Day: November 16, 2015

Let’s Talk About 9/11 (Again)

With the latest attack in Paris I feel it is the appropriate time to talk about what happened on 9/11…..there have been many conspiracy theories out there about what actually happened on the horrible day…..some are so far fetched that they are almost humorous….and then there are some stories that seldom see the light of day……and that is where this post is going……

It seems that an ex-CIA director has decided to step up and tell the “rest of the story”……..

“It was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard, and lots of Americans were going to die,” former CIA counterterrorism chief Cofer Black recalls about the months before 9/11. Politico has an exclusive look from Chris Whipple into how the Bush administration ignored multiple detailed warnings from the CIA in the lead-up to the worst terrorist attack in US history. Whipple, along with Jules and Gedeon Naudet, interviewed 12 former CIA directors for their documentary The Spymasters, which airs later this month on Showtime. The conversations cover everything from torture to lethal drone strikes to the murky world of assassinations, and, of course, what was done—what could have been done—to prevent 9/11.

Whipple writes that the warnings delivered to the Bush administration were more specific than previously known. Former CIA director George Tenet says he and Black pitched a plan to the Bush team in the spring of 2001 that would have launched a paramilitary operation in Afghanistan to neutralize al-Qaeda. The administration wasn’t interested. Black says the Bush team “just didn’t get” it. “I think they were mentally stuck,” he says. “They were used to terrorists being Euro-lefties—they drink champagne by night, blow things up during the day.” In July, they met with Condoleezza Rice and emphatically warned her the country needed “to go on a wartime footing” immediately. Again nothing happened. “How is it that you could warn senior people so many times and nothing actually happened?” Black says. “It’s kind of like the Twilight Zone.” Read the full story here.

If this story is true……why is it not in the news?  Or why the “leaders” on that faithful day are NOT being held accountable?  Was this a case of “acceptable collateral damage”?

I want an answer….even after 15 years….the truth needs to be told.

Any thoughts or do you not care?  I am sure that some would rather worry about “creeping socialism” or the crush of refugees all waiting for their day in the sun……..but for me….I what to know why……

What type of game is being played?

France Retaliates

The whole world is reeling from the latest terrorist attacks in Paris that has killed at least 120 people….do I need to capsulize the attacks or were you caring enough to follow the news?

I will assume that you have seen all the news pertaining to this attack….. (sadly I have been mistaken before)……

How many presidential wannabes ran for a camera to make a statement?  That is disgusting….but then I expect nothing less than disgusting from Republicans……

Moving on…….

France decided to respond after the attacks…..(and the peasants danced)…….

Two days after coordinated terror attacks killed 129 people in Paris, France is said to be conducting “massive” airstrikes against two jihadi sites in Raqqa, Syria. A French defense official tells CNN that twelve aircraft dropped 20 bombs on Raqqa—which ISIS considers the capital of its caliphate—targeting a training camp, recruitment center, ammunition storage base, and command center. He described the attacks as successful. Meanwhile, as police launched an international manhunt for a key suspect in the Paris attacks, French officials say police had already found him near the border, but released him after an ID check. French police broadcast the name and image of Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old born in Brussels, across Europe, warning that he is very dangerous.

The retaliation begs two questions to be asked……

One, France attacked a training camp, recruitment center, ammunition storage base, and command center…….now the question is….if they knew these targets existed before then why were they not eliminated prior to the attacks?

Two, what is going on in Belgium?  If I recall correctly the “Hebdo” attackers were traced back to Belgium and now the latest Paris attackers are linked to Belgium…..WTF?  Is it possible that more attention should be given to the doings in Belgium?

Could this tragedy have been prevented if they had acted earlier to destroy known ISIS targets?

Two excellent questions…..that NO one is asking….why?

Personally, I want to know why if intel had these targets identified then why were they still in operation?  First rule of war….take out command and control…..pretty simple…..unless there is a reason to keep these targets working…..

All the leaders are offering platitudes and excuses for the attacks…..but if you look at ALL info then…….recriminations make the news and all the idiots that will not see stupid in their words…..but few are thinking the situation through to a happy conclusion.

And there are the entertainers like Madonna…..personally do not care what this bitch thinks…..they all see an opportunity to pad their PR portfolio……it is NOT newsworthy!

To me……there is only one thought…….something smells fishy in Syria?

This War on Terror is starting to look like some sort of geopolitical game!

Syria: “No Fly, Schmo Fly”

Guess what idea is making the rounds with the people that have failed to contain ISIS?  (I’m waiting…..the title can help if you are suffering from brain farts)….

There are those in the US and elsewhere that are pushing the idea of a “no fly zone” or a “buffer zone”….the excuse is that it will help protect innocent civilians from the ravaging of war……(I have my doubts on the validity of the promise)…..

During an interview with Maddow on MSNBC Clinton joined the club calling for a “no fly zone”……

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reiterated to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Friday that she completely supports a No Fly Zone in Syria – but that it wouldn’t necessarily lead to conflict with Russia.

How’s that?

After getting a long and rambling answer to the question of shooting down Russian aircraft, Maddow cut Clinton off by pointing out that “ultimately a no-fly zone is an anti-aircraft proposition.” But Clinton responded, “It is, but that doesn’t mean you shoot at every aircraft that might violate it the first or second time.”

Sorry Hil but that is exactly what it means…..if not then what purpose will it serve?

Those in favor of this point to the Iraqi “no fly zones” after the first Gulf War as to just how successful these can be……first of all (laugh my ass off at the stupidity of that statement)…….

This zone strikes me as a way to try and control ISIS not defeat it….the more I read the more I am sure that this is about the most asinine idea yet for this conflict.

Granted that ISIS has been getting their butts handed to them in recent months but that does not mean that it is being defeated…..

I read a piece in the “New Eastern Outlook” that made some excellent points……….( read on if you would like to see where this may not be this best idea to come out)….

Source: US-Turkey “Buffer Zone” to Save ISIS, Not Stop Them | New Eastern Outlook

The Institute for the Study of War has an analysis of what people will call a “no fly” scenario…..the proposed plan has many facets than the simplistic title…..before such a situation is installed there are many parts to the whole and all parts need to be considered seriously not out of hand…..

Source: U.S. Options For A Syrian No-Fly Zone | Institute for the Study of War

The tactics being used in our conflict against ISIS are tactics used in the past….some worked out beautifully and others not so much…..instead of recycling techniques from the past there needs to be a new way of thinking…..a new way to handle international conflicts….I dunno like……war is NOT the only answer ( after the latest attacks this one line ought get the mental midgets fired up).

President Rand Paul’s Middle East Policy

Remember back about 6 months ago at the beginning of this election cycle when everybody’s favorite Libertarian announced he was running for the presidency of the United States?

Since then Mr. Rand has become a persona non Grata in the GOP race for the nomination……as they say “his shine has lost its luster”……

Back when he announced Juan Cole wrote a piece about what we, as voters,  could expect of Rand Paul if he were to become our next president on foreign policy….

Source: President Rand Paul’s Middle East Policy | Informed Comment