On the"refugee crisis"

In one of his essays, I seem to recall that Gore Vidal pointed out that to really solve a political problem, one has to get to the root of the problem. In fact, if memory serves, he had a really clever definition of the word "root," which went back to either the Greek or Latin, well, root. I can't remember the definition well enough right now to summarize it here.

At any rate, what is at the root of the so- called, "refugee crisis," is the fact that the US and some other countries decided that "Assad must go" and attempted to overthrow his government, using mainly the same methods they used to overthrow the government of Libya. As an aside, notice how they now have to send military aviation into Libya again to wreck the lives of those poor people even further. This suggests that perhaps they did not get the outcome in Libya that was desired from the first military operation, a military operation, by the way, which was disguised as the "Arab Spring."

So, to solve the so-called "refugee crisis" the US must decide it isn't really intent on overthrowing Assad, and then, at the very least, allow the Russians, Syrians, and Iranians to rebuild the country, which will allow refugees to return home. Very simple, except the US, for some reason, can not let go of the idea that "Assad must go." This, even after it would seem that they must not have gotten what they wanted out of their Libya project, as evidenced by the fact that they have to send military aviation into Libya again.

The real question(s) is/are: Why does Assad have to go? Why did Qaddafi have to go? And, even, why did they believe Saddam Hussein had to go? (Even I think Saddam was far worse than either of the other two.) The "refugee crisis" could not exist if the west stopped creating refugees.

more on plan "b"

This is from the WSWS. So, the question remains, why would the Russians agree to(and even be a party to the initiation of) this ceasefire agreement? On the other hand, perhaps those that say the agreement will be interpreted properly, that is in a way that permits the Russians and Syrians to continue the air campaign (and even ground campaign) against certain specified groups within Syria if those groups insist on continuing the fight, are correct. I would tend to doubt it though.

plan b in Syria

This was speculation before, but apparently, if the report is correct, John Kerry has come out and said there is a plan "b" for Syria. Plan "b" looks suspiciously like what some have considered to be the larger plan for the region all along.

politics is done in the darkness #5

I hope I'm right about the number. I think this is the 5th audio-cast.

Freedom of speech restricted in France?

Man claims he takes down his website because he is afraid of alleged new law limiting disagreement with the government. I tried his site out of curiosity and got a white screen only. Hmm...

The contradictions of foreign policy in Syria.

Often, while reading about the war in Syria, I start to wonder about the various nations and factions involved. Just who is on whose side anyway? There are too many perceived contradictions, including the obvious ones, but also less obvious, like between the Russians and the Syrian government. Here, within the Syria War Update Blog, is a post that explains what i mean better than I could.

Report on the Munich Agreement

Here is, from Voltairenet, a report from what as far as I can gather is a Russian source on the meaning of the recent peace talks and Munich agreement about Syria between principally, Kerry ans Lavrov

Very true but ominous article on Syria

This article by John Wright from CounterPunch via Information Clearing house gives the past background, and puts the big picture into perspective. However, what will the American and European elite do next regarding Syria? Will we finally accept being a nation among nations in a multi-polar world, or will war be expanded?

Sad but likely true report on Syria

There seems to be a few, at least, competing analyses of events in Syria. It also seems likely that any analysis of the war in Syria would include looking at events in Iraq and beyond.

Some of these reports seem to be a little optimistic, and indicate that the Russians and the Americans are coming to some understanding about what should happen next in Syria. Others, like the one I will post below, indicate that the Russians and Americans are far away from reaching any consensus, and perhaps there is great potential for a war between two superpowers. Let's hope not.

Perhaps, as some analysts have put forward, the problem is that the different agencies within American government do not agree on the outcome in Syria. For instance, one plausible scenario is that White House might be looking to come to an agreement with the Kremlin in order to fight IS.

I would hope that those who believe the US and Russia are working out differences and finalizing a plan for the end of the war are correct. I fear that the other analysts might be more correct though.

Article from WSWS 

Turkey shells Syrian forces positions

Well, this is rather ominous.

The internet of things

The real question is why people have come to power that think this way?

politics is done in the darkness #4

This is the latest audio/YouTube video of my series of podcasts (audio-casts really) named after this blog.

X22 report on Libya, Syria, more

Paul Craig Robets

As Pessimistic as ever. In audio form, but here is the link.

election 2016 primary charade

If you could believe anything in the media, you would think that Americans absolutely love their elections. I can't say one way or the other if they really do or not. A large number seem to, and yet, many of those who actually vote (as I have for many years) suspect that something doesn't quite add up. For instance, we have the case of the former Governor of Alabama, who seems to have been sent to federal prison for political reasons. And there is much more to make one suspicious. 

This problem has been with us for a long time, however, as the video below demonstrates.