Thousands if not millions of us who petitioned our Reps in person, protested, marched and did everything we could to legally stop the invasion of Iraq were influenced by former head of the IAEA's inspections in Iraq, El Baradei, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Bill and Kathleen Christison, Brzezinski, Carter and others who were questioning the validity of the Bush administrations so called intelligence. Reporters like Seymour Hersh, Julian Borger, Jason Vest Landay and others were also questioning including Prof Cole.
We tried like hell to do what we could without any success at all. We could smell another human disaster like Vietnam.
Then Obama and Clinton's decisions to go into LIbya and arm unknown rebels in Syria added to the human disasters. Still the Iraq war hawks move us closer to some kind of a military intervention in Iran. So called liberal outlets like MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, Joy Reid, Andrea Mitchell have provided platforms for Bill Kristol, Max Boot, and others to push for stepping away from Iran deal and pushing for using military might.
8. A complicit media is required to maintain U.S. military might around the world. A complicit media is required to keep the death and destruction caused by U.S. interventions hidden away. To maintain the "cheering is painless" status of what war has become in the U.S. a spectator sport in some ways but really wars take place in the shadows now due to a complicit media.
We have outlets that like being referred to as "liberal" for instance MSNBC's Rachel Maddow etc that completely avoid bringing the deadly reality of what our military is involved in elsewhere into the living rooms of Americans across the country. Fox, CNN of course follow suit but do not hide behind the idea of being "liberal"
They also hide the consequences for those who decide to join the military who you know are often in situations of economic distress and the military seems one of their best options. Do you ever hear Maddow, Reid, Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell you know the alleged liberals addressing the issue of 21 Vets committing suicide everyday? Ok they bring it up about once a year and that is that. So again they are complicit in hiding the consequences of endless wars.
As an individual who along with many protested the Vietnam war I joined the monumental efforts before the invasion of Iraq to stop that invasion. Many of us heard the questions of experts like former head of the IAEA's inspections in Iraq Scott Ritter, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Bryzinski, Zinni and others who questioned the validity of the Bush administrations so called intelligence. Millions of us cumulatively across the nation marched, protested, walked the halls of congress, petitioned our Reps to do what they could to stop the Wolfowitz, Cheney Iraq wr train. Again the majority of the media was complicit by not having Ritter, El Baradei and others on to expose the vast majority of the American public know there were experts questioning. So again the media played a role in not informing as they have continued to do in so many ways.
I would add number 8 to complete the package of how we have ended up embedded in this "endless war" cycle.
As well as a complicit international community that never seems to unite in any way shape or form to even pretend to call us out.
So terribly sad
One has to wonder if chaos in the middle east is the objective as some believe about the neocons agenda. Keep the less than's scrambling as Israel's territory and military grows. Along with the growth of Saudi Arabia's military.
12 years ago drove my youngest daughter from Ohio to Colorado where she was entering Univ of Colorado as a freshman. From the highway we counted about 70 wind turbines in western Kansas counties (Russell was one of them) Six years later as I drove her back to Ohio from Colorado (of course many flights and visits in between) we counted around 450 wind turbines from the highway in the same regions (western Kansas) Three years ago drove my 89 year old mother (she wanted to do a road trip) from Ohio to Colorado we lost count of the wind turbines in Kansas. Not very scientific however clearly the increase was visible to the eye.
Brownback moving Kansas forward with wind...good for him. As Juan has pointed Brownback backwards on many other issues.
Obama and Clinton's arming of unknown rebels early on sure fueled the tensions. One thing Trump said that Trump said awhile back "the U.S. is not innocent" is spot on.
Clearly the question is what took Fox so long? However on coverage of the campaign...O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly were far more honest and ruthless about Trump's failings than say MSNBC host were about Hillary's. O'Reilly and Kelly ripped Trump a new one fairly often of course along with Hillary.
However Maddow, Hayes, Reid, Matthews, O'Donnell all allowed Hillary to keep her deadly war record in the shadows during the campaign...Never brought up the facts having to do with her deep involvement in Libya and Syria let alone her vote for the 2002 Iraq war resolution.
Today (Friday) during press meeting one of the reporters (I think his name was John sitting in front row) asked Sean Spicer who will be in control if the taking of Raqqa is successful.
Prof Cole. Would love to get your take on what I thought was an absurd and hypocritical segment between MSNBC's Chuck Todd and journalist Masha Gessen take on whether the U.S. has lost the "Moral high ground". They used Trump's comments about "the U.S. is not innocent and we have killers" to divert from crimes against humanity that the Bush and Obama administration's have committed in Iraq, Libya, Syria by trying to steer clear of a comparison with Russian foreign policy.
Hope you listen and share your opinion
Meet the Press: Political News & Interviews with Chuck Todd - NBC ...
At times PTrump nails it and the MSM talking heads do not like it. During Trump's interview with Bill O'Reilly when O'Reilly called Putin a "killer" which is the truth. Trump replied that the U.S. also has "killers" That the U.S. is "not innocent." This fact has turned the MSM into a frenzy again. Trump was spot on. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all of those who went along with known WMD lies leading up to the invasion of Iraq and a complicit mainstream media who were very much part of the "group think" that went on in the media before the invasion are responsible for the deaths and injuries of millions in Iraq. Obama/Clinton and all of those who went along with supporting the unnecessary military intervention in Libya and arming unknown rebels in Syria which absolutely fueled the death and destruction in Syria are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, injuries and millions of refugees.
Trump spoke the truth about this critical issue.
Bill O'Reilly's Super Bowl interview with President Trump | On Air ...
On Morning Joe this morning (Thursday) Joe, Richard Haas, Ambassador Nicholas Burns were all beating the let's go start a war with Iran drum. Beating up the Iran deal, pounding on Iran's involvement in Iraq, Syria etc. As if the U.S. has not had its bloody hands deep in the disasters in those countries.
On Wednesday evening Greta on MSNBC was repeating the "Iranian leaders said they want to wipe Israel off the map" falsehood again.
Ambassador Nicholas Burns seems to be making the rounds on Msm outlets banging on the let's go get Iran drum. Yikes
"Aleppo before the war".....Syria before the war. From everything I have read sure sounds like life was pure sanity compared to the human disaster that the U.S. has helped create there,
Former U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford fueling the civil war, Clinton and Obama arming unknown rebels in Syria, Yes the U.S. should surely be held accountable for crimes against humanity in Syria...Libya....Iraq. Not just Assad and Russia
" Coalition forces believed they were striking a Da’esh fighting position that they had been tracking for a significant amount of time before the strike.
How can you be tracking "for a significant amount of time before the strike" and not know who it is you are about to kill with the killing equipment today?
Come on Juan you really have to wonder about the intention and timing of this U.S. bombing and the death toll. Just because Samantha Powers said it was not intentional does not mean it is so.
When Samantha Power's chooses to point out "hypocrisies" it certainly is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Again the intentions and timing of this massacre is highly questionable.
Been thinking about Trump's imperialist statements that "we should have taken Iraq's oil." That is essentially what took place. Clinton supported. U.S. Imperialism in action.. http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-oil-juhasz/
"From ExxonMobil and Chevron to BP and Shell, the West's largest oil companies have set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texas-based firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000.
U.S. Imperialism in concrete form:
The US Embassy In Baghdad Cost A Staggering $750 Million [PHOTOS]
MSNBC fat cat host have been over the last month pushing hard the idea that Trump must be a Russian agent promoting the idea that Russia and the U.s. should join forces in fighting the Bush/Cheney, Obama/Clinton created Isis. Guess the Russian agent Trump must have infiltrated the Obama administration with his "let's try to join with Russia on the ISIS issue "idea. Guess Joy Reid, Lawrence O'Donnell will be reporting that Kerry and Obama are now Russian agents too. The "Russians are coming" fear mongering on MSNBC has been shameful.
MSNBC is as biased as Fox, Just on the Clinton side, Never ever bring up her war record, Comey findings, unwillingness to release Wall Street transcripts, Total Clinton loyalist, Not an unbiased talking head among them. Does not matter to them that Clinton is a die hard war hawk and how many people in the middle east are dead, injured, refugees because of her role in those disasters
MSNBC is as shut down as Fox is when it comes to their candidate Hillary Clinton, Rachel Maddow, O'Donnell etc never really question Hillary's war record, ties to Wall Street, etc, Never
Trump is unpredictable. Hillary is predictable,,,,a proven and deadly war hawk. Terrible choices
"But Turkey really doesn’t want a new Kurdish mini-state on its border, especially one led by the PYD, which Turkey sees as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group, based in Anatolia and in badlands on the Iraqi side of the Turkey-Iraq border. "
As if this French Mayor and other supporters want to require women beach goers to reveal breast and butts. What would they call it pro show tit s and ass law? So arrogant, anti choice . You know "retrograde".
"The compromise for those who insist on a change of personnel at the top is to say, ‘no al-Assad’ in the long run, but he can stay during this interim or transition period (the US does not want the Syrian government to collapse, given what happened in Iraq and Libya after such a collapse)"
I had read that Assad offered a power sharing transition deal five years ago? If that is indeed the case hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved and this horrific refugee crisis avoided.
------------
"But from Ankara’s point of view, the YPG is a terrorist group. It would be as though a foreign country helped an anti-American Mexican cartel take over Tijuana, posing a perceived threat to San Diego. (I don’t myself see any sign that the YPG has ambitions outside Syria or that it has a command structure in common with the brutal PKK group from which it is descended, but we’re talking about how Ankara sees thing). "
I thought the Kurds had all ready sawed a piece of territory off of Iraq, now Syria..would seem to indicate that Kurds in Turkey would like to be part of that developing state.
This whole piece is written as if the Syrian army does not have the right to protect the borders and country of which once was Syria. As if Assad was the invader of Syria.
I clearly remember the Leveretts writing five years ago that over 50% of the Syrian population supported Assad.
This piece is written as if the U.S. and coalition have had not part in creating this human disaster
So are you really saying that Ambassador Ford had nothing to do with fomenting a civil war in Syria and that the Obama administrations decision (Clinton pushed hard) to arm unknown rebels in Syria did not fuel that disaster?
Are you really willing to let Obama and Clinton off the accountability hook?
Yes the the GOP. However Obama and Clinton's foreign policy decisions sure as hell created more ungoverned territory for IS to operate from.
All created death, destruction beyond what Rachel Maddow and the rest of MSNBC etc are willing to tell the American public.
The MSM has to make sure every thing Trump says is covered....Trump has that right "ratings" Although I can't watch of listen anymore. Will not talk about Clinton's proven war record and repeat every dangerous and stupid thing Trump says. Enough.
rbtll....So are you saying ignore her war record? That is what is "naive" and dangerous. The media is stirring up fear about Trump based on things we don't know.
While his unpredictability is dangerous...so is her proven war record. Her threats made against Iran some years back. She is not a level headed foreign policy strategist at all
Plenty out there to confirm those facts. Including Bacevich's latest:
Scott Ritter, Seymour Hersh, The Leveretts etc have all written factual pieces having to do with her war aggressive stances and push for military action in the middle east
All of the main stream media fear mongering about Trump and the nuclear code is ridiculous. Ok I get it he is unpredictable. However if past decisions are any indication of what Hillary might do as commander in chief we are in for more death and destruction in the middle east.
Hundreds of thousands (if not in the millions) of Muslims have been killed, injured, millions turned into refugees as the US etc (Assad, Isis, Al Qeada) have all turned the middle east into a raging human disaster. Shameful...Horrendously shameful
Was an incredible occasion for a compassionate, powerful Muslim man. I like so many of us who opposed the Vietnam war was moved by Muhammad Ali's stand against the war back in the mid 60's. He put his career, his economics on the line because of his convictions. Like so many of us still moved by his actions.
Was so great to hear so many of his remarkably insightful, loving and funny quotes about what we are all or could be doing on the planet.
He set the bar high for compassion in action. One of his good friends from KY, Rabbi Lerner and so many others hit the ball out of the park in regard to what he stood for and the example he left with us.
Clinton did not like what Rabbi Lerner had to say was written all over his face during Lerner's speech
When you read the neocon's PNAC blueprint for rearranging the middle east (Securing the realm and all of that) you certainly have to wonder if chaos, death and destruction was just what they wanted through the Bush administrations invasion of Iraq, Obama and Clinton's military intervention in Libya and arming rebels in Syria.
That is surely the result of U.S. involvement...help take down the infrastructure and the in fighting would be released.
Such human tragedies says a white woman sitting in the empire. that has fomented some of these disasters.
So if Clinton is elected the US will cultivate more death and destruction in Syria by supporting rebels?
Clinton sure sounds and acts like the most serious war hawk in the running.
link to wikileaks.org
“Bringing down Assad would not only be a massive boon to Israel’s security, it would also ease Israel’s understandable fear of losing its nuclear monopoly. Then, Israel and the United States might be able to develop a common view of when the Iranian program is so dangerous that military action could be warranted. Right now, it is the combination of Iran’s strategic alliance with Syria and the steady progress in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program that has led Israeli leaders to contemplate a surprise attack — if necessary over the objections of Washington. With Assad gone, and Iran no longer able to threaten Israel through its, proxies, it is possible that the United States and Israel can agree on red lines for when Iran’s program has crossed an unacceptable threshold. In short, the White House can ease the tension that has developed with Israel over Iran by doing the right thing in Syria. The rebellion in Syria has now lasted more than a year. The opposition is not going away, nor is the regime going to accept a diplomatic solution from the outside. With his life and his family at risk, only the threat or use of force will change the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s mind. UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05794498 Date: 11/30/2015 The Obama administration has been understandably wary of engaging in an air operation in Syria like the one conducted in Libya for three main reasons. Unlike the Libyan opposition forces, the Syrian rebels are not unified and do not hold territory. The Arab League has not called for outside military intervention as it did in Libya. And the Russians are opposed. Libya was an easier case. But other than the laudable purpose of saving Libyan civilians from likely attacks by Qaddafi’s regime, the Libyan operation had no long-lasting consequences for the region. Syria is harder. But success in Syria would be a transformative event for the Middle East. Not only would another ruthless dictator succumb to mass opposition on the streets, but the region would be changed for the better as Iran would no longer have a foothold in the Middle East from which to threaten Israel and undermine stability in the region.”
I had to give it to Trump the fall of 2015 when MSNBC etc were all Trump all day long. Starting at the beginning of the day on Morning Joe. By November 2015 Trump had only spent 220,000 on advertising. Masterful. He knows the game you have to give him that.
Even now Huffington Post has 14 pieces on Trump on their front page. Granted negative pieces but still they stir the interest. Trump owns the media elite. Again you have to give him that. He knows what they want. Throws out the red meat and they bite.
Now if he could just corner the Chinese on currency manipulation etc Or corner jobs for the American worker
Sanders will be sure to use this one.
Once again confirming what millions of us all ready know that nothing in the corporate Wall Street world will change for the better with Hillary.
Hell New York Democrat's just voted for "torture, Syria, murder of innocents.". Clinton beat Bernie. Let;s get real here...Trump says some dangerous things....Hillary has done some extremely dangerous and very deadly things. Iraq, Libya, Syria
Interesting to think about how Hillary (war hawk) Clinton is attending a 350,000 dollar a plate dinner put on by George (supporting a war hawk) Clooney which is almost double what the Bernie and Jane Sanders make in a year. You heard the comparison heard here first...just saying.... Boom. Shameful
We know Trump foments violence, racism and bigotry.
We know Clinton has voted for as a Senator and pushed for as Secretary of State deadly and bloody military interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria.
Has there ever been such a proven war hawk like Hillary Clinton who has gotten so far as a Dem candidate? I think it is shameful and telling about how so many Dem voters are willing to sweep the dead, injured and millions of refugees that are in large part due to U.S, meddling in the region that Clinton has very much been part of.
Enormous amounts of suffering in Syria over the last five years. The Obama administration arming rebels etc, fomenting more violence. How that death, destruction refugee situation could have been prevented if diplomacy would been the strategy chosen. So brutal
President Obama, Secretary of Clinton and team repeated for five years "Assad must go, Assad must go", arming rebels fomenting the disaster in Syria. Not sure thinks Hillary Clinton is less dangerous than many of the Republican candidates. She has demonstrated she is a brutal warmonger.
The Syrian situation is disastrous. What can we do about these missing children except keep donating money to the Syrian disaster funds
MSNBC did not even whisper about this issue. Until people really get a handle of the horrific situation the Palestinian people are dealing with and how brutal the Israeli government is...nothing seems to change only get worse for the Palestinians. The Israeli's have no moral compass what so ever.
The Israeli government, courts and military are all complicit in the theft of the Palestinians lands....Obama administration has never even done what Bush 41 did to threaten to withhold U.S. aide.
Former human rights and social justice activist Art Gish spent years walking Palestinian children to their schools. He reported witnessing these children spit on by settlers, verbally and violently attacked by illegal settlers. Still going on Human rights crimes
Deeply disturbing all of the loss of life in Syria due to outside forces supporting so many different inside forces. Diabolical.
How many U.S. strikes on Syrian soil? 7000? As you point out the U.S. has killed many innocent people that they don't count or report.
The U.S. calling out Russia is clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Although I consider the Obama administration far more immoral in the Syrian catastrophe. They had an opportunity to make a deal with Assad five years ago...instead applied the tactic "Assad must go, Assad must go" resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and a refugee situation that is shameful.
Sure will not hear MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow etc reporting about the Syrian situation. No they have to endlessly cover the Trump dumps.
If Hillary wins the Dem nomination we can expect more death and destruction in the middle east. She is clearly committed to regime change. Not the case for Sanders
The Obama administration (especially when Hillary was Secretary of State) endlessly repeated "Assad must go" aud nauseum. We can see what this led to. Total disaster for the Syrian people.
Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett wrote extensively at their website Going To Tehran over the last five years that the power sharing deal that Assad was offering way back then should be seriously considered. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians would more than likely be alive and millions would not be refugees.
One has to wonder about whether the U.S.'s foreign policy agenda is to completely re-arrange the middle east according to the Project for a New American Century (and Securing the Realm designers) blueprints. Shameful
Much of what Trump says is "shameful" and "dangerous" On a more serious note Hillary Clinton's vote for the 2002 Iraq war resolution, push for military intervention in Libya and arming rebels in Syria is far more "shameful" and deadly "dangerous" Far more!
So sad that the six month old baby girl of the two murderers is in custody of the state instead of being in the custody of her grandmother who has been in her life all of her young life. Ok in custody of the grandmother with oversight by Feds. Why cause more trauma for that infant.
Such a horrific tragedy for the families of the victims and the family of the killers.
The domestic terrorist killing in Colorado Springs sure has fallen off the map of the MSM. President Obama did not even mention them when he mentioned those killed in the terrorist act in San Bernardino at the WH Christmas tree lighting. Tragic....all of this
Was reading the definition of terrorism at the F.B.I.’s website after hearing MSNBC contributor Steve Rattner talk about a particular definition of terrorism on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this past week.
FBI — Terrorism Definition link to fbi.gov…/terrorism/terroris… Federal Bureau of Investigation “Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code 18 U.S.C. § 2331 defines “international terrorism” and “domestic terrorism” for purposes of Chapter 113B of the Code, entitled “Terrorism”: “International terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics: Involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.* “Domestic terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics: Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination. or kidnapping; and Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. 18 U.S.C. § 2332b defines the term “federal crime of terrorism” as an offense that: Is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct; and Is a violation of one of several listed statutes, including § 930(c) (relating to killing or attempted killing during an attack on a federal facility with a dangerous weapon); and § 1114 (relating to killing or attempted killing of officers and employees of the U.S.). * FISA defines “international terrorism” in a nearly identical way, replacing “primarily” outside the U.S. with “totally” outside the U.S. 50 U.S.C. § 1801(c).”
Only problem for me is that the F.B.I. does not seem to apply these standards to other mass killings. Charleston, Colorado Springs etc. And the U.S. certainly does not apply these standards to our international military actions which many in those parts of the world (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Palestine) consider our invasions, military interventions (supplying arms to rebels in Syria), selling arms to Saudi Arabia used in Yemen, arms in Israel etc) as International terrorism. MSNBC showing Chris Jansing interviewing terrorist murderer in San Bernardino’s sister. Have we seen her do the same with the sibling, family of murderer of the three at the Planned Parenthood domestic terrorist murder? If they are going to apply their standards to the terrorist murder in San Bernardino…apply them to the murderer in Colorado. To the domestic terrorist murderer of 9 in Charleston. -
Sounds similar to what Israel has been doing with their night time raids into Palestinian homes at 3 a.m. in the morning terrorizing families all to map every Palestinian civilian.
Who knows maybe Trumps racist database system will not be as brutal as Israel's racist methods
It took Natalie Portman a long time to come face to face with the brutality of the Israeli occupation. She is demonstrating real moral values.
Go Natalie...
Thousands if not millions of us who petitioned our Reps in person, protested, marched and did everything we could to legally stop the invasion of Iraq were influenced by former head of the IAEA's inspections in Iraq, El Baradei, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Bill and Kathleen Christison, Brzezinski, Carter and others who were questioning the validity of the Bush administrations so called intelligence. Reporters like Seymour Hersh, Julian Borger, Jason Vest Landay and others were also questioning including Prof Cole.
We tried like hell to do what we could without any success at all. We could smell another human disaster like Vietnam.
Then Obama and Clinton's decisions to go into LIbya and arm unknown rebels in Syria added to the human disasters. Still the Iraq war hawks move us closer to some kind of a military intervention in Iran. So called liberal outlets like MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, Joy Reid, Andrea Mitchell have provided platforms for Bill Kristol, Max Boot, and others to push for stepping away from Iran deal and pushing for using military might.
I would add number 8.
8. A complicit media is required to maintain U.S. military might around the world. A complicit media is required to keep the death and destruction caused by U.S. interventions hidden away. To maintain the "cheering is painless" status of what war has become in the U.S. a spectator sport in some ways but really wars take place in the shadows now due to a complicit media.
We have outlets that like being referred to as "liberal" for instance MSNBC's Rachel Maddow etc that completely avoid bringing the deadly reality of what our military is involved in elsewhere into the living rooms of Americans across the country. Fox, CNN of course follow suit but do not hide behind the idea of being "liberal"
They also hide the consequences for those who decide to join the military who you know are often in situations of economic distress and the military seems one of their best options. Do you ever hear Maddow, Reid, Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell you know the alleged liberals addressing the issue of 21 Vets committing suicide everyday? Ok they bring it up about once a year and that is that. So again they are complicit in hiding the consequences of endless wars.
As an individual who along with many protested the Vietnam war I joined the monumental efforts before the invasion of Iraq to stop that invasion. Many of us heard the questions of experts like former head of the IAEA's inspections in Iraq Scott Ritter, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Bryzinski, Zinni and others who questioned the validity of the Bush administrations so called intelligence. Millions of us cumulatively across the nation marched, protested, walked the halls of congress, petitioned our Reps to do what they could to stop the Wolfowitz, Cheney Iraq wr train. Again the majority of the media was complicit by not having Ritter, El Baradei and others on to expose the vast majority of the American public know there were experts questioning. So again the media played a role in not informing as they have continued to do in so many ways.
I would add number 8 to complete the package of how we have ended up embedded in this "endless war" cycle.
As well as a complicit international community that never seems to unite in any way shape or form to even pretend to call us out.
So terribly sad
One has to wonder if chaos in the middle east is the objective as some believe about the neocons agenda. Keep the less than's scrambling as Israel's territory and military grows. Along with the growth of Saudi Arabia's military.
12 years ago drove my youngest daughter from Ohio to Colorado where she was entering Univ of Colorado as a freshman. From the highway we counted about 70 wind turbines in western Kansas counties (Russell was one of them) Six years later as I drove her back to Ohio from Colorado (of course many flights and visits in between) we counted around 450 wind turbines from the highway in the same regions (western Kansas) Three years ago drove my 89 year old mother (she wanted to do a road trip) from Ohio to Colorado we lost count of the wind turbines in Kansas. Not very scientific however clearly the increase was visible to the eye.
Brownback moving Kansas forward with wind...good for him. As Juan has pointed Brownback backwards on many other issues.
Obama and Clinton's arming of unknown rebels early on sure fueled the tensions. One thing Trump said that Trump said awhile back "the U.S. is not innocent" is spot on.
Clearly the question is what took Fox so long? However on coverage of the campaign...O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly were far more honest and ruthless about Trump's failings than say MSNBC host were about Hillary's. O'Reilly and Kelly ripped Trump a new one fairly often of course along with Hillary.
However Maddow, Hayes, Reid, Matthews, O'Donnell all allowed Hillary to keep her deadly war record in the shadows during the campaign...Never brought up the facts having to do with her deep involvement in Libya and Syria let alone her vote for the 2002 Iraq war resolution.
Racist, sexist...clearly O'Reilly was/is.
Today (Friday) during press meeting one of the reporters (I think his name was John sitting in front row) asked Sean Spicer who will be in control if the taking of Raqqa is successful.
Spicer did not have a clear answer
Has to be so painful for Palestinians.
Prof Cole. Would love to get your take on what I thought was an absurd and hypocritical segment between MSNBC's Chuck Todd and journalist Masha Gessen take on whether the U.S. has lost the "Moral high ground". They used Trump's comments about "the U.S. is not innocent and we have killers" to divert from crimes against humanity that the Bush and Obama administration's have committed in Iraq, Libya, Syria by trying to steer clear of a comparison with Russian foreign policy.
Hope you listen and share your opinion
Meet the Press: Political News & Interviews with Chuck Todd - NBC ...
http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press
Cold blooded murder. A corrupt legal system in Israel for decades.
At times PTrump nails it and the MSM talking heads do not like it. During Trump's interview with Bill O'Reilly when O'Reilly called Putin a "killer" which is the truth. Trump replied that the U.S. also has "killers" That the U.S. is "not innocent." This fact has turned the MSM into a frenzy again. Trump was spot on. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all of those who went along with known WMD lies leading up to the invasion of Iraq and a complicit mainstream media who were very much part of the "group think" that went on in the media before the invasion are responsible for the deaths and injuries of millions in Iraq. Obama/Clinton and all of those who went along with supporting the unnecessary military intervention in Libya and arming unknown rebels in Syria which absolutely fueled the death and destruction in Syria are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, injuries and millions of refugees.
Trump spoke the truth about this critical issue.
Bill O'Reilly's Super Bowl interview with President Trump | On Air ...
Video for bill o'reilly trump interview▶
video.foxnews.com/v/5311416183001/
On Morning Joe this morning (Thursday) Joe, Richard Haas, Ambassador Nicholas Burns were all beating the let's go start a war with Iran drum. Beating up the Iran deal, pounding on Iran's involvement in Iraq, Syria etc. As if the U.S. has not had its bloody hands deep in the disasters in those countries.
On Wednesday evening Greta on MSNBC was repeating the "Iranian leaders said they want to wipe Israel off the map" falsehood again.
Ambassador Nicholas Burns seems to be making the rounds on Msm outlets banging on the let's go get Iran drum. Yikes
Sure appears that the FBI is after Huma Abedin (who knows possibly Weiner other than the sexting issue) To think that U.S. National Security having to do with Pakistan, Afghanistan was on Abedin/Weiners home computer. Talk about mishandling of U.S. National Security information.
http://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clinton-emails-fbi-comey-donald-trump-anthony-weiner-huma-abedin-514918
Saudi Arabia (U.S. weapons and support) killing people at a funeral, Evil,
"Aleppo before the war".....Syria before the war. From everything I have read sure sounds like life was pure sanity compared to the human disaster that the U.S. has helped create there,
Former U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford fueling the civil war, Clinton and Obama arming unknown rebels in Syria, Yes the U.S. should surely be held accountable for crimes against humanity in Syria...Libya....Iraq. Not just Assad and Russia
And the nightmare continues for the people of Iraq
http://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PRESS-RELEASES/Press-Release-View/Article/947839/coalition-halts-airstrike-in-progress-against-possible-syrian-military-position/
" Coalition forces believed they were striking a Da’esh fighting position that they had been tracking for a significant amount of time before the strike.
How can you be tracking "for a significant amount of time before the strike" and not know who it is you are about to kill with the killing equipment today?
Come on Juan you really have to wonder about the intention and timing of this U.S. bombing and the death toll. Just because Samantha Powers said it was not intentional does not mean it is so.
When Samantha Power's chooses to point out "hypocrisies" it certainly is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Again the intentions and timing of this massacre is highly questionable.
Been thinking about Trump's imperialist statements that "we should have taken Iraq's oil." That is essentially what took place. Clinton supported. U.S. Imperialism in action..
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-oil-juhasz/
"From ExxonMobil and Chevron to BP and Shell, the West's largest oil companies have set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texas-based firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000.
U.S. Imperialism in concrete form:
The US Embassy In Baghdad Cost A Staggering $750 Million [PHOTOS]
http://www.businessinsider.com/750-million-united-states-em…
Why the war in Iraq was fought for Big Oil - CNN.com
Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil.
cnn.com|By By Antonia Juhasz, Special to CNN
MSNBC fat cat host have been over the last month pushing hard the idea that Trump must be a Russian agent promoting the idea that Russia and the U.s. should join forces in fighting the Bush/Cheney, Obama/Clinton created Isis. Guess the Russian agent Trump must have infiltrated the Obama administration with his "let's try to join with Russia on the ISIS issue "idea. Guess Joy Reid, Lawrence O'Donnell will be reporting that Kerry and Obama are now Russian agents too. The "Russians are coming" fear mongering on MSNBC has been shameful.
MSNBC is as biased as Fox, Just on the Clinton side, Never ever bring up her war record, Comey findings, unwillingness to release Wall Street transcripts, Total Clinton loyalist, Not an unbiased talking head among them. Does not matter to them that Clinton is a die hard war hawk and how many people in the middle east are dead, injured, refugees because of her role in those disasters
MSNBC is as shut down as Fox is when it comes to their candidate Hillary Clinton, Rachel Maddow, O'Donnell etc never really question Hillary's war record, ties to Wall Street, etc, Never
Trump is unpredictable. Hillary is predictable,,,,a proven and deadly war hawk. Terrible choices
"But Turkey really doesn’t want a new Kurdish mini-state on its border, especially one led by the PYD, which Turkey sees as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group, based in Anatolia and in badlands on the Iraqi side of the Turkey-Iraq border. "
You can't blame them
Thank you Muslima lawyer. The French are being so anti feminist, anti choice.
As if this French Mayor and other supporters want to require women beach goers to reveal breast and butts. What would they call it pro show tit s and ass law? So arrogant, anti choice . You know "retrograde".
"The compromise for those who insist on a change of personnel at the top is to say, ‘no al-Assad’ in the long run, but he can stay during this interim or transition period (the US does not want the Syrian government to collapse, given what happened in Iraq and Libya after such a collapse)"
I had read that Assad offered a power sharing transition deal five years ago? If that is indeed the case hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved and this horrific refugee crisis avoided.
------------
"But from Ankara’s point of view, the YPG is a terrorist group. It would be as though a foreign country helped an anti-American Mexican cartel take over Tijuana, posing a perceived threat to San Diego. (I don’t myself see any sign that the YPG has ambitions outside Syria or that it has a command structure in common with the brutal PKK group from which it is descended, but we’re talking about how Ankara sees thing). "
I thought the Kurds had all ready sawed a piece of territory off of Iraq, now Syria..would seem to indicate that Kurds in Turkey would like to be part of that developing state.
Indeed. Somehow Juan avoids mentioning this
This whole piece is written as if the Syrian army does not have the right to protect the borders and country of which once was Syria. As if Assad was the invader of Syria.
I clearly remember the Leveretts writing five years ago that over 50% of the Syrian population supported Assad.
This piece is written as if the U.S. and coalition have had not part in creating this human disaster
bingo
So are you really saying that Ambassador Ford had nothing to do with fomenting a civil war in Syria and that the Obama administrations decision (Clinton pushed hard) to arm unknown rebels in Syria did not fuel that disaster?
Are you really willing to let Obama and Clinton off the accountability hook?
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33997408
Yes the the GOP. However Obama and Clinton's foreign policy decisions sure as hell created more ungoverned territory for IS to operate from.
All created death, destruction beyond what Rachel Maddow and the rest of MSNBC etc are willing to tell the American public.
The MSM has to make sure every thing Trump says is covered....Trump has that right "ratings" Although I can't watch of listen anymore. Will not talk about Clinton's proven war record and repeat every dangerous and stupid thing Trump says. Enough.
I miss Bernie
"Civilians are said to be fleeing Manbij" Who would civilians there feel more protected by?
rbtll....So are you saying ignore her war record? That is what is "naive" and dangerous. The media is stirring up fear about Trump based on things we don't know.
While his unpredictability is dangerous...so is her proven war record. Her threats made against Iran some years back. She is not a level headed foreign policy strategist at all
Plenty out there to confirm those facts. Including Bacevich's latest:
Scott Ritter, Seymour Hersh, The Leveretts etc have all written factual pieces having to do with her war aggressive stances and push for military action in the middle east
All of the main stream media fear mongering about Trump and the nuclear code is ridiculous. Ok I get it he is unpredictable. However if past decisions are any indication of what Hillary might do as commander in chief we are in for more death and destruction in the middle east.
She is a proven and deadly war hawk
Surprising. Reality strikes
Hundreds of thousands (if not in the millions) of Muslims have been killed, injured, millions turned into refugees as the US etc (Assad, Isis, Al Qeada) have all turned the middle east into a raging human disaster. Shameful...Horrendously shameful
As if Obama and Clinton's foreign policy decisions in Libya, Syria did not fuel the growth and power of ISIS.
Somehow Obama's foreign policy decisions seem to mostly get a free pass on being dug into my corporate media outlets
Was an incredible occasion for a compassionate, powerful Muslim man. I like so many of us who opposed the Vietnam war was moved by Muhammad Ali's stand against the war back in the mid 60's. He put his career, his economics on the line because of his convictions. Like so many of us still moved by his actions.
Was so great to hear so many of his remarkably insightful, loving and funny quotes about what we are all or could be doing on the planet.
He set the bar high for compassion in action. One of his good friends from KY, Rabbi Lerner and so many others hit the ball out of the park in regard to what he stood for and the example he left with us.
Clinton did not like what Rabbi Lerner had to say was written all over his face during Lerner's speech
Remember when Holder and Obama dropped the deeply investigated (then swept under rug) Aipac espionage case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us/politics/02aipac.html?_r=0
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050101310.html
Can't forget how Obama and Holder protected Wall Street thugs from being prosecuted
The Untouchables: How the Obama administration protected Wall Street from prosecutions
Glenn Greenwald
Holder and Obama have quite the record of protecting the elite.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/23/untouchables-wall-street-prosecutions-obama
When you read the neocon's PNAC blueprint for rearranging the middle east (Securing the realm and all of that) you certainly have to wonder if chaos, death and destruction was just what they wanted through the Bush administrations invasion of Iraq, Obama and Clinton's military intervention in Libya and arming rebels in Syria.
That is surely the result of U.S. involvement...help take down the infrastructure and the in fighting would be released.
Such human tragedies says a white woman sitting in the empire. that has fomented some of these disasters.
A prime example of how racism runs deep in Israel. Not new..just more clearly exposed
So if Clinton is elected the US will cultivate more death and destruction in Syria by supporting rebels?
Clinton sure sounds and acts like the most serious war hawk in the running.
link to wikileaks.org
“Bringing down Assad would not only be a massive boon to Israel’s security, it would also ease Israel’s understandable fear of losing its nuclear monopoly. Then, Israel and the United States might be able to develop a common view of when the Iranian program is so dangerous that military action could be warranted. Right now, it is the combination of Iran’s strategic alliance with Syria and the steady progress in Iran’s nuclear enrichment program that has led Israeli leaders to contemplate a surprise attack — if necessary over the objections of Washington. With Assad gone, and Iran no longer able to threaten Israel through its, proxies, it is possible that the United States and Israel can agree on red lines for when Iran’s program has crossed an unacceptable threshold. In short, the White House can ease the tension that has developed with Israel over Iran by doing the right thing in Syria. The rebellion in Syria has now lasted more than a year. The opposition is not going away, nor is the regime going to accept a diplomatic solution from the outside. With his life and his family at risk, only the threat or use of force will change the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s mind. UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05794498 Date: 11/30/2015 The Obama administration has been understandably wary of engaging in an air operation in Syria like the one conducted in Libya for three main reasons. Unlike the Libyan opposition forces, the Syrian rebels are not unified and do not hold territory. The Arab League has not called for outside military intervention as it did in Libya. And the Russians are opposed. Libya was an easier case. But other than the laudable purpose of saving Libyan civilians from likely attacks by Qaddafi’s regime, the Libyan operation had no long-lasting consequences for the region. Syria is harder. But success in Syria would be a transformative event for the Middle East. Not only would another ruthless dictator succumb to mass opposition on the streets, but the region would be changed for the better as Iran would no longer have a foothold in the Middle East from which to threaten Israel and undermine stability in the region.”
I had to give it to Trump the fall of 2015 when MSNBC etc were all Trump all day long. Starting at the beginning of the day on Morning Joe. By November 2015 Trump had only spent 220,000 on advertising. Masterful. He knows the game you have to give him that.
Even now Huffington Post has 14 pieces on Trump on their front page. Granted negative pieces but still they stir the interest. Trump owns the media elite. Again you have to give him that. He knows what they want. Throws out the red meat and they bite.
Now if he could just corner the Chinese on currency manipulation etc Or corner jobs for the American worker
Israel destroyed 22,000 Palestinians homes during the last massacre that Israel conducted.
This same strategy could have been taken by the US five years ago.
The U.S. seems to thrive on helping create human disasters. Bush, Cheney then to Obama/Clinton and it continues. Terribly shameful...
Sanders will be sure to use this one.
Once again confirming what millions of us all ready know that nothing in the corporate Wall Street world will change for the better with Hillary.
Billionaires for HIlary
Hell New York Democrat's just voted for "torture, Syria, murder of innocents.". Clinton beat Bernie. Let;s get real here...Trump says some dangerous things....Hillary has done some extremely dangerous and very deadly things. Iraq, Libya, Syria
Interesting to think about how Hillary (war hawk) Clinton is attending a 350,000 dollar a plate dinner put on by George (supporting a war hawk) Clooney which is almost double what the Bernie and Jane Sanders make in a year. You heard the comparison heard here first...just saying.... Boom. Shameful
The earth moved under our feet a bit during debate. Bernie not grumpy just no nonsense.
Amazing Carole King supporting such a proven war hawk
Sure hope some of the most serious neocons are caught up in this net. Feith, Woolsey, Sheldon Adelson...Cheney, Clinton. I can dream
U.S. names not released yet. Coming....
Clinton once again genuflected at the altar of Aipac...same as it ever was same as it ever was.
Clinton is a war hawk through and through. Seldom see a glimpse of compassion...
We know Trump foments violence, racism and bigotry.
We know Clinton has voted for as a Senator and pushed for as Secretary of State deadly and bloody military interventions in Iraq, Libya, Syria.
Has there ever been such a proven war hawk like Hillary Clinton who has gotten so far as a Dem candidate? I think it is shameful and telling about how so many Dem voters are willing to sweep the dead, injured and millions of refugees that are in large part due to U.S, meddling in the region that Clinton has very much been part of.
Enormous amounts of suffering in Syria over the last five years. The Obama administration arming rebels etc, fomenting more violence. How that death, destruction refugee situation could have been prevented if diplomacy would been the strategy chosen. So brutal
President Obama, Secretary of Clinton and team repeated for five years "Assad must go, Assad must go", arming rebels fomenting the disaster in Syria. Not sure thinks Hillary Clinton is less dangerous than many of the Republican candidates. She has demonstrated she is a brutal warmonger.
The Syrian situation is disastrous. What can we do about these missing children except keep donating money to the Syrian disaster funds
So terribly sad
Children of the Gaza War/ BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxPHUzNO3k
MSNBC did not even whisper about this issue. Until people really get a handle of the horrific situation the Palestinian people are dealing with and how brutal the Israeli government is...nothing seems to change only get worse for the Palestinians. The Israeli's have no moral compass what so ever.
Children of the Gaza War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puJlMGBgww8
Death in Gaza
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yxPHUzNO3k
The Israeli government, courts and military are all complicit in the theft of the Palestinians lands....Obama administration has never even done what Bush 41 did to threaten to withhold U.S. aide.
Netanyahu is the devil incarnate.
Former human rights and social justice activist Art Gish spent years walking Palestinian children to their schools. He reported witnessing these children spit on by settlers, verbally and violently attacked by illegal settlers. Still going on Human rights crimes
Deeply disturbing all of the loss of life in Syria due to outside forces supporting so many different inside forces. Diabolical.
How many U.S. strikes on Syrian soil? 7000? As you point out the U.S. has killed many innocent people that they don't count or report.
The U.S. calling out Russia is clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Although I consider the Obama administration far more immoral in the Syrian catastrophe. They had an opportunity to make a deal with Assad five years ago...instead applied the tactic "Assad must go, Assad must go" resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and a refugee situation that is shameful.
Sure will not hear MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow etc reporting about the Syrian situation. No they have to endlessly cover the Trump dumps.
If Hillary wins the Dem nomination we can expect more death and destruction in the middle east. She is clearly committed to regime change. Not the case for Sanders
The Obama administration (especially when Hillary was Secretary of State) endlessly repeated "Assad must go" aud nauseum. We can see what this led to. Total disaster for the Syrian people.
Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett wrote extensively at their website Going To Tehran over the last five years that the power sharing deal that Assad was offering way back then should be seriously considered. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians would more than likely be alive and millions would not be refugees.
One has to wonder about whether the U.S.'s foreign policy agenda is to completely re-arrange the middle east according to the Project for a New American Century (and Securing the Realm designers) blueprints. Shameful
Much of what Trump says is "shameful" and "dangerous" On a more serious note Hillary Clinton's vote for the 2002 Iraq war resolution, push for military intervention in Libya and arming rebels in Syria is far more "shameful" and deadly "dangerous" Far more!
So sad that the six month old baby girl of the two murderers is in custody of the state instead of being in the custody of her grandmother who has been in her life all of her young life. Ok in custody of the grandmother with oversight by Feds. Why cause more trauma for that infant.
Such a horrific tragedy for the families of the victims and the family of the killers.
The domestic terrorist killing in Colorado Springs sure has fallen off the map of the MSM. President Obama did not even mention them when he mentioned those killed in the terrorist act in San Bernardino at the WH Christmas tree lighting. Tragic....all of this
Was reading the definition of terrorism at the F.B.I.’s website after hearing MSNBC contributor Steve Rattner talk about a particular definition of terrorism on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this past week.
FBI — Terrorism Definition link to fbi.gov…/terrorism/terroris… Federal Bureau of Investigation “Definitions of Terrorism in the U.S. Code 18 U.S.C. § 2331 defines “international terrorism” and “domestic terrorism” for purposes of Chapter 113B of the Code, entitled “Terrorism”: “International terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics: Involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and Occur primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to intimidate or coerce, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.* “Domestic terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics: Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination. or kidnapping; and Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. 18 U.S.C. § 2332b defines the term “federal crime of terrorism” as an offense that: Is calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion, or to retaliate against government conduct; and Is a violation of one of several listed statutes, including § 930(c) (relating to killing or attempted killing during an attack on a federal facility with a dangerous weapon); and § 1114 (relating to killing or attempted killing of officers and employees of the U.S.). * FISA defines “international terrorism” in a nearly identical way, replacing “primarily” outside the U.S. with “totally” outside the U.S. 50 U.S.C. § 1801(c).”
Only problem for me is that the F.B.I. does not seem to apply these standards to other mass killings. Charleston, Colorado Springs etc. And the U.S. certainly does not apply these standards to our international military actions which many in those parts of the world (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Palestine) consider our invasions, military interventions (supplying arms to rebels in Syria), selling arms to Saudi Arabia used in Yemen, arms in Israel etc) as International terrorism. MSNBC showing Chris Jansing interviewing terrorist murderer in San Bernardino’s sister. Have we seen her do the same with the sibling, family of murderer of the three at the Planned Parenthood domestic terrorist murder? If they are going to apply their standards to the terrorist murder in San Bernardino…apply them to the murderer in Colorado. To the domestic terrorist murderer of 9 in Charleston. -
Sounds similar to what Israel has been doing with their night time raids into Palestinian homes at 3 a.m. in the morning terrorizing families all to map every Palestinian civilian.
Who knows maybe Trumps racist database system will not be as brutal as Israel's racist methods