Middle East

The Senate Advocates Of Intervention In Muslim Lands: Enough Already!

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Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina advocated future intervention to stop the massacres going on in Syria.

Graham, along with Senators John McCain of Arizona and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, continue to travel in the Middle East and to advocate military intervention in Muslim lands.

As if intervention in Iraq, Aghanistan and Libya are not enough, President Obama has authorized drones and bombings be utilized in Pakistan and Yemen.

But whatever Obama does, which many wonder if not already too much intervention, these three Senators want extended military intervention in even more nations.

We can mourn the loss of life and the horrors of the Assad regime in Syria, but every country we intervene in only adds to Muslim hatred of America, and increases the desire of young Muslims in the Middle East and Asia to join Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

America cannot afford such military intervention, whether with the goal of improving relations with the Muslim world which does not occur, or in financial terms.

America is broke financially by these overseas interventions, and we are losing our young men and women to a cause that cannot be won by bombings and troops on the ground.

If we could only understand that we would be outraged by Muslim intervention in American territory, maybe we could see the mindset of the Muslim nations, who want us to get out of their lands, which we started to occupy in the Gulf War of 1991, the turning point for bad relations with that religious group and their populations.

So, Senator Graham, and Senators McCain and Lieberman, enough of your war mongering, and let’s bring the boys and girls home, and defend our own nation, and reinvest in our infrastructure and our education and health care instead of throwing money down a toilet!

British Budget Demonstrations Turn Violent: Is This Portending The Future In America?

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The year 2011 is only three months old, but already we have had massive demonstrations protesting dictatorial government in the many countries in the Middle East, with some of these demonstrations, unfortunately, turning violent. But it is clear the younger generation wants opportunities for a real future, rather than one of poverty and deprivation and lack of human rights.

Sadly, now we are starting to see massive demonstrations and the danger of violence in countries around the world affected by the economic crisis, by citizens who cannot tolerate the massive cuts in education, health care, and other public services that the population of these nations cannot comprehend occurring, as it will hit the poor and the middle class in massive ways, while the plutocracy–the rich and the powerful–of these societies do everything they can to evade taxation or responsibility for their part in promoting the advancement of society!

We have now seen protests against British government actions to promote massive cuts in programs, and it has led to violence by the masses who are being harmed by it, and want the elite wealthy to pay more than they do in taxes, and stop evading of taxes by corporations!

We may have had Tea Party demonstrations before the midterm elections last year in the United States. But as the American people come to realize the extent of tax evasion by companies such as General Electric just revealed this week, and the growing influence of the Koch Brothers and other billionaires in lining their own pockets by manipulating the Republican Party in the states and in the Congress, and the anti labor, anti elderly, anti youth, anti minorities, anti women, and anti public services mentality of our plutocracy which has been assisted by the corruption of the Republican dominated, Koch Brothers influenced Supreme Court majority allowing unlimited corporate spending in the Citizens United Case of January, 2010, the result, unfortunately, is likely a mass reaction in a way highly dangerous of public order!

The American people are not going to permit the total destruction of the middle class and the kicking of the poor to the curb, by selfish, greedy interests who care about nothing but their own wallets!

So portending the future in America is indeed terrifying, as we are going through rougher times now than ever before, and the future seems very gloomy for most Americans, even those who are fortunate enough to have employment, but are being abused by their companies or their government employers in the name of the advancement of personal gain over social responsibility!

The Dangers Of Highly Educated Unemployed People In America!

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The United States is facing a major crisis in unemployment, with millions of young Americans going to college, expecting rewards in the form of job opportunities and career advancement after years of preparation, and instead being forced to take part time work, often outside their fields of preparation, and losing valuable years of career building experience.

After beginning to assert their independence from parents, many are forced to move back home, or live in poverty, with little hope of advancement, which would allow them to plan to marry, have children, and live the “American Dream”!

The danger of frustrations building up in these young college graduates is that it could lead to such disillusionment, that it leads to violence and bloodshed in the streets, not all that different than what happened in Egypt and other Middle East nations in the past two months.

The image of America as the “land of opportunity” is being damaged, and desperate people who see no future could rise in anger, and strike out against the society that promises them hope and opportunity, and then fails to follow through.

We have government leaders now in the states and in the House of Representatives, mostly Republicans, who seem to only care about the rich and the privileged, proving themselves to be uninterested in economic opportunity, but rather only in the perpetuation of what has become, in many respects, a plutocracy, rather than the democracy that is part of the political propaganda that students learn about in political science classes.

Failure to understand that educated unemployed people will only take so much abuse before striking back leads one to fear the future, and a possible return to the turmoil and riots of the 1960s. We could be facing the horrors of a civil war, of the unemployed masses and the discontented educated class against the plutocracy that never is satisfied in its maniacal seeking of fulfilling their greed and materialism!

The Middle East Headaches Of Barack Obama

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Now in its fifth day of intervention in the Libyan Civil War, the Obama Administration faces a whole series of headaches in the Middle East, many more problematical than Moammar Gaddafi!

The biggest problem of all is the Afghanistan War and the instability in next door Pakistan, which could blow up any time and affect the security of next door India, with the growing threat of Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism in the region.

Iran is also a problem that will NOT go away, with the growing dangers presented by the radical theocracy of that nation, and the movement ahead on development of nuclear weapons capability.

Third issue is Iraq, where the last 50,000 troops are supposed to be withdrawn by the end of this year, but Iran is gaining more influence by the week in a country which once fought an eight year conflict against Iran from 1980-1988.

Bahrain, where the US naval fleet is housed, and Yemen, which has an active Al Qaeda cell, both are undergoing revolutionary activities against then established governments, endangering American security interests.

Egypt and Tunisia have to adapt to their revolutions and evolve toward democracy, something they have never experienced before.

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle continues, and new violence has now erupted, leading to new possibilities of widespread bloodshed and turmoil.

Libya is less significant comparatively, but it is a reality that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates and others involved in the execution of foreign policy must be having sleepless, or at the least, restless nights!

Defense Secretary Robert Gates And Future Land Wars In The Middle East, Africa And Asia

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A few days ago, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at West Point, made a very interesting observation regarding land wars and the American future.

He stated that if any future Secretary of Defense was to suggest to a future President that the United States engage in a massive land war invasion in the Middle East, Africa or Asia, that he should have his head examined!

This is a very outspoken statement for a person who is highly regarded, and has served in the CIA and other delicate national security and defense positions, and has been an outstanding Secretary of Defense during the last two and a half years of the Bush Administration and the first two plus years of the Obama Administration.

Gates has been a refreshing and inspirational leader, as he has also made clear that there is waste and fraud in the Defense Department that needs to be cleaned up to save money in the national budget. After having witnessed the tragedy of Robert McNamara during the Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson Administrations and Donald Rumsfeld in the second Bush Administration, committing us to what turned out to be long, drawn out, disastrous wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, it is indeed time for this nation to realize that it is our engagement in foreign wars, trying to impose our values on alien societies, that has led to mass loss of life on all sides and come close to bankrupting us!

The answer for the future is not committing our young men and women to impossible causes in the interests of the defense industries and those who wish to spread Christian doctrines around the world. Rather, it is to work to promote our own internal security from terrorism and to advocate advancement of our society from within!

So Robert Gates should be saluted for his courageous statement, and it makes one wonder: What is Barack Obama’s plan for the future? Isn’t there enough evidence already that it is time to withdraw ground forces from Afghanistan and get out of Iraq and work on the economic problems of this country, which would be so much better if we cut our defense budget from what has become a total tragedy economically, our constant warfare on the battlefields of Asia and the Middle East?

The End Of The Iraq War Has Come: Last Combat Troops Leave After Seven Years, Five Months!

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The end of the Iraq War has finally occurred, in the sense of combat operations! 🙂

After seven years, five months, the third longest war in US History, after Vietnam and the ongoing Afghanistan War, the American government is leaving that country at a time when political turmoil is worse than it is in this nation, and one wonders what has been gained! 🙁

We have spent $700 billion, lost 4, 415 men and women, and over 32,000 wounded, many severely in physical and mental ways! 🙁

The war was based on false intelligence, manipulation of the truth, bad motivations, and effects many of which are not yet known! 🙁

It seems to many that the winner has been the nation of Iran, which no longer has to worry about its neighbor being a counter balance to them, and Iran remains a much greater threat now than it has ever been! 🙁

The question arises as to whether Israel will decide that Iran is a threat with its development of nuclear capability, and will therefore, decide to intervene militarily as it did in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007!

And the question will arise as to how the United States will deal with such an eventuality, and whether we will decide we must intervene in any conflict that occurs, and how that will affect the whole Middle East!

So while celebrating the end of the combat mission in Iraq, we must remain sober as to the effects it has had, and will continue to have in the future! 🙁