The truth is, what passes for socialism, thanks to Bernie Sanders and
others, is actually New Deal liberalism, programs designed to save
capitalism from itself by distributing some benefits and services to the
masses. But the Lords of Capital decades ago threw down the gauntlet
and swept the crumbs for the masses off the table, decreeing austerity
forever and allocating ever-higher proportions of the federal budget to
the military. Capitalism divested itself of as much of its working class
as possible in the developed countries, and exported jobs and whole
industries to the Global South, expecting to somehow hold onto world
power on the strength of finance capital and the U.S. military, and to
further enrich themselves domestically by privatization of public
services and imposition of all manner of corporate fees and rents on
every aspect of life. Austerity is organized thievery, unbound-- to
which the young say, give us “socialism,” whatever that is. Socialism has become the catch-all for anti-capitalism. Maybe it always was, in the minds of most people. There is anti-capitalism in great abundance, and although there is
not nearly enough anti-war fervor in the capitalist heartland, there is
not much pro-war sentiment, either. The military-industrial-national
security complex found that out, to their horror, when presidential
candidate Donald Trump proposed an end to wars of regime-change and
better relations with Russia -- and his racist white base didn’t blink
an eye! If Trump’s crowd isn’t the natural base for the War Party, then
who is? The Russiagate scam is, to a large degree, a desperate bid to
rekindle militarism in America. Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(AOC) is dancing to “War, What Is It Good For (Absolutely Nothing),” and
musing about raising corporate taxes to 70 percent. That ain’t socialism, either, but it’s a harbinger of growing space
on the Left. The AOC “socialists” have no idea what kind of capitalist
enemy they are up against, but if they keep pricking it, they will soon
find out. The Lords of Capital are in their end-game. The next moves are
for keeps.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Iraq in an unannounced stop on his Mideast tour meant to promote the White House's hard-line position on Iran. abcn.ws/2CYeX09
0:22
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The Iraq War, the ongoing Iraq War, hits the 16 year mark in two months
and still US officials have to make "unannounced visits." All these
years later.
ABC avoids
reality by allowing Elizabeth McLaughlin and Conor Finnegan to insist,
"The president visited Iraq, also unannounced, the day after Christmas,
saying the U.S. still could use bases there for operations in Syria."
BAGHDAD
— In an unannounced visit shrouded in secrecy, Vice President Joseph R.
Biden Jr. came to Iraq on Thursday for the first time in almost five
years, ...
New York Times
As US president, Barak Obama made one visit to Iraq in his two terms (eight years). Guess what? It was unannounced.
BAGRAM
AIR BASE, Afghanistan — President Obama arrived in Afghanistan on
Sunday for an unannounced visit to mark Memorial Day with U.S. troops,
now in ...
Almost every visit by a Western figure to a warzone since the US-led
invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has been done without warning. US President Barack Obama made regular unannounced visits to Afghanistan, as did Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair to Iraq. Earlier
this year Secretary of State John Kerry turned up in Somalia, a
war-ravaged state currently waging an armed campaign against al-Shabab
Islamist rebels - with reports suggesting even Somali officials believed
a more junior US official would be attending. But clearly these
leaders - and their advisers - judge that the advantages of paying these
visits outweigh the attendant security risks, both in terms of boosting
morale of personnel overseas and in giving the leader in question a PR
lift.
For those attempting to provide 'context,' grasp that there was a world
before President Donald Trump (and there will be a world after him).
Back to Pompeo:
Pompeo Makes Surprise Stop In Iraq During Mideast Trip To Rally Allies
AP notes: In Baghdad, Pompeo met with Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi,
President Barham Salih, Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim and Parliament
Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi. Pompeo and the Iraqi officials made no statements to the media.
The US State Dept issued the following this morning:
Readout
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 9, 2019
The below is attributable to Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino:
Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today with Iraq’s Council of
Representatives Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi and members of the Council
of Representatives Foreign-Relations Committee. The Secretary emphasized
U.S. support for the long-term bilateral partnership, anchored by the
Strategic Framework Agreement, and the necessity of supporting Iraq’s
democratic institutions, economic development, energy independence, and
sovereignty. Secretary Pompeo emphasized the U.S. commitment to
addressing Iraq’s security challenges, including the continuation of our
security partnership with Iraqi Security Forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo made an unannounced visit to
Baghdad on Wednesday, which appeared partly aimed at patching up
relations strained during Donald Trump’s surprise visit last month.
The
U.S. president upset Iraqi lawmakers when he visited troops at the Ain
Al-Asad base west of Baghdad but didn’t meet with the country’s new
prime minister, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, though the two leaders did speak by
phone.
If that was the point of the visit, it doesn't appear to have been very successful:
Iraqi Council of Representatives’ Foriegn Affairs Committee met today and called for reviewing US-Iraq relations following Pres Trump’ “uncoordinated” Visit to Iraq’s Anbar Province last month. If US Gov fails to handle Iraq file properly, it may lose it.
Again, if that was the purpose of the trip, it doesn't appear to have
been successful. But when has the US government ever delivered success
in Iraq?
Never.
Well, that's not fair of me. They have helped Big Business make tons of
money off the lives of Iraqis because -- blood stained or not -- greed
requires dollars, dollars and more dollars.
I'll tell you who is *really* unhappy at the thought of pulling out of Syria and Afghanistan. The contractors and the generals connected to the contractors. $$BILLIONS$$ @realDonaldTrump
Iraqi persecution of Sunni men helped to transform Al Qaeda in Iraq into ISIS. Now Iraq is doing it again--collective punishment of Sunnis that may help transform ISIS into ISIS 2.0. bit.ly/2FlzsFZ
In Iraq, the government’s harsh counterterrorism strategy, which is widely perceived as collectively punishing the
Sunnis, is generating new grievances that could increase local support
for an Islamic State 2.0. More than 19,000 people have been detained on
terrorism-related charges since 2014. Over 3,000 have been sentenced to
death in rapid-fire trials that are sometimes decided in less than 10 minutes.
Convictions are often based on thin and circumstantial evidence, the
testimony of secret informants, or confessions induced through torture,
making it easy for innocent people to be falsely accused and unfairly
punished.
These injustices are fueling anger, and with it, a new wave of violence. Since 2016, the average number of Islamic State attacks in Iraq — including suicide bombings and targeted assassinations — has risen to 75 per month. In August, U.S. and U.N. reports estimated that the number of Islamic State fighters active in Iraq and Syria might exceed 30,000.
In our working paper based
on an original household survey of over 1,400 Mosul residents — the
Islamic State’s former de facto capital in Iraq — we identify two
serious flaws in the government’s approach to prosecuting and punishing
individuals accused of joining or supporting the Islamic State. First,
it is unwilling to recognize variation in the severity and voluntariness
of “collaboration.” Second, it relies heavily on unproven criminal
justice and counterterrorism theories.
