Day: September 9, 2016

Professor’s Battlefield SITREP

I realize that most Americans could care less about what is happening with our troops in distant lands…..but as a vet I feel I must at least try to inform the public with the hope that they will wake up and actually give a SHIT!

Candidate Clinton keeps saying that there will be no combat troops in the ground in Iraq to fight their fights……but Pres. Obama keeps sending in small amounts of US troops with the hope that NO one will notice……and it is happening again…

Pentagon officials are confirming that another round of US ground troops has been deployed to Iraq this week, adding to an already substantial number of combat troops in a war that the Obama Administration has repeatedly promised would be “no boots on the ground.”

The “official” deployment is said to be 400 more troops, bringing the official number of US troops in Iraq to 4,460. This is only a fraction of the overall deployment, however, which is believed to be in excess of 6,000 troops now, with the rest as “temporary” troops of indefinite period.

These latest troops are part of the planned invasion of Mosul, the largest city held by ISIS. DIA chief Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart says that the invasion will begin in the next two or three months, adding that it’s going to be a difficult urban battle.

(antiwar.com)

Then there is the war that we all have chosen to forget….Afghanistan.

Apparently things are not going well in the country…..we seem to be losing ground almost weekly…..the Taleban is gaining in several provinces in the South and North…..what could the next scenario be for Afghanistan…..

The ongoing political crisis within the Afghan National Unity Government amid the country’s security and economic challenges recalls earlier warnings, notably from US intelligence and the UN, on the fragility of Afghanistan’s political stability.

According to the agreement brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2014, the Afghan government should have initiated a number of political and electoral reforms within two years. To date, there has been no meaningful step towards implementing these reforms.

The failure to implement the agreement is depriving the Afghan government of its main source of authority and legitimacy. In the coming weeks, there will be growing pressure on the very existence of the government from multiple constituencies.

Source: Afghanistan is heading for civil war or worse – Al Jazeera English

Let’s say civil war breaks out….what role will the US play?

Since 2001 the Special Ops group has done most of the fighting around the world…..and apparently it will remain thus…….

The United States is spending more money on more missions to send more elite U.S. forces to train alongside more foreign counterparts in more countries around the world, according to documents obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act.

Under the Joint Combined Exchange Training program, which is designed to train America’s special operators in a variety of missions — from “foreign internal defense” to “unconventional warfare” — U.S. troops carried out approximately one mission every two days in 2014, the latest year covered by the recently released documents.

At a price tag of more than $56 million, the U.S. sent its most elite operators — Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, and others — on 176 individual JCETs, a 13 percent increase from 2013. The number of countries involved jumped even further, from 63 to 87, a 38 percent spike.

Source: Documents Show U.S. Military Expands Reach of Special Operations Programs

With this post I close out my normal week of posting…..weekend is coming and I shall kick back and relax a post lightly for a couple of days….

Everyone I would like to thank you for your visits and hope that your weekend is filled with joy and fun……

Are voters really fed up with the status quo?

There is lots of talk of the “status quo” on the campaign trail these days…..as well in many blogs….it seems everybody is talking about the subject.

But the more important question is….are they really fed up?

I say no they are not.

I say that because as much as they bitch and moan about it….they will vote for a candidate that will keep it in place…..no matter the promises and the applause lines…..none of the major party candidates will do anything to change the status quo.

Americans really, really dislike their politicians. Just not enough to actually replace them, apparently.

Even as Democrat Hillary Clinton plummeted to Donald Trump-like depths of unpopularity this week, the quintessential Washington insider could take solace from a string of victories by establishment candidates who triumphed over voter ire. The results are likely to reinforce Clinton’s preference for a careful, boring campaign at stark odds with her Republican rival’s wild swings between presidential gravitas and red meat rhetoric.

RealClearPolitics’ average polling doesn’t show much change from last week and still has Clinton ahead of Trump, 46.1% to 42%. But one thing that has dramatically changed over the past three weeks is Clinton’s unfavorable rating, which according to a recent ABC/Washington Post poll now stands at 59% — neck-and-neck with Trump’s 60%.

Source: US election 2016: Are US voters really that fed up with the status quo?

It makes for good campaign fodder….but in reality there is NO one that will change a thing……campaign promises are just lies….the sooner the voter realizes this one simple fact the sooner real change can be found.

But first they would have to admit that their candidate is flawed…..something that most voters will not consider….once they have made up their minds they will do, say and repeat as if their candidate is the second coming…..they are perfect….they have NO flaws…a bit pathetic in my mind.

Hate to inform you but NO one is the perfect candidate…just some are better liars and actors than others.

But for now it is just the same song with different singers….any vote for the two major candidates is a wasted vote.

Me?  I’m thinking Green!

Libya: The Clinton Folly

Last week the candidates met for a forum for military and veterans to ask them national security questions…..the plan was that this would educate the voting public on the stands that our candidates hold.

First, the Forum while an excellent idea it was a dismal bust…the moderator was a bit timid in calling the candidates out when they gave some pretty BS answers.  I can understand why….the MSM is way to invested in corporate America to be a neutral arbiter…..

One of my favorite answers came from the Dems “golden child”…..Hillary Clinton….when she was asked about Libya…..

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton defended the 2011 invasion of Libya on Wednesday night by arguing that if the United States hadn’t intervened, there would be a civil war in the country today.

There is a civil war in Libya today.

“With respect to Libya, again, there’s no difference between my opponent and myself,” Clinton told NBC News’ Matt Lauer at the Commander-in-Chief Forum. “He’s on record extensively supporting intervention in Libya, when Gadhafi was threatening to massacre his population. I put together a coalition that included NATO, included the Arab League, and we were able to save lives. We did not lose a single American in that action.”

I loved her answer….may I ask one now?

What in the Hell do you call what is happening in Libya today if not a civil war?

All this talk about Libya got me to thinking about a piece I read in The American Conservative……

The Libyan war was an important factor in the worsening of relations with Russia at the end of Obama’s first term. It was not lost on the Russians that they had acquiesced in a Western intervention that they believed was sold to them dishonestly. Russia and China could have vetoed UNSCR 1973 and deprived the U.S. and its allies of the U.N. authorization they desired, but instead they chose to abstain because of the improved relations between Washington and Moscow that had come into being over the previous year. If one wants to identify when when the mostly successful “reset” with Moscow collapsed, there is a good argument to be made that it happened in the spring and summer of 2011 with the U.S./NATO intervention in Libya.

Source: The Lingering Costs of Clinton’s Libyan War | The American Conservative

Regardless to how she tries to slice this manure sandwich she is at least partially to blame for the conditions in Libya today.

Something the voter should be aware of before that all important vote….don’t ya think?

2016: Who Should You Choose?

That my friends is the $64 question…..if you are a thinking person then the 2016 election is giving you headaches……

I think that the most important issue in this election is foreign policy…..and so far neither candidate has said anything that would fill me with confidence….

I read a piece about who we should choose this year but this one is from a geopolitical point of view…..a view we seldom get from our media these days….instead that keep harping on emails or health or trustworthiness……this is a perspective that we all should use to judge our preferred candidate…

How should a US citizen vote? Hillary Clinton, the architect of our current world chaos, or an unproven, ballistic Donald Trump?

It’s become trite palaver to bemoan the US presidential choices. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – it is what it is. Now isn’t the time to sit back, but instead take an active look at the severe state of the world. The deeper question to ask each candidate for the US presidency is – do you want to preserve American primacy or not; not exceptionalism, but primacy?

Here’s where we stand after almost eight years of President Obama’s foreign policy, executed by Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. The Republican Congress also takes as much blame as the Obama Administration for their handling of this election, foreign policy, and certainly the Iranian nuclear deal. They were just as complicit as President Obama and Secretary Kerry.

Source: US Presidential Race: Who Should You Choose? | Geopoliticalmonitor.com

If you have not been following world affairs and have not been reading IST then this piece is just a long winded waste of your time…..but if you think that we need to be better at foreign policy then this piece is your chance to step up and learn something.

My leanings are toward a third party….either Libertarian or the Green…..but recently the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, proved his foreign policy ignorance……

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson drew a blank on Thursday when asked about the humanitarian crisis ravaging the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Asked about the city on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Mr. Johnson was unfamiliar with the name.

“What is Aleppo?” Mr. Johnson asked.

Mike Barnicle, a panelist on the show, then asked if he was kidding.

“No,” replied Mr. Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico.

“Aleppo is in Syria,” Mr. Barnicle said. “It’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis.”

“Okay got it,” Mr. Johnson said before calling on the U.S. and Russia using their leverage to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.

Throughout the five-year Syrian civil war Aleppo, the country’s largest city, has been devastated by air strikes and ground fighting among rebel factions and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

(Wall Street Journal)

So since I think the most important issue in this election is foreign policy…..the Libertarians are now ruled out for me……if he had NO idea where Aleppo is then he probably has no idea about anything else happening in the Middle East.

That leaves the Greens……I will vote for Dr. Jill Stein.

But with all that said….is the US voter really having a problem deciding where to place their vote?

In this election season of discontent, a lot of voters are having trouble committing. Around 1 in 5 voters nationwide report themselves as undecided or flirting with third-party candidates, with the exact share depending on the poll and how the question is asked.

Source: Are Voters Really Having Trouble Deciding This Year? | Mother Jones

At least know why you are voting for your candidate other than some silly ideological BS…..

5 Myths About American Foreign Policy

I firmly believe that the most important issue in this election, 2016, is that of foreign policy.

Both candidates belch out platitudes for the masses….all for the sole purpose of generating applause and yells.

I came across an excellent piece written in the Washington Times…..that debunks the many myths that the candidates seem to hold dear to their hearts.

American foreign policy myths are generated in the corridors of power to elicit popular support and lavish congressional funding for the multi-trillion dollar military-industrial-counterterrorism comp

Source: 5 Myths about American foreign policy – Washington Times

In my opinion the voter needs to educate themselves on foreign policy…..this will be the largest problem in our society…..apathy and ignorance.

Do yourself a favor……LEARN SOMETHING!

Eugene V. Debs–Consummate 3rd Party Candidate

I was once asked why I thought that a third party candidate could eve be successful…..it is a good question but usually asked by someone that has all their hopes tied to the major party candidates….Americans seem to always look for change and to put their desire in the hands of the two parties….and as of yet they are always disappointed…..and yet they do it all over again with the next election.

But to answer the question…..Eugene Victor “Gene” Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies), and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. Through his presidential candidacies, as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States.

Maybe this short video will help explain the person and his politics…..

Another historical perspective brought to you by the mind of the old professor…..

I have always been a person that looks for the principles of a said group….if they are positive in my mind then I shall follow them to whatever end they search.

I have also always been a Left leaning politico….their issues are more in-line with my thinking……I have gone mainstream occasionally….and each time I have been badly disappointed…..I try to learn from my mistakes.

This election, 2016, is no different……the candidates for the two major parties are a disappointment to me….NOTHING good will come from this election…..NOTHING!