"McMaster is plotting how to sell a massive ground war in Syria to President Trump with the help of disgraced former CIA director and convicted criminal David Petraeus, who mishandled classified information by sharing documents with his mistress.
As NSA, McMaster’s job is to synthesize intellience reports from all other agencies. President Trump is being given an inaccurate picture of the situation in Syria, as McMaster is seeking to involve the U.S. in a full scale war in Syria.
The McMaster-Petraeus plan calls for 150,000 American ground troops in Syria.
Many special operations veterans including General Joseph Votel have raised serious concerns about McMaster’s plans for Syria.
Sources also suggest that McMaster is sharing classified information with Petraeus, whose security clearance was revoked." Cernovich
********
"Derek Harvey, the top Middle East adviser in the NSC, has close ties with Petraeus and is close with McMaster. (Harvey reportedly faces a massive EEO complaint from subordinates, although that investigation remains open.)
Harvey and McMaster have been trying to subvert Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Mattis and Dunford support working with our allies in the fight against ISIS. Harvey and McMaster are advocating for a massive American-only ground force.
Two men were standing in between another U.S.-led war in the Middle East — General Mike Flynn and Steve Bannon." Cernovich
-----------
Well, well. I remember Harvey as a captain assigned to the current intelligence branch of DIA who frequented my offices in the Pentagon for no apparent reason. His elevation to this position is somewhat unexpected. I wonder what the EEO case is bout. pl
If we were so foolish as to actually carry out this stupid suggestion, it would probably represent the inflection point needed to bring about the last straw for the American debt fueled economy. The accrued costs would prove ruinous.
"Those who the Gods would destroy"....
Let's hope this idea is as crazy as solving California's water problems by towing icebergs from Antarctica to LA.
Posted by: A.Pols | 14 April 2017 at 10:39 AM
I have seen this movie before. McMaster is the face/fall guy similar to CPowell. He is being led by the nose, probably not by coercion but by flattery. He is human. His association with Petreaus is not indicative of a strong independent mind...more of a careerist. Fools/geniuses that took us to war in Iraq are plotting us to finish off Assad...McMaster is cover for the gullible.
Posted by: Stueeeeee | 14 April 2017 at 11:31 AM
Is the goal to wipe out ISIS and then leave or more likely to permanently occupy eastern Syria or even to topple Assad?
Posted by: Alaric | 14 April 2017 at 12:22 PM
Read this:
Mattis! Bombs for Brains! – STEVE PIECZENIK TALKS
http://stevepieczenik.com/mattis-bombs-for-brains/
Posted by: MRW | 14 April 2017 at 12:39 PM
Is McMaster also plotting to strike North Korea? Ominous articles out of China. This time there's no Kim Young-sam who prevented Bill Clinton from doing the same.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2015/11/26/laying-south-koreas-kim-young-sam-to-rest-former-president-stopped-second-korean-war/
Posted by: Jack | 14 April 2017 at 12:45 PM
Stueeeeee,
Naw, this is about crossing the Latani river to finish off Hezbollah because Isreal's infantry isn't up to the job. Getting rid of Assad just clears the way for the hope and change order in the ME. Then it will be on to Moscow to change regimes like the neocons have wanted for decades. Who's going to stop us, the UN, NATO? Not the Democrats, they cheered Tomahawk Trump as loud and long as anyone else.
Posted by: Fred | 14 April 2017 at 01:27 PM
Not the former to be sure. The ol' Pudgy Pulitzer Prize genius Thomas Friedman has devised an entirely novel strategy in Syria:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/opinion/why-is-trump-fighting-isis-in-syria.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fthomas-l-friedman&action=click&contentCollection=opinion®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection&_r=1
Of course! How could we be so shortsighted as to not have considered this until now? Apparently Pravda on the Hudson and their neocon cabal feel so emboldened that they no longer need to hide their affinity and support for head choppers and liver eaters. Come to think of it, all the best restaurants in Manhattan serve foie gras, no? Peas in a pod, we and ISIS are...
Posted by: AK | 14 April 2017 at 05:36 PM
A short but perhaps relevant article from Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-mattis-idUSKBN17G1C1
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Qatar and Djibouti starting on Tuesday, the Pentagon said in a statement on Friday.
It said Mattis would "reaffirm key U.S. military alliances," and "discuss cooperative effort to counter destabilizing activities and defeat extremist terror organizations" during the April 18-23 tour. In Israel, he will hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the statement said.
........
With this grouping, 'destabilizing activities' means Iran, and extremist terrorist organization means Hezbollah.
I think there has been a few of these meeting, so I guess some plan is being cooked up regards Iran/Hezbollah.
Posted by: Peter AU | 14 April 2017 at 05:37 PM
Has the Committee noticed that since Trump's multi-million dollar missile strike on a remote Syrian air field after giving the Russians warning, the hyperventilating MSM no longer has "Putin's stooge " as the meme du jour?
They've moved on to the new shiny objects of "Evil Assad dunnit" to "Krazy Kim's ass gonna be gone". Borg pundits like Fareed Zakaria are now anointing him POTUS. The entire DC Borg are congratulating him including Loony McCain and the Duplicitous Hillary/Pelosi/Schumer.
Was this a PR masterstroke? Should he land on a carrier in full flight gear? That could be yuuuge in terms of ratings. And the Borg could have a multi-orgasmic moment.
Posted by: Jack | 14 April 2017 at 05:40 PM
Found on internet: "...conversation with MIT's Subrata Ghoshroy earlier today. IF the Syrian Army had wanted to carry out a chemical attack, the missile would most likely have exploded above the ground so as to cover the greatest area with "nerve gas" or CW agent and to cause the highest number of casualties. The fact that we are all focusing on a "crater" in the ground, points to a normal missile."
Form Vanessa Beeley's FB page.
Posted by: sid_finster | 14 April 2017 at 05:41 PM
Col. Lang: "a captain assigned to the current intelligence branch of DIA who frequented my offices in the Pentagon for no apparent reason."
Where have I seen this behaviour before? Ah yes! The Israeli engineer who came to "help" us install an IAI aerial tanker conversion in a Boeing 707. He kept popping up in offices totally unconnected with that project asking for a remarkable number of documents and schematics as well as all sorts of questions. He returned to Israel rather abruptly when his behaviour was eventually noted.
Posted by: walrus | 14 April 2017 at 05:55 PM
Alaric,
The goal is to topple Assad just to show that the DC FedBorg Regime still can topple targeted governments. And let chaos reign after that.
Whether the DC FedBorg's deepest insiders also covertly want a Saudi-Wahhabi aligned Islamic Emirate over all of Syria is unknowable to me.
Trump just wants to be the Great Historical President who Made Great Deals. He is not literate enough to be able to read about and/or understand any of the things which are written here. I begin to wonder if he is becoming just barely early-stage-Alzheimers enough to be able to think about anything at all in any depth or detail.
Certainly Trump has no idea that what he is empowering McMaster and etc. to design, with Trump himself to follow, is a precise and exact doublecross and a betrayal of every foreign policy approach that Trump ran on supporting.
Trump still seems to be committed to border control. But how well does no more Invite The World succeed if the President is newly committed to all-out Invade The World?
Posted by: different clue | 14 April 2017 at 06:43 PM
The Bloomberg piece on the 150,000 written by neocon Eli Lake mentions Jack Keane behind Mattis and the plot (and the leak?)
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-04-13/trump-said-no-to-troops-in-syria-his-aides-aren-t-so-sure
Keanne (says he) didn't want to be Trump's SecDef when asked but suggested Mattis and Petraeus to Trump
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/11/20/502769948/ret-army-gen-jack-keane-says-he-declined-offer-to-be-defense-secretary
Keanne is chairman of the kooks at the Institute for the Study of War.
Posted by: b | 14 April 2017 at 06:45 PM
Erdogan is proving to be too erratic for Incirlik in my opinion, and the US is looking for a new host.
Posted by: eakens | 14 April 2017 at 06:45 PM
Jack,
But if he did all that, and if he meant all that, how can he get back to his previous stated policy from before? Even if he thinks he is playing Obama-style elevendy-mentional chess, he is now a Prisoner of Mother Clinton. There is no going back for him now.
Can his base of committed voters scare the Tea Party Representatives and Senators ( if any) into being an anchor-drag against the Mainstream Republicans and the Clintocrats? Can the Bitter Berners serve a similar function against the Clintocrats themselves?
Posted by: different clue | 14 April 2017 at 06:47 PM
The fact that MSM are concentrating on a small crater in the road, with normal traffic coming and going soon afterwards, no barriers ect, and absolutely no pics of casualties in the area from the time of the incident, points to propaganda.
Posted by: Peter AU | 14 April 2017 at 07:58 PM
Fred
You think Trump believes he can accomplish what Napoleon and Hitler couldn't? I think it's within his realm of fantasy. He's famous for over extending himself property/business-wise and ending up serviced by wall street.
Posted by: optimax | 14 April 2017 at 11:00 PM
Trump is God's way of punishing us. I shouldn't be joking like that of Easter Friday. It is isn't it?
Posted by: optimax | 14 April 2017 at 11:02 PM
I don't think this is just a case of the evil McMaster whispering in the ear of an enchanted and forlorn Trump. I believe Trump spoke of his idea for safe area in Syria even before the election. He fleshed out that plan when he talked with the Saudi Prince Salman in mid-March. I'm afraid that all the good work done by my SF brethren in assisting the Kurds in Syria will be overshadowed and negated by an ill conceived and heavy handed American-Saudi-Israeli occupation of eastern Syria with the goal of overthrowing Assad. Once again, the Kurds will be royally screwed. This all sounds like the Taureg getting screwed in Azawad by the jihadis hijacking their quest for independence.
Posted by: The Twisted Genius | 14 April 2017 at 11:38 PM
Would you prefer to be punished by Hillary?
Posted by: Tel | 15 April 2017 at 12:10 AM
Common sense is not so common, Sir.
Posted by: Ivan | 15 April 2017 at 12:32 AM
Put not your trust in princes, as the Good Book says.
Posted by: Ivan | 15 April 2017 at 12:33 AM
Apologies for briefly going back to what now feels fifty years ago - all last month's accusations that Trump's team were conspiring with the dastardly Tartars before and during and after the election - but things are starting to unravel there:
"Report: British Spy Agency Was Surveilling Trump Team"
https://pjmedia.com/trending/2017/04/14/report-british-spy-agency-was-surveilling-trump-team/#comments
Posted by: johnf | 15 April 2017 at 03:11 AM
You make a good point. If you expand this just a little to include Ukraine we could be tied up fighting 3 major wars and possibly 4 if China decides to throw their weight (again) into Korea. We have been fighting multiple asymmetrical wars against mostly insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan and haven't actually gained anything for our somewhere near $6 trillion dollars.
I also wonder where the forces are supposed to come from. I suppose they could throw in all the reserves and Guard to make up the numbers but that would be foolish. As my usual rant goes, "What has any of this to do with National Security?"
My pessimistic self reverts always back to my biology background. When any organism is so successful that it grows to a point where it begins to choke on it's waste and starts running out of food it dies. I believe there are simply too many people in the world and we are seeing the effects of that. If you tie that into the Fermi paradox then I believe we are in a race to the end and ultimate extinction unless something changes very soon.
Posted by: Old Microbiologist | 15 April 2017 at 07:27 AM
Cernovich is oversimplifying it. What's driving McMaster, Petreaus and other like thinkers (there's a whole academic school around this) is the "revisionist states" idea, the idea that the US has lead the post World War II system for 70 years, but now certain "revisionist states," which are Russia, China and Iran, are seeking to change it and undermine it for entirely geopolitical reasons. They are therefore threats--bigger threats than even ISIS and Al Qaeda--and twe must be prepared to wage war against them, if necessary, to preserve that system and our leadership of it. THis is what's driving the Russian New Generation Warfare study that McMaster was leading at TraDoc before he moved to the White House. This analysis is preliminary but I hope to have it filled out in a few days.
Posted by: Willy B | 15 April 2017 at 08:13 AM