Tulsi Gabbard is being thrashed today in the Trump Is Always Perfect camp for saying that He is supporting AQ. If she had expanded the accusation to include actions taken in the Obama administration she would have been exactly correct.
The Saudis, the Israelis and their acolytes among American neocons like the late, sainted John McCain, Sheldon Adelson, Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman, John Bolton and Pom Pom have long succeeded in using the madcap US policy of regime change in Syria as an excuse to fund jihadi groups in Syria. There is a wide variety of these but the most obvious are the al-nusra front and hayat tahrir al-sham, both of which are branches of AQ in Syria.
Both CIA and the US armed forces have been and still may be supplying and funding these groups. She was right. She simply needed to explain herself better and not try to pin the blame solely on Trump who is largely an "absentee landlord" with regard to policy in the ME. He has no policy in the ME. Adelson, Natanyahu and Lindsey Graham have policy in the ME, but not Trump. pl
“Adelson, Natanyahu and Lindsey Graham have policy in the ME, but not Trump.”
Ouch, Mr. Colonel, that’s the unvarnished truth.
Here’s what is probably a ding-dong civilian question: While we’re on the ME, is it just me or did the UK and US stand down as Iran took control of the UK-flagged tanker really make the US/UK look completely and utterly .. not sure what the right word is here…”foolish” seems inadequate, theater pieces? Are all these ships and planes a sort of maritime version of a Potemkin Village?
Sir, I’m worried for your blood pressure if you keep watching this stuff.
the man has a stronger stomach than i do, for sure (&, yes, blaming trump for this debacle was both simplistic & misleading)…
casey,
The owners of the “UK flagged” tanker had a crew that is “Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino” didn’t seem to want UK nationals working for them. Apparently the UK flag is one of convenience.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-49170648
The UK, when siezing the Iranian tanker can do so to enforce “sanctions”. Heavan forbid the Iranians sieze a UK flagged ship and make similar charges or in doing so can show just how much harm an actual confilct would infilct on economies around the world. All done without actually shooting anyone.
She’s also getting a ration of crap from the left for refusing to declare Assad a war criminal and demanding a regime change in Damascus. She voted against Obama policy in Syria several times so I consider her actions to be her words.I wish she would emphasize that. While always supportive of Israel’s right to exist, her lack of support for the Saudis, regime change in Syria or war in Iran are marking her as an enemy of the Israeli lobby and the Netanyahu government. All the never-Trumpers say she’s a Putin puppet because of her stance on Syria and condemnation of our forever wars in the ME. It won’t help her politically, but I’m glad she’s sticking to her guns. The political class are all scum. Piss on the lot of them.
Sir
I thought Tulsi was spot on. She called out Kamala with confidence. And the media are out that she’s Putin’s stooge and an Assad apologist. Perfect! I agree with you that she should have also pointed out as she’s done previously that Obama also aided AQ. In her clarification after the debate she noted that Trump is beholden to the Saudis who are the biggest sponsor of AQ.
Tulsi deserves to be in the debates as she’s not afraid of the ziocons. And she comes across as confident and is very articulate with her positions.
At this point in 2015 Trump was polling at 1%. Unfortunately my family is not yet enough to get her to the next debate. The one positive is she was the most searched candidate after both debates and hit the top spot in all 50 states after yesterday.
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/propagandists-are-freaking-out-over-gabbards-destruction-of-harris-5d54e98f0431
As far as Trump is concerned while it is clear he is a conduit for the ziocons on ME policy, I’m curious about his position with respect to the Deep State? While he continuously tweets “witch hunt”, he hasn’t been proactive at all in confronting them. In fact his actions show he’s giving them a pass. So much for Draining the Swamp!
“That @TulsiGabbard take down of @KamalaHarris was one of the most lethal I’ve seen in decades of watching these debates. And after Harris offered a feeble response, Gabbard crushed her again. Brutal. #DemsDebate”
https://twitter.com/DavidShuster/status/1156752285462122496?s=19
Russian MoD two days ago, through no less than GOU’s (Main Operational Directorate) big boss General Rudskoy briefed journalists on US training (around al-Tanf) and deploying for what amounts diversionary and terrorist actions couple of groups, later (yesterday, I believe) Zaharova elaborated on that even further. Those are not really news in Russia–it is a given now. I, frankly, already lost count and do not retain all those Arabic versions of their titles–something, something Al Sha…Nus…Qa… and on, and on and on.
Putin’s Puppet: Tulsi Gabbard, oh well, it is a clown world after all.
semiconscious
Yes, she should have blamed Obama as well. Without US support for the jihadis and the dissidents Kurds this would have been over a couple of years ago.
Like a shark attack! Kamala never saw it coming and had no retort. Just stuttered a bit. And then tried to take down Tulsi after the debate in the news room by calling her a coddler of war criminals when Tulsi was not there to respond.
If you know anything about this you know what she was getting at. But most people don’t, and that Lemon character cut her off before she got any deeper into it.
Even if you have no intention of voting for any Democrat, people should do what they can to keep her and Yang in this as long as possible.
NBC News
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna964261
What’s the half-life of the Russian boogeyman?
How can any US Military officer have any honor and not resign when they are ordered “US armed forces have been and still may be supplying and funding these groups”. The same people who murdered 3000 US Citizens on 9/11.
Let’s be real. Zionist run our Government, Media, and by implication tell our Armed Forces what to do.
The one thing that has become rather apparent today that I didn’t realize is that Harris is the Democrat establishment candidate. The Wall St & neocon candidate. The viciousness with which the establishment media have attacked Gabbard as a Putin/Assad apologist and how coordinated it all is across all the platforms is very instructive.
Harris looked weak and dumbstruck when Gabbard pummeled her with incontrovertible facts of how she treated those weaker, mostly minorities as California AG. While AG she treated the Wall St elites like current Treasury Secretary Mnuchin differently, by giving them a pass. No wonder she’s been raising a lot of campaign cash in the Hamptons.
If Tulsi Gabbard gains any traction she’ll be formidable even with a full-on media assault on her. Trump has shown that you can win an election even with the entire media apparatus throwing everything they’ve got against you. That was very smart on Gabbard’s part to hit “frontrunner” Harris right at her perceived strength – her tenure as California AG, when she was riding the media momentum after knocking Biden out in the first debate.
Bingo!
After the Kamala thing this debate and the Ryan thing last debate, this woman is looking like a Ninja warrior. She has taken more political career ending risks than all the Democrats combined, and keeps coming up right. She’s far from finished.
IMO she gets her resolve because she went to Damascus and not only talked to Assad but she mentioned how Syrians came up to her and said, ‘why are you doing this to us, what have we ever done to you’. When you meet people, you can tell when they mean it. When you go back to the states and hear the same statements being repeated by TV hosts, politicians, and think tank gurus who don’t have to live there, you know you are getting talking points.
Given the way the political class promises immoral acts that they know are against their and US interests in exchange for campaign dollars, I would propose the oldest occupation (prostitution) is appropriate in addition to scum. The corruption* in late US empire is nauseating to observe, and history shows it never ends well – and in the past there were no nuclear weapons.
Its far between where a prominent politician takes a stand that is unpopular amongst the commentariat of the Borg on issues and shows backbone. It is very encouraging that Tulsi has been showing she can work the (Borg-assimilated) media.
That said, piss on the lot of them is right!
* A study showed that statistically, the opinion of US voters had zero effect on actual legislation and spending. I note that a significant fraction of political funding is from entities with global interests.
The Hawaii establishment Dems are primarying her for HI 2CD in 2020. Kaiali’i Kahele from Hawaii Island would be the first 2CD rep not from Oahu (since the creation of districts in 1970). He can check off several boxes (child of prominent Dem pol, Hawaiian, Major in the HIANG)
Dear Colonel,
A quote from Tom Luongo
“He’s weakest on the one issue that got him elected in the first place, foreign policy. Hillary was the candidate of Empire. Trump was not. It’s why we saw an international conspiracy formed to destroy him and his presidency. Now that same apparatus is mobilized against Tulsi Gabbard.
That’s good. As a solider she knows that when you’re taking flak you are over your target.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-02/empire-coming-tulsi-gabbard
Tulsi Gabbard has a kind of methodical speaking style, but what comes through in her voice is a type of natural sincerety, as opposed to the fake or phony sincerety projected by most politicians, and that surely has helped her when running for political office. She was elected to the Hawaii state legislature in 2002, the youngest person to do so at age 21. As a member of the Hawaii National Guard, she volunteered in 2004 to go overseas and so resigned from the legislature and was deployed to Iraq in 2005. In 2010 she ran and was elected to the Honolulu City Council, and then in 2012 successfully ran for Congress and started her fourth two-year term this year.
Yesterday, 1 August, she was invited to be on Tucker Carlson’s evening show on the Fox News channel. Carlson played the 32-second hard hit Tulsi did to Kamala Harris during Wednesday’s debate. But during the remaining 5 minutes that Carlson had her on and let her talk, she did not repeat any of her points about Harris, nor did she tell the viewers any new ones, even though she started her knockout of Harris at the debate by saying, “There are too many examples to cite ….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EnaGFe-_Y
Compare that to Donald Trump’s little press conference on Tuesday, 30 July, on the White House lawn. Notice what he said about his jab at the sorry mess in Baltimore, Maryland and Congressman Elijah Cummings.
Although Trump is a bulls**t artist, and you do not automatically believe what he says, look at all the points he makes in a mere 1 minute and 40 seconds–
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4810973/president-trump-defends-criticism-representative-elijah-cummings-calls-baltimore-filthy-dirty
Tulsi appears as a decent and conscientious person, and maybe with a little practice, she can do more of the public service she did Wednesday night when exposing Kamala Harris.
TTG,
I find it amusing in a sick kind of way, that Gabbard is getting the Putin Stooge treatment.
If she had principled political courage, she would have stood up for Trump against the witch hunt. But she went with the partisan crowd and that helped allow the precedent of Putin Puppet accusations to become a feature of the swamp. Now, as was inevitable, it has come right back at her.
Same goes for Biden and the racism canard.
S/he who lives by BS, dies by BS.
Thanks for those links. My feet just won’t stop tapping and soon start walking away from the teevee. It is helpful to be able to rerun key points afterwards.
And Trump is mostly right about Baltimore. Baltimore truly is a city of neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods are great. I lived there happily for ten years in the 90s, in a neighborhood that has since become so gentrified that one street has been converted to angle parking. But miles of other neighborhoods, scattered across the city but prominently in West Baltimore, are blighted with high crime, unemployment, and all the ills of poverty.
Trump’s point is well taken. Baltimore has been in the hands of a Democratic machine since forever. During all this time, little has improved in the devastated sections of the city. Remedies surely are not simple, but staying a course, with the same leadership, that has produced little improvement over decades, makes no sense.
Baltimore imploded in the 60s-70s as the US economy moved away from the very industries and methods on which Baltimore’s then healthy economy was built. Central among these, the US steel industry died, taking with it thousands of well-paying, working class jobs, as well as the yellow, stinky skies of the Baltimore waterfront. Manufacturing, on which much port activity relied, shifted, and shipping containers eliminated many longshoring jobs.
Gradually the port of Baltimore has retooled and adjusted to changes in shipping and trade, so that economic activity there has been growing again. But new shipping efficiencies mean that less labor is required for more cargo. That rebuilding has been a statewide effort, and the port is physically spread out beyond just Baltimore City.
That is not enough for the city itself, where some sections should be on life-support.
It was predictable that every effort would be made to sideline Gabbard, because of her foreign policy positions, positions that are resonating with many voters.
Criticizing the last Dem prez would just hand Dem opponents a partisan rallying point. Gabbard is certainly aware of Obama admin’s involvement, but she would like to stay in the debate as long as possible. I, too, would like her voice to continue challenging the neocon-media consensus.
Rumor is that Jeff Zucker of CNN is trying to advance Harris. Supposedly she is Zucker’s personal choice for 2020. If true look for all the minions on CNN to dutifully back her without question.
Smoke,
I don’t know about that. The current crop of dem candidates has no problem declaring Obama era policies as evil. They think the ACA (Obamacare) is garbage and want to replace it. They hate his immigration policy. Why not add his foreign policy to growing list of evils?
I’m no expert on the ME, but from what I do know I strongly suspect PL and TTG are absolutely right in their analysis of what is going on there.
In extreme contrast, there is this op-ed:
“Tulsi Gabbard’s Syria record shows why she can’t be president” by Josh Rogin, WaPo columnist, 2019-08-01
I wonder if PL and TTG would care to analyze that specific column and point out its flaws.
They give excellent, IMO, general analysis of the ME situations, but it would be helpful, again IMO, for them to analyze at least some specific MSM commentary.
Also, BTW, considering the comment of the antifa “Kilroy” in the antifa post, might I point out that Rogin is Jewish?
Is pointing that out anti-Semitic?
Keith Harbaugh
i have written many, many times why the US policy of regime change in Syria is idiotic. IF TTG wishes to expand …
Keith, I’ve also written many times in posts and comments about the US regime change policy in Syria and our providing material support to terrorists in pursuit of this policy. The Saudis, Israelis and others are our accomplices. Rogin is just as bad in supporting this policy and its terrorist allies. His scolding of Gabbard is worthless shit talking of a partisan hack. She doesn’t want us involved in unnecessary and immoral wars and sees no reason to antagonize others like Russia. She’s not a Putin puppet or Assad apologist. She’s a realist who knows war is an abomination. I agree with her 100% in this.
“The Wire” – the ultimate documentary on Baltimore.
The first flaw I see is “Josh Rogin”.
Jimmy Carter talked to Assad also. He got ripped by AIPAC.
Seems that the FBI views our fellow Americans as domestic terrorists just because they dare to question the official narrative, dare to say that portions of our Government maybe corrupt. Is the FBI afraid of the American Citizenry? Would appear so, they’re afraid of those whom they have sworn to serve, protect, and defend.
We already see the CIA trying to hide away from the scrutiny of the citizenry, using legislation pending before the Congress that would basically shield them like the British Government uses their Official Secrets Act to keep their MI5/MI6 corruption out of the British citizen’s scrutiny.
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/07/25/no-accountability-in-washington-the-cia-wants-to-hide-all-its-employees/
The FBI/DOJ actively trying to subvert and remove from power a duly elected POTUS, now they are not satisfied with that, they’re after the common American Citizen who dares to question.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-02/do-you-believe-conspiracy-theories-fbi-report-says-youre-potential-domestic
J
Josh Rogin is a fly in the ointment. The politicians couldn’t get away with their wars, sanctions, interference where it’s not needed for our security if the media didn’t push the neocon line.
Its all very well but Tulsi Gabbard is still a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and she voted against BDS. I suspect she is a phoney radical like Obama.
Good point.
On the other hand, while Dems are distancing themselves from Obama admin policies (and many congress people had has much or more responsibility for ACA as Obama himself), they mostly avoid naming the man himself.
As an aside, how can Dems do anything but distance themselves from ACA? By now every staff in House and Senate hears regular complaints from voters in their districts about how they have been burdened by it.
walrus
my gout attacks disappeared six months ago without medication. My average blood pressure is declining. i measure it several time/day. suspect these are not good trends.
Too dark for me to watch.
Simon, head writer and former police reporter, is a long-time Baltimore city resident and knows the complexity of the city. He lives in a southside neighborhood, with great views of the harbor.
smoke
I had a college classmate who was managing partner of a Baltimore law firm with 200 partners and lawyer serfs employed. The economy declined so much over time that the 100 year old firm closed up. He lived in Fell’s Point one of the non shithole parts of the city and was quite a snob about places like Haussner’s restaurant, one of the few worthwhile things in the city. He was a shirt tail boy from Kentucky Appalachia but he loved to counsel me about choice of tailors, etc. I don’t give a damn about clothes so that was always funny.
Yes. Economic collapse. The old law firm Piper Marbry merged with a Chicago firm in 1999 and stayed alive.
Haussner’s, known for its scene as much as its German home cooking, did not make it out of the 20th century. By then bistro-style restaurants, some serving quite good food, were popping up. One of the popular new restaurants in the 90’s was Helmand, Afghan with white table cloths and wine, in the Mount Vernon area. Owned by Qayum Karzai, Hamid’s brother.
Alex Brown, the old line merchant bank/stockbroker, survived as an independent, boutique firm, serving a clientele beyond the city, until 1997. It was bought by Bankers Trust, which was rolled into Deutsche Bank two years later. CEO and Chairman of AB, Buzzy Krongard, left in 1998 to join the CIA, becoming Executive Director, CIA in March 2001.
I believe Barbara Mikulski still lives in Fells Point, a few miles from Highlandtown, where her father had a grocery. I lived half a mile up the hill from Fells Point, halfway between the water and Johns Hopkins Hospital, with a rooftop deck and a city view of the harbor and the old, brick Domino sugar plant.
The stuff about Haussner’s is crap. It was jammed to the limit until the day it closed.
Haussner’s was popular. Not sure why they closed. Perhaps because, having been owned and run by two generations of Haussners, the next generation did not want to take it on. The art, which created so much of the “scene”, was collected piece by piece by founding chef William Henry Haussner and Frances his wife. William Haussner had died in 1963, Frances in 2000 at 91, a year after the restaurant closed. The art collection auctioned for several millions at Sotheby’s.
smoke
I have eaten in a lot of Michelin three star restaurants, Gavroche in London, La Toque Blanche in Villeneuve sur Lot, The Inn at Little Washington to name a few but I preferred Haussner’s style of Baltimore cooking. I started eating there when I was a Lt. at the Army intel school and was there on the day the place closed. The art was mostly kitsch (20 views of Paris in the rain by the same artist, etc.)but some of it was really quite good. I remember an Alma Tadema. The younger Haussners hated the place and sold it for the art money.
There was a restaurant out in Leesburg that I really liked long ago. Cannot remember the name. Good food, peaceful atmosphere.
What a great characterization of the assorted art that filled the walls, table to ceiling. I wonder if the family kept any. A few pictures were fine, some had charm, if not greatness.
Wish I had visited Haussner’s – or Baltimore – when Baltimore was thriving. I heard stories.
Haussner’s made everyone welcome, folks from the neighborhood, priest, tourist, lawyer in well-tailored worsted, visiting soldier, mayor, families. They did serve a style of food seldom found in restaurants now. And crabcakes.
smoke
The nudes in what had been a men only bar were pleasant. Upstairs there \was a section of a diorama that had been painted to celebrates the victory of the allies in WW1. there were about a hundred entrees on the menu and they changed a lot. A lot of seafood and a lot of Baltimore German cooking. waitresses remembered me over the decades. I had not known I was so memorable.
oldman22
the Laurel Brigade Inn?