Tag Archives: foreign policy

Tough Guys, and Tough Guys

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A year of Russian airstrikes on areas outside government control in Syria have killed more than 9,000 people, displaced tens of thousands and caused wide destruction, [the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights] said Friday.

And in response to the latest cease fire, the Russians have intensified their bombing of civilians and children in Aleppo to support al Assad’s offensive to recapture the city.

The Obama administration asked—very nicely, mind you—Russian President Vladimir to cut that out.  Putin said, “No.”

The ensuing response of John “Motorboat Skipper” Kerry, the guy who sits in the Secretary of State’s chair?  “Maybe I won’t talk to you anymore.”

Very firm.

Security Issues

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In the end, it seems that former Secretary of State and present Democratic Party Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton isn’t the only one who has them.  Amazingly, former JCS Chairman and former Secretary of State Colin Powell has them, also.

Of course, it’s only Israel, though, so who cares?  Not this reluctant (or so he says) Clinton supporter.

In a private email exchange last year leaked this week by hackers, former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed Israel’s nuclear weapons capability with a friend, saying the country has 200 warheads.

To be clear: that’s a private, unclassified and unsecured email exchange.  Not even treated as FOUO (which such information plainly is not).

The existence of its weapons program is considered classified information by both the Israeli and US governments.

Naturally,

Powell…told The Associated Press on Friday through a spokeswoman he was referring to public estimates of Israel’s nukes.

Sure.  Of course he was.

Even President Barack Obama’s (D) State Department knows better than this:

Asked about the issue at a briefing Friday, State Department spokesman John Kirby also declined to comment.

“I’m not going to discuss matters of intelligence,” Kirby said.

Again I ask: do any Democrats, Democrat supporters, or closet Democrats care about security?  Other than Admiral Kirby, I mean?

Consequences

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Two more prisoners who were released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center in the first six months of the year have returned to the battlefield, the White House said Wednesday.

Seventeen of the 161 prisoners released by President Barack Obama (D) have returned to the “battlefield” to continue their butchery.  This much isn’t only on Obama; President Bush the Younger released 532, of whom 113 went back to their butchery.

However, this return of prisoners to their fighting is what Obama is extending and accomplishing—even with the example of Bush’s results before him—whether he intends it or not, with his insistence on releasing all the Guantanamo prisoners so he can try, again, to close the place.

An Outcome of Leading from Behind

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This isn’t just harassment, or actions taken to embarrass us and humiliate our Navy in the Arabian Gulf, though it’s those things, too.  It’s also both a technique to desensitize us to these close approaches by enemy combat vessels and to give those combat vessels and the navies that operate them operational combat practice through exercises that are live in every important way, lacking only live fire.   This time, at least the third incident of this nature just in the last month or so, the

USS Firebolt, a coastal patrol ship, was shadowed by seven Iranian vessels. Three of the vessels came within 500 yards and shadowed Firebolt for eight minutes. Then one of the Iranian vessels broke off and raced in front of Firebolt and “came to a stop directly in front of the ship” at a range of 100 yards, according to the official.

That’s the closest approach, yet, by Iranian Navy combat vessels.  The meek response by the Firebolt, and the other ships in those earlier incidents—responses mandated by President Barack Obama (D), not by our Navy—only encourages more, and more dangerous, such actions.

“Clearly the Iranian behavior has to change,” Capt Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday.

Davis refused to outline any specifics on how to bring about that change.

Davis could not identify any specifics because Obama has none; Obama has no plan at all other than to put in his time until the next President takes over and must deal with his mess.

There have been nearly twice as many cases of harassment by Iranian vessels against the US Navy in the first half of 2016 as the first half of 2015.

Oddly, that’s about the time Obama’s nuclear weapons deal with Iran has been in practical effect after Obama signed it last October.

This is one result of leading from behind following along behind events/other nations’ initiatives.  This isn’t likely to end well.

Early Stage Alzheimer’s?

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From the latest FBI document release last Friday, we learned or received a measure of clarification on a few things.

Democratic Party Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told the FBI during the interviews that were the subject of the document release that

Clinton could not recall when she received her security clearance or whether it was carried over from her time in the Senate. She also could not recall any briefing or training by the State Department “related to the retention of federal records or the handling of classified information.”

And further,

Clinton recalled being briefed on Specific Access Program information (for classified material). But [she] could not recall any specific briefings on how to handle information associated with the SAPs[.]

And

she requested a secured BlackBerry while at State but could not recall why they were unable to provide one[.]

And

Clinton repeatedly claimed to have little training or understanding about the classification process—despite leading the department that handled such information on a regular basis and having a security clearance[.]

And this:

FBI agents also asked Clinton about three emails marked classified. They contained a “C” or portion marking, indicating the intelligence was at the lowest level, or confidential. Clinton said she thought the “C” was part of series like bullet points or a listing, like A, B, C.”

More than 30 times in the FBI’s Friday release, Clinton told the FBI agents interviewing her that she couldn’t remember this or that major briefing or training or similar event.

Recall that Clinton signed off on documents certifying that she had had security briefing when she became Secretary of State.  Recall that then-Senator Clinton served on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in which capacity she also was briefed and periodically trained in handling classified data and documents, and in which capacity she routinely handled classified data and documents.

Couple these memory lapses and instances of confusion with her deflections when reporters ask her questions that she doesn’t understand (back when she was interacting with them)—”You mean like with a cloth?”, her efforts to change the subject when told things she doesn’t understand, and her current months-long (more than 270 days) hiding from interactive meetings with the public (the TV interviews her campaign touts aren’t live; they’re “edited to fit the time slot”).

Assume she’s telling the truth about all of this, about her confusion concerning really quite routine classification protocols, about her not remembering.  Assume she’s not being evasive in response to simple questions when she deflects or changes the subject.

All of this may be why she’s hiding from interactive public meetings like press conferences.

All of this begins to look like Clinton is in the throes of early-stage Alzheimer’s.