STAY FOCUSED ON INDIA AND PAKISTAN
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-india27-2008dec27,0,4960186.story
--
MCR
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JO adds:
The following article must have been written just before the one above.
Pakistan Moves Forces Away From Afghan Border
A... Pakistani security official would not say where the forces were being sent...
No First Use of Nuclear Weapons Is Not in Pakistan's Favor
Op-Ed in Pakistan Daily by unnamed author.
There's going to be a war here...and it will have immense effects on the region. For one, it will help the US divest itself of a 60 year old major ally that is now terminally ill and has become a liability, like a "pet" dog turned rabid...
ReplyDeleteeyeballs wrote:
ReplyDeleteRedeployment does not seem tidal, but symbolic. The LA Times article did say:
“The Pakistani moves were generally interpreted by Pakistani analysts as a warning to India rather than an actively aggressive posture. Retired Brig. Gen. Mehmood Shah, now an analyst, said a "thinning out" of troops in the tribal areas would not significantly affect operations against militants there.”
While the gesture may be partly a warning to India and partly a patriotic blustering designed to make face at home, there may be another reason. They want money. Like North Korea, Pakistan may be posturing as a threat, in order to be bought off. I think they know the jig is up when America decides to have ‘em. Perhaps the best they can do is sell out at a higher price.
Look at a recent CFR document:
The Next Chapter: The United States and Pakistan -- A Report of the Pakistan Policy Working Group, SEPTEMBER 2008 http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/PakistanPolicyWorkingGroupReport.pdf
The main point is that massive US aid should be tied to accountability, with the army and ISI firmly under civilian control, accountable to US interests. Recommendations on pp. 35-7 include:
• Increase support for civilian institutions
that would provide oversight of the military
and the ISI. Encourage appointment of a
civilian head of the ISI. Increase funding
for IMET programs that focus specifically
on helping the Pakistan Army understand
the value of civilian military control and
teach them the tools of accountability, such
as defending a budget.
• Encourage political liberalization in the
FATA as part of the overall U.S. assistance
efforts in the region.
• Invest more resources in bolstering
Pakistani law enforcement and the judicial system.
Compare Brookings Institution (Saban Center)
http://www.brookings.edu/interviews/2008/0910_terrorism_riedel.aspx Interview with Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy
This is really about Israel.
“Riedel went on to outline the three major conclusions drawn from his research.
First, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key issue for al Qaeda. According to Riedel, the only way for al Qaeda to rectify the perceived wrongdoings against the Arab world is through the destruction of Israel and the expulsion of the United States and Western forces from the region. For al Qaeda, there can be no peace agreement or bargaining with “infidel” forces. Instead, Israel should be eliminated and an Islamic Caliphate should be created.
Second, Pakistan is the central front in the war against al Qaeda. Pakistan has had a complex and complicated history with al Qaeda and its Taliban counterparts over the years. Currently, the senior leadership of al Qaeda uses the tribal regions of Pakistan as their base of operations while simultaneously utilizing strategic attacks to destroy the Pakistani state. Riedel argued that Pakistan is the most important ally of the United States in the fight against al Qaeda. Yet the country poses difficult challenges to cooperation because of its instability.
Third, as a movement that follows an extremist version of Sunni Islam, al Qaeda often pits itself against believers of Shiism. Riedel argued that ‘more often than not, [al Qaeda and its sympathizers] are fighting the Shia even as they are battling the West.’”
Riedel also asserts:
“The Pakistani army is not built for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism. One of the things that we should do as a country is help Pakistan re-orient its military, from focusing on war against India into a military that can be more effective in the counter-insurgency game.”
AND
“Senator Biden has put forward a very interesting bill, which is now being co-sponsored by Senator Obama and a number of others on both sides of the aisle. What he proposes is that the Congress commit to a ten-year-long program of $1.5 billion a year in economic assistance. We would continue to provide some military aid, but $1.5 billion in economic assistance every year.
… My own view, though, is also that the Pakistan military needs to be reconfigured from fighting a war with India to fighting a counter-insurgency, and that is expensive, too. But it is a different kind of expense. Instead of providing Pakistan with sophisticated F16 aircraft, which can be used to deliver nuclear bombs on Indian cities, we should be helping them procure night vision devices and helicopters, which can be used to track down terrorists on the other borders.”
Compare this from Center for American Progress (Tom Daschle and Obama transition team lrader John Podesta – also several members of the White House staff and Biden’s Chief of staff).
The Forgotten Front http://zedc3test.techprogress.org/issues/2007/11/pdf/afghanistan_report.pdf Among several recommendations:
“p. 52 Shift aid from conventional military accounts to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts. The bulk of U.S. aid to Pakistan has gone to military expenditures. The United States should steer military aid away from conventional military expenditures such as advanced combat aircraft, which is geared toward a possible confrontation with India, and toward counterterrorism assistance. Benefits for Pakistan must be paired with firm demands that Pakistan support the United States by cracking down on militants and Al Qaeda and making democratic reforms.”
America's quest to dominate Pakistan is a given. The basic questions are:
1) How long can the American Empire pursue massive spending and/or grizzly war?
2) Will the US try to dominate Pakistan financially and politically, as they do in Turkey, or will they go for the military option and collapse the state?
3) What happens to the various nukes in case of an unpredicted crisis (such as a factional takeover)?
4) Will India and its new buddy, Israel, take Washington's directions, waiting patiently for their foe to be subdued, or will they break rank and escalate suddenly?
If you look at the longer list of links I sent, you'll see that a policy of "taking Pakistan in hand" is inescapable at this point.
I don't think Pakistan is trying brinksmanship - obviously she don't have de cards. I think they want money.
Blessings!
In response to question four I believe the following article is indicative:
ReplyDeleteIsraeli far right gains ground as Gaza rockets fuel tension
guardian.co.uk - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/27/israel-nationalism-beiteinu-likud-gaza
I'm glad your doing well Mike I only found out about your work when I read Rubicon about a year and a half ago but it's so refreshing!
Watch SHTF around the world:
ReplyDeletePakistan feels "the Peak" squared:
http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/international/pak-may-curb-fuel-sale-to-save-for-war.aspx
Merry Christmas, from Uncle Joe:
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=79510§ionid=351020602
The site of the first western revolution against the post-Napoleonic order may be the site of the next western revolt:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7798056.stm
More economics:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3870089/Protectionist-dominoes-are-beginning-to-tumble-across-the-world.html
Peter J. of Minneapolis
If there were any chance at all of a nuclear war then an Indian polity with a keen sense of unity of purpose would blame the Mumbai attack on some other nation just to avoid provoking Pakistan - even without any supporting evidence.
ReplyDeleteHowever the Indian govt feels very pressured and so is trying to gain traction on this issue. Right now that means capitulating to nationalists by waving a stick at Pakistan. I hope they know what they're doing.
By way of comparison I think a leadership like that of Russia, China or the USA would opportunistically blame the attack on some enemy they could beat up without risking nuclear war - a convenient enemy like Iraq, North Korea, Tibet, Chechnya or Georgia.
The Machiavellian moral of the story is to always have at the ready a puny and publicly reviled enemy so that in the event of a false-flag operation one can divert blame and avoid being bullied into doing whatever the perpetrator wanted you to do.
As a 20 year old resident of Wisconsin, I Just wanted to thank Mike, Jenna and all the contributors on this blog. You've given me so much i wouldn't know where to begin.
ReplyDeleteLately in addition to Rubicon, the Shell Game, and Act 2, i have been reading some of Kurt Vonnegut's recent material. It's lacking of course, but it has been useful in trying to get others to look at this stuff, Denial stops here, Rubicon... Etc.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/cold_turkey/
I don't think anybody over in the West, whoever they may be , knows what they're talking about - or the ground realities over here in Pakistan, when they smugly make statements like:
ReplyDelete"...Increase support for civilian institutions that would provide oversight of the militaryand the ISI. Encourage appointment of a civilian head of the ISI. Increase funding for IMET programs that focus specifically on helping the Pakistan Army understand the value of civilian military control and teach them the tools accountability, such as defending a budget.
...Encourage political liberalization in the FATA as part of the overall U.S. assistance in the region..."
Such "expert" proposals make me smile to say the least.... because those making them are straightforward and gullible in doing so. None seem to have the depth of understanding that normal human rules don't apply in this bandit-mafioso society; the Pakistan Army for one, isn't "interested" in understanding any "values" other than what it and its ofiicer cadre and rank and file desire, and have been desiring for 62 years now - and that is known to all.
"Encourage political liberalisation in FATA" ??? My "dearies", the FATA Pashtun tribes themselves fiercely sustain a feudal-tribal culture with an ancient "code of honour"; they still buy wives when marrying, kkill them if their fidelity is suspected (with full social approval, while the "law" looks the other way), and consider narcotics manufacture, tax theft and the theft/receiving of free electricity as their birthrights. Pakistani electricity utility staff have in the past, often at IMF instigation, made half-hearted attempts to install electricity meters in the vast FATA hinterlands, and have met with armed mobs - "posses" to use your American word. I know all this, as I live in a town just a few kilometers from the FATA-Pakistani border. Any Pakistani trying to present things otherwise, is just trying to pull the wool over your gullible eyes. Pakistan is the name of one vast criminal enterprise, now coming undone because of its own inherent malaise. And the US ruling elites know this...but won't openly acknowledge it as they are equally culpable, having underwritten the whole bloody enterprise from Day One...
I guess what has me somewhat perplexed is the following: haven't we been shown over the years that ISI is pretty much a CIA subservient? Haven't we been shown that the 'Taliban' is essentially an ISI creation? And isn't CFR already aware of this? And now Biden(among others) thinks we should throw $15billion into Pakistan over the next 10 yrs? with strict civilian oversight, ofcourse...my eyes just rolled involuntarily...
ReplyDeleteI mean, given what (little) we know about CIA black budgets and the missing trillions over the past decade or so, haven't we been throwing a boatload of money into Pakistan already? Perhaps on the 'wrong' side? and now we're going to finance the 'right' side? wow this sounds familiar...
Then looking at the Brookings Institute report, and the Reidel quotes, and I have to wonder, if this really IS all about Israel, then there's really no final solution, right?
Israel isn't going anywhere. and the violent opposition to its existence isn't centralized or organized enough to be confronted and eradicated in any conventional sense. Another part of the war that won't end in our lifetimes? or just a violent, bloody, stalemate hole in the ground where money is thrown, hand over fist? at least the arms manufacturers and dealers stay busy.
Looking at the 4 questions posed (by eyeballs?), I have a few thoughts, though I will keep them brief.
Regarding question 1, looking at our ineffectiveness (assuming its not intentional) I'm inclined to say "not much longer". eventually we have to actually come up with all the money we're spending. and we don't have it.
Regarding question 2, what if there was some middle ground between the complete collapse/military take-over, and economic/political subjugation? we've seen the model elsewhere...its cheaper, looks better in the public eye, and has a higher success rate. for some reason, Perkins' "Confessions..." comes to mind.
Regarding question 3, my opinion is based more on hope than history and fact, but I would have to *hope* that in such an event, securing nuclear weapons/materials/facilities would be very high up on the priority list, a la the securing of various oil installations in Iraq in March '03. then again, whats to say that rival factions don't also have the same thought in mind? There's nothing that says the Soviet model won't be followed, where a large majority of the weapons/materials disappeared onto the black market before anyone thought to safeguard them. I think our previous involvement with Pakistan makes this scenario less likely, but not impossible.
Regarding question 4, I've always wondered about the alliances in the region. Perhaps Israel will mind its manners and keep its hands out of this one...perhaps Israel is aware of a different scenario unfolding. What if these tensions between India and Pakistan are indeed subsiding, and they edge toward something resembling an amicable relationship? What are the negative implications of a potential Afghanistan/Pakistan-India-U.S. alliance? None.
unless you're name is China...how much of China's natural gas has to pass through that region? Seems to me such an alliance could threaten to turn of the heat (and some of the lights) in China in the blink of an eye, should such a trump card need to be played. They'd have China over a barrel, so to speak...
I'd like to close with a general statement of thanks to Mike, Jenna, and all of you who so insightfully and passionately contribute here. Though I log on to this community/blog daily, I don't post as often as I'd like, and its often because I don't have time to chew and digest all the intelligent food for thought so many of you offer here. Let's keep it up. As many have said, without the life-boat builders, we all drown.
Strange story that found out about in a round about way.
ReplyDeleteA 15 yr old Russian girl in a chat room was disturbed about US going on's in Georgia. I looked it up and read about it in a Chinese news paper... Ain't that a hell of a route to get news about my country's agreements. So anyhow... more Eurasia going ons.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/27/content_10565263.htm
Also without links, because you all can look them up. More Internet cable cuts this last week affecting primarily Egypt. Last time this happened it was due to "anchors" being dropped on 5 cables in five areas. Now some similar excuses. Last time (Feb of 2008) the wall fell between Gaza and Egypt. This time Egypt was trying to aid people in Ghaza and now of course the attacks by Isreal. Coincidence?
Would you please active the links so I can click on them via my iPhone? thank you
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kamilov on Paksitan so far.Don't mean to be rude when I just saw all those excerpts from Brooking, et al. Those reports are as much camouflage as they are mental masturbation and the generation of grist for grist eaters.
ReplyDeleteOne consistent flaw I see in almost everyone's thinking is that they assume solid blocks, stability and working mechanisms. Or... the one-dimensional think the US is pulling all the strings as if Paksitan could be bought or conquered.
Virtually everybody is pulling at Pakistan: The US, Russia, India, Suaid Arabia, Israel, China, Iran... Pakistan is a near-failing state.
There's a clear demarcation on the blog between folks who can only think in a linear one-dimensional fashion and those who understand chaos, probabilities, pressures and flows. The former is going to have a very rough time of things.
MCR
It was not cool for me to not put the links last time. So...
ReplyDeleteA little more detail about the cable cuts. --- the number of cable cuts all happening at the same time leads me to conclude it is no accident. The Gaza situation is a little greater leap so I will leave it up to whoever is reading this. However, this time around I will supply links and a time line.
Jan 23, 2008, a Wednesday, the wall fell between Gaza and Egypt. Described in this NY Times article.
Jan 30, 2008 to Feb 2, 2008 – At least 3 cables were cut. (Some sources say up to 5). Egypt was 95% down in communications. This pdf describes it the best. Especially pages 4 to 7.
It was blamed on Anchors but according to an
ABC report (which says 4 cables) states Mediterranian ships could not have done the damage in that area
Now... according to this article in
the register 3 cables were severed on Friday Dec. 19.
Again it is blamed on boats or siesmic activity.
The Gaza Cease fire ended on Dec 19 and the rest is recient history.
Finally, just for giggles... dig the cute picture of conspiracy freaks like on me this web site.
This is beginning to heat up and with a major weather pattern shift coming in the next 2 weeks across Europe. I expect this to heat up by Mid Janurary. Russia is going to cut NG supplies to Western Europe to flex it's power.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081227/ts_afp/russiaukraineenergygaseurope_081227204815
MCR posted:
ReplyDelete"One consistent flaw I see in almost everyone's thinking is that they assume solid blocks, stability and working mechanisms. Or... the one-dimensional think the US is pulling all the strings as if Paksitan could be bought or conquered."
Really? Because I think I'm reading the same board/posts, and don't get the same impression. not here, not lately. I see a lot of people acknowledging a lot of different possibilities; maybe some are offering potential outcomes based on past trends and current patterns, but I don't see a consistent flaw of assuming stability among most contributors here, like that of which you speak.
MCR also posted: "There's a clear demarcation on the blog between folks who can only think in a linear one-dimensional fashion and those who understand chaos, probabilities, pressures and flows. The former is going to have a very rough time of things."
I'll agree with you here...by and large, I don't think the former are participating publicly...or at least, not being published for us all to read. I think that a large majority of the active participants here either see things in a broader and more comprehensive and interconnected manner, or are trying their best to do so.
It's my take that if this community is to be touted as an inclusive one (in so far as people with like-minded goals and motivation are encouraged to participate), then the only people we should be berating are those refusing to get on board, not those who want to get on board and are simply having a hard time getting down the jet-way...
On a related, yet separate note, as Eyeballs, MCR, and recent world events have implied, it is looking more and more like Pakistan is up for grabs, if not up for sale. My question is simply this: will states with history in Pakistan have any sort of advantage (or disadvantage, depending on the nature of the history) in the ensuing battle, or is Pakistan so desperate that the highest bidder stands the best chance of securing alliance?
It just seems to me that, especially in light of the ties between the U.S. and Pakistan (highlighted extensively in 'Rubicon'), its rather senseless and surprising that all of the sudden, former alliances/relationships have been rendered moot...or is that one-dimensional thinking?
How long before Afghanistan goes the way of Somalia and is declared a 'free fire zone' for the pursuit of 'terrorists'? oh, wait...
MCR is right on!
ReplyDeleteWhat I write is my opinion, in my own words, value them as you will!
There is TOO much knowledge for one of us, too many books to read,too many People to meet!
The pieces all have to come together, we at present have the best chance of surviving this transformation of anyone in the past. WHY?
Because we are aware of what is taking place around us, and are not afraid to look the Terror in the face, all we have to do is admit "I do not know everything, I may be missing something, just as you may be overlooking something important."!
What is correct on one part of this World applies only to that people, and no one else. The Pygmy's in Africa are different than the Bushman in South America,
every primitive culture is unique to its surroundings, how they survive, or don't, has no reflection on anything, least of all on the "Green" movement, a "Tree hugger" or anyone else who is seeking for answers to local problems.
I have a good friend who spent 2 Yrs. in Afghanistan, & is still active in getting aid to those most in need, what F Kamilov says is correct but it applies only to Afghan., certainly not to the
Pygmy, or the Eskimo! If all the primitive peoples were not here, it would have no effect on what we are facing, they are already living what we are facing, each of us in our own location.
Our job is not to instruct in how to react where we are, but to encourage others to survive where they are, in their climate.
By the way A "Posse" is a group of lawmen (TPTB), to enforce "Justice", "Vigilante's, or a "Lynch Mob", is the correct term for a lawless "Armed Mob".
As in any Collapse, War, Depression, or right now, there are those that have & those who have nothing! As a boy I would sneak into "that part of town", peek in the windows, sit in the fine cars, smell the food cooking, and watch the finely dressed
Ladies, & Gentlemen come & go. This in our Great Depression, with my ragged Clothing, & tattered Shoes, sometimes the servants would give me treats!
We each of us can choose who lives or not, we will be mostly wrong, Hitler, & Stalin killed Millions of the vary ones who could have made things work, we freedom loving Americans, killed countless Native people, because we were better Stewards of the land! We allowed Russia to capture Japan's reactor, & then
dropped two bombs to show them that we already had the A BOMB, and were not afraid to use it!
What fate brought YOU to this present time, & the decisions you/each one of us must make.
Felix Kersten, was a Dr., an agent for Holland, & Finland, saved Millions of lives
instead of letting them die, I pray there a Kersten, or a Fry among us
http://www.massagemag.com/Magazine/2003/issue104/history104.php
http://www.kimel.net/rescuers.html
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/press/kits/details.php?content=varian_fry&page=04-biography
I wonder how this is going to play out as the economy deteriorates. I've always heard that China's biggest enemies have always come from within, but admittedly, it's a subject I know little about:
ReplyDeleteCrisis deepens in China and Japan as Asian exports plunge:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/3902247/Crisis-deepens-in-Japan-and-China-as-Asian-exports-plunge.html
"Beijing is alarmed by outbursts of civil unrest, both in the country's hinterland as 9m of migrant workers return after losing their jobs, and in the export hub of Guangdong where violence has been simmering for months. Some 3,600 toy factories have already closed this year."
Here's a sci-fi version of "Lucy & Ethel at the Chocolate Factory".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.awntv.com/videos/lost-cargo
It's about 15 minutes long.
I'm reading the NY times and the opening sentence of an article about the conflict reads, "Though tensions have risen in the past few days, neither India's governing coalition led by the Congress Party nor its habitually hawkish political opposition is advocating a military confrontation with Pakistan..." (Sengupta, 12/29/08)
ReplyDeleteThe BJP is the opposition party referred to here. They ARE hawks. They were the ones who committed India to building and testing nuclear weapons in 1998. They were in power in 2001 when a suicide bomber attacked their parlaiment and they reacted with a bloody skirmish with Pakistan, though no link between the attack and Pakistan's military or government was known.
Is it a foregone conclusion that the Mumbai attacks were meant to start a war between India and Pakistan? Were the attacks at a politically sensitive time for India? Are elections approaching? Is the coalition government weak, where the opposition could have ousted the ruling party and taken control with promises of vengeance? Was that what was intended? The BJP could have done some serious saber-rattling anyways and fed a lot of fuel into the fire while gaining political points, but apparently didn't. That had to be unexpected, good for them. India isn't going to escalate the conflict suddenly. Pakistan is the only one escalating anything at this point. Who is running there military anyways?
Hi, I'm new and this is more a question for someone rather than a contribution to the conversation. I trust the moderators to determine if it's valuable:
ReplyDeleteHaving just read the case in "Rubicon" for the immense power that has been positioned for FEMA "in case of emergency", is there any sense out there that the current 3 week window is it for Cheney, Bush and the boys to utilize the full measure of the powers they created (or culminated) for themselves? Is it a realistic "risk" that one of the many current flare-ups might get worked into a justification for "national emergency" that could "postpone" the inauguration of the incoming president?
Or are they just going to go "private" and leave Obama to take the blame when he can't clean up the mess?
Chris
President-elect's transition team has opened the floor for questions. This is an opportunity to pose serious questions to raise their awareness.
ReplyDeletehttp://change.gov/openforquestions.
You can review the questions that have been raised so far and vote up those you feel are the critical ones.
namaste
Nice to see those DVDs available again, and I would order them in a minute except that it has never been clear to me what region code they have. If they have the North America region code, I would not be able to watch them here in Japan. Does anyone know for sure?
ReplyDeleteFor RiceFarmer:
ReplyDeleteWhy not just get a region-free DVD player? Mine was pretty inexpensive. Might be worth the investment.
For Chris:
ReplyDeleteI'm certainly not an expert contributor, more like noise in the background.
However, in answer to your question here is my take based on a couple of recent articles.
First -
"The terrorism threat to the United States over the next five years will be driven by instability in the Middle East and Africa, persistent challenges to border security and increasing Internet savvy, says a new intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press." from http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3644647,00.html
Second -
"Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government." from http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/20/185048.shtml
I think they're moving the pieces into place as prior justification of the next step in their plan.
Bush, Cheney et al may be out of public office in several weeks, but they will not be going away. They have too much at stake. Cheney & Co. will still be pulling the strings until the whole mess falls down on their heads and ours.
Obama's administration will be powerless to protect us. It will be up to us to protect ourselves and our families as long as possible.
Just my humble, amateur opinion.
namaste
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteeyeballs has left a new comment on your post "STAY FOCUSED ON INDIA AND PAKISTAN http://www.la...":
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sunrnr:
Best to “consider the source” on these articles. www.ynet.co.il gets you to an Israel-based Zionist website in Hebrew. Click near the top for English, to be well-amazed. Although Chertof’s attempt to drum up business for his specialty – the protection racket on a global scale – made it into the mainstream press, it was not highlighted with the same enthusiasm elsewhere.
Tommy Franks, certainly no friend of civil liberties, was speaking in 2003. Your link wouldn’t load for me but I found the comment here: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/EDW311A.html
There’s an ocean of difference between November, 2003, and December, 2008. With the speed at which history is moving, I wouldn’t even call that a “recent article”. After the lies on WMD, the heartsickness over American casualties and such atrocities as Falluja, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, after the startling response to Katrina and public indignation about new police weapons (tasers, and the now abandoned microwave crowd control device) … and innumerable further assaults on the sensibilities of even mainstream Americans, the neocon team lost their mandate, and have been in “lame duck” mode ever since.
That’s not to say that the army of lawyers – Gonzales, Yoo, Addington and literally hundreds less famous creeps who set out to dismember the Bill of Rights – are ceasing to exist. Nor will Blackwater throw up their hands and say, “Darn, we lost the election, lets go be bus drivers and cooks.” The financial dark wizards who brought on The Meltdown will still be invited to high society soirees in Washington and New York. And mega-spooks like Chertoff will continue to work in the “private sector”.
I find it amusing, in a gallows sort of way, that Addington’s old law firm, Baker Donelson (http://www.bakerdonelson.com), offers these services (prominently noting that many of its lawyers have been high government officials):
Subprime Mortgage Task Force: "The subprime mortgage meltdown creates unprecedented challenges for the mortgage and financial services industries and calls for skilled, knowledgeable counsel who have the depth and experience to respond to this crisis."
Gulf Coast Reconstruction: “In the hurricanes’ wake, the Gulf Coast economy can emerge stronger than ever. Opportunities for business are booming.”
Imagine John Poindexter with a privatized Total Information Awareness (based on secret backup copies of the massive data base)…perhaps as a division of Halliburton or Carlyle. We seriously need a “VillainWatch” project to see where these guys go and what they do. But I do not think Chertoff and Franks will be “pulling the strings” of a puppet Obama-Biden administration. The new team are deeply rooted to mainstream imperial government, but not to the team of crazies dominant from 2001 to 2006.
- "eyeballs"
Several people have spoken of conspiracy and cheap political manipulation behind the Mumbai Attacks. Now here is the what terrorists of Pakistani soil confess for these attacks.
ReplyDeleteLashkar commander Zarar confesses to role in 26/11
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080078310&type=News
Pakistan wanted proof/evidence as it dismissed the statements of captured lone terrorist. Now this captured Lashkar commander "broadly" confirms this.
There will not be war between India and Pakistan as many think. I think there is going to be a change in the way relations were between these nations.
"Agape Wins":
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. Eskimos and Pygmies and the like, are harmless people, and will share the planet with us. We have a lot to learn from them.
The tribal primitives I refer to, as you will know, are dangerous criminals, conceited thugs and arrogant fanatics who want to prey on the advantages of modern civilisation, and yet with a schizoid sadism, they hate and deride its values at the same time. (And by "modernity", I'm not talking about its decadent US capitalist version, either).