What Could Possibly Go Wrong

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 →

Continue ReadingCIA Analyst Michael Scheuer Exposes Syrian War Lobbyists

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 →

Continue ReadingNick Turse Describes the Real Vietnam War

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

U.S. Losing the GWOT

"Major Bryan Groves, U.S. Army, says the same thing: 'Al Qaeda (AQ), its affiliate organizations, the Taliban, and most recently, AQ-inspired violent extremists, have demonstrated a tenacious resiliency. Their resiliency has primarily manifested itself through a unique ability to evolve and grow over time, enabling them to continue attacking U.S. interests abroad and at home. This resiliency is also evident through continued extremist recruitment, radicalization, mobilization, and funding. The frustrating aspect of this for U.S. counterterrorism officials is the enemy’s success in these areas despite tremendous American and Coalition efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat these organizations.'” Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Losing the GWOT

John Kerry: Syria war no time for ‘armchair isolationism’

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday the debate about military strikes is not about President Barack Obama's 'red line,' but the world's. The UN refugee agency reported Tuesday the number of refugees fleeing Syria's violence has surpassed the two million mark. Kerry told Congress that it is 'a red line that anyone with a conscience ought to draw.' Some lawmakers have expressed reluctance about being drawn into a larger conflict. But Kerry stressed that what Obama is seeking would be military action limited in scope and duration that would send a message to the Assad regime that it can't get away with using chemical weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Syria war no time for ‘armchair isolationism’

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

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

Drudge Poll: 91% Say “Stay Out of Syria.”

"This is not a scientific poll, but Obama’s spinmeisters had better pay attention to it. Obama drew a macho-man line in the sand with his vow to take action if Syria used chemical weapons. What’s a would-be macho guy to do? Go to Congress? Yes, say the voters. What will Congress do? It will put its collective finger in the wind. The general public seems split. As long as American missiles kill innocent Syrian women and children from on high, half of the voters are content. After all, Assad’s weapons killed innocent women and children. Half the voters think the proper response is an eye for an eye: more dead women and children. That will show Assad who is in charge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrudge Poll: 91% Say “Stay Out of Syria.”