Update from the Heartland
No.568
29.10.12 – 4.11.12
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The
follow-up news items:
-- Re: Benghazi Attack. The early information I had at the time [561] was fairly accurate but not quite
correct. Even this update may not
be completely and historically accurate; however, I do have confidence it is
closer to what actually happened.
The publicly available information is still not official. We do not know exactly what happened to
Ambassador Stevens, yet; however, it appears he may have deceased due to smoke
inhalation in the original assault.
Much
of the brouhaha seems to focus on: what did they know and when did they know
it, and where military reaction assets called off? I understand why these questions are important, but they
should not be debated in the forum of public opinion. The handling of information in the lead-up is significant from
a process perspective, but I will argue it is irrelevant regarding the
outcome. I have no doubt the USG
processed the information available and made the best judgments they could,
regarding the deployment of available resources. I am not willing to second-guess those in command and
standing in harm’s way. The second
question is not quite in the same category but close. Yet, like the first question, judgments had to be made in
the heat of the moment. The
question reminds me of an earlier situation and governmental decision. On 8.June.1967, Israeli air and naval
forces attacked the USS Liberty [AGTR-5], an intelligence collection vessel, off the
coast of eastern Sinai, Egypt. A
carrier strike group was launched to defend Liberty,
but it was recalled before arrival overhead. History will judge all of these decisions.
-- Sunday night, the National Geographic Channel broadcast “SEAL
Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden,” produced by Harvey Weinstein and
directed by John Stockwell – a dramatic portrayal of Operation NEPTUNE’S SPEAR [489, 490, 503]. I have not seen the program yet
(recorded, to be watched next week).
There is also a movie pending from Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt
Locker”). I am eager to see the
cinematic rendition, but I do not like the timing – way too suspect, given the
presidential election next week.
I cast my ballot by mail. The deed is done.
We now await the results.
News from the economic front:
-- The Bank of Japan expanded its asset-purchase program to
¥91T, by about ¥11T (US$138B), including ¥10T of government bonds and bills –
rare quantitative easing in monetary policy for the second month in a row. The central bank conceded that its 1%
inflation target might not be reached without more aggressive stimulus.
-- The PRC’s official purchasing managers’ index rose to a
four-month high of 50.2 in October from 49.8 in September, indicating the
country’s manufacturing sector has returned to growth.
-- The Labor Department reported U.S. payrolls increased by
a seasonally adjusted 171,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate rose from
7.8% to 7.9% as more people entered the work force. The 7.8% rate was the
lowest since President Obama took office in 2009. Also, the gains for the previous two months were revised
upward by a total of 84,000. The
report did not include the work stoppages across the East Coast from Hurricane
Sandy.
Comments and contributions from Update no.567:
“Your write up on Benghazi is spot on. There seems to be a
profusion of Monday morning quarterbacks second-guessing the professionals.
“Also, regarding those who would subject all of us to their
religious belief that life begins at conception and therefore a fertilized egg
is a person, this bears a disturbing resemblance to sharia law in Islamic
states. This country was founded on the principle that all are free to practice
their religion and none are allowed to impose their beliefs on the others. How
can we be missing this? How can they not see this?”
My reply:
Re:
Benghazi. It seems there is no
tolerance or forgiveness for those who stand the line in defense of freedom,
and unbounded latitude for those who place themselves in judgment in the warmth
of their cushy chairs.
Re:
religious imposition. In short,
their faith makes them infallible and omniscient. I do agree with your assessment . . . quite like Sharia law
– the clerics are the law. We bear
witness to precisely the same phenomenon with fundamentalist Christians in this
country, as with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan; they want to return
us to the pre-revolution days when Protestant-Christianity was the state
religion by law. Oh, they see it
quite clearly, I do believe. Just
as with the Taliban, this is all about power and control, as well as order and
discipline to their established dicta, or as some often say, God’s will.
“That’s
just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Another contribution:
“Loud and clear this end of the pond. Your Mourdock caused quite a stir over
here too. What a fool.”
My response:
My
opinion precisely. Spot on, mate.
Comment to the Blog:
“Richard Mourdock is only the latest in a long line of
people who demonstrate the stark differences between the Tea Party and other
Americans. In toeing the Tea Party line, they alienate pretty much everyone who
possesses either good sense or moral values. The notion that they can or should
“take America back” disregards the entire history of the USA, the Constitution,
and the rights and realities of everyone who differs from them in race,
religion, sexual orientation, or opinion. In other words, they have nothing but
contempt for most of us.
“President Obama’s ‘horses and bayonets’ comment is
painfully relevant to today’s situation. We have the largest military in the
world, several times the size of number two China. Yet we cannot seem to ‘win’
anything, partly because our efforts take no clear direction and partly because
our enormous apparatus no longer suits the needs of modern conflict. That’s
ridiculous.
“While I feel the importance of determining whether Lance
Armstrong used forbidden drugs to enhance his world-record performance, I agree
that this has become overstated. I wonder if he has become the scapegoat for
something unknown to fans of his sport.
“Society has no mechanism to truly hold the entity Bank of
America responsible for the damage that corporation has done. I want to see
more individuals join Rajat Gupta in prison. That will do more to reform Wall
Street than any fine ever levied.”
My response to the
Blog:
Re:
Republican Party. It sure does
appear the Tea Party, Pat Robertson, Grover Norquist, et al, have taken over
the Republican Party. I do not
like the direction of the party.
We need moderation and compromise, not ideological intransigence. This is going to take years and several
elections to play out.
Re:
war & winning. Oh . . . if it
were only that simple. The
military has never lost a war. The
politicians do that for us.
Re:
Armstrong. As I said, this is
feeling more & more like a prominent scapegoat for the inadequacy &
incompetence of the USADA and ICU.
They tested him randomly hundreds of times. He may have done what some of his teammates have said. Maybe he was smarter than they
were. They say the evidence was
irrefutable and yet we have seen nothing.
No judge or jury has seen the evidence. He is being drawn & quartered in the forum of public
opinion without due process of law.
He is paying an enormous and inordinate price for something he has not
been convicted by a jury of his peers of doing. I do not like it.
Re:
corporate criminals. Quite
right! Corporations just pass on
whatever cost. Those men who
created the crisis and certainly profited from the insanity they generated
should pay a heavy price. The
difficulty in this instance, We, the People, share in that culpability – greed
may be good for competition, but it is disastrous when the rich bleed the poor.
One last contribution
this week:
“The ‘Benghazi kerfuffle’ aside, even though a lot of really
smart and respectable people are skeptical, I keep wondering whatever became of
the supposed leak, the one that landed the Pakistani man that helped in the Bin
Laden capture in prison? That
glaring security breech seems to have been swept under the carpet by the
present administration, or have I missed resolution of the issue?”
My reply:
Good
point. The sad affair of Doctor
Shakil Afridi [545] has been
overlooked or perhaps forgotten by the Press. I am not aware of any resolution. We can only hope the USG quietly gained his release and moved
him and his family to a safe place.
He deserved our support.
History will eventually tell the tale.
. . . follow-up comment:
“Not only gained his release, but take some prosecutorial
action against whomever was responsible for the leak. Thanks for remembering the doctor's name, though I had
remembered he was a doctor.”
. . . my follow-up reply:
I
would love to see the leaker prosecuted and imprisoned to the limit of the law,
but I doubt that will ever happen.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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