Update from the
Heartland
No.721
5.10.15 – 11.10.15
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- Who knows what to believe in the public reports regarding
the Russian injection into Syria? [718, 720] Additional perspective is offered
in the Comment Section below. The
Russian released to the public video clips of them launching cruise missiles from
ships in the Caspian Sea. At
first, I thought that had to be a mistake; there cannot be much of a naval
threat in the Caspian Sea. They
fired over Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and into Syria . . . at least that is what the
Russians claimed. The United
States reported a handful of the Russian missiles landed short of their targets
in Iran and Iraq . . . that is presuming they were all intended for Syria; to
be blunt, they could shoot at anything they wish and claim an errant weapon. We have to hand it to the
Russians. By bold, audacious
action, they are dictating military operations in Syria, and we are closer to direct
conflict with the Russians, or losing whatever modicum of influence we had in
the region.
Two
relevant, related opinions (in addition to those offered below):
** “Kremlin Says Russian ‘Volunteer’ Forces Will Fight in Syria”
by Andrew E. Kramer, Helene Cooper and Ceylan Yeginsu
New
York Times
Published: OCT. 5, 2015
** “How America can counter Putin’s moves in Syria”
by Condoleezza Rice and Robert M. Gates
Washington
Post
Published: October 8, 2015
-- Now, we hear the Umpqua Community College shooter [720] was discharged from Army basic
training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, after just one month in 2008,
apparently for attempting to commit suicide. So, here is yet another perfect example of our inability to collect
domestic intelligence information on troubled or disturbed citizens and translate
that intelligence into preemptive action to avoid violent events. Further, our appalling mental health
treatment capacity in this Grand Republic seriously complicates, if not
nullifies, any effort to keep firearms out of the hands of mentally ill, disturbed,
or violence prone citizens. We
must find a fair and constitutional means to keep firearms from unstable
individuals, and if that means removing and prohibiting the possession of
firearms in the residence of citizens who harbor unstable citizens, then so be
it. Yet, I maintain my opinion,
any further restriction of firearms possession must be linked concomitantly to
intelligence on and treatment for the mentally ill and other threatening or
unstable individuals.
With
that said, I must note here that we have repeatedly seen that flawed citizens
occupy government positions, and have consistently proven themselves incapable
of resisting political pressure to use sensitive information collected by the government
for political purposes, e.g, IRS against minority political parties, terrorism
intelligence surveillance information to discredit Elliott Spitzer, et al ad infinitum ad nauseum. Abuse of mental illness information
will further stigmatize the mentally ill and ostracize them, which in turn will
create even greater resistance to treatment or even identification.
Comments and contributions from Update no.720:
“On the Russian air strikes in Syria, be cautious when
reading about who is being hit.
The Russians say they are hitting ISIS/ISIL targets – Western media says
they are hitting ‘moderate Syrians’.
Not sure who these ‘moderates’ are. Apparently some in the Beltway and neocon community
think that AQ is a ‘moderate’ in Syria and advocate helping them. This is the same AQ that attacked us on
9/11! Totally insane – and there
are reports that one of our agencies is actually helping AQ. Below is from a blog regarding
this. On FOX this weekend a retired general was using a map to describe the
situation- at one point he had the pointer on the ISIL blob and called them
‘our allies.’- That is a good analogy for what is going on.
From Colonel Pat Lang’s Blog:
"... in recent months, the Israeli government and
its American neoconservative allies have been floating trial balloons regarding
whether Al Qaeda could be repackaged as Sunni "moderates" and become
a de facto U.S. ally in achieving a "regime change" in Syria, ousting
President Bashar al-Assad who has been near the top of the Israeli/neocon hit
list for years.
“A key neocon propaganda theme has been to spin the
conspiracy theory that Assad and the Islamic State are somehow in cahoots and
thus Al Qaeda represents the lesser evil. Though there is no evidence to
support this conspiracy theory, it was even raised by Charlie Rose in his
"60 Minutes" interview last Sunday with Russian President Vladimir
Putin. The reality is that the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have both been
leading the fight to destroy the secular Assad government, which has fought
back against both groups.
And, if these two leading terror groups saw a chance to
raise their black flags over Damascus, they might well mend their tactical
rifts. They would have much to gain by overthrowing Assad's regime, which is the
principal protector of Syria's Christians, Alawites, Shiites and other ‘heretics.’" (emphasis in original)
. . . to which was added:
“More on the ‘moderates’ myth
[Also from
Colonel Pat Lang’s Blog:]
“New evidence of
alliance between "moderates" and Jihadis.
“Meanwhile, further evidence has surfaced, confirming
collusion of so-called "moderates"
with Salafi/Jihadi groups. Indeed, the rebel factions in the Rastan enclave
have now established another "joint
operations room" (sort of a command and control centre), in which
remnants of FSA units will join hard-core "Jabhat al-Nusra" (JaN) and "Ahrar al-Sham" representatives.
“While last week's reports in the mainstream media were
buzzing with statements by rebel commander Jamil al-Saleh, according to which
there were no Jihadis in his area, it now turns out that his troops have
entered into a tactical alliance with the same Jihadis he claimed were not even
there in the first place.
“This new piece of evidence should be another blow for the
still popular myth of the "moderate"
rebels. In particular, new terminology used by Beltway experts and DC
officials, calling the radicals "Islamic
conservatives" or "Islamic
nationalists", can now be seen as the plain repackaging effort it has
been since its inception.
“In addition to Jihadi heavyweights "Jabhat al-Nusra" and "Ahrar al-Sham", the Rastan
"joint operations room" regroups "Faylaq al-Homs" and "Jaish
al-Tawhid". As previously stated, names don't really matter that much
when it comes to Syrian rebels and JaN's ascendancy in terms of "command and control" and "force multiplier" can be taken for
granted.” (emphasis in original)
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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