Cedric's Big Mix

Thursday, October 01, 2015

Cranky wants to kill

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY CLINTON WANTS GAYS AND LESBIANS TO VOTE FOR HER, SHE JUST DOESN'T WANT TO RECOGNIZE THEIR FAMILIES.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS AND ASKED WHAT SHE WOULD DO ABOUT THE FAMILY CAM, MITCHELL AND LILY ON "MODERN FAMILY," CRANKY REPLIED, "I WOULD DEPLOY A PREDATOR DRONE TO KILL THEM. I WOULD KILL LILY FIRST BECAUSE SHE'S A CHILD AND SHE WAS PROBABLY DAMAGED THE MOST. SO IT WOULD BE GRACE AND MERCY. THEN I'D GO AFTER MITCH BECAUSE HE'S A RED HEAD AND, WELL, THAT SAYS IT ALL. I'D SAVE CAM FOR LAST SO HE COULD SUFFER THROUGH THE DEATHS OF THE OTHER TWO. WOW, THIS IS FUN, LIKE WHEN I DID MY INTERVIEW WITH LENA DUNHAM. YOU KNOW WHY I DID THAT, RIGHT? SITTING NEXT TO HER MADE ME LOOK SO PRETTY BY COMPARISON."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

As part of Haider al-Abadi's continued visit to the United States, the prime minister of Iraq sat down with Margaret Warner (PBS' The NewsHour -- link is text, audio and video) for an interview. Excerpt.

MARGARET WARNER: Another thing, of course, that happened over the last few days was news that Iraq had entered an intelligence pact with Russia and Iran and Syria to share intelligence about ISIS. Why did you join that?

HAIDER AL-ABADI: ISIL is an international terrorist organization. As far as the intelligence is concerned, we can only gather information about ISIL inside Iraq.
We need the help of other countries. Russia now considers ISIL as a national threat to them. It is a national threat to Syria. And, of course, it is a threat to Iran as well. Now, to share this intelligence with these countries is going to help us. I will do whatever it takes to protect the Iraqi people.
And there are many terrorist networks all over the world and fighters coming across different countries, to Syria, to Iraq. I need the help of that intelligence, as well as the intelligence of the international coalition, which is…

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET WARNER: But doesn’t most of your intelligence in fact come from the Americans? And are you worried that the U.S. will become more wary and less forthcoming sharing intelligence with you if they know it also goes to Iran and Russia and Syria?

HAIDER AL-ABADI: No, we will be careful not to share this information which comes from other parties with another party.

Some have little faith in Haider al-Abadi's ability to self-censor. It was on another US trip, for instance, when he created an international incident by declaring he had intel about planned attacks on American targets including the NYC subway system.

It was a year ago when Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Allen (Reuters) reported:

Iraq has "credible" intelligence that Islamic State militants plan to attack subway systems in Paris and the United States, the prime minister said on Thursday, but U.S. and French officials said they had no evidence to back up his claims.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's comments were met with surprise by security, intelligence and transit officials in both countries. New York's leaders scrambled to ride the subway to reassure the public that the nation's largest city was safe.

As his heavily reported claims were rebuked by both US and French government officials, Haider was left standing alone on the world stage and returned to Iraq an object of both ridicule and scorn.

The man who can't trust his own mouth now says he can handle top secret intelligence and not pass it on to Russia?

Noting that Iraq has long allowed Russia to fly over the country, in Iraq air space, David L. Phillips points out at CNBC:

Iraq's Shiite-led government appears to be more loyal to Iran than the United States. Iran's Quds Force is fighting alongside Shiite militias against the Islamic State in Anbar and other western provinces of Iraq. Iran's political support and security assistance are critical for the survival of Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government.
Iraq's Shiite-led government appears to be more loyal to Iran than the United States. Iran's Quds Force is fighting alongside Shiite militias against the Islamic State in Anbar and other western provinces of Iraq. Iran's political support and security assistance are critical for the survival of Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government.
Further demonstration of Iraq's non-cooperation with the United States surfaced over the weekend: Iraq has reached an understanding with Russia, Iran and Syria to share intelligence about the Islamic State. Iraqi officials kept Washington in the dark during negotiations.

The Obama administration should be able to influence the government of Iraq. Washington supported Abadi's bid to become prime minister. The Pentagon has an extensive equip-and-train program bolstering the Iraqi Security Forces. Between 2005 and 2013, the U.S. spent $25 billion on security assistance to Iraq. U.S.troops were indispensable in toppling Saddam Hussein, which created conditions for Shiites to ascend in Iraq.

Should be able to but apparently the puppet pulls the strings.

Operation Inherent Failure we dubbed it.

And the final grades keep rolling in.

Take this week's [PDF format warning] Foreign Fighter Task Force report from the House Homeland Security Committee.

The report explains:

One jihadist group in particular saw an opening. The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), a successor organization to al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), called for sectarian war and the creation of a regional Islamic state. AQI was a terrorist group whose leadership had pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2004 and which led an insurgency against U.S. forces in the country. After the group's leader Abud Musab al-Zarqai was killed in a 2006 U.S. airstrike, it rebranded as ISL. The terror outfit was weakened by the surge of U.S. troops into Iraq, the Anbar awakening, and later the death of its two top leaders in 2010. With the eventual withdrawal of American forces, however, ISI took advantage of the security vacuum and Sunni disenfranchisement with the central government to ramp up attacks. Its new leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, oversaw the escalation in violence.
In April 2013, al-Baghdadi declared the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (hereafter, ISIS). He sought to merge his forces with those of al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, but al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahirl rejected the merger, creating a schism between the groups. Nevertheless, ISIS expanded its operations in northern and eastern Syria, claiming territory and creating tension with other rebel factions. The momentum allowed ISIS to attract additional resources, especially more foreign fighters.
On New Year's Day 2014, ISIS convoys stormed Falluja and Ramadi, Iraqi cities which only a few years earlier had been liberated by U.S. forces. The Iraqi army crumbled as the fighters arrived in convoys of 70-100 trucks, armed with heavy weapons and anti-aircraft guns. The group's growing success resonated with Islamist radicals across social media. ISIS launched another major offensive in June 2014, capturing Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, and taking control of others towns as it pushed south toward Baghdad.

Further in, the report offers this stark assessment:

The United States conducted its first series of coordinated airstrikes against ISIS in August 2014. The strikes focused initially on curbing ISIS advances in nothern Iraq and protecting religious minorities but eventually shifted to supporting offensive operations against the militant group in both Iraq and its Syrian territory. In September, President Obama declared the aim of degrading and ultimately destroying the group. The United States has since conducted more than 5,000 airstrikes against ISIS.
Airstrikes, however, do not appear to have kept aspiring foreign fighters away. When the strikes began, counterterrorism officials estimated the total number of extremists was around 15,000. However, fighters continued to enter Syria at a rate of 1,000 per month. In December 2014, intelligence officials pegged the total at more than 18,000 and by February 2015 it surpassed 20,000. Today the figure stands at 25,000-plus foreign fighters, more than triple the number from just a year ago. The majority of these fighters still come from the Middle East and North Africa, with Tunisia as the most significant source country. But the total also includes 4,500 Westerners and more than 250 Americans, figures which have surged since 2014.
Indeed, foreign fighters have helped ISIS to remain strong. Nearly 10,000 of the group's foot soldiers have been killed by airstrikes, but they have been replaced by new foreign and domestic fighters almost as quickly as they are taken off the battlefield. There has been "no meaningful degradition in their numbers," according to one defense official, as estimates place ISIS's total fighting force at 20-30,000 -- the same as it was last fall.

Operation Inherent Failure continues on, doing the same thing with no real results.

Some call it a 'plan,' some call it stupidity.

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"THIS JUST IN! SHE'S CAUGHT LYING AGAIN!"

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Friday, September 25, 2015

Can Hillary tell the truth?

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY GOT CAUGHT LYING AGAIN.

AGAIN.

SHE SAID SHE TURNED OVER ALL OF HER WORK E-MAILS.

TURNS OUT SHE LIED.

THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND/OR WHITE HOUSE HAS FOUND MORE WORK E-MAILS.

REACHED FOR COMMENT, CRANKY EXPRESSED SURPRISE, "YOU MEAN DAVID PETRAEUS IS NOT MY MOTHER? I HONESTLY THOUGHT HE WAS. I THOUGHT THOSE WERE PERSONAL E-MAILS BETWEEN ME AND MY MOTHER. LIVE AND LEARN."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with a Tweet.

Neil Naessens ‏@medjak40 2 hours ago

It's revealing that this Australian govt thinks the answer to #Iraq's problems is (more) planes and bombs. That's been tried before, people!
9:40 PM - 24 Sep 2015 · Details

It's revealing that any US government can only think of "(more) planes and bombs."

US President Barack Obama is only the latest American fool to preach "(more) planes and bombs."

And despite the lack of success for over a year now, he continues to advocate it.

And others, like the Australian government, rush to join in on the deadly nonsense.

The stupidity only increases collectively and apparently in unison.

The rush to join the death club clouds reason and even the abilities of basic observation.

As RT noted this week, "Over 53,000 flights, 6700 strikes, and nearly $4 billion dollars later, Operation Inherent Resolve has yet to achieve any of its objectives."

But the desire to join the death club is too powerful to be let facts get in the way.

Yesterday, the US Defense Dept boasted:

Bomber, fighter, fighter-attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 16 airstrikes in Iraq, coordinated with the Iraqi government:

-- Near Huwayjah, an airstrike destroyed 16 ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Habbaniyah, an airstrike destroyed two ISIL anti-air artillery pieces.

-- Near Kirkuk, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

-- Near Mosul, six airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicle bomb-making facilities, an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL cache, an ISIL bunker, and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun, an ISIL light machine gun, and two ISIL mortar positions.

-- Near Ramadi, three airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, destroyed two ISIL buildings, an ISIL excavator, and three ISIL mobility obstacles.

-- Near Sinjar, three airstrikes struck separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed and ISIL light machine gun and six ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Tal Afar, one airstrike suppressed ISIL mortar fire.

Officials also announced a previously unreported Sept. 10 airstrike near Tal Afar, Iraq, which struck an ISIL tactical unit and resulted in a destroyed vehicle and the death of a senior ISIL leader.

They boasted of that (and of bombings on Syria) and:

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

It was nice of them to provide a listing of all the delusional parties who shouldn't be allowed access to a water gun, let alone a bomb.

But each day, they boast of their latest round of bombings when they should be embarrassed.

Not only is it barbaric, but it's accomplished nothing.

Operation Inherent Failure, led by Barack Obama.

Is that redundant?

It feels redundant.

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He speaks, ball gag and all

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY CLINTON CASTRATO KEVIN DRUM MADE AN ASS OUT OF HIMSELF STICKING UP FOR HIS BELOVED DIVA.

TODAY, USA TODAY WALKS THROUGH ALL OF CRANKY'S LIES ABOUT WHEN THE STATE DEPARTMENT FIRST ASKED FOR HER E-MAILS.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, CASTRATO KEVIN RESPONDED, "MISTRESS DOES NOT LET ME SPEAK TO STRANGERS. MISTRESS KEEPS ME CONFINED TO THE DUNGEON. I SERVE MY MISTRESS."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Today, the State Dept's Deputy Sex Addict Brett McGurk Tweeted:

And to think, all it took was a face-to-face with the Pope for US President Barack Obama to finally recognize the refugee crisis other countries have been noting for weeks.

Brett's giddy Barack named a special coordinator for Iraq's minorities?

Apparently, Brett'll use any excuse to whip it out (but didn't we already know that).

Otherwise, why not grasp that this "special coordinator" will be about as effective as the ridiculous Daniel Fried who was John Kerry's "Special Advisor on Camp Ashraf" from November 2011 until January 2013 -- and accomplished nothing.

Nothing.

If you're in doubt, this week former US House Rep Patrick Kennedy penned a column which included:

My uncle, President John F. Kennedy, managed to negotiate a nuclear deal with a hostile adversary (the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed with the Soviet Union in August 1963) while actively supporting, in both rhetoric and to the tune of tens of billions of dollars in funding, the cause of democracy in Eastern bloc countries. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan took the same approach with the USSR by signing the INF Treaty while redoubling the U.S. commitment to democracy behind the Iron Curtain. This strategy kept faith with America's deepest-held values and most vital interests. Sadly, today our government has not pursued a similar course with respect to Iran.
While my former colleagues in Congress have now given President Barack Obama the votes he needs for a nuclear deal, what's been equally worrisome has been the near total abdication of America's moral authority on promoting democracy and human rights in Iran, both of which were under assault even during the nuclear talks, when we had maximum leverage.
[. . .]
The U.S. can start by taking prompt action to protect thousands of Iranian dissidents who languish like sitting ducks in an Iraqi camp we swore to protect but didn't, for fear of alienating the regime from the negotiating table. With the deal done, one would think the Obama administration now has the leverage to save these souls who cast their lot with a secular, democratic, non-nuclear Iran. After years of ambushes and massacres at the hands of Iran-supported forces, these brave men and women should be protected from further attacks at the ironically named Camp Liberty. We must make clear to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that he is responsible for the protection of these Iranian dissidents, and they must be brought to the safety of third-party nations.

The deal is done, but America's interests and values endure. We must now use the imminent passage of the nuclear pact to renew America's unique commitment to the ideal of democracy and human rights in Iran and stand with the Iranian people and not their oppressors.

For approximately 14 months, Fried held a role that tasked him with relocating less than 4,000 people.

And he failed.

He failed and no one cared and the press didn't even muster a yawn.

For those who've boarded the plane late, here's an overview on the Ashraf community. As of September 2013, Camp Ashraf in Iraq is empty. All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty). Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks. The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one. As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out." Those weren't the last attacks. They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept. (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.) In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions." So the US has an obligation to protect the residents. 3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf. They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part. A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday. That was the second attack this year alone. February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah. Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured. Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release." They were attacked again September 1st. Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents. It was during that attack that the 7 hostages were taken.

The seven remain missing -- though John Kerry and Brett McGurk have insisted to Congress that they know where the 7 are -- and the Ashraf community still needs homes outside of Iraq.

So Pope Francis comes to the US and suddenly Barack finds another job to create where an advisor will do nothing and accomplish nothing?

What a proud moment for us all.

Barack delivered empty words June 19, 2014 when he insisted the only answer for Iraq was a political solution.

There's no political solution all this time later.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

From the gutter, she reaches for . . . well, anything

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY CLINTON'S BEEN CAUGHT WITH HER PANTSUIT DOWN AS THE STATE DEPT. SAYS 'UH-UH, LADY, THAT'S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED!' AND HER LATEST LIE ABOUT HER E-MAIL SCANDAL IS REVEALED.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, CRANKY REFUSED TO RESPOND TO THAT OR TO THE REPORTS THAT SHE TOLD FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O TO "CALL OFF THE F**KING DOGS!"

INSTEAD, SHE INSISTED SHE WANTED TO STAY "UP AND HAPPY AND POSITIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, I JUST FINISHED A CAMPAIGN STOP IN DALLAS AND, UNLIKE MY 2008 CAMPAIGN VISIT, NO POLICE WERE INJURED OR KILLED WHILE PROVIDING ME WITH SAFETY. NOT A SINGLE ONE."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Sarah Westwood (Washington Examiner) speaks with whistle-blower retired Army Sgt 1st Class William Kotel:

Kotel, who was noncommissioned officer in charge of the Joint Targets Enterprise, said warnings about imminent terror attacks in Iraq were required to be routed through a maze of Pentagon channels, a process that could take weeks, instead of communicated directly with military units in harm's way.

He said the policy of substituting economic or environmental information for terror-related intelligence in reports was never made explicit by Central Command's leadership, but that he and his colleagues had "implied orders" not to report facts on the ground in Iraq.

The problem, Kotel said, is not necessarily that final reports were being edited for political reasons. Instead, it's that key intelligence wasn't allowed in those reports in the first place.

Reports of cooked intel has plagued the White House for weeks now. Last Wednesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing (covered in the Thursday and Friday snapshots) and the topic was repeatedly raised with one of the witnesses, Gen Lloyd Austin. Two examples, first Committee Chair John McCain:

Chair John McCain: Indeed this Committee is disturbed by recent whistle-blower allegations that officials at Central Command skewed intelligence assessments to paint an overly positive picture of conditions on the ground. We are currently investigations these allegations which we take with the upmost seriousness. The Department of Defense should as well. And if true, those responsible must be held accountable.

Second, Senator Clair McCaskill:

Senator Claire McCaskill: I understand from your testimony, Gen Austin, that you can't comment on the IG investigation this accusation that people are putting pressure on intelligence analysts to change the tenor of their reports. It's a serious allegation that strikes at the core of our government in terms of our ability to oversee and make decisions around the use of our military. I want to say, at the end of this investigation, when you can discuss it, I just want to put on the record that I, for one, am going to be watching very carefully about any potential retaliation against any of the men or women that may have come forward with allegations. It is incredibly important that whistle-blowers be protected in this space and -- depending upon what the investigation finds -- I understand that maybe there are other factors that I am not aware of -- but I just want to put on the record that I will be paying very close attention to how these whistle-blowers are treated in the aftermath of this investigation.

In one of the strongest pieces on the issue, last week John R. Schindler (New York Observer) offered:

It’s happening again. A White House fumbling with the violent mess of Iraq finds itself surrounded by mounting accusations that it’s played dirty games with intelligence. A Pentagon facing charges that its analysts have skewed assessments on Iraq to tell top policymakers what they want to hear, rather than what is really happening in that troubled country.
If this sounds terribly familiar, it should. Only a dozen years after the George W. Bush White House was buffeted by allegations that it had “cherry-picked” intelligence to justify its 2003 invasion of Iraq, Barack Obama is facing similar accusations. Intelligence Community analysts alleged that, in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they were pressured to exaggerate Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. Now, analysts claim that they have been pushed to present Obama’s war against the Islamic State as more successful than it really is.

Earlier this month Shane Harris and Nancy A. Youssef (Daily Beast) reported:

More than 50 intelligence analysts working out of the U.S. military’s Central Command have formally complained that their reports on ISIS and al Qaeda’s branch in Syria were being inappropriately altered by senior officials, The Daily Beast has learned.
The complaints spurred the Pentagon’s inspector general to open an investigation into the alleged manipulation of intelligence. The fact that so many people complained suggests there are deep-rooted, systemic problems in how the U.S. military command charged with the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State assesses intelligence.

Spencer Ackerman (Guardian) reported September 11th:

Barack Obama’s intelligence chief is said to be in frequent and unusual contact with a military intelligence officer at the center of a growing scandal over rosy portrayals of the war against the Islamic State, the Guardian has learned.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, is said to talk nearly every day with the head of US Central Command’s intelligence wing, Army Major General Steven Grove – “which is highly, highly unusual”, according to a former intelligence official.
Grove is said to be implicated in a Pentagon inquiry into manipulated war intelligence.

In communications, Clapper, who is far more senior than Grove, is said to tell Grove how the war looks from his vantage point, and question Grove about Central Command’s assessments. Such a situation could place inherent pressure on a subordinate, sources said.

While some members of Congress have expressed outrage over the possibility that the intel was being cooked, others seem to have their heads so far up their ass that they can't see daylight. Tim Mak (Daily Beast) quoted Senator Tim Kaine insisting, "Don’t you see why we need to do an authorization for this war? It’s spreading, it’s mutating. There’s new theaters of war that are engaged. If what [the whistleblowers are] saying is right, they’re saying that it’s a more complicated, protracted, long-term war than maybe people were led to think. If that’s the case, we ought to be doing an authorization.”

Kaine is like a deranged hobbyist these days trying to connect everything to his personal wants.

He's wanted an authorization for Barack's latest wave in the never-ending Iraq War.

So this month, in the face of cooked intel, Kaine is now arguing this is proof that Congress needs to authorize Barck's war -- because "it's mutating" -- for that reason it needs to be authorized?

Maybe Kaine's attempting to insist that an authorization would contain and prevent mutation?

If so, he's an idiot because that's never happened before and it wouldn't have happened now.

The White House -- whomever occupies it -- does whatever it wants with Congress either silent or carping. Congress refuses to collectively hold the White House responsible for war and the Supreme Court will never make a ruling on an ongoing war (because they have no power to enforce a decision that went against the White House).

RT, in a report noting the false statements of US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry insisting 'success' in the war on the Islamic State, reminds, "Over 53,000 flights, 6700 strikes, and nearly $4 billion dollars later, Operation Inherent Resolve has yet to achieve any of its objectives."

Monday, Shane Harris and Nancy Youssef reported on some of what was being cooked:

Senior intelligence officials at the U.S. military’s Central Command demanded significant alterations to analysts’ reports that questioned whether airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State widely known as ISIS were damaging the group’s finances and its ability to launch attacks. But reports that showed the group being weakened by the U.S.-led air campaign received comparatively little scrutiny, The Daily Beast has learned.
Senior CENTCOM intelligence officials who reviewed the critical reports sent them back to the analysts and ordered them to write new versions that included more footnotes and details to support their assessments, according to two officials familiar with a complaint levied by more than 50 analysts about intelligence manipulation by CENTCOM higher-ups.

In some cases, analysts were also urged to state that killing particular ISIS leaders and key officials would diminish the group and lead to its collapse. Many analysts, however, didn’t believe that simply taking out top ISIS leaders would have an enduring effect on overall operations.

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"Peter's got on his big girl panties"

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Peter's got on his big girl panties

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

MR. KNOW IT ALL ALL PETER ROSENTEIN PUT ON HIS BIG GIRL PANTIES TODAY IN AN ATTEMPT TO LECTURE WOMEN IN AN ESPECIALLY CONDESCENDING TONE:

I hope Maya, Sylvia, Elise and others come to understand while Hillary may not be perfect, she will stand up and fight for their rights like no man ever could.

AND WE HOPE PETEY ROSE UNDERSTANDS THAT BEING A WOMAN OR A FEMINIST DOES NOT MEAN YOU JUST VOTE FOR OTHER WOMEN.

WE'RE ALSO HOPING PEOPLE REALIZE JUST HOW STUPID HE IS.

IN 2008, HILLARY WAS BLASTED BY MANY WELL KNOWN WOMEN: NAOMI WOLFE, MEDEA BENJAMIN, ETC.

AND WE, TWO MEN, SUPPORTED HILLARY'S RUN IN 2008.

THIS GO ROUND?

NO.

WE DIDN'T JUST SUDDENLY REALIZE, 'SHE'S A GIRL!'

BUT WHAT WE DID REALIZE, WATCHING HER AS SECRETARY OF STATE REFUSING TO HAVE AN INSPECTOR GENERAL, WATCHING HER AS SECRETARY OF STATE REFUSING TO TELL CONGRESS THE IRAQ BUDGET AND WHERE IT WAS GOING, WATCHING HER EXPLODE ABOUT BENGHAZI -- WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!!!!! -- THAT WE DID NOT SUPPORT HER ANY LONGER.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Let's start by playing That's Disturbing! Today, at the alleged US State Dept, John Kirby moderated a press briefing.

QUESTION: John, there was a delegation of Shabak religious community leaders to Washington and they met with State Department leaders. I was wondering whether you have a readout of that.

MR KIRBY: Yeah, there are some meetings today, actually. So as part of an effort to strengthen our partnership with Iraq and to engage communities across Iraq, including those who have joined the fight against ISIL, the State Department welcomed the visit of a group of leaders from Iraq’s Shabak community Washington. The group is meeting today with Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Larry Bartlett and had a working-level meeting with representatives from the Department’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and Near East Asia Affairs Bureaus last week. So there were meetings last week; there are meetings today.
In these meetings, State Department officials expressed our condolences for the suffering that minorities, including the Shabak community, have endured at the hands of ISIL; discussed how to enhance cooperation in the fight against ISIL; and described our contributions to meeting the desperate humanitarian needs of refugees and those displaced by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.

QUESTION: Yesterday I met with some of them, and they said they had one specific demand for the State Department, which was they want to have their own all-Shabak member security unit, force, to protect them, like the Kurds have, the Sunnis. They’re trying to have one. Is the United States supportive of this kind of force that is – that all of its members are, like, really belong to one community?

MR KIRBY: I’ve not heard that request before. What we are supportive of, and have been very clear about this, is an inclusive, representative Iraq which includes an inclusive, representative Iraqi Security Force that is well-coordinated and integrated across all the sectors of Iraqi society. That’s what Prime Minister Abadi has committed himself to and has instituted policies to effect that, and that’s what we’d like to see continue.

Religious minorities are under attack in Iraq but, please note, they're only of interest to the US State Dept if and when they can join in the fight against the Islamic State.

Take that, Quakers! And any other pacifist religion or denomination.

The United States is no longer interested in your plight, nor willing to meet a delegation representing you, unless you vow to take up arms.

By this standard, turn the other cheek Jesus Christ would not be ushered in to visit the sleazy US State Dept.

This refusal to meet with anyone unless they take up arms goes a long, long way towards explaining how nuns have repeatedly been ignored by the John Kerry State Dept.

‏@persecutionnews

#Pray for persecuted Christians in #Iraq.

46 retweets 30 favorites

Yes, pray for the Iraqi Christians -- especially as long as John Kerry heads that US State Dept because they will need those prayers.

There's no effort to improve their lives or stop their suffering.

Not while John's around.

Alleged good Catholic John Kerry is far too busy with photo ops to attend the suffering of the Iraqi Christians.

He'll gladly blather on about his religion but when it comes to walking the talk, he's no where to be found.

The John Kerry State Dept was supposed to mean so much and it instead means so damn little.

There's the shame and scandal of Hillary Clinton -- which John should have washed his hands of but instead has acted as a co-conspirator.

There's the inability to accomplish anything diplomatically (the Iran deal came from the White House and its roots pre-date John joining the administration). There's the increased militarization of the State Dept. There's the dereliction of duty with regards to Iraq.

And 'good Catholic' John can't even get his house in order enough to address the suffering of Iraq's religious minorities (unless they want to take up arms!).

He's 71 and he's already had a bout with prostate cancer. I'm not sure how many years he thinks he has left.

But apparently John's under no pressure to come to terms with what his life will have actually meant or how little he will have accomplished.

While John Kerry embarrasses himself and shames himself, Lara Logan (CBS News) reports on the realities for Iraqi Christians today:

And nothing is sacred. ISIS blew up this mosque just over a month after taking here -- it's a site holy to both Christians and Muslims because the Old Testament prophet Jonah was said to be buried inside.
Just like the Nazis marked the property of Jews, Christian homes in Mosul have been marked with this red symbol. It's the Arabic letter N - for Nasara - an early Islamic term for Christians. When ISIS puts it on your home, you either convert to Islam, pay an extortion tax or face the sword.
Issah Al Qurain is one of tens of thousands who had to make that choice. He was at home with his family in the Christian village where he'd lived all his life, when ISIS fighters came looking for him. He told us the fighters first took all his money - then his wife and children.

Lara Logan: They were telling you convert, convert, convert?

Issah Al Qurain (translated): Yes, convert. In the beginning, I refused. I told them I was Christian and I had my religion and they had their religion. But they told me, if you don't convert, we will kill you and take your wife and children.

He agreed and was taken to Mosul to convert where he was reunited with his family. Soon, ISIS fighters were asking about his young daughter, and he told us that frightened him more than anything.
Issah Al Qurain (translated): They said to me that in Islam, the Sharia says, girls that are 10 years old should get married. As soon as they left, my wife and I shut the door. We looked at each other and she started to cry and pray. We were so scared they were going to take our daughter from us.
They escaped in the back of a taxi. Issah says they talked their way through three ISIS checkpoints and traveled for over four hours on back roads to Erbil where, like Archbishop Sharaf, they now live as refugees.

Next week, the Pope visits the United States. Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama during the visit (September 22nd - September 27th).

It should make for an interesting visit with many awkward silences.

Pope: And what are you doing to aid Iraqi Christians?

Barack: Uh, would you like one of our lapel pins? . . . . Hey, have you ever seen our White House paper weights?

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"THIS JUST IN! EVEN CRANKY DOESN'T KNOW THE REAL CRANKY CLINTON!"
"Who is Cranky Clinton?"

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Who is Cranky Clinton?

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY CLINTON CHANGES MORE THAN HER HAIR STYLES.

THE WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN CAMPAIGNING AS A PROGRESSIVE IS NOW INSISTING SHE IS A MODERATE.

WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION: DOES THE CRAZY POLITICIAN HAVE ANY IDEA WHO SHE REALLY IS?

CRANKY CLINTON'S SO INAUTHENTIC SHE CONFUSES EVEN HERSELF.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Friday evening, Spencer Ackerman (Guardian) reported:

The investigative committee of the US House of Representatives has summoned Pentagon officials for a briefing about allegations of manipulated intelligence about the war against the Islamic State (Isis).
Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Ron DeSantis, who chairs its national-security subcommittee, asked the defense secretary, Ashton Carter, and inspector general, Jon Rymer, on Friday for information about an ongoing investigation into charges from dozens of US Central Command and Defense Intelligence Agency analysts that their superiors suppressed negative assessments of the year-old war against Isis.

In a sign of escalating congressional interest in an unfolding controversy, the GOP lawmakers requested briefings no later than 18 September.

The Guardian article features a photo of Rep Jason Chaffetz with the disgusting Elijah Cummings standing near him. Cummings cared about Iraq only when Bully Boy Bush was in office. Even worse, he cared about transparency only when Bully Boy Bush was in office. Benghazi found him squealing that this was an effort to destroy US President Barack Obama. After two years of him sputtering that off key whine, he switched to this is an effort (the same effort) to destroy Hillary Clinton's chances at the presidency.

Now with analysts saying their own intel is being cooked, where does the vile Elijah Cummings stand?

Yet again, he's not rushing to demand transparency.

Cummings only cares about transparency when he can use it as a partisan weapon.

Today, Rep Ron DeSantis' office issued the following:

Sep 14, 2015

Press Release

Washington, DC – Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06), chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, has sent letters to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Department of Defense Inspector General Jon Rymer concerning allegations that officials have altered intelligence reports regarding the military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq. Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Jason Chaffetz (UT-03), joined DeSantis in sending these letters. DeSantis issued the following statement:
“I am concerned by allegations that political objectives are being taken into consideration regarding our national security. The data collected by our military personnel and intelligence agents is critical to accurately addressing threats and should not be influenced or altered to fit an advantageous political narrative. The Committee is taking these reports very seriously and we will investigate fully.”

There's been a great deal of press coverage in recent weeks and last week, Ali Watkins (Huffington Post) noted:

News that senior U.S. intelligence officials may have doctored analysis on the Islamic State weighs heavily on Washington. It suggests that President Barack Obama's intelligence apparatus didn't learn from the costly failures of the Bush era.
The Daily Beast reported late Wednesday that more than 50 intelligence professionals have formally complained that their analysis of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and of Syria's al Qaeda branch, al Nusra, was altered by U.S. Central Command higher-ups in order to make the U.S. military campaign to defeat those groups look more successful than it actually was.

And with the reports come questions and speculation.