Sic Semper Tyrannis

The DADT Report

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/dont-ask-dont-tell/DADTReport_FINAL.pdf

The MSM are beating the drums for this and ignoring any negative data in the report.

Looks like most of the troops will hold their noses and accept this.  A lot of wives don't like it.  What a surprise!  Lots of people among the actual fighters in the ground forces don't like it.  Another big surprise!  Most people will continue to soldier, at least until they are vested for retirement.

Some gay activists have said that service members who don't like this should leave. OK.  Will we see a surge in enlistments for the combat arms among openly gay people to replace those young people from conservative families who decide not to serve?  How about a draft to make up any shortages?

I expect that over extended periods of time the force will become a haven for homosexuals in the same way that the Catholic clergy and religious orders have become such havens.  The HIV/AIDS rates among such are astronomical.

Will this affect effectiveness?  I do not know.

There are enough who are opposed that it is likely there will be some ugly incidents.

There are some stupid recommendations, i.e.,  don't let them have married family quarters.  How are you going to do that if they are married in whatever state they are residing in?  The report says that soldiers should not be forbidden to accept their religion's belief that homosexual acts are sin, but that if they display such belief then they can be punished or transferred.  Where?

Traditional Army garrison life will come to an end with this.  The Army I was raised in will be gone.  The social life of units will largely end.  Nearly all the people who were surveyed have no knowledge of service in a peacetime force.  The Army is mostly about life in peacetime.  By my calculation of the history of my village (the US Army) the Army has been at war about 50 of the 235 years of the history of the Republic.  I do not include the constabulary campaigns against the Indians.

Are West Point grads looking forward to same sex marriages at graduation in the Cadet Chapel?  I doubt it.

I am opposed to this coming change but I am of a different generation, several generations actually.  pl 

pl

Wikileaks, the diplomatic turn

I am not terribly interested in this story.  The material is of only passing interest even to those mentioned.  Life goes on.

On the other hand, foreign affairs cannot be successfully conducted without the capability for private conversations and reporting.  If the material was stolen and released by someone with authorized access then that person should be prosecuted for some appropriately severe crime.  Assange?  The USG should seek to extradite him and his associates for trial on some other serious crime.  This should be done to ensure that people who think that their conscience or desire for notoriety outweigh their fear of prison have something to think about.  pl 

Restrepo the movie

 
I think this film should be required as an experience of the present war in Afghanistan.  I think the production by Junger and Heatherington is very good.

At the same time I have questions about what I see in the film.  I know that according to some famous dictum it is impossible to observe something without changing the thing itself.

Nevertheless, I have spent a lot of time in my "sort of life" hanging out with combat troops in combat, ours, theirs, etc. and this film disturbs me in a number of ways. 

This half platoon of parachute infantry and the officers who stuck them out on the end of a ridge finger in "apache" country for a year without apparent relief seem odd to me.

I am going to write some more about this after I see the film again and read the comments of the veterans who visit this place.  pl

http://restrepothemovie.com/platoon/

"American exceptionalism" Tumulty

"with Republicans and tea party activists accusing President Obama and the Democrats of turning the country toward socialism, the idea that the United States is inherently superior to the world's other nations has become the battle cry from a new front in the ongoing culture wars. Lately, it seems to be on the lips of just about every Republican who is giving any thought to running for president in 2012.

"This reorientation away from a celebration of American exceptionalism is misguided and bankrupt," former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney writes in his campaign setup book, "No Apology: The Case For American Greatness."  Tumulty

------------------------------------------------------

This kind of thinking is on the rise.  A lot of people now seem to have the deep seated belief that we Americans really are better than everyone else.  This is reflected in Stephen Colbert's moronic chants of "USA!, USA!"  I didn't quite understand what he was getting at in the beginning but it is crystal clear now.  

Jingoism.  There is no other word for it.  I have seen it in a lot of other peoples.  I have never liked it in any of them, but it is new to me in the US.  The strength of this feeling is now merging in the US with an ignorant hostility to other cultures and peoples and an assumption that "foreigners" must be backward and subject to tuition rather than just different from us.

This tendency brings to mind the college professor of political science who said to me a few years ago that if it were true, as I had said, that the people of the Islamic World generally did not want to be transformed into new Europeans, then he would have to re-evaluate our culture and civilization.

My, My.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/28/AR2010112804139.html?hpid=talkbox1

 

Good Work by the FBI

"The FBI began tracking Mohamud in August 2009 when they discovered he was e-mailing a former Oregon student who was living in Pakistan's lawless northwest region, where Al Qaeda has a stronghold. The Associated Press reported that the bureau was led to Mohamud by a tip from someone concerned about him."  LA Times

---------------------------------------------

The FBI has developed the ability to provide would be terrorists the opportunity to live out their dream of violent Jihad.  In the last year or so there have been several instances in which this technique has been used with success.  I hope the FBI continues to do this.

I was consulted by the defense in one of these cases.  After considering the available evidence of what had occurred my opinion was that the Bureau had acted appropriately and that the man was both guilty and a danger to the American public. Accordingly I informed the defense that although the man was entitled to a defense he was not entitled to have me participate in it as an expert witness and I declined to do so.

Consider a typical scenario.  A young man develops the urge to violent jihad.  He contacts someone to say that.  This communication is brought to the attention of the FBI.  The Bureau responds by contacting him with a role player or two to ask if he is serious.  He indicates that he is.  That resolve is tested by offering the suggestion that he might want to act.  A planning process emerges in which the wannabe jihadi is a willing participant in reconnaissance, target selection, weapon design, etc.  He is reminded several times including at the time of simulated attack that many civilians will die or be wounded in this attack.  He persists.  A fake weapon is constructed by the FBI and provided to the "jihadi" who triggers the weapon in the full belief that he is killing hundreds.  In the case that I am most familiar with the "attacker" rejoiced in the existence of a child care center in the targeted building and suggested where to park the truck so as to kill as many children as possible.  He then radio "detonated" the bomb and was arrested.

Bravo FBI!  Bravo!  pl 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-portland-bomb-plot-20101128,0,7641294.story

National Journal Blog - 27 November 2010

 
Col. W. Patrick Lang Responds to As Deficit-Cutting Pressures Mount, Will Congress Cut Defense??.

"Opponents Hit Emanuel Where He Lives." WSJ

Could this be more perfect?   This might be  a film comedy or, maybe a Roman comedy, something by Plautus, "Politicus Gloriosus?"

The revenge of the parochial school boy/cab driver/real estate developer/Republican, how difficult would it have been to check the law on this?   Maybe RE can yell at him or curse or something.

Perhaps we see in this some indication of why the Obama WH has been so, so...   pl 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704008704575639103760556576.html

 

"Iran has role to play in Lebanon's stability: Hariri" AFP

 
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has a natural role in the region, especially in resolving crisis and strengthening stability in Lebanon."  Sa'ad Hariri quoted in AFP

--------------------------------------

Now this IS amusing.  Sa'ad Hariri has been the darling of the AIPAC/Israel/Bush Administration collegium.  He has been described for years in those circles as a potential "savior" of Lebanon from the Hizbullah/Iran/Syrian forces that lurk in the background.

Now, apparently, the realities of life and politics in the eastern Mediterranean have penetrated his Saudi money filled head. 

Lebanon is once again on the brink of attack based in Israeli rage and frustration.  Hariri was supposed to know that he had been bought, not rented, but alas, his Saudi mentors have probably told him to go make peace with the Iranians.

So much for the AIPAC/Israeli belief that the Saudis are the implacable enemies of Iran.

Oh yes, let us not forget that in this speech he described Israel as the greatest threat in the region.  pl

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i18hmZ3YDg5mPjtaDyspGhDi9KAA?docId=CNG.0c72364653fa48fde37dd48eded0946e.ac1

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=121926#axzz16QlSyFHb

 

Korean War II?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/11/25/2010-11-25_hoping_china_chills_n_korea.html?r=news

 

 

Mice lead the way to immortality.

"Stem cell injections boosted the leg muscles of mice and warded off the typical loss of muscle mass that comes with aging.

The discovery could be useful in treating humans with degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy, as well as help everyday people prevent at least some of the ravages of time, the researchers said."  Discovery

---------------------------------------------------

I'll have some of those for Christmas and I would like them to start with the stenosis in my Lumbar vertebrae.  pl

http://news.discovery.com/tech/stem-cells-create-mighty-mice.html

"...WHY IS THE FBI LOOKING THE OTHER WAY?" Gordon Duff

 

"AIPAC is a sham.  The group has, over the years, destroyed anyone who has tried to have it named what it really is, a dangerous foreign lobby and nest of spies.  AIPAC is the most feared organization in Washington and most powerful, above any law.  A former employee of AIPAC, Steve Rosen, who AIPAC claims was a spy, more appropriately a “caught” spy, now claims his former employer does nothing but spy."  Duff

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AIPAC is going to get away with their systematic spying and covert manipulation of the US Congress because they also have a stranglehold on the mainstream media.  Have you seen anything in the MSM on this bombshell story?  I think not.  

Christopher Matthews is a good example.  This draft dodger type loves to bully and beat up people on his ego maniacal spectacle "Hardball," but nary a word about the Rosen/AIPAC debacle.

A coward.  pl 

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/11/23/gordon-duff-aipac-spying-why-is-the-fbi-looking-the-other-way/

New Athenaeum Post on Music

 
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/

"Ex-AIPAC official threatens to uncover mass spying at Israel lobby" Daniel Tencer

Sunday, November 21st, 2010 -- 11:41 am

Top AIPAC officials visited prostitutes, regularly watched porn at work: claim

Is US's most influential advocate for Israel about to implode?
A former foreign policy chief for the largest Israeli lobby in the US is threatening to provide evidence members of the organization regularly trafficked in classified US government information.
The claim comes in the midst of an increasingly ugly lawsuit in which parties have alleged or admitted to mass viewing of pornography among senior staffers at AIPAC as well as extra-marital affairs.
Steve Rosen, who was in charge of foreign policy issues at AIPAC until 2005, is suing his former employer for $20 million, alleging that AIPAC defamed him when they fired him. Rosen and colleague Keith Weissman were charged in 2004 with espionage for allegedly pressuring a Washington Post reporter into running classified US government information they had obtained about Iran. The charges were dropped last year, evidently due to lack of evidence.

But AIPAC fired Rosen years before the charges were dropped, on the grounds that Rosen's "conduct did not comport with what AIPAC would expect of its employees."
But Rosen disputes this, and his lawsuit aims to prove that what he allegedly did was standard practice at AIPAC. The Washington Post's Jeff Stein reports:

Rosen says his actions were common practice at the organization. He said his next move is to show that AIPAC, Washington’s major pro-Israeli lobbying group by far, regularly traffics in sensitive U.S. government information, especially material related to the Middle East.
“I will introduce documentary evidence that AIPAC approved of the receipt of classified information,” he said by e-mail. “Most instances of actual receipt are hard to document, because orally received information rarely comes with classified stamps on it nor records alerts that the information is classified.”
But Rosen said he would produce “statements of AIPAC employees to the FBI, internal documents, deposition statements, public statements and other evidence showing that [the] receipt of classified information by employees other than [himself] ... was condoned … for months prior to being condemned in March 2005 after threats from the prosecutors.”

"Unfortunately for AIPAC, Rosen has 180 documents which could prove that Howard Kohr, AIPAC's executive director, and probably the AIPAC board as well, knew exactly what Rosen was doing," reports M.J. Rosenberg at Al-Jazeera.
He suggests that Rosen's threat to reveal AIPAC trafficking of data is meant to intimidate the lobby group into settling out of court. Making the lawsuit go away "will not be easy - even if Steve Rosen ultimately accepts a payoff from the organization and refrains from telling what he knows," Rosenberg writes.
Other elements of the lawsuit could prove embarrassing, if not politically toxic. Lawyers for AIPAC got Rosen to admit he viewed pornography on work computers, but Rosen has countered that the head of AIPAC and his closest colleagues openly watched porn at work. The Jewish Daily Forward reports:

“I witnessed [AIPAC executive director] Howard Kohr viewing pornographic material, [Kohr’s secretary] Annette Franzen viewing pornographic material, probably a dozen other members of the staff,” Rosen said in his deposition. He added that, according to a Nielsen survey, more than a quarter of Americans regularly view pornographic websites at their workplace.
Later in his deposition, the former lobbyist also said he had heard from directors at AIPAC about their visits to prostitutes and he claimed Kohr had routinely used “locker room language” at the AIPAC offices.

Rosenberg posits that the lawsuit "could well destroy the lobby without ever making its way on to the front page. AIPAC is under siege, and is spending millions to stay alive."

 

AIPAC Bares All to Quash Lawsuit

I was sent this interesting item by an anonymous donor.  pl

------------------------------------------------

"On Nov. 8, 2010, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) filed a massive 260-page motion [.pdf] in the District of Columbia Superior Court. It asks Judge Erik Christian to dismiss former AIPAC employee Steven J. Rosen’s $20 million defamation suit. In October the court dismissed all counts of the March 2009 lawsuit except for Rosen’s claim of harm over AIPAC statements to the press that he did not uphold its standards of conduct. Rosen and AIPAC have – until now – abstained from filing damaging information about the internal workings of AIPAC in court. AIPAC’s willingness to publicly air some extremely sordid and revealing content to get the remaining count thrown out before an alternative dispute resolution hearing begins in December is a sign that AIPAC is now fighting for its life, or – as one former AIPAC attorney put it – “reason for being.” If Rosen proves in court that AIPAC has long handled classified information while lobbying for Israel, the worn public pretense that AIPAC is anything but a stealth extension of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs – from which it emerged in 1951 – will end forever.

 
Rosen filed his civil suit after adverse judicial rulings made his (and coworker Keith Weissman’s) prosecution under the Espionage Act...

Article taken from Antiwar.com Original - http://original.antiwar.com

URL to article: http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2010/11/14/aipac-bares-all-to-quash-lawsuit/ "

 

Kurtzer on bribing Israel.

 

But now, the administration says it is prepared to pay off Israel to freeze only some of its settlement activity, and only temporarily. For the first time in memory, the United States is poised to reward Israel for its bad behavior.  Kurtzer

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope that Ambassador Kurtzer will not be black balled by AIPAC, Dan Pipes,etc.  They will, of course began to whisper of self hating Jews, de-circumcision, etc.

In fact, Kurtzer is a model of what a career US Ambassador should be.  His patience and dignity when under attack in Egypt was most impressive.  This is impressive.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111903000.html

 

Francis Boyle on racism and the academy

http://vodpod.com/watch/4954070-francis-boyle-on-hypocrisy-in-u-s-academy

 

Endless war in Afghanistan

"
The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan formally adopted a transition plan Saturday designed to turn over control of the war to Afghan security forces by 2014 but continue heavy financial and military support for the indefinite future."  Washpost

-------------------------------------------------------

On MSNBC General McCaffrey said today that in five years or so we might have made some progress in creating self-sustaining insititutions in Afghanistan, but the creation of an Afghan army would take a decade or more. Alternatively, he also said creation of a self sustaining Afghan state might be an open ended task.  This is all paraphrase.

Well, the NATO sheep signed up for this.  Does anyone think that their economies or people will endure such a thing?

Now it is revealed that Pakistan has refused requests for expanded scope for drone attacks in their country.  "They don't know how patience is running out on our side" an American official is quoted concerning the matter.  Or what ought to be the response.  Or what?

Are we really so stupid as to do something that might trigger a coup against the present regime in Pakistan?  Are we really that stupid?  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/20/AR2010112001164.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010111903160

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/19/AR2010111906268.html?hpid=topnews

AIPAC and Espionage

"Rosen says his actions were common practice at the organization. He said his next move is to show that AIPAC, Washington’s major pro-Israeli lobbying group by far, regularly traffics in sensitive U.S. government information, especially material related to the Middle East.

“I will introduce documentary evidence that AIPAC approved of the receipt of classified information,” he said by e-mail. “Most instances of actual receipt are hard to document, because orally received information rarely comes with classified stamps on it nor records alerts that the information is classified.”

But Rosen said he would produce “statements of AIPAC employees to the FBI, internal documents, deposition statements, public statements and other evidence showing that [the] receipt of classified information by employees other than [himself] ... was condoned … for months prior to being condemned in March 2005 after threats from the prosecutors.”"  Stein

--------------------------------------------------------

Is this not espionage in the meaning of the law?  pl 

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/11/ex-aipac_official_got_670000_from_private_donors.html#more

Armoring Up

 
"The United States is beefing up its firepower in Afghanistan by employing heavily armored tanks in Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, a military spokesman said Friday.

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to use a company of M1A1 Abrams tanks in restive Helmand province by early spring."  CNN

------------------------------------------------

I think this is a good idea.  The idea of confronting a guerilla enemy on more or less even terms does not appeal to anyone who has fought.  That big friendly beast growling along behind you is a mightily comforting thing.  COIN is about hearts and minds?  Yes, but COIN is not about losing a lot of men and any number of little engagements to men dressed in rags who build roadside bombs out of junk.  Every engagement that one is seen to lose to the insurgents adds to belief in the the locals that you are going to lose over all in the long run.  That does not mean that the tanks should be used to destroy villages en masse.  A little finesse would be a good idea.  pl

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/19/afghanistan.tanks/?hpt=T2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrams_tank

 

"Cantor Recants" - MJ Rosenberg

 
"...Jewish Telegraphic Agency's bureau chief in Washington, Ron Kampeas, declared that Cantor's statement was "extraordinary."  He wrote that he could not "remember an opposition leader telling a foreign leader, in a personal meeting, that he would side, as a policy, with that leader against the President."

Kampeas was clearly shocked, but he was understating the enormity of Cantor's offense.  Cantor's pledge of allegiance to a foreign leader would be remarkable, and deeply offensive, even if the foreign country in question were Canada or the United Kingdom, our two closest allies with whom we have few policy differences.

The United States has major policy differences with Israel, and has had them for decades"  MJ Rosenberg

-----------------------------------------------

Should this man Cantor not be forced to register under FARA?  Perhaps the never enforced Logan Act is applicable?  Is this not a worse offense against the United States than Charlie Rangel's oafish behavior?  How much are good manners and the absence of a Yankee accent worth to his constituents?  pl

http://politicalcorrection.org/fpmatters/201011150008

The Balanced Budget - Richard Sale

by Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars 

The chief result of the struggle between the impulse to reform and classical economic liberalism in the early part of the 20^th century was the welfare state. These partial triumphs of reform occurred because more and more of the population wanted an increase in bargaining power with the great concentrations of wealth, some additional leverage that would provide some reprieve from the harshness of Fate and Misfortune, some badly needed security and protection for the bulk of the people that it had never enjoyed. 

"a triumph of hope over experience." Kessler

"the Obama administration agreed never again to ask for a settlement freeze. The administration also agreed to exempt the area surrounding Jerusalem from the freeze.

On top of that, the Obama team agreed to veto anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations and to sell $3 billion worth of fighter jets - essentially, a payment of $33.3 million for each day of the freeze."  Kessler

---------------------------------------------------------------

I share Kessler's incredulity about this give-away.  So, we have offered to promise never to ask again for a settlement freeze and to accept the Israeli claim that the Jerusalem area is not the subject of negotiation, ever.

This on top of the 3 billion dollars worth of F-35s and our abject and servile promise to vite as they direct in the Security Council and veto any effort by the PA to declare their independence.

Well, we have completely abandoned any pretense that we are in any way a neutral party in the dispute.  If he had any sense, Mitchell would tell the president to deal with this himself and come home.

pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR2010111506596.html

"Arab-Americans: Detroit's Unlikely Saviors" Bobby Gosh

 
"Khalaf and Sami speak for a community that is growing and prospering alongside Detroit's decay, one of the largest concentrations of Arabs outside the Middle East. The four-county region of southeastern Michigan has a population of at least 200,000 of Middle Eastern origin; some estimates put that number far higher. In Dearborn, home to Ford Motor Co., one-third of the citizens have Middle Eastern ancestry — including Rima Fakih, the first Miss USA of Arab descent. "  Gosh

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2028057,00.html#ixzz15NJiUI9W

What a deal!

What the hell is "promising" about this offer that we have made to the Israelis?

1-  We will give the Israelis a flock of F-35s when the things are available.  Give is the right word here.  They never pay for anything they get from us unless it is with money we give them.  The Saudis by contrast buy everything with hard currency.

2- We commit to voting as they direct in the Security Council for two years.  This includes vetoing any attempt by the PA to declare Palestinian independence.

3- They may (perhaps) promise to suspend settlement construction in the West Bank for 90 days, but not in Jerusalem.  No.  No.  Not in Jerusalem.

Tell me.  In what sense is the USA still an independent country?  pl 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hrVttmh4-9MgQmxymUW3HqwZVPGQ?docId=c5981bf77c514e9b89bab89359bac260

Israeli planning considerations - Harper

 
"Harper" sent this to me as being received from a source that he trusts.  pl

-------------------------------------------------

"I pass this along without making any claims to verify its accuracy.

From an Israeli source, who just returned from Tel Aviv, where he met with senior IDF and Likud figures, including Netanyahu.

In Israel he conferred with a military grouping that he is a part of. They are generally opposed to the probablility of an Iran war adventure and have an active position within the current IDF hierarchy.

The incoming IDF chief of staff, Gen. Galant, is a very independent-minded soldier, with his own strong views on the folly of an Iran attack. He is no pacifist. He was in charge of the commando units that carried out the Gaza Flotilla operation. He also ran a 16-man commando operation into southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah sites, which went afoul. Hizbullah had the capacity to intercept transmissions from Israeli surveillance drones that were coordinating with the commando team, and Hizbullah was able to stage an ambush that killed 16 members of the IDF team. While the incident was totally hushed up, there is a serious IDF internal probe underway into the failed mission.

"Karzai wants U.S. to reduce military operations in Afghanistan" Partlow

 
""How come we are now so luxury-oriented today?" he asked. "The transparency of contracts is not there. Why is the U.S. government giving contracts to the sons and relatives of officials of the Afghan government? We don't do those contracts. I don't have an authority over a penny of those contracts. . . . and we've been protesting against this for years.""  Partlow

-----------------------------------------

This is the dirty big "secret" of this era of war without end.  In the last nine years of war in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world, the borrowed US Government money has flowed and flowed and flowed.  Some of it has gone into extravagant but understandable expenditures for O&M, equipment, force expansion, bureaucratic growth in the federal government, etc., but a lot of it has gone into the pocket of predatory US, European, and Australian contractors and their local allies in these various god forsaken places.  what Karazai has pointed out here is that we have encouraged the natural rapacity of the elites in these countries by participating in their corruption.  The rot and profits run very high up the civilian authority structure on our side.  There is so much money that it, in itself, is a silent factor in policy decisions.

Smedley Butler would recognize this phenomenon.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111304001.html?hpid=topnews

"Eric Cantor’s foreign policy" - Margaret Steinfels

 
Eric Cantor met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the same day when the actual U.S. Secretary of State met with Netanyahu — and vowed that he and his GOP colleagues would protect and defend Israeli interests against his own Government.  Margaret Steinfels

-------------------------------------------------

 
What a mensch he is!  I hope all those folks down in central Virginia are happy with him.  More than that, I say not.  pl

http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=10913

Istrabadi vs O'Sullivan

"FEISAL ISTRABADI: I don't see any indications that Nouri al-Maliki has the first idea of what to do about the rising violence.

The violence cannot be dealt with -- and we have been saying this for five years -- the violence cannot be dealt with merely militarily. There has to be reconciliation amongst the various factions. Nothing in Nouri al-Maliki's history indicates that he is prepared to undertake such reconciliation."

-------------------------------------------------------

Feisal Istrabadi is an unlikely ally or advocate for Ayad Allawi.  Istrabadi is the son of a distinguished Hashemite loyalist family. His grandmother was killed during the 1958 revolution trying to smuggle the prime minister Nuri al-Said out of Baghdad.  Ayad Allawi is a secular Shia Baathi whose loyalty lay with that party until he had a "falling out" with Saddam Hussein.  Meghan O'Sullivan is one of the principal creators of the strategery that has led us to this sorry pass in Iraq and Afghanistan.   The stunned look on her face when Istrabadi says that Maliki's Shia monopoly of power cannot successfully rule Iraq is enchanting.  pl

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec10/iraq2_11-11.html

Veterans' Day Post on The Athenaeum

 
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2010/11/veterans-day-2010.html

Neil Richardson - commenting on the National Journal Blog item.

"History indicates that coalitions arise against hegemonic powers, or powers with hegemonic ("fullspectrum dominance" pretensions. Thus, given the fixed hegemonic ambitions of the US foreign policy elite, various combinations balancing the US (albeit declining) might be expected. China plus Japan, China plus Japan and Russia with the EU taking a pass, or whatever. On the other hand, there are those hoping for something like: India plus Japan (and Australia) with the US against China."

Dear Prof. Kiracofe: I think we have to be cautious in using historical analogies relating to coalition-building against hegemonic powers.

Today's Washington Post

President Obama is a mystery.  His enemies have never stopped claiming that he is secretly a Muslim and ineligible for the office of president because of his supposed foreign birth. His approval ratings are in the basement.  In response he travels to Indonesia for what he says is a kind of homecoming.  He gives speeches there about his outreach to Muslims and visits a mosque.  How did this man become president?  He seems to lack any real "feel" for the political process in the US.  He seems to want to be a statesman rather than a politician.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110901388.html

There will be a review of "progress" in Afghanistan next month but according to the article below no significant changes will be made in policy.  i fearlessly predict that a lot of  "progress" will be reported.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110906893.html

No government in Iraq yet.  Maliki wants to continue to wield the power we more or less handed to him.  McCain and his buddy Joe L. are in Kurdistan trying to persuade the Kurds to give up the presidency to Allawi whose people are making vaguely threatening noises.  Iran watches with interest.  119 Iraqis killed last week in car bombings.  Hey!  Mission Accomplished!  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110901751.html

 

 

Israel knows that the ties are "unbreakable."

 
"The episode recalled a similar case in March, when Israel announced plans for 1,600 Jewish units in another contested area of the city while Mr. Biden was visiting Jerusalem. Mr. Biden was embarrassed and Mr. Obama infuriated. Mr. Netanyahu was said to have been surprised by the announcement.

Israeli officials pledged to keep closer tabs on the progress of building plans in Jerusalem."  NY Times

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What a joke!  How contemptuously the Israelis treat us!  How richly we deserve it.  Biden says that the ties between Israel and the US are "unbreakable."  Perhaps he should go live there. pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/world/asia/10prexy.html?src=me

National Journal Blog 8 November 2010

 
Col. W. Patrick Lang Responds to Geopolitical Shift: Old Europe to New Asia? ?.

Lindsey Graham and Iran

"A Republican Senator has sparked outrage at an international security conference after saying the U.S. should be prepared to launch a military attack on Iran to 'neuter' its hard-line regime.

Lindsey Graham, who represents South Carolina, told surprised attendees at the Halifax International Security Forum that an attack could cripple Iran's nuclear programme and armed forces.

He said that although international sanctions were beginning to work, President Barack Obama should make it 'abundantly clear' that 'all options are on the table'." Daily Mail

-------------------------------------------------

Bibi Natanyahu told Biden yesterday that the US must "man up" on its threat to wipe out Iran's nuclear program.  This sounds like the same message delivered by Graham who is one of Israel's closest friends.  I suppose that McCain and Lieberman cannot be far behind.  

As I said in my Miller Center talk Israel now has effective control of US actions with regard to Iran.  We can't prevent them attacking Iran.  Public opinion and the howling of the "rented" Congress will insure that such a war quickly becomes America's war against Iran.  pl

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327727/Republican-Senator-Lindsey-Graham-calls-pre-emptive-strike-neuter-Iran.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz14hXIpgxL

 

Yesterday - Richard Sale

By Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars 

It is a common mental error to suppose that the stupidities and ills of our own day are without precedent. This illusion is, of course, strengthened by a press corps that is so arrogant it doesn’t feel it needs to read or study anything to perfect and enlarge its powers of interpretation. The commonplaces already in their heads are enough. Listening to today’s pundits is disheartening, like watching a single loop of film being played repeatedly, or gazing at a child’s toy train endlessly traveling the same figure-eight under a Christmas tree. 

Open Thread - 6 November 2010

Miller Center talk on 1 November, 2010

http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/forum/detail/5782

Download 2010 Lang Miller Center transcript

pl

Fund Raising

From time to time I make an appeal in this space for contributions to support the continued activity of the two blogs.  I want to buy some equipment and software for the operation and there is a considerable opportunity cost for me in the time invested in doing this.  

Those who wish to contribute will find a button on the right side of the site that will enable them to put money in my Paypal account.  Typepad sends me a 1099 for any such contributions each year.

Some of you are very faithful friends in this matter.  I thank you.  pl 

"US Republicans to target Afghan withdrawal timetable" AFP

"And Republicans "will continue to hold the administration accountable for developing appropriate metrics that accurately judge the security and political situations on the ground as we approach July 2011," said the aide."  AFP

----------------------------------------------------

Let me state the clear implication contained in this instant statement of intent on the part of Congressman McKeon.

Petraeus and his COINista allies in Washington have been dealing with the Republican minority in Congress outside the chain of command and behind the back of the constitutional commander in chief.

What wonderful soldiers they are.

The COINista generals want more time to build a better Afghanistan, and evidently the mores and obligations of their profession mean little to them in the context of that blessed goal.

Can there be any doubt that the COIN "industry" here in Washington is encouraging them in this behavior?  pl 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101103/pl_afp/usvoteafghanistan

 

The Balfour Declaration: A Brief Reply - Richard Sale

By Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars. 

When “b” looked over my mention of the Balfour Declaration in my recent post, “Middle East Peace?” he sniffed, “This is not the background at all.” His own addition, however, while of some value, is hardly the background either, ignoring as it does, key geo-strategic considerations. 

2012 starts today.

 

Obama has himself to blame for the gelding of his administration that happened yesterday.  His disdain for the gritty every day business of getting down to the grass roots to communicate with voters has been evident.  Woodrow Wilson and Adlai Stevenson come to mind as other intellectuals who had many of the same attributes as this man. 

I heard Mike Pence speak today on the tube.  The tone and the message seemed clear to me.  What was said was that the "American People" have spoken and that they have utterly rejected the awful, terrible follies of the lefty Obama Administration.  John Boehner and Eric Cantor said much the same thing later this morning.  

It appears that the Republicans will today begin their campaign to regain undivided control of the federal government.  To that end they will oppose everything Obama might want to do, no matter what it is.  They will pass all manner of legislation in the House secure in the knowledge that the Senate and the president will block much of that and that the Republicans can then "run" on that over the next two years.

There is a willingness to exaggerate and distort the truth in Republican circles that is disheartening.  Where, for example, is there in their discourse any acknowledgement of the extent to which TARP money is being repaid with interest? Where is there any admission that the Republican Party is as despised as the Democratic Party?  Lewis Black is correct about these parties.  "The Republicans suck and the Democrats blow," he says.  I share his outrage.  pl 

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/03/election.main/?hpt=T1

"U.S. Marines begin to hand over small bases to Afghan army in southwest" Washpost.

"U.S. Marines have begun handing over some of their small bases to the Afghan army in this once-volatile district in the country's southwest, a transition that top military commanders intend to cite as proof that the Obama administration's troop escalation and counterinsurgency strategy are succeeding."  Washpost

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The level of pressure from Petraeus and company on Obama will depend on the success or failure of this effort to progressively hand over responsibility to the Afghan security forces.  If it is relatively easy to do this, then Obama will easily be able to order a withdrawal based on his July date.  If the Afghans cannot hold the ground and population in this and other districts then there wil be tremendous pressure on the president to give them more time, money and men.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/01/AR2010110106069.html

Explanation

I was the Forum speaker today at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.  The video will be available soon on their site. Charlottesville was as lovely as always.

I drove back across the Blue Ridge into the Luray Valley and then across the New Market Gap in the Massanutten Mountain into the main Shenandoah Valley so that I could go to my butcher at Tom's Brook.  The country was so beautiful as to be painful.

At the butcher's on the bank of the river, the man on duty said, "I haven't seen you or Carville in here lately."

"Well" I said "He's gone back to New Orleans."

"Ah."

"I have to go to a meeting in Lexington, next month.  I'll stop by."

"Good, I'll tell Gene you were in."  pl 

http://crabills.com/