"A White House spokeswoman, Laura Magnuson, said: ‘We are aware that this report has been released and are reviewing it carefully.’"
In other words, it will be allowed to be ignored much as Malala's comment to President Obama on drones in Pakistan.
"Awkwardest and Most Authoritative Ever Comments on Drones: Warfare of words by David Swanson - link to counterpunch.org … President Obama may also have not expected most people to notice or care. The corporate media have virtually ignored this part of a widely-reported meeting."
"Recently on his syndicated talk show, the power-worshipping interviewer of influential elites Charlie Rose worried that Washington’s latest fiscal crisis sends the world the message that “democracy doesn’t work as well as we thought it did.” [1]
" Collective punishment of populations under occupation regimes is forbidden in international law."
But it's acceptable if we and our "allies" violate these laws and basic elements of a civilized society.
Our national capacity for hypocrisy is monumental and apparently perpetual despite the injury it does to the American people, including the current debacle with a shutdown federal government.
American and British prosecutors at Nuremberg declared an unprovoked war by one nation against another - in this case Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland - to be the greatest crime. In March 2003 American and British forces waged an unprovoked war against Iraq, but the vast majority of Americans proved to be okay with that.
"Well, I don’t see any of the politicians on both sides of the aisle in Congress, who voted for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, offering to take a paternity test and accept those two orphans into their tender, loving care and parental custody."
What is bizarre and possibly psychotic and worse is that majorities of American voters returned these politicians who endorsed the war to Congress where they could make similar grave errors of judgement again. One senator was elevated to vice president and two others became secretaries of state. Similarly, many of the same pundits on television and print media are still employed promoting more wars and violation of international laws and civilized behavior.
"It was a very painful experience for me as a naive and young man to witness war."
You can thank the lies you were fed by our education system and the various forms of media for that.
"Is it time to ban Harvard and Yale graduates from government? Their fingerprints are all over these debacles!"
The problem begins before students enter Harvard and Yale and other so-called elite schools that provide these immoral and corrupt leaders. It begins in early childhood and in their youthful years when our culture and education system fails to teach young people what is moral and what is not. Instead, they are encouraged to seek power and wealth above all, and these institutions of supposed higher learning are among the most efficient means of reaching their goals.
Your point is valid, but the way it was framed was unfortunate. Instead, of positioning Malala on one side and all the other maimed and killed children on the other it would be better to make her representative of the latter and also bring international attention to them.
"Although the ACA will bring some benefits to patients, millions of Americans will be left a day late and a dollar short - still uninsured after the ACA is fully implemented. That's because many will not be able to afford health insurance, ..."
Anything less than single-payer or Medicare for all is defective.
It is because they are locked into their positions with an authoritarian attitude that they are right and everyone else is wrong and they're not about to compromise.
They do deserve some credit for having the determination to fight for what they believe in as opposed to the Democrats who have settled for the wimpy route and posing as the lesser evil. Ralph Nader expands on this theme at link to counterpunch.org.
"The ACA was severely damaged when states were allowed to opt out of medicaid expansion."
The ACA was severely damaged when Obama, on behalf of campaign donors, stacked the development team with insurance corporation insiders.
"The poor and their supporters should be demanding ..."
The poor will not be listened to by the ruling political oligarchs and their plutocrat backers until there are more of them and enough to resist the police forces that will be dispatched to crush them back into silence.
"The primary concern of the Tea Party is that the working poor not benefit from Obamacare in getting access to health insurance. (Many of the poor already have access to Medicaid; the Affordable Health Care Act mainly benefits workers who aren’t paid very well and don’t get insurance via their employers)."
While Obamacare will help some low-income people, it comes up very short for many others. link to counterpunch.org
"Since the program is a government mandate that individuals buy private health insurance, moreover, it doesn’t actually cost the government much."
This helps to explain why insurance stocks jumped in value when Obamacare was approved.
Then there are the Christian moral authoritarians within the United States: "The radical Christian Right and the war on government" by Chris Hedges - link to truthdig.com
“He doesn’t explain how the US can be “arrogant” and “trespassing” but also allow itself to be bossed around by a small country of 7.5 million.”
The good news is that Israel may be losing its clout. "Israel’s lost clout: The Israeli government and the neocons have long felt they can dictate U.S. policy in the Mideast, including demands for military strikes against “enemies.” But President Obama’s push for diplomacy on Syria and Iran may be challenging that longstanding reality," writes Lawrence Davidson. - link to consortiumnews.com
"the fear and ignorance of Conservatives are what give the Tea Party and Republicans such power in this hostage taking we are part of now."
As a student of World Wars One and Two I find the attitudes and their attendant bullying to close to the Nazis' tactics in Germany in the early 1930s. The Tea Partiers and their ilk may not engage in the same physical violence, but their arrogance, abuse of power, and determination to impose their minority views on the majority of the people are too similar to be ignored.
"Edward Snowden has done his share with the egregious violation of his security clearance and the trust (mistakenly) placed in him."
In our increasingly Orwellian world that is a new definition for treason - alerting the people to the fact that the government is amassing incomprehensible amounts of data on all citizens and, in addition to robbing them of their right to privacy, making it possible for Big Brother to put them in their place.
"Ted Cruz, the most effective accidental peace activist ever."
The military-industrial-security complex and the neocon-saturated media will never allow that to happen. For many authoritarians in high places advocates for peace are the ones committing treason.
"Maybe it’s just my part of the country, but Obamacare DOES not make it easier or less expensive for the working poor to see a doctor."
Paul Craig Roberts considers Obamacare a disaster for all of the country. link to counterpunch.org Note in particular the link to his website for the article - Obamacare: A deception - link to paulcraigroberts.org
When President-elect Obama and later President Obama began (unsuccessfully in some cases (Tom Daschle) and successfully in others) to stack his Obamacare development team with insurance industry insiders that was a signal to regard anything that was created with the greatest skepticism. According to a booklet from Consumer Reports there are some good things for some people in Obamacare, but the real beneficiaries and the insurance and related corporations. Another transfer of the government fisc to private businesses with education and social security next for the sacrificial altar.
"...his viewpoints are cleary pro-Palestinian and far outside the mainsream of Israeli political thought."
If supporting human a civil rights for Palestinians is "pro-Palestinian" then Avnery is pro-Palestiians.
"Israel is an apartheid state (no poll required): A new Ha'aretz poll indicates a majority of Jewish Israelis favour apartheid - but that's nothing new." By Ben White - link to aljazeera.com - So much for mainstream Israeli political thought.
"Most people would use the term “outmaneuvered” to refer to a situation in which one political (politician?) accomplishes something by somehow getting around the efforts of another political actor to prevent it."
Netanyahu wanted to increase the number of settlements in Palestine. Obama claims he wanted expansion of the settlements curtailed. Expansion continued without any serious damage to Netanyahu. He won. Obama lost. He was outmaneuvered, at lest in the short term.
I have followed Uri Avnery for years and have found him to be one of the most reliable commentators on Israel.
"People who take Netanyahu and Barak lightly don’t realize how precarious this situation has become."
People who have bought Netanyahu's snake oil in the past should have learned by now he is a charlatan and with Barak supervising the Israeli Defense (sic) forces during Operation Cast Lead they should show him no more respect than anyone else accused of war crimes. Given their character, however, I wouldn't put anything past them.
My recollection from "Dereliction of Duty" is that Johnson couldn't bring himself to admit in the 1960s the war was lost was because he believed the American people wouldn't accept that opinion and the outcome of defeat in Vietnam that occurred in May 1975 after several more thousand military personnel died.
"... but listening to Barak convinced me this wasn’t just tough talk."
Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett at http://www.raceforiran.com would be more reliable sources than Barak who appears to be given to remarks that are of questionable value.
"Because feelings, and not outcomes or political power, are the measure of geopolitics?"
There was a recognition during the Johnson administration that the Vietnam war was lost, but Johnson, McNamara and the generals didn't feel they could bring themselves to admit to it. That is just one countless examples throughout history of "feelings" taking precedence over reason and a temporary hold on power.
"Netanyahu has been disrespectful towards Obama in public. Bully for him."
Except for the offense against the office of the president of the United States, which just goes to demonstrate Netanyahu's contempt for any part of the United States that isn't useful to him.
I would say if Netanyahu embarrassed and humiliated Obama and got away with it he outmaneuvered him - at least in the short term. With some degree of rapprochement between Obama and Rouhani, it could be the situation is in the process of reversal. If Obama has the political skill (questionable) and can stand up to the pro-Israel camp that might include his secretary of state (remains to be seen) then he has a chance of winning in the long term. Let's hope so.
"If Obama can outmaneuver Netanyahu and keep negotiations with Iran on an even keel, he could well have a significant diplomatic breakthrough."
So far Netanyahu with the support of the Israel lobby has outmaneuvered Obama, but circumstances have changed. Obama is not running for re-election and more people are waking up to Israel's negatives. There may also be a re-awakening of the sympathy Senator Obama had for the Palestinians before he sold out to the Israel lobby to get elected.
Perhaps the best answer to your question is the comment Uri Avnery made last year when Netanyahu was on another of his rants: "Striking Iran: Mad or Crazy?: Netanyahu’s Scare Tactics" by Uri Avnery - link to counterpunch.org
"As Dan Rather said after the Susan Rice cave in, “[President] Obama can be rolled for his wallet and his watch.”"
Obama proves the old adage about education being no substitute for experience. The Republicans appear to have failed to learn that lesson with their proposals for Senators Rubio, Cruz and Paul as possible presidential candidates in 2016.
On the Democratic side, Hillary has the experience, but that is enough to scare anyone with basic moral and humanitarian instincts.
" The next stage of American political development may be a shift of the Democratic Party toward a genuine democratic socialism."
Not if the oligarchs of the Democratic Party have their way. Their mission is to provide the nation with the lesser evil which means we still get evil.
" If private insurance companies can’t provide us proper health insurance, we may have to go to single-payer."
Private insurance companies delegated some of their loyal agents to join the Obama administration to write Obamacare. When it was approved insurance company stocks shot up in value. Now those agents are back home working as "consultants" and "advisers" to continue having Congress rig the system. All with the support of a sleep-walking majority of the American people.
Ehud Barak was minister of defense for Israel overseeing Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. The Goldstone Report "accused both the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity." link to en.wikipedia.org
Israel is not the only problem to a US-Iran detente. "Poisoning the US-Iran détente: Israel, Saudi Arabia and other enemies of Iran hope to poison improved U.S.-Iranian relations by blocking sanctions relief for Iran, even at the cost of losing new restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, an emerging dilemma assessed by ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar." - link to consortiumnews.com
"Barak is a very intelligent and educated individual."
He's also capable of telling embarrassing truths" "Iranian nuclear programme not about Israel: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's latest gaffe reveals the geopolitical reality about Iranian nuclear technology." By M. J. Rosenberg - link to aljazeera.com
And not fit to lead? "Ex-Israeli spy boss attacks Netanyahu and Barak over Iran: PM and defence chief not fit to lead Israel and are misleading the public over Iran, warns former Shin Bet boss Yuval Diskin" by Harriet Sherwood - link to guardian.co.uk
Most of the key players who caused the Iraq war to happen and others who rigged the banking system to implode were "Ivy League-educated." Obviously, moral philosophy is not a popular course of study for most Ivy-league students.
Given that Obamacare was written by health care (sic) industry professionals while on the government payroll and who returned to their corporate homes to become paid "consultants" and "advisors" to Congress Obamacare is more like rigged for the benefit of this industry than the people.
"So Ted Cruz should sit down and shut up, at long last."
Ted Cruz and his ilk are only part of the problem. The other, and probably the larger part, is the majority of voters in electoral districts who vote these people into office.
At one time Hitler was considered something of a crackpot with his rants in Vienna. If he had never received support from people who fell for his ideology, he wouldn't have even been a footnote in any history book, including Vienna's.
Then there are the many politicians and promoters of the war on Iraq who, by the standards of the Nuremberg principles, are war criminals. Nevertheless, majorities around the United States have sent most of these politicians back to Congress, one to the White House as vice president, and the pundits who promoted the war continue as distinguished guests on TV talk shows. Go figure!
"It seems to be a sign of just how low we have set the bar when we’re apparently expected to jump up and down in excitement because Rouhani acknowledged a fact of history."
At least it is one step forward on a long path. If only more Americans could acknowledge some facts of history other than Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" and who won the world series or the superbowl a few years ago. A great place to start might be the Nuremberg Trials after World War II that defined waging an unprovoked war against another nation was one of the greatest crimes. If more Americans had given thought to that we might not have had around 70 percent of the people support the disastrous war on Iraq. But, I presume, being exceptional means not have to say , "Sorry."
Christianity has a very sorry elements to its history when it comes to violence from the Crusades to the present. Europe was in an almost constant state of barbaric wars between different sects of Christianity for centuries. Some of the more fundamentalists preaching today are nothing to be proud of, especially those who are praying for Armageddon.
There's more here: "Christianity’s contradictions on war: Though based on the pacifist teachings of Jesus, Christianity has been an accomplice to more wars and genocides than any other religion, a paradox reflected in the contradictory views of 16th Century protestant reformer Martin Luther and 20th Century civil rights martyr Martin Luther King Jr.," as Gary G. Kohls explains. - link to consortiumnews.com
" I listened to the speech once in English and once in Farsi. The speech sounded a lot more confrontational in English."
Thank you for this point, Ahmad. Too often we get flawed and dishonest translations to English. Ahmadinejad was accused of saying he wanted Israel wiped off the map when other responsible sources were reporting he said that he wanted the Israeli regime wiped off the map. Big difference.
Julian Borger of the Guardian recognizes the problems inherent in the United Nations but still make a good argument for its existence:
"The UN general assembly has many detractors, who point to the millions of dollars spent on indulging the vanity of the planet's leaders and their tendency to declaim at much length. But, sometimes, like this year, it serves as a reminder that the world needs somewhere to meet, and when they have something new to say to each other, it can make for powerful drama." link to theguardian.com
Precisely. Only in nations where Orwellian speak is the norm would anyone consider a bomb or two in Iranian hands a threat to Israel with its estimated 200 to 400 bombs and the United States with it hundreds of A-bombs scattered around the world.
"The Israeli insistence that Iran give up enrichment altogether is a non-starter (and the Israelis, with their nuclear arsenal, should talk). But if what is wanted is assurance that Iran’s program is peaceful, that probably can be arranged with good will on both sides."
Given Israel's attitude and its power to influence American policy, the possibility of good will on both sides should be regarded with skepticism.
Given the history of Israel's Zionists and right-wing government since the early 20th Century it is difficult to conceive that the current standard bearers of that tradition will settle for less than complete annexation of what is left of the Palestine Territories. If the current aggressors don't succeed then they will pass the torch to their progency in the next generation. Where the refugees will go is the next question.
It appears the Palestinian people can't win for losing, in part, because of their own leadership collaborating with Israeli and other forces. Again, nothing new there. It happened at Oslo - link to counterpunch.org - and several other venues since then.
Thank you, Joe. I thought by opening with "Presumably" readers would have spotted the cynicism behind my comment. I responded to Mr. Peeble, but my comment seems to have fallen through some cracks.
I did say, that I hadn't been to Israel but probably wouldn't be allowed to enter if I did if the NSA shared with the Israelis some comments I made on line.
I also mentioned that a relative who was young and apolitical at the time had visited Israel and found MOST Israelis she encountered to be unpleasant and MOST Palestinians the opposite.
I was just given a copy of "This Town" by Mark Leibovitch. He described in considerable detail the hypocrisy that is so prevalent among the insiders "inside Washington" and he explains it as a game they are all playing and that they recognize it as such.
Apparently, "The Game" is being played at a world level, and there are very few of us not buying into it. One of the main problems is that this game leaves lots of people dead and maimed but they don't get up and resume life after the game is over.
"I can’t see how France could have a diplomat roughed up without seeing it as an attack on France itself."
Perhaps there is an Israel lobby in France causing the French to ignore assaults on its citizens just as the US whitewashed the murder of Rachel Corrie.
"Having deregulated the banks and encouraged the demon instrument of derivatives and driven the country into the ground with their economic policies, ..."
Signed into law with a big smile while surrounded by Wall Street vultures by President Bill Clinton of the Democratic Party.
Because one side lost doesn't mean it didn't get a boost from one action. It happens all the time. An increase in support in one area doesn't always doesn't mean success when all the chips are in. This comment will probably boost some reader's agreement, but it will never be enough to prevail with some people.
It's a good bet that the hardliners were given a boost. Fortunately, more reasonable forces prevailed. If only something similar could happen in the United States.
"Perhaps this momentum will continue to promote a dialog between Obama and Rouhani at the UN."
I wouldn't bet on this, but apparently the Israelis aren't taking any chances and are now in full press mode in the media. From Mondoweiss:
"In case you have not heard the word from Israel: Time has “run out”, there’s no time left for further negotiations with Iran (link to reuters.com), Iran will have a bomb in 6 months, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”" Quite simply, Israel is freaking out."
Obviously, Israel is a big factor in any negotiations between the US and Iran, but times may be changing. Enough Americans seem to have spoken regarding Syria and let their elected officials know they are tired of war and tired of Israel and their neocon friends promoting these wars. Enough politicians seem to have gotten the message or felt they had enough cover to stand up to the Israel lobby so it looked like Obama wasn't getting his vote to wage another war. Perhaps this momentum will continue to promote a dialog between Obama and Rouhani at the UN. Given Obama's credits for NSA spying and death by drones, he needs some diplomatic success to offset these negatives on his legacy.
"I wonder if this outward appearance of a softer Iranian regime is a well-calculated move on their part to appear virtuous compared to the US."
According to independent, non-mainstream media commentators such as Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett the Iranians have been willing to compromise, but the US-Israel cabal hasn't.
This is from John Pilger, one of the world's most distinguished investigative reporters:
"The most important anniversary of the year was the 40th anniversary of 11 September 1973 – the crushing of the democratic government of Chile by General Augusto Pinochet and Henry Kissinger, then US secretary of state. The National Security Archive in Washington has posted new documents that reveal much about Kissinger’s role in an atrocity that cost thousands of lives.
"In declassified tapes, Kissinger is heard planning with President Richard Nixon the overthrow of President Salvador Allende. They sound like Mafiosi thugs. Kissinger warns that the “model effect” of Allende’s reformist democracy “can be insidious”. He tells CIA director Richard Helms: “We will not let Chile go down the drain”, to which Helms replies: “I am with you.” With the slaughter under way, Kissinger dismisses a warning by his senior officials of the scale of the repression. Secretly, he tells Pinochet, “You did a great service to the West.”" - link to counterpunch.org
If I recall correctly, Kissinger's role in the overthrow of Allende was one of the charges included by Christopher Hitchens in his book, "The Trial of Henry Kissinger."
"... the reality is that few are really any better than the US and would likely act in the same way if they had the means."
Unfortunately, that is true, and that is in great part due to their people wallowing in ignorance. Thanks to Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers we are less ignorant. It does make it difficult for the people who still prefer to be lied to, but that's life.
"This issue of Internet balkanization is more disturbing fallout of the NSA spying revelations that might have been dealt with more delicately, had the reporting been done more responsibly ..."
How, pray tell, might that have been done? The way our fawning corporate media does it?
Julie, I was with you on your first two paragraphs, then you blew it:
"However, I am also angry at the way that the Snowden leaks have set back international diplomacy in general,..."
Snowden revealed the hypocrisy and chicanery in international diplomacy. It he set that form of diplomacy back - good! We are now more aware of how our government works and the American people should, accordingly, be less willing to be lied to. Note: "should" and not, unfortunately, "will."
"For their part, the Brazilian dictatorship provided vital assistance to the US during Operation Condor,..."
The current leaders of Brazil may have serious shortcomings, but they were just children when Operation Condor (supported by the US government) was defiling Latin American, so that sordid story has little relevance to current events.
As for Balkanization of the Internet, that remains to be seen. The American people can raise their voices loud enough (as they did on the Syria issue) to keep it free, but that also remains to be seen.
"This goes way beyond the issue of constitutionality of collecting metadata of US citizens inside the United States – an issue where the leaks have had a positive effect."
Now that this element of corruption has been exposed, perhaps a few more people will wake up and demand an end to it. But don't bet on that one.
If Brazil is the first domino to fall, it will be interesting to see who, if any, follows: RICS, the rest of the BRICS? The SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Organization _ link to en.wikipedia.org - and its observer states?
"If he wishes to leave the US that’s his business. But then he loses any standing to chide and hector those who choose to remain and live in the US because he doesn’t think they effectively oppose the US Government."
There are countless examples of exiles around the world engaging in critical comments about their native lands, and many of them have been supported by the US government when it suited its perceived interests.
"supporters of intervention for humanitarian purposes"
The form of intervention has a great deal to do with the outcome. Going into areas with humanitarian aid as in Sumatra and Pakistan as mentioned above is welcomed and greatly appreciated. Going in with bombs and bullets is a whole different story.
"As I recall your previous posts on the subject, you found your “way out” by leaving the United States to reside elsewhere."
I wouldn't blame anyone for taking a hike. They may be more realistic. The odds are high that people who are attempting to turn the United States around from its trajectory towards fascism and a police state might just be tilting at windmills. Age and other factors preclude my joining the exodus, but if I were a young man with children I would give it serious thought. Tom Paine would have relished fighting our corrupt and corrupting government, but look at what happened to him. He died a pauper, ignored by an ungrateful nation. Look at what has happened to Chelsea Manning and other courageious whistleblowers. They are persecuted, the criminals they exposed go free and remain in power, and the vast majority of Americans don't care.
"How anyone at the AEI can still show their faces in public after the disaster they unleashed on Afghanistan and Iraq is beyond me. The Danielle Pletka’s of the neocon right ought to be hiding in shame, preferably under a rock."
A sense of what is morally right or wrong is necessary to trigger shame. No moral component - no shame.
"Even more astounding is that George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, and Jay Bybee, and John Yu still walk the Earth as free men, rather than languishing in a cell in The Hague which is where they belong."
Not only that, they are in the estimation of many people, including TV producers, distinguished citizens, and when John Yoo is appointed as a professor of law at the University of California Berkeley you know that institution has made a U-turn - big time.
If we only look at the words written by President Putin and forget about the caveats behind the curtain revealed by Professor Cole, there is much to be said for the op-ed, and if it set John McCain off on another rant there must have been some virtue in it.
"Putin is correct that US military intervention in Iraq did not go well. But as for Afghanistan, it was the Soviet invasion and occupation of that country that destabilized it in the first place."
It appears that the United States through the efforts of Zbigniew Brzezinski and Jimmy Carter were instrumental in encouraging the Russian invasion of Afghanistan - link to globalresearch.ca
It seems by keeping the threat of military aggression hovering over Syria (on the table in the vernacular) and being so strident about it the Obama administration is injecting a a humiliation factor that could make diplomatic efforts more difficult.
"Arab Muslim rule of Syria was challenged in the medieval period by the Crusaders and the Mongols, both of which were fought off."
Given US experiences in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan it might not be a good idea to place too much faith is Obama's flaunting or American military superiority.
Prior to the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials teams of lawyers from the United States and Britain compiled lists of alleged war crimes for which the Nazis could be charged. The lists were sent to Washington and London where several items were deleted because the Nazis could have used a tu coq (you-did-it-yourself) defense against the charges. Among these were bombing of civilian targets.
Thanks to the other bloggers who spared me the effort to refute the interminable nonsense above justifying the A-bombs on Japan.
"I have argued before that the (farcical) emperor is just a paperboy - a docile employee. Those who are paying for the upcoming lethal production, as in the House of Saud, or cheering in the sidelines, as in the Israel lobby, simply won't give up." Pepe Escobar - link to atimes.com
"...war crimes due to the IDF deployment of white phosphorus in Gaza."
Those were not war crimes because it was our ally who deployed the white phosphorous. It is only a war crime when it is used by people who have the impertinence to refuse to do our bidding.
White phosphorous, depleted uranium and Agent Orange may not be chemical weapons according to the CWC, but for people exposed to them the consequences can be equally horrendous. For survivors, the destructive elements can continue for generations in the form of severe fetal deformities and who knows what else.
"President Obama should show some backbone and buck the war party inside the Beltway, and insist on non-violent but effective punishment of Damascus for its atrocity, instead of the somewhat juvenile insistence that “action” equals violent action."
Nice thought, but it seems more likely that Obama, as in other areas of governance, is merely an agent for the ruling global plutocracy. Trapping the small fish (Syria) is not going to end the pursuit of Moby Dick - Iran.
The first news I heard about the proposal from the Russian foreign minister to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control came as "breaking news" on television. Now we are getting stories it was really Kerry who came up with the idea in London and it was really Obama and Putin at the G-20 meeting. No wonder the truth is the first casualty in war. People are so addicted to telling lies.
To some degree it is a pity that all senators are not being forced into a vote (so far), because it would have given us evidence of their positions on this issue. There are three for whom I have a great measure of respect on economic/progressive issues, but I fear they might march in step with the Israel lobby when it comes to war.
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This chopping down of Palestinians olive trees is "not helpful to the peace process." Peace process? What peace process?
The role of mainstream television news is not to inform but to distribute propaganda and make money.
"A White House spokeswoman, Laura Magnuson, said: ‘We are aware that this report has been released and are reviewing it carefully.’"
In other words, it will be allowed to be ignored much as Malala's comment to President Obama on drones in Pakistan.
"Awkwardest and Most Authoritative Ever Comments on Drones: Warfare of words by David Swanson - link to counterpunch.org … President Obama may also have not expected most people to notice or care. The corporate media have virtually ignored this part of a widely-reported meeting."
"Recently on his syndicated talk show, the power-worshipping interviewer of influential elites Charlie Rose worried that Washington’s latest fiscal crisis sends the world the message that “democracy doesn’t work as well as we thought it did.” [1]
"What American “democracy” was Charlie Rose talking about?" link to counterpunch.org
Obviously, their purchases of politicians in Congress paid off.
" Collective punishment of populations under occupation regimes is forbidden in international law."
But it's acceptable if we and our "allies" violate these laws and basic elements of a civilized society.
Our national capacity for hypocrisy is monumental and apparently perpetual despite the injury it does to the American people, including the current debacle with a shutdown federal government.
American and British prosecutors at Nuremberg declared an unprovoked war by one nation against another - in this case Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland - to be the greatest crime. In March 2003 American and British forces waged an unprovoked war against Iraq, but the vast majority of Americans proved to be okay with that.
Exceptionally well said, George.
"Well, I don’t see any of the politicians on both sides of the aisle in Congress, who voted for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, offering to take a paternity test and accept those two orphans into their tender, loving care and parental custody."
What is bizarre and possibly psychotic and worse is that majorities of American voters returned these politicians who endorsed the war to Congress where they could make similar grave errors of judgement again. One senator was elevated to vice president and two others became secretaries of state. Similarly, many of the same pundits on television and print media are still employed promoting more wars and violation of international laws and civilized behavior.
"It was a very painful experience for me as a naive and young man to witness war."
You can thank the lies you were fed by our education system and the various forms of media for that.
"Is it time to ban Harvard and Yale graduates from government? Their fingerprints are all over these debacles!"
The problem begins before students enter Harvard and Yale and other so-called elite schools that provide these immoral and corrupt leaders. It begins in early childhood and in their youthful years when our culture and education system fails to teach young people what is moral and what is not. Instead, they are encouraged to seek power and wealth above all, and these institutions of supposed higher learning are among the most efficient means of reaching their goals.
Malala is not the only young woman taking on an oppressive male-dominated society. There is also Malalai Joya in Afghanistan - link to truthdig.com
Your point is valid, but the way it was framed was unfortunate. Instead, of positioning Malala on one side and all the other maimed and killed children on the other it would be better to make her representative of the latter and also bring international attention to them.
This is from the latest "Public Citizen News":
"Although the ACA will bring some benefits to patients, millions of Americans will be left a day late and a dollar short - still uninsured after the ACA is fully implemented. That's because many will not be able to afford health insurance, ..."
Anything less than single-payer or Medicare for all is defective.
It is because they are locked into their positions with an authoritarian attitude that they are right and everyone else is wrong and they're not about to compromise.
They do deserve some credit for having the determination to fight for what they believe in as opposed to the Democrats who have settled for the wimpy route and posing as the lesser evil. Ralph Nader expands on this theme at link to counterpunch.org.
Bob Altemeyer, author of "The Authoritarians" has a comment on the Tea Party: link to home.cc.umanitoba.ca
"The ACA was severely damaged when states were allowed to opt out of medicaid expansion."
The ACA was severely damaged when Obama, on behalf of campaign donors, stacked the development team with insurance corporation insiders.
"The poor and their supporters should be demanding ..."
The poor will not be listened to by the ruling political oligarchs and their plutocrat backers until there are more of them and enough to resist the police forces that will be dispatched to crush them back into silence.
Robert Scheer at Truthdig agrees with you: "Racism and cruelty drive GOP health care agenda" - link to truthdig.com
"The primary concern of the Tea Party is that the working poor not benefit from Obamacare in getting access to health insurance. (Many of the poor already have access to Medicaid; the Affordable Health Care Act mainly benefits workers who aren’t paid very well and don’t get insurance via their employers)."
While Obamacare will help some low-income people, it comes up very short for many others. link to counterpunch.org
"Since the program is a government mandate that individuals buy private health insurance, moreover, it doesn’t actually cost the government much."
This helps to explain why insurance stocks jumped in value when Obamacare was approved.
Then there are the Christian moral authoritarians within the United States: "The radical Christian Right and the war on government" by Chris Hedges - link to truthdig.com
Typical Netanyahu, given to saying whatever he thinks will help his agenda even if it is fact-free. Ditto for Ehud Barak.
"... what qualifies him to speak on behalf of 75 million Iranians?"
He's the Supreme Leader. In other words, he's the boss.
SNAFU
“He doesn’t explain how the US can be “arrogant” and “trespassing” but also allow itself to be bossed around by a small country of 7.5 million.”
The good news is that Israel may be losing its clout. "Israel’s lost clout: The Israeli government and the neocons have long felt they can dictate U.S. policy in the Mideast, including demands for military strikes against “enemies.” But President Obama’s push for diplomacy on Syria and Iran may be challenging that longstanding reality," writes Lawrence Davidson. - link to consortiumnews.com
"the fear and ignorance of Conservatives are what give the Tea Party and Republicans such power in this hostage taking we are part of now."
As a student of World Wars One and Two I find the attitudes and their attendant bullying to close to the Nazis' tactics in Germany in the early 1930s. The Tea Partiers and their ilk may not engage in the same physical violence, but their arrogance, abuse of power, and determination to impose their minority views on the majority of the people are too similar to be ignored.
"Edward Snowden has done his share with the egregious violation of his security clearance and the trust (mistakenly) placed in him."
In our increasingly Orwellian world that is a new definition for treason - alerting the people to the fact that the government is amassing incomprehensible amounts of data on all citizens and, in addition to robbing them of their right to privacy, making it possible for Big Brother to put them in their place.
"Ted Cruz, the most effective accidental peace activist ever."
The military-industrial-security complex and the neocon-saturated media will never allow that to happen. For many authoritarians in high places advocates for peace are the ones committing treason.
"Maybe it’s just my part of the country, but Obamacare DOES not make it easier or less expensive for the working poor to see a doctor."
Paul Craig Roberts considers Obamacare a disaster for all of the country. link to counterpunch.org Note in particular the link to his website for the article - Obamacare: A deception - link to paulcraigroberts.org
When President-elect Obama and later President Obama began (unsuccessfully in some cases (Tom Daschle) and successfully in others) to stack his Obamacare development team with insurance industry insiders that was a signal to regard anything that was created with the greatest skepticism. According to a booklet from Consumer Reports there are some good things for some people in Obamacare, but the real beneficiaries and the insurance and related corporations. Another transfer of the government fisc to private businesses with education and social security next for the sacrificial altar.
Very well said, Bjorn.
"...his viewpoints are cleary pro-Palestinian and far outside the mainsream of Israeli political thought."
If supporting human a civil rights for Palestinians is "pro-Palestinian" then Avnery is pro-Palestiians.
"Israel is an apartheid state (no poll required): A new Ha'aretz poll indicates a majority of Jewish Israelis favour apartheid - but that's nothing new." By Ben White - link to aljazeera.com - So much for mainstream Israeli political thought.
"Most people would use the term “outmaneuvered” to refer to a situation in which one political (politician?) accomplishes something by somehow getting around the efforts of another political actor to prevent it."
Netanyahu wanted to increase the number of settlements in Palestine. Obama claims he wanted expansion of the settlements curtailed. Expansion continued without any serious damage to Netanyahu. He won. Obama lost. He was outmaneuvered, at lest in the short term.
I have followed Uri Avnery for years and have found him to be one of the most reliable commentators on Israel.
"People who take Netanyahu and Barak lightly don’t realize how precarious this situation has become."
People who have bought Netanyahu's snake oil in the past should have learned by now he is a charlatan and with Barak supervising the Israeli Defense (sic) forces during Operation Cast Lead they should show him no more respect than anyone else accused of war crimes. Given their character, however, I wouldn't put anything past them.
My recollection from "Dereliction of Duty" is that Johnson couldn't bring himself to admit in the 1960s the war was lost was because he believed the American people wouldn't accept that opinion and the outcome of defeat in Vietnam that occurred in May 1975 after several more thousand military personnel died.
"... but listening to Barak convinced me this wasn’t just tough talk."
Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett at http://www.raceforiran.com would be more reliable sources than Barak who appears to be given to remarks that are of questionable value.
"Because feelings, and not outcomes or political power, are the measure of geopolitics?"
There was a recognition during the Johnson administration that the Vietnam war was lost, but Johnson, McNamara and the generals didn't feel they could bring themselves to admit to it. That is just one countless examples throughout history of "feelings" taking precedence over reason and a temporary hold on power.
"Netanyahu has been disrespectful towards Obama in public. Bully for him."
Except for the offense against the office of the president of the United States, which just goes to demonstrate Netanyahu's contempt for any part of the United States that isn't useful to him.
I would say if Netanyahu embarrassed and humiliated Obama and got away with it he outmaneuvered him - at least in the short term. With some degree of rapprochement between Obama and Rouhani, it could be the situation is in the process of reversal. If Obama has the political skill (questionable) and can stand up to the pro-Israel camp that might include his secretary of state (remains to be seen) then he has a chance of winning in the long term. Let's hope so.
"If Obama can outmaneuver Netanyahu and keep negotiations with Iran on an even keel, he could well have a significant diplomatic breakthrough."
So far Netanyahu with the support of the Israel lobby has outmaneuvered Obama, but circumstances have changed. Obama is not running for re-election and more people are waking up to Israel's negatives. There may also be a re-awakening of the sympathy Senator Obama had for the Palestinians before he sold out to the Israel lobby to get elected.
Perhaps the best answer to your question is the comment Uri Avnery made last year when Netanyahu was on another of his rants: "Striking Iran: Mad or Crazy?: Netanyahu’s Scare Tactics" by Uri Avnery - link to counterpunch.org
"As Dan Rather said after the Susan Rice cave in, “[President] Obama can be rolled for his wallet and his watch.”"
Obama proves the old adage about education being no substitute for experience. The Republicans appear to have failed to learn that lesson with their proposals for Senators Rubio, Cruz and Paul as possible presidential candidates in 2016.
On the Democratic side, Hillary has the experience, but that is enough to scare anyone with basic moral and humanitarian instincts.
" How disfunctional can a system get before those who the system claims to serve cease to forgive it for its shortcomings?"
Perhaps when the masses can no long afford to buy a Happy Meal at McDonald's or similar cheap meal at another fast-food establishment.
"It is dangerous for the super-rich to act so arrogantly."
It is at least as dangerous for the mass of "citizens" to be apathetic and wallow in ignorance.
" The next stage of American political development may be a shift of the Democratic Party toward a genuine democratic socialism."
Not if the oligarchs of the Democratic Party have their way. Their mission is to provide the nation with the lesser evil which means we still get evil.
" If private insurance companies can’t provide us proper health insurance, we may have to go to single-payer."
Private insurance companies delegated some of their loyal agents to join the Obama administration to write Obamacare. When it was approved insurance company stocks shot up in value. Now those agents are back home working as "consultants" and "advisers" to continue having Congress rig the system. All with the support of a sleep-walking majority of the American people.
You are probably giving them twice as much credit as they are entitled to. When it comes to cunning and deviousness then they earn higher grades.
"The operation (Cast Lead) cost Israel 1 billion dollars..."
If I recall correctly, our great Congress replenished the equipment used in this war crime.
Ehud Barak was minister of defense for Israel overseeing Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. The Goldstone Report "accused both the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity." link to en.wikipedia.org
Israel is not the only problem to a US-Iran detente. "Poisoning the US-Iran détente: Israel, Saudi Arabia and other enemies of Iran hope to poison improved U.S.-Iranian relations by blocking sanctions relief for Iran, even at the cost of losing new restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, an emerging dilemma assessed by ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar." - link to consortiumnews.com
"Barak is a very intelligent and educated individual."
He's also capable of telling embarrassing truths" "Iranian nuclear programme not about Israel: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's latest gaffe reveals the geopolitical reality about Iranian nuclear technology." By M. J. Rosenberg - link to aljazeera.com
And not fit to lead? "Ex-Israeli spy boss attacks Netanyahu and Barak over Iran: PM and defence chief not fit to lead Israel and are misleading the public over Iran, warns former Shin Bet boss Yuval Diskin" by Harriet Sherwood - link to guardian.co.uk
"... that most thinking Americans have now seen that the Israeli propaganda was just that,..."
Unfortunately, "most thinking Americans" seem to be a very small portion of the American people.
"I hope that the Israelis would have the good sense to accept a Yes for an answer and change their course on Iran."
Hope springs eternal. Israel's right wingers are not the type of people willing to admit to being wrong.
"... how will the hawks in Washington survive?"
In the same way evil has survived since the evolution of homo sapiens.
"The past eight years, the right-wing government has been lowering ..."
This helps to explain why Julian Assange didn't what to have anything more to do with Sweden.
"Ivy League-educated"
Most of the key players who caused the Iraq war to happen and others who rigged the banking system to implode were "Ivy League-educated." Obviously, moral philosophy is not a popular course of study for most Ivy-league students.
Given that Obamacare was written by health care (sic) industry professionals while on the government payroll and who returned to their corporate homes to become paid "consultants" and "advisors" to Congress Obamacare is more like rigged for the benefit of this industry than the people.
"So Ted Cruz should sit down and shut up, at long last."
Ted Cruz and his ilk are only part of the problem. The other, and probably the larger part, is the majority of voters in electoral districts who vote these people into office.
At one time Hitler was considered something of a crackpot with his rants in Vienna. If he had never received support from people who fell for his ideology, he wouldn't have even been a footnote in any history book, including Vienna's.
Then there are the many politicians and promoters of the war on Iraq who, by the standards of the Nuremberg principles, are war criminals. Nevertheless, majorities around the United States have sent most of these politicians back to Congress, one to the White House as vice president, and the pundits who promoted the war continue as distinguished guests on TV talk shows. Go figure!
"It seems to be a sign of just how low we have set the bar when we’re apparently expected to jump up and down in excitement because Rouhani acknowledged a fact of history."
At least it is one step forward on a long path. If only more Americans could acknowledge some facts of history other than Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" and who won the world series or the superbowl a few years ago. A great place to start might be the Nuremberg Trials after World War II that defined waging an unprovoked war against another nation was one of the greatest crimes. If more Americans had given thought to that we might not have had around 70 percent of the people support the disastrous war on Iraq. But, I presume, being exceptional means not have to say , "Sorry."
Christianity has a very sorry elements to its history when it comes to violence from the Crusades to the present. Europe was in an almost constant state of barbaric wars between different sects of Christianity for centuries. Some of the more fundamentalists preaching today are nothing to be proud of, especially those who are praying for Armageddon.
There's more here: "Christianity’s contradictions on war: Though based on the pacifist teachings of Jesus, Christianity has been an accomplice to more wars and genocides than any other religion, a paradox reflected in the contradictory views of 16th Century protestant reformer Martin Luther and 20th Century civil rights martyr Martin Luther King Jr.," as Gary G. Kohls explains. - link to consortiumnews.com
" I listened to the speech once in English and once in Farsi. The speech sounded a lot more confrontational in English."
Thank you for this point, Ahmad. Too often we get flawed and dishonest translations to English. Ahmadinejad was accused of saying he wanted Israel wiped off the map when other responsible sources were reporting he said that he wanted the Israeli regime wiped off the map. Big difference.
The US government has been in business for over 200 years and it is still deeply flawed. It isn't as bad as anarchy, but it is down there somewhere.
"A rather remarkable speech, eloquence personified. Certainly as worthy as anything Obama has uttered (more so in sincerity, IMO)."
David Swanson concludes the Obama fog machine was going full blast at the UN. link to counterpunch.org
Julian Borger of the Guardian recognizes the problems inherent in the United Nations but still make a good argument for its existence:
"The UN general assembly has many detractors, who point to the millions of dollars spent on indulging the vanity of the planet's leaders and their tendency to declaim at much length. But, sometimes, like this year, it serves as a reminder that the world needs somewhere to meet, and when they have something new to say to each other, it can make for powerful drama." link to theguardian.com
The Guardian offers a plausible explanation why Rouhani declined and opportunity to meet with Obama - link to theguardian.com
"The nuclear dossier is just a smokescreen."
Precisely. Only in nations where Orwellian speak is the norm would anyone consider a bomb or two in Iranian hands a threat to Israel with its estimated 200 to 400 bombs and the United States with it hundreds of A-bombs scattered around the world.
"The Israeli insistence that Iran give up enrichment altogether is a non-starter (and the Israelis, with their nuclear arsenal, should talk). But if what is wanted is assurance that Iran’s program is peaceful, that probably can be arranged with good will on both sides."
Given Israel's attitude and its power to influence American policy, the possibility of good will on both sides should be regarded with skepticism.
Given the history of Israel's Zionists and right-wing government since the early 20th Century it is difficult to conceive that the current standard bearers of that tradition will settle for less than complete annexation of what is left of the Palestine Territories. If the current aggressors don't succeed then they will pass the torch to their progency in the next generation. Where the refugees will go is the next question.
It appears the Palestinian people can't win for losing, in part, because of their own leadership collaborating with Israeli and other forces. Again, nothing new there. It happened at Oslo - link to counterpunch.org - and several other venues since then.
Thank you, Joe. I thought by opening with "Presumably" readers would have spotted the cynicism behind my comment. I responded to Mr. Peeble, but my comment seems to have fallen through some cracks.
I did say, that I hadn't been to Israel but probably wouldn't be allowed to enter if I did if the NSA shared with the Israelis some comments I made on line.
I also mentioned that a relative who was young and apolitical at the time had visited Israel and found MOST Israelis she encountered to be unpleasant and MOST Palestinians the opposite.
I was just given a copy of "This Town" by Mark Leibovitch. He described in considerable detail the hypocrisy that is so prevalent among the insiders "inside Washington" and he explains it as a game they are all playing and that they recognize it as such.
Apparently, "The Game" is being played at a world level, and there are very few of us not buying into it. One of the main problems is that this game leaves lots of people dead and maimed but they don't get up and resume life after the game is over.
"I can’t see how France could have a diplomat roughed up without seeing it as an attack on France itself."
Perhaps there is an Israel lobby in France causing the French to ignore assaults on its citizens just as the US whitewashed the murder of Rachel Corrie.
Mondoweiss reports two versions of this story.
From the New York Times: “West Bank: Israeli Soldiers Quarrel With Diplomats”
From Reuters: “Israeli forces manhandle EU diplomats, seize West Bank aid"
Presumably, this is another event where Israelis have a right to defend themselves.
"Having deregulated the banks and encouraged the demon instrument of derivatives and driven the country into the ground with their economic policies, ..."
Signed into law with a big smile while surrounded by Wall Street vultures by President Bill Clinton of the Democratic Party.
Because one side lost doesn't mean it didn't get a boost from one action. It happens all the time. An increase in support in one area doesn't always doesn't mean success when all the chips are in. This comment will probably boost some reader's agreement, but it will never be enough to prevail with some people.
It's a good bet that the hardliners were given a boost. Fortunately, more reasonable forces prevailed. If only something similar could happen in the United States.
"Perhaps this momentum will continue to promote a dialog between Obama and Rouhani at the UN."
I wouldn't bet on this, but apparently the Israelis aren't taking any chances and are now in full press mode in the media. From Mondoweiss:
"In case you have not heard the word from Israel: Time has “run out”, there’s no time left for further negotiations with Iran (link to reuters.com), Iran will have a bomb in 6 months, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”" Quite simply, Israel is freaking out."
"...he needs some diplomatic success to offset these negatives on his legacy."
On the other hand, after talking with Henry Kissinger Obama may have concluded legacies are not a point of concern.
Obviously, Israel is a big factor in any negotiations between the US and Iran, but times may be changing. Enough Americans seem to have spoken regarding Syria and let their elected officials know they are tired of war and tired of Israel and their neocon friends promoting these wars. Enough politicians seem to have gotten the message or felt they had enough cover to stand up to the Israel lobby so it looked like Obama wasn't getting his vote to wage another war. Perhaps this momentum will continue to promote a dialog between Obama and Rouhani at the UN. Given Obama's credits for NSA spying and death by drones, he needs some diplomatic success to offset these negatives on his legacy.
"I wonder if this outward appearance of a softer Iranian regime is a well-calculated move on their part to appear virtuous compared to the US."
According to independent, non-mainstream media commentators such as Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett the Iranians have been willing to compromise, but the US-Israel cabal hasn't.
Ditto by Peter Kornbluh at Huffington Post - link to huffingtonpost.com
What say you now, Bill No-last-name?
This is from John Pilger, one of the world's most distinguished investigative reporters:
"The most important anniversary of the year was the 40th anniversary of 11 September 1973 – the crushing of the democratic government of Chile by General Augusto Pinochet and Henry Kissinger, then US secretary of state. The National Security Archive in Washington has posted new documents that reveal much about Kissinger’s role in an atrocity that cost thousands of lives.
"In declassified tapes, Kissinger is heard planning with President Richard Nixon the overthrow of President Salvador Allende. They sound like Mafiosi thugs. Kissinger warns that the “model effect” of Allende’s reformist democracy “can be insidious”. He tells CIA director Richard Helms: “We will not let Chile go down the drain”, to which Helms replies: “I am with you.” With the slaughter under way, Kissinger dismisses a warning by his senior officials of the scale of the repression. Secretly, he tells Pinochet, “You did a great service to the West.”" - link to counterpunch.org
If I recall correctly, Kissinger's role in the overthrow of Allende was one of the charges included by Christopher Hitchens in his book, "The Trial of Henry Kissinger."
"... the reality is that few are really any better than the US and would likely act in the same way if they had the means."
Unfortunately, that is true, and that is in great part due to their people wallowing in ignorance. Thanks to Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers we are less ignorant. It does make it difficult for the people who still prefer to be lied to, but that's life.
"This issue of Internet balkanization is more disturbing fallout of the NSA spying revelations that might have been dealt with more delicately, had the reporting been done more responsibly ..."
How, pray tell, might that have been done? The way our fawning corporate media does it?
Julie, I was with you on your first two paragraphs, then you blew it:
"However, I am also angry at the way that the Snowden leaks have set back international diplomacy in general,..."
Snowden revealed the hypocrisy and chicanery in international diplomacy. It he set that form of diplomacy back - good! We are now more aware of how our government works and the American people should, accordingly, be less willing to be lied to. Note: "should" and not, unfortunately, "will."
"For their part, the Brazilian dictatorship provided vital assistance to the US during Operation Condor,..."
The current leaders of Brazil may have serious shortcomings, but they were just children when Operation Condor (supported by the US government) was defiling Latin American, so that sordid story has little relevance to current events.
As for Balkanization of the Internet, that remains to be seen. The American people can raise their voices loud enough (as they did on the Syria issue) to keep it free, but that also remains to be seen.
"This goes way beyond the issue of constitutionality of collecting metadata of US citizens inside the United States – an issue where the leaks have had a positive effect."
Now that this element of corruption has been exposed, perhaps a few more people will wake up and demand an end to it. But don't bet on that one.
If Brazil is the first domino to fall, it will be interesting to see who, if any, follows: RICS, the rest of the BRICS? The SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Organization _ link to en.wikipedia.org - and its observer states?
"No, it’s not the same. Not even close."
But the drive to consolidate power within a small group and a willingness to sacrifice others for the cause are similar.
"If he wishes to leave the US that’s his business. But then he loses any standing to chide and hector those who choose to remain and live in the US because he doesn’t think they effectively oppose the US Government."
There are countless examples of exiles around the world engaging in critical comments about their native lands, and many of them have been supported by the US government when it suited its perceived interests.
"supporters of intervention for humanitarian purposes"
The form of intervention has a great deal to do with the outcome. Going into areas with humanitarian aid as in Sumatra and Pakistan as mentioned above is welcomed and greatly appreciated. Going in with bombs and bullets is a whole different story.
"As I recall your previous posts on the subject, you found your “way out” by leaving the United States to reside elsewhere."
I wouldn't blame anyone for taking a hike. They may be more realistic. The odds are high that people who are attempting to turn the United States around from its trajectory towards fascism and a police state might just be tilting at windmills. Age and other factors preclude my joining the exodus, but if I were a young man with children I would give it serious thought. Tom Paine would have relished fighting our corrupt and corrupting government, but look at what happened to him. He died a pauper, ignored by an ungrateful nation. Look at what has happened to Chelsea Manning and other courageious whistleblowers. They are persecuted, the criminals they exposed go free and remain in power, and the vast majority of Americans don't care.
"How anyone at the AEI can still show their faces in public after the disaster they unleashed on Afghanistan and Iraq is beyond me. The Danielle Pletka’s of the neocon right ought to be hiding in shame, preferably under a rock."
A sense of what is morally right or wrong is necessary to trigger shame. No moral component - no shame.
"Even more astounding is that George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, and Jay Bybee, and John Yu still walk the Earth as free men, rather than languishing in a cell in The Hague which is where they belong."
Not only that, they are in the estimation of many people, including TV producers, distinguished citizens, and when John Yoo is appointed as a professor of law at the University of California Berkeley you know that institution has made a U-turn - big time.
Unfortunately, our unique qualities are not always for the better.
"Without the credible threat of serious force, we would not be reading this headline in the UK Guardian today:"
Without the use of so much actual force we might not have created so many enemies in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
If we only look at the words written by President Putin and forget about the caveats behind the curtain revealed by Professor Cole, there is much to be said for the op-ed, and if it set John McCain off on another rant there must have been some virtue in it.
The truly admirable Uri Avnery sees Putin coming to Obama's rescue - link to counterpunch.org
"Putin is correct that US military intervention in Iraq did not go well. But as for Afghanistan, it was the Soviet invasion and occupation of that country that destabilized it in the first place."
It appears that the United States through the efforts of Zbigniew Brzezinski and Jimmy Carter were instrumental in encouraging the Russian invasion of Afghanistan - link to globalresearch.ca
It seems by keeping the threat of military aggression hovering over Syria (on the table in the vernacular) and being so strident about it the Obama administration is injecting a a humiliation factor that could make diplomatic efforts more difficult.
My thanks to you and Professor Cole for these excellent, concise histories of Syria.
"Arab Muslim rule of Syria was challenged in the medieval period by the Crusaders and the Mongols, both of which were fought off."
Given US experiences in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan it might not be a good idea to place too much faith is Obama's flaunting or American military superiority.
Prior to the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials teams of lawyers from the United States and Britain compiled lists of alleged war crimes for which the Nazis could be charged. The lists were sent to Washington and London where several items were deleted because the Nazis could have used a tu coq (you-did-it-yourself) defense against the charges. Among these were bombing of civilian targets.
Thanks to the other bloggers who spared me the effort to refute the interminable nonsense above justifying the A-bombs on Japan.
"The 5 Most Ludicrous War Claims in Obama’s Syria Speech"
by Matthew Rothschild - link to commondreams.org
"I have argued before that the (farcical) emperor is just a paperboy - a docile employee. Those who are paying for the upcoming lethal production, as in the House of Saud, or cheering in the sidelines, as in the Israel lobby, simply won't give up." Pepe Escobar - link to atimes.com
"...war crimes due to the IDF deployment of white phosphorus in Gaza."
Those were not war crimes because it was our ally who deployed the white phosphorous. It is only a war crime when it is used by people who have the impertinence to refuse to do our bidding.
White phosphorous, depleted uranium and Agent Orange may not be chemical weapons according to the CWC, but for people exposed to them the consequences can be equally horrendous. For survivors, the destructive elements can continue for generations in the form of severe fetal deformities and who knows what else.
"President Obama should show some backbone and buck the war party inside the Beltway, and insist on non-violent but effective punishment of Damascus for its atrocity, instead of the somewhat juvenile insistence that “action” equals violent action."
Nice thought, but it seems more likely that Obama, as in other areas of governance, is merely an agent for the ruling global plutocracy. Trapping the small fish (Syria) is not going to end the pursuit of Moby Dick - Iran.
The first news I heard about the proposal from the Russian foreign minister to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control came as "breaking news" on television. Now we are getting stories it was really Kerry who came up with the idea in London and it was really Obama and Putin at the G-20 meeting. No wonder the truth is the first casualty in war. People are so addicted to telling lies.
To some degree it is a pity that all senators are not being forced into a vote (so far), because it would have given us evidence of their positions on this issue. There are three for whom I have a great measure of respect on economic/progressive issues, but I fear they might march in step with the Israel lobby when it comes to war.
According to this article, Kerry's own prospects appear to be less than bright:
"Kerry become first war casualty" by M K Bhadrakumar - link to atimes.com