FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

Don’t Blame Trump for Syria Blame our schizophrenic foreign policy. Bruce Thornton

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/dont-blame-trump-syria-bruce-thornton/

President Trump is facing intense criticism for his decision to withdraw fewer than 1000 U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. The dispute largely reflects the bipartisan NeverTrump penchant for politicizing every Trump decision in order to weaken the president. But there are honest people on both sides of the issue who have compelling arguments for their positions. Unfortunately, no rational argument can resolve this disagreement over our presence in Syria, for its causes run much deeper than military tactics and foreign policy strategies: The divided aims underlying our interactions with the world that have left us with a schizophrenic foreign policy.

America has long tried to reconcile our desire to be wary of “foreign entanglements,” with our involvements abroad forced on us by changes in technology like the steamship and the telegraph, and by a growing global trade that enriched our own economy at the cost of increasing “entanglements” in foreign affairs. Our participation in the Great War of 1914-1918 made us a global power, just at the time that the ideology of “moralizing internationalism” had taken hold in the West, famously expressed in Woodrow Wilson’s call “to make the world safe for democracy.” For many, the return to isolationism following the war, evident in the Senate’s refusal to ratify the Versailles Treaty, was a disaster that helped spark the much more devastating Second World War.

During the Cold War, our standoff with a nuclear armed communist superpower legitimized our deep involvement in managing and defending the Free World we now led. Multinational alliances, conventions, institutions, treaties, and covenants were the means for promoting liberal democracy and human rights, and for adjudicating international disputes and global conflicts while limiting armed violence to proxy duels. The successful end of the Cold War created the illusion that our traditional isolationism was no longer viable, given what George H.W. Bush called the “new world order.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Meet the real Mitt Romney: Pierre Delecto By Monica Showalter

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/10/meet_the_real_mitt_romney_pierre_delecto.html

You can’t make this stuff up. 

Mitt Romney admits he’s operating a secret Twitter account, revealing his real thoughts about President Trump, the deplorables, and everyone else, posting as — are you ready — Pierre Delecto.

Not even Mitt Romney’s worst detractors could make that one up.  “Pepe le Pew” was just a grasp at straws…

Slate magazine of all places had a brilliant piece of detective work pretty well proving this is what was going on.  The Atlantic, which has lately beclowned itself by hagiograph-ing Romney, of course got the scoop confirming its veracity from Pierre Delecto himself.  “C’est moi,” he declared, before making the account private. 

Pierre Delecto, indeed.  It ought to be his real name. 

What was in that now private account?  The awesome Slate report is still up, and its sharp-minded (if lefty) writer cherry-picked all the revealing stuff Romney is not brave enough to say in public but puts out there in what he thinks is at least semi-private.  Cripes, who knew? 

Slate’s curation reveals a man with thin skin, piping up when his name gets left off some list; seething in disdain for the deplorables (“never read the comments section,” he advises some NeverTrump); a wounded ego; lingering bitterness about why voters rejected him in 2012; zero sense of perspective as to why he was defeated; his fondness for George Conway, Kellyanne Conway’s crazy husband who hates Trump rabidly; ego-stoking praise from random tweeters; and oodles of other embarrassing stuff.  Romney’s real self is revealed in Pierre, and he comes off as petulant; petty; hypocritical; arrogant; self-regarding; and anything but the sturdy manly man who can roll with the punches, which is the role he plays in public.  Nope, he’s all Pierre Delecto here, now exposed as the real Mitt Romney, handing us all too much information just as he’s criticized some of his family members for.  Pierre Delecto, indeed…

POLITICS Comments turned off

Bernie’s Big, Bolshie, Biden-Boosting Bash By Kyle Smith

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/bernie-sanders-queens-rally-circus-comes-to-town/

The Sanders circus comes to Queens.

Who says Joe Biden supporters aren’t fired up and ready to fight? Twenty-five thousand eight hundred and seventy-two of them showed up in Queens Saturday to bring a smile to Uncle Joe’s lips. All of them were fighting to split the socialist vote that threatens Biden between the relatively spry lady who could actually win (Elizabeth Warren) and the wild-haired 78-year-old Larry David impersonator who just had a heart attack (Bernie Sanders).

The weekend timing was unfortunate given Bernie’s precarious health and even more precarious standing in the polls. (Nine percent in Iowa, behind Pete Buttigieg? Really? Was he even born when Bernie ran in 2016?) You would think the Bernie Sanders campaign would make sure to hold its biggest rallies on a weekday, given the amount of propping up he needs. Hunched over from the shoulders, he didn’t just grab the lectern on Saturday — he clutched it, relied on it, looking like Mr. Burns leaning over his walker. (It’s a good thing he’s a politician; in what other profession do they invariably put a large stand in front of you to help you keep your balance?) Sanders came on stage to the strains of AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” which was meant to make Sanders sound exciting and indomitable; in fact the song was written as a tribute to a dead guy (Bon Scott). Oopsie?

Sanders’s speech was characteristically Sandernista stuff: Droning, badgering, meandering, enervating, needlessly, endlessly long. Sanders is the kind of guy who could promise every American free Netflix for life and still make it sound like a shut-up-and-take-your-medicine speech. The man is pure Castro oil. As his brillo-pad-on-sandpaper voice flayed the eardrums, the Bernie signs drooped. Even his most ardent fans looked at each other like they were ankle-deep in a bear trap. Whether Sanders was being uselessly vague (“Our legislation. Will hold. The fossil-fuel industry. Accountable.”) or issuing absurdly unrealistic blue-sky promises (“Our program will eliminate homelessness in America!”), he sounded completely irrelevant to 2019. Five years older than the oldest Baby Boomer, already ten years past the average life expectancy of a man born in 1941, he is not the man to lead America through the 2020s. He’s the man at the deli who wants his tuna-on-rye special Retoasted, the right way this time.

ISRAEL, MEDIA Comments turned off

NY Times, B’Tselem Misinforms on Palestinians in Jordan Valley By: Gilead Ini

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

DPS NOTE:

 This piece deserves special circulation for several reasons. 
First because if it wasn’t for CAMERA and the original research done by its Gilead Ini, none of these lies and mistruths would have ever seen the light of day. So, hats off to CAMERA.

Second, you need to read this in order to really understand the depth of the Israel hatred which allows people – and media giants – to blithely disseminate both flat out lies and apparent truths while withholding information which would change your mind about the part they did tell you.

Third, this incessant public flogging of Israel every minute of every day is getting more and more visibly successful. Which is why I am sending you yet another – this one extraordinarily well researched and written – piece about the New York Times’ Israel hatred. The haters are successful because not enough of us know enough to know when what we’re being told isn’t true.  DPS

https://www.camera.org/article/ny-times-btselem-misinforms-on-palestinians-in-jordan-valley/

The New York Times misinformed readers in two recent stories about Palestinians in the Jordan Valley — and although the newspaper promises to correct mistakes big and small, it has yet to correct its errors.

Access to Jordan Valley Land

In the first story, a Sept. 10 piece by Ben Hubbard, the paper erred about Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley, a stretch of land parallel to the Jordan River that runs along the West Bank’s eastern border. Citing the Israeli advocacy group B’Tselem, Hubbard told readers Palestinians are “barred from entering or using about 85 percent” of the Jordan Valley where it passes through the West Bank.

A United Nations map highlights the West Bank’s Jordan Valley area.

The claim that Palestinians are only able to enter 15 percent of the territory, though, is false.

Depending on where exactly one draws the boundaries of the Jordan Valley — there’s no single, official delineation of the territory — between seven and thirteen percent of the region is designated as Area A or Area B — the names given to West Bank territory in which civilian matters are administered by the Palestinian Authority, in line with peace agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinians. 

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Walter Russell Mead: Brexit and Britain’s Broken Parliament The prime minister can’t call an election, thanks to a reform enacted in 2011.

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/brexit-and-britains-broken-parliament-11571696172

Is Britain broken? That’s the question a bemused world has been asking since the unexpected result of Remainer David Cameron’s Brexit referendum plunged the U.K. into a three-year political crisis.

Two things are striking about this period of national agony and debate. The first is how sensible and peaceful the British people have remained. The Brexit referendum carried by 52% to 48% (a margin of roughly 1.3 million out of more than 33.5 million votes cast) and the consequences are unpredictable and large. Will the United Kingdom even stay united as Scotland and Northern Ireland react to Brexit? Will Britain’s economy flourish as it opens to the world or wither without privileged access to European markets? From the City of London’s financial sector to the Sunderland Nissan factory, hundreds of thousands, even millions of jobs may be at stake.

Faced with all that, the British kept calm and carried on. Across a country of 66 million, Brexit has generated less political violence than a modestly sized Antifa march can gin up on a good afternoon in Portland, Ore. Scotland may be looking for an exit from the U.K. even as the U.K. looks to exit the European Union, but there are no Barcelona-style separatist riots in Edinburgh or anywhere else. This is an extraordinary testimony to the depth of Britain’s democratic culture.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

IRGC Arrest of Prominent Anti-Regime Activist

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/iran-file/iran-file-october-21-2019?

Iran highlighted its willingness to target opposition figures abroad. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization *announced that it arrested exiled anti-regime activist Ruhollah Zam on October 14. Zam had been living in Paris, France, where he operated anti-regime outlet Amad News. The IRGC stated that the arrest involved deception and surprise. Iranian officials *have celebrated the IRGC and its operation in recent days.

The IRGC likely coaxed Zam to travel to Iraq, where pro-Iran agents detained him. An unidentified individual reportedly lured Zam to travel to Iraq under the false pretense that he would meet with prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Ali al Sistani. A source from Sistani’s office *denied any plans for a meeting. The French Interior Ministry confirmed that Zam left France for Iraq. The regime has boasted of its ability to feed Zam false information before when it published a *documentary on the matter in March 2019. An unidentified Iraqi source claimed that Iraqi intelligence agents arrested Zam when he arrived in Baghdad at Iran’s request and transferred him to Iranian interrogators. The IRGC then moved Zam to Iran and arrested him.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION, POLITICS Comments turned off

All Hillary’s Russian Assets Her refusal to own up to a bad campaign gives Tulsi Gabbard a moment in the sun. By William McGurn

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/all-hillarys-russian-assets-11571696214

Ever since Hillary Clinton suggested Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian “asset,” the Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii has been on the attack. But she ought to consider the remarks an in-kind contribution. Because before Mrs. Clinton’s ham-handed insertion of herself into the 2020 Democratic race, Ms. Gabbard’s campaign for president was going nowhere.

The big challenge before Ms. Gabbard now is whether she will make it into the next Democratic debate on Nov. 20 in Atlanta. She has yet to meet the polling requirements: either 3% support in four Democratic National Committee approved national polls, or 5% in two DNC-approved polls from states with early primaries (Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada).

Ms. Gabbard has had trouble cracking 2% in most polls, and her debate performance last Tuesday hasn’t moved the needle. A FiveThirtyEight.com analysis put her at the bottom of the pack of all the Democratic candidates who made it to the stage, and noted her postdebate net favorability had dropped further into negative numbers.

Nor is her alleged stooging for Moscow Democrats’ only issue with Ms. Gabbard. In her call to bring the troops home, many hear echoes of Donald Trump ; her support for a ban on third-trimester abortions breaks with the party’s abortion absolutism; notwithstanding an apology, her past opposition to same-sex marriage has led to charges of homophobia; and her threat to boycott last week’s debate after alleging its corporate sponsors (CNN and the New York Times) worked with Democratic Party officials to “rig” the election had the Times writing how her political contribution was “injecting a bit of chaos” into the race.

ISRAEL Comments turned off

Israel’s Netanyahu Fails to Form New Government President Rivlin gives Benny Gantz 28 days to try to hammer out ruling coalition By Felicia Schwartz and Dov Lieber

Posted By on October 22nd, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/israels-netanyahu-says-hes-failed-to-form-new-government-11571679595

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he failed to form Israel’s next government after a September election that saw no clear winner, giving rival Benny Gantz the opportunity to create a coalition that could end the tenure of the country’s longest-serving premier.

President Reuven Rivlin said he would begin consultations with the parties in the Knesset to initiate Mr. Gantz’s 28-day turn at trying to form a majority government of at least 61 seats in Israel’s parliament. However, Mr. Gantz will face many of the same political hurdles that sidelined Mr. Netanyahu’s efforts.

Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White party won the most seats in the September elections, 33 to Likud’s 32, but Mr. Netanyahu was given the first chance to form a government because he had more support from other smaller parties elected to the 120-seat Knesset. He faced a deadline later this week to form a government or return the mandate.

Mr. Netanyahu’s announcement, on his 70th birthday, marks a setback for the prime minister who has earned the nickname “the magician” for his ability to wiggle out of tight spots in a political career spanning three decades. After the attorney general announced in February his intent to indict Mr. Netanyahu on corruption charges pending a hearing, Mr. Netanyahu campaigned on his security credentials and strong relationships with President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. But he failed to form a government after the April elections, triggering the second vote.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Obviously People In The Permanent Bureaucracy Are Working To Undermine And Remove President Trump: Francis Menton

Posted By on October 21st, 2019

https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=a9fdc67db9&u=9d011a88d8fe324cae8c084c5&i

In recent months the phrase “conspiracy theory” seems to have taken on a whole new meaning. At one time the phrase was reserved for only the craziest of crazy far-out and unprovable theories. For example, there was Lyndon LaRouche’s theory that Queen Elizabeth was secretly running the international drug trade. Or how about the theory that Freemasons conspired to bring about the sinking of the Titanic? Now those were truly worthy of the label of “conspiracy theories”!

Obviously, those kind of crazy theories could only be promoted by people who were severely mentally deficient. And that implication is likely how we have come to the new usage of the phrase “conspiracy theory.” In the new usage, the phrase is simply a label you apply to the someone’s position when you want to convey that you think that person advocating that position is mentally deficient. The great thing about tossing out the “conspiracy theory” phrase is that it relieves you of having to go to the trouble of refuting the position itself.

And thus we now have voices in the media using the phrase “conspiracy theory” to refer to President Trump’s assertions that people in the permanent bureaucracy are working to undermine his administration and remove him from office. From the Daily Beast, October 8, headline “The Deep State Conspiracy Is About to Go Into Overdrive”:

Trump is now reactivating and trafficking a theory that started after his election, but that was left to fringe elements on the right and largely ignored. This is the belief that Trump’s opponents, most coming from the camp of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters, and their holdovers still sitting in major government positions in various agencies, are using their positions to slowly undertake a coup d’état, meant to remove from power the legally elected president and destroy his administration.

Or consider this piece from the Independent on September 30, with the headline “The Deep State conspiracy theory is making us all play defense”. Excerpt:

The “Deep State” is a supposed cabal of powerful, unelected bureaucrats secretly pursuing their own agenda, as opposed to that of the president and his administration. In the case of Trump, it’s a bunch of career operatives in the State Department and the intelligence community, hell-bent on making sure Trump’s agenda gets foiled at every turn.

CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB Comments turned off

The Kurds, Turkey, and Attack of the Swamp Jonathan Moseley

Posted By on October 21st, 2019

https://canadafreepress.com/article/the-kurds-turkey-and-attack-of-the-swamp

So it’s getting absurd again.  The Kurds were fighting Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran long before President Donald Trump was even born.   And The Donald has been on the public scene for a while.  But he was not yet born when this war was raging.

Yet, in typical dishonesty, the liberal news media and the Democrat/Republican establishment is (as always) blaming President Trump for problems that the establishment actually created themselves or they failed to solve decades before Trump announced his candidacy.

President Trump pulled around 28 special forces troops out from near the Syrian border with Turkey.  Trump did not explain any of this.  Public relations matters.  Trump’s roll out of his decision was a blunder.  Trump has still not explained fully.  But for critics to argue that moving 28 soldiers caused a war is just delusional.

The Kurds earned a place in our hearts when these brave but lightly-armed warriors, without a professional standing army, fought the ISIS Caliphate.  The Kurds did the job that Barack Obama just wouldn’t do.  While the Obama Administration pretended to fight ISIS, and actually strengthened the Muslim Brotherhood, the Kurds (also Muslims in most cases) fought the radical Islamic Jihadis for real.  Americans love the underdog.

So America’s political world is stirred by the cry that the Kurds were our allies in the war against ISIS.  That’s confusion.  Turkey is also our ally….  and by binding treaty.  

Around Syria and Iraq everyone was fighting everyone.   Advocates for moral outrage wanted to over-throw the evil Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  But the Obama Administration repeatedly supported Muslim Brotherhood extremists to overthrow secular and moderate Middle Eastern leaders.  Others would stop breathing because Russians breathe air, and we wouldn’t want to do anything that Russians do.  Some would cut off their noses if Russia told them not to.  The free-for-all was nowhere near as simple as suggested now.