“It Costs How Much”?

I have spent most of the time here on this blog, IST, bitching about the waste of money by the government and the costs of all the wars we seem to want to fight. My hope was people would see what I was saying and start demanding that their be my accountability by our elected governments, no matter which thief is elected….

A story is developing around the NDAA….that magic piece of legislation that makes our defense contractors rich by no amount of imagination….speaking of the cost of a pint of American blood or a pound of flesh…..

Congress wants every taxpayer to know just how much of their money went to wars over the last 15 years. Tucked into the annual defense authorization bill — expected to become law in coming days — is a provision requiring the Defense Secretary and Internal Revenue Service Commissioner to post online all of the costs, “including the relevant legacy costs, to each American taxpayer of each of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.” –Military Times

There is more……..

How much has the US spent on war since 9/11? That’s been a matter of major debate, with no real official figures on the matter, and estimates varying wildly from low-end reports on the cost of the literal deployments to much larger all-in figures covering the war and aftermath.

We’re going to finally get an official figure at some point soon, however, as the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has been revealed to include a provision requiring the Pentagon and the IRS to both figure out the overall cost of the wars and make that figure publicly available.

Like most NDAAs, the 3,000+ page 2017 version includes a massive number of requirements which were neither publicized before the fact, or indeed widely known once the bill had passed, with analysts still digging through it and finding new details.

Congressional estimates have put the Iraq and Afghan wars at $800 billion and $700 billion, respectively, while some analysts have suggested that once the costs for medical care for the massive number of wounded is factored in, the cost could be many trillions of dollars. The Pentagon and IRS may be in a better position to know for sure, and the pressure is certainly going to be on with this legislation for them to come clean about the matter.

(antiwar.com)

I will wait to see how far this goes…..I m not liking the chances that it will become known to us mere mortals anytime soon….that is unless we find another whistle-blower that will sack up and turn the info out.

One last thought…….

Will China Retaliate?

The phone call heard around the world.

Just after Trump was called the winner he received a call from the Pres. of Taiwan…..and I wrote about this turn at the time….

Source: “China-Gate” – In Saner Thought

I thought then that the media was making more of this report than needed to be…but as the story unfolded there seem to be more to the report than first reported and of course being an opinionated SOB I had to write something again…….

Source: The Dangerous Folly of Provoking China – In Saner Thought

After the initial report and the situation developing I wrote an op-ed for my good friends at Ace News Room helping to explain the idea of a “One China” policy………..

Since Trump made his now famous Taiwan call or was it the other way around? Any way there has been lots of back and forth by his supporters on whether it is good or excellent that he bucked Mainland China in favor of Taiwan….

The first problem is that too many have NO idea what the “One China” policy is all about…..so I took it upon myself to educate those that would like to know and the others will yes nod approval anything this person does……

Source: The “One China” Policy | Ace News Room

This story has snowballed into a major foreign policy challenge for the new president……some are starting to fear that China, with no sense of humor, will retaliate for this slight…..

American businesses seem concerned they could be subject to Chinese retaliation for the recent pro-Taiwan moves of President-elect Donald Trump.

And there is reason for apprehension. On December 2, Trump took a call from Taiwan’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen. The Trump staff summary of the conversation reports the president-elect called Tsai “President of Taiwan,” suggesting he considered the island a sovereign state, a position anathema to Beijing.

Moreover, on Sunday in comments to Chris Wallace of Fox News, Trump questioned whether he was bound by America’s One-China policy, thought to be the foundation upon which relations have developed since 1979 when Washington broke off formal relations with Taipei.

Source: Will China Retaliate Over Trump’s Taiwan Moves? | World Affairs Journal

Of course all this is speculation….we will not know the answer to this problem until 20Jan17….will Trump find a way to soothe the mad beast?

Terminate The Libyan Campaign

We have been involved in the armed conflict in Libya from the beginning in 2011…..it was our participation along with our allies that brought about the end of Qaddafi….and it was our our participation that led to the rise of ISIS in the country and the ensuing civil war…..after 6 years it looks like we will pull our fighting out of the conflict….

A new statement from US Africa Command (Africom) has declared the US military campaign against ISIS in Libya to be “concluded,” following the fall of the last ISIS territory in the city of Sirte in recent weeks. 495 airstrikes were launched over the course of the conflict.

The US launched its war in Libya back in August, promising to defeat ISIS and support the “unity government” in taking the rest of the nation over. That government announced it’s “final push” against ISIS back in early September, but the fighting continued for months more. Even then, ISIS forces mostly withdrew from the city.

Despite nominally presenting the conflict as “over,” Africom’s statement also promised to continue US military involvement in Libya to help the “unity government” fight against ISIS across the country. In effect, they are just rebranding it as something short of a full military campaign.

It may also spell the end of the US directly trying to prop up the “unity government,” one of several factions which styles itself the rightful rulers of the country, and which controls part of the city of Tripoli, along with Sirte.

(antiwar.com)

One down about about 5 major others to go. At least that is what we are told.

The Real Saboteurs of a Trump Foreign Policy

Of course few Trump supporters remember the crap spread about Obama after he was elected….and now those same idiots are whining about the attempts by the Dems to de-legitamize the election that elected Trump….what did you think would happen?

From the very start of this past election I said it would be about foreign policy because we have so many entanglements that could lead to more and more devastation….

Now that we have a new president with an unproven track record….my concern is what he will do and where….but no matter where he turns the Dems will be waiting to greet him with obstructionism…..

An interesting piece written in the American Conservative by Pat Buchanan, not one of my typical go to guys…….but it makes a few good points……

The never-Trumpers are never going to surrender the myth that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee to defeat Clinton and elect Donald Trump.

Their investment in the myth is just too huge.

For Clinton and her campaign, it is the only way to explain how they booted away a presidential election even Trump thought he had lost in November. To the mainstream media, this is the smoking gun in their Acela Corridor conspiracy to delegitimize Trump’s presidency.

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sees Russian hacking as a way to put a cloud over the administration before it begins. But it is the uber-hawks hereabouts who are after the really big game.

Source: The Real Saboteurs of a Trump Foreign Policy | The American Conservative

Yep another diversion that will have little to do with the day to day lives of Americans….but it will make for good politics.

Please do not think for a moment that I am endorsing anything that Buchanan offers up….only this is something to consider.

Closing Thought–21Dec16

Stop The Presses!

There has been much written and said about the news and the news institutions…..most Americans do not like or trust their news outlets…..why is that?

This Press is pertaining to the media in the UK but all you have to do is change the UK to US and it would still be accurate….

While most of us don’t trust journalists, many of us are still under the illusion that we have a free and independent press. The truth is we don’t. Here’s five reasons why we should be very sceptical of the information we read in the corporate media and why there is hope for the future.

Source: Five reasons why we don’t have a free and independent press in the UK and what we can do about it | openDemocracy

Sounds all too familiar……huh?

Plus I seem to get a chuckle when I hear the MSM use the term “Freedom of the Press”…..it is all so much smoke and mirrors.

Will There Be A Positive Aftermath?

(Yep I have returned to my first love….foreign policy and international situations….let the fun begin)

Like all wars this one in the Middle East will come to pass…that is if the world wants it to end.

There have been a few reports issued about what could be done after the hostilities….the first was issued by the Atlantic Council, now I am not a big fan of this group for they are a neo-liberal think tank that has a agenda and that agenda is not always diplomacy….but they did do some research and issue a report…..

On November 30, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center launched the Middle East Strategy Task Force (MEST) co-chairs’ final report with an event featuring former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. The discussion was moderated by Ayman Mohyeldin of MSNBC and NBC with opening remarks by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe.

Kempe opened the event by discussing the deliberate process the Task Force underwent to hear from voices in the region. He then explained that the co-chairs’ report presents a unique approach that will lead to a better understanding of the Middle East and to a more hopeful future. He added that the MEST report has not focused solely on defining an American strategy for the region but rather a strategy for the region itself.

Source: A New Approach for the Middle East | 11.30.2016 – MEST

But in case you are too lazy to do the leg work here is the full report…..Read the Full Report

Another neo-liberal bunch has weighed in on the Middle East……Council on Foreign Affairs…….

When the Arab Spring began in 2011, supporters of democracy in the Middle East had widespread hopes that the region might turn a corner and move from autocracy to democracy. Those hopes have been realized reasonably well in Tunisia, which has seen free elections and the peaceful alternation of power between political parties. But many other Arab countries have cracked down on dissent and political speech.

The United States should nevertheless support those seeking peaceful change toward more open and democratic political systems. The Arab uprisings of 2011–2012 suggest that the public desire for change is widespread, and democratic political systems provide paths for peaceful change that can accommodate many different social and economic views through compromise.

Source: How to Support Democracy in the Arab World | World Affairs Journal

Contrary to the naysayers the Middle East does have a future….but it will depend on whether the world promotes peace or conflict……

As it stands today I will say the later.

Donald Trump is pragmatic, not ideological

This Not An Endorsement.

Every media outlet is scrambling to determine what type of president Trump will be….and a recent op-ed in the Washington Times offers some insight….

Cozying up to Russia, questioning the “one-China policy,” disputing CIA intelligence and naming several generals and billionaires to his Cabinet, Donald Trump has set aghast many foreign policy analysts, economists, security experts and mainstream journalists who are accustomed to orderly thinking and a pretense of what they view as principled decision-making from Washington’s political leaders.

Sadly for them — but not for the voters who elected Mr. Trump — the president-elect has no big, idealistic vision of an orderly world to anchor American international policy or limit strategies at home to resurrect the economy.

Mr. Trump lacks John Kennedy’s inaugural confidence that America has the wealth and will to bear any burden, endure any price to defend freedom in every corner of the world. Nor does he embrace Barack Obama’s sense of American responsibility and guilt to risk our national prosperity, cultural identity and security to promote an ethereal global community.

Source: Donald Trump is pragmatic, not ideological – Washington Times

I do not totally agree with this piece I offer it up as a discussion piece…..so please do not deride my posting this….by pressing it does not mean I endorse the thoughts contained within it.

Global Leadership Vacuum

“The world is going to Hell in a hand basket”…..was my grandfather’s favorite term when he would read the daily newspaper.

The US has a new president and the world is wondering what it will mean for the allies of America……while China and Russia are looking for a bigger foothold in international affairs….who’s back gets scratched first?

I read a good op-ed on this very issue…..

A dangerous vacuum of global leadership is emerging that is far too easy to exploit by those who do not support the existing system of collective management of human affairs. Western powers will lose out as United States’ President-elect Donald Trump gets increasingly unpredictable in his international policies and consequently the US suffers a slow erosion of trust. German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be re-elected and therefore continue as de facto leader of the European Union (EU), but will not offer much global leadership as she continues to muddle through Europe’s permanent state of crisis. This is all good news for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping as they pursue their very different national strategies, but share a desire to end what they see as an America-dominated system that they consider Washington has grossly abused to its great benefit.

Source: Global leadership vacuum | GulfNews.com

WE who watch the issues of the world will just have to wait to see what happens after 20Jan17….I wish I could say that I am optimistic….but that would be a lie….

Two Big Battles

The news out of the Middle East is always taking a back seat to the antics of politicians and celebs…..but regardless how much we try it is impossible to ignore the big battles taking place…..

First, the one that is making all the news so far….Aleppo, Syria.

It appears as if the battle for Syria’s largest city is about to draw to a close….if so….what is next for the city?

What are the immediate implications of the regime’s victory in Aleppo?

Aleppo illustrates the bleak state of the Syrian war, more than five years into the conflict. The regime and its allies are defeating rebel groups by employing an expanded version of their long-favoured military approach: massive collective punishment, including siege tactics and relentless bombardment targeting civilians. With crucial support from Russian air power and Iran-backed foreign fighters, this set of tactics has enabled the regime to compensate, for now at least, for its eroding military and limited base of reliable Syrian fighters.

Source: What Comes After the Bloody Battle for Aleppo? | Crisis Group

The next major battle is in Iraq….in and around the city of Mosul….first reports were that the Iraqi army and its militia allies were making great headway against the forces if ISIS…..but those glowing reports have ceased….why?

Since the battle to retake Mosul began in mid-October, Iraqi and coalition spokesmen have touted the significant number of villages retaken around the periphery of Mosul by the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), and the fact that they reportedly recaptured Mosul’s al-Salam hospital, barely a mile from the Tigris. Yet an examination of the battlefield reveals that from the perspective of ISIS, it could be argued that the fight is going better than expected. Such a belief is not without substance.

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi claimed last week that he was very pleased with his troops’ progress. “We have seen the whole organization collapsing in terms of standing in the face of our own armed forces,” he said, adding that the “success of liberating a huge area indicates that Daesh does not have the gut[s]” to stand and fight. Yet the number of villages and square kilometers of land retaken tells only part of the story, and may be deceptive by itself.

Source: Is the Battle for Mosul Doomed? | The National Interest Blog

These are the foreign policy situations that Trump and his gang will be dealing with….does anyone see a light at the end of this tunnel?

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Month: December 2016