Foreign Policy Journal: Opinion: Paul Craig Roberts: The Neoconservative Threat to International Order

Foreign Policy Journal: Opinion: Paul Craig Roberts: The Neoconservative Threat to International Order

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

This is going to sound somewhat partisan at least from a Neoconservative’s perspective and if that is the case you’re more than welcome to way in on this and attempt to contradict me. But then I’ll get to Europe where I believe there is a lot of common ground on both the Left and Right when it comes to foreign policy and national security.

The reason why we are dealing with all of these independent terrorists groups now that are free to flow everywhere in Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia is because of the 2003 War in Iraq. ISIS didn’t exist pre-Iraq and yes the War in Afghanistan was something we had to do because the Taliban in Afghanistan were subsidizing and protecting the terrorists who were responsible for 9/11. And even though it has taken a long time thanks to the War in Iraq and Afghan corruption that mission is starting to finally pay off. As that country is finally stabilizing and their economy is finally moving.

The Middle East was a fairly stable area pre-War in Iraq. And as horrible as the Saddam Regime was there and most people including myself are glad he’s no longer running that country and even dead, you didn’t have terrorists in Iraq killing Americans before the war. And you didn’t have terrorists occupying Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. Which would be ISIS today because the central government’s in both countries were strong enough to secure their countries even if they were horrible to their people.

You also didn’t have a jealous Vladimir Putin as President of Russia thinking who needed to make his own power play because of what America was doing to countries that were close to Russia. Part of President Putin’s justification for invading Ukraine has been that he doesn’t believe America should be the sole power in the world that can act unilaterally even in their own interests. The world was a much safer place in 2002 pre-Iraq when our main security threat was Al-Qaeda, a nuclear armed North Korea that still can’t even feed its people. And a potential terrorist state in Iran getting nuclear weapons.

Now where there I believe there is bipartisan agreement, lets look at Europe. Part of the rise of Russia has to do with the fall, or at least steep decline in Europe. Where only Germany as far as a large country in Europe has a healthy economy. But Europe is falling in population and young people and gaining in older people. Because they don’t take in many immigrants each year unlike America and as a result their social democratic economic systems are collapsing. Britain, France, Spain, Italy and Greece all drowning in high debt, and deficits, unemployment. Greece having to take a bailout package that is actually larger than their national economy to stay afloat. And have just elected a new socialist government that’s against austerity.

But if that is not bad enough for Europe, as their populations and economies continue to decline, so does their militaries. Where NATO is essentially just made up of America now as far as real military threat. And to a certain degree Britain, France and Germany to some extent. Europe is more than capable of responding to Russia in any way themselves at least as far as resources, but has chosen not to. Wouldn’t be great to go back to 2002 and far as the security situations for the Western world, but subtract George W. Bush for Al Gore and only be dealing with Afghanistan right now. But we of course can’t go back in time.

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RAND: Opinion: Christopher S. Chivvis: Libya, The Somalia on The Mediterranean?

RAND Corporation: Opinion: Christopher S. Chivvis: Libya, The Somalia on The Mediterranean

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

Unlike the War in Iraq, America and Europe went into the Libya and knocked out the Gadaffi Regime and let the Libyan rebels take over to try to build their own government and society for the people. Iraq of course is much different where America by itself went in and knocked out the Hussein Regime and tried to establish a new state itself and then brought in the Iraqi people. The thing about Libya is that new government wasn’t prepared to govern and defend their own country. Plus the new government had Islamists authoritarian ties that moderate Libyans didn’t want to be part of and as a result a new civil war has broken out.

Libya as a failed state is not in the best interest of the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. Especially in that part of the world where ISIS is already in Libya. That country with only six-million people, but with a lot of land the size of Algeria and Saudi Arabia, a large country would be disaster for the Democratic West if it were allowed to become a terrorist state. Which means America, Europe and the Arab League should step up and try to reestablish order in that country and allow for the Libyan people to go in and try to establish a new state that will represent the Libyan people as a whole. Not just the Islamists or the Democrats, but the whole country.

Which is why I would be in favor of an international force involving the United States with NATO, the European Union and Arab League to go into that country with a peacekeeping force while Libyans with democratic and responsible intentions go in and either work with current Libyan Government in Tripoli and build a new Libyan state that can govern and defend the entire country, or replace the current regime with a more democratic oriented that will work to bring peace to the country. Instead of trying to eliminate the opposition. And you could send in people from the United Nations, European Union, Arab League and even U.S. Foreign Service to help Libya develop a government and state that represents and governs the whole country.

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PBS: Video: NewsHour: Shields and Brooks on Finding a GOP Anti-Cruz, Middle East

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on Blogger

Right now House Republicans can’t get past their Tea Party base on anything. And that is led and known by the House Republican Leadership who don’t have the balls (to put it bluntly) to take them on, on anything. Immigration is just one example so what it happens when it comes to something where they have to look like they are doing anything when it comes to public support, they do what the Tea Party wants them to do even if it is automatically dead on arrival in the Senate and has very little if any support outside of their Tea Party Neoconservative base.

As far as Israel and their conflict with Hamas. Israel is getting beat up by the leftist press in Europe and the far-left in America. But nowhere else including Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt because those big states both know the dangers of terrorism. Which means the ball has always been and is still in the court of Israel when it comes to resolving the situation there. And they essentially have a free hand to destroy Hamas especially if they get the opportunity.

House Tea Party Caucus

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BBC News: HardTalk- Abdul Mawgoud Dardery: Freedom and Justice Party

Source:BBC News– Abdul Mawgoud Dardery from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

“What now for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party? Rarely has the fall from power of a party been so quick, dramatic and violent. Since President Morsi’s removal by the army, thousands of the Brotherhood’s members and supporters have been arrested, including most of its senior leaders. Hardtalk speaks to Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a member of the now suspended parliament. What is the Brotherhood’s next move?”

From BBC News

There doesn’t seem to be a big or strong enough liberal or even conservative democratic movement in Egypt that is big enough to take on the Islamic-Theocrats and the military authoritarians in Egypt. Leaving Egypt stuck between two forms of authoritarianism:

People in favor of the current police state and never moving away from that. And people who want to impose an Islamic-Theocracy on Egypt.

What Egypt needs for democracy to have any shot at becoming real in a big Arab country with no history of democracy, is for Center-Right democrats (liberal or conservative) and a Center-Left to emerge in Egypt, so Egyptians who want it, can not only push and vote for democracy, but have choices in what type of democracy that they want in Egypt.

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The McLaughlin Group: American Exceptionalism

“The McLaughlin Group 9/13/13”

From The McLaughlin Group

The simple fact that the most of the democratic world tends to look to America when there’s a crisis like this dealing with human rights and humanitarian crisis’, is the perfect example of American exceptionalism. But that can be used to go too far when you think your power is unlimited.

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CNN: Piers Morgan Tonight- Nicholas Kristof: ‘Vladimir Putin Exudes Hypocrisy in Op-Ed’

Source:CNN– New York Times left-wing columnist Nicholas Kristof.

“Nicholas Kristof talks about Vladimir Putin being a hypocrite in the New York Times Op-ed and the U.S. response to Syria. More from CNN at:CNN.”

From CNN

If President Putin was actually serious about ending the violence in Syria, he would stop arming the Assad Regime that is using the weapons against their own people. Just throwing out a thought there. But sometimes commonsense is needed because people run out of it or ignore it.

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Mox News: CNN Crossfire- ‘The Strength of The Assad Regime in Syria’

“We’ve Also Seen An Islamic Rebel Eating The Heart Of A Soldier!” CNN Crossfire: The Strength of The Assad Regime in Syria”

From Mox News

The fact is that without the serious threat of military force in Syria against the Assad Regime, Russia and Syria aren’t talking about negotiating and giving up the Syrian chemical weapons. That Russia and Syria took that threat serious enough to actually do something about it and not play chicken. Which is why now the Obama Administration is now listening to them and a real peaceful resolution may emerge. But I wouldn’t keep my fingers crossed (unless that makes you feel better) because President Bashar Al-Assad may just be trying to stall and buy more time.

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PBS NewsHour: Hari Sreenivasan- ‘White House Makes Emotional Appeal on Syria’

Source:PBS NewsHour– USA Today Chief Congressional Corespondent Susan Davis.

“Susan Davis, Chief Congressional Reporter for USA Today, spoke with Hari Sreenivasan about how many days — or weeks — it might take for President Obama to get a final vote for a military strike on Syria.”

From the PBS NewsHour

“The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor[6] based in Arlington, Virginia. The PBS is a publicly funded[7] nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America’s Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Downton Abbey, Wild Kratts, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, The Kidsongs Television Show, Masterpiece Theater, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Nature, Nature Cat, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Peg + Cat, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Keeping Up Appearances, and This Old House.[8]

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[9] PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.”

From Wikipedia

Looks like at least according to Susan Davis (and there’s an all-American name if I ever heard one) and I do not have any reason to doubt her, that President Obama gives his big speech on Syria Tuesday night (which I’ll blog about as well then) and depending on how that speech goes the Democratic Senate led by Leader Harry Reid, will vote on the Syrian resolution by the weekend or by the end of next weekend. And depending on how that goes the Republican House led by Speaker John Boehner, will hold their vote next week. So the President still has time to sell his resolution to Congress and the country as a whole. But how successful he’s at this week will decide whether or not he gets his resolution or not.

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DNC Press: ‘Senator Byrd’s Speech Opposing Iraq War 3/19/03’

Source:DNC Press– U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (Democrat, West Virginia) speaking out against the War in Iraq, in 2003.

“Remarkably prescient speech opposing the Iraq war by Senator Byrd in March of 2003.”

From DNC Press

I wish more people had listened to Senator Byrd in the beginning, especially in Congress but in America as a whole when the war was popular, because Senator Byrd was right all along. And had more people listened to him who wasn’t an isolationist or pacifist, or some other extremist on the Far-Left, we would’ve saved a lot of lives and money in America and Iraq. And not had gone to war over weapons of mass destruction that weren’t there when we went to war in 2003.

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PBS Newshour: ‘Shields & Brooks on Syria as Test For President Obama’s Credibility’

Source:PBS NewsHour– political analyst and syndicated columnist Mark Shields.

“Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss President Barack Obama’s decision to take the Syrian crisis to Congress and the historical implications if the president is unable to win over lawmakers in a vote on national security.”

From the PBS NewsHour

“The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor[6] based in Arlington, Virginia. The PBS is a publicly funded[7] nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America’s Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Downton Abbey, Wild Kratts, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, The Kidsongs Television Show, Masterpiece Theater, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Nature, Nature Cat, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Peg + Cat, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Keeping Up Appearances, and This Old House.

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[9] PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.”

From Wikipedia

Even though I’m with President Obama on his Syria policy at least the one he came out with in the last two weeks on why he believes America should intervene in Syria militarily, the problem is that the previous two years his policy wasn’t very clear and he’s paying a price for that now. And having to appeal to a country that is simply tired of that and doesn’t want to see our military get involved anywhere else in the world. But at the end of the day because of the evidence that his national security team will give Congress both Representatives and Senators in both parties, he’ll get the votes he needs for Syria.

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