News of the Day.

Republican Debate - The notable event was the continuation of the Zombie Media/AIPAC (Likud) attack on CJCS.  John King specifically asked one of the dweebs (not Paul) what he would do about Dempsey's attitude.  Gingrich responded to the dog whistle in Adelson's mouth and said that Dempsey's attitude was incomprehensible to him.

Iraq- 5 killed today in the paradise the neocons made. "And the beat goes on..."

Afghanistan - 2 US soldiers killed in Qur'angate riots.  IMO what we are seeing is the result of all the Muslim bashing the troops have been exposed to in the last few years.  The depiction of Islam as a "cult" of the devil by people who have been contracted by DoD to teach about these countries was bound to have a bad effect over time.   Once again, the Qur'an is regarded by nearly all Muslims as the UNCREATED word of God.  How many times must this be said before the idea soaks in.  The evangelicals and a lot of the social scientists do not want to hear that.   The evangelicals simply hate those they see as the enemies of their faith and the social scientists want to "what is REALLY going in here?"  These people undermine the message of tolerance that must accompany the NATO presence in Afghanistan.  pl

Comments

[Harry]

How could anyone disagree? I am perpetually surprised I dont hear similar arguments in the mass media - surely others can see the obvious? It sometimes seems like a conspiracy of idiocy and intolerance over common sense. I suppose this state of affairs benefits someone, and they must have influence to perpetuate it. But it is too depressing for words.

[jr786]

Ten years on I don't believe that people understand so little about Islam or Muslim piety. Some people want to provoke a constant war between the US and any and all Muslims; it's as simple as that, in my opinion.

[Jake]

Scary and very disturbing positions... They will take the lead from the military about women in combat. But not Iran....

[stanleyhenning]

Religion of any form injected into national affairs is poison and, sadly, America is apparently no exception.

[Jose]

When Dumbya called for a Crusade, maybe he was really speaking the truth about what the insiders felt or still feel.

[Harry]

I dont know whether you have seen this. It is probably all rubbish but it had me intrigued. Perhaps I should dismiss entirely due to the source.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/22/what-really-happened-in-the-yom-kippur-war/

[Roy G.]

Who are ya gonna believe, the Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, or Newt Gingrich?

It beggars the imagination that Newt would somehow know more about this subject than the US intelligence community - just as it beggars us all here at SST that Tim Vincent is sure he knows more about Iran than Col. Lang and Gen. Dempsey.

[jonst]

It all seems like insanity (literally) to me. Us there. People going homicidal because one burns a book. People that have been in country long enough to know, in theory, you don't burn\THIS book. People that keep pouring gasoline on a fire. People that rejoice when someone DOES pure it on the fire because that gives them another opportunity to portray themselves as put upon. It all seems insane to me. Conradesque, Heart of Darkness madness.

[mbrenner]

Mitt Romney al least should understand what the reaction in Salt lake City would be if Afghan troops did spring cleaning of the prison in which they had abused Latter Day Saints and in the process torched copies of the Book of Mormon in a trash heap.

Institutionalize stupidity and bad things are going to happen

[Nancy K]

My husband and I haave been spending the month in Costa Rica, one of the men staying where we are is an American Christian. he is driving a hummer and has 3 guns, he also has Skye dish and he watches Faux news 24/7. He rarely comes out of his room, and is fearful of Costa Rica. All he can talk about is the horible jiadists, he thinks all Muslims are jiadists, and how the US government should give Israel all the money they want so they can kill the Palistinians.
He was very excited when he learned my husband fought in 67 and 73 in the IDF, but was not too happy that my husband didn't agree with him at all, especially his views on Palistinians and Israli government. I believe the US is being dumbed down, and made fearful on purpose, stupid fearful people are easier to control.

[seydlitz89]

Thanks once again Colonel Lang. You are a lone voice of sanity in our national media wilderness of deliberate stupidity. It is difficult not to think that our current strategic confusion simply reflects our on-going and self-destructive political confusion.

[mistah charley, ph.d.]

I strongly support our troops in Afghanistan. More specifically, I strongly support our troops in Afghanistan being brought home IMMEDIATELY.

[The beaver]

The Hasbara Ministry, Yvet's ministry and the IDF have been recruiting for volunteers lately, including campaign on US and Canadian campuses. So don't be surprised to see propaganda spreading and SST is one of their favourite target, it seems -especially when it is Spring break, or the sabres are rattling for war.
If you can get your hand on the secret Hasbara handbook written for The Israel Project by star Republican marketer, Frank Luntz, you will be edified. I have a pdf copy.

[Carl O.]

"The evangelicals simply hate those they see as the enemies of their faith..." Such hatred is surely anti-Christian, is it not? But it's not new. These guys want religious warfare, which is the worst, most destructive and most durable kind of warfare, something that the history of the Crusades and the Thirty Years War should have taught us.

[rjj]

thought to self: "Gosh, Tim Vincent's astuteness reminds me of graywolf."

[turcopolier]

Beaver

Send it and if the provenance is OK then I will publish it. pl

[The beaver]

Colonel

You've got mail ----The 117-page study, titled The Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary, was commissioned by the nonprofit group, which aims to promote Israel's side of the story, and leaked to NEWSWEEK.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/07/09/chosen-words.html

However, since Newsweek has acquired DailyBeast and we know who the owner(s) is(are), no one can access it , hence the copy that I was prudent enough to download.

So it should be in your mailbox by now - the file is Globallanguage.pdf .

[MRW]

Easy peasy. Do an online search. I have two copies.

[MRW]

John King married Dana Bash and converted to Judaism for her. Now he gets to hang out in the monied Upper East Side synagogue where they all get their marching orders.

[Roy G.]

You had me at 'Frank Luntz.'

[optimax]

I caught bits-and-pieces of a panel discussion hosted by Bob Schieffer with Ret. Gen. James Cartwright and Adm. William Fallon in which both agreed a military strike on Iran would not create the desired effect of stopping their nuclear program. It would delay it but would also galvanize the Iranians to work towards nuclear capability, something neither was sure Iran wanted at this moment to pursue.

This was on C-Span--that and C-Span2 being the only two intelligent networks on television. Unfortunately, no program on either station matches the ratings of HILLBILLY HANDFISHIN'.

[optimax]

Rats, forgot the link to the program.

http://www.c-span.org/Events/US-Policy-Options-in-Iran-Discussed/10737428504/

[turcopolier]

MRW

A "Southie" right out of "The Depsrted" or "The Town," I know. That was Chelsea. This somehow reminds me of the great movie with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taytlor when she was really grrr. I wonder of he had to be clipped. pl

[robt willmann]

The Republican debate talk last night on the Iran issue--and the CNN setup on General Dempsey--was an embarrassment, as to three out of the four candidates. Here is the entire debate on video--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezv_C_i4Us

The part about Iran and Gen. Dempsey starts at 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 42 seconds into the video.

John King CNN: Let's continue the conversation about the commander in chief question. We have a question from our audience. Sir?

Spectator with a large moustache: Hi, my name's Kent Taylor from Wickenburg (sp?), Arizona. And my question to all the candidates is, how do you plan on dealing with the growing nuclear threat in Iran?

[A couple of rather large assumptions in that question: there exists a "nuclear threat" in Iran, and it is "growing".]

John King CNN: It's a pressing question at the moment. Mr. Speaker, let's go to you first on this. And I want to ask you in the context of the president's and this country's highest ranking military officer, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dempsey, told CNN this last week, quote, "a strike at this time would be destabilizing. It would not achieve Israel's long term objectives". If you win this election, General Dempsey would still be, would then be, your chairman of the joint chiefs. If the prime minister of Israel called you, said he wanted to go forward, and questioned, sir, do you agree, Mr. President, do you agree with your chairman of the joint chiefs, would you say, yes, Mr. prime minister, please stand down, or would you give Israel the green light?

Newt Gingrich: Well, first of all, this is two different questions. General Dempsey went on to say he thought that Iran was a rational actor. I can't imagine why he would say that. I just cannot imagine why he would have said it. Etc., blah blah blah.

In contrast, on 21 February, a program was held at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), on the nuclear power issue.

http://www.niacouncil.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7947&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=-1

Speaking about the matter were Colin Kahl, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East; Robert Kelley, former chief inspector for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Iraq; and Hans Blix, former Director General of the IAEA.

http://www.niacouncil.org/site/PageServer?pagename=nuclearexperts

A transcript of the program should be here--

http://www.niacouncil.org/site/DocServer/Is_Iran_the_Next_Iraq_--_Panel_Transcript.pdf?docID=1281

[optimax]

Col.

Is that A Place in the Sun, based on Dreiser's An American Tragedy? Poor Shelley Winters, she always ended up in the drink.