US foreign Policy

[bacpacker]

I haven't saw any discussion about the current situation in Syria. Here is a story I thought was interesting.

The Largest US Foreign Policy Blunder Since Vietnam Is Complete: Iran Readies Massive Syrian Ground Invasion

On Thursday, in “Mid-East Coup: As Russia Pounds Militant Targets, Iran Readies Ground Invasions While Saudis Panic”, we attempted to cut through all of the Western and Russian media propaganda on the way to describing what Moscow’s involvement in Syria actually portends for the global balance of power. Here are a few excerpts that summarize what’s taking shape in the Middle East:
Putin looks to have viewed this as the ultimate geopolitical win-win. That is, Russia gets to i) expand its influence in the Middle East in defiance of Washington and its allies, a move that also helps to protect Russian energy interests and preserves the Mediterranean port at Tartus, and ii) support its allies in Tehran and Damascus thus preserving the counterbalance to the US-Saudi-Qatar alliance.
Meanwhile, Iran gets to enjoy the support of the Russian military juggernaut on the way to protecting the delicate regional nexus that is the source of Tehran’s Mid-East influence. It is absolutely critical for Iran to keep Assad in power, as the loss of Syria to the West would effectively cut the supply line between Iran and Hezbollah.
It would be difficult to overstate the significance of what appears to be going on here. This is nothing short of a Middle Eastern coup, as Iran looks to displace Saudi Arabia as the regional power broker and as Russia looks to supplant the US as the superpower puppet master.
In short, the Pentagon’s contention that Russia and Iran have formed a Mid-East “nexus” isn’t akin to the Bush administration’s hollow, largely bogus attempt to demonize America’s foreign policy critics in the eyes of the public by identifying an “axis of evil.” Rather, the Pentagon’s assessment was an attempt to come to grips with a very real effort on the part of Moscow and Tehran to tip the scales in the Mid-East away from Riyadh and Washington.
Solidifying the Assad regime in Syria serves to shore up Hezbollah and presents Tehran with an opportunity to assert itself in the name of combatting terror. The latter point there is critical. The West has long contended that Iran is the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror, and the Pentagon has variously accused the Quds Force of orchestrating attacks on US soldiers in Iraq after cooperation between Washington and Tehran broke down in the wake of Bush’s “axis of evil” comment.

Here is the link to the rest of the story.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-03/largest-us-foreign-policy-blunder-vietnam-complete-iran-readies-massive-syrian-groun

I will post some other stories I have seen for further discussion.

[realist]

Well it is interesting as to who we are supporting, the “moderate rebels”. And we aren’t doing a very good job since we can’t seem to find enough to train to become a viable force. If they were to win, they would probably end up like Iran and turn on us. The one common ground here is no one appears to like ISIS. If you want to look at this from a western religious standpoint the Assad government is the only player who is not persecuting Christians for the time being. I see the US in a no win situation. The only way we could come out of this to our advantage would be to remove all the Syrians and start over again. No matter what, this situation with ISIS will have to be resolved by someone. ISIS is a magnet for foreign fighters. Their ranks have doubled over this past year. They have done a great job on social media recruiting new people. One things about the Russians getting involved is they are not politically correct so the gloves will come off, it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I would say it would be a good time for those who we support to go underground and wait out the storm.

[ak474u]

Well it is interesting as to who we are supporting, the “moderate rebels”. And we aren’t doing a very good job since we can’t seem to find enough to train to become a viable force. If they were to win, they would probably end up like Iran and turn on us. The one common ground here is no one appears to like ISIS. If you want to look at this from a western religious standpoint the Assad government is the only player who is not persecuting Christians for the time being. I see the US in a no win situation. The only way we could come out of this to our advantage would be to remove all the Syrians and start over again. No matter what, this situation with ISIS will have to be resolved by someone. ISIS is a magnet for foreign fighters. Their ranks have doubled over this past year. They have done a great job on social media recruiting new people. One things about the Russians getting involved is they are not politically correct so the gloves will come off, it will be interesting to see how it turns out. I would say it would be a good time for those who we support to go underground and wait out the storm.

Just not sure the ones we support are worth supporting. Hopefully Russia will spend a few trillion of their dollars fighting the islamo-fascists so we don't have to. Assad has shielded Syrian Jews and Christians in the past, so who are the REAL bad guys? Anyone?

[bacpacker]

IMO we have been backing (CIA) ISIS and the free Syrian Army which are tearing Syria apart. Just like we did in Lybia. For that matter AlQuadia in Afghanistan in the 80s. For all the crap Assad is blamed with, he still had a stable country. Like Lybia when Kadaffi was removed and Iraq after Hussien, it will desinegrate when he is removed. All this is putting more pressure on Isreal and at some point they will turn loose the dogs.

[ElevenBravo]

First, let me get this strait, under the current P0TU, we have a foreign policy??

EB

[realist]

Of course we have a foreign policy. Didn't he just travel to Hawaii.......ah.........Alaska.........Oregon..... ..never mind....can he have a fund raiser in a foreign country???

[ak474u]

Of course we have a foreign policy. Didn't he just travel to Hawaii.......ah.........Alaska.........Oregon..... ..never mind....can he have a fund raiser in a foreign country???

All 57 states.

[ElevenBravo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGH02DtIws

Theres actually 58 states you dumb asses, listen to the video more carefully... Hes been to 57, with 1 left to go.

AFAIK 57 + 1 = 58

So your wrong, there are *58* states in the united states.


;-\

[bacpacker]

Holy crap. Where did this idiot come from...oh wait Kenya, yeah that's it. Guess they don't teach US history there.

[ElevenBravo]

You no longer need to be born in the US to be a US president, didnt you get the memo?

Guys... do I have to do all the research for ya?!?!

Shopping ebay now for a "I 'heart' Obama" bumper sticker, anyone want to do a group buy??

EB

[jamesneuen]

Only if the heart is in the shape of butt cheeks

[bacpacker]

To wipe my ass with maybe. How do they do for TP.

[Kesephist]

One of my very far right friends committed to paper, a few years back, his idea for Middle East policy:

" The political and social culture and mind-set in the Arab sector of the Middle East is not like the culture in the United States. What we know and love as "democracy" or even "a republic" is neither valued, desired, nor, for the most part, even understood, by the vast majority of people, including those who wish to get out from under the more Draconian planks of the Sharia platform.
They have no love for the West, even those who want nothing to do with the 9th Century aspects of Sharia law, and simply want to be left alone to live their lives by the directions indicated by their personal moral compasses.
It therefore seems obvious that our attempts to "bring democracy to the region" is an error. We took out a madman who was a threat to the USA; good. We gave that country the opportunity to be ruled and governed in a fashion that they themselves would choose (even if that fashion is another dictator); good. We're trying to shove our system down their throats; BAD.

Therefore, a War On Terror strategy is as follows:

Put our best covert intel agents on the ground in the entire region; Iran, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, EVERYWHERE. Make sure they are covered, and make sure they have access to what the bad guys are doing, and keep them there. (The remainder of this plan depends on our people having the most recent and most accurate intelligence.) Despite the best efforts of the Big Ears and the Alphabet-Soup Geek Squads, HUMINT (human intelligence; eyes and ears of Homo sapiens sapiens on the ground) outranks and outclasses TECHINT (technical intelligence; computer-generated stuff) and SIGINT (signals intelligence; intercepted communications) every time.

Once this is confirmed, the next step is to contact the leaders of all the countries in the region (Iraq first, then all the others ... alphabetically in English) and give them the following message:
"The United States of America recognizes your desire to be sovereign and to not have outsiders meddle in your affairs. We hope that, likewise, your country recognizes the United States' desire to be free from fear and from attack, whether promulgated inside or outside our borders. As pertains to attack planned from outside, we therefore make the following declaration:
We will be withdrawing our troops at a specific date (say, ninety days from date of announcement) from the entire theater of the action presently engaged in the action commonly referred to as 'The War On Terror.'
Once our troops have been withdrawn, your government will be held completely and exclusively responsible for all acts of hostility and terrorism perpetrated upon the United States known (or reasonably believed) to have been planned, promulgated or otherwise abetted within your country. Any act of hostility or terror enacted either within the United States or upon the interests of the United States of America, whether economic, social, political or otherwise, within or without our borders, will be considered an act of war, and we will respond with extreme prejudice. In layman's terms, when we figure out, or get a reasonable suspicion of, who aided and abetted the slugs who did the evil deed, we will turn the perpetrators' entire countries into black glass parking lots, physically incapable of sustaining human life.
To summarize ... you can Balkanize your country into tribal homelands, what you call '-stans;" Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Aghanistan, Waziristan, Stan-and-Ollie, or what have you; you can revert to Sharia law and the 7th century C.E.; you can have inter-tribal warfare until you kill each other off; you can do anything you like, as long as it does not reach outside your own borders. The moment any of it leaks so much as a millimeter outside your frontier, the United States will consider it a threat to our national well-being, and we will step on you like a cockroach."
The next logical step is to carry out the ultimatum. It will, of course, be necessary to have the resolve to vaporize an entire country, by whatever means necessary, but that will ensure that we are not harmed.
Let them kill each other off. Let Iraq descend into the "civil war" that the Western media wants us to believe has already happened (it hasn't, but it should surprise no one that the media has lied to us). Let any country do whatever they want, as long as the consequences stay within their own borders (development of nuclear weapons counts as reaching outside their borders, even if they never launch one). If they stay within their own frontiers, let them kill each other off. Anything that reaches beyond is a license for us to liquefy their country."

FWIW.


Kesephist

[realist]

The only problem with this is if we were to react with overwhelming force to a relatively inferior county which has attacked us it might look bad to the the rest of the world because they will be butt hurt. The powers to be in Washington do not have the intestinal fortitude to follow through with this type of threat. Why, because the media will make them look bad. 9/11 the media did not to show people jumping out of buildings who choose to do that rather than burn to death. It would cast an unfavorable light on the Middle East. Yet they can show a child's body wash up on the shore. There are times you need to unleash the dogs of war to show everyone you will not back down.

[bacpacker]

I agree realist. This admin will not do anything of consequence to the muzzies. Small strikes maybe, but nothing worthwhile.

The MSN is totally complicit in molding public opinion to what the Gov wants it to be...if it is the right party. Fox included. I have said for years R and D are just different sides of the same coin. Useful idiots at best. Bush was responsible for a lot of stuff obummer is doing right now. Clinton put stuff in play for Bush.

[eagle326]

I agree realist. This admin will not do anything of consequence to the muzzies. Small strikes maybe, but nothing worthwhile.

The MSN is totally complicit in molding public opinion to what the Gov wants it to be...if it is the right party. Fox included. I have said for years R and D are just different sides of the same coin. Useful idiots at best. Bush was responsible for a lot of stuff obummer is doing right now. Clinton put stuff in play for Bush.

Yes both sides of the coin are the same son. Back in 1968 at 17 years old and entering the Army you could see tell - tell signs of Govt. manipulation. Won't go into it here but trust me it was there. The thing was we as soldiers and brothers caught on and no matter the skin color we knew we were our own best defense for each other.

Government turned it sights on dumbing down our youth through the school system. Once they got the 1st. 2 classes through they had their base for destroying the family unit and using race as their calling card. Feed the poor and so called under privileged blacks ;Mexicans ;Asians and whomever else fits with in their realm.

We need not worry about who does what because they're cut from the same bolt of cloth. This is what's so great about their plan. Do as Saul Alinsky's 12 point plan points out combined with an uneducated citizenship and you've turned our Republic into a Socialistic apparatus that said generation is too stupid to even notice that they have been had until the golden ankle chains are put upon them.

Here's my plan son.

1- Locked & loaded
2 - front porch w/ 2 fingers Evans Williams
3 - A good night of catnapping
4- Hoping I get one of them buggers before you ; Just becaue I'm old and might not get a 2nd. chance. :p

[bacpacker]

Alinsky's plan is in full swing today. No doubt about it.

[Kesephist]

Government turned it sights on dumbing down our youth through the school system. Once they got the 1st. 2 classes through they had their base for destroying the family unit and using race as their calling card. Feed the poor and so called under privileged blacks ;Mexicans ;Asians and whomever else fits with in their realm.

We need not worry about who does what because they're cut from the same bolt of cloth. This is what's so great about their plan. Do as Saul Alinsky's 12 point plan points out combined with an uneducated citizenship and you've turned our Republic into a Socialistic apparatus that said generation is too stupid to even notice that they have been had until the golden ankle chains are put upon them.

It'd be hilarious if it were not so real and so tragic.


Here's my plan son.

1- Locked & loaded
2 - front porch w/ 2 fingers Evans Williams
3 - A good night of catnapping
4- Hoping I get one of them buggers before you ; Just becaue I'm old and might not get a 2nd. chance. :p

Close. Nice big pitcher of spring water and two water glasses, two shot glasses and a bottle of Gentleman Jack Special Reserve to work on through the night. Doze a little, sip a little, swap war stories...

I am both proud and sad to say, given things as they are, you WILL have your chance. Plural, I think, and ample ones. I do not doubt for one second that you will make them count.

Kesephist

[realist]

I see a common thread there and it is whiskey, which is what makes the world go round. Just remember God made whiskey so the Irish would not take over the world.........