He was one of the most respected intelligence officers of his generation. Now he's Donald Trump’s national security alter ego, goading a crowd to lock Hillary Clinton up. What happened?
James Kitfield, Politico,
Inside military and intelligence circles it was understood that McChrystal, along with another ousted former general, David Petraeus, were the preeminent generals and wartime field commanders of their generation of officers, and the manner of their dismissal struck many as insulting. As did the treatment of Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn. . . .
Today Wikileaks released what is, by far, the most devastating leak of the entire campaign. This makes Trump’s dirty talk video looks like an episode of Barney and Friends. Even though when Trump called Hillary the ‘founder’ of ISIS he was telling the truth and 100% accurate, the media has never stopped ripping him apart over it. Today the media is forced to eat their hats because the newest batch of leaked emails show Hillary, in her own words, admitting to doing just that, funding and running ISIS.
The writer, Uri Avnery is in his early 90s; a former terrorist in the Irgun, a hero of the 1948 war, a former member of the Knesset, Avnery today is Israel’s leading peace advocate. Avnery is arguably Israel’s most eloquent spokesman for a two state solution, with Israel living peacefully side by side with a Palestinian State. Israel’s continual expansion of settlements and the appropriation of the water resources in the Occupied Territories is rapidly rendering the two-state solution an impossibility. Herewith, Avnery explains how the two-state solution vs. perpetual war with Palestinians is also becoming a prescription for civil war within an Israel that is bifurcating into two mutually suspicious increasingly hostile camps.
SOMETHING STRANGE happens to retired chiefs of the Israeli internal Security Service, Shin Bet. The service is by definition a central pillar of the Israeli occupation. It is admired by (Jewish) Israelis, feared by Palestinians, respected by security professionals everywhere. The occupation could not exist without it. And here is the paradox: once the chiefs of the service leave their jobs, they become spokesmen for peace. How come?
The United States has long been a target of hybrid warfare by states seeking to disrupt or influence U.S. decision-making. Hostile activities can be categorized under four paradigms: nullification of political actors – creating discord within a constituency so that it cannot effectively unify around a policy, or undercutting the credibility of a prominent policymaker who champions unwanted outcomes; assistance to anti-government movements – identifying elements in society which are willing to attack (rather than participate in) the policymaking process with vitriol or violence; fomenting distrust of the U.S. policymaking process, in order to sap its legitimacy; and appearing to fill needs / wants that the U.S. government cannot and thereby supplanting the U.S. government in a specific area. (Of course the countries that have been most active in this area – Cuba and Venezuela – have been unable to sustain their own states.)
The elephant in NATO’s room: state-sponsorship of Daesh
New evidence has emerged that the Turkish government under President Erdogan is covertly providing direct military, financial and logistical support to ISIS, even while claiming to fight the terror network. The evidence comes in the form of testimony from an ISIS terrorist captured by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, widely recognised as the most effective force confronting ISIS on the ground.
“Once these operations are completed, we will continue our fight against Daesh (Islamic State) with either coalition nations, or within the NATO framework, and resume our cooperation with NATO,” Cavusoglu said.