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."
Never heard him before, poor poor pitiful me, to have allowed myself to have been so misled.
ReplyDeleteThat was, also, My first time for listening to him speak. Interesting fellow. I wonder what he'd think about our current President.
ReplyDeleteHe'd probably rather talk about Ferguson. :) As well he should, I guess.
Thanks, Deuce; That was a good'un.
'Uncle' Barack would be my guess.
DeleteThe only 'black' on that block, or in the neighborhood.
DeleteSurrounded by white folks. He explained his position, clearly.
The current actions of the US, across the globe, quite similar to those he attributed to JFK.
Mr Obama definitely has "Stayed the Course".
Doubt that he would consider Mr Obama a Muslim, nor would he be impressed by the 'color' of his skin.
Surely if ever there was a wonderful man, X was a wonderful man.
ReplyDeleteBen Carson is a piker by comparison.
'Uncle' Ben, the good doctor would be considered white as rice.
DeleteBen is no H. Rap Brown, that is for sure. Or Stokely Carmichael either.
DeleteAh, the sixties, and seventies - somehow we lived through it. Damned if I know how, though. :)
ReplyDelete"Free Huey"
DeleteAfter Huey's ass was freed, he got gunned down by Tyrone "Double R" Robinson, a member of the Black Guerrilla Family.
DeleteFree Bobby Seale !
Malcolm X was, actually, pretty funny in spots. He could deliver a line.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I thought of Richard Pryor a couple of times.
DeleteDifferent delivery, but biting.
I'll take Richard Pryor. I like him.
DeleteParticularly when he played the part of a Ben Carson in that movie, name of movie forgotten.
:):)
That was a wonderful scene.....
Speaking of movies, my OGF is hosting an Oscar Party tonight in Vegas. She tells me it was a really good year for movies...
Here is her report:
>>
Bob,
It's sort of a party. My girlfriend Michelle always comes here to watch
with Gregg and I and we eat and drink as we celebrate. Starting with
champagne and caviar. We also have ballots printed out and we guess at the
winners. Gregg often picks the most wins and he has seen fewer of the films.
Sort of like gambling it's a matter of guessing. :) I want "American
Sniper" to win Best Picture but as liberal as Hollywood is that is doubtful. I
have seen most of the films and this year they are all very good and all I
would consider deserving of winning. After the caviar we have escargot.
Then a whole artichoke. Now on to a Caesar salad with anchovies on top
before the main dish of lamp chops from the grill. Gregg gets to do the
grilling as we gals can't leave the front of the TV. Besides he is a good
griller. This year I am serving Mac and Cheese with the lamb shops. Of course
by now we are on to the red wine. Desert is mixed berries with Grande
Mariner over ice cream or plain. It's quite the day! :)
Pretty sure Julianne Moore will win Best Actress for "Still Alice". Boy
that was a tear jerker taken form the novel about Alzheimers. Hoping
Simmons wins Best Supporting Actor for "Whiplash". Man that was an intense film
and he was plain amazing. Great film. I would like Bradley Cooper to win
Best Actor for "American Sniper" but it will probably be either Michael
Keaton or the fellow portraying Hawkins. Like I mentioned earlier everyone
is great this year and the films as well. It's tough to really pick a
winner. They all are deserving. J. <<
Thus 'life' goes on in Vegas.
Fish eggs, snails, and an artichoke.
DeleteHow much fun is that ?
An Elk T-Bone Steak sounds a lot better......
DeleteI grew up on elk meat. Dad shot an elk thirteen years in a row.....
Quirk crapped out on the skinning job. Said it too much work. He headed to Mosul to do some reporting for the Detroit Insider. He is now pleading for my help....."Bobbo, they won't take my American Express Card....."
And this - "Bobbo, what is 'beheading'? I never heard of that before. Someone said 'you show that card again you'll lose your head. What's that mean, I asked. You'll be beheaded you dumb motherfucker.' What's all this mean, Bobbo?"
DeleteHer husband is half Jewish, half German Lutheran, of all things. He is always feeding her lamb chops.
DeleteAnd thereby it is proved that the god Eros is stronger than the god Eres.
DeleteIf Deuce married a Jewish lady he'd become a Zionist, he is so easily swayed.
Delete:)
DeleteBetter get out of here before I get in trouble......
later
What is the point of being a human being if you don’t grow, use your experiences, learn, re-think, reposition your view, readjust and expand your horizons? Groundhog’s Day is preferable? No thanks.
ReplyDeleteRight, nothing at all wrong, as long as it's UP the ladder of life, not DOWN.
DeleteRobert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, take note of someone you claim is great ...
Delete“As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.'
We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.'
When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.'
When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Who would have thought this would happen again?
ReplyDeleteThe rich keep getting richer. The rest of us aren’t so lucky.
According to a survey released Monday by Bankrate.com of more than 1,000 adults, 37% of Americans have credit card debt that equals or exceeds their emergency savings. “These numbers mean that three out of every eight Americans are teetering on the edge of financial disaster” — thanks to the fact that many of these folks might be hard-pressed to pay for an emergency should one arise, says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst. “Not only do most of them not have enough savings, they’ve all used up some portion of their available credit — they are running out of options.”
That’s particularly problematic considering that emergencies happen more often than you might think. A 2014 survey by American Express found that half of all Americans had experienced an unforeseen expense in the past year — some of which could be considered an emergency. Indeed, 44% of those who had an unforeseen expense(s) had one for health care and 46% for car trouble — two items that for many Americans are must-pay items, as you need a car to get to work and your health expenses are usually not optional.
- Marketwatch
Brigitte Bardot on trial again for insulting Muslims
ReplyDeleteFebruary 22, 2015 8:02 am By Robert Spencer 60 Comments
BardotIt is increasingly difficult in the “free world” to state unpopular truths — and if the forces of “peace” and “tolerance” and “liberalism” get their way, before too long it will be completely impossible. There is an ongoing effort to impose Sharia blasphemy laws upon the West, and all too many Westerners are happy to fall into line.
“Brigitte Bardot on trial again for insulting Muslims,” WND, February 20, 2015 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
Former film star Brigitte Bardot, France’s iconic blonde bombshell and “sex kitten” who reigned supreme from 1952 – 1973, is currently on trial for the fifth time for insulting Muslims and “inciting racial hatred.” Bardot has been fined four times and has also received suspended jail sentences.
Now, the prosecutor, Anne de Fontette, wants a heftier fine and a tougher sentence: the equivalent of $24,000 and a two month (hopefully) suspended jail term.
What crimes has Bardot committed in the land without a First Amendment, in the land of Hate Speech laws that are being slickly exploited by non-persecuted Muslims?
Bardot has written: “I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population which is destroying us, destroying our country.”…
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/brigitte-bardot-on-trial-again-for-insulting-muslims
Now THERE is a GOOD WOMAN !
Would that our American women had the spunk to speak out once in a while.
If the jihadis start attacking Malls all across America that will be a big mistake for them. That would finally really piss the American people off.
ReplyDeleteThey have specifically called for attacks on the icon of malls, The Mall of America.
My wife and kids have been there. In Minnesota I think.
The final straw.....
.........................
OGF called it...........American Sniper won't win she said............Hollywood is too liberal to give the top prize to such a movie......which my wife said was excellent.....
Delete“But why should he be open-minded when he thinks he’s right?”
― Johnny Rich
What did she think of "Birdman"?
DeleteHow did it compare to the stylistic violence of killing 'savages'?
Because the idea that Hollywood is to liberal to allow for a war movie to win "Bet Picture" is foolishness.
DeleteHurt Locker" which won in 2008 proves the point.
The film was nominated for nine Oscars and won six, including best director. Director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win best director. The film features Jeremy Renner as the sergeant in charge of a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance unit in the Iraq War. -
If ignorance is bliss, you must be a happy man.
Listen up, you obsessed psychotic little prick.......
Delete1) Hurt Locker I've never heard of......did it win best movie ?
2) Because that was what she was talking about....
3) The opinion was hers, not mine, about about the climate of today
4) She's married to an honorable career military marine who was in Vietnam. Neither she nor he are ignorant.
5) You are ignorant, not she. You are dishonorable, not she or he. She is well read, knows people all over the world........
Now how about quit the stalking and following me around every time I post something.
Go fuck yourself and leave others alone.
Got to take a shower, then work again, think of that ! Retired? Not quite yet.....
No, you can stay, even though you promised you were leaving ...
DeleteYou can deny responsibility for your actions ...
But you will be 'called' on the lies you tell.
Promise.
This is the latest killing ground
ReplyDelete11 Air Strikes there, yesterday
Al-Hasakah, Syria
(CBSNewYork/AP) - U.S. authorities said there was “no credible” evidence suggesting a mall attack was in the works after a video purported to be from Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked rebel group al-Shabab urged Muslims to attack malls in Western ...
ReplyDelete. (AP) — France has deployed an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf to strengthen its military operation against Islamic State extremists in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteMaking the allies spend a little treasure - Damn that Obama.
Delete
ReplyDeleteBy Phil Stewart
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait Feb 23 (Reuters) - Iraqi forces appear set to drive Islamic State militants out of the town of al-Baghdadi, securing an area near a key air base where U.S. Marines are training local forces, a top U.S. commander said on Monday.
Lieutenant General James Terry, the senior U.S. commander of U.S.-led coalition efforts in Iraq and Syria, played down the militants' seizure of large parts of the town earlier this month, saying that the area had long been contested.
Speaking to reporters before an unusual war strategy meeting with top U.S. military and diplomatic leaders in Kuwait, Terry portrayed Islamic State as being on the back foot after they swept through northern Iraq last summer.
"My assessment is (Islamic State) is halted, on the defensive, and really forced-exposed themselves in order to achieve gains," Terry told reporters in Kuwait.
The Iraqi army's 7th Division, including one of its commando units, were joining with tribal forces to retake al-Baghdadi, which is about 85 km (50 miles) northwest of Ramadi in Anbar province, Terry said.
"Baghdadi itself isn't that big," said Terry, the commander of Operation Inherent Resolve. "I'm pretty confident that the Iraqis will retake this. I think they've got the right forces out there to do it."
http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFL5N0VX2R320150223
Sabah Karhut, head of Anbar Provincial Council, said Iraqi security forces had recaptured al-Baghdadi police station and had reached the town centre. He said there was heavy fighting on Monday and that 20 Islamic State fighters were killed.
Delete
Delete... were joining with tribal forces to retake al-Baghdadi ...
Tribal Forces, that is 'code' for Sunni forces, like the "Sons of Iraq".
US policy of supporting the Iraqi government is beginning to show excellent results.
On both the military and political reconciliation sides of the equation.
fancy that
Yep. The Sunnis don't like the Shia worth a damn, but these headcutting/burning sonsabitches are beyond the pale.
DeleteAnd, you gotta give Obama credit; he withholds support without the Shia cooperating with the Sunni.
Funny thing ...
ReplyDeleteI recall the meme that was often repeated, that Radical Islam could only be defeated when their fellow Muslims stood up to the radicals.
Now that these very scenario is playing out ....
The "Usual Suspects" are claiming that the effort is guaranteed to fail.
We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what (Muslim) boys ought to be doing for themselves.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
He should have listened to what he said.
Now that this very scenario is playing out ....
Delete
ReplyDeleteIraqi minister chides U.S. over Mosul assault timing
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:23am EST
(Reuters) - Iraq's defense minister criticized the United States on Sunday for declaring a timeframe for an offensive to recapture the Islamic State's northern stronghold of Mosul, saying military commanders should not show their hand to the enemy.
Khaled al-Obeidi said the timing of the Mosul assault was for Iraq to decide, and that a U.S. Central Command official who predicted the attack was likely to take place in April or May had no knowledge of the issue.
Islamic State fighters seized Mosul last June as they swept through northern Iraq towards Baghdad, meeting virtually no resistance from the army and establishing a self-declared caliphate straddling the border between Iraq and Syria.
The United States and its allies have waged months of air strikes against Islamic State targets and Washington is training up and equipping the Iraqi military to recapture territory. The battle for Mosul - the largest city in northern Iraq - is expected to be pivotal in that struggle.
A U.S. Central Command official said on Thursday that an Iraqi and Kurdish military force of 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture the city, probably in April or May.
But Obeidi declined to confirm that timetable, and expressed irritation at the remarks from the unnamed U.S. official.
"This is urban warfare and we have civilian populations. It is very important to take time and accuracy in setting the plan for this battle," he told a news conference in Baghdad.
"A military official should not reveal the timing of an offensive," he added. "The battle for Mosul starts when preparations are complete, and selecting the time is up to Iraqi military commanders."
Iraqi officials say the Mosul attack will take place within months, but they have often said Baghdad needs greater international military support and have declined to set a date.......
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/22/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-mosul-idUSKBN0LQ0JO20150222?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
Rufus be honest with yourself just once and admit your Napoleon of the Potomac, O'bozo, caused all this shit by taking the troops out too soon. Practically everyone else in America recognizes this simple self evident truth.
Here is a list of those from around here that I know have served in the military honorably -
Deuce
Rufus
WiO's family members......I am not sure if WiO was in the military himself, but if he was he would have done so honorably
Doug
allen
Trish of "there's something really wrong with you, rat" fame
Off to work ! Showed, fit, and somewhat overweight.
Cheers !
out for day
bob Thu May 27, 12:52:00 AM EDT
DeleteBut I did rip off the bank for $7500 hundred dollars, when I was on my knees, and fighting for my economic life, on my aunt's credit card. But that wasn't really stealing, just payback. …
Just like a meth head, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, tries to justify his crime by saying that the loot was owed him, by the people or institution he ripped off.
You have "shit for brains," bob. You don't "know" jack about any of us. People type things on their computer, and you take it for gospel. You're a moron.
DeleteHeadline that caught my eye upon leaving Drudge for the day -
ReplyDeleteBaghdad's first female mayor set to take the reins......drudge
Will wonders never cease ?
Defense Minister is a Political Position. Obeidi is a Sunni Politician. He may have his panties in a wad over something Abadi said, or did. It may be the Americans that he's irritated with. Maybe, it's a plan of misdirection. It doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteYou'll go crazy listening to Iraqi politicians; watch what they Do.
ReplyDeleteThe Draft Dodgers of Ukraine
The country’s struggling army is trying to replenish its ranks. But with its forces taking a pounding in the east, Kiev is discovering that new recruits are making themselves scarce.
The draft announcements have been met with alarm even in the country’s traditionally more nationalistic west. Ukrainian outlets have published reports of men fleeing the country en masse to avoid being drafted. In one village in the Ternopil region, 45 men out of the 60 who were to be called up left the country five days beforehand, and all the draft-age men in another village disappeared overnight, regional draft office commissar Andriy Masly told journalists. Of the 14,000 men who were supposed to present themselves at the regional draft office for medical examinations, 7,500 didn’t show up, he said.
Roman said that out of the 36 young men in his home village who were called up, he knows several who are avoiding service. More than 1,300 criminal investigations have been opened against citizens suspected of evading military service, according to the Defense Ministry.
The situation is even stickier in other parts of the country where the population is divided between those who back Kiev and those who sympathize with the pro-Russian rebels. Small anti-mobilization rallies have been held in places like Zaporizhia, which borders Donetsk region and is close to rebel-controlled areas.
Russian media have jumped to cover such protests, and president Vladimir Putin has encouraged the rash of draft dodging, ordering officials to change legislation so that Ukrainian citizens can stay in Russia for longer than the allotted 30 days and won’t “have to return to Ukraine, where they are being caught and sent under the bullets again.” Russia’s Federal Migration Service said at the beginning of February that 20,000 conscription-age Ukrainian men had entered the country in just one week and that a total of 1,193,000 such men were in Russia.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/18/the-draft-dodgers-of-ukraine-russia-putin/
THAT is telling. This world will never have peace unless some President comes along with the chops to clean up this unholy alliance between the State Dept., and the CIA.
DeleteIt's time to put this Great Game/Cold War bullslhit to bed.
ReplyDeleteIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has aligned himself and his cause with the Republican party, which an overwhelming majority of American Jews reject, and many actively despise, writes Harold Meyerson.
DeleteNetanyahu’s strange link to Republicans
When American Jews — or anyone with eyes to see — look at Netanyahu and the Israeli right, they don't see a leader or movement with any such interest in a two-state solution or the minority rights that have been so fundamental to Jews in the diaspora. Many Israelis, in contrast to Bibi, have maintained that more egalitarian perspective despite living in a state where they constitute the majority. Many have not; the upcoming Israeli elections will at least partly measure the strengths of these two camps.
For now, Israel's prime minister is aligning himself with one of America's two camps. It's not the camp that commands — or even can command — the support of most American Jews. That will pose a problem for Israel.
http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/5442297-netanyahu-s-strange-link-to-republicans/
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said a pan-Arab military force should be created to combat terrorist groups, insisting the threat of Islamist militancy requires a "unified" response from countries in the region.
ReplyDeleteThree weeks ago, Kevin Barrett published an article written by French scholar Laurent Guyenot entitled, “Israel, the psychopathic nation.” Building on the work of Robert D. Hare of the University of British Columbia (we have written about him last July), the article argues that Israel exhibits signs of a psychopathic nation. Guyenot writes,
ReplyDelete“The Jewish nation, as a state, but also as an organized world community, acts collectively towards other nations and other human communities in the way a psychopath acts towards his fellow men.”
Guyenot, however, makes it clear that
“I do not intend to imply that ‘the Jews’ are psychopaths, but instead that they are the first victims of a mental straitjacket imposed by their elites, who through veritable intellectual terrorism, make of them, to the extent that they comply, the instruments of the collective psychopathy of Israel.”
Netanyahu constantly violates international rule. He builds a standard for himself and uses a completely different standard for everyone else.
DeleteFor example, Iran has consistently followed international law with respect to its nuclear program, and even the IAEA has recently concluded after a long study that “Iran has stopped questionable nuclear centrifuge testing.”
But that again is not enough for Benjamin Netanyahu. He wants something more—something Talmudic and not essentially Western or logical, which means that he wants to split Iran into different particles. The Jerusalem Post itself reported,
“The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran has refrained from expanding tests of more efficient models of a machine used to refine uranium under a nuclear agreement with six world powers, allaying concerns it might be violating the accord.
“Netanyahu, however, released a statement insisting that the report indicates Iran continues to be engaged in obfuscation.
“‘The IAEA report again notes that Iran is refusing to reveal to the world its preparations for the production of nuclear weapons,’ Netanyahu said.
“‘Iran insists on hiding this from the international community at a time when the major powers are continuing to try and allow Iran to produce the core of such weapons, enriched uranium. These do not go together.’”
What kind of evidence will this man accept?
IAEA officials went to Iran, looked at the facilities to find suspicious activities and found none, but then Netanyahu is telling us that the bomb must be there somehow!
Did Netanyahu really want IAEA officials to build a bomb and argue that it was Iran’s?
Or did he want those officials to bring with them Netanyahu’s own cartoon and present it to the UN as evidence that Iran was building a nuclear bomb?
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/02/22/benjamin-netanyahu-is-almost-certainly-a-psychopath/
DeletePaul Krugman: Knowledge Isn’t Power
ReplyDeleteA skills gap is not the problem, it's economic power:
Knowledge Isn’t Power, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: ... Just to be clear: I’m in favor of better education. Education is a friend of mine. And it should be available and affordable for all. But ... people insisting that educational failings are at the root of still-weak job creation, stagnating wages and rising inequality. This sounds serious and thoughtful. But it’s actually a view very much at odds with the evidence, not to mention a way to hide from the real, unavoidably partisan debate.
The education-centric story of our problems runs like this: We live in a period of unprecedented technological change, and too many American workers lack the skills to cope with that change. This “skills gap” is holding back growth, because businesses can’t find the workers they need. It also feeds inequality, as wages soar for workers with the right skills... So what we need is more and better education. ...
It’s repeated so widely that many people probably assume it’s unquestionably true. But it isn’t..., there’s no evidence that a skills gap is holding back employment...
Finally, while the education/inequality story may once have seemed plausible, it hasn’t tracked reality for a long time..., the inflation-adjusted earnings of highly educated Americans have gone nowhere since the late 1990s.
So what is really going on? Corporate profits have soared as a share of national income, but there is no sign of a rise in the rate of return on investment..., it’s what you would expect if rising profits reflect monopoly power rather than returns to capital... — all the big gains are going to a tiny group of individuals holding strategic positions in corporate suites or astride the crossroads of finance. Rising inequality isn’t about who has the knowledge; it’s about who has the power.
Now, there’s a lot we could do to redress this inequality of power. We could levy higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, and invest the proceeds in programs that help working families. We could raise the minimum wage and make it easier for workers to organize. It’s not hard to imagine a truly serious effort to make America less unequal.
But given the determination of one major party to move policy in exactly the opposite direction, advocating such an effort makes you sound partisan. Hence the desire to see the . . . . . .
Economist's View
You have "shit for brains," Rufus. You don't "know" jack about any of us. People type things on their computer, and you take it for gospel. You're a moron.
ReplyDeleteOnly a MORON like you, Rufus, would predict that Iraq would be ISIS free by July 4th, 2015.
It's a real laugher.
Your only way out is to admit it was the Budweiser-Beam mixture doing the predicting, and not the good ol' sober minded Uncle Rufus who does know something (a lot, actually) about alternative energies.
Furthermore, and I really do mean this, Rufus, you illiterate old fart, you know absolutely nothing, NOTHING, about religion, philosophy or mythology.
DeleteReading you about such things is really quite painful, in a sad way.
I know that people that end up thinking too much about those things end up nuttier than a fruitcake.
DeleteWell then in that case you shall go to your grave as sane as the day you were born, cause you haven't ever really thought about such things at all.
DeleteDeclassified
ReplyDeleteObama's Rushing to Disaster in Iraq
78 Feb 23, 2015 6:00 AM EST
By Eli Lake
Now would be a very good time for U.S. President Barack Obama to think about what happens after Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, is liberated from the Islamic State.
Last week, top Pentagon officials briefed reporters about plans for the Iraqi army and Kurdish forces, with U.S. air support, to retake Mosul in April or May. Iraq's prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi, has been more sober, telling the BBC that he hoped Mosul would be retaken in a "few months." On Sunday, Iraq's new defense minister declined to say whether even this time frame was realistic.
There are sound reasons to welcome the fall of Mosul. It would give momentum to an Iraqi army that really needs to show some success to appeal to future recruits. It would also be a huge blow to the jihadis, who want to prove the caliphate they have declared is a historical inevitability. Losing Mosul, a city made up largely of fellow Sunni Arabs, would refute a case their propagandists have made skillfully on social media.
But the apparent disagreement over the time frame is significant: If Iraq were to re-take Mosul without a real plan for what comes next -- i.e., having credible Sunni Arab leaders in place to administer the city -- it could intensify sectarian hostility that is already breaking Iraq apart.
The worse-case scenario is a repeat of what happened in Amirli, a town north of Baghdad that was retaken from Islamic State forces in September by a mixture of Iraqi army troops, Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite militias supported by Iran. Human rights groups have been documenting how in the aftermath of the battle, Shiite militiamen attacked Sunni Arabs who were not connected to the Islamic State and burned the homes of Sunni families, simply as retribution. In Congressional testimony in December, Sarah Margon, the Washington director for Human Rights Watch said, "crudely empowered Shia militias are being used to punish the Sunni population because of its sect."
So, assuming Iraq really is preparing to take Mosul in the spring, it's worth asking who will be doing the liberating.
According to officials I spoke to in Iraq last month, the hope is that a new group of volunteers from the region known as the Mosul Liberation Battalion will be the tip of the spear. Last month, Osama al-Nujaifi, an Iraqi vice president, told NBC News that the battalion had already conducted a number of raids inside Mosul against Islamic State occupiers.
But other Iraqi officials told me that the militia was largely untested, and it was unclear whether its leaders would have any credibility with the population inside the city.
A senior U.S. official who was briefed on the latest plans to take Mosul told me the new battalion was trying to surround the city and put it under siege. But he, too, said he did not know if the group was capable of helping administer Mosul once it fell.
So the situation is this: U.S. military leaders are openly talking about an imminent offensive on a city of more than a million residents who are widely distrustful of the Baghdad government; it's unclear whether the projected front-line troops for the invasion are up to the task; there seems to be no comprehensive plan for what happens after the fighting stops. It's enough to make one think the uncertainty over the time table isn't the worst thing, if indeed a delay might help clarify some of these issues.
DeleteMichael Knights, an Iraq expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he did not think it was likely that Shiite militias or Kurdish forces would attempt to ethnically cleanse Mosul, a la Amirli. But he does feel there is a disaster in the making if a retreat by the Islamic State leaves a power vacuum. "The politics of liberating Mosul have to be just perfect or the end result is that Mosul quickly looks like Tripoli," Knights said, referring to the civil war that has emerged in Libya since the U.S.-led coalition helped overthrow Muammar Qaddafi's government.
The analogy of Libya is cause for concern. Obama and his top advisers touted the initial light footprint for America's role in the revolution there as a smart alternative to the George W. Bush-era occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. That argument may have seemed persuasive in 2011. In 2015, however, Obama's reluctance to place troops on the ground or actively help shape Libya's future looks like a blunder.
The question now is whether Obama is about to make a similar mistake in Iraq.
To contact the author on this story:
Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-02-23/is-obama-rushing-to-disaster-in-iraq-
ReplyDeleteO'bozo caused the disaster in the first place and is now 'doubling down' disaster wise.
You're a racist moron. We lost over 300 troops in Iraq during Bush's last year in office.
DeleteAh ha !
DeleteI knew you'd get around to 'blaming Bush' you racist blame whitey first piece of ignorant shit.
You VOTED FOR BUSH you hypocrite racist piece of blame whitey piece of ignorant shit.
(Hey, this is kind of fun.....I am getting the hang of it......with practice I will be as good as the old geezer Rufus)
Which is why HE negotiated, and signed the withdrawal of forces agreement.
ReplyDeleteO bullshit.
DeleteHe wanted out as a campaign pledge fulfilled and all those lives were wasted for no good purpose.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself for the bullshit you peddle these days.
Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson wants US troops to have been subject to Sharia law in Iraqi courts.
ReplyDeleteIt is that simple.
Neither Mr Bush nor Mr Obama would allow that to happen.
DeleteRobert "Draft Dodger" Peterson disagrees, he does not want US troops to be subject to the UCMJ, but to Sharia Law.
He does not want them afforded the protections of the US military justice system, but prosecuted by Iraqis, and sent to Iraqi jails.
He would have had no problems with the Marines accused of murder in Haditha being held by Iraqis, tried by Iraqis and executed by Iraqis, even though they were exonerated in their Courts Martial.
Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, he hates the US military so.
DeleteHe would deny them their basic legal rights.
Psycho-rat the War Criminal babbles.
DeleteTo himself.
Cause nobody else is really listening.
One wonders how this important man can waste so much time here away from the super important super hush hush new project off the coasts of Panama he recently was mentioning........until one realizes that, like the cattle ranching and the Portfolio Management, it's all made up bullshit.
The man who would see his country fail, before allowing a black man to succeed.
DeleteThe draft dodger, bank robbing Robert Peterson listens, he quivers and quakes, as his life's story is told.
DeleteAny claim he makes about others, he is unable to reference, unable to verify, because the stories, they are delusions he has created. That's the truth of it.
The story of his life, it is in the archives of the Elephant Bar, a place he will not venture.
The truth terrifies the old man. He will not search for the truth, he runs from it.
Jesus Christ, Rufus, your are crazy.
DeleteAll I've said is we are in this pickle because he took the troops out too soon. It is obvious to anyone with half a brain.
And I am hardly in a position to 'allow' O'bozo to succeed, or not succeed.
On the other hand, looked at from an alternative universe, O'bozo is a ripping success, he has everyone and his daughter fighting against everyone else and their son, he has succeeded beyond imaging into turning the whole place chaos.....
Libya
Egypt almost saved by Sisi
Syria
Iraq
Yemen
etc
He has, surprisingly, started to consider delaying the final withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan....
Get a grip, Rufus.
And grow up. If you were to vote against Ben Carson I wouldn't call you an ignorant racist for doing so.
I'd just call you ignorant.
You backwoods Mississippi hick.
Delete“It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos.”
― Mel Odom
Libya - The dreaded Colonel Q is gone, a task that Ronald W Reagan was unable to accomplish
Egypt - al Sisi is a US proxy, has been since his days at the US Army War College in Carlisle, PA
Syria & Iraq - The chemical weapons of Assad are gone, while the 'fly paper' strategy i attracting Islamoids from around the world, to die in the desert.
Yemen - the new government more vehemently opposed to al-Qeada than the previous one.
etc
Stick to subjects you understand, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, like bank fraud and cat piss.
ReplyDeleteLeaked cables contradict Benjamin Netanyahu's claim Iran was close to making nuclear bomb
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim in 2012 that Iran was a year away from making a nuclear bomb contradicted his secret services, according to reports today citing leaked documents.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-24/leaks-contradict-israels-claim-iran-was-close-to-bomb/6242656
DeleteMossad shared a report with South African intelligence which concluded Iran was "not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons," according to the leaked cable.
The discrepancy, the paper said, "highlights the gulf between the public claims and rhetoric of top Israeli politicians and the assessments of Israel's military and intelligence establishment."
Sisi: We need an Arab coalition to invade Libya
ReplyDeleteposted at 4:41 pm on February 23, 2015 by Ed Morrissey
The world watched at ISIS swept across Syria and Iraq to commit genocides and atrocities, threatening neighboring states and nearly overrunning Baghdad. Now Egypt’s military strongman warns that the same thing is about to take place in Libya, unless Sunni Arab nations form a coalition to defeat them soon. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced strikes on thirteen ISIS positions in neighboring eastern Libya yesterday, emphasizing that these were not civilian targets but known locations of ISIS operations:.....
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/02/23/sisi-we-need-an-arab-coalition-to-invade-libya/
O'bozo, and presumably Rufus, as he channels O'bozo, backed the MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, over this good man.
>>>Sisi is correct. Libya is the biggest threat to Egypt as well as Europe. So far, though, the West seems to be asleep at the Libya desk, and the other Arab nations might have their hands full with ISIS in Iraq and Syria, where they present the greater danger to their own national security.<<<
DeleteNap time for me.
Time out.
al-Sisi is a proxy of the United States, has been for most of his career.
DeleteI stated, a year or more ago, that Egypt might be sorely tempted by 1.6 mbd just sitting there in the Libyan desert.
DeleteI may be a "backwoods hick," but I can read.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (official name: Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities during Their Temporary Presence in Iraq) was a status of forces agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the United States, signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. It established that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.[1] The pact required . . . . .
Only for Assholes That Can Read
The SOFA was being re-negotiated. O'bozo could have easily gotten what we needed.
DeleteYou cannot read well enough. You don't keep up on the news.
The re-negotiation of the SOFA was all over the news.
You must have been drinking at the time.
Nap time.
DeleteDon't confuse the "Draft Dodger" with facts, Rufus.
No shit. The fucker's crazier than a loon.
DeleteThe crux of the Iraqi demand, that US troops would be subject to Sharia Law.
DeleteRobert "Draft Dodger" Peterson refuses to address that reality.
He does not care about the safety of US troops, nor their legal rights.
He is a self-center fraud.
He is an thief, of both money and his aunts 'good name'.
And, probably a bit more, if the truth were ever told.
DeleteHe is a self-centered fraud.
Delete"Leaked cables show Mossad, Israeli PM at odds on Iran nuclear program"
ReplyDeleteAs for al-Sisi, himself, his call for a joint Arab military force is right out of his War College dissertation.
ReplyDelete...
Danial Pipes has this assessment, based upon al-Sisi's writing, in English, at the US Army War College.
One unexpected theme that emerges from his paper concerns Sisi's (possibly neo-Nasserist) hope that the Middle East become a single unit: "the Middle East should organize as a region."
He wants the Middle East to view itself "much in the same manner as the European Union," implying a customs union, a single currency, freedom of cross-border movement, and a joint foreign policy. He offers this as a goal of free elections: "Democracy in the Middle East … must find a unifying theme that draws the Middle East into a unified region."
http://www.danielpipes.org/14931/abdel-fattah-al-sisi
The proof is in the tasting, the French have sent their aircraft carrier, and the Egyptians want the Arab world to mobilize against ISIS. The policy that President Obama has laid out not only is gaining adherents, internationally, it is working.
ReplyDeleteAbdel Fattah al-Sisi announced strikes on thirteen ISIS positions in neighboring eastern Libya yesterday, emphasizing that these were not civilian targets but known locations of ISIS operations:
Air strikes along will not suffice, Sisi warned other Arab nations:
“The need for a unified Arab force is growing and becoming more pressing every day,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a televised speech Sunday.
El-Sisi said Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have offered military help as Egypt amplifies its battle against ISIS in neighboring Libya.
CNN military analyst Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks said “it’s about time” an Arab leader like el-Sisi made such a statement. “Strategically and politically for the region, this is a big deal, and it’s absolutely the right first step,” the retired U.S. Army officer said.
El-Sisi’s statement came after U.S. President Barack Obama called for other countries last week to step up their efforts in the fight against ISIS.
https://hotair.com/archives/2015/02/23/sisi-we-need-an-arab-coalition-to-invade-libya/
Bet your last stolen dollar, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson that the Presidents of Egypt and the United States are "Communicating and Coordinating".
DeleteEgypt and its President al-Sisi will provide the backbone of "Local Forces", when he is ready, the US will be there to support those forces in their fight against radical Islam.
It is just one reason that even as the Muslim Brotherhood held political office, in Egypt, the General Dynamic assembly plant continued to churn out M1 Abrams main battle tanks.
DeleteThe Army always had control of Egypt, they just allowed the Islamoids all the rope they needed to hang themselves.
The US attempt at direct intervention was an abject failure.
ReplyDeleteThe locals have to carry their own water.
I'll let Trish have the final say:
ReplyDelete"Poor Rufus, he's never right on anything, but he is such a Dear."
and
"There is something really wrong with you, rat."
;)
bwabwabwahahaha
When did she say that, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson?
DeleteWhat day, what time?
Your delusions have become your reality, which means that you still are out of touch with reality.
Deletebobal Sat Sep 06, 09:21:00 PM EDT
After an eight year law suit with most of my relatives, I've finally found some sanity on line.
Well, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson, if you cannot remember the day or the time, how about the month, or even the year.
DeleteWhen were these alleged statement written?
Come on Mr Credit Card fraudster, you stole your aunts honor, disparaged her name, and never looked back.
Little wonder your family did more than abandon your sorry ass, you are a lying thief.
That's a fact, you told us so.
Time and date stamped reality.
Delete
Delete{;-)
The asshole never learns. he taunts me to delete him and thinks he is going to accomplish what exactly?
ReplyDelete