Sic Semper Tyrannis

One less ugliness.

"An unmistakable landmark, the plant’s five short smokestacks identified the Alexandria riverfront as much as the George Washington Masonic Memorial does from a hill near the King Street Metro station. Those stacks also pushed untold tons of air pollution into the skies over the District, Maryland and Virginia, marking the plant as the largest single source of air pollution in the Washington region. Almost 15,000 tons of coal remain in a pile outside the facility, enough to fuel the electrical generating engines for five days. But as of midnight Sunday, the 63-year-old coal-fired power plant will permanently shut down. The end came more than a decade after two citizens discovered the extent of the health hazard from the fine particulates that settled out of the smoke and into the lungs of people who live, work and play nearby. Working on their own and slowly picking up support from neighbors, environmental groups and local, state and federal officials, Elizabeth Chimento and Poul Hertel relied on scientific studies and persistence in the face of multiple setbacks. "  Washpost

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And now for something different...

The election is boring.  Politicians are boring.  More bombs in Iraq, etc.

This coal fired electric plant is finally going, going, gone.  The company insists of course that citizen political action had nothing to do with their decision to take their remaining coal use allotments somewhere else.  I have been to a few of the interminable meetings in which GenOn tried to use federal and state bureaucrats to shut down citizen opposition to the existence of the plant.  For ten years the citizens struggled endlessly against this ugly, ugly thing on fair Alexandria's waterfront.  Will some other commuiity have this inflicted on them by GenOn in their search for the "next dollar?  For sure, but here in the home town of George Washington and Robert Lee we can only try to save ourselves.  Now the internal struggle in the town will shift to what might be made of the land once the "warts" are gone.  IMO the vendu local politicians will try to enable another hotel for their developer "friends" and campaign fund contributors,  The two parties compete for developer favors.  Well, that does not always determine events here.  Civic activism is to Alexandria as high school football is to Texas.  A decade ago my sainted wife led a coalition of the willing to victory to prevent erection of blocks of rental flats where the parking lot now is at the King Street Metro station.  At the time some people told me that "they" would be back and would win.  I don't see any buildings there, and now the tasteful re-development of the area around the square is done and there is no visual space for the apartment buildings.  A change of zoning would be needed now as it was then.  300 peple gathered then in the city council chambers for the climactic meeting.  It went on for five hours and the insurgentos won.  Before that spectacular event, the local developer who wanted to build on the parking lot had the gall to tell my wife that she should not oppose his wishes because the project would make his family rich for "generations."  His brother told me that we "little people' did not have a chance.  Hmmm.

BTW Claude Devereux's story came to an end in the coal port yard that is now under the electric plant.  pl  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/genon-power-plant-in-alexandria-is-set-to-close/2012/09/29/daa355ea-08d7-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html

 

A great arrogance revealed to all.

 

In my experience of them, the Israeli government and in particular the IDF liked to give briefings using cartoons as graphics.  These comic strips were more or less in the "Mad Magazine" tradition.  Look it up.  The most serious subjects were discussed this way, often in international meetings.  When I first was exposed to this habit I thought it droll, but as I came to see that this practice would be never ending, I began first to be offended and then analytic about the matter.  I protested but they continued to do it.  Israelis seem to see the rest of the world as "under instruction" and people other than themselves as needing some sort of systematic "support" if comprehension is to be achieved.

In that context, Bibi's condescending use of a primitive cartoon as an instructional "crutch" was not a surprise for me.  IMO he thinks of us all as childlike and needing a clear focus for our attention and limited cognitive powers.  It is for this reason that he endlessly, obnoxiously, lectures all who fall into his "grip" for a few minutes.  Since BHO is a bit of a lecturer himself, it is not surprising that sparks have flown between them.

As Brigadier FB Ali wrote yesterday, the speech itslf was a surprising muddle.  It was difficult to know what it was that Bibi wanted from this lecture other than a chance to sneer.  He said that Iranian progress toward uranium enrichment must be halted before it reached what he said was the "second stage" of enrichment.  He then drew his magic marker line at the 90% level on his cartoon bomb.  If I recall correctly 90% is the level of enrichment needed for a fission bomb.  What was he trying to communicate?

He said that the IAEA supports his assertions that the Iranians are proceeding toward the second level of enrichment.  This he sometimes said was 70% (labeled 1st Stage) and at other times 90%. (the red line)  In fact, the IAEA in its August 2012 report on Iran finds nothing to be diverted from inspection and nothing enriched beyond 20% .

http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Board/2012/gov2012-37.pdf

At some points in his "chalk talk" he referred to production and enrichment at facilities of which "our wonderful intelligence services" as yet know nothing.  He "generously" seemed to include the USIC in this description.  I suppose he felt that he should since his own services are so dependent on the USIC.  Nevertheless, if we know nothing about these facilities, then how can we include their unknown production in our estimates?

It was suggested to me today that he looked and sounded deranged.  Jon Stewart said last night that the cartoon was absurd and that if the Israelis want to know what an atom bomb looks like they should go down in their "basement" and look at one.  pl

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=2012+netanyahu+speech+video+at+un&view=detail&mid=3DFF2A754C513F0985E83DFF2A754C513F0985E8&first=0

 

"Look away, look away..."

 
 

"When a truck crashed into the statue in the late 1980s, a Confederate time capsule was discovered. Although the artifacts inside did not withstand the test of time, what remained immovable was the location. When the statue was taken down for repairs, political groups sounded off against its return. Virginia state law, however, protects the location.

“The veterans were very sharp, they knew the political climate would change, and so they helped pass a state law where the statue would remain forever at that spot,” said Don Hakenson, a local Alexandria historian and author of “This Forgotten Land.” “It’s very important to realize during the Civil War Alexandria voted over 80 percent to leave the Union. One hundred Alexandrians lost their lives, and their comrades placed the statue there so they would be remembered.”

“Some people take offense, it’s a Confederate statue, but it’s historically important,” said Gary Eyler, owner of the Old Colony Shop. “It’s an unusual obstacle, but adds a charm to the city.”"  Alexandria Gazette

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

The baggage delivery truck incident was amusing in retrospect.  Jim Moran, now a congressman, was mayor.  He immediately "jumped on" the event and rallied various groups of northern immigrants (not all by any means), the local NAACP stalwarts (not all the Blacks by any means) and various malcontents to demand that the statue never return to its prideful place.

This was resisted by other Blacks who said that people should not molest the ancestors of other folks, and a few uncomprehending relative newcomers who wrote letters to the editor.  Mine was published in the Washington Post.

I wondered at the time why it was that the "old timey" establishment of Alexandria reacted so little to the brouhaha.  Here we speak of the layer of unchanging society in the city whose ancestors founded the place and who still have great influence in a number of subtle ways.  Then, on an appropriate day when the sun was shining and the sky was blue, a lawyer from one of the traditional law firms in town arrived at state court to file a request for a restraining order on the city government regarding the statue.  It was then revealed that the city had no power whatever to move the  statue, ever.  The law specifies that no future government of Alexandria will ever have such power.  I felt foolish.  This state law could be repealed in Richmond but not by the city.

The charming story told by the lady from the UDC is not exactly correct.  In 1861, the commonwealth government knew it had no chance at all of holding Alexandria against the federal government.  Washington is six miles away across the Potomac River.  State forces in the town consisted of the 6th Battalion of Virginia Militia.  These men were the town militia.  They were perhaps six hundred in number, variously and gorgeously uniformed and armed with smooth bore muskets.  This was an assembly of ordinary citizens commanded by community leaders.  Many of the senior officers were bankers.  Bankers seem to have been different then.  Alexandria was their collective home and they knew that if they tried to fight for the city it would be severely damaged and their families and friends in the population would be in great danger.  They placed a spy in Washington to watch troop movements.  The day that Alexandria voted overwhelmingly to support the ordinance of secession the spy reported that Union troops were embarking across the river.  The objective seemed obvious.  That night a passenger train was brought to the roundhouse and rail yard at Henry and Duke streets.  This was the terminus of the Manassas Gap Railroad.  The next morning the militia battalion mustered at the spot on which the statue stands and marched to the train.  At the same time, Union forces were landing at the river port in the center of Alexandria.  The train steamed away to Manassas Junction where the Confederate forces were training and assembling for the purpose of resisting what they believed to be an unconstitutional invasion by the Northern states.  The six companies of the militia battalion became six of the nine companies of the 17th Virginia Volunteer Infantry.  The regiment fought well throughout the war.  People at home smuggled "care packages" to the men and a steady trickle of reinforcements found their way from Alexandria to the regiment.  Four years later the survivors came home to resume their civilian lives.  The policy of the federal government in seeking a healing of the country rather than vengeance made that possible.

When the statue was dedicated long after the war, many of these men stood around it, gathered by the wheelchair of their blind leader, Montgomery Corse.  In my mind's eye I see them; Arthur Herbert, Isaac Smoot, Willian Fowle leaning on his cane, and of course, Bill White.  I see them all.

The pediment of the statue is now only six feet in diameter.  Long may "Appomattox' stand there gazing south.  pl

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2012/sep/26/statue-100-names/ 

 

Michael Gordon, Andrea Mitchell and the "war" against Obama

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe/#49192702

 

"Morning Joe" provided a "stage" today for Michael Gordon.  He is promoting his new book on Iraq.  Gordon, along with Judy Miller, propagandized the American people on the subject of the supposed existence of Iraqi WMD.  He now claims that Obama failed to get Maliki's agreement to a residual force in Iraq because Obama insisted that the agreement had to reflect Americn priorities.  What Gordon failed to say today was that the "priority" Obama insisted on was a Status of Forces Agreement that would have protected American soldiers from arrest and trial under Iraqi law.  Andrea Mitchell joined in the Obama bashing with a gleeful grin.  pl

"Stench" visits the office.

http://www.dilbert.com/

 pl

WINEP discusses strategems for starting war with Iran.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) is part of the galaxy of infuential groups that do AIPAC's serious work outside the electoral field.

In this video, they are seen hosting a discussion of ways and means with regard to the possibility of staging a false flag or other provocation as a means of triggering a war between the Unites States and Iran.

Isn't this kind of thing somehow a violation of federal law?  pl

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-26/guest-post-globalist-think-tank-suggests-using-engineered-event-excuse-war-iran

 

Social Media, Wonk Books, and the Death of the American Mind

Great books need not be written here. They would be useless now.  Literature is dead in America, killed by generations of children not trained to enjoy the written word and language for its own sake, killed by "journalism" that reduced argument and description to "sound bites," and given the coup de grace by the reduction of the American population to cretins who think that the glories and pain of life can be expressed by telegraphic messaging sent and received in tortured little snippets. 

No more will we see the likes of Melville, Hawthorne, Faulkner and all the rest of the storied writers' "gang" of old.  Why?  Simply put, there is no reading market for such beautifully polished expressions of the human spirit.  Margaret Mitchell today would not be able to find a publisher.  Remember her?

Books are still published, but they are not real literature.  The books that sell well today are; utilitarian "manuals" on things like cooking, gardening,  and computer science.  Then, there are "wonk books," (fodder for the hyper-ambitious so that they know what to agree with at meetings), celebrity biography, social theorizing and labored exposition for journalists' "insights" on history.

The human soul has been "growed" as a collective organic network in which the collected experience of humanity was recorded and expressed in the form of literary fiction by such masters as Hemingway and Conrad.  In their works the human experience found both narrative and  emotional expression as truth deeper than any textbook could hope to achieve.  This kind of teaching is nearly gone in America.  What is left is to be found in screen plays.  Let us hope that works such as "Inception," "Game of Thrones" or the "Zen" series will carry forward such shreds of human culture as may be needed.  Many universities and colleges that were once centers of learning are changing the emphasis in their English Departments to rhetoric rather than literature.  They believe that reading, writing and learning to do power point are more important than Mark Twain.

As a result of such starvation, the collective American mind is dying.  It is now reduced to subsistence on a diet of supposedly objective volumes of scholarly self admiration thinly disguised as "scientific" works.  Ask anyone you know who is under thirty to recount the history of the United States in broad terms.  Ask the same sort of person to describe in general terms what rough course (direction) an Israeli strike on Natanz would fly and what the appoximate distance might be.  Ask if there are US air bases in Iraq.  Ask.  Ask who were the first five presidents of the United States.  Ask who Dante Alleghieri might have been.  Ask.

The US Army is now trying to prepare itself for some other war in which understanding the locals might be important. Their major thought on the subject revolves around neurology and psychology.

Foreigners!  Save yourselves.  It's over here.  pl

 http://defense.aol.com/2012/09/24/army-brass-abuzz-about-brain-science-predictable-irrationality

 

"Mohamed Morsi and Hassan El-Banna: Two peas in a pod" by Said Shehata

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan El-Banna died before Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi was born, but both men share the same vision for Egypt.  Said Shehata

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

Mursi is here now for the UN General Assembly.  Listen to these Egyptian liberals.  pl

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/53549/Opinion/Mohamed-Morsi-and-Hassan-ElBanna-Two-peas-in-a-pod.aspx

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/53446/Egypt/Politics-/War-of-principles-Can-free-speech-exist--.aspx

Open Thread - 24 September, 2012

Open thread.  Whatever.  pl

Washpost soft-core propaganda on Iran

The Outlook section of today's ( 23 September, 2012) Washington Post contains a three part essay on what the Post wants the American people to believe would be likely to happen in the event of an unprovoked Israeli "maximum effort" attack on Iran.  This attack supposedly takes place before the US election in November.  The essay is written by three groups of authors and it seems to have been intended that such a device would make the assembled essay seem more plausibly to represent three different points of view.   They are all representative of the same point of view.  Amusingly, this conceit recalls three plays once seen on British TV that were set in an English suburban house and garden. In these plays characters make entrances and exits from one part of the same house to another or out into the garden.  Alfred Molina starred on television.  The actors go from one supposed play to another simultaneously in a literary creation that really is but one play.  A pretty device. it was better done than this collective sermon.

The three parts of the essay supposedly represent the action in Washington, Tel Aviv and Teheran in the event of this attack.  A general defect of the thing is the complete ignorance reflected of the actual limitations of distances, weapons, numbers of aircraft and missiles, Iranian air defenses, the lack of any recovery air fields between Israeli bases and the targets or SAR capability for the attacking Israeli force.  Basic military knowledge of the situation is ignored in the manner common in politico-military strategic war games.  In these "games" any reference to actual limitations are airily waved off as not germane.  In this essay it is suggested that one option is for the US to "shoot down' the attacking Israeli force before it passes beyond Iraq.  The Joe Biden character angrily says that this is not an option.  He is correct but not for the reason implied.  In fact, since the completion of the US withdrawal from Iraq the US has no ability to do such a thing and neither do the Iraqis.  The nearest USAF assets are in the Gulf or Turkey and the nearest US Navy assets are where the carriers may be.  Look at the distances.

The three essay parts can be somewhat summarized by capital:

- Tel Aviv.  Natanyahu is depicted as masterful, deeply insightful, profoundly wise and decisive.  He dominates the play and tells the president of the US that he expects the US to fully support Israel's action.  Israeli attacks are described as not fully but significantly effective against the Iranian facilities and Israel is said to have "misplaced" one aircraft.  There are many aspects of intelligence preparation of this battlefied that the Israelis could not do for themselves and that would not be done for them in the context of a unilateral attack.  Those aspects would cost them dearly, but the authors know nothing of that and do not mention it.

- Washington.  BHO is "drawn" as a "lightweight" ditherer who would rather have dinner with his family and counsel his children than focus on this world crisis.  His administration is depicted as deeply divided over a response to Israel's seizure of the initiative.  While he dithers, the Senate of the United States votes 99 t0 1 to support a war powers resolution.  The House would presumably be even more supportive of war.  Senor, the neocon voice of Romney, denounces the president of the United States for his disloyalty to Israel.

- Teheran.  Having been struck the mullahs decide to refrain from retaliation for fear of a "regional war."  This is a striking piece of cognitive dissonance.  In one part of the larger essay the Iranian leaders are said to be madmen intent on jihad.  In this part of the essay they are rational actors who decide against retaliation on a coldly calculating basis.  If they would do that, why attack them at all?

Economic effects are portrayed as minimal, the Arab states are depicted as favorable.

The general message is that such an Israeli attack would largely succeed in spite of the fecklessness of Obama.  The authors claim that costs of all kinds would be low.

The Washington Post chose to publish such a propaganda piece with the obvious goal of undermining the president of the United States and supportiing a foreign political leader.

I fear for October.  pl  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions

“The Easy Road to War with Iran” by Dr. Christopher Bolan

In Thursday’s Washington Post David Ignatius discusses the results of a war game simulation conducted at the Brookings Institution.  He observes that “the scariest aspect of a U.S.-Iran war game…was the way each side miscalculated the other’s responses – and moved toward war even as the players thought they were choosing restrained options.” 

In reading Jeffrey Record's “A War It Was Always Going to Lose:  Why Japan Attacked American in 1941” (2011) I was struck that the enduring historical lessons he draws in examining this case also underscore the relative ease with which the US and Iran could now easily drift toward war with dire consequences for both sides.    For those interested, a shorter version of Record’s book was published in 2009 as a U.S. Army War College publication available here. 

Allow me to briefly extend the ‘Top Five’ of Record’s historical lessons (within quotation marks below) to the situation with Iran today:

1. “Fear and honor, ‘rational’ or not, can motivate as much as interest”:   A war between the US and Iran is almost certainly not in the objective rational interest of either party.  Iran’s relatively anemic military forces could not hope to stop the inevitable onslaught from a massive, sustained, and technologically superior US air and naval campaign.  Iranian nuclear, military, and any associated facilities (both economic and political) would lay in absolute ruins. 

"Taliban Outflank U.S. War Strategy with Insider Attacks" Porter and Noori

"... the Taliban have power over whether conditions return to a level that would allow resumption of the joint operations between NATO and Afghan forces, which have been touted as the key to preparing the ANA and the police to cope with the Taliban on their own. The Taliban have achieved a strategic coup by creating a high degree of U.S.-NATO fear and mistrust of the Afghan forces. Even if some joint operations are resumed, moreover, they will be limited to those approved by regional commanders, according to the new policy. And White House spokesman Jay Carney appeared to contradict the ISAF “return to normal operations” language, telling reporters, “Most partnering and advising will now be at the battalion level and above.” ISAF Commander Gen. John Allen has tried in the past to minimise the role of the Taliban in the insider killings, suggesting that as little as 10 percent of the Afghan soldiers and police who killed NATO troops were Taliban infiltrators. Most of the killers acted out of personal anger at their Western advisers, Allen argued."  Porter and Noori

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General Allen can argue what he likes but the Taliban have found the key to a stratagem that will give the "coup de grace" to the Afghanistan COIN project.  The possibility of a nurturing, mentoring relationship lay at the heart of the plausibility of the theory of a gradual transfer of power from ISAF to the Afghan forces that NATO has tried so hard to create in its own image.  The Taliban's program of destroying the possibility is lethal to the effort.  General allen says that most of the killings are caused by Afghan hatred of their trainers.  Does he realize what he is saying?

"Syrian Jihadism" Aron Lund

 

 

"The Syrian civil war is a sectarian conflict – among other things. It is also a conflict along socio-economic and urban-rural lines, a classic countryside jacquerie against an exploitative central government, albeit internally divided by the country’s religious divisions, which cut across other patterns of identity and loyalty. Then there is a political dimension to the struggle, with Bashar el-Assad’s loyalists battling to preserve the current power structure against demands for democratization and economic redistribution. And, last but not least, the conflict has transformed into a proxy war for influence among several regional and international powers, adding another layer of complexity. "  Aron Lund

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

This is a thorough Order of Battle study on the present civil war in Syria.  pl 

http://www.ui.se/Files.aspx?f_id=77409

At last, the "Alderson Drive"

"-- NASA physicist Harold White says that by tweaking the drive used, the amount of energy may be able to be compressed from something the size of 300 Earths into something that weighs only 1,600 pounds. How soon could NASA come up with a feasible drive like this? Let's put it this way -- White shared his findings at NASA's 100 Year Starship Symposium last week in Houston, which has a stated goal of building a faster than light spacecraft within the next 100 years. "  11 alive

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Well?  pl  

http://www.11alive.com/News/Odd/257353/186/NASA-scientist-says-Trek-style-warp-drive-actually-feasible

The roots of Muslim discontent (FB Ali)

The recent protests in the Muslim world against the United States (including many violent ones) on account of an amateur film have once again raised the issue of the causes behind such strong reactions, and what can be done to avoid them. While such deliberations are doubtless occurring behind the closed doors of policy-making chambers, comment has also proliferated in the media and in think-tanks. The actions recommended range all the way from acting tough to being more sensitive to the sensibilities of other cultures. However, the first step in any sensible policy-making or intelligent debate and comment should be to understand the causes underlying the problem.

There are some 1.7 billion Muslims in the world. Their homelands stretch all the way from the Atlantic across Central and North Africa to the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and on to the Indonesian islands in the Pacific. They encompass many different races and nationalities, and speak many languages. But beneath this vast diversity they share certain common features that make them a single community, especially in their own view.

Suppressing Maureen Dowd

 
 

"I agree with Maureen Dowd in nearly all of her criticism of the foreign policy team around Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. In specific I agree with her (a) that since there is so little there, there to Romney's own expressed foreign policy views, it is fair to observe that he has surrounded himself with advisors whose well-established past opinions are now reflected in his policy statements, and (b) that those advisors were deeply involved in leading the United States into its costliest foreign-policy error of at least the past 40 years, the invasion of Iraq. Some of the people who fit categories (a) and (b) are Jewish. Some of them are not -- notably including Dick Cheney, who still speaks up regularly to disparage the current administration; Condoleezza Rice (despite her successful service as Secretary of State), who lambasted the administration at the Republican convention; John Bolton; and many others. - Therefore I really disagree with Jeff Goldberg's casting of Dowd's column as one millimeter away from outright anti-Semitism, and I agree with the counter-arguments by Kevin Drum at Mother Jones and by another friend and former colleague, Andrew Sullivan, at the Daily Dish." James Fallows

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

I know a little something about being "suppressed," having been there myself.  When I used to do foreign policy media appearances, I several times experienced the phenomenon of journalists contacting me to say that their editors or producers or network corporate executives had been contacted by prominent neocons (most of whom worked at right wing think tanks) who told these people various untruths about me. The most common one was that I was or had been a FARA registered agent of the Syrian or Lebanese government and that if the media outlet wanted to quote me, etc. they should state that I was a foreign country's agent.  On one occasion a reporter called me from L.A. to angrily demand why I had not told him that I was a foreign agent.  On another occasion the director of a major Washington "think tank" (an immigrant from abroad) called to demand that I confess to my "agentry."  When I said I would add it to my CV he said he was happy and hung up.

None of this was true.  At one point I ran the family foundation of a rich Middle Easterner.  The foundation contributed money to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City for the purpose of funding studies to support the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.  Henry Siegman was in charge of the process.  The resulting papers were given to the State Department and NSC to assist the process.  The FARA law specifies that if a foreign entity does anything that seeks to influence US foreign policy then the Americans involved must register under FARA.  Corporate counsel advised me that to be in strict compliance with the law I should register under FARA.  I  took his advice and registered as the "agent" (like any business agent) of the named individual who was the proprietor of the foundation.  I was never the "agent" of anything but this man for whom I worked. I de-registered when I ceased to work for the man in 2006.

On another occasion a prominent civilian historian of military/strategic matters confronted me in the Green Room of the Newshour to say that I must be  an Anti-semite because I used the term "neocon" and according to this fellow that was mere code for "foreign policy Jew."

So, I know a little something about suppression of freedom of expression and press freedom.  The problem with people who do such things is that they act without regard to any sort of code of honor, and indifferent to the truth or falsity of their charges.  They are concerned only with controlling "the narrative."  Nothing else matters to them.

Maureen Dowd got a taste of it.  They will continue to pursue her.  pl  

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/maureen-dowd-is-not-an-anti-semite/262485/

The Newshour and John Nagl

The Newshour persists in inviting the COIN charlatan, John Nagl, to comment on the "progress" of the Afghan War.  Last night (transcript not yet available) they used him and Vali Nasr, dean of SAIS, for interrogation by Judy Woodruff.  For some reason the Newshour has misidentified Nagl as a retired lieutenant general when in fact he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel.  Perhaps they think that gives his remarks greater weight.  I wrote to them about this and they have changed the label on their website.

Nasr was the sensible person that he always is.  Nagl continues to expect us all to believe that all is well in Afghanistan, that the training of the Afghan military and police is proceeding well in spite of minor disturbances caused by the murder of NATO people by these same Afghan security forces.  Nagl said at the end of his self destructive comments that all will be well because the US will persist in Afghanistan for another ten years at least, and remain committed to Afghan security indefinitely.

Well, he doesn.t have anywhere else to go rhetorically.  When the end comes, his end as a public person will come with it.  Perhaps he could write another seminal book about how wrong he was in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  It could be entitled, "Learning to play Buzkashi without a horse."  pl

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec12/afghanistan2_09-17.html

"Deja Vu" in Afghanistan

""We're all seized with (the) problem," Dempsey was quoted as saying. "You can't whitewash it. We can't convince ourselves that we just have to work harder to get through it. Something has to change."" Timescall  

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

Add this unsolicited statement by CJCS to the "stand down" order on combined operations with Afghan forces and you have, IMO, the death knell of the expeditionary war in Afghanistan.  If you make your living servicing this war, look for other work.

the situation in Afghanistan will not change.  The COIN illusion of change in the hearts of the Afghans is exposed as a deception perpetrated by ignorant fools.

The meeting between Dempsey and Allen in Kabul must have be a scene worthy of the art of the greatest of dramatists.

Look for Allen to go early in the new term and a suitably disguised rapid withdrawal to begin.  pl

http://www.timescall.com/news/nationworldnews/ci_21559125/army-gen-martin-dempsey-says-afghanistan-must-take

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-troops-ordered-to-make-major-reduction-in-joint-operations-with-afghan-forces/2012/09/18/71f34dd6-017d-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_story.html?hpid=z1

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/44th_Regiment_of_Foot

 

 

$180 million in airplanes and two US Marines lost to "raggedy assed guerrillas"

We have technology.  The Taliban guerrillas don't have technology.  They have the ability to think creatively "outside the box."  This base is in Helmand Province where the marines fought their private war for a year to make the province safe for the central government.

They wore our uniforms and drove through the gate to the airfield as though this were an episode of "Hogan's Heroes."  One would expect that a Pushtun version of Richard Burton in one of this commando roles would have led the expedition.  There was one survivor in the attacking party and he was captured wounded.  If he lives he will one day be a hero to his people.

The United States is pulling itself inside out over four KIA in Benghazi.  Hey! Look over here!  Look what happened at Camp Bastion!  These "ragged assed jihadis" dressed in our uniforms destroyed six Harrier jump jets.

At the same time, Afghan policeman are killing NATO soldiers at an ever increasing  pace.  2014?  Are you kidding?  Get out of Afghanistan in 2013 or settle in for another 50 years.  Pacification will take that long.  pl  

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/16/taliban-raiders-wore-us-uniforms-camp-bastion_n_1887751.html

According to HRW, the Syrian rebels are torturers

"Syrian rebels have committed war crimes including torture and killing of detainees, Human Rights Watch said Monday, calling on countries which support those fighting Bashar Assad's rule to press them to respect humanitarian law. The New York-based group said it had documented more than 12 cases where rebel fighters had killed their captured opponents, while at least six detainees interviewed by HRW said they had been tortured and mistreated."  Daily Star

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

Can this be?  Are not the rebels in Syria an army of angels sent from on high?  No?  They are an army of torturer angels?  Well, then, why are we seeking to help an army of torturing angels bring down a secular multi-confessional government?  Why are we doing that? Is it because the grad school bull session crowd now running US foreign policy thinks that revolt must be a good thing?  Surely, it is not that?  pl 

http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Sep-17/188232-rights-group-syrian-rebels-torturing-detainees.ashx#axzz26jA8WQWm

Declaration of War

Data Call:  In the US, does a formal declaration of war by Congress require the president's assent to become effective?  pl

(irony alert) Natanyahu on Iranian fanatics

Why not "containment?"

David Gregory the MTP man asked Bibi that today.  Good question, why not?  The response was that the Iranian leaders hold their fanatical Shia Islamic beliefs to have much more importance than the national survival of their country.  One can only ask what the evidence is for that.  They supply Hizbullah in Lebanon?  I don't see a lot of shooting out of Lebanon into Israel since 2006.  They supply their Syrian ally?  Israel used to supply its Iranian ally.  That was the basis for the Iran-Contra Affair.  Bibi mentioned Iranian suicide bombs and said they were wide spread.  Where is that - exactly?

Why not "containment?"

Why should the US not have "containment" for its policy in regard to Iran?  Does the United States also believe that Iran is ruled by madmen?  Do Iranian naval units rush upon US vessels in the Gulf to blow themselves up?  Have the Iranians scuttled vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to block the oil trade?  Has Iran invaded Iraq since we left?  No, then why not "containment?"

Towards the end Gregory told Bibi that he (Bibi) was the "leader of the Jewish people."  Is that really true?  Is that what Gregory meant to say?  If it is, then one must ask if he is David Gregory's  leader?  pl

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/49047122#49047122

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/09/15/world/middleeast/15reuters-iran-nuclear-israel.html?_r=1&ref=world

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-puzzled-by-a-red-line-demand/2012/09/14/d10a5474-fe88-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html

 

The fruits of the Arab Spring

Fouad Ajami  wrote "The Dream Palace of the Arabs" a couple of years back.  Bernard Lewis is the author of "What went Wrong." 

The central thesis of both books is the same.  This is the notion that Muslims generally and Arabs in particular suffer from a collective belief that the material and financial superiority of the West is unnatural, ungodly and fated to disappear with the emergence of a world wide human condition that represents the will of God.

This viewpoint is often crudely represented by the endless power point presentations sold by contracters to governments on the subject of the jihadi obsession with the establishment of a world-wide "caliphate."

The events of the past week, events stimulated by the TV trailer disgrace, tend to support Lewis and Ajami in their view. 

The reaction of the mobs across the world, even unto the Antipodes, is grossly exagerated, disproportionate and obviously fueled by a boundless hatred for America that makes a mockery of all the social science gibberish about deprivation, oppression, etc. 

Last year it was generally assumed in the West that removal of authoritarian governments in the Arab World would result in accession to power of westernized elites who hold dear the political philosophy of the post Enlightenment West.

That has not happened.  In the last century (20th) the liberals failed miserably at the polls in Iraq.  In Egypt the liberals are  a political joke and not enough of a factor to be worth discussing.  In Tunisia, possibly the most Westernised of all Arab countries, it is necessary to withdraw most of our diplomatic mission from fear of their safety.

Nevertheless, the Washington Post persists in the jacobin doctrine of the neocon "freedom agenda."  According to the Post all we have to do is "stick with" the westernized liberals and all will be well.  This is the triumph of theory over experience.

The Arab Spring has revealed that the Arab masses have a substantial inclination toward political Islamism in government.  Western media and governments, and particularly the USA helped and continue to help in the release of forces in the Arab World that consider the West to be "the other," the enemies of God, this god being the very special god of their dreams.

Is Mubarak still alive?  Did the inquisitors ever find the vast sums that the Mubaraks supposedy stole from the people with rocks in their hands outside the US Embassy in Cairo.  Perhaps we will remember the Mubaraks et al fondly in the depths of the Arab Winter.  pl

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-the-arab-world-why-a-movie-trailer-can-lead-to-violencewhy-cant-the-arab-world-accept-offenses-without-violence/2012/09/14/d2b65d2e-fdc8-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washingtons-role-as-mideast-countries-struggle-for-power/2012/09/14/08343bd2-fe83-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/16/us-withdraws-diplomats-tunisia-sudan?newsfeed=true

We Reap What We Sowed--Foresman

Slide shows the sweep of Islamic unrest.

The events of the last couple of days are a stark reminder that you reap what you sow.  The United States is now paying the supreme price for our arrogance in dealing with the Islamic people of the Near East (I use the old term for a reason) has resulted in neither stability nor democracy.  We do not understand the Arab world; we do not understand Islam.  Somehow we have convinced ourselves that Arabs are no different than us—rational by western standards, influenced by the Judeo-Christian ethic and a believer in the concept of the state ascending over tribalism.  They are rational, but by the standards of their culture, history, and religion.  They are not western.  They are tribal.  Religion is the central part of their life.  The concept of and loyalty to a nation state is accepted in the abstract but does not transcend their tribe or family.  But they are rational actors.  They do not like foreigners.  They accept the tenets of their religion with fervor of belief. 

We have Nuland. Why do we need Obama?

Victoria Nuland is the politically appointed spokeswoman for the State Department.  She is the daughter of Sherwin Nuland a bioethics professor.  She is married to Robert Kagan, the neocon historian.  Kagan was, of course, a mainstay of the Bush Administration's "crusade" to make the ME safe for....  It may seem strange to some this woman would have been appointed to be the State department's spokesperson in the Obama Administration.  Such a doubt would betray the questioner's lack of understanding of the limits of personnel availablity in the United States.

In case there is any doubt, Hillary Clinton and therefore Victoria Nuland work for Barack Obama.  His policy is the State Department's policy and therefor their policy He can fire either or both at any time.  The US is not a parliamentary democracy like the "sprigs" of the old British Empire; Canada, the UK, etc.  The president is not "one of the guys"  in the cabinet.  He is not "first among equals."  He is THE BOSS in the Executive Branch. 

The other night he chose to say that "Egypt is not an ally."  The most challenged should be able to see that this is simple truth.  See my earlier post.  In any event, his word must be "law" for the State Department.

The following day Nuland chose to tell the media that Egypt IS effectively a US ally.  Now, perhaps the NSC told the State Department to say that.  If they did, then I have no problem with her statement.

There appears to be a pattern of friends of Israel arguing for a lenient attitude toward Egypt.  Can that be because they want Egypt kept in the treaty with Israel.

Who told Nuland to correct the president?  pl

Of allies, foreign aid and statecraft

The US was a witness to the Egypt-Israel Treaty of Peace.  To make that treaty "stick" we have given Egypt around 2 billion dollars a year ever since.  This subvention is a bribe by another name.  The Israelis receive even larger sums.  Why we need to "bribe" the Israelis is a mystery.  These charitable contributions have become a tradition in both those countries.  Neither party can deal with the thought that our charity might come to an end.  Egypt has never done anything of importance for the US.  They sent two ground divisions to the First Gulf War.  They stated in advance that they would not fight and they did not.  Syria sent a division and they did not fight either.  Egypt interrogated some AQ people for us.  These "services"  sum up Egypt's contributions to US welfare.  There are bi-lateral agreements with Egypt with regard to equipment sales and traing.  None of these obligate either party to go to war for the other.  Such relationships are not alliances.  NATO is an alliance.  Our relationship with Egypt is nothing like the NATO alliance or any other real alliance. 

BHO was correct.  Egypt is not an ally of the US.  The most that can be said of Egypt post Mubarak is, as the president said, that the country id not yet our enemy as Nasser's Egypt was our enemy.  BTW, international relationships among countries are not limited to manichaean dualities of "ally" and "enemy."  Most countries in the world should properly be described as "out there,"  IOW neither friend nor foe.

In political international studies-speak, countries, "out there" are routinely described as "allies."  How stupid this is.

What BHO did by declining to call Mursi's Egypt an ally was to put Egypt on notice of the simple fact that the US is not obligated to give Egypt anything.  The NB's retreat from confrontation is the result.  pl

 

Some Updated Information on the Innocence of Muslims Affair

Adam L. Silverman, PhD*

The Innocence of Muslims affair (incident?  incidents?) has become a fast moving story that seems to get more fantastical the more that gets reported.  It is now pretty clear that Sam Bacile is not an Israeli, Israeli American, or even Jewish.  Bacile is, apparently, a pseudonym for a Nakoula Basselly Nakoula - who appears to be an Egyptian emigre and was involved in this project with a number of naturalized American Copts and native born American Evangelicals.  Members of the cast have clearly indicated that the film was supposed to be/originally about Coptic persecution and was overdubbed in both English and Arabic with the anti-Islamic dialogue that has led to some serious problems in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen including the death of four American foreign service personnel.  The thirteen minute clip, posted to You Tube in July, began to gather interest over the past several days due to its being promoted by both Quran burning advocate Terry Jones and Egyptian-American Copt Morris Sadek.  The fatal anti-American violence in Libya may have partially been the result of various media and extremist movement sources claiming that the video had been produced for the 9-11 remembrances and was being widely shown on American TV on that day. 

While the story will continue to undergo change over the next several days as more facts come to light, the real issues are how does the US adjust its strategies and policies in the Middle East in response to these activities.  It also demonstrates very clearly that no matter what America's official positions, messaging, and actions are they can all be overcome by events regardless of whether they are unofficial messaging being transmitted by Americans - official or otherwise or the activities of the actual actors on the ground in the Middle East.

*Adam L. Silverman, PhD is the Culture and Foreign Language Advisor at the US Army War College (USAWC).  The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of USAWC and/or the US Army.

The Real Action will be on Friday in Cairo

The US Embassy is in the lower left corner of the map.  Tahrir Square is the big rectangular space just below the Egyptian Museum.

Mursi has not  done very much to insure the embassy's safety.  He has made vague statements and has not condemned the attack on the embassy.  He has not apologized for his government's failure to protect the embassy.

His brothers in MB have called for a million people to assemble in Tahrir Square tomorrow to protest the film.  The embassy is vulnerable to those numbers.  The procedure for destruction of classified papers and evacuation of the premises should be underway NOW.

The longer this crisis continues the more the whole thing smells like an attampt to cause difficulty for BHO in the American election.  Now, who would want to do that?  pl

Bibi campaigns for Romney

"Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) blamed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for what he called the deteriorating relationship between the US and Israel, in a special meeting during the Knesset’s summer recess on Wednesday.

“Mr. Prime Minister, tell me, who is our biggest enemy, the US or Iran? Who do you want replaced, [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad or [US President Barack] Obama?” Mofaz asked in the plenum. “How low are you prepared to drag relations with our closest ally?”

 According to the opposition leader, world leaders have not turned their backs to Israel, but they do not trust Netanyahu. "  Jpost

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_joe/#49001490

 

 

Shaul Mofaz is a former chief of Staff of the IDF.  He is of Iranian extraction. 

There was a remarkable discussion on Morning Joe today.  This discussion was on the subject of Natanyahu's gross interference in the US presidential election and his attempts to control US foreign policy and armed forces operations.  The Israeli/Likud side was represented by Donny Deutsch the vulgarian real estate mogul and Andrea Mitchell , notorious for her thinly concealed advocacy of Israeli positions..  The US side was represented by Lawrence O'Donnell and Joe Klein.  O'Donnell and Klein made it clear that they believe that Natanyahu is making an open "play" to elect Romney who Natanyahu thinks is his "bitch."  They also stated that Natanyahu seeks to control American foreign policy so that he can simply "order" US forces to attack Iran.  pl

 

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=284775

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/world/middleeast/united-states-and-israel-engage-in-public-spat-over-iran-policy.html?pagewanted=all

Mursi as "rational actor."

Mursi and the MB are riding a tiger in Egypt and throughout the Muslim world.  They were elected to create a Salafist (larger sense) sharia law state.  There are still many people who are against this kind of thing in Egypt.  The US did everything it could to deter such people from revolt but they are still there.  Mursi needs to keep burnishing his salafist credentials with his base.  This means defiance of the West, particularly America, and the norms of Western behavior such as; our belief in freedom of speech and the international law involved in the Vienna Convention of 1961 0n diplomatic missions.  A confrontation with the US just fits the bill for Mursi.  He has been to Riyadh and Teheran recently.  Who knows how much money he has been promised in support of such a crisis with the US?  Don'r forget.  The Saudis play it both ways, always.  Mursi and company also understand very well how delicate BHO's position is when operating this close to a very nearly tied election.  Last and by no means least, Mursi is not a "rational choice" kind of guy, in the sense that "rational choice" is understood in Western international relations studies.  Does that means that Mursi does not make rational choices?  No.  It does not mean that.  He makes rational choices.  He is a believer and he chooses Allah first, last and always.  That is the same choice he made when he chose to leave his teaching job in California..  pl

Egyptian mob attacks US embassy in Cairo. US Ambassador apologizes for free speech in the USA.

"Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday and pulled down the American flag during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad, witnesses said. In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters reporter said. Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, protesters tore it up, with some showing off small pieces to television cameras. Then others burned remains. "This movie must be banned immediately and an apology should be made ... This is a disgrace," said 19-year-old, Ismail Mahmoud, a member of the so-called "ultras" soccer supporters who played a big role in the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak last year. Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive. Mahmoud called on President Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first civilian president and an Islamist, to take action. Many others were supporters of Islamist groups. About 20 people stood on top of the embassy wall in central Cairo, where about 2,000 protesters had gathered. "There is no god but Allah, Mohammad is Allah's messenger. We will sacrifice ourselves for you, Allah's messenger," they chanted, with many waving religious flags. "  al-Ahram

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

Cut off their money.  Wthdraw the embassy.  Having done this once and gotten away with it, they will be back for more as in Teheran long ago.  It is not a coincidence that this happened on the anniversary of 9/11.  pl

 

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/1/52569/Egypt/BREAKING-Egyptian-protesters-scale-US-embassy-wall.aspx

More Jingoism at the Washington Post

"If the fighting continues to spread, important U.S. allies, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, could be destabilized; both are indirectly backing Sunni fighters. The fragile political order in Iraq, bought with thousands of American lives, could collapse. Al-Qaeda could acquire new recruits and sanctuaries across the region. The best means of preventing this, as State Department Middle East experts have been pointing out for months, is to accelerate the downfall of the Syrian regime. There are several ways of doing that, short of direct military intervention: materiel aid to the rebels is one. Now that its refusal to take that step has led to the very consequences it warned of, the administration would be wise to reconsider. "  Washpost editorial

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

The Washington Poat and New York Times fed us this kind of jingoistic nonsense before we invaded Iraq.  The claim was made that Iraq = Nazi Germany.  Today Kurdistan - Tomorrow the Sudetenland!  What rot!  and they are doing the same thing again.  In those days Judy Miller and Michael Gordon led the charge in NY but the Washington Post was not far behind.  Today ,the neocon Post editorial page apparently cannot wait for the day when American infantry will bleed and die in Syria.  The unholy trio of McCain, Graham and "Deputy Dog" Lieberman seem eager supporters of that aspiration.

The Post admits that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are material supporters of the Sunni jihadi insurgents in Syria.  Turkey and Saudi Arabia are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim in their populations.  The Post nevertheless thinks that Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be de-stabilized if fighting continues.  Well. if that is so, let Saudi Arabia and Turkey stop supporting the insurgency.

Sunni Turkey has announced that it will give permanent sanctuary to al-Hashemi, the condemned Sunni VP of Iraq.  What a surprise! Not!  I did not think for a moment that the pious Sunni Turk, Erdogan, would deliver a kinsman of the prophet (Al Hashimi) to die on a scaffold in Baghdad at the hands of the Shia.

If there are any people left in the State Department who have a clue about the Middle East they should  all hold up their hands!   Oh!  There's one over there!  pl 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-stands-by-as-syrias-violence-spreads/2012/09/10/e8c36246-fb71-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html

Israel "counseled" on Iran by US and UK

"Tension between Israel and the United States over how to deal with Iran's nuclear program resurfaced Monday, as Washington rebuffed calls to set "red lines" for action. Both say they are determined to stop Iran developing nuclear arms but Tehran continues to defy international pressure and there are increasing signs of disagreement over tactics and timetables. US President Barack Obama has made preventing weapons proliferation the centerpiece of his foreign policy and has pledged that the United States will prevent Iran joining the nuclear club. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who regards the alleged Iranian bomb program as an existential threat to his country, fears Tehran may be on the brink of nuclear "break-out capacity."" The Australian

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

I hear that Ehud Barak has changed his mind about Iran, and that is no longer "on board" with Bibi over the issue of whether or not to "go it alone" in an attack on Iran.  Bibi in his arrogance has believed that "America can be pushed."  It developed that BHO cannot be "pushed" on this and it looks like Obamna will be narrowly re-elected.  Martin Dempsey et all have been good at delivering that message while BHO denies the firmness of his true position.  Barak is a practical man.  He will adapt to the notion that the Iranians ARE rational enough for deterrence to work, deterrence backed by a conttinuing ability to transform Iran into a parking lot if a real threat develops against the US and its interests,  The existence of Israel is a self-assigned interest of the US.  Bibi or the next Israeli PM will have to live with that.  Israel's "red lines" mean little.  Israel lacks the capability to do sufficient damage to Iran's facilities to make a difference for the future of the ME.  pl

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/us-rebuffs-israel-over-iran-red-lines/story-e6frg6so-1226471882565

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-secret-visit-to-israel-u-k-officials-warn-netanyahu-against-unilateral-attack-on-iran.premium-1.464138

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-leader-escalates-feud-with-us-over-iranian-nuclear-program/2012/09/11/5c01890c-fc05-11e1-98c6-ec0a0a93f8eb_story.html

 

 

"Video shows 20 Syrian soldiers believed executed" Reuters

"Amateur video posted on You Tube on Monday showed images of 20 dead Syrian soldiers, blindfolded and handcuffed, after they were apparently executed in the northern city of Aleppo. Two videos showed the dead men dressed in army fatigues and kneeling in a long line along a road with their bloodied heads lying on the pavement. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the videos."  Reuters

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

True, not true, who knows?  pl 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/10/us-syria-crisis-execution-idUSBRE8890V420120910

Sunni jihadis kill ar least 75 in Iraq - Foxnews

"Insurgents killed at least 75 people in a wave of attacks against Iraqi security forces on Sunday, gunning down soldiers at an army post and bombing police recruits waiting in line to apply for jobs, officials said. The violence, which struck at least a dozen cities and wounded 285 people, highlighted militant attempts to sow havoc in the country and undermine the government. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but security forces are a frequent target of Al Qaeda's Iraq branch, which has vowed to reassert itself and take back areas it was forced from before U.S. troops withdrew from the country last year."  Foxnews

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

I thank Foxnews for this item.  Fair and balanced, yup fair and balanced, I thank them.    I have been holding off in posting on the latest horrors in Iraq, but finally gave up on the rising butcher's bill.  There will probably a higher number in the end.  Anne Marie Slaughter, the Princeton professor who has declared herself a martyr to the world's chauvinism, said on the FZ follies today that "we have made a lot of progress in Afghanistan."  I guess that means that she was a player in BHO's decision to triple his bet in that sad, far off place.  Perhaps she also thinks that we made a lot of progress in Iraq?

AQ is back with a vengeance in Iraq.  They have to devote some men to the fight for Syria, but they are swimming in the sea of unhappy Sunni Arabs in Iraq.

We did that.  We, Americans, with our idiot "crusade" for democracy and our belief that elections mean something in places where compromise is as rare in the general population as it is here among hard core politicans.  We did it.  It will get worse.  pl

 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/09/bombing-in-iraq-kills-seven-police-recruits-wounds-17/?test=latestnews#ixzz260NU4mgO 

 

Jihadists join Aleppo fight, eye Islamic state, surgeon says - Reuters

"Foreign Islamists intent on turning Syria into an autocratic theocracy have swollen the ranks of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and think they are waging a "holy war", a French surgeon who treated fighters in Aleppo has said. Jacques Beres, co-founder of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, returned from Syria on Friday evening after spending two weeks working clandestinely in a hospital in the besieged northern Syrian city. In an interview with Reuters in his central Paris apartment on Saturday, the 71-year-old said that contrary to his previous visits to Homs and Idlib earlier this year about 60 percent of those he had treated this time had been rebel fighters and that at least half of them had been non-Syrian. "It's really something strange to see. They are directly saying that they aren't interested in Bashar al-Assad's fall, but are thinking about how to take power afterwards and set up an Islamic state with sharia law to become part of the world Emirate," the doctor said."  Reuters

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

You have to ask yourself  what the US thinks the purpose of its policy in Syria might be?  To wound Iran?  To accomplish that  goal the US is willing to help create a Sunni jihadi sharia law "emirate" where Syria once was?  Madness.  pl

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-syria-crisis-jihadbre88708w-20120908,0,2535169.story

Open Thread - 8 September 2012

Why the picture?  No reason, I just like it.  pl

French Alps murder of Iraqi family

This is an interesting story.   A political motivation seems likely.  pl

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19528446

 

 

 

What the US Constitution is really about

Among all the other rubbish to be heard in the MSM, certain errors stand out wth regard to the US Constitution. 

One of them is the statement that since the constitution forbids "an establishment of religion," citizens should not include someone's religion among the factors that influence a decision with regard to choosing a candidate.

Another old saw, this one much favored by Democrats is to imply that the phrase "to form a more perfect union" was intended to set the stage for an effort to create an earthly paradise.

Both of these thing are wrong.

The framers of the constitution sought to create a federal government that would function more effectively and efficiently.  That is what they meant by "a more perfect union."  Read about the drafting of the document.  All will be made clear.

As for the establishment clause, the phrase must be understood in the context of the purpose of the whole document.

The US Constitution is about the structure, powers and lack of powers of the federal government and eventually through various amendments, the powers and limitations of the state governments.  Everything in the constitution deals with government, what it may do and what it may not do.  Where the line of demarcation between these two things lies has been and will continue to be the business of endless amendment and litigation.

Some things in the constitution appear, at first consideration, to be concerned with the behavior of individuals but on closer examination, they are not.

Examples:

- The 14th Amendment gurantees equal rights before the law across the union.  The impression is that the amendment itself forbade people engaged in business from discrimination on the basis of  race, religion, etc. In fact this amendment required the federal and then the state governments to create law to implement the amendment.  The amendment itself does not directly affect individuals.

- The 16th Amendment allowed the federal government to enact law establishing an income tax on individuals.  By implication it allowed states to do the same thing. Some have and some have not.

- The 2nd Amendment established a basic right among the citizenry for individuals to own and bear arms.  SCOTUS has recently ruled that all governments have a very limited (still unsettled as to extent) ability to interfere with that right.

- The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, assembly and religion.  These provisions are all limits on the power of government to control individual behavior.

- Article Six clearly states that there shall never be "a religious test for office" under the US Government.

Nothing in Article Six or the 1st Amendment forbids a citizen casting his or her vote on the basis of religion or voting against someone on the basis of religion or any other basis. race, etc.  Let's be careful about what we say concerning things like this.  You may be unhappy that someone would vote on the basis of religion (as would I) but you do not have the constitution behind you in asserting or implying that such behavior is somehow illegitimate.  pl

 

 

 

Analysts: Syrian army in no danger of collapsing from rebel assaults - McClatchy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/06/166874/analysts-syrian-army-in-no-danger.html#storylink=cpy

"Though degraded by a war of attrition against increasingly capable guerrilla militias, the Syrian military remains a cohesive force capable of continuing its operations for the foreseeable future, according to independent military analysts. The assessment that the Syrian military remains a potent force contradicts months of suggestions by Obama administration officials that defections and the pace of the increasingly violent conflict is overstretching the military, a theme that’s been voiced repeatedly for months in official State Department briefings."  Enders

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

This piece requires no elaboration by me.  The picture is of a T-54 tank.  Far better to use these old tamks against guerrillas than the more modern T-72.  pl

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/06/166874/analysts-syrian-army-in-no-danger.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/06/166874/analysts-syrian-army-in-no-danger.html#storylink=cpy

 

"The Triumph and Tragedy of Greater Israel" Henry Siegman

"The Middle East peace process is dead. More precisely, the two-state solution is dead; the peace process may well go on indefinitely if this Israeli government has its way.

The two-state solution did not die a natural death. It was strangulated as Jewish settlements in the West Bank were expanded and deepened by successive Israeli governments in order to prevent the emergence of a viable Palestinian state. The settlement project has achieved its intended irreversibility, not only because of its breadth and depth but also because of the political clout of the settlers and their supporters within Israel who have both ideological and economic stakes in the settlements’ permanence"  Henry Siegman

http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-triumph-greater-israel-7438

A beautiful old book

I was given a book by one of our friends here.  It is in Latin, bound in leather and printed in 1601.  There are numerous engravings at the frontispiece, chapter heads, etc.  it is the collected works of St.  Isidore of Seville, the last of the patristic fathers.  He lived in the 7th century. 

I want to get it evaluated and appraised.  Does anyone have any ideas about where and by whom?  pl

Stewart and Colbert vs. the Democrats

Last night's episode featured Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) New York and a variety of Democratic Party "liberals" interviewed in the lobby of the convention on the subject of "toleration."   Both of these are worth watching.

The adorable senator was elected to fill HC's seat a few years back.  She stands for re-election in a couple of years.  She has the Valley Girl voice, blond good looks that ought to place her in the GOP, and the expectation that men will accept any sort of foolishness if she giggles at them.  My very grown up wife finds her deeply offensive.  I have no problem with Kirsten.  She is still a little bit too much the PTA president and not enough Olympia Snow, but she is not my senator.  Personally, I would rather vote for Michelle Dockery for the senate.  She's not an American?  Ah, shucks, this is a technicality.

Then there are the "liberal" faithful on the subject of inclusiveness.  pl

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/wed-september-5-2012-kirsten-gillibrand

On the 4th, Colbert (the second whitest man in North America) interviewed Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D) New York.  She represents the "fightin' 9th" or maybe the "fightin' 11th."   Born in the US she is a product of US/NY Schools even though her parents are from Jamaica.  In the course of their talk it became clear that she thinks that slavery still was legal in Brooklyn, NY in 1898 and that the people responsible for this were "the Dutch."  Seriously.  Colbert, a South Carolinian, found this situation difficult to deal with.  pl

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/418674/september-04-2012/better-know-a-district---new-york-s-9th---yvette-clarke

The Nagl zombie, Afghanistan and the Newshour.

"LT. COL. JOHN NAGL: So, the basic problem in Afghanistan -- there are many -- one of them is that we're working in a country that's really been devastated by 30 years of war. So the human capital really isn't there.

In Iraq, the soldiers knew how to read. They didn't know how to fight. In Afghanistan, the soldiers know how to fight, but not how to read. And, unfortunately, it's harder teaching people to read than it is to teach them to fight.

So, we're struggling with basic human infrastructure problems. The other big problem is that we really took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan for so many years while we were focused on Iraq.

And we have been playing catch-up ball for the last couple of years.

And so as you rush to build a force in a very short period of time, some bad apples slip through.

And we're seeing some of that. We're also seeing continually cultural connection problems, so,

Americans, even after 10 years working in this country, burning Korans, American Marines desecrating Taliban corpses. And that sort of cultural conflict and tension does erupt into violence in this kind of society.

MARGARET WARNER: Is there any -- you mentioned the Iraq war. Is there any precedent for an occupation force, a force like the United States, training up such a huge indigenous force so quickly in modern warfare? 

LT. COL. JOHN NAGL: We tried to do similar things in Iraq, actually.

After quite cleverly disbanding the Iraqi force, we decided that that was a bad idea and decided to rebuild it. General David Petraeus worked hard in that effort to rebuild an Iraqi force, but he was working from a much larger force that had previously existed, a much better trained force.

MARGARET WARNER: And, as you said, they could read.

LT. COL. JOHN NAGL: And they could already read."  Newshour

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"And they could already read."  Yeah?  So what?  Does Nagl think that these Afghans are killing our men because they cannot read?  I was training 3rd world soldiers when Nagl was in diapers.  Our " manual" was the same warmed over colonial anti-revolution doctrine that Nagl worships.  It sounds better in French.  Their training never had anything to do with literacy.  "Reading" has little to do with basic soldiering, very little.

The Newhour in its headline manages to make it seem that LIEUTENANT COLONEL Nagl commanded the training of the Afghan army.  The Afghan "hands" here can tell us if that is true or if it is true that he trained some smaller number.  The false prophets of the COIN revelation included a number of people who had limited real experience of counter-revolutionary warfare but possessed a burning desire to write a book about what had been "shown" them on "the mountain."  Another man like that is Kilcullen who was a LIEUTENANT COLONEL in the Australian Army.  His real world experience seems to have been one year as the commander of a support COMPANY in East Timor.  The rest of the time he was some sort of analyst.  And then he wrote a book?  No, no, there were several articles.

Nagl says that if only we have patience and stay committed to the COIN mission in Afghanistan for another 10 years, then all will be well.   Perhaps if he had worked for imperial Britain in the mid-nineteenth century that might have been possible.  IMO we will be largely out of Afghanistan by the end 0f 2013.  That withdrawal will end Nagl's fantasy.

One must ask - what does the Newshour think it is doing?  pl

 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec12/afghanguest_09-05.html

 

The Democrats ignored massive dissent on Jerusalem. - Reason.com

"Although Democrats adopted a plank supporting the constitutional overturning of Citizens United for the sake of democracy, they managed to ignore their own party rules and delegate voices this afternoon when amending the party platform. DNC Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa announced the party required a two-thirds vote to amend the party platform. However, minutes after failing to reach the threshold after three separate votes, he awkwardly moved forward and declared the two-thirds threshold had been reached."  Reason.com

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So, the Democrats love democracy but.... not really.  The more Villaraigosa repeated the voice vote, the louder were the "nays."  He's a good machine politician and so, in the end, he ignored the dissent on the "we love Israel" planks in the platform.  As he said on MJ today, there were no registered complaints.  He is lucky.  Any such complaints would have forced a roll call vote.  How embarassing that would have been.

"Every family has its ups and downs."  Quotation? 

The "down side' for Democrats in their relentless quest for diversity is the diversity itself.  Traditional Democratic support groups like Jews and especially Zionist Jews have less and less "clout" in the face of the indifference of the multitude of other groupd for whom Zionism is just another tribal nationalism seen through the anti-colonial lens of the predominately "left" orientation of today's Democratic Party.

The platform committee tried to walk away from the worshipful attitude towards Israel that Zionist money and media power still dictate.  Then the delegates tried to vote down the platform amendments.  AIPAC won that vote.  How long will that continue?  How long will US policy be dictated in Tel Aviv?  pl

http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/09/05/what-bibi-wants/

http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/05/dnc-chair-villaraigosa-declares-super-ma/print

Astronauts used toothbrush to fix space station - Foxnews

If anyone doubts the need for continued human space flight, this incident should be a good example of why humans are essential.   Without these people, the space station would have been limited in capacity.  pl

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/09/06/how-astronauts-used-toothbrush-to-fix-space-station/

Iran supplies Syria via Iraqi airspace. - The Pilot

 

"American senators visiting Iraq warned the Baghdad government Wednesday that it risked damaging relations with the U.S. if it is allowing Iran to fly over its airspace to deliver weapons to Syria. An Iraqi government spokesman responded by saying Iran has told Baghdad the flights to Syria are only delivering humanitarian aid. He said the onus is on the U.S. to offer up proof that Tehran is shipping weapons. Senator Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, said Iraq's failure to stop the flights could threaten the long-term relationship with the U.S. as well as aid Iraq could receive as part of a 2008 strategic pact between the two nations. "Bottom line, this kind of problem with these Iranian overflights can make it more difficult to proceed with the Strategic Framework Agreement in the manner that the prime minister and we would like to see happen," Lieberman told reporters in Baghdad. "So I hope this is cleared up quickly." "  Pilotonline

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So, "Deputy Dog" (Jon Stewart's pet name for him) "hopes this is cleared up quickly."  Do the fabulous threesome, (McCain, Lieberman and Graham) realize how foolish they look and how much they are being mocked by Maliki and Company?  Do they?  Have they no pride?  Have they no shame?  Perhaps they are taking lessons in foreign affairs from Bibi and the other Lieberman.  That pair have done so well with their BHO relationship.

Seriously, sort of,  IMO Iraq think the idea of a long term "strategic" relationssip with the USA to be a bad joke, a joke so bad that it cries out for mockery.

They are allowing the use of their airspace for re-supply?  Wait until they figure out a way to run convoys across northern Iraq to Syria.  The Syrian jihadi guerrillas should not prove an impenetrable obstacle to that.  And... the other end of that supply line can have a branch that runs to Russia...

Meanwhile, on HC's trip to China things did not go well.  The Chinese basically told her "NO!"  We run our policy about Syria, not you.  She would have been better off if she had gone to the convention.  pl  

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ_US?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-05-11-20-28

Democratic platform shifts on Israel - Washpost

"... change to the 2008 Democratic platform, which stated that Jerusalem “is and will remain” Israel’s capital. The line has been removed from the 2012 Democratic platform. In addition, the 2012 platform does not say that Palestinian refugees or their descendants will only be allowed to resettle inside a future Palestinian state, not property inside Israel. The 2008 platform made clear they would only be allowed to resettle inside a future Palestinian state – not Israel — effectively rejecting what has come to be known as the Palestinian “right of return.” Washpost

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This is a major change, and a gauntlet flung down in the face of AIPAC.  Eric Cantor is, of course,  whining about this.

IMO, this will have no effect on the outcome of the presidential election and that is what Obama must think as well.

If that is so, then BHO's second term would a "racy course" for Israel and people like Cantor.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/04/democratic-platform-shifts-on-israel/

Israel looks for face saving over Iran

"Pointing to a possible way out, Netanyahu has since said that more explicit international warnings could prevent war, indicating he wanted the United States to provide Tehran with unambiguous options to halt its nuclear activity or face war. "The greater the resolve and the clearer the red line, the less likely we'll have conflict," he said on Monday. Positions are likely to be clarified at an expected meeting late this month between U.S. President Barack Obama and Netanyahu when the Israeli leader addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York. "That will be a crucial encounter. They will have to reach an understanding there. At the end of the day, you do reach an understanding, always," said Eiland, who had numerous dealings with Washington during his time as national security adviser. Reuters

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No,  the US does not have to give Israel anything that it does not want to give it.  What is revealed here is that Israel is a client of the United States and not the other way around.  All that is needed to make that "stick" is to continue to "discipline" the client.

General (Ret.) Michael Hayden, former director of CIA, has also told the Israelis that they lack the ability to successfully attack Iran.  This opinion seems to be universal in the US Government.

On the other hand, if the Israelis wish, let them show the US (us) that we are wrong and that they can pull this off by themselves.  Let them show us that they can do it ALONE.

It would be interesting to learn what sort of evolution in Iranian- Pakistani relations such an Israeli attack would provoke.  pl  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/us-israel-iran-idUSBRE8830QO20120904

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-57505379-503543/ex-cia-chief-michael-hayden-only-the-u.s.-can-strike-iran-nuclear-sites-effectively/

"... Leon Panetta avoids bold moves" - Washpost

"In an interview describing his defense strategy, Panetta said he has helped craft an approach that hedges bets against a range of potential enemies. “It really does provide maximum flexibility,” he said. “The military is going to be smaller, but it is going to be more agile, more flexible and more deployable so that it moves fast and stays on the cutting edge of technology.” Panetta’s vision is notable for some of the big questions left unanswered. A highly touted promise to shift the military’s focus to Asia has produced little in the way of major new deployments. Nine months after it was unveiled, there is scant evidence of how it will be implemented."  Washpost

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Jaffe, the author of this article seems to believe the popular drivel about a "new era" in warfare.  In this gospel, there are are "generations" of warfare and "evolution."  Rubbish.  Tevhnology changes.  War does not.  War is a social process reflecting the ambitions of leaders and peoples.  There has always been guerrilla warfare.  There has always been land mass warfare involving force on force combat between main forces.  There has always been naval warfare.  It was important before Mahan wrote his book and it continues to be.  Is air power new?  No.  Airplanes project into the third demension capabilities that have always been extent in artillery, catapults, and other forms of missile throwing.

It is impossible to closely predict the exact nature of future warfare.  Very few people have really clear crystal balls and those who do are too smart to attempt that kind of prediction.  Pompous prognosticators like Eliot Cohen want to run the armed forces in place of the flag offciers.  Their conceit is that they think that surely the professoriat know better than the "blockheads" in uniform.  Based on that conceit the professors want to have the lead in re-designing the armed services, services they never served in and know only from books and libraries. 

Panetta seeks a smaller, more flexible ground force (US Army and USMC).  Does Panetta intend to have massively effective naval and forces? Thats a good idea.  I applaud his "humility."  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/with-military-at-turning-point-defense-chief-leon-panetta-avoids-bold-moves/2012/09/03/6188c902-f297-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_story.html?hpid=z2