January 18, 2015

The United States Is Open for Business in Iraq

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/28571-the-united-states-is-open-for-business-in-iraq



"Every mistake by Washington is a boon for future arms sales," writes Van Buren.

The United States Is Open for Business in Iraq
Thursday, 15 January 2015 13:15
By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch | News Analysis

The current American war in Iraq is a struggle in search of a goal. It began in August as a humanitarian intervention, morphed into a campaign to protect Americans in-country, became a plan to defend the Kurds, followed by a full-on crusade to defeat the new Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, aka ISIL), and then... well, something in Syria to be determined at a later date.

At the moment, Iraq War 3.0 simply drones on, part bombing campaign, part mission to train the collapsed army the U.S. military created for Iraq War 2.0, all amid a miasma of incoherent mainstream media coverage. American troops are tiptoeing closer to combat (assuming you don't count defensive operations, getting mortared, and flying ground attack helicopters as “combat”), even as they act like archaeologists of America’s warring past, exploring the ruins of abandoned U.S. bases. Meanwhile, Shia militias are using the conflict for the ethnic cleansing of Sunnis and Iran has become an ever-more significant player in Iraq's affairs. Key issues of the previous American occupation of the country -- corruption, representative government, oil revenue-sharing -- remain largely unresolved. The Kurds still keep “winning” against the militants of IS in the city of Kobani on the Turkish border without having “won.”

In the meantime, Washington’s rallying cry now seems to be: “Wait for the spring offensive!” In translation that means: wait for the Iraqi army to get enough newly American-trained and -armed troops into action to make a move on Mosul. That city is, of course, the country’s second largest and still ruled by the new “caliphate” proclaimed by Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. All in all, not exactly inspiring stuff.

You can't have victory if you have no idea where the finish line is. But there is one bright side to the situation. If you can't create Victory in Iraq for future VI Day parades, you can at least make a profit from the disintegrating situation there.

January 6, 2015

An Elephant (the US) in a China Closet (the world)

http://www.opednews.com/articles/An-Elephant-the-US-in-a-by-Joseph-Clifford-China-Russia-Alliance_Ir



An Elephant (the US) in a China Closet (the world)
OpEdNews Op Eds 1/5/2015 at 12:25:45
An Elephant (the US) in a China Closet (the world)
By Joseph Clifford

Imagine unleashing an elephant in a large room filled with precious antiquities collected from around the world over the millennia. The elephant would destroy, smash, and break, priceless artifacts that had survived thousands of years. Now imagine the elephant as the United States as it conducts its foreign policy around the world. We have smashed, broken and destroyed, ancient civilizations that had survived for thousands of years. We have destroyed infrastructure, health care systems, and entire cultures, on our rampage around the world. Iraq, known for thousands of years as the "cradle of civilization" has been smashed to pieces, its economy destroyed, the rule of law is gone, and over a million people have died since the elephant began its stampede in Iraq. We are the elephant, and we did this to the birthplace of civilization. We reduced it to its present state of 50,000 deaths in 2014 because the elephant unleased the worst weapon possible; sectarian hatred, in a formerly stable country. Even the name and the boundaries of the former Iraq have been wiped from the maps of the world forever. Iraq as a nation is gone and in its place is a lawless, death filled, area of a now primitive society.

But the elephant is on a rampage and the he continues to smash other cultures and civilizations in that area of the world. Libya was "helped" by the elephant and Libya is now a failed state characterized by tribal warfare and a completely non functioning government. The elephant spent 2 billion dollars bombing Libya for 90 consecutive days, pretending to "help" the people of Libya. Government has all but disappeared, and rival tribal chieftains kill for control. The elephant did this to Libya. Mainstream media no longer covers Libya, but rest assured it is almost as bad as Iraq, and will only get worse as the rule of law continues to erode with no one able to restore a semblance of order. The French Defense Minister is now saying Libya is becoming a "terrorist sanctuary" and the weapons that flooded Libya are being sent to other nearby countries to be used in spreading more death. Libya, like Iraq has been destroyed, smashed, and broken by the rogue elephant, and Libya just like Iraq is no longer a country. Its boundaries will disappear in the next few years as the anarchy continues.

Now the elephant is rampaging through Syria, once again tearing that society apart and breaking all in its path. The rogue elephant decided to "help" Syria by getting rid of a leader the elephant did not like, and in an effort to rid Syria of the leader we don't like, we have escalated an already brutal civil war by flooding the country with weapons of death, and by bombing whomever we feel should be bombed. An estimated 76,000 deaths have occurred in 2014, and possibly millions have been displaced. The US bombing has slowed as of late because the elephant has run out of targets, but that won't stop the elephant for long. He will turn around and smash his way through already destroyed areas to insure total devastation. Syria in the next few years will disappear as a nation, and the same kind of lawlessness society will emerge where the rule of the jungle is in effect, yet another country completely destroyed by the elephant will be reduced to anarchy, death, and despair.

Under the guise of "helping", the elephant has completely destroyed Iraq, Libya, and Syria, and the elephant is not done his work. Two ambitious targets are still in the room with the rogue elephant. Already the elephant has the scent of Iran and Russia, and knows the road to Iran must go through Damascus which explains why Syria is being destroyed. Syria leads to Iran. Once Tehran is destroyed, the elephant can turn his attention to the biggest prize, Russia. The rogue elephant might just have met its match in the taking on Russia, for she too is a large elephant, and everything in the arena will be destroyed in the clash. Wake up folks. US foreign policy has been co opted by a group of sub humans who thrive on anarchy and destruction. If you believe the architects of foreign policy have just made ignorant mistakes your wrong. No one could be this stupid; this is all by design. If you don't make an effort to contain the rogue elephant you're going to be trampled in the great fight to come.

January 6, 2015

National Shame: 50,000 Homeless Veterans Nationwide

http://www.juancole.com/2015/01/national-homeless-nationwide.html

ABC News | —

“ABC News’ Bob Woodruff travels the country examining new efforts end homelessness among US veterans.”