leveymg
leveymg's JournalHow molecular can the splinters in Syria get?
Does anyone else recognize the global dangers that a complete loss of command, control and coherence among armed factions in the region will cause?
Was DOJ expecting to find Risen's sources through accessing his credit scores and bank records?
Or, did DOJ just want to sell him a used car?
?
Response to article post: "Feds spy on NYT reporter in leak probe" (Politico)
Thnx. The twisting of the narrative by the GOP probably benefits Obama in the long run by obscuring
the real issues at stake - the unanticipated costs of serial blowback and the failure of the "humanitarian" regime change model. That's an irony that the Repugs probably don't grasp.
But, blowback from the Libyan and Syrian regime changes, and the earlier covert operations in Chechnya, Kosovo and Bosnia, are actually part of a larger ongoing disaster for the US. The Soviet Union's collapse has resulted not in a peace dividend but the rise of ambitious and wealthy adversaries, and further overextension of the U.S. Each failure to restabilize after a setback illustrates how little real power we still have to effect outcomes in the MENA region and South Asia. Like the Russians before us, our interventions only weaken us and show the rest of the world just how vulnerable and rusted out we have become. The American people are the only ones fooled by all the secrecy and disinformation that goes along with these operations.
We are only beginning to feel the real domino effect - serial blowback from a whole series of misconceptualized covert operations and failed regime changes carried out over several decades. Secret wars never end. They are now cascading into each other -- the terrorists we supported in the Transcaucasus, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Iraq now turn on us -- making the situation ever more chaotic and uncontrollable. In the midst of this we aren't even trying to contain the rise of Saudi Arabia/GCC as the dominant power in the region, and the Saudis and their Sunni proxies really, really don't like us at all, in the same way the Egyptians and Persians hate the British. But, this is far worse than the collapse of the British Empire, because we have been continually at war for well over a decade, and haven't even begun to create an exit strategy for ourselves. We can't even admit that it is our "allies" who have been funding AQ and are reaping the benefits as they fill our vacuum of power.
The bipartisan Cold War establishment in Washington now has to operate largely in secret because of public revulsion to the colossal debacle of Iraq and its costs, the buildup to which which was itself a semi-covert operation backed by the same people who are still largely in charge. They continue to run US foreign policy by the same strategy of propaganda and deception aimed at the American people as they did during Iran-Contra and the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. I don't have a lot of confidence that the thing can change course and save itself.
Looks like the "Make the economy scream" people are back in the saddle in DC again.
Yes, you know who you are.
Response to LBN post: "Now Venezuela is running out of toilet paper"
As we know, when white Republicans do that, it isn't an act of terrorism (worth mentioning).
Who granted The Army of God Air Force a C(4)?
AP report contradicted White House claims: no known AQ plot on bin Laden anniversary
Here's the AP report of May 7, 2012 that spurred the DOJ to secretly collect AP phone records. That article draws into question statements previously made by the White House and Homeland Security officials that there was no known AQ plotting of an attack to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death. http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=8650811
The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said. The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.
< . . .>
White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said President Barack Obama learned about the plot in April and was assured the device posed no threat to the public. "The president thanks all intelligence and counterterrorism professionals involved for their outstanding work and for serving with the extraordinary skill and commitment that their enormous responsibilities demand," Hayden said.
The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no al-Qaida plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death. The operation was carried out over the past few weeks, officials said. "We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," White House press secretary Jay Carney said on April 26. On May 1, the Department of Homeland Security said, "We have no indication of any specific, credible threats or plots against the U.S. tied to the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death." The White House did not explain those statements Monday.
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