Imperial Hubris

Selling Syria: White House pleads with Congress for ‘limited’ strikes

"On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry plead his case on why the US should launch limited attacks on Syria in retaliation for Pres. Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons on his own people. According to Kerry, not stepping in would only embolden other countries with weapons of mass destruction, and senators expressed their concerns that getting involved in Syria would only lead to another endless war in the Middle East. Sam Sacks is on Capitol Hill with a summary of the day's events." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSelling Syria: White House pleads with Congress for ‘limited’ strikes

The Syria AUMF: Be Careful What You Vote For

"The draft authorization for the use of military force the administration circulated Saturday is strikingly broad. And if we know anything from the history of past AUMFs, it’s that presidents will push the authority they’re given as far as language will allow—and possibly further. In his Rose Garden press conference Saturday, Obama said 'we would not put boots on the ground.' The action he’s contemplating would be 'limited in duration and scope.' Just a 'shot across the bow”—a light dusting of cruise missiles. The draft AUMF says no such thing." Continue reading →

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Pepe Escobar: The indispensable (bombing) nation

"All parallels to Iraq 2.0 duly came to fruition when US Secretary of State John Kerry pontificated that Bashar al-Assad 'now joins the list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein' as an evil monster. Why is Cambodia's Pol Pot never mentioned? Oh yes, because the US supported him. Every single tumbleweed in the Nevada desert knows who's itching for war on Syria; vast sectors of the industrial-military complex; Israel; the House of Saud; the 'socialist' Francois Hollande in France, who has wet dreams with Sykes-Picot. Virtually nobody is lobbying Congress NOT to go to war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: The indispensable (bombing) nation

Swiss banks to divulge names of US account holders, pay billions in fines

"About a hundred Swiss banks will avoid prosecution by divulging the names of US clients who have allegedly avoided tax by using secret accounts. The banks could face fines of up to 50 percent of the asset value if they provide full disclosure. Under the deal, each bank will set its own non-prosecution or deferred-prosecution agreement with the US authorities. The fines are set to reach up to 50 percent of the aggregate value of any undeclared accounts held by wealthy Americans, depending on the time the accounts were opened. Swiss banks will have to assess the cost of potential penalties versus the risk of US prosecution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss banks to divulge names of US account holders, pay billions in fines

Senate committee strikes deal on resolution authorizing force against Syria

"Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reached an agreement late Tuesday on wording of a new resolution authorizing U.S. military force against the Syrian government. The resolution would permit up to 90 days of military action against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, beginning with 60 days and the option of 30 more pending President Obama’s notification of Congress, according to a copy of the resolution provided by Senate aides. The resolution also bars the deployment of U.S. combat troops into Syria, but would permit the deployment of a small rescue mission, in the event of an emergency, the aides said." Continue reading →

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CIA Analyst Michael Scheuer Exposes Syrian War Lobbyists

"Members of al Qaeda are known to be among the rebels being supported by the Obama administration. Like a Mexican standoff, the tragic conflict could go in any direction. Michael Scheuer is a historian and former CIA analyst. For three years, he headed the Osama bin Laden tracking Unit at the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. He is author of the book Imperial Hubris. In 2007, bin Laden said Scheuer's book revealed the reasons behind U.S. losses in the War on Terrorism." Continue reading →

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Andrew J. Bacevich: A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz

"Your imagination led you to foresee a brief conflict, with Iraqis rather than U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for any mess left behind. After all, preventive war was supposed to solve problems. Eliminating threats before they could materialize was going to enhance our standing, positioning us to call the shots. Instead, the result was a train wreck of epic proportions. Granted, as you yourself have said, 'the world is better off' with Saddam Hussein having met his maker. But taken as a whole, the cost-benefit ratio is cause for weeping. As for global hegemony, we can kiss it goodbye. What conclusions should we draw from the events that actually occurred, rather than from those you hoped for?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAndrew J. Bacevich: A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz

Nick Turse Describes the Real Vietnam War

"Journalist Nick Turse describes his personal mission to compile a complete and compelling account of the Vietnam War’s horror as experienced by all sides, including innocent civilians who were sucked into its violent vortex. Turse, who devoted 12 years to tracking down the true story of Vietnam, unlocked secret troves of documents, interviewed officials and veterans — including many accused of war atrocities — and traveled throughout the Vietnamese countryside talking with eyewitnesses to create his book, Kill Anything That Moves. 'American culture has never fully come to grips with Vietnam,' Turse tells Bill, referring to 'hidden and forbidden histories that just haven’t been fully engaged.'" Continue reading →

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Great is the Guilt of an Unnecessary War – Vietnam Edition

"The Vietnam War ended forty years ago, but its toxic legacy lives on in children born decades after the conflict came to a close. One of them is 12-year-old Thi Ly, whose head is unnaturally large and visibly misshapen and her eyes are separated by an unusual distance and out of alignment. From the time she was an infant, Ly has been repeatedly hospitalized for numerous ailments. Her 43-year-old mother, Le Thi Thu, has similar deformities. Both of them are second- and third-generation victims of exposure to dioxin as a result of the U.S. military’s use of a defoliant called Agent Orange that was used extensively over parts of southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia." Continue reading →

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Global War on Terror (GWOT) Was a Hopeless Blunder from the Get-Go

"The American public needs to turn against the GWOT. The press and intellectuals need to do far more homework. They need to dig out and read criticisms like these. They need to be more critical of government failures to alter its policies. Many brains were put in cold storage because of the emotional impact of 9/11. They need to be resuscitated. The time for emotion is over. The GWOT was a hasty, ill-conceived response to 9/11. The press and public need a strong dose of honesty about past blunders. The press and public need to stop paying attention to the fanatic warmongers, hatemongers and partisans of Israel and militarism." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlobal War on Terror (GWOT) Was a Hopeless Blunder from the Get-Go