History Repeating

John Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

"Secretary of State John Kerry today compared Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein as he said new lab tests proved that deadly sarin nerve gas was used to kill nearly 1,500 civilians last month. 'Bashar al-Assad now joins a list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein who have used these weapons in time of war,' Kerry told NBC's 'Face the Nation.' Kerry called the murderous attack an 'affront against the decency and sensibilities of the world.' 'So this case is building and this case will build.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

John Kerry urges Syria attack based on blood and hair samples

"The United States has proof sarin gas was used in a Damascus attack, Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday, as he urged Congress to vote for military action against the Syrian regime. Hair and blood samples given to the United States from emergency workers on the scene of last month’s attack in the Syrian capital have showed signs of the powerful sarin nerve gas, Kerry told NBC and CNN television. 'In the last 24 hours, we have learned through samples that were provided to the United States and that have now been tested from first responders in East Damascus, (that) hair samples and blood samples have tested positive for signatures of sarin,' Kerry told NBC’s Meet the Press." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry urges Syria attack based on blood and hair samples

Experts: Syria attack could escalate violence and further destabilize region

"According to an article at the top of the New York Times website, even a well-executed strategic strike against the nation could aggravate tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia — both nations that seek to dominate the region politically and militarily — and actually have the effect of buoying up Syria’s beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad. Middle East watchers say that the only truly predictable thing about the highly unstable region is that any actions will produce unintended consequences. They warn of a possible Assad-bolstering surge of anti-Americanism or even a spreading of hostilities to other countries in the region, including Turkey and Israel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExperts: Syria attack could escalate violence and further destabilize region

Syria’s Chemical Weapons Sites Can’t Be Safely Bombed, Experts Say

"'If you drop a conventional munition on a storage facility containing unknown chemical agents – and we don't know exactly what is where in the Syrian arsenal – some of those agents will be neutralized and some will be spread,' said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a nonprofit that focuses on all types of weaponry. 'You are not going to destroy all of them.' 'It's a classic case of the cure being worse than the disease,' Kimball said. He said some of the suspected storage sites are in or near major Syrian cities like Damascus, Homs and Hama. Those cities have a combined population of well over 2 million people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyria’s Chemical Weapons Sites Can’t Be Safely Bombed, Experts Say

Crash Course: A Guide To 30 Years Of U.S. Military Strikes Against Other Nations

"A look at major U.S. military strikes as ordered by the last five U.S. presidents and the degree of international support behind the actions. RONALD REAGAN: Beirut (1982-83): U.S. troops deployed to Lebanon as part of a three-nation peacekeeping force. Reagan ordered limited airstrikes, with France, to retaliate for 1983 bombing on military barracks that killed 299 U.S. and French troops. Grenada (1983): Invasion by an estimated 7,000 U.S. troops and 300 Organization of American States troops after a government coup; was condemned by Britain and the U.N. but supported by six Caribbean island nations that said it was justified under the OAS charter. Libya (1986): [..] " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrash Course: A Guide To 30 Years Of U.S. Military Strikes Against Other Nations

Impeachment: Congress Fires Opening Shot Across Obama’s Bow.

"With these perhaps historic words the Congress has begun to claw back its Constitutional right to decide issues of war and peace. Significantly the letter comes from a Republican lawmaker, and it is clearly a tribute to the leadership of the libertarians in the Republican Party, most notably Ron Paul, Justin Amash and Rand Paul. But the situation is grave enough, possibly leading on to a World War, that 21 Democrats have challenged the President and their Party bosses to sign the statement. They are moving beyond partisanship as Ron Paul did in challenging George W. Bush on the war on Iraq." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingImpeachment: Congress Fires Opening Shot Across Obama’s Bow.

White House sends resolution to Congress asking for approval on Syria strikes

"The White House formally asked Congress Saturday for authorization to conduct military strikes in Syria in a draft resolution framing a narrow set of operations, in a bid to ease fears of another open-ended war. The document says support from Congress, requested by President Barack Obama in a stunning development on Saturday, would 'send a clear signal of American resolve.' 'The objective of the United States use of military force in connection with this authorization should be to deter, disrupt, prevent and degrade the potential for future uses of chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction,' the draft resolution reads." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House sends resolution to Congress asking for approval on Syria strikes

Syria and the Albright Syndrome

"Much like the person with a hammer, to whom everything looks like a nail—we continue to believe that every problem can be solved by the military. Sadly—regardless of the administration’s overall political views—we continue to suffer from Madeleine Albright syndrome. As Secretary of State, Albright challenged then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell’s view that the United States should restrict its military interventions to situations in which vital U.S. interests were threatened, quipping: 'What’s the point of having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?'" Continue reading →

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The Return of the Dodgy Dossier

"How about consulting the open source record of serial hoaxes by the Syrian rebel propaganda team? First they did a replay of the old 'incubator babies' hoax, only this time instead of Saddam Hussein being cast in the role of baby-killing mad dictator it’s Assad. When that didn’t fly, they claimed the village of Houla had been the site of a massacre by government forces: the evidence they offered turned out to be a photo of taken in Iraq during the US invasion. They fooled the BBC – which ran it over stories about the alleged 'massacre' – until the photographer took umbrage at his work being misused in the service of war propaganda and angrily exposed the fraud." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Return of the Dodgy Dossier