Sic Semper Tyrannis

CONGRESS SAYS NO TO ARMING SYRIAN REBELS by HARPER

After years of capitulation to greater and greater Executive Branch encroachment on Congressional authority, a growing number of Representatives and Senators are finally standing up to the Obama Administration and rejecting the President's plans to arm the Syrian rebels and draw the United States into a spreading sectarian war inside the Islamic world.  On June 26, Associated Press reported that the House Select Committee on Intelligence had unanimously rejected the Obama Adminstration's request for authorization to begin overtly arming the Syrian rebels.  According to the AP account, "Lawmakers last week rejected the Obama administration's initial proposal to arm Syrian rebels, refusing to fund the plan until the White House presents options for what action the US might take at the UN, or what actions might trigger the administration to set up a... no-fly zone.  At one of the closed-door briefings, Kerry outlined broad strategy for Syria, while a senior CIA official discussed the specifics of the agency's plan to arm and train selected rebels.  One official familiar with that briefing said lawmakers were skeptical of the CIA's plans and raised numerous questions."

"Seeking compromise, not chaos, in Egypt" Good Luck!

"The Morsi government has done much to generate this ill-advised militancy. Breaking promises to seek consensus with secular and opposition forces, it forced through a new constitution and has been trying to impose its control over the judiciary, media and civil society groups. It has devised laws that would tilt future elections in its favor and passed up opportunities to strike deals with moderate opponents. Perhaps more significantly, the government has infuriated average Egyptians with its poor management. Cities are plagued with power outages and fuel shortages, inflation and unemployment are growing and investment is dormant. A long-promised deal with the International Monetary Fund has never been completed, and only bailouts from Qatar and Libya have kept Egypt from exhausting its reserves of hard currency. "  Wasshington Post

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 I think it is just a matter of time until civil war develops in Egypt.  This would be a situation reversed from that in Syria.  In this case the Islamists of various "stripes" who run the government (or run with it) would be opposed by all others.  The part that would be played by the army in that situation would be critical.  Would Mursi's hand picked army commander succeed in holding together enough of the force to put down a rebellion?  Would the force splinter as it has in Syria producing a Free Egyptian Army as the center-piece of the revolt?

time will tell.  pl 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/seeking-compromise-not-chaos-in-egypt/2013/06/27/fbe0e9a6-df5b-11e2-963a-72d740e88c12_story.html

 

 

The Nicest Sense of Personal Honor - TTG

Qualifications of a Naval Officer 

It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor.

He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, kindness, and charity. No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval. Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate, though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish error from malice, thoughtfulness from incompetency, and well meant shortcomings from heedless or stupid. 

In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him the great truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed. 

Written by Augustus C. Buell in 1900 to reflect his views of John Paul Jones (from Reef Points: 2003-2004, 98th Edition [Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Academy, 2003])

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Every midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy knows these words. Obviously not every Naval officer lives up to them. That doesn't diminish their importance. Why do I post this now? Simple… I invite all members of this committee of correspondence to strive to live by these words, especially those I put in bold, in our conversations with each other at SST.

I have noticed a few more rudely argumentative conversations on SST lately. I'm all for lively discussion, witty comebacks and even occasional ribald humor, but we can easily forget that we are, in effect, sitting in Colonel Lang's living room when we do this. Being rude or smart assed to the host or other guests should be seen as an unthinkable breach of etiquette and a smear on our personal honor. 

TTG

"The Priceless Lesson" By Richard Sale

The demonstrations in Turkey and Brazil have stirred to life a lot of half-buried memories.

It was the late summer of 1968. I was a new reporter at LIFE Magazine and had been living with a 4,500 member black gang in the Southside of Chicago. My home base was New York. I had very infected tonsils, and was told by my doctors that I had to spend a week in the hospital to have the infection calm down and the tonsils removed. I was at the end of my energies.

But then a telegram came telling me I was to report to Chicago to cover the coming Democratic Convention, advertised as bloody clash between the Democrats and anti-war protestors, I ignored my doctors and went to Chicago.

At that time, I was a shy person, almost neurotically shy. I had been a badly abused kid, and I disliked crowds. For years, it took me a lot of nerve to enter a crowded restaurant, and, here, in this infuriated city, there was nothing but crowds, and they were intimidating and deafening.

"Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere" Kieran Healy

"I have been asked by my superiors to give a brief demonstration of the surprising effectiveness of even the simplest techniques of the new-fangled Social Networke Analysis in the pursuit of those who would seek to undermine the liberty enjoyed by His Majesty’s subjects. This is in connection with the discussion of the role of “metadata” in certain recent events and the assurances of various respectable parties that the government was merely “sifting through this so-called metadata” and that the “information acquired does not include the content of any communications”. I will show how we can use this “metadata” to find key persons involved in terrorist groups operating within the Colonies at the present time. I shall also endeavour to show how these methods work in what might be called a relational manner."  Kieran Healy 

http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2013/06/09/using-metadata-to-find-paul-revere/

There should be a much smaller Detroit

"And it shows: According to Mr. Orr’s report, Detroit has more than 78,000 vacant structures, 66,000 vacant and blighted lots, thousands of non-functioning street lights and a demoralized police force that takes nearly an hour, on average, to respond to 911 calls. This is an unspeakably sad situation for Detroit’s 700,000 remaining residents, only a third of whom have jobs. It’s a crisis rooted deep within the history of a city that, for many years, rose and fell economically with the auto industry — while poverty, racial segregation, crime and official corruption festered. Wisely, Mr. Orr focused not on how Detroit got to this catastrophic crossroads but on where it goes from here. He leavened his dire picture of the present with a hopeful plan for the future. It calls for a 10-year, $1.25 billion investment in public services that would remake Detroit’s institutions, root and branch. The only way to finance this plan for rebirth is to seek concessions — deep concessions — from the public-employee unions and private investors that have claims on the city in the form of pensions and municipal bonds."  Washpost

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Detroit will not recover.  The statistics cited above are really reflective of a post-mortem situation.  To try to resuscitate the city is merely to pour good money down the drain in a vain pursuit of an industrial revolution that has deserted the place for more business friendly environments.

IMO, The state of Michigan should formally revoke the city's charter, seize what assets the city possesses and proceed to demolish large parts of the city.   Wrecking crews, grass seed and retraining programs for that portion of the city's remaining population that can be encouraged to relocate; These are probably a recipe for the rebirth of a much smaller town.

That kind of town could construct a new economy based on some form of enterprise that is essentisally unrelated to motor vehicles.  pl  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/detroits-recovery-plan-has-implications-for-all-of-america/2013/06/23/b92a9586-d9e2-11e2-9df4-895344c13c30_story.html 

 

"Syria and Egypt can't be fixed" by Spengler in Asia Times

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

"It took nearly two years for the chattering classes to take stock of Egypt's economic disaster. The New York Times' Thomas Friedman, the benchmark for liberal opinion on foreign policy, gushed like an adolescent about the tech-savvy activists of Tahrir Square in early 2011. Last week he visited a Cairo bakery and watched the Egyptian poor jostling for subsidized bread. Some left hungry. [2] As malnutrition afflicts roughly a quarter of Egyptians in the World Health Organization's estimate, and the Muslim Brotherhood government waits for a bumper wheat crop that never will come, Egypt is slowly dying. Emergency loans from Qatar and Libya slowed the national necrosis but did not stop it. This background lends an air of absurdity to the present debate over whether the West should arm Syria's Sunni rebels. American hawks like Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to be sure, argue for sending arms to the Sunnis because they think it politically unwise to propose an attack on the Assad regime's master, namely Iran. The Obama administration has agreed to arm the Sunnis because it costs nothing to pre-empt Republican criticism.  "  Spengler

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Yup. Partition of Syria is a real possibility.  pl

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-170613.html

 

 

 

"... Kerry: Syria urgently needs solution" Politico

 “That is a very, very dangerous development,” Kerry said. “Hezbollah is a proxy  for Iran. … Hezbollah in addition to that is a terrorist organization.”  Politico

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Kerry can best be described as a primitive in foreign policy thinking.

Iran is a dangerous "enemy" of the United States because the US government acting under the "guidance" of AIPAC and WINEP says it is.

Hizbullah is a "terrorist organization" because we and the same crew say it is.  If Hizbullah is merely a terrorist organization than it is sad to recall how badly the IDF did against them in 2006 and how well they are fighting in Syria against the salafist rebels in Syria.

BTW, that is a Hizbullah soldier in the picture.  pl

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/john-kerry-russia-must-help-on-syria-93187.html#ixzz2X3098bl3

 

 

 

 

"Shiite Enclaves North of Aleppo Becoming Staging Grounds for Hezbollah’s Next Offensive" Terrorism Monitor

 

 

"Rebel control over large sections of the region of Aleppo provides it with a strategic rear and interior lines of communication from southern Turkey. The disruption of rebel held areas of the northern Aleppo governorate, particularly its logistics route north-to-south from the Turkish border through the contested areas around Nubul and al-Zahraa’ to the front-lines of Aleppo, would be a significant blow to the armed opposition."  Terrorism Monitor

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This is rather elementary military "strategery."  Actually, it is more like grand tactics.  If you succeed in cutting your opponents' supplyroute deep in his rear area, this ordinarily forces him to turn and fight you on ground of your choice.  This is called a "turning maneuver." In contrast. a tight envelopment on one or both flanks results in a kessel battle.

The Assad government should have managed this on their own without Hizbullah assistance, but I suppose the presence of the authentic Shia in Hizbullah makes the acquisition of village support easier.  Hey! that would work for me if I were running this.  Contrary to the crap in the MSM the Alawis are not Shia.  IMO, they are not even Muslims.  Muslims do not worship a tri-partite god.  pl

http://www.jamestown.org/programs/tm/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=41037&tx_ttnews[backPid]=26&cHash=ca735e768150402ad1a3ac8a782aa2ad#.UcYGN5yymF8

 

 

Foresman's Book Review of "Edmund Burke The First Conservative" by Jesse Norman

Edmund Burke, The First Conservative; Jesse Norman; Basic Books: New York; 2013; 325 pages.

 

             This book is about conservatism in its best sense; the political philosophy, espoused by Edmund Burke that seeks to preserve the best of the social order but one which acknowledges the need to make prudent changes over time as conditions change.

            A conservatism that recognizes the liberties of the individual, but which argues that those liberties come with obligations of the individual to society.  A conservatism that believes in free trade but acknowledges that the government has a responsibility to ensure that corporations conduct themselves in a way that does not threatens the social order, but which regulates commerce only as required.  A conservatism that acknowledged partisan differences and argued parties and factions must work together to achieve consensus for the greater good of the nation and not for the glorification of individual members or groups within parties and factions.

In Syria, the patient was smoking all his life - Yusuf al-Misry

The declared objective of the administration from its decision to arm the Syrian rebels is to recalibrate the balance of power on the ground in order to facilitate a negotiated settlement. That sounds good so far as it remains on written policy and strategy papers submitted by the NSC officials.

It is clear that the balance of power was tilting towards the Syrian regime and its Hezbollah backers. It was obvious as well that this will render negotiations obsolete as Bashar Al Assad would harden his position to the extent that makes the proposed negotiations a monologue rather than a dialogue. Hence, the strategists concluded, this tilt in the balance of power on the ground should be reversed and measured in a way to get a proper deal through.

The problem here is that reality does not always behave itself to fit into such clever “strategic” calculations. Once the opposition receives the arms, these arms are defused regardless of the intensive effort to control its end users. If we have a map of the areas under the control of five or six groups of the opposition, and each area has a distinctive color (in the maps of the NSC), the “boarders” between these groups change constantly. The fighting units of different organizations change their banners and “defect” (with their arms) to other groups on almost on daily bases.

EGYPT IS HEADING TOWARDS A PERFECT STORM - Yusuf al-Misry

The situation in Egypt is about to implode. A perfect storm is gathering in the horizon, set to start on the 30^th of June, to throw the country into real and total chaos. Furthermore, it could be already late to do something about it. Yet, and because of the high stakes involved, trying to contain this extremely serious crisis should not be spared until the last possible moment.

In the following paragraphs I will explain two points. The first is the mistakes which littered the US administration handling of the continuous slide to the 30^th of June. The second is what could be done in the remaining hours before such a storm hits Egypt and the Middle East, and some of the consequences if it does.

If we just examine the diplomatic moves of Ambassador Ann Paterson in Cairo in the countdown to June 30^th, hopefully the errors that shaped the US approach from early on will be clearer.

"Syrian chemical weapons claim, criticism about lack of transparency" Washpost

"Despite months of laboratory testing and scrutiny by top U.S. scientists, the Obama administration’s case for arming Syria’s rebels rests on unverifiable claims that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people, according to diplomats and experts. The United States, Britain and France have supplied the United Nations with a trove of evidence, including multiple blood, tissue and soil samples, that U.S. officials say proves that Syrian troops used the nerve agent sarin on the battlefield. But the nature of the physical evidence — as well as the secrecy over how it was collected and analyzed — has opened the administration to criticism by independent experts, who say there is no reliable way to assess its authenticity."  Washpost

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Yup.  The mushroom shaped cloud is made up of Sarin this time.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-syrian-chemical-weapons-claim-criticism-about-lack-of-transparency/2013/06/20/fa799e6e-d925-11e2-a016-92547bf094cc_story.html?hpid=z1

 

 

Clerks often have a lot of access

 

 

There is a lot of drivel in the news lately about Edward Snowden.  The generally mindless crew now described as "journalists" say whatever comes into their heads and then compliment each other on their "wisdom." They get paid for this?

One of the sillier things being said is that because Snowden was a minor employee of Booz, Allen, he should not have had access to so much classified information.

Well, folks, large systems like the surveillance systems now under discussion require a lot of employees to make them work.  Generals and admirals and cabinet secretaries do not operate the systems.  "Little people" like Snowden operate them.  That means that all that material passes through channels visible to them.

It is axiomatic in the clandestine operations business that it is better to recruit a clerk than it is to recruit a field marshal if the clerk has the access needed.  Generals attract too much attention.

Remember Igor Guzenko?  pl

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

The Snowden Ruckus By Richard Sale

A u.s. Senator warned that “NSA’s potential to violate the privacy of American citizens is unmatched by any other U.S. intelligence agency.”

“Tons of electronic surveillance equipment at this moment are interconnected within our domestic and international common carrier telecommunications systems. Much more is under contract for installation. Perhaps this equipment is humming away in a semi quiescent state wherein at present no citizen is targeted but simply scanned…How soon will it be before a punched card will quietly be dropped to the machine, a card having your telephone number, my telephone number or the number of one my friends to whom we will be speaking.”

The sinister statement above was uttered in 1976.

Under the Reagan administration, the NSA could be authorized to lend its full cryptanalytic support – analysts as well as computers – to any department agency. By then, the microwaves and the internet and satellite coverage had transformed human communication. By 1981 there were domestic satellites in orbit with the capacity of carrying thousands of circuits.  Each COMSAT bird had 18,000 thousand circuits that record many thousand phone conversations. Literally tons of billions of words including computer data transfers. Even the mail was being carried by satellite.

Dempsey defied Kerry over Syria

"... the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the usually mild-mannered Army General Martin Dempsey, spoke up, loudly. According to several sources, Dempsey threw a series of brushback pitches at Kerry, demanding to know just exactly what the post-strike plan would be and pointing out that the State Department didn’t fully grasp the complexity of such an operation. Dempsey informed Kerry that the Air Force could not simply drop a few bombs, or fire a few missiles, at targets inside Syria: To be safe, the U.S. would have to neutralize Syria’s integrated air-defense system, an operation that would require 700 or more sorties. At a time when the U.S. military is exhausted, and when sequestration is ripping into the Pentagon budget, Dempsey is said to have argued that a demand by the State Department for precipitous military action in a murky civil war wasn’t welcome."  Bloomberg

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Powell is a weakling compared to Dempsey.  We all saw that in Powell's abject surrender to the neocons in presenting evidence to the UN that he must have known was bogus.  He should have told the old biddy to stick it in her ear.  The Secretary of State has no authority over the armed forces.  How many divisions does Kerry have?  pl  

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-18/pentagon-shoots-down-kerry-s-syria-airstrike-plan.html

 

"Assad foes cannot set conditions for Syria talks: Russia" Reuters

""We categorically oppose ... affirmations that the conference should become a kind of public act of capitulation by the government delegation, with the subsequent handover of power in Syria to the opposition," he said in remarks published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website."  Lavrov quoted in Reuters

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Morning Joe Scarborough, the dumbest man in morning television, said today that the Syrian government is "one of the two worst enemies of the United States in the Middle East."

Say what?

Joe has been living in New York City for a long time now.  I guess there is something in the water... No, Joe, Syria is viewed by ISRAEL as one of its two greatest enemies in the Middle East.  Israel and the US are two different countries, Joe.  Separate sovereign countries usually have at least some differing interests.  Tell me. Joe, how is Syria a major threat to the US?  Terrorism?  When was that?  Where was that?  Remind me.

In any event, Russia has made it clear now that it will not accept a phony conference in which the Syrian government show up to surrender  Sounds like "check" to me.  "Mate" is coming.

Is there anyone left in government who has an actual grasp of the concept of the "art of the possible?"  Ah!  I take that back.  I heard Obama say that the Chiefs have tried to talk sense to him.  pl  

 

http://news.yahoo.com/assad-foes-cannot-set-conditions-syria-talks-russia-112409763.html

Afghanistan - where is the SOFA?

Karzai is not running for another term.  He will leave office on a date that roughly coincides with the end of NATOs mandate in his country and Obama's stated intention to withdraw.  Karzai clearly holds the US and its "leadership" in amused contampt.

Afghans don't want foreign soldiers in their country.  There are continuing incidents involving attacks by people in Afghan uniforms on foreign soldiers.  There are continuing accusations by Afghans of "atrocities" committed by foreign soldiers, aircraft, etc.  There are demands for foreign soldiers to be tried under Afghan law.

Why would anyone think that the Afghans are going to give us legal extra-territoriality for indefinite time when they can get rid of us by not agreeing to a SOFA?

You think that they will want the flow of materiel and offshore training to continue and that will require them to give us a SOFA?  I don't think so.  The Iraqis refused to give us a SOFA.  We have 200 plus military people stationed in the embassy in Baghdad who are documented as diplomats under the Vienna Convention.  That gives them immunity from Iraqi law.  They are there for the express purpose of managing the continuing flow of materiel into Iraq and arranging offshore training.

The pattern is obvious.  Is this Obama's real exit strategy?  pl  

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/18/world/asia/afghanistan-handover/index.html 

http://www.rferl.org/content/nato-afghanistan-georgia/25008287.html

Obama's approaching humiliation over Syria

 

"U.S. President Barack Obama, who arrived in Northern Ireland on Monday, and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold bilateral talks during the summit, where they will also discuss their opposing views on the situation in Syria. On the even of the summit, Putin accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of betraying humanitarian values by supporting Syrian rebels with "blood on their hands." Russia and the West have long been at odds over Syria. As the violence continues to escalate in the region President Putin expressed anger at the U.S. commitment to supply small arms and ammunition to rebels as a result of the U.S. saying there was proof Bashar Assad's regime had used small amounts of chemical weapons. Meanwhile, Russia has been providing arms and diplomatic support to the Assad regime, an action Russian President Vladimir Putin defended at a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London on Sunday. Putin described Assad's government as "the legitimate government of Syria in full conformity with the norms of international law.""  USA Today

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Barack Obama is about to have his "butt kicked" by the Russians over Syria.  This will be the latest in a long series of defeats for him in his second term, not to mention the unceremonious way the US was disinvited from a continuing presence in Iraq and the massive and thinly disguised failure of his COIN strategic decision in Afghanistan.  These were in his first term.

Putin made it clear yesterday to our British lapdog, David Cameron, that he considers Assad's government to be the legitimate government of Syria and that there will be no resolution emerging from the UN Security Council that threatens that status.  He also made it clear that the rebels (whoever they are) are responsible for many of the civilian casualies that have occurred in Syria.

Russia, Iran, Hizbullah and Syria are in the process of finishing off the "rebels." 

Some people are saying that an unpopular minorities based government cannot hold Syria.  Really? His father did so for decades.

Putin said at Enniskillen today that Russia "will not allow" no-fly zones in Syria.  that's a real red line folks.

Humiliation over Syria will be one more phase in BHO's progress toward irrelevance.  pl

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/06/17/obama-northern-ireland-peace-will-be-tested/2430073/

"Egypt's top bureaucracy advised against Morsi move on Syria" Al-Ahram

"The announcement that Egypt will sever all ties with Syria, made by President Mohamed Morsi while addressing thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members at Cairo Stadium Saturday night, reflects a decision made by the president against the advice of top bureaucratic aides, informed government sources say. The decision was pronounced in the course of an otherwise fiery speech where the president in a high pitch insisted that “Hezbollah should leave Syria.” It came in the wake of several activities among Islamist figures who underlined the need to support Sunni Syrians against Hezbollah and the Shia-offshoot regime. It also came back to back with a US announcement that it will provide arms for Syrian groups who are fighting — alongside foreign jihadis — to remove the Alawite regime of Bashar Al-Assad"  Al-Ahram

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The Mursi "cat' is ever more open about the pattern of his "spots."  I understand that his popularity rating is now down in the 20s.  This injection of Sunni radical Islamism into Egyptian national policy will undoubtedly be good news in the White House where support from Erdogan's government seems increasingly unlikely. and local allies are needed for the decision to intervene.  Jordan is a likely loser in all this.  Abdullah's ability to keep the Jordanian political ship on an even keel while managing all those refugees and serving as an American "aircraft carrier" is doubtful.  pl

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/74122/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-top-bureaucracy-advised-against-Morsi-move-.aspx

 

 

 

Russia objects to US policy shift on Syria

 

"Lavrov said the material does not include guarantees that it meets the requirements of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He said the organization specifies that samples taken from blood, urine and clothing can be considered reliable evidence only if supervised by organization experts from the time they are taken up to delivery to a laboratory. The OPCW is the autonomous body for implementing the international Chemical Weapons Convention that went into effect in 1997. Its website says Syria is one of six countries that have not signed or acceded to the convention. "  ABC News

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Translation:  In Russia's view the White House can not make unsupported claims of Syrian government use of proscribed weapons without following the protocols explicit in the international treaty that proscribed them.  What is suggested by Lavrov's statement is that the Obama Administration, having decided to intervene in Syria has now unjustifiably claimed that it has proof of Syrian government guilt in the matter of Sarin gas use.  He implies that Russia will not accept such a procedure. pl

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russia-questions-syrian-chemical-weapons-evidence-19409317#.UbxXJJyymF8

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"There have been leaks from Western media regarding the serious consideration to create a no-fly zone over Syria through the deployment of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles and F-16 jets in Jordan," he said, speaking at a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart. "You don't have to be a great expert to understand that this will violate international law." the Telegraph

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This is a clear warning that Russia will veto an appeal for a UN resolution supporting US intervention in Syria.  Let's get real about what may happen.  Russia will veto.  the US may intervene anyway based on the approval of its "friends."  Might we end up in an armed confrontation with Russia over Syria?  Is that what we want?  Is that what the R2P and neocon crowd want?  pl

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10122374/Russia-says-Syrian-no-fly-zone-would-be-illegal.html

 

 

 

 

Taksim Square is Tahrir Square (FB Ali)

And the Arab Spring, and Paris and Chicago 1968. And Lahore 1946. It is the rising of the young against the old order, a refusal to accept as it is the world being handed down to them. It is a demand for the acceptance of their ideals, the realization of their hopes and dreams. As were all these movements fueled by the young.

They seldom succeed. The established order pulls back a little, then returns − but not entirely unchanged. Things seem to return to normal, but the world has shifted a bit. The young people who take part are also changed, some more than others. Some altered for life, the dream etched into their consciousness so that, even as they live their mundane lives, their allegiance to it remains undiminished. Perhaps a few of them may sometimes even be able to nudge it along a bit.

If there is hope for the human race it is in the young, and their potential to rise up and reject what is being bequeathed to them and instead demand a world worth living in. Some day they may even succeed in bringing it into being.

"... the Genie is out of the bottle" Kunuri

Hello Everyone,

I just got home late tonight from Taksim square after witnessing surreal scenes. No, no tear gas attacks and police panzers running over people tonight as the previous two nights. A German pianist driving a grand piano on a truck right on to the police sequestered Ataturk statute in the middle of the square and playing nocturns and sonatas from Bach, Chopin and Beethoven, occasionally replaced by Turkish pianists doing the same, an American Tourist or Expat getting up to sing Hallelujah, the great gospel song to the joy of thousands of protesters. I yelled until my throat was hoarse for them to somehow play "We shall overcome" but I guess that's for another time. Even the police right next to protesters by now listening in intently. Mothers of protesters forming a human chain in front of the riot police and panzers, as they are called here, water cannon rigs really, deriding them into shame, shaking fingers. An opera singer singing an excellent rendition of O sole mio in eery quiet. A barricade of construction debris at the gate of the Park manned by some of the hot head so called extremists. A fully functioning field hospital with at least 5 ambulances ready, all staffed by volunteers, by MDs, medical students and their profs, perfectly organized and ready. A human chain at the back of Gezi Park continuiously passing along food through a human chain much needed supplies, donated by people. An enourmous number of construction helmets on the heads of protesters, now very expensive, appereantly supplied by worried mothers and fathers, at the least not able to prevent their sons and daughters from joining in the protests and occupation. Gas by now has become a joke, and being gassed a badge of honor. An incredible spirit of solidarity, clarity of purpose and resilience among protesters, from the first dayers to curiousity seekers populating the area now. Police hanging out in critical crossroads in platoons looking tired, and dejected. After all, they overextended themselves firing salvo after salvo of teargas at their fellow countryman. One can read the shame and helplessness on their faces. European and US media everywhere, whom I seek out with my fellow ex pat US friends and give them the on the ground reports, sometimes translating comments from protestors, helping them conduct candid interviews. No, I just read the comments above rather hastily now, everyone please dig in a little deeper before posting here, or going global and linking to what's happening in Taksim square to world events in general hastily. This is more local. The young, geeky kids I meet here everyday are connected to the world, they do not hate the US, as the previous protesting generation did, they are self confident, and really, are just themselves. And they do not care about the EU. This is really, really different than Prague Spring, US anti-war demonstrations, Occupy Wall Street, Tahrir, Tianemen Square, Orange Revolution and others. And Albayim, this goes beyond head scarves as symbol of a particular world view, or beyond everone being soldiers of Ataturk as is chanted here sometimes. This may be the world's first apolitical political revolution. Singing the nationalistic songs were at best tepid, head-scarved girls walk together and jabber with girls in t shirts and jeans, there are no party flags. As best as I can see, this is the most credible proof that I have ever seen that Ataturk's reforms had set root irreversibly no matter what. SO RTP government complains that Turkey's image around the world has been damaged. His own maybe, but when the world wakes up to the fact that Turkey is not an Islamic Democracy, but just a normal Democracy that happens to be Muslim in majority, with an antithetical, modern but virile, productive, global and areligious minority, then that image will change for the better. And about the 50% that elected Erdogan...They are watching. I think now judging from the pitiful performance of the Turkish media (non)covering the events, whether they have been lied to also. At least their young are watching and tweeting Taksim square and their cool-looking rebellious, well educated, worldly peers. And maybe wondering behind their externally imposed blinders and headscarves. In the next post I will try to link some sources for all those interested in actually seeing and reading level headed commentary on what's going on, but really, its not difficult to find out with a simple search, there must be a hundred media correspondents and TV, photo crews on the square right now. Like I said earlier, it would be premature to start to put all that's happening here in geopolitical terms yet. But what can be said without doubt is that the Genie is out of the bottle and it can't be bad. And no, the Army will not interfere, they are not needed, and no, he will not dare to crush the uprising by force. And yes, he is out of the Syria game effectively now. And again, apologies for the hasty exposition.- Kunuri

The "Mushroom Shaped Cloud" is called Sarin this time

 
 

"The White House acknowledged Thursday the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale a number of times, according to a statement. The administration also indicated it will increase the "scope and scale of assistance" to rebels in Syria following its acknowledgment that the Bashar al-Assad government has used chemical weapons in the civil war, according to the statement. "  CNN

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Ho hum.  I guess this means that the warhawks have won the argument inside the BHO Administration.

I thought it would take longer for the influence of Susan Rice and Samantha Power to take effect, and then, there is the pitiful spectacle of John McCain.  pl 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/politics/syria-us-chemical-weapons/

The Sultan Caliph Tayyip the First

 

 

"After a night of violence, traffic returned to Istanbul's Taksim Square early Wednesday, with taxis, trucks and pedestrians returning to the streets. A heavy police presence stood off to the side, near a new barricade erected before dawn to prevent riot police from firing tear gas into the square's still occupied Gezi Park. Hundreds of protesters remained in the park, clearing up after a night of trying to fend off tear gas, followed by an early morning storm that blew down tents and soaked bedding and blankets. At the park's entrance on Taksim Square, a massive barricade of wrecked cars and construction material stood as rudimentary protection from the police. Throughout Tuesday, riot police firing water cannon and tear gas clashed repeatedly with pockets of protesters throwing stones and setting off fireworks in pitched battles. The unrest didn't simmer down until just before dawn. Erdogan has insisted the protests and occupations, which he says are hurting Turkey's image and economy, must end immediately."  USAtoday

 

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I think that Erdogan has greatly over-estimated the strength of his own position and is in big trouble.  Richard Engle and various knowledgeable people tried over the last few days to explain Turkey to a public that wants to think that all Middle Eastern countries are the same and that revolution against an elected government is necessarily a bad thing.  It was clear from the responses of the 24/7 news crowd that this message was completely beyond the level of their education.

Erdogan has been elected several times, but he was elected because the many rural villages full of peasants all over Anatolia will always vote for him.  Many of the people in those villages never accepted Ataturk's westernization of Turkey and his attempt to createe a secular society in which European mores would prevail.

Erdogan for all his smooth talk and business suits is intent in re-creating an Islamist Turkey.  the westernized element in the country knows exactly what Erdogan is aboiut.  If you don't think he is like that, look at his wife.  She represents what he really wants.

A great upheaval is coming in Turkey.  Erdogan intends to continue to decimate the Turkish military officer corps and make the armed forces into advocates of Islamism.  He intends to suppress women's rights, and to convert the Turkish Constitution into an instrument of Islamization.

This is the man that Obama and Kerry want for an ally?  pl

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/06/12/turkey-protests/2414101/

Clapper and Alexander lied to the senate.

Is it not strange that the Congress that seems eager to pursue Snowden to the ends of the earth "till he spouts black blood and rolls dead out" is apparently not concerned that The Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the National Security Agency  both seem to have committed perjuty in testimony before the Congress.

James Clapper told Andrea Mitchell on television this week that he had given the senate the "least false answer" that he could manage when asked by Senator Widen of Oregon if the NSA collected data on ordinary Americans. 

Keith Alexander has evidently done some similar thing.  pl

Edward Snowden is the leaker but Clapper lied to the senate.

"Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said Saturday that the NSA had initiated a Justice Department investigation into who leaked the information — an investigation supported by intelligence officials in Congress. Snowden, whose full name is Edward Joseph Snowden, ontracted for the NSA said he understands the risks of disclosing the information, but that he felt it was important. “I intend to ask for asylum from any countries that believe in free speech and oppose the victimization of global privacy,” Snowden told the Post from Hong Kong, where he has been staying. The Guardian was the first to publicly identify Snowden. Both media organizations made his name public with his consent."  Washpost

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Yes.  This man broke the law, but isn't lying to the senate also a crime?  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/intelligence-leaders-push-back-on-leakers-media/2013/06/09/fff80160-d122-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html

 

 

"Give us what we want or we won't..." What?

 

The Syrian opposition will not attend the proposed Geneva conference on the crisis in Syria unless rebel fighters receive new supplies of arms and ammunition, the top rebel military commander said Friday.  Gen. Salim Idris during a news conference in Istanbul on Saturday said.   “If we don’t receive ammunition and weapons to change the position on the ground, to change the balance on the ground, very frankly I can say we will not go to Geneva,” Gen. Salim Idris said in a telephone interview from his headquarters in northern Syria. “There will be no Geneva.”   NY Times - Michael Gordon

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Well,  well, if the US does not act to weaken the Syrian government enough to make it agree to surrender power to the rebels, then the rebels will not attend the conference in Geneva.

Good.  pl 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/world/middleeast/syria-opposition-wont-attend-talks-unless-rebels-get-arms-commander-says.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

"A Note on Kohl" by Richard Sale

A Note on Kohl

By Richard Sale

The observations of the ConfusedPonderer on Jim Baker and Helmut Kohl were absolutely first-rate. They are full of insight, and I agree with him that the most praise must go to Kohl for accomplishing German reunification. He was initially cautious about the topic, suggesting five-year program that would end in a single state. 

In 1989, Francois Mitterand, the French PM, said of reunification, “I don’t have to do anything to stop it; the Soviets will do it for me.” But Mitterand was wrong as was Margaret Thatcher.  The Soviets were completely open to financial persuasion.  Gorbachev tried to hold the negotiations hostage by asking for a ransom of $20 billion.  In the end, he settled for $8 billion, with another $2 billion in interest-free credits. From 1990 to 1994, Bonn transferred to Moscow the equivalent of $71 billion with another $36 billion going to the former Communist states of Eastern Europe.

The Lives of Others - TTG

"The scale of America's surveillance state was laid bare on Thursday as senior politicians revealed that the US counter-terrorism effort had swept up swaths of personal data from the phone calls of millions of citizens for years. After the revelation by the Guardian of a sweeping secret court order that authorized the FBI to seize all call records from a subsidiary of Verizon, the Obama administration sought to defuse mounting anger over what critics described as the broadest surveillance ruling ever issued.

A White House spokesman said that laws governing such orders "are something that have been in place for a number of years now" and were vital for protecting national security. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, said the Verizon court order had been in place for seven years. "People want the homeland kept safe," Feinstein said. But as the implications of the blanket approval for obtaining phone data reverberated around Washington and beyond, anger grew among other politicians."  (The Guardian)

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The revelations of the last several days about the scope of the NSA's surveillance efforts is remarkable in many ways. It started with a whistle blower leaking information and documents to Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian. The scope of what was released dwarfs what Bradley Manning released to WikiLeaks. Like Manning, the leaker of the NSA information is undoubtedly someone with a U.S. security clearance who signed a nondisclosure agreement. The government will will be hunting for this leaker with a vengeance. I signed the same thing as did Colonel Lang. For that reason, I am not linking to any of the leaked classified documents.

Both Obama and Clapper have issued statements acknowledging these surveillance programs. They, and a host of Legislative officials, have stated the programs are all legal and necessary to keep us safe. Obama assured us that no one in the government is listening to our phone calls. Sure, that's not really technically feasible… yet. Clapper's statement is informative in explaining the legal safeguards and how "the Intelligence Community is committed to respecting the civil liberties and privacy of all American citizens." That's probably all true, but "trust us" is not that reassuring of an answer.

My first thought upon hearing of this was of Erich Honecker's pervasive and sordid surveillance state. I remember when we all thought the DDR was an abomination because of all that internal surveillance. I recommend the movie "Das Leben Der Anderen" as a cautionary tale. It could happen here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/obama-administration-nsa-verizon-records

http://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/191-press-releases-2013/868-dni-statement-on-recent-unauthorized-disclosures-of-classified-information

HARPER: GENOCIDE TWINS COME ON BOARD

In the September 2001 issue of The Atlantic magazine, journalist Samantha Power interviewed Dr. Susan Rice as part of a lengthy review of the Clinton Administration failures that contributed to the 1990s Rwanda genocide.  In a brief interview towards the end of the piece, Dr. Rice told Power, "I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required."  At the time of the Atlantic interview, Samantha Power was part of the stable of human rights advocates on the payroll of billionaire speculator and self-confessed youthful Nazi collaborator George Soros.  

Yesterday, President Barack Obama named Susan Rice as his new National Security Advisor and replaced her as United Nations ambassador by Samantha Power.  They are both Obama family insiders.  Power was famously "fired" from the 2008 Obama campaign staff for her over-zealous role as attack dog against rival Hilary Clinton.  Rice is a longtime favorite of the President, the First Lady and the "East Wing irregulars" led by Valerie Jarrett.  When President Obama needed an unquestionably loyal mouthpiece to go out an lie to the American people about the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American diplomats were killed in a planned, premeditated terrorist attack by known Al Qaeda affiliates, Rice happily made the rounds of the TV talking head shows spouting a fairy tale about spontaneous demonstrations protesting an anti-Islam video that nobody in Libya had ever seen or even heard about.

14,000 sex victims in DoD were male.

"You’ve seen or heard the news about the rising incidence of sexual assaults in the U.S. military. Our automatic assumption is that most were women. Not so. What you’re not told by the State Run Media is that the majority of those sexual assaults are male-on-male. And the incidence of male-on-male sexual assaults is increasing. Welcome to the Obama military! gay soldiers Scarborough reports for The Washington Times, May 20, 2013, that a recent Pentagon survey shows more military men than women are sexually abused in the ranks each year, but those man-on-man sexual assaults are underreported. The Pentagon’s 1,400-page annual report came with two basic sets of data: official reports of sex crimes and a scientific survey sample of the 1.4 million active force from which the department extrapolated the number of abuses, regardless of whether they were officially reported In fiscal year 2012, which ended on September 30, 26,000 service members were victims of sexual assaults, But roughly 14,000 of the victims were male and 12,000 female, according to a scientific survey sample produced by the Pentagon."  DC Clothesline

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"... roughly 14,000 of the victims were male and 12,000 female, according to a scientific survey sample produced by the Pentagon." 

So the scientific study indicates that un-reported sexual crime in the military has increased but mainly the increase is in male on male assaults.

Since it  is DoD's own data that is under discussion here one can only conclude that the armed forces are being abused in public over this because:

- The Chiefs know that the BHO Administration has a pro-gay agenda and will not support them if they speak the truth about this.

- The collection of Harpies in the senate who are raging over their sense of victimization will not listen to reason.

- John McCain's lunatic outburst yesterday must have some as yet hidden motivation.

IMO the data in these studies is being used to abuse the military leadership for the purpose of making them more amenable to various agenda items.  The JCS have been remarkably resistant to the idea of US intervention in Syria.  What better way to bring them "to heel" than this distortion of statistical data?

McCain, ah well, this bandwagon will work for him if it leads to war in Syria.  pl

http://dcclothesline.com/2013/05/28/sharp-increase-in-man-on-man-sexual-assaults-in-us-military/

 

 

Aleppo is next.

"Syrian government forces seized control Wednesday of the strategically important border city of Qusayr, which had been the site of nearly seven weeks of fighting. State-run TV credited an offensive "that led to the annihilation of a number of terrorists," the government's term for rebels. "Our heroic armed forces are always determined to confront any aggression that our beloved homeland may face in the future," an anchor on Syrian state television said. The Syrian opposition acknowledged the report. "Yes, dear brethren, this is a battle that we lost, but the war is not over yet," said the Homs Revolution News, which is associated with the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network. One dissident group said Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite militia backed by Iran and the Syria government, was instrumental in the siege's success. "Hezbollah fighters took control of Al-Qusayr city after the regime forces covered their night attack with heavy bombing that was carried out by the regime armed forces since last night and continued into the morning," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "  CNN

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The Syrian rebellion is losing ground steadily.  The capture of Qusayr and parts of Damascus by the government has been accompanied by effective action in re-taking villages in the Hama Plain

The "opposition" reports the presence of 2,000 Hizbullah troops in the Aleppo area.  They are there to act as reinforcement to the Syrian Army for a major effort to re-capture the rebel held parts of the city of Aleppo.

Nasrullah's decision to intervene in Syria makes good militaty sense.  His strategic line of supply runs through Damascus International Airport.  A rebel triumph in Syria would effectively doom Hizbullah.

Does anyone think there will actually be a peace conference?  pl  

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/world/meast/syria-civil-war/?hpt=hp_t2

Let's Weaken the Authority of Military Commanders - No?

 
"... military officials united in opposition to Gillibrand’s proposal, which would take away commanders’ authority to determine whether sexual assault cases go to trial. “If you’ve heard each of us suggest that the role of a commander is central in solving this problem, it’s because we believe that the role of the commander is essential to any change we will be able to make on this issue,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the committee, defending the current processes. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard leaders testified Tuesday on a panel convened by the Senate Armed Services Committee to hear opinions on pending sexual assault bills.  Politico

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The notion that military society is or should be closely analogous to civilian life is just ignorant and silly.

The military life and military society exist for the sole purpose of doing violence in service of the foreign, and if need be, the domestice policy of the US Government

The military does not exist for the purpose of creating opportunities for "self-actualization" for people in the forces.  This is true without regard to gender, race, status as a membe of a protected minority or whatever.

In pursuit of combat power in the service of the country, nothing can be  allowed to exist in the US armed forces that detracts in any way from the generation and maintenance of that power.

 A key factor in the generation of combat power is the unity and integrity of what is called the chain of command.  By this is meant the undivided authority and responsibility of commanders at all levels from squad leader to theater commander over all that occurs within their commands.  The principle enunciated by the Commandant of the USMC today that both the authority and the responsibility of commanders can not be diluted without threatening the capability of the force is absolutely correct.

Both the functioning of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Inspector General system are command functions.  There is no separate judicial system,  in the military, nor should there be.  A court-martial is a command function.  It sits in the name of the commander and represents him or her and acts for him.  The commander should continue to have the right to reduce sentences recommended by a court-martial that was authorized by him.

To take judicial power away from commanders is to weaken the power and authority of all commanders and to court battlefield disaster when in some future combat service members question that authority.

It is amusing to hear draft dodgers like Christopher Matthews opine on how the armed forces should be run, but it is much more serious to hear senators who know little of the reality of war treat this crisis of criminal activity as an issue left over from the feminist culture wars.

Solution:

What needs to be done is to hold commanders responsible in terms of promotion and assignment for failure to enforce existing militsry law.  In other words, commanders who do not fully investigate, prosecute and punish malfeasants should be penalized in term of their careers.  As soon as it becomes clear that this is true, the rate of such misbehavior will drop to a low level.  All that will be required to achieve that effect will be for some general or admiral to be heavily penalized for failure to act or for retaliation.  pl 

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/military-sexual-assault-hearing-92196.html

"Did John McCain Provide Material Support for Syrian Terrorists?" Bandow

"Having his photo taken with Islamic extremists could reasonably be interpreted as an endorsement, which, based on past cases, could be seen as providing “material support” for terrorism. Presumably that isn’t what Sen. McCain intended. But the law’s application is not based on intent. To be fair to the rest of us, the Justice Department should investigate. The alternative would be for Senator McCain to launch a legislative effort to restrict the application of the law to what most people would reasonably consider to be aiding terrorists. Make it clear that what is prohibited is actually underwriting terrorism, not engaging in activities that might be seen as vaguely assisting a group that might have acted in some ways that might be construed as terrorism."  Bandow at Cato

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I have been an expert witness in several federal cases involving national security in which the issue was whether or not the defendant had provided "material support" to terrorism.  Often there was some underlying other matter involvnig payment  of taxes or charitable donations, but the establishment of "material support" in a verdict meant that the sentence imposed would be several times as long as would otherwise have been the case.

Senator McCain clearly associated with known terorists in Syria and by implication endorsed their cause.  pl

http://www.cato.org/blog/did-john-mccain-provide-material-support-syrian-terrorists

 

 

 

 

Turkey and Syria -3 June, 2013

"... the protests partially reflect "the deep ideological polarization between secular, liberal-minded Turks, and the more religious Turks." The modern Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious orders. "Secular Turks complain that the Islamist-rooted government is intolerant of criticism and the diversity of lifestyles," he says and "so far, Erdogan's robust and muscular stance vis-à-vis the demonstrators has reinforced those perceptions." Erdogan describes his AKP party as a "conservative democratic" party but some fear the AKP's conservative Islamic values are encroaching on Turkey's traditional secularism. Writing for Hurriyet Daily News, Yusuf Kanli said an "arrogant" Erdogan had taken a series of wrong steps ahead of the protests, including passing legislation that placed additional restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol. Erdogan had referred to "two boozers" who had introduced liberal alcohol laws, Kanli said. "That was an obvious reference to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the diehard secular founding father of the republic, and his comrade in arms and second president Ismet Inonu," he wrote."  CNN

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Having lived and worked in Turkey when modernist secularism was in full bloom and having watched Erdogan's crypto-Islamist Sunni party seek the destruction of that tradition, I have waited for the Turkish people and the army of the republic to act.  Perhaps "now's the time, and now's the hour."  In the '70s when I lived in Turkey Erdogan would have been arrested by now for attempting to subvert the constitution of the Turkish Republic.  pl

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/world/europe/turkey-conflict-explainer/

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"John McCain said on Sunday the U.S. should allow a no-fly zone over Syria and use U.S. and allied air power to establish dominance there. The U.S. should establish a safe zone for rebels fighting against Syrian President's Bashar Assad’s regime, the Arizona Republican said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Assad is now prevailing in the battlefield against resistance troops, McCain said, warning the conflict has the potential of spreading throughout the Middle East. The U.S. and its allies, he said, should crater Syria’s runways with standoff Cruise missiles and use Patriot missiles close to the border to protect the safe zone. “We can establish that safe zone, and I’m confident that we will prevail,” McCain said. “Air superiority is a key element in any conflict with this terrain.” McCain disputed suggestions that the U.S. shouldn’t get involved in Syria, warning that the situation there has gotten progressively worse and will continue to deteriorate unless something changes. “It is in our strategic interest to see Bashar Assad go,” he said."  Politico

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Well, you read it here two years ago.  SST has maintained from the beginning of the Syria civil war that the arc of hstory did not, in fact incline toward the mish-mash of Islamists, Jihadis and inept Syrian malcontents that make up "the opposition."  Yesterday in the Washpost my old colleague Jeff White (of WINEP) and some thinly disguised Israeli analyst now resident at WINEP more less conceded the inevitability of Syrian government victory.  Now we have the spectacle of Senator McCain demanding war against the Syrian government.  Someone should explain to him that the Syrian Baath government are not the enemies of long ago against whom he and I fought.  “It is in our strategic interest to see Bashar Assad go,” he said."

Really"  Why?  pl

http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2013/06/mccain-establish-nofly-zone-in-syria-165195.html

 

Neocon rage over Syria

The corporate media were infested today with neocons like Danielle Pletka, Jennifer Rubin and Chris Wallace who insisted that only US intervention in Syria would make the world safe.

Pletka and Rubin descended in their arguments to the truth of their position.  This position is that Iran will be emboldened by what they  call US "weakness" in Syria.  Yes, that's right, its's all about Israel for them.  Evidently they have never seen a war in which they would not sacrifice the interests of the US and the lives of her soldiers to make Israel safe and the undisputed hegemon of the Middle East.  Iran is not a serious threat to the US.

Wallace on FNS  had a slightly different response to conservative disinclination in his panel for a US war in Syria.  His response was to ask "Well, then, you want the tyrant Assad to continue to rule and butcher these good people," and then later, "I guess you would have wanted Saddam Hussein to still be there as well..."  In the end it is the same position as that held be Pletka and Rubin.

I suggest that Fox News send him on his way.  Perhaps he can work at MSNBC where  his anti-gun and interventionist sentiments will be welcomed.  pl

Homage to Oklahoma

This picture is in Missouri.  (We say Mizzoureh here)  They were struck yeaterday as well.  It is as though God Almighty has chosen the people of the central US for the trials of Job.

I visited Oklahome for a few days years ago and was struck by the geniality and friendliness of the people. 

Now we see them in their finest hour, unbowed, helping each other and unwilling to accept defeat.

Homage!

 pl