Tag: World Affrairs

BiBi: Call His Bluff!

I need to apologize for my lax reporting on international situations….but I have finally got my hands on the Bin Laden documents and I have been pouring over them looking for stuff…..

Plus the media has been laser focused on a woman’s lawsuit for naked pics, and some women in Texas that was stopping traffic by being nude and finally some driver gets pulled over because there is a small tree embedded in the radiator of a car….now those are news! (sarcasm in case you missed it)……

While on break I was reading some news and one event that had me up thinking was BiBi’s failure to come to the AIPAC meeting this year….

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that he will not be making a visit to Washington DC later this month to attend the AIPAC annual conference, and by extension is also refusing a proposed White House visit with President Obama.

White House officials expressed outrage at the news that Netanyahu was not only declining their invitation, but hadn’t declined to them personally, saying they first heard about it in the Israeli press, along with false claims from Israeli officials that there was no possible time to schedule the meeting with Obama.

Israeli officials insisted that the cancellation was because of the proximity to US primary elections, though no primary elections are scheduled for the duration of the planned visit. This  was seen as another slight to the White House, referencing Obama’s refusal to meet Netanyahu last year in the lead-up to the Israeli elections.

This is a class act, the PM of Israel, if he wants to play a game then I say give him a game.

I have an idea (it will never see the light of day….but what the Hell)……

Just for being a d/bag all arms shipments are suspended……and then inform the Saudis, who have become butt buddies with BiBi, that any attempt to be a middle man for Israel will result in sanctions and a suspension of ALL military aid.  Send word to Israeli government that all settlements must halt or any American company doing business in Israel will be sanctioned and fined.  Then meet with Palestinian reps to talk about the recognition that they richly deserve (I know this part will be tricky because no one knows for sure who reps who)…… meet with EU partners and work up a plan for dealing with the escalating violence on the West Bank.  Finally, give American companies willing to rebuild Gaza a tax incentive (to be determined later)……inform UN that the US will NO longer work as a surrogate for Israel….all dual citizenship holders will be told to pick one over the other…dual Israeli citizenship will NO longer be recognized.

How’s that for a plan?

Now my question is….does the US have the cajones to call Israel’s bluff?

But could it really be the BiBi is just pouting?

he White House is exploring the possibility of supporting a UN Security Council resolution that would set the principles for a permanent Israeli-Palestinian agreement. The resolution would be brought to a vote before the end of U.S. President Barack Obama‘s term in office, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

American support for a UN Security Council resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian issue

Some of Obama’s advisers, as well as senior officials at the State Department in Washington, believe that the American president’s legacy on the Israeli-Palestinian issue should be a Security Council resolution that would determine principles for the end of the conflict.

Such a resolution would replace the Security Council’s Resolution 242 from 1967 and Resolution 338 from 1973. It would serve as a new source of authority for the peace process, secure and preserve the two-state solution, and make it clear to the Israelis and Palestinians what concessions they would have to make if they one day decide to renew the peace process.

Iran And Elections

As long as we are speaking of elections……

While the country, the US, was laser focused on the primaries and the media speculating who and what would happen afterwards and onward……Iran had an election and it could be good news for the rest of the world….

It looks like the moderates are winning big time….that could seriously limit the influence of the hardliners…..

Though all the details are still emerging, the results of the Iranian parliamentary election were released by the Interior Ministry today, and showed a strong shift in composition toward the reformist wing, giving the supporters of President Hassan Rouhani a plurality

The split sees 85 reformist MPs, and 73 members of the moderate conservative camp, meaning the two factions combine for a majority, even without further possible gains in some districts during runoff votes. These factions both supported the nuclear deal, and are broadly supportive of international rapprochement.

The big losers are the ultraconservatives, the hardliners,  who had over 100 seats in the parliament last time, but are down to just 68. Turnout was 62 percent nationwide, according to the Interior Ministry.

The election also saw voting for the Assembly of Experts, a body which is responsible for selecting the next Supreme Leader. Though the experts aren’t split up by political alliance, they too appeared to be heavily moderates and reformists.

Another positive note for the Iranian election was that more women than ever have won……

Estimates based on the latest results show that as many as 20 women are likely to enter the 290-seat legislature known as the Majlis, the most ever. The previous record was set nearly 20 years ago during the fifth parliament after the 1979 revolution, when 14 women held seats. There are nine women in the current Iranian parliament.

Eight of the women elected this time were on a reformist-backed list of 30 candidates standing in the Tehran constituency known as “the list of hope”.

(the guardian.com)

Now with this election what will the scenarios for the region look like?  Could this be a positive sign?  Or will it be just more of the same rhetoric?

I found a piece written by a very good Iranian-American journalist, Hooman Majd……..

Iranians want a lot of things. What they don’t want is to be told that their vote doesn’t count or that it doesn’t matter.

Source: How much change do Iranians really want? – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

Personally, I think this is a positive thing…..that the Iranians would move closer to the rest of the world and work with it in solving problems……it is too early to say for sure….but it does look like a promising change, at least to me……

The hardliners have been beaten by the reformists and the moderates…..that could be a positive thing for international relations…..but what if anything does this defeat mean……

Two important nationwide elections were held in Iran on Feb. 26. One was for the Majlis, or parliament, while the second was for the Assembly of Experts, a constitutional body that appoints the supreme leader and can, at least theoretically, fire him. To be sure, the elections were neither democratic nor fair. Thousands of candidates were disqualified from running by the Guardian Council, another constitutional body that vets all candidates for elections. The elections are also not fair because the hard-liners, who control many important national organs, use the nation’s resources for their own campaign and propaganda.

Source: What the Defeat of Iran’s Hard-Liners Means

This will be an interesting situation to observe……well at least for me…..

Who Will Make the Best Foreign Policy President?

My regular readers will know that I am concerned about our foreign policy especially with this upcoming election….I have tried to discern who would be the best candidate on foreign policy….I have my ideas but in case my reader has a hard time deciding I would like to give them this poll from Foreign Policy magazine…..

Foreign policy issues are getting a lot of airtime in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. In last week’s Democratic primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,…

Source: Snap Poll: Who Will Make the Best Foreign Policy President? | Foreign Policy

Nuke Material Goes Missing

One of the fears I have is the detonation of a dirty bomb……I have written about the different situations where nuke material has been involved……check them out……

This one I wrote for my friends over at Legationes……

Source: Dirty business in Moldova – Legationes

I then followed that one up with a post about the possibility and the aftermath of a dirty bomb…..

This one I wrote for my friends over at Ace News Room……

Source: It’s A Dirty Business | Ace News Room

All this is just my intro to something I read in the news the other day…….

Iraq is searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State.

Source: Exclusive: Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security fears | Reuters

Once again nuke material is at danger…….a dirty bomb is not that difficult to make for would-be terrorists…..as I said before the damage area may not be that substantial but the “fear” factor makes it a worthwhile endeavor for these bloodthirsty pigs….

This is a situation that should send a shiver down the spine of anyone that hears this news……

An updated versions has come out…….

A laptop-sized case containing “highly dangerous” radioactive materials has gone missing from a storage facility in Iraq, Reuters reports. And Iraqi officials are worried it may have been swiped by ISIS, which could use the iridium-192 inside to make a dirty bomb. “Shaping headlines is essential to ISIS’ jihad,” a terrorism expert tells Fox News. “Beheadings, explosions, and most brutal acts have become stale. A dirty bomb attack would be major news, regardless of how many immediate casualties occur.” The iridium was part of a camera used to find flaws in materials used to build pipelines. It belonged to a Turkish company but was being stored in a facility in Basra belonging to a US oil company.

The case was discovered missing in November, and it’s unclear if it was stolen or just misplaced. It it was stolen, the perpetrator likely had access and knowledge of the facility, as there were no signs of a break-in. The US State Department says there’s no indication ISIS has the radioactive materials. While not as powerful as a nuclear bomb, a dirty bomb made using the iridium would have the capability of making a large area dangerously radioactive. The contents of the case wouldn’t even have to be turned into a bomb to be dangerous, with mishandling them or just leaving them out somewhere being enough to put many people in jeopardy. News of the missing iridium comes amid increasing reports of ISIS using chemical weapons.

We can only pray that it is found before some dick turns it into a bomb…..

 

Is The US Going All In?

A conflict that does not get much attention these days in the media is Libya……occasionally there is a quick reference to the rise of ISIS in North Africa….but that is about it……

The problem is….this is a situation of our own creation……..

Nearly five years after the U.S., Britain and France launched a bombing campaign against the Libyan government to bring about regime change, these same countries are contemplating a resumption of the war they thought was won when rebel forces they supported grotesquely tortured to death the country’s leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

No one is laughing in Washington now. President Obama came, saw and created the very opposite of what he sought, a hardly unusual outcome for the Obama and Bush Administrations in the Middle East. Instead of a pliable dependent government willing to do the bidding of Washington and its NATO foreign legion, there has been an explosion of civil war and Sunni jihadism.

Source: Obama Readies To Fight in Libya, Again – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

One problem is that the person that the US chose to be the “new” leader is in fact a CIA creation….Col. Haftar……

Would this be the best idea….open another war front that we will have to engage in?

Source: The Pitfalls of Opening a Libyan Front against ISIL | Middle East Briefing

Personally, I think that we should finish one fight before we decide to start another…..our troops are stretched thin….how will we support a new war?

Damn good question, right?

Source: Obama and the Pentagon Plan Massive Military Escalation and the Media Barely Seem to Care | Alternet

Now we come to the payment of this ‘new’ plan…….where will this cash come from?

I am sorry but I want the people to decide who we send our troops to kill…..I want the American people to have a say in this…..but that will not happen….the government and the media are colluding to keep this from the public and to suppress any debate…..

Yes, I am anti-war and I have the best reason for my concern…I participated in a war and I know what the consequences will be…..we are seeing some of it today but it is not well reported and that is the plan…..keep the public in the dark and anything is possible.

Just ask Joseph Goebbels, if he were alive, he would attest to what I am saying…..

Time for Americans to stand up and demand a public debate on the wars we fight and when……time for Congress to stop spending our money without our permission……

Failed States and states of failure

With all the situations around the world it is hard to keep up with the ever changing headlines……we are told about this state that is failing and why…..then we are told that this state is fighting for its life……and then we are bombarded with what can be called what it is….propaganda……

I found an interesting peace in France’s Le Monde…..if you are interested in international relations then this article is a very good piece indeed….

One of the charms of the future is its powerful element of unpredictability, its ability to ambush us in lovely ways or bite us unexpectedly in the ass. Most of the futures I imagined as a boy have, for instance, come up deeply short, or else I would now be flying my individual jet pack through the spired cityscape of New York and vacationing on the moon. And who, honestly, could have imagined the Internet, no less social media and cyberspace (unless, of course, you had read William (…)

Source: Failed States and states of failure – Le Monde diplomatique – English edition

I made copies of this article to give to my class on US foreign policy….well written and well thought out…..