[QUOTE=kladner;508806]Bellingcat[/QUOTE]

That one doesn't need a flamethrower, it self-immolates on even the mildest scrutiny.

====================

[url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/02/15/time-for-peace-in-afghanistan-and-an-end-to-the-lies/]Time for Peace in Afghanistan and an End to the Lies[/url] | Counterpunch -- A long, appalling, must-read litany of horror and war-profiteering from someone who was on the ground as part of the State Department there.

[url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/why-are-these-professional-war-peddlers-still-around-tucker-carlson-max-boot-bill-kristol/]Why Are These Professional War Peddlers Still Around?[/url] | American Conservative
[quote][Max] Boot is a professional foreign policy expert, a job category that doesn’t exist outside of a select number of cities. Boot has degrees from Berkeley and Yale, and is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has written a number of books and countless newspaper columns on foreign affairs and military history. The International Institute for Strategic Studies, an influential British think tank, describes Boot as one of the “world’s leading authorities on armed conflict.”

None of this, it turns out, means anything. The professional requirements for being one ofthe world’s Leading Authorities on Armed Conflict do not include relevant experience with armed conflict. Leading authorities on the subject don’t need a track record of wise assessments or accurate predictions. All that’s required are the circular recommendations of fellow credential holders. If other Leading Authorities on Armed Conflict induct you into their ranks, you’re in. That’s good news for Max Boot.

Boot first became famous in the weeks after 9/11 for outlining a response that the Bush administration seemed to read like a script, virtually word for word. While others were debating whether Kandahar or Kabul ought to get the first round of American bombs, Boot was thinking big. In October 2001, he published a piece in The Weekly Standard titled “The Case for American Empire.”

“The September 11 attack was a result of insufficient American involvement and ambition,” Boot wrote. “The solution is to be more expansive in our goals and more assertive in their implementation.” In order to prevent more terror attacks in American cities, Boot called for a series of U.S.-led revolutions around the world, beginning in Afghanistan and moving swiftly to Iraq.

“Once we have deposed Saddam, we can impose an American-led, international regency in Baghdad, to go along with the one in Kabul,” Boot wrote. “To turn Iraq into a beacon of hope for the oppressed peoples of the Middle East: Now that would be a historic war aim. Is this an ambitious agenda? Without a doubt. Does America have the resources to carry it out? Also without a doubt.”

In retrospect, Boot’s words are painful to read, like love letters from a marriage that ended in divorce. Iraq remains a smoldering mess. The Afghan war is still in progress close to 20 years in. For perspective, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of France, crowned himself emperor, defeated four European coalitions against him, invaded Russia, lost, was defeated and exiled, returned, and was defeated and exiled a second time, all in less time than the United States has spent trying to turn Afghanistan into a stable country.

Things haven’t gone as planned. What’s remarkable is that despite all the failure and waste and deflated expectations, defeats that have stirred self-doubt in the heartiest of men, Boot has remained utterly convinced of the virtue of his original predictions. Certainty is a prerequisite for Leading Authorities on Armed Conflict.[/quote]
In "where are they now?" news, the article goes on:
[quote]In 2018, he was hired by The Washington Post as a columnist. The paper’s announcement cited Boot’s “expertise on armed conflict.”[/quote]
In fairness, perhaps the WaPo PR folks literally meant "expertise on" as "expertise in fomenting". Something WaPo clearly values.
[quote]Almost from the moment Operation Desert Storm concluded in 1991, [Bill] Kristol began pushing for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. In 1997, The Weekly Standard ran a cover story titled “Saddam Must Go.” If the United States didn’t launch a ground invasion of Iraq, the lead editorial warned, the world should “get ready for the day when Saddam has biological and chemical weapons at the tips of missiles aimed at Israel and at American forces in the Gulf.”

After the September 11 attacks, Kristol found a new opening to start a war with Iraq. In November 2001, he and Robert Kagan wrote a piece in The Weekly Standard alleging that Saddam Hussein hosted a training camp for Al Qaeda fighters where terrorists had trained to hijack planes. They suggested that Mohammad Atta, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was actively collaborating with Saddam’s intelligence services. On the basis of no evidence, they accused Iraq of fomenting the anthrax attacks on American politicians and news outlets.[/quote]
A yes, the (in)famous [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks]9/11 anthrax mailings[/url] ... the FBI did not exactly cover itself in glory there. FBI director at the time was a fellow named Robert Mueller ... echoing the above piece one might well ask "why are these professional wrong-POI-promoting life ruiners and entrapment artists still around?"

And in the kind of remarkable timing which is ideal fodder for 9/11 conspiracy theorists, this bit in the above Wiki article about something that happened precisely one month before 9/11:
[quote]The FBI and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both gave permission for Iowa State University to destroy the Iowa anthrax archive, and the archive was destroyed on October 10 and 11, 2001.

The FBI and CDC investigation has been hampered by the destruction of a large collection of anthrax spores collected over more than seven decades and kept in more than 100 vials at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Many scientists claim that the quick destruction of the anthrax spores collection in Iowa eliminated crucial evidence useful for the investigation. A precise match between the strain of anthrax used in the attacks and a strain in the collection would have offered hints as to when bacteria had been isolated and, perhaps, as to how widely it had been distributed to researchers. Such genetic clues could have given investigators the evidence necessary to identify the perpetrators.[/quote]

Re: Max Boot
 

Hmm. I hadn't read any of Max Boot's WAPO columns. Huh. WAPO's list of titles seems a bit spotty, but I think I see why I haven't read him. Let's see if I can scare up a better list of titles... <google google>

Ahh, here we go! It looks like a pretty good list at the [url=https://muckrack.com/max-boot-1/articles]Muckrack page on Max Boot[/url]. Yes, most if not all of them seem to be about domestic political affairs. OK, that's why I give him a pass: By the time I see the titles of his columns, I've already made up my mind about whatever they're devoted to.

But I do find it curious that they generally aren't about the subject of armed conflict, supposedly his area of expertise.

Pompeo, Pence & the Alienation of Europe
 

[URL]http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51133.htm[/URL]
If the objective was to further isolate the U.S., the two officials could not have done a better job last week, writes Patrick Lawrence.

[QUOTE]What a job Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did in Europe last week. If the objective was to worsen an already critical trans–Atlantic rift and further isolate the U.S., they could not have returned to Washington with a better result.

We might have to mark down this foray as among the clumsiest and most abject foreign policy failures since President Donald Trump took office two years ago.

Pence and Pompeo both spoke last Thursday at a U.S.–sponsored gathering in Warsaw supposedly focused on “peace and security in the Middle East.” That turned out to be a euphemism for recruiting the 60–plus nations in attendance into an anti–Iran alliance.

“You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran,” Pompeo said flatly. The only delegates this idea pleased were Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and officials from Gulf Arab nations who share an obsession with subverting the Islamic Republic.

Pence went on to the annual security conference in Munich, where he elaborated further on a few of the Trump administration’s favored themes. Among them: The Europeans should ditch the nuclear accord with Iran, the Europeans should cut off trade with Russia, the Europeans should keep components made by Huawei and other Chinese companies out of their communications networks. The Europeans, in short, should recognize America’s global dominance and do as it does; as if it were still, say, 1954.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=kladner;509022][URL]http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51133.htm[/URL]
If the objective was to further isolate the U.S., the two officials could not have done a better job last week, writes Patrick Lawrence.[/QUOTE]But wait!...

[url=https://www.news24.com/World/News/trump-bars-us-born-woman-who-joined-isis-in-syria-from-returning-home-20190221]Trump bars US-born woman who joined ISIS in Syria from returning home[/url]
[quote]Trump's refusal to admit 24-year-old Hoda Muthana comes just as he is pressing Europeans to repatriate their own ISIS fighters and will likely face legal challenges, with US citizenship extremely difficult to lose.[/quote]And she is ready to assume responsibility for her actions and face the legal consequences.

I can just [i]hear[/i] our European allies saying, "Dude, where do you get off telling [i]us[/i] that [i]we[/i] have to take [i]our[/i] people back?"

[i]Il Duce[/i] & Co. are claiming she's not a citizen because her father was a foreign diplomat. Her lawyers are claiming that he was no longer a diplomat when she was born. And since it's going to court, this is one instance where [i]Il Duce[/i] can't simply make decisions based on his own "alternative facts."

It is interesting that this is the first time I have seen that she is native-born. NPR did not mention it yesterday afternoon when they ran the story. It puts a whole different spin on things.

[QUOTE=kladner;509048]It is interesting that this is the first time I have seen that she is native-born. NPR did not mention it yesterday afternoon when they ran the story. It puts a whole different spin on things.[/QUOTE]The story on the February 21 "Morning Edition" does include this bit of information. The MP3 (available for download) is a bit over 11 minutes. The part about her being born in the US is at around 2:20.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;509051]The story on the February 21 "Morning Edition" does include this bit of information. The MP3 (available for download) is a bit over 11 minutes. The part about her being born in the US is at around 2:20.[/QUOTE]
Thanks, and there's the rub. All Things Considered is in my listening time zone. I suppose that I still could have missed the mention, though it would have to be missing on two consecutive days. This, too, is possible. :redface:

[QUOTE=kladner;509074]Thanks, and there's the rub. All Things Considered is in my listening time zone. I suppose that I still could have missed the mention, though it would have to be missing on two consecutive days. This, too, is possible. :redface:[/QUOTE]You didn't miss it. I listened to the Feb 20 ATC story, and it did not explicitly state that she was born in the US. There [i]is[/i] a mention that she claims to be "from Alabama," and a later mention that she and her family claim that they are from Alabama, but not a claim that she was [i]born[/i] there.

When I first heard the Admin claim she "is not a citizen" I hearkened back to stories of a US-born and US-resident great-aunt, and of a US-born and US-resident woman who lived a few doors down from my grandparents, who both lost their US citizenship the same way: they married men who, though legal US residents, were not citizens. That was the law then. A really bizarre aspect of this was, they both [i]learned[/i] they had lost their citizenship the same way: they went to vote, and found out they were no longer on the voting rolls.

A woman's citizenship depended on that of her husband, and that overrode birthright?!? :shock:

[QUOTE=kladner;509089]A woman's citizenship depended on that of her husband, and that overrode birthright?!? :shock:[/QUOTE]
Yes. That [i]was[/i] the law.

Venezuela – US Attack Imminent?
 

[URL]http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51147.htm[/URL]
Here we go again.
[QUOTE]Imagine, the President of the self-declared, exceptional and unique Superpower, Donald Trump of the United States of America, has the audacity to threaten the Venezuelan military with their lives, if they keep standing behind the democratically elected President Nicolás Maduro, and defending his Government. An open threat – yesterday, 18 February, at a Miami University, in a speech of ‘fire and fury’; this time against socialist Venezuela with which he wants to finish, like with all other socialist nations – especially those in his ‘backyard’. So, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia are next in Trump’s crosshairs – and / or the crosshairs of his handlers. Don’t forget, he is a staged and convenient fool for the “Deep State” or the “Profound Government” – whatever you want to call this secret clan of the Chosen People that intends to rule the world.

I cannot help being amazed at what level of inhumanity we have arrived. Trump calls openly out to assassinate those who stand behind the legitimate President of Venezuela – and the rest of the world just looks on, watches and says NOTHING – zilch, zero – tolerates such atrocity coming from the mouth of a buffoon, aka the strongman of the self-proclaimed one and only superpower of the globe. – No, much worse – the so-called civilized west, the European Union, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan – and some second- and third class puppet developing countries from South America, whose people are being starved while the elite admires and dances to the tune of the USA; united in what they call the “Group of Lima” (created in Lima in August 2017, to “safe” Venezuela). Members include, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.[/QUOTE]