Tag: Syria

Part 2: Prevaricating Presidents — Worms on Parade

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The Last Three

In Part 2, we look at the resumes of the last three presidents of the United States. Carrying on a well-honed tradition, they are a pack of liars. Their watch includes the usual foreign policy missteps: leading America into endless war, laying waste to countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, disrupting the lives and fortunes of inhabitants to satisfy the demands of empire. They have lied to their own people and the people who live in the countries they target with a wide variety of lies — claiming human rights abuses, threats to democracy or to the rights of women or to the rights of minorities within the country. Any excuse, even the laughable one that Susan Rice, Obama’s ambassador to the UN, uncorked that Muammar Gaddafi was supplying his troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape. No evidence to back up her claim but U.S. elites don’t need evidence to do what they planned to do all along. In short order Qadaffi was dispatched and Libya quickly went from the most prosperous African state to a failed state. Even more hilarious the tale dreamed up by one of Trump’s noodle heads that Russia secretly offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. troops. One thing for sure lying about supposed enemies of the empire is a bipartisan sport. Here’s Biden supporting the bounty story — “I don’t understand why this president  [Trump] is unwilling to take on Putin when he’s actually paying bounties to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.”  After Biden was elected, the usual denials took center stage — “US spies doubt reports of Russian ’bounties’ for troops” [BBC, 4/18/2021] Before you believe the next claim by U.S. leaders that a targeted enemy is threatening the U.S., make sure you check out Part 2: Prevaricating Presidents —Worms on Parade

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Boots on the Ground, Bombs From the Air: Vietnam to Syria: You’ve Come a Long Way Baby (Or Have You)

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US / Syria Conflict

The music never stops when it comes to the U.S. war machine. The exceptional nation invokes R2P (Responsibility to Protect), or claims it’s upholding treaties and alliances, or reassures an uneasy public it’s keeping the enemy du jour away from our shores (domino theory). In the sixties, President Johnson used all three justifications but finally settled on the domino theory as his go-to argument for blunting the cries of anti-war opponents. “Without our support…Vietnam will collapse and the ripple effects will be felt throughout Southeast Asia and India…Indonesia and the Philippines.” That meme has been updated and in the twenty-first century version, hawks on both sides of the aisle speak darkly of withdrawal in Syria giving new life to the terrorism threat posed by Iran, Russia (where would we be without the international Communist conspiracy) and Israel’s favorite enemy Hezbollah. What does withdrawing 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria really signify? Judge for yourself. 170,000 U.S. troops ring the globe in at least 80 countries (that we know about). 40,000 of those troops are on classified missions and it’s anybody’s guess where they are. Which brings us right back to wondering if the Syrian troop withdrawal is all it’s cracked up to be. The democrats think so and they’re steamed. Here’s Nancy Pelosi, indignation jets open to full throttle: “…a decision…made in a cavalier fashion…a decision that is dangerous.” Do the mistakes and missteps in Vietnam have anything to teach us 50 years later as the U.S. finds itself facing an even bigger quagmire all over Asia and Africa? Read “Boots on the Ground, Bombs from the Air: Vietnam to Syria: You’ve Come a Long Way Baby (Or Have You) and see if you can make heads or tails of it.

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