Day: June 19, 2018

Closing Thought–19Jun18

Today is Juneteenth……and most Americans this means nothing to them other than another day in June …..but this day is full of history……I guess it could be billed as the Black Independence Day……

June 19 is just another day, and another insignificant day on the calendar. However, for those who are direct descendants of former slaves, the day holds a much bigger significance, as it is the oldest known celebration to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.

According to Juneteenth.com, June 19, 1865 was the date that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas and brought the news that the Civil War was officially over and those who had previously been enslaved were not free men and women. The website notes how important that is in relation to President Abraham Lincoln’s famous Emancipation Proclamation, which had become official two and a half years earlier, on January 1, 1863.

“The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order,” the website states. “However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.”

http://www.ibtimes.com/what-juneteenth-why-it-celebrated-2553731

For more information in case you missed it……

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

http://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm

Hopefully you learned something today…..peace out my friends….chuq

Lesser Known Battles Of Vietnam

Anyone that watches any of the history channels knows of the battles of Vietnam and the outcome…..battles like that of Khe San or Hue during Tet…these were those battles that the US troops mustered all their energy and won the day.

Then there is Hollywood which did all it could to give the appearance that the US troops could do no wrong and their tactics and fortitude gave them a victory at all costs…..

I hate to be the one to inform you of this but the US did not win every battle they engaged in in Vietnam…..McCain was blowing smoke……

One theme presented by supporters of the American empire is the U.S. military is invincible and can never lose unless stabbed in the back by impatient politicians. They claim the U.S. military never lost a battle during the entire Vietnam war. On August 30, 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed to a gathering of veterans: “But let it be remembered that you won every major battle of that war. Every single one.” Vietnam vet Senator John McCain repeated this lie in a 2013 article in the “Wall Street Journal.” This myth was disputed by America’s most decorated officer of that war, Colonel David Hackworth, in his book “About Face.” The U.S. military had every advantage, yet mistakes were made and battles lost. Internet research turns up these 104 lost battles of the Vietnam war: 

http://www.g2mil.com/lost_vietnam.htm

Americans need to know the truth…..that we did not win every engagement we entered into with the VC and/or the NVA….you can do what we always do….re-write history but the truth is far from what we are fed.

Meanwhile Back In The Middle East

My area of some little amount of expertise has been ignored because of all the situations that have turned in the Koreas….look for Iran to come into focus soon….they have neutralized North Korea (for now) and the interventionists need a foe to focus on and the most logical one is Iran.

The deal that Trump pulled out of because it was made by Obama will now have his art of the deal to fall back on and get that better deal (or go to war)……

Iran is claiming to be the protector of the world’s Shia population……but is it?

Iran’s contemporary foreign policy approach is shaped by a worldview introduced by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

  • Iran’s hardline Shia regime rode a tidal wave of popular support into power during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mass demonstrations in February 1979 led to the fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the former Iran leader known as the Shah, and the return of exiled cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who claimed the title of Supreme Leader in December 1979 and served in that capacity until his death in June 1989.
  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei succeeded Khomeini as Iran’s Supreme Leader in June 1989 and has since served as the country’s most powerful figure.
  • Other key figures in the Iranian regime include President Hassan Rouhani, who was reelected to a second four-year term in May after campaigning on the success of the Iran nuclear agreement. In addition, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal and Maj. Gen. Qasem Soulemani is the head of the elite Quds Force, which operates as the external wing of Iran’s ideologically driven, preeminent paramilitary force known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), or the “guardians” of the revolution.

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/middle-east/irans-hegemonic-quest

Iran is more active in the Iraqi situation, the domestic side, it is backing alliances for the control of the country…..

Iraq may form a government that undermines U.S. interests, tries to eject the U.S. from the region, and supports Iran. Nationalist Iraqi Shi’a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has allied with Hadi al-Ameri, the leader of the coalition of Iranian-backed militias and their political wings. Sadr and Ameri lead the two winningest alliances in Iraq’s federal legislative elections and are nearing the 165-seat threshold necessary to form a government if Shi’a cleric Ammar al-Hakim (19 seats) and secularist Ayad Allawi (21 seats) follow through on their previously announced intention to ally with Sadr.

Sadr and Ameri will likely attempt to woo current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi or former Prime Minister and current Vice President Nouri al-Maliki to gain support of one of their coalitions, or alternatively seek to fragment both leaders’ respective coalitions to form a government. They may also seek to gain support from some or all Kurdish parties and Iran friendly Sunni parties in order to reach the government formation threshold. Both Sadr and Ameri may push for the full expulsion of U.S. forces from Iraq and will further the entrenchment of Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces in the Iraqi security apparatus.

Sadr’s militias fought the US tooth and nail for control…..and now he has it through the vote.

All this and Iran’s influence in OPEC will give the interventionists like John Bolton all the ammo they need to ramp up the rhetoric for war with Iran.

He, Trump, should have left the nuke deal in place but his jealousy of Obama would not allow that to occur…..I do not think his love for dictators will play well when dealing with Iran….but I could be mistaken….even dictators like to have their ego stroked.

 

Those Talks With North Korea

The last “summit” is being billed as a success….and so far I will admit that it is a positive thing…..I will remain pessimistic for I have lived long enough to remember the “summits” from the past and their eventual outcomes.

If you have NO idea what I am talking about then a timeline might rattle those grey cells…..

As you can see our attempts to bring about a lasting solution to the Korean Peninsula have not ended so well……we can hope this time around will be different.

Another thing to keep in mind when talking with North Korea…..the right bottom corner is the ones to worry about…..

The ballistic missile submarine is the most reliable means of nuclear deterrence. These vessels would survive a first strike and retaliate, which is meant to prevent an enemy from ever using its weapons. These fearful underwater giants stay hidden in the oceans avoiding detection at all costs and are always ready for the moment they might be needed.

All aspects of nukes should be on the table…..

Just a thought.