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"One comment by Aviad Pohoryles in the daily Maariv was entitled "A Bullet in the Back from Uncle Sam." It accused Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of pursuing a naive, smug, and insular diplomacy heedless of the risks.
Who is advising them, he asked, "to fuel the mob raging in the streets of Egypt and to demand the head of the person who five minutes ago was the bold ally of the president ... an almost lone voice of sanity in a Middle East?"
"The politically correct diplomacy of American presidents throughout the generations ... is painfully naive."" Reuters
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I have news for all you Zionists out there. In my experience our (American) word to friends is generally "good" only when the general childishness and ignorance of our; academics, journalists and politicians is not threatened by reality in some way. Oh, yes, and then there is the general public. This brings to mind the tourist people who got off planes in Cairo yesterday and expressed surprise that there is a problem in the streets. In someone's priceless remark, they should have stayed at home watching "American Idol."
Today I heard the "great " journalist Andrea Mitchell" discuss this matter with Martin Indyk the transplanted British/Australian/"American" foreign affairs phenomenon. He was broadcasting from Brookings where he lives off Zionist money at the Saban Center.
While she fawned, smiled and nodded, this great thinker said (paraphrasing) that the Arab rulers should "understand" that they should "get on the right side of history" before it is too late. If he doesn't know that any sign of weakness in the crisis now upon them will bring them down, then he does not deserve his reutation as a "statesman." He then expressed the belief that the fall of these rulers would be a catastrophic event for the United States and Israel. She continued to smile.
His remark implies of course that there IS a "right side" of history. Childish.
BTW, why aren't he and the Saban Center registered under FARA? pl
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-israel-usa-idUSTRE70U53720110131
"Pakistan's nuclear arsenal now totals more than 100 deployed weapons, a doubling of its stockpile over the past several years in one of the world's most unstable regions, according to estimates by nongovernment analysts." Washpost - Karen de Young
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One of my favorite "hobby horses," why do the Israelis not act more concerned about this? I thnk that the iproduct improved Shaheen 2 ranges Israel from western Baluchistan. even if it does not as yet the weapons system has to be regarded as a threat in Tel Aviv. Do the Israelis really think we can protect them from this? If they do they are kidding themselves. A deterrent against India? Today, yes. Tomorrow Who knows? pl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013004136.html?hpid=topnews
"The United States wants to see steps taken to transition Egypt to a democracy, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday in remarks that avoided stating a U.S. preference about Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's fate but offered several positive marks for Egypt's army." Fox.com
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Having watched the early Sunday newsies, I would say that judgments in the Obama Administration and the punditry are solidifying in the dorection of advocating a managed transition to democratic election with the sponsorship and protection of the Egyptian armed forces.
Clinton's statement on FNS today struck (IMO) the right note with regard to an orderly transition and the role that it is expected the army will play. One can be sure that the lines of communication between the Pentagon and the Egyptian General Staff are wide open. The installation of respected (within the military) figures like the new VP and PM bodes well for the future if the mob and its supporters do not panic the world into a blind acceptance of street theater.
For those who are sure that Islamists have no future in the successor governments, one should note the arrival in Tunisa of Rashid Ghanoushi, the Islamist politican who has been in exile since Bourguiba sent him there. He is a dangerous, seductive man who reasons like a Cartesian and believes like Al-Ghazali. pl
I understand from TV coverage from Cairo that MG (Ret.) Omar Suleiman, head or former head of the General Intelligence Directorate (not police), has been sworn in as vice president of the country in a televised ceremony.
I think this is a significant development that probably indicates that President Mubarak is preparing to leave. He has not had a vice president, probably not wishing to appoint someone who might be an obstacle to the succession of his son, Gamal.
Suleiman was a career combat arms officer of the Egyptian Arrmy who was appointed as a major general to be head of Egyptian military intelligence. I came to know him well when he served in that capacity for several years. He is an intelligent, worldly man who is also a pious Muslim of the old school. He is respected in Egypt as an honest man. He has carried out many difficult assignments for Egypt and is well thought of in international circles. Like Mubarak, Sadat and Nasser he became an officer through the efforts of the royal government to bring ordinary Egyptians into the officer corps. There were special schools for that. Their existence dates back to the 19th century when there were a substantial number of American officers serving in the Egyptian Army. They advocated creation of these schools. He is a son of the lower middle class and not a product of the oligarchy. After retirment from the army he became head of Egyptian civilian intelligence. He is described as a confident of Mubarak. I think that is an exageration as he has often been subjected to the whims of Mubarak who loved to play his senior officials off against each other.
He is quite elderly. If he succeeds to the preisdency, I feel sure that he will see himself as an interim figure. The National Assembly would probably declare him to be interim president. pl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Egypt#Succession
By Richard Sale, author of Clinton’s Secret Wars
(I agree with Pat’s excellent posting on the eruptions in Tunis and Egypt. Islam is not only a regliion, it is a social order and its ways are not our ways. Inside every Tunisian or Egyptian there is NOT a liberal democrat trying to get out.
But Pat’s mention of Bakthair made me remeber the following.)
In the summer of 1980, I was in Paris for National Public Radio. Khomeini was in power in Iran, and a war between Iraq and Iran was gathering force. Paris, in other words, was a Balkan city at the time of World War I, seething with spies, in such abundance they were tripping over themselves. . Especially prevalent were the CIA guys and their proxies (exiles from Iran), busy exchanging intelligence, estimates, assessments – sizing things up.
Continue reading "Bakhtiar: a reminiscence - Richard Sale" »
I will write on this tomorrow, but as a preliminary, I would say that president Obama tonight de-legitimized Mubarak. Egyptian government will now become an American problem. pl
In response to LeaNder's concern, there will be an amnsety of those blocked. Watch your manners.
BTW- His name is "HUsni MuBArak. Emphasis supplied There is no "O" sound in Arabic. Only ignorant Eiropeans and Americans do not know that. Emphasis is usually on the second to last syllable. pl
"Iraqi security forces cracked down on traffic in Baghdad neighborhoods Friday, stopping even vehicles carrying bodies of some of the 51 people killed by a car bomb the day before at a Shiite Muslim funeral." Yahoonews.
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I have lost track of the total in the butcher's bill in Iraq over the last few weeks. We need to keep a running total as a record of the aftermath of the political triumph that we have wrought in that country. Someone please work it out. BTW, IMO the bill should be sent to Cheney and the neocons like, Perle, Michael Rubin, Wolfowitz and their acolytes such as Jack Kean, Rice, Hadley and the lovely Megan O'Sullivan. pl
Illinois politics is notoriously corrupt. Chicago seems the functional equivalent of New Orleans or Cairo (Egypt). Having put RE back on the mayoral ballot, the liberal Chicago "machine" that created Obama can now continue its "frogmarching" of Rahm toward the White House. pl
Now I know that for most of you the Iranian Revolution of 1979 is something you heard mentioned in graduate school, but for some of us it is a continuing example of the contrast between what is real in the Middle East and what are the passions of the moment.
The similiarities in the Iranian situation in the last days of Pahlavi (the shah) rule and let's say, the Egyptian situation now, are striking:
1 - Both the shah and Mubarak were/are said by their critics and the local mobs to be so unrelievedly evil and corrupt. The "reductio ad hitlerum" was/is employed regularly in describing them. Their cruelty knew/knows no bounds and could not be endured. That view continued in Iran until the Pasdaran (IRGC) servants of the Ayatollahs took to flogging whores in the streets and simply "disappearing" all serious opposition, especially the secular politicians.
2- The first steps in eliminating the hated monarchy in Iran consisted in pressure to have the shah appoint as his last prime minister, one Shahpour Bakhtiar, a long standing academic critic of the monarchy. Bakhtiar understood himself to be a transitional figure and he was. He was succeeded by Mehdi Bazargan, not quite so frenchified as Bakhtiar and somewhat more Islamic. the next leap was into the present government based on 'vilayet al-faqih" (rule of the Islamic scholars). Baradei will be available to play such a role.
3- Both the Pahlavi government and that of the "young officers' in Egypt which has culminated in Mubarak The First were committed to western style capitalism and alignment towards the West, mainly the US. In the minds of the mob and obviously of many foreign "kibitzers" these were sins of betrayal. The rejection of such tendencies set up the situation for acceptance of religious rule. Why? This is because the masses believe in Islam, not Jean Jacques Rousseau or Karl Marx.
4- In both instances the US dithered, torn between a liberal desire to see the qualitiy of government improved in these places and the advice of curmudgeons (like me) who advised caution based on the unpredictability of outcomes.
None of this will be believed by enemies of the United States, but, so what?
Prognosis: We Americans will fail once again to do what we might to achieve the best outcome from OUR point of view. pl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12300164
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Revolution#Shah_and_the_United_States
"Kochavi said it was unlikely that Iran, which currently enriches uranium to 20 percent, would start enriching it to the 90 percent level needed for a bomb, because it would be in open breach of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty exposing it to harsher sanctions or even a US or Israeli military strike." AFP
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OK. So what has all this been about? Was the legendary Israeli intelligence community this wrong? Yes. pl
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/de-Borchgrave/2011/01/26/Commentary-Explosive-kaleidoscope/UPI-63981296044787/
How right he is! How foolish to think that the outcome of revolutions in the Islamic World would be anything other than the installation of Islamist governments?. Islamist governments want only two things
1- The creation of a sharia law state
2- To retain power at any cost.
Turkey? They were elected, but the game is not ended there. One can only wonder why people would think that the present Turkish government is an improvement of some sort. pl
"Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who is considered as his successor, has fled to Britain along with his family, a US-based Arabic website reported.
The plane with Gamal Mubarak, his wife and daughter on board left for London Tuesday from an airport in western Cairo, the website Akhbar al-Arab said. " Times of India
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"The United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia and supports the democratic aspirations of all people," Obama said.
The president implied in his speech last night that we Americans will back revolution everywhere. We have done this kind of thing before; Hungary - 1956, Cuba - at the Bay of Pigs, Czechoslovakia - 1968, The Iraqi Shia at the end of the Gulf War I could go on.... We seem to believe that "American Exceptionalism" makes us the "uber nanny" of the world. The March 14 Coalition in Lebanon fell apart under the pressure of what was and is largely US insistence on the STL process. Now the US government is calling the formation of a new parliamentaty coalition a "coup." What kind of childish pique and nonsense is that?
The neocon creed calls for revolution everywhere. This is a reflection of the Troskyist origins of the movement. The US ended by backing Khomeini's revolution in Iran against the Pahlevis. Are we happy with the results of the "master stroke? The US is seeking what amounts to revolution in Iraq and Afghanistan. Are we happy with what we are creating? People comment here that the neocon influence in Washington is ended. What a joke!
Childish. Childish. We are unfit for a world in which real revolution results in unforseeable consequences.
The French Revolution gave the world The Terror and then Bonaparte. Was that so wonderful? pl
I am distracted this morning by the necessity of participating in a mortgage closing. Please entertain each other on the subject of the new March 8 government in the Lebanon. pl
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124106#axzz1C3O8cLd3
I have been asked to comment on this NY Time story on Duane Clarridge's ongoing participation in the intelligence trade. I should say that I never worked for CIA and do not know Clarridge
The intelligence business at the US national level is pathologically afflicted with the "mature bureaucracy" syndrome. The national agencies (CIA, DIA, NSA and the imagery thing - whatever they call it this week) have existed long enough to become risk averse self protective management cliques in their upper echelons. These agencies are also badly infected with political correctness in personnel selections and often choose people in ways that have little to do with competence.
i wrote about some of these problems in an unpublished essay entitled "Artists versus Bureaucrats."
Because of these defects the national IC does not do well in undertaking large scale and risk laden tasks whether these are analytic or in the operational HUMINT field. In fairness, the recent Iran NIE struggle seems to indicate some improvement in the agencies. Clapper must be doing something right.
To compensate for those deficiencies the IC, the JCS, etc. "farm out" many difficult pieces of work to private companies who can employ retired talent (among them me occasionally) and who are not bound by all the daily trivia of bureaucratic Washington, a place where dispprovals are much easier to obtain than approvals.
In short I don't have any objection to what Clarridge is doing. i would have only two questions about it:
1- Is he doing a good job?
2- Is it legal?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/world/23clarridge.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=world
Opinions? I find "his" English to be a bit odd. The IP is in the Wichita area, but that means nothing. pl
""In case the person we support is chosen to form the Cabinet we will work for this Cabinet to be a government of national unity," Nasrallah said in a televised speech. "We do not seek to cancel anyone."
That is significant because Hezbollah and its allies had appeared to be closing in on enough support in parliament to form a government on their own, if they had chosen to try to do so." Washpost
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The US will predictably oppose this manifestatation of the "local" narrative. After all, what has this to do with Israeli triumphalism or the the war on terrorism (or Islam, if we understood it). pl
"On a Sunday evening this month, I was reading a book while waiting for the train at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station when I was attacked. My teenage assailants did not try to rob me, and we had no interaction before they began hitting me. While some of these youths were beating me, others hovered close with their cellphones, taking pictures and video. Sure enough, video of this attack, apparently made by a bystander, is circulating on the Internet." Allen Haywood
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Watch the video. These Black girls attacked this man for no apparent reason. There does not seem to been a provocation other than his race. He does not seem to have put up much of a fight. He was probably too shocked to do so. People in the District of Columbia are still prevented by DC law from arming themselves in self defense. A lot of you like that. As Criag Ferguson says "I look forward to your cards and letters."
In the nasty, backward region called Virginia, even in northern Virginia across the river from L'Enfant Plaza, such acts of violence are less frequent. There, these girls would have run the risk of encountering an elderly primitive packing heat for self defense, perhaps a Kel-Tec .32 cal. automatic pistol with 5 rounds of Hydrashock in the magazine. Would lethal violence have been justified? Self-defense is self-defense.
Just a thought. pl
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2011/01/why_my_metro_assault_is_a_prob.html
"Al-Jazeera TV reports that the Palestinian Authority offered in June 15 of 2008 that Israel annex all settlements in Jerusalem except Har Homa, the first time in history the Palestinians made such a proposal, one that they refused to in Camp David.
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, also proposed in an October 2009 meeting that Jerusalem's Old City be divided, giving Israel the control over the Jewish Quarter and part of the Armenian Quarter." Ha'aretz Service
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Peace was so close, so close... What fool or group of fools threw this chance away? I have been present when the PA made statements nearly as pacific as this but, this is stunning.
Why did the Israelis not take this offer? pl
My wife's researching has turned up some wonderful stuff. A dozen Revolutionary War soldiers, among them one Captain Amos Hall, buried at New Ireland, Quebec who enlisted in the 7th Connecticut Line in 1777 at age 16. He served for seven years n the Continental Army as an enlisted man and was a NH militia officer after the war. He was at Valley Forge, Morristown and Yorktown, and present at the surrender of Cornwallis.
I never knew. pl
I am called by conscience to tell you of this matter.
I was an expert witness at this trial, testifying as to certain aspects of cultural and political background in the case. The issues raised in these filings relate to payments of $14,500 made by the FBI to informants, a husband and wife team, who were later to become witnesses of fact in Mr. Seda’s trial. Although one of the informants/witnesses died prior to the trial, the other testified for the government. Prior to that factual testimony the witness was promised an additional $7,500 cash payment, that was to be paid after the trial was concluded.
These prior payments, and the promise of payment only came to light when the request to pay $7,500 landed on Dwight Holton’s desk and he both refused to authorize the payment and required the trial prosecutors to disclose this information to the defense, as required by law. I note that Mr. Holton is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District of Oregon (and a native Virginian).
When that disclosure was made the defense was provided over 60 pages of notes and reports that had not been disclosed prior to trial, relating to these informants/witnesses. At that point it was discovered that there are official FBI reports of interviews with the informants/witnesses that have been dramatically altered to remove exculpatory information. Mr. Seda has been ordered released pending resolution of all this.
Does not our tradition of justice call out for retribution and recompense? pl
Download (517) Supplement to Motion for New Trial
Download (518) Strupp Declaration
Download (519) Motion for Release
I am down with a resurgence of the January crud (cold). This WP editorial and the piece on Jumblatt bego for commentary. I appeal for this on both. pl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/20/AR2011012005513.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_politics
Take a look at the suicide bombing casualties in the last week. Once again - What did we win in Iraq?
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Backchannels/2011/0120/Karbala-and-the-surge-of-Iraq-attacks
pl
"Israeli officials have said publicly they do not target the United Statesin intelligence activities. Ilan Mizrahi, a former deputy chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, said recently that Israel did not spy on the United States. "This is a taboo. It was a taboo always, not only against the United States, but also in other friendly countries," he said." Washington Times
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They lie. The United States has always been a target of both Mossad and Israeli general staff intelligence. pl
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/18/fbi-took-long-look-at-aipac-activities/?page=4
"Whether Obama or Palin is elected in 2012 almost seems irrelevant. Six more years of this and we will be finished as a nation, bankrupt and despised everywhere, our only legacy a network of seven hundred-plus military bases falling into ruin worldwide, meant to give us peace and prosperity but delivering on neither." Giraldi
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When I was a boy in the forties and fifties, we Americans effectively ruled the world. Militarily, economically, and politically our writ or will ran everywhere.
Now we are the clients of a tiny ethno-religious country in the Middle East that lives on our government "dole" and the remittances of our citizens. We borrow from China to give our masters the money they order our Congress to provide. Israel is a collossal political failure in the Middle East. The symbol of their failure is the wall they have felt compelled to build between them and the "terrorists." Nevertheless, we feel obliged to follow their desires in establishing our "national" policy in their region.
The ship of American power is slowly sinking. Our masters dictate to us policies that are suicidal for them and more importantly for us.
Giraldi is a voice in the wilderness. pl
http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2011/01/19/serving-up-palestine-one-slice-at-a-time/o
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2011/01/pickering_hills/
"... a glimpse of a post-American Middle East, where the United States’ allies and foes, brought together in the interests of stability, plot foreign policies that intersect in initiatives the United States must grudgingly accept.
“There is a sense that the regional players have gone up as the United States has gone down in terms of its presence, its viability, its role,” said a high-ranking Lebanese official allied with the American-backed side in the crisis, which erupted last week." Anthony Shadid
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When US influence in the Middle East declines, Israel's position declines. Maybe some people should think about that. Maybe blind acceptance of political pressure in the US is not such a good idea. pl
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/world/middleeast/19lebanon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
"The filing of an indictment by the special United Nation prosecutor in Lebanon represented “an important step toward ending the era of impunity for murder in Lebanon,” United States President Barack Obama said Monday." The Hindu
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What a crock! Nobody knows who killed Rafik Hariri. Nobody. Lots of people have candidates for identification as the guilty parties in this killing. Murder may be too strong a word. Killing is too commonplace in Lebanon in the political world for "murder' to be used as a term of art. Rafik had many, many enemies, too many to count. Nobody knows.
BTW, Rafik Hariri was a hugely corrupt politician who did well for his friends in the re-building of Beirut when he was prime minister and who variously worked for Saudi Arabia and Syria. It was a good trick playing Riyadh and Damascus against each other but he managed it for a long time. The United States harbored the foolish idea that he had some allegiance to Washington as well but he was always basically Riyadh's man. In pursuit of Saudi objectives he distributed vast amounts of Saudi money in Lebanon and Syria. He WAS NOT the apostle of good government and democracy that he is marketed as today.
So, why is Obama pushing this so hard? Easy! His neo-liberal Zionist buddies and financiers want it pushed. They want it pushed because they want to imagine that "justice" (pinning it on Hizbullah) will make Israel safe in the same way that revolutions across the Arab world will make Israel safe by disrupting potential hostiles. Additionally, some of them undoubtedly believe that a civil war in Lebanon will make israel even safer. pl
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1099454.ece
In late December Col Lang posted here a piece of mine entitled Whistling past the graveyard.... This was a reference to the recently published overview of the Obama administration’s review of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Even though this summary dealt in very general terms with what path the USA proposed to follow in the future, I commented that it gave little hope that this would be any more effective than past efforts in dealing with the real dangers and problems the US and the West faced in this area.
Since then, various reports appearing in the media, and some actions on the ground, enable one to make a more accurate assessment of what policies are likely to be pursued after this review. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to see that the principal players appear to be planning to follow different paths that suit their own particular interests. Since none of their policies are likely to deal effectively with the risks and issues looming in the area, it is apparent that, even though the tunes they’re whistling are different, they are still tiptoeing by the graveyard, each hoping that they’ll be safely past before the ghouls and banshees come charging out.
"Nearly three years after agreeing to a deal ending a tense -- at times violent -- stalemate, Hezbollah's leader on Sunday stood by his party's decision this week to withdraw from Lebanon's unity government and refused to back Prime Minister Saad Hariri's bid to stay in power." CNN
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OK. Which part of "Hizbullah is a political party in Lebanon" don't we understand? They and their Awni Christian allies have withdrawn from the government. Does Sa'ad Hariri have a divine right to be prime minister? How about some other Sunni Muslim Lebanese in accord with the national understanding as to which sect should have what?
Still looking for a revolution? Sad. pl
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/16/lebanon.hezbollah/
I have the January "crud" which I seem to get every year now. We went to buy some gas fireplace logs of the unvented kind for our 1913 bungalow. I look forward to the cheery warmth. pl
"Ben Ali won frequent praise from abroad for presiding over reforms to make the economy more competitive and attract business. Growth last year was at 3.1 percent.
Unemployment, however, was officially 14 percent but believed to be far higher among the young. Despair among job-seeking young graduates was palpable.
The riots started after an educated but jobless 26-year-old committed suicide in mid-December when police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he was selling without a permit. His desperate act hit a nerve, sparked copycat suicides and focused generalized anger against the regime into a widespread revolt." Yahoo News
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I wish the Tunisians well but the giddy hopes of jobless university graduates, Arab liberal progressives and neocon dreamers are worrisome.
Tunisia is an unusual place in that a first rate secular school system has produced a large class of well educated people for whom education has been a lure that in all too many cases led not to national economic development but rather to jobs as waiters, bellmen and janitors. Contrary to widespread belief education of the masses does not necessarily lead to economic development and prosperity. Tunisia has achieved a modest but steady rate of growth in its GDP over the years under the supposedly hated presidents. What will happen now in a country largely devoid of resources other than educated people remains to be seen.
What sort of government will emerge in the end? Will revolution spread to other Arab countries? Will the neocons and their progressive Arab friends be pleased with the result? Arab secular people have lectured me endlessly for fifty years on the desirability of such an event as this.
Thw Bush/Obama Administration welcomes this change, but for how long?
We will see. pl
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110115/ap_on_re_af/af_tunisia_riots
"Municipal officials in the Serrana region just north of Rio said at least 506 people were killed, surpassing the 437 toll from a 1967 mudslide that had been previously considered Brazil's biggest disaster.
More bodies were expected to turn up as rescuers finally reached villages cut off by destroyed roads and bridges." Yahoonews
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It will be interestig to see if Brazil is plunged into a national orgy of narcissistic displays of grief. Will the president of Brazil fly to the scene for a "show" (in Foxnews' description) of mourning in a sports stadium?
Will the political factions in Brazil find a path for self promotion in this? Will Brazilian media obsess over the tragedy for the foreseeable future?
Haiti now estimates its loss of life in last year's earthquake at 316,000. I suppose the Hatians would like to have a display similar to ours, but, alas, they lack a sports stadium that is not still full of shelters for the homeless.
Six people died in last Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona. In my opinion they died because government can't seem to prevent the sale of firearms to madmen. In this case the man's parents, the Pima Community College and all those who knew him must share in responsibility for the general lack of reaction to the killer's obvious incapacity.
Do I not care about the dead and wounded Yes I do, especially in the case of the little girl, but American reaction to this incident confirms my belief that we are a "degenerating stock." A flag was brought to the poor child's funeral from Ground Zero? Why? Is it imagined tht there was some connection between that attack on the United States and this child's death at the hands of a lunatic? pl
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110114/wl_afp/brazilweatherflood
As we all know, Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri's government fell yesterday when Hizbullah and their Christian 'Awni allies withdrew from support of the government. Between them they have nearly half the seats in parliament. When Jumblatt's unpredicatable but possible support is added to that, a working majority may emerge that will name the next PM. Such a PM is likely to be a hard-line Lebanese and Arab nationalist who will look to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran for support rather than to the Israeli/US Codominium.
This situation represents yet another "triumph" for the Natanyahu/Obama Administration. Having lost the struggle over the content of the Iran NIE, Israel/the WH/AIPAC is forced to "retreat" to mere rhetorical threats and murmurs about "increased military pressure" and other fantasies.
In fact, the intelligence developments determine that the US is not going to fight Iran as Israel's proxy. Left to their own devices the Israelis are faced with the prospect of acting against Iran alone (likely to be a losing effort), attacking Lebanon in frustration, or doing nothing.
If they attack, then Lebanon must expect yet another campaign of deep bombing against civil infrastructure targets. Such efforts have never brought a softening of Lebanese policies towards Isael, but the Israelis have no better, more productive ideas that they are willing to try. In the front line area between the two countries, a renewal of fighting on the 2006 lines would involve a lot more Hizbullah rocket fire into Israel, more air defense weapons and newly built and organized defenses. Iran continues to provide "depth" to Hizbullah's military efforts in terms of supply, training and theater level backing for deterrence of Israel. This is exactly what Israel does not want. pl
"As the immediate shock of the mass shooting in Arizona subsides and the conversation turns to gun control, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is little chance that new anti-gun measures will pass the Republican-dominated Congress." Salon
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Or any other Congress. Sober up. The Democrats did not do anything about federal gun control law while they ran the world. The Republican House is certainly not going to do anything. Why? Most people out there in "flyover country' don't want this and this is still a federal democracy. Sooo... The coastal elites can work themselves into a frenzy. Their media allies can log-roll for weeks, but nothing will happen. Nothing.
A lot of people (gun owners like me) would accept the idea of banning oversized magazines (not clips, look it up) for handguns. They really are not useful for target shooters, home defense or the like. Law enforcement can use such immediate reserves of ammunition. Unfortunately, the gun control people make it clear that such a ban would be merely a first step towards what they really want - licensing of handgums and eventual confiscation. When you hear some firearms illiterate babble of "semi-autonatic" weapons, to include rifles and shotguns, their intentions are clear. Most firearms sold today are semi-automatic. Try to learn something about guns before you run your mouth.
You do something different in the UK, Sweden, etc., you say? Well, as we primitives say in the South, we don't care what you do up North. pl
http://www.salon.com/news/gabrielle_giffords/?story=/politics/war_room/2011/01/11/gun_control_dead
"Dagan's estimates also coincide with recent U.S. intelligencecommunity analysis that states Iran has run into difficulties in acquiring the refined equipment it needs to produce more centrifuges and to run the machines properly." Eli Lake
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Congratulations to the US IC. Your principled resistance to the Israelis, the Obama WH and AIPAC have resulted in a realistic estimate. pl
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/9/israel-us-push-back-estimates-of-nuclear-iran/
Adam L. Silverman PhD[1][1]
Earlier this evening, as I was checking for updates in regards to the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, I came across a reference to a leaked DHS memo that indicates that part of the Federal Investigation is looking into a possible connection between Mr. Loughner and a white supremacist and anti-immigration group. The group in question is American Renaissance, which is itself tied to the New Century Foundation. There is more coverage of all of this here, and within this article are interviews with both Professor Brian Levin of Cal State San Bernadino and Mr. Mark Pitcavage of the ADL. Both of them provide some good background information, as well as necessary cautions about why this line of inquiry may be problematic. Full disclosure: I’ve known Brian Levin for over a decade and consider him a friend and colleague. I’ve know Mr. Pitcavage since 2004, when he interviewed me regarding my interest in a research position.
[1][1] Adam L. Silverman is the Culture an Foreign Language Advisor at the US Army War College. The views expressed here are his alone and do not necessarily represent those of the US Army War College or the US Army."
"House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol in Washington lowered to half staff in memory of the victims. He said the incident was a reminder that public service comes with a risk.
"This inhuman act should not and will not deter us from our calling to represent our constituents and fulfill our oaths of office. No act, no matter how heinous, must be allowed to stop us from our duty," Boehner said."
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If Boehner means that, then why is the Congress going to suspend business for a week? Flags fly at half staff over the capitol? People die every day. How many people died in the United States yesterday? Do flags fly at half staff for the grunts who die every day in the Afghan War? Are these victims in Arizona somehow better and more important because they are not soldiers? Ah, yes, civilians act like this because they think that they are protected from violence by rough men who guard them while they sleep.
The shooter was evidently mad. Was he also in some sense political? Perhaps he was. He is reported to have been associated with a group that called itself "American Renaissance." The group is said to be anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and anti-government. Is that true? We will learn more of that as investigations continue.
The United States needs to pull itself together and act as a community of adults. The appropriate reaction to murder is trial and punishment. Hysterical grief is inappropriate. pl
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110109/us_nm/us_usa_shooting_congresswoman
Open thread on the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords in Tucson. pl
I want to open a thread on this subject for the purpose of discussing capabilities, not intentions.
Opinions seem to vary a bit as to current capability. i want enlightened discussion here.
The ranges for missiles shown here do not seem to be definitive.
Recent evidence of poliical instability in Pakistan makes this question significant. pl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
"The Sadrist faction controls at least eight of about three dozen ministries in Maliki's new cabinet and has vowed to become a full participant in the political process. But the return of Sadr leaves open the question of whether he will seek to reassert his influence solely through political means, or will instead revert to violence." Washpost
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I will ask once again - What did we win in Iraq?
Sadr's people control eight ministries in the government and hold the balance of power in Maliki's government. We are leaving. Sadr spent five years in Iran.
Is that oil business still working for you?
What did we win? pl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010500724.html
"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent a letter Tuesday to President Obama, formally asking for the release of Jonathan Jay Pollard, the American sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for spying for Israel in a case that shook U.S.-Israeli relations." Washpost
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I take this as Israel's formal acknowledgment that Pollard is their spy, a formerly American Jew whom the state of Israel employed as an espionage agent against the country of his citizenship and birth.
I have no objection to releasing him on that basis. He should NOT be pardoned. He should be released to the government of Israel on the same basis that we used to release Soviet spies to them. Colonel Rudolf Abel was exchanged for Gary Francis Powers. What could the Israelis give us in return for their spy Pollard? Perhaps they could give us the names of their other agents in DoD, the ones that gave them the names and serial numbers of documents that Pollard was then tasked to steal.
Pollard is now an Israeli national hero. The Knesset declared him to be such and gave him their citizenship.
If he is released he should be barred from ever entering the United States again. pl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010405612.html
"The U.S. Army that fought the Vietnam War was reviled, not spit upon (that's a myth) but not much admired, either." Cohen
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I have been asked to address this yet again. Cohen is either uninformed or a fool. The American Left wants to absolve itself of its bestial attitude towards American soldiers during Vietnam. To that end they claim that their "amigos" did not spit on American soldiers during that war.
As I have written here before I was spat upon in uniform at San Francisco International Airport in May 1968. I was on my way to the war and had flown in from Boston. I was waiting for a shuttle bus to take me to Travis AFB for the flight across the Pacific. Standing under the marquee in front of the terninal with a marine gunnery sergeant, I watched a young woman in a flowered "mumu" get out of a VW bug. She then walked across from the parking lot, looked at the sergeant and then me. She spat on me. Her spittle hit me in the cente rof the chest. I asked her if she did this often. She said yes. I asked her if they had a duty roster at her house for spitting on soldiers. She said that "they" did. I have never struck a woman, but this was a near thing. The "gunny" took me by the arm and asked me to come inside so that he could buy me a drink. We did that. I am grateful for that.
Please don't write to tell me how badly you feel about this. it will just anger me. pl
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/03/AR2011010303444.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
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