Here’s a must read article from the always excellent Patrick Poole at PJMedia.
Category Archives: Politics
New York Times Discovers Yemen’s ‘Death to America’ Houthi Rebels are Moderates and Possible U.S. Partners
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, Terrorism
The Yemen “Success” Story In Flames
Malcolm Pollack wrote an excellent post on the Houthi coup in Yemen, “Rock and Roll, Houthi Coup”. Malcolm compiled the pertinent facts on Yemen being another Muslim failed state, clinging to the edge of the cliff – economic despair, a population reliant on government for its basic needs, a water supply imperiled by khat production, and internecine fighting. He states:
“About Yemen, President Obama — who, when it comes to foreign policy and a whole lot more, has been described of late as “King Midas in reverse” — had this to say back in September:
This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.
As always, up is down, black is white, etc. Meanwhile, this:
The collapse of the U.S.-backed government of Yemen on Thursday has left America’s counter-terrorism campaign “paralyzed”, two U.S. security officials said, dealing a major setback to Washington’s fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent wing of the militant network.”
I recommend you read his entire excellent post. Now, along with collapse of the Yemeni government, to the north, Saudi Arabia’s relic of a king passed away. So, we’ve got the “kingdom” of Saudi Arabia passing the crown to a 79 year-old, who reportedly suffers from dementia, while the court swarms with intrigue. Now, this kingdom feels threatened on all fronts – existentially from Shia expansion, from radicalized Sunni/Salafi Islamist groups, and from crashing oil prices. In reaction to these external threats they’re building walls (a defensive posture) to keep foreign dangers at bay and bankrolling President Obama’s half-hearted battle to defeat IS/ISIL/ISIS (a money down the drain effort). John McCreary’s Nightwatch predicts, the new king will likely move toward more conservative domestic postures, which makes sense, to try to preserve power and maintain political stability within the kingdom. Nightwatch’s analysis states:
“Be prepared for policy changes. The instinctive reaction of living systems is to contract during times of internal stress, and even more so during a leadership crisis. Leadership transition is a time of vulnerability. Most systems increase their defensive vigilance during that period.
Applying that to Saudi Arabia, guards will be extra vigilant to protect the new King and the Crown Prince. Restrictions on population movements and border controls usually tighten. Dissidents and miscreants usually go to ground for a while.
The protective and defensive instinct also applies to policies. That instinct ensures the continuation of the bedrock principles of a state, but not necessarily more discretionary initiatives. In Saudi Arabia, the monarchy, Wahhabism, the tribal heritage and oil are four of the bedrock principles. Experiments in modernity are expendable.
The emphasis in a leadership transition always is stability because when a King dies, the Kingdom can be at risk. Abdallah did all that a reigning monarch can do to protect the monarchy. Readers must expect that his policies and programs will be modified, assuming they survive at all.”
Shia powers smell weakness, as do the radicalized bands of Islamist nutcases, emboldening them to embark on ambitious offensive measures to seize more territory in rudderless states, left from the oh so glorious Arab Spring, our ass backwards, leader from behind, championed. Sorry, namby-pamby, narrative writers at the White House, the rest of the world isn’t in the business of selling Obama t-shirts, Obama policies or the Obama “legacy” (#ChickensCameHomeToRoost), so they already wrote Obama off as a weak, unreliable partner.
So, we’ve got bands of drug-crazed, drug-financed Islamists and batshit crazy Shia mullahs fighting to rule swaths of war-ravaged, barren sand pits, swarming with millions of hopeless, starving, illiterate people. Yemen is just one more to add to the list.
Don’t expect the Obama administration to do more than rewrite their “narrative” and send John Kerry bearing love beads, groveling to the Iranians once more, begging for them to cooperate on Peace in the region. “Up in smoke” goes the Obama foreign policy on Yemen, hailed only months ago as a huge “success” – like Somalia, no less (yep, failed state Somalia is a Obama success too, who knew….). To round out President Obama’s capitulation to the threat we can not name – (Islamic Imperialism) , stay tuned, because soon we will see how, the Iranian regime, Terror Central, incorporates nuclear weapons into their OFFENSIVE MILITARY POSTURE. One can only wonder if the Obama administration has chewed too much khat like the Somalis and Yemenis or scarier to consider, perhaps these stellar graduates from some of America’s finest universities really believe their own bullshit, oops, “narratives”.
Psst, no, no, no watch and see, it’s those nefarious “right-wing, gun-toting, clinging to their religion Americans” (ostensibly, those dastardly WASPs) who pose the greatest threat to America. Let me sip another cup of tea:-)
Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, Terrorism
Bill Whittle: Number One With A Bullet | Truth Revolt
Bill Whittle: Number One With A Bullet | Truth Revolt.
Bill Whittle murders the Progressive’s “America the Gun Nut Nation” meme in this Firewall video.
Filed under Culture Wars, General Interest, Gun Control, Politics
A Naked Phrase Goes Clothes Shopping
By Minta Marie Morze
The President in the 2015 SOTU used the terms “fearful and reactive”. He also used the phrase “violent extremist”.
Consider these lines from the SOTU:
“Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing? Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet?”
Here, I believe: “Fearful” could translate to, for example, the NRA, Bible Clingers, Pro-Lifers, Tea Partiers, the Right, and so forth. “Reactive” could be a reference to the known term ”Reactionary”, which means Conservatives, the Right Wing, Climate Change Deniers, and in short, it also could include everyone who is “fearful”, etc.: the “Fearful Reactionary Them” on the Right against whom the Progressive “Courageous Anointed Us” is in perpetual conflict.
People wonder why the President and his Administration won’t use the phrase “Jihadi violent extremism” or “Muslim violent extremism”. Even in the SOTU, he used the term “violent extremism”. He has said elsewhere that he is going to convene an international conference on “Violent Extremism”.
From the SOTU:
“. . . and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism.”
While there are many reasons for the Administration to insist on these terms and against the others, against any term relating to Islamists, I believe that a major reason for the omission—a very, very important reason—is simply this:
If you use the phrases “Jihadi Violent Extremism” or “Muslim Violent Extremism”, and if you call for an international conference to deal with the problem, then Islamist Violence/Terrorism will be what it is about. If you simply say “violent extremism” and “violent extremist”, you can have conferences and make laws and policies and regulations about generic “Violent Extremists”. Then, at any time, by inserting numerous qualifiers before the term, you can make the laws, regs, and policies turn, with full force of the law, against all of the people and groups on the Right, all of those “fearful and reactive” people who hurt the Progressives.
“Pro-Life Violent Extremists”
“Tea Party Violent Extremists”
“NRA Violent Extremists”
“Right-Wing Violent Extremists”
See how easy it is? Now all the laws and regs and policies made to deal with “violent extremism” apply to these factions too!
A naked phrase can be dressed in any attire you choose to clothe it in. Just select the necessary qualifier. After all, note how the Administration’s spokespeople carefully say things like, “There are many people who use violence to further their cause”, and other such phrases. (It’s called “priming the pump” or “preparing the ground” or “working the room”.)
Examples:
JOSH EARNEST [WH Spokesman]: Because violent extremism is something that we wanna be focused on and it’s not just — it’s not just Islamic violent extremism that we want to counter there. There are other forms of –
Martha Maccallum of FOX interviews a spokeswoman for the State Department:
MARIE HARF: . . . . But that’s not the only way that you counter this kind of extremism. Much of it Islamic, you’re absolutely right, but some of it not. So we’re gonna focus on all the different kinds of extremism with a heavy focus on people who do this in the name of Islam, we would say falsely in the name of Islam, but there are other forms of extremism. . . . . Well, I — I — I think all of these leaders have made very clear the serious threats we face. If you look at the president’s speech at West Point, if you look at the things Secretary Kerry has said. It’s not as easy as — as defining at the way you just did. We have to look at each threat individually. All of those threats you just mentioned are from different groups and different places.
[Interviewer MARTHA MACCALLUM asks: “Tell me, what other forms of extremism are particularly troubling and compelling to you right now?”]
HARF: Well, look, there are people out there who want to kill other people in the name of a variety of causes. Of course, Martha, we are most focused on people doing this in the name of Islam. As we’ve talked about with ISIL, part of our strategy to counter this extremism is to have other moderate Muslim voices to stand up and say, they don’t represent our religion. They speak for their religion more than we do certainly, and we need those voices to stand up in addition to all the other efforts we’re undertaking.
And we can add qualifiers like “Hate-Speaking Violent Extremist”.
This can be tied all together, those who speak, incite, behave, etc., in ways that make any qualifying faction a “Designated-Group Violent Extremist”.
“White Privilege Violent Extremist”
Note that, still in the 2015 SOTU, the President said:
“A better politics is one where we appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.
A better politics is one where we debate without demonizing each other; where we talk issues, and values, and principles, and facts, rather than “gotcha” moments, or trivial gaffes, or fake controversies that have nothing to do with people’s daily lives.
A better politics is one where we spend less time drowning in dark money for ads that pull us into the gutter, and spend more time lifting young people up, with a sense of purpose and possibility, and asking them to join in the great mission of building America.”
“Fearful-Demonizing-Gotcha-Fake-Controversy Contriver-Dark-Money-Ad-Producing-Guttersniping Violent Extremist”
So of course I remember the President’s UN speech in 2012, which words I noted at the time, where he said:
“Today we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our united nations.
“In this modern world, with modern technologies, for us to respond in that way to hateful speech empowers any individual who engages in such speech to create chaos around the world. We empower the worst of us if that’s how we respond.
“However, I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders in all countries to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism.
“It is time to marginalize those who, even when not directly resorting to violence, use hatred of America or the West or Israel as the central organizing principle of politics, for that only gives cover and sometimes makes an excuse for those who do resort to violence. That brand of politics, one that pits East against West and South against North, Muslims against Christians and Hindu and Jews, can’t deliver on the promise of freedom.
“It is time to leave the call of violence and the politics of division behind.
“It’s time to heed the words of Gandhi, “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.”
“And we must remain engaged to assure that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence.”
Yah, we all know that citizens demanding their rights leads to violence. With this reasoning, any laws against “’Qualifier’ Violent Extremists” and “’Qualifier’ Violent Extremism” can magically transform to deal with “the demand for rights”, “intolerance”, “hate speech”, “division”, “factions”, etc. Repeating what the President told the UN, (ignoring a Prog ruse de guerre, the ”baseball, motherhood, and apple-pie”-sort of invocation of “America”, “the West”, and “Israel”, which verbalization is a normal Progressive subterfuge):
“It is time to marginalize those who, even when not directly resorting to violence, use hatred of America or the West or Israel as the central organizing principle of politics, for that only gives cover and sometimes makes an excuse for those who do resort to violence.”
Gosh! We wouldn’t want anyone, while themselves “not directly resorting to violence”, to do anything to “give cover to” or “excuse” “those who do resort to violence”.
“Fearful-Demonizing-Gotcha-Fake-Controversy Contriver-Dark-Money-Ad-Producing-Guttersniping-Not-Violent-Themselves-But-Givers-Of-Cover-To-Or-Excusing Violent Extremists or Extremism”
They.Must.Be.Stopped.
So, as a closing thought, maybe there are more reasons than people have suggested for why the President and Holder didn’t attend what was, after all, a demonstration in favor of “Free Speech”, including speech that “incites” and “offends”—you know, like “Hate Speech”.
A demonstration that marched against, oh, you know, “They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-By-Anybody-At-Any-Time Violent Extremists”.
Filed under Culture Wars, Food for Thought, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Politics, Terrorism, The Media
Bill Whittle: The Road to Hell | Truth Revolt
Filed under Culture Wars, Food for Thought, General Interest, Politics
Military justice takes a long winter’s nap
Let me venture atop my soapbox and rail about the Obama administration once again. Today’s topic raising my ire, assuredly one that should have been resolved months ago: an Army decision on Bowe Bergdahl , the US solider who deserted his Army post in Afghanistan. This White House, staffed by far-left ideologues, partisan flunkies, Clinton administration retreads and even campaign workers with no qualifications whatsoever, relies on creating “narratives” rather than following the rule of law. This President, our fearless leader from behind, abdicated his oath of office years ago, yet he still gets a free pass, because the gutless Republicans in Congress fear the backlash that would ensue from impeaching the “first black President of the United States”.
Where the Obama adminstration reliance on “narratives” originated follows a clear historical trajectory from the Clinton spin machine, where the Clinton administration weathered turbulent seas of scandals, both personal and official, by spinning (lying). The Clinton propagandists, Carville, Begala and Stephanopoulos (now heading a major news network), proved that if you repeat a lie often enough and loud enough, it will drown out the TRUTH, where it may wash up on shore at some later date, a mere unnoticed pebble on the beach.
Moving on, to something borrowed, something blue, the Obama administration, crafted a 2.0 version of spin, their illustrious “narratives”, in lieu of crafting serious policy or relying on principles and upholding the Constitution of the United States. Reports have been swirling for months now, alleging the Obama administration pressured the Defense Department to sit on the completed Bergdahl court martial investigation.
Last summer, I wrote extensively about the national security threat that is THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. They released high-level Taliban prisoners for Bergdahl, then tried to portray Bergdahl as an American war hero. When that stink bomb blew up in their face, instead of admitting their mistake, they rewrote their narrative, using their official offices for massive propaganda efforts directed at the American public. Susan Rice, the President’s National Security Advisor, went on national TV and proclaimed that Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction”, knowing full well that Bergdahl’s status swirled with controversy over allegations he deserted his post. When called on that LIE, she doubled down on the lie.
Now to the present, FOX News has a report by LTC Bill Cowan (ret.), a frequent military analyst there. He writes:
“In White House terms, not charging Bergdahl means that he was indeed worth the trade for the Taliban Five. But charging him on any level means that releasing the five Taliban was an error of monstrous proportions, one the administration will never be able to explain away satisfactorily.
Watch for the announcement, in all likelihood on a Friday afternoon. If Bergdahl is charged, the administration will hope it’s old news by Monday. If he’s not charged, it will be big news for a long time to come.”
Expect many more rewrites to this administration’s Bergdahl melodrama. It wasn’t enough for President Obama to fundamentally transform America. He’s working on dismantling the US Armed Forces too. When soldiers who served honorably end up being cast as psychopaths and liars by a spokeswoman for our State Department (Marie Harf), while a deserter like Bergdahl gets cast as a hero, can our demise be far in the distance?
Let me state in unequivocal terms, I believe this President is the greatest threat to America’s national security. If he succeeds at destroying faith in the chain of command, good order and discipline will crumble, unit cohesion will collapse, and our noble fighting force will have been felled by a shameless pack of partisan LIARS.
Here’s a voluminous list of previous LB Bergdahl rants:
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/05/31/repaid-in-kind/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/01/a-soldier-in-good-standing/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/02/reading-the-three-cups-of-tea-leaves/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/03/military-jargon-101-or-portrait-of-courage-not/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/04/they-embraced-it/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/04/just-the-facts/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/04/another-lie/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/04/undue-command-influence/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/05/the-choices-we-make/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/06/mendacity-us-proud-alumni/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/06/07/enemies-both-foreign-and-domestic/
https://libertybellediaries.com/2014/10/10/bergdahl-update/
Yeah, that last one on the list was from October 2014, when the Bergdahl investigation was completed, but due to White House politics, the investigation is undergoing a winter hibernation – a lengthy review process….
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, The Constitution
Rewriting the “counter-narrative”…
“U.S. military social media accounts apparently hacked by Islamic State sympathizers” – from the Washington Post
“Islamic State Hacks CENTCOM Twitter Feed as Obama Talks Cybersecurity” – The Washington Free Beacon
President Obama skipped Sunday’s rally in Paris to show solidarity with other world leaders to fight Islamic terrorism. The negative press prompted the White House to conjure up a “global security summit” in February and to blame security concerns for the President’s safety as the reason President Obama didn’t attend. Yes, 40 other world leaders took the risk and stood up to Islamic terrorists, but our leader from behind, who reportedly spent a good bit of Sunday watching football on TV, huddled with his team, playing Monday morning quarterback, rewriting their “counter-narrative”…. #Man-madeDisaster
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Politics, Terrorism
A “counter-narrative”?
Leave it to Eric Holder to explain how we’re going to fight Islamic terrorists. From This Week with George Stephanopolis on Sunday:
“STEPHANOPOULOS: The French prime minister said yesterday that France is at war with radical Islam.
Is the U.S. At war with radical Islam?
HOLDER: Well, I certainly think that we are at war with those who would commit terrorist attacks and who would corrupt the Islamic faith in the way that they do, to try to justify their terrorist actions.
So that’s who we are at — at war with. And we are determined to take the fight to them to prevent them from engaging in these kinds of activities.
Our president has indicated that we will be calling, on February the 18th, a summit, so that we deal with better ways in which we can counter violent extremism and really get at the core, come up with ways in which we prevent people from adhering to, being attracted to this terrorist ideology.
We certainly have to work, I think, in a dual way. We need to confront people who engage in these acts, hold them accountable. But we also have to somehow come up with a counter-narrative that too many people, especially young men, find attractive.
And, as I said, February the 18th, the White House will host a summit that I announced at the meeting here today in Paris.”
There you’ve got it, they’re not Islamic and we’re not at war with them, really, and in case you missed it, we need to hold terrorists accountable as the Obama administration continues to release the most dangerous GITMO Islamic terrorists. ” But we also have to somehow come up with a counter-narrative that too many people, especially young men, find attractive”. Yes, of course, “a counter-narrative” will dissuade bloodthirsty barbarians…..
Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Politics, Terrorism
A memorial?
Last month, I came across reports in several conservative blogs, quoting a CNN story about Mike Brown, of #Ferguson fame, residing in an unmarked grave. The timeline speaks of priorities. Mike Brown died August 9, 2014. He was buried August 25, 2014. His mother, Lesley McSpadden and a group of thugs, allegedly attacked Mike Brown’s grandmother and a group of friends and family selling “Justice for Mike Brown” T-shirts on October 18, 2014. McSpadden and her group allegedly stole $1500 worth of merchandise, $400 cash and one person went to the hospital for injuries sustained in the attack.
This grieving mother could gather a gang to fight over who should profit from her son’s death, while her son lies in an unmarked grave. The MSM and black grievance industry have been carting McSpadden and her drug dealer husband, Louis Head around to drum up anti-police sentiment and fuel racial tensions, yet she hasn’t even had a headstone or marker put on her son’s grave. Likewise, the family of Staten Island police victim, Eric Garner,has been in a media whirl too. Garner was buried in July 2014 in a cemetery in Linden, NJ and surprisingly his grave also sits untended and unmarked.
Now, to complete this bizarre tale of memorializing the dead, along comes this story today of a Ferguson police officer, Timothy Zoll, being put on administrative leave for referring to a makeshift pile of mementos in the middle of the street, euphemistically dubbed a “Mike Brown Memorial”, as a pile of trash. Someone drove through the memorial in the middle of the street and idiots, yes, I said idiots posted photos of the carnage wrought and also if you scroll down there’s a photo of the memorial restored.
Is this really what memorializing the dead has come to in America – a pile of stuffed animals, dead flowers and assorted cheap bric-a-brac placed in the middle of a street? Where’s the outrage that all of these people profiting from Mike Brown’s death, to include his mother, can fight over T-shirt revenues before even caring for his grave? The silence is deafening. Yet, the Washington Post wants to sensationalize the police officer speaking the truth – it’s a pile of trash in the middle of the street.
Perhaps, at some of these protests, the black grievance leaders can take up a collection for decent headstones for the black men, whose names they’ve cheaply commercialized, with catchy, “hands up” and ” I can’t breathe” advertising gimmicks, to further their political aims.
If that months old, moldering pile of trash in the middle of the street is a memorial to a young life lost in America, the devaluation of human life plummeted far lower than most of us could ever have imagined.
Filed under Culture Wars, Food for Thought, General Interest, Politics, The Media, Uncategorized
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