(Marcus sends greetings from his temporary refuge in Costa Rica)
Turkey - The Turkish foreign minister yesterday announced on Turkish TV that no Turkish soldiers will be sent into the "buffer zone" to defend it. Well, then who will defend it? "Turkmen Volunteers?" This would be a transparent ploy, something like the Chinese "volunteering" to fight the US in Korea. The first time a Turkish soldier or jandarm para-military bitches to the media about being "volunteered" Erdogan will have a lot of trouble. Perhaps the unicorn army of non-jihadi anti-Assad resistants? Their leading wave of conquest was just handed its hat, ass and overcoat by the Nusra Front. The effort to train such people is revealed to be totally ineffective. I ask again - Who and what is defending Incerlik Air Base in turkey? IS has demonstrated its ability to operate within Turkey. Air base defense is not an idle question.
HC - News on the jungle telegraph in Washington holds that contrary to any expectation of Clintonian sanity in the e-mailgate caper, HC's staff transmitted information over her non-government e-mail account that they knew had previously been judged to be classified. If that is true, she is in a lot of trouble both politically and legally as are people who were in her former staff. This behavior would be vastly different from transmitting information that had not yet been classified by State or some other government department.
IS chemical weapon use - There is some evidence that IS has repeatedly used chlorine gas or mustard gas against Kurdiah fighters. The Borg's immediate knee-jerk reaction is to suggest that perhaps IS obtained these munitions from the Assad government. Well, pilgrims, these chemical agents are not all that hard to make.
Ramadi - The US and Iraq tell us that Ramadi is about to fall to the forces of light. Well, we are waiting...
Odierno's parting shot - The departing US Army Chief of Staff, Ray Odierno, affectionately known as "The Desert Ox," announced at a final presser that it might be necessary to partition Iraq. Abadi's government reacted in fury to that, and why not. The Shia Arabs want to rule Iraq as it was and in one piece. It will be interesting to see what the new CoS is like. He is a Princeton grad rather than WP.
Political projection for 2016 - A Republican ticket made up of Kasich/Fiorino or Kasich/Rubio. pl
I hope not Carly. That little squirrel's major accomplishment was nearly extincting Hewlett Packard. I guess Rubio would guarantee Florida.
HRC: Like any other dinosaur, Hilary's campaign is dead but the brain is behind on the news from the body. The body politic didn't want her two election cycles back and doesn't want her again. She has never figured out that the whole privilege stick she and Bill have been mining has run way dry. The Angry Grandfather will prevail!
I will leave Turkey, Ramadi and Iraq to my more experienced fellow correspondents! On those matters, I am here to study, learn and get a clue!
Posted by: BabelFish | 14 August 2015 at 11:36 AM
"Who will defend it?" ie, the buffer zone.
A Turkish newspaper says that Turkey has created a force of 5000 Syrian Turkmen, who can presumably be used for this purpose (bolstered by Turkish SF). ( http://tinyurl.com/qhc5khg )
(Moon of Alabama referenced this and other reports a few days ago).
Posted by: FB Ali | 14 August 2015 at 11:49 AM
FB Ali
Yes, a fraudulent volunteer force is possible. I just changed my post to allow for that chance. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 12:15 PM
HRC is truly perplexing to me. She is way smart enough to have understood her email scheme was illegal and risky with respect to classified information; yet she executed the plan anyway. Something has to be wrong in her head -- psychology? ego? what? -- for that to have occurred.
Posted by: DC | 14 August 2015 at 12:45 PM
On the emails, more data from the AP- perhaps not so clear. The two emails on Hillary Rodham Clinton's private server that an auditor deemed "top secret" include a discussion of a news article detailing a U.S. drone operation and a separate conversation that could point back to highly classified material in an improper manner or merely reflect information collected independently, U.S. officials who have reviewed the correspondence told The Associated Press.
The sourcing of the information in the emails could have significant political implications as the 2016 presidential campaign heats up [. . .] The officials who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity work in intelligence and other agencies. They wouldn't detail the contents of the emails because of ongoing questions about classification level. Clinton did not transmit the sensitive information herself, they said, and nothing in the emails she received makes clear reference to communications intercepts, confidential intelligence methods or any other form of sensitive sourcing.
To review this story, -nothing in the emails she received makes clear reference to communications intercepts, confidential intelligence methods or any other form of sensitive sourcing. still clear as mud.
Posted by: oofda | 14 August 2015 at 12:48 PM
"Political projection for 2016 - A Republican ticket made up of Kasich/Fiorino or Kasich/Rubio."
PL, you could be right on the money with this prediction! I have been favorably impressed by Kasich since his announcement last month. He has great experience, he's moderate on social issues and he speaks from his knowledge and competence and is not a blow hard.
Though I am not particularly a fan of Camille Paglia, I did enjoy her column on the Republican debate (since I am afflicted with PSAS/Political Speech Aversion Syndrome, I did not watch it myself). She thought Kasich won. Her sketches of the various participants are very amusing. I have included a few of them below.
Camille Paglia: John Kasich Won the Debate (Guest Column) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/camille-paglia-john-kasich-won-813657
Jeb Bush - Is there a blander, more boring personality in American politics? The guy looks like the runny yolk of a fried egg. He's trying to be assertive tonight because he's been told he needs to project "passion." But when his lips move, there's still a big blank. Why the heck the major media hails him as the GOP frontrunner is beyond comprehension — except that big money has been showering down on him like powdered sugar on a donut. Why do Jeb's smiles remind me of a dimply grandmother? …
Chris Christie - A refreshing flow of specifics from a hands-on governor, but Christie will never fly as presidential material. He has a braying, jabbering manner like an old-style big-city mayor of the Fiorello La Guardia era. There's something too baby-like about him. I was thinking Fatty Arbuckle? John Belushi? Under the bravado there's a hint of chaos. Maybe it's the mismatch between his ski-jump nose (not what he had in high school) and those bouncy plump lips. Anyhow, aside from his disqualifying history of thuggish behavior, Christie is too Northeastern provincial for nationwide appeal. …
John Kasich - Buoyed by the crowd's enthusiastic support of his tenure as governor of Ohio, Kasich came on strong in the debate. His brusque, animated gestures are awkward but manlike in a solid, old-fashioned way. Kasich is a genuine populist with working-class family ties. He made the Princeton-educated Cruz look effete tonight. Kasich was full of specifics about his congressional experience on the armed services and budget committees. I think he won the debate. Kasich is a mensch in a party of parakeets.
---------------
Yesterday, a friend of mine who is a long time Democrat (and who doesn't go on the internet much) asked me to explain the popularity of Donald Trump. I faxed her two articles that some here may find interesting as well. I think the RedState article by conservative Edward Morrissey is particularly apt.
What I learned about Donald Trump at the RedState Gathering he was uninvited from http://theweek.com/articles/571153/what-learned-about-donald-trump-redstate-gathering-uninvited-from
Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Salena Zito writes, "Americans keep sending a message that politicians, experts, and some in the media keep misreading." Voters aren't interested in the electability of Sanders, or in the antics of Trump, but in the much-needed disruptive impact they have on establishment politics. Americans of all ideologies have grown tired of our two-party system's top-down political structure and messaging, which has left vast swaths of voters feeling disenfranchised. These activists and voters have no incentive to work within a political structure that marginalizes them.
Candidates like Trump might be unserious or even clownish to the media and political analysts, but the large number of people who latch onto them as a vehicle for their frustration are not. This populist impulse on both sides of the aisle threatens to derail the two-party system. Unless the leadership in both organizations starts paying more attention to voters than the status quo which those voters are rejecting — and finding leaders in anyone who can give vent to their frustration — they may be the authors of their own demise.
Trump isn't the problem. He's just the symptom.
----------------
Here is an unexpectedly sane piece on Trump at the NY Times...
Donald Trump, Moderate Republican http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/upshot/donald-trump-moderate-republican.html
Posted by: Valissa | 14 August 2015 at 12:54 PM
valissa
Kasich is a streetwise pol. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 12:57 PM
re Trump, you might be amused by this:
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/126589300371/clown-genius
Posted by: jld | 14 August 2015 at 01:16 PM
Not long after Florina left HP she was voted one of the worst CEOs of all time. She was used a case study in business school to find out what makes for a bad CEO. They found that she was ineffective and arrogant. On the plus side, if you vote for her you won't have to surprised after she is in office when you find out she is just another narcissistic, incompetent.
Posted by: steve | 14 August 2015 at 01:49 PM
Thanks jld! Great piece by Scott Adams :) I'm going to fax this one to my friend also, as she's a shrink and will appreciate the approach.
Posted by: Valissa | 14 August 2015 at 02:52 PM
@ Steve
She will do well as a VP- may be too well - going around the World to represent POTUS and the US. The air controllers won't have to worry for delays due to her having a hair cut by the local celebrity hair dresser. She was known to have her own hair dresser accompanying her wherever she was visiting as the CEO.
Mrs Kasich will just have to watch out when both of them would be in the same room for official events- Gucci was her go-to attire when she was in the tech biz
Now we would just have to wait and see what function would be given to Frank - he was her driver and body guard when she was at HP.
Posted by: The Beaver | 14 August 2015 at 03:24 PM
The word you are searching for is HUBRIS!!
Posted by: BabelFish | 14 August 2015 at 03:28 PM
I rest my case.
Posted by: BabelFish | 14 August 2015 at 03:30 PM
Col Lang (and anyone else who cares to comment),
If Trump isn't picked as the nominee, what do you think he'll do?
Posted by: FB Ali | 14 August 2015 at 03:49 PM
Sir,
Sorry, have to disagree with you here.
Kasich is another Jeb! style cuckservative who pushes policies he's insulated from. Horrible on immigration, gun control, small government, and bent like a paperclip when the homo lobby told him to bark over the RFRA last year. The last great hope of the Cuckservative Borg in DC will go nowhere.
Fiorina - Romney in a pantsuit. Another CEO who only knows how to outsource w/O fixing any underlying problems. Bragged about it and is on record for saying that Americans have no rights to jobs in America. Wrecked HP and Compaq. Pretty sure Trump has his aces in a row and will rip her head off in any verbal debate while demanding of the crowd "Are you not entertained?"
Trump-Cruz or Cruz-Trump will be the ticket.
Posted by: Tyler | 14 August 2015 at 04:06 PM
tyler
I thought you understood the difference between prediction and advocacy. IMO Kasich is a street wise cunning political gutter rat who will say or do anything to be elected. Trump is just another bidness man who would probably be impeached for usurpation if elected. Cruz is a Canadian. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 04:17 PM
FB Ali
That would depend on the implied agreement he has with the holy couple. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 04:19 PM
Sir,
Oh I understand - just pointing out why it won't happen imho. Sorry for the confusion.
Personally, Trump - Bill Clinton 3rd Party would be the most amazing ticket just to see the collective stroke the talking heads would have.
Posted by: Tyler | 14 August 2015 at 04:51 PM
run as Independent a la Perot. Trump is becoming popular because he doesn't take bull***t from anyone and so fits the Jungian Father-figure/Emperor archetype. Thus he reminds me of Bush 2nd. I think he's a lot smarter and more devious than he looks; he well understands media is a game, and knows how to play'. Better than most governors. If he keeps from shooting himself in the foot over the next year, I predict he will make a surprisingly strong candidate.
he's got to show that he has heart, and is not a bully. Challenges for a New Yorker.
Why doesn't Bloomberg run? I'd think he's more professional at managing empires even than Trump.
Posted by: Imagine | 14 August 2015 at 05:16 PM
"will say or do anything to be elected"
Do you have an example of a politician who hasn't done this?
“The most characteristic concern of rhetoric [is] the manipulation of men’s beliefs for political ends….the basic function of rhetoric [is] the use of words by human agents to form attitudes or to induce actions in other human agents.” – Kenneth Burke
Posted by: Valissa | 14 August 2015 at 05:31 PM
Kasich/Rubio. pl
I agree, but will throw up in the process. lol
HRC is not really as smart as people think she is, just an opportunist who is running out of luck. Bimbo gate is next.
The departing US Army Chief of Staff, Ray Odierno, affectionately known as "The Desert Ox," announced at a final presser that it might be necessary to partition Iraq. pl
I made the same predictions a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...lol
Sir, can you confirm that the Iranians told ISIS that is they attack Baghdad, Iran will intervene?
Posted by: Jose | 14 August 2015 at 05:50 PM
Scott Adams predicts Mark Cuban as a VP running mate. America's income comes from small business income taxes. I think it would fly. Cuban has a big mouth but comes across and having integrity, and not needing bribes. The appearance of integrity is a rare/valuable attribute.
Saying Trump can't do politics because x is like saying Hulk Hogan can't wrestle because it's all fake. It really misses the fundamentals of what's actually going on. Of course it's fake. It takes a HUGE amount of real skill for it to be that fake, and work.
Posted by: Imagine | 14 August 2015 at 06:11 PM
Ted Cruz- I assume he obtained his USA citizenship via his Mother at birth as his Father was Cuban not becoming a citizen till 2005. He renounced his Canadian citizenship recently. Not to stir the pot but how can he be eligible to become President as he was born in Canada.
Now I have children who were born out of the USA also and always told them they can be whatever they want except President of the USA due to their birth in a foreign country. Has something changed?
Posted by: Bobo | 14 August 2015 at 06:37 PM
Bobo
If his mother was a US citizen when he was born in Canada he could be considered to be a "natural born" US citizen. IMO he is a Canadian and his status should be challenged. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 06:55 PM
Jose
It might be Kasich/Fiorina if Hilly gets the nom. I know nothin of any Iranian threat to IS. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 14 August 2015 at 07:01 PM