Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity ask a War Criminal to not go to War with Russia

A group calling themselves the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) has written a "memo" to Empire in Chief Obama, just like they did to war criminal George W. Bush in the earlier part of the century.

"We write to alert you, as we did President George W. Bush, six weeks before the attack on Iraq, that the consequences of limiting your circle of advisers to a small, relatively inexperienced coterie with a dubious record for wisdom can prove disastrous.* Our concern this time regards Syria.

We are hoping that your President’s Daily Brief tomorrow will give appropriate attention to Saturday’s warning by Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova: “If the US launches a direct aggression against Damascus and the Syrian Army, it would cause a terrible, tectonic shift not only in the country, but in the entire region.”

http://www.globalresearch.ca/former-intelligence-officials-warn-obama-de...

She's talking about "full scale war".

The group of VIPS seek to warn Obama, just like they did Bush thirteen years ago. In a nutshell, they're calling out Kerry and the Pentagon while pleading with Obama to side with sanity.

"In our view, it would be a huge mistake to allow your national security advisers to follow the example of the Post and Times in minimizing the importance of Zakharova’s remarks.

Events over the past several weeks have led Russian officials to distrust Secretary of State John Kerry. Indeed, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who parses his words carefully, has publicly expressed that distrust. Some Russian officials suspect that Kerry has been playing a double game."

Welcome to the club Russia. The VIPS warn about a Pentagon power play stating that "Policy differences between the White House and the Pentagon are rarely as openly expressed as they are now over policy on Syria." They bring up an interview Obama did earlier this year with Zionist propagandist Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic.

"We are aware that many in Congress and the “mainstream” media are now calling on you to up the ante and respond – overtly or covertly or both – with more violence in Syria. Shades of the “Washington Playbook,” about which you spoke derisively in interviews with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg earlier this year. We take some encouragement in your acknowledgment to Goldberg that the “playbook” can be “a trap that can lead to bad decisions” – not to mention doing “stupid stuff.”

Their recommendation to war criminal Obama:

"Still, in view of lingering Russian – and not only Russian – skepticism regarding the strength of your support for your secretary of state, we believe that discussions at the highest level would be the best way to prevent hotheads on either side from risking the kind of armed confrontation that nobody should want.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you invite President Putin to meet with you in a mutually convenient place, in order to try to sort things out and prevent still worse for the people of Syria."

As stated earlier, this comes over 13 years after the VIPS sent a similar memo to President Bush.

"In a Memorandum to President Bush criticizing Colin Powell’s address to the UN earlier on February 5, 2003, VIPS ended with these words: “After watching Secretary Powell today, we are convinced that you would be well served if you widened the discussion … beyond the circle of those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.”

Now, first off. Their memo thirteen years ago didn't do one bit of good. Trying to beg war criminals not to go to war doesn't appear to work. In fact, this memo could be rather ominous in that the last time the VIPS wrote a memo like this, the U.S. government under war criminal Bush did go to war, in Iraq. If a pattern forms, we could be looking at a military war with Russia very soon, not that such a war isn't already in progress.

Then there's this business about the power of the Pentagon, civilian vs military leadership, and how that can impact overall foreign policy agendas and decisions. One thing that's bothered me about how Obama has been viewed and treated by many/most on the left is this notion that he means well and is doing the best he can considering the competing interests involved. He's let off the hook because "Hillary Clinton was really the one spearheading the Libya war and John Kerry and the Pentagon were the ones championing the Syria war". He's seen as some kind of mediator who keeps U.S. imperialism at a lower roar then what others are wanting. He still carries an incredible almost 80% approval rating among Democrats and just recently achieved a 55% approval rating generally.

I say bullshit to that. Obama has been president for almost 8 years now. He's also been the Commander in Chief (CINC) of the entire U.S. military, intelligence, and security structure. The United States is officially (not constitutionally) at war and in a perpetual State of Emergency. During this time, the CINC has attacked seven different countries causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the displacement of up to 6 million people from their homes. He has turned the office of President into the Assassinator in Chief, the Droner in Chief, and has institutionalized the utter fraud that is the Global War OF Terror. He is every bit the war criminal as George W. Bush (and his Dad). He's the one in the charge, the President, the CINC, and any criticism and accountability for U.S. war crimes has to start with him, not Clinton, not Kerry and not the Pentagon. It's ridiculous to let Obama off the hook even a little bit.

What's happening in Syria is first and foremost the fault of Barack Obama, the President of the United States and the Commander in Chief of the vaunted global military machine of the Empire. Saying he should fight off the war-making, back-stabbing Kerry and the Pentagon and meet with Russia's president Putin to bring some sanity to Syria and a possible war with Russia is blatantly sidestepping the fact that Obama is the one driving the Syria war and the machinations for war with Russia and China.

I can't fault the VIPS for trying but like thirteen years ago, it won't do any good. Obviously there are multiple power players in Washington regarding U.S. imperialism (foreign policies). But Obama has been the one who has started the Syria war, restarted the Cold War with Russia and escalated it to a dangerous point, and is the primary danger to the planet. Talk about dangerous homicidal dictators, we have one here at home. He should be arrested and put on trial in the Hague before he can make any more "decisions".

That's what the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity should be calling for, the arrest of Barack Obama before he starts World War III. Take Hillary Clinton and John Kerry with him.

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Big Al's picture

"New Groupthink for War with Syria/Russia"

https://consortiumnews.com/2016/10/05/new-group-think-for-war-with-syria...

He talks about how there is a groupthink consensus in Washington to escalate the war against Syria and Russia. This is dangerous territory and people are talking about Clinton vs. Trump, when we have an Obama to deal with.

Parry ends it with this:

"Today, this new “group think,” which — like the Iraq one — is based on a false or selective reading of the facts, could lead to a nuclear war that could end life on the planet."

What the hell are we going to do about this?

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snoopydawg's picture

It's amazing how so many people in this country don't know what our government is and has been doing to countries around the world for over a century.
I live by Hill Air Force base in Utah and a lot of the people I used to work with had family members in the military and were deployed to Iraq.
They believed that their sons, daughters, wives and husbands, ect were fighting the people who attacked us on 9/11 and of course defending our freedoms. It was difficult for me to stay silent when I heard them constantly repeat the propaganda about how Saddam was responsible for the attacks and that he had WMDs. I tried a few times to see if I could wake them up to the truth, but I got nowhere with them.
I asked one lady whose son was over there about all the innocent kids that were dying and her response was that the people who died in the towers had kids too, so she didn't have a problem with the Iraqi kids being killed.
I'm curious how what they would think if they knew that our government is working with the same group of AQ 'terrorists' that their families fought against in Iraq?

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Syrian rebels ‘refused to follow the U.S.-Russian agreement…but instead merged with [Nusra Front].’”
Misleading the American People

So, isn’t that point relevant to understanding what is occurring in eastern Aleppo, an area essentially under the control of Al Qaeda terrorists? As horrible as war is, there is more than a whiff of hypocrisy when politicians and pundits, who cheered the U.S. Marines’ destruction of Fallujah during the Iraq occupation and who support driving the Islamic State out of the Iraqi city of Mosul, wax indignantly in outrage when the Syrian military seeks to remove Al Qaeda terrorists from one of its own cities.

Isn't this why Obama, Kerry and Hillary and others want a no fly zone so that the Syrian and Russian military can't bomb our 'moderate' (Al Quada) terrorists?
I asked this question yesterday but didn't get an answer.
How is it different when terrorists fly planes into our towers or attack the countries that are bombing theirs like what happened in Paris and Brussels and kill innocent civilians from what our government and our allies have been doing to their countries and killing innocent civilians?

The problem with propagandists like Friedman is that they ignore the illegal actions of the United States, including mounting military attacks on countries without United Nations’ authority or without the justification of self-defense, in other words, outside the realm of international law. It’s also illegal to supply weapons to terrorists, as has been occurring in Syria both directly by Saudi Arabia and other U.S. “allies” and indirectly by U.S. covert operations giving arms to “moderates” who then turn them over to Al Qaeda.

While putting on blinders regarding U.S. violations of international law and their human consequences, such as the Syrian refugee flow, the sanctimonious Friedman bizarrely blames Putin for this human suffering, too.

IIRC, Russia is the only country that has been invited by Assad to fight in Syria.
The US and it allies are there illegally and not just outside the realm of international law, but against the Nuremberg law that states that the greatest war crime is invading countries that have threatened other countries.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Big Al's picture

the propaganda and media manipulation regarding both the Libya and Syria wars has been off the charts. Those like Friedman are criminals actually. A dude like that is purposely spreading these lies and the rags who publish him are doing the same. The entire "mainstream media" and now much of the alternative internet media are part of a dangerous system.
As you know, it doesn't take all that much to go discover the real truth about what's happening in Syria, there are plenty of alternative sources and if one becomes proficient you can glean plenty from the mainstream. No excuses for the reporters spreading the lies, they're part of the war machine.

"People that died on 9/11 in the towers had kids too so she didn't have a problem with the Iraqi kids being killed".
See, now that kind of ignorance comes from what information sources that person uses.

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snoopydawg's picture

I had a conversation with a friend today about the election and the two candidates we have to choose from and he immediately started talking about how Russia is interfering with the election.
It was almost word for word verbatim what I read on right wing rags.
I don't watch tv media so I don't know what they are spouting, but I guess its this crap.

Have you read this article about why Gaddafi had to be removed?
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/10/05/the-dreadful-chronology-of-gaddaf...
I didn't buy the crap that Obama and Hillary were saying, but I saw that many people over at DK did and were supporting Obama's decision to invade Libya.
I was stunned that the same people who were against the Iraq war because we knew that it was based on lies, believed Obama.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Big Al's picture

Absolutely, and led by Meteor Blades and Kos. The rest took their que from them. They were all so convinced that Gaddafi had to go they would not listen to alternative information why that war was taking place and how the Arab Spring was used to foment it.

Remember Clay Claiborne, he wrote a lot of diaries over there, many making the rec list, while spouting absolute propaganda. I remember being the only one a few times flagging his diaries because of the lies and of course, I took the grief not him. He finally went so far out people could no longer ignore the bullshit.

I'd imagine most of them still believe Obama was right to attack Libya.

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thanatokephaloides's picture

Daily Kos was cheerleader central for the Libya war.
Absolutely, and led by Meteor Blades and Kos. The rest took their cue from them.

I wasn't there then. (I was still on dial-up Internet; you know how useful that is for blogging!)

But Cat, am I even happier now that I've left that place!

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

edg's picture

The Washington Post and the New York Times among other so-called liberal media outlets are claiming Russia is interfering with our election and hacking our computers. They're not exactly right wing rags in the traditional sense.

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Meteor Man's picture

There you go. Have the NY Times or WaPo ever seen a war they didn't support?

How about right wing corporate neoliberal rags? Are either one of them ever to the economic left of The Moustache of Understanding, Thomas Friedman or David Brooks on social issues?

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

have failed to identify the clear pattern of aggressive "regime changing" that has obviously been the consistent MO of recent US foreign policy. They seem also not to recognize what an utter failure this policy has been, nor how dreadful, and totally disastrous it has been in all its aspects. Otherwise, how could they possibly approve of HRC, one of its principal proponents, for President?

And yet they do approve of her. They seem unaware of, or careless of, the fact that a vote for Hillary is a vote for more of the same - more Imperial overreach, more military engagements, more and better weaponry, more money for warmongering. And very possibly a vote for engaging in a needless confrontation with Russia - with all that that might entail.

American liberals. It seems preposterous.

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native

thanatokephaloides's picture

It was almost word for word verbatim what I read on right wing rags. I don't watch tv media so I don't know what they are spouting, but I guess its this crap.

I once made the mistake of watching the episode of AHC's Evolution of Evil series about Gaddafi. It was such pure war propaganda that I couldn't believe Nielsen justified the episode's existence at all.

If you ever find yourself watching it, be sure to keep a barf bucket IN YOUR HANDS the entire time. You will need it. No joke.

Bad

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Late Again's picture

To me that statement indicates a complete lack of any moral compass. Would she feel the same if her children were killed by a Syrian or Iraqi? By her logic it ought to be justified, but I would bet you dollars to donuts she'd be apoplectic at the mere thought.

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"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." - Mark Twain

His opinions since that event show the influence it has on him. He knows well that throwing him back into the Serfdom would be no major effort for his very wealthy spouse, so he really has to keep himself within very tight boundaries lest he lose the Good Life.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

terriertribe's picture

When you say:

The US and it allies are there illegally and not just outside the realm of international law, but against the Nuremberg law that states that the greatest war crime is invading countries that have threatened other countries

Shouldn't that be "... that have not threatened other countries" ?

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thanatokephaloides's picture

I live by Hill Air Force base in Utah and a lot of the people I used to work with had family members in the military and were deployed to Iraq.
They believed that their sons, daughters, wives and husbands, ect were fighting the people who attacked us on 9/11 and of course defending our freedoms.

Welcome to my little slice of Hell, Snoop! I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and.... etc.

Word for word.

If you really want to fuck with their brains some time, suggest a non-interventionist American foreign policy to these people. But be sure to have your asbestos underwear on first. They will fulminate, take it to the bank.

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Big Al's picture

"U.S. considers military strikes on Syria and Russian government forces".

Notice the picture on the front is of Kerry, not Obama.

https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-october-5-2016-us-considers-mil...

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Kerry has forgotten everything he claimed to stand for as part of the anti-Vietnam movement. Marrying into the Heinz Fortune clearly has erased his memory and destroyed what moral values he once had. He is now as much a war criminal as the war criminals he once railed against.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

Big Al's picture

being part of the antiwar movement when Bush was Prez. For convenience only. He was skull and bones before he served and before his supposed involvement in the antiwar movement. He's a fake and a fraud and always has been.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/07/26/what-john-kerry-really-did-in-vie...

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He sadly reminds me of too many I knew who were anti-war as long as they were the ones expected to fight. Once they weren't the ones to fight, they became incredible hawks. Fuck them all.

Thanks for the History Lesson, Big Al. Everyone should read this post you linked to.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

snoopydawg's picture

The amount of civilian lives that he was responsible for snuffing out without an ounce of remorse is staggering.
He went looking for people to kill because it wasn't 'against the rules of engagement'

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Big Al's picture

"The war hawks are working out a plan to bomb air force runways in Syria, with missiles fired from US and US-coalition planes and ships.

One administration official who is to take part in the discussions told the war ready Washington Post…

“One proposed way to get around the White House’s objection to striking the Assad regime without a UN Security Council resolution would be to carry out the strikes covertly and without public acknowledgment.”

The CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, represented in the Deputies Committee meeting by Vice Chairman Gen. Paul Selva, are now pressing for more “kinetic” options.

“There’s an increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime. The CIA and the Joint Staff have said that the fall of Aleppo would undermine America’s counterterrorism goals in Syria.”

“Kinetic” options is US double speak for illegal war."

http://theduran.com/al-qaeda-saved-top-washington-officials-are-ready-to...

Not like the Syria war isn't already an illegal war.

Relative to Obama and competing pressures:

"It is now up to Obama. We can only hope the “hope and change” president still has some good left in him. The WaPo reports (much to the paper’s disappointment) that…

–“there’s still great skepticism, however, that the White House will approve military action. Other administration officials told The Post this week that Obama is no more willing to commit U.S. military force inside Syria than he was previously and that each of the military options being discussed have negative risks or consequences.

The National Security Council’s senior coordinator for the Middle East, Rob Malley, and the president’s special envoy to the coalition for the fight against the Islamic State, Brett McGurk, are also said to be against any military escalation against the Assad regime, officials said. There’s no consensus on what options should be sent to the president’s desk. Other options include increased weapons for some Syrian rebel groups and an increase in the quality of such weapons, to allow rebels to defend Aleppo’s civilians.”

Again, it's Obama decision as CINC, and he's already proven what he's about, because we are where we are.

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solublefish's picture

“There’s an increased mood in support of kinetic actions against the regime. The CIA and the Joint Staff have said that the fall of Aleppo would undermine America’s counterterrorism goals in Syria.”

So "the fall of Aleppo", controlled in part by the terrorist al Nusra Front, undermines "counterterrorism goals"? How so?

Maybe there is something I am missing here, but it seems to me that the policy of "counterterrorism" can hardly be taken seriously, when it is so boldly brandished as a term of art to justify whatever action the current administration decides it wants to take.

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Big Al's picture

a video intermission.

"They use force to make you do what the deciders have decided you must do".

[video:https://youtu.be/8de2W3rtZsA]

The Deciders

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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

is that Obama appears to have lost any say in the running of his own Foreign Policy.

The neocons in the Pentagon and CIA have gone rogue, and there appears no one in authority who will stop them from intentionally starting WWIII.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Big Al's picture

to lay the blame. He was elected to do this job and it's no excuse that he can't make decisions the way he would want because of the pressures. I worked for the fed govt for 30 years, at the Department level and below. I know where the buck stops and how decisions are made. It's on him.

But the real scary part is that we're possibly on the verge of some major fucking war making and the prudent thing would be to try to stop it before it happens. The VIPS are trying to do that, although I'd be a little more outright about it. But the for real left better get it's shit together now and try to stop what's happening. We're about to get Clinton as the next Prez, and I'm not sure Obama can put off a major decisions on Syria before then.

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lotlizard's picture

While actual fascists were starting World War Three
Liberals focused on glass ceilings and diversity.

5 things Hillary Clinton has done that will make you question her sanity

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Big Al's picture

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snoopydawg's picture

Many have seen the video of her saying "we came, we saw, he died" and it's my understanding that she had just watched this video of Gaddafi after he was captured being beaten and then sodomized with a sword.
To react that way after watching this video is unconscionable and possibly sociopathic.
Here's the video which comes with a graphic warning about how violent it is.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PCyL-QxeRCA&oref=

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

snoopydawg's picture

or AQ and the other terrorists groups that the CIA and the pentagon are funding to help the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries overthrow Assad so they can get the oil and natural gas reserves and build pipelines after Assad turned them down.
Saudi Arabia told Kerry that they would fund the war if we supplied the troops. Obama was quoted as saying how could he ask our young men and women to put their lives on the line and fight for oil and gas? Apparently he decided that he could ask that of them.
And that's why the CIA gave the moderate rebels the sarin gas to kill over 1,000 Syrian people who Obama then blamed on Assad so that he had an excuse to invade Syria. (I can provide the link if it's needed)
I've read articles that showed the miles long convoys of ISIL's oil tankers taking oil into Turkey to sell to Israel and wonder why our military didn't bomb these convoys. It's not like they were driving at night in order to sneak into Turkey, it was during the day. So why the hell was this allowed?
Apparently Putin wondered the same thing so at the G20 meeting

Islamic State. U.S. strikes hit irrelevant targets like an "ISIS excavator" or some lone truck. Meanwhile ISIS was making millions per day from pumping oil out of the Syrian desert and selling it to Turkish contacts. Hundreds of Turkish tanker trucks assembled near the oil wells in south-east Syria waiting to load. No airstrike would hit them.

The Russians saw this and were appalled. The loudmouth U.S. spoke about its big coalition and attacking ISIS but did essentially nothing. The Russian President Putin then decided to shame the U.S. and Obama personally. On November 15 2015 at the G20 meeting in Turkey he walked around the table and showed satellite pictures to his international colleagues. Hundreds of trucks waiting in the Syrian desert for loading without fear that anyone would harm them:

"I've demonstrated the pictures from space to our colleagues, which clearly show the true size of the illegal trade of oil and petroleum products market. Car convoys stretching for dozens of kilometers, going beyond the horizon when seen from a height of four-five thousand meters," Putin told reporters after the G20 summit.
The very next day on November 16 U.S. airplanes, for the first time, hit truck assemblies near ISIS oil wells in south-east Syria:
In the first wave of U.S. airstrikes since the Paris attacks, A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft and AC-130 gunships raked a convoy of more than 100 ISIS oil tanker trucks in Syria in a stepped-up effort to cut off a main source of terror funding, the Pentagon said Monday.

There is a lot more information at this link about how our military isn't fighting AQ.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/10/russia-finds-shaming-the-us-governm.... h/t to Pluto for the link to the website.
Another article is about how our troops are against arming the terrorists. One reason is because after the next terrorist attack they don't want to hear the terrorists bragging that they got the weapons from the United States.
If this isn't the biggest clusterfuck being played, I don't know what is.
Unfortunately, there are thousands of innocent people whose lives have been destroyed or snuffed out.
Damn the psychopaths that have no regard for human lives! And that includes the people who vote for them.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Unlike the Iraq war, this is not an attack on a weakened third world military. Russia has used the war in Syria to demonstrate their military capabilities. They have advanced missile systems, short range ballistic and medium range cruise missiles that are deadly accurate and can carry conventional and nuclear warheads. Their aerospace fighter jets and long range bombers are as, or more, efficient that ours. They can run more sorties per week than we can. that requires very advanced capabilities. Their intel, both human and machine, is first world. Their anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, the S300 and S400, are first class, perhaps better than ours. They can light up our stealth aircraft like they are Christmas trees with their long wavelength radar. They can swarm a US aircraft carrier with cruise missiles accelerating to mach 3 before impact.

I mention these capabilities only to point out that military hostilities between the US and Russia will accelerate rapidly, and beyond control. Russia will respond to a direct attack against their troops, and they are everywhere in Syria. Russia will shoot down US aircraft and sink ships at sea in the region. A US aircraft carrier in the region will be sunk, destroying an immensely expensive resource, ship and aircraft, and killing 4000 US navy sailors. Russia can do this with a push of the button. Can a conventional war of this magnitude not escalate to nuclear? The US is all into nuclear first use. Russia has a policy of nuclear first use if Russia herself, or her soldiers, are directly and overwhelmingly threatened.

This confrontation is dangerous beyond belief. Some semblance of reality had better happen in Washington, and very soon. This is much more dangerous than the Cold War, as this has become an act of insanity on the part of the US. Obama is a really weak leader to be in charge at this point in time. He will not meet with Putin because, basically, he is chicken-shit to meet one-on-one with President Putin. Obama completely lacks any capability of strategy and therefore his tactics are random at best. It's up to saner voices in the US to pressure the Obama administration into a sane policy towards Russia. This would be the time for antiwar demonstrations all over the country. While we are concentrating on the bizarre reality TV show called "the election" the world is going to hell.

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Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.

Ear worm yet? Thanks for the essay Big Al. What if the U.S. stopped bombing the world? I'd like to hear more speculation about what that would look like too, but apparently there are no non-bomb people left in government. Bummer.
BBC: Russia ups the pressure in search for US respect

"There's a real feeling now that America is out to prove it is the only superpower," believes veteran broadcaster Vladimir Pozner. "That if Russia does not fall into step the way the US wants it to it's going to have to pay a very high price for that.

"The continued expansion of Nato is seen by the Russian leadership, perhaps incorrectly, is seen as being a real threat. You're pushing us, so we're pushing you right back. And we will do whatever we can to make it as unpleasant for you as you've made it for us.

"There is a danger of real confrontation, perhaps leading to some kind of military engagement and war."

School yard or world stage? You pick.

"But keep in mind that the current political elite in Russia is composed of males aged 60+, they are very similar in terms of upbringing, in their psychology, their values, in their education and world view. So replacing one for the other wouldn't change things drastically."

Leonid Radzikhovsky is confident that Russia will not go to war with the US.

"Putin is a megalomaniac, he is convinced he is 10 times better than any western leader. But he's not the kind of person to open a window on the 18th floor, declare 'I can fly' and jump out. He has no plan to drop a hydrogen bomb on Washington. Narcissism is one thing; suicidal tendencies are another. He is not suicidal."

Murderous, but not suicidal. Sounds familiar.

"What the hell are we going to do about this?"

Be sand in the gears! Stop the madness. I can hardly say "we" anymore I'm so sick, and tired. Old. Where are the Millennial's Mario Savios? Who are they? And their peace bards? Calling Mrs. Higgins in Rotterdam...

boomer gone bust

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gendjinn's picture

Previously endorsed Lincoln (Civil War) and LBJ (Vietnam).

Good thing trends aren't a thing.

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riverlover's picture

I despise their political bent now. I may not re-subscribe, I will consider before paying up.

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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.

elenacarlena's picture

corporate-run, pro-establishment rag then there are a multitude of better uses for your money.

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gendjinn's picture

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Wink's picture

to pay attention. I gave up around 2006 when it became impossible to tell the players without a scorecard. Nothing has changed in ten years. Not a god damned thing. At this point they're going to do what they've been doing for 15 years... any damn thing they want. Hell, I don't know if i could find Syria on a map these days. And don't care if i don't. I ain't fighting it. No one I know is fighting it... There are bigger fish to fry.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

We already know that Obomber is a weak-kneed tool of the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex. He will not stand up to them no matter what.

Since he's such a Caver, the only logical place for his LIEbury would be in a very deep cave, where only true spelunkers could visit.

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Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.

riverlover's picture

are caves, it's karst region. One spot I have not done is new-ish, a zipline underground through a cave. Next to the zoo. Probably full of boas and wild capybara escapees.

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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.

elenacarlena's picture

I think Hillary and Kerry have been terrible, along with a lot of others pushing for war. But it's his decision. If he wanted a sincere and knowledgeable argument against war, he could find one. Or order them to play devil's advocate and give him a thorough briefing of the other side. He's letting himself be convinced. Probably because of all those lovely campaign contributions from the MIC. What is that saying about understanding and paychecks? It will be interesting to see where he lands in January.

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gendjinn's picture

And Stone's Untold History of the US documentary.

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featheredsprite's picture

and possibly other places too. Getting into a shooting war with Russia is not only unnecessary, it is insane, and fucking, fucking stupid.

We didn't win the war against Iraqi insurgents. What makes us think that we could win a war against Russia? Russia is well organized, well armed, and can reach anywhere within the US. None of this is true of the Iraqi insurgents or ISIL for that matter.

Does the US really think such a conflict could be limited to Aleppo? Idiots.

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Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

Big Al's picture

succeed in a military conflict with Russia. Key Generals and Admirals at the Pentagon believe it, Defense Sec Carter believes it, the neocon think tanks, etc., all believe in U.S. power so strongly they think they can do anything they want. Whether or not Obama can be convinced to do anything drastic in his last few months is up in the air, but then we'll get Clinton and there's no doubt what she'll do. Obama is campaigning for Clinton, they're all in this together. It's a matter of timing. But they're up against it in Syria and need to make a significant move to move forward.

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Assuming the US can bring enough force to prevail in Syria, what's to stop the Russians from answering in Kiev. Additionally, the Russians feel genuinely threatened and will be far more willing to accept casualties. Even with the working class "all volunteer" army in which Chelsea Clinton somehow missed her opportunity to enlist, the willingness of the US people to accept casualties is quite low.

I have no idea why these people think the US can continue to squeeze and encircle Russia indefinitely without consequences. They terrify me. Let's hope they terrify our western European NATO allies as well.

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