Tag: WMDs

Good News From The World Of War

My regular readers know that I have no use for war for the sake of going to war…..so when there is good news about this act of human insanity I shall write about it…..and today is one of those days.

Last Friday some good news about WMD….chemical weapons ….to be exact…..the US has finally destroyed their last cache of these barbaric weapons…..or so we are lead to believe.

The US has long stored a considerable arsenal of illegal-to-use chemical weaponry—until now. On Friday, the Pentagon destroyed its last remaining such weapon, the culmination of a decades-long effort, reports NPR. The dismantling took place at the Army’s Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado and at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky, per the AP. The outlet notes that the American military’s chemical stockpile was up to 30,000 tons when the Cold War ended in 1991. The historic milestone now in place: All of the world’s publicly declared chemical weapons—laden with everything from mustard gas to sarin—are now eliminated.

The US technically had until the end of September to complete the task of destroying the weapons in compliance with the 26-year-old Chemical Weapons Convention. It was the last of eight countries to eliminate its declared stockpile. “This is the first time, globally, that an entire class of weapons of mass destruction” has been destroyed, said Vietnam War veteran Craig Williams, who has been advocating for the safe destruction of the chemical arsenal since 1984, per the Lexington Times. Of course, the destruction covers only the declared chemical weapons in the world—other nations, including Russia, Syria, and North Korea, are believed to have undeclared stashes.

The caveat is ‘declared’ weapons….god only knows how many are still in some secret depository some where.

Have you ever noticed the bad news seems to always follow good news?

And now for the bad….

As good as this news is there is also some disturbing news….the US is sending cluster bombs to Ukraine…..Cluster bombs have killed more civilians in the last 20 years than has those chemical weapons….so let’s send them to another war.

The Biden administration is on the defense after announcing it will send controversial cluster bombs to Ukraine to help in that nation’s counteroffensive against Russia. On Friday, President Biden conceded to Fareed Zakaria on CNN that it was a “very difficult decision” to approve the transfer of cluster munitions, and that “it took me a while to be convinced to do it.” The commander in chief noted that he conferred with both “our friends up on the Hill” and ally nations, but that ultimately, what swayed him was realizing that “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”

National security adviser Jake Sullivan concurred with Biden on the careful deliberations over the cluster bombs, noting that the White House spent “quite some time” mulling the move before making its decision, per the Washington Post. Biden told Zakaria that, on the recommendation of the Pentagon, the cluster bombs were only a “temporary” fix to help Ukraine during a “transition period” while the US produces more of the 155mm artillery it has been sending to Ukraine. The BBC notes cluster bombs, which can take out multiple military targets at once, are controversial partly due to their “dud” rate, referring to bombs that don’t immediately detonate and remain on the ground—posing a danger to civilians, potentially for years.

Sullivan said that the cluster bombs being sent to Ukraine have been tested to make sure the dud rate isn’t above 2.35%, and that Ukraine has assured the US “they intend to use these munitions in a way to minimize the exposure of civilians,” per the Post. Still, most NATO member nations (the US isn’t among them) have signed an international convention barring production, use, or transfer of cluster munitions. “No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine,” Margarita Robles, Spain’s defense minister, said Friday, per the BBC. Even the US has a ban on using cluster bombs with a dud rate of more than 1% rate—a ban Biden bypassed Friday by invoking the Foreign Assistance Act.

A tough decision?

But the best excuse for the use of a banned weapon…..

Speaking to CNN‘s Fareed Zakaria on Friday, President Biden said he needed to send cluster bombs because Ukraine and the US are running out of ammunition. “This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it,” he said. “And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to — not permanently — but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.”

Interesting….

Why?  I am so glad you asked.

On February 28, 2022, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who now has her own TV show on MSNBC, told reporters that Russia’s use of cluster munitions in Ukraine would “potentially be a war crime.”

So is it a ‘war crime’ or not?

Here is a novel idea…..since we are sending billions of stuff to Ukraine to save a few dollars why not recall all the military crap given to law enforcement agencies box it up and mail it to Ukraine…..with a note that says “Make Do”

Sorry I digress and now back on subject.

With a re-election fight on the horizon I feel sure that some cash came in a plain brown envelope to help with the decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.

These bombs need to be next on the banning list for the US….most civilized countries have banned their use….but so far the US is not on that list.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Chemical Weapons In The Wings

The year is 2013 and reports of a Syrian chemical attack starts leaking into the mainstream media….and this was a red line that Obama and his gang drew in the sand….

The reports were unverified and yet it was reported as if it were fact and the US started its involvement in the Syrian civil war…..

The mainstream media narrative claimed the Syrian government under president Bashar al Assad bombed the rebel-held town of Khan Seikhoun with the deadly nerve agent sarin on April 4. Assad “choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” claimed President Trump. The U.S. Tomahawk strike targeted Shayrat because that is where the chemical weapons were prepared and loaded onto fighter bomber aircraft. According to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, “We feel that the strike itself was proportional, because it was targeted at the facility that delivered this most recent chemical weapons attack.”

US mainstream news media uncritically trumpeted the administration’s pretext as fact and that the retaliation was widely supported by the American people. A CBS News survey claimed “57 percent of Americans” approved of Trump’s military strikes. The question ABC presented to respondents (the question is not found within the body of news articles) April 7-9 presumed guilt. “In response to the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons, do you approve or disapprove of the US launching airstrikes against Syrian military targets?”

(antiwar.com)

Fast forward to 2022 and we have the same tactic used again.

White House claimed without evidence that Russia might use chemical or biological weapons to create a false flag operation in Ukraine. The White House also dismissed Moscow’s accusations that the US is involved in biological weapons research in Ukraine even though there are Pentagon-linked labs in the country.

On Twitter, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said to be on the lookout “for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them.”

Then the inevitable accusation once the idea had been planted….

Both US and Ukrainian officials have said they cannot confirm claims from Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov Battalion that Russia dropped a “poisonous substance” on Mariupol.

Andriy Biletsky, the leader of the Azov Battalion, which is part of Ukraine’s National Guard, claimed three people had signs of chemical poisoning, although he said there were no “disastrous consequences” to their health.

According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Wednesday that it was not possible to draw “100% firm conclusions” about whether or not Russia used chemical weapons. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was not in a position to confirm the claims.

According to a report from Politico, US officials have raised questions about the credibility of the Azov battalion, noting that they might be eager to provoke a larger confrontation. The claims from Azov came after weeks of Biden administration officials accusing Russia of plotting to use chemical weapons in its war in Ukraine and warning of a response if they are used.

(antiwar.com)

Does any of this sound familiar?

Well it does to me….but then I pay attention to world affairs.

My problem, as with the previous accusations, is that these are unverified but that does not stop the media from helping whip up the lather to get more involved in the conflict.

Remember the non-existent WMDs in Iraq to justify an invasion and subsequent occupation?

Usually when the western governments start quacking about “chemical attacks,” it means they’re planning to take action of some kind — airstrikes in Syria, sanctions on Russia, what have you — and are looking for an excuse.

This doesn’t look like an exception to that rule: Further down in the story, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar identifies the likely weapon as “phosphorous ammunition.”

That would most likely be white phosphorous, an element not classed as a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention. It’s used as a component in smoke, illumination, incendiary, and tracer rounds for everything from small arms to large artillery, as well as in grenades, by most major militaries on Earth.

In theory, it’s illegal to use white phosphorous to attack “personnel,” but acceptable to use it on “equipment.”

That’s a pretty big loophole. As an 81mm mortarman in the US Marine Corps, I often trained on what we called “shake and bake” missions, involving a mix of white phosphorous and high explosive rounds. The justification? We would be firing at the enemy’s “equipment.” That would include their uniforms, canteens, etc. If they chose to stay with that “equipment,” well, that was their problem.

If the weapon in question is indeed white phosphorous, calling the incident a “chemical” attack is neither legally accurate nor novel. It’s nasty stuff — it burns incredibly hot and water won’t put it out — but it’s been in wide use since World War One. Including, probably, by both sides in the Ukrainian conflict.

Chemical Weapons, Here, There, Everywhere

All this makes me think of those immortal words of Donald Rumsfeld, “If it were true it would not be called intelligence”.

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“lego ergo scribo”

Those Chemical Weapons

Here we go again.

Think back to the beginning of the Syrian civil war…..the red line for US involvement was if someone used chemical weapons…..and BAM! The worse became reality and the rest is history.

Once again the US and its client states are once again finding a red line for US involvement…..those damn chemical weapons again.

I see a Cheney is on the front-lines of the rhetoric (like her daddy)….

Congresswoman Liz Cheney said the US should take action in Ukraine in the event Russia uses chemical weapons, echoing a recent threat by Washington’s UN envoy, who warned that America will “respond aggressively” if such weapons are deployed. 

Asked whether a “red line” should be established for intervention in Ukraine during an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sunday, Rep. Cheney (R-Wyoming) said chemical weapons would “alter our calculations” and potentially prompt a US and allied response.

“We in the West, the United States and NATO, we need to stop telling the Russians what we won’t do. We need to be very clear that we are considering all options,” she said, adding that “they [Russia] need to understand that if the brutality here increases, the United States will contemplate and consider every possible range of actions along with our NATO allies.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news-roundup/rep-cheney-suggests-chemical-weapons-red-line-in-ukraine-as-calls-for-us-intervention-grow-louder/

The EU people as well as NATO are claiming the same thing….

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday that any use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine would be considered a “blatant and brutal violation of international law.” 

“So any use of chemical weapons would be a blatant and brutal violation of international law, the ban on the use of chemical weapons,” Stoltenberg told moderator Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “At the same time we know that Russia has used chemical agents in Europe before, against their own political opponents and Russia has been facilitating and supporting the Assad regime in Syria, where chemical weapons has been used.” 

“[W]e are very much aware of that we need to act in a way that prevents this conflict from going from being a very bloody, ugly, horrific conflict in Ukraine to something that turns out to be a full fledged war between NATO and Russia, in Europe, and also potentially involving, of course, the United States directly,” Stoltenberg added.

(thehill.com)

Biden is on-board with the messaging…..

President Joe Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin may consider using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine as his military struggled to achieve clear objectives.

…

“His back is against the wall,” Biden said. “That’s a clear sign he’s considering using both of those.”

He added: “He’s already used chemical weapons in the past, and we should we careful of what’s about to come.”

(businessinsider.com)

Now the stage is set….and that red-line drawn…..and wait begins…..

But there is one slight problem with all this messaging….especially from the media which is making it a priority to report on chem. weapons….

The United States has not yet seen any concrete indications of an imminent Russian chemical or biological weapons attack in Ukraine but is closely monitoring streams of intelligence for them, a senior U.S. defense official said.

President Joe Biden said on Monday, without providing evidence, that Russia’s false accusations that Kyiv has biological and chemical weapons illustrated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering using them himself in the war against Ukraine.

The U.S. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, shared Biden’s assessment but added: “There’s no indication that there’s something imminent in that regard right now.”

(usnews.com)

Not to worry…..MSNBC’s Chuck Todd will do his part to promote another war…..

On Meet the Press, Todd repeatedly asked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg whether chemical weapons might change the Western calculus on intervention in Ukraine. Todd: “Is a No-fly Zone forever off the table or would the use of chemical weapons make NATO rethink.” And two minutes later, “Russia’s use of chemical weapons, would that be considered, though, an escalation on his [presumably Putin’s] part that would make NATO rethink?”

It may be hard to believe that Stoltenberg was unprepared to give some some sort of answer to this obvious question, but he is only good at regurgitating what he has memorized. Yesterday, in the absence of instructions from Washington, he appeared nonplused and gave a non-response. To which Todd replied condescendingly, “It does sound as though you don’t have an answer yet.”

Is Chuck Todd a Chemical Agent?

I am so glad that the media will do its part to try and get the US ass deep in another war.

Just recently Biden responded to a question about the use of chem weapons by Russia.

For weeks now, US officials have claimed without evidence that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, and President Biden is now warning that NATO will “respond” if there is a Russian chemical weapons attack.

“We would respond. We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use,” Biden said at a press conference from NATO headquarters in Brussels.

When asked if that meant NATO would respond with military force, Biden said it would “trigger a response in kind, whether or not — you’re asking whether NATO would cross; we’d make that decision at the time.”

While the US has been warning of potential Russian chemical attacks, an anonymous Pentagon official said Tuesday that there’s no sign Moscow is planning to use the weapons. “There’s no indication that there’s something imminent in that regard right now,” the official said.

(antiwar.com)

The US started accusing Russia of plotting to use chemical or biological weapons when Russia’s claims about Pentagon-linked biological labs in Ukraine became a major news story. While the Biden administration is downplaying the labs as much as it can, there are biological labs in Ukraine funded by the Pentagon’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

Please look beyond the popular rhetoric of the media and find the true nature of these claims.

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“lego ergo scribo”

The Other Whistleblower

There has been a wealth of press given about those whistleblowers that keep coming forward in the impeachment saga..

All that makes for good copy for the MSM…I mean it helps drive the story they want to tell and any thing else will be put into the round file (file 13)……

Like the drama that the media wants to tell about the Assad government using CWs on their own people….and the horror and the desire for retaliation for justice for the Syrian people.

I have written and reported in the past on the different reports that contradict the “official” BS claim by the media and the US government…..and a new whistleblower has come forward that disputes the fantasy of the official line from DC…..

During a recent BBC radio interview, award-winning journalist Jonathan Steele said that he attended a briefing by a new whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) investigation into an alleged 2018 chemical attack in Douma, Syria, who claimed that the OPCW suppressed his findings which contradicted the organization’s official conclusion that a chlorine gas attack had taken place. This, according to Steele, is a second whistleblower coming forward on the OPCW’s Douma investigation, the first being the leaker of an Engineering Assessment document which surfaced in May contradicting the OPCW’s official ballistics report which the organization hid from the public.

I have archived an audio recording of Steele’s statement here for posterity, since the BBC removes its content after a month. I have also compiled a timeline of relevant events here so that people can properly appreciate the significance of these new revelations.

Steele made these comments unbidden by the show’s host Paul Henley. They read as follows (thanks to Tim Hayward of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media for the transcript):

Second Whistleblower Emerges from Investigation into Douma Chemical Attack

Typical US strategy…..use the MSM to sell chicken shit as sirloin to the masses….

I wrote about the possibility that past attacks were staged and not the result of an attack by Syrian military…..https://lobotero.com/2019/05/29/those-chemical-attacks/

AS usual the MSM is the tool of choice for the government to condition the American people to accept the ‘official’ story line.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Syria: The Ghosts Of Gaseous Past

We are coming out of Syria!

Why did we go to Syria?

It all began with Iraq in 2003.

Without much discussion, “fighting ISIS” into Syrian territory slipped into another, albeit less enthusiastic, round of regime change, this time aimed at Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Assad’s family controlled the country since the 1960s, and was a sort-of American partner here and there, certainly helpful during the early years of the GWOT in torturing folks on America’s behalf.

https://original.antiwar.com/Peter_Van_Buren/2018/12/23/a-short-history-of-how-the-us-went-to-war-in-syria/

Obama was president and Assad is said to have gassed his fellow Syrians….and this was a sticking point…the use of WMDs….and eventually this was used by the MSM to sell the military actions to come.

A couple of posts that I offered up for my readers…..

It’s WMDs–Once Again

Does Anyone Remember 2003?

Gas ‘Em, Dan-o

And then Trump came to the seat of power of the Western world…and shortly after Assad is Assad to have gassed his people again and Trump ordered an airstrike……

All that time I was skeptical that this gas was ever truly used…..and then the revelation…..

There were casualties from organophosphate poisoning in both cases; that much is certain. But America has accused Assad of direct responsibility for Sarin attacks and even blamed Russia for culpability in the Khan Sheikhoun tragedy.

Now its own military boss has said on the record that we have no evidence to support this conclusion. In so doing, Mattis tacitly impugned the interventionists who were responsible for pushing the “Assad is guilty” narrative twice without sufficient supporting evidence, at least in the eyes of the Pentagon.

https://www.newsweek.com/now-mattis-admits-there-was-no-evidence-assad-using-poison-gas-his-people-801542

Funny how that works…Mattis is on his way out and now he wants to “set the record straight”…..

Makes my point….any excuse to start a war…..it worked in Iraq in the 90’s…..it worked in Iraq in 2003….and it worked in Syria….

Gas ‘Em, Dan-o

Since the Civil War began in Syria there have been report after report of gas attacks by the Syrian forces……reports and accusations but not one of the alleged attacks could be verified…..but Hell that never stopped the propaganda machine from accusing…..

After over 7 years of warfare not much has changed….the gas attack reports just keep flying off the printed page……just the other day….

 U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said on Saturday that public reports showed Syria was using chemical weapons and added that it was time for the international community to hold the Syrian government to account.

“Public accounts and photos clearly show that Assad’s chemical weapons use is continuing,” McMaster said at the annual Munich Security Conference.

“It is time for all nations to hold the Syrian regime and its sponsors accountable for their actions and support the efforts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” he said, without specifying which public accounts or pictures he was referring to.

The US has repeatedly accused the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons in its long-running civil war. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the Syrian government had repeatedly used chlorine gas, but stressed that the U.S. did not have evidence of sarin gas use.

So far they are accusations with no proof…..

There was another alleged gas attack but this time the accusation is leveled at Turkey……

 Multiple reports emerged on Friday claiming that Turkish troops used shells containing poisonous gas in their attacks in Afrin, hitting the town of Aranda with such shells, and hospitalizing six civilians with breathing problems.

Details are still scant, and there are no details on what chemical they were exposed to, but similar accounts have been made by the Kurdish YPG, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and the Syrian state media.

Such an incident is a potentially major deal, as Turkey isn’t known to have ever had chemical weapons in the first place, let alone to have any now. It’s possible, however, that certain chemicals they do have were deployed in a way inconsistent with international law.

Interesting not a word in the MSM about the Turkish accusation……we will ignore the possibility for they are an ally……

What makes Syrian newsworthy and Turkish not?

Easy answer…..propaganda.

Can You Say WMDs?

Do you remember the WMDs from the 1990’s and more recently in 2003 before the invasion and occupation of Iraq?

I have written about the rhetoric surrounding the situation with North Korea….but so you do not have to remember that I will give you the link……

https://lobotero.com/2017/12/18/is-it-wmds-all-over-again/

Well it has gotten a little louder with this batch of defectors……..

Blood tests on at least one of the North Korean soldiers that defected to the South this year have detected something extremely concerning, according to a South Korean TV channel. Channel A, citing an unnamed South Korean military source, says anthrax antibodies were detected in the soldier, suggesting Pyongyang could be ramping up its biological weapon capabilities, UPI reports. According to Channel A, South Korean authorities have confirmed that the soldier is immune to the deadly bacterium, though it’s not clear whether his immunity comes from vaccination or exposure.

Anthrax can kill within 24 hours if people are not vaccinated, the International Business Times notes, and the South Korean military says its anthrax vaccine will not be ready until the end of 2019. The news adds to concerns about possible biological attacks: The White House released a report last week that said Pyongyang had spent “hundreds of millions of dollars on nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that could threaten our homeland,” and Japan’s Asahi newspaper recently reported that North Korea has been trying to find ways for anthrax to survive the high temperatures that intercontinental ballistic missiles experience.

The nuke thing was not enough now they are developing biological weapons as well……stir that pot……those damn drums are getting louder.

Is It WMDs All Over Again?

Does everyone remember the WMDs in Iraq….the false flag to authorize the invasion and occupation……that was in 2003 but some things never go out of style…….Nikki Halley is trying to use it on Iran…….

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, stood in front of a rusty hunk of metal Thursday and accused Iran of exporting weapons to rebels in Yemen, a violation of U.N. resolutions.

“The weapons might as well have ‘Made in Iran’ stickers on them,” Haley said. Behind her was a missile that provides “indisputable” proof, she said, that Iran is supplying Houthi rebels with weapons. The missile parts she showed off Thursday were recovered following a November 4 strike on an airport in Riyadh.

Haley described “Iranian missile fingerprints” on the missile and several other weapons that were on display, including an anti-tank missile and a “kamikaze drone.” She said the transfer of these weapons into the hands of Houthi rebels is a violation of U.N. resolution 2231, which bars Iran from the “supply, sale, or transfer of arms or related materiel.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/12/nikki-haley-says-iran-is-violating-u-n-rules.html

Really?  Follow them back to Iran?  Could any of the ordinance used on Yemen have a stamp “Made in USA” somewhere?

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran, as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia, are reaching a critical level, as are risks of a deliberate or accidental confrontation among these parties. Nearly two years after entering into force, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany) is in jeopardy. Simultaneously, regional dynamics across the Middle East are trending in a worrisome direction. Friction between Iran and the U.S. is growing in Iraq and Syria as the strength of their common foe, the Islamic State (ISIS), diminishes. In Lebanon, Yemen and the Persian Gulf, Israel, the U.S. and a more assertive Saudi leadership see an emboldened Iran they are determined to cut down to size.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/introduction-iran-us-trigger-list

The US cherry picked facts in 2003 and I would expect them to do it when writing about Iran………

Although nobody knows exactly where Donald Trump intends to go with his campaign of seeking confrontation with Iran, his administration already has provided disconcerting parallels with the techniques an earlier U.S. administration used in selling its launching of a war against Iraq. Among these techniques is the cherry-picking of intelligence not to inform policy-making or to enlighten the public but instead to inculcate false perceptions among the public and thereby to muster support for a policy already chosen.

The parallels have become remarkably close as the Trump administration has tried to get people to believe there is some sort of cooperation and common purpose between Iran and Al Qaeda. The President made this insinuation in his speech on Iran in October. Then his CIA director, Mike Pompeo, ordered a tendentious re-exploitation of already exploited documents captured in the raid at Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Osama bin  Laden.

Cherry-picking Toward War with Iran

What is the Fearless Fosdick school of international relations going to be doing…..

President Trump’s October decision to “decertify” but not immediately dissolve the Iran nuclear deal opened a narrow door to forging a stronger approach to Iran. But his State Department negotiators will need help from Congress — which is facing a Dec. 12 deadline for action — and, crucially, from European governments.

Since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was signed in 2015, Iran has hardly moderated its efforts to boost its arsenal and regional influence, as some Obama officials had predicted. Instead, Tehran has expanded its provocative ballistic-missile program and continued to channel funds and weapons to Hezbollah; the Yemeni Houthis; and Shia militiamen in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. While it may have been easier politically to keep the JCPOA separate from the rest of the U.S. approach, the unfortunate truth is that in order to make real progress on confronting Iran and protecting U.S. national-security interests, Trump needed to make everyone uncomfortable about the status of the nuclear deal. At the same time, he must tread lightly and keep in mind the risks.

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2017/12/improving-iran-deal/144477/

Iran will be the next big thing as soon as North Korea is settled down…….

In a presentation critics characterized as remarkably similar to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s case for the Iraq War, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stood before a missile fragment that she claimed bears Iran’s “fingerprints” and asserted that the Iranian regime poses “a threat to the peace and security of the entire world.”

“It’s hard to find a conflict or a terrorist group in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints all over it,” Haley said in a speech delivered at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, located just outside the nation’s capital. Haley went on to suggest that the fragment theatrically positioned behind her on wooden pallets was part of a missile Houthi rebels fired into Saudi Arabia from Yemen last month

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/14/theatrical-missile-speech-critics-say-nikki-haley-laying-groundwork-war-iran

Shades of 2003……..can anyone say deja vu?

It’s WMDs–Once Again

Not long ago the Syrian military was accused of using CWs on the civilian population and that caused a missile response by the Trump admin….and for weeks afterwards the big story was the use of these weapons and where Syria got them since they supposedly had all theirs destroyed in the early days of this conflict.

Of course Russia was the culprit during these debates and that has since died down….but then there was a new twist to the CW thing…..and it involves ISIS this time…..

A US official warns ISIS could be getting all its chemical weapons experts together in a “chemical weapons cell” in a last-ditch effort to defend its remaining territory in Syria. CNN reports the unnamed official says the experts are from Iraq and Syria and haven’t previously worked together. “We know ISIS is willing to use chemical weapons. This is not something we want to see them get good at,” says Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesperson for the US-led military coalition in Syria.

The unnamed official says the chemical weapons cell is convening in an area of ISIS-controlled Syria that the US military is getting more interested in. The official says the area in the Euphrates River Valley could now be the “de facto” ISIS capital as military pressure increases on Raqqa. Syrian forces are said to be tightening “their noose” on that ISIS stronghold, according to Reuters.

Now this should revive the whole false flag thing about the original use of these weapons……did ISIS use them in the first place?  Did the US overreact before the truth was fully known?

Yes it is not a good thing if ISIS is developing CWs for use in Syria and possibly elsewhere.

Will we know the truth about this or will we just hear more and more about who has these weapons and who has used these weapons?

I for one will wait until the “rest of the story” comes out.

Was Syria A False Flag?

Before I begin the Syria post there is some sad news to report……another US service man has been killed in action…..

A U.S. service member has been killed during an operation against al-Shabab militants in Somalia

The U.S. military said Friday that the service member was killed near Barii, Somalia, approximately 40 miles west of Mogadishu.

The statement from the military’s Africa Command said U.S. forces were conducting an advise and assist mission alongside members of the Somali National Army.

The story about the use of chem weapons on the civilian population of a Syrian town lead to the response by the US….a multi-missile strike on a Syrian airfield and then that event slid from the news and more sensational news took its place…..

Behind the scenes there has been rumblings that the alleged attack was a lase flag….

False Flag?

False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example, during Italy’s strategy of tension.

Newsbud.com is reporting…..The Geopolitical Report, we look into the alleged gas attack used as a pretext to attack Syria. Despite a lack of evidence Syria had anything to do with the attack, the Trump administration and the propaganda media in the United States told the American people both Syria and Russia are responsible. From ambassador Nikki Haley’s theatrical performance before the United Nations Security Council to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion the attack was a false flag, we examine different aspects and put them into the context of a previous sarin gas attack in Ghouta, Syria, an attack attributed to so-called rebel groups fighting to overthrow Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his government.

Could this be possible?

Several veteran intel officers have written a letter……

Two dozen former U.S. intelligence professionals are urging the American people to demand clear evidence that the Syrian government was behind the April 4 chemical incident before President Trump dives deeper into another war.

AN OPEN MEMORANDUM FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

From: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

Source: Intel Vets Voice Doubts on Syrian Crisis – Consortiumnews

After reading several articles on this attack it has given me pause……NOW I want to know the “rest of the story”….would not be the first time the government has lied to get what they wanted…..