Mike Pompeo Is a Sadistic Psychopath

…as his Tweets at the bottom will amply demonstrate; his pleasure is only too evident; i.e.: #MaximumPressureWorks.  Stir in the Sunni Ruling class v. the Shi’a nations, and Israel as well. The epic hypocrisy is that the US exports Democracy!


created by anthony freda during the Obomba regime

‘US brands Yemen’s Houthi rebels “terrorists,” paving way for mass starvation’, Bill Van Auken, wsws.org. Jan. 11 2021 (w/ permission)

“Waving aside warnings by humanitarian organizations that his action threatens mass starvation in Yemen, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that Washington will designate the Houthi rebels, who govern territory containing 70 percent of the Yemeni population, as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

This cynical and potentially catastrophic measure is being taken by the ostensibly “lame-duck” secretary of state as part of an unrelenting “maximum pressure” campaign of punishing economic sanctions and continuous military provocations against Iran.

Washington has sought to portray the Houthi movement, which has existed and ruled over parts of Yemen for generations, as a puppet of Tehran, something the Houthis have continuously denied. Claims of substantial amounts of Iranian aid for the Houthis in the nearly five-year-old war launched against them by Saudi Arabia have never been proven.

As for “terrorism,” the statement refers vaguely to Houthi “cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure and commercial shipping.” Pompeo also insisted that one “need not look further” than a December 30 attack launched against the airport in the southern port city of Aden that killed 27 people. The attack, which took place as a Saudi puppet “unity government” landed at the airport, was blamed by Riyadh and Washington on the Houthis, who denied they were responsible. Afterwards, Saudi forces ordered the arrest in connection with the attack of a senior leader of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC), which, with backing from the United Arab Emirates, repeatedly clashed with Saudi puppet forces over the past two years.

Washington’s branding of the Houthis as terrorists for “cross border attack” and inflicting civilian casualties is the height of hypocrisy given the billions of dollars’ worth of weapons along with logistical aid the US has provided Saudi Arabia as it has waged an unrelenting campaign of bombings that has killed an estimated 100,000 people, most of them civilians.

With basic infrastructure, hospitals and food production deliberately targeted, the war has unleashed the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. More have starved to death—including 75,000 children under the age of five—than have died from military violence, while at least half the population is facing famine, and the worst cholera epidemic in modern history has infected 1.2 million. On top of this, COVID-19 has begun to spread uncontrollably across Yemen.

For Washington, all of these civilian victims are mere collateral damage in US imperialism’s drive to exert uncontested hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East.

While the State Department’s terrorism charges are entirely fabricated, the impact of the US designation will be all too real.

“Yemen’s faltering economy will be dealt a further devastating blow,” Mohamed Abdi, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sanaa, said, warning that the sanctions imposed together with the “terrorist” designation would “hamstring the ability of aid agencies to respond” to the catastrophic conditions in the country.

Oxfam warned: “The consequences will be felt acutely across a country also hit hard by extreme hunger, cholera and COVID-19, as banks, businesses and humanitarian donors become unwilling or unable to take on the risk of operating in Yemen.”

The terrorist designation constitutes an act of “pure diplomatic vandalism,” said International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband. “After four years of a failed war strategy that has created the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe, the last thing the Yemeni people need is further interruption of aid and economic flows.”

While Pompeo claimed that Washington would issue licenses to allow “certain humanitarian activities” to continue in Houthi-governed territory, the Washington Post reported that the US Treasury Department had opposed the designation on the grounds that the conditions of war in Yemen would make it impossible to effectively issue waivers.

At the same time, top Trump administration officials and advisers, including Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have made trips to the region.

The latest official dispatched to the Middle East is Anthony Tata, the retired general and Fox News commentator, who was installed as undersecretary of defense for policy, the number three position at the Pentagon, in a post-election purge ordered by Trump. Tata, a notorious fascist and Islamophobe who denounced Obama as a “terrorist leader,” a “Manchurian candidate” and a Muslim, met with Khalid bin Salman, Saudi deputy minister of defense and royal family member along with other Saudi officials on January 7.

According to the Pentagon readout of the discussion, Tata discussed “the U.S.-Saudi defense partnership, particularly in light of the threats by Iran” and praised the “Kingdom’s commitment to share the responsibility for supporting U.S. forces.”

In the remaining portions, he references analysts saying that this antiIranian program is designed to flummox Joe Biden’s reset with Tehran.  Biden of course, has already told Tehran that rejoining the JCPOA would mean rewriting portions of it.  Tehran so far has said ‘Nix on that!’

SoS Pompeo has also designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in this jaw-dropping agitprop Jan. 11, 2021 press release:

“The State Department has designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.

The Trump Administration has been focused from the start on denying the Castro regime the resources it uses to oppress its people at home, and countering its malign interference in Venezuela and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice.

For decades, the Cuban government has fed, housed, and provided medical care for murderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while many Cubans go hungry, homeless, and without basic medicine.  Members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, traveled to Havana to conduct peace talks with the Colombian government in 2017.  Citing peace negotiation protocols, Cuba has refused Colombia’s requests to extradite ten ELN leaders living in Havana after the group claimed responsibility for the January 2019 bombing of a Bogota police academy that killed 22 people and injured more than 87 others.

Cuba also harbors several U.S. fugitives from justice wanted on or convicted of charges of political violence, many of whom have resided in Cuba for decades.  For example, the Cuban regime has refused to return Joanne Chesimard [Assata Shakur], on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List for executing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973; Ishmael LaBeet, convicted of killing eight people in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1972; Charles Lee Hill, charged with killing New Mexico state policeman Robert Rosenbloom in 1971; and others.

Cuba returns to the SST list following its broken commitment to stop supporting terrorism as a condition of its removal by the previous administration in 2015.  On May 13, 2020, the State Department notified Congress that it had certified Cuba under Section 40A(a) of the Arms Export Control Act as “not cooperating fully” with U.S. counterterrorism efforts in 2019.

In addition to the support for international terrorism that is the basis for today’s action, the Cuban regime engages in a range of malign behavior across the region.  The Cuban intelligence and security apparatus has infiltrated Venezuela’s security and military forces, assisting Nicholas Maduro to maintain his stranglehold over his people while allowing terrorist organizations to operate.  The Cuban government’s support for FARC dissidents and the ELN continues beyond Cuba’s borders as well, and the regime’s support of Maduro has created a permissive environment for international terrorists to live and thrive within Venezuela.

Today’s designation subjects Cuba to sanctions that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with Cuba, restricts U.S. foreign assistance, bans defense exports and sales, and imposes certain controls on exports of dual use items.

The United States will continue to support the Cuban people in their desire for a democratic government and respect for human rights, including freedom of religion, expression, and association.  Until these rights and freedoms are respected, we will continue to hold the regime accountable.”

These are part of the burgeoning designations that cause most of the people on the planets believe the US Empire is the largest single exporter of violence and terrorism in the world.  And it didn’t start under Trump and Pompeo, did it?

As to Joe Biden’s call to create a new Domestic Terrorism law post-Capitol ‘insurrection’?  No, Chuck; it wasn’t Pearl Harbor, nor Kristallnicht as others claimed?  You may want to take a gander at:

‘The MAGA Terrorism Trap; In the wake of the Capitol attack, Joe Biden proposed a new domestic terror law. But you’d be surprised who’s most likely to get caught in its net’, melsmagazine.com, Jan. 13, 2021

@SecPompeo
Jan 12 When the regime killed Iranians in the streets, protesters sent us the proof and we broadcast it for the world to see. We sanctioned their murderers, jailers, and the corrupt judges in their fake courts.

@SecPompeo
Jan 12 Thanks to @StateDept diplomacy, more than 10 countries have banned Iran's Mahan Air from landing, including Germany, France, and Italy. #Winning

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are mere collateral damage. Very true. Wouldn't want to screw up our relationship with the only "democracy" in the middle east.

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/syria-israel-airstrik...

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wendy davis's picture

@Snode

link. i had to laugh at this:

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights assessed that 57 people were killed, most of them Iran-backed militia fighters as well as 14 Syrian government forces.

that particular NGO has been said to be one dude in the UK living in his basement. quite the smear. but i will heartily agree that trump had given all of his FP war decisions to pompeo.

all his gaggable tweets at the top amount to 'i ♥ (zionist) israel'.

@SecPompeo
52m

Taxpayers deserve basic truths: most Palestinians under UNRWA’s jurisdiction aren’t refugees, and UNRWA is a hurdle to peace. America supports peace and Palestinian human rights; UNRWA supports neither. It's time to end UNRWA's mandate.

We declared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria are not ​per se inconsistent with international law. Same legal interpretation as the Reagan Administration. Important to return U.S. policy to reason and balance.

@SecPompeo
8h
America has no greater friend than Israel, and the people of Israel.

#WhatASchmuck

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wendy davis's picture

@JZarif Jan 8

Those who succumbed to Trump's lawless bullying for 4 yrs—to protect their skin at OUR people's expense—now condemn his assault on the rule of law.

But still try to use his #EconomicTerrorsm against Iran as “leverage"

and..

@khamenei_ir Jan 8

Iran's majlis & govt's decision to enrich uranium to 20% is totally logical& wise. When they don't abide by any of their JCPOA commitments, it's nonsensical for Iran to abide by all its commitments. If they return to it, so will we. Our logical demand is the lifting of sanctions.

If you can't grow a spine, gain foresight—for your own sake.

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wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis

decoded, popular resistance sent this RT link: Tehran Hits Back After Pompeo Makes Claims About Al Qaeda

"Back in April 2019, Pompeo, a former CIA director, jokingly said that, during his time at the helm of US intelligence, “we lied, we cheated, we stole” and even had “training courses” in these fields. Many commenters did not find the quote funny.

Zarif denounced the Iran “declassifications” and the claims Pompeo made about its links to Al-Qaeda, calling them “fictitious.” He also condemned the US’ decision to re-include Cuba in the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The minister noted that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack orchestrated by Al-Qaeda came from Pompeo’s “favorite Middle Eastern destinations; none from Iran.” Of the 19 plane hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack, 15 were citizens of Saudi Arabia, with the rest coming from UAE, Lebanon, and Egypt.

His response on Twitter came as Pompeo claimed it was the US’ relentless pursuit that forced Al-Qaeda into a “safer haven” – supposedly Iran. The Secretary of State added that some Al-Qaeda operatives have had decades-long connections within the Islamic Republic, although he did not provide any evidence to substantiate any of his claims."

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snoopydawg's picture

What is being done to Yemen is a huge stain on every nation that hasn’t spoken out against it. Pompeo should be arrested and charged for crimes against humanity as well as others in the administration. Pipe dream I know but it’s beyond sadistic. It’s outright murder and genocide. Didn’t we already say NEVER AGAIN! ? Oh yeah that’s right. That country has become what the world abhors. Just imagine Russia bombing Ukraine or Georgia? Pompeo would be screaming about it.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg
he should face trial at the hague, but so many other presidents should have been, as well.

i also agree whole-heartedly with this:

Biden should put a hold on all sanctions till he reviews them

but i fear that given his cabinet choices so far, he might keep most of them in place, including russia and china. reset on iran? i'm pretty dubious, as i'd said in the OP.

biden not only hired neo-con vicki nuland to head is european desk, but has confirmed his samantha power appt. to USAID (cia cut-out).

i can't spot my rant against her but here's buyinski at RT.com although i haven't had time to read it yet: 'Samantha Power at the helm of USAID should set off alarm bells globally as Obama’s deadly foreign policy returns for an encore'

Just imagine Russia bombing Ukraine or Georgia? Pompeo would be screaming about it.

yes, indeed. actually, iirc russia did bomb georgia, but was found not guilty of war crimes, but a greater than necessary proportional response, or something. that was john mccain's breakaway war, wasn't it? "Today we are all Georgians!"

on edit: was it south ossetia breaking away? too tired to look it up.

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wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis

war is decidedly different depending on who's telling the story. but yes, mccain was in the thick of it with then president sakashvilli (who showed up in post-coup ukraine later iirc).

either the south ossetians wanted to rejoin russia, or 'putin' wanted them under his thumb and bombed the shit out of georgia, and 'still' keeps troops on the border, yada, yada.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@snoopydawg

Didn’t we already say NEVER AGAIN!?

Yeah, but it turned out to mean ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY "Never Again to us Jews!" Other nationalities and ethnic groups could go hang for all anyone cared...unless they could be parlayed into a grab for another country's oil resources.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

wendy davis's picture

@TheOtherMaven

'light one candle' lyrics:

Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand
And light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker's time is at hand

Light one candle for the strength that we need
To never become our own foe
And light one candle for those who are suff'ring
Pain we learned so long ago

What is the memory that's valued so highly
That we keep it alive in that flame?
What's the commitment to those who have died
When we cry out they've not died in vain

We have come this far, always believing
That justice will somehow prevail
This is the burning, this is the promise
And this is why we will not fail

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wendy davis's picture

i keep hearing dylan's 'come in she said i'll give you shelter from the storm'. but this playing for change cover of the Stones' may reflect the current US and global zeitgeist better: Gimme Shelter

'It is within the shelter of each other that the people live'.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJtq6OmD-_Y]

good night, dream well if you can.

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