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Rob Dekker

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #500 on: October 24, 2018, 04:38:20 AM »
How do you know this never happened Rob?

Well, if it did happen, it would be easy to provide an example.
Where ever did Afghans "turn their guns on their mentors and shoot them in the back" ?

I see some examples where some Afghan hot-head likes neither the Taliban nor Americans, but no example at all where an Afghan shoots his own mentor in the back. Did you find any ?

Also the number of insider fire casualties in Afghanistan stands at 155 for ALL coalition forces during ALL of the war.

That's bad enough as it is, but it also means that the "A couple hundred Americans" number given in this article is exaggerated.
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kassy

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #501 on: October 24, 2018, 07:02:22 PM »
Rogue Afghan soldier shoots dead two US weapons trainers

Ben Farmer in Kabul
4:35PM BST 20 Jul 2010

The two civilians were shot dead at an army training camp on Tuesday near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif a week after a rogue soldier killed three British troops in Helmand.
The killings heightened concerns over the quality of Afghan forces being trained by Nato to replace foreign soldiers fighting on the front line against the Taliban.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7900826/Rogue-Afghan-soldier-shoots-dead-two-US-weapons-trainers.html



An Afghan border police officer opened fire on U.S. troops during a training mission in the east of the country Monday, killing six American service members before he was shot dead, U.S. and Afghan officials said.
The shooting — the highest toll for NATO forces since nine Americans died in a Sept. 21 helicopter crash — was the latest in a series of shootouts in which Afghan security forces have turned on their NATO partners.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-cop-kills-6-us-troops-officials-say/


Do you have a link for the 155 number?

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Rob Dekker

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #502 on: October 25, 2018, 07:13:25 AM »
Do you have a link for the 155 number?

This number was mentioned a number of times in media reports. Last time here :

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/member-of-us-led-coalition-killed-in-afghanistan-in-apparent-insider-attack/2018/10/22/17e84d56-d60a-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html?utm_term=.c14dec74d07b

Quote
Insider attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan became a significant concern beginning in 2008. Since then, more than 100 incidents have been reported in which about 155 U.S. or coalition troops or contractors have been killed and 200 wounded by Afghans in uniform.

So insider attacks are a significant problem in Afganistan, but the claim that "A couple hundred Americans and several allied troops have been killed in such assaults."  is exaggerated.
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sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #503 on: October 25, 2018, 10:49:26 PM »
Astore at tomdispatch points out that the Pentagon is winning the only war that matters:

"Washington’s own deeply embedded illusions and deceptions also serve to generate and perpetuate its wars."

"This elevation of “our” troops as America’s moral heroes feeds a Pentagon imperative that seeks to isolate the military from criticism and its commanders from accountability for wars gone horribly wrong"

"With U.S. forces endlessly fighting ill-begotten wars, whether in Vietnam in the 1960s or in Iraq and Afghanistan four decades later, it’s easy to lose sight of where the Pentagon continues to maintain a truly winning record: right here in the U.S.A. Today, whatever’s happening on the country’s distant battlefields, the idea that ever more inflated military spending is an investment in making America great again reigns supreme  ..."

Astore goes on to excoriate Elizabeth Warren for selling out:

"Still, nowhere in it [Warren's reply] was there any critique of, or even passingly critical commentary about, the U.S. military, or the still-spreading war on terror, or the never-ending Afghan War, or the wastefulness of Pentagon spending, or the devastation wrought in these years by the last superpower on this planet. Everything was anodyne and safe  ..."

"What choice does Warren have but to play it safe? She can’t go on record criticizing the military ...Isn’t that proof that the Pentagon has won its most important war, the one that captured -- to steal a phrase from another losing war -- the “hearts and minds” of America? In this country in 2018, as in 2017, 2016, and so on, the U.S. military and its leaders dictate what is acceptable for us to say and do when it comes to our prodigal pursuit of weapons and wars."

Read the whole thing:

 http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/176487/

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sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #504 on: November 01, 2018, 07:35:21 AM »
Well, now. Empire commander in Afghanistan admits necessity for a political settlement:

"I naturally feel compelled to try to set the conditions for a political outcome. "

Would be more convincing if he hadn't started off by talking about an "offensive mindset."  I agree with the adjective, but perhaps not in the way he meant.

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/414082-new-us-commander-touts-more-offensive-mindset-against-taliban

Nyhoo, Pakistan released a senior Taliban figure the other day, we may yet see  progress. But I doubt the Talib will agree to anything less than withdrawal of all foreign troops.

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sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #505 on: November 04, 2018, 11:28:42 PM »
Meet the troika of tyranny: Monro resurgent

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/11/03/bolt-n03.html

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #506 on: November 06, 2018, 10:21:57 AM »

Update (8:40 am ET): The following countries will receive ‘temporary’ waivers excusing them from US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Turkey
• Greece
• Japan
• China
• India
• Italy

[… Visual shows main importers of Iran’s oil: China, India (together 50% of total), EU (20%); they’re all now safe to restore to pre-Trump-sanctions levels, so that Iran will possibly exceed its current (which are based on fears they’d not get a waiver) oil-sales. Trump’s sanctions, in any case, look like a failure.]

https://www.greanvillepost.com/2018/11/05/trumps-sanctions-against-iran-appear-to-have-failed/

Red

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #507 on: November 06, 2018, 10:29:40 AM »
The US’s real concern is that a new government in Yemen will not be compliant to Western neoliberalism and IMF imposed austerity and privatization. The Saudi’s are worried that a Houthi-led government in Yemen would not be under its oppressive thumb. Together the UN, the US, the KSA and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries declared Hadi as the “internationally recognized legitimate government” of Yemen. Functioning out of a Riyadh five-star hotel, Hadi supposedly asked for the US-led Saudi coalition to aid him in restoring himself to power, in what he calls a civil war.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE claim that they are coming to the aid of the “internationally recognized legitimate government” of Yemen. (Notice that the Western mainstream media always uses that exact phrasing to describe Hadi). The United Nations imposed a one-sided arms embargo on Yemen, which is actually a blockade. All of this happened with a wink, a node and a push from President Obama in 2015.

With US logistical support, Saudi Arabia launched an air assault on Yemen in 2015 code named Operation Decisive Storm. When that failed the US-led Saudis appropriately renamed it Operation Restoring Hope. The US-led Saudis intensified their attacks on the civilian population, destroyed their water works and sanitation facilities, which has predictably caused an outbreak of cholera.

The blockade of humanitarian supplies, food, potable water and needed repair parts has, again predictably, resulted in the worst cholera epidemic in history. It is germ warfare, which is the same as the US used in the 1990’s to kill hundreds of thousands of children in Iraq. [See: “The Role of ‘Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities’ in Halting One Genocide and Preventing Others” by the Association of Genocide Scholars.]
https://www.greanvillepost.com/2018/11/05/yemen-is-another-us-dirty-war/

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #508 on: November 08, 2018, 10:05:16 PM »
Wrong headchoppers: Can't give 'em money, they're not our headchoppers:

"Since late 2017, a USAID OIG investigation uncovered numerous instances of possible or confirmed diversions to armed groups in Idlib province, including Ha’yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization ..."

"an NGO’s employees knowingly diverted thousands of USAID-funded food kits worth millions of dollars to ineligible beneficiaries (including HTS fighters) and submitted falsified beneficiary lists."

https://media.defense.gov/2018/Nov/05/2002059226/-1/-1/1/FY2019_LIG_OCO_OIR_Q4_SEP2018.PDF

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sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #509 on: November 08, 2018, 10:14:01 PM »
Massacre by proxy: "there is an American imprint on every single civilian death inside Yemen."

"We sell them the bombs, we help them with the targeting, we fuel their planes in mid-air, and we give them moral cover ... We also have made no meaningful effort at all to try to find a path to peace."

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/05/there-is-an-american-imprint-on-every-single-civilian-death-inside-yemen/

sidd

Red

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #510 on: November 12, 2018, 10:15:30 AM »
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/11/09/half-million-killed-americas-global-war-terror-just-scratches-surface-human?utm_source=samizdat&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=free

Regardless of how Democrats in the House proceed, Neta C. Crawford, a Boston University political science professor who co-directs the Costs of War Project, argued in the report's conclusion that there is a need to keep the public more informed about the consequences of the seemingly endless wars in the Middle East in order to drive demands for improving U.S. foreign policy.

"This update just scratches the surface of the human consequences of 17 years of war," Crawford wrote. "Too often, legislators, NGOs, and the news media that try to track the consequences of the wars are inhibited by governments determined to paint a rosy picture of perfect execution and progress."

"The U.S. has made some effort to increase transparency," she acknowledged, "but there are a number of areas—the number of civilians killed and injured, and the number of U.S. military and veteran suicides, for instance—where greater transparency would lead to greater accountability and could lead to better policy."

Red

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #511 on: November 12, 2018, 11:06:13 AM »

Although several peace projects are currently circulating in the chanceries, Thierry Meyssan points out their inadequacy for this sort of war. According to him, those who begin with an amputated analysis of the conflict, yet still believe they are doing the right thing, will not only fail to resolve the problem, but will pave the way for a new war. It is imperative to treat the ideological question as a priority.

http://www.voltairenet.org/article203743.html

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #512 on: November 13, 2018, 12:55:31 AM »
"The Taliban are not ready for direct talks with the Kabul government and will negotiate with the United States instead"

Shorter Taliban statement: "We'll talk to the puppet master, rather than the puppet, thank you."

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-afghanistan-taliban-talks/taliban-says-not-ready-for-direct-talks-with-kabul-idUKKCN1NE1PD

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kassy

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #513 on: November 17, 2018, 03:43:59 PM »
It is exactly that but just globalized.

The problem is that no one can stop it now because the US has this huge leverage.

Basically you always plan for the next war and the US does not need to plan for defensive wars so they don´t.

Some days in darker moments i wonder if the same people that plan all that see the coming climate catastrophe as a great chance.



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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #514 on: November 18, 2018, 12:13:58 PM »
From 2015:
On Monday, May 18, the conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch published a selection of formerly classified documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense and State Department through a federal lawsuit.
While initial mainstream media reporting is focused on the White House’s handling of the Benghazi consulate attack, a much “bigger picture” admission and confirmation is contained in one of the Defense Intelligence Agency documents circulated in 2012: that an ‘Islamic State’ is desired in Eastern Syria to effect the West’s policies in the region.
Astoundingly, the newly declassified report states that for “THE WEST, GULF COUNTRIES, AND TURKEY [WHO] SUPPORT THE [SYRIAN] OPPOSITION… THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A DECLARED OR UNDECLARED SALAFIST PRINCIPALITY IN EASTERN SYRIA (HASAKA AND DER ZOR), AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE SUPPORTING POWERS TO THE OPPOSITION WANT, IN ORDER TO ISOLATE THE SYRIAN REGIME…”.
The DIA report, formerly classified “SECRET//NOFORN” and dated August 12, 2012, was circulated widely among various government agencies, including CENTCOM, the CIA, FBI, DHS, NGA, State Dept., and many others.
The document shows that as early as 2012, U.S. intelligence predicted the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), but instead of clearly delineating the group as an enemy, the report envisions the terror group as a U.S. strategic asset.
While a number of analysts and journalists have documented long ago the role of western intelligence agencies in the formation and training of the armed opposition in Syria, this is the highest level internal U.S. intelligence confirmation of the theory that western governments fundamentally see ISIS as their own tool for regime change in Syria. The document matter-of-factly states just that scenario.
Forensic evidence, video evidence, as well as recent admissions of high-level officials involved (see former Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford’s admissions here and here), have since proven the State Department and CIA’s material support of ISIS terrorists on the Syrian battlefield going back to at least 2012 and 2013 (for a clear example of “forensic evidence”: see UK-based Conflict Armament Research’s report which traced the origins of Croatian anti-tank rockets recovered from ISIS fighters back to a Saudi/CIA joint program via identifiable serial numbers).

https://levantreport.com/2015/05/19/2012-defense-intelligence-agency-document-west-will-facilitate-rise-of-islamic-state-in-order-to-isolate-the-syrian-regime/

Red

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #515 on: November 24, 2018, 11:20:43 AM »
First published in November 2015

GR Editor’s Note

Let us put this in historical perspective: the commemoration of the War the End All Wars  acknowledges that 15 million lives were lost in the course of World War I (1914-18).

The loss of life in the second World War (1939-1945) was on a much large scale, when compared to World War I: 60 million lives both military and civilian were lost during World War II. (Four times those killed during World War I).

The largest WWII casualties  were China and the Soviet Union, 26 million in the Soviet Union,  China estimates its losses at approximately 20,000,000 deaths. Ironically, these two countries (allies of the US during WWII) which lost a large share of their population during WWII are now categorized as enemies of America, which are threatening the Western World.  A so-called preemptive war against China and Russia is currently contemplated.

Germany and Austria lost approximately 8 million people during WWII, Japan lost more than 2.5 million people. The US and Britain respectively lost more than 400,000 lives.

This carefully documented article by James A. Lucas  documents the more than 20 million lives lost resulting from US led wars, military coups and intelligence ops carried out in the wake of what is euphemistically called the “post-war era” (1945- ).

Continuous US led warfare (1945- ): there was no “post-war era”

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, November 15 2018

After the catastrophic attacks of September 11 2001 monumental sorrow and a feeling of desperate and understandable anger began to permeate the American psyche. A few people at that time attempted to promote a balanced perspective by pointing out that the United States had also been responsible for causing those same feelings in people in other nations, but they produced hardly a ripple. Although Americans understand in the abstract the wisdom of people around the world empathizing with the suffering of one another, such a reminder of wrongs committed by our nation got little hearing and was soon overshadowed by an accelerated “war on terrorism.”

But we must continue our efforts to develop understanding and compassion in the world. Hopefully, this article will assist in doing that by addressing the question “How many September 11ths has the United States caused in other nations since WWII?” This theme is developed in this report which contains an estimated numbers of such deaths in 37 nations as well as brief explanations of why the U.S. is considered culpable.

The causes of wars are complex. In some instances nations other than the U.S. may have been responsible for more deaths, but if the involvement of our nation appeared to have been a necessary cause of a war or conflict it was considered responsible for the deaths in it. In other words they probably would not have taken place if the U.S. had not used the heavy hand of its power. The military and economic power of the United States was crucial.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-has-killed-more-than-20-million-people-in-37-victim-nations-since-world-war-ii/5492051

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #516 on: December 06, 2018, 11:12:05 PM »
Sjursen sees defeat in Afghanistan: Losing the war is the only thing left to do

"The time has come, as it once did in Vietnam, to ask who, exactly, is willing to be the last to die for a nose-diving war effort. "

https://original.antiwar.com/Danny_Sjursen/2018/12/04/what-is-left-for-the-us-to-do-in-afghanistan-the-answer-lose/

and points to an article on the increasing loss of faith by the Afghan people:

"after 17 years of war, the Taliban have retaken half the country, security is worse than it’s ever been, and many Afghans place the blame squarely on the Americans."

 “The foreigners are not making things better. They should go.”

https://www.apnews.com/953d155608464b9c8f21c439d6cae82c

sidd

TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #517 on: December 07, 2018, 03:06:22 AM »
Linking everything from Iran to Ukraine, and over 60 years of American coups, the following examines the history of America's covert  operations from 1953 through 2013.
Ukrainian was still a work in progress, and Venezuela was hardly off the ground when this was written. Their observations that America had used right wing hooligans instead of their preferred use of military personnel to provide the necessary violence may yet prove to be a major error that causes the whole structure to implode.

https://www.alternet.org/world/americas-coup-machine-destroying-democracy-1953

With masked Nazi zealots screaming for the blood of any Ukrainian who spoke Russian, and candle lit marches under fascist flags, it didn't take much for the Crimeans to see Putin and the "polite green men" as their saviors.
With Crimea and it's naval basses swept off the table Ukraine soon lost it's luster. Her industrialized west has always spoken Russian, and considered themselves more Russian than Ukrainian. Reports of whole factories, employees as well as machinery, moving to Russia were prevalent.
The harsh treatment of any suspected of Russian sympathies has divided communities and families, but the faltering economy, vainly waiting for adequate western aid may have an even more powerful influence than watching politicians being dumped in trash cans as they rise to speak in the Rada.

Poking the bear, then running for Western protection, combined with declaring martial law may buy Poroshenko a few more months, but who will succeed him? Will the far right metastasize, or will they be driven from power?
If the Ukrainians have learned that they can change leadership by taking to the streets, those presently holding the reigns need to consider their future.
Terry

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #518 on: December 08, 2018, 01:18:08 AM »
I believe this is called working both sides or something along that vein.This is going to end badly and will likely leave a mark!

The Soros network is engaged in an active effort to affect politics, economics, and societies globally, including in Europe (Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary) and Latin America (Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico). Judicial Watch has successfully investigated and litigated to document the paper trail left by the OSF network as it operates, at taxpayer expense, to subvert and manipulate the sovereignty of constitutional republics and allies of the United States. Last year Judicial Watch exposed a collaborative effort between the U.S. government and Soros to destabilize the democratically elected, center-right government in Macedonia. Records obtained by Judicial Watch in that investigation show that the U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia worked behind the scenes with OSF to funnel large sums of American dollars for the cause, constituting an interference of the U.S. Ambassador in domestic political affairs in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The cash—about $5 million—flowed through the State Department and USAID.

https://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2018/12/u-s-subsidizes-soros-radical-leftist-agenda-worldwide-judicial-watch-special-report-shows/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=corruption%20chronicles&utm_source=samizdat&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=free

SteveMDFP

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #519 on: December 08, 2018, 02:15:24 AM »
I believe this is called working both sides or something along that vein.This is going to end badly and will likely leave a mark!

The Soros network is engaged in an active effort to affect politics, economics, and societies globally, including in Europe (Albania, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary) and Latin America (Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico). Judicial Watch has successfully investigated and litigated

OK, so why are we taking a far-right source (Judicial Watch) at face value about anything?
Soros is endlessly a bogeyman of right-wingers.  Maybe the US gov't shouldn't be funding his OSI efforts around freedom of the press matters, but that doesn't mean OSI is doing anything bad with it.  Mostly, I've been favorably impressed by OSI's work.  I wouldn't trust JW to be accurate, anyway.

Neven

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #520 on: December 08, 2018, 11:17:11 AM »
I recently read what I found an interesting article on Soros by Craig Murray (who most people would consider a Kremlin stooge):

Quote
Scruton and Soros
8 Nov, 2018

One principle of this blog is that I give my views whether they will be welcome or not, either to the general public or to the portion of the public who regularly read this blog. Since we started accepting subscriptions to keep it going, almost every article causes somebody to write to me saying they are canceling their subscription because they did not agree with me. I would much prefer anybody who is kindly giving money in the expectation of agreeing with everything I write, to cancel now. The purpose of this blog is to be intellectually challenging and provide food for thought, with facts and viewpoints not readily available in the mainstream media. It is about intellectual inquiry, not followership.

This is one of those occasions when I know that a significant number of people here will not agree with me. I like George Soros and consider him to be a good man. I should declare an interest; he once bought me a pizza, over 20 years ago. But I considered then, and I consider now, that Soros is a man who has devoted huge amounts of his personal resources, in terms of time and in terms of money, to attempting to make the world a better place, from motives of altruism.

Furthermore I believe that a lot of the work of the Open Society Institute, which I witnessed first hand, in Poland and Uzbekistan and elsewhere, is good work, particularly in the field of human rights and media freedom.

I believe that Roger Scruton’s attack on Soros, particularly in a venue in Hungary where the far right Prime Minister has conducted a truly hateful, state orchestrated, anti-semitic and anti-immigrant campaign against Soros, puts Scruton totally beyond the pale.

Soros frequently is cited in comments below the line on this blog as the personification of evil capitalism. Let me address the obvious elephants in the room. The first is how he made his money. This I make no attempt to defend. He has simply managed assets and traded derivative products, particularly in foreign exchange markets, and either by brilliance or sustained good luck, become extremely wealthy from an activity that provides no societal good. Indeed derivatives trading is a cancerous growth on modern economies, where the financial flows vastly exceed the value of trade in actual goods or genuine first party services.

However, people live and work in the economic situation that exists; to condemn people for not dropping out and going off-grid is to adopt a purist and ineffective position. I do not know how Soros got into the business line he adopted, but I am not condemning every individual working in trading. It is also worth stating that Soros’ ethnicity is utterly irrelevant to his career, and those who hint otherwise are offensive.

The second elephant in the room is that Soros appears aligned to the global spread of neo-liberalism, and to the Clinton camp with its warmongering foreign policy. Leaving aside for two paragraphs the question of whether or not that is true, the most important answer to that is that the man is entitled to his beliefs. To condemn him because his beliefs are not all my beliefs would be wrong. That Soros uses so much of his personal wealth to try to make the world a better place, according to his view of how society might best be structured, makes him a good man and not a bad man. That I may have a different view of how society should be structured is not the test; it is whether somebody is genuinely trying to do good by others.

Soros’ view of how society might best be structured is coloured by his past experience of the Eastern bloc. It is natural that anybody from what was occupied Hungary looks at Russia with a wary and distrustful eye. It is natural that those who understand the real failings of Soviet style central planning are dubious of schemes of socialism. But Soros is in fact fairly mainstream European social democrat with very liberal societal views. I genuinely do not understand his demonisation by large sections of the left. Soros is anathema to the right wing nationalist parties of Eastern Europe.

It is also worth pointing out that Soros’ view of his own profession is by no means straightforward. He argued extremely strongly for greater financial regulation, publishing highly informative and reasoned books on the subject, at the height of the craze for deregulation. He was not a supporter of the Big Bang or of Gordon Brown’s market worship. His 1998 opus, The Crisis of Global Capitalism, argues that financial markets are inherently unstable and swing like a wrecking ball not like a pendulum, and that globalisation is in fact an extension of Imperialism. That someone made so much money, from rules he believed should have been altered to stop him doing it, is a conundrum; but he is altogether a complicated character.

Finally, that Soros is a warmonger and supporter of US military attacks on the Middle East is not true. He opposed the Iraq war, and is generally against military intervention. His funding reaches so many NGO’s, of diverse views, it is always possible to find a tweet by Avaaz, or a report on Syrian human rights violations by Amnesty International, and make the claim “that is Soros shilling for war”. But in fact his influence on the vast array of civil society institutions he funds is extremely light touch, and they encompass widely differing viewpoints. Soros’ strong support for the warmonger Clinton is something I do not attempt to justify, other than to note that many people of liberal views are taken in by the old “liberal” establishment. It is quite a psychological step to accept it has gone full neo-con.

I most certainly do not agree with all of Soros’ views, or actions. But I agree with more of them than you may suppose. That all of his actions are motivated by a desire to make more money for himself or to benefit the ruling class, I am quite sure is not true. That he is a hawk and a warmonger I do not believe. That his efforts do a lot of real good I have witnessed first hand. The demonisation of Soros is lazy, inaccurate and unfair.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #521 on: December 09, 2018, 01:05:53 AM »
I'm very surprised by Murray's appraisal of Soros, but Soros never picked up the tab for my pizza. I wonder what Craig would write of Adelson and his deep pocketed political meddling?
Terry

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #522 on: December 11, 2018, 11:34:49 PM »
My fucking tax dollars at work.

"People have been left so desperately poor that they kill themselves before the hunger does."

"I met recently a 55-year-old man named Mohammad Mahioub Ahmed Saif who told me that his daughter, Taybeh, had stepped on a landmine the week before her wedding. It blew off one of her legs and badly damaged the other, leaving her bedridden and entirely dependent. Mohammad’s village is literally a minefield. He sold everything he could and brought his family to the house of a family member, where they are sharing a half-built room with no doors and no windows.

Mohammad cried when he told me his story and I cried too."

"The crowd that had gathered was left to choose between continuing to dig for buried survivors or fleeing the looming threat of a second hit. They stayed. "

"People seem empty to me now; we do whatever we have to each day ... "

"We used to have dreams but now we live in a nightmare. "

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/dec/11/yemen-war-norwegian-refugee-council

sidd

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #523 on: December 19, 2018, 09:54:15 PM »
USA claims victory, plans to leave Syria:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46623617

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TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #524 on: December 19, 2018, 10:02:31 PM »
USA claims victory, plans to leave Syria:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46623617

sidd


Missed your missive & posted on another thread.
This is wonderful news!


Should we run out and kiss some unsuspecting stranger? VS Day - celebrations throughout the land(s).
Terry

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #525 on: December 19, 2018, 11:05:49 PM »
I'll believe it when it happens. I suspect this is a deal to

a) appease Erdogan and screw the Kurds (again ...)

b)replace 2000 US troops with 2000 mercenaries from Erik Prince's thugs.

sidd

TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #526 on: December 21, 2018, 02:36:17 AM »
"Mad Dog Mattis" in the dog house after disagreeing with the President, leaves the White House with his tail between his legs.

"Mad Dog", unable to reconcile his role as Secretary of Defense with his dream of being Secretary of War, quit his post after Trump ordered him to pull American troops out of Syria. The Syrian campaign, though illegal under international law, had been expected to last for years if not decades, and presented a major obstacle to restoring peace in the region.

https://canoe.com/news/world/defence-secretary-mattis-will-retire-in-february

Our unexpectedly peaceable President is apparently making noises about winding things down in Afghanistan. If Bolton and Pompeo were to follow Mad Dog's lead and fell on their swords, the world could breath a sigh of relief, and mustache dandruff wouldn't be such a problem at state dinners.
Terry

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« Last Edit: December 21, 2018, 06:10:49 AM by sidd »

TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #528 on: December 21, 2018, 06:26:22 PM »
7,000 troops coming home from Afghanistan within the next few weeks?

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-20/trump-weighing-major-drawdown-afghanistan-he-tweets-bring-our-youth-back-home

Could the peace candidate actually become a peace commander in chief?

What's next, ending the occupation of Germany and Japan?
Heads will explode - hopefully not the way they did in Dallas the last time a president announced an end to overseas deployments.
Terry

Red

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #529 on: December 24, 2018, 05:34:49 PM »
Looks like the warmongers are a little hot under the collar about actually ending any illegal aggressions.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/422658-gop-senator-senate-needs-to-step-up-to-trump-on-foreign-policy?utm_source=samizdat&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=free

Toomey said on Sunday that the “vast majority of Republicans” disagree with Trump’s sudden and unexpected announcement that he would withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria because he believes the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria in the region has been defeated.

“I think senators need to step up and reassert a bigger role for the Senate in finding our foreign policy,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”


He called on fellow GOP lawmakers to “speak out,” arguing “we don’t report to the president.”

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #530 on: January 01, 2019, 02:28:40 AM »
Almost half the USA don't want Trump's troop withdrawal: Large majority wants troops in middle east

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/423114-narrow-majority-backs-trump-on-syria-afghanistan-troop-reductions

Sometimes I despair.

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #531 on: January 03, 2019, 12:55:50 AM »
We need to create more terrorists so we can continue the war on terror:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/31/world/asia/cia-afghanistan-strike-force.html

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TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #532 on: January 06, 2019, 10:33:16 PM »
or the opposite? A Foreign lands intervention on US Officials .... makes them seriously ill.

Cue the crickets: Berkeley researcher finds Cuba ‘sonic attack’ sound is actually insects chirping Published time: 5 Jan, 2019
https://www.rt.com/usa/448151-cuba-embassy-sonic-attacks-crickets/

ROFL


Havana's Noisy Nightlife Drove Diplomats Buggy!


America's diplomatic stature suffers as it's discovered that their diplomats can't withstand the sonorous mating calls of a tropical cricket.
Brain damage, loss of balance and "poor comprehension" by Americans on duty at the Havana Embassy had been blamed on "sonic attacks" by the host country. Some demanded a redo of the Bay of Pigs as fitting retribution for these despicable attacks on members of our heroic diplomatic corps.


After searching for communists under the beds, and electronics embedded in the walls, the answer was found in the plaintive cries of a tropical cricket.


The Americans will doubtlessly apologize profusely for their false accusations, and the Cuban Government will no doubt accept this heart felt atonement with all of the sincerity with which it is offered.
News organizations will print, or announce their retractions, and Americas diplomats, having allowed their paranoia to be displayed so openly, will no doubt see this as a cautionary tale and will act with muted restraint in the future. ::)


Match, game and set for the Cuban Cricket Team.
Terry

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #533 on: January 09, 2019, 06:20:30 AM »
Nick Turse at commondreams: Pentagon a little coy about revealing number of foreign bases

And troop numbers. And number of countries undergoing liberation.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/08/bases-bases-everywhere-except-pentagons-report

C'mon, Pentagon. We know you're there. Your opposition knows you're there. We taxpayers employ you, how come you don't tell us ?

O silly me. We just pay you, but you don't answer to us. Just the oligarchs.

This kinda thing makes me wanna go full Amish.

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #534 on: January 11, 2019, 09:24:33 PM »
Democrats for War:

" what is remarkable about the new polling data on Syria is that the vast bulk of support for keeping troops there comes from Democratic Party voters, while Republicans and independents overwhelming favor their removal. "

https://theintercept.com/2019/01/11/as-democratic-elites-reunite-with-neocons-the-partys-voters-are-becoming-far-more-militaristic-and-pro-war-than-republicans/

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TerryM

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #536 on: January 16, 2019, 08:15:25 AM »
Today's Democrats outdo Republicans WRT war mongering.

https://theintercept.com/2019/01/11/as-democratic-elites-reunite-with-neocons-the-partys-voters-are-becoming-far-more-militaristic-and-pro-war-than-republicans/

Trump was the last presidential candidate to run on a platform of "Peace in our time", perhaps Tulsi can bring the party to it's senses?
Terry

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #537 on: January 16, 2019, 10:24:13 AM »
Memo justifying half a million deaths: Amanpour's husband James Rubin making the case for gutting Syria

"Overthrowing Assad would be nothing less than “transformative,”  "

"Iran would be strategically isolated ... The resulting regime in Syria will see the United States as a friend, not an enemy. ... For Israel, the rationale for a bolt from the blue attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be eased ... "

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/01/13/the-memo-that-helped-kill-a-half-million-people-in-syria/

And a much more thoughtful article by Glass in Harper's, tho he does try to absolve the best and brightest in the Obama czarship:

"In fact, there was no strategy. "

" ... they wanted to do the right thing. In Rhodes’s case, anything. “Even though I had misgivings about our Syria policy,” he wrote, “I was glad we were doing something.” "

"on the assumption that “this guy [Assad] is toast"

"Lavrov also warned Clinton that removing Assad would lead to chaos and jihadism. “They had a fair point in saying we didn’t have a plan for Syria if we got rid of Assad,” Gordon admitted. “And, to be honest, I don’t think we were ever in a position to convincingly say, ‘No, no, no, if Assad falls, it won’t be like Iraq or Afghanistan.’ ” "

"General Dempsey urged Obama to act: “Up to this point, he had argued that Syria was a slippery slope where there was little chance of success. Now he said that something needed to be done even if we didn’t know what would happen after we took action.”  "

"There was no policy. They were making it up as they went along."

" ‘Tell me how this ends.’ No one could answer with confidence that we would not wind up on a slippery slope, getting in deeper and deeper than we intended. "

"The compromise between direct military involvement and staying out was the route taken by many presidents before Obama: a covert operation to raise an insurgent army and train it in nearby countries; provide weapons, sustenance, and communications; and oversee the military campaign. It was high-risk for the locals and casualty-­free for the Americans."

" It was a recipe for failure as much as for carnage."

confirms Hersh's ratline report: "A major source of weapons for the Syrian opposition was Libya ... supply chain became public after the September 11 murder of US ambassador Christopher Stevens in the Benghazi compound ... "

" the program was benefiting religious fanatics more than any moderate, secular oppositionists."

"A state of lunacy was reached when the respective insurgent bands of the CIA’s covert and the Defense Department’s overt programs turned their American weapons on each other. "

“No one was sure it would work, but we had to do something.”

"The result of US meddling in Syria was failure on all counts ... Syrian conspiracy theorists claim the US goal was to destroy Syria, as it did Iraq, to protect Israel. Only if that were true could the United States be said to have achieved any objective."

"Trump canceled Obama’s Title 50 program that armed Syrian oppositionists in July 2017."

" I think the original sin is getting on board for supporting an armed opposition that had little prospect of actually bringing about a political transition in a more stable Syria."

 “Once we topple the regime, are the stable moderates going to come to power and govern Syria? I don’t think so. And then you’ve just got a different form of chaos that we’re responsible for.”

"Obama’s foreign policy team had advanced degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown, as well as Rhodes scholarships, and better credentials than most Fortune 500 boards, university faculties, and think tanks. They were “the best and the brightest” of our time" ... they go on to think tanks and academe to await the call to serve again."

Read the whole thing:

https://harpers.org/archive/2019/02/american-involvement-in-syria/

I wouldn't trust those "best and brightest" to organize a beer bash in a brewery.

sidd
 

gerontocrat

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #538 on: January 16, 2019, 05:46:22 PM »
Trump said the US troops would leave Syria (immediately?)as Isis was defeated.


https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/us-troops-reportedly-among-casualties-in-isis-claimed-syria-attack.html
Quote
US troops killed in Syria, adding new doubt about Trump’s claim that ISIS is defeated
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO | UPDATED AN HOUR AGO


The blast took place at 1:00 p.m. local time after a suicide bomber in civilian clothing approached coalition forces in the center of Manbij, according to the report.
ISIS claimed responsibility in a post via its Amaq news agency but did not produce evidence in support of the claim.

An attack in the northern Syrian town of Manbij has resulted in multiple casualties including U.S. troops, a senior Kurdish security official confirmed to NBC News.

The blast took place at 1:00 p.m. local time after a suicide bomber in civilian clothing approached coalition forces in the center of Manbij, according to the report. The security official wasn’t able to confirm the number of injured or dead. A U.S. official later told Reuters that four U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded in the blast.

ISIS claimed responsibility in a post via its Amaq news agency but did not produce evidence in support of the claim.

U.S. troops have been stationed in Manbij in support of local partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces, as part of the anti-IS coalition and as a buffer between Kurdish militias within the SDF and Turkish forces, who view the Kurdish fighters as terrorists.

The attack comes less than a month after President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, on the premise that ISIS had been defeated.
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #539 on: January 23, 2019, 08:49:33 AM »
Sjursen on Syria, USA, ISIS:


"detailed media attention on the latest bombing in Syria, which killed four Americans, is so notable. And strange ...  why the sudden interest in individual troop deaths after 17+ years of aimless war?  ... The answer ...  is simple: Donald Trump ... that’s the only reason these tragic deaths happen to matter to the mainstream media outlets and a slew of suddenly interested congressmen."

"one might think that sacrificing four more of our over-adulated-troopers would instead add urgency to Mr. Trump’s announced exit "

"In our increasingly Orwellian moment, any event in the Mideast has the same solution: more troops for ever more time."

"It all comes back to reflexive hatred of the president – any Trump policy must be foolish – and the general sunken cost fallacy. According to this absurd line of thinking, any sacrifice of American blood in Syria somehow justifies staying the course in order to honor said sacrifice. Hardly anyone pauses and takes this evaluation to its logical conclusion of literally endless war."

"What if ISIS wants the US military to stay put in Syria ..."

" ...  tie down the US military in a prolonged quagmire and then rally a coalition of Islamist hardliners and frustrated nationalists to oppose the occupation. It’s a formula that’s worked time and again – In Afghanistan, Iraq ..."

"After all, whenever a policy upsets both hawkish Republicans and Dems, it just might be the prudent path."

https://original.antiwar.com/Danny_Sjursen/2019/01/21/syrias-sunken-cost-fallacy-not-a-reason-to-stay/

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #540 on: January 23, 2019, 10:26:57 PM »

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b_lumenkraft

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #542 on: January 24, 2019, 05:42:18 PM »
Has it really come to this? I'm afraid so yes. Get used to it.

Same old, same old!

>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change

b_lumenkraft

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #543 on: January 25, 2019, 01:06:13 PM »
So you are saying it's all about the money and not about spreading democracy? I'm shocked! ;)

Btw, Venezuela tried to opt out of fiat money at all and made their own cryptocurrency.

Link >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petro_(cryptocurrency)

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #544 on: January 26, 2019, 05:54:55 AM »
In the name of democracy shouldn't the US Congress demand another election to decide who is the elected President of Venezuela?


Of course they'll need to wait until the shutdown is over before their in chamber votes can be properly tabulated. 8)
Terry

b_lumenkraft

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #545 on: January 26, 2019, 06:35:38 AM »
Not The Onion:

Quote
The Trump administration has announced that Elliott Abrams, who was convicted over the Iran-Contra scandal in which the Ronald Reagan administration secretly funded paramilitary groups in Nicaragua, will lead the US’s efforts to press for democracy in Venezuela.

Link >> https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/venezuela-latest-elliott-abrams-trump-pompeo-maduro-juan-guaido-a8747306.html

b_lumenkraft

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #546 on: January 26, 2019, 11:53:47 AM »
I know Lurk, right?  :-\

Let that sink in, they try to overthrow an elected president and replace them with a dude even most Venezualians don't know 'in the name of democracy'.

And no one tars and feathers them...

gerontocrat

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #547 on: January 26, 2019, 08:19:27 PM »
Not that long ago we had a discussion somewhere on this forum about whether the Monroe Doctrine was still alive and well and living in the White House. Now we know. It is being well-fed and is likely to gorge on Venezeula.

Meanwhile, a bit of history.

Back in the day Venezeula woke up to the vast amount of oil on which it was sitting.
The 100 or 200 or so rich families who used to run the joint sucked in all the loot and the poor got - nothing. Indeed, there was evidence that the condition of the poor continued to decline.

Unrest ensued, and in 1999 Hugo Chavez was swept to power in an election, promising goodies for the poor.

It worked, briefly. Trouble was, corruption flourished gain, he spent the oil money once, spent it twice, and then borrowed loads of money from international financial institutions who should have known better.

Maduro has continued this stupidity to the extent that the State Oil company cannot maintain the oil extraction infrastructure.

Looks to me like a lose-lose situation as the US with a reluctant Europe, Russia and China use other peoples' misery as a pawn in "The Great Game".

What to do?
Leave them to it?
Interfere?
What will win? Greed, stupidity, or both?

"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

sidd

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #548 on: January 26, 2019, 09:16:22 PM »
From the "I'll believe it when i see it" department: Taliban claims foreign devils agree to be gone in 18 months

https://taskandpurpose.com/afghanistan-withdrawal-taliban-peace-talks

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Re: US intervention in foreign lands
« Reply #549 on: January 26, 2019, 10:11:59 PM »
Monroe resurgent: Venezuela needs liberating, lapdogs of empire agree

Maduro:  “Don’t trust the gringos. They don’t have friends or loyalties. They only have interests, guts, and the ambition to take Venezuela’s oil, gas, and gold.”

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/24/trump-backs-overthrow-venezuelan-president-recognizes-right-wing-opposition-figure

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-47014322

sidd



sidd