Contrary to many pundits opinions, Obama's Syria strategy seems to be working. It does not allow us to beat our chest and claim "we won, we're number one!" But slowly and surely and covertly Daesh is being defeated, and with a minimal cost in US lives and treasure. And we are avoiding another quagmire. Just sorry that most Americans will not appreciate the success of that policy; and sorry it took Obama so long to learn how to stand up to the military-industrial complex.
Just one more example of how the lackeys of the main stream media can manipulate and distort news to favor the establishment. The American public has been manipulated like this for many years.
As I recall, partition of some sort was the original Biden plan for Iraq. It might have prevented the rise of Daesh there, and partion or federalism might work in Syria, and perhaps other middle east countries with badly drawn boundaries as well, although the African version does not seem to be working particularly well right now. Remember that European boundaries (and US) are largely the result of warfare.
What we do not need is a doer who sells out to Wall Street and screws the middle class like the Clintons. why won' t Hillary release those secret transcripts of what she promised W all Street in exchange for more than $20,000,000 in "campaign contributios" and $2,000,000 directly into her own, personal account? I would rather lose with bernie to someone who at least admits being a Republican tool of Wall Street than support the dishonesty of Hillary's secret pact with Wall Street. We get screwed either way.
PA politicians have a vested interest in keeping alive the myth of the two state solution. But that idea is dead. It was killed long ago and Netanyahu' disasterous polcies merely put the nails in the coffin. These PA politicians want to hold on to their perks, privileges and incomes.
An obvious point that is, unfortunately lost on all of the Republican candidates and their supporters ( and to a large extent Hillary also, despite her tenure as Secretary of State).
The EU is not as subject to the fear of the Israel Lobby as the US government is, so why do they continue the two state fantasy? The two state solution died long ago and Netnayahu buried it so deep it cannot possibly be resurrected. The Palestinian struggle should now be viewed as a civil rights struggle within the single state.
When someone as out of touch with reality as Friedman usually is admits that the two state solution is dead, you can take it to the bank. The big question now is when Abbas will admit it and allow his sinecure to expire, and when will young Palestinians take over and openly convert their cause to a real civil rights struggle in the single state. When that happens American politicians will finally have to face up to the fact that their repeated incantation of the ever more impossible "two state solution" has really been a cover for supporting apartheid. And perhaps the rest of America will wake up.
Hard to believe that this is the same man who was successful for years in pursuing peace with the Kurds and good relations with all his neighbors and in the process performing a small economic miracle in Turkey. Has he lost his mind? Has something drastically altered his thinking? Or was he always like this at heart and just hiding it until he had consolidated power? Whatever it was, Erdogan is becoming increasingly deranged and dangerous. Not, of course, that various Europeans don't need to be taken to task on their mishandling of the refugee crisis.
Why isn't the car incident in Las Vegas a terrorist act? How about the Planned Parenthood shooter? Should we be declaring war on homeless people or fundamentalist Christians? Or is there no "story with legs" there?
War scares are great for big business (and many small contractors and consultants too). The big-corporate owned media just want eyeballs on their websites, pages, and tv programs. Horse races in politics and fantasy war reporting attracts visitors. Sensible, fact-based reporting does not. The major media play to the lowest common denominator in American prejudice and fear and , unfortunately, it works for them. Like many things in life, people tend to get what they deserve or what they will put up with.
Although I disagree with much of what Obama has done, and failed to do, this time he is absolutely right. His honest assessment will be ridiculed, overshadowed by media reports from the fear-mongers or just buried.
Nothing new here. Schumer has two masters he always answers to - Wall Street and AIPAC. The only surprise here is that his Wall Street owners didn't push harder for the banks to get in on all of those upcoming financial deals with Iran. Hopefully, other Dems will now dump Schumer.
Anything is possible, but all the evidence slowly accumulated over the years points to the fact that everyone in power knew that Japanese surrender was imminent , especially after the Russian declaration of war. On the other hand, far more civilians were killed in the horrific firebombings (Tokyo, Dresden, etc.) by the allies for the same political , terrorist purpose. The real horror was not the numbers so much as the launching of the age of weapons of mass destruction aimed at civilian populations.
Are you forgetting that Israel regularly threatens to bomb Iran? Since Iran has no significant offensive air force to return such an attack, ICBMs make perfect sense as a deterrent to Israeli aggression.
The two state solution is no longer practicable. The world must face the reality that one de facto state exists. The object now should be to acheive full citizenship and full civil, political, and human rights for all the people of that single state. This is now a civil rights issue, not a statehood issue.
A very good article, but, I believeit is incomplete. The Quran , as I understand it, like the Bible, contains many contradictory passages. Both require historical context and both require interpretation. ( Passages in the Bible Require homosexuals to be killed, e.g. )I have read that there are many passages inthe Quran that Daesh and others can and do use to justify their conduct. One article or even one book is probably insufficient to clarify the issue.
I agree. During my visit to the West Bank , it was obvious that the Palestinians are every bit as intelligent, motivated and entrepreneurial as Israelis. They are just as devoted to the education and advancement of their children and young people. It was obvious to me that one of the motivations in the mistreatment and subjugation of the Palestinians was to prevent economic competition just as it is one of the main motivations of the moves against Iran. Israel fears loss of its economic preeminence in the area almost as much as loss of military superiority.
Bibi is quite right that the nuclear deal with Iran is a threat to the existence of " his"Israel. Netanyahu's Israel is an Israel of apartheid, Jim Crow, open air prison in Gaza, slow ethnic cleansing , continuing colonization and endless aggressions to acheive the ambition of the "greater Israel".
Let us hope that the rumored agreement between Netanyahu and Abbas about not filing any cases in exchange for release of impounded tax funds is not true.
The WaPo points out today that a recent survey shows that Americans endorse the idea of a nuclear deal with Iran by 2 to 1. This despite the best efforts of Republicans, Democrat neocons and the right wing main stream US media to derail the deal. It just shows that , when it comes to dealing with any issue that has a strong lobby, whether Israel, guns, or banking, it is public be dammed as far as our craven politicians are concerned.
Why do people keep talking about the "two state solution?" It is dead as a doornail. It was killed long ago. And the "peace process?" That is just a euphemism for the ongoing apartheid and colonization process. The only realistic solution is a single secular state with equal rights for all.
Everyone who pays attention knows that there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program. It ended in 2003 when the big lie of the Iraq WMD program was exposed. It may very well have been started defensively back then by Iranian military without authorization from the politicians and the Supreme leader and fear of internal repercussions against those responsible for that old program may be the reason there are still attempts to hide that program from discovery.
Every intelligence agency in the world says there is no current Iranian nuclear weapons program , including the US and the Israeli Mossad. Netanyahu and Likud desperately need an "existential threat" to deflect world attention from their colonization program and mistreatment of Palestinians and to distract Israelis from the rank corruption of the Israeli establishment and dramatic economic disparity in Israel. Craven US and European politicians go along with this Myth of an Iranian threat for their own reasons , mainly political survival and fundraising.
Netnayahu and the Republicans have clearly overreached here and the fallout should be significant. I am greatly and pleasantly surprised that, for once, Obama seems to have the wisdom and courage to do the right thing on a major issue. Let us hope he doesn't back down and engage in his usual premature capitulation to the right wingers.
Muslim sectarian fighting and politics are a very complicated affair. Moreover most people and organizations do change wit time and changing circumstances, Does anyone really doubt that Israel would drop its alignment to the West and shift toward China in an instant if it was deemed in its own interest or the interest of its establishment, as an example. The US still supports dictators in Egypt, Bahrein, Saudi-Arabia and other countries where it suits the establishment needs. The rest of us are just taken along for the ride.
Lyndon Johnson, despite his many flaws and despite the disasterous Vietnam war, was the real hero of the civil rights movement. Without his leadership and arm twisting the Civil Rights Act would never have been passed. And he was well aware of the later political cost especially in the South. Kennedy was too self interested to push the legislation.
Chaos scares people. History shows that people will always trade civil and political liberties for order and stability. Americans didn't even need actual chaos. We just needed our right wing politicians - Republicans and Democrats alike - and the right wing media to fill us with fear and we surrendered many liberties with hardly a murmer. There has not even been an outcry over Obama's newly created Presidential right to order the killing of anyone, anywhere without a shred of Due Process - including American citizens and children.
I believe the increasing disparity becomes worse as you move up the ladder, so the top1% are far worse and the top 0.1% worst of all. Our tax system is crazily skewed to enhance this disparity.
Bethlehem is just too close to Jerusalem. So Israel has done its best to make it ugly with the apartheid wall and very difficult to access with their strangulation checkpoint.
aThe Koch brothers are also into solar - as long as it is produced in giant arrays which they own and control. The battle has shifted to preventing individual solar setups which the Kochs and their ilk can't make money from. Actually the most efficient generation is small and local, but the big guys are fighting it tooth and nail and even trying to charge people who have their own panels for connecting to the grid and reverse the policy in Colorado which requires utilities to reimburse those individual homeowners who produce power back into the grid.
No matter which Republican gets the lion's share, Hillary Clinton has already gotten a ton of it in advance payment and her husband in payoff for services rendered.
It is the craven governments of these European countries that are the problem, not the populations. And while we are at it, the US should be forced to join the court. It is the only way we will ever get prosecutions of the US toturers that Obama has immunized.
So much of what goes on in politics is personal. Only someone who has actually been tortured can really speak honestly to the issue, and oppose his own party line. I doubt that his neocon, chickenhawk shadow Lindsay Graham will agree with him on this one.
If we can deal openly with China we certainly can and should be dealing openly with Iran on such issues of common concern, despite right wing extremists in this country.
Bacevich (and , of course Juan Cole being another) is one of the few voices of sanity in our public discourse today, and he occasionally is actually given a public forum to speak from. Unfortunately it is usually something like Bill Moyers' show or Tom Dispatch where he is just preaching to the choir.
Yes, the suggested deal would be in US interests; but it is not in the interest of Netanyahu and the Likud party, and they, after all set US policy on this issue, not Americans. A deal with Iran would remove Netanyahu's main talking point to distract world attention from the apartheid, open air prison and Jim Crow policies of his government, therfore hw will not allow a deal in the US interest, and Obama, like the Presidents before him, will follow orders.
Bennet is correct that the two state solution is already dead.It was killed by the Israeli colonization project. The only solution now is a single secular state from the Med to the Jordan with equal rights for all. The anti-apartheid, civil rights push must beginnow. Israeli right wing hardliners successfully killed the two state solution and now must learn to live with the consequences.
Don't forget Blair is still some sort of official envoy in the middle east for the EU. No wonder things are falling apart as his lines his pockets. The man is a menace and should be hiding in disgrace.
The US has long suffered from the illusion that human nature is the same everywhere and our culture is the ultimate aim of all mankind. Local cultures are simply irrelevant or at least subject to the mind bending manipulation by advertising and propaganda that has has characterized American culture and worked so well for the elite here.
Actually, success or failure overseas is not important since it can always be spun by the media. What is important is how much money can be made along the way, and who gets to make it.
True, but in principle, there is no negative connotation to the historical symbol of the swastika. WWII pitted the allied forces against the axis forces and GWB ( or more accurately his speechwriter) coined the term " axis of evil." I was just wondering.
I am intrigued by the headline. Did Iran use the Farsi word for "axis" or " " alliance" ? Was the use of the word "axis" with its negative connotations a deliberate choice?
Of course, Obama will veto the resolution (unless the US can strongarm enough other members to oppose it). But it is not just a spineless Obama. Every President since Truman has kowtowed to the Israeli right wing with the possible exception of the elder Bush and Carter. ( both were made to pay for it).
more to the point is the fact that Israel and the US have managed to coopt the PA through the Quisling Abbas. He seems much more interested in playing the "peace process" game and retaining his perks than in actually accomplishing something for the Palestinians. He is in office illegally, his term having expired many years ago. The Democratic will of the Palestinian people has been repeatedly thwarted. Ther is little or no hope as long as the Quisling regime is in power.
One of the most important aspects of democracy is transparency. Given the fact that the Republicans Justices have shredded the Constitution to allow big money to infect politics like a cancer, full transparency is the only defense left. That will require a much more committed and aggressive press than we now have in the US or more groups willing to do the work and take the information to the internet.
despite some horrible atrocities and Jews and Palestinians must also. A single state is now the only available option and the only question is whether it will be initially an apartheid state - a situation the world will not long tolerate - or the single secular state with equal rights for all which is eventually inevitable. The longer the occupation and the. more fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins and friends of everyday Palestinians are killed, the longer the healing process will be.
The author is mostly right about the causes of the situation. He left out the other Sharon motive for the Gaza withdrawal, namely Sharon making the grand move to present a situation where he could avoid indictment for bribery. Nonetheless, the prescription is wrong. The two state solution is dead; killed by the West Bank colonization project. Americans of the North and South and blacks and whites in theAmerican South eventually learned to livetogether
Very true, but at the same time, unions need to realize that this is the 21st century and modernize their procedures and style to become relevant. With weak unions, since Reagan declared war on them, we have managed to go a long way toward destroying the middle class by wealth and income transfers to the 1%.
Unfortunately, almost all of our information on ISIL comes from the media which, to my mind , has no credibility at all. Who really knows if even the horribly immoral beheadings were actually ISIL or simply some individual nut case on his own? My cynical approach to the media may be excessive, or maybe not.
This may be the future of American power in the world. Aligning clandestinely with anyone, friend or foe, whose interests coincide with ours at the moment. A vast improvement over the George W days of "bomb and invade", but rather dangerous in a democracy that requires transparency and open discussion in order to function freely as originally intended.
Boycotts worked on South Africa to end apartheid there, and they can work on Israel too. Economic damage to their own personal interests are the only language that the corrupt leaders of Israel ( as well as those of the PA, US and almost every other country) understand. Damage to their economy and the finances of the average person is at most a minor inconvenience to them , to be managed and spun, but damage to their own interests gets results.
The real question is " why does the US media continue to parrot the hard right line and feed it to. the gullible American public?" Is it afraid of AIPAC ? Is it bought off? Do the publishers really believe this line ( the reporters on the ground certainly know better) ? Is it in the interests of their owners in the military - industrial - security complex? There must be a reason that such distortion is so widespread and continues.
I have to wonder what Obama's real motivation was. Gross violations of the Constitution have not been a problem for him. Remember that he created the "right" of the US President to order the killing of anyone, anywhere , anytime, including US citizens without a shred of Due Process. Perhaps he was just sticking a thumb in the Republicans' eye for all the impeachment and lawsuit nonsense.
This appears to be an acceptance of the Israeli idea of separating the West Bank Palestinians from the Gaza Palestinians. Do you really think that the Palestinian problem should be looked at and "solved" piecemeal like that? Maybe it should, but I have always thought of it as a single issue. Israel clearly has a very significant interest in separating and demonizing Gaza while trying to tame the West Bank and get them to accept permanent apartheid.
Excellent article and analysis of the cunning psych-ops nature of the hasbara agencies aided by the US media. The Israeli hasbara machine is well aware of the susceptibility of the average American to this sort of below the radar innuendo. It worked for Republicans since Nixon.
It is a true, but sad commentary on the state of US media that one gets more actual facts about the conflict form Israeli press (which is heavily government censored) than from any US media. The American public overwhelmingly supports Israel in large part because of this constant propaganda campaign. The campaign consists of some clear untruths ( like the Diane Sawyer thing) , a lot of misinformation and distortion and lots of simply omitting the facts. This hasbara campaign is the greatest shame of a shameful US industry.
Netanyahu is now totally out of control. The kidnapping of innocent youths, for whatever purpose, is a dastardly crime that should be pursued and the criminals punished. But the pogrom that Bibi Netanyahu has started is beyond all reason. The illegal, immoral, and inhumane searches , harassment and killing of innocent Palestinians is clearly a war crime and a crime against humanity. All those responsible for these acts of state terrorism should be brought to account in world justice, starting with Netanyahu, whose motive is simply political self-preservation at any cost.
This raises the serious question of just what has happened to Erdogan? For years he was a model of Islamic political moderation and governmental success. Suddenly, it seems, everything in Turkey is going off the rails. Did all this really coincide with the break with Israel, or am I just suffering from a distorted memory? There is no question that either Erdogan has had a dramatic change or the coverage of him has.
It is not an argument and never has been. It is a ploy by Netanyahu to divert world attention from illegal and immoral Israeli actions. Craven politicians in the US and Europe have gone along with the lie even though they knew better since their own intelligence services told them repeatedly that there was no Iranian nuclear weapons program? Why? Was it guilt, fear of political or financial backlash or some other reason? Whatever the reason, the Netanyahu big lie is now fully exposed and the world is waking up, except , of course for the US politicians, especially the bought and sold Congress.
Israel seems to see BDS as its biggest threat ( even more than the phony Iranian nuclear weapon threat) and is devoting considerable effort and money trying to demonize and combat the movement. Just as in South Africa, there will be no change in Israeli intransigence until the 1% who run Israel , just like in the US, begin to feel it in their purses. Forget the useless "peace process" which is nothing but cover for Israeli colonization and apartheid. The movement is growing and it is the only real chance for peace.
The author did fail to mention that the Hamas takeover in Gaza was the result of winning a battle after an attempted Fatah coup sponsored by the US. But Palestinian reconciliation is a danger to the Israeli plan of dividing the Palestinians into as many smaller groups as possible to maintain their superior position, just as Colonial plutocrats in America sought to divide the indentured whites and the black slaves.
Also, there is the option of Hamas adopting and agreeing to every prior Israeli PLO agreement which Israel has actually honored. That would leave them right where they are now.
The PA is a farce and has been for a long time. Giving back the keys and starting a civil rights movement for equal civil,political, and human rights for all in the single country is the only move that makes sense for the Palestinian people. But, I agree with the other commentators that the Quisling Fatah bosses will not easily give up their perks and graft.
He is, after all, being sent to the UN, not as ambassador to the US. This is just one more reason why the UN should move out of New York to a neutral country like Switzerland. The UN is becoming embarassing to us anyway as it increasingly becomes the US and Israel against the world.I am sure they have outgrown tha t old building anyway; a good excuse to move without the US losing too much face.
Once Obama reneged on his 2008 promise to use federal financing for his campaign and instead went hat in hand and sold his soul to Wall Street for "contributions", and the stupid progressives still voted for him ( I was one of them), it was game over. Now every politician is free to sell himself (and his district, state, and/or country) to the highest bidder and still get away with it.
I am not sure I agree that no Palestinians would vote to accede to Israel. I believe a substantial minority have given up all hope of a real two state solution , and favor a single state with citizenship and full political, civil, and human rights for all.
It seems clear that Netanyahu created the new demand for Palestine to recognize Israel as the "Jewish State" as a poison pill to kill any chance at a Palestinian State and try to shift the blame for that failure to the Palestinians. He was deathly afraid that a combination of US pressure and unbelievable "moderation" on the part of Abbas would leave him in the position of clearly being the rejectionist. The new demand was brilliant in a way since it looks so innocuous on its face, and many lazy people will not be able to understand why it is inherently impossible.
Trade and energy issues aside, Europe suffered the devastation of two wars in the last century and will do anything to avoid another. Yes , the US also suffered and lost millions of soldiers, but all the actual fighting and devastation took place over rhere. One thing not in short supply in Washington is chickenhawks, only too anxious for someone ele to do the fighting and dying while they cash in.
Netanyahu has never deviated from his often stated position that he would never permit a real Palestinian state. The whole purpose of the " peace process" is to mollify the rest of the world while Israeli life and policies go on. It is an exercise in trying to find a formula to create a legal cover for an apartheid state and eliminating all Palestinians from any power or rights in Israel.
All of Obama's policies have benefited the super rich. Obamacare is a gift of tens of billions in taxpayer money to the greedy, useless private insurance and drug companies, sugarcoated with a few minor benefits to real people to try to hide its real purpose. Larry Summers, Bernanke, Geithner and all the other Rubin acolytes who formed Obama's economic team was the greatest gift the super rich could possibly have had. Their policies bailed out the super rich by transferring the wealth of the middle class to the 1%, not to mention immunizing all the Wall Street crooks from criminal prosecution. No Republican could have done more for the super rich.
How can the US government not see? We should br pressing The Egyptian military toget outofgovernment. We should also be sanctioning and pressing the despoticgovernments in Saudi-Arabia, Bahrein, and the other Gulf states to democratize, and stop arming them. We should stop supporting despots for the sake of the big corporations that run our foreign policy. Other than that, we should stay out of the way. We have screwed up every middle east country and conflict we have interfered in.
Putting one's own political and financial interest above that of the American people is shameful, and Schumer, Menendez, and their ilk should be voted out of office. Schumer, in particular , is noted for his two great legislative goals - catering to the Israel Lobby and catering to Wall Street. He is despicable.
Very good article raising one of the great issues facing the US and the rest of the West and ultimately the world. Robotic is one of the great boons and one of the greatest challenges to humanity. The long delayed promise of producing more with less labor is fast becoming a reality. Capitalism, as we know it, cannot continue. More production capacity and fewer consumers is recipe for disaster. The suggestion of paid consumers is one possible response. The national GDP , income and wealth may very well increase, but the increasing maldistribution must be addressed.
Another important result could be that, without the distraction of the phony Iranian nuclear threat, the world might turn its attention to the apartheid and land and water theft by Israel; especially since Israeli obstructionism on the deal irritated so many Europeans, and will ultimately embarass France for its participation in the obstruction.
. US support for Israel and the Gulf monarchy despots will probably increase now to atone for the Iran deal and thus prevent any improvment in relations in the middle east in general, but your more specific geopolitical improvments where interests actually coincide do seem very likely to occur.
One other question. I thought the original "intercept" that confirmed the use of chemical weapons was a senior Syrian Army official berating a local commander fo sing the chemical weapons. If so , it confirmed the use of chemical weapons, but also showed that (at least in the quantity used) it was contrary to Assad's policy. Which would make striking Assad questionable at best. All mention or discussion of that intercept seems to have disappeared.
Professor Cole
I thought that the main problem was that Assad, and more importantly the other Alewhites around him who may actually be running things, see this as a life or death struggle. That they see no possible life as they know if they are not in charge. Any compromise would mean their having to accept the status of , at best, a very marginalized and persecuted minority, at least in their eyes. So compromise is simply not possible to them. It is life or death and no holds barred. Am I wrong? Or how far off the mark is this view?
I thought that he intercepted call was a senior Syrian Army official berating the local Army commander for the chemical attack as being apparently contrary to Syrian government policy. Am I wrong? The actual intercept contents seem to have disappeared from the debate.
It is not odd to see the reaction to the buses. The sold out US MSM has spread the hasbara line for so long that many Americans actually believe that the Palestinians in the West Bank are illegally occupying Israeli land and have no true concept of occupied and occupier.The endless repitition of the hasbara line along with the notoriously short American attention span, has dulled their senses.
All Americans , on the other hand, are familiar with the history of segregated buses and Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement. Since they can identify with it, they are rightfully outraged.
If the MSM did an accurate, truthful and fair job of reporting on the occupation, the apartheid conditions, and the true nature of the conflict, they would be similarly outraged over the occupation and colonization.
While the Senators , and even Juan, seem satisfied with Holder's statement, I find it appalling and very scary indeed. Saying that the President "does not have the authority to drone to death an innocent noncombatant," he leaves all American citizens vulnerable. All the President apparently needs to do is to secretly declare some citizen an unlawful combatant based on secret information with no Due Process and no Judicial, Congressional or public oversight, and then the President does have the authority to drone him to death while he is sitting peacefully in a cafe eating breakfast. That is the clear import of Holder's carefully worded statement. We should all feel endangered, since Al Awaki's killing , and that of his nephew show that action is not required to make the kill list, only speech considered to be inciting by some anonymous government official in secret.
I usually agree Juan, but this time I think he missed the point. Not because I agree with Chavez's erratic foreign policy, but because I think he misses the point of it. During the cold war, the US loudly supported any leader who was anti communist from the Shah in Iran to Mubarak in Egypt the military right wing in Guatemala and other Latin American countries. The US supported dictators who were truly evil, looted their countries and slaughtered their people and acted contrary to all American values because we (or at least our government) thought that opposing communism was the overriding issue and the primary test of US support (why do we now support the despot in Bahrain?). Chavez was a lousy manager and caused economic chaos in Venezuela (with , I am sure ,the help of lots of covert US activity) and his foreign policy, even by his own standards, was erratic, but he was following the same path since he believed that stopping US imperialism was the most important world goal.
Perhaps this answers the big unanswered question of why Ambassador Stevens was at that undefended consulate practically alone on 9/11. He had all the intelligence and knew the risks more than anyone else. Perhaps he thought the CIA base provided enough protection.
Speaking of killing people to get elected, Dems should remember that JFK , according to insiders, had decided to get out of Vietnam because it was a mistake, but not until after he was reelected so the Republicans couldn't us the "he lost Vietnam " argument against him in the election. Thus he deliberately killed not only Vietnamese, but American servicemen as well just for political purposes.
Please note an article in today's Haaretz in which a senior IDF officer appears to admit that they are planning the next Lebanon war and planning to commit war crimes.
Obama saw that Bill Clinton went from $400,000 in debt (legal fees) when he left the White House to a net worth over $100,000,000 eight years later (per Hillary's disclosure statement in 2008) without having a job or clear source of income. This was his reward for catering to the super rich, the corporations, the banksters, and the lobbies. Obama is no fool. He obviously hopes to do at least as well, hence the catering to the same groups. The American people have not had a real voice in their government for at least 30 years.
It would be nice to think that our presidents are at least concerned about their place in history, but the facts say it is all about the money. Sad to say, the only recent presidents who seemed concerned about history were the Republican trio of Reagan, Bush, the elder (and best of the bunch) and George W Bush.
Contrary to many pundits opinions, Obama's Syria strategy seems to be working. It does not allow us to beat our chest and claim "we won, we're number one!" But slowly and surely and covertly Daesh is being defeated, and with a minimal cost in US lives and treasure. And we are avoiding another quagmire. Just sorry that most Americans will not appreciate the success of that policy; and sorry it took Obama so long to learn how to stand up to the military-industrial complex.
Just one more example of how the lackeys of the main stream media can manipulate and distort news to favor the establishment. The American public has been manipulated like this for many years.
As I recall, partition of some sort was the original Biden plan for Iraq. It might have prevented the rise of Daesh there, and partion or federalism might work in Syria, and perhaps other middle east countries with badly drawn boundaries as well, although the African version does not seem to be working particularly well right now. Remember that European boundaries (and US) are largely the result of warfare.
What we do not need is a doer who sells out to Wall Street and screws the middle class like the Clintons. why won' t Hillary release those secret transcripts of what she promised W all Street in exchange for more than $20,000,000 in "campaign contributios" and $2,000,000 directly into her own, personal account? I would rather lose with bernie to someone who at least admits being a Republican tool of Wall Street than support the dishonesty of Hillary's secret pact with Wall Street. We get screwed either way.
PA politicians have a vested interest in keeping alive the myth of the two state solution. But that idea is dead. It was killed long ago and Netanyahu' disasterous polcies merely put the nails in the coffin. These PA politicians want to hold on to their perks, privileges and incomes.
An obvious point that is, unfortunately lost on all of the Republican candidates and their supporters ( and to a large extent Hillary also, despite her tenure as Secretary of State).
The EU is not as subject to the fear of the Israel Lobby as the US government is, so why do they continue the two state fantasy? The two state solution died long ago and Netnayahu buried it so deep it cannot possibly be resurrected. The Palestinian struggle should now be viewed as a civil rights struggle within the single state.
When someone as out of touch with reality as Friedman usually is admits that the two state solution is dead, you can take it to the bank. The big question now is when Abbas will admit it and allow his sinecure to expire, and when will young Palestinians take over and openly convert their cause to a real civil rights struggle in the single state. When that happens American politicians will finally have to face up to the fact that their repeated incantation of the ever more impossible "two state solution" has really been a cover for supporting apartheid. And perhaps the rest of America will wake up.
Hard to believe that this is the same man who was successful for years in pursuing peace with the Kurds and good relations with all his neighbors and in the process performing a small economic miracle in Turkey. Has he lost his mind? Has something drastically altered his thinking? Or was he always like this at heart and just hiding it until he had consolidated power? Whatever it was, Erdogan is becoming increasingly deranged and dangerous. Not, of course, that various Europeans don't need to be taken to task on their mishandling of the refugee crisis.
Why isn't the car incident in Las Vegas a terrorist act? How about the Planned Parenthood shooter? Should we be declaring war on homeless people or fundamentalist Christians? Or is there no "story with legs" there?
War scares are great for big business (and many small contractors and consultants too). The big-corporate owned media just want eyeballs on their websites, pages, and tv programs. Horse races in politics and fantasy war reporting attracts visitors. Sensible, fact-based reporting does not. The major media play to the lowest common denominator in American prejudice and fear and , unfortunately, it works for them. Like many things in life, people tend to get what they deserve or what they will put up with.
Although I disagree with much of what Obama has done, and failed to do, this time he is absolutely right. His honest assessment will be ridiculed, overshadowed by media reports from the fear-mongers or just buried.
If they agree to censor the truth at the behest of the occupier,
they should go on the BDS list.
Nothing new here. Schumer has two masters he always answers to - Wall Street and AIPAC. The only surprise here is that his Wall Street owners didn't push harder for the banks to get in on all of those upcoming financial deals with Iran. Hopefully, other Dems will now dump Schumer.
Anything is possible, but all the evidence slowly accumulated over the years points to the fact that everyone in power knew that Japanese surrender was imminent , especially after the Russian declaration of war. On the other hand, far more civilians were killed in the horrific firebombings (Tokyo, Dresden, etc.) by the allies for the same political , terrorist purpose. The real horror was not the numbers so much as the launching of the age of weapons of mass destruction aimed at civilian populations.
Are you forgetting that Israel regularly threatens to bomb Iran? Since Iran has no significant offensive air force to return such an attack, ICBMs make perfect sense as a deterrent to Israeli aggression.
The two state solution is no longer practicable. The world must face the reality that one de facto state exists. The object now should be to acheive full citizenship and full civil, political, and human rights for all the people of that single state. This is now a civil rights issue, not a statehood issue.
A very good article, but, I believeit is incomplete. The Quran , as I understand it, like the Bible, contains many contradictory passages. Both require historical context and both require interpretation. ( Passages in the Bible Require homosexuals to be killed, e.g. )I have read that there are many passages inthe Quran that Daesh and others can and do use to justify their conduct. One article or even one book is probably insufficient to clarify the issue.
I agree. During my visit to the West Bank , it was obvious that the Palestinians are every bit as intelligent, motivated and entrepreneurial as Israelis. They are just as devoted to the education and advancement of their children and young people. It was obvious to me that one of the motivations in the mistreatment and subjugation of the Palestinians was to prevent economic competition just as it is one of the main motivations of the moves against Iran. Israel fears loss of its economic preeminence in the area almost as much as loss of military superiority.
Bibi is quite right that the nuclear deal with Iran is a threat to the existence of " his"Israel. Netanyahu's Israel is an Israel of apartheid, Jim Crow, open air prison in Gaza, slow ethnic cleansing , continuing colonization and endless aggressions to acheive the ambition of the "greater Israel".
Let us hope that the rumored agreement between Netanyahu and Abbas about not filing any cases in exchange for release of impounded tax funds is not true.
The WaPo points out today that a recent survey shows that Americans endorse the idea of a nuclear deal with Iran by 2 to 1. This despite the best efforts of Republicans, Democrat neocons and the right wing main stream US media to derail the deal. It just shows that , when it comes to dealing with any issue that has a strong lobby, whether Israel, guns, or banking, it is public be dammed as far as our craven politicians are concerned.
Why do people keep talking about the "two state solution?" It is dead as a doornail. It was killed long ago. And the "peace process?" That is just a euphemism for the ongoing apartheid and colonization process. The only realistic solution is a single secular state with equal rights for all.
Everyone who pays attention knows that there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program. It ended in 2003 when the big lie of the Iraq WMD program was exposed. It may very well have been started defensively back then by Iranian military without authorization from the politicians and the Supreme leader and fear of internal repercussions against those responsible for that old program may be the reason there are still attempts to hide that program from discovery.
Every intelligence agency in the world says there is no current Iranian nuclear weapons program , including the US and the Israeli Mossad. Netanyahu and Likud desperately need an "existential threat" to deflect world attention from their colonization program and mistreatment of Palestinians and to distract Israelis from the rank corruption of the Israeli establishment and dramatic economic disparity in Israel. Craven US and European politicians go along with this Myth of an Iranian threat for their own reasons , mainly political survival and fundraising.
Netnayahu and the Republicans have clearly overreached here and the fallout should be significant. I am greatly and pleasantly surprised that, for once, Obama seems to have the wisdom and courage to do the right thing on a major issue. Let us hope he doesn't back down and engage in his usual premature capitulation to the right wingers.
Muslim sectarian fighting and politics are a very complicated affair. Moreover most people and organizations do change wit time and changing circumstances, Does anyone really doubt that Israel would drop its alignment to the West and shift toward China in an instant if it was deemed in its own interest or the interest of its establishment, as an example. The US still supports dictators in Egypt, Bahrein, Saudi-Arabia and other countries where it suits the establishment needs. The rest of us are just taken along for the ride.
Lyndon Johnson, despite his many flaws and despite the disasterous Vietnam war, was the real hero of the civil rights movement. Without his leadership and arm twisting the Civil Rights Act would never have been passed. And he was well aware of the later political cost especially in the South. Kennedy was too self interested to push the legislation.
Chaos scares people. History shows that people will always trade civil and political liberties for order and stability. Americans didn't even need actual chaos. We just needed our right wing politicians - Republicans and Democrats alike - and the right wing media to fill us with fear and we surrendered many liberties with hardly a murmer. There has not even been an outcry over Obama's newly created Presidential right to order the killing of anyone, anywhere without a shred of Due Process - including American citizens and children.
I believe the increasing disparity becomes worse as you move up the ladder, so the top1% are far worse and the top 0.1% worst of all. Our tax system is crazily skewed to enhance this disparity.
Bethlehem is just too close to Jerusalem. So Israel has done its best to make it ugly with the apartheid wall and very difficult to access with their strangulation checkpoint.
aThe Koch brothers are also into solar - as long as it is produced in giant arrays which they own and control. The battle has shifted to preventing individual solar setups which the Kochs and their ilk can't make money from. Actually the most efficient generation is small and local, but the big guys are fighting it tooth and nail and even trying to charge people who have their own panels for connecting to the grid and reverse the policy in Colorado which requires utilities to reimburse those individual homeowners who produce power back into the grid.
No matter which Republican gets the lion's share, Hillary Clinton has already gotten a ton of it in advance payment and her husband in payoff for services rendered.
Fascinating article , while the MSM is busy covering Martina Navritolova''s wedding and the Royal couple's visit to New York.
And we did not begin a war on right wing terrorism after the Oklahoma City bombing or the nut case who tried to fly into the IRS.
It is the craven governments of these European countries that are the problem, not the populations. And while we are at it, the US should be forced to join the court. It is the only way we will ever get prosecutions of the US toturers that Obama has immunized.
So much of what goes on in politics is personal. Only someone who has actually been tortured can really speak honestly to the issue, and oppose his own party line. I doubt that his neocon, chickenhawk shadow Lindsay Graham will agree with him on this one.
If we can deal openly with China we certainly can and should be dealing openly with Iran on such issues of common concern, despite right wing extremists in this country.
Not to mention "roughing up " the little kids who taunt or annoy them which I saw in Hebron.
Hardly heads of state, but let's not forget the continuing parade of former Illionois governers. It is almost an automatic ticket to the bighouse.
Bacevich (and , of course Juan Cole being another) is one of the few voices of sanity in our public discourse today, and he occasionally is actually given a public forum to speak from. Unfortunately it is usually something like Bill Moyers' show or Tom Dispatch where he is just preaching to the choir.
I thought that Jews were prohibited from praying there for fear of inadvertently invading the "Holiest of holies", or whatever. Am I wrong?
Yes, the suggested deal would be in US interests; but it is not in the interest of Netanyahu and the Likud party, and they, after all set US policy on this issue, not Americans. A deal with Iran would remove Netanyahu's main talking point to distract world attention from the apartheid, open air prison and Jim Crow policies of his government, therfore hw will not allow a deal in the US interest, and Obama, like the Presidents before him, will follow orders.
Bennet is correct that the two state solution is already dead.It was killed by the Israeli colonization project. The only solution now is a single secular state from the Med to the Jordan with equal rights for all. The anti-apartheid, civil rights push must beginnow. Israeli right wing hardliners successfully killed the two state solution and now must learn to live with the consequences.
Don't forget Blair is still some sort of official envoy in the middle east for the EU. No wonder things are falling apart as his lines his pockets. The man is a menace and should be hiding in disgrace.
A great example of how little the US, and particularly US politicians, really know and understand about most of the rest of the world.
The US has long suffered from the illusion that human nature is the same everywhere and our culture is the ultimate aim of all mankind. Local cultures are simply irrelevant or at least subject to the mind bending manipulation by advertising and propaganda that has has characterized American culture and worked so well for the elite here.
Actually, success or failure overseas is not important since it can always be spun by the media. What is important is how much money can be made along the way, and who gets to make it.
True, but in principle, there is no negative connotation to the historical symbol of the swastika. WWII pitted the allied forces against the axis forces and GWB ( or more accurately his speechwriter) coined the term " axis of evil." I was just wondering.
I am intrigued by the headline. Did Iran use the Farsi word for "axis" or " " alliance" ? Was the use of the word "axis" with its negative connotations a deliberate choice?
Is it time to boycott the University for lack of academic freedom? Shouldn't all university professionals be on board with this?
Of course, Obama will veto the resolution (unless the US can strongarm enough other members to oppose it). But it is not just a spineless Obama. Every President since Truman has kowtowed to the Israeli right wing with the possible exception of the elder Bush and Carter. ( both were made to pay for it).
more to the point is the fact that Israel and the US have managed to coopt the PA through the Quisling Abbas. He seems much more interested in playing the "peace process" game and retaining his perks than in actually accomplishing something for the Palestinians. He is in office illegally, his term having expired many years ago. The Democratic will of the Palestinian people has been repeatedly thwarted. Ther is little or no hope as long as the Quisling regime is in power.
One of the most important aspects of democracy is transparency. Given the fact that the Republicans Justices have shredded the Constitution to allow big money to infect politics like a cancer, full transparency is the only defense left. That will require a much more committed and aggressive press than we now have in the US or more groups willing to do the work and take the information to the internet.
despite some horrible atrocities and Jews and Palestinians must also. A single state is now the only available option and the only question is whether it will be initially an apartheid state - a situation the world will not long tolerate - or the single secular state with equal rights for all which is eventually inevitable. The longer the occupation and the. more fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins and friends of everyday Palestinians are killed, the longer the healing process will be.
The author is mostly right about the causes of the situation. He left out the other Sharon motive for the Gaza withdrawal, namely Sharon making the grand move to present a situation where he could avoid indictment for bribery. Nonetheless, the prescription is wrong. The two state solution is dead; killed by the West Bank colonization project. Americans of the North and South and blacks and whites in theAmerican South eventually learned to livetogether
Very true, but at the same time, unions need to realize that this is the 21st century and modernize their procedures and style to become relevant. With weak unions, since Reagan declared war on them, we have managed to go a long way toward destroying the middle class by wealth and income transfers to the 1%.
Unfortunately, almost all of our information on ISIL comes from the media which, to my mind , has no credibility at all. Who really knows if even the horribly immoral beheadings were actually ISIL or simply some individual nut case on his own? My cynical approach to the media may be excessive, or maybe not.
Just goes to show the limits of acceptable political discourse in America.
This may be the future of American power in the world. Aligning clandestinely with anyone, friend or foe, whose interests coincide with ours at the moment. A vast improvement over the George W days of "bomb and invade", but rather dangerous in a democracy that requires transparency and open discussion in order to function freely as originally intended.
Boycotts worked on South Africa to end apartheid there, and they can work on Israel too. Economic damage to their own personal interests are the only language that the corrupt leaders of Israel ( as well as those of the PA, US and almost every other country) understand. Damage to their economy and the finances of the average person is at most a minor inconvenience to them , to be managed and spun, but damage to their own interests gets results.
Ray Bradbury and other sci-fi writers saw it coming many years ago. And most of us thought it impossible in the US back then.
The real question is " why does the US media continue to parrot the hard right line and feed it to. the gullible American public?" Is it afraid of AIPAC ? Is it bought off? Do the publishers really believe this line ( the reporters on the ground certainly know better) ? Is it in the interests of their owners in the military - industrial - security complex? There must be a reason that such distortion is so widespread and continues.
I have to wonder what Obama's real motivation was. Gross violations of the Constitution have not been a problem for him. Remember that he created the "right" of the US President to order the killing of anyone, anywhere , anytime, including US citizens without a shred of Due Process. Perhaps he was just sticking a thumb in the Republicans' eye for all the impeachment and lawsuit nonsense.
This appears to be an acceptance of the Israeli idea of separating the West Bank Palestinians from the Gaza Palestinians. Do you really think that the Palestinian problem should be looked at and "solved" piecemeal like that? Maybe it should, but I have always thought of it as a single issue. Israel clearly has a very significant interest in separating and demonizing Gaza while trying to tame the West Bank and get them to accept permanent apartheid.
Excellent article and analysis of the cunning psych-ops nature of the hasbara agencies aided by the US media. The Israeli hasbara machine is well aware of the susceptibility of the average American to this sort of below the radar innuendo. It worked for Republicans since Nixon.
It is a true, but sad commentary on the state of US media that one gets more actual facts about the conflict form Israeli press (which is heavily government censored) than from any US media. The American public overwhelmingly supports Israel in large part because of this constant propaganda campaign. The campaign consists of some clear untruths ( like the Diane Sawyer thing) , a lot of misinformation and distortion and lots of simply omitting the facts. This hasbara campaign is the greatest shame of a shameful US industry.
Netanyahu is now totally out of control. The kidnapping of innocent youths, for whatever purpose, is a dastardly crime that should be pursued and the criminals punished. But the pogrom that Bibi Netanyahu has started is beyond all reason. The illegal, immoral, and inhumane searches , harassment and killing of innocent Palestinians is clearly a war crime and a crime against humanity. All those responsible for these acts of state terrorism should be brought to account in world justice, starting with Netanyahu, whose motive is simply political self-preservation at any cost.
This raises the serious question of just what has happened to Erdogan? For years he was a model of Islamic political moderation and governmental success. Suddenly, it seems, everything in Turkey is going off the rails. Did all this really coincide with the break with Israel, or am I just suffering from a distorted memory? There is no question that either Erdogan has had a dramatic change or the coverage of him has.
It is not an argument and never has been. It is a ploy by Netanyahu to divert world attention from illegal and immoral Israeli actions. Craven politicians in the US and Europe have gone along with the lie even though they knew better since their own intelligence services told them repeatedly that there was no Iranian nuclear weapons program? Why? Was it guilt, fear of political or financial backlash or some other reason? Whatever the reason, the Netanyahu big lie is now fully exposed and the world is waking up, except , of course for the US politicians, especially the bought and sold Congress.
Israel seems to see BDS as its biggest threat ( even more than the phony Iranian nuclear weapon threat) and is devoting considerable effort and money trying to demonize and combat the movement. Just as in South Africa, there will be no change in Israeli intransigence until the 1% who run Israel , just like in the US, begin to feel it in their purses. Forget the useless "peace process" which is nothing but cover for Israeli colonization and apartheid. The movement is growing and it is the only real chance for peace.
The author did fail to mention that the Hamas takeover in Gaza was the result of winning a battle after an attempted Fatah coup sponsored by the US. But Palestinian reconciliation is a danger to the Israeli plan of dividing the Palestinians into as many smaller groups as possible to maintain their superior position, just as Colonial plutocrats in America sought to divide the indentured whites and the black slaves.
Also, there is the option of Hamas adopting and agreeing to every prior Israeli PLO agreement which Israel has actually honored. That would leave them right where they are now.
The PA is a farce and has been for a long time. Giving back the keys and starting a civil rights movement for equal civil,political, and human rights for all in the single country is the only move that makes sense for the Palestinian people. But, I agree with the other commentators that the Quisling Fatah bosses will not easily give up their perks and graft.
It amazes me that Brooks, who at times can appear so intelligent and even reasonable, can use that cover to say idiotic things and be taken seriously.
Actually, I have usually seen the claim stated as " there were no Palestinian people before (1967, 1993, ?), they were just considered 'arabs' ".
He is, after all, being sent to the UN, not as ambassador to the US. This is just one more reason why the UN should move out of New York to a neutral country like Switzerland. The UN is becoming embarassing to us anyway as it increasingly becomes the US and Israel against the world.I am sure they have outgrown tha t old building anyway; a good excuse to move without the US losing too much face.
From my limited knowledge, Cuban ties are not a strong vote getter in Mexican - American communities. All Latinos are not the same.
Once Obama reneged on his 2008 promise to use federal financing for his campaign and instead went hat in hand and sold his soul to Wall Street for "contributions", and the stupid progressives still voted for him ( I was one of them), it was game over. Now every politician is free to sell himself (and his district, state, and/or country) to the highest bidder and still get away with it.
A minor correction. Rabin is not the current President of Israel. That is Peres. Rabin was assassinated to stop the Oslo peace process.
I think you underestimate the power of big money and the venality of US politicians right up to the President , who are so easily bought.
I am not sure I agree that no Palestinians would vote to accede to Israel. I believe a substantial minority have given up all hope of a real two state solution , and favor a single state with citizenship and full political, civil, and human rights for all.
And lest the Russians forget, there are still issues like Chechnia and, for China, Tibet.
It seems clear that Netanyahu created the new demand for Palestine to recognize Israel as the "Jewish State" as a poison pill to kill any chance at a Palestinian State and try to shift the blame for that failure to the Palestinians. He was deathly afraid that a combination of US pressure and unbelievable "moderation" on the part of Abbas would leave him in the position of clearly being the rejectionist. The new demand was brilliant in a way since it looks so innocuous on its face, and many lazy people will not be able to understand why it is inherently impossible.
I too find AlJazerra a very useful and informative site, but they are notably reticent about criticizing anything that Qatar does.
A Turkish RICO woukd be a terrible idea, considering how the law has been abused in the US.
Trade and energy issues aside, Europe suffered the devastation of two wars in the last century and will do anything to avoid another. Yes , the US also suffered and lost millions of soldiers, but all the actual fighting and devastation took place over rhere. One thing not in short supply in Washington is chickenhawks, only too anxious for someone ele to do the fighting and dying while they cash in.
Why even ask the question? Does Ukraine have anything comparable to the Israel Lobby?
Netanyahu has never deviated from his often stated position that he would never permit a real Palestinian state. The whole purpose of the " peace process" is to mollify the rest of the world while Israeli life and policies go on. It is an exercise in trying to find a formula to create a legal cover for an apartheid state and eliminating all Palestinians from any power or rights in Israel.
All of Obama's policies have benefited the super rich. Obamacare is a gift of tens of billions in taxpayer money to the greedy, useless private insurance and drug companies, sugarcoated with a few minor benefits to real people to try to hide its real purpose. Larry Summers, Bernanke, Geithner and all the other Rubin acolytes who formed Obama's economic team was the greatest gift the super rich could possibly have had. Their policies bailed out the super rich by transferring the wealth of the middle class to the 1%, not to mention immunizing all the Wall Street crooks from criminal prosecution. No Republican could have done more for the super rich.
How can the US government not see? We should br pressing The Egyptian military toget outofgovernment. We should also be sanctioning and pressing the despoticgovernments in Saudi-Arabia, Bahrein, and the other Gulf states to democratize, and stop arming them. We should stop supporting despots for the sake of the big corporations that run our foreign policy. Other than that, we should stay out of the way. We have screwed up every middle east country and conflict we have interfered in.
Putting one's own political and financial interest above that of the American people is shameful, and Schumer, Menendez, and their ilk should be voted out of office. Schumer, in particular , is noted for his two great legislative goals - catering to the Israel Lobby and catering to Wall Street. He is despicable.
How ironic that the only country openly practicing apartheid should send a delegation to Mandela's funeral.
Very good article raising one of the great issues facing the US and the rest of the West and ultimately the world. Robotic is one of the great boons and one of the greatest challenges to humanity. The long delayed promise of producing more with less labor is fast becoming a reality. Capitalism, as we know it, cannot continue. More production capacity and fewer consumers is recipe for disaster. The suggestion of paid consumers is one possible response. The national GDP , income and wealth may very well increase, but the increasing maldistribution must be addressed.
Another important result could be that, without the distraction of the phony Iranian nuclear threat, the world might turn its attention to the apartheid and land and water theft by Israel; especially since Israeli obstructionism on the deal irritated so many Europeans, and will ultimately embarass France for its participation in the obstruction.
. US support for Israel and the Gulf monarchy despots will probably increase now to atone for the Iran deal and thus prevent any improvment in relations in the middle east in general, but your more specific geopolitical improvments where interests actually coincide do seem very likely to occur.
One other question. I thought the original "intercept" that confirmed the use of chemical weapons was a senior Syrian Army official berating a local commander fo sing the chemical weapons. If so , it confirmed the use of chemical weapons, but also showed that (at least in the quantity used) it was contrary to Assad's policy. Which would make striking Assad questionable at best. All mention or discussion of that intercept seems to have disappeared.
Professor Cole
I thought that the main problem was that Assad, and more importantly the other Alewhites around him who may actually be running things, see this as a life or death struggle. That they see no possible life as they know if they are not in charge. Any compromise would mean their having to accept the status of , at best, a very marginalized and persecuted minority, at least in their eyes. So compromise is simply not possible to them. It is life or death and no holds barred. Am I wrong? Or how far off the mark is this view?
I thought that he intercepted call was a senior Syrian Army official berating the local Army commander for the chemical attack as being apparently contrary to Syrian government policy. Am I wrong? The actual intercept contents seem to have disappeared from the debate.
One thing you left out was the massacre of the USS Liberty which those of us who are Navy veterans will never forget.
It is not odd to see the reaction to the buses. The sold out US MSM has spread the hasbara line for so long that many Americans actually believe that the Palestinians in the West Bank are illegally occupying Israeli land and have no true concept of occupied and occupier.The endless repitition of the hasbara line along with the notoriously short American attention span, has dulled their senses.
All Americans , on the other hand, are familiar with the history of segregated buses and Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement. Since they can identify with it, they are rightfully outraged.
If the MSM did an accurate, truthful and fair job of reporting on the occupation, the apartheid conditions, and the true nature of the conflict, they would be similarly outraged over the occupation and colonization.
While the Senators , and even Juan, seem satisfied with Holder's statement, I find it appalling and very scary indeed. Saying that the President "does not have the authority to drone to death an innocent noncombatant," he leaves all American citizens vulnerable. All the President apparently needs to do is to secretly declare some citizen an unlawful combatant based on secret information with no Due Process and no Judicial, Congressional or public oversight, and then the President does have the authority to drone him to death while he is sitting peacefully in a cafe eating breakfast. That is the clear import of Holder's carefully worded statement. We should all feel endangered, since Al Awaki's killing , and that of his nephew show that action is not required to make the kill list, only speech considered to be inciting by some anonymous government official in secret.
I usually agree Juan, but this time I think he missed the point. Not because I agree with Chavez's erratic foreign policy, but because I think he misses the point of it. During the cold war, the US loudly supported any leader who was anti communist from the Shah in Iran to Mubarak in Egypt the military right wing in Guatemala and other Latin American countries. The US supported dictators who were truly evil, looted their countries and slaughtered their people and acted contrary to all American values because we (or at least our government) thought that opposing communism was the overriding issue and the primary test of US support (why do we now support the despot in Bahrain?). Chavez was a lousy manager and caused economic chaos in Venezuela (with , I am sure ,the help of lots of covert US activity) and his foreign policy, even by his own standards, was erratic, but he was following the same path since he believed that stopping US imperialism was the most important world goal.
Perhaps this answers the big unanswered question of why Ambassador Stevens was at that undefended consulate practically alone on 9/11. He had all the intelligence and knew the risks more than anyone else. Perhaps he thought the CIA base provided enough protection.
Speaking of killing people to get elected, Dems should remember that JFK , according to insiders, had decided to get out of Vietnam because it was a mistake, but not until after he was reelected so the Republicans couldn't us the "he lost Vietnam " argument against him in the election. Thus he deliberately killed not only Vietnamese, but American servicemen as well just for political purposes.
Please note an article in today's Haaretz in which a senior IDF officer appears to admit that they are planning the next Lebanon war and planning to commit war crimes.
Every news report I have read said that the NATO meeting was called under article 4 , not article 5. Is this correct?
Obama saw that Bill Clinton went from $400,000 in debt (legal fees) when he left the White House to a net worth over $100,000,000 eight years later (per Hillary's disclosure statement in 2008) without having a job or clear source of income. This was his reward for catering to the super rich, the corporations, the banksters, and the lobbies. Obama is no fool. He obviously hopes to do at least as well, hence the catering to the same groups. The American people have not had a real voice in their government for at least 30 years.
It would be nice to think that our presidents are at least concerned about their place in history, but the facts say it is all about the money. Sad to say, the only recent presidents who seemed concerned about history were the Republican trio of Reagan, Bush, the elder (and best of the bunch) and George W Bush.