The Mercs Are Coming!

By now everyone that cares about our status in the world knows that Russia and Ukraine are in a basic stand-off with tensions running high and emotions on the edge of ignition…..

Allow me to backtrack a bit……my regulars know how much I read and as it were write……I read something awhile back about using private mercs to fight insurgencies…..

The use of mercenaries and private military contractors (PMC’s) to provide operational support and fight in combat in conflicts worldwide has expanded tremendously since 9/11. The most notorious of these shadow armies, Blackwater, has put PMC’s in the public eye – for all the wrong reasons, when, in 2007, four employees were convicted in the U.S. court for killing 14 Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad.

Granted, incidents of this nature are definitely not limited to PMC’s. Atrocities against civilians in combat by government and allied forces have been well-documented. The most notorious examples are Robert Bales, who went on a killing spree in Kandahar that ended in the deaths of 16 Afghan civilians, the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, the Maywand District murders in Afghanistan, and the Haditha killings in Iraq.

https://theantimedia.com/job-classified-contingency-operations-ukraine/

Granted the article is more about the Middle East but it could be expanded to bring in the world….

Now back to the Ukraine/Russia thing…..

It has been uncovered that the US is looking for a few good mercs to work on classified missions…..

The geopolitical analysis site SouthFront has unearthed from the pages of LinkedIn an incredible public job offering by a US defense contractor which reveals potentially sensitive information. The job posting mentions “classified Contingency Operations” in Ukraine and was posted a mere 15 days ago — just prior to last Sunday’s incident between the Russian and Ukrainian navies in the Kerch Strait.

Writes SouthFront,the US-based defense contractor company “Mission Essential” accidentally revealed a US military specialist deployment in the combat zones in Ukraine via a Job Advertisement on LinkedIn.

Crucially, it’s yet further evidence which disproves the years-long claims by Washington that the United States is not directly involved militarily in the Ukraine conflict. The public posting suggests US special forces operations are indeed active and ongoing as tensions with Russia soar.

https://theantimedia.com/job-classified-contingency-operations-ukraine/

So all you chest thumpers can prove your worth by putting your life where your mouth is located.

I have never been a fan of mercs being used by private contractors……

Why The Saudis Are The Threat

We all know that the Saudis are implicated in the death of Khashoggi…..most of the civilized world is condemning them for their action…..that is civilized that do not depend on Saudi cash for whatever reason…..

The president is waffling on the Saudis role…..this I expect since his first overseas trip was to suck up to the Saudis…..and then there is the secretary of state, Pompeo refusing to condemn but that should be expected from a person totally controlled by the M-IC…..then there is Mattis who at one point I did have some respect for but those ships have sailed off down the Potomac…..I am guessing that Mattis is securing his place with the M-IC once he abandons the ship of Trump…..

The Trump administration’s determination to maintain warm ties with the Saudi royal family came into clear focus this week when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis showed up at the Senate.

Senators wanted to know more about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and U.S. support for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.

Instead, Pompeo and Mattis kept pivoting to the threat posed by Iran.

A smile frozen on his face, Pompeo deflected a reporter’s question on why the CIA director had not appeared to brief senators on intelligence implicating Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Khashoggi’s killing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pompeo-and-mattis-criticized-for-defending-us-alliance-with-saudi-arabia/2018/11/30/2bc22a84-f416-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html

But the big thing is that the Saudis like the Iranians will acquire nuclear weapons…….seriously!

The Trump administration’s handling of nuclear negotiations with Saudi Arabia promises to lay bare some realities about security issues and nuclear programs in that part of the world that the administration has refused to acknowledge. A front-page article by David Sanger and William Broad in the New York Times reviews some of the still-unresolved questions. The Saudi regime insists on producing its own nuclear fuel, which would be different from terms the United States has negotiated with some other states, including the United Arab Emirates, that have sought U.S. assistance in developing their nuclear programs. The Saudis have balked at comprehensive international inspections to detect any work on nuclear weapons. And Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) has explicitly threatened to develop nuclear weapons, ostensibly in response to any similar development by Iran.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/why-saudi-arabia-will-acquire-nuclear-weapons-37197

Think about it!

A country with extreme religious beliefs that acquires nukes…..and I do not writing about Iran. Keep in mind the majority of the terrorists on 9/11 were Saudis….they are NO friends of the US….we are useful fools for their policies.

Afghanistan Is Collapsing!

I have been writing about Afghanistan since the early days of the invasion and then through the occupation……I have said continuously that it is time to declare success and bring our people home…….

I am not alone in my angst about Afghanistan……(this article was written before the rash of American deaths this month)…..

November has been quite a month, so far, in Afghanistan. The level of violence has been appalling and the most serious recent atrocity was yet another suicide bombing in Kabul. It killed over fifty people and injured twice that many but didn’t merit a Trump tweet, which isn’t surprising because he doesn’t seem to be interested in the place. Further, as reported by the Washington Post on November 19, he hasn’t visited a single country in which his troops are fighting.

The reason he hasn’t visited his troops in such areas is because he is a coward. He is a physical yellow-belly who lacks the courage to go anywhere near a war zone. He is below contempt, but he could gain a little bit of respect if he ordered the US and NATO to get out of Afghanistan.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/afghanistan-is-collapsing-get-out-now/

Does anyone disagree?

Death In Mali–Continued

I have been covering the death of a Green Beret in Mali at the hands of some Navy SEALS…….this death occurred last year about this time….it has been reported that the SEALs will go to courts martial and now word has come out that the Marine Raiders were more involved than they first admitted……

The account of the death took many different paths and I tried to keep my readers up on the story…..https://lobotero.com/2018/11/13/more-on-the-death-in-mali/

Two Marine Raiders facing murder charges in the death of an Army Green Beret played a much larger role in the death than had been previously revealed through media reports, according to official documents.

Military Times has verified the names of the two Marine Raiders facing felony murder and related charges in connection with the strangulation death of Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar at his residence in Bamako, Mali, on June 4, 2017.

Gunnery Sgt. Mario Madera-Rodriguez and Staff Sgt. Kevin Maxwell face an Article 32 hearing on Dec. 10 along with Navy SEALs Chief Petty Officer Adam Matthews and Petty Officer Anthony DeDolph.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/11/20/marine-raiders-facing-murder-charges-had-deeper-involvement-in-green-beret-death-than-previously-reported/

I stated after the first report that it was shameful that Americans killing Americans when there are a wealth of others that will gladly do it.

This will not sit lightly on the scorecard of the special ops……

The murder case of SSG Logan Melgar of the 3rd Special Forces Group (3rd SFG) is another tough scenario for the SF Group’s soldiers to bear. The unit lost four of its members in a deadly ambush in Niger and then to find out that one of its finer NCOs was murdered in US Embassy housing while stationed in Mali was worse. But worst of all was the fact that SSG Melgar wasn’t murdered by terrorists but reportedly at the hands of his fellow US Special Operations warriors from the Navy SEALs and Marine Corps Raiders. That is a stain regardless of the outcome of the court-martial on all of SOCOM that won’t soon fade.

While we’re not going to argue the merits of the case, this much is clear. Melgar shared an apartment with two members of SEAL Team Six, operators identified as Petty Officer Adam Matthews and Petty Officer Anthony DeDolph. Both SEALs admitted to breaking into Melgar’s room while he was asleep. Melgar died of asphyxiation and DeDolph has admitted to putting Melgar in a chokehold. The SEALs stories have changed several times which raised red flags which triggered a further investigation.

https://specialoperations.com/33779/the-mali-green-beret-murder-case-is-a-stain-on-all-of-sof/

Time for the “rest of the story” when it comes to this Green Beret’s death……his family deserves closure.

Sue The Bastards!

Staff Sgts. Matt Lewellen, Kevin McEnroe and Jimmy Moriarty….do those names mean anything to you?

Unless you read a lot those names mean nothing.

They are the names of Green Berets killed in Jordan by an ally…they were gunned down returning from a training mission…..well the families are suing Jordan for their deaths…..

The families of three Green Berets killed by a member of the Jordanian Air Force as they entered a base in Jordan filed a lawsuit against that country’s government, charging it attempted to cover up the incident and slander their fallen sons.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington seeks monetary damages from the Kingdom of Jordan, where the Special Forces soldiers were stationed when they were gunned down Nov. 4, 2016 by Jordanian Air Force 1st Sgt. Maarik al-Tawayha. The Green Berets – Staff Sgts. Matt Lewellen, Kevin McEnroe and Jimmy Moriarty – were driving onto King Faisal Air Base in southern Jordan midday after training Syrian rebel forces when al-Tawayha inexplicably opened fire on them.

https://www.stripes.com/news/families-of-slain-green-berets-sue-jordan-charging-a-cover-up-attempt-in-2016-deaths-1.556931

More useless deaths in a war that should have ended years ago.

I hope the families get satisfaction for their loved ones deaths…..deaths that did not need to be a statistic….endless wars and preparations are what killed these men…..and the country shrugs and allows the stupid to continue.

Iran And Terrorism

Before I begin I would like to state that I do not like “Newsweek” as a source….they are a bit too pro war for my liking.

The tales around Iran have ramped up since that d/bag Bolton has entered into the White House as an adviser……well I read something that made me chuckle as an analyst of Middle East events…..

The United States has warned that Iran could create a new malign force akin to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and said Saudi Arabia was an ideal partner to help contain the revolutionary Shiite Muslim power in the Middle East.

James Jeffrey, the State Department’s special representative to Syria, told the Sixth Annual Defense One Summit Thursday that direct military action would not be enough to defeat Iran and its expanding network of armed allies, many of which were comprised of Shiite Muslim militias. Like the Pentagon and its own local partners, these fighters have fought jihadi groups like ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but they oppose U.S. influence there.

https://www.newsweek.com/us-warns-iran-new-isis-partner-saudi-arabia-1218109

Seriously?

Looks like Bolton and his gang of fools will let Israel dictate their policies once again.

Apparently NO one wants to know that ISIS is an invention from the minds of Wahhabist…..of which the Saudis are founding members…it is the religion of the royal family…..and if anyone wants to remember the majority of the 9/11 attackers were Saudis.

Now who do you think would be creating new “ISIS” like groups?

I think the Iran connection is in the minds of the Israelis who lead the Trump adviser around by their wankers.

The more intel provided by Israel no doubt….

The United States is claiming that Iran spends nearly $1 billion a year providing support to Hizballah, Hamas, and other allied militant groups in the Middle East.

U.S. Ambassador Nathan Sales, a coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department, told reporters in Washington late on November 13 that Iran spends about $700 million a year on Hizballah, the Lebanese militia that has fought wars with Israel and has provided critical support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his seven-year civil war against Sunni rebels.

In addition, Sales said Tehran gives Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, and other “Palestinian terrorist groups” another $100 million a year.

https://www.rferl.org/a/us-nathan-sales-claims-iran-spending-1-billion-dollars-a-year-backing-hizballah-hamas-other-militant-allies/29601564.html

Once again….Newsweek was used only because of the bullshit they were trying to pass off as fact…..but then what can we expect from a industry that is owned by the Israelis hook, line and sinker?

Besides how much does the US spend on its “allies”? I guess it is a policy for the US…”Do as I say not as I do”…..right?

Speaking of the walrus (Bolton)…..he is championing the terrorist group know as MEK…..that is right until recently it was on the terrorist list at State….

Mostafa and Robabe Mohammadi came to Albania to rescue their daughter. But in Tirana, the capital, the middle-aged couple have been followed everywhere by two Albanian intelligence agents. Men in sunglasses trailed them from their hotel on George W Bush Road to their lawyer’s office; from the lawyer’s office to the ministry of internal affairs; and from the ministry back to the hotel.

The Mohammadis say their daughter, Somayeh, is being held against her will by a fringe Iranian revolutionary group that has been exiled to Albania, known as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, or MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq). Widely regarded as a cult, the MEK was once designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and UK, but its opposition to the Iranian government has now earned it the support of powerful hawks in the Trump administration, including national security adviser John Bolton and the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/nov/09/mek-iran-revolution-regime-trump-rajavi

But Bolton is drinking the kool-aid offered by a group of disconnected Iranian terrorists……

It should be obvious that a group that abuses its own members so cruelly is unfit to hold political power over anyone. It is a disgrace that so many prominent American and European officials and politicians have aligned themselves with such a despicable organization, and it shows how willing many Iran hawks are to overlook the group’s horrific record because it gives them a convenient ally in their pursuit of regime change.

The MEK was removed from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations six years ago, but that wasn’t because the government believed they had given up on using violence to achieve their goals:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/boltons-favorite-deranged-cult/

This is just silly bullsh*t from neocons that need someone for the country to hate if they are to retain their hold on policy…..this is bullsh*t put forth by Israel and the US will always be a loser in the Middle East as long as they allow Israel to dictate their policies for the region. Period!

Americans Killing Americans

Closing Thought–16Nov18

Just a few days ago I read a report on a post I did about a year ago…..a story about Americans killing Americans in the West African nation of Mali….https://lobotero.com/2018/11/13/more-on-the-death-in-mali/

That post contains references to all my past posts on this situation…..

It appears that the US Navy has decided to press charges on 4 members of the special ops team operating in Mali……charges ranging from felony murder to obstruction of justice……

Four members of the US armed forces are facing a slew of charges in connection to the 2017 death of an Army Green Beret in the African nation of Mali. Among the charges leveled against Petty Officer Anthony E. DeDolph and Chief Petty Officer Adam C. Matthews, both members of SEAL Team Six, and two unnamed Marine Raiders are felony murder, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, burglary, hazing, and involuntary manslaughter, the Daily Beast reports. Officials say the SEALs and Marines broke into the room of Army Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar at embassy housing in Bamako in June 2017, restrained him with duct tape, and put him in a chokehold, strangling him while “perpetuating a burglary,” NBC reports. The SEALs reportedly tried to resuscitate the 34-year-old Melgar and also tried to open an air wave by opening a hole in his throat.

According to the Daily Beast, which has reported extensively on the case, there was an “ongoing disagreement,” between Melgar, who was part of a six-person intelligence team, and the SEALs “over the SEAL’s professionalism.” Sources say the SEALs would bring prostitutes to the house and were stealing cash meant to recruit local informants. “The place ran like a frat house,” a source told the site. The SEALs and Marines hatched the plot to haze Melgar on June 4, 2017, while the latter was at an embassy party, and attacked him around 5am. They ultimately took Melgar to a medical facility, where he was declared dead. Later, the four engaged in a cover up, per the Military Times, including sharing information about what they told investigators, withholding information from investigators, and getting rid of alcohol kept in the room.

Maybe now the family of the Green Beret will get the answers they deserve…….

There is more bad news for the SEALs……in the past few months reports keep coming out that there is a discipline problem in the organization…..but first my post from a few months ago….

https://lobotero.com/2018/10/26/socom-you-have-a-problem/

https://lobotero.com/2018/10/19/its-about-the-discipline/

It seems that a bunch of SEALs have gotten caught up in a war crimes investigation……

Military officials are prepared to call nearly a dozen past and present Navy SEALs to testify in the case of one elite Navy commando accused of fatally stabbing an Islamic State detainee in Iraq last year, according to documents obtained by Navy Times.

The records related to the Naval Criminal Investigation Service’s probe offer new insight into the probe that will be aired publicly when the case against Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher goes to an Article 32 hearing Wednesday morning in San Diego.

The documents suggest that military officials have obtained cellphone text conversations showing Gallagher allegedly sought to cover up the fatal stabbing. The records also show that a different special operator may be acting like a mole for federal investigators by attempting to talk to another petty officer who has lawyered up and invoked his right to silence.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/11/14/more-than-a-dozen-navy-seals-may-get-caught-up-in-war-crimes-investigation/

This is what you get when individuals believe the hype of invincibility…..to believe that any action is acceptable when you are the “best of the best”…..

National Strategy For CounterTerrorism

Last month the Trump admin issued its national strategy for for fighting terrorism…..and ever since I have been trying to download the paper and the White House sucks at transparency…..like it or not it sucks big time…..to be fair…..I can read the document but I cannot print it out…..

So I shall give you the breakdown that they, the White House, floated to the media…..

The Administration is outlining a new approach to counter and prevent the evolving terrorist threat, making it clear that we will take all steps necessary to keep our country safe.

President Trump’s National Strategy for Counterterrorism focuses on:

Pursuing terrorists to their source;

Isolating terrorists from their sources of support;

Modernizing and integrating the United States’ counterterrorism tools;

Protecting American infrastructure and enhancing resilience;

Countering terrorist radicalization and recruitment; and

Strengthening the counterterrorism abilities of our international partners.

The new strategy focuses the United States on countering all terrorists with the intent and ability to harm our country.

The strategy emphasizes the use of all of America’s tools to prevent and counter terrorism, strengthening military approaches while delivering a new emphasis on non-military capabilities.

Many United States Government agencies have important roles to play, including our law enforcement, diplomatic, and treasury officials.

The strategy places America first, emphasizing strong borders, strengthening security at points of entry, protecting critical infrastructure, and facilitating preparedness.

However, America First does not mean America alone. The new strategy commits us to expand our partnerships at home and abroad to encourage partners’ assistance in counterterrorism activities.

This includes working with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allies and partners.

All this is generalities and NO specifics……but then why would they give specifics?

Read the National Strategy for Counterterrorism here.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/10/05/takeaways-from-the-trump-administrations-new-counterterrorism-strategy/

The document cloud site……https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4955362-National-Strategy-for-Counterterrorism-2018.html

I was not impressed with this “strategy” and apparently I am not alone……

The Trump administration released its new National Strategy for Counterterrorism (NSCT) last month, just before two major terrorist plots transpired – the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and a series of mail bombs sent to Democratic figures. The NSCT shows flaws in the White House’s counterterrorism policies that allowed these recent attacks to transpire. Though the strategy outlines some important CT efforts, such as bolstering international CT alliances and leveraging non-military initiatives to prevent radicalization, the administration has failed to properly implement many of these policies and programs. Thus far, the Trump administration’s domestic and international counterterrorism policies have been too reactionary and are insufficient to ensure long-term success.

Trump’s rhetoric on the shooting in Pittsburgh and attempted attacks on top Democrats highlights a major oversight in his administration’s counterterrorism policy: it fails to consider right-wing domestic terrorism as a serious threat. Though Trump has refused to label these recent attacks as acts of terrorism, academic discourse and even definitions used by U.S. law suggest that terrorism is exactly what they are. The U.S. Code of Regulations defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”[i] Given that both Robert Bowers and Cesar Sayoc intended to use violence in pursuit of a domestic political goal, we should not hesitate to deem their actions terrorism.

http://georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2018/11/10/the-fatal-flaws-in-the-trump-administrations-counterterrorism-strategy/

We are trying to defeat a tactic……that is never a good idea to claim it can be defeated…..this strategy is about what I have come to expect from anything from the Trump administration……not much substance….to be honest sounds a lot likie the Obama strategy also……

http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/stop-fighting-war-against-tactic

IST News From The Middle East

The Middle East has not been in the news lately….the midterms are an ever consuming story that just keeps on giving and the rest of the world just will have to wait…..

As an analyst on the Middle East I keep an eye on the news that could effect the US and its policies……

Since 1919 the Middle East has been ruled by authoritarian dictators and henchmen…..but these days those ways seem to be falling away from the norm…….

Two perfect storms have struck the Arab world in the past decade. In 2011, in what was at first optimistically called “the Arab Spring,” popular uprisings unseated autocrats across the region. Hopes ran high that these peaceful protest movements would usher in a new era of democracy in the Middle East. But except in Tunisia, they ended in turmoil or deadly civil wars. Then, in 2014, the region’s leaders were dealt another blow when the price of oil plummeted, threatening the basic model of governance on which their power rested. Low oil prices since have made it difficult for regimes to fund bloated budgets, buy off elites, and hold up long-postponed reforms. This is not a temporary aberration: it is unlikely that the price of oil will ever again rise to its pre-2014 levels.

On the surface, many Arab states appear to have weathered these two storms—however shakily. But there is more turbulence ahead. The shocks of 2011 and 2014 were just the first symptoms of a deeper transformation under way in the region: the fundamental bargain underpinning stability in Middle Eastern states is coming undone, and unless regional leaders move quickly to strike new bargains with their citizens, even larger storms will come.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2018-10-15/next-arab-uprising

We hear such promises as ISIS has been defeated…..I do not agree with that assertion…..and the next flash point in the Middle East will be American ally, Jordan…….

Israel’s government has been rarely so surprised by a close ally. But on the 23rd anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Jordan’s King Abdullah II reversed one of the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s most important achievements.

On Twitter, the monarch announced that he was annulling an attachment to the peace treaty that his father had signed with Rabin in 1994. The treaty concerns two enclaves that Jordan leased to Israel for agricultural use for 25 years. They were considered a prime example of Israeli-Arab cooperation. According to the agreement, Israelis were given free access to areas that were Jewish privately-owned and farmed before Israel’s foundation in 1948.

https://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/the-next-middle-east-trouble-spot-jordan

And more on this prediction……https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/why-jordan-next-isis-34792

A look into the future of the Middle East……

Regionalism and globalism are two of the leading phenomena in world politics. In the age of globalism, regionalism can be treated as a complementary and interacting phenomenon – or as a competing and conflicting one. Globalization creates powerful demands for regionalism that are not particular to one specific region, but to all regions. Considering the global-regional nexus as an unavoidably synchronized and complimentary set of processes concerning the Middle East, the chapter primarily draws attention to the state of regionalism in the Arab Middle East and its spillovers. With nationalist and protectionist trends on the rise with the election of Donald Trump in the US and the UK’s Brexit decision, it is perhaps not a popular time for commenting on the state of regionalism in the Middle East. A scarcity of regional cooperation in the area has also led interested commentators and scholars to label the Middle East as “the region without regionalism” (Aarts 1999, 91) or a space of weak regionalism.

https://www.e-ir.info/2018/10/12/globalism-regionalism-and-the-middle-east/

The Gulf region has the US picking sides in the many disputes….but with all said there is NO reason to pick sides by the US……

Iran and Saudi Arabia are each capable of keeping the other from establishing regional control.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision to back out of Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, “Davos in the Desert,” is the first smart move the Trump administration has made in the aftermath of the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. Trump promised a foreign policy guided by a strategy of “Principled Realism,” yet his administration’s handling of the crisis has been neither principled nor realist.

Instead of working to reassure the Saudis and sweep this issue under the rug, a more realist policy would take advantage of Riyadh’s mistake to stand up for our interests and values, bring balance back to our relationship, and get a better deal for America.

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/10/its-unnecessary-pick-sides-gulf-america-should-stop/152265/

The problem, the biggest problem is that US is not capable of a diplomatic mission to the Middle East under the Trump presidency……

Finally, The Saudis have a hatred for Iran, Sunni vs Shia thing, but yet Iraq a majority Shia country and the Saudis are trying to make nice with the news government…..

Saudi Arabia appears to be pursuing a policy of pragmatic diplomacy with Iraq by aiming to build ties across the sectarian landscape. After more than 25 years of disengagement from Baghdad, Riyadh is now attempting to repair relations in order to build greater influence and counter Iran’s presence. Saudi Arabia’s regional strategy emphasizes curbing Iran’s influence, and it has recently embraced a series of bold foreign policy moves with Yemen, Qatar, and Lebanon. By contrast, the strategy in Iraq is largely consonant with the approach of gradual cooptation that Saudi Arabia has often adopted in the past.

Saudi Arabia has a number of political and economic tools to use in Iraq. Politically, it has sought to limit the influence of pro-Iranian groups by exploiting a growing intra-Shi`a rift, as many Shi`ite leaders and citizens are growing weary of Tehran’s overreach. Economically, it seeks to strengthen integration and build interdependencies with Baghdad, as well as benefit from the potential export market and trade that has been dominated by Iran and Turkey.

https://www.csis.org/analysis/saudi-arabias-new-approach-iraq

One question….why cannot the Saudis make nice with Iran….if they can in Iraq then why not Iran?

Secrets The Dead Reveal

I once heard a major say that the “dead reveal their secrets”….he was referring to the Viet Cong that been killed and the intel that was garnered off their bodies…..but the same could be said for many other dead….like those Americans killed around the world or more specific in Africa…..

Because of American dead we learned that we have troops operating in countries like Niger and Mali to mention only a few……in Niger we had 4 Americans killed in an ambush and in Mali we had friendly killing friendly…..

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

Category: Terrorism