member of NATO
    Yeah, Right | Nov 26, 2017 5:18:37 PM | 32
    @31 France actually withdrew from NATO in 1966. It remained "committed" to the collective defence of western Europe, without being, you know, "committed" to it.

    So, yeah, France kicked all the foreign troops out of France in 1967, precisely because its withdrawal from NATO's Integrated Military Command meant that the French were no longer under any obligation to allow NATO troops on its soil.

    But France had to formally withdraw from that Command first, and the reason that de Gaulle gave for withdrawing were exactly that: remaining meant ceding sovereignty to a supra-national organization i.e. NATO Integrated Military Command.

    That France retained "membership" of NATO's political organizations even after that withdrawal was little more than a fig-leaf.

    After all, NATO's purpose isn't "political", it is "military".

    fast freddy | Nov 26, 2017 6:21:33 PM | 33
    "The Decider" is Trump's apparent self image. He can't be enjoying the Presidency and the controls exerted upon him by others among the "Deep State" (whom I suppose have effectively cowed him into behaving via serious threats).

    If he already had money and power, as it appears that he had, he gained little by taking the crown. He has less power because he is now controlled by a number of forces (CIA, NSA, Media, MIC and etc.) as he remains under constant assault by his natural opposition.

    Big mistake dumping Flynn.

    Now you take another kind of asshole in the person of Obama - a guy that had nothing - you have a malleable character who enjoys the pomp and circumstance. Really didn't need any persuading to do anything required of him.

    psychohistorian | Nov 26, 2017 11:30:16 PM | 34
    Here is a recent report from the Turkish Prime Minister supporting Trump's "lie" about ending support for the Kurds....what will history show occured?

    ISTANBUL, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sunday that his country is expecting the United States to end its partnership with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

    "Since the very beginning, we have said that it is wrong for the U.S. to partner with PKK's cousin PYD and YPG in the fight against Daesh (Islamic State) terrorist group," Yildirim told the press in Istanbul prior to his departure for Britain.

    Ankara sees the Kurdish groups as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting against the Turkish government for over 30 years, while Washington regards them as a reliable ground force against the Islamic State (IS), also known as Daesh.

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday spoke to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the phone, pledging not to provide weapons to the YPG any more, an irritant that has hurt bilateral ties, according to the Turkish side.

    Yildirim noted that Washington has described it as an obligation rather than an option to support the Kurdish groups on the ground. "But since Daesh (IS) is now eliminated then this obligation has disappeared," he added.

    Julian | Nov 27, 2017 12:47:45 AM | 35
    It would be nice if Erdogan when withdrawing from NATO (Assuming he does this in the next 12-18 months) would say something like.
    "We really like President Trump - and we trust his word implicitly. The problem is, although we trust his word, we know he is not in control so his word is useless and best ignored. Though of course - we still trust he means well."

    That would be a nice backhander to hear from Erdopig.

    Quentin | Nov 27, 2017 8:48:51 AM | 36
    Speculation about Turkey leaving NATO seems farfetched. Turkey has NATO over a barrel. It has been a member for decades and what would it gain by leaving? Nothing. By staying it continues to influence and needle at the same time. Turkey will only leave when NATO throws it out, which isn't going to happen.
    Willy2 | Nov 27, 2017 11:53:09 AM | 37
    - According to Sibel Edmonds there're 2 coups being prepared. One against Trump and one against Erdogan.

    [Nov 28, 2017] Israeli Defense Minister Contradicts Netanyahu There Is No Iranian Military Force On Syrian Land

    Nov 28, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    But on Tuesday Israel's own Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman flatly contradicted the prime minister's jingoistic alarmism by saying that there are no Iranian military forces in Syria, but instead merely stuck to acknowledging "experts and advisers". In comments to Israel's Ynet news, Lieberman admitted , "We must preserve our security interests. It is true that there are a number of Iranian experts and advisers, but there is no Iranian military force on Syrian land."

    The comments came on the same day that the IDF Spokesperson made provocative and controversial statements , announcing that in the next Israel-Hezbollah War, "Nasrallah is a target" for assassination and that Israel is currently conducting psychological and media warfare against Hezbollah. But Defense Minister Lieberman's statement flies in the face of claims made by Netanyahu in his speech before the UN General Assembly this year when he said, "We will act to prevent Iran from establishing permanent military bases in Syria for its air, sea and ground forces. We will act to prevent Iran from producing deadly weapons in Syria... And we will act to prevent Iran from opening new terror fronts against Israel along our northern border."

    According to a BBC report dubiously sourced to "a Western intelligence source" from earlier this month, Syria stands accused of hosting a sizable Iranian military base south of Damascus, a story which Israel utilized to ratchet up rhetoric in preparing its case before the international community for further attacks on supposed Iranian targets inside Syria. Israel has long justified its attacks inside Syria by claiming to be acting against Hezbollah and Iranian targets.

    But Lieberman's surprising comments represent a significant potential backing away from what appeared to be Israel's long running official stance on the issue. According to Tel Aviv based Haaretz newspaper, Lieberman responded as follows when presented with the contradiction :

    Netanyahu has said Iran is working to build military bases in Syria, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its leader there, Qassem Soleimani, have been photographed in the war-torn country neighboring Israel to the north. When asked about this discrepancy, Lieberman said that "all the regional forces know we are the strongest power in the area. Israel is a regional power."

    "Iran has a strategy to creating proxies everywhere. Obviously, they are not physically in Lebanon, that's what's Hezbollah is for. In Yemen, they're not physically present, they created the Houthi rebels. They have the same plan in Syria: creating different kinds of militias."

    It could be that this new emphasis on acknowledging Iranian "proxies" while stopping short of claiming direct Iranian military presence - a clear lessening of Israel's intensifying rhetoric of late - is connected to a potential Syria-Israeli back channel deal to demilitarize the Golan region. We reported yesterday that unconfirmed Israeli sources are claiming that Putin is personally mediating demands issued between Assad and Netanyahu after both leaders traveled to meet with Putin within the past months.

    The Jerusalem Post published a story early this week based on a well placed Israeli source privy to diplomatic maneuvering between Moscow, Tel Aviv, and Damascus. The report said, "the source, who remains unnamed, said that during Syrian President Bashar Assad's surprise visit to Russia last week, Assad gave Russian Premier Vladimir Putin a message for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Damascus will agree to a demilitarized zone of up to 40 kilometers from the border in the Golan Heights as part of a comprehensive agreement between the two countries, but only if Israel does not work to remove Assad's regime from power."

    Meanwhile, both Israel and Saudi Arabia have increasingly gone public with their covert relationship based on intelligence sharing against what both sides perceive to be a strong and expansionist Iran.

    Earlier this month Israel Defense Force (IDF) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot gave an unprecedented interview to a prominent Saudi newspaper in which he said that, "Israel is ready to share intelligence with Riyadh on their shared arch-foe Iran." Eizenkot explained further, according to Tel Aviv based i24NEWS , that "Israel and Riyadh - which he noted have never fought one another - are in complete agreement about Iran's intentions to dominate the Middle East."

    And like Israel, Saudi Arabia has long scapegoated Iran and the region's Shia for all of it's problems , especially as it wages its brutal war on Yemen.

    But on Tuesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hit back. In comments picked up by Reuters , he said that Saudi Arabia presents Iran as an enemy because it wants to cover up its defeats in the region. Rouhani said in the midst of a live interview on state television, "Saudi Arabia was unsuccessful in Qatar, was unsuccessful in Iraq, in Syria and recently in Lebanon. In all of these areas, they were unsuccessful," and added further, "So they want to cover up their defeats."

    These words of course could just as well be aimed at Israel too. And with today's surprise admission by Israel's defense minister - that there is "no Iranian military force on Syrian land" - it could be that Israel's bluff has finally been called.

    [Nov 22, 2017] Drums Along the Euphrates

    Notable quotes:
    "... "USA protects SDF and ISIS east of the Euphrates and agreed that Russia won't fly over the area occupied by the US Forces in north-east Syria. USA is officially an occupation force in the Levant." ..."
    "... "The United States is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones, on the ground ceasefire observers, and coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance" ..."
    Nov 22, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    Earlier today this tweet by Elijiah Magnier caught my eye.

    "USA protects SDF and ISIS east of the Euphrates and agreed that Russia won't fly over the area occupied by the US Forces in north-east Syria. USA is officially an occupation force in the Levant."

    Seems the US and Russia have agreed to using the Euphrates as a de facto border between the SAA and its allies and the US-supported YPG/SDF at least for a while. This is in line with statements made by Tillerson prior to the G20 summit held on 7 July in Hamburg.

    "The United States is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones, on the ground ceasefire observers, and coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance"

    This temporary arrangement makes sense for Damascus. There are still plenty of fires to extinguish on Syrian territory west of the Euphrates. Why spread their forces thin again just when they are now able to concentrate their forces to address those fires. Besides, there is still plenty of time for the negotiation and reconciliation process to achieve victory without further bloodshed. I have no doubt. Syria will be whole once again.

    I'm sure CENTCOM sees this differently. I think the grand scheme was to establish an enduring US-controlled enclave encompassing all of Iraqi Kurdistan, Rojava and the Arab lands of eastern Syria. I bet there was a plan for establishing a new CENTCOM forward headquarters in Erbil to oversee this vast enclave. The premature Kurdish bid for independence blew a gaping hole in that plan. Iraqi Kurdistan lost its border with Syria. With that loss went CENTCOM's secure land route from Kirkuk and Erbil to its growing bases in northeast Syria.

    Another purpose of this "CENTCOM Caliphate" was to prevent the establishment of a land route from Teheran to Damascus and on to Beirut. With the liberation of Abu Kamal by a combined force of SAA, IRGC, Hezbollah and allied militias, that part of the CENTCOM plan also floundered on the rocks. The presence of Qassem Soleimani at this victory must have been a bitter pill to swallow at CJTF -- OIR headquarters.

    Another disappointment CENTCOM must face is their now useless base at Al Tanf and the Rukban refugee camp. This base was meant to support our "moderate jihadis" and to help prevent the establishment of the Shia Crescent. Another dream dashed. We are now faced with a near abandoned base and a dire and embarrassing humanitarian crisis at Rubkan.

    CENTCOM has always wanted a major physical presence in their AOR. They've had that for a long time now, ever since Desert Storm. Prior to that, they were bitterly jealous of EUCOM and PACOM. They would be much smarter to forgo their dreams of forward-based grandeur and return to being a CONUS-based command headquarters controlling training, exercise and limited operational deployments in their AOR. And for God's sake, get out of Syria. Between the Astana meetings and the upcoming Sochi National Dialogue Conference, Russia has this covered.

    TTG

    • https://warontherocks.com/2017/11/16162/
    • http://theduran.com/the-trump-putin-call-summary-and-analysis/

    [Nov 22, 2017] DECAMERON And Now, Calling to Start US War in Syria All Over Again

    Notable quotes:
    "... "Consistent with the Trump Administration's stated intention of pushing back against Iran's increasingly malign behavior throughout the Middle East, American policymakers urgently need to rebuild credibility and positions of strength by contesting Iran's rising influence across the region. Most urgently, the United States must impose real obstacles to Tehran's pursuit of total victory by the Assad regime in Syria. Time is of the essence, as Iranian-backed forces recently have retaken nearly all the country, save lands liberated from Islamic State (IS) by the U.S.-led coalition. These, and any further, strategic gains threaten to entrench Tehran as the arbiter of postwar Syria and consolidate its control of a "land bridge" connecting Iran directly to Lebanon and Hezbollah." ..."
    "... "The annual Generals and Admirals Program to the Middle East, in which recently retired American generals and admirals are invited to visit Israel with JINSA to meet the top echelon of the Israeli military and political leadership, ensures that the American delegation is well briefed on the security concerns of Israel, as well as the key role Israel plays as a friend and ally of the U.S. To date, JINSA has taken more than 400 retired officers to Israel, many of whom serve on JINSA's Board of Advisors." ..."
    "... first -- JINSA." ..."
    Nov 22, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    There are only a couple of dozen hardcore BORG-ists (to use Col Lang's useful description) trolling for war against Iran, but they are irrationally consistent. The names are familiar: Ledeen, Richard Perle, Woolsey, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), etc. Now, enter JINSA.

    This week, another piece of the drive for war against Iran has manifested itself on the pages of the Jewish Institute for National Security for America (JINSA) www.jinsa.org , with a November 20, 2017 report, Countering Iranian Expansion in Syria. It says:

    "Consistent with the Trump Administration's stated intention of pushing back against Iran's increasingly malign behavior throughout the Middle East, American policymakers urgently need to rebuild credibility and positions of strength by contesting Iran's rising influence across the region. Most urgently, the United States must impose real obstacles to Tehran's pursuit of total victory by the Assad regime in Syria. Time is of the essence, as Iranian-backed forces recently have retaken nearly all the country, save lands liberated from Islamic State (IS) by the U.S.-led coalition. These, and any further, strategic gains threaten to entrench Tehran as the arbiter of postwar Syria and consolidate its control of a "land bridge" connecting Iran directly to Lebanon and Hezbollah."

    The heart of Israeli penetration of the U.S. national security sector has long been JINSA -- Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). JINSA was founded in 1973, immediately following the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War, to assure U.S. military support for all future Israeli wars. JINSA 's mission was to recruit large numbers of recently retired U.S. military officers to the Israeli cause, by, among other techniques, sponsoring all-expenses-paid junkets to Israel, or exchange programs at Israeli military academies. It is long term. It is steady. It keeps the same core directors. It is not distracted. It is a mostly-overlooked component of the Israel Lobby.

    Today, the JINSA website boasts:

    "The annual Generals and Admirals Program to the Middle East, in which recently retired American generals and admirals are invited to visit Israel with JINSA to meet the top echelon of the Israeli military and political leadership, ensures that the American delegation is well briefed on the security concerns of Israel, as well as the key role Israel plays as a friend and ally of the U.S. To date, JINSA has taken more than 400 retired officers to Israel, many of whom serve on JINSA's Board of Advisors."

    JINSA's board is a hotbed of neo-cons, some of whom have been investigated for spying for the Israeli state. Board members include former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Steven D. Bryen, former National Security consultant Michael Ledeen, Bush-Cheney's director of the Defense Policy Board Richard Perle, Kenneth Timmerman, and former CIA Director James Woolsey. Steven Bryen's wife, Shoshanna Bryen was long time executive director of JINSA, involved in profiling likely military officers to be recruited to the junkets to Israel.

    In 2001, after the 9/11 attack, JINSA's own website boasted of its dedication to the primacy of the US-Israeli relationship above all else. "Only one think tank puts the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship first -- JINSA."

    On Sept. 12, 2001 JINSA issued a call for precisely the kind of U.S. war against the Arab world that has embroiled the U.S. in endless wars in the region. At that time, JINSA said the response to the 911 attack had to be larger than an attack on Al Qaeda's bases in Afghanistan: "The countries harboring and training [terrorists] include not just Afghanistan -- but Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, the Palestinian Authority, Libya, Algeria, friends Saudi Arabia and Egypt."

    Get a score card, and see whether JINSA's interests have taken hold: Invasion of Iraq (2003), Regime change in Iran (still trying and 2017, the Number One priority), Syria (ongoing war to unseat Assad), Sudan (country divided), Libya (2011 overthrow of Qadaffi and failed state), Palestinian Authority (chaos and Jewish settlement expansion especially since the 2006 Hamas election victory), Egypt (two revolutions in two years, absolute economic desperation). Not targeted so far: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria (kind of).

    No wonder Saudi Arabia's Salman team is salivating over making alliances with Netanyahu.

    Posted at 01:07 PM in Decameron , Middle East Permalink Comments (1)

    jjc said...

    Israel hosted the Jerusalem Conference on International Terrorism way back in the summer of 1979 where the foundations of the War On Terror were set, although in that day the ultimate sponsor of international terrorism was said to be the Soviet Union. "The mortal danger to Western security and democracy posed by the worldwide scope of this international terrorist movement required an appropriate worldwide anti-terrorism offensive, consisting of the mutual coordination of Western military intelligence services."

    This conference was hosted by Netanyahu and featured numerous high level Israeli politicians and military figures, as well as Americans such as Henry Jackson, George HW Bush, Richard Pipes, Ray Cline, and right-leaning officials from Britain and France. "US, Israeli and British elites were actively constructing 'international terrorism' as an ideology..." (see Nafeez Ahmed, War On Truth: 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism, pp 3-6)

    [Nov 22, 2017] I think global alignments are changing fast, with MENA as the focal point. Every player has a different deck of cards than just 3 years ago. The over-riding trajectory of course is the ongoing fall of Pax Americana, and its replacement by a Pax Multiplicita.

    Notable quotes:
    "... The over-riding trajectory of course is the ongoing fall of Pax Americana, and its replacement by a Pax Multiplicita. Nobody really knows what the latter will look like, and so nations and their elite factions will be trying everything to jockey themselves into an advantageous position both internally and externally. We see this process everywhere, including in the USA itself as well as Europe and Asia. ..."
    "... The resurrection of Syria and Iraq, under the wings of Russia and Iran, has shocked MENA. Things ain't what they used to be, and there's no going back. ..."
    Nov 22, 2017 | www.unz.com

    @Erebus

    Israel, Saudi Arabia Setting Preconditions for War with Hezbollah

    I think something completely different is going on. Global alignments are changing fast, and MENA is currently at the focal point. Every player there is looking at a radically different deck of cards than the one in play just 3 years ago, and radically different players. Confusions reign, both internal and between nations. Events will move along a sum vector which is itself a sum of the various vectors their respective internal elite factions are pulling. Internal policy and power struggles will surface, and there will be lots of false signals. I think war with Iran/Hezbollah is one of them.

    In such conditions, we can expect a lot of noise and very little signal, but the trajectories are coming clear. The over-riding trajectory of course is the ongoing fall of Pax Americana, and its replacement by a Pax Multiplicita. Nobody really knows what the latter will look like, and so nations and their elite factions will be trying everything to jockey themselves into an advantageous position both internally and externally. We see this process everywhere, including in the USA itself as well as Europe and Asia.

    The resurrection of Syria and Iraq, under the wings of Russia and Iran, has shocked MENA. Things ain't what they used to be, and there's no going back. The KSA, as both the linchpin of Pax Americana's dollar system, and as the least socially developed country in MENA faces the greatest challenges in adapting itself to whatever is coming next. Its demographics are a powder keg, with more than 50% of the disenfranchised population <25 yrs of age and chaffing under a medieval death cult that has ruled for a century. It is now or never for the KSA. Change now, or societal chaos and a bloody collapse will be the KSA's contribution to Pax Multiplicita.

    I think the new Crown Prince understands that, and while still wet-behind-the-ears is determined to change it Now! He's no Wahhabi, and he recognizes Wahhabism for the dead end it is. Last month, in a speech to an investment forum in Riyadh he declared:

    "We will return to the former state of affairs, to moderate Islam, which is open to the world, and all other religions. We will not wait for 30 years, we will swiftly deal a blow to extremist ideologies,"
    Let those words sink in. No Saudi, royal or otherwise, has dared to utter their equal. In the event, swift he was. He drained the Saudi swamp in a (fort)night of the long knives, reportedly incarcerating 2400+ elites, including some of the wealthiest and most powerful, 1000 Imams and 30+ Generals. That alone is a remarkable fact, showing he has shrewdly developed a like-thinking power base under the noses of the KSA's Pax Americana sycophants and fanatical Wahhabis. This is not a man to be trifled with.

    By way of international support, the old King made what amounted to pilgrimages to Beijing and then to Moscow to seek their blessing (inter alia). In Beijing he got $120B+ in commitments for development projects, in Moscow he got cooperation in oil markets and (crucially) S-400 Air Defense systems. After his "palace coup" he got words of support, with Xi Jingping being particularly warmly supportive.

    Yes he's young, inexperienced, and has had to fight internal battles we'll never know about which no doubt contributed to some of his apparent international blunders, but to think that he will now willingly opt for war with a Moscow ally is to think him either mad, or an imbecile. I don't think he's either. He's delivering Trumpian campaign promises to the KSA (to the wild approval of the country's youth) and quite probably suckering the Israelis into a stupid move while at it.

    Watch that space. It's cooking.

    Thirdeye

    The term "Pax Americana" seems ironic because of the lack of Pax in the post Cold War era of America pushing the limits of its power projection. Maybe a better term would be "Bellus Americana."

    [Nov 22, 2017] Boy, Is This Stupid or What, by Philip Giraldi

    Nov 22, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Boy, Is This Stupid or What? Did the US allow ISIS to escape to keep the fighting going? Philip Giraldi November 21, 2017 1,600 Words

    Americans have been living in a country that has not known peace since 9/11, when President George W. Bush and his posse of neoconservatives delivered the message to the world that "you are either with us or against us." The threat was coupled with flurry of hastily conceived legislation that opened the door to the unconstitutional "war on terror" carried out at the whim of the Chief Executive, a conflict which was from the start conceived of as a global military engagement without end.

    Bush and his handlers might not have realized it at the time but they were initiating a completely new type of warfare. To be sure, there would be fighting on the ground worldwide against an ideologically driven enemy somewhat reminiscent of communism, but there would also be included "regime change" of governments in countries that were not completely on board with the direction coming out of Washington. Instead of invading and occupying a country in the old-fashioned way, so the thinking went, far better to just knock off the top levels and let the natives sort things out while acting under direction from the pros in Washington.

    Even though "regime change" in Iraq and Afghanistan did not work out very well, Bush saw himself as a triumphant war leader with his vainglorious "Mission Accomplished," and he later dubbed himself the "decider." He insisted that his reelection in 2004 when running against a weak John Kerry was a validation of his policies by the American people, but one has to wonder how many voters really understood that they were signing on for perpetual war that would of necessity also diminish their most cherished liberties.

    Nobel Peace Prize winner and U.S. President Barack Obama followed Bush and made it clear that there would be no stepping back from a policy of proactively "protecting" the American people. Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton destroyed Libya, a disaster that is still playing out, increased involvement in Syria, and introduced death by drone for both American citizens who have transgressed and random foreigners who fit a profile. And to eliminate any pushback to what he was doing, Obama relied on invoking the state secrets privilege to block legal challenges more times than all his predecessors in office combined.

    And now we have President Donald Trump, whose foreign policy is particularly unarticulated, though in many ways similar to that of his predecessors. The United States is increasing its involvement in Afghanistan, where it has been engaged for longer than in any previous war, is threatening both Iran and North Korea with annihilation, and is hopelessly entangled in Trump's pledge to completely eliminate ISIS. Indeed, destroying ISIS (and al-Qaeda) has been the one clearly articulated part of the Trump foreign policy, though there are also occasional assertions that it should be accompanied by yet one more try at regime change in Damascus.

    And the grand tradition of using military might to back up diplomacy has certainly found little favor, so much so that it is certainly clear even to the supine American public and a risk averse congress that there is something wrong in Foggy Bottom. It is astonishing to note the mainstream media, which reviled George W. Bush when he was in office, describing him currently as a voice of moderation and restraint due to his recent criticism of the White House. You can't go wrong if you pile on Trump.

    Even the U.S. media has been reluctantly reporting that ISIS has been rolled back in Syria by the joint efforts of the Syrian Army and the Russian air force with the United States and its allies playing very much secondary roles in the conflict. The Russians have, in fact, complained that Washington seemed just a tad disinterested in actually cooperating to destroy the last remnants of ISIS in the few areas that the group still controls, citing most recently an alleged incident during the Syrian government liberation of the town of Abu Kamal in which U.S. air assets on site appear to have allowed ISIS fighters to escape.

    The shambles of American policy as it applies to the Middle East was highlighted by yet another similar and particularly bizarre episode that was revealed initially by the BBC on Monday of last week. In early October, when the Syrians and Russians were closing in from the west on Raqqa, the "capital" of the ISIS caliphate while the U.S supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which predominantly consists of the Kurdish militias, was closing in from the east, a deal was reportedly struck to permit an evacuation of the remaining ISIS fighters and their families.

    According to the BBC investigative report , the SDF and Kurds were wary of clearing out the remaining fighters from the ruins of the city and so negotiated an agreement whereby the ISIS fighters from Syria and Iraq and their families would be able to leave and be allowed to either go home and face the consequences or proceed to ISIS controlled areas about one hundred miles away. The objective was to avoid a final assault from the air and using artillery that would have produced a bloodbath killing thousands, including large numbers of civilians. The agreement stipulated that only ISIS fighters who were local would be allowed to leave. Others, referred to as "foreigners," from Europe, Africa or Asia would have to surrender in order to avoid their going free and getting involved in new terrorist activity after returning home.

    U.S. and British military advisers who were with the SDF and Kurds reported, somewhat improbably, that they had not been party to the negotiations, that it was "all-locals," though they later admitted that there had been some involvement on their part. In the event, trucks and busses were assembled on October 14 th , formed into a convoy, and were loaded with more than 4,000 fighters and families. More than 100 ISIS-owned vehicles also were allowed to leave and there were ten trucks filled with weapons. The convoy stretched for more than four miles and film footage shows trucks pulling trailers filled with militants brandishing their weapons. The fighters were not allowed to display flags or banners but they were not forced to disarm and in fact loaded all the vehicles with as many weapons as they could carry, so much so that one truck broke its axle from the weight. The BBC reported that "This wasn't so much an evacuation – it was the exodus of so-called Islamic State."

    The drivers reported that they were abused by the ISIS fighters, many of whom were wearing explosive belts, and they also claimed that there was a large percentage of foreigners among those escaping. Various drivers told the BBC that there were French, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Pakistani, Yemeni, Saudi, Chinese, Tunisian and Egyptian nationals among their passengers. The evacuees made it safely to ISIS controlled territory and presumably will be ready, willing and able to fight again.

    The escape of the Islamic State from Raqqa is, to put it mildly, bizarre. One might accept that avoiding the carnage that would have been part and parcel of an assault on the shattered city should have weighed heavily on the decision making by the attacking forces, but allowing hardened fighters to escape with their weapons would hardly seem a good way to end the conflict. In May, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said on television that the war against ISIS was one of " annihilation. Our intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return home to north Africa, to Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa. We are not going to allow them to do so."

    Well, Mattis was possibly lying back then, or at least saying what he thought would play well on television and in the newspapers. On November 14 th , the day after the BBC story about Raqqa broke, he lied again, saying that the United States is in Syria under a U.N. authorization to fight ISIS, which is not true. The Russians have been invited into the country by its legitimate government but the U.S. is not there legally. The Turks are claiming that there are 13 U.S. military bases already in Syria, some of which are permanent.

    Mattis added to his bit of fiction by stating , somewhat ominously, that while the first phase of the ISIS war is coming to an end "Basically we can go after ISIS. And we're there to take them out. But that doesn't mean we just walk away and let ISIS 2.0 pop back around. The enemy hasn't declared they're done with the war yet. So, we'll keep fighting them as long as they want to fight."

    A waggish friend of mine suggested that Mattis might be deliberately selectively releasing ISIS fighters so the U.S. will never have to leave Syria, but my own theory is somewhat different. I think that Washington, which has done so little to defeat ISIS, wants some threat to continue so it can keep its own "resistance forces" in place and active to give it a seat at the table and a voice at the upcoming Geneva discussions for a political settlement in Syria. Otherwise Washington will be outside looking in. The unspeakable Nikki Haley at the U.N. appears to endorse that line of thinking by asserting that Washington will continue "to fight for justice" in Syria no matter what the rest of the world decides to do.

    Does this mean that we can expect considerable fumbling and a game with no exit strategy, something like a replay of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya? You betcha.

    Cloak And Dagger , November 21, 2017 at 5:59 am GMT

    Another great article, Phil! I hope those jerks at TAC with their rapidly declining readership are realizing how idiotic it was to fire you.

    Your waggish friend may have a point, but there are several parties that would benefit from the continuing conflict in that region:

    – Arms manufacturers lose money in times of peace, so the MIC is clearly an important beneficiary.
    - Israel benefits as long as there is chaos in the Middle East and no unification of its enemies. It also benefits by keeping the boogeyman alive so that it can continue to siphon off our largesse in terms of military aid "to defend itself".
    - The US government benefits by continuing to have a reason to be there in order to thwart Russia's growing influence in the region.
    - The Russians benefit by continuing to demonstrate their military prowess and gaining both allies in the region as well as customers for their advanced weaponry.

    Who doesn't benefit?

    - We and our fellow citizens don't, as our taxes continue to fund this mayhem while our own economy and our standard of living plummets (except for the elite).
    - The people of that region continue to live their lives in hell without any normalcy, and so see no benefits.
    - The European countries become hosts to the tide of refugees escaping from the region, mixed with enough mischief makers to increase social tension in major European cities, so the Europeans don't benefit.

    Wouldn't it be great if we could get rid of our war-mongering interventionists, fueled by Israel-firsters, and gain influence in the world as China does, by focusing on trade instead of wars? Couldn't we just buy the resources we need as China does, rather than stealing them by force from others?

    Couldn't we, once more, become manufacturers and traders, rather than mercenaries for Israel? That would Make America Great Again .

    If wishes were horses

    chris , November 21, 2017 at 6:12 am GMT

    "The enemy hasn't declared they're done with the war yet. So, we'll keep fighting them as long as they want [us] to fight."

    I think, maybe 'Mad Dog' was talking about Israel here.

    MEexpert , November 21, 2017 at 6:49 am GMT
    As long the axis of evil consisting of "the most moral and exceptional nation," "the nation with the best and moral army," and "the nation of corruption fighters" continues to dominate the world scene the Muslim blood will continue to be spilt. I could have never imagined that the United States will lose every fiber of decency and morality for the sake of few AIPAC dollars.

    The American public is brain dead. If you repeat lies enough times they become the truth and the American public will swallow it hook-line and sinker.

    Iraq had weapons of mass destruction

    Syrian President Assad gassed his people

    US is in Syria by UN consent

    US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia/UAE are fighting terrorism

    Iran has nuclear weapons

    These are few of the lies that have been told by our politicians and the MSM. Just ask any average American and he will tell you that yes these are true statements. As long as the present state of affairs continues the mayhem in the Middle East will continue.

    I am not at all surprised that the US and her allies helped escape ISIS fighters. Remember that ISIS, AL-Qaeda and all the other alphabet fighters were created by the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. These three have to protect their investment of man-power and weapons to be used some other place. In Fourteen years, ISIS or Al-Qaeda has never attacked Israel. Coincidence? Hmmmm.

    How do we stop it? The only way to end this slaughter of innocent Muslims is by eliminating every zionist/neocon from the face of this earth. As long as even one zionist/neocon remains he will sprout up evereywhere and continue this corruption. And, please spare me the indignation at my calling Muslims "innocent." Before the Palestinian issue there were no hijackings, kidnappings, or killings of non-Muslim by Muslims. This started when the benevolent Western nations got rid of the Jews from the Europe and put them in the Middle east.

    Does this mean that we can expect considerable fumbling and a game with no exit strategy, something like a replay of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya?

    Yes, indeed.

    jilles dykstra , November 21, 2017 at 7:58 am GMT
    IS in my opinion is an idea, the idea that western neocolonialism cannot be accepted.
    One cannot contain ideas, moreover, as Keynes already understood, 'ideas are the most powerful forces in the world'.
    There is a british expression, what confirms this, I think, 'one can do a lot with bayonets, except sit on them'.
    So indeed, the USA industrial military complex, against which Eisenhower in his farewell speech already warned, may welcome an ongoing war.
    The USA taxpayer pays with money, low income USA citizens also pay with blood and disabilities.
    Alfred , November 21, 2017 at 8:51 am GMT
    This article is based on a false premise – that the USA is an enemy of ISIS and al-Qaeda etc. That is nonsense.

    Here is the ex-prime minister of Qatar – an ally of the USA – and one of the richest men in the world admitting that the USA and its allies (including Qatar) created, trained, equipped and financed the terrorists in Syria.

    A few days ago, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Hamad Bin Jassim in an interview with the BBC announced that his country had been providing all sorts of assistance to the armed opposition groups in Syria through Turkey for years. At the same time, Doha wasn't alone to show its supports to anti-Assad forces, as it was joined by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Turkey itself. All this began back in 2007 after Israel suffered a humiliating defeat in South Lebanon, while being unable to overcome Hezbollah's resistance in 2006. According to the former Qatari Prime Minister, Qatar was in charge of the so-called "Syrian Dossier" on behalf of the US and Saudi Arabia, adding that he had access to both American and Saudi paperwork on the staging of a so-called "Syrian civil war."

    "Revelations of a High-Profile Qatari Official Reveal a Wider anti-Syria Conspiracy"

    https://journal-neo.org/2017/11/18/revelations-of-a-high-profile-qatari-officials-reveal-a-wider-anti-syria-conspiracy/

    Greg Bacon , Website November 21, 2017 at 9:33 am GMT
    300 ISIS thugs moved by the USAF and the CIA into Europe, maybe even the USA, where they can be counted on to be used as patsy's for a decades worth of False Flags, or maybe even let them do the killing and terrorizing, since they have experience in murdering women and children in Syria and Iraq.

    This is the USG at work, setting up terrorist networks in Syria and Iraq and paying the Taliban off in Afghanistan so they can have an excuse to keep that phony war going, in order to keep US troops there guarding those poppy fields which those TBTF Wall Street banks need so they can launder the illegal drug profits and stay afloat.
    Now that the Zionists Yinon Project in Syria has failed, looks like Israel will have to use other intrigues to keep its theft of Syrian and Lebanese land vital and ongoing.

    The real terrorist isn't some guy shouting Allahu Akbar™ and detonating his suicide vest or driving his truck into people, it's the scuzzy POS USG that has become nothing more than a vicious gangster outfit that is using terrorism to scare the hell out of Americans so we'll keep cowering in fear, while the thieves rob us blind and wreck our economy and nation and get us ever so closer to a state of complete tyranny.

    Z-man , November 21, 2017 at 9:49 am GMT
    Yeah I noticed that story and I wonder why the BBC didn't follow up with some pointed questions to the US Defense Department, 'slurpy dog' Mattis et al. Are they all in cahoots??

    The unspeakable Nikki Haley

    LOL and so true. She is Trump's Hillary Rotten Clinton that Obama disappointedly put in at 'State' 9 years ago. Wow, 9 years time flies!
    On a side note Charlie Rose is the latest 'celebrity' to get the 'sexual abuse' ax. I had written a post on The Myth of American Meritocracy article by Ron Unz just a few days ago pointing out Charlie Rose's connections to CBS, so double LOL!! Charlie being a crypto Zionist makes his predicament extra special. (Very wide grin)

    LondonBob , November 21, 2017 at 10:01 am GMT
    I wonder if Cheney and Rumsfeld are pleased Bush junior has claimed full credit for all his foreign policy disasters. It would be nice if Obama gave up his ludicrous Nobel peace prize and instead offered it to Admiral Fallon.

    Lets hope those US troops don't go home in body bags, but I am not sure whether there is anyone there to remind Trump of his commitment that US troops were just there to fight IS.

    Biff , November 21, 2017 at 10:17 am GMT

    Nobel Peace Prize winner and U.S. Corporate house negro Barack Obama followed Bush and made it clear that there would be no stepping back from a policy of proactively "protecting" the American people.

    There I fixed it for ya. Do you really think that the owners are going to give what they consider a ni ** er from Chicago any real power?

    Frontmen stooges – all of them.

    Twodees Partain , November 21, 2017 at 11:51 am GMT
    It seems that the American "intelligence community" is trying to protect its ISIS forces in order to avoid future problems with recruitment. If they allowed these ISIS soldiers to be captured or killed, they'd have a hard time putting together another such army in the future. Even muslim fanatics would have sense enough to know that they were being set up for abandonment and betrayal should they join the next CIA army in a regime change project..
    Jake , November 21, 2017 at 12:23 pm GMT
    The Saudis would ally with Satan himself, signing in their own blood, agreeing to give tens of thousands of their poorest children to Satan for direct use, as well as promising all the Shia and Christian children they could round up, in order to take out the Assad family and use Syria as Base Camp for the destruction of Iran and Shiite Mohammedanism.

    The Israelis want the Assads ousted as much as do the Saudis and are as happy as the Saudis to pervert everything they touch in order to get the job done.

    The Americans look on with parental delight at the two main products of WASP hegemony over the Middle East, handed from the English to the Yanks.

    jacques sheete , November 21, 2017 at 12:56 pm GMT
    Sorry to nitpick , PG ,and sorry to be so redundant, but I must once again appeal to authors to quit calling the presstitutes and cesspool media "mainstream."

    It is the voice of plutoligarchs and is in no rational way, mainstream. The term lends an air of credibility to utter trash when it deserves, instead, to be discredited at every opportunity.

    jacques sheete , November 21, 2017 at 1:05 pm GMT
    @Twodees Partain

    Even muslim fanatics would have sense enough to know that they were being set up for abandonment and betrayal should they join the next CIA army in a regime change project..

    This is the first time I've ever seen that concept in print, but it is as valid as it is obvious. I've often wondered what motivated people to sign on with the world's most corrupt entities when it's obvious that they are not and probably never have been reliable or trustworthy partners.

    The US betrays its allies, the Arab peoples, just as it betrayed the Philippine freedom fighters (against the Spanish Empire) 20 years previously.:

    CAIRO, Egypt, May 27, -- The last hope of 30,000,000 Arabs to win freedom for their race without further bloodshed vanished when cables from Washington announced that the United States had concluded an agreement with Great Britain The Arabs came into the war on the side of the allies against their Turkish co-religionists in- response to the allies' promise of freedom The Arab support" was determined and effective."

    Newspaper article by Junius B. Wood on the American recognition of Britain's mandate in Palestine, Chicago Daily News,27 May 1922 (also The Sunday Star, Washington)

    http://dcollections.oberlin.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/kingcrane/id/1686/rec/18

    Incredulous Phil , November 21, 2017 at 1:11 pm GMT
    this site is an odd mix of excellent analysis and obvious nonsense for angry dullards.

    this article is the latter.

    "all war is deception" -some Asian fella

    keep howling at the moon!

    (((they're))) coming for your guns!

    hahahahahaaaaa

    Erebus , November 21, 2017 at 1:33 pm GMT
    @Alfred

    You beat me to it.

    I was going to post this Zerohedge version, which includes parts of the interview in translation, and other juicy tidbits.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-28/shocking-viral-interview-qatar-confesses-secrets-behind-syrian-war

    Here's another, that dates back to the time when Qatar was isolated by the GCC (probably not a coincidence).

    https://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/us-and-gulf-allies-supported-islamist-extremists-syria-qatars-ex-prime-minister

    All 3 links are worth reading to get a picture of the resources and organization a rather sordid coalition of govts applied to regime change in Syria, and what their failure may come to mean. Assad stood up against a formidable force, and eventually outsmarted them by putting together an even smarter coalition.

    One hopes Syria sues them all for reparations.

    n230099 , November 21, 2017 at 1:36 pm GMT
    This piece hits on something some friends and I spoke of years ago. We said then, this ISIS is the neocolonialists new 'moneymaker'. When ISIS started holding up severed heads they knew they'd found gold or struck oil as they say.
    Wizard of Oz , November 21, 2017 at 1:50 pm GMT
    "diminish their most precious liberties". Would you care, PG, to spell out what you mean and why you nominate the particular liberties you identify as "their most precious".

    How many Americans do you think have been materially affected, and care, and how many care even if not affected personally?

    neprof , November 21, 2017 at 2:00 pm GMT
    Interesting article about Putin's meeting with Bashar al-Assad at a Sochi resort:

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-21/putin-holds-surprise-meeting-assad-will-call-trump-phone-later-tuesday

    Putin to talk to Trump via phone today.

    Michael Kenny , November 21, 2017 at 2:04 pm GMT
    Logically, the US would want to keep on good terms with ISIS so as to be able to use it later against Putin in Syria (or Chechnya!). As always, Putin is the centrepiece of the problem. Ukraine? Syria? Iran? North Korea? No Putin, no problem.
    DESERT FOX , November 21, 2017 at 2:15 pm GMT
    The fact is that ISIS aka AL CIADA was created by the U.S. and Israel and Britain ie the CIA and the MOSSAD and MI 6 to be their proxy mercenaries to do regime change and this is what they did at a cost of thousands of American servicemen and millions of civilians dead and over 6 TRILLION dollars pissed away for the benefit of ISRAEL and the Zionist bankers and the Zionist controlled MIC.

    The Zionists control the U.S. and this was proven by the coverup of the attack on the USS LIBERTY and the coverup of ISRAELS attack on the WORLD TRADE CENTER on 911, there is no end to the hell that Zionist Israel will inflict on America.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 2:18 pm GMT
    @chris

    The Coalition of Dishonest, US & Israel, are trying to protect their investment, ISIS:
    "The Russians have, in fact, complained that Washington seemed just a tad disinterested in actually cooperating to destroy the last remnants of ISIS in the few areas that the group still controls, citing most recently an alleged incident during the Syrian government liberation of the town of Abu Kamal in which U.S. air assets on site appear to have allowed ISIS fighters to escape."

    The US brass has been exposed as a bunch of liars:
    "In May, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said on television that the war against ISIS was one of " annihilation. Our intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return home to north Africa, to Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa. We are not going to allow them to do so." Well, Mattis was possibly lying back then, or at least saying what he thought would play well on television and in the newspapers. On November 14th, the day after the BBC story about Raqqa broke, he lied again, saying that the United States is in Syria under a U.N. authorization to fight ISIS, which is not true."

    The US has become an internationally recognize liar and aggressor. Thanks, Israel.

    Meanwhile, in Russia: "I'd like to introduce you to the people who played a key part in saving Syria," Putin told Assad as he introduced the men in green uniforms. "Of course, Mr. Assad knows some of you personally. He told me during our talks today that thanks to the Russian Army, Syria has been saved as a state." Assad used the opportunity to relay the gratitude of his government and the Syrian people to those involved in the two-year operation in the war-torn nation. "I would like to underline the effort made by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the sacrifices they have made," he said." https://www.rt.com/news/410467-putin-assad-meet-syria/

    Avery , November 21, 2017 at 2:20 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    { to use it later against Putin in Syria}

    You just woke up from hibernation?
    US has been using ISIS in Syria for 4-5 years against Assad, and Putin's AF has been chopping the head-choppers to little of chunks of burnt swine.
    Unfortunately the number of ISIS cannibals available for pulverizing by RuAF has greatly diminished lately: just when Russian AF was getting warmed up, they ran out of juicy ISIS targets.

    {(or Chechnya!)}

    Wow (!).
    Are you delusional or what (!!).

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 2:22 pm GMT
    Whom does the US military really fight against in Syria? – Not the ISIS, for sure. https://southfront.org/syrian-war-al-bukamal-is-liberated-what-now/
    "The at-Tanf area on the Syrian-Iraqi border is controlled by the US-led coalition and a few US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups. FSA units are concentrated around the US garrison at at-Tanf and in the nearby refugee camp. The US says that it needs this garrison to fight ISIS while in fact it is just preventing Syria and Iraq from using the Damascus-Baghdad highway as a supply line. US forces respond with airstrikes and shelling to any Syrian Arab Army (SAA) attempts to reach at-Tanf."
    Anonymous , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 2:24 pm GMT
    This is a great article, although it would be easier to understand with ✡proper✡ punctuation, e.g., (((posse of neo-cohens))), (((ISIS))), (((US media))).
    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 2:28 pm GMT
    @Erebus

    Agree.
    The Nuremberg Protocols have set the precedent for reparations for the Jews.
    Syria has been a victim of the US/Israel/Saudis aggression. Time to pay for the destruction and slaughtered civilians of all ages. .

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 2:32 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    It is not so much the US that "want to keep on good terms with ISIS" in Syria. It is the Jewish state that wants Syria to disintegrate. Have not you heard the Israelis' squealing about "bad Iran?" – Here we are. Israelis/Israel-firsters want to keep the US fighting for Jewish Lebensraum in the Middle East.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 3:03 pm GMT
    @Avery

    He is just a regular Israel-firster. For Mr. Kenny, the humanity be sacrificed in the name of the apartheid Jewish State.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 3:06 pm GMT
    More on the situation in Syria and the phony "war on terror:" https://www.globalresearch.ca/saudi-israeli-friendship-is-driving-the-rest-of-the-middle-east-together/5619176
    "Mohammed bin Salman, son of King Salman, began his internal purge of the Kingdom's elite by removing from the line of succession Bin Nayef, a great friend of the US intelligence establishment (Brennan and Clapper). Bin Nayef was a firm partner of the US deep state. Saudi Arabia has for years worked for the CIA, advancing US strategic goals in the region and beyond. Thanks to the cooperation between Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Bin Nayef, and US intelligence agencies, Washington has for years given the impression of fighting against Islamist terrorist while actually weaponizing jihadism since the 1980s by deploying it against rival countries like the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the Iraqi government in 2014, the Syrian state in 2012, and Libya's Gaddafi in 2011 ."
    Zumbuddi , November 21, 2017 at 3:11 pm GMT
    I meant to AGREE to #27, not 28.

    Israel's evil schemes and malign influence of Izzie lovers are real enough, but the American people have got to grow up & grow a pair -- realize that their representatives are themselves corrupt & warmongering for evil, unlawful motives.

    bliss_porsena , November 21, 2017 at 3:34 pm GMT
    A four-mile long convoy and who stood down the Russkies?
    Chu , November 21, 2017 at 3:58 pm GMT
    It Never ends
    JoaoAlfaiate , November 21, 2017 at 4:26 pm GMT
    Simply the continuation of the US policy of Obama/Clinton under a new administration designed to weaken or remove the Syrian Gov't for Israel's benefit. The Israelis routinely treat ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters and return them to the battlefield while shelling the Syrian Arab Army whenever they have an excuse. Same stuff, different day.
    TruthtellerAryan , November 21, 2017 at 4:37 pm GMT
    Hi PG, great observation. They can't kill all their "hitman thugs", the mass bombing was not done to destroy ISIS, a group that was created by ZIA, Mossad, and Wahabi thugs to destroy the ME, kill as many Muslim civilians and others, and send the rest packing to Europe, while keeping the "fake war on terror " alive and kicking. Russia and Iran have put their noses in a " well thought plan", spoilers that have to be dealt with. But their hands can only reach Iran , except it might burn.
    Letting ISIS go unmolested is one proof they are in cahoots
    Anyone announcing, "ISIS is our greatest threat " and calling those helping get rid of this threat as a "threat ", that's a definite suspect.
    ISIS is only continuing the 9/11 narrative. Iran and Russia have to be stopped at any cost, the Zionists have to fulfill their dreams .
    anonymous , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 4:39 pm GMT
    @Zumbuddi

    An idea that the Christian West will exorcise itself from Judenevil, is simply not rooted in reality. See what happened with Christian Italy's opposition to BDS, a moral cause, clearly a Juden vs Muslim cause.

    The Christian West fears Islam the most, not as a nations conquering power, but as a spiritual mind conquering power, given Islam's undeniable focus on true monotheism an ideological power which Christendom finds itself impotent against, given it own foundations in pagan polytheism.

    Even if we agree that Europeans for the most part will never accept true monotheism, but would rather wallow in the godlessness of Atheism, Gnosticism, or whatever, as is happening now, the fact that by numbers alone Christianity would play second fiddle to Islam, would be psychologically crushing to the supremacist West, a culture which prides its glory on its Christian faith.

    The Christian West has no such fear of Judenism, the exclusive membership cult , even if Juden faithful clearly revile their "deity," and his holy mother, herself a perceived "deity," no less. Your nations will always keep Judens close (sure, preferably not inside), because that cult will always remain the implacable enemies of Islam (you know, enemy of my enemy, and all).

    So, why does the Christian West fear Islam's consistent message of True Monotheism? Because, I believe most Christians know that at its core, their faith is simply, Polytheism.

    http://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/db0_onegod.htm

    http://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/m01_religion.htm

    renfro , November 21, 2017 at 4:43 pm GMT
    " I think that Washington, which has done so little to defeat ISIS, wants some threat to continue so it can keep its own "resistance forces" in place and active to give it a seat at the table and a voice at the upcoming Geneva discussions for a political settlement in Syria.">>

    You are 100% Philip.
    And Isr'merica has to keep terriers alive and well to continue 'the threat' to civilization.

    TruthtellerAryan , November 21, 2017 at 4:50 pm GMT
    @DESERT FOX

    Right on. And all the espionage that have been going on and covered up for decades.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 5:07 pm GMT
    Jews or Jewish "converts" in the thousands from France and other European countries have joined ISIS, which should tell you all there is to know about ISIS. Only reason for a Muslim to join ISIS is if they are a government agent of a Western or West-supported puppet country . any other type of Muslim joining this CIA created bullshit called "isis" is just plain a hopeless fool
    Sane Left Libertarian , November 21, 2017 at 5:08 pm GMT
    We're probably now in a permanent state of war, until we go the way of the USSR. With fewer and fewer civilian peacetime jobs that actually pay the rent available, the MIMC (Military-Industrial-Media Complex) is the only thing keeping the economy from flatlining. As others have pointed out, cui bono? Read Kevin Phillips' House of Bush, House of Saud for some background. You can bet the Bush family is making money off of it.
    Talha , November 21, 2017 at 5:08 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    The Christian West fears Islam the most

    I think you are making this far too intellectual. I don't think many people operate at this level.

    The reason why most people in the West fear Islam is likely because too many Muslims have done a piss-poor job in becoming boons for their host countries and too many act like jack-asses (and dangerous ones at that).

    Our community needs to do some serious self-reflection and reign in some of the idiot youth we have running around before we start taking it up to the level of debate about theological points. Nobody's going to listen to you debate Trinitarianism if they are afraid you're looking to steal their lunch money.

    Read up on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

    You are trying to punch way above where we are at right now. Trust me, people who are dissatisfied with Trinitariansim don't need advertising.

    Wa salaam.

    TruthtellerAryan , November 21, 2017 at 5:10 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Troll!!!!

    Astuteobservor II , November 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm GMT
    the goal is to mess syria up, just like libya, iraq and all the other countries in the ME. for the 17 years of continuous wars waged by the us, the ME will take at least a few decades just to recover to pre 2003 lvls. and the 17 years isn't the end. this will continue. turkey almost got taken over in a us backed insurrection. when russia got involved in syria, that wasn't just a wrench in the american planning cogs, that was like a wrecking ball.

    when I look at pictures and videos of the devastation, I get the feeling we are evil as fuck as a country.

    ps: look at yemen. that is a proxi war too by using SA. all the deaths in that country is also on us.

    Cloak And Dagger , November 21, 2017 at 5:42 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Were you born an idiot or did you go to college?

    Cloak And Dagger , November 21, 2017 at 5:43 pm GMT
    @Chu

    Something tells me that the end is approaching. It won't be pleasant for us, though.

    Flavius , November 21, 2017 at 6:00 pm GMT
    It's not or what, Phil. It's incorrigible stupidity.
    When the US Government playmaker is an amalgam of the Quiet and the Ugly American and has charged himself with 'doing something about' changing political and social conditions in a country he knows nothing about, considers himself too superior to learn anything about, and knows that he personally will be immune from the consequences of failure, decapitation as a policy comes readily and easily to his mind: Ngo Dinh Diem; Saddam Hussein; Muammar Qaddafi. Sometimes when decapitation seems to be not immediately practicable, he takes out an option on the future with mere demonization: Assad; of course Putin; countless others.
    But this has to be on Trump. Russia, China and the far east, the Middle East are now policy realities that are unfolding on his watch. He entered office without political friends and surrounded himself with generals and family whose only favorable qualification is that they are not generals: the very predictable results have not been impressive. I can only surmise that the execrable Nikki Haley holds a chip against her firing. The woman cannot open her mouth without causing real fear that there is literally no reasonable person in our entire foreign policy apparatus who is holding the reins.
    The trajectory does not look good. If there is someone out there who could point to a calamity averting firewall in this Administration, a George Schultz, a Jim Baker, just somebody who is recognizably adult, stable and sane and is not a general, I would very much like to know who it is. I would sleep better.
    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 6:30 pm GMT
    @Michael Kenny

    Israeli parasite: http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2017/11/httpssouthfrontorgisraels-military-expenditures-and-military-industrial-complex-overview-and-dynamics.html
    "The biggest element of US-Israeli military-technical cooperation is military aid. Israel is the main recipient of US military aid in the form of grants and direct deliveries of equipment on advantageous terms. Since 1976, Israel has been the biggest recipient of annual US aid, and since 1987 of US military aid. In addition, by some estimates Israel receives $1 billion a year in the form of charity contributions, and a similar sum through short- and long-term funds. US provide aid to Israel in various forms: Foreign Military Sales, Direct Commercial Sales, Excess Defense Articles, and also funds to support research and development. Moreover, the Foreign Military Financing program implemented by the US Department of State has become, over the years, the largest of all such programs implemented by the US. One should note that, for example, out of $5.7 billion budgeted for this program in 2014, $3.1 went to Israel, In other words, Israel obtains more military assistance through this program than the rest of the world combined. This sum does not include the financing for Israel's ABM programs, which are estimated at another $500 million. Unlike other programs, FMF allows Israel to spend up to 25% of US-provided funding on own military programs. All other countries receiving military aid must spend it only on US weapons and equipment."

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 6:40 pm GMT
    @DESERT FOX

    From Sic Semper Tyrannis: http://turcopolier.typepad.com
    " what's theirs [Israelis] is theirs, and what's yours is theirs as well. I don't doubt that US government gifts to Israel benefit American defense industry, but these gifts come right out of the pocket of the American taxpayer and what do we get for it? Israeli forces are in no way at the disposition of the US. They are not assets of American policy. Israel sees itself as an self-defining island in the world and the only real home for Jews. As such it thinks it cannot afford to be sentimental about any predominately gentile state, in other words, all others. And then, there is the repeated phenomenon of Israel either skirting the provisions of proprietary agreements about equipment sales or shared R&D or simply outright violations of these agreements in sales to third parties."
    – In short, Israelis are cheaters and thieves and no friends to the US; they are just parasites.

    phil , November 21, 2017 at 7:13 pm GMT
    @Incredulous Phil

    Please improve the site by making constructive comments.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm GMT
    I guess the Iranian president's statement is premature then.

    http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/11/21/iran-declares-the-end-of-islamic-state-in-live-state-tv-broadcast/?utm

    Zumbuddi , November 21, 2017 at 7:25 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    Agree with Talha that you are over thinking the situation. Wouldn't have used the Maslow thing, but no matter --

    imo religion-theology-sectarian conflict are at the bottom of barrel in explaining the wars.
    Muslims are pissed at USA/West because USA/WEST INVADED them & killed their people. It's not much more complicated then that.
    It is hideous that Islam is demonized and Muslims made the fall guy -- that is a specialty of Jews–drumming up gut-level hate. Other cultures use propaganda in war -- Romans did,Napoleon was a master propagandist.
    But Jews (no, not Nazis/ Goebbels but Jews)own the franchise on ginning up hate.

    In the '60s and '70s US universities overflowed with Iranian Paki Indian grad students. It was a dynamic time. Now Jews are all over our best universities & it"s ugly.

    But my original point was, American citizens have to take responsibility for the CRIMES of their leaders.

    Art , November 21, 2017 at 7:57 pm GMT
    @Cloak And Dagger

    Couldn't we, once more, become manufacturers and traders, rather than mercenaries for Israel? That would Make America Great Again .

    Sorry – but Trump has one giant chink in his armor – he is Netanyahu's fluffer – he supports the Jew's hardon for humanity.

    Think Peace -- Art

    Delinquent Snail , November 21, 2017 at 8:10 pm GMT
    @MEexpert

    Pretty sure the people of spain would disagree with "Before the Palestinian issue there were no hijackings, kidnappings, or killings of non-Muslim by Muslims. This started when the benevolent Western nations got rid of the Jews from the Europe and put them in the Middle east." the crusades werent just Christians fighting Muslims, muslims pushed back and did more damage then the european Christians did.

    Delinquent Snail , November 21, 2017 at 8:14 pm GMT
    @Anon

    " US/Israel/Saudis aggression. Time to pay for the destruction .."

    As long as payment is put up by our "leaders" and not the average american, i agree. Start building the gallows!

    Delinquent Snail , November 21, 2017 at 8:27 pm GMT
    @jacques sheete

    It is the mainstream tho. We know it is bullshit, but its still the main "news" outlet. They controll the narrative, and they have the majority of listeners/watchers. That makes them mainstream.

    Mainstream doesn't have to mean "good", "honest" or "accurate", just popular and widely consumed.

    c matt , November 21, 2017 at 8:31 pm GMT
    @MEexpert

    I could have never imagined that the United States will lose every fiber of decency and morality for the sake of few AIPAC dollars.

    Imagination has nothing to do with it – it is simple observation.

    Delinquent Snail , November 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    You have a high opinion of westerners. Most are too dumb or busy to even look at the differences between islam and whatever the west believes.

    If all peoples would just abandon the religions of their grandfathers and take responsibility for their actions in life (instead of taking a back seat and allowing a mythical "judge" to have a say after death), this planet would be a better place.

    Most people agree that kindness, decency and respect are the cornerstones of all the moral principles that religions impose on their followers. So why do we need the mythical stories and outdated traditions to be good?

    Grandpa Charlie , November 21, 2017 at 9:01 pm GMT
    @MEexpert

    "Iran has nuclear weapons" etc.

    "These are few of the lies that have been told by our politicians and the MSM. Just ask any average American and he will tell you that yes these are true statements."

    -- MEexpert

    MEexpert must not live in USA. If you ask "any average American" who lives in this country about such things, he will probably mutter a perfunctory "yeah, right," and then walk away from you, thinking to himself, "ay-ho", meaning "AH".

    Percentage of Americans with any confidence in Congress? Maybe just barely in double digits, and maybe not. Same for MSM oh, sure, some people still have their favorite TV news channel, but that's only because talking heads can't say often enough that it's all BS, present company excepted and anyway very few people watch any TV news. Those that do are partisan and get told by their favorite talking head exactly what they think they want to hear.

    So if you ask a guy if Iran has nukes, he'll likely say, "Yeah, sure" but he will actually be remembering that it came out a few years ago that Iran had no WMDs. And then if you ask, "Iran and Iraq: they're the same country, aren't they?" he'll likely say, "Yeah, sure." And now with Iraq having a Shiite government, that'll be pretty much true see how that works .. like a stopped clock just give it some time and it will be accurate, at least for a while. But if you would wind up the clock, it would still work, it's just that nobody winds anything up any more . it's all battery powered .or maybe solar

    "Braindead"? It's more like parts of the brain have been put to sleep. Those parts can be woke in an election year to temporarily take some interest, but now that the election is old news, we return to the basic truth: "nobody cares."

    Politics? Don't ask, don't tell -- that's the policy of Joe Sixpack. Sally Sixpack? "Trump is a serial groper, it's disgusting." To which, Joe says, "Yeah sure."

    Americans are practical people. A lot of guys, if you get to where you are exposing the whole rotten system, they'll say, "Well, let me know where we're going to form up, and I'll grab a couple of my guns and meet you there."

    "Yeah, sure."

    Anon , Disclaimer November 21, 2017 at 9:20 pm GMT
    @Delinquent Snail

    First, we should redirect the hefty allowance for Israel to the restoration of Syria.
    Meanwhile, Israel continues protecting ISIS and invading Syria: http://thesaker.is/syrian-war-report-november-20-2017-government-troops-liberated-al-bukamal-from-isis/
    "In southern Syria, the SAA entered into the villages of Kafr Hawar, Bayt Sabir, Baytima and established control over them. HTS militants had withdrawn from the area thanks to the SAA actions and protests of the locals. Israel responded to the SAA operations with two shelling incidents from its battle tanks. The first took place on November 18. The second was reported on November 20. The SAA suffered no casualties. Tel Aviv is upset that the Syrian government is restoring control over the areas previously seized by militants."

    ChuckOrloski , November 21, 2017 at 9:26 pm GMT
    Hey Phil,

    Must assert what the American-Israeli military did with ISIS is far from "stupid."

    Such action was practical.

    Copying the genius of Henry Ford, the leftover ISIS remnant is become interchangeable parts which can get readily reactivated within the next popularized wave of "Radical Islam" which will likely appear in order to wage merciless war , uh on Lebanon.

    I am figuring (brand name) al-Qaeda will soon get a curtain call.

    Thank you very much.

    Jake , November 21, 2017 at 9:29 pm GMT
    @jacques sheete

    The US betrays its allies because that is what the English did. Palmerston may have expressed it best: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."

    It's a WASP imperial thing.

    Jake , November 21, 2017 at 9:33 pm GMT
    @Delinquent Snail

    Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Mao, Fanon, Marcuse, and Soros agree with your Deep Thoughts 100%.

    One Tribe , November 21, 2017 at 9:39 pm GMT
    Delinquent understanding of history:

    "Pretty sure the people of spain would disagree with "Before the Palestinian issue there were no hijackings, kidnappings, or killings of non-Muslim by Muslims."

    You should carefully validate your historical ' facts ', especially when describing "hijackings, kidnappings, or killings of non-Muslim", in Spain after the Islamic 'Moorish' conquest; try Douglas Reed "The Controversy of Zion" p.89 ish at: https://archive.org/details/TheControversyOfZion

    You will see how events of our current era from 1800, follow a pattern traceable for 25 centuries.

    Jake , November 21, 2017 at 9:42 pm GMT
    @anonymous

    Christianity is Trinitarianism. Mohammedanism is a Gnostic heresy of both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism, mixed together with some nicely disguised aspects of Arabic paganism.

    jjc , November 21, 2017 at 9:48 pm GMT
    The purpose of ISIS was to provide a rationale for the reestablishment of US/NATO permanent military bases in Iraq and also Syria. Statements made during the year or so after ISIS appeared and before Russia's intervention in 2015 consistently referred to a "30 year" time period required by US/NATO forces to ultimately defeat ISIS. During that year, US/NATO never attempted to disrupt ISIS' supply lines or interdict the Gulf States' funding of the group, all the while the Western media was constantly publishing ISIS atrocity videos and politicians were claiming the fight against ISIS was the most important struggle of all.

    In my opinion, the sudden release of Syrian refugees into Europe in September 2015, after they had been warehoused in Turkey until that moment, was meant to serve as a manufactured crisis which would lead to the insertion of a large US/NATO force into Iraq and Syria with both a "humanitarian" pretext and the fight against ISIS, leading to military bases,Syrian regime change, and probably from there the targeting of Hezbollah and later Iran. Russia's sudden intervention prevented this scenario from playing out.

    Art , November 21, 2017 at 10:49 pm GMT
    @MEexpert

    I could have never imagined that the United States will lose every fiber of decency and morality for the sake of few AIPAC dollars.

    MEexpert,

    The AIPAC stick is much mightier then the AIPAC carrot. It is amazing for how little these politicians sell out America.

    The Jew MSM has the hammer. (All the media types live in fear of the Jew – just like the politicians.)

    Think Peace -- Art

    Twodees Partain , November 21, 2017 at 10:59 pm GMT
    @jacques sheete

    Yes, there's a long history of this kind of betrayal by the US government. I can only guess that Saudi agents ran the front end of the recruitment of ISIS. Otherwise it's a little hard to feature so many of these foot soldiers coming to join the mission.

    Thanks for the excerpt and the link.

    RJJCDA , November 21, 2017 at 11:45 pm GMT
    The game (and perceived necessity) is to block China.

    Draw a horizontal line from the Chinese population centers below Beijing westward and you go through the "stans," Iran, under the Caspian Sea, and finally to Syria. This will be the the One Belt, One Road, the new Silk Road, etc., with rails, pipelines and what not.

    It is no accident that the action is near the western terminus of that line. If implemented, future world dominance could be achieved.

    Renoman , November 21, 2017 at 11:50 pm GMT
    USA, what an embarrassing Country.
    Cygnus , November 21, 2017 at 11:58 pm GMT
    Thanks for this article; it seems to show the activities of the war profiteers; those who own shares in the armament industries, and those who loan money to countries to pay these armament indusries. They are probably the same group of people. Perpetual war as a business model.
    LauraMR , November 21, 2017 at 11:59 pm GMT
    @Fran Macadam

    No, it isn't accurate.

    Consider this:

    Americans have been living in a country that has not known peace since 9/11,

    Now, tell me. When was the last decade our country was not at war? The 20′s?

    Ivy Mike , November 22, 2017 at 12:01 am GMT
    The early photos of Isis on the move showed them in shiny new white Toyota pickups. Looks like they've learned to camouflage them. Sinister and brilliant.
    ChuckOrloski , November 22, 2017 at 12:49 am GMT
    @Twodees Partain

    Hey Twodees Partain,

    Uh , practical "Muslim fanatics" need to find work too!

    Does the official 9/11 report claim that the hijackers got help from the Saud royals?

    (Zigh) Who the hell really knows who were Mohammed Atta's alleged handlers in Hamburg, Germany?

    At the time, Germany was host to five-star military bases under leftover WW II treaties. Hm. Where were CIA and Mossad HQ' s located in Hamburg.

    (Zigh) Even lookalike Mohammed Atta' s must had difficulty in figuring out exactly who wanted to employ them.

    Can one imagine a washed-up ISIS warrior somehow gaining entry into uh, say Scranton, and undergoing a "dream" terror-job search? (Zigh) Joining up would depend upon (up front) receipt of a "sign-on" bonus check that did not bounce. (Zigh)

    Pardon my cynicism, and thanks Twodees Partain for the solid thinking!

    Anon , Disclaimer November 22, 2017 at 1:30 am GMT
    @ChuckOrloski

    Here is a nice outline on training American Fifth column by Israel-firsters -- "The U.S. Military as a Zionist Organization," by Shoshana Bryen: https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2017/11/20/u-s-military-zionist-organization/

    "I have taken more than 400 American security professionals – primarily retired American Admirals and Generals – to Israel in more than 30 trips. And at the other end of their careers, I have sent more than 500 cadets and midshipmen of our service academies to Israel before they received their commissions. I never found one that didn't believe in the relationship between Jews and the land of Israel. The United States military, then, is a Zionist institution ."
    Rejoyce, Americans -- Israel-firsters are satisfied with your brass.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 22, 2017 at 1:37 am GMT
    @Jake

    He does not profess zionism – what's your problem?

    ChuckOrloski , November 22, 2017 at 1:40 am GMT
    @jjc

    jjc,

    The V.T. article linked below goes deep into what scary war is about to be launched perhaps prior to the New Year.

    https://www.veteranstoday.com/2017/11/21/hezbollah-forces-are-on-high-combat-readiness-to-counter-israeli-threats/

    Thanks very much for your logical thought process which is appreciated here.

    Rurik , November 22, 2017 at 1:59 am GMT
    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-21/putin-holds-surprise-meeting-assad-will-call-trump-phone-later-tuesday
    SolontoCroesus , November 22, 2017 at 2:04 am GMT
    @RJJCDA

    Is the Yemen war to do with the Bridge of the Horns project that bin Laden family is spearheading?

    DESERT FOX , November 22, 2017 at 2:26 am GMT
    @Anon

    Israel will destroy America, just as a parasite eventually kills its host, so shall Israel kill America.

    jacques sheete , November 22, 2017 at 2:37 am GMT
    @Delinquent Snail

    It is the mainstream tho.

    Still, using the term legitimizes it somewhat more than it deserves. And it supports the agendas of the plutoligarchs and they are not mainstream by any means.

    jacques sheete , November 22, 2017 at 2:41 am GMT
    @Jake

    It's a WASP imperial thing.

    I do not disagree, but I would add that it's a Zionist (not necessarily Jewish) imperial thing as well.

    anon , Disclaimer November 22, 2017 at 2:45 am GMT
    The surviving jihadists are pretty much stateless; there's no going back to their home countries now. The promised caliphate they expected to live in didn't materialize. They are now totally dependent on whoever is willing to shelter them which makes them a useful commodity for the US. They can be held on the back burner until the next project comes along. There's all sorts of countries that could become the next target should they refuse to capitulate to US demands. They're all probably being secreted in various places awaiting a call.
    It's a mistaken notion that the US is against radical Islam. On the contrary it not only wants it but tries to create it. Look at it's assembling of zealots to fight in Afghanistan against the Russians and the use of them against secular nationalist in Islamic areas. ISIS fanatics are deluded cannon-fodder, not realizing they're just furthering US aims, the US working through various fronts so as to hide the actual authorship of what's taking place.
    Joe Wong , November 22, 2017 at 3:57 am GMT

    Americans have been living in a country that has not known peace since 9/11,

    This is simply not true. War has not happened in the USA since the American Civil War 160 years ago. All wars the American military fought since then are fought in somebody else homeland, those wars to the Americans are just some kind of odd news competing eyeballs with pro sport news, celebrity gossips, gun violence or commercials, if they did not read it, those wars never happen, never heard of it, and it is out of sight and out of mind, the wars have nothing to do with them. The USA itself is all peaceful other than occasional gun violence.

    Anon , Disclaimer November 22, 2017 at 4:46 am GMT
    http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/translated-doc-debunks-narrative-of-al-qaeda-iran-alliance/

    [Nov 22, 2017] Syria, 'Experts,' and George Monbiot by Jonathan Cook

    Notable quotes:
    "... Porter's research indicates very strongly that the building that was bombed could not have been a nuclear reactor – and that was clear to experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) even as the story was being promoted uncritically across the western media. ..."
    "... But Porter helps shine a light on how even the most reputable international agencies can end up similarly following a script written in Washington and one that rides roughshod over evidence, especially when the interests of the world's only superpower are at stake. In this case, the deceptions were perpetuated by one of the world's leading scientific organizations: the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors states' nuclear activities. ..."
    "... The Syrian "nuclear plant", he noted, could not have been built using North Korean know-how, as was claimed by the US. It lacked all the main features of a North Korean gas-cooled reactor. The photos produced by the Israelis showed a building that, among other things, covered too small an area and was not anywhere near high enough, it had none of the necessary supporting structures, and there was no cooling tower. ..."
    "... Abushady's assessment was buried by the IAEA, which preferred to let the CIA and the Israelis promote their narrative unchallenged. ..."
    "... This was not a one-off failure. In summer 2008, the IAEA visited the area to collect samples. Had the site been a nuclear plant, they could have expected to find nuclear-grade graphite particles everywhere. They found none. Nonetheless, the IAEA again perpetrated a deception to try to prop up the fictitious US-Israeli narrative. ..."
    Nov 22, 2017 | original.antiwar.com

    Investigative journalist Gareth Porter has published two exclusives whose import is far greater than may be immediately apparent. They concern Israel's bombing in 2007 of a supposed nuclear plant secretly built, according to a self-serving US and Israeli narrative, by Syrian leader Bashar Assad.

    Although the attack on the "nuclear reactor" occurred a decade ago, there are pressing lessons to be learnt for those analyzing current events in Syria.

    Porter's research indicates very strongly that the building that was bombed could not have been a nuclear reactor – and that was clear to experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) even as the story was being promoted uncritically across the western media.

    But – and this is the critical information Porter conveys – the IAEA failed to disclose the fact that it was certain the building was not a nuclear plant, allowing the fabricated narrative to be spread unchallenged. It abandoned science to bow instead to political expediency.

    The promotion of the bogus story of a nuclear reactor by Israel and key figures in the Bush administration was designed to provide the pretext for an attack on Assad. That, it was hoped, would bring an end to his presidency and drag into the fray the main target – Iran. The Syrian "nuclear reactor" was supposed to be a rerun of the WMD deception, used in 2003 to oust another enemy of the US and Israel's – Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

    It is noteworthy that the fabricated evidence for a nuclear reactor occurred in 2007, a year after Israel's failure to defeat Hizbullah in Lebanon. The 2006 Lebanon war was itself intended to spread to Syria and lead to Assad's overthrow, as I explained in my book Israel and the Clash of Civilisations .

    It is important to remember that this Israeli-neocon plot against Syria long predated – in fact, in many ways prefigured – the civil war in 2011 that quickly morphed into a proxy war in which the US became a key, if mostly covert, actor.

    The left's Witchfinder General

    The relevance of the nuclear reactor deception can be understood in relation to the latest efforts by Guardian columnist George Monbiot (and many others) to discredit prominent figures on the left, including Noam Chomsky and John Pilger, for their caution in making assessments of much more recent events in Syria. Monbiot has attacked them for not joining him in simply assuming that Assad was responsible for a sarin gas attack last April on Khan Sheikhoun, an al-Qaeda stronghold in Idlib province.

    Understandably, many on the left have been instinctively wary of rushing to judgment about individual incidents in the Syrian war, and the narratives presented in the western media. The claim that Assad's government used chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun, and earlier in Ghouta, was an obvious boon to those who have spent more than a decade trying to achieve regime change in Syria.

    In what has become an ugly habit with Monbiot, and one I have noted before, he has enthusiastically adopted the role of Witchfinder General. Any questioning of evidence, skepticism or simply signs of open-mindedness are enough apparently to justify accusations that one is an Assadist or conspiracy theorist. Giving house room to the doubts of a ballistics expert like Ted Postol of MIT, or an experienced international arms expert like Scott Ritter, or a famous investigative journalist like Seymour Hersh, or a former CIA analyst like Ray McGovern, is apparently proof that one is an atrocity denier or worse.

    Inconvenient facts buried

    Monbiot's latest attack was launched at a moment when he obviously felt he was on solid ground. A UN agency, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), issued a report last month concluding that the 100 people killed and 200 injured in Khan Sheikhoun last April were exposed to sarin. Monbiot argues that the proof is now incontrovertible that Assad was responsible – a position that he, of course, adopted at the outset – and that all other theories have now been decisively discounted by the OPCW .

    There are reasons to think that Monbiot is seriously misrepresenting the strength of the OPCW's findings, as several commentators have observed. Most notably, Robert Parry, another leading investigative journalist, points out that evidence in the report's annex – the place where inconvenient facts are often buried – appears to blow a large hole in the official story.

    Parry notes that the time recorded by the UN of the photo of the chemical weapons attack is more than half an hour after some 100 victims had already been admitted to five different hospitals, some of them lengthy drives from the alleged impact site.

    But potentially more significant than such troubling inconsistencies are the conclusions of Gareth Porter's separate investigation into Israel's bombing of the nonexistent Syrian nuclear reactor. That gets to the heart of where Monbiot and many others have gone badly wrong in their certainty about events in Syria.

    Extreme naivety

    Monbiot has been only too willing to promote as indisputable fact claims made both by highly compromised and unreliable western sources and by supposedly reputable and independent organizations, such as international human rights groups and UN agencies. He, like many others, assumes that the latter can always be relied upon to stand apart from western interests and can therefore be implicitly trusted.

    That indicates an extreme naivety or possibly the lack of any experience covering on the ground highly charged conflicts in which western interests are paramount.

    I have been based in Israel for nearly two decades and have on several occasions taken to task Human Rights Watch (HRW), one of the world's most esteemed human rights organizations. I have shown that assessments it has made were patently not rooted in evidence or even credible interpretations of international law but in geopolitical considerations. That was especially true in the case of the month-long fighting between Israel and Hizbullah in 2006. (See here and here .) My concerns about HRW's work, I later learnt from insiders, were shared in its New York head office, but were silenced by the organization's most senior staff.

    Nuclear plant deception

    But Porter helps shine a light on how even the most reputable international agencies can end up similarly following a script written in Washington and one that rides roughshod over evidence, especially when the interests of the world's only superpower are at stake. In this case, the deceptions were perpetuated by one of the world's leading scientific organizations: the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors states' nuclear activities.

    Porter reveals that Yousry Abushady, the IAEA's foremost expert on North Korean nuclear reactors, was able immediately to discount the aerial photographic evidence that the building Israel bombed in 2007 was a nuclear reactor. (Most likely it was a disused missile storage depot.)

    The Syrian "nuclear plant", he noted, could not have been built using North Korean know-how, as was claimed by the US. It lacked all the main features of a North Korean gas-cooled reactor. The photos produced by the Israelis showed a building that, among other things, covered too small an area and was not anywhere near high enough, it had none of the necessary supporting structures, and there was no cooling tower.

    Abushady's assessment was buried by the IAEA, which preferred to let the CIA and the Israelis promote their narrative unchallenged.

    Atomic agency's silence

    This was not a one-off failure. In summer 2008, the IAEA visited the area to collect samples. Had the site been a nuclear plant, they could have expected to find nuclear-grade graphite particles everywhere. They found none. Nonetheless, the IAEA again perpetrated a deception to try to prop up the fictitious US-Israeli narrative.

    As was routine, they sent the samples to a variety of laboratories for analysis. None found evidence of any nuclear contamination – apart from one. It identified particles of man-made uranium. The IAEA issued a report giving prominence to this anomalous sample, even though in doing so it violated its own protocols, reports Parry . It could draw such a conclusion only if the results of all the samples matched.

    In fact, as one of the three IAEA inspectors who had been present at the site later reported, the sample of uranium did not come from the plant itself, which was clean, but from a changing room nearby. A former IAEA senior inspector, Robert Kelley, told Parry that a "very likely explanation" was that the uranium particles derived from "cross contamination" from clothing worn by the inspectors. This is a problem that had been previously noted by the IAEA in other contexts.

    Meanwhile, the IAEA remained silent about its failure to find nuclear-grade graphite in a further nine reports over two years. It referred to this critical issue for the first time in 2011.

    Chance for war with Iran

    In other words, the IAEA knowingly conspired in a fictitious, entirely nonscientific assessment of the Syrian "nuclear reactor" story, one that neatly served US-Israeli geopolitical interests.

    Porter notes that vice-president Dick Cheney "hoped to use the alleged reactor to get President George W Bush to initiate US airstrikes in Syria in the hope of shaking the Syrian-Iranian alliance".

    In fact, Cheney wanted far more sites in Syria hit than the bogus nuclear plant. In his memoirs, the then-secretary of defense, Robert Gates, observed that Cheney was "looking for an opportunity to provoke a war with Iran".

    The Bush administration wanted to find a way to unseat Assad, crush Hizbullah in Lebanon, and isolate and weaken Iran as a way to destroy the so-called "Shia crescent".

    That goal is being actively pursued again by the US today, with Israel and Saudi Arabia leading the way. A former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, recently warned that , after their failure to bring down Assad, the Saudis have been trying to switch battlefields to Lebanon, hoping to foment a confrontation between Israel and Hizbullah that would drag in Iran.

    Abandoning science

    Back in 2007, the IAEA, an agency of scientists, did its bit to assist – or at least not obstruct – US efforts to foster a political case, an entirely unjustified one, for military action against Syria and, very possibly by extension, Iran.

    If the IAEA could so abandon its remit and the cause of science to help play politics on behalf of the US, what leads Monbiot to assume that the OPCW, an even more politicized body, is doing any better today?

    That is not to say Assad, or at least sections of the Syrian government, could not have carried out the attack on Khan Sheikhoun. But it is to argue that in a matter like this one, where so much is at stake, the evidence must be subjected to rigorous scrutiny, and that critics, especially experts who offer counter-evidence, must be given a fair hearing by the left. It is to argue that, when the case against Assad fits so neatly a long-standing and self-serving western narrative, a default position of skepticism is fully justified. It is to argue that facts, strong as they may seem, can be manipulated even by expert bodies, and therefore due weight needs also to be given to context – including an assessment of motives.

    This is not "denialism", as Monbiot claims. It is a rational strategy adopted by those who object to being railroaded once again – as they were in Iraq and Libya – into catastrophic regime change operations.

    Meanwhile, the decision by Monbiot and others to bury their heads in the sands of an official narrative, all the while denouncing anyone who seeks to lift theirs out for a better view, should be understood for what it is: an abnegation of intellectual and moral responsibility for those around the globe who continue to be the victims of western military supremacism.

    Jonathan Cook won the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jonathan-cook.net .

    Read more by Jonathan Cook Israel Lobby Is Slowly Being Dragged Into the Light – November 13th, 2017 Why Israel Supports Kurdish Independence – October 4th, 2017 Clinton's Defeat and the 'Fake News' Conspiracy – December 18th, 2016 Adam Curtis: Another Manager of Perceptions – October 20th, 2016 In the US, Money Talks When It Comes to Israel – July 20th, 2016

    [Nov 22, 2017] Just imagine what songs Bandar Bush is singing in the Ritz these days

    Nov 22, 2017 | www.unz.com
    survey-of-disinfo , November 20, 2017 at 1:50 pm GMT
    @Erebus

    Just imagine what songs Bandar Bush is singing in "the Ritz" these days. Want to sue Saudi Arabia for money because of 9/11? No problem, judge. Here are the names, here are the numbers, and here are the facts.

    Disagree regarding multipolar order. The super structures for Globalism are untouched in all this theatrical displays. All parties seem to participate actively in key Globalist institutions.

    Petrodollar is not and was never a component of NWO. It was an instrument of American supremacy. There are no planned superpowers in the NWO vision. Only Super-Institutions .

    [Nov 16, 2017] MoA - Syria Summary The Idlib Battle Comes Into Sight

    Nov 16, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    xor | Nov 16, 2017 1:48:29 PM | 5

    There is also the successful information attack conducted by US intelligence. The Russian Ministry of Defense published a report where it was showing clear evidence that the US is letting Daesh enter SDF territories unhindered near Abukamal. While the Russian Ministry of Defense evidently has a massive amount of pictures at their disposal, the photos that were attached to the report showing US complicity were easily debunkable fakes. Hours later it became clear something went wrong (computer hack, Facebook hack, officer selling out, ... ) and the Russian Ministry of Defense replaced the pictures by the authentic ones but by then the damage had been done. This successful information attack was then used by presstitute media over the globe to bash Russia, even though they would never have taken to effort to print the obvious truth, that the US is one of driving forces behind Daesh... globally.
    frances | Nov 16, 2017 2:26:08 PM | 6
    re:..the Russian Ministry of Defense replaced the pictures by the authentic ones but by then the damage had been done.Posted by: xor | Nov 16, 2017 1:48:29 PM | 5
    Thank you, this is the only mention of what happened and how that I have seen. I'd assumed the fake photos were a joke, I didn't realize they were posted initially by Russia.
    Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 2:31:25 PM | 7
    Abu Kamal is now well defended with the most ferocious ISIS troops inside. They have nowhere to go.
    Actually, I didn't agree with that bit. There will be another Jihadi transport, as before, when the time is right. The idea being, I think, to move them from place to place, into weaker and weaker situations, until finally they're pushed over the border (into Turkey), where they'll be finally dispersed. I suppose it would be ideal for the Syrians to move them to Idlib, where they could disrupt al-Nusra, but I doubt that that would be accepted. A good number from Raqqa went over the border.
    james | Nov 16, 2017 2:49:09 PM | 9
    @5xor... yes, i was following that too.. it was unfortunate, but to be expected... turning usa support for isis into hate russia fodder seems like a full time job for these folks..
    jayc | Nov 16, 2017 2:54:53 PM | 10
    The complicity of the western mainstream media in information warfare/propaganda (and adjuncts such as Bellingcat, who weighed in on the issue as well) were highlighted yet again by the widely dispersed story that "proof" of ISIS/USA coordination boiled down to a few photos borrowed from a video game. These deceptive reports ignored two widely corroborated issues: the movement of ISIS fighters out of Raqqa to the border town, and use of US air forces to support ISIS in holding the town until, presumably, the SDF arrive. Both of these issues were covered matter-of-factly (if downplayed) in the western press as they occurred, then assigned to the memory-hole when opportunity was presented to score a few cheap points. The utter contempt for their readers by these institutions is thus underscored again.
    xor | Nov 16, 2017 3:06:19 PM | 11
    Here are the 2 articles on USIS cooroperation. South Front was a bit more elaborate but then my comment will be blocked so not posting any links.

    US directly supports IS terrorists in Syria -- Russian Defense Ministry

    "The Abu Kamal liberation operation conducted by the Syrian government army with air cover by the Russian Aerospace Force at the end of the last week revealed facts of direct cooperation and support for ISIS terrorists by the US-led 'international coalition,'" the Russian Defense Ministry said.
    ...
    The ministry showed photo shoots made by Russian unmanned aircraft on November 9 which show kilometers-long convoys of IS armed groups leaving Abu Kamal
    ...
    The US refused to conduct airstrikes over the leaving IS convoy.
    ...
    The ministry also said that the coalition's aviation tried to disturb Russia's Aerospace Forces near Abu Kamal to ensure safe exit of terrorists.

    "The coalition's aviation tried to create obstacles for the aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces in this area to safely shield militants of the Islamic State , who are leaving Abu Kamal,
    ...
    To this aim, the coalition's attack aircraft entered the airspace over the 15-km zone around the city to hamper the Russian aircraft' mission, it said.
    ...
    "There is indisputable evidence that the United States pretends it is waging irreconcilable struggle against international terrorism in front of the international community, while in reality it provides cover for the combat-ready Islamic State groups to let them regain strength, regroup themselves and advance US interests in the Middle East," the ministry said.

    Defense Ministry provides explanation on wrong photos attached to Abu Kamal statement (Tass)

    "The Russian Defense Ministry is investigating its civil service employee who erroneously attached wrong photo illustrations to its statement on interaction between the US-led international coalition and Islamic State militants near Abu Kamal, Syria," the ministry said.

    "The United States' refusal to carry out strikes against ISIL (former name of Islamic State - TASS) terrorist convoys retreating from Abu Kamal is a fact recorded in the transcripts of the talks and, therefore, well known to the American side, just as the active counteraction by US aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces, which were ready to destroy ISIL terrorists who were regrouping for new attacks against government troops near Abu Kamal," the Defense Ministry said.

    The Russian Defense Ministry also provided authentic photos of an IS militant convoy heading for the Syrian-Iraqi border.

    stonebird | Nov 16, 2017 3:31:18 PM | 12
    As well as the US escorting ISIS terrorists to AlBukamel, there was a report that US troops (special forces?) had travelled south across nominally ISIS held territory, during a "sandstorm" (and without firing a shot). They are now apparently, setting up a base about 20 miles from Al Quaim, on the Irakian side of the border. (No details, but obviously to cut the road to Bagdad).

    Coincides with the 120 new military vehicles that were sent recently to Syria - the inadvertant admission that there are 5'000 US troops in SA (not counting mercenaries?) - and the discovery that ISIS snipers are using the latest thermal sights, supplied by the US.

    Q? When is a semi-war, a real war? With US aircraft stopping the Syrian's bombing ISIS, this is the closest to a real US/Rus fire-fight that we ahve seen. Note also that Israel has just killed four Syrian soldiers without any pretext. Ie. Open aggression.

    flankerbandit | Nov 16, 2017 4:28:23 PM | 13
    US is toast in Syria...

    Even the Syrian Kurds know this...and are gravitating slowly but surely into Moscow's orbit...

    Russia has been meeting with Kurdish YPG both at Hmeimim and elsewhere recently...

    These talks are moving ahead and there will be closer cooperation...including Kurdish presence at the planned Syria conference this month in Sochi...

    '...We are studying the issue and our stance has been positive so far," Badran Jia Kurd, an adviser to the administration that governs Kurdish-led autonomous regions of Syria, told Reuters.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2017-10-31/kurdish-led-authorities-in-north-syria-invited-to-moscow-backed-congress-official-says

    That was Oct 31...much has happened since then... The only real obstacle is Turkey...which is a 'partner' now in Syria...but views the PKK-allied YPG with distrust... But the writing is on the wall...the Kurds are about to ditch Washington at the first opportunity...

    What possible motive would they have for choosing the obvious loser as a their partner...? Nobody views the US as an honest broker...that has been proved thoroughly over the ages...starting with the Plains Indians... Another reason is that many Syrian Kurds do consider themselves Syrians first...and do in fact want a whole Syria... They must be quite aware that the US is using them as pawns and nothing more...

    Mattis is clown who is way out of his depth... This was described in some detail to journo Pepe Escobar...by highly placed US intel sources...

    '...Mattis has no strategic sense at all and should be no more than a minor Marine functionary as his ability is very limited...

    https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/06/how-the-dprk-riddle-is-freaking-out-the-us-establishment/

    john | Nov 16, 2017 4:29:02 PM | 14
    Ahmed is back and reopened his shop

    what a beautiful and haunting photograph...Edward Hopper nightmarelike...like...

    The bad captain madman had ordered their fate

    CarlD | Nov 16, 2017 4:46:05 PM | 16
    It is to be expected that the US will simply hunker down and make things as difficult as possible for SAA and allies. Remember Obama said it in 2016: "we'll make sure they suffer for it". They are still aiming for regime change and only numerous body bags will force them to reconsider.

    The US gambles on the notion that Russia will not push back vigorously, and will only protest but not shoot down the interfering aircraft.

    As long as this is the case, the US will bully Syria and the Syrians.

    Asking them to leave will produce no tangible results. They will keep entrenching themselves. Israel will not allow them to accept that they cannot achieve their aim: to replace Assad with their puppet/s.

    plantman | Nov 16, 2017 4:57:34 PM | 17
    The battle for abu Kamal might be more difficult that you think.

    General Dunford had been communicating with the Russian military up to this point, but now, it doesn't look like it. Which is understandable since the US and Syria want to control the same city. I thought that Deir Ezzor would be the place where Russia finally faced off with the US. But it could be abu kamal.

    just sayin'....

    Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 5:02:14 PM | 18
    re CarlD 16. The US 'hunkering down' is not going to work. Sooner or later, the Syrian Kurds are going to operate on their vision of the future, which is make a deal with Asad. The US forces will be left isolated.
    CarlD | Nov 16, 2017 5:07:11 PM | 19
    Re 18

    They can still count on the various Al Sham and whatever is left of ISIS they have been saving all this time. I agree that the Kurds will probably not stay in US's orbit. But ISIS an Al Sham have no choice.

    Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 5:27:39 PM | 20
    re 19. So the US will be left with un-winning fragments. Sounds like withdrawal time to me, at some point in the future.
    /div
    /div
    The situation in Iraq is parallel. By a stunning agreement with the Talebanis of Sulaimaniyya, Baghdad has been able to recover Kirkuk, and all the territory occupied by the Kurds. Now there's an agreement to abandon independence. The US is not involved. The US is left without allies. Staying in Iraq is going to be difficult.

    Posted by: Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 5:40:44 PM | 25

    The situation in Iraq is parallel. By a stunning agreement with the Talebanis of Sulaimaniyya, Baghdad has been able to recover Kirkuk, and all the territory occupied by the Kurds. Now there's an agreement to abandon independence. The US is not involved. The US is left without allies. Staying in Iraq is going to be difficult.

    Posted by: Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 5:40:44 PM | 25 /div

    jfb | Nov 16, 2017 5:45:46 PM | 26
    @Laguerre: Thanks, you surpass me largely in both knowledge and pedantry now, ouch! I feel more humble master.
    james | Nov 16, 2017 5:47:27 PM | 27
    i think the problem for many of us here is the close and ongoing connection that usa/uk/israel have with saudi arabia.. however the west wants to rationalize any of it, the headchoppers are a wahabbi death cult and yes - saudi arabia continues to refuse entry into the critical ports of yemen that will prevent what saudi arabia seems quite happy to inflict on the overall people of yemen... so, i think for myself anyway - this ugly trio - usa/uk/israel, can propagandize all they want.. it doesn't change what many can clearly see at this moment..
    Bobby | Nov 16, 2017 7:25:30 PM | 29
    Mr Matis and his military clowns are violating the international laws and committing war crimes against the human Syrian nationals and should be prosecuted as such. The USA think they have the right to occupy any land they wish without consequences simply because they own the U.N. , the cowardly united nation who basically serve the interest of the western nations and Israel and the Zionism around the world should be ashamed for not keeping with charter of the U.N. .
    Laguerre | Nov 16, 2017 7:56:44 PM | 31
    Over the next six month Idelb governate will be at the center of the war. Al-Qaeda, which rules the area, is not willing to give up without a fight. They are Takfiri terrorists. There is nothing to negotiate with them.
    Evidently
    John Merryman | Nov 16, 2017 9:15:16 PM | 33
    Interesting theory. Wondering if any corroboration;
    http://americandigitalnews.com/index.php/2017/11/07/las-vegas-saudi-crown-prince-salman-assassination-attempt/

    [Nov 15, 2017] Alex Azar Can There Be Uglier Scenarios than the Revolving Door naked capitalism

    Notable quotes:
    "... By Lambert Strether ..."
    "... So should Mr Azar be confirmed as Secretary of DHHS, the fox guarding the hen house appears to be a reasonable analogy. ..."
    "... In this post, I'd like to add two additional factors to our consideration of Azar. The first: Democrat credentialism makes it hard for them to oppose Azar. The second: The real ..."
    Nov 15, 2017 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

    Alex Azar: Can There Be Uglier Scenarios than the Revolving Door? Posted on November 15, 2017 by Lambert Strether By Lambert Strether

    Clearly, Alex Azar, nominated yesterday for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services by the Trump Administration, exemplifies the case of the "revolving door," through which Flexians slither on their way to (or from) positions of public trust. Roy Poses ( cross-posted at NC ) wrote, when Azar was only Acting Secretary:

    Last week we noted that Mr Trump famously promised to &#8220;drain the swamp&#8221; in Washington. Last week, despite his previous pledges to not appoint lobbyists to powerful positions, he appointed a lobbyist to be acting DHHS Secretary. This week he is apparently strongly considering Mr Alex Azar, a pharmaceutical executive to be permanent DHHS Secretary, even though the FDA, part of DHHS, has direct regulatory authority over the pharmaceutical industry, and many other DHHS policies strongly affect the pharmaceutical industry. (By the way, Mr Azar was also in charge of one lobbying effort.)

    So should Mr Azar be confirmed as Secretary of DHHS, the fox guarding the hen house appears to be a reasonable analogy.

    Moreover, several serious legal cases involving bad behavior by his company, and multiple other instances of apparently unethical behavior occurred on Mr Azar&#8217;s watch at Eli Lilly. So the fox might be not the most reputable member of the species.

    So you know the drill&#8230;. The revolving door is a species of conflict of interest . Worse, some experts have suggested that the revolving door is in fact corruption. As we noted here , the experts from the distinguished European anti-corruption group U4 wrote ,

    The literature makes clear that the revolving door process is a source of valuable political connections for private firms. But it generates corruption risks and has strong distortionary effects on the economy , especially when this power is concentrated within a few firms.

    The ongoing parade of people transiting the revolving door from industry to the Trump administration once again suggests how the revolving door may enable certain of those with private vested interests to have excess influence, way beyond that of ordinary citizens, on how the government works, and that the country is still increasingly being run by a cozy group of insiders with ties to both government and industry. This has been termed crony capitalism.

    Poses is, of course, correct. (Personally, I've contained my aghastitude on Azar, because I remember quite well how Liz Fowler transitioned from Wellpoint to being Max Baucus's chief of staff when ObamaCare was being drafted to a job in Big Pharma , and I remember quite well the deal with Big Pharma Obama cut, which eliminated the public option , not that the public option was anything other than a decreasingly gaudy "progressive" bauble in the first place.)

    In this post, I'd like to add two additional factors to our consideration of Azar. The first: Democrat credentialism makes it hard for them to oppose Azar. The second: The real damage Azar could do is on the regulatory side.[1]

    First, Democrat credentialism. Here is one effusive encomium on Azar. From USA Today, "Who is Alex Azar? Former drugmaker CEO and HHS official nominated to head agency" :

    "I am glad to hear that you have worked hard, and brought fair-minded legal analysis to the department," Democratic Sen. Max Baucus said at Azar's last confirmation hearing.

    And:

    Andy Slavitt, who ran the Affordable Care Act and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama administration, said he has reason to hope Azar would be a good secretary.

    "He is familiar with the high quality of the HHS staff, has real-world experience enough to be pragmatic, and will hopefully avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessor," Slavitt said.

    So, if Democrats are saying Azar is "fair-minded" and "pragmatic" -- and heaven forfend that the word "corruption"[2] even be mentioned -- how do they oppose him, even he's viscerally opposed to everything Democrats supposedly stand for? (Democrats do this with judicial nominations, too.) Azar may be a fox, alright, but the chickens he's supposedly guarding are all clucking about how impeccable his qualifications are!

    Second, let's briefly look at Azar's bio. Let me excerpt salient detail from USA Today :

    1. Azar clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia .

    2. Azar went to work for his mentor, Ken Starr , who was heading the independent counsel investigation into Bill and Hillary Clinton's Whitewater land deal.

    3. Azar had a significant role in another major political controversy when the outcome of the 2000 presidential election hinged on a recount in Florida . Azar was on the Bush team of lawyers whose side ultimately prevailed [3]

    For any Democrat with a memory, that bio provokes one of those "You shall know them by the trail of the dead" moments. And then there's this:

    When Leavitt replaced Thompson in 2005 and Azar became his deputy, Leavitt delegated a lot of the rule-making process to Azar.

    So, a liberal Democrat might classify Azar as a smooth-talking reactionary thug with a terrible record and the most vile mentors imaginable, and on top of it all, he's an effective bureaucratic fixer. What could the Trump Administration possibly see in such a person? Former (Republican) HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt explains:

    "Understanding the administrative rule process in the circumstance we're in today could be extraordinarily important because a lot of the change in the health care system, given the fact that they've not succeeded legislatively, could come administratively."

    We outlined the administration strategy on health care in "Trump Adminstration Doubles Down on Efforts to Crapify the Entire Health Care System (Unless You're Rich, of Course)" . There are three prongs:

    1) Administratively, send ObamaCare into a death spiral by sabotaging it

    2) Legislatively, gut Medicaid as part of the "tax refom" package in Congress

    3) Through executive order, eliminate "essential health benefits" through "association health plans"

    As a sidebar, it's interesting to see that although this do-list is strategically and ideologically coherent -- basically, your ability to access health care will be directly dependent on your ability to pay -- it's institutionally incoherent, a bizarre contraption screwed together out of legislation, regulations, and an Executive order. Of course, this incoherence mirrors to Rube Goldberg structure of ObamaCare itself, itself a bizarre contraption, especially when compared to the simple, rugged, and proven single payer system. ( Everything Obama did with regulations and executive orders, Trump can undo, with new regulations and new executive orders . We might compare ObamaCare to a child born with no immune system, that could only have survived within the liberal bubble within which it was created; in the real world, it's not surprising that it's succumbing to opportunistic infections.[2])

    On #1, The administration has, despite its best efforts, not achieved a controlled flight into terrain with ObamaCare; enrollment is up. On #2, the administration and its Congressional allies are still dickering with tax reform. And on #3 . That looks looks like a job for Alex Azar, since both essential health benefits and association health plans are significantly affected by regulation.

    So, yes, there are worse scenarios than the revolving door; it's what you leave behind you as the door revolves that matters. It would be lovely if there were a good old-fashioned confirmation battle over Azar, but, as I've pointed out, the Democrats have tied their own hands. Ideally, the Democrats would junk the Rube Goldberg device that is ObamaCare, rendering all of Azar's regulatory expertise null and void, but that doesn't seem likely, given that they seem to be doing everything possible to avoid serious discussion of policy in 2018 and 2020.

    NOTES

    [1] I'm leaving aside what will no doubt be the 2018 or even 2020 issue of drug prices, since for me that's subsumed under the issue of single payer. If we look only at Azar's history in business, real price decreases seem unlikely. Business Insider :

    Over the 10-year period when Azar was at Lilly, the price of insulin notched a three-fold increase. It wasn't just Lilly's insulin product, called Humalog. The price of a rival made by Novo Nordisk has also climbed, with the two rising in such lockstep that you can barely see both trend lines below.

    The gains came despite the fact that the insulin, which as a medication has an almost-century-long history, hasn't really changed since it was first approved.

    Nice business to be in, eh? Here's that chart:

    It's almost like Lilly (Azar's firm) and Novo Nordisk are working together, isn't it?

    [2] Anyhow, as of the 2016 Clinton campaign , the Democrat standard -- not that of Poses, nor mine -- is that if there's no quid pro quo, there's no corruption.

    [3] And, curiously, "[HHS head Tommy] Thompson said HHS was in the eye of the storm after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and Azar had an important role in responding to the resulting public health challenges, as well as the subsequent anthrax attacks "

    MedicalQuack , November 15, 2017 at 10:31 am

    Oh please, stop quoting Andy Slavitt, the United Healthcare Ingenix algo man. That guy is the biggest crook that made his money early on with RX discounts with his company that he and Senator Warren's daughter, Amelia sold to United Healthcare. He's out there trying to do his own reputation restore routine. Go back to 2009 and read about the short paying of MDs by Ingenix, which is now Optum Insights, he was the CEO and remember it was just around 3 years ago or so he sat there quarterly with United CEO Hemsley at those quarterly meetings. Look him up, wants 40k to speak and he puts the perception out there he does this for free, not so.

    diptherio , November 15, 2017 at 11:25 am

    I think you're missing the context. Lambert is quoting him by way of showing that the sleazy establishment types are just fine with him. Thanks for the extra background on that particular swamp-dweller, though.

    a different chris , November 15, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    Not just the context, it's a quote in a quote. Does make me think Slavitt must be a real piece of work to send MQ so far off his rails

    petal , November 15, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Alex Azar is a Dartmouth grad (Gov't & Economics '88) just like Jeff Immelt (Applied Math & Economics '78). So much damage to society from such a small department!

    sgt_doom , November 15, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    Nice one, petal !!!

    Really, all I need to know about the Trumpster Administration:

    From Rothschild to . . . .

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Ross

    Since 2014, Ross has been the vice-chairman of the board of Bank of Cyprus PCL, the largest bank in Cyprus.

    He served under U.S. President Bill Clinton on the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund. Later, under New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Ross served as the Mayor's privatization advisor.

    Jen , November 15, 2017 at 7:56 pm

    Or from a "small liberal arts college" (which is a university in all but name, because alumni).

    Tim Geitner ('82 – Goverment)
    Hank Paulson ('68 – English)

    jo6pac , November 15, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    Well it's never ending game in the beltway and we serfs aren't in it.

    https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/15/trump-adds-to-washingtons-swamp/

    Alfred , November 15, 2017 at 2:53 pm

    I don't believe that the President's "swamp" ever consisted of crooked officials, lobbyists, and cronies I think it has always consisted of those regulators who tried sincerely to defend public interests.

    It was in the sticky work of those good bureaucrats that the projects of capitalists and speculators bogged down. It is against their efforts that the pickup-driving cohort of Trump_vs_deep_state (with their Gadsden flag decals) relentlessly rails.

    Trump has made much progress in draining the regulatory swamp (if indeed that is the right way to identify it), and no doubt will make considerably more as time wears on, leaving America high and dry. The kind of prevaricator Trump is may simply be the one who fails to define his terms.

    Henry Moon Pie , November 15, 2017 at 4:13 pm

    I think we've moved past the revolving door. We hear members of the United States Senate publicly voice their concerns about what will happen if they fail to do their employers' bidding (and I'm not talking about "the public" here). In the bureaucracy, political appointees keep accruing more and more power even as they make it clearer and clearer that they work for "the donors" and not the people. Nowhere is this more true than the locus through which passes most of the money: the Pentagon. The fact that these beribboned heroes are, in fact, setting war policy on their own makes the knowledge that they serve Raytheon and Exxon rather than Americans very, very troubling.

    I suspect Azar's perception is that he is just moving from one post to another within the same company.

    Watt4Bob , November 15, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    Perfect cartoon over at Truthout

    I'm amazed there is enough private security available on this planet to keep these guys safe.

    Larry , November 15, 2017 at 8:01 pm

    Big pharma indeed has so much defense from the supposed left. It combines their faith in technological progress, elite institutions, and tugs on the heart strings with technology that can save people from a fate of ill health or premature death. Of course, the aspect of the laws being written to line the pockets of corrupt executives is glossed over. While drug prices and medical costs spiral ever higher, our overall longevity and national health in the US declines. That speaks volumes about what Democrats really care about.

    [Nov 13, 2017] Arab League To Hold Urgent Meeting On Iran As Saudis Reportedly Mobilize Fighter Jets

    Nov 12, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com
    0 SHARES according to Reuters and various regional sources, at a moment when Saudi fighter jets may be mobilizing for war in an attempted show of force. Egypt-based Ahram Online also reports further that the meeting will discuss "Iranian interference" in the region at League headquarters in Cairo, and other early unconfirmed reports indicate the meeting could come as early as next Sunday.

    News of the Arab League extraordinary session comes as tensions are at breaking point as regional powers - especially Saudi Arabia and Israel - talk war against perceived Iranian expansion and domination in the Middle East.

    Meanwhile, The Daily Star , citing the Baghdad Post , claims that Saudi Arabia has scrambled its air force for strikes in Lebanon: "Reports now state the Royal Saudi Air Force has placed its warplanes on alert to launch strikes as the region sits on a knife edge." The report accompanies undated footage of Saudi F-15's in aerial maneuvers over what is presumably a Saudi airfield.

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/eZoyGajSfq0

    The Daily Star adds the following accompanying the video :

    The kingdom has mobilized its F-15 fighter jet fleet to launch a military operation against the Iranian-backed terrorist militia of Hezbollah in Lebanon, regional news website The Baghdad Post reports.

    Saudi Arabia previously accused both Lebanon and Iran of committing an act of wars against it after rebels fired a missile at the King Khalid International Airport in the kingdom's capital of Riyadh.

    Saudi Arabia has reportedly placed its air force on alert

    However unlikely it is that the Saudis would take direct military action against Lebanon , the report reveals the legitimate fears of Lebanese citizens who are increasingly aware that their country has fallen in the cross hairs of an unusual alliance between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and anti-Iranian interests which see Hezbollah and pro-Iranian proxies as the number one threat and scapegoat for all of the region's problems.

    Iran is currently being scapegoated for just about all tensions which have exploded in the gulf over the past week, including the following:

    • the civil war in Yemen,
    • the Qatar economic blockade and isolation over accusations that it is "Iran friendly",
    • the latest civil unrest in Bahrain and the alleged bombing of a major oil pipeline there,
    • ratcheting up tensions with Israel in support of Hezbollah,
    • destabilizing Lebanon itself leading to PM Saad Hariri's "resignation" - all of this precipitating the Saudi "night of the long knives".
    • As many astute pundits have pointed out, it's now "blame Iran time" according to the official Saudi (and allies) narrative of events in order to set the stage for public support for potential military action against Iran.

    [Nov 12, 2017] The Islamic Emirate of Iraq (future Daesh) was created during the term of George W. Bush, under the control of General Petraeus who commanded the troops in Iraq, to deflect the wrath of the Iraqis against the troops of occupation and turn it into a civil war; a device that Leon Panetta took on and supported

    Notable quotes:
    "... The Islamic Emirate of Iraq (future Daesh) was created during the term of George W. Bush, under the control of General Petraeus who commanded the troops in Iraq, to ​​deflect the wrath of the Iraqis against the troops of occupation and turn it into a civil war; a device that Leon Panetta took on and supported [1]. John McCain met with Daesh leaders and has long maintained close ties with them in the name of the "Vietnamese" strategy against Syria [2]. ..."
    "... Bannon then ran into a criticism of the policies of George W. Bush and John McCain when the chairperson cut him off and ended the "debate" by saying, "Well, the elite of politics A foreigner here in Washington who asked me to give you the floor today also asked me to close this debate if you were dealing with other topics than the one we have planned. That's why we finish. Thank you for coming. ..."
    Nov 12, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    PeacefulProsperity | Oct 25, 2017 10:42:28 PM | 86

    @Lozion Are you that blind to not see Augustine's post as a War Party propaganda piece?

    @all This in quite interesting: Bannon sows trouble in Washington

    The Hudson Institute held a debate in Washington on October 23, 2017 titled "Countering Violent Extremism: Qatar, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood".

    The Hudson Institute is a forecasting agency created by the futurologist Herman Kahn. It brings together many followers of the philosopher Leo Strauss.

    The audience was high-ranking members of Congress and Administration, ambassadors and journalists.

    Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and his successor at the head of the CIA, David Petraeus, were to point to Iran while supporting Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.

    To make a good impression, the Institute also invited Steve Bannon, former special adviser to President Trump. In introducing his guests, the director of the Hudson Institute, Ambassador Hussain Haqqani, declared that the first two were "enlightened", while their opponent embodied the "Forces of Darkness" (sic).

    Speaking last, Steve Bannon described the New York Times as an "opposition party", refuted the "isolationist" term the newspaper used to describe President Trump's foreign policy, and recalled his action against Daesh.

    The Islamic Emirate of Iraq (future Daesh) was created during the term of George W. Bush, under the control of General Petraeus who commanded the troops in Iraq, to ​​deflect the wrath of the Iraqis against the troops of occupation and turn it into a civil war; a device that Leon Panetta took on and supported [1]. John McCain met with Daesh leaders and has long maintained close ties with them in the name of the "Vietnamese" strategy against Syria [2].

    In the Saudi Arabia / Qatar conflict, Bannon welcomed Saudi Arabia's change of attitude towards the jihadists and condemned Qatar, while officially the Trump administration took no position. The audience listened attentively in silence.

    Bannon then ran into a criticism of the policies of George W. Bush and John McCain when the chairperson cut him off and ended the "debate" by saying, "Well, the elite of politics A foreigner here in Washington who asked me to give you the floor today also asked me to close this debate if you were dealing with other topics than the one we have planned. That's why we finish. Thank you for coming.

    [Nov 10, 2017] Moon of Alabama

    Notable quotes:
    "... internal purge seem too impulsive to be part of a greater plan. ..."
    "... Zio-Jazeera TV are reproducing tweets which focus on the 'irony' of MbS detaining and blackmailing Lebanon's Hariri and then expressing a desire to punish Iran for 'interfering' in the affairs of other countries. ..."
    "... I wondered what could have persuaded Macron to jump ship on the Iran agreement . The Emirates made him an offer that he was only to willing to accept. It was wise of the Emirates to make it two now, two later 'cos he's a two-faced c**t. ..."
    "... The success of " MBS ", who has just overturned the oligarchy in order to install his autocracy, does not, however, guarantee his capacity to govern. Aged only 32, this entitled rich kid from a super-wealthy family has hardly had the time to get to know his people, and only entered politics two year ago. His first decisions were catastrophic - decapitation of the leader of the opposition and the war against Yemen. ..."
    "... "On Lebanon Tillerson warns Israel of any intervention" It sounds like Tillerson is intent on committing political hara-kiri. Unless he has the backing of the generals in Trump's inner sanctum, his days are numbered. By stating a position not fully in compliance with Netanyahoo's agenda he is challenging the power of the Israeli/jewish lobby as represented by boy wonder Kushner. Good luck with that. ..."
    "... We have, in effect, another instance of official state policy (as represented by Tillerson) being undermined by someone (Kushner) with a pro-Israeli agenda. Where have we seen this picture before? ..."
    "... Trump/MbS, a match made. What a duo, with Trump wishing he could be MbS. Strangely enough Tillerson seems to be the adult in the room. ..."
    "... As Carl Rove would say the empire weaves new realities for you to choke upon and while you are analyzing it, the Empire is weaving a new reality to keep you wondering and awed. ..."
    "... I completely agree re your description of the situation Tillerson finds himself in. "It sounds like Tillerson is intent on committing political hara-kiri", this however makes it seem like you think Tillerson is not aware of where he's at. But maybe he is? Maybe he just doesn't give a flying F? After all, there's no need for him to watch his career, and he probably has some money in the bank, too. Anyway, what's he supposed to do, fall in line with the lunatics, crooks and climbers who conduct US foreign policy these days? Maybe he just can't help but act like a decent SoS should, carefully worded statements and all. I have to say, I really like the guy. He seems smart, sober-minded. ..."
    "... It turns out that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Clinton Foundation Donor and anti-Trump Hillary Supporter... ..."
    "... ... and Trump tweeting support to MBS... It would be very interesting to know how many sponsors of this faction now have their assets frozen. Trump undermining their foundations? ..."
    "... @ Paveway. The other option is that Lebanon may be a minor sideshow, and that domestic politics in US and KSA is the main but largely unseen play. ..."
    "... Aerial campaign is possible but it wont achieve anything positive for the attacker, regardless if its Israel, US or Saudis. And "destruction of Hezbollah" is a physical impossibility, while Nasrallah and similar high profile targets are ready for anything ..."
    "... As if they sleeping and have no prepared missiles or anything :) It would take them an hour or two (max) to launch a barrage of ballistic missiles towards attacker. In case of Saudis, it would mean destruction of their oil production, ..."
    "... Hezbollah would be idiots if they weren't already prepared for a sudden massive air attack by the IAF (316 attack aircraft) from just across the border, and they certainly aren't idiots. ..."
    "... What many USA Americans believe: Most here at moa are well aware. that the average American idiot is under the impression that Obama-Muslim-Brotherhood was friendly with "Muslims" which conflate with "Al Qaida". And now, Trump ! The tough guy is kicking Al Qaida's ass over there (somewhere). Totally unaware of USA/CIA/UK/IS/NATO/AQ Nexus. Therefore: They believe whatever they are told. ..."
    "... The more likely case is all of this is smoke as the Prince needed some distraction to draw attention away from his Game of Thrones Redux at home. ..."
    Nov 10, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    The similarities with the idiotic Saudi campaign against Qatar is obvious. The Saudi made an impulsive hostile move without having thought through the second or third step. He soon found himself out of ammunition but had left no way out to solve the issue without losing face.

    Clueless Joe | Nov 10, 2017 11:01:56 AM | 1

    "Meanwhile the Saudi tyrant's purge of all potential internal competition continues. Some 500 people have been arrested.
    One important aspect of the purge is the open robbery that is part of it. Everyone arrested is accused of "corruption". This in a country where taking a share of every state contract is seen as an inherited right of the ruling class. The Wall Street Journal reports that the people around MbS expect to steal up to $800 billion in assets from the ultra rich businessmen and princes they have now under their control. They will probably need the money to keep the country afloat."
    I get it now! Salman has been reading Suetonius' Life of Caligula and has taken it as his blueprint for ruling.

    B's conclusion seems to confirm this - or makes me think he shares my suspicion:
    "But his country is unlikely to survive another five years of such impulsive and tyrannic behavior. Chances are that one his guards will be merciful enough to solve the problem with a single bullet."

    likklemore | Nov 10, 2017 11:03:50 AM | 2
    Well b, glad you went there.

    You asked who will invest a penny in Saudi Arabia after such a shakedown?

    Ask Theresa May who thinks weapons sales will continue and the oil reserves are there. Never mind that the IPO prospectus on KSA oil reserves mis-states.

    The bidding to list the Aramco IPO has begun:

    UK hands world's largest oil company Saudi Aramco $2bn loan to secure IPO
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/11/09/uk-hands-saudi-aramco-2bn-loan-listing-battle-drags/


    The UK Government has offered the world's largest oil company a $2bn (£1.5bn) loan guarantee as the battle to host the Saudi oil giant's market debut drags on.
    The Treasury has admitted to finalising the details of the deal which comes amid a fierce battle between the world's largest exchanges to secure what could prove to be the world's largest initial public offering.

    The timing of the significant loan has raised eyebrows because Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's state-back oil giant, is yet to decide where to list 5pc of the oil behemoth in its market debut expected next year.

    The float is a central piece within Saudi Arabia's plans to overhaul its economic future in the wake of the global oil crisis which could leave prices depressed indefinitely.
    The listing could raise up to $100m through a joint listing on the Saudi exchange and a foreign partner, but complex rules around transparency has thrown into question which exchange will be able to offer the Saudis the best terms.

    The Saudis are considering a listing on the London Stock Exchange but ministers in Japan, China and the US are also pushing for their own exchanges to be considered.[.]

    You know, it always is about money. It's a Big Club and we likkle people ain't in it and never will be invited to join.

    norman wisdom | Nov 10, 2017 11:06:45 AM | 3
    internal purge seem too impulsive to be part of a greater plan.

    mr moon ever heard of oded yinon. i believe it is a plan.

    ... ... ...

    Sid2 | Nov 10, 2017 11:09:10 AM | 4
    This is interesting: on MbS possibly miscalculating re national guard forces in SA

    http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/will-backlash-to-crusading-prince-begin-within-saudi-military-salman-mbs/

    Don Bacon | Nov 10, 2017 11:15:57 AM | 5
    The decline of the US, and its obvious reluctance to deal with it despotic "strong partner" Saudi Arabia, was obvious at State's Daily Press Briefing yesterday. (excerpts)

    QUESTION: On the various situations that we have going on – the domestic situation in Saudi, the Yemen situation, and the Lebanon situation.

    MS NAUERT: Understood. Let me start here. Secretary Tillerson spoke with Foreign Minister al-Jubeir yesterday. Let's see – wait, no, I'm sorry. It was Tuesday. He spoke with him on Tuesday. I'm not going to be able to provide a whole lot about that conversation for you. I know that'll be to the frustration of a lot of you in the room.

    I can tell you part of the conversation included our recognition that Saudi Arabia is a strong partner of the United States. We continue to encourage the Government of Saudi Arabia to pursue prosecution of corruption in a fair and transparent manner. That's something that we stress not only with Saudis but with other governments as well. In terms of whether – how these prosecutions may be going in the future, the Government of Saudi Arabia would have to address that.
    As you know, Secretary Mattis spoke with his counterpart, the President spoke with the King of Saudi Arabia a few days ago, so we're in constant communication with the government.

    QUESTION: On Yemen?

    MS NAUERT: In terms of Yemen, one of the issues that the Secretary has followed closely is the humanitarian situation in Yemen. We've seen tremendous food shortages in Yemen. We've talked about how this is really a man-made situation there. We've seen the cholera problem as well. The announcement that the ports were being closed down or limited in terms of some of the supplies is an area that's of concern to us, because the Yemeni people are not the ones at fault for their situation. We would like to see food aid, medical equipment, and all of that be able to be brought into the ports. That is a key area where that – the supplies and the food aid are able to get in. We would like to see that open so that people are not suffering any more.

    QUESTION: Well, is it fair to say that you have made that – or that the Secretary or others have made that clear to the Saudis?

    MS NAUERT: Well, I think this is something – that's a part of a series of ongoing conversations. We have often had conversations with people in the region in addition with the Saudis about our concerns about the humanitarian situation. The United States has contributed a lot of money to the humanitarian situation there, so we'd like to see that opened up so people can get their supplies.

    QUESTION: I mean, it's not only the ports but also the airspace, the borders – the complete closure.

    MS NAUERT: Yeah.

    QUESTION: So we can understand what you said clearly --

    MS NAUERT: Yeah. I don't know the percentages of what comes through in terms of the ports versus --

    QUESTION: Okay. But you are calling on the Saudis to open the borders and open the ports so the Yemeni people can receive these humanitarian aid and so on?
    MS NAUERT: We believe that there should be unimpeded access.
    QUESTION: Yes.
    MS NAUERT: Unimpeded access for commercial and humanitarian goods to get into Yemen.
    QUESTION: And you'd like to see this happen immediately?
    MS NAUERT: That hasn't changed. I mean, we called for that months ago, and we would call for that again today.
    QUESTION: Hi there. So do you support the call by the UN yesterday to open the borders immediately for humanitarian aid?
    MS NAUERT: I don't have the UN comments in front of me, so I'm not going to comment on those.
    QUESTION: They called for the airspace and the ports to be opened immediately; otherwise there would be a famine greater than seen in many decades.
    MS NAUERT: Look, that has been a concern of ours, that this could --
    QUESTION: I'm just – do you support the call?
    MS NAUERT: -- hold on – that this could develop into a famine. It's close. There is tremendous food insecurity in Yemen right now. Some have said that this could be the top humanitarian disaster in the world. I don't know that we've assessed that personally and can actually make that designation, but I have certainly heard that.
    I think what you're saying, that has come out of the UN, is consistent with our overall concerns, our overall concerns about getting humanitarian aid and also medical supplies into the people of Yemen.
    Okay. Anybody else on Yemen? . .. here

    Shakesvshav | Nov 10, 2017 11:33:47 AM | 6
    Tillerson might well be concerned: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-senior-figures-tortured-and-beaten-saudi-purge-1489501498
    Hoarsewhisperer | Nov 10, 2017 11:44:04 AM | 7
    Zio-Jazeera TV are reproducing tweets which focus on the 'irony' of MbS detaining and blackmailing Lebanon's Hariri and then expressing a desire to punish Iran for 'interfering' in the affairs of other countries.

    Considering the silliness of such prattle, I'm expecting the jaded tyrant to capitalise on the Free Publicity and launch his Standup Comedy Career debut at Hammersmith in a Super Special episode of Live At The Apollo with his good friend QEII (aka The Mad Hatter) if we're lucky. You can never have too much silliness - especially in the UK...

    Ghostship | Nov 10, 2017 11:52:33 AM | 8
    I wondered what could have persuaded Macron to jump ship on the Iran agreement . The Emirates made him an offer that he was only to willing to accept. It was wise of the Emirates to make it two now, two later 'cos he's a two-faced c**t.
    PeacefulProsperity | Nov 10, 2017 12:11:19 PM | 9
    I like this POV Palace Coup in Riyadh, by Thierry Meyssan
    While the war against Daesh is drawing to a close in Iraq and Syria, and the war against the pseudo-Kurdistan seems to have been avoided, several States of the Greater Middle East are regaining the initiative. Profiting from the fluidity of the moment, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has brutally eliminated the members of the royal family who may be in a position to contest his Power. So not only has the regional balance of power been modified by war, but one of the region's main actors has just changed its objectives.

    Although no nominative list of the suspects has been published, we know that Prince Walid Ben Talal is on it. Considered to be one of the wealthiest men in the world, he was the kingdom's secret ambassador to Israël. His company, the Kingdom Holding Company, a share-holder notably of Citygroup, Apple, Twitter and Euro-Disney, fell by 10 % at the opening of the Riyadh Stock Exchange on Sunday morning, before its credit rating was suspended.

    Contrary to appearances, it seems that the victims of the purge were not chosen because of their functions or their ideas, which seems to confirm the official anti-corruption story.

    On Sunday evening, a helicopter crashed near Abha. We learned that several dignitaries died in the accident, including a certain Prince Mansour.

    The success of " MBS ", who has just overturned the oligarchy in order to install his autocracy, does not, however, guarantee his capacity to govern. Aged only 32, this entitled rich kid from a super-wealthy family has hardly had the time to get to know his people, and only entered politics two year ago. His first decisions were catastrophic - decapitation of the leader of the opposition and the war against Yemen.

    Having neutralised all those who could have stood against him within the royal family, " MBS " has no choice but to ensure himself of popular support in order to be able to exercise Power. He has already taken various measures in favour of the young (70 % of the population) and women (51 % of the population). For example, he has opened cinemas and organised concerts – which until now had been forbidden. As from 2018, women will be allowed to drive. He will soon have to abolish the sinister religious police on one hand and the tutelage system on the other – both to satisfy women and also free men from this charge – making it possible to kick-start the economy.

    Above all, " MBS " has announced that he wants to transform Islam in his country and make it a " normal " religion. He has declared that he not only wants to modernise Wahhabism, but also to cleanse the Hadîths - the golden legend of Mohammed – of their violent or contradictory passages. This is a secular project which goes against the practice of the whole of the Muslim community over the last few centuries.

    This strategy prevents " MBS " from waging a war against Iran and Hezbollah, and gives the lie to the current official story – it is impossible to imagine a war against Teheran because ever since the Revolutionary Guard came to help the Houthis, Saudi Arabia has suffered defeat after defeat in Yemen. And it is also impossible to rally the Saudis to the flag while " MBS " is radically reforming society.

    pantaraxia | Nov 10, 2017 12:28:03 PM | 10
    "On Lebanon Tillerson warns Israel of any intervention" It sounds like Tillerson is intent on committing political hara-kiri. Unless he has the backing of the generals in Trump's inner sanctum, his days are numbered. By stating a position not fully in compliance with Netanyahoo's agenda he is challenging the power of the Israeli/jewish lobby as represented by boy wonder Kushner. Good luck with that.

    We have, in effect, another instance of official state policy (as represented by Tillerson) being undermined by someone (Kushner) with a pro-Israeli agenda. Where have we seen this picture before?

    The front-runners to replace Tillerson as S.O.S are rumoured to be John Bolton, a fanatical neocon, and Nikki Haley, America's version of Priti Patel (see previous post). In either case expect to see a State Department more closely aligned to Netanyahoo's agenda (if that is even possible).

    PeacefulProsperity | Nov 10, 2017 12:57:47 PM | 12
    How about this?

    EXCLUSIVE: Saudi crown prince wants out of Yemen war, email leak reveals

    Jackrabbit | Nov 10, 2017 1:17:29 PM | 13
    @pantaraxia

    1. You mention Tillerson vs. Kushner but fail to mention that Trump's position (as tweeted) is that MbS is doing EXACTLY the right thing.

    2. If PavewayIV is right, then maybe Tillerson is providing cover for what is actually a covert op?

    ... ... ...

    Jackrabbit | Nov 10, 2017 1:25:14 PM | 14
    PeacefulProsperity 12:
    How about this?
    Yeah, they "want out" on their terms - which is to say after they have won and subdued the population.

    IMO Their lame protesting is a response to the bad publicity that their genocidal tactics have engendered.

    "But we want to get out!" is almost as transparently bullsh*t as the US position (that the famine is due to the poor logistics of the Yemenis) .

    stonebird | Nov 10, 2017 1:55:42 PM | 15
    b's title is correct ; .... An impulsive tyrant.

    However, there has been a lot of comment about what "Saudi Arabia" will do or want. SA is a Monarchy, - the King is the "state" and the State is the King. Only. What I think he wants is absolute power, where all the decisions and all the rest of the official system (power), goes through him alone. (The cash is his as well.)
    He will become "King" very soon, in which case all the country will be expected to swear allegiance to him.

    The "Corruption" play could enable him to use other courts (US, UK or EU) to reclaim assets now held "off-Arabia".

    The "women driving ploys..." etc. are to assure favour with the US and the other countries of the West (PR stunt). They also set the ordinary Saudi's against their Clerics. (At least in theory).

    .....

    I must agree with PavewayIV that this is a set-up by Israel and the US, but you have to also note that massive air "drills" are being held in southern Israel by planes from a large number of countries (NATO?). These could be used a "bait" or "sacrifices" to involve NATO or the EU on the "side" of Israel. Saudi has sent planes to Cyprus on what is nominally a UK base. (So does the US.) (ie a missile - immediately claimed by the MSM as fired by Herzbollh - downs a F-15 of a NATO country? Particularly if it overflies Lebanon)

    PavewayIV | Nov 10, 2017 1:56:39 PM | 16
    Jackrabbit@13 - If the fake air campaign lasted 12 hours and took out key Hezbollah leaders, supposed Hezbollah 'missile warehouses', Aoun and Assad then that's plenty long enough. Diminishing returns over time after that for striking individual Hezbollah HQ/units in Syria. There's nothing else to be accomplished.

    They will be the same targets Israel would choose to strike if they could get away with it. Israel can't do this themselves though, without expecting missiles raining down on their infrastructure, military installations and possibly civilian population centers. If Hezbollah is convinced its a purely-Saudi op, then they'll be gunning for Saudi Arabia, not Israel. By time they figure out they've been duped (if they ever do), it will be too late.

    These are the targets that Israel/US would certainly want to destroy first before they can invade with troops/armor to continue seizing Syrian and Lebanese land. They don't want a toe-to-toe battle on the ground with Hezbollah or Iranian-backed militias for obvious reasons. The air campaign will not totally destroy them, but it will weaken them and add enough other chaos into the mix to make the invasion far easier than it otherwise would have been.

    b's scenario is still valid, but that comes after the however brief US/Israeli false-flag aerial campaign.

    ben | Nov 10, 2017 2:14:04 PM | 17
    Trump/MbS, a match made. What a duo, with Trump wishing he could be MbS. Strangely enough Tillerson seems to be the adult in the room.

    Thanks b....

    PavewayIV | Nov 10, 2017 2:20:02 PM | 18
    stonebird@15 - Good point, stonebird. Plenty of opportunities for additional false flags to justify a massive, combined response.

    US buzzes around the boarders in a remotely-piloted F-16 and 'lets' Hezbollah shoot it down in plain sight, with plenty of shakey cellphone videos of the aircraft's destruction. Followed immediately by a MSM campaign showing plenty of tear-jerking fake family photos of the non-existent hero. Oh yeah, his imaginary wife will be six month's pregnant. The type of aircraft or flag it's painted under really doesn't matter - maybe the UK will step in this time to be the victim.

    Alternatively, a supposed Hezbollah missile or two could strike an Israeli air base, taking out several nation's aircraft participating in the exercise. Toss in a couple dozen allied casualties. Heck, make it a couple hundred - how's anyone ever going to know?

    For that matter, a false-flag missile attack could target some sacrificial lambs like a Druze city. Maybe even one of those remote kibbutz that Israel uses to warehouse those 'undesirable' black Jewish immigrants that keep showing up. Good God, the MSM would have a field day with that one. If that happened, how could we NOT invade Syria and Lebanon to kill Hezbollah?

    I better stop now, or the CIA will start banging on my door. Not to kill me, but to recruit me. "We read some of your work on MoA and were impressed by the sheer evil of your schemes. Ever consider working for the CIA?"

    likklemore | Nov 10, 2017 2:32:34 PM | 19
    I think we should re-read Pepe Escobar's analysis of the purge – mirrors b's. MbS will soon find his. You can't confiscate assets of princes and expect they'll be sending Christmas gifts. You will be kicked off santa's good boys' list. Escobar's The Inside Story --watch -- the KSA army is said to be in an uproar.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-07/pepe-escobar-inside-story-saudi-night-long-knives
    [.]
    Nayef – who replaced Bandar – is close to Washington and extremely popular in Langley due to his counter-terrorism activities. His arrest earlier this year angered the CIA and quite a few factions of the House of Saud – as it was interpreted as MBS forcing his hand in the power struggle.

    According to the source, "he might have gotten away with the arrest of CIA favorite Mohammed bin Nayef if he smoothed it over but MBS has now crossed the Rubicon though he is no Caesar. The CIA regards him as totally worthless."

    Some sort of stability could eventually be found in a return to the previous power sharing between the Sudairis (without MBS) and the Chamars (the tribe of deceased King Abdullah). After the death of King Salman, the source would see it as "MBS isolated from power, which would be entrusted to the other Prince Mohammed (the son of Nayef). And Prince Miteb would conserve his position."

    MBS acted exactly to prevent this outcome. The source, though, is adamant; "There will be regime change in the near future, and the only reason that it has not happened already is because the old King is liked among his family. It is possible that there may be a struggle emanating from the military as during the days of King Farouk, and we may have a ruler arise that is not friendly to the United States."

    'Moderate' Salafi-jihadis, anyone?

    Before the purge, the House of Saud's incessant spin centered on a $500 billion zone straddling Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, on the Red Sea coast, a sort of Dubai replica to be theoretically completed by 2025, powered by wind and solar energy, and financed by its sovereign wealth fund and proceeds from the Aramco IPO.

    In parallel, MBS pulled another rabbit from his hat swearing the future of Saudi Arabia is a matter of "simply reverting to what we followed – a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions."

    In a nutshell: a state that happens to be the private property of a royal family inimical to all principles of freedom of expression and religion, as well as the ideological matrix of all forms of Salafi-jihadism simply cannot metastasize into a "moderate" state just because MBS says so.

    Meanwhile, a pile-up of purges, coups and countercoups shall be the norm.

    @Paveway 16

    I respect your opinion. But, Russia's and China's combined interests are at stake and they will not sit this one out. Israel and its sidekick MbS will not be given a free hand. Israel will be destroyed if in the next few days or weeks the Israeli police do not move to charge and arrest Bibi.

    Bibi's chief-of-staff and close confidant has turned state's witness in the two cases of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

    Lochearn | Nov 10, 2017 2:39:21 PM | 20

    With "drills" going on in Israel and Saudi threats, Hezbollah will be on high alert meaning leaders will be impossible to locate and all valuable weapons and material will be stored below ground. Any "missile warehouses" visible above ground will be decoys. So limited air strikes ain't gonna do it. All they can do is bomb civilians and infrastructure like the Israelis did in 2006. Then what?

    Posted by: Lochearn | Nov 10, 2017 2:39:21 PM | 20 /div

    stonebird | Nov 10, 2017 2:42:06 PM | 21
    Paveway@18
    Lovely, How about writing for Hollywood, although that seems to be NOT the place to be associated with at the moment?

    .....

    Has this SA and Isr/US activity all been timed to coincide with the Herzbollah, Iranians, Russian airforce and the Syrians having a large force tied up at AlBukamal? In which case we are seeing a plan - not a reaction to a situation.

    ie. is a distraction from US/KSA activity in East Syria, to consolidate the areas held and forestall any advance by the Syrians on the east bank of the Euphrates?

    CarlD | Nov 10, 2017 2:46:32 PM | 22
    @PavewayIV

    As Carl Rove would say the empire weaves new realities for you to choke upon and while you are analyzing it, the Empire is weaving a new reality to keep you wondering and awed.

    Your theory is utterly realistic and possible and would be the pride of Niccolo Machiavelli himself. And I fear it is exactly the montage a fertile mind made. So supposedly, Iran and Nasrallah will not see through this and will concentrate on the Saudis? Rouhani has been appealing to MBS to discern between his handlers and his possible real friends. To them, any action against Lebanon and Syria will be construed to stem from the Israeli no matter who mans the planes.

    Also, it will be difficult to conceal a multi planes intrusion over the Lebanese skies without raising automatic commensurate retaliation by the hezbollah.

    The Lebanese and Iranians know that the sole instigator of all this can only be the Israeli. So plan A will be put into action certainly but the reply might be not what is expected.

    Laguerre | Nov 10, 2017 2:49:41 PM | 23
    Yeah, I agree. Some kind of strikeback from the rest of the family is to be expected. I doubt that MbS has been able to decapitate all the potential opposition. There are so bloody many of them. But it might affect the success of the assassination attempt. When such serious money is in question, people don't give up easily.
    psychohistorian | Nov 10, 2017 2:51:11 PM | 24
    It certainly reads like many believe that there is something imminent in the works as the precipitator of a more global conflict. In some ways we have been preparing for just such an event. What will be interesting to watch is what sides form....it is not about ISIS anymore......bigger prey are at stake now. As wars go, I hope this one is a wimp.....a fitting end to the social cancer of private finance. Thanks to b and all for the "good for me" online community.
    stonebird | Nov 10, 2017 2:55:52 PM | 25
    Me@22
    That should be FSA (Kurds) not KSA troops on the East of the Euphrates. As an aside the US army is now claiming that THEY took Al Quaim in Iraq (which blocks the Syrian Iraq-Iran road route. To follow)

    https://www.armytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/11/10/as-isis-caliphate-crumbles-us-builds-outposts-in-western-iraq/

    Scotch Bingeington | Nov 10, 2017 2:56:31 PM | 26
    pantaraxia | 10

    I completely agree re your description of the situation Tillerson finds himself in. "It sounds like Tillerson is intent on committing political hara-kiri", this however makes it seem like you think Tillerson is not aware of where he's at. But maybe he is? Maybe he just doesn't give a flying F? After all, there's no need for him to watch his career, and he probably has some money in the bank, too. Anyway, what's he supposed to do, fall in line with the lunatics, crooks and climbers who conduct US foreign policy these days? Maybe he just can't help but act like a decent SoS should, carefully worded statements and all. I have to say, I really like the guy. He seems smart, sober-minded.

    ---

    MBS and Saudi Arabia... So the whole world is basically left to wonder, trying very, very hard to read the mind of a - well, psychopath. That's what MBS is to me. His actions as far as they can be ascertained speak volumes, but there's also that mischievous glint in his eyes. He's got it on every picture I see. It's the kind of facial expression that I'd expect to see in a psychiatric ward or on shows like "Forensic Files", when they present the perpetrator who managed to completely dupe his/her surroundings. And just like I see that guy as someone with a dangerous personality disorder, Saudi Arabia as a country, to me, is the equivalent of a psychopath. Good luck trying to ever come to terms with it.

    The irony of it all is: no matter how much politicians are sucking up to the Saudis, we still have to pay for the oil that we're sacrificing decency, soundness and independence for.

    somebody | Nov 10, 2017 3:14:52 PM | 28
    add to 4

    From August - Qatar plans to destabilize Saudi

    The Saudi government is mistakenly thought of as a tribal kingdom. In fact, it marginalised all tribal groups and eliminated their troublesome leadership. It incorporated the tribes in the National Guard but failed to incorporate them in government and leadership. In this part of the world, history matters.

    Many tribal groups have no serious affinity to al-Saud and can easily switch allegiance as they used to do in the past. Tribal leaders, and there are many aspiring ones, are pragmatic political actors who pursue their own interests. They switch allegiance depending on their specific needs and follow the one who promises to fulfil their aspirations.

    Although their rhetoric emphasises a rigid tribal code, any historian can trace their oscillating loyalties and their shrewd manoeuvres. Only an Orientalist can still hold the view that Arabian tribal allegiances follow rigid codes like fossils from the past.

    They are, above all, shrewd political actors who have survived the colonial past and the onslaught of the nation states. They may express themselves in archaic poetry and celebrate camels, coffee pots and chivalry of a bygone era but they remain a dormant force that governments can mobilise should they need them.

    They are now educated and willing to switch from old rhetoric about tribal solidarity and glory to new political ideas. Kuwait's famous lawmaker and activist Mussalam al-Barak, who had been in and out of prison for defying the Al-Sabah ruling family, is a stark example of the "tribal modern", who can mobilise across tribal divides. Qatar can easily find a Saudi version who will no doubt trouble Riyadh.

    Did they find someone or did Saudi think they found someone so there was a preemptive coup?

    Lozion | Nov 10, 2017 3:22:48 PM | 29
    If Paveway IV, our resident anon-type whistleblower has figured out (leaked?) the plan, you can bet your life Hezb/IRGC has contingencies in place for such scenarios. Also, Russia has stated many times the Syrian state's sovereignty is not negociable and with both air defense assets fully integrated and unified, I just dont see how an KSA/UAE air campaign can happen while the targets sit idly, sipping maté..
    NemesisCalling | Nov 10, 2017 3:28:29 PM | 30
    @13 jackrabbit

    Syria was a large territory with pockets of sympathetic populations to Sunni jihadism. My understanding of Lebanon is that it is held together much firmly and is a smaller geographical area. Notwithstanding a tunnel rat invasion or a cell emergence, I think Lebanon security forces and Hezbollah are ready for any kind of insurgency. A move into Lebanon would probably relieve the grip over Idleb in Syria, too. In effect, an operation over there will be suicide for Nusra and the Turkmen, even though they might be able to pinch Hezbollah between themselves and an Israeli airforce for a little while.

    Debisdead is right with their analogy of a drowning victim thrashing about looking for something to grab onto.

    Fitting that Putin practices Judo and that it's main tenet is using the energy of your enemy against them.

    Which begs the question: is NATO and America really that stupid, or was there an agreement to let the tyrants in the MENA perish through theater?

    Tobin Paz | Nov 10, 2017 3:39:38 PM | 32
    Slightly off topic, but I couldn't stop laughing when I found this out (yes, I have a sick sense of humor, but I do believe that all human beings, regardless of race, gender, class, or disabilities should be treated with the utmost respect). It turns out that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Clinton Foundation Donor and anti-Trump Hillary Supporter...

    Alwaleed Tweet @realDonaldTrump: You are a disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America. Withdraw from U.S. presidential race as you will never win.

    ...had an entourage of little people whom he had no problems tossing:

    The Stockholder in the Sand

    The prince's defenders hastened to put it all into context: dwarves are outcasts in Saudi Arabia; when they come begging, Alwaleed, in his great beneficence, hires them to be a roving band of court jesters, thus instilling in them "a work ethic, and you really can't fault that." In Saudi Arabia the wealthy think it is lucky to have dwarves around, and the dwarves enjoy it, "kind of like a circus situation." When they are pressed into service as human projectiles, there are pillows to catch them. Pillows are obviously moot, however, when Alwaleed has the dwarves dive for $100 bills in bonfires, as the Business Insider story also alleged.
    Jen | Nov 10, 2017 3:41:58 PM | 33
    PavewayIV's scenario as delineated @ 11 could succeed on the assumption that Hezbollah does not call on Iran, Russia and China for assistance both military and non-military (as in withdrawing any investments they have in Saudi infrastructure projects).

    How would Egypt also react to a Saudi invasion of Lebanon? If Saudi Arabia were to call on Egypt, Pakistan and other Sunni Muslim countries to participate as its allies and supply pilots to engage in aerial bombing of Beirut and other cities, what would these nations say?

    Does the Israeli air force also have sufficient motivation to engage in air strikes against Lebanon on behalf of the KSA? Is the Israeli military "moral" enough to support Satanyahu's government?

    james | Nov 10, 2017 4:25:45 PM | 34
    thanks b... great piece!!! i liked these quotes -
    • ..."he is as free to leave his current residence as Julian Assange in free to leave the Ecuadorian embassy.." exactly, but the chicken shit leaders of the west, just can't figure out what to say about it all.. go figure.. this is why people refer to nasrallah as an actual leader!!!!
    • "The Saudi made an impulsive hostile move without having thought through the second or third step." clearly!
    • "There is no rule of law and there are no reliable courts. Everything depends on the whim of one man." - usa/uk etc.like this set up!! can't get any better!
    • "Aimless campaigns in which the second and third order effects eventually turn against the aggressor." - indeed.. i give him 2-3 years - probably a lot less..

    ... ... ...

    john | Nov 10, 2017 4:29:16 PM | 35
    PavewayIV says_

    By time they figure out they've been duped (if they ever do), it will be too late. your implication is that Hezbollah's a bunch of clueless twits. not very prescient of you.

    Peter AU 1 | Nov 10, 2017 4:35:29 PM | 36
    From comment 32 "Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Clinton Foundation Donor and anti-Trump Hillary Supporter..."

    ... and Trump tweeting support to MBS... It would be very interesting to know how many sponsors of this faction now have their assets frozen. Trump undermining their foundations?

    I see the Whitehouse blocked... "conflicting schedules"... Trump from having an official meeting with Putin at ASEAN.

    Peter AU 1 | Nov 10, 2017 4:40:03 PM | 38
    @ Paveway. The other option is that Lebanon may be a minor sideshow, and that domestic politics in US and KSA is the main but largely unseen play.
    Alfred | Nov 10, 2017 5:07:14 PM | 41
    Hariri is the bastard son of Abdullah. He is a Saudi royal. His mother was always treated as a princess when she went to Saudi Arabia. He is family. However, his branch of the family is now being persecuted.

    As for MbS, his mother is Syrian. That is why he was so keen to become king of Syria. He won't last long. All of Israel's plans for the Middle East are being rubbished by events. I cannot wait for the real story of 9/11 to come out and the role of Israel and Bush/Cheney in it. These Saudis being rounded up know all the details and it is only a matter of time before the truth leaks out. They got double-crossed by the Isarelis and must be livid and thirsting for revenge.

    I never thought I would live to see the day. :)

    Ghostship | Nov 10, 2017 5:08:41 PM | 42
    It should be pointed out that Cyprus is not a member of NATO and only the British have unrestricted access to Akrotiri, other countries are at the mercy of the Cyprus government. So while Saudi or Emirati planes might be allowed to land there, I very much doubt that they would be allowed to attack Lebanon or Syria from there because the British following international law probably wouldn't allow it without a UNSC resolution which Russia and/or China would veto anyway. Article 1 of the Washington Treaty which governs NATO makes it quite clear:
    The Parties undertake, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, to settle any international dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered, and to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

    So that would be Article 5 collective defence out the window even if a few cruise missiles hit RAF Akrotiri after Saudi or Emirati warplanes were allowed to start attacking Lebanon or Syria from there.

    Saudi Arabia or the UAE even with mercenary pilots couldn't attack Lebanon or Syria without overflying Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Iraq or even Iran and I doubt that any of those countries except perhaps Israel would want to be seen as complicit in the attack by allowing Saudi or Emirati aircraft to pass through their air space. And as soon as the aircraft fly through Israeli air space, probably the most heavily defended in the Middle East any pretence of deniability by the Israelis also goes out the window.

    Harry | Nov 10, 2017 5:18:57 PM | 43
    @ PavewayIV | 40

    Aerial campaign is possible but it wont achieve anything positive for the attacker, regardless if its Israel, US or Saudis. And "destruction of Hezbollah" is a physical impossibility, while Nasrallah and similar high profile targets are ready for anything, and no bunker busters will reach them.

    If this only lasted a day or two, then Hezbollah and Iran will only have time to express outrage.

    As if they sleeping and have no prepared missiles or anything :) It would take them an hour or two (max) to launch a barrage of ballistic missiles towards attacker. In case of Saudis, it would mean destruction of their oil production, with 'n' months to rebuild. Lightning retaliation - fully legal too. There wouldn't be any UNSC condemnation due to Russia's veto, and many countries would see it as "MBS got what he deserved." Temporary shortages would be covered by Russia, Iran and others.

    Again, I don't see any win for the attacker in the end, regardless who it is.

    somebody | Nov 10, 2017 5:22:12 PM | 44
    Le Figaro: Saudi Arabia wants to replace Hariri by one of his brothers
    Petra | Nov 10, 2017 5:28:42 PM | 45
    One great urgency to effect the Paveway Plan is the upcoming Sochi deal, which is to be no mere tete a tete but something groundbreaking. Washington will want to make sure it literally is.

    Jen, since Washington has failed in its sunni-shia false antagonising, the forthcoming season's antagonism is Arab v. Other Muslim. By that token, Egypt should be in on that side. To counteract, Moscow, Beijing have been doing sterling work on Sisi (and Haftar). Let's see how the wind blows.

    somebody | Nov 10, 2017 5:35:19 PM | 46
    Tillerson: US still calling Hariri Prime Minister
    Ghostship | Nov 10, 2017 5:44:29 PM | 47
    Hezbollah would be idiots if they weren't already prepared for a sudden massive air attack by the IAF (316 attack aircraft) from just across the border, and they certainly aren't idiots.

    But could the Saudis (264 attack aircraft) and Emiratis (104 attack aircraft) manage a similarly ferocious attack when the nearest Saudi air base (Tabuk) is 340 miles away and the nearest Emirati air base (Al Dhafra) is 1,800 miles way? I doubt it. Hezbollah could probably survive anything the Saudis and Emiratis could throw at them over a couple of days and if the United States blocked any UNSC action, Russia might start shooting back because it needs the SAA and Hezbollah to complete the destruction of Al Qaeda. If it's only Saudi and Emiratis aircraft over Lebanese territory that are being shot down, will the United States act in their defence? I doubt it because Trump will be having wet dreams thinking about all the billions more dollars the United States will earn for the replacement aircraft.

    fast freddy | Nov 10, 2017 5:45:07 PM | 48
    What many USA Americans believe: Most here at moa are well aware. that the average American idiot is under the impression that Obama-Muslim-Brotherhood was friendly with "Muslims" which conflate with "Al Qaida". And now, Trump ! The tough guy is kicking Al Qaida's ass over there (somewhere). Totally unaware of USA/CIA/UK/IS/NATO/AQ Nexus. Therefore: They believe whatever they are told.

    (And further, they love police brutality as long as it is not themselves or a loved one on the receiving end of it).

    norman wisdom | Nov 10, 2017 5:48:53 PM | 50

    ... ... ...

    • Jeddah Refinery (78,000 bbl/d (12,400 m3/d))
    • Ras Tanura Refinery (550,000 bbl/d (87,000 m3/d)) (includes a Crude Distillation Unit, a Gas Condensate Unit, a hydrocracker, and catalytic reforming)
    • Riyadh Refinery (126,000 bbl/d (20,000 m3/d))
    • Yanbu Refinery (245,000 bbl/d (39,000 m3/d))
    • The Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co. Ltd. (SAMREF), Yanbu (400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m3/d))
    • The Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Co. (SASREF), Jubail (300,000 bbl/d (48,000 m3/d))
    • Petro Rabigh, Rabigh (400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m3/d))
    • Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. (Luberef)
    • Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co. (SATORP), Jubail[31] (400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m3/d))
    • Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refinery (YASREF), Yanbu (400,000 bbl/d (64,000 m3/d)
    • Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co. (FRPC), People's Republic of China
    • Sinopec SenMei (Fujian) Petroleum Co. Ltd. (SSPC), People's Republic of China
    • Motiva Enterprises LLC, United States
    • Showa Shell, Japan
    • S-Oil, Republic of Korea
    • Saudi Refining Inc
    Virgile | Nov 10, 2017 7:04:23 PM | 52
    Erdogan accuses MBS ( "the person") of claiming ownership of Islam. "Recently the concept of 'moderate Islam' has received attention. But the patent of this concept originated in the West," Erdoğan said. "Perhaps the person voicing this concept thinks it belongs to him. No, it does not belong to you," he added, noting that he was "asked about 'moderate Islam' at meetings in the European Parliament many years ago.

    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-criticizes-saudi-crown-princes-moderate-islam-pledge-122262

    france

    @PavewayIV | Nov 10, 2017 5:47:26 PM | 49

    You are assuming SA/Israel can attack Lebanon and Syria without anyone stopping them and will be able to do so without consequences. I disagree. Russia's defense systems will block them from entering Syria. And there is no way Russia/Iran will allow Lebanon to suffer given Hezbollah's value to them both. The moment SA jets were in the air they would be told to turn back or be shot down. As for Israel, its goal is to seize control of Lebanese land/water, they can't accomplish that unless they enter on foot in which case they will be chased out faster than you can say, Bob's your uncle.

    The more likely case is all of this is smoke as the Prince needed some distraction to draw attention away from his Game of Thrones Redux at home.

    PavewayIV | Nov 10, 2017 9:12:25 PM | 54
    frances@53 - You might be right. Part of my reckoning is that Russia will NOT get involved, regardless how valuable Hezbollah has been in the fight against ISIS. Russia keeps saying it is in the fight to destroy the head-choppers and Syria must defend itself against anyone else. It never lifted a finger against the Israeli attacks that they were watching unfold on their very capable surveillance radars. I don't recall Russia even acknowledging most of the Israeli air strikes.

    Russia will not be happy about a Saudi air attack because it's destabilizing, but they have no intention of starting WWIII over Hezbollah, Lebanon or Syria. Same with an Iranian response - but I have far less conviction about that one. The US is really pissing them off lately. This might be the provocation that broke the camel's back. Saudi Arabia and GCC military installations near the Persian Gulf could be smoked pretty easily. Of course, the Pentagon chickenhawks would explode with glee - casus belli to start destroying Iran.

    Virgile | Nov 10, 2017 9:29:43 PM | 55
    The enigmatic Mohamed Bin Salman by Ghassan Kadi

    Love him or hate him, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman (MBS) is like no other prince that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has seen since its inception under the rule of his founding grandfather King Abdul Aziz in 1932 and the establishment of the Al-Saud dynasty that changed Arabia; including its name. Some argue that even the worst of humans can do a bit of good. The question is this; is MBS capable of doing any?

    Krollchem | Nov 10, 2017 10:37:32 PM | 57
    Long analysis of Hezbollah capabilities at: https://southfront.org/hezbollah-capabilities-and-role-in-the-middle-east/

    [Nov 08, 2017] Russias Line in the Sand on Syria by Dmitri Trenin

    This is from 2012 -- fives year from now.
    Notable quotes:
    "... That cannot be further from the truth, the western public is unsure and ambivalent about the situation in Syria, The West has no choice but to give lip service to the Syrian opposition, that too is a sure bet -- the lip service that is -- the Arab street is divided over the issue, and the conservative Gulf regimes for their own reasons -- are tacitly working and hoping for calm to return to Syria soon. They are very aware of the ramifications of any escalation or a protracted conflict there on their own national interests. ..."
    "... While the existence of sectarian sentiments, even passions is undeniable in the Middle East, their characterization however is often overblown and misleading. For example, during the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980's a substantial segment of Iraqi Shiites- especially the educated, influential and affluent strata of society -- sided with the perceived Sunni dominated Saddam regime against Shiite Iran; that support for the regime even increased during the first Iraq war, it started waning -- like support among other Iraqis -- in the aftermath of that war. ..."
    "... Secular Sunni power within the regime and within the country has been steadily on the rise for over a generation, and the majority of Sunnis does not see the need to fix what is not broken and what time will take care of in a peaceful and evolutionary manner. "A Sunni majority that feels oppressed" is not a true statement and is a gross mis-characterization of the situation in Syria. That is where the author and I disagree. ..."
    "... Conditions and expectations in Syria now are NOT unlike conditions and expectations in the USSR during the Second World WAR! ..."
    "... US might is depending on oil being traded in US$. ..."
    "... The article starts from the strange assumption that Russia's foreign policy is motivated by cold Machiavellian motives while the US is motivated by sublime humanitarian motives. I believe the opposite could be argued with better arguments. ..."
    "... Only a psychopath would argue that a mandate to protect Libyan civilians means a license to murder as much Gadaffi soldiers a you like. Yet that is how the West de facto explained its mandate. As if these soldiers didn't have civilian parents, wives and children... In the end we left Libya with 30,000 dead: much more than even the most pessimist had expected Gadaffi to kill. ..."
    "... It is not true that the opposition in Syria does not want to negotiate with Assad. The fact is that just as in Libya we have composed our own opposition whereby we have selected those who don't want to negotiate. In fact the SNC has hardly any support among the protesters inside Syria and it is dominated by revengeful Brotherhood exiles who fled Syria after Assad sr. had squashed their murder campaign against his regime in the 1980s. In fact there was an attempt to negotiate between Assad and the internal opposition in Damascus. The reaction of the US ambassador was to sabotage it by going to Hama shortly before the talks and making there some radical statements. ..."
    "... In a few years hence we all will be reading about the failure of a Syrian uprising with a valid cause that enjoyed considerable public support. ..."
    "... One major reason will stand out: American open support that intuitively deprived it of many potential Syrian and Arab supporters and unveiled it as the conscious or unconscious open door to Syria for the USA &Co i.e. the EU and Israel and politically brought back Russia as an active major regional player to counter American presence and influence . ..."
    "... I think that there is a huge danger of creating a new nuclear superpower in the middle east lead by an Iran-Turkey-Egypt-Pakistan axis, which will replace the States and finally cut them off from Eurasia. ..."
    "... If the rest of the regimes were brought down, who can be sure that a similar thing could not happen in Saudi Arabia, even if the states never supported such a thing, because of similar reasons like the Russians still support Assad, neighbor countries' intelligence could efficiently support such an effort. ..."
    "... My opinion in short way USA and Israel want attack Iran but because Syria is so close Jewish is a real dangers that they take revenge as Iran will be in a trouble. So is typical dirty game American and Israel politics? They not look after people from Syria because a moral principles. ..."
    "... Events in SYRIA are NOT part of the Arab Spring as earlier conceived , conceptualized and supported by the Arab masses. Though clearly an intifada with considerable public support against an indisputably despotic sectarian and corrupt regime they are, never the less, part of an attempted come back by the USA to the crux of the Middle East in Syria. ..."
    "... As a USA inspired, Saudi financed and Israel supported the Syrian intifada does not qualify being substantially an America conceived design and coordinated, Saudi financed and Qatar fronted effort targeting the Iran/Syria/Hizb Allah and Palestinian armed resistance common front against Israel and the USA. ..."
    Feb 05, 2012 | Foreign Affairs

    Nick C. (Feb. 15, 2011)

    The author is certainly an expert on Russia, and he writes a brilliant article illustrating the history of the Soviet-Russian Syrian ties, and the reasons for the current Russian support for the regime in Syria; and I agree with him on all what he writes on these subjects; it is on his assessments on the situation in other spots where we disagree.

    He writes: " Russia is not blameless: It lost too much time watching others and then criticizing them without shaping an active role for itself. Late last month, Moscow invited the Syrian government and the opposition for talks. This move came much too late. The opposition wants to hang Assad, not negotiate with him. Perhaps last year the response might have been different."

    Well, I am glad he used the word "might" towards the end. Let me assure him the Syrian opposition would not have accepted Russia's invitation for negotiations with the regime then, just as it rejects it now; but the timing of the proposal was- to the contrary of what the author writes- actually perfect, because though the opposition would not in the past negotiate with the regime, and will not do it now; they might be inclined to do so in the future, under either Russian or Arab auspices; once they realize it is the only option left for them after they exhaust whatever remaining illusions they have about toppling the regime through a combination of protests and armed insurgency, plus whatever naive drum beating tactics and fabrications- that have become so obvious- they are using through the media . So, I would say the move was actually a master stroke for Russian diplomacy.

    Then he writes: "And now it (meaning Russia) has maneuvered itself into a position in which it must bet on Assad's survival to protect its interests. Moscow needs to learn that saying no is not good enough and that in global politics timing is everything."

    He and his country are both right, true, Russia has maneuvered itself into a position in which it must bet on Assad's survival to protect its interests, and that is a sure bet; and Moscow knows very well that saying no is not good enough, that is why she is doing much more. It was so necessary for Russia to say no, it also behooves us in the West as well as Turkey and Arab players to help the opposition by making sure they understand international realities. The West, Turkey and the Arabs, in addition to what they are doing -- which is politically understandable -- must help guide the opposition towards negotiations and compromise. The veto presents a reality check to the opposition and offers an opportunity for the West, Turkey and the Arabs to help coax the opposition into a pragmatic and responsible attitude. Russia also understands that in global politics timing is everything, and she is playing this card perfectly.

    Then the author writes: "Over the last year, Russia has faced the simultaneous opprobrium of the Western public, the Arab street, and the conservative Gulf regimes"

    That cannot be further from the truth, the western public is unsure and ambivalent about the situation in Syria, The West has no choice but to give lip service to the Syrian opposition, that too is a sure bet -- the lip service that is -- the Arab street is divided over the issue, and the conservative Gulf regimes for their own reasons -- are tacitly working and hoping for calm to return to Syria soon. They are very aware of the ramifications of any escalation or a protracted conflict there on their own national interests.

    Let me add that I also believe the Syrian revolt is not a conspiracy. It started and continues by Syrian decisions; it however would not have been this intense had it not been for the interference of others. I just wish the Syrian protesters as well as the armed groups including defectors realize they are misguided and they lack political horizon, and the world knows that, and the world is waiting for them to understand they stand alone, and they are predestined to lose until they become pragmatic, and they need to comprehend that you do not get what you want by simply asking for it, or by blindly pursuing it. You need to make sure not to be reckless and not to jeopardize so much.

    Now let me list some additional points on which the author and I disagree, Russia understands these points very well.

    While the existence of sectarian sentiments, even passions is undeniable in the Middle East, their characterization however is often overblown and misleading. For example, during the Iraq-Iran war of the 1980's a substantial segment of Iraqi Shiites- especially the educated, influential and affluent strata of society -- sided with the perceived Sunni dominated Saddam regime against Shiite Iran; that support for the regime even increased during the first Iraq war, it started waning -- like support among other Iraqis -- in the aftermath of that war. It must also be noted that Iraqi Shiites were split over the Shiite revolt that ensued that war, and many Iraqi Shiites then strongly urged Saddam to put a quick and decisive end to it. During the second Iraq war the regime still had respectable support in the Shiite community in Iraq; some even fought coalition forces as volunteers during their advance into the country. It was in the environment after the regime fell, that sectarian divisions and passions started intensifying in Iraq and the region.

    Now before I delve into the current Syrian situation, I would like to say the author chose his words very carefully when describing the situation there, he writes: "Iran, Syria's ally, is already being drawn into the fray, with the Assad regime's Alawite core coming under attack from mainly Sunni opposition. Syria is Bahrain in reverse -- a Sunni majority that feels oppressed by a relatively small sect that many believe is closer to the Shiites."

    While it is true that some Alawites are a powerful component of the core of the Syrian regime, elements of other minorities, as well as Sunnis compliment the rest of the powerful core components of the regime. Also, Iran's entry into the fray is not predicated on sectarian lines; add to that the fact that while the opposition is mainly Sunni, the majority of Sunnis still, support the regime over the mainly Sunni opposition. So far, there is no contradiction in what the author and I write on the issue, he simply chooses his words carefully and leaves out some important details, while I bring these details back to the picture. Also while there is no disagreement the majority in Syria is Sunni and true many Sunnis are apprehensive about the perceived inordinate power of the Alawites in the country, the majority of Sunnis, let alone the whole Sunni majority, does not feel oppressed. Secular Sunni power within the regime and within the country has been steadily on the rise for over a generation, and the majority of Sunnis does not see the need to fix what is not broken and what time will take care of in a peaceful and evolutionary manner. "A Sunni majority that feels oppressed" is not a true statement and is a gross mis-characterization of the situation in Syria. That is where the author and I disagree.

    It must be noted that - regardless of recent events -- secularism runs deep both in Iraq and in Syria, and both countries will become more secular in the future; same applies to Jordan, the Palestinians and Lebanon -- despite its current confessional political system. Add to the list the obvious secular nations of Israel and Turkey, it then becomes clear that betting on an Islamist movement in Syria- especially one that is so extremist and so different from other Islamist movements- is a losing proposition.

    On a different subject, the author recounts the events of the1973 war between Israel on the one side and Egypt and Syria on the other. He writes: "Beginning in 1973, after Egypt's disastrous defeat in the war against Israel and Sadat's embrace of U.S. mediation"

    Well, it is for certain that Egypt did not lose that war, let alone disastrously. By most expert accounts, including by Egyptian and Israeli generals in that war, it was militarily a close draw and politically a victory for Egypt, some even saw it as a narrow military victory for Egypt- let us not forget that the Camp David Accords came afterwards where Israel ceded the Sinai peninsula to Egypt though with Egypt signing a peace treaty with Israel.

    He then writes: "In 1972, preparing for his political break with Moscow, Sadat sent home 20,000 Soviet military advisers and their dependents" True, he did, in part to exhibit self-confidence at military capability for his country, and in part to pressure the Soviets into helping him build the military he used to mount the war -- the soviets did not believe he could mount a war, let alone win one against Israel; especially only six years after the truly disastrous -- for Egypt -- six day war.

    It was not until the last days of the 1973 war that Sadat -- watching the massive American military support for Israel in terms of Armament, munitions, and logistics; and after talking to both the Americans and the Soviets -- decided to break with Moscow.

    Gerry Tighe •

    Once you understand that 9/11 was an inside job, suddenly all the USA actions make sense. Just give it a try and suppose it is true, you will see what I mean.

    Gerry Tighe

    What a joke -- You pretend to understand the in depth world politics, but you are either disengenguous or pushing the usual western media mind control propaganda. Do you really believe this? Surely you are intelligent enough to work out the real game for the world.

    Omar N. (Mar. 20, 2009)

    Conditions and expectations in Syria now are NOT unlike conditions and expectations in the USSR during the Second World WAR!

    Each was/is living under the horrible yoke of a certain regime BUT faced with a much uglier prospect in case of change: the Nazi alternative for the Soviet Union and the USA/Gulf petroldom for Syria!

    It is not only that the Syrian people intuitively and consciously rejects USA neo imperialist cum USA-Israeli alliance "New Middle East" vision of a new Syria but that events and outpourings of the Iraqi change, achieved through a similar alignment of external, regional and internal forces , are still too fresh in every body's mind to ignore.
    Which throws everything and all back to the USA perennial regional dilemma of attempting to influence events and gain friends in the Middle while maintaining its strategic relations with and all out support of Israel.

    The recent collapse of the Sadat/Mubarak regime in Egypt underscored the impossibility of that vision and the utter non feasibility of such a dual USA role in the region.

    Valdi V. (Feb. 12, 2012)

    Since Iraq war in 2003 the US has lost credibility. US might is depending on oil being traded in US$. Without it, the demand for the US currency would correspond only to the products it can manufacture.

    It could not afford an army bigger than the rest of the world, thousands military bases worldwide, and its population being just 6% of the world population couldn't afford to consume 40% of world production.

    For many years the West kept the dictators in oil producing countries in ruling positions to get the oil cheap and without resistance. It is fully responsible for the underdevelopment of the middle east.

    When finally the Arabs in Tunesia have woken up, it was a surprise for the US, who was scared to death to loose its main provider for power - Saudi Arabia. As explained, without the connection of oil versus US$, US will become to a normal country, which will struggle as everybody else.

    Thats why the Iraq war started, since Saddam Hussein started to trade oil for Euro. The very first administrative order after occupying Iraq was to change the trade to US$. Russia and China are the only powers who can stop US from becoming an unchallenged dictator of the world.

    That's why the thief Chodorkovsky was more important in Russia, than millions of oppressed in Middle East, in Saudia Arabia, or in Bahrain. That's why US went 10000 miles to war to free the Kuwait dictator in the first Iraq war in 1991. In order to prevent the Tunesian revolt to jump over to Saudi Arabia, US scarified Mubarak, Libya, now Syria, and simultaneously violently silenced the protests in Bahrein,

    Russua wouldn't mind, but since the US administration is pushing forward with it's rocket defense in Europe in encircling Russia, it has woken up the Russian bear. The Russians see the real threat of the shield, which is not defensive, but aggressive! It would allow to neutralize the nuclear response in case of a surpise attack from USA. Will not happen with Russia - US will chop of it's teeth on Russia, as Hitler did.

    And yes, Russians drink vodka, are corrupt, and have not the nicest products - and still, they have rescued the world from Hitler and freed the whole Europe, which allowed Hitler to rape its population, with help of US corporations under full knowledge of US government. The West civilization is blinded by US media, and if it doesn't learn the lessons of history, there will be WWIII. It will come sudden, on a nice day, one like June 22 1941. Best.

    Wim R. (Oct. 20, 2011)

    The article starts from the strange assumption that Russia's foreign policy is motivated by cold Machiavellian motives while the US is motivated by sublime humanitarian motives. I believe the opposite could be argued with better arguments.

    The basic principle of international law is non-interference in each other's affairs. Recently this principle has been nuanced by the "Responsibility to protect" argument but it stays the basic principle.

    So when the UN gave a mandate for the protection of civilians in Libya this was with the implicit assumption that it would be done in a way that restricted the violation of the principle of non-interference to a minimum. The road was clear: make just enough pressure on Gadaffi that he doesn't conquer Benghazi and get instead a negotiated surrender where the rebels get amnesty. One might also aim for some political reform with more freedom and representation but that certainly was the limit. Instead the US refused all negotiations and went for a military conquest with one goal: total victory.

    Only a psychopath would argue that a mandate to protect Libyan civilians means a license to murder as much Gadaffi soldiers a you like. Yet that is how the West de facto explained its mandate. As if these soldiers didn't have civilian parents, wives and children... In the end we left Libya with 30,000 dead: much more than even the most pessimist had expected Gadaffi to kill.

    Russia was not alone in condemning this reasoning. China vetoed the Syria resolution too. India supported it only after all language aimed at facilitating a foreign intervention had been removed. Most of the rest of the world supports this line of reasoning. So the "West" is rather isolated in this. We still get a lot of votes from the South for our resolutions in this but that is more thanks to diplomatic pressure - sometimes open blackmail - than to them sharing our convictions.

    With the present anarchy the faults of the Western approach in Libya become clearer and clearer. Yet Obama and the other Western leaders refuse to learn from their mistakes and pursue the same strategy in Syria.

    It is not true that the opposition in Syria does not want to negotiate with Assad. The fact is that just as in Libya we have composed our own opposition whereby we have selected those who don't want to negotiate. In fact the SNC has hardly any support among the protesters inside Syria and it is dominated by revengeful Brotherhood exiles who fled Syria after Assad sr. had squashed their murder campaign against his regime in the 1980s. In fact there was an attempt to negotiate between Assad and the internal opposition in Damascus. The reaction of the US ambassador was to sabotage it by going to Hama shortly before the talks and making there some radical statements.

    It is strange that hardly a Western newspaper pays attention to the reasons why the Russians vetoed the Syria resolution. Their wish to put more effort in negotiations and to ask the armed opposition too to stop with violence are far from outrageous. In fact every textbook on conflict resolution recommends such actions.

    Aly-Khan S. (Mar. 28, 2009)

    Given the Historical Relationship and the fact that Tartus represents the only Russian Asset in the Meditarranean, the Russian Veto is completely understood as a cold blooded Realpolitik Calculation.

    Furthermore, it is now clear that it is the Counter Revolution which is in charge and therefore, Realpolitik Calculations surely trump any shattered Dreams about Greater Democracy and an Arab Spring.

    Both China and Russia must be looking at the numbers and thinking that there but for the Grace of God, we too might find ourselves and we would not want held to this Threshold Level.

    Aly-Khan Satchu
    http://www.rich.co.ke
    Nairobi

    Omar N. (Mar. 20, 2009)

    In a few years hence we all will be reading about the failure of a Syrian uprising with a valid cause that enjoyed considerable public support.

    One major reason will stand out: American open support that intuitively deprived it of many potential Syrian and Arab supporters and unveiled it as the conscious or unconscious open door to Syria for the USA &Co i.e. the EU and Israel and politically brought back Russia as an active major regional player to counter American presence and influence .

    ALEXANDROS S. (Jan. 9, 2012)

    The article is pretty much correct in my opinion, Syria seems to be the last Russian outpost in the middle east. Well it is obvious that the Americans don't want Assad any more and they are doing anything to bring him down, is there a plan though? I mean does the US government have actually a plan of replacing this government or do they just leave this work to the Turks and Muslim brotherhood?

    It seems like the US trusts these two players blindly. The past has shown that this kind of blind trust to other similar movements was wrong, Hamas is the best example. I am not quite sure if the US government has foreseen the emerging player of the middle east and this is no-one else than the middle east itself, under the guidance of the master mason, Turkey. I think that there is a huge danger of creating a new nuclear superpower in the middle east lead by an Iran-Turkey-Egypt-Pakistan axis, which will replace the States and finally cut them off from Eurasia.

    People might think that i am exaggerating, that Egypt does not have a stable government that is difficult for these countries to agree, that there is Israel, Saudi Arabia and the emirates. Well these countries have a very strong bond, religion, and in Muslim countries this is a huge factor. If the rest of the regimes were brought down, who can be sure that a similar thing could not happen in Saudi Arabia, even if the states never supported such a thing, because of similar reasons like the Russians still support Assad, neighbor countries' intelligence could efficiently support such an effort.

    Then it would be very difficult for Israel to stand on its own, even if in the past managed to do show, this kind of conflict would be very hard. Assad is a dictator and is hostile towards Israel and US, but perhaps he is the least bad thing right now. Of course the civil war is a curse to any nation, but if there is a change to happen, then it should be in a really democratic way and not in a way similar to the existing "democracies" of the Middle East. I know that my point of view might sound cynic or even a bit of difficult to happen, but i honestly believe that there are no humanitarian motives in current politics, unfortunately, and that my scenario is very possible.

    Guest (Jan. 11, 2012)

    My opinion in short way USA and Israel want attack Iran but because Syria is so close Jewish is a real dangers that they take revenge as Iran will be in a trouble. So is typical dirty game American and Israel politics? They not look after people from Syria because a moral principles.

    Omar N. (Mar. 20, 2009) • 3 years ago

    Events in SYRIA are NOT part of the Arab Spring as earlier conceived , conceptualized and supported by the Arab masses. Though clearly an intifada with considerable public support against an indisputably despotic sectarian and corrupt regime they are, never the less, part of an attempted come back by the USA to the crux of the Middle East in Syria.

    As a USA inspired, Saudi financed and Israel supported the Syrian intifada does not qualify being substantially an America conceived design and coordinated, Saudi financed and Qatar fronted effort targeting the Iran/Syria/Hizb Allah and Palestinian armed resistance common front against Israel and the USA.

    The Arab Spring had at inception a fundamental common platform that brought together the hitherto wary movements and uneasy relations of the Islamists, the Nationalists and the Progressives together in a joint anti despotism, anti corruption, anti Israel and anti USA alliance.

    Events in Syria seem to have removed the Islamist corner stone of the said alliance!

    An interesting development it had given birth to is the inescapable tacit alliance it has forged and brought to the forefront of the USA &Co and the Islamist major movement: the Moslem Brotherhood.

    Its implications for the rank and file of the Islamist movements, hitherto die hard anti Israel and anti USA ,remains to be seen and may well lead to public disenchantment with the Moslem Brotherhood in particular and Islamist movements in general.

    [Nov 07, 2017] Moon of Alabama: Saudi Arabia This 'Night Of The Long Knives' Is A Panic-Fueled Move

    Nov 07, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    et Al , November 6, 2017 at 8:04 am

    Moon of Alabama: Saudi Arabia – This 'Night Of The Long Knives' Is A Panic-Fueled Move
    http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/11/saudi-purge.html

    Yesterday the ruling Salman clan in Saudi Arabia executed a Night of the Long Knives cleansing the state of all potential competition. The Saudi King Salman and his son Clown Prince Mohammad bin Salman initiated a large arrest wave and purge of high ranking princes and officials. Part of this internal coup was the confiscation of huge financial estates to the advantage of the Salman clan.

    The earlier forced resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri is probably related to the last night's events. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahoo endorsed the resignation. This guarantees that Hariri will never again be accepted in a leading role in Lebanon .
    ####

    Plenty more at the link and don't forget to check the comments, of which PaveWay IV & guidoamm are enlightening, the latter: I know from someone that, till last month, managed a fleet of personal jets for the great and the good in Saudi Arabia, that there is an exodus under way. The great and the good are literally taking the cuckoo clocks onboard their 380s and relocating to their foreign residences. Owners of the fleets have not been paying their bills for months neither to the crews, nor to the management nor, indeed, to the facilities.
    ####

    Just what Europe needs, a bunch of Saudi princes permanently flaunting themselves away from home in various capitals.

    saskydisc , November 6, 2017 at 1:56 pm
    Saudi declares war on Lebanon, by claiming that Lebanon declares war on Saudi Arabia . Given that the Saudis have made their alliance with Israel open, this is a threat to the Lebanese government and society, and a dare to the Russian government regarding its anti-ISIS and anti-Al Qaeda policy.
    marknesop , November 7, 2017 at 8:28 am
    Not to mention the S-400 sale.

    [Nov 07, 2017] Consortium News: Israeli-Saudi Tandem Adjusts to Syria Loss

    Nov 07, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    et Al , November 6, 2017 at 8:31 am

    Consortium News: Israeli-Saudi Tandem Adjusts to Syria Loss
    https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/04/israeli-saudi-tandem-adjusts-to-syria-loss/

    Facing defeat in the proxy war in Syria, the Israeli-Saudi tandem is planning a new front against Hezbollah, presaged by Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri's sudden resignation, as ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke explains.

    By Alastair Crooke
    ####

    All at the link.

    I don't think Israel will start to face any kind of reality as long as Nut & Yahoo and his clique remain in power, even then In other news, the US has just ordered 186 more cruise missiles (that we know about). War with I-ran is the goal, but how to get there? More weapons is the easy bit but the earth beneath the war parties' feet has long since shifted. I-ran is prepared and expects it too.

    [Nov 07, 2017] Washington's Wonderful World of Corruption - The Unz Review

    Notable quotes:
    "... On the next day, Woolsey and his wife met separately with the same two Turkish businessmen at the Peninsula Hotel in New York City and discussed with them a more general but broadly based $10 million plan of their own that would combine lobbying with public relations to discredit Gülen both in the press and in congress. Woolsey stressed that he had the kind of contacts in government and the media to make the plan work. ..."
    "... Woolsey did not get the $10 million contract that he sought and Flynn's well-remunerated work for Turkey reportedly consisted of some research, a short documentary that may or may not have been produced, and a November op-ed in The Hill ..."
    "... But the real story about Flynn and Woolsey is the fashion in which senior ex-government employees shamelessly exploit their status to turn money from any and all comers without any regard for either the long- or short- term consequences of what they are doing. ..."
    "... Just think. Casino king, lord of vice industry, is the #1 donor to the GOP. Politics was always about money, but now it's totally shameless. ..."
    "... So did Flynn take the considerable risks of nondisclosure because he was an ideologue or was it primarily for the money? And was it pathological or just stupidly brazen? The Gereral's pardon awaits. ..."
    "... What does one expect in a country where money dominates all ? The USA is a great country to live in when one is rich, anything goes, and horror when one is poor. The only way to escape horror is to get rich, and stay rich. I am severely ill, the Dutch health care system keeps me alive, at great cost. In the USA I would either be broke and dead, or simply dead. ..."
    "... Just a couple observations here, but the world economy went into the toilet around the time the big Western economies started pushing all this anti-corruption stuff for businesses, and one cannot help but notice that political corruption in the West has become far more sophisticated in the past twenty years, with payoffs arriving after the fact to provide some degree of plausible deniability for the politicos and apparatchiks involved. ..."
    "... 'As the sociologist Georg Simmel wrote over a century ago, if you make money the center of your value system, then finally you have no value system, because money is not a value'. ..."
    "... Then, Errol Morris was interviewed about his documentary film on Donald Rumfseld. Morris was scathing: Rumsfeld was all about his career, his voluminous "snowflake" memos were meandering BS, self-aggrandizing; Morris was especially outraged with Rumsfeld's reaction to a seriously wounded soldier -- it was a photo op; no measure of humanity was in evidence. Interesting contrast between McNamara and Rumsfeld ..."
    Nov 07, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Enter former General Michael Flynn and former Bill Clinton CIA Director James Woolsey, both of whom were national security advisers to candidate Donald Trump during his campaign when they competed for contracts with Turkish businessmen linked to the Erdogan government to discredit Gülen and possibly even enable his abduction and illegal transfer to Turkey. If, as a consequence of their labors, Gülen were to be somehow returned home he would potentially be tried on treason charges, which might in the near future carry the death penalty in Turkey.

    Both Flynn and Woolsey are highly controversial figures. Woolsey, in spite of having no intelligence experience, was notoriously appointed CIA Director by Bill Clinton to reward the neoconservatives for their support of his candidacy. But Woolsey never met privately with the president during his two years in office. He is regarded as an ardent neocon and Islamophobe affiliated with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and the AIPAC-founded Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). I once debated him on NPR where he asserted that Israel does not spy on the United States, a delusional viewpoint to be sure. Former CIA Senior analyst Mel Goodman, recalling Woolsey's tenure at the Agency, commented in 2003 that "[he] was a disaster as CIA director in the 90s and is now running around this country calling for a World War IV to deal with the Islamic problem. This is a dangerous individual "

    Flynn, is, of course, better known, and not for any good qualities that he might possess. He is, like Woolsey, an ardent hawk on Iran and other related issues but is also ready to make a buck through his company The Flynn Intel Group, where Woolsey served as an unpaid adviser. In the summer of 2016 Flynn had obtained a three-month contract for $530,000 to "research" Gülen and produce a short documentary film discrediting him, an arrangement that should have been reported under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, but the big prize was a possible contract in the millions of dollars to create a negative narrative on the Hizmet founder and put pressure on the U.S. government to bring about his extradition.

    Woolsey and Flynn, both Trump advisers at the time, found themselves in competition for the money. Flynn had a New York meeting at the Essex House with the businessmen accompanied by the Turkish Foreign and Energy Ministers as well as Erdogan's son-in-law on September 19 th 2016 where, inter alia, the possibility of kidnapping Gülen and flying him to Turkey was discussed. Flynn has denied that the possibility of kidnapping was ever raised, but Woolsey, who was at the meeting for a brief time, insists that "whisking away" Gülen in the dead of night was on the agenda, though he concedes that the discussion was "hypothetical."

    On the next day, Woolsey and his wife met separately with the same two Turkish businessmen at the Peninsula Hotel in New York City and discussed with them a more general but broadly based $10 million plan of their own that would combine lobbying with public relations to discredit Gülen both in the press and in congress. Woolsey stressed that he had the kind of contacts in government and the media to make the plan work.

    Woolsey did not get the $10 million contract that he sought and Flynn's well-remunerated work for Turkey reportedly consisted of some research, a short documentary that may or may not have been produced, and a November op-ed in The Hill by Flynn that denounced Gülen as a "radical Islamist who portrays himself as a moderate."

    But the real story about Flynn and Woolsey is the fashion in which senior ex-government employees shamelessly exploit their status to turn money from any and all comers without any regard for either the long- or short- term consequences of what they are doing. The guilt or innocence of Fetullah Gülen was never an issue for them, nor the reputation of the United States judiciary in a case which has all the hallmarks of a political witch hunt. And if a kidnapping actually was contemplated, it begs one to pause and consider what kind of people are in power in this country.

    Neither Flynn nor Woolsey ever considered that their working as presidential campaign advisers while simultaneously getting embroiled in an acrimonious political dispute involving a major ally just might be seen as a serious conflict of interest, even if it was technically not-illegal. All that motivated them was the desire to exploit a situation that they cared not at all about for profit to themselves.

    No one expects top rank ex-officials to retire from the world, but out of respect for their former positions, they should retain at least a modicum of decency. This is lacking across the board from the Clintons on down to the Flynns and Woolseys as Americans apparently now expect less and less from their elected officials and have even ceased to demand minimal ethical standards.

    Issac , November 7, 2017 at 2:32 am GMT

    I've heard it said that Gülen was stateside precisely because of his potential leverage over Ankara. One could be forgiven thinking, therefor, that he had outlived his usefulness after the failed/faked coup. One might even consider sending him home would be a diplomatic gift to such a "major ally," as Turkey. Apparently Langley does not want this bargaining chip off the table just yet. Or do they? Who would even know?

    Do you expect Americans to trust current national security state employees more than ex-, if indeed ex- even has the connotation one expects? On what basis would they make this judgement? Are most of the people in either camp not appointments from various neocon-influenced administrations? What would popular resentment of this corruption even look like? Would they demand the passing of legislation that could be ignored?

    What ethical standards can be applied to an organization that can lie, under oath, without repercussion? In a world in which sixth generation American citizens are equated in every way with aggressive third-world refugees, the words "loyalty," and "corruption," have lost any foundation upon which they might have meaning.

    Carlton Meyer , Website November 7, 2017 at 5:29 am GMT
    And in the news today:

    By CRAIG WHITLOCK | The Washington Post | Published: November 5, 2017

    The "Fat Leonard" corruption investigation has expanded to include more than 60 admirals and hundreds of other U.S. Navy officers under scrutiny for their contacts with a defense contractor in Asia who systematically bribed sailors with sex, liquor and other temptations [like cash], according to the Navy.

    Most of the admirals are suspected of attending extravagant feasts at Asia's best restaurants paid for by Leonard Glenn Francis, a Singapore-based maritime tycoon who made an illicit fortune supplying Navy vessels in ports from Vladivostok, Russia, to Brisbane, Australia. Francis also was renowned for hosting alcohol-soaked, after-dinner parties, which often featured imported prostitutes and sometimes lasted for days, according to federal court records.

    RobinG , November 7, 2017 at 6:16 am GMT

    the sell-out.. disease.. afflicting officials in national security.

    corruption from the top down a combination of greed and dishonesty

    Amen, Phil, and Americans are collateral damage.

    General Michael Hayden abandoned an NSA cyber program –that could have prevented the 9/11 attack– in favor of a less effective plan that was more profitable for corporate security firms, and generated greater funding for the intelligence agency.

    "A Good American" tells the story of former Technical director of NSA, Bill Binney, and a program called ThinThread. He and a small team within NSA created a surveillance tool that could pick up any electronic signal on earth, filter it for targets and render results in real-time. NSA leadership dumped it – three weeks prior to 9/11.

    Watch it free, before it's taken down. https://youtu.be/FlkAxAc7EjI

    Priss Factor , Website November 7, 2017 at 6:37 am GMT
    Just think. Casino king, lord of vice industry, is the #1 donor to the GOP. Politics was always about money, but now it's totally shameless.
    Mark James , November 7, 2017 at 7:06 am GMT
    So did Flynn take the considerable risks of nondisclosure because he was an ideologue or was it primarily for the money? And was it pathological or just stupidly brazen? The Gereral's pardon awaits.
    jilles dykstra , November 7, 2017 at 7:35 am GMT
    What does one expect in a country where money dominates all ? The USA is a great country to live in when one is rich, anything goes, and horror when one is poor. The only way to escape horror is to get rich, and stay rich. I am severely ill, the Dutch health care system keeps me alive, at great cost. In the USA I would either be broke and dead, or simply dead.
    The Alarmist , November 7, 2017 at 9:23 am GMT
    Oddly enough, I thought that Gülen was a Company asset, and that that was the reason they took Flynn down. Not that I know anything, just speculation.

    Meanwhile, in the private sector, for anybody below the C-Suite there is an ever increasing pressure for compliance policies that outlaw all but the most trivial gifts or meals and entertainment in order to prevent corruption and abuse of position.

    Just a couple observations here, but the world economy went into the toilet around the time the big Western economies started pushing all this anti-corruption stuff for businesses, and one cannot help but notice that political corruption in the West has become far more sophisticated in the past twenty years, with payoffs arriving after the fact to provide some degree of plausible deniability for the politicos and apparatchiks involved.

    JackOH , November 7, 2017 at 9:41 am GMT
    Phil, thanks. Every sentence tells here of an America off the rails.

    A onetime local mayor in my area may offer an idea of the type of person we need. Pat U. has balls of steel. The Mob was against him. City hall bureaucrats were against him. The unions were against him. The police were against him. Corrupt cops threatened to frame him. The priest who'd married him and his wife was enlisted as an errand boy to deliver bribe money. Pat once publicly described our area as a "banana republic". He had a remote car starter installed to guard against assassination by car bombing. He was elected for multiple terms, and survived all attempts to crush him.

    What did Pat have going for him? Personal anatomy. A wife who'd been a very young Polish WWII refugee, and who knew a thing or two about government gone bad and people gone bad. A strong, incorruptible law director, and a strong, incorruptible budget and finance guy. Charisma, and, of course, votes. He kept a local Mr. Big, a zillionaire briber of politicians, at a distance and worked warily with him. Pat met the challenges of an economically collapsing area pretty well.

    How many politicians could weather the permanent storm of American corruption as well as Pat? Not a whole lot.

    Greg Bacon , Website November 7, 2017 at 9:59 am GMT
    The corruption in DC must be setting a record unmatched in history. It doesn't help that our craven, corrupt Congress sets its own rules regarding pay and benefits, but has also passed laws saying its 'OK' for those elite to engage in insider trading. Each Rep and Senator knows that kissing up to the Fortune 500 guarantees them a job after they leave Congress, with a fat paycheck, bennies and sexy secretaries more than happy to take DICKtation, all provided by the company's they took care of while in Congress.

    Compounding the situation is the equally rotten DOJ, who has no problem going after blue-collar crime, but won't touch the real problem, those TBTF Wall Street banks acting like out-of-control casinos who then dump their losses on the backs on the American taxpayer. The latest USAG head Sessions is more confirmation that the Senate is a 'good ol' boys' and girls club that will not go after current and former members, as Sessions will NOT go after the thieving, lying, traitorous Hillary for her many crimes.

    Its impossible to Drain the Swamp when it has so many creatures that snack on Americans and protect each other.

    Short of a revolution, this can only end badly for Americans.

    EliteCommInc. , November 7, 2017 at 10:29 am GMT
    I would love to have seen that debate. I am not a fan of the contention that Iran embodies all things evil about Islam. But it is disappointing that Gen Flynn's advocacy is mired in a competition for financial contract.
    Tom Welsh , November 7, 2017 at 10:41 am GMT
    "We Americans appear to have done it all to ourselves through inexplicable tolerance for a combination of greed and fundamental dishonesty on the part of our elected and appointed government officials".

    One thing about you Americans that often surprises foreigners is your readiness to believe that all this corruption is something new or different. It has been going on ever since well before 1776.

    My own opinion is that systematic corruption is a more or less inevitable consequence of Americans' attempts to cut themselves off from all previous history and moral standards. There were to be no royalty, nobility, gentry – no one exceptional at all in any way.

    Well, human nature abhors a lack of hierarchy: we need it almost as much as water, air, food, security. If you try to abolish all forms of hierarchy, all that happens is that it goes underground. What do Americans respect – what, indeed, have they respected most since (at least) the 1850s? Money. That's it. Cold hard cash. Wealth is next to godliness. The more money you have, the better a person you are thought to be – absolutely regardless of whether you got it by grinding the faces of the workers, murder, torture, drug dealing, or anything else.

    But money is not, cannot be a value. Marx explained this in fairly simple terms, but the following is my favorite way of putting it.

    'As the sociologist Georg Simmel wrote over a century ago, if you make money the center of your value system, then finally you have no value system, because money is not a value'.

    – Morris Berman, "The Moral Order", Counterpunch 8-10 February 2013. http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/08/the-moral-order/

    another fred , November 7, 2017 at 11:31 am GMT

    We Americans appear to have done it all to ourselves through inexplicable tolerance for a combination of greed and fundamental dishonesty on the part of our elected and appointed government officials.

    One might call it stupid to believe that a nation could invest its government with the power to handle and disburse vast sums of money without becoming corrupt. Then again one might call that belief insane. One thing is clear, giving the government that much power and money is sure to corrupt it. Anyone who expects anything else of human beings does not know much about human beings.

    Z-man , November 7, 2017 at 11:54 am GMT
    Flynn was the worst associate that Trump fell in love with. That's a flaw of Trump. He did get rid of Gorka and one or two other NeoCons, unfortunately he has an 'influential' son in law that he can't get rid of that easily whose connected by blood to Joo land. And then again he has a Zionist speech writer Steven Miller, who's very good pushing back the anti Trump press, but still a Zionist Joo . 'Second Coming' anyone? (Grin)
    Moi , November 7, 2017 at 12:13 pm GMT
    What's PG griping about? Our elected leaders, senior officials and corporate captains pretty accurately reflect what our country has devolved into.
    jacques sheete , November 7, 2017 at 12:31 pm GMT
    @JackOH

    Thanks for that great story.

    How many politicians could weather the permanent storm of American corruption as well as Pat? Not a whole lot.

    I'd guess almost zero.

    Hotzenplotz , November 7, 2017 at 12:38 pm GMT
    @jilles dykstra

    „I know of no other country where love of money has such a grip on men's hearts or where stronger scorn is expressed for the theory of permanent equality of property." Tocqueville

    Dishonesty and greed – the American way from the beginning.

    jacques sheete , November 7, 2017 at 1:06 pm GMT
    @Tom Welsh

    My own opinion is that systematic corruption is a more or less inevitable consequence of Americans' attempts to cut themselves off from all previous history and moral standards. There were to be no royalty, nobility, gentry – no one exceptional at all in any way.

    Well, the royalty, nobility, gentry as well as the chief priests and rabbis and and almost everyone in a position of power have historically been pretty corrupt, I'd say. In fact it's probably accurate to say that all of them have been based on violence, treachery and bullshit or some varying mixture of those things has been the rule since rule began.

    As far as worshipping money, you are correct, but the systemic corruption is baked into the cake by the way most political systems generally arise, and it's not only an American phenomenon since a person reading Aristophanes, Plutarch, Juvenal, Herbert Spencer and tons more could as well be writing of current events. The concepts are unchanged; only the names, dates and minor particular issues have changed.

    Upon arriving at Messene Philip proceeded to devastate the country like an enemy acting from passion rather than from reason. For he expected, apparently, that while he continued to inflict injuries, the sufferers would never feel any resentment or hatred towards him.

    -The Histories of Polybius , Book VIII, pg 465, Section III. Affairs of Greece, Philip, and Messenia. published in Vol. III
    of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1922 thru 1927

    http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/8*.html

    The concept is not only ancient, but cross-cultural too.

    " The Master said, 'Why do you not leave this place?' The answer was, 'There is no oppressive government here.' The Master then said to his disciples: 'Remember this, my little children. Oppressive government is more terrible than tigers.'"

    -Confucius as quoted in The Ethics of Confucius, by Miles Menander Dawson, [1915]

    http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/eoc/eoc10.htm

    jacques sheete , November 7, 2017 at 1:10 pm GMT

    What's PG griping about? Our elected leaders, senior officials and corporate captains pretty accurately reflect what our country has devolved into.

    Sorry good sir, but no devolution needed. It was baked in the cake from inception. The "anti-federalists" warned us but the warnings fell on deaf (and powerless and preoccupied) ears.

    Rich , November 7, 2017 at 1:14 pm GMT
    @jilles dykstra

    I'm not trolling you, Jilles, you just keep showing up on this site bashing America with factually wrong statements. I'm aware that the Netherlands is a pleasant nation, both my wife and I have some Dutch ancestry, but the Netherlands, like the US, isn't perfect. The fact is that every country, from Venezuela to Monaco, is a great country when one is rich, I'd bet even Holland is nice if you've got a few bucks.

    To your point about your health issues. Here in the US there are two primary medical insurance programs run by the government, Medicare and Medicaid. If you're over 65 you are automatically covered by Medicare, there are some low costs associated with it, but if you're too poor to pay them, you don't have to. Medicaid is a government run health insurance program for the poor and uninsured in the US. In most cases all medical conditions are covered for free in this program. No hospital emergency room in the US is allowed to refuse treatment, either. Could the system be better? Of course, but people aren't really dying in the streets, desperate for medical attention, as the leftists you read are telling you.

    Carroll Price , November 7, 2017 at 1:54 pm GMT
    Contrary to the proverb, fish DO NOT rot from the head down but from the gut. The rampant corruption practiced by elected and unelected US officials alike, simply mirrors that of the nation as a whole.

    http://www.brainstormwarning.org/2008/10/30/the-fish-rots-from-the-head

    DESERT FOX , November 7, 2017 at 1:56 pm GMT
    Our government is not our government anymore , it is a criminal cabal ran for and by criminals and as such is not legitimate anymore and this has led to perpetual war for perpetual profit and perpetual corruption, we are Rome and the end is near.
    Joe Hide , November 7, 2017 at 2:06 pm GMT
    Amazing changes for the Good are taking place at an ever more rapid rate. The exposure of the shenanigans of Flynn and Woolsey are literal examples of the figurative "The darkness hates the Light because the Light exposes the darkness for it's evil deeds". The internet and authors like this allow the Light (Truth) into Humanities Consciousness. Keep it up Giraldi!
    SolontoCroesus , November 7, 2017 at 2:13 pm GMT
    @Rich

    Could the system be better? Of course, but people aren't really dying in the streets, desperate for medical attention, as the leftists you read are telling you.

    That may or may not be so, I'd have to see some statistics. The evidence of my lyon' eyes tells me plenty of people are living on the streets. My gentrified neighborhood insisted that police remove the men who slept under dumpsters in the alleys -- they moved them to bridge abutments and abandoned industrial sites.

    Public libraries are ersatz day-care-for-hoboes; libraries now have police patrolling to ensure that the mentally ill regulars do not act out too loudly or stink too badly. Washington, DC libraries post extensive rules on the bathroom doors: NO shaving, NO showering, NO sex in the bathrooms.

    Hu Mi Yu , November 7, 2017 at 2:27 pm GMT
    @DESERT FOX

    we are Rome and the end is near.

    I think of Athens in 415 BC just before the battle of Syracuse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Expedition

    Old Ben , November 7, 2017 at 3:12 pm GMT
    @another fred

    Ben Franklin's famous quote while voting to adopt the US Constitution.

    "Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other."

    -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -
    And that was back when the Fed Govt was designed to be much smaller and much less powerful than today. Today's great power concentrated in the US govt, including the power to destroy entire countries or businesses and of course people, as well as a great deal of money which can then thus make people fabulously wealthy, means that this govt is far more susceptable to corruption than the one old Ben Franklin was referring to.

    In a country where money means anything and can buy anything, then one must assume that everything is corrupt.

    Old and in the way , November 7, 2017 at 3:18 pm GMT
    @SolontoCroesus

    Academics, working from CDC statistics, estimated in 2009 that 45,000 Americans die every year from lack of medical care.

    https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/new-study-finds-45000-deaths-annually-linked-to-lack-of-health-coverage/

    As a nation, we want to go nuts over a few hundred or perhaps a thousand deaths from illegal aliens, but we look the other way as tens of thousands die in order to make people rich(er) from a for-profit medical system.

    Rich , November 7, 2017 at 3:25 pm GMT
    @SolontoCroesus

    Who are these hobos living in the street? Here in NYC they are drug addicts or mentally unstable people. Why are they allowed to live in the street? Because leftist judges and politicians have made it illegal to force them into mental hospitals or drug addiction facilities. Leftists believe this is a sign of their benevolence. I don't know of anyone who is actually homeless because of poverty in the US. There's just too many programs, from section 8, to welfare, to public housing available.

    jacques sheete , November 7, 2017 at 4:21 pm GMT
    @Old Ben

    as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other."

    I could be classified as a big fan of BF, but I think today he'd change that to as other forms have done before it, when the leaders shall become so corrupted as to benefit even more from despotic Government, being incapable of any other. It seems to me that the fish is always on the verge of rotting, and I on't know if it starts at the head or not, but the thing still stinks, and the head, at least, has always been pretty rotten.

    Emidio Borg , November 7, 2017 at 4:56 pm GMT
    There is more honour in a lake full of crocodiles than there is in the American heart.
    anonymous , Disclaimer November 7, 2017 at 5:16 pm GMT
    A couple references to "2017" should be corrected to 2016. Thank you for using this wonderfully bipartisan example. One has to be pretty naive to think that R and D mean much in Washington. Flush twice!
    Jake , November 7, 2017 at 5:43 pm GMT
    Of course, top officials sell out to anyone for anything. It is always that way in any Empire, save the ones ruled by very bright and brutal men who make it clear that so doing will cost in the biggest ways.

    And then there is the fact of WASP culture being one in which everything is for sale. You can see the issue in all kinds of works of literature, from Jonson's The Alchemist to Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles and beyond. That is what underlay the English rotating between fury and amusement that the Irish and Highlanders were to too stupid about pence and pounds to know when to sell, including their freedom and family heritage. The same dynamic was highlighted in Yankee WASPs versus Southerners, whose sense of honor was both hated furiously and laughed ay endlessly by pure-blood Anglo-Saxon Yankees.

    Ron Unz , November 7, 2017 at 6:22 pm GMT
    @Old and in the way

    Academics, working from CDC statistics, estimated in 2009 that 45,000 Americans die every year from lack of medical care As a nation, we want to go nuts over a few hundred or perhaps a thousand deaths from illegal aliens, but we look the other way as tens of thousands die in order to make people rich(er) from a for-profit medical system.

    Actually, I think the former figure is a *gigantic* over-estimate. Offhand, I'd say there are something like 100 million middle-class white Americans and maybe 11 million or so illegal immigrants. And there were also over 17,000 total homicides during 2016.

    Now if we're talking about ordinary middle-class whites murdered by illegals, I doubt the figure is even remotely close to 1-in-a-million per year, which would be a total of 100. In fact, I'm quite skeptical about whether the total is above 10/year, which would be one-in-10-million. That's the reason that neither VDare nor any of the other anti-immigrant webzines can almost ever find any real-life cases to talk about.

    In my opinion, the notion that anything more than an infinitesimal number of American whites are murdered by illegals is just a total Internet hoax that's been endlessly propagated by silly activists.

    If anyone on this thread thinks I'm wrong then I challenge them to locate at least 10 cases of ordinary middle-class whites murdered by illegals in 2016 (I'm not talking about Aryan Brotherhood gang members shivved in prison brawls or wives killing husbands/husbands killing wives). If you can't find ten cases in all of America during an entire year, then I'm probably right.

    anonymous , Disclaimer November 7, 2017 at 6:27 pm GMT
    @EliteCommInc.

    I am not a fan of the contention that Iran embodies all things evil about Islam.

    On the other hand, I am a fan of the contention that the white race embodies all things evil about Christianity.

    MBlanc46 , November 7, 2017 at 6:47 pm GMT
    "Modicum of decency"? By former elected officials and functionaries? Maybe in some other possible world.
    Art , November 7, 2017 at 7:34 pm GMT
    Did Flynn get crossways with the Mossad – is that why he is in trouble today? Clearly Gülen has protection in America – that has to mean Mossad/CIA backing. I have seen writing that says that Gülen has ties to Israel. That explains a lot. Think Peace -- Art
    SolontoCroesus , November 7, 2017 at 8:13 pm GMT
    Is corruption uniquely part of the US system of government (beyond the obvious propensity for all systems to become corrupted);
    or does the US system of governance have unique loopholes, or systemic weaknesses, that make corruption more likely;
    or is/has the US system of governance been corrupted by the machinations of a group or of some 'bad apples,'

    Are Woolsey/Flynn examples of the "bad apple" notion: their lack of character has spread rot to the larger system? Their rot has normalized corruption?

    Just watched two interviews, a conversation with Robert McNamara and Errol Morris, who directed the documentary, Fog of War, about McNamara's controversial career and decisions about war.

    McNamara is widely described as an SOB of dubious moral fiber. In this conversation, he does not hide from his complicity in enormously harmful decisions, but does spell out the forces involved, not only the venal, career-protecting influences but also the realization that decisions involve the lives of large numbers of US men in uniform.

    McNamara also tries to articulate the complexities -- and restraint -- with which past political leaders such as himself must approach their post-employment situation: while they do have knowledge, from experience, about situations, McNamara argues that it was his belief that he had to tread very lightly in making public opinions or prescriptions.

    Then, Errol Morris was interviewed about his documentary film on Donald Rumfseld. Morris was scathing: Rumsfeld was all about his career, his voluminous "snowflake" memos were meandering BS, self-aggrandizing; Morris was especially outraged with Rumsfeld's reaction to a seriously wounded soldier -- it was a photo op; no measure of humanity was in evidence. Interesting contrast between McNamara and Rumsfeld

    "Cometh the hour, cometh the man." Or Cometh the man, rot-eth the barrel."

    Andrei Martyanov , Website November 7, 2017 at 8:42 pm GMT
    @SolontoCroesus

    McNamara is widely described as an SOB of dubious moral fiber. In this conversation, he does not hide from his complicity in enormously harmful decisions, but does spell out the forces involved, not only the venal, career-protecting influences but also the realization that decisions involve the lives of large numbers of US men in uniform.

    Interesting that you mentioned it. I remember years ago watching McNamara's Q&A session after his lecture in one of the US "liberal" universities. I found myself surprised (in a good sense) with his into your face readiness to face anything thrown at him. He went ballistic when some student shouted "murderer" from back seats of the auditorium but McNamara spoke to this student passionately and personally. He was absolutely human and vulnerable, yet honest. In some sense it was very touching and you could see how it also tormented him.

    As per neocons, from what I observed so far, I never encountered any indication of any of them being simply decent humans–they are human sewer.

    [Nov 05, 2017] US sent troops to Lebanon in 1958

    Notable quotes:
    "... The United States spends $600 billion, not counting veteran's benefits, on war every year. This expense is approved unanimously by the Congress, elected representatives of the people. The "Defense" budget is not even mentioned in the national political debate raging over taxes, health care, etc. ..."
    "... Obviously, this expense is intended to create an American Empire. To put it extremely mildly, it has and will fail. The death throes are going to threaten the existence of mankind. All because some religious, slave-holding lunatics were expelled from England, England forsooth, in the 17th century. OMG. ..."
    "... Do these moves in Lebanon stem from US & Israeli demands that Iranian forces leave Syria? Or is that an excuse? When US & Israel refer to "Iranian forces" is that meant to include Hezbollah? Should we see these developments in Lebanon as primarily anti-Iranian (degrade Hezbollah forces) or anti-Assad (i.e. a second front)? ..."
    "... Best comment above: that the Hegemon is merciless. It looks like the plan is to draw Hezbollah out of Syria. This will force Iran to commit more to Syria. That, in turn, will justify stronger measures by Israel, Saudi Arabia, the US, etc.. Syria's worst sufferings, as it seems, have yet to begin. ..."
    Nov 05, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    xxx

    US sent troops to Lebanon in 1958 - 59 years ago.

    <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>

    I wrote about tit-for-tat Cold War symbolism earlier this year .

    Trump fired 59 missiles into Syria. Trump's missile volley came 7 months after Russia's first volley of 26 Kalibr cruise missiles (Putin's candles") on Putin's birthday in October 2015.

    26 years before (November 1989) was the fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Cold War. Russians were told that NATO would not advance "one inch" eastward.

    Also: when US-led Coalition attacked Deir Ezzor in September 2016 the Russians were put on hold for 27 minutes - possibly also referring back to 1989 (an 'answer' to the Russian reference) .

    In November 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev issued the Western powers an ultimatum to withdraw from Berlin within six months and make it a free, demilitarised city. This ultimately led to the Berlin Crisis of 1961. The term "strategic patience" comes from this period.

    If 59 missiles was a reference to 1958, what could be the import?

    - foreshadowing an intervention in Lebanon?

    - warning Putin not to demand that US leave Syria?

    - a signal that US would be resolute? or stand by allies?

    - a symbolic request for Russian to practice strategic patience because Trump's missile volley was forced by Saudi Arabia?

    dapoopa | Nov 4, 2017 12:16:21 PM | 7
    Given the signs of at least a modicum of detente between Saudi and Russia following the King's visit to Moscow last month, the threatening statements by Thamer and the resignation of Hariri are indeed alarming. My understanding is that Russia generally has a 'hands off' stance vis a vis Hezbullah so as not to antagonize Israel, but this also necessitates a delicate balancing act with regard to relations with Syria and Iran. Which raises the question: was the Saudi delegation's visit to Moscow really just a diversion tactic?
    WorldBLee | Nov 4, 2017 12:17:41 PM | 8
    There is no mercy from the US/Saudi/Israeli axis, unfortunately. After all Lebanon has been through, the last thing it needs is Wahhabist terrorists invading its territory to cause more misery.
    psychohistorian | Nov 4, 2017 12:33:24 PM | 11 Burt | Nov 4, 2017 12:35:05 PM | 12
    The United States spends $600 billion, not counting veteran's benefits, on war every year. This expense is approved unanimously by the Congress, elected representatives of the people. The "Defense" budget is not even mentioned in the national political debate raging over taxes, health care, etc.

    Obviously, this expense is intended to create an American Empire. To put it extremely mildly, it has and will fail. The death throes are going to threaten the existence of mankind. All because some religious, slave-holding lunatics were expelled from England, England forsooth, in the 17th century. OMG.

    Jackrabbit | Nov 4, 2017 1:10:23 PM | 16
    Questions

    Do these moves in Lebanon stem from US & Israeli demands that Iranian forces leave Syria? Or is that an excuse? When US & Israel refer to "Iranian forces" is that meant to include Hezbollah? Should we see these developments in Lebanon as primarily anti-Iranian (degrade Hezbollah forces) or anti-Assad (i.e. a second front)?

    AriusArmenian | Nov 4, 2017 1:19:50 PM | 17
    As if the people of Lebanon have not suffered enough.

    To hell with the moronic warmongering of the US/Saudi/Israeli Axis.

    paul | Nov 4, 2017 2:42:01 PM | 32
    Best comment above: that the Hegemon is merciless. It looks like the plan is to draw Hezbollah out of Syria. This will force Iran to commit more to Syria. That, in turn, will justify stronger measures by Israel, Saudi Arabia, the US, etc.. Syria's worst sufferings, as it seems, have yet to begin.

    [Oct 31, 2017] Above All - The Junta Expands Its Claim To Power

    Highly recommended!
    "All along Trump has been the candidate of the military. The other two power centers of the power triangle , the corporate and the executive government (CIA), had gone for Clinton. The Pentagon's proxy defeated the CIA proxy. (Last months' fight over Raqqa was similar - with a similar outcome.)"
    Notable quotes:
    "... All along Trump has been the candidate of the military. The other two power centers of the power triangle , the corporate and the executive government (CIA), had gone for Clinton. The Pentagon's proxy defeated the CIA proxy. (Last months' fight over Raqqa was similar - with a similar outcome.) ..."
    "... Former U.S. Army Captain and now CIA director Mike Pompeo was educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is part of the Junta circle, installed to control the competition. ..."
    "... Is the U.S. military really qualified to teach anyone how to respect human rights? Did it learn that from committing mass atrocities in about each campaign it ever fought? ..."
    "... The deep-seated problems plaguing the USA do have solutions, but they are not those being forwarded by the very radical conservatives now in charge of Congress and many statehouses. And the junta members share their mindsets. So, I see the domestic situation continuing to spiral further out-of-control with no sign anywhere of a countervailing power arising with the potential to steer the ship-of-state away from the massive reef it's rapidly heading for ..."
    "... Ah, Masha Gessen, literally cancer. Who elevated her? I find it interesting that she does the "translating" for the CIA-scripted FX show "The Americans", a show which has probably more effectively demonized Russians for the cud-chewing crowd than the sum total of Cold War propaganda since the 50s AND the daily Russian hate columns in Wapo et al that trickle down to the Buzzfeed crowd. ..."
    "... Military junta or not b, make no mistake, the real power behind the throne are a cabal of billionaires who buy their way by co-opting the politicians who make the laws. Democracy is indeed dead here in the U$A. It's now a full-blown Oligarchy. ..."
    "... I agree with this division of power and would add that Trump is also the candidate of the police. I see the media though as more being in the CIA/corporate camps. I think the military backing is necessary as you mention to take the CIA down a few notches. So far I'd say the result in Syria is promising. ..."
    "... This tribal civil war is also spilling over into places like Las Vegas, which clearly is run by the Jewish Mafia. There still is no plausible motive given for the shooting incident, but we know that the owners of MGM would never willingly have allowed this to happen on their own property. So it clearly was a hit, and with Area 51 down the road and all the MIC contractors in Vegas, it is highly unlikely that they were not involved or at least aware of the operation. ..."
    "... The ground work, or state-of-affairs that lead to what one might call a soft military coup in the US (see b) = within what, at one extreme could be called Ayn-Randian rabid individualism, and at the other a sort of neo-liberal capitalism which is nevertheless highly 'socialist' in the sense re-distributive from the center of power (if only to create a slave/subservient class and prevent uprisings), there is NO public space for 'solidarity' within (besides familial, or close, etc.) ..."
    "... historically, dying empires invest in the double prong, military conquest + internal control (can be vicious) ..."
    "... I don't think it is all that clear. Corps or better conglomerates of power like 'the media', the 'silicons', banking and finance, Energy, electronics, Big Pharma, etc. are politcally inclined (say!) to some form of corporate fascism, > bought pols from all-sides of any-aisle. Their ties to the military / milit. type power at home are not very strong, they may collaborate on occasion. Some of these 'industries' fear domination that goes beyond soft power and they loathe sanctions - think about who/what/how is doing lucrative deals and has continuing biz success in Iraq, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, etc. - NOT US cos./corps. ..."
    "... First, if the only two choices were the Executive CIA and the Military "Junta" with Trump why would we continue the farce of elections? And if the elections were pre-determined and the ruling Junta took over in a coup, then how and why is the CIA out of power? ..."
    "... The "farce of elections" is accurate because Trump is not doing what he claimed he would do, not unusual actually. It was Trump who sprang the "junta" on us. And who claimed that the CIA would be out of power? ..."
    "... I used to think it was a counter-coup also. But sheep-dog Sanders and Trump's having supported Hillary in 2008 among other things caused me to conclude that it all bullshit. I now believe that the hyper-partisanship is just a show. The political system in the US is designed to prevent any real populist from gaining power. We are being played. Trump is the Republican Obama. ..."
    "... The excuse for this was that while US hands were tied (because public wouldn't support further adventurism after Iraq) close allies could push forward. But the new Cold War has changed the calculus. ..."
    "... The US isn't giving up on Empire. It's just a different type of Empire for a different type of environment. When Trump talks about "draining the swamp" I think he merely refers to foreign influence. ..."
    "... Trump has one ally and that is the 65million voters who put him into office. He surrendered his top people. Saker says it was lack of character. I think when they point the gun at you, your family, your closest friends in your life, you acquiesce. They even took from him Keith Schiller, his personal security man for years. Kelly forced him out of the WH. ..."
    "... On the bright side, members of Congress are at least nominally elected. Four star Generals, not so much. It's still a felony carrying a prison term of 5 to 10 years per incident to lie to Congress. The military have no precedent to recommend them either as a source of information or in their decision making ability. They are way out of their depth when it comes to administering a nation. ..."
    "... Moon of Alabama always writes interesting and insightful critiques of the Deep State, the military, and the imperialist/war party, but falls flat on his face in his naive faith in the supposed anti-establishment, populist, and America First Nationalist proclivities of Donald Trump, and his arch-reactionary Svengali Steve Bannon. There is indeed at least one major split in the ranks of the ruling class, but to present Trump and Bannon as either valiant figures struggling for the national good, or noble isolated men surrounded by vipers and traitors is absurd. ..."
    "... Now, in its late imperial decline, the U.S. has become unable to continue to exercise hegemony, the way it became accustomed to in the first 70+ years in the Post-WW 2 period. The number one Client/Ally/Master, Israel and their deeply embedded 5th Column in the U.S., the Zionists with their associated Pro-Zionist factions within the War Party, now nearly directly and openly controls U.S. foreign policy and military actions in the regions that the Likudnik faction in Israel cares about (i.e. the Levant, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa). ..."
    "... Hollowed out economically and industrially the U.S. Empire is clearly on the way out. The various factions fighting for control of policy seem to be oblivious to this basic fact. ..."
    Oct 31, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    In an advertising campaign in 2008 the U.S. Air Force declared itself to be "Above All". The slogan and symbol of the campaign was similar to the German "Deutschland Über Alles" campaign of 1933. It was a sign of things to come.

    On Thursday Masha Gessen watched the press briefing of White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly and concluded :

    The press briefing could serve as a preview of what a military coup in this country would look like, for it was in the logic of such a coup that Kelly advanced his four arguments .
    1. Those who criticize the President don't know what they're talking about because they haven't served in the military . ...
    2. The President did the right thing because he did exactly what his generals told him to do . ...
    3. Communication between the President and a military widow is no one's business but theirs. ...
    4. Citizens are ranked based on their proximity to dying for their country. ...

    Gessen is late. The coup happened months ago. A military junta is in strong control of White House polices. It is now widening its claim to power.

    All along Trump has been the candidate of the military. The other two power centers of the power triangle , the corporate and the executive government (CIA), had gone for Clinton. The Pentagon's proxy defeated the CIA proxy. (Last months' fight over Raqqa was similar - with a similar outcome.)

    On January 20, the first day of the Not-Hillary presidency , I warned:

    The military will demand its due beyond the three generals now in Trump's cabinet.

    With the help of the media the generals in the White House defeated their civilian adversary. In August the Trump ship dropped its ideological pilot . Steve Bannon went from board. Bannon's militarist enemy, National Security Advisor General McMaster, had won. I stated :

    A military junta is now ruling the United States

    and later explained :

    Trump's success as the "Not-Hillary" candidate was based on an anti-establishment insurgency. Representatives of that insurgency, Flynn, Bannon and the MAGA voters, drove him through his first months in office. An intense media campaign was launched to counter them and the military took control of the White House. The anti-establishment insurgents were fired. Trump is now reduced to public figure head of a stratocracy - a military junta which nominally follows the rule of law.

    The military took full control of White House processes and policies:

    Everything of importance now passes through the Junta's hands ... To control Trump the Junta filters his information input and eliminates any potentially alternative view ... The Junta members dictate their policies to Trump by only proposing certain alternatives to him. The one that is most preferable to them, will be presented as the only desirable one. "There are no alternatives," Trump will be told again and again.

    With the power center captured the Junta starts to implement its ideology and to suppress any and all criticism against itself.

    On Thursday the 19th Kelly criticized Congresswoman Frederica Wilson of South Florida for hearing in (invited) on a phone-call Trump had with some dead soldiers wife:

    Kelly then continued his criticism of Wilson, mentioning the 2015 dedication of the Miramar FBI building, saying she focused in her speech that she "got the money" for the building.

    The video of the Congresswoman's speech (above link) proves that Kelly's claim was a fabrication. But one is no longer allowed to point such out. The Junta, by definition, does not lie. When the next day journalists asked the White House Press Secretary about Kelly's unjustified attack she responded:

    MS. SANDERS: If you want to go after General Kelly, that's up to you. But I think that that -- if you want to get into a debate with a four-star Marine general, I think that that's something highly inappropriate

    It is now "highly inappropriate" to even question the Junta that rules the empire.

    ... ... ...

    If the soldiers do not work "for any other reason than that they love this country" why do they ask to be paid? Why is the public asked to finance 200 military golf courses ? Because the soldiers "love the country"? Only a few 10,000 of the 2,000,000 strong U.S. military will ever see an active front-line.

    And imagine the "wonderful joy" Kelly "got in his heart" when he commanded the illegal torture camp of Guantanamo Bay:

    Presiding over a population of detainees not charged or convicted of crimes, over whom he had maximum custodial control, Kelly treated them with brutality. His response to the detainees' peaceful hunger strike in 2013 was punitive force-feeding, solitary confinement, and rubber bullets. Furthermore, he sabotaged efforts by the Obama administration to resettle detainees, consistently undermining the will of his commander in chief.

    Former U.S. Army Captain and now CIA director Mike Pompeo was educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He is part of the Junta circle, installed to control the competition. Pompeo also wants to again feel the "wonderful joy". On Friday he promised that the CIA would become a "much more vicious agency". Instead of merely waterboarding 'terrorists' and drone-bombing brown families, Pompeo's more vicious CIA will rape the 'terrorist's' kids and nuke whole villages. Pompeo's remark was made at a get-together of the Junta and neo-conservative warmongers.

    On October 19 Defense Secretary General Mattis was asked in Congress about the recent incident in Niger during which, among others, several U.S. soldiers were killed. Mattis set (vid 5:29pm) a curious new metric for deploying U.S. troops:

    Any time we commit out troops anywhere it is based on a simple first question and that is - is the well-being of the American people sufficiently enhanced by putting our troops there , by putting our troops in a position to die?

    In his October 20 press briefing General Kelly also tried to explain why U.S. soldiers are in Niger:

    So why were they there ? They're there working with partners, local -- all across Africa -- in this case, Niger -- working with partners, teaching them how to be better soldiers; teaching them how to respect human rights ...

    Is the U.S. military really qualified to teach anyone how to respect human rights? Did it learn that from committing mass atrocities in about each campaign it ever fought?

    One of the soldiers who were killed in Niger while "teaching how to respect human rights" was a 39 year old "chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist" with "more than a dozen awards and decorations". The U.S. military sent a highly qualified WMD specialist on a "routine patrol" in Niger to teach local soldiers "to respect human rights" due to which presumably "the well-being of the American people" would be "sufficiently enhanced"? Will anyone really buy that bridge?

    But who would dare to ask more about this? It is" highly inappropriate " to doubt whatever the military says. Soon that will change into "verboten". Any doubt, any question will be declared "fake news" and a sign of devious foreign influence. Whoever spreads such will be blocked from communicating.

    The military is now indeed "Above All". That air force slogan was a remake of a 1933 "Über Alles" campaign in Germany. One wonders what other historic similarities will develop from it.

    Posted by b on October 21, 2017 at 03:58 PM | Permalink

    nhs | Oct 21, 2017 4:10:12 PM | 1

    Why Donald Trump is the perfect tool in the hands of neocons right now

    Peter AU 1 | Oct 21, 2017 4:26:51 PM | 3

    The military junta rely on the US dollar as reserve currency for their lurks and perks. The more they take power, the faster this will slip away. So called allies will move towards China/Russia and other currencies. Dangerous times but the downfall of the US is gaining momentum.
    ruralito | Oct 21, 2017 4:30:08 PM | 4
    Cedant arma togae - Cicero
    les7 | Oct 21, 2017 4:30:38 PM | 5
    @1 While I understand the temptation to link Trump to Neo-con policies, I think it over simplifies the issue.

    Thierry Meyssan has a recent article in which he questions how seriously we should take the US's anti-Iran policy. In it he states "We have to keep in mind that Donald Trump is not a professional politician, but a real estate promoter, and that he acts like one. He gained his professional success by spreading panic with his outrageous statements and observing the reactions he had created amongst his competitors and his partners."

    That statement is a great summary of one of the key precepts of what I called 'asymmetrical leadership' - which I think characterizes Trumps leadership style (an application of asymmetrical warfare techniques to the political arena). This does not mean that the Junta has not taken over control. I would agree with b on this. However, the forms by which that control get expressed will still run through Trump and will still reflect his 'asymmetric' style.

    VietnamVet | Oct 21, 2017 4:32:33 PM | 6
    It does take someone on the other side of the world to give perspective. I don't think it is as much a military junta as things are falling apart. The generals are attempting to keep their corrupt war profits flowing. The media moguls still hate Donald Trump; only as an oligarch hates another. Donald Trump is firing up his base. Expect, the whole of the alt-right propaganda is false. It relies on the hatred of others. All he will do is speed up the splintering. If your home is foreclosed, flooded, polluted, burned down or blown apart; reality is slapping you in the face.
    Lochearn | Oct 21, 2017 4:51:42 PM | 7
    One of your most important posts, b. At first I thought it strange that you would quote Masha Gessen, an infamous anti-Putin journalist and Khodorkovsky fan, but then it didn't seem so strange. Gessen is a Zionist, therefore she is aligned with the CIA/Wall Street faction, which as you perceptively say lost out with Trump and Raqqa. I say Wall Street as opposed to corporate because, as I have pointed out before, non-financial corporates - and that includes most of the Dow Jones or FTSE - have fuck all say on anything except how they are going to meet next quarterly's earnings estimates. And the CIA is very close to Wall Street.

    What interests me is how this relates to Iran, on which both factions appear to be in agreement, but there must be nuances. The Saker published an article where,in my opinion, he failed to give enough weight to how circumstances around Iran have changed over the last decade. I see little green men in large green aircraft weaving their way down the Caspian Sea, not to mention invisible Chinese hardware in the sense of how did it get there, and a Europe which is in disarray with their tongues hanging out for deals with Iran. The success of the anti-Trump MSM narrative combined with fears of potentially millions of Iranian refugees would surely indicate this is the worst possible time to attack Iran. So how can they conjure a war out of this?

    les7 | Oct 21, 2017 5:49:02 PM | 9
    On a far more insidious note, one has to wonder what an radiological 'expert' was doing in Niger - thanks b for that important piece of info.

    When that info is combined with:
    1) US Special ops in Mali from 2006
    2) US operation Oasis Enabler (2009) looking to infiltrate and control Elite Malian army units
    3) March 2012 Coup brought to power American trained Capt. Amadou Sanogo
    4) French Operation Serval, at the request of the 'interim government' fights to control northern Malian territory and URANIUM mines along the Mali - Niger border (they said they fought ISIS but what they actually fought was a Tuareg separatist movement)

    together with the presence of ISIS (the US trained, evacuated from Syria version?) in the area... Ominous is hardly strong enough to describe the feeling...

    karlof1 | Oct 21, 2017 5:54:56 PM | 10
    China's leader, Xi, just outlined his nation's goals out to 2050, which Pepe Escobar nicely condensed for our consumption, http://www.atimes.com/article/xis-road-map-chinese-dream/ The full transcript can be read here, starting page middle to top, http://live.china.org.cn/2017/10/17/opening-ceremony-of-the-19th-cpc-national-congress/

    I start my comment by referencing these since the operational doctrine of the Outlaw US Empire is to keep any such challenges to its perceived dominance--and quest for total dominance--subdued to the point of insignificance. As you can clearly read, Xi, China, Putin, Russia, and their allies aren't going to allow any junta to stop their integration and development plans preparing their nations and region for the future--plans and thinking woefully absent from any sector of the Outlaw US Empire excepting perhaps weapon development. The just completed Valdai Conference provides an excellent insight to the drama, the comments and visions are as important as they're powerful, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55882 I could pile more of the same for barflies to digest, but I don't think that's required.

    There's a very longstanding joke about the joining together of these two words--military intelligence--and for good reason, particularly within the Outlaw US Empire. I don't think anyone within the governmental establishment has any idea of what to do about the Eurasian/Muiltipolar Challenge other than trying to break it--no ideas of how to compete or join it so as to also profit from it. The reason for this as I see it is ideological--Zero Sumism and Randian junk economics is so deeply ingrained they've polluted minds to the point where their blinded and unable to think outside the box they've caged themselves within: Hoisted by their own petard as the saying goes. They just can't accept Win/Win as something viable--sharing is for sissies and commies. Problem is that well over half of humanity sees Win/Win as eminently viable and far more welcome than the demonstrably failed Zero Sum Game promoted by Randian political-economists and enforced through the barrel a gun.

    The deep-seated problems plaguing the USA do have solutions, but they are not those being forwarded by the very radical conservatives now in charge of Congress and many statehouses. And the junta members share their mindsets. So, I see the domestic situation continuing to spiral further out-of-control with no sign anywhere of a countervailing power arising with the potential to steer the ship-of-state away from the massive reef it's rapidly heading for.

    There might be a surprise in store from the junta, however--it might just take on a bit of the massive corruption plaguing the USA by attacking the Clinton Foundation and its related sewage. Although, that just solves one part of a huge host of problems.

    pB | Oct 21, 2017 6:25:48 PM | 11
    @karlof1 10

    thanks for the link to pepe's take on the speech.

    funny thing that just accord to me that i had not thought of for nearly ten years, one of the initial "benefits" of the state of Israel, was the cutting off of Africa from asia, and its pretty glaring that a project to connect Asia Africa and Europe does not include the logical land route as well.

    Clueless Joe | Oct 21, 2017 6:28:30 PM | 12
    At least in the times of Caesar and Augustus, military junta who seized power could claim to be effective and victorious military, able to crush significant enemy armies. The current top military in the US were at best kiddies the last time the US actually managed to defeat a truly powerful enemy, back in 1945. (though this criticism can apply to all major powers)
    sejomoje | Oct 21, 2017 6:39:09 PM | 13
    Ah, Masha Gessen, literally cancer. Who elevated her? I find it interesting that she does the "translating" for the CIA-scripted FX show "The Americans", a show which has probably more effectively demonized Russians for the cud-chewing crowd than the sum total of Cold War propaganda since the 50s AND the daily Russian hate columns in Wapo et al that trickle down to the Buzzfeed crowd.

    We need to start calling the CIA traitors, actual traitors. Masha Gessen is CIA, CIA ghostwrites for most MSM. Traitors all. But even without the constant hagiographies, would people start to get it? "Americans", I mean?

    karlof1 | Oct 21, 2017 6:46:49 PM | 14
    Here's a bit of what Hamid Karzai at the Valdai Club had to say about what the junta accomplished in Afghanistan:

    "Today, I am one of the greatest critics of the US policy in Afghanistan. Not because I am anti-Western, I am a very Western person. My education is Western, my ideas are Western. I am very democratic in my inner instincts. And I love their culture. But I am against the US policy because it is not succeeding. It is causing us immense trouble and the rise of extremism and radicalism and terrorism. I am against the US policy because on their watch, under their total control of the Afghan air space, the Afghan intelligence and the Afghan military, of all that they have, that super power, there is Daesh in Afghanistan. How come Daesh emerged in Afghanistan 14–15 years after the US presence in Afghanistan with that mass of resources and money and expenditure? Why is the world not as cooperative with America in Afghanistan today as it was before? How come Russia now has doubts about the intentions of the US in Afghanistan or the result of its work in Afghanistan? How come China does not view it the same way? How come Iran has immense difficulty with the way things are conducted in Afghanistan?

    "Therefore, as an Afghan in the middle of this great game, I propose to our ally, the United States, the following: we will all succeed if you tell us that you have failed. We would understand. Russia would understand, China would understand. Iran, Pakistan, everybody would understand. India would understand. We have our Indian friends there. We see all signs of failure there, but if you do not tell us you failed, what is this, a game?"

    I doubt the junta will do any better than its performed in Afghanistan because it only knows how to play the game Karzai describes. Link is same as one above.

    AriusArmenian | Oct 21, 2017 7:24:02 PM | 15
    We can now add the Air Force being 'Above All' to the supremacist 'exceptional and indispensable' lunatic attitude in the US that is definitely psychologically the same as another people that thought they were 'Uber Alles'.
    Red Ryder | Oct 21, 2017 7:36:54 PM | 16
    B,

    You stated: The insurgency that brought Trump to the top was defeated by a counter-insurgency campaign waged by the U.S. military. (Historically its first successful one).

    I differ. JFK was taken out by a combined US Naval Intel and CIA plot. The beneficiary was the MIC. Eleven days later, LBJ reversed the executive order by JFK to end the US involvement in Nam. For 11 more years the Military got what it wanted--war.

    LBJ got what he wanted--the Presidency. The Cuban-Americans got what they wanted--revenge for failure at Bay of Pigs by Kennedy. The Mafia got what they wanted--revenge for Bobby Kennedy.

    One other thing about the counter-insurgency. It was not so much Military. They waited while the IC ran the leaks and counter-insurgency. Then,Trump fell into the Military's arms. He had been cut off from his base and key supporters and had to empower them by obedience to their plans. Foreign policy is what they wanted. He can still have all the domestic policy he can get, which is basically nothing much. A SC justice, some EOs, and all the Twitter-shit he can muster.

    Dr. Bill Wedin | Oct 21, 2017 7:42:38 PM | 17
    American democracy is indeed dead. The US Military's only real victory after WWII. After Vietnam, the generals said: "Freedom of speech and of the press and of assembly and the right to trial by jury and all that crap has got to go! And they got rid of it all! The Junta is in control. And the only positive aspect is that we have a rolling Fukushima disaster in Trump, who could implode and then explode in a nuclear Holocaust any second from all the humiliation and investigations crushing in on him--if the Junta did not keep tight control over all the information coming in to him. So you better leave them in place or... BAM! That's the blackmail. But it only works as long as Trump has sole authority to launch our nuclear arsenal. If someone else with a 2nd launch key were required to agree, the Junta would no longer be needed to "protect" us Mafia-style.
    ben | Oct 21, 2017 8:05:47 PM | 19
    Military junta or not b, make no mistake, the real power behind the throne are a cabal of billionaires who buy their way by co-opting the politicians who make the laws. Democracy is indeed dead here in the U$A. It's now a full-blown Oligarchy.
    Perimetr | Oct 21, 2017 8:26:46 PM | 20
    Re Bill Wedin at 18, you wrote "the blackmail only works as long as Trump has sole authority to launch our nuclear arsenal."

    Authority to launch also includes predelegation to some of the highest ranking military, in the event of a perceived nuclear attack, in which the National Command Authority is disrupted and unable to give launch orders. However, this leaves open the question as to whether the President could be bypassed in the process.

    Trident sub commanders also have the necessary launch codes on board to initiate a nuclear strike. Yes, the codes are under lock and key, but the key is on board.

    Don Bacon | Oct 21, 2017 8:32:11 PM | 21
    The current US militarism also reflects on the kneeling during the national anthem, which is also an ode to the flag in a war setting -- "by the rockets red glare" etc. President Trump has said the protests (against police killing blacks) are unpatriotic and disrespectful of military veterans. Trump has initiated a petition: "The President has asked for a list of supporters who stand for the National Anthem. Add your name below to show your patriotism and support."

    Randolph Bourne (see #8) had some thoughts on this.

    . . . We reverence not our country but the flag. We may criticize ever so severely our country, but we are disrespectful to the flag at our peril. It is the flag and the uniform that make men's heart beat high and fill them with noble emotions, not the thought of and pious hopes for America as a free and enlightened nation. It cannot be said that the object of emotion is the same, because the flag is the symbol of the nation, so that in reverencing the American flag we are reverencing the nation. For the flag is not a symbol of the country as a cultural group, following certain ideals of life, but solely a symbol of the political State, inseparable from its prestige and expansion.
    financial matters | Oct 21, 2017 9:18:09 PM | 23
    ""All along Trump has been the candidate of the military. The other two power centers of the power triangle, the corporate and the executive government (CIA), had gone for Clinton. The Pentagon proxy won over the CIA proxy. (Last months' fight over Raqqa was similar - with the same outcome.)""

    I agree with this division of power and would add that Trump is also the candidate of the police. I see the media though as more being in the CIA/corporate camps. I think the military backing is necessary as you mention to take the CIA down a few notches. So far I'd say the result in Syria is promising.

    I think this CIA/corporate power has to be dealt with first to give progressive/socialist ideas much of a chance. It's a fine line but the military is supposed to protect against enemies foreign and domestic.

    The corporate part of course has huge power over Congress.

    Yul | Oct 21, 2017 9:34:35 PM | 24
    @ b

    a 39 year old "chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist"

    This is Niger - Remember back in 2002/2003 : The Italian letter and Yellow Cake. These days we have Areva mining uranium in Niger Hence the French military offering both security and protecting the "assets" of French Establishment. Those soldiers were not ambushed but were conducting a raid and something went wrong!

    Anon | Oct 21, 2017 10:28:24 PM | 30
    If there was a coup Masha would be singing praises free n the rooftop because the waragenda she is paid to shill for would be back on. The fact that the lying bitch is gnashing her teeth would suggest that the NeoCon agenda, especially for war against Russia, has been derailed. Fuck you Masha. You suck.
    mo' better | Oct 21, 2017 10:29:51 PM | 31
    This is great news! I hope the military junta smashes the CIA into little tiny pieces. Why? Because the US military is in its most easily defeatable state ever - they haven't won a war in generations, their generals are armchair soldiers most who have never seen combat, and they have a fondness for massively overpriced technological pieces of MIC enriching garbage for weapons. The CIA owns the media, and without an effective propaganda arm, the military will only ever face another Vietnam.
    Don Bacon | Oct 21, 2017 11:02:22 PM | 32
    On the topic of losing generals I'm reminded of Harry Truman. A couple of Truman quotes: "It's the fellows who go to West Point and are trained to think they're gods in uniform that I plan to take apart". . ."I didn't fire him [General MacArthur] because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was, but that's not against the law for generals. If it was, half to three quarters of them would be in jail."
    > It's worse now. Most generals got where they are by sucking up, not performing.
    > Donald Trump is no Harry Truman, for sure.
    peter | Oct 21, 2017 11:59:56 PM | 35
    Remember CNN? That fake MSM outlet that never tells the truth? Well, they have been skewering Kelly since he ran his mouth about that Florida congresswoman. So have the other outlets. Huckabee-Sanders is now something of a national joke after her comments. Kelly's shit doesn't hold up and he's been called out repeatedly. "It is now "highly inappropriate" to even question the Junta that rules over the empire." Bullshit.
    Ralphieboy | Oct 22, 2017 3:37:33 AM | 36
    Look in the Twitter archives and you will find a counter-tweet for almost anything Trump says, including one criticizing four-star general Colin Powell...
    Ralphieboy | Oct 22, 2017 3:57:25 AM | 37
    Look in the Twitter archives and you will find a Trump tweet criticizing four-star general Colin Powell...
    Heros | Oct 22, 2017 4:41:13 AM | 38
    "The slogan and symbol of the campaign was similar to the German "Deutschland Über Alles" campaign of 1933."

    This is once again typical anti-German propaganda that was used to get both WWI and WWII started, and is now being used against Putin and Russia as well as nationalists across Europe and the Anglo world. In 1933 France still had control of the Saar and the Rhineland, Germany was saddled with monumental war debts, and Hitler was clearly not running a campaign on the slogan "Germany should rule the world", which is what the Anglo-Zionist narrative would have us believe. The meaning "Über Alles" was clearly "Germany First". That means look out for the German people first. The Weimar government clearly wasn't doing this. Call it Hitler's "MAGA".

    The real truth is that it is this same US military industrial complex who worked for Roosevelt, Churchill, and their Zionist masters to get the second world war started, and who now are desperate for a third. They are sadistic, murdering globalists. Hitler was a nationalist. He never planned to rule the world the same way the Zionists already do, as is evidenced by the never ending strife in the Middle East, and their ongoing tribal civil war which is also being waged within the US government.

    This tribal civil war is also spilling over into places like Las Vegas, which clearly is run by the Jewish Mafia. There still is no plausible motive given for the shooting incident, but we know that the owners of MGM would never willingly have allowed this to happen on their own property. So it clearly was a hit, and with Area 51 down the road and all the MIC contractors in Vegas, it is highly unlikely that they were not involved or at least aware of the operation.

    Here is a LV company where for $3500 you can fly around the desert in a Helicopter shooting up targets with a SAW-249.

    https://machinegunsvegas.com/product/machine-gun-helicopter/

    How is it that this company can get away with this without MIC participation? Could this helicopter be available for uses at the right price?

    ralphieboy | Oct 22, 2017 6:11:44 AM | 40
    The original meaning of "Deutschland über alles" came about in the early 1800's when there was no united Germany: it meant that there should be a united Germany above all the minor German states, duchies and principalities that existed at the time.
    fx | Oct 22, 2017 7:08:30 AM | 41
    For those who want to avoid being datamined by nhs, the original link about "Why Donald Trump is the perfect tool in the hands of neocons right now" is here: https://failedevolution.blogspot.com/
    fx | Oct 22, 2017 7:10:36 AM | 42
    "One of the soldiers who were killed in Niger while "teaching how to respect human rights" was a 39 year old "chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist" with "more than a dozen awards and decorations".

    The U.S. military sent a highly qualified WMD specialist on a "routine patrol" in Niger to teach local soldiers "to respect human rights" due to which presumably "the well-being of the American people" would be "sufficiently enhanced"?" It's all about the uranium in Agades, then?

    Jack Frost | Oct 22, 2017 7:49:08 AM | 43
    Trump is either very gullible and ignorant (most likely) or he is diabolically clever. Everything he does - every action, every appointment, every utterance - could not be better formulated to undermine the Zioamerican empire. Which is kind of what he promised to do.
    Camillus O'Byrne | Oct 22, 2017 7:52:58 AM | 44
    The brazen arrogance of these jerks like Kelly is stupefying. Infuriatingly shameless.

    The guy has never done an honest day's work IN HIS LIFE, has had his snout in the public trough continuously and has materially contributed to the ruination of his country. STFU you stupid twat. He is also a scumbag that no doubt had a lot to do with his son's demise - imagine being this a-hole's son?

    These clowns call themselves "General" and we are supposed to think that puts them in the same class as a Wellington or a Caesar or Napoleon? They were all first class bastards, ruthless, but fine Generals. Tough, bold, audacious leaders of men and brilliant strategists, who took risks, including with their own lives. Hell, the Prussian officer training system turned out Quartermasters that were better field Generals than these American frauds.

    As I have said in another thread, the US has none of the martial virtues. Not as a people, not as military institutions, not as individual soldiers or sailors (their airmen are obviously cowards or psychopaths so not necessary even to consider in this context). Virtues such as steadfastness in adversity, discipline when under fire, self-sacrifice for comrades and the cause. Not saying anything about the morality of any particular cause here, just what makes a professional army. To compare the US military with Rome's Legions, say, is laughable. The biggest difference between these American whackers is that in real armies individuals are expected to be able to contend with a worthy adversary. To take risks. To fight when it is HARD to fight. Even Rome's patricians understood that every now and then they had to expose themselves to danger if they were to have any honour, as Crassus, richest of them all, found out very dramatically when he met his end at the head of the Syrian Legions. (Defeated by the Iranians! - they've seen 'em all come and go). Windbags like Kelly wouldn't know what honour is.

    The US has NEVER fought an adversary on anything like equal terms. They preen themselves about WW2. I call BS. They waited until the Soviets had broken the back of the most fearsome war machine in history, the Wehrmacht and then faced teenagers and old men in France. On the occasions when they did face professional German troops they had their whiney arses kicked. As for the Pacific war, they stood off island after island and rained a stupendous amount of naval shells and bombs on the Japanese garrisons to the point where they were insane with the cacophany and pure physical terror to turn your bowels to water, before setting foot on them, while the aerial destruction of Japanese cities is one of the great atrocities in history, disgraceful and completely without honour. I suspect a disproportionate number of US military casualties are due to being run over by a forklift, training accidents, friendly fire, syphilis or fragging of their own.

    The qualities the US military (they don't deserve the epithet "army") exemplifies are cowardice, incompetence, viciousness and wanton destructiveness. No wonder, as the corruption (plenty of fiscal as well as moral) starts at the top with the Kellys and drips down like a putrid slime from there.

    He and his ilk are just a bunch of murderous bags of human excrement. No decent person can have anything but contempt for them.

    Petri Krohn | Oct 22, 2017 9:02:58 AM | 45
    It is little surprise if a junta has taken over. Many Democrats would support a military junta over Trump. Now we are hearing similar calls from Republicans.

    One of the latest is this opinion piece by Michael Gerson in the Washington Post from October 12, 2017: Republicans, it's time to panic The Washington Examiner has a short summary:

    Ex-Bush adviser Michael Gerson tells Republicans: 'It's time to panic'

    Michael Gerson, who's also a columnist for the Washington Post, wrote in an op-ed Friday that "the security of our country -- and potentially the lives of millions of people abroad -- depends on Trump being someone else entirely."

    "The time for whispered criticisms and quiet snickering is over. The time for panic and decision is upon us. The thin line of sane, responsible advisers at the White House -- such as Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson -- could break at any moment," Gerson wrote. "The American government now has a dangerous fragility at its very center. Its welfare is as thin as an eggshell -- perhaps as thin as Donald Trump's skin."

    The op-ed comes amid Trump's feud with Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who warned that the president's reckless threats could lead to "World War III."

    "I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it's a situation of trying to contain him," Corker told the New York Times.

    arze | Oct 22, 2017 9:48:36 AM | 46
    At this point in history to be US president is to be a criminal. An "autonomous" US president has not existed at least since JFK, perhaps not since Lincoln. Kelley, like his boss, routinely "clowns" the media, and however unctuous Kelley's remarks are, they fit into that mode.

    Our generals are weak men. If they weren't, they wouldn't need a Trump, or a whatever to run for office and win that office.

    They can't run and win any better than they can conduct warfare as a rational means to a rational end; and as the post eloquently points out, again: they are experts at rape, murder, war crimes, mayhem and destruction. The ubiquitous propaganda to hide that is all they have that saves them from the penal colony where they belong.

    Their project to rule the world would be as successful as any "they destroyed it in order to save it" attempts.

    MG's fragmented consciousness permit her to be rational at times, and irresponsible at others.

    Don Bacon | Oct 22, 2017 10:02:48 AM | 47
    re: Presiding over a population of detainees not charged or convicted of crimes, over whom he had maximum custodial control, Kelly treated them with brutality. . .

    The US needed go show progress in the "war on terror" and one way was to accumulate some prisoners of the "war." CIA operatives were sent to the tribal areas of Afghanistan & Pakistan with cash to entice "bounty hunters." It was easy, because every tribal chief had enemies, which he would capture and present for a big payoff. So the Guantanamo (Gitmo) prison was set up in Cuba and soon accumulated 7-800 "detainees" who were bullied and tortured.

    None of them were tried because there was no evidence they had done anything wrong. The Supreme Court ruled that they should have a judicial process but (except a few cases) it was never done. Most of the prisoners detainees were released, including a 13 yo boy and a 92 yo man, and about 200 remained. I guess it's less now.

    Meanwhile the Washington politicians were able to crow about all those dangerous people in Gitmo, and prattle about the "recidivism" danger if and when they would be released. What were they supposed to do, forgive and forget all the terrible treatment they had received?? So yes, Kelly is scum, but that's not unusual for a general.

    Noirette | Oct 22, 2017 10:07:12 AM | 48
    The ground work, or state-of-affairs that lead to what one might call a soft military coup in the US (see b) = within what, at one extreme could be called Ayn-Randian rabid individualism, and at the other a sort of neo-liberal capitalism which is nevertheless highly 'socialist' in the sense re-distributive from the center of power (if only to create a slave/subservient class and prevent uprisings), there is NO public space for 'solidarity' within (besides familial, or close, etc.)

    Therefore, the belonging or 'solidarity' is activated only facing an outside enemy who is personalised as e.g. communist, ugly dictator, intends to attack the US, poisons babies, etc. That gives the military an edge.. Then natch, historically, dying empires invest in the double prong, military conquest + internal control (can be vicious), ain't flash news.

    .... I don't think it is all that clear. Corps or better conglomerates of power like 'the media', the 'silicons', banking and finance, Energy, electronics, Big Pharma, etc. are politcally inclined (say!) to some form of corporate fascism, > bought pols from all-sides of any-aisle. Their ties to the military / milit. type power at home are not very strong, they may collaborate on occasion. Some of these 'industries' fear domination that goes beyond soft power and they loathe sanctions - think about who/what/how is doing lucrative deals and has continuing biz success in Iraq, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, etc. - NOT US cos./corps.

    To me this looks more like total disorganisation than anything else.

    J | Oct 22, 2017 10:53:49 AM | 49
    What a load of hooey!

    First, if the only two choices were the Executive CIA and the Military "Junta" with Trump why would we continue the farce of elections? And if the elections were pre-determined and the ruling Junta took over in a coup, then how and why is the CIA out of power?

    Secondly, same question will be here for you when a) the military and Trump get booted with impeachment, or b) when the next election comes.

    Van Morrison once penned "politics, superstition and religion go hand in hand." It never fails, those out of power go from being logical, critical thinkers to becoming outlandish bores who exaggerate things and fabricate what they see. It's called delusion.

    Don Bacon | Oct 22, 2017 11:22:03 AM | 51
    @J 49
    The "farce of elections" is accurate because Trump is not doing what he claimed he would do, not unusual actually. It was Trump who sprang the "junta" on us. And who claimed that the CIA would be out of power?
    Don Bacon | Oct 22, 2017 11:25:38 AM | 52
    Kelly: So why were they there? They're there working with partners, local -- all across Africa -- in this case, Niger -- working with partners, teaching them how to be better soldiers; teaching them how to respect human rights

    These guys didn't die teaching, nor in combat in Niger, they were (according to news reports) trying to track down an accomplice of one Abu Adnan al-Sahraoui. In other words they were doing police work in a foreign country, an absolutely ridiculous task which they were not trained or able to do and which put their lives needlessly in danger. This criticism applies to the whole "war on terror" which has proven to be a tragic farce (if there can be such a thing).

    dahoit | Oct 22, 2017 11:37:28 AM | 53
    b is quoting macha gessen? You got be kidding. MSN will look his site in homage. In what way MSM will JFK look CIA approval? Traitors.
    Jackrabbit | Oct 22, 2017 12:38:59 PM | 54
    I used to think it was a counter-coup also. But sheep-dog Sanders and Trump's having supported Hillary in 2008 among other things caused me to conclude that it all bullshit. I now believe that the hyper-partisanship is just a show. The political system in the US is designed to prevent any real populist from gaining power. We are being played. Trump is the Republican Obama.
    Piotr Berman | Oct 22, 2017 1:10:28 PM | 56
    Carry on, nothing to see here.

    I really think that this is the case in this instance. Trump is bellicose and erratic. In the realm of foreign policy and military, it yielded one positive change: his obsession with ISIS led to huge decrease of fighting between "moderate opposition" in Syria with "SAA and allies", allowing the latter to effectively reduce the territory controlled by ISIS, similarly, Obama's efforts to sideline "sectarian forces trained by Iran" from fighting with ISIS were apparently abandoned with similar effect. But otherwise, no "reset" with Russia, clown show concerning the nuclear program of North Korea, berating allies who spend insufficiently to fight threats that they do not have, increasing domestic military budget (again, to fight threats that we do not have) and so on. Formation of the new axis of evil, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela is a notable novelty.

    Trump was so contradictory is his campaign statements that it is almost amazing that ANY positive element can be discerned. At the time, I paid attention to his praises of John Bolton, a proud walrus-American who communicates using bellowing, in other words, resembles a walrus both in the way he looks, but also in the way he speaks.

    Needless to say, Dotard in Chief can exercise power only through underlings that may try to make sense of what he says. In some cases, like reforming American healthcare according to his promises, this is flatly impossible. So generals are seemingly in the same position, and of course, when in doubt, they do what they would do anyway.

    Lawrence Smith | Oct 22, 2017 1:22:16 PM | 57
    Not that I am any more or less in the loop than any of these fine commenters, but what pops into my mind when reading of the ambush of the four special forces servicemen is the crash of the helicopter that took out so many of the seal team six who supposedly took out Osama. Maybe they knew too much would be my guess. Why else would they put such a knowledgable specialist out on the perimeter? Makes no sense. Offing your own is part and parcel in the military. Heroes of convenience.
    Jackrabbit | Oct 22, 2017 1:39:09 PM | 58
    What seems to have been lost in the discussion is what exactly the "counter-coup" is all about.

    1. During the Obama years, "successes" like Lybia and Ukraine were matched by "failures" like the lost proxy war for Syria and pushing Russia into the arms of China. The new 'Cold War' makes US nationalism more important as 'hot' conflicts become more likely.

    2. Obama/Clinton-led civilian authority was abusing power to promote an "Empire-first" vision of governance, Obama/Clinton:

    >> replaced/retired many military officers;

    >> placed US resources/forces in a support role ("leading from behind") ;

    >> grew a 'radical center' (aka "Third Way") that sought to undermine traditional nationalist/patriotism via immigration and divisive 'wedge issues'.

    The excuse for this was that while US hands were tied (because public wouldn't support further adventurism after Iraq) close allies could push forward. But the new Cold War has changed the calculus.

    The US isn't giving up on Empire. It's just a different type of Empire for a different type of environment. When Trump talks about "draining the swamp" I think he merely refers to foreign influence.

    So Trump pivots US policy based on Obama's record (as Obama did off Bush's record), and the next President will pivot off Trump's record, but the direction is always the same.

    Red Ryder | Oct 22, 2017 2:34:25 PM | 59
    Trump has one ally and that is the 65million voters who put him into office. He surrendered his top people. Saker says it was lack of character. I think when they point the gun at you, your family, your closest friends in your life, you acquiesce. They even took from him Keith Schiller, his personal security man for years. Kelly forced him out of the WH.

    Trump is powerless except when he functions as Leader of the rallies. As President, even with the cabal running the Oval Office, they all are limited by the Shadow Government, Deep State, IC, Khazarian Matrix. No President is a free man empowered to act.

    He now is focused on what is possible. Perhaps that will be a tax cut and a few more SC justices and a few score of judges for the fed district courts. Those don't interfere with Financial Power and MIC and the Hegemony of Empire.

    There is one hope. Putin + Xi.
    And we know the limits they face.

    Inside the Tyranny of American government, there is no hope. During the Trump time Putin and Xi have to make the most of the Swamp creating their own problems. It is that moment of opportunity, though it looks bleak.

    One thing for certain, the US military does not want a direct war. It wants more of these terror conflicts. Africa will become huge over the next few years. Graham is already selling it big. Trillions of dollars is what is the goal.

    SE Asia and Africa are the new big "markets" for MIC. ISIS/AQ are the product. War is the service industry being sold as the "solution".

    The Long War of anti-terror is the scam Smedley Butler told us about in the thirties.

    -- Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC.

    War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

    I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

    I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

    There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

    It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

    I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

    I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long.

    I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.

    During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

    CD Waller | Oct 22, 2017 2:39:29 PM | 60
    On the bright side, members of Congress are at least nominally elected. Four star Generals, not so much. It's still a felony carrying a prison term of 5 to 10 years per incident to lie to Congress. The military have no precedent to recommend them either as a source of information or in their decision making ability. They are way out of their depth when it comes to administering a nation.

    In none of their unwarranted invasions (all the result of bad information and poor judgment) of other nations have they been successful the day after the bombs stopped falling.

    bob | Oct 22, 2017 3:21:56 PM | 61
    IDIOTS!!! you forget the fact that if clinton won you would first be glowing GREEN and now dead. On Oct 16th 2016 Putin said "if hillary wins its WW3" on you tube. guess what we are alive and have to deal with that taxevader trump. we will survive!
    james | Oct 22, 2017 4:04:30 PM | 62
    @57 lawrence... plausible... thanks..truth eventually comes out..
    Castellio | Oct 22, 2017 5:05:46 PM | 63
    @16, @22

    The time has long passed since one can ignore JFK's failed insistence on the inspections of the illegal Israeli nuclear weapons program at Dimona, and then his sudden death. Factoring Israel into the equation greatly simplifies understanding the make-up of the Warren Commission, LBJ's about turn on the relation to the illegal nuclear weapons program and his reaction to the attack on the Liberty, and the evolution of US politics more generally.

    One would be more pressed to argue why one thinks it is not a primary cause.

    Fidelios Automata | Oct 22, 2017 11:37:16 PM | 64
    We voted for change and as usual, we got more of the same. All I can say is thank God it's not Hillary in the White House. At least Trump's not spoiling for a war with Russia.
    Danny801 | Oct 23, 2017 11:09:10 AM | 65
    Democracy has been dead in America for a long time. I'd rather Kelly run the country than Hillary Clinton. She would have us all annihilated in a war with Russia and China
    ian | Oct 23, 2017 5:15:48 PM | 66
    It's going to be hard to fight a junta. The military is at least halfway competent, something that can't be said for either the administration or congress. Look at this latest flap - on the one side you have Wilson the rodeo clown, on the other you have Trump, who can't resist the urge to pop off on twitter.

    Then you have Kelly, who at least comes off like an adult. Before people start pointing to all the nefarious things the military is doing, let me just say I'm talking about perception.

    This all seems like Rome all over.

    Shyaku | Oct 23, 2017 10:06:35 PM | 67
    Maybe this sums it up: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_feather#World_War_I

    - Regards as always, Shyaku.

    NemesisCalling | Oct 23, 2017 10:32:39 PM | 68
    @59 Ryder

    Good post sans the Africa bit. They are having a tough time explaining the Niger debacle to people. I don't think African conflicts have the same glamorous draw as MENA conflicts. Once the economy goes to shit, it will be an even tougher sell.

    Trump is walking a narrow line. He has not brought us into a war with either Russia or NoKo...yet. This deserves some praise. The media blitz against Trump has always had a twofold reasoning behind it: it puts pressure on his ego to acquiesce and, two, if he doesn't, the public has been inoculated against feeling too bad when a lone-gunmen puts a bullet in his brain. I guess if you believe that, as I do, it explains why even a bumbling policy is a positive aspect of a Trump presidency, instead of the true-believer approach from Hillary and her ilk. There really is no other choice. It's either war or watch the empire crumble. The true believers might have chosen the former, but President Trump, I believe, has sabotaged that possibility. So take all the Trump-bashers in here with a grain or salt. They are asking for the stars, but watching the empire's police implode suits me just fine.

    "But the white supremacists...KKK!" What a fucking joke.

    dmorista | Oct 24, 2017 7:57:57 AM | 69
    Moon of Alabama always writes interesting and insightful critiques of the Deep State, the military, and the imperialist/war party, but falls flat on his face in his naive faith in the supposed anti-establishment, populist, and America First Nationalist proclivities of Donald Trump, and his arch-reactionary Svengali Steve Bannon. There is indeed at least one major split in the ranks of the ruling class, but to present Trump and Bannon as either valiant figures struggling for the national good, or noble isolated men surrounded by vipers and traitors is absurd.

    Now, in its late imperial decline, the U.S. has become unable to continue to exercise hegemony, the way it became accustomed to in the first 70+ years in the Post-WW 2 period. The number one Client/Ally/Master, Israel and their deeply embedded 5th Column in the U.S., the Zionists with their associated Pro-Zionist factions within the War Party, now nearly directly and openly controls U.S. foreign policy and military actions in the regions that the Likudnik faction in Israel cares about (i.e. the Levant, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa).

    Hollowed out economically and industrially the U.S. Empire is clearly on the way out. The various factions fighting for control of policy seem to be oblivious to this basic fact. The actual situation is similar to that the U.S. participated in during period from the late 1800s - WW 2; the declining hegemon accustomed to calling the shots in international affairs (then the British Empire, now the U.S.), ends up overextended and committed in far too many areas, with declining resources and domestic solidarity to dedicate to the tasks; the rising hegemon (then the U.S. now China) is still focused on issues of internal and external economic development and the exercise of regional power. China is already either equal in power to the U.S. or more powerful and will only continue to grow in power as the U.S. continues to decline. The Israelis/Zionists fully realize that the U.S. would not survive another disastrous war (like the air war they want the U.S. to wage against Iran, the U.S. does not have the capability to conduct a land war against Iran) intact. They are willing to try to force the issue to achieve one more step in their plan to establish "Eretz Israel" whose territory would extend from the Nile to the Euphrates and from the Sinai to Turkey. Their plans are just as crazy as those of the NeoCons and the NeoLiberals and their endless disastrous wars; and Trump/Bannon are their agents in the U.S.

    [Oct 31, 2017] Neocons Hijack Trump's Syria Policy - Ron Paul Asks Haven't We Done Enough Damage

    Oct 31, 2017 | www.zerohedge.com

    - Europe has basically been conquered using the same strategy used by the Bolsheviks after 1945.

    HRClinton -> chumbawamba , Oct 30, 2017 11:28 PM

    It's not about "Assad". It's ALL about...

    1. Greater Jizrael. Have failed puppet states in Jordan and Syria, to plunder their water, gas and land.

    2. Stop OBOR, because OBOR leads to escalating De-Dollarization. Which leads to the dethroning of King Dollar. Which leads to...

    3. Boot Russian bases out of Syria, to bottle them into the Black Sea.

    Iskiab -> HRClinton , Oct 30, 2017 11:46 PM

    I disagree. The biggest problem I see with Americans is whenever there's a problem the finger gets pointed outside the country. The rot is within, not outside.

    People are making a lot of money from foreign wars and they back politicians who help them keep making money, that's the problem. After the Cold War a new enemy was needed, and that's terrorism. The problem is there weren't enough, so now foreign policy is to create as many as possible.

    American politics is about keeping the US coffers open so the pigs can keep eating at the trough, it doesn't even matter that there's no money left. Look at trump pandering to neocons and republicans that just want a tax cut, forgetting about the debt, at all costs. He's trying to stay in power at this point and is playing the political game.

    JSBach1 -> Iskiab , Oct 31, 2017 12:10 AM

    When stripped naked to the core the elements at-hand come into the fore-front : Cui bono?

    "To the preceding pieces of advice, one more should be added: always make a sketch or plan of whatever presents itself to your mind, so as to see what sort of thing it is when stripped down to its essence, as a whole and in its separate parts; and tell yourself its proper name, and the names of the elements from which it has been put together and into which it will finally be resolved. For nothing is as effective in creating greatness of mind as being able to examine methodically and truthfully everything that presents itself in life, and always viewing things in such a way as to consider what kind of use each thing serves in what kind of a universe, and what value it has to human beings as citizens of that highest of cities of which all other cities are, as it were, mere households, and what this object is that presently makes an impression on me, and what it is composed of, and how long it will naturally persist, and what virtue is needed in the face of it, such as gentleness, courage, truthfulness, good faith, simplicity, self-sufficiency, and so forth. So, as each case presents itself, you should say: this has come from god, this from the co-ordination and interweaving of the threads of fate and similar kinds of coincidence and chance, this from one of my own kind, a relation and companion, who is however ignorant of what is natural for him. But I am not ignorant of that, and thus I will therefore treat him kindly and justly, according to the natural law of companionship, though aiming at the same time at what he deserves with regard to things that are morally indifferent."

    ---Marcus Aurelius : Meditation 3.11

    http://modernstoicism.com/perspectives-core-ideas-of-stoic-ethics-in-mar...

    totenkopf88 , Oct 30, 2017 11:08 PM

    Fuck you, Rex- and your Zionist flunky boss, too

    Cabreado , Oct 30, 2017 11:10 PM

    Lots of people will rue the day when they mocked Ron Paul...

    bigger problem is,

    it will be chaos by then.

    Ignatius -> Cabreado , Oct 31, 2017 12:09 AM

    Looking at it another way, the neocons want the same control in Syria that they currently have here.

    johnnycanuck , Oct 30, 2017 11:17 PM

    By Josh Rogin

    February 17, 2012,

    "Fifty-six leading conservative foreign-policy experts wrote an open letter Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama calling on him to directly aid the Syrian opposition and protect the lives of Syrian civilians."

    The usual suspects

    "The letter was organized jointly by the Foreign Policy Initiative and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, both conservative policy organizations in Washington, D.C. Signees included Max Boot Paul Bremer Elizabeth Cheney Eric Edelman , Jamie Fly John Hannah William Inboden William Kristol Michael Ledeen , Clifford May Robert McFarlane Martin Peretz Danielle Pletka John Podhoretz Stephen Rademaker Karl Rove Randy Scheunemann Dan Senor James Woolsey , Dov Zakheim and Radwan Ziadeh , a member of the Syrian National Council."

    http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/02/17/conservatives-call-for-obama-to-inte...

    [Oct 30, 2017] Reuters try to sow "anti-war" sentiment in Russia by emphasizing the number of casualties

    Oct 30, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    karl1haushofer , October 29, 2017 at 2:18 am

    Reuters: at least 131 Russian citizens have died in Syria this year: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-casualtie/exclusive-death-certificate-offers-clues-on-russian-casualties-in-syria-idUSKBN1CW1LP
    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:12 am
    Thanks for informing the remainder of the visitors to this site that people, and even Russian subhumans, die in wars.
    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:14 am
    And how many thousands of dead Russian soldiers' bodies have been secretly shipped out of the Ukraine, I wonder?

    Or even cremated secretly in mobile incinerators?

    Please enlighten us.

    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:16 am
    Achieving Pyrrhic victories certainly seems to be a Russian forte, doesn't it?

    That's because they are incompetents and hold little value for human life.

    yalensis , October 29, 2017 at 8:22 am
    I believe that Reuters is (dishonestly) including jihadists (who happen to be Russian citizens fighting on the other side) in the count.
    Technically, some of the jihadists are Russian citizens too, but Reuters making it seem like it's all Russian regular soldiers and contractors dying out there in the desert.
    In the hopes of
    karl1haushofer , October 29, 2017 at 2:18 am
    Reuters: at least 131 Russian citizens have died in Syria this year: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-syria-casualtie/exclusive-death-certificate-offers-clues-on-russian-casualties-in-syria-idUSKBN1CW1LP
    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:12 am
    Thanks for informing the remainder of the visitors to this site that people, and even Russian subhumans, die in wars.
    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:14 am
    And how many thousands of dead Russian soldiers' bodies have been secretly shipped out of the Ukraine, I wonder?

    Or even cremated secretly in mobile incinerators?

    Please enlighten us.

    Moscow Exile , October 29, 2017 at 3:16 am
    Achieving Pyrrhic victories certainly seems to be a Russian forte, doesn't it?

    That's because they are incompetents and hold little value for human life.

    yalensis , October 29, 2017 at 8:22 am
    I believe that Reuters is (dishonestly) including jihadists (who happen to be Russian citizens fighting on the other side) in the count.
    Technically, some of the jihadists are Russian citizens too, but Reuters making it seem like it's all Russian regular soldiers and contractors dying out there in the desert.
    In the hopes of sowing "anti-war" sentiment in Russia.
    This body-count thing is an old game.
    karl1haushofer , October 29, 2017 at 2:46 pm
    Hope you are correct.
    karl1haushofer , October 29, 2017 at 2:46 pm
    Hope you are correct.

    [Oct 30, 2017] Ex-Qatari premier: US coordinated foreign support for terrorists in Syria

    Notable quotes:
    "... Former US Ambassador in Libya Stevens, was in Libya with $250 Million Wahhabi petrodollars to buy back the arms and send them to Syria for this purpose. in one of the deals with Al Qaeda in Libya things got out of hand & he was killed. ..."
    "... How US Ambassador Chris Stevens May Have Been Linked To Jihadist Rebels In Syria: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-syria-heavy-weapons-jihadists-2012- ..."
    Oct 30, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    saskydisc , October 28, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    Courtesy of الزياد الدقيق:

    http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/10/28/540168/Qatari-premier-Hamad-Syria

    The US bit its ally Qatar in the hopes of securing Saudi moneys, so Qatar bit back. Rather bemusing Though it is more bemusing and telling that the former official is allowed to say such things. I presume that they have little hope of reentering the US's good graces, at least in terms that would be worth pursuing.

    saskydisc , October 28, 2017 at 6:33 pm
    I forgot to add the title of the article:

    Ex-Qatari premier: US coordinated foreign support for terrorists in Syria

    yalensis , October 29, 2017 at 8:17 am
    This is a good comment from "Piere Ha", along with associated link:

    Former US Ambassador in Libya Stevens, was in Libya with $250 Million Wahhabi petrodollars to buy back the arms and send them to Syria for this purpose. in one of the deals with Al Qaeda in Libya things got out of hand & he was killed.

    How US Ambassador Chris Stevens May Have Been Linked To Jihadist Rebels In Syria: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-syria-heavy-weapons-jihadists-2012-

    [Oct 30, 2017] Shouldn't these people be prosecuted?

    Oct 30, 2017 | marknesop.wordpress.com

    Payman , October 27, 2017 at 10:41 pm

    Shouldn't these people be prosecuted?

    https://theintercept.com/2017/10/24/syria-rebels-nsa-saudi-prince-assad/

    marknesop , October 28, 2017 at 10:04 am
    Why, yes; they should. Do you think it will ever happen? I'm afraid I don't, because western appreciation for criminality is often dependent upon whether the behavior served western foreign-policy objectives or not.
    rkka , October 28, 2017 at 1:13 pm
    It is truly amusing to see that some think organizing the combat and terrorist operations of Wahabi headchoppers against a secular society, whose Sunnis interpret Sunni jurisprudence differently from Wahabis, is the same as the operations of riot police facing a a violent mob armed with small arms and firebombs.

    [Oct 29, 2017] Whose Bright Idea Was RussiaGate by Paul Craig Roberts

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... The answer to the question in the title of this article is that Russiagate was created by CIA director John Brennan.The CIA started what is called Russiagate in order to prevent Trump from being able to normalize relations with Russia. The CIA and the military/security complex need an enemy in order to justify their huge budgets and unaccountable power. Russia has been assigned that role. The Democrats joined in as a way of attacking Trump. They hoped to have him tarnished as cooperating with Russia to steal the presidential election from Hillary and to have him impeached. I don't think the Democrats have considered the consequence of further worsening the relations between the US and Russia. ..."
    "... Russia bashing became more intense when Washington's coup in Ukraine failed to deliver Crimea. Washington had intended for the new Ukrainian regime to evict the Russians from their naval base on the Black Sea. This goal was frustrated when Crimea voted to rejoin Russia. ..."
    "... The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony requires the principal goal of US foreign policy to be to prevent the rise of other countries that can serve as a restraint on US unilateralism. This is the main basis for the hostility of US foreign policy toward Russia, and of course there also is the material interests of the military/security complex. ..."
    "... Washington is fully aware that there was no Russian interference in the presidential election or in the state elections. The military/security complex, the neoconservatives, and the Democratic Party are merely using the accusations to serve their own agendas. ..."
    Oct 03, 2017 | ronpaulinstitute.org

    The answer to the question in the title of this article is that Russiagate was created by CIA director John Brennan.The CIA started what is called Russiagate in order to prevent Trump from being able to normalize relations with Russia. The CIA and the military/security complex need an enemy in order to justify their huge budgets and unaccountable power. Russia has been assigned that role. The Democrats joined in as a way of attacking Trump. They hoped to have him tarnished as cooperating with Russia to steal the presidential election from Hillary and to have him impeached. I don't think the Democrats have considered the consequence of further worsening the relations between the US and Russia.

    Public Russia bashing pre-dates Trump. It has been going on privately in neoconservative circles for years, but appeared publicly during the Obama regime when Russia blocked Washington's plans to invade Syria and to bomb Iran.

    Russia bashing became more intense when Washington's coup in Ukraine failed to deliver Crimea. Washington had intended for the new Ukrainian regime to evict the Russians from their naval base on the Black Sea. This goal was frustrated when Crimea voted to rejoin Russia.

    The neoconservative ideology of US world hegemony requires the principal goal of US foreign policy to be to prevent the rise of other countries that can serve as a restraint on US unilateralism. This is the main basis for the hostility of US foreign policy toward Russia, and of course there also is the material interests of the military/security complex.

    Russia bashing is much larger than merely Russiagate. The danger lies in Washington convincing Russia that Washington is planning a surprise attack on Russia. With US and NATO bases on Russia's borders, efforts to arm Ukraine and to include Ukraine and Georgia in NATO provide more evidence that Washington is surrounding Russia for attack. There is nothing more reckless and irresponsible than convincing a nuclear power that you are going to attack.

    Washington is fully aware that there was no Russian interference in the presidential election or in the state elections. The military/security complex, the neoconservatives, and the Democratic Party are merely using the accusations to serve their own agendas.

    These selfish agendas are a dire threat to life on earth.

    Reprinted with permission from PaulCraigRoberts.org .

    [Oct 29, 2017] In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... According to Zero Hedge's translation, al-Thani said while acknowledging Gulf nations were arming jihadists in Syria with the approval and support of US and Turkey: "I don't want to go into details but we have full documents about us taking charge [in Syria]." He claimed that both Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (who reigned until his death in 2015) and the United States placed Qatar in a lead role concerning covert operations to execute the proxy war. ..."
    "... The former prime minister's comments, while very revealing, were intended as a defense and excuse of Qatar's support for terrorism, and as a critique of the US and Saudi Arabia for essentially leaving Qatar "holding the bag" in terms of the war against Assad. Al-Thani explained that Qatar continued its financing of armed insurgents in Syria while other countries eventually wound down large-scale support, which is why he lashed out at the US and the Saudis, who initially "were with us in the same trench." ..."
    "... In a previous US television interview which was vastly underreported, al-Thani told Charlie Rose when asked about allegations of Qatar's support for terrorism that, "in Syria, everybody did mistakes, including your country." And said that when the war began in Syria, "all of us worked through two operation rooms: one in Jordan and one in Turkey." ..."
    "... Furthermore, one day before Prime Minister Thani's interview, The Intercept released a new top-secret NSA document unearthed from leaked intelligence files provided by Edward Snowden which show in stunning clarity that the armed opposition in Syria was under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the war which has now claimed half a million lives. ..."
    "... The newly released NSA document confirms that a 2013 insurgent attack with advanced surface-to-surface rockets upon civilian areas of Damascus, including Damascus International Airport, was directly supplied and commanded by Saudi Arabia with full prior awareness of US intelligence. As the former Qatari prime minister now also confirms, both the Saudis and US government staffed "operations rooms" overseeing such heinous attacks during the time period of the 2013 Damascus airport attack. ..."
    "... Reprinted with permission from ZeroHedge . ..."
    Oct 29, 2017 | ronpaulinstitute.org

    A television interview of a top Qatari official confessing the truth behind the origins of the war in Syria is going viral across Arabic social media during the same week a leaked top secret NSA document was published which confirms that the armed opposition in Syria was under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the conflict.

    And according to a well-known Syria analyst and economic adviser with close contacts in the Syrian government, the explosive interview constitutes a high level "public admission to collusion and coordination between four countries to destabilize an independent state, [including] possible support for Nusra/al-Qaeda." Importantly, "this admission will help build case for what Damascus sees as an attack on its security & sovereignty. It will form basis for compensation claims."

    A 2013 London press conference: Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. A 2014 Hillary Clinton email confirmed Qatar as a state-sponsor of ISIS during that same time period.

    As the war in Syria continues slowly winding down, it seems new source material comes out on an almost a weekly basis in the form of testimonials of top officials involved in destabilizing Syria, and even occasional leaked emails and documents which further detail covert regime change operations against the Assad government. Though much of this content serves to confirm what has already long been known by those who have never accepted the simplistic propaganda which has dominated mainstream media, details continue to fall in place, providing future historians with a clearer picture of the true nature of the war.

    This process of clarity has been aided - as predicted - by the continued infighting among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) former allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with each side accusing the other of funding Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists (ironically, both true). Increasingly, the world watches as more dirty laundry is aired and the GCC implodes after years of nearly all the gulf monarchies funding jihadist movements in places like Syria, Iraq, and Libya.

    The top Qatari official is no less than former Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who oversaw Syria operations on behalf of Qatar until 2013 (also as foreign minister), and is seen below with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in this Jan. 2010 photo (as a reminder, Qatar's 2022 World Cup Committee donated $500,000 to the Clinton Foundation in 2014 ).

    In an interview with Qatari TV Wednesday, bin Jaber al-Thani revealed that his country, alongside Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States, began shipping weapons to jihadists from the very moment events "first started" (in 2011).

    Al-Thani even likened the covert operation to "hunting prey" - the prey being President Assad and his supporters - "prey" which he admits got away (as Assad is still in power; he used a Gulf Arabic dialect word, "al-sayda", which implies hunting animals or prey for sport). Though Thani denied credible allegations of support for ISIS, the former prime minister's words implied direct Gulf and US support for al-Qaeda in Syria (al-Nusra Front) from the earliest years of the war, and even said Qatar has "full documents" and records proving that the war was planned to effect regime change.

    According to Zero Hedge's translation, al-Thani said while acknowledging Gulf nations were arming jihadists in Syria with the approval and support of US and Turkey: "I don't want to go into details but we have full documents about us taking charge [in Syria]." He claimed that both Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (who reigned until his death in 2015) and the United States placed Qatar in a lead role concerning covert operations to execute the proxy war.

    The former prime minister's comments, while very revealing, were intended as a defense and excuse of Qatar's support for terrorism, and as a critique of the US and Saudi Arabia for essentially leaving Qatar "holding the bag" in terms of the war against Assad. Al-Thani explained that Qatar continued its financing of armed insurgents in Syria while other countries eventually wound down large-scale support, which is why he lashed out at the US and the Saudis, who initially "were with us in the same trench."

    In a previous US television interview which was vastly underreported, al-Thani told Charlie Rose when asked about allegations of Qatar's support for terrorism that, "in Syria, everybody did mistakes, including your country." And said that when the war began in Syria, "all of us worked through two operation rooms: one in Jordan and one in Turkey."

    Here is the key section of Wednesday's interview , translated and subtitled by @Walid970721. Zero Hedge has reviewed and confirmed the translation, however, as the original rush translator has acknowledged , al-Thani doesn't say "lady" but "prey" ["al-sayda"]- as in both Assad and Syrians were being hunted by the outside countries.

    The partial English transcript is as follows:

    When the events first started in Syria I went to Saudi Arabia and met with King Abdullah. I did that on the instructions of his highness the prince, my father. He [Abdullah] said we are behind you. You go ahead with this plan and we will coordinate but you should be in charge. I won't get into details but we have full documents and anything that was sent [to Syria] would go to Turkey and was in coordination with the US forces and everything was distributed via the Turks and the US forces. And us and everyone else was involved, the military people. There may have been mistakes and support was given to the wrong faction... Maybe there was a relationship with Nusra, its possible but I myself don't know about this we were fighting over the prey ["al-sayda"] and now the prey is gone and we are still fighting... and now Bashar is still there. You [US and Saudi Arabia] were with us in the same trench... I have no objection to one changing if he finds that he was wrong, but at least inform your partner for example leave Bashar [al-Assad] or do this or that, but the situation that has been created now will never allow any progress in the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council], or any progress on anything if we continue to openly fight.
    As is now well-known, the CIA was directly involved in leading regime change efforts in Syria with allied gulf partners, as leaked and declassified US intelligence memos confirm . The US government understood in real time that Gulf and West-supplied advanced weaponry was going to al-Qaeda and ISIS, despite official claims of arming so-called "moderate" rebels. For example, a leaked 2014 intelligence memo sent to Hillary Clinton acknowledged Qatari and Saudi support for ISIS.

    The email stated in direct and unambiguous language that:

    the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.
    Furthermore, one day before Prime Minister Thani's interview, The Intercept released a new top-secret NSA document unearthed from leaked intelligence files provided by Edward Snowden which show in stunning clarity that the armed opposition in Syria was under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the war which has now claimed half a million lives.

    The newly released NSA document confirms that a 2013 insurgent attack with advanced surface-to-surface rockets upon civilian areas of Damascus, including Damascus International Airport, was directly supplied and commanded by Saudi Arabia with full prior awareness of US intelligence. As the former Qatari prime minister now also confirms, both the Saudis and US government staffed "operations rooms" overseeing such heinous attacks during the time period of the 2013 Damascus airport attack.

    No doubt there remains a massive trove of damning documentary evidence which will continue to trickle out in the coming months and years. At the very least, the continuing Qatari-Saudi diplomatic war will bear more fruit as each side builds a case against the other with charges of supporting terrorism. And as we can see from this latest Qatari TV interview, the United States itself will not be spared in this new open season of airing dirty laundry as old allies turn on each other.

    Reprinted with permission from ZeroHedge .


    Related
    • The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against Syria - 26 September 2014
    • The Real Status of Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq - 5 October 2014
    • Presidents and the War Power - 8 October 2014
    • The Siege Of Kobani: Obama's Syrian Fiasco In Motion - 6 October 2014
    • Is Obama Misleading the World to War? Depends How You Define 'Misleading' - 26 September 2014

    [Oct 29, 2017] John Feffer The Real Disuniting of America by Tom Engelhardt

    Wars eventually deeply affect on the nation which launches them....
    Notable quotes:
    "... Stop thinking of this country as the sole superpower or the indispensable nation on Earth and start reimagining it as the great fracturer, the exceptional smasher, the indispensable fragmenter. Its wars of the twenty-first century are starting to come home big time -- home being not just this particular country (though that's true , too) but this planet. Though hardly alone , the U.S. is, for the moment, the most exceptional home-destroyer around and its president is now not just the commander-in-chief but the home-smasher-in-chief. ..."
    "... Just this week, for instance, home smashing was in the headlines. After all, the Islamic State's "capital," the city of Raqqa, was " liberated ." We won! The U.S. and the forces it backed in Syria were finally victorious and the brutal Islamic State (a home-smashing movement that emerged from an American military prison in Iraq) was finally driven from that city ( almost !). And oh yes, according to witnesses , the former city of 300,000 lies abandoned with hardly a building left undamaged, unbroken, unsmashed. ..."
    "... In the Greater Middle East and Africa, people by the tens of millions , including staggering numbers of children , have been uprooted and displaced, their homes destroyed, their cities and towns devastated, sending survivors fleeing across national borders as refugees in numbers that haven't been seen since a significant part of the planet was leveled in World War II. ..."
    Oct 24, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Stop thinking of this country as the sole superpower or the indispensable nation on Earth and start reimagining it as the great fracturer, the exceptional smasher, the indispensable fragmenter. Its wars of the twenty-first century are starting to come home big time -- home being not just this particular country (though that's true , too) but this planet. Though hardly alone , the U.S. is, for the moment, the most exceptional home-destroyer around and its president is now not just the commander-in-chief but the home-smasher-in-chief.

    Just this week, for instance, home smashing was in the headlines. After all, the Islamic State's "capital," the city of Raqqa, was " liberated ." We won! The U.S. and the forces it backed in Syria were finally victorious and the brutal Islamic State (a home-smashing movement that emerged from an American military prison in Iraq) was finally driven from that city ( almost !). And oh yes, according to witnesses , the former city of 300,000 lies abandoned with hardly a building left undamaged, unbroken, unsmashed. Over these last months, the American bombing campaign against Raqqa and the artillery support that went with it reportedly killed more than 1,000 civilians and turned significant parts of the city into rubble -- and what that didn't do, ISIS bombs and other munitions did. (According to estimates , they could take years to find and remove.) And Raqqa is just the latest Middle Eastern city to be smashed more or less to bits.

    And since the splintering of the planet is the TomDispatch subject of the day, what about the recent Austrian election, fought out and won by right-wing "populists" on the basis of anti-refugee sentiments and Islamophobia? Where exactly did such sentiments come from? You know perfectly well: from America's war on terror and the much-vaunted " precision warfare " (smart bombs and the rest) that continues to fracture a vast swath of the planet from Afghanistan to Libya and beyond.

    In the Greater Middle East and Africa, people by the tens of millions , including staggering numbers of children , have been uprooted and displaced, their homes destroyed, their cities and towns devastated, sending survivors fleeing across national borders as refugees in numbers that haven't been seen since a significant part of the planet was leveled in World War II. In this way, America's 16-year-old war on terror has been a genuine force for terror, and so for the kind of resentment and fear that's now helping to crack open a recently united Europe (and in the United States helped elect well, you know just who).

    And that's only a small introduction to the largely unexplored American role in the fracturing of this planet. Don't even get me started on our president and climate change!

    As it happens, the fellow who brought the nature of this splintering home to me was TomDispatch regular John Feffer, who in early 2015 began writing for this website what became his remarkable dystopian novel Splinterlands . In it, he imagined our shattered planet in 2050 so vividly that it's stayed with me ever since -- and evidently with him, too, because today he considers just how quickly the splintering process he imagined has been occurring not in his fictional version of our world, but in the all-too-real one.

    Robert Magill , October 25, 2017 at 3:40 pm GMT

    If we lose the state in a fourth great shattering, we will lose an important part of ourselves as well: our very humanity.

    In many respects the "state", USA that is, is already lost. What we had until the 1950s was an ongoing mythology known as America; an agreed upon, ongoing concern known abroad for its popular music, for Hollywood, for a thriving middle class, a healthy working-class and a supplier of goods and services to the world, envy of all. Well, we shot a few holes in Myth America!

    First to go was the music: replaced by Bubblegum; downhill from there. Tin Pan Alley is now dumpster heaven. The middle class now resides in Beijing with largess delivered to our Dollar emporiums (not seen here since the Great Depression). Noticeable gaps in the starving malls once housed record stores and book shops; remember them?

    The final blow has landed on the movie houses across the land. Near empty, struggling. Even in the depths of the 30′s, movie house were full. But then, "No myth:No nation". No more.

    https://robertmagill.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/mankind-a-bogus-species/

    [Oct 29, 2017] UN On Khan Sheikhoun - Victims Hospitalized BEFORE Claimed Incident Happened

    Notable quotes:
    "... There was a story (sorry, lost any references) that stated that at least one of the US warships that launched the Tomahawks after this incident, was still in Spain on April 2nd. So that ship had to travel across the Mediterranean at full speed (and not at cruise speed) to be on time for the attack. ..."
    "... And that implies the attack was know by the US forces beforehand, and their riposte was also planned and decided before the attack took place. ..."
    "... I have come to the point of 100% initially assuming that reports by the MSM in the West are fabrications and then work back to find the few percent of truth, if any. Lying is normal in the West. Honestly is getting very rare, and is abnormal. ..."
    Oct 29, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Many of the reports findings are based on open source videos and photographs published by the opposition. It acquired witnesses statements from the area which is under control of al-Qaeda. It also examined forensic evidence for which no chain of custody existed. Some findings are strange .

    In annex II, on page 36 (of 39) of the pdf, it notes:

    Certain irregularities were observed in elements of information analysed. For example, several hospitals appeared to start admitting casualties of the attack between 0640 and 0645 hours. The Mechanism received the medical records of 247 patients from Khan Shaykhun who were admitted to various health-care facilities, including those of survivors and a number of victims who died from exposure to chemical agent. The admission times of the records range between 0600 and 1600 hours. Analysis of the aforementioned medical records revealed that in 57 cases, patients were admitted in five hospitals before the incident in Khan Shaykhun (at 0600, 0620 and 0640 hours). In 10 such cases, patients appear to have been admitted to a hospital 125 km away from Khan Shaykhun at 0700 hours while another 42 patients appear to have been admitted to a hospital 30 km away at 0700 hours. The Mechanism did not investigate these discrepancies and cannot determine whether they are linked to any possible staging scenario , or to poor record-keeping in chaotic conditions.

    At least 23% of the alleged casualties of the incident WERE ADMITTED TO HOSPITALS BEFORE THE INCIDENT HAPPENED

    Cont. reading: UN On Khan Sheikhoun - Victims Hospitalized BEFORE Claimed Incident Happened

    b | Oct 29, 2017 2:19:17 PM | 2

    Another example of fakery of the incident. The report (linked above) notes this, but draws no conclusion:
    ... In particular, the Mechanism noted that fully equipped hazmat teams appeared at the scene later that afternoon and reported early detection of the presence of sarin, seemingly using a Dräger X-am 7000 ambient air monitor, which was not known to be able to detect sarin.
    and
    Of further concern to the Mechanism was the relative unprofessionalism by which certain environmental samples appear to have been taken, e.g. sampling from a muddy puddle.
    and
    The Mechanism also noted scenes recorded just after the incident at the medical point to the east of Khan Shaykhun, where rescue and decontamination activities filmed shortly after 0700 hours showed rescue personnel hosing down patients with water indiscriminately for extended periods of time. Such video footage also depicted a number of patients not being attended to, and some para-medical interventions that did not seem to make medical sense, such as performing heart compression on a patient facing the ground.

    But based on all of that, and on the patients that arrived in hospital before the incident happened, the report concludes that Syria dropped Sarin at a moment and place that made zero military or political sense...

    Jeff | Oct 29, 2017 2:26:25 PM | 3

    There was a story (sorry, lost any references) that stated that at least one of the US warships that launched the Tomahawks after this incident, was still in Spain on April 2nd. So that ship had to travel across the Mediterranean at full speed (and not at cruise speed) to be on time for the attack.

    And that implies the attack was know by the US forces beforehand, and their riposte was also planned and decided before the attack took place.

    AriusArmenian | Oct 29, 2017 4:23:54 PM | 4
    I have come to the point of 100% initially assuming that reports by the MSM in the West are fabrications and then work back to find the few percent of truth, if any. Lying is normal in the West. Honestly is getting very rare, and is abnormal.
    Peter AU 1 | Oct 29, 2017 4:28:35 PM | 5
    With Trump and T Rex now saying the right things, the hegemon is back up to speed. The US crossed there Rubicon when Obama made his speech at the UNGA a couple of years back. No way China/Russia will be able to give the US a soft landing. Hard times when the bubble bursts for the US.
    psychohistorian | Oct 29, 2017 4:29:45 PM | 6
    All those who rule the Western world through control of finance have bankrupt morals because of their fealty to the God of Mammon. War and treachery are the tools that fit their mental condition and if they can't BS you into being cowed by their existence they will bomb you into submission.

    Negotiation for God of Mammon acolytes is for losers and they will keep the carousel spinning furiously until they are neutered or they take us with them in a blaze of what they consider nuclear glory......I have never seen any of the assholes that my life has presented me with show a smidge of contrition for glaring facts about their societal perfidy.....they double down like Trump does regularly and I suspect it is likely we will see such grandstanding with this situation as well.

    War is a cover for anti-humanistic leadership which is the best that can be bought in Amerika.

    Mark | Oct 29, 2017 4:35:02 PM | 7
    It's irksome that 6:55 is the time Hersh gave for the bombing he was told about. If it were an hour or two earlier, it would make sense of what I take to be his idea - that some bomb-induced chemical disaster was 'converted' into a sarin episode after the fact.
    Peter AU 1 | Oct 29, 2017 5:03:27 PM | 8
    The bombed building was most likely part of the prep. Possibly chemicals or perhaps simply somthing that woukd give oiff yellow smoke placed into the building then its co-ords slipped into inteligence somehow as an AQ headquarters or whatever so it would become a target for the bombing. The US were notified that the building would be hit and at what time, so AQ/whitehelmets would have been alerted and ready to go into logie award winning action at the allotted time.
    Robert Wilhite | Oct 29, 2017 5:24:34 PM | 9
    b, thank you again for your analyses.
    Robert | Oct 29, 2017 5:26:10 PM | 10
    Oops. b, can you take that last post down? Thanks
    charles de drake | Oct 29, 2017 5:57:45 PM | 11

    victims-hospitalized-before-the-incident-happened.html#comments stop

    before the incident happened hmmmm let me thinks


    "We Were There to Document The Event
    before the incident happened
    happened


    november 22nd 1963
    a gentlemen of the press at the cambridge gazette received a gpo telephonic marconi bakerlite call suggesting he should pronto ring
    whitehall 772005 and the us embassy kensington 091101 urgently sharpish fashion for some scoop dum dum head busting historical cia news.
    the call related to the assasination of a mr john fitzgerald oflaherty otool kennedy, know relation to the fully oirish john heinz kerrys of killarney we should note.

    after the calls where done the cambridge gentlemen of the press was shocked to find that jfk was still alive by several bbc minutes.
    he later went to his local police house to report the queer time looper affair indeed.
    it later transperspired that the call from the americas had arrived 25mins before the grassy gnome texas kilshot back and to the left don't you know.
    25mins before to go what what.
    jane stanley bbc on 9 and 11 talmud event building 7 25mins to soon spoke out as well time looping very queer affairs
    i really do believe in the future hospitals will have a better success rate if we can get the cadavers into surgery before these events happen
    certainly for turkey and israel live organ dealings the living syriana organs from pre incident not happened are prefential
    indeeds


    victims-hospitalized-before-the-incident-happened.

    Ort | Oct 29, 2017 6:12:35 PM | 12
    Thanks for deconstructing this latest bogus report.

    We are now living in "Reality TV", sad to say.

    Not to be naïve or sentimental about it, but government and civic institutions used to maintain at least a modicum of integrity, probity, and objectivity.

    Now, official investigations are routinely compromised by nefarious political and social interests. Bad enough that law enforcement and state-security agencies habitually distort or fabricate information to serve their own ends, and their masters' ends.

    But it's somehow more insidious when nominally independent investigative bodies become channels of authoritarian governments' infoganda.

    This series of slanderous, manufactured, trumped-up (no pun intended) accusations that the Syrian government/military used chemical weapons is practically a "sub-genre" by now.

    But it also brings to mind NIST's fraudulent analysis of the destructive events in New York City on 9/11/01, and the equally fraudulent findings of the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team tasked to investigate the downing of the MH-17 aircraft.

    I thought of "reality TV" because all of these tendentious reports from ostensibly prestigious organizations are merely props-- items to wave around in front of the camera, and allude to sanctimoniously in support of some reprehensible official policy or narrative.

    Thus, I fully concur with AriusArmenian | 4.

    [Oct 25, 2017] Tomorrow Belongs to the Corporatocracy by C.J. Hopkins

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Google is algorithmically burying leftist news and opinion sources such as Alternet, Counterpunch, Global Research, Consortium News, and Truthout, among others. ..."
    "... my political essays are often reposted by right-wing and, yes, even pro-Russia blogs. I get mail from former Sanders supporters, Trump supporters, anarchists, socialists, former 1960s radicals, anti-Semites, and other human beings, some of whom I passionately agree with, others of whom I passionately disagree with. As far as I can tell from the emails, none of these readers voted for Clinton, or Macron, or supported the TPP, or the debt-enslavement and looting of Greece, or the ongoing restructuring of the Greater Middle East (and all the lovely knock-on effects that has brought us), or believe that Trump is a Russian operative, or that Obama is Martin Luther Jesus-on-a-stick. ..."
    "... What they share, despite their opposing views, is a general awareness that the locus of power in our post-Cold War age is primarily corporate, or global capitalist, and neoliberal in nature. They also recognize that they are being subjected to a massive propaganda campaign designed to lump them all together (again, despite their opposing views) into an intentionally vague and undefinable category comprising anyone and everyone, everywhere, opposing the hegemony of global capitalism, and its non-ideological ideology (the nature of which I'll get into in a moment). ..."
    "... Although the term has been around since the Fifth Century BC, the concept of "extremism" as we know it today developed in the late Twentieth Century and has come into vogue in the last three decades. During the Cold War, the preferred exonymics were "subversive," "radical," or just plain old "communist," all of which terms referred to an actual ideological adversary. ..."
    "... Which is why, despite the "Russiagate" hysteria the media have been barraging us with, the West is not going to war with Russia. Nor are we going to war with China. Russia and China are developed countries, whose economies are entirely dependent on global capitalism, as are Western economies. The economies of every developed nation on the planet are inextricably linked. This is the nature of the global hegemony I've been referring to throughout this essay. Not American hegemony, but global capitalist hegemony. Systemic, supranational hegemony (which I like to prefer "the Corporatocracy," as it sounds more poetic and less post-structural). ..."
    "... Global capitalism, since the end of the Cold War (i.e, immediately after the end of the Cold War), has been conducting a global clean-up operation, eliminating actual and potential insurgencies, mostly in the Middle East, but also in its Western markets. Having won the last ideological war, like any other victorious force, it has been "clear-and-holding" the conquered territory, which in this case happens to be the whole planet. Just for fun, get out a map, and look at the history of invasions, bombings, and other "interventions" conducted by the West and its assorted client states since 1990. Also, once you're done with that, consider how, over the last fifteen years, most Western societies have been militarized, their citizens placed under constant surveillance, and an overall atmosphere of "emergency" fostered, and paranoia about "the threat of extremism" propagated by the corporate media. ..."
    "... Short some sort of cataclysm, like an asteroid strike or the zombie apocalypse, or, you know, violent revolution, global capitalism will continue to restructure the planet to conform to its ruthless interests. The world will become increasingly "normal." The scourge of "extremism" and "terrorism" will persist, as will the general atmosphere of "emergency." There will be no more Trumps, Brexit referendums, revolts against the banks, and so on. Identity politics will continue to flourish, providing a forum for leftist activist types (and others with an unhealthy interest in politics), who otherwise might become a nuisance, but any and all forms of actual dissent from global capitalist ideology will be systematically marginalized and pathologized. ..."
    "... C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing (USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org . ..."
    "... That is certainly what the geopolitical establishment is hoping for, but I remain skeptical of their ability to contain what forces they've used to balance the various camps of dissenting proles. They've painted themselves into a corner with non-white identity politics combined with mass immigration. The logical conclusion of where they're going is pogroms and none of the kleptocracy seem bold enough to try and stop this from happening. ..."
    "... Germany is the last EU member state where an anti EU party entered parliament. In the last French elections four out of every ten voters voted on anti EU parties. In Austria the anti EU parties now have a majority. So if I were leading a big corporation, thriving by globalism, what also the EU is, I would be worried. ..."
    "... This is a great article. The author's identification of "normality" & "extremism" as Capitalism's go-to concepts for social control is spot on accurate. That these terms can mean anything or nothing & are infinitely flexible is central to their power. ..."
    Oct 20, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Back in October of 2016, I wrote a somewhat divisive essay in which I suggested that political dissent is being systematically pathologized. In fact, this process has been ongoing for decades, but it has been significantly accelerated since the Brexit referendum and the Rise of Trump (or, rather, the Fall of Hillary Clinton, as it was Americans' lack of enthusiasm for eight more years of corporatocracy with a sugar coating of identity politics, and not their enthusiasm for Trump, that mostly put the clown in office.)

    In the twelve months since I wrote that piece, we have been subjected to a concerted campaign of corporate media propaganda for which there is no historical precedent. Virtually every major organ of the Western media apparatus (the most powerful propaganda machine in the annals of powerful propaganda machines) has been relentlessly churning out variations on a new official ideological narrative designed to generate and enforce conformity. The gist of this propaganda campaign is that "Western democracy" is under attack by a confederacy of Russians and white supremacists, as well as "the terrorists" and other "extremists" it's been under attack by for the last sixteen years.

    I've been writing about this campaign for a year now, so I'm not going to rehash all the details. Suffice to say we've gone from Russian operatives hacking the American elections to "Russia-linked" persons "apparently" setting up "illegitimate" Facebook accounts, "likely operated out of Russia," and publishing ads that are "indistinguishable from legitimate political speech" on the Internet. This is what the corporate media is presenting as evidence of "an unprecedented foreign invasion of American democracy," a handful of political ads on Facebook. In addition to the Russian hacker propaganda, since August, we have also been treated to relentless white supremacist hysteria and daily reminders from the corporate media that "white nationalism is destroying the West." The negligible American neo-Nazi subculture has been blown up into a biblical Behemoth inexorably slouching its way towards the White House to officially launch the Trumpian Reich.

    At the same time, government and corporate entities have been aggressively restricting (and in many cases eliminating) fundamental civil liberties such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right of assembly, the right to privacy, and the right to due process under the law. The justification for this curtailment of rights (which started in earnest in 2001, following the September 11 attacks) is protecting the public from the threat of "terrorism," which apparently shows no signs of abating. As of now, the United States has been in a State of Emergency for over sixteen years. The UK is in a virtual State of Emergency . France is now in the process of enshrining its permanent State of Emergency into law. Draconian counter-terrorism measures have been implemented throughout the EU . Not just the notorious American police but police throughout the West have been militarized . Every other day we learn of some new emergency security measure designed to keep us safe from "the terrorists," the "lone wolf shooters," and other "extremists."

    Conveniently, since the Brexit referendum and unexpected election of Trump (which is when the capitalist ruling classes first recognized that they had a widespread nationalist backlash on their hands), the definition of "terrorism" (or, more broadly, "extremism") has been expanded to include not just Al Qaeda, or ISIS, or whoever we're calling "the terrorists" these days, but anyone else the ruling classes decide they need to label "extremists." The FBI has designated Black Lives Matter "Black Identity Extremists." The FBI and the DHS have designated Antifa "domestic terrorists."

    Hosting corporations have shut down several white supremacist and neo-Nazi websites , along with their access to online fundraising. Google is algorithmically burying leftist news and opinion sources such as Alternet, Counterpunch, Global Research, Consortium News, and Truthout, among others. Twitter, Facebook, and Google have teamed up to cleanse the Internet of "extremist content," "hate speech," and whatever else they arbitrarily decide is inappropriate. YouTube, with assistance from the ADL (which deems pro-Palestinian activists and other critics of Israel "extremists") is censoring "extremist" and "controversial" videos , in an effort to "fight terrorist content online." Facebook is also collaborating with Israel to thwart "extremism," "incitement of violence," and whatever else Israel decides is "inflammatory."

    In the UK, simply reading "terrorist content" is punishable by fifteen years in prison. Over three thousand people were arrested last year for publishing "offensive" and "menacing" material.

    Whatever your opinion of these organizations and "extremist" persons is beside the point. I'm not a big fan of neo-Nazis, personally, but neither am I a fan of Antifa. I don't have much use for conspiracy theories, or a lot of the nonsense one finds on the Internet, but I consume a fair amount of alternative media, and I publish in CounterPunch, The Unz Review, ColdType, and other non-corporate journals.

    I consider myself a leftist, basically, but my political essays are often reposted by right-wing and, yes, even pro-Russia blogs. I get mail from former Sanders supporters, Trump supporters, anarchists, socialists, former 1960s radicals, anti-Semites, and other human beings, some of whom I passionately agree with, others of whom I passionately disagree with. As far as I can tell from the emails, none of these readers voted for Clinton, or Macron, or supported the TPP, or the debt-enslavement and looting of Greece, or the ongoing restructuring of the Greater Middle East (and all the lovely knock-on effects that has brought us), or believe that Trump is a Russian operative, or that Obama is Martin Luther Jesus-on-a-stick.

    What they share, despite their opposing views, is a general awareness that the locus of power in our post-Cold War age is primarily corporate, or global capitalist, and neoliberal in nature. They also recognize that they are being subjected to a massive propaganda campaign designed to lump them all together (again, despite their opposing views) into an intentionally vague and undefinable category comprising anyone and everyone, everywhere, opposing the hegemony of global capitalism, and its non-ideological ideology (the nature of which I'll get into in a moment).

    As I wrote in that essay a year ago, "a line is being drawn in the ideological sand." This line cuts across both Left and Right, dividing what the capitalist ruling classes designate "normal" from what they label "extremist." The traditional ideological paradigm, Left versus Right, is disappearing (except as a kind of minstrel show), and is being replaced, or overwritten, by a pathological paradigm based upon the concept of "extremism."

    * * *

    Although the term has been around since the Fifth Century BC, the concept of "extremism" as we know it today developed in the late Twentieth Century and has come into vogue in the last three decades. During the Cold War, the preferred exonymics were "subversive," "radical," or just plain old "communist," all of which terms referred to an actual ideological adversary.

    In the early 1990s, as the U.S.S.R. disintegrated, and globalized Western capitalism became the unrivaled global-hegemonic ideological system that it is today, a new concept was needed to represent the official enemy and its ideology. The concept of "extremism" does that perfectly, as it connotes, not an external enemy with a definable ideological goal, but rather, a deviation from the norm. The nature of the deviation (e.g., right-wing, left-wing, faith-based, and so on) is secondary, almost incidental. The deviation itself is the point. The "terrorist," the "extremist," the "white supremacist," the "religious fanatic," the "violent anarchist" these figures are not rational actors whose ideas we need to intellectually engage with in order to debate or debunk. They are pathological deviations, mutant cells within the body of "normality," which we need to identify and eliminate, not for ideological reasons, but purely in order to maintain "security."

    A truly global-hegemonic system like contemporary global capitalism (the first of this kind in human history), technically, has no ideology. "Normality" is its ideology an ideology which erases itself and substitutes the concept of what's "normal," or, in other words, "just the way it is." The specific characteristics of "normality," although not quite arbitrary, are ever-changing. In the West, for example, thirty years ago, smoking was normal. Now, it's abnormal. Being gay was abnormal. Now, it's normal. Being transgender is becoming normal, although we're still in the early stages of the process. Racism has become abnormal. Body hair is currently abnormal. Walking down the street in a semi-fugue state robotically thumbing the screen of a smartphone that you just finished thumbing a minute ago is "normal." Capitalism has no qualms with these constant revisions to what is considered normal, because none of them are threats to capitalism. On the contrary, as far as values are concerned, the more flexible and commodifiable the better.

    See, despite what intersectionalists will tell you, capitalism has no interest in racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, or any other despotic values (though it has no problem working with these values when they serve its broader strategic purposes). Capitalism is an economic system, which we have elevated to a social system. It only has one fundamental value, exchange value, which isn't much of a value, at least not in terms of organizing society or maintaining any sort of human culture or reverence for the natural world it exists in. In capitalist society, everything, everyone, every object and sentient being, every concept and human emotion, is worth exactly what the market will bear no more, no less, than its market price. There is no other measure of value.

    Yes, we all want there to be other values, and we pretend there are, but there aren't, not really. Although we're free to enjoy parochial subcultures based on alternative values (i.e., religious bodies, the arts, and so on), these subcultures operate within capitalist society, and ultimately conform to its rules. In the arts, for example, works are either commercial products, like any other commodity, or they are subsidized by what could be called "the simulated aristocracy," the ivy league-educated leisure classes (and lower class artists aspiring thereto) who need to pretend that they still have "culture" in order to feel superior to the masses. In the latter case, this feeling of superiority is the upscale product being sold. In the former, it is entertainment, distraction from the depressing realities of living, not in a society at all, but in a marketplace with no real human values. (In the absence of any real cultural values, there is no qualitative difference between Gerhard Richter and Adam Sandler, for example. They're both successful capitalist artists. They're just selling their products in different markets.)

    The fact that it has no human values is the evil genius of global capitalist society. Unlike the despotic societies it replaced, it has no allegiance to any cultural identities, or traditions, or anything other than money. It can accommodate any form of government, as long as it plays ball with global capitalism. Thus, the window dressing of "normality" is markedly different from country to country, but the essence of "normality" remains the same. Even in countries with state religions (like Iran) or state ideologies (like China), the governments play by the rules of global capitalism like everyone else. If they don't, they can expect to receive a visit from global capitalism's Regime Change Department (i.e., the US military and its assorted partners).

    Which is why, despite the "Russiagate" hysteria the media have been barraging us with, the West is not going to war with Russia. Nor are we going to war with China. Russia and China are developed countries, whose economies are entirely dependent on global capitalism, as are Western economies. The economies of every developed nation on the planet are inextricably linked. This is the nature of the global hegemony I've been referring to throughout this essay. Not American hegemony, but global capitalist hegemony. Systemic, supranational hegemony (which I like to prefer "the Corporatocracy," as it sounds more poetic and less post-structural).

    We haven't really got our minds around it yet, because we're still in the early stages of it, but we have entered an epoch in which historical events are primarily being driven, and societies reshaped, not by sovereign nation states acting in their national interests but by supranational corporations acting in their corporate interests. Paramount among these corporate interests is the maintenance and expansion of global capitalism, and the elimination of any impediments thereto. Forget about the United States (i.e., the actual nation state) for a moment, and look at what's been happening since the early 1990s. The US military's "disastrous misadventures" in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, and the former Yugoslavia, among other exotic places (which have obviously had nothing to do with the welfare or security of any actual Americans), begin to make a lot more sense.

    Global capitalism, since the end of the Cold War (i.e, immediately after the end of the Cold War), has been conducting a global clean-up operation, eliminating actual and potential insurgencies, mostly in the Middle East, but also in its Western markets. Having won the last ideological war, like any other victorious force, it has been "clear-and-holding" the conquered territory, which in this case happens to be the whole planet. Just for fun, get out a map, and look at the history of invasions, bombings, and other "interventions" conducted by the West and its assorted client states since 1990. Also, once you're done with that, consider how, over the last fifteen years, most Western societies have been militarized, their citizens placed under constant surveillance, and an overall atmosphere of "emergency" fostered, and paranoia about "the threat of extremism" propagated by the corporate media.

    I'm not suggesting there's a bunch of capitalists sitting around in a room somewhere in their shiny black top hats planning all of this. I'm talking about systemic development, which is a little more complex than that, and much more difficult to intelligently discuss because we're used to perceiving historico-political events in the context of competing nation states, rather than competing ideological systems or non-competing ideological systems, for capitalism has no competition . What it has, instead, is a variety of insurgencies, the faith-based Islamic fundamentalist insurgency and the neo-nationalist insurgency chief among them. There will certainly be others throughout the near future as global capitalism consolidates control and restructures societies according to its values. None of these insurgencies will be successful.

    Short some sort of cataclysm, like an asteroid strike or the zombie apocalypse, or, you know, violent revolution, global capitalism will continue to restructure the planet to conform to its ruthless interests. The world will become increasingly "normal." The scourge of "extremism" and "terrorism" will persist, as will the general atmosphere of "emergency." There will be no more Trumps, Brexit referendums, revolts against the banks, and so on. Identity politics will continue to flourish, providing a forum for leftist activist types (and others with an unhealthy interest in politics), who otherwise might become a nuisance, but any and all forms of actual dissent from global capitalist ideology will be systematically marginalized and pathologized.

    This won't happen right away, of course. Things are liable to get ugly first (as if they weren't ugly enough already), but probably not in the way we're expecting, or being trained to expect by the corporate media. Look, I'll give you a dollar if it turns out I'm wrong, and the Russians, terrorists, white supremacists, and other "extremists" do bring down "democracy" and launch their Islamic, white supremacist, Russo-Nazi Reich, or whatever, but from where I sit it looks pretty clear tomorrow belongs to the Corporatocracy.

    C. J. Hopkins is an award-winning American playwright, novelist and satirist based in Berlin. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Broadway Play Publishing (USA). His debut novel, ZONE 23 , is published by Snoggsworthy, Swaine & Cormorant. He can reached at cjhopkins.com or consentfactory.org .

    Malla , October 20, 2017 at 12:56 pm GMT

    Brilliant Article. But this has been going on for nearly a century or more. New York Jewish bankers fund the Bolshevik revolution which gets rid of the Romanov dynasty and many of the revolutionaries are not even Russian. What many people do not know is that many Western companies invested money in Bolshevik Russia as the Bolsheviks were speeding up the modernising of the country. What many do not know is that Feminism, destruction of families and traditional societies, homoerotic art etc . was forced on the new Soviet population in a shock therapy sort of way. The same process has been implemented in the West by the elites using a much slower 'boiling the frog' method using Cultural Marxism. The aim of the Soviet Union was to spread Communism around the World and hence bring about the One World Government as wished by the globalists. Their national anthem was the 'Internationale'. The globalists were funding revolutionary movements throughout Europe and other parts of the world. One such attempt went extremely wrong and that was in Germany where instead of the Communists coming in power, the National Socialists come in power which was the most dangerous challenge faced by the Zio/globalists/elite gang. The Globalists force a war using false flag events like Pearl Harbour etc and crushed the powers which challenged their rule i.e. Germany, Japan and Italy. That is why Capitalist USA funded Communist Soviet Union using the land lease program, which on the surface never makes any sense.

    However in Soviet Russia, a power struggle leads to Stalin destroying the old Communist order of Lenin Trotsky. Trotsky and his supporters leave the Soviet Union. Many of the present Neo Cons are ex Trotskyites and hence the crazy hatred for Russia even today in American politics. These Neocons do not have any principles, they will use any ideology such as Communism, Islam, twisted Western Conservatism anything to attain their global goals.

    Now with Stalin coming to power, things actually improved and the war with Hitler's Third Reich gave Stalin the chance to purge many old school globalist commies and then the Soviet Union went towards a more nationalist road. Jews slowly started losing their hold on power with Russians and eventually other Soviets gaining more powerful positions. These folks found the ugly modern art culture of the early Soviet period revolting and started a new movement where the messages of Socialism can be delivered with more healthy beautiful art and culture. This process was called 'Social Realism'. So strangely what happened was that the Capitalist Christian West was becoming more and more less traditional with time (Cultural Marxism/Fabien Socialism via media, education, Hollywood) while the Eastern block was slowly moving in an opposite direction. The CIA (which is basically the intelligence agency arm of Wall Street Bankers) was working to stop this 'Social Realism' movement.

    These same globalists also funded Mao and pulled the rug under Chiang Kai Shek who they were supporting earlier. Yes, Mao was funded by the Rockerfeller/ Rothschild Cabal. Now, even if the Globalists were not happy with Stalin gaining power in the Soviet Union (they preferred the internationalist Trotskyites), they still found that they could work out with the Soviet Union. That is why during the 2nd World war, the USA supports the USSR with money and material, Stalin gets a facelift as 'friendly Uncle Joe' for the Western audience. Many Cossack families who had escaped the Soviet Union to the West were sent to their deaths after the War to the Soviet Union. Why? Mr. Eden of Britain who could not stand Hitler wanted a New World Order where they could work with the more murderous Soviet Union.

    Now we have the cold war. What is not known is that behind the scenes at a higher level, the Americans and the Soviets cooperated with each other exchanging technology, basically the cold war was quite fake. But the Cold war gave the American government (basically the Globalists) to take American Tax payers hard earned money to fund many projects such as Star Wars programme etc All this was not needed, as a gentleman named Keenan had shown in his book that all the Americans needed to do was to make sure Japan, Germany and Britain did not fall to the Soviets, that's it. Thus trillions of American tax payer money would be saved. But obviously the Military Industrial Complex did not like that idea. Both the Soviet and the American governments got the excuse spend their people's hard money on weapons research as well as exchanging some of that technology in the back ground. It is during this period that the precursor to the Internet was already developed. Many of the technology we use today was already invented much earlier by government agencies but released to the people later.

    Then we have the Vietnam war. Now you must realise that the Globalist government of America uses wars not only to change enemy societies but also the domestic society in the West. So during the Vietnam War, the US government using the alphabet agencies such as the CIA kick start the fake opposition hippie movements. The CIA not only drugged the Vietnamese population using drugs from the Golden Triangle but later released them on the home population in the USA and the West. This was all part of the Cultural Marxist plan to change or social engineer American/ Western society. Many institutes like the Travestock Institute were part of this process. For example one of the main hochos of the Cultural Marxism, a Mr. Aderno was closely related to the Beatles movement.

    Several experiments was done on mind control such as MK Ultra, monarch programming, Edward Bernay's works etc Their aim was to destroy traditional Western society and the long term goal is a New World Order. Blacks for example were used as weapons against Whites at the same time the black social order was destroyed further via the media etc

    Now, Nixon going to China was to start a long term (long planned) process to bring about Corporate Communism. Yes that is going to be economic system in the coming New World Order. China is the test tube, where the Worst of Communism and the Worst of Crony Capitalism be brought together as an experiment. As the Soviet Union was going in a direction, the globalist was not happy about (it was becoming more nationalist), they worked to bring the Soviet Union down and thus the Soviet experiment ended only to be continued in China.

    NATO today is the core military arm of the globalists, a precursor to a One World Military Force. That explains why after the Warsaw pact was dismantled, NATO was not or why NATO would interfere in the Middle East which is far away from the Atlantic Ocean.

    The coming Cashless society will finally lead to a moneyless or distribution society, in other words Communism, that is the long term plan.

    My point is, many of the geo political events as well as social movements of the last century (feminism for example) were all planned for a long time and are not accidents. The coming technologies like the internet of things, 5G technology, Cashless society, biometric identification everywhere etc are all designed to help bring about the final aim of the globalists. The final aim is a one world government with Corporate ruled Communism where we, the worker bees will be living in our shitty inner city like ghetto homes eating GM plastic foods and listening to crappy music. That is the future they have planned for us. A inner city ghetto like place under Communism ruled by greedy evil corporates.

    Seamus Padraig , October 20, 2017 at 5:13 pm GMT
    Once again, C.J. nails it!
    Issac , October 21, 2017 at 1:52 am GMT
    "Short some sort of cataclysm, like an asteroid strike or the zombie apocalypse, or, you know, violent revolution, global capitalism will continue to restructure the planet to conform to its ruthless interests."

    That is certainly what the geopolitical establishment is hoping for, but I remain skeptical of their ability to contain what forces they've used to balance the various camps of dissenting proles. They've painted themselves into a corner with non-white identity politics combined with mass immigration. The logical conclusion of where they're going is pogroms and none of the kleptocracy seem bold enough to try and stop this from happening.

    peterAUS , October 21, 2017 at 9:25 pm GMT
    @Issac

    That is certainly what the geopolitical establishment is hoping for, but I remain skeptical of their ability to contain what forces they've used to balance the various camps of dissenting proles.

    Agree.

    Wizard of Oz , October 25, 2017 at 4:32 am GMT
    @Malla

    There must be some evidence for your assertions about the long term plans and aims of globalists and others if there is truth in them. The sort of people you are referring to would often have kept private diaries and certainly written many hundreds or thousands of letters. Can you give any references to such evidence of say 80 to 130 years ago?

    edNels , October 25, 2017 at 4:46 am GMT
    Finally an article that tells as it is! and the first comment is a great one too. It is right there to see for anybody with eyes screwed in right.
    wayfarer , October 25, 2017 at 5:16 am GMT
    "Three Things Cannot Be Long Hidden: the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth." – Buddha
    ThereisaGod , October 25, 2017 at 5:54 am GMT
    Regarding Trump being "a clown" the jury is out:

    http://www.voltairenet.org/article198481.html

    .. puzzling that the writer feels the need to virtue-signal by saying he "doesn't have much time for conspiracy theories" while condemning an absolutely massive conspiracy to present establishment lies as truth.

    That is one of the most depressing demonstrations of the success of the ruling creeps that I have yet come across.

    jilles dykstra , October 25, 2017 at 7:35 am GMT
    Germany is the last EU member state where an anti EU party entered parliament. In the last French elections four out of every ten voters voted on anti EU parties. In Austria the anti EU parties now have a majority. So if I were leading a big corporation, thriving by globalism, what also the EU is, I would be worried.
    animalogic , October 25, 2017 at 7:36 am GMT
    "See, despite what intersectionalists will tell you, capitalism has no interest in racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, or any other despotic values (though it has no problem working with these values when they serve its broader strategic purposes). Capitalism is an economic system, which we have elevated to a social system. It only has one fundamental value, exchange value, which isn't much of a value, at least not in terms of organizing society or maintaining any sort of human culture or reverence for the natural world it exists in. In capitalist society, everything, everyone, every object and sentient being, every concept and human emotion, is worth exactly what the market will bear no more, no less, than its market price. There is no other measure of value."

    This is a great article. The author's identification of "normality" & "extremism" as Capitalism's go-to concepts for social control is spot on accurate. That these terms can mean anything or nothing & are infinitely flexible is central to their power.

    Mr Hopkins is also correct when he points out that Capitalism has essentially NO values (exchange value is a value, but also a mechanism). Again, Capitalism stands for nothing: any form of government is acceptable as long as it bows to neoliberal markets.

    However, the author probably goes to far:

    "Nor are we going to war with China. Russia and China are developed countries, whose economies are entirely dependent on global capitalism, as are Western economies. The economies of every developed nation on the planet are inextricably linked. This is the nature of the global hegemony I've been referring to throughout this essay. Not American hegemony, but global capitalist hegemony. Systemic, supranational hegemony".

    Capitalism has no values: however the Masters of the capitalist system most certainly do: Capitalism is a means, the most thorough, profound means yet invented, for the attainment of that value which has NO exchange value: POWER.

    Capitalism is a supranational hegemony – yet the Elites which control it, who will act as one when presented with any external threats to Capitalism itself, are not unified internally. Indeed, they will engage in cut throat competition, whether considered as individuals or nations or as particular industries.

    US Imperialism is not imaginary, it is not a mere appearance or mirage of Capitalism, supranational or not. US Imperialism in essence empowers certain sets of Capitalists over other sets. No, they may not purposely endanger the System as a whole, however, that still leaves plenty of space for aggressive competition, up to & including war.

    Imperialism is the political corollary to the ultimate economic goal of the individual Capitalist: Monopoly.

    jilles dykstra , October 25, 2017 at 7:36 am GMT
    @Malla

    Read Howard Zinn, and discover that the USA always was the same since Columbus began.

    m___ , October 25, 2017 at 9:00 am GMT
    Psychologically daring (being no minstrel to corporatocracy nor irrelevant activism and other "religions" that endorse the current world global system as the overhead), rationally correct, relevant, core definition of the larger geo-world and deeper "ideological" grounding( in the case of capitalism the quite shallow brute forcing of greed as an incentive, as sterile a society as possible), and adhering to longer timelines of reality of planet earth. Perfectly captures the "essence" of the dynamics of our times.

    The few come to the authors' through-sites by many venue-ways, that's where some of the corporocratic world, by sheer statistics wind up also. Why do they not get the overhand into molding the shallow into anything better in the long haul. No world leader, no intellectual within power circles, even within confined quarters, speaks to the absurdity of the ongoing slugging and maltering of global human?

    The elites of now are too dumb to consider the planet exo-human as a limited resource. Immigration, migration, is the de facto path to "normalization" in the terms of the author. Reducing the world population is not "in" the capitalist ideology. A major weakness, or if one prefers the stake that pinches the concept of capitalism: more instead of quality principles.

    The game changers, the possible game changers: eugenics and how they play out as to the elites ( understanding the genome and manipulating it), artificial intelligence ( defining it first, not the "Elon Musk" definition), and as a far outlier exo-planetary arguments.

    Confront the above with the "unexpected", the not-human engineered possible events (astroids and the like, secondary effects of human induced toxicity, others), and the chances to get to the author's "dollar" and what it by then might mean is indeed tiny.

    As to the content, one of the utmost relevant articles, it is "art" to condense such broad a world view into a few words, it requires a deep understanding foremost, left to wonder what can be grasped by most reading above. Some-one try the numbers?, "big data" anyone, they might turn out in favor of what the author undoubtedly absorbed as the nucleus of twenty-first thinking, strategy and engineering.

    This kind of thinking and "Harvard" conventionality, what a distance.

    Hans Vogel , October 25, 2017 at 9:24 am GMT
    Great article, spot on. Indeed we are all at the mercy now of a relatively small clique of ruthless criminals who are served by armies of desensitized, stupid mercenaries: MBAs, politicians, thugs, college professors, "whorenalists", etc. I am afraid that the best answer to the current and future dystopia is what the Germans call "innere Emigration," to psychologically detach oneself from the contemporary world.

    Thus, the only way out of this hellhole is through reading and thinking, which every self-respecting individual should engage in. Shun most contemporary "literature" and instead turn to the classics of European culture: there you will find all you need.

    For an earlier and ever so pertinent analysis of the contemporary desert, I can heartily recommend Umberto Galimberti's I vizi capitali e i nuovi vizi (Milan, 2003).

    m___ , October 25, 2017 at 9:28 am GMT
    @Malla

    And yes, another verbally strong expression of the in your face truth, though for so few to grasp. The author again has a deep understanding, if one prefers, it points to the venueway of coming to terms, the empirical pathway as to the understanding.

    "Plasticky" society is my preferred term for designating the aberrance that most (within the elites), the rest who cares (as an historical truth), do not seem to identify as proper cluelessness in the light of longer timelines. The current global ideology, religion of capitalism-democracy is the equivalent of opportunistic naval staring of the elites. They are not aware that suffocation will irreversibly affect oneself. Not enough air is the equivalent of no air in the end.

    jacques sheete , October 25, 2017 at 11:12 am GMT

    The negligible American neo-Nazi subculture has been blown up into a biblical Behemoth inexorably slouching its way towards the White House to officially launch the Trumpian Reich.

    While the above is true, I hope most folks understand that the basic concept of controlling people through fear is nothing new. The much vaunted constitution was crammed down our collective throats by the rich scoundrels of the time in the words of more than one anti-federalist through the conjuring of quite a set of threats, all bogus.

    I address my most fervent prayer to prevent our adopting a system destructive to liberty We are told there are dangers, but those dangers are ideal; they cannot be demonstrated.

    - Patrick Henry, Foreign Wars, Civil Wars, and Indian Wars -- Three Bugbears, June 5, 7, and 9, 1788

    https://www.infoplease.com/homework-help/united-states-documents/patrick-henry-foreign-wars-civil-wars-and-indian-wars-three

    Bottom line: Concentrated wealth and power suck.The USA was ruled by a plutoligarchy from its inception, and the material benefits we still enjoy have occurred not because of it but despite it.

    Jake , October 25, 2017 at 11:28 am GMT
    It is the nightmare world of Network come to life.
    jacques sheete , October 25, 2017 at 12:29 pm GMT
    For today's goofy "right wing" big business "conservatives" who think the US won WW2, I got news for you. Monopoly capitalism, complete with increasing centralization of the economy and political forces were given boosts by both world wars.

    It was precisely in reaction to their impending defeat at the hands of the competitive storms of the market tha t business turned, increasingly after the 1900′s, to the federal government for aid and protection. In short, the intervention by the federal government was designed, not to curb big business monopoly for the sake of the public weal, but to create monopolies that big business (as well as trade associations smaller business) had not been able to establish amidst the competitive gales of the free market. Both Left and Right have been persistently misled by the notion that intervention by the government is ipso facto leftish and anti-business. Hence the mythology of the New-Fair Deal-as-Red that is endemic on the Right. Both the big businessmen, led by the Morgan interests, and Professor Kolko almost uniquely in the academic world, have realized that monopoly privilege can only be created by the State and not as a result of free market operations.

    -Murray N. Rothbard, Rothbard Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty, [Originally appeared in Left and Right, Spring 1965, pp. 4-22.]

    https://mises.org/library/left-and-right-prospects-liberty

    jacques sheete , October 25, 2017 at 12:37 pm GMT

    A truly global-hegemonic system like contemporary global capitalism (the first of this kind in human history), technically, has no ideology.

    Please change that to" contemporary state-sponsored global capitalism

    Malla , October 25, 2017 at 1:58 pm GMT
    @Wizard of Oz

    It was all about connecting the dots really. Connecting the dots of too many books I have gobe through and videos I have seen. Too many to list here.

    You can get a lot of info from the book 'Tragedy and Hope' by Carroll Quigley though he avoids mantioning Jews and calls it the Anglo American establishment, Anthony Sutton however I completely disagree about funding of the Third Reich but he does talk a lot about the secret relationship between the USA and the USSR, Revilo Oliver etc.. etc Well you could read the Protocols. Now if you think that the protocols was a forgery, you gotta see this, especially the last part.

    Also check this out

    Also check out what this Wall Street guy realised in his career.

    Also this 911 firefighter, what he found out after some research

    Miro23 , October 25, 2017 at 2:18 pm GMT

    Capitalism is an economic system, which we have elevated to a social system. It only has one fundamental value, exchange value, which isn't much of a value, at least not in terms of organizing society or maintaining any sort of human culture or reverence for the natural world it exists in. In capitalist society, everything, everyone, every object and sentient being, every concept and human emotion, is worth exactly what the market will bear no more, no less, than its market price. There is no other measure of value.

    This looks like the "financialization" of society with Citizens morphing into Consumers.

    And it's worth saying that Citizenship and Consumership are completely different concepts:

    Citizenship – Dictionary.com

    1. – the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen.

    2. – the character of an individual viewed as a member of society;behavior in terms of the duties, obligations, and functions of a citizen:

    an award for good citizenship.

    The Consumer – Dictionary.com

    1. a person or thing that consumes.

    2. Economics. a person or organization that uses a commodity or service.

    A good citizen can then define themselves in a rather non-selfish, non-financial way as for example, someone who respects others, contributes to local decisions (politically active), gains respect through work and ethical standards etc.

    A good consumer on the other hand, seems to be more a self-idea, essentially someone who buys and consumes a lot (financial idea), has little political interest – and probably defines themselves (and others) by how they spend money and what they own.

    It's clear that US, and global capitalism, prefers active consumers over active citizens, and maybe it explains why the US has such a worthless and dysfunctional political process.

    jacques sheete , October 25, 2017 at 2:21 pm GMT

    It was all about connecting the dots really.

    Some folks are completely unable to connect the dots even when spoon fed the evidence. You'll note that some, in risible displays of quasi-intellectual arrogance, make virtually impossible demands for proof, none of which they'll ever accept. Rather, they flock to self aggrandizing mythology like flies to fresh sewage which the plutoligarchy produces nearly infinitely.

    Your observations appear pretty accurate and self justifying I'd say.

    daniel le mouche , October 25, 2017 at 2:23 pm GMT
    @Wizard of Oz

    I can, Wiz.

    Look up the film director Aaron Russo (recently deceased), discussing how David Rockefeller tried to bring him over to the dark side. Rockefeller discussed for example the women's movement, its engineering. Also, there's Aldous Huxley's speech The Ultimate Revolution, on how drugs are the final solution to rabble troubles–we will think we're happy even in the most appalling societal conditions.

    daniel le mouche , October 25, 2017 at 2:49 pm GMT
    @jilles dykstra

    I can only say Beware of Zinn, best friend of Chomsky, endlessly tauted by shysters like Amy Goodman and Counterpunch. Like all liberal gatekeepers, he wouldn't touch 911. I saw him speak not long before he died, and when questioned on this he said, 'That was a long time ago, let's talk about now.'

    This from a professed historian, and it was only 7 years after 911. He seemed to have the same old Jewish agenda, make Europeans look really bad at all times. He was always on message, like the shyster Chomsky. Sincerely probing for the truth was not part of his agenda; his truths were highly selective, and such a colossal event as 911 concerned him not at all, with the ensuing wars, Patriot Acts, bullshit war on Terror, etc etc

    joe webb , October 25, 2017 at 4:17 pm GMT
    Say what???

    " capitalism has no interest in racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, or any other despotic values (though it has no problem working with these values when they serve its broader strategic purposes). Capitalism is an economic system, which we have elevated to a social system."

    This is a typical Left Lie. Capitalism in its present internationalist phase absolutely requires Anti-Racism to lubricate sales uh, internationally and domestically. We are all Equal.

    Then, the ticking-off of the rest of the bad isms, and labeling them 'despotic' is another Leftwing and poetic attack on more or less all of us white folks, who have largely invented Capitalism, from a racialist point of view.

    "Poetic" because it is an emotional appeal, not a rational argument. The other 'despotisms' are not despotic, unless you claim, like I do that racial personalities are more, or less despotic, with Whites being the least despotic. The Left totalitarian thinks emotional despotism's source is political or statist. It are not. However, Capitalism has been far less despotic than communism, etc.

    Emotional Despotism is part of who Homo Sapiens is, and this emotional despotism is not racially equal. Whites are the least despotic, and have organized law and rules to contain such despotism.

    Systems arise naturally from the Human Condition, like it or not. The attempt here is to sully the Capitalist system, and that is all it is. This article itself is despotic propaganda.

    Arguably, human nature is despotic, and White civilization has attempted to limit our despotic nature.

    This is another story.

    As for elevating capitalism into a 'social system' .this is somewhat true. However, that is not totally bad, as capitalism delivers the goods, which is the first thing, after getting out of bed.

    The second thing, is having a conformable social environment, and that is where racial accord enters.

    People want familiar and trustworthy people around them and that is just the way human nature is genetic similarity, etc.

    Beyond that, the various Leftie complaints-without-end, are also just the way it is. And yes they can be addressed and ameliorated to some degree, but human nature is not a System to be manipulated, even thought the current crop of scientistic lefties talk a good storyline about epigenetics and other Hopes, false of course, like communist planning which makes its first priority, Social Change which is always despotic. Society takes care of itself, especially racial society.

    As Senator Vail said about the 1924 Immigration Act which held the line against Immigration, "if there is going to be any changing being done, we will do it and nobody else." That 'we' was a White we.

    Capitalism must be national. International capital is tyranny.

    Joe Webb

    Wally , Website October 25, 2017 at 4:24 pm GMT
    @jacques sheete

    Bingo.

    Some agendas require the "state sponsored" part to be hidden.

    Wally , Website October 25, 2017 at 4:30 pm GMT
    @Malla

    "How Big Oil Conquered the World"?

    That's called 'taking the bait.'

    US oil companies make about five cents off a single gallon of gasoline, on the other hand US Big Government taxes on a single gallon are around seventy-one cents for US states & rising, the tax is now $1.00 per gallon for CA.

    IOW, greedy US governments make fourteen to twenty times what oil companies make, and it is the oil companies who make & deliver the vital product to the marketplace.

    And that is just in the US. Have a look at Europe's taxes. My, my.

    It's Big Government, not Big Oil.

    jacques sheete , October 25, 2017 at 5:12 pm GMT
    @Wally

    Some agendas require the "state sponsored" part to be hidden.

    That is part of the reason why the constitutional convention was held in secret as well.

    The cunning connivers who ram government down our throats don't like their designs exposed, and it's an old trick which nearly always works.

    Here's Aristophanes on the subject. His play is worth a read. Short and great satire on the politicians of the day.

    SAUSAGE-SELLER

    No, Cleon, little you care for his reigning in Arcadia, it's to pillage and impose on the allies at will that you reckon; y ou wish the war to conceal your rogueries as in a mist, that Demos may see nothing of them, and harassed by cares, may only depend on yourself for his bread. But if ever peace is restored to him, if ever he returns to his lands to comfort himself once more with good cakes, to greet his cherished olives, he will know the blessings you have kept him out of, even though paying him a salary; and, filled with hatred and rage, he will rise, burning with desire to vote against you. You know this only too well; it is for this you rock him to sleep with your lies.

    - Aristophanes, The Knights, 424 BC

    http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/knights.html

    jilles dykstra , October 25, 2017 at 5:18 pm GMT
    @daniel le mouche

    The first loyalty of jews is supposed to be to jews.

    Norman Finkelstein is called a traitor by jews, the Dutch jew Hamburger is called a traitor by Dutch jews, he's the chairman of 'Een ander joodse geluid', best translated by 'another jewish opinion', the organisation criticises Israel.

    Jewish involvement in Sept 11 seems probable, the 'dancing Israelis', the assertion that most jews working in the Twin Towers at the time were either sick or took a day off, the fact that the Towers were jewish property, ready for a costly demolition, much abestos in the buildings, thus the 'terrorist' act brought a great profit.

    Can one expect a jew to expose things like this ?

    On his book, I did not find inconsistencies with literature I already knew.

    The merit of the book is listing many events that affected common people in the USA, and destroying the myth that 'in the USA who is poor has only himself to blame'.

    This nonsense becomes clear even from the diaries of Harold L Ickes, or from Jonathan Raban Bad Land, 1997.

    As for Zinn's criticism of the adored USA constitution, I read that Charles A Beard already in 1919 resigned because he also criticised this constitution.

    jilles dykstra , October 25, 2017 at 5:20 pm GMT
    @Wally

    Indeed, in our countries about half the national income goes to the governments by taxes, this is the reason a country like Denmark is the best country to live in.

    [Oct 25, 2017] The Definitive Demise of the Debunked Dodgy Dossier on The Donald

    Notable quotes:
    "... For Donald Trump, all attempts to gain a foothold in the USSR and then in Russia in 30 years of travel and negotiations failed. Moscow did not have a Trump Tower of its own, although Trump boasted every time that he had met the most important people and was just about to invest hundreds of millions in a project that would undoubtedly be successful. ..."
    "... Trumps' largest business success in Russia was the presentation of a Trump Vodka at the Millionaire Fair 2007 in Moscow. This project was also a cleansing; In 2009 the sale of Trump Vodka was discontinued. ..."
    "... puts his name on stuff ..."
    "... (2) Zhirinovsky Is The Very Last Person Putin Would Use For A Proxy ..."
    "... Such a delicate plan – to reach the election of a President of the US by means of Zhirinovsky – ensures a skeptical smile for every Russian at best. He is already seventy and has been at the head of a party with a misleading name for nearly thirty years. The Liberal Democratic Party is neither liberal nor democratic. If their policies are somehow characterized, then as right-wing populism. Zhirinovsky is known for shrill statements; He threatened, for example, to destroy the US by means of "gravitational weapons". ..."
    "... Why Would Russian Intelligence Agencies Sources Have Talked to Steele? ..."
    "... But the report, published on the BuzzFeed Internet portal, is full of inconsistencies and contradictions. The problem is not even that there are a lot of false facts. Even the assumption that agents of the Russian secret services are discussing the details with a former secretary of a hostile secret service in the midst of a highly secret operation by which a future President of the US is to be discredited appears strange. ..."
    "... Exactly. For the intelligence community and Democrat reliance on Steele's dossier to be plausible, you have to assume 10-foot tall Russkis (1) with incredibly sophisticated strategic, operational, and technical capabilities, who have (2) performed the greatest intelligence feat of the 21st and ..."
    "... Donald Trump went on Howard Stern for, like, decades. The stuff that's right out there for whoever wants to roll those tapes is just as "compromising" as anything in the dodgy dossier, or the "grab her by the pussy" tape, for that matter. As Kowaljow points out, none of it was mortally wounding to Trump; after all, if you're a volatility voter who wants to kick over the table in a rigged game, you don't care about the niceties. ..."
    "... transition ..."
    "... And that's before we get to ObamaCare, financial regulation, gutting or owning the CIA (which Trump needs to do, and fast), trade policy, NATO, China, and a myriad of other stories, all rich with human interest, powerful narratives, and plenty of potential for scandal. Any one of them worthy of A1 coverage, just like the Inaugural crowd size dogpile that's been going on for days. ..."
    "... Instead, the press seems to be reproducing the last gasps of the Clinton campaign, which were all about the evils of Trump, the man. That tactic failed the Clinton campaign, again because volatility voters weren't concerned with the niceties. And the same tactic is failing the press now. ..."
    Jan 23, 2017 | www.nakedcapitalism.com
    by Lambert Strether of Corrente .

    In the midst of the hysteria about Russian interference in the 2016 election - 52% of Democrat voters believe it's definitely or probably true that "Russia tampered with vote tallies" , a view for which there is no evidence whatever, and which is a depressing testimony to the power of propaganda to produce epistemic closure in liberals as well as conservatives - came Buzzfeed's 35-page "dodgy dossier" on Donald Trump, oppo that the researcher, Christopher Steele , peddled during the election proper, but was unable to sell, not even to an easy mark like Jebbie. (There's a useful debunking of Steele's report in the New York Review of Books , of all places.) Remember the piss jokes? So two-weeks ago Amazingly, or not, a two-page summary to Steele's product had been included in a briefing given to Trump (and Obama). A weary Obama was no doubt well accustomed to the intelligence community's little ways, but the briefing must have been quite a revelation to Trump. I mean, Trump is a man who knows shoddy when he sees it, right?

    In any case, a link to the following story in Hamburg's ridiculously sober-sided Die Zeit came over the transom: So schockiert von Trump wie alle anderen ("So shocked by Trump like everyone else"). The reporter is Alexej Kowaljow , a Russian journalist based in Moscow. Before anyone goes "ZOMG! The dude is Russian !", everything Kowaljow writes is based on open sources or common-sense information presumably available to citizens of any nation. The bottom line for me is that if the world is coming to believe that Americans are idiots, it's not necessarily because Americans elected Trump as President.

    I'm going to lay out two claims and two questions from Kowaljow's piece. In each case, I'll quote the conventional, Steele and intelligence community-derived wisdom in our famously free press, and then I'll quote Kowaljow. I think Kowaljow wins each time. Easily. I don't think Google Translate handles irony well, but I sense that Kowaljow is deploying it freely.

    (1) Trump's Supposed Business Dealings in Russia Are Commercial Puffery

    Here's the section on Russia in Time's article on Trump's business dealings; it's representative. I'm going to quote it all so you can savor it. Read it carefully.

    Donald Trump's Many, Many Business Dealings in 1 Map

    Russia

    "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia," Trump tweeted in July, one day before he called on the country to "find" a batch of emails deleted from Hillary Clinton's private server. Nonetheless, Russia's extraordinary meddling in the 2016 U.S. election-a declassified report released by U.S. intelligence agencies in January disclosed that intercepted conversations captured senior Russian officials celebrating Trump's win-as well as Trump's complimentary remarks about Russian President have stirred widespread questions about the President-elect's pursuit of closer ties with Moscow. Several members of Trump's inner circle have business links to Russia, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who consulted for pro-Russia politicians in the Ukraine. Former foreign policy adviser Carter Page worked in Russia and maintains ties there.

    Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's incoming national security adviser, has been a regular guest on Russia's English-language propaganda network, RT , and even dined with Putin at a banquet.

    During the presidential transition, former Georgia Congressman and Trump campaign surrogate Jack Kingston told a gathering of businessmen in Moscow that the President-elect could lift U.S. sanctions.

    According to his own son, Trump has long relied on Russian customers as a source of income. "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets," Donald Trump Jr. told a Manhattan real estate conference in 2008 , according to an account posted on the website of trade publication eTurboNews. "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Back to map .

    Read that again, if you can stand it. Do you see the name of an actual business, owned by Trump? Do you see the name of any businessperson who closed a deal with Trump? Do you, in fact, see any reporting at all? At most, you see commercial puffery by Trump the Younger: "Russians [in Russia?] make up a pretty [qualifier] disproportionate [whatever that means] cross-section [whatever that means] of a lot of [qualifier] our assets."

    Now Kowaljow (via Google Translate, so forgive any solecisms):

    For Donald Trump, all attempts to gain a foothold in the USSR and then in Russia in 30 years of travel and negotiations failed. Moscow did not have a Trump Tower of its own, although Trump boasted every time that he had met the most important people and was just about to invest hundreds of millions in a project that would undoubtedly be successful.

    Trumps' largest business success in Russia was the presentation of a Trump Vodka at the Millionaire Fair 2007 in Moscow. This project was also a cleansing; In 2009 the sale of Trump Vodka was discontinued.

    Because think about it: Trump puts his name on stuff . Towers in Manhattan, hotels, casinos, golf courses, steaks. Anything in Russia with Trump's name on it? Besides the failed vodka venture? No? Case closed, then.

    (2) Zhirinovsky Is The Very Last Person Putin Would Use For A Proxy

    From The Hill's summary of Russian "interference" in the 2016 election:

    Five reasons intel community believes Russia interfered in election

    The attacks dovetailed with other Russian disinformation campaigns

    The report covers more than just the hacking effort. It also contains a detailed list account of information warfare against the United States from Russia through other means.

    Political party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who the report lists as a "pro-Kremlin proxy," said before the election that, if Trump won, Russia would 'drink champagne' to celebrate their new ability to advance in Syria and Ukraine.

    Now Kowaljow:

    The report of the American intelligence services on the Russian interference in the US elections, published at the beginning of January, was notoriously neglected by Russians, because the name of Vladimir Zhirinovsky was mentioned among the "propaganda activities of Russia", which had announced that in the event of an election victory of Trump champagne to want to drink.

    Such a delicate plan – to reach the election of a President of the US by means of Zhirinovsky – ensures a skeptical smile for every Russian at best. He is already seventy and has been at the head of a party with a misleading name for nearly thirty years. The Liberal Democratic Party is neither liberal nor democratic. If their policies are somehow characterized, then as right-wing populism. Zhirinovsky is known for shrill statements; He threatened, for example, to destroy the US by means of "gravitational weapons".

    If, therefore, the Kremlin had indeed had the treacherous plan of helping Trump to power, it would scarcely have been made known about Zhirinovsky.

    The American equivalent would be. Give me a moment to think of an American politician who's both so delusional and such a laughingstock that no American President could possibly consider using them as a proxy in a devilishly complex informational warfare campaign Sara Palin? Anthony Weiner? Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Na ga happen.

    And now to the two questions.

    (3) Why Would Russian Intelligence Agencies Sources Have Talked to Steele?

    Kowaljow:

    But the report, published on the BuzzFeed Internet portal, is full of inconsistencies and contradictions. The problem is not even that there are a lot of false facts. Even the assumption that agents of the Russian secret services are discussing the details with a former secretary of a hostile secret service in the midst of a highly secret operation by which a future President of the US is to be discredited appears strange.

    Exactly. For the intelligence community and Democrat reliance on Steele's dossier to be plausible, you have to assume 10-foot tall Russkis (1) with incredibly sophisticated strategic, operational, and technical capabilities, who have (2) performed the greatest intelligence feat of the 21st and 20th centuries, suborning the President of the United States, and whose intelligence agencies are (3) leakly like a sieve. Does that make sense? (Of course, the devilish Russkis could have fed Steele bad data, knowing he'd then feed it to the American intelligence agencies, who would lap it up, but that's another narrative.)

    (4) How Do You Compromise the Uncompromisable?

    Funny how suddenly the word kompromat was everywhere, wasn't it? So sophisticated. Everybody loves to learn a new word! Regarding the "Golden Showers" - more sophistication! - Kowaljow writes:

    But even if such a compromise should exist, what sense should it have, since the most piquant details have long been publicly discussed in public, and had no effect on the votes of the elected president? Like all the other scandals trumps, which passed through the election campaign, they also remained unresolved, including those who were concerned about sex.

    This also includes what is known as a compromise, compromising material, that is, video shots of the unsightly nature, which can destroy both the political career and the life of a person. The word Kompromat shines today – as in the past Perestroika – in all headlines; It was not invented in Russia, of course. But in Russia in the Yeltsin era, when the great clans in the power gave bitter fights and intensively used the media, works of this kind have ended more than just a brilliant career. General Prosecutor Jurij Skuratov was dismissed after a video had been shown in the country-wide television channels: There, a person "who looks like the prosecutor's office" had sex with two prostitutes.

    Donald Trump went on Howard Stern for, like, decades. The stuff that's right out there for whoever wants to roll those tapes is just as "compromising" as anything in the dodgy dossier, or the "grab her by the pussy" tape, for that matter. As Kowaljow points out, none of it was mortally wounding to Trump; after all, if you're a volatility voter who wants to kick over the table in a rigged game, you don't care about the niceties.

    Conclusion

    It would be nice, wouldn't it, if our famously free press was actually covering the Trump transition , instead of acting like their newsrooms are mountain redoubts for an irrendentist Clinton campaign. It would be nice, for example, to know:

    1. The content and impact of Trump's Executive Orders.
    2. Ditto, regulations.
    3. Personnel decisions below the Cabinet level. Who are the Flexians?
    4. Obama policies that will remain in place, because both party establishments support them. Charters, for example.
    5. Republican inroads in Silicon Valley.
    6. The future of the IRS, since Republicans have an axe to grind with it.
    7. Mismatch between State expectations for infrastructure and Trump's implementation

    And that's before we get to ObamaCare, financial regulation, gutting or owning the CIA (which Trump needs to do, and fast), trade policy, NATO, China, and a myriad of other stories, all rich with human interest, powerful narratives, and plenty of potential for scandal. Any one of them worthy of A1 coverage, just like the Inaugural crowd size dogpile that's been going on for days.

    Instead, the press seems to be reproducing the last gasps of the Clinton campaign, which were all about the evils of Trump, the man. That tactic failed the Clinton campaign, again because volatility voters weren't concerned with the niceties. And the same tactic is failing the press now. Failing unless, of course, you're the sort of sleaze merchant who downsizes the newsroom because, hey, it's all about the clicks.

    [Oct 25, 2017] Ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele in hiding after Trump dossier

    Notable quotes:
    "... BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said Mr Steele had previously been an intelligence officer - rather than agent - in MI6, who would have run a team of agents as an intelligence gatherer. ..."
    "... Intelligence agencies considered the claims relevant enough to brief both Mr Trump and President Obama last week. ..."
    "... But the allegations have not been independently substantiated or verified and some details have been challenged as incorrect by those who are mentioned. ..."
    "... Mr Trump himself was briefed about the existence of the allegations by the US intelligence community last week but has since described them as fake news, accusing the US intelligence services of leaking the dossier. ..."
    Jan 12, 2017 | www.bbc.com

    An ex-MI6 officer who is believed to have prepared memos claiming Russia has compromising material on US President-elect Donald Trump is now in hiding, the BBC understands.

    Christopher Steele, who runs a London-based intelligence firm, is believed to have left his home this week.

    The memos contain unsubstantiated claims that Russian security officials have compromising material on Mr Trump.

    The US president-elect said the claims were "fake news" and "phoney stuff".

    Mr Steele has been widely named as the author of a series of memos - which have been published as a dossier in some US media - containing extensive allegations about Mr Trump's personal life and his campaign's relationship with the Russian state.

    ... ... ...

    BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said Mr Steele had previously been an intelligence officer - rather than agent - in MI6, who would have run a team of agents as an intelligence gatherer.

    However, as Mr Steele was now working in the private sector, our correspondent said, there was "probably a fair bit of money involved" in the commissioning of the reports.

    He said there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations and it was still possible the dossier had been based on what "people had said" about Mr Trump "without any proof".

    Donald J. Tump Twit

    @realDonaldTrump

    James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts. Too bad!

    ... ... ...

    Obama briefing

    The 35-page dossier on Mr Trump - which is believed to have been commissioned initially by Republicans opposed to Mr Trump - has been circulating in Washington for some time.

    Media organisations, uncertain of its credibility, initially held back from publication. However, the entire series of reports has now been posted online, with Mr Steele named as the author.

    Intelligence agencies considered the claims relevant enough to brief both Mr Trump and President Obama last week.

    But the allegations have not been independently substantiated or verified and some details have been challenged as incorrect by those who are mentioned.

    Mr Trump himself was briefed about the existence of the allegations by the US intelligence community last week but has since described them as fake news, accusing the US intelligence services of leaking the dossier.

    [Oct 25, 2017] Former MI6 agent behind Trump dossier returns to work by Luke Harding and Nick Hopkins

    So guardian clearly supports Steele dossier. Nice... So the guy clearly tried to influence the US election and Guardian neoliberal honchos and their Russophobic presstitutes (like Luke Harding) are OK with it. They just complain about Russian influence. British elite hypocrisy in action...
    Notable quotes:
    "... Published in January by BuzzFeed , the dossier suggested that Donald Trump's team had colluded with Russian intelligence before the US election to sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Citing unidentified sources, it said Trump had been "compromised" by Russia's FSB spy agency during a trip to Moscow in 2013. ..."
    "... Trump dismissed the dossier as fake news and said Steele was a "failed spy". Vladimir Putin also rejected the dossier. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia did not collect kompromat – compromising material – on Trump or anyone else. ..."
    "... As head of MI6's Russia desk, Steele led the inquiry into Litvinenko's polonium poisoning, quickly concluding that this was a Russian state plot. He did not meet Litvinenko and was not his case officer, friends said. ..."
    Mar 07, 2017 | www.theguardian.com

    Christopher Steele speaks publicly for first time since the file was revealed and thanks supporters for 'kind messages'

    The former MI6 agent behind the controversial Trump dossier has returned to work, nearly two months after its publication caused an international scandal and furious denials from Washington and Moscow.

    Christopher Steele posed for a photograph outside the office of his business intelligence company Orbis in Victoria, London on Tuesday. Speaking for the first time since his dossier was revealed , Steele said he had received messages of support.

    "I'm now going to be focusing my efforts on supporting the broader interests of our company here," he told the Press Association. "I'd like to say a warm thank you to everyone who sent me kind messages and support over the last few weeks."

    Steele, who left British intelligence in 2009 and co-founded Orbis with an MI6 colleague, said he would not comment substantively on the contents of the dossier: "Just to add, I won't be making any further statements or comments at this time."

    Published in January by BuzzFeed , the dossier suggested that Donald Trump's team had colluded with Russian intelligence before the US election to sabotage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Citing unidentified sources, it said Trump had been "compromised" by Russia's FSB spy agency during a trip to Moscow in 2013.

    It alleged that Trump was secretly videoed with Russian prostitutes in a suite in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow. The prostitutes allegedly urinated on the bed used by Barack Obama during a presidential visit.

    Trump dismissed the dossier as fake news and said Steele was a "failed spy". Vladimir Putin also rejected the dossier. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia did not collect kompromat – compromising material – on Trump or anyone else.

    Steele's friends say he has been keen to go back to work for some weeks. They insist he has not been in hiding but has been keeping a low profile to avoid paparazzi who have been camped outside his family home in Surrey.

    Several of the lurid stories about him that have appeared in the press have been wrong, said friends. The stories include claims that Steele met Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian dissident who was murdered in 2006 with a radioactive cup of tea, probably on Putin's orders .

    As head of MI6's Russia desk, Steele led the inquiry into Litvinenko's polonium poisoning, quickly concluding that this was a Russian state plot. He did not meet Litvinenko and was not his case officer, friends said.

    [Oct 25, 2017] Raqqa Destroyed to Liberate It by Eric Margolis

    Notable quotes:
    "... IS appears to have been shaped by western intelligence in an effort to duplicate its success with the Afghan mujahidin in the mid 1980's that helped defeat the Soviet Union. CIA, Pakistani and Saudi intelligence, and Britain's MI-6 recruited some 100,000 volunteers from across the Muslim world to wage jihad in Afghanistan. I observed this brilliant success first hand from the ranks of the mujahidin. ..."
    "... The western powers, led by the US, sought to emulate this success in Syria by unleashing armies of mercenaries, disaffected, unemployed youth, and religious primitives against the independent-minded regime of President Bashar Assad. The plan nearly worked – at least until Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement intervened and reversed the tide of battle. ..."
    "... The CIA cobbled together two small armies, one of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and the other of Iraqi mercenaries. Both were directed, armed, equipped and financed by Washington. Shades of the British Empire's native troops under white officers. The Kurds and Iraqi Arabs are now in a major confrontation over the Kirkuk oil-rich region. ..."
    "... Raqqa and Mosul were so close to western forces that they were merely a taxi ride away. But it took three years and much token bombing of the desert before a decisive move was made against IS. Once the US-led campaign against Damascus failed, the crazies of IS were no longer of any use so they were marked for death. ..."
    "... The Islamic State bogeyman was very useful for the western powers. It justified deeper military involvement in the Mideast, higher arms budgets, scared people into voting for rightwing parties, and gave police more powers. By contrast, these faux Muslims brought misery, fear and shame on the Islamic world. We are very well rid of them. And it's about time. ..."
    Oct 25, 2017 | www.unz.com

    The so-called Islamic State organization was primarily a bogeyman encouraged by the western powers. I've been saying this for the last four years.

    I asserted, as a former soldier and war correspondent, that IS would collapse like a wet paper bag if proper western ground forces attacked their strongholds in Syria and Iraq. This week, the western powers and their local satraps finally took action and stormed the last IS stronghold at Raqqa. To no surprise, IS put up almost no resistance and ran for its miserable life.

    The much-dreaded IS was never more than a bunch of young hooligans and religious fanatics who were as militarily effective as the medieval Children's Crusade.

    In the west, IS was blown up by media and governments into a giant monster that was coming to cut the throats of honest folk in the suburbs.

    IS did stage some very bloody and grisly attacks – that's what put it on the map. But none of them posed any mortal threat or really endangered our national security. In fact, the primary target of IS attacks has been Shia Muslims in the Mideast.

    Many of the IS attacks in North America and Europe were done by mentally deranged individuals or were initiated by under-cover government provocateurs, such as the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center. IS was notorious for falsely taking credit for attacks it did not commit.

    Other 'lone wolf' attacks were made by Mideasterners driven to revenge after watching the destruction by the US and its allies of substantial parts of their region. Think Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, and the murderous brutality of Egypt's-US backed regime.

    IS appears to have been shaped by western intelligence in an effort to duplicate its success with the Afghan mujahidin in the mid 1980's that helped defeat the Soviet Union. CIA, Pakistani and Saudi intelligence, and Britain's MI-6 recruited some 100,000 volunteers from across the Muslim world to wage jihad in Afghanistan. I observed this brilliant success first hand from the ranks of the mujahidin.

    The western powers, led by the US, sought to emulate this success in Syria by unleashing armies of mercenaries, disaffected, unemployed youth, and religious primitives against the independent-minded regime of President Bashar Assad. The plan nearly worked – at least until Russia, Iran, and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement intervened and reversed the tide of battle.

    The canard promoted in the west that IS was a dire military threat was always a big joke. I said so on one TV program and was promptly banned from the station. I'm also the miscreant who insisted that Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction and was consequently blacklisted by a major cable TV news network.

    The CIA cobbled together two small armies, one of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and the other of Iraqi mercenaries. Both were directed, armed, equipped and financed by Washington. Shades of the British Empire's native troops under white officers. The Kurds and Iraqi Arabs are now in a major confrontation over the Kirkuk oil-rich region.

    Raqqa and Mosul were so close to western forces that they were merely a taxi ride away. But it took three years and much token bombing of the desert before a decisive move was made against IS. Once the US-led campaign against Damascus failed, the crazies of IS were no longer of any use so they were marked for death.

    Like Fallujah in Iraq and Mosul, Raqqa was flattened by US air power, a stark message to those who would defy the American Raj. The ruins of Raqqa, the IS capital, were occupied by US-led forces. This historic déjà vu recalled the dramatic defeat by British Imperial forces at Omdurman in September 1898 of Sudan's Khalifa and his Islamic dervish army.

    The remnants of IS had melted into the Euphrates Valley and the desert. They will now return to being an irksome guerilla group with very little combat power. Anti-western IS supporters still cluster in Europe's urban ghettos and will cause occasional mayhem. A few high-profile attacks on civilians may be expected to show that IS is still alive. But none of this is likely to influence the course of events. IS's rival, al-Qaida, is likely to resurface and lead attacks to drive the west out of the Mideast.

    The Islamic State bogeyman was very useful for the western powers. It justified deeper military involvement in the Mideast, higher arms budgets, scared people into voting for rightwing parties, and gave police more powers. By contrast, these faux Muslims brought misery, fear and shame on the Islamic world. We are very well rid of them. And it's about time. (Republished from EricMargolis.com by permission of author or representative)

    Virgile , October 22, 2017 at 11:25 pm GMT

    Whahhabi IS lost because Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi stopped financing them for fear of been exposed by Qatar that has been financing Al Nusra and its moslem brotherhood ideology.
    Without sponsors ISIS cannot survive as a military entity.
    L.K , October 24, 2017 at 3:38 am GMT
    E. Margolis: "The so-called Islamic State organization was primarily a bogeyman encouraged by the western powers. I've been saying this for the last four years."

    True. The same for the Nusra front & other mercenary/Salafi groups.

    E. Margolis: "I asserted, as a former soldier and war correspondent, that IS would collapse like a wet paper bag if proper western ground forces attacked their strongholds in Syria and Iraq. This week, the western powers and their local satraps finally took action and stormed the last IS stronghold at Raqqa. To no surprise, IS put up almost no resistance and ran for its miserable life."

    This part is nonsense. IS was quite stronger than the insurgents the ZUSA faced in post 2003 Iraq, yet it took it several years, tens of thousands of casualties, gazillions of dollars, including the $ to bribe the insurgents and 'win' the war, sort of

    In Iraq, IS woulda advanced much further, possibly even taking the capital, if it were not for IRAN.
    MoA: " Iran with its Revolutionary Guards jumped in and hastily trained and equipped volunteers into Popular Mobilization Units."

    It was the PMUs that pushed IS back, preventing a collapse, not the ZUSA trained Iraqi army nor the kurds. The Peshmerga suffered defeats too, this was even in some major msm outlets
    The PMUs helped them as well.
    Nor was anything 'easy'. The battle of Mosul lasted for over 9 months & ISIS inflicted heavy casualties.

    In Syria, the people who have been doing the heavy lifting against ISIS, Nusra and others have been the Syrian military backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

    The US Kurd proxy forces had no easy time in Raqqa, the battle lasted for over 4 months, so ISIS did not run. It would have been much worse if ISIS had not kept diverting troops and heavy weapons to fight the Syrian army in other fronts, notably but not exclusively, at Deir Ezzor, which they were still trying to capture despite their so called capital being under attack.

    In other areas , enough evidence has surfaced showing US-Kurd-Isis collusion, as in ISIS allowing US-kurdish proxy forces to take Syrian oil fields while always putting up a fight against the SAA.

    ZUSA is trying to steal credit for victory over ISIS when it deserves NONE.

    MEexpert , October 24, 2017 at 5:45 am GMT
    @L.K

    It was Grand Ayatullah Syed Ali AL-Sistani's fatwa that mobilized the volunteer army, (PMU) as you call it. Once they were trained by the Iran's Revolutionary Guards they were a formidable force. Reminds me of the Viet Cong. Just like the VCs these volunteers were fighting for a cause, to defend their country against the foreign invaders. ISIS was fighting for the money. That is why the US wants those volunteers to "leave Iraq" as Tillerson put it. He doesn't know that all those volunteers were mostly Iraqis.

    ZUSA is trying to steal credit for victory over ISIS when it deserves NONE.

    Couldn't agree more except that the collusion was between US-Kurds-Israel and ISIS, just as it is in Syria.

    ZUSA's goal now is to have a Kurdish mini state in Syria after failing to get the same in Iraq. They want a base near Iran to launch any possible future attack on that country.

    Ernie , October 25, 2017 at 4:35 am GMT
    Great article .. but ISIS became an actual threat to western imperialism when they went off script and declared a caliphate. Their seizing of the Sunni triangle was not trivial.
    mr meener , October 25, 2017 at 1:41 pm GMT
    @whyamihere

    you are an idiot and puking out Israeli propaganda. ISIS is israels private army who ONLY attacked talmudias enemies NEVER attacked israel even verbally

    [Oct 24, 2017] Sic Semper Tyrannis US policy in Islamdom is a chaos. Part 1

    Notable quotes:
    "... The Israelis follow a consistent pattern of policy of disrupting surrounding states with a view to reducing them to pastoral rug bazaars. ..."
    "... DJT's decision to stop certifying Iranian compliance with JCPOA is merely a reflection of Zionist influence over the president and the hyper-belligerent attitudes of Mattis, and McMaster. ..."
    Oct 21, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com

    The accompanying map does not include India as a country deeply affected by Islam and Islamicate civilization. IMO that is a defect. The terms "Islam," Islamdom," and "Islamicate Civilization." were clarified by the great historian of Islam, Marshell Hodgson.

    This is my editorial opinion.

    ------------

    1. Syria. The US persists in its nonsensical policy of regime change in Syria. McGurk, the State Department lead in Syrian affairs is evidently one of the leaders of this foolishness. The Syrian Government's forces have regained control of most of the country with the help of their Russian, Iranian, Hizbullah, Palestinian and Christian militia allies. In spite of this the US MSM studiously ignores the efforts of the SAA and allies (R+6). They are simply never mentioned. They have been edited out of the US narrative. Whether DJT has a side agreement with Putin over Syria seems not to affect the MSM narrative at all. McGurk's statement that the Syrian government would not be allowed into Raqqa City is an announcement of an extra-legal interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign UN member state. Do we intend to hold Raqqa forever and to what purpose?
    2. Iraq. In Iraq we have for the moment abandoned the interests of the KRG in its evident desire for independence from Baghdad. We have done this in spite of outrage expressed by our foreign policy mentors in Israel. The Israelis are, of course, the chief sponsors of Kurdish statehood. The Israelis follow a consistent pattern of policy of disrupting surrounding states with a view to reducing them to pastoral rug bazaars. Our loyalty to the Baghdad government is amusing because it is virtually inevitable that the Shia run government of Iraq will eventually align itself with Iran and ask the US to withdraw from the country.
    3. Iran . DJT's decision to stop certifying Iranian compliance with JCPOA is merely a reflection of Zionist influence over the president and the hyper-belligerent attitudes of Mattis, and McMaster. They are revealed as more neocon than the organizational neocons and largely in league with them. US abandonment of JCPOA will lead to direct policy conflicts with major European allies and the loss of business for American companies like Boeing. In the end this direction may lead to a US-Iran War as a culmination of Israeli machinations in Washington.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Hodgson

    [Oct 22, 2017] Trump and His 'Beautiful' Weapons by William Blum

    Notable quotes:
    "... It's easy to understand why some of President Trump's senior advisers privately consider him a "moron," with a limited vocabulary and stunning lack of normal human empathy, as William Blum explains at Anti-Empire Report. ..."
    "... Capturing the wisdom and the beauty of Donald J. Trump in just one statement escaping from his charming mouth: "Our military has never been stronger. Each day, new equipment is delivered; new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world – the best anywhere in the world, by far." [Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2017] ..."
    "... And in case you still don't fully appreciate that, notice that he specifies that our equipment is the best in the world BY FAR! That means that no other country is even close! Just imagine! ..."
    "... Lucky for the man his seeming incapacity for moral or intellectual embarrassment. He's twice blessed. His fans like the idea that their president is no smarter than they are. This may well serve to get the man re-elected, as it did with George W. Bush. ..."
    "... Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II ..."
    "... Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower ..."
    Oct 21, 2017 | consortiumnews.com

    It's easy to understand why some of President Trump's senior advisers privately consider him a "moron," with a limited vocabulary and stunning lack of normal human empathy, as William Blum explains at Anti-Empire Report.

    Capturing the wisdom and the beauty of Donald J. Trump in just one statement escaping from his charming mouth: "Our military has never been stronger. Each day, new equipment is delivered; new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world – the best anywhere in the world, by far." [Washington Post, Sept. 8, 2017]

    Here the man thinks that everyone will be impressed that the American military has never been stronger. And that those who, for some unimaginable reason, are not impressed with that will at least be impressed that military equipment is being added EACH DAY. Ah yes, it's long been a sore point with most Americans that new military equipment was being added only once a week.

    And if that isn't impressive enough, then surely the fact that the equipment is NEW will win people over. Indeed, the newness is important enough to mention twice. After all, no one likes USED military equipment. And if newness doesn't win everyone's heart, then BEAUTIFUL will definitely do it. Who likes UGLY military equipment? Even the people we slaughter all over the world insist upon good-looking guns and bombs.

    And the best in the world. Of course. That's what makes us all proud to be Americans. And what makes the rest of humanity just aching with jealousy. And in case you don't fully appreciate that, notice that he adds that it's the best ANYWHERE in the world.

    And in case you still don't fully appreciate that, notice that he specifies that our equipment is the best in the world BY FAR! That means that no other country is even close! Just imagine! Makes me choke up.

    Lucky for the man his seeming incapacity for moral or intellectual embarrassment. He's twice blessed. His fans like the idea that their president is no smarter than they are. This may well serve to get the man re-elected, as it did with George W. Bush.

    William Blum is an author, historian, and renowned critic of U.S. foreign policy. He is the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II and Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower , among others. [This article originally appeared at the Anti-Empire Report, https://williamblum.org/ .]

    [Oct 17, 2017] For War Hawks, Iran Deal Dump Is Music to the Ears

    As one commenter aptly said: " 'Moron', as Tillerson would say." and as another noted "Don the Neocon.. We can keep the military in the end-stateless, goal-less, sinkhole known as Afghanistan for decades, STILL subsidize the defense of rich EU and Asian countries, fight the latest "Al Qaeda offshoot" everywhere on the African continent but we can't afford universal healthcare like US welfare baby Israel or about every other developed country, or restore power or drinking water in a US territory."
    Notable quotes:
    "... the question is, who are these people all excited about Iran? Other than politicians who may be working for foreign lobbies? ..."
    "... This is pure lawlessness. We are breaking an agreement and by advocating regime change against a govt that has not attacked us or even threatened us in a serious manner are breaking the U.N. charter. ..."
    "... Screw Trump. I mean really, screw him. He got my vote because I thought he was going to first crush ISIS and then get us out of the Middle East. Instead he's intensifying nearly every aspect of our Middle East entanglements. ..."
    "... Now he's creating a new mess of his own. And this crap he's pulling with Iran is for Saudi Arabia and Israel. America First really? ..."
    "... Of all of the Obama-era foreign policy decisions Trump could pull back, he's hell-bent on crushing one of the only good ones. I'd be shocked if he has even an elementary understanding of the agreement. "Moron", as Tillerson would say. ..."
    "... "Cotton is one of the biggest Israel money guys in the Senate, if not the biggest. Really whopping contributions – "the Swamp" personified. In return for Israel money he has tirelessly pushed the core Israeli policy of hostility to Iran, so much so that it hardly makes sense to think of him as an American senator anymore." ..."
    "... It appears that Trump's strategy is to insult and ruin Ran's economy to the point where he can get Iran to do something that will allow him to declare war against Iran because they attacked us. ..."
    "... And how many countries has Iran invaded in the last 200 years? And how many countries has Israel invaded in the last 80 years? ..."
    "... We will really find out who the Swamp creatures are now. Any congressman or Senator who votes for new sanctions against Iran – a country that poses virtually no threat to the United States – exposes himself as a bought-and-paid-for tool of Saudi Arabia and the jihadist fanatics the Saudis support. ..."
    "... it's less that Trump wants to undo what Obama did and more that he wants to do what Netanyahu wants. ..."
    "... Any notion of American excellence has now been erased. Our country will not soon recover all that Trump has tossed away and as citizens, we cannot absolve ourselves from blame. We have elected the most odious leader in our history and have allowed (mostly) a Republican Party to participate in government without having made a single contribution to the welfare of the American republic. Cotton is not alone in his folly that dismisses all real national interest. Like others, there have been many times I have despaired at the state of affairs in our Country, but this is different. Trump and his vandal allies I believe have inflicted permanent and irreversible damage to our country. Joe F , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:07 pm One follow up to earlier post: with this action, Trump has proven beyond doubt that the Mullah regime in Iran is a far more trustworthy nation than the United States. Well done Donald ..."
    Oct 13, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    Fran Macadam , says: October 13, 2017 at 12:48 am

    Making war in other people's countries is what an American government captured by globalist financial elites is all about. For elites, such wars, paid for by the deplorable ordinary Americans they loathe, have no downside and carry no risk to them. Lose-lose for the American public is win-win for them, they cannot lose, especially since wars that can't be won will never end, perfect profit streams.
    80 Percent Polyester , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:39 am
    "Cotton was among the fiercest and loudest opponents of the agreement before it was made, and he has continued to look for ways to sabotage it."

    Cotton is one of the biggest Israel money guys in the Senate, if not the biggest. Really whopping contributions – "the Swamp" personified. In return for Israel money he has tirelessly pushed the core Israeli policy of hostility to Iran, so much so that it hardly makes sense to think of him as an American senator anymore.

    He's more like a member of the Netanyahu government who somehow ended up in one of Arkansas's US Senate seats.

    Early To Rise , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:58 am
    Does anyone here know any real Americans who are pushing for this policy against Iran? My family and friends are nearly all real Americans, and not one of them has any interest in ending the deal with Iran. Most of them wish we would get out of the Middle East altogether.

    So the question is, who are these people all excited about Iran? Other than politicians who may be working for foreign lobbies?

    Christian Chuba , says: October 13, 2017 at 7:16 am
    This is pure lawlessness. We are breaking an agreement and by advocating regime change against a govt that has not attacked us or even threatened us in a serious manner are breaking the U.N. charter.

    We are doing this while condemning other countries for not following a 'liberal, rules based world order' (whatever that is, oh, wait, it is following Caesar's decrees). Our Hubris will catch up to us, whether it will be by the Almighty that the Haley's and Cotton's claim to serve or just the law of reciprocity, I don't know. No one is more blind than those corrupted by power.

    John Quincy Adams, "But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force . She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit."

    He was able to see this because we were not yet intoxicated by power.

    Everything Must Go , says: October 13, 2017 at 8:01 am
    Screw Trump. I mean really, screw him. He got my vote because I thought he was going to first crush ISIS and then get us out of the Middle East. Instead he's intensifying nearly every aspect of our Middle East entanglements.

    Now he's creating a new mess of his own. And this crap he's pulling with Iran is for Saudi Arabia and Israel. America First really?

    Frederick Martin , says: October 13, 2017 at 9:38 am
    Of all of the Obama-era foreign policy decisions Trump could pull back, he's hell-bent on crushing one of the only good ones. I'd be shocked if he has even an elementary understanding of the agreement. "Moron", as Tillerson would say.
    Fred Bowman , says: October 13, 2017 at 10:14 am
    What seem to be missing here is anybody talking about Israel nuclear capability. That's the "dirty little secret" that nobody talks about. Imho, as long as Iran is in compliance the deal should. Of course Trump and the Hawks in Congress are going to do everything to scuttle it and bring about a war with Iran which will end up being a World War and will necessitate the US returning to a military draft to fight this war. It will be a sad way to "wake up" America to what is being done militarily in their name. But perhaps when they see their little "Johnny and Jill" marched off to war, they'll see what has been done in these endless, unwinnable wars in the Middle East.
    AR complaint , says: October 13, 2017 at 10:31 am
    [Tom Cotton gets] "Really whopping contributions – "the Swamp" personified."

    He got a $700,000 check from a single Israel donor in 2014. You think anybody in Arkansas not named "Walton" can match that? No sir. Tom Cotton does what Israel tells him to do. Scuttle the Iran deal? No problem.

    It's time that my fellow Arkansans did for Tom Cotton what those upstanding Virginians did for Eric Cantor back in 2014, and for the same reason: we want our government back from corrupt politicians working for foreign interests.

    SDS , says: October 13, 2017 at 11:53 am
    I second EVERYTHING said above by all –
    Steve Waclo , says: October 13, 2017 at 11:53 am
    " the president made clear over the summer, he didn't "believe" Iran was in compliance and would not certify again."

    Wait, what?! What does Trump know that the IAEA has been unable to learn and at the risk of compromising intelligence sources, why has he not shared that knowledge? As with many of the man's "beliefs", such attitudes do not make issues remotely true. We don't need to stir the Iran pot, for goodness sake. Has not this man kicked enough hornets nests around the world?

    Stephen J. , says: October 13, 2017 at 11:58 am
    I believe the "War Hawks"are leading Trump into another war. Therefore, I asked on: February 4, 2017 Will There Be War With Iran?
    http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2017/02/will-there-be-war-with-iran.html
    Steve in Ohio , says: October 13, 2017 at 12:35 pm
    "Cotton is one of the biggest Israel money guys in the Senate, if not the biggest. Really whopping contributions – "the Swamp" personified. In return for Israel money he has tirelessly pushed the core Israeli policy of hostility to Iran, so much so that it hardly makes sense to think of him as an American senator anymore."

    Cotton is wrong on this issue, but he's hardly a Swamp politico. He understands the dangers of mass immigration and looks likely to replace Jeff Sessions as the leading immigration hawk in the Senate. Unfortunately, I suspect he has presidential ambitions and being pro Israel is a must in GOP primaries.

    Rand Paul, on the other hand, like his dad, is good on foreign policy, but doesn't get the immigration issue. People like me who want a non interventionist FP and low immigration seldom have candidates that believe in both to support. I had high hopes for Trump, but he seems to have too many generals around him telling him the wrong things.

    the times they are a'changing , says: October 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm
    "Cotton is wrong on this issue, but he's hardly a Swamp politico. He understands the dangers of mass immigration and looks likely to replace Jeff Sessions as the leading immigration hawk in the Senate. Unfortunately, I suspect he has presidential ambitions and being pro Israel is a must in GOP primaries. "

    No it's not. It was a litmus test for the old neocon Establishment GOP, and it's gone the way of Eric Cantor. You have to go to New York, DC, or some left coastal city to find anyone who gives a goddamn about it, and those places don't vote Republican anyway.

    Politicians who take the Israel dollar care about it a lot, naturally. And Cotton's near the top of the list.

    jk , says: October 13, 2017 at 2:04 pm
    Don the Neocon.. We can keep the military in the end-stateless, goal-less, sinkhole known as Afghanistan for decades, STILL subsidize the defense of rich EU and Asian countries, fight the latest "Al qaeda offshoot" everywhere on the African continent but we can't afford universal healthcare like US welfare baby Israel or about every other developed country, or restore power or drinking water in a US territory.

    "NO KIN IN THE GAME": STUDY FINDS MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WITHOUT DRAFT-AGE SONS WERE MORE HAWKISH"

    https://theintercept.com/2017/10/11/congress-war-hawkish-policies-study/

    That explains "lifetime bachelor" Graham's behavior!

    Kent , says: October 13, 2017 at 3:09 pm
    To our neocon friends:

    1. Even though Iran and Iraq are 4 letter words and share the first 3, they are very, very different animals. Iran is an industrial state of 85 million capable of designing and building effective rockets. It is highly unlikely the US can defeat Iran in a conventional war on its own turf.

    2. Even if we did defeat them, there is nobody there yearning for American style pseudo-democracy. While they are not perfectly happy with their own government, they'll be dammed if they're going to accept one from us. So you'd have to put millions of American troops in harms way against the civilian population essentially forever.

    And a note on the President. I don't believe he knows or cares a thing about Iran or their capabilities. What he does know, after watching Fox News for the last 8 years is: Obama bad. So the only reason, I'm certain, that Trump cares about this is because it was an Obama initiative.

    Robert Charron , says: October 13, 2017 at 3:34 pm
    It appears that Trump's strategy is to insult and ruin Ran's economy to the point where he can get Iran to do something that will allow him to declare war against Iran because they attacked us.

    And how many countries has Iran invaded in the last 200 years? And how many countries has Israel invaded in the last 80 years?

    As I recall we made a regime change in the Iranian government when we had the CIA along with the English intelligence by replacing the elected Prime Minister of Iran with the despotic, tyrannical Shah.

    As an American, Trump has desecrated our flag with his flat out lies, not the NFL athletes who simps knelt during the National Anthem.

    simon94022 , says: October 13, 2017 at 3:54 pm
    We will really find out who the Swamp creatures are now. Any congressman or Senator who votes for new sanctions against Iran – a country that poses virtually no threat to the United States – exposes himself as a bought-and-paid-for tool of Saudi Arabia and the jihadist fanatics the Saudis support.

    Let them be counted!

    Ollie , says: October 13, 2017 at 4:26 pm
    No president in history has been more feckless and reckless than Trump. The danger demands that the 25th amendment be asserted.
    Why Does The Heathen Rage? , says: October 13, 2017 at 4:49 pm
    "So the only reason, I'm certain, that Trump cares about this is because it was an Obama initiative."

    I've heard this before, but if it were true than why is Trump helping the Saudis wreck and starve Yemen? That was an Obama initiative too. That's why I now think that it's not really the Obama connection so much as the Netanyahu connection that drives Trump. In other words, it's less that Trump wants to undo what Obama did and more that he wants to do what Netanyahu wants.

    Joe F , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:05 pm
    Any notion of American excellence has now been erased. Our country will not soon recover all that Trump has tossed away and as citizens, we cannot absolve ourselves from blame. We have elected the most odious leader in our history and have allowed (mostly) a Republican Party to participate in government without having made a single contribution to the welfare of the American republic.

    Cotton is not alone in his folly that dismisses all real national interest. Like others, there have been many times I have despaired at the state of affairs in our Country, but this is different. Trump and his vandal allies I believe have inflicted permanent and irreversible damage to our country.

    Joe F , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:07 pm
    One follow up to earlier post: with this action, Trump has proven beyond doubt that the Mullah regime in Iran is a far more trustworthy nation than the United States. Well done Donald
    Liam , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:21 pm
    Regarding the 25th amendment option: how far down the line of succession must one go to find someone who has solid, bona fide cred to stop this inanity?
    picture window , says: October 13, 2017 at 5:45 pm
    The Economist today opines that Xi Jinping has more clout than Donald Trump.

    And I read on TAC that Trump is p***ing away our wealth and power doing favors for Israel and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, like scuttling the Iran deal and picking fights with the Iranian government. And I conclude that the reason that the Economist may be right about Xi Jinping is because Trump is doing what I read about in TAC, wasting our time, blood, money, and focus on appeasing a bunch of goddamn foreigners in the form of the Israel and Saudi lobbies.

    Pretty damn grim.

    [Oct 16, 2017] Trump Looks Set to Start Blowing Up the Iran Deal by Eli Clifton

    Notable quotes:
    "... Despite the potential pitfalls of Cotton and Netanyahu's plan, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley embraced the approach. Haley, a possible replacement for embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, tweeted yesterday, "[Sen. Tom Cotton] has clear understanding of the Iranian regime & flaws in the nuclear deal. His [CFR] speech is worth reading." ..."
    "... The United States must cease all appeasement, conciliation, and concessions towards Iran, starting with the sham nuclear negotiations. Certain voices call for congressional restraint, urging Congress not to act now lest Iran walk away from the negotiating table, undermining the fabled yet always absent moderates in Iran. But, the end of these negotiations isn't an unintended consequence of Congressional action, it is very much an intended consequence. A feature, not a bug, so to speak." ..."
    "... Any agreement that advances our interests must by necessity compromise Iran's -- doubly so since they are a third-rate power, far from an equal to the United States. The ayatollahs shouldn't be happy with any deal; they should've felt compelled to accept a deal of our choosing lest they face economic devastation and military destruction of their nuclear infrastructure. That Iran welcomes this agreement is both troubling and telling. ..."
    "... Ben Armbruster, writing for LobeLog last week, detailed the ways in which Mark Dubowitz , CEO of the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies , pushes for a so-called "better deal" while explicitly calling for regime change in Tehran. ..."
    "... But perhaps a bigger pressure on Trump to de-certify comes from three of his biggest political donors : Sheldon Adelson , Paul Singer , and Bernard Marcus . All three have funded groups that sought to thwart the negotiations leading to the JCPOA, including Dubowitz's FDD, and have given generously to Trump. ..."
    "... Adelson has also financed Israel's largest circulation daily newspaper, whose support for Netanyahu and his right-wing government earned it the nickname "Bibiton." ..."
    Oct 16, 2017 | fpif.org

    The Post credits Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with this "fix it or nix it" approach to U.S. compliance with the JCPOA. Indeed, Cotton laid out essentially this very strategy in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in which he proposed that the president should decertify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal based on Iran's actions in unrelated areas and toughen key components of the agreement, arguing that the deal fails to serve U.S. national security interests.

    This plan has a low likelihood of success because Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif says that the JCPOA will not be renegotiated and European governments have urged Trump to stick with the pact.

    Despite the potential pitfalls of Cotton and Netanyahu's plan, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley embraced the approach. Haley, a possible replacement for embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, tweeted yesterday, "[Sen. Tom Cotton] has clear understanding of the Iranian regime & flaws in the nuclear deal. His [CFR] speech is worth reading."

    But Cotton has been clear that renegotiating the nuclear deal isn't his actual intention. In 2015, he made no secret of his desire to blow up diplomacy with Iran, saying :

    The United States must cease all appeasement, conciliation, and concessions towards Iran, starting with the sham nuclear negotiations. Certain voices call for congressional restraint, urging Congress not to act now lest Iran walk away from the negotiating table, undermining the fabled yet always absent moderates in Iran. But, the end of these negotiations isn't an unintended consequence of Congressional action, it is very much an intended consequence. A feature, not a bug, so to speak."

    Later that same year, Cotton explained his terms for any agreement with Iran, qualities that more closely resemble a surrender document than anything the Iranians would agree to in a negotiation. Cotton said :

    Any agreement that advances our interests must by necessity compromise Iran's -- doubly so since they are a third-rate power, far from an equal to the United States. The ayatollahs shouldn't be happy with any deal; they should've felt compelled to accept a deal of our choosing lest they face economic devastation and military destruction of their nuclear infrastructure. That Iran welcomes this agreement is both troubling and telling.

    Indeed, Cotton and his fellow proponents of the president de-certifying Iranian compliance, despite all indications that Iran is complying with the JCPOA, have a not-so-thinly-veiled goal of regime change in Tehran, a position in which the JCPOA and any negotiations with Iran pose a serious threat. Ben Armbruster, writing for LobeLog last week, detailed the ways in which Mark Dubowitz , CEO of the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies , pushes for a so-called "better deal" while explicitly calling for regime change in Tehran.

    But perhaps a bigger pressure on Trump to de-certify comes from three of his biggest political donors : Sheldon Adelson , Paul Singer , and Bernard Marcus . All three have funded groups that sought to thwart the negotiations leading to the JCPOA, including Dubowitz's FDD, and have given generously to Trump.

    "I think that Iran is the devil," said Marcus in a 2015 Fox Business interview . Adelson told a Yeshiva University audience in 2013 that U.S. negotiators should launch a nuclear weapon at Iran as a negotiating tactic. Adelson may hold radical views about the prudence of a nuclear attack on Iran, but he appears to enjoy easy access to Trump. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who were Trump's biggest financial supporters by far during his presidential run, met with the president at Adelson's headquarters in Las Vegas recently, ostensibly to discuss the recent mass shooting there.

    But Andy Abboud, senior vice president Government Relations for Adelson's Sands Corporation, told the Adelson-owned Las Vegas Review Journal that the meeting was "pre-arranged and set to discuss policy," according to the paper .

    Adelson has also financed Israel's largest circulation daily newspaper, whose support for Netanyahu and his right-wing government earned it the nickname "Bibiton."

    Eli Clifton reports on money in politics and U.S. foreign policy. He's previously reported for the American Independent News Network, ThinkProgress, and Inter Press Service.

    [Oct 16, 2017] President Trump Beats War Drums For Iran by Ron Paul

    Notable quotes:
    "... Nearly every assertion in the president's speech was embarrassingly incorrect. Iran is not allied with al-Qaeda, as the president stated. The money President Obama sent to Iran was their own money. Much of it was a down-payment made to the US for fighter planes that were never delivered when Iran changed from being friend to foe in 1979. The president also falsely claims that Iran targets the United States with terrorism. He claims that Iran has "fueled sectarian violence in Iraq," when it was Iranian militias who prevented Baghdad from being overtaken by ISIS in 2014. There are too many other false statements in the president's speech to mention. ..."
    "... Unfortunately the American people are being neoconned into another war. Just as with the disastrous 2003 US attack on Iraq, the media builds up the fear and does the bidding of the warmongers without checking facts or applying the necessary skepticism to neocon claims. ..."
    Oct 16, 2017 | www.unz.com

    President Trump has been notoriously inconsistent in his foreign policy. He campaigned on and won the presidency with promises to repair relations with Russia, pull out of no-win wars like Afghanistan, and end the failed US policy of nation-building overseas. Once in office he pursued policies exactly the opposite of what he campaigned on. Unfortunately Iran is one of the few areas where the president has been very consistent. And consistently wrong.

    In the president's speech last week he expressed his view that Iran was not "living up to the spirit" of the 2015 nuclear agreement and that he would turn to Congress to apply new sanctions to Iran and to, he hopes, take the US out of the deal entirely.

    Nearly every assertion in the president's speech was embarrassingly incorrect. Iran is not allied with al-Qaeda, as the president stated. The money President Obama sent to Iran was their own money. Much of it was a down-payment made to the US for fighter planes that were never delivered when Iran changed from being friend to foe in 1979. The president also falsely claims that Iran targets the United States with terrorism. He claims that Iran has "fueled sectarian violence in Iraq," when it was Iranian militias who prevented Baghdad from being overtaken by ISIS in 2014. There are too many other false statements in the president's speech to mention.

    How could he be so wrong on so many basic facts about Iran? Here's a clue: the media reports that his number one advisor on Iran is his Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley. Ambassador Haley is a "diplomat" who believes war is the best, first option rather than the last, worst option. She has no prior foreign policy experience, but her closest mentor is John Bolton – the neocon who lied us into the Iraq war. How do these people live with themselves when they look around at the death and destruction their policies have caused?

    Unfortunately the American people are being neoconned into another war. Just as with the disastrous 2003 US attack on Iraq, the media builds up the fear and does the bidding of the warmongers without checking facts or applying the necessary skepticism to neocon claims.

    Like most Americans, I do not endorse Iran's style of government. I prefer religion and the state to be separate and even though our liberties have been under attack by our government, I prefer our much freer system in the US. But I wonder how many Americans know that Iran has not attacked or "regime-changed" another country in its modern history. Iran's actions in Syria are at the invitation of the legitimate Syrian government. And why won't President Trump tell us the truth about Iranian troops in Syria – that they are fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda, both of which are Sunni extremist groups that are Iran's (and our) mortal enemies?

    How many Americans know that Iran is one of the few countries in the region that actually holds elections that are contested by candidates with very different philosophies? Do any Americans wonder why the Saudis are considered one of our greatest allies in the Middle East even though they hold no elections and have one of the world's worst human rights records?

    Let's be clear here: President Trump did not just announce that he was "de-certifying" Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. He announced that Iran was from now on going to be in the bullseye of the US military. Will Americans allow themselves to be lied into another Middle East war?

    Jim Christian , October 16, 2017 at 4:31 pm GMT

    "Will Americans allow themselves to be lied into another Middle East war?"

    The die was cast the minute they ended the draft and mandatory service. What the hell does anyone in this country care about the next war? Maybe some realize it's a theft, a looting, but as long as it isn't THEIR blood being spilt, nothing goes nuclear, they don't care. Few outside our little venue here even understand, they think it's still Rah! Rah! And then, I suppose if I were in Congress, I might demand votes on these deals. Civilian control of the military, funding the wars, etc. Of course, if I pushed the point, they'd put a bullet in my HEAD . Just because. And headline me, my Mistress and my wife on the front page of the Post. Because NSA just KNOWS shit. Probably set me up with my Mistress to begin with so they'd have something on me, heh. This is the dilemma the Hill has on a personal level. We don't vote on wars, we gave em a blank check after 9/11 and that's that. Keeping it all going? That's all private. None-ya.

    No one can talk about it, they just do it.

    [Oct 16, 2017] Trump acts like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Which might be the symptom of floundering, weakened, posturing US Empire -- decending into empty threats (Iran, NK) which are often rightly dismissed by others. Which make this historical period very dangerous indeed.

    Notable quotes:
    "... The reality is that the above situation outlined by Kerry two years ago has only worsened with Trump's inability to understand that reality leading to the current irrationality in policy-- unless --Trump is actually trying to further the Neocon policy of Full Spectrum Dominance. ..."
    "... "Have you met America? That's the country that needs "lives matter" movements because of its prevailing culture of utter indifference to human welfare, but which trips over itself in its eagerness to wage war in defense of the petrodollar." ..."
    "... I can easily envision a joint announcement by Russia, China and Iran that all trade conducted with them must be transacted in Yuan, Ruble, Rial, or Euro--that the dollar is no longer welcomed. And given the utter stupidity of the Republican controlled US Congress, more sanctions will be applied to Iran thus sealing the onset of the Outlaw US Empire's international isolation. ..."
    "... Imho, the US political establishment, as publically projected, is moving closer to a realm where words, be they snide remarks, lofty pronouncements, declarations of intent, or vile accusations, become substitutes for action. ..."
    "... US overt behavior is hapless unless entered into with cold calculation, a specific hidden aim in mind, and levers of control somewhere. Not the case imho, but dismissing Trump as a fool is not useful. We see symptoms of floundering, weakened, posturing Empire -- imho empty sorts o' threats (Iran, NK) are often dismissed by others, rightly so, but that is dangerous too: the US has to play the military domination position combined with the unpredictability card. Extremely volatile situation. ..."
    "... Remember when Trump said he would never do a first nuke strike? :) ..."
    Oct 16, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    karlof1 | Oct 15, 2017 5:22:59 PM | 12

    In the final days of the Iran Deal negotiations, August 2015, I completely missed the interview Kerry did with Reuters, https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/08/245935.htm that Mercouris parses for his detailed article proving the Outlaw US Empire's Imperial Policy is now "irrational"--utterly I'd say since for me it's been irrational for decades when weighing the actual interests of the United States's populous. The key excerpt:

    "But if everybody thinks, 'Oh, no, we're just tough; the United States of America, we have our secondary sanctions; we can force people to do what we want.' I actually heard that argument on television this morning. I've heard it from a number of the organisations that are working that are opposed to this agreement. They're spreading the word, 'America is strong enough, our banks are tough enough; we can just bring the hammer down and force our friends to do what we want them to.'

    "Well, look – a lot of business people in this room. Are you kidding me? The United States is going to start sanctioning our allies and their banks and their businesses because we walked away from a deal and we're going to force them to do what we want them to do even though they agreed to the deal we came to? Are you kidding ?

    "That is a recipe quickly, my friends, for them to walk away from Ukraine, where they are already very dicey and ready to say, 'Well, we've done our bit.' They were ready in many cases to say, 'Well, we're the ones paying the price for your sanctions.' We – it was Obama who went out and actually put together a sanctions regime that had an impact. By – I went to China. We persuaded China, 'Don't buy more oil.' We persuaded India and other countries to step back.

    "Can you imagine trying to sanction them after persuading them to put in phased sanctions to bring Iran to the negotiating table, and when they have not only come to the table but they made a deal, we turn around and nix the deal and then tell them you're going to have to obey our rules on the sanctions anyway?

    "That is a recipe very quickly, my friends, businesspeople here, for the American dollar to cease to be the reserve currency of the world – which is already bubbling out there .." (Bold italics in original.)

    The reality is that the above situation outlined by Kerry two years ago has only worsened with Trump's inability to understand that reality leading to the current irrationality in policy-- unless --Trump is actually trying to further the Neocon policy of Full Spectrum Dominance. If that is indeed the case, then Trump's behavior is rational in that the only alternative facing the Outlaw US Empire in its drive to enslave the planet is to launch a non-proxy hot war to achieve its goals.

    Or... Trump's smarter than any of us as he expects the neocons to fold when faced with the possibility of escalating the ongoing Hybrid Third World War into one that's no longer Hybrid and promises to bring horrendous amounts of death and destruction to The Homeland.

    karlof1 | Oct 15, 2017 5:23:58 PM | 13
    Oops, forgot link to Mercouris article, http://theduran.com/donald-trump-decertifies-iran-us-foreign-policy-becomes-irrational/
    Grieved | Oct 15, 2017 6:10:34 PM | 18
    @12 karlof1

    yes, I just read that Mercouris piece and I was excited to read about that Kerry interview, that everyone seems to have missed. So here's what seems to be the authoritative background on the the Iran deal.

    b said in his last piece - October 14 , linked in his article above:

    Obama pushed sanctions onto sanctions to make Iran scream. But the country did not fold. Each new U.S. sanction step was responded to with an expansion of Iran's nuclear program. In the end Obama had to offer talks to Iran to get out of the hole he had dug himself.

    For me this was the first time I'd seen an explanation of why the Iran deal happened, and I really wanted to know more. Now this retrospective by Mercouris shows exactly how accurate b's assessment was, but fills in the detail to show that the EU was already on the verge of a major split from the dollar. Only the deal, which allowed EU to grow its trade with the huge market of Iran, saved this potential run from the dollar by Europe.

    I read the full Reuters interview , and I find it debatable how much of Kerry's statement was applied to Russia and China and how much to Britain, France and Germany. I'll parse it as, Asia will say it out loud, Europe will think it silently - the unthinkable, that is. Mercouris seems sure it was Europe:

    In other words the US was pushed into the JCPOA somewhat against its will at the insistence of its European allies, who were considering lifting sanctions on Iran unilaterally if the US rejected the deal which was on offer. The US submitted to their demands because it feared that the alternative – threatening economic war on its European allies by imposing sanctions on them – would have hastened the ending of the reserve currency status of the US dollar.

    It is rare to say the least for US officials to so much as contemplate in public the possibility of the US dollar losing its reserve currency status. The fact that in August 2015 Secretary of State Kerry actually did so shows the pressure that the US was under.

    Astonishing. Here we are two years later trying to think that if Trump does whatever nonsense he does with the Iran deal, it will encourage a rift between the US and the EU - but actually this has already come to be the situation, and two years ago at that.

    This is some serious shit, that we all seem to have missed. EU leaders may be craven, but European business wants to trade with Iran, and it's simmering around the point of breaking away from the dollar in order to do it. Surely this calls for a large re-calculation of the situation.

    What happens if Iran starts to negotiate payments settled in Yuan? Hezbollah can take down Israel militarily. But perhaps Iran can take down the US financially?

    ben | Oct 15, 2017 7:27:42 PM | 19
    karlof1 @ 13: Thanks for the link. Good read. Actually gives a little hope that the adults in the world can reign in the morons now running the U$A.
    ben | Oct 15, 2017 7:32:32 PM | 20
    From TRNN: "Decertifying Iran Deal, Trump Escalates His War"

    http://therealnews.com/t2/story:20220:Decertifying-Iran-Deal%2C-Trump-Escalates-His-War

    Peter AU 1 | Oct 15, 2017 8:19:51 PM | 21
    Part of Obama speech.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/05/text-obama-gives-a-speech-about-the-iran-nuclear-deal/?utm_term=.aac92dd70db9
    ..."Moreover, our closest allies in Europe or in Asia, much less China or Russia, certainly are not going to enforce existing sanctions for another five, 10, 15 years according to the dictates of the U.S. Congress because their willingness to support sanctions in the first place was based on Iran ending its pursuit of nuclear weapons. It was not based on the belief that Iran cannot have peaceful nuclear power, and it certainly wasn't based on a desire for regime change in Iran.

    As a result, those who say we can just walk away from this deal and maintain sanctions are selling a fantasy. Instead of strengthening our position, as some have suggested, Congress' rejection would almost certainly result in multi-lateral sanctions unraveling.

    If, as has also been suggested, we tried to maintain unilateral sanctions, beefen them up, we would be standing alone. We cannot dictate the foreign, economic and energy policies of every major power in the world. In order to even try to do that, we would have to sanction, for example, some of the world's largest banks. We'd have to cut off countries like China from the American financial system. And since they happen to be major purchasers of our debt, such actions could trigger severe disruptions in our own economy, and, by way, raise questions internationally about the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. That's part of the reason why many of the previous unilateral sanctions were waived."...


    Another time when Obama was covincing US to pass the Iran deal, he stated bluntly that not passing the deal would put the US dollar at risk. Have not been able to find it as yet.

    Perimetr | Oct 15, 2017 10:44:48 PM | 26
    RE: karlof1 | Oct 15, 2017 5:22:59 PM | 12 You write: "Or... Trump's smarter than any of us . . ."

    Probably not

    see: Donald Trump bodyslams, beats and shaves Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania XXIII
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMKFIHRpe7I

    psychohistorian | Oct 15, 2017 11:38:03 PM | 28
    I just read this comment by Oh Homer at another site and felt motivated to share it here.

    "Have you met America? That's the country that needs "lives matter" movements because of its prevailing culture of utter indifference to human welfare, but which trips over itself in its eagerness to wage war in defense of the petrodollar."

    karlof1 | Oct 16, 2017 11:30:57 AM | 38
    Grieved @18-

    Good questions! The extremely rare candor shown by Kerry, as Mercouris notes, isn't being shared by the Trumpsters and is likely responsible for their outward state of high anxiety and knee-jerk reactions to just about anything.

    Iran says it has a plan: "Speaker of Iran's parliament Ali Larijani said that Iran 'had a developed plan and a certain law,' should the United States withdraw from the agreement on Tehran's nuclear program, adding that Washington would 'regret it.'" https://sputniknews.com/world/201710161058275364-iran-plan-us-nuclear-deal/

    RT reports Larijani thusly: "' We have a plan We've recently approved in parliament what we should do given the Americans undertake certain steps, ' Larijani told reporters Monday on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting in St. Petersburg.

    ' We will take steps so that the Americans will regret it. '" (Emphasis in original.) https://www.rt.com/news/406851-iran-has-plan-if-us-withdraws-nuclear/ If that is so, then what Iran plans to do ought to be discerned by looking at its parliamentary actions on the subject by those able to read Farsi. I rather doubt it's bluff and bluster.

    And the EU won't support Trump's decertification: "After a closed-door meeting [of EU Foreign Ministers at Luxembourg] chaired by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on how best to proceed on the Iran issue, ministers issued a joint statement saying that the 2015 deal was key to preventing the global spread of nuclear weapons." https://www.rt.com/newsline/406844-iran-eu-us-mogherini/

    I can easily envision a joint announcement by Russia, China and Iran that all trade conducted with them must be transacted in Yuan, Ruble, Rial, or Euro--that the dollar is no longer welcomed. And given the utter stupidity of the Republican controlled US Congress, more sanctions will be applied to Iran thus sealing the onset of the Outlaw US Empire's international isolation.

    Noirette | Oct 16, 2017 1:21:55 PM | 40
    Imho, the US political establishment, as publically projected, is moving closer to a realm where words, be they snide remarks, lofty pronouncements, declarations of intent, or vile accusations, become substitutes for action.

    Likewise, minor symbolic moves like withdrawing, "quitting" which is ambiguous, from e.g. UNESCO - *US didn't pay dues in any case.*

    Trump is not alone, all the Dem. Russia-bashing/blaming leads nowhere, the Trump denigration as well, Trump threatening NK is similar.

    The word is sufficient to itself! As are incantatory spells, religious appeals, etc. All one clumsy step beyond the Rovian "when we act, we create our own reality.." which rests on the power to act and transform reality (sometimes with sleight of hand, mirages..) transferring that power to symbols with hope and 'belief'... That's the comforting take.

    US overt behavior is hapless unless entered into with cold calculation, a specific hidden aim in mind, and levers of control somewhere. Not the case imho, but dismissing Trump as a fool is not useful. We see symptoms of floundering, weakened, posturing Empire -- imho empty sorts o' threats (Iran, NK) are often dismissed by others, rightly so, but that is dangerous too: the US has to play the military domination position combined with the unpredictability card. Extremely volatile situation.

    Remember when Trump said he would never do a first nuke strike? :)

    [Oct 14, 2017] The Deep State's Bogus 'Iranian Threat' by David Stockman

    Notable quotes:
    "... The real answer, however, is both simple and consequential. To wit, the entire prosperity and modus operandi of the Imperial City is based on a panoply of "threats" that are vastly exaggerated or even purely invented; they retain their currency by virtue of endless repetition in the groupthink that passes for analysis. We'd actually put it in the category of cocktail party chatter. ..."
    "... The truth is, the US defense budget is hideously oversized for a reason so obvious that it constitutes the ultimate elephant in the room. No matter how you slice it, there just are no real big industrialized, high tech countries in the world which can threaten the American homeland or even have the slightest intention of doing so. ..."
    "... That gets us to the bogus Iranian threat. It originated in the early 1990s when the neocon's in the George HW Bush Administration realized that with the cold war's end, the Warfare State was in grave danger of massive demobilization like the US had done after every war until 1945. ..."
    "... So among many other invented two-bit threats, the Iranian regime was demonized in order to keep the Imperial City in thrall to its purported national security threat and in support of the vast global armada of military forces, bases and occupations needed to contain it (including the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and US bases throughout the region). ..."
    "... Likewise, what the Imperial City claims to be state sponsored terror is actually nothing more than Iran's foreign policy – something that every sovereign state on the planet is permitted to have. ..."
    "... Thus, as the leader of the minority Shiite schism of the Islamic world, Iran has made political and confessional alliances with various Shiite regimes in the region. These include the one that Washington actually installed in Baghdad; the Alawite/Shiite regime in Syria; the largest political party and representative of 40 percent of the population in Lebanon (Hezbollah); and the Houthi/Shiite of Yemen, who historically occupied the northern parts of the country and are now under savage attack by American weapons supplied to Saudi Arabia. ..."
    "... In the case of both Syria and Iraq, their respective governments invited Iranian help, which is also their prerogative as sovereign nations. Ironically, it was the Shiite Crescent alliance of Iran/Assad/Hezbollah that bears much of the credit for defeating ISIS on the ground in Mosul, Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and elsewhere in the now largely defunct Islamic State. ..."
    Oct 14, 2017 | original.antiwar.com

    ... ... ...

    He was right. Russia today is a shadow of what Ronald Reagan called the Evil Empire. Its GDP of $1.3 trillion is smaller than that of the New York metro area ($1.6 trillion) and only 7 percent of total US GDP.

    Moreover, unlike the militarized Soviet economy which devoted upwards of 40 percent of output to defense, the current Russian defense budget of $60 billion is just 4.5 percent of its vastly shrunken GDP.

    So how in the world did the national security apparatus convince the Donald that we need the $700 billion defense program for FY 2018 – 12X bigger than Russia's – that he just signed into law?

    What we mean, of course, is how do you explain that – beyond the fact that the Donald knows virtually nothing about national security policy and history; and, to boot, is surrounded by generals who have spent a lifetime scouring the earth for enemies and threats to repel and reasons for more weapons and bigger forces.

    The real answer, however, is both simple and consequential. To wit, the entire prosperity and modus operandi of the Imperial City is based on a panoply of "threats" that are vastly exaggerated or even purely invented; they retain their currency by virtue of endless repetition in the groupthink that passes for analysis. We'd actually put it in the category of cocktail party chatter.

    ... ... ...

    The truth is, the US defense budget is hideously oversized for a reason so obvious that it constitutes the ultimate elephant in the room. No matter how you slice it, there just are no real big industrialized, high tech countries in the world which can threaten the American homeland or even have the slightest intention of doing so.

    Indeed, to continue with our historical benchmarks, the American homeland has not been so immune to foreign military threat since WW II. Yet during all those years of true peril, it never spent close too the Donald's $700 billion boondoggle.

    For instance, during the height of LBJs Vietnam folly (1968) defense spending in today's dollars was about $400 billion. And even at the top of Reagan's utterly unnecessary military building up (by the 1980s the Soviet Union was collapsing under the weight of its own socialist dystopia), total US defense spending was just $550 billion.

    That gets us to the bogus Iranian threat. It originated in the early 1990s when the neocon's in the George HW Bush Administration realized that with the cold war's end, the Warfare State was in grave danger of massive demobilization like the US had done after every war until 1945.

    So among many other invented two-bit threats, the Iranian regime was demonized in order to keep the Imperial City in thrall to its purported national security threat and in support of the vast global armada of military forces, bases and occupations needed to contain it (including the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and US bases throughout the region).

    The truth, however, is that according to the 2008 NIE ( National Intelligence Estimates) of the nation's 17 intelligence agency, the Iranian's never had a serious nuclear weapons program, and the small research effort that they did have was disbanded by orders of the Ayatollah Khamenei in 2003.

    Likewise, what the Imperial City claims to be state sponsored terror is actually nothing more than Iran's foreign policy – something that every sovereign state on the planet is permitted to have.

    Thus, as the leader of the minority Shiite schism of the Islamic world, Iran has made political and confessional alliances with various Shiite regimes in the region. These include the one that Washington actually installed in Baghdad; the Alawite/Shiite regime in Syria; the largest political party and representative of 40 percent of the population in Lebanon (Hezbollah); and the Houthi/Shiite of Yemen, who historically occupied the northern parts of the country and are now under savage attack by American weapons supplied to Saudi Arabia.

    In the case of both Syria and Iraq, their respective governments invited Iranian help, which is also their prerogative as sovereign nations. Ironically, it was the Shiite Crescent alliance of Iran/Assad/Hezbollah that bears much of the credit for defeating ISIS on the ground in Mosul, Aleppo, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and elsewhere in the now largely defunct Islamic State.

    In tomorrow's installment we will address the details of the Iran nuke agreement and why the Donald is making a horrible mistake in proposing to decertify it. But there should be no doubt about the consequence: It will reinforce the neocon dominance of the Republican party and insure that the nation's $1 trillion Warfare State remains fully entrenched.

    Needless to say, that will also insure that the America's gathering fiscal crisis will turn into an outright Fiscal Calamity in the years just ahead.

    David Stockman has agreed to send every Antiwar.com reader a free copy of his newest book, Trumped! when you take his special Contra Corner offer. Click here now for the details.

    David Stockman was a two-term Congressman from Michigan. He was also the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan. After leaving the White House, Stockman had a 20-year career on Wall Street. He's the author of three books, The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed , The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America and TRUMPED! A Nation on the Brink of Ruin And How to Bring It Back . He also is founder of David Stockman's Contra Corner and David Stockman's Bubble Finance Trader .

    Read more by David Stockman

    • The Donald's Pathetic Afghan Flip-Flop – August 23rd, 2017
    • The Tweet That Is Shaking the War Party – July 30th, 2017
    • Home Alone – Trump Is the Kevin McCallister of American Politics – July 26th, 2017
    • Brennan, Rice, Power – Lock Them Up! – July 23rd, 2017
    • Why Imperial Washington Should Cool It On North Korea – July 6th, 2017

    [Oct 11, 2017] Donald Trump is exposing the contradictions of the elite by David Callahan

    That's neoliberal elite after all. Why the author expects them to be ashamed is unclear
    Notable quotes:
    "... Business practices aimed at boosting shareholder value – like outsourcing, offshoring, automation, union-busting, predatory lending, and a range of anti-competitive abuses – have undermined the security of large swaths of the country. In turn, a flood of business dollars for campaign donations and lobbying over decades has helped thwart effective government responses to rising pain on Main Street. ..."
    "... History tells us that societies with extractive and self-serving upper classes tend to fall into decline – whereas societies with inclusive elites are more likely to thrive. With the rise of Trump, we're seeing what an unraveling of the social fabric looks like after decades in which nearly all the nation's income gains have flowed upwards to a tiny sliver of households. ..."
    Oct 11, 2017 | www.theguardian.com

    Since January, though, we've also seen a new level of rapaciousness by corporate interests in Washington DC that seem intent on extracting as much wealth as they can from wherever they can: consumers, investors, public lands, student borrowers, the tax code and even the war in Afghanistan.

    Longtime watchers of the .01% won't be surprised by this bifurcated picture. For over two decades, an ever more educated wealthy elite has trumpeted its belief in tolerance, diversity, and meritocracy – even as it's also helped usher in record levels of inequality that have left many Americans feeling economically excluded and increasingly angry.

    Trump's retrograde presidency has revealed the profound contradictions at the top of the US income ladder.

    ... ... ...

    Corporate leaders have already been supportive of Trump's sweeping push to gut regulations in ways that would tilt the rules governing the economy more in favor of business and the wealthy. Social inclusion may be a growing public mantra of the far upper class. But economic extraction remains among its core operating principles.

    ... ... ...

    Social inclusion is a public mantra of the upper class. But economic extraction remains a core operating principle

    The answer is that many corporate and financial leaders were, and still are, a big part of the problem. These leaders have fostered the economic conditions that have thrown the values of tolerance and diversity on the defensive in America.

    Business practices aimed at boosting shareholder value – like outsourcing, offshoring, automation, union-busting, predatory lending, and a range of anti-competitive abuses – have undermined the security of large swaths of the country. In turn, a flood of business dollars for campaign donations and lobbying over decades has helped thwart effective government responses to rising pain on Main Street.

    ... ... ...

    History tells us that societies with extractive and self-serving upper classes tend to fall into decline – whereas societies with inclusive elites are more likely to thrive. With the rise of Trump, we're seeing what an unraveling of the social fabric looks like after decades in which nearly all the nation's income gains have flowed upwards to a tiny sliver of households.

    Rarely has the American experiment – the notion of a country united by ideas rather than shared heritage – felt more fragile than it does right now. It's an ugly picture of division and resentment, but a predictable one given the economic trauma inflicted on millions of people over recent decades.

    ... ... ...

    David Callahan is the author of The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age. He is the founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy

    [Oct 09, 2017] After Nine Months, Only Stale Crumbs in Russia Inquiry by Scott Ritter

    Highly recommended!
    US Congress allowed to drag itself into this propaganda swamp by politized Intelligence community, which became a major political player, that can dictate Congress what to do and what not to do. Now it is not that easy to get out of this "intelligence swamp"
    Notable quotes:
    "... The 2017 ICA on Russia was conceived in an atmosphere of despair and denial, birthed by Democrats and Republicans alike who were stunned by Trump's surprise electoral victory in November 2016. To say that this issue was a political event would be a gross understatement; the 2017 Russian ICA will go down in history as one of the most politicized intelligence documents ever, regardless of the degree of accuracy eventually afforded its contents. The very fact that the document is given the sobriquet "Intelligence Community" is itself a political act, designed to impart a degree of scrutiny and community consensus that simply did not exist when it came to the production of that document, or the classified reports that it was derived from. ..."
    "... This was a report prepared by handpicked analysts ..."
    "... iven the firestorm of political intrigue and controversy initiated by the publication of this document, the notion of a "general consensus" regarding the level of trust imparted to it by the Senate Select Intelligence Committee does not engender confidence. ..."
    "... It was this document that spawned the issue of "collusion." While Sens. Burr and Warner can state that "collusion" is still an open issue, the fact of the matter is that, in this regard, Trump and his campaign advisors have already been found guilty in the court of public opinion, especially among those members of the public and the media who were vehemently opposed to his candidacy and ultimate victory. ..."
    "... One need only review the comments of the various Democratic members of the Senate Select Committee, their counterparts serving on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the various experts and pundits in the media, to underscore the degree to which prejudice has "worked its evil" when it comes to the issue of collusion and the Trump campaign in this regard. ..."
    "... purchase of advertisements on various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, by the Russians or their proxies. With regard to these advertisements, Senator Burr painted a dire picture. "It seems," he declared, "that the overall theme of the Russian involvement in the US elections was to create chaos at every level." ..."
    "... No one wants to be told that they have been victims of a con; this is especially true when dealing with the sacred trust imparted to the American citizenry by the Constitution of the United States regarding the free and fair election of those who will represent us in higher office. American politics, for better or worse, is about the personal connection a given candidate has with the voter, a gut feeling that this person shares common values and beliefs. ..."
    "... the percentage of Americans that participate in national elections is low. Those that do tend to be people who care enough about one or more issues to actually get out and vote. To categorize these dedicated citizens as brain-dead dupes who are susceptible to social media-based click advertisements is an insult to American democracy. ..."
    "... There is a world of difference between Russian intelligence services allegedly hacking politically sensitive emails and selectively releasing them for the sole purpose of undermining a given Presidential candidate's electoral prospects, and mimicking social media-based advertisements addressing issues that are already at play in an election. The Russians didn't invent the ongoing debate in the United States over gun control (i.e., the "Second Amendment" issue), race relations (the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri) or immigration ("The Wall"). ..."
    "... These were, and remain, core issues that are at the heart of the American domestic political discourse, regardless of where one stands. You either know the issues, or you don't; it is an insult to the American voter to suggest that they are so malleable that $100,000 of targeted social media-based advertisements can swing their vote, even if 10 million of them viewed it. ..."
    Oct 09, 2017 | www.theamericanconservative.com

    The 'briefing' is just another exercise in preferred narrative boosting.

    The co-chairmen of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held a press briefing Thursday on the status of their ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the American electoral process. Content-wise, the press briefing and the question and answer session were an exercise in information futility -- they provided little substance and nothing new. The investigation was still ongoing, the senators explained, and there was still work to be done.

    Nine months into the Committee's work, the best Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), could offer was that there was "general consensus" among committee members and their staff that they trust the findings of the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) of January 2017, which gave high confidence to the charge that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. The issue of possible collusion between Russia and members of the campaign of Donald Trump, however, "is still open."

    Frankly speaking, this isn't good enough.

    The 2017 ICA on Russia was conceived in an atmosphere of despair and denial, birthed by Democrats and Republicans alike who were stunned by Trump's surprise electoral victory in November 2016. To say that this issue was a political event would be a gross understatement; the 2017 Russian ICA will go down in history as one of the most politicized intelligence documents ever, regardless of the degree of accuracy eventually afforded its contents. The very fact that the document is given the sobriquet "Intelligence Community" is itself a political act, designed to impart a degree of scrutiny and community consensus that simply did not exist when it came to the production of that document, or the classified reports that it was derived from.

    This was a report prepared by handpicked analysts from three of the Intelligence Community's sixteen agencies (the CIA, NSA, and FBI) who operated outside of the National Intelligence Council (the venue for the production of Intelligence Community products such as the Russian ICA), and void of the direction and supervision of a dedicated National Intelligence Officer. Overcoming this deficient family tree represents a high hurdle, even before the issue of the credibility of the sources and methods used to underpin the ICA's findings are discussed. Given the firestorm of political intrigue and controversy initiated by the publication of this document, the notion of a "general consensus" regarding the level of trust imparted to it by the Senate Select Intelligence Committee does not engender confidence.

    It was this document that spawned the issue of "collusion." While Sens. Burr and Warner can state that "collusion" is still an open issue, the fact of the matter is that, in this regard, Trump and his campaign advisors have already been found guilty in the court of public opinion, especially among those members of the public and the media who were vehemently opposed to his candidacy and ultimate victory. Insofar as the committee's investigation serves as a legitimate search for truth, it does so as a post-conviction appeal. However, as the distinguished Supreme Court Justice Joseph McKenna noted in his opinion in Berger v. United States (1921):

    The remedy by appeal is inadequate. It comes after the trial, and, if prejudice exist, it has worked its evil and a judgment of it in a reviewing tribunal is precarious. It goes there fortified by presumptions, and nothing can be more elusive of estimate or decision than a disposition of a mind in which there is a personal ingredient.

    One need only review the comments of the various Democratic members of the Senate Select Committee, their counterparts serving on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the various experts and pundits in the media, to underscore the degree to which prejudice has "worked its evil" when it comes to the issue of collusion and the Trump campaign in this regard.

    The two senators proceeded to touch on a new angle recently introduced into their investigation, that of the purchase of advertisements on various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, by the Russians or their proxies. With regard to these advertisements, Senator Burr painted a dire picture. "It seems," he declared, "that the overall theme of the Russian involvement in the US elections was to create chaos at every level."

    No one wants to be told that they have been victims of a con; this is especially true when dealing with the sacred trust imparted to the American citizenry by the Constitution of the United States regarding the free and fair election of those who will represent us in higher office. American politics, for better or worse, is about the personal connection a given candidate has with the voter, a gut feeling that this person shares common values and beliefs.

    Nevertheless, the percentage of Americans that participate in national elections is low. Those that do tend to be people who care enough about one or more issues to actually get out and vote. To categorize these dedicated citizens as brain-dead dupes who are susceptible to social media-based click advertisements is an insult to American democracy.

    There is a world of difference between Russian intelligence services allegedly hacking politically sensitive emails and selectively releasing them for the sole purpose of undermining a given Presidential candidate's electoral prospects, and mimicking social media-based advertisements addressing issues that are already at play in an election. The Russians didn't invent the ongoing debate in the United States over gun control (i.e., the "Second Amendment" issue), race relations (the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri) or immigration ("The Wall").

    These were, and remain, core issues that are at the heart of the American domestic political discourse, regardless of where one stands. You either know the issues, or you don't; it is an insult to the American voter to suggest that they are so malleable that $100,000 of targeted social media-based advertisements can swing their vote, even if 10 million of them viewed it.

    The take away from the press briefing given by Senator's Burr and Warner was two-fold: One, the Russians meddled, and two, we don't know if Trump colluded with the Russians. The fact that America is nine months into this investigation with little more to show now than what could have been said at the start is, in and of itself, an American political tragedy. The Trump administration has been hobbled by the inertia of this and other investigations derived from the question of Russian meddling. That this process may yet vindicate President Trump isn't justification for the process itself; in such a case the delay will have hurt more than the truth. As William Penn, the founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, so eloquently noted:

    Delays have been more injurious than direct Injustice. They too often starve those they dare not deny. The very Winner is made a Loser, because he pays twice for his own; like those who purchase Estates Mortgaged before to the full value.

    Our law says that to delay Justice is Injustice. Not to have a Right, and not to come of it, differs little. Refuse or Dispatch is the Duty of a Good Officer.

    Senators Burr and Warner, together with their fellow members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and their respective staffs, would do well to heed those words.

    Scott Ritter is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD. He is the author of "Deal of the Century: How Iran Blocked the West's Road to War" (Clarity Press, 2017).

    [Oct 09, 2017] Autopilot Wars by Andrew J. Bacevich

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... While serving as defense secretary in the 1960s, Robert McNamara once mused that the "greatest contribution" of the Vietnam War might have been to make it possible for the United States "to go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire." With regard to the conflict once widely referred to as McNamara's War, his claim proved grotesquely premature. Yet a half-century later, his wish has become reality. ..."
    "... Why do Americans today show so little interest in the wars waged in their name and at least nominally on their behalf? Why, as our wars drag on and on, doesn't the disparity between effort expended and benefits accrued arouse more than passing curiosity or mild expressions of dismay? Why, in short, don't we give a [ expletive deleted ..."
    "... The true costs of Washington's wars go untabulated. ..."
    "... On matters related to war, American citizens have opted out. ..."
    "... Terrorism gets hyped and hyped and hyped some more. ..."
    "... Blather crowds out substance. ..."
    "... Besides, we're too busy. ..."
    "... Anyway, the next president will save us. ..."
    "... Our culturally progressive military has largely immunized itself from criticism. ..."
    "... Well, yes, the US has recently killed 100.000′s of Arab civilians because they were Terrorists (?) or to Bring them Democracy (?) or whatever, or something – or who cares anyway. There's more coverage of the transgender toilet access question. ..."
    Oct 08, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Autopilot Wars Sixteen Years, But Who's Counting?

    Consider, if you will, these two indisputable facts. First, the United States is today more or less permanently engaged in hostilities in not one faraway place, but at least seven . Second, the vast majority of the American people could not care less.

    Nor can it be said that we don't care because we don't know. True, government authorities withhold certain aspects of ongoing military operations or release only details that they find convenient. Yet information describing what U.S. forces are doing (and where) is readily available, even if buried in recent months by barrages of presidential tweets. Here, for anyone interested, are press releases issued by United States Central Command for just one recent week:

    • September 19 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • September 20 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • Iraqi Security Forces begin Hawijah offensive
    • September 21 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • September 22 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • September 23 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • Operation Inherent Resolve Casualty
    • September 25 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq
    • September 26 : Military airstrikes continue against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq

    Ever since the United States launched its war on terror, oceans of military press releases have poured forth. And those are just for starters. To provide updates on the U.S. military's various ongoing campaigns, generals, admirals, and high-ranking defense officials regularly testify before congressional committees or brief members of the press. From the field, journalists offer updates that fill in at least some of the details -- on civilian casualties, for example -- that government authorities prefer not to disclose. Contributors to newspaper op-ed pages and "experts" booked by network and cable TV news shows, including passels of retired military officers, provide analysis. Trailing behind come books and documentaries that put things in a broader perspective.

    But here's the truth of it. None of it matters.

    Like traffic jams or robocalls, war has fallen into the category of things that Americans may not welcome, but have learned to live with. In twenty-first-century America, war is not that big a deal.

    While serving as defense secretary in the 1960s, Robert McNamara once mused that the "greatest contribution" of the Vietnam War might have been to make it possible for the United States "to go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire." With regard to the conflict once widely referred to as McNamara's War, his claim proved grotesquely premature. Yet a half-century later, his wish has become reality.

    Why do Americans today show so little interest in the wars waged in their name and at least nominally on their behalf? Why, as our wars drag on and on, doesn't the disparity between effort expended and benefits accrued arouse more than passing curiosity or mild expressions of dismay? Why, in short, don't we give a [ expletive deleted ]?

    Perhaps just posing such a question propels us instantly into the realm of the unanswerable, like trying to figure out why people idolize Justin Bieber, shoot birds, or watch golf on television.

    Without any expectation of actually piercing our collective ennui, let me take a stab at explaining why we don't give a @#$%&! Here are eight distinctive but mutually reinforcing explanations, offered in a sequence that begins with the blindingly obvious and ends with the more speculative.

    Americans don't attend all that much to ongoing American wars because:

    1. U.S. casualty rates are low . By using proxies and contractors, and relying heavily on airpower, America's war managers have been able to keep a tight lid on the number of U.S. troops being killed and wounded. In all of 2017, for example, a grand total of 11 American soldiers have been lost in Afghanistan -- about equal to the number of shooting deaths in Chicago over the course of a typical week. True, in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries where the U.S. is engaged in hostilities, whether directly or indirectly, plenty of people who are not Americans are being killed and maimed. (The estimated number of Iraqi civilians killed this year alone exceeds 12,000 .) But those casualties have next to no political salience as far as the United States is concerned. As long as they don't impede U.S. military operations, they literally don't count (and generally aren't counted).

    2. The true costs of Washington's wars go untabulated. In a famous speech , dating from early in his presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." Dollars spent on weaponry, Ike insisted, translated directly into schools, hospitals, homes, highways, and power plants that would go unbuilt. "This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense," he continued. "[I]t is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." More than six decades later, Americans have long since accommodated themselves to that cross of iron. Many actually see it as a boon, a source of corporate profits, jobs, and, of course, campaign contributions. As such, they avert their eyes from the opportunity costs of our never-ending wars. The dollars expended pursuant to our post-9/11 conflicts will ultimately number in the multi-trillions . Imagine the benefits of investing such sums in upgrading the nation's aging infrastructure . Yet don't count on Congressional leaders, other politicians, or just about anyone else to pursue that connection.

    On matters related to war, American citizens have opted out. Others have made the point so frequently that it's the equivalent of hearing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" at Christmastime. Even so, it bears repeating: the American people have defined their obligation to "support the troops" in the narrowest imaginable terms , ensuring above all that such support requires absolutely no sacrifice on their part. Members of Congress abet this civic apathy, while also taking steps to insulate themselves from responsibility. In effect, citizens and their elected representatives in Washington agree: supporting the troops means deferring to the commander in chief, without inquiring about whether what he has the troops doing makes the slightest sense. Yes, we set down our beers long enough to applaud those in uniform and boo those who decline to participate in mandatory rituals of patriotism. What we don't do is demand anything remotely approximating actual accountability.

    4. Terrorism gets hyped and hyped and hyped some more. While international terrorism isn't a trivial problem (and wasn't for decades before 9/11), it comes nowhere close to posing an existential threat to the United States. Indeed, other threats, notably the impact of climate change, constitute a far greater danger to the wellbeing of Americans. Worried about the safety of your children or grandchildren? The opioid epidemic constitutes an infinitely greater danger than "Islamic radicalism." Yet having been sold a bill of goods about a "war on terror" that is essential for "keeping America safe," mere citizens are easily persuaded that scattering U.S. troops throughout the Islamic world while dropping bombs on designated evildoers is helping win the former while guaranteeing the latter. To question that proposition becomes tantamount to suggesting that God might not have given Moses two stone tablets after all.

    5. Blather crowds out substance. When it comes to foreign policy, American public discourse is -- not to put too fine a point on it -- vacuous, insipid, and mindlessly repetitive. William Safire of the New York Times once characterized American political rhetoric as BOMFOG, with those running for high office relentlessly touting the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. Ask a politician, Republican or Democrat, to expound on this country's role in the world, and then brace yourself for some variant of WOSFAD, as the speaker insists that it is incumbent upon the World's Only Superpower to spread Freedom and Democracy. Terms like leadership and indispensable are introduced, along with warnings about the dangers of isolationism and appeasement, embellished with ominous references to Munich . Such grandiose posturing makes it unnecessary to probe too deeply into the actual origins and purposes of American wars, past or present, or assess the likelihood of ongoing wars ending in some approximation of actual success. Cheerleading displaces serious thought.

    6. Besides, we're too busy. Think of this as a corollary to point five. Even if the present-day American political scene included figures like Senators Robert La Follette or J. William Fulbright , who long ago warned against the dangers of militarizing U.S. policy, Americans may not retain a capacity to attend to such critiques. Responding to the demands of the Information Age is not, it turns out, conducive to deep reflection. We live in an era (so we are told) when frantic multitasking has become a sort of duty and when being overscheduled is almost obligatory. Our attention span shrinks and with it our time horizon. The matters we attend to are those that happened just hours or minutes ago. Yet like the great solar eclipse of 2017 -- hugely significant and instantly forgotten -- those matters will, within another few minutes or hours, be superseded by some other development that briefly captures our attention. As a result, a dwindling number of Americans -- those not compulsively checking Facebook pages and Twitter accounts -- have the time or inclination to ponder questions like: When will the Afghanistan War end? Why has it lasted almost 16 years? Why doesn't the finest fighting force in history actually win? Can't package an answer in 140 characters or a 30-second made-for-TV sound bite? Well, then, slowpoke, don't expect anyone to attend to what you have to say.

    7. Anyway, the next president will save us. At regular intervals, Americans indulge in the fantasy that, if we just install the right person in the White House, all will be well. Ambitious politicians are quick to exploit this expectation. Presidential candidates struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors, but all of them promise in one way or another to wipe the slate clean and Make America Great Again. Ignoring the historical record of promises broken or unfulfilled, and presidents who turn out not to be deities but flawed human beings, Americans -- members of the media above all -- pretend to take all this seriously. Campaigns become longer, more expensive, more circus-like, and ever less substantial. One might think that the election of Donald Trump would prompt a downward revision in the exalted expectations of presidents putting things right. Instead, especially in the anti-Trump camp, getting rid of Trump himself (Collusion! Corruption! Obstruction! Impeachment!) has become the overriding imperative, with little attention given to restoring the balance intended by the framers of the Constitution. The irony of Trump perpetuating wars that he once roundly criticized and then handing the conduct of those wars to generals devoid of ideas for ending them almost entirely escapes notice.

    8. Our culturally progressive military has largely immunized itself from criticism. As recently as the 1990s, the U.S. military establishment aligned itself with the retrograde side of the culture wars. Who can forget the gays-in-the-military controversy that rocked Bill Clinton's administration during his first weeks in office, as senior military leaders publicly denounced their commander-in-chief? Those days are long gone. Culturally, the armed forces have moved left. Today, the services go out of their way to project an image of tolerance and a commitment to equality on all matters related to race, gender, and sexuality. So when President Trump announced his opposition to transgendered persons serving in the armed forces, tweeting that the military "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail," senior officers politely but firmly disagreed and pushed back . Given the ascendency of cultural issues near the top of the U.S. political agenda, the military's embrace of diversity helps to insulate it from criticism and from being called to account for a less than sterling performance in waging wars. Put simply, critics who in an earlier day might have blasted military leaders for their inability to bring wars to a successful conclusion hold their fire. Having women graduate from Ranger School or command Marines in combat more than compensates for not winning.

    A collective indifference to war has become an emblem of contemporary America. But don't expect your neighbors down the street or the editors of the New York Times to lose any sleep over that fact. Even to notice it would require them -- and us -- to care.

    Andrew J. Bacevich, a TomDispatch regular , is the author, most recently, of America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History .

    Dan Hayes > , October 9, 2017 at 2:30 am GMT

    You have enumerated ten general reasons why Americans "don't attend" to ongoing wars.

    Let me add a further specific one: the draft or lack of same. If there were a draft in place either the powers-that-be would not even dare to contemplate any of our present martial misadventures, or failing that the outraged citizenry would burn down the Congress!

    BTW I had never thought about reason #8: the military's embrace of diversity helps to insulate it from criticism. This explains General Casey's inane statement that diversity shouldn't be a casualty of the Fort Hood massacre by a "diverse" officer!

    Carlton Meyer > , Website October 9, 2017 at 5:17 am GMT

    One reason Trump won is that he promised to pull back the empire, while suggesting the Pentagon already has plenty of money. After the election, he demanded a 10% increase, and threatens North Korea to justify it! This increase alone is bigger than the entire annual military budget of Russia! The public is informed that this is because of cuts during the Obama years, but there were no cuts, only limits to increases.

    How did the Democrats react? Most voted for a bigger military budget than the mindless increase proposed by Trump! That news was not reported by our corporate media, as Jimmy Dore explained:

    Miro23 > , October 9, 2017 at 6:52 am GMT

    A collective indifference to war has become an emblem of contemporary America.

    Well, yes, the US has recently killed 100.000′s of Arab civilians because they were Terrorists (?) or to Bring them Democracy (?) or whatever, or something – or who cares anyway. There's more coverage of the transgender toilet access question.

    So who are Mr & Mrs Indifferent, the emblems of contemporary America? https://www.yahoo.com/news/29-couples-boudoir-photos-almost-172445904.html ?.tsrc=fauxdal – Thanks to Priss

    Backwoods Bob > , October 9, 2017 at 7:37 am GMT

    Structurally, you have arms production, military bases, hospitals, and related service industries across nearly all the congressional districts in the country.

    So it is an enormous set of vested interests with both voting power and corporate money for campaign treasuries.

    Quoting Ike was good, and he mentions the opportunity cost in schools, roads, etc. – but also the organizing political and economic power of the military industrial complex.

    The government schools are with some exceptions worthless. No subject, let alone war, is taken on seriously.

    The legacy media has been co-opted by the MIC/Financial interests. The state is spying on everyone and everyone knows so. Free speech, free association, free assembly, right to bear arms, confront your accuser, trial by jury, habeas corpus – all gone now.

    So the sheep behave. They walk by the dead whistling, and look straight ahead.

    Robert Magill > , October 9, 2017 at 9:27 am GMT

    While serving as defense secretary in the 1960s, Robert McNamara once mused that the "greatest contribution" of the Vietnam War might have been to make it possible for the United States "to go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire." With regard to the conflict once widely referred to as McNamara's War, his claim proved grotesquely premature. Yet a half-century later, his wish has become reality.

    He was dead wrong about this in the 60′s as it soon became obvious to everyone else. But we learned how "to go to war without the necessity of arousing the public ire." Cut out the military draft and embed the press into the ranks so they dare not report the actions they witness.

    http://robertmagill.wordpress.com

    [Oct 05, 2017] Tillerson Summoned to White House Amid Presidential Fury

    MSm stil trying to sing Trump, and it looks like he is helping them. Campaign of well times and damaging leaks continue.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Additional reporting from Peter Alexander, Hallie Jackson and Vivian Salama. ..."
    Oct 05, 2017 | www.msn.com
    Additional reporting from Peter Alexander, Hallie Jackson and Vivian Salama.

    WASHINGTON -- John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, abruptly scrapped plans to travel with President Donald Trump on Wednesday so he could try to contain his boss's fury and manage the fallout from new revelations about tensions between the president and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to six senior administration officials.

    Kelly summoned Tillerson, and their ally Defense Secretary James Mattis, to the White House, where the three of them huddled to discuss a path forward, according to three administration officials. The White House downplayed Kelly's decision to stay in Washington, saying he did so to manage day-to-day operations.

    Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, was fuming in Phoenix, where he was traveling, seven officials told NBC News. He and Tillerson spoke on the phone before the secretary's public appearance on Wednesday morning.

    Pence was incensed upon learning from the NBC report that Tillerson's top spokesman had said he once privately questioned the value of Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Officials said the spokesman, R.C. Hammond, fabricated an anecdote that Pence had asked Tillerson in a meeting whether Haley, who is seen as a possible successor if Tillerson, is helpful or harmful to the administration.

    NBC reported Wednesday that Tillerson had threatened to resign in July after a series of clashes with the president, at one point venting his frustrations among his colleagues by calling the president a "moron," according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the matter at the time.

    Four senior administration officials said Trump first learned on Wednesday that Tillerson had disparaged him after a July 20 national security meeting at the Pentagon. Trump vented to Kelly Wednesday morning, leading Kelly to scrap plans to travel with the president to Las Vegas to meet with victims and first responders in Sunday's mass shooting.

    Trump was furious when he saw the NBC News report, which was published shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday. For the next two hours the president fumed inside the White House, venting to Kelly, officials said. He left for Las Vegas shortly after 8 a.m., 20 minutes behind schedule. Tillerson scrambled to pull together a statement, while his spokesman publicly apologized for his comments about Pence and Haley, saying he "spoke out of line about conversations I wasn't privy to."

    Tillerson delivered a statement praising Trump and insisting he never considered resigning, but it's what he didn't say that further enraged Trump, officials said.

    The secretary's refusal to deny that he had called the president a "moron" in his opening statement and in his responses to questions from reporters stoked Trump's anger and widened the rift between the two men, officials said. After watching the secretary's response Wednesday, one White House official said, "When Tillerson didn't deny it, I assumed it was true." Hammond is seen by the White House, particularly Pence's office, as untrustworthy, officials said. It's unclear if he will remain in his post, according to three administration officials.

    Pence was "very annoyed anyone would misrepresent anything he said, particularly in private meetings," one White House official said. On Wednesday, this source said, White House officials spoke to State Department officials to make it clear that Hammond's comment was "false" and needed to be corrected. The revelations followed Trump's frustrations over the weekend after Tillerson said the U.S. would talk to North Korea.

    State Department officials tried to reach Tillerson on his government aircraft during his flight from Beijing to Japan, but they couldn't reach him, sources said. The secretary and his team didn't want to issue a clarification, further stoking tensions with the White House, on administration official said.

    Trump took to Twitter, telling Tillerson not to waste his time trying to negotiate with the North Korean regime.

    Related:

    • Tillerson's Fury at Trump Required an Intervention from Pence

    [Oct 04, 2017] Wheels and Deals Trouble Brewing in the House of Saud by Pepe Escobar

    The quote attributed to Mark Twain and Yogi Berra "It's Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future" still holds. This assessment by Pete Escobar about forthcoming bankruptcy of KAS need to be verified in three years from now. It is unclear whether the key future events (such as prediction that the current Crown Prince might be deposed with the CIA help) will take place.
    It is, nevertheless, clear that KAS economics is under considerable stress due to low oil prices and that eventually can bankrupt the kingdom as foreign currency reserves shrink rapidly. What such economic crisis might entail for KAS we can only guess by reshuffling at the top is quite probably in this case. So in a way the future of KAS hangs on how soon oil prices will be pushed back into $100 range.
    Notable quotes:
    "... MBS is surrounded by inexperienced thirty-something princes, and alienating just about everyone else. ..."
    "... "the CIA is outraged that the compromise worked out in April, 2014 has been abrogated wherein the greatest anti-terrorist factor in the Middle East, Mohammed bin Nayef, was arrested." That may prompt "vigorous action taken against MBS possibly in early October." And it might even coincide with the Salman-Trump get together. ..."
    "... Asia Times' Gulf business source stresses how "the Saudi economy is under extreme strain based on their oil price war against Russia, and they are behind their bills in paying just about all their contractors. That could lead to the bankruptcy of some of the major enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia of MBS features the Crown Prince buying a US$600 million yacht and his father spending US$100 million on his summer vacation, highlighted on the front pages of the New York Times while the Kingdom strangles under their leadership." ..."
    "... MBS's pet project, the spun-to-death Vision 2030, in theory aims to diversify from mere oil profits and dependency on the US to a more modern economy (and a more independent foreign policy). That's completely misguided, according to the source, because "the problem in Saudi Arabia is that their companies cannot function with their local population and [are] reliant on expatriates for about 70% or more of their staff. Aramco cannot run without expatriates. Therefore, selling 5% of Aramco to diversify does not solve the problem. If he wants a more productive society, and less handouts and meaningless government jobs, he has to first train and employ his own people." ..."
    "... The similarly lauded Aramco IPO, arguably the largest share sale in history and originally scheduled for next year, has once again been postponed – "possibly" to the second half of 2019, according to officials in Riyadh. And still no one knows where shares will be sold; the NYSE is far from a done deal. ..."
    "... I n parallel, MBS's war on Yemen, and the Saudi drive for regime change in Syria and to reshape the Greater Middle East, have turned out to be spectacular disasters. ..."
    "... The Islamic State project was conceived as the ideal tool to force Iraq to implode. It's now public domain that the organization's funding came mostly from Saudi Arabia. Even the former imam of Mecca has publicly admitted ISIS' leadership "draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, our own principles." ..."
    "... Salafi-jihadism is more than alive inside the Kingdom even as MBS tries to spin a (fake) liberal trend (the "baby you can drive my car" stunt). The problem is Riyadh congenitally cannot deliver on any liberal promise; the only legitimacy for the House of Saud lies in those religious "books" and "principles." ..."
    "... In Syria, besides the fact that an absolute majority of the country's population does not wish to live in a Takfiristan , Saudi Arabia supported ISIS while Qatar supported al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra). That ended up in a crossfire bloodbath, with all those non-existent US-supported "moderate rebels" reduced to road kill. ..."
    "... In Enemy of the State, the latest Mitch Rapp thriller written by Kyle Mills, President Alexander, sitting at the White House, blurts, "the Middle East is imploding because those Saudi sons of bitches have been pumping up religious fundamentalism to hide the fact that they're robbing their people blind." That's a fair assessment. ..."
    "... In terms of what Washington wants, the CIA is not fond of MBS, to say the least. They want "their" man Nayef back. As for the Trump administration, rumors swirl it is " desperate for Saudi money , especially infrastructure investments in the Rust Belt." ..."
    "... This piece first appeared in Asia Times . ..."
    Oct 04, 2017 | www.counterpunch.org

    No wonder, considering that the ousted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef – highly regarded in the Beltway, especially Langley – is under house arrest. His massive web of agents at the Interior Ministry has largely been "relieved of their authority". The new Interior Minister is Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef, 34, the eldest son of the governor of the country's largely Shi'ite Eastern Province, where all the oil is. Curiously, the father is now reporting to his son. MBS is surrounded by inexperienced thirty-something princes, and alienating just about everyone else.

    Former King Abdulaziz set up his Saudi succession based on the seniority of his sons; in theory, if each one lived to the same age all would have a shot at the throne, thus avoiding the bloodletting historically common in Arabian clans over lines of succession.

    Now, says the source, "a bloodbath is predicted to be imminent." Especially because "the CIA is outraged that the compromise worked out in April, 2014 has been abrogated wherein the greatest anti-terrorist factor in the Middle East, Mohammed bin Nayef, was arrested." That may prompt "vigorous action taken against MBS possibly in early October." And it might even coincide with the Salman-Trump get together.

    ISIS playing by the (Saudi) book

    Asia Times' Gulf business source stresses how "the Saudi economy is under extreme strain based on their oil price war against Russia, and they are behind their bills in paying just about all their contractors. That could lead to the bankruptcy of some of the major enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabia of MBS features the Crown Prince buying a US$600 million yacht and his father spending US$100 million on his summer vacation, highlighted on the front pages of the New York Times while the Kingdom strangles under their leadership."

    MBS's pet project, the spun-to-death Vision 2030, in theory aims to diversify from mere oil profits and dependency on the US to a more modern economy (and a more independent foreign policy). That's completely misguided, according to the source, because "the problem in Saudi Arabia is that their companies cannot function with their local population and [are] reliant on expatriates for about 70% or more of their staff. Aramco cannot run without expatriates. Therefore, selling 5% of Aramco to diversify does not solve the problem. If he wants a more productive society, and less handouts and meaningless government jobs, he has to first train and employ his own people."

    The similarly lauded Aramco IPO, arguably the largest share sale in history and originally scheduled for next year, has once again been postponed – "possibly" to the second half of 2019, according to officials in Riyadh. And still no one knows where shares will be sold; the NYSE is far from a done deal.

    I n parallel, MBS's war on Yemen, and the Saudi drive for regime change in Syria and to reshape the Greater Middle East, have turned out to be spectacular disasters. Egypt and Pakistan have refused to send troops to Yemen, where relentless Saudi air bombing – with US and UK weapons – has accelerated malnutrition, famine and cholera, and configured a massive humanitarian crisis.

    The Islamic State project was conceived as the ideal tool to force Iraq to implode. It's now public domain that the organization's funding came mostly from Saudi Arabia. Even the former imam of Mecca has publicly admitted ISIS' leadership "draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, our own principles."

    Which brings us to the ultimate Saudi contradiction. Salafi-jihadism is more than alive inside the Kingdom even as MBS tries to spin a (fake) liberal trend (the "baby you can drive my car" stunt). The problem is Riyadh congenitally cannot deliver on any liberal promise; the only legitimacy for the House of Saud lies in those religious "books" and "principles."

    In Syria, besides the fact that an absolute majority of the country's population does not wish to live in a Takfiristan , Saudi Arabia supported ISIS while Qatar supported al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra). That ended up in a crossfire bloodbath, with all those non-existent US-supported "moderate rebels" reduced to road kill.

    And then there's the economic blockade against Qatar – another brilliant MBS plot. That has only served to improve Doha's relations with both Ankara and Tehran. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was not regime-changed, whether or not Trump really dissuaded Riyadh and Abu Dhabi from taking "military action." There was no economic strangulation: Total, for instance, is about to invest US$2 billion to expand production of Qatari natural gas. And Qatar, via its sovereign fund, counterpunched with the ultimate soft power move – it bought global footballing brand Neymar for PSG , and the "blockade" sank without a trace.

    "Robbing their people blind"

    In Enemy of the State, the latest Mitch Rapp thriller written by Kyle Mills, President Alexander, sitting at the White House, blurts, "the Middle East is imploding because those Saudi sons of bitches have been pumping up religious fundamentalism to hide the fact that they're robbing their people blind." That's a fair assessment.

    No dissent whatsoever is allowed in Saudi Arabia. Even the economic analyst Isam Az-Zamil, very close to the top, has been arrested during the current repression campaign. So opposition to MBS does not come only from the royal family or some top clerics – although the official spin rules that only those supporting Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey, Iran and Qatari "terrorism" are being targeted.

    In terms of what Washington wants, the CIA is not fond of MBS, to say the least. They want "their" man Nayef back. As for the Trump administration, rumors swirl it is " desperate for Saudi money , especially infrastructure investments in the Rust Belt."

    It will be immensely enlightening to compare what Trump gets from Salman with what Putin gets from Salman: the ailing King will visit Moscow in late October. Rosneft is interested in buying shares of Aramco when the IPO takes place. Riyadh and Moscow are considering an OPEC deal extension as well as an OPEC-non-OPEC cooperation platform incorporating the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

    Riyadh has read the writing on the new wall: Moscow's rising political / strategic capital all across the board, from Iran, Syria and Qatar to Turkey and Yemen. That does not sit well with the US deep state. Even if Trump gets some Rust Belt deals, the burning question is whether the CIA and its friends can live with MBS on the House of Saud throne.

    This piece first appeared in Asia Times .

    Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007), Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge and Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009). His latest book is Empire of Chaos . He may be reached at [email protected] .

    [Oct 03, 2017] The Vietnam Nightmare -- Again by Eric Margolis

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... The US military understands it has long ago lost the Afghan War but cannot bear the humiliation of admitting it was defeated by lightly-armed mountain tribesmen fighting for their independence. ..."
    "... Vietnam was not a 'tragedy,' as the PBS series asserts, but the product of imperial geopolitics. The same holds true for today's Mideast wars. To paraphrase a famous slogan from Vietnam, we destroyed Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria to make them safe for 'freedom.' ..."
    "... The war became aimless and often surreal. We soldiers all knew our senior officers and political leaders were lying. Many soldiers were at the edge of mutiny, like the French Army in 1917. Back in those ancient days, we had expected our political leaders to be men of rectitude who told us the truth. Thanks to Vietnam, the politicians were exposed as liars and heartless cynics with no honor. ..."
    "... This same dark cloud hangs over our political landscape today. We have destroyed large parts of the Mideast, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan without a second thought – yet wonder why peoples from these ravaged nations hate us. Now, North Korea seems next. ..."
    "... In spite of all, our imperial impulse till throbs. The nightmare Vietnam War in which over 58,000 American soldiers died for nothing has been largely forgotten. ..."
    "... For both Vietnam and Afghanistan, as well as other places, the guiding principle is that they live there and we don't. These are all expeditionary wars for the US. Resistant peoples can't be controlled at a distance ..."
    "... So, considering that Viet commies stood for patriotism and national sovereignty, maybe the globalist viewpoint is more favorable to US efforts to turn Vietnam into globo-disneyland. ..."
    "... Americans at-large have no power. A small cadre runs things now. Once Americans didn't have a draft to worry over, they vacated the streets and left the dying to the farmers' sons (metaphor for the poor). ..."
    "... War after war lost, yet the Generals are still revered, money to the pro-war think tanks is never ending and the revolving door between the Pentagon, White House and defense contractors (and their corporate boards) has never been richer. Doesn't matter the war industry doesn't win wars, the money is just so damned good they can't stop, won't stop. And who is to stop them? These are the folks that kill people, that have a file on each of us. Indeed, it is our only remaining industry, flawed and failed though it may be. It certainly is a rich one. And it IS unstoppable. Completely. Utterly. ..."
    "... When the communists gave up and joined the party, our globalist masters realized that they could not only amass further wealth by spreading these things to the former communist bloc and under-exploited non-aligned nations, but they could now squeeze even more profit-margin out of the home territories by wearing down the power of the local workforce at all levels, except, of course, for the very pinnacle, by outsourcing production and even many services to the newly "developing world." ..."
    "... Ironically, fighting the communist threat probably kept our leadership more honest than they have been in the new world order since the fall of communism. ..."
    "... I know opinions vary on Ken Burns/PBS's "Vietnam" documentary, but what struck me is that we're following the same script in Afghanistan and the Middle East as we were in Vietnam and expecting a different (i.e., more favorable) outcome. The script being "pacification" through providing medicine, foodstuffs, soccer balls and American smiles to the local populations combined with placing massive amounts of ordnance on targets deemed hostile. It didn't win hearts and minds then nor is it now. ..."
    "... The monumentally stupid war mismanagement of Pentagon chief Robert McNamara, a know-it-all who knew nothing, ..."
    "... We have legions of McNamara's calling the shots today. They are called neoconservatives and liberal interventionists. The big brains of the Ivy league do seem to excel at steering us into icebergs time and again. ..."
    "... What don't you understand about Clausewitz's dictum "war is the mere continuation of politics with other means"? War is what you do when you can't achieve your political objectives by other means. The United States' political objective in Vietnam was to prevent the American satrapy in the south being re-united by the nationalists in the north. So, where the f ** k is South Vietnam? The United States might believe it won every battle (slight exaggeration) but it still lost the American war. ..."
    "... I bet they didn't cover the mutiny in the ranks which is the main reason the US had to withdraw because of a "broken army." That included fragging, mission refusal, and an overall negative attitude as you suggest. Now we have a volunteer army, a warrior class, which changes that dynamic. ..."
    "... Too many of the volunteers are really economic draftees. You can have plenty of discipline problems with volunteers, I've seen it up close and personal, although never reaching the level of mutiny. ..."
    Sep 30, 2017 | www.unz.com

    The current 17-year old US war in Afghanistan has uncanny resemblances to the Vietnam War. In Kabul and Saigon, the US installed puppet governments that command no loyalty except from minority groups. They were steeped in drugs and corruption, and kept in power by intensive use of American air power. As in Vietnam, the US military and civilian effort in Afghanistan is led by a toxic mixture of deep ignorance and imperial arrogance.

    The US military understands it has long ago lost the Afghan War but cannot bear the humiliation of admitting it was defeated by lightly-armed mountain tribesmen fighting for their independence. In Vietnam, Washington could not admit that young Vietnamese guerillas and regulars had bested the US armed forces thanks to their indomitable courage and intelligent tactics. No one outside Vietnam cared about the 2-3 million civilians killed in the conflict

    Unfortunately, the PBS program fails to convey this imperial arrogance and the ignorance that impelled Washington into the war – the same foolhardy behavior that sent US forces into Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq and perhaps may do so in a second Korean War. The imperial spirit still burns hot in Washington among those who don't know or understand the outside world. The lessons of all these past conflicts have been forgotten: Washington's collective memory is only three years long.

    Vietnam was not a 'tragedy,' as the PBS series asserts, but the product of imperial geopolitics. The same holds true for today's Mideast wars. To paraphrase a famous slogan from Vietnam, we destroyed Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria to make them safe for 'freedom.'

    One of the craziest things about the Vietnam War has rarely been acknowledged: even at peak deployment, the 550,000 US soldiers in Vietnam were outnumbered by North Vietnamese fighting units.

    That's because the huge US military had only about 50,000 real combat troops in the field. The other half million were support troops performing logistical and administrative functions behind the lines: a vast army of typists, cooks, truck drivers, psychologists, and pizza-makers.

    Too much tail to teeth, as the army calls it. For Thanksgiving, everyone got turkey dinner with cranberry sauce, choppered into the remotest outposts. But there were simply not enough riflemen to take on the Viet Cong and tough North Vietnamese Army whose Soviet M1954 130mm howitzer with a 27 km range were far superior to the US Army's outdated WWII artillery.

    Poor generalship, mediocre officers, and lack of discipline ensured that the US war effort in Vietnam would become and remain a mess. Stupid, pointless attacks against heavily defended hills inflicted huge casualties on US troops and eroded morale.

    The monumentally stupid war mismanagement of Pentagon chief Robert McNamara, a know-it-all who knew nothing, turned the war into a macabre joke. This was the dumbest command decision since Louis XV put his girlfriend Madame de Pompadour in charge of his armies.

    We soldiers, both in Vietnam and Stateside, scorned the war and mocked our officers. It didn't help that much of the US force in 'Nam' were often stoned and rebellious.

    The January 30, 1968 Tet Offensive put the kibosh on US plans to pursue the war – and even take it into south-west China. Tet was a military victory of sorts for the US (and why not, with thousands of warplanes and B-52 heavy bombers) but a huge political/psychological victory for the Communists in spite of their heavy losses.

    I vividly recall standing with a group of GI's reading a typed report on our company barracks advising that the Special Forces camp in the Central Highlands to which many of our company had been assigned for immediate duty had been overrun at Tet, and all its defenders killed. After that, the US Army's motto was 'stay alive, avoid combat, and smoke another reefer.'

    The war became aimless and often surreal. We soldiers all knew our senior officers and political leaders were lying. Many soldiers were at the edge of mutiny, like the French Army in 1917. Back in those ancient days, we had expected our political leaders to be men of rectitude who told us the truth. Thanks to Vietnam, the politicians were exposed as liars and heartless cynics with no honor.

    This same dark cloud hangs over our political landscape today. We have destroyed large parts of the Mideast, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan without a second thought – yet wonder why peoples from these ravaged nations hate us. Now, North Korea seems next.

    Showing defiance to Washington brought B-52 bombers, toxic Agent Orange defoliants and endless storms of napalm and white phosphorus that would burn through one's body until it hit bone.

    In spite of all, our imperial impulse till throbs. The nightmare Vietnam War in which over 58,000 American soldiers died for nothing has been largely forgotten. So we can now repeat the same fatal errors again without shame, remorse or understanding.

    (Republished from EricMargolis.com by permission of author or representative)

    anonymous, Disclaimer September 30, 2017 at 3:36 pm GMT

    For both Vietnam and Afghanistan, as well as other places, the guiding principle is that they live there and we don't. These are all expeditionary wars for the US. Resistant peoples can't be controlled at a distance. Of course the morale of US soldiers ends up being bad when they realize there's nothing for them to fight for. No one wants to die to help some politician save face. Insofar as the current much publicized Vietnam documentary goes there doesn't seem to be anything that's new or original. All of it has been known for many years to anyone who would bother to brush up on the subject. The question is whether Americans are capable of learning from the past and the answer seems to be no for the vast majority.

    anonymous, Disclaimer September 30, 2017 at 3:36 pm GMT

    For both Vietnam and Afghanistan, as well as other places, the guiding principle is that they live there and we don't. These are all expeditionary wars for the US. Resistant peoples can't be controlled at a distance. Of course the morale of US soldiers ends up being bad when they realize there's nothing for them to fight for. No one wants to die to help some politician save face. Insofar as the current much publicized Vietnam documentary goes there doesn't seem to be anything that's new or original. All of it has been known for many years to anyone who would bother to brush up on the subject. The question is whether Americans are capable of learning from the past and the answer seems to be no for the vast majority.

    Cranky, September 30, 2017 at 3:37 pm GMT

    So whose name gets to be the last American killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, etc? Dying for a place on the memorial, boys. "The war was being run by a bunch of four-star clowns who were going to end up giving the whole circus away."

    Some things don't change- I wonder if Rand has a new copy of the Pentagon Papers regarding post 9/11. And a new Nixon in office .he vowed to get out too -- and yet pushed more into it simply amazing.

    nsa, September 30, 2017 at 5:55 pm GMT

    @Sam McGowan First, I was heavily involved in Vietnam from 1965 to 1970. Second, I have written extensively about the war and read the books. The fact is that the US didn't "lose" the war, the left-wing presidents that got us into it, JFK and LBJ, has no intention of defeating the communist insurgency, they just wanted "to contain it". Cam Ranh Bay and made a speech in which he commented to the troops present that he wanted them to "nail the coonskin to the wall." Richard Nixon began withdrawing troops immediately after his inauguration and gave Abrams an edict to "reduce American casualties" shortly afterwards. In fact, Vietnam as well as Korea - as well as other wars around the world - were continuations of World War II, which Americans thought ended when the Japanese surrendered. By the way, I am not watching Ken Burn's latest left-wing propaganda piece nor do I intend to. I don't need him to tell me what happened in Southeast Asia, I was there. Save your senile hot air for the other menopausal drunks drooling in the VFW lounge. The conscript US military completely collapsed fragging, rampant drug usage, desertion, abject morale, chain of command disintegration, and the usual commissioned officer cowardice. Any western country stupid enough to pursue a land war in Asia deserves what it gets .inevitable defeat and humiliation.

    Priss Factor, Website September 30, 2017 at 7:27 pm GMT

    I don't think CucKen Burns is entirely wrong in empathizing with those who got involved. Sure, there were warmongers. Sure, they were profiteers. Sure, there were power-maniacs. Sure, there were paranoids.

    But Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon were not particularly sadistic or cruel men. Eisenhower could be aloof and mean. Kennedy could be vain. Johnson was plenty corrupt. Nixon could be nasty. But were not psychos or radicals like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, or Mao.

    As for military men, well, whaddya expect? They were trained to think of the world in terms of military power. As for CIA, we are talking of more sinister elements, but let's keep in mind that Soviets had their intelligence organizations and methods of subversion. Let's remember Soviets had infiltrated FDR's government and pulled dirty trick. Even got the Bomb during Truman era.
    Also, Soviets could be utterly ruthless in their own empire.

    Now, would the US have intervened in Vietnam if the nation was to be united by a non-communist nationalist? Probably not. US didn't intervene in Indonesia when it gained independence under Sukarno. The only reason US got involved was because Ho was a Soviet-leaning communist. And even though Domino theory has been 'debunked', it made sense at the time. Even Soviets believed in it. Mao believed in it. Soviets believed that sign of US weakness could spread the revolution all around. Che Guevara believed in the Domino Theory. Communist victory over Cuba, he thought, would herald spread of communism all over Latin America, and then it would spread into US itself. Che really believed this, which is why he died in Bolivia trying to start an insurgency.

    Also, in a way, Domino Theory did come true, at least for awhile. Not so much in Southeast Asia, though Laos and Cambodia also fell to communism. And keep in mind Indonesia almost could have become communist if the Peking-backed coup had succeeded. And keep in mind it took lots of British brutality and ruthlessness to stem the communist movement in Malaysia. Brits built huge hamlets and concentration camps. They took extreme measures.

    At any rate, communism did continue to spread after the fall of Vietnam. US power seemed to be declining. And not only communists were emboldened by US defeat in Vietnam. Vietnam became a metaphor for anti-Americanism all over the world. May 68 movement that almost brought down the French government was fired up partly by Vietnam(though it began as some silly stuff about dorms and sex). Vietnam was bigger than Algeria because US was seen as the Great Power. French defeat wasn't all that surprising in Algeria. So, after US left from Vietnam, there was a sense that David could beat American Goliath. Iran regime fell and Islamists came to power. Afghanistan turned communist, and Soviets felt emboldened in rolling in tanks. Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Angola turned communist. Communists won in Nicaragua and almost won in El Salvador. There was a raging Maoist insurgency in Peru. Allende came to power through elections, and he was pro-Soviet and pro-Cuba. He was removed only by US-backed coup that did as much harm as good. It blackened US reputation around the world. So, in a way, the Domino Theory wasn't all wrong. Vietnam did signal a sea-change in world politics at least for awhile.

    In the end, communism wasn't defeated by the US. It defeated itself. Soviet economics just couldn't sustain the empire. Its subsidies to Cuba were costly. Its support of Marxist regimes in Africa drained Soviet economy. USSR had to prop up Iron Curtain nations economically. And Vietnamese communism was a disaster. Maoism was hell on earth. Some might say communism failed cuz Capitalist West froze the communists out of world trade. But considering that the communist world encompassed resource-rich Soviet Empire, people-rich China, and lots of nations willing to do business with communist nations -- India and Arab nations had good relations with Soviets -- , the real reason for failure of communism was it was its own worst enemy.

    And when we look at the aftermath of communist victory in Indochina -- brutal repression in Vietnam and Laos and psychotic democide in Cambodia -- and when we consider how even communist nations like China and Vietnam switched to market economics, it's clear that US was on the right side of history on many issues.

    Also, the conflict was complicated because both sides were aggressors. US was the aggressor in working with the French to divide Vietnam in half, in occupying the southern half, and dropping bombs and using Viet women as whores. But the communists were also aggressors because they tried to impose a form of Stalinism on people in the South, most of whom didn't want communism. After all, many more people fled the north to the south than vice versa. Why? There is something prison-like about communism. The commissars never leave you alone. Also, North Vietnamese leaders, though inspired and patriotic, were utterly ruthless in their own way, willing to sacrifice any number of people for victory just like Japanese militarists were willing to Go All the Way instead of calling it quits to save lives.

    Still, in retrospect, Ho Chi Minh was a genuine patriot, a legendary figure much beloved by many Viets. And for that reason, US shouldn't have intervened, and the whole mess could have been avoided.

    CucKen Burns makes my skin crawl, but at his best, he can look at both sides of the issue instead of going for b/w version of history with good guys vs bad guys.

    That said, maybe his position reflects globalism. As Proglobalists now control the US, the neo-Pax-Americana is about the spread of agendas favored by the likes of CucKen Burns, like homomania, Jewish Power, anti-nationalism, and Afromania. Today's progs want the world to become neo-Americanized.

    And in Vietnam, as Linh Dinh reported, there is now homo parades and Afromania and Vietcuckery. So, considering that Viet commies stood for patriotism and national sovereignty, maybe the globalist viewpoint is more favorable to US efforts to turn Vietnam into globo-disneyland.

    After all, where was CucKen Burns when Obama and Hillary were destroying Libya, Ukraine, Syria, and etc. Where were he and his ilk when Jews were cooking up New Cold War with Russia with hysteria that would make McCarthy blush?

    Anon, Disclaimer October 1, 2017 at 4:37 am GMT

    Is the view that JFK wanted out of Vietnam merely a conspiratorial fantasy?. The following articles are easy reads:

    Exit Strategy: In 1963, JFK ordered a complete withdrawal from Vietnam
    James K. Galbraith, BOSTON REVIEW

    JFK's Vietnam Withdrawal Plan Is a Fact, Not Speculation
    A response to Rick Perlstein.
    By James K. Galbraith, THE NATION

    Jim Christian, October 1, 2017 at 6:03 am GMT

    @anonymous

    "The question is whether Americans are capable of learning from the past and the answer seems to be no for the vast majority."

    Americans at-large have no power. A small cadre runs things now. Once Americans didn't have a draft to worry over, they vacated the streets and left the dying to the farmers' sons (metaphor for the poor). That's all it is. The damage done to the economy, the sheer quantities of cash vacuumed up from the rest of the country and showered over the Washington DC region escapes the imagination of us out here in the country with our local issues and problems. These, rooted in the sheer theft of our taxes and handed over to the war-mongers of DC because there simply isn't enough left over after feeding The Beast in Washington. We have aircraft carriers that can't launch aircraft, planes that won't fly, weapons that won't work and wrong strategies followed in war-fighting and procurement, yet still, the theft goes on.

    War after war lost, yet the Generals are still revered, money to the pro-war think tanks is never ending and the revolving door between the Pentagon, White House and defense contractors (and their corporate boards) has never been richer. Doesn't matter the war industry doesn't win wars, the money is just so damned good they can't stop, won't stop. And who is to stop them? These are the folks that kill people, that have a file on each of us. Indeed, it is our only remaining industry, flawed and failed though it may be. It certainly is a rich one. And it IS unstoppable. Completely. Utterly.

    Jim Christian, October 1, 2017 at 6:22 am GMT

    @Sam McGowan Concur all, McGowan, good takes. Yeah, my Pop was into Naval spook communications and messaging, he'd pick up the WashPost off the driveway and see various and sundry in the paper lying and white-washing the effort and just be wild by the time he left for work. He knew the carriers were having no success, he knew the air-war was a mess, he knew the Marines were getting killed all over the country. People that knew the truth from the inside hadda keep their traps shut.

    By the time I joined up for a 6 year dose of USN carrier decks in 1976 I got the scoop from a few of our officers, almost all of whom had flown with VA35 over Vietnam in A-6′s. Clusterfuck, they could then acknowledge just those few years later, only the most junior officers hadn't served in the air war over Vietnam. And they had good stories that pointed out the folly throughout.

    Now? The military is just a revenue-stream, nothing produced, much destroyed to the enrichment of a few insiders.

    2/1Doc RVN 68-89, October 1, 2017 at 12:27 pm GMT

    Sir
    Recently came across some startling statistics about men who served in Vietnam like you and me. Of the 2.7 million who served only 850,000 are still alive at last census!!!!!! 700,500 died prematurely between 1995 census and 2000 census. No country for old men .

    The Alarmist, October 1, 2017 at 4:08 pm GMT

    @Priss Factor

    "And in Vietnam, as Linh Dinh reported, there is now homo parades and Afromania and Vietcuckery. So, considering that Viet commies stood for patriotism and national sovereignty, maybe the globalist viewpoint is more favorable to US efforts to turn Vietnam into globo-disneyland."

    Bingo! The only problem is that the globalists are now using the opportunity to also wear down the populations of the home territories as well. The only reason our national economic imperialism wasn't enough of a raging success (don't get me wrong by any rational measure it was) was that it was kept in check by the opposing communist bloc, and still America managed to conquer the so-called free world with Coca Cola, McDonalds, Hollywood Inc., etc.

    When the communists gave up and joined the party, our globalist masters realized that they could not only amass further wealth by spreading these things to the former communist bloc and under-exploited non-aligned nations, but they could now squeeze even more profit-margin out of the home territories by wearing down the power of the local workforce at all levels, except, of course, for the very pinnacle, by outsourcing production and even many services to the newly "developing world."

    Ironically, fighting the communist threat probably kept our leadership more honest than they have been in the new world order since the fall of communism.

    The Alarmist, October 1, 2017 at 4:25 pm GMT

    "No one in Washington seemed to know that China and the Soviet Union had split and become bitter enemies. As ever, our foreign human intelligence was lousy."

    They knew of the rift that had grown since 1960 or so, but they didn't believe it until the short border war in 1969. The same way that a number of indicators suggested as early as 1983 that the USSR was imploding, but the menace of the USSR was used to keep justifying a buildup and procurement of new systems until and even beyond its actual implosion a few years later.

    Evil, stupid, or merely blind. You decide.

    KenH, October 1, 2017 at 11:00 pm GMT

    I know opinions vary on Ken Burns/PBS's "Vietnam" documentary, but what struck me is that we're following the same script in Afghanistan and the Middle East as we were in Vietnam and expecting a different (i.e., more favorable) outcome. The script being "pacification" through providing medicine, foodstuffs, soccer balls and American smiles to the local populations combined with placing massive amounts of ordnance on targets deemed hostile. It didn't win hearts and minds then nor is it now.

    The generals keep telling us that with just a few more antibiotics, soccer balls and troops victory is around the bend.

    Hindsight's always 20/20, but to be fair a military force in Vietnam did seem like the right thing do at least in the early years. Any de-escalation and/or withdrawals would have been perceived by a rabidly anti-communist population as surrendering to communist aggression and political suicide for any president proposing it.

    The monumentally stupid war mismanagement of Pentagon chief Robert McNamara, a know-it-all who knew nothing,

    We have legions of McNamara's calling the shots today. They are called neoconservatives and liberal interventionists. The big brains of the Ivy league do seem to excel at steering us into icebergs time and again.

    As it was former allies Vietnam and China briefly fought each other in 1979 and Vietnam didn't have the desire or the ability to project power much beyond Cambodia and Laos.

    DB Cooper, October 2, 2017 at 4:38 am GMT

    "We really believed that if the US did not make a stand in Vietnam the Soviets and Chinese would overrun all of South Asia."

    India played a big role in shaping this narrative. Just five years ago before 1967 China finally responded to India's creeping land grab after years of trying to warn New Delhi's to stop its 'Forward Policy' by launching a massive anticipatory strike into India. India was defeated militarily but India was able to fool the world that India was a hapless victim against an agressive China when in fact the reverse is true.

    • http://gregoryclark.net/redif.html
    • http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/news-events/podcasts/renewed-tension-indiachina-border-whos-blame
    Diversity Heretic, October 2, 2017 at 6:14 am GMT

    @Jim Christian A bit off topic, but, since I know that you had naval experience, any take on why Navy ships keep colliding with merchantmen? Is it reduced competence because of racial and sexual preferences, or overworked sailors because deployed ships are short-staffed as a result of pregnancies? Or is it just a run of bad luck? I've read some different theories but I've seen you post often enough to know that you'll have an informed opinion.

    Blowback, October 2, 2017 at 1:07 pm GMT

    @Sam McGowan What don't you understand about Clausewitz's dictum "war is the mere continuation of politics with other means"? War is what you do when you can't achieve your political objectives by other means. The United States' political objective in Vietnam was to prevent the American satrapy in the south being re-united by the nationalists in the north. So, where the f ** k is South Vietnam? The United States might believe it won every battle (slight exaggeration) but it still lost the American war.

    Jim Christian, October 2, 2017 at 1:09 pm GMT

    @Diversity Heretic The military is off-kilter all over. Navigation? Routine. Ought to be. Not anymore. Procurement? Driven by inertia and the corruption of planners that know a carrier's planes are useless if the ship has to stand off 500-1000 miles because of a cruise missile environment that they KNOW every third-world shitbox has been building for 30 years now, starting with the Norks. From aircraft to ships, a complete clusterfuck.

    Personnel? Ya gotta be shitting me, right? Between the sexism, reverse-racism and the cultural kookiness from the top of a terrorized Central Command and throughout the military, right down to the pretty little Blonde Hispanic Black Dwarf tranny just dying to terrorize said command with a complaint, we really haven't much good to say about our staffing. It's not a meritocracy anymore, hasn't been since Reagan. The entire thing is sitting there waiting to be taken down and humiliated.

    And still? We sprinkle the trillions onto the DC region, make the war planners rich, we still lionize Generals and Admirals that haven't won shit in 75 years and we cycle them through the think tanks and corporate boards of the defense contractors and make THEM rich too. Then we even put them in charge at the White House, having discarded the notion of Congressional approval for the wars they "fight" in our names. And they start wars. And finally, the notion that we have civilian control of our military is long gone. We are a Junta. There is a coup ongoing, two or more in our past and we're no more than a broke but dangerous and heavily armed danger to the rest of the world run by the thugs of the Pentagon, the think tanks, the defense contractors and the lazy sloth of Congress, who is supposed to keep this shit straight and Constitutional. Doom. Yes, the word doom comes to mind.

    Don Bacon, October 2, 2017 at 2:56 pm GMT

    @anonymous re: "No one wants to die to help some politician save face."

    I don't have a teevee, but I bet they didn't cover the mutiny in the ranks which is the main reason the US had to withdraw because of a "broken army." That included fragging, mission refusal, and an overall negative attitude as you suggest. Now we have a volunteer army, a warrior class, which changes that dynamic.

    Jim Christian, October 2, 2017 at 4:08 pm GMT

    @Diversity Heretic

    Thanks! Always appreciate your candor!

    One man's opinion. I do wish someone would show me where I'm wrong, but I spent too many years down in DC doing their tech stuff after I left the Navy (too many women that couldn't, at that point in 82, go to sea) and so they only had more sea duty because the shore billets were all taken in their haste to "integrate" women into the Navy. Even instructor duty for Naval Air Maintenance was hosted by women that had never served a day in carrier air, training the young mice how to do business on a flight deck. They did offer me, for variety, another four year hitch in a WestPac squadron aboard one damned carrier deck or another. Already having done 5, I said no thanks and went back home to Virginia. And so I got familiar with the workings of the spooks, Booze, Allen, Heritage, Cato, Brookings, the Pentagon, NSA, FBI, Quantico, there were hundreds of them, most with two or three names in the chain of title. I did their phones for decades, they're psychos, they're paranoid, everything classified and spooky and ooga-booga. Worthless ants on a big log and they each think they're steering it down the river.

    Bunch of fucking Frank Burns's is what they are..Cheers.

    Diversity Heretic, October 2, 2017 at 6:18 pm GMT

    @Jim Christian Take care of yourself. People like you are a national asset, appreciated by at least some of us.

    anonymous, Disclaimer October 2, 2017 at 11:03 pm GMT

    There never was a communist threat. Not since at least the 1920s, when Stalin defeated Trotsky. Trotsky wanted world revolution. Stalin, for all his bloodthirsty antics in Russia, realised this was all nonsense. He just wanted Socialism in One Country, developing the country economically. He wasn't really interested in the outside world.

    In the 1930s he was willing to cooperate with right wing western governments till they did a deal with Hitler in 1938. He was never interested in invading countries to grab land and resources. Whenever he did so, Poland in 1939, or Eastern Europe post 1945, it was for security reasons. The part of Poland he occupied in 1939 had been taken from Russia by force in 1920. It was inhabited by 1o million White Russians and Ukrainians and no Poles.

    Jack Spratt, October 3, 2017 at 4:57 am GMT

    Wissing's book "Funding the enemy" details the totally corrupt Afghan government and is a compelling argument why we should pull out at once and needs to be read by anyone with half a brain. I served in Vietnam also, in 1967, and its deja vu all over again.

    Capn Mike, October 3, 2017 at 5:20 am GMT

    @The Alarmist Having been on – site at the time (North Tonkin Gulf), I can tell you that China gave U.S.N. units free rein over those waters, including Chinese waters. The fix was in. In 1969 onwards. China and Viet Nam were NEVER friends. Did CIA realize this? I don't know.

    Vidi, October 3, 2017 at 6:15 am GMT

    @DanC

    Anyways, expect the US to keep on wasting money in Afghanistan (and Pakistan and Tajikistan) until it gets bankrupted by the next Big War!

    Or until all the routes into Afghanistan are blocked. At the moment, the only route still open passes through Pakistan, and that may close at any time.

    wayfarer, October 3, 2017 at 6:19 am GMT

    Of the 58,220 Americans who were sacrificed by the U.S. Government during the Vietnam War, 270 were Jewish. That's approximately 0.46 percent of the total number of American kids who died, or less than a half of one-percent.

    "Statistical Information About Casualties of the Vietnam War"

    https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics.html

    " 9/11 Israel Did It! "

    https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it

    Hibernian, October 3, 2017 at 10:57 am GMT

    @Grandpa Charlie The Japanese trained their naval cadets using a mock Pearl Harbor type exercise annually for a fair number of years prior to WW2. The Russo-Japanese War of 1905 began with a Japanese surprise attack. You have the unmitigated gall to attack Margolis as an establishment mouthpiece when you yourself are whitewashhing the "sainted" FDR. No prudent military planner would absolutely assume that the attack would come in one particular place, whether the Phillipines, Pearl, or elsewhere.

    Hibernian, October 3, 2017 at 11:05 am GMT

    @Don Bacon Too many of the volunteers are really economic draftees. You can have plenty of discipline problems with volunteers, I've seen it up close and personal, although never reaching the level of mutiny.

    Che Guava, October 3, 2017 at 12:13 pm GMT

    @Capn Mike That is interesting to me. As is the Margolis artictle, never knew he had been a USA soldier, very interesting article. Thought he was a Canada person.

    I have a question for you, Capn Mike.

    If the PRC had allowed the USA free rein in Gulf of Tonkin, where were the supply lines to the Nth. Viet military and Viet Cong?

    Must it not still have been overland from PRC at that time you say (1969)?

    Hu Mi Yu, October 3, 2017 at 12:52 pm GMT

    @Cranky

    I don't for a moment believe that the 'saintly' President John Kennedy planned to end the war but was assassinated by dark, rightwing forces, as is claimed. This is a charming legend. Richard Nixon, Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson all feared that a withdrawal from Vietnam would lose them the next election. Republicans were still snarling over 'who lost China'.

    I didn't like Kennedy either, but go back and reread the newspapers from the early days of the Kennedy administration. The oval office was bugged, and the information leaked in ways to embarrass Kennedy and UN Ambassador Adelai Stevenson. There is only one way that could have happened. Eisenhower installed those bugs before he left. These same bugs brought down Nixon in the Watergate crisis. The swamp wanted war, and they pulled the rug out from under both presidents as soon as they brought peace.

    And a new Nixon in office .he vowed to get out too- and yet pushed more into it simply amazing.

    He promised to get out and he did get us out. The peace treaty was announced just before the election in 1972. He knew it was his only hope for re-election. The Vietnamese disputed some of the terms, and that resulted in the Christmas bombing that year. The American withdrawal began in January 1973.

    Trump promised to get us out of the Middle East. We should give him some rope. Maybe he hangs himself, or just maybe he can pull it off. He will need to be re-elected in three years.

    Max Havelaar, October 3, 2017 at 1:41 pm GMT

    Nice personal account of Vietnam.

    However, the US foreign policy keeps holocausting the 3-rd world and lately the 2 -cond world.

    The holocausts keep coming from US foreign policy of "exceptionalism" = "Nazi Übermensch"="the chosen ones" over this planet, many executed by the CIA-Nazi's:
    The Syrian holocaust
    The Yemen holocaust
    The Ukranďan holocaust (Euromaidan) by Poroshenko/Nuland neo-nazi"s.
    The Libyan holocaust
    The Irak holocaust
    The Afghanistan holocaust

    The Belgrad holocaust

    The Indonesian holocaust (Kissiger e.a.)
    The Vietnam/Laos/Cambodia/Thailand holocaust (Kissinger e.a)
    The Korean holocaust

    During WWII:

    The Jewish/Polish/Russian holocaust by Nazi's funded by Wallstreet/London bankers
    The German holocaust (Die Rheinweisen lager) by US army Morgenthau plan.

    Before WWII:
    The Ukranian and Russain holocausts 1921-22, 1932-33 (holodomor) by Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin.

    All these, were and are financed by the Wallstreet elite owners, the Billionaires who are mega-fascists, eugenic and satanic in character. Their credo is GREED.

    (sources: Antony Sutton, Carrol Quickley, W.F. Engdahl)

    jacques sheete, October 3, 2017 at 3:25 pm GMT

    Thanks to Vietnam, the politicians were exposed as liars and heartless cynics with no honor.

    A couple of the biggest lies were exposed, but the myths still live that the US government is an effective and dependable force for peace and freedom, and that the US military is an institution of dignity worthy of honor.

    And people still put their faith (or is it hope) in the heartless cynics ( eunichs, really) with no balls, fewer brains, no soul, and even less honor.

    [Oct 03, 2017] Are You Ready to Die by Paul Craig Roberts

    Notable quotes:
    "... Greenwald explains that the US media is so conditioned by the National Security State to see Russian President Putin lurking behind and masterminding attacks on America that it is "now religious dogma" -- a requirement -- to find Russian perfidy everywhere. The result Greenwald correctly says is that "an incredibly reckless, anything-goes climate prevails when it comes to claims about Russia. Media outlets will publish literally any official assertion as Truth without the slightest regard for evidentiary standards." ..."
    "... In other words, the United States no longer has a media . It has a propaganda ministry for the military/security complex, the neoconservatives, and the Israel Lobby. And the idiot Americans sit in front of the TV and absorb the propaganda, and they read the New York Times and think that they are sophisticated and in the know. ..."
    "... Russia knows that Washington knows that the accusations against Russia are false. ..."
    "... This is a serious question, not only for Russia but for the entire world. All previous false accusations from the Clinton regime criminals, the Bush/Cheney regime criminals, and the Obama regime criminals ended in military attacks on the falsely demonized targets. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea would be within reason to wonder if the false news propaganda attack on them is a prelude to military attack. ..."
    "... What is the point of US security agencies such as Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, NSA constantly filling the propaganda machine known as the American Media with lies about Russia? Russia must wonder as well. Russia knows that they are lies. Russia knows that it does no good to refute the lies because the West has a Propaganda Ministry instead of a media. Russia knows that Washington told lies about the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad, Iran. What does Russia conclude from the constant stream of lies about Russia that flow out of Washington and are presented as truth by the Western presstitutes? ..."
    "... I have written many times that provoking nuclear powers such as Russia and China is the most extreme form of recklessness and irresponsibility. ..."
    Oct 02, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept exposes the fake news put out by the US Department of Homeland Security (an euphemistic name for a Big Brother operation that spies on US citizens) that Russia hacked 21 US state elections, news that was instantly spread around the world by the presstitute media. The propagandists running Homeland Security were contradicted by the state governments, forcing Homeland Security to retract its fake news claims. https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/yet-another-major-russia-story-falls-apart-is-skepticism-permissible-yet/

    The unasked/unanswered question is why did Homeland Security put out a FAKE NEWS story?

    Greenwald explains that the US media is so conditioned by the National Security State to see Russian President Putin lurking behind and masterminding attacks on America that it is "now religious dogma" -- a requirement -- to find Russian perfidy everywhere. The result Greenwald correctly says is that "an incredibly reckless, anything-goes climate prevails when it comes to claims about Russia. Media outlets will publish literally any official assertion as Truth without the slightest regard for evidentiary standards."

    In other words, the United States no longer has a media . It has a propaganda ministry for the military/security complex, the neoconservatives, and the Israel Lobby. And the idiot Americans sit in front of the TV and absorb the propaganda, and they read the New York Times and think that they are sophisticated and in the know.

    What Greenwald doesn't address is the effect of the massive amount of fake news on Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Russia knows that Washington knows that the accusations against Russia are false. So why is Washington making false accusations against Russia?

    This is a serious question, not only for Russia but for the entire world. All previous false accusations from the Clinton regime criminals, the Bush/Cheney regime criminals, and the Obama regime criminals ended in military attacks on the falsely demonized targets. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea would be within reason to wonder if the false news propaganda attack on them is a prelude to military attack.

    Iran and North Korea cannot attack the US and its European vassals, but Russia and China can. I have written about the Operational Command of the Russian armed forces conclusion that Washington is preparing a surprise nuclear attack on Russia. Instead of reassuring the Russians that no such planning is in the works, Washington has instead pushed further the fake news Russiagate story with the false report that Russia had hacked the elections of 21 states.

    What is the point of US security agencies such as Homeland Security, CIA, FBI, NSA constantly filling the propaganda machine known as the American Media with lies about Russia? Russia must wonder as well. Russia knows that they are lies. Russia knows that it does no good to refute the lies because the West has a Propaganda Ministry instead of a media. Russia knows that Washington told lies about the Taliban, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Assad, Iran. What does Russia conclude from the constant stream of lies about Russia that flow out of Washington and are presented as truth by the Western presstitutes?

    If you were the Russian government, would you conclude that your country was the next to be attacked militarily by Washington? If you were the Russian government, you would know that Washington/NATO cannot possibly attack Russia except by surprise nuclear strike. Knowing this, if you were the Russian government, would you sit there and wait on the strike? Imagine yourself the Russian government listening day in, day out, to endless wild improbable charges against Russia. What can Russia possibly conclude other than this is preparation of Western peoples for a nuclear attack on Russia?

    Russia is not going to be hung like Saddan Hussein or murdered like Gaddafi.

    I have written many times that provoking nuclear powers such as Russia and China is the most extreme form of recklessness and irresponsibility. The crazed morons in Washington are risking the life of the planet. The presstitutes are worse than the whores that they are. They never question the path to war; they only amplify it. Washington's craven, cowardly, moronic vassal states in UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and the rest of the EU/NATO idiots are, by their cooperation with Washington, begging for their own destruction.

    Nowhere in the West is there a sign of intelligence.

    Will Washington follow Adolf Hitler's folly and march into Russia?

    [Oct 02, 2017] The Russian Defence Minister has released photos of US Forces stationed on Daesh territory

    Oct 02, 2017 | www.voltairenet.org

    On 24 September 2017, the Russian Defense Minister broadcast satellite images of US Special forces camping right in the centre of Daesh territory in Deir ez-Zor, a region in Syria.

    The Turkish press agency, Anadolu, had already flagged up the existence of these bases on 17 June.

    A number of sources confirm that there is a non-aggression agreement between the US Forces and Kurdish forces on the one hand, and Daesh on the other. These photographs challenge the version that the United States and its Kurdish allies are fighting the Islamic State. Only States which have satellites positioned above Syria are able to verify the authenticity of these photos. It follows that this information is meant for them.

    JPEG - 69.9 kb

    Source : "The Russian Defence Minister has released photos of US Forces stationed on Daesh territory", Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Voltaire Network , 26 September 2017, www.voltairenet.org/article198079.html

    [Oct 02, 2017] The Kurdish independence referendum was a political miscalculation

    Independence of small nations always depends on great powers. They are essentially pawns in a bigger game, national aspirations and all that as a tool in often pretty dirty game.
    Notable quotes:
    "... The Iraqi government has banned international flights to the Kurdish capital Irbil from 6pm this Friday, isolating the Kurds in Iraq to a degree they have not experienced since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The isolation is political as well as geographical as traditional Kurdish allies, like the US, UK, France and Germany, have opposed the referendum on Kurdish independence while near neighbours in Turkey, Iran and Baghdad are moving to squeeze the Kurds into submission. ..."
    "... The four countries with Kurdish minorities fear that secessionism might spread, but a further problem is that they do not believe that an Iraqi Kurdish state would be truly independent, but would shift into the orbit of another power. The Iranians are paranoid about the possibility that such a state would be an American base threatening Iran. Politicians in Baghdad say that, if the Kurds are serious about self-determination, they would cling onto the oil fields of Kirkuk and be dependent on Turkey through which to export their crude. ..."
    Oct 02, 2017 | www.unz.com

    The Iraqi government has banned international flights to the Kurdish capital Irbil from 6pm this Friday, isolating the Kurds in Iraq to a degree they have not experienced since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The isolation is political as well as geographical as traditional Kurdish allies, like the US, UK, France and Germany, have opposed the referendum on Kurdish independence while near neighbours in Turkey, Iran and Baghdad are moving to squeeze the Kurds into submission.

    The referendum succeeded in showing that the Kurds, not just in Iraq but in Turkey, Iran and Syria, still yearn for their own state. Paradoxically, the outcome of the poll has demonstrated both the strength of their demand for self-determination and the weakness of their ability to obtain it. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is revealed as a minnow whose freedom of action – and even its survival – depends on playing off one foreign state against the other and keeping tolerable relations with all of them, even when they detested each other. In the past an American envoy would go out one door just as the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards came in the other.

    The referendum has ended, perhaps only temporarily, these delicate balancing acts at which the Kurdish leadership was very skilled. In the last few weeks, the US has denounced the referendum in forthright terms, emboldening Iraq, Turkey and Iran to punish the Kurds for their undiplomatic enthusiasm to be an independent nation.

    The poll was always a dangerous gamble but it is too early to say that it has entirely failed: minority communities and small nations must occasionally kick their big power allies in the teeth. Otherwise, they will become permanent proxies whose agreement with what their big power ally wants can be taken for granted. The skill for the smaller player is not to pay too high a price for going their own way. Iraq, Turkey and Iran have all made threatening statements over the last few days, some of them bombast, but they can hit the Kurds very hard if they want to.

    The Kurds are in a fix and normally they would look to Washington to help them out, but under President Trump US foreign policy has become notoriously unpredictable. Worse from the Kurdish point of view, the US no longer needs the Iraqi Kurds as it did before the capture of Mosul from Isis in July. In any case, it was the Iraqi armed forces that won a great victory there, so for the first time in 14 years there is a powerful Iraqi army in the north of the country. We may not be on the verge of an Arab-Kurdish war, but the military balance of power is changing and Baghdad, not Irbil, is the gainer.

    Anxious diplomats and excited journalists describe Iraq as "being on a collision course", but the different parties will not necessarily collide. Muddling through is not only a British trait. But there is no doubt that the situation has become more dangerous, particularly in the disputed territories stretching across northern Iraq from Syria to Iran.

    The referendum always had a risky ambivalence about it which helped ignite the present crisis. It all depended on what audience Kurdish President Masoud Barzani was addressing: when he spoke to Kurdish voters, it was a poll of historic significance when the Kurds would take a decisive step towards an independent state.

    But addressing an international and regional audience, Barzani said he was proposing something much tamer, more like an opinion poll, in which the Iraqi Kurds were politely indicating a general preference for independence at some date in the future. Like many leaders who play the nationalist card, Barzani is finding that his rhetoric is being taken more seriously than his caveats. "Bye, Bye Iraq!" chanted crowds in Irbil on the night of the referendum.

    Much of this was born of Barzani's bid to outmanoeuvre his political rivals in Kurdistan by re-emerging as the standard bearer of Kurdish nationalism. He will benefit from his decision to defy the world and press ahead with the vote when it comes to the presidential and parliamentary elections in KRG on 1 November.

    But the price of this could be high. It is not only Barzani who is facing an election in which national self-assertion is an issue in the coming months. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has a parliamentary election in 2018 and does not want to be accused of being insufficiently tough on the Kurds. Banning of international flights to Irbil is far less than many Iraqi MPs say they want.

    By holding a referendum in the disputed territories, Barzani promoted this issue to the top of the Iraqi political agenda. It might have been in the interests of the Kurds to let it lie since the contending claims for land are deeply felt and irreconcilable. Optimists believe that Irbil and Baghdad could never go to war because they are both too dependent militarily on foreign powers. It is true that the Iraqi armed forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga alike could not have held off and defeated Isis without close air support from the US-led coalition. But by putting the future status of the KRG and the territories in play, Barzani has presented the Iraqi government, Turkey and Iran with a threat and an opportunity.

    The four countries with Kurdish minorities fear that secessionism might spread, but a further problem is that they do not believe that an Iraqi Kurdish state would be truly independent, but would shift into the orbit of another power. The Iranians are paranoid about the possibility that such a state would be an American base threatening Iran. Politicians in Baghdad say that, if the Kurds are serious about self-determination, they would cling onto the oil fields of Kirkuk and be dependent on Turkey through which to export their crude.

    Once the KRG dreamed of becoming a new Dubai with gleaming malls and hotels, but since 2014 it has looked more like Pompeii. The skyline is punctured by dozens of half completed tower blocks beside rusting cranes and abandoned machinery. The boom town atmosphere disappeared in 2014 when the price of oil went down, money stopped coming from Baghdad and Isis seized Mosul two hours' drive away. The state is impoverished and salaries paid late, if at all. This will now all get a lot worse with airports and border crossings closed and 35,000 federal employees no longer being paid.

    At all events, the political landscape in Iraq and Syria is changing: we are at the beginning of a new political phase in which the battle to defeat Isis is being replaced by a power struggle between Arabs and Kurds.

    [Oct 01, 2017] Goodbye, American neoliberalism. A new era is here by Cornel West

    Notable quotes:
    "... The Bush and Clinton dynasties were destroyed by the media-saturated lure of the pseudo-populist billionaire with narcissist sensibilities and ugly, fascist proclivities. The monumental election of Trump was a desperate and xenophobic cry of human hearts for a way out from under the devastation of a disintegrating neoliberal order – a nostalgic return to an imaginary past of greatness. ..."
    "... This lethal fusion of economic insecurity and cultural scapegoating brought neoliberalism to its knees. In short, the abysmal failure of the Democratic party to speak to the arrested mobility and escalating poverty of working people unleashed a hate-filled populism and protectionism that threaten to tear apart the fragile fiber of what is left of US democracy. And since the most explosive fault lines in present-day America are first and foremost racial, then gender, homophobic, ethnic and religious, we gird ourselves for a frightening future. ..."
    "... In this sense, Trump's election was enabled by the neoliberal policies of the Clintons and Obama that overlooked the plight of our most vulnerable citizens. The progressive populism of Bernie Sanders nearly toppled the establishment of the Democratic party but Clinton and Obama came to the rescue to preserve the status quo. And I do believe Sanders would have beat Trump to avert this neofascist outcome! ..."
    "... The neoliberal era in the United States ended with a neofascist bang ..."
    "... The white house and congress are now dominated by tea party politicians who worship at the altar of Ayn Rand.....read Breitbart news to see how Thatcher and Reagan are idolised. ..."
    "... if you think the era of "neo liberalism" is over, you are in deep denial! ..."
    "... The age of Obama was the last gasp of neoliberalism. Despite some progressive words and symbolic gestures, Obama chose to ignore Wall Street crimes, reject bailouts for homeowners, oversee growing inequality and facilitate war crimes like US drones killing innocent civilians abroad. ..."
    "... Didn't Obama say to Wall Street ''I'm the only one standing between you and the lynch mob? Give me money and I'll make it all go away''. Then came into office and went we won't prosecute the Banks not Bush for a false war because we don't look back. ..."
    "... He did not ignore, he actively, willingly, knowingly protected them. At the end of the day Obama is wolf in sheep's clothing. Exactly like HRC he has a public and a private position. He is a gifted speaker who knows how to say all the right, progressive liberal things to get people to go along much better than HRC ever did. ..."
    "... Even when he had the Presidency, House and Senate, he never once introduced any progressive liberal policy. He didn't need Republican support to do it, yet he never even tried. ..."
    Nov 17, 2016 | www.theguardian.com

    The neoliberal era in the United States ended with a neofascist bang. The political triumph of Donald Trump shattered the establishments in the Democratic and Republican parties – both wedded to the rule of Big Money and to the reign of meretricious politicians.

    The Bush and Clinton dynasties were destroyed by the media-saturated lure of the pseudo-populist billionaire with narcissist sensibilities and ugly, fascist proclivities. The monumental election of Trump was a desperate and xenophobic cry of human hearts for a way out from under the devastation of a disintegrating neoliberal order – a nostalgic return to an imaginary past of greatness.

    White working- and middle-class fellow citizens – out of anger and anguish – rejected the economic neglect of neoliberal policies and the self-righteous arrogance of elites. Yet these same citizens also supported a candidate who appeared to blame their social misery on minorities, and who alienated Mexican immigrants, Muslims, black people, Jews, gay people, women and China in the process.

    This lethal fusion of economic insecurity and cultural scapegoating brought neoliberalism to its knees. In short, the abysmal failure of the Democratic party to speak to the arrested mobility and escalating poverty of working people unleashed a hate-filled populism and protectionism that threaten to tear apart the fragile fiber of what is left of US democracy. And since the most explosive fault lines in present-day America are first and foremost racial, then gender, homophobic, ethnic and religious, we gird ourselves for a frightening future.

    What is to be done? First we must try to tell the truth and a condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak. For 40 years, neoliberals lived in a world of denial and indifference to the suffering of poor and working people and obsessed with the spectacle of success. Second we must bear witness to justice. We must ground our truth-telling in a willingness to suffer and sacrifice as we resist domination. Third we must remember courageous exemplars like Martin Luther King Jr, who provide moral and spiritual inspiration as we build multiracial alliances to combat poverty and xenophobia, Wall Street crimes and war crimes, global warming and police abuse – and to protect precious rights and liberties.

    Feminists misunderstood the presidential election from day one Liza Featherstone By banking on the idea that women would support Hillary Clinton just because she was a female candidate, the movement made a terrible mistake Read more

    The age of Obama was the last gasp of neoliberalism. Despite some progressive words and symbolic gestures, Obama chose to ignore Wall Street crimes, reject bailouts for homeowners, oversee growing inequality and facilitate war crimes like US drones killing innocent civilians abroad.

    Rightwing attacks on Obama – and Trump-inspired racist hatred of him – have made it nearly impossible to hear the progressive critiques of Obama. The president has been reluctant to target black suffering – be it in overcrowded prisons, decrepit schools or declining workplaces. Yet, despite that, we get celebrations of the neoliberal status quo couched in racial symbolism and personal legacy. Meanwhile, poor and working class citizens of all colors have continued to suffer in relative silence.

    In this sense, Trump's election was enabled by the neoliberal policies of the Clintons and Obama that overlooked the plight of our most vulnerable citizens. The progressive populism of Bernie Sanders nearly toppled the establishment of the Democratic party but Clinton and Obama came to the rescue to preserve the status quo. And I do believe Sanders would have beat Trump to avert this neofascist outcome!

    Click and elect: how fake news helped Donald Trump win a real election Hannah Jane Parkinson The 'alt-right' (aka the far right) ensnared the electorate using false stories on social media. But tech companies seem unwilling to admit there's a problem

    In this bleak moment, we must inspire each other driven by a democratic soulcraft of integrity, courage, empathy and a mature sense of history – even as it seems our democracy is slipping away.

    We must not turn away from the forgotten people of US foreign policy – such as Palestinians under Israeli occupation, Yemen's civilians killed by US-sponsored Saudi troops or Africans subject to expanding US military presence.

    As one whose great family and people survived and thrived through slavery, Jim Crow and lynching, Trump's neofascist rhetoric and predictable authoritarian reign is just another ugly moment that calls forth the best of who we are and what we can do.

    For us in these times, to even have hope is too abstract, too detached, too spectatorial. Instead we must be a hope, a participant and a force for good as we face this catastrophe.

    theomatica -> MSP1984 17 Nov 2016 6:40

    To be replaced by a form of capitalism that is constrained by national interests. An ideology that wishes to uses the forces of capitalism within a market limited only by national boundaries which aims for more self sufficiency only importing goods the nation can not itself source.

    farga 17 Nov 2016 6:35

    The neoliberal era in the United States ended with a neofascist bang.

    Really? The white house and congress are now dominated by tea party politicians who worship at the altar of Ayn Rand.....read Breitbart news to see how Thatcher and Reagan are idolised.

    That in recent decades middle ground politicians have strayed from the true faith....and now its time to go back - popular capitalism, small government, low taxes.

    if you think the era of "neo liberalism" is over, you are in deep denial!

    Social36 -> farga 17 Nov 2016 8:33

    Maybe, West should have written that we're now in neoliberal, neofascist era!

    ForSparta -> farga 17 Nov 2016 14:24

    Well in all fairness, Donald Trump (horse's ass) did say he'd 'pump' money into the middle classes thus abandoning 'trickle down'. His plan/ideology is also to increase corporate tax revenues overall by reducing the level of corporation tax -- the aim being to entice corporations to repatriate wealth currently held overseas. Plus he has proposed an infrastructure spending spree, a fiscal stimulus not a monetary one. When you add in tax cuts the middle classes will feel flushed and it is within that demographic that most businesses and hence jobs are created. I think his short game has every chance of doing what he said it would.

    SeeNOevilHearNOevil 17 Nov 2016 6:36

    The age of Obama was the last gasp of neoliberalism. Despite some progressive words and symbolic gestures, Obama chose to ignore Wall Street crimes, reject bailouts for homeowners, oversee growing inequality and facilitate war crimes like US drones killing innocent civilians abroad.

    Didn't Obama say to Wall Street ''I'm the only one standing between you and the lynch mob? Give me money and I'll make it all go away''. Then came into office and went we won't prosecute the Banks not Bush for a false war because we don't look back.

    He did not ignore, he actively, willingly, knowingly protected them. At the end of the day Obama is wolf in sheep's clothing. Exactly like HRC he has a public and a private position. He is a gifted speaker who knows how to say all the right, progressive liberal things to get people to go along much better than HRC ever did.

    But that lip service is where his progressive views begin and stop. It's the very reason none of his promises never translated into actions and I will argue that he was the biggest and smoothest scam artist to enter the white house who got even though that wholly opposed centre-right policies, to flip and support them vehemently. Even when he had the Presidency, House and Senate, he never once introduced any progressive liberal policy. He didn't need Republican support to do it, yet he never even tried.

    ProbablyOnTopic 17 Nov 2016 6:37

    I agree with some of this, but do we really have to throw around hysterical terms like 'fascist' at every opportunity? It's as bad as when people call the left 'cultural Marxists'.

    LithophaneFurcifera -> ProbablyOnTopic 17 Nov 2016 7:05

    True, it's sloganeering that drowns out any nuance, whoever does it. Whenever a political term is coined, you can be assured that its use and meaning will eventually be extended to the point that it becomes less effective at characterising the very groups that it was coined to characterise.

    Keep "fascist" for Mussolini and "cultural Marxist" for Adorno, unless and until others show such strong resemblances that the link can't seriously be denied.

    I agree about the importance of recognising the suffering of the poor and building alliances beyond, and not primarily defined by, race though.

    l0Ho5LG4wWcFJsKg 17 Nov 2016 6:40
    Hang about Trump is the embodiment of neo-liberalism. It's neo-liberalism with republican tea party in control. He's not going to smash the system that served him so well, the years he manipulated and cheated, why would he want to change it.
    garrylee -> l0Ho5LG4wWcFJsKg 17 Nov 2016 9:38
    West's point is that it's beyond Trump's control. The scales have fallen from peoples eyes. They now see the deceit of neo-liberalism. And once they see through the charlatan Trump and the rest of the fascists, they will, hopefully, come to realize the only antidote to neo-liberalism is a planned economy.

    Nash25 17 Nov 2016 6:40

    This excellent analysis by professor West places the current political situation in a proper historical context.

    However, I fear that neo-liberalism may not be quite "dead" as he argues.

    Most of the Democratic party's "establishment" politicians, who conspired to sabotage the populist Sanders's campaign, still dominate the party, and they, in turn, are controlled by the giant corporations who fund their campaigns.

    Democrat Chuck Schumer is now the Senate minority leader, and he is the loyal servant of the big Wall Street investment banks.

    Sanders and Warren are the only two Democratic leaders who are not neo-liberals, and I fear that they will once again be marginalized.

    Rank and file Democrats must organize at the local and state level to remove these corrupt neo-liberals from all party leadership positions. This will take many years, and it will be very difficult.


    VenetianBlind 17 Nov 2016 6:42

    Not sure Neo-Liberalism has ended. All they have done is get rid of the middle man.

    macfeegal 17 Nov 2016 6:46

    It would seem that there is a great deal of over simplifying going on; some of the articles represent an hysteric response and the vision of sack cloth and ashes prevails among those who could not see that the wheels were coming off the bus. The use of the term 'liberal' has become another buzz word - there are many different forms of liberalism and creating yet another sound byte does little to illuminate anything.

    Making appeals to restore what has been lost reflects badly upon the central political parties, with their 30 year long rightward drift and their legacy of sucking up to corporate lobbyists, systems managers, box tickers and consultants. You can't give away sovereign political power to a bunch of right wing quangos who worship private wealth and its accumulation without suffering the consequences. The article makes no contribution (and neither have many of the others of late) to any kind of alternative to either neo-liberalism or the vacuum that has become a question mark with the dark face of the devil behind it.

    We are in uncharted waters. The conventional Left was totally discredited by1982 and all we've had since are various forms of modifications of Thatcher's imported American vision. There has been no opposition to this system for over 40 years - so where do we get the idea that democracy has any real meaning? Yes, we can vote for the Greens, or one of the lesser known minority parties, but of course people don't; they tend to go with what is portrayed as the orthodoxy and they've been badly let down by it.

    It would be a real breath of fresh air to see articles which offer some kind of analysis that demonstrates tangible options to deal with the multiple crises we are suffering. Perhaps we might start with a consideration that if our political institutions are prone to being haunted by the ghost of the 1930's, the state itself could be seen as part of the problem rather than any solution. Why is it that every other institution is considered to be past its sell by date and we still believe in a phantom of democracy? Discuss.

    VenetianBlind -> macfeegal 17 Nov 2016 7:00

    I have spent hours trying to see solutions around Neo-Liberalism and find that governments have basically signed away any control over the economy so nothing they can do. There are no solutions.

    Maybe that is the starting point. The solution for workers left behind in Neo-Liberal language is they must move. It demands labor mobility. It is not possible to dictate where jobs are created.

    I see too much fiddly around the edges, the best start is to say they cannot fix the problem. If they keep making false promises then things will just get dire as.

    [Sep 30, 2017] Is the US in cahoots with IS - TTG

    Notable quotes:
    "... "BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:50 P.M.) – A video has just been released on social media showing the interview of an ISIS fighter from Deir Ezzor who admits that the terrorist groups forces in the region are forbidden by their commanders from attacking US-backed, Kurdish-led militias. ..."
    "... The interviewee, Mohammed Moussa al-Shawwakh, says that his group, tasked with defending the area around the Conoco Gas Fields, was ordered to allow Kurdish forces to enter the strategic site. The order, he says, came from a top regional emir (leader) called Abu Zaid. ..."
    "... The ISIS fighters confession goes on to mention that Kurdish-led forces were also allowed to enter other gas and oil fields in the region in order to make propaganda videos. ..."
    "... Mohammed finishes the interview by saying that he knows for a fact that the US is attempting to establish an alliance between Kurdish forces and ISIS in Deir Ezzor province in order to undermine government-led military efforts to liberate the region." ..."
    "... Regime change in Syria was an Obama/Hillary project aided and abetted by Ambassador Ford, the French, Germans and British and of course the prime manipulators Bibi, Erdogan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies. ..."
    "... Brennan and CENTCOM were in hog heaven. No idea if they directly aided the jihadis both AQ & IS. But clearly indirectly and in a big way. Then Putin intervened. I recall Obama trolling him saying this would be another Afghanistan quagmire for Russia. Well, it seems like R+6, have the winning hand and Assad may survive and Syria will face the long road to reconstruction as a mostly secular state. ..."
    "... The distinction about arrogance, if I understand TTG correctly, is more that the brainiacs in DC and CENTCOM making policy think they are such world class game players that they can or will have control over the situation. Because they are so astute and on top of things, the pieces will move because they want them to. ..."
    "... US foreign policy is another topic - my mental image is of a bunch of kittens in a bag. When all the kittens are moving in different directions the bag won't move but sometimes three kittens are moving in one direction and the bag will move. I label the kittens Gas&Oil, AIPIAC+neocons, CIA and banking.... ..."
    "... Is this the case with Canada and Australia? It's usually assumed, maybe simplistically, that the Ukrainian/Eastern European diaspora in those countries keeps the politicians there committed to neocon foreign policy anyway. At the more extreme end of the spectrum you sometimes see on the internet assertions that both the Ukrainians and the Israelis are holding the fort for white civilisation. Whether that's some nutter sounding off on a blog or whether it represents the underlying attitude of some of the Mr and Mrs Averages in that diaspora is difficult to tell from this distance. ..."
    "... ISIS=Saudi; Al Nusra=Turkey & SDF=IDF with Saudi & IDF collaboration. Thus, ISIS melts away and voilà: SDF takes over ..."
    Sep 27, 2017 | turcopolier.typepad.com
    In short, no. IS is clearly losing cohesion and any IS or allied groups not closely tied to the central leadership are beginning to despair of the fight. I think YPG/SDF units may be able to bypass some of these deflated jihadis without much of a fight. Local jihadis may also be open to local truces with the local SDF Arab tribes. I would think the US and its allied forces would be happy to avoid these fights rather than aggressively seek combat. CJTF-OIR may also be watching the success of the Russian reconciliation program in turning former enemy fighters into allies and seek to do the same east of the Euphrates.

    Yesterday Al Masdar News published an enlightening story where an ISIS fighter admits that ISIS is forbidden to attack Kurdish forces in Deir Ezzor.

    *********

    "BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:50 P.M.) – A video has just been released on social media showing the interview of an ISIS fighter from Deir Ezzor who admits that the terrorist groups forces in the region are forbidden by their commanders from attacking US-backed, Kurdish-led militias.

    The interviewee, Mohammed Moussa al-Shawwakh, says that his group, tasked with defending the area around the Conoco Gas Fields, was ordered to allow Kurdish forces to enter the strategic site. The order, he says, came from a top regional emir (leader) called Abu Zaid.

    The ISIS fighters confession goes on to mention that Kurdish-led forces were also allowed to enter other gas and oil fields in the region in order to make propaganda videos.

    Mohammed finishes the interview by saying that he knows for a fact that the US is attempting to establish an alliance between Kurdish forces and ISIS in Deir Ezzor province in order to undermine government-led military efforts to liberate the region."

    **********

    Well, this would certainly explain the ease of the YPG/SDF advance to Deir Ezzor and the lack of combat. Some will see this as proof of US-IS collusion. I see it as evidence supporting my earlier thoughts of the CJTF-OIR seeing the wisdom of neutralizing the enemy through negotiations rather than eliminating them through combat. It is evidence of IS weakness rather than US perfidy.

    Remember all that talk about the Russians and Assad being allied with IS because they were busy slamming all those other jihadis, including our unicorn army, rather than exclusively targeting IS? Many also were, and still are, in high dungeon about the whole Russian sponsored de-escalation zone effort. We were most recently mightily upset that the R+6 and Lebanon would allow a few busloads of IS jihadis and their families to leave their positions along the Syrian-Lebanese border enroute to Deir Ezzor. In my opinion, all these de-escalation efforts have put the R+6 in a far better position of neutralizing the jihadi threat in Idlib now than it was in immediately after the liberation of Aleppo. Perhaps the CJTF-OIR has realized what the R+6 discovered long ago. As Churchill said, Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war. Even as a tactic of war, it makes sense in this region.

    What is more troubling is that we dont know what the USG and CJTF-OIR plans to do once IS is neutralized on both sides of the Euphrates. CENTCOM is a damnably arrogant command which has long sought to maintain a sizable and influential footprint in the region. Why?

    mike , 27 September 2017 at 09:31 PM

    Mohammed Moussa al-Shawwakh is saying whatever the Mukhbarat wants him to say. But I am sure there will be many commenters here who will believe his "confession" to be the final proof they are looking for. Sadly.

    CENTCOM arrogant? Maybe. They do have a lot on their plate:

    http://www.centcom.mil/portals/6/Images/centcommapmideast_Cropped.jpg?ver=2016-07-13-125046-033

    Why you ask? Seems to me that is their charter from the National Command Authorities, and not from General Votel.

    james -> mike... , 27 September 2017 at 09:45 PM
    mike, the guys comments are in a long line of similar revelations for anyone receptive to the idea.. no '''final'' proof needed.. in the past it was always assad working with isis and etc. etc.. folks in the west have been indoctrinated to years of this bs.. i think it was obama who stated something to the effect he thought that isis would help to get rid of assad... that is the level of depravity the usa has sunk to here as i see it.. it has been ongoing and this guys comments come in a long line of examples of us exceptionalism..
    mike -> james... , 28 September 2017 at 11:47 PM
    james -

    I do not believe Assad ever worked with Daesh. Some claim otherwise. I have not suggested that. His security services did release some jihadis from prison who became Daesh leaders, just like al-Baghdadi was released from imprisonment in Iraq. Many Syrians claim it was deliberate on Assad's part. I have not suggested that. Stupidity? Incompetence? Yes to both IMO, and that includes both the USA and the Syrian regime.

    The real father of Daesh is Bush Junior and his invasion of Iraq in 2003, and Iraqi prime Minister Maliki. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, that was probably arrogance and ignorance on their part and not a deliberately evil intention.

    PS - Why do you call this death cult by their preferred name of 'ISIS'? By using that term you legitimize their argument that they are a state, in other words a country like Syria or Belgium or the US or any country in the United Nations. They are the Daesh, a word they despise, a word which they have flogged people for using and threaten to cut out the tongue of those who use the word. Do not legitimize these monsters. They are not a state.

    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/what-daesh-mean-isis-threatens-6841468

    james -> mike... , 29 September 2017 at 12:35 AM
    mike,

    i never said you did, but the western msm did fairly regularly.. as for the name isis - i have called them the ''moderate'' headchoppers too - to make fun of the stupid idea of any moderate opposition in all of this, although that bill of goods has been passed off regularly via the western msm and by the usa in particular.. they are a bunch of wahabbi nut jobs spreading their religion of intolerance and hate thanks the funding from saudi arabia primarily - again - a country the usa continues to countenance... i am sorry mike, but it burns me up to think anyone would believe the usa (or the uk, and a host of other countries) has played an honest role in anything to do with syria.. they haven't.. they have tried to tear it apart and ruined countless innocent lives with their bullshit... and - it continues all under the guise of going after isis, or daesh or whatever you want to call it.. thanks..

    Red Cloud -> mike... , 28 September 2017 at 01:24 PM
    Mohammed Moussa al-Shawwakh's comments don't contradict any accepted facts, and just as TTG pointed out - his statements are in line with the evidence of what actually happened.

    So from an objective standpoint there is more reason to believe what he is saying than to not.

    Yet right on que, you were the first comment to quickly dismiss everything the man said.

    james -> Red Cloud... , 28 September 2017 at 05:26 PM
    the pay must be good..
    LeaNder -> Red Cloud... , 28 September 2017 at 09:38 PM
    Army Times reported on a new Baghdadi audio that surfaced. I know, I know reminiscent of the curious OBL videos. But thankfully this time all that is needed is voice recognition. Wonder how good they are in that field by now. ;)

    https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/09/28/isis-releases-baghdadi-audio-as-the-group-crumbles-in-iraq-and-syria/

    In the message, Baghdadi told his supporters that ISIS remains steadfast as America grows weary in the conflict, according to analysis by Hassan Hassan, a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute located in Washington D.C.

    Townsend, thought he was still alive and kicking in the Middle Euphrates River Valley (MERV) Syria/Iraq; MT, August 31:
    https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/09/28/isis-releases-baghdadi-audio-as-the-group-crumbles-in-iraq-and-syria/

    Slightly more elaborated via the NYT, same date:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/us/politics/isis-military-us-iraq-syria-euphrates.html

    Were planning for tough fights ahead, General Townsend said.

    The Syrian Democratic Forces, which are backed by the United States, are largely led by Syrian Kurds who may not be immediately acceptable to the local Arab populations. The Syrian Kurds provide most of the essential command-and-control for the overall fighting force, half of which is Arab.

    But as they move into the Euphrates River Valley, the Syrian forces now are expected to recruit additional local Arabs as well other Arab fighters who have been trained by American and allied forces at al-Tanf, a desert outpost in southern Syria near the intersection of the Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

    The Arab fighters from al-Tanf are vetted and supported with small arms, navigation tools and medical supplies. American and other allied advisers also provide basic combat training skills, including first aid, marksmanship and techniques on how to clear a house of militants.

    They also report that an agreement between Russia and the US that the SAA stay on the Western side hadn't been reached at that date.


    Christian Chuba , 27 September 2017 at 09:37 PM
    Great post TTG. Both the SDF and SAA have made evacuation arrangements to spare civilians or to gain military advantage and both sides have made something that resembles reconciliation / de-escalation agreements but the SAA and Russians have been better at it.

    Between the U.S./SDF vs the Syrian / Russians, I'd say that we have grandstanded much more about it when the SAA have done this because we are always in Information War mode. I wish we wouldn't, poisoning the waters doesn't do any good and can eventually bite us but it sure makes us feel good and gives Nikki lots to rant about.

    There must be tiers of ISIS members, a top tier of Baghdadi types who are 'irredeemable' and a bottom tier who are just as comfortable being part of any number of groups. I don't think we should get on our high horse about it if someone local decides that it's a good idea to let some of them scat but then again we once thought that Baghdadi was one of the more harmless ones. No one has invented a Takfiri gauge yet.

    james , 27 September 2017 at 09:41 PM
    thanks ttg.. i guess the question i have is has the usa paid a fee to get isis to stand down? i don't know if that is the case, but i am fine with that. my problem with the usa is their intent all along has been to divide syria and remove assad.. it seems to be continuing on for the most part here..

    as for your last statement and question, i think the answer is the usa's intent to divide syria, giving the part in the east to the kurds, which works well with the oil interests and israel which the usa seems to always coincidently align itself with..

    Jack , 27 September 2017 at 10:11 PM
    TTG, Sir

    I watched Ken Burn's Vietnam War documentary. IMO, an important aspect of the documentary was perspective.

    Regime change in Syria was an Obama/Hillary project aided and abetted by Ambassador Ford, the French, Germans and British and of course the prime manipulators Bibi, Erdogan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies.

    Brennan and CENTCOM were in hog heaven. No idea if they directly aided the jihadis both AQ & IS. But clearly indirectly and in a big way. Then Putin intervened. I recall Obama trolling him saying this would be another Afghanistan quagmire for Russia. Well, it seems like R+6, have the winning hand and Assad may survive and Syria will face the long road to reconstruction as a mostly secular state.

    The big winners from a strategic sense are Russia, Iran and Hezbollah who earned whatever that victory means in blood. Maybe some decades from now the next Ken Burns will come along and give us a documentary of our sordid role in creating chaos and anarchy in the Middle East beginning with regime change in Iraq on the basis of false pretenses.

    J , 27 September 2017 at 10:51 PM
    TTG,

    Speaking of the Kurds, appears Kurd nationalism is bringing together Iran/Iraq/Turkey in a joint op to squash Kurd independence.

    jjc , 27 September 2017 at 10:51 PM
    The focus for SDF was removing ISIS from Raqqa, then suddenly it became a race to the Euphrates and the oil fields. The Kurdish militias have moved far outside their traditional territory. So it's hard not to see this as a land and resources grab, facilitated by a cooperative ISIS (who still attack SAA).
    LeaNder , 28 September 2017 at 09:53 AM
    Mohammed finishes the interview by saying that he knows for a fact that the US is attempting to establish an alliance between Kurdish forces and ISIS in Deir Ezzor province in order to undermine government-led military efforts to liberate the region.

    I could imagine that Russia and its partners in war wonder about what drives the Iraqi Kurds to have an election on independence right now? ...

    Elijah J. M.
    https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/masoud-barzani-either-burned-or-paved-the-way-for-the-syrian-kurds-a-dangerous-move/

    JJackson , 28 September 2017 at 10:17 AM
    The poorly thought out neocon dream of destuction of a Shia cresent is showning every sign of developing into something beyond their worst nightmares. When the dust settles they may well be faced by a new Warsaw pact of the feared Shia cresent plus the defection of Turkey and Qatar. The new Hizb re-armed and retrained by the Russians - quite possibly with defacto control of Lebanon. At this point the Golan would seem vunerable and should it go Jordan may well begin to wonder if a realignment may not also be in its best interests. What then Judea and Sumeria?
    As to TTG's why? My guess would be that the incoherent multi-faceted US FP still has significant elements that have not given up hope of a 'friendly' entity in east Syria. Trump may have given up on Syrian regieme change but I am not sure everyone else has and these delusional dreamers may still hope this can be used as a springboard from which to undo all that has occured since the start of the second Iraq war.
    Charles Michael -> The Twisted Genius ... , 28 September 2017 at 01:20 PM
    TTG,
    That is exactly my understanding of the situation.
    From the start of the insurgency Bachar Al Hassad has been rather benevolent with the Kurds.
    Surely with victory in sight he will not start speeling Kurds blood.

    Most westerners seems unable to consider a long game, true it is nerve raking; but all quick fix imposed by brutal force have proved very temporary.

    Ishmael Zechariah -> The Twisted Genius ... , 28 September 2017 at 05:18 PM
    TTG,
    For whatever it's worth, PKK, PYG, KRG etc. are completely infiltrated by Mossad at this time and must dance to the izzie tune. IMO the kurds are too deeply in to extricate themselves gracefully. Governments might make nice w/each other but the tribes surrounding the kurds will not forget kurdish perfidy that easily.
    Ishmael Zechariah
    The Porkchop Express , 28 September 2017 at 11:12 AM
    TTG - I think you struck a very important distinction: the issue of connivance vs. arrogance when it comes to US/assorted jihadis in Syria and around the region.
    Willybilly -> The Porkchop Express... , 28 September 2017 at 12:53 PM
    TPE & TTG, Thre are definitely connivance and arrogance galore... and YES the US, NATO and the Izzies are in cahoots with ISIS and ALL its cousins, sisters and brothers in arms from day one. But plausible deniability requires all the acrobatics and various posturing we have seen over the years, in a veiled but failing attempts at denying the obvious...
    The Porkchop Express -> Willybilly... , 28 September 2017 at 04:19 PM
    There is no way the US is actively, directly in cahoots with Daesh, HTS/al Qaeda, or any other salifiyye. The Israelis, maybe. Saudis most assuredly.

    The distinction about arrogance, if I understand TTG correctly, is more that the brainiacs in DC and CENTCOM making policy think they are such world class game players that they can or will have control over the situation. Because they are so astute and on top of things, the pieces will move because they want them to.

    That doesn't mean the US is in bed with any of them.

    james -> The Porkchop Express... , 28 September 2017 at 05:28 PM
    and who is in cahoots with israel and saudi arabia??? one can see a pattern here!~
    The Twisted Genius -> Willybilly... , 28 September 2017 at 11:35 PM
    Willybilly,

    While the USG thought it was clever enough to allow IS to attempt to topple the Assad government, it did not deliberately create and direct IS to do so. If that was the USG policy, we would not have bombed the crap out of IS around Kobane when the Rojava Kurds were about to be wiped out? We supported those Kurds in their successful campaign against IS since then.

    We still seem hell bent on pursuing an "Assad must go" policy, but we did not deliberately support IS. We just stupidly let IS rampage across Iraq and Syria when we thought we could gain from that. As part of that stupid and destructive policy, we let the Saudis and Turks directly support IS. Now all those "moderate jihadis" who freely supported Al Qaeda and IS were our direct fault. Of course we weren't alone in that idiocy, either.

    jld -> The Twisted Genius ... , 29 September 2017 at 02:51 AM
    If that was the USG policy, we would not have bombed the crap out of IS around Kobane when the Rojava Kurds were about to be wiped out?

    That argument doesn't hold because it suppose some USG rationality but there is plenty of evidence that the USG does engage in stupid/contradictory/incoherent/schizophrenic behavior.
    Hey, careful, you might destroy the so convenient excuse "It's only stupidity not malevolence" !

    semiconscious -> The Twisted Genius ... , 29 September 2017 at 09:36 AM
    'We still seem hell bent on pursuing an "Assad must go" policy, but we did not deliberately support IS. We just stupidly let IS rampage across Iraq and Syria when we thought we could gain from that ...'

    i believe the accepted term for describing this type of behavior is 'enabling' :) ...

    FkDahl -> The Twisted Genius ... , 29 September 2017 at 12:55 PM
    ISIS is the Tasmanian Devil, full of chaos and destruction, and the US has no direct control over it - but it appears the growth of ISIS was useful for certain US foreign policy goals.

    Why European leaders went along with this and thus greatly facilitated the growth of combat experienced salafist terrorists in Europe is yet another example how - to put it frankly - stupid and short sighted (Western) European leaders are. Playing ball with the hegemon gives you a nice sinecure as a cushy post-politics job is the best explanation I can think of.

    US foreign policy is another topic - my mental image is of a bunch of kittens in a bag. When all the kittens are moving in different directions the bag won't move but sometimes three kittens are moving in one direction and the bag will move. I label the kittens Gas&Oil, AIPIAC+neocons, CIA and banking....

    Richardstevenhack , 28 September 2017 at 02:09 PM
    "It is evidence of IS weakness rather than US perfidy."

    In the immortal words of Tony Stark: "I say, is it too much to ask for both?"

    Sure, the US is bombing ISIS NOW. Go back to 2014 to 2015. A year of US bombing ISIS and ISIS continued to make gains throughout Syria.

    The Russians come in September, 2015 - and six months later the tide is turned. 25-50 Russian jets did in six months what US bombing for a year did not do.

    Pretty much stands for itself. Not to mention that all during that time the US was insisting that "Assad must go" as their primary objective, several times threatening to establish a "no-fly zone" as a cover for directly attacking the Syrian regime.

    Now that the tide is turned, and Russia (and Iran and Hizballah) has shamed the US in terms of effectiveness, of course the US comes in to try to finish off ISIS and have a hand in any subsequent negotiations.

    I think this interpretation of the history of events is quite plausible.

    Babak Makkinejad -> Richardstevenhack ... , 28 September 2017 at 06:10 PM
    A joint US-Jordanian force could have destroyed ISIS in Syria in its early days. Wonder why that was never attempted, I guess helping the Party of Ali was a big No-No.
    Richardstevenhack , 28 September 2017 at 02:14 PM
    This is how the Russians do it...

    REVENGE: Russia Vaporizes 5 Al-Qaeda Commanders Who Attacked Their MPs Last Week
    http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/revenge-russia-vaporizes-5-al-qaeda-commanders-who-attacked-their-mps-last-week/ri21077

    "At present, special measures to search for and destroy all the militants involved in the attack on Russian servicemen in Syria are continuing."

    ISL -> Richardstevenhack ... , 29 September 2017 at 11:52 AM
    Richardstevenhack:

    Thanks for the link:

    From the article:

    "It was discovered where the leaders would hold a meeting..."

    If true, this would suggest that ISIS is now leaking perhaps as individuals try and buy their post ISIS survival.

    I do not recall such reports claimed a year or so ago.

    VietnamVet , 28 September 2017 at 06:55 PM
    TTG

    Thanks again for keeping us up-to-date. This is invaluable.

    Policies that ignore American citizens and enrich polluters and war profiteers are reaching a point of implosion. The chickens are coming home to roost.

    Either the Shiite Crescent is accepted with Iran as a regional leader in an alliance with Russia or a world war is about to break out to form Kurdistan to cut the landline in half. Tens of thousands of American soldiers and contractors are in Syria and Iraq. As Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico point out; projected catastrophes do happen. Dont develop quagmires.

    mike , 28 September 2017 at 09:02 PM
    There are some signs of Damascus relaxing their attitude against the Kurds in northern Syria. The Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moualem, told Russia Today News that some form of autonomy may be possible. Is he sincere - or just trying to head off an independence referendum in Syria like what happened in northern Iraq?

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds/damascus-says-syrian-kurdish-autonomy-negotiable-report-idUSKCN1C10TJ

    The Kurds with their Syriac-Assyrian/Arab/Turkmen allies in the Democratic Northern Syria Federation have "answered Syrian Foreign Ministers remarks on 'negotiations', saying that they are ready for talks." They say Moualem's statement is welcome and a positive step. They put it in writing.

    https://anfenglish.com/rojava/northern-syria-answers-damascus-we-are-ready-for-negotiations-22376

    My thinking is that Russian pressure on Damascus has made this possible. The Kurds have been so far shut out of Geneva and Astana. So this possible thawing of relations is a good sign. Russia has also suggested that Afrin may be the next 'de-escalation' area. About time I say.

    Negotiations will be tough. Damascus will hold out for control of oil and gas assets in the north - plus the lion's share of electricity distribution from Tishrin and Tabqa dams that are under SDF control. The Kurds (and their allies) will hold out for the right to elect their own local officials instead of carpetbaggers from Damascus. They will want the right to participate in legitimate political parties other than the Ba'ath Party. Plus they may want justice for the PYD Party officials who were tortured and died while imprisoned by the Mukhbarat in the past. That last won't happen IMO, no way the regime is going to give up the men of its security apparatus to trial. In any case it will take a lot of good faith and compromising on both sides to make it work. Tough road ahead.

    Laguerre -> mike... , 29 September 2017 at 08:46 AM
    "There are some signs of Damascus relaxing their attitude against the Kurds in northern Syria."

    This is a quite inexact reading of the situation. The Rojavan Kurds have always been negotiating with Damascus, because of course they recognize that they will have to make a deal with Asad when the war is over. It's just the US that wants outright war. The evidence of course is the survival of the Syrian army base in Qamishli (or is it Hassekeh?). There was one attack upon it, but it was never renewed, and they're still there. I've always presumed that the attack was under US pressure, and now the Kurdish leadership has thought again, and doesn't want to go there now.

    mike -> Laguerre... , 29 September 2017 at 01:56 PM
    Laguerre -

    You are correct that the Kurdish PYD have for a long time been in discussions with the Syrian regime - or at least elements of the regime. And cooperating with them too. You case in point about Qamislo is but one example. The Kurds in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo City cooperated with and helped the SAA to break the siege there.

    It was al-Hasakah where the Kurds and regime forces clashed. But that was due to attacks on Kurds by elements of the regime backed NDF militia. There are still regime police and other elements in Hasakah. There was also a minor skirmish in Qamislo about a year and a half ago when NDF militia opened fire on a Kurdish Asayish police patrol.

    But this latest thaw (if it is one) is critical as it follows the two to three week long agitprop blitz out of Baghdad and Moscow about the SDF and the US.

    I'm not sure what to make of the Syrian FM. He also said this back in May of this year: I think that what the Syrian Kurds are doing in fighting Daesh is legitimate in the framework of their keenness on preserving the unity and integrity of Syrian territories. He thought that the Kurds were helping to preserve Syrian unity.

    Does Moualem speak for Assad? Maybe. Or not. But some Kurds claim that Assad had a Kurdish grampa. Or maybe it was a great grampa?

    Laguerre -> mike... , 29 September 2017 at 04:42 PM
    "But that was due to attacks on Kurds by elements of the regime backed NDF militia."

    Ha ha. You expect me to believe that? If the Kurds wanted the Syrian base gone, it would have been gone long ago.

    mike -> Laguerre... , 29 September 2017 at 08:06 PM
    Laguerre -

    You are correct in saying: "If the Kurds wanted the Syrian base gone, it would have been gone long ago." The facts that they did not should bolster the case that these were primarily local pissing-contest firefights between the Kurds and local/hostile militias. There are probably lots of he-saids and she-saids as to who fired the first shots in these skirmishes. The Kurdish police claim they were fired on at NDF checkpoints. I have not seen any counterclaims from the NDF.

    JJackson -> masoud... , 29 September 2017 at 05:02 AM
    Personally I do not believe that. I think they were happy to sit back and watch Assad and IS weaken each other with a view to picking up the pieces later. In addition their poor understading of the flows of knowledge, arms and personel between all the Jihadis led them to aid groups they thought 'friendly' only to find they were then fighting them once they morphed into something else. At root the problem is the difference between reality and 'US reality' as understood inside the beltway bubble and various tendrils of USgov.
    LeaNder -> masoud... , 29 September 2017 at 08:23 AM
    That's a nice and comfortable formula, case closed let's move on? Are you going to be both prosecutor and judge? Also executor of your own verdict? And what exactly would that be concerning the US? to not dwell too long on masoud.
    English Outsider , 29 September 2017 at 07:24 AM

    TTG - Thank you for another great summary. In addition to that, I believe that the second paragraph of your reply to "Willybilly" is the most accurate summary possible of the issue of claimed Western support for IS. We "let" ISIS run. We did not deliberately "create and direct" it.

    Who's "We?". As the Syrian conflict becomes more and more solely a US/Russia affair, as far as the participants outside the ME are concerned, the final sentence of that second paragraph points to something else that needs clarifying about the "stupid and destructive policy" that led to the Syrian debacle: European and Israeli input into the policy and into the implementation of that policy.

    The Israeli input into both policy and implementation gets sufficient attention, sometimes even in the media. The European input not so much, though I believe it was significant. Of the British component of that input on the ground we in the general public - that is, we in the general public who might have a rough idea of where Syria is on the map - know little except for what we hear of some dubious sounding intelligence/PR work and the odd reference to Special Forces. Even less of the French and German component.

    Given the disinformation and spin that surrounds the subject arriving at a view of Western intervention in the ME that is at once informed and balanced isn't easy. This is the only site that does it. At present we're waiting to see whether Syria succeeds in recovering its territory, whether it goes into a "frozen conflict" condition, or whether it ends up with a Kosovo scenario. As said, the Israeli influence on that outcome is recognised. European influence on the outcome and on arriving at it will also be a factor. Are there any indications of how that influence is exerted at present?

    There is also the question of Chinese interests in Syria and whether that will lead to the Chinese seeking to exert influence on the outcome.

    Such questions seem at present to have little direct bearing on the military position you are examining. They must, however, be in the minds of whoever in Washington is making the military decisions.

    David Habakkuk -> English Outsider ... , 29 September 2017 at 12:48 PM
    EO,

    On the British role in Syria, an invaluable resource is the material collected in the pages entitled Talk: British involvement in Syria, on the A Closer Look On Syria site.

    (See http://acloserlookonsyria.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Talk:British_involvement_in_Syria .)

    This has a lot of material on the activities of Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, whom I discussed briefly in my post on the British role in the Ghouta false flag and the subsequent cover-up, back in April.

    (See http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2017/04/sentence-first-verdict-afterwards-a-revision-by-david-habakkuk-14-april-2017.html .)

    Among other subjects covered is the role of James Le Mesurier in the White Helmets, and of Paul Tilley in InCoStrat.

    One interesting feature is that the British seemed to have carved out a niche in StratCom. So, for example, a sometime colleague of mine, Mark Laity, who when I had dealings with him was BBC Radio Defence Correspondent, is now Chief Strategic Communication at SHAPE.

    In this capacity, he produces presentations with titles like Perception becomes Reality, and Behavioural approaches to Perception management.

    (See https://www.cmdrcoe.org/download.php?id=336 , https://www.cmdrcoe.org/download.php?id=341 )

    What I find fascinating – and depressing – is that former British Army officers – like Tilley, Le Mesurier, and de Bretton-Gordon – seem to have swallowed this kind of nonsense hook, line and sinker.

    They do not seem to realise a central problem with propaganda – that, very often, the easiest person to fool is oneself.

    This may also be relevant to a central issue raised by British involvement in Syria, as also in other places.

    All one can find here are indications and pointers. But it seems likely that, behind the scenes, arguments about the dangers of blowback involved in the assumption that we could collaborate with the Saudis and other Gulfies in using jihadists against those deemed common enemies have been going on for a long time.

    It is of interest that a figure who has traced the history of this devils bargain very incisively – Alastair Crooke – is a former employee of MI6.

    (See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-aim-saudi-arabia_b_5748744.html .)

    There is enough of the old Tory cynic in me to think that it is commonly a very major mistake to apply the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight. There are a lot of matters where it seemed a good idea at the time is an appropriate maxim.

    However, the evidence is fairly clear that the kind of people who run MI6 have been remarkably resistant to the accumulating evidence that Sunni jihadists have been, as it were, devils with whom we have supped without a long enough spoon.

    So, for example, as late as July 2014 the former head of the organisation, Sir Richard Dearlove, was still attempting to convince others – and probably himself – that we didnt have to worry too much about the Islamic State, because their central objective was to butcher Shia.

    (See http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/iraq-crisis-how-saudi-arabia-helped-isis-take-over-the-north-of-the-country-9602312.html .)

    To see the extent to which the leadership of MI6 still dont get it – and cannot grasp how the assumptions that have shaped the organisations activities for decades have little relevance to todays world – one has only to read the first public speech of its current head, Sir Alex Younger, given last December.

    From the section on Syria:

    Because beyond any of our capabilities, it is legitimacy that is the strongest weapon against international terrorism. If you doubt the link between legitimacy and effective counter-terrorism, then – albeit negatively – the unfolding tragedy in Syria will, I fear, provide proof. I believe the Russian conduct in Syria, allied with that of Asads discredited regime, will, if they do not change course, provide a tragic example of the perils of forfeiting legitimacy. In defining as a terrorist anyone who opposes a brutal government, they alienate precisely that group that has to be on side if the extremists are to be defeated. Meanwhile, in Aleppo, Russia and the Syrian regime seek to make a desert and call it peace. The human tragedy is heart-breaking.

    (See https://www.sis.gov.uk/media/1155/cs-public-speech-8-december-2016-final.doc .)

    The man is, quite patently, both a gibbering idiot and a very unpleasant kind of sentimentalist. And, commonly, sentimentalists are precisely those people who are capable of the most wicked actions.

    But the MSM, in Britain and the United States, continue to behave like the characters in the Hans Christian Andersen fable – they cannot face the fact that the Emperor has no clothes, and they have been among those who have been praising the beauty of his suits all the time.

    How this situation has developed is a very interesting question.

    james -> David Habakkuk ... , 29 September 2017 at 09:08 PM
    eo and david h.. thank you both for the insightful and knowledgeable comments.. yes - white helmets and probably the info shop sohr - all on the uk/usa propaganda bankroll... i am not absolving canada - where i live) in any of this either.. canada with regard to syria has also been an abject failure of vision and leadership.. all our political class here do is follow what the usa does.. it's pathetic..
    English Outsider -> james... , 30 September 2017 at 08:58 AM

    James - pathetic all right but I have some reservations:-

    You write- "all our political class here do is follow what the USA does.."

    Is this the case with Canada and Australia? It's usually assumed, maybe simplistically, that the Ukrainian/Eastern European diaspora in those countries keeps the politicians there committed to neocon foreign policy anyway. At the more extreme end of the spectrum you sometimes see on the internet assertions that both the Ukrainians and the Israelis are holding the fort for white civilisation. Whether that's some nutter sounding off on a blog or whether it represents the underlying attitude of some of the Mr and Mrs Averages in that diaspora is difficult to tell from this distance.

    In any case I believe the view that neocon is just something the cronies do is incorrect. In Eastern Europe, parts of Germany and France, and I think in Canada and Australia there is a genuine sub-stratum of popular support for neocon foreign policy. We merely have to look at the relaxed attitude some Germans take to their government giving the Neo-Nazis a hand in the Ukraine; and some of those Neo-Nazis are getting up to considerably more than just sounding off on a blog. With respect, I don't think the Beltway is leading the charge in such aspects of neocon foreign policy. More shoulder to shoulder.

    More generally I'd suggest, very diffidently because the general public doesn't get to see a lot of what's happening, that sometimes in the various Western interventions abroad the tail has been wagging the dog pretty vigorously.

    That was my impression at times, both of the Clinton and Bush II years and of the Obama years. Still waiting to see what happens in the Trump years.

    james -> English Outsider ... , 30 September 2017 at 11:03 AM
    thanks eo... actually i think it is the case.. we are told to continue on with this nato exercise and to continue to spend more money on the military and we are encouraged to get involved in these conflicts around the globe where the usa deems the correct side to be on is - opposed to syria, with ukraine, and etc. etc... i prefer to not use the word neocon to describe it all..

    i agree there is a part of canada's public that continues to be okay with this war spending and foreign activities in support of the usa general policy as expressed in a newspaper.. this segment is becoming less and less relevant as i see it.. there have been too many botched jobs in the middle east beginning with iraq and moving on to libya... there are enough people that can see when you constantly hold up the idea that you have found the next hitler - saddam, gaddaffi, assad, putin - it wears very thin... i think the stomach for these types of foreign actions/interventions is quite low..

    now it might be slightly different with regard to ukraine where a large diaspora of ukranian people have a spokesperson in the form of crystia freeland who i personally find a huge embarrassment to canada, but other then that - i don't think canucks are in any significant way supportive of as you say 'neocons'... in the case of freeland, her connections to george soros remain enshrouded in secrecy and of course we know of soros position towards russia with his open russia ngo... he can go have another party with pussy riot and try to con the west all he wants and of course there will always be willing fools to buy into it especially ones in the western msm..

    JJackson -> David Habakkuk ... , 30 September 2017 at 08:46 AM
    Long ago, somewhere in these threads, I posted a link to a Small Wars Journal post by a British officer sent to the US DoS to add British input into the Iraq war post kinetic recunstruction phase. From memory the gist was this. The planning was going quite well originally but as the offensive drew near DoD got on a roll and began to take over the show at which point they looked at the DoS plan and junked it as being overly pessimistic as in their view the victorious allies would be welcomed as much loved liberators and post Saddam Iraq would naturally morph into some kind of democratic ally.
    David Habakkuk -> English Outsider ... , 29 September 2017 at 12:53 PM
    Pat,

    EO's comment seemed to need a reply, but once again it has been put into spam. The lawsuits provoked by the dossier are getting odder and odder. The lawyers for BuzzFeed are now trying to compel key figures in the American 'intelligence community' to produce some kind of testimony. This is, ironically, a situation familiar in wars -- where there are clearly escalatory dynamics, which are hard to predict.

    I have been tied up with other things, but hope to produce something sensible about what is going on at some point.

    English Outsider -> David Habakkuk ... , 30 September 2017 at 10:18 AM

    David Habkkuk,

    These people you're researching, particularly those in or on the fringes of the media - when you write more on them it will be instructive to see how you account for their being able to reconcile their activities with any sort of recognisable Service or institutional ethos.

    mike , 29 September 2017 at 10:55 AM
    Press brief yesterday morning by the CJTF-OIR spokesman, Colonel Ryan Dillon. Coalition airstrikes killed a network of three Daesh drone developers in and near Mayadin. (That indicates agents or sources (moles?) on the ground in Mayadin that are providing intel on Daesh leadership and constituents. It appears Colonel Lang was correct in his previous comment on that subject.)

    https://www.dvidshub.net/video/554521/inherent-resolve-spokesman-briefs-reporters

    Other key points that Dillon mentioned: More than 44000 sq kilometers liberated from Daesh in Syria by CJTF supported CJTF. (That is more than 24% of Syrian landmass in my estimation.) Two million Syrians no longer under the control of ISIS thanks to CJTF supported SDF.

    "Singular mission of the coalition joint task force is the annihilation of ISIS."

    Laguerre , 29 September 2017 at 05:24 PM
    The basic point about ISIS is the remark of I think it was Bandar bin Sultan who said, 'ISIS is a Saudi thing, the Muslim Brotherhood is Qatar.' Evidently since then Saudi has been obliged to disavow its support. But, you know, the islamic tradition is for private support of jihad objectives, thus no problem for the saudi princes to continue to support ISIS out of their private pocket, which is the same thing as the public pocket. There are endless public sermons in favour of ISIS in Saudi.

    I don't know how much the US is involved in all this, but I guess they've figured it out. Stick with Saudi and you stick with jihadism.

    Lurker -> Laguerre... , 30 September 2017 at 08:46 AM
    ISIS=Saudi; Al Nusra=Turkey & SDF=IDF with Saudi & IDF collaboration. Thus, ISIS melts away and voilà: SDF takes over

    [Sep 28, 2017] Russias Stand-Off Capability The 800 Pound Gorilla in Syria

    In comments the term Neoliberal was replaced to Neoliberal for clarity...
    Notable quotes:
    "... Long term goal for USI meant Neoliberal Empire, is weakening the regime in Moscow and executing a regime change. Long term goal for Russia is enduring and waiting/hoping for US..umphNeoliberal Empire implosion. ..."
    "... Nobody voted for Trump to advocate a dreamer amnesty, and nobody voted for Trump to continue the neocons foreign policy. So right now Trump has two big black marks against him. ..."
    Sep 28, 2017 | www.unz.com

    This is both a legitimate but also a highly unprofessional question. In fact, there are many people of prominence in the US who apart from considering such a terrifying scenario are actually pushing for it. Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters doesnt mince words when it comes to attacking Russians; in fact, he is a very straight to the point guy when giving prescriptions on how to fight those Russians: This could spin out of control very, very fast. If it does, we have to win rapidly and decisively -- and keep it within Syria.

    There is no doubt that Peters and the bunch of US military and political people he represents did partake in the strategic wisdom of the past, from Clausewitz to Moltke to Guderian, but it is here where a seemingly legitimate question on the probability of American success in bombing those nasty Russkies into the stone age at Khmeimim and elsewhere in Syria stops being, well, serious. Of course, US can unleash whatever it has at its conventional disposal at Khmeimim and it will eventually overwhelm whatever the Russians have there, from several SU-35s to S-300s and S-400s and, possibly, make Peters wet dream of keeping the whole ordeal confined to Syria very real. This would work, say against anyones military contingent except Russia.

    At issue here is not the fact that Russia is a nuclear superpower -- everyone knows that. Even the most rabid American Russophobes know this and can grasp, however slightly, the concept of their poor dears turning into radioactive ash pretty fast if they do the unthinkable, such as attacking Russia proper with nuclear weapons. Syria, however, is a bit different -- the escalation to a nuclear threshold could, indeed, be controlled by those who hold a decisive advantage conventionally. At issue here is the fact of conventional war -- a precise type of a conflict US military prided itself on for the last 30+ years, boasting of being able to handle any kind of adversary.

    In the foundation of this, rather overly assertive approach, the self-assurance was the real and not so real advantage of the US in stand-off weapons. Aggression against Yugoslavia showed the US military could overwhelm the air-defense of a nation such as Serbia fairly fast and from distances far beyond the reach of its obsolete air defenses. There were Tomahawk cruise missiles, which were launched at Serbia in thousands and which rendered her air defense almost useless after the first couple of weeks of incessant bombing.

    But here is the problem for the US: Russia can take this hypothetical conventional conflict well beyond Syria any time it wants and I am not talking about other strategic theaters, such as Ukraine, where Russia can compensate for a hypothetical defeat in Syria. The reason for this is purely technological -- Russia can go tit-for-tat conventionally in Syria and anywhere in the Middle East. In fact, the Russian military has in its possession the most advanced arsenal of High Precision stand-off weapons which have been demonstrated in action for the whole world to see.

    This is what makes the whole talk about defeating the Russian contingent in Syria very amateurish. War is much more than some shoot-out between belligerents, the war starts in the operational rooms and political offices well before any shot is fired. If the Russian contingent in Syria had been deployed there say in 2005, there would have been no problem in imagining Ralph Peters scenario. But it is not 2005 and an 800 pound gorilla, which many continue to ignore, in the room is Russias stand-off capability -- it is simply much better than the American one and it opens an operational door, in case of a hypothetical conventional attack on Kheimim, for a massive retaliation against any US asset in the region.

    Yesterday, in the wake of the death of Lieutenant General Asapov in Syria, allegedly with some help from the so called Coalition in the vicinity of the liberated Deir-ez-Zor, Russias strategic aviation launched long-range stealthy X-101 cruise missiles at ISIS targets in Syria. There is nothing new now in Russias using 5,500+ kilometer range cruise missile, nor is there news any more for the Russian Navy being able to launch 2,500+ kilometer range 3M14 of Kalibr family from anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean or the Caspian Sea. These are ranges which are simply beyond the reach of any stand-off weapon in US arsenal with Tomahawk TLAM-A Block II having the maximum range of around 2,500 kilometers while TLAM Block IV, currently being most produced variety, having the range of 1,600 kilometers.

    Raytheon says that these missiles are capable of loitering and that Tomahawk would be able to hit moving targets. It is all fine and dandy but the key is range and precision and here the US is not in the leading position to put it mildly. Range gives an unprecedented operational flexibility and yesterdays launch from Russian Tu-95 Bears strategic bombers had a very serious message -- not in terms of X-101′s range, even longer range cruise missiles are getting ready for procurement, with ranges in 10,000 kilometers vicinity. The message was in the fact that missiles were launched from Iranian and Iraqi aerospace. They didnt have to do so, this could have been easily done from the area of the Caspian Sea. But Bears launched while being escorted in Iranian aerospace by Su-30s and Su-35s of Russian Air Space Forces and that, apart from obvious hint at Russian full capability to reach any US ground asset in the area, provided some ominous signs.

    Iran knows for sure that should the unthinkable but not improbable happen, such as an American attack on the Russian forces in Syria, Iran will not be left standing on the side -- she gets immediately involved whether she wants it or not. So, the logic goes, why not make the best of it when all bets, other than nuclear, will be off. Iran may as well have Russian forces on her side and in her airspace, which, obviously helps significantly. But that also opens another serious operational possibility in case of a real conventional conflict in the area between Russia and the US -- a scenario Neocons, due to their military illiteracy and overall detachment from the strategic reality, are dreaming about. Putting inevitable emotions aside and looking at the factual side of things, Russias Military Doctrine since 2010, reaffirmed in 2014 Edition, views the use of stand-off High Precision as a key in strategic force containment, as Article 26 of a doctrine clearly states. Russia doesnt want war with the US, but if push comes to shove Russia is totally capable of not only reaching US ground assets, such as CENTCOMs Qatar forward installation but, what is even more significant, also the naval ones in the Persian Gulf.

    Apart from 66 long-range strategic bombers, the Tu-160s and Tu-95s, Russia has at her disposal more than 100 TU-22M3 bombers many of which are capable of both inflight refueling and of carrying a rather intimidating weapon -- the X-32 (Kh-32) cruise missile whose range is 1000 kilometers and the speed is in excess of Mach 4.2. This missile, apart from being able to attack anything on the ground, is capable in fact was designed primarily for the purpose, of hitting anything moving on the surface of the sea. The missile, let alone a salvo of those, is incredibly difficult if possible at all to intercept and as yesterdays demonstration showed, Iran, most likely would have no problem with allowing these very TU-22M3s to operate from her airspace in case of the worst case scenario. Launched anywhere from Darab area the salvo will not only cover all of a Persian Gulf but will reliably close off Gulf of Oman for any naval force. No ship, no Carrier Battle Group will be able to enter this area in case of a conventional conflict with Russia in Syria -- the strategic ramifications of this are enormous. Even the salvo of 3M14s from Caspian Sea on October 7, 2015 made such an impression that USS Theodore Roosevelt and her CBG almost immediately left the Gulf .

    Ron Unz > , September 27, 2017 at 8:06 pm GMT

    In support of the strategic thesis advanced in this important article, I seem to recall that the original Russian military intervention in Syria was accompanied by a volley of ultra-long-range cruise missiles, whose capabilities greatly surprised American military analysts.

    At the time, such a high-tech attack on ISIS positions seemed rather cost-ineffective to me, but presumably a major purpose was to dissuade America (and Israel) from considering any future attack on what was a rather small and isolated Russian expeditionary force.

    Also, since Russia, Iran, and Iraq have become de facto allies in the Syria War, Id think that the use of Iranian and Iraqi airspace as the launch point for the latest bombardment is also meant to raise much greater doubts in Trumps military advisors about the huge risks in any future attack against Iran or attempt to forcefully renegotiate the existing nuclear treaty.

    Thorfinnsson > , September 27, 2017 at 8:22 pm GMT

    Advanced Russian cruise missiles–or at least should not be news to military planners.

    They were well known in Cold War times and discussed in Western defense publications such as Janes.

    The entire purpose of the failed F-111B and its replacement, the F-14, was to keep Soviet maritime bombers and their deadly cruise missiles as far away from the fleet as possible. A lesson obviously forgotten since the end of the Cold War.

    The existence of advanced military technology in Russia (or, really, anywhere outside of America) does appear to surprise American civilian leaders however, few of whom have any military expertise these days.

    The real question: how many working cruise missiles does Russia have in inventory? If Soviet stocks still exist the answer could be quite a lot.

    Andrei Martyanov > , Website September 27, 2017 at 9:11 pm GMT

    @Thorfinnsson Advanced Russian cruise missiles--or at least should not be news to military planners.

    They were well known in Cold War times and discussed in Western defense publications such as Jane's.

    The entire purpose of the failed F-111B and its replacement, the F-14, was to keep Soviet maritime bombers and their deadly cruise missiles as far away from the fleet as possible. A lesson obviously forgotten since the end of the Cold War.

    The existence of advanced military technology in Russia (or, really, anywhere outside of America) does appear to surprise American civilian leaders however, few of whom have any military expertise these days.

    The real question: how many working cruise missiles does Russia have in inventory? If Soviet stocks still exist the answer could be quite a lot.

    Advanced Russian cruise missiles–or at least should not be news to military planners.

    Second generation Anti-Shipping Missiles , starting from Malakhyt and ending with P-700 Granit are not news since 1980s. We are talking about latest generation of high precision land and surface attack weapons which make all previous Soviet weapons obsolete and look like amateurs. 3M14 and X-101 are a new word in TLAMs which, apart from Inertial, GLONASS and TERCOM guidance use other quirky things and, again–nothing was produced ever with combat range of 5,500+ kilometers. None. You are talking about mostly anti-shipping missiles. Among them today only P-1000 Voulkans are retained on old Missile Cruisers of Slava-class and P-700 Granits (NATO: SS-N-19 Shipwreck) carried by some Project 949A (Oscar-II class) SSGNs and Cruiser Peter The Great–most of those will be removed (some are being as I type it) and will have new generation of: P-800 Onyx, 3M54 Kalibr family and 3M22 Zircon hyper-sonic missiles installed. X-32 also is already fully operational for strategic aviation. Those are game changers. Once Mach=8 capable 3M22 Zircon comes on-line, it is pretty much over for the naval warfare as we know it. Real American military professionals know it, others only sense it.

    peterAUS > , September 28, 2017 at 4:28 am GMT

    Read the article.

    Interesting.

    Say its all true. So what?

    MAD was assured during Cold War.So what? Soviet/Warsaw Pact was superior in conventional capability then NATO. So what? The end result was dissolution of not only Warsaw Pact but Soviet Union itself.

    And thats precisely whats going on here. Not an all out war with Russia. I mean, it can happen but neither party would want it. If it happens it will be one of those oh SHIT! moments. Anyway.

    The purpose of war in Syria, from US (OKNeoliberal Empire/whatever) point is ongoing chaos in that region. Chaos …in……that……region.

    Russia can not make that chaos go away. Or if it can, well.fine. I just dont see it.

    All this missiles/high tech/who has a bigger dick thing is ….just….irrelevant.

    The Professor is doing a fine job of spinning positive image on that General (and some other people) death here and thats fine. Not a bad job.

    But the game which killed the General will go on. And on…..and on..and it wont be solved by advanced missiles and what not.

    Russia is in Syria to prop its strategic ally and keep the presence there. The presence there is the objective.

    Russia can keep the presence -- –US (yes..sorry..Neoliberal Empire) will maintain chaos . Both winners.

    Military personnel on both sides will keep being killed and mutilated. Part of the job. High tech assassinations and just bad luck.

    And Islamists from all over the world will keep fulfilling their destiny.

    The Syrians, though…..mice and elephants.

    Long term goal for USI meant Neoliberal Empire, is weakening the regime in Moscow and executing a regime change. Long term goal for Russia is enduring and waiting/hoping for US..umphNeoliberal Empire implosion.

    SimpleHandle > , September 28, 2017 at 4:43 am GMT

    Nobody voted for Trump to advocate a dreamer amnesty, and nobody voted for Trump to continue the neocons foreign policy. So right now Trump has two big black marks against him. I hope Trump can be convinced to back off from his military brinkmanship but with the generals in his administration I am not optimistic. Russia is on the right side of the Syrian conflict.

    unit472 > , September 28, 2017 at 5:03 am GMT

    @peterAUS Read the article.

    Interesting.

    Say it's all true. So what?

    MAD was assured during Cold War.So what? Soviet/Warsaw Pact was superior in conventional capability then NATO. So what? The end result was dissolution of not only Warsaw Pact but Soviet Union itself.

    And that's precisely what's going on here. Not an all out war with Russia. I mean, it can happen but neither party would want it. If it happens it will be one of those "oh SHIT!" moments. Anyway.

    The purpose of war in Syria, from US (OK...Neoliberal Empire/whatever) point is ongoing chaos in that region. Chaos ......in............that............region.

    Russia can not make that chaos go away. Or if it can, well....fine. I just don't see it.

    All this missiles/high tech/who has a bigger dick thing is .......just.......irrelevant.

    The Professor is doing a fine job of spinning positive image on that General (and some other people) death here and that's fine. Not a bad job.

    But the game which killed the General will go on. And on........and on.....and it won't be solved by advanced missiles and what not.

    Russia is in Syria to prop its strategic ally and keep the presence there. The presence there is the objective.

    Russia can keep the presence -----US (yes..sorry..Neoliberal Empire) will maintain chaos . Both winners.

    Military personnel on both sides will keep being killed and mutilated. Part of the job. High tech assassinations and just bad luck.

    And Islamists from all over the world will keep fulfilling their destiny.

    The Syrians, though...........mice and elephants.

    Long term goal for US...I meant Neoliberal Empire, is weakening the regime in Moscow and executing a regime change. Long term goal for Russia is enduring and waiting/hoping for US..umph...Neoliberal Empire implosion.

    All fine. Unless one is a Syrian. Indeed, high tech ( and expensive) weaponry is almost useless against groups like the Taliban or ISIS. Unless you are willing to wage a Mosul type campaign and slaughter civilians on an industrial scale rooting out bands of armed brigands requires infantry. A $ 10 million drone firing a $100,000 missile may take out a terrorist leader but these guys are not indispensable. OTOH some guy driving a car or wearing a suicide vest can take out a whole bunch of highly trained military professionals.

    Anonymous > , Disclaimer September 28, 2017 at 5:56 am GMT

    Check out this article and video of a Russian cruise missile launch, hitting ISIS targets a thousand miles away. Very impressive. This was from the Deir al-Zor operation from a few weeks ago. In the comments section there is dispute as to weather the USN has this same vertical launch system capability (launch rate).

    VIDEO: Russian Frigate Fires 3 Cruise Missiles on ISIS Targets in Syria

    https://news.usni.org/2017/09/05/video-russian-frigate-fires-3-cruise-missiles-isis-targets-syria

    Eagle Eye > , September 28, 2017 at 6:02 am GMT

    @Ron Unz In support of the strategic thesis advanced in this important article, I seem to recall that the original Russian military intervention in Syria was accompanied by a volley of ultra-long-range cruise missiles, whose capabilities greatly surprised American military analysts.

    At the time, such a high-tech attack on ISIS positions seemed rather cost-ineffective to me, but presumably a major purpose was to dissuade America (and Israel) from considering any future attack on what was a rather small and isolated Russian expeditionary force.

    Also, since Russia, Iran, and Iraq have become de facto allies in the Syria War, I'd think that the use of Iranian and Iraqi airspace as the launch point for the latest bombardment is also meant to raise much greater doubts in Trump's military advisors about the huge risks in any future attack against Iran or attempt to forcefully renegotiate the existing nuclear treaty. Thank you, Mr. Unz, for bringing these items – which are of fundamental strategic importance – to a wider public.

    Just found that the Russians actually released a video of the October 2015 cruise missile launches from the Caspian Sea.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2015/oct/07/russia-launches-missiles-on-isis-from-caspian-sea-video

    Frankie P > , September 28, 2017 at 8:49 am GMT

    @peterAUS Read the article.

    Interesting.

    Say it's all true. So what?

    MAD was assured during Cold War.So what? Soviet/Warsaw Pact was superior in conventional capability then NATO. So what? The end result was dissolution of not only Warsaw Pact but Soviet Union itself.

    And that's precisely what's going on here. Not an all out war with Russia. I mean, it can happen but neither party would want it. If it happens it will be one of those "oh SHIT!" moments. Anyway.

    The purpose of war in Syria, from US (OK...Neoliberal Empire/whatever) point is ongoing chaos in that region. Chaos ......in............that............region.

    Russia can not make that chaos go away. Or if it can, well....fine. I just don't see it.

    All this missiles/high tech/who has a bigger dick thing is .......just.......irrelevant.

    The Professor is doing a fine job of spinning positive image on that General (and some other people) death here and that's fine. Not a bad job.

    But the game which killed the General will go on. And on........and on.....and it won't be solved by advanced missiles and what not.

    Russia is in Syria to prop its strategic ally and keep the presence there. The presence there is the objective.

    Russia can keep the presence -----US (yes..sorry..Neoliberal Empire) will maintain chaos . Both winners.

    Military personnel on both sides will keep being killed and mutilated. Part of the job. High tech assassinations and just bad luck.

    And Islamists from all over the world will keep fulfilling their destiny.

    The Syrians, though...........mice and elephants.

    Long term goal for US...I meant Neoliberal Empire, is weakening the regime in Moscow and executing a regime change. Long term goal for Russia is enduring and waiting/hoping for US..umph...Neoliberal Empire implosion.

    All fine. Unless one is a Syrian. You miss the more immediate goal of the AngloNeoliberal Empire, namely the prevention of the Shia Crescent becoming a stable and calm area, protected and strengthened by well-trained, battle-hardened, united forces, including of course the SAA, Iran, the Iraqi militias, and Hezzbollah. For although as you mentioned the Neoliberal narcissistic great evil and its Yinon Plan to destabilize the entire Middle East / North Africa has long been a goal, we see once again that reality presents them having bitten off more than they could chew, and actions like the Iraq War, a neocon feast of overconfidence and bluster, ended up strengthening the true resistance, the true danger to their regional hegemonic plans. They doubled down, as psychopathic narcissists are prone to do, in Syria, and the resulting action by a stronger and more aggressive Russia has shone the light on the folly of their ways. The resistance has now become The Resistance, and with Americas continuing belligerence pushing Russia and China ever closer, we will soon be calling it THE RESISTANCE.

    Frankie P

    Randal > , September 28, 2017 at 9:41 am GMT

    So, what do you think, what could be the next steps in that play?

    OK lets look at it a bit closer. But to do so we must recognise that we are moving to the realms of wider politics rather than its subset, war. At the level we are talking about, the decisions are always political rather than military, even when they are taken by military men in an overtly military regime.

    The context is what is discussed by Martyanov above – the US regime, presumably listening to some of the less wise amongst its senior military men and the less honestly motivated amongst its influential political and media figures, decides to try to defeat and destroy the Russian forces in Syria whilst counting on what they believe is the USs general escalation superiority to constrain Russian responses and keep the open conflict contained to the region. After the initial probably devastating US attack on Russian forces in Syria, involving the overloading and suppression by various means including direct SEAD attacks of the limited air defences in theatre, the Russians respond with large standoff attacks that effectively destroy US bases and/or carriers used in the attack or in the vicinity. They would not have enough to keep all US and allied ships and bases from which attacks could be launched in Syria out of action, but they could presumably render several substantial bases unusable for significant periods and sink a number of ships including carriers, which would have to operate from more distant locations, rendering operations more costly and less effective.

    What does the US do next? Militarily it has to retaliate, but it can choose how far to escalate in doing so. The problem is that substantive retaliation presumably requires attacks on Russian bases inside Russia, which involves very high risks of uncontrolled escalation to a strategic nuclear exchange. Do they do that? If they launch limited attacks inside Russia (eg an attack on a base used to launch the strategic bombers, say), Russia has the strategic capability to carry out direct tit for tat responses.

    Given the likely involvement of the forces and bases of regional allies (though who really knows how enthusiastic Turkey would really be, these days), it seems likely the attack on Russian forces in Syria could still be prosecuted to completion with their effective destruction, and meaningful Russia reinforcements interdicted successfully, but that would now seem rather a sideshow. And meanwhile Iraqi and Iranian involvement would be likely, and not to the advantage of the USs interests on the ground. Russian ships in the region and perhaps elsewhere could (certainly would in the case of ships in theatre) be engaged in full scale air/sea battles likely resulting in their fairly prompt destruction, but not without significant ongoing losses to US naval forces.

    While all this is going on, what is the political response that will drive the long term outcome? Imo that depends on the political context – is this Pearl Harbor or the Beirut bombings for the US regime? In Pearl Harbor the Japanese executed a Bush Doctrine preventive attack on US military forces intended to forestall what they probably correctly saw as an existential threat from a rival. The result was that although they did considerable military damage all they ultimately achieved was to provide the political context in which the US regime could do what it had not previously been capable of doing, namely to wage a total war to defeat and occupy its Pacific rival. In Beirut the US was interfering in a Lebanese conflict under the transparently false pretext of peacekeeping, and their enemies struck back at them by carrying out a large suicide bombing attack on their military base in theatre. The result was not the creation of a political motivation for invasion and occupation, but rather the discrediting of the intervention policy and the withdrawal of US military forces from Lebanon.

    In the context under discussion, would the loss of US bases and/or carriers, with massive loss of life and arguably even greater loss of prestige (and, it should be remembered, substantial loss of actual military intervention capability in theatre, even if that could be rebuilt and replaced over time), result in an American political determination to engage in a long, massive military confrontation to defeat Russia strategically (a WW2 Japan-style open war of invasion and occupation is ruled out by the modern nuclear peace), and would the US have the necessary global support in waging such a campaign to give it any chance of succeeding?

    Or would it result in a backlash, both domestic and international, against the US regime itself for attacking Russian forces in Syria and essentially provoking the Russian response?

    Much depends on propaganda – does the US regime and its various collaborating elites still have sufficient control of the global and domestic media environment to impose the necessary narrative of a dastardly Russian act of aggression (yes, incredibly enough that is how they try to would portray it – the Americans have demonstrated over the years a shocking degree of hypocrisy when it comes to viewing themselves as the victims in cases of retaliation against them for the actions of their own government and military)? But much also would depend upon the particular circumstances in which the initial American attacks took place and how they were justified (supposed chemical attacks, WMD, responses to provocations, etc).

    In the end, all the dithering in Washington over the past six years about how far to go in Syria has been in large part about who gets the blame if things go wrong.

    So would the result be some kind of strategic defeat for Russia (as for Japan in WW2), or political turmoil in the US resulting in a loss of stomach for further interference (as in Lebanon)? If the former, then you have to explain how such a defeat is realistically going to occur given the reality of the strategic nuclear deterrent Russia has against any massive military attack, and its very significant defensive conventional capabilities, as well as the reality that even if the USs European and Pacific satellites might be willing to go along in such a venture (questionable in some cases, depending on the context), China and most of Asia, and much of Africa and South America, certainly would not, and these areas weigh much more heavily in the global economic balance than they did a few decades ago.

    The real lesson of all this, of course, is that the US regime would have to be profoundly stupid or desperate to risk attacking Russian forces in Syria. Sadly thats not as reassuring as it ought to be.

    The Alarmist > , September 28, 2017 at 11:21 am GMT

    There are reasons why that rabid attack chihuahua Peters retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, not the least of which is an inability to grasp the meaning of tactical and strategic indicators and the differences between them. He undoubtedly makes great money giving Fox red-meat quotes for the Rah-Rah crowd who drive the advertising, but I doubt anyone who is anyone, except for a few of the dumbest neocons, takes anything he says seriously.

    Andrei Martyanov > , Website September 28, 2017 at 12:48 pm GMT

    @The Alarmist There are reasons why that rabid attack chihuahua Peters retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, not the least of which is an inability to grasp the meaning of tactical and strategic indicators and the differences between them. He undoubtedly makes great money giving Fox red-meat quotes for the Rah-Rah crowd who drive the advertising, but I doubt anyone who is anyone, except for a few of the dumbest neocons, takes anything he says seriously.

    but I doubt anyone who is anyone, except for a few of the dumbest neocons, takes anything he says seriously.

    Here is the problem, Peters is not alone, in fact, a lot of his hysteria is echoed by such people as former SACEUR Phil Breedlove, today it is Dunford etc. Another matter, because those are still uniformed (or were recently) it is really bad idea to behave as psychopaths as Peters but all of them read from the same script, just the method of delivery differs, slightly at that. As per neocons–these are exact people who set foreign policies in D.C. Their military incompetence is appalling (which is expected from people with their backgrounds) and as such they are extremely dangerous. So I would dispute this thesis of yours. Militarily all neocons are dumb. For people who think that the history of Peloponnesian War (in their big honcho Kagans version) has any relevance to the age of GPS/GLONASS and Combat Informational Control Systems with Stand-off weapons–these people should be looked at very seriously by psychiatrist.

    Randal > , September 28, 2017 at 12:57 pm GMT

    @Ron Unz In support of the strategic thesis advanced in this important article, I seem to recall that the original Russian military intervention in Syria was accompanied by a volley of ultra-long-range cruise missiles, whose capabilities greatly surprised American military analysts.

    At the time, such a high-tech attack on ISIS positions seemed rather cost-ineffective to me, but presumably a major purpose was to dissuade America (and Israel) from considering any future attack on what was a rather small and isolated Russian expeditionary force.

    Also, since Russia, Iran, and Iraq have become de facto allies in the Syria War, I'd think that the use of Iranian and Iraqi airspace as the launch point for the latest bombardment is also meant to raise much greater doubts in Trump's military advisors about the huge risks in any future attack against Iran or attempt to forcefully renegotiate the existing nuclear treaty.

    At the time, such a high-tech attack on ISIS positions seemed rather cost-ineffective to me, but presumably a major purpose was to dissuade America (and Israel) from considering any future attack on what was a rather small and isolated Russian expeditionary force.

    Clearly it made no sense in a tactical military sense to use cruise missiles when straightforward air attack was available, and the use of the Kalibrs in October 2015 was certainly motivated as a demonstration of capability. To what degree it was a warning to potential enemies (the US regime, Israel and the Gulf states, obviously, but also remember at the time still Turkey, though that brief hostility seems to have been managed out of existence, helped by the US turning to the Kurds as their proxies in Syria, since then), as opposed to a marketing pitch ( the Russians have been selling export versions of these missiles for many years ) is open to question – probably both.

    The issue is not so much the possession of cruise missiles – the Soviets had nuclear armed Tomahawk equivalents back in the 1980s, and its always been assumed that those (the air and sea launched ones, anyway) were repurposed as conventionally armed missiles. Its having them, along with deployable launchers, in numbers and proving that they work reliably that was the issue. Theres an understandable post-Soviet tendency in the US sphere to discount Russian capabilities in terms of high tech weapons. And in order to use cruise missiles in the way Martyanov describes here – basically as a base-denial weapon against a peer rival – you need plenty of them. To hit a US base and render it unusable with conventionally armed weapons, you have to hit it accurately and you have to hit it multiple times, evading or overloading the defences and counter-measures. To take out a carrier, you have to locate the target first, and then beat the counter-measures to hit it at least once and preferably several times, though one hit could be a mission kill. And in the case of the land base, you have to be able to do it again a few days later, and keep hitting it.

    So the Russians, with their repeated uses of cruise missiles and the introduction of more modern and potentially significantly more capable missiles that Martyanov refers to, have been building a credible case that the US can no longer count on escalation superiority in Syria to protect them.

    Andrei Martyanov > , Website September 28, 2017 at 1:13 pm GMT

    @unit472

    Sinking a 100,000 ton aircraft carrier has not yet been done.

    And hopefully will not be done in the future–lets keep our fingers crossed.

    The Forrestal survived multiple detonations and explosions on its flight deck back in 1967 though over 100 sailors died

    Tragic scenario which still rendered USS Forrestal nonoperational. But then again: E=(mv^2)/2 . If to discount explosives, kinetic energy alone of Mach=3 (not to mention Mach=7+) of a single missile will surpass anything what Forestall or, for that matter, USS Enterprise endured in 1969. But here we get into the main issue of leaker and this is the problem which any US naval air defense system is not capable of solving. You may read more on the issue on US Naval Institute written by me.

    https://blog.usni.org/posts/2017/08/28/aircraft-carriers-drama

    Michael Kenny > , September 28, 2017 at 1:41 pm GMT

    This sort of Russia is invincable bluster is old hat. It suggests that Putins American supporters are getting nervous.

    Sergey Krieger > , September 28, 2017 at 1:58 pm GMT

    Now I see how shooting from Iranian airspace increases salvo.missiles with shorter range can be used which could not have been used from Russian airspace. Now the logic behind longer range missiles is also clear to avoid being dependent on allies too. Those are not reliable
    One can only say in retrospective that were it not for what happened in 90s soviet/ Russian stand off capabilities would be absolutely crushing strong long time ago. Now, combined with EW capabilities, air defences and fast moving hard hitting land forces all this United by computerized control it must be something.

    The Alarmist > , September 28, 2017 at 2:06 pm GMT

    @Andrei Martyanov There are reasons why Breedlove was pushed out. Ive been out of the war for a couple decades, so my confidence that there are saner heads where it counts might be misplaced.

    I wouldnt say 99%, but the number is non-trivial, and that is alarming. Peters is aimed at the folks who buy the medicines and other crap hawked on Fox. It helps sell his fiction to people who used to read Tom Clancy but now have to take a step down. If he were taken seriously, hed be doing more appearances on the Sunday shows.

    Stoltenbergs militancy is distressing, but I again hope his masters have him on a short leash, meaning he will bark but he wont bite.

    The neocons are a problem. I think theyve largely been kept in check by calmer heads in the military, which has to do the fighting and occasional dying in the fights the neocons want to pick, which in my opinion is why the neocons have gone about achieving their aims using the Company and its assets.

    DoD has undoubtedly seen and assessed the standoff capability of the Russians, which is why their involvement has been somewhat muted, but yeah, there are some rabid types down the chain who are itching to try their toys on the only real adversaries we have in the world, and given the independence we often give field commanders, they can get us in trouble.

    Thorfinnsson > , September 28, 2017 at 2:10 pm GMT

    @Andrei Martyanov Pardon the pun, but converting anti-ship missiles into land attack missiles doesnt sound like rocket science.

    Even if the Soviet Union didnt have advanced land-attack cruise missiles in the 80s, it should still have been obvious to anyone that their anti-ship missiles could be developed into land attack missiles.

    Were really just talking about a different guidance package, and depending on the sensors involved that can be as simple as a software change. GLONASS began to enter service in 1982, and the first test of a satellite guided bomb was conducted in 1993. Any idiot shouldve been able to put two and two together here, and at least some Western writers have been warning about increasingly sophisticated Russian weapons for more than a decade.

    Whether or not anti-ship missiles make surface warships obsolete I do not know. My hunch is certainly yes (and the future obsolescence of surface warships was predicted already before the war), but this is one of those things we wont truly know until we see it done.

    For that matter Im not sure that hypersonic missiles are game changers for naval warfarepresumably one could simply saturate any naval task force with cheaper subsonic missiles and overwhelm defenses. If none of the of the ships in the task force have low frequency radars, stealth aircraft could drop laser guided bombs right down the blind stack directly on top of warships. A 2,000 pound high explosive bomb would sink more or less any warship afloat today. The Australian theorist Carlo Kopp proposed this for the F-22 as part of his pet cause to get his country to acquire F-22s.

    It has long struck me as idiotic that modern surface warships are largely unarmored, and I also find it curious how few CIWS Western warships have compared to Russian ones.

    DESERT FOX > , September 28, 2017 at 2:12 pm GMT

    The Neoliberal neocons who control the U.S. are used to invading and destroying small countries with no regard for international law and killing millions of civilians including men , women and children, this is what the Neoliberal neocons do or rather this is what they make the American military do.

    America is run by a Neoliberal crime cabal that operates much as Hitler and the Nazis did with no regard for life or limb, ie a rogue nation that creates terror groups such as ISIS and AL CIADA that it uses to wreck countries and pretends to fight this self created terror.

    The Neoliberal warmongers are going to destroy America and in case of war with Russia both nations will be destroyed and fools like col. ralph peters are typical of the toy officer contingent that is harbored in the military, and who are puppets of Israel.

    The real GORILLA is the Neoliberals and Israel who have driven American foreign policy for decades and who are going to destroy America as just as a parasite destroys its host...

    GOD BLESS RUSSIA AND SYRIA

    [Sep 27, 2017] Come You Masters of War by Matthew Harwood

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... The Middle East was now a U.S. military priority, and the pursuit of direct American domination of the region came from none other than the supposed peacenik, Jimmy Carter. ..."
    "... The result was the Carter Doctrine. Delivered to the American people during the 1980 State of Union Address, Carter started Americas War for the Greater Middle East. ..."
    "... he declared Americas right to cheap energy. Let our position be absolutely clear, he said. An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force. ..."
    "... Analyzing the Carter Doctrine, Bacevich writes that it represented a broad, open-ended commitment, one that expanded further with time -- one that implied the conversion of the Persian Gulf into an informal American protectorate. Defending the region meant policing it. And police it America has done, wrapping its naked self-interest in the seemingly noble cloth of democratization and human rights. ..."
    "... They didnt see that the U.S.-armed Afghan mujahideen also believed they were the victors and that they had every intention of resisting Americas version of modernity as much as they had resisted the Soviet Unions. (Americas self-destructive trend of arming its eventual enemies -- either directly or indirectly from Saddam Hussein to ISIS, respectively -- is a recurring theme of Bacevichs narrative.) ..."
    "... History cannot be controlled, and it had its revenge on a U.S. military and political elite who somehow believed they could see the future and manage historical forces toward a predestined end that naturally benefitted America. As Reinhold Niebuhr warned, and Bacevich quotes approvingly, The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning. ..."
    "... Another piece of connective tissue, according to Bacevich, is the belief that war is not the failure of diplomacy but a necessary ingredient to its success. The U.S. military establishment learned this lesson in Bosnia when U.S.-led NATO bombing brought Serbia to the negotiating table at the Dayton Peace Accords. The proper role of armed force, writes Bacevich, was not to supplant diplomacy but to make it work. Gen. Wesley Clark was more succinct when he called war coercive diplomacy during the Kosovo conflict. U.S. military force was no longer a last resort, particularly when technology was making it easier to unleash violence without endangering U.S. service members lives. ..."
    "... The people on the ground, as the D.C. elites just learned in November, have a way of not going along with the best-laid plans made for them in the epicenters of power. ..."
    "... Without any unifying aim or idea, according to Bacevich, the Obama administrations principal contribution to Americas War for the Greater Middle East was to expand its fronts. ..."
    "... As Bacevich clearly shows over and over again in his narrative, the men and women who make up the defense establishment have a fanatical, almost theological, belief in the transformational power of American violence. ..."
    "... Expect Uncle Sams fangs to grow longer, his talons sharper, his violence huge. ..."
    "... Bacevich, himself, is not hopeful. In a note to readers that greets them before the prologue, Bacevich is refreshingly terse with his assessment of Americas war for the Greater Middle East: We have not won it. We are not winning it. Simply trying harder is unlikely to produce a different outcome. ..."
    Sep 26, 2017 | www.fff.org

    Review of America's War for the Greater Middle East by Andrew J. Bacevich (New York: Random House, 2016; 480 pages)

    Americas War for the Greater Middle East. Over time, other considerations intruded and complicated the wars conduct, but oil as a prerequisite of freedom was from day one an abiding consideration.

    By 1969, oil imports already made up 20 percent of the daily oil consumption in the United States. Four years later, Arab oil exporters suspended oil shipments to the United States to punish America for supporting Israel in the October War. The American economy screeched to a halt, seemingly held hostage by foreigners -- a big no-no for a country accustomed to getting what it wants. Predictably the U.S. response was regional domination to keep the oil flowing to America, especially to the Pentagon and its vast, permanent war machine.

    The Middle East was now a U.S. military priority, and the pursuit of direct American domination of the region came from none other than the supposed peacenik, Jimmy Carter. Before him, Richard Nixon was content to have the Middle East managed by proxies after the bloodletting America experienced in Vietnam. His arch-proxy was the despised shah of Iran, whom the United States had installed into power and then armed to the teeth. When his regime collapsed in 1979, felled by Islamic revolutionaries who would eventually capture the American embassy and initiate the Iranian hostage crisis, so too did the Nixon Doctrine. That same year, the Soviet Union rolled into Afghanistan. The world was a mess, and Carter was under extreme pressure to do something about it, lest he lose his bid for a second term. (He suffered a crushing defeat anyway.)

    Furies beyond reckoning

    The result was the Carter Doctrine. Delivered to the American people during the 1980 State of Union Address, Carter started Americas War for the Greater Middle East. Months earlier, in his infamous malaise speech, Carter asked Americans to simplify their lives and moderate their energy use. Now he declared Americas right to cheap energy. Let our position be absolutely clear, he said. An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

    Analyzing the Carter Doctrine, Bacevich writes that it represented a broad, open-ended commitment, one that expanded further with time -- one that implied the conversion of the Persian Gulf into an informal American protectorate. Defending the region meant policing it. And police it America has done, wrapping its naked self-interest in the seemingly noble cloth of democratization and human rights.

    It is illustrative, and alarming, to list Bacevichs selected campaigns and operations in the region since 1980 up to the present, unleashed by Carter and subsequent presidents. Lets go in alphabetical order by country followed by the campaigns and operations:

    1. Afghanistan (Cyclone, 1980–1989; Infinite Reach, 1998; Enduring Freedom, 2001–2015; Freedoms Sentinel, 2015–present);
    2. Bosnia (Deny Flight, 1993–1995; Deliberate Force, 1995; Joint Endeavor, 1995–1996);
    3. East Africa (Enduring Freedom -- Trans Sahara, 2007–present);
    4. Egypt (Bright Star, 1980–2009);
    5. Iraq (Desert Storm, 1991; Southern Watch, 1991–2003; Desert Strike, 1996; Northern Watch, 1997–2003; Desert Fox, 1998; Iraqi Freedom, 2003–2010; New Dawn, 2010–2011; Inherent Resolve, 2014–present);
    6. Iran (Eagle Claw, 1980; Olympic Games, 2007–2010)
    7. Kosovo (Determined Force, 1998; Allied Force, 1999; Joint Guardian, 1999–2005);
    8. Lebanon (Multinational Force, 1982–1984);
    9. Libya (El Dorado Canyon, 1986; Odyssey Dawn, 2011);
    10. North/West Africa (Enduring Freedom -- Trans Sahara, 2007– present);
    11. Pakistan (Neptune Spear, 2011);
    12. Persian Gulf (Earnest Will, 1987–1988; Nimble Archer, 1987; Praying Mantis, 1988);
    13. Saudi Arabia (Desert Shield, 1990; Desert Focus, 1996);
    14. Somalia (Restore Hope, 1992–1993; Gothic Serpent, 1993); Sudan (Infinite Reach, 1998);
    15. Syria (Inherent Resolve, 2014–present);
    16. Turkey (Provide Comfort, 1991);
    17. Yemen (Determined Response, 2000)

    While Bacevich deftly takes the reader through the history of all those wars, the most important aspect of his book is his critique of the United Statess permanent military establishment and the power it wields in Washington. According to Bacevich, U.S. military leaders have a tendency to engage in fantastical thinking rife with hubris. Too many believe the United States is a global force for good that has the messianic duty to usher in secular modernity, a force that no one should ever interfere with, either militarily or ideologically.

    As Bacevich makes plain again and again, history does not back up that mindset. For instance, after the Soviet Unions crippling defeat in Afghanistan, the Washington elite saw it as an American victory, the inauguration of the end of history and the inevitable march of democratic capitalism. They didnt see that the U.S.-armed Afghan mujahideen also believed they were the victors and that they had every intention of resisting Americas version of modernity as much as they had resisted the Soviet Unions. (Americas self-destructive trend of arming its eventual enemies -- either directly or indirectly from Saddam Hussein to ISIS, respectively -- is a recurring theme of Bacevichs narrative.)

    Over and over again after 9/11, America would be taught this lesson, as Islamic extremists, both Sunni and Shia, bloodied the U.S. military across the Greater Middle East, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. History cannot be controlled, and it had its revenge on a U.S. military and political elite who somehow believed they could see the future and manage historical forces toward a predestined end that naturally benefitted America. As Reinhold Niebuhr warned, and Bacevich quotes approvingly, The recalcitrant forces in the historical drama have a power and persistence beyond our reckoning.

    Yet across Americas War for the Greater Middle East, presidents would speak theologically of Americas role in the world, never admitting the United States is not an instrument of the Almighty. George H.W. Bush would speak of a new world order. Bill Clintons Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would declare that America is the indispensable nation. George W. Bushs faith in this delusion led him to declare a global war on terrorism, where American military might would extinguish evil wherever it resided and initiate Condoleeza Rices 'paradigm of progress -- democracy, limited government, market economics, and respect for human (and especially womens) rights across the region. As with all zealots, there was no acknowledgment by the Bush administration, flamboyantly Christian, that evil resided inside them too. Barack Obama seemed to pull back from this arrogance in his 2009 Cairo speech, declaring, No system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other. Yet he continued to articulate his faith that all people desire liberal democracy, even though that simply isnt true.

    All in all, American presidents and their military advisors believed they could impose a democratic capitalist peace on the world, undeterred that each intervention created more instability and unleashed new violent forces the United States would eventually engage militarily, such as Saddam Hussein, al-Qaeda, and ISIS. Bacevich explains that this conviction, deeply embedded in the American collective psyche, provides one of the connecting threads making the ongoing War for the Greater Middle East something more than a collection of disparate and geographically scattered skirmishes.

    War and diplomacy

    Another piece of connective tissue, according to Bacevich, is the belief that war is not the failure of diplomacy but a necessary ingredient to its success. The U.S. military establishment learned this lesson in Bosnia when U.S.-led NATO bombing brought Serbia to the negotiating table at the Dayton Peace Accords. The proper role of armed force, writes Bacevich, was not to supplant diplomacy but to make it work. Gen. Wesley Clark was more succinct when he called war coercive diplomacy during the Kosovo conflict. U.S. military force was no longer a last resort, particularly when technology was making it easier to unleash violence without endangering U.S. service members lives.

    This logic would run aground in Iraq after 9/11 during what Bacevich calls the Third Gulf War. In an act of preventive war, the Bush administration shocked and awed Baghdad, believing U.S. military supremacy and its almost divine violence would bring other state sponsors of terrorism to heel after America quickly won the war. Vanquishing Saddam Hussein and destroying his army promised to invest American diplomacy with the power to coerce. Although the Bush administration believed the war ended after three weeks, Bacevich notes, the Third Gulf War was destined to continue for another 450. The people on the ground, as the D.C. elites just learned in November, have a way of not going along with the best-laid plans made for them in the epicenters of power.

    There was hope that Barack Obama, a constitutional professor, would correct the Bush administrations failures and start to wind down Americas War for the Greater Middle East. Instead, he expanded it into Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and West Africa through drone warfare and special-operations missions. Without any unifying aim or idea, according to Bacevich, the Obama administrations principal contribution to Americas War for the Greater Middle East was to expand its fronts.

    Now this war is in the hands of Donald J. Trump. If there is any upside to a Trump presidency -- and I find it hard to find many -- its the possibility that the intensity of American imperialism in the Middle East will wane. But I find that likelihood remote. Trump has promised to wipe out ISIS, which means continued military action in at least Iraq, Syria, and Libya. He has also called for more military spending, and I find it hard to believe that he or the national-security establishment will increase investment in the military and then show restraint in the use of force overseas.

    As Bacevich clearly shows over and over again in his narrative, the men and women who make up the defense establishment have a fanatical, almost theological, belief in the transformational power of American violence. They persist in this belief despite all evidence to the contrary. These are the men and women who will be whispering their advice into the new presidents ear. Expect Uncle Sams fangs to grow longer, his talons sharper, his violence huge.

    Bacevich, himself, is not hopeful. In a note to readers that greets them before the prologue, Bacevich is refreshingly terse with his assessment of Americas war for the Greater Middle East: We have not won it. We are not winning it. Simply trying harder is unlikely to produce a different outcome. And to this its not hard to hear Trump retort, Loser! And so the needless violence will continue on and on with no end in sight unless the American population develops a Middle East syndrome to replace the Vietnam syndrome that once made Washington wary of war.

    That lack of confidence in the masters of war cant come soon enough.

    This article was originally published in the July 2017 edition of Future of Freedom .

    [Sep 26, 2017] US-Saudi Alliance Fragments the Middle East (2-2) by RANIA KHALEK

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... And so, now, you have a situation now where Yazidis and Sunni Arabs who were able to live together for quite a while in Sinjar next door, being not just neighbors, but also friends, now hate each other. Yazidis never, ever, ever, and this is actually not just true for Yazidis, I mean, I'm talking like minority communities in general in Iraq, they now kind of harbor this hatred for Sunni Arabs because of what ISIS did to them and in some cases, it was their neighbors who turned on them when ISIS came. So, people that they knew, people that were even friends with. And so, now there is this trauma and this distrust between Sunni Arabs and Yazidis and they probably won't be able to live together for a very, very long time. ..."
    "... At the same time, the Kurdistan regional government is using the ISIS atrocities as a way to kind of like remove Sunni Arabs from areas just kind of calling them blanket, calling them all ISIS and removing them and burning down their villages as they did in Sinjar. And so, now you have a situation where it's just like you said, one community after another keeps being pitted against the other. And at the end of the day, the region is less safe. The region is a less hospitable place for people to live, and I mean Iraq is honestly one of the most extreme versions of this that I've ever seen and it's the outcome of decades and decades and decades of U.S. empire meddling in that region and just using one group against another. ..."
    Sep 26, 2017 | therealnews.com

    The consequences of US meddling and Saudi Wahhabism have decimated Iraq and pitted multiple Middle East groups against the other, says independent journalist Rania Khalek

    ... ... ...

    RANIA KHALEK: No, exactly, and at the end of the day, it kind of goes to the outside players who continue to meddle in the region. They just create a more violent, more toxic region where the conditions are fomented for more sectarianism, for more hatred, for more atrocities, one group against another.

    And you know, I didn't really get to this in my piece, but now you have a situation because of what happened with ISIS, and we can also say ISIS, the outcome of ISIS existing, is a direct result of the U.S. intervention in Iraq. You could say that Al Qaeda would never have come to Iraq. You never would have had ISIS had the U.S. not opened the floodgates when it intervened in that country in the way it intervened.

    And so, now, you have a situation now where Yazidis and Sunni Arabs who were able to live together for quite a while in Sinjar next door, being not just neighbors, but also friends, now hate each other. Yazidis never, ever, ever, and this is actually not just true for Yazidis, I mean, I'm talking like minority communities in general in Iraq, they now kind of harbor this hatred for Sunni Arabs because of what ISIS did to them and in some cases, it was their neighbors who turned on them when ISIS came. So, people that they knew, people that were even friends with. And so, now there is this trauma and this distrust between Sunni Arabs and Yazidis and they probably won't be able to live together for a very, very long time.

    At the same time, the Kurdistan regional government is using the ISIS atrocities as a way to kind of like remove Sunni Arabs from areas just kind of calling them blanket, calling them all ISIS and removing them and burning down their villages as they did in Sinjar. And so, now you have a situation where it's just like you said, one community after another keeps being pitted against the other. And at the end of the day, the region is less safe. The region is a less hospitable place for people to live, and I mean Iraq is honestly one of the most extreme versions of this that I've ever seen and it's the outcome of decades and decades and decades of U.S. empire meddling in that region and just using one group against another.

    It's worse than any place I've ever seen in that respect. Syria, Lebanon, I mean Iraq really tops it all. And so at the end of the day, I think it's really kind of a lesson in why the U.S. should not be involved in the Middle East in the way it has been.

    AARON MATÉ: Rania, finally, you spoke to Yezidis who survived and witnessed unimaginable atrocities under ISIS. What was that like for you?

    RANIA KHALEK: It's the first time that I've ever had to sit down and listen to somebody tell me about how they were gang raped or about they were raped at all. I'm not a grief counselor and I don't think that I've ever, ever, I mean I've never heard these kinds of stories before. It was really, really shocking to me especially speaking to the women survivors. The most, it was really, really shocking to me, the kinds of stuff they went through.

    In one case, one woman told me that the ISIS wife of one of the men who bought her, she was sold seven times, and one of the men who bought her, his wife actually helped him rape her. So, you have women who participated in helping to rape people because of their identity, because they were sub-human to them because they were Yazidi.

    Hearing these kinds of stories, honestly, it really felt like I was talking to Holocaust survivors. It was really, really shocking and I don't think that level of, like I said, the Yazidi plight has received a lot of attention, but I don't think their genocide has necessarily received the attention that it deserves because all I kept thinking was how angry it made me.

    Because there's an ideological basis, an ideological foundation for why ISIS did the things that they did. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. It doesn't come from nowhere. Its ideology is based in Salafism and Wahhabism and it's an ideology that is the state religion of the U.S.'s greatest ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.

    And that's something that Yazidis kept saying to me that I never, ever, ever see expressed in any articles that I read about the Yazidis is they always, always say, "How come Saudi Arabia is allowed to push these ideas everywhere." That's where this comes from. This is who did this to us as this ideology. And they mention the Saudis and they mention the U.S.. For some reason, this will be in other articles I have coming out about this issue, but I never, ever read about this. And so if anything, hearing the kinds of stories I heard, at the end of the day, as atrocious as they were and as traumatic as they were to hear, what made me angriest is that nobody's talking about the ideological basis behind this, which is a fascistic ideology that is tolerated because it comes from America's number one ally in the region.

    AARON MATÉ: Yeah, and really on this front I have to point out, for raising this issue in the same way that we've seen supporters of Israel call critics of Israel anti-Semites. I've recently been seeing some critics of yours paint your argument as Islamophobic for pointing to the particularly dangerous facets of Wahhabism in the Saudi Arabian version which I found a very interesting parallel. I don't know, a brief comment on that?

    RANIA KHALEK: Well, yeah, so I think that that's a really great way you just put it is if anything, the people who want to defend Wahhabism have adopted a similar strategy as we've seen Israel's most excited supporters take views against its critics, which is to call anybody who criticizes Zionism or Israel or the policies of Israel, an anti-Semite. And it's really sad to me to see people taking that strategy and applying it to the issue of Islamophobia. Especially at a time when in America, Islamophobia is at its peak. It's at its worst it's ever been. We have a president right now who literally got elected on hatred for Muslims.

    So, it's not something that should ever be, I feel like it makes a mockery of Islamophobia to try and say that and austere strain of Sunni Islam like Wahhabism, to say that criticizing that is somehow Islamophobic. It's absolutely absurd. And beyond that, I will tell you right now, it is not just, this is the fascistic ideology in the Middle East is Wahhabism and Salafi-like Jihadi style thinking, which comes directly out of Wahhabism.

    And so for someone like me, who's a Middle Easterner, who at the moment is based in the region, I can tell you right now this is a conversation here that people are having and they don't see this being Islamophobic whatsoever, and it's really absurd for people in the West to be projecting Western dynamics of Islamophobia onto a region that actually does have to deal with groups that want to impose, Sharia Law that want to impose Al-Qaeda style laws. Because we do have Al-Qaeda in this region that does want to impose this on people, that wants to wipe out minorities, that wants to wipe out secular people, that wants to wipe out anybody who doesn't agree with them.

    And so I think it's just really, there's a lot of conversations happening among progressives in the U.S. about how it might be Islamophobic to be criticizing, like I said, Wahhabism and Salafism, but from my vantage point in this region, it just looks so absurd and so disconnected from reality.

    AARON MATÉ: The term that I think Max Blumenthal coined, correct me if I'm wrong is 'Woke Wahhabism.'

    RANIA KHALEK: Yeah, [laughs] 'Woke Wahhabism.' I don't think people understand. It's so insane. Wahhabism literally preaches like, supremacy. It's like the Middle East's version of white supremacy is Wahhabism. It's like these Al-Qaeda groups, these ISIS groups are the Middle East's version of the KKK and of these white nationalist groups you see in the U.S., and so if anything, these are kind of similar symptoms of something I see happening around the globe which is this sort of rise of fascism, but we always have to remember that in the Middle East, in the context of the Middle East and even beyond the Middle East, Wahhabism isn't rising naturally. Salafism isn't rising naturally. Saudi Arabia has spent a hundred billion dollars plus over the past several decades with the U.S.'s approval and participation supporting this ideology in Muslim communities around the world. And this is something we need to be talking about or else we end up conceding the conversation about these issues to the far Right, which is just going to blanket brush every single Muslim as being a part of the Wahhabi style doctrine, which isn't true.

    And so, I think that this is a conversation that the Left needs to be having. It needs to be on the forefront of because at the end of the day, Wahhabism is really just a tool of American imperialism because the Saudis don't do anything without America's approval and without America participating in helping them do it. So that's something to consider when we do have these conversations. 'Woke Wahhabism.' [laughs].

    AARON MATÉ: Rania Khalek, independent Journalist, co-host of the podcast, Unauthorized Disclosure. Her new piece for Alternate's Grayzone Project is called In the

    'Field with Yezidi Fighters, Tales of Genocide at ISIS's Hands and More Conflicts to Come.' Rania, thank you.

    Youri • 2 days ago

    thank you Real News for having Rania on, I feel you could invite her more but I'm glad you haven't blacklisted her like Vice, Jacobin, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, The Intercept and others who have shamefully jumped the shark on Syria, Venezuela, and Russia conspiracy theories. Rania I feel deserves a Reality Asserts itself special, please do it. And I can't believe with all we know about Saudi Arabia and US-UK foreign policy towards the Middle East that people would be for the overthrow of Assad and ignore Western support for Saudi and Qatar and turkey exporting ISIS to Syria to overthrow Assad so they can put pipeline and create a Sunni client state there. How is Rania or anyone islamaphobic or a assadist for that? its ridiculous.

    Well Rania keep up the brilliant work your doing, and all the haters and smear artists and insincere left outlets and faux indie outlets can go to hell. Folks donate generously to the Real News, AlterNet that publishes Max Blumenthal, Ben Norton and yours truly Rania's work, and donate to Shadowproof and Unauthorized Disclosure that Rania co-hosts with Kevin Gosztola. Stay safe Rania, and "Good night & good luck".

    [Sep 24, 2017] Mark Ames When Mother Jones Was Investigated for Spreading Kremlin Disinformation by Mark Ames

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... Adam Hochschild, the founding editor of Mother Jones (and author of some great books including King Leopold's Ghost), responded publicly to the threats coming out of the Senate in the early Reagan years. In a New York Times op-ed published in late 1981, "Dis-(Mis-?)Information", Hochschild wrote about a Republican Senate mailer sent out to 290 radio stations that accused Mother Jones of being Kremlin disinformation dupes. ..."
    "... "In it, the writer Arnaud de Borchgrave accuses Mother Jones, the Village Voice, the Soho News, the Progressive magazine of serving as disseminators of K.G.B. 'disinformation' – the planting of false or misleading items in news media. "Mr. de Borchgrave provided no specific examples of facts or articles. But, then, the trouble with the K.G.B. is that you don't know what disinformation it is feeding you because you don't know who its myriad agents are. So the only safe thing is to distrust any author or magazine too critical of the United States. Because anyone who is against, say, the MX or the B-1 bomber could be working for the Russians." ..."
    "... The communist/leftist imagery is there for a reason. In case you haven't noticed, Clinton supporters have waged a crude PR campaign to blame their candidate's loss on leftists, whom they equate with neo-Nazis and Trump. I've been smeared as "alt-left" by a Vanity Fair columnist, who equated me with Breitbart and other far-right journalists, for the crime of not sufficiently supporting Hillary Clinton. The larger goal of this crude PR effort is to equate opposition to Hillary Clinton with treason and Nazism. Which was exactly the goal of Reagan's "Kremlin disinformation" hysteria - the whole point was to smear critics of Reagan and his right-wing politics as pro-Kremlin traitors, whether they knew it or not. ..."
    "... Even the words and the terminology are plagiarized from the Reagan Right witch-hunting campaign - "Kremlin active measures"; "Kremlin disinformation"; "Kremlin dupes" - terms introduced by right-wing novelists and intelligence hucksters, and repeated ad nauseam until they transformed into something plausible, giving quasi-academic cover to some very old-fashioned state repression, harassment, surveillance . . . and a lot of ruined lives. That's what happened last time, and if history is any guide, it's how this one will end up too. ..."
    "... The Reagan Era kicked off with a lot of dark fear-mongering about the Kremlin using disinformation and active measures to destroy our way of life. Everything that the conservative Establishment loathed about 1970s - defeat in Vietnam, Church Committee hearings gutting the CIA and FBI, the cult of Woodward & Bernstein & Hersh, peace marchers, minority rights radicals - was an "active measures" treason conspiracy. ..."
    "... The image at the top of this article comes from a lead article in Columbia University's student newspaper, the Spectator, published a few weeks after Reagan took office, on SST committee's assault on Mother Jones. The headline read: The New McCarthyism / Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been and the the full-page article begins, If you subscribe to Mother Jones, give money to the American Civil Liberties Union, or support the Institute for Policy Studies, Senator Jeremiah Denton's new Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism may be interested in you. ..."
    "... It describes how in the 1970s Americans finally got rid of HUAC and the Senate Internal Security Committee, the Red Scare witch-hunting Congressional committees - only to have them revived one election cycle later in the Reagan Revolution. ..."
    "... Sexual immorality -- it's a common theme in all the Russia panics of the past 100 years-whether the sexually liberated Emma Goldmans of the Red Scare, the homosexual-panic of the McCarthy witch-hunts, the hippie orgies of Denton's nightmares, or Trump's supposed golden shower fetish with immoral Russian prostitutes in our current panic. . . . ..."
    "... To fight the Kremlin disinformation demons, Denton set up the Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism (SST), with two other young Republican senators-Orrin Hatch, who's still haunting Capitol Hill today; and John East of North Carolina, a Jesse Helms protege who later did his country a great service by committing suicide in his North Carolina garage, before the end of his first term in office in 1986. ..."
    "... Sen. East's staffers leaned Nazi-ward, like their boss. One Sen. East staffer was Samuel Francis - now famous as the godfather of the alt-Right, but who in 1981 was known as the guru behind the Senate's "Russia disinformation" witch hunt. Funny how that works - today's #Resistance takes its core idea, that America is under the control of hostile Kremlin disinformation sorcerers - is culturally appropriated from the alt-Right's guru. ..."
    "... Another staffer for Sen. East was John Rees, one of the most loathsome professional snitches of the post-McCarthy era, who collected files on suspected leftists, labor activists and liberal donors. I'll have to save John Rees for another post - he really belongs in a category by himself, proof of Schopenhauer's maxim that this world is run by demons. ..."
    "... These were the people who first cooked up the "disinformation" panic. You can't separate the Sam Francises, Orrin Hatches, John Easts et al from today's panic-mongering over disinformation - you can only try to make sense of why, what is it about our culture's ruling factions that brings them together on this sort of xenophobic witch-hunt, even when they see themselves as so diametrically opposed on so many other issues. ..."
    "... The subversion scare and moral panic were crucial in resetting the culture for the Reagan counter-revolution. Those who opposed Reagan's plans, domestically and overseas, would be labeled "dupes" of Kremlin "active measures" and "disinformation" conspiracies, acting on behalf of Moscow whether they knew it or not. The panic incubated in Denton's subcommittee investigations provided political cover for vast new powers given to the CIA, FBI, NSA and other spy and police agencies to spy on Americans. Fighting Russian "active measures" grew over the years into a massive surveillance program against Americans, particularly anyone involved in opposing Reagan's dirty wars in Central America, anyone opposing nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, and anyone involved in providing sanctuary to refugees from south of the border. The "active measures" panic even led to FBI secret investigations into liberal members of Congress, some of whom wound up in a secret "FBI terrorist photo album". ..."
    "... 'Russia is a bigger threat to America than Islamic State.' is almost certainly true. If one insists, as the US has done, on standing at the border of the bears lair and poking it with a very short stick, then there may well be consequences. On the other hand, Islamic State is no threat to the US in any way, shape or form. ..."
    "... The Cold War is over, so now the US can reveal its truly feral nature. ..."
    "... American slogan Violence R Us. Not judging, just being honest. We were no more interested in the common good of the Vietnamese back then, any more than we are interested in the common good of the Syrians today. ..."
    "... It's always 'Russia this, Russia that', how we're going to bring democracy to some other part of the world, how some country's leader is a dictator. These are excuses we can do reverse Robin Hood wherever we can and enrich the 1%. ..."
    "... It's my duty to point out that the glaring similarities in this brand of cold war Russophobia with that of pre-WW2 anti-Comintern material coming out of Nazi Germany (or even the anti-Semitic material from the early 1900s) are no coincidence. ..."
    "... Among the Nazi intelligence officers and scientists we spirited away before the Russians could get their hands on them [ Operation Paperclip ] were a few sly operators who immediately started filling our elected leaders' ears with stories of Reds under the bed. One of these reps was Senator Joe McCarthy and the rest, as they say ..."
    "... American-produced historical documentaries tell it like we were united as a country in support of Stalin against Hitler. This reluctance is usually credited to not wanting to get into another bloodbath like WW1 but let's be straight- about half the country (proto-deplorables?) wanted nothing to do with helping the commies beat the Nazis and actually thought the Germans weren't the bad guys. Anti-communism, big brother to anti-unionism and first cousin to anti-Semitism, was all the rage before we helped Uncle Joe beat Hitler, making it all the easier to revive after the war was over and it looked like the only threat to US world domination was a war-weakened Soviet Union. ..."
    "... A few years ago, with the advent of internet freeness, I'd added MJ ..."
    "... It is sensible but really too polite to say that NATO expanded because "that is what bureaucracies do and it became a way for U.S. presidents to show their 'toughness.'" To expand a bureaucracy by subversion of Ukraine and false reports of Russian aggression, to show toughness by aggression rather than defense, requires the mad power grasping of tyrants in the military, the intel agencies, the NSC, the administration, Congress. and the mass media. ..."
    "... They are joined in a tyranny of inventing foreign monsters, to pose falsely as protectors, and to accuse their moral superiors of disloyalty, as Aristotle warned. This is the domestic political power grab of tyrants, a far greater danger. ..."
    "... Apart from NATO and a few other treaties, the US would have no constitutional power to wage foreign wars, just to repel invasions and suppress insurrections, and that is the way it should be. Any treaty becomes part of the Supreme Law of the land, and must be rigorously restricted to defense, with provisions for international resolution of conflicts. NATO has been nothing but an excuse for warmongering since 1989. ..."
    "... I think this is much closer to the mark than the association of the anti-russia fearmongering with sincere xenophobia. Russia is the go-to foreign enemy because there is such a huge and convenient stockpile of propaganda material lying around in stockpiles, but left unused because of the tragic and abrupt end of Cold War 1.0. And Russia is a great target because it is distant, and has a weird alphabet. Anyone who knows enough about Russia to contradict the disinformation (like by mentioning that they are not commies, but US-style authoritarian oligarchs) is suspicious ipso facto ..."
    "... Both parties being pro wall street deficit and war hawks differing in perhaps degree .with the Demos supporting a more generous portion of calf's foot jelly being distributed to peasants of more varied hue as they also support privatization, more subtle tax cuts and deregulation for the rich, R2P wars, and globalization's race to the bottom. People seem to inhabit their own Plato's Cave each opposing their own particular artfully projected phantom menace. ..."
    "... Brilliant, as Ames usually is. Especially the point that this is a manifestation of consistent anti-left sentiment within the establishment whether R or D. The confounding of Putin's Russia with some imagined communist threat always amazes me. D's got to keep up the hippie-punching at all times though! ..."
    "... The Russophobia is stuck on an endless loop. I wish they'd at least come up with new lies or some fresh enemy for us all to fear. ..."
    "... Without defending Trump, it is wrong of the Dems to push this stuff when Ukrainians helped Clinton's campaign and Clinton approved Uranium One getting 20% of US uranium when they gave $100 million to the Foundation. ..."
    Jun 03, 2017 | www.nakedcapitalism.com

    By Mark Ames, founding editor of the Moscow satirical paper The eXile and co-host of the Radio War Nerd podcast with Gary Brecher (aka John Dolan). Subscribe here. Originally published at The eXiled

    Mother Jones recently announced it's "redoubling our Russia reporting"-in the words of editor Clara Jeffery. Ain't that rich. What passes for "Russia reporting" at Mother Jones is mostly just glorified InfoWars paranoia for progressive marks - a cataract of xenophobic conspiracy theories about inscrutable Russian barbarians hellbent on subverting our way of life, spreading chaos, destroying freedom & democracy & tolerance wherever they once flourished. . . . because they hate us, because we're free.

    Western reporting on Russia has always been garbage, But the so-called "Russia reporting" of the last year has taken the usual malpractice to unimagined depths - whether it's from Mother Jones or MSNBC, or the Washington Post or Resistance hero Louise Mensch.

    But of all the liberal media, Mother Jones should be most ashamed for fueling the moral panic about Russian "disinformation". It wasn't too long ago that the Reagan Right attacked Mother Jones for spreading "Kremlin disinformation" and subverting America. There were threats and leaks to the media about a possible Senate investigation into Mother Jones serving as a Kremlin disinformation dupe, a threat that hung over the magazine throughout the early Reagan years. A new Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism (SST for short) was set up in 1981 to investigate Kremlin "disinformation" and "active measures" in America, and the American "dupes" who helped Moscow subvert our way of life. That subcommittee was created to harass and repress leftist anti-imperial dissent in America, using "terrorism" as the main threat, and "disinformation" as terrorism's fellow traveller. The way the the SST committee put it, "terrorism" and "Kremlin disinformation" were one and the same, a meta-conspiracy run out of Moscow to weaken America.

    And Mother Jones was one of the first American media outlets in the SST committee's sites.

    Adam Hochschild, the founding editor of Mother Jones (and author of some great books including King Leopold's Ghost), responded publicly to the threats coming out of the Senate in the early Reagan years. In a New York Times op-ed published in late 1981, "Dis-(Mis-?)Information", Hochschild wrote about a Republican Senate mailer sent out to 290 radio stations that accused Mother Jones of being Kremlin disinformation dupes. The mailer, on Senate letterhead, featured a tape recording of an interview between the chairman of the SST subcommittee, Sen. Jeremiah Denton of Alabama, and a committee witness- a "disinformation expert" named Arnaud de Borchgrave, author of a bestselling spy novel called "The Spike" - about a fictional Kremlin plot to subvert the West with disinformation, and thereby rule the world.

    Here's how Hochschild described the Republican Senate mailer in his NYTimes piece:

    "In it, the writer Arnaud de Borchgrave accuses Mother Jones, the Village Voice, the Soho News, the Progressive magazine of serving as disseminators of K.G.B. 'disinformation' – the planting of false or misleading items in news media. "Mr. de Borchgrave provided no specific examples of facts or articles. But, then, the trouble with the K.G.B. is that you don't know what disinformation it is feeding you because you don't know who its myriad agents are. So the only safe thing is to distrust any author or magazine too critical of the United States. Because anyone who is against, say, the MX or the B-1 bomber could be working for the Russians."

    Here, the Mother Jones founder describes the menacing logic of pursuing the "Kremlin disinformation" conspiracy: any American critical of US military power, police power, corporate power, overseas power . . . anyone critical of anything that powerful Americans do, is a Kremlin disinformation dupe whether they know it or not. That leaves only the appointed accusers to decide who is and who isn't a Kremlin agent.

    Hochschild called this panic over Kremlin disinformation another "Red Scare", warning,

    "[T]o accuse critical American journalists of serving as its unwitting dupes makes as little sense as Russians accusing rebellious Poles of being unwitting agents of American imperialism. When Mr. de Borchgrave accuses skeptical journalists of being unwitting purveyors of disinformation, the accusation is more slippery, less easy to definitively disprove, and less subject to libel law than if he were to accuse them of being conscious Communist agents.

    " Although if you believe the K.G.B. is successfully infiltrating America's news media, then anything must seem possible."

    It's a damn shame today's editorial staff at Mother Jones aren't aware of their own magazine's history.

    Then again, who am I fooling? Mother Jones wouldn't care if you shoved their faces in their own recent history - they're way too donor-deep invested in pushing this "active measures" conspiracy. Trump has been a goldmine of donor cash for anyone willing to carry the #Resistance water.

    PutinTrump was a project set up last fall by tech plutocrat Rob Glaser, CEO and founder of RealNetworks, to scare voters into believing that voting for Trump is treason. God knows I can't stand Trump or his politics, but of all the inane campaign ideas to run on - this?

    One would've thought that the smart people would learn their lesson from the election, that running against a Kremlin conspiracy theory is a loser. But instead, they seem to think the problem is they didn't fear-monger enough, so they're "redoubling" on the Russophobia. Donor money is driving this - donor cash is quite literally driving Mother Jones' editorial focus. And it really is this crude.

    Take for example a PutinTrump section titled "Russian Expansion" - the scary Red imagery and language are lifted straight out of the Reagan Cold War playbook from the early-mid 80s, when, it so happens, Mother Jones was targeted as a Kremlin dupe. Featuring a lot of shadowy red-colored alien soldiers over an outline of Crimea, Mother Jones' donor-partner promotes a classic Cold War propaganda line about Russian/Soviet expansionism-a lie that has been the basis for so many wars launched to "stop" this alleged "expansionism" in the past, wars that Mother Jones is supposed to oppose. Here's what MJ's partner writes now:

    RUSSIAN EXPANSION

    Through unknowing manipulation, or by direct support, Trump will become an accessory to the continual expansionism committed by Putin. Might does not equal right-and it never has for Americans-but Putin's Russia plays by different rules. Or maybe no rules at all.

    The communist/leftist imagery is there for a reason. In case you haven't noticed, Clinton supporters have waged a crude PR campaign to blame their candidate's loss on leftists, whom they equate with neo-Nazis and Trump. I've been smeared as "alt-left" by a Vanity Fair columnist, who equated me with Breitbart and other far-right journalists, for the crime of not sufficiently supporting Hillary Clinton. The larger goal of this crude PR effort is to equate opposition to Hillary Clinton with treason and Nazism. Which was exactly the goal of Reagan's "Kremlin disinformation" hysteria - the whole point was to smear critics of Reagan and his right-wing politics as pro-Kremlin traitors, whether they knew it or not.

    * * *

    What's kind of shocking to me as someone who was alive in the Reagan scare is how unoriginal this current one is. Even the words and the terminology are plagiarized from the Reagan Right witch-hunting campaign - "Kremlin active measures"; "Kremlin disinformation"; "Kremlin dupes" - terms introduced by right-wing novelists and intelligence hucksters, and repeated ad nauseam until they transformed into something plausible, giving quasi-academic cover to some very old-fashioned state repression, harassment, surveillance . . . and a lot of ruined lives. That's what happened last time, and if history is any guide, it's how this one will end up too.

    Today we're supposed to remember how cheerful and optimistic the Reagan Era was. But that's now how I remember it, it's not how it looked to Mother Jones at the time - and it's not how it looks when you go back through the original source material again and relive it. The Reagan Era kicked off with a lot of dark fear-mongering about the Kremlin using disinformation and active measures to destroy our way of life. Everything that the conservative Establishment loathed about 1970s - defeat in Vietnam, Church Committee hearings gutting the CIA and FBI, the cult of Woodward & Bernstein & Hersh, peace marchers, minority rights radicals - was an "active measures" treason conspiracy.

    As soon as the new Republican majority in the Senate took power in 1981, they set up a new subcommittee to investigate Kremlin disinformation dupes, called the Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism. Staffers leaked to the media they intended to investigate Mother Jones. Panic spread across the progressive media world, and suddenly all those cool Ivy League kids who invested everything in becoming the next Woodward-Bernsteins - the cultural heroes at the time - got scared. The image at the top of this article comes from a lead article in Columbia University's student newspaper, the Spectator, published a few weeks after Reagan took office, on SST committee's assault on Mother Jones. The headline read: The New McCarthyism / Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been and the the full-page article begins, If you subscribe to Mother Jones, give money to the American Civil Liberties Union, or support the Institute for Policy Studies, Senator Jeremiah Denton's new Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism may be interested in you.

    It describes how in the 1970s Americans finally got rid of HUAC and the Senate Internal Security Committee, the Red Scare witch-hunting Congressional committees - only to have them revived one election cycle later in the Reagan Revolution.

    By the end of Reagan's first year in office, there was still no formal investigation into Mother Jones, but the harassment was there and it wasn't subtle at all - such as the Republican Senate mailer accusing the magazine of being KGB disinformation dupes. At the end of 1981, MJ editor/founder Adam Hochschild announced he was stepping aside, and in his final note to readers and the public, he wrote:

    To Senator Jeremiah Denton, chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism: If your committee investigates Mother Jones, a plan hinted at some months ago, I demand to be subpoenaed. I would not want to miss telling off today's new McCarthyites.

    So here we are a few decades later, and Mother Jones' editor Clara Jeffery is denouncing WikiLeaks - yesterday's journalism stars, today's traitors - as "Russia['s] willing dupes and propagandists" while Mother Jones magazine turned itself into a mouthpiece for America's spies peddling the same warmed-over conspiracy theories that once targeted Mother Jones.

    * * *

    Jeremiah Denton - the New Right senator from Alabama who led the SST committee investigation into Kremlin "disinformation" and its dupes like Mother Jones - believed that America was being weakened from within and had only a few years left at most to turn it around. As Denton saw it, the two most dangerous threats to America's survival were a) hippie sex, and b) Kremlin disinformation. The two were inseparable in his mind, linked to the larger "global terrorism" plot masterminded by Moscow.

    To fight hippie sex and teen promiscuity, the freshman senator introduced a "Chastity Bill" funding federal programs that promoted the joys of chastity to Americans armies of bored, teen suburban long-hairs. A lot of clever people laughed at that, because at the time the belief in linear historical progress was strong, and this represented something so atavistic that it was like a curiosity more than anything - Pauly Shore's "Alabama Man" unfrozen after 10,000 years and unleashed on the halls of Congress.

    Less funny were Denton's calls for death penalty for adulterers, and laws he pushed restricting women's right to abortion.

    Jeremiah Denton was once a big name in this country. Americans have since forgotten Denton, because John McCain pretty much stole his act. But back in the 70s and early 80s, Denton was America's most famous Vietnam War hero/POW. Like McCain, Denton was a Navy pilot shot down over Vietnam and taken prisoner. Denton spent 1965-1973 in North Vietnamese POW camps-two years longer than McCain-and he was America's most famous POW. His most famous moment was when his North Vietnamese captors hauled him before the cameras to acknowledge his crimes, and instead Denton famously blinked out a Morse code message: "T-O-R-T-U-R-E".

    In the 1973 POW exchange deal between Hanoi and Nixon, "Operation Homecoming," it was Denton who was the first American POW to come off the plane and speak to the American tv crews (McCain was on the same flight, but not nearly as prominent as Denton). I keep referring back to McCain here because not only were they both famous Navy pilot POWs, but they both wind up becoming the most pathologically obsessive Russophobes in the Senate. Just a few days ago, McCain said that Russia is a bigger threat to America than Islamic State. Something real bad must've happened in those Hanoi Hiltons, worse than anything they told us about, because those guys really, really hate Russians - and they reallywant the rest of us to hate Russians too.

    Everything they loathed about America, everything that was wrong with America, had to be the fault of a hostile alien culture. There was no other explanation for what happened in the 1970s. The America that Denton came home to in 1973 was under some kind of hostile power, an alien-controlled replica of the America he last saw in 1965. Popular morality had been turned on its head: Hollywood blockbusters with bare naked bodies and gutter language! Children against their parents! Homosexuals on waterskis! Sex and treason! Patriots were the enemy, while America-haters were heroes! Denton re-appeared like some reactionary Rip Van Winkle who went to sleep in the safe feather-bed world of J Edgar Hoover's America - only to wake up eight years later on Bernadine Dohrn's futon, soaked in Bill Ayers' bodily fluids. For Denton, the post-60s cultural shock came on all at once - as sudden and as jarring as, well, the shock so many Blue State Americans experienced when Donald Trump won the election last November.

    Sex, immorality & military defeat-these were inseparable in Denton's mind, and in a lot of reactionaries' minds. Attributing all of America's social convulsions of the previous 15 years to immorality and a Kremlin disinformation plot was a neat way of avoiding the complex and painful realities - then, as now.

    "No nation can survive long unless it can encourage its young to withhold indulgence in their sexual appetites until marriage." - Jeremiah Denton

    What hit Denton hardest was all the hippie sex and the pop culture glorification of hippie sex. It's hard to convey just how deeply all that smug hippie sex wounded tens of millions of Americans. It's a hate wound that's still raw, still burns to the touch. A wound that fueled so much reactionary political fire over the past 50 years, and it doesn't look like it'll burn out any time soon.

    Back in 1980, Denton blamed all that pop culture sex on Russian active measures, and he did his best to not just outlaw it, but to demonize sex as something along the lines of treason.

    Just as so many people today cannot accept the idea that Trump_vs_deep_state is Made In America-so Denton and his Reagan Right constituents believed there had to be some alien force to explain why Americans had changed so drastically, seeming to adopt values that were the antithesis of Middle America's values in 1965. It had to be the fault of an alien voodoo beam! It had to be a Russian plot!

    And so, therefore, it was a Russian plot.

    A 1981 Time magazine profile of the freshman Senator begins, Denton believes that America is being destroyed by sexual immorality and Soviet-sponsored political 'disinformation'-and that both are being promoted by dupes, or worse, in the media. By the mid-1980s, he warns, "we will have less national security than we had proportionately when George Washington's troops were walking around barefoot at Valley Forge."

    Sexual immorality -- it's a common theme in all the Russia panics of the past 100 years-whether the sexually liberated Emma Goldmans of the Red Scare, the homosexual-panic of the McCarthy witch-hunts, the hippie orgies of Denton's nightmares, or Trump's supposed golden shower fetish with immoral Russian prostitutes in our current panic. . . .

    To fight the Kremlin disinformation demons, Denton set up the Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism (SST), with two other young Republican senators-Orrin Hatch, who's still haunting Capitol Hill today; and John East of North Carolina, a Jesse Helms protege who later did his country a great service by committing suicide in his North Carolina garage, before the end of his first term in office in 1986.

    Sen. East's staffers leaned Nazi-ward, like their boss. One Sen. East staffer was Samuel Francis - now famous as the godfather of the alt-Right, but who in 1981 was known as the guru behind the Senate's "Russia disinformation" witch hunt. Funny how that works - today's #Resistance takes its core idea, that America is under the control of hostile Kremlin disinformation sorcerers - is culturally appropriated from the alt-Right's guru.

    Another staffer for Sen. East was John Rees, one of the most loathsome professional snitches of the post-McCarthy era, who collected files on suspected leftists, labor activists and liberal donors. I'll have to save John Rees for another post - he really belongs in a category by himself, proof of Schopenhauer's maxim that this world is run by demons.

    These were the people who first cooked up the "disinformation" panic. You can't separate the Sam Francises, Orrin Hatches, John Easts et al from today's panic-mongering over disinformation - you can only try to make sense of why, what is it about our culture's ruling factions that brings them together on this sort of xenophobic witch-hunt, even when they see themselves as so diametrically opposed on so many other issues. I don't think this is something as simple as hypocrisy - it's actually quite consistent: Establishment faction wakes up to a world it doesn't recognize and loathes and feels threatened by, and blames it not on themselves or anything domestic, but rather on the most plausible alien conspiracy they can reach for: Russian barbarians. Anti-Russian xenophobia is burned into the Establishment culture's DNA; it's a xenophobia that both dominant factions, liberal or conservative, view as an acceptable xenophobia. When poorer "white working class" Americans feel threatened and panic, their xenophobia tends to be aimed at other ethnics - Latinos and Muslims these days - a xenophobia that the Establishment views as completely immoral and unacceptable, completely beyond the pale. The thought never occurs to them that perhaps all forms of xenophobia are bad, all bring with them a lot of violence and danger, it just depends on who's threatened and who's doing the threatening

    The subversion scare and moral panic were crucial in resetting the culture for the Reagan counter-revolution. Those who opposed Reagan's plans, domestically and overseas, would be labeled "dupes" of Kremlin "active measures" and "disinformation" conspiracies, acting on behalf of Moscow whether they knew it or not. The panic incubated in Denton's subcommittee investigations provided political cover for vast new powers given to the CIA, FBI, NSA and other spy and police agencies to spy on Americans. Fighting Russian "active measures" grew over the years into a massive surveillance program against Americans, particularly anyone involved in opposing Reagan's dirty wars in Central America, anyone opposing nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants, and anyone involved in providing sanctuary to refugees from south of the border. The "active measures" panic even led to FBI secret investigations into liberal members of Congress, some of whom wound up in a secret "FBI terrorist photo album".

    I'll get to that "FBI Terrorist Photo Album" story later. There's a lot of recent "Kremlin disinformation" history to recover, since it seems every last memory cell has been zapped out of existence.

    After Reagan's inauguration (the most expensive, lavish inauguration ball in White House history), Senator Denton sent a chill through the liberal and independent media world with all the talk coming out of his committee about targeting activists, civil rights lawyers and journalists. Denton tried to come off as reasonable some of the times; other times, he came right out and said it: "disinformation" is terrorism: When I speak of a threat, I do not just mean that an organization is, or is about to be, engaged in violent criminal activity. I believe many share the view that support groups that produce propaganda, disinformation or legal assistance may be even more dangerous than those who actually throw the bombs.

    Congratulations Mother Jones, you've come a long way, baby! Next post, I'll recover some of the early committee hearings, and the rightwing hucksters, creeps and spooks who fed Denton's committee.

    glmmph , June 3, 2017 at 7:00 am

    I think that John McCain may well be correct, if for the wrong reasons. 'Russia is a bigger threat to America than Islamic State.' is almost certainly true. If one insists, as the US has done, on standing at the border of the bears lair and poking it with a very short stick, then there may well be consequences. On the other hand, Islamic State is no threat to the US in any way, shape or form.

    Disturbed Voter , June 3, 2017 at 7:23 am

    This is now, that was then. There is no comparison. The Cold War is over, so now the US can reveal its truly feral nature. It seems both parties are struggling to bring back the 1960s with Cold War 2.0. We need to pull out of the Middle East, and invade Vietnam, again ;-( And yes, probably even back then, Mother Jones was controlled opposition. They just don't bother hiding it anymore.

    John Zelnicker , June 3, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    @Disturbed Voter – Dontcha know. We just signed deals with Viet Nam that will bring "billions of dollars" to the U.S. Trump said so last week after meeting with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, so it must be true. They're safe for now. :-)

    witters , June 3, 2017 at 7:29 am

    "Might does not equal right-and it never has for Americans-" Is there a Darwin Award for this?

    Disturbed Voter , June 3, 2017 at 9:30 am

    American slogan Violence R Us. Not judging, just being honest. We were no more interested in the common good of the Vietnamese back then, any more than we are interested in the common good of the Syrians today.

    oh , June 3, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    Our nation worries about other countries' problems but we never care about ours! It's always 'Russia this, Russia that', how we're going to bring democracy to some other part of the world, how some country's leader is a dictator. These are excuses we can do reverse Robin Hood wherever we can and enrich the 1%.

    Magazines (tabloids) and (fake)news organization are cheer leaders to this effort because they cash in on the chant du jour.

    Baby Gerald , June 3, 2017 at 8:16 am

    Thank you so much for exposing in such great detail the hypocrisy regarding MJ s recent neo-Red Scare leanings. If only the editorial staff at dear MJ would educate themselves not only about their own organization's history, but history in general, they might avoid looking like complete fools and enemies to their own institution's founding principles when we collectively reminisce on this bizarre era at some point in the future.

    It's my duty to point out that the glaring similarities in this brand of cold war Russophobia with that of pre-WW2 anti-Comintern material coming out of Nazi Germany (or even the anti-Semitic material from the early 1900s) are no coincidence.

    Among the Nazi intelligence officers and scientists we spirited away before the Russians could get their hands on them [ Operation Paperclip ] were a few sly operators who immediately started filling our elected leaders' ears with stories of Reds under the bed. One of these reps was Senator Joe McCarthy and the rest, as they say

    American-produced historical documentaries tell it like we were united as a country in support of Stalin against Hitler. This reluctance is usually credited to not wanting to get into another bloodbath like WW1 but let's be straight- about half the country (proto-deplorables?) wanted nothing to do with helping the commies beat the Nazis and actually thought the Germans weren't the bad guys. Anti-communism, big brother to anti-unionism and first cousin to anti-Semitism, was all the rage before we helped Uncle Joe beat Hitler, making it all the easier to revive after the war was over and it looked like the only threat to US world domination was a war-weakened Soviet Union.

    As a kid in the 80s I remember MJ being singled out as a leftist commie rag by Reaganites of the day. Through college this was about all I knew about the magazine– as an epithet for what hippie commie liberals read before trying to ruin our country. Despite it leaning to my political inclinations, I never paid it any attention.

    A few years ago, with the advent of internet freeness, I'd added MJ to my news stream. Once Sanders- then later Trump- started looking like an actual threat to the Clinton campaign, their headlines started turning snippy and trite toward her opposition. I turned them off my feed last year, so the only exposure to their drivel is thanks to the links here at NC . Now with the advent of twitter, their staff have taken the extra step of proving how twisted their personal Russophobian views really are. Between just Corn and Jeffery, there's enough material to make any McCarthyite proud.*

    [* – I was going to close with ' and make Adam Hochschild roll in his grave' but then I googled him and discovered that he's still alive. Wonder what he thinks about this current turn at the magazine he co-founded?]

    Damson , June 3, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Reposting a comment that IMV, snapshots the reality of Russophobia far better than Ames (it was in response to a Ray McGovern article on Trump's visit to NATO HQ) :

    "Ray has written well to the general audience, bridging the information gap for those heavily propagandized. He has properly shown the expansion of NATO as an act of calculated betrayal, a policy of aggression in the face of zero threat.

    It is sensible but really too polite to say that NATO expanded because "that is what bureaucracies do and it became a way for U.S. presidents to show their 'toughness.'" To expand a bureaucracy by subversion of Ukraine and false reports of Russian aggression, to show toughness by aggression rather than defense, requires the mad power grasping of tyrants in the military, the intel agencies, the NSC, the administration, Congress. and the mass media.

    They are joined in a tyranny of inventing foreign monsters, to pose falsely as protectors, and to accuse their moral superiors of disloyalty, as Aristotle warned. This is the domestic political power grab of tyrants, a far greater danger.

    Tyranny is a subculture, a groupthink of bullies who tyrannize each other and compete for the most radical propositions of nonexistent foreign threats. They fully well know that they are lying to the people of the United States to serve a personal and factional agenda that involves the murder of millions of innocents, the diversion of a very large fraction of their own and other nations' budgets from essential needs, and they have not an ounce of humanity or moral restraint among them. Those who waver are cast aside, and the worst of the bullies rise to the top. This is why the nation's founders opposed a standing military, and they were right.

    Apart from NATO and a few other treaties, the US would have no constitutional power to wage foreign wars, just to repel invasions and suppress insurrections, and that is the way it should be. Any treaty becomes part of the Supreme Law of the land, and must be rigorously restricted to defense, with provisions for international resolution of conflicts. NATO has been nothing but an excuse for warmongering since 1989.

    Let us hope that Trump pulls the plug on NATO interventionism, accidentally or otherwise. The Dem leaders have now joined the Reps in their love of bribes for genocide, but at the least the Reps still don't like paying for it. Perhaps the last duopoly imitation of civilization."

    nowhere , June 3, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Hmm "but at the least the Reps still don't like paying for it." I strongly disagree. War is the only thing Rs don't mind openly supporting.

    Ptolemy Philopater , June 3, 2017 at 3:15 pm

    One can not repeat often enough: War Crimes Tribunals! How to disincentivize the madness.

    Skip Intro , June 4, 2017 at 2:14 am

    I think this is much closer to the mark than the association of the anti-russia fearmongering with sincere xenophobia. Russia is the go-to foreign enemy because there is such a huge and convenient stockpile of propaganda material lying around in stockpiles, but left unused because of the tragic and abrupt end of Cold War 1.0. And Russia is a great target because it is distant, and has a weird alphabet. Anyone who knows enough about Russia to contradict the disinformation (like by mentioning that they are not commies, but US-style authoritarian oligarchs) is suspicious ipso facto .

    Mary Wehrhein , June 3, 2017 at 9:40 am

    Having lived in Kansas for 60 some years which is the poster-child for trickle-down necromancy and a land heavily infused with rural, German-Catholic sensibilities, I can vouch for the deeply felt attitudes towards sex as a primary issue. "Family Values" being the code word for the whole sex and reproductive moral prism.

    Like Cuba with its 50s autos, the conservatives have never given up their 60s conception of the Democrats as the party of free love, peace-nicks (soft on commies hard on guns) and tax and spend bleeding hearts coddling dependent malingerers.

    The GOP here campaigns against a democrat party that no longer exists (if it ever did). They seem oblivious to the fact that the democrats have become the moderate republicans of yore. Both parties being pro wall street deficit and war hawks differing in perhaps degree .with the Demos supporting a more generous portion of calf's foot jelly being distributed to peasants of more varied hue as they also support privatization, more subtle tax cuts and deregulation for the rich, R2P wars, and globalization's race to the bottom. People seem to inhabit their own Plato's Cave each opposing their own particular artfully projected phantom menace.

    GERMO , June 3, 2017 at 9:42 am

    Brilliant, as Ames usually is. Especially the point that this is a manifestation of consistent anti-left sentiment within the establishment whether R or D. The confounding of Putin's Russia with some imagined communist threat always amazes me. D's got to keep up the hippie-punching at all times though!

    Pespi , June 3, 2017 at 10:33 am

    This is a great piece. The Russophobia is stuck on an endless loop. I wish they'd at least come up with new lies or some fresh enemy for us all to fear. Tell me about why South African dupes are causing all the problems in society, tell me that the people of the Maldives each own a nuclear capable artillery piece and are burning American flags.

    Susan the other , June 3, 2017 at 11:25 am

    Thanks for this post down memory lane. I assumed MJ was liberal. And Jane Fonda was a conservative. And by 1981 I was completely confused about where the media stood on any given issue. And now finally the mask is coming off and we can see (Phillip K. Dick style) that left is right and right is left. And we are all fascists. Will the real Atilla please stand up? #Resistance is a little over the top and so is putintrump. But what looks like actual progress is the fact that Bernie was not completely destroyed by the state paranoia. There has to be a certain bed-rock decency that can rise above this eternal crap. Just a note of interest on the young Orrin Hatch being on the SST as a freshman senator. Orrin was the subject of local rumors that claimed he had been put in the senate by the mafia (some mormon-mafia connection in las vegas) and the fact that they did use entrapment with a hooker to disgrace his opponent was mafia-enough to make the story convincing. The story died out fast. But we should all remember that the mafia was involved in its own anti-commie terrorist tactics for decades.

    Susan the other , June 3, 2017 at 2:28 pm

    file under Too Weird: 15 minutes after I posted the above I got a call from Orrin Hatch's robo-computer inviting me to a local discussion call me paranoid.

    John Zelnicker , June 3, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    @Susan the other – It's not paranoia if someone really is out to get you. Or, to get all of us. Or, demonstrates that they have the ability to do so at will.

    REDPILLED , June 3, 2017 at 11:39 am

    Only 16% of people surveyed are very worried about climate change.

    Corporate news is consumed with covering the Trump/Russia affair, but whatever the truth of all this turns out to be, it pales in significance to the real existential threat that is upon us. Largely due to a lack of coverage by corporate television news, there is a dangerous lack of public awareness of it.

    Susan the other , June 3, 2017 at 11:42 am

    land of the free and home of the brave you have to be brave to live in this free-for-all. Just want to pass on this killer quote from Discover Magazine: "It is sometimes argued that the illusion of free will arises from the fact that we can't adequately judge all possible moves with the result that our choices are based on imperfect or impoverished information." what a nightmare world.

    mpalomar , June 3, 2017 at 9:43 pm

    "It is sometimes argued that the illusion of free will arises from the fact that we can't adequately judge all possible moves with the result that our choices are based on imperfect or impoverished information."

    Accepting that premise does not rule out the possibility of free will, it only suggests that our free will is likely mired in a blind stumbling, darkness of unknowing.
    Hallelujah.

    sunny129 , June 3, 2017 at 1:57 pm

    If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell. Every one has that 'right', right or wrong! But it is your right & duty to develop 'critical' thinking to DISCERN the difference

    Darn , June 4, 2017 at 4:48 am

    Without defending Trump, it is wrong of the Dems to push this stuff when Ukrainians helped Clinton's campaign and Clinton approved Uranium One getting 20% of US uranium when they gave $100 million to the Foundation. The book "Shattered" says her campaign did internal polling which found Uranium One was the most damaging line to use against Clinton so she decided to get her retaliation in first and use the Russia charge at every opportunity. And on election night when they realised they had been defeated they decided to blame Russia again. What has Trump done for Russia so far? He's kept up sanctions and bombed their client state Syria. Whereas Clinton had a pattern of arms sales to Foundation donors. Prefer Clinton? Fine, but not over this.

    [Sep 24, 2017] Russian special forces repel a US-planned attack in Syria, denounce the USA and issue a stark warning - The Unz Review

    Notable quotes:
    "... There are a couple of problems here. First, objectively, the Russian contingent in Syria is a tiny one if compared to the immense power of CENTCOM, NATO and the ever-present Israelis. Not only that, but in any US-Russian confrontation, Russia as a country is objectively the weaker side by any measure except a full-out nuclear exchange. ..."
    "... Furthermore, for historical and cultural reasons, Russians are much more concerned by the initiation of any incident which could lead to all-out war than the Americans who always fight their wars in somebody else's country. ..."
    "... In practical terms this means that an American miscalculation could very well lead to a Russian military response which would stun the Americans and force them to enter an escalatory spiral which nobody would control. ..."
    "... At the same time a new Kurdistan means that the US, NATO, and Israel will lose Turkey to Russia forever. And that is a very bad trade off! ..."
    "... Anything short of nuclear is excellent for business but the profit potential of nuclear bombs is limited. ..."
    Sep 24, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Something rather unprecedented just happened in Syria: US backed "good terrorist" forces attempted a surprise attack against Syrian government forces stationed to the north and northeast of the city of Hama. What makes this attack unique is that it took place inside a so-called "de-escalation zone" and that it appears that one of the key goals of the attack was to encircle in a pincer-movement and subsequently capture a platoon of Russian military police officers deployed to monitor and enforce the special status of this zone. The Russian military police forces, composed mainly of soldiers from the Caucasus region, fought against a much larger enemy force and had to call for assistance. For the first time, at least officially, Russian special operations forces were deployed to rescue and extract their comrades. At the same time, the Russians sent in a number of close air support aircraft who reportedly killed several hundred "good" terrorists and beat back the attack ( Russian sources speak of the destruction of 850 fighters, 11 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, 46 armed pickup trucks, five mortars, 20 freighter trucks and 38 ammo supply points; you can see photos of the destroyed personnel and equipment here ). What also makes this event unique is the official reaction of the Russians to this event.

    Head of the Main Operations Department at Russia's General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi declared that:

    "Despite agreements signed in Astana on September 15, gunmen of Jabhat al-Nusra and joining them units that don't want to comply with the cessation of hostilities terms, launched a large-scale offensive against positions of government troops north and northeast of Hama in Idlib de-escalation zone from 8 am on September 19 ( ) According to available data, the offensive was initiated by American intelligence services to stop a successful advance of government troops east of Deir ez-Zor ".

    Today, other Russian officials have added a not-so-veiled threat to this accusation. The Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov has declared that:

    Russia unequivocally told the commanders of US forces in Al Udeid Airbase (Qatar) that it will not tolerate any shelling from the areas where the SDF are stationed ( ) Fire from positions in regions [controlled by the SDF] will be suppressed by all means necessary

    This is unprecedented on many levels. First, the Russians clearly believe that this attempt to kill or capture a platoon of the Russian military police was planned by the United States. The fact that they are making this accusation officially shows the degree of irritation felt by the Russians about the duplicity of the Americans. Second, this is the first time, at least to my knowledge, that Russian Spetsnaz forces had to be sent in to rescue a surrounded Russian subunit. All Spetsnaz operators survived, but three of them were wounded in the operation (the Russians are not saying how badly). The close air support by very low flying SU-25 aircraft was obviously coordinated by Spetsnaz forward air controllers and probably saved the day. In other words, this was a close call and things could have ended much more badly (just imagine what the Takfiri crazies would have done, on video, to any captured Russian serviceman!). Finally, a US-organized attack on what was supposed to be a "de-confliction" zone combined with an attempt to capture Russian soldiers raises the bar for American duplicity to a totally new level.

    The big question now is "do the Russians mean it?" or are they just whining with real determination to hit back if needed.

    There are a couple of problems here. First, objectively, the Russian contingent in Syria is a tiny one if compared to the immense power of CENTCOM, NATO and the ever-present Israelis. Not only that, but in any US-Russian confrontation, Russia as a country is objectively the weaker side by any measure except a full-out nuclear exchange. So the Russians are not in a position of force. Furthermore, for historical and cultural reasons, Russians are much more concerned by the initiation of any incident which could lead to all-out war than the Americans who always fight their wars in somebody else's country. This might seem paradoxical, but the Russians fear war but they are ready for it. In contrast to the Russians, the Americans don't fear war, but neither are they ready for it. In practical terms this means that an American miscalculation could very well lead to a Russian military response which would stun the Americans and force them to enter an escalatory spiral which nobody would control.

    Johnny Rico > , September 21, 2017 at 7:36 pm GMT

    Finally, a US-organized attack on what was supposed to be a "de-confliction" zone combined with an attempt to capture Russian soldiers raises the bar for American duplicity to a totally new level.

    Wow! That escalated quickly.

    First it is an accusation by a Russian general and a paragraph later it is apparently a fact.

    Evidence not required. You are worse than the Pentagon.

    So much for exercising caution and restraint.

    hunor > , September 22, 2017 at 4:39 am GMT

    @Johnny Rico " evidence not required"

    the Russians are not in a position to make an outlandish accusation ,without proof.

    they have intercepted communications between American military personals and moderate jihadist

    / AL Nustra / both in the planning , and executing of the operation. the Russians presented the evidence to they

    American "partners " The American official response was that the USA considers the Al Nustra front

    a terrorist organization

    anonymous > , Disclaimer September 22, 2017 at 2:36 pm GMT

    This is a very strange story and I find it puzzling. Could this be true? The numbers of killed and destroyed tanks and trucks seem to be rather high. Tanks? Who's supplying them with tanks? There's a confusing array of combatants out there, each with their own sponsors. What we need is a scorecard. Also, what's needed is an analysis of what the US goal of setting up a separate Kurdish state is all about and what the perceived benefits are. It's hard to tell if there's a coherent plan behind all this or if it's all due to confusion and gung-ho incompetence.

    Dr. Charles > , September 22, 2017 at 6:41 pm GMT

    This is a very, very dangerous situation. And it is by no means clear who will blink first. All the contemptuous things that may be said about Trump only add to the danger. Yes, he's both a bully and a coward (as most bullies are). That's why he fired Bannon (who was going to get him out of Syria) and then put the Junta (of Mattis, McMaster and Kelly) over him–to "make a man out of him." That's why Trump's Dad sent him to Military School. So Trump will follow orders as he did back then. The military discipline didn't stick. But his military school years were the best he ever felt about himself. That's why he put the Junta over him now. And the Junta is out to be great generals all and win where others have failed. They'll be the Grants and Shermans of the 21st century. They'll win the Syrian War, the Afghan War, and the Korean War. (Just follow McArthur's nuclear plan!) Defeat Iran too– and send Russia running back to its borders. (Obama and HRC both privately pegged Putin as an appeaser a la letting the Kiev coup go through and just defending Crimea.)

    In Syria, Plan B was always to create a separate state of Kurdistan in Eastern Syria; build scores of US bases there; and cut off Hezbollah from Iran. Then let Israel wipe out Hezbollah (Good luck with that one!) and extend Israel's borders to the Litani River, which would then be diverted South to irrigate Israeli lands.

    Then Israel and the US would catch and destroy Assad in a pincer movement. And it's assumed Putin will withdraw rather than fight. He's already said on the record that Russia doesn't need Syria to survive. And if that causes the hardliners to topple him, the US will be ready with a First Strike option by then.

    I believe "Mad Dog" Mattis and McMaster think they can pull it off. They have the blood of General Custer in them!

    anon > , Disclaimer September 22, 2017 at 8:15 pm GMT

    @Johnny Rico "Nothing to see here"

    No. There's a lot to see here . 1st America declares Assad should go Then UK tells Assad has left the country for Russia .NATo says it is considering erecting safe zone and someone with bewitching smile saying: I am coming I am seeing but he is not dying I will impose no- fly zone.
    Then HRW and paid and bribed NYT WaPO and Guardian CNN FOX were asking when when when , when are we going to decapitate Assadd- that Sarin gas smells bad !!!

    AIPAC and Holocaust Museum with Natanyhuu getting irtae with Obama and now with Trump for not doing yet what should have been done 4 years ago. Trump goes to UN after firing misile and warns the world of his next move against Syria and IRan.

    Against these backdrop, relentless but slow recapture of territories by the 3 enemy forces – Iran Syria and Hizbullah must have turned AIPAC , ADL Holocaust Museum ,Natanyhu and their children in Congress and cabinets pure eunuchs with dry shrunken balls hanging between two beastly legs . There is a lot to see. Now Russia has told them something that any country with balls will point to the lies and laugh at the accusation or warnings or both. US just swallow it and like a confused child spit venom at NK IRAN and VENEZUELA thinking the ground underneath his feet was responsible for his fall.

    Schmid > , September 22, 2017 at 10:25 pm GMT

    I wonder why the Rebels /Islamist don't opt for a radical guerilla tactic. Why does they operate in a way, they risk being shot from air, a large amount of them in one place with their heavy material, being an easy target for air-forces? Isn't this crazy? I'm by far no military expert, so just asking.

    Other questions are the credibility of the sources and the possibility of other narrative

    Dr. Charles > , September 22, 2017 at 11:59 pm GMT

    @paull Pure fantasy from Saker McNasty. The US isn't interested in winning battles. It's interested in controlling the future of Syria. Russia may have won this battle, but the message sent was by the US and Russia, despite its public fulminating, got that message. Russia will agree to the partition of Syria that the US wants. This whole story is about face saving for Russia. Saker McNasty has a role to play in that. He plays it well.

    I think Putin never really intended to defend Syria's sovereignty. I think he has basically the same idea Trump has: that sovereignty means something different for small countries. Let's just say that the more powerful a country is, the more 'sovereignty' it has.

    So Russia boasts that it has won a battle and consequently makes threats. Meanwhile negotiations for the carve-up of Syria are being finalized... I do not believe that any of us should be permitted by the moderators to engage in vicious slurs, as in adding the epithet, "McNasty," to The Saker's illustrious nom de plume (or nom de guerre, as the case may be). The Saker never descends to such mud-slinging. He is ever challenging, but never girlishly "nasty." Such insult-throwing only inflames us all to turn troll. The moderators should not allow it. If a comment otherwise has merit, the moderators should have the option of sending the comment back to the writer to decide if he wants to have his comment published without these self-degrading slurs that substitute for rational debate. As for your "Americanized" (Animal Farm) version of what Putin thinks about sovereignty, it's certainly contrary to everything I know about the man (based on my own long professional study of his words and deeds)!starting with his lifelong (literally since age 13) commitment to the moral philosophy of Judo or "Gentle Path" in Japanese (reinforced by his post-1996 embrace of Orthodox Christianity): which holds that all people are equal and deserving of mutual respect, regardless of size, as expressed by the obligatory exchange of bows before matches. And Putin has carried that through to international relations, as often stated in his addresses at international forums. That said, he may decide that it may be in everyone's best interest to avoid a hot war with the US for now and let the US partition Syria for the time being–knowing that this new Kurdistan is not apt to last very long with Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Russia, and possibly China (as a major oil/gas buyer) all opposed to it and only Israel and the US supporting it.

    At the same time a new Kurdistan means that the US, NATO, and Israel will lose Turkey to Russia forever. And that is a very bad trade off! Though I, for one, believe that if Putin does allow this partitioning to happen, the 3 generals now running Trump are likely to see this as further evidence of their own bogus (US-propaganda contradicting) theory of Putin's "appeasement" tendencies and go for a "limited" First Strike option (meaning: "accept our total destruction of your nuclear forces and unconditionally surrender or our Second Strike will incinerate every Russian city!").

    And that will be the ballgame. Whereas The Saker finds this idea that Trump's damned generals are so Hell-bent on ruling the world that they would actually go for a First Strike option just too well insane. True Son of the Enlightenment he! Just joking

    I'm not joking, however, when I say that it is my true belief that these Hell-bound generals now ruling Trump and our "post-Christian" Empire are so blinded by Satanic pride and lustful delusions of grandeur that they may well bring down a nuclear Armageddon upon us all.

    KA > , September 23, 2017 at 3:11 am GMT

    @Johnny Rico The Saker piece you read above is, in itself, a deception, however unintentional or not it may be.

    It does this by presenting its own narrative and context for the "facts" as provided by the linked articles. And also, leaving out any awkward details that might not match the desired narrative.

    Any history of this incident written a year from now will look quite different. As will one written 10 years from now.

    Here is another early take on the context.

    http://www.newsweek.com/russia-accuses-us-working-al-q-affiliate-syria-668414

    Accusation is not new . American scholars have accused of the same practices . American government has had a love hate relationship with this terrorists outfit .

    RAND corporation was very clear and explicit in its urging that America should embrace Jihadist to reach its goal. America is recapturing its past association with Fascist and with Nazis . Nothing remarkable or out of character . It is par the course .

    What is confusing is the half baked attempts to undermine Assad without a ready coherent opposition who America can present . It seems American plans embrace the theory of vivisection of Syria by different weakened groups as it happening in Libya . But what is different here is the presence of strong interested neighbors who have designs on this land . US wants to satisfy them .

    Then use the platform to project its power over Iran and possibly wobbly vacillating East European countries . Once Iran is corralled , America most likely target the belt and road initiative of China .

    It is very important for America to succeed in Syria. Otherwise it is done as far power projection is concerned. This is the reason America agreed to let Assad stay but within demarcated zone . Although it is doubtful if it could have done otherwise . This is plan B .

    Iain W > , September 23, 2017 at 6:53 am GMT

    Maybe the Russians have now finally realised after processing all the permutations in their 'reflexive control' model that talk is useless with the perfidious and odious US degenerates. The US is now an existential threat to the existence of Russia along with other non US aligned countries. If so, this will become a fight for survival at some point.

    CPH > , September 23, 2017 at 9:51 am GMT

    There is a contingent within the American government which has been pushing for war with Russia since Trump was elected. Unfortunately, any clear signals from the Russians that what this incident represents will not be tolerated is exactly what they are looking for.

    The bet they'll make is that the Russian government will not respond to the next provocation with a credible threat to escalate to nuclear war. Anything short of nuclear is excellent for business but the profit potential of nuclear bombs is limited.

    GreenEyedJinn > , September 23, 2017 at 2:38 pm GMT

    That al-Nusra attacked Idlib is likely. It's what they do. To say that it was orchestrated in any way by the US is not. We don't coordinate or push any ops with al-Nusra. The current al-Nusra is a splinter of ISIS. The US is in the business of killing ISIS, not supporting them. I'm glad the Russians are having success in killing al-Nusra, too.
    Note in the original TASS article there is zero mention of any US-Russian interaction. http://tass.com/defense/966624

    Christian > , September 23, 2017 at 6:00 pm GMT

    @Realist Its pretty clear to me that Trump has stopped funding many of the covert operations in Syria under the Obama admin. He didn't completely stop the stupidity, I doubt anyone could, but the eminent destruction of ISIS would be far less likely if his rival had one the election.

    El Dato > , September 23, 2017 at 10:25 pm GMT

    @Dr. Charles This is a very, very dangerous situation. And it is by no means clear who will blink first. All the contemptuous things that may be said about Trump only add to the danger. Yes, he's both a bully and a coward (as most bullies are). That's why he fired Bannon (who was going to get him out of Syria) and then put the Junta (of Mattis, McMaster and Kelly) over him--to "make a man out of him."

    That's why Trump's Dad sent him to Military School. So Trump will follow orders as he did back then. The military discipline didn't stick. But his military school years were the best he ever felt about himself. That's why he put the Junta over him now. And the Junta is out to be great generals all and win where others have failed. They'll be the Grants and Shermans of the 21st century. They'll win the Syrian War, the Afghan War, and the Korean War. (Just follow McArthur's nuclear plan!) Defeat Iran too-- and send Russia running back to its borders. (Obama and HRC both privately pegged Putin as an appeaser a la letting the Kiev coup go through and just defending Crimea.)

    In Syria, Plan B was always to create a separate state of Kurdistan in Eastern Syria; build scores of US bases there; and cut off Hezbollah from Iran. Then let Israel wipe out Hezbollah (Good luck with that one!) and extend Israel's borders to the Litani River, which would then be diverted South to irrigate Israeli lands. Then Israel and the US would catch and destroy Assad in a pincer movement.

    And it's assumed Putin will withdraw rather than fight. He's already said on the record that Russia doesn't need Syria to survive. And if that causes the hardliners to topple him, the US will be ready with a First Strike option by then. I believe "Mad Dog" Mattis and McMaster think they can pull it off. They have the blood of General Custer in them! Pretty much this.

    You are just leaving out Saudi Arabia (still hell-bent on "leveraging" Sunni Radicalism to throw its might around but getting a first rash of blowback), Pakistan and India (both interested in having a role in the future of Afghanistan while mooning each other over a sometimes-hot funny border war) and China (apparently probing the anus of the good old USA and not ready to play running dog lackey)

    Johnny Rico > , September 23, 2017 at 11:38 pm GMT

    @Realist The US should not be in any part of Syria. "There will never be peace in the Middle-East and in a hundred years it won't matter because we will all be dead."
    -my East German-defector (he was rumored to have commandeered an APC and driven it across the border) Defense Journalism professor at BU circa 1993

    Those, however, are predictions and I don't know what the future holds.

    I would say we probably shouldn't be in Syria either. But that is probably an unlikely outcome and problematic expectation.

    In regards to American involvement there, my opinion is that it is better Trump is President than Hillary. No regrets there. And I didn't vote for either one.

    peterAUS > , September 24, 2017 at 4:18 am GMT

    @paull Agree.

    Especially with:

    Russia will agree to the partition of Syria that the US wants.

    I think Putin never really intended to defend Syria's sovereignty. I think he has basically the same idea Trump has: that sovereignty means something different for small countries. Let's just say that the more powerful a country is, the more 'sovereignty' it has.

    Meanwhile negotiations for the carve-up of Syria are being finalized

    [Sep 24, 2017] Donald Trump is now embarked on a Pyongyang-style military-first policy in which resources, money, and power are heading for the Pentagon and the U.S. nuclear arsenal, while much of the rest of the government is downsized

    See also http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-nuclear-weapons-mini-nukes-targeted-strike-conflict-war-north-korea-russia-a7938486.html
    Sep 24, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Originally from Empire of Madness - The Unz Review

    You think not? When it comes to America's endless wars and conflicts across the Greater Middle East and Africa, you can't imagine a more-of-the-same scenario eight years into the future? If, in 2009, eight years after the war on terror was launched, as President Obama was preparing to send a "surge" of more than 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan (while swearing to end the war in Iraq), I had written such a futuristic account of America's wars in 2017, you might have been no less unconvinced.

    Who would have believed then that political Washington and the U.S. military's high command could possibly continue on the same brainless path (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say superhighway) for another eight years? Who would have believed then that, in the fall of 2017, they would be intensifying their air campaigns across the Greater Middle East, still fighting in Iraq (and Syria), supporting a disastrous Saudi war in Yemen, launching the first of yet another set of mini-surges in Afghanistan, and so on? And who would have believed then that, in return for prosecuting unsuccessful wars for 16 years while aiding and abetting in the spread of terror movements across a vast region, three of America's generals would be the most powerful figures in Washington aside from our bizarre president (whose election no one could have predicted eight years ago)? Or here's another mind-bender: Would you really have predicted that, in return for 16 years of unsuccessful war-making, the U.S. military (and the rest of the national security state) would be getting yet more money from the political elite in our nation's capital or would be thought better of than any other American institution by the public?

    Now, I'm the first to admit that we humans are pathetic seers. Peering into the future with any kind of accuracy has never been part of our skill set. And so my version of 2025 could be way off base. Given our present world, it might prove to be far too optimistic about our wars.

    After all ! just to mention one grim possibility of our moment ! for the first time since 1945, we're on a planet where nuclear weapons might be used by either side in the course of a local war, potentially leaving Asia aflame and possibly the world economy in ruins. And don't even bring up Iran, which I carefully and perhaps too cautiously didn't include in my list of the 15 countries the U.S. was bombing in 2025 (as opposed to the seven at present). And yet, in the same world where they are decrying North Korea's nuclear weapons, the Trump administration and its U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley , seem to be hard at work creating a situation in which the Iranians could once again be developing ones of their own. The president has reportedly been desperate to ditch the nuclear agreement Barack Obama and the leaders of five other major powers signed with Iran in 2015 (though he has yet to actually do so) and he's stocked his administration with a remarkable crew of Iranophobes, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo , Secretary of Defense James Mattis , and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster , all of whom have been itching over the years for some kind of confrontation with Iran. (And given the last decade and a half of American war fighting in the region, how do you think that conflict would be likely to turn out?)

    Donald Trump's Washington, as John Feffer has recently pointed out , is now embarked on a Pyongyang-style "military-first" policy in which resources, money, and power are heading for the Pentagon and the U.S. nuclear arsenal , while much of the rest of the government is downsized. Obviously, if that's where your resources are going, then that's where your efforts and energies will go, too. So don't expect less war in the years to come, no matter how inept Washington has proven when it comes to making war work.

    ... ... ...

    Imagine the government of that same country, distracted by its hopeless wars and the terrorist groups they continue to generate... and not lifting a finger to deal with the situation...

    Tom Engelhardt is a co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of The United States of Fear as well as a history of the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He is a fellow of the Nation Institute and runs TomDispatch.com. His latest book is Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

    [Sep 23, 2017] The Exit Strategy of Empire by Wendy McElro

    Highly recommended!
    Garrett 's book The People's Pottage The Revolution Was-Ex America-Rise of Empire i ncludes a timeless quote on U.S. foreign policy. "You are imperialistic all the same, whether you realize it or not... You are trying to make the kind of world you want. You are trying to impose the American way of life on other people, whether they want it or not." The "Rise of Empire" opens with the sentence "We have crossed the boundary between Republic and Empire." It contains a critical view of President Truman's usurpation of Congress' power to declare war. Some of the "distinguishing marks" of an empire taken from history were "Domestic policy becomes subordinate to foreign policy" and " A system of satellite nations". I think most of us are would be familiar with those two in modern context. His labeling of this policy as the "Empire of the Bottomless Purse" was historically accurate.
    The book was printed in 1953. What's amazing is how little some political ideology has changed since then. Take this quote; "And the mere thought of 'America First', associated as that term is with 'isolationism', has become a liability so extreme that politicians feel obliged to deny ever having entertained it." Think back to Ron Paul's 2008 campaign and how he was labeled an "isolationist" for similar views of nationalism.
    Notable quotes:
    "... These are not sequential stages of Empire but occur in conjunction with one another and reinforce each other. That means that an attempt to reverse Empire in the direction of a Republic can begin with weakening any of the five characteristics in any order. ..."
    "... Deconstructing these executive props, one by one, weakens the Empire. When all five components are deconstructing, the process presents a possible path to dissolving Empire itself. ..."
    "... That was why Garrett does not deal with how to reverse the process of Empire. Once an empire is established, he argues, it becomes a "prisoner of history" in a trap of its own making. He writes, "A Republic may change its course, or reverse it, and that will be its own business. But the history of Empire is a world history and belongs to many people. A Republic is not obliged to act upon the world, either to change it or instruct it. Empire, on the other hand, must put forth its power." ..."
    "... Collective security and fear are intimately connected concepts. It is no coincidence that the sixth component of Empire -- imprisonment -- comes directly after the two components of "a system of satellite nations" and, "a complex of vaunting and fear." ..."
    "... An empire thinks that satellites are necessary for its collective security. Satellites think the empire is necessary for territorial and economic survival; but they are willing to defect if an empire with a better deal beckons. America knows this and scrambles to satisfy satellites that could become fickle. Garrett quotes Harry Truman, who created America's modern system of satellites. "We must make sure that our friends and allies overseas continue to get the help they need to make their full contribution to security and progress for the whole free world. This means not only military aid -- though that is vital -- it also means real programs of economic and technical assistance." ..."
    "... Garrett also emphasizes how domestic pressure imprisons Empire. One of the most powerful domestic pressures is fear. An atmosphere of fear -- real or created -- drives public support of foreign policy and makes it more difficult for Empire to retreat from those policies. ..."
    "... Empire has "'less control over its own fate than a republic,' he [Garrett] commented because it was a 'prisoner of history', ruled by fear. Fear of what? 'Fear of the barbarian.'" ..."
    "... It does not matter whether the enemy is actually a barbarian. What matters is that citizens of Empire believe in the enemy's savagery and support a military posture toward him. Domestic fear drives the constant politics of satellite nations, protective treaties, police actions, and war. Foreign entanglements lead to increased global involvement and deeper commitments. The two reinforce each other. ..."
    "... The fifth characteristic of Empire is not merely fear but also "vaunting." Vaunting means boasting about or praising something excessively -- for example, to laud and exaggerate America's role in the world. Fear provides the emotional impetus for conquest; vaunting provides the moral justification for acting upon the fear. The moral duty is variously phrased: leadership, a balance of power, peace, democracy, the preservation of civilization, humanitarianism. From this point, it is a small leap to conclude that the ends sanctify the means. Garrett observes that "there is soon a point from which there is no turning back .The argument for going on is well known. As Woodrow Wilson once asked, 'Shall we break the heart of the world?' So now many are saying, 'We cannot let the free world down'. Moral leadership of the world is not a role you step into and out of as you like." ..."
    Sep 23, 2017 | ronpaulinstitute.org
    The Exit Strategy of Empire Written y Friday September 22, 2017
    The Roman Empire never doubted that it was the defender of civilization. Its good intentions were peace, law and order. The Spanish Empire added salvation. The British Empire added the noble myth of the white man's burden. We have added freedom and democracy.

    -- Garet Garrett, Rise of Empire

    The first step in creating Empire is to morally justify the invasion and occupation of another nation even if it poses no credible or substantial threat. But if that's the entering strategy, what is the exit one?

    One approach to answering is to explore how Empire has arisen through history and whether the process can be reversed. Another is to conclude that no exit is possible; an Empire inevitably self-destructs under the increasing weight of what it is -- a nation exercising ultimate authority over an array of satellite states. Empires are vulnerable to overreach, rebellion, war, domestic turmoil, financial exhaustion, and competition for dominance.

    In his monograph Rise of Empire, the libertarian journalist Garet Garrett (1878–1954), lays out a blueprint for how Empire could possibly be reversed as well as the reason he believes reversal would not occur. Garrett was in a unique position to comment insightfully on the American empire because he'd had a front-row seat to events that cemented its status: World War II and the Cold War. World War II America already had a history of conquest and occupation, of course, but, during the mid to late 20th century, the nation became a self-consciously and unapologetic empire with a self-granted mandate to spread its ideology around the world.

    A path to reversing Empire

    Garrett identifies the first five components of Empire:

    • The dominance of executive power: the White House reigns over Congress and the judiciary.
    • The subordination of domestic concerns to foreign policy: civil and economic liberties give way to military needs.
    • The rise of a military mentality: aggressive patriotism and obedience are exalted.
    • A system of satellite nations (vassals) in the name of collective security ;
    • A zeitgeist of both zealous patriotism and fear : bellicosity is mixed with and sustained by panic.
    These are not sequential stages of Empire but occur in conjunction with one another and reinforce each other. That means that an attempt to reverse Empire in the direction of a Republic can begin with weakening any of the five characteristics in any order.

    Garrett did not directly address the strategy of undoing Empire, but his description of its creation can be used to good advantage. The first step is to break down each component of Empire into more manageable chunks. For example, the executive branch accumulates power in various ways. They include:

    • By delegation -- Congress transfers its constitutional powers to the president.
    • By reinterpretation of the Constitution by a sympathetic Supreme Court.
    • Through innovation by which the president assumes powers that are not constitutionally forbidden because the Framers never considered them.
    • By administrative agencies that issue regulations with the force of law.
    • Through usurpation -- the president confronts Congress with a fait accompli that cannot easily be repudiated.Entanglement in foreign affairs makes presidential power swell because, both by tradition and the Constitution, foreign affairs are his authority.
    Deconstructing these executive props, one by one, weakens the Empire. When all five components are deconstructing, the process presents a possible path to dissolving Empire itself.

    A sixth component of Empire

    But in Rise of Empire, Garet Garrett offers a chilling assessment based on his sixth component of Empire. There is no path out. A judgment that renders prevention all the more essential.

    That was why Garrett does not deal with how to reverse the process of Empire. Once an empire is established, he argues, it becomes a "prisoner of history" in a trap of its own making. He writes, "A Republic may change its course, or reverse it, and that will be its own business. But the history of Empire is a world history and belongs to many people. A Republic is not obliged to act upon the world, either to change it or instruct it. Empire, on the other hand, must put forth its power."

    In his book For A New Liberty, Murray Rothbard expands on Garrett's point: "[The] United States, like previous empires, feel[s] itself to be 'a prisoner of history.' For beyond fear lies 'collective security,' and the playing of the supposedly destined American role upon the world stage."

    Collective security and fear are intimately connected concepts. It is no coincidence that the sixth component of Empire -- imprisonment -- comes directly after the two components of "a system of satellite nations" and, "a complex of vaunting and fear."

    Satellite nations

    "We speak of our own satellites as allies and friends or as freedom loving nations," Garrett wrote. "Nevertheless, satellite is the right word. The meaning of it is the hired guard." Why hired? Although men of Empire speak of losing China [or] Europe [how] could we lose China or Europe, since they never belonged to us? What they mean is that we may lose a following of dependent people who act as an outer guard."

    An empire thinks that satellites are necessary for its collective security. Satellites think the empire is necessary for territorial and economic survival; but they are willing to defect if an empire with a better deal beckons. America knows this and scrambles to satisfy satellites that could become fickle. Garrett quotes Harry Truman, who created America's modern system of satellites. "We must make sure that our friends and allies overseas continue to get the help they need to make their full contribution to security and progress for the whole free world. This means not only military aid -- though that is vital -- it also means real programs of economic and technical assistance."

    In contrast to a Republic, Empire is both a master and a servant because foreign pressure cements it into the military and economic support of satellite nations around the globe, all of which have their own agendas.

    Garrett also emphasizes how domestic pressure imprisons Empire. One of the most powerful domestic pressures is fear. An atmosphere of fear -- real or created -- drives public support of foreign policy and makes it more difficult for Empire to retreat from those policies. In his introduction to Garrett's book Ex America, Bruce Ramsey addresses Garrett's point. Ramsey writes, Empire has "'less control over its own fate than a republic,' he [Garrett] commented because it was a 'prisoner of history', ruled by fear. Fear of what? 'Fear of the barbarian.'"

    It does not matter whether the enemy is actually a barbarian. What matters is that citizens of Empire believe in the enemy's savagery and support a military posture toward him. Domestic fear drives the constant politics of satellite nations, protective treaties, police actions, and war. Foreign entanglements lead to increased global involvement and deeper commitments. The two reinforce each other.

    The fifth characteristic of Empire is not merely fear but also "vaunting." Vaunting means boasting about or praising something excessively -- for example, to laud and exaggerate America's role in the world. Fear provides the emotional impetus for conquest; vaunting provides the moral justification for acting upon the fear. The moral duty is variously phrased: leadership, a balance of power, peace, democracy, the preservation of civilization, humanitarianism. From this point, it is a small leap to conclude that the ends sanctify the means. Garrett observes that "there is soon a point from which there is no turning back .The argument for going on is well known. As Woodrow Wilson once asked, 'Shall we break the heart of the world?' So now many are saying, 'We cannot let the free world down'. Moral leadership of the world is not a role you step into and out of as you like."

    Conclusion

    In this manner, Garrett believed, Empire imprisons itself in the trap of a perpetual war for peace and stability, which are always stated goals. Yet, as Garrett concluded, the reality is war and instability.

    It is not clear whether he was correct that Empire could not be reversed. Whether or not he was, it is at its creation that Empire is best opposed.

    Reprinted with permission from the Future of Freedom Foundation .


    Related
    • The Airwaves Are Still Heaving With Spin Two Days After US Airstrikes Against Syria - 26 September 2014
    • The Real Status of Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq - 5 October 2014
    • Presidents and the War Power - 8 October 2014
    • The Siege Of Kobani: Obama's Syrian Fiasco In Motion - 6 October 2014
    • Is Obama Misleading the World to War? Depends How You Define 'Misleading' - 26 September 2014

    [Sep 23, 2017] Uncle Sam vs. Russia in Eastern Syria the Nightmare Scenario

    Notable quotes:
    "... lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition . He can be reached at [email protected] . ..."
    Sep 23, 2017 | www.unz.com

    The impending collapse of ISIS has touched off a race for territory in the oil-rich eastern part of Syria pitting US-backed forces against the Russian-led coalition of Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. This is the nightmare scenario that everyone wanted to avoid. Washington and Moscow's armies are now converging on the same area at the same time greatly increasing the probability of a conflagration between the two nuclear-armed superpowers. The only way a clash can be avoided is if one party backs down, which seems increasingly unlikely.

    The situation can be easily explained. The vast swath of territory captured by ISIS is steadily shrinking due to the dogged perseverance of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) which has liberated most of the countryside west of the Euphrates River including the former ISIS stronghold at Deir Ezzor, a critical garrison at the center of the fighting. ISIS is also getting pressure from the north where the US-backed SDF is pounding their capital at Raqqa while deploying troops and tanks southward to the oil fields in Deir Ezzor province.

    Washington has made it clear that it wants its proxy-army to control the area east of the Euphrates establishing a soft partition between east and west. The US also wants to control Deir Ezzor's vast oil resources in order to provide a reliable revenue stream for the emergent Kurdish statelet.

    Syrian President Bashar al Assad has said many times that he will never agree to the partitioning of the country. But the decision will not be made by Assad alone. His coalition partners in Moscow, Beirut and Tehran will also help shape the final settlement. As far as Putin is concerned, it seems extremely unlikely that he'd risk a protracted and bloody war with the United States simply to recapture every square inch of Syrian territory. The Russian president will probably allow the US to keep its bases in the northeast provided that critical areas are conceded to the regime. But where will the line be drawn, that's the question?

    The US wants to control the area east of the Euphrates including the lucrative oil fields. This is why they deployed troops from the SDF southward even though they're still needed in Raqqa. Earlier in the week, it looked like the Syrian Army had a leg up on the SDF as troops and armored vehicles crossed the Euphrates headed east to the oil fields. But reports that appeared late Thursday indicate that the SDF has beaten them to the punch. This is from South Front:

    "On Thursday, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured Tabiyeh and al-Isba oil fields in the northwestern Deir Ezzor countryside, according to pro-Kurdish sources. If these reports are confirmed, the SDF will be in control over a half of Syria's oil reserve. Moreover, that will mean that the SDF at least partly blocked the SAA way on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river." ("Syrian Democratic Forces Capture Key Oil Fields In Deir Ezzor", South Front)

    This is a major setback for the Russian coalition. It means that the SAA backed by the Russian Airforce will have to fight a group which, up to this point, has been an ally in the war against ISIS. Now it's clear that the mainly-Kurdish SDF is no ally, it's an enemy that wants to steal Syria's resources and carve a state out of its eastern flank.

    The news about the SDF's arrival at the oil fields came just hours after the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov issued a terse warning to the US and SDF that Russia would retaliate if SAA positions were attacked again by SDF mortar or rocket fire.

    Quote: "Russia unequivocally told the commanders of US forces in Al Udeid Airbase (Qatar) that it will not tolerate any shelling from the areas where the SDF are stationed ( ) Fire from positions in regions [controlled by the SDF] will be suppressed by all means necessary."

    In retrospect, it looks like the SDF had already decided to make a clean break with the government leaving no doubt of where they stood. Washington is using the SDF to seize the oil fields and to claim to the entire east side of the Euphrates for its own. There's no doubt that these combat units of the SDF are accompanied by US Special Forces who are providing critical communications, logistic and tactical support. This operation has Washington's fingerprints all over it.

    On Friday morning, loyalist forces led by the 5th Assault Corps ISIS Hunters, established full control over Khusham village on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River near Deir Ezzor city. The strategically-located village blocks a key road linking the area held by the SDF to the Omar oil fields.

    Get the picture? US-backed forces and Russian coalition members are now operating cheek-to-jowl in the same theatre trying to seize the same oil-rich scrap of land. This has all the makings of a major head-on collision.

    Putin is a cautious and reasonable man, but he's not going to hand over Syria's oil fields without a fight. Besides, Assad needs the oil receipts to finance the rebuilding of his decimated country. Equally important, he needs the territory east of Deir Ezzor to for an overland route connecting Beirut to Damascus to Baghdad to Tehran, the so-called Arab Superhighway. Putin's job is to glue as much of the country together as needed to create a viable state. So while he may allow the SDF and US military to occupy parts of the northeast, he's not going to surrender crucial resources or strategically-located territory.

    So what does it all mean? Does it mean that Russia will support Assad's attempts to liberate the oil fields even if it could trigger a broader war with the United States?

    Yes, that's exactly what it means.

    Putin doesn't want a slugfest with Uncle Sam, but he's not going to abandon an ally either. So there's going to be a confrontation because neither party is willing to give up what they feel they need to achieve success.

    So there you have it. As the standoff begins to take shape in east Syria, the two rival superpowers are preparing themselves for the worst. Clearly, we have reached the most dangerous moment in the six year-long war.

    MIKE WHITNEY lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition . He can be reached at [email protected] .

    TG > , September 23, 2017 at 1:57 pm GMT

    An intelligent and well-argued commentary, as usual from this source.

    But here is something that nobody is talking about: sure oil is important. But Syria is mostly an arid plateau. Water is more important. Why is nobody talking about that?

    It gets zero press coverage, but the real trigger for Syria's nasty civil war was the deliberately-engineered Syrian population explosion. The population doubled and doubled and then the aquifers had been drained, and the mostly agrarian economy fell apart Even without idiotic foreign meddling, one way or the other, good things would not have happened to Syria.

    http://globuspallidusxi.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-real-story-on-syria-forced.html

    So here's my question: who controls the water supplies in Syria? What is the status of the aquifers? What has the war and the exodus of refugees done to the rate of population increase? I heard recently that one faction opened the spillgates on a dam to slow an enemy river crossing: how much water was wasted? What happens if one faction decides to drain the reservoirs before retreating?

    You say that Syria will want oil money to rebuild: but you can't buy water, at least not enough to grow crops on a substantial scale. Sure, in theory networks of nuclear power plants running desalinization plants might work, but that would take about all the money in the world just to keep 30 million Syrians fed. Or perhaps people who until recently were goatherds and farmers will suddenly re-educate themselves into world-class computer programmers and within two years they will be beating the Singaporeans at their own game and have created a non-agrarian economy from scratch and they can import food from elsewhere. Good luck with that one.

    The mainstream press may not be talking about water, but I assure you, the Syrian government and the Syrian people very much aware of the issue.

    DESERT FOX > , September 23, 2017 at 2:50 pm GMT

    ISIS aka AL CIADA is a creation of the U.S. and Israel and Britain and is supplied with men and weapons and equipment by them and the U.S. airforce acts as the ISIS airforce and most of all, the U.S. has no legal right to be in SYRIA where as Russia was invited in by the Syrian government.

    Russia and Syria are going to destroy ISIS and kick the U.S. the hell out of Syria and the Kurds will have to accept defeat as of now they are being used as a proxy army of the U.S. and the Kurds will be betrayed by the U.S. in the end in any event as this is what the U.S. does.

    GOD BLESS SYRIA AND RUSSIA.

    Janis > , September 23, 2017 at 2:58 pm GMT

    The U.S. has no strategic national interest in Syria. I am convinced the only reason we are there is in the behest of Israel. We no longer have Perle, Wolfowitz or Feith impacting U.S. foreign policy, but we have other Israel firsters in government who have taken their place. Dual loyalty is a farce. I like what Barry Goldwater said on the subject in his book, "Goldwater." He said: "I was never put under greater pressure than by the Israeli lobby, nor has the Senate as a whole. It's the most influential crowd in Congress and America by far. The Israelis can come up with 50 votes or more on almost any bill in the Senate that affects their interests. They went to extraordinary lengths to get me to vote for them, even sending some of my dearest and closest Arizona friends, like Harry Rosenzweig, to lobby me in Washington. The Israelis never raised the fact of my being half Jewish, but they stressed protecting Israel in the event of war. I told them over and over, without a treaty we've already promised to go to war to protect Israel. And the United States is not getting all that much out of the deal. I think Israel is doing pretty well. I don't worry about Israel when I go to sleep at night. I worry about the U.S. Constitution, which I've sworn to uphold–not Israel's Constitution, not that of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon or anybody else in the Middle East or the world. That usually shut them up, but they often went away mad because I was not about to support everything they wanted." That quote is from "Goldwater" page 16-17.

    Would to God we had more Goldwaters back in the day or now for that matter!

    [Sep 23, 2017] Spinning by NYT can and will form the base of a conspiracy. NYT is lying . But this lies can help build the necessary platform for future wars

    Notable quotes:
    "... Spinning by NYT can and will form the base of a conspiracy. ..."
    "... NYT is lying . But this lies can help build the necessary platform for future wars . Another Sarin gas? Another Harriri death? Another picture of beheadings ? Another story of North Korean supplying nukes ? Wrongful consequences from falsehood will not cost NYT excepting a correction years later somehere in the 5 th page. A conspiracy to hatch is something that has no consequences for the plotters . ..."
    "... NYT will be there claiming for the right to crow – how it has prepared the ground. All are done openly. When resistance is mounted, Bernie Sander supporters are sent home with flowers and a reminder to vote for Clinton because in this age all over the world America is the exception that has heard them. With that satisfaction they can go home and vote as expected. They are not allowed to know how the campaign marginalized Sander's chances from the get go. ..."
    www.unz.com
    KA , September 5, 2016 at 5:19 pm GMT

    "HANGZHOU, China : The image of a 5-year-old Syrian boy, dazed and bloodied after being rescued from an airstrike on rebel-held Aleppo, reverberated around the world last month, a harrowing reminder that five years after civil war broke out there, Syria remains a charnel house.

    But the reaction was more muted in Washington, where Syria has become a distant disaster rather than an urgent crisis. President Obama's policy toward Syria has barely budged in the last year and shows no sign of change for the remainder of his term. The White House has faced little pressure over the issue,

    That frustrates many analysts because they believe that a shift in policy will come only when Mr. Obama has left office. "Given the tone of this campaign, I doubt the electorate will be presented with realistic and intelligible options, with respect to Syria," said Frederic C. Hof, a former adviser on Syria in the administration."

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/world/middleeast/obama-syria-foreign-policy.html

    Spinning by NYT can and will form the base of a conspiracy.

    The world we see are not festooned with the morbid pictures and the world has not one echo chamber among its 7 billions that are reverberating with his sad cry .
    No American taxpayer is piling pressure on Obama.

    Tone of the election doesn't and shouldn't provide option on Syria . Electorates are not asking to know what America should do.

    Next president will introduce something that he wont share w and making them known before the voters will destroy his chances. Someone shared and was evisecrated by NYT and other as Putin's Trojan horse .

    NYT is lying . But this lies can help build the necessary platform for future wars . Another Sarin gas? Another Harriri death? Another picture of beheadings ? Another story of North Korean supplying nukes ? Wrongful consequences from falsehood will not cost NYT excepting a correction years later somehere in the 5 th page. A conspiracy to hatch is something that has no consequences for the plotters .

    If Dulles were hanged for role in all the illegal things he had done in Guatemala and Iran, may be Kennedy would have survived. But his earlier political escapades were also built on something that were way earlier . Conspiracy keeps on coming back begging for one more round ,for one more time .

    NYT will be there claiming for the right to crow – how it has prepared the ground. All are done openly. When resistance is mounted, Bernie Sander supporters are sent home with flowers and a reminder to vote for Clinton because in this age all over the world America is the exception that has heard them. With that satisfaction they can go home and vote as expected. They are not allowed to know how the campaign marginalized Sander's chances from the get go.

    Neither NYT explains how reckless Trump with nuclear code will start a nuclear war with Putin's Russia despite being his co conspirator .

    Chalabi s daughter exclaimed in early part of 2004 – We are heroes in mistakes. She won't say it now . Conspirators would love to get the credit and be recognized . It all depends on the success . First Iraq war, if went bad from beginning, Lantos wouldn't have been reelected . But again who knows what media can deliver. They delivered Joe Liberman .

    [Sep 22, 2017] America Can Never Be Trusted! by Stephen LENDMAN

    Sep 22, 2017 | www.strategic-culture.org

    Time and again throughout its history, America breached treaties and other agreements – proving it doesn't negotiate in good faith. Just the opposite!

    According to Russian official Zamir Kabulov, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Alice Wells expressed "willingness to cooperate with us on Afghanistan, while realizing that the area of cooperation is very narrow."

    The only thing Washington wants from Russia is compliance with its imperial agenda – its endless wars of aggression, in Afghanistan and everywhere else.

    Does Russia really believe it has a partner in America? Do Putin, Lavrov and other top officials think improved bilateral relations are possible?

    Do they publicly express views they don't believe privately? Do they realize after a century of US hostility toward their country, things are worse today than ever – with no prospect for improvement?

    How can there be when Washington wants regime change, sovereign Russia eliminated, US vassal state subservience replacing it – puppet governance, not democratic rule.

    Chances for improved bilateral relations are nil. America considers Russia an adversary, not a partner. Getting along is not an acceptable option in Washington.

    Illegal sanctions on Russia alone prove it. So does closing, seizing and inspecting its San Francisco consulate and other diplomatic properties in Washington and New York, flagrantly breaching international law in both instances.

    US cooperation with Russia in Syria is illusory. On Tuesday, US-supported al-Nusra terrorists attacked Syrian troops and Russian police in Idlib's de-escalation zone – after Washington agreed to observe ceasefire in all Syrian de-escalation zones.

    According to head of Russia's General Staff Gen. Sergey Rudskoi:

    "Despite agreements signed in Astana on September 15, (hundreds of) gunmen of Jabhat al-Nusra (together with allied terrorists) launched a large-scale offensive against positions of government troops north and northeast of Hama in the Idlib de-escalation zone on September 19."

    "According to available data, the offensive was initiated by American intelligence services to stop a successful advance of government troops east of Deir Ezzor."

    Russian aerial operations thwarted the attack, killing hundreds of terrorists, destroying their heavy weapons and equipment, aided by Syrian Assault Corp troops deployed to the area and Russian special forces.

    This incident and numerous others shows Washington wants endless war, not peace. It wants Assad toppled, US-controlled puppet rule replacing Syrian sovereign independence.

    Nothing in prospect suggests a change in US policy. Sergey Lavrov admitted Washington supports al-Nusra terrorists – "shield(ing) and spar(ing) them from (US) airstrikes."

    "This is inadmissible," he stressed. Eliminating their fighters, along with ISIS, is Russia's top military objective in Syria. Washington's aim is polar opposite, supporting the scourge it claims to oppose.

    The agendas of both countries are in conflict with no prospect for change. Nor is there any possibility for improved relations.

    They remain dismal, likely worsening ahead, not improving. Nothing Russia can do diplomatically will change things. Chances for eventual confrontation between both countries is ominously real.

    Differences between them are irreconcilable, Washington fully responsible, not Moscow.

    A Final Comment

    So-called US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attacked government positions at least twice in Deir Ezzor with mortar and rocket fire. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov warned US commanders "it will not tolerate any shelling from the areas where the SDF are stationed." "Fire from positions in regions (they control) will be suppressed by all means necessary," he stressed, adding:

    "SDF militants work to the same objectives as IS terrorists. Russian drones and intelligence have not recorded any confrontations between IS and the 'third force,' the SDF."

    They're colluding with each other in Deir Ezzor. "More than 85% percent of (its) territory is under the full control of Syrian troops. Over the next week the city will be liberated completely," Konashenkov explained.

    stephenlendman.org

    [Sep 21, 2017] Trump Slams US and Saudi Foreign Policy in Fiery UN Speech

    Sep 21, 2017 | theantimedia.org

    ( ANTIMEDIA Op-ed) In a bold move, President Trump condemned the violent, oppressive behavior and policies of the U.S. and its allies while speaking at the U.N. this week.

    We're revolutionizing the news industry, but we need your help! Click here to get started.

    He described the decline of " a wealthy country, with a rich history and culture, into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos ."

    His description accurately fits the United States, which has devolved from a country with high-minded (if not fully realized ) ideals, courageous struggles for human and civil rights, and a strong sense of independence into a nationalistic, militant nation with a fledgling economy and an increasingly impoverished population whose government has spent its wealth arming radical extremists and waging endless war. The U.S. government has sowed chaos around the world over the years, from Iran to Iraq to Libya to Chile and Guatemala, spilling the blood of countless innocents as it plays geopolitical chess to favor its own hegemonic interests.

    Sad!

    Trump also called out the despicable behavior of U.S. allies, blasting entities that use their oil profits to support " terrorists that kill innocent Muslims." He asserted that such wealth is used to " fuel Yemen's civil war, and undermine peace throughout the entire Middle East ," an apt description of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom.

    " We cannot let a murderous regime continue these destabilizing activities , " he bravely said.

    Further, apparently condemning the behavior of both the U.S. and its allies , Trump warned that evildoers " must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving [their] own people, and respect the sovereign rights of [their] neighbors. "

    It is easy to make the case that the Saudis themselves are engaging in terrorism by directly targeting civilians in Yemen for a political purpose .

    Find Out More > 44,130

    During his speech at the U.N., Trump described all of the behavior displayed by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia ! but he wasn't talking about either. In all of the excerpts listed above, he was unironically talking about Iran, condemning the admittedly repressive regime for the exact same crimes the U.S. government and its allies commit.

    The U.S. is responsible both for war crimes and for arming radical Islamists ! who Trump loves to condemn ! from the mujahideen in the 1980s to "moderate" (read: al-Qaeda-affiliated) rebels in Syria. The U.S. and its allies have grotesquely violated the "sovereign rights" of countries around the world for decades, and the Saudis are actively violating the rights of their neighbor, Yemen, using American-made weapons to maintain power for their murderous regime while they destabilize the region.The Saudis have been documented supporting ISIS and using their oil profits to export radical ideologies while beheading , flogging , and attempting to crucify political dissidents at home (candidate Trump condemned the Saudis' alleged support for terrorism before selling them billions of dollars in arms as president; he also criticized their human rights record while before he rose to power).

    Laughably, in his speech he bragged about the U.S.' success in battling ISIS in Syria, completely ignoring Iranian-backed militias' contributions to defeating the terror group while actually respecting Syria's sovereignty (Iran is an ally of the Syrian government whereas the U.S. does not have official authorization to be there).

    Further, Trump's own administration has admitted Iran is complying with the nuclear deal Trump vehemently condemns. " No nation on Earth has an interest in seeing this band of criminals arm itself with nuclear weapons and missiles ," he said at the U.N.

    He bemoaned the possibility of other countries like Iran and North Korea having nuclear weapons while his own war criminal government holds one of the largest caches of nukes in the world and is the only country to have ever intentionally used them on civilian populations.

    Even worse, Trump's claims about Iran's undemocratic government may be true, but this modern reality did not come about absent American influence. The Iranian regime is repressive. It does support terror groups like Hezbollah (though Hezbollah is far less globally influential than ISIS, which, again, the Saudis have been exposed for fostering and funding). Iran's government is no friend to freedom, but how did Iran get to this point?

    Might it have something to do with, yet again, the U.S. government's own flagrant disrespect for the sovereignty of other nations? Its own proliferation of bloodshed and chaos? Is toppling Iran's democratically elected government for the sake of oil profits in 1953 ! installing the ousted leader with an autocratic shah ! supposed to qualify as 'respecting sovereign rights'? Is the world supposed to pretend that over two decades of such an oppressive, American-installed monarch were entirely unrelated to the reactionary Iranian revolution that broke out against that ruler in 1979 and the political conditions that have developed since?

    As the president grandstands to the world, boasting of American compassion and spewing American exceptionalism while condemning his enemies for the exact same behavior of the empire he now rules over, it is clear the emperor has no clothes.

    [Sep 20, 2017] The Politics of Military Ascendancy by James Petras

    Highly recommended!
    Notable quotes:
    "... In this paper we will discuss the advantages that the military elite accumulate from the war agenda and the reasons why ' the Generals' have been able to impose their definition of international realities. ..."
    "... We will discuss the military's ascendancy over Trump's civilian regime as a result of the relentless degradation of his presidency by his political opposition. ..."
    "... The massive US-led bombing and destruction of Libya, the overthrow of the Gadhafi government and the failure of the Obama-Clinton administration to impose a puppet regime, underlined the limitations of US air power and the ineffectiveness of US political-military intervention. The Presidency blundered in its foreign policy in North Africa and demonstrated its military ineptness. ..."
    "... The invasion of Syria by US-funded mercenaries and terrorists committed the US to an unreliable ally in a losing war. This led to a reduction in the military budget and encouraged the Generals to view their direct control of overseas wars and foreign policy as the only guarantee of their positions. ..."
    "... The Obama-Clinton engineered coup and power grab in the Ukraine brought a corrupt incompetent military junta to power in Kiev and provoked the secession of the Crimea (to Russia) and Eastern Ukraine (allied with Russia). The Generals were sidelined and found that they had tied themselves to Ukrainian kleptocrats while dangerously increasing political tensions with Russia. The Obama regime dictated economic sanctions against Moscow, designed to compensate for their ignominious military-political failures. ..."
    "... The Obama-Clinton legacy facing Trump was built around a three-legged stool: an international order based on military aggression and confrontation with Russia; a ' pivot to Asia' defined as the military encirclement and economic isolation of China – via bellicose threats and economic sanctions against North Korea; and the use of the military as the praetorian guards of free trade agreements in Asia excluding China. ..."
    "... After only 8 months in office President Trump helplessly gave into the firings, resignations and humiliation of each and every one of his civilian appointees, especially those who were committed to reverse Obama's 'international order'. ..."
    "... Trump was elected to replace wars, sanctions and interventions with economic deals beneficial to the American working and middle class. This would include withdrawing the military from its long-term commitments to budget-busting 'nation-building' (occupation) in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and other Obama-designated endless war zones. ..."
    "... The Generals provide a veneer of legitimacy to the Trump regime (especially for the warmongering Obama Democrats and the mass media). However, handing presidential powers over to ' Mad Dog' Mattis and his cohort will come with a heavy price. ..."
    "... While the military junta may protect Trump's foreign policy flank, it does not lessen the attacks on his domestic agenda. Moreover, Trump's proposed budget compromise with the Democrats has enraged his own Party's leaders. ..."
    "... The military junta is pressuring China against North Korea with the goal of isolating the ruling regime in Pyongyang and increasing the US military encirclement of Beijing. Mad Dog has partially succeeded in turning China against North Korea while securing its advanced THADD anti-missile installations in South Korea, which will be directed against Beijing. ..."
    "... Mad Dog's military build-up, especially in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, will not intimidate Iran nor add to any military successes. They entail high costs and low returns, as Obama realized after the better part of a decade of his defeats, fiascos and multi-billion dollar losses. ..."
    "... The militarization of US foreign policy provides some important lessons: ..."
    "... the escalation from threats to war does not succeed in disarming adversaries who possess the capacity to retaliate. ..."
    "... Low intensity multi-lateral war maneuvers reinforce US-led alliances, but they also convince opponents to increase their military preparedness. Mid-level intense wars against non-nuclear adversaries can seize capital cities, as in Iraq, but the occupier faces long-term costly wars of attrition that can undermine military morale, provoke domestic unrest and heighten budget deficits. And they create millions of refugees. ..."
    "... Threats and intimidation succeed only against conciliatory adversaries. Undiplomatic verbal thuggery can arouse the spirit of the bully and some of its allies, but it has little chance of convincing its adversaries to capitulate. The US policy of worldwide militarization over-extends the US armed forces and has not led to any permanent military gains. ..."
    "... Are there any voices among clear-thinking US military leaders, those not bedazzled by their stars and idiotic admirers in the US media, who could push for more global accommodation and mutual respect among nations? The US Congress and the corrupt media are demonstrably incapable of evaluating past disasters, let alone forging an effective response to new global realities. ..."
    "... American actions in Europe, Asia and the middle east appear increasingly irrational to many international observers. Their policy thrusts are excused as containment of evildoers or punishment of peoples who think and act differently. ..."
    "... They will drive into a new detente such incompatible parties as Russia and Iran, or China and many countries. America risks losing its way in the world and free peoples see a flickering beacon that once shone brighter. ..."
    "... How about this comic book tough guy quote: "I'm pleading with you with tears in my eyes: if you fuck with me, I'll kill you all" notice the first person used repetitively as he talks down to hapless unarmed tribesman in some distant land. A real egomaniacal narcissistic coward. Any of you with military experience would immediately recognize the type ... ..."
    "... It seems that the inevitable has happened. Feckless civilians have used military adventures to advance their careers , ensure re- elections, capturr lucrative position as speaker, have a place as member of think tank or lobbying firm or consultant . Now being as stupidly greedy and impatient as these guys are, they have failed to see that neither the policies nor the militaries can succeed against enemies that are generated from the action and the policy itself ..."
    Sep 15, 2017 | www.unz.com

    Introduction

    Clearly the US has escalated the pivotal role of the military in the making of foreign and, by extension, domestic policy. The rise of ' the Generals' to strategic positions in the Trump regime is evident, deepening its role as a highly autonomous force determining US strategic policy agendas.

    In this paper we will discuss the advantages that the military elite accumulate from the war agenda and the reasons why ' the Generals' have been able to impose their definition of international realities.

    We will discuss the military's ascendancy over Trump's civilian regime as a result of the relentless degradation of his presidency by his political opposition.

    The Prelude to Militarization: Obama's Multi-War Strategy and Its Aftermath

    The central role of the military in deciding US foreign policy has its roots in the strategic decisions taken during the Obama-Clinton Presidency. Several policies were decisive in the rise of unprecedented military-political power.

    The massive increase of US troops in Afghanistan and their subsequent failures and retreat weakened the Obama-Clinton regime and increased animosity between the military and the Obama's Administration. As a result of his failures, Obama downgraded the military and weakened Presidential authority. The massive US-led bombing and destruction of Libya, the overthrow of the Gadhafi government and the failure of the Obama-Clinton administration to impose a puppet regime, underlined the limitations of US air power and the ineffectiveness of US political-military intervention. The Presidency blundered in its foreign policy in North Africa and demonstrated its military ineptness. The invasion of Syria by US-funded mercenaries and terrorists committed the US to an unreliable ally in a losing war. This led to a reduction in the military budget and encouraged the Generals to view their direct control of overseas wars and foreign policy as the only guarantee of their positions. The US military intervention in Iraq was only a secondary contributing factor in the defeat of ISIS; the major actors and beneficiaries were Iran and the allied Iraqi Shia militias. The Obama-Clinton engineered coup and power grab in the Ukraine brought a corrupt incompetent military junta to power in Kiev and provoked the secession of the Crimea (to Russia) and Eastern Ukraine (allied with Russia). The Generals were sidelined and found that they had tied themselves to Ukrainian kleptocrats while dangerously increasing political tensions with Russia. The Obama regime dictated economic sanctions against Moscow, designed to compensate for their ignominious military-political failures.

    The Obama-Clinton legacy facing Trump was built around a three-legged stool: an international order based on military aggression and confrontation with Russia; a ' pivot to Asia' defined as the military encirclement and economic isolation of China – via bellicose threats and economic sanctions against North Korea; and the use of the military as the praetorian guards of free trade agreements in Asia excluding China.

    The Obama 'legacy' consists of an international order of globalized capital and multiple wars. The continuity of Obama's 'glorious legacy' initially depended on the election of Hillary Clinton.

    Donald Trump's presidential campaign, for its part, promised to dismantle or drastically revise the Obama Doctrine of an international order based on multiple wars , neo-colonial 'nation' building and free trade. A furious Obama 'informed' (threatened) the newly-elected President Trump that he would face the combined hostility of the entire State apparatus, Wall Street and the mass media if he proceeded to fulfill his election promises of economic nationalism and thus undermine the US-centered global order.

    Trump's bid to shift from Obama's sanctions and military confrontation to economic reconciliation with Russia was countered by a hornet's nest of accusations about a Trump-Russian electoral conspiracy, darkly hinting at treason and show trials against his close allies and even family members.

    The concoction of a Trump-Russia plot was only the first step toward a total war on the new president, but it succeeded in undermining Trump's economic nationalist agenda and his efforts to change Obama's global order.

    Trump Under Obama's International Order

    After only 8 months in office President Trump helplessly gave into the firings, resignations and humiliation of each and every one of his civilian appointees, especially those who were committed to reverse Obama's 'international order'.

    Trump was elected to replace wars, sanctions and interventions with economic deals beneficial to the American working and middle class. This would include withdrawing the military from its long-term commitments to budget-busting 'nation-building' (occupation) in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and other Obama-designated endless war zones.

    Trump's military priorities were supposed to focus on strengthening domestic frontiers and overseas markets. He started by demanding that NATO partners pay for their own military defense responsibilities. Obama's globalists in both political parties were aghast that the US might lose it overwhelming control of NATO; they united and moved immediately to strip Trump of his economic nationalist allies and their programs.

    Trump quickly capitulated and fell into line with Obama's international order, except for one proviso – he would select the Cabinet to implement the old/new international order.

    A hamstrung Trump chose a military cohort of Generals, led by General James Mattis (famously nicknamed ' Mad Dog' ) as Defense Secretary.

    The Generals effectively took over the Presidency. Trump abdicated his responsibilities as President.

    General Mattis: The Militarization of America

    General Mattis took up the Obama legacy of global militarization and added his own nuances, including the 'psychological-warfare' embedded in Trump's emotional ejaculations on 'Twitter'.

    The ' Mattis Doctrine' combined high-risk threats with aggressive provocations, bringing the US (and the world) to the brink of nuclear war.

    General Mattis has adopted the targets and fields of operations, defined by the previous Obama administration as it has sought to re-enforce the existing imperialist international order.

    The junta's policies relied on provocations and threats against Russia, with expanded economic sanctions. Mattis threw more fuel on the US mass media's already hysterical anti-Russian bonfire. The General promoted a strategy of low intensity diplomatic thuggery, including the unprecedented seizure and invasion of Russian diplomatic offices and the short-notice expulsion of diplomats and consular staff.

    These military threats and acts of diplomatic intimidation signified that the Generals' Administration under the Puppet President Trump was ready to sunder diplomatic relations with a major world nuclear power and indeed push the world to direct nuclear confrontation.

    What Mattis seeks in these mad fits of aggression is nothing less than capitulation on the part of the Russian government regarding long held US military objectives – namely the partition of Syria (which started under Obama), harsh starvation sanctions on North Korea (which began under Clinton) and the disarmament of Iran (Tel Aviv's main goal) in preparation for its dismemberment.

    The Mattis junta occupying the Trump White House heightened its threats against a North Korea, which (in Vladimir Putin's words) ' would rather eat grass than disarm' . The US mass media-military megaphones portrayed the North Korean victims of US sanctions and provocations as an 'existential' threat to the US mainland.

    Sanctions have intensified. The stationing of nuclear weapons on South Korea is being pushed. Massive joint military exercises are planned and ongoing in the air, sea and land around North Korea. Mattis twisted Chinese arms (mainly business comprador-linked bureaucrats) and secured their UN Security Council vote on increased sanctions. Russia joined the Mattis-led anti-Pyongyang chorus, even as Putin warned of sanctions ineffectiveness! (As if General ' Mad Dog' Mattis would ever take Putin's advice seriously, especially after Russia voted for the sanctions!)

    Mattis further militarized the Persian Gulf, following Obama's policy of partial sanctions and bellicose provocation against Iran.

    When he worked for Obama, Mattis increased US arms shipments to the US's Syrian terrorists and Ukrainian puppets, ensuring the US would be able to scuttle any ' negotiated settlements' .

    Militarization: An Evaluation

    Trump's resort to ' his Generals' is supposed to counter any attacks from members of his own party and Congressional Democrats about his foreign policy. Trump's appointment of ' Mad Dog' Mattis, a notorious Russophobe and warmonger, has somewhat pacified the opposition in Congress and undercut any 'finding' of an election conspiracy between Trump and Moscow dug up by the Special Investigator Robert Mueller. Trump's maintains a role as nominal President by adapting to what Obama warned him was ' their international order' – now directed by an unelected military junta composed of Obama holdovers!

    The Generals provide a veneer of legitimacy to the Trump regime (especially for the warmongering Obama Democrats and the mass media). However, handing presidential powers over to ' Mad Dog' Mattis and his cohort will come with a heavy price.

    While the military junta may protect Trump's foreign policy flank, it does not lessen the attacks on his domestic agenda. Moreover, Trump's proposed budget compromise with the Democrats has enraged his own Party's leaders.

    In sum, under a weakened President Trump, the militarization of the White House benefits the military junta and enlarges their power. The ' Mad Dog' Mattis program has had mixed results, at least in its initial phase: The junta's threats to launch a pre-emptive (possibly nuclear) war against North Korea have strengthened Pyongyang's commitment to develop and refine its long and medium range ballistic missile capability and nuclear weapons. Brinksmanship failed to intimidate North Korea. Mattis cannot impose the Clinton-Bush-Obama doctrine of disarming countries (like Libya and Iraq) of their advanced defensive weapons systems as a prelude to a US 'regime change' invasion.

    Any US attack against North Korea will lead to massive retaliatory strikes costing tens of thousands of US military lives and will kill and maim millions of civilians in South Korea and Japan.

    At most, ' Mad Dog' managed to intimidate Chinese and Russian officials (and their export business billionaire buddies) to agree to more economic sanctions against North Korea. Mattis and his allies in the UN and White House, the loony Nikki Hailey and a miniaturized President Trump, may bellow war – yet they cannot apply the so-called 'military option' without threatening the US military forces stationed throughout the Asia Pacific region.

    The Mad Dog Mattis assault on the Russian embassy did not materially weaken Russia, but it has revealed the uselessness of Moscow's conciliatory diplomacy toward their so-called 'partners' in the Trump regime.

    The end-result might lead to a formal break in diplomatic ties, which would increase the danger of a military confrontation and a global nuclear holocaust.

    The military junta is pressuring China against North Korea with the goal of isolating the ruling regime in Pyongyang and increasing the US military encirclement of Beijing. Mad Dog has partially succeeded in turning China against North Korea while securing its advanced THADD anti-missile installations in South Korea, which will be directed against Beijing. These are Mattis' short-term gains over the excessively pliant Chinese bureaucrats. However, if Mad Dog intensifies direct military threats against China, Beijing can retaliate by dumping tens of billions of US Treasury notes, cutting trade ties, sowing chaos in the US economy and setting Wall Street against the Pentagon.

    Mad Dog's military build-up, especially in Afghanistan and in the Middle East, will not intimidate Iran nor add to any military successes. They entail high costs and low returns, as Obama realized after the better part of a decade of his defeats, fiascos and multi-billion dollar losses.

    Conclusion

    The militarization of US foreign policy, the establishment of a military junta within the Trump Administration, and the resort to nuclear brinksmanship has not changed the global balance of power.

    Domestically Trump's nominal Presidency relies on militarists, like General Mattis. Mattis has tightened the US control over NATO allies, and even rounded up stray European outliers, like Sweden, to join in a military crusade against Russia. Mattis has played on the media's passion for bellicose headlines and its adulation of Four Star Generals.

    But for all that – North Korea remains undaunted because it can retaliate. Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons and remains a counterweight to a US-dominated globe. China owns the US Treasury and its unimpressed, despite the presence of an increasingly collision-prone US Navy swarming throughout the South China Sea.

    Mad Dog laps up the media attention, with well dressed, scrupulously manicured journalists hanging on his every bloodthirsty pronouncement. War contractors flock to him, like flies to carrion. The Four Star General 'Mad Dog' Mattis has attained Presidential status without winning any election victory (fake or otherwise). No doubt when he steps down, Mattis will be the most eagerly courted board member or senior consultant for giant military contractors in US history, receiving lucrative fees for half hour 'pep-talks' and ensuring the fat perks of nepotism for his family's next three generations. Mad Dog may even run for office, as Senator or even President for whatever Party.

    The militarization of US foreign policy provides some important lessons:

    First of all, the escalation from threats to war does not succeed in disarming adversaries who possess the capacity to retaliate. Intimidation via sanctions can succeed in imposing significant economic pain on oil export-dependent regimes, but not on hardened, self-sufficient or highly diversified economies.

    Low intensity multi-lateral war maneuvers reinforce US-led alliances, but they also convince opponents to increase their military preparedness. Mid-level intense wars against non-nuclear adversaries can seize capital cities, as in Iraq, but the occupier faces long-term costly wars of attrition that can undermine military morale, provoke domestic unrest and heighten budget deficits. And they create millions of refugees.

    High intensity military brinksmanship carries major risk of massive losses in lives, allies, territory and piles of radiated ashes – a pyrrhic victory!

    In sum:

    Threats and intimidation succeed only against conciliatory adversaries. Undiplomatic verbal thuggery can arouse the spirit of the bully and some of its allies, but it has little chance of convincing its adversaries to capitulate. The US policy of worldwide militarization over-extends the US armed forces and has not led to any permanent military gains.

    Are there any voices among clear-thinking US military leaders, those not bedazzled by their stars and idiotic admirers in the US media, who could push for more global accommodation and mutual respect among nations? The US Congress and the corrupt media are demonstrably incapable of evaluating past disasters, let alone forging an effective response to new global realities.

    Raffler, September 15, 2017 at 2:25 pm GMT

    American actions in Europe, Asia and the middle east appear increasingly irrational to many international observers. Their policy thrusts are excused as containment of evildoers or punishment of peoples who think and act differently. Those policy thrusts will accomplish the opposite of the stated intention.

    They will drive into a new detente such incompatible parties as Russia and Iran, or China and many countries. America risks losing its way in the world and free peoples see a flickering beacon that once shone brighter.

    nsa, September 16, 2017 at 4:03 am GMT

    Anyone with military experience recognizes the likes of Mad Poodle Mattis arrogant, belligerent, exceptionally dull, and mainly an inveterate suck-up (mil motto: kiss up and kick down).

    Every VFW lounge is filled with these boozy ridiculous blowhards and they are insufferable. The media and public, raised on ZioVision and JooieWood pablum, worship these cartoonish bloodletters even though they haven't won a war in 72 years .not one.

    How about this comic book tough guy quote: "I'm pleading with you with tears in my eyes: if you fuck with me, I'll kill you all" notice the first person used repetitively as he talks down to hapless unarmed tribesman in some distant land. A real egomaniacal narcissistic coward. Any of you with military experience would immediately recognize the type ...

    KA, September 16, 2017 at 3:24 pm GMT

    It seems that the inevitable has happened. Feckless civilians have used military adventures to advance their careers , ensure re- elections, capturr lucrative position as speaker, have a place as member of think tank or lobbying firm or consultant . Now being as stupidly greedy and impatient as these guys are, they have failed to see that neither the policies nor the militaries can succeed against enemies that are generated from the action and the policy itself .

    Now military has decided to reverse the roles . At least the military leaders don't have to campaign for re employment . But very soon the forces that corrupt and abuse the civilian power structure will do same to military .

    The Alarmist, September 19, 2017 at 3:27 pm GMT

    Never met him at any of the parties I attended in the '70s and '80s, so I don't know much about Mad Dog, but I can say that only in America can the former commander of a recruiting station grow up to pull the strings of the President.

    [Sep 20, 2017] The hubris, ignorance and stupidity in face of the failure of "regime change" operation in Syria

    Notable quotes:
    "... The truth is that it was the Americans who created this Wahabi monster and that they aided, protected, financed, trained and armed it through all these years. ..."
    "... The US also viciously opposed all the countries which were serious about fighting this Wahabi abomination. ..."
    "... And then, just to make things worse, The Donald *proudly* mentions the failed attack against a Syrian air force base which had nothing to do with a false flag fake chemical attack. Wow! For any other political leader recalling such an event would be a burning embarrassment, but for The Donald it is something he proudly mentions. The hubris, ignorance and stupidity of it all leaves me in total awe ..."
    Sep 20, 2017 | www.unz.com

    In Syria and Iraq, we have made big gains toward lasting defeat of ISIS. In fact, our country has achieved more against ISIS in the last eight months than it has in many, many years combined. The actions of the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad, including the use of chemical weapons against his own citizens, even innocent children, shock the conscience of every decent person. No society could be safe if banned chemical weapons are allowed to spread. That is why the United States carried out a missile strike on the airbase that launched the attack.

    When I heard these words I felt embarrassed for Trump. First, it is absolutely pathetic that Trump has to claim as his success the victories with the Syrians, the Russians, the Iranians and Hezbollah have achieved against the Wahabi-crazies of Daesh/al-Qaeda/al-Nusra/etc, especially since the latter are a pure creation of the US CIA!

    The truth is that it was the Americans who created this Wahabi monster and that they aided, protected, financed, trained and armed it through all these years.

    The US also viciously opposed all the countries which were serious about fighting this Wahabi abomination.

    And now that a tiny Russian contingent has achieved infinitely better results that all the power of the mighty CENTCOM backed by the Israeli and Saudi allies of the US in the region, The Donald comes out and declares victory?!

    Pathetic is not strong enough a word to describe this mind-bogglingly counter-factual statement.

    And then, just to make things worse, The Donald *proudly* mentions the failed attack against a Syrian air force base which had nothing to do with a false flag fake chemical attack. Wow! For any other political leader recalling such an event would be a burning embarrassment, but for The Donald it is something he proudly mentions. The hubris, ignorance and stupidity of it all leaves me in total awe

    [Sep 20, 2017] Sovereign Nations Is Main Theme Of Trump's UN Speech

    Sovereignty is oppose of neoliberal globalization, so in a way this is an some kind of affirmation of Trump election position. How serious it is is not clear. Probably not much as Imperial faction now controls Trump, making him more of a marionette that a political leader of the USA.
    Notable quotes:
    "... Trump labeled the Syrian government "the criminal regime of Bashar al Assad." The "problem in Venezuela", he said, is "that socialism has been faithfully implemented." He called Iran "an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violent, bloodshed and chaos." He forgot to mention pistachios . The aim of such language and threats is usually to goad the other party into some overt act that can than be used as justification for "retaliation". But none of the countries Trump mentioned is prone to such behavior. They will react calmly - if at all. ..."
    "... The stressing of sovereignty and the nation state in part one was the point where Trump indeed differed from his interventionist predecessors. But its still difficult to judge if that it is something he genuinely believes in. ..."
    "... There is no emphasis on sovereignty b. Trump says that Russia's and China' threat to the sovereignty of countries is bad but the sovereignty of small countries the US does not like is somehow threatened by these countries themselves. Which I interpret as a threat - "you endanger yourself if you don't do as told". ..."
    "... "The stressing of sovereignty and the nation state in part one was the point where Trump indeed differed from his interventionist predecessors. But its still difficult to judge if that it is something he genuinely believes in" ..."
    "... The word sovereignty has taken on different and sinister implications with the UN Responsibility to Protect Act in 2005. The US pushed for this and it squeaked by and they used it to justify the invasion of Libya in 2011. I think Libya was a major turning point. I don't think Russia and Iran are going to back off easily. (I originally posted this in 2015 at another site) The US also seems to have pretty much lost what humanitarian clout they may have had. ..."
    "... He talks about the period from 1989 when we had the Panama invasion and collapse of the Soviet Union as leading to an unleashing of US military power leading to the Iraq War in 2003. This war serious dented the image of the US as being a humanitarian actor and the US pushed for the UN Responsibility to Protect Act in 2005 which was used to justify the Libya invasion. ..."
    "... Prashad sees the results of that invasion and what is going on now in Syria as reflecting that the period 2011-2015 is seeing the end of this US unipolarism that lasted from 1989 to 2011. ..."
    "... How can Trump believe in defending Westphalia Treaty principles, sovereignty and the nation state, when US policy in the Arab world consists in destroying all these? This is rather like Warren Buffett lamenting that American billionaires are so rich, and pay less taxes than their secretaries. They are just laughing at us in our faces. ..."
    "... Sound more or less like Hussein Obomo address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24, 2013 - America is exceptional ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT5BjNDg5W0 No wonder Putin and Xi did not care to attend. Anyway Putin winning in Syria and Xi gaining in economic, science and technology ..."
    "... I agree with other commenters about the Orwellian nature of the speech. Sovereignty is an interesting word to abuse and I expect we will see more abuse of it. How can the US ever be a sovereign nation when it does not own its own financial system? But in the interim all other aspects of sovereignty will be examined but not global private finance.....unless the China/Russia axis hand is forced into the open. ..."
    "... Trump - the Republican Obama ..."
    "... "The sanction game is over. It's only the dying empire of the Federal Reserve, ECB, Wall Street, City of London and their military strong arm operating in the Pentagon that have yet to accept this new reality. ..."
    "... The days of bullying nations and simply bombing them into submission is over as well. Russia and China have made it very clear this is no longer acceptable and Russia has all but shut down the operations in Syria. The "ISIS" boogeyman is surrounded and fleeing into Asia and recently showed up in the Philippines. The fact that a group of desert dwellers acquired an ocean going vessel should be enough evidence to even the most brain-dead these desert dwellers are supported by outside forces – like the CIA Otherwise, from where did the ship(s) materialize?" ..."
    "... it seems to me with Trump an era of so-called globalization has come to its end. ..."
    "... Of course countries subjected to senseless US sanctions, like Russia, are concerned with sovereignty. They are ..."
    "... baseless economic attacks by the country that controls world banking. ..."
    "... In conclusion, what I take away from this speech is a sense of relief for the rest of the planet and a sense of real worry for the USA. Ever since the Neocons overthrew Trump and made him what is colloquially referred to as their "bitch" the US foreign policy has come to a virtual standstill. ..."
    Sep 20, 2017 | www.moonofalabama.org

    Today the President of the United States Donald Trump spoke (rush transcript) to the United Nations General Assembly. The speech's main the me was sovereignty. The word occurs 18(!) times. It emphasized Westphalian principles .

    [W]e do expect all nations to uphold these two core sovereign duties, to respect the interests of their own people and the rights of every other sovereign nation

    All leaders of countries should always put their countries first, he said, and "the nation state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition ."


    The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster, 15 May 1648 - bigger

    Sovereignty was the core message of his speech. It rhymed well with his somewhat isolationist emphasis of "America first" during his campaign. The second part of the speech the first by threatened the sovereignty of several countries the U.S. ruling class traditionally dislikes. This year's "axis of evil" included North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Syria and Cuba:

    The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary."

    Many people will criticize that as an outrageous and irresponsible use of words. It is. But there is nothing new to it. In fact the U.S., acting on behalf of the UN, totally destroyed Korea in the 1950s. The last U.S. president made the same threat Trump made today:

    President Barack Obama delivered a stern warning to North Korea on Tuesday, reminding its "erratic" and "irresponsible" leader that America's nuclear arsenal could "destroy" his country.

    The South Korean military sounds equally belligerent :

    A military source told the Yonhap news agency every part of Pyongyang "will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosives shells". ... The city, the source said, "will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map".

    Trump labeled the Syrian government "the criminal regime of Bashar al Assad." The "problem in Venezuela", he said, is "that socialism has been faithfully implemented." He called Iran "an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violent, bloodshed and chaos." He forgot to mention pistachios . The aim of such language and threats is usually to goad the other party into some overt act that can than be used as justification for "retaliation". But none of the countries Trump mentioned is prone to such behavior. They will react calmly - if at all. There was essentially nothing in Trump's threats than the claptrap the last two U.S. presidents also delivered. Trump may be crazy, but the speech today is not a sign of that.

    The stressing of sovereignty and the nation state in part one was the point where Trump indeed differed from his interventionist predecessors. But its still difficult to judge if that it is something he genuinely believes in.

    Posted by b on September 19, 2017 at 01:05 PM | Permalink

    somebody | Sep 19, 2017 1:32:33 PM | 2
    There is no emphasis on sovereignty b. Trump says that Russia's and China' threat to the sovereignty of countries is bad but the sovereignty of small countries the US does not like is somehow threatened by these countries themselves. Which I interpret as a threat - "you endanger yourself if you don't do as told".
    If we desire to lift up our citizens, if we aspire to the approval of history, then we must fulfill our sovereign duties to the people we faithfully represent. We must protect our nations, their interests and their futures. We must reject threats to sovereignty from the Ukraine to the South China Sea. We must uphold respect for law, respect for borders, and respect for culture, and the peaceful engagement these allow.

    And just as the founders of this body intended, we must work together and confront together those who threatens us with chaos, turmoil, and terror. The score of our planet today is small regimes that violate every principle that the United Nations is based. They respect neither their own citizens nor the sovereign rights of their countries. If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph. When decent people and nations become bystanders to history, the forces of destruction only gather power and strength.

    b | Sep 19, 2017 1:51:10 PM | 3
    @1 somebody - thanks - link corrected.

    @2 somebody - yes, unaimed hostile prose from the speechwriter. Such is in the speech of every U.S. president. But it is not the general theme of the Trump speech when one reads it as one piece. The weight is put in the other direction (though the media will likely point to the threats instead of reading the more extraordinary parts where Trump pushes national sovereignty.)

    Luther Blissett | Sep 19, 2017 1:53:43 PM | 4
    • "sovereign nation" = a country that obeys the US over its own interests
    • "rogue nation" = a country that has actual sovereignty

    If there is more to this than the usual US double-speak, I don't see it.

    james | Sep 19, 2017 1:57:07 PM | 5
    thanks b... ''the criminal regime of donald trump'' is much more on target....
    Perimetr | Sep 19, 2017 2:02:47 PM | 6
    "The stressing of sovereignty and the nation state in part one was the point where Trump indeed differed from his interventionist predecessors. But its still difficult to judge if that it is something he genuinely believes in"

    It appears that his generals are instructing him what to "believe in". At least, he certainly doesn't seem to "believe in" most of his campaign promises, not unlike his recent predecessors. The whole "democracy and freedom" thing in the US is just a charade, as far as I am concerned.

    financial matters | Sep 19, 2017 2:22:58 PM | 7
    The word sovereignty has taken on different and sinister implications with the UN Responsibility to Protect Act in 2005. The US pushed for this and it squeaked by and they used it to justify the invasion of Libya in 2011. I think Libya was a major turning point. I don't think Russia and Iran are going to back off easily. (I originally posted this in 2015 at another site) The US also seems to have pretty much lost what humanitarian clout they may have had.

    I think this was a very good interview of Vijay Prashadby by Chris Hedges

    Prashad

    He talks about the period from 1989 when we had the Panama invasion and collapse of the Soviet Union as leading to an unleashing of US military power leading to the Iraq War in 2003. This war serious dented the image of the US as being a humanitarian actor and the US pushed for the UN Responsibility to Protect Act in 2005 which was used to justify the Libya invasion.

    Prashad sees the results of that invasion and what is going on now in Syria as reflecting that the period 2011-2015 is seeing the end of this US unipolarism that lasted from 1989 to 2011.

    --------

    The good news is that Syria is turning out much different than Libya. Would be great to see the US cooperate with the China/Russia etc economic goals rather than stirring up trouble in the Phillippines, Myanmar etc. The first test will be to see if Trump can deliver single payer health care to the US. :) ie start to back off on the anti socialism rhetoric

    Jeff Kaye | Sep 19, 2017 2:24:19 PM | 8
    The "nation state" brought us the millions slaughtered in World War 1. The nation states threatened by the internationalist communist ideology of the USSR (in its early days) ultimately brought us World War 2. The hypertrophied nation state that is the United States of America will bring us World War 3 in its drive to secure its total supremacy. Luckily for us, there will be no World War 4.
    Christophe Douté | Sep 19, 2017 2:27:49 PM | 9
    How can a country A be "forced to defend itself" by a country B so weak comparatively to country A it can actually be "totally destroyed" by country A?

    How can Trump believe in defending Westphalia Treaty principles, sovereignty and the nation state, when US policy in the Arab world consists in destroying all these? This is rather like Warren Buffett lamenting that American billionaires are so rich, and pay less taxes than their secretaries. They are just laughing at us in our faces.

    Robert Beal | Sep 19, 2017 2:34:28 PM | 10
    beyond hypocrisy, refined doublespeak
    OJS | Sep 19, 2017 2:40:10 PM | 11
    Sound more or less like Hussein Obomo address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24, 2013 - America is exceptional ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT5