[Peace-discuss] [Peace] Who do we BLAME? Part 40517.

Fri Apr 7 11:41:04 UTC 2017

Trump publicly admitted we are over there to steal their oil. At least he is honest about it—unlike his predecessors. You have to give the devil his due. Fab.
From: Boyle, Francis A
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2017 5:30 AM
To: 'SECTNS.aals at lists.aals.org' <SECTNS.aals at lists.aals.org>
Subject: American Unlimited Imperialism:Syria

By shamelessly exploiting the terrible tragedy of 11 September 2001, the Bush Jr. administration set forth to steal a hydrocarbon empire from the Muslim states and peoples living in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf and Africa  under the bogus pretexts of (1) fighting a war against international terrorism; and/or (2) eliminating weapons of mass destruction; and/or (3) the promotion of democracy; and/or (4) self-styled “humanitarian intervention”/responsibility to protect.
________________________

Historically, this latest eruption of American militarism at the start of the 21st Century is akin to that of America opening the 20th Century by means of the U.S.-instigated Spanish-American War in 1898.  Then the Republican administration of President  William McKinley stole their colonial empire from Spain in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; inflicted a near genocidal war against the Filipino people; while at the same time illegally annexing the Kingdom of Hawaii and subjecting the Native Hawaiian people (who call themselves the Kanaka Maoli) to near genocidal conditions.  Additionally, McKinley’s military and colonial expansion into the Pacific was also designed to secure America’s economic exploitation of China pursuant to the euphemistic rubric of the “open door” policy.   But over the next four decades America’s aggressive presence, policies, and practices in the “Pacific” would ineluctably pave the way for Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 194l, and thus America’s precipitation into the ongoing Second World War. Today a century later the serial imperial aggressions launched and menaced by the Republican Bush Jr. administration and now the Democratic Obama administration  are  threatening to set off World War III. Ditto for Trump.
By shamelessly exploiting the terrible tragedy of 11 September 2001, the Bush Jr. administration set forth to steal a hydrocarbon empire from the Muslim states and peoples living in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf and Africa  under the bogus pretexts of (1) fighting a war against international terrorism; and/or (2) eliminating weapons of mass destruction; and/or (3) the promotion of democracy; and/or (4) self-styled “humanitarian intervention”/responsibility to protect.  Only this time the geopolitical stakes are infinitely greater than they were a century ago:  control and domination of two-thirds of the world’s hydrocarbon resources and thus the very fundament and energizer of the global economic system – oil and gas.  The Bush Jr./ Obama  administrations  have  already targeted the remaining hydrocarbon reserves of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia for further conquest or domination, together with the strategic choke-points at sea and on land required for their transportation.  In this regard, the Bush Jr. administration  announced the establishment of the U.S. Pentagon’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) in order to better control, dominate, and exploit both the natural resources and the variegated peoples of the continent of Africa, the very cradle of our human species.  Libya and the Libyans became the first victims to succumb to AFRICOM under the Obama administration. They will not be the last.
This current bout of U.S. imperialism is what my teacher, mentor and friend  Hans Morgenthau denominated “unlimited imperialism” in his seminal work Politics Among Nations (4th ed. 1968, at 52-53):
“The outstanding historic examples of unlimited imperialism are the expansionist policies of Alexander the Great, Rome, the Arabs in the seventh and eighth centuries, Napoleon I, and Hitler. They all have in common an urge toward expansion which knows no rational limits, feeds on its own successes and, if not stopped by a superior force, will go on to the confines of the political world. This urge will not be satisfied so long as there remains anywhere a possible object of domination–a politically organized group of men which by its very independence challenges the conqueror’s lust for power. It is, as we shall see, exactly the lack of moderation, the aspiration to conquer all that lends itself to conquest, characteristic of unlimited imperialism, which in the past has been the undoing of the imperialistic policies of this kind… “
 It is the Unlimited Imperialists along the lines of Alexander, Rome, Napoleon and Hitler who are now in charge of conducting American foreign policy. The factual circumstances surrounding the outbreaks of both the First World War and the Second World War currently hover like twin  Swords of Damocles over the heads of all humanity.

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign, IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

Francis A. Boyle
Law Building
504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Champaign IL 61820 USA
217-333-7954 (phone)
217-244-1478 (fax)
(personal comments only)

From: Peace [mailto:peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of kmedina67 via Peace
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2017 6:37 AM
To: John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com>; Brussel, Morton K <brussel at illinois.edu>
Cc: peace <peace at lists.chambana.net>; Fields, A Belden <a-fields at illinois.edu>; Peace-discuss AWARE <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
Subject: Re: [Peace] [Peace-discuss] Who do we BLAME? Part 40517.

Dear discuss,
I agree with John.
Plus point out that every time the US has "helped" change regimes, we also "help" choose the next brutal dictator.
- karen Medina

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

-------- Original message --------
From: "John W. via Peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>>
Date: 4/7/17 02:47 (GMT-06:00)
To: "Brussel, Morton K" <brussel at illinois.edu<mailto:brussel at illinois.edu>>
Cc: peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>>, Peace-discuss AWARE <peace-discuss at anti-war.net<mailto:peace-discuss at anti-war.net>>, "Fields, A Belden" <a-fields at illinois.edu<mailto:a-fields at illinois.edu>>
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] [Peace]  Who do we BLAME? Part 40517.

I never quite understand what all of you are arguing about.  All I know for sure is that every "leader" in the world, throughout human history - except for those precious few who (1) were democratically elected, and (2) possess a modicum of integrity, humility, and perspective - wants to keep his/her power, and doesn't care how many civilians s/he kills to do so.

Given that there is a civil war raging in Syria among various factions, Assad would be killing his own people in order to retain power regardless of whether Russia and/or America was involved.  I don't have to be a mind reader or a close personal friend of Assad to know that retaining power is more important to him than the lives of the Syrian people.  Whether or not we intervene is at least as much of a practical question as a moral one.

And it's a moot point because pResident tRump has chosen to bomb.

John Wason

On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 11:34 PM, Brussel, Morton K via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

Belden,

You don’t know  god damn thing about what has happened in Syria, what is happening there, and your so-called argument is worse than asinine. You have become an apologist for war—you, a human rights advocate. Shame!!!

—mkb

On Apr 6, 2017, at 8:03 PM, Fields, A Belden <a-fields at illinois.edu<mailto:a-fields at illinois.edu>> wrote:

I would only point out that when Assad was asked by the press many months ago about his air force's use of barrel bombs in residential areas, which killed and maimed many civilians, his reply was "a bomb is a bomb. It makes no difference."  He is clearly willing to use any weapons at his disposal regardless of  the cost in civilian lives--by HIS OWN WORDS.
No, the investigation is not yet done.  But we have heard him loud and clear, anything is fair in this war regardless of humans suffering and international law. Yes, the US has caused enormous suffering and violated human rights itself.  But Chomsky is  right.  Assad is a nasty piece of work and it ill suits people on the Left to pretend otherwise.

Belden

________________________________
From: Peace [peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-bounces at lists.chambana.net>] on behalf of Brussel, Morton K via Peace [peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>]
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2017 4:19 PM
To: Karen Aram
Cc: peace; Peace-discuss AWARE
Subject: Re: [Peace] [Peace-discuss] Who do we BLAME? Part 40517.
I certainly don’t know Assad’s mind and actions, how he is running/defending his country (or is it his country?). Does Chomsky? What does he clearly know about what is taking place in Syria?
So I commend you Karen for”going against the Chomsky grain in this matter. As to the gas attack, if that is what it was, a commentary by Gareth Porter is helpful:
 https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/05/another-dangerous-rush-to-judgment-in-syria/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__consortiumnews.com_2017_04_05_another-2Ddangerous-2Drush-2Dto-2Djudgment-2Din-2Dsyria_&d=DwMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=LVFD2C1RI2rrPDmI3Syk2CwuxmoT24PnP4L8nmF9sOM&m=d5pv-fy0lKzIdkrZ_LKgEuJ_k1FuOozQystq3I4flcw&s=1MDhUs946mapM512HrDHYhvSp4IzZ5XEuHHzaS0Cho0&e=>

On Apr 6, 2017, at 6:27 AM, Karen Aram via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

I disagree with Noam Chomsky’s assessment of Russia, having only one ally. Iran is also an ally, in the Med. This is very important and it’s geopolitical. As to Syria, he failed to look at the history of US involvement in Syria, just going along with mainstream US assessment that Assad is horrible, maybe he is, but look what we have done, we’ve had a presence in Syria, covertly under the Obama administration, not really, just not as openly as now under Trump and the Pentagon.

I know, “who am I to disagree with Chomsky” , hey I disagree with Presidents and the Pope when I think they’re wrong.

See Wm. Blum et al.

On Apr 5, 2017, at 18:36, Carl G. Estabrook via Peace <peace at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

NOAM CHOMSKY: Syria is a horrible catastrophe. The Assad regime is a moral disgrace. They’re carrying out horrendous acts, the Russians with them.

AMY GOODMAN: Why the Russians with them?

NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, pretty simple reason: Syria is their one ally in the whole region. Not a close ally, but they do have—their one Mediterranean base is in Syria. It’s the one country that’s more or less cooperated with them. And they don’t want to lose their one ally. It’s very ugly, but that’s what’s happening.

Meanwhile, there have been—it’s kind of like the North Korean case we were discussing. There have been possible opportunities to terminate the horrors. In 2012, there was an initiative from the Russians, which was not pursued, so we don’t know how serious it was, but it was a proposal to—for a negotiated settlement, in which Assad would be phased out, not immediately. You know, you can’t tell them, "We’re going to murder you. Please negotiate." That’s not going to work. But some system in which, in the course of negotiations, he would be removed, and some kind of settlement would be made. The West would not accept it, not just the United States. France, England, the United States simply refused to even consider it. At the time, they believed they could overthrow Assad, so they didn’t want to do this, so the war went on. Could it have worked? You never know for sure. But it could have been pursued. Meanwhile, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are supporting jihadi groups, which are not all that different from ISIS. So you have a horror story on all sides. The Syrian people are being decimated.

AMY GOODMAN: And the U.S. now sending 400 more troops to Syria. But if the U.S. has a better relationship with Russia, could that change everything?

NOAM CHOMSKY: It could lead to some kind of accommodation in which a negotiated diplomatic settlement would be implemented, which would by no means be lovely, but it would at least cut down the level of violence, which is critical, because the country is simply being destroyed. It’s descending to suicide.

On Apr 5, 2017, at 7:54 PM, Carl G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

"Another Dangerous Rush to Judgment in Syria” | April 5, 2017
The U.S. government and the mainstream media rushed to judgment again, blaming the Syrian government for a new poison-gas attack and ignoring other possibilities, reports Robert Parry.

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/04/05/another-dangerous-rush-to-judgment-in-syria/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__consortiumnews.com_2017_04_05_another-2Ddangerous-2Drush-2Dto-2Djudgment-2Din-2Dsyria_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=tfHzwZBcTLEveiewRiq0OdhFmfRmlvZjpIBS0AUJ2v0&m=0OxnMtE8UUT3iZeVLUCrLdMjgRbaTaVh37XwFNWg0HI&s=XcNMV1_e4GlthG1UHtWsrzJ8szoh6hofEHEjf2oFBqM&e=>

On Apr 5, 2017, at 6:00 PM, Carl G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

Good question.

"Only fake news sub-zoology specimens can possibly believe Damascus would profit from staging a chemical attack just a few hours after the St. Petersburg metro tragedy. The timing is NOT accidental. No wonder hysterical block to block ‘coverage' in NATO-controlled MSM - actually editorials, blaming Damascus without any investigation whatsoever." [Pepe Escobar]

"Rebel warehouse with chem weapons hit by Syrian airstrike in Idlib” <https://www.rt.com/news/383522-syria-idlib-warehouse-strike-chemical/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.rt.com_news_383522-2Dsyria-2Didlib-2Dwarehouse-2Dstrike-2Dchemical_&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=tfHzwZBcTLEveiewRiq0OdhFmfRmlvZjpIBS0AUJ2v0&m=0OxnMtE8UUT3iZeVLUCrLdMjgRbaTaVh37XwFNWg0HI&s=AWb4BIPdclQsfQV-AKcyP3aS3A7pjz8nolPgnPNMB5M&e=>>

Here are reports from US propaganda sources that suggest what may have happened:

"Russia blames deadly Syrian gassing on rebels' own chemical arsenal” <http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-blames-syria-gassing-leak-rebels-own-chemical-arsenal-n742791<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nbcnews.com_news_world_russia-2Dblames-2Dsyria-2Dgassing-2Dleak-2Drebels-2Down-2Dchemical-2Darsenal-2Dn742791&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=tfHzwZBcTLEveiewRiq0OdhFmfRmlvZjpIBS0AUJ2v0&m=0OxnMtE8UUT3iZeVLUCrLdMjgRbaTaVh37XwFNWg0HI&s=_tFqPVdPHbm97EvJ4k_88CIQmu4V6ulexu930ckfRs0&e=>>

"Idlib Attack Aimed at Disrupting Talks, U.N. Envoy Says” <https://www.wsj.com/articles/idlib-attack-aimed-at-disrupting-talks-u-n-envoy-says-1491325155?tesla=y<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.wsj.com_articles_idlib-2Dattack-2Daimed-2Dat-2Ddisrupting-2Dtalks-2Du-2Dn-2Denvoy-2Dsays-2D1491325155-3Ftesla-3Dy&d=DwMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=tfHzwZBcTLEveiewRiq0OdhFmfRmlvZjpIBS0AUJ2v0&m=0OxnMtE8UUT3iZeVLUCrLdMjgRbaTaVh37XwFNWg0HI&s=TN73zc2h_rbjVD9esZFNOubL8Sk1geIWPOLk-057YPA&e=>>

Cui bono? Whose interests are being served by disrupting the talks? The Syrian government's military predominance over the rebels (established with Russia's help) could be recognized in Geneva. The Assad government would seem to have no motive for committing a war crime, but its enemies would certainly have a motive for saying it did.

—CGE

On Apr 5, 2017, at 5:07 PM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net<mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:

Trump White House responds to Syrian gas attack by blaming the Obama administration

<Hunter.jpeg>
By Hunter
Daily Kos, Tuesday Apr 04, 2017 · 12:22 PM CDT

Donald Trump repeatedly claimed, during the campaign, that the various bad actors on the world stage were only daring to commit aggressions and atrocities because our current leaders were "weak." Today's chemical weapons attack by Syrian forces against Syrian civilians will be one of his team's first true foreign policy tests: they quickly proved themselves to up to the task.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that a gas attack in a rebel-controlled area of Syria was perpetrated by the forces tied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are a "consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution." [...]
"Today's chemical attack in Syria against innocent people including women and children is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world," Spicer said. "These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution."
This may be the first official White House condemnation of the use of chemical weapons to be affixed to a direct political attack on a previous president. The move makes it appear that the White House is more concerned with dodging responsibility for responding to the Syrian attack than they are with the use of the weapons themselves.
It is likely that the Trump team has not mapped out an American response to the attacks—especially because of the Trump campaign and transition eagerness to pursue a Russia-friendly compromise in Syria despite Russia's backing of the regime that perpetrated these attacks. Actual Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, for his part, is so far again absent from the discussion.

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