Iran’s Leaders WANT War ... by J. D. Longstreet

J. D. Longstreet

Iran’s Leaders WANT War 

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

In order for the twelfth Imam to return to earth and set up a worldwide Caliphate, the world must be in chaos.  Not ought to be, not might be, not close to being, but MUST be in chaos.

The current theocratic leaders of Iran believe that it is incumbent on them to insure that the world is brought to chaos as soon as possible. 

The race in Iran to acquire nuclear weapons is critical to Iran’s obligation to create chaos through war. 

There must be a spark and some now believe that if Israel or the US do not soon ignite the conflagration of war then Iran will strike the US and/or Israel to insure that the chaos of war is soon visited on the world.

The recent passage of two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal sort of tipped Iran’s preemptive hand. Those ships stood off the Israeli coast, then turned and went back through the Canal, most likely to their homeport in Iran.  It was a head fake, if you will.  It was a way of saying:  “See?  We can come within easy missile range of Israeli cities with our naval assets.”  In a confirmation of sorts, Iranian leaders said that they could, and would, take preemptive action against Israel (or the US) if they felt it necessary.

In my opinion, Iranian leaders are under no illusion that they can win a war against Israel or the US and certainly not against BOTH.  But victory is not the point -- and it is certainly not the goal of the Mullahs.  The goal is to START the war.  Once the Middle East is aflame, THEN, and only then, can the twelfth Imam appear to lead the Islamic world to worldwide victory and the establishment of a global Islamic government.

No amount of sanctions will change their minds. Neither fleets of warships nor squadrons of aircraft from the western world, no matter the number; will stop the coming war with Iran. There will be war.  There MUST be war.

The civilized world is dealing with religious fanatics.  That is always bad.

Remember the Japanese military of the 2^nd World War?  Remember what it took to stop those religious fanatics?  Remember the costs in blood?    

At this writing, it seems clear that if Israel does not soon attack Iran, then Iran will attack Israel.

Obama’s diplomats, whether from the US State Department, or the Department of Defense, seem utterly at a lost to understand what is happening in the Middle East today.  To watch those men and woman at work is akin to watching a group of out and out amateurs. 

Obama’s involving America’s top generals in diplomatic missions is embarrassing to the soldiers and to the people of America.  It is an affront to the US military as a whole.  It is also a sign that the Commander-in-Chief hasn’t a clue what he is doing.

Iran has obviously decided that America is more willing to live with an Iran armed with atomic weapons than it is to go to war to prevent it.  Obama’s gutting of the US military and his desire to cut our nuclear arsenal by 80% is evidence that the Iranians are correct in their assessment of the Obama Regime.

Wisely, Israel doesn’t trust the Obama Regime.  How can they?  Obama has shown his distaste for Israel and his favor for the Islamic states quite clearly.  Israel would be foolish to discuss any plans they have for stopping Iran’s nuclear programs with the Obama regime.  Israel’s government is not foolish. 

In the meantime, Iran is basking in the spotlight the world has shone upon them.  They prance, preen, and strut across the world stage, like Bantam roosters, soaking up the attention.  They feel their importance and they don’t mind making spectacles of themselves before the world just to make sure the rest of us understand they (Iran) hold the keys to war and peace.

All the while, the 12^th Imam sits, down in his well, and waits for the chaos necessary to get him out of that hole.  After all the centuries he has spent in the bowels of the earth he is surely impatient.

The dogs of war are straining at their leashes growling, howling, and snapping their drooling jaws at civilization.  At the other end of the leashes is Iran’s mad mullahs hissing the words:  “Sic ‘em.”

J. D. Longstreet

Afghanistan: A Lost Cause And A Hopeless Case

Afghanistan: A Lost Cause And A Hopeless Case
Blissfully ignorant and happy to stay that way
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

When a country has chosen to isolate itself from the remainder of the world in a Luddite fashion (taken to the "nth" degree) and huddle together in tribes while choosing to live in abject squaller as their ancestors did in the seventh and eighth centuries, plus perceive any offering to help them advance into a modern age as an insult to them and their god of choice, then any one, any country, attempting to help will ultimately find their efforts are utter failures and the people to whom they have offered assistance will return their magnanimous offers with out and out hatred and rage.

Such is the case with the US and Afghanistan today.

The people and the rulers of Afghanistan have shown us they are quite content living their savage, primitive, ignorant, corrupt lives, as the cesspool of the world.  Fine.  Let them.  Afghanistan isn't worth the life of a single American soldier, sailor, Marine, or airman.

It was my understanding, and I believe the understanding of the majority of Americans, that US military forces went into Afghanistan to destroy terrorist training camps, kill as many terrorists AS POSSIBLE, hopefully catch or kill Bin Laden and ... come home.

That didn't happen.

Things called "mission creep"  and ROE or "rules of engagement" prolonged and changed the US military's mission in Afghanistan until neither the Afghanis nor the Americans understood what was going on in that hell hole of a country.

American troops have been in that sludge pit for over ten years now.  Victory is nowhere in sight.  In fact, the entire Pentagon would be hard pressed to define what victory would even look like in Afghanistan.

Many decades ago, while in the US Army, I was taught to kill the enemy.  Not a single one of my trainers, not a single one of the cadre entrusted with turning me and my fellow recruits into soldiers said a cussed thing about "collateral damage."  Not ONE!  We were taught to do one thing and that was ... to kill the enemy.

There were no lawyers in the in the battle planning sessions.  What there were ... were soldiers taught to ... KILL THE ENEMY, period.

Then came Vietnam -- and President Lyndon Johnson and President Richard Nixon, both, decided neither would go down in the history books as the first American President to lose a war.  Added to the mix, the newly imported European philosophy called POLITICAL CORRECTNESS and we had a battle plan for failure in Vietnam.

Unfortunately, our leaders didn't learn a darned thing from the Vietnam experience. They continue to allow political correctness and lawyers to "advise" on war fighting missions and battles -- and even wars -- and we have not won a "WAR" since. 

No, I do not consider the first Iraq invasion a real war.  It was more a prolonged battle, which lasted a few days.  Of course, I side with those of the opinion that had we gone on to Baghdad -- THEN --and took out Saddam Hussein THEN -- we would not have had to go back to Iraq ten years later for a second round that accomplished little short of killing Hussein.

I can remember a time when the American military was taught to war-fight much as our Special Forces are today.  That may be because we did not have Special Forces troops then.  But the point is -- maybe we ought to train ALL American fighting men to conduct warfare at the level our Green Berets, Delta Force, SEALS and other Special Operators do. (I am referring to their focus, skill, and intensity in combat.)  Problem is,of course, unless the civilian commanders of the US Military allow them to use those skills to actually win wars, we STILL will not see victory again. 

What a shame!

That brings me full circle back to the Afghanistan problem. 

My friend, Alan Caruba, pointed out in a recent commentary that even Alexander the Great found Afghanistan just as screwed up as it is today and just as hard a nut to crack.  (You may recall that Genghis Khan had the same problem with a place we know today as Vietnam.  In fact  he wrote it off as "unconquerable.")  How little we learn from history -- and yes, it DOES repeat itself.  Different actors, different centuries, same ending to the play. 

I ask you to consider if General Douglas MacArthur or General George Patton were commanding the American forces in Afghanistan,  and Afghanistan's leader, Hamid Karzai, publicly defied their orders and made "DEMANDS" as he consistently does the current American commander's orders. How long do you think Mr. Karzai would be President of Afghanistan?  Better yet -- how long do you think there would BE a President of Afghanistan?
  
My, how times do change.  I'd remind you -- we haven't actually WON a war since the Second World War.  Wonder why???

Unless the United States is prepared to commit genocide in Afghanistan, there is simple no way to win a "war" there.  If we stay another ten years, we will be in no better position, militarily, than we are today.  

So far as democracy in Afghanistan --- the Afghanis are simple not capable of living in a democratic society.  It cannot be forced on them.  Teaching an imbecile astrophysics would be easier.  They have to want it.  Clearly, they do not.

Conclusion:  Stop pouring American blood and treasure into an open septic tank.  JUST STOP.  Bring our military out so they can prepare for the coming war with Iran.  

We should turn our backs and shake Afghanistan's dust off our boots -- and never look back.  

Finally, will someone please tell our Presidents to stop giving aid and comfort to our enemies by telling them, months in advance, when American troops will be leaving their country?  Even the dumbest of hill tribesmen understands that all he has to do is conserve his troops and supplies and wait 'til the Americans leave to resume his war.   This is elementary stuff -- and yet -- the civilian leader(s) of the US military cannot grasp this simple, simple, fact.

J. D. Longstreet

Netanyahu To Present An Ultimatum To Obama

Netanyahu To Present An Ultimatum To Obama
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Well, maybe Bebe will not read Obama the riot act, per se, but he IS expected to give Obama an ultimatum ... attack Iran, and soon, or we (Israel) will.  

It is no secret that the US President does not particularly like Mr. Netanyahu, nor Israel.  His actions have made it plain that his favor lies with the Islamic states and not the Jewish state of Israel.  So the world should not be surprised if the meeting between the two leaders swings from cold and icy to hot and wrathful in minutes.  In fact, one would be advised to do so.

According to the European papers, an ultimatum present by Netanyahu to Obama would give the US a couple of months within which to act against Iran.  If the US spurns the ultimatum, then all bets are off and Israel will moist certainly take the reins in its teeth and throw its considerable military might at Iran.

Now, here the thing:  If Israel attacks Iran on its own, there is no conceivable way the US can stay on the sidelines of the ensuing war.    Understand this:  if, somehow, Obama does manage to keep US military assets out of the fray between Israel and Iran, then US credibility for supporting its friends will evaporate immediately.  Already, the US has a bit of a reputation as "a flake" when it comes to abiding by the terms of mutual protection agreements.  When an American president makes an agreement with another country, the very next president may well decide that he is not going to abide by that agreement -- making it totally worthless.  Much like promises, treaties are made to be broken.

Recently, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is reported to have said the US can't be counted on to come to Israel's aid.  Lieberman noted that the US has, so far, refused to intervene in Syria to protect Syrian civilians against their dictator President Bashar Assad’s murderous rampage.  While I don't agree with Mr. Lieberman's implication that America should intervene in Syria, I understand his frustration with Obama's foot dragging on a decision to aid Israel with the Iran threat.

To say there is a VERY strained relationship between America and Israel is just plain wrong.  It is WRONG to blame  AMERICA when the strained relationship is NOT between America and Israel, but between Obama and Israel!  The American people are four-square behind Israel.  It is the American President, Obama, who created the distance between these two friends.  That MUST be understood before one can grasp the depth of the frustration the American people feel concerning the Obama Administration's shunning of our best friend , heck, our ONLY friend in the Middle East.

For those of us who follow the wicked game of politics, it is clear that Obama will do darned near anything to avoid involvement in another shooting war -- ANY WHERE -- before the November elections.  But fate has a way of making fools of all of us. There is an expression that covers if very well:  "Men making plans makes God laugh."   I am paraphrasing, of course, but I'm sure you get the drift.

My point is -- Obama may sit and twiddle his thumbs if he chooses, but when the balloon goes up -- America will be at war whether he likes it, or wants it, or not.

Yes, the American people ARE war weary.  But, we understand we have an obligation to help our friend, Israel, when its very existence is threatened.  Too, the Obama Administration doesn't seem to grasp that when Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, the US is target number two. By assisting Israel we will be helping ourselves.

This week, more heat will be brought to bear on Obama's reluctance to stand with Israel. Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney will address the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) convention this week. President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres also will speak. You can bet sparks will fly.

Look.  Netanyahu is a former Israeli Special Forces warrior ... a heck of a soldier.  Soldiers are the last to want to go to war -- but -- they are the first to know when war is inevitable.  Mr. Obama, on the other hand has no military experience... none.  In my opinion, Mr. Obama should consider, and consider seriously, Mr. Netanyahu's assessment of the situation with Iran.

More than ever before, the Media from around the world has focused on the meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) this week.  For good reason.  News will be made this week.  Decisions could also be made this week, as an off-shoot of the AIPAC meeting, that could very well affect the entire world. 

There can be no question that when the Israeli/America ~vs~ Iran war begins, the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf states will become rather "iffy" instantly. That, alone, will have a huge effect on the world's teetering economy.  Having said that, we must understand that the time is fast approaching when the world must "bite the bullet," and endure the pain necessary to rid the world of a threat that is, in itself, a nightmare.

There is no easy answer to the Iranian question.  It is impossible to negotiate with those who will not negotiate.  Obama's flowery oratory is trumped by legendary  Persian hyperbole. Thus -- an impasse.

And, yes, there is a history of nasty business between Iran and the Jews of Israel.  The scars still smart.

Before Iran was renamed Iran it was Persia.  The rift between the Jews and the Persians is not new  It goes back many centuries.  It is important to note the word "Iran" means "Aryan."  The name of the country "Iran" means "Land of the Aryans"; the Iranians consider themselves the original Aryans (Yes, if you were wondering, the same Aryan Race that the White Supremacists and the Nazis speak about). Over 500 years before the birth of Christ King Darius referred to himself as "Darius the Great": There is an ancient inscription, dating back to at least 504 BC, in which King Darius said: "I am Darius, the great king... Persian, the son of a Persian; Aryan, from the Aryan race."

The name changed in 1935.  The suggestion for the name change from Persia to Iran is said to have come from the Persian ambassador to Germany, who was a Nazi sympathizer.  You may recall that in 1935 Germany was ruled by Hitler. Aryanism was equated by the Nazis as the highest level of human civilization.  The Persian ambassador was persuaded by his Nazi friends that Persia would be better off as an ally of Nazi Germany.  The Persian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out a memo to all foreign embassies in Tehran, requesting that the country be called "Iran."  You may check the source here:

http://www.payvand.com/news/04/dec/1153.html

You may also check the book of Esther in the Old Testament of The Bible for the story of one of the most well known clashes between the Jews and the Persians/Iranians.  The end result of that ancient unpleasantness  will be celebrated by Jews this week, Thursday, March 8th, as the "Feast of Purim."

It is impossible to read the book of Esther this week, especially,  and not see the parallels between an ancient Jew approaching a great potentate asking for help to save the lives of the Jewish people.  One can only hope Obama reacts as did King Ahasuerus and that Obama and Netanyahu can both enjoy a few of those famous "Haman's Ear" cookies in celebration of the special occasion when the Jews were saved and Haman, the evil prime minister of Persia, did not succeed in his plot to kill all the Jews of Persia. 

They say history repeats itself.  I'd say ... THEY are right.

J. D. Longstreet  

US Should Stay Out of Syrian Mess

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

There is every indication the Obama is about to order the US military to take some sort of action against Syria.

It is more of the UN’s policy, which is often referred to as “The Responsibility to Protect.”  And it is taxing America’s treasury and America’s already over-extended military.

Look.  Syria is just another Muslim country that seems never to be quite happy unless it is bleeding -- or causing someone else to bleed. THIS, dear reader is what happens when a people insist on living in the 12th century while the remainder of the world is 9 centuries ahead.

The US does not need another entanglement in the Middle East.  Believe me, we are headed for a regional conflagration in the area that will most certainly involve Syria, anyway.  There’s no point in wasting America’s military resources on another tinhorn dictator – at the moment.

Soon, Israel will take the reins in its teeth and attack Iran and the whole Middle East will blow up – including Syria. 

But, I don’t think the US President is receptive to folks who offer common sense.  There is way too much evidenced to the contrary.  So, it is, I believe, only a matter of weeks before US aircraft will be flying missions over Syria.

  

Consider this from YnetNews.com:

US to announce aerial blockade on Syria'

“The Pentagon is readying for the possibility of intervention in Syria, aiming to halt Syrian President Bashsar Assad's violent crackdown on protesters, the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday, citing a US military offical.

 According to the official, the intervention scenario calls for the establishment of a buffer zone on the Turkish border, in order to receive Syrian refugees. The Red Cross would then provide the civilians humanitarian aid, before NATO crews would arrive from Turkey and join the efforts.”

 The measure would pave the way for the US to declare an aerial blockade on Syria.  (SOURCE)

 So, here we go again!

 You would think, by now, the eggheads in Washington and the elite universities would have realized there is no way to save Muslim countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, and Syria from themselves. It simply cannot be done.  They made their choice hundreds of years ago to wallow in their backwards-tribal ways and their “woe-is-me” self-pity and their seething hatred for their fellow humans on this planet who chose to move forward and improve their lot in this life.

 I heard a noted journalist ask a question recently in reference to the rioting and killing in Afghanistan.  She asked if this was the thanks the US got for nation building in Afghanistan?  It was intended – I THINK—as a rhetorical question.  I hope so, because the answer is obvious for the entire world to see. 

 It doesn’t matter a whit if the US stays in the Middle East, rescuing one Muslim country after the other for a hundred years, we will receive NO THANKS, we will continue to be despised and hated -- and they will still slit our throats (or behead us) at every opportunity afforded them.

Obama, it seems, believes he can save them.  It is his messiah complex, don’t you see. 
Why, the man is just so darned intelligent that he simple cannot see that he is being made a fool of by a bunch of wily desert and mountain tribesmen who quickly learned how to play him like a violin.

 You would think he would be embarrassed – but you would be wrong.  It’s that “messiah” thing, you see.

 In the meantime, Mr. Assad of Syria had better get his binoculars polished up and begin watching the skies for Obama’s drones.  On the home front, Americans can be prepared to foot the bills for another American military intervention they neither want nor can afford.

 J. D. Longstreet

Is The US Preparing To Invade Iran?

Is The US Preparing To Invade Iran?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

For the past few days I have noticed a distinct uptick in the amount of military helicopter traffic over my neck of the swamp.  I have mentioned it to friends and we have wondered aloud about its meaning.  Now, I think we may have the answer.

According to Debkafile “Operation Bold Alligator” may be what I am observing from my dry perch in the swamps of North Carolina.

In an article titled: “Operation Bold Alligator: 20,000 Troops Preparing On US East Coast For Persian Gulf Action” Debkafile says the following:  “Some 20,000 marines, seamen and air crews from half a dozen countries, a US nuclear aircraft carrier strike group and three US Marine gunship carriers are practicing an attack on a fictitious mechanized enemy division which has invaded its neighbor. It is the largest amphibian exercise seen in the West for a decade, staged to simulate a potential Iranian invasion of an allied Persian Gulf country and a marine landing on the Iranian coast. Based largely on US personnel and hardware, French, British, Italian, Dutch, Australian and New Zealand military elements are integrated in the drill.”  (SOURCE)

We folks here in North Carolina are not unaccustomed to finding ourselves in the middle of military training exercises.  US Special Forces train here.  We are surrounded by military installations.  Just east of me is the Marine Corp Air Station at Cherry Point, NC.  Northeast is Camp Lejeune, also a Marine Corp Training facility.  North is Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield, and a tad farther north is Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base near Goldsboro, NC.  So, you know that for military activity to draw our attention, it has to be big and unusual. Bold Alligator is both.

  

It is sort of interesting, too, that this exercise is taking place at the same time as the Iranian’s large naval exercise off the southern coast of Iran.

Debkafile goes on to say:  “The exercise is scheduled to end on February 14, a week before the winding up of the Iranian drill, after which the participants are to be shipped out to Persian Gulf positions opposite Iran. Altogether three American aircraft carrier strike groups, the French Charles de Gaulle carrier and four or five US Marines amphibian vessels will be posted there.”  (SOURCE)

We have mentioned in previous comments that for a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities to be more than a delaying tactic, it will require boots on the ground, to one extent or the other.  Air strikes alone will not destroy the Iranian nuke facilities. Air strikes can slow their program down but not end it.

Iran’s coastal gun and missile batteries must be taken out along with their radar emplacements and there will need to be attacks on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards barracks, bases, and training areas.  Iran’s air force, though tiny and not much of a threat, must be wiped out.  Iran’s naval facilities and their attack boats and blue water navy will be badly mauled, if not destroyed, and that includes their small fleet of submarines.

The attack, when it comes, will be swift and terrible – and it will continue for a while -- until the job is done.

Even if Iran manages to close the Straits of Hormuz, it will be a temporary closing.  If Iran decides to invade one of its neighboring Arab states, oh, say Saudi Arabia, well, that’s what the Bold Alligator exercise is about.

This attack, which may be only weeks away, has been coming for years.  For my generation of Americans it will, to some extent, be pay back for Iran’s seizing of the US Embassy in Teheran during the Carter Administration.  No, we have not forgotten.

For many months the US has been moving and stockpiling military supplies and materiel on a couple of Islands well within range of the Straits of Hormuz. This will not be a knee-jerk operation. 

The Germans introduce “lightening War,” Blitzkrieg, in the 1930’s.  America learned from it and have since become masters at the execution of overwhelming force applied at numerous locations simultaneously.  It is devastating.

There is little doubt that a face-to-face showdown between the US and Iran is coming.  The unprecedented forward deployment of men, munitions, and materiel -- plus the practicing and training for such an event speaks to the willingness of the US to bring the hammer down should it become necessary.

Oh – asking Israel to sit this one out, as we did in the war with Iraq, would be an insult.

J. D. Longstreet

UN Seeks “World Tax” To Fund Global Socialism

UN Seeks “World Tax” To Fund Global Socialism

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

“No one should live below a certain income level,” stated Milos Koterec, President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. “Everyone should be able to access at least basic health services, primary education, housing, water, sanitation and other essential services.”  (SOURCE)  We recommend that you click on the “source” and read the entire article by Paul Joseph Watson.

Why is the US still a member of the United Nations?  The UN is, in my opinion, the single greatest threat to American freedom and liberty on the planet today … and that’s saying a lot!

The UN has been finagling for decades to construct a global government (a one-world government) and rule over all the peoples of the earth.  National sovereignty be damned. 

For the people of the United States it would mean the abrogation of the US Constitution.  Our loyalty would be to the UN -- not to the US Constitution.  UN law would prevail in America, not US law.

The UN has delusions of grandeur.  I mean REAL delusions.  Unfortunately, except for the late US Senator Jesse Helms, of North Carolina, nobody has been willing to stand up and call them on it.

Any attempt to rule the world is destined to end in utter and abject failure. The people of this planet are far too diverse -- and just plain ornery -- to agree to live under one government.  Any attempt to force a one-world government on earth will lead to wars all over the planet.  The earth would be in a constant state of world war.  Any FOOL can see that.

And yet they continue to mold a receptive mindset in the less educated, less sophisticated, and the less fortunate peoples of the earth in order to create a creature so banal, ignorant, weak, and vulnerable as to be completely reliant on them for their very existence.  It is akin to the modus operandi of the Democratic Party in the United States.

And now the UN wants us to pay for it, too!

Once again they are seeking a “World Tax” to fund their global socialism.  It is pure socialism/communism.  Of course,  they want to tax the wealthier countries more than the less wealthy countries.  It other words – it is

redistribution of the wealth or, as we have come to know it … socialism.

“ A 2010 UN blueprint for putting the organization back at the forefront of global governance alarmingly revealed the agenda to re-brand global warming as “overpopulation” as a means of dismantling the middle classes while using “global redistribution of wealth” and increased immigration to reinvigorate the pursuit of a one world government.”  (SOURCE)

The UN has even put forth “a plan under which the west would be mandated to respect “the rights of Mother Earth” by paying a “climate debt” which would act as a slush fund for bankrolling an all-powerful world government.” (SOURCE)

Oh, the utopians will love this idea … until they grow up.  By then, of course, it will be too late -- because the world will already be enslaved.

If the US is the subject of an act of God, and conservatives manage to grasp control of the Congress and the Presidency, then Americans should insist that one of the first acts of the new government should be to pull the United States of America out of the United Nations.

As an American, I am embarrassed that my country is a member in such a corrupt organization.  For good measure, Americans ought to insist that the United Nations move its headquarters to a country more accepting of the UN’s corrupt socialist agenda. 

The UN is a festering carbuncle on the posterior of the world. Its stench reaches unto heaven.

By the way:  that “world tax” the UN wants to levy would be  … “a minimal financial transaction tax (of .005 percent). This will create $40 billion in revenue.” (SOURCE)

In a recent report by Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, “Mr. De Schutter blames the free market system for threatening the livelihoods of “peasants, fishers, pastoralists, and indigenous peoples.” He emphasizes “the importance of land redistribution for the realization of the right to food.”   (SOURCE) 

De Schutter goes on to say:  “Rather than focusing on strengthening the rights of landowners, States should encourage communal ownership systems, strengthen customary land tenure systems and reinforce tenancy laws to improve the protection of land-users…” (SOURCE)

What he is advocating, dear reader, is doing away with private ownership of land and replacing it with collective farms, or socialist communes.  YOU will not be able to own land.  The STATE will own all the land.

The United Nations is a socialist organization and the United States of America has no business even associating with it let alone being a dues paying member.

J. D. Longstreet

War Clouds Continue to Gather

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

First, allow me to explain that, yes, I know it is not popular, today, to point out the obvious.  Ok.  Maybe I should have phrased that this way:  “…to point out what SHOULD be obvious.”

Before I proceed, I’d like to encourage my readers to browse the websites of foreign news services.  If I have learned anything at all (since Al Gore invented the Internet) it is this:  The US mainstream media cannot be trusted.  They have an agenda and that agenda does not necessarily include dissemination of the truth.  As a card-carrying member of the press for many years, I have always been aware of the left-leaning bias of the US media.  That is not to say the same leftist bias does not exist in overseas media because it most certainly does.

Having said that – were you aware that right at the moment the Obama Administration is announcing plans to cut the US defense budget the US is preparing for another war in the Middle East?  Did you know that we have been quietly building an armada of naval assets in the Gulf of Oman just off the shores of Iran?  Did you know this naval armada consists of warships from the US, the UK, France, Israel, and others?  

Looking west a bit we see US, French, and British warships, standing off the Syrian coast, facing off with Russian warships including a Russian aircraft carrier task force.

My regional newspaper is printed in a military town, home to one of the largest military bases in the US, and yet, I see very little information in it’s pages concerning this build-up of military might in the waters of the Middle East.  Why?

I’ll make the answer as straight forward and simple as I possibly can.  There re two parts to the complete answer: 1) Obama is seeking reelection.  2) Obama is seeking to reduce the military budget to gain more money to spend on his leftist agenda for America.

At the risk of being called an “alarmist” allow be to make it plain:  I AM alarmed.

So when will this war begin.  Well, let me put it this way:  The Iranians should carefully watch Obama’s poll numbers.  If those numbers continue their slide downwards, the Iranians are going get the heck bombed out of them. 

Americans are extremely reluctant to change Presidents in the middle of a war.  Obama knows this and is expected to act accordingly. 

Some conservative writers and commentators expect that war in the Middle East is currently scheduled for October 2012. That would be the famed “October Surprise.”

On the other hand, those in my camp believe the Iranians, in all their hyped-up passion, will do something stupid like firing on a tanker or a US warship or aircraft, or even worse, make an attempt to close the Straits of Hormuz by sewing it with mines and other hazards to maritime traffic.  That would be the spark that would bring down the considerable wrath of that naval armada lying off their shores.

Then there are the Israelis.  They have had enough of Iran’s threats and Iran’s war on Israel by proxy.  Israel’s secret war of sabotage in Iran can only deliver limited success at delaying and derailing Iran’s race to build or acquire a nuclear bomb.  Israel could decide, at any moment, that enough is enough and launch their fighter-bombers and cruise missiles at Iran’s nuclear facilities.   Even if it only buys a few months or a couple of years of breathing space for Israel, it is becoming clear there is no other way to effectively deter Iran from building their coveted Islam Bomb.

The situation in the Middle East today is far, far, more dangerous than the US media is reporting.  A single spark will ignite a devastating war that will affect practically every nation on earth to some degree or other.

Those of us who continue to sound the warning bell of a huge war in the Middle East are being compared to the boy Peter in the story of “Peter and the Wolf.” An article at Haaretz.com noted that those who make such public comparisons seem always to leave out the end of Aesop’s famous tale of the boy who called wolf too much.  In the end, the wolf actually DID come -- and the sheep were slaughtered.  (SOURCE)

So, with that ending in mind, I have no concern about continually pointing to those dark, foreboding, clouds gathering in the east.  Since the mainstream media seems to be ignoring a certain war to protect Obama’s prospects in the coming election, someone must stand as a watchman on the ramparts and sound the alarm when clouds of dust from the approaching armies of the enemy is sighted and when the sound of distant war drums is heard.

Today those dust clouds are clearly seen over the horizon and the pounding of the drums can be heard in the distance -- and we are sounding the alarm.

J. D. Longstreet 

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

Iraq’s Five-Day Democracy

Instant Civil War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Surprise!  Surprise!  A free and democratic Iraq didn’t make it a week.  Who would have thunk it?  Actually, a LOT of people warned that the moment American troops left Iraqi soil, the so-called sectarian war would begin once again.  The moment Obama announced the date for US troops to be out of Iraq, the Iraqi Civil War was assured.  THAT was a DUMB move on the part of Obama.  It was just another in his foreign policy blunders for which America will be paying for generations.

Ok.  So we are clear:  I endorsed America’s invasion of Iraq -- to topple Saddam Hussein.  I thought it was necessary to preserve the free flow of oil out of the region.  There was no doubt that had Saddam been left unchecked he would have rolled over, and through, Kuwait and taken Saudi Arabia -- and he would have had his hands around the world’s throat.  That could not be allowed.  What I did not endorse was the ensuing policy of “nation building” implemented by the Bush Administration and continued by the Obama Administration.

A couple of things:  I am from the old school.  I believe in defeating an enemy – totally -- and then, either taking the nation as a prize of war, or walking away -- leaving the former opposition sitting atop a pile of rubble for as far as the eye can see.

I do not like nation-building … period.   The price of war with the US should be a landscape that closely resembles a moonscape.  The cost of rebuilding should be paid in the blood, sweat, and tears of the defeated nation.

Another lesson the US has yet to learn, it seems, is that democracy is not for some people.  Democracy does not, and will not, work in tribal nations.  Sorry, but them’s the facts.

Look.  Fighting a war in the Middle East, for any reason other than punitive, will suck a country, no matter its wealth, dry.  That region of the globe is destined for turmoil until the earth, as we know it, is no more.  But – the utter stupidity of our own government is such that we have no choice but to try and secure the source of our energy, oil, from those countries in the Middle East that hate our very shadow.

The US has enough oil for centuries into the future beneath our own soil and beneath our own territorial offshore waters.  But the US government has bought into the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind, “Global Warming,” and, as a result, the government will not allow us to use our own natural resources, the very resources that made this nation great in the first place. 

So what, if we have to sacrifice the lives of a few thousand American servicemen and servicewomen every few years in “oil wars?”  What’s the loss of life as opposed to the billions to be made in so-called green energy, in so-called renewable energy, etc?  Not to mention the increase in power over the people that accrues to the government through the passage and enforcement of “green laws and regulations.”  Need I remind you of the hulking EPA?

Iraq is a lost cause -- Afghanistan, too. Nation building is a total waste of American blood and money.  Does anyone remember that we went into Afghanistan to smash Al Qaida and capture, or kill, Bin Laudin?  Well, Bin Laudin is dead and Al Qaida ran across the border into a nation friendly to them, Pakistan.

If there was a way to wall off the Middle East from the rest of the world so they could continue to happily fight their tribal and religious wars amongst themselves, and the adult nations of the world could get on with civilization, then I’d endorse it in a second.  The US could get along just fine without them, especially when you consider their major exports are dope, oil, and terrorism.

The plain truth is, however, we can’t even shun them because we are inextricably tied to them by our own government’s refusal to allow us to get at our own source of oil. 

So. The question now is – how long until Iran steps in and asserts its authority over Iraq?   My guess would be sooner rather than later.  With the Iraqi government, such as it is, already on the verge of collapse, just days after America withdraws, and with Iraq’s President Nouri al-Maliki’s ties to Iran, one must wonder how soon he will turn to Iran and ask for military support.  Iran, already seeking hegemony in the region, will happily roll tanks and troops across their shared border and – take over the country.  And believe me, Iran is not interested in “nation-building.”

J. D. Longstreet

Paper Money, Real Debt, and Spendthrift Nations ... Alan Caruba

Paper Money, Real Debt, and Spendthrift Nations

By Alan Caruba

As the citizens of the United States and the seventeen member-nations of the European Union look on, a great drama regarding the future of the EU and its currency, the Euro, is occurring.

The essential problem is that both the U.S. dollar and the Euro are just so much paper, despite the promises and guarantees that they will be honored as real money. The trick has been to keep everyone believing there are sufficient real assets to back up those promises.

Since the U.S. dollar is a kind of universal currency to which other nations peg the value of their currencies the problem for everyone is that the U.S. is broke. Its debt exceeds its annual capacity to generate income, otherwise known as its Gross Domestic Product. Every hour of every day it must borrow billions to meet its obligations. Forty cents of every dollar the U.S. spends is borrowed.

There is a reason why television these days if filled with commercials offering to sell gold. Gold has always retained its value though it does fluctuate. The U.S. Treasury’s gold hoard has a value of more than $400 billion these days, but that value is the flip side of the Federal Reserve’s demolition of the dollar which has lost 95% of its value since1913, the same year the Fed was created.

Currently the Federal Reserve has been printing vast quantities of dollars—quantitative easing—that only serves to devalue it. The dollar is backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States, but for the first time in our history our credit rating has been downgraded by agencies such as Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

Not that the rating agencies haven’t also been part of the problem. They are famous for telling everyone that the bundled mortgage assets of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were okay right up to the day the 2008 financial crisis occurred and Lehman Brothers collapsed

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, the American taxpayer was tapped to bail out a number of banks, a huge insurance company, and even General Motors. This was followed by “stimulus” spending, all of which drove U.S. debt levels to historic highs. The vast matrix of Federal Reserve central banks, government agencies charged with oversight of financial institutions, and the ratings agencies all contributed to the crisis.

The U.S. went off the gold standard in 1931, in effect exporting deflation around the world. Other nations followed suit. At the time, Americans were experiencing high debt burdens, unemployment, and money hoarding. If that also sounds like 2011, you’re right.

The crisis of 2008 was brought about by the “bundling” of mortgage assets. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two Depression-era social justice inventions, currently own 50% of mortgages, many of which were the result of pressures on banks to make loans to people who clearly could not pay them back. What the banks considered “assets” were phantoms whose collateral could often not be traced.



Ben Bernanke, Fed Chair

 Little noted is the role of the Federal Reserve. A government investigation into the causes of the 2008 financial crisis concluded that “The prime example is the Federal Reserve’s pivotal failure to stem the flow of toxic mortgages which it could have done by setting prudent mortgage-lending standards. The Federal Reserve was the one entity empowered to do so and it did not…”

What the Fed had done, in fact, was to lower the interest rate it charged for lending to banks to very nearly zero.

In his book, “Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis”, author James Rickards explains what is actually occurring.

“The United States now has a system in which the Treasury runs non-sustainable deficits and sells bonds to keep from going broke. The Fed prints money to buy those bonds and incurs losses by owning them. Then the Treasury takes IOUs back from the Fed to keep the Fed from going broke.”

We’ve been here before in two previous currency wars, the latter of which led to World War II. The problem then and now is the need for job creation, something that can only be achieved by private enterprise.

The United States government has not provided a good environment for its business and industrial community to invest and expand. It has, as just one example, very nearly the highest corporate tax in the world; beyond that, a vast matrix of regulations makes doing business in America expensive, difficult, and often uncompetitive.

How this will all play out depends in large part on whether Americans are prepared to reduce the size of a government that grew precipitously in the 1930s and the second half of the last century. We must begin to slowly and fairly phase out the “entitlement” programs.

The great question facing Europe is whether the EU disbands and its members return to individual national sovereignty in a response to a continent-wide economic disruption caused by unsustainable debt in its southern tier nations. The EU was a response to a history that generated two major wars in the last century, bankrupting the continent morally, socially, and economically. The road back has been in part due to U.S. aid and protection against the former Soviet threat.

While the possibility of abandoning the Euro was unthinkable bare months ago, it is now an option; a very difficult option because of the vast interconnectiveness of Europe’s and our own banks.

In America the only real hope we have is that in November 2012 we will elect men and women who will turn the ship of state around before the latest currency war sinks ours and the world’s economies.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

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Alan Caruba's commentaries are posted daily at "Warning Signs" his popular blog and thereafter on dozens of other websites and blogs. If you love to read, visit his monthly report on new books at Bookviews. To visit his Facebook page, click here For information on his professional skills, Caruba.com is the place to visit.

Elections Have Consequences

Elections Have Consequences
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is less than a year to Election Day 2012.  By now, we should all know that elections have consequences.  We are all suffering as a result of the consequences wrought by turning the entire US government over to the democrats beginning as far back as 2007.   We very nearly lost our country … and the danger isn’t over yet.



Over the next few months, we are going to see the Mainstream Media in America pull out all the stops as they run interference for President Obama and the Democrats.  It will become increasingly difficult to dig through the layers of bovine scatology the MsM will pile up to camouflage the damage the Obama administration has done to America.  They will make every effort to destroy the republican candidates – and -- when the GOP nominee is decided, expect the MsM to tear him to shreds.
 
Already, Obama is declaring how he needs another term to finish the job.  I agree.  One more term of Obama and America WILL BE FINISHED. 
  
It appears that Obama is planning on a “Blame it on Bush” themed campaign.  Don’t expect “The One” to take responsibility for anything!  Our fearless “Bystander-in-Chief” will happily take the credit -- but never the responsibility or the blame.  He’s just that kind of guy.


Over the next few months the Republicans will be blamed for everything that has happened to America under the Obama administration. But before you buy into all the leftist propaganda we suggest you consider the article below, which has been floating around the web. 
 
I have no idea who authored the article below but it IS interesting.  Please read on: 


Remember January 3, 2007


The day the Democrats took over was not January 22, 2009 when Obama took office with Democratic control of both house of Congress. It was actually January 3, 2007 the day Democrats gained control over the House of Representatives and the Senate. The infamous start of the 110th Congress. The Democratic Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.
For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is the Conservatives or Bush’s fault, think about this:

January 3, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.
At the time:


The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77


The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%


The Unemployment rate was 4.6%


George Bush’s Economic policies had just set a record of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION after orchestrating a recovery of a mild recession he inherited from the aftermath of the Clinton era!



Remember the day… January 3, 2007


It was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee. The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?
  
Remember, the Community Reinvestment Act they sponsored? You can thank Congress for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5 GDP and 4.6% Unemployment to this CRISIS by dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fiasco’s! 

(BTW: Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie – starting in 2001, because it was financially risky for the U.S. economy, but no one was listening).


And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? Then Senator Obama.

 
And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? Obama and the Democratic Congress.

REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd, 2007…. “THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!”

Bush may have been in the car, but the Democrats were in charge of the gas pedal, the steering wheel and they were driving. Set the record straight on Bush!

So, as you listen to all the commercials and media from the Democrats who are now distancing themselves from their voting record and their party, remember how they didn’t listen to you when you said you didn’t want all the bailouts, you didn’t want the health care bill, you didn’t want cap and trade, you didn’t want them to continue spending money we don’t have.

I’m not forgetting their complicity in getting us into this mess, and I’ll be marking my vote accordingly!

“It’s not that liberals aren’t smart, it’s just that so much of what they know isn’t so” -Ronald Reagan

Every election is important.  But I cannot think of a single election in my lifetime of over seven decades that was as important to America as the election in November of 2012.  

As we stand on the cusp of a global financial collapse America will need a leader, indeed, the WORLD will need a leader not afraid to lead from the front.  What America does not need is another four years of Obama.

J. D. Longstreet

The Sino-America War

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It is coming as sure as the sun rises in the east.  China and America are headed for a military showdown. 

China’s recent announcement that it will now consider roughly 90% of the South China Sea it’s territorial waters will certainly cause our two navies to brush up against each other and create sparks… sparks that could easily ignite a global conflict between the US and China.

“China’s aggressive behavior and threatening rhetoric are complemented by massive militarization. Beijing is projecting military power far from its shores with a rapidly growing, modern blue-water navy, long-range aircraft with refueling capabilities, a global satellite network, anti-access ballistic missiles (read aircraft carrier killers) and its first aircraft carrier. These instruments of war provide Beijing an expeditionary capability that could lead to a shooting war.” (SOURCE)

Things have gotten so touchy between the US and China militaries that “… the U.S. established a cold war-like hotline between China’s People's Liberation Army and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff …”) (SOURCE)

With tensions so high it is prudent to expect the US 7^th Fleet to find itself in perilous situations with China’s navy as the 7^th fleet patrols the South China Sea.

All this pugnacious behavior by China has scared the dickens out of many of the neighborhood’s Asian countries. They have begun banding together and they are asking the US to join with them to aid them in countering China’s expansionist moves in the region.

Just as things are reaching critical mass in the Middle East and China is showing signs that it is about to begin throwing it’s military weight around, the US government is seriously discussing massive cuts in the US military.  If the huge cuts in the military budget, made possible by the failure of the Congressional “Super Committee’s” inability to reach some sort of agreement, are actually allowed to come to pass, the US will have a military slightly larger than it had at the beginning of World War One. The feared “hollow military” will become a fact --  and the world will be defenseless against such opportunist countries as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, not to mention the Islamofacists and their terror machine.

Look.  Cutting the US military at such a critical time in world history would be stupid and idiotic -- not to mention suicidal.

A US-China war has been brewing since shortly after the Second World War.  With Chinese interests and assets all over the world now, when it comes, it will be a global conflict.  

The ‘dogs of war” are inevitably set loose when America elects a weak President.  Mr. Obama has proven to be an astonishingly weak President. His administration has been a “by-stander” administration. He enjoys leading from the rear much as “parade ground generals” do.  It looks good, but it does absolutely nothing to either maintain the peace or instill confidence in the military -- let alone our friends and allies.

If history has taught us anything -- it is that a weak US President invites trouble from America’s enemies.

Leftist and liberal presidents usually ARE weak in defending America.  It appears they are embarrassed for being an American citizen, and they jump at every chance to apologize to the world for what THEY consider America’s mistakes.  Such weakness only emboldens America’s enemies and makes a laughing stock of America’s President. More importantly, it places the people of the United States in danger.    

Some in the Obama Administration are suggesting to the President that the US should reduce its military commitment in the Middle East and re-focus on Asia.  They are claiming the US has allowed Asia to “slide,” if you will, in the past few decades.  I agree with only a part of that suggestion.  It seems to me that America should focus on China and prepare for the inevitable – military conflict with the Chinese. At the same time, the US cannot afford to turn its back on the Middle East.  The plain truth is -- we MUST have Middle Eastern oil.  AND we have Islamic enemies based in the Middle East who are intent on the destruction of the US (and Israel).  In fact, the US will not BE ALLOWED to turn away from the Middle East, even if we wanted to.

China’s neighbors in Asia are seriously seeking to create a sort of NATO of Asian states with the US as the anchor, just as in NATO.  That may, in fact, turn out to be a good idea.  Even the former enemy of the US, Viet Nam, is angling for an American security blanket in Asia. THAT should tell you just how frightened China’s neighbors really are.

Even Europe is unstable these days.  European history teaches us that European states tend to go at each other’s throats when desperation sets in -- as it seems bound to do in the very near future.

The US simply cannot afford to reduce its military when the world is on the brink of utter chaos.

The wisest course, it seems to me, is for the US to BUILD-UP its military, and prepare for the coming contest between itself and China.  On the other hand, the US needs to accept that America is in the Middle East for many decades to come.  To make huge cuts in the US military budget now, or in the immediate future, is a pipe dream and should be trashed and forgotten.

J. D. Longstreet 

Gaddafi is Dead. Now What?

Gaddafi is Dead.  Now What?

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

First allow me to establish that I am glad the world is rid of Gaddafi.  He was a tyrant and a terrorist.  “Sic Semper Tyrannis!”

It cost Americans a little over a billion dollars to send Mr. Gaddafi to his eternal reward where, no doubt, he is stoking the furnaces as we write.

But this is not the end. In fact, it is the “beginning of the beginning.”

I have never been totally satisfied that a democratic form of government will actually work in an Islamic country such as Libya, or Iraq or even Afghanistan, for that matter.  They are tribal nations. Even their religion has at least two separate factions, Sunni and Shiite.  Unlike Baptists and Methodists – they don’t seem to be particularly fond of each other.

There are a number of folks complaining that the US is taking entirely too much credit for ridding the world of Gaddafi. Frankly, when one considers that Obama decided to “lead from the rear” on this operation it does leave a distinct unpleasant taste in my mouth.

However, we did learn it was a US Predator drone that attacked the Gaddafi convoy accompanied by a French warplane. And even though it was a NATO Operation, it IS interesting to note that US taxpayers foot the bill for some eighty percent of NATO’s budget. And, believe me when I declare that I am not trying to excuse Obama’s crowing about the US involvement in the Libyan operation to lend assistance to the Libyan rebels in their now successful, overthrow of the Gaddafi regime.

The British and the French, I believe, should be getting a huge amount of praise and credit for their tireless efforts to bring about Gaddafi’s overthrow and eventual death.  My observation is that they are getting short shrift in the American media for their exemplary military effort, which, no doubt, saved the lives of many Libyan civilians as well as Libyan rebel fighters.

I tend to agree with a number of US Congressman and Senators that the Libyan operation could have been over much sooner had Obama released the full force of American military might on Gaddafi’s forces, thereby saving many more lives of innocent Libyans and bringing the conflict to a satisfactory conclusion much sooner with less casualties and deaths.

So now, as the dust begins to settle, we are beginning to see that we have a nation, essentially destroyed, and having never experienced Democracy clearly have no idea what to do in the weeks and months ahead.

Will the new Libya finally settle for the suffocation that will result if they choose to become an Islamic state, or, will they take the plunge and make an honest attempt at the establishment of a truly democratic government of some form for their new fledgling nation?  The latter will be the most difficult, no doubt. 

Libya has 140 tribes.  And every one of them will be seeking a share of influence in the new government.  How, exactly can that ever happen?

Libya has absolutely no experience with democracy.  They are used to kings and dictators and strongmen.  A transition to some form of democratic government will be a wild and wooly experience. It is going to cost the US a lot more money if we take it upon ourselves to go nation building again.  Frankly, Americans have had their fill of nation building in Islamic countries where the governments appear to corrupting the new government faster than the US can build it.

Many Americans feel certain that both Iraq and Afghanistan will quickly abandon democracy and revert back to some sort of dictatorship with another strongman in charge in order to pacify all the tribes.  Chances are very strong that Libya will do exactly that.

If that happens Europe will again be at the mercy of the Libyan government for the light sweet crude oil they prefer and that Libya has in abundance.

Now that practically every Libyan is armed, suppose they decide they actually liked their little war and make an effort to continue it within Libya or a neighboring country?  

How do we get their guns back?  We never will get all of them and I’d be surprised if we go anywhere near 50% of them back under lock and key in our armories.

These are extremely dangerous times in Libya.  It’s going to take a heck of a lot of American money to prop up some sort of democratic government   …   if ever.  America will have one chance to get it right.

J. D. Longstreet

Iran Spits in Obama’s Outstretched Hand

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

It was bound to happen.  Just like Jimmy Carter, Iran sensed another weak US President and gave Obama the back if its hand.

The unfortunate truth is – Obama will react to Iran’s attempt to murder the Saudi Ambassador and bomb the Saudi embassy and the Israeli embassy pretty much the same as Jimmy Carter reacted to the taking of American hostages in the US embassy in Tehran during his administration.

Already the Obama administration is calling for an international response to Iran’s latest plot against the US.  WHY?  It strikes me as more of the “It Takes A Village” philosophy.  And it will work just about as well, too.

Already our illustrious Secretary of State is calling for international condemnation of Iran.  What’s the matter, Hillary?  Is the US not big enough to take care of itself? 

No doubt Obama will threaten Iran by sending a letter of condemnation to the mad mullahs in Tehran.  Oh, and to show just how angry, and how serious Obama really is -- he will most likely seek more sanctions on Iran.  We all know just how well the existing sanctions have worked, right?

"We will work closely with our international partners to increase Iran's isolation and the pressure on its government and we call upon other nations to join us in condemning this threat to international peace and security,” our esteemed Secretary of State said on Wednesday.  Wow!  That ought to really put the fear of God in ‘em, right?

Just how out of touch with reality is the Obama administration?  Well, Vice President Joe Biden gives us a hint when he said the following in an interview: "It's critically important that we unite the world in the isolation" of Tehran and that "whatever action is ultimately taken ... that it's not the United States versus Iran."   See what I mean?

Biden is dead wrong!  It IS the US versus Iran.  We have, been assured by Iran’s government, that once they have the nuclear bomb, they intend to strike Israel with the first bomb and the US with the second bomb.  How much clearer could it be?

The US is the Great Satan. The US is a nation of infidels, so far as Iran is concerned, and Iran is the mortal enemy of the US.  The murder and bombing plot in Washington this week should underscore that Iran is at war with the US whether the US government wants to admit it or not.

Here’s what troubles me.  I have said many times in the past that eventually the US will have to go to war with Iran. (Iran is already at war with the US!) And I am very afraid that given the current endeavor in Washington to cut back on the military budget, the US will not have a military large enough and strong enough to go head to head with Iran on a battlefield. 

Our military, today, is in bad shape.  We are making up the difference, so to speak, with military technology. When our opponents become able to overcome our technological advantage – we are going to be in a fight for our lives as a country.  We are flying aircraft that should have been replaced years and even decades ago.  Our Navy is about the size it was when the First World War broke out.  Our Army is exhausted and way, way, under strength and is going to become even more under strength in the immediate future.

And we are staring down the barrel of a soon to be nuclear-armed Iran.

Oh, but you say we held off the Russians for forty years and they were a nuclear power.  That is true… but… Russia is a northern European nation. They think and act as we do.  The same cannot be said for Iran. 

The only real friend the US has in the region is Israel and the Obama administration is treating Israel as if is an enemy.  Dumb does not begin to describe the Obama administration’s treatment of our only friend in the Middle East.

One of the questions making the rounds since the plot was revealed earlier this week is why Iran sought to strike the embassies of both Saudi Arabia and Israel?  There have been unconfirmed reports (dating back at least two years) that the Saudi kingdom had granted Israel access to an area in northern Saudi Arabia to use as a staging area for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.  If those reports are correct, then surely Iran is aware of it.

In any event, Iran just sent a signal to the Saudis that cooperation with Israel would not be tolerated.

Iran just sent the Obama administration a signal, too.  Unfortunately, our fearless leader seems totally clueless as to what that message is.

In the meantime, Obama will send Iran a letter explaining how attempting to murder Saudis, Israelis, and Americans -- in Washington DC -- is well, really, not nice. That ought to scare the heck out of ‘em.

Yeah, right.

J. D. Longstreet