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Over the weekend an interesting bit of news broke on the internet at least that is where I saw it. The buzz is about the Iranian nuclear weapons program and states that Iran has developed the technology to weaponize uranium and detonate an nuclear warhead. The report also states that the Iranian government is only waiting on it’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to implement the use of the technology.
Should this news/report reveal itself to be true there will be a destabilizing effect in the Middle East. Most people will think that it is the Israelis alone who will feel threatened, but that will not be the case. There are other nations in the region who have had problems with Iran and long before this report came out. Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and possibly Pakistan and India as well will not be happy about this news.
Of those nations that I have just mentioned who are in a position to respond to this potential nuclear threat, there are only three who really have to ability to respond to the threat with a maximum show of force. These three countries are Pakistan, India, and Israel who are all weaponized with a nuclear arsenal. Although I will hazard an educated guess here and say that it will likely be Israel who responds to the threat.
There are also other reports and responses directly related to this news/report. One states that Iran will retaliate against Israel if it strikes their nuclear sites. Another suggests that our own CIA Chief has warned Israel not to bomb Iran. Still another report indicates that Israel is already preparing to assault Iran’s nuclear sites. Israel is already holding exercises and defense drills in response to a nuclear Iran as well.
Now like I said I have seen no real proof of this new report that validates it’s data. However I will go so far as to say that Israel will not listen to any nations counsel if they feel it is counter to their position and existence. I also think that when and if Israel decides to strike at Iran, the first we or the world will hear about it is when we see the mushroom clouds over Iranian territory.
I will say for the record right now that I personally don’t want to see either a nuclear or conventional attack against Iran from any nation. However I would not stand in the way of a nation who strikes at another who repeatedly threatens them, and now has the means to carry out those threats. I can only hope for the sake of the Iranian people and those people whose nations may strike at Iran that the Iranians don’t take the next step.
That is all we at Simple Man Politics have for you today, but we will be back again very soon. Have a great Monday my friends and CIAO4NOW!!!!!
P.S. To read more about Israels potential response for yourselves check out the links below.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536203,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,536203,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530148,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,523537,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521177,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520263,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517033,00.html
Welcome back to Simple Man Politics today my friends. I know I have not been doing much with this blog in the last couple of weeks, but that is about to change. However I will promise you that I am going to make this post short and sweet, because the person I want to discuss today is Pilocchio. (Pelosi)
It seems that this past Friday Nancy (Pilocchio) Pelosi went down to Houston to have an onstage interview done. The Progressive Forum that Pelosi addressed charged attendees anywhere from $19 up to $144 for the pleasure of hearing The Liar of the House and 3rd in line for the Obama throne.
Unfortunately for Pelosi and fortunately for the American people she didn’t make any headline news with her statements healthcare, energy, Afghanistan, and her autobiography. However it was very nice of her to attract the crowd of approximately 600 people who showed up outside the Wortham Center to protest against her.
The anti-Pelosi crowd that gathered outside of the Wortham Center was very boisterous, vocal, and angry with Pelosi and our current government. They heckled those who were attending the forum and would tell anyone from the media who would listen why they were there protesting.
The attendees also seemed to be having a good time with the protesters too. The continuously blew kisses, bowed, razzed, and in a couple of instances made obscene gestures at the protesters. It also appeared that none of the attendees were interested in engaging the protesters in any sort of debate,
Most of those that were protesting Pelosi appeared to very hardcore anti-Pelosi Tea Partiers. The video that I am including was even put together by the Houston Tea Party Society. It seemed that this Tea Party even had Wonder Woman in attendance.
While I applaud the protesters efforts I think that their message fell on the deaf ears of those listening to the lies being told inside. I hope you all have a great day, and I will see you later, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Hmmmm lets see, how should I start today. First let me say that I am sorry for not doing a blog post on Friday, but I have to pay the bills before I can spread the truth here. Another reason is that Joy who has written for me here before had somewhat of a personal crisis to deal with and required my support.
You see Joy grew up with the Mayhle’s. Stephen Mayhle is one of the Pittsburgh police officers who were brutally gunned down last Friday in the Stanton Heights section of the city, while responding to a domestic disturbance call in the early hours of the morning.
However now it is time for some more Simple Man Politics. Today we are going to talk a little about Obama’s trip to the G20 summit and NATO meetings. To say the least I found his trip to be highly anti-climactic to say the least. It appears that our super star President was not as well received as he would have liked.
First off with regard to his attendance of the G20 summit I found him to be remarkably apologetic about the United States being responsible for the current global economic crisis that has affected the world markets. However he was right that we own some of the responsibility, but he was wrong about who exactly was responsible.
Obama claimed that he inherited this bad economy from his predecessor George W, Bush’s administration and that is true. What he fails to tell anyone is that while it occurred during the Bush administration it is in fact a legacy he inherited from his own party who controlled both houses of congress.
The two men most responsible for the economic meltdown are Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank. These two men were responsible for overseeing our financial institutions including Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae. When they were told by several different people that these two companies were in trouble they loudly denounced those who warned them and said that Freddy and Fanny were fine.
Of course Obama also laid the growing deficit at George Bush’s feet as well while conveniently forgetting the fact that with his second bailout, stimulus bill, and budget he plans on growing our national debt to over 4.7 Trillion Dollars this year with a Trillion Dollars added every year for the next ten years. He is accomplishing this with the aid of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid the senate and house leaders.
My favorite part of Obama’s trip had to be his stop in Turkey though. I will admit that this nation is an important ally to the US in the WAR ON TERROR. We use their bases for resupply operations as well as a way into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
What I don’t understand is his statement to the Turkish people that we are not at war with Islam. I would think that it is obvious that we are not at war with Islam. However we are at war with Islamo-Fascism. Islamo-Fascism is the ideology that is spouted out from groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad.
I was also not surprised at the reception that Obama has received in some of the countries that he visited. While most of the European socialist governments love him it is quite clear that a lot of the people do not. Of course the governments there love him, because he wants the same sort of government that hasn’t worked for them in the last century. The ordinary people seemed to know that he was a B.S. artist almost instinctively.
I have one more thing to say before I go today, and that is on the subject of Nuclear disarmament. Obama clearly believes in total nuclear disarmament, but does he really think that he can get these rogue countries that are pursuing this technology to put it down once they get these weapons. I doubt that Iran or North Korea would be willing to do so.
The world’s deterrence to a nuclear war is the fact that we possess nukes, and the deterrence in the Middle East is the fact that Israel possesses nukes. Unfortunately that is why nations like Iran are pursuing nuclear weapons programs so that they can attack Israel.
The truth of the matter is that whether we like it or not Obama is our President for the next four years. It is unfortunate for us however that he is against his own country and all for being popular in the world before being safe. This is true both economically and strategically. I only hope that our enemies are not any emboldened to attack us now than they were before his overseas trip.
Have an awesome day my friends and I will be back again real soon, although it may not be before Wednesday, but you never know, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
T.G.I.F. my friends I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to a great weekend, because I am. I am also sorry this post is coming to all of you so late today, but as the saying goes “life Happens”, and it happened to me today. Today’s blog is going to be on Mexico and the War on Drugs. Anyway let’s get started what do you say?
As I am sure you are all aware we have been fighting the war on drugs for decades. We have not always been successful in our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country, but we have had our victories to. The war on drugs has lasted longer than the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan combined. It has also cost more money than all three of those wars put together, and when you count the lives lost on all sides of the drug war the loss of life is immensely greater also.
This war has also been fought on many fields and fronts from Europe, the Far and Middle East, to central and South America, and now Mexico. Although for the record Mexico has always been a port of entry for smuggling drugs into the US the four Mexican cartels that are currently vying for supremacy as the reigning exporter of drugs to the states control the Mexican side of the border now and no one smuggles drugs into the US unless one of them gets paid.
The war on drugs in Mexico has really gotten bad on their side of the border in recent years. Many of the cartel members either have prior military or law enforcement experience. Some of these guys are even still serving in the Mexican military or as law enforcement officers inside of Mexico. Their training in weapons and technology make them far superior to other criminal organizations around the world.
The results of their expertise are immediately obvious to even the most casual observer. Their willingness to bring death to their adversaries with cool, calculated, efficiency is just one trademark of their talents demonstrated to their countrymen and the world on a near daily basis. Their expertise in exporting drugs to the US and importing weapons back into Mexico speaks to their talent for avoiding capture and arrest.
Now I am going to say something that most of you will find surprising, and that is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right. She was right about the hunger and desire for the drugs that these cartels supply by many of our citizens, which makes us partially responsible for the drug trade that flourishes in Mexico. She was right about US weapons and money going to Mexico as partially our responsibility as well.
However I am quite sure that Mexico is at least as much responsible for these things as we are, after all it is their side of the border that US weapons and cash are smuggled across by these very cartels, in order for them to finance and wage their war on terror against the Mexican people. It is also across their side of the border that the trafficking in illegal narcotics begins.
For the record though I don’t think that it is necessary for our Secretary of State to apologize to the Mexican government for their criminal elements and their lack of ability to police those criminals. It is not our fault that their government officials, law enforcement officers, and military personnel are corrupt. We are not responsible for their current economic instability either.
In one way or another, American dollars are Mexico’s biggest import, whether it is by illegal immigrants sending a portion of the money they earn here back to Mexico, or the profits from drugs that get smuggled back into their country by the drug cartels. Mexico is responsible for their own economic problems by utilizing a de-facto caste system where the few rule the rich like the royals and the serfs in 15th century Europe.
The truth is that the major export from Mexico to the US is Cannabis Sativa although they do import cocaine and heroin into the US as well. However if we were to not only decriminalize marijuana, but legalize it as well most of the problems on the border would disappear overnight. Well that and actually do something on our side of the line with a real border security plan like building the fence, increasing border agents, and applying 21st century technology to the task.
Well that is all I have to rant about here at Simple Man Politics for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend and I will be back again next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
August 31st, 2010 that’s the date to remember. That is the day that President Barack Hussein Obama says we will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq. Wow that is only 18 months to wait before everyone’s loved ones come home from the Iraqi theater of operations. I bet you that so many wives, husbands, and parents are so excited that they are all a quiver with the anticipation of their long overdue reunion of their families.
Oh…..wait a minute did I say all of the combat troops out by August 31st, 2010? I’m sorry that was wrong, it is what the Obama said, but it is still wrong. Actually only 100,000 troops will be out of Iraq by that date. There will still be up to 50,000 troops there when we reach that date, so not everyone will have their long awaited family reunion after all.
By the way did I forget to remind you all that we are getting ready to step up combat operations in Afghanistan with a surge in troop deployments there? With 14 brigade combat teams currently in Iraq and many of those personnel with current combat experience I am sure that some of those fine young men and women will see their duty tours extended for that party, which means even less family reunions for families with their folks in Iraq.
Obama broke the news of his date for withdrawal at Camp Lejeune, NC. Many of the marines currently stationed at Camp Lejeune are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan. Obama also told these young warriors that most of their brothers in arms in Iraq would remain there through the end of the year to make sure that the national elections there go smoothly but that they would be out by the end of August 2010.
It does appear that the President will keep his promise to start withdrawing troops from Iraq soon. However some of the leadership within his own party does not appear to be happy about the extended timetable for withdrawal or the number of troops left behind. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) said that 50,000 troops left in Iraq was a little higher number than he anticipated. However former Republican Presidential Candidate and Senator John McCain (R) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R) have both supported the plan with cautious optimism.
It seems to me that while President Obama is keeping his promise to withdraw troops from Iraq that he is not really keeping his promise to his supporters about a full withdrawal. I cannot say that this displeases me as I believe that they will do anything to undermine Bush’s Iraq policy in an effort to remove him from our history or to at least portray him as a failure for not leaving Iraq sooner. I also believe that President Obama has learned the hard way that leaving Iraq will not be so easy and I am sure he will learn a few more hard lessons with regard to our foreign policy as his administration continues over the next four years.
I also understand why a lot of people feel that we never should have gone to war in Iraq. We found no WMD’s there, although we know that at one time they had them and used them against their own people under Saddam. We also know that when we invaded Iraq we found no terrorists, but we did find evidence of their camps and Saddam’s cooperation with those groups. There is also a widely held consensus that G.W. Bush was just finishing what his dad started because Saddam tried to assassinate Bush 41, which we have the evidence that the assassination was at least planned and probably attempted.
The truth of the matter is though that Saddam Hussein was a very bad guy and a destabilizing force in the region just as Ahmadinejad of Iran is now. I also believe that since Saddam refused to cooperate with the UN inspectors and his violation of over 14 UN Security Council resolutions that it was time for him to go. Let’s be honest here for a minute we helped to create this monster by supporting his government at one time, so we had to clean up our mess.
Unfortunately I think Iran is our next mess we are going to have to clean up to, because we supported the former Shah of Iran, who was latter ousted in the Islamic revolution that took place while Jimmy (The Peanut Farmer Carter) Carter was president and resulted in US citizens being held hostage by the very monster that now runs the nation of Iran. I know for sure that the last thing we can afford is an Iran with a nuke, so I guess Obama is going to get some more on the job training as Commander in Chief.
That’s all for now I hope you all a fabulous weekend. I will see you all next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
Before we get started with today’s post I thought I would help to spread a rumor I heard yesterday on AM talk radio. I heard a rumor that Barack Obama may be considering offering John McCain a cabinet post as Secretary of Defense. I personally don’t believe it, but if it were true I think we all would know what the price is for selling out your supporters and intentionally losing your own election. It would explain some of the mistakes of McCain’s campaign though, although I reiterate I DON’T BELIEVE IT!!!!! I wonder how these rumors get started. Now for today’s post.
What I want to talk about today is some of the challenges in foreign policy that our President Elect will face when he takes office in January, particularly with regard to Russia and Iran. These two nations can and do pose serious threats to stability in the regions they inhabit and as a result they represent very negative influences in those places with their saber rattling. I am sure that most of you are aware that they are acting the way they are in an attempt to intimidate and influence the courses of action that Barack Obama may be considering within their sphere of influence.
Take Russia as the first example. They have not been very happy since the breakup of the Soviet Union. They have seen their dominance over large parts of Eastern Europe dwindle, since the fall of the Berlin wall. They have also seen many former communist countries that were part of the Soviet Union move steadily towards democracy. Most notably in the news cycle has been the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
I personally believe that Georgia’s move towards democracy is what prompted Russia’s attack against the fledgling democracy rather than any support for the two supposed break away provinces there. They almost certainly don’t want Georgia or any of its other former territories in NATO. Now you have the Russians threatening some sort of retaliation against Poland if the missile defense shield negotiated between the US and Poland is put in place. They supposedly feel that their own sovereignty is being threatened, which is not at all true.
As far as everyone’s favorite little Islamic extremist resort in the Middle East Iran is concerned. They are doing everything within their power to destabilize that region. They support the insurgents in Iraq and more than likely in Afghanistan. They are constantly sending arms and munitions as well as funds to militant groups operating in Iraq.
On top of which they just tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile and Russia wonders why a missile defense shield in Europe is important to us. Not to mention the fact that Israel is very happy about this new missile either. This new missile that Iran just tested operates on solid fuel and is a potential nuclear delivery system.
The master of the political gaff VP elect Joe Biden actually got it right for once. Barack Obama will be tested and tested very early in his Presidency. Fortunately for Obama there are some very good people already working on these very serious threats to our national security. Russia and Iran are just two of the threats our nation faces, other countries such as North Korea, Venezuela, Syria, and China to worry about as well.
I fervently hope that Barack Obama does not entirely dismantle the infrastructure that supports our intelligence and defense organizations. Now I know he might want to put his own people in charge at places like CIA as well as in the office of the DNI (Director of National Intelligence), but I don’t think he will be stupid enough to try to tear it all down and do it his way. I also hope that he will try to do more to make our national defense stronger. The last thing we or he can afford is another 9/11 on his watch.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Wednesday CIAO4NOW!!!!!
A hundred thousand welcomes to all of my friends out there. I hope you’re all ready for today’s installment of Simple Man Politics. On Monday we discussed the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, so I think it's only right that we discuss the war on terror now. I have decided to break up the subject of the war on terror into two parts. Part one is going to be about Afghanistan, and part two, Friday’s edition, will be about Iraq. What do you all say let's get started?
The war in Afghanistan began October 07, 2001 when the United States and the United Kingdom mutually decided to respond in retaliation for September 11, 2001 after ascertaining that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda were responsible for those horrific terrorist attacks on New York, the Pentagon, and flight 93. Two military operations were established to gain control of Afghanistan. The first was Operation Enduring Freedom. This operation involved coalition partners against Al Qaeda in the eastern and southern parts of the country along the Pakistani border and was lead by US military forces and is not a NATO operation, although many coalition partners are NATO members. Approximately 20,000 troops are in OEF.
Originally the US and the UK led air strikes against the Taliban and Al Qaeda while ground forces were supplied by the Northern Alliance. In 2002 the US, UK, and Canadian infantry were inserted into the conflict along with Special Forces from other allied nations and NATO troops were incorporated after that.
The second operation is the International Security Assistance Force. The ISAF was established in 2002 by the international community to stabilize the country and NATO assumed control of the ISAF in 2003. There are currently 47,000 troops from 40 countries with NATO as the core of the force.
The initial battles against the Taliban and Al Qaeda were extremely successful, and very soon after the war in Afghanistan started, control was entirely in the hands of coalition forces and the Northern Alliance. They had chased what was left of the Taliban and Al Qaeda out of the country and into the tribal areas of Pakistan, where eventually Pakistani President Pervev Musharraf came to be an ally in our war against the terrorists and the Taliban. However, at this time Musharraf has declared his intention to resign form the office of President of Pakistan. Also there currently seems to be some resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the tribal areas. They are strengthening and are running more ops across the border into Afghanistan.
Our presidential nominees have very similar ideas how to fight the war on terror in Afghanistan. McCain says the war there is very important and he will get Bin Laden for sure. Obama says he will get Bin Laden even if it means invading Pakistan to do it. They even agree that more troops are needed in Afghanistan. McCain says three brigades are needed and they both say more resources and troops from NATO would be nice. Even the French President is allocating more troops for Afghanistan.
I believe that the war on terror in Afghanistan is absolutely necessary and winnable if we don’t treat these animals with kid gloves and get all human rights about them. I think more troops are definitely needed there and not just from us but from every nation in the coalition. I also think we should chase these bad guys down even if it means going into Pakistan to get them since a lot of their support comes from the Pashtuns in the tribal areas of Pakistan. I also think we shouldn’t worry about capturing Osama Bin Laden, and his cohorts we should just kill them where we find them. They aren’t giving any quarter to our people and we shouldn’t show them any mercy either. If we do that all the rest of those crazy bastards out there will think twice before messing with us and we can have some peace when this is all over.
That is all I have to say on this subject, and I hope I didn’t offend anyone with my comments. I hope you all have a great day, and I will see you on Friday for the second part of The War on Terror, ciao4now!!!!!
