Day: May 31, 2016

Professor’s Continuing Battlefront Reports

There is a reluctance of the MSM to report anything that is not sensational mon the wars, the many wars, we are fighting.

This is where I feel I must do their job for them.

We know that Americans are fighting, yet again, in Iraq and Syria, to mention only few conflicts…..

The Pentagon today reiterated that the US special forces on the ground in Syria are in a purely non-combat role, despite a new spate of photographs showing the troops embedded with Kurdish YPG forces in combat operations.

The photos showed the US Green Berets wearing the insignia of the Kurdish YPG on their uniform, likely to be a topic of contention with US ally Turkey, who considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization. Pentagon officials say it is “fairly common” for US troops to wear other factions’ insignia.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that US special forces are aiming to “blend in with the community to enhance their own protection” by wearing the Kurdish insignia, while Col. Steve Warren said it was a “sign of partnership” with the Kurds.

Very similar to another one of our “wars”…..

Is it possible that training for rebels may not be the winning strategy that so many claim?

All the other Pentagon-trained Syrian rebel factions, from their costly and largely ineffective foray into training, have either defected or been destroyed. The last little group, which holds the Tanaf border crossing between Iraq and Syria, is now on the brink.

The rebels pushed their way in and surprised a small number of ISIS forces at the border, which is the southern-most crossing between Iraq and Syria, but now with ISIS conducting counter-offensives in the area, it seems only a matter of time before they face another attack.

The rebels complain they aren’t getting much support from the US, which they described as a “dereliction of duty,” saying that they are debating whether or not to flee rather than simply wait for the inevitable rout from the much-larger ISIS force.

Maybe a workable “Plan B” would be advised…..

There is some news….not earth shaking news…..but basically a confirmation of the use of US troops…..

As Iraqi Kurdistan’s Peshmerga launches a new offensive just east of the major ISIS city of Mosul, witnesses on the ground reported US troops loading into armored vehicles and heading eastward, toward the frontlines.The Pentagon refused to confirm where the troops were headed.

The Pentagon would only describe it as an “advise and assist operation to help Kurdish Peshmerga forces.” It is noteworthy that the troops warned reporters present not to take pictures, after similar pictures emerged of US troops embedded with Syrian Kurdish forces, sparking a row with Turkey.

I have always thought that the term “Advise and Assist” was a stupid thing to try and sell to the public….but apparently it works well on the mental midgets….

Once again just my small attempt to help my readers see what is happening since the MSM seems to prefer not to report some things that may be contrary to their paradigm…..

Stay tuned…..I am sure there is more to come….

The Libertarian Party has a cognitive dissonance problem

I have been writing a lot about the two parties and their candidates…..none of which I would hire to wipe my ass….and as I usually do around the election is also offer posts on the alternate candidates that the voter could have as a choice.  As it is today the two major choices are a lying bitch and babbling moron…..we are so F*CKED!

Recently I wrote a piece about the Libertarians and keeping with that line for now……I offer up some more insights into the Libertarian Party….

Who will lead the Party in 2016?

I am so glad you asked!

The Libertarian Party has nominated former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson as its presidential candidate, and if his name rings a bell, that’s because he was the party’s nominee in 2012, reports the AP. Delegates to the party’s convention in Orlando on Sunday picked Johnson on the second ballot over Austin Petersen, the founder of the Libertarian Republic magazine, and John McAfee, sometime fugitive and founder of the eponymous anti-virus company. Johnson hit 49.5% of votes in the first round, which CNN notes was just short of the majority needed; he sealed the deal in the second round with 55.8%.

Johnson got about 1% of the popular vote in 2012. But the party is hoping for a strong showing in November because of the deep unpopularity polls show for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. The 63-year-old Johnson was governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a Republican.

There are so many thiongs to consider when looking at a third party……

How can you run to be the chief executive of an extremely statist entity from a perch that is diametrically opposed to the modern state?

The Libertarian Party selects its nominee in Orlando this weekend, and for the first time since the mid-1990s, their leading candidate is polling at or around 10 percent nationally. That man — former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson — is a regular on network and cable television, and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, is settling into his own public role quite nicely.

The Libertarian Party certainly faces structural challenges in a nation dominated by two political parties. But their main problem is different — and it’s one they have control over.

Source: The Libertarian Party has a cognitive dissonance problem

Each election has its alternative candidates the problem is….while they have some interesting policies the voter will not give them much notice because they are too busy drooling over the worse possible candidates this country has to offer.

This election is NO different!

I will soon be posting of the Green Party and its candidate, Dr. Jill Stein.

The Neocon-Liberal Hawk Convergence

I truly hope that everyone had a good and restful holiday weekend…..and on to more important things that we need to consider….

The 2016 election looms large…..and if you are a person that fears our international interventionism then you have NO real choice in this contest….a protest vote could be wasted…..

As most readers will know I have been writing and posting about the combo, the marriage if you will,  of neocon and Dem warhawks……it is getting to the point that they are almost indistinguishable from each other…….

And to me it is a disturbing occurrence….there is No one left to be the voice of reason within our government….especially when war looms……

I read an article last week that sort of touches on this point…..

by Jim Lobe

Late last month, I published a post entitled “Hillary’s Foreign Policy: A Liberal-Neoconservative Convergence?” that featured the announcement of a new report by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) to be rolled out May 16. I was traveling that day, so I missed the formal launch and only got around to reading the report this past weekend.

It was even worse than what I had anticipated.

The report, entitled “Extending American Power: Strategies to Expand U.S. Engagement in a Competitive World Order,” is based on the deliberations of a bipartisan task force of 10 senior members of the foreign policy establishment augmented by six dinner discussions with invited issue and regional “experts.” The task force was co-chaired by former Assistant Secretary of State (under Madeleine Albright) Jamie Rubin and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Bob Kagan, who also apparently doubled as the principal co-authors.

Source: The Neocon-Liberal Hawk Convergence is Worse Than I Thought « LobeLog

This convergence is disturbing on so many levels….but the most disturbing is that it could lead to even more international entanglements…..and no one cares…..

Inside the hunt for Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

I know that are some that do not have any idea what is happening in the terrorism because it is more important to worry about something that has not happened yet…..but believe it or not the world is actually trying to hunt down and eliminate the leader of ISIS…..

The US has tried to do this prick in….especially with drones….there have been reports that he has been hurt….or maybe paralyzed…..or maybe even killed….but as of yet there is little confirmation of much of what is said about this a/hole.

All that aside there is an effort to hunt this brutal toad and capture or kill with the hope that it will weaken ISIS to the point of collapse….

Intelligence officials have pieced together details of the recent movements of the world’s most wanted man….

t the closest point they can reach to the Islamic State heartlands, the Kurdish Peshmerga can almost feel their enemy. Most days Isis fighters fire mortars or bullets at their frontline, 10 miles south of Sinjar, sometimes crawling through long grass for hours until they are close enough to shoot.

Several miles further south, some of Isis’s most senior leaders regularly gather in the grey concrete villages of the terror group’s northern vanguard, which for more than a decade had been the safest corners of Iraq for them to come and go. Moving among the nearby towns of Ba’ej and Billij, according to the Kurds watching from the ground, and intelligence officials keeping tabs from other vantage points, is the world’s most wanted man, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Intelligence officials, who have spent the past two years trying to pinpoint Baghdadi’s movements, are now convinced that he moves within a tight arc of north-western Iraq and north-eastern Syria, within sight of this frontline, an area in which he has remained for almost all of his time as self-anointed leader.

Source: Inside the hunt for Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | World news | The Guardian

Again this pressed is for those that actually care about the war to end the brutality of ISIS…..

Climate Change And The Middle East

My readers know that I am forever watching international relations and looking for the causes of all the conflicts we are having these days.  There is one area that is overlooked when analyzing security…..food and water….

Climate change is a hot button issue most of the time especially here in the US…..there are so many deniers that it becomes almost humorous (I said ALMOST)……

Regardless what one wants to believe there are changes occurring around the world in the climate that we all depend on for a living.

Look at California….the drought there and in parts of Ethiopia and yes even the Middle East are pointing to warning signs that too many are trying to ignore.  Food is a extremely important section of what we all like to call “national security”.  Why?

Hungry people and unemployed people when they feel they have NO other option will resort to violence in an attempt to satisfy their needs.  What starts off as a protest on conditions and a government’s lack of interests can escalate into armed conflict and even a destructive civil war…..only need to look no further than Syria.

Food and water will be the next major obstacle to a peaceful world in the next decade……

The whole region, already arguably the least water-secure in the world, draws heavily on groundwater and desalinated sea water, and faces exceptional water-related challenges for the foreseeable future, says the WRI’s report: Ranking the World’s Most Water-Stressed Countries in 2040.
Water scarcity is one of the most urgent food security issues facing Near East and North Africa countries: fresh water availability in the region is expected to drop by 50% by year 2050.

Source: Is Climate Change drying out the Middle East even More? | Informed Comment

While the article focuses on Bahrain it will encompass the entire region very soon….

(Middle East map of Köppen climate classification; h/t Wikipedia)

“Within this century, parts of the Persian Gulf region could be hit with unprecedented events of deadly heat as a result of climate change, according to a study of high-resolution climate models,” a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research warned.

The research–titled “Persian Gulf could experience deadly heat”, reveals details of a business-as-usual scenario for greenhouse gas emissions, but also shows that curbing emissions could forestall these “deadly temperature extremes.”

Source: Will Climate change make the Middle East Uninhabitable? | Informed Comment

I realize that these days the major concern is that ISIS will make gains in the Middle East and possibly endanger the world as a whole…..but to ignore the effects of climate on the region could be more dangerous than we think.  Not to mention more volatile.

(Please if you would like to comment at least read the articles and comment on their conclusions)