Day: March 16, 2016

Is Iraq/Syria In Transition?

With all the violence and destruction in the Middle east I have read some papers that talking about a transitional phase for the two countries…..

There are always plans within plans….the problem is that none seem to be working….that is with the exception of the recent ceasefire…..believe it or not even with the violations seems to be holding…..

While Syria’s ceasefire is slowly unfolding as expected, it is fair to say that the general fight against ISIL, which has two parallel tracks: military and political, is facing serious obstacle on both tracks at present. Yet, we do not see those obstacles as signs of regress. They look more like signs of progress, albeit in a very slow pace.

Militarily, however, we hear now US military officials explain that defeating ISIL in Mosul, Raqqa and elsewhere in Iraq and Syria will require putting more US boots on the ground there. In his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday March 8, General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, pointed to the need for “additional capability” to retake Mosul, as well as ISIL “capital” Al Raqqa in Syria. “We could increase some elements of the Special Operations footprint”, he said.

Source: The Bi-Polar Nature of the Transitional Phases in Iraq and Syria | Middle East Briefing

With the ceasefire being a success, at least for the time being, there are a few people that are talking about the partitioning of Syria…..kind of like the talk when Iraq started imploded back in 2005………

The major nations behind the UN push to get peace talks going to end the Syrian Civil War are not just trying to get everybody to the negotiating table, as diplomats say they are also working on an agreement to impose a federal system on Syria as a way of helping to resolve the war.

Both Russia and the US, along with other Western nations, are said to be on board with the idea. Russia has favored federalism as a way to nominally  maintain nations’ territorial integrity while allowing more regional autonomy, and the Syria plan is said to eye dramatically weakening the central government in favor of local powers.

At some point they’re bound to run this idea by the Syrians, however, and while the US and Russia seem keen to simply impose a solution on Syria it’s not clear how much Syrian support they’ll have. Rebels have already made clear they oppose any effort to weaken the central government they believe they’ll eventually be installed in control of, and while the Assad government hasn’t ruled out federalism, they want it to be the result of a referendum and internal negotiation, not just something the US and Russia decided.

(antiwar.com)

More on the possible partitioning of Syria…….

Source: Key Powers Mulling Possibility of Federal Division of Syria | World Affairs Journal

Once again everybody has a plan or an idea……the problem is no one is asking the Syrian people what they want….wait!  That will be difficult since most are on the road trying to find some safety and security….so I guess that gives others power to decide the future of Syria….good plan!

SCOTUS: The Most Worthless Story Of The Day

We just had a few primaries that have shown that this race is far from over….now the media will speculate their butts off until the next round of votes comes in.

Now Obama has made it another speculation bonanza for the media by picking his man for the Supreme Court…..we already know that the Senate will play a game wioth this for as long as they can and the media will have something to use for those lag times between primaries.

So sports fans meet the man pegged with the enviousness job of dealing with the US Senate…..and the “reporting” is already flying…..

President Obama announced his choice to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court: Merrick Garland, chief judge of the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC. He’s “one of America’s sharpest legal minds” and is “uniquely qualified,” said Obama at the White House Wednesday morning. Some coverage:

  • At 63, Garland is relatively old for a nominee, which may have factored into why he was selected, reports Think Progress.
  • At SCOTUSblog, Tom Goldstein writes that Garland “would not be among the Court’s most liberal Justices.” In his detailed handicapping of the leading choices, he adds that Garland is “very deeply respected.”
  • NBC News has a bio, noting that Garland is seen as a “moderate.”
  • Garland worked in the Justice Department for becoming a judge, and his leading role in the Oklahoma City bombing case “helped shape” his career, reports the New York Times. He also oversaw the Unabomber case.
  • Garland and his wife have two daughters, notes ABC in its “everything you need to know” file.
  • The Washington Post digs into some of the political pros and cons of picking Garland, noting that foes have 20 years of decisions to pore over.
  • Garland stood out even as a student back in 1970, notes this tweet of an old newspaper blurb.
  • Garland was confirmed to the DC court in 1997 with the support of seven current GOP senators, notes the AP. But Senate Republicans have vowed to not even allow hearings on any nominee in this election year.
  • Democrats were tying the GOP’s opposition to a bill on late-term abortion, reports Politico

Why worthless?  NO one American cares at this point.  But that will not stop the endless mind numbing speculation that the MSM excels at giving the American public.

Me?  I’m going to go sit in the garden and think of better days.

Syria: What Price Peace?

Since I wrote this op-ed for my friends at Ace News Room….the Russians have begun pulling their air assets out of Syria–(my post is below)

Breaking News! Yes I know we all are well aware that there are Russians in Syria…..at least if you have been playing attention….that is for the last 6 months….but that is not what…

Source: Russians In Syria…..WTF? – In Saner Thought

The problem, while good news,  few know why.  Was their mission accomplished?  Could this be yet another Putin ploy?  Lots of speculation but no empirical evidence for why he chose to cut and run.

My op-ed is about the possibility of peace for Syria and the plans if the peace process fails…there is always a Plan “B”.

A new year and a wealth of silly antics by politicos…..the world is going into the crapper and we are told about the mindless ramblings of presidential wannabes…..believe me when I say …

Source: Syria: What Price Peace?

Debate Over Issues

The screen grab below is from a Brit site but it would look like this if we had one for our Congressional debate over pressing issues…..

 

I see there is not much different between the US congress and the UK Parliament.

What do we pay these worthless lumps of humanity for any way?

The five foreign policy questions every candidate should be asked

I know that I harp on foreign policy and the election a lot.  I do so because I believe with the condition of the world today , foreign policy will be a very important aspect of the next presidency…..

I have noticed that in debates and even on the campaign trail foreign policy is seldom mentioned….that is other than some chest thumping over ISIS or Russia or China.  The problem is that there is so much more to foreign policy than slogans and idle promises of war….

There should be a standard list of questions on foreign policy that every candidate should be asked and should be made to answer.

Libya, Yemen, drones and more: why are presidential hopefuls being let off the hook on these critical challenges?

Source: The five foreign policy questions every candidate should be asked | Opinion | The Guardian

I have tried to find what each candidate has to say on foreign policy.  The problem is most of the rhetoric is vague and non-specific.  In the past I have written on Clinton’s and Bernie’s foreign policy and have had a bit of a problem finding anything that would tell me about the foreign policy on Mr. Donald Trump……but I did find what one writer thinks his possible team’s impact would be on the nation’s foreign policy…

Source: What President Trump’s Foreign-Policy Team Might Look Like | The American Conservative

Foreign entanglements will be a pressing issue for our next president.  The question is will we as voters make the right decision or will we make matters worse with our votes?

 

The Flame Flickers

The Dem race is looking all but won……

The results of yet another big Tuesday of voting are rolling in, and they’re proving to be good news for Hillary Clinton: She has won Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and Illinois, reports the AP. In Florida, Clinton had been handily leading all the polls, and she was handed the state immediately after polls closed at 8pm Eastern. With 99% of the vote in, she has a sizable 64% of the vote, giving her 142 delegates to 62 for Bernie Sanders. Clinton is up by double digits over Bernie Sanders in Ohio and North Carolina as well, per NBC News, with the win in North Carolina allowing her to complete her sweep of the South.

In Illinois, the race was called when Clinton had 50.5% of the vote with 96% of results in, giving her 88 delegates to 64 for Sanders. In Missouri, with 99% of precincts in, Clinton is 0.2% ahead, making the race a virtual tie. Sanders was hoping to pull off another Michigan-level surprise in at least one of the five states voting on Tuesday, but he appears bound for disappointment. Vox notes all five states voting tonight award their Democratic delegates proportionally

As well for the Repubs…..

It’s a campaign-saving win for John Kasich and a campaign-ending loss for Marco Rubio. In the latter race, Donald Trump easily defeated the Florida senator in Rubio’s home state. The contest had been seen as do-or-die for Rubio, and it turned out to be die: He suspended his campaign in an evening address to supporters. Both CNN and the AP called the state as soon as the last polls closed at 8pm Eastern, with Trump up by nearly 20 points in the winner-take-all contest.

In the other big race, however, Kasich got a much-needed win in his own home state of Ohio. Kasich beat Trump by around 11%, and he received a rousing cheer from supporters when he promised, “I will not take a low road to the highest office in the land,” per Reuters. Trump, meanwhile, praised Rubio: “He’s tough, he’s smart, and he’s got a great future.” In the other three states voting Tuesday night, Trump racked up victories in Illinois and North Carolina, and he was leading a close race in Missouri with Ted Cruz. Earlier, he won the Northern Mariana Islands caucus with 73% of the vote.