President Obama close to authorizing mission led by the US military to train moderate Syrian rebels

[dixiegrrrrl]

This is important for a couple of reasons.

first of all, this is how we get into shooting wars...by "helping " one side, step by step, starting with sending "advisors"
( Remember Viet Nam???) and/or "trainers".

The other reason is THIS sentence:an open admission that the CIA is already involved with the Syrian war.

A new military training program, if implemented, would supplement a small train-and-equip program led by the Central Intelligence Agency which Mr. Obama authorized a year ago.

( this is called escalation..some of us older folks understand it too well)

It is just recently that the CIA has been openly reported as being involved in other countries' wars. Used toi be a secret, then became an open secret, but of late it is becoming more publicly reported.

Here is the article:what do you think?

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is close to authorizing a mission led by the U.S. military to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the regime of Bashar al-Assad and al Qaeda-linked groups, a move that would expand Washington's role in the conflict, U.S. officials said.
A new military training program, if implemented, would supplement a small train-and-equip program led by the Central Intelligence Agency which Mr. Obama authorized a year ago.

U.S. officials said the new military program would represent a significant expansion of Washington's public efforts.
U.S. officials don't discuss the CIA's limited training program because it is covert.

http://tinyurl.com/kazf7gs

( I used tinyurl link because the link to the Wall St. Journal article was incredibly long)

[bigtree]

1. . . . 2, 3, 4

. . what are we fighting for?

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. "We were waist deep in the big Muddy

and the big fool said to push on"

remember Pete Seeger's song?

[SamKnause]

2. Moderate Syrian rebels;

what a fucking cruel joke.

How many times has this country armed rebels or leaders who then became our enemies ???

This stupid country never learns.

I guess they are too stupid to research history.

USA we're No. 1 in arms exports.

USA we're No. 1 in weapons manufacturing.

USA we're No. 1 in incarcerating our own citizens.

USA we're No. 1 in sticking our nose where it does not belong.

Maybe the goal of the USA is to arm the entire world.

After they achieve this, they can then invade and keep the Military Industrial Complex humming right along.

[bigtree]

5. maybe they'll turn the tide

Taliban still have Reagan's Stingers --Estimate: Taliban have 50 Stingers 26 Sep 2001 One of the most dangerous weapons Western pilots could face in Afghanistan is an anti-aircraft missile provided by the United States during the Reagan presidency. Some 1,000 Stingers were supplied to the mujahideen from 1986 onwards after Ronald Reagan overcame CIA objections that they were too dangerous to be given to the rebels. MI6 used SAS troops to train the Afghans in the use of the missiles.


The Stingers enjoyed "mythological" status because they turned the tide in Afghanistan, according to Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA official who was involved in the 1986 decision to provide the Stingers to the Afghans fighting Soviet invaders. As a result they have always commanded political attention.

Perhaps too much, according to critics of the CIA, who have blamed the agency for concentrating on recovering the hardware that had done so much damage to the Soviet military forces and neglecting the larger problems of the political vacuum left in Afghanistan when the Soviet forces pulled out in 1989,

The CIA campaign to retrieve the Stingers reflected this misplaced sense of U.S. priorities, according to one intelligence source, who said the focus on the weaponry seemed to blind Washington — including even the intelligence community — to the danger caused by political disintegration in Afghanistan after the Russian withdrawal and the collapse of any effective central government.

[Raksha]

13. Doesn't what the Syrian people want count for anything at all?

Assad remains quite popular in Syria, and with Syrians living in the U.S. He would easily win re-election if the election wasn't hopelessly rigged. My source is a Syrian neighbor who is a passionate supporter of Assad, and it seems he isn't alone by a long way. Early on (like about two years ago) he told me that most of the so-called "Syrian rebels" are the very same Muslim extremists we call "terrorists" in other contexts--al Qaeda, for example. But I guess they are only terrorists when the neocon interventionists decide to label them that way.

I'm not sure there ARE any "moderate Syrian rebels."

[brooklynite]

24. Well, a statistical sample of -1- is certainly significant...

...but unfortunately, -I- know a Syrian working with refugees in Aleppo who thinks of Assad somewhat differently.

So, how about we throw out -both- samples, and evaluate whether Assad and his regime are dictatorial, have used chemical weapons, and otherwise oppressed those advocating for Democracy.

[Lee-Lee]

3. This can't end well nt

[bowens43]

4. what a dumbass idea..why am I not surprised?

[bemildred]

6. We are already training them. nt

[Laelth]

8. Oh, please, no.

President Obama has done an excellent job of keeping us out of that quagmire so far. I hope he doesn't blow it now.

-Laelth

[NuclearDem]

9. Ah, training rebels in the Middle East.

Because that's never ever backfired before.

[KoKo]

10. Is it finally time? "A Time to Break the Silence" - Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr

A Time to Break the Silence - Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr

Uploaded on Jul 14, 2008

In full disclosure this is a video edit of a larger speech. Also, there is a few minutes from a sermon by Dr King on the same topic, speaking out against the war in Vietnam. In total, the sermon and the speech total nearly an hour so obviously the 5 min clip is paired down (although much of the two talks mirror each other verbatim). Of note, the only parts that were removed were those that he specifically references Vietnam (i.e. the parts with details that would pertain only to that era). That being said, it is still eerie to see how his words could be given today. If you want to hear the full, unedited version simply search for "A Time to Break Silence" and/or "Beyond Vietnam" and you will be able to find the clips in their entirety. The best part is how he sites his love for the troops while voicing descent. God bless and hope you enjoy.

Category

News & Politics
License

Standard YouTube License

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. Does anybody here actually support this Obama policy? I find it bone-headed and cynical.

It's not going to overthrow the Syrian government. The rebels have already strategically lost.

All it will do is ensure that more Syrians die.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Well, ya gotta give TPTB points for tenacity.

Syria has long been on the target hit list, and even tho Obama's attempt to drum up support for an invasion was boo-ed down last year,
another way has been found to get the camel's nose into the tent.

[Raksha]

14. K & R

[woo me with science]

15. Huge K&R Neocons, neolibs....The MIC will be fed.

Blood and horror for profit, in our name.

[woo me with science]

16. "This is called escalation."

Why, yes, it is.

No more corporatists and warmongers.

[woo me with science]

17. kick

[TheKentuckian]

18. Dude is like a three dollar bill, thread I read right before this was about the dovish new

"Obama Doctrine".

What a pantsload!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Is he wearing his comfortable cowboy boots? Preparing a Mission Accomplished sign?

[Brigid]

20. Here we go again.

Time for one of my favorite songs:

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. You also have one of my favorite quotes

in your sig line.

[Brigid]

22. I even have a plaque with that quote on my bookshelf.

[Puzzledtraveller]

23. Paradigm shift

War as most here know it is over. War is being waged now, with results every bit as damaging and lasting but it's invisible, yet it is as sinister as you could possibly imagine with the game being played out through social media. It's cheap and it doesn't need congressional approval. No flag draped coffins, no monthly death tallies, no protests, and the president can look good promising no more boots on the ground.

[morningfog]

25. To the tune of $5 billion.

Now -- (applause) -- that was an enormous achievement made because of America’s armed forces. But as we move to a train and advise mission in Afghanistan, our reduced presence there allows us to more effectively address emerging threats in the Middle East and North Africa. So earlier this year I asked my national security team to develop a plan for a network of partnerships from South Asia to the Sahel.

Today, as part of this effort, I am calling on Congress to support a new counterterrorism partnerships fund of up to $5 billion, which will allow us to train, build capacity and facilitate partner countries on the front lines. And these resources will give us flexibility to fulfill different missions, including training security forces in Yemen who’ve gone on the offensive against al-Qaida, supporting a multinational force to keep the peace in Somalia, working with European allies to train a functioning security force and border patrol in Libya and facilitating French operations in Mali.

A critical focus of this effort will be the ongoing crisis in Syria.

He acts like resources "freed up" by drawing down to 9,800 troops in Afghanistan must forever be spent on military.

[merrily]

26. It's an attempt to end run the Constitutional requirement of a Congressional vote

on Syria, which is where Obama ran into trouble on this as to Syria before. And Libya before that.

Several members of Congress sued over Libya and the case was dismissed for lack of standing because they could not prove that they were representing Congress officially. IOW, the court treated them as though they were private citizens suing because Obama had not sought a vote from Congress first. (Which proves their law firm did not do its homework because there was precedent for that holding. The lawyer first claimed Obama was not acting consistently with the War Powers Act, when there are also serious questions about the constitutionality of the War Powers Act.)

However, as to Syria, many members of Congress signed onto a petition telling Obama he had to ask Congress first. And, the Speaker of the House sent Obama a letter asking about fourteen legal questions about Obama's plans for Syria. Had the Speaker moved into court on behalf of the House, the standing issue that torpedoed the Libya lawsuit would have disappeared. (Whether a committee of 100 or so members of Congress would have saved the Libya suit is debatable.)

So, I guess the admin dusted off the "training" ploy used to wedge us into the Vietnam "Era." I don't know if the same ploy was used for the Korean "Police Action." But, Congress did not declare war in either of those instances--and our useless media cooperated by adopting the "Era" and "Police Action" terminology. I've seen clips of Bob Hope greeting the troops in Vietnam with "Hello, advisors," and hearing their bitter-sounding laughter in response.


But, of course, that was Truman, who had dropped out of junior college after one semester and was never able to make a go of anything he attempted, other than, oddly enough, soldiering and the Presidency. (He makes a lot of Ten Best US Presidents Ever lists.) And now we have a constitutional law professor following Truman's lead.

Even if you never read the Constitution, raise your hand if you understand why the Founders required our Congressional representatives to vote before the children and money of voters were sent to a fight, rather than leaving it to one individual, in this case, a lame duck individual to boot.

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. The crap about "advisors" in Viet Nam ....

My ex husband and I spent a year, 1964, at Ft. Rucker, him training on helicopters to go to Viet Nam.
We knew for that entire 12 months he and a LOT of guys were going over there for combat.It was common talk on base.
He spent 13 months over there..."advising" ...up and down So. Vietnam, while I watched Johnson on the tv talking about sending more and more "advisors" to help with the "victory that is so close at hand".

My brothers went over in '68.
They were fighting because of "the light at the end of the tunnel" or some such crap.

They all came home safely, but forever changed, forever haunted.

And we were all forever wiser.

[merrily]

28. Yes, people come home from war very changed, if at all.

Blessings and good wishes to your family.