The truth at any cost lowers all other costs — curated by former US spy Robert David Steele.
March 25, 2011
Dear friends,
So much is happening under the guise of “the budget crisis” that I thought it might be useful to deconstruct this issue a bit.
Phi Beta Iota: Tom has produced a relatively long and meticulously documented essay
Wesley Clark interview (March 2007): “We plan to take out 7 countries in 5 years”
Synopsis: 10 days after 9-11, visiting Joint Staff, not only knew we were going to take down Iraq, a few weeks later but got the list of six other countries:
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran
Phi Beta Iota: This is somewhat consistent with the published book Endgame–The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror by Thomas McInerney and Paul Vallely with an introduction by Oliver North. Published in 2004, they focused on the need to use our military to wipe out Syria and Iran while intimidating Libya and Pakistan. What is quite clear is that regardless of which political party is nominally in power, the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC) has taken on a life of its own that is expensive, dangerous to all, clearly at odds with the US Constitution, and totally out of control. For a third of what we spend on war we could be waging peace and providing all 44 dictators with non-violent exit strategies. The gap between the public and the government has never been greater in the modern history of the USA, in our collective view.
Although a partisan paper, the Examiner does show the lack of
understanding that is permeating the current administration……..
By: Byron York 03/24/11 8:05 PM
The Examiner
“I see Obama's visiting the United States,” said Rush Limbaugh on
Thursday, the president's first full day back in Washington after a spring
break diplomatic tour of Latin America….
. . . . . . .
After ordering troops into action, the president headed off to South
America with his wife, daughters, mother-in-law, and mother-in-law's
friend in tow. There was no solemn, reasoned speech to explain why the
U.S. was going to war…..
Meanwhile, the White House is at times having difficulty simply making
sense. The president talked about an “exit strategy” in which American forces would not exit at all. And administration officials are going out of their way to deny that the Libyan fighting, which involves a significant fleet of U.S. warships and U.S. warplanes, is a “war.” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters Wednesday that Libya
wasn't a war, describing it instead as a “kinetic military action.”
Phi Beta Iota: Original Image from Palestinian Pundit.
Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Libya
Afghanistan: Almost 5,000 Taliban insurgents laid down their weapons or are moving toward doing so, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan General Petraeus said on 23 March. About 700 former Taliban have officially completed the steps to reintegrate into society, Petraeus said. He said another 2,000 insurgents are taking steps toward reintegration and others have laid down their weapons entirely.
Comment: The statistic is interesting because only a fraction of the anti-government fighters have reconciled to the government, based on the daily number of clashes and engagements. Most have been in northern districts where logistics support from Pakistan is barely sustainable. Petraeus also did specify the time frame for his data.
NightWatch data in November 2010 and January 2011 show the number of ralliers increased, but the number of clashes increased at a much greater rate. Several developments can explain the data. First, the anti-government forces appear to be replacing losses at a rate much faster than the rate of rallies. That can only happen if the populace supports the recruitment effort and that means the fight in Afghanistan is a Pashtun tribal uprising, not an insurgency. Second, the ralliers do not remain reconciled, but rejoin the fighting after a period of rest. The spring anti-government offensive should provide insight into the rate of recidivism. Third, the numbers are spread over such a long period as to be meaningless in evaluating the success or failure of the Coalition efforts. And there are others.
Without more context, the statement about ralliers looks like cheer leading.
Continue reading “NIGHTWATCH Taliban R&R Program Under Petraeus”
Although it is Fox News and arch-critic Lindsey Graham pointing fingers, the fact is they are right! US Government seems trapped in a time warp and completely unprepared to contemplate a world in which our military is relatively useless (as well as unaffordable) and we actually need to have a deep capacity for nation-building. P
The Obama administration, after helping to orchestrate a U.N.-backed military intervention in Libya, is facing pressure to do more to prepare for the potential collapse of the government in another Mideast country, Yemen — but U.S. officials admit they are doing little more than watching at this point.
. . . . . . .
Yemen is a central ally of the U.S. government against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The group, along with its operational planner, the American Anwar al-Awlaki, the first American on the CIA's kill or capture list, are now considered a greater threat than Usama bin Laden's network in Pakistan. And one U.S. lawmaker suggests that chaos in Yemen could result in a worse terrorist breeding ground than Afghanistan.
But Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ admission in Cairo that the administration had not focused on a future without Yemen's president was startling.
The below report in the Guardian makes three general points regarding the Tokyo Electric's management operations at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor site:
1. Cost-cutting degraded safety procedures.
2. Collusion between industry and regulators.
3. Deferring decisions on how to permanently store nuclear waste.
Thank god these problems do not occur in Amerika (sic).
Chuck Spinney
Japan Nuclear Firm Admits Missing Safety Checks at Disaster-Hit Plant
Documents show operator failed to carry out mandatory checks at Fukushima Daiichi and allowed fuel rods to pile up
by Justin McCurry in Osaka, The Guardian/UK, March 22, 2011
Phi Beta Iota: Integrity, or the lack of integrity, is the defining factor in the rise or fall of complex civilizations. The harm coming from the lack of integrity by the members of the UN Security Council with respect to nuclear proliferation and safeguards for nuclear waste; the arms market (they are the largest traders), and the general disregard for poverty, infectious disease, and environmental degradation, makes it clear that “governance” today is totally corrupt. The good news is that informed hybrid networks can overcome Industrial Era irresponsibilities. Multinational information-sharing and multinational intelligence (decision-support) offers a non-violent way forward.
