Friday, August 16, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, August 16, 2013


Ain't nothin' wrong with a bit of spirituality... a bit of respect...

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6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.defenseone.com/management/2013/08/now-what-pentagon-has-lost-its-leverage-egypt/68831/

The Pentagon Has Lost Its Leverage with Egypt. Now What?

* THAT'S THE HEADLINE, FOLKS.

(*SIGH*)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been on the phone with his Egyptian counterpart, Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sissi, almost every day since the July 3 military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. And every day he has urged the Egyptian defense minister to find a peaceful resolution to the political turmoil. He’s called al-Sissi at least 15 times since the military booted Morsi from power, a Pentagon official told Defense One.

By all accounts, al-Sissi had agreed.

Just last week, Hagel hung up the phone with Cairo and was reassured that the Egyptian military wanted a peaceful transition. "Minister Al-Sisi underscored his commitment to peaceful resolution of the ongoing protests, and thanked Secretary Hagel for U.S. support,” the Pentagon said, in a description of the Aug. 5 phone call.

* WELL... "THE PENTAGON" SAYS A LOT OF THINGS...

(*SMIRK*)

After yesterday’s bloody crackdown in the streets of Egypt that left more than 500 dead, including women and children, and scores more injured, it’s clear that Hagel’s pleas have gone unheard or ignored.

* FOLKS... THEY'RE NOT "HAGEL'S" PLEAS. HAGEL IS JUST THE MIDDLE-MAN! THESE ARE OBAMA'S PLEAS!

Hagel called al-Sissi again on Thursday. According to a Pentagon statement, Hagel “reiterated that the United States remains ready to work with all parties to help achieve a peaceful, inclusive way forward. The Department of Defense will continue to maintain a military relationship with Egypt,” Hagel said, “but I made it clear that the violence and inadequate steps towards reconciliation are putting important elements of our long-standing defense cooperation at risk.”

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

* FOLKS... WHILE CLEARLY OBAMA ISN'T TRUSTED BY EITHER SIDE AND WHILE JUST AS CLEARLY THIS LACK OF TRUST IS WELL DESERVED, BOTTOM LINE... IF EGYPT'S MILITARY HAS TO DECIDE BETWEEN SURRENDERING POWER TO THE ISLAMICISTS vs. DISSING OBAMA... THAT CHOICE HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE. (AND THANK GOD!)

* TO BE CONTINUED...

August 16, 2013 at 11:41 AM
William R. Barker said...

* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

President Barack Obama has refused to call the military takedown of Morsi’s elected government a coup, and will continue to send the $1.3 billion in military aid that the U.S. gives to Egypt each year.

(*SHRUG*)

“America cannot determine the future of Egypt. That's a task for the Egyptian people,” Obama said in a statement from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation on Thursday morning. “We don't take sides with any particular party or political figure. I know it's tempting inside of Egypt to blame the United States or the West or some other outside actor for what's gone wrong.”

* ONE WOULD THINK THAT AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT WOULD TAKE SIDES AGAINST THOSE WHO WOULD TURN EGYPT INTO A THEOCRACY... INTO AN ALLY OF IRAN... BUT WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH JUST ANY AMERICAN PRESIDENT; WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Obama announced he was canceling “Bright Star,” a joint military exercise with Egypt and several other nations that dates back to 1980 and the Camp David peace accord. The exercise hasn’t been held since 2009, however, and the Egyptian military is clearly too busy to participate anyway.

(*SNORT*)

* FOLKS... THIS IS THE FIRST I'M HEARING THAT THE EXERCISE HASN'T BEEN HELD SINCE 2009... (THANK YOU MSM FOR FAILING TO MENTION THIS BUT RATHER PRETENDING THAT OBAMA HAD ACTUALLY DONE SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY!)

(*SARCASTIC SMIRK*)

When asked whether canceling the exercise would even be a motivating factor for al-Sissi to end the bloodshed, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little argued it sent “a clear signal, we believe, to Egyptian authorities that we are deeply concerned about recent events in the country.”

* UH-HUH...

* ONE... MORE... TIME:

THE EXERCISE HASN'T BEEN HELD SINCE 2009 - TODAY IS AUGUST 16, 2013!

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

“We’re watching to see what happens next in the country,” said Little.

(*CLAP...CLAP...CLAP*)

August 16, 2013 at 11:41 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/saudi-king-calls-arabs-stand-egypt-151611137.html

* NOTICE, FOLKS... THIS IS YAHOO CANADA. (WILL THIS NEWS BE FRONT AND CENTER VIA U.S. MEDIA...? IF NOT...???)

(*SHRUG*)

Saudi King Abdullah called on Arabs to stand together against "attempts to destabilize" Egypt, in a strong message of support for the country's military leadership read out on Saudi television on Friday.

* MEANING... THE SAUDIS SUPPORT AMERICA... AND NOT OBAMA...

* THINK... ABOUT... IT...

(*SHRUG*)

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people and government stood and stands by today with its brothers in Egypt against terrorism," he said.

* IF ONLY OBAMA DID!

"I call on the honest men of Egypt and the Arab and Muslim nations ... to stand as one man and with one heart in the face of attempts to destabilize a country that is at the forefront of Arab and Muslim history," he added.

* GEEZUS, FOLKS... IN ALL SINCERETY - NO SNARK - COMPARE AND CONTRAST THIS WITH THE CRAP THAT COMES OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND OBAMA'S STATE DEPARTMENT AND OBAMA'S PENTAGON.

Saudi Arabia was a close ally of former president Hosni Mubarak and has historically had a difficult relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood.

* SAME WITH REGARD TO THE UNITED STATES! WE WERE A CLOSE ALLY TO MUBARAK! WE HAD A "HISTORICALLY DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP" WITH THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD! OBAMA CHANGED ALL THAT! HOW'S THE CHANGE GOING, FOLKS...? HUH? HOW'RE OBAMA'S POLICIES WORKING OUT?

It pledged $5 billion in aid to Egypt after Mohammed Mursi of the Brotherhood was ousted from the presidency last month.

(*SHRUG*)

* SO MUCH FOR OBAMA'S "READ BETWEEN THE LINES" THREATS TO CUT OFF U.S. FUNDING.

* FOLKS... WE HAVE AN ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENT AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! WORSE THAN GEORGE W. BUSH! PERHAPS EVEN WORSE THAN CARTER!

August 16, 2013 at 11:50 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/15/incoherent-obama-policy-on-egypt-under-fire-as-violence-spreads/

As Egypt descends into chaos, President Obama is facing increasing criticism that an "incoherent" policy toward the country - much like U.S. policy toward Syria - is putting U.S. money and influence on the line without a clear end-game.

* VALID CRITICISM!

The Obama administration claims to be staying neutral in the violent confrontation between the military-backed government and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. ... Yet the administration is sending mixed signals. While the president directly spoke out against the military-backed government on Thursday - and canceled upcoming joint military exercises - the U.S. has refused to label Morsi's ouster a coup. That means, under U.S. law, the administration can continue to send $1.5 billion in annual aid to the Egyptian government.

The mixed signals raise concern that the U.S. is simply breeding distrust on both sides.

* DUH!

The argument in favor of aid is that it helps secure U.S. influence in Cairo, which is critical not only to Mideast stability but also the security of U.S. ally Israel. Yet the crackdown this week showed U.S. influence with the Egyptian military is waning, analysts warned. A wave of phone calls from top administration officials to their counterparts in Cairo, as well as an unconventional delegation of U.S. lawmakers to the country, did not quell the unrest.

"While President Obama 'condemns the violence in Egypt,' his administration continues to send billions of taxpayer dollars to help pay for it," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a statement on Thursday.

* AGAIN, FOLKS... AT THE RISK OF BELABORING THE POINT... OBAMA IS A COMPLETE INCOMPETENT AND HIS INCOMPETENCE IS DOING GRAVE DAMAGE TO U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS!

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the George W. Bush administration, called the current policy "completely incoherent."

* FOLKS... FORGET BOLTON... FORGET PARTISANISM... IF OBAMA'S POLICY ISN'T "COMPLETELY INCOHERENT" THEN WHAT IS IT? BOTTOM LINE... BOLTON IS RIGHT!

"You can't have your press secretary say ... that this is up for Egyptians to answer, and then try and get in the middle of it," Bolton said.

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... AT EVEN THIS MOST BASIC LEVEL BOLTON IS DEAD ON! THIS IS EMBARASSING!

Security analysts, diplomats and editorial pages across the country are deeply divided over whether Obama should throw U.S. weight behind the military or the protesters, or stay out entirely. Few, though, are praising the administration for its current policy.

* BECAUSE... IT'S... INCOHERENT...!!! IT'S THE WORST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS!

Bolton said the wisest thing for the president to do would be to not say much at all. He claimed that the reality for the U.S. is that the best option is for the Egyptian military to stay in control, "ugly as it may be." The Muslim Brotherhood, he said, is an "armed militia" and not a political party.

* SOUNDS RIGHT...

But he said the United States' fuzzy policy only tells the current government "we're irrelevant."

* AND APPEARS RIGHT!

The chaos has raised broader and more troubling questions about the impact of the so-called Arab Spring, which the Obama administration has touted. The overthrow of Hosni Mubarak was arguably the most significant transition to come out of the 2011 sea change in the Middle East. But the country is now caught between an Islamist movement with questionable credentials on democracy and a military-backed government that is flirting with the tactics of the Mubarak reign.

In nearby Syria, a civil war has engulfed the country amid modest U.S. steps to aid the opposition.

And in Libya...

(*SIGH*)

August 16, 2013 at 12:14 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/16/dhs-spends-600000-buy-100000-homes-report/

The Homeland Security Department spent $600,000 apiece to build houses in Arizona that would have gone for less than $100,000, according to a report in the Arizona Republic that’s raising questions in Congress.

“This type of spending is irresponsible as our nation faces significant budget deficits and the men and women in the Border Patrol face cuts in overtime that are essential to their mission,” Rep. Ron Barber, the Arizona Democrat in whose district the homes were built, said in a statement Friday.

The Republic said Homeland Security built 21 homes and bought 20 other mobile homes for $15 million. Comparable homes go for between $70,000 and $100,000, the paper said. (The homes were build to be rented to border agents and officers.)

Homeland Security officials repeatedly refused to answer the newspaper’s questions about the project, the Republic said.

Mr. Barber is the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee’s oversight panel, and said he will use that role to get to the bottom of the spending.

August 16, 2013 at 4:30 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/16/palestinian-prisoner-freed-by-israel-has-american-blood-on-his-hands.html

For decades, the United States has urged foreign governments not to free prisoners who have killed Americans.

* BUT IT'S NOW 2013... THE AGE OF OBAMA... AMD SO...

[A] man who murdered an American was freed this week by Israel in a prisoner-release deal encouraged by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Among those released Tuesday as an inducement to the Palestinian Authority to return to peace negotiations was Al-Haaj Othman Amar Mustafa, a Palestinian convicted in 1991 of killing Frederick Steven Rosenfeld, who the Philadelphia Inquirer at the time of his death reported was a former U.S. Marine and U.S. citizen.

Mustafa was sentenced by an Israeli military court to life after he and two other assailants murdered Rosenfeld in 1989, 21 years after the former Marine emigrated to Israel.

According to an Associated Press account of Mustafa’s trial before a military court, Mustafa and two others met Rosenfeld as he was hiking near the settlement where he lived in Ariel. At first, the three men befriended Rosenfeld and even posed for a photo. “Minutes after the picture was taken, the three stabbed Rosenfeld and left him for dead, according to their confession,” the AP dispatch said.

Today Mustafa is a free man, one of 26 Palestinians released from Israeli jails on Tuesday, the first group of a total of 104 prisoners Israel has promised to free in exchange for Palestinian participation in a new peace process. The list of prisoners was negotiated with the Palestinian Authority, at the urging of Secretary Kerry.

* ONE... MORE... TIME...

The list of prisoners was negotiated with the Palestinian Authority, at the urging of Secretary Kerry.

(*CLENCHING MY JAW*)

Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson for the State Department, told The Daily Beast Thursday, “The State Department conveyed the administration’s concerns regarding the release of this prisoner to the government of Israel, while recognizing the victim was a dual national of Israel and the United States.”

* WHAT'S THAT MEAN...??? DOES IT MEAN THAT WE ASKED ISRAEL NOT TO FREE THIS SCUMBAG MURDERER... OR DOES IT MEAN WE SAID "HE'S YOUR CITIZEN," AND SHRUGGED OUR SHOULDERS?

Harf said the Israeli side “acknowledged our views, but it was ultimately their decision to determine which prisoners to release. This is a very difficult situation for all involved, and further highlights the importance of making these negotiations successful.”

* AGAIN... WHAT WERE THESE "VIEWS?" DID WE OR DID WE NOT OFFICIALLY DEMAND THAT MUSTAFA NOT BE RELEASED...???

“As I understand the facts, there are only two possibilities,” said Elliott Abrams, a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration and a scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations. “It was a very bad screw-up by the State Department not to demand that he remain incarcerated - or it is a silent change of policy. I believe the policy has always been that we oppose the release of anyone who has committed terrorism against Americans.”

Abrams pointed to U.S. public statements in 2005 after Germany freed Mohammed Ali Hammadi, a member of Hezbollah who participated in the murder of U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847. When Hammadi was released in 2005, a State Department spokesman said, “We’re going to make every effort to see that he stands trial in the United States for what he did and face justice.”

Hammadi remains at large.

August 16, 2013 at 4:47 PM

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