Network Archives

Lawmaker: My ‘gut feeling’ says Syria got chemical weapons from Iraq

"While admitting to not having any information on the matter, Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) still offered speculation based on his 'gut feeling' that the Syrian government acquired chemical weapons from Iraq, the Huffington Post reported. 'I have not had any classified briefing, but all we know is that Iraq had declared chemical and biological weapons, and then they weren’t there,' Terry told radio host Tom Becka on Thursday. 'It wasn’t something that the U.S. was guessing, that was something that they actually declared. But they went someplace.' Terry, who supported the U.S. campaign to oust Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, said Syria was a different situation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmaker: My ‘gut feeling’ says Syria got chemical weapons from Iraq

New Snowden Leak Reports ‘Groundbreaking’ NSA Crypto-Cracking

"The Post’s article doesn’t detail the 'groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities' Clapper mentions, and there’s no elaboration in the portion of the document published by the paper. But the document shows that 21 percent of the intelligence budget — around $11 billion — is dedicated to the Consolidated Cryptologic Program that staffs 35,000 employees in the NSA and the armed forces. Last year James Bamford reported that the NSA secretly made some sort of 'enormous breakthrough' in cryptanalysis several years earlier. The leaked budget document is the first published Snowden leak to touch upon the question of how safe routinely encrypted traffic is from cutting-edge nation-state spying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Snowden Leak Reports ‘Groundbreaking’ NSA Crypto-Cracking

Obama slams ‘incapacity’ of UN Security Council on Syria

"US President Barack Obama on Friday slammed the 'incapacity' of the UN Security Council to act on Syria and warned the world must not be 'paralyzed' on responding to a chemical weapons attack. 'What we have seen so far at least is an incapacity at this point for the Security Council to move forward in the face of a clear violation of international norms,' Obama said, as he met Baltic leaders at the White House Obama said he understood that there was widespread war fatigue both in the United States, Britain and elsewhere, but that did not absolve nations of their responsibilities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama slams ‘incapacity’ of UN Security Council on Syria

Defiling the Memory of President Eisenhower

"On a Tuesday night, 52 years ago. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on TV sets across America. Three days later, he would leave the Oval Office to John F. Kennedy. It all happened very fast. No one was prepared for the grim prophecy Eisenhower would tell that night in his farewell address. In 1961, the words 'military-industrial complex' probably sounded nuts. But writing in 2013, I can say with confidence that an alert and knowledgeable citizenry is far more absurd. Back when Ike made his address, defense spending was about $350 billion in today’s dollars. Today, it’s over half a trillion dollars. What would Eisenhower say today? Probably, 'I told you so you, idiots!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDefiling the Memory of President Eisenhower

Syrian rebels used Sarin nerve gas, not Assad’s regime: U.N. official

[May 2013] "Testimony from victims strongly suggests it was the rebels, not theSyrian government, that used Sarin nerve gas during a recent incident in the revolution-wracked nation, a senior U.N. diplomat said Monday. Carla del Ponte, a member of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV there were 'strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof,' that rebels seeking to oust Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad had used the nerve agent. But she said her panel had not yet seen any evidence of Syrian government forces using chemical weapons, according to the BBC, but she added that more investigation was needed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian rebels used Sarin nerve gas, not Assad’s regime: U.N. official

David Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!

"Could the attack trigger a quick and violent sympathetic public uprising in Saudi Arabia, sending the Saud family on the run and oil prices to $200 or more? In terms of consequences of a less violent nature, what if the Russians and the Chinese, the latter being Syria's largest trading partner, decided to protest by dumping some of the massive amount of US dollars they hold? I could go on, but won't. Instead, I'll leave off by saying that, given the risks vs. the rewards of yet another Western attack on the Middle East, I personally couldn't be more opposed to it. Hopefully there are enough people in what's left of the degraded Western democracies who feel the same way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!

Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

[April 2013] "China, Russia and four Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - formed the SCO in 2001 as a regional security bloc to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan. Ankara began talks on joining the EU in 2005 but has only completed one of the 35 policy areas, or 'chapters', every candidate must conclude to be allowed entry due to disagreements largely over the divided island of Cyprus. While China vies with Russia and the West for access to Central Asia's vast natural resources, some analysts view the SCO as a potential counter-balance to NATO." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Syria Endgame: Strategic Stage in the Pentagon’s Covert War on Iran

"Regime change in Damascus is not the only or main way for the US and its allies to prevent Syria from standing with Iran. Destabilizing Syria and neutralizing it as a failed and divided state is the key. Sectarian fighting is not a haphazard outcome of the instability in Syria, but an assisted project that the US and its allies have steadily fomented with a clear intent to balkanize the Syrian Arab Republic. Regionally, Israel above all other states has a major stake in securing this outcome. The Israelis actually have several publicly available documents, including the Yinon Plan, which outline that the destruction of Syria into a series of smaller sectarian states is one of their strategic objectives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Syria Endgame: Strategic Stage in the Pentagon’s Covert War on Iran

Mike Gogulski: Is America still a democracy? Who cares? It’s DANGEROUS!

"If you look at the visible signs of how the country has been developing for the last 25 years, the signs of the emergence of a police state are obvious and everywhere. The Department of Homeland Security recently purchased something like one billion rounds of high-powered rifle ammunition. These are not to be used in wars. The US government has just purchased three bullets for every man, woman and child inside the country. When you add to these things the endless American wars that have been going on since 'peace' after World War II, the question becomes: 'Is America a democracy? Who cares? It’s DANGEROUS!'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMike Gogulski: Is America still a democracy? Who cares? It’s DANGEROUS!

Oppose War with Syria

"The war-making power belongs solely to Congress. It cannot be delegated to the Executive Branch, in any blanket way, through any kind of war powers act. If you fail to restrain the President, then you will be complicit in the President’s crimes. His planned actions violate the Constitution. They also break other written laws. This makes them inherently criminal. The President is trying to fix something that cannot be solved by outsiders dropping bombs. This will not protect innocent people. It will kill innocents. Their blood will be on the President’s hands, and on your hands, unless you use your powers to resist. I am doing what I can to resist. I do not want these criminal acts committed in my name." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOppose War with Syria