Saturday, June 21, 2014

Bombing Won't Save Iraq - Pat Buchanan

Friday - June 20, 2014

The panic that engulfed this capital after the fall of Mosul, when it appeared that the Islamist fanatics of ISIS would overrun Baghdad, has passed.

And the second thoughts have begun.

"U.S. Sees Risk in Iraqi Airstrikes," ran the June 19 headline in the Washington Post, "Military Warns of Dangerous Complications."

This is welcome news. For if it is an unwritten rule of republics not to commit to war unless the nation is united, America has never been less prepared for a Mideast war.

Our commander in chief is a reluctant warrior who wants his legacy to be ending our two longest wars. And just as Obama does not want to go back into Iraq, neither does the U.S. military.

The American people want no new war, and Congress does not want to be forced to vote on such a war.

Our foreign policy elites are split half a dozen ways -- on whether to bomb or not to bomb, on who our real enemies are in Syria and Iraq, on whose support we should and should not accept, on what our strategic goals are, and what are the prospects for success.

Consider the bombing option.

Undoubtedly, U.S. air power could blunt an attack on Baghdad. But air power cannot retake Mosul or the Sunni Triangle that Baghdad has lost, or Kirkuk or Kurdistan. That will take boots on the ground and casualties.

And nobody thinks these should be American boots or American casualties. And why should we fight to hold Iraq together? Is that a vital interest to which we should commit American lives in perpetuity?

When did it become so?

No. Bombing cannot put Iraq together again, but it may tear Iraq further apart.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has succeeded in northern Iraq because it has allied with the same militias, Baathists and tribal leaders who worked with Gen. David Petraeus in the Anbar Awakening.

And if we use air power in Sunni provinces that have seceded from Baghdad, we will be killing people who were our partners and are not our enemies. Photos of dead Sunnis, from U.S. air, drone, and missile strikes, could inflame the Sunni world.

Upon one thing Americans do agree: ISIS and al-Qaida are our enemies. But are bombing ISIS and killing Sunnis the way to destroy ISIS? Or does bombing martyrize and heroize ISIS for the Sunni young?

And if destroying ISIS is a strategic imperative, why have we not demanded that the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia cease funneling arms and aid to ISIS in Syria? Why have we not told the Turks to stop permitting jihadists to cross their border into Syria?

Why are we aiding and arming the Free Syrian Army to bring down Bashar Assad, when Assad's army is the only fighting force standing between ISIS and the conquest of Syria?

If ISIS is our mortal enemy, why have we not persuaded the Turks to seal their border and send their NATO-equipped army into Syria to annihilate ISIS?

Turkey's Kemal Ataturk ended the old caliphate and put the caliph on the Orient Express to Europe.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be the man who strangled the new caliphate in its crib.

U.S. policy in Syria and Iraq today add up to incoherence.

Iran is consistent. She wants to see the Shia regimes survive in Damascus and Syria, and has put blood and treasure on the line.

The Saudis and Gulf Arabs are consistent, while playing a dangerous game. Seeing the Shia regimes in Damascus and Baghdad as alien and hostile, they are helping extremists to overthrow them.

Only the Americans seem conflicted and confused.

In Iraq we are on the side of the Shia regime fighting ISIS. In Syria we are de facto allies of ISIS fighting to overthrow the Shia regime.

"Take away this pudding," said Churchill, "it has no theme."

Washington believes that the fall of Baghdad would be a strategic defeat and disaster. Have we considered what the fall of Damascus would mean? Who rises if Bashar Assad falls?

Who goes to the wall if the al-Nusra Front and ISIS prevail in Syria? Would Americans be welcome in that new Syria?

If we help bring down Assad's regime and a radical Sunni regime takes its place, like the terrorist-welcoming Taliban of yesterday, would we then have to go in on the ground to oust it?

This is not an academic question. The use of U.S. air power in Iraq could cause ISIS to turn back to its primary target -- Damascus.

And there are reports that part of that stockpile of U.S. arms and munitions ISIS captured in Mosul is already being moved across the border into Syria for a fight to the finish there, rather than in Iraq.

This new civil-sectarian-secessionist war in Syria and Iraq looks to last for years. How have we suffered by staying out of it?

5 questions to ask a liberal progressive

5 questions to ask a liberal progressive

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Tired of it all!





This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in the UK 
, in the U.S.A, Canada , Australia and New Zealand
.....
*By*
* Robert A. Hall*
*I'm 73*   Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and
a six-month period when I was between jobs, but  job-hunting every day,
I've worked, hard, since I was 18.



Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and
haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary,
but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I
am.  Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired.



Very tired.

*I'm tired* of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people
who don't have my work ethic.  I'm tired of being told the government
will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to
people too lazy to earn it.



*I'm tired* of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when
every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their
sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims
rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and
Jews because they aren't "believers;" of Muslims burning schools for
girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery;"
of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of
Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.



*I'm tired* of being told that, out of "tolerance for other cultures,"
we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa
Islamic schools to preach hate in America and Canada , while no American
nor Canadian group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious
school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance..



*I'm tired* of being told I must lower my living standard to fight
global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.



*I'm tired* of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must
help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do.  Did a
giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder
up their noses while they tried to fight it off?



*I'm tired* of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of
both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or
youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was
getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or
poor.



*I'm real tired* of people who don't take responsibility for their lives
and actions.  I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or
discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.



*Yes, I'm damn tired*. But I'm also glad to be 73...  Because, mostly,
I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making.  I'm
just sorry for my granddaughters and grandson.



*Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the
Massachusetts State Senate..*



*There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends
it on! This is your chance to make a difference.*


*"I'm 73 and I'm tired." If you don't forward this you are part of the
problem.*

 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Hopeless change


15 Other Signs The Middle Class Is Dying

If you make more than $27,520 a year at your job, you are doing better than half the country is. But you don't have to take my word for it, you can check out the latest wage statistics from the Social Security administration right here. But of course $27,520 a year will not allow you to live "the American Dream" in this day and age. After taxes, that breaks down to a good bit less than $2,000 a month. You can't realistically pay a mortgage, make a car payment, afford health insurance and provide food, clothing and everything else your family needs for that much money. That is one of the reasons why both parents are working in most families today. In fact, sometimes both parents are working multiple jobs in a desperate attempt to make ends meet. Over the years, the cost of living has risen steadily but our paychecks have not. This has resulted in a steady erosion of the middle class. Once upon a time, most American families could afford a nice home, a couple of cars and a nice vacation every year. When I was growing up, it seemed like almost everyone was middle class. But now "the American Dream" is out of reach for more Americans than ever, and the middle class is dying right in front of our eyes.
One of the things that was great about America in the post-World War II era was that we developed a large, thriving middle class. Until recent times, it always seemed like there were plenty of good jobs for people that were willing to be responsible and work hard. That was one of the big reasons why people wanted to come here from all over the world. They wanted to have a chance to live "the American Dream" too.
But now the American Dream is becoming a mirage for most people. No matter how hard they try, they just can't seem to achieve it.
And here are some hard numbers to back that assertion up. The following are 15 more signs that the middle class is dying...
#1 According to a brand new CNN poll59 percent of Americans believe that it has become impossible for most people to achieve the American Dream...
The American Dream is impossible to achieve in this country.
So say nearly 6 in 10 people who responded to CNNMoney's American Dream Poll, conducted by ORC International. They feel the dream -- however they define it -- is out of reach.
Young adults, age 18 to 34, are most likely to feel the dream is unattainable, with 63% saying it's impossible. This age group has suffered in the wake of the Great Recession, finding it hard to get good jobs.
#2 More Americans than ever believe that homeownership is not a key to long-term wealth and prosperity...
The great American Dream is dying. Even though many Americans still desire to own a home, they are losing faith in homeownership as a key to prosperity.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans, or 64%, believe they are less likely to build wealth by buying a home today than they were 20 or 30 years ago, according to a survey sponsored by non-profit MacArthur Foundation. And nearly 43% said buying a home is no longer a good long-term investment.
#3 Overall, the rate of homeownership in the United States has fallen for eight years in a row, and it has now dropped to the lowest levelin 19 years.
#4 52 percent of Americans cannot even afford the house that they are living in right now...
"Over half of Americans (52%) have had to make at least one major sacrifice in order to cover their rent or mortgage over the last three years, according to the “How Housing Matters Survey,” which was commissioned by the nonprofit John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and carried out by Hart Research Associates. These sacrifices include getting a second job, deferring saving for retirement, cutting back on health care, running up credit card debt, or even moving to a less safe neighborhood or one with worse schools."
#5 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 36 percent of Americans under the age of 35 owns a home. That is the lowest level that has ever been measured.
#6 Right now, approximately one out of every six men in the United States that are in their prime working years (25 to 54) do not have a job.
#7 The labor force participation rate for Americans from the age of 25 to the age of 29 has fallen to an all-time record low.
#8 The number of working age Americans that are not employed has increased by 27 million since the year 2000.
#9 According to the government's own numbers, about 20 percent of the families in the entire country do not have a single member that is employed at this point.
#10 This may sound crazy, but 25 percent of all American adults do not even have a single penny saved up for retirement.
#11 As I noted in one recent article, total consumer credit in the United States has increased by 22 percent over the past three years, and 56 percent of all Americans have "subprime credit" at this point.
#12 Major retailers are shutting down stores at the fastest pace that we have seen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
#13 It is hard to believe, but more than one out of every five children in the United States is living in poverty in 2014.
#14 According to one recent report, there are 49 million Americans that are dealing with food insecurity right now.
#15 Overall, the U.S. poverty rate is up more than 30 percent since 1966. It looks like LBJ's war on poverty didn't work out too well after all.
Sadly, it does not appear that there is much hope on the horizon for the middle class. More good jobs are being shipped out of the country and are being lost to technology every single day, and our politicians seem convinced that "business as usual" is the right course of action for our nation.
Unless something dramatic happens, it is going to become increasingly difficult to eke out a middle class existence as a "worker bee" in American society. The truth is that most big companies these days do not have any loyalty to their workers and really do not care what ends up happening to them.
To thrive in this kind of environment, new and different thinking is required. The paradigm of "go to college, get a job, stay loyal and retire after 30 years" has been shattered. The business world is more unstable now than it has been during any point in the post-World War II era, and we are all going to have to adjust.