Mueller’s charge: A search for justice, or a fishing excursion?

Commentary by James Shott

Back in May, the Department of Justice announced that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein had appointed a special counsel “to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters.”

Rosenstein said he had “determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,” adding that his decision “is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. ... What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”

Rosenstein chose former Department of Justice official and former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, a man roundly praised by Democrats and Republicans alike. Supportive comments included that he has impeccable credentials, and the knowledge and ability to do the right thing.

However, over recent months some inconvenient truths have arisen.

A special counsel’s or special prosecutor’s job is to investigate known crimes. As Rosenstein said, no actual crime has been identified. Therefore, the Russian involvement in the election that has commanded the attention of the media and Democrats for more than a year is not a criminal case. It is a counter-intelligence case, which does not require a special counsel.

As Mueller began recruiting his team of lawyers to assist in the investigation, it was noted that some of the early ones were donors to Democrat candidates. And to date, as reported by The Washington Post, of the 14 names confirmed by the special counsel’s office, seven of them have “donated a total of $60,787.77 to [Hillary] Clinton and other party candidates.”

William Barr, Attorney General in the George H.W. Bush administration, told the Post, "In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party." Can this investigation be objective?

The order creating the special counsel ostensibly is for investigating Russian election involvement. However, it effectively has no limits. Having found nothing pursuable in the Russian intrigue, which was the reason for appointing a special counsel, Mueller has moved on to other topics. He is now looking into matters involving Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. If/when that one runs its course, another empty space awaits, like President Donald Trump’s business dealings years ago.

It is not unlike bringing a construction company executive to an empty field without a plan to follow, and saying, “build something.” There is no definite end to this process, unless someone somewhere can be indicted, or be persuaded to confess to something.

Critics say that Mueller’s job, and that of prosecutors generally, is to find a crime, and then to find a perpetrator, and it apparently is of little importance what the crime is, or who is responsible for it. Remember the investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton in the Whitewater matter? It ended up being the Monica Lewinski matter. The two were barely related, if at all.

Prosecutors are known for “flipping” witnesses, pressuring them with prosecution for something – anything – to persuade them to tattle on someone – anyone – in order to avoid prosecution. A prosecutor’s job is, after all, to prosecute. No indictment in this matter indicates a failed investigation. Who wants that on their record?

Recently, Mueller impaneled a grand jury, and some think see that as an indication that Mueller is hot on the trail of criminal activity. And that is certainly a distinct possibility. However, another argument says grand juries are routine tools in such investigations, and assist in subpoenaing witnesses and aiding the investigation. Time will tell.

Be that as it may, conservative talk show host Mark Levin, who is a lawyer and president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, has a more threatening scenario. Calling it a “coup,” he said “Let me tell you what's going on here: they want to drag Donald Jr. in front of a grand jury and everybody else who was in that meeting – all eight of them – and see if they can find any contradictions in their testimony." Since there was no crime involved, Levin said the purpose is to “see if they can get somebody on a 'lie.' Perjury."

And now some suggest that Mueller is in breach of the rules and should resign.

The Daily Caller reported that Rep. Trent Franks, R-AZ, said, “Robert Mueller is in ‘clear violation’ of federal law prohibiting a special counsel from having a conflict of interest and therefore must immediately resign as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.”

Franks, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Mueller’s reported friendship with former FBI director James Comey, who first worked under Mueller, leaked information to the press to encourage the appointment of a special counsel. That presents a clear conflict of interest, defined by federal law as: “a personal relationship with any person substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution.”

At best we have a bunch of Republicans being investigated by a bunch of Democrats. What could possibly go wrong?

Ghosts of Babi Yar

Ghosts of Babi Yar

Mark Davis, MD

 

Anti-semitism has reared its ugly face once more in the Ukraine. Donetsk, a city in the eastern section of the country, has become immersed in a World-wide controversy. Jewish worshipers emerging from a synagogue claim they were given leaflets ordering them to register with pro-Russian officials who have established a temporary presence there. Refusing to register and pay a fee could lead to confiscation of property and revocation of citizenship. Worse deportation to an unknown destination was thrown into the mix of demands. These reports were verified by Ynet News of Israel and Ukraine’s Dunbass news agency.  Condemnation came quickly from many sources, including Secretary of State John Kerry who noted: “this is beyond unacceptable.” Chairman of the temporary government Denis Pushilin, whose name appears on the document, denies any connection to these flyers.  In order to complete registration the Jewish community is being told to provide passports and other IDS along with religious documents concerning certain family members. Evidence is also required to established property ownership including motor vehicles.  Could this be happening in a country that witnessed genocide of its Jewish population in World War II. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/europe/efforts-to-register-jews-in-ukraine-are-denounced-and-denied.html?smprod=nytnow&_r=0

 

Babi Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian City of Kiev. During the Second World War over 33,000 members of Kiev’s Jewish community were massacred over a 2 day period there. Germans claimed the massacre, which occurred on September 29-30^th in 1941, was in retaliation for guerilla attacks on their forces. Indescribable in nature, the slaughter displayed a level of hatred towards Jews that is so profound mere words cannot flesh out the reality.  Turmoil caused by the clash between Ukrainian and Russian troops may have brought these intrinsic hatreds to the surface. Denial of involvement was quick from all the factions fighting for regional control. Anti-semitism did not evaporate with the end of World War II, it went into hibernation for a few months. Generations later anti-Semitism has had a resurgence across the globe. Jews throughout history have been a default scapegoat when times were rough, nothing has changed today. Memories of genocide have done little to quash present day emotions harbored by those who continue to want the Jewish population decimated.  The events in Ukraine may fade but the historical constants that instigated these latest actions will linger for generations. “Never Again” has new meaning in the context of these revelations. Unfortunately history recycles too often with very harsh consequences to all it embraces. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/17/jews-ordered-to-register-in-east-ukraine/7816951/ 

 

Mark Davis, MD President of Davis Book Reviews and Healthnets Review Services

www.healthnetsreviewservices.com  platomd@gmail.com  Dr. Davis’ latest book, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster

Russia Is Pulling Out Of Syria

By Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

And they are doing it fast.  Very fast.

You know that things are heating up in Syria when longtime ally of Bashar al-Assad's Syria is pulling their troops out of Syria.  Add to that Israel going on high alert, President Obama and his Security Council is not concerned, and one can expect the area to blow up soon.

Shortly after the DEBKA aired a special video on the Syrian war’s widening circle, Moscow announced Wednesday June 26, that the evacuation which had begun Friday of all military and diplomatic personnel from Syria was now complete, including the Russian naval base at Tartus.

“Russia decided to withdraw its personnel because of the risks from the conflict in Syria, as well as the fear of an incident involving the Russian military that could have larger consequences,” said a defense ministry official in Moscow. He stressed that a 16-ship naval task force in the eastern Mediterranean remains on post and arms shipments, including anti-air weapons, would continue to the Syrian government in keeping with former contracts.

In another sign of an impending escalation in Syria, the Israeli Golan brigade staged Wednesday an unannounced war maneuver on the Golan, attended by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and top army chiefs. In London, Prime Minister David Cameron called the government’s National Security Council into session in Downing Street on Syria. Opposition leader Ed Milliband was invited to attend the meeting, a custom observed only when issues of the highest security importance are discussed.

Earlier Wednesday, debkafile carried the following report in its special video presentation under the heading: Putin and Obama cross swords on Syrian. What Next?

The sullen confrontation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland last week condemned Syria to five months of escalating, unresolved vicious warfare – that is until the two leaders meet again in September.

For now, tempers are heating up between Washington and Moscow on Syria and other things too, notably the elusive American fugitive Edward Snowden.



Click here if the video doesn't load.

US and Israeli intelligence watchers see the Syrian crisis entering seven ominous phases:

1. The Syrian army plus allies and the fully-mobilized opposition will hurl all their manpower and weapons into winning the city.

Military experts don’t expect the rebels to hold out against Assad’s forces beyond late August.

2. Neither side has enough manpower or game-changing weaponry for winning the war outright.

That is, unless Presidents Obama or Putin steps in to retilt the balance.

3. The US and Russia are poised for more military intervention in the conflict up until a point just short of a military clash on Syrian soil – or elsewhere in the Middle East. US intelligence analysts have judged Putin ready to go all the way on Syria against the US - no holds barred.

The Russian president is meanwhile deliberately goading Washington and raising temperatures by playing hide-and-seek over the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, charged with espionage for stealing and leaking classified intelligence. At home, he is considered variously as a traitor and a brave whistleblower.

For several hours Snowden vanished between Hong Kong and Moscow – until the Russian president admitted he was holed up in the transit area of Moscow airport and would not be extradited by Russia to the United States.

4. Iran, Hizballah and Iraq will likewise ratchet up their battlefield presence.

5. A violent encounter is building up between Middle East Shiites flocking to Syria to save the Assad regime alongside Russia, and the US-backed Sunni-dominated rebel forces.

It could scuttle the secret US-Iranian negotiating track on its nuclear program, which was buoyed up by the election of the pragmatic Hassan Rouhani as President of Iran.

6. The Geneva-2 Conference for a political solution for the Syrian crisis is dead in the water. Moscow and the US are divided by unbridgeable issues of principle, such whether Bashar Assad should stay or go and Iranian representation.

7. So long as the diplomatic remains stuck in the mud, the prospects of a regional war spreading out of the Syrian conflict are rising. Iran, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon may be dragged in at any moment – if they have not already, like Lebanon.

A small mistake by one of the Syrian warring parties in Syria could, for example, touch off Israeli retaliation and a wholesale spillover of violence.

Source

What we are seeing is the product of President Barack Hussein Obama's foreign policy of leading from behind.  Behind truly is.  As we are getting the shaft right up our Ass.

Troops in Africa: Is this why we have a military?

In March, the United States plans to send elements of the Second Brigade, First Infantry Division, to Africa (under AFRICOM) to conduct over a hundred different missions in 34 nations, such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and training indigenous forces.  (source: Washington Times) The Second Brigade is a heavy brigade equipped with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery, mind you, not a light infantry brigade or Special Forces unit.  As a result of the deployment, their training on these systems in a wartime scenario will most likely suffer.

We are also a bankrupt nation, yet spending millions deploying portions of our military to areas that are not critical to our national security.  Sounds to me like we may have found a portion of the national budget we can cut if our military has nothing better to do than hand out humanitarian assistance and wait for natural disasters in some far off land.

Our tax dollars need to instead be spent on our military defense, not on ambiguous blanket missions of doing everything except the defense of our nation.  We need to get ourselves out of this recession/depression first before we should even consider doing a mission like that of the 2nd Brigade in Africa.  The national debt is the biggest threat to our national security, not some non-existent disaster in Africa.

We must ask ourselves: Are the Armed Forces of the United States serving as the military force of the United Nations/World Government, or are they protecting America and its citizens?

As an organization, the US military is slowly being forced to reject its original foundation of the Christian faith and in its place accept humanism, as evidenced by the removal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy allowing for open homosexual behavior in the ranks.  Even the mere presence of religion in military organizations is under attack from organizations such as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation who espouse a perverted interpretation of the First Amendment.

A key component of humanism is relativism, where there is no absolute truth.  This has in part led to the development of a manual in Afghanistan that blames our own troops' insensitivity to the Islamic culture for causing the green on blue violence in that nation, rather than blaming the true source--Islamic jihad.

Furthermore, our military is confused as to who the enemy is.  They are attacked by a jihadi at Fort Hood and it is called "workplace violence."  Russian military forces are invited in our borders to participate in "counter-terrorism" exercises.  We are aiding and abetting the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East, an organization that intends to re-establish a hostile Caliphate and destroy America.  One of our Ambassadors is slain in North Africa while the military is forbidden from coming to his aid.  We kill al Qaeda operatives in Yemen (for Saudi Arabia?), while supporting them and their allies in Syria and Libya.

Military leadership has been involved in suppressing the First Amendment rights of United States citizens when it comes to speech against Islam, and have publicly humiliated a fellow officer for teaching the threat that Islam presents.  Then they "pivot to the Pacific," however China is not considered a threat but Iran in the Middle East remains so.  Then some in our government talk about unilaterally reducing our nuclear arsenal to below 300 weapons while Russia is modernizing and exercising their nuclear triad.

Who is the enemy???

We need to get our military back on track and fast.  They are all over the world "chasing Indians," disasters, and handing out humanitarian assistance.  They need to be focused on the one thing they need to get right--defending our nation against existential threats.  They need to be preparing for war, and they need a clear vision as to who are the enemies of America.  With the imminent reduction in the military budget, this becomes all the more critical.

--Against All Enemies

Army plans to shift troops to U.S. Africa Command

Aims for quick crisis response

By Kristina Wong - The Washington Times, Sunday, December 23, 2012

U.S. Africa Command, the military’s newest regional force, will have more troops available early next year as the Pentagon winds down from two ground wars over the past decade, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Army chief of staff, told The Washington Times.

As part of Gen. Odierno’s Regionally Aligned Forces concept, about 1,200 soldiers will deploy to Africa as early as March in an effort to place troops strategically around the globe to respond quickly to sudden challenges in hot spots such as Libya and to develop ties with the people and officials in host countries.

“It’s about us moving towards a scalable, tailorable capability that helps them to shape the environment they’re working in, doing a variety of tasks from building partner capability to engagement, to multilateral training to bilateral training to actual deployment of forces, if necessary,” Gen. Odierno said in an interview.

Amid budget cuts and with President Obama’s new military strategy downplaying the chances of another major land war, the Army has sought to maintain its relevance among admirals and generals in the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa — likely places for the next flash point. When terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, no U.S. troops were close enough to help.

[...]

Ready, responsive

Beginning in March, small teams of soldiers from the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kan., will conduct at least 108 missions in at least 34 countries in Africa through mid-2014.

The missions could include humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, training host-nation forces in marksmanship, first aid and other skills, and conducting military exercises. To prepare for these missions, soldiers are studying the regions and cultures of countries where they will deploy, and learning Arabic, Swahili, French and Portuguese.

Continue Reading (article continues)... 

Connect to AAE
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies (Click "Like")
   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies ("Follow")
   YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AAEnemies ("Subscribe")
Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Intervention in Syria: Just Waiting for an Excuse

I believe that the conditions are now set to "justify" US/NATO intervention in Syria should Bashar al-Assad cross a "red line."

1. The United States has formally recognized the Syrian opposition coalition as the "legitimate representative of the Syrian people."  France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, et al) have also formally recognized the rebel coalition.  (VOA)  That makes the Assad regime illegitimate.  Does that somehow make us justified to protect this "legitimate" Syrian government from attack by Assad's regime?
2. The United States has designated the Al Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group, as a terrorist organization.  The Al Nusra Front is claimed to be an off-shoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).  (HotAir, The Investigative Project)  As described in my piece "Al Qaeda: Tip of the Brotherhood's Spear," the existence of this group in Syria obliges the United States to become involved in the conflict to prevent its arch-enemy, Al Qaeda, from taking over the government or obtaining WMDs.  This means US support for the non-al-Qaeda rebels.
3. There have been multiple reports that the forces of the Assad regime are preparing to employ chemical weapons (e.g. sarin nerve agent) against the rebels.  This has been identified as a "red line" that would trigger US/NATO intervention should it be crossed. (Reuters)
4. Syria has reportedly fired SCUD missiles against rebels within the borders of Syria (from Damascus to the north, close to Turkey). (CNN)  Should they stray into Turkey, or carry chemical weapons, that will "justify" intervention.  Patriot missile systems have been deployed to Turkey that have the capability to shoot down many types of surface-to-surface missiles like the SCUD.  (Foreign Policy)

Again I ask: why is no American leader opposing our march to war in Syria?

--Against All Enemies

Connect to AAE
   Blog: http://aaenemies.blogspot.com
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies (Click "Like")
   Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies ("Follow")
   YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/AAEnemies ("Subscribe")
Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Syria: Why is no one opposing our march to war?

"It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world" --George Washington's Farewell Address 

"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations--entangling alliances with none." --Thomas Jefferson

Why is no one in America standing up and saying "no" to US involvement in the Syrian war?  It now seems to be a foregone conclusion that our military will be involved...not question of "if," but "when."

Is Syria's use of chemical weapons against its own citizens a proper justification for our military to become involved?  What threat are they to the security of our nation and our people?  Have the Syrians attacked us?

Do we not understand that the Syrian port of Tartus is the only one that the Russian military has use of in the Mediterranean Sea?  Do we not understand that the ouster of the Shia Bashar al-Assad in Syria will be a significant blow to Shia Iran's security?  Perhaps it is because of these very reasons that we believe it advantageous to encourage civil war in Syria, and then get directly involved when a conveniently placed "red line" is crossed.

Are we to think that the Russians and Iranians will not avenge the loss of Syria?  And what about the jihadis in Syria who we are aiding?  Just like the mujahideen in Afghanistan and Libya, they will turn right around and attack us.  You're delusional if you believe this will not happen.

Yes, our military still has the power to undertake wars in other nations (it is debatable for how much longer), but just because we can does not mean we should.  Being on the verge of economic collapse, we need to husband our military resources instead of squandering them on questionable adventures in the Middle East.  Yet here we are moving Patriot anti-missile batteries to Turkey and determining that it will take 75,000 US soldiers to secure Syria's chemical weapons.

What benefits will are nation really get from involvement in Syria?  Or will it instead benefit King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, who seeks to lessen the power of his arch-rival Shia Iran?  Or Erdogan in Turkey who is reasserting Turkish dominance in the region?   Or the Muslim Brotherhood and Sunni Caliphate in general?

Why is no American leader standing up and saying "no" to this steady march to war?

America and its allies are playing with fire in Syria, and we are all about to get burned.  We need to back off and have nothing to do with that mess--chemical weapons or not.  We are not justified to start killing Syrians and our involvement is not worth one single American life, bomb, or dollar.

--Against All Enemies

AAE Blog: http://aaenemies.blogspot.com

AAE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgainstAllEnemies (Click "Like")
AAE on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@AAEnemies

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Hagmann: The hidden real truth about Benghazi

The Mosaic of lies, deceits and state-sponsored terrorism:

Link to article: http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/print-friendly/50586

By Doug Hagmann  Friday, October 26, 2012 Most people know that we’ve been lied to about the attacks in Benghazi, but few realize the extent of those lies or the hidden secrets they cover. After all, the lie is different at every level. Thanks to a well placed source with extensive knowledge about the attack, the disturbing truth is slowly beginning to emerge and is lining up with information contained in my previous articles published here weeks ago . The truth reveals the most serious situation in the world today as it involves the interests and destinies of us all.

A mosaic of lies

According to the U.S. government, Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed during a spontaneous protest at the consulate office in Benghazi by a frenzied crowd of Muslims outraged over an obscure internet video. Recently released “sensitive but not classified e-mails” from Stevens to the U.S. Department of State painted a picture of poor security for U.S. personnel and the embassy, which was obviously true but had little to do with the events of September 11, 2012. The failure to dispatch an extraction team or otherwise rescue the men during a firefight that lasted upwards of nine grueling and tortuous hours was not the result of any intelligence failure, but caused by our unwillingness to widen the conflict and expose the nature and scale of our true mission in Benghazi.

Based on information provided by my source and corroborated elsewhere, the official account by administration officials is a mosaic of lies that were necessary to cover the unpalatable truth of covert actions taking place in Libya, Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The primary objective of our covert actions was to secretly arm anti-Assad “rebels” in Syria by funneling arms from Libya to Syria via Turkey, with other destinations that included Jordan and Lebanon.  Regarding the threat to Stevens and the other murdered Americans, the truth will reformat the persistent question posed to government officials, from UN Ambassador Susan Rice to White House Spokesman Jay Carney and others from “how could you not have known” to “how could you have done these things?”

First, it is important to understand that Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Dougherty and Tyrone Woods were not killed at a consulate office in Benghazi—as there is not such office there. They died at one of the largest CIA operations centers in the Middle East, which was located in Benghazi and served as the logistics headquarters for arms and weapons being shipped out of the post-Qaddafi Libya.

Although the U.S. government insisted that Stevens was involved in securing and destroying the numerous caches of arms and weapons once under the control of Qaddafi, the operation was more complex than that. The visual accounts of weapons being destroyed were indeed real, but those weapons were not operational. The working weapons were actually separated and transported to holding facilities for their eventual use in Syria. Russia was fully aware of this operation and warned the U.S. not to engage in the destabilization of Syria, as doing so would endanger their national security interests. Deposing Assad, as despotic as he might be, and replacing him with a Muslim Brotherhood-led regime would likely lead to unrestrained Islamic chaos across the region.

The Turkish warning

According to my source, Ambassador Stevens was in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 to meet with his Turkish counterpart, who reportedly warned Stevens that the operation was compromised. They met in person so that Stevens could be shown overhead satellite images, taken by the Russians, of nefarious activities taking place in Turkey. But just what were these nefarious activities?

It is reasonable to suspect that these activities were more dire than just your average “gun running” operation. Since the overthrow of Qaddafi, it is estimated that upwards of 40 million tons of weapons and arms were shipped out of Libya to Syria. But it was also known inside intelligence circles that Qaddafi possessed chemical weapons in addition to numerous surface-to-air missiles. Could it be that Russia obtained unmistakable surveillance footage of the anti-Assad “rebels” being shown how to load chemical payloads onto missiles inside Turkey near the border of Syria? Weapons, of course, that were shipped from Libya by the CIA in conjunction with various Muslim Brotherhood rebel groups.  If so, such weapons could be used as a “false flag” type of operation—one that would be implemented to “set-up” Assad by making it appear that he was using these weapons on forces dedicated to his overthrow.

The blowback by the international community would be swift and punishing, and the entirety of the civilized world would be demanding his overthrow. NATO would then be used to expedite his ouster, and Russia’s moral position within the international community would be weakened. Was the meeting held to show Stevens that the operation was compromised and that they had to stop?

A Nation/State sponsored attack?

While the administration asserts that the attack in Benghazi was conducted by a group of rebels acting alone, the facts seem to indicate otherwise. The level of coordination was such that we did not deploy military assets, located just an hour or two away by air, to rescue Stevens and the others at the CIA operations center in their time of need. If, as the administration contends, that the attack was perpetuated by a group of frenzied rebels, our military could have easily handled them in short order. So why was there no rescue operation?

Keep reading (article continues)...

Pravda: Re-elect Obama

An article from the Russian flagship propaganda publication "Pravda" is telling the American people that we would be stupid not to re-elect Obama.  If that's what Russia is telling us, and judging from Obama's past Marxist mentors (Frank Marshal Davis and Alice Palmer, to name two), who do you think we should vote for?

Constantine

http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/21-10-2012/122517-usa_decision-0/

USA: Big decision time

21.10.2012

There are times when an election is simply a choice between two parties, more or less the same, slightly left or right of centre; there are times when an election is a waste of time and it doesn't make a difference which way you vote; there are times when it is up to each and every individual to make their vote count and 2012 is one of those years.

There are those who somehow manage to get their articles printed in reputable international newspapers, claiming that a vote for Obama is a vote for "murder" or "destroying America" or "lack of freedom" [...]

[...] The "birthers" claimed that President Obama was not eligible to stand for office, despite the fact that he would have been vetted by everyone, by every newspaper and journalist, from the day they announced he was a candidate.

These same people support Mitt Romney. Who? You know, the gaffe guy, the one who opens his mouth and insults people, or accuses them of things they never did. In short, a foul-mouthed oaf, a wannabe President with no credentials beyond the Governorship level.

Peter Principle and the US elections 

Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter (1919-1990) wrote The Peter Principle in 1969, collaborating with Raymond Hull, in which he formulated the Peter Principle, namely: "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." Applying this to US politics, Barack Obama has risen to the top of the political pile and he has done so competently.

Mitt Romney, without this competence, without Barack Obama's skills, wants to be there, and so do those ousted elements from the Bush regime dying to get back in. [...]

Governor Romney's position in the Peter Principle is...Governor Romney. Not President Romney. Everyone knows it, the Obama freeze in debate number one gave rise to some flights of fantasy (OK Barack Obama is better at being President than debating maybe, and so?)...and so we can conclude that he is better at handling the extremely difficult conditions bequeathed to him by the Republican Bush regime than at making an idiot of himself in televised debates getting everything wrong, as Mitt the Twit does.

Time for Responsibility

The American people are famous for a lot of things, infamous for a lot of others. [...]

The American people may be a lot of things, and being so many and with so many ethnic origins, thankfully they are, but collectively, stupid they are not.

They know how to weigh up what President Obama has done, in the face of dreadful economic problems inherited from the Republican Bush regime and they know very well that they do not want to go back there again.

See, Romney can promise the Earth, but remember Bush Senior's "Read my lips", "No more taxes"?

Right, same old, same old Grand Old Party. The same Grand Old Party which just four years ago had the United States of America synonymous with sodomy, illegal detention, rape, urination in food, sleep deprivation, murder, torture, water-boarding, concentration camps...

And on a more serious note, would YOU trust a guy who has never had a glass of beer in his life? Or says he hasn't...

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru

Video: Trevor Loudon's Urgent Message for America

Trevor Loudon hails from New Zealand and owns the New Zeal blog.  Over the past several years he has done massive amounts of research on Marxist influences in America, and has the following message for the nation (video link follows).

In it, he describes how the Marxists of the world, especially Russia and China, seek to destroy the United States military as it is the only thing standing between them and world domination.

He also mentions how the Chinese have already told Australia that they now have to make a choice who will they seek for their protection, will it be China or the United States...

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt44D6ZlFKI&feature=player_embedded

Hayek on Communism and Fascism

The following four paragraphs are parts of F.A. Hayek's discussion of fascism and communism as observed in Russia and Germany around the time of World War II.

While “progressives” in England and elsewhere were still deluding themselves that communism and fascism represented opposite poles, more and more people began to ask themselves whether these new tyrannies were not the outcome of the same tendencies. Even communists must have been somewhat shaken by such testimonies as that of Max Eastman, Lenin’s old friend, who found himself compelled to admit that “instead of being better, Stalinism is worse than fascism, more ruthless, barbarous, unjust, immoral, antidemocratic, unredeemed by any hope or scruple,” and that it is “better described as superfascist”; and when we find the same author recognizing that “Stalinism is socialism, in the sense of being an inevitable although unforeseen political accompaniment of the nationalization and collectivization which he had relied upon as part of his plan for erecting a classless society,” his conclusion clearly achieves wider significance.

...W. H. Chamberlin, who in twelve years in Russia as an American correspondent had seen all his ideals shattered, summed up the conclusions of his studies there and in Germany and Italy in the statement that “socialism is certain to prove, in the beginning at least, the road NOT to freedom, but to dictatorship and counter-dictatorships, to civil war of the fiercest kind. Socialism achieved and maintained by democratic means seems definitely to belong to the world of utopias.”

...And Walter Lippmann has arrived at the conviction that “the generation to which we belong is now learning from experience what happens when men retreat from freedom to a coercive organization of their affairs. Though they promise themselves a more abundant life, they must in practice renounce it; as the organized direction increases, the variety of ends must give way to uniformity. That is the nemesis of the planned society and the authoritarian principle in human affairs.”

...“The complete collapse of the belief in the attainability of freedom and equality through Marxism,” writes Peter Drucker, “has forced Russia to travel the same road toward a totalitarian, purely negative, non-economic society of unfreedom and inequality which Germany has been following. Not that communism and fascism are essentially the same. Fascism is the stage reached after communism has proved an illusion, and it has proved as much an illusion in Stalinist Russia as in pre-Hitler Germany.”

Hayek, F. A. (2010-10-22). The Road to Serfdom (pp. 78-80). University of Chicago Press - A. Kindle Edition.

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Arab Spring Update, 18 July 2012

What follows are all open source reports, so some may be fact, some may be fiction, and some may be downright deception.  Nevertheless, we are witnessing many interesting developments in the Middle East, especially considering that the US Presidential election is coming up in November.  Looking back to the 20th Century, war possibly assisted the advancement of progressive agendas for Presidents like Woodrow Wilson (WWI), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (WWII), and Lyndon Baines Johnson (Vietnam).

Iran:

• United Arab Emirates inaugurated their new 236-mile oil pipeline that bypasses Straits of Hormuz with a capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day.  (Associated Press)  This will help to lessen the impact of any efforts by Iran to shut down the Straits.
• The "floating base" USS Ponce and mine clearing robots (mini-subs) have been moved to the Persian Gulf to prevent Iranians from closing the Straits of Hormuz. (New York Times)
• A 20-nation mine clearing exercise is scheduled in the Persian Gulf for September 16-27 in response to Iranian threats to shut down the Straits of Hormuz.  (NewsMax)
• A third US carrier group (USS John C. Stennis) will be sent to the Persian Gulf months early in order to keep two carrier groups on station.  (Associated Press)
• The US is building a radar site in Qatar that will reportedly complete a defense system designed to protect US and Allied interests in the Middle East from Iranian aggression.  (Wall Street Journal)
• Some speculate that an attack on Iran will happen in October. (speculation from DEBKAFile)

Syria:

• Syria's former ambassador to Iraq claims that Bashar Assad will not hesitate to employ chemical weapons to put down the uprising in Syria. (UPI)
• Bomber kills Assad's brother-in-law, Syrian defense minister, and senior military general.  (Reuters)
• Reports of heavy Saudi Arabian troop movement toward Jordanian/Iraqi borders.  (DEBKAFile; cannot verify with another source)
• Russians moving 11 ships to the Mediterranean. (New York Times)

Libya: Initial Parliamentary election results place the liberal (non-Islamist) alliance of Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril's National Forces in the lead with 39 seats.  The Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction party gained 17 seats.  The other 24 seats were won by other factions.  We have yet to see the results of the liberal and Islamist efforts to build coalitions.  (Haaretz)  This could actually be good news, but we need to see the rhetoric and platform for the National Forces Alliance to truly understand the implications of this election for the security of the West, Israel, and the future of the Caliphate.

Egypt: Tantawi and the ruling generals disbanded the Islamist-dominated Parliament, which the Supreme Constitutional Court upheld.  However, the Muslim Brotherhood President Mursi told the Parliament to reconvene, which they did.  Secretary Hillary Clinton visited Egypt afterwards to voice her support for full civilian rule, the military assuming a pure military role, to encourage the Egyptian government to support women and minority rights, and respect the peace treaty with Israel. (BBC, LA Times)

Tunisia: The government has declared that the hard-line Islamist group, Hizb al-Tahrir, can become a legitimate political party in Tunisia.  Hizb al-Tahrir calls for the restoration of the Caliphate, and attempted to hold a conference in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, to further their cause (see the AAE post on the conference).  In May, the Tunisian government legitimized Islah Front , a hard-line Salafi Islamist group, as a political party.  (EuroNews/Reuters)

Mali: After the coup in March and the attempt by Tuareg rebels in the north to secede from Mali, Islamists linked to al Qaeda have since hijacked the secession effort in the north.  (FoxNews)  So how is it al Qaeda shows up everywhere that Sunni Muslims are fighting either Shia or those outside of Islam?  I contend that al Qaeda is acting as the tip of the jihadist spear for the Muslim Brotherhood, a relationship that has since been strengthened by the death of Osama bin Laden.

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

Arab Spring Update, 18 June 2012

Syria.  Russia is currently loading two amphibious ships in Sebastopol to send Marines to reinforce its naval base in Tartus, Syria.  (Source article.)  "The United Nations' human rights chief has accused the Syrian government of committing crimes against humanity by attacking towns with heavy weapons."  (Source article.)  On 25 May, over 100 civilians including women and children were murdered in Houla.  (Source article.)  Some blame the government for the massacre, others claim it was a "false flag" operation to bring more world pressure on the Syrian government.  The United Nations has suspended their peacekeeping mission to monitor a 12 June ceasefire.  (Source article.)  In summary, I am seeing a steadily increasing desire by the West, Turkey and the United Nations to intervene in Syria and oust Assad.  This would place the Sunnis and most likely the Muslim Brotherhood in charge.  Russia and Iran appear to oppose any intervention in Syria by outside forces.  As I have stated before, we need to avoid this conflict altogether.  Nothing good can come out of intervention in Syria.

Libya.  On June 11th, a bomb exploded outside the US Mission in Benghazi.  The British Ambassador's convoy was attacked by RPGs on June 12th in the same city.   (Source article.)

Jordan.  Thousands of Jordanians protested the rise in electricity prices (around 2 June), and rumors have it that the rising prices of public services will trigger an Arab Spring-like uprising.  (Source article.)  This comes after the Jordanian government outlawed political parties that are organized on the basis of religion, potentially putting the current government add odds with the Muslim Brotherhood.  The protests could be the first sign of the Muslim Brotherhood beginning to put pressure on the Jordanian government.  This also comes on the heels of the multi-national "Eager Lion 2012" exercise held in Jordan.  (Arab Spring Updates: 15 May and 17 April)

Egypt.  Last week the ruling military government dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament.  This week the Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory in the Presidential Election (their candidate is Mohammed Morsy).  Their opponent, former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, claims that he is ahead in the votes.  The military continues to hold onto power.  Frankly, I am surprised that the Muslim Brotherhood has not yet attempted to instigate a full revolution to oust the military government.  They could be working within the political system until such a time when they have determined that they cannot obtain power through legitimate means and must resort to force instead.  (Source article.)

Javier Soriano/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images

Saudi Arabia.  The successor to King Abdullah's throne, Crown Prince Nayef bin Albdulaziz al-Saud, died on 16 June and Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz has been selected as the new heir.  (Source article.)  Related to the ruling Saud family, remember that some in Iran believe that King Abdullah must die before the Mahdi will return.  ("Iran Warns of Coming Great Event")

Disclaimer: These opinions are solely my own, and do not reflect the opinions or official positions of any United States Government agency, organization or department.

There Can Be Only One

There Can Be Only One
The Russian Bear Loosed ... Again
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet


Nature abhors a vacuum.  When the current leadership of the United States decided the US would no longer maintain its leadership position in the world, a momentary vacuum was created.  As of March 4th, that vacuum was filled.  Vladimir Putin has returned to the Kremlin.  (Geez.  Even the word "Kremlin" causes my heart to go cold and my skin to crawl.) 

The Russian bear, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, is more than ready to take over the world leadership role from the United States.  That will mean that Mr. Obama can have the back seat he seems to crave so much.

If you are old enough to remember the Cold War, you certainly must be asking yourself if Putin's election as President of Russia means the kick-off of Cold War II.  The return to a bi-polar world could be just around the corner.

Putin has remarked that he sees the United States as a parasite on the world.  Now, that's not a very friendly thing to say, right?  Nevertheless, he said it, and, frankly, I believe he meant it.

Relations with Putin's Russia is going to get very complicated very fast.  Putin is known to long for the old Mother Russia and the gone -- but certainly not forgotten -- Soviet Union.  He'd like, very much, to reconstitute the old USSR.  And I expect he will attempt to, at least, recreate as much of it as he can.

Dealing with Putin is going to be tough -- very tough.  However, America is blessed with a President who is a "word man" and not an "action man."  I truly suspect Obama believes he can just overwhelm Putin with his soaring oratory and overcome him with just the weight of his WORDS.   As my British friends would say:  "Not Bloody Likely!"

Putin TALKS tough, and goes to great lengths to make sure he ACTS tough -- and is SEEN acting tough.  

Obama plays basketball and golf. 

See how perception can have such a tremendous effect on foreign policy and practically everything else a country does outside its own borders. 

Putin can, and will, make Obama's life much more complicated that it was before March 4th. 

Right at, or near, the top of the list of problems Obama is going to have with Putin is the U.S. plans for the missile defense system deployment in Europe.  Even before Putin walks into his old/new office, that missile defense problem is deadlocked.  At least it is deadlocked as long as Obama remains President of the United States. 

That may change in November -- if the US voters show Obama the door and place a stronger President in the Oval Office.  A new President may just say the heck with Russia and deploy the missile defense system and let the Russians howl all they want.

I suspect that, right off the bat, Putin will want to show off his Russian military might to the rest of the world.  Once again those Bear bombers will be bumping into US airspace off Alaska and they will most certainly be skirting our airspace along the eastern seaboard just as they did for decades during Cold War One. 

Look for Putin to scrape together another Russian Navy from the scrap heap of a navy he now has.  If he is able to keep his nuclear submarines from exploding, he might even be able to get one or two out to blue water -- before they sink or blow up. 

Never fear.  The Russians can be an industrious people.  It will not take long for them to rebuild their military and with the cash pouring in from their oil sales they will be able to afford it. 

Just think about it.  While the US is cutting back on the size of our military the Russians will be working like crazy to build their military UP --  bigger and better than that of the old Soviet Union.  That ought to make for some sweet dreams tonight -- especially for us old codgers who remember what it was like facing down the Russians/Soviets at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin about fifty years ago.   Americans and Soviets were eyeball to eyeball, toe to toe, both sides leaning forward ... waiting, just waiting -- for the Third World War to begin.   Believe me when I tell you -- I do not long for the return of those days and that kind of international stress and strife.

Putin is a man of few words ... far fewer than Obama.  And, unlike Obama, he does not employ nuance.  Nosiree.  He can say Nyet! (NO!) quite clearly and forcefully, thank you!   Putin is famous (or infamous) for being intractable.  When he DOES say "nyet" ... the negotiations are ended, period.

The US can certainly expect to have problems with Putin's government in the Middle East.  That is already clear.  We've learned, just this week, that Russian troops have been deployed to Syria.  The Russian Navy was been represented in Syrian waters for a while now.

What we are about to see, I believe, is a rebuilding of the Russian superpower under Putin.  There is simply no way that can be good for America.

What will be even worse for America is to have Obama reelected and have to watch as Putin chews him up and spits him out.


J. D. Longstreet

The Empire Prepares To Strike Back

The Empire Prepares To Strike Back

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

The UK’s “The Guardian” has an excellent article by Simon Tisdall entitled:  “Putin prepares the Russian empire to strike back.”  (HERE)

Mr. Tisdall, right at the outset of his article, states what to Americans, on the right side of the political spectrum, is obvious.  He says:  “The reincarnation of the current PM as president poses a challenge to western powers for which they seem ill-prepared.”  Mr. Tisdall is absolutely “spot-on.”

The recreation of the Russian Empire is another reason the United States MUST relieve Mr. Obama of his seat in the Oval Office and replace him with a realist – a conservative realist. 

Remember when Obama was so proud of his “reset” of Russian/American relations?  It seems as if it was only yesterday. It was so ridiculous, that when I read it, I actually laughed aloud.  (I assure you, it WAS an incredulous guffaw.) The naiveté of the Obama Administration is just incredible.

Russia is an enigma to the left. They STILL believe that socialist Russia had it RIGHT – and they believe that THEY, the American left especially, can actually make socialism work if only they get the chance.  They remain befuddled by the collapse of the old socialist Soviet Union, anchored (and enforced) by Russia.

Russia has an inferiority complex the size of, well, Russia.  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has felt naked and vulnerable.  There was, for a very short time, a vacuum of leadership.  And we all know that nature abhors a vacuum. 

Always, prowling around the edges of a leadership vacuum are the political predators ready to pounce and claim the leadership role for themselves.  Often these “alpha” types are more than ready to enforce their claim with force of will and/or force of arms -- and some gain the leadership role by guile and ruthlessness.

Vladimir Putin is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to solidify his hold on the Russian government and the Russian people. Evidence?  The recent contested elections in Russia.  Understand:  There was no way Putin’s party was going to lose that election.  And they didn’t.  Come March, Putin will be returned to the office of President and he will begin his plans to rebuild the old Russian (Soviet Union) Empire.

In his article, Mr. Tisdall says, “As president, potentially until 2024, Putin has one overriding objective: the creation of a third, post-tsarist, post-Soviet Russian empire.”  Mr. Tisdall continues, “Reinstalled as president, and with his political potboy, Dimtry Medvedev, pushed aside, Putin will again exercise unchallengeable control over Russia's external affairs.” (SOURCE)

Putin has publicly stated that the collapse of the Old Soviet Union was “"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century".  Remember now, this is coming from a former officer in the USSR’s KGB.          

Mr. Tisdall warns: “Elements of Putin's strategy to make Russia great again are slowly coming into focus. Much of the plan is defined by Russia's opposition to the US, the traditional foe. Thus, the Kremlin announced last week that it would renounce the strategic arms reduction treaty (known as New Start) agreed with Washington two years ago if the US did not abandon its European missile defense plans.” (SOURCE)

Oops!  Obama’s “reset” with Russia was just blown out of the water.  According to Mr. Tisdall, “The reset is viewed by the White House as a major foreign achievement (and 2012 re-election asset) for a president who has but few to his name.”  (SOURCE)

Lauren Goodrich, in a Stratfor paper, recently said this:  “"Russia will begin this new iteration of a Russian empire by creating a union with former Soviet states based on Moscow's current associations, such as the customs union and the collective security treaty organization. This will allow the 'EuU' [a Eurasia union] to strategically encompass both the economic and security spheres … Putin is creating a union in which Moscow would influence foreign policy and security but would not be responsible for most of the inner workings of each country." (SOURCE)

It would seem that the world is about to return to a bi-polar power struggle many thought was over when the so-called “Cold War” ended. Mr. Tisdall is right.  The US is nowhere near ready to face a ruthless Russia on the rise … again.

Putin has Obama’s number.  He understands, as does the American right, that Obama can be “rolled.”  Unlike Obama, Putin will not hesitate to exert Russian power in Asia and anywhere the Russians feel is their “Near Abroad.”

The time will come, and very soon, when Putin will have to be contained.  And let’s face it my fellow Americans, Obama can’t do it. Our President is simply not up to the job.

J. D. Longstreet

Russian Paranoia

Russian Paranoia

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Ever since America booted Russia out of the northwest territory of America, Russia has had a chip on its shoulder… at least, as far as America is concerned.  We go through cycles with Russia in which Russia loves America for a while, and then Russia hates America for a while.  The cycle seems to continue ad infinitum.

The one thing Russian governments seem to respect is American strength. Every time America elects a weak President, Russia arches her back, raises her hackles, and begins to growl threateningly.  And that is exactly what Russia’s Putin is doing right now. 

For those of you not as old as I am, take my word for it when I say – we have seen it all before.  Russia is a “paper tiger.” 

The Russian people are insecure at best.  They crave a strong central government.  They have never really known what it is like to be free of an all-powerful government and they fear that left to their own devices -- to be free, in other words, they will falter and fail.  They don’t seem to grasp the idea that THAT risk is a part of freedom – the right to fail.

As a result, they are an easy lot to manipulate – and Mr. Putin is a past master at doing just that.

With Russian elections looming, Putin is warning that the Russian government needs more power. (Read Russian government as: “Putin.”) 

Putin is planning a return to the Kremlin in the March elections and HE wants more power. 

Recently Putin told the Duma:  "We are still facing very many uncertainty factors and risks. And in case of a storm, a gale, a crisis, it is very important for the entire team to work in a cohesive manner, for the boat not to capsize." (SOURCE)

Uh-huh.

Oh, Putin will get the powers he wants.  Who is going to stop the ex-KGB official?  

If reference to the opposition party in Russia, Putin has said they should go along with the party in power and “not rock the boat.” He said with Russia experiencing much the same kind of economic downturn as the rest of the world, the opposition party should support the party in power so the “boat” doesn’t capsize. Just this week he said:  "in these circumstances, the ruling party always expects the opposition to behave in a calm manner and not to rock the boat. But these are vain hopes.”  (SOURCE)

Putin went on to say:  "The opposition exists to make sure that the ruling party, the ruling authorities could hold on to the levers of power more strongly and prove to society the correctness of the country's development course." (SOURCE)

Say WHAT?

Putin sounds like a Chicago gangster exclaiming: “Hey! Sit down and shut up!  Me and my boys got this covered!”  And believe me – Al Capone’s gang couldn’t hold a candle to Putin’s alma mater … the KGB.

Putin has gone to great pains to demonstrate the differences between himself and our less than esteemed President Barack Obama.  He is playing on the average Russian’s paranoia concerning the “American threat.”  Putin struts across the Russian stage, shirtless, (At every opportunity.  What’s that about, anyway?) taking great pains to display his masculinity – as if there was some question about that.  Apparently, there is – or was. On a trip to Italy last year Putin is quoted as having said:  “Mr. Medvedev and I are people of a traditional orientation.” (Source)  Ooooo - Kkkkk.

Then, too, there is Mr. Medvedev threatening to target American missile shield sites installed in Eastern Europe -- or in adjacent waters.  Oh, puh-lease!  Those are d e f e n s i v e missiles emplacements.  There are a couple of rogue nations in Russia’s backyard (North Korea and Iran).  By this time next year, EITHER of them could lob a nuclear missile into Eastern Europe causing much death and destruction and touch off a worldwide nuclear conflagration.

The Russian government NEEDS America.  Putin and Medvedev need a foil, off which to play, in order to increase their grasp on power over the Russian people. So, they threaten to fire on our defensive missile sites and, too, they dispatch Russian warships into Syrian waters as another threat to America -- should America, or America-led NATO, decide to intervene in the slaughter in Syria.

Peter the Great had to drag Russia, kicking and screaming, into modernity.  But, honestly, I don’t think “ole Pete” would be happy to learn how his Russia has chosen to allow it’s fear, it’s insecurity, and it’s paranoia, to, again, segregate itself from the civilized world and slip back into the familiarity of it’s much loved primal darkness.

Russia is a disappointment to the world.

J. D. Longstreet