2
POPSChomsky Says Obama Continues Bush Policy to Control Middle East Oil
“As late as November, 2007, the U.S. was still insisting that the ‘Status of Forces Agreement’ allow for an indefinite U.S. military presence and privileged access to Iraq’s resources by U.S. investors,” Chomsky added. “Well, they didn’t get that on paper at least. They had to back down,” Alabbasi quotes him as saying. Chomsky said Middle East oil reserves are understood to be “a stupendous source of strategic power” and “one of the greatest material prizes in world history.” Concerning Iran, Chomsky said the U.S. acted to overthrow its parliamentary democracy in 1953 “to retain control of Iranian resources” and when the Iranians reasserted themselves in 1979, the U.S. acted “to support Saddam Hussein’s merciless invasion” of that country. “The torture of Iran continued without a break and still does, with sanctions and other means,” Chomsky said. According to Alabbasi, Chomsky “mocked the idea” presented by mainstream media that a nuclear-armed Iran might attack nuclear-armed
2
POPSGrading Obama "After U.S. President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office, Foreign Policy asked a group of experts to grade him on everything from North Korea to nukes. On the anniversary of his historic election, we've reprised the experiment -- and found out that the White House isn't doing so well." - FP
1
POPSU.S. Had Covert Ties to Paki-based Terrorist in Iran Bombing The terrorist behind the Iran bombing recently was a former covert operative per Robert Baer, former CIA agent of Syriana fame. This is not unlike the former ties with Al Qaeda and bin Laden as covert operatives and "CIA brainchilds". Of course, this was done for provocatory purposes to spark Iran-British-U.S. conflict....and it appears to be working for this design. See Telegraph UK article: Iran vows revenge after claiming bomb attack was carried out by Britain A bomb attack on Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard that killed over 40 people including top generals was carried out by terrorists trained by America and Britain in nearby Pakistan , a senior commander said on Monday. See, "state-sponsored terrorism" can be alleged both ways.
7
POPS Is Barack Obama Anti-American?
And with other dreams (for example, the Second Amendment) he’s doing a fancy dance by which he tries to hide his authoritarian impulses. But it doesn’t matter. This post isn’t about what Obama will actually do. It’s about what he wants to do, what his desires are vis a vis the American people " and it’s very clear that his desire is antithetical to the American essence. He wants to limit or destroy individual liberties. Politically, too, Obama’s impulses are all antithetical to liberty. Again, some examples: He has turned against the only democratic nation in the Middle East (that would be Israel), in favor of the bloodied tyrannical theocracies on her borders. By reversing his pledge to keep a missile defense system in place in Poland and the Czech Republic, he has favored Iran’s Muslim tyranny Figuratively and literally, he bows to dictators (Saudis, Venezuelans, Russians, Iranians, Cubans). In Honduras, he sided with the delusional Zelaya against the . . .
3
POPS Oliver North::Protecting the Image by Oliver North Mr. Obama's presentation to the assembly Sept. 23 and his speech to the U.N. Security Council's summit on "nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament" Sept. 24 were celebrated for their "breadth and understanding" and his "appeal for dialogue in the quest for world peace." But the O-Team's careful choreography collapsed just hours later, when Iran's secret uranium enrichment facility, buried in the mountains near the holy city of Qom, was exposed. In the aftermath, it was revealed that Mr. Obama had known about the site since January. When asked why he failed to mention the Iranian malfeasance in both of his U.N. addresses, a White House spokesman said the administration didn't want "to spoil the image of success" during Mr. Obama's debut at the U.N. Of course, the problem isn't "image"; it's reality. And the reality is that the Iranian pursuit of nuclear weapons has continued unabated for at least a decade. U.S. intelligence confirmed that Tehran was building . . .
2
POPSThe Return of the Iran-Contrarians A retired Central Intelligence Agency official has confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that on the secret mission to Teheran last May, Robert C. McFarlane and his party carried a Bible with a handwritten verse from President Reagan for Iranian leaders. According to a person who has read the committee's draft report, the retired C.I.A. official, George W. Cave, an Iran expert who was part of the mission, said the group had 10 falsified passports, believed to be Irish, and a key-shaped cake to symbolize the anticipated ''opening'' to Iran.
7
POPSObama's Hidden Agenda It wasn't because he wanted to be the first American president to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. It wasn't because he wanted to tilt toward the Arabs and away from Israel. It wasn't because he wanted to "engage" Iran and the Muslim world. It wasn't because he was itching to grab the reins of government and make grand decisions about war and peace in Afghanistan and Iraq. It wasn't because he wanted to move the United States to the economic left as Germany and Sweden, for example, were reaffirming their faith in capitalism and moving to the economic right. And it wasn't because he had a burning desire, as required by Article II, Section I, to recite this oath at his inauguration: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
2
POPSA Conversation With Gore Vidal Unfolds: ‘We’ll Have A Dictatorship Soon In The US’ He has crossed every boundary, I say. “Crashed many barriers,” he corrects me. Last year he famously switched allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama during the Democratic nomination process for president. Now, he reveals, he regrets his change of heart. How’s Obama doing? “Dreadfully. I was hopeful. He was the most intelligent person we’ve had in that position for a long time. But he’s inexperienced. He has a total inability to understand military matters. He’s acting as if Afghanistan is the magic talisman: solve that and you solve terrorism.” America should leave Afghanistan, he says. “We’ve failed in every other aspect of our effort of conquering the Middle East or whatever you want to call it.” The “War on Terror” was “made up”, Vidal says. “The whole thing was PR, just like ‘weapons of mass destruction’. It has wrecked the airline business, which my father founded in the 1930s.
6
POPS"Girl From Ipanema": Plenty Time To Get Toned and Tanned And I have a sneaking suspicion that after the hobnobbing is done, the IOC members will check their gift bags, look at the boxset of DVDs from Obama … Anyway, Obama probably just thinks this a fun, feel-good sideshow, stepping up for the home team. Doesn’t seem like that big a deal. What he probably hasn’t figured out is that, taken with a health-care failure, an Iran debacle, bucking the generals on Afghanistan, and that climate change thing that has “health-care redux” written all over it, being dissed by the IOC is going to make him look like an Olympic-sized loser. Can’t get anything done. Especially since the wife said it’s “gloves off” and “take no prisoners.” It’s a big gamble. This idea that you can treat not only your own top agenda items but actual serious national security concerns with less apparent interest than a big, expensive party for your hometown, and think there won’t be consequences.
4
POPSObama's Move: Iran and Afghanistan continued But it is not clear that time is on Western forces’ side. Increased offensives are not weakening the Taliban. But halting attacks and assuming that the Taliban will oblige the West by moving to the offensive, thereby opening itself to air and artillery strikes, probably is not going to happen. And while assuming that the country will effectively rise against the Taliban out of the protected zones the United States has created is interesting, it does not strike us as likely. The Taliban is fighting the long war because it has nowhere else to go. Its ability to maintain military and political cohesion following the 2001 invasion has been remarkable. And betting that the Pakistanis will be effective enough to break the Taliban’s supply lines is hardly the most prudent bet. In short, Obama’s commander on the ground has told him the current Afghan strategy is failing. He has said that unless that strategy changes, more troops won’t help, and that a change of strategy will
3
POPSAnother useless exercise in smartough diplomacy There were, of course, two illicit nuclear projects stopped during that period, though the U.N. had nothing to do with it. One was Libya's clandestine nuclear kit, which al-Qaddafi--spooked by the fate of Saddam--agreed to hand over to the U.S. in late 2003. The other was Syria's North Korea-abetted secret reactor. That was destroyed in 2007, not by a U.N. resolution, but by an Israeli air strike.
1
POPSTaking a Stand Article was interesting. However, it switched gears a bit in the last half where the author hits on the other issues like UN Protocol and complaints from leader(s) about the UN Charter vs what is really taking place within.
7
POPSThe UN Loves Barack Obama Because He Is Weak Not convinced about that last “seething with anti-Americanism” line, though. I think the world actually loves America. That’s why the world is all trying to get here. The world just has a bit of an adolescent attitude toward America’s dad-like role in the world. . . I’d say it’s more the United Nations General Assembly that is seething with anti-Americanism. Get back on topic, Nile! OK, here we go: It is natural that much of the UN will embrace an American president who declines to offer strong American leadership. A president who engages dictators like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez will naturally gain respect from the leaders of the more than 100 members of the United Nations who are currently designated as “partly free” or “not free” by respected watchdog Freedom House. The UN is not a club of democracies - who still remain a minority within its membership " it is a vast melting pot of free societies, socialist regimes and outright tyrannies.
2
POPSObama Speaks at United Nations Somewhat low key. This article/clip is a reasonable summary. Unfortuantely there is a joke in U.S. politics about "that depends upon what your definition of 'is,' is." -- meaning, on specific issues - is his objection to 'nukes,' in Iran and North Korea objections to nuke weapons or also objection to Iran's nuclear power program (which is legal and in accord with the UN IAEA). Does he desire for reducing nukes and being honest with nukes include the "secret," nuclear weapons of Israel that somehow always fail to get mentioned. Surprisingly firm, while committed to Israel's security he said the increase in Israel settlements was "illegitimate." - a rather firm statement and talked about the 1967 borders of Israel, and how Palestine needs a "contagious," free and real independent state. But none of these things would seem acceptable to Israel at all, their "peace terms," clearly sounding like "we go on with aggression and expansion," statements.
7
POPSObama ready to slash US nuclear arsenal I stand in awe of the naiveté of these people. They do not live in the real world or have any common sense about world history. He's going to have us at the mercy of Iran and Russia before his term is over.
1
POPSRussia Scraps Missile Deployment Missile plans are certainly being moved around the war rooms of major powers. This step back from Bush era policies of aggression on the Russian border was a brave and wise decision.
2
POPSThe Neoconservative Resurgency With Obama--Neoconservativism 2.0 Well documented article worth reading entirely. Then there is this article too : That must be the meaning of change. The goal was not to restore the rule of law and constitutional legitimacy, but to transcend the Bush administration's cowboy unilateralism and tactfully reassert a neo-conservative normalcy in America's foreign policy. And this more recent article: ‘No change from Bush to Obama', say Neocons and Liberals 16 Sep 2009 American foreign policy under Barack Obama has not changed course after the Bush years, according to a group of prominent commentators from both sides of the political divide. (except for the breaking missile shield policy)...from a UK media source. Yet the U.S. Media are absolutely silent.
4
POPSThis doesn't look too good for smartough diplomacy
If this turns out to be true, then it just fits the same sad-sack pattern of all of Obama's diplomacy so far: "engagement" and appeasement as a tradeoff for rebuffs and humiliation. Maybe world powers don't want to negotiate and engage. Maybe they want to get as much power and wealth as they can, while they can. Maybe negotiation and engagement are just playing into their hands, then. Stratfor Intelligence Guidance for today says, Ballistic missile defense (BMD) as a military system had no significance for either Poland or the Czech Republic. It was not designed to defend them. Rather, its presence was a symbol to both countries that the United States was prepared to defend them, because it has a vital strategic asset in their countries. The shock in Poland and Czech Republic is about a symbolic shift from their point of viewAnd furthermore, The timing of the decision is clearly intended to induce Russian cooperation with the United States over Iran. The question is whether the
0
POPSPolitcs, Profits, Protection US penalizes Chinese tires, infuriating Beijing President Barack Obama's decision to impose trade penalties on Chinese tires has infuriated Beijing at a time when the U.S. badly needs Chinese help on climate change, nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea and the global economy. For the Chinese government, the tire dispute threatens an economic relationship crucial to China's economic growth. There was speculation before the decision that new tariffs could produce public pressure on Beijing to retaliate, potentially leading to a trade war. http://bit.ly/Chinese_trade_war
6
POPSCold War mythology made new by hope n'change Oleg Atbashian is some kind of genius. Born in the ex USSR, he's impossible to fool with leftist propaganda. His sense of humor leaves one defenseless. Read the whole series. This article concludes, Evidently, if President Obama didn’t share these received views, he wouldn’t have felt the need to apologize before the world for America’s alleged wrongdoings " a gesture that could only reinforce such stereotypes. If his policies weren’t driven by these tenets, he wouldn’t be using the powers of the U.S. president to prop up the forces that oppose America’s founding principles of liberty while denying support to those who want to live by such principles. The reason many Americans haven’t realized it yet is that most media coverage is also born of the same old yellowed clichés. And yet no media bias can obfuscate the fact, clearly demonstrated by events in Iran and Honduras, that even in the absence of U.S.-led conspiracies, anti-American tyrants are still not welco
1
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update