Tag: Diplomatic BS

A Shift In Strategy?

For months now the conflict with Iran has been on again and off again….someone needs to make up their mind and pick a course preferably a peaceful one…..so once again Donny may have shift in tactics?

President Trump appears to be shifting into a new strategy with Iran for the time being, one that emphasizes economic pain over military strikes. “We are low-keying it,” Trump tells Axios. “We are only semi-negotiating with them,” he said, asserting that Iran is buckling under inflation, lack of cash, and a US-led naval blockade. With oil prices back under $80, Trump said Americans are feeling less strain and likened the standoff to “a chess game.” (Has he even looked at a gas pump?)

The immediate flashpoint is the partially closed Strait of Hormuz. A US-Iran-Oman deal to reopen it, granting Tehran some new authority over shipping, has stalled as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief unveiled tougher conditions, including sanctions relief and compensation. The president’s new posture comes amid widespread reports that the US is running short of key weapons, which the White House denies. Still, Bloomberg reports that Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg asked defense companies to “accelerate” munitions production days after Trump called him about the issue. One US official tells the outlet it will take years to replenish the stocks.

I guess a shortage of missiles can have that effect on the on-going conflict.

Iran has issued a list of demands….

Iran issued a broad, new set of demands to the US on Saturday for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a senior security official, laid out the conditions including an end to the US naval blockade and sanctions, withdrawal of American forces around Iran, payment of war reparations, release of frozen assets, and a halt to attacks on Iran’s regional allies. The list complicates ongoing talks between Iran and Oman over how to manage the strait, which Iran largely shut down after the US and Israel began their attacks in February, the New York Times reports.

The strait will not open until the US “corrects its behavior,” the statement said, per the AP. White House officials did not immediately comment. The strait runs between Iran and Oman; Iran’s foreign minister said it’s close to a deal with Oman on a temporary shipping route but insists any reopening hinges on US compliance with a June cease-fire memorandum that the two sides interpret differently. Traffic through the strait has fallen from about 130 ships a day to just over a dozen, per the Times.

Of course could not stand by and let Iran grab the headlines.

Iran has called for reparations from the US and not to be outdone Donny thinks Iran should pay to the US…..(seriously?)

resident Trump is trying to flip Iran’s push for war reparations back on Tehran. In a Truth Social post Monday, the president said he’s told his negotiators to demand compensation from Iran for Americans killed or injured in attacks linked to Tehran, calling Iran’s own reparations demand “an interesting idea” to copy. He cited deaths from roadside bombs, “many conflicts,” and even the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole—an attack attributed to al-Qaeda, not Iran, the Independent reports. The government blames Iran-backed militants for the deaths of more than 600 US troops in Iraq and the bombing that killed 241 US military personnel in Beirut in 1983, reports the AP.

  • In a follow-up post, Trump said, “Also, with respect to the Iran negotiations, Iran should be responsible for the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza!  (they did not killed themselves….Israel is the aggressor)
  • Trump also said Tehran should pay compensation to the “hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months.” The Independent notes that it’s not clear where Trump got the 52,000 number. US and Israeli estimates of war deaths so far are a little over 6,000. The Times of Israel notes that it’s also not clear how significant Trump’s announcement is, “given that negotiations with Iran are said to have hit a dead end.” On Sunday, Trump said the US is “low-keying it” and only “semi-negotiating.” (should the US pay reparations to it’s innocent protesters?)
  • Over the weekend, a senior Iranian official laid out six conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including lifting sanctions, ending US military operations in the region, and paying compensation for “imposed wars.” An interim ceasefire framework expires in just over a week, with no clear path to an extension.

I apologize for I feel I must be blunt….Donny could f*ck up a wet dream.

This so-called ‘diplomacy’ that he and Little Marco and Pistol Pete play at is laughable if it were not so f*cking sad.

I weep for the diplomatic corps of this country.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

BiBi Rejects Plan

Go figure!

There is a plan for Gaza that could stop most of the killing but as if right on cue BiBi reject the plan….yes I wrote about the plan when it was announced….

Is This Another Donny Bullsh*t Deal?

I said then the BiBi would crush any and all attempts top stop Israel’s killing spree….

And now fast forward to this week….

Israel has slammed the door on a Trump-backed roadmap for peace in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said his government is “ruling out” the 15-point proposal, which envisioned Hamas surrendering its arms in stages to a new Palestinian authority while Israel gradually pulled out of the parts of Gaza it still occupies, reports the New York Times. Israel instead wants Hamas to fully disarm before it pulls out, but Hamas says it won’t disarm until Israeli forces are gone

“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, per the BBC. His public dismissal marks an unusual break with President Trump, who touted the deal with his “Board of Peace” and Hamas as a major advance late last month. The prime minister, heading into a challenging reelection bid, has pledged “absolute victory” over Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities. A US-brokered ceasefire in October 2023 paused the fighting but left key questions—above all who ultimately rules Gaza—unresolved.

Of course BiBi had to make it sound like he was open to improvement….

But even with the BoP adopting his talking points, Netanyahu has still rejected the deal. “They (the US) have ideas, some of which are acceptable to ​us and some of which are unacceptable to us,” he said on Sunday.

Following Netanyahu’s comments, a US official told Israel’s Channel 12 that the US wasn’t concerned, framing his public position as purely political since elections are coming up in Israel. “We understand his political needs [in this election period]. We have no problem with that, as long as he continues to do what we ask — especially as regards reining in the strikes in Gaza,” the US official said.

And then there is Hamas….

Hamas has maintained it won’t go through with the plan unless Israel lives up to its commitments, which include ending its attacks in Gaza and withdrawing back to the original yellow line created after the ceasefire deal was signed more than nine months ago. At the time, Israel was left with 53% of Gaza under its control, but it has increased to about 70% as the IDF has been conducting ground incursions.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that Hamas was still committed to the plan and called on the US to pressure Israel. “We expect the mediators and the US guarantor to press Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the process for internal political and electoral reasons, while continuing to jeopardize the region’s security and stability,” he said.

There is the sticking point….Israel will always find something that they will threaten Israel’s security so they do not have to stop what they are doing in Gaza….and they are trying to rid Gaza of all Palestinians so that Israel can expand even further.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The Meeting Was A Dud

Last Friday Donny and Putin held their head to head talks on ending the Ukraine debacle….and how did that go?

President Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke for three hours on Friday, but they did not cinch an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. “We haven’t quite got there, but we’ve got some headway,” Trump said at a cordial news conference afterward, reports the New York Times. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” Trump said he would now call Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and other world leaders to update them on the details of the talks, which were not divulged during the news conference. Trump said some major sticking points remained, without elaborating, but he also called the meeting “extremely productive.”

Putin, for his part, praised Trump and thanked his “dear neighbor” for hosting the “long overdue” summit, per the Washington Post. He said the two nations had reached an “understanding” on a path toward peace, and he warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress,” per the AP.

  • “Russia is interested in ensuring that the settlement in Ukraine is long-term,” he said. “I hope that today’s agreements will be a starting point for achieving peace in Ukraine.”
  • Putin also said he agreed with Trump’s past statements that the war would not have started had Trump been in the White House.
  • He also invited Trump to come to Moscow for another summit at some point. Trump joked that he might take “some heat” about that but called it a possibility.

“Extremely productive”?

In what sense?

President Trump said on his flight to Alaska that there would be “severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire during their meeting Friday. “I’m in this to stop the killing,” the president said on Air Force One. But Putin did not agree to stop the fighting, there were no consequences, and by Saturday, Trump had abandoned the idea of a ceasefire altogether. The result, Peter Baker writes in a New York Times analysis, is that Putin has been given a free pass to keep waging his war on Ukraine indefinitely, without fear of penalty.

“Even in the annals of Mr. Trump’s erratic presidency, the Anchorage meeting with Mr. Putin now stands out as a reversal of historic proportions,” Baker writes. A former US ambassador to NATO under Barack Obama said Trump’s longtime priority changed fast after the friendly tarmac greeting, chatty limousine ride, and brief sessions. “He got played again,” said Ivo Daalder. “For all the promises of a ceasefire, of severe economic consequences, of being disappointed, it took two minutes on the red carpet and 10 minutes in the Beast for Putin to play Trump again.”

Skipping the ceasefire step makes the peace talks based on Ukraine turning over territory it controls to Russia, per the Times. The tough new sanctions Trump had threatened to impose on Russia, complete with deadlines, appear to be off the table, as well, per a CNN analysis by Stephen Collinson. “Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Trump told Fox News later Friday.

As usual the gas bag of a president accomplished NOTHING that he said he would…..as usual any threats made were idle words.

Next up is a visit from Zelenskyy today…..but what will this accomplish…..will it be yet another ambush?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’ll meet US President Trump in Washington on Monday after a Russia-US summit in Alaska ended without an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine after 3 1/2 years, reports the AP. Meanwhile, in a reversal only a few hours after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said an overall peace agreement, and not a ceasefire, was the best way to end the war. That statement echoes Putin’s view that Russia isn’t interested in a temporary truce and instead is seeking a long-term settlement that takes Moscow’s interests into account. More:

  • Zelensky: The Ukrainian leader, who didn’t receive an invite to the summit, said he had a “long and substantive” conversation with Trump early Saturday and that he’s looking forward to meeting with Trump in DC to “discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.”
  • Trump: The US president spoke to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Friday after the summit, calling his Putin get-together a “10 out of 10” and a “very warm meeting between two very important countries,” per Fox News. “I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” he added, but “Ukraine has to agree to it.”
  • Trump II: The president wrote early Saturday on Truth Social that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.” He added that he’d be willing to have up a three-way meeting with himself, Zelensky, and Putin “if all works out,” which he reiterated to Hannity. “Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done—and we have a pretty good chance of getting it done,” he told the Fox News host, per Fox.
  • Europe: The general sentiment among leaders on the Continent is one of wariness, especially with one big issue at hand for Europeans, per the New York Times: “They have no strategy of their own for bringing the war to a close, let alone for defeating Moscow.”
  • Ukrainians I: The vast majority of people in Ukraine don’t trust Putin, and the sentiment around the summit is one of “deep skepticism,” per the BBC. “Many soldiers gave their lives for these territories, for the protection of our country,” a Ukrainian sniper says. “A freeze [on the front lines] would mean demobilization would begin, wounded and exhausted soldiers would be discharged, the army would shrink, and during one of these rotations the Russians would strike again. But this time, it would be the end of our country.”
  • Ukrainians II: A minority of Ukrainians, either due to war fatigue or due to pro-Russian sentiment, are OK with compromises on ceding territory. “My belief is that the war should be stopped in any way possible,” a retired factory worker in Donetsk tells the BBC. “The further it goes, the worse it becomes.”

What will this repeated meetings with Donny actually accomplish?

Is any of this truly about ending this deadly conflict?

Or is it just semi-clever stagecraft?

I Read, I write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What The Hell Is State Doing?

First of all the 20th of April cam and went and the predicted declaration of martial law did not materialize…..I am not saying it will not just not on the day all seem to think for obvious reasons.

By State I mean the department of state, our diplomatic portion of any government….they are suppose to support American citizens and further the pursuit of democracy and human rights…..

It appears the Trump Administration in its dislike of brown people is remaking the the direction of the US in the continent of Africa.

That Magic Sharpie is ready for action….

A preliminary version of a White House executive order outlines sweeping changes to the State Department, including the near-total removal of its operations in Africa and the closure of numerous embassies and consulates throughout the continent.

The proposal also recommends eliminating departments within the State Department’s main offices that focus on climate change – an area where Trump’s change of the law could have ‘seismic impacts’ – refugee matters and the promotion of democracy and human rights and comes amid a tense global trade environment after Trump’s tariffs, which have caused friction with China.

The purpose of the order – which could be signed by President Trump later this week – is to undertake “a disciplined reorganization” of the State Department in an attempt to “streamline mission delivery.” As reported by The New York Times, the 16-page document aims to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” and is due to be enacted by October 1. Trump was also branded the ‘dumbest president ever’ following a shocking 6-word geography comment.

The proposed executive order seeks to abolish the foreign service entrance exam for prospective diplomats and introduces a revised set of qualifications for recruitment. Any new employees would have to have an “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.”

According to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the plans, the signing of the executive order would be followed by a push to dismiss both foreign service officers—who serve as career diplomats—and civil service staff, typically based at the department’s Washington headquarters. They noted that the process would involve placing many employees on paid administrative leave and issuing termination notices.

The draft suggests changes to the department, including “policy development and review” and “operational planning,” as well as embracing artificial intelligence technology. However, the New York Times reports that elements of the draft could change before President Trump signs it into effect.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/us-state-department-trump-rubio-1103570

Not to worry the Little Donny and his butt licking lackey and SecState are going a bit further with the rest of the world….

  • Canada: A new North American affairs office would oversee operations in Canada, and the embassy in Ottawa would become much smaller. A “significantly reduced team” would run the North American office, which would be supervised by the secretary of state.
  • Issues: Bureaus handling democracy and human rights, and refugees and migration would be eliminated. There would no longer be a special envoy for climate or undersecretary of public diplomacy and public affairs.
  • Staff cuts: Buyouts would be offered to foreign service and civil service officers. Layoffs would begin, as well, and a large number of employees would be placed on paid leave.
  • Hiring: The State Department would drop its foreign service exam. New criteria for recruiting would include “alignment with the president’s foreign policy vision.”

Diplomats who have read the draft said they don’t see the logic behind it, per Politico. One said, “There’s a lot that could be reformed, but you could give infinite monkeys infinite typewriters, and they would come up with something better than that.”

I like the ‘monkeys’ thing.

In other words replace experienced diplomats and academics with amateurs that will blindly do as they are told.

Seriously?

Is writing off an entire continent really a good idea or alienating the rest of the world a goods idea?

Would this not open the continent for China/Russia to move in and take command of this region?

Amateurs and idiots!

These dumb asses are crapping on everything the United States has accomplished in 250 years.

Why do they hate the world so much?

How much further will these d/bags go?

Let’s not forget that Little Marco wants employees of State to pimp on anyone that illustrates anti-Christian bias (shades of East Germany’s Stasi)….as if any religious opinion should anything to do with their, employees, ability to do their job.

What the Hell is going on at State?

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The ‘Death Dealer’ Returns

I know that sounds like an episode of Star trek….well it is not….it is about one of our nation’s worst Neo-conservative warmonger and his return to  the White House fold.

Why would Biden nominate such a warmonger like Elliot Abrams to lead a diplomatic mission?

Abrams is a neoconservative hawk who led the Trump administration’s failed Venezuela regime change effort, which involved crushing economic sanctions that are still in effect today, besides Biden giving Chevron a limited license to pump oil in the country.

Toward the end of Trump’s presidency, Abrams was also assigned as the US’s top Iran envoy, where he oversaw a sanctions policy designed to prevent President Biden from re-entering the Iran nuclear deal.

Abrams is notorious for his role in covering up atrocities committed by US-backed forces in Latin America during the Reagan administration in the 1980s, most notably the El Mozate massacre in El Salvador.

Over 800 civilians were killed by US-trained forces in El Mozate, and at the time, Abrams praised the death squad and disputed the death toll. In 1991, Abrams pled guilty for lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra Affair but was pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.

(antiwar.com)

This is the last person the US needs in a position of diplomacy….he has done nothing to illustrate that he has any faith in diplomacy…..

Abrams has been involved in many atrocities in one way or another.

The Biden White House predictably failed to mention the sordid details of Abrams’ record in its nomination announcement, offering a sterilized biography that lists off the notorious figure’s previous government roles: Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Human Rights, and Latin America under Ronald Reagan, a senior director of the National Security Council under George W. Bush, and special representative for Iran and special representative for Venezuela under Donald Trump, among others.

According to its website, the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is tasked with “appraising U.S. government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics and to increase the understanding of, and support for, these same activities.”

Abrams must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the commission.

(commondreams.org)

Slate journalist Alex Sammon denounced Biden’s nomination of Abrams for the position as “obscene” and “unconscionable.”

“Elliott Abrams, enemy of human rights, apologist for mass murder, should have no place within spitting distance of any Democratic administration in any capacity”.

More thoughts on ‘Death Dealer”…..

Biden’s disgraceful nomination of Elliott Abrams

Biden proves what a hypocritical tool he is with every move internationally.

This position calls for someone that thinks diplomacy can work not some prehistoric warmongering slug like Abrams.

Bad damn idea, Mr. Biden……but then you have proven to be a well of bad ideas.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Talk Ceasefire

Our Fearless Leader has authorized a ceasefire in Northern Syria…..a good idea to prevent deaths but this does little to help all sides with a rational approach to a conflict…..this deal benefits no one but Turkey….

I will wait here and give Trump supporters time to catch up…..

Let’s start with the solution we call a “ceasefire”…..

Several core elements emerge from a comparative analysis of ceasefires. These elements include provisions for (1) a cessation of hostilities, (2) the separation of forces, and (3) the verification, supervision, and monitoring of the agreement. The cessation of hostilities prevents the parties from engaging in hostile acts, which can include both military acts, such as firing on another party, and non-military acts, such as propaganda. The separation of forces is the process by which the parties will withdraw from contact and position themselves to prevent a return to conflict. Verification, supervision, and monitoring are measures to create accountability and ensure the proper implementation of the agreement.

Parties to a ceasefire may wish to incorporate additional provisions to tailor the agreement to their specific conflict. Further, some ceasefire agreements aim to establish a framework for the peace process, whereas others simply limit the content of the agreement to the provisions necessary to end immediate hostilities. Effective ceasefire agreements do the following: (1) establish tactical, geographical, and political obstacles that deter the parties from returning to conflict  (2) clearly indicate the rights and obligations of the parties, and minimize uncertainty through communication and information sharing  (3) create a sense of formal legal obligation and (4) engage the international community to significantly increase legitimacy and the costs of violating the agreement.

“It was a great day for the Kurds” …..Really?  How so?

This is NOT a traditional ceasefire or should I say a recognizable one…….

5 days?

STOP calling this a ceasefire…….it is not a ceasefire…… it is a momentary pause.

A “Safe Zone”?

Who will monitor this “Zone” to try and prevent any deadly policies from being implemented?

This is a “gimme” to Turkey….and a disaster for the Kurds.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

That Syrian News

Whiz Bang……..We have some Breaking News…….Stop The Presses…..”Give me re-write”……..

But first a trip in the “Way Back Machine”……the year is 1938, the location is Munich, Germany…..

81 years ago one of history’s greatest con jobs was foisted on the world…..Neville Chamberlain, the PM of the United Kingdom, told the world that he had secured “peace in our time”……. Seeking to avoid war in Europe, leaders from Britain, France and Italy signed the Munich Pact on September 29, 1938, agreeing to Hitler’s demands and ceding Czechoslovakia to Germany. Upon his return to England the following day, the architect of the appeasement policy, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, declares “peace in our time.”

For those youngsters that do not appreciate history…..here is the speech Chamberlain gave with his return from Munich……https://wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralprs36.htm

For a deeper look into this agreement and the history around it…..https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/on-this-day-1938-peace-for-our-time-was-a-hollow-boast-by-neign nation, in this case Syria.eville-chamberlain/

This situation was the precursor to World War 2….and it all began with a con job….will history repeat?

All this background is leading to the “ceasefire” that the VP and his entourage came to Ankara to solve the problem they created by letting Turkey invade another sovereign nation, in this case Syria.

The Breaking News is….we have a 120 hour “ceasefire” in Northern Syria……(BTW Turkey says it is a “pause” not a “ceasefire”)

Turkey’s invasion of Syria may be short-lived, ABC News reports. The country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed Thursday to halt the invasion for five days while Kurdish fighters leave a safe zone in northern Syria: “It will be a pause in military operation for 120 hours, while the United States facilitates the withdrawal of YPG (a mostly Kurdish militia) from the affected areas in the safe zone,” said Vice President Mike Pence, who had been sent to Ankara with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to negotiate a deal. “And once that is completed, Turkey has agreed to a permanent ceasefire and the United States of America will work with Turkey—will work with nations around the world—to make sure peace and stability are the order of the day in this safe zone.”

The deal is that President Trump won’t impose any more sanctions on Turkey and—when a permanent ceasefire is announced—will withdraw sanctions inflicted on the country last week, per the New York Times. (Sanctions had been placed on three ministers and two federal departments in Turkey, per CBS News.) This means the Kurdish militia has 120 hours to abandon a safe zone that extends roughly 20 miles below the Turkish-Syrian border. Pence said the White House was opposed to Turkey’s invasion, but US officials also sympathized with Turkey’s view that Kurdish fighters are a terrorist group. Trump responded happily: “Great news out of Turkey,” he tweeted. “…Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved!”

Sadly….Trump and the Boyz gave Erdogan everything he wanted…..a swath of Syria (a country the US cannot give away), dispossess thousands of Kurds from their homes, a free rein to commit a possible genocide after the 5 days, open the door wide for Russian influence in the Middle East, a loosening of sanctions and the promise of no new sanctions…..Turkey “got everything they wanted”……I smell the possibility for another Turkish genocide (I pray I am wrong)……

So what does the agreement actually say…..we know what the MSM wants it to say but what does the document actually state?

the full text of the joint US-Turkey statement: 

  1. The US and Turkey reaffirm their relationship as fellow members of NATO. The US understands Turkey’s legitimate security concerns on Turkey’s southern border.
  2. Turkey and the US agree that the conditions on the ground, northeast Syria in particular, necessitate closer coordination on the basis of common interests.
  3. Turkey and the US remain committed to protecting NATO territories and NATO populations against all threats with the solid understanding of “one for all and all for one”.
  4. The two countries reiterate their pledge to uphold human life, human rights, and the protection of religious and ethnic communities.
  5. Turkey and the US are committed to D-ISIS/DAESH activities in northeast Syria. This will include coordination on detention facilities and internally displaced persons from formerly ISIS/DAESH-controlled areas, as appropriate.
  6. Turkey and the US agree that counter-terrorism operations must target only terrorists and their hideouts, shelters, emplacements, weapons, vehicles and equipment.
  7. The Turkish side expressed its commitment to ensure safety and well-being of residents of all population centers in the safe zone controlled by the Turkish Forces (safe zone) and reiterated that maximum care will be exercised in order not to cause harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure.
  8. Both countries reiterate their commitment to the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria and UN-led political process, which aims at ending the Syrian conflict in accordance with UNSCR 2254.
  9. The two sides agreed on the continued importance and functionality of a safe zone in order to address the national security concerns of Turkey, to include the re-collection of YPG heavy weapons and the disablement of their fortifications and all other fighting positions.
  10. The safe zone will be primarily enforced by the Turkish Armed Forces and the two sides will increase their cooperation in all dimensions of its implementation.
  11. The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow the withdrawal of YPG from the safe zone within 120 hours. Operation Peace Spring will be halted upon completion of this withdrawal.
  12. Once Operation Peace Spring is paused, the US agrees not to pursue further imposition of sanctions under the Executive Order of October 14, 2019, Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Syria, and will work and consult with Congress, as appropriate, to underline the progress being undertaken to achieve peace and security in Syria, in accordance with UNSCR 2254. Once Operation Peace Spring is halted as per paragraph 11 the current sanctions under the aforementioned Executive Order shall be lifted.
  13. Both parties are committed to work together to implement all the goals outlined in this Statement.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/full-text-turkey-statement-northeast-syria-191017191203481.html

The one group most effected by this so-called “agreement”, the Kurds, were not part of the process….another Chamberlain-esque moment.

I read so you do not have to……

Chamberlain had…”peace in our time”…….Trump has “a great day for civilization” (from a Tweet)……neither would be accurate.

I love this stuff!  Syria is making people that make derogatory statements about the Middle East come to the defense of a president that makes shitty deals….and make no mistake this is a shitty deal the only person that benefits is Erdogan and Turkey and the Russians.  The US is still on the outside looking in.

Not to worry……I  am sure there will be more to this report……watch this blog.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Open Skies

Seems like there should be a song somewhere in that title….

Since Trump became our Supreme Leader we have crap out of all the treaties we have made over the years…..NAFTA, TPP, Iranian Nuke Deal, INF and now he is considering overturning the “Open Skies Treaty”…..

How many are scratching their heads over this? Let me see a show of hands…….(The Google machine is just a touch away)….it all began with Ike…..

Then the actual Open Skies Treaty was signed into being in 1992….

Signed March 24, 1992, the Open Skies Treaty permits each state-party to conduct short-notice, unarmed, reconnaissance flights over the others’ entire territories to collect data on military forces and activities. Observation aircraft used to fly the missions must be equipped with sensors that enable the observing party to identify significant military equipment, such as artillery, fighter aircraft, and armored combat vehicles. Though satellites can provide the same, and even more detailed, information, not all of the 34 treaty states-parties1 have such capabilities.  The treaty is also aimed at building confidence and familiarity among states-parties through their participation in the overflights.

President Dwight Eisenhower first proposed that the United States and the Soviet Union allow aerial reconnaissance flights over each other’s territory in July 1955. Claiming the initiative would be used for extensive spying, Moscow rejected Eisenhower’s proposal. President George H.W. Bush revived the idea in May 1989 and negotiations between NATO and the Warsaw Pact started in February 1990.

Now that you are brought up to speed on this treaty…..Trump has found yet another treaty that he does not like and will sell his dislike to the drooling public…..Open Skies Treaty is in the cross hairs…..

House representative Eliot Engel, the Democrat of New York and the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien saying he was “deeply concerned” by reports that President Donald Trump was considering withdrawing from Open Skies. That would be the latest in the administration’s efforts to unwind many of the multilateral agreements, institutions, and treaties that have helped govern the world and keep peace since World War II.

“[I] strongly urge you against such a reckless action,” Engel wrote. “American withdrawal would only benefit Russia and be harmful to our allies’ and partners’ national security interests. … The US should prepare for the challenge that Russia presents—not abandon mechanisms that provide the US with an important tool in maintaining surveillance on Russia.”

While the Trump administration and Capitol Hill allies like senator Tom Cotton, the Republican from Arkansas, have long expressed frustration with the deal, Monday’s movement seemed to blindside foreign policy and arms control experts, who quickly expressed puzzlement and outrage that Trump would unwind what’s been seen as a cornerstone of global defense. The former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, tweeted “Please tell me this can’t be true.”

https://www.wired.com/story/trump-open-skies-withdrawal/

I do not see how all this disdain for the treaties we have signed over the years is making America Great…..

Personally, Trump just likes pretending he knows what he is doing…and with adviser like Sen. Tom Cotton then he is definitely getting erroneous information.

There are some issues on foreign policy that I agree with Trump….and then like our long standing treaties I do not agree nor see any reason for the disdain.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

P.S.  It is 0530 hrs and cooler than normal so MoMo and I will get our walk in before the heat returns.

Pompeo World Tour

The US SecState is on a tour of the Middle East (not really the world tour) to spread the Neocon anti-Iran rhetoric….

The Neocons were silenced for awhile by the Early Trump admin but he has relieved himself of all the responsible people and has hired nutcase Neocons like Bolton and Pompeo…..so Trump and his Neocon lackeys are recycling the hate speech from the past……

There are times when I wish that the United States would just drop the charade and declare itself a global empire. As a veteran of two imperial wars, a witness to the dark underside of America’s empire-denial, I’ve grown tired of the equivocation and denials from senior policymakers. The U.S. can’t be an empire, we’re told, because – unlike the Brits and Romans – America doesn’t annex territories outright, and our school children don’t color its colonies in red-white-and-blue on cute educational maps.

But this distinction, at root, is rather superficial. Conquest, colonization, and annexation are so 19th century – Washington has moved beyond the overt and engages in the (not-so) subtle modern form of imperialism. America’s empire over the last two decades – under Democrats and Republicans – has used a range of tools: economic, military, political, to topple regimes, instigate coups, and starve “enemy” civilians. Heck, it didn’t even start with 9/11 – bullying foreigners and overturning uncooperative regimes is as American as apple pie.

https://original.antiwar.com/Danny_Sjursen/2019/03/18/empire-of-absurdity-recycled-neocons-recycled-enemies/

They say there is a “new” Neocon…..the Dems….but they have always been in the Neocon sphere when it comes to starting wars (at least to me)……

When Bill Clinton was in power, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol organized an ad hoc think-tank/advocacy group known as the Project for a New American Century, which ceaselessly agitated for war with Iraq and a policy of “regime change” throughout the Middle East. In coordination with like-minded folks over at the American Enterprise Institute, publications such as the Weekly Standard and National Review, plus influential columnists such as Charles Krauthammer and Max Boot, the neocons led the charge as we careened into the Iraqi quagmire. It took them a good decade, but in the end they succeeded: both major political parties are now committed to their program of endless military intervention in the Middle East, with the only differences being tactical.

But I’m getting ahead of myself: In order to bamboozle the American public into believing that this was a defensive and justifiable war, the neocons and their allies came up with various arguments – Iraq’s alleged “weapons of mass destruction,” his purported plans to attack his neighbors, and his supposed ability to threaten the continental U.S. – but their central if only implied talking point was that Saddam was in some way instrumental in bringing about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For the most part, this was not stated explicitly; the idea was to link Saddam and Osama by referring to them in the same sentence. Yet the implication was clear, and the administration and its media amen corner returned to this theme again and again, arguing that we had to strike Iraq in answer to al-Qaeda’s murderous sneak attack.

https://original.antiwar.com/justin/2019/01/27/the-new-neocons-2/

Time for a candidate to step up and stop rubber stamping our many and lengthy foreign adventures.