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T rump’s campaign rhetoric about cooperating with Russia in combating terrorism was bluster without follow-through, according to AP News, saying: He’s “telling advisers and allies that he may shelve, at least temporarily, his plan to pursue a deal with Moscow on the Islamic State group and other national security matters, according to administration officials and Western diplomats.”
ADDENDUM
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Dispatches from
STEPHEN LENDMAN
T rump’s campaign rhetoric about cooperating with Russia in combating terrorism was bluster without follow-through, according to AP News, saying: He’s “telling advisers and allies that he may shelve, at least temporarily, his plan to pursue a deal with Moscow on the Islamic State group and other national security matters, according to administration officials and Western diplomats.”
It doesn’t surprise given longstanding US hostility toward Russia, especially during the Cold War and Putin’s tenure. Trump stacked his administration with defense, national and homeland security hardliners. Reportedly he intends appointing Russophobe Fiona Hill as White House Director for Europe and Russia. She called Putin a “Mafia Don,” said “(b)lackmail and intimidation are part of his stock and trade.”
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In response to candidate Trump urging better relations with Russia, dark forces launched a campaign to delegitimize him. According to AP, Defense Secretary Mattis and National Security Advisor McMaster want tough anti-Moscow policies continued. “During his first meeting with National Security Council staff, McMaster described Russia – as well as China – as a country that wants to upend the current world order, according to an administration official who attended the meeting,” said AP.
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Key European allies urge no softening in US/Russia relations. Trump administration hardliners falsely claimed Moscow violated the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Big Lie about nonexistent “Russian aggression” in Ukraine persists. “The president and his advisers have yet to settle on a formal approach to Russia, and discussions about how to proceed are still in early phases,” said AP. After firing Michael Flynn, Trump said “(i)t would be unpopular for a politician to make a deal. It would be much easier for me to be so tough – the tougher I am on Russia,” the better. After only a few weeks in office, he was co-opted to stay hardline on Russia, China, Iran and other sovereign independent countries – indicating no change in imperial recklessness on his watch.
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It’s evident from harsh rhetoric by administration officials, continued US aggression in multiple theaters, including Pentagon terror-bombing of Yemen on the phony pretext of combating al-Qaeda Washington supports. It’s clear from provocatively maintaining thousands of US-led NATO forces on Russia’s borders, challenging China in its own waters, harsh rhetoric on Iran, and Secretary of State Tillerson saying he’ll seek “transition to democratic rule in Venezuela” – code language for plotting regime change. Hoped for responsible change under Trump was always wishful thinking. Stepping back from the brink didn’t happen.
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Endless wars continue, maybe new ones planned. The threat of direct confrontation with Russia and China remain. Trump’s campaign pledge to combat terrorism was meaningless bluster. On Saturday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue combating terrorism on its own – the scourge Washington created and supports.
ADDENDUM
Banning Howard Zinn’s Books
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]est remembered as an activist historian, scholar, educator, and author of numerous books, including his notable “People’s History of the United States,” Zinn died in January 2010 at age 87. He impacted the lives of his students, readers and many others, including my own. He wrote about history too few others teach, never discussed by major media. He spoke publicly at hundreds of meetings and rallies. When he began teaching, he said he “could not possibly keep out of the classroom (his) own experiences.”
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He “never concealed (his) political views: (his) detestation of war and militarism, (his) anger at racial inequality, (his) belief in democratic socialism, in a rational and just distribution of the world’s wealth.”
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He “made clear (his) abhorrence of any kind of bullying, whether by powerful nations over weaker ones, governments over their citizens, employers over employees, or by anyone, on the Right or the Left, who thinks they have a monopoly on the truth.” “You can’t be neutral on a moving train,” he said, the title of one of his books, explaining “events are moving in certain deadly directions, and to be neutral means to accept that.” He anguished over endless wars, violence harming millions, poverty, racism, information control through deception, and political hypocrisy.
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Successive US administrations reflect new wine in old bottles. People want change, but feel powerless to achieve it, he explained. Late in life, he said “(w)herever any kind of injustice has been overturned, it’s been because people acted as citizens, and not as politicians. They didn’t just moan. They worked, they acted, they organized, they rioted if necessary to bring their situation to the attention of people in power. And that’s what we have to do today.” In 2012, the Tucson, Arizona Unified School District banned his “People’s History of the United States,” ordering teachers to stop using it. Arkansas State Rep. Kim Hendren introduced legislation to ban “study books or any other material authored by or concerning Howard Zinn” from state public and charter schools.
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He raised “concerns about some of the approaches (he took) in the books” he wrote, adding he wants to avoid “indoctrination” of one point of view. The Zinn Education Project aims “to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of United States history than is found in traditional textbooks and curricula.” It offered a free copy of Zinn’s People’s History to all Arkansas teachers requesting it. More than 250 asked to receive one. The book was first published in 1980. Enlightened teachers make it assigned reading. More than two million copies were sold in five editions I’m aware of. I bought copies for myself and others. Book banning doesn’t stop truth-telling. Zinn’s People’s History and other books he wrote remain popular for good reason.
NOTE: Several crucial chapters of Zinn’s People’s History of the US are available on our Virtual University section. Do a search on “People’s History” for full details.
Trump Increasing US Aggression
World conditions remain perilously unsafe under Trump. Hope for something better vanished in the early days of his administration. Major media reports are always suspect. It remains to be seen if two discussed below prove true. On Friday, ABC News said “(t)he Pentagon has quietly ordered new commando deployments to the Middle East and North Africa amid an unprecedented series of American airstrikes in Yemen,” according to unnamed counterintelligence officials.
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Claims about combating ISIS and al-Qaeda are fabricated. Both terrorist groups and others are US creations, used as imperial foot soldiers in Syria, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. An unnamed special forces member was quoted, saying “(w)e don’t know for sure what will happen, but the boys really think we’re going to see a lot of action on this deployment because of the new administration.”
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CENTCOM commander General Joseph Votel said more US forces may be needed in Syria and Iraq. Visiting Baghdad in late February, Defense Secretary Mattis signaled increased US regional military operations. Saying deployed forces serve as advisors belies their direct involvement in combat – reported casualties occurring in Iraq and Yemen, perhaps others in Syria kept under wraps. The NYT reported increased US forces near Manbij, Syria, saying “(p)hotographs of American troops in Stryker vehicles and armored Humvees flying American flags circulated on Saturday on social media.” Pentagon forces in Syria and other US war theaters are part of America’s imperial project, supporting, not combating terrorism, advancing aggression, not deterring it, The Times failed to explain.
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Battlefield successes in Syria by government forces, greatly aided by Russian aerial operations, concern Washington. Commander of US forces in Syria and Iraq General Stephen Townsend warned about government troops advancing to within “rifle range” of (moderate terrorist) Arab fighters supported by Washington. Russian General Sergei Rudskoi said “Syrian armed…units have been deployed to the territory held by Kurdish self-defense forces on March 3” – close to where Turkish troops are operating illegally.
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Government forces and Russian air power continue defeating the US-backed scourge of terrorism in Syria. Increased Pentagon regional militarism may slow progress.
NOTE: ALL IMAGE CAPTIONS, PULL QUOTES AND COMMENTARY BY THE EDITORS, NOT THE AUTHORS • CONTINUE THE DEBATE ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEPHEN LENDMAN lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." ( http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html ) Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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