Posts Tagged United States

Welcome to the New Syria

By Michael Collins

The assault on Damascus by Syrian rebels and terrorist murder of the Syrian Defense Minister occurred just as the Red Cross announced that the fighting in Syria was officially a civil war. This is an odd reward system for military action by the Free Syria Army. Commit enough acts of violence and you’re rewarded with special protections that apply in times of war. (Image)

The rebel Free Syria Army attacks cities and villages, disrupts the Syrian economy, and is in the business of suicide bombing. It has the material and diplomatic support of Saudi Arabia and the other oil oligarchies plus the big guns in NATO. So-called Syrian experts supporting the carnage are amply funded by United States sponsored nongovernment organizations.

Rebel cheerleader Hillary Clinton spans the globe to “build pressure against the Syrian regime,” to “end” it, her exact words. She seeks punishment for who disagree, China and Russia.

It’s hard to tell how the latest regime change project will come out. The real Syrian Army seems to win every engagement. China and Russia support the Assad government. At the same time, despite strong public opposition to any intervention, the Obama government is pushing hard to force Assad out of power. NATO and the Saudis seem unwavering. Read the rest of this entry »

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Can there any doubt left that we are led by idiots

Michael Collins

WASHINGTON (AP) — Uniforms for U.S. Olympic athletes are American red, white and blue — but made in China. That has members of Congress fuming.

Republicans and Democrats railed Thursday about the U.S. Olympic Committee’s decision to dress the U.S. team in Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs.

The U.S. Olympic Committee is the playpen for the ruling elite and the members of Congress who object so strenuously to this idiocy are the very people who enshrined outsourcing.

Praise be to the gods of mirth and comedic pathos. Read the rest of this entry »

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NDS claims face scrutiny

Australian Financial Review
By Neil Chenoweth 14 Apr 2012

British lawyer Mark Lewis is investigating claims by a client that News Corporation’s controversial security company, NDS Limited, was involved in a dirty tricks campaign in Britain to undermine a competitor’s technology.

“The allegations made against them are uncannily similar to what’s been alleged in Australia,” Mr Lewis said in an interview with ABC Lateline host Emma Alberici.

“The practice seems very, very similar.”

Mr Lewis has been the leading British lawyer pursuing cases against News International for telephone hacking by its News of the World newspaper.

Full Article

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Some questions about the Obama – Cameron meeting

By Michael Collins

What a lovely photo of the two well-heeled leaders of the free world. Previously, it was the American cowboy president and the supposedly left leaning Prime Minister Tony Blair. That buddy act helped drag United States into the worst foreign policy disaster in its history. (Image full size)

This working partnership between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron portends less immediate damage than the Bush-Blair team. Nevertheless, there will be blood

Is there anything other than disaster awaiting the US and Great Britain in Afghanistan?

The response to the murder of sixteen Afghan civilians on March 12th has been disastrous for the United States with retaliatory attacks ongoing. Even before that, March 8 was a Deadly day for the Brits in Afghanistan with six soldiers killed in a bombing of an armored vehicle. General David Allen, in charge of the Afghanistan effort, lamented that this is the type of incident that could threaten the entire effort.

How will the U.S.-British enterprise recover from the latest in a series of insults to the Afghan people?

The people of the U.S. and Great Britain get the message. In a recent poll, 61% of citizens want U.S. troops home immediately. Only 19% oppose that decisive action. In Great Britain, 75% oppose the Afghan war effort.

With negligible public support and tottering economies, how can Obama and Cameron conceive, even for a moment, that withdrawal will last through the 2014 timeline?
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Brian M. Dowing: Gulf crisis ripples across the globe

Asia Times Feb 8, 2012

The United States has shifted its attention away from Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world and firmly fixed it on Iran. Along with this has come a buildup of naval, air and ground forces to pressure and perhaps even attack Iran over fears its nuclear program might be designed to build a nuclear weapon.  (Image)

Allocating military might into the Gulf entails removing it from other parts of the globe which may embolden actors in various parts of the world to act more aggressively. They need not act in concert with Iran nor out of any sympathy for it. They may simply sense an opening as the US military becomes more overstretched.

Historical examples of such actions abound. As Britain and France plunged into World War II, Japan seized their colonies in Southeast Asia. After the war, as the Iron Curtain descended in Central Europe, North Korea – with Soviet encouragement – drove into South Korea.  FULL ARTICLE

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Brian M. Downing: Negotiations and great games in Afghanistan

By Brian M. Downing

Hopes for a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan are beginning once more, but the problematic Byzantine geopolitics are not readily apparent. It is not the bipolar confrontation between Britain and Russia that it was in the 19th century. Nor is it simply the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) against the Taliban.

The war in Afghanistan involves Pakistan against India, China against India, the Pashtun Afghans against the northern peoples, Saudi Arabia against Iran, and Russia against China. So arcane and intricate are these conflicts that the US is allied with enemies and at odds with allies.

Pakistan against India

Afghanistan has long been a theater in the long conflict between Pakistan and India. The two states have been rivals since their inception and thus far India has been the political, economic, and military winner – a disturbing imbalance which decisively shapes the outlooks of the Pakistani army and parts of the population.

More at the Asia Times January 14

 

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Is Iran Preparing to Strike Back?

By Brian M. Downing

These attacks are almost certainly directed by Israeli, Saudi, and US intelligence services. They may also be acts of war.

“This business will get out of control.”
– The Hunt for Red October

In the last few years diplomatic pressures and economic sanctions have been imposed to convince Iran to allow international inspection of its nuclear research facilities. A number of states have also pursued a violent clandestine campaign of bombings and assassinations that have killed scores of Iranians, including nuclear scientists. These attacks are almost certainly directed by Israeli, Saudi, and US intelligence services. They may also be acts of war.
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