On Obama’s Iraq Airstrikes

I was away on personal business and I did not have a chance to comment on what’s happening in Iraq.

Here’s the video of the announcement from President Obama: (via The White House)

Now, there are doubters. Via the Daily Beast:

Friday morning, with a humanitarian mission already underway, the United States began airstrikes on ISIS in northern Iraq. What had been the U.S. policy—to rely on local forces to contain ISIS while waiting for a new Iraqi government to reach a political solution—is finished. The new policy is still taking shape, but it may eventually lead to more involvement from the special operations troops who have been in Iraq for weeks.

President Obama said Thursday night he had authorized airstrikes to protect American personnel and the Yazidi minority group stranded by ISIS on top of Mt. Sinjar. A senior administration official later stressed to reporters that U.S. forces were not launching a “sustained campaign” against ISIS in Iraq.

But with the Kurds, America’s closest allies in the fight, recovering from heavy losses, some analysts and military veterans say that airstrikes alone may not be enough to turn the tide. A sustained—if small-scale—campaign may be the only way to achieve that.

…..and, of course, the neocon hawks:

President Obama’s limited strikes on ISIS in northern Iraq are “pinpricks” that are “meaningless” and “worse than nothing,” according to one of his fiercest foreign policy critics, Sen. John McCain.

By committing U.S. military forces to fight again in Iraq while explicitly limiting the mission to protection of American personnel and Iraqi minorities, Obama has failed to come up with a plan that has any hope of stopping the ISIS advances across Iraq and Syria, said McCain. It’s a position that puts him somewhat at odds with other Republicans, who are offering cautious support for the airstrikes in Iraq – and concern that the president doesn’t have a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing threat of ISIS..

McCain, a consistent advocate for the application of American military power around the world, has long pushed for greater U.S. involvement in Iraq. But these strikes Friday were not what McCain had in mind.

“This is a pinprick,” McCain told The Daily Beast in an interview Friday, about the two 500-pound smart bombs U.S. airplanes dropped on ISIS convoys Friday. The vehicles were approaching Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, were many U.S. diplomatic and military personnel reside.

Now, honestly, I am going to give the President the benefit of the doubt and I am going to hope like heck, that the President knows just what the heck he is doing. As for what the President is doing and whether it will be enough or not — I have one thing to say about it — We will soon find out.

Because if it is not enough and we do kill some of those ISIS members; and it does not wipe them out and only strengthens them, we could very well find ourselves in another protracted battle in Iraq. I would hope that this would not be the case; but I have my doubts. I will say this: I highly doubt that President Obama will be as careless and reckless in his fighting this battle, as Bush was during the Iraq War that lasted for 8 years.

I just hope that I am right; for the sake of America.

Others: The American ConservativeHot AirBusiness Insiderhis vorpal swordWashington Post,National ReviewDemocracy in AmericaInformed CommentThe Moderate VoiceThe DishSaudi GazetteSpectatorVodkaPunditAssociated PressTalking Points Memo and McClatchy Washington Bureau (Via Memeorandum)

Military build up begins in Iraq

They are actually doing it again. Building up for another war. This time it might last for a very long time.

The story:

The United States has sent Apache attack helicopters to Iraq as part of the buildup in U.S. military personnel, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Officials would not say how many of the armed helicopters have been sent to the country, stating only that they will be based in Baghdad and could assist with evacuations of American personnel.

The Pentagon also sent over additional surveillance drones.

President Obama on Monday sent 200 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to protect diplomatic facilities and personnel amid growing fears that Sunni militants in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could overrun the country. The order brought the total number of U.S. ground forces in Iraq to 750.

On Monday, the State Department announced it was relocating some of its personnel from Baghdad.

Pentagon Press Secretary Adm. John Kirby declined Tuesday to say whether the situation in Iraq was getting better or worse, but said Iraqi forces in and around Baghdad are preparing to defend themselves.

“We have seen Iraqi security forces in and around Baghdad begin to reinforce themselves and prepare to defend, and they are taking the offensive. And we saw this over the weekend up near Tikrit. So it’s a contested environment right now,” Kirby said.

“The situation on the ground continues to change. It’s very fluid. It’s dynamic. The threat to Baghdad is still very legitimate. And we also want to make sure that we are doing what we can to help our colleagues in the State Department continue to function out of the embassy there and to have the flexibility, if they want to make resource and manning changes there, that we’re able — we’re in a position to help them do that,” Kirby said.

via Pentagon sends attack helicopters to Iraq | TheHill.

It looks like the Neoconservatives and the war party have won again.

Jerry Kerry says Russia has till Monday get out of Crimea or else

Yep, doing just as I reported, setting us up for war. All we need is that false flag operation to start.

The Story:

Secretary of State John Kerry warned of serious repercussions for Russia on Monday if last-ditch talks over the weekend to resolve the crisis in Ukraine failed to persuade Moscow to soften its stance.

Kerry will travel to London for a Friday meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ahead of a Sunday referendum vote in the Crimea region to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.

U.S. and European officials argue that Moscow is orchestrating the referendum and waging an intimidation campaign with thousands of Russian troops controlling the region. If Russian-backed lawmakers in Crimea go through with the Sunday referendum, Kerry said the U.S. and its European allies will not recognize it as legitimate under international law.

The U.S. and Europe on Monday would then unite to impose sanctions on Russia, Kerry told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Thursday during a hearing on the State Department’s budget.

“There will be a response of some kind to the referendum itself,” Kerry said. “If there is no sign [from Russia] of any capacity to respond to this issue … there will be a very serious series of steps on Monday.”

“Our hope is to have Russia join

via John Kerry: Russia has until Monday to reverse course in Ukraine | WashingtonExaminer.com.

Here’s the real kicker:

He said that currently Russia does not have the assets positioned to “march in and take over all of Ukraine but that could change and we recognize that.”

“I’ve been impressed on how united our European allies are on this… to a person, to a country, they are very, very committed to make sure there is accountability,” he said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who was chairing the hearing, asked how this showdown with Russia in Ukraine is impacting efforts to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.

When Obama threatened to make good on his red-line threat to Syrian leader Bashar Assad, Russia helped avert U.S. military strikes by offering to step in and negotiate arrangements to have Damascus destroy its chemical weapons.

Kerry said Russia had been helpful in pushing Syria on tighter deadlines for locating, moving and destroying its stockpile, but considering the crisis in Crimea, their cooperation going forward is an open question.

“Now there’s a question mark about where that’s going to go,” he said.

This is going to be very interesting. Quite indeed.

Is the US getting ready to perform a false flag to drag us into World War 3?

It sure does seem so.

Check out this video, by Susan Duclos who blogs over at Wake Up America.

Now the story via Susan Duclos over at Before It’s News:

If this is true and since the hacker group Anonymous is famous for hacking into high level documents and emails, it most likely is true, then this is a blockbuster bombshell!

 

Hacked emails to and from US Army Attache Assistant in Kiev Jason Gresh with Ukrainian General Staff Igor Protsyk, discuss plans to arrange a massive attack on transport hubs and Ukrainian military bases in order to “frame-up the neighbor,” and “create favorable conditions for Pentagon to act.”

 

The emails from Igor are in Russian, so the link is here for anyone that reads Russian but the email from US Army Attache Assistant in Kiev Jason Gresh is in English and the ramifications of it are enormous.

 

Events are moving rapidly in Crimea. Our friends in Washington expect more decisive actions from your network.
I think it’s time to implement the plan we discussed lately. Your job is to cause some problems to the transport hubs in the south-east in order to frame-up the neighbor.
It will create favorable conditions for Pentagon and the Company to act.
Do not waste time, my friend.

Respectfully,
JP

Jason P. Gresh
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Assistant Army Attaché
U.S. Embassy, Kyiv
Tankova 4, Kyiv, Ukraine 04112
(380-44) 521 – 5444 | Fax (380-44) 521 – 5636

http://ukraine.usembassy.gov/
http://usembassykyiv.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/usdos.ukraine
http://www.youtube.com/user/USEmbassyKyiv
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassykyiv

Then, there’s this via KyivPost: (H/T to Before It’s News)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States General Martin Dempsey has claimed that in the case of an escalation of unrest in Crimea, the U.S. Army is ready to back up Ukraine and its allies in Europe with military actions. 

According to the Web site of the Atlantic Council, Dempsey said that “he’s been talking to his military counterparts in Russia, but he’s also sending a clear message to Ukraine and members of NATO that the U.S. military will respond militarily if necessary.”

“We’re trying to tell [Russia] not to escalate this thing further into Eastern Ukraine, and allow the conditions to be set for some kind of resolution in Crimea. We do have treaty obligations with our NATO allies. And I have assured them that if that treaty obligation is triggered [in Europe], we would respond,” Dempsey said.

According to the General, the incursion of Russian troops into the Crimea creates risks for all the countries of Europe and NATO allies.

“If Russia is allowed to do this, which is to say move into a sovereign country under the guise of protecting ethnic Russians in Ukraine, it exposes Eastern Europe to some significant risk, because there are ethnic enclaves all over Eastern Europe and the Balkans,” Dempsey said. 

If I were the MSM, I would be all over this one. I would hate to think that the Obama Administration would pull something this bone-headed; seeing that his popularity, even among liberal Americans is not that great. But, then again, stranger things have happened with this President.

 

John Podhoretz gets exposed for the intolerant Trotskyite that he truly is

This is great;  a Trotskyite Zionist goes for a debate; and the minute he sees that he is losing the debate — he storms off the stage, takes his marbles and goes home.

I am referring to the greatest Trotskyite, Zionist, Neoconservative of them all — John Podhoretz.

See here, here, here and here.

Money quote:

Bottom line: I’d had a long day and I didn’t see the point in spending more of it getting booed and shushed. So I left. So sue me.

If only we could sue you and your family for all the trillions of dollars — and the 4000+ lives that were  wasted in the Iraq War —- which you and your satanic Father were cheerleaders for, after 9/11. Actually, I would very much like to see criminal charges filed against you and few of your Trotskyite friends as well. However, as we realists know; that will never happened to a protected class as yourself.

You want to know what got wrong with Conservatism? You want to know why the GOP is in the shape that it is in? Look no further than this man here and his idiotic Trotskyite magazine that he runs. They are the true enemies of America; they are the ones who put us in the war that almost broke this Nation and ruined its standing in the world.

It is a pity that there is not true justice in this Nation of ours; otherwise, this man and his friends would be sitting in jail cells.

 

Sunday at the movies: Blood on the Sun (1945)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPxOg6BpOqA

A 1945 film starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney. The film is based on the history behind the Tanaka Memorial document.
In pre-World War II Tokyo the American newspaper editor Nick Condon (James Cagney) working for an English-language daily paper aimed at the American business community is given a document relating to Japan’s foreign affairs which could have political ramifications if found.

He meets up with Iris Hilliard (Sylvia Sidney), a woman who wants to secure the document even if it means dealing with the Japanese secret police and their threats.

Director:
Frank Lloyd

Writers:
Lester Cole (screenplay), Nathaniel Curtis (additional scenes)

Stars:
James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney and Porter Hall

(via Mr. Films Chatten’s YouTube Page)

If I were the US, I would tell Afghanistan’s Karzai, “Sign the agreement or we leave in 48 hours!”

Next year?!?! How about in 48 hours?

The Story:

KABUL, Afghanistan –The White House threatened to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan next year, after President Hamid Karzai refused to sign a new bilateral security agreement.

Over the weekend, officials in Afghanistan endorsed a security deal that would keep United Stations troops in the nation beyond next year, but President Hamid Karzai denied the request. He wants the U.S. to bring more security to the country first. NBC’s Richard Engel reports.

The two countries remain deadlocked over future military involvement after an unsuccessful working dinner between Ambassador Susan Rice and Karzai at his palace in Kabul on Monday night.

In a statement, the White House said Karzai had outlined new conditions for a deal “and indicated he is not prepared to sign the BSA promptly.”

“Ambassador Rice reiterated that, without a prompt signature, the U.S. would have no choice but to initiate planning for a post-2014 future in which there would be no U.S. or NATO troop presence in Afghanistan,” the statement said.

via US to Afghanistan’s Karzai: Sign security deal or we’ll pull out all troops next year – World News.

If I were the President and Susan Rice, I would simply tell Karzai that either he signs the agreement or our forces would be out of Afghanistan in 48 hours. However, before that, I would quite forcefully remind Karzai that the only reason he and his predecessor were even elected to power; was because the United States of America overran the Taliban by Military force and forced them to allow a democratically elected Government.

I would also tell him this; If we leave in 48 hours and your Government gets overran by the Taliban again and you happen to find yourselves under the Islāmic extremists again — do not call us, because the United States will NOT be coming back here at all. The United States came to Afghanistan to get Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 and in the process of that, defeated the Taliban. We got our man and our being here is now moot. Now, this idiot is playing hardball; well, I would play it right back; and tell him that either he signs or we leave — and he can deal with the fallout, we did our job as far as this writer is concerned. We really do not need to be there; but for the sake of a few kids, who we don’t want to see living under extreme Islāmic rule.

Next year… 🙄 What is that going to do? Buy Karzai some time? I think it is time that we got tough with Karzai and tell him, “Either get with the program or we’re done with you and this Nation.”

Just my opinion.

Good: U.N. Calls For Release of Report on Bush-Era Torture

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of the United Nations. However, I believe this to be a noble thing to do.

The video:

The transcript: via Via Democracy Now! (H/T to Crooks and Liars)

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, finally, you’ve called on Britain and the U.S. to release confidential reports into the countries’ involvement in the kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects, accusing them of years of official denials. Can you expand on that?

BEN EMMERSON: Yes, I presented in my last report to the Human Rights Council a series of principles on accountability for what are described in international law as gross or systemic human rights violations. And I think that there’s no doubt that the conspiracy that involved the commission of acts of secret detention, torture and rendition under the Bush administration constitute gross and systematic human rights violations. And international law is clear on this. There is no superior orders defense. There is no principle that would justify—just as at the Nuremberg trials there was no principle that would allow someone to say, “Well, this is what was ordered by my officials.” There must be—international law requires that there be—a system for achieving accountability.

And we know that the Feinstein Senate committee report into the activities of the CIA is said to be a very thorough and comprehensive analysis and to identify who made the decisions, who committed the acts alleged, and where and how and why. And a crucial part of the duty of accountability under international law is the so-called right to truth. And that’s a right that’s not just belonging to the victims, but to society at large. And, therefore, I mean, the time has come, unequivocally, for the release of the Feinstein report. I mean, if there have to be particular redactions in order to protect the identity of operatives from reprisals, so be it. But the key findings of the Feinstein report and of a parallel report commissioned and prepared and provided to the British prime minister in relation to the United Kingdom’s involvement in these activities must now be made public. And we will not stop calling for the publication of this material until at least a sufficient amount of it has been put into the public domain.

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, I want to thank you for being with us, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, has issued an interim report on his investigation into U.S. drone strikes and targeted killings. His findings, along with a report by the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, will be debated today at the U.N. General Assembly. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report.

Again, while U.N. isn’t really something I am too fond off, as a Conservative. I have come to accept it; and think that doing things like the above, is a very good idea. Like it or not; the Bush Administration made some seriously bad mistake during the war, and in the attempt to get information for more terrorist attacks after 9/11, crossed some constitutional lines. Here is hoping that the parties involved are held accountable.

By rights, they SHOULD be held accountable by the United States Government; but we all know that will never happen. The US Democrats do not have the guts to pursue justice. This my friends, is a great American tragedy.

 

More black on white crime in Brooklyn, NY

More Black on white crime; and this time, it actually made the media.

The Story:

A group of 10 black youths — one of them a 12-year-old girl — surrounded a white couple’s car in Brooklyn, viciously beating the husband and yanking the wife to the pavement by her hair as they peppered the two with racial slurs, authorities said.

“Get those crackers!” some of them screamed, according to court papers. “Get that white whore!”

The confrontation erupted about 7 p.m. Monday, as the marauding group crossed Avenue U at E. 58th St. near Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin.

Ronald Russo, 30, and his wife, Alanna, apparently had the green light and the husband honked at the group to get out of the way. The rowdy kids started kicking the car, according to the criminal complaint. Ronald Russo got out to check on potential damage to his vehicle.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

RELATED: BROOKLYN PIPE ATTACKER EYED IN MIDTOWN BRICK BEATING

Ronald Russo was dragged to the ground. Then he was punched and kicked in the head. He felt more blows all over his body, investigators said. He suffered a fractured nose, a broken septum, a blood clot and abrasions to his shoulder. He was treated and released from Beth Israel Medical Center.

In the midst of the attack, there was a steady chorus of epithets. “White motherf—–!” screamed the attackers, who ranged in age from 12 to 18.

Alanna Russo, 30, was calling 911 when the 12-year-old girl pulled the woman’s hair and threw her to the ground. The victim’s head slammed into the concrete. She suffered a black eye, bleeding and difficulty breathing, prosecutors said, but she refused medical attention.

Her husband’s iPhone was stolen during the melee, according to cops.

via Brooklyn group of black youths blocks white couple’s car, bloody victims in racial attack: cops – NY Daily News.

Weasel Zippers reports:

Kashawn Kirton, 18, has been charged with gang assault, harassment and menacing charges, all as hate crimes.

Daehrell Finch, 17 has been charged with gang assault, assault, menacing and harassment but does not face hate-crime charges.

Two more teens, a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, have also been arrested, but their names have not been released.

Urbangrounds has very good posting and gives some good advice:

The lesson here is obvious: If your car is ever surrounded by a mob of black youths, no matter what they say or do to your vehicle, DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. Drive away. Drive over them if you have to. But do not get out of your car. Oh, and it should go without saying, but ALWAYS keep a loaded and readily-accessible hand-gun in your car. Because you never know where or when evil will raise it’s ugly head.

You can also too move away from areas where blacks tend to live too. Which is what I want to do so very bad. I wanna go live in the woods, and away from the city. I intend to get there; one day. Since Obama took office, there has been an noticeable uptick of black on white crime. Just Obama’s people doing what he told them to do, is the way I see it.

Previous black on white crime:

Best take down of Bill Keller ever!

I am, of course, referring to the idiotic op-ed piece by Bill Keller over at the NYT.

Here is the best part:

The truth is that America’s role in the world will not be significantly altered by refusing to attack Syria, and its truly vital interests will not be harmed. It is possible that the attack on Syria could end up being just as “unbelievably small” as John Kerry says it will be, but if there’s one thing Americans ought to have learned over the last decade it is that official promises that military action will be “limited” and of “short duration” are unreliable. This is partly because administration officials consistently underestimate the difficulty and risk of what they propose to do, and partly because launching attacks on other countries inevitably has effects and consequences that they fail to foresee. Instead of reassuring the public of their limited goals, administration efforts to downplay the significance of the attack they are proposing tells us that they may be oblivious to the risks of military action.

via Keller and the “New Isolationism” | The American Conservative.

So very true; and seeing how our men came back from Iraq, do we really want to do that again?