CNN runs this story. We read this loud and sensational story of a man that murders without a conscience. Hard for most of us to fathom. CNN brings a few sensational aspects of the story such as “killing doesn’t seem to affect him” and the fact that he admitted to killing “more than” 30 men as an enforcer for Mexican drug gangs.
CNN and we, the reader, take a certain smug comfort in our distance from that kind of brutal reality.
Besides this particular story, media often sensationalize serial murderers or murders that happen to have an element of shocking brutality or, in some cases, the perpetrator or the victim is much like the imagined audience. A middle class yuppie perhaps. A young mother. An attractive young student. Another element that makes a great news story is where killers kill without knowing or caring who they are killing. It provides a 'monster' element. It adds to the shock value.
But then there is a killer at large, in our midst, that kills far more than any of these identified psychopaths and certainly kills without the benefit of knowing who he is killing. That serial killer is the President of the United States. Ted Bundy is estimated to have killed 30 people, Jeffery Dahmer, 17, and John Wayne Gacy, over 34. Barack Obama? The tally isn't in yet.
Drone Attacks
Aside from the vast numbers of people that have been killed by American and NATO bombs over the past decade, let us just consider victims of Obama's ongoing campaign of drone bombing in several different countries.
NBC released a report that exposes that the CIA “didn't always know who is it was killing” when human beings had been targeted on the ground. NBC reviewed classified CIA documents for a 14 month period beginning in September 2010 and lists 114 drone strikes that killed as many as 613 people. The reports states, “About one of every four of those killed by drones in Pakistan between Sept. 3, 2010, and Oct. 30, 2011, were classified as "other militants,” the documents detail. The “other militants” label was used when the CIA could not determine the affiliation of those killed, prompting questions about how the agency could conclude they were a threat to U.S. national security.”
The report also highlights so called signature strikes where drone operators may kill people on the ground based on vague information.
As we can see here the victims had a signature consistent with terrorists. (They were carrying camera equipment which was mistaken for weapons.) It's not hard to see why so much emphasis in placed on keeping 'classified' information under wraps.
According to The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there has been a total of 370 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004; 318 of those under Obama. Between 2,548 and 3,549 people perished in those killings and 168 to 197 of those victims were children. In Yemen, between the years 2002 and 2013, 240 to 349 have been killed in confirmed drone strikes. The report indicates an additional 80 to 99 “possible extra” strikes in Yemen over the same period.
Western media, in its true solopsistic point of view, did run reports last month with some alarm that four Americans had been killed in drone strikes. Their outrage is mitigated by an allegation that these Americans posed some threat to U.S. National security.
The Brutality of Bombing
Currently, there is much noise in the press about allegations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. They seem to have evidence? These vague reports of poison gas follow alarm at Syrian success against the rebels with the help of Hezbollah. The poison gas allegation follows a bizarre incident where John McCain sneaked into Syria through Turkey to pose with the rebels. Additionally, the Americans are signaling increased mayhem by staging international military exercises in Jordan. The Americans will remain after the exercise are over. An official stated, “It was decided the assets would remain in place,”. The USA has also formally announced they will be arming the Al Qeada extremists and this follows a similar initiative announced by the European Union. The Europeans are especially eager to announce they have proof of the Syrians use of chemical weapons.
You'd almost think they were up to something.
If we have the capacity to consider reality outside the view of the militarized West and we look at the alarm raised when NATO members issue reports that are far more likely to be false than true (that Assad has used poison gas on civilians), we might then consider the horror and terror that is caused by the dropping on bombs on populated areas. Who's to judge what is worse, poison gas or bombs?
We might remember back to the gleeful news reporting on Baghdad when the campaign of 'shock and awe' commenced against the people of Iraq and we might take a moment to reflect on the reality that human beings are crying in terror under that sensational firepower. We might also ask ourselves how the dropping of bombs on people is less brutal than any other type of atrocity. A strong argument can be made that this is the worst of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The official narrative not only turns a blind eye to the dropping of bombs on civilians, it glorifies it.
We might also ask a civilian in war torn Afghanistan or Iraq about how shocked he or she is at the murders committed by Jeffery Dahmer, Ted Bundy, or John Wayne Gacy. In reality, these murderers are boy scouts in comparison to the almighty war machine we glorify with such gusto.
The ugly truth is – if we turn a blind eye or support these atrocities, we are different to the shocking serial killers we love to hate - in degree; not in kind.
This blog is an archive of articles I've published in MWC News, Indymedia, and on Newsgroups.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Saturday, June 08, 2013
The American Betrayal of Reason
Unthinkable just a decade ago and for hundreds of years before that, reason, arbitrar of humanities excesses and foibles, is losing its authority. Reason, that indomitable enemy of tyrants and thieves is at odds with the most powerful forces ruling humanity. State and private power and control over citizens is antithetical to sovereignty of reason.
There is a seminal battle underway that runs far deeper than wars between nations, religions, or political ideology. It is the fight is between the forces of domination and control vs. reason. Should reason win, fully human lives where each individual can reach his or her potential will return as a real possibility. Should the paradigm of power and control regain its throne, we are doomed to barbarism.
In the 1700s there was a movement afoot, a movement of courage and intelligence that had usurped the arbitrary power of kings, lords, and clerics. That power was replaced with democracy and rule of law. That movement is known as the enlightenment. Through incremental change, reason replaced fear and violence as governors of nations. In the United States however, this change occurred in one dramatic historical moment; the American Revolution.
The Spirit of the American Constitution
Love it or hate it, it is the United States of America that formally adopted enlightenment principles as its basis of law and governance. It championed freedom and justice over all else. Over the past two centuries the American Constitution has been the example to follow, an example of law and governance with built in protections against abuse and tyranny, a philosophical North Star that we have come to depend upon. Its sense of justice is a semi conscious blanket of collective security for Americans and non Americans alike. The United States had become a symbol of governance by reason; a culture of fair play and justice. America's worst enemies could only begrudgingly admire the rational integrity of this bold new social order and, unconsciously or unwittingly, emulated and assimilated its most noble features as their own.
The progressive force of reason, born of the intellectual movement of the 18th century that had broken through the dark ages had legitimized not only rational standards for law and governance, it validated science and cleared the way for technology and innovation to improve the lives for people of all classes. Traditional beliefs and attitudes suffered under the bright light of evidence based initiatives and ideas.
Long before the American Constitution was penned and long before the enlightenment of the 1700s, reason had shaken the capricious power of kings, the cruelty of military violence and the pleasure of petty and grand tyrants. The Magna Charta, born in England in 1215 was one of the most important historical events in this undertaking. It curtailed the power of monarchs and granted a degree of power to rational based authority. Another dated seminal edict was the Habeas Corpus Act established in English law in 1679. Habeas Corpus legacy protects us from any agent that would imprison us at his pleasure.
The Constitution was written as a defense against the myriad of ways and means nefarious agents may wrestle or connive power from the people. It outlined three separate branches of government aimed at entrenching the spirit of the enlightenment, the spirit of reason, as the governing principles of a brave new world.
In response to British domination of the colonies, colonists revolted and drafted their Declaration of Independence. A new form of government was to be established based on citizens having a right to say how they themselves are governed. In the 1700s those that stood against the British imperial monarch were disciples of great enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, and perhaps most importantly at the time, for the United States, Thomas Paine. Enlightenment ideas were an affront to the status quo that ruled nations and its purveyors took great risk espousing their reasonable arguments against monarchs, religion, and traditional structures of all sorts. They were persecuted for their efforts. So too were the courageous colonists that were inspired by Paine's 'Common Sense', rising against established governors, proxies of the British king.
Revolutionaries rose up precisely against imperial power as well as the potential that tyrants would wrestle control at home. This was a cornerstone of the revolution and the rationale for the second and fourth amendments to the Constitution. Today, the citizens of the United States struggle under a rapidly expanding surveillance state that is married to and under the control of private agents, namely large corporations and finance capitalists. It is a state that, like King George's British empire in 1776, aims to own and control not only its own citizens but citizens of all nations.
The spirit of the American Constitution can be summed up in one word and that word is 'reason'. It is the same word that sums up the enlightenment. Further to this and most crucially, the capacity to reason is our natural inheritance as human beings. It is what defines us as a species.
We cannot afford to defer to the reasoning of intellectuals, the media, or economists and politicians. Stakeholders in the game are exactly that and for that reason, they will cultivate private and 'classified' power. Their interests are at odds with ours and we must stop playing their game. Loyalty to individuals, political parties, or ideology is a sell out of our most precious gift and that is our capacity for critical thinking. Critical thinking is synonymous to reason and we, all of us, need to cultivate and appreciate our own free and independent mind.
Barack Obama
Nothing illustrates the betrayal of reason more than the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. It is shocking today to see one time (apparent) critical thinkers reduced to simple and vulgar partisan hacks. After all that has happened and continues to happen during Obama's Presidency, they still maintain a belief that the President and the Democratic Party is a viable choice in opposition to a violent state apparatus; a voice for 'change'. They still seem to think that, given enough time, Obama would (eventually) put in place progressive and just laws and practices. Aside from his words there is little or nothing to show that he is substantially different that the most violent and oppressive elements in America. He has taken the torch from his predecessor, George W Bush, and he is running with it. Together, they have moved the United States of America from rational governance to arbitrary and tyrannical power. They have crossed a line and that line separated modern democracies from arbitrary or built-in tyranny.
Bear in mind, Barack Obama is an expert in Constitutional law. The seeds he is carefully planting, from the murder of citizens and non citizens to waging undeclared war and to spying on all of us is not done under a cloak of ignorance. The President is fully lucid. Precedents are being set that entrenches arbitrary power to be used under a cloak of secrecy. He is laying the structures that make a future Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin not only a possibility, but a given.
The past decade has delivered shock after shock to our collective psyche. It started with a bang, with the invasion of Iraq. This illegal act violated the most elemental of international standards. In the process the Bushs and the Blairs bullied others to join them. They blatantly lied to urge the international community to their 'side'. Since that time torture, dungeons, show trials, Presidential hit lists and ongoing bombings (collective punishment aka terrorism) have become increasingly normalized. Media and intellectuals help with the process of normalizing these horrific affronts to reason and rule of law. They argue that these practices have practical value in the face of terrorist threats. In fact, no serious commentator would touch these arguments with a ten foot pole prior to America's own fire in the Reichstag (9-11). It was a given that if we want a free society, we must tolerate allowing the potential murderer down the street to run free until he actually commits the crime. That is the price of a free society and it is that that separated the USA and it's sphere of influence from the Hitler's Nazi Germany, Stalin's USSR, and Saudi Arabia.
The most recent and shocking revelation of Obama's reign is that he has secretly been spying on millions of the citizens of the United States and across the globe. This is the latest scandalous expose of many. Obama's response is being caught is that the spying is legal under the Patriot Act, itself a blatant violation of the Constitution. This is further evidence of the violent and paranoid empire that the United States of America has become.
Barack Obama was supposed to be the man to get the United States and consequently the world back on track. This ex community organizer, this professor of Constitutional law held much promise for many people. It was widely believed that if anyone can take the United States back to the realm of reason and rule of law it is Barack Obama. It would be difficult to find someone more qualified.
In the face of the violence being perpetrated by the Obama Administration the most meaningful battle today is exactly this one; private power vs. reason. We can't have both. We should not expect and we cannot expect those with power to fight on the side of reason any more than we could expect kings of the middle ages to do so. It is simply against their interests. They will pretend as they are so accustomed to doing, they will speak in reasonable terms but it is their actions that betray their real intent.
Time to Stand Up
Long before enlightenment ideas moved us out of the feudal muck of the dark ages, human beings employed reason for survival. Contrary to the Hobbsean idea that humanity is ruled by and needs to be ruled by domination, violence, and fear, it was reason that was our species advantage for millions of years in the jungles and savannas of Africa. While lions and wild dogs had strength and teeth and other animals had speed or flight, we had our brains. A brain with the capacity to discern cause and effect and moreover, the hard wiring to share our own thoughts with other human beings. It was cooperation, language, and work that was and is our advantage. In other words, the 'survival of the fittest' rationale for power and privilege is wrong, it is a lie. It is simplistic justification for state or private violence and it is a message that runs through school texts, literature, and through mass media.
Through the hierarchal structures laid out by monarchs and the Catholic Church, the paradigm of power and control, violence, and the coercive and violent state gained a veneer of legitimacy. Insecure cowards relish it as the natural order. The enlightenment itself and throughout history, many great civilizations and societies have stripped this nefarious veneer and utilized better, rational ways of doing the business of being human. We can look to antiquity as well as our own minds to see that the monarchs and the church were lying.
The point is that the forces that we are up against are fighting against our most fundamental characteristics as human beings. If there is such as thing as a natural order, if there is such a thing as human nature, they are against it. Perhaps most poignantly, they are against freedom – save themselves.
At this point we deal with the festering wound that is masquerading as the war on terror. We must check the excessive power of the United States government as well as its many proxy governments and agents over the globe.
The United States of America and all that is under the influence and control of America as an economic and political empire has betrayed the spirit of reason, the enlightenment, and the Constitution. We are at a period in history where we need to do more than win back democratic control of governance. We, the people, actually need to take power into our own hands. Abuse is abuse, it is rampant, and the situation promises to get much worse than it is today. Obama and the current maestros of the state are setting precedents, the stage, for a frightening new world.
We have a choice. We can stand up now or, we can stand up later.
There is a seminal battle underway that runs far deeper than wars between nations, religions, or political ideology. It is the fight is between the forces of domination and control vs. reason. Should reason win, fully human lives where each individual can reach his or her potential will return as a real possibility. Should the paradigm of power and control regain its throne, we are doomed to barbarism.
In the 1700s there was a movement afoot, a movement of courage and intelligence that had usurped the arbitrary power of kings, lords, and clerics. That power was replaced with democracy and rule of law. That movement is known as the enlightenment. Through incremental change, reason replaced fear and violence as governors of nations. In the United States however, this change occurred in one dramatic historical moment; the American Revolution.
The Spirit of the American Constitution
Love it or hate it, it is the United States of America that formally adopted enlightenment principles as its basis of law and governance. It championed freedom and justice over all else. Over the past two centuries the American Constitution has been the example to follow, an example of law and governance with built in protections against abuse and tyranny, a philosophical North Star that we have come to depend upon. Its sense of justice is a semi conscious blanket of collective security for Americans and non Americans alike. The United States had become a symbol of governance by reason; a culture of fair play and justice. America's worst enemies could only begrudgingly admire the rational integrity of this bold new social order and, unconsciously or unwittingly, emulated and assimilated its most noble features as their own.
The progressive force of reason, born of the intellectual movement of the 18th century that had broken through the dark ages had legitimized not only rational standards for law and governance, it validated science and cleared the way for technology and innovation to improve the lives for people of all classes. Traditional beliefs and attitudes suffered under the bright light of evidence based initiatives and ideas.
Long before the American Constitution was penned and long before the enlightenment of the 1700s, reason had shaken the capricious power of kings, the cruelty of military violence and the pleasure of petty and grand tyrants. The Magna Charta, born in England in 1215 was one of the most important historical events in this undertaking. It curtailed the power of monarchs and granted a degree of power to rational based authority. Another dated seminal edict was the Habeas Corpus Act established in English law in 1679. Habeas Corpus legacy protects us from any agent that would imprison us at his pleasure.
The Constitution was written as a defense against the myriad of ways and means nefarious agents may wrestle or connive power from the people. It outlined three separate branches of government aimed at entrenching the spirit of the enlightenment, the spirit of reason, as the governing principles of a brave new world.
In response to British domination of the colonies, colonists revolted and drafted their Declaration of Independence. A new form of government was to be established based on citizens having a right to say how they themselves are governed. In the 1700s those that stood against the British imperial monarch were disciples of great enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, and perhaps most importantly at the time, for the United States, Thomas Paine. Enlightenment ideas were an affront to the status quo that ruled nations and its purveyors took great risk espousing their reasonable arguments against monarchs, religion, and traditional structures of all sorts. They were persecuted for their efforts. So too were the courageous colonists that were inspired by Paine's 'Common Sense', rising against established governors, proxies of the British king.
Revolutionaries rose up precisely against imperial power as well as the potential that tyrants would wrestle control at home. This was a cornerstone of the revolution and the rationale for the second and fourth amendments to the Constitution. Today, the citizens of the United States struggle under a rapidly expanding surveillance state that is married to and under the control of private agents, namely large corporations and finance capitalists. It is a state that, like King George's British empire in 1776, aims to own and control not only its own citizens but citizens of all nations.
The spirit of the American Constitution can be summed up in one word and that word is 'reason'. It is the same word that sums up the enlightenment. Further to this and most crucially, the capacity to reason is our natural inheritance as human beings. It is what defines us as a species.
We cannot afford to defer to the reasoning of intellectuals, the media, or economists and politicians. Stakeholders in the game are exactly that and for that reason, they will cultivate private and 'classified' power. Their interests are at odds with ours and we must stop playing their game. Loyalty to individuals, political parties, or ideology is a sell out of our most precious gift and that is our capacity for critical thinking. Critical thinking is synonymous to reason and we, all of us, need to cultivate and appreciate our own free and independent mind.
Barack Obama
Nothing illustrates the betrayal of reason more than the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. It is shocking today to see one time (apparent) critical thinkers reduced to simple and vulgar partisan hacks. After all that has happened and continues to happen during Obama's Presidency, they still maintain a belief that the President and the Democratic Party is a viable choice in opposition to a violent state apparatus; a voice for 'change'. They still seem to think that, given enough time, Obama would (eventually) put in place progressive and just laws and practices. Aside from his words there is little or nothing to show that he is substantially different that the most violent and oppressive elements in America. He has taken the torch from his predecessor, George W Bush, and he is running with it. Together, they have moved the United States of America from rational governance to arbitrary and tyrannical power. They have crossed a line and that line separated modern democracies from arbitrary or built-in tyranny.
Bear in mind, Barack Obama is an expert in Constitutional law. The seeds he is carefully planting, from the murder of citizens and non citizens to waging undeclared war and to spying on all of us is not done under a cloak of ignorance. The President is fully lucid. Precedents are being set that entrenches arbitrary power to be used under a cloak of secrecy. He is laying the structures that make a future Adolph Hitler or Joseph Stalin not only a possibility, but a given.
The past decade has delivered shock after shock to our collective psyche. It started with a bang, with the invasion of Iraq. This illegal act violated the most elemental of international standards. In the process the Bushs and the Blairs bullied others to join them. They blatantly lied to urge the international community to their 'side'. Since that time torture, dungeons, show trials, Presidential hit lists and ongoing bombings (collective punishment aka terrorism) have become increasingly normalized. Media and intellectuals help with the process of normalizing these horrific affronts to reason and rule of law. They argue that these practices have practical value in the face of terrorist threats. In fact, no serious commentator would touch these arguments with a ten foot pole prior to America's own fire in the Reichstag (9-11). It was a given that if we want a free society, we must tolerate allowing the potential murderer down the street to run free until he actually commits the crime. That is the price of a free society and it is that that separated the USA and it's sphere of influence from the Hitler's Nazi Germany, Stalin's USSR, and Saudi Arabia.
The most recent and shocking revelation of Obama's reign is that he has secretly been spying on millions of the citizens of the United States and across the globe. This is the latest scandalous expose of many. Obama's response is being caught is that the spying is legal under the Patriot Act, itself a blatant violation of the Constitution. This is further evidence of the violent and paranoid empire that the United States of America has become.
Barack Obama was supposed to be the man to get the United States and consequently the world back on track. This ex community organizer, this professor of Constitutional law held much promise for many people. It was widely believed that if anyone can take the United States back to the realm of reason and rule of law it is Barack Obama. It would be difficult to find someone more qualified.
In the face of the violence being perpetrated by the Obama Administration the most meaningful battle today is exactly this one; private power vs. reason. We can't have both. We should not expect and we cannot expect those with power to fight on the side of reason any more than we could expect kings of the middle ages to do so. It is simply against their interests. They will pretend as they are so accustomed to doing, they will speak in reasonable terms but it is their actions that betray their real intent.
Time to Stand Up
Long before enlightenment ideas moved us out of the feudal muck of the dark ages, human beings employed reason for survival. Contrary to the Hobbsean idea that humanity is ruled by and needs to be ruled by domination, violence, and fear, it was reason that was our species advantage for millions of years in the jungles and savannas of Africa. While lions and wild dogs had strength and teeth and other animals had speed or flight, we had our brains. A brain with the capacity to discern cause and effect and moreover, the hard wiring to share our own thoughts with other human beings. It was cooperation, language, and work that was and is our advantage. In other words, the 'survival of the fittest' rationale for power and privilege is wrong, it is a lie. It is simplistic justification for state or private violence and it is a message that runs through school texts, literature, and through mass media.
Through the hierarchal structures laid out by monarchs and the Catholic Church, the paradigm of power and control, violence, and the coercive and violent state gained a veneer of legitimacy. Insecure cowards relish it as the natural order. The enlightenment itself and throughout history, many great civilizations and societies have stripped this nefarious veneer and utilized better, rational ways of doing the business of being human. We can look to antiquity as well as our own minds to see that the monarchs and the church were lying.
The point is that the forces that we are up against are fighting against our most fundamental characteristics as human beings. If there is such as thing as a natural order, if there is such a thing as human nature, they are against it. Perhaps most poignantly, they are against freedom – save themselves.
At this point we deal with the festering wound that is masquerading as the war on terror. We must check the excessive power of the United States government as well as its many proxy governments and agents over the globe.
The United States of America and all that is under the influence and control of America as an economic and political empire has betrayed the spirit of reason, the enlightenment, and the Constitution. We are at a period in history where we need to do more than win back democratic control of governance. We, the people, actually need to take power into our own hands. Abuse is abuse, it is rampant, and the situation promises to get much worse than it is today. Obama and the current maestros of the state are setting precedents, the stage, for a frightening new world.
We have a choice. We can stand up now or, we can stand up later.
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Western Persistence With Mid East Bloodbath
The risk of the regional bloodbath through Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and throughout the Middle East turning into a global bloodbath is high and getting higher by the day.
America's Middle East gambit has become considerably more dangerous since the Russians have defiantly announced that they will be sending S-300 anti-aircraft weapons to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The conflict is already spilling into and influencing the region. Germany and the United States warned Russia not to send the weapons systems(1). At a meeting in Sochi, Russia, between Russia's Vladamir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu threatened to destroy the missiles before they would become operational. Earlier, Netanyahu warned Russia that the weapons delivery could “send the region deteriorating into war”. (2)
Both the Israelis and the Americans consistently proclaim that they will raise the stakes when faced with disobedience and they threaten horrific responses if any third party lends support of any kind to the enemy du jour. At his point, they are playing with more than fire.
American Meddling in Syria
The United States have been coordinating the current ongoing bloodbath in Syria from the outset. On August 1, 2012 Reuters reported “the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.” Further, “...along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents.” (3)
As we have seen in Libya and elsewhere, the United States, under President Obama, is operating an ongoing war machine through third party proxies. Britain and France appear to take the lead in Europe. Middle Eastern hitmen include Saudi Arabia and Turkey. They lead, other's follow.
Aside from the covert support to the 'extremists', the Obama has been providing millions in “non lethal” or “humanitarian” assistance to Al Qeada and other enemies of Assad's government.
The Americans have bullied their European counterparts to end the European arms embargo against the rebel forces. “Britain and France had backed the proposal to send weapons to the militants, while other countries, such as Austria, Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic, opposed the move. “ (4)
This was followed by a visit to Syria by Senator John McCain who was spirited into Syria though Turkey. He used his foray to portray being 'on the ground' to voice with authority that the Syrian rebels need “heavy weapons”. (5) To maintain his domestic and disingenuous public image at home, Obama needs McCain and other hawks to pose as aggressors in the region in the same way he needs foreign nations such as France and the UK to posture themselves as the main players as they had done in Libya. Americans are becoming weary of endless war and will not support yet one more round of sacrificing thousands of young men and women for nefarious goals that are unseen. The propaganda machine needs more time. “Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the United States should not use military action in Syria to attempt to end the civil war there if diplomatic and economic efforts fail, while 24% would favor U.S. military involvement.” (6)
Iraqi Bloodletting Continues
While most observers would contend that the American 'mission' in Iraq has been a colossal failure, another thesis would suggest that things are going according to plan. That thesis suggests that de-stabalization of the whole Middle East (with the exception of compliant dictatorships) is exactly what Washington's game plan is. “It may be that the United States had no intention of destroying the Taliban or Al Qeada. If we look at outcomes, we may conclude; on the contrary. The pattern suggests that the Americans aim to empower the clerics throughout the Middle East and to destroy the more secular and rationally based governments.” (7)
The carnage in Iraq is ramping up due in part to the ongoing strife next door in Syria. As Jason Ditz reports, “ The month of April had sparked major concerns about the rise of sectarian violence in Iraq, with a death toll the highest it had been since Summer 2008. In April, “The overall (death) toll was 460, for the entire month, meaning May is set to blow past it dramatically.”(8)
The upshot is, the United States has successfully ushered in an era of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq and that tension not only serves the United States, it serves Israel. The situation in Iraq will likely deteriorate further into all out civil war. And as it does, Netanyahu, Washington, and their acolytes will stoke the fires.
Danger on the Road Ahead
It may very well be that Vladimir Putin does not take orders from Israel. Netanyahu's demand to not sell anti-aircraft missiles to Assad may fall on deaf ears. And if history teaches us anything, it should teach us that Russia's sovereignty is not a plaything for the West or anyone else. Russia is not backing down from their lukewarm support of nations that stand in defiance of Washington's and Israel's dictates.
In 2006 Israel was humiliated when they attacked Lebabon. Hezbollah sent them packing. Iran, a formidable force itself is not backing down from openly supporting Assad and with now with Russia also showing defiance to the West/Israel, anything can happen.
For its part, Russia appears to be acting rationally and opposing military adventurism outside rule of law and outside the Security Council. It is likley that Russia is increasingly uncomfortable with Washington's ongoing war/ regime change adventures through the Middle East. The Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin said, “Our experiences in the last few years in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Libya prove that any action undertaken outside the Security Council and the wrong implementation of its resolutions has very bad implications that we will not be able to solve.” (9)
Fractures in the international community are becoming apparent as players jockey for position for the upcoming Syrian peace talks, aimed, ostensibly, to promote peace. Western and rebel belligerence is in full view. Opposition Rebels are demanding that Assad's government be excluded from the talks and France is demanding that Iran not be included. For its part, Syria, emboldened by recent gains against the rebels, will not bend to demands that Assad step down. "Our armed forces have regained the momentum," said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. "From now until the next elections, President Bashar Assad is president of the Syrian Arab Republic.” (10)
The Americans, as we have now come to expect, are unabashedly militaristic and aggressive as they fully intend to derail any chance for peace. White House spokesman, Jay Carney said in the buildup to the peace talks, "Every option remains on the table. That of course includes a no-fly zone. It is inaccurate to suggest that option was in development only now. (10)
Whether we agree that Russia is a rational player committed to rule of law on the world stage or not, the risks are not lessened if indeed they are. They are not lessened because we cannot reasonably make the argument that Washington is either rational on the world stage or committed to rule of law. They simply are not. The Americans, the Israelis and their underlings have other unseen agendas at play and they appear to be not only provocative and aggressive, but dangerous, not only to people that live in the Middle East but to the world at large. As abrasive as this statement seems to be, it is hardly controversial. The solopsistic nature of the American state is frequently displayed on the world stage for all to see. In a recent example, John Kerry chastised Hezbollah for aiding the Syrian government against Al Qeada rebels saying, “There are several thousands of Hezbollah militia forces on the ground in Syria who are contributing to this violence and we condemn that.” (11) More disturbingly, “A senior State Department official told the Washington Post that Iranian forces are fighting in Syria, repeating totally unsubstantiated allegations by the “rebels” as fact. (11) As the Post pointed out, “The US official’s allegation was a tacit acknowledgment that the two-year Syrian conflict has become a regional war and a de facto US proxy fight with Iran.” (11)
The potential for this conflict to merge with conflicts in Iraq, to spread to Lebanon and Turkey and to be used as a staging area for aggression against Iran is high. In fact, these things are already occurring. The potential that an expanded regional conflict with Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia on one side facing down Israel, the West, and Al Qeada on the other is also high; and is already occurring.
References
1. http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-germany-to-russia-dont-send-assad-missiles/
2. http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-threatened-to-hit-s-300s-before-they-came-online/
3. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801
4. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/29/306141/iran-slams-eu-for-lifting-syria-arms-ban/
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/john-mccain-syrian-rebels_n_3368036.html
6. http://www.gallup.com/poll/162854/americans-oppose-military-involvement-syria.aspx
7. http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/25747-saudi-model.html
8. http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/21/over-400-killed-in-a-week-of-iraqi-violence/
9. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-22/217919-russia-opposes-forced-syria-regime-change.ashx#axzz2Uu2WUPO0
10. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/29/syria-peace-talks-in-jeopardy
11. http://www.globalresearch.ca/behind-syria-peace-talks-us-prepares-regional-war/5336100
America's Middle East gambit has become considerably more dangerous since the Russians have defiantly announced that they will be sending S-300 anti-aircraft weapons to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The conflict is already spilling into and influencing the region. Germany and the United States warned Russia not to send the weapons systems(1). At a meeting in Sochi, Russia, between Russia's Vladamir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu threatened to destroy the missiles before they would become operational. Earlier, Netanyahu warned Russia that the weapons delivery could “send the region deteriorating into war”. (2)
Both the Israelis and the Americans consistently proclaim that they will raise the stakes when faced with disobedience and they threaten horrific responses if any third party lends support of any kind to the enemy du jour. At his point, they are playing with more than fire.
American Meddling in Syria
The United States have been coordinating the current ongoing bloodbath in Syria from the outset. On August 1, 2012 Reuters reported “the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.” Further, “...along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad's opponents.” (3)
As we have seen in Libya and elsewhere, the United States, under President Obama, is operating an ongoing war machine through third party proxies. Britain and France appear to take the lead in Europe. Middle Eastern hitmen include Saudi Arabia and Turkey. They lead, other's follow.
Aside from the covert support to the 'extremists', the Obama has been providing millions in “non lethal” or “humanitarian” assistance to Al Qeada and other enemies of Assad's government.
The Americans have bullied their European counterparts to end the European arms embargo against the rebel forces. “Britain and France had backed the proposal to send weapons to the militants, while other countries, such as Austria, Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic, opposed the move. “ (4)
This was followed by a visit to Syria by Senator John McCain who was spirited into Syria though Turkey. He used his foray to portray being 'on the ground' to voice with authority that the Syrian rebels need “heavy weapons”. (5) To maintain his domestic and disingenuous public image at home, Obama needs McCain and other hawks to pose as aggressors in the region in the same way he needs foreign nations such as France and the UK to posture themselves as the main players as they had done in Libya. Americans are becoming weary of endless war and will not support yet one more round of sacrificing thousands of young men and women for nefarious goals that are unseen. The propaganda machine needs more time. “Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the United States should not use military action in Syria to attempt to end the civil war there if diplomatic and economic efforts fail, while 24% would favor U.S. military involvement.” (6)
Iraqi Bloodletting Continues
While most observers would contend that the American 'mission' in Iraq has been a colossal failure, another thesis would suggest that things are going according to plan. That thesis suggests that de-stabalization of the whole Middle East (with the exception of compliant dictatorships) is exactly what Washington's game plan is. “It may be that the United States had no intention of destroying the Taliban or Al Qeada. If we look at outcomes, we may conclude; on the contrary. The pattern suggests that the Americans aim to empower the clerics throughout the Middle East and to destroy the more secular and rationally based governments.” (7)
The carnage in Iraq is ramping up due in part to the ongoing strife next door in Syria. As Jason Ditz reports, “ The month of April had sparked major concerns about the rise of sectarian violence in Iraq, with a death toll the highest it had been since Summer 2008. In April, “The overall (death) toll was 460, for the entire month, meaning May is set to blow past it dramatically.”(8)
The upshot is, the United States has successfully ushered in an era of sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq and that tension not only serves the United States, it serves Israel. The situation in Iraq will likely deteriorate further into all out civil war. And as it does, Netanyahu, Washington, and their acolytes will stoke the fires.
Danger on the Road Ahead
It may very well be that Vladimir Putin does not take orders from Israel. Netanyahu's demand to not sell anti-aircraft missiles to Assad may fall on deaf ears. And if history teaches us anything, it should teach us that Russia's sovereignty is not a plaything for the West or anyone else. Russia is not backing down from their lukewarm support of nations that stand in defiance of Washington's and Israel's dictates.
In 2006 Israel was humiliated when they attacked Lebabon. Hezbollah sent them packing. Iran, a formidable force itself is not backing down from openly supporting Assad and with now with Russia also showing defiance to the West/Israel, anything can happen.
For its part, Russia appears to be acting rationally and opposing military adventurism outside rule of law and outside the Security Council. It is likley that Russia is increasingly uncomfortable with Washington's ongoing war/ regime change adventures through the Middle East. The Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin said, “Our experiences in the last few years in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Libya prove that any action undertaken outside the Security Council and the wrong implementation of its resolutions has very bad implications that we will not be able to solve.” (9)
Fractures in the international community are becoming apparent as players jockey for position for the upcoming Syrian peace talks, aimed, ostensibly, to promote peace. Western and rebel belligerence is in full view. Opposition Rebels are demanding that Assad's government be excluded from the talks and France is demanding that Iran not be included. For its part, Syria, emboldened by recent gains against the rebels, will not bend to demands that Assad step down. "Our armed forces have regained the momentum," said Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. "From now until the next elections, President Bashar Assad is president of the Syrian Arab Republic.” (10)
The Americans, as we have now come to expect, are unabashedly militaristic and aggressive as they fully intend to derail any chance for peace. White House spokesman, Jay Carney said in the buildup to the peace talks, "Every option remains on the table. That of course includes a no-fly zone. It is inaccurate to suggest that option was in development only now. (10)
Whether we agree that Russia is a rational player committed to rule of law on the world stage or not, the risks are not lessened if indeed they are. They are not lessened because we cannot reasonably make the argument that Washington is either rational on the world stage or committed to rule of law. They simply are not. The Americans, the Israelis and their underlings have other unseen agendas at play and they appear to be not only provocative and aggressive, but dangerous, not only to people that live in the Middle East but to the world at large. As abrasive as this statement seems to be, it is hardly controversial. The solopsistic nature of the American state is frequently displayed on the world stage for all to see. In a recent example, John Kerry chastised Hezbollah for aiding the Syrian government against Al Qeada rebels saying, “There are several thousands of Hezbollah militia forces on the ground in Syria who are contributing to this violence and we condemn that.” (11) More disturbingly, “A senior State Department official told the Washington Post that Iranian forces are fighting in Syria, repeating totally unsubstantiated allegations by the “rebels” as fact. (11) As the Post pointed out, “The US official’s allegation was a tacit acknowledgment that the two-year Syrian conflict has become a regional war and a de facto US proxy fight with Iran.” (11)
The potential for this conflict to merge with conflicts in Iraq, to spread to Lebanon and Turkey and to be used as a staging area for aggression against Iran is high. In fact, these things are already occurring. The potential that an expanded regional conflict with Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia on one side facing down Israel, the West, and Al Qeada on the other is also high; and is already occurring.
References
1. http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-germany-to-russia-dont-send-assad-missiles/
2. http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-threatened-to-hit-s-300s-before-they-came-online/
3. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801
4. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/29/306141/iran-slams-eu-for-lifting-syria-arms-ban/
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/john-mccain-syrian-rebels_n_3368036.html
6. http://www.gallup.com/poll/162854/americans-oppose-military-involvement-syria.aspx
7. http://mwcnews.net/focus/analysis/25747-saudi-model.html
8. http://news.antiwar.com/2013/05/21/over-400-killed-in-a-week-of-iraqi-violence/
9. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-22/217919-russia-opposes-forced-syria-regime-change.ashx#axzz2Uu2WUPO0
10. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/29/syria-peace-talks-in-jeopardy
11. http://www.globalresearch.ca/behind-syria-peace-talks-us-prepares-regional-war/5336100
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