Admittedly Powells ('Mr WMD'?) cred is not high, but this from the Daily Mail is illuminating:
"When they see things that are not right, they need to say something about it because our foreign policy is in shambles right now in my humble judgement,' Powell said in a clip shared widely by Mediaite. 'And I see things happening that are hard to understand.'
The 82-year-old former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush recalled to Trump's media fiasco with Hurricane Dorian to make his point, criticizing not only Trump for misrepresenting the facts about the storm hitting south-east Alabama, but also GOP party leaders in Congress and in Trump's administrations for failing to hold the Commander-in-Chief accountable for his obvious mistakes.
'And in my time and [Madeleine Albright's] time, one of us would have gone to the president and said, "Mr. President, you screwed up. So we gotta fix it. And we'll put out a correction," Powell said."
The US Hamster Wheel
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boing
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Noticeably reluctant to admit to his own lack of guts.
.
.
the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Oh my god!
"As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I've done before!)," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
He continued: "They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families. The US has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!"
He is demonstrably unhinged. Anyone for the 25th? Forget impeachment.
"As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I've done before!)," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter Monday morning.
He continued: "They must, with Europe and others, watch over the captured ISIS fighters and families. The US has done far more than anyone could have ever expected, including the capture of 100% of the ISIS Caliphate. It is time now for others in the region, some of great wealth, to protect their own territory. THE USA IS GREAT!"
He is demonstrably unhinged. Anyone for the 25th? Forget impeachment.
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prospector
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
And then we have this article, from a publication that is not known to be Trump friendly. Getting out of interminable wars is surely a good thing??
https://www.rt.com/news/470361-us-syria-tribal-wars/
https://www.rt.com/news/470361-us-syria-tribal-wars/
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
A Russian publication not 'Trump friendly'..........? Now, let me think - could there be ANY advantage for Russia here?
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prospector
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Woody
- Chief Pilot
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Just waiting for the other all seeing, all knowing American Ben There to reply to thisPresident Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Turkey's economy if Turkey goes "off limits" after his surprise decision to pull US forces out of north-eastern Syria.
In a series of angry tweets, Mr Trump defended a move that could open the way for Turkey to launch an attack on Kurdish fighters across the border.
The withdrawal was heavily criticised even by Mr Trump's Republican allies.
When all else fails, read the instructions.
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prospector
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Is there any logical answer that could criticize the following statement
“The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home,” he said.
“The Kurds fought with us, but were paid massive amounts of money and equipment to do so. They have been fighting Turkey for decades. I held off this fight for almost 3 years, but it is time for us to get out of these ridiculous Endless Wars, many of them tribal, and bring our soldiers home,” he said.
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Since that statement came from the Chump .................
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
If he's done it with no warning to those the US has been "helping" then it is a bad idea because it puts 'friends' in an awkward position. He should at least have given them reasonable notice, even if it was just to the top people. Perhaps he did, but mysteriously those phone calls haven't come to light.
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Undried Plum
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Democracy Is Now a Hindrance to the Imperial State
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/20 ... erial.html
Democracy is the coat of paint applied for PR purposes to the Imperial State.
If we step back from the histrionics of impeachment and indeed, the past four years of political circus, we have to wonder if America's democracy is little more than an elaborate simulation, a counterfeit democracy that matches our counterfeit capitalism (Matt Stoller's term).
If we review the mechanics of our "democracy," we find that swapping which party controls Congress doesn't really change the policies of The Imperial State, the central state that oversees America's global commercial and geopolitical empire.
Next, consider the high return rate of incumbents. Once in power, politicos can skim the millions of dollars in campaign contributions needed to win re-election.
Then there's the some are more equal than others nature of the judicial system that serves the interests of financial and political elites: Bernie Madoff was free to continue his Ponzi scheme for years despite whistleblower attempts to instigate a federal investigation, and pedophile /schmoozer / "intelligence agency asset" Jeffrey Epstein was free to exploit underage teens and pile up $200 million after a wrist-slap conviction.
The corporate mass media is the PR machine for the Imperial State. If the state seeks to sell the public a war of choice, the media dutifully pounds the drums of war. If the Imperial State decides to disempower a president or other elected official, the media will hound the elected official until he/she is disgraced or buried, too busy fighting off the ceaseless media propaganda to function. The mass media excels at ruthlessly mocking political targets, reducing their stature in the public eye and undermining their "soft power."
As for presidents: as long as the prez follows the Imperial minders' orders, everything will be fine. Cross the minders and you're out. The perfect presidential candidate from the perspective of the Eastern Establishment / National Security State was Bush I: Eastern Establishment blue-blood, Yale, combat military service, and stints in high offices, including high-level diplomacy and the CIA.
Bush I famously lacked "the vision thing," but presidents only need "the vision thing" during the campaign--witness Obama's "hope and change" slogan. Once elected, they just need to follow the Imperial script, which includes a permanent PR campaign touting "democracy" as a necessary facade for the actual workings of the Imperial State.
Bush I was the ideal Imperial State president because he understood the need for the velvet glove of diplomacy, the most important element of which is an orchestrated demonstration of Imperial restraint. This also includes healthy dollops of PR about the sanctity of our alliances, which are heavily promoted as the acme of win-win cooperation, etc. He also understood the essential role of America's commercial Empire: the US dollar, US banking and US corporate interests around the world.
Imperial State handlers cannot tolerate loose-cannon presidents, those who keep their own council and who act outside the "recommended guidelines," for example, trying to make peace with rivals and enemies that the Imperial State cultivates as "enemies" for its own purposes.
John F. Kennedy appeared to be the ideal Imperial State president: wealthy Eastern Establishment, Harvard, combat military service, informal diplomatic experience via his father's connections, an enthusiastic supporter of the Imperial State's Cold War and a youthful politician with superb communication skills who the mass media fell for hook, line and sinker.
Once Kennedy soured on the CIA, things got dicey. The ideal president quickly became less ideal as his independence grew.
The Imperial State and mass media always feared and hated Richard Nixon, a poker player who kept his cards hidden and who surrounded himself with loyalists and outsiders, a rogue politician who could upstage the Imperial State's agenda by private diplomacy (opening relations with China) or expanding wars of choice (the invasion of Cambodia).
Nixon's cabinet was well-stocked with Establishment pros, but they were largely figureheads when it came to the bold private diplomatic moves Nixon favored. In other words, Nixon was the Imperial State's nightmare president.
Just to show that the Imperial State plays no favorites in party affiliations, the State and its media organs also hated Jimmy Carter, another independent who wandered outside the "recommended guidelines" and had to be destroyed via endless mockery and the undermining of his initiatives.
(Maintaining the circus entertainment of party politics is a core function of the mass media.)
The Imperial State was deeply distrustful of Reagan, hence the constant media mockery and the attempt to unseat him via the Iran-Contra Affair. But Reagan was smart enough to surround himself with insiders (Cap Weinberger, James Baker et al.) and popular enough to fend off the constant media attacks, much to the media's intense frustration (hence their mocking description of Reagan as the "Teflon president." How dare he survive our campaign to undermine and destroy him!)
Bush II was no Bush I, but he followed orders and never strayed from the "recommended guidelines." The same can be said of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, telegenic communicators in the Kennedy mold.
Needless to say, the Imperial State and its media organs loathe Trump, the loosest cannon imaginable. Hillary Clinton had proven herself a reliable water carrier for the Imperial State, and so her election was elaborately planned and staged: potentially loose cannon Bernie Sanders was shivved in the primaries by the Democratic Party, and the champagne was chilled for Hillary's victory.
Alas, the party was crashed in a most unforgivable fashion, and the Imperial State's war on Trump has been unremitting and ham-handedly obvious.
Democracy is the coat of paint applied for PR purposes to the Imperial State. "Democracy" is only tolerated if it follows the approved script. The Republic is good PR, but the Empire makes the rules and the scripts that elected officials follow, and woe to anyone who wins an election they were supposed to lose or who strays too far from the "recommended guidelines." (Imperial enemies must remain enemies until the Empire decides otherwise.)
Democracy has always been a "problem" for the Imperial State to manage, but now it is a hindrance to Imperial pretensions and power that is setting up an existential crisis unlike any other in American history.
Democracy is the coat of paint applied for PR purposes to the Imperial State.
If we step back from the histrionics of impeachment and indeed, the past four years of political circus, we have to wonder if America's democracy is little more than an elaborate simulation, a counterfeit democracy that matches our counterfeit capitalism (Matt Stoller's term).
If we review the mechanics of our "democracy," we find that swapping which party controls Congress doesn't really change the policies of The Imperial State, the central state that oversees America's global commercial and geopolitical empire.
Next, consider the high return rate of incumbents. Once in power, politicos can skim the millions of dollars in campaign contributions needed to win re-election.
Then there's the some are more equal than others nature of the judicial system that serves the interests of financial and political elites: Bernie Madoff was free to continue his Ponzi scheme for years despite whistleblower attempts to instigate a federal investigation, and pedophile /schmoozer / "intelligence agency asset" Jeffrey Epstein was free to exploit underage teens and pile up $200 million after a wrist-slap conviction.
The corporate mass media is the PR machine for the Imperial State. If the state seeks to sell the public a war of choice, the media dutifully pounds the drums of war. If the Imperial State decides to disempower a president or other elected official, the media will hound the elected official until he/she is disgraced or buried, too busy fighting off the ceaseless media propaganda to function. The mass media excels at ruthlessly mocking political targets, reducing their stature in the public eye and undermining their "soft power."
As for presidents: as long as the prez follows the Imperial minders' orders, everything will be fine. Cross the minders and you're out. The perfect presidential candidate from the perspective of the Eastern Establishment / National Security State was Bush I: Eastern Establishment blue-blood, Yale, combat military service, and stints in high offices, including high-level diplomacy and the CIA.
Bush I famously lacked "the vision thing," but presidents only need "the vision thing" during the campaign--witness Obama's "hope and change" slogan. Once elected, they just need to follow the Imperial script, which includes a permanent PR campaign touting "democracy" as a necessary facade for the actual workings of the Imperial State.
Bush I was the ideal Imperial State president because he understood the need for the velvet glove of diplomacy, the most important element of which is an orchestrated demonstration of Imperial restraint. This also includes healthy dollops of PR about the sanctity of our alliances, which are heavily promoted as the acme of win-win cooperation, etc. He also understood the essential role of America's commercial Empire: the US dollar, US banking and US corporate interests around the world.
Imperial State handlers cannot tolerate loose-cannon presidents, those who keep their own council and who act outside the "recommended guidelines," for example, trying to make peace with rivals and enemies that the Imperial State cultivates as "enemies" for its own purposes.
John F. Kennedy appeared to be the ideal Imperial State president: wealthy Eastern Establishment, Harvard, combat military service, informal diplomatic experience via his father's connections, an enthusiastic supporter of the Imperial State's Cold War and a youthful politician with superb communication skills who the mass media fell for hook, line and sinker.
Once Kennedy soured on the CIA, things got dicey. The ideal president quickly became less ideal as his independence grew.
The Imperial State and mass media always feared and hated Richard Nixon, a poker player who kept his cards hidden and who surrounded himself with loyalists and outsiders, a rogue politician who could upstage the Imperial State's agenda by private diplomacy (opening relations with China) or expanding wars of choice (the invasion of Cambodia).
Nixon's cabinet was well-stocked with Establishment pros, but they were largely figureheads when it came to the bold private diplomatic moves Nixon favored. In other words, Nixon was the Imperial State's nightmare president.
Just to show that the Imperial State plays no favorites in party affiliations, the State and its media organs also hated Jimmy Carter, another independent who wandered outside the "recommended guidelines" and had to be destroyed via endless mockery and the undermining of his initiatives.
(Maintaining the circus entertainment of party politics is a core function of the mass media.)
The Imperial State was deeply distrustful of Reagan, hence the constant media mockery and the attempt to unseat him via the Iran-Contra Affair. But Reagan was smart enough to surround himself with insiders (Cap Weinberger, James Baker et al.) and popular enough to fend off the constant media attacks, much to the media's intense frustration (hence their mocking description of Reagan as the "Teflon president." How dare he survive our campaign to undermine and destroy him!)
Bush II was no Bush I, but he followed orders and never strayed from the "recommended guidelines." The same can be said of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, telegenic communicators in the Kennedy mold.
Needless to say, the Imperial State and its media organs loathe Trump, the loosest cannon imaginable. Hillary Clinton had proven herself a reliable water carrier for the Imperial State, and so her election was elaborately planned and staged: potentially loose cannon Bernie Sanders was shivved in the primaries by the Democratic Party, and the champagne was chilled for Hillary's victory.
Alas, the party was crashed in a most unforgivable fashion, and the Imperial State's war on Trump has been unremitting and ham-handedly obvious.
Democracy is the coat of paint applied for PR purposes to the Imperial State. "Democracy" is only tolerated if it follows the approved script. The Republic is good PR, but the Empire makes the rules and the scripts that elected officials follow, and woe to anyone who wins an election they were supposed to lose or who strays too far from the "recommended guidelines." (Imperial enemies must remain enemies until the Empire decides otherwise.)
Democracy has always been a "problem" for the Imperial State to manage, but now it is a hindrance to Imperial pretensions and power that is setting up an existential crisis unlike any other in American history.
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AtomKraft
- Chief Pilot
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- Age: 63
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
I say well done to Trump on this one.
Abandoning the Kurds?
What else to do?
They can never win, so at some point you lose when they lose or leave them to it. They will never be done fighting.
It's another 'endless war'.
The thing with wars, as the US ought to know by now, is that it's dead easy to start one- even easier to join one, but quite tricky to win them, and often difficult to even leave part way through.
In Trumps' favour he shows no enthusiasm for war-war.
Jaw-jaw on the other hand.....
Put aside the politics for a minute, and think of those US servicemen who won't be killed now, and if you like-think about the many more who won't get killed by those same US soldiers and airmen.
Well done Trump. Hillary would never have had the balls.
Abandoning the Kurds?
What else to do?
They can never win, so at some point you lose when they lose or leave them to it. They will never be done fighting.
It's another 'endless war'.
The thing with wars, as the US ought to know by now, is that it's dead easy to start one- even easier to join one, but quite tricky to win them, and often difficult to even leave part way through.
In Trumps' favour he shows no enthusiasm for war-war.
Jaw-jaw on the other hand.....
Put aside the politics for a minute, and think of those US servicemen who won't be killed now, and if you like-think about the many more who won't get killed by those same US soldiers and airmen.
Well done Trump. Hillary would never have had the balls.
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prospector
- Capt
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
" Not it wasn't; he lied. VERY Presidential?" Source? or your opinion
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Hearsay, Prospector, and no doubt 'Fake News' - The Independent 8/10:
"The British government said it would oppose any Turkish incursion into Syria and rejected a claim by Donald Trump that the UK was “thrilled” with his decision to green light the offensive.
“We have been consistently clear with Turkey that unilateral military action must be avoided as it would destabilise the region and threaten efforts to secure the lasting defeat of Daesh [Isis],” foreign office minister Andrew Murrison told parliament.
Mr Trump made a shock announcement on Sunday night to withdraw troops from the Turkey-Syria border, and said the US would not stand in the way of a Turkish offensive against Kurdish fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The move was criticised as a betrayal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which has been the West’s main ally in the fight against Isis.
“A lot of people have their opinion. I could name many who are extremely thrilled that we’re coming home,” Mr Trump said at the White House on Monday.
“The UK is very thrilled at this decision. As you know, they have soldiers over there also. And others. But many people agree with it very strongly. I understand both sides of it very well.”
Mr Murrison added that he had “no idea” where Mr Trump’s suggestion that the UK agreed with his decision came from, adding that it was not the view expressed in a conversation between UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo."
"The British government said it would oppose any Turkish incursion into Syria and rejected a claim by Donald Trump that the UK was “thrilled” with his decision to green light the offensive.
“We have been consistently clear with Turkey that unilateral military action must be avoided as it would destabilise the region and threaten efforts to secure the lasting defeat of Daesh [Isis],” foreign office minister Andrew Murrison told parliament.
Mr Trump made a shock announcement on Sunday night to withdraw troops from the Turkey-Syria border, and said the US would not stand in the way of a Turkish offensive against Kurdish fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The move was criticised as a betrayal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which has been the West’s main ally in the fight against Isis.
“A lot of people have their opinion. I could name many who are extremely thrilled that we’re coming home,” Mr Trump said at the White House on Monday.
“The UK is very thrilled at this decision. As you know, they have soldiers over there also. And others. But many people agree with it very strongly. I understand both sides of it very well.”
Mr Murrison added that he had “no idea” where Mr Trump’s suggestion that the UK agreed with his decision came from, adding that it was not the view expressed in a conversation between UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab and his US counterpart Mike Pompeo."
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prospector
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
""The British government said it would oppose any Turkish incursion into Syria " And how would they oppose it, by a newspaper article? or hopefully by all these political hacks putting on a military uniform and putting their lives on the line.
Perhaps it was an agreement between Prime Minister and President that had not filtered down to the foreign office minister.
Whatever, any effort to stop senseless warfare is to be applauded. Who would have thought Germany and Japan would be best mates with the rest of the world, as they are now, 80 years ago.
Perhaps it was an agreement between Prime Minister and President that had not filtered down to the foreign office minister.
Whatever, any effort to stop senseless warfare is to be applauded. Who would have thought Germany and Japan would be best mates with the rest of the world, as they are now, 80 years ago.
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BenThere
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
It might be that the US involvement in Syria's civil war, the commitment and cost of troops, and the realization that Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia, were hostile to our efforts and objectives convinced President Trump to reduce the commitment and allow the belligerents to enjoy themselves prosecuting another endless conflict without American troops getting in the crossfire.
President Trump has apparently calculated and communicated to Erdogan that offensive action against the Kurds in Syria risks suspension from NATO, ascension to the EU (which was moribund anyway, and would trigger US actions to damage the health of the already depleted Turkish economy, and would foster further political divisions within Turkey. Once again, President Trump seems to grasp the pressures he can bring to bear with effect, and is far ahead of those who choose to be American adversaries. While his abrupt disengagement in Syria seems to threaten the Kurds, true allies, I think he has their back with his deterrent against Turkish actions economically and politically, and, if need be, militarily.
I wouldn't be surprised to see US v. Turkey engagements in the next few weeks, but I have no doubt about the outcome of such a development. Should it occur, I don't think Erdogan will survive in power. My perception is that the Turkish military is a much bigger US ally than the Turkish regime.
President Trump has apparently calculated and communicated to Erdogan that offensive action against the Kurds in Syria risks suspension from NATO, ascension to the EU (which was moribund anyway, and would trigger US actions to damage the health of the already depleted Turkish economy, and would foster further political divisions within Turkey. Once again, President Trump seems to grasp the pressures he can bring to bear with effect, and is far ahead of those who choose to be American adversaries. While his abrupt disengagement in Syria seems to threaten the Kurds, true allies, I think he has their back with his deterrent against Turkish actions economically and politically, and, if need be, militarily.
I wouldn't be surprised to see US v. Turkey engagements in the next few weeks, but I have no doubt about the outcome of such a development. Should it occur, I don't think Erdogan will survive in power. My perception is that the Turkish military is a much bigger US ally than the Turkish regime.
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
Chaps? - my post was about the unsuitability of this buffoon for the office he holds due to a complete inability to tell the truth, but as expected, deflection techniques are in place by the trolls. I have not criticised the decision on US involvement in Syria.
I would caution these 'supporters' of the Chump - you may applaud his dishonesty and the way he plays fast and loose with 'convention' and decency while you believe he is lining your pockets, but think how you would feel it it adversely affected you or your family and 'normal processes' to correct any injustice were simply refused. Think also about you own moral position and whether you would encourage a total disrespect for honesty and the legal process in your children, if you have any.
I would caution these 'supporters' of the Chump - you may applaud his dishonesty and the way he plays fast and loose with 'convention' and decency while you believe he is lining your pockets, but think how you would feel it it adversely affected you or your family and 'normal processes' to correct any injustice were simply refused. Think also about you own moral position and whether you would encourage a total disrespect for honesty and the legal process in your children, if you have any.
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prospector
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Re: The US Hamster Wheel
"Chaps? - my post was about the unsuitability of this buffoon for the office he holds due to a complete inability to tell the truth"
If the inability to tell the truth was disqualifying to hold high public office, then where would we find such people? To get the masses to vote for you, they must be promised something that is not always attainable. In this particular situation I would have thought there was more lying and half truths coming from people like Adam Schiff, Do you really think Hillary is a teller of truth? would she have been any less of a buffoon? POTUS was elected according to the rules, people had ample opportunity to suss him out prior to the election, obviously the majority who voted for him do not hold your opinion of him as a buffoon
If the inability to tell the truth was disqualifying to hold high public office, then where would we find such people? To get the masses to vote for you, they must be promised something that is not always attainable. In this particular situation I would have thought there was more lying and half truths coming from people like Adam Schiff, Do you really think Hillary is a teller of truth? would she have been any less of a buffoon? POTUS was elected according to the rules, people had ample opportunity to suss him out prior to the election, obviously the majority who voted for him do not hold your opinion of him as a buffoon
Re: The US Hamster Wheel
May I point out, in case you had not noticed, Prospector, that neither of the other two are POTUS (at the moment)?