I am well aware of Russia's military

Adventures.

But the poster I replied to said that Russia went in and killed everyone in the country they invaded. I wanted to point out that we are pretty good at doing very awful things ourselves.

Sort of our nation being a pot calling the kettle black.

Here is brief summary of nations where we have been less than peaceful and friendly in our interactions:
With our utilization of the National Guard
offshore shows of naval strength
reinforcements of embassy personnel
the use of non-Defense Department personnel (such as the Drug Enforcement Administration)
military exercises
non-combat mobilizations (such as replacing postal strikers)
the permanent stationing of armed forces
covert actions where the U.S. did not play a command and control role
the use of small hostage rescue units
most uses of proxy troops
U.S. piloting of foreign warplanes
foreign or domestic disaster assistance
military training and advisory programs not involving direct combat
civic action programs
army, navy and marine attacks and massive weaponry deployed
and many other military activities.

Among sources used, beside news reports, are the Congressional Record (23 June 1969), 180 Landings by the U.S. Marine Corp History Division, Ege & Makhijani in Counterspy (July-Aug, 1982), "Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798-1993" by Ellen C. Collier of the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service, and Ellsberg in Protest & Survive.

Fair use copyright permission for the below: And pls note - some of these military activities are decent ones - such as our 1948 US Air Force dropping food and supplies to Berliners. Also certain involvements were provoked and so our involvement could be morally justified. (World War II participation; rescue attempts for personnel held in Iranian Embassy.)

Turkish newspaper urges that the United States be listed in Guinness Book of World Records as the Country with the Most Foreign Interventions.

COUNTRY OR STATE Dates of intervention Forces Comments

SOUTH DAKOTA 1890 (-?) Troops use gatling guns on 300 Lakota Indians, many of them children, the sick and the elderly, at the Massacre at Wounded Knee. This military activity serves as an unofficial marker for the end of the US military's genocide of the American Native Peoples. They lost; "we won!"

ARGENTINA 1890 Troops Buenos Aires interests protected.

CHILE 1891 Troops Marines clash with nationalist rebels.

HAITI 1891 Troops Black revolt on Navassa defeated.

IDAHO 1892 Troops Army suppresses silver miners' strike.

HAWAII 1893 (-?) Naval, troops Independent kingdom overthrown, annexed.

CHICAGO 1894 Troops Breaking of rail strike, 34 killed. Republican Party buys ads in Chicago mainstream newspapers, decrying the violence by the Establishment and calling for support for the workers.

NICARAGUA 1894 Troops Month-long occupation of Bluefields.

CHINA 1894-95 Naval, troops Marines land in Sino-Japanese War

KOREA 1894-96 Troops Marines kept in Seoul during war.

PANAMA 1895 Troops, naval Marines land in Colombian province.

NICARAGUA 1896 Troops Marines land in port of Corinto.

CHINA 1898-1900 Troops Boxer Rebellion fought by foreign armies, including the USA. 140,203 casualties on the Chinese side. Remember, this military action came about due to the Chinese rebels "The Boxers" killing around 200 Protestant missionaries who had come from the USA. .

PHILIPPINES 1898-1910 (-?) Naval, troops The Phillippines are seized from Spain, with our military killing 600,000 Filipinos. Many of the dead are civilians; others are imprisoned in concentration camp style system of open outdoor prisons.

CUBA 1898-1902 (-?) Naval, troops Seized from Spain, still hold Navy base.

PUERTO RICO 1898 (-?) Naval, troops Seized from Spain,
1898 (-?) Naval, troops Seized from Spain, still use as base.

MINNESOTA 1898 (-?) Troops Army battles Chippewa at Leech Lake.

NICARAGUA 1898 Troops Marines land at port of San Juan del Sur.

SAMOA 1899 (-?) Troops Battle over succession to throne.

NICARAGUA 1899 Troops Marines land at port of Bluefields.

IDAHO 1899-1901 Troops Army occupies Coeur d'Alene mining region.

OKLAHOMA 1901 Troops Army battles Creek Indian revolt.

PANAMA 1901-14 Naval, troops Broke off from Colombia 1903, annexed Canal Zone; Opened canal 1914.

HONDURAS 1903 Troops Marines intervene in revolution.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1903-04 We put in our troops - U.S. interests protected in Revolution.

KOREA 1904-05 Troops Marines land during Russo-Japanese War.

CUBA 1906-09 Troops Marines land in democratic election.

NICARAGUA 1907 Troops "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate set up.

HONDURAS 1907 Troops Marines land during war with Nicaragua

PANAMA 1908 Troops Marines intervene in election contest.

NICARAGUA 1910 Troops Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto
.
HONDURAS 1911 Troops U.S. interests protected in civil war.

CHINA 1911-41 Naval, troops Continuous occupation with flare-ups.

CUBA 1912 Troops U.S. interests protected in civil war.

PANAMA 1912 Troops Marines land during heated election.

HONDURAS 1912 Troops Marines protect U.S. economic interests.

NICARAGUA 1912-33 Troops, bombing 10-year occupation, fought guerrillas

MEXICO 1913 Naval Americans evacuated during revolution.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1914 Naval Fight with rebels over Santo Domingo.

COLORADO 1914 Troops Breaking of miners' strike by Army.

MEXICO 1914-18 Naval, troops Series of interventions against nationalists.

HAITI 1914-34 Troops, and bombing and then a 19-year occupation after revolts.

TEXAS 1915 Troops Federal soldiers crush "Plan of San Diego" Mexican-American rebellion

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1916-24 Troops 8-year Marine occupation.

CUBA 1917-33 US Troops Military occupation, economic protectorate. As a result, Cuba comes under the rule of ruthless landlords, a dictator and the American Mafiosa.

WORLD WAR I 1917-18 Naval, troops Ships sunk, our entire military fought fought Germany for 1 1/2 years. However the participation of our allies was for a full three years prior to our involvement.
The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was over 37 million.

RUSSIA 1918-22 Naval, troops Five military landings to fight Bolsheviks. Naval bombardment.

PANAMA 1918-20 Troops "Police duty" during unrest after elections.

HONDURAS 1919 Troops Marines land during election campaign.

YUGOSLAVIA 1919 Troops/Marines intervene for Italy against Serbs in Dalmatia.

GUATEMALA 1920 Troops 2-week intervention against unionists.

WEST VIRGINIA 1920-21 Troops, on account of a bombing, Army intervenes against mineworkers.

TURKEY 1922 Troops Fought nationalists in Smyrna.

CHINA 1922-27 Naval, troops Deployment during nationalist revolt.

PANAMA 1925 Troops Marines suppress general strike.

CHINA 1927-34 Troops Marines stationed throughout the country.

EL SALVADOR 1932 Naval Warships send during Marti revolt.

WASHINGTON DC 1932 Troops Army stops WWI vet bonus protest.

WORLD WAR II 1941-45 Naval, troops, bombing, nuclear Hawaii bombed, fought Japan, Italy and Germany for 3 years; first nuclear war. A total of fifty million people are killed world wide as the result of this horrendous war.

DETROIT 1943 Troops Army put down Black rebellion.

IRAN 1946 Nuclear threat Soviet troops told to leave north.

YUGOSLAVIA 1946 Nuclear threat, naval Response to shoot-down of US plane.

URUGUAY 1947 Nuclear threat Bombers deployed as show of strength.

GREECE 1947-49 Command operation U.S. directs extreme-right in civil war.
Union leaders, Communists and "sympathizers" are rounded up and killed.

GERMANY 1948 Nuclear Threat Atomic-capable bombers guard Berlin Airlift. US Air Force delivers needed food and supplies to Berliners. This keeps the Western portion of Berlin free from the Soviets.

CHINA 1948-49 Troops/Marines evacuate Americans before Communist victory.

PHILIPPINES 1948-54 Command operation CIA directs war against Huk Rebellion.

PUERTO RICO 1950 Command operation Independence rebellion crushed in Ponce.

KOREA 1951-53 (-?) America's forgotten war. Troops, naval, bombing , nuclear threats U.S./So. Korea fights China/No. Korea to stalemate; A-bomb threat in 1950, and against China in 1953. Still have bases. It is estimated that between 2,500,000 and 2,730,000 civilians are killed by military actions on both sides. American DoD states that the U.S. military suffered 33,686 battle deaths, along with 2,830 non-battle deaths

IRAN 1953 Command Operation CIA overthrows democracy, installs Shah. Shah becomes a most bloody dictator, using secret police spying and brutal torture and execution methods on his opponents, until his removal in the late 1970's. Official sources state that his regime murdered some 16,000 people. This situation is a case of the victor in the 1953 coup getting to write the history books. The Shah's regime is credited for increasing education, and sanitation, health programs etc for his nation, in contrast to what happened to the people of Iran after the extemist Muslims took over the nation in 1979. But no one will ever know what the democratically elected prime minister, Dr. Mosaddeq, would have done for the nation, as he was ousted by the CIA after only a short stint in office.

VIETNAM 1954 Nuclear threat French offered bombs to use against siege.

GUATEMALA 1954 Command operation, bombing, nuclear threat CIA directs exile invasion after new gov't nationalized U.S. company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua.

EGYPT 1956 Nuclear threat, troops Soviets told to keep out of Suez crisis; Marines evacuate foreigners.

LEBANON l958 Troops, naval Army & Marine occupation against rebels.

IRAQ 1958 Nuclear threat Iraq warned against invading Kuwait.

CHINA l958 Nuclear threat China told not to move on Taiwan isles.

PANAMA 1958 Troops Flag protests erupt into confrontation.

VIETNAM l960-75 Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats Fought South Vietnam revolt & North Vietnam; one million Vietnamese killed in longest U.S. war; five million others are wounded or left homeless. Cost to us in terms of flesh and blood - over 50,000 troops that die directly, tens of thousands more live on the streets, victims of PTSD and mental disorders caused by their involvement in the war. Also, atomic bomb threats in l968 and l969. Entire financial cost of the war - perhaps 20 billions of dollars (A fortune back in the day.).

CUBA l961 Command operation CIA-directed exile invasion fails.

GERMANY l961 Nuclear threat Alert during Berlin Wall crisis.

LAOS 1962 Command operation Military buildup during guerrilla war.

CUBA l962 Nuclear threat, naval Blockade during missile crisis; near-war with Soviet Union.

IRAQ 1963 Command operation CIA organizes coup that killed president, brings Ba'ath Party to power, and Saddam Hussein back from exile to be head of the secret service.

PANAMA l964 Troops Panamanians shot for urging canal's return.

INDONESIA l965 Command operation Million killed in CIA-assisted army coup.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1965-66 Troops, bombing Army & Marines land during election campaign.

GUATEMALA l966-67 Command operation Green Berets intervene against rebels.

DETROIT l967 Troops Army battles African Americans, 43 killed.

UNITED STATES l968 Troops After King is shot; over 21,000 soldiers in cities.

CAMBODIA l969-75 Bombing, troops, naval Up to 2 million killed in decade of bombing, starvation, and political chaos.

OMAN l970 Command operation U.S. directs Iranian marine invasion.

LAOS l971-73 Command operation, bombing U.S. directs South Vietnamese invasion; "carpet-bombs" countryside.

SOUTH DAKOTA l973 Command operation Army directs Wounded Knee siege of Lakotas. Activities conducted under auspices of FBI and CIA occur in Wisconsin reservations as well. Indian leaders are often found "suicided" - stabbed or shot in the back, but the local police continually ruled deaths suicides.

MIDEAST 1973 Nuclear threat World-wide alert during Mideast War.

CHILE 1973 Command operation CIA-backed coup ousts elected socialist president.

CAMBODIA l975 Troops, bombing Gassing of captured ship Mayagüez, 28 troops die when copter shot down. Over the next few years, the American government sides with Pol Pot, the head of the infamous killing fields operation where 3 million people are killed. IOn UN vote after UN vote, our UN people side with Pol Pot.

ANGOLA l976-92 Command operation CIA assists South African-backed rebels.

IRAN l980 Troops, nuclear threat, aborted bombing Raid to rescue Embassy hostages; 8 troops die in copter-plane crash. Soviets warned not to get involved in revolution.

LIBYA l981 Naval jets Two Libyan jets shot down in maneuvers.

EL SALVADOR l981-92 Command operation, troops and advisors, overflights and aid of anti-rebel war, soldiers briefly involved in hostage clash. These activities were never authorized by Congress but instead funded by the selling of drugs by the CIA and the conversion of those monies to arms and weaponry for the Status Quo.

NICARAGUA l981-90 Command operation, naval CIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbor mines against revolution. See above.

LEBANON l982-84 Naval, bombing, troops Marines expel PLO and back Phalangists, Navy bombs and shells Muslim positions. 241 Marines killed when Shi'a rebel bombs barracks. Our ally in this fight, Israel, is believed to have killed at least 20,000 people, many of them children, during their offensive which took place at the same time.

GRENADA l983-84 Troops, bombing and Invasion occur four years after revolution. It should be noted that it took a huge American military intervention to succeed against a tiny island with limited military and few people even living there.

HONDURAS l983-89 Troops Maneuvers help build bases near borders.

IRAN l984 Jets Two Iranian jets shot down over Persian Gulf.

LIBYA l986 Bombing, naval Air strikes to topple Qaddafi gov't.

BOLIVIA 1986 Troops Army assists raids on cocaine region.


IRAN l987-88 Naval, bombing US intervenes on side of Iraq in war, defending reflagged tankers and shooting down civilian jet.

LIBYA 1989 Naval jets Two Libyan jets shot down.

VIRGIN ISLANDS 1989 Troops sent to quell to Croix unrest after storm.

PHILIPPINES 1989 Jets Air cover provided for government against coup. Fortunately for the people of the Phillipines, the Marcos regime was ended by the Phillippinos who resisted Marcos, and a better form of government replaced their repression.

PANAMA 1989 (-?) Troops, bombing Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders arrested, 2000+ killed. Many foreign journalists believe closer to 10,000 people were killed during the US offensive. Many of these people were civilians.

LIBERIA 1990 Troops Foreigners evacuated during civil war.

IRAQ 1990-91 Bombing, troops, naval Activity. During the actual hot war, 540,000 US troops also stationed in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Israel. Blockade of Iraqi and Jordanian ports, air strikes; 200,000+ killed in invasion of Iraq and Kuwait; large-scale destruction of Iraqi military.

KUWAIT 1991 Naval, bombing, troops Kuwait royal family returned to throne.

IRAQ Jan 1991-2003 Bombing, naval No-fly zone over Kurdish north, Shiite south; constant air strikes and naval-enforced economic sanctions. During times of the sanctions, 50,000 Iraqi children die each year.

LOS ANGELES 1992 Troops Army, Marines deployed against anti-police uprising.

SOMALIA 1992-94 Troops, naval, bombing U.S.-led United Nations occupation during civil war; raids against one Mogadishu faction.

YUGOSLAVIA 1992-94 Naval NATO blockade of Serbia and Montenegro.

BOSNIA 1993-? Jets, bombing No-fly zone patrolled in civil war; downed jets, bombed Serbs.

HAITI 1994 Troops, naval Blockade against military government; troops restore President Aristide to office three years after coup.

ZAIRE (CONGO) 1996-97 Troops Troops at Rwandan Hutu refugee camps, in area where Congo revolution begins.

LIBERIA 1997 Troops Soldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.

ALBANIA 1997 Troops Soldiers under fire during evacuation of foreigners.

SUDAN 1998 Missiles Attack on pharmaceutical plant alleged to be "terrorist" nerve gas plant.

AFGHANISTAN 1998 Missiles Attack on former CIA training camps that were then used by Islamic fundamentalist groups alleged to have attacked embassies.

IRAQ 1998 Bombing, Missiles Four days of intensive air strikes after weapons inspectors allege Iraqi obstructions.
one of his CIA buddies were sent over to Yugoslavia tot ell the President of the nation that he ahd the right to do as he pleased with regards to his internal affairs and the Albanians.

YUGOSLAVIA 1999 Bombing, Missiles Heavy NATO air strikes after Serbia declines to withdraw from Kosovo. NATO occupation of Kosovo. By the way, back in the early 1990's Armitage and


MACEDONIA 2001 Troops NATO forces deployed to move and disarm Albanian rebels.

AFGHANISTAN 2001-? Troops, bombing, missiles Massive U.S. mobilization to overthrow Taliban, hunt Al Qaeda fighters, install Karzai regime, and battle Taliban insurgency. More than 30,000 U.S. troops and numerous private security contractors carry our occupation.

YEMEN 2002 Missiles Predator drone missile attack on Al Qaeda, including a US citizen.

PHILIPPINES 2002-? Troops, naval Training mission for Philippine military fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels evolves into combat missions in Sulu Archipelago, west of Mindanao.

COLOMBIA 2003-? Troops US special forces sent to rebel zone to back up Colombian military protecting oil pipeline.

IRAQ 2003-? Troops, naval, bombing, missiles The Saddam regime is toppled in Baghdad. More than 250,000 U.S. personnel participate in invasion. US and UK forces occupy country and battle Sunni and Shi'ite insurgencies. More than 160,000 troops and numerous private contractors carry out occupation and build large permanent bases. At the time of the invasion, called "Shock and Awe" some 25 million people called Iraq home.
Before this invasion, Iraq was a nation that promoted equality for women, had high standards of education, with many in the populace speaking more than two languages. It was also a nation that promoted religious tolerance, with Christians, Jews and atheists living in peace with their Muslim neighbors. Since the Spring 2003 invasion, close to one million civilians have been killed, in the civil unrest following the overthrow of the dictators regime, with the resulting divisions along line of Sunni/Shia'a, Christians and Jews and atheists needing to leave the country. Some four million people have left Iraq, never to return.
The American military lost close to 4,500 troops in this war. It was also a war where due to innovations in medical treatment and aid, military casualties were able to survive the initial assault on their bodies, but lived with either terrible loss to themselves in terms of amputations, or else terrible problems due to head injuries they survived but will not overcome.

LIBERIA 2003 Troops Brief involvement in peacekeeping force as rebels drove out leader.

HAITI 2004-05 Troops, naval Marines & Army land after right-wing rebels oust elected President Aristide, who was advised to leave by Washington.

PAKISTAN 2005-? Missiles, bombing, covert operation CIA missile and air strikes and Special Forces raids on alleged Al Qaeda and Taliban refuge villages kill multiple civilians. Drone attacks also on Pakistani Mehsud network.

SOMALIA 2006-? Missiles, naval, troops, command operation Special Forces advise Ethiopian invasion that topples Islamist government; AC-130 strikes, Cruise missile attacks and helicopter raids against Islamist rebels; naval blockade against "pirates" and insurgents.

SYRIA 2008 Troops Special Forces in helicopter raid 5 miles from Iraq kill 8 Syrian civilians

YEMEN 2009-? Missiles, command operation Cruise missile attack on Al Qaeda kills 49 civilians; Yemeni military assaults on rebels

Also in a Huffington Post article dated mid January 2014, an article reports that as many as 2,500 Pakistani civilians have been killed by US drone attacks over the last few years. It should be mentioned that we have never had a declaration of war from either Congress or the President, regarding Pakistan.

Why Can't We Accept That Our Society Needs Its Teachers to Teach for The Test?

There may have been a day when the public needed to learn critical thinking, and also needed to learn how to judge if an activity was or wasn't moral.

But those days are long gone. We no longer have the luxury of letting people think for themselves.

Our TV Station Execs have gone along with the program nicely. We no longer have the morality plays with life lessons taught by such situations as The Cartwrights supporting an immigrant family in "Bonanza," or Sheriff Andy of Mayberry letting Opie know that it is very wrong to tape record the conversation of prisoners. In fact, in that one episode of "The Andy Griffith Show," Opie's dad wisely explains the meaning of the Fourth Amendment - and this all happened during Prime Time, back in the day.

However, things are quite different now. The One Percent is totally aware that you can't have an Orwellian society, complete with Total Surveillance, and with little difference between the goals of leadership in Both Parties, if the average people in the society remain in control of critical thought processes, and are supported by the nightly narratives on TV. So these days, instead of dramas and sit coms with actual story lines, and moral resolutions, we see instead how TV station after TV station has made sure that most programs are pablum.

Few if any moral lessons are contained in the program "The Bachelor," and even fewer moral lessons are learned by the endless hijinks of the Kardashians.

"Repo" this and "Repo" go on air as well, that let us know that should you be a worm who falls behind in your bills, the repo squad will come for you, and it won't be pretty. On the bright side, when that unemployment check stops coming, you can always hock whatever family heirlooms you have held onto, and should you manage to get a break from the pawn shop owner, your family might have housing for a month or a week longer.

Against this backdrop of idle show times, celebrity nonsense, and mental carelessness, one group of Chicago school teachers is fighting an uphill fight. Apparently they never got the memo about how our kids need to be kept continually dumbed down.

http://chicagoist.com/2014/02/28/teachers_stand_ground_refuse_to_adm.php

Teachers who refuse to administer the ISAT or who encourage students to not take it could face the loss of their state education certification.

"Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery called the ISAT "testing for testing's sake."

“The preparation and administration of this test brings teaching to a halt and robs students of valuable time to learn. The ISAT is not appropriately aligned to curriculum and forces educators to teach to an unnecessary test that is defunct and has absolutely no practical use... (W)e encourage parents to work with their teachers to opt out. We also strongly encourage CPS to reconsider their plans to punish teachers for doing the right thing. IFT members around the state salute and stand with these teachers and parents as they stand up for their students.”
####
The full article is at this link below, but please don't back away from the scheduled TV shows that are our nation's mediocrity's life blood. After all, this article can be read at your leisure, like whenever "Hoarders" or "Wife Swap" are not on.

http://chicagoist.com/2014/02/28/teachers_stand_ground_refuse_to_adm.php

For parents who read to their kids,

A nice discussion of what make a good children's book:

http://bookriot.com/2014/02/21/ground-rules-for-writing-kids-books/

Police Shoot Eighty Year Old Man In His Bed - Do Not Find Drugs

The police officer that admitted to the shooting first said he had issued a warning to the 80 year old man to drop his gun, but the taped recording of the event reveals the command to drop the gun came after the elderly man had been killed.

The warrant issued for the property had to do with an "expert witness" testifying to a smell of chemicals, and the warrant was actually to enable police to search for a meth lab.

But all was not lost. Two straggly immature pot plants were being grown by one of the residents, on the property and police were able to seize those plants after their cold blooded killing of the elderly man.

Live stream from Kiev - European Square (Footage of protests)

To All My Big Oil & Big Energy Investing Comrades - Keystone XL

Has cleared major hurdles, but several more are to come. And don't let your concerns for the environment cloud your vision.


After all, if Keystone XL Pipeline is good for your pocketbook today, surely it will be good for the world your grandkids will inhabit :

http://oilandenergyinvestor.com/2014/02/keystone-xl-clears-big-hurdle-deals-far-done/#deeplink

What The Elephants Did In South Africa When the Elephant Whisperer Died

In the human community, South African writer Laurence Anthony was well known and respected for his several books that made best seller lists, including his book, "The Elephant Whisperer."

But in the elephant community of South Africa, he is best known for saving a herd of elephants from extinction, by providing refuge and habitat for their band.

When he died, in March 2012, solemnly, the herd walked the twelve mile trail to his home, stayed for two days, without eating, and then left to head home.

Full article at:

http://www.all-creatures.org/stories/a-elephants-journey-respect.html

The unending benefit of endless "Perfect Storms"

From the interesting crew over at tinyrevolution.com

It's Not Our Fault If It's a Perfect Storm!

Whenever elites fail in a gigantic, public way, you can be sure of one thing:
it was a "perfect storm." So you can't blame them for what happened.

Edward Snowden's leak of NSA documents was, at least by their standards, a big failure. But as Director of National Intelligence James Clapper explained to Congress on Tuesday, it wasn't their fault because it was a perfect storm:

The director, James R. Clapper Jr., testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Mr. Snowden had taken advantage of a “perfect storm” of security lapses.
####
Why was there a gigantic financial crisis in 2008? According to the International Monetary Fund's chief economist, you can't blame them because it was a perfect storm:

In short, underestimation of risk, opacity, interconnection, and leverage, all combined to create the perfect (financial) storm.
####
Why was New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina? According to then-Director of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, you can't blame them because it was a perfect storm:

"That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight," Chertoff said. He called the disaster "breathtaking in its surprise."
####
And why did everyone in the U.S. government believe Iraq was teeming with WMD? According to a top U.S. intelligence official, you can't blame them because it was a perfect storm:

[W]as Iraq, as one senior intelligence official told the Commission, a sort of “perfect storm”—a one-time breakdown caused by a rare confluence of events that conspired to create a bad result?

That's four perfect storms in ten years. Man, our elites have the worst luck.

—Jon Schwarz

What you are not being told about Booz Allen and Edward Snowden

Now according to some people here at DU, Ed Snowden is a traitor.

But my question remains this one: If Snowden did something very bad in terms of leaking what he did, should there not be repercussions tot he firm that he worked for? After all, Booz Allen has received tens of billions of dollars over the years, yet the leaks still happened.

So exactly how is it that the firm Booz Allen remains connected to our governmental officials and thereby escapes any pain that should result from Snowden's exploits?

Wired Mag's Eric Holder-Blasting Story of "State secrets" used to protect

The human error committed by FBI agent Kevin Kelley.

Full story is at this link:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/02/no-fly-coverup/?cid=co18444944

From the article:

FBI agent Kevin Kelley was investigating Muslims in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004 when he checked the wrong box on a terrorism form, erroneously placing Rahinah Ibrahim on the no-fly list.

What happened next was the real shame. Instead of admitting to the error, high-ranking President Barack Obama administration officials spent years covering it up. Attorney General Eric Holder, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and a litany of other government officials claimed repeatedly that disclosing the reason Ibrahim was detained, or even acknowledging that she’d been placed on a watch list, would cause serious damage to the U.S. national security. Again and again they asserted the so-called “state secrets privilege” to block the 48-year-old woman’s lawsuit, which sought only to clear her name.
Rahinah Ibrahim. Photo: University Putra Malaysia



Holder went so far as to tell the judge presiding over the case that this assertion of the state secrets privilege was fully in keeping with Obama’s much-ballyhooed 2009 executive branch reforms of the privilege, which stated the administration would invoke state secrets sparingly.

“Under this policy, the Department of Justice will defend an assertion of the state secrets privilege in litigation, and seek dismissal of a claim on that basis, only when necessary to protect against the risk of significant harm to national security,” reads an April signed declaration from the attorney general to U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who presided over the Ibrahim litigation in San Francisco.
####

But unlike what is stated in the last sentence above, state secrets act was involved purely to hide the ineptitude of the FBI.