Day: August 2, 2016

Attack On One Is An Attack On All

After the DNC there has been a lot of back and forth on the speech that a father of a dead veteran made to the convention floor…I was not going to be a part of this stupidity but things change.

Trump has decide he would attack the character of this family over their words……Right wing morons have decided that they would link radical religious jerks…..

If the statement from Mike Pence lauding Humayun Khan as an “American hero” was intended to put an end to the controversy over the fallen US Muslim soldier, it hasn’t done the trick. Among the developments Monday:

  • John McCain weighed in: “In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier’s parents. He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States—to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump’s statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates.” Read it in full at CNN.
  • Columnist Charles Hurt, however, thinks Democrats deserve blame because they used Khizr Khan—and his son’s death—as a political tool at the convention. And Khan “allowed himself to be tricked into it.” Read his column at the Hill.
  • Khan himself went on CNN Monday morning and said the GOP wasn’t doing enough to rein in Trump. “Every Republican has rebuked his behavior, yet no one has stood up and said, enough, stop it, you will not be our candidate.'” See Politico.
  • During Khan’s TV appearance, Trump tweeted, “Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same – Nice!”
  • President Obama entered the fray, though he didn’t mention Trump by name, notes Politico. “No one—no one has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families,” he said Monday, referring to the families of fallen vets.
  • While former Trump campaign chief Corey Lewandowski had this to say on CNN: “If Donald Trump were the president, Capt. Khan would still be alive today because we never would have entered the Iraq war in the first place.” See the Daily Beast.

My take is that those that are spreading lies and criticism are nothing but COWARDS…..cowards of the highest order.

The son died serving his country and the family has every right to say whatever they would like to say….they have earned the right……anyone that has not served and has not lost a family member in that service have NOTHING to say.

Mr. Khan has earned his right….Trump and his mental midget followers have NOT!

Time for COWARDS to shut up or if they want to comment then join up and earn the right.

The only disgusting thing is to try and link this family for political advantage…..you may hate all you like….but when it comes to a veteran who died for his country then you need therapy….you are a sick son of a bitch!

A New Strategy For Syria

It is obvious that the strategy that the US is pursuing for the problems and situation in Syria….the plans that we have been following for a couple of years now is deeply flawed.  When I heard there was a new strategy I was pleased that finally someone with half a brain had spoken up….Boy!  Was I mistaken?

We seem to be creating more problems than solutions……

In September 2015, an announcement was made about the formation of the New Syrian Army (NSA), which would initially begin its operations by fighting the Islamic State (IS), without any mention about it possibly confronting Bashar al-Assad’s forces. This is despite the fact that the NSA commander, Khazal al-Sarhan, told various media outlets that Assad and IS were but two sides of the same coin, and that his army would fight Assad once IS is defeated.

As part of the US Pentagon’s plan to combat IS, the NSA was supplied with arms and logistical support through camps located in al-Tanf, close to the border with Jordan, in southeastern Syria.

After reading this piece which was written by an internet “friend” I saw a article in the National Journal……

Last week in Washington, an extraordinary gathering of foreign and defense ministers of thirty nations met to chart the next phase of the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) campaign. All indicators suggest the meeting’s outcome will only deepen the strategic failure that has plagued the mission to date.

Not everything associated with the mission has been a failure, however. On the tactical and operational levels there have been a number of fairly meaningful successes. Since whole divisions of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) disintegrated in battle against ISIS in 2014, the army has regrouped, retrained some of its forces and have won some tough battles.

Once again the US cannot move past the failed plans they are working with these days……the masters of the universe cannot see a bigger world beyond their narrow interests (but that is a typical American approach)……and now we will pick a new president and so far NOTHING will change much no matter which of the chest thumpers wins the election.
To illustrate why I say such a thing……the presumptive winner of the 2016 election will be Clinton….if so what is her plan?
According to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy adviser, she would order a “full reeview” of the Syrian war as her first task upon taking office, with an eye toward a “reset” of the conflict to shift focus toward attacking the Assad government and imposing regime change.
Clinton’s aide, former Pentagon chief of staff Jeremy Bash, insisted that Assad’s was a “murderous regime” and that US foreign policy would be to escalate both the war against ISIS and this new war against Assad to get both “out of there” at the same time.
I can hardly wait to see who wins and then what the “gran” plan will be to end the Syrian thing….
(Please stay tuned there will be more on this at a later date)

The Trumping of US Foreign Policy

I have harping on how bad the foreign policy will be with a Clinton presidency will be……to be fair I will write on the Trump outlook as far as foreign policy goes…..his foreign policy is not good or bad…..it is too damn confusing to determine how it will be with any certainty….

The United States’ presidential campaign, already long and tumultuous, will no doubt become even more so in the coming months, as the two parties’ nominees, now officially selected, face off ahead of November’s election. But voters will have a clear choice before them, especially with regard to foreign policy.
The Democratic Party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton, promises continuity. A Clinton administration would remain a willing partner to America’s friends and allies, and it would make clear to America’s adversaries that the broad tenets of US foreign policy will not change.
Quite a different vision has emerged on the Republican side, with the nomination of Donald Trump. And yet the candidate is a secondary issue — a symptom of the rapid transformation of the Grand Old Party itself, which has been a bewildering spectacle for American and foreign audiences alike.

Source: The Trumping of US foreign policy | Arab News

I will admit when it comes to foreign policy Mr. Trump has said a few things that I can agree with and then he has to go off the deep end of Twitter and any support I could show for him disappears.  Unlike many of my contemporaries I will give any candidate a kudos if they say something that makes sense.  The problem is Trump needs to stop talking….with every mouth opening he is losing support.

An Agenda for NATO in the Middle East

NATO originally began as a way for the Western powers to counter any Soviet incursions into Europe during the Cold War (the original Cold War not the new one)……and since those days it has grown from the original 12 countries to the 28 nations today……but from its humble beginnings as a source of power to meet any aggression from Russia it has expanded as a world military force deployed all over the world……

Yes NATO is operating in the Middle East….but they should be a force to help achieve peace and enforce humanitarian deals……it could be a force for good but it would take lots of work and most of the countries especially the US are not willing to put in the time and the hard work……

But what could NATO do in the Middle East?

The current chaos in the rapidly transforming Middle East will not be over soon. Tectonic ruptures could be seen everywhere in the region. The painful birth of a yet-to-be-determined new regional order has its promises and risks. While no one can claim the ability to see through the current storm or predict its outcome, the possibility of influencing its general direction is on the table of the people of the region, their governments, and the global community in general.

Barring pressures to reduce violence, prevent foreign intervention, and confront extra-territorial spillage from domestic conflicts, the global community should leave the internal process of change in the Middle East to take its natural course in the hands of its actual and indigenous forces. The ride is rough, it is a roller coaster at times, but the world should be patient unless global terrorist threats are detected.

Source: An Agenda for NATO in the Middle East | Middle East Briefing

I believe that these plans could be a workable plan…..but sadly these ideas will fall on deaf ears….and because of that the people of the region will suffer even more than they are today…..and at the hand of others than themselves.