Day: August 26, 2016

The Future of the Mideast

Here is a question for those that are not meek…..what will be the future of the Middle East?  And of course those “people” on the Right will have all sorts of clever yet disgusting thoughts to spew….but this is a serious question that needs some thought.

Now I know I will get all kinds of comments ranging from the typical to the sublime….not one of them show any sort of thought….but they must say something….even if it is dead wrong.

When this bout of barbarism is done and make no mistake it will end…..the Middle East will be a different place….I think it will be nothing like what most Western envision when asked this question…..

While embedded with U.S. Special Operations Forces in 2007, I witnessed firsthand America’s incredible ability to apply technology to the battlefield. The digital map layered on Iraq’s topography was rich with satellite feeds, drone surveillance, heat maps of local violence, real-time situation reports from troops on the ground, and other forms of human and signals intelligence. With about two hours’ notice, special ops teams could strike anywhere in the country. During the so-called surge, the “op tempo” was relentless, and yet the coalition’s ability to hold Iraq together was fleeting at best. One cool and cloudy night, while walking around Balad Air Base northwest of Baghdad with a senior commander, I asked him point- blank, “Are all these gizmos necessary because you can’t speak Arabic?”

Political goals imposed on a complex cultural geography from halfway around the world stand little chance of surviving even a year. And the post-colonial map of the Middle East has lasted not even a century, and in many cases not even half that. Now it is time for the Arab world to build a new map for itself, to evolve from Sykes Picot towards a Pax Arabia.

Source: The Future of the Mideast: A decentralized, Networked Pan-Arabism transcending Sykes-Picot? | Informed Comment

Before that there should be some consideration in the possibility of the US disengaging from the region as soon as possible……let’s be honest…..foreign oil is NOT as important today as it was 20 years ago….so a disengagement would not hurt this country at all….with the exception of the M-IC that is making billions off of war and destruction.

truemapofmiddleeastThomas_Map-01

Our disengagement could be bring a speedy end to this conflict cycle that we have created…..

The Orlando and San Bernardino shootings have led important personalities to make several suggestions, both workable and unworkable. These range from banning the entry of Muslim immigrants into the United States to tighter gun control. However, hardly anyone seems to have asked the fundamental question: why have some radicalized inhabitants of broader Middle Eastern origin developed such hatred for Americans that they are willing not only to inflict tremendous suffering on innocent civilians, but also to lay down their own lives in the process?

The answer lies in the history and extent of American involvement in the broader Middle East ranging from Turkey to Pakistan, what has been called the “arc of crisis”. The United States was often involved on the wrong side of the internal and regional conflicts in this region, supporting authoritarian regimes to maintain control over restive populations. More important, the extent of its involvement—especially in the post–Cold War era—has far exceeded its economic and strategic interests in the region.

Source: It’s Time for America to Disengage From the Middle East | The National Interest Blog

Next week I will return to posting on my research on terrorism…I have been helping a my friend by teaching a bloc in his course…..sorry for the delay but I have been working my skinny butt off….

How Neocons Helped Create The Bogey Man

2016 has become the weirdest election in many years….we had a run at the Dem nomination by a “socialist” and we have the most disliked Dem nominee ever and now we have a Trump as the GOP nominee…..

Many are asking just how is it possible that a person with so little conserv credentials could have made through the primary process and become the GOP nominee…..for that I have no answer….I could speculate….but why there is enough of that to go around……

A great question and I may have found the answer that so many are searching for to explain this phenom…..

Prominent neoconservatives, led by Bill Kristol, have played leading roles in trying to block Trump’s nomination or repeal it somehow. They’ve lined up fellow-neocons to sign letters opposing his election and/or declining to serve under him should he actually make it to the White House. Some, albeit a relatively small minority so far, have gone so far as to publicly endorse Hillary for president, if only as the lesser evil. Among the most outspoken in the latter group are Bob Kagan, Max Boot, Bret Stephens, and Eliot Cohen. Indeed, it’s very difficult to find a neocon at the moment who publicly supports the Republican candidate.

As I wrote previously, the reasons are many: fear of “America First” isolationism and all it implies for U.S. foreign policy and alliances; the bromance with Putin; the crudest kinds of nativism, racism, and misogyny expressed at his rallies (and the fear that anti-Semitism can’t be far behind); authoritarian tendencies (to say the least); shocking ignorance; lack of self-restraint; hyper-narcissism—all valid points with which I can’t find much fault.

Source: How Neocons Helped Create Trump « LobeLog

So if you want to know who made this all possible then look NO Further than your own party….

Neocons helped create candidate Trump and now they are running scared…..I guess there is some truth in the old saying…”careful what you wish for….you might get it”……

Dude, Where Did The Money Go?

How many times have you heard a nose picking, ass scratcher go on and on about those freeloaders (the poor) that are wasting government money?  Or that have string opinions about wasting money on unpopular programs like school lunches or pollution control or other such programs?

But does any of that add up to $8.5 trillion (that is trillion with a “T”)?

$8.5 trillion is the amount of cash that the Defense Department has somehow misplaced……(wink wink)

WTF?

When government is completely dysfunctional and seems not to serve the people’s interests, we have to wonder where our tax dollars are going. Thanks to a Reuters investigation by Scot Paltrow, we have an answer—or, rather, a non-answer. Apparently, the Pentagon has made use of $8.5 trillion of our tax money handed over by Congress since 1996—but don’t ask what was done with the money. The Department of Defense doesn’t have a clue.

Audits of all federal agencies were mandated by law beginning in 1996, but the Pentagon is unique in never having complied. In almost 20 years, the Pentagon has never accounted for trillions it spent, in part because “plugging”—fudging the numbers—is standard operating procedure.

And they worried about the price of a school lunch…..typical ignorant toads.
Think about this….if we add the money that is missing with the amount we have wasted on our wars of adventurism then we would not have a budget deficit…..see how easy economics is once you remove your head from your ass?

China Comes To The Middle East

While the country pops its chops about this candidate’s taxes or that ones health a major development is occurring in the Middle East…….maybe you should stop looking for Pokemon and paying attention…..

Back at the first of this year there were rumblings that China might be considering a bit of their own adventurism in the Middle East….in Syria most namely…..I posted a warning back then……

Source: Can China Get A Buy In? – In Saner Thought

Most people thought that I was being unnecessarily paranoid about the possibility……well sports fans….”I Told You So”!

Country has joined Russia and Iran in supporting the Syrian government in war

China signalled it was prepared to join them by dispatching high-profile rear admiral Guan Youfei, head of Beijing’s office for international military co-operation, to Damascus to hold discussions with the Syrian defence minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij.

China offered to train Syrian military personnel and provide humanitarian aid. While Chinese advisers are routinely deployed to teach Syrian soldiers how to use Chinese weapons, the proposal to have advisers on a regular basis amounts to direct engagement in the conflict on the government’s side.

Source: China enters fray in Syria on Bashar al-Assad’s side

Now we have another bloc to contend with…..Syria, Russia, Iran and now China.

Does this appear to the powers lining up and choosing sides like the start of so many other great wars?

Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China’s Central Military Commission, Guan Youfei arrived in Damascus for talks with Syrian Defense Minister Fahad Jassim al-Freij and other officials of the Damascus government. Guan announced that Beijing and Damascus had come to an agreement that the Chinese military will provide humanitarian aid to Syria and discussed a possibility of involvement of Chinese military servicemen in training of the Syrian army personnel and other operations to ensure security in the Arab country.

Xinhua has not provided details about the agreed Chinese humanitarian aid mission in Syria. Furthermore, there are constant rumors that Chinese military advisers already operate in Syria, observing Damascus’ anti-terrorism efforts. However, there is no clear evidence that China has been involved into the conflict.

Source: Video: China Increases Its Involvement in the Syrian War | Global Research – Centre for Research on Globalization

How long before something goes horribly wrong?  Not always a good sign when the world’s military powers start picking sides in a fight…..am I wrong?

Keep in mind that China is building a military base in Djibouti which is on the Persian Gulf….just a hop skip and flight from the Middle East….

Maybe now would be a good time to step back and take a hard analytical look at Syria and the situation….

Or go back to looking for Pokemon……that is probably more important to you anyway.

Thoughts?

Why Political Parties Are Unnecessary

As far back as the 1970’s I was preaching this exact thing….political parties are unnecessary…..basically because the American voter will vote for what is best for the individual and not the country…..party matters not…that is why we had voters like the Reagan Democrats….

Boy did I catch Hell from all sides…..my theory was too radical to be American I was told by one individual….and yet here we are….

You know the euphemism, “Follow the Party Line.” Mind what you say. Watch how you act. Do what’s expected.

Watching the major party conventions this summer made we wonder, more than ever, why anyone would follow a political party line—either party.

Comparisons of “Trumpism” to circumstances in 1930’s Germany and Italy aren’t exaggerations. Neither is Robert Nelson’s attribution of a Karl Marx saying: “History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”

Source: Why Political Parties Are Unnecessary – LA Progressive

To this day I still hold the opinion that political parties are a waste of time and energy….

We could say that most Americans are independents….but I dislike that term…..why?

Independent would mean that they were open to an alternative….that is a falsehood….at best these voters are “undecided”….. (there will be a post the takes on this issue a little later)

Finally! The A-10 Is Essential!

For a couple of years I have writing in defense of the US A-10 Warthog which is supposed to be replaced by a piece of crap, a flying brick, F-35…..

I have pointed out that there is NO better plane for close combat support for our troops than the ‘Hog…..a plane that takes a licking and keeps on fighting!

Image result for A-10 images

But to help refresh your memory……

Source: The Costly F-35 Program, or How Not to Build a Warplane – In Saner Thought

Source: A-10 VS F-35 – In Saner Thought

Most of the mental midgets that support the f-35 and want to replace the A-10 have NEVER been in combat and do not understand the importance of a plane in close support.  But that is how we do stuff….let those with NO experience make the decisions for those that do….

The GAO has issued a report questioning the validity of the plan to eliminate the A-10…….

The Government Accountability Office raised serious questions about the Air Force’s plan to eliminate the A-10 attack plane in a new report, focusing in part on lesser-known missions for the aircraft while pointedly saying that the Defense Department should use “quality information” to make a decision.

The report, released Wednesday, acknowledged the A-10 Thunderbolt II’s role in close-air support (CAS), which has popularized the plane with ground troops and some members of Congress alike. The aircraft was fielded beginning in the 1970s specifically to carry out that mission, relying on a powerful 30mm Gatling gun cannon to strike enemies and a titanium armored “bathtub” that protects the pilot from ground fire. Nicknamed the Warthog, it has a snub-nose design and the ability to support ground troops more cheaply than its potential replacements.

Source: GAO: Dumping the A-10 jet could cost the military in missions besides close-air support – The Washington Post

Maybe now someone will pay attention….the GAO is saying nothing that we combat vets have not been saying for years.

Can you hear us NOW!