Beat Navy! Beat Russia! Beat everyone!

(Pompaeus as Plebian)

" CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Thursday Russia has no plans to leave Syria and will continue to try to meddle in U.S. affairs to "stick it to America."

He reiterated his belief that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election and described the U.S.-Russia relationship as "complicated."

"I think they find anyplace that they can make our lives more difficult, I think they find that's something that's useful," he said

Pompeo also said he has seen only minimal evidence that Russia has pursued a serious strategy against Islamic State of Iraq and Syrica (ISIS) militants in Syria. He said any suggestion that Russia has been a U.S. ally in Syria is not borne out by what's happening on the ground."   CBS News

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

Oh my!  Minimal evidence of Russia fighting IS in Syria?  Even CIA must know better than that.  This utterance at an Aspen Institute "fight rally" indicates to me that this fellow has a completely closed mind on the subject of Russia and undoubtedly Iran as well.  Clapper and Brennan expressed similar sentiments at the same meeting.  The great minds have met!  Clapper cannot keep himself from saying "Soviet" occasionally when what should be said is "Russia."  He was always a blockheaded group think schemer, so one should not be surprised.    As for Brennan it is easy to see Torquemada's spirit lurking behind the ruddy complexion and scowl.

When I was teaching at USMA (West Point) Pompeo's alma mater, I endured on a yearly basis the frenetic activities of the cadets as they prepared themselves emotionally for the annual titanic struggle against the USNA (Annapolis) football team.  There were rallies, building defacements with giant painted slogans "Beat Navy!"   There was a kidnapping of the Billy Goat which was USNA's mascot.  I seem to remember that some boy was dismissed for that caper. Good.

During one of these magic periods of anticipatory ecstasy, the Soviet military attaché came to visit.  He was the guest of the Russian language group in the Foreign Languages department.  I taught in the department and for some reason they asked me to the small dinner given for this general of the Red Army. 

We dined in the cadet mess where all the young ladies and gentlemen were fed together at one sitting.  This was in a cavernous space where centuries of re-modeling had freakishly produced an elevated platform between two buttresses  This was 20 feet or so above the floor on which the corps ate.  I think this place was called "the poop deck."  There was space  up there for a table that would seat ten or twelve while white jacketed waiters scurried around looking anxious overthe state of the napery, etc.  One could look over the stone rail at the masses below. 

During the dinner, various cadet cheerleaders were allowed upstairs in our sacred space to lead the corps in cheers against the US Navy (the navy undergrad school really)  The guest finally asked what all the noise was about.  I told him and he asked to lead the US Corps of Cadets in a cheer.  He took his place at the microphone where the cadets could see him, the very incarnation of the devil, and began. 

"Beat Navy!"  The kiddies cheered lustily.

"Beat Air Force!"  The cheering was more restrained.

"Beat Army!  Beat Everybody!"  After a moment's silence the kids began to boo him.  Since I was not an alumnus of this place I thought it was funny.

Former cadet Pompeo says that he has seen minimal evidence of Russia fighting IS?   Oh my!  Robert Fisk of the Independent has now reported (see link below) that he recently sat in a meeting in the dust bowl desert south of Raqqa, but hard by, in which SAA, and the YPG/SDF coordinated their joint fight against IS (ISIS).  A Russian Army colonel who called himself Yevgenii sat in the their midst as a full participant.  There were no Americans present.

The Soviet general took a great interest in what I was doing at WP.  IMO their biographic file on me started that evening.

Pompeo has a record of pompous (a sad linguistic joke) bellicosity.  He seems to desire enemies everywhere.  Perhaps someone should tell him that grown ups don't act like that.  pl 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-chief-mike-pompeo-russia-loves-to-stick-it-to-america/

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-isis-russia-kurdish-ypg-happening-in-secret-a7857471.html

Comments

[Prem]

It's a blatant lie. Pompeo must know it (if he really believes this, then we are in a hell of a mess).

But he knows that virtually nobody in the "newspapers of record" will call out the lie. The alternative reality will be believed by most westerners who follow such things (a small minority).

[Sam Peralta]

Col. Lang

Sometimes I wonder if all these political appointees to high office in our federal government look themselves in the mirror and listen to what they say?

Either they have drunk the kool-aid so much that they have become completely delusional and not know it or like Baghdad Bob they spout the currently accepted groupthink while they know that many must be laughing at them derisively.

[Bandolero]

Dear Colonel,

how many of such types are there in the US security burocracy?

I just read an opinion from former USD-I Michael G. Vickers (now on BAE's board) which left me almost speechless in his clarity. Quote:

"Iran has supported a Houthi takeover in Yemen, deposing a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, and exerted its influence over the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. The civil war in Syria represented our primary opportunity to roll back Iranian power in the Middle East and to sever its primary supply line to Hezbollah. We are squandering that opportunity."

Source: Michael G. Vickers in Wapo, 23/7/2017: The Trump administration should not give up on removing Assad in Syria

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-trump-administration-should-not-give-up-on-removing-assad-in-syria/2017/07/23/a7073878-6d59-11e7-96ab-5f38140b38cc_story.html

War as opportunity, more war for more opportunity and ending war as squandering an opportunity, that's what the view seems to be. Couple that with total ignorance for facts, eg that US/-Saudi-backed-backed President Hadi & Gen Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar in Yemen partnered with Al Qaeda, while Salehs US/EU-backed Republican guards & ISF faught against Al Qaeda together with the Houthis. After I read that opinion, I was just happy Michael G. Vickers is now a former USD-I.

[turcopolier]

Bandolero

IMO you cannot overestimate the effect of the long term baleful effect of the ant-Russia school at Garmisch and the spread of the effect of the influence of the opinions of its graduates. I don't know if Pompeo took Russian as a language at WP. All cadets were required to take a language. If it was Russian, That faculty in the language department were all Russophobes and led on by an aged White Russian civilian permanent type who foamed at the mouth at the word, Bolshevik." The head of the Russian language group was an immigrant Siberian colonel who had grown up in Shanghai where his father was an inspector in the Chinese customs. He didn't like the modern Russians much either. pl

[Eric Newhill]

Prem,
I think you're a wee bit too pessimistic. One of these fools was interviewed by Tucker Carlson recently. The same lie was repeated there. Tucker asked what, then, were all the Russian and Syrian sorties targeting. The answer? Women, children and hospitals. Tucker could barely restrain a grin. Why, Tucker asked, would the Russians spend their time and resources killing women and children and blowing up hospitals? That's just what they do for fun, was pretty much the reply. Tucker shrugged, chuckled and mockingly dismissed the answer as ridiculous.

The intelligence community is beginning to appear to be headed by people with an 8 year old comic book enthusiast's view of the world. How embarrassing for those who work diligently and honorably within the agencies. Surprising that none of them have subverted their command and contacted the Trump team directly with some reality in hand.

The IC already totally damaged its integrity.Maybe if they hadn't pulled this same level of nonsense in the build up to the Iraq war, citizens would be conned this time. Trump supporters are just digging in deeper as a result of such obvious BS. The people believing them are people that just hate Trump (see Trump derangement syndrome). However, these are very much the same people that opposed the Iraq war and remember vividly the lies that led up to it. So it won't take too much more silliness to cause their consciences to take over and reject the whole thing. I guess the Americans stink at "influence ops" compared to the Russians.

[kao_hsien_chih]

Col,

Your mention of the types who used to teach Russian at West Point makes me wonder about one thing.

When "the Saker" started his blog, he pointed out that he came out of the sort of anti-Bolshevik Russians that you mentioned, but these people are, even if they hate communists, are Russian nationalists, even ultranationalists--like the Saker, like Solzhenitsyn, and are presumably big fans of Putin and what he represents. They certainly would not confuse today's Russia with USSR. (On the other hand, I wonder people like Brzezinski ever saw a "Bolshevik" independent of "the Russian"--but that's a different perspective that long predates the Cold War.)

Curious how the dynamics between them--both Russian nationalists who were anti-communists, but now back to being Russian nationalists, and anti-Russians who always hated Russians, whether communist or not--and people like Pompeo--the Cold War holdovers--have been evolving.

[sid_finster]

Is it not abundantly obvious that Pompeo (or anyone else from the Borg, Deep State whatever you want to call it) will do whatever they can to avoid following any orders to disengage in Syria?

As I said earlier, expect one or more of the following:
1. Funneling arms and largesse through Israel or some gulfie despot.
2. More anonymous leaks intended to bring down Trump or at least keep him distracted and always on the defensive.
3. False flag.
4. Simply ignoring orders, secure in the knowledge that if caught, DC will treat them not as persons guilty of insubordination, but as martyrs.

[Willybilly]

Mike G. Vickers was instrumental in the planning phase of the covert ops against Syria Iran & Hizbullah.... He won't let go... While Hizbullah this July singlehandedly rolled back Al-Nusra is Qalamoun mountains in one week... Now they are ready to defeat Daesh as well in the Qaa mountains and valleys... clearing the whole mountain ranges between Lebanon and Syria in a flash....but the MSM is blind to that smashing victory...

[Anna]

Not everything is lost: https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/24/intel-vets-challenge-russia-hack-evidence/
"Intel Vets Challenge ‘Russia Hack’ Evidence:" From the information available, we conclude that the same inside-DNC, copy/leak process was used at two different times, by two different entities, for two distinctly different purposes. ... The recent forensic studies fill in a critical gap. Why the FBI neglected to perform any independent forensics on the original “Guccifer 2.0” material remains a mystery – as does the lack of any sign that the “hand-picked analysts” from the FBI, CIA, and NSA, who wrote the “Intelligence Community Assessment” dated January 6, 2017, gave any attention to forensics."

[Enrico Malatesta]

This very blog offered evidence of this group-think with a link to Lt. Col. Peters' foaming mouth interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this month:

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2017/07/must-see-neocon-tv-by-publius-tacitus.html

[bluetonga]

Well one should hope that Pompeo knows he is outrightly lying here, otherwise one should really worry about the basic capability of the CIA to understand what is going on, and this in my opinion would be much more of a problem for the coming events. Do not expect perspective from the blind man.

Yet, on the other hand, I find it quite disturbing that the head of one the most prestigious intelligence service in the world feels ok with misleading both the (observant) media and public in such a shameless way. This is truly outrageous, and the fact that no one in the MSM feels compelled to react tells a lot about the ongoing decline of American values.

[wisedupearly]

your description of the USMA event is a priceless teaching moment. I wonder if the Soviet attache caught your amusement. Mostly likely he did.
The bad teacher and the bad teaching system fall back on reflex group think. The attache probably got a lot of mileage back home out of his "teaching moment" at USMA.
Trigger a reaction and then slowly lead them to the edge of the pit and watch how many jump right in.
A good teacher is more along the lines of a good conductor, one who nurtures individual talents while looking for harmony.
A good leader is a good conductor who writes his own score that encompasses all the players.

[Eliot]

"Tucker shrugged, chuckled and mockingly dismissed the answer as ridiculous."

That's beautiful, their performance has devolved into strident self parody.

Could it get more ridiculous?

- Eliot

[Yeah, Right]

Interesting - and quite off-hand - conversation in the Fisk piece where it is mentioned that there is an equivalent Kurd/Russia/Syria deconfliction centre inside Afrin.

Is there any current R+6 campaign in or near the Afrin area?

[Sam Peralta]

All

The continuing campaign against POTUS by Brennan & Clapper.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-24/former-cia-director-calls-coup-if-trump-fires-mueller

Does this campaign of vilification of a POTUS by former top intel officials from a previous administration have parallels in history?

[Anna]

" but these people are, even if they hate communists, are Russian nationalists..."
Very simple: Hating the Cheney-Bush policies does not make an American citizen into anti-American.

[Anna]

As a commentary to your post:
"In the most vocal opposition to president Donald Trump yet, former CIA Director John Brennan said that if the White House tries to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, government officials should refuse to follow the president orders, as they would be - in his view - “inconsistent” with the duties of the executive branch. "I think it's the obligation of some executive branch officials to refuse to carry that out. I would just hope that this is not going to be a partisan issue. That Republicans, Democrats are going to see that the future of this government is at stake and something needs to be done for the good of the future," Brennan told CNN's Wolf Blitzer at the Aspen Security Forum, effectively calling for a coup against the president should Trump give the order to fire Mueller." http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-24/former-cia-director-calls-coup-if-trump-fires-mueller
Looks and sounds like a proclamation for a coup d'etat. Where is Pompeo?

[Prem]

Yes, Tucker has been on a roll recently, but he's a lone voice at Fox and Fox doesn't have the power to frame the narrative in the way that the NYT or WaPo have.

There are honourable exceptions in the MSM - Robert Fisk, Patrick Cockburn, Peter Hitchens. But one suspects that they are tolerated because they have limited reach.

[VietnamVet]

Colonel,

Fees for service and campaign contributions are powerful incentives for the recipient to internalize the beliefs of the paymaster. The Iraq invasion was crazy. I blamed the GOP in 2003. The Ukraine Coup showed that the Democrats are just as bad. My current repulsion is no doubt due to the restart of the Cold War after being drafted into the first one. I cannot come up with any good reasons for political appointees in the intelligence community to ignore reality of the consequences of a war with Iran and Russia. Is the corruption, greed and risk of financial collapse so great that the American Empire is hell-bent on starting a world war that will annihilate mankind? It is insane that the only one holding things back from the abyss is a very imperfect Donald J Trump who is under relentless attack by the media and globalists.

[Cortes]

Fascinating. Thank you for the background information.

On "Russiagate", the recent article by Alexander Mercouris about Jared Kushner's ?depositon? On contacts with the forces of darkness/Russia may be of interest:

http://theduran.com/kushner-statement-demolishes-russiagate/

[LindaL]

Is that you? Nice photo

[mike]

Plebes, or Cadets if you prefer, are basically just kids as you mention. I spent 15 years as enlisted and seven as an officer. Never saw a food fight during those first 15. Only later in O-clubs and O-messes did i ever witness flying mashed potatoes. And those were thrown by Lieutenants and Ensigns not by Plebes. Even saw a drunken Major join in once. Mostly prevalent in aviation units but occasionally in ground units if the Colonel did not keep a strong hand on the young'uns. Guess I expected too much, maybe I should have joined in?

I agree Pompeo is an ass. How does a California boy get elected to Congress in Kansas? But in any case he is Trump's man. So perhaps the WH probably cleared his statements?

[Yeah, Right]

Sam, Brennan's quoted comments to Blitzer are self-contradictory.

Brennan: "I think it's the obligation of some executive branch officials to refuse to carry that out. I would just hope that this is not going to be a partisan issue. That Republicans, Democrats are going to see that the future of this government is at stake and something needs to be done for the good of the future,"

Well, if we are talking about "executive branch officials" then this suggestion is going to be "partisan", precisely because that executive branch is owned by the Republican party.

Coz' the Republican candidate... you know... kinda won.

But it gets worse.

Brennan: "If Mueller is fired, I hope our elected reps will stand up and say enough is enough."

I don't know if anyone ever pointed this out to Brennan, but the "executive branch" of Federal service is typically "appointed", not "elected".

Apparently Brennan wants every branch of Federal service to rise up against the Tyrant Trump. With pitchforks, I would assume.

[Balint Somkuti, PhD]

Yes. Dismissed and popular (or percievedly popular) generals often resisted "official" power or even conspired to overthrow it, see Wallenstein in 17 century. or the renessaince age when central power and its institutions were not fully developed, not to mention late roman republican or late imperial age romans in the antiquity.

[turcopolier]

mike

You never confessed to having been an officer before! Got out at 22, eh? The entire 2,000 members of the USCC were present at dinner when the Soviet general led his cheer. This would be all four classes, not just plebes (freshmen). They were still kids. They don't start to grow up until graduation. pl