(Via Washington Post)   Gates offers a catalogue of various meetings, based in part on notes that he and his aides made at the time, including an exchange between Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that he calls “remarkable.”

He writes: “Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary. . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.”  (continue reading)

The origin of the Arab Spring did not begin on December 17th, 2010 in Tunisia with the self-immolation Mohamed Bouazizi.

Bouazizi’s decision to douse himself with gasoline and light himself on fire was an outcome of an economic and social reality in Tunisia at a very specific moment in time – the origin for that event happened many years earlier in Europe.

Understanding the earlier origin helps to set the stage to understand Libya in 2011,  the rise of al-Qaeda, and Obama’s short-sighted folly leading NATO intervention.

A basic tenet of humanity is freedom, a natural yearning to be free.  To be able to move, decide, act and strive, is as natural as the flow of water through the path of least resistance.

When Europe formed a collective Union there were multiple political, social, and socio-economic factors which aligned to create an environment where the formation was constructed.

A tireless movement of Fabian Socialists with a history of long-term strategy were behind the rise of the EU as a collective union.  (more…)

Sometimes timing is just, well, serendipitous….  Back in 2011 …”Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council and de facto president, had already declared that Libyan   laws in future would have Sharia, the Islamic code, as its “basic source”.  And so today:

TRIPOLI, LIBYA  — Minority Christians in Libya have begun the New Year with concern after parliament voted to make sharia, or Islamic law, the source of all legislation.

A special committee has begun reviewing existing laws to ensure that they comply with sharia, BosNewsLife learned Sunday, January 5.

Last month’s vote was seen by Christians as an attempt to counter criticism from “militant Islamists”, who called some of the country’s lawmakers “un-Islamic”.

Advocacy group Barnabas Fund, which supports Christians in Islamic nations, expressed concern about growing influence of Islamists.

After the ‘Arab Spring’ pro-freedom demonstrations toppled autocratic leaders across the Arab world, it “initially appeared that Islamists had not gained the upper hand in Libya as they had done in Tunisia or Egypt,” the group noted. (more…)

While assembling Part 4, to discuss the actual consequences from the short-sighted Obama/Clinton U.S. policy toward Libya in 2011, it became obvious that a key aspect is missing.   The “real” cause of the Arab Spring.

Having travelled in the area, against all prior research, and with hundreds of correspondence conversations, it just hit me like a ton of bricks that perhaps most people don’t know “why” it started.

As I began to assemble the reference points, and outline, this article appeared.    The substance contained inside that article further solidified the need to lay out the big picture before getting down into the micro-level consequences of Obama’s modern day Libyan folly.

The Westernized media version of what started the Arab Spring in Tunisia all revolve around some ubiquitous and vague talk of freedom, and a local market owner, Mohamed Bouazizi,  setting himself on fire in protest to oppressive government. (more…)

It is remarkable how laser focused people tend to be around Libya and Hillary Clinton. The focus is almost exclusively on the Benghazi attack which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
The Benghazi attack which occurred on Sept 11, 2012, was a symptom of foreign policy failure; the actual cause of the policy failure happened a full year-and-a-half earlier in February 2011.
Part 1 – The Origin of the Libyan Crisis
Part 2 – The White House Tries To Catch Up

Part 3 – R2P Gives Cover To al-Qaeda’s Rise

It is ironic to see press reports today “The U.S. government is trying to apprehend an al Qaeda terrorist wanted for his role in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed four Americans”. The irony is the terrorist we now seek, Muhammad Jamal, was released from Egyptian prison specifically because of the U.S. policy outlined in PART 1.
We digress.
In Part 1 we outlined the reality of President Obama remaining detached as the Libyan crisis began. In Part 2 we outlined the mistakes that were specifically a consequence of that disengagement strategy; including the failure to vet “the rebels”.
Today we’ll review the consequences of the March, April, May, June 2011 rush to catch up.
Senior foreign policy advisor Samantha Power exerted a strong influence during the response to a Libyan uprising. She was soon joined by then Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice. Together they convinced Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to approach the Libyan rebels as “freedom fighters”.

While this was happening between the White House in D.C., and the U.N. in New York, Kaddaffi had regained his footing from an initial successful uprising and was asserting his military might toward attacking the “rebels”. He really had no fallback position once the International Criminal Court filed charges of War Crimes against him and publicly stated they fully intended to arrest him and his family.
In essence Kaddaffi had nothing to lose by fighting as no seat at a table of cease fire possibility was afforded. So Kaddaffi began to deploy his air force to attack the Benghazi rebels, as his ground troops moved in toward their positions.
If no-one intervened on behalf of the “rebels”, it was only a matter of time before Kaddaffi regained control. (more…)

NO !    Let me be clear:   NO !   

Just in case you are fuzzy on the big word:  NO ! 

In the event you have difficulty understanding the whole Good VS Bad concept:  NO ! 

In essence, just to keep it simple:  NO !

YAHOO NEWS – Secretary of State John Kerry is proposing to offer up US troops to help secure the borders of the new state of Palestine, according to some unconfirmed news reports coming out of Israel.
How plausible is the possibility? And would it be a good idea, or, as some military analysts argue, would the White House would be “nuts” to consider it?
The US troops would be tasked with helping to prevent anti-Israel forces from coming out of Jordan and reaching Israel, according to Debkafile, an Israeli intelligence and security news service. (read more)

It is remarkable how laser focused people tend to be around Libya and Hillary Clinton. The focus is almost exclusively on the Benghazi attack which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
The Benghazi attack which occurred on Sept 11, 2012, was a symptom of foreign policy failure; the actual cause of the policy failure happened a full year-and-a-half earlier in February 2011.
Part I Link – The Origin Of The Libyan Crisis

Part Two – An Administration Desperate To Catch Up

Against two weeks of silence in February 2011, and a fawning U.S. media beginning to doubt their own beliefs in the administration, the White House begins damage control for their earlier detachment.
When Susan Rice skipped a Feb 25, 2011 emergency weekend U.N. Security Council meeting, the Obama administration was compromised in their ability to influence any real outcome in Libya.
Without the U.S. seated at the policy table the U.N. made two strategic resolutions/decisions which were brutally short-sighted.

The first mistake was a resolution banning the sale or transfer of arms or weaponry into Libya during the civil war.   On it’s face the ban might sound like a generally good idea;  however, in reality it was exceptionally self-defeating.   After all, it banned all weapons from entering Libya, including weapons for the opposition – which most thought would be needed for the “rebels” to defend themselves.

The second mistake was criminal charges brought about by the ICC (International Criminal Court) against the Kaddaffi regime.   Nothing tells a dictator to double down on his position like telling him you as soon as this is over we will lock you and your family up for life.

Essentially those charges filed by the ICC solidified the certainty that Kaddaffi would never compromise.   He was drawn to a bold position that either he would win the civil war, or he would die trying.    Losing the war would mean death or a life in prison – one of these was now certain.   So what did Kaddaffi have to lose by fighting?

This Security Council resolution highlights the emotional short-sighted outcome of most U.N. determinations.   However, historically the U.S. has tempered logic to the 6 nation table of stupidity.   But not this time.    This time, at the specific direction of President Obama and his policy team, the U.S. did not even participate. (more…)

It is remarkable how laser focused people tend to be around Libya and Hillary Clinton.   The focus is almost exclusively on the Benghazi attack which killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
The Benghazi attack which occurred on Sept 11, 2012, was a symptom of foreign policy failure; the actual cause of the policy failure happened a full year-and-a-half earlier in February 2011.

PART ONE – The Origin Of The Libyan Crisis

President Obama lit the fuse on the Egyptian collapse, and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, when he turned his visible back on Egypt’s former President Mubarak.
With Mubarak out of the way the law banning the political party of the Muslim Brotherhood was removed.   The Brotherhood members held in Egyptian jails were freed.  This included Muhamed al-Zawahiri, the brother of al-Qaeda’s #1 man Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Initially there was great hope for a politically democratic approach toward Egypt.  However, by the time the FaceBook crowd was dispatched, CBS’s Lara Logan raped in Tahir Square and the visible rise of the hardline Islamists taking control – Egypt became a political risk of policy failure for the Obama administration.
 
Egypt and Libya share a very long and very porous border.  There is little to no actual impediment to the border itself so travelers can easily go from Western Egypt into Eastern Libya with as much ease as one travelling from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.   (more…)

The last time a Democrat Politician held the office of New York Mayor was more than 20 years ago.   Mayor Ed Koch (1978-1989 ) was a lifelong Democrat who described himself as a “liberal with sanity“.  Koch later endorsed Rudi Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and George W. Bush – so you can tell he was not what modern politico’s would define as liberal, and by most current definitions he would not be considered a Democrat.  Koch was socially liberal, but fiscally conservative – heck he ran as an independent in 85′.
Removing the one term David Dinkins (89′-93′)  who was the city’s first black mayor, elected solely on the basis of his race,  it is intellectually honest to say the last time a left-wing liberal held the New York office was, before Ed Koch, almost 40 years ago.
The last time left-wing liberalism was used in New York policy and governance was also almost 40 years ago.   There’s a reason for that:
New York City was a nightmare under liberal policies.  It was a petri dish of crime and decay brought upon by decades of Democrat/Liberal governance.   You could not even think about walking through Central Park unless you were trying to get mugged, raped or killed.

Crime, drugs and criminal life had driven the city almost into total ruin.   No-one was safe on the subway;  hence a subway rider named Bernard Goetz famously said “enough”, and began to shoot the criminals in the subway cars. (more…)

One odd incident might lend a person to ignore completely.  Like a flu that results in a slip n fall, which results in a concussion, which results in a “blood clot”…. all happening just before you are scheduled to testify before a congressional committee on Benghazi that might just contain questions that would destroy your carefully controlled career.

[…]  Sources close to the congressional investigation who have been briefed on what Thompson will testify tell Fox News the veteran counterterrorism official concluded on Sept. 11 that Clinton and Kennedy tried to cut the counterterrorism bureau out of the loop as they and other Obama administration officials weighed how to respond to — and characterize — the Benghazi attacks.  (link)

Two mysterious incidents, meh, maybe a little more attention.  Like, well, a fire that breaks out above your office in the State Department, and only above YOUR office – During the Thanksgiving holiday when no-one is around.

November 2012 – ….. an unusual fire breaks out, on a long holiday weekend, in the State Department building, in Washington DC, on the Seventh Floor [Office of the Secretary of State], and Eighth Floor [State Reception and only Public Tour venue] ……  You just can’t make this stuff up.  (link)

(more…)