Iran Fends Off Childish New Sanction Threats
Last years agreement over Iran's nuclear program could have cleared the way to better relations between the U.S. and Iran. Better relation could lead to cooperation in solving conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
But the U.S. is not willing to go there. It is trying to keep Iran hostile even with the nuclear issue solved.
Just follow recent headlines:
Dec 9 - US official: Iran tested another ballistic missile in Nov.
The test occurred Nov. 21, according to the official, coming on top of an Oct. 10 test Iran confirmed at the time.
Dec 28 - Iran ships 25,000lb of low-enriched uranium to Russia as part of nuclear deal
“I am pleased to report that we have seen important indications of significant progress towards Iran completing its key nuclear commitments under the deal,” the US secretary of state, John Kerry, said.
Dec 30 - U.S. preparing missile sanctions against Iran
Dec 30 - US says Iran launched 'provocative' rocket test near ships
Iran fulfills the nuclear deal and ships out enriched Uranium. It thereby gives away its meager means to even produce one nuclear weapon. This is immediately followed by a hostile move from the U.S. together with some nonsense propaganda over small fireworks in the Gulf, the Persian Gulf.
Iran immediately reacted to these crazy moves.
Dec 31 - Iran's IRGC denies firing rockets near U.S. warship in Persian Gulf
Dec 31 - Iran Denounces U.S. Sanctions Over Missiles, Saying It Will Build More
Israel, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Pakistan and the U.S. all have ballistic missiles that can hit Iran. Why should Iran not have a capability to deter them with its own ballistic missile force? Given that Iran has no nuclear weapons program there is no sound reason to deny it conventional missile capabilities. China, Russia and the Europeans accept that and will prevent any UN sanctions over the issue.
Only after Iran made it clear that it will not take part in the childish games the Obama administration wanted to play did the administration retract.
Jan 1 - White House Said To Delay Sanctions On Iran After Tehran Retaliates
Duh! Why make the threat in the first place when it was clear from the onset that it would be a bad move?
Tally this up as other own goal the Obama administration inflicted onto itself.
Who came up with the crazy idea of sanctioning Iran over harmless ballistic missile tests? Why do this at a time, just after Iran shipped out its Uranium, that make it look like intended sabotage of the nuclear deal? The deal with Iran is the only major foreign policy success the Obama administration ever had. Why endanger this legacy?
It will be interesting to read and compare the self serving memoirs of Obama administration officials when their time in office is over. My perception is that Obama is completely disinterested in policies. That Susan Rice, his National Security Adviser, has the retarded mindset of a junior highschool brat. That the neolibcons at the State Department run circles around a hapless John Kerry. And that the Pentagon, CentCom and the CIA are all running the own tunnel vision policies without any regard of a bigger national strategy.
Unfortunately there is little hop that the next administration will be any better.
Posted by b on January 1, 2016 at 13:25 UTC | Permalink
next page »Who came up with the crazy idea of sanctioning Iran over harmless ballistic missile test?
Any one of the Neocon or Saudi stooges who want to see the Iran deal scuppered. They are so desperate they do not consider the consequences of their actions.
Posted by: Yonatan | Jan 1 2016 14:02 utc | 2
"Why should Iran not have a capability to deter them with its own ballistic missile force?"
Because that would upset the Axis of Evil that runs through Ankara, Jerusalem and Riyadh.
Posted by: D | Jan 1 2016 14:31 utc | 3
It's to reassure the 'childish' and worried Gulf allies that the USA is still loyal to them and that Iran will not become a "friend".
Posted by: virgile | Jan 1 2016 14:48 utc | 4
Funny how so many call the agreement allowing Iran to do what it's legally allowed to do under the NPT a foreign policy "victory" and thus THE lone positive "legacy" obtained by Obama. I see it as a defeat for Outlaw US Imperial Policy and a big blow against its ambition to attain Full Spectrum Dominance. Combined with Russia's Syria intervention, the whole Mideast Imperial policy goals that began in 1990 are now going down the drain--a marvelous victory on the road to a peaceful, multipolar future.
Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 1 2016 14:55 utc | 5
On the domestic front, the mighty Wurlitzer will circulate this piece of news in sufficient detail, throwing egg in the faces of the O admin and the D Party. Iran is a country that Israel and US Conservatives want to "glass". The D Party gladly plays the role of the Washington Generals against The R Party Harlem Globetrotters.
The Tea Party Patriots will be outraged over "giving in to Iran" all over again. The combined effect of the two actions are good for filling a weeks worth of bullshit "news" punditry until the next false flag fear mongering/war mongering event.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 1 2016 15:17 utc | 6
Obomba might be the most un-intellectual POTUS the US has ever seen,even the shrub had more gravitas.Would the shrub embrace popular culture(Which is devoid of said)as this clown?Star Wars.Sheesh.Lucas called Disney white slavers.He retracted,but Zionists are exactly that.
63 stories,and no collapse in Dubai.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 1 2016 15:20 utc | 7
1;No way in hell will the bitch win.She is hated by too many.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 1 2016 15:21 utc | 8
Isnt it obvious? Peace Prize is a sore loser that Iranian troops are the boots on the ground mopping up his "moderate" terrorists in Syraq
Posted by: Anunnaki | Jan 1 2016 15:25 utc | 9
"Why should Iran not have a capability to deter them with its own ballistic missile force?"
Because that would upset the Axis of Evil that runs through Ankara, Jerusalem and Riyadh.
---
#3. On Zerohedge I have taken to calling it the Pentagram of Evil: US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and Qatar
Posted by: Anunnaki | Jan 1 2016 15:27 utc | 10
@7 George Luca$ changed his mind on Disney. I'll give you 4 billion reasons why
Posted by: Anunnaki | Jan 1 2016 15:30 utc | 11
b,
Don't use the word, retarded. Find a better one.
Mark
Posted by: Mark Gaughan | Jan 1 2016 15:33 utc | 12
@8 dahoit
Unfortunately, Trump is not only hated by the establishment and by the MSM, but also by most left-wing sympathizers.
Posted by: From The Hague | Jan 1 2016 15:42 utc | 13
Calling the Iran deal a foreign policy achievement for the Obama Administration is naive in the extreme. Any so-called deal with Iran isn't worth the paper it's written on and will be completely worthless come 2017.
Iran remains a target.
Did 7 countries in 5 years actually play out over 5 years?
Posted by: Julian | Jan 1 2016 15:44 utc | 14
Recall that the US wanted to write into the Iran agreement the legal framework to authorize military action without going to the UN. There may still be something in the agreement which the US can manipulate towards that end.
Posted by: Les | Jan 1 2016 15:51 utc | 15
IMHO, Nuland/Kagans are higher up in the Kissinger Criminal Brain Trust than is Susan Rice (though mean-spirited ignorance comes naturally). The script is handed down and whether or not the actors (Rice, Kerry, Obama) look like fools for having acted their parts, it matters not a whit. They must do as they are told.
This theory explains the blatant hypocrisy, the regular 180 degree changes in rhetoric and action, the ridiculous pronouncements, and etc. especially what is seen in the last quarter of the game.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 1 2016 15:58 utc | 16
Interesting story in WaPo today re Obama's ISIS strategy. He's pissed that his minders haven't given him better PR to read from the teleprompter. Cause its not the LACK of game-plan. Or execution. Oh no. It's simply the way he EXPAINS it. Bernay's would be proud.
Reading WaPo is totally hilarious. These days I'm increasingly convinced the reporters are "in" on the joke. Like they know how utterly foolish they sound. And they're writing for The Onion. Are you not amused?
Posted by: 4H | Jan 1 2016 16:06 utc | 17
There is sufficient time baked into the process whereby the winning nominee - having used the playbook which appealed to his tribe - uses a different playbook to garner broader mainstream appeal.
Trump has the advantage here over Hillary as he has not been beaten up the way Hillary has (self-inflicted and otherwise). I work with predominantly female customers. I haven't found a single one that has spoken positively about Hillary.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 1 2016 16:11 utc | 18
@ fast freddy 16:
Where do you think the North Koreans got their foreign policy schema from? They merely play a defensive tit for tat.
Posted by: Malooga | Jan 1 2016 16:19 utc | 19
This is enough for me to vote for Trump and Cruz.
Soros regrets backing Obama, can get meeting with Hillary whenever he wants, and warns Americans against siren song of Cruz and Trump
Posted by: Les | Jan 1 2016 16:50 utc | 20
Anybody is curious how Dubai tower did not collapsed?
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 17:08 utc | 21
Malooga #19 - they did learn from Israelis + US neocon and they practice it hell of good....Neocons know they will be shower with NK missiles...with no warnings.
Posted by: sejmon | Jan 1 2016 17:11 utc | 22
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1, 2016 12:08:11 PM | 21
Probably not.
Curiosity is rarely aroused when something that never happens doesn't happen.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jan 1 2016 17:36 utc | 23
Reports of 63 story building ablaze in Dubai are greatly exaggerated. There is nothing to see here. Circumstances are completely dissimilar and incomparable to the buildings which fell in NYC back in 2001, especially Building 7. This fire is so insignificant that the MSM will not be informing American audiences about it.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 1 2016 17:41 utc | 24
@ Neretva'43 21:
It wasn't an "office fire." Only office fires can collapse highrises at freefall speed.
Posted by: Malooga | Jan 1 2016 17:42 utc | 25
Hoarsewhisperer | Jan 1, 2016 12:36:54 PM | 23
“... something that never happens doesn't happen.”
An interesting answer, so what do you think...what's the reason they had stopped transmitting live picture from Dubai?
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 17:44 utc | 26
Malooga
Honestly, I have no idea what are you saying.
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 17:45 utc | 27
The Empire of Chaos is badly confused, which makes it double dangerous.
With this new chapter of bizarre absurdity, one should really worry of what will come next, bad NY start I would say.
Posted by: Sufi | Jan 1 2016 17:48 utc | 28
fast freddy | Jan 1, 2016 12:41:56 PM | 24
hmm...“exaggerated”. OK.
How do you know all that?
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 17:51 utc | 29
i don't believe the rogue and exceptional nation is interested in solving conflicts in afgan, iraq, syria and yemen..therefore, the military support saudi arabia, israel, turkey and etc receive while iran is regularly shunned, makes sense... now, if the usa was anything other then an exceptional nation, i could be persuaded to see it differently, but i can't...
Posted by: james | Jan 1 2016 17:55 utc | 30
@Neretva
"An interesting answer, so what do you think...what's the reason they had stopped transmitting live picture from Dubai?"
Because this is the beginning of Dubai's touristic season and the authorities prefers to minimize the impact of that 'incident' so as not to discourage future visitors to the "shopping heaven". Therefore minimum details are provided and the press is asked to avoid talking about it.
Posted by: Virgile | Jan 1 2016 17:55 utc | 31
@ Neretva'43
Not sure what your native language is. Perhaps sarcasm, or "snark" as it is now called, does not translate well.
I like mine extra dry... on the rocks.. with a twist ;-)
Posted by: Malooga | Jan 1 2016 17:57 utc | 32
@31 virgile - none of the western msm want to upset the gravy they get for presenting these mid east sheikdoms in only the best light... may as well be a media blackout on them, as only good stuff happens in these countries and there is no oppression or anything negative to see according to the same western msm..
Posted by: james | Jan 1 2016 18:02 utc | 33
Malooga | Jan 1, 2016 12:57:16 PM | 32
Yup, recognized that but the finger was quicker than brain.
thanks
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 18:04 utc | 34
it starts.... how to say.....
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/179896/World/International/Driver-shot-as-he-rams-French-soldier-guarding-mos.aspx
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/179894/World/Region/Erdogan-cites-Hitlers-Germany-to-defend-presidency.aspx
(i love it when he embarasses the Israelis and the EUrocrats! didn't he recently renewed diplomatic relationship with the first ones?)
Posted by: Mina | Jan 1 2016 18:17 utc | 36
James
The Gulf countries spend a lot of money lobbying the MSM. That explain why few criticisms of these Mall-Mosque countries are published.
Posted by: Virgile | Jan 1 2016 18:18 utc | 37
Neretva, what I posted was satire.
I concur with what you seem to be implying. The PTB do not want anyone to compare the skyscraper fire in Dubai with 911 and collapsing buildings, especially, but not limited to building 7. The Dubai building will not fall into its own footprint unless Larry Silverstein orders the fire department to pull it. (There I go again with more sarcasm).
The Gulf Countries aka Mall-Mosque countries are in bed with American (aka multinational) Oil Companies. Oil Companies are in bed with American Media. GE directly owns a big chunk of American media as it concurrently profits directly from bmob making, jet engines, and MRI machines to profit again after the bmobs.
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 1 2016 18:36 utc | 38
james says:
now, if the usa was anything other then an exceptional nation, i could be persuaded to see it differently, but i can't...
maybe 'cause being exceptional and being inured to violence are not mutually exclusive. i mean, the notion of american exceptionalism sure has held up well alongside its own relentless criminal aggressions. but then, atomic power was weaponized and used to annihilate a quarter million innocent japanese civilians at least ten years before it was attached to the public power grid.
Posted by: john | Jan 1 2016 18:43 utc | 39
He, he
Thanks all
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony_punctuation
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 18:53 utc | 40
To call the Iran US nuclear stand-off "solved" is ridiculous. The evil empire has proven itself endlessly untrustworthy, and now it is trustworthy ? How did that happen. Thats not naive, thats wilful blindness. And In this example, it's also mitigating the disgusting grotesque evil nature of the US Empire.
Since the US is no way near ready to attack Iran in any successful way, and without the potential of Russia backing them up in the war, there is no other way outside of a criminal war, to get Iran to reduce its nuclear energy capability then through a fucked-up deal and the threat and action of sanctions.
The US got Iran to massively reduce its nuclear capability without firing a single weapon - at least directly. The evil empire sees Iran as an enemy as it stands, now and far into the future. This deal was never about establishing a new relationship but weakening Iran as an enemy of the Empire before they're ready to attack, or establish regime change loyal to the Empire, outside of war.
Posted by: tom | Jan 1 2016 19:00 utc | 41
I read an article today in 'Counterpunch'(CP) about how RT is nothing but political propaganda. It made me think about propaganda ... and whether or not, with leadership changes at CP, if CP itself couldn't be seen as sliding into being a propaganda outlet for the US. This blog itself suffers from attempts to propagandize through some of the commentary. It makes me wonder, quite bluntly, if anyone is to be trusted? Moon himself, probably more than most, but what of the rest of 'us.' ???
Posted by: Rg an LG | Jan 1 2016 19:10 utc | 42
This apparent conspicuous flip-flop on new sanctions against Iran over the past two days reflects an ongoing problem inside the US administration and State Dept. There are just too many necons and R2Pers who are trying to move Obama on critical issues and Obama is allowing them to do it. This latest story seems to be based mostly on leaks and un-attributed sources from within the admin. This required Obama to make an unambiguous statement.
This lack of control has been a major problem with Obama for the last seven years. There are so many examples. The most important, I still think, is that Obama and Kerry never did make any decision to over-throw Yanukovitch in 2014. What happened is that they simply let the neocons Nuland and Pyat to their work while being unaware for how quickly the coup would blow up into a major confrontation with Russia. Most of the crisis could have been averted if Obama had quickly fired those two. Another example is that this last month Kerry goes to Moscow and pretty clearly announces that Assad does not have to go after-all. The next day Samantha Power publicly announces that Assad still has to go. She should have been removed right then. Unfortunately, Obama lacks the determination to take control over his own administration and thereby lets these neocon and R2Pers move his policies.
Posted by: ToivoS | Jan 1 2016 19:32 utc | 43
@42
I can't think of one single news site that is not propaganda. Can you?
Posted by: Dan | Jan 1 2016 19:46 utc | 44
@ 42 That's politico.com (counterpunch just linked)
@ 43 The US has a dysfunctional president; then you have anarchism.
Posted by: From The Hague | Jan 1 2016 19:50 utc | 45
Iran ought simply act in its own interests regardless of US threats since the US can't be trusted to adhere to its own agreements anyway. Iran is surely safe under the umbrella of the Russian nuclear arsenal if US/Israel/KSA get to hostile.
Posted by: yellowsnapdragon | Jan 1 2016 19:52 utc | 46
@28 Confused or factionalized? Neocons and Kaganites don't get confused, but the it's possible that they can be opposed. How effectively they can be opposed is an entirely different question.
Posted by: yellowsnapdragon | Jan 1 2016 20:01 utc | 47
It's interesting to watch 'alternative' sites for that moment when they jump to the 'mainstream'. Znet jumped over to support the Libya war. Antiwar jumped over to support the Syria war. Counterpunch has seemed poised to jump for a while. The next war will probably be their time to jump.
Posted by: paul | Jan 1 2016 21:17 utc | 48
"The US has a dysfunctional president; then you have anarchism."
The person in question enacted Obama Care bill thus ripping off the plebs. He also continued with assassination programs, Guantanamo Bay, and numerous others. So he is fully functional from standpoint of the ruling class.
Posted by: Neretva'43 | Jan 1 2016 21:23 utc | 49
"...the Pentagon, CentCom and the CIA are all running the own tunnel vision policies without any regard of a bigger national strategy."
Apt description of part of the US Deep State that runs operations to drag the US into one debacle after another. The agenda is war without end for more money for the oligarchs.
Allen Dulles and his brother would be proud of what they helped to coalesce and that it has survived from the transition of the OSS into the CIA to their plot to kill JFK to our time.
Rivers of blood are the result. But they don't care. They are children playing with matches and people suffer.
Posted by: AriusArmenian | Jan 1 2016 21:30 utc | 50
@ 49 Neretva'43
Maybe.
Which candidate for the current US presidential campaign is not functional from the standpoint of the ruling class?
Posted by: From The Hague | Jan 1 2016 21:37 utc | 51
@ 42: All political news websites and blogs have their biases and prejudices. You have to be the one who decides which is more credible. I would submit that it's far more dangerous to put your trust into any particular site or blog unthinkingly; you must always have your wits about you.
Posted by: Jen | Jan 1 2016 21:41 utc | 52
What about the line item slid into the Christmas Tree spending bill stopping Iranian's from obtaining a visa to the U.S? We could spend years on what went into that bill and who slipped it in. Iran went to Russia and China on that one. and stated that the deal is off. Kerry said don't worry we will go around it. One Senator wanted to trade his vote on the medical care for 9-11 first responders for a vote on a tax deal for the guess who (1% boys) He was a Dem.
Posted by: hal | Jan 1 2016 22:02 utc | 53
"If HRC wins, this will be the 5th Bush/Cheney term...."
Yup…at least. Bill and Papa Bush might be included too; if only neocon-lite.
In my lifetime (post WWII) US foreign policy has been pretty constant regardless of who was in power. Come to think of it, so has domestic policy except for the Civil Rights Act and enactment of Medicare. Virtually every other policy action over the past 40 years or so has made the average citizen's life worse.
Posted by: paulmeli | Jan 1 2016 23:36 utc | 54
@20 if Trump takes on Bolton I prob will not vote for anybody for president..
if not then I'll probably vote for him
Posted by: Refocus | Jan 1 2016 23:48 utc | 55
The Iran deal always was about conventional missiles, once they gained the range to reach Tel Aviv .. and it still is.
Posted by: Shyaku | Jan 2 2016 0:33 utc | 56
The Iran deal always was about conventional ballistic missiles .. once they gained the range to reach Tel Aviv. And it still is.
Posted by: Shyaku | Jan 2 2016 0:35 utc | 57
The Iran deal always was about conventional ballistic missiles .. once they gained the range to reach Tel Aviv. And it still is.
Posted by: Shyaku | Jan 2 2016 0:36 utc | 58
The Iran deal always was about conventional ballistic missiles .. once they gained the range to reach Tel Aviv. And it still is.
Posted by: Shyaku | Jan 2 2016 0:37 utc | 59
55
Trump would prove himself to be craven and/or an idiot if he gave Bolton a job (except to relaunch the Plato's Retreat Wife-Swapping Orgy franchise which Bolton used to enjoy).
Posted by: fast freddy | Jan 2 2016 0:43 utc | 60
There's a lot of propaganda on news aggregation sites. You have to consider the source. Here's one on Middle East Eye from a member of the Henry Jackson Society (which should automatically raise red flags from the reference to a Cold War hardliner Sen. Scoop Jackson).
http://www.middleeasteye.net/essays/russia-turkey-and-rise-1639783717
Posted by: Les | Jan 2 2016 1:09 utc | 61
fast freddy, please stop posting ignorance about WTC7. Did you miss the fact that firemen were predicting WTC7 would collapse due to the fires? https://youtu.be/J9kSO-w4sFM?t=6m2s
“I then walked down a couple of blocks back to the site. We were north of the Winter Garden at that point. It might have been—it was Vesey Street. We walked all the way back down to Vesey Street. There was a big discussion going on at that point about *pulling all of our units out of 7 World Trade Center* . Chief Nigro didn’t feel it was worth taking the slightest chance of somebody else getting injured. So at that point we made a decision to take all of our units out of 7 World Trade Center because there was a potential for collapse.”
Q. “It was on fire, correct, Captain?”
A. “Yes, it was on fire at that time. Then they said it suffered some form of structural damage. These things were going on at the same time. The fact that we thought we found Ganci and Feehan and his place at 7 World Trade Center. Made the decision to back
everybody away, took all the units and moved them all the way back toward North End Avenue, which is as far I guess west as you could get on Vesey Street, to keep them out of the way.” - Captain Ray Goldbach http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/Goldbach_Ray.txt
You can here a fireman say pull in this video "that's why the pulled everyone outa here" : https://youtu.be/tK9MmoVaO5U?t=2m38s
"The biggest decision we had to make on the first day was to clear the area and create a collapse zone around the severely damaged 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story building heavily involved in fire. A number of fire officers and companies assessed the damage to the building. The appraisals indicated that the building's integrity was in serious doubt.
I issued the orders *to pull back the firefighters* and define the collapse zone. It was a critical decision; we could not lose any more firefighters. It took a lot of time to pull everyone out, given the emotionalism of the day, communications difficulties, and the collapse terrain. - FDNY Chief of Department Daniel Nigro, Report from the Chief of Department, Fire Engineering, 9/2002
“The major concern at that time at that particular location was number Seven, building number seven, which had taken a big hit from the north tower. When it fell, it ripped steel out from between the third and sixth floors across the façade on Vesey Street. We were concerned that the fires on several floors and the missing steel would result in the building collapsing. So for the next five or six hours we kept firefighters from working anywhere near that building, which included the whole north side of the World Trade Center complex. Eventually around 5:00 or a little after, building number seven came down.” - Chief Frank Fellini
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/Fellini_Frank.txt
“And 7 World Trade was burning up at the time. We could see it. There was concern. I had gone up to take a look at it, because I knew that the telephone company building, which is 140 West Street, was next to 7 World Trade Center, and there was a concern that if 7 World Trade Center came down, what would happen to this building? We went in there, we checked it out. There were some people in there. We made them evacuate and I went in the back to see what was happening. The fire at 7 World Trade was working its way from the front of the building northbound to the back of the building. There was no way there could be water put on it, because there was no water in the area. I went back and I reminded whoever the chief was, I don’tknow if it was Chief McKavanagh or Chief Blaich, that with 7 World Trade Center in danger of collapsing, you had to be careful, because Con Edison had big transformers in the back that supplied the lower half of Manhattan. …when I was coming back somewhere around I think it was 5:00 o’clock, 6:00 o’clock, 7 World Trade Center came down.” Firefighter Eugene Kelty http://www.checktheevidence.com/911/NYT9-11AccountsAnalysis/txt/9110261.txt
“But they weren’t letting guys too close. At this point Seven World Trade Center was going heavy, and they weren’t letting anybody get too close. Everybody was expecting that to come down. We hung out for hours…I remember later on in the day it was getting close that they were more concerned about seven coming down. We had no idea what 20was going on on the east side. We were all on our side. On the west side it was pretty clear. The wind was blowing from west to east I believe. I remember later on in the day as we were waiting for seven to come down they kept backing us up Vesey, almost a full block. They were concerned about seven coming down, and they kept changing us, establishing a collapse zone and backing us up.
… The whole time while we were waiting—there were hours that went by. Seven came down after 5 in the afternoon.” - Firefighter Vincent Massa 9110222 http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110222.PDF
firemen understand there is a collapse threat under certain conditions. Firemen have known buildings can collapse due to fires. Firehouse Magazine from Sept. 1998 explained that fact clearly: "Class 1 (fire-resistive) buildings typical of high-rise construction usually are designated as having three- or four-hour fire resistance ratings. In the past, that was taken to mean that they would never be a serious collapse threat. While this is usually the case in the completed structures, it is not a guarantee, particularly in the steel-framed high-rise that relies on some type of spray-on or membrane fireproofing to protect the steel. The 1 Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia proved that these can be severe dangers under the wrong set of circumstances."
https://web.archive.org/web/19991104023940/http://www.firehouse.com/magazine/archives/1998/September/tactics.html">http://www.firehouse.com/magazine/archives/1998/September/tactics.html">https://web.archive.org/web/19991104023940/http://www.firehouse.com/magazine/archives/1998/September/tactics.html
. Fires HAVE caused steel framed buildings to collapse. The Kader toy factory fire is an example. The thing you need to understand is that people like Eric Hufschmid are just ignorant and that they didn't know what they were talking about when the declared "fires can't do that." And as I showed you, firemen know what firs can do to steel framed buildings as the Firehouse Magazine from Sept. 1998 explained. Hufschmid was just spreading ignorance as the historic example of Sherman's Neckties shows http://youtu.be/Drsgs6-3Qlg
"A number of fire officers and companies assessed the damage to the building. The appraisals indicated that the building's integrity was in serious doubt." How in the world do you continue to believe what you do given that fact? As I said, firemen know what fire can do to steel. It is unreal that this BS conspiracy crap has gone on for so long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7rj5UQvlWw
The problem is Eric Hufschmid thought he was being clever when he looked up the MELTING point of steel not realizing that the steel didn't have to melt for it to weaken. Hufschmid was just spreading ignorance as the historic example of Sherman's Neckties shows http://youtu.be/Drsgs6-3Qlg And as I told you, firemen have know that fires pose a collapse threat to these types of buildings "particularly in the steel-framed high-rise that relies on some type of spray-on or membrane fireproofing to protect the steel." as I quoted Firehouse Magazine from Sept. 1998,
And for the life of me I don't get why you guys think a building near the twin towers would also be a target. It caught on fire, due to the collapse of the towers the sprinkler system was deprived of water on several floors due to water lines being severed from the collapse of the WTC. Firemen were expecting WTC7 to collapse for goodness sakes, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf7Z_I1CAZ4 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7rj5UQvlWw
Fires did cause several floors to collapse within WTC5, so the notion that fires can't undermine the structural integrity of steel framed buildings is absurd. Or are we expected to believe that secret agents targeted 4 floors within WTC5 too? https://sites.google.com/site/911conspiracydebunked/wtc-5
WTC7 was just building near the targeted towers, it doesn't make sense to think that someone target building 7. Stubborning clinging to the ignorant notion that "fires couldn't do that" (in spite of the fact that firemen have written about the collapse threat given the very same spray on fireproofing: "Class 1 (fire-resistive) buildings typical of high-rise construction usually are designated as having three- or four-hour fire resistance ratings. In the past, that was taken to mean that they would never be a serious collapse threat. While this is usually the case in the completed structures, it is not a guarantee, particularly in the steel-framed high-rise that relies on some type of spray-on or membrane fireproofing to protect the steel. The 1 Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia proved that these can be severe dangers under the wrong set of circumstances." )
the so called truthers have rationalized WTC7, a building that was just near the targeted towers, as a target itself! That doesn't even make sense. http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2013/10/bob-building-7-was-just-building-near.html
The mastermind of the 9/11 attacks has explained why the twin towers were targeted: "Sheikh Mohammed said that the purpose of the attack on the Twin Towers was to "wake the American people up." Sheikh Mohammed said that if the target would have been strictly military or government, the American people would not focus on the atrocities that America is committing by supporting Israel against the Palestinian people and America's self-serving foreign policy that corrupts Arab governments and leads to further exploitation of the Arab/Muslim peoples."
http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-911-misdirection-away-from-why-and.html
Posted by: Tom Murphy | Jan 2 2016 1:19 utc | 62
@42
Every outlet has its own agenda...as it should. Keeping an eye on a range of sources is perhaps the best way to sort the bullshit. And, when returning to traditional western MSM sites and channels, its never so much what's reported being twisted...it's that it's not reported at all. The non issue. The Media Blackout. Taking a position on something is always preferable to non existence.
Posted by: MadMax2 | Jan 2 2016 1:43 utc | 63
@ #12
Take your PC BS and put it where the sun don't shine.
Retarded is a good word until the PC Nazis like you started stigmatizing its use along with
many other good words...
Retard...
Posted by: erik | Jan 2 2016 2:34 utc | 64
wrt: Tom Murphy | Jan 1, 2016 8:19:40 PM | 62
I don't believe this idea that the buildings in New York were taken down by planes. You almost have to be nuts to think that today. These buildings were taken down by explosives. Buildings 1 and 2 went top-down, number 7 went straight down.
I don't care how much wall-of-text you put up.
Posted by: blues | Jan 2 2016 2:43 utc | 65
actually it would be an act of kindness or civility to not put up a WALL OF TEXT, but apparently that's too much to expect from some. telling them is unlikely to make any difference either.. i just skip over posts like that myself.. it is like someone screaming with block text.. of course mentioning this is like giving a little kid firecrackers.. they get excited at the thought..
Posted by: james | Jan 2 2016 2:51 utc | 66
This comment format sucks..
The empire doesn't want peace, peace isn't profitable.
Confrontation with Iran will be maintained at all costs.
Posted by: ben | Jan 2 2016 2:56 utc | 67
Several reasons for the US to continue the sanctions game against Iran, but the overall rationale is to avoid even a semblance of "normalization" in the US-Iran relations. The neo-con-zio-nazis inside the administration have a clear goal in mind, that is to block at all cost any rapprochement from this administration toward Iran that could become part of Obama's "legacy," as it happened with Cuba.
Therefore, they will launch this sanctions "trial balloons" now and then, intended to keep Iran on its toes, changing the goals posts at whim, hoping to get Iran off balance and/or creating momentum for sanctions inside the administration. Problem for the neo-con-nazis is Iran has already taken their measure/read their game plan, and Iran's new position as a Russian ally, S-300s and all, makes Iran very aware of its newly gained power to allow for any threats, sanctions or otherwise, to have any effect on their geopolitical standing.
The new threat on sanctions bluffing comes right before preparations to lift sanctions on Iran under the nuclear agreement negotiated by the P5+1, which Iran is fulfilling as b pointed out above. The refusal to let Iran off the hook has many interests behind, among them the "Axis of Evil" (Ankara, Jerusalem and Riyadh), or the "Pentagram of Evil" (US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and Qatar), as per D@3 the former, and Anunnaki@10 the latter.
Iran has had plenty of time living under sanctions to plan their future strategic goals for the next 50 years or so, and the lifting of sanctions would turn Iran into an economic powerhouse in the region, a development Iran's enemies would like to block by any means necessary. Unfortunately for them, it is too late for their game plan to have any success. Iran got from under their "Bomb Iran!" claws thanks to their old Persian wisdom, with a little help from their friends, Russia and China, and the vested interest of some members of the P5+1, i.e. Germany, France, and the UK to a lesser degree.
Germany was Iran's biggest trading partner pre-sanctions, and France is looking forward to return and take a piece of the $185 billion dollars oil and gas business plan Iran is hoping to develop by 2022. European companies are hovering over Iran's post-sanction period like birds of prey; however, and unfortunately for US companies, thanks to the neo-con-zio-nazis all-or-nothing militaristic policies, doing business with Iran will not be possible for the time being.
The administration "reversal" on the threat of US sanctions is only temporary, we will hear more about sanctions from the whorehouse (US Congress) during all of January, and from the usual suspects inside the administration whose job is to keep the pressure on Iran, and to spoil any attempts at normalizing relations. It will be too little too late, strategically they have been defeated, and Iran is more than ready to fly into the future as a new power in the Eurasian giant marketplace, and as one of the main stations of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the Chinese "One Road, One Belt" project.
Bye-bye, neo-con-zio-nazis, you're ready for the trash heap of history.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 4:44 utc | 68
@b
Unfortunately there is little hop that the next administration will be any better.
b, I assume you intended to say "little hope" instead of "little hop," and you might want to add the "e" to "hop" to avoid confusions for non-native English readers, who might read it literally and think you're talking about a "little jump" instead of "little hope."
Thanks for your insights, as always.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 4:56 utc | 69
@65 What the heck would be the point of "tricking" the public into thinking that WTC SEVEN collapse due to fires late in the afternoon of 9/11? You guys have no sense and if you would read what I posted you will see how absurd your theory is.
Posted by: Tom Murphy | Jan 2 2016 5:16 utc | 70
@66 posting detailed information is "uncivil" and "unkind"?! It wasn't a "scream" and the first word in it is "please." Apparently you don't mind the irrational and destructive conspiracies which serve to misdirect many people from WHY we are getting attacked.
http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-911-misdirection-away-from-why-and.html
Posted by: Tom Murphy | Jan 2 2016 5:21 utc | 71
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 1, 2016 11:56:59 PM | 69
Couldn't the missing 'e' be a wry reminder that a 'little hop' falls a long way short of a Giant Leap (for Mankind)?
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jan 2 2016 6:13 utc | 74
@43 ToivoS 'Most of the crisis could have been averted if Obama had quickly fired those two.'
It was apparent to me when the noeocons put Rahm Emmanuel in as Obama's minder that part of his contract was that he did not have the power over personnel in 'his' administration. He's played whatever hand he's been dealt ever since, waiting for payday.
It is the case that Obama is POTUS ... but he took the dive from the getgo. And he's 'honest' ... those he's paid to betray stay betrayed, 'til the contract expires. On payday.
Posted by: jfl | Jan 2 2016 7:17 utc | 75
@42 @45
I dont know which is more reprehensible, denouncing RT in the face of the US mainstream media or linking to politico ...
And neither one of you produced the link.
Posted by: jfl | Jan 2 2016 7:24 utc | 76
War-Crazed Western Propaganda Machine Rages at Its Growing Insignificance (Russia-Insider, original source CounterPunch)In the Anglo-American corridors of power (also called the Atlantic Alliance), such views are seen to be the result of diabolical propaganda spread through the Internet by Russia’s “secret army.” On April 15, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Ed Royce (R-Calif.), held a hearing entitled “Confronting Russia’s Weaponization of Information,” with Royce claiming that Russian propaganda threatens “to destabilize NATO members, impacting our security commitments.” [3]
The Committee heard from three witnesses: Elizabeth Wahl, former anchor for the news agency Russia Today (RT) who gained her moment of fame by resigning on camera in March 2014; Peter Pomerantsev, Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute * (a right-wing UK think-tank); and Helle C. Dale, Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy at The Heritage Foundation, a right-wing U.S. think-tank. [4] The Foreign Affairs Committee website contains video clips of the first two witnesses – well worth watching if you enjoy Orwellian rhetoric passionately delivered.
The day before the hearing, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Royce wrote, “Vladimir Putin has a secret army. It’s an army of thousands of ‘trolls’" ....
* Anne Applebaum is employed by Legatum Institute, she expected to become Poland's first lady partnering with Radek Sikorski (ex-CIA/MI6, 'journalist' in Angola and Afghanistan, former British citizen, etc.)
○ Cold War Rage Implementing Intelligence, PsyOps, Internet Troops
○ US Policy of Military 'Re-alignment' and Obama's Military Think-tank
A few thoughts in the new year (only marginally off-topic). The reason US maintains full support od KSA is not - as many keep saying - access to cheap oil;
it is much more the agreement to keep selling oil in US dollars, maintaining the reserve currency status of the dollar; without that, US economy could crumble.
If that is indeed the case, then KSA will get away with... whatever.
This article - http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/01/back-to-the-1930s-hitler-daesh-and-the-west/ - recounts a lot of historical truth (and yes, it was originally from RT).
(There is a parallel here - Russia defeated Napoleon, chasing him all the way to Paris, but GB took the glory after undoing the much weakened dictator at Waterloo.)
For those interested in history, Ibis Trilogy (A. Ghosh) talks about the Opium wars, and the author says there are uncanny similarities to the Iraq war.
Looks like the west never learns...
Posted by: GoraDiva | Jan 2 2016 7:59 utc | 79
May be they watched a Hollywood movie or two recently from 1956, and 2010 and decided to formulate policies around the Persia subject? As low brow crass ass as that.
@79 GD
Back to the 1930s – Hitler, Da'esh and the West
Whilst Da'esh [Islamic State] is constantly being compared to the Nazis, the real parallel – the West’s willingness to build up fascism in order to cripple Russia – is often forgotten.
The US/NATO's main man in the region seems well aware of the parallels when speaking about the benefits of his proposed constitutional changes ...
Erdogan’s Hitler comments create uproar in Turkey
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday evening, Erdogan was asked whether a presidential system can be adopted while keeping the country’s unitary structure.“When we look [at other countries], we see that it is possible. You can see this when you look at Hitler’s Germany and other countries,” he answered.
And what goes around, comes around ... Israel is banning books 'promoting' racial miscegnation ...
Israel Bans Arab-Jewish Romance Novel in Schools Over Fears of Race-Mixing
In a move one might expect from an Education Minister who’s said such things as “when Palestinians were climbing trees, we already had a Jewish state” and “I’ve killed lots of Arabs in my life, and there’s no problem with that,” Israel has banned an Arab-Jewish romance novel from schools for “threatening Jewish identity.”Or put more simply, it banned the book over fears that it encourages race-mixing.
No Mischlinge wanted in Israel, and 'strong leaders', racially pure Jewish and salafist Muslim, wanted in Israel and Turkey respectively. Russia has her work cut out for her, again.
Posted by: jfl | Jan 2 2016 11:24 utc | 81
@ Tom Murphy | Jan 1, 2016 8:19:40 PM | 62
A quiet 'Thank you' for your efforts to inform but falling on blocked eyes and ears as evidenced in subsequent commentariat. I recall RTE (Ireland)
broadcasting the following day (9/12) radio transmissions of the fire department from about noon 9/11 that they were withdrawing personnel from
WTC-7 as the building was audibly groaning indicating serious structural abnormalities going on. Gravity gives any assertion deviating from vertical
collapse as much meaning as a red herring.
As subsequent commentariat show, belief marks the doorways where rational thought and intelligent communication have ceased to exist, knowledge
an unwelcome guest; ignorance is the master under that roof. For what little my opinion carries these parts, I appreciate and applaud your efforts -
Thanks again.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jan 2 2016 11:33 utc | 82
Unfortunately, Trump is not only hated by the establishment and by the MSM, but also by most left-wing sympathizers.
Posted by: From The Hague | Jan 1, 2016 10:42:26 AM | 13
In my opinion Trump is a blowhard who occasionally voices something sensible, but some stuff was absolutely toxic, most notably, "Mexican rapist, some of whom are surely good people", the totally ban foreign Muslim from entering USA, and quite notably, to censor the internet like they do it in China, Iran etc. (although he would ask Bill Gates for advise). So, without hate and sadly, I would rather have Hillary or Sanders, whichever comes first. That said, I appreciated that he distanced himself from demanding Assad removal, from confronting Russia as an enemy, and observed that US economy needs some degree of protectionism. But overall, he is the type of egomaniac who hardly cares what he says, so it is hard to treat those nuggets seriously. Still, GOP field number two, Cruz, proposes to "bomb until the sand glows", the top establishment candidate, Rubio, regurgitates neocon points, former top candidate, Carson, is amiably insane, "Joseph stored grain in pyramids".
By the way of difference, Bernie Sanders said few things that were absolutely chilling to me, "We should give a larger role to our regional allies like Saudi Arabia", but in the larger context, he is mostly harmless, unlike Trump. And Hillary is like Obama, moderate mayhem which is at least rather predictable. Still, sad that in US politics she is attacked for a rather meaningless e-mail issues and not for "We Came, We Saw, He Died!"
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 2 2016 12:24 utc | 83
The Russian-born British author Peter Pomerantsev served his Republican-led audience a piping hot serving of neocon alarmism. Quoting "the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Philip M. Breedlove," Pomerantsev described Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea as “the most amazing information warfare blitzkrieg we have ever seen in the history of information warfare."
Opening statement [pdf] before a US Congressional Committee hearing titled "Confronting Russia's Weaponization of Information."
Peter Pomerantsev writes for the anti-Russian propaganda site The Interpreter.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 2, 2016 7:24:38 AM | 83
If it's between HRC and Donald Trump, on foreign policy I know what Hillary is capable of, I would prefer to take a chance with the Trump. All are very poor choices.
@Hoarsewhisperer@74
Couldn't the missing 'e' be a wry reminder that a 'little hop' falls a long way short of a Giant Leap (for Mankind)?
Very nice of you to be always "hop(e)ful." :-)
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 14:12 utc | 86
@Hoarsewhisperer@74
Couldn't the missing 'e' be a wry reminder that a 'little hop' falls a long way short of a Giant Leap (for Mankind)?
Very nice of you to be always "hop(e)ful."
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 14:20 utc | 87
Erdogan's mask comes off, his true leanings explained, and A Great Deal Becomes Clear – Russian Foreign Ministry on Erdogan’s Comments
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s words about the efficiency of the German presidential system under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, saying that “a great deal now becomes clear, in fact.”“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler was an example of an efficient presidential system, according to Reuters. A great deal now becomes clear, in fact,” said Maria Zakharova on her page in Facebook [...]
-------------------------------------
Erdogan may be very happy, getting ready to order the whole new republication of "Mein Kampf" to educate the Turkish masses about "the efficiency of the German presidential system under the leadership of Adolf Hitler."
It’s Official: Germany Prints New Edition of Mein Kampf, Sells Next Week
A Munich-based publisher, The Institute for Contemporary History, is republishing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s semi-autobiographical book “Mein Kampf” in Germany, with a $63 retail price, starting next week.According to the publisher, the book explains "lies, half-truths and vicious tirades," behind Hitler's Nazi racist hostility that led to tens of millions of deaths in World War II. At the end of the war, the copyright for the book was transferred by the Allies to German Bavaria [...]
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 15:00 utc | 88
13;Screw ideology,and the alleged leftists you say who don't support Trump,who are they gonna call,BS,and his Israeli bona fides to get US out of this disaster of Zioneocapitalism and the search for more shekels?
Todays lying times and wapoo say Trump is responsible for jihadism!They posted his speech,IsUS,as a propaganda call.This from the Ziomonsters behind the whole shebang.
Mein gott!
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 2 2016 15:05 utc | 89
38;FF,can you tell US exactly which MSM GE controls?I believe they uses to own NBC,partly,but I believe they sold it to Comcast,a Zio org. a few years ago.
The MSM is majority Zionist controlled,with some oligarchial tithing.
As a cancer patient myself,I know about all those GE scan machines.I thought that it was about time GE helped US.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 2 2016 15:18 utc | 90
I also thank Tom Murphy. It is a pity
the thread has expanded to make it
difficult to read your post as it is well
worth reading.
Posted by: juliania | Jan 2 2016 15:33 utc | 91
@89 Isn't it all done through advertising and sponsorship?
Posted by: dh | Jan 2 2016 15:38 utc | 92
65;Yes,I'm with you.If any of those buildings hadn't fallen on their own footprint(impossibility?)I might be disinclined.
CP;Yeah,occasionally some good stuff,but too many commies.
Anyone know whats up with the Graun?I can't access it,not that it matters much,as its collapsed into Ziobs.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 2 2016 15:44 utc | 93
Andre Vitchek has a good piece up at Global Research 'Syria is Middle East's Stalingrad' on the Syrian peoples fight against the West and its lackeys in Turkey, GCC and Israel. In reply to a question from his editor on why don't the Syrians just give in to the forces ranged against them he said..
“Life has meaning, it is worth living, only if some basic conditions can be fulfilled. One does not betray great love, be it love for another person or love for one’s country, humanity or ideals. If one does, it would be better not to be born at all. http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-is-the-middle-easts-stalingrad/5498872
Posted by: harry law | Jan 2 2016 15:52 utc | 94
83;Your words for Shillary means one won't read your posts ever again.Sheesh.
She is the postergirl of the apocalypse.
The public fooled by 7?The public were fooled by the whole event.And KSM,its alleged he's the planner,but its also alleged that OBL did it,Atta and whomever.KSM wasn't even in Al Qaeda.
Trump picks Bolton,he's toast.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 2 2016 15:57 utc | 95
Turkey-Ukraine nazi-fascist axis intermarium...which Poland is getting ready to join.
Nationalists March in Kiev to Mark Birthday of Fascist Collaborator
Some 500 people carrying about 100 torches and Bandera's portraits marched through the streets of Ukraine's capital in honor of 107th anniversary of Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera's birthday, according to local media.KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukrainian nationalists marched on Friday through the streets of Kiev carrying torches to mark the birthday of Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II, local media reported.
Some 500 people carrying about 100 torches and Bandera's portraits marched through the streets of Ukraine's capital in honor of 107th anniversary of nationalist leader's birth, according to Kiev Segodnya news website.
The website reported that there were a significant number of law enforcement officials in line of procession's way to guarantee civil order.
Similar marches or meetings took place in a number of Ukrainian cities, including Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk.
Ukraine’s pro-fascist political factions have associated themselves with late Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, who used to collaborate with Nazi Germany during World War II and was responsible for numerous atrocities against civilians as a leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), whose activities are prohibited in Russia.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 16:03 utc | 96
TM;Doesn't the firefighter community have a lot of emotion tied to 9-11?Wouldn't any info from them be tainted by what they lost that day?Buildings brought down by their own govt(one goddamn way or another)that ended up with dead firefighters might be catastrophic news to Americans.
I trust no one but my eyes.
Posted by: dahoit | Jan 2 2016 16:06 utc | 97
Addendum to Lone Wolf@95
The futile -and naive debate about who will be lesser of two evils in the US "presidential" circus, makes no sense at all when the path to follow by any clown, repugnazi or demofascist, will be defined by the US National Security Strategy and the The John Hay Initiative, with the new figurehead ready at hand to pretend some "leadership" and justify the aggressive, destructive policies of the already in place neo-con-zio-nazis and the establishment's Deep State.
Poland Turns Away from Europe, Squints Across the Atlantic
[...] “They follow an old idea, which goes back to the time of the legendary Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski after the First World War, the so-called ‘Intermarium’ concept, which originated in the aim to prevent an alliance between Germany and Russia by drawing a strong belt across Eastern Europe.”“In this case, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria belong in the envisaged belt. Further components which should be joined to the belt in order to encircle Russia in the West are Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia.”
“Ukraine should also be included in the Intermarium – but without its East.”
“The Intermarium is supposed to prevent a dominant Russia and a dominant Germany, as well as a combination of the two. This in turn is precisely the foreign policy doctrine of the US military, whose main goal is the prevention of an axis between Russia and Germany,” a doctrine which provides the background for sanctions against Russia.
“The PiS can, with a new form of the Intermarium concept, achieve [a second objective] – it can emancipate itself from Brussels,” wrote DWN, pointing to further disagreements with the EU during negotiations over Europe’s refugee crisis, when Warsaw refused EU quotas and requested to take only Christian refugees, not Muslims.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Jan 2 2016 16:50 utc | 98
The execution of al-Nimr is going to be a big thing, I think. Dangerous for the Saudi regime. It may concentrate Shi'a resistance in Saudi and Bahrain. There's a danger of another front in the Saudi-Shi'a war.
Posted by: Laguerre | Jan 2 2016 17:00 utc | 99
Young Syrian 'moderates' in training . . . please alert Ms. Rice.
"Uzbek group in Syria trains children for jihad"
"The Imam Bukhari Jamaat is a predominately Uzbek group which is allied to al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, the Al Nusrah Front. The Jamaat has fought alongside Al Nusrah and other jihadist groups during many of the major battles in the northwestern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib and most recently fought alongside Al Nusrah’s Uzbek battalion, the Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, in Bashkuy in northern Aleppo."
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/12/uzbek-group-in-syria-trains-children-for-jihad.php
Posted by: D | Jan 2 2016 17:12 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Hillary Clinton will be president till 2024, so, no.
Posted by: Alexander Grimsmo | Jan 1 2016 13:46 utc | 1