Syria and the Perpetual War Economy

"The end of the Cold War did not bring a dismantling of the war apparatus. It found new enemies and new causes. Today, the unwinnable War on Terror virtually guarantees plenty of reasons for more military spending for years to come. The point of this discussion is not necessarily to rail against the military-industrial complex, as much as I hate it. Instead, I want you think about a more radical idea: That the military-industrial complex is now typical of how the American economy works across a breadth of industries." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSyria and the Perpetual War Economy

Wars of the American Global Frontier

"Obama has issued executive orders creating sanctions on Syria. Sanctions are regarded by some as an act of war, by others as a mild form of war, and by others as force short of war. I see them in the Syrian case as part of an ongoing pattern by which Obama and company are seeking, by a variety of means and pressures up to and including military force, to alter Syria’s politics fundamentally. It is a form of war. Just as 4th generation war is a new form of war, so is the subversion of other countries. This was what the USSR was always accused of doing during the Cold War. The only thing missing at present is a name for this activity and era in which the US has been doing the same kind of thing." Continue reading

Continue ReadingWars of the American Global Frontier

Israel: The missing link in Syria puzzle

"For that past four or five years, Israel has been threatening Iran with military attack almost every other day, with Washington, London and Paris nervously obliging. The American military, however, are painfully aware that there’s some truth to former Prime Minister Mahathir’s words. They don’t want to fight yet another Israeli war this time in Iran. So, they have been acting as a brake which is reflected in Obama’s increasing 'caution' regarding Iran, going so far as to dispatching his military top brass to Israel to calm Netanyahu down, trying to make sure Israel does not launch a unilateral 'preventive attack' on Iran that will drag the US into a massive conflict in the Middle East." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIsrael: The missing link in Syria puzzle

U.S. denies missile test in the Mediterranean linked to Syria

"A missile test in the Mediterranean carried out by Israel and the United States on Tuesday had no connection to possible US military action against Syria, the Pentagon said. The joint military exercise, which came as Washington weighed punitive strikes against the Syrian regime, had been previously scheduled and was designed to assess Israel’s missile defenses, Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. He added that the United States and Israel cooperate on various ballistic missile defense development programs 'to address common challenges in the region.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingU.S. denies missile test in the Mediterranean linked to Syria

A Century of Lies: The Rationales for Engaging in Foreign Wars

"If President Barack Obama and his administration are not lying in the lead-up to a probable bombing campaign of Syria it will be a rare exception among US Presidents, particularly since their public duplicity concerning war dates to at least the early twentieth century. Indeed, being forthrightly dishonest to the American people concerning the rationales for engaging in foreign wars has become a century-old White House tradition. The historical record of past presidents’ prewar and wartime hucksterism is unambiguous, greatly contributing to the immense bloodshed and destruction that continues under the country’s reckless international leadership to this day." Continue reading

Continue ReadingA Century of Lies: The Rationales for Engaging in Foreign Wars

Hagel and Kerry make case to Congress for attacking Syria

"In what will be one of the most high-profile political set pieces in Washington in weeks, John Kerry and Chuck Hagel will testify to the Senate Foreign Relations committee, on Tuesday. America’s top military officer, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also go before the panel. Kerry will argue that failing to act in Syria 'unravels the deterrent impact of the international norm against chemical weapons use,' a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity. Inaction also 'endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders… and risks emboldening Assad and his key allies – Hezbollah and Iran,' the official warned." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHagel and Kerry make case to Congress for attacking Syria

Obama Has Decided That It Is Safer To Buy Congress Than To Go It Alone

"The White House will bribe, cajole, and intimidate the Congress. The regime’s argument will be that with America’s prestige and credibility on the line, Congress must support the President. The President and Secretary of State have made unequivocal statements of Assad’s guilt and their determination to punish Assad. Given Washington’s insanity, the way Washington punishes Assad for (allegedly) killing Syrians with chemical weapons is for Washington to kill more Syrians with cruise missiles. If this doesn’t make sense to you, you don’t belong in Obama’s government or in the American media, and you could never be a neoconservative." Continue reading

Continue ReadingObama Has Decided That It Is Safer To Buy Congress Than To Go It Alone

‘Nerve gas’ chemicals exported to Syria: potassium and sodium fluoride

"The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, will today be asked by MPs to explain why a British company was granted export licences for the dual-use substances for six months in 2012 while Syria’s civil war was raging and concern was rife that the regime could use chemical weapons on its own people. Chemical weapons experts said that although the two substances have a variety of uses such as the fluoridation of drinking water, sodium and potassium fluoride are also key to producing the chemical effect which makes a nerve agent such as sarin so toxic." Continue reading

Continue Reading‘Nerve gas’ chemicals exported to Syria: potassium and sodium fluoride

The President Punts in the Syrian War Game

"Perhaps in keeping with the notion that the US Navy is now serving as the long range bombardment system for al Qaeda, we could crater Syrian runways, blow up their air control towers, and generally cripple as much of their air force as we can find. It might work. But no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. The Syrians are not fools. If we do find their airplanes and blow them up (expensive aircraft destroyed by even more expensive missiles – modern war is not cheap) the Syrians will have to buy more modern airplanes from the Russians, which ought to benefit the Russian economy. I am glad I am not involved in target selection for the coming bombardment of Syria." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe President Punts in the Syrian War Game