If You Are Looking for Consistency, Trump Ain't Your Man by Publius Tacitus

Christmas came early for Donald Trump. He signed a historic tax cut, kept the Government funded and operating and, to the delight of many in his base, used UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as a mouthpiece to tell the rest of the world to go pound sand. He is feeling groovy. But Donald Trump is still his own worst enemy. And his Presidency will be fatally harmed if he continues with his erratic foreign policy and his empty talk on dealing with the opioid plague.

Let's start with his wildly fluctuating foreign policy. There is no consistency nor is their a theme. When he announced that he was recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, many assumed he was on the Israeli leash and was behaving as any obedient dog would. Perhaps.

How then do you explain yesterday's (Thursday) decision to arm Ukraine as a show of force to Russia:

The Trump administration has approved the largest U.S. commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine since 2014. . . . Administration officials confirmed that the State Department this month approved a commercial license authorizing the export of Model M107A1 Sniper Systems, ammunition, and associated parts and accessories to Ukraine, a sale valued at $41.5 million. These weapons address a specific vulnerability of Ukrainian forces fighting a Russian-backed separatist movement in two eastern provinces.

The people we are arming in the Ukraine are the actual and intellectual descendants of the Nazi sympathizers who helped the Einsatzgruppen murder more than a million Jews after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Scholar Richard Sakwa provides the horrifying details on the pro-Nazi ideological foundation of the key Ukrainian political groups we are backing:

“The Orange revolution, like the later Euromaidan events, was democratic in intent but gave an impetus ‘to the revival of the radical versions of [the] Ukrainian national movement that first appeared on the historical scene in the course of World War II and a national discourse focused on fighting against the enemy’.41 ” . . . . 

“In Dnepropetrovsk, for example, instead of the anticipated 60 street-name changes, 350 were planned. Everywhere ‘Lenin Streets’ became ‘Bandera Avenues’ as everything Russian was purged. One set of mass murderers was changed for another. Just as the Soviet regime had changed toponyms to inscribe its power into the physical environment, so now the Euromaidan revolution seeks to remould daily life. In Germany today the names of Nazis and their collaborators are anathema, whereas in Ukraine they are glorified.”

Excerpt From: Richard Sakwa. “Frontline Ukraine : Crisis in the Borderlands.” from the Afterward

At the very moment we are signaling our support for Israel, the country founded largely because of the horror over the Shoah, we are also giving weapons to political groups whose parents and grand parents helped carry out the Shoah. Oh yeah, in the process of doing this we are providing a tangible threat to Russia. Imagine what our reaction would be if Russia decided to step up its weapons supplies to Cuba.

Then we have Trump's tough talk on the opioid slaughter taking place across America. Let me be clear. He is not responsible for the start of this plague. The Obama Administration carries a heavy burden on that front. CBS 60 Minutes has done a magnificent job in exposing the role that the Obama Justice Department refused to play in going after the major corporate opiate drug pusher--i.e., the McKesson Corporation:

In October, we joined forces with the Washington Post and reported a disturbing story of Washington at its worst - about an act of Congress that crippled the DEA's ability to fight the worst drug crisis in American history - the opioid addiction crisis. Now, a new front of that joint investigation. It is also disturbing. It's the inside story of the biggest case the DEA ever built against a drug company: the McKesson Corporation, the country's largest drug distributor. It's also the story of a company too big to prosecute.

In 2014, after two years of painstaking inquiry by nine DEA field divisions and 12 U.S. Attorneys, investigators built a powerful case against McKesson for the company's role in the opioid crisis.

[According to DEA Agent Schiller]  This is the best case we've ever had against a major distributor in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. How do we not go after the number one organization? In the height of the epidemic, when people are dying everywhere, doesn't somebody have to be held accountable? McKesson needs to be held accountable. 

Holding McKesson accountable meant going after the 5th largest corporation in the country.  Headquartered in San Francisco, McKesson has 76,000 employees and earns almost $200 billion a year in revenues, about the same as Exxon Mobil. Since the 1990s, McKesson has made billions from the distribution of addictive opioids. 

So what has Donald Trump done? That is the wrong question. What has he failed to do? We are approaching the one year anniversary of his Presidency and Trump has failed to nominate a Director for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a Director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a Director for the National Institute of Justice and an Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs . In other words, none of the people who would be on the policy frontline putting the President's tough words into action have been nominated. Not one. And those agencies and departments are drifting like a rudderless ship on stormy seas.

Another problem for Trump is his mixed signals on getting entangled in foreign wars. During the campaign he made a point of ridiculing those candidates who wanted to go to war in Syria. Now that he is in office, Trump, along with several members of his cabinet, are threatening Iran on almost a daily basis. The Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity just put out a memo on this very subject (which, I'm happy to note, reflects some of the themes I've written about previously):

Iran has come out ahead in Iraq and, with the 2015 nuclear agreement in place, Iran’s commercial and other ties have improved with key NATO allies and the other major world players—Russia and China in particular.

Official pronouncements on critical national security matters need to be based on facts. Hyperbole in describing Iran’s terrorist activities can be counterproductive. For this reason, we call attention to Ambassador Nikki Haley’s recent statement that it is hard to find a “terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it.” The truth is quite different. The majority of terrorist groups in the region are neither creatures nor puppets of Iran. ISIS, Al-Qaeda and Al-Nusra are three of the more prominent that come to mind.

You have presented yourself as someone willing to speak hard truths in the face of establishment pressure and not to accept the status quo. You spoke out during the campaign against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq as a historic mistake of epic proportions. You also correctly captured the mood of many Americans fatigued from constant war in far away lands. Yet the torrent of warnings from Washington about the dangers supposedly posed by Iran and the need to confront them are being widely perceived as steps toward reversing your pledge not to get embroiled in new wars.

We encourage you to reflect on the warning we raised with President George W. Bush almost 15 years ago, at a similar historic juncture:

“after watching Secretary Powell today, we are convinced that you would be well served if you widened the discussion … beyond the circle of those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.”

Finally, there is the recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel. I defer to Colonel Lang on this. He believes that this single decision has planted an odious seed that will sprout into a global anti-U.S. sentiment that will reduce our global influence and tangibly damage our leadership on the world stage. While I suppose there always is a chance for a different kind of outcome, I learned long ago not to bet against the old warrior on matters like this.

Taking all of this together I think we are looking at a 2018 where U.S. foreign policy will continue to careen around the globe devoid of a strategic vision. 

 

Comments

[Oilman2]

I agree with Pacifica here. The effects of opioids I know first hand. Had a hip and a knee replaced in the same year. They prescribe opioids so you can get through the rapid rehab they use now after joint replacement.

I was working and the pain killers making my brain fuzzy, so I just stopped taking them. I was down with flu-like symptoms for a week, and thought it was flu. Told my orthopedic that I had to quit taking the pills. He asked if I had been sick, all the while smiling. I said yes, and he then told me he was planning to taper me off them because cold turkey would provoke withdrawal, and that was what had made me sick.

I imagine there are lots of reasons for addiction, but the drug war hasn't stopped any of these. It has incarcerated many for weed, which is ridiculous. It focuses on the symptom and not the reason for the drug use - hence it will never succeed. In our strange oligarchy, the result is things like McKesson - where corporations make beaucoup money and pass the largesse along to their political buddies, making things degenerate further.

Doctors share the blame, as they are lobbied by the pharma sales guys with trips and such. They are also taught that drugs are preferred over physical therapy or any other type of therapy. So there is lots of blame.

It's funny how drugs weren't that much of a problem, nor was alcohol - until the government got into the picture.

I think we need to get government out of it and let people sort out their own issues for drugs, alcohol, tobacco and anything else they decide to do to their persons. I don't need government to tell me what to drink or smoke or otherwise imbibe.

[steve]

Just to reinforce that, the US consumes about 0% of the world's narcotics. We know that while abuse is widespread, it is concentrated more heavily in some areas. In those areas more drugs are being sold than could possible be used legally. McKesson has been a major culprit here. They made huge profits off of selling these drugs, and did not report what was obvious abuse. Their punishment? A $150 million fine for a company with $200 billion a year in revenues.

Unfortunately, Babak voices what appears to be the sentiment of many in the current administration. It is all the fault of the drug users, so we will continue the War on Drugs, which has largely been a failure. God for bid we do something obvious like make it harder for the drug companies to make huge profits off of the stuff. Treatment has actually had pretty good success, but we won't see much money going into that. Oh well, at least this approach will keep my ICUs full.

Steve

[LondonBob]

The sniper rifles to Ukraine is classic Trump, read the article and not the headline and it is much ado about nothing.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/trump-pursuing-defense-spending-hike-pentagon-audit-the-same-23717

On which note I thought this article was worth flagging. Will there be an audit and what will come of it?

[DJ]

"Zionist invariably regard themselves as superior beings; in this regard, they are the flip side of the Nazi coin."

Not once in official Nazi Party documents, or in the audio visual recordings of Hitler's speeches, have historians found a solitary reference to concepts of German racial supremacy vis-a-vis other races, other than the Jews. In the case of Jews, it was believed not so much that they were inferior, as they were corrupting and incompatible with European culture. Indeed, Jews were considered to be highly dangerous.

Neither did the Nazis ever talk about having a destiny to rule the world. The concept does not appear in a single Nazi party document, or a single speech of Hitler's.

This 'Nazi supermen' trope was created by Jewish propaganda officers in the USSR. It was simply a repetition of Jewish beliefs about Jewish supremacy, falsely attributed to the German people. It was the age-old Jewish-supremacist tactic of accusing your enemy of your own worst sins.

As to the deaths of Russian Jews: Genrikh Yagoda, head of the NKVD, was just one of the Jews in the Bolshevik government (which was 80% Jewish) that helped perpetrate the Holodomor against 7 million Ukrainians, and helped to murder 30 million Soviet citizens in total during Jewish Bolshevik rule. (99.9%+ of the victims being gentiles.)

In other words, the Wehrmacht did not murder the Ukrainian Jews – ordinary Ukrainians killed their Jewish neighbors, as payback for the loss of millions of gentile Ukrainians, including their family members, friends, neighbors, and work colleagues. No gentile Ukrainian community, whether Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim, or whatever else, escaped the death of loved ones at the hands of the mostly-Jewish secret police – apart from Ukraine's Jews. Only the Jews of Ukraine grew fat during Soviet rule.

In future, 'Publius Tacitus' might care to educate himself about history, before repeating outright fiction with such high-minded pomposity. There is nothing worse than receiving a lecture from a man ignorant of the facts, especially when those facts concern the deaths of 30 million USSR citizens exterminated for the crime of being gentiles.

[jpb]

No sir....gun manufactures do not sell their product under false pretense. Cigarette manufacturers have been forced to compensate society for false pretense selling their addictive wares. Why not the Sackler Family? Sackler Family assets should be liquidated to compensate society and individual victims of their deception and greed in the courts going forward.

[jpb]

I think the cigarette company compensation model is one to consider in this case, as individual or corporate criminal intent will be a high hurdle for criminal prosecution. Civil liability is another matter.

No, I don't think Executive Order should be used to circumvent the legal process of the judicial branch of government.

[Castellio]

I swear, those people in small towns were already hooked on coffee. That is the reason for the opioid crisis.

[steve]

"It's funny how drugs weren't that much of a problem, nor was alcohol - until the government got into the picture."

First, the usual disclaimers. Yes, the addicts bear some responsibility. Yes, the government played some role. That done, this is mostly just about the good, old fashioned profit motive. Absent any government involvement we still end up at the same place. Big Pharma pushed the idea, with poorly done, and in some cases faked, research claiming that their new narcotics were not addictive. Unfortunately, people were not skeptical enough about those claims. Some of those people meant well, but for some not being skeptical meant making a lot of money. (In general when something like this happens, just follow the money trail.) The big pharma companies involved in this made a bundle.

https://qz.com/1074509/a-drug-company-schemed-to-push-opioids-designed-to-treat-cancer-on-cancer-free-patients/

Steve

[NancyK]

I was a nurse for 37 years and I know that people in pain were assured by their doctors that Oxycontin was not addictive and this was a lie. I am not implying doctors are solely responsible, the pharmaceutical company that manufactured it lied and encouraged doctors to prescribe it.

[Jerry]

Very happy to see the Sakwa book referenced. It is one of the most important books of the last few years. Vital stuff given the potential for catastrophic outcomes. Everyone should read it.

[ked]

Trump gives the Borg a good name.

[ked]

Gov regulation of drugs has long been owned by Big Pharma (w/ help from criminal justice & LE sectors) through their participation in our political industry - especially in their influence upon elected officials who in turn control the budgets of those regulatory agencies. Humans, their crying needs, foibles, tastes & the rest are the rationale for a compelling business model - serving as a sizable (if problematic) transfer function. It’s messy, but it works.

[Valissa]

Babak, Mongo...

Twice in my adult life I have been on pain medications for 2-3 months. Once it was Percocet (oxycodone) for badly bruised and possibly cracked ribs after a horseback riding accident, and once it was Vicodin (hydrocodone) followed by tramadol for plantar fasciitis.

In both cases, when the pain was gone and the health problem was healed I stopped taking the painkillers (all opioids) without any trouble at all. In fact I was relieved and delighted to be off of them.

Other people that I have talked to have had a similar experience. It is my understanding from various research I've read that 75-80% of people react like I did to coming of pain killers. It was no problem. Just like most of us can stop drinking when we're ready to.

My acupuncturist was on pain meds for over a year (maybe even 2 years) after a troublesome hip surgery and also dissolving disks in her back (the cortisone had stopped being effective). In her case she did have some trouble weaning of the opioids. Partially because she was still in some pain. Doc put her on subutex to help with that and then gradually she is weaning off that. And then she started using CBD oil on her back and hips and that has also helped her get off of the pain medication.

Sometimes pain meds are the only option for severe pain. It is important that they stay available to those who need it. But it is clear that more research in pain management is needed so they are not relied upon so much.

[blue peacock]

The Portugese experiment with decriminalization has proven to have had the best statistical outcomes in that drug usage in Portugal is declining. The opposite trend of what's happened in the US with the tens of billions spent on the "War on Drugs".

Opioid deaths in the US are running at 60,000 annually, double automobile fatalities. That's a serious crisis. But like with any crisis in the US there will be more ineffective government intervention as some new czar position and office is created that would consume most of the funding appropriated. Innovative thinking like Portugal will be disregarded.

[Seamus Padraig]

The USSR disappeared 25 years ago. The main threat to Ukrainians today comes from the Ukrainian government. Maidan was another huge Washington blunder.

[jpb]

This is a complex question, not easily reduced to a single cause. I agree with Babak that the individual addict is responsible. However, the question begs examination of the context of history, culture, politics and economics to establish there is enough blame to go around for many actors and ideas.

This topic is in the Zeitqueist as an interesting article examining 'Opioids and the Crisis of the White Working Class", appeared today on the Unz Review. It examines Babak's contention that the spoiled, white rich kids are to blame for sexual liberation and the drug culture that plagues America today.

http://www.unz.com/article/opioids-and-the-crisis-of-the-white-working-class/

"I argue there are two things at work here: one is the decline in our culture generally brought about by the 1960s’ counter-cultural revolution affecting health in childhood, marriage, child rearing, and religion. But added to that is a very specific situation involving opioid drugs that in turn is linked to academic researchers willing to falsify data for financial gain, a corrupt pharmaceutical industry, especially Purdue Pharma owned by the Sackler family, and lax government regulation of drugs because of manipulation by the pharmaceutical industry."

[Seamus Padraig]

Sadly, Steve Bannon was right: the Trump administration we fought for is over. Our domestic policy is now being run by Paul Ryan, while our foreign policy is being run by Jared Kushner.

[blue peacock]

Just hours after the FBI’s top lawyer, James Baker, was reassigned, WaPo reports that FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe will retire in a few months - once he becomes fully eligible for pension benefits.

The kid gloves for a top law enforcement bureaucrat in attempting a coup against a legitimately elected POTUS. How can citizens not get cynical about the rule of law in the truly exceptional USA?

[Walker]

. . . Namely Trump claims to have gotten off the phone with his new best friend Vlad the other day to tell all and bask in the glory of how gosh darn thankful and grateful his new best friend Vlad was to receive the priceless super secret intelligence tip-off about the dirty no-good evil IS cell in St. Petersburg Russian, Vlad's home town, where lawdy lawd sakes to goodness chile, Vlad and his FSB boys busted em afores they could say "Jack be Nimble" . . .

FourthAndLong, I don't know if you're a troll or not. All I can say is that this post is very unconvincing.

[DianaLC]

On this I will agree a little. Thankfully my German Great Grandfather and his entire family got out of the Ukraine before WWII. They suffered from the Bolsheviks, and the word "Bolshevik" became the equivalent of something like the Boogeyman to my father's generation. But I have never heard them say mean things about the Jews.

I did watch an AHC documentary on this episode toward the end of WWII. It seemed to make it appear that if one didn't denounce Jews, a person would be included with the Jews in the slaughter. It's a very difficult situation in which to maintain ones's sense of honor.

On a slightly different note, during WWII, many of the German farmers in Russia, along the Volga and in the steppes above the Black Sea and in Ukraine were caught between the Nazis, whose language they spoike, and the Bolsheviks who were taking their sons and murdering many in their villages.

War is definitely Hell on Earth.

[Publius Tacitus]

Save your outrage. What specious "conclusions?" You fail to point out a single specious conclusion.
Also, the correct grammar is "THERE'RE" vis THERE'S.

[Publius Tacitus]

DJ,
I am quite educated on this. You are betraying both your ignorance and prejudice. It was the Einsatzgruppen, not the Wehrmacht, who organized and, in many cases, actually shot the Ukrainian Jews.

"Einsatzgruppen[a] (German: [ˈʔaɪnzatsˌɡʁʊpn̩], "task forces"[1] or "deployment groups")[2] were Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass killings, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–45). The Einsatzgruppen were involved in the murder of much of the intelligentsia and cultural elite of Poland, and had an integral role in the implementation of the so-called Final solution to the Jewish question (Die Endlösung der Judenfrage) in territories conquered by Nazi Germany. Almost all of the people they killed were civilians, beginning with the intelligentsia and swiftly progressing to Soviet political commissars, Jews, and Gypsies as well as actual or alleged partisans throughout Eastern Europe."

I allowed your stupid comment to go up so that others might gain an appreciation of your limited grasp of history.

[VietnamVet]

PT & BM

Addiction is real. After food and shelter, exploiting it is the easiest and oldest money around. What has changed is that the fate of the little people is no longer of any concern. Pharmaceutical CEOs are too big to go to jail for murder. Their only care is enriching their shareholders and themselves. It is called corruption. The spread and extent is just not mentioned in corporate media. But, this is why Americans are dying earlier.

[Walrus]

Purdue Pharma were fined $600 million for understating the addictive properties of Oxycontin to the FDA.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Thank you for your comments. Drugs are a scourge all over the world and the permanently crippled addicts a drain on everone. May be the bleeding hearts in such rich countries as USA can get those cripples on government dole, but elsewhere, in India or in the Philippines, the money for that does not exist.