TURKEY – Transfixed by the chaos engulfing swathes of the Middle East, it is no surprise that the West has not given Turkey’s first direct presidential election the attention it merits – and would have received in more peaceable times. This is a pity because the tectonic plates are shifting fast in the country, which is a crucial link between East and West, and the changes may be both permanent and troubling.
TURKEY – Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has ruled out any support from Turkey for the US military airstrike that began on Friday targeting artillery belonging to the al-Qaeda splinter group, the terrorist “Islamic State” (IS), near Arbil, in Iraq.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday in the province of Sivas, Yılmaz said: “We are not providing any kind of support [to the US military strikes on the IS in Iraq]. The US, using its own means, with its military aircraft launched from warships [in the Gulf area], is bombing IS positions that the US sees as a threat.”
Turkey is sensitive about becoming involved in the US military hitting IS targets in Iraq due to a hostage crisis. (more…)
HAWAII – Hawaii Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie, in a historic loss, was soundly defeated in Saturday’s primary by a state senator, while the island’s marquee U.S. Senate race remained too close to call.
Abercrombie’s loss to state Sen. David Ige makes him the first sitting governor in state history to lose a primary for reelection. It came amid concerns about tax hike proposals and his leadership style.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Ige had received 67.4 percent of the vote to 31.5 percent for Abercrombie. (read more – blowout)
[Warning Graphic Imagery] If you ever wondered whether or not applied Liberalism can factually disconnect brain synapses these two recent examples should answer the question.
The United States has factually and officially considered Hamas a terrorist organization since 1997. In part because the foundational charter of Hamas calls for all Jews to be killed and all Muslims are responsible to wage jihad against Israel.
But the top Democrat, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, takes to the airwaves and appears on CNN last week to proclaim:
….” […] we have to confer with the Qataris, who have told me over and over again that Hamas is a humanitarian organization.”…
One would think the former Speaker, and formerly 2nd in the succession chain to become President in an emergency, would know better. One would think.
However, not to be outdone this week we find Massachusetts Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren, a potential presidential candidate in 2016, discussing the situation in Iraq and the extreme terror group ISIL. Warren states: (more…)
This Brief has been updated to include the newly spotlighted research on Syria and ISIL. Most importantly the previously unknown “Second Presidential Finding Memo” to the CIA in 2012 specifically directed to arm/aid ISIL in Syria. The new information from the month before the Benghazi attack explains the motive of the Turkish delegation toward Chris Stevens.
Grab a cup of coffee and you’ll see how the Trey Gowdy special committee is really a waste of time. There is no benefit to be gained from house hearings that will never be allowed to disclose the operational aspects of covert CIA intelligence ops.
We know from the Bret Baier interview with Hillary Clinton that she was physically located at her 7th floor office in Washington DC on the night of the attack. Unfortunately we also know during the November 2012 Thanksgiving holiday a mysterious fire took place in that building. Well, actually directly above her exact office – cause undetermined.
A “fire” which preceded an unfortunate slip and fall for the Secretary, resulting in a concussion, which led to the discovery of a blood clot, that ultimately delayed her congressional testimony before a Senate Hearing into the events of the night in question.
We know the Libyan uprising began on February 10th of 2011, and we also know that sometime around the end of February 2011 President Obama signed a presidential directive authorizing the State Dept and CIA to begin a covert operation to arm the Libyan “rebels”.
We also know of a Second Presidential Finding Memo authorizing additional CIA covert action in 2012, this time in Syria. However, unlike the 2011 Libyan operation we do not know the operational name of the second action in 2012 Syria.
We know the Libyan “rebels” were positioned in two strategic places. Benghazi, and the port city of Darnah, both located in Northeastern Libya.
We know this 2011 Libyan covert operation came to be known as “Operation Zero Footprint“, and fell under the military command authority of NATO not (important to repeat), NOT, the U.S. Military. (more…)
President Obama gave Thomas Friedman an hour long interview before heading off on vacation to Martha’s Vineyard. Within the interview the failure of a cohesive Obama foreign policy shines through despite the attempted cover from liberal reporters.
There’s actually two parts to this interview – the interview as reported – and the opinion piece from Friedman about the interview itself.
Within the Times Article you find the footprints of a dejected President staring boldly into the face of his own failure and shortcomings:
[…] “We’re not going to let them create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq,” the president said in an hourlong interview with Thomas L. Friedman, a New York Times columnist, as American planes and drones began dropping bombs in Iraq. “But we can only do that if we know that we have got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void.”
[…] Mr. Obama offered his justifications for his latest use of military force in Iraq while lamenting the outcome of a similar decision he made to intervene militarily in Libya in 2011. He defended the desire to help oust the Libyan dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, with American air power, but he acknowledged that he had “underestimated” the chaos that would follow after American forces left.
“So that’s a lesson that I now apply every time I ask the question, ‘Should we intervene militarily?’ ” Mr. Obama said. “Do we have an answer the day after?”
Oh that’s nice, as long as he readily admits his failure in Libya now. Readers will note he’s essentially reaffirming the Bush policy in Iraq by saying the failure in Libya was a failure to stick around and nation build.
This, despite the fact Obama himself worsened the collapse in Iraq by pulling U.S. forces out ahead of structural governance in place which would insure their own security.
So failing to have a plan to stick around in Libya was a mistake, but pulling out from a plan to stick around in Iraq was, well, what exactly ? (more…)
In 2011 President Obama stated -to much controversy- he did not need to notify congress, or the American people, of his military engagements in Libya (which eventually he called R2P, Responsibility To Protect). His own White House attorneys were perplexed.
However, since then, and perhaps because the political risk (ie. polling disapproval) in year 6 is too great, he appears to have found his notification pen. (more…)
Let’s get the McCain story out of the way first….
Back in May 2013 Republican Senator John McCain made a secret trip to Syria to talk to the forces fighting against Assad.
Press pool given just seconds to shoot photo of POTUS on phone through Oval Office door. (Photo by @Jduckham) pic.twitter.com/thpgmjEXcR
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 8, 2014