Outraged @301–
It’s also helpful that politicos like Sanders accuse tRump of lying without any mention of the many zingers told by Obama, HRC, the Bushes, and Slick Willie only to be outed in the comments as here, http://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/03/07/what-should-we-do-if-president-liar but alas, not at the initial publication site, showing that all too many are blinded by their inability to open their eyes and minds, https://medium.com/senator-bernie-sanders/what-should-we-do-if-the-president-is-a-liar-2e2a27953e8f#.tg1ryq1s8

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 8 2017 19:45 utc | 303

@ Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 8, 2017 2:45:51 PM | 303
Oh, indeed. It is extremely apparent that the controlled corporate media do not any longer tolerate any dissent amongst their own ‘readership’. That in itself is contributing to expanding the ‘chink, in the ‘narratives’, armor 😉

A message from the Ministry of Homeland Security

(Image/Jpg) 🙂

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 8 2017 20:34 utc | 305

Very obviously Bernie Sanders and the Common dreams website are simply part of the Deep State’s security/media apparatus. I haven’t listened to them for years (’cause they are fake).
The only ones that might not be fake are Jesse Ventura, Dennis Kucinich, and Cynthia McKinney. And that’s about it. Virtually everything has been co-opted by the Apparatus.
There are only the doctrinaire lost wing, the blight wing, and folks like me, the undoctrinaire ingenuists. That’s all.

Posted by: blues | Mar 8 2017 22:40 utc | 307

@292 denk
i agree that it pays to assume the worst whenever the us is involved, but if russia is also involved there remains the possibility that the flat-out worst may be diluted.
the last thing the us military wants to do is actually to fight. see your own paraphrase of albright.
i agree that there is no hope for a ‘voluntary’ change of outlook or behaviour from the usofa, but they have bitten off more than they can chew, and i am looking forward to the failure of their plans for full spectrum dominance of the world.
i think others can see it as well and, while not looking forward to it as i am, are trying to create an alternative to fall back upon. there is none now, in the ‘official’ playbook. it’s the folks who’re all in … dnc, cia, nsa, google, the banks, the fossil-fuelers … who are the diehards and hence the most dangerous ones. no need to guess who they envision will be doing the hard dying.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 8 2017 23:18 utc | 309

@288 smuks, ‘ they just want to keep the war going for as long as possible … it’s about leverage (outside power tipping the scales) and control of the region ‘
no argument from me on that score. it’s a measure of the utter depravity of ‘modern’, ‘democratic’ governments – i count the eu together with the us – that they have eagerly, and openly adopted exactly that plan, worldwide. with the us in the lead of course. but the eu have certainly come around, haven’t they? post 2003 ?
of course they were all involved in such meaningless massacres beforehand – for decades, centuries, millennia – but there are periods of a fantastic increase in the scale of their / our depravity, and the need to openly embrace what we do, and so to concoct lies to explain it, increases along and in scale with our depraved actions. the collision between what we do and what we say then adds its ‘multiplier effect’ at the base of our depravity, at the level of our depraved acts, and then to the lies required in justification thereof … where is it leading us, this time ?

Posted by: jfl | Mar 9 2017 0:05 utc | 311

@312, p au
even if he wanted to run his own administration – and i certainly don’t think that idea ever entered his head – he has put so many neo-cons and / or people with their own agendas in place that just keeping track of what they are all doing would be difficult to impossible.
denk pointed out that the north koreans have a lot in common with al-cia-duh in terms of doing the ‘wrong things’ at the ‘right times’.
the foreign policy of the usofa unfolds on two levels, just as hillary clinton suggested that the financiers do when she spoke to the goldman sachs crew, the ‘official’ level – deplore terrorism and ‘rogue’ states, ‘wage war’ against them – and the real level – fund, arm, train, and protect terrorists … and perhaps infiltrate states and make / keep them rogue? just like the rogue united states.
people all over the world need to isolate the rogue united states and deal among themselves as much as possible. the usa is poison.
china and russia, south korea and japan could all get together with north korea and solve their problems. getting the united states out of the equation seems the only way forward … just as in syria among russia, turkey, and iran. that’s a landmark start, and needs to be emulated elsewhere.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 9 2017 3:04 utc | 313

Sorry if this was already posted, I couldn’t reread the whole thread.
The cool kids at Time have reported that hundreds of Marines have arrived in Syria with heavy weapons, allegedly to help retake Raqqah.
Rojova here we come.
http://time.com/4696253/us-marines-syria-fight-isis-raqqa/

Posted by: Wwinsti | Mar 9 2017 5:40 utc | 315

@314 denk
no argument on the intent of the usa … my hope is it will not be able to accomplish its intent.
and i don’t hope that trump will somehow be different with respect to the ‘we own the world’ perspective of the usofa, but that that perspective will be overtaken and thwarted by events despite the efforts of his appointees.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 9 2017 7:34 utc | 317

US sends hundreds of Marines to Syria to support fight against Isis

Several hundred Marines have deployed into Syria with artillery guns, as part of the ongoing preparation for the fight to push ISIL out of its self-declared headquarters of Raqqa, a Pentagon spokesman has confirmed.
The Marines are pre-positioning howitzers to be ready to assist local Syrian forces, according to US officials.

those must be the ‘small group’ alluded to in the previous reuters release? several hundred sounds like more than two hundred and they are setting up big guns. the guys in kuwiat are the ones who’ll man them?

The deployment is temporary but is a sign Donald Trump’s White House is leaning toward giving the Pentagon greater flexibility in making routine combat decisions in the fight against Isis.

so trump will take the credit for his brilliant, hands-off management if this ‘works’ … and fire his ‘apprentices’ if it doesn’t.

US officials say the battle for Raqqa will look much like the fight in neighbouring Iraq, where local forces are in a fierce battle to retake the northern city of Mosul – ISIL’s last stronghold in the country.

mosul and fallujah …

The moves to pre-position US troops closer to the fight, so they can be tapped as needed, are the kinds of decisions that military commanders say they need to be able to make more quickly, without going to the White House every time for approval.

all those generals in the white house seem to have been delegated the commander-in-chief function by tee-rump.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 9 2017 8:28 utc | 319

Not a single comment about the Marine artillery unit deployed to Ar Raqqa on the ZeroHedge article either. I don’t think anyone read it (or read it that far).
Seriously, am I the only nutjob to think this is big news?

Posted by: PavewayIV | Mar 9 2017 8:36 utc | 321

Russia-insider.com is quoting Kurdish source basnews, claiming that the US forces are installing *high frequency radars* to protect against any ballistic missile attack from Isis. Looks like those short range missiles we’re fired into Damascus just in time.
http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/middle-east/334662

Posted by: Wwinsti | Mar 9 2017 8:39 utc | 323

The Washington Post on the deployment of marines to Syria May be little more here than in the Reuters report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/03/08/marines-have-arrived-in-syria-to-fire-artillery-in-the-fight-for-raqqa/
….The force is part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which left San Diego on Navy ships in October….
….For this deployment, the Marines were flown from Dijibouti to Kuwait and then into Syria, said another defense official with direct knowledge of the operation….
….Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. general overseeing the campaign against the Islamic State, has previously said that a small number of conventional soldiers have supported Special Operations troops on the ground in Syria, including through a truck-mounted system known as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. The defense official with knowledge of the deployment said Wednesday that the Marines and their Howitzers will supplement, rather than replace, those Army units.

Posted by: Peter AU | Mar 9 2017 9:11 utc | 325

jfl 326
Have to be a lot in Syria now. Also some infantry to protect the fire base I think was in the WP report. A lot of US vehicles on the ground in Syria that will need constant servicing, plus logistics ect. Though they may have contractors for those jobs which will be deleted from official US numbers

Posted by: Peter AU | Mar 9 2017 10:09 utc | 327

jfl@322 – I won’t weigh in on May Day rituals. Just have a friend that’s some kind of witch (not sure what rank or denomination) – she goes out of her way to point out how the Illuminati have corrupted her… well, I guess Wicca isn’t a religion. She’s really a Vegan Wiccan Barista, so one of those. She knows way too much about the hated Illuminati – I think it’s the caffeine. She has me pegged as sympathetic to tinfoil hat causes, so I get an earful with my espresso. It’s worth it. The rest of the hipsters/teenagers at the caffeine dispensary have no idea how espresso should be made or what it should taste like. I’m sticking with my looney witch.
jfl@324 – The U.S. definition of ‘temporary troop deployment’ means roughly a decade, giver or take. Oroville Dam – TL:DR. Think Fukushima, except with three-and-a-quarter-million acre-feet of water. Short story: narrow escape last time after things got fubar’d, round two is on the way. Textbook case of state-employed civil engineers not seeing the trees for the forest. Odd design choices + maintenance neglect (or engineering ignorance) = disaster waiting to happen. Hard to say if it will last through spring thaw in the Sierra. #OrovilleDam on the messaging dumpster known as Twitter.
Peter AU@325 – I remember the HIMARS guys, but I though they were still in Jordan. Didn’t think they rolled into Syria yet – just shot some rockets across the border. I wonder where they are, exactly. That certainly would have caught my attention if it was in the press, unless I totally missed it. I suppose Rojava now? That was only like a few trucks though. Adding an entire 500 man Marine Howitzer battery is hardly ‘supplemental’.
jfl@326 – CENTCOM doesn’t lie! They are offering alternative facts for security (and PR) reasons. They can lie all they want, but when Trump has to swing up to Andrews to greet more aluminum box heroes, people will notice. Mind you, they won’t do anything. It’s kind of like a flock of sheep that looks up momentarily when they hear one of their own being slaughtered. After about ten seconds, they’re all back to munching on grass as if nothing ever happened.

Posted by: PavewayIV | Mar 9 2017 10:36 utc | 329

@330
Gee, maybe we should just go ahead and have WWIII. Humans are a failed species and whatever befalls ‘us’ will be the result of unavoidable pre-destination

Posted by: aaaa | Mar 9 2017 11:49 utc | 331

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39193347
another skulls and bones resort

Posted by: Mina | Mar 9 2017 15:52 utc | 333

Peter AU@328 – I didn’t see your post when I was writing mine. I guess I thought the Strykers were just the Green Berets and JTACs already there as ‘advisers’. The 75th Rangers are part of the Joint Special Operations Command, but they are most definitely not Green Beret/SF advisers – they are light infantry for combat. I don’t think there is any relation between the 75th boys and the other U.S. Army HIMARS units, but who knows.
I must admit, the U.S. is pretty clever about sneaking in boots-on-the-ground if you don’t watch them like a hawk. If I missed all of this, then I doubt many other Americans realize what is going on. Eventually there will be casualties and the worthless MSM will point out that we (the U.S.) have had boots-on-the-ground there for months. There will be little reaction from anyone besides “Oh. Uh-huh, I guess I kinda heard about that a while back…”
No angry marches, no riots, no calls for Congress to approve another war. Just another Middle East war we managed to side-slip into without involving the sensibilities of those pesky, objectionable “little people.” Because it’s for our own protection or something. Oil, water, pipelines and Israel have nothing to do with it. Nothing to see here folks – move along, please. Go about your business – we’ve been there for months now.

Posted by: PavewayIV | Mar 9 2017 16:57 utc | 335

C’mon you guys. It’s been all over the news for days. And nobody’s talking about any kind of 500 man cap. There’s plenty more troops floating around in those ships in the Gulf and thousands already in Kuwait.
The push on Raqqah hasn’t even started yet. If a few Yanks get killed then the floodgates will open and there will be an American flag above city hall. Then maybe Trump will start pumping Syrian oil.

Posted by: peter | Mar 9 2017 17:24 utc | 337

The US wants their piece of the cake so if the SDF take Raqqah with their help, we will see some sort of Barzanistan emerge thus partitioning Syria de facto. The SAA is pushing towards Raqqah and imo have the means and right to that fight. The US is NOT needed to end IS. Syria/Iran/Hezb must be mightily pissed. Remember there is a chief of staffs meeting in Turkey right now that excludes Syria..
Wonder what Russia’s position & leverage stands in all this..

Posted by: Lozion | Mar 9 2017 18:16 utc | 339

@ Posted by: jfl | Mar 8, 2017 7:05:16 PM | 311
‘Robert J. Myers’ (MSM tool) and his friend ‘Ray Cline’ (ex CIA Division head) appeared at a January 1978 congressional hearing on the CIA and the media where Myers stated:

“The reciprocal relationship between the CIA and the American press has been of value to both parties and often to the individuals themselves whose careers may have mutually benefited by such connections.”

@ Posted by: Lozion | Mar 9, 2017 1:16:59 PM | 337
Indeed. Do not like all this media chatter of the Iranians having to ‘get out’ of Syria, much blood & treasure has been expended in the Syrian/Russian/Iranian/Iraqi alliance against the forces of terror & ‘Freedom & Democracy and all the R2P you can stomach’, cannot conceive of such demands being tolerated.
Re Syria & US troops … Strykers are incredibly vulnerable given the weaponry in widespread common use in Syria now for years …
The M777 have a maximum effective range, depending on ammo used, of between ~30-40 km, so an effective operational coverage of between 900-1,600 km2. HIMARS effective operational range of ~480Km, coverage of ~230,400Km2. HIMARS is vehicle (truck) mounted, can be transported by C-130. M777 lightweight and portable for 155mm, transporbatle by MV-22 Osprey, CH-47 helicopter …
So they can be kept largely to the ‘notional’, rear areas, and relatively quickly repositioned if perceived to be under impending/imminent significant threat, lessening likelihood of significant casualties.

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 9 2017 18:53 utc | 341

@338 Ms Hailey seems to have the same kind of mental block as her predecessor. It is for the Syrian government to say whether Iranians come or go in Syria.

Posted by: dh | Mar 9 2017 19:11 utc | 343

@ Posted by: dh | Mar 9, 2017 2:11:14 PM | 340
Absolutely concur with the latter. re Halley, merely the formal official mouthpiece (sockpuppet) of the nation State of the US of A, ‘mouths’ the ‘approved’ script provided by the Administration policy makers … which is therefore of even greater concern 🙁
All this endless ‘tension’ re delusional irrational escalatory propaganda BS re Evil™ Russkies & Iranians quite simply has to cease at some point … the risks are simply to great, IMV.
The Evil™ Russkies military budget is roughly the same as the UK! During the Cold War UK almost got it’s butt kicked by mighty Argentina in the Falklands War, FFS.
So it’s not the low-ball ‘public’ $600Billion to $66Billion ratio of US to Russia of ~10 to 1, not when one adds in the NATO budgets, as well as the NATO would be’s … what ? ~15+ to 1 ratio or higher ?!

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 9 2017 19:38 utc | 345

Well, good thing Hillary didn’t win, she’d probably have invaded Syria… /sarc
Of course Russia can easily force Iran to leave, but it won’t do that before the country is under their control up to the Euphrates (demarcation line). What can Israel do, other than send a few missiles?
@outraged:
Those figures don’t mean anything, since the ruble is under-valued, costs are generally lower in Russia, and part of the defence budget is always hidden.

Posted by: smuks | Mar 10 2017 3:03 utc | 347

from 348
.. quiet achiever not ‘quite achiever’… too many home brews and not enough sleep .. apart from never learning how to spell.

Posted by: Peter AU | Mar 10 2017 3:34 utc | 349

all this ‘positioning’, not to say invasion, of us troops is coming in the wake of the tripartite meeting, us-turkey-russia. all i gleaned from ‘news’ about that was that the us and russia were going to communicate their intentions – at least on the ground in syria – more clearly. so presumably the russians have some idea of what the us is going to (try to) do. i don’t really know what turkey was there for, other than to provide facilities and to be kept under eye themselves.
it seems to me to be up to the kurds now, in syria. either go with the usa, and thence for some sort of barzanistan in syria, or they get closer to the saa and the russians. i saw news of a picture of syrians, kurds, and russians all dancing on meeting up by erdoganistan, didn’t find the video though.
i hope the syrians-hezbollah-russians-iranians can stick together and find room among themselves for the kurds. the kurds seem to me to be crucial here. 500 or a thousand american troops mean nothing. they have so much equipment it takes great numbers of them just to transport, fuel, supply, and maintain it.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 10 2017 4:30 utc | 351

denk @ 314said:”bottom line…
bush/obama/clinton/trump…old wine in new bottle !
while sheeples congradulate themselves on staving off the evil clinton witch [sic] , the empire rolls on like clock work !
Yep, ‘fraid so, but it’ll take a bit more time before some grab a clue..

Posted by: ben | Mar 10 2017 5:51 utc | 353

US Marines are deployed to provide cover for the Special Ops already in Syria in coordination with Syrian resistance in the fight against ISIS (and Assad). At the same time RF, Iran, Hezbollah and Syria Army are fighting ISIS. So are the Kurds and so is Turkey. And they are all fighting ISIS in Syria. Iraq, US and Iran are fighting ISIS in Iraq. And In Yemen, Saudi Arabia (with help) is fighting both Houthies and (supposedly) AQAP/ISIS. ISIS is operating in Libya and Afghanistan too. It seems to me ISIS must be a mean machine to be operating in so many different countries for so long and with so much firepower (supposedly) engaged against them. How are they doing it?
I also wonder exactly what are the probabilities of something going wrong in a big way very quickly and the US has a bunch of ex military types running things in Washington? How quickly could events spiral out of control once someone does something to someone else?
If US Spec OPs and Marines are in fact engaged against ISIS in Syria, then does that not mean the US has accepted RF agreement to separate ISIS (terrorists) from legit Syrian opposition? US says it is not coordinating strikes with RF. Will US allow its troops to be exposed to RF and Syrian missions against ISIS? Wouldn’t the US inform RF of where is troops are operating? And when? RF is in the air. The others are on the ground. Where is it more likely US troops come into contact with Iran/Hezbollah/Syrian Army? It’s going to be on land, where supposedly the US is not coordinating with RF/Syria. What will happen then?

Posted by: thecelticwithinme | Mar 10 2017 6:35 utc | 355

Apparently there were 500 troops in Syria already and they sent in 400 more and a contingent of 1000 also to be deployed to Syria are being sent through Kuwait.
Trump gave the Pentagon 30 days to come up with the safe zones plan. So once they raze Raqqa, Fallujah style, families and all, since Trump said the families gotta be killed as well, does anyone really believe that Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, the Syrian Army, the Saudi Wahhabis not in Raqqa known under the generic term rebels and the Turks are gonna sing kumbaya, mission accomplished let’s everyone go home and leave Syria to the Syrians? Or is the U.S. sending in even more boots after Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and the Syria Army busted their butt and suffered casualties so that Trump can proclaim victory, plant the Empire’s flag, slice the pie and eat it too?
Oh, and I forgot to mention the Israelis that are making demands after they gave material support to AQ and ISIS. So Netanyahu helped the terrorist enemy and gets to calls the shots too.
When the U.S. sends in the cavalry with its killing machine; destruction follows and Syria will never be the same as it was before the U.S., KSA and Israel conspired to neutralize it.
Are they sending in black ops too to take care of Assad, or are they gonna hand him over to those ally rebels like they did Gaddafi?
This is a f#%kup in the making. This reminds me of when Putin got screwed by Obama and Hillary with the Libya no-fly resolution. Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice… Shame on Putin for letting the Empire headed by its latest con get the better of him again.

Posted by: Circe | Mar 10 2017 7:08 utc | 357

Disgraceful U.S. Support for the War on Yemen Continues

As expected, the Trump administration is undoing the minimal, belated limits that the previous administration put on arms sales to the Saudis:
  The State Department has approved a resumption of weapons sales that critics have linked to Saudi Arabia’s bombing of civilians in Yemen, a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdom’s involvement in its neighbor’s ongoing civil war.
  The proposal from the State Department would reverse a decision made late in the Obama administration to suspend the sale of precision guided munitions to Riyadh, which leads a mostly Arab coalition conducting airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
U.S. support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen has been a disgrace for almost two years, but this latest decision shows that the new administration is going to compound the earlier errors that Obama made in enabling that war. The U.S. has been deeply complicit in the coalition’s war crimes and its role in creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and thanks to Trump and Tillerson that complicity is only going to get worse. Millions of Yemeni civilians will continue to suffer and many thousands will die, and all so that our government can placate our despotic client states.

… well forget the harangues around the edges … the fact is that tee-rump is going to sell more arms to the saudis, fueling their reign of terror in yemen.
Amnesty International: Stop British weapons reaching Saudi Arabia to be used in Yemen

“We know that UK-made weapons are amongst those claiming Yemeni lives. By continuing to supply Saudi Arabia and the coalition with arms, the UK risks complicity in acts that may amount to war crimes.”

‘risks complicity’ … ‘may amount to war crimes’ … ai are a bunch of candyy-ass bastards, but the fact is that the uk, too, is full-speed ahead in support of the saudi reign of terror in yemen.
life goes on as usual for us americans and brits …. in yemen it’s a little bit harder. oh well, can’t see the murdered, the maimed, the starving from my house. not really a concern of mine.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 10 2017 7:17 utc | 359

And In Yemen, Saudi Arabia (with help) is fighting both Houthies and (supposedly) AQAP/ISIS.
With help…the U.S. has stepped up its presence there too with multiple bombing raids in Yemen since the recent failed operation. It’s just being ignored by the media like Obama’s bombing raids were.
You have to go to alternative media to get the latest.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/09/trumps-ramped-up-bombing-in-yemen-signals-more-aggressive-use-of-military/
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/03/03/512860/Yemen-US-drone-strike-Saudi-Arabia-alQaeda-Houthis-Pentagon

Posted by: Circe | Mar 10 2017 7:38 utc | 361

So Turkey has got a slice of Syria thanks to the Eurphrates shield operation. The US is about to cut itself a piece called Rojova, (The Russians think they can steal, we’ll see). Is there anyone left who hasn’t gotten some Syrian pie?
Oh yeah, Israel!
Now, these stories are dated to be sure. In fact, the details have only been released today, that’s the same day Putin told Netanyahu that he wouldn’t be allowed to target Iranian assets in Syria unopposed.
https://mobile.almasdarnews.com/article/video-israeli-targets-and-destroys-an-isis-tank-in-the-golan-heights/
http://uawire.org/news/le-figaro-reports-that-an-israeli-aircraft-bombed-a-syrian-sam-complex-and-a-weapons-warehouse
Admittedly, the UAWIRE story is for domestic consumption, it doesn’t even note that Syria’s s300 stopped functioning years ago. The fact that such propaganda is needed at this time is telling, and possibly a sign that Israel doesn’t intend to be left out of the partitioning, especially with ISIS and other Jehadists sitting pretty, right on Israel’s doorstep.

Posted by: Wwinsti | Mar 10 2017 9:01 utc | 363

@360 lozion. ‘Yes, Thailand is indeed far form Yemen 😉 …’
that’s very true. i may voice my ‘concern’ … but what is that? nothing …
Definition of concern
transitive verb
1 a : to relate to : be about The novel concerns three soldiers. The report concerns global warming. b : to bear on
2 : to have an influence on : involve; also : to be the business or affair of The problem concerns us all. This conversation does not concern you.
3 : to be a care, trouble, or distress to Her ill health concerns me. Her son’s frequent tantrums concerned her.
4 : engage, occupy He concerns himself with trivia. She refused to concern herself with such gossip.

… to concern oneself with an issue – with the genocide of the yemenis by the us, uk, saudis, and gcc – is to have an influence on it … to actively involve oneself to foreclose it, in this case.
we americans and brits may tsk, tsk and run our mouths about genocide, but we are fundamentally unconcerned with it.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 10 2017 13:07 utc | 365

Erdogan Regime Forces Kill Syrian Soldiers and Border Guards

Syrian military sources said forces of the Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan bombarded the positions of the Syrian Army, in Manbij, western countryside of Aleppo later on Thursday. Several Syrian soldiers and border guards are said to be among the victims of the Turkish bombardment. …
Meanwhile, the commander of the US Central Command in the Middle East, Gen. Joseph Votel announced that Washington is currently taking steps in order to prevent a clash between the Turkish Forces and the US-backed Kurdish Forces in Syria. … He also revealed that Pentagon is considering to arm the Gulf states with ballistic missiles.

ballistic missiles … that’s a real positive step isn’t it? they’ve showed so much restraint in syria and yemen, haven’t they?
US airstrike kills 23 civilians as Marines deploy to Syria

A US airstrike on the northern Syrian village of Al-Mataba near the Syrian city of Raqqa claimed the lives of at least 23 civilians Wednesday night. Many of the victims were from one family, whose house was demolished in the bombardment. The dead were reported by Syrian monitoring groups to have included at least six children and four women.
Testifying before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Gen. Joseph Votel, the chief of US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the region, claimed that the authorization to use military force (AUMF) passed by the US Congress in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington provided the authority to escalate the deployment in Syria (a country that had nothing to do with 9/11) in order to fight ISIS (which did not exist in 2001). Votel also made it clear that the US intervention was being carried out without the permission of the Syrian government.

right up front on their war crimes now. no more need for stinkin’ badges.
maybe putin ought to give votel the same lecture he gave netanyahoo, on the reality of the present and the irrelevance of a mythic past.

Posted by: jfl | Mar 10 2017 13:15 utc | 367

@Peter AU 348
“The cost of military is in direct relation to a countries ability to create wealth.”
Sort of. The Saudis have nothing but oil, but a huge military – Japan or Germany have huge wealth, but relatively small armies. Russia has huge strategic resources: Oil and gas, wheat, intel, and first of all its huge territory, pretty much controlling Eurasia’s trade routes and most strategic regions. While you do have a point, it’s not quite as simple imo.
@outraged
Scratch a bit underneath the surface. The Ruble is 50% undervalued, PPP and wages are low, and I’m sure there are some parts of the defence budget hidden away. So realistically, we can estimate something around 200 billion “real $” military spending – still way less than the US, no arguing about that. But the US also spends vast sums on the sheer number of forces and hundreds of bases abroad, plus useless private contractors etc. – Russia spends in a more focused manner, thus more efficiently.
Same with China: If you calculate with ‘real’ costs and exchange rates + hidden parts, its defence budget is probably similar to the US’.
We can still take a realistic view at things, while criticizing western militarism, no?

Posted by: smuks | Mar 10 2017 14:48 utc | 369

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 10, 2017 11:00:16 AM | 370
…conveniently forgetting, of course, that the West’s Military Apparatus, like the Governments themselves, are wholly owned subsidiaries of the 1% and operate to the exclusive benefit of the 1%.
Therefore, every piece of (2nd rate) Military Junk, which the M-IC sells to the Govts they OWN, costs 5x to 10x what it would cost if the Govt was not owned by the 1% – as is the case in China and Russia.
And that’s not taking into account the ridiculous over-supply imposed on Western taxpayers. The US has 40 navies and enough Nukes to destroy the world 50 times (when once would be ample).

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 10 2017 19:17 utc | 371

ben 353
i didnt follow all the twist and turns of ‘infighting bet the factions’, or the dramas of ‘deep state attacks on trump ‘.
it’d take a full time job to separate the wheat from the chaffs !
i prefer to do some fact check…
the trump junta is escalating wars in yemen, syria and stoking fire in the korean peninsula, god knows what nasty tricks they are going to spring in scs and tw straits yet !
the USN is getting new bases in jp and sk,
thaad raises tension between beijing./seoul , the msm gloated.
drones still terrorising whole communities in afpak, etc.
jsoc still ‘chasing jihadists’ in africa , iraq….seventeen years on. !
all in all,
the empire’s baton is being passed from the 44th to 45th front man without missing a beat !
while trumpsters console us that had it been clinton she’d already started ww3 !
uncle scam must be chuckling to himself !
while the pro arsonists are setting the world in flame,
true to form, here comes the msm spin…
………………………………
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un lights fire across Asia, raising dilemma for Trump
…………………………
to paraphrase george carlin,
there’s no escape from washington’s two deadly exports,bombs and bushits !
either you’ get bombed to smithereens or you get smothered by its bushits. !

Posted by: denk | Mar 11 2017 2:15 utc | 373