Sure, Fordo is 'sort of' on ice for the moment (now a nuclear research center for 'peaceful' purposes with inspector access) but that doesn't deter Bibi for one minute. When/if Trump does what Netanyahu wants (and Trump has said he will do) and tears up the agreement, then what? Netanyahu has maintained all along the facilities remain a threat and they are Iran's best protected. With Russia's late delivery of the S-300 SAM system, Iran made a point of deploying those protective missiles at Fordo. Why do you suppose is that? The Ayatollahs have maintained all along, no deal, no compliance.
"So while Trump himself has indicated an ability to live with a Russo-Iranian Middle East, his cabinet will be made extremely upset by it"
The conclusion is too simplistic. Israel developing 'bunker-busting' weapons (to blow up Fordo nuclear complex in Iran, there is no other reason for Israel to possess these offensive weapons) plays in this business and Trump not only solidly backs Netanyahu but has promised to 'tear up' the nuclear deal with Iran. What we're looking at is a Trump with a schizophrenic message; essentially Trump believes he can patch things up with Russia and in the same moment put the screws to Iran. It won't fly with Putin, and I expect any thaw with Russia will not be long lived.
The likely coming Trump camp ploy is classic Kissinger, offer geopolitical concession (delayed back-stab, actually) to Russia with relaxing the NATO build-up elsewhere and peel off and isolate Iran (with the ayatollahs marked for extinction as a political force in the region.) It won't fly, Putin is no Yeltsen (who once arrived in the USA so drunk, he never got off his plane and flew back to Russia) and will clearly decide the USA bargaining tender is worthless currency (cannot be trusted.)
Behind all of the 'make nice' sounds coming from Putin, the background noise from his ministries has been consistently 'we'll wait and see.'
" ... its seedy one-party state replete with intensive domestic spying, arbitrary arrest and torture"
Let's not forget the USA's 'WOT' (CIA) sent captives to Assad for interrogation because the Arab regimes could really torture (Egypt is where you sent them to simply vanish), prior to deciding Assad was a bad guy. And what triggered that switch in perception? It wasn't the so-called 'Arab Spring.' It was a proposed pipeline from Qatar favored by NATO but opposed by the Russians and Assad is a loyal Russian ally. Syria was in the NATO nations gun-sights as early as 2009. The 'spring' was merely an excuse to act. If Assad had approved the pipeline, chances are Syria would have no problems with western aligned regimes arming Salafis.
“You could get a [Washington Post] journalist cheaper than a good call girl, for a couple hundred dollars a month.” -CIA operative cited in “Katherine The Great” by Deborah Davis
“…the [Central Intelligence] Agency has a whole stable of writers, its favorite magazines and newspapers, its publishing houses, and its “backgrounders” ready to go at all times” – former Pentagon liaison to the CIA Colonel L Fletcher Prouty
“There is quite an incredible spread of relationships. You don’t need to manipulate Time magazine, for example, because there are [Central Intelligence] Agency people at the management level.” -William B. Bader, former CIA intelligence officer
“During the 1976 investigation of the CIA by the Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Senator Frank Church, the dimensions of the Agency’s involvement with the press became apparent to several members of the panel, as well as to two or three investigators on the staff. But top officials of the CIA, including former directors William Colby and George Bush, persuaded the committee to restrict its inquiry into the matter and to deliberately misrepresent the actual scope of the activities in its final report”
“Contrary to the notion that the CIA insidiously infiltrated the journalistic community, there is ample evidence that America’s leading publishers and news executives allowed themselves and their organizations to become handmaidens to the intelligence services”
“The Agency’s relationship with [The New York] Times was by far its most valuable among newspapers, according to CIA officials. [It was] general Times policy … to provide assistance to the CIA whenever possible.”
Preceding quotes from ‘CIA and the Media’ by Carl Bernstein
“Propaganda experts in the CIA station in Kinshasa busily planted articles in the Kinshasa newspapers, Elimo and Salongo. These were recopied into agency cables and sent on to European, Asian, and South American stations, where they were secretly passed to recruited journalists representing major news services who saw to it that many were replayed in the world press. Similarly, the Lusaka station placed a steady flow of stories in Zambian newspapers and then relayed them to major European newspapers
“During a staff meeting I voiced my concern to —-, were we on safe ground, paying agents to propagandize the New York press? The agency had recently been warned against running operations inside the United States and propagandizing the American public. —- seemed unconcerned. We were safe enough, he said, as long as we could plausibly claim that our intent was to propagandize foreigners at the United Nations
“The task force worked out the details by cabling New York, Lusaka, Kinshasa, and key European stations. Each delegation opened a bank account in Europe to which European-based CIA finance officers could make regular deposits. Thereafter the CIA could plausibly deny that it had funded anyone’s propagandists in the United States. It would be extremely difficult for any investigators to prove differently
“Director Colby testified before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, saying: “We have taken particular caution to ensure that our operations are focused abroad and not at the United States to influence the opinion of the American people about things from the CIA point of view.” A remarkable statement in view of what we had been doing in the task force (Director Colby received copies of all [relevant] cables and memoranda.)”
Preceding quotes from ‘In Search of Enemies‘ by CIA officer John Stockton
Obama furthered the national security state like a 'Bush on steroids.' GOP lite? Gates colluded with the COIN people at the Pentagon to practically weld the military's special ops forces to CIA paramilitary operations on Obama's watch. Just one example. Drones were unleashed several times the Bush numbers, assassination of American citizens came out of the closet and were 'legalized' (no doubt discussed at 'kill list Tuesday' meetings, e.g. Anwar Awlaki), as well whistle-blowers became persecuted at historic highs exceeding all prior US presidencies combined.
The Democrats are simply smoother criminals and Obama could actually speak English without butchering the language. He was the better thespian, by far (compared to Bush Jr.)
'In any democracy, ethics, self restraint, tolerance and honesty will always take a second seat to narcissism, avarice, bigotry & persecution, if only because people who play by the rules in any democracy are at a disadvantage to those who easily subvert the rules to their own advantage' (Ronald’s Maxim)
Any way you cut the pie, the people on top come out on top.
Sure, Fordo is 'sort of' on ice for the moment (now a nuclear research center for 'peaceful' purposes with inspector access) but that doesn't deter Bibi for one minute. When/if Trump does what Netanyahu wants (and Trump has said he will do) and tears up the agreement, then what? Netanyahu has maintained all along the facilities remain a threat and they are Iran's best protected. With Russia's late delivery of the S-300 SAM system, Iran made a point of deploying those protective missiles at Fordo. Why do you suppose is that? The Ayatollahs have maintained all along, no deal, no compliance.
"So while Trump himself has indicated an ability to live with a Russo-Iranian Middle East, his cabinet will be made extremely upset by it"
The conclusion is too simplistic. Israel developing 'bunker-busting' weapons (to blow up Fordo nuclear complex in Iran, there is no other reason for Israel to possess these offensive weapons) plays in this business and Trump not only solidly backs Netanyahu but has promised to 'tear up' the nuclear deal with Iran. What we're looking at is a Trump with a schizophrenic message; essentially Trump believes he can patch things up with Russia and in the same moment put the screws to Iran. It won't fly with Putin, and I expect any thaw with Russia will not be long lived.
The likely coming Trump camp ploy is classic Kissinger, offer geopolitical concession (delayed back-stab, actually) to Russia with relaxing the NATO build-up elsewhere and peel off and isolate Iran (with the ayatollahs marked for extinction as a political force in the region.) It won't fly, Putin is no Yeltsen (who once arrived in the USA so drunk, he never got off his plane and flew back to Russia) and will clearly decide the USA bargaining tender is worthless currency (cannot be trusted.)
Behind all of the 'make nice' sounds coming from Putin, the background noise from his ministries has been consistently 'we'll wait and see.'
" ... its seedy one-party state replete with intensive domestic spying, arbitrary arrest and torture"
Let's not forget the USA's 'WOT' (CIA) sent captives to Assad for interrogation because the Arab regimes could really torture (Egypt is where you sent them to simply vanish), prior to deciding Assad was a bad guy. And what triggered that switch in perception? It wasn't the so-called 'Arab Spring.' It was a proposed pipeline from Qatar favored by NATO but opposed by the Russians and Assad is a loyal Russian ally. Syria was in the NATO nations gun-sights as early as 2009. The 'spring' was merely an excuse to act. If Assad had approved the pipeline, chances are Syria would have no problems with western aligned regimes arming Salafis.
And this one:
“The CIA owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” — former CIA Director William Colby
“You could get a [Washington Post] journalist cheaper than a good call girl, for a couple hundred dollars a month.” -CIA operative cited in “Katherine The Great” by Deborah Davis
“…the [Central Intelligence] Agency has a whole stable of writers, its favorite magazines and newspapers, its publishing houses, and its “backgrounders” ready to go at all times” – former Pentagon liaison to the CIA Colonel L Fletcher Prouty
“There is quite an incredible spread of relationships. You don’t need to manipulate Time magazine, for example, because there are [Central Intelligence] Agency people at the management level.” -William B. Bader, former CIA intelligence officer
“During the 1976 investigation of the CIA by the Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Senator Frank Church, the dimensions of the Agency’s involvement with the press became apparent to several members of the panel, as well as to two or three investigators on the staff. But top officials of the CIA, including former directors William Colby and George Bush, persuaded the committee to restrict its inquiry into the matter and to deliberately misrepresent the actual scope of the activities in its final report”
“Contrary to the notion that the CIA insidiously infiltrated the journalistic community, there is ample evidence that America’s leading publishers and news executives allowed themselves and their organizations to become handmaidens to the intelligence services”
“The Agency’s relationship with [The New York] Times was by far its most valuable among newspapers, according to CIA officials. [It was] general Times policy … to provide assistance to the CIA whenever possible.”
Preceding quotes from ‘CIA and the Media’ by Carl Bernstein
“Propaganda experts in the CIA station in Kinshasa busily planted articles in the Kinshasa newspapers, Elimo and Salongo. These were recopied into agency cables and sent on to European, Asian, and South American stations, where they were secretly passed to recruited journalists representing major news services who saw to it that many were replayed in the world press. Similarly, the Lusaka station placed a steady flow of stories in Zambian newspapers and then relayed them to major European newspapers
“During a staff meeting I voiced my concern to —-, were we on safe ground, paying agents to propagandize the New York press? The agency had recently been warned against running operations inside the United States and propagandizing the American public. —- seemed unconcerned. We were safe enough, he said, as long as we could plausibly claim that our intent was to propagandize foreigners at the United Nations
“The task force worked out the details by cabling New York, Lusaka, Kinshasa, and key European stations. Each delegation opened a bank account in Europe to which European-based CIA finance officers could make regular deposits. Thereafter the CIA could plausibly deny that it had funded anyone’s propagandists in the United States. It would be extremely difficult for any investigators to prove differently
“Director Colby testified before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, saying: “We have taken particular caution to ensure that our operations are focused abroad and not at the United States to influence the opinion of the American people about things from the CIA point of view.” A remarkable statement in view of what we had been doing in the task force (Director Colby received copies of all [relevant] cables and memoranda.)”
Preceding quotes from ‘In Search of Enemies‘ by CIA officer John Stockton
Obama furthered the national security state like a 'Bush on steroids.' GOP lite? Gates colluded with the COIN people at the Pentagon to practically weld the military's special ops forces to CIA paramilitary operations on Obama's watch. Just one example. Drones were unleashed several times the Bush numbers, assassination of American citizens came out of the closet and were 'legalized' (no doubt discussed at 'kill list Tuesday' meetings, e.g. Anwar Awlaki), as well whistle-blowers became persecuted at historic highs exceeding all prior US presidencies combined.
The Democrats are simply smoother criminals and Obama could actually speak English without butchering the language. He was the better thespian, by far (compared to Bush Jr.)
'In any democracy, ethics, self restraint, tolerance and honesty will always take a second seat to narcissism, avarice, bigotry & persecution, if only because people who play by the rules in any democracy are at a disadvantage to those who easily subvert the rules to their own advantage' (Ronald’s Maxim)
Any way you cut the pie, the people on top come out on top.
Good article. Only criticism would be, the politically correct avoidance of the word ‘fascist.’ It really is past time to call that spade a spade -