Exclusive: America’s neocons are back pounding the war drums, urging President Trump to escalate U.S. military attacks inside Syria even if that means hitting Russian targets and risking a new world war, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
The U.S. mainstream media’s near universal demonization of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin – along with similar hatred directed toward Iran and Hezbollah – has put the world on a path toward World War III.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter conducts strike operations against a Syrian military airbase while in the Mediterranean Sea, April 7, 2017. (Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ford Williams)
Ironically, the best hope for averting a dangerous escalation into a global conflict is to rely on Assad, Putin, Iran and Hezbollah to show restraint in the face of illegal military attacks by the United States and its Mideast allies inside Syria.
In other words, after the U.S. military has bombed Syrian government forces on their own territory and shot down a Syrian warplane on Sunday – and after Israel has launched its own strikes inside Syria and after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have financed and armed jihadists to overthrow Assad – it is now up to the Syrian government and its allies to turn the other cheek.
Of course, there is also a danger that comes from such self-control, in that it may encourage the aggressors to test the limits even further, seeing restraint as an acceptance of their impunity and a reason to ignore whatever warnings are issued and red lines drawn.
Indeed, if you follow The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other big U.S. news outlets, perhaps the most striking groupthink that they all share is that the U.S. government and its allies have the right to intervene militarily anywhere in the world. Their slogan could be summed up as: “International law – that’s for the other guy!”
In this upside-down world of American hegemony, Assad becomes the “aggressor” when he seeks to regain control of Syrian territory against armed insurgents, dominated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS), or when he protests the invasion of Syrian territory by foreign forces.
When Assad legally seeks help from Russia and Iran to defeat these foreign-armed and foreign-backed jihadists, the U.S. mainstream media and politicians treat his alliances as improper and troublemaking. Yet, the uninvited interventions into Syria by the United States and its various allies, including Turkey and Israel, are treated as normal and expected.
Demanding Escalation
The preponderance of U.S. media criticism about U.S. policy in Syria comes from neoconservatives and liberal interventionists who have favored a much more ambitious and vigorous “regime change” war, albeit cloaked in prettier phrases such as “safe zones” and “no-fly zones.”
Nikki Haley, United States Permanent Representative to the UN, addresses the Security Council’s meeting on the situation in Syria on
April 27, 2017 (UN Photo)
So, you have Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal editorial, which praises Sunday’s U.S. shoot-down of a Syrian military plane because it allegedly was dropping bombs “near” one of the U.S.-backed rebel groups – though the Syrians say they were targeting an Islamic State position.
Although it was the U.S. that shot down the Syrian plane over Syria, the Journal’s editorial portrays the Russians and Syrians as the hotheads for denouncing the U.S. attack as a provocation and warning that similar air strikes will not be tolerated.
In response, the Journal’s neocon editors called for more U.S. military might hurled against Syria and Russia: “The risk of escalation is real, but this isn’t a skirmish the U.S. can easily avoid. Mr. Assad and his allies in Moscow and Tehran know that ISIS’s days are numbered. They want to assert control over as much territory as possible in the interim, and that means crushing the SDF [the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces].
“The Russian threat on Monday to target with anti-aircraft missiles any U.S. aircraft flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria is part of the same intimidation strategy. Russia also suspended a hotline between the two armed forces designed to reduce the risk of a military mistake. Iran, which arms and assists Mr. Assad on the ground, vowed further Syrian regime attacks against SDF, all but daring U.S. planes to respond amid the Russian threat.
“The White House and Pentagon reacted with restraint on Monday, calling for a de-escalation and open lines of communication. But if Syria and its allies are determined to escalate, the U.S. will either have to back down or prepare a more concerted effort to protect its allies and now U.S. aircraft.
“This is a predicament President Obama put the U.S. in when his Syrian abdication created an opening for Vladimir Putin to intervene. Had the U.S. established a no-fly or other safe zone to protect refugees, the Kremlin might have been more cautious.”
As senior U.S. commanders have explained, however, the notion of a sweet-sounding “no-fly or other safe zone” would require a massive U.S. military campaign inside Syria that would devastate government forces and result in thousands of civilian deaths because many air defenses are located in urban areas. It also could lead to a victory for Al Qaeda and/or its spinoff, Islamic State, a grisly fate for most Syrians.
Propaganda Value
But the “safe zone” illusion has great propaganda value, essentially a new packaging for another “regime change” war, which the neocons lusted for in Syria as the follow-on to the Iraq invasion in 2003 but couldn’t achieve immediately because the Iraq War turned into a bloody disaster.
At the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the U.S. military to conduct a devastating aerial assault on Baghdad, known as “shock and awe.”
Instead, the neocons had to settle for a proxy war on Syria, funded and armed by the U.S. government and its regional allies, relying on violent jihadists to carry out the brunt of the fighting and killing. When Assad’s government reacted clumsily to this challenge, the U.S. mainstream media depicted Assad as the villain and the “rebels” as the heroes.
In 2012, the Defense Intelligence Agency, then under the direction of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, warned that the U.S. strategy would give rise to “a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria.”
Flynn went further in a 2015 interview when he said the intelligence was “very clear” that the Obama administration made a “willful decision” to back these jihadists in league with Middle East allies. (Flynn briefly served as President Trump’s national security adviser but was ousted amid the growing Russia-gate “scandal.”)
Only in 2014, when Islamic State militants began decapitating American hostages and capturing cities in Iraq, did the Obama administration reverse course and begin attacking ISIS while continuing to turn a blind-eye to the havoc caused by other rebel groups allied with Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, including many outfits deemed “moderate” in the U.S. lexicon.
But the problem is that almost none of this history exists within the U.S. mainstream narrative, which – as the Journal’s neocon editors did on Tuesday – simply depicts Obama as weak and then baits President Trump to show more military muscle.
What U.S. National Interests?
The Journal editorial criticized Trump for having no strategy beyond eradicating ISIS and adding: “Now is the time for thinking through such a strategy because Syria, Russia and Iran know what they want. Mr. Assad wants to reassert control over all of Syria, not a country divided into Alawite, Sunni and Kurdish parts. Iran wants a Shiite arc of influence from Tehran to Beirut. Mr. Putin will settle for a Mediterranean port and a demonstration that Russia can be trusted to stand by its allies, while America is unreliable. None of this is in the U.S. national interests.”
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
But why isn’t this in U.S. national interests? What’s wrong with a unified secular Syria that can begin to rebuild its shattered infrastructure and repatriate refugees who have fled into Europe, destabilizing the Continent?
What’s the big problem with “a Shiite arc of influence”? The Shiites aren’t a threat to the United States or the West. The principal terror groups – Al Qaeda and ISIS – spring from the extremist Saudi version of Sunni Islam, known as Wahhabism. I realize that Israel and Saudi Arabia took aim at Syria in part to shatter “the Shiite arc,” but we have seen the horrific consequences of that strategy. How has the chaos that the Syrian war has unleashed benefited U.S. national interests?
And so what that Russia has a naval base on the Mediterranean Sea? That is no threat to the United States, either.
But what is the alternative prescription from the Journal’s neocon editors? The editorial concludes: “The alternative would be to demonstrate that Mr. Assad, Iran and Russia will pay a higher price for their ambitions. This means refusing to back down from defending U.S. allies on the ground and responding if Russia aircraft or missiles attempt to take down U.S. planes. Our guess is that Russia doesn’t want a military engagement with the U.S. any more than the U.S. wants one with Russia, but Russia will keep pressing for advantage unless President Trump shows more firmness than his predecessor.”
So, rather than allow the Syrian government to restore some form of order across Syria, the neocons want the Trump administration to continue violating international law, which forbids military invasions of sovereign countries, and keep the bloodshed flowing. Beyond that, the neocons want the U.S. military to play chicken with the other nuclear-armed superpower on the assumption that Russia will back down.
As usual, the neocon armchair warriors don’t reflect much on what could happen if U.S. warplanes attacking inside Syria are shot down. One supposes that would require President Trump to authorize a powerful counterstrike against Russian targets with the possibility of these escalations spinning out of control. But such craziness is where a steady diet of neocon/liberal-hawk propaganda has taken America.
We are ready to risk nuclear war and end all life on the planet, so Israel and Saudi Arabia can shatter a “Shiite arc of influence” and so American politicians don’t have to feel the rhetorical lash of the neocons and their liberal-hawk sidekicks.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
Muslim brotherhood is a UK construct – a M-16 project
It’s just another device and deceit to control the nations, peoples a resources of ME.
http://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1979/eirv06n18-19790508/eirv06n18-19790508_014-muslim_brotherhood_londons_shock.pdf
Extract from paper linked to above
From the start, the Suez Canal Company the leading representation of British imperialism in Egypt-financed the Muslim Brotherhood, helping Banna to build the first mosque run by the Brotherhood, completed in 1930.
By 1932, the Muslim Brotherhood of Hasan al-Banna, joined by his brother Abd al Rahman al-Banna, had set up branches in Ismailiyya, Port Said, and Suez; it rapidly spread to Cairo and other cities, including Alexandria.
Over the next years, the Muslim Brotherhood built its organizatipn, beginning a series of new publications including a newspaper. By the late 1930s, the Brother-…..
http://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1979/eirv06n18-19790508/eirv06n18-19790508_014-muslim_brotherhood_londons_shock.pdf
The push for war in places like Syria and the Ukraine isn’t an accident, but flows from the underlying aims and goals of the deep-state and its patrons in the ruling class oligarchy.
Men like George Soros aren’t interested in the Crimean Peninsula because they want to work on their sun tans; they are there because they smell money – lots and lots of money – to be made. The Ukraine/Crimea/Black Sea region is key ground in the on-going energy war between the U.S.-led NATO bloc and that of the Russians and their partners. The same is true of Syria.
Vast new finds of liquid natural gas and petroleum are at stake – not simply who will own them, but who will reap billions (perhaps trillions) developing these resources and getting them to market in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. The Sunni Arab gulf states and their allies – including the U.S., NATO, Israel, and Turkey – have plans how to best bring these finds to market, just as their opposite numbers in the Russian bloc do.
Folded into this energy battle is the ages-old Sunni-Shi’ite Islamic civil war between the predominantly-Arab Sunni nations on one hand, and the Shi’ite Iranians and Syrians on the other. The royal family will stop at nothing to prevent Iran from assuming a hegemonic role in the Middle East, and to that end, have called their attacks dogs – the U.S. and Israel – to “take down” Iran for them. If the U.S. refuses, the Saudis can threaten to pull the plug on the petrodollar and also call in all of those outstanding T-Bills propping up the finances of the U.S. federal government.
Some years ago, the Sunni Arabs – in particular the Qataris and Saudis – made a quid prop quo arrangement with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Ikhwan would cease attempts to topple any of the ruling families and governments in the gulf states, as they had been doing – and would also support the geopolitical aims of these respective governments. In return, the Sunni Arab nations (plus Turkey, which is not an Arab nation) agreed to assist the ‘Brothers in their “civilization jihad” effort – the culmination of which would be the emergence of a new Sunni caliphate across the Middle East, North Africa, and perhaps even into Europe. Some even foresaw the so-called “universal caliphate” – a caliphate (Islamic state) spanning the globe. Additionally, the Sunni Arabs would fund ISIS, the Sunni terrorist/jihad group which was created to serve as their proxy in the war against the Shi’ites and the infidels – and to do the jobs too dirty for anyone else, everything from ethnic cleansings and mass murder to the hegira into Europe.
As of this writing, many Sunni Muslim nations have banned ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood as well, but these measures are strictly pro forma and done for public relations purposes with the west and the buyers of all of that oil. In secret, support for these groups continues much as before.
The emerging fourth-generation war is being fought with propaganda as well as with other weapons. Iran and Syria are constantly demonized in the western media, as is Russia. Iran is portrayed as the most-dangerous Islamic nation in the world and the source of much of the Muslim terrorism/jihad as well, but that dubious honor actually belongs to Saudi Arabia – our so-called “friends” in the region. Russia, far from being the aggressor in this fight, is trying its best to protect its interests. That just makes the western oligarchs – sociopaths that many of them are – that much more angry, and that much more-determined to break Putin and the Russians. The real thing that these ruling elites of the west cannot abide is that Putin and the Russians emphatically-refuse to join the new world order they are creating.
Western society is broke, and the elites are running out of financial tricks and sleight of hand to hide the fact. In history, when nations and empires go broke, they often turn to war as a mechanism for “resetting” the international financial system. The central bankers and financiers are fine with this; they won’t be the ones fighting whatever war happens next. They and their friends in government only start wars; they don’t fight them. That chore is reserved for the common people.
As a retired deep cover CIA officer with 17 years international experience It seems like Republicans are always spoiling for another military encounter in order to show just how much the U.S. has of overwhelming military power. I’d much prefer that we had overwhelming diplomatic strength.
James A. Everett
Call the bluff from the cowboys of the USA: take down their fighter jets and Israël’s too.
Let’s have this war, all the gaming kidz play it, wishing it, and the elder ones 40+ should not shit in their pants. Their parents have done it, why no them too?
Rejoice , and have another Stalingrad!
The legitimate governments of Iran, Syria and the Russian Federation should serve summons to those that have directed and implemented an illegal terrorist war in Syria, committing war crimes, with, if necessary international bounty hunters engaged to bring the war criminal suspects to Syria where an international war crimes tribunal will give the suspects an opportunity to be tried by a Syrian judge and jury.
Funny I didnt know Moscow was in Syria… I always thought it was in the USSR.
No! The Russian Federation. USSR disappeared in the 90’s
Superb article. Exactly right.
It’s not just American neocons who are pushing Trump to expand the war in Syria. There is also his two favorite countries, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The détente with Russia that he claimed to want during the campaign never really made sense in light of his rabid hatred for Russian ally Iran probably inspired by the Israeli’s and Saudi’s. He may not have realized the contradiction back then, but it is playing out now.
Well that blows the lid off of Collusion doesn’t it
The US interests in Syria are a pipeline for Qatar gas which will challenge or maybe even exclude Russia for the European gasmarket. That would be very convenient in the financial warfare against Russia.
After all it’s still a US goal to oust Putin in Russia and replace him with another Jelsin so the looting of Russia and American supremacy in the world can be reestablished.
Second to that a torn up Syria will be a much easier grab, one piece at a time, for Israel to achieve their greater Israel.
What day, date and time did the U.S. Congress make a lawful Declaration of War against any entity in Syria?
This is an unlawful invading action against Syria … just as it would be against any sovereign nation without the U.S. Congress having Constitutionally made a lawful Declaration of War … as mandated under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11.
— “George Washington: “The constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure.” (1793.)
You forgot the amendments by congress of the war powers act after 9/11… you constitutional scholar you
We are witnesses in “The Most Evil Crimes of the 21st Century and the Criminals Are Free.” We need present day Nuremberg Trials.
[read much more at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2017/06/the-most-evil-crimes-of-21st-century.html
See Above
The US seems intent on going to war against Syria, a sovereign, secular nation with a democratically elected president. What gives us the right?
Americans need to complete an assignment; it won’t take long with all of the resources available. Study up on Syria. (Hint: You can’t rely solely on ABC, NBC, NY Times etc…)Cram like it’s a final exam. You’ll learn about Russian and Iranian involvement, Regime Change, Western and Saudi backed terrorists, the manipulated/manipulating Mainstream Media and so much more.
Help stop this war by getting involved.
The Wars crimes act of the second world war and adopted by the United Nations against use of chemical weapons
Actually the first world war… tha’ts how long it has been in effect
Our national interest, described in the Wall Street Journal article, of course requires an acknowledgement that our national interests are really special interests. No where is there an iota of concern for the Iraqi, Syrian, Libyan, Iranian, Afghan, Yemeni people who suffer through it all. No where is there an acknowledgement that justice and the right have place in our foreign policy. There has always been an acknowledgement that some brutality in the pursuit of a just end, but those who espouse what the Wall Street writer espouses propose a country, our country, that is totally immoral and brutal, where our selfish ends tolerate just anything imaginable.
“totally immoral and brutal, where our selfish ends tolerate just anything imaginable”
This is where the US has been for some time. The only check on us has been the possession by a few others of the means of our annihilation. If we had been the sole possessor of nuclear weapons, we would have wreaked our savage and merciless will on the entire world. Absolute power would have absolutely corrupted us. We are now merely temporarily restrained from this outcome, but striving to break through the restraints……
In The Lord of the Rings, the Ring giving absolute power was supposedly destroyed, leaving us to our lesser squabbles. But can the dream of possessing the Ring ever be destroyed within us? Answering that question may determine our fate.
A few quibbles with this, which is mostly boilerplate for you now. You write about a “striking groupthink” which holds that the U.S. has the right to militarily intervene anywhere. And yet U.S. neocons were restrained from attacking Syria because Iraq turned into a bloody disaster. I don’t think the neocon hawks you mentioned regarded Iraq as a disaster (although it was bloody). I think the goal there was to decimate the country, carve it up into competing warlord-like factions, make sure a full, unified state, strong enough to challenge Israel and support Palestinians, never be allowed to rise up on that particular bit of real estate. So far, Iraq has been an unmitigated success.
Secondarily, that the oil wealth therein likewise not be used to taunt or offend Israel, but instead, perhaps, be put in service to further destabilize the region, plowing the fields, as it were, for the stability to come from a Greater Israel. Ditto, Libya. Ditto, Syria. You chide that this, “is not in the U.S. interest,” but it is in Israel’s interest, ergo, it is in the U.S. interest. You also mistakenly assert that this course of action risks an escalated conflict with, “the other nuclear-armed superpower.” But, no matter how illegitimate you may regard its claim to statehood, there is another nuclear-armed state, Israel, in the equation. Absent U.S., Saudi, and other conventional armaments to accomplish its purpose, Israel could use the nuclear weapons you so dread to accomplish their aims.
Israel, we know, will not back down from their claims to regional hegemony. They will negotiate with warring zealous non-secular factions, but they will not negotiate with a legitimate state entity that wants to exercise a brand of sovereignty that does not submit to Israel’s much-vaunted (and impressively expansive) right-to-exist. If you truly are as concerned about nuclear war as you claim to be, you should allow Israel and its partners to decimate these lands so as to avoid nuclear conflict. Otherwise, you should call for the boycott, sanctions, and divestment which will lead either to the annihilation of the current Israeli state, or its reformation.
Valid points, Rhetoric. Ours and Israel’s actions thus far fit in well with the Yinon plan, and the Project for a New American Century. If you can’t have vassals, chaos will do. However, you leave out Russia. They do not appreciate our support for and participation in terrorism, and the resulting chaos. I don’t think the Europeans like being flooded with refugees either. Between Syria and Ukraine, we have been messing with Russia’s strategic assets. I suspect they have more nukes than Israel, and I doubt very much that they will just roll over.
The leaders of the USA, West and Israel are insane psychopathic monsters. The only hope for the people to rise up in peaceful open rebellion.
Let me introduce you to my buddies the Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge and the latin American butchers still practicing in Mexico and Central America….
True. All were uncle Sam’s buddies: cultivated, financed and supported by US.
You know, buddy. There’s a whole internet available now where you can research and LEARN.
You don’t need to be held captive of the fake narratives of the MSM of the past 70 years.
Do yourself a favour buddy. Take time away from writing ignorant piffle here – use that time to inform yourself
“Mr. Assad wants to reassert control over all of Syria…” The impertinence of the man. I mean it’s not as though US presidents would oppose the splitting up of the union if Latino voters in Texas and California wanted to rejoin Mexico is it? Or if Alaskans decided to throw their lot back in with Russia? Look how open they were to Crimea voting to rejoin Russia and how they plead with Ukraine to allow the Donetsk People’s Republic to gain independence.
Still in the Obama administration they realized that the support for Assad among its population was strong and decided that the removal
of Assad from office was not a condition anymore. Until the alleged Sarin gas attack and accusing Assad of course. Assad is an intelligent man, would he use such an attack knowing that that WOULD TURN THE WORLD OPINION AGAINST HIM!! No, this attack was by the opposition with FULL support of the USA/NATO because these organizations have proven to have NO RESPECT for human lives!!
And I guess Trumps in on this rouge… and where did we find scary stockpiles of all outlawed chemical weapons… the Soviet Union.. Assads buddies. The only victims of chemical weapons in the past 100 years are women, children and fighters opposed to Assad on multiple occasions… strange coincidence.
I see you get all your news from the NY times and the TV. Try checking out some real journalists who know about Syria like Eva Bartlett.
“In other words, after the U.S. military has bombed Syrian government forces on their own territory and shot down a Syrian warplane on Sunday – and after Israel has launched its own strikes inside Syria and after Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have financed and armed jihadists to overthrow Assad – it is now up to the Syrian government and its allies to turn the other cheek.”
Those who turn their other cheek….get their ass kicked.
Highly Graphic Video:White Helmets Film Themselves Participating in Beheading of Syrian Soldiers
https://twitter.com/Ali_Kourani/status/877287658472472579
#Whitehelmets Pt 1 Beheaded soliders in truck. Note broken rear window, center brake light, broken left tail light.
https://youtu.be/nlkN1PTImNQ?t=1s
The truth about the White Helmets continues to come out. If you can stomach watching it then you can see who Netflix promotes, Hollywood gave an Oscar to and who 60 Minutes/Scott Pelley just did a segment on. This is the real White Helmets in action.
Massive White Helmets Photo Cache Proves Hollywood Gave Oscar to Terrorist Group
https://clarityofsignal.com/2017/02/27/massive-white-helmets-photo-cache-proves-hollywood-gave-oscar-to-terrorist-group/
Direct Terrorist Collusion: Over One Dozen Videos Capture White Helmets Working Side-By-Side With Terrorist Groups in Syria
https://clarityofsignal.com/2017/05/08/direct-jihadist-collusion-over-one-dozen-videos-capture-white-helmets-working-side-by-side-with-terrorist-groups/
This article is an important dose of truth to counter the CIA/NSA-influenced MSM of the U.S. (and elsewhere). Excellent work.
The trouble is, that the only adult sin the room are the Russians, the Syrians and the Iranians and we don’t listen to any of them
I expect the Republican and Democratic Populists in Congress who do not see a war in Syria as beneficial to the USA to deny the Trump Administration a Declaration of War. The Senate would do it because they are more easily controlled and only 1/3 are facing election in 2018. With Republican Congressmen and Women facing a tough election in a couple years and the Democrats not willing to offend Labor or the anti war wing of the party WE the People have the opportunity to stop escalation in Syria like we did over the purported Sarin Attack outside Damascus when Obama wanted to escalate. Trump is not strong enough to take this nation to war and the two parties know that they are both deeply unpopular , they would be putting their own heads in the noose. I am not certain of course but the American people are a little better than this BS. I don’t see War but Tillerson’s comments to the House Committee a couple days ago in which he was advocating Regime Change in Iran did surprise me. He is clearly on board with the NeoCons and the Project for a New American Century which is what this Syrian escalation and the potential partitioning of Iraq and Syria is all about. Then attack Iran. China has a role to play here, perhaps decisive but they don’t seem to know what to make of Trump and the political insurrection that he is facing. They won’t make a move until the situation becomes clear. Germany is also very angry about the new sanctions that basically block the construction of Nord Stream II. They will not support Trump here and relations with the EU are clearly being strained by both Trump and the foolish bill that the Senate just passed regarding increased sanctions on Russia. I have already contacted my Congressman and I will be increasing my communication with both my Senators. Trump’s Administration also, We all have to become more active this is clearly the most dangerous moment yet. Democracy is failing. Corbyn can’t get to power in England fast enough but the Conservatives are definitely not strong enough to take Britain to War in Syria now. Australia grounded their planes . The USA is basically going it alone. Not good. Military Intelligence in action.
Do you not see that it matters not who is in power? Recall the My-Pet-Goat-Reading guy’s waring abilities? The point is moot. If TPTB wish there to be a war then there will be a war. Keep in mind the quote by one of the big neocons about them not caring whether they wrecked Iraq, that even that would be a favorable outcome. And, really, the intent isn’t to win any wars over in the ME, it’s to keep things unstable so that TPTB can continue controlling things: when peace exists then people get all democratic and stuff and demand that they get fair compensation for the exploitation of their resources; by keeping things in turmoil you can manage to keep thugs in power, and you make your deals with them, which is much easier than trying to negotiate with a collective of people: this is the model of the Royal Family (been working for quite some time; but now, in this day and age, people are becoming a lot harder to control).
US Gov’t Proves Love for ISIS as Bill to ‘Stop Arming Terrorists’ Gets Only 13 Supporters
One of the most rational bills ever proposed, barring the Feds from giving money and weapons to child murdering terrorists, has almost ZERO support.
By Matt Agorist
–
June 20, 2017
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/congress-shows-love-isis-13-representatives-sign-bill-stop-arming-terrorists/
Stephen – that’s a great site and that guy on the video is a great advocate. The public needs to get behind this bill, and they need to press hard for single-payer healthcare. Hound those jerks in Congress until they buckle at the knees.
The media has already painted a bullseye on Gabbard for her meeting with Assad. I wish that Ron Paul would step up and support her (though he’s no longer in Congress it seems like he could help bat back the media’s attacks on her).
Russia, not Putin, is caught between a rock and a US “Hard On, there is a good 10-20x more US and it’s allies firepower than those forces trying to Free Syria.
Syria borders are completly surrounded, and internaly is and always will be swiss cheesed.
Russia dares not war against US wiyh the danger of needing massive amounts of combat equipment because that would mean stealing from their border defense.
what with US, Brits, NAto and its pimple sattelite Romania Poland etc., chomping at bit waitng for Russia to appear weakso as to launch a premptive strike from Ukraine.
China. Iran. I am pretty sure that Russia has explained the Grand Chessboard to them.
The US won’t be able to sucker in all the idiots like it did in the past. Supply lines for the US are a LOT longer than for Russia.
Australia was the first to halt its (illegal) bombing sorties over Syria till the situation between US and Russia clears. Even this NATO F16 which tried to threaten Russian Defense Minister’s plane near Kaliningrad promptly disappeared when a Russian fighter escort showed him his AA weapons. So far, there is a lot of the usual aggressive US stupidity, the vassals are doing a bit of posturing and some are also showing caution not to get dragged in.
The latest NATO maneuvers near the Russian border were exercising an attack on Kaliningrad (again). This is why Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, kept repeating that they were defensive (NATO code word for attack).
Here’s a thought fer ya…just a thought. Nobody has asked whether or not the F/A-18 was authorized to shoot in the first place. Shooting down an Su-22 with an F/A-18 is not a particularly heroic accomplishment. Somebody asked whether the Russian fighters and air defenses are capable of shooting down American planes. The answer is definitely yes. But, to be on the safe side, the US has apparently decided to use its F-22 fighters for future operations over Syria. Those would pose the greatest threat to Russian aircraft. But, there are still the air defense missile batteries. Russia has stated that it will “paint” all aircraft west of the Euphrates with radar. That causes a shattering alarm to sound in the pilot’s headset, indicating that hostile missile batteries have “locked on”. No matter how big your balls are or how good your plane is, outrunning or outmaneuvering a missile given today’s technology is not a winning proposition. F-22’s are touted to be “stealthy”, but Russian radar is touted to be “healthy”.
I think there’ll be an “investigation”, and the F/A-18 pilot will get a reprimand for violating “rules of engagement”. Everybody will back down, and ISIS will fade into the desert until some other strategy can be cooked up. At this point, it looks like Russia is holding all the cards, and the US will have to “save face”. The easiest way would be to blame that pilot.
Hey, I’m not saying the Neocons will give up. But if the “red line” on the chemical weapons false flag didn’t work, this probably won’t either.
I’ve been thinking along these same lines. The Russians are bound to be working on specialized anti-stealth missiles, and if so the Syrians might get a “lend-lease” of some prototypes. Alternately, the radar trace of the F-22 may be hard to pin down, but there would likely be enough to vector some fighters to the immediate vicinity where it would (in daylight) become eyeball visible or (at night) get an IR detector buzzing. Back in 1999 the Serbs brought down an F-117 with some very old equipment. The F-22 is probably better than the F117, but then modern radars are probably much improved as well.
The MIC claims that F22 has the radar cross section of a golf ball. But this is only possibly true for any radar that F22 flies toward (to destroy it) and if the enemy radar operates in the frequency band that F22 coating absorbs. Since F22 still has wings, obviously the largest radar cross section will be visible for any radar that Raptor flies above, then side-ways, and finally from behind. The modern air defense consists of networked radars, thus there is never only one radar that F22 flies towards. In addition, modern air defense also combines active radar with passive radar and thermal sensors for which F22 is even less stealthy. Finally, F22 has an excellently focused on-board radar (low side-lobes), but it could still be detected by the Russian ELINT.
If the Russians were to combine their S400 and S300 batteries with Syrian S300 batteries, the US MIC could be in for some unpleasant surprise. One F22 cost $340M, whilst one Russian AA missile costs about $100K (3,400 times). And all this about F22 which actually works well, not a turkey-mostly-on-the-ground F35.
You forgot about stand off missiles that home on radar signatures??
I doubt if any missile could detect the radio “signature” of a good stealth aircraft. IMO some big computer on the ground would take all the data from many large radars of different wavelengths on the ground and calculate where the stealth plane is and where it is going. One or more SAMs would be directed to the predicted position by that big computer. An old remark by F. G. Sanford was to the effect that if you spot a bluebird flying along at 600 miles/hour, there is something strange going on.
Zach, your comment is good except for the “big computer”. All that would be needed to combine detection from multiple radars is a Pentium, not even the most modern one. Integrated air-defense detection network is actually the key concept of the Russian S400 and the upgraded versions of S300. Even AWACs radar detections are being combined with ground radars into a single picture of the battlefield, by both US and Russia and probably China as well.
I wonder whether the strange collision a few days ago of the US destroyer Fitzgerald with a Philippine container vessel Crystal off Japan can be explained as anything but a planned incident.
The destroyer was hit by a vessel approaching on the starboard (right) side, where as any civilian boater knows it did not have the right of way. Any yacht radar would have shown that a ship was nearby on collision course, with it’s name and registration. The destroyer had a crew of over 300, a surveillance vessel full of electronic technicians, and even at 1:30 AM would have had multiple competent navigators on the bridge. Most likely they had to turn off multiple alarms as the other vessel approached.
Sometimes such incidents occur on small vessels with one inexperienced person on night watch, but this vessel had 50 to 100 times as many crew as those, with nothing to do but stay on course and avoid collisions. They went right through a red light, so to speak, watching the other traffic all the way. So either the captain or crewmembers were playing chicken with ships four times their size as a regular amusement, or were staging an incident to blame on a Philippine vessel.
It begins to look as though the military at all levels are looking for incidents to stir up trouble, and perhaps chose a Philippine vessel based upon views of Duterte from the mass media. Such orders would have to come from near the top.
Russia has supported the internationally recognized government of Syria since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011: politically, with military aid, and since the end of September 2015 through direct military involvement.
At the direction of President Obama, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency played an active role since the early stages of the war in Syria. The U.S. has supplied weapons and air support to Al-Qaeda affiliated anti-government forces.
Obama announced on 10 September 2014 that he would begin to pursue airstrikes against so-called Islamic State (ISIS) forces in Syria with or without congressional approval. Starting on 22 September 2014, a U.S.-led coaltion including Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates began airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria.
The U.S.-led coalition military strikes with fighters, bombers, and sea-based Tomahawk cruise missiles did very little to impede the advance of ISIS forces in Syria.
On 30 September 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin requested permission from the Russian Federation parliament, to deploy the country’s military in Syria. On the same day, permission was granted after a unanimous vote to use Russian military in Syria to fight terrorist groups, the Islamic State in particular. However, combat operations would be limited to using the air force. Russian media reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had asked for Russia to intervene by providing military assistance.
Russia launched its first airstrikes against targets in Rastan, Talbiseh, and Zafaraniya in Homs province of Syria. Moscow gave the United States a one-hour advance notice of its operations. The Homs area is crucial to President Bashar al-Assad’s control of western Syria. Insurgent control of the area would separate the coastal cities of Latakia- where Russian aircraft are based- and Tartous, where Russia operates a naval facility from Damascus.
Khmeimim Air Base, located south-east of the city of Latakia, became operational on 30 September 2015 as the strategic center of Russia’s military operation against ISIS.
NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, General Philip Breedlove, said that the kind of military infrastructure that Russia had installed in Syria, which included anti-aircraft defence systems, was a de facto no-fly zone.
According to Russian Defence Ministry spokesman, Russia had deployed over 50 aircraft in Syria by 1 October 2015, including Sukhoi Su-24s, Sukhoi Su-25s, and Sukhoi Su-34s.
Putin?s proposal, mid-October 2015, that the U.S. receive a high-level Russian delegation and that a U.S. delegation arrive in Moscow to discuss coordinated action against terrorism in Syria was declined by the U.S., and the United Kingdom likewise declined.
On 24 November 2015, Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M attack aircraft near the Syria–Turkey border.
On 26 November 2015, Russia deployed the guided missile cruiser Moskva armed with S-300F (SA-N-6) long-range SAM missiles positioned off Latakia, off the Syrian coast and S-400 (SA-21) mobile SAM systems to Khmeimim airbase.
The Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerial target that posed a threat to its planes.
An area northeast of Aleppo and close to the Turkish-Syrian border was the main route for new ISIS fighters coming in and oil going out of Syria. Turkey made little effort to stop the cross-border traffic. Also known as the Azaz Corridor, the area was designated “Box 4” by the US military.
On 17 December 2015, unnamed White House officials indicated that the U.S. Air Force had temporarily halted manned aerial missions inside “Box 4” due to Russian deployment of 9K37 Buk-M (SA-17) surface-to-air missile systems to the area.
The airspace above Syria is being constantly swept by all sorts of military radars but locking on a fire control radar sends the message that the plane being “painted” is now a target and missiles are ready to launch.
Russia moved at least one Buk-M (SA-17) system within range of “Box 4” and began “locking on” fire control radar to any aircraft its search radars detected.
The Russian military effectively denied US aircraft access to “Box 4” by “illuminating” them with missile fire control radars. US commanders temporarily restricted flights over key parts of the country to unmanned drones.
The Buk-M (SA-17) system is agile, accurate and very hard to jam. Its Mach 4 missiles have a range of 19 miles and can hit targets from treetop height up to 82,000 feet. Analysts estimate that a targeted plane has a 95% chance of being hit.
With control of the air over “Box 4”, the Russian Air Force was free to interdict ISIS traffic in the Azaz Corridor region. The Syrian Arab Army, with Russian air support, has been rolling back with Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist forces in successive ground operations.
With its proxy forces in peril, the U.S. has adopted an increasingly aggressive stance. It may be time for the Russians to once again “illuminate” the U.S.-led operation in Syria.
Today I read an editorial at the Russia Insider site. First the subtitle:
“Russia is not interested in escalation in Syria, but can it be provoked?”
Next the conclusion of the piece:
At some point they get pushed too far, and then they’ll push back. Hard.
I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if a shooting war is what the American Warlords are after.
http://russia-insider.com/en/military/open-conflict-between-us-and-russia-syria-kremlin-wont-comment/ri20155
The USA is a rogue state that is playing a leading role in grinding the living planet into dust.
I know many people won’t get the relationship between this perpetual prodding of Russia and climate change but we are already in early stage runaway and the only thing that will slow it is a nuclear winter.
I believe that the psychopaths in the military industrial complex will soon reach for the Nuclear Winter option.
https://kevinhester.live/2016/06/15/the-inevitability-of-nuclear-war-and-subsequent-nuclear-winter/
Climate change is a cycle. It first gets hotter and then it gets colder. Humans can affect the timeline but not the outcome/cycle. Stuff is being saved deep down in “caves” to be discovered by the next batch of humans that manage to survive (and we will start this entire bloody cycle all over again). Eventually, however, the number of available cycles will run out as the universe runs through its cycle. Humans are pretty silly…
There is not going to be any “next Batch of humans.” If all of us go, there will be no “humans” on Earth again, unless they come here from elsewhere, which is vanishingly unlikely.
Hopefully a more intelligent and less violent species will eventually replace us.
Nah, we’re like cockroaches.
No matter how diabolical a post-nuclear world, a few humans will survive in some places, and bit by bit over another hundred thousands years, well be back where we are today.
Climate change can be controlled … oddly enough with nuclear power. A nuclear war will end civilization if not the human race. I don’t know how we have gotten this idea that there will be anything left. We were smarter in the 1960’s. A single Russian ballistic missile submarine has up to 20 missiles with 10 warheads apiece.
Not sure when or how ww3 will happen but pretty sure US will be one of the countries that caused it.
Not ‘one of the countries’, the only country that will start WW3 is the USA.
To Mike K –
Don’t forget the racist, Apartheid-practicing rogue state Israel… Any objective observer knows that no Washington politician dares take on AIPAC and its ilk.
How can we forget that? And it is true that the deranged state of Israel could drop the first nuclear bomb, just to get things started….
Thanks Mr. Parry for the succinct round up of what’s going on in Syria and why.
It is depressing, disappointing and beyond any reasonable doubt that we are being led by an immoral, repugnant and appalling establishment gang of mountebanks, liars, thieves, war criminals, murderers and madmen. In a Nuremberg Trial world, they would all be swinging.
Nobody can bring these thugs to trial.
Is World War 3 being planned? See article link below:
—————————————————-
NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg warns Russia during Baltic military drills
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has told DW that the alliance’s military drills in the Baltics aim to send a strong signal of deterrence to Moscow. Thousands of troops are practicing what to do in the event of an invasion.
20.06.2017
…
The deployment of battle groups to the Baltic countries and Poland aimed to send a clear message that “an attack on one NATO ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday….
[read more at link below]
http://www.dw.com/en/natos-jens-stoltenberg-warns-russia-during-baltic-military-drills/a-39339970
NATO is a criminal conspiracy.
Why is the US media silent, so far, on these stories?
Iran Targets Terrorists In Missile Strike On Isis Held Syrian Town
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/18/iran-targets-terrorists-in-missile-strike-on-isis-held-syrian-town
>
http://www.the guardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/18/donald-trump-syria-iran-isis-james-mattis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/18/donald-trump-syria-iran-isis-james-mattis
Regarding the violation of Syrian sovereignty and the war crime of shooting down a Syrian aircraft, I ask: “Should Some Political Leaders and Others Be Tried as Accessories After the fact?”
Many are members of NATO.
[read much more at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2014/09/should-some-political-leaders-and.html
Interesting article by Philip Giraldi at link below:
———————————————————————-
Israel’s Dirty Little Secret
How it drives US policies exploiting a spineless Congress and White House
Philip Giraldi • June 20, 2017
http://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/israels-dirty-little-secret/
Stephen J. – wow, what a great article! Thanks for posting it, Stephen. Everybody needs to read this article re Israel and how they own the United States.
Our “representatives” are disgusting criminal cowards.
Tension with N Korea makes it more difficult for US to launch wider mideast war. Should Kim get a peace prize?
NK presents zero real threat to the US.
And based on the gains by the media and the MIC (same conglomeration?) Kim is an ally!
The US HAS to create enemies in order to distract from a collapsing empire. I really wonder whether TPTB are stupid enough to believe that they can run and hide.
Never underestimate their stupidity.
It was a bit of hyperbole on my part. It’s about survival. Surviving each day as it comes. TPTB are just better able to extend their clocks a little further (because they’ve trained us to all believe that we have to take our cues from THEM, which is exactly the mechanism that allows them to get that advantage- still us), but the clock always runs out for each of us. Would one opt to be someone like Dick Cheney if it meant living another 10 years? Survival with no conscience… sure way to exist with death swirling about you.
Trump is not and never has been in charge of ‘his’ administration. Wakey, wakey gentle readers and watch the excellent 17 minute video: “What Bilderberg Really Wants in 2017.” Time to open your naïve eyes and realize that you have been hoodwinked once again. Trump is just another stooge in a long line of stooges ‘presiding’ in the White House (“Sarah there’s a government inside the government and I don’t control it.” – Prez’ Bill Clinton to reporter Sarah McLendon). Bubba got the memo!
Read the Bilderberg article on Source Watch and you will see the cross-pollination between the CIA and MI6, the US and the UK (USUK), the Royal Institute for International Affairs and the Council of Foreign Relations, Chatham House and Pratt House, and the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. NATO is simply the military wing of the Bilderberg elite. Biggie is finally dead and so is Davey Rockefeller but Hank Kiss-ass is heroically carrying on with the Bilge-burger tradition. Look at the roster for this years conference and THINK. The hotel at which this confab occurred books rooms for as little as $82.00 per night with a whooping high end of $192.00 — not exactly your usual Bilderberg venue, But it is close to Dullest Airport and only a few miles from the White House. I’ll bet that the Don got the message, if not, then I am sure that Wilbur Ross and old “Shiny Head” McMasters (both of whom were attendees at this year’s international conference for worldwide conspiracy manufacturers will be happy to pass the memo onto the tweeting knucklehead-of-a-puppet president.
The crooked scumbag governor of Virginia, Terry “The Macker” McAuliffe (Harvard Fellow; Kennedy School of Government) was also in attendance: I imagine that he was getting evaluated and approved by ‘da big boys’ for his certain run for the office of POTUS in 2020. (“The Macker”, as he used to call himself, reportedly talks to Bubba Clinton on a daily basis – I dunno if that is true, but “The Macker” has definitely been up the fannies of both Billary and Shrillary). Yuck!
Eliminating Putin’s Russian miracle is the end game for these mattoid elitists along with the remaking of the Middle East in conjunction with the Muslim Brotherhood who likely will be playing a leading role in the near future. The days of ISIS (Israeli-Saudi Intelligence Strategy) are numbered; their large-scale services are no longer required. But fear not, a world without the fear of terrorism is not in the elitists plans; the ISIS replacements are waiting in the wings of the global theatre The plutocrats simply have to get that pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean completed before the Russians develop that massive gas field that lies between Syria and Cyprus. That pernicious outcome would allow Russia to obtain an even bigger lock on the European gas market than it already has today. Allah (that is, the Wahhabi version of Allah) forbid that the Iranians and Qataris be allowed to cooperatively develop the massive gas field that lies between their two countries.
The Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, Queen Beatrice of the Netherlands (once the richest woman in the world because of her oil & gas holdings in partnership with the Rothschilds) are representative of the real shot-callers behind the Bilderberg Group. Please, remember that you too can make a tax-deductible donation to American Friends of Bilderberg, Inc. Who knows, they might even take that old car of yours. I encourage al of you to visit their website. Let’s face it,if these serious-as-a-heart attack plutocrats** that actually run the Bilderberg Group from behind the scenes really want to have a war, then war it will be. These plutocratic parasites are the elite club members who control the worldwide minerals and fossil fuels industries and who; therefore, control the world. Trump is their butler — for now. Know your enemies! If it is the undertaker-like Mike Pence who replaces the Don, what does it really matter — new butler same job description; kowtow CINC.
** Pluto is not only the ruler of the underworld but also the god of riches because what is lying underground is the real source of human wealth; ergo the elite sociopaths and psychopaths want to monopolize it all for themselves. The rest of humanity (us wee folk) are either useless feeders or necessary wage-slave consumers who keep their planetary masters firmly in power.
Sad but true,
Dunno – excellent post. Thank you. “…if these serious-as-a-heart attack plutocrats that actually run the Bilderberg Group from behind the scenes really want to have a war, then war it will be.” Terrifying power. Maybe saner heads will prevail when they realize they’re going to fry too?
Both the Bush family and Merkel have bought large tracts of land in Paraguay, presumably as a safe haven if thing go kerplui.
I think, there are lot Germans there in Paraguay, descendants of those who fled after World War II to hide.
‘Upside Down on Syria’ is an excellent label for this latest US transgression in the Middle East. Media remain silent in face of world wide exposure of phony videos of injured children. Media remain silent in face of Israel’s directing the US movements in these foreign aggressions. Israel wants Syria’s ‘sweet water’, to make fertile all of the land it has stolen from Palestine.
Washington wants this war. Every day it’s one new provocation after another. Today the American invaders in Syria shot down an Iranian drone, saying its approach threatened “coalition” personnel. To keep thing simultaneously cooking on other fronts, a US spy plane started messing with a Russian interceptor up in the Baltics. Wonder what outrage they are about to pull off in Ukraine. Trump is not making these decisions. The hot shot generals seem to be in full control now. Or maybe the individual field commanders are given carte blanche. Everybody seems to be getting their jollies poking the bear. And, the other side is committing “aggression” by complaining about it. All the American media sure seemed to be outraged that Russia would dare declare that it would defend itself and its allies in Syria. Is America trying to meet some deadline on achieving extinction of the human race or what?
Realist – I was thinking last night, because the Syrian and Russian armies are now getting the upper hand, that something big is about to occur – some false flag, some downing of an American plane (fighter or commercial), a chemical weapons attack, anything – that will enable the U.S. to declare all-out war on Russia. Something is going to give here.
Yeah, if you are losing the game, just kick over the chess board and start throwing punches.
They do seem to be in a hurry to “get something over with.” Who can figure out what deluded minds are thinking? We will just have to wait and see what will happen next. Nobody knows, eh? Maybe I should use it to make life more exciting rather than fear and bemoan it? After all, we are all going to pass on after a while….
It’s desperation. The “Big Plan” that has been in motion for quite some time now is failing. Never did “they” have a backup plan. They are, as you noted above, going to kick over the chess board. But that will do nothing to alter the trajectory/outcome: it’ll just be their last attempt to distract everyone. Any next punch thrown will be at the likes of Russia, and at that point it’s game over: most every simulation run shows Russia kicks the USA’s ass. This is how history has always unfolded. Repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results, well, someone once mentioned the state of any mind that would consider such…
Seer – I hope you’re right.
Apparently, the US does want a war.
Are Russian anti-aircraft defence systems capable of downing US warplanes? Are their airplanes able to stop US ones?
The Saker has long said that Russia knows it is economically and militarily much weaker than the United States and wants to avoid any war with America. It basically wants to develop and catch up to the West on all levels. Washington knows this too and wants to essentially strangle the baby in its crib (one of the key tenets of PNAC). It wants to provoke a major war that Russia currently cannot win. It has been pointed out, undoubtedly by many analysts, that it is commonplace for a stronger adversary to suck a weaker opponent into a war through outrageous provocations. Many historians (perhaps most) believe that’s what the United States did to Japan, through all its sanctions, embargoes and other interference, to deliberately provoke Pearl Harbor as the pretext for WWII.
There was genuine outrage in the US government at what Japan was doing in Asia, and in my opinion that fully explains all the “interference” such as sanctions and embargoes.
That said, I believe Roosevelt most definitely did want to advance Japan’s war schedule so Nazi Germany could be tackled before it defeated the USSR, so he certainly was doing other provocative things and planning more. Remember, at the time the US was reading all of Japan’s diplomatic messages, and the US knew from them that Japan was going to war with the West. If Japan had chosen to attack the USSR, I doubt if the end of WW2 would be anything we’d much like.
Germany was not going to defeat the USSR. In fact, the USSR won our side of the war for us.
The West, and especially not the US, had nothing to do with the defeat of Germany. Let’s stop allowing ourselves to be suckers of false history (the same as what we’re now here fighting against!). The Russians were Germany’s target (ALL WARS ARE ABOUT RESOURCES- really, what resources did Britain have? bankers?) Can you say oil? OK, good… now you can start seeing the true picture. Here’s a better recounting of how this all went down:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/70-years-ago-december-1941-turning-point-of-world-war-ii/28059
And, really, how would a similar play by today’s Nazis (US) play out? (direct invasion ain’t going to happen- that leaves the Big Game of Nukes, a game that’s the absolute pinnacle of human hubris to even consider playing)
Further, folks just need to do fact-checking on the efficacy of US weaponry to understand that the US’s capability is far overrated. Before there was total control over US military information, recall the PATRIOT missile system’s stunning “success” in Bush the First’s war: http://www-users.math.umn.edu/~arnold/disasters/patriot.html (this thing had been so glorified that you’d think they were absolutely positive of its ability, yet… oh, but THIS time it’s not the same… yeah.)
Did not mean to imply that the Japanese were “good guys.” As you remind us, they did rape and ravage most of China and Korea over many years and had the world pissed off or pissing their pants. But Roosevelt did want to address the problem sooner rather than later… before Japan consolidated their gains and enhanced their military might.
Given five more years of preparation could the Japanese have fought us to a stalemate? I don’t know. Would Germany have developed nukes before us if Hitler hadn’t committed to invading Russia in 1941? If Hitler chooses to crush the Brits at Dunkirk in 1940, there is no D-Day invasion. Hitler probably keeps all of Europe which perhaps prevents Stalin from defeating the Third Reich, or maybe Stalin still wins and then takes all of Europe. Some interesting alternate history novels have been written on such premises.
Roosevelt also lit a fire under the American public with that sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, which some say he instigated, and rallied the country to a war it previously didn’t want. It was the 911 of its day. In retrospect, timing usually turns out to be very critical, yet, with all the glaring mistakes made in history, it seems that little heed is paid to it while events are unfolding. I’m sure Sun Tzu had some relevant things to say about the matter, though I cannot cite them for you.
Admiral Parry forced the Japanese to open up to the west in the 1880s and the Japanese took the on the expansionist colonizing model displayed so ably by Britain and the US. Again we are told the US was indignant about someone doing what they had been doing since the Pilgrims.
Realist, You wrote: ” . . .suck a weaker opponent into a war through outrageous provocations.” I think that Neo-nazi Poroshenko of Ukraine was there sitting with Trump in the White House today – my wife was watching PBS, and I had a glimpse of him from a distance. Some thing is cooking. A second front in Ukraine! It is going to be very Hot Summer.
Trump looked distracted, perplexed, a little fearful too. He seems, unhinged. It is becoming clear by the day, that he has no balls. Anything is possible now.
Obama was clever. He went along with the Neocons and Wall Street Gang – his Patrons – most of the time, but managed to stay afloat. Having no skills, Trump seems to be drowning.
It is clear as day light now, that U.S. is controlled and run by Neo-Cons, and Wall Street Oligarchy – President, Congress, Media . . .the whole shebang.
Of course Trump is worried. He knows he’s going to be blamed: I truly believe that the sorry sack of shit didn’t have any interest in waring (keep in mind that Bush II stated that he wasn’t into nation building- next thing you know he was writing checks for it). If Trump doesn’t take the blame then someone in his family will be killed (by “TPTB”).
Ah, the intoxicating allure of “power.” Poor Donald got suckered…
The Saker has said many times that the Donbass Russians alone could march to Kiev and topple that government if Putin took the restraints off of them (or at least take all of Novorossiya), but they are deliberately kept on a short lease because he wants a negotiated peace. I can’t predict that outcome without Russian involvement, but if Washington goes for broke and opens war on 3 or 4 fronts (including the Baltics and the Caucasus), somebody will be marching on Kiev… and probably Lwow to make sure the whole nest of vipers is pacified. Poroshenko will be so deep in shit he’ll wish he had kept to making chocolate.
Wonderful analysis, as always Robert Parry – and scary as hell!
It will literally take a miracle to avert world war III, and what will the world be like then?
As usual Robert, your voice is one of enlightening reason and wisdom, as emphatically displayed here…..
…….and in your closing paragraph.
As Usual,
EA
When children start playing with loaded guns, no one knows when a tragedy will occur, but if they continue playing, it will happen sooner or later. Our time is running out.
“Ironically, the best hope for averting a dangerous escalation into a global conflict is to rely on Assad, Putin, Iran and Hezbollah to show restraint in the face of illegal military attacks by the United States and its Mideast allies inside Syria”.
Wrong, Mr Parry. You talk as if the government of the USA was some dangerous, unreasoning wild beast, uncontrollable by any human agency.
I believe that you, Mr Parry, are a US citizen. In that case you will be aware that your country is supposed to be a republic, in which the people are sovereign and ultimately accountable for all the government’s actions. That means YOU are responsible for everything Washington does. Everything without exception.
If you don’t like it – as you seem not to – you have two remedies.
1. If your country is indeed any kind of democracy, why don’t you and your fellow citizens vote the murderous psychopaths who are currently running the USA out of office? (I might ask why you elected them in the first place, but that’s water under the bridge).
2. If you reply that you are unable to vote them out, then clearly the USA is NOT a democracy. Last time you were in a similar situation, you dealt with it through violent revolution. If you don’t like your government, you can change it. Or can’t you? Do you perhaps live in a totalitarian dictatorship, which keeps an iron grip on power and never allows citizens a voice? If so, maybe it’s time you appealed to the world at large for help. Maybe someone would be willing to come and help you.
What you say is absolute truth . The only thing that is of base is who is running the USA. If you think it is the President or Congress or anyone that may be elected. Think again! The country is run by those that put up the money to elect those clowns. It was quite evident when Netanyahu addressed congress the clowns were told be there clap and if you don’t you won’t be in the next congress. Then you have the so called think tanks run by Kagan Klan were no thinking goes on ,just death and destructions. Until Mr Parry and all others that care start naming those that are putting clowns in office it’s all in vain. You all have a nice peaceful day. YAHANPD
Bruce Walker – it takes awhile to get there, it takes awhile to see the full picture. And even when you do, it takes awhile to accept it. Some people here are still in the denial stage, some in the anger phase. To truly accept something you never thought possible is hard to do.
Having said that, you are right to say that the politicians are nothing but bought-and-paid-for puppets. We must start looking at the source: the ones who put up the money in order to get their puppets elected. These are the people the politicians listen to and fear. We must identify these people. Until we do, nothing will change.
Bruce, You have a point there. There is book “Naming Names” by Victor Navasky. It came out during 1970’s. Navasky was Editor/Publisher of “the Nation” weekly. It is about the McCarthy Era Witch Hunt – naming names before the Senate Committee Panel on Un-American Activities. I read the book long time ago.
It is time to Name Names as you said.
Dave P. – you’re a walking library! Is there a book you haven’t read? Good for you!
I have read some, long ago – not that many. In retirement, over the last eight years I have read some about European, and American History, including that five volume biography of Lincoln by Carl Sandberg.
You can start with the ones who signed onto the PNAC (Prospect for a New American Century), not hard to find, the Kagan Klan, the Bilderberg Group who are listed on their site and the rich Israelis. Plus all the war criminals since WWII, including US presidents. I nominate Dave to write up the list.
Roy, Looking at the comments, I have indeed a very tiny fraction of knowledge compared to what most of the commentators have. In fact, I read these comments to educate myself.
Tom, the USA is no longer a democracy but an oligarchy of economic concentrations. Mr. Parry is not “responsible for everything Washington does” any more than the rest of us. We did not elect the “murderous psychopaths who are currently running the USA.”
Those undeceived by mass media, with sufficient knowledge, experience, and courage to face the truth, are a minority. The means by which change could occur is the primary ultimate question of readers here. Votes and invitations for help are ineffective.
But you are right that change can come only from organized opposition and external pressure. Feel free to apply external pressure, from dumping coalitions, UN opposition, trade embargoes, alliance with US targets, whatever you please. Any opposition to recent US foreign policy is good for the US.
Sam F: Very well said!
The change will happen when there are fractures within the monolithic oligarchy, and there are signs of it happening. Some do not want to ride this suicide plane to hell, others see a Crash coming, much bigger than 2008 wherein all the $ burns up,destroying their basis of power (these are the Venetian Fondi, whose funds are preserved beyond the generations and more important to them, than life itself). Others perceive they can rule unmolested if they.remember their noblesse oblige. Basically THEY will bring the change.
After working feverishly since post-war forties to put America beyond the grasp of Democracy, many of the oligarchs do not like what they have wrought. This is to the advantage of We The People. If enough oligarchs side with the people, we may only suffer a coup instead of civil war (the bloodiest wars of the Roman Empire were its’ civil wars of different power groupings contending for the throne).
Robert Parry is correct …. it is best for the Russia-Syria coalition to show restraint right now, in the face of the US provocations.
The Syrian coalition is finally in a position to win this war.
When I examine the Syrian map of the territory that the Kurds control in Northeast Syria, they presently control very little of the oil and gas resources. And, they have either been cut off by the Syrian Army from the oil, or they themselves have announced that they don’t intend to cross the Euphrates to the South, where the oil is located. Their biggest asset that the Kurds control is the Tabah dam and it’s electrical generating capacity.
And most importantly, all other rebel groups have also been cut off from all of the Syrian oil and gas regions, which are mostly still controlled by ISIS. The US and their FSA rebels can’t get to it, and the Kurds say they will not try to take it.
So, why take a chance of giving the US an excuse of widening the conflict? That is what the neocons want. And remember they control the media.
The Syria map actually looks very good for Syrian army coalition prospects right now. Russia just started building a base about 50 miles North of the al-Tanf base at the Syria-Iraq boarder controlled by the US and their FSA rebels. This is the area where the US announced a De-infliction zone last month. I think Russia will soon announce their own De-infliction zone at their new base. That is the way to play the game !!! That will never make the mainstream news, but the US and the neocons will get the message.
I think the Russians also look at this same map and calculate it is better not to confront the US right now, while the Syrians are in position to slowly recapture all of the oil and gas wells from ISIS, using the same successful techniques they have used in the last few months.
The doomsday clock is ticking closer to midnight now, but the sleeping people are unaware of the danger bearing down on all of us. If this should be “the big one” – so be it. We have been moving towards such an outcome from our very beginnings. Chances to change our fatal course have arisen again and again, and we have not taken them. Cumulative serious mistakes eventually have very dire consequences. This is the law of karma – not a fanciful concept – but a very real and uncompromising reality.
There has been truth, love, and beauty along they way – but these have not availed. What we have sown, we shall reap. We have refused to know what we have done. May God have mercy on our Souls.
I posted this yesterday; ignore if you’ve already read it. Tucker Carlson did an interview with Charles Krauthammer, a regular visitor on his program (for some unknown reason). Krauthammer, who belongs to the Council on Foreign Relations and sides with Israel, said:
“It is like the last year of World War II, we are all fighting the Nazis, but we know that they’re finished. A lot of the maneuvering in that last year was between us and the Soviet side for what it would look like after the Nazis were finished.
The Iranians want to inherit the territory that’s going to be lost by ISIS, and they showed that by launching rockets today over Iraq and into Syria, ostensibly at ISIS in retaliation for the terror attacks, but really a demonstration to Saudi Arabia, the Sunni Arabs and everybody in the region of their reach. The Iranian objective is to inherit the territory of ISIS, which gives them control of the entire northern part of the Middle East, from Iran, through Iraq, through Syria to the Mediterranean. The Persians have not had that in 2,000 years and it is within their grasp. So the Russians, the Iranians and the Syrian regime are all on one side, and the maneuver is to make sure they get the territory that ISIS loses. Our interest is to make sure that doesn’t happen. That’s why we attacked…..
Our objective is simple: we don’t want to see Assad have a puppet regime which will be run by Iran and Russia in control of all of Syria. We don’t want them to inherit the ISIS territory. We would like to see that held by pro-Western/pro-Saudi/Sunni forces. One settlement would be that you’d get a rump regime in Damascus running the west side of Syria essentially, whereas the middle of Syria is controlled by the rebels. That is a far more advantageous, strategic ending to all of this. This I think is pretty high level chess.”
This is how these neocons think.
When Tucker Carlson asked whether the two sides (the east and west) would then continue fighting in perpetuity, Krauthammer said that they might, but if Assad and the Russians decide that the war is not winnable (most likely because the U.S. would make sure it’s not winnable) or it’s not in the Russian interest, then the Russians might accept a settlement in which there’s a de facto division of the country into ethnic enclaves, which would probably be for the Syrian people and the U.S. the best outcome.
Wow. Yeah, right! So the U.S. wants Syria broken up into pieces: Assad to have west of the Euphrates River, the Kurds to have the northeastern part of Syria (where the oil is), and I guess rebels holding the other parts.
We can’t let these A-rabs start thinking they own their own countries! Everybody knows that Israel and the U.S. own them.
Well, I wouldn’t believe a single word Krauthammer says unless I had some reliable source for it. As for the comparison he draws – ludicrous and insane as it is – I suppose it holds water if you realise that both the Nazis and ISIS were encouraged, funded, supported and to a large extent manipulated by the US government.
Thanks for the excellent information on what Charles Krauthammer said about what the neocon intentions are.
However, when I examine the Syrian map of the territory that the Kurds control in Northeast Syria, they presently control very little of the oil and gas resources. And, they have either been cut off by the Syrian Army from the oil, or they themselves have announced that they don’t intend to cross the Euphrates to the South, where the oil is located. Their biggest asset is the Kurds control of the Tabah dam and it’s electrical generating capacity.
I think the Russians also look at this map and calculate it is better not to confront the US right now, while the Syrians are in position to slowly recapture all of the oil and gas wells from ISIS, with all other rebels currently being cut off from them. The map actually looks very good for Syrian army coalition prospects right now.
RamboDave – thanks for the information on the Kurds. I wasn’t aware that they didn’t control the oil and gas, so thanks for clearing that up.
As Syria and Russia are finally getting the upper hand in the war, it’s no wonder the U.S. has started upping their game, trying to draw Russia into a confrontation. The U.S. knows it’s losing the battle. Yes, you’re right, if things are going well for Russia at the moment, better to make speed than stop and start fighting the U.S. Put your head down and ignore as much as you can.
Good post, RamboDave.
Of course Krauthammer knows that he is completely wrong that Iran wants to control Iraq and Syria, and that the Assad government is a puppet regime for Iran and Russia; that is pure propaganda for the zionist divide-and-conquer goal there.
As I recall, the Kurds control considerable oil around Kirkuk, where the British first found oil in the Mideast oozing out of the ground. Apparently they can get it south through Shiite Iraq. They mainly want an independent Kurdistan made from parts of Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey.
Krauthammer has always been a Zio-fascist and basically a mouthpiece for Sharon and Netanyahoo in America.
His main argument is totally without merit. ISIS has NO territory to lose. They are simply occupying Syrian land they invaded with Washington’s instigation and assistance. When it’s recaptured it reverts back to its rightful owner, not Iran or not a puppet (or puppetmaster*) of Washington. Krauthammer probably thinks that by promulgating his bogus philosophy he can justify Israel stealing major chunks of Syria’s southern territories, in addition to the Golan.
*aka Israel
Sam F – yes, I know Krauthammer is an idiot, and I know he knew he was lying the whole time his lips were moving. But amazing they can say these things with a straight face, isn’t it?
Realist – yeah, somehow he thinks that once the land has been occupied (even for a short while), you’ve lost it forever, just like the Golan Heights. Must be nice. Totally a Zionist.
To understand this, you have to examine what happened in 2002, during the buildup to that Iraq war. You have to go back 15 years to understand what is happening today.
There was a deal made in 2002 between Israel (and their Neocon supporters in the US) and Saudi Arabia, in order to get the Saudis to join the Iraq war coalition. The deal was to do regime change in Iran and Syria after Saddam was removed in Iraq. That is what the Saudis demanded in exchange for the Iraq war to proceed.
Israel and their Neocon corner, must now complete their part of the bargain. In the alternative they must try to partition Syria, to break up the “Shia Crescent”. The Saudis may be threatening to expose the whole thing if they don’t.
Here is probably what happened in 2002 in a deal worked out by Dick Cheney:
The Iraq war, and removal of Saddam, would have been impossible unless the Saudis agreed to it in advance. Therefore, in 2002 Saudi Arabia (Prince Bandar) was shown a list of seven countries where the neocons (Zionists) wanted to do regime change. This is the same list that General Wesley Clark later spoke about seeing. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFHOHIiFZA
The Saudis agreed that, in exchange for the high probability that, after the war, Iraq would be taken over by the Shiites, there would be regime change in both Iran and Syria to compensate the Saudi’s.
It all has to do with a 1998 Zionist document entitled The Project For A New American Century written by William Kristol and Robert Kagan. Seventeen of the signers of that document later got jobs in the Bush Administration. Also keep in mind that 90% of the signers were Jewish Zionists. The whole purpose of the document was to make the Middle East safe for Israel, so that Israel could keep the land they stole and dictate the settlement terms with Palestinians.
The neocons must absolutely complete their part of a grand bargain made back in 2002 with Saudi Arabia. That is why they will not give up on their quest for regime change in Syria, or attempt to partition it. They absolutely have to do this first in order to isolate Iran, and then do regime change in Iran, as promised to the Saudi’s.
If they can’t complete their grand bargain, the Israeli / Saudi alliance will fall apart. Israel will appear powerless, at a time when they are dependent upon the perception that they control Washington. The Saudis may also be threatening to expose the entire deal unless the promises made to them are carried out.
RamboDave – I hope Israel ends up twisting in the wind and is made to give back all of the land they stole (from the Palestinians, from the Syrians).
The U.S. citizens pay taxes, and a huge lump sum is shipped off to Israel every year in the form of aid. Some of it is spent on weapons, but a good deal of this taxpayer money gets funneled back into American politicians’ pockets so they can vote favorably on matters to do with Israel. Like a great big circular bribe, and the taxpayers pay for it. Crazy nuts.
Income tax goes direct to the Federal Reserve, a privately owned “bank”.
The Federal Reserve is owned primarily by Germanic sounding private banks like Goldman Sachs etc.
Hence why nearly every Fed Chair is Jewish, and the overwhelming influence they have over US affairs.
Great analysis, Dave!
I’d add that the Saudis have the “picture” that pretty much forces this thing to play out as you describe: 9/11. If there is any capitulation then the Saudis will expose the plot for 9/11.
“American politicians don’t have to feel the rhetorical lash of the neocons and their liberal-hawk sidekicks”
Um, try “So American politicians can stay on that sweet, sweet train of donor dollars from Sheldon Adelson
and Haim Saban et al.”
This is a response to donor dollars.
Somebody needs to tell the Donald that this is exactly how you DON’T make America great again. This is how you wind up exterminating life on the whole F-ing planet. Giving the generals a free rein is utter insanity. There is a very good reason the commander in chief of the armed forces is a civilian job. As for article VI of the Constitution, the UN Charter, and International law, it didn’t take the Donald long to join the War Criminal clique. I hope we all get to wake up tomorrow.
Donald just outsourced the US foreign policy to the greatest asylum for the criminally insane. He is doing in slo-mo what Killary would have done a few months sooner.
A superb article.
The situation is too volatile now with the downing of a Damascus jet and then a drone.
It is time for a Trump/Putin “summit” meeting, along with Tillerson and Lavrov.
The main thing standing in the way is Russiagate. That particular witch hunt should be jettisoned or ignored.
The other main obstacle is the inability by the forces for peace to support such an initiative out of a blind hatred of him. The proper approach is to support such a summit and rapprochement with Russia even while opposing Trump on many -most- other policies. To do otherwise is infantile – humanity’s survival is at stake here.
And Trump should have the courage to schedule such a summit right away- the Russiagaters be damned. In the end he will be praised for it by the majority of Americans. Time is running out!
And why is there not world condemnation for the rogue state America? It is particularly sad to see how little so many Americans care for the devastation wrought by these evil neocons, these chickenhawks. They deserve a Nuremberg trial but what do they get but acquiescence? The UN is toothless. And what the hell is Nikki Haley doing as “Permanent Representative” to the UN? News for her, nothing is permanent, well understood by buddhists.
Why? Because it’s amazing what nefarious goals you can accomplish when you are able to effectively suppress the truth and intimidate all opposition. So, short answer = Lies and Fear. The combination that make America great!
Because might is right; and that’s basically most of human history for you.
“In response, the Journal’s neocon editors called for more U.S. military might hurled against Syria and Russia: “The risk of escalation is real, but this isn’t a skirmish the U.S. can easily avoid. Mr. Assad and his allies in Moscow and Tehran know that ISIS’s days are numbered. They want to assert control over as much territory as possible in the interim, and that means crushing the SDF [the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces].”
Yeah, you CAN easily avoid it. Get the hell out of Syria! You’re not invited.
And just imagine the gall of Assad wanting to take back his country and assert control! He appears to have the crazy idea that Syria actually belongs to Syria. (sarc)
I think the US government and its media tools are counting on the American public not to catch all those logical fallacies you point out, or else not give a god damn, as long as the government leaves them alone. Having a brain, applying logic, and striving for justice and morality makes you a target of the corporate-owned state in today’s America. After the Indispensibles clean out all the commies in the wider world, they will come looking for all the domestic Deplorables such as yourself. That’s how I see their agenda.
The Washington Zio-Saudi Terror Network has morphed into a lunatic organization.
This is EXACTLY how Tel Aviv has behaved for decades: act the madman so cooler players have absolutely no idea what you may do tonight after dinner or tomorrow after breakfast.
One of the Kremlin’s biggest worries and concerns has always been that they can never get a reasonable grasp of what the Washington militarists are up to hour by hour in Syria. Moscow hasn’t a clue as to who in State, White House, the Pentagon, or Tel Aviv is actually formulating Syria policies.
To say this madman persona turns the entire Middle East into a terrifying tinderbox is the understatement of the 21st Century.
We all must hope beyond hope that if our lunatic madmen do something truly depraved and heinous, like say, rubout a half dozen Russian advisors on the ground, that Putin continues to be the adult in the room.
How long Russia can remain a stoic punching bag is THEE most important question in the world for at least the next half decade.
Drew, great summary, how long can Russia remain a stoic punching bag for the certified lunatics?
This will go on until Russia punches back and shoots down an attacking American plane. A prudent Washington would get the message that it has finally exceeded Russia’s tolerance for provocation and not cross any further red lines. After all, our goal is to preserve life and maintain peace, right? The real world maniacs in control (which ain’t Trump) will take it as the casus belli they have been trying to provoke on multiple fronts from the Baltics to Ukraine to the Caucasus to the Middle East.
An attack on American personnel (maybe even on just a drone) will be proclaimed an act of war, not just in Syria, but between their country and ours. All the media will go batshit crazy and demand war. The Congress, which has been champing at the bit, will accommodate for the first time since 1941. Hell, they might even pass a bunch of unconstitutional laws wrenching control of the military from the presidency and allowing the generals carte blanche. Then Russia will be forced to fight simultaneously on all the aforementioned fronts against all of NATO. The Eurotrash “never again” crowd will slaughter without compunction in service to their master. “Just taking orders” becomes totally rehabilitated morality.
Whether Russia attempts to use tactical nukes to defend itself or not, Washington will claim it has and go for the all-out first strike it has been cooking up for years. The neocons will call this “winning,” having never extrapolated beyond this stage in their think tank scenarios. They envision either the remnants of Russian civilisation immediately surrendering or having to be totally eliminated in a second strike should they attempt retaliation. Getting on with life on a post-apocalyptic planet buried in radioactive fallout and locked into nuclear winter for decades to come will simply be just another challenge for American spirit and ingenuity. So what if Russia gets in a few lucky punches and wipes out our cities? And maybe all the cities in Europe as well. And maybe we took out a billion Chinese to boot, just in case they got ideas. It’s a fresh start. And no more bellyaching about global warming from the liberals.
I wonder what the probabilities are for such a scenario if run in a sym-world virtual reality program, you know, like they simulate a thousand baseball seasons in a computer to ascertain pecota projections. I wouldn’t be surprised if the probability approaches even money. No doubt the NSA and CIA have done this a million times by now and think they can predict the outcome. Yep, they think they have all the answers and hold all the power.
Realist, our own feeble minded little Dr. Strangeloves may doom the planet to death and starvation due to the idiotic simulations you astutely addressed above.
Only a Realist could produce such a realistic scenario. Many smart people here who truly understand the risks of this nutty warmongering. US mad-dog out-if-control Generals are talking de-escalation for the domestic sheeple which they are leading to slaughter whilst escalating the war in Syria.
The Russians have a choice of drawing a red line by shooting down a US jet or curling their tails and letting US and Israel continue slaughtering Syrians, which us what the Russians have been doing until now. Shooting down the two drones and a jet is just the initial testing of the Russian resolve. The next step will be either a false-flag or another major strike on Syrian forces liberating their own country from mostly US trained terrorists, which will kill dozens of Syrian military.
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” — Mike Tyson
Just think back a while to the Film :”War Games”, where a computer went ballistic running war game scenarios with the end result being their is NO WINNER.
When will” Human-Kind” learn after all these years of virtually perpetual WAR somewhere on the planet [over 750 + years], being driven by the Military Industrial Neocons in various countries and Wall St/Bankers funding them.
Again history will tell you for every conflict there has been and never were any winners, just thousands of refugees and dead bodies littering the the battle fields, cities/towns destroyed and resulting in decimating a country’s capability to survive without blood shed and be peaceful.
The present occupier of the White House is totally ignorant of world history and any sort of Diplomacy as he is surrounded by the Swamp and his Cronies feeding his sad thin skinned insecure ego for admiration, as he thinks it is a big game like the Apprentice. His arrogance and ignorance is terrifying that he could lose all sensibility and Start WW III. God help us all if someone in DC does not wake-up and end this madness and Trumps Opprobrium and Disdain for his fellow human beings.
”Yep, they think they have all the answers and hold all the power.” Actually, they are crackpots – dangerous crackpots to be sure – but bone fide megalomaniacs all the same with completely crackpot ideas. How many harebrained military theories designed to ensure ‘total victory’ have in the past, come to grief in the fog of war?
”No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.” Helmut Von Moltke the Elder Prussian General.
Or
”All we have to do is kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come tumbling down.” That was one A.Hiter just before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
It is odds on that the strategic war against Russia/China ain’t gonna go according to plan, and the neo-cons pathological inflexibility will be there own undoing. They seem incapable of learning from history and simply repeat what they did the last time. Taking on armed nuclear states in the same manner as taking down Iraq of Libya seems stunningly stupid.
Drew – Putin’s Judo lessons no doubt have taught him restraint. If you’re winning the big war, that’s all that matters. Your opponent will try to pull you off course, but don’t let them.
Of course, Putin won’t react. They’ll just set it up to look like he did.
Putin will react. He has said so. He’s a master of restraint, but when push come to shove, he can’t be shoved. People don’t know it, but he’s our best hope to stop this insane country.
Oh,do you know about the safe havens for the congress to go should “the big one come?” They have places to go underground so our wonderful USA can survive and (“furtherance”) while the rest of us die. Hilarious. The very people who cause a nuclear holocaust are the only ones to be saved. see Raven Rock.
Rob Roy – I didn’t mean Putin wouldn’t ever attack, just that he wouldn’t retaliate for the downing of the Syrian plane. He’s let the U.S. know that if they pull another stunt like this again, their plane is going down. He’s also said that if Russia is attacked, yes, he will react. I just meant that he won’t be pulled off the longer game by a single plane going down.
And the difference between our country (which is concerned merely with “elites”) and Russia is that they are prepared (they’ve done civil drills) to protect the entire population of Moscow via underground shelters. That in itself says a great deal.
What’s the big problem with “a Shiite arc of influence”? The Shiites aren’t a threat to the United States or the West. The principal terror groups – Al Qaeda and ISIS – spring from the extremist Saudi version of Sunni Islam, known as Wahhabism.”
Do not be surprised if false flags are launched by Wahhabi front groups for Saudi terror and then blamed on Shiites. This would then give creedence to the claim, albeit it false, that Qatar, Iran et. al. are the true enemies. It would also take the heat off the Saudis and leave them looking like ‘good guys’in the minds of the misinformed or non informed.
“… the neocons want the Trump administration to continue violating international law, which forbids military invasions of sovereign countries, and keep the bloodshed flowing. ”
This is the only indication in the article that Trump may have already violated international law, i.e. may in reality himself be in the neocon camp that CN believes wants to take him down. I look forward to more direct admissions that you badly misread Trump.
Forget Trump. He is simply a stooge, albeit a bad one.
The United States’ use of force against the sovereign state of Syria is a prima facie violation of international law. It is an act of aggression against an UN Member State in violation of the Charter of the United Nations. It therefore gives Syria the right to react in self-defense or a legal justification for the use of force. It also gives any other UN Member State the right to act in collective self-defense and to support Syrian action against the US. This is the basic understanding of the international legal consequences of the United States’ use of force against Syria.
An analysis of the US use of force must review the known facts and the applicable international law. The position of US law, while relevant to Americans, has little to do with the evaluation of international law. National law can never be a justification for a violation of international law. Similarly, national emotions, even the emotional concerns of a US President, cannot justify the actions of the US government that are inconsistent with international law.” (https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/04/07/why-the-united-states-use-of-force-against-syria-violates-international-law/).
The violation is so blatant it is surprising it needs to be mentioned again.
Trump cannot even find the White House without a limo driver. This is not about Trump, this is about neo-con terror and yes, the US has violated international law.
The United States’ use of force against the sovereign state of Syria is a prima facie violation of international law. It is an act of aggression against an UN Member State in violation of the Charter of the United Nations. It therefore gives Syria the right to react in self-defense or a legal justification for the use of force. It also gives any other UN Member State the right to act in collective self-defense and to support Syrian action against the US. This is the basic understanding of the international legal consequences of the United States’ use of force against Syria.
An analysis of the US use of force must review the known facts and the applicable international law. The position of US law, while relevant to Americans, has little to do with the evaluation of international law. National law can never be a justification for a violation of international law. Similarly, national emotions, even the emotional concerns of a US President, cannot justify the actions of the US government that are inconsistent with international law.””
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/04/07/why-the-united-states-use-of-force-against-syria-violates-international-law/
Take a look at Article 7 of the NATO treaty: “The Treaty does not affect, and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations under the Charter of the Parties which are members of the United Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
No NATO member is under an obligation to engage in collective offense in support of a war of aggression.
When a country continuously heightens its attacks on another country or its allies, so that the target country or an ally eventually counter-attacks in legitimate self-defense, Article 5, triggering collective self-defense when a member nation is attacked, is simply inapplicable according to Article 7.
Randal Marlin – thanks for that information.
Likely the military are trying to force a confrontation regardless of civil authority.
The President does not have power to start or conduct foreign wars any more than his generals: he is simply the chief commander and treaty negotiator. NATO must be renegotiated and warmaking powers taken back by Congress.
Despite its productivity and affluence, the US has been damaged by unregulated business, and is now a generally selfish, uneducated society, controlled by a tyrannical oligarchy, unable to bring sympathy or human rights into policymaking, law, mass media, or popular culture. Restoration of democracy requires amendments to protect elections and mass media debate from economic power, but we cannot do that while those tools of democracy are controlled by oligarchy.
We’ve been saying for years now that “warmaking powers [must be] taken back by Congress.” The problem is, it seems that Congress is the entity that lusts for this war. They all seem to take their marching order from Netanyahoo.
Yes, Congress itself is presently almost completely corrupted by bribes from MIC/Israel warmongers, hence the need to protect elections and mass media debate from economic power. We cannot do that while those tools of democracy are controlled by oligarchy, so the action point is deposing oligarchy, including the MIC and zionists.
I agree with you Realist.
Is this an official NATO war are just the usual neocolonial aggressors?
NATO is the excuse used by US warmongers, because treaties extend the US Constitution, which does not provide any powers to conduct foreign wars, just to repel invasions and suppress insurrections.
Of course NATO was intended to be solely defensive, has been abused by warmongers to pretend a power of discretionary foreign wars, which in turn has been abused by warmonger presidents to conduct secret wars, which in turn has now been abused to permit the warmongering military alone to decide and conduct foreign wars. All of that is completely unconstitutional as well as in violation of international law.
the US is a plutocracy , not an oligarchy
What the US has been doing in Syria is flat-out illegal, but nobody in this country seems to care. From the Newsweek site:
Trump clearly doesn’t have a clue about what’s going on, and Mattis & company clearly don’t give a damn about the law. Mattis was a war criminal in Iraq, and has continued in Syria with the same illegal stuff. He used white phosphorus in Fallujah, and he has done it again with a Syrian city.
Syria and Russian have the option of backing down on this or standing their ground. The former will lead to the fanatical neocons getting even bolder, and the latter means some kind of shooting war. I’m beginning to get worried.
http://www.newsweek.com/russia-v-us-syria-who-holds-legal-high-ground-627597
I am glad that most commenters realise that this is truly a challenge to Russia to accept a US no-fly zone in Syria. If Russia concedes there will be more, if Russia defends Syria there will be a much bigger war. United Slaves is clearly playing chicken with Russia – “I am too crazy for you, you have to let me win.”
One of the better Parry writings or recent. Thank you for abandoning ( hopefully ) some of the language used by the Trump organization in deflecting any important concise dialog and thank you for explaining the dangers all of us face in allowing the State to be under the control of a person who is 100% unqualified for the job.
And Zachary, thanks for the posting from Newsweek which does show there are pockets of useful and accurate information in the MSM.
States have the right of self defense. Troops illegally occupying and engaging in the capital war crime ” War Against the Peace” in a sovereign nation have no right of self defense but are war criminals subject to capital punishment according to the Geneva Conventions.
What happens in Syria affects vital national interests of Iran and Russia. Not so for the US. So if warmingers expect Russia, Assad, and Iran to blink first, they are in for a huge shock
You are right. This really is a red line for Russia and Iran, not so much for the USA. For those 2 countries, a major threat to their survival will commence if they allow America to install their proxy fighters ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria. Russia and Iran must defend Syria against America, and their armed / trained / funded terrorist allies. It’s a no-brainer for Putin. I believe Russia and Iran are ready to play the game.
I hope so. If a nuclear bomb goes from the US to Russia, Putin says he will respond (fight back) and when asked if Russia would survive, he said no, we will all die. Why are two of the best leaders in the world so maligned here (NYT, WaPo, WSJ, CNN, MSNBSC, ABC, CBS, etc.)? Not everyone is fooled.
“With the United States now responsible for multiple strikes against the Syrian military as Syrian forces battle ISIS militants and attempt to retake eastern territory, it is clear that the US is willing to risk wider war in pursuit of the 2012 agenda of using ISIS to ‘isolate the Syrian regime.’
“By hindering Syrian forces attempting to move east toward Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and beyond, the US hopes to continue stationing both its own forces, and armed proxies creating a de facto state within a state separate and opposed to the government in Damascus.
“From this carved out territory – having long-since failed the outright overthrow of the Syrian government – the US plans to incrementally expand westward from ISIS-held territory – while Turkish forces and their proxies move south, and another contingent of US forces from Jordan attempt to move north-northeast – in an attempt to eventually consume the Syrian state.
“US policymakers from the corporate-financier funded think tank, the Brookings Institution, have repeatedly published papers over the years detailing this plan. In a 2016 paper aptly titled, ‘Deconstructing Syria: A Confederal Approach,’ it’s stated clearly that;
“‘…the United States and partners would seek to help local allies expand de facto safe havens and bring governance to them. It would not declare safe havens formally in the beginning, but could offer warnings to Assad not to bomb certain areas and neighborhoods lest his air force face reprisal action later. Over time, ISIS and related groups would have to be defeated. Assad or his close associates could be tolerated within a sector consisting mostly of Alawites and Christians. (Perhaps Assad could even nominally remain president for a time, if truly necessary, as long as he did not deploy security forces in those parts of Sunni-dominant Syria granted autonomy.)’
“The Brookings paper also clearly contradicts both the Washington Post and the US military spokespeople it is citing, making it clear that the US aims to remove the Syrian government from power, and are not merely ‘targeting Islamic State militants.’ The report clearly states:
“‘When appropriate, the safe zones would also be used to accelerate recruiting and training of additional opposition fighters who could live in, and help protect, their communities while going through basic training.’
“It is clear that this plan, verbatim, began in earnest under the administration of US President Barack Obama and is being aggressively expanded under US President Donald Trump.
“It is also clear that Syria and its allies are challenging it to the point where the US finds it necessary to use overt military force to establish its ‘de facto safe havens’ before expanding them and launching a larger scale regime change campaign from them.”
US Downs Syrian Warplane Over Syria Amid War on ISIS
By Tony Cartalucci
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2017/06/us-downs-syrian-warplane-over-syria.html
Abe, I don’t understand why the term “moderate rebels” has any currency with anyone. The Americans and others seem to think their presence in Syria is justified by their supporting these so called moderate rebels. The rebels are in fact terrorists in every sense of the word and if there was a similar group in the USA they would be cut to pieces by the military style police there. The Syrian government has every right to attack any of these treasonous scum no matter where they are and any Americans with them are mercenaries who should be driven out all killed.
Interesting article by Mr. Parry with lots of info.
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Is this the planned scenario of the war criminals?
They shoot down a Syrian plane and violate Syrian sovereignty.
If Syria or Russia retaliates against the war criminals that are members of NATO, the U.S. and its “allies” that are NATO members could invoke “Article 5” of NATO, which states an injury to one is an injury to all. NATO has already encircled Russia. So are these mad evil war criminal bastards preparing for a World War 3?
[More info at link below]
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2017/02/will-war-agenda-of-war-criminals-result.html
Stephen, just so that we are clear on who is running the show in Syria (behind a paywall but the intro gives an idea): https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-gives-secret-aid-to-syrian-rebels-1497813430
After it shotdown a manned Syrian jet on Sunday and whilst “de-escalating” on Monday the United Slaves of Israel shot-down a second Syrian drone in Syria. It is clear that United Slaves is introducing a creeping no-fly zone in Syria whilst talking de-escalation bull. Trying to avoid an escalating cycle of provocation against Syria and Russia, the Australian Airfirce appears to have suspended all (illegal) military flights over Syria for the time being, practically awaiting Russian reaction to the US provocations to resume its bombings. If Russia concedes the US no-fly zone in Syria, this will be a clear US and ISIS win. As per the link above, it is ISIS which the US uses as an excuse to occupy and bomb Syria whilst its “allies” Israel and KSA are now openly financing and supporting.
The article is indeed very well written and useful. The instigators of the attacks and likely upcoming false-flag attacks are tyrants looking to play tough, not for a nuclear war, but are socially unable to control themselves in the confrontations they make likely.
Those who would like to petition the NYT to make Robert Parry their senior editor may do so here:
https://www.change.org/p/new-york-times-bring-a-new-editor-to-the-new-york-times?recruiter=72650402&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
While Mr. Parry may prefer independence, and we all know the NYT ownership makes it unlikely, and the NYT may try to ignore it, it is instructive to them that intelligent readers know better journalism when they see it. A petition demonstrates the concerns of a far larger number of potential or lost subscribers.
Eric G: I hope you’re sincere in this push to make Robert Parry Editor of NYT. I’m beginning to think, though, you’re offering a false mission that only serves to undermine Parry. I’m too interested in Parry’s other works and gathering supporting info to take the time to act (again and again) on your request. This could be interpreted as ‘disinterest’ on my part. Are you authentic, or did you, with this form scheming, recently slip out of a neocon think tank?
Since when did we start sympathizing with brutal dictatorships?
Since Forever. For instance, FDR famously said “That Noreiga is a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.”
It was Somosa in Nicaragua several decades before Noriega in Panama although some claim he said Batista (in Cuba before Fidel) – anyway American Imperialism has backed a long list of brutal dictators since 1898.
I think that was Somosa of pre-Sandinista Nicaragua…