I want to warn my readers! This piece is from the Washington Times a very conservative newspaper….take it for what it is…….
It is a pretty good piece from a historical perspective……should give readers a base line from which to judge this newest war…..
Inkwell Institute
Middle East Desk
By now all America is aware that we are returning to a war footing, a air war (for now)……..I have been watching all aspects of the run up to the war……..I am old enough that I recall the days and weeks to the 1991 Gulf war…….the steps that were taken to garner all the public support for the war possible. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq….the rockets aimed at Israel……the WMDs and the possibility of nukes hiding in the sand……with all the steps in place the public was gung-ho and off we went.
The after the dastardly attacks of 9-11…..the admin started lining up the steps…….the rhetoric of “axis of evil”…..then the case for WMDs…….and then the search for uranium and finally the vision of a mushroom cloud……then the steps were in line and off we went in 2003 to invade the country of Iraq….again.
And now the year is 2014 and case is being made, yet again….and as usual step by step……….
ISIS trapped about a bazillion people on a mountaintop in Iraq…..a real humanitarian crisis….US stepped up and commenced with airdrop of supplies and a limited amount of airstrikes just to give those trapped a fighting chance……
In response of America/’s actions, ISIS beheaded an American journalist and after more concentrated airstrikes a second American was beheaded……
At this point the rhetoric ramped up among pundits and especially with the politicians…..the prez in response to ISIS brutal message began a concentrated action of more airstrikes and sending in US troops (as trainers and protection of diplomats)…….at this point America began asking its allies for help with the new battle in Iraq….the r4easponse was lackluster at best…..NO one wanted to get bogged down in Iraq (again)………
Then there was a break in the action…..ISIS beheads a British humanitarian aid worker……and Britain became a staunch supporter of the American plan (a plan which few a sure what it entails)……..
At this point the Us began a whirlwind tour of its allies to put together a coalition that will take on ISIS….this would help the American people accept a return to the sands of Mesopotamia…….Kerry got a total of 40 nations to sign onto the Obama plan and NO one is sure what these countries will be doing to assist in the fight………
Then after thump their chest about the coalition John Kerry announces…….Syria may have a hidden stash of CWs waiting to be used…….this on the heels of the congrats that Kerry announced that all Syrian CWs have been destroyed……I think this revelation comes on the heels of an Israeli report that the weapons were there in Syria (BTW, Israeli intel has proven bad in past operations by the US using their intel)………
Now recently a news bomb was dropped…….KHORASAN!
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may be dominating the headlines and stealing attention with its prolific propaganda, but CBS News’ Bob Orr reports, another group in Syria — one few have even heard of because information about it has been kept secret — is considered a more urgent concern.
Sources tell CBS News that operatives and explosives experts from Osama bin Laden’s old al Qaeda network may again present an immediate threat to the U.S. homeland.
Sources say it’s due to the emerging threat in Syria, where hardened terrorists loyal to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri are working on new, hard-to-detect bombs.
Sources confirm that the al Qaeda cell goes by the name “Khorasan.”
Unlike ISIS, which is believed at present to be largely engulfed in its fight for territory. Khorasan is developing fresh plots to target U.S. aviation, and it’s trying to recruit Westerners who have flocked to the fight in Syria, some of whom have joined the al Qaeda franchise in the country, known as the al-Nusra Front.
Iraq joins in the case building scenario…..it seems they have found some ISIS CWs………..
Soldiers dismantled seven chlorine gas-tipped rockets in the Diyala province, Foral al-Tamimi was quoted as saying in a report by the semi-official Iranian news site Press TV.
The rockets were to be fired at civilians in the predominantly Shiite city of Muqdadiyah, northwest of Baghdad, the report said.
Still cannot find confirmation of this report…….or could it be just a story made up to be part of the steps to all out war?
The steps have been taken and taken carefully……..the admin does not want to move too quickly and possibly lose what limited support the actions have among the people…….
Every action has fallen into place so very neatly…………….This is not over….there will be other steps thrown into the mix until they get where they need to be……….and then? Nothing new here……the admin is doing what admins do………making their case–step by step!
Case Made? And NOW it begins!
The title is not meant to be contrite in any way….it is just I can hear the M-IC sniffing the air for the smell of profits………
As of early morning, our time, the ISIS Coalition has made its move against the likes of ISIS in Syria, yes I said Syria…………..
The US and five Arab countries launched airstrikes late Monday on ISIS targets in Syria, the Pentagon says. Using a mix of manned aircraft—fighter jets and bombers—plus Tomahawk cruise missiles, the strikes were part of the expanded military campaign that President Obama authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the militants. US officials say the airstrikes began around 8:30pm EDT and were conducted by the US, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The first wave of strikes finished about 90 minutes later, but the operation was expected to continue for several more hours, according to one official.
Some of the airstrikes were against the group’s headquarters in Raqqa in eastern Syria. Military officials have said the US would target militants’ command and control centers, resupply facilities, training camps, and other key logistical sites. “We will be prepared to strike ISIL targets in Syria that degrade ISIL’s capabilities,” Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators last week, using another one of the acronyms for the group. “This won’t look like a shock-and-awe campaign, because that’s simply not how ISIL is organized, but it will be a persistent and sustainable campaign.”
Now that the war has become a world war, in essence, what will Syria have to say about the action? We know that Syria has said that any action without their knowledge would be a act of aggression against the country…….
Syria’s parliament speaker said Sunday that the U.S. should work with Damascus to battle the Islamic State extremist group rather than allying with nations which he accused of supporting terrorism.
During a parliament session, Laham, the speaker, said those “who really want to combat terrorism, must cooperate with Syria in accordance with long-term plans and not by supporting terrorist organizations under false titles.”
Never fear the Coalition has that covered……
Did Syria get a heads up? It says it did. The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that the US informed Damascus’ envoy to the UN that strikes would be launched against ISIS in Raqqa. In the past, Syrian officials have insisted that any strikes against ISIS in the country should come only via coordination with Damascus, but US officials have ruled out direct coordination with Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Now all the “i”s have been dotted and the “t”s crossed……..its on…..and the finally outcome will be on America’s head…….I sincerely hope we are truly prepared for the reaction.
The military-industrial complex has got what it desired the most….all out war ! The fun…..has begun!
I have been hard on my state because of their inconsistency in their patterns of voting……they are always voting against their best interests…..something I cannot understand…..either it is stupidity or they just do not acre enough to keep up with the issues of the day………I am thinking the later……
Then after bitching about Mississippi voters I read several pieces that illustrate the Mississippi is not an isolated example…..it appears Americans, in general, are not that sharp either…….
Annenberg Public Policy Center released a survey on Constitution Day that reveals Americans know very little about their government.
Some of the findings are:
• While little more than a third of respondents (36 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government, just as many (35 percent) could not name a single one.
• Just over a quarter of Americans (27 percent) know it takes a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to override a presidential veto.
• One in five Americans (21 percent) incorrectly thinks that a 5-4 Supreme Court decision is sent back to Congress for reconsideration.
And it gets worse…
Read more
I do believe that education should emphasize Civics more than it does today…….the American voter is ill-informed and it shows in their voting habits……
Then there is Scotland…..it recently voted against independence….in other words they were trying to secede from the United kingdom………what do Americans think of secession……..
Could the US see a Scotland-like secession vote of its own? Nearly a quarter of Americans wouldn’t have a problem with that, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Some 23.9% of us strongly or somewhat support secession for our states, Reuters reports. That’s compared to 53.3% who strongly oppose, or tend to oppose, the idea. The idea of leaving the country is most popular among Republicans and rural Americans in the Western US, and President Obama’s policies are a major reason for it. But plenty of Democrats—some 21%—would also lean toward seceding.
“When I say secede, I’m not like (ex-NRA head) Charlton Heston with my gun up in the air … It’s more like we could do it if we had to,” and it’s a way of getting Washington to listen up, says a Texas Democrat. Some 29% of Republicans, meanwhile, back the idea. “I have totally, completely lost faith in the federal government, the people running it, whether Republican, Democrat, independent, whatever,” notes one. Geographically, Americans in the Southwest are most supportive of the idea, with some 34.1% of people backing it; New England is least supportive, at 17.4%.
Do Americans think about the consequences?
A change of pace today…….
Everybody should be proud of their state when it reaches the top of the lists that tell the tale of what it is like to live in that state…….unfortunately Mississippi is NOT one of those states.
It is my state and I have been writing about the damage that conserv politics has done to the state…..even under a Democratic governor and legislature…….for many long decades the voters of Mississippi have bought into the conserv talking point of small government and lower taxes and the world will be a brighter place…….
After decades of these failed policies Mississippi is number 1 in diabetes, obesity, poverty, etc…..and number 50 in things like education, health care, etc……and the voters keep believing that these lower taxes and small government will change things……..the only change it has brought about is the Mississippi is at the top of another list…….dependent on the federal government for its existence……..
1. Mississippi
- Return on Taxpayer Investment: $3.07
- Funding as Percentage of Revenue: 45.8 percent
- Federal Employees Per Capita: 8.67
Along with its neighbors Louisiana and Alabama, Mississippi is heavily assisted with federal dollars. So much so, that WalletHub’s calculations place them at the top of the list for the most dependent on Washington for subsistence. Mississippi suffers from some serious socio-economic issues, including having the highest poverty rate and one of the lowest income rates in the country.
These are issues that have plagued the state for a long time, and there doesn’t appear to be any hope for change in the near future. There are a few things that capture federal funding that add to the state’s total, including several military bases, but the major issue appears to be the lack of jobs and opportunity suffered by the state’s citizens.
This is what I am always going on about…..Mississippi depends heavily on the Fed government for ots existence and yet the voters want to destroy the “Big Government” in DC…….at what point do these morons realize they would be cutting off their nose in spite of their face?