NYT Finds "Hidden Hand" In War On Yemen
Yesterday the U.S. openly attacked Yemen by firing cruise missiles against old Yemeni radar stations. This, allegedly, in response to four missiles fired on two days against a U.S. destroyer at the Yemeni coast. The U.S. Navy said the missiles fell short. They were unable to reach the ship. No one but the navy, especially no one in Yemen, has seen or reported any such missile launches - short or long.
The U.S. is in alliance with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries in bombing Yemen for 18 month now. They totally blockade the coast of the country that depends on imports of food and medicines. The actively fighting countries are heavily supported by the U.S. military. This has been widely admitted by U.S. officials and in military reports. The U.S. government even feared of being help legally responsible for the carnage it causes.
But since the launch of the cruise missile U.S. media have totally forgotten all of this. Now the U.S. "has been attacked", without any recognizable reason, and is only "defending" itself. No legal consequences are to fear now. Anyone who believes that the U.S. is somehow responsible for the at least 10,000 dead and the many starving people in Yemen must somehow believe in a mysterious conspiracy.
Just consider this New York Times headline, from today, after the U.S. attack on Yemen.
Yemen Sees U.S. Strikes as Evidence of Hidden Hand Behind Saudi Air War.
The NYT tweeted the piece with this text:
New York Times World @nytimesworld
For the U.S., it was retaliation; for Yemen's Houthi rebels, it confirmed a long-held belief nyti.ms/2e9mKyb
6:30 PM - 13 Oct 2016
Wow. The Houthi rebels "believe" in a "hidden hand". Must be crazy people. They unreasonably attacked. And they deserve such strikes.
The NYT piece reads:
WASHINGTON — For the United States, it was simple retaliation: Rebels in Yemen had fired missiles at an American warship twice in four days, and so the United States hit back, destroying rebel radar facilities with missiles.But for the rebels and many others in Yemen, the predawn strikes on Thursday were just the first public evidence of what they have long believed: that the United States has been waging an extended campaign in the country, the hidden hand behind Saudi Arabia’s punishing air war.
How could the Houthis come to "believe" of such a "hidden hand"? Was it really because the strike was the "first public evidence"? Or was it because the NYT and all other media reported many times over that the U.S. actively supports the Saudi attacks? Did the Houthi probably read yesterday's NYT piece on Yemen written by the very same main authors?
Up to now, the Obama administration put limits on its support for the Saudi-led coalition, providing intelligence and Air Force tankers to refuel the coalition’s jets and bombers. The American military has refueled more than 5,700 aircraft involved in the bombing campaign since it began, according to statistics provided by United States Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East.
So the "first evidence" of the "hidden hand" were, unlike the NYT today claims, not yesterdays strikes but official reports on the public CentCom website? Maybe frequent discussions of the war on Yemen the U.S. Congress held since a year ago also count as evidence? Various public reports over the last 18 month detailing the enormous amount of ammunition the U.S. openly sells to the Saudis were also just sightings of "hidden" hands?
Such reporting as in today's NYT is just laughable. It flies in face of all reports of the last 18 month as well as extensive evidence given by the U.S. and other governments. The strikes on the radar sites were just "retaliation". They have no larger context. This is a typical reflection of the U.S. myth of "immaculate conception" of U.S. foreign policy. According to that believe the U.S. always only reacts to being "attacked" or "threatened" for completely incomprehensible reasons when it bombs this or that country and kills thousands or even millions of foreign people.
That is even more evident in the reports by CNN and others. These reports only mention the 18 month of extensive U.S. support for the Saudi campaign down in the middle to end of their pieces. For any but a thorough reader the alleged "missile attacks" and all Yemeni enmity against the U.s. has no history at all. It comes from unreasonable and hostile people who willfully misunderstand U.S. well-meaning.
Thus no U.S. attack is ever unjustified or just a cruel continuation of decades of U.S. insidiousness, hostility and greed. It is always the other side that initiates the fight.
It is easy for the U.S. government propaganda to make such false claims. And U.S. media don't report such but perpetrate anticipatory stenography. They write what the U.S. government wants and U.S. imperialism demands even when not directly ordered to. That is no longer astonishing.
Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest.
Posted by b on October 14, 2016 at 10:17 UTC | Permalink
next page »....It is always the other side that initiates the fight... If none US can always create one just like they did in Allepo, Gulf of Tonkin, Iraq, blah, blah..
America exceptional nation and above the laws
Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 14 2016 11:37 utc | 2
I worked in the desert of Saudi Arabia near the Yemenese border almost 40 years ago.
In the middle of nowhere near Wadi Dawasir.
We built the 1 st sucessful experimental farming research station there.
One day, from nowhere came a black US Army Sargent driving a army jeep to our camp for a visit.
What the hell are you doin' here we asked?
He told us a special bunker system was being built nearby....turned out to be for a strategic missile defense facility.
Just a 'neighborly visit' it was.
Anyway, my point is, the US Military has been working intensively with the Saudis for a very very long time.
Don't believe anything otherwise.
Posted by: XuscitizenSweden | Oct 14 2016 12:29 utc | 3
b, 'Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest.'
Just reading Frances Stonor Saunders' The cultural cold war : the CIA and the world of arts and letters. It traces the 'kinder', 'gentler', Dr. Jekyll side of Mr Hyde : the death, devastation, destruction, and deceit Company. The part that lulls us Americans and Europeans to sleep, while visions of sugar plums dance in our heads.
Posted by: jfl | Oct 14 2016 13:06 utc | 5
Re: Posted by: lemur | Oct 14, 2016 8:45:30 AM | 4
Might be less dangerous to go the dragging Iran into conflict route than go the dragging the Russians into conflict in Syria route.
Open up another front, what do Russia & China do if the next step is ratcheting up tension with Iran, rather than something on the Syrian or Ukrainian front?
What do you think Iran do if one or both of these Iranian ships is put under attack and/or sunk?
Much of What You Think You Know About the Yemen War … Is Wrong
Let’s cut through the misinformation
From what I've read from Nafeez Ahmed, the civil war was set up by the US, KSA, UAE, etc. by giving military aid to the Houthis. I've noticed they've done this in other countries, such as Somalia, Mexico, etc., where they flood the country with weapons and let the violence spin out of control.
Posted by: Les | Oct 14 2016 13:32 utc | 7
Typical M O for the Empire of Lies and Satanic Worship. However, it is really the democracy loving peoples of the empire's homeland in western environs that they truly see as their biggest problem. That is you and me gentile reader.....
b-You write: " Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest."
The "astonishment" phase should be well over by now, b. Since the assassination years here (the JFK coup and subsequent murders meant to protect that coup) the controllers have gradually moved to more...discreet...actions. Now it's all about media assassination and its concomitant disinfo fed to the vast majority of the population. Is that "astonishing?" I think not, myself. All human control mechanisms throughout history have dealt in disinformation one way or another....religious disinfo, racial/cultural superiority disinfo, whatever. The U.S. is no different.
Does this excuse the controllers?
No.
They need no excuses. They have power. The ultimate excuse.
This too shall pass.
Watch.
Sooner rather than later, I think.
When the seams begin to shred on the control mechanism as seriously as they are now shredding...witness the relatively successful candidacies of Sanders and Trump, the successes of which were largely due to the whole Assange/Snowden leaks affair...it's about that time. Time to start listening for the singing of the fat lady.
Before HRC's 1st term ends, I'm thinking.
Watch.
S.
Posted by: Arthur Gilroy | Oct 14 2016 14:01 utc | 9
b, 'Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest.'
It's not that Americans believe it, they don't know anything about it. Those living outside the U.S. have no idea how thick the fog is here. News black out and shell-shock. Repeat: Americans know nothing about it.
Most people is the U.S. are uninformed, uneducated, apathetic and isolated. And blind people -- all people, not just Americans -- are easy to herd. My disappointment is with the French, Germans, Italians, Greeks and the other allies. Why are they silent? Historically they have shown themselves to be less manageable. What's going on?
Posted by: Ken Nari | Oct 14 2016 14:08 utc | 10
War in Yemen will destroy Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is destitute with oil price at present level (or even at 10 to 20 dollars higher), yet forced to buy western weapons at huge markup (standard practice when selling to Gulf Arabs).
It's not inconceivable that within a year it will start losing territory to Yemenis.
Posted by: telescope | Oct 14 2016 14:09 utc | 11
The strikes on the radar sites were just "retaliation". They have no larger context.
But, of course, they do. It is the same as "Russia is in decline" mantra--it has to be repeated constantly to be believed. In reality, this whole made-up story about ASMs fired at US ships is just another salvo in propaganda war: namely to remind Russia (but primarily themselves) that US still has stand-off weapons and is ready to use them. It is also a hint (however crude) at capabilities of SPY-1 radar and AEGIS. That is why there are so few details on that. But then again, early this year Raytheon announced that air-defense SM-6 missile "remade" into anti-shipping missile sunk USS Reuben James. Obviously, no video of this alleged sinking ever surfaced and, probably, never will since this is not what happened. But all this urgent "remaking" of SM-6 into something which it is not took place exactly in the time of Russian Navy's open demonstration of its cruise and AS missiles technology and revealing real ranges of 3M54. Knee jerk reaction, that is what this is all about, apart from the obvious fact that KSA pretty much owns D.C. In the end, in all that, by numbers:
1. Penis measuring contest with Russia in the ME: 55-65%
2. Supporting US "ally" KSA: 45-35%
Something like that.
Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Oct 14 2016 14:09 utc | 12
"Thus no U.S. attack is ever unjustified or just a cruel continuation of decades of U.S. insidiousness, hostility and greed. It is always the other side that initiates the fight."
That quote goes back as far as the Pilgrim/Puritans and Cap'n John Smith ... it is the basis of the mythhistory of the US, a settler nation that destroyed the indigenous, and continues to do so. What amazes me is that we DuhMurderiKKKans refuse to acknowledge our rapacious greed.
Posted by: rg the lg | Oct 14 2016 14:34 utc | 13
From NYT “In Yemen, this is seen as a U.S. bombing campaign,” said Senator Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat and critic of the war who led an effort in the Senate last month to block a $1.15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Senator Murphy said that the White House should use its leverage over the Saudis, and use the threat of dialing back some of this support to try to rein in a campaign that has been widely condemned as reckless.
“The Saudis have to know that they can’t conduct this campaign without U.S. support,” he said.
Posted by: okie farmer | Oct 14 2016 14:35 utc | 14
@9 Excellent question. I can excuse older Europeans not wanting to face the water cannons. Younger people, the ones that care, probably exercise their frustrations on twitter.
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 14:43 utc | 15
AP
~~~
A STALLED OFFENSIVE
Since launching its campaign, the Saudi-led coalition retook the port city of Aden and lands in southern Yemen. However, Sanaa and the Houthi heartland of northern Yemen remain held by the rebels. A ground offensive to retake the capital, which likely would involve street-by-street fighting and heavy casualties, appears unlikely. Instead, the Saudi-led campaign has relied on airstrikes. Those airstrikes, however, have proven deadly for civilians. A United Nations report said coalition airstrikes were responsible for 60 percent of civilian deaths over a yearlong span starting in July 2015.
Posted by: okie farmer | Oct 14 2016 14:47 utc | 16
Can't argue with success...what worked in the Gulf of Tonkin 50 years ago will surely work today...particularly since most people have no memory at all of the pointless and futile Vietnam War...and couldn't identify Vietnam on a map...
Posted by: JohnH | Oct 14 2016 14:48 utc | 17
The Guardian
Houthi rebels in Yemen have denied firing at an American destroyer in international waters after the US retaliated by launching missiles at three radar sites inside the country, in Washington’s first direct intervention in the bruising conflict.
The US, along with the UK, are the main backers of Saudi Arabia, which has led a coalition to reinstate the exiled president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and counter the advances of Iran-backed Houthi fighters, who control the capital, Sana’a, and large swaths of territory.
On Thursday the US entered the war directly when five Tomahawk cruise missiles destroyed three mobile radar sites inside Houthi-controlled coastal territories.
Posted by: okie farmer | Oct 14 2016 15:17 utc | 18
1) Not sure whether this has been posted yet:
Ehsani on how the Syrian crisis will (not) end
What the above leaves us with is the hard truth that only the battlefield will decide the next phase of this crisis. This means that the war is likely to continue. The armed groups and their supporters are unlikely to give up the fight. The same is true of Assad and his backers. No one will be able to stop this war until one side begins to collapse or loses enough to bring the fight near to its conclusion. Sadly, when this point of inequality between the opposing sides is reached, the loser will have little to gain from negotiating. Until this scenario becomes the accepted wisdom, we are likely to read the inevitable daily op-eds and opinion pieces that decry the unfolding tragedy and demand that the United States escalate its military intervention.
http://www.joshualandis.com/blog/will-syrian-crisis-end-ehsani2/
2) In case anyone is still looking at what happened to the UN convoy, here is some footage from OGN. They try to argue for the "Russia did it" line, but are disproven by their own video (the hole in the ceiling).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgtJI-Tf45A
3) Again rumours about negotations for evacuation of East Aleppo
https://twitter.com/VanessaBeeley/status/786896456691118080
If followed through, it will be an interesting time on the propaganda front:
how many Nusra fighters shall we see? how many shaved beards? how many real civilians? what about the White Helmets? and what about the possibility that some Western spec ops get caught?
Meanwhile here´s a gif that shows the advances of the SAA from Oct. 1-10
http://i.imgur.com/7WtTQ1q.gif
Posted by: Qoppa | Oct 14 2016 15:21 utc | 19
The US is under attack...Time for this Hermann Goring quote..
“Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or fascist dictorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peace makers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
Posted by: harrylaw | Oct 14 2016 15:36 utc | 20
This 'retaliation' fairytale can be safely attributed to the fact that Russia has called the Yankee's bluff in Syria and China has called their bluff in the South China Sea. And being a chickenshit SuperPower, they have to be very careful not to put a foot wrong in either place.
They've become so accustomed to getting away with perpetrating cowardly shit that they're pretending not to notice that that particular 'window' is closing faster than they're ready to admit. And acting tough (from a safe distance) in Yemen sure beats the be-Jesus out of risking a fight with Russia and/or China because with Russia/China there is no safe distance.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 14 2016 15:44 utc | 21
..what worked in the Gulf of Tonkin 50 years ago will surely work today...particularly since most people have no memory at all of the pointless and futile Vietnam War…
Not exactly. It used to be that the gold standard of the "truth" for the bulk of citizenry was so-called "bipartisan consensus". However, there is an increasing distrust of that consensus. In particular, more than 40% of Democratic primary votes went for Sanders, and a similar percentage of Republicans voted for Trump, and the dustrust of "bipartisan consensus" is a common denominator here. Thus if the public hears about some s…t here and there, 40% does not think "if that were wrong, one or the other party would raise the issue, and they did not, so I may sleep restfully". Thus even if 90+ percent are in "What is aleppo" mode on Iraq, NYT explains something on the principle "an ounce of prevention saves a pound of cure".
I read that Trump very heavily dented the negative ratings of Putin among the Republicans. The left is not affected. Sanders basically skipped foreign affairs in his campaign. However, the rot seeps in, perhaps from UK.
I would be curious about result of the following poll that nobody commissioned yet.
"In selecting a foreign policy option it is important to consider how does it affect other countries. Suppose that an issue can be a addressed with policy A and policy B. A would make Russia happy, and B would make Saudi Arabia happy. Would you advocate A, B or Undecided?
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Oct 14 2016 15:45 utc | 22
Ken Nari | Oct 14, 2016 10:08:05 AM | 9
My disappointment is with the French, Germans, Italians, Greeks and the other allies. Why are they silent? Historically they have shown themselves to be less manageable. What's going on?
Well, official reactions and MSM reporting do certainly NOT reflect the public opinion.
I can only speak about the German side. The MSM follow quite religiously what is told by "Washington". Even the better ones often only "translate" what they read in WashPo and NYT into a German context, whenever ideologically sensitive areas are concerned (huuuh, the Russians!).
However, public opinion appears to be split on whether following the Nato course or rather being fed up by Russiaphobia. It is notable that more and more people look for alternative sources on the internet and realise the propaganda for what it is. Just go and look at the comment sections of FAZ or Zeit Online (which are both strongly pro-American/Nato). Though commenting on Syria and Ukraine is heavily moderated or restricted, you will find that 70-80% of commenters do not buy the official line (often some commenters will rip the article they comment on to pieces).
The defining moment in German public opinion was the completely one-sided presentation of the Maidan/Ukraine events. Since then, trust in MSM has gone down dramatically.
Posted by: Qoppa | Oct 14 2016 15:49 utc | 23
I really don't believe the 'most Americans' statements. The part about not having the information provided to us is very true - there are presently no reliable sources, none. Even the internet is tinged with political suggestiveness. Americans, whether they know it or not, have been effectively hamstrung. The electoral system is shot full of holes; the candidates are bogus or ignored; livelihoods are under constant threat of imminent destruction; no one except the idle rich are sitting on their keisters happily munching fritos and watching soap operas; and everyone - everyone! - knows the state of Denmark is rotten to the core. Protest? Got any suggestions how that would really, really cause a blip on the radar? Protests are going on, incidentally, all the time - against police brutality, against pipelines, against even these stupid (Jill Stein excepted) political candidates. And if even she can't get heard, cant even be noticed on MoA officially speaking, what hope is there for us peons?
Still, we keep on trying. And yes, it is awful that our government is directly supporting the Saudi Arabia campaign in Yemen. I particularly feel this to be horrible, as my daughter back in the day made hospital friends in Yemen when she was teaching burn therapy. They are lovely people, and the children are darling. Has to be a quid pro quo and to the benefit of the crazies in charge that we supply everything connected with oil flow to them instead of directing our 'energies' (I use the term advisedly) towards people-empowering alternatives to fossil fuels. It's all about rendering us, the US ordinary citizens, helpless and harmless. So, please, don't blame us; we suffer - not as much as the true victims, but it is a nightmare nonetheless.
Posted by: juliania | Oct 14 2016 15:50 utc | 24
Qoppa @18 The armed groups and their backers are unlikely to give up the armed struggle. That's true, their financial backers are Saudi Arabia. Someone needs to say to the Saudis, "You have a nice new oil terminal there [Ras Tanara] wouldn't like anything to happen to it, know what I mean gov'ner"...
An assault on Ras Tanura, however, would be vastly more serious. As much as 80% of the near 9m barrels of oil a day pumped out by Saudi is believed to end up being piped from fields such as Ghawar to Ras Tanura in the Gulf to be loaded on to supertankers bound for the west.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/03/saudiarabia.oil
All done with plausible deniability of course.
Posted by: harrylaw | Oct 14 2016 15:54 utc | 25
Posted by: Ken Nari | Oct 14, 2016 10:08:05 AM | 9
You hit on the nail. The European are mute, while Americans are plain intoxicated by MSM. I'm one who refused to own and watch TV, but relied on my laptops from checked sources. stayed away site originated from DEBKAfile, Reuters, AP etc. including Democracy Now and many progressive sources.
Tok to people I knew, question about Ukraine or Syria, most all never heard of it or what they read and see. So why continue.. "good" or "bad" guys. They paid helluvalot to be indoctrinated. It's frustrating people believe lies after lies and votes for the most evils rather someone who could help them.
Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 14 2016 15:58 utc | 26
Donald Trump maybe has it figured out more than he sometimes lets on.
This, from his rally yesterday.
“The central base of world political power is right here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people,” he claimed. “Their financial resources are virtually unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unmatched. And most importantly the depths of their immorality is absolutely unlimited.”Posted by: woogs | Oct 14 2016 16:18 utc | 27
Donald Trump maybe has it figured out more than he sometimes lets on.
This, from his rally yesterday.
“The central base of world political power is right here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power behind the efforts at radical globalization and the disenfranchisement of working people,” he claimed. “Their financial resources are virtually unlimited. Their political resources are unlimited. Their media resources are unmatched. And most importantly the depths of their immorality is absolutely unlimited.”Posted by: woogs | Oct 14 2016 16:18 utc | 28
Brainwashing 24/7 with the Telescreen is one thing, but seems Anonymous has thought of a easy obvious way around the other big problem of the really bad, short attention span of the average sheep as we head closer to the election--can't cut/paste key sentence it's all an image file.
Warning is that as the desperation hits hysterical levels, the Demonrat Demonic Duo will try to start a war to postpone/nullify the election.
"we are purposely holding them back (till up to NOV 1) so they cannot have time to replace Hillary".
Link goes to item on Jim Stone's site today Oct 14:
http://82.221.129.208/ptxt.gif
BTW, interesting coincidence he's got an item up (doubt it's genuine) from some supposed US military type talking about the never seen before quantity of B-52s & B1's built up on Diego Garcia.
If true, the LOCATION is what was changed, since there's been clear stories out since summer about this exact buildup with those 2 models going on, but on GUAM.
http://memecrunch.com/meme/IP8Z/kim-jong-un/image.png
Posted by: schlub | Oct 14 2016 16:20 utc | 29
thanks b.. excellent commentary..
@9 ken nari /@14 dh.... yes - good question..one world order of corporatocracy.. lump the canuck gov't in with all this too..
Posted by: james | Oct 14 2016 16:20 utc | 30
sorrie continue rant...
Watched Larry King and Thom Hartman shows yesterday on RT live. For all practical purposes, Hillary Clinton won the presidency before any ballots' counted Nov 6. Trump's sex scandal smeared all over. Leading the pack Thom Hartman tore Trump to pieces keep referring "sex predator", video clips of Michelle Obomo "visibly angry first lady delivered a fiery takedown of the real estate mogul and his "disgraceful" behavior. ..."
No amount of WikiLeaks email's can stop Hillary now. Complete support from MSM, CIA, Republicans, Democrats and Wall Street - even Dubya's Barbara Bush will vote for Hillary.
8-yrs of Clinton, 8-yrs Dubya, 8-yrs Obomo. America wasted 24 fucking years. Adding another 8 more fucking years with Clinton. Total 32 fucking years.
Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 14 2016 16:31 utc | 31
Must watch Dr Marcus Papadopoulos in this BBC interview on Syria.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNT_5KJd-o
Posted by: harrylaw | Oct 14 2016 16:38 utc | 32
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/449023025322156119/
The 1939 Herblock cartoon is topical...
Posted by: Erik | Oct 14 2016 16:44 utc | 33
At the least somebody gets what is going down in Yemwn
Posted by: ALberto | Oct 14 2016 16:44 utc | 34
On Tuesday, US Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) wrote a remarkable letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. Citing the “civilian carnage caused by the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition in Yemen,” Rep. Lieu expressed concern to Kerry that the US government might be “liable for war crimes in Yemen,” based on continued US material support for the ongoing Saudi attack on its southern neighbor.
According to Rep. Lieu, it seems clear that the Saudis are intentionally targeting civilians in Yemen and for the US to support Saudi Arabia in such an illegal and immoral war would mean Washington shares Riyadh’s guilt. Wrote Lieu:
ibid
Posted by: ALberto | Oct 14 2016 16:46 utc | 35
How will the MSM announce the need to reinstate the draft? If and when a real war opens on any of the possible fronts, I can see how the call for boots on the ground will require compulsory military service.
Posted by: stumpy | Oct 14 2016 16:50 utc | 36
...
My disappointment is with the French, Germans, Italians, Greeks and the other allies. Why are they silent? Historically they have shown themselves to be less manageable. What's going on?
Posted by: Ken Nari | Oct 14, 2016 10:08:05 AM | 9
If you make a list of all of the Traditional Eurotrash Colonial powers + AmeriKKKa you'll notice that they're all Racist Supremacist Christians. And that's what unites them and that's why they're silent and why even the Pope is singing in harmony with the Russophobic "Assad must go!" choir.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 14 2016 16:56 utc | 37
@36 One would expect Racist Supremacist Christians to support Assad against jihadis no?
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 17:00 utc | 38
To summarize: those who control present control the past. Those who control past, control future.
Thanks for another example of Orwellian reality we are forced to live in.
This is all about society of control.
American exceptionalism, having nothing to do how ordinary Americans are exceptional because they are programmed to behave like sheeple,, but everything to do with how American elites, ruling class is exceptional by self circular referencing their own class morality (what we do is right what they do is wrong) with its central feature of manipulating facts of the past to control the future (wars crises etc)
I commend b for mental strength to enter everyday this mental institution call MSM and continue to psychoanalyze all those psychotic delusions devoid of reality facing ordinary people.
Posted by: Kalen | Oct 14 2016 17:02 utc | 39
According to survey, only old democrats still believe in mainstream and traditional media.
Posted by: Genius | Oct 14 2016 17:06 utc | 40
Europeans want to remove Assad because they want to get gas from Qatar not from Russia, Europeans fear Russia.
Posted by: Genius | Oct 14 2016 17:09 utc | 41
Not only does the U.S. public easily swallow these myths and lies but also the European public. The lies and propaganda called "news" eminating from the main US controlled propaganda outlets like the New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, ... is regurgitated in its entirety by local news papers all over the world, sometimes even when it contradicts local facts and knowledge.
Posted by: facet | Oct 14 2016 17:15 utc | 42
@36 One would expect Racist Supremacist Christians to support Assad against jihadis no?
Posted by: dh | Oct 14, 2016 1:00:26 PM | 37
To paraphrase our eloquent President Dubya, depends on the propaganda catapult.
To Wit: Assad (choose a verb - gassed, bmobed, killed, slaughtered, barrel-bmobed) his own people.
Jihadis must not described as such. They are moderate rebels aka freedom fighters. They are not mercenaries for hire, nor are they Al Qaida, or religious zealots intent on imposing Sharia Law. Not for our purposes.
Posted by: fastfreddy | Oct 14 2016 17:26 utc | 43
@36 One would expect Racist Supremacist Christians to support Assad against jihadis no?
Posted by: dh | Oct 14, 2016 1:00:26 PM | 37
Huh?
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 14 2016 17:35 utc | 44
@42 Yes, I understand how the propaganda works. Assad and Putin are evil has been a constant mantra.
But Assad is an Alawite who tries to protect minorities in Syria and Russians I'm told are mostly Orthodox.
So I'm not sure what that has to do with Eurotrash being Racist Supremacist Christians as per Hoarsewhisperer's observation @ 36. Seems to me Europeans are mostly progressive atheists these days. And I can't figure why the Pope needs to throw his 2 cents in at all. He should be neutral.
Where does the pressure come from? What makes Western leaders keep coming up with this stuff?
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 17:38 utc | 45
I agree with @8, 9 and 23 with regard to the aspect of domestic US propaganda - it's not that the US population believes this crap it's that the population knows nothing about it, and those who do know are faced with numerous quandaries as to how to solve the situation.
Alexander Mercouris has a timely piece today retelling the story of the US backing down in Syria - how the bully bluffed, and was challenged, and turned tail and walked away in public. Except of course not in the eye of the western public, because of the media blackout over the entire episode of brinkmanship that failed:
Western media suppresses news of U.S./Russian clash and U.S. climbdown over Syria
What should be astonishing is not the propaganda against the US domestic population, since as #8 Arthur Gilroy points out, this has always happened. What should be astonishing is this small window in history where the revolution of the Internet has allowed so many of the population a better glimpse at what's actually happening. I agree that the "lie" mechanism is falling apart rapidly, proving to be nowhere near good enough to combat the "reveal" mechanism.
~~
As to the military aspects of all this, I think #20 Hoarsewhisperer sums it up best. The US just got humiliated in a really foolish way in public. The population doesn't know it, but the Pentagon does. Hubris and wounded pride mean that it's time to go and kick the shit out of "some crappy little country" in the standard action of US foreign policy.
So what is of most interest to me is how this will all shake out on the ground, and on the sea. Will the US dare to go deeper into Yemen? Will other nations such as Iran, Russia and China come to the aid of the Houthis, even covertly? Will Yemen prove to be the last little country the US attacks with impunity? How much materiel and personnel would the US actually gamble to lose in Yemen?
Posted by: Grieved | Oct 14 2016 17:38 utc | 46
I once protested against the Propaganda System in an almost daily ritual of writing editors and ombudsmen, which did absolutely no good. Perhaps if I were a thorn-in-the-side journalist like Greenwald and had a Twitter acct to broadcast my objections I'd get somewhere as he occasionally does. My most effective unmasking of the System occurred when I taught, but I was only able to do that for 7 years, 1996-2003. On September 14, 2016, Gallup reported: "Americans' trust and confidence in the mass media "to report the news fully, accurately and fairly" has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year." http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx Unfortunately, it's self-described Democrats who still have a 51% "trust."
As I commented on the Saker's fine article related to this topic, the problem is far too few citizens of the Outlaw US Empire know what its avowed #1 foreign and domestic policy is: Full Spectrum Domination, although they understand/know certain facets of that policy, http://thesaker.is/by-way-of-deception-thou-shalt-lose-your-empire/
Thinking about the Gallup finding, it's Liberals--Democrats--who uncritically trust despite massive evidence that such trust is unwarranted. And as usual, Pepe Escobar's latest has a connection to this discussion, https://www.rt.com/op-edge/362656-trump-clinton-cold-war-nuclear/
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 14 2016 17:39 utc | 47
The slaughter of indigenous people has continued unabated for all of recorded history.
The genocide of indigenous people in the MENA is the current manifestation. Indigenous people must be removed for the sake of progress (go forward, move ahead, Whip It Good, Whip Inflation Now). The slaughter (and displacement) of these people is not unlike the slaughter of Native Americans.
GE - It brings good things to life.
Posted by: fastfreddy | Oct 14 2016 17:44 utc | 49
Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest.
First thing to remember is that 99.9999% of Americans do not read the NYT or any other newspaper, so nothing is swallowed. Americans couldn't even give you the official explanation for any given US intervention, let alone the truth. Americans pay no attention to what goes on outside of their celebrity pop culture. They don't care & are not interested. Most Americans would prefer it if the NYT stopped reporting on Yemen altogether & instead exclusively covered George Clooney & the Kardashians.
Often when I say these things, non-Americans think that surely I must be joking or exaggerating, to which I can only reply: have you spoken to an American recently?
Posted by: Mark | Oct 14 2016 17:48 utc | 50
The Vatican, as an esteemed member of the one percent, operates from the same playbook as the oligarchs whom run the New World Order, the PNAC and the Yinon Plan.
Just a little squeak from the Pope once in a while regarding the trials of the poor is an ointment for the poor. Nothing really will be done for them, except to compel them to breed further which increases their poverty and suffering - and importantly - provides cannon fodder for the one percent.
Posted by: fastfreddy | Oct 14 2016 17:53 utc | 51
To get back to Ken Nari's question @9. and his disappointment with the French, Germans, Italians, Greeks etc. the only thing I see in Europe that can be called activism comes from the pro and anti immigrant groups. Nobody seems inclined to complain about NATO. And Boris' appeal for a protest at the Russian Embassy fell flat.
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 17:54 utc | 52
Whether he literally killed anyone or not, Charles Manson killed the Hippie Movement. The Hippie Movement was an important pacifist movement which enveloped the anti-war movement.
Once the hippies were run through the mud by the Manson Events, they quietly got haircuts and blended in with the crowd.
Witness how the PTB has modified the very definition of pacifist in order to mock and ridicule the anti-war people:
pac·i·fist
ˈpasəfəst/
noun
1.
a person who believes that war and violence are unjustifiable.
"she was a committed pacifist all her life"
synonyms: peace-lover, conscientious objector, passive resister, peacemaker, peacemonger, dove
"you know, even pacifists can support their nation's armed forces"
adjective
1.
holding the belief that war and violence are unjustifiable.
Posted by: fastfreddy | Oct 14 2016 18:04 utc | 53
@40, Genius.
Europeans want to remove Assad because they want to get gas from Qatar not from Russia, Europeans fear Russia.
True to a certain (and large) degree. What is also true is that Europe (and West in general) has committed a cultural suicide in Russia. It is really strange today too see how majority of ordinary Russians view Europeans with contempt and pity--a dramatic role reversal since the times of Cold War 1.0. As per energy resources, those who observe (seriously) Russia's economic development in the last 10 or so years they surely didn't fail to notice that Europe, while still important in Russia's geoeconomic consideration, is slowly taking a back seat to Eurasia. I am not passing judgement on this, whether it is "good" or "bad", but very many in Russia wouldn't mind having the Iron Curtain up back again. So, if Europe fears Russians and wants gas from Qatar--it should get ready to higher prices and continued cultural enrichment from Islam. But come to think about it--Europe today is not Europe anymore.
Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Oct 14 2016 18:05 utc | 54
@51 Manson and hard drugs did for the 'hippie movement' Altamont didn't help either.
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 18:08 utc | 55
>> What makes Western leaders keep coming up with this stuff?
>> The European are mute,
My own thesis is that EU wants Russia's raw materials but can't offer much in trade, especially as China outbids them for it. They're being squeezed.
The EU can neither sell their own form raw materials nor, any longer, value-add/high-tech products/services. China's tech and manufacturing base is superior and growing. The world does not need as many overpriced German autos, the EU doesn't know what next to export, and whenever it finally figures that out it'll likely discover that it's already been invented in China.
Because China delivers higher value-add, it'll outbid EU for Russian raw materials. So, while EU exports decline, their import prices will rise. The *relative* standard of living in the EU is at risk.
Increasingly, the only way the EU can "afford" anything is by stealing it (like most human "civilizations" have done nearly since inception): destabilizing/beating down would-be sellers via non-trade tools (sanctions, coups, war) and, once the sellers are desperate, then orchestrating or demanding long-term preferential deals. (I haven't read it but presume "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" is one person's partial view into this.) Unfortunately, the heavily MIC-influenced political leaders suffer from "man with hammer" syndrome and can't recognize the potential ROI from switching their investment from aggressive warfare to other pursuits. Like sharks, the colonial powers concluded they must swim or die.
As for the US, it loses power when the EU loses power. The interests in taking down Russia/China converge.
Posted by: dumbass | Oct 14 2016 18:14 utc | 56
@48, Mark.
have you spoken to an American recently?
You are making a sweeping generalization. There are all kinds of Americans. I speak with this Americans everyday--it varies and it is not black and white at all. Forestalling a possible joke of shades of gray, those are still shades and this matters in the larger scheme of things. After all, Trump and him being alive and well against all, literally, odds in this race do speak volumes about Americans' state of mind.
Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Oct 14 2016 18:18 utc | 57
I've been wondering whether Brexit is a way to decouple the coming (mis)fortunes of EU from US/UK (maybe that should be "U/SUK"). It wouldn't be the first time that USUK orchestrated turmoil between continental EU parties in order to wear them down for a few years before riding in to declare victory and carpetbag.
Posted by: dumbass | Oct 14 2016 18:19 utc | 58
@54. That makes sense. But a lot of European companies are unhappy about sanctions on Russia. No doubt others fear closer cooperation with the dreaded Bear.
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 18:22 utc | 59
Gee, attempt to make an informative comment that includes an item by the Saker and the comment ends in the spam bin. Bernard, your enmity for the Saker's misplaced.
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 14 2016 18:31 utc | 60
good comments everyone - fastfreddy and etc. thanks. mark/smoothie conversation - i see it both ways, if that is possible..
karlof1..i doubt that very much.. try it again.. i don't think b really cares one way or the other about that..
Posted by: james | Oct 14 2016 18:37 utc | 61
@SmoothieX12:
After all, Trump and him being alive and well against all, literally, odds in this race do speak volumes about Americans' state of mind.
Not sure how support for Trump is counter-evidence to my point.... but yes, it does indeed speak volumes about their state of mind.
Posted by: Mark | Oct 14 2016 18:38 utc | 62
US still can't say who launched the missiles at the ships
Posted by: Les | Oct 14 2016 18:51 utc | 63
If Iran really found Yemen to be *that* strategic, they'd have moved in already I would say.
Posted by: P Walker | Oct 14 2016 18:56 utc | 64
These fake stories about the US being attacked in Yemen, ARE for the western public, well most of the Western public, and they lap it up. The US/Isreali have the most public bloodlust most of all in the "West". And a lot of those war crimes supporters/endorsers/voters are despicable. it's quite easy to whip them up into a frenzy. The Empire Times knows this, and plays their war criminal propaganda role accordingly.
That BS US was attacked story was a cover-up for the US/Saudi war crime of bombing the funeral that killed about 150 funeral mourners. As well the BS excuse to get themselves more involved since the US genocide of Yemen isn't preceding fast enough. It's an atrocious US tactic to defeat the Houthis and other resistance by widespread genocide. EVil US sees it as ' Draining the "swamp", in this case the swap of the whole country, since just attacking military/Empire resisters targets hasn't worked in Afghanistan and won't work in Yemen
That US funeral crime actually got a little bit of coverage, so the evil US Empire knows that as soon as they claim they've been attacked, most of the western public will agree to say that the US military are now free to unleash criminal hell on Yemen.
Posted by: tom | Oct 14 2016 18:58 utc | 65
@60, Mark
Not sure how support for Trump is counter-evidence to my point.... but yes, it does indeed speak volumes about their state of mind.
Ability to choose a lesser between two evils and at least sensing what's good for ya denotes some form of intelligence. Men marching in makeup and skirts in support of their raped by imported Muslims Dutch women denotes imbeciles and cowards. In this sense, Americans are in somewhat better positions than Europeans.
Posted by: SmoothieX12 | Oct 14 2016 19:05 utc | 66
@58 karlof1 - I saw a comment once that said this is some legacy programmatic thing that detects the Saker URL and sends it to moderation. I've tested this myself (keeping a copy of my post the second time), and it's true. Saker links don't get through. But doesn't seems to be a b thing.
Sadly, one has to be circumspect with such links here. Offer the headline of the story or say it's at "Saker dot is" and people can find it. In my view they should have the RSS feed on their radar anyway, he does a lot of reposting nowadays but he can still write a zinger and Scott's links are invaluable.
Posted by: Grieved | Oct 14 2016 19:26 utc | 67
@ b: "Astonishing is how easy the U.S. public swallows this without any self awareness and protest."
Only astonishing to those who don't live here b. The 4th estate has become a propaganda arm for the Empire. Ignorance, here in the U$A, has truly become bliss. As with Empires of old, bread and circuses reign supreme.
Posted by: ben | Oct 14 2016 19:26 utc | 68
b. Here is your hidden hand
Three weeks before W. Bush’s election for a second term in 2004, his Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, chided Pulitzer-winning journalist, Ron Suskind. Rove said:
Guys like [Suskind] were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” … “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Posted by: ALberto | Oct 14 2016 19:38 utc | 69
As someone above pointed out, I concur via personal observation that older Democrats (registered Democratic voters, upper-income professionals) are avid readers of the NYT and they respect the POS as a legitimate news source.
IMHO, they are fake left, fake liberal elitists.
Posted by: fast freddy | Oct 14 2016 19:42 utc | 70
If B is astonished at how much the US public absorb the propaganda being spewed daily by US news media, he would be even more surprised at the Australian public. Here, there is no difference between the commercial television news outlets and the Murdoch-owned newspapers, regarded as lowbrow, and the government television news outlets and Fairfax newspapers, regarded as "quality" media, in the way they report local and overseas news events. Australian MSM basically repeat almost word for word ad infinitum what is being said in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian.
When repetition from these sources is the order of the day, the absorption of propaganda becomes unconscious. It sticks better in the mind if received that way, especially if combined with stories and scenes of horror, violence and carnage, and pictures of small children being pulled out of rubble by jihadis in clean clothes and white hats, that appeal to people's emotions and exploit their fears.
Hollywood films featuring hyper-violence - and lots of them - operate in a similar way. There are apparently studies suggesting that constant exposure to news or movies in which extreme violence or brutality occurs (in ways that conform to particular narratives - such as being part of revenge or punishment) lowers people's psychological defences and leaves them receptive to suggestion. It's no wonder that the US government finds Hollywood a usefully ally in recruiting people for the army.
When propaganda is the news and the news is propaganda, you don't know anything different. Just as fish might not know they're swimming in water and the only time they'd be aware of living in and depending on water is when they're deprived of it.
Posted by: Jen | Oct 14 2016 19:59 utc | 71
Europeans' fear of Russia stem from ww2/cold war, when the soviet union occupied half of Europe.
US and EU are one empire, you can think of US as the western empire, and Eu as the eastern empire.
Posted by: genius | Oct 14 2016 20:09 utc | 72
@69 "When repetition from these sources is the order of the day, the absorption of propaganda becomes unconscious."
That's true but I don't think it necessarily translates into support for the 'rebels'. The more people get bombarded with news from the ME the more fed up they get with the whole mess. They can't process it. It could even strengthen the 'nuke 'em all' faction.
Posted by: dh | Oct 14 2016 20:11 utc | 73
@67 Precisely that.
Nothing new here. Move along, citizens. Nothing new...
AG
Posted by: Arthur Gilroy | Oct 14 2016 20:20 utc | 74
Since the Judith Miller report on Iraq Nuclear weapons that accelerated the war in Iraq, the NYT has become a denof snakes manipulating the news to fit their sponsors agendas.
That Carlos Slim a shadowy Mexican billionaire of Lebanese origin has a part in the survival of the NYT comes as no surprise. Carlos Slim is a prominent donor to Hillary Clinton and a promote of free trade that allows him to become richer.
The NYT is an active supporter of Hillary and a destroyer of Trump reputation. Nothing surprising in the filth of the USA political struggles of power.
Posted by: virgile | Oct 14 2016 20:24 utc | 75
Ken Nari says:
My disappointment is with the French, Germans, Italians, Greeks and the other allies. Why are they silent? Historically they have shown themselves to be less manageable. What's going on?
the acrid smell from the ashes of the last world war is long gone. this interim has seen a workers revolution, a sexual revolution, and free healthcare. 'prosperity' bought all the trappings of western culture,...and IT technology has amplified it exponentially.
all of this is changing now.
Posted by: john | Oct 14 2016 20:25 utc | 76
james @59--
This isn't the first time. Besides my own commentary, I provided links to the most recent Gallup poll on media trust; linked Pepe Escobar's latest, which bears on this topic; and also linked The Saker's most recent, which also bears on this topic.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/362656-trump-clinton-cold-war-nuclear/
http://thesaker.is/by-way-of-deception-thou-shalt-lose-your-empire/
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 14 2016 20:39 utc | 77
Carlos Slim is very likely to be a Clinton friend, but I know him to be a Bush friend. Slim is the guy that JEB asked to bail out Lehman Brothers before it went down in flames. JEB had rec'd a couple million dollars as a Lehman consultant. JEB consulted so well that all of Florida's government employee pension funds had been moved to Lehman where they disappeared in the crash. Slim was too smart to take JEB's offer.
This action may have had something to do with JEB's inability to resuscitate the Bush brand. Perhaps.
We have seen that the Bush family is outwardly friendly with the Clinton's. The Red Team/Blue Team dynamic is obviously a ruse designed to divide and conquer the commons.
Posted by: fast freddy | Oct 14 2016 20:47 utc | 78
Posted by: ProPeace | Oct 14 2016 20:53 utc | 79
ALberto | Oct 14, 2016 3:38:13 PM | 67 "Hidden hand"?
The Mysterious Death of Bush's Cyber-Guru - Michael Connell - 12160
Posted by: ProPeace | Oct 14 2016 20:58 utc | 80
@36... yes, true. Harvard historian Stephen Walt (of the israel lobby book fame (http://mondoweiss.net/2014/04/stephen-publishing-serving/)) once explained that the time we live in represents the end of a five-hundred-year effort by western Europe (including the US, since that was also a colonization project by western E.) to colonize the rest of the world. The west. E. wealth was built up on the exploitation of its colonies, just like the initial US wealth was built through genocide and slave labour. The western elites speak with one voice because they come out of the same place. They cannot imagine any other world or any other way to co-exist in the world. But the power is transitioning - they just haven't noticed it. It is also what makes this time so dangerous...
Posted by: GoraDiva | Oct 14 2016 21:02 utc | 81
Economic conditions are so poor, and gainful opportunities are so rare, that Military enrollment is a very attractive choice for young men and women.
A 30 yo man and his girlfriend - with expensive Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Journalism respectively. Each works at minimum wage jobs. One at Taco Bell and a Steak house. The other at a retail clothing discount store.
And it is much worse for the uneducated.
Posted by: fast freddy | Oct 14 2016 21:14 utc | 82
This reminds me of the scene from Dr. Strangelove (video), where the US president Merkin Muffley denies that the US ever had plans for a Doomsday Machine. The Soviet ambassador Alexei de Sadeski responds: "Our source was the New York Times."
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Oct 14 2016 22:05 utc | 83
+ Link to Dr. Strangelove video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yfXgu37iyI
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Oct 14 2016 22:07 utc | 84
....What we need is a revolution ... XXXXXX ... total political collapse! The French and Russian revolutions got rid of the oligarchs of the time. Both places were better for it. Until people such as you, people who allegedly care, decide that the current system must be destroyed (and our comfort with it) we remain complicit. To put it bluntly you are Obama, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter ... it isn't so much the system as it is your propagandized belief in it. It's time to wake up ... buy a pitchfork and hit the streets. Anything less is a cop-out and playing the game...
Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 14 2016 22:18 utc | 85
30;All I can say to surrender talk is Nov.8,and why do people think Americans are that unaware of who our real enemy is?
The trust in our MSM is 6%.
And as far as no voices,you have to be a subscriber to now web almost every illiberal site,so only the indoctrinated(and a few good holdovers)are the main respondents.Or you have to register with disqus.Screw that.WAPO is even worse than rthe Lyinig Times,a bunch of sicko zionist scum.
There has never been such a campaign of political assassination as the one towards DT,and the American people hopefully still has more patriots than mole traitors like rglg,and will vote Trump to victory.
And Berman,can we choose door C,zion,sheesh.
Why did silent Bob receive the Nobel Prize for Lit,especially at this late date?And the fact that all his fans,who own all the basement tapes,are all neolibcon followers of Manson,sure shows his influence,eh?A 100 Dead shows!
A live performance?He actually sucks today,but hey.
I could possibly have seen this as viable in '65,but now?More Jewish PR? And it is a precedent right?
Posted by: dahoit | Oct 14 2016 22:41 utc | 86
james @59--
The reply I posted to you contained the links I tried posting previously and it, too, got eaten by the spambot.
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 14 2016 23:03 utc | 87
"Lay down your weapons, give up your lands,
and recognize our sovereignty over your life.
Then You Shall Have Peace (TM)." Woo, woo, woo.
I'm sure Andrew Jackson would be pleased with Yemen.
"We won, you lost. It's just business, get over it.
Now get off our property." Yoo, Yoo, Yoo.
Or something like that. I've never been to Hebron.
The world is being ZIRPed up at fire-sale prices,
while two grifter bozos spew about grabbing pussy.
Juno Hilo Charlie. And the caissons go rolling along.
Posted by: chipnik | Oct 14 2016 23:04 utc | 88
There is a lot going on in Syria today!
SAA making rapid advances in East Aleppo.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuvRe8rWgAAYDcb.jpg:large
Then there is this
The Syrian Air Force is dropping packages in Eastern Aleppo with the Syrian flag 🇸🇾 & shaving kits 😂 for militants to surrender
https://twitter.com/MmaGreen/status/786975232972115968
(apparently no joke :--)
Translation of the note attached to the packages airdropped by the Syrian Air Force to militants in Eastern Aleppo today:
https://twitter.com/MmaGreen/status/786975232972115968
Then there is this
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-nusra-idUSKBN12E0R6
The number of Islamist rebels in eastern Aleppo who are not protected by any ceasefire deal, and can therefore be legitimately targeted, is far smaller than an estimate given by the United Nations, diplomatic sources have told Reuters.
.... Last week U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said there were a maximum of 900 JFS members out of a total 8,000 rebel fighters within the besieged opposition-held area.
Several sources independently told Reuters that de Mistura's figure for JFS fighters was far too high, and the real number was no more than 200, perhaps below 100. One Western diplomat said it possibly had no more than a "symbolic" presence.
IMO highly unlikely they´re so few. Why was it so difficult for the "moderates" to separate from Nusra? Why are they clearly dominating the rebel alliances?
see e.g this: https://twitter.com/AbuHantala/status/786982447342882816
I rather interpret this as a sign that the beard shaving has already begun!
Then there is SAA success in the Damascus area:
Syrian Army liberates al-Deirkhabiye in West Ghouta, Damascus
https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/786896785130139648
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/rebels-surrender-two-major-suburbs-damascus-syrian-army/
The Islamist rebels officially surrendered both the Hamah and Qudsiyah suburbs of Damascus to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on Friday morning.
This move comes just two weeks after the civilians in both Hamah and Qudsiyah protested the rebel factions that refused to reconcile with the Syrian Arab Army to bring an end to the violence plaguing these suburbs.
Pressured to negotiate by the civilian populous, the Islamist rebels agreed to leave the suburbs in exchange for transportation to the Idlib Governorate.
On Friday, the agreement was implemented, with over 1,200 Islamist rebels and their families being transported by the Syrian government to their requested destinations.
The overwhelming majority of civilians in Qudsiyah and Hamah remained in their homes, accepting the Syrian Arab Army's control over these suburbs.
Then there are rumours about *even* Jaish al-Islam negotiating about being transferred from Eastern Ghouta to Idlib. We are here talking about 8.000-10.000 men on the more jihadi side of the rebel spectrum.
https://twitter.com/AbuHantala/status/787007466991149061
Then there is talk about new alliances and mergers:
http://orient-news.net/en/news_show/125081/0/main-Northern-Front-opposition-factions-to-merge
Three of the main opposition fighting factions, operating in northern Syria, are preparing to merge in one faction in order to launch a new crucial phase against Assad terrorists and their supporting militias, Orient Net learned from multiple sources.
Ahrar al-Sham Movement, Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement, and al-Sham Legion are still in the preparation phase to merge into one faction, the sources said, adding that these three factions welcome other factions which would like to joint.
and another one:
Liwa Jund al-Islam merges with Sham Front #Aleppo
https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/786984810447110144
and, of course, infighting again:
Heavy clashes reportedly erupt between Suqour al Sham and Al Nusra in Ariha, Bellin and Musaybeen, Idlib province.
https://twitter.com/LegitCFCPundit/status/787019084831526912
https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/787044000737792000
======> The current rebel fronts are about to collapse!
Idlib province, where they are shipped to, will become overcrowded with jihadis.
SAA should lean back and watch them fight each other, then move in slowly.
Posted by: Qoppa | Oct 14 2016 23:11 utc | 89
Economic conditions are so poor, and gainful opportunities are so rare, that Military enrollment is a very attractive choice for young men and women.Posted by: fast freddy | Oct 14, 2016 5:14:29 PM | 79
Yup. In fact, for the brighter enlistees, service in some specialties is job security as so many of the lucrative tech and DOD consulting jobs require a security clearance that is hard to obtain for a civilian, save for the super engineering and computer engineers who will be sponsored. To my earlier point, the consequences of escalation may be a return to compulsory service as boots on the ground evolves out of mercenary proxy fighting. Nobody wants to talk about this, obviously, least of all the darling Millenials. Prepare for a racist grind as the majority of the draftees turn out to be minority paupers.
Posted by: stumpy | Oct 14 2016 23:13 utc | 90
On topic & Off Topic:
Living near Long Island Sound, I appreciate that the TWA800 incident and the sadly less remembered JFK Jr. 'accident' played such interesting roles in where this country is today. We could not have had the last 24 years of Preznitial Sucksession as easily without them and it is a credit to this blog that they are remembered here.
Perhaps the best bit of insight I've read today is over at Sic Semper Tyrannis where Col. Lang insists that no Naval vessel Captain who cares about his career would not have sunk an enemy vessel that was attacking his ship. If we only look at how any US Police Force responds to a weapon, it is crazy to think a USN vessel would not respond even more forcefully than the narrative of the official US story.
Posted by: Enrico Malatesta | Oct 14 2016 23:20 utc | 91
Arrogant *hole busybody brits busy ginning up their next war, maybe in case they can't get russia to nuke them?
WARMONGERING Kim Jong-un has condemned Britain’s plans to conduct joint air operations in South Korea, demanding the UK to “immediately” cancel the drill.
Posted by: schlub | Oct 15 2016 1:56 utc | 92
@58 karlof, 'Bernard, your enmity for the Saker's misplaced.'
@65 g, '... doesn't seems to be a b thing.'
I think Grieved is right. This site is owned by typepad Inc. and licensed to b. Typepad are the censors.
They censor all sorts of things ... en dot kremlin dot ru, for instance.
Grieved has the right idea ... try Russia Calling! Investment Forum at en kremlin dot ru.
I also posted it here, because I thought it was a wide-ranging and informative article.
If you want to 'link' to the saker you need 'thesaker dot is', though, and the full name of the post. In the example above googling 'Russia Calling! Investment Forum site:en.kremlin.ru' will bring it up number one at google. Or you can go to en dot russia dot com and scroll down to the title itself. I have no idea what article you are trying to link at thesaker dot is. Works if it's recent, googling the title with the 'site:' marker will do it for older posts not available on a site's home page.
Posted by: jfl | Oct 15 2016 2:43 utc | 93
Here's a so off the wall piece of anti-Russia propaganda about Syria that the 'journo' loses heart about 2/3rds thru and conceeds the logistic impracticalities make the story unbelieveable - which didn't prevent Motherboard ( a subset of Vice news) from headlining it with "Could a Russian Ship Be Messing With Syria’s Underwater Internet Cables?"
Of course no mention is made of how just before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second election the one US Congress voted a couple of hunnerd million on disrupting via 'social media' - Iran lost access to 2 submarine cables and their main overland backbone all at the same time. Coincidentally trawlers dragged their anchors in diverse & remote spots all at once etc.
The article deserves nomination to the USukbot lie of the week award, however it does claim that a troop of twotters are aggressively pursuing the Yantar for having the gall to help Cuba monitor communications during an aggressive US submarine exercise off the coast of Cuba a few months back - this may be correct altho the twotters 'amateur' status is rather unlikely.
Posted by: Debsisdead | Oct 15 2016 3:20 utc | 94
@ 84 karlof1.. apart from what @65 grieved mentions, that kind of mystifies me... out of curiousity, here is a link to the sakers article page... lets see if it posts!!
Posted by: james | Oct 15 2016 3:32 utc | 95
@84 karlof1... i have to agree with @65 grieved.. i just tried posting a link to sakers site, and my post doesn't go thru.. i think it might have something to do with the saker url and suggest following grieved recommendation if you'd like to encourage others to check out one of the articles at his site.. cheers.
Posted by: james | Oct 15 2016 3:36 utc | 96
These last two weeks we all got a thrilling opportunity to witness how the American political and military elites are literally undoing each other, and not in a good way. However, one thing is to read about this on thesaker, and it’s a completely different story to hear the same statements coming from the horse’s mouth. The horse in this case is Rosa Brooks, a former senior advisor to Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy. One of the Three Harpies who are about to conduct the next Hunger Games: “Hillary Clinton as President, Michele Flournoy as head of the Pentagon and – the most terrifying words in the English language — Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.”
Posted by: From The Hague | Oct 15 2016 4:39 utc | 97
These last two weeks we all got a thrilling opportunity to witness how the American political and military elites are literally undoing each other, and not in a good way. However, one thing is to read about this on thesaker, and it’s a completely different story to hear the same statements coming from the horse’s mouth. The horse in this case is Rosa Brooks, a former senior advisor to Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy. One of the Three Harpies who are about to conduct the next Hunger Games: “Hillary Clinton as President, Michele Flournoy as head of the Pentagon and – the most terrifying words in the English language — Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.”
My post doesn't show. Ok, another try:
Go to thesaker and look for: every-country-has-its-history-except-america-that-has-a-criminal-record-sitrep-by-scott/
Posted by: From The Hague | Oct 15 2016 4:48 utc | 98
Arrogant *hole busybody brits busy ginning up their next war, maybe in case they can't get russia to nuke them?
...
Posted by: schlub | Oct 14, 2016 9:56:32 PM | 89
Re Brits...CCTV English NewsDesk October 15 (scrolling headlines across bottom of screen)
British PM: UK not seeking to extend military involvement in Syria.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 15 2016 5:23 utc | 99
i'm not sure about "astonishing", but "depressing" seems like a good fit.
love "the U.S. myth of 'immaculate conception' of U.S. foreign policy", by the way. works on so many levels. also of note: the constant whining about supposed (yet denied by many houthis) iranian "involvement" considering the "involvement" cited here and the US/saudi/GCC alliance dropping legions of decapitators close to iran's borders on a regular basis (balochistan and syria and afghanistan and etc.)
surprised the NYT didn't drop in something like: "our pentagon sources say the houthis fired the missiles from western aleppo - which gary johnson hasn't even heard of!" or how russia is secretly smuggling in death rays (links are also provided for the military press conference featuring photoshopped CGI cargo trucks driving down random streets found with google maps).
Posted by: the pair | Oct 15 2016 6:49 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Iranian ships to Yemen? They will most certainly be sunk and then the Persian Gulf will be alight.
6 weeks max.
Posted by: Jules | Oct 14 2016 11:23 utc | 1