Monday, September 9, 2013

NSA Affair: Germans Conduct Helicopter Flyover of US Consulate

NSA Affair: Germans Conduct Helicopter Flyover of US Consulate

US Marines stand in front of the US General Consulate in Frankfurt, where a German helicopter recently conducted reconnaissance. Zoom
DPA
US Marines stand in front of the US General Consulate in Frankfurt, where a German helicopter recently conducted reconnaissance.
Under orders from Germany's domestic intelligence agency, a federal police helicopter conducted a flyover of the US Consulate in Frankfurt, the government in Berlin has confirmed. Officials were apparently searching for surveillance equipment.
The German government on Monday confirmed that a previously reported operation targeting potential American eavesdropping facilities located on German soil took place at the end of August. Both a spokesperson for Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Interior Ministry admitted on Monday that a Federal Police helicopter had conducted a low-altitude flyover of the United States Consulate in Frankfurt in order to take high-resolution photographs. The apparent aim of the mission was to identify suspected listening posts on the roof of the consulate.
ANZEIGE
According to the newsmagazine Focus, the Eurocopter circled over the US representation at an altitude of just 60 meters (200 feet). The magazine quoted an unnamed government official stating that Germany wanted to send a message to the Americans that it would not tolerate eavesdropping technologies on German soil. "The message to the American friends was meant to be: Stop. Germany strikes back!" The flyover was first reported last week by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. On Monday, the government in Berlin sought to play down the incident. The Interior Ministry said merely that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which had ordered the helicopter flyover, is responsible for the security of foreign installations in Germany, but also for defending the country from the spying activities of foreign countries. The spokeswoman refused to answer dozens of follow-up questions on whether the surveillance flight over the consulate had been a routine operation or whether it was a targeted search for hidden antennas. "I neither can nor want to provide any response," the spokeswoman said.
American Security Surprised by Action
But it doesn't appear there was anything routine about the Eurocopter mission -- if there had been, police would have almost surely notified the Americans beforehand. Instead, security personnel at the consulate appear to have been surprised by the flyover. They even took pictures as it happened during the morning of August 28. A short time afterwards, the deputy US ambassador telephoned with the German Foreign Ministry to discuss the issue. But what the ministry is now describing as an "information exchange," was apparently a complaint.
The flight appears to be connected to the revelations of vast US surveillance made by former intelligence service contractor Edward Snowden. According to the American whistleblower, the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance service has established secret eavesdropping posts at 80 US embassies and consulates around the world. In the internal documents exposed by Snowden, these are referred to as the "Special Collection Service". The papers also state that the bugging units should be kept secret from partner countries. If it were leaked, a document reads, this would "cause serious harm to relations between the US and a foreign government." The response by domestic intelligence would seem to belie German government attempts to play down the surveillance affair. The report in Focus claims that the Frankfurt operation was ordered by Ronald Pofalla, Merkel's chief of staff and the German government point man for intelligence services. The politician, a member of Merkel's conservative CDU party, has made extensive public comments suggesting that the NSA affair has passed. But the report suggested he was furious at reports of spying technology at US diplomatic outposts in Germany.
The German government left open on Monday the question of whether the flyover had provided any clarity about the suspected eavesdropping technology. The spokesperson said that only relevant committees in the national parliament would be informed. Still, experts believe the move was intended more as a symbolic gesture that as a serious effort to try to find surveillance equipment. They believe that the Germans just want to show that if push comes to shove, they can also get more aggressive. One official spoke of a symbolic "shot across the bow."

Exclusive: High Level Source Confirms Secret US Nuclear Warhead Transfer The Alex Jones Channel Alex Jones Show podcast Prison Planet TV Infowars.com Twitter Alex Jones' Facebook Infowars store Anthony Gucciardi & Alex Jones Infowars.com September 3, 2013 A high level source inside the military has now confirmed to us that Dyess Air Force base is actively moving nuclear warheads to the East Coast of the United States in a secret transfer that has no paper trail. According to the high level military source, who has a strong record of continually being proven correct in deep military activity, the Dyess Air Force Commander authorized unknown parties to transfer the nuclear warheads to an unknown location that has been reported to be South Carolina, where the warheads will then be picked up and potentially utilized. This is of particular interest not only due to the fact that the Syrian situation has escalated to the point of a very realistic hot war scenario, but due to the fact that Dyess has repeatedly denied the existence of nuclear warheads inside the base. The brief report from the top level military source, which was written in a rush to get the information out, reads: “Dyess is beginning to move out nuclear war heads today. I got a tap from DERMO earlier. He said it was the first time they have been even acknowledged since being put there in the 80′s. No signature was required for transfer… There was no directive. He said that Dyess Commander was on site to give authority to release. No one knew where they were going really, but the truck driver said to take them to South Carolina and another pick up will take them from there.” The fact that this transfer was not signed for and there were no papers is key. It shows how the military is now secretly operating with the transfer of nuclear weapons, and what’s more, we know that DERMO (a military base in Florida) is a hotbed of special operations. Why is DERMO operating the nuclear warheads out of Dyess Air Force base with no paper trail? This shows that this is a highly secretive, black ops style move here that the military does not want on record. The fact is that they don’t move all of these assets unless they plan on using them. Nuclear warheads are not simply moved to the East Coast for no reason, and the bottom line is that these missiles are likely being used for something even much greater than Syria. dyess-nuke-site Top Level Military Officer ‘Extremely Alarmed’ This leak inside the military industrial complex comes after prior sources have also revealed to us that B-1′s and B-2 bombers were ordered to head out of their respective bases (B-1B’s leaving Dyess specifically) across the nation and they haven’t come back. All of this is happening amid the growing Syrian crisis that has developed amid the ignition of a WW3-level wrestling match between the United States and Russia. Now, based on the transfer to South Carolina that is not on record and was not signed for, we may be looking at a pattern that reveals an extremely hot war scenario. And here’s what’s essential to understand: There’s no question that the Syrian issue is huge, and it’s very possible that the US military is now under orders by Obama to prepare a strike, but the reality is that the much greater issue here is what’s going on with the US and Russia. What we’re seeing here is a proxy war turned hot with Syria, and we’ve been covering this for months now. Even the mainstream media has reported in the past how the evolution of war in Syria has turned into a hot proxy war against Russia via the Syrian rebels and Assad’s troops. b1bomber We now even have the Russian media openly discussing the hot war by the United States against Russia and how this will essentially lead to World War 3. But the fact of the matter is that we’re already progressively moving towards World War 3 . Obama and United States officials are already talking about boots on the ground in Syria and taking down the Russian-backed Assad regime. They are already moving forward following the blatantly staged chemical attacks that were absolutely carried out by the Obama-funded Syrian rebels in order to initiate a war scenario. Why do you think Obama has been aiding in the training, funding, and supplying of the bloodthirsty Syrian rebels since 2011 through secret orders admitted by Reuters? The entire angle here is not to help the civilians of Syria, who the Obama-backed rebels already are beheading and murdering to cheering crowds. No, this has always been a buildup to a World War 3 scenario between Russia and the United States. And now, with the absolute insanity of Obama and the military industrial complex pushing these wars, it’s here. Nuclear weapons held in bunker, similar to the reports of the high level military source. Nuclear weapons held in bunker, similar to the reports of the high level military source. World War 3 Is Starting I have spoken to my connections in the Russian media and they are all confirming that World War 3 is the hottest topic right now amid the populace, and the fact of the matter is that all of the top level military officials over there are looking at this Syrian incident as the catalyst — as the spark. There’s a reason that Russia has begun amassing 160,000 troops and heavy military equipment following an Israeli strike on Russian missiles in Syria. There’s a reason that the troops were called along with naval ships and bombers to attain ‘immediate combat readiness’ along the border. We reported on this months ago while the media was too busy focusing on the Trayvon Martin case to talk about the ignition of World War 3. What we’re looking at right now is the beginning of World War 3 unless we manage to stop it. The elite are crazy enough and drunk enough with power to launch anything if it means advancing their vast lust for power and control. Thankfully, we now have a public that is much more awake to what’s going on and able to put a speed bump in the overall war plan as admitted by Obama adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski last week, but it will take a lot of awakening to stop Obama from launching these attacks that have been in the works for years. We encourage you to continue checking out Infowars and Storyleak for more updates on this and the latest news and information we find out on this developing situation. A Hiroshima victim of the nuclear strike — what everyone has to look forward to in the event of a nuclear war that is on the horizon if we don’t turn things around. A Hiroshima victim of the nuclear strike — what everyone has to look forward to in the event of a nuclear war that is on the horizon if we don’t turn things around. This article was posted: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 5:54 am Tags: leaked, nuclear, Obama, putin, syria, war, world war 3

Exclusive: High Level Source Confirms Secret US Nuclear Warhead Transfer

  •   The Alex Jones Channel Alex Jones Show podcast Prison Planet TV Infowars.com Twitter Alex Jones' Facebook Infowars store
Anthony Gucciardi & Alex Jones
Infowars.com
September 3, 2013
A high level source inside the military has now confirmed to us that Dyess Air Force base is actively moving nuclear warheads to the East Coast of the United States in a secret transfer that has no paper trail.
According to the high level military source, who has a strong record of continually being proven correct in deep military activity, the Dyess Air Force Commander authorized unknown parties to transfer the nuclear warheads to an unknown location that has been reported to be South Carolina, where the warheads will then be picked up and potentially utilized.
This is of particular interest not only due to the fact that the Syrian situation has escalated to the point of a very realistic hot war scenario, but due to the fact that Dyess has repeatedly denied the existence of nuclear warheads inside the base.
The brief report from the top level military source, which was written in a rush to get the information out, reads:
“Dyess is beginning to move out nuclear war heads today. I got a tap from DERMO earlier. He said it was the first time they have been even acknowledged since being put there in the 80′s. No signature was required for transfer… There was no directive. He said that Dyess Commander was on site to give authority to release. No one knew where they were going really, but the truck driver said to take them to South Carolina and another pick up will take them from there.”
The fact that this transfer was not signed for and there were no papers is key. It shows how the military is now secretly operating with the transfer of nuclear weapons, and what’s more, we know that DERMO (a military base in Florida) is a hotbed of special operations. Why is DERMO operating the nuclear warheads out of Dyess Air Force base with no paper trail? This shows that this is a highly secretive, black ops style move here that the military does not want on record.
The fact is that they don’t move all of these assets unless they plan on using them. Nuclear warheads are not simply moved to the East Coast for no reason, and the bottom line is that these missiles are likely being used for something even much greater than Syria.
dyess-nuke-site

Top Level Military Officer ‘Extremely Alarmed’

This leak inside the military industrial complex comes after prior sources have also revealed to us that B-1′s and B-2 bombers were ordered to head out of their respective bases (B-1B’s leaving Dyess specifically) across the nation and they haven’t come back. All of this is happening amid the growing Syrian crisis that has developed amid the ignition of a WW3-level wrestling match between the United States and Russia.  Now, based on the transfer to South Carolina that is not on record and was not signed for, we may be looking at a pattern that reveals an extremely hot war scenario.
And here’s what’s essential to understand: There’s no question that the Syrian issue is huge, and it’s very possible that the US military is now under orders by Obama to prepare a strike, but the reality is that the much greater issue here is what’s going on with the US and Russia. What we’re seeing here is a proxy war turned hot with Syria, and we’ve been covering this for months now. Even the mainstream media has reported in the past how the evolution of war in Syria has turned into a hot proxy war against Russia via the Syrian rebels and Assad’s troops.
b1bomber
We now even have the Russian media openly discussing the hot war by the United States against Russia and how this will essentially lead to World War 3.  But the fact of the matter is that we’re already progressively moving towards World War 3 . Obama and United States officials are already talking about boots on the ground in Syria and taking down the Russian-backed Assad regime. They are already moving forward following the blatantly staged chemical attacks that were absolutely carried out by the Obama-funded Syrian rebels in order to initiate a war scenario.
Why do you think Obama has been aiding in the training, funding, and supplying of the bloodthirsty Syrian rebels since 2011 through secret orders admitted by Reuters? The entire angle here is not to help the civilians of Syria, who the Obama-backed rebels already are beheading and murdering to cheering crowds. No, this has always been a buildup to a World War 3 scenario between Russia and the United States. And now, with the absolute insanity of Obama and the military industrial complex pushing these wars, it’s here.
Nuclear weapons held in bunker, similar to the reports of the high level military source.
Nuclear weapons held in bunker, similar to the reports of the high level military source.

World War 3 Is Starting

I have spoken to my connections in the Russian media and they are all confirming that World War 3 is the hottest topic right now amid the populace, and the fact of the matter is that all of the top level military officials over there are looking at this Syrian incident as the catalyst — as the spark. There’s a reason that Russia has begun amassing 160,000 troops and heavy military equipment following an Israeli strike on Russian missiles in Syria. There’s a reason that the troops were called along with naval ships and bombers to attain ‘immediate combat readiness’ along the border. We reported on this months ago while the media was too busy focusing on the Trayvon Martin case to talk about the ignition of World War 3.
What we’re looking at right now is the beginning of World War 3 unless we manage to stop it. The elite are crazy enough and drunk enough with power to launch anything if it means advancing their vast lust for power and control. Thankfully, we now have a public that is much more awake to what’s going on and able to put a speed bump in the overall war plan as admitted by Obama adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski last week, but it will take a lot of awakening to stop Obama from launching these attacks that have been in the works for years.
We encourage you to continue checking out Infowars and Storyleak for more updates on this and the latest news and information we find out on this developing situation.
A Hiroshima victim of the nuclear strike — what everyone has to look forward to in the event of a nuclear war that is on the horizon if we don’t turn things around.
A Hiroshima victim of the nuclear strike — what everyone has to look forward to in the event of a nuclear war that is on the horizon if we don’t turn things around.
This article was posted: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 at 5:54 am

Rev. Wright's Daughter Charged With Embezzling $16 Million From AIDS Charity ~> Full Report


Monday, September 9, 2013

Rev. Wright's Daughter Charged With Embezzling $16 Million From AIDS Charity ~> Full Report


Guess she figured she could use the money better than those "dying people."
The U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield has been busy the past few years investigating a variety of fraud schemes involving state grants. Thirteen people have been charged so far, six who have pleaded guilty.

Two of them have ties to President Barack Obama. One is the daughter of his controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Another was chief of staff to Obama’s longtime friend Eric E. Whitaker when Whitaker was Illinois’ public health chief.

In all, prosecutors are alleging a total of $16 million in fraud involving state health or commerce department grants and contracts.

Here’s a brief look at each of the criminal cases that have been filed, which prosecutors built with help from the Chicago offices of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office’s inspector general:

Switzerland Warning Against Obama Regime Stuns Russia


Switzerland Warning Against Obama Regime Stuns Russia

 

The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) is reporting today that Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) is proposing that the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) issue an immediate “Situation: Grave, Do Not Travel” warning for the United States upgrading that North American nation from its current status as “Stable” and on par with a similar warning issued for the war torn Middle Eastern country of Syria.
According to this report, millions of data files on counter-terrorism operations from both MI6 and the CIA were stolen this past December (2012) by a senior computer technician of Swiss citizenship who planned to release them to Wikileaks.
These highly classified documents stored on NDB servers, this report continues, were stolen by what was described as a “very talented” still unnamed NDB technician senior enough to have “administrator rights,” giving him unrestricted access to most or all of the NDB’s networks.
The December, 2012 theft of these top secret British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files, GRU intelligence analysts in this report say, came on the heels of a similar theft barely two years prior when MI6 spy Daniel Houghton, also a highly trained computer technician with “administrator rights,” was arrested while attempting to, also, release to Wikileaks thousands of top-secret MI6, MI5 and CIA electronic files.

Raising the fears of the NDB, however, this report says, were US National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) documents obtained from Edward Snowden by the GRU which show a “conclusive and provable link” between the man now known as the United States most wanted person, the still unnamed NDB spy, MI6 spy Houghton and US Army Private Bradley Manning, all of whom constitute what Swiss intelligence analysts say are the “iceberg tip” behind the largest theft of Western top-secret documents in modern history.
To whom the power behind these Western computer spies with unlimited “administration rights” and top security clearances, who have been releasing and/or attempting to release to the world these most secretive of documents, this GRU report quotes from NDB documents, Swiss intelligence analysts point to what they describe as a “cabal” of US military officers “fully intent” upon destroying the Obama regime, even if it means war.
Important to note is that this past February (2013) the Federal Security Services (FSB) had warned of the US military plan to assassinate Obama in what Russian intelligence analysts say will be a takeover of the United States similar to the coup currently being undertaken in Egypt; and the GRU had further warned this past November (2012) that the Obama regimes war against its own generals was, also, likely to end in a military coup after the Washington D.C. gun battle toppled the top US military leader, former Four-Star Army General and CIA director David Petraeus, of this planed takeover.
The “main tactic” being used by the Obama regime against its top military leaders, according to the NDB, has been the leaking of their private emails by the NSA/CSS as revealed by Snowden whose leaked documents prove that US intelligence operatives loyal to the Obama regime have been tapping everything done online by all Americans.
Of the greatest concern to the NDB, however, this GRU report says, was the Obama regimes targeting this past week of the renowned American statesman, retired four-star general in the United States Army, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the 65th United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, whom the NSA/CSS has threatened with the release of his private emails alleging an affair with a Romanian diplomat, which is the same tactic used to destroy the reputation and career of General Petraeus.
Unlike General Petraeus, however, this report continues, the NDB in their report note that General Powell has secretly notified the Obama regime of his intention “not to go down without a fight” and which led to forces loyal to the Obama regime opening fire on and destroying two F-16 fighter jets nearing Washington D.C. airspace Thursday evening (23:00 hrs EDT 1 August) believed to be headed towards the White House.

As to if these F-16 fighter jets were indeed targeting Obama, this report says, it is not certain, but the reaction by the Obama regime to this event has been unprecedented in that within hours of them being shot down the US issued a world-wide travel alert to last until 31 August and ordered the closing of at least 17 of its overseas embassies.
The shock announcement yesterday that the US would be closing these embassies, this GRU report says the NDB has discovered, is due to the Obama regimes fears that more computer thefts of top-secret documents relating to the Obama regimes collusion with extreme Islamic terrorists groups are going to be released and will allow them time to purge all of their embassy servers of incriminating information, especially those files relating to the true events of the 2012 Benghazi Attack led by rogue CIA operatives whom US Congressman Trey Gowdy warned yesterday were being kept from testifying, being relocated and given new identities.
Unbeknownst to the American people about the Obama regime, this report says, has been its tens of millions of dollars in funding of al-Qaeda terrorists to create an Islamic Emirate in Syria and its over $8 billion in secret funding to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood radicals, both forces who are currently being defeated on the battlefield and in the streets.
Equally unknown to the American people is that Snowden, a “high-level member,” according to the NDB, of the US military cabal threatening the Obama regime, had offered to return to America to face the charges leveled against him knowing that if were able to survive the citizens of his country would learn the full horrors of the monsters ruling over them, an offer that was rejected by the US.
Snowden’s fears for his safety have, indeed proved valid since the Obama regimes assassinations of Michael Hastings, Aaron Swartz and Barnaby Jack and as we reported on in our 29 July report revealing how the Russian military is currently preparing for all-out war.
And in one of the most shameful acts against the American people by their own mainstream press, their refusal to publish, let alone mention, Edward Snowden’s fathers open letter to Obama will stand forever as an indictment against those elites seeking to enslave these once great people forever, and as we can all read in its entirety:
July 26, 2013
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: Civil Disobedience, Edward J. Snowden, and the Constitution
Dear Mr. President:
You are acutely aware that the history of liberty is a history of civil disobedience to unjust laws or practices. As Edmund Burke sermonized, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
Civil disobedience is not the first, but the last option. Henry David Thoreau wrote with profound restraint in Civil Disobedience: “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.”

Thoreau’s moral philosophy found expression during the Nuremburg trials in which “following orders” was rejected as a defense. Indeed, military law requires disobedience to clearly illegal orders.
A dark chapter in America’s World War II history would not have been written if the then United States Attorney General had resigned rather than participate in racist concentration camps imprisoning 120,000 Japanese American citizens and resident aliens.
Civil disobedience to the Fugitive Slave Act and Jim Crow laws provoked the end of slavery and the modern civil rights revolution.
We submit that Edward J. Snowden’s disclosures of dragnet surveillance of Americans under § 215 of the Patriot Act, § 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments, or otherwise were sanctioned by Thoreau’s time-honored moral philosophy and justifications for civil disobedience. Since 2005, Mr. Snowden had been employed by the intelligence community. He found himself complicit in secret, indiscriminate spying on millions of innocent citizens contrary to the spirit if not the letter of the First and Fourth Amendments and the transparency indispensable to self-government. Members of Congress entrusted with oversight remained silent or Delphic. Mr. Snowden confronted a choice between civic duty and passivity. He may have recalled the injunction of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.” Mr. Snowden chose duty. Your administration vindictively responded with a criminal complaint alleging violations of the Espionage Act.
From the commencement of your administration, your secrecy of the National Security Agency’s Orwellian surveillance programs had frustrated a national conversation over their legality, necessity, or morality. That secrecy (combined with congressional nonfeasance) provoked Edward’s disclosures, which sparked a national conversation which you have belatedly and cynically embraced. Legislation has been introduced in both the House of Representatives and Senate to curtail or terminate the NSA’s programs, and the American people are being educated to the public policy choices at hand. A commanding majority now voice concerns over the dragnet surveillance of Americans that Edward exposed and you concealed. It seems mystifying to us that you are prosecuting Edward for accomplishing what you have said urgently needed to be done!
The right to be left alone from government snooping–the most cherished right among civilized people—is the cornerstone of liberty. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson served as Chief Prosecutor at Nuremburg. He came to learn of the dynamics of the Third Reich that crushed a free society, and which have lessons for the United States today.
Writing in Brinegar v. United States, Justice Jackson elaborated:
The Fourth Amendment states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
These, I protest, are not mere second-class rights but belong in the catalog of indispensable freedoms. Among deprivations of rights, none is so effective in cowing a population, crushing the spirit of the individual and putting terror in every heart. Uncontrolled search and seizure is one of the first and most effective weapons in the arsenal of every arbitrary government. And one need only briefly to have dwelt and worked among a people possessed of many admirable qualities but deprived of these rights to know that the human personality deteriorates and dignity and self-reliance disappear where homes, persons and possessions are subject at any hour to unheralded search and seizure by the police.
We thus find your administration’s zeal to punish Mr. Snowden’s discharge of civic duty to protect democratic processes and to safeguard liberty to be unconscionable and indefensible.
We are also appalled at your administration’s scorn for due process, the rule of law, fairness, and the presumption of innocence as regards Edward.
On June 27, 2013, Mr. Fein wrote a letter to the Attorney General stating that Edward’s father was substantially convinced that he would return to the United States to confront the charges that have been lodged against him if three cornerstones of due process were guaranteed. The letter was not an ultimatum, but an invitation to discuss fair trial imperatives. The Attorney General has sneered at the overture with studied silence.
We thus suspect your administration wishes to avoid a trial because of constitutional doubts about application of the Espionage Act in these circumstances, and obligations to disclose to the public potentially embarrassing classified information under the Classified Information Procedures Act.
Your decision to force down a civilian airliner carrying Bolivian President Eva Morales in hopes of kidnapping Edward also does not inspire confidence that you are committed to providing him a fair trial. Neither does your refusal to remind the American people and prominent Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate like House Speaker John Boehner, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann,and Senator Dianne Feinstein that Edward enjoys a presumption of innocence. He should not be convicted before trial. Yet Speaker Boehner has denounced Edward as a “traitor.”
Ms. Pelosi has pontificated that Edward “did violate the law in terms of releasing those documents.” Ms. Bachmann has pronounced that, “This was not the act of a patriot; this was an act of a traitor.” And Ms. Feinstein has decreed that Edward was guilty of “treason,” which is defined in Article III of the Constitution as “levying war” against the United States, “or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”
You have let those quadruple affronts to due process pass unrebuked, while you have disparaged Edward as a “hacker” to cast aspersion on his motivations and talents. Have you forgotten the Supreme Court’s gospel in Berger v. United States that the interests of the government “in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done?”
We also find reprehensible your administration’s Espionage Act prosecution of Edward for disclosures indistinguishable from those which routinely find their way into the public domain via your high level appointees for partisan political advantage. Classified details of your predator drone protocols, for instance, were shared with the New York Times with impunity to bolster your national security credentials. Justice Jackson observed in Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York: “The framers of the Constitution knew, and we should not forget today, that there is no more effective practical guaranty against arbitrary and unreasonable government than to require that the principles of law which officials would impose upon a minority must be imposed generally.”
In light of the circumstances amplified above, we urge you to order the Attorney General to move to dismiss the outstanding criminal complaint against Edward, and to support legislation to remedy the NSA surveillance abuses he revealed. Such presidential directives would mark your finest constitutional and moral hour.
Sincerely,
Bruce Fein
Counsel for Lon Snowden
Lon Snowden

New Short Film Titled "OBAMA is the FULFILLMENT of the ANTICHRIST" details Obama's Use of Drones and Remote Strikes on Foreign Countries - Must Watch!

Notice the portion of this video detailing the drone attacks used by Obama. Could that be the reference to 'fire from heaven in the sight of men?'

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Revelation 13:13

Notice that when the drone fires its weapon it looks like fire coming down out of the sky and the drone pilots (men) use a sight to guide the drone to its target.












OBAMA is the FULFILLMENT of the ANTICHRIST: http://youtu.be/LJXvQHCxffw via @youtube

Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history -- and still gave him a hand. BY SHANE HARRIS AND MATTHEW M. AID | AUGUST 26, 2013




Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran

The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history -- and still gave him a hand.

BY SHANE HARRIS AND MATTHEW M. AID | AUGUST 26, 2013

The U.S. government may be considering military action in response to chemical strikes near Damascus. But a generation ago, America's military and intelligence communities knew about and did nothing to stop a series of nerve gas attacks far more devastating than anything Syria has seen, Foreign Policy has learned.
In 1988, during the waning days of Iraq's war with Iran, the United States learned through satellite imagery that Iran was about to gain a major strategic advantage by exploiting a hole in Iraqi defenses. U.S. intelligence officials conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein's military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin, a lethal nerve agent.
The intelligence included imagery and maps about Iranian troop movements, as well as the locations of Iranian logistics facilities and details about Iranian air defenses. The Iraqis used mustard gas and sarin prior to four major offensives in early 1988 that relied on U.S. satellite imagery, maps, and other intelligence. These attacks helped to tilt the war in Iraq's favor and bring Iran to the negotiating table, and they ensured that the Reagan administration's long-standing policy of securing an Iraqi victory would succeed. But they were also the last in a series of chemical strikes stretching back several years that the Reagan administration knew about and didn't disclose.
U.S. officials have long denied acquiescing to Iraqi chemical attacks, insisting that Hussein's government never announced he was going to use the weapons. But retired Air Force Col. Rick Francona, who was a military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 strikes, paints a different picture.
"The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas. They didn't have to. We already knew," he told Foreign Policy.
According to recently declassified CIA documents and interviews with former intelligence officials like Francona, the U.S. had firm evidence of Iraqi chemical attacks beginning in 1983. At the time, Iran was publicly alleging that illegal chemical attacks were carried out on its forces, and was building a case to present to the United Nations. But it lacked the evidence implicating Iraq, much of which was contained in top secret reports and memoranda sent to the most senior intelligence officials in the U.S. government. The CIA declined to comment for this story.
In contrast to today's wrenching debate over whether the United States should intervene to stop alleged chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government, the United States applied a cold calculus three decades ago to Hussein's widespread use of chemical weapons against his enemies and his own people. The Reagan administration decided that it was better to let the attacks continue if they might turn the tide of the war. And even if they were discovered, the CIA wagered that international outrage and condemnation would be muted.
In the documents, the CIA said that Iran might not discover persuasive evidence of the weapons' use -- even though the agency possessed it. Also, the agency noted that the Soviet Union had previously used chemical agents in Afghanistan and suffered few repercussions.
It has been previously reported that the United States provided tactical intelligence to Iraq at the same time that officials suspected Hussein would use chemical weapons. But the CIA documents, which sat almost entirely unnoticed in a trove of declassified material at the National Archives in College Park, Md., combined with exclusive interviews with former intelligence officials, reveal new details about the depth of the United States' knowledge of how and when Iraq employed the deadly agents. They show that senior U.S. officials were being regularly informed about the scale of the nerve gas attacks. They are tantamount to an official American admission of complicity in some of the most gruesome chemical weapons attacks ever launched.

Top CIA officials, including the Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey, a close friend of President Ronald Reagan, were told about the location of Iraqi chemical weapons assembly plants; that Iraq was desperately trying to make enough mustard agent to keep up with frontline demand from its forces; that Iraq was about to buy equipment from Italy to help speed up production of chemical-packed artillery rounds and bombs; and that Iraq could also use nerve agents on Iranian troops and possibly civilians.
Officials were also warned that Iran might launch retaliatory attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East, including terrorist strikes, if it believed the United States was complicit in Iraq's chemical warfare campaign.
"As Iraqi attacks continue and intensify the chances increase that Iranian forces will acquire a shell containing mustard agent with Iraqi markings," the CIA reported in a top secret document in November 1983. "Tehran would take such evidence to the U.N. and charge U.S. complicity in violating international law."
At the time, the military attaché's office was following Iraqi preparations for the offensive using satellite reconnaissance imagery, Francona told Foreign Policy. According to a former CIA official, the images showed Iraqi movements of chemical materials to artillery batteries opposite Iranian positions prior to each offensive.
Francona, an experienced Middle East hand and Arabic linguist who served in the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency, said he first became aware of Iraq's use of chemical weapons against Iran in 1984, while serving as air attaché in Amman, Jordan. The information he saw clearly showed that the Iraqis had used Tabun nerve agent (also known as "GA") against Iranian forces in southern Iraq.
The declassified CIA documents show that Casey and other top officials were repeatedly informed about Iraq's chemical attacks and its plans for launching more. "If the Iraqis produce or acquire large new supplies of mustard agent, they almost certainly would use it against Iranian troops and towns near the border," the CIA said in a top secret document.
But it was the express policy of Reagan to ensure an Iraqi victory in the war, whatever the cost.
The CIA noted in one document that the use of nerve agent "could have a significant impact on Iran's human wave tactics, forcing Iran to give up that strategy." Those tactics, which involved Iranian forces swarming against conventionally armed Iraqi positions, had proved decisive in some battles. In March 1984, the CIA reported that Iraq had "begun using nerve agents on the Al Basrah front and likely will be able to employ it in militarily significant quantities by late this fall."
The use of chemical weapons in war is banned under the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which states that parties "will exert every effort to induce other States to accede to the" agreement. Iraq never ratified the protocol; the United States did in 1975. The Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the production and use of such arms, wasn't passed until 1997, years after the incidents in question.
The initial wave of Iraqi attacks, in 1983, used mustard agent. While generally not fatal, mustard causes severe blistering of the skin and mucus membranes, which can lead to potentially fatal infections, and can cause blindness and upper respiratory disease, while increasing the risk of cancer. The United States wasn't yet providing battlefield intelligence to Iraq when mustard was used. But it also did nothing to assist Iran in its attempts to bring proof of illegal Iraqi chemical attacks to light. Nor did the administration inform the United Nations. The CIA determined that Iran had the capability to bomb the weapons assembly facilities, if only it could find them. The CIA believed it knew the locations.


Hard evidence of the Iraqi chemical attacks came to light in 1984. But that did little to deter Hussein from using the lethal agents, including in strikes against his own people. For as much as the CIA knew about Hussein's use of chemical weapons, officials resisted providing Iraq with intelligence throughout much of the war. The Defense Department had proposed an intelligence-sharing program with the Iraqis in 1986. But according to Francona, it was nixed because the CIA and the State Department viewed Saddam Hussein as "anathema" and his officials as "thugs."
The situation changed in 1987. CIA reconnaissance satellites picked up clear indications that the Iranians were concentrating large numbers of troops and equipment east of the city of Basrah, according to Francona, who was then serving with the Defense Intelligence Agency. What concerned DIA analysts the most was that the satellite imagery showed that the Iranians had discovered a gaping hole in the Iraqi lines southeast of Basrah. The seam had opened up at the junction between the Iraqi III Corps, deployed east of the city, and the Iraqi VII Corps, which was deployed to the southeast of the city in and around the hotly contested Fao Peninsula.
The satellites detected Iranian engineering and bridging units being secretly moved to deployment areas opposite the gap in the Iraqi lines, indicating that this was going to be where the main force of the annual Iranian spring offensive was going to fall, Francona said.
In late 1987, the DIA analysts in Francona's shop in Washington wrote a Top Secret Codeword report partially entitled "At The Gates of Basrah," warning that the Iranian 1988 spring offensive was going to be bigger than all previous spring offensives, and this offensive stood a very good chance of breaking through the Iraqi lines and capturing Basrah. The report warned that if Basrah fell, the Iraqi military would collapse and Iran would win the war.
President Reagan read the report and, according to Francona, wrote a note in the margin addressed to Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci: "An Iranian victory is unacceptable."
Subsequently, a decision was made at the top level of the U.S. government (almost certainly requiring the approval of the National Security Council and the CIA). The DIA was authorized to give the Iraqi intelligence services as much detailed information as was available about the deployments and movements of all Iranian combat units. That included satellite imagery and perhaps some sanitized electronic intelligence. There was a particular focus on the area east of the city of Basrah where the DIA was convinced the next big Iranian offensive would come. The agency also provided data on the locations of key Iranian logistics facilities, and the strength and capabilities of the Iranian air force and air defense system. Francona described much of the information as "targeting packages" suitable for use by the Iraqi air force to destroy these targets.
The sarin attacks then followed.
The nerve agent causes dizziness, respiratory distress, and muscle convulsions, and can lead to death. CIA analysts could not precisely determine the Iranian casualty figures because they lacked access to Iranian officials and documents. But the agency gauged the number of dead as somewhere between "hundreds" and "thousands" in each of the four cases where chemical weapons were used prior to a military offensive. According to the CIA, two-thirds of all chemical weapons ever used by Iraq during its war with Iran were fired or dropped in the last 18 months of the war.
By 1988, U.S. intelligence was flowing freely to Hussein's military. That March, Iraq launched a nerve gas attack on the Kurdish village of Halabja in northern Iraq.
A month later, the Iraqis used aerial bombs and artillery shells filled with sarin against Iranian troop concentrations on the Fao Peninsula southeast of Basrah, helping the Iraqi forces win a major victory and recapture the entire peninsula. The success of the Fao Peninsula offensive also prevented the Iranians from launching their much-anticipated offensive to capture Basrah. According to Francona, Washington was very pleased with the result because the Iranians never got a chance to launch their offensive.
The level of insight into Iraq's chemical weapons program stands in marked contrast to the flawed assessments, provided by the CIA and other intelligence agencies about Iraq's program prior to the United States' invasion in 2003. Back then, American intelligence had better access to the region and could send officials out to assess the damage.
Francona visited the Fao Peninsula shortly after it had been captured by the Iraqis. He found the battlefield littered with hundreds of used injectors once filled with atropine, the drug commonly used to treat sarin's lethal effects. Francona scooped up a few of the injectors and brought them back to Baghdad -- proof that the Iraqis had used sarin on the Fao Peninsula.
In the ensuing months, Francona reported, the Iraqis used sarin in massive quantities three more times in conjunction with massed artillery fire and smoke to disguise the use of nerve agents. Each offensive was hugely successful, in large part because of the increasingly sophisticated use of mass quantities of nerve agents. The last of these attacks, called the Blessed Ramadan Offensive, was launched by the Iraqis in April 1988 and involved the largest use of sarin nerve agent employed by the Iraqis to date. For a quarter-century, no chemical attack came close to the scale of Saddam's unconventional assaults. Until, perhaps, the strikes last week outside of Damascus.
Click to the next page to read the secret CIA files.


Hard evidence of the Iraqi chemical attacks came to light in 1984. But that did little to deter Hussein from using the lethal agents, including in strikes against his own people. For as much as the CIA knew about Hussein's use of chemical weapons, officials resisted providing Iraq with intelligence throughout much of the war. The Defense Department had proposed an intelligence-sharing program with the Iraqis in 1986. But according to Francona, it was nixed because the CIA and the State Department viewed Saddam Hussein as "anathema" and his officials as "thugs."
The situation changed in 1987. CIA reconnaissance satellites picked up clear indications that the Iranians were concentrating large numbers of troops and equipment east of the city of Basrah, according to Francona, who was then serving with the Defense Intelligence Agency. What concerned DIA analysts the most was that the satellite imagery showed that the Iranians had discovered a gaping hole in the Iraqi lines southeast of Basrah. The seam had opened up at the junction between the Iraqi III Corps, deployed east of the city, and the Iraqi VII Corps, which was deployed to the southeast of the city in and around the hotly contested Fao Peninsula.
The satellites detected Iranian engineering and bridging units being secretly moved to deployment areas opposite the gap in the Iraqi lines, indicating that this was going to be where the main force of the annual Iranian spring offensive was going to fall, Francona said.
In late 1987, the DIA analysts in Francona's shop in Washington wrote a Top Secret Codeword report partially entitled "At The Gates of Basrah," warning that the Iranian 1988 spring offensive was going to be bigger than all previous spring offensives, and this offensive stood a very good chance of breaking through the Iraqi lines and capturing Basrah. The report warned that if Basrah fell, the Iraqi military would collapse and Iran would win the war.
President Reagan read the report and, according to Francona, wrote a note in the margin addressed to Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci: "An Iranian victory is unacceptable."
Subsequently, a decision was made at the top level of the U.S. government (almost certainly requiring the approval of the National Security Council and the CIA). The DIA was authorized to give the Iraqi intelligence services as much detailed information as was available about the deployments and movements of all Iranian combat units. That included satellite imagery and perhaps some sanitized electronic intelligence. There was a particular focus on the area east of the city of Basrah where the DIA was convinced the next big Iranian offensive would come. The agency also provided data on the locations of key Iranian logistics facilities, and the strength and capabilities of the Iranian air force and air defense system. Francona described much of the information as "targeting packages" suitable for use by the Iraqi air force to destroy these targets.
The sarin attacks then followed.
The nerve agent causes dizziness, respiratory distress, and muscle convulsions, and can lead to death. CIA analysts could not precisely determine the Iranian casualty figures because they lacked access to Iranian officials and documents. But the agency gauged the number of dead as somewhere between "hundreds" and "thousands" in each of the four cases where chemical weapons were used prior to a military offensive. According to the CIA, two-thirds of all chemical weapons ever used by Iraq during its war with Iran were fired or dropped in the last 18 months of the war.
By 1988, U.S. intelligence was flowing freely to Hussein's military. That March, Iraq launched a nerve gas attack on the Kurdish village of Halabja in northern Iraq.
A month later, the Iraqis used aerial bombs and artillery shells filled with sarin against Iranian troop concentrations on the Fao Peninsula southeast of Basrah, helping the Iraqi forces win a major victory and recapture the entire peninsula. The success of the Fao Peninsula offensive also prevented the Iranians from launching their much-anticipated offensive to capture Basrah. According to Francona, Washington was very pleased with the result because the Iranians never got a chance to launch their offensive.
The level of insight into Iraq's chemical weapons program stands in marked contrast to the flawed assessments, provided by the CIA and other intelligence agencies about Iraq's program prior to the United States' invasion in 2003. Back then, American intelligence had better access to the region and could send officials out to assess the damage.
Francona visited the Fao Peninsula shortly after it had been captured by the Iraqis. He found the battlefield littered with hundreds of used injectors once filled with atropine, the drug commonly used to treat sarin's lethal effects. Francona scooped up a few of the injectors and brought them back to Baghdad -- proof that the Iraqis had used sarin on the Fao Peninsula.
In the ensuing months, Francona reported, the Iraqis used sarin in massive quantities three more times in conjunction with massed artillery fire and smoke to disguise the use of nerve agents. Each offensive was hugely successful, in large part because of the increasingly sophisticated use of mass quantities of nerve agents. The last of these attacks, called the Blessed Ramadan Offensive, was launched by the Iraqis in April 1988 and involved the largest use of sarin nerve agent employed by the Iraqis to date. For a quarter-century, no chemical attack came close to the scale of Saddam's unconventional assaults. Until, perhaps, the strikes last week outside of Damascus.
Click to the next page to read the secret CIA files.
 

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Littwin: America's lesson from Libya




Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby admin on August 28th, 2011, 3:58 am #2083033
It's still too soon to know how things will turn out down the road in Libya, but it's never too early, in pundit-time, to start drawing conclusions.
I was opposed to an American role in the Libyan war. It seemed like we'd been there too often before, that we've constantly been bogged down in endless wars that we didn't know how to, well, end.
That's the lesson of Afghanistan, a...


Post your comments on the Denver Post article, Littwin: America's lesson from Libya (click that link to go back and read the article).
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby Silverspruce on August 28th, 2011, 4:18 am #2083035
As a long-time independent voter, I don't think any President is born to the job, and Obama is no exception. What Presidents must have, however is good judgement and the ability to learn. Obama has shown that he does with Bin Laden and Libya. I wish he had put jobs ahead of Obamacare, but better late than never. He is crippled, however, by the Tea Party/Republicans personal hatred of him, racial and otherwise, which exceeds any desire they may have to help the economy. Their default/blackmail games in D.C. last month proved that. I predict they will pay a crushing price in 2012 for their political obstinance, and rightfully so. In the meantime, the American people continue to suffer. Obama, however, is beginning to act like a President, and I like what I see.
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby Reality1 on August 28th, 2011, 4:56 am #2083049
Mike, you left out that one of the big reasons Obama FOLLOWED France's lead is, to steal Bush haters mantra,'It's all about oil'. Western Europe relies on Libya for a lot of it's oil. The jury's still out on whether this war was a good move. Are we going to get a democratic gov't or an islamist state? Egypt is looking to possibly go with the Muslim Brotherhood,which is not good. We need a tolerant democracy, not a theocracy. Obama's move has assured us nothing but another bill that has to be paid.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby joevg3 on August 28th, 2011, 5:29 am #2083065
Silverspruce wrote: He is crippled, however, by the Tea Party/Republicans personal hatred of him, racial and otherwise, which exceeds any desire they may have to help the economy. Their default/blackmail games in D.C. last month proved that.


Umm, how long have you followed politics? I recall the libs/dems had the "super majority" controlling both House, Senate and Executive branch. They could have passed a budget, but didn't. Why? Because they are not leaders, only followers. Obama is the WORST PRESIDENT EVER. Why? Obamacare, Economy, Jobs, Wars, Gittmo, Golf (he played more rounds of golf than pros did this month - Google Paul Azinger/Obama/Golf)
I am on the fence politically - I thought Bush was not the answer, and did a poor job. However, Obama is just too stupid to know that he is not the smartest person in the room.
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby dillwinkle on August 28th, 2011, 5:51 am #2083085
I thought you Lefties were pacifists and now you're gloating over what you perceive as your Nobel "Peace" Prize winner Obama's "victory" in Libya?
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby Sid on August 28th, 2011, 5:57 am #2083091
Reality1 wrote:Mike, you left out that one of the big reasons Obama FOLLOWED France's lead is, to steal Bush haters mantra,'It's all about oil'. Western Europe relies on Libya for a lot of it's oil. The jury's still out on whether this war was a good move. Are we going to get a democratic gov't or an islamist state? Egypt is looking to possibly go with the Muslim Brotherhood,which is not good. We need a tolerant democracy, not a theocracy. Obama's move has assured us nothing but another bill that has to be paid.



Wars are always a bad move, and always the end result of many previous bad moves working in combination with each other.

This one is no different than any other, and will just be one of the bad moves that leads to the next one when it comes.
"The only people who don't want to disclose the truth are people with something to hide." (Barack Obama August 21, 2010)
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby joevg3 on August 28th, 2011, 6:01 am #2083097
Silverspruce wrote:
He is crippled, however, by the Tea Party/Republicans personal hatred of him, racial and otherwise, which exceeds any desire they may have to help the economy. Their default/blackmail games in D.C. last month proved that.

Umm, how long have you followed politics? I recall the libs/dems had the "super majority" controlling both House, Senate and Executive branch. They could have passed a budget, but didn't. Why? Because they are not leaders, only followers. Obama is the WORST PRESIDENT EVER. Why? Obamacare, Economy, Jobs, Wars, Gittmo, Golf (he played more rounds of golf than pros did this month - Google Paul Azinger/Obama/Golf)
I am on the fence politically - I thought Bush was not the answer, and did a poor job. However, Obama is just too stupid to know that he is not the smartest person in the room.

**I also forgot to mention - Biden. Holy crap, what a joke. He may be more clueless than Obama. **DISCLOSURE** I am not a physisist, so I am not certain if that's possible.
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby Tumultuous on August 28th, 2011, 6:26 am #2083132
Most do not realize that the rebel forces are made up of the militant Muslum Brotherhood and now AlQadea! Both of which were illegal under the current regime....Looks as the U.S. needed a war, more blood for oil as France wants their share of oil contracts now.
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby thinkingahead on August 28th, 2011, 7:01 am #2083162
So now the left is making lemon ade without the lemons. Littwin is making several points of the right,

No President, even a radical leftist like Obama, isn't going to loose a war. Obama has done just that in Iraq and Afghanistan. And by keeping Guantanamo Bay open.

So now it's Armistice because of the our limited involvement in Libya. This is exactly what Obama and the left have been wanting for years, America's limited involvement. A second RATE country. France gets more credit, welcome to obamaville.

Littwin also is giving Obama credit for what Obama calls bad luck. Obama said that his jobs plan, and the dismal economy ran into bad luck with the tsunami, and the Arab Spring.

The left is in such desperation to have something, anything, positive surrounding Obama that he is now a war President. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

Time will tell now Libya ends up. Hopefully it works out for the Libyan people. Wasn't is George W. Bush who said, as the Iraqi people were voting, "that freedom will spread in the middle east."
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby racer on August 28th, 2011, 7:05 am #2083165
Sorry but I can't believe that we did not have "boots on the ground". They may not have been there openly but I bet they were there. Does any one believe anything that John Kerry says anymore, I sure don't. I was sitting here thinking about what lesson we can learn from Libya and really I am not sure what that would be except maybe how to not run a civil war or who to ask for help. America should have stayed out of this fight. As always just my opinion.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby ALLEN E on August 28th, 2011, 7:59 am #2083232
That's the lesson of Afghanistan, after all — that once you're in, you can't figure how to get out. Actually, it was worse than that. We spent many years fighting in Afghanistan while barely remembering that our troops were even there. ------ from Littwin's piece


Mike, it is easy to get out of Afghanistan. Pull a Viet Nam. Bring all of media to Washington for the grand announcement. Make the announcement on April 1, 2012. "I am here today to declare that the United States has accomplished its objectives in the region. And, we are now handing the country back to its people." Load up the transports, and bring the men and women home. Mission accomplished, and end of our involvement in Afghanistan.

Now, well that happen? Hell, no.

Turn the channel to Libya. We don't yet if Gadhafi is defeated. Loyalists are still fighting, and Gadhafi continues to show on t.v., or the radio, annoucing he wants the infidels killed. But, where is he? Is he in Tripoli? In the desert? Has he fled the country, taking with him the three Russian nurses who know nothing about medicine, or healthcare?

I did not want boots on the ground in Libya. And, I didn't want us to stay away as most conservatives proclaimed. We led the charge at the outset with Tomahawk missiles (at the expense of $900,000,000). Then, we allowed the NATO high command to do their job, slowly, ever so slowly.

Is Libya is victory for Obama? I will guarantee one thing. You will not see a post from a conservative congratulating Obama for the approach taken. Despite the fact that every president since Nixon repudiated the War Powers Act, including but not limited to Mr. Reagan, the complaint was Obama did not get a hall pass from Boehner.

Back to the question, is Libya a victory for Obama? Only if you believe he has a good grasp of how to manage our military assets in defeating enemies abroad, and finding terrorists in hiding.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby ATLborn79 on August 28th, 2011, 9:16 am #2083352
So we pissed away a billion dollars of borrowed Chinese money (not counting the black ops stuff we're not told about, which might be billions more) to intervene in another country's civil war. Instead of using that money in THIS country, we meddle around in other peoples' business--AGAIN...

...just so Western oil companies can get preferred contracts over those from China, Brazil, India, and Russia:

Libya Rebel Oil Official Says China, Russia Will Have Trouble Getting New Deals
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-201 ... 14270.html

Rebels might redraw Libya’s oil contracts http://rt.com/news/oil-contracts-libya-russia-645/
I warned you people back in 2007 that Obama was going to be a carbon-copy of Bush and would continue most of his policies. And you laughed at me. All I have to say about that is:

DO YOU HEAR ME NOW???????
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby indubitablysnarky on August 28th, 2011, 9:45 am #2083392
We spent many years fighting in Afghanistan while barely remembering that our troops were even there.


That scenario has been a recent one, but why is that Mike?

Could it be because when Bush was running the show the media reminded us by constantly showcasing the war protesters, running daily body counts and stories about American soldiers committing war crimes?

Once Obama got in office and continued the Bush Afghan strategy, suddenly the media's interest somehow instantly changed and negative coverage was almost non existent, not to mention the war protests.


In any case, the Libyan war has worked, so far, just the way he hoped it would...


Obama declared the Libya war would last "days, not weeks". It's been going on for almost six months now. Have you been living in some sort of time warp?


This coalition actually was a coalition.


Sorry Mike, try as you might but the facts say otherwise.

1991 Gulf War (32 countries participating), the 1995 Bosnia mission (24 countries), the 1999 Kosovo mission (19 countries), the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan (48 countries), and the 2003 invasion of Iraq (40 countries), at the height of the size of each coalition. As of today, only 15 countries, including the United States, have committed to providing a military contribution to the Libya war.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_u ... 0final.pdf

Mike, I know its your job to defend Obama at all costs, but making stuff up to do so is really lame and insulting to your readers.

We're not all as gullible as you would like to think.
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Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby mike_littwin on August 28th, 2011, 10:41 am #2083456
Snarkster,

You must be gullible, if you cite those previous "coalition" numbers as based in some kind of reality. In Libya, France has actually flown the most sorties.

Your quote of Obama -- which is one of those sources said quotes anyway -- is taken out of context. According to the sources, he said U.S. forces would take the lead for days, not weeks -- not that the war would be over.

The time I'm referring to when the Afghan war was basically forgotten began almost as soon as we went into Iraq.

As for defending Obama, I've been a critic of the Libyan decision since we went in there. I still think it was a bad idea. I end my column saying I hope he doesn't think it means anything more than things have worked out, so far, in Libya. I just think it's funny to see the pro-Iraq war people can't give Obama credit for what has, so far, worked pretty much the way anyone could have hoped.

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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby DenverDixie on August 28th, 2011, 10:55 am #2083470
Wars are just plain stupid demonstrations of power and ego. Vietnam wounded a generation, not just those who fought overseas, but those who fought it at home. Iraq was a mistake from the beginning, based on lies and the conceit of the people in power. Would it have gone the way of other Arab countries this spring if we would have just let it alone? Afghanistan has no clear purpose now that Al-qaeda's head has been bitten off. Smart bombs have done more damage than invasion. Libya is still a question mark.

Obama is growing on me. He's not flashy or chest pounding, but he has done a few things that have impressed me. Like getting Osama bin laden, appointing people who can do their jobs like FEMA head Napolitano, attempting to restart the economy by building and repairing infrastructure. The only thing I see republicans doing is trying to unseat democrats. Worthless.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby MJCZ on August 28th, 2011, 11:14 am #2083489
mike_littwin wrote:I just think it's funny to see the pro-Iraq war people can't give Obama credit for what has, so far, worked pretty much the way anyone could have hoped.

Mike Littwin


I think the reluctance comes (at least from me as I was a supporter of our original missions in Afghanistan and Iraq) to a large degree because Libya and Gadhafi posed no imminent danger or strategic threat to the USA, to US interests abroad, or to any of our NATO allies. This truly was a war of choice and for what appears, to a great degree, to be about oil destined for western Europe. Humanitarian reasons? 1000s have been slaughtered in Syria in the past 2 months and we do nothing. Same with Sudan. How about 100s of Coptic Christians being murdered and persecuted in Egypt - by those WE supported and that deposed Mubarak? They raped Lara Logan of CBS in broad daylight in Tarir Square and we hardly heard a word about it.

In hindsight it appears that most of the concerns about WMDs in Iraq were overblown, to say the least. But there never should have been any doubt at all had Saddam complied with the terms of the Gulf War Ceasefire Agreement. He never did. The Gulf War never really ended. He was given more chances than any tyrant and mass murdering SOB deserves over 12 years while he fired missiles on UK/US pilots patrolling the no-fly zones, 5000 Iraqis died each month under UN sanctions, and Oil-For-Food BILLIONS flowed to Saddam and Sons - that he used to finance Islamic terrorism and pay bounties to Pali suicide bomber's families. We were attacked from Afghanistan so that invasion was 100% justified. We can argue the mission and the subsequent tactics all day long.

Just 5 years ago Condi Rice was making nice with Gadhafi - and it appears he had quite the crush on her too!! After he fessed up and surrendered much/some of his WMDs (after he saw what happened after we took out Saddam) we threw him a bone and tried to get him back into the community of nations and started trade talks. Now, with no threat to the USA and with minimal knowledge about who wants to take control of this oil rich country and with a huge tidal wave of Muslim/Jihadist militancy and uprisings across the Middle East and N Africa we decide to change sides (as Obama did before with Mubarak - but not with the Green Movement in Iran in 2009 and not with Assad in Syria) and support this insurgent group.

There is no consistency in our foreign policy in this part of world, it would appear. Why do we support some Muslim tyrants but not others? This goes back long before Obama, just to be clear, and it has probably caused as many problems as it has solved, maybe more. I think three things play a major role - oil, WMDs, and are they on "our side". The "our side" thing goes back to the Cold War and old habits die hard.

I am glad that things appear to be heading for a "good" resolution, but this is far from over and no one better be hiring the caterer or booking the band for the celebration party just yet. As with all our missions in this part of the world the jury is out and will be for many months or even years. If al Qaeda, Iran, Hezzbollah, or the Muslim Brotherhood are inside this "freedom" movement in Libya and they set up a terror state (as once existed there under Gadhafi) with all that oil money, we might just have to send the whole Sixth Fleet over and a Marine Expeditionary Force into Libya to do what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope not. I really hope not.
Last edited by MJCZ on August 28th, 2011, 11:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby 3Fs on August 28th, 2011, 11:26 am #2083497
1991 Gulf War (32 countries participating), the 1995 Bosnia mission (24 countries), the 1999 Kosovo mission (19 countries), the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan (48 countries), and the 2003 invasion of Iraq (40 countries), at the height of the size of each coalition. As of today, only 15 countries, including the United States, have committed to providing a military contribution to the Libya war.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_u ... 0final.pdf


Devil's in the details, Snarky. Although I can't comment about the other conflicts, the "coalition of the willing" in the Iraq war was one of the biggest jokes to come out of the Iraq-invasion PR machine (which is really saying something). That invasion was four countries: U.S., U.K., Australia and Poland. The "coalition of the willing" became a list that was ever-changing and eventually came to represent countries that merely ostensibly approved of the action (there are also reports that the White House used the carrot-on-a-stick method of foreign aid to get countries to agree to be on the list). Take a look at these numbers:
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/ir ... index.html

To say that 40 countries invaded Iraq is simply not accurate. Example: what, exactly, was Tonga's contribution?
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby ATLborn79 on August 28th, 2011, 11:58 am #2083523
mike_littwin wrote:I just think it's funny to see the pro-Iraq war people can't give Obama credit for what has, so far, worked pretty much the way anyone could have hoped.


Of course, we also have Statesmen who are principled and committed to peace and non-interventionism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQus52COlSI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TZ5cpaPlf4
I warned you people back in 2007 that Obama was going to be a carbon-copy of Bush and would continue most of his policies. And you laughed at me. All I have to say about that is:

DO YOU HEAR ME NOW???????
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby paperboy60657 on August 28th, 2011, 1:31 pm #2083628
DenverDixie wrote:Wars are just plain stupid demonstrations of power and ego. Vietnam wounded a generation, not just those who fought overseas, but those who fought it at home. Iraq was a mistake from the beginning, based on lies and the conceit of the people in power. Would it have gone the way of other Arab countries this spring if we would have just let it alone? Afghanistan has no clear purpose now that Al-qaeda's head has been bitten off. Smart bombs have done more damage than invasion. Libya is still a question mark.

Obama is growing on me. He's not flashy or chest pounding, but he has done a few things that have impressed me. Like getting Osama bin laden, appointing people who can do their jobs like FEMA head Napolitano, attempting to restart the economy by building and repairing infrastructure. The only thing I see republicans doing is trying to unseat democrats. Worthless.


I can appreciate the comfort of believing our president is doing a good job, Dixie, and surely the issues you cite reflect positively on Obama, but I believe he has failed to meet his Article II duty to "take Care that the laws be faithfully executed," and undermined our democratic process by his failure to use his office to promote an agenda composed of policies he well knows are in the best interest of the people of the United States. These two failures are closely related and, in my opinion, unforgivable. Only if the Republicans nominate a looney toon like Bachman or a knuckle dragging carny like Perry will I even consider voting a second time for Obama. If Huntsman is the nominee, I will vote for him, and should not be at all surprised if he becomes the best Republican president since Eisenhower.

Dick Wormtongue Cheney will be in the news for several weeks upcoming to promote his new book. This will revive the torture "argument," an argument we have never truly engaged because of the political cowardice of Obama. Most ingominiously, president Obama actually invoked the Nuremburg defense to immunize the lower level operatives who actually carried out the crimes. Because Obama chose not to pursue charges against the war criminals in the Bush administration, led by Cheney and Rumsfeld, proponents of the efficacy and legality of torture are left essentially unopposed. Those opposed to torture and in favor of the rule of law are denied the support of the "justice" system and left to argue their position in the abstract, with no de facto legal support whatsoever. The damage to the moral fabric our country and to the rule of law is immeasruable. Our children and our children's children will pay a horrific price for this unconscionable act of political cowardice.

On issue after critical issue Obama has capitulated to Republican pressure without ever proposing and arguing in favor of essential progressive policies, leaving the "debate" entirely in the hands of the Republicans. Because Obama gave away single-payer Medicare for all before even seriously asking for it, the majority of Americans remain utterly ignorant of the enormous economic and social benefits such a plan would beget. As such, we are stuck with a half-measure health "reform" law that reinforces the already crippling power of insurance companies to dictate who is covered and how much it will cost. The American people were entitled to have the debate, but we were denied this right by Obama.

Obama capitulated on reauthorizing the Bush tax cuts with barely a whimper. The result was a lost opportunity to once and for all debunk the idiotic, ahistorical "voodoo economics" of trickle down theory. Evidence of the past thirty years incontrovertably proves that lower taxes on the rich creates no jobs, but only widens the gap between the haves and the have nots. The American people were entitled to have the debate, but we were denied this right by Obama.

Most recently the president's penchant for handing over the cash before the robber comes in the store and pulls the gun was demonstrated in the "debt crisis" debacle. Again the president allowed Republicans to take control of the debate by defining the issue as one of reducing spending when the immediate crisis was the vicious cycle of unemployment, lack of consumer demand, anemic growth, all three feeding off each other and contributing to the debt problem by reducing revenues to historic lows. From the beginning Obama should have said "jobs and economic growth" every time a Republican said out of control spending and no new taxes. But he didn't. Instead he gave Republicans complete control of the debate, diverting attention from the real problems by responding to a contrived crisis, losing precious time in formulating an effective job growth agenda, and leaving the majority of the country believing a long term deficit reduction plan has something to do with getting us out of this recession.

In short, Obama's failure to take a leadership position on a single major issue and then stand by it on principle or efficacy of policy has denied the American people their rightful voice in the democratic process our republic requires. Others may consider this excusable. I do not.
Last edited by paperboy60657 on August 28th, 2011, 4:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Article Discussion: Littwin: America's lesson from Libya

Postby indubitablysnarky on August 28th, 2011, 2:15 pm #2083657
mike_littwin wrote:Snarkster,

You must be gullible, if you cite those previous "coalition" numbers as based in some kind of reality. In Libya, France has actually flown the most sorties...


Ok Mike,

Add France to the coalition list.

So now, including the US, Obama has only 16- still waaay below the coalition totals of past wars in the Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

So explain to me again how your claim, "This coalition actually was a coalition" is valid, when compared to Libya, Bush had three times the coalition numbers in Afghanistan and two and a half times that in Iraq?

So now the goal posts are moved closer for Obama and less coalitions make a coalition an "actual coalition"?