(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…)
The Milli Vanilli band director says definitions of success – regarding concert attendance – are contingent upon how they define success in attendance at any given moment. They don’t have to sell out a venue to be considered successful. They may determine that success is more appropriately defined as a merely a few enlightened concert goers who are enjoying the show.
The Kool-Aid concession tastes the same regardless of how many participants partake in the drinking of it. So just shut up, watch the show, and we’ll tell you when to clap.
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.
Kaddaffi, Hosni Mubarak, Abdullah Salah, and Ben Ali. “The Arab Spring Dictators”
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…)
Representative Peter King is a fully vested Decepticon.
However, after listening to King’s descriptions of NSA phone spying data use, one could be left with a rather curious consideration.
If what Rep King says is true, couldn’t the al-Qaeda affiliates wreak havoc merely with ownership of several yellow page books?
All they would have to do is start down the list of random U.S. phone numbers making calls and not only would the NSA would be bogged down, but thousands of U.S. citizens would be automatically subjected to terroristic stalking by their own government.
“It is not an easy task to unring a bell, nor to remove from the mind an impression once firmly imprinted there*”
A bell rung can never be unrung.
“I’m not anti-government …. I’m just pro Freedom”.
-Ladar Levison, (the founder of secure email provider Lavabit, facing a court case because he closed his company rather than hand over encryption keys) interviewed in the interactive UK Guardian piece published November, 2013
Whether or not you think Snowden was a traitor or a hero; the fact remains that “the bell can not be unrung”.
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…)
WASHINGTON DC – While members of Congress ended 2013 congratulating themselves for passing a budget, the media missed the fact that the agreement doesn’t actually avoid a government shutdown. The deal reached by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) provides simply a blueprint for government spending. Congress must still pass legislation detailing specific spending before January 15, when government’s spending authority expires. Government still faces a potential shutdown in a little over a week.
The budget agreement passed by Congress in the closing days of last year provides what is called the “top-Line” number, setting the overall level of discretionary spending. Congress still has to pass appropriations bills authorizing specific spending for thousands of government agencies, departments and programs. While there is agreement on the total amount of discretionary spending, there is far less agreement on how this spending is allocated. These agreements will have to be reached by the 15th, of the government would shut down again. (read more)
I am reminded of a previous conversation point we discussed in 2011.
(Independent Journal) An Open Letter to the Obama Administration and American Citizens:
My family’s journey with securing our new insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started on October 1, 2013. I have decided to write this letter to let the American people know what it has been like for us.
We are a family of four, with two little boys’ ages seven years old and three years old. My husband and I have had full time jobs for 6 years and 13 years respectively. We have been with the same two companies for those years.
We are a middle class family; we own our three bedroom two bath house, we own two cars, and previously provided our own insurance for the four of us. We have coverage through Individual Blue from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama until 12/31/13. Our premiums have been $380.00 a month, which also included dental coverage for all four of us.
On October, 1, 2013 we received our letters like other Alabamians about our new premiums and plans for 2014 from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Alabama. When I opened our letter to say I had sticker shock was an understatement. (more…)
During his 2009 Notre Dame speech President Obama said the federal government should accommodate religious objections to parts of the law:
“Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause. And make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded, not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics.” – President Obama (2009)
The catholic group Little Sisters of the Poor received a temporary injunction from the Supreme Court protecting them from the controversial HHS contraceptive mandate. The injunction means that the Little Sisters would not be forced to sign and deliver forms authorizing and directing others to provide contraceptives, sterilizations and drugs and devices that cause abortions.
Now in 2014 President Obama appeals that injunction demanding the Little Sisters of The Poor should be forced to comply with the abortifacient service delivery approved within the ObamaCare. (link)
