09 Justice – Page 144 – Public Intelligence Blog

2011/09/052011/09/05

Marcus Aurelius: US at Permanent “War” + War RECAP

03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, DoD, Government, IO Deeds of War, Media, Military, Officers Call

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius

The new normal, era persistent conflict.

A decade after the 9/11 attacks, Americans live in an era of endless war

Gregg Jaffe

Washington Post, September 5, 2011, p. 1

Video: The attacks of September 11, 2001 forced Americans to reevaluate their views on the nation's security. A decade later, is the country stronger and better prepared to prevent a terror attack? (Aug. 31)

This is the American era of endless war.

To grasp its sweep, it helps to visit Fort Campbell, Ky., where the Army will soon open a $31 million complex for wounded troops and those whose bodies are breaking down after a decade of deployment.

Read full article.

See accompanying graphic.

Phi Beta Iota: This is not new. War has been the norm since President General David Eiserhower warned of the rise of the military-industrial complex. The article is worth reading in full to understand how very smart people can become very stupid–we are in a state of endless war because none of our leaders have the integrity to apply their undeniable intelligence to waging peace, which is vastly cheaper than war–the problem is that peace enriches poor people rather than concentrating wealth.

See Especially:

Review: Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace – How We Got to Be So Hated

2011/09/042011/09/04

Marcus Aurelius: US Special Forces Train Mexican Assassins

07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Corruption, DoD, IO Deeds of War, Military, Officers Call

U.S. Special Forces Training Mexican Assassination Squads to Battle Cartels

Public Intelligence.Net, 2 September 2011

A small but growing proxy war is underway in Mexico pitting US-assisted assassin teams composed of elite Mexican special operations soldiers against the leadership of an emerging cadre of independent drug organizations that are far more ruthless than the old-guard Mexican “cartels” that gave birth to them.

These Mexican assassin teams now in the field for at least half a year, sources tell Narco News, are supported by a sophisticated US intelligence network composed of CIA and civilian US military operatives as well as covert special-forces soldiers under Pentagon command — which are helping to identify targets for the Mexican hit teams.

Read full article….

Phi Beta Iota: Black SOF means well, but they are out of context and out of control. We recall with sadness that Cuban exiles trained and equipped by CIA to assassinate Castro used those skills and that equipment to assassinate John F. Kennedy, and more recently, many of the special forces trained in Mexico by US special forces have immediately rolled over to work for the cartels. The US Government lacks intelligence and integrity, and continues to throw money at bits and pieces of the old dysfunctional concepts….doing the wrong things righter instead of doing the right thing. Albert Einstein called that “insanity.” Mike Vickers has learned nothing from history, because he does not wish to learn–this is taxpayer funded playtime for him, and he is not being held accountable for the inevitable “blow back” that has accompanied every DoD/CIA assassination play going back fifty years.

2011/09/03

Berto Jongman: Iraq Suicide Bombing Results + RECAP

09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, IO Deeds of War, Military

Open source assessment of a devastating terrorist tactic.

Free But Must Register

or full PDF

2011-09-03 Iraq Suicide Attack Study

200 coalition soldiers were killed in 79 suicide bomb events during 2003–10. More Iraqi civilians per lethal event were killed than were coalition soldiers (12 vs 3; p=0·004).

Suicide bombers in Iraq kill significantly more Iraqi civilians than coalition soldiers. Among civilians,
children are more likely to die than adults when injured by suicide bombs.

Phi Beta Iota: The US Government is delusional if not maliciously deceptive in focusing on Al Qaeda and on suicide bombing as a “threat.” Terrorism is a tactic, and nothing more than a traffic accident in the larger scheme of things. Suicide bombings are also directly correlated with the invasion and occupation of foreign Muslim countries by US forces. Duh. In passing, we grieve to observe that we now have more military personnel committing suicide than are being killed in action.

2011/09/03

Marcus Aurelius: AmEx CEO Blasts Obama and Buffet

03 Economy, 09 Justice, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence

MSNBC had Mr. Golub on the Dylan Ratigan show yesterday. The Clintonesque sub for Ratigan was aghast that Golub did not want to buy into higher tax rates and that he advocated making the 50% or so of Americans who pay no taxes pay their share. The follow-on segment had three talking heads, at least two of whom were also aghast that Golub might want to keep more of the money he earned.

My Response To Buffett And Obama

By HARVEY GOLUB

Wall Street Journal, 22 August 2011

Before you ask for more tax money from me, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each year more fairly and spend it more wisely.

EXTRACT:

Today, top earners–the 250,000 people who earn $1 million or more–pay 20% of all income taxes, and the 3% who earn more than $200,000 pay almost half. Almost half of all filers pay no income taxes at all. Clearly they earn less and should pay less. But they should pay something and have a stake in our government spending their money too.

. . . . . .

Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: AmEx CEO Blasts Obama and Buffet”

2011/09/03

David Isenberg (Military): Government Contractors at War

03 Economy, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, IO Deeds of War, Military, Officers Call

War and Private Contractors: Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them

David Isenberg

Huffington Post, 9/2/2011

EXTRACT:

The number of Department of Defense (Defense), Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor employees in Iraq and Afghanistan has varied, but exceeded 260,000 in 2010. The contractor employee count has at times surpassed the number of U.S. military personnel in the two countries.

. . . . . . .

Although contract activity has taken on increasing importance, the resources devoted to managing contracts and contractors have not kept pace. The number of contract specialists — an occupation critical to the execution of contingency contracting — rose by only 3 percent government-wide between 1992 and 2009, despite an enormous increase in contracting activity during that period.

That last point is a diplomatic way of saying that even after 10 years of extensive use of contractors to enable and facilitate military, diplomatic and reconstruction operations, government still doesn't know how, or even worse, doesn't care, to carry out due diligence on the activities it contracts out.

. . . . . . .

Also, speaking of big firms, pause to consider the similarities between large PMCs and the financial services industry. The CWC did and found, “Because the U.S. government relies on only a handful of contractors to provide most of the support for the contingencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, this reliance potentially presents a situation analogous to the U.S. financial industry's “too big to fail” calamity.”

Read full article including list of top contractors.

Phi Beta Iota: So much for Bob Gates doing anything useful at DoD. He combined “civility” with maintenance of the status quo, ignoring both the fact that the US Government is incapable of contracting at scale, and the fact that 4% of the force takes 80% of the casualties and gets 1% of the budget. Shame everlasting. Defense is long past due for a Secretary of Defense able to combine intelligence with integrity….but that needs a restoration of integrity to the electoral process and the governance process.

2011/09/01

Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Tour Final Report

04 Inter-State Conflict, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 09 Justice, 10 Security, 11 Society, Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, Corruption, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Military, Misinformation & Propaganda, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth, Peace Intelligence, Power Behind-the-Scenes/Special Interests, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Waste (materials, food, etc)

On today, the anniversary of the overthrow of King Idris in Libya, the neo-colonial powers met in France to continue their drive at the new carve-up of Africa. This set of circumstances makes many of us very sad.

I had a dream last night. I was caught in the midst of intense fighting–street fighting: house to house. I guess I was channeling what the typical Libyan is feeling and has been feeling for the past 6 months. In my chats with DIGNITY Delegation members, one thing is clear: we are traumatized by what is happening to the lovely people of Libya. But imagine, if we feel that way, how must they feel? Terrorized and worse.

When the DIGNITY Delegation of journalists was there, we could already see the impact of the bombing on patients in the hospital, children trying to understand what was happening, women trying to soothe their families, men trying to carry on with their normal activities, shopkeepers trying to eke out a living despite fighting and bombing all around them, Black Libyans who felt threatened by their fellow countrymen and the outsiders who have streamed into the country, siding with NATO and openly boasted of killing dark-skinned Libyans (who number between 50% and 58% of the population, according to one of the Libyans who joined us on the tour, now returned to his country, not the 30% written in the special interest press) and non-Libyan Africans.
Continue reading “Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Tour Final Report”

2011/08/312011/08/31

DefDog: Court Case Lifts Lid on CIA Rendition Flights

07 Other Atrocities, 09 Justice, 09 Terrorism, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, IO Impotency, Officers Call

The dam should be close to bursting…..

Court case lifts lid on secret post 9/11 flights

By STEPHEN BRAUN, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A hidden network of U.S. companies, coordinated by a prominent defense contractor, played a key role in the covert airlift that transported terrorism suspects and their American minders, according to newly disclosed documents in a New York business dispute between two aviation companies.

The court files of more than 1,700 pages shed new light on the U.S. government's reliance on private contractors for flights between Washington, foreign capitals, the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and, at times, landing points near once-secret, CIA-run overseas prisons. The companies included DynCorp, a leading government contractor that secretly oversaw a fleet of luxury jets, and caterers that unwittingly stocked the planes with fruit platters and bottles of wine, according to the court files and testimony.

The business dispute stems from an obscure four-year fight between a New York-based charter company, Richmor Aviation Inc., which supplied corporate jets and crews to the government, and a private aviation broker, SportsFlight Air, which organized flights for DynCorp. Both sides cited the government's program of forced transport of detainees, or “extraordinary rendition,” in testimony, evidence and legal arguments. The companies are fighting over $874,000 awarded to Richmor by a New York state appeals court to cover unpaid costs for the secret flights.

The court files — they include contracts, flight invoices, cell phone logs and correspondence — paint a sweeping portrait of collusion between the government and the private contractors that did its bidding — some eagerly, some hesitantly. Other firms turned a blind eye.

Read full article….