COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Friday, September 14, 2012

"There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."


Revealed: inside story of US envoy's assassination

Exclusive: America ‘was warned of embassy attack but did nothing’ Independent





The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.
American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.
The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".
Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.
According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.
Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.
Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.
In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.
A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.
Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.
There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.
Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."
According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."
Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."
Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.
An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."
Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.
Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.
Global anger: The protests spread
Yemen
The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.
Egypt
Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".
Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.
Iraq
Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.
Bangladesh
Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.
Others
There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.

40 comments:

  1. The two dead security were "private" (ex-Seals.) Not Marines.

    If he got that wrong, what else did he get wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why wouldn't every U.S. Consulate and Embassy in the Middle East/North Africa have a "Forward Air Controller" on premises - wired in to helos, drones, and fast-movers?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shawn Turner, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, emailed: “This is absolutely wrong. We are not aware of any actionable intelligence indicating that an attack on the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was planned or imminent.”

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81198.html#ixzz26QK0suh7

    DNI Denies Report out of the U.K.

    No Actionable Intelligence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Like I said, if you don't know the difference between private dicks, and Marines, you might not be the best source.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'specially when the private dicks are ex- glorified scuba divers.

      Delete
  5. .

    I suggested that it was time for Hillary to leave starting with Egypt in the Mubarak fiasco.

    but

    It’s wall-to-wall ugly for American diplomacy right now and the person responsible for our diplomacy is not acquitting herself well at all. Moreover, many of the initiatives that she supported — siding against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and supporting the overthrow of Libya’s strongman Muammar Gaddafi and encouraging the protests associated with the “Arab Spring” — helped sow the seeds of protest that now batter against the embassy walls.

    Should Hillary Clinton Be Fired?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Too much time spent with Huma Mahmood Abedin (born 1976) is an American deputy chief of staff and aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.[1] She served as traveling chief of staff and "body woman" for Clinton during Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.[2][3]

    The mind wanders earthward-ho. Can't concentrate on the tasks at hand.

    But this is just scuttlebutt.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huma_Abedin

    http://www.politico.com/gallery/2012/07/huma-abedin/000286-003723.html

    photos

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://theconservativetreehouse.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/huma-abedin-mrs-anthony-weiner-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2011/06/03/weinergate-who-is-mrs-anthony-weiner-huma-abedin/&h=384&w=303&sz=28&tbnid=P-J3u7LjrHVXzM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=76&zoom=1&usg=__b0kxRdHnVWo7CB_jxgJqcdUn2lg=&docid=LriKaVQgiWB4kM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8hRTUIj_LIqe8gTGsIDoCg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwBA&dur=1450

    ReplyDelete
  7. So, let's see: we close the border stations along the Mexican border, disregard warnings about attacks in muslimland, and generally just FUCK AROUND.

    Grrrreat!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Quirk, generally known for his quick wit and overall intelligence, seeks a reason to vote for Romney.

      Just plain pitiful, pitiful, like the maintain guy here said yesterday, plain downright pitiful.

      Delete
    2. .

      And you continue with your obtuse rants. But then what can you expect from a man who gets his talking points from the American Thinker.

      Obama and Romney are different but equivalent. That you can parse some meaningful difference between them is either a tribute to some level of nuance you have that I have been unable to achieve or more likely to an overdose of Kool-Aid.

      I detest them equally though for different reasons. Obama has proved he is incapable of improving the economy, something he promised to do. He has fallen short on most measures in that area and has shown an antipathy towards the private sector and an indifference to job creation. Worse, he has proved he has no problem assuming the role of imperial president. He ignores or guts the constitution and basic human rights our arrogance and force of habit. He has taken us to war without even a nod to Congress. He has shown where is real interest and priorities lie.

      Romney on the other hand is a whore. He will say whatever it takes to get him elected. What he believes? Who the hell knows? What I do know is that from what he says lately his presidency would be inimical to my interests. He promises to continue (and double down) on the same failed economic policies that got us into the problems we have now. On foreign policy, he promises to continue (and double down) on the same jingoistic policies that have given us the problems we are discussing today.

      You think Hillary is bad? Look at Condi, see sucked at both SOS and head of the NSA. You think Holder is bad? Look at Alberto Gonzales. They are all just hired guns, political appointees put in place to justify presidential actions.

      It goes on.

      Pitiful? You make me laugh. You are the pitiful one, acting as enabler for these clowns, never realizing the extent to which you are voting against your own self-interest.

      Please spare me your silly remonstrance’s lest I shift out of Sam mode and tell you clearly what I think of your your delusional opinions.

      .

      Delete
    3. Feed on this, just chew a bit --

      In a televised address two years ago, Obama famously said, "The only people who don't want to disclose the truth are people with something to hide."

      All anyone wants is a question asked, and a real answer.

      Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/09/a_possible_explanation_for_obamas_connecticut_social_security_number.html#ixzz26V4o8A9I

      Delete
    4. Romney on the other hand is a whore. He will say whatever it takes to get him elected. What he believes? Who the hell knows? What I do know is that from what he says lately his presidency would be inimical to my interests. He promises to continue (and double down) on the same failed economic policies that got us into the problems we have now. On foreign policy, he promises to continue (and double down) on the same jingoistic policies that have given us the problems we are discussing today.


      This is idiotic. The failed economic policies that got us into this mess were mostly the work of the democrats, and especially Barney, Chris and Company via fanny and freddie.

      On foreign policy, he promises to continue (and double down) on the same jingoistic policies that have given us the problems we are discussing today.

      And this is pure horseshit. For decades we kept the peace between Egypt and Israel via the treaty and the payments.

      What is jingoistic about this?

      Nothing at all, is the answer.

      The problem is islam running free now.


      What, an arab spring?

      hahahahaha


      Moron.

      Delete


    5. Islamist rioters set fire to German embassy in Sudan


      Hot Air

      What? You don't say!

      Pray tell, Quirk, how did our 'jingoistic policies' cause this??

      Nitwit.

      Delete
    6. September 14, 2012
      Senseless Violence?
      Peter Wilson

      President Obama urged in his press conference following the attacks on our embassies in Libya and Egypt: "We must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants."

      Thankfully, the President's eloquent words will sway the many of us who support murdering diplomats. Now what?

      But is the President right to characterize this as "senseless violence"? For one, it wasn't "violence" that killed and burned. It was al-Qaeda supporters. Muslims.

      Secondly, this violence was not senseless. It had definite political objectives: to celebrate Osama bin Laden on 9/11. To further radicalize the Arab Spring governments. To cow the West into silence about Islam. As Andy McCarthy writes, the Egyptian government threatened the U.S. with this statement:

      "We ask the American government to take a firm position toward this film's producers within the framework of international charters that criminalize acts that stir strife on the basis of race, color or religion."

      McCarthy continues:

      The State Department is working with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of 57 Muslim governments, to impose a resolution demanding that all nations enact laws against condemning not only incitement to violence based on religion, but also incitement to discrimination or hostility to religion.

      This would obviously be an affront to our freedom of speech.

      Senseless violence is when a kid gets shot for a pair of sneakers. Obama's choice of words is further evidence that he doesn't understand the threat of radical Islam.


      Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/09/senseless_violence.html#ixzz26VABHjWN



      The moron Obama, that is being kind, not calling him a traitor, has helped empower the very people want to kill a Catholic like you, Quirk.

      Delete
    7. .

      American Thinker? I don't think so. You might as well link to Mad Magazine or The Onion. As a matter of fact, it would be appreciated if you did. At least, there would be a chance for a laugh instead of just a smirk.

      The failed economic policies that got us into this mess were mostly the work of the democrats...

      Lord, you continue to embarass yourself. If you don't even recognize that the current economic funk was caused by a bi-partisan clusterfuck of epic proportions, you might as well go back to reading Jonathon Swift. You've got nothing of value to offer here. With the current political gridlock in D.C., economic policy has become a zero sum game. Anyone in the middle class that has read any of the details (what there are of them) of the Romney/Ryan agenda realizes that the game is skewed to benefit the wealthy to the detriment of the middle class. Those who doubt this either haven't read the GOP proposals, are Kool-aid drinkers who hate Obama enough that they don't care, or are just plain masochists.

      And this is pure horseshit. For decades we kept the peace between Egypt and Israel via the treaty and the payments.

      What is jingoistic about this?


      Just what I would expect from you, trying to encapsulate six decades of diplomatic incompetance into three sentences.

      Interesting that you would bring up the Egyptian/Israeli Treaty that flowed out of the Camp David Accords that was organized by Jimmy Carter, no doubt one of your favorite presidents. Egypt and Israel signed the peace treaty and the US paid the baksheesh for the past thirty years, in most of those years with borrowed money. We have laws against bribery in any business dealings with foreign countries but evidently it's ok when the diplomats do it. Hell, the only thing the GOP had to do with this is to continue to stuff the money into the ransom suitcase each year.

      It would take me all night to document our screwed-up ME policy over the past thirty years. The only military actions we've taken that were justified there were the first year (possibly two) of the Afghan war and possibly the first Iraqi war under the elder bush. The rest of it has been a clusterfuck that has robbed us of lives and treasure with little measurable positive effect.

      In a previous post on this stream, I pointed out the main reasons we are in the ME, to buy the oil and to sell the weapons. But now, you have Romney doubling down on the neocon wet dream of spreading democracy in the ME. He says we shoud stay in Iraq. Why? He says we should stay in Afghanistan. Why? He says we should establish a 'red line' in Iran. Why? He says if he's president he doesn't require any war powers authorization to attack Iran. Why? He wants us to get involved in Syria. Why? He has suggested we sent special forces into Pakistan the help train the military and work with local populace to set up water projects etc.? Why? We already spend more on the military than the next 17 largest countries combined and he wants us to spend more. Why?

      They don't like us in the ME. They don't want us there. Over the past decade we have killed hundreds of thousands of them in the name of democracy. We have created millions of refugees. It's hardly the way to win friends and influence people. They don't like our culture. They don't like our religion. They don't like our flag. (However, they are willing to take our money.) Why are we there? And Romney is looking for a bigger US footprint in the ME. Why?

      Bob, if you want to pursue you childish prosletyzing for that dick do it with Rufus or someone who really gives a shit about the man. Leave me out of it.

      .





      Delete
    8. .

      The moron Obama, that is being kind, not calling him a traitor, has helped empower the very people want to kill a Catholic like you, Quirk.

      Don't be stupid, Bob. I fully support freedom of religion but I've stated my opinions on churches and buraucracies before. The Catholic Church hasn't been all that interested in me since my divorce. The "Catholic like you" meme falls on rather fallow ground.

      I gave you my thoughts on Muslims in my response to Ash. People who kill in the name of religion are not fundamentalists, they are not radicals, they are murderers and should be treated as such.

      With regard to Obama, you have the brain-freeze associated with all Kool-aid drinkers. You seem to think that pointing out his faults will somehow make me view Romney in a more favorable light. That's not logical. It's merely another one of your many brain farts.

      When Rufus points out Romney's faults, I don't disagree with him. In most cases, I agree. That's does not influence my view of Obama. I won't be voting for him either.

      When you point out Obama's faults (unless it's some off the wall shit from the mind of American Thinker, Dale, or Mats) I don't disagree with you. In most cases, I agree. But that does not influence my view of Romney. I won't be voting for him. Hell, he pretty much lost me when he strapped his dog to the roof of his car.

      So, just leave me out of your little pissing contest. Go play with Ruf or the rat.

      .

      Delete
    9. .

      By the way, how is Dale doing?

      .

      Delete
    10. Dale is recovering. Hasn't felt better since July, at last report.

      Delete
  8. We keep killing or help getting killed the only type of men that can run these countries. Keep killing them but don’t expect that they will be replaced by anything better.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Retail Sales Up 0.9%

    0.1% was autos, and

    0.7% was Gasoline

    ReplyDelete
  10. Deuce, I think part of our problem is that we spent much of our history siding with the 'strong men' and now that they are falling we are on the wrong side of the equation. I think it is doubtful that if we kept supporting these 'strong men' that they'd still be in power and all would be peachy keen (the fall of the Shah of Iran being one example0. The USA has been 'meddling' in the Middle East for a long time now and that 'meddling' has made US prominent actors earning many enemies and a bad rap in much of the public eye.

    I think it is also a mistake to treat Muslims as if they were a monolithic block when there is, in fact, much variation amongst them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      I think it is also a mistake to treat Muslims as if they were a monolithic block when there is, in fact, much variation amongst them.

      Really.

      And what is your solution to this problem?

      Remember, the discussion is currently centered on Muslims in the ME not those selling falafel in Dearborn, Mi.

      Throughout the ME, you have various groups of dicks who are, as you say, variegated but also whose prime tenets are that their individual group is the one and only holder of "The Truth"; that "untruth" and blasphemy, as they define it, has to be purged, by the sword if necessary; and. by the way, the friend of my enemy is my enemy. You support a particular group and you are automatically the enemy of the rest.

      The ME is filled with a bunch of dicks still living in the 7th century. They have a civilization that has evolved little from its beginnings. Their thought processes and culture are different from that of the west. We don't understand them because it is difficult to retrogress to their level. They are for the most part influenced by a religion that has tenets many of which are inimical to western values. What we consider a basic human right they consider blasphemy. They will burn our flags but spend our money.

      They represent a unique category of dickdom.

      You say our problem is supporting strongmen. I say our problem, as evidenced in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, etc. is in supporting anyone we feel might gain power (if we can't set up our own surrogates) in order to protect the only two things we care about there, the oil we buy and the guns we sell.

      My preferred solution would be to withdraw to the extent possible and let them stew in their own bile.

      You have offered your view of the problem. What is your solution?

      .

      Delete
    2. I agree Quirk with your preferred solution. I think we have tried to hard to pick the 'winners'. For example, Hamas won that election in the PA but we refused to honor that election and went with the current guys. We should help encourage them to embrace democracy (i.e. resist those folk who believe their is only one law and it is Allah) and accept the results (like the Muslim Brotherhood gaining power in Egypt). Picking favorites is a mugs game.

      Delete
  11. "Things" seem to be unraveling a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Anti-American Protest Seen as Tip of the Islamist Iceberg
    Patrick Martin



    In the wake of the deadly attacks on Americans in Libya and disappointment in Washington with Egypt, experts say it’s just the tip of the iceberg of unrest across the Muslim world.

    Anti-American protests have spread since Tuesday night when mobs swarmed the U.S. embassy in Cairo and the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and they show no signs of abating. Protesters say they object to a U.S.-made film that denigrates the Islamic Prophet Mohammed but, behind the lines, a much larger motive has propelled the organizers to take action.

    “Make no mistake,” said Barry Rubin, director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Israel, “this is a war, not a misunderstanding. It is a battle of ideologies and a struggle for control of state power, not hurt feelings over some obscure video.”

    Sunni Islamic extremists in both Libya and Egypt are looking to take control, using the post-revolutionary chaos in both countries to their advantage.

    In Libya, as the International Crisis Group notes in a report to be released Friday, “armed Islamist militias influenced by al-Qaeda are growing ever stronger in and around eastern Libya, raising fears about the country’s stability and the likelihood of further deadly attacks like the one that just killed the U.S. ambassador.”

    These Islamists, broadly known as Salafi jihadists, did not contest seats in parliamentary elections in July, believing, as they do, that there is only one law, that of God as recorded by Mohammed, and no need for any parliament passing other laws.

    They are using other means, now, to press their case.

    “They see Americans as patrons of a regime they don’t like,” the American-born Mr. Rubin said. “They don’t want to thank us for helping liberate them; they want to run us out of the region entirely.”

    As bad as that may be for U.S. interests in Libya, much more is on the line in Egypt, another post-revolutionary state where Salafists are taking a similar anti-American tack and the country’s Muslim Brotherhood President, Mohamed Morsi, is walking a fine line.

    The Salafists are trying to embarrass the Brotherhood, Mr. Rubin says. They are trying to out them as supporters of the “anti-Muslim” United States.

    Indeed, the ruling Brotherhood doesn’t want to lose U.S. support – financial and military – but they don’t want to be embarrassed by their Salafist competition.

    Mr. Morsi, who appeared in public on Thursday in Brussels to answer questions about the storming of the U.S. embassy Tuesday, reserved his strongest language to attack the contentious film rather than to apologize for, or to condemn, the assault on the embassy.

    “In Egypt and everywhere in the Arab world there is anger,” Mr. Morsi said, adding that he had pressed U.S. President Barack Obama on the scurrilous nature of the film during a phone conversation Wednesday.

    “[But,] it is our duty to protect our guests and visitors from abroad,” he added.

    “The freedom to express opinions and demonstrate … are guaranteed, but without attacks on private or public property, diplomatic missions or embassies,” he said.

    The U.S. administration is still waiting to see which way the political wind is blowing in Egypt: Just how far will the Muslim Brotherhood leadership go to satisfy U.S. interests? In the meantime, in an interview Thursday, Mr. Obama underlined the growing testiness between Washington and Cairo when he tried to describe the new Egyptian regime: “I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy,” was how he put it.

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    Replies
    1. For her part, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went out of her way to denounce the film that appears to have sparked the protests, describing it as “disgusting and reprehensible.”

      However, in a comment that appeared to be directed at Mr. Morsi, she added: “We all, whether we are leaders in government, leaders in civil society or religious leaders, must draw the line at violence. … Any responsible leader should be standing up now and drawing that line.”

      The protests that now threaten to spread across the Muslim world are the tip of an iceberg, says Alastair Crooke, a former MI6 analyst and specialist in the Islamic world. He argues that even the recent increase in attacks in Iraq, along with those in Syria being directed against the Assad regime, are the work of the same kind of Sunni extremists, seeking to take power in those two countries.

      “It’s a region-wide phenomenon,” Mr. Crooke said.

      “There is a battle going on in the Middle East that will continue for decades,” Mr. Rubin says."

      http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/anti-american-protests-seen-as-tip-of-the-islamist-iceberg/article4544402/

      Delete
  13. The US has been shooting Muslim natives in Afpakistan, Yemen, Libya and Iraq for over a decade.
    We use unmanned drones to kill anyone we please across the region.
    The natives are restless.

    Who could blame them for being so? They have lost whatever sense of sovereignty they had.

    Obama, none to bluntly, warned the President of Egypt to "back off" and the next day the Muslim Brotherhood canceled their demonstrations. The natives are still restless, regardless.

    In Libya, it was an organized attack, one that Mr Stevens, himself, had warned of. As per Assange's Wikileaks reporting.
    The Consulate in Benghazi was not well secured. For that Mrs Clinton and the President are responsible.

    The US is engaged in a overt/covert "War on Terror".
    We lost four more in that fight, in Libya.

    The natives that live in the battle zone, many of them do not like US. Some do.

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    Replies
    1. For those that care ...
      Derna is just up the road from Benghazi

      Stevens, who became ambassador to Libya this year, was killed this week in an attack that U.S. sources tell CNN was planned by a pro-al Qaeda group of extremists. While it is not definitively clear whether this group, or what group specifically, is behind the attack, it's clear that Stevens expressed concern about a radical movement fomenting in the port city of Derna.

      The cable was leaked in the trove that WikiLeaks released in 2010 and 2011, and CNN reported on it last year.

      That earlier report said:

      Derna even made it into U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by Wikileaks. A cable from 2008 describes it as a "wellspring of Libyan foreign fighters" for al Qaeda in Iraq. High youth unemployment, discrimination by the Gadhafi regime and the influence of veteran Libyan jihadists from Afghanistan all played a role in radicalizing a new generation.

      "Other factors include a dearth of social outlets for young people, [and] local pride in Derna's history as a locus of fierce opposition to occupation," the cable said. "Most young men watched a mix of al-Jazeera news, religious sermons and western action films on English language satellite channels broadcast from the Gulf. The result was a heady mixture of violence, religious conservatism and hatred of U.S. policy in Iraq and Palestine."

      ...

      This suggests that the Benghazi area has long been recognized as one in which special caution should be observed, and that American officials had good reason to anticipate the threat that resulted in this week's bloody tragedy. With recent reports that the Bush administration overlooked warnings in the months leading up to 9/11, it looks like the Obama administration may be emulating its predecessor even more than we suspected.

      Delete
  14. .

    I give YouTube credit for refusing to take the video down. Unlike the mainstreet press and other major media outlets in the past when incidences like this occurred, YouTube has so far not given in to cowardice or PC responces. Good on them.

    They have restricted access to the video in Egypt and Libya, something I don't like; however, since majorities in those countries denounce the video, I guess its a politic exception I can live. When dealing with religious fanatics trying to reason with them can be difficult.

    .

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  15. The Middle East/N. Africa situation is just a matter of unfortunate geography -

    Somehow Our Oil got buried under their land.

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  16. Look, anyone but a political opportunist of the first order has to recognize the importance of this:

    We brought 152 wells online in the much-vaunted Bakken Play in July.

    Production increased by a little over 9,000 bbl/day.

    That comes out to about 60 bbl/day added production per well. (this number used to - just two years ago - 250 bbl/day.)


    We import 9 Million bbls/day from a world that is, also, finding it harder, and harder to "keep up" with expanding demand in China, India, and the rest of the developing countries.

    ReplyDelete

  17. The Plains and Eastern Clean Line wind power transmission line in Oklahoma was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday to start acquiring customers for its potential 7,000 MW of clean energy.

    This line will be approximately 800 miles in length and is a high-voltage direct current transmission project. The new line is being developed in order to send clean energy generated by wind farms in western Oklahoma, southwest Kansas, and the Texas Panhandle to customers in the Mid-South and Southeast.

    Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1nmhI)


    The project will be managed in two 3,500-megawatt phases. The first phase is under development. Such a transmission line is necessary to uncork the renewable energy potential of the region, because the existing electrical grid is not equipped to efficiently transmit new power sources.

    It has been estimated about 10,000 jobs will be created as a result of the project being constructed. Additionally, 1,000 jobs will be generated for maintenance and operation of both the new power line and the wind farms connected to it.


    Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1nmhI)

    Infrastructure in Oklahoma

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  18. The "best" news I've heard lately on the energy front was that item rufus posted about switchgrass being genetically modified to increase its' productive yields.

    That little item could be "revolutionary".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Rat. That is definitely "the new frontier."

      If I have any bone to pick with the Obama Administration it is that the "ultra-greenies" in his organization dropped the ball, somewhat, on biofuels, and over-estimated the potential for electric vehicles.

      That being said, it's glaringly obvious to anyone that's seriously considering this, that we will have to, sooner or later, embark on a tremendous, crash-course cellulosic ethanol program. The oil won't be there, and "electric cars" won't be able to get the job done.

      Delete
    2. The "Magic" batteries never developed. Had to do with physics, I do believe.

      Bio-fuels have always been the "Greenest" alternative.
      Very low carbon footprint and they create jobs.
      In farming, distilling and distribution.

      Delete
    3. 1.2 Million Jobs just in "constructing" the refineries.

      Delete
    4. Republicans drop Energy Efficiency from Platform

      Bloomberg

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  19. No one seems to be paying any attention to the fact that, simultaneous to the Libyan attack, and the Egyptian riot, a very large, and sustained, attack took place against Camp Leatherneck/Bastion in Helmund Province, killing Two Marines.

    Coincidence?

    ReplyDelete