Donald Rumsfeld

White House Chief Of Staff Ron Klain A True Star!

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The position of White House Chief of Staff, the person closest to the President on a daily basis, has existed since the Truman Presidency after World War II.

Some have lasted very short times in that position; some have proved to be disasters; and a small number have turned out to be exceptional in their dedication to progress under their Presidents.

The true disasters include:

Sherman Adams under Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1958)
H. R. Haldeman under Richard Nixon (1969-1973)
Donald Rumsfeld under Gerald Ford (1974-1975)
Dick Cheney under Gerald Ford (1975-1977)
Hamilton Jordan under Jimmy Carter (1979-1980)
Donald Regan under Ronald Reagan (1985-1987)
Reince Priebus under Donald Trump (six months in 2017)
Mark Meadows under Donald Trump (2020-2021)

The success stories include:

Kenneth O’Donnell under John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
James Baker under Ronald Reagan (1981-1985)
Howard Baker under Ronald Reagan (1987-1988)
John Sununu under George H. W. Bush (1989-1991)
Leon Panetta under Bill Clinton (1994-1997)
Erskine Bowles under Bill Clinton (1997-1998)
John Podesta under Bill Clinton (1998-2001)
Andrew Card under George W. Bush (2001-2005)
Denis McDonough under Barack Obama (2013-2017)
John F. Kelly under Donald Trump ((2017-2019)
Ron Klain under Joe Biden (2021- )

When one looks at these lists, it is clear that Ron Klain stands out as one of the top few White House Chiefs of Staff of all time, with Kenneth O’Donnell, James Baker, Leon Panetta, Andrew Card, and Denis McDonough also on the list of the best!

Military Invasion Of Venezuela The Wrong Thing For America To Promote

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The situation in the South American nation of Venezuela is horrendous, with massive starvation and suffering, under a horrible dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and his refusal to allow food and medical aid to come in from next door Colombia.

There is no question but that Maduro must be removed from office, but that is not through US military intervention directly.

The United States has used military force in Central America and the Caribbean on a irregular basis since the time of Theodore Roosevelt, and helped to overthrow the South American Chilean government of Salvador Allende in 1973 during the Richard Nixon Presidency, although in that situation, no US troops were sent in, simply collaboration with military generals.

But the changes in government promoted by the US invariably led to more harsh right wing dictatorships, and have undermined the relationship of the United States with its neighbors in Latin America.

Many foreign nations have withdrawn recognition from the Venezuelan government, and Juan Guaido, the leader of the National Assembly, has been declared the de facto interim President by that body.

Economic pressure and attempts to win over the military are appropriate by all nations which love freedom, but the worst possible action would be to send in military forces, which would incite civil war, and likely make America the villain, and cause a long intervention and the loss of many lives, both Venezuelan and American.

But it seems as if Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, and John Bolton are bent on military action, just as they seem to be moving in that direction regarding Iran.

So we could have two massive wars as the 2020 Presidential and Congressional elections come upon us next year, just as with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and unwise, and unsuccessful military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have undermined America, and cost a great amount of treasure, both human and capital.

Firing Of Rex Tillerson Likely The Beginning Of Another Big Purge As Trump Plans To Have Sycophants Surrounding Him, Making Him Ever More Dangerous!

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Face the truth: Secretary Of State Rex Tillerson was a horrible cabinet officer, totally unqualified, having no background in diplomacy, and a detriment to the State Department and its long term future.

But having said that, Tillerson opposed Trump on many issues, and we know he said that Trump was a F—-Moron, which Trump. most assuredly, is!

But Tillerson was kept on until now, and now former Tea Party Kansas Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo, head of the Central Intelligence Agency, will replace him, which is not good long term, as Pompeo is a sycophant, and war with North Korea and Iran are much more likely events as a result. This would be a repeat of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld foisted upon us!

The fear is this is just the beginning of another big purge, as Trump clearly wants sycophants surrounding him, making him ever more dangerous in both foreign and domestic policy.

So expect more hard line, right wingers to take control, unless somehow Trump can be removed from office.

Expect John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff; H. R. McMaster, National Security Adviser; Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education; Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; First Daughter Ivanka Trump; son in law Jared Kushner; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to be gone sometime later this year, and others may follow them.

This is not a defense of these people, who are all despicable, but simply a sign that Trump is out to “clean house”, and becomes more dangerous every day.

Is Donald Trump On Road To Being International War Criminal By His Stated Views On Torture, Oil, And Punishment Of Terrorist Families?

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It looks, at least by Donald Trump rhetoric that the 45th President of the United States is on the road to being an international war criminal, if he were to follow through on his stated views on torture, the oil of Iraq, and punishment of terrorist families.

It is clear that waterboarding and similar tortures utilized by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld a decade ago in the Iraq War was criminal activity against the Geneva Convention and international standards of proper behavior toward detainees in war.

The top people around Donald Trump–Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, have all stated their opposition to revival of this tactic, along with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

But that does not mean that Trump would not order it be done, but if so, all of these people should make clear to him that if he does so, that they will resign. Otherwise, they would also be war criminals.

Trump’s statement that America might invade Iraq again, and seize their oil, is also an international war crime, no different than the tactics of Adolf Hitler.

And his idea that the families of suspected or actual terrorists should be subject to punishment, including bombing their homes, and imprisonment and execution, is also, definitely, a war crime.

We have a megalomaniac, a dangerous, mentally unhinged President, who is disgracing us before the world community, and he needs to be arrested and sent to the Hague to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, the Netherlands, IF he follows through on any of these threats.

And being an international war criminal is enough grounds for his immediate removal by impeachment, and if the Republican Congress refused to do so, they would be accessories to war crimes.

Republican Infighting On Who To Blame For ISIL (ISIS): Rand Paul Vs. John McCain And Lindsey Graham! It Only Helps The Democrats In 2016!

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The Republican Presidential race is getting ever more heated and divisive, as the fight over who is to blame for the rise of ISIL (ISIS) rages.

The standard argument of many Republicans is that Barack Obama is responsible for the rise of ISIL (ISIS). And some blame Hillary Clinton since she was Obama’s Secretary of State in his first term.

At the same time, Democrats say it is George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld who are responsible for the rise of ISIL (ISIS).

But now, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who could be described as a “dove” in foreign policy, blames neither Obama nor Bush and company.

Rather, he blames fellow Republican Senators and Super “hawks” John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham (a soon to be announced opponent for the Republican Presidential nomination) for the rise of ISIL (ISIS)!

And, to top it off, the Wall Street Journal says it is Rand Paul who is responsible for the rise of ISIL (ISIS), as he is an “isolationist”!

So civil war is breaking out in the Republican Party over the Middle East and military intervention.

It is clear that IF somehow, highly unlikely, Rand Paul were to win the GOP nomination, the neoconservatives who took us into Iraq in 2003 would refuse to support him, all to the good for Hillary Clinton or any other Democratic nominee for President in 2016.

But if somehow, even less likely, Lindsey Graham were to win the nomination, he would face an equally divided party, and would have even less chance of defeating any Democrat for the White House!

Jeb Bush A Return To George W. Bush In Foreign Policy

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It is quite clear that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, despite his statement at the end of this week that he would not have gone into Iraq had he known the results of this foreign policy disaster, would be very likely to follow the same Neoconservative foreign policy of George W. Bush if he won the Presidency.

Jeb Bush has the same foreign policy hawks behind him who were behind George W. Bush, people such as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, Elliott Abrams, John Bolton, and Dick Cheney. Some may be close to other GOP candidates, such as Ted Cruz for the moment, but be assured that if Jeb Bush wins the nomination, they will come rushing to unite around Jeb.

Considering that Jeb seemed to repudiate his brother’s Iraq War policy in a hesitant way, and yet no denunciation from the ultimate hawk, Dick Cheney, tells the truth of the situation—that Jeb would be a repeat of George W. Bush in foreign policy, without any doubts or scruples.

Therefore, despite some signs of moderation on domestic affairs, and more reasonable rhetoric than many other GOP Presidential possibilities, Jeb Bush would take us back to the disastrous past, and must be prevented from being the Republican Presidential nominee, or the President of the United States in 2017!

A Disturbing Reality: Military Suicide Rate Of 22 Per Day Is Primarily Due To The Bush-Cheney Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan!

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The alarming statistic that 22 military personnel commit suicide every single day is clearly tied to the Bush-Cheney wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,

Not all veterans or military personnel who kill themselves come from these recent wars, but a very high percentage do, and it is because the Bush-Cheney Administration was too loose and easy to send troops to war, and not concerned enough about their treatment when they came home scarred from their war experiences.

It is important to realize that it is not just combat situations that have caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but also the growing evidence that the torture and abuse of detainees in both Iraq and Afghanistan was part of the requirement given to many of these military personnel, beyond the day to day combat.

One could conceivably fight and kill in a war and learn to deal with it, as a concept of “us or them”.

But making many military units, including those not in combat, torture and abuse detainees in the most heinous fashion, of which we had only a hint of what happened at Abu Ghraib in 2003, is the real culprit, as it is clear that Abu Ghraib is just the tip of the iceberg on this matter of torture and abuse.

It is much harder to justify in one’s mind the use of torture and abuse, when compared to actual combat situations, where one can rationalize the horrors that occur. For anyone to engage in torture and abuse and NOT feel guilty would require someone of very strong mental and physical constitution, or else demonstrate that we have troops that have major mental illness which allows them to enjoy and bask and prosper in hurting other human beings in the most despicable ways.

So Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld et al are indeed, as the New York Times has declared, guilty of war crimes, and rightfully should be charged in international courts, but that will not, of course, ever happen.

But each time after just a little more than an hour, when a soldier or former military personnel sees his life destroyed and has tremendous guilt and chooses to end his life, the guilt and burden of this reality falls on our government leaders who allowed such torture and abuse to go on, and have worked to keep as much of it secret as possible.

But over time, the truth shall come out, as it is starting to emerge now on news stories on National Public Radio and elsewhere, and it will condemn the Presidency of George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and many others to the conclusion that we have had true war criminals in charge of our government.

They have used the September 11 attacks to justify actions and motivations that have poisoned our reputation as a nation for the long haul, and for that, they will never be able to be forgiven!

The Neocons: Despicable Hypocrites!

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The Neoncons, those conservatives and Republicans who drew us into the Iraq War on false intelligence, are at it again, advocating further intervention in a hopeless war, in a nation which should, and likely, will be, soon, three nations instead of one, as the concept of Iraq created by Great Britain and France after World War I, has been a total failure, accelerated by the US intervention in 2003!

The nerve and gall of the neocons–mostly “Chicken Hawks” who never served in the military–to advocate return to Iraq, and to blame the mess there on Barack Obama, rather than George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, is beyond belief!

To see Paul Wolfowitz, Bill Kristol, Kark Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz, and so many other hypocrites, all liars and deceivers, advocate the same failed policies, is enough to make one vomit!

To see John McCain and Lindsey Graham call for more military intervention, despite their military service, is also hard to conceptualize, and makes one happy McCain was not elected President in 2008!

Somehow, particularly annoying, is Bill Kristol, publisher of the Weekly Standard, with that classic smirk on his face, calling for more intervention everywhere, despite the fact that everything he has ever stated and advocated, has proven to be totally wrong! One would love to meet Kristol, and put him on the defensive, and really, wipe that smirk off his cocky, arrogant face!

These people listed above are so outrageous and obnoxious, it makes one wish to send them to Iraq to the front lines to fight the battle they are so dedicated to, as long as they and others around them do not have to serve, with the only exception in this regard being the son of John McCain, who has followed in the distinct tradition of his dad, although his dad is so wrong headed right now on this matter!

Joe Biden View Of Iraq Correct: Three States, Not One!

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Vice President Joe Biden, as a US Senator and Presidential candidate in 2008, projected that the best future for Iraq was for the three warring, contending groups to become separate states, as the Iraq created by the British and French after World War I was unsustainable.

Biden was ridiculed and attacked for his statement and view, but it now looks more than ever, with sectarian violence among the Shiite and Sunni Muslims, along with the national ambitions of the Kurdish people in the Northern part of Iraq, that the best hope might well be a three state solution.

The only problem now is that extremist terrorist groups in Iraq and neighboring Syria, where a civil war has raged for more than three years, endangers not only such a scenario, but also the whole Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, as well as American interests.

Since the Shiite and Sunni branches of Islam have been at war for more than a thousand years in the Middle East, the best that can be hoped for is such a three state solution, with the hope that the extremism and terrorism can be contained and lessened.

This is all the outgrowth of the unnecessary, unwise, inexcusable war initiated by the George W. Bush–Dick Cheney–Donald Rumsfeld administration on Saddam Hussein, who despite his horrible regime, was not a direct threat to the United States.

Now the Biden idea, with a quelling of the terrorism aspect, is the best hope for the future, so let us salute Joe Biden for, once again, more than one realizes, being perceptive in foreign policy.

We could do far worse than Joe Biden as our potential 45th President of the United States, as the man has great knowledge, vision, and perceptions that make sense in foreign policy!

The Veterans Administration Scandal And The GOP Lack Of Concern For Veterans

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So finally, there is a “real” scandal under President Obama regarding the Veterans Administration failure to provide appropriate medical care for veterans, with the example particularly in Phoenix, Arizona of 40 veterans dying for lack of follow through on appointments.

This is reprehensible and must be fully investigated, but it is part of the reality of the bureaucracy of the VA, which has been a problem for a long time, and was fully vetted as a reality under the administration of George W. Bush.

Since Barack Obama became President, we have seen a fifty percent increase in funding, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has worked to try to push the bureaucracy to action, with little success.

So along comes the hypocritical Republican Party, which has voted against extra funding for the agency, and has set their sights on Shinseki, who angered George W. Bush and Dick Cheney back in 2003, when as a four star general, he spoke up against the planned Iraq War strategy of Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, who felt we did not need hundreds of thousands of troops to win over Saddam Hussein and any aftermath of doing so.

Shinseki was correct, but was dismissed from the military by the Bush Administration, and now the Republicans are trying to make Shinseki the scapegoat for the VA Scandal.

If we had not engaged in two failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we would not have the overwhelming numbers of veterans who now need medical help, and yet see the GOP fight against increased funding for the agency.

The Republican Party is no friend of veterans, only the friend of the defense industries which make trillions off of war, including Dick Cheney, who became extremely wealthy off of stock and former leadership in Halliburton, one of the most corrupt corporations on the planet!

Shinseki and Obama are being made political victims of the the hypocrisy of the Republican Party, which has demonstrated total lack of concern for veterans by their actions!