Who would President Hillary bomb first?
Let's assume that Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, since that is the most likely outcome.
Which country will she prove how tough she is by killing a whole bunch of helpless, brown-skinned civilians?
This is, of course, in addition to on-going wars that President Obama will leave in his wake, such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
This is also in addition to the on-going Global Assassination Program, known as the Drone War.
So who will be the lucky candidate?
As of right now, the polls indicate it will be Syria.
The woman expected to run the Pentagon under Hillary Clinton said she would direct U.S. troops to push President Bashar al-Assad’s forces out of southern Syria and would send more American boots to fight the Islamic State in the region.
Michele Flournoy, formerly the third-ranking civilian in the Pentagon under President Barack Obama, called for “limited military coercion” to help remove Assad from power in Syria, including a “no bombing” zone over parts of Syria held by U.S.-backed rebels.
Hillary was already on record for supporting the bombing of the Assad government in 2013.
Adding to this is an ongoing rift in the State Department of people who think we aren't generating enough carnage in our foreign policy.
An internal rift over the U.S.- Syria policy could be a headache inherited by the next president, analysts say, because the Obama administration appears unlikely to dramatically alter its current policy.
In a memo, 51 State Department diplomats indicated their dissatisfaction with the status quo, saying they back stepped-up military engagement that includes targeted airstrikes against the Syrian regime.
Many of those mostly mid-level employees are likely to be around during the next presidency, Atlantic Council Middle East analyst Faysal Itani said.
“The next president is going to inherit this internal debate within the State Department that has shifted at least the debate focus of U.S. policy in the run-up to the elections,” Itani said.
It is a view shared by Richard Haass, a former State Department policy planning director.
“Even if what they [the diplomats] have to say is rejected now, it might be welcomed by the next occupant of the White House – especially if it were to be Hillary Clinton, who, as secretary of state, showed considerable willingness to use military force in pursuit of U.S. foreign policy aims,” said Haass, in an article for the Council on Foreign Relations.
Syria, you are the likely winner of several thousand bombs, a foreign invasion, and the deaths of countless Syrian children. Congratulations.
What makes this especially interesting is guessing who we might be backing in this war, because it isn't clear.
A smoldering confrontation between Syrian armed groups backed by the United States but hostile to each other is escalating, complicating the fight against Islamic State in the war-torn country.
Syrian Arab rebels under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner say they are in a growing struggle against the Kurdish YPG militia that are helping the United States wage its campaign against IS in Syria.
Who will we back in this war? Who will be be? Why not both!?
Of course there are issues that will need to be addressed.
The result of understandable frustration, the recommendation of military strikes against the Syrian government — no matter how well intentioned — is, in the end, escalatory, and would likely result in more war, killing, refugees, less humanitarian aid reaching civilians, the empowerment of jihadis and so on.
In other words, disaster.
However, Syria doesn't have this all wrapped up.
Libya still has a chance.
When asked by the committee's chairman, Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, whether the U.S. had a strategy for Libya, Marine Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser said he didn't know about one.
"I am not aware of any overall grand strategy at this point," Waldhauser said at his confirmation hearing to become commander of the Africa Command.
What could be better than a totally pointless and directionless war? You gotta admit that this is tempting.
Plus there is the fact that Hillary already knows how to destroy Libya.
As Secretary of State, [Ms. Clinton] blocked diplomacy that would have prevented or ended conflict, most notoriously concerning Libya, where even senior U.S. military officers were told to cut off their contacts with Gaddafi agents seeking a peaceful compromise.
...within “weeks of the revolution there were two valid cease-fire opportunities, one presented to the Department of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and a second opportunity presented to U.S. Africa Command for direct military commander negotiations to effect Gaddafi’s abdication, in which I was personally involved. Both opportunities were rejected and shut down by Secretary Clinton [who] had already met with rebel leaders in Paris … and had committed to support their revolution.”
Ms. Clinton’s policy “resulted in the arming of terrorists, months of war and tens of thousands of causalities, the murder of the American ambassador and the deaths of three other brave Americans, continued civil war and the collapse of the Libyan economy, and a failed nation-state contributing to a tragic European migrant crisis.”
Another point in Libya's favor is that Trump's Libya policy is not significantly different from Hillary's.
So will it be Syria? Libya? Or some dark horse candidate that will surprise us all? Only time will tell who will receive our gift of death and destruction (in addition to Iraq and Afghanistan).
But one thing is for certain - it'll be someone.
Comments
Philadelphia?
Or maybe California once the votes are counted.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Ok, made me laugh!
Actually, I wouldn't put either one past her, either.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare
Probably not bombs
but I could see her working things to get a riot started, and a subsequent increase in police militarization there.
Speaking of police, I think I'm at the point where I'd prefer martial law under our actual military than this quasi martial law under a bunch of trigger happy thugs.
As she's the lap dog
for the MIC and Israel, Syria will be a very likely choice as it's a soft target for warplanes. I'm sure Iran is getting ready to fire up their nuclear program as she's made it very clear that she didn't care for the agreement that Obama signed. Much more dangerous target, but again the MIC and Israel would be more than happy to try some new earth penetrating equipment.
And they keep telling us we should fear Trump.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Her buddies the Saudis want us to bomb Syria
You know, those poor Saudis;
Saudi minister rips White House on Syria, talks 2016 campaign
Nothing to look at here...
Saudi’s Exploding Christmas Gifts From Hillary Clinton
She makes me sick.
The political revolution continues
It just goes to show how commercialized
Xmas has become. From your second link:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Trump wants to ban Muslims
Hillary wants to bomb them.
I think I know the lesser of the two evils here.
Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.
Sure, but...
Hillary will bomb and kill them without hate.
Plus she has female genitals.
So it's OK.
Are you sure?
Got any pictures?
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Sorry, that was rude
Beer + delayed football match = step away from the keyboard...
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Let me be clear
I'm not voting for either of them and I hope you aren't, either.
Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.
Is there an 'all of the above' option?
I think she'll bomb anywhere she can.
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member
For sure she'll re-bomb all the bombed nations to limber up.
Then she will bomb them in the exact order that the Neocons told her to.
I'm betting she'll surprise-bomb a South American nation.
Throw darts at a map
Who really knows. If the economy goes in dumper rest assured there will be more and bigger wars wherever she can find one.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Eritrea
If Obama doesn't start first....
From the Light House.
Screw it. She'll bomb Moscow.
At least that would be over quickly. She's never met a war she didn't like, and that would let her take credit for the biggest one ever. General Hillary D. Ripper.
Just think what the history books would say then? Only problem is that the history books would be written by radioactive cockroaches (unless, of course, she's already had them written, and laid in for just such an occasion)...
Hillary D. Ripper
ROTFLMAO!
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Bernie Sanders' house. But it would be just a little bomb.
Regardless of all this "I've known ____________ for ____ years and we like and respect each other" kumbaya nonsense, I bet she hates him second only to Barack Obama. Although his refusal to endorse might just put him into first place.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Bill?
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Well, let's not go off the deep end.
She won't bomb people because they have brown skins. She won't kill people just to prove she's tough.
She'll kill people because there is money or votes in it. She's a professional killer.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Think Oprah
You get bombed! You get bombed! Everybody gets bombed!
It's not a race, either, the nations of the world can just wait for their turn to get bombed. It'll happen sooner or later, and there's no prize for being first.
She kills to be one of the important people
She buys influence and makes the powerful comfortable with her, in return they give her power. This has always been thus with Hillary. So who does the MIC want to be the enemy? Who do the neocons want to be the enemy. I think that there is a different answer in each case. The MIC wants Cold War II. This gives them money and power. To do that you have to piss off Russia. What do Russians hate the most? the answer is attacks on their own country. History drives this. Expect Clinton to up the pressure on Russia with positioning of missiles near their borders. Expect Hillary to try to convince the EU and every other Western leaning country to become "the coalition" opposing Russia. Expect more and Draconian economic punishment on Russia. Then expect Russia to extract a price from the EU and from other "coalition" countries. Expect Russia to withdraw from any reduction of nuclear weapons agreement. Putin has already said that when faced with asymmetrical threats he will use tactical nukes first. If I lived in the Baltic countries that would scare the shit out of me. They will die so that Hillary can "pressure" Russia. Nothing but bad will come from this.
As far as the neocons are concerned they have unfinished business in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Egypt and Iran. Hillary will act out with a military scenario. If you think that the ME is inflames now, you haven't seen anything yet. Expect a direct confrontation with Russia in Syria and Iran. The US has no idea how to fix the chaos that we have created in the ME, so expect no solutions, just more death and destruction as our ability to do this is seemingly infinite.
Unless the US loses a significant battle somewhere in the world and finds that the cost is too high and that Clinton can't justify the death of our own troops to the American people. Expect China and Russia to figure out how to do this.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
Your last paragraph may be scary
but it may take an economic smackdown of the US to make (little) us reconsider our ways and means.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
"But you can reach the top of your profession/
/If you become the leader of the land/For murder is the sport of the elected/You don't need to lift a finger of your hand"
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." - Mark Twain
"Busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels . . .
that action hence borne out, May waste the memory of the former days." Henry IV, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 5.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/2henryiv/2henryiv.4.5.html
The Clintonites are definitely sending strong signals about their intention to push for regime change in Syria -- just a continuation of the Bush policy from the early 2000s. Not hard to envision a much broad conflict.
Is there a single foreign policy issue where Clinton has demonstrated foresight and good judgment?
Well, there's always North
Well, there's always North Korea if she wants to branch out.
We must be about due for one in Central or South
America or do we just continue fucking with them as usual?
Invading Syria is 'inevitable'
where have I heard this word before?
OT but Michael Moore has been in Ireland flogging his film
http://www.wheretoinvadenext.co.uk/screenings
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Other choices on the board
While I agree that Syria is the most obvious choice (the State Dept. underlings essentially announced WWIII the other day), and Libya is a good guess (it's hard to imagine either place not getting whacked during a Clinton regime), there are a number of other places to parlay.
For example, Ukraine is still unstable. The country is bankrupt, but the major part of our foreign is controlling energy and energy markets and Russia still runs natural gas pipelines across Ukraine. Georgia, another failed proxy war against Russia (and with more pipelines!) is still in the running. The CIA has been fiddling around in Dagestan and its fingerprints are on Armenia. Then, perhaps Hillary will go old school and ratchet up things in Afghanistan again.
And let us not forget the Baltics. NATO has an army in place on Russia's borders there. As a long shot let me offer Tibet. China and Russia will be transversing that territory with pipelines, rail lines and roads, and there would be nothing that the MIC would want more than to keep China dependent on other energy sources, like the headchoppers in the Gulf.
We need someone to set up a board with the odds. Right now war looks like an easy bet.
I just dropped this on TOP
Should get some nasty flames
It might even get me banned.
I'm going to a doctor's app. I'll check it out tonight.
Get some burn cream whilst you are there
Obvious potential reaction from TOP is obvious.
...Well if it is critical of HRC, of course they won't like it.