"Biden, notes Marcetic, pushed for "the 1999 bombing of Serbia, which actually dissolved the local pro-democracy movement and rallied popular support around the country's dictator." Biden voted for the U.S. wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. "I voted to go into Iraq, and I'd vote to do it again," Biden said in August 2003. Now he defends himself by saying he was so stupid that he fell for Bush's lies about WMDs.
Biden was the guy who convinced Obama to ramp up Bush's drone assassination program, which kills 50 innocent bystanders for every 1 targeted "militant" — who often gets away and is rarely a threat to the United States, just to our authoritarian allies. Someday soon, Biden's drone killings abroad will be used to justify killing Americans here at home.
Elsewhere, Marcetic writes: "When Reagan invaded Grenada in 1983, bombing a hospital in the process, Biden said he 'did the right thing.' When he bombed Libya three years later, killing 36 civilians and dictator Muammar Gaddafi's 15-month-old daughter, Biden said, 'There can be no question that Gaddafi has asked for and deserves a strong response like this.' And when George H. W. Bush invaded Panama three years after that, an outrageous war to depose a leader who had been a CIA asset and that saw dead civilians 'buried like dogs,' as one witness put it, Biden called it 'appropriate and necessary.'"
A vote for Biden isn't just a vote against Trump. It's a vote in favor of Biden's vote to kill 1 million Iraqis. If we elect Joe Biden, we will send a message to the world: America hates you; we're glad we killed all those people, and we plan to kill more." Ted Rall
—————
Rall isn't someone I am likely to cite extensively but in this case I can only agree with much of what he says about these two men in the foreign policy area.
I do not know Trump, have never met him, and wouldn't cross the street to do so. Actually, that takes some effort these days.
Biden is one of the most belligerent and nastily "pushy" people I have known in the Borg (foreign policy establishment). He is a screamer who will get right up in your face to see if you will back away from him. He will stab in the chest with a forefinger for the same purpose. He will insult you or threaten to fight you in an attempt to intimidate. He has a bully's personality, and he is not too bright. Let us not forget his history of plagiarism.
He and Obama seemed to have enjoyed killing "inferiors" around the world and they participated directly in the process of selection of targets for Death by Drone. LBJ, another loathsome critter, picked individual bombing targets in VN, but I don't think he targeted individuals.
As Rall says, if Biden wins you will see a lot more patriotic Americans condemned to participate in Death by Biden. pl
Your personally observed description of Biden is so far apart from the image the general public sees, and is not intentionally created for him in his campaign videos.
The reassuring, calm, magnanimous friendly uncle, not the crazy lady in the attic. I worry how this carefully scripted Biden imagery will play out in November, since everyone now has vivid impressions of media-filtered Trump in the raw.
Biden will never come out of his bunker – his handlers will not allow this. The medium is the massage. From the Selling of the President to Sequestering the President – our political journey into mass media comes full circle since TV’s first Nixon vs Kennedy race in the 1960’s.
Colonel,
Since former VP Cheney is now among the Anti-Trump Lincoln Project, I imagine that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is most probably now an associate member in it’s backdrop. Liz has been working fervently with Dem. (former Army Ranger with tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan) Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) to keep U.S. bogged down in Afghanistan, and continue the Germany boondoggle. Although the Germany boondoggle had it’s perks I have to admit, their beer, wine, food, and fests.
Crow/Cheney Amendment to the NDAA, appears that Crow and Cheney bought into the bogus GRU bounty crap.
One would think that since Rep. Crow ate sand in both sandboxes, he’d want everybody out of there, but I guess since his arse isn’t on the firing line anymore he could give a crap about other people’s children.
Disconcerting.
I was already had a bad opinion of Mr. Biden. Your testimony has made it worse.
Sir,
Interesting and useful information. Trump will be wise to use it. Americans are not eager for more senseless war. And there is the whole “racism” facet to the wars and killings that could be played up in this weird over-sensitive climate.
Another problem with Biden – one of them at least – that all of the stupid talking heads ignore is that he has been in govt so long and is running on a campaign of fixing alleged problems that have allegedly existed for years. Why didn’t he just tell Obama how to fix things? Trump will ask him that if given a chance. If not given a chance, Trump will simply state it in campaign ads and viewers will say, “Hmmm. Yeah really!”.
Col. Lang,
The way I see the foreign policy establishment is based on how best and most efficient the dual goal of 1. spread of democracy and 2. the building a military forts in the targeted country can be achieved. There are 3 camps which formulate their own ideas of how this goal can be achieved and that they operate basically like cartels (call it foreign policy cartels if you will). Each have their competing templates based on which they conceptualize their doctrines and depending on which administration is in power their doctrines will ultimately find their ways to the W.H.; for the purpose of simplification allow me define these camps by their template doctrines:
1. Wilson Doctrine (as the main template) with variations derived from it as the following: Truman Doctrine, Kennedy Doctrine, Carter Doctrine (Brzezinski Doctrine is a derivation), Clinton/Albright Doctrine, Bush Doctrine (Both Sr. and Jr.). This is the most powerful and bipartisan camp with regards to f.p.
2. Reagan Doctrine (Main template) with variations as the following: Kirkpatrick Doctrine (Bolton and Pompeo Doctrine is modern day variation of Kirkpatrick’s), Powell Doctrine, Trump Doctrine (if there’s any…)
3. Obama and Power Doctrine (as one main template), try to sell themselves as realist but they are quite interventionist and not conventionally but unconventionally. Think of NGOs, Civil Societies, non-state actors and of course the silicon valley and social media. the future foreign policy of the U.S. lies right here and Silicon Valley is a big part of it. No Direct military intervention, but mobilization of young naive people in targeted countries through social media and other methods to topple the incumbent government’s institutions and the culture without firing a bullet. Basically they will do it for the u.s. policy makers, so no need for boots on the ground. Think of the Arab Spring wave in the M.E. Jared Cohen, a former State Dep. official is an architect. So is Susan Rice and Sam Power. Their model is S.Africa post apartheid. Their people in congress are the progressives and the so-called “Squad” quartet with more coming, think of jamal Malik. Watch them carefully. IMH when the times comes these will also become frenzied and as interventionist as neocons during W’s tenure, but very cunningly. During the Floyd riots, america experienced some of this F.P. domestically, and it is very chaotic and anti-institutional in their methods.
Notable mention: Realist Doctrine (Kissinger, Scowcroft, Nixon and Powell Doctrines) is no longer represented in the new F.P. oracle.
Which brings us to Joe Biden: I consider Biden as part of the 1st group that still peddle the joint neoconservative+liberal democratic template of the new world order, NATO, maintaining and spreading liberal int’l institutions, keeping troops in Afgh. and Iraq to do social engineering with the help of EU which is not going anywhere btw. So anything other than their views are not allowed at all as F.P.
Strangely the 1st group are rather soft on China and were the faction responsible for making China a godzilla by opening up western markets to China (1990s and early 2000s) with the hope that once it is economically liberal somehow magically it would automatically transform into a liberal democracy of Washington’s desire.
Compared to the 2nd group, the 1st group except for condemning China’s human rights record and related issues, are concerned mostly with transforming China politically and do not share the holistic view of the 2nd camp that view China as America’s new strategic foe in the long term. While the 1st are extremely hawkish on Russia and Iran (anti-authoritarianism) and economical with their condemnation of China, the 2nd camp is quite hawkish on China and Iran and moderately hawkish on Russia (Anti-totaliratianism).
Interestingly, the 3rd camp are modestly pro-China and again for obvious reasons which do not need further elaboration.
The biggest thing IMO on the horizon for the U.S. policy makers is the China question and more specifically, how will Biden define the China policy? Will his pick for the VP (assuming “SHE” will be mostly belonging to the 3rd camp) define China policy, or the good ‘ol liberal democratic+ neocons define it for him as they have been doing so far? or the new formula of the convergence of 1st and 3rd camp for a new foreign policy globally?
P.S.
I remember reading one of your past posts about your memory of a meeting with Biden and how rude and crude Joe Biden’s F.P. views were and how one of his aides (whisperers?) would literally dictate his talking points to him…
As Jim Kunstler wrote today, “Joe Biden is an obvious stalking horse for something more sinister.”
How about Susan Rice as a IDpol check-the-boxes VP and Samantha Power at State. R2P on steroids. Create several dozen Ukraines, Libyas and Syrias.
Trump has proven himself to be a great disappointment and a weak leader. But an HRC-like bunch threatens nuclear war.
300 odd million people and those two are the best you can come up with..truely incredible.
That said, as a Brit, I would still back Trump over Biden. How Trump handles the incoming bad news (for him) will be key.
Other than cutting off all aid to parasite clients, dronestriking cartel leaders, and possibly invading Canada to depose Trudeau and liberate Alberta, I support a less aggressive approach to our foreign policy.
Biden’s America: a black man reports on a BLM protest in Dallas, while he is trying to dine with family and friends – very candid and very worth watching. BLM infected with white Berniecrats – goal is to create chaos and then scream police brutality – all in one easy to follow video with an excellent ongoing commentary: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CChuSeWJxm5/?utm_source=ig_embed
Trump is not a weak leader.
But he is weakened right now after 3.5 years of utter partisan garbage thrown at him. He will get his second wind. He deserves some down time right now before the big push to November. The zone will come.
The Silent Majority is not leaving him. But he does need some down time. True colors will be displayed to anyone who cannot grant him that.
I suspect one big reason – and maybe the MAIN reason – for prolonging the irrational COVID-19 fear mongering is:
– to rationalize keeping Biden hidden away in his basement most of the time, thus allowing for much less scrutiny (out of sight out of mind)
– to justify preventing him from participating in live one-on-one debates with Trump, debates that always draw large viewership, thus revealing to lower-info voters the degree of Biden’s diminished mental state
– to encourage the proscription of Trump rallies, with their relatively huge numbers of attendees
I’m not surprised to read the colonel’s real-life personal impression of Biden. To me, he’s let his mask slip enough times over the decades to reveal a bullying, high-handed and narrow-minded nature. Trump’s a goy real estate developer based in NYC, a challenging occupation that probably accounts for much of his pugilistic demeanor.
akaPatience how does your suspicions explain the COVID-19 “fear mongering” amongst all the other 192 nations of the world that aren’t called the USA?
Have they also gone into lockdown to ensure the election of Joe Biden?
That would be doubtful, don’t you think?
I agree that Trump continues to appear to have strong “Silent Majority” support. About ten days ago I traveled through a nearby affluent/”crunchy” mid-coast Maine community and then about ninety miles through back country up to the mountains near Kingfield. I saw one (my first) Biden poster passing through town and I probably saw at least 150 Trump signs driving through the back country. I also saw more hiring signs (every mill, major contractor, small industrial shop, etc.) than I have ever seen up here.
And I have been noticing another Biden “issue” on another blog I follow that is pretty lefty. Most commenters are stridently adamant that they would never vote for Biden. They seem extremely unhappy with Biden’s few policy announcements like “no medicare for all on my watch”.
Certainly Sweden did not go into lockdown–and not because they wanted to ensure the electon of Biden. They simply weren’t listening to Dr. Fauci, our equivalent of the Wizard of Oz. Many of those countries did not force their children to remain out of school since the information about children’s risk was out there and didn’t warrant that their children stay out of school.
I think that there were many times that the arrogant Obama would have liked to keep Biden behind a curtain and unable to talk.
Ever since his stint as VP, I’ve really had to wonder about the East Cost. Is there something in the water there that cloud people’s ability to judge character? I never once thought of him as anything but a mentally, emotionally, and ethically stunted person.
Yes, I grant that he is probably a loving father, but my father loved me enough to teach me right from wrong and would not have allowed me to shake down a foreign government for huge gifts (bribes?) of cash.
As for the other nations of the world being bamboozled into their “fear mongering,” just look toward the WHO whose leader is Ethiopian, and Ethiopia is greetly influenced by China.
Since I don’t live in a part of the country that is valued as highly by DC politicians as some other parts of the country are, I feel that we here were unnecessarily guilted into accepting that we should “be very afraid” of this virus–when the evidence around us didn’t warrant it. I’ve been a little pieved that we here have had to act like sheep and follow “the rules” just because people who choose to live in large east coast congested–and quite frankly–filthy cities. (Yes, I have been there and was not impressed with the streets and the subways and even the sidewalks.)
In my little nothing town, I can enjoy walking the sidewalks. It’s like Mayberry. I feel stupid wearing a mask when often no one else is on the sidewalk with me. I can enter stores and not feel worried that I will bump into someone else who might be a carrier of the dreaded virus.
It was not long after the virus hit the U.S and the “rules” were put into place that many, many people here become annoyed by those rules. But we also are people who have been taught not to be rude to others or to unnecessarily fighten others or make others angry if we can help it. So we follow rules that we really, really don’t think should hve been forced upon us.
Yeah, Right:
I would attribute the fear mongering among the rest of the world to stupidity. If all had followed the Swedish approach we would be about done with this shit.
@polishJanitor
https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2019/04/biden-grandpa-should-not-be-president.html
I told Biden that the man was trying to be polite and compromising and he told me to shut up. One of the staff whispered to him and he then thanked me for my service. It was clear that they had him under excellent control.
@deap
The push traditionally comes after labor day in September.
Team Trump is playing it cool – waiting for the dems to lock in behind Joe after the convention and the crucial VP choice.
https://www.stalkerzone.org/derkachs-tapes-kolomoisky-imposes-sepsis-on-ukraine/
another target of the tapes is the American Democrats, or rather the Biden group and Soros, who supports it. Exposing criminal schemes involving the former Vice President and legalising tapes in the information space is a fairly effective weapon that the Trump team is happy to use in the election fight.
…
Biden was also exposed to a criminal article (although not so severe and domestic American). It is clear from his words that he understands much better than Poroshenko what a dangerous mess the Ukrainian partners have made. Biden directly points to the difficulties that have arisen in connection with this case in the Obama administration (the President has to be convinced of the need to continue supporting Ukraine), as well as to the sharply negative reaction of Paris and Berlin. Biden is fully aware of all the specifics of this case. However, he coordinates with Poroshenko a version of events that is far from reality, after which he sets it out at the official American level. So Biden is lying to the President, Congress, and the American people. This in itself is a very serious crime by American standards.
Media covid porn found a willing global audience. Unstable times -we are in a transition era – which rapidly mutated a normal flu season into the Zombie Apocalypse.
The Age of Information had become the The Age of Disinformation – thus covid became the symbolic carrier for this time of great global information instability.
Did Lewis Carrroll experience the similar transition time when he wrote Alice in Wonderland and going down the rabbit hole where eveything was suddenly upside down and backwards?
Who ever knew at the time they were actually in the middle of great cultural transition times? Only looking back through a distant historical lens do there breaches become obvious.
I am always chastened learning the novel human migration across an Ice Age created land bridge between Asia to North America took 35,000 years, and those migrating into this new world did not think they were doing anything momentous, but rather what they were always doing – pushing into to new hunter-gathering empty territory, simply seeking more food and shelter.
We certainly are not in a new Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason right now. Something much darker has gripped the world. History also teaches us, transitional times are transitory – a black swan has still yet to emerge and move civilization ever forward. Plus we are probably killing a lot of black swans struggling to give voice anyway.
akaPatience how does your suspicions explain the COVID-19 “fear mongering” amongst all the other 192 nations of the world that aren’t called the USA?
Have you considered the FACT that the US is experiencing a MUCH LOWER DEATH RATE from COVID-19 than most countries (and most major countries) of the world?
I need to correct my previous comment about COVID-19 death rates: the US death rate is lower than most major countries (Germany and Japan excepted), but not lower than most of the total counties of the world.
John from Michigan
So I take it that your scorecard would read:
a) 190 countries on Planet Earth are governed by stupid people.
b) One country is governed by smart people.
c) One country is governed by venal people who are attempting to get Joe Biden elected.
OK. Excuse me if I do not agree, to put it mildly.
BTW, the situation in Sweden is not “about done”, not by a long shot. https://covid19.who.int/region/euro/country/se
akaPatience “Have you considered the FACT that the US is experiencing a MUCH LOWER DEATH RATE from COVID-19 than most countries (and most major countries) of the world?”
I did not, because in the context of your initial statement that above is what is known as a “non-sequitur”.
Yeah, Right:
I don’t know about B, but A and C (especially C) are true. The Swedes may have just guessed right. Regardless, Sweden will reach herd immunity in the near future while the other countries will struggle with this for years. No effective vaccine has ever been developed for a coronavirus so the outlook on this score is not good. As far as your link, the WHO is hardly a reputable source of data. I suggest you expand your research. Further, as the Colonel and others have repeatedly pointed out, COVID 19 is not a very serious ailment. If it was young healthy people would be dying in large numbers. Almost all of those who have died have been people who probably should have already been dead.
John from Michigan “Regardless, Sweden will reach herd immunity in the near future while the other countries will struggle with this for years.”
Simply untrue. At its peak the rate of positive tests in Sweden were running at 12%. They are currectly hovering around 8%
That is nothing like the levels that would be required for herd immunity. Not even close.
Yeah, Right,
The Swedes aren’t dropping dead in massive numbers from this thing either.
Col. Lang: your description of Mr. Biden is exactly congruent with my observation of him during the Scott Ridder hearings in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war. When Mr. Ritter (I forget his rank) tried to tell Biden that the WMD inspection team had investigated every site the U.S. or anyone else could tell them about, but found no evidence of WMD’s whatsoever, Biden became so mocking, belligerent, and irate that if he could have reached across the hearing table and grabbed Ritter by the shirt collar he would have. What I took to be a one-time tantrum evidently wasn’t.
If he wins (he’s as far ahead as Hillary was this time in 2016, if not farther), we’re in for a long four years; unless his obvious incipient senile dementia cause the 25th Amendment to be invoked (leaving us with whomever he selects, or is selected for him, as his VP).
John from Michigan
Then Michigan cannot be that far behind; both the populations and the number of deaths are very close to each other.
Except that Sweden did not go through a lock down – unlike Michigan.
Fred “The Swedes aren’t dropping dead in massive numbers from this thing either.”
And there are not massive numbers of Swedes, full stop.
But I will point out that no Scandinavian country had “massive numbers” of deaths. Which may suggest that being near the Artic Circle is a great advantage when it comes to avoiding dying from this virus. Or maybe there is something in the Nordic genes that makes them less susceptible.
I don’t know, and neither do you.
But one thing I do know is that when you compare Sweden against its neighbour Norway (i.e. a real Apples vs Apples comparison) then the mortality rate for Sweden suddenly does not look at all impressive.
Hi Fred, I thought I’d better double-check my figures.
Sweden:
5,545 dead 76,001 cases (7% mortality rate)
5,545 dead 10,343,403 popln (0.05% mortality rate)
Norway:
253 dead 9,001 cases (2.8% mortality rate)
253 dead 5,367,580 popln (0.005% mortality rate)
So if you just look across the entire population then Norway with its lockdown policy did an order of magnitude better than Sweden with its no-lockdown policy.
If you look just the infected then Norway did between two to three times better than Sweden.
Maybe the Norwegian hospital system wasn’t being overloaded.
Maybe the Norwegians just have better doctors, possibly the Norwegians are just more inclined to go to the doctor early.
Or perhaps they are just…. fitter and tougher than those weedy Swedes. I don’t know.
Look, you can decide that those deaths were worth paying for keeping the economy open. The Swedish government clearly thought so. The Norwegian government clearly did not.
But it looks to me that Sweden’s no-lockdown policy came at a price, and the only argument is whether – or not – that is a price worth paying.
(For what it’s worth, Sweden’s 7% mortality rate translated to the USA data would equate to….. doing the sums now…. 245,000 dead Americans. Which is nearly twice the current figure).
Worth re-reading in its entirely – only a small clip here. Trump’s Jan 2017 Inauguration Speech – his promise to Americans – his action plan to move beyond the Washington Establishment — who finally won on that day back in Jan 2017?
President of the United States of America Donald J.. Trump:
……….”At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.
Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.
These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public.
But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.
This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
We are one nation – and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.
The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans…..”