Afghanistan/Pakistan/Indian/South Asia Challenge-The Trump Doctrine

The Trump Afghanistan/Indian Sub Continent/South Asia Doctrine:

Last night, August 21/2017, President Trump outlined his Afghanistan foreign policy plan as part of his Afghanistan/Indian Subcontinent/South Asia foreign policy.  He has been asking his advisors for months “What does winning in Afghanistan look like”?  Trump drilled down on the result first, forcing his advisors to start with the conclusion then working a strategy to achieve that result…  He kept questioning their approaches until he was able to formulate a foreign policy that may achieve a result that benefits United States self-interest.  What has evolved is a doctrine that seeks to bring together a real diverse, and challenging “coalition” of disparate interest and nations.

Strategic Change:  Afghans Determine their Future

Inside of Trump’s address, was the notion that the US has no interest in defining the political self-governance structure of Afghanistan.  GW Bush and the Neo-Cons had the goal of establishing a western-style democracy over a country that is absolutely tribal in nature, with war lords as their overseers, with no experience in self-governing other than within the tribe.  This concept was doomed for failure at the outset especially when you add in the fact that these peoples were Muslim.  Islam has its own inherent governance structure.

Afghanistan is NOT a country made up of homogenous ethnic peoples with the same self-interests or even share any historical commonality.  There are 8 major ethnic groups within the current Afghan borders that were defined in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by the British, Russia, and China.  The resulting “country” was basically a corral around a many peoples, most of which knew little or nothing about the other.  The map below will give you an idea of how disparate the ethnic make-up of Afghanistan is.

Don’t make the mistake and try to draw a comparison to our republic that is made of 50 States.  The closest US analogy would be if the Christopher Columbus had drawn a line around the US and told all of the tribes of native peoples (Indians) and island dwellers, that they had to be subservient to Washington DC (I know it did not exist in 1492).  Further, that they had to vote for the central government leadership!  It is pretty amazing how clueless our own leadership is!

President Trump recognized that for the US to try to superimpose a central government over Afghanistan is a fool’s folly.  He stated point-blank that he has no interest in meddling in the Afghans governance.  While this one message is subtle, it is key to recognize that an Afghan western-style democracy cannot be a criteria for success!

Primary Success Criteria:  Eliminate Terrorist Haven in Afghanistan

President Trump stated that there are 20 separate terrorist groups in Afghanistan and in Pakistan.  His number one success criteria is the elimination of terrorist organizations from Afghanistan and allowing the terrorist organization from reconstituting in Pakistan.  Period!  

This is not simple and contains many tactical changes to give this a fighting chance.  Trump stated he will incorporate changes to achieve this goal:

1. Rules of Engagement:  The President stated that he will take off the restraints on our commanders and soldiers and allow them to fight to win.  This will include the elimination of having embedded LAWYERS making the decision as to whether a soldier can fire on someone planting an IED!  How stupid is it to read a terrorist his “Miranda Rights”!  Further, that in-field tactical decision-making will not require approval from Washington and that the Military command will be empowered to take the fight to the criminals and terrorist, this is critical that we fight both, and eliminate them as a threat.  
2. Focus on the Fight:  The US will no longer be in the business of nation building.  Our troops will no longer be building roads and buildings but focused on killing terrorist.  Period.
3. Eliminate Cross-Border Safe  Havens:  The President also said that they will pressure Pakistan, apply real pressure and not just lip service, to not object to the US bombing terrorist havens inside of the Pakistan border with Afghanistan.  Today, the terrorist scurry across the border and we do not pursue them.  Trump will use our aid to Pakistan and other economic incentives to coerce the Pakistan Government to cooperate with the US.  He will also seek to isolate their nuclear weapons even more to ensure they do not fall into the hands of the terrorists.
4. Stalemate China:  China has been a long-term player in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and are close neighbors with the former sharing a small border with China.  China has also been instrumental in the nuclearization of Pakistan!   The US will have to put pressure on China to keep them from interfering in our efforts to work with Pakistan to eliminate the terrorist from the region.
5. Stalemate Russia:  The old Soviet Union bordered Afghanistan and had long sought to take over the Afghan mineral deposits.  Since the Progressive Left has interfered with Trump’s ability to work with Russia on Syria and other common issues, it will be difficult for the President to stalemate Russia.  That said, Trump will do everything he can to insure that Russian arming of the militants is minimized.  Russia shares many of our concerns for militant Islam and hopefully Trump will be able to overcome the “Russia Fever” that the left has created in our country.
6. All Out War:  Trump will also wage a war to win and focus less on pressures to fight a “gentlemen’s war”.  He has already increased bombings by over 182% since taking office.  He will use special forces, air power, cyber, and increase commitments from NATO and other allies.  He may run into some resistance from some NATO allies as he talks the gloves off.  The French, for example, don’t like to fight at night!  Amazing.  Trump will also push the envelope in terms of pure fire power using even more MOABs to get the attention of the Terrorists.
7. Engage the War Lords:  Trump’s team recognizes the role the regional war lords play in running Afghanistan.  Trump will have to prevail on them to cease sheltering and aiding any of the terrorists.  If he can persuade them that the US is not supporting a centralization of an Afghan government and allow the war lords to have a larger role in Afghanistan’s future, he may win most of them over.

Second Success Criteria:  Reduce the US Financial Commitment

Trump was subtle in his speech to enlist more financial support from Afghanistan, NATO and even India!  He is focused on $$$ and the US need to get others to help foot the bills that benefit others as well as the US.  He will probably tell Tillerson that he will take care of this part of the diplomatic effort!

1. Afghanistan Financial Support:  Remember Trump talking about the Iraq war and that we should have “taken” some of the oil as repayment for our economic commitment to “liberating” Iraq?  Well, Afghanistan’s mineral and gemstone wealth is estimated at 1-3 Trillion dollars and include: barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, zinc, emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby.  Trump will probably seek to bring in international companies to help Afghanistan develop these resources and use part of the proceeds to offset our costs in the war effort.  Trump will also have to replace Afghanistan’s largest cash crop, poppies for opioid sales, with other sources of income for the war lords.   This change is needed to help rid the world markets of cheap opioids.  
2. NATO:  Trump will ask NATO to increase their financial and military commitment to the Afghan Terrorist War as well.  NATO has already stated that they approve of the Trump Doctrine in South Asia and are open to discussions moving forward.
3. India:  India is an interesting inclusion into the increased economic support for fighting terrorist in Afghanistan.  First of all, India is not a Muslim majority country and is in fact the home of the Sikhs who are enemies of the Muslims.  India would love to see the US exert more pressure on Pakistan as the two are also enemies in both religion and politics.  A more stable South Asia would benefit India and allow it to focus even more on its economic development and somewhat less on national defense.  The President seeks to pressure India, via its trade advantage with the US, to have India supply economic aid in Afghanistan in various forms.  At best, this will challenge even Trump’s “Art of the Deal” skills.  The overall alliance will include Muslims (both Sunni and Shia), Hindu, Sikhs, and a handful of others!  The alliance does, however, form a solid base for a true South Asia policy that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Indian sub continent.  (May be easier than repealing Obamacare in Congress though)

The goals of the strategic change in Afghan self-determination, the defeat of terrorism in Afghanistan and to some degree Pakistan, and the Cost-Sharing goals to reduce US economic commitment to Afghanistan, define Trump’s success in Afghanistan.  If this succeeds with this “odd” alliance of players, it will have long-standing benefits in South Asia and help to stabilize a Post-Soviet South Asia.  If we do not succeed according to a time-table only Trump knows, we may pull out of Afghanistan sometime in the future.

There are many other facets of this doctrine that will be fleshed out in the coming months.  Trump will let the Generals and the troops do their jobs but will keep pressure on Mattis and his staff to keep their eye on the ball.  He will also make sure the Treasury is doing all they can to cut off the supply of funding to the terrorist and keep other cabinet members contributing in any way they can to assist the fight.  Rex Tillerson has a difficult job of keeping the coalition together while maintaining stability in Pakistan and elsewhere.  No small task.

Observation:  One thing to look for that will differentiate this campaign from our past feeble efforts to rid Afghanistan from Terrorist is a cessation of warfare during the winter months.  I would hazard a guess that Trump will seek to keep the terrorist from relaxing during the winter months with a series of asymmetrical attacks by land and air.  Sleep deprivation can be a demoralizing factor for sure…

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

Hat Tips:

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/boundaries-iii

http://afghanag.ucdavis.edu/country-info/culture-and-working-locally/Man_Afghan_Culture_CWTI.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Pakistan

 

Trump to Pentagon On Afghanistan, “What Does Winning Look Like!”

Trump to Pentagon,

“What does Winning Look like in Afghanistan?” 

Culture shock in DC now extends to the Pentagon.  Specifically when it comes to defining Foreign Policy Strategy as it impacts Military Operations.   

As a businessman, Trump goes to the bottom line with every deal.   What does it mean to win and what does it look like in this particular deal.  We have been embroiled in conflict in Afghanistan since October, 2001.  We have seen what Bush thought was victory, then a redo with the surge, to Obama replacing combat with tentative engagement.  Trump will not approve of a military strategy in Afghanistan until he is convinced that he knows and believes what winning this conflict would look like and what will be the cost in blood and treasure.  Period.  

Apparently, in his meetings with DOD he was presented with a continuation of our prior strategy and was not satisfied with the strategy nor did he hear what winning would mean to the US.  Until he does, he will continue to press Mattis and McMaster and others.

While the MSM and talking heads are going nuts over not being able to pin Trump down on an Afghanistan strategy, why get in a hurry after almost 17 years of misery  and all too many casualties and injured servicemen and servicewomen. 

• Trump has correctly said in the past that winning in Afghanistan has to include operations in Pakistan or we will continue to play “tag” with the Taliban scurrying back and forth from Afghanistan to their “safe space” in Pakistan. 
• He has also indicated that anyone who receives billions from the US (Pakistan), must support our strategies or risk losing our aid.   Of course Trump detractors say that Pakistan is a nuclear nation so we can’t risk alienating them.  How about if you get$2B in aid and you probably can’t risk alienating us!

Trump also knows that doing nothing is also an option.  He will not naively dip his toe in an unwinnable conflict if he is not convinced that winning is not only attainable, but the likely outcome.  He believes that he owes this to our men and women in the military.

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

 

Syria-What Will Be the Outcome?

Who Will Be the Winners?

Who Will Be the Losers?

In merely 4 1/2 years, the status and toll of this conflict varies by source but the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) estimates that 11.5%, of the Syrian population has been killed or wounded.  They estimate that 470,000 men, women and children have been killed since 2011 while the United Nation estimates this number to be 250,000, but the UN stopped estimating casualties 18 months ago.  11 million of the 18 million Syrians have lost their homes.   The number of wounded has been estimated at 1,900,000.  Destruction to Syria itself is estimated to be over quarter of a Trillion dollars. Regardless of the actual numbers, this conflict has been catastrophic to Syria and its people.   

Who Are the Good Guys?

Or, are there any good guys in this conflict?  Go back to 2011 when the “Arab Spring” sprung and was blessed by the Obama regime.  Inside of Syria, “pro-democracy” dissident groups began fighting back against the Assad Syrian Government and this soon erupted into a nation-wide conflict as Assad cracked down on the dissidents.  To this day I doubt anyone truly knows who or what the dissidents are.  

To understand the Syrian conflict, you need to understand that Assad and the government are Alawite Shia Muslims and the dissidents are primarily Sunni Muslims.  Further, Assad has been tightly aligned with Iran with both being supported by Russia!  So, you have the Assad Syrian Government, Iran (via Hezbollah), and Russia on one side, with the primarily Sunni dissidents on the other.

But, with Obama’s and Clinton’s precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, a vacuum was created that was filled by the newly formed Sunni Islamic State (ISIS).  ISIS and Iran both want to dominate and control the rich resources of Syria and Iraq.  So, ISIS secured large regions of Syria from the Assad Government and set up the capital of their “Caliphate” in Raqqa, Syria!  So, now you have ISIS and the dissidents fighting against Assad, Iran, and Russia!  But, ISIS and the dissidents are not aligned and ISIS forces or kills dissidents who do not swear allegiance to their caliphate.  To make it even more complicated, the Kurds occupy much of northern Syria and Southern Turkey and they don’t like anyone particularly!  The map below shows how Syria has been carved up by each group.

 

The bottom line is that there may not be any “good guys” in this conflict, just a bunch of guys fighting for their own self interests!

Where Does the US Fit In?

Depends!  From Obama’s perspective, the US has two goals.  First goal, don’t cross the Iranians.  Two, act like you are fighting ISIS.  The first goal became evident when Obama penciled in his Red Line regarding Assad’s use of chemical weapons.  Obama/Clinton were told in no uncertain terms that the Iranian nuclear talks were over if Obama intervened in Syria against Assad.  So, Obama/Clinton took out their Red Line Eraser and we bowed again to the Ayatollahs in Iran.  The second goal included arming the dissidents to a low-level so the dissidents could fight ISIS on the ground.  Of course the dissidents took shots at Assad’s army as they were actually the primary dissident target and both the dissidents were Sunni.  Some believe that the CIA annex in Benghazi was a front for moving arms from Libya to the Syrian dissidents.  Obama/Clinton mixed using the dissidents and air strikes against ISIS to show the American public that he was fighting against ISIS in both Syria and Iraq.

From the Neo-Con perspective, the US needs to intervene on behalf of the dissidents as all freedom fighters who want democracy are good and deserve our help to whatever degree possible, including armed intervention!  You heard Senators McCain and Graham on talk shows the past 4.5 years demanding that we back the dissidents.  McCain even met with some of them in Syria.  The Neo-Cons would have the US engage directly in the Syrian conflict with the dual goals of removing Assad from power and killing off ISIS.  Whoa!  Assad is backed by Iran and Russia and to a lesser degree, China.  What the Neo-Cons are advocating are at least a 4 power war over Syria!  The Assad regimes have ruled Syria since 1971, why now?

From a US Self-Interest perspective today, the horse is out of the barn; the train left the station; and any other cliché you want to use to describe a situation in Syria that is only a Lose-Lose for the US.  Obama’s and Clinton’s lack of action early on removed all US options in this country, if we ever had any, other than all out war with Russia, Iran and Syria.  The fact is that since Obama/Clinton abandoned Iraq with his rapid pullout, Iraq will most likely align with Iran.  The majority in both countries are Shia and Iran has coveted Iraq in order to create a three state power consisting of Syria, Iraq and Iran.  They will then look towards Lebanon, Jordon and Israel for additional conquests. 

In Syria, we have put up with an Assad regime in power, aligned with Russia and Iran, for over 45 years.  It makes no sense from a national self-interest to engage the Assad regime in Syria.  We do have a national self-interest in annihilating ISIS and that interest is shared by Syria, Russia, Iran and Iraq. 

Trump Is Right in Syria:

You may not like Donald Trump but he is dead right on Syria.  We have a national self-interest in removing ISIS from Iraq and Syria but no self interest in removing Assad from power.  The shame of it all is that we lost countless lives, many of our soldiers were gravely wounded in the war in Iraq, and we spent trillions of dollars for naught.  Iraq also suffered casualties ranging upwards of 250,000 including both military and civilians.  To walk away is a shame on both the Bush and Obama/Clinton administrations.  Bush should not have left the status of forces agreement up to Obama/Clinton and Obama/Clinton should not have walked away from Iraq without a solid SFA with Iraq.  But, we did and we need to cut our loses and get out after taking our ISIS.

Lesson? 

History repeats itself if we do not learn from our mistakes.  We failed politically, not militarily, in Vietnam and in Iraq.  We may have to add Afghanistan if we keep up our current politically correct engagement.  We need to learn to lead from strength, engage when our national-interests are jeopardized, and walk away when it is not our fight.  There will always be bad guys and we will always have to stand strong against them.  But, to pick fights when we are not threatened or do not have the will to win politically, like Iraq and Vietnam, it will always end in failure. 

If you get a chance, read or peruse Sun Tzu’s the Art of War, written 500 years BC.  It is still a good “rule book” for fighting a war today.   (http://suntzusaid.com/)

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

Hat Tips:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-u-tensions-spill-over-u-n-meeting-011240631.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/11/report-on-syria-conflict-finds-115-of-population-killed-or-injured

http://suntzusaid.com/

Nov. 8th, 2016-Rebirth or Death of Our Nation?

We The People, OR, We the Elitist Global Establishment

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” 

Ronald Reagan, March 30, 1961, Phoenix, AZ

The United States has moved far away from its founding Constitutional principles where the Federal Government was limited to only those few powers granted it by the Constitution and the States retained ALL other powers.  Today, the Federal Government intrudes into every facet of American life and the States are little more than “agencies” to carry out Federal policy and dole out the financial crumbs the Federal bureaucracy deems appropriate. 

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Brexit vote was a wake up call for the United States in terms of thinking about whether we still live under a rule of law by We The People or a rule of law dictated by an Elitist, Globalist Establishment class.  In the case of the UK, the European Union’s never-ending usurping of British self determinism eventually led to the positive Brexit vote to leave the European Union.

Trump & His Supporters Stand Alone Against Globalist Elites

There are 4 major issues separating Trump and the Global Elites:

1. Trade Agreements:  Trump trade policies focus on balanced trade between our trading partners. 

   1. Currency Manipulation:  Trump is against countries manipulating their currencies to make their goods and services more affordable to their currencies at the expense of other supplying countries.  Global Elitists believe that all countries should use currency manipulation to level markets.

   2. Dollar for Dollar:  Trump believes that trade with our trading partners should be balance on a dollar for dollar basis to the largest extent possible.  Global Elitists believe that richer nations should transfer wealth from themselves to developing nations via trade imbalances.

   3. Trade Agreement Equity:  Trade agreements cannot result in companies and industries moving out of the US to our foreign partners with a net loss in jobs in the US.  Global Elitists believe that developed nations should export their companies and industries to underdeveloped nations in order to level the global playing field.

   4. No Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Provisions:  This provision transfers jurisdiction out of our Constitutionally  lawful US courts to an international court or tribunal for dispute resolution.  If one of our businesses is thought have violated its agreement with a foreign company, the foreign company can go to this foreign jurisdiction for adjudication.  Trump would require that these types of resolution be subject to US laws and courts.  Today, the proposed, Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the existing NAFTA, World Trade Organization Agreements, and the Energy Charter Treaty, to name a few, have ISDS provisions.  Global Elitists have forced ISDS onto America and the West in search of  “FAIRNESS”.

   5. Energy:  Trump believes that the US should pursue an independent energy policy.  Global Elitists push Global Warming and wealth redistribution based on developed nations subsidizing developing nations via capital redistribution.

2. Immigration:

   1. Open Borders:  Trump does not believe in Open Borders and supports enforcement of immigration laws and physical control over the border.  Global Elitists believe in Open Borders and in fact immigrants have a right to inhabit more affluent nations to share in the wealth.

   2. Refugees:  Trump believes that refugees can only be admitted when a thorough and effective vetting process can be constructed and applied.  Further, that refugees should be resettled as close as possible to their homes so they can be repatriated as soon as conditions allow.  Global Elitists believe that refugee immigration should be encouraged to immigrate to affluent nations to allow the refugees to share in their new nation’s wealth.

   3. Visa Programs:  Trump believes that Visa programs need to be reviewed and visa programs should be balanced against US unemployment and underemployment.  The levels of Visa immigration would restricted in support of US workers.  Global Elitists believe that all Western nations should allow for unfettered Visa immigration.

3. Foreign Policy:

   1. America First:  Trump believes that the US should intervene only when it is in America’s best interest and that we should not engage in regime change or nation building.  Elitist Globalist believe that the US should intervene whenever international or even regional interests would be served with regime change and resulting nation building.

   2. Iranian Region Manipulation:  Trump believes that the Iranian Nuclear agreement should be abandoned and re-negotiated to ensure that Iran remain non-nuclear.  Global Elitists believe that Iran should be made powerful, with nuclear capabilities, to counter balance Israel and Pakistan, and to create a Shia Syria-Iraq-Iran axis.

4. Sovereignty:

   1. America First:  Trump’s entire approach to governance is America First.  American sovereignty and self-determination is the cornerstone to his platform.  Global Elitists believe that a One World Government is the goal and the shackling of the US is the first step toward this goal.

   2. NATO & the UN (and others):  Trump believes that all of our treaties and associated participation in regional and global organizations must be reviewed to insure that America’s interests are in the forefront.  If these organizations do not promote America’s best interests, the we should renegotiate our agreements or depart from the organization.  Global Elitists believe that One World Order is the goal, period.

Standing Alone:

Republican Elite Insiders Fully Support Globalization and the Global Elite Platform

Republican insiders/establishment and self-professed conservatives support the Global Elite Platform and oppose the Trump American First Platform.  This is a long list but to list just a few:  Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, George Will, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Lindsay Graham and many others.  These people do not work against Trump because Trump is not a conservative.  They oppose Trump because he does not support Globalism and believes in America First!

We the People and Trump are fighting Republican Elitists, Democrats, Socialists, the Main Stream Media, Labor Unions, Global Industrialists, and world-wide globalists to take back America.  This is going to be hard and dirty fight.  But, our very Nation is at stake and we either take our country back and start our re-birth or stand by and watch our nation fade into the dust of history!

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

Hat Tips:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ronaldreag183965.html

 

 

Trump-ISIS and America First

Trump Has Put Forth Several Different Components of

Fighting the War On Terror (1)

 

Section 1

This article consists of two sections.  The first will lay out the terrorism issues and the second, the Trump policies to counteract the terror threat.  This article is a little long but the need to be as comprehensive as possible to lay out the problem, then the solution, makes it necessary.

War On Terror Is Not Just An ISIS Problem:

While Trump has kept the defeat of ISIS as his top priority in waging the war on terror, he and his security team have referenced the broader group of Islamists that include Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, and others.  They have more broadly discussed the issue of Radical Islam as supported by Islamists.  ISIS is at the forefront as it is the closest known direct threat to the US and Europe.  The other groups are no less lethal and threaten Central African and Middle Eastern countries.  Hamas and Hezbollah are really state sponsored terror groups funded in a large part by Iran.  In that vein, Trump views Iran as a major antagonist in the war on terror as well as a global nuclear threat that resulted from the Obama Iran Nuclear agreement.

A Trump administration would view Radical Islam as the enemy regardless of their self-described sect or moniker.  Further, with this view, the war on terror is not isolated to one or more radical Islam groups, but rather is inclusive of all of the groups and solutions have to address the concept of radical Islam rather than the more tactical view of ISIS alone.

War On Terror Matrix (Partial, For Illustration Only)

Tentacles of Terrorism:

On the right hand side of the graphic shown above, there is a column titled “Tentacles of Terrorism.  The list includes 9 items but it should be noted that the list is actually quite longer and nuanced.  But, for purposes of this article, this list will provide a springboard for discussion.  (The Taliban is excluded from this discussion as they are locally focused and semi-governmental in nature.)  

Command and Control:

In the past, command and control within terror groups have consisted of a dispersed group of leaders communicating with one another in any way they could devise.  They did not have bases of operations where synchronized planning and communications could take place.  Some of their communications involved the releasing of video tapes by terrorists like Osama bin Laden and his key followers.  

ISIS has broken that mold and seems to have much of its centralized command and control in the Syrian city of Al-Raqqah.  They are establishing sub C&C centers in Iran, Libya and other expansion areas.  ISIS has also broken out and disbursed C&C to local cells such as the one in Brussels.  ISIS has also mastered a new paradigm of creating what has been erroneously called lone wolf actors.  These are not lone wolf actors that act out based on their own motivations.  A better description would be Decentralized Islamic Radicals (DIR).  

These individuals and small groups have become radicalized through the ISIS internet propaganda campaigns.  Just as non-state sponsored terrorism was created so nations could not retaliate against nations, the newly created DIR terrorists are an attempt to eliminate the need for direct contact to train, motivate, and execute despicable terror acts.  Al-Qaeda attempted to create this form of terror in the early 2000’s but were not as successful as ISIS has been.  AQ also was more focused on large-scale attacks whereas ISIS sees any form of terrorism as meeting their objectives of domination through fear.

This category of terrorist may be the most difficult to detect and stop as the campaign has been designed to take advantage of surveillance protocols in the US and Europe.  By remaining under the radar of normal surveillance via covert or non electronic communication, they can plan and execute with a high degree of anonymity.  In the San Bernardino and Orlando attacks, it was not until long after the attacks did we learn that the radicalization of the perpetrators took place over an extended period of time.  Further, our current tracking protocols are totally incapable of creating an effective prevention regime.  NSA surveillance will not yield much information to prevent these types of attacks.

Operational Organization:

Operational organization includes not only a hierarchical management team, but financial, military, cyber, asset, and terror export management.  AQ started with a tightly controlled management team with Osama Bin Laden at the top.  As international pressure was applied, their leadership dispersed and they became a less centralized organization.  Hezbollah and Hamas basically are tightly controlled from Iran.

ISIS has created a hybrid form of operational organization.  The centralized governance is located in Al-Raqqah with disbursed “subsidiaries” in Iran, Libya and elsewhere.  The DIR groups basically give ISIS a totally decentralized and distributed form of cell management that can operate with or without communication or funding from Al-Raqqah.

Financial Operations:

AQ, Hamas, and Hezbollah and others have relied to a large degree on funding from nation states and individuals who are sympathetic to their war on the West.  This funding has been subsidized by criminal activities such as “Kidnapping and Ransom (KNR)” and other such activities.  Hamas and Hezbollah are principally financed by Iran and Syria whereas Saudi Arabia was a major contributor to AQ and other terrorist organizations. 

ISIS has added a new twist to its terrorist financial operations.  ISIS captures oil and banking assets and turns them into cash flow to support ongoing operations.  While this is a “fragile” arrangement, as these operations are exposed either physically or via banking transactions, they have allowed ISIS to be self-sufficient financially.  Also, their use of DIR terror, basically makes a lot of their terror operations virtually free! 

Military Operations:

Typically, terror organizations consider tactical strikes of terror, even 9-11, as military operations.  Traditionally we have defined military operations as an organized effort to take and control geographical areas, regions, or even nations.  This definition fits the ISIS operation but not most other terror groups.  ISIS has invaded and taken control of areas in Iraq, Syria and Libya but are moving into central Africa and other areas in the Middle East.  Much of their arms and equipment were “confiscated” from weaponry and assets left behind by the US!  ISIS military operations appear to be centrally controlled through their headquarters in Syria.  ISIS military operations are both sophisticated and fairly well self-financed.  This gives ISIS a military and terror component that heretofore has not be pursued by most terror groups.

Cyber Operations:

Due to technological advancements in recent years, the use of the internet, hacking, and other cyber activities have been adopted by terror organizations.  The dark internet has provided an area of communications that is difficult to track and police effectively.  Facebook, Twitter and other mass use applications provide a vehicle for terror groups to communicate, recruit and train followers.  Their use of hundreds of temporary accounts have made it impossible to shut down or track a lot of its usage.

Since the birth of ISIS is a fairly recent phenomena, they were early adopters of technology to recruit and train their military operations and DIR cells.  The Obama administration erroneously refers to those recruited, radicalized and deployed via these Cyber tools as “lone wolves”.  This is totally masking the danger and effectiveness of ISIS to perform their outreach and radicalization on citizens of any nation, making the tracking of these would be terrorists difficult if not impossible. 

Cyber hacking also allows terror organizations disrupt or intercept banking, security, and intelligence information and can even be a lucrative source of revenue.  The larger concern is that terrorist organizations will develop either a nuclear or non-nuclear Pulse Bomb (EMP) that is deployable via a drone!  This could be used to wipe out computers and communications in very large metro areas.  This is particularly worrisome following our ill-advised Iranian Nuclear agreement.  Between Iran and N. Korea, neither would have any hesitation deploying this technology and they would probably opt for the nuclear variety in order to maximize the damage.   Cyber terror will continue to grow until governments take a much more aggressive approach to eliminate this threat.

Exporting Terror Operations & Cells:

ISIS has taken the exporting of terrorism to a whole new level.  Al-Qaeda attempted to accomplish this but were primarily successful in underdeveloped areas without a lot of counter-terror security.  ISIS has deeply penetrated the west, especially the European Union (EU) nations, with their terror network.  They have taken advantage of the dark-net and social media to recruit, train and deploy “lone” terrorists described above as DIRs.  It is simplistic to label these individuals as lone terrorists as you will miss the key point which is how they were created in the first place!  ISIS created them, indoctrinated them, and gave them the emotional strength to carry out acts of terrorism. 

Terror Exported-Europe:

The EU has blindfolded itself and tied at least one of their own hands behind their backs as a result of their open borders and Syrian refugee immigration programs…  They have brought in millions of immigrants from countries who have supported or allowed terrorists to prosper.  ISIS has taken advantage of both programs and has many supporters throughout the EU.  ISIS is also recruiting more each day as the EU has failed to integrate many of these immigrants which has created Muslim ghettos where hatred of the West and continued radicalization is nurtured and allowed to mature into dangerous terror cells.   The EU and the individual countries’ no-gun policies have exacerbated the vulnerability of their own citizens.  The key question is whether the EU has tipped past a point of no return! 

BREXIT Note:  It should be noted that the upcoming referendum in the UK, that will decide whether the UK remains in the EU or be independent of that organization, could be critical to the future of both the EU and the UK.  It is my opinion that if the UK stays in the EU, that the decline of Europe will continue on its current accelerated pace.  All of Europe will eventually be overrun with immigrants, many of whom support Sharia and a great number who have become radicalized.  If the UK breaks away, it may provide incentive for some of the other members of the EU to depart the union or at the very least challenge the highly unpopular mass immigration policies of Brussels.  The UK then could also become a base of strength that is not hamstrung with the woes that are besetting the rest of Europe and may eventually be the military base that “liberates” the mainland!  Déjà vu all over again!  This time, however, fascism would have been imported by their own actions and not a result of a foreign nation’s invasion…

Terror Exported-US:

During the Obama administration, one million additional Muslim immigrants have entered the US will little or very shallow vetting.   Obama is also increasing the Syrian Refugee immigration with the same porous level of vetting.  A recent survey in the US among our Muslim population found that 50% of the current Muslim population support Sharia Law over the US legal system.  While many of our past Muslim immigrants have assimilated into our population, many of the more recent immigrants have not.  This is especially true of many of the central African immigrants. 

While the US is a little better off in terms of harboring radical terrorists, it is not too far behind.  If current levels of immigration from these sources continue and allowed to expand, we will quickly be at a tipping point in the US as well.  We have already seen ISIS terrorists engage in mass killings in San Bernardino and Orlando.  These will continue to grow in numbers and frequency as the current administration is incapable of dealing with Radical Islamic Terrorism as a concept, let alone a reality!

Section 2

Enter Donald J. Trump

The Trump Anti-Terror Policy (1)

Donald Trump, his surrogates and foreign policy team have all discussed various components of a Trump Anti-Terror Policy.  While many details remain to be filled in, it is possible to formulate a structured overall policy based on these discussions. 

The graphic shown above contains 9 separate components of the Trump war on terror.  These components may have multiple targets such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, while others may be more specific.  One purpose of this graphic is to show that an effective war on terrorism is not a simple strategy and has many components and moving parts!  It should be noted that the next administration is some 210 days away and the situation on the ground will obviously change somewhat between now and then.  The actual ground situation could alter the tactical deployment of various strategies.  Also, the matrix shown above contains several components many of which will have to be implemented simultaneously.   Below is an overview of what may shake out as the Trump war on terror policy.

Military Intervention:

We all understand warfare where ground troops, air strikes and other combat tactics are deployed.  In the case of terrorism, the military strategy will include various strategies and tactics depending on the terror organization and the geographic area that has been impacted.  For purposes of this article, the focus will be on military operations against ISIS.

ISIS Syria:

A key to defeating ISIS will be the destruction of its command and control center in Al-Raqqua, Syria.  This effort will require at least 3,000 special operations and technical unit personnel with 15,000 troops from neighboring nations such as Egypt and Jordan to stabilize this region following the decimation of the ISIS command and control.  It will also require the use of non-nuclear EMP attacks to shut down the ISIS communication capabilities.  Targeted air strikes will be key and they will have to be supported by ground intelligence in order to minimize collateral damage.  It must be noted that any effective military incursion into Al-Raqqua will result in civilian casualties.  This will be caused by ISIS using civilians as cover.  In today’s war against terror, the US and its allies must prepare their citizens that collateral damage is a reality caused by the enemy, and not our liberation efforts!

The fact that Syrian Assad government is still in place adds a new dimension to our offensive moves in Al-Raqqua.  Trump will most likely give Assad and Russia assurances that our primary objective is the elimination of ISIS and NOT regime change in Syria.  (That train has already left the station with all of the failed Obama red lines.)  Trump will also need assurances with Russia that our goal is singular and not threatening to Russia’s interests in the area.  Once the command and control of ISIS is taken out, the international force, that is primarily comprised of other Middle Eastern nations, will secure the Al-Raqqua area and allow humanitarian relief to help restore the area.  Additional refugee camps will have to be constructed to bridge the relocation task that will take quite a while to complete and stop the mass exodus out of Syria into the West.

Trump will also have to freeze Iran out of Syria during these operations.  Iran’s meddling in Iraq will be dealt with separately.  The bottom line is that if Assad remains in control of Syria, Iran will continue its status as an ally with Syria as it has for decades!

ISIS Libya: 

Military intervention into Libya will be a similar multi-national force, primarily consisting of Egypt and Jordan supported by our special operations and technical unit personnel.  Without the command and control in Al-Raqqua, the ISIS operations in other countries will be severely crippled.  Couple that with the Trump program to seize oil and financial resources of ISIS, in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the ISIS resistance in Libya will be severely reduced.  The key issue in Libya will be to have the Islamic coalition re-establish stability and governance in Libya.  Egypt particularly, as the next door neighbor to Libya, has a vested interest in the establishment of a stable Libya.  The final military operation will be one of “Martial Law” to keep the Libyan war lords from continuing their opposition to stabilization. 

ISIS Central Africa:

ISIS in Central Africa is presently not as cohesive as in Syria and Libya.  Without support from Syria, the Central African allegiance to ISIS will be seriously degraded.  Military operations in Central Africa will consist of US special operations with the majority of the force being from other Islamic nations.  The goal will NOT be nation building but the elimination of the terror elements. 

Financial and Oil Asset Seizure:

Trump has talked a great deal about the retaking of ISIS controlled oil assets and seizing any financial assets or revenue that they have used to grow and sustain their operations.  The oil asset seizure will consist of air strikes against oil trucks and ground troops to take back the oil facilities.  The risk will be that ISIS will demolish the oil facilities as they depart.  That is a risk that we need to take and if it happens we can rebuild the infrastructure paying for it with oil revenue once the asset have been re-established. 

The financial and oil asset seizure strategy is vital to the total elimination of ISIS (and other terrorist organizations).  Once they lack funding, their ability to fund external operations diminishes greatly.  Without internet communications, recruitment, training and deployment of foreign ISIS terrorist will be greatly diminished. 

International, Domestic Intelligence & Law Enforcement Coordination:

Rudy Giuliani and others could be vital to the formulation of our International and Domestic Anti-Terror reset under Trump.  Giuliani understands the absolute necessity of coordination between International Intelligence, the FBI and local law enforcement.  The creation of Homeland Security under Bush has only served to create a behemoth bureaucracy that is still ineffective in creating a state of the art communication team that is all-inclusive.  Recent terror attacks have shown that local law enforcement has been out of the loop in terms of threats or the surveillance of specific individuals.  This has to change!

A key to the short and long-term elimination of Radical Islamic Terrorism, will be to create an international team of local assets that can gather and communicate intelligence on all terror operations world-wide.  This has been typically a CIA operation but I am not sure that agency is capable of effective foreign operations at this point.  Trump may need to “retool” the CIA.  These assets must be locals who can infiltrate terror organizations.  This will require a serious commitment to this type of foreign intelligence.  All of the information that is gained by this agency, must be tightly coordinated with the Domestic Intelligence operation.

US Domestic Intelligence operations are typically executed by the FBI.  Like the CIA, the capabilities and organization of the FBI will be reviewed and revamped as necessary.  The FBI has to work seamlessly with the International Intelligence operations to ensure that any threat uncovered can quickly be translated into local action by local law enforcement 

The Domestic Intelligence operation will also include agencies like the NSA.  The NSA intelligence mandate will be reviewed by Trump with a refocus on social media and targeted electronic monitoring.  To day, the NSA massive data storage has only served to provide post event intelligence.  By then, it is a bit too late.  The entire system needs to be refocused on targeted threats both domestic and foreign and within constitutional constraints. 

Immigration Security and Border Control:

Trump will definitely curtail or dramatically cut back on immigration from countries where terror threats have emanated and also the Syrian Refugee program.  He will create a team to propose changes that are needed in immigration policy and vetting procedures as well as a new post immigration follow-up.  The Syrian Refugee program may be replaced by building Syrian refugee camps to temporarily house refugees until we rid Syria of ISIS.  Other Visa programs may be restarted once the new programs and screening are in place.  The new policies will include the tracking of Visa immigrants to insure that overstays are brought back under control. 

Physical control over the southern and northern border is critical to stop the influx of illegal immigrants as well as drugs and other undesirable smuggling.  A physical fence will be built on the southern border with increased electronic and drone coverage for both the northern and southern borders.  The federal border control agencies will once again be mandated to closely coordinate enforcement with local law enforcement.  Sanctuary States or cities will be eliminated as a violation of federal law and any offending States or cities will be sanctioned by the withholding of federal funds. 

Federal, State and local law enforcement will re-institute the deportation of illegal aliens with first priority on those who have violated other Federal, State or local laws.  Due to the neglect over the past seven and a half years that has created a backlog in our immigration courts, special legislation may be needed to create additional courts and jurisdictions to eliminate the backlog.

The E-Verify program will be strengthened and re-implemented with enforceable teeth.  Violators will be prosecuted and the applicants encouraged to engage in a newly formulated alien repatriation program.  The goal will be either the eventual assimilation of illegal immigrants through a lawful process or self-deportation for those preferring to leave the US. 

H-1A and H-1B programs will be revisited and emphasis on domestic hiring prioritized.

NATO Terrorism Emphasis:

Trump has spoken several times on the need to review the NATO charter, financial contributions by member nations, and its effectiveness in today’s world.  NATO will have to be changed to add an emphasis on counter-terrorism.  Changes to NATO that involve control over European immigration will be met with resistance from the European Union who favors a more open border policy.  The US may be faced with a decision as to whether it can actually help defend EU nations if they do not tighten immigration policy and internal security.  NATO is primarily structured to deal with external threats.  Terror threats are internal threats that require a much different approach.  A Trump administration will not be all that supportive of an open border policy that could very well be counter-productive to NATO security agreements. 

If the EU NATO members and other members do not tighten their border and immigration controls, Trump will place VISA vetting requirements for anyone traveling to the US from nations who do not tighten their own borders.  Without increased scrutiny of those travelers, the US would have a gaping hole in its own security protocol and one that terrorists would exploit.

Conclusion:

A Trump administration would usher in a totally different war on terror approach. 

Obama basically has adopted a hands off approach to fighting the war on terror and has exacerbated our vulnerabilities by opening our borders and not enforcing any immigration laws.  He is doing virtually nothing to physically combat ISIS and others overseas leaving them to metastasize leaving the world less secure. 

Bush basically combined fighting terror with nation building that ended up leaving our security in about the same spot, for different reasons, as Obama. 

Trump would execute a war in terror by eliminating the core of the terror organizations, tightening our own physical security, strengthening international counter-terrorism capabilities, with or without NATO, and Not engage in nation building.  Trump’s solution would empower other Islamic nations to help rebuild impacted nations and regions but not directly intervene in national governance.

If Hillary is elected and Trump is not, she will continue Obama’s policies with a little bit of Bush’s nation building thrown in. 

If that happens, by a Gun, Move to the Mountains, and Pray!

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

(1)  To consolidate Trump’s terrorism/ISIS foreign policy, I have combined elements  of his speeches, campaign rallies, and interviews.  Often Trump assumes that the audience understands the details behind his “One-Liners” but often the press, his opponents, and RINOs attribute erroneous conclusions to his comments.

Clinton-The Real Disaster for You and Your Family

Hillary’s Proven Legacy of Death and Destruction

Top Left:  Hillary kisses wife of PLO Leader Arafat; Destruction in the Middle East; Rape of Europe promotes open immigration; Started negotiations on Iran Deal  Middle Left:  Promoted “Arab Spring” in Egypt; Foreign Disrespect of US Flag; Coddle 9-11 perpetrators; Supported “Arab Spring in Tunisia; Supported the Iranian Nuclear Agreement;  Bottom Left; 4 Americans Killed in /Benghazi due to Clinton hesitation to send help; Email Scandal sends US secrets to our enemies; Hillary disrespecting 4 dead Americans, What difference does it make!; Phony reset with Russia!

Experience?  Yes.  Judgement?  No!

Hillary Has Been a Placeholder in Government, Not a Patriot, Leader, or Statesman

Hillary claiming Trump “would be” Dangerous for America and the world. 

This is a “Dangerous” Accusation: 

HILLARY HAS PROVEN SHE IS AND HAS BEEN DANGEROUS FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD!

Dangerous Queen Hillary-Wall-Street-Benghazi-Clinton

Hillary is trying to frame Donald Trump as Dangerous to the US and World at large and blames his temperament and lack of experience and judgement for his not being ready to be the President of the United States.  Hillary needs to take a long look into the mirror of history to see just how unqualified she is to ever again be involved with US Foreign Policy or be anything other than a tourist visiting the White House.

Here are a few examples using her own soundbites from her supposed “Foreign Policy” speech yesterday.  (She can’t even tell the truth about a speech.  It was not a foreign policy speech but rather a political campaign speech against Trump!)

CLINTON: “This is not someone (Trump) who should ever have the nuclear codes because it’s not hard to imagine Donald Trump leading us into a war just because somebody got under his very thin skin.”

• Trump is not a rabid interventionist like Hillary as evidenced by her promoting the invasion of Libya and her plea for regime change in that country.

• Trump believes in America First and would only act if he felt the nation was at grave risk. 

• Hillary put the country at grave risk with her advocacy for a Nuclear Iran and supporting rapid pullout of Iraq without a Status of Forces Agreement.

• Hillary vindictively went after and helped to destroy all of her Husband’s lovers and victims.  Is this being too thin skinned?  Maybe her judgement should have been aimed at her husband rather than rape victims…

CLINTON: “Donald Trump’s ideas aren’t just different – they are dangerously incoherent,”

• Trump advocates reviewing decades old treaties such as NATO and others to insure that these defense agreements are effective and are fair to the US.

• Unlike Clinton, Trump believes that regime change is not in the best interest of the US.  He believes that war is the last resort and never justified unless US self interests can be achieved.  Clinton supported regime change in Iraq, Libya and Syria.  How is that working out!

• Hillary aided and abetted the Russian takeover of Ukraine after a phony “reset of relations” with Russia.  This reset led to Russia becoming increasingly more belligerent in reclaiming parts of the old Soviet Union. 

• Hillary pushed Obama into taking out the Kaddafi regime in Libya in spite of the fact that Kaddafi was an acquaintance of Obama’s pastor, Rev. Wright!  This ouster totally destabilized Libya and left the country ripe for ISIS to step in and take over.

• Trump is a collaborative business person who will seek the best advice of experts before acting.  Hillary surrounds herself with 2-3 close confidants and excludes everyone else! 

• Hillary uses an unsecured Blackberry in an unsecured area of the State Department to text Sid Blumenthal, in opposition to a direct order by her Commander and Chief, to see what she should do in Libya and elsewhere. 

• Trump has engaged an impressive national security team that includes Senator Jeff Sessions, to formulate his foreign policy.  Big difference…

• Hilary ramped up a pro-Iranian nuclear agreement that eventually led to a solution designed to give Iran $160 Billion to use to support their world-wide terror organization, insured that Iran would get nuclear weapons, and featured virtually a non-inspection pact allowing Iran free reign to do what ever they wanted during their development of nuclear weapons.  And this is coherent?

CLINTON:  “He is not just unprepared – he is temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility.”

• Clinton has yelled at the Secret Service, her Staff, and her husband in well documented accounts.  She is also more paranoid than Richard Nixon. She would not use government issued, secured email and handheld devices as she feared a FOIA request that could sunshine her actions.  She feared that even Obama would find out that she was communicating with Sid Blumenthal.  And she says Trump is unfit?  If she won’t obey a direct order from the President of the United States, why would you think she will obey the US Constitution!

• Trump runs over 500 companies world wide with thousands of employees.  He negotiated and built each of these enterprises from scratch including many “turnaround” situations requiring the rebuilding of assets and infrastructure.  His “temperament” has served his ventures well and he understands how to reach out to his adversaries.  He has converted the majority of his former opposing presidential candidates to becoming his supporters and has rallied 85% of the Republican Party to his side.  You don’t do this if you are temperamentally unfit! 

CLINTON:  “He believes we can treat the U.S. economy like one of his casinos and default on our debts to the rest of the world, which would cause an economic catastrophe far worse than anything we experienced in 2008.”

• Well, this one is rich!  Hillary was part of a Senate and then part of the Obama administration who drove the national debt to over $19 trillion dollars and climbing.  Our debt is over 100% of our GDP and growing, thanks in part to Hillary’s policies and advocacies. 

• Hillary and her husband were co-architects of the sub-prime loan disaster that led to the 2008 recession.  All the while receiving millions from Wall Street!

• Trump had 4 operations that failed, out of hundreds and those operations filled for bankruptcy protection.  As opposed to Hillary’s support and vote for the GM “government contrived bankruptcy”, backed by taxpayers, as well as the bank bailouts of 2008.  The Trump company bankruptcies did not put taxpayer money at risk. 

• Hillary is great at gambling with your money, all the while raking in money for herself. 

 

Hillary Must be Desperate to Use Foreign Policy to go After Trump

Her Failed Positions and Policies are Legend

Only Biden, and Neo-Conservatives, Have a Worse Foreign Policy Record than Clinton

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

Hat Tips

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/02/480487308/hillary-clinton-delivers-foreign-policy-speech-in-san-diego

http://hotair.com/archives/2016/06/02/hillarys-foreign-policy-speech-trump-is-dangerously-unfit-for-office/

Read Hillary Clinton’s Speech on Donald Trump and National Security

 

 

Lara Logan v. Michelle Fields Valor v. Vanity ?

Rape in Tahrir Square v. Scrum “Touch & Grab”

Western Female Journalists in conservative Islamic Nations are at risk of serious personal harm, just by the fact that they are Western and Female. 

Western individuals who are not Muslim are considered, at the very least, inferior to Muslims; at worst, infidels whose lives have no value! 

Add to this mix, an Obama inspired and abetted “Arab Spring” which was basically an anti-government movement with the goal of installing “Fundamental Islamic States”. 

As Opposed to:

Covering a Presidential Campaign Event at the Posh Mar-A-Lago Club in Florida Does Not Seem to be a Life Threatening Assignment

After covering the 2016 Republican Presidential campaign for the past 9 months, and reading and watching pundits, journalists, and other “sage” individuals, who seem to be more impressed with their own sense of self, than accurately reporting and commenting on factual content, I was finally hit with the juxtaposition between what happened to Lara Logan in Egypt and to Michelle Fields in Mar-A-Lago.

Tahrir Square just before Sundown on February 11, 2011

Lara Logan is the chief foreign affairs correspondent for CBS News and a correspondent for CBS’s 60 Minutes.  She was assigned by 60 Minutes to cover the “Arab Spring” in Egypt which featured the over throw of longtime US ally Hosni Mubarak.  On February 11th, Egypt’s large center city square, Tahrir Square, was filled with thousands of Jubilant Egyptians celebrating their own power for overthrowing their heavy-handed President.  In the midst of this raucous celebration were scores of international journalists.  One of these journalists was Lara Logan, an attractive blonde, South African female correspondent.  As the celebration unfolded, a group of young Egyptian men viciously attacked and raped Logan.  Lara recounted her ordeal.  The following are quotes from her account:

“They ripped off my clothes and took pictures on their cell phones as they groped and beat me.”

“Suddenly, before I even know what’s happening, I feel hands grabbing my breasts, grabbing my crotch, grabbing me from behind. I mean, and it’s not one person and then it stops, it’s like one person and another person and another person. And I know Ray (her cameraman) is right there, and he’s grabbing at me and screaming, “Lara hold onto me, hold onto me.”

“I didn’t even know that they were beating me with flagpoles and sticks and things, because I couldn’t even feel that. Because I think of the, of the sexual assault was all I could feel, was their hands raping me over and over and over again.  They were tearing my body in every direction at this point … and they were trying to tear off chunks of my scalp.”

She described even more detail of her attack but I think you can picture a women trapped by a number of men who are attacking her without any hesitation.  Lara absolutely thought she would not live to see her children again, she stated:  “I was in no doubt in my mind that I was in the process of dying,” 

 

Fast Forward to March 8th, 2016 to a Trump press conference held in Jupiter, Florida, at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Club. 

The press conference had ended and Trump was leaving the room where the presser was held.  The members of the press had been instructed by the secret service to remain in the back part of the room until the candidate had left the room.

As Trump was exiting, Michelle Fields ignored the admonition to remain in the back of the room and made her way next to Trump on his right.  Fields appeared to have a cell phone in her hand, possibly to record a response from Trump, when she touched his right arm.  He recoiled from her touch as he obviously did not expect to be approached as he was leaving knowing the press had been told to wait in the rear of the room. 

In the next second or two, Corey Lewandowski came up behind Trump and Fields and squeezed in between them separating Fields from Trump.  During this process, Lewandowski put is arm in between Fields and Trump and he may have put his hand around her lower arm in an attempt to move Trump out of the Room.  Fields did not lose her balance or stumble from the contact per the video released by the prosecution who refused to prosecute Lewandowski. 

Fields went on to file a police report for “Battery-Simple”, “784.03(1)(A)(1)” on March 11, 2016, against Corey Lewandowski.  He subsequently turned himself into the police and following an investigation by Florida States Attorney’s office, the State Attorney declined to prosecute Lewandowski.  The video that was turned over to the Florida States Attorney did not substantiate the account of the incident as described by Fields.

Perspective

When you compare the trauma suffered by Lara Logan versus the experience by Michelle Fields, it is difficult to understand why Fields pursued criminal charges against Trump’s campaign manager.  Did Fields become overly enthusiastic in covering Trump with an anti-Trump bias?  Was she merely embarrassed by the incident then sought to redeem herself by accusing Lewandowski? 

I doubt that we will ever know what Field’s motivation was but it strikes me that professional journalists have to keep events, as they impact them personally, in perspective.  When a reporter is in the midst of scrum, contact is almost inevitable.  This is part of the job when you are trying to get the last comment from someone you are trying to interview. 

As opposed to being sent to attend a world shattering event in a distant country, with a culture that is foreign to your own, without security or any form of personal protection.  Then, not being touched on the arm, but totally violated and humiliated and suffering injuries that are still being treated 4 years after the attack.  Lara exemplified true bravery in the face of death akin to journalists’ coverage on the front lines of war.

The modern press needs to keep itself in perspective and guide its members in making sure they do not insert themselves into a story or make themselves the story.  This pertains to pundits and analyst who become so biased they cannot reasonable assess the performance of the subject.  This pertains to a newspaper, a cable news outlet, or any form of what has become main stream media. 

Today we hear that the editorial section of an agency is separate from the news section. 

REALLY!  That is just plain insulting. 

If the Press would like respect, they need to respect us and especially respect their trade. 

Otherwise you are just Propaganda!

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

Hat Tip

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/lara-logan-i-was-dying-411756

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/lara-logan-back-in-hospital-60-minutes-correspondent-still-suffering–2015253

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cbs-lara-logan-reveals-stripped-scalped-egypt-sexual-assault-article-1.145447

http://www.redstate.com/diary/evilbloggerlady/2016/04/14/michelle-fields-cory-lewandowski/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/04/14/donald-trump-corey-lewandowski-assault-case-florida-michelle-fields/83030324/

 

Obama-248 Days Left Of the Destruction of Our Republic

50% of Those Polled Approve of Obama’s Performance!

Really!

2016 Presidential Campaign Allowing Obama to

“Fundamentally Transform America”

While We Are Not Watching

The Buzz today is about discussing Donald Trump’s love life from 30 years ago!  Really?  

Obama and the Main Stream Media (MSM)  will do and say anything to distract us from seeing that Obama has literally redefined America.  We, including our elected Republican officials in Washington DC, have done nothing to stop him.  Here are a few of Obama’s “Accomplishments“:

• Completely weakened the financial fabric of this nation by driving up our debt to $20 Trillion.

• Exploding our welfare assistance to illegal and legal immigrants and eliminating our borders entirely.

• Emasculated the breadth of our banking system and consolidated our financial institutions to the detriment of the consumers.

• Ruining higher education by taking over Student Loans and driving the cost of higher education through to roof enslaving our students through a life of debt owed to the almighty government.

• Gave Iran a clear path to create and possess nuclear weapons and provided $150 Billion to help finance their creation and subsidize Iranian terror networks.

• Giving Iraq and Syria to Iran with his hands off policy in Syria and his allowing Iraq to fall into political and military disarray through his hands off policy with ISIS. 

• Giving Iran a clear path to complete its missile arsenal with which to deliver its soon to be completed nuclear weapons.

• Allowed Iran to intimidate our navy by capturing and detaining one of our ships in international waters.

• Destabilized Libya by taking out Qadhafi and destroying its governing infrastructure leaving it for ISIS and other nefarious organizations to pick at its carcass. 

• Allowing China to “annex” the South China Sea without resistance nor repercussions.

• Allowing Russia to intimidate our military with low flyovers and close encounters with our ships and aircraft.

• Giving North Korea a clear path to complete their nuclear arms and ballistic missile programs.

• Allowing Central and Eastern Africa to become a cesspool of terror and unrest.

• Transformed cultural norms such as traditional marriage by his advocacy of same-sex marriage giving SCOTUS a clear path to overturn DOMA and a millennia of cultural tradition.

• Literally destroying the American Health Care System with Obamacare.

• Using Obamacare to destroy the Freedom of Religion to force religious institutions to conform with Obamacare mandates regardless of their long-held religious objections to abortions, birth control, and sex reassignment procedures.  Euthanasia next?

• Using Title IX and Title VII, redefined bathroom, changing room and shower access to be wide open to all genders.

• Setting the stage to force the private sector to allow transgender individuals to use restrooms, changing rooms or other typically gender restricted areas as they wish ignoring the risk to the innocent by pedophiles and sex offenders.

• Undermining our civil order by making continuous disparaging remarks about our police and other law enforcement officials and using the DOJ to interfere with local law enforcement.

• Inciting riotous behavior by siding with anarchistic organizations such as Occupy and Black Lives Matter.

• Creating open borders and open immigration policies that are destroying the cultural fabric of our nation.

Still Think Obama Does Not Know What He Is Doing!

Unfortunately, the list is virtually endless as everyday more and more of our liberties are lost, our economic prosperity driven into the oblivion of debt, and our moral fiber destroyed.  Race relations, due to Obama’s constant race baiting tactics, are at their worst since the 1960’s.  The plight of Blacks and other inner city minorities is dismal with Black on Black crime escalating exponentially.   Obama blames law enforcement and the bias of the justice system!

So, when you hear or see the MSM focusing on silly issues like Trump’s love life when he was single, stop and ask, “What is the Administration and the Media trying to Hide”?  The MSM has become one big reality show meant to distract and mislead the public.  Unfortunately, we are too easily duped into thinking that what we are going through is “NORMAL”!  It isn’t! 

This Election is Vital to this Nation’s Survival. 

While some on the right are chanting the #nevertrump mantra, Obama and the left keep on destroying what is left of this republic.  Hillary, if she is able to run, or for that matter any Democrat (or socialist) candidate for president, will continue to take this nation down the path of progressive annihilation. 

You may not like some of the things Donald Trump says or does. 

But, It Is Trump Or The Fall of America. 

This is not being dramatic, this is being truthful.

 

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

 

Hat Tips:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

http://www.westernjournalism.com/a-comprehensive-list-of-obamas-worst-executive-orders/

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/02/04/ruth-marcus-obama-executive-order/

Assad/Putin May Prove Trump Correct on Syria/ISIS

Palmyra, Syria, Recaptured by Assad/Russians From ISIS

Reminder:  Trump said he would work with Russia to rid Syria, Iraq and the World of ISIS. 

Obama is doing this by default!

President Assad of Syria, aided by the Russians/Putin, just recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS!  There is a better than even chance that Assad/Putin will eventually, maybe before Obama leaves office, rid Syria of ISIS and eliminate its “caliphate’s capital” stronghold in Al-Raqqah. 

Elimination of Syrian Rebels:  Further, during the purge of ISIS, Assad/Putin will most assuredly take out the so-called ally of the West, the Syrian Anti-Assad group, praised by Senators Ted Cruz,  John McCain and Lindsay Graham.  If this occurs, Syria will remain in Assad’s control as an Alawite dominated nation with close ties to Russia and IRAN.  This will effectively “sandwich” Iraq between its two recent enemies, Syria and Iran. 

Iraq Reverts to Shia-Then Splits:  Iraq, then, will be left to its own devices to deal with the remnants of the Sunni ISIS in Iraq.  Please remember that the Sunni ISIS group was founded by members of Saddam’s Sunni army back in 2003 after we invaded Iraq.  Saddam Hussein was a despotic Sunni dictator who maintained Sunni control over the Shia and Kurdish inhabitants by brute force.  After we eliminated Saddam and tried to set up a coalition government, the country remained divided and crippled and this allowed for Sunni ISIS to raise from the ashes we created.  

ISIS then is diametrically opposed to Syria’s Alawite leader Assad, the Kurds in Northern Iraq, and the predominant Shia population in the balance of Iraq, and Shia Iran.  Iraq is primarily Shia (62%) like Syria and Iran.  Ethnically the Kurds in the North (17% of Iraq’s population) do not associate themselves with their Iraqi co-inhabitants to the South but are more allied with Iran.  Eliminating the Sunni-ISIS uprising in Iraq would be a “Holy” victory and return Iraq to its Shia roots! 

Iraqi Problems-Ethnic Diversity and Oil:  What to do with Iraq after ISIS is defeated is the real question.  The major two problems with Iraq is that the disparate groups who were thrown into the same geographic nation back in 1917 by the Europeans and the US, are historically and in some cases ethnically different; and two, the oil fields in Iraq and the multiple pipelines traversing Iraq are not uniformly distributed along ethno-religious lines.  If Iraq is subdivided between the Kurds in the North, and then Western and Eastern Iraq, or between the Kurds and the rest of Iraq, the oil wealth would not be disbursed evenly.  Some economic arrangement would have to be reached to make this split, or a two way split, as equitable as possible.  This would not be easy.

 

Two Way Split of Iraq:  So, how do you divide Iraq and keep some semblance of peace?  Probably a two-way split of Iraq would be the easiest alternative.  The Kurds in the north could be separated from the rest of Iraq.  But the Kurds also lay claim to portions of Turkey and Syria.  The Kurds feel some of their land was unlawfully “annexed” into Turkey and Syria in the 1917 realignment.  It is estimated that there are approximately 18 million Kurds living in Turkey alone as a result of this division. 

The map below will give you an idea how difficult any border realignment would be to segregate the Kurds.  The Kurdish populations in the Middle East are shown in Red below.  The Kurds have major populations in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran!  In a practical sense, there will be no way to establish a unified Kurdish state.  At best, the North Eastern and Northern portions of Iraq could be segregated.  The Kurds in Syria and Turkey will probably remain segregated.  Perhaps an international agreement could be reached with Syria and Turkey to protect the Kurds in those countries.  These types of arrangement have always been limited in terms of there success.

Post ISIS Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Kurd nation would look a lot like the pre-Saddam Iraq with the exception of the Kurdish separation.  Like, during the cold war, Russia would revert as the major influence in Syria and Iraq and would increase their influence in Iraq.  The Kurds would probably remain allied with the West for self preservation!  So basically, after 40 decades of US direct involvement in Iraq, Iran and Syria, the original status quo would be re-established!!! 

Will Trump be Vindicated?

So while many have criticized Donald Trump’s views of how to defeat ISIS, and return this portion of the Middle East to some semblance of “peace”, his positions, proposed alliances, and predictions may actually come to pass.  Most of Trump’s detractors are those who were the architects and players in the US intervention of the region.  So Trump may win a bittersweet war of ideas but that will not bring back the 250,000 Syrians who died in the Syrian Civil War; the thousands of Iraqis who died in our two gulf war interventions; the 3,600 or so US military personnel who died in our two gulf war interventions; and the countless Kurds, Iraqis and Syrians who have been killed by ISIS.  Nor will it eliminate his critics as they had a bloody hand in the creation of this debacle!

Christian Genocide:  One other tragic outcome of these decades has been the systematic genocide of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and Iran at the hands of ISIS, Saddam Hussein, Assad, the Ayatollahs in Iran, and the post war, US supported, Iraqi governments.

Islamic Terrorism will Survive:  It is important to note, that even if ISIS is removed from Syria and Iraq, some form of Islamic Terror will continue until we attack that problem at is cultural-religious roots.

In the final analysis, the question will be what lesson, if any, have we learned over the past 30 years?  Probably none!

RD Pierini

@RDPierini

Hat Tips

http://www.pewforum.org/2009/10/07/mapping-the-global-muslim-population/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Civil_War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurds

Radical Islam Is Caused by a “Lack of Maternal Participation and Acceptance”

Fundamentalist Islam/Sharia Does Not Promote the Value of Mothers and Women!

Christianity Promotes the Value of the Holy Mother, and All Mothers and Women!

After years working in the Middle East along side of Muslims and then watching the Islamic Terrorism spread and kill indiscriminately throughout the world, and watching accounts of Honor Killings and Genital Mutilation of women, the light finally came on. 

Fundamentalist followers of Islam and Sharia are Male Centric in every way. 

The male children grow up being taught they are superior in every way to their mother, sisters and every other female they come in contact with.  Infidel women have absolutely no value and males are encouraged to do whatever they wish with these women. 

The female children grow up being taught that they are inferior to their father and brothers and to every Muslim male they come in contact with.  They are taught they have no real personal rights and are at the mercy of the males around them. 

These attitudes are passed from generation to generation.  In most of the households in the Middle East, the home houses multiple generations of the family.  The grandparents reinforce this anti-female bias and servitude.  As young males enter puberty, they believe they are superior to their mother, their sisters, and every other female in their circle.  Since boys attend the Mosque with their Fathers and are segregated from women, their religious experience reinforces their lack of respect for women.  After all, if your Mosque separates men and women and women are not allowed in the inner chambers, women must not be equal to men!

Lack of Male Compassion in Fundamentalist Islam:  While I do not profess to be a psychiatrist, my observation of families in the West is that the mother provides a “softening” buffer against normal adolescent aggression (Testosterone Overload!).  (Dads are busy getting their boys to play football or compete in some way against other boys.  Ok, some push their boys to be good students.)  In the West, the mothers are supported by the fathers to “honor they mother” or you get the “poop beat out of you” if you disrespect mom! (personal experience)  Moms also give their sons a sense of empathy and compassion for their friends, kids they may not necessarily like, and people who are different from them.  Dads help but it is the mom who spends the most time with the children.  Western boys with sisters are also taught to PROTECT their sisters against any potential harm.  (before I get bombarded by the PC class, stay at home or time-sharing dads can perform the same vital function as the mom)

Why is this sudden epiphany important?

  If we, the West and Muslims who abhor radical Islamic terrorism, have any chance of changing the mindset of Fundamental Islamists, we have to recognize that the problem is systemic!  You will first have to change the way women and girls are treated and the equal role they have in society.  Mothers have to have the respect of all of their children.  Husbands and wives must show respect to one another and all males must respect all women.  Boys have to be taught to respect their sisters and all females in society.  Many parts of Sharia have to be abandoned such as genital mutilation, honor killing, polygamy, etc.  These will not be easy changes as they have been ingrained over centuries. 

We in the West, and Muslims who immigrate to our countries have a choice.  If Westerners are to ever live along side of followers of Islam peacefully, we must share the same cultural values and these are anchored around our Western sense of EQUALITY and RESPECT for men and women, girls and boys.  Without this change, we cannot possibly expect to coexist.  Also, Muslims must accept as equals others who follow different faiths.  They must also respect all other nationalities who reside in their new homeland. PERIOD  If the Islamic Community does not want to start this transition, then they are free to remain in their native countries. 

Expecting their new homeland to change to their way of life is not realistic and at some point, even Europe, will come to this realization and the cultures will have to be separated by force if necessary.  Neither side can or should exist operating in a constant state of tension, fear and resentment.

RD Pierini

@RDPierini