Hersh article on the JCS, the Borg and Syria

"The military’s resistance dates back to the summer of 2013, when a highly classified assessment, put together by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then led by General Martin Dempsey, forecast that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to chaos and, potentially, to Syria’s takeover by jihadi extremists, much as was then happening in Libya. A former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs told me that the document was an ‘all-source’ appraisal, drawing on information from signals, satellite and human intelligence, and took a dim view of the Obama administration’s insistence on continuing to finance and arm the so-called moderate rebel groups. By then, the CIA had been conspiring for more than a year with allies in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to ship guns and goods – to be used for the overthrow of Assad – from Libya, via Turkey, into Syria. The new intelligence estimate singled out Turkey as a major impediment to Obama’s Syria policy. The document showed, the adviser said, ‘that what was started as a covert US programme to arm and support the moderate rebels fighting Assad had been co-opted by Turkey, and had morphed into an across-the-board technical, arms and logistical programme for all of the opposition, including Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State. The so-called moderates had evaporated and the Free Syrian Army was a rump group stationed at an airbase in Turkey.’ The assessment was bleak: there was no viable ‘moderate’ opposition to Assad, and the US was arming extremists."  Sy Hersh

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You will probably be surprised but I am not.  George Marshall abstained from telling FDR a variety of things in spite of his friendship with the president.  He believed FDR was too likely to tell real secrets to his political cronies to be told everything.  pl

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n01/seymour-m-hersh/military-to-military

 

Comments

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

I find you to be a disingenuous neocon of the British tribe. If you were not too lazy you could read endlessly about the answer to your question in the archives of this blog. But... Short answer, Obama and his Harpies are driven by a Rousseau derived vision of a world order in which there is no place for those who do not submit to their dream of "The Peaceable Kingdom." This "holy" quest drives them in directions that coincide nicely with the desires of the Likud. Perhaps David Habakkuk could enlighten you. I know it is a waste of time for to attempt it. pl

[Kerim]

Never ceases to amaze me how HBO and his wreckin crew can still look at themselves in the mirror and not want to puke.

[pj]

The LRB also published the original Walt and Mearshiemer article about the Israel lobby. I've been a subscriber for decades. They are a treasured resource.

[Trey N]

No, it was a fairly recent book by a British author that naturally focused more on Slim than Stilwell in the theater. The Slim-Mountbatten-Stilwell-Wedemeyer-et al wrangling and infighting that went on in the CBI arena mirrored the Eisenhower-Montgomery-Bradley-Patton fussing and feuding taking place in the ETO. Not to mention the US army (SW Pacific under MacArthur) vs navy (Central Pacific under Nimitz) rivalry.

It's a good thing that America was such a tremendously prolific Arsenal of Democracy -- and that the Axis enemies were just as riven with internal dissension from competing factions (the IJN and army rivalry mirrored that of the US in the Pacific, and Himmler's SS and Goering's Luftwaffe field divisions ate up a lot of manpower and equipment that was desperately needed by the German regular army).

It seems that political infighting is the order of the day no matter what the outward structure of a given bureaucracy is....

[Laguerre]

"The significance is that this Pulitzer prize winning journalist can not longer find a publisher in the States because people like you denigrate his opposition to the policy of the Borg."

Not that I want to contest, but the fact that Hersh has found a publisher in the UK for this article, something which he has done before, is not evidence that he is no longer recevable in the US. I'm an enthusiast for Hersh.

[Jack]

Walrus

Like the Clintons and Blair, Obama will likely become fabulously wealthy through influence peddling. I doubt however that Erdogan could do that much or for that matter the Israelis. IMO, Wall St, energy, healthcare and defense equipment are where the big bucks are.

I don't buy into the thesis that it was future earnings that drove Obama's policy in the ME. Hillary had a huge role in regime change in Libya and Syria. Remember her comment of "we came. We saw. He died". Also, note the role of Cameron and Hollande. They were gung-ho to take out Gaddafi and Assad. I think it was as simple as hubris. That they were the actors and could do what they pleased. And at the end of the day the coterie around them were all Borgistas. And throwing around American military power is a central tenet. There's not a lot of difference between Dubya's term and Obama's as the policies are all essentially the same. And Hillary's term, IMO, will be the same on steroids. She's been calling Putin a thug for some time. But the reality is that the only people behaving thuggish is our political leadership drunk with power.

[walrus]

Col. Lang, yes "The Peaceable Kingdom" however, like all revolutionaries before them, the Harpies are quite willing to heap untold misery on the current generation of Syrians, Iraqis, etc. in the name of a glorious peaceable future.

They are no different to Pol Pot and perhaps Lenin in this respect. The daily media reports of "civilian casualties" as a result of Russian bombing and similar heartrending pronouncements of the R2P crowd should be seen for what it is.

[Valissa]

TTG...

I've been wondering about the CIA's relationship with the State Dept versus the DIA's relationship with the State Dept. I do understand that the DIA works with the Pentagon and DoD, while the CIA is civilian in nature and works more closely with the State Dept. But there must be some kind of cross ties from working on projects together.

Can you (or PL) shed some light on that?

Also Kerry (who seems to be more of a realist) is SoS but Victoria Nuland who works for the State Dept also is a well known neocon being the wife of a Kagan. I assume that even within the State Dept. there are supporters of overthrowing Assad versus those who share the military's concerns on this. Any idea how big this battle is and how deeply it penetrates the various gov agencies?

[Babak Makkinejad]

All:

Lt. General Odom commentary - June 26, 2007

http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Background.view&backgroundid=190

[Trey N]

"Seems we used to have general officers who would not drink the coolaid."

Yep, Patton and Stilwell were certainly warrior generals, throwbacks to an earlier era in history. Halsey and Mitschner were literally fighting admirals, but I am not familiar with any Air Force counterparts. Does anyone here know of any USAAF generals who routinely flew combat missions in WW II? Maybe Pete Quesada at IX TAC in Europe ??

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

It should be obvious that Sy Hersh and I know each other well. He assures me that for the reason I stated he can no longer be published in the US, and neither can I for the same reasons. "Black listing" is alive and well here. pl

[Laguerre]

"I find you to be a disingenuous neocon of the British tribe."

Frankly, if you think that, you are totally wrong. I read your blog because I have a basic sympathy with it. Because you have a long experience of the Arab world. That counts for me, as someone elsewhere in ME studies.
.

[turcopolier]

Trey N

In fairness, Dempsey, Flynn, the Chiefs and all the officers of the Joint Staff and DIA who stood by "the resistance" and obviously did not squeal on them should be thought of as Heroes of the Republic. pl

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

Yes, I know, you are a professor of Islamic archaeology. pl

[Laguerre]

I entirely appreciate the argument. The question though is whether Obama and his crowd can sustain an argument for support of Islamists, or that's too much.

[Laguerre]

So?

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

I do not know the answer to that question. BTW, now we will learn if the spirit of Chesty Puller still lives in the USMC and in Dunford. pl

[turcopolier]

Laguerre

What is your focus? pl

[Tyler]

Toivo,

"The NSA reads your emails and listens to your phone calls" was tin foil hat talk until Snowden broke it open, and then the court eunuch media said "its not news everyone already knew it have you heard about the Kardashians???"

[Valissa]

FYI, everyone... this is a more fun read than the wiki article on Puller
http://www.badassoftheweek.com/puller.html

[Tyler]

Trey,

LeMay and Yeager, but I'm not sure if they had picked up stars at that point?

[Tyler]

Laguerre,

Because they're true believers in blank slate CultMarx globalism.

[rjj]

Laguerre: Do you have any interest in the Sogdians? Too early and their only collision with Islam ends at Mount Mugh, but asking just in case.

[VietnamVet]

Colonel,

“But why?” is the 64-million-dollar question.

The White House and the Joint Chiefs had opposing Syrian policies. John Kerry may be pursuing a Syrian peace settlement on his own. No wonder it’s all screwed up and we are on the verge of a World War if Turkey invades Syria. One answer is the Globalists drive for power, money and resources. They’ve enabled their Turkish and Saudi partners’ risky behavior. In contrast, the duty of the US military is to defend the national interests of America. Not cause a nuclear war with Russia.

[turcopolier]

VV

"the Globalists drive for power, money and resources" More ED crap. This has been endlessly discussed here. pl