60 attacks in a week, no break through and now a pause. Wonder why? The high temps in Baghdad for the next ten days will be between 115-120 degrees. HUMAN BEINGS can NOT fight a life and death battle in that kind of heat. Come to Vegas in August and go for a run in the midday sun. 10-15 minutes TOPS. This was probably a big bluff. 20,000 Shiites, lots of artillery, planes etc. and see if ISIS withdraws from Ramadi.
Perhaps Trump wins the nomination because so many Republicans really are "crazies" and think of illegal immigrants from Mexico just like The Donald. He's definitely hit a chord with this anti-immigrant rabble rousing speeches.
Trump as the nominee would mean the end of the Republican party. Rapidly changing demographics and liberal social mores like Gay marriage, pot legalization would prove to be fatal. The GOP would NEVER recover from Trump.
Ali did sacrifice his career for principal, but my point was about dodging the illegal draft during the Vietnam war. An individual's motivation is beside the point. Ali, Clinton, Trump, Cheney and George Bush all did the same thing, the smart thing. Their names aren't on that wall. They all escaped being kidnapped by the U.S. government and thrown into a meat grinder. Others wound up going to Canada. They were smart too.
John McCain became a "hero" when his plane crashed after dropping bombs on innocent people including women and children.
Why did John Kerry really go fight in Vietnam? Was it too serve his country in an illegal wart OR to further his political career goals?
"I'M JOHN KERRY REPORTING FOR DUTY?"
McCain and Kerry are not heroes. Some of the real heroes were murdered at Kent State trying to stop an illegal war.
Muhammed Ali and Bill Clinton were much bigger draft dodgers than Trump or Cheney. Bubba should be the hero of every young male who didn't get kidnapped by Lyndon or Richard Nixon. Bill Clinton was still fighting the draft at age 23. š The draft ended because young males refused to fight in an ILLEGAL war cooked up by a bunch of old men.
tick...tick...tick....The Donald's 15 minutes just ran out. Bad mouthing McCain because he was captured and tortured in North Vietnam prisons for over five years was five kinds of stupid, even for Trump. Republicans love their war heroes more than John Wayne. The Donald is done.
Watching the Republican candidates shoot each other down will be great fun, like a sport. Scott Walker might be next. He has a lot of holes in his game and definitely not ready for prime time.
If Trump was attacking Muslims like he does Mexicans most of the Republican candidates would say they agree with him. The pubbie candidate will need Mexican votes in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Those three used to be red states. 20 electoral votes. Ohio has 18.
If he would have flown the Confederate flag on his car, no one would have said anything about guns or Muslims. ISIS should buy some Walmart rebel flags before they all get shipped to Ukraine.
Is the US the best ally for Iran? Should the Iranians ever really trust the United States? I don't think that would be wise.
The Republicans, Israel and the Saudis will try and kill this nuclear deal so they can have a war, a big one. American politicians and the defense industry can not justify such a huge military budget without starting new conflicts. Peace is bad for their business.
Neoconservatives want to remake the Middle East starting with regime change in Iraq. Their plan obviously got off to a rough start AFTER Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz ridiculed Gen. Eric Shenseki's estimate of "several hundred thousand" U.S. troops needed for long term occupation of Iraq. "Much too high" is what Wolfowitz said. Rummy just sent 150,000 troops and the rest is history but.....
Neos NEVER give up as Bibi's Netanyahu's speech to Congress made clear. IRAN is next on their hit list. The Neos also have plans for Putin and all those BAD GUY Rooskies in Ukraine. Iraq was just a temporary setback.
A friend of mine claimed the NRA lobby was responsible for changing the public's attention from gun violence to the Confederate flag. This punk murdered nine people in cold blood, but as soon as those Confederate flag pics went public all the talk about guns and the NRA went away. Instead, "General Lee," the car used in the Dukes of Hazard, became a symbol of EVIL. TV Land dumped the "Dukes" rather than a face nationwide protests. How many black people were in that show?
The Confederate battle flag was used as not only a symbol, but seen as the real reason a 21 yr. old with a 9th grade education murdered nine black people. Symbols replace the need for deeper explanations. Roof was a lone wolf nutjob no different from individual Muslims who commit violent crimes. Both are seen as terrorists with a much bigger agenda because people need an explanation. Confederate flags and lone Muslim terrorists served the same purpose.
Once the Confederate flag comes down, the short attention span of Americans and the media will move on---CASE CLOSED.
Great points. Western expansion of slavery AND taking control of California were the main reasons for the illegal war against Mexico. Grant and Lincoln were right.
Defeating the Confederacy and conquering the Indians in the west was done with the same Union army and commanders---Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and Custer. Not a Confederate flag in sight. They defeated the Confederacy.
The war against Mexico 1846-48 was the start of manifest destiny. That war was followed by the Civil War, wars against the Indians and finally, Spain.
The article fails to mention where the rebel flag is really flying: UKRAINE. It was flying high in Kiev City Hall after our coup. Google "Confederate flag in Kiev City Hall." The Stars and Bars.
Walmart should open up a store in Baghdad and send their Confederate Battle Flags to the Iraqi army, no charge. Either that, or they could just have McCain and Lindsey Graham deliver them.
"Training of moderate rebels in Syria to take of Daesh has not gotten off the ground as quickly as expected."
Training isn't the problem. Neither is motivation. Finding and vetting enough "moderate" rebels is the real problem. So far, we have found less than one hundred "moderate" Syrians. We are training ALL of them. Who will they be fighting--Daesh, Assad or both?
This bullshit about training moderate Syrians not getting off the ground is just as excuse to make Obama look incompetent so Republicans like McCain and Graham can get what they really want---American troops in Syria. Yesterday, both of them were on the warpath. Tens of thousands of American boots on the ground in Syria is the real motivation.
McCain and Graham want a BIG number since they'll have to fight Daesh and then Assad. Long term occupation of Syria will take one or possibly more decades.
NBC Nightly News...One more time...McCain is blasting Obama over Daesh and Gen. Dempsey is warning about Iran. If Obama backed away from Daesh, the Republican conga line down Pennsylvania ave., would be five miles long. John McCain would be singing "Barbara Ann" and who could blame him? Does Bibi like the Beach Boys?
The video of the area retaken from Daesh in Iraq shows how much progress Iraqis and Kurds have made since Obama's bombing campaign started. Mucho progress, IMO. Obama doesn't need to send more troops. How long do you think Daesh will be able to stay in Iraq? A year? Two?
That's why the video and press conference were mostly about fighting Daesh in Syria.
Syria is harder for several reasons. The Kurds don't control as much area, Assad is a war criminal and the whole place is a killing field/madhouse. Syria is no longer a country. It's a place on a map.
Trump needs to hire some illegal immigrants to wave the Confederate flag as they're coming across the border. The Donald is a "lost cause" if that doesn't happen.
The Donald should defend himself by saying other Republican candidates feel the same way, but know they won't win the nomination if they agree with his remarks.That's the reason Trump is ONLY being criticized by the left. In 2012, look what happened to Rick Perry after he came out in favor of amnesty for the children of illegal immigrants. His very slim presidential hopes deflated faster than a tire with a blowout.
Trump should have said America's demand for drugs has allowed the Mexican cartels to make huge profits and the violence associated with drugs has caused much of the illegal immigration. Mexico isn't sending us their best people but that doesn't apply to the drugs. America demands the best and we have the money to pay for it.
Rick Santorum's Fourth of July...."This Decision Will Not Stand." The Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage will meet with fierce resistance from social conservatives till hell freezes over. Evangelicals believe the bible is the literal word of God and condemns homosexuality. Religious conservatives like Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz strongly believe just accepting the Supreme Court's ruling means the United States is a country living in sin and all of its people are bound for eternal damnation and will burn in hell forever.
Before he made those remarks, Donald Trump was 100% certain he would NEVER win the Republican nomination. He was just putting on a show to get attention. How long can that be expected to continue before the media blows him off and concentrates on making real money with the primaries. Trump won't win 2% of the votes in any primary. Even Republicans won't vote for Donald Trump.
He got people talking about him. Mission Accomplished.
"The Donald" is not behaving this way because he's surrounded by yes men. Trump knows exactly what he is doing and has even doubled down on his remarks. He's just speaking honestly and showing how far right the Republican party has gone. Basically the Republican base feels the same way but don't come out and say it. Republicans also believe Muslim terrorists are sneaking across the border with thousands of illegal immigrants. They haven't said that recently.
Latino leaders are demanding Republican presidential candidates condemn Trump in no uncertain terms or they risk losing any hope of support in 2016. The GOP candidates haven't done that for one reason: Blasting Trump risks losing support from the far right WHITE base. So, Trump gets a mild rebuke like "wholly inappropriate" or some other bullshit political phrases that don't really mean anything. All the other GOP candidates are praying Trump puts a sock in it.
A democrat recently put The Donald's racist comments in a nutshell. If the Democratic party spent a BILLION dollars on negative campaigning they could not have gotten more bang for their bucks.
TV Land is feeling the heat over the flag. They dropped the "Dukes of Hazard" because of the Confederate Battle Flag on the roof of the General Lee automobile.
Republicans see numerous foreign and domestic threats developing at warp speed. The top three....
1) Gay marriage...threatens everything social conservatives believe. Accepting gay marriage and homosexuality in general would rip apart the number one belief of the GOP.
"The Donald" should try to fit a coonskin cap on that hairpiece and fly down to San Antonio, Texas...The Alamo, where JOHN WAYNE, The Duke went down fightin'. I'm sure The Donald could also find at least 183 Texas Republicans who would make the ultimate sacrifice fightin' against gay marriage.
The Republicans make their last stand at the Alamo.
Khamenei after listening to Cruz on the Morning Joe show: "How soon will they do it?"
The Republican world is going to hell in a hand basket in a big hurry---Obamacare, Gay marriage, the Confederate flag coming down etc. not to mention illegal immigration and amnesty. The Republicans need a crisis or all will be lost. Iranian nukes is the perfect fix for all their domestic problems. If Iran puts nukes in Cuba, the Republicans might win Florida in 2016. A BIG CRISIS.
A grass roots social revolution is happening and the Republicans are like Neanderthals standing in the way of change. Whether it's the Affordable Care Act, the Confederate Battle Flag and race, immigration/amnesty, Gay Marriage or the Pope speaking out on climate change, the Republicans are on the wrong side of history being made. A 21 year old nutjob with a gun was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The Republican governor of Texas has become unhinged at just the thought of two men getting married in the state. And Texas Republicans just passed an open carry gun law. So, Gays could put on "shotgun" weddings if they so desired and invite the guv. to the festivities.
dsmith. you perfectly explained how many southerners view the civil war. Intellectually understanding secession , slavery and the civil war is difficult to compute when Lee and Jackson were seen as "super heroes defending the homeland against northern aggression."
The NRA didn't take the heat for this mass murder because their friends in politics and the media put the blame squarely on the Confederate Battle Flag. Once the pics of the killer holding the CBF hit the news all the antigun talk stopped.
Bill Clinton did compare Obama's victory to Jesse Jackson's 20 years earlier. He tried to claim it was just a black thing. However, Obama drew from a wider range of voters which was bad news for Hillary Clinton. Both Clintons knew Hillary wouldn't be able to knock Obama out on Super Tuesday, which was just a week away. In 2008, the S.C. primary marked the beginning of the end for Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes.
Yea, I think Lincoln overreacted without thinking about the consequences of calling for 300,000 troops to put down the rebellion. A blockade would have been more effective and far less bloody. Without Virginia and North Carolina, the treason of the deep south cotton states would have been over in a year or two at most.
Think about it...Florida and Texas were undeveloped states on the fringe. That leaves just five states seceding--Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. How long do you think they would have lasted after a blockade was put in place? They would have been completely cut off and isolated and not even close enough geographically to attack the north. How would they attack the north when North Carolina and Virginia are still in the union?
Arkansas and Tennessee went out when Virginia and North Carolina did.
One of Obama's biggest victories in the 2008 Democratic primaries was in South Carolina, the third primary. Hillary and especially Bill Clinton were rattled by the size of Obama's victory. He also won in Virginia and sealed the nomination with his HUGE win in North Carolina. Outside of Iowa, Obama's biggest victories were in Southern states of the old Confederacy.
Excess slaves, declining soil fertility and no expansion of slavery in the Republican platform led to the wealthy southern planters in the deep south seceding and starting the Civil War. Without the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln calling for 300,000 troops to put down the rebellion, Virginia and North Carolina would have stayed in the union. Lincoln's call up was exactly what the plantation owners needed for a big war. They rolled the dice and lost. A blockade of Charleston, Mobile, New Orleans and other ports would have probably worked out much better. Lincoln acted hastily.
In 1860, slavery was legal and Lincoln has no plans or authority to end it. The deep south cotton states seceded because the Republican platform was 100% against any EXPANSION of slavery. Their platform led to secession which was the real cause of the Civil War. That and Confederates committing TREASON when they attacked Fort Sumter.They were guilty of TREASON and lucky not to be executed when their foolish rebellion was crushed. Ben Franklin warning about hanging together or separately comes to mind. The Queen of England would have hung Robert E. Lee in a heartbeat.
"The time has come to remove the flag"...S.C. Governor Nikki Haley
It will be interesting to see the reaction of die-hard Neo-Confederates. There's a lot of neos out there. For the most part, Republican presidential candidates won't comment one way or the other. They want this to go away ASAP. Another Southern rebellion won't help the Republicans win in 2016.
This kid looks so young, he's a few years away from shaving every day. Where did all this hatred come from? He murdered nine people in a church, six of them were women. The killer looks like a kid, not an adult.
Trump is the ONLY Republican who wouldn't take his marching orders from Bibi Netanyahu. He could apologize to Latinos and get 44% of their votes by putting Alberto Gonzalez on his ticket.
The Donald & The Gonzo 2016...Why not? The Republicans are already a circus.
Hopefully, in the first debate The Donald will put on a big show and make totally outrageous statements to get attention. It would be perfect if the Dems planted some Trump supporters wearing toupees in the audience. They could all stand up, lift their hairpieces and say "We love you Donald" whenever he speaks.
Andrew Bacevich's "A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz" marking the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq puts the blame squarely on Wolfie. If Jeb gets elected I wonder if Bacevich thinks regime change in Iran is next on Paul's agenda. Another war or two (Putin) will make things right for all the people who thought the 21st would be America's century. And Paul Wolfowitz was at the top of that list. Neoconservatives never go away. They just find new hosts.
Jeb never met a Middle East intervention he didn't like because Paul Wolfowitz is calling the shots just like he did with brother George's war in Iraq. Jeb's comments about that war were beyond stupid. George is the smart one.
Daesh . . . can't afford to lose Tel Abyad . According to Liz Sly, not only do fighters, weapons and ammunition from Turkey flow through the town, it also serves as a smuggling route for oil. No smuggling means no money to pay troops or for weapons, ammo, supplies etc. Daesh just has to sit there and get bombed by the U.S. after Kurds and Syrian forces relay the coordinates. Then they launch attacks. How long can they hold out? Taking Ramadi and Palmyra pale in comparison. The Daesh cockroaches are in a real tough situation.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren give Hillary enough cover so she can pivot to the left and leave the Republicans out in the cold. 2016 is already starting to feel like a landslide with women, people of color and the young getting on the The HillZilla bandwagon. All she needs is a Springsteen theme song. Perhaps Bruce will play at some of her rallies.
What Obama did may have symbolized his impatience with the slow pace of political reform, but he was also showing some real bad manners. Not only did he ignore al-Abadi, Obama stood up and turned his back to him. No one with class acts that way. I was shocked at Obama's behavior. So was the Iraqi P.M. geez...
St. Augustine is over 300 miles north of Miami. Their problems with rising oceans are relatively minor compared to the ones in South Florida. There, rising oceans back up the sewage lines and flood the streets. People can't flush their toilets or get fresh water when the lines back up. This will get much worse in the next 10-20 years. People should sell their homes while they can and leave. South Florida is doomed and nothing will change it from happening. It wouldn't matter if Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and all the other cavemen-like Florida Republicans suddenly got religion about climate change. It's much too late to stop the damage rising sea levels will cause.
I meant Benjamin was a "Court Jew" because he was the buffer between Jefferson Davis and his many enemies in the Confederate government and even in the military. Judah P. Benjamin escaping capture in Florida and making it all the way to England is a fascinating story.
Over the past year, as oil prices were dropping like a stone why didn't Saudi Arabia cut production and try to stabilize prices? They took a big hit on revenue but refused to act.
"Obama has not done a damn thing to confront Daesh: doesn't that show in America that there is no will to confront it?" Iranian Brig. Gen Qasem Soleimani
Soleimani agrees with John McCain. Perhaps he should also criticize Obama for worrying too much about climate change.
"The climate in Iraq and U.S. Sen. John McCain's Arizona are VERY similar. Both places are in the desert. U.S. Senator McCain is right, Obama should spend less time making speeches about the weather and give more thought to stopping ISIS. I also like The Beach Boys."
A very informative video. According to Charles Glass, if Bashar al-Assad loses so do all the Alawites and the Wahhabi Sunnis in Daesh will massacre all of them, "every living human being." Doesn't Daesh see the Shia in Iraq just like they do the Alawites in Syria?
From a Guardian article...Fred Kagan, Victoria Nuland's brother-in-law, called for 15-20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. "Anything less than that is simply unserious."
Jack Keane said it was time to begin "serious planning" for the reintroduction of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq. Keane said the U.S. needed to get over its "political psychosis on Iraq."
The hawks are making their move. The Republicans tried the same thing in 1964, but this time they think their Barry Goldwater strategy will work.
As a whole, the Republican candidates want the public to think Obama not only lost Ramadi, he is about to lose most of Iraq to ISIS. Criticizing Obama's foreign policy will be the key to their strategy for winning the White House in 2016. They are speaking in one voice. Yesterday, Jeb Bush said al-Queda in Iraq was defeated when his brother was president AND there was no ISIS. The Republicans will try and link Hillary to many of the current problems.
If Obama backs away from defeating ISIS in Ramadi and Iraq it would be the best gift the Republican could possibly imagine in 2016.The American public was easily duped by war propaganda during the buildup to invading Iraq so the Republicans are basing their strategy on recent history.The Republicans really don't have anything else.
quax, your posts are spot on, IMO. ISIL won't become a controlled state with oil revenue because that would lead to a much bigger Sunni-Shia war. Iran will stop them if the U.S. doesn't. The Republicans would have a field day if Obama backed off and let Iran take the lead.
Sooner or later, the Daesh killers will wind up like they did in Tikrit or Kobani. Taking Ramadi was one thing. Holding a city just 60 miles from Baghdad will be a whole different ballgame. How long can they withstand a sustained counterattack. How will they get resupplied? They overextended themselves in Kobani and paid the price. The same thing will happen in Ramadi.
There's a good article in the NY Times detailing the ISIS takeover in Ramadi and how they took advantage of a sandstorm nixing air cover. There had to be a reason for NO AIR COVER. Without control of the skies it's IMPOSSIBLE for Daesh to win in Iraq.
Now this raid into Syria to kidnap or kill the chief financial office of ISIS really means what? They take Ramadi and Obama hits them in Syria. What would happen if a U.S. chopper had been shot down and soldiers were captured?
Jay L, you made some interesting as well as amusing posts about the mysterious way Daesh's makes all their military moves and gets resupplied with food, water arms etc. etc. etc. It's either magic or a network of HUGE underground tunnels and depots deep, deep below the surface. That's how they moved from Tikrit to Ramadi like BAM!!! in just a few hours. You were wondering how they did that---UNDERGROUND SUPERHIGHWAYS is my best guess.
On a more serious note....Saudi Arabia and Turkey want the Assad regime changed and the Shiite crescent gone. So, their interests in seeing Daesh defeated in Iraq probably isn't heartfelt. Bibi Netanyahu would also like Assad gone, so there is no link between Iran and Hezbollah. If Daesh gets destroyed, the real winners are Iran, Assad and Hezbollah. Daesh being contained but not destroyed in Anbar province and eastern Syria is working well for the Saudis, Turkey and Netanyahu.
I once read if the Taliban was rolling down the highway towards Islamabad and the Pakistan army attacked with just two helicopter gunships, the battle would be over in a few minutes. Why weren't gunships used in Ramadi? Daesh couldn't survive such an attack.
The 45th anniversary of the National Guard murders at Kent State took place a few days ago. Millions of hippie types who grew up when LBJ and Nixon were president are as ANTIWAR today as they were back then. Somebody made a lot of money on that one too.
If the Republicans can figure out a way to start a war against some bad guys and not put tens of thousands of troops into the meat grinder , they could keep it going and make a lot of money. If it gets too big and/or to bloody, the war will be stopped and the defense industry will quit making the big bucks.Too much blood is what killed the golden goose in Vietnam.
That's the thing with EMPIRES. If the wars stop, the empire collapses but once they start there is no way to back off. American politicians will keep creating new enemies in order to keep these wars going. Nobody will make any money if the empire fails and these wars are all about making money.
The defense industry made a lot of money in Iraq but they would make much more if the good 'ol USA had to invade and regime changed Iran before they can build all the nukes Bibi Netanyahu talked about in Congress. Plus, the U.S. govt. would be able to use the NSA and really clamp down on civil rights. Living in America would be like living in Nazi Germany after the Reichstag fire.
Peace on planet earth doesn't help the defense industry stay in business. They need wars to make money. Saudi Arabia spent $8.4 billion on arms last year because they want war with Iran ASAP. They didn't spend all that money just to attack a bunch of ragmuffins in Yemen.
Jeb's comments are a good set up for war and regime change in Iran. "All options remain on the table" just in case we need to bomb Iran if we think there is a possibility they still might be building nukes or have the capability of doing so. The United States might need to stop them from doing that if that is the case depending on our intelligence. That's the reason we invaded Iraq and even in retrospect I think it was the right decision to make. Even though it was a difficult one I'm still glad we did it. We might have to do the same thing to Iran at some future date, again depending on the intelligence.
Jeb is mild mannered compared to almost all of the other war mongers in the GOP. They are ready to start bombing on DAY ONE.
The Young Turks and the independent article are making opposite claims about Daesh. Tom Cotton agrees with the Independent article, but Daesh is slowly being pushed back. They aren't winning or even holding their own in Iraq.
Tom Cotton is the mirror image of the Republican party and it's presidential candidates. Check out Marco Rubio's speech yesterday...."WE WILL FIND YOU. WE WILL KILL YOU." The GOP's strategy for 2016 will be based on foreign policy and national security. War against a multitude of bad guy threats always sells BIG in the GOP.
What else do they have? Amnesty and Climate Change are out.
100,000 Muslim residents of Garland, Texas totally ignored this event. Pam Geller and the Islamic radicals who attacked were outsiders. City officials who allowed this VERY DANGEROUS event to take place share most of the blame.
I cringe each time George is called a Texan. The "Bushes of Connecticut" are New England bluebloods much like John Kerry. The "Bushes of Connecticut" moved to Texas after WWII which makes them CARPETBAGGERS. Hearing George speak with a Texas drawl is like hearing Mr. Ed the talking horse for the first time. "That isn't possible."
It took a great deal of courage for the American troops in Iraq to face death or mutilation because of IEDs. Not many things could be more stressful. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands suffered permanent traumatic brain injuries.
Tom Cotton showed real courage, IMO. He's got brains too, but he's a neoconservative. He insults and taunts Zarif for only one reason: Cotton wanted him to overreact. Zarif saw that coming and gave Cotton a high five on the birth of his son instead.
Game and set to Zarif but the match is not over by a long shot. Neos NEVER give up.
Cotton supported and volunteered to fight in the Iraq war because he believed in it then and believes in it now. He probably would take the same course of action if the U.S. regime changed Iran. Tom Cotton is like Darth Cheney on crack with a gun. He might feel the same way about Iraqi peasants as Phil Sheridan did about Indians. Ditto for Iranian peasants.
The goods ones are all dead.
Do you really think Darth Cheney worries about moral courage or doing the right thing? Or Bibi Netanyahu? These people want war, they want to win and they do not care in the least how many people they have to kill in order to get the job done. Like Cheney said right after 9/11...
"SWEEP IT ALL UP."
To neoconservatives, moral courage and doing the right thing is ONLY for the weak. That is their philosophy.
George Bush didn't have the intelligence or background to understand the war in Iraq. That was Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz's job and they were very good at it. The Young Turks give George way too much credit.
The Young Turks blast Bush for saying Obama "failed to follow through," then they name some of the countries he did bomb---Syria, Yemen, Oman (at times), Iraq and Pakistan. They forgot Libya and Obama's "war of necessity" in Afghanistan. The Bush drone attacks don't compare with Obama's.
George wants Sheldon to give a few hundred million to his brother. Adelson is worth $28 billion. Jeb's superpac is on course to rake in $100 million by the end of May. That's without Sheldon's $$$. Giving $500 mil. to Jeb and $500 mil. to Hillary would cover Sheldon no matter who won.
Hillary is in Republican crosshairs but so is Rand Paul. I've seen a commercial claiming Paul supports Obama's plan to let Iran build nuclear bombs.The commercial ends with a nuclear explosion. Daisy II with a Republican twist. Rand Paul doesn't have a chance of winning the Republican nomination. A real Republican wants to start as many wars as possible on day 1. That's what they do.
Reports in the Guardian say Baghdadi was so badly injured by U.S. bombs in mid-March he wasn't expected to live. Now, he's more than happy to do diplomacy with the U.S. before the next bomb kills him.
Daesh needs to be driven out of Iraq. How long can they last?
Daesh has to be degraded and driven out of Iraq. Until that happens they will keep attacking and trying to expand their base. If Obama backed off, Bibi Netanyahu and the Republicans would use that against him and the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Here's Bibi now...."Can you imagine if ISIS had nukes? Obama is letting them run wild in Iraq. Israel is facing a nuclear threat from Iran right now. Even as we speak here today, Iran is using their free time to build a numerous multitude of many ATOMIC BOMBS they plan on using to destroy Israel. Do you remember my atomic bomb drawing with the red line? My true Republican friends, multiply that one ATOMIC BOMB by a THOUSAND."
The poll says Republicans support the interests of Israel by a 2-1 margin and Democrats just the opposite. Many of those Republicans supporting Israel are waiting on the End Times spelled out in the Book of John. They want Armageddon, the Final Battle between Good and Evil. Those bible people are really tired of waiting.
Bringing Jesus back by dropping nucular bombs. The south pole would be ideal. Lots of water.
Iranian President Rouhani and the Supreme Leader are saying no nuclear deal without an immediate end to all sanctions. Bibi Netanyahu wants the nuclear deal to fall apart because he wants war, not just an Israeli bombing run which would only set back Iran a year or two. Netanyahu really wants American troops sent into Iran and eventual regime change. A BIG WAR IS ON BIBI'S TABLE. Why think small since this opportunity will not happen again?
Netanyahu knows Putin sending Russian S-300s to Iran will make his war plans much more complicated. Putin once said any attack on Iran is like an attack on Russia. Iran and Russia are getting prepared for war with the United States and Israel.
I don't blame them. They better get ready for it.
p.s. The Republican hawks will want to use some of those troops in Ukraine just in case Putin has plans to send Rooskie troops to Iran. Republicans like war. The bigger, the better.
They plan on starting WWIII with Iran and Russia. Putin's S-300s are going to Iran just in case. Michele Bachman might be right about the End Times approaching.
Jeb and Ted Cruz are right with Michele. Deep down, these Republicans are looking forward to Armageddon and the Final Battle.
Of course Ritter was right about Hillary and Bill knowing there were no WMDs in Iraq. "She made a calculation based on politics" and public opinion. Most Americans wanted war and George gave it to them. Hillary saw which way the wind was blowing and went with it. So did John Kerry and Joe Biden. Either they all knew it was bullshit or they're STUPID, really stupid. But that was in 2002, not 2015-16. If a Republican gets elected in 2016, they'll get their marching orders from Bibi Netanyahu and without a doubt we will go to war with Iran. Hillary the hawk might not take that step. A Republican president and congress is a nightmare.
POTUS Hillary will do all of the above and probably more, but I can't see her starting a war with Iran or Putin. That's a bridge too far, especially if the Republicans war mongers get nasty during the campaign. Plus, her constituents and everyone on the left will be a drag on her basic warrior instincts.
Deep down, Hillary must hate those bastard Republicans for the way they went after Bill Clinton when he was POTUS. Hillary Clinton has a long memory and doesn't forget shitte like that. She'll enjoy making those Republicans suffer for eight long years.
Suggested campaign slogan: "Vote for Hillary and watch her put some real PAYBACK on the Republicans. THIS ELECTION IS ALL ABOUT PAYBACK!!!"
Obama wasn't clumsy and didn't blunder into fighting ISIS in Iraq. Most everything is going as planned, IMO. The media says Iran coming into the fight against ISIS is more bad news, but that news is ONLY bad for Bibi Netanyahu and his Republican allies who want war with Iran. ISIS is slowly being degraded by a coalition involving the U.S. and Iran while Obama's nuclear deal is in the process of being finalized. So, the bad news is really good, not bad.
Instead of John McCain singing the Beach Boys, how 'bout some Jefferson Airplane instead?
"One pill makes you smaller"
"The other makes you large"
"But the ones that mother gives you"
"Don't do anything at all."
Not doing anything at all to Iran is not part of Bibi's plan. The bad news is really good.
Here in Nevada, TV commercials are running claiming Rand Paul "supported Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran." Paul is desperately trying to change his antiwar spots but to the Republican war hawks, Rand has already crossed the Rubicon. All of the other GOP candidates will march as one.
The same commercial is running out here in Las Vegas. I think Republican warmongers are trying to link Paul to Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran so they can destroy his shaky credibility and unite the war party. Then, they'll try to do the same thing and link Hillary to Obama. It's a risky strategy but what else can they do?
Those anti-Paul commercials really surprised me. Rand Paul and Iranian nukes--who knew?
Your comment about politicians keeping the United States "on top of the pile which is what empires have always done" made me think about Ron Paul's various positions since we invaded Iraq in 2003. Intellectually, Rand Paul isn't close to his father.
150 years ago today, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. If Rand Paul was a real Neo-confederate, he would have been wearing a grey armband during his speech on the USS Yorktown. If he had given that speech at Ft. Meade, daddy would have disowned him.
Even 150 years later, Neo-confederates are still serious about the Civil War.
p.s. Ron Paul also sees the Federal Reserve Bank as a large part of the federal government's domestic and international power. His "End the Fed" campaign is really about limiting federal govt. power vs. those of the individual states. This also goes back to the Civil War and secession.
"Keeping the U.S. on top of the pile" using military means is how neoconfedrates like Ron Paul view the Civil War. To them, Lincolns aggression was the first step in what became the U.S. empire. That was followed by war against Native Americans, the Spanish-American war, WWI and WWII, Vietnam and finally, the war in Iraq. Dominating all others by military and economic means always aimed at growing the empire. A key to Ron Paul's thinking happened during the presidential debates in 2008. Paul made a comment objecting to U.S. troops in Iraq and Rudy Gulliani immediately went after him. To Ron Paul, George Bush sending the U.S. army into Iraq was similar to Abraham Lincoln sending the U.S. army into the Confederate States of America. To him, secession was legal so Lincoln was sending the army into another country. A true neoconfederate like Ron Paul would have seen Tom Cotton's letter as the next step in U.S. military aggression expanding the empire.
Obviously, Ron Paul is wrong in much of his thinking, but he is also VERY consistent.
On Meet the Press, Ron Paul blamed Abraham Lincoln for the Civil War. Neoconfederates like Paul can't help themselves. They always blame Lincoln. That's also the reason Rand Paul said each individual state should have the authority to decide Civil Rights and not the federal government--Confederate States Rights.
Ron Paul was 100% against the war in Iraq mainly because he didn't want the federal government to expand its power which is exactly what happened. Just look at Edward Snowden and the NSA. Paul's position also goes back to how he thinks about the Civil War and the expansion of federal power. "The Real Lincoln," a book by Thomas DeLorenzo gives a window into their thinking. Ron Paul believes these wars, civil rights and race relations all relate to the Constitution and the power of the federal government vs. individual states. Rand is pretty much of a sell out, but Ron Paul believes Southern States had the right to secede and Lincoln was the one who acted illegally.
Well, at least Paul didn't "shush" Savannah Guthrie when she zeroed in on his Iran flip-flop. "Testy" Rand is his new handle. Bibi has already given the word to Sheldon Adelson. No flip-flopping on Iran is allowed. Reporters will give "Testy" the Sparticus treatment, so all the other 'lil Republicans will get the message.
When Rand Paul signed Tom Cotton's letter the antiwar crowd dumped him in a heartbeat. He went from a 5 percenter down to a 2. His high water mark has come and gone. Antiwar Republicans have about the same lifespan as a housefly.
My access to this article was also blocked earlier.
IMO, Iran would be foolish to ever attack Israel because they would retaliate by using nuclear weapons--- hydrogen bombs. As Hillary Clinton put it, Iran would be "totally obliterated." Bibi Netanyahu and his Republican friends would like nothing better than an excuse to get into another war, but the Iranians are far too smart to fall into that trap.
On September 9, 2002, Judith Miller's aluminum tube article in the New York Times was key propaganda during the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. Parts of U.S. government often uses print and television media to influence public opinion. That's the reason I watch it.
Nuclear Iran is basically a Democratic and Republican split. Iraq WMDs was mostly one way. If Netanyahu hadn't purposely develop a hate relationship with Obama, he might not be in such a weaken position today. Bibi spoke to Congress and tinkled all over the POTUS when he did it. Obama just pissed back with a fire hose.
Saudi Arabia has softened its position. They want to "see what happens in terms of details." Saudi Arabia doesn't have an Iron Dome so they would be far more vulnerable to a nuclear armed Iran. Other than the U.S., Netanyahu will end up isolating Israel from other nations.
Bibi Netanyahu is scheduled to appear on both Meet the Press and Face the Nation every week until the Iranian NUKE BOMB crisis has been resolved in his favor.
The Republicans signed Tom Cotton's letter and with Bibi Netanyahu because they were certain Obama/Kerry would bring back a bad deal. Didn't happen, now they must defeat the bill or look even more ridiculous. Hillary Clinton couldn't have hope for anything better.
During his video with Tom Friedman of the NY Times, Obama missed a golden opportunity to take a shot at one of the biggest hawks in journalism.
"By the end of June we will have the best opportunity to secure peace in the Middle East. Tom, in less than HALF A FRIEDMAN UNIT we could have peace for our time!!!"
The Republican party's unnatural coalition is under increasing stress. The somewhat more moderate Jeb Bush just did a two day flip-flop on the Indiana law but Mike Huckabee, an evangelical preacher, blamed the "militant gay community" for the Indiana backlash. Right now, the party backs Bibi Netanyahu against Obama's Iran deal, but how long before the domestic concerns provoke a bigger split?
The GOP would be much smaller without millions of evangelical voters. No guns and no bibles means no real power.
America has too many crazy war mongers with power for Iran to ever fully trust this country. Last week, before the agreement was signed, the NY Times and the Washington Post ran op-eds that claimed bombing Iran was the ONLY way to stop them from building a nuclear bomb.
The Republicans in Congress went way overboard hitching their wagon and future to Bibi Netanyahu, the messianic nutjob. This airtight nuclear deal will force the Republicans in Congress to defeat it with a veto proof majority and convince the public to support a war with Iran. If that doesn't happen, the Republicans will be soundly defeated in the next election and Hillary Clinton will be elected POTUS. Iran coming in to fight Daesh in Iraq looks like great strategy now.
Bibi and the Republicans are unable to name even one specific criticism about the centrifuges, 3.67% enriched uranium or the low grade uranium Iran will have left after getting rid of the other 98%. It's airtight and they know it. Obama punked the whole bunch of 'em.
By signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) Governor Pence hopes that will keep Indiana from being NUKED if Obama's deal with Iran falls apart. If Iran actually tests a nuclear weapon, Pence will vote in favor of stoning all Gays in the state. Ted Cruz wants to meet with the Guv. on Easter Sunday for a prayer meeting and to ask him to join his ticket.
Unfortunately, Republican propaganda about Iran in Iraq has turned the fight against Daesh into a lose-lose situation for Obama. If Daesh is defeated, the Iranians are the reason. If Daesh remains in control of Mosul, Obama's poor CIC leadership is to blame.
spyguy, I'm not saying you're wrong about China. You said it best..."Extreme hubris is going to blow up in the USA face." The neocons and Bibi are bat-shit crazy and won't stop until that happens. No way they back off on their own.
spyguy, you make some good points about Iran supplying 10% of China's energy. I think the neoconservatives also have China in their sights. What better way to limit China's growing power than to restrict their energy. The neocons want to break down the Shanghai Cooperation Organization by regime changing Iran and Putin in Russia. Victoria Nuland and Ukraine are just on the back burner for now. Ditto for Obama's pivot to Asia.
Remember before the Iraq war one neoconservative saying "We're an EMPIRE now. We make our own reality." These people never go away.
THIS JUST IN:
General Darth Cheney has been spotted in a secret location somewhere in Kuwait preparing Halliburton's mobile STRIKE FORCE for the invasion. The general can't see Russia from his location, but numerous Iranian oil fields are visible. He has sent a message to all patriotic Americans....
Invasion and regime change is the mad dog Republican answer to deep underground Iranian nuclear facilities. Long term occupation would help Iran's oil and natural gas flow to more friendly western countries. The neocon plan for Iraq's 112 billion barrels of oil reserves didn't pan out. This could be the round II.
What will happen if there is no deal, Yemen heats up and Iran ramps up enrichment of uranium? Bibi and the Saudi ambassador will be at the head of the Republican Congo line running down Pennsylvania ave.
China, Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization plus Iran vs. the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia which doesn't factor in what's happening in eastern Ukraine with Putin and NATO. The perfect storm is brewing in Yemen, Iran and Ukraine.
Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012 realized Evangelical voters play a big role in the early Republican primaries. In 2016, Ted Cruz is trying to expand on the strategy. Your video takes place in the Baptist megachurch in Irving, Texas---that's Dallas. 10,000 members... Big D is the center of the bible thumpin' movement of the whole country. The Texas primary is March 1, 2016...Cruz is no dummy. He plans to beat Jeb Bush in the heart of Bush country. If he doesn't win, a VP slot will work just fine. The Republicans need the Latino vote, especially Cubans in Florida.
Cruz is courtin' the evangelical vote in Iowa and South Carolina. He wants to get head up with Jeb Bush and attack him over amnesty and common core. That's the only way Cruz thinks he can win the nomination.
Commercial pilots are extensively tested so, for the most part, they are level headed and don't suffer from depression, mental and/or physical illness or drug and/or alcohol addiction etc. etc. etc. None of the above applies to non-commercial/government pilots. Other than those exceptions, many pilots are totally batshit crazy.
Lindsey Graham will be beside himself. This news isn't just "ironic in the extreme," it means the U.S. has allied with the Iranians trying to drive Daesh out of Tikrit. If Graham is on the Sunday morning talk shows perhaps a courageous reporter will ask him why didn't Iran just drop one of their NUCLEAR BOMBS on Tikrit instead of calling on U.S. airstrikes?
JEB Bush was also born and raised down there. Texas politicians never got over losing at the Alamo AND the Civil War. That John Wayne movie made it even worse.
I mean George is a carpetbagger with two yankee parents and Cruz is a Cuban from Canada with a Commie parent, but he did go to high school in Texas, sooo he's probably got the war fever too. It's a good thing Cruz is a 2%er. He'll drop out of the race after New Hampshire.
Iran is the new Republican bogeyman in Iraq. If Daesh is defeated in Tikrit, the new bad guys take the hit. If not, the Republicans point the finger of blame at Obama. So, no matter what happens in Tikrit, the Republicans are hoping for a win-win situation.
Whether they are Sunni or Shia, the Republicans must ALWAYS have new BAD GUYS to fight.
Tom Friedman, Bibi Netanyahu and their neocon friends are the ones at the "Dead-End in the Middle East" because Obama's strategy to fight ISIS allowed Iran to come in and should help his nuclear deal become a reality and soon. I can understand how any neoconservative worth his weight in dog poop would be beside himself at this point.
When the nuclear deal with Iran does go down I just hope Tom Friedman, Bibi Netanyahu, David Petraeus, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham and John McCain don't commit MASS SUICIDE.
I think you're right. And John Boehner invited Bibi knowing what he would say because it's all part of their plan to deal with Iran and the Palestinians at the same time.
After hearing Tom Cotton's speech advocating U.S. "global military dominance," I think Netanyahu's victory will become part of the longer term plan in both countries.
Instead of starting a war with Iran, Bibi was really giving his farewell address when he spoke to Congress and received all those standing ovations. It doesn't get any better.
That's the real meaning of the 47 letter. If American politicians decide Iran's nuclear program needs a military solution that will be done. International law is for other countries, the little countries.
Rather than show decline, Tom Cotton's letter indicates how far the Republicans will go to block a nuclear deal with Iran and start war instead. That' why I said it was "scary stuff."
Scary stuff. Not only does Tom Cotton have a Harvard Law degree, he also has a VERY impressive combat record in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cotton is well educated and had to know EXACTLY what he was doing when he sent that letter.
It will happen and probably before the end of the year. Without Mosul, their hold on 1/3 of the country will evaporate. Like Quax says, they are overstretched and starting to turn on themselves. Daesh is outgunned and outnumbered. Every Iraqi push will take more and more ground until Daesh breaks. It might happen suddenly.
The politicians and the media play up each bad guy threat until the next one comes along.
What happens in Iraq after Daesh is defeated will be up to the Iraqis and only the Iraqis. For the U.S., defeating Daesh, especially with Iranian aid, will throw a big monkey wrench into Netanyahu's and the Republican plans for war. Obama's decision to bomb Daesh is working as well as could be expected. Mosul is next.
Once Daesh is driven out of Iraq, basically they'll be trapped in eastern Syria with limited sources of revenue and realistically not much of a threat to anyone. Daesh will have their military capability degraded and end up being a 'lil pissant bunch of Sunni fanatics. Their European warriors will go home.
The P5+1 group isn't much different than the E.U. to the neocons and diplomats like Victoria (Fuck the E.U.) Nuland. What happened in Ukraine is just a taste of what might happen in Iran.
"We don't need no stinkin' badges" and we don't need no stinkin' laws. The war in Iraq proved that international laws are just for the little countries. The United States can start any war, anytime with anybody and nobody can do anything about it.
The neocons probably want to deal with the "crisis" in Ukraine before Iran. After all, Putin is not only challenging the neos coup, he has taken over a lot of territory. That's a hot conflict and the situation between Iran, Iraq and Daesh is complicated.
June, 2014, right after Mosul fell to the ISIS bad guys.
"The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn't fall. We need to coordinate with the Iranians." Sen. Lindsey Graham
Last week..."The enemy of your enemy is your enemy." Bibi Netanyahu The all time flip-flop because it can be used against any group in the Middle East depending on the military situation at that particular time.
Here's how that works: If ISIS reverses their numerous setbacks in Syria and Iraq AND begins another drive toward Baghdad, we would need to work with Iran to make sure Baghdad didn't fall just like Sen. Graham suggested last June. But once the ISIS drive on Baghdad peters out and the Shiites move toward Tikrit and Mosul, "FLIP-FLOP" Iran becomes the threat.
It's the Middle East version of the ground hog movie.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham can't be too happy about this development. geez Neither can Bibi Netanyahu unless Iran goes overboard and drops one of their NUCLEAR BOMBS on Tikrit.
"Do YOU Americans believe me NOW?" Your friend forever, Bibi.
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60 attacks in a week, no break through and now a pause. Wonder why? The high temps in Baghdad for the next ten days will be between 115-120 degrees. HUMAN BEINGS can NOT fight a life and death battle in that kind of heat. Come to Vegas in August and go for a run in the midday sun. 10-15 minutes TOPS. This was probably a big bluff. 20,000 Shiites, lots of artillery, planes etc. and see if ISIS withdraws from Ramadi.
This pause will last until mid-September.
Perhaps Trump wins the nomination because so many Republicans really are "crazies" and think of illegal immigrants from Mexico just like The Donald. He's definitely hit a chord with this anti-immigrant rabble rousing speeches.
Trump as the nominee would mean the end of the Republican party. Rapidly changing demographics and liberal social mores like Gay marriage, pot legalization would prove to be fatal. The GOP would NEVER recover from Trump.
The Donald would wind up being the real "HERO."
TRUMP--PALIN 2016 woof, woof š
Ali did sacrifice his career for principal, but my point was about dodging the illegal draft during the Vietnam war. An individual's motivation is beside the point. Ali, Clinton, Trump, Cheney and George Bush all did the same thing, the smart thing. Their names aren't on that wall. They all escaped being kidnapped by the U.S. government and thrown into a meat grinder. Others wound up going to Canada. They were smart too.
John McCain became a "hero" when his plane crashed after dropping bombs on innocent people including women and children.
Why did John Kerry really go fight in Vietnam? Was it too serve his country in an illegal wart OR to further his political career goals?
"I'M JOHN KERRY REPORTING FOR DUTY?"
McCain and Kerry are not heroes. Some of the real heroes were murdered at Kent State trying to stop an illegal war.
Muhammed Ali and Bill Clinton were much bigger draft dodgers than Trump or Cheney. Bubba should be the hero of every young male who didn't get kidnapped by Lyndon or Richard Nixon. Bill Clinton was still fighting the draft at age 23. š The draft ended because young males refused to fight in an ILLEGAL war cooked up by a bunch of old men.
tick...tick...tick....The Donald's 15 minutes just ran out. Bad mouthing McCain because he was captured and tortured in North Vietnam prisons for over five years was five kinds of stupid, even for Trump. Republicans love their war heroes more than John Wayne. The Donald is done.
Watching the Republican candidates shoot each other down will be great fun, like a sport. Scott Walker might be next. He has a lot of holes in his game and definitely not ready for prime time.
Bibi and the Republicans want war, period. That's why they hate the deal. They hate Obama too. Cenk is making it too complicated.
If Trump was attacking Muslims like he does Mexicans most of the Republican candidates would say they agree with him. The pubbie candidate will need Mexican votes in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Those three used to be red states. 20 electoral votes. Ohio has 18.
If he would have flown the Confederate flag on his car, no one would have said anything about guns or Muslims. ISIS should buy some Walmart rebel flags before they all get shipped to Ukraine.
Is the US the best ally for Iran? Should the Iranians ever really trust the United States? I don't think that would be wise.
The Republicans, Israel and the Saudis will try and kill this nuclear deal so they can have a war, a big one. American politicians and the defense industry can not justify such a huge military budget without starting new conflicts. Peace is bad for their business.
Neoconservatives want to remake the Middle East starting with regime change in Iraq. Their plan obviously got off to a rough start AFTER Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz ridiculed Gen. Eric Shenseki's estimate of "several hundred thousand" U.S. troops needed for long term occupation of Iraq. "Much too high" is what Wolfowitz said. Rummy just sent 150,000 troops and the rest is history but.....
Neos NEVER give up as Bibi's Netanyahu's speech to Congress made clear. IRAN is next on their hit list. The Neos also have plans for Putin and all those BAD GUY Rooskies in Ukraine. Iraq was just a temporary setback.
This all started with Ronald Reagan and "Morning in America." Jimmy Carter and the Iranian hostage crisis was perfect for The Raygun.
Falluja seems very vulnerable. How does Daesh kept their supply lines open?
A friend of mine claimed the NRA lobby was responsible for changing the public's attention from gun violence to the Confederate flag. This punk murdered nine people in cold blood, but as soon as those Confederate flag pics went public all the talk about guns and the NRA went away. Instead, "General Lee," the car used in the Dukes of Hazard, became a symbol of EVIL. TV Land dumped the "Dukes" rather than a face nationwide protests. How many black people were in that show?
The Confederate battle flag was used as not only a symbol, but seen as the real reason a 21 yr. old with a 9th grade education murdered nine black people. Symbols replace the need for deeper explanations. Roof was a lone wolf nutjob no different from individual Muslims who commit violent crimes. Both are seen as terrorists with a much bigger agenda because people need an explanation. Confederate flags and lone Muslim terrorists served the same purpose.
Once the Confederate flag comes down, the short attention span of Americans and the media will move on---CASE CLOSED.
Great points. Western expansion of slavery AND taking control of California were the main reasons for the illegal war against Mexico. Grant and Lincoln were right.
Defeating the Confederacy and conquering the Indians in the west was done with the same Union army and commanders---Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and Custer. Not a Confederate flag in sight. They defeated the Confederacy.
The war against Mexico 1846-48 was the start of manifest destiny. That war was followed by the Civil War, wars against the Indians and finally, Spain.
The article fails to mention where the rebel flag is really flying: UKRAINE. It was flying high in Kiev City Hall after our coup. Google "Confederate flag in Kiev City Hall." The Stars and Bars.
Walmart should open up a store in Baghdad and send their Confederate Battle Flags to the Iraqi army, no charge. Either that, or they could just have McCain and Lindsey Graham deliver them.
"Training of moderate rebels in Syria to take of Daesh has not gotten off the ground as quickly as expected."
Training isn't the problem. Neither is motivation. Finding and vetting enough "moderate" rebels is the real problem. So far, we have found less than one hundred "moderate" Syrians. We are training ALL of them. Who will they be fighting--Daesh, Assad or both?
This bullshit about training moderate Syrians not getting off the ground is just as excuse to make Obama look incompetent so Republicans like McCain and Graham can get what they really want---American troops in Syria. Yesterday, both of them were on the warpath. Tens of thousands of American boots on the ground in Syria is the real motivation.
McCain and Graham want a BIG number since they'll have to fight Daesh and then Assad. Long term occupation of Syria will take one or possibly more decades.
NBC Nightly News...One more time...McCain is blasting Obama over Daesh and Gen. Dempsey is warning about Iran. If Obama backed away from Daesh, the Republican conga line down Pennsylvania ave., would be five miles long. John McCain would be singing "Barbara Ann" and who could blame him? Does Bibi like the Beach Boys?
The video of the area retaken from Daesh in Iraq shows how much progress Iraqis and Kurds have made since Obama's bombing campaign started. Mucho progress, IMO. Obama doesn't need to send more troops. How long do you think Daesh will be able to stay in Iraq? A year? Two?
That's why the video and press conference were mostly about fighting Daesh in Syria.
Syria is harder for several reasons. The Kurds don't control as much area, Assad is a war criminal and the whole place is a killing field/madhouse. Syria is no longer a country. It's a place on a map.
Trump needs to hire some illegal immigrants to wave the Confederate flag as they're coming across the border. The Donald is a "lost cause" if that doesn't happen.
The Donald should defend himself by saying other Republican candidates feel the same way, but know they won't win the nomination if they agree with his remarks.That's the reason Trump is ONLY being criticized by the left. In 2012, look what happened to Rick Perry after he came out in favor of amnesty for the children of illegal immigrants. His very slim presidential hopes deflated faster than a tire with a blowout.
Trump should have said America's demand for drugs has allowed the Mexican cartels to make huge profits and the violence associated with drugs has caused much of the illegal immigration. Mexico isn't sending us their best people but that doesn't apply to the drugs. America demands the best and we have the money to pay for it.
Rick Santorum's Fourth of July...."This Decision Will Not Stand." The Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage will meet with fierce resistance from social conservatives till hell freezes over. Evangelicals believe the bible is the literal word of God and condemns homosexuality. Religious conservatives like Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz strongly believe just accepting the Supreme Court's ruling means the United States is a country living in sin and all of its people are bound for eternal damnation and will burn in hell forever.
Before he made those remarks, Donald Trump was 100% certain he would NEVER win the Republican nomination. He was just putting on a show to get attention. How long can that be expected to continue before the media blows him off and concentrates on making real money with the primaries. Trump won't win 2% of the votes in any primary. Even Republicans won't vote for Donald Trump.
He got people talking about him. Mission Accomplished.
"The Donald" is not behaving this way because he's surrounded by yes men. Trump knows exactly what he is doing and has even doubled down on his remarks. He's just speaking honestly and showing how far right the Republican party has gone. Basically the Republican base feels the same way but don't come out and say it. Republicans also believe Muslim terrorists are sneaking across the border with thousands of illegal immigrants. They haven't said that recently.
Latino leaders are demanding Republican presidential candidates condemn Trump in no uncertain terms or they risk losing any hope of support in 2016. The GOP candidates haven't done that for one reason: Blasting Trump risks losing support from the far right WHITE base. So, Trump gets a mild rebuke like "wholly inappropriate" or some other bullshit political phrases that don't really mean anything. All the other GOP candidates are praying Trump puts a sock in it.
A democrat recently put The Donald's racist comments in a nutshell. If the Democratic party spent a BILLION dollars on negative campaigning they could not have gotten more bang for their bucks.
TV Land is feeling the heat over the flag. They dropped the "Dukes of Hazard" because of the Confederate Battle Flag on the roof of the General Lee automobile.
Republicans see numerous foreign and domestic threats developing at warp speed. The top three....
1) Gay marriage...threatens everything social conservatives believe. Accepting gay marriage and homosexuality in general would rip apart the number one belief of the GOP.
2) Iran...
3) Russia
Honorable mention...Obamacare, ISIS, illegal immigration.
"The Donald" should try to fit a coonskin cap on that hairpiece and fly down to San Antonio, Texas...The Alamo, where JOHN WAYNE, The Duke went down fightin'. I'm sure The Donald could also find at least 183 Texas Republicans who would make the ultimate sacrifice fightin' against gay marriage.
The Republicans make their last stand at the Alamo.
p.s. The Donald won't need to bring his own gun.
Khamenei after listening to Cruz on the Morning Joe show: "How soon will they do it?"
The Republican world is going to hell in a hand basket in a big hurry---Obamacare, Gay marriage, the Confederate flag coming down etc. not to mention illegal immigration and amnesty. The Republicans need a crisis or all will be lost. Iranian nukes is the perfect fix for all their domestic problems. If Iran puts nukes in Cuba, the Republicans might win Florida in 2016. A BIG CRISIS.
A grass roots social revolution is happening and the Republicans are like Neanderthals standing in the way of change. Whether it's the Affordable Care Act, the Confederate Battle Flag and race, immigration/amnesty, Gay Marriage or the Pope speaking out on climate change, the Republicans are on the wrong side of history being made. A 21 year old nutjob with a gun was the straw that broke the camel's back.
The Republican governor of Texas has become unhinged at just the thought of two men getting married in the state. And Texas Republicans just passed an open carry gun law. So, Gays could put on "shotgun" weddings if they so desired and invite the guv. to the festivities.
dsmith. you perfectly explained how many southerners view the civil war. Intellectually understanding secession , slavery and the civil war is difficult to compute when Lee and Jackson were seen as "super heroes defending the homeland against northern aggression."
The NRA didn't take the heat for this mass murder because their friends in politics and the media put the blame squarely on the Confederate Battle Flag. Once the pics of the killer holding the CBF hit the news all the antigun talk stopped.
Is Walmart trying to sell all their Confederate flags to our allies in Ukraine?
Bill Clinton did compare Obama's victory to Jesse Jackson's 20 years earlier. He tried to claim it was just a black thing. However, Obama drew from a wider range of voters which was bad news for Hillary Clinton. Both Clintons knew Hillary wouldn't be able to knock Obama out on Super Tuesday, which was just a week away. In 2008, the S.C. primary marked the beginning of the end for Hillary Clinton's presidential hopes.
Yea, I think Lincoln overreacted without thinking about the consequences of calling for 300,000 troops to put down the rebellion. A blockade would have been more effective and far less bloody. Without Virginia and North Carolina, the treason of the deep south cotton states would have been over in a year or two at most.
Think about it...Florida and Texas were undeveloped states on the fringe. That leaves just five states seceding--Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. How long do you think they would have lasted after a blockade was put in place? They would have been completely cut off and isolated and not even close enough geographically to attack the north. How would they attack the north when North Carolina and Virginia are still in the union?
Arkansas and Tennessee went out when Virginia and North Carolina did.
One of Obama's biggest victories in the 2008 Democratic primaries was in South Carolina, the third primary. Hillary and especially Bill Clinton were rattled by the size of Obama's victory. He also won in Virginia and sealed the nomination with his HUGE win in North Carolina. Outside of Iowa, Obama's biggest victories were in Southern states of the old Confederacy.
Excess slaves, declining soil fertility and no expansion of slavery in the Republican platform led to the wealthy southern planters in the deep south seceding and starting the Civil War. Without the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln calling for 300,000 troops to put down the rebellion, Virginia and North Carolina would have stayed in the union. Lincoln's call up was exactly what the plantation owners needed for a big war. They rolled the dice and lost. A blockade of Charleston, Mobile, New Orleans and other ports would have probably worked out much better. Lincoln acted hastily.
In 1860, slavery was legal and Lincoln has no plans or authority to end it. The deep south cotton states seceded because the Republican platform was 100% against any EXPANSION of slavery. Their platform led to secession which was the real cause of the Civil War. That and Confederates committing TREASON when they attacked Fort Sumter.They were guilty of TREASON and lucky not to be executed when their foolish rebellion was crushed. Ben Franklin warning about hanging together or separately comes to mind. The Queen of England would have hung Robert E. Lee in a heartbeat.
"The time has come to remove the flag"...S.C. Governor Nikki Haley
It will be interesting to see the reaction of die-hard Neo-Confederates. There's a lot of neos out there. For the most part, Republican presidential candidates won't comment one way or the other. They want this to go away ASAP. Another Southern rebellion won't help the Republicans win in 2016.
This kid looks so young, he's a few years away from shaving every day. Where did all this hatred come from? He murdered nine people in a church, six of them were women. The killer looks like a kid, not an adult.
Why would anybody shoot black women in a church?
Trump is the ONLY Republican who wouldn't take his marching orders from Bibi Netanyahu. He could apologize to Latinos and get 44% of their votes by putting Alberto Gonzalez on his ticket.
The Donald & The Gonzo 2016...Why not? The Republicans are already a circus.
Hopefully, in the first debate The Donald will put on a big show and make totally outrageous statements to get attention. It would be perfect if the Dems planted some Trump supporters wearing toupees in the audience. They could all stand up, lift their hairpieces and say "We love you Donald" whenever he speaks.
Andrew Bacevich's "A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz" marking the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq puts the blame squarely on Wolfie. If Jeb gets elected I wonder if Bacevich thinks regime change in Iran is next on Paul's agenda. Another war or two (Putin) will make things right for all the people who thought the 21st would be America's century. And Paul Wolfowitz was at the top of that list. Neoconservatives never go away. They just find new hosts.
Jeb never met a Middle East intervention he didn't like because Paul Wolfowitz is calling the shots just like he did with brother George's war in Iraq. Jeb's comments about that war were beyond stupid. George is the smart one.
Daesh . . . can't afford to lose Tel Abyad . According to Liz Sly, not only do fighters, weapons and ammunition from Turkey flow through the town, it also serves as a smuggling route for oil. No smuggling means no money to pay troops or for weapons, ammo, supplies etc. Daesh just has to sit there and get bombed by the U.S. after Kurds and Syrian forces relay the coordinates. Then they launch attacks. How long can they hold out? Taking Ramadi and Palmyra pale in comparison. The Daesh cockroaches are in a real tough situation.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren give Hillary enough cover so she can pivot to the left and leave the Republicans out in the cold. 2016 is already starting to feel like a landslide with women, people of color and the young getting on the The HillZilla bandwagon. All she needs is a Springsteen theme song. Perhaps Bruce will play at some of her rallies.
"I was born in the U.S.A."
What Obama did may have symbolized his impatience with the slow pace of political reform, but he was also showing some real bad manners. Not only did he ignore al-Abadi, Obama stood up and turned his back to him. No one with class acts that way. I was shocked at Obama's behavior. So was the Iraqi P.M. geez...
St. Augustine is over 300 miles north of Miami. Their problems with rising oceans are relatively minor compared to the ones in South Florida. There, rising oceans back up the sewage lines and flood the streets. People can't flush their toilets or get fresh water when the lines back up. This will get much worse in the next 10-20 years. People should sell their homes while they can and leave. South Florida is doomed and nothing will change it from happening. It wouldn't matter if Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and all the other cavemen-like Florida Republicans suddenly got religion about climate change. It's much too late to stop the damage rising sea levels will cause.
I meant Benjamin was a "Court Jew" because he was the buffer between Jefferson Davis and his many enemies in the Confederate government and even in the military. Judah P. Benjamin escaping capture in Florida and making it all the way to England is a fascinating story.
The term "Court Jew" made me immediately think of Judah P. Benjamin.
"Honey, I can't give you an unopened can of soda, but I'll be glad to pour it in a glass if you pay me $50 first."
Over the past year, as oil prices were dropping like a stone why didn't Saudi Arabia cut production and try to stabilize prices? They took a big hit on revenue but refused to act.
"Obama has not done a damn thing to confront Daesh: doesn't that show in America that there is no will to confront it?" Iranian Brig. Gen Qasem Soleimani
Soleimani agrees with John McCain. Perhaps he should also criticize Obama for worrying too much about climate change.
"The climate in Iraq and U.S. Sen. John McCain's Arizona are VERY similar. Both places are in the desert. U.S. Senator McCain is right, Obama should spend less time making speeches about the weather and give more thought to stopping ISIS. I also like The Beach Boys."
A very informative video. According to Charles Glass, if Bashar al-Assad loses so do all the Alawites and the Wahhabi Sunnis in Daesh will massacre all of them, "every living human being." Doesn't Daesh see the Shia in Iraq just like they do the Alawites in Syria?
The war hawks smell blood in the water.
From a Guardian article...Fred Kagan, Victoria Nuland's brother-in-law, called for 15-20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. "Anything less than that is simply unserious."
Jack Keane said it was time to begin "serious planning" for the reintroduction of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq. Keane said the U.S. needed to get over its "political psychosis on Iraq."
The hawks are making their move. The Republicans tried the same thing in 1964, but this time they think their Barry Goldwater strategy will work.
As a whole, the Republican candidates want the public to think Obama not only lost Ramadi, he is about to lose most of Iraq to ISIS. Criticizing Obama's foreign policy will be the key to their strategy for winning the White House in 2016. They are speaking in one voice. Yesterday, Jeb Bush said al-Queda in Iraq was defeated when his brother was president AND there was no ISIS. The Republicans will try and link Hillary to many of the current problems.
If Obama backs away from defeating ISIS in Ramadi and Iraq it would be the best gift the Republican could possibly imagine in 2016.The American public was easily duped by war propaganda during the buildup to invading Iraq so the Republicans are basing their strategy on recent history.The Republicans really don't have anything else.
quax, your posts are spot on, IMO. ISIL won't become a controlled state with oil revenue because that would lead to a much bigger Sunni-Shia war. Iran will stop them if the U.S. doesn't. The Republicans would have a field day if Obama backed off and let Iran take the lead.
Sooner or later, the Daesh killers will wind up like they did in Tikrit or Kobani. Taking Ramadi was one thing. Holding a city just 60 miles from Baghdad will be a whole different ballgame. How long can they withstand a sustained counterattack. How will they get resupplied? They overextended themselves in Kobani and paid the price. The same thing will happen in Ramadi.
There's a good article in the NY Times detailing the ISIS takeover in Ramadi and how they took advantage of a sandstorm nixing air cover. There had to be a reason for NO AIR COVER. Without control of the skies it's IMPOSSIBLE for Daesh to win in Iraq.
Now this raid into Syria to kidnap or kill the chief financial office of ISIS really means what? They take Ramadi and Obama hits them in Syria. What would happen if a U.S. chopper had been shot down and soldiers were captured?
Jay L, you made some interesting as well as amusing posts about the mysterious way Daesh's makes all their military moves and gets resupplied with food, water arms etc. etc. etc. It's either magic or a network of HUGE underground tunnels and depots deep, deep below the surface. That's how they moved from Tikrit to Ramadi like BAM!!! in just a few hours. You were wondering how they did that---UNDERGROUND SUPERHIGHWAYS is my best guess.
On a more serious note....Saudi Arabia and Turkey want the Assad regime changed and the Shiite crescent gone. So, their interests in seeing Daesh defeated in Iraq probably isn't heartfelt. Bibi Netanyahu would also like Assad gone, so there is no link between Iran and Hezbollah. If Daesh gets destroyed, the real winners are Iran, Assad and Hezbollah. Daesh being contained but not destroyed in Anbar province and eastern Syria is working well for the Saudis, Turkey and Netanyahu.
Why would they want that to change?
I once read if the Taliban was rolling down the highway towards Islamabad and the Pakistan army attacked with just two helicopter gunships, the battle would be over in a few minutes. Why weren't gunships used in Ramadi? Daesh couldn't survive such an attack.
The 45th anniversary of the National Guard murders at Kent State took place a few days ago. Millions of hippie types who grew up when LBJ and Nixon were president are as ANTIWAR today as they were back then. Somebody made a lot of money on that one too.
If the Republicans can figure out a way to start a war against some bad guys and not put tens of thousands of troops into the meat grinder , they could keep it going and make a lot of money. If it gets too big and/or to bloody, the war will be stopped and the defense industry will quit making the big bucks.Too much blood is what killed the golden goose in Vietnam.
That's the thing with EMPIRES. If the wars stop, the empire collapses but once they start there is no way to back off. American politicians will keep creating new enemies in order to keep these wars going. Nobody will make any money if the empire fails and these wars are all about making money.
The defense industry made a lot of money in Iraq but they would make much more if the good 'ol USA had to invade and regime changed Iran before they can build all the nukes Bibi Netanyahu talked about in Congress. Plus, the U.S. govt. would be able to use the NSA and really clamp down on civil rights. Living in America would be like living in Nazi Germany after the Reichstag fire.
Peace on planet earth doesn't help the defense industry stay in business. They need wars to make money. Saudi Arabia spent $8.4 billion on arms last year because they want war with Iran ASAP. They didn't spend all that money just to attack a bunch of ragmuffins in Yemen.
BIG WARS MEAN BIG BUCKS FOR EVERYBODY!!!
Jeb's comments are a good set up for war and regime change in Iran. "All options remain on the table" just in case we need to bomb Iran if we think there is a possibility they still might be building nukes or have the capability of doing so. The United States might need to stop them from doing that if that is the case depending on our intelligence. That's the reason we invaded Iraq and even in retrospect I think it was the right decision to make. Even though it was a difficult one I'm still glad we did it. We might have to do the same thing to Iran at some future date, again depending on the intelligence.
Jeb is mild mannered compared to almost all of the other war mongers in the GOP. They are ready to start bombing on DAY ONE.
The Young Turks and the independent article are making opposite claims about Daesh. Tom Cotton agrees with the Independent article, but Daesh is slowly being pushed back. They aren't winning or even holding their own in Iraq.
Tom Cotton is the mirror image of the Republican party and it's presidential candidates. Check out Marco Rubio's speech yesterday...."WE WILL FIND YOU. WE WILL KILL YOU." The GOP's strategy for 2016 will be based on foreign policy and national security. War against a multitude of bad guy threats always sells BIG in the GOP.
What else do they have? Amnesty and Climate Change are out.
100,000 Muslim residents of Garland, Texas totally ignored this event. Pam Geller and the Islamic radicals who attacked were outsiders. City officials who allowed this VERY DANGEROUS event to take place share most of the blame.
I cringe each time George is called a Texan. The "Bushes of Connecticut" are New England bluebloods much like John Kerry. The "Bushes of Connecticut" moved to Texas after WWII which makes them CARPETBAGGERS. Hearing George speak with a Texas drawl is like hearing Mr. Ed the talking horse for the first time. "That isn't possible."
It took a great deal of courage for the American troops in Iraq to face death or mutilation because of IEDs. Not many things could be more stressful. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands suffered permanent traumatic brain injuries.
Tom Cotton showed real courage, IMO. He's got brains too, but he's a neoconservative. He insults and taunts Zarif for only one reason: Cotton wanted him to overreact. Zarif saw that coming and gave Cotton a high five on the birth of his son instead.
Game and set to Zarif but the match is not over by a long shot. Neos NEVER give up.
Cotton supported and volunteered to fight in the Iraq war because he believed in it then and believes in it now. He probably would take the same course of action if the U.S. regime changed Iran. Tom Cotton is like Darth Cheney on crack with a gun. He might feel the same way about Iraqi peasants as Phil Sheridan did about Indians. Ditto for Iranian peasants.
The goods ones are all dead.
Do you really think Darth Cheney worries about moral courage or doing the right thing? Or Bibi Netanyahu? These people want war, they want to win and they do not care in the least how many people they have to kill in order to get the job done. Like Cheney said right after 9/11...
"SWEEP IT ALL UP."
To neoconservatives, moral courage and doing the right thing is ONLY for the weak. That is their philosophy.
George Bush didn't have the intelligence or background to understand the war in Iraq. That was Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz's job and they were very good at it. The Young Turks give George way too much credit.
The Young Turks blast Bush for saying Obama "failed to follow through," then they name some of the countries he did bomb---Syria, Yemen, Oman (at times), Iraq and Pakistan. They forgot Libya and Obama's "war of necessity" in Afghanistan. The Bush drone attacks don't compare with Obama's.
George wants Sheldon to give a few hundred million to his brother. Adelson is worth $28 billion. Jeb's superpac is on course to rake in $100 million by the end of May. That's without Sheldon's $$$. Giving $500 mil. to Jeb and $500 mil. to Hillary would cover Sheldon no matter who won.
Would a Republican president use drones for surveillance or whatever to disperse these "lynch mobs?"
"BY ORDER OF THE AUTHORITIES, YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO LEAVE THE AREA ."
America would turn into an Arnold film.
Hillary is in Republican crosshairs but so is Rand Paul. I've seen a commercial claiming Paul supports Obama's plan to let Iran build nuclear bombs.The commercial ends with a nuclear explosion. Daisy II with a Republican twist. Rand Paul doesn't have a chance of winning the Republican nomination. A real Republican wants to start as many wars as possible on day 1. That's what they do.
Reports in the Guardian say Baghdadi was so badly injured by U.S. bombs in mid-March he wasn't expected to live. Now, he's more than happy to do diplomacy with the U.S. before the next bomb kills him.
Daesh needs to be driven out of Iraq. How long can they last?
I experience the same confusion. Now they're in Ramadi? How did they get from Tikrit to Ramadi? Is Basra next? It's only a few hundred miles away.
Daesh has to be degraded and driven out of Iraq. Until that happens they will keep attacking and trying to expand their base. If Obama backed off, Bibi Netanyahu and the Republicans would use that against him and the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Here's Bibi now...."Can you imagine if ISIS had nukes? Obama is letting them run wild in Iraq. Israel is facing a nuclear threat from Iran right now. Even as we speak here today, Iran is using their free time to build a numerous multitude of many ATOMIC BOMBS they plan on using to destroy Israel. Do you remember my atomic bomb drawing with the red line? My true Republican friends, multiply that one ATOMIC BOMB by a THOUSAND."
The poll says Republicans support the interests of Israel by a 2-1 margin and Democrats just the opposite. Many of those Republicans supporting Israel are waiting on the End Times spelled out in the Book of John. They want Armageddon, the Final Battle between Good and Evil. Those bible people are really tired of waiting.
Bringing Jesus back by dropping nucular bombs. The south pole would be ideal. Lots of water.
Iranian President Rouhani and the Supreme Leader are saying no nuclear deal without an immediate end to all sanctions. Bibi Netanyahu wants the nuclear deal to fall apart because he wants war, not just an Israeli bombing run which would only set back Iran a year or two. Netanyahu really wants American troops sent into Iran and eventual regime change. A BIG WAR IS ON BIBI'S TABLE. Why think small since this opportunity will not happen again?
Netanyahu knows Putin sending Russian S-300s to Iran will make his war plans much more complicated. Putin once said any attack on Iran is like an attack on Russia. Iran and Russia are getting prepared for war with the United States and Israel.
I don't blame them. They better get ready for it.
p.s. The Republican hawks will want to use some of those troops in Ukraine just in case Putin has plans to send Rooskie troops to Iran. Republicans like war. The bigger, the better.
They plan on starting WWIII with Iran and Russia. Putin's S-300s are going to Iran just in case. Michele Bachman might be right about the End Times approaching.
Jeb and Ted Cruz are right with Michele. Deep down, these Republicans are looking forward to Armageddon and the Final Battle.
Of course Ritter was right about Hillary and Bill knowing there were no WMDs in Iraq. "She made a calculation based on politics" and public opinion. Most Americans wanted war and George gave it to them. Hillary saw which way the wind was blowing and went with it. So did John Kerry and Joe Biden. Either they all knew it was bullshit or they're STUPID, really stupid. But that was in 2002, not 2015-16. If a Republican gets elected in 2016, they'll get their marching orders from Bibi Netanyahu and without a doubt we will go to war with Iran. Hillary the hawk might not take that step. A Republican president and congress is a nightmare.
POTUS Hillary will do all of the above and probably more, but I can't see her starting a war with Iran or Putin. That's a bridge too far, especially if the Republicans war mongers get nasty during the campaign. Plus, her constituents and everyone on the left will be a drag on her basic warrior instincts.
Deep down, Hillary must hate those bastard Republicans for the way they went after Bill Clinton when he was POTUS. Hillary Clinton has a long memory and doesn't forget shitte like that. She'll enjoy making those Republicans suffer for eight long years.
Suggested campaign slogan: "Vote for Hillary and watch her put some real PAYBACK on the Republicans. THIS ELECTION IS ALL ABOUT PAYBACK!!!"
Obama wasn't clumsy and didn't blunder into fighting ISIS in Iraq. Most everything is going as planned, IMO. The media says Iran coming into the fight against ISIS is more bad news, but that news is ONLY bad for Bibi Netanyahu and his Republican allies who want war with Iran. ISIS is slowly being degraded by a coalition involving the U.S. and Iran while Obama's nuclear deal is in the process of being finalized. So, the bad news is really good, not bad.
Instead of John McCain singing the Beach Boys, how 'bout some Jefferson Airplane instead?
"One pill makes you smaller"
"The other makes you large"
"But the ones that mother gives you"
"Don't do anything at all."
Not doing anything at all to Iran is not part of Bibi's plan. The bad news is really good.
Here in Nevada, TV commercials are running claiming Rand Paul "supported Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran." Paul is desperately trying to change his antiwar spots but to the Republican war hawks, Rand has already crossed the Rubicon. All of the other GOP candidates will march as one.
"GIVE US WAR!!!"
The same commercial is running out here in Las Vegas. I think Republican warmongers are trying to link Paul to Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran so they can destroy his shaky credibility and unite the war party. Then, they'll try to do the same thing and link Hillary to Obama. It's a risky strategy but what else can they do?
Those anti-Paul commercials really surprised me. Rand Paul and Iranian nukes--who knew?
Your comment about politicians keeping the United States "on top of the pile which is what empires have always done" made me think about Ron Paul's various positions since we invaded Iraq in 2003. Intellectually, Rand Paul isn't close to his father.
150 years ago today, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. If Rand Paul was a real Neo-confederate, he would have been wearing a grey armband during his speech on the USS Yorktown. If he had given that speech at Ft. Meade, daddy would have disowned him.
Even 150 years later, Neo-confederates are still serious about the Civil War.
p.s. Ron Paul also sees the Federal Reserve Bank as a large part of the federal government's domestic and international power. His "End the Fed" campaign is really about limiting federal govt. power vs. those of the individual states. This also goes back to the Civil War and secession.
"Keeping the U.S. on top of the pile" using military means is how neoconfedrates like Ron Paul view the Civil War. To them, Lincolns aggression was the first step in what became the U.S. empire. That was followed by war against Native Americans, the Spanish-American war, WWI and WWII, Vietnam and finally, the war in Iraq. Dominating all others by military and economic means always aimed at growing the empire. A key to Ron Paul's thinking happened during the presidential debates in 2008. Paul made a comment objecting to U.S. troops in Iraq and Rudy Gulliani immediately went after him. To Ron Paul, George Bush sending the U.S. army into Iraq was similar to Abraham Lincoln sending the U.S. army into the Confederate States of America. To him, secession was legal so Lincoln was sending the army into another country. A true neoconfederate like Ron Paul would have seen Tom Cotton's letter as the next step in U.S. military aggression expanding the empire.
Obviously, Ron Paul is wrong in much of his thinking, but he is also VERY consistent.
On Meet the Press, Ron Paul blamed Abraham Lincoln for the Civil War. Neoconfederates like Paul can't help themselves. They always blame Lincoln. That's also the reason Rand Paul said each individual state should have the authority to decide Civil Rights and not the federal government--Confederate States Rights.
Ron Paul was 100% against the war in Iraq mainly because he didn't want the federal government to expand its power which is exactly what happened. Just look at Edward Snowden and the NSA. Paul's position also goes back to how he thinks about the Civil War and the expansion of federal power. "The Real Lincoln," a book by Thomas DeLorenzo gives a window into their thinking. Ron Paul believes these wars, civil rights and race relations all relate to the Constitution and the power of the federal government vs. individual states. Rand is pretty much of a sell out, but Ron Paul believes Southern States had the right to secede and Lincoln was the one who acted illegally.
Well, at least Paul didn't "shush" Savannah Guthrie when she zeroed in on his Iran flip-flop. "Testy" Rand is his new handle. Bibi has already given the word to Sheldon Adelson. No flip-flopping on Iran is allowed. Reporters will give "Testy" the Sparticus treatment, so all the other 'lil Republicans will get the message.
When Rand Paul signed Tom Cotton's letter the antiwar crowd dumped him in a heartbeat. He went from a 5 percenter down to a 2. His high water mark has come and gone. Antiwar Republicans have about the same lifespan as a housefly.
My access to this article was also blocked earlier.
IMO, Iran would be foolish to ever attack Israel because they would retaliate by using nuclear weapons--- hydrogen bombs. As Hillary Clinton put it, Iran would be "totally obliterated." Bibi Netanyahu and his Republican friends would like nothing better than an excuse to get into another war, but the Iranians are far too smart to fall into that trap.
On September 9, 2002, Judith Miller's aluminum tube article in the New York Times was key propaganda during the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. Parts of U.S. government often uses print and television media to influence public opinion. That's the reason I watch it.
Nuclear Iran is basically a Democratic and Republican split. Iraq WMDs was mostly one way. If Netanyahu hadn't purposely develop a hate relationship with Obama, he might not be in such a weaken position today. Bibi spoke to Congress and tinkled all over the POTUS when he did it. Obama just pissed back with a fire hose.
Saudi Arabia has softened its position. They want to "see what happens in terms of details." Saudi Arabia doesn't have an Iron Dome so they would be far more vulnerable to a nuclear armed Iran. Other than the U.S., Netanyahu will end up isolating Israel from other nations.
Bibi Netanyahu is scheduled to appear on both Meet the Press and Face the Nation every week until the Iranian NUKE BOMB crisis has been resolved in his favor.
The Republicans signed Tom Cotton's letter and with Bibi Netanyahu because they were certain Obama/Kerry would bring back a bad deal. Didn't happen, now they must defeat the bill or look even more ridiculous. Hillary Clinton couldn't have hope for anything better.
"BRING IT ON BOYS!!!"
During his video with Tom Friedman of the NY Times, Obama missed a golden opportunity to take a shot at one of the biggest hawks in journalism.
"By the end of June we will have the best opportunity to secure peace in the Middle East. Tom, in less than HALF A FRIEDMAN UNIT we could have peace for our time!!!"
The Republican party's unnatural coalition is under increasing stress. The somewhat more moderate Jeb Bush just did a two day flip-flop on the Indiana law but Mike Huckabee, an evangelical preacher, blamed the "militant gay community" for the Indiana backlash. Right now, the party backs Bibi Netanyahu against Obama's Iran deal, but how long before the domestic concerns provoke a bigger split?
The GOP would be much smaller without millions of evangelical voters. No guns and no bibles means no real power.
America has too many crazy war mongers with power for Iran to ever fully trust this country. Last week, before the agreement was signed, the NY Times and the Washington Post ran op-eds that claimed bombing Iran was the ONLY way to stop them from building a nuclear bomb.
The Republicans in Congress went way overboard hitching their wagon and future to Bibi Netanyahu, the messianic nutjob. This airtight nuclear deal will force the Republicans in Congress to defeat it with a veto proof majority and convince the public to support a war with Iran. If that doesn't happen, the Republicans will be soundly defeated in the next election and Hillary Clinton will be elected POTUS. Iran coming in to fight Daesh in Iraq looks like great strategy now.
Bibi and the Republicans are unable to name even one specific criticism about the centrifuges, 3.67% enriched uranium or the low grade uranium Iran will have left after getting rid of the other 98%. It's airtight and they know it. Obama punked the whole bunch of 'em.
By signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) Governor Pence hopes that will keep Indiana from being NUKED if Obama's deal with Iran falls apart. If Iran actually tests a nuclear weapon, Pence will vote in favor of stoning all Gays in the state. Ted Cruz wants to meet with the Guv. on Easter Sunday for a prayer meeting and to ask him to join his ticket.
48 hours later, I hope the Republicans have PROPAGANDA PLAN B ready to go....
"Ring Ring....Prime Minister Netanyahu calling...." PLEASE TELL ME, WHAT IS THE PLAN NOW???"
Unfortunately, Republican propaganda about Iran in Iraq has turned the fight against Daesh into a lose-lose situation for Obama. If Daesh is defeated, the Iranians are the reason. If Daesh remains in control of Mosul, Obama's poor CIC leadership is to blame.
spyguy, I'm not saying you're wrong about China. You said it best..."Extreme hubris is going to blow up in the USA face." The neocons and Bibi are bat-shit crazy and won't stop until that happens. No way they back off on their own.
spyguy, you make some good points about Iran supplying 10% of China's energy. I think the neoconservatives also have China in their sights. What better way to limit China's growing power than to restrict their energy. The neocons want to break down the Shanghai Cooperation Organization by regime changing Iran and Putin in Russia. Victoria Nuland and Ukraine are just on the back burner for now. Ditto for Obama's pivot to Asia.
Remember before the Iraq war one neoconservative saying "We're an EMPIRE now. We make our own reality." These people never go away.
THIS JUST IN:
General Darth Cheney has been spotted in a secret location somewhere in Kuwait preparing Halliburton's mobile STRIKE FORCE for the invasion. The general can't see Russia from his location, but numerous Iranian oil fields are visible. He has sent a message to all patriotic Americans....
"MEIN FUHRER, I CAN WALK!!!"
Invasion and regime change is the mad dog Republican answer to deep underground Iranian nuclear facilities. Long term occupation would help Iran's oil and natural gas flow to more friendly western countries. The neocon plan for Iraq's 112 billion barrels of oil reserves didn't pan out. This could be the round II.
Has anybody seen Darth Cheney?
What will happen if there is no deal, Yemen heats up and Iran ramps up enrichment of uranium? Bibi and the Saudi ambassador will be at the head of the Republican Congo line running down Pennsylvania ave.
China, Russia and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization plus Iran vs. the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia which doesn't factor in what's happening in eastern Ukraine with Putin and NATO. The perfect storm is brewing in Yemen, Iran and Ukraine.
Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012 realized Evangelical voters play a big role in the early Republican primaries. In 2016, Ted Cruz is trying to expand on the strategy. Your video takes place in the Baptist megachurch in Irving, Texas---that's Dallas. 10,000 members... Big D is the center of the bible thumpin' movement of the whole country. The Texas primary is March 1, 2016...Cruz is no dummy. He plans to beat Jeb Bush in the heart of Bush country. If he doesn't win, a VP slot will work just fine. The Republicans need the Latino vote, especially Cubans in Florida.
The Young Turks are beyond smug. geez
Cruz is courtin' the evangelical vote in Iowa and South Carolina. He wants to get head up with Jeb Bush and attack him over amnesty and common core. That's the only way Cruz thinks he can win the nomination.
If he wants Sheldon Adelson's $100 million , Jeb Bush would be foolish to agree with James Baker or even admit he knows him.
"James Baker is just a family friend and MUCH closer to my dad. They're about the same age too....90."
Commercial pilots are extensively tested so, for the most part, they are level headed and don't suffer from depression, mental and/or physical illness or drug and/or alcohol addiction etc. etc. etc. None of the above applies to non-commercial/government pilots. Other than those exceptions, many pilots are totally batshit crazy.
p.s. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the Republican wind blows.
Lindsey Graham will be beside himself. This news isn't just "ironic in the extreme," it means the U.S. has allied with the Iranians trying to drive Daesh out of Tikrit. If Graham is on the Sunday morning talk shows perhaps a courageous reporter will ask him why didn't Iran just drop one of their NUCLEAR BOMBS on Tikrit instead of calling on U.S. airstrikes?
Does Cruz speak in the tongues? These Republican thumpers are like the mutants worshipping the bomb in Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
JEB Bush was also born and raised down there. Texas politicians never got over losing at the Alamo AND the Civil War. That John Wayne movie made it even worse.
I mean George is a carpetbagger with two yankee parents and Cruz is a Cuban from Canada with a Commie parent, but he did go to high school in Texas, sooo he's probably got the war fever too. It's a good thing Cruz is a 2%er. He'll drop out of the race after New Hampshire.
Iran is the new Republican bogeyman in Iraq. If Daesh is defeated in Tikrit, the new bad guys take the hit. If not, the Republicans point the finger of blame at Obama. So, no matter what happens in Tikrit, the Republicans are hoping for a win-win situation.
Whether they are Sunni or Shia, the Republicans must ALWAYS have new BAD GUYS to fight.
Tom Friedman, Bibi Netanyahu and their neocon friends are the ones at the "Dead-End in the Middle East" because Obama's strategy to fight ISIS allowed Iran to come in and should help his nuclear deal become a reality and soon. I can understand how any neoconservative worth his weight in dog poop would be beside himself at this point.
When the nuclear deal with Iran does go down I just hope Tom Friedman, Bibi Netanyahu, David Petraeus, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham and John McCain don't commit MASS SUICIDE.
DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID FELLAS!!!
Measuring Iran's nuclear program could be simplified if their progress was put into different units of time.
"Tom, in Friedman unit terms how close is Iran to making an ATOMIC BOMB???"
"LESS THAN 2." š
I think you're right. And John Boehner invited Bibi knowing what he would say because it's all part of their plan to deal with Iran and the Palestinians at the same time.
After hearing Tom Cotton's speech advocating U.S. "global military dominance," I think Netanyahu's victory will become part of the longer term plan in both countries.
Instead of starting a war with Iran, Bibi was really giving his farewell address when he spoke to Congress and received all those standing ovations. It doesn't get any better.
That's the real meaning of the 47 letter. If American politicians decide Iran's nuclear program needs a military solution that will be done. International law is for other countries, the little countries.
Tom Cotton and the 47 spoke the truth.
Rather than show decline, Tom Cotton's letter indicates how far the Republicans will go to block a nuclear deal with Iran and start war instead. That' why I said it was "scary stuff."
Scary stuff. Not only does Tom Cotton have a Harvard Law degree, he also has a VERY impressive combat record in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cotton is well educated and had to know EXACTLY what he was doing when he sent that letter.
It will happen and probably before the end of the year. Without Mosul, their hold on 1/3 of the country will evaporate. Like Quax says, they are overstretched and starting to turn on themselves. Daesh is outgunned and outnumbered. Every Iraqi push will take more and more ground until Daesh breaks. It might happen suddenly.
The politicians and the media play up each bad guy threat until the next one comes along.
What happens in Iraq after Daesh is defeated will be up to the Iraqis and only the Iraqis. For the U.S., defeating Daesh, especially with Iranian aid, will throw a big monkey wrench into Netanyahu's and the Republican plans for war. Obama's decision to bomb Daesh is working as well as could be expected. Mosul is next.
Once Daesh is driven out of Iraq, basically they'll be trapped in eastern Syria with limited sources of revenue and realistically not much of a threat to anyone. Daesh will have their military capability degraded and end up being a 'lil pissant bunch of Sunni fanatics. Their European warriors will go home.
The P5+1 group isn't much different than the E.U. to the neocons and diplomats like Victoria (Fuck the E.U.) Nuland. What happened in Ukraine is just a taste of what might happen in Iran.
"We don't need no stinkin' badges" and we don't need no stinkin' laws. The war in Iraq proved that international laws are just for the little countries. The United States can start any war, anytime with anybody and nobody can do anything about it.
The neocons probably want to deal with the "crisis" in Ukraine before Iran. After all, Putin is not only challenging the neos coup, he has taken over a lot of territory. That's a hot conflict and the situation between Iran, Iraq and Daesh is complicated.
June, 2014, right after Mosul fell to the ISIS bad guys.
"The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure Baghdad doesn't fall. We need to coordinate with the Iranians." Sen. Lindsey Graham
Last week..."The enemy of your enemy is your enemy." Bibi Netanyahu The all time flip-flop because it can be used against any group in the Middle East depending on the military situation at that particular time.
Here's how that works: If ISIS reverses their numerous setbacks in Syria and Iraq AND begins another drive toward Baghdad, we would need to work with Iran to make sure Baghdad didn't fall just like Sen. Graham suggested last June. But once the ISIS drive on Baghdad peters out and the Shiites move toward Tikrit and Mosul, "FLIP-FLOP" Iran becomes the threat.
It's the Middle East version of the ground hog movie.
John McCain and Lindsey Graham can't be too happy about this development. geez Neither can Bibi Netanyahu unless Iran goes overboard and drops one of their NUCLEAR BOMBS on Tikrit.
"Do YOU Americans believe me NOW?" Your friend forever, Bibi.