Tag: weapons

And The Money Poured Down Like Rain

The House where all money bills are settled has given the Pentagon a blank check, well almost, for more endless wars and such to the tune of $700 billion…that is billion with a “B”….

In a bipartisan show of support for endless war and out-of-control military spending, the House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the nearly $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 that aims to boost war outlays by $80 billion

The final vote tally was 357-70, with 127 Democrats throwing their support behind the bill. Sixty-seven Democrats—including Reps. Barbara Lee of California, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, and John Conyers of Michigan—voted against the legislation.

In addition to providing cash for 90 F-35 jets—20 more than President Donald Trump requested—the measure also approves more than $12 billion for the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, a massive boost in funding that comes amid soaring tensions between the United States and North Korea.

As the Associated Pressnotes, the legislation additionally “includes money for as many as 28 additional Ground-Based Interceptors, which are anti-missile missiles that would be launched from underground silos in Alaska in the event the U.S. decided to try to shoot down a North Korean missile heading toward the United States. The interceptors are designed to directly hit the enemy missile outside the Earth’s atmosphere, obliterating it by the force of impact.”

The House vote sets the stage for the Senate to debate the legislation shortly after Thanksgiving before sending it to Trump’s desk. Because the measure far exceeds the $549 billion ceiling set by the Budget Control Act, “House and Senate leaders must strike a budget deal that increases the caps in order to boost defense spending as prescribed by the bill,” Politicoreports.

(commondreams.org)

Now that is a pile on money, right?

Ever wonder just how you could get a piece of this pie?

I have but since I am staunchly antiwar…it was only a fleeting thought….

But in case we are having such dreams……

When it comes to the art of the deal, at least where arms sales are concerned, American presidents, their administrations, and the Pentagon have long been Trumpian in nature. Their role has been to beat the drums (of war) for the major American weapons makers and it’s been a highly profitable and successful activity. In 2015, for instance, the U.S. once again took the top spot in global weapons sales, $40 billion dollars of them, or a staggering 50.2% of the world market. (Russia came in a distant third with $11.2 billion in sales.) The U.S. also topped sales of weaponry to developing nations. In these years, Washington has, in fact, peddled the products of those arms makers to at least 100 countries, a staggering figure if you stop a moment to think about the violence on this planet. Internationally, in other words, the U.S. has always been an open-carry nation.

http://original.antiwar.com/william-d-hartung/2017/11/14/wield-influence-sell-weaponry-washington/

Do you realize just what that kind of cash could do for the people of this country?

No Democracy–No Weapons

Everyone the regularly visits IST knows that I am an antiwar supporter…..and that I feel that the US Congress has relinquished is power of the use of military force to the president…..there have been a few bills, mostly from Dems, that have tried to re-establish Congress’ power but they usually go nowhere…..

For two years the Saudis have been systematically destroying Yemen under some pretense of fighting terrorism and the US has been supporting the Saudis behind the scenes mostly….but they could change…

The House version of the nearly $700 billion 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes multiple amendments aimed at limiting US involvement in the Saudi War in Yemen, explicitly forbidding the deployment of ground troops there, or spending any money on military operations outside the scope of the 2001 AUMF.

The Nolan Amendment prohibits the deployment of troops to participate in any way in the war, which is seen not only as restricting ground troops being sent to Yemen to fight on the side of the Saudis, but also appears aimed at limiting mid-air refueling operations for Saudi warplanes.

The Lieu Amendment requires a report from the State Department and the Pentagon on whether or not the Saudis are complying with the US-provided “No Strike List” for Yemen, as well as their improvement of targeting capabilities to avoid hitting civilians.

Finally, the Davidson Amendment prohibits all US military action in Yemen that is outside of the scope of the 2001 AUMF. This would preclude operations against the Shi’ite Houthis, who obviously were nothing to do with 9/11, though it would not restrict US operations against al-Qaeda forces inside Yemen.

(antiwar.com)

Small efforts that I suspect will go down in flames…but I give them an “A” for effort.

A better idea is one that comes out of Sweden….

Sweden’s Social Democratic government has received general support from opposition parties for a new legislative plan to curb weapons sales to so-called autocratic and nondemocratic nations.

The proposed legislation would have a direct impact on weapons sales to certain countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America. Military sales to countries applicable under the new proposal would be regulated according to tougher humans rights criteria.

The proposed legislation will amend Sweden’s existing Arms Export Controls Act. The strong degree of opposition party support for the legislative initiative means the new law could be introduced as early as 2018.

Countries that will be affected by the proposed legislation, like Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, all remain important customers for Sweden’s defense industry companies.

(defensenews.com)

A helluva idea….no democracy, no weapons!

Of course the M-IC will fight this tooth and nail…..but what a great way to promote democracy……

Some Real “Men” In Congress After All

I have accused most of the people serving in the Congress as cowards…and I still believe that most have no nuts for the job.

But there are a few that show the cajones to take on the president and the M-IC…..I have written about others that are showing some gumption…..

Source: Tulsi Gabbard Finds An Ally – In Saner Thought

Source: Did Congress Grow A Set? – In Saner Thought

Recently our president made a trip to Saudi Arabia and promised them about $110 billion in weapons…..and that will be challenged by a couple of brave Senators….

US senators introduced legislation on Thursday to stop at least a portion of President Donald Trump’s $110bn sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Republican Rand Paul and Democrats Chris Murphy and Al Franken introduced a resolution of disapproval in the Senate to force a vote on whether to block part of the sale.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee received formal notice of the pending sale on 19 May.

The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 allows a senator to force a vote on an arms sale, once Congress is formally notified of plans to go ahead.

The same three senators introduced a similar resolution last year seeking to block the sale of $1.15bn of tanks and other equipment to Saudi Arabia. That measure was defeated overwhelmingly.

(middleeasteye.net)

They will probably not be successful for the Saudis have many Senators in their back pockets….but at least these people are forcing the Congress to take a long look at the wasteful crap of this president.

On another front some of these people are pushing for the action on the Authorization for Use of Military Force(AUMF)….this is an attempt to try and force the Congress to do their duty and vote on any war-like action.

Since the US started attacking ISIS years ago, the legal basis for the war has been pretty much non-existent, with officials sometimes claiming the 9/11 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) from 2001 covers ISIS too, even though ISIS didn’t even exist when it was passed.

Congress has long spurned the idea of voting on the ISIS war, however, delaying it early in the war because it was too close to an election, and mostly forgetting about it after that. Sens. Jeff Flake (R – AZ) and Tim Kaine (D – VA) are reviving the push for a AUMF vote.

Flake issued a statement saying it was “past time for Congress to voice its support for the war against ISIS.” Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Corker (R – TN) says last year was “not the right time,” but that he thinks conditions might be right now for the vote.

(antiwar.com)

I may not agree with these people politically but I am on their side with this attempt to protect our troops and the curb the waste of money in war.

We are always hearing some moron going on about a balanced budget…..you want that then stop spending all the cash on war…pretty goddamn simple!

My hat is off to these brave souls as they will be chastised and will probably lose this battle but at least it will put both actions on the record and bring a little more light to them.

Bombs Away!

The US has set a new all-time record….it has dropped more bombs in 2016 than any other time….it will be an Obama legacy…..

The U.S. dropped 26,171 bombs last year, 3,027 more than 2015.

According to an analysis of Defense Department data from the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, the majority of the bombs were dropped in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. leads an international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in both countries and has carried out air operations in attempt to reduce the area controlled by the terrorist organization.

Nearly the same amount of bombs were dropped in Syria (12,192) and Iraq (12,095) last year.

All that death and destruction what has the US really gained from all this?
Glad you asked and I have an answer for you….PROFIT!  But not for the country rather those defense contractors that keep us at war constantly.
That’s bad news for the people in those countries the bombs are falling on, and bad news for the taxpayers, but it’s great news for a handful of key US arms makers, who are seeing their sales soar on the orders that the military has placed to replace the dropped bombs and fired missiles.

These bombs aren’t cheap, with even the smaller “dumb bombs” amounting to $30,000 or more, and more advanced technology like Lockheed Martin’s Hellfire missiles costing in excess of $100,000 each. With thousands of Hellfire missiles being fired, that’s a costly proposition.

From the Pentagon’s perspective, the big issue in all of this is that the companies are having trouble escalating production fast enough to meet demand, and they are fretting that bombs are being dropped faster than they’re being replaced.

There is your answer…..”War is good Business”.

Now You See ‘Em….Now You Don’t

I would like to state something that I have been saying for several years….that the American care little about the plight of our troops fighting these useless wars…..last week I posted a piece about the recent combat death of a US soldier in Afghanistan….sadly very few read it or commented on the post….it was disappointing but it kinda proved my point……I had to get that off my chest.

We have been up to our fat ass in the Middle East for 13 years….and there is NO evidence that it will ever be over…..EVER!

Stuff sent to Iraq has a tendency to disappear down some rabbit hole……like after our invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq the Pentagon sent millions of dollars to Iraq to pay for the “reconstruction” on palettes and somewhere down the line some of it disappeared…..and now news has come out that we are sending weapons to Iraq to help arm the Iraqi military…..and other allies……

The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars since 2001 funneling roughly more than a million assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and machine guns into Iraq and Afghanistan, helping to fuel lasting conflict there, according to a new report by a London-based nonprofit research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence.

At least 949,582 of these small arms were given to security forces in Iraq, and at least 503,328 small arms were given to local forces in Afghanistan, the group said. They called this an “under-estimate” based on the information they were able to acquire.

Source: The Pentagon has shipped more than a million small arms to Iraq and Afghanistan’s defense forces | Center for Public Integrity

To be fair some of these weapons are bound for Afghanistan as well….

But now news has come out that some of these weapons are missing in action (sorry for the pun)…….

More than 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols distributed to Iraqi forces by the US are missing, feared fallen into the hands of insurgents, a congressional watchdog warned today.

The highest previous estimate of missing weapons was 14,000, but a new report from the government accountability office (GAO) said US military officials did not know what had happened to 30% of the weapons the US had given to Iraqi forces since 2004.

“They really have no idea where they are,” Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Centre for Defence Information, told the Washington Post, which reported the GAO’s findings. “It likely means that the United States is unintentionally providing weapons to bad actors.”

Source: 190,000 US weapons reported missing in Iraq | World news | The Guardian

All this is NOTHING new….the US is notorious for their shoddy practices….

Should not the people, the taxpayer, demand more accountability in our practices?

This government keeps pissing money away and keeps slicing budgets…….does anyone else see the stupidity in all this?

The people that worry about the so-called “fraud” of welfare recipients should be more worried about the sloppy practices of the Pentagon….don’t you think?

Here We Go Again

We have returned to the worthless debate on the ownership of guns…..the same debate we have with every attack and/or massacre…….the same waste of time ….time after time (not a Cindy Lauper song)…..

Of course I will be labelled whatever the mental midget class call people the disagree with them…apologist, bleeding heart, liberal, or my favorite, political correct.

So before the inevitable stupidity starts let me say my views right now….

I am against the ownership of assault weapons…..they are not needed for protection if so then the idiot holding it is a terrible shot then I suggest a shotgun…..they are not used for hunting….and if someone just gets off on shooting them then join the Army they will let these idiots play with them as much as they like.

There even those that agree with me……

Nate Bethea served as an infantry officer in the US Army from 2007 to 2014, and during that time, he fired thousands of rounds from assault rifles. “These weapons are intended for the battlefield. I don’t want an assault rifle, because I don’t want to think of my home country as a battlefield,” he writes in the New York Times. “I don’t want civilians to own assault rifles, because I think the risks outweigh the rewards. If people really do believe that they need them, maybe it’s because they see a battlefield where others don’t.” He notes that he’s seen the effects the weapons have, and he doesn’t want to think the US is such a dangerous place that we need such weapons.

He quotes a friend, an Army Special Forces officer with multiple combat deployments: “People who say they need an AR for hunting or home defense often don’t understand the weapon’s ballistics or overpenetration. ARs cause horrific damage to humans; that’s why the military developed them. If you want to shoot an AR so bad, please feel free to join the fight against ISIS in the military.” And, Bethea begs, please don’t get hung up on the semantics. Yes, there are slight differences between assault weapons used by the military and the types of assault rifles civilians can buy, but the truth is, a civilian would be able to buy basically the same rifle Bethea carried in Afghanistan, and the same accessories, with little difficulty—and that’s not right. Click for his full piece.

Well said and sound advice…..

Signed……Mr. Apologist.

Assault Weapon Ban?

Okay this subject has the NRA a bit twitchy….and the Right is slobbering all over themselves…..and damn the talking points!

Many have been calling for this ban for some time…..I for one….I own guns and if someone needs a 30 round assault weapon for protection then may I suggest you buy a shotgun because you are a terrible shot…..

Sorry I digress….meanwhile back to the assault weapon ban thingy……(at least for now and we know how quickly minds change in DC)…….

A most unlikely person has come out on the side of the ban…..

You know the issue of gun control has hit peak outrage when even the denizens of disaster over at Fox News are calling for stricter measures.

Bill O’Reilly joined his colleague Gretchen Carlson in speaking out against the easy availability of assault weapons in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

Source: Bill O’Reilly Has Brief Bout of Sanity: Calls for Assault Weapons Ban | Alternet

That’s right Irene….you heard it on FOX News…..

Now I sit back and wait to see what Conserv has the balls to call out O’Reilly……

Will there be a person of principle?  Or will this one one of those times where he gets a pass because he will eventually come to his senses and recant?

True to my word…this will be my final post on the incident in Orlando…..unless something really horrendous happens…….hear that?  That is me moving on!

Thoughts?

What do Kobani airdrops mean for regional politics? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

There has been a wealth of news about the latest air drops of supplies and weapons to the defenders of Kobane in Syria……Turkey is not happy about them…..ISIS intercepted at least one of the drops…….something that is a seemingly minor occurrence has generated a couple of days of news ……….

But what of the air drops themselves….good or bad?

 

What do Kobani airdrops mean for regional politics? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

All’s Well That Ends Like Crap!

News that should make people realize that McCain’s opinions are as worthless as tits on a boar!

How many times have you or your family heard that great American “patriot”, John McCain,  scream about the failure of the Obama administration for not coming to the aid of the rebels in their fight against Assad and now ISIS?  How many times?

From the beginning McCain has been yelling and ranting about the need to arm and supply the rebels….of course this coming from a senator that has been wrong on foreign policy for at least 20 years……….and he screamed about Libya, Georgia (the country not the state), Syria, etc….one rebellion after another…..he spent more time in front of the cameras than some news anchors….but what about his calls for arming rebels…….

When President Obama was trying to decide whether to arm rebels fighting the Syrian government, he asked the CIA to examine its long track record on such things. The review’s conclusion? It’s usually a waste of time and money—and sometimes only makes matters worse, reports the New York Times. The review looked back over the agency’s 67-year history and found that time and time again—from the Bay of Pigs, to the Sandinistas, to Somali warlords—providing arms to insurgent forces rarely had any significant effect on how things turned out.

That proved especially true if the US provided arms without having American personnel on the ground to provide guidance, as is the case with Syria. One notable exception: The CIA provided arms and training to Afghan rebels fighting the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and the rebels eventually drove the Soviets out. However, intelligence officers from Pakistan were on the ground helping the Afghan fighters. President Obama decided last month to provide limited assistance to Syrian rebels fighting ISIS, prompting a blogger at Firedog Lake to wonder, “What’s the point of commissioning a study just to ignore it?”

Once again McCain has proved that he is nothing but a political hack and still knows NOTHING about foreign policy.

Maybe now would be a good time to stop listening to McCain and giving him a platform to spout his ignorant rants……he proves time and time again to be a front man for the Military-Industrial Complex and not a good US senator……..

Whatcha think?