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."

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Friday 2 October 2015: A statement released earlier on Friday by the US-led coalition fighting Isis expressed deep concern about attacks by the Russian air force on Hama, Homs and Idlib. “These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,” said the statement by France, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the US and Britain. “We call on the Russian federation to immediately cease its attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and to focus its efforts on fighting Isil.”

Syrian govt retakes Palmyra from ISIS – army command

Syrian government forces have retaken the city of Palmyra from Islamic State, a military source told RT.
"Our troops have established full control of the town and are chasing the remainder of the retreating gangs of Islamic State terrorists," the Syrian army's command said in a statement, as quoted by TASS.
An army source also told AFP that the army is in control of both the ancient site of Palmyra and the residential neighborhoods. 

A commander of the Desert Falcons unit of the Syrian army told RT that the "military operation to retake Palmyra lasted three days," adding that the "main difficulty was that there were a lot of mines along the roads."

"Today the Syrian Arab Army is clearing the mines," he said.
Noting the importance of Palmyra, journalist Neil Clark told RT that having control of the city is "incredibly important."
“...It's on the main highway, sort of equidistant between Damascus and Deir Ezzor...the Syrian army has [now] got a major boost in clearing IS out of a whole path of Syria, where [IS militants still are]," he said.
IS fighters have reportedly retreated from Palmyra – located 215 kilometers (133.5 miles) from the Syrian capital Damascus – to the towns of Sukhnah, Raqqa, and Deir Ezzor.

In a statement read on Syrian television, the military command said the recapture of Palmyra marks the beginning of the collapse of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). It said the success proves that the Syrian government and its allies are the only forces capable of defeating terrorism in the country.

The command went on to say that the army and its allies will continue their campaign against IS, Al-Nusra Front, and “other terrorist groups.” The Syrian government has described all armed factions fighting President Bashar Assad as terrorist groups. 

It was previously reported that Syrian Army forces had advanced into the city on Saturday, with support from Russian airstrikes.

Television footage showed explosions taking place inside Palmyra, with smoke rising from buildings. Tanks and armored vehicles fired from the outskirts of the city.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian warplanes carried out 158 airstrikes, hitting terrorist targets in and around the city. More than 100 extremists were killed in the bombardment, and several pieces of heavy equipment destroyed.

“Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out 40 sorties in the Palmyra region,” a statement published on the Defense Ministry’s official website read, adding that “as a result...four tanks, three artillery pieces, four ammunition depots and five vehicles were destroyed.”
The recapture of Palmyra marks the biggest reversal for IS since Russia's intervention into Syria. 

The Desert Falcons commander thanked Russia for the victory, noting that Moscow "helped our country and our army against Daesh (ISIS) and its supporters."

Clark noted that the success came less than six months after the Russian intervention in Syria, calling Moscow's action a "game changer." 

Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul tweeted “thank you” in Russian following a report of the Syrian government's successful recapture of Palmyra. 

The ancient city, seized by IS in May 2015, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to dozens of remarkable monuments of antiquity, and a number of historical sites that have been destroyed by IS jihadists since they captured the city, among which were the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph.

On Saturday, the Syrian government’s head of antiquities, Mamoun Abdelkarim, said the authorities would try to restore the historic sites.
"We will rebuild them with the stones that remain, and with the remaining columns," Abdelkarim told Reuters, adding that his team would "bring life back to Palmyra."

International lawyer and author of 'Syria's Endangered Heritage,' Franklin Lamb, told RT that he is optimistic that Palmyra's historic sites can be largely restored.

“I predict that between 90 and 95 percent of all the damage that IS has done to Palmyra can be restored” with technology, he said.
“Sure, there's going to be piles of rubble and you can't restore every stone the way it was...but you can restore it and that's the primary goal...so I'm very optimistic that restoration can be made.”

114 comments:

  1. Security forces advance into Heet District west of Ramadi, says al-Jazeera Operations

    (IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Al-Jazeera Operations Command announced on Friday, that the security forces advanced in the military operation of Heet District west of Ramadi, while pointed out to the killing of 13 ISIS elements.

    The commander of al-Jazeera Operations, Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Dbon, said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com “Security forces belonging to the [army’s] Seventh Division and Anbar police regiments as well as the Federal Police, Anti-Terrorism Directorate and clan fighters, backed by the international coalition aviation and the Air Force, managed to advance in the liberation of the regions and districts of Heet District (70 km west of Ramadi),” indicating that, “The army’s Air Force managed to kill three suicide bombers wearing explosive belts in the northern axis of Kabisa south of Heet.”

    Dbon also added, “The coalition aircraft managed to kill nine [ISIS] members and destroy a booby-trapped vehicle driven by a suicide bomber in the vicinity of Kabisa.”

    Iraqinews

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wind turbines taller than the Empire State Building?

    Wind power may not be the cheapest, most efficient, or even most common form of renewable energy, but it is surely one of the most visually impressive methods of power generation. Anyone who has driven from Detroit to Toronto for instance can attest to the awe that comes from seeing dozens of windmills rising hundreds of feet into the air all turning in slow arcs with the wind. A new wind turbine design will put older smaller designs to shame though – if it can . . . . .

    MSN

    ReplyDelete
  3. THE THREAT TO THE US BY THE PROFESSIONAL US MILITARY

    WASHINGTON _ Blistering charges of misplaced power and a morally bankrupt culture in the nation’s “military-industrial complex” are rarely leveled by one of the defense establishment’s own.

    But that is exactly what an instructor of the military’s rising stars lobbed on Tuesday when he very purposely engaged in friendly fire at a defense budget conference co-hosted by the Cambridge-based Project on Defense Alternatives.

    Gregory D. Foster, a former Army officer and West Point graduate who now teaches national security studies at the National Defense University in Washington, seemed unconcerned about collateral damage when he went after the top brass, political leaders, and defense company executives.

    He accused them of allowing the nearly sacrosanct principle of civilian control of the military—an early building block of American democracy—to be turned on its head. How? By virtually never questioning the key assumptions of military planning and allowing a largely unchecked, destructive and highly militarized foreign policy to pose as a “properly subordinated military industrial complex.”

    “If you want to be a recognized, credible, card-carrying member of the national security community what you have to do is buy into the received truths of the establishment and continue to perpetuate that stuff,” said Foster. “This is what I call civilian subjugation to the military. We face it in this administration, we faced it in the Clinton administration...we faced it in the Bush administration.”

    Foster’s 30-minute briefing spared few quarters. It was laced with accusations of “militaristic civilian officials” who serve not as civilian overseers as intended but “military advocates” who are “politically afraid of the military.”

    {...}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. {...}

      It all makes for a national security establishment, in Foster’s view, that perpetuates an approach to the world that is overly confrontational, lacks critical thinking about long term objectives, and even undercuts the strategic aims of democracy.

      For example, he said the accepted orthodoxy of never-ending global threats and the necessity to confront them militarily makes it nearly impossible to fashion a national security strategy that puts real security, crisis prevention, and the preservation of civil society ahead of institutional bias and private profit.

      “I think we collectively, the national security community, suffer from what I would characterize as conceptual deficit disorder,” he said, lambasting most defense practitioners for shirking their “moral obligations to be strategic.”

      What is left is an “American way of war” on autopilot that is too expensive, wasteful, and indiscriminately destructive—“killing people and breaking things”—and a growing global reputation of hypocrisy.

      “I want to talk about walking the talk, about practicing what we preach. I want to talk about being able to elicit moral authority,” he said. “When we preach peace but practice war, when we preach self defense but practice aggression we are[not] being consistent in how we exercise power.”

      {...}

      Delete
    2. US MILITARY CONCEPTUAL DEFICIT DISORDER

      {...}

      Asked how his decidedly unconventional views are received by the senior colonels, commanders, captains, and their civilian government counterparts who are among his students at the NDU’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Foster was characteristically blunt.

      “I have to be quite candid. They are...striving to be accepted orthodoxians. They are part of institutionalized cultures...They are being prepared to be advocates to serve the selfish self-interest of their part of the larger institution.”

      Bryan Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeBender

      Delete
    3. NOTE:
      ...“I want to talk about walking the talk, about practicing what we preach. I want to talk about being able to elicit moral authority,” he said. “When we preach peace but practice war, when we preach self defense but practice aggression we are[not] being consistent in how we exercise power.”

      ”illicit” moral authority” should be "elicit" moral authority.

      Delete
    4. ITEM:

      The US military doesn’t prevent wars. At any given time over the past quarter century, on average roughly 40 violent conflicts a year have been underway around the world. The U.S. military has had virtually no discernible influence on lessening the outbreak of such conflicts. It isn’t even clear that its size, configuration, and positioning, no less the staggering sums invested in it, have had any appreciable deterrent effect on the warring propensities of our so-called peer competitors (Russia and China). That they have not sought war with us is due far less to simplistic Washington assumptions about deterrence than to factors we don’t even grasp.

      And no, the military doesn’t win wars anymore. It hasn’t won one of note in 70 years.

      Delete
  4. ITEM:

    Instead of a strategically effective military, what we have is quite the opposite: heavy, disproportionately destructive, indiscriminately lethal, single-mindedly combat-oriented, technology-dominant, exorbitantly expensive, unsustainably consumptive, and increasingly alienated from the rest of society.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. - Gregory D. Foster is a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., a West Point graduate, and a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.

      Delete
    2. ACTUALLY, IT IS FAR WORSE

      https://mondediplo.com/openpage/pentagon-excess-has-fueled-a-civil-military

      Delete
  5. Source: ISIS imposes curfew on residents of Mosul

    (IraqiNews.com) According to a local source in Nineveh province, the ISIS has imposed a curfew in the city of Mosul, because of the air strikes on its headquarters.

    The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The ISIS terrorist gangs imposed, this evening, a curfew in the city of Mosul, because of the destruction of a number of its headquarters and the heavy bombardment by the international coalition aviation, especially on the left coast, amid total collapse of the [ISIS] elements, who disappeared from a number of neighborhoods and streets of the city.”

    The source, who asked anonymity, added, “The ISIS issued orders to prevent people from leaving their homes, specifically in the left coast after the fall of a number of artillery shells on its headquarters in the neighborhood of al-Noor in the right coast.”

    Iraqinews

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A note on the Muslim soldiers that have been killing ISIS and with support from US and Russian air power, are winning the war against them.

      They are overwhelmingly Muslim men and women that are doing the fighting to kill the bastards. Supported by Russian and US airpower, they are Syrians, Kurds, Iranians, Hezbollah that are doing the dirty dangerous work against ISIS.

      None of this would have necessary had the Neocons not done their dirty work.

      Delete
  6. The obscene militarization of the last Super Bowl should concern all those concerned about civil liberties.

    ReplyDelete
  7. .

    Bernie Sanders wins Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. He is gaining momentum as the race goes along. He has moved from being down 4 to 1 to today's delegate counts showing Hillary at around 1700 (including 94% of the 498 superdelegates) while Bernie is around 1000. The problem is that the nominating process is now more than half over and Bernie would need to take more than 60% of the remaining delegates to get in.

    There are only about 200 more superdelegates to be allocated but momentum and superdelegates aside the odds are heavily stacked against him. It would be almost impossible for him to win at this point. However, despite the fact that key Democratic officials (including the president) are quietly suggesting he withdraw so that Hillary can concentrate on the general, Bernie has refused to do so. He has vowed to stay in until the end to push his agenda.

    “If I can’t make it — and we’re going to try as hard as we can until the last vote is cast — we want to completely revitalize the Democratic Party and make it a party of the people rather than one of large campaign contributors,” Sanders said in an interview on the progressive Web show “

    Sanders also listed policy demands he would make of Clinton, including a single-payer health care system, a $15 an hour minimum wage, tougher regulation of the finance industry, closing corporate tax loopholes and “a vigorous effort to address climate change.”


    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-endorsement_us_56f45bf0e4b014d3fe22b4a7

    The problem, of course, is that Hillary is an habitual liar. She will promise anything, tell any lie, do what it takes to get what she wants. You can't trust her as far as you can throw her. As noted here,

    Hillary Clinton lying for 13 minutes straight.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  8. If you want a glimpse into the mind that is Donald Trump with respect to foreign policy I suggest you read the transcript of his foreign policy discussion with the NY TIMES:

    http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/us/politics/donald-trump-transcript.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is currently linked on their front page

      Delete
    2. TRUMP: Many, many standing ovations and they agreed with what I said. Basically I support a two-state solution on Israel. But the Palestinian Authority has to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Have to do that. And they have to stop the terror, stop the attacks, stop the teaching of hatred, you know? The children, I sort of talked about it pretty much in the speech, but the children are aspiring to grow up to be terrorists. They are taught to grow up to be terrorists. And they have to stop. They have to stop the terror. They have to stop the stabbings and all of the things going on. And they have to recognize that Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. And they have to be able to do that. And if they can’t, you’re never going to make a deal. One state, two states, it doesn’t matter: you’re never going to be able to make a deal. Because Israel would have to have that. They have to stop the terror. They have to stop the teaching of children to aspire to grow up as terrorists, which is a real problem. So with that you’d go two states, but in order to go there, before you, you know, prior to getting there, you have to get those basic things done.


      Yep...

      The Palestinians have to stop being savages. Stop teaching babies blood lust. Stop incitement and recognize Israel's right to be a Jewish State.

      Now if you and Deuce and others don't want to stop your hatred?

      There will not be peace.

      Sorry we cannot be your victims anymore.

      So incite the terrorists? And we will shoot them. We will shoot the terrorists in Ohio, in Brussels, in France, NYC, Canada and all over the world.

      Delete
    3. But according to Ash, Bob and my positions are that of "unfettered" paranoia...

      Delete
    4. Our resident Zionist Bad Ass in his Super Jew Cape will save the day.

      Delete
    5. Here he is, faster than a speeding bullet:

      http://imgur.com/u66PhgS

      Delete
    6. .

      ..."unfettered" paranoia...?


      Naw, you guy's paranoia is fettered.


      .

      Delete
    7. I got it on the q.t. from Maria that you can be 'really unfettered' at times, Quirk-O.

      I'm not sure exactly what she was referring to but I gots my suspicions.

      Delete
  9. .

    Bernie Sander's support seems to be coming mainly through young adults he has continued to energize. Much of the support seems to stem from the fact that they recognize that Clinton can't be trusted. Hillary Clinton's disapproval ratings remain high at 55% and unless she gets a sympathy boost due the GOP nominee those disapproval could increase her record is exposed, something Sanders seemingly has been reluctant to do.

    The Rolling Stone magazine has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Despite this it published the following article a few days ago,

    Why Young People Are Right About Hillary Clinton

    In the article, the author accuses Rolling Stone of selling out like the rest of the Democratic establishment to the idea that elections are won in the middle, that change is incremental, and that the key to progress is to win elections whatever it takes. The idea was developed by the Democratic Leadership Council in the 80's after losses to Reagan. They were displayed and expanded upon in the 90's under Clinton's counter-scheduling strategy and continue today within the current Democratic establishment. They have sold out the interests of their supposed constituency under the assumption that 'the GOP would be worse' and that the strategy is safe because those in the Democratic Party 'have no place else to go'.

    Young people aren't buying it.

    For young voters, the foundational issues of our age have been the Iraq invasion, the financial crisis, free trade, mass incarceration, domestic surveillance, police brutality, debt and income inequality, among others.

    And to one degree or another, the modern Democratic Party, often including Hillary Clinton personally, has been on the wrong side of virtually all of these issues...


    Why Young People Are Right About Hillary Clinton

    The article goes on to details Hillary's part in the sell out of the Democratic base.

    .
    Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They're right about Hillary, but don't know enough yet so they're wrong about Sanders.

      The Pubs are praying some will embrace The Donald instead, or sit it out.

      Delete
  10. Just How Much Should Paul Bremer Be Blamed for the Rise of the Islamic State?
    Plenty, according to Neil Swidey’s astonishing article in the Boston Globe, but not entirely.


    By Russ Wellen, March 18, 2016


    After George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Bremer, the second Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq (governor of the occupation, in other words), is often considered the man most responsible for the dissolution of civil society in Iraq and the rise of sectarian strife. In the Boston Globe, Neil Swidey (not behind a paywall, as with most of its articles) explores just how much responsibility Bremer, who he calls “at once well intentioned, infuriating, and tragic,” bears.

    Swidey quotes from an article he wrote in 2003, in which Middle East specialist As’ad AbuKhalil said: “The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan gave us the Taliban. The American occupation of Saudi Arabia gave us bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The Israeli occupation of Lebanon gave us Hezbollah. Let us see what the American occupation of Iraq is going to give us.”


    {...}

    ReplyDelete
  11. {...} THE ARCHITECT : PAUL BREMER? ...NOT SO FAST..

    We all know the answer to that: the Islamic State — perhaps the most authoritarian, cruelest, and powerful terrorist organization of all time. The Islamic State, of course, is comprised at its command levels by former members of Saddam Hussein’s military. You know, the one that Paul Bremer disbanded shortly after he banned much of the Baath Party from civil service jobs under the new regime. For his part, writes Swidey:

    Although Bremer has come to be regarded as the sole author of this decree to root out Saddam loyalists from the Iraqi government, that is simply not true. Drafts of the order had been circulating around the Pentagon long before Bremer’s appointment.

    {...}

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ah, Deuce's pals, Hezbollah, is not being treated well by the Arabs..

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/03/lebanon-gulf-sanctions-president-crisis.html#

    The Arab Gulf states have begun taking practical and executive measures sanctioning Hezbollah’s apparatus and entities supporting or dealing with it. Their actions stem from the March 2 decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  13. Israel, The Emirates, The Turks and Saudi Arabia:

    Made for each other

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow now that's biting...

      Better include the USA....

      Hezbollah is the varsity murderers of US soldiers...

      Get with the program...

      Delete
    2. Go ahead Deuce, bring up the Liberty again..

      But your ignoring of the Marine Barracks, the kidnapping of Americans, their torture and murder directly by Hezbollah., they're support of hijackings...

      Makes them the A team...

      And you support them.

      Delete
    3. Hezbollah is believed by the United States' intelligence agencies to have

      kidnapped David S. Dodge, president of the American University in Beirut on June 19, 1982. .[40][41][42] Hezbollah was "believed to be behind this abduction and that of most of the other 30 Westerners seized over the next 10 years."[43]
      car bombed "the U.S. embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, ... killing 63 people, 17 of whom [were] American citizens."[43][44]
      Further information: April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing
      truck bombed[44][45] "U.S. Marine barracks, on October 23, 1983, ... killing 241 American military personnel stationed in Beirut as past of a peace-keeping force. A separate attack against the French military compound in Beirut [killed] 58."[43] The truck that destroyed the American barracks was "rigged with 12,000 pounds of TNT."[46]
      Further information: 1983 Beirut barracks bombing
      kidnapped CIA Beirut Station Chief William Francis Buckley on March 16, 1984, "After 15 months in captivity of torture and illness" he was killed, and responsibility claimed by Hezbollah. (Evidenced by numerous copies of video and photographic material sent by Hezbollah to Western Embassies and government offices depicting some of his torture sessions, which were claimed by the group at the time as proof of his captivity. The material was periodically delivered from May 1984 until October 1985 when the group made an announcement containing a photograph of Buckley's heavily scarred corpse along with the statement that they had killed him and would not return his body for burial.)[43][45][46]
      car bombed "the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut" on September 20, 1984, taking the lives of "two Americans and 22 others."[43][44][45]
      hijacked[45] "a Kuwait Airlines Flight 221 on December 4, 1984. Hezbollah militants killed four passengers including two Americans."[43]
      kidnapped and tortured to death U.S. Marine Colonel William R. Higgins between 1989 and 1991 when his body was found dumped on the side of a small Beirut street after the group had made and distributed a video showing his scarred and disfigured body hanging from a ceiling.[47]
      kidnapped around 30 other Westerners between 1982 and 1992, including U.S. journalist Terry Anderson, British journalist John McCarthy, the Archbishop of Canterbury's special envoy Terry Waite and Irish citizen Brian Keenan.[48]
      of carrying out the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome.

      Delete
    4. nice friendly Iranian backed terrorists...

      LOL

      Delete
    5. The Iranians hang gays from cranes.

      And put women in a pit and stone them to death.

      Delete
    6. SPEAKING OF TERRORISTS - HOW ABOUT THEM ZIONISTS?

      Don't expect any Hollywood films highlighting any of these massacres:

      1. King David Hotel, July 22, 1946.
      2. Sharafat, Feb. 7, 1951.
      3. Deir Yassin, April 10, 1948.
      4. Falameh, April 2, 1951.
      5. Naseruddine, April 14, 1948.
      6. Quibya, Oct. 14, 1953.
      7. Carmel, April 20, 1948.
      8. Nahalin, March, 28, 1954.
      9. Al-Qabu, May 1, 1948.
      10. Gaza, Feb. 28, 1955.
      11. Beit Kiras, May 3, 1948.
      12. Khan Yunis, May 31, 1955.
      13. Beitkhoury, May 5, 1948.
      14. Khan Yunis Again, Aug. 31, 1955
      15. Az-Zaytoun, May 6, 1948.
      16. Tiberia, Dec. 11, 1955.
      17. Wadi Araba, May 13, 1950.
      18. As-Sabha, Nov. 2, 1955.
      19. Gaza Again, April 5, 1956.
      20. Houssan, Sept. 25, 1956.
      21. Rafa, Aug. 16, 1956.
      22. Qalqilyah, Oct. 10, 1956.
      23. Ar-Rahwa, Sept. 12, 1956.
      24. Kahr Kassem, Oct. 29, 1956.
      25. Gharandal, Sept. 13, 1956.
      26. Gaza Strip, Nov. 1956.
      26. Gaza Strip, Nov. 1956.

      Delete
  14. ISIS executes 12 of its fighters’ relatives in Mosul

    (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A local source in Nineveh Province announced on Sunday, that the so-called ISIS executed 12 of its fighters’ relatives who were previously working with the security forces in Mosul, while pointed out that one of ISIS fighters executed his brother and cousin on charges of cooperating with the security forces.

    The source said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “ISIS executed 12 of its fighters’ relatives who were previously working with the security directorates in Mosul, after the air strike that were carried out by the Iraqi Army Aviation and US-led coalition aviation on ISIS headquarters in the University of Mosul.”

    The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “One of ISIS members also executed his brother and cousin on charges of cooperating with the security forces.”

    Iraqinews

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Strikes in Syria

      Attack and ground-attack aircraft conducted two strikes in Syria:

      -- Near Manbij, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

      -- Near Mar’a, a strike destroyed six ISIL fighting positions.

      Strikes in Iraq

      Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 19 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

      -- Near Baghdadi, three strikes struck an ISIL staging facility.

      -- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

      -- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

      -- Near Mosul, four strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units, suppressed an ISIL mortar position and two ISIL tactical units, and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position, an ISIL anti-air artillery piece and two ISIL fighting positions.

      -- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL security headquarters and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

      -- Near Sinjar, two strikes suppressed an ISIL rocket firing position and an ISIL mortar position.

      -- Near Sultan Abdallah, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units, destroyed three ISIL assembly areas and suppressed two ISIL mortar positions, an ISIL surface-to-air firing position, and an ISIL tactical unit.

      Delete
    2. According to Quirk, I guess the USA are terrorists.

      Delete
    3. .

      Depends on who you are talking to.

      .

      Delete
  15. .

    Their actions stem from the March 2 decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

    The GCC, read all (except Iraq) Sunni States of the Gulf, calling the Shia entities Iran and Hezbollah (who they are currently fighting in Syria) terrorists. Go figger.

    Terrorism: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

    A definition one would think that seems pretty straight forward but which in fact can be used to decry a whole set of activities depending on those involved and their relationships at a given time.

    As we have seen, the designation can be there one day and disappear the next, one day a terrorist and the next a resistance fighter or some other such euphemism.

    We've seen it happen before. One day the Taliban is a terrorist group and the next it's a resistance group. The same with Iran and Hezbollah. One day they were on the US terrorist watch list and the next day, without fanfare, they were removed.

    The use of the word terrorist in today's usage is simply a designation applied to someone we don't like at the moment. However, the usage is ephemeral. Only a naif would consider it permanent.

    Relationships evolve based on numerous factors. What our leaders find abhorrent one day they can rationalize and accept the next.

    We can deal in reality or we can accept political double-speak.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So when Hezbollah blows up your's wife's plane since they hate Israel that is not terrorism?

      Delete
    2. Really Deuce, you are just so....

      wishy-washy...

      Delete
    3. .

      She hates the whole airport experiences. Doesn't like crowds. Doesn't like the hassle.

      Back when she did fly, terrorists were the last thing on here mind. You can live your life or you can hide under your bed.

      .

      Delete
  16. People change, also. Eight years ago, I was against same-sex marriage. Then, about 4 years ago, I said,

    what the hell; it doesn't hurt me any, and if it makes them happy, fine.

    If I can change my mind, is there any reason whey our "leaders" can't change theirs?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. eight years ago I thought you served in the US armed forces.

      Today?

      I think you are a poser...

      :)

      Delete
  17. Iraqi joint forces cleanse Heet Police Building, kill dozens of ISIS members

    (IraqiNews.com) Anbar – Haditha Police Command in Anbar Province announced on Sunday, that the joint forces managed to cleanse the building of Heet Police Directorate west of Ramadi and killed dozens of ISIS militants.

    The spokesman of the emergency police’s 14th regiment in Haditha District Lieutenant Saud Harb al-Obeidi said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces carried out a wide-scale military operation and were able to cleanse the building of Heet Police Directorate after fierce battles,” pointing out that, “Dozens of ISIS members were killed during the operation.”

    Obeidi added, “The security forces raised the Iraqi flag over the building and dismantled the improvised explosive devices that were planted around the building,” indicating that, “The cleansing battles in the areas west of Anbar are continuous.”

    Iraqinews

    ReplyDelete
  18. How can you be sure you've 'changed your mind' rather than 'lost it' ?

    And it's not same sex marriage I'm thinking about.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I laugh:

    Bernie got a massive 440 votes in Alaska, Hillary 99.

    Most folks in Alaska just give a shit about politics, God Bless them.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Whichever it is, it suits me and mine.

    I don't care a whit what some racist hick from Idaho thinks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :):):):):)

      galopin2 has now publically declared, folks, that he 'doesn't care a whit' whether he's lost his mind, or not !!!


      bwabwabwahahahahahaHA !

      Only God possesses the creativity to have made a one such as you, galopin2 !

      :)

      Shakespeare couldn't come close.

      Delete
    2. Notice how Rufus, who hates Israel and the Jews, calls everyone that disagrees with him racist?

      LOL

      Delete
    3. Standard......Operating......Procedure

      aka

      SOP

      Delete
    4. 'Clan Rufus' always comes first.

      And, in 'Clan Rufus', Rufus always comes first.

      There is something a little 'Mafia like' in his outlook.

      If you're in 'Clan Rufus' you best not get sidewise with 'Clanfather Rufus'.

      Delete
  21. And, btw, you poor, befuddled old fool, you're looking at state delegates, not votes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You old drunken anti-semitic racist swamp gizzard here are the figure I posted late last night from RCP:

      Alaska Votes Percent Del. (100%)
      Sanders 440 81.6 13
      Clinton 99 18.4 3


      Take it up with RCP.

      Delete
    2. Del. = Delegate(s)

      Right !!!

      13 for Sanders
      3 for Your Darling

      81.6 percent of the vote for Sanders
      18.4 percent of the vote for Your Darling

      Votes:

      440 for Sanders
      99 for Your Darling

      If you have an argument take it up with Real Clear Politics. I am just passing on what I read there.

      Delete
    3. Email

      March 27, 2016

      3 Western state caucuses offer massive rebuke to Hillary Clinton as Sanders runs the table

      By Thomas Lifson

      Caucus-goers in Washington, Hawaii and Alaska flipped the metaphorical bird to the presumptive Democrat nominee for president yesterday. There is no way to soft-peddle the stunning level of rejection experienced by Hillary Clinton in these results:

      Sanders

      Clinton

      State delegates


      Washington

      73%

      27%

      101


      Hawaii

      70%

      30%

      25


      Alaska

      82%

      18%

      16

      Yet the conventional wisdom remains that she is a shoo-in, in part because of her lead among superdelegates, and in part because Sanders would have to win by similarly huge margins nearly everywhere, including states where blacks remain loyal to Clinton and comprise a large share of Democrat voters. By the AP’s reckoning of delegates:

      Clinton

      1712


      Sanders

      1004


      Uncommitted

      160


      Remaining

      2049


      Unless she is indicted, Hillary probably has the muscle to win the nomination. The key question is how many Sanders supporters will be disgusted and stay home. Sanders almost certainly is positioning himself to take the nomination if Hillary is indicted, and will have a strong argument that the party must turn to him, not Joe Biden or some other hasty substitution.


      http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/03/3_western_state_caucuses_offer_massive_rebuke_to_hillary_clinton_as_sanders_runs_the_table.html#ixzz448Xpjtkr

      Delete
  22. The Pope weighs in from some other galaxy -

    POPE: Defeat ISIS with 'weapons of love'...DRUDGE

    ReplyDelete
  23. :):):)

    (this is a wonderful political year...soooo entertaining)

    heh


    Linda Stasi BY Linda Stasi /

    Stasi: Ted Cruz had five mistresses? I can't find one woman who would sleep with him

    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS /

    Saturday, March 26, 2016, 9:00 PM

    Ted Cruz Fires Back At Donald Trump, National Enquirer For Affair Rumors

    CBS Los Angeles

    The National Enquirer should retract their outlandish story that Sen. Ted Cruz had affairs with five women outside the bonds of his holy matrimony.

    After this incredible and scandalous story broke, I was personally so outraged and disgusted that I did just like a candidate would do and hired a very expensive and classy research firm to do a poll.

    It was time to make America not just great again, but time for all Americans to know: Was Ted great in bed?

    The nationwide survey showed that the truth is much more shocking even than the allegation that Ted had five lovers.


    A story emerged about Ted Cruz's alleged affairs, but it's doubtful that many people want to sleep with the candidate.
    Bob Levey/Getty Images

    Tragically, pollsters could not find one woman in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands or American Samoa who wants to have sex with Ted Cruz.

    Even the high-priced D.C. call girl alluded to in the Enquirer story immediately gave up sex, fired her answering service and sued her madam for creating a hostile work environment just for sending her out Cruising. “I thought my booker said Tom Cruise!” Mistress X told a source. “Imagine my horror when a man opened the door dressed as an apostle!”.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/stasi-gop-race-sleazier-new-cruz-trump-feuds-article-1.2578751

      Delete
    2. Very funny, but no mention whatsoever about the number of times Beck's taken it in the ass from Cruz.

      Delete
  24. This is the way I see the Dem. Primary playing out (this does Not count Super-delegates.)

    Delegate Counter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alaska Locked (Not Certified) Hillary 3 / Bernie 13

      Delegate Counter



      Delete
    2. galopn2Sun Mar 27, 03:39:00 PM EDT

      And, btw, you poor, befuddled old fool, you're looking at state delegates, not votes.

      :)

      Delete
    3. Actually, that is Not the way I see it playing out. Those totals were from someone else that was giving Bernie ALL the breaks. Mine came out to about +290 for Clinton.

      After Wisconsin, they go back East for a bunch of "Closed" Primaries where the Birdman will get his nuts crushed.

      Delete
    4. Okay, that worked.

      I'm seeing Clinton end up with just a touch less that a 300 Delegate lead over Bernie.

      Delete
    5. Bob, you poor idiot, Now you're confusing "State" Delegates with "National Delegates."

      Delete
    6. He thinks the "National Delegates" are a baseball team.

      Delete
  25. Quirk asked: "What's your secret?"

    I play my Deer Antler Drum to relax:

    https://www.facebook.com/mongolianmusic/videos/10156561720055161/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      Very exotic, beautiful and what instruments !

      And the headgear of the elders !

      One even has a cowboy hat.

      Antlers were once used in the early days of the turn to farming as mini-plows.

      Delete
    2. Did you see my reply to you above about Beck getting plowed ?

      The Mormons ought to think about excommunicating the silly bastard.

      Delete
    3. I did indeed. :)

      And Beck is crazy as hell.

      And the Mormons should do exactly as you say.

      Delete
  26. Is that votes, or delegates ?

    ;)

    (Insiders, those in the know, all know it's going to come down to the wishes of THE SuperDelegate, Quirk)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our very own superdelicate superdelegate.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. .

      Thank you, Bob.

      I anoint you as my viceroy and grant you plenipotentiary powers. Go forth and announce my coming to the convention.

      I think it's in Philadelphia. Head east. Don't get lost. If you hit the ocean, you've gone too far. Deuce might be able to help you pinpoint the location.

      Pick me up a six pack of Magic Hat #9 and a couple of beef jerkys on your way back. I'll pay you later.

      .

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      Say, Bob. I'm sorry but my Viceroy tells me that I can't appoint you as my viceroy. And as for the plenipotentiary powers, my lawyer says that bringing you on as an unpaid intern would probably work out better.

      And since I'm waiting for a number of my ships to come in and suffering a temporary liquidity crisis, could you change that order to a couple of 16 oz Bud Lights and a single beef jerky?

      Thanks.

      .

      Delete
    5. I am saddened to hear of your change of heart, but will bring the 16 oz. Bud Lights, and, as a special gift, a pound of Authentic Idaho Elk Jerky, your Highass.

      And it IS really special. The only Elk left in Idaho are out at my farm, but thankfully Genesee, Idaho is close and they make fantastic jerky there.

      You are always welcome.

      Delete
    6. .

      Thanks.

      And I understand the Idaho Elk Jerky is a rare treat. And, getting rarer every day. Can't wait.

      .

      Delete
  27. Poor po' ol' galopin2, never able to admit he's wrong.

    Although, come to think of it, he has said he's never going to put timetables on military campaigns again, having made an abject fool of himself earlier by predicting the total demise of ISIS in Iraq as occurring by July 4th of last year.

    This, I guess, is something of an admission one has been wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (I love to rub this in, and ever shall....I've given up on ever collecting on my bet)

      Delete
  28. According to RCP running poll average, The Donald has lost a little ground in California, and is now up by only 8% instead of 10%.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What happens if Hillary escapes indictment, and picks Sanders as her VP, and he accepts ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some Millennial will assassinate Hillary.
      ...possibly one from Maui.
      They demonstrated their love for the old fart in a big way yesterday.

      Delete
    2. Hillary is damaged goods.

      Trump's negative's are high and when Trump starts giving her what she and obama have been dishing for 8 years? Her's will be higher.

      The best thing will be watching all of those who supported Obama STAYING HOME....

      Delete
    3. Trump should run an ad that is a montage of a bunch of pictures highlighting her crazy, wild-eyed looks and outstanding figure.

      http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CcaLc0V.kfS.7Yk02ruaDA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9Mzc3O2lsPXBsYW5lO3B4b2ZmPTUwO3B5b2ZmPTA7cT03NTt3PTY3MA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/f97d1f4f8704d2f9930f977bcba2124fbdcb8b43.jpg

      Delete
  30. The March Against Fear
    was canceled because of fear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :(

      I read that.

      Sad, and dispiriting.

      Delete
  31. HILLARY IN ALL HER NEOCON SPLENDOR

    BY RALPH NADER MARCH 27, 2016

    It is well known to Washington political observers that politicians invited to speak at the annual, giant AIPAC convention ask for suggested talking points from this powerful pro-Israeli government lobby. Hillary Clinton’s pandering speech must have registered close to 100% on AIPAC’s checklist.

    Of course, both parties pander to AIPAC to such depths of similar obeisance that reporters have little to report as news. But giving big-time coverage to sheer political power is automatic. Compare it to the sparse attention given to the conference a few days earlier at the National Press Club on the Israeli lobby featuring scholars, authors and the well-known Israeli dissenter, Gideon Levy of the respected Haaretz newspaper (see israellobbyus.org/).

    But Mrs. Clinton’s speech was newsworthy for its moral obtuseness and the way in which it promised unilateral White House belligerence should she become president. A reader would never know that her condemnation of Palestinian terrorism omitted any reference to the fact that Israel is the occupier of what is left of Palestinian lands, colonizing them, seizing their water and land, brutalizing the natives and continuing the selective blockade of Gaza, the world’s largest Gulag ever since Israel closed its last colony there in 2005.

    Clinton emphasized her condemnation of Palestinian children being taught “incitement” against their Israeli oppressors and the recent deplorable knife attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. She neglected to point to massive, daily Israeli incitement backed up by U.S.-supplied deadly weapons that over the last decade have caused 400 times more Palestinian fatalities and serious injuries to innocents than the defenseless Palestinians have caused their Israeli counterparts. One of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition partners, for example, from the Jewish Home Party, called for the slaughter of all Palestinians, the elderly and women in general. “Otherwise,” the partner said (in an English-language translation from the Hebrew), “more little snakes will be raised there.”

    {...}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. {...}

      Clinton did not mention any of these brutalities, though they are components of what is an illegal occupation under international law and the United Nations charter. The Yale Law graduate simply chooses not to know better. Instead, she told her wildly-applauding audience of her support for increasing the amount of U.S. taxpayer spending for the latest military equipment and technology to over $4 billion a year. For the record, Israel is an economic, technological and military powerhouse that provides Israelis with universal health insurance and other social safety nets that are denied the American people.

      In an obvious slap at President Obama, whose name she never mentioned (even Netanyahu thanked Obama in his address to AIPAC), Clinton almost shouted out: “one of the first things I’ll do in office is invite the Israeli Prime Minister to visit the White House.” This was a thinly-veiled reference to Netanyahu’s trip to a joint session of Congress, where he tried to undermine President Obama’s negotiations with Iran in what was an unprecedented interference by a foreign leader. Not surprisingly, Obama did not ask Netanyahu over to visit the White House for a drink before he headed back to Israel.

      High on AIPAC’s checklist is to insist that all speakers condemn what Clinton called the “alarming boycott, divestment and sanctions movement known as BDS.” She then twice slanderously associated this modest effort (in which many Jews are active participants) to get Israel to lift some oppression from the occupied Palestinian territories, with antisemitism. However, by totally erasing any nod, any mention, any compassion toward the slaughter of Palestinian children, women and men in their homes, schools and hospitals, Hillary Clinton makes a mockery of her touted Methodist upbringing and her declared concern for children everywhere.

      {...}

      Delete
    2. {...}

      For repeated applause at AIPAC’s convention and its associated campaign contributors, she has lost all credibility with the peoples of the Arab world. Moreover, such hostility in her words registers “the other antisemitism,” to cite the title of an address by James Zogby before an Israeli university in 1994.

      With all her self-regarded experience in foreign affairs, Mrs. Clinton could pause to ponder why she is backing state terrorism against millions of Arab Palestinians trapped in two enclaves, surrounded by walls, military outposts, and suffering from deep poverty, including widespread diseases and severe anemia among Palestinian infants and children.

      Unlimited is her militant animosity toward Iran, bragging about crippling sanctions that she spearheaded (which caused untold harm to the health and care of civilians), and threatening military force “for even the smallest violations of this [nuclear] agreement.” Yet for decades Israel has violated numerous U.N. resolutions to withdraw its occupation and repression of Palestinians without a murmur from Secretary of State Clinton, who as a candidate opposes a role for the U.N. Security Council (over which the U.S. has an often-used veto) in the peace process.

      There were some restraints. She repeated her support for a Palestinian state but wondered whether the Palestinian Leadership was up to the negotiations. Also, she resisted going along with recognizing the shift of Israel’s capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

      Her very oblique reference to illegal, expanding Israeli settlements did not amount to anything more than a wink, foreshadowing no action on her part to stop the expansion of colonies in the occupied territories should she reach the White House.

      Near the conclusion of her deferential remarks, she stated “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him.” Some courageous Israeli human rights groups, such as B’Tselem, who defend Palestinian human rights, might view her words as applicable daily to how they perform their noble work.

      Delete
    3. http://www.eurasiareview.com/27032016-ralph-nader-on-hillarys-latest-bow-to-aipac-oped/

      Delete
    4. Palestinians blow up civilians, stab women, run over babies in cars, throw firebombs and rocks...

      Jews build homes...

      Delete
    5. Her very oblique reference to illegal, expanding Israeli settlements did not amount to anything more than a wink, foreshadowing no action on her part to stop the expansion of colonies in the occupied territories should she reach the White House.



      IF Israel is going to be condemned for expanding the colony?

      They Israel should.

      1st Israel should annex all unoccupied (by people) all West Bank lands.
      2nd Israel should start moving the border on Gaza towards the population, taking over empty fields and lands.

      Then?

      You can bitch Israel is "expanding" the colonies..

      til then? You are just crying wolf.

      Might as well give you something to cry about

      Delete
  32. .

    I play my Deer Antler Drum to relax:

    Yea, that version of Ghost Riders in the Sky was pretty relaxing. Always liked that song.

    You look like you put on a little weight.

    Was that stuff on the table pastry or goat intestines?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ah I guess those pesky Palestinians, oh I mean Jordanians heard me...

    Jordan bans land sale around Petra to "Israelis" (but they mean Jews)

    http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=30662#.VvikNMe6xpp

    AMMONNEWS - The Jordanian parliament has passed a law prohibiting the sale and rent of real estate in the ancient city of Petra to Israeli citizens, following increasing reports of Israelis buying land in the city, the Jordanian daily al-Rai reported Tuesday.

    The law differentiates between Israeli and other foreign investors, banning Israelis from renting or buying real estate in the entire Petra region, while allowing others to invest in land located outside Petra Archeological Park.

    The law is an amendment to the Petra Development and Tourism Authority law and was submitted by two parliament members, Mahmoud Kharabsha and Assaf Shubki. It passed on Tuesday after a contentious meeting during which many parliament members voiced strong criticism against Israel, describing it as "the enemy" and "the oppressing entity" and emphasizing that Jordan should take revenge on Israel for its violations on Temple Mount.


    I guess maybe it's time to stop arab land purchases in America and Europe.. ???

    Bet Ash for find that repulsive....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ash al Canuck-jihadi ?

      That Ash ?

      Delete
    2. "I guess maybe it's time to stop arab land purchases in America and Europe.. ???"

      I certainly agree with that, and Chinese land purchases too.

      Both are buying land in the mid-west.

      I'd put, following my father once again, very strong restrictions on foreign purchases of American assets, at least on those who are in conflict or competition with us.

      Delete
  34. So is Canada and America illegal European colonies?

    But now?

    Millions of Arabs are moving into the American and Canadians "colonies" SO are they now turning into illegal Arab colonies?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's sad.

      It is extremely foolish to allow people in whose religio/cultural outlook is so at odds with ours.

      Sharia and the Constitution do not mix.

      Stop Moslem Immigration To USA Now

      Delete
    2. Hater

      Beck went on to explain his view of the specific mechanism all Christians, including those who support Trump, should follow before deciding the candidate for whom they will vote in the 2016 GOP Presidential contest:

      I believe evangelicals and Christians and Jews and Muslims are in this together, that we all have access to God’s inspiration.

      That’s all I’m asking for: On this Easter weekend, that you would take the time and ask for God’s inspiration.

      Delete
    3. "I believe evangelicals and Christians and Jews and Muslims are in this together, that we all have access to God’s inspiration."

      Delete
    4. I have already done this, and I've found I'm compelled to vote against the Hildebeest, The Woman From Hell.

      Not going through the exercise on the GOP Presidential contest. Just pulling the GOP lever in November.

      Delete

  35. March 27, 2016

    CIA-backed rebels fight Pentagon-backed rebels in Syria

    By Rick Moran


    Clashes between militias trained by the CIA and the Pentagon are intensifying as bitter fighting has broken out near Aleppo and the Turkish border.

    Chicago Tribune

    The fighting has intensified over the past two months, as CIA-armed units and Pentagon-armed ones have repeatedly shot at each other as they have maneuvered through contested territory on the northern outskirts of Aleppo, U.S. officials and rebel leaders have confirmed.

    In mid-February, a CIA-armed militia called Fursan al Haq, or Knights of Righteousness, was run out of the town of Marea, about 20 miles north of Aleppo, by Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces moving in from Kurdish-controlled areas to the east.

    "Any faction that attacks us, regardless from where it gets its support, we will fight it," said Maj. Fares Bayoush, a leader of Fursan al Haq.

    Rebel fighters described similar clashes in the town of Azaz, a key transit point for fighters and supplies between Aleppo and the Turkish border, and March 3 in the Aleppo neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud.

    The attacks come amid continued heavy fighting in Syria and illustrate the difficulty facing U.S. efforts to coordinate among dozens of armed groups that are trying to overthrow the government of President Bashar Assad, fight the Islamic State militant group and battle one another all at the same time.

    "It is an enormous challenge," said Rep.Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who described the clashes between U.S.-supported groups as "a fairly new phenomenon."

    "It is part of the three-dimensional chess that is the Syrian battlefield," he said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The area in northern Syria around Aleppo, the country's second-largest city, features not only a war between the Assad government and its opponents, but also periodic battles against Islamic State militants, who control much of eastern Syria and also some territory to the northwest of the city, and long-standing tensions among the ethnic groups that inhabit the area, Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen.

      If anything demonstrates the incompetence, futility, and danger of the president's policiy in Syria, it's this almost comic clash between fighters trained by two separate wings of our national security apparatus.

      Did it really have to be like this? In late 2011, the main organized force fighting President Assad was the Free Syrian Army. At that time,. FSA was made up of deserters from Assad's army and were almost entirely secular in nature. No Islamist militias. No Gulf states support for extremists. No ISIS. No Hezb'allah or the Russians assisting Assad.

      It was a critical point. Should the US arm and train the Free Syrian Army? I acknowledge there were serious arguments on both sides of the question. The president feared that supporting the overthrow of Assad would commit the US to a course of action that may eventually have required ground troops. Even back then many people realized that if America were to commit ground troops to Syria, it would force Russia to intervene.

      But Assad's army was falling apart. Thousands were deserting or refusing to fire on civilians. This little history lesson is necessary because we forget there were alternative paths that Hillary Clinton and President Obama didn't take. A strong show of support for the FSA supplied with heavy American arms might have brought the civil war to a relatively quick end without the fractured, quarrelling opposition and extremist militias wreaking havoc on anyone who disagrees with them.

      But Clinton-Obama played it safe and now we are presented with a Gordian Knot that appears hopelessly tangled. Each strand that is unravelled leads to another strand tightening.

      None of the many sides in this conflict appear ready to stop fighting. Perhaps that will only happen when they run out of people to kill or they run out of modern weapons and are forced to fight with sticks and stones.

      I don't envy the next president who has to manage the slaughter to keep it from spilling over Syria's borders and further embroil the region in conflict.

      http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/03/ciabacked_rebels_fight_pentagonbacked_rebels_in_syria.html#ixzz44AIOm9CA

      Delete
    2. Thought Deuce might appreciate this story of total FUBAR.

      Delete
    3. On the other hand, seen from a more subtle Machiavellian point of view....

      Delete
  36. Today in the news....

    Israel built 21 new bathrooms in an effort to increase it's Illegal strangle hold on the number of shitters in Jerusalem.

    The UN Security Council is considering passing a condemnation of Israel for changing the balance of shitters on disputed lands.

    "It's a gross violation of the status quo law" so said Palestinian Representative to the Special Affairs of Toilets in the Occupied territories. "By Israel increasing the square footage of shitters, it is unfairly denying Palestinians with shitter equality" so said the Palestinians Representative..

    ReplyDelete
  37. Sounds like it might be yet another instance of the world wide 'Shitter Imperialism' under which we have all been suffering.

    But I want to hear the Israeli side of this story before issuing condemnations of anyone.....

    ReplyDelete
  38. I've been thinking of Quirk, and his request for immediate emergency sustenance.

    Say, Quirk, along with the Elk jerky, could I send some Wolf sausage as well, stuffed in Wolf guts?

    Boil it a little longer than usual, but after eating you will be so energized you will be able to run from Detroit to Philly and back without stopping.

    ReplyDelete